PREPARED BY:KAMIL MANZOOR

(34)JUNAID RAFIQI (32)

MBA-4th Sem.

Environmental protection

Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the natural environment on individual, organizational or governmental levels, for the benefit of both the natural environment and humans.

Due to the pressures of population and technology, the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently.

This has been recognized, and governments have begun placing restraints on activities that cause environmental degradation.

Since the 1960s, activity of environmental movements has created awareness of the various environmental issues.

There is no agreement on the extent of the environmental impact of human activity, and protection measures are occasionally criticized.

Environmental protection • Academic institutions now offer courses, such

as environmental studies , environmental management and environmental engineering , that teach the history and methods of environment protection. Protection of the environment is needed due to various human activities.•Environmental protection is influenced by three interwoven factors: environmental legislation, ethics and education. •Each of these factors plays its part in influencing national-level environmental decisions and personal-level environmental values and behaviors. •For environmental protection to become a reality, it is important for societies to develop each of these areas that, together, will inform and drive environmental decisions

Environmental Protection

The Environment (protection) Act 1986

Environment Protection Act, 1986 is an Act of the Parliament of India.

In the wake of the Bhopal Tragedy, the Government of India enacted the Environment Protection Act of 1986 under Article 253 of the Constitution.

Passed in March 1986, it came into force on 19 November 1986. The purpose of the Act is to implement the decisions of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environments they relate to the protection and improvement of the human environment and the prevention of hazards to human beings, other living creatures, plants and property.

The Act is an “umbrella” legislation designed to provide a framework for central government coordination of the activities of various central and state authorities established under previous laws, such as the Water Act and the Air Act.

Causes of Environmental Degradation

1. Land Disturbance: A more basic cause of environmental degradation is land damage. Numerous weedy plant species, for example, garlic mustard, are both foreign and obtrusive. A rupture in the environmental surroundings provides for them a chance to start growing and spreading. These plants can assume control over nature, eliminating the local greenery. The result is territory with a solitary predominant plant which doesn’t give satisfactory food assets to all the environmental life. Whole environments can be destroyed because of these invasive species.

CONTD… 2. Pollution: Pollution, in whatever form, whether it is

air, water, land or noise is harmful for the environment. 

Air pollution pollutes the air that we breathe which causes health issues. Water pollution degrades the quality of water that we use for drinking purposes. 

Land pollution results in degradation of earth’s surface as a result of human activities. 

Noise pollution can cause irreparable damage to our ears when exposed to continuous large sounds like honking of vehicles on a busy road or machines producing large noise in a factory or a mill.

CONTD… 3. Overpopulation: Rapid population growth

puts strain on natural resources which results in degradation of our environment. Mortality rate has gone down due to better medical facilities which has resulted in increased lifespan. More population simple means more demand for food, clothes and shelter. You need more space to grow food and provide homes to millions of people. This results in deforestation which is another factor of environmental degradation.

CONTD… 4. Landfills: Landfills pollute the environment and destroy the beauty of the

city. Landfills come within the city due the large amount of waste that gets generated by households, industries, factories and hospitals. Landfills pose a great risk to the health of the environment and the people who live there. Landfills produce foul smell when burned and cause huge environmental degradation.

5. Deforestation: Deforestation is the cutting down of trees to make way for more homes and industries. Rapid growth in population and urban sprawl are two of the major causes of deforestation. Apart from that, use of forest land for agriculture, animal grazing, harvest for fuel wood and logging are some of the other causes of deforestation. Deforestation contributes to global warming as decreased forest size puts carbon back into the environment.

6: Natural Causes: Things like avalanches, quakes, tidal waves, storms, and wildfires can totally crush nearby animal and plant groups to the point where they can no longer survive in those areas. This can either come to fruition through physical demolition as the result of a specific disaster, or by the long term degradation of assets by the presentation of an obtrusive foreign species to the environment. The latter frequently happens after tidal waves, when reptiles and bugs are washed ashore.

Of course, humans aren’t totally to blame for this whole thing. Earth itself causes ecological issues, as well. While environmental degradation is most normally connected with the things that people do, the truth of the matter is that the environment is always changing.

How is ‘Environment’ defined under Indian Law?

According to Section 2(a) of the Environmental Protection Act, 1986, ‘Environment’ includes 

a) Water, air and land b) The inter-relationship which exists among

and between:i. water, air, land, and;ii. human beings, other living creatures,

plants, microorganisms and property

National Environment Protection Measures (NEPMs)

NEPMs are a special set of national objectives designed to assist in protecting or managing particular aspects of the environment. They are:

ambient air quality ambient marine, estuarine and fresh water quality; the protection of amenity in relation to noise. general guidelines for the assessment of site contamination; environmental impacts associated with hazardous wastes; the re-use and recycling of used materials.

NEPMs may also relate to motor vehicle noise and emissions.

What is a fundamental right of the environment ?

The environment is considered as a third generation fundamental right, also known as a “solidarity right”. This category of rights is complementing the civil and political rights of the first generation, and also the economic and social rights of the second generation

The Fundamental Rights is defined as the basic human rights of all citizens. These rights, defined in Part III of the Constitution, apply irrespective of race, place of birth, religion, caste, creed or gender. They are enforceable by the courts, subject to specific restrictions.

The Directive Principles of State Policy are guidelines for the framing of laws by the government. These provisions are not enforceable by the courts, but the principles on which they are based are fundamental guidelines for governance that the State is expected to apply in framing and passing laws.

The Fundamental Duties are defined as the moral obligations of all citizens to help promote a spirit of patriotism and to uphold the unity of India. These duties, concern individuals and the nation. Like the Directive Principles, they are not legally enforceable.

Environment Protection Acts in the Indian Constitution

The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977 The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1989 Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical Rules,

1989 The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 The Wildlife (Stock Declaration) Central Rules, 1973 The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991 The National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995 The National Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997

Provisions in the Indian Penal Code for environmental protection

The Indian Penal Code has a chapter on offences affecting Public Health, Safety, Convenience (Chapter XIV). Sec. 268 provides that “a person is guilty of a public nuisance who does any act or is guilty of an illegal omission which causes any common injury, danger or annoyance to the public or to the people in general who dwell or occupy property in the vicinity, or which must necessarily cause injury, obstruction, danger, or annoyance to persons who may have occasion to use any public right.”

Other concerned provisions are: a “negligent act likely to spread infection or disease dangerous to life” (Sec. 269 IPC.), a “malignant act likely to spread infection or disease dangerous to life” (Sec. 270 IPC.), “making atmosphere noxious to health” (Sec. 278 IPC.).

In case of public nuisance, the Penal Code provides for fines up to Rs. 200/- by way of punishment (Sec. 290 IPC.) and for making the atmosphere noxious to health Rs. 500/- only (Sec.78 IPC.).

The punishments are too meager to meet the objectives. With these penal provisions, it is not possible to check environmental pollution.

The Constitutional Right to a Healthy Environment.

Do people have a right to clean air, safe drinking water, and a healthy environment? 

Today it is widely recognized in international law and endorsed by an overwhelming proportion of countries. Every human has a right to live in a clean and healthy environment. This is a general right which is inalienable.  Many constitutions all over the world have guaranteed a healthy environment and they also take appropriate measures to prevent any kind of environmental harm so as to maintain a healthy environment.

All the constitutions adopted since 1992 also recognize right to clean environment as open right. About 200 treaties are registered under the UN environmental program register. 

The first formal recognition of the right to a healthy environment came in the Stockholm Declaration, which emerged from the pioneering global eco-summit in 1972:

“Man has the fundamental right to freedom, equality and adequate conditions of life, in an environment of a quality

that permits a life of dignity and well-being, and he bears a solemn responsibility to protect and improve the environment for present and future generations.”

In the four decades since the Stockholm Declaration, the right to a healthy environment rapidly migrated around the globe. As of 2012, 177 of the world's 193 UN member nations recognize this right through their constitution, environmental legislation, court decisions, or ratification of an international agreement .

Despite this progress, there is an ongoing debate about the scope and potential utility of the right to a healthy environment. Supporters argue that the potential benefits of constitutional environmental rights include:

Stronger environmental laws and policies Improved implementation and enforcement Greater citizen participation in environmental decision making Increased accountability Reduction in environmental injustices A level playing field with social and economic rights Better environmental performance

Critics, on the other hand, argue that constitutional environmental rights are:

Too vague to be useful Redundant because of existing human rights and environmental

laws A threat to democracy because they shift power from elected

legislators to judges Not enforceable Likely to cause a flood of litigation Likely to be ineffective Clean environment is important for health of humans. Every country must ensure that its citizen lives in a better and healthy environment. And it is also the duty of citizens to protected and preserve environment. Indian courts have recognized this right and the Constitution also protects this right.

Thank You….