Environmental governance refers to the processes of decision-making involved in the control and management of the environment and natural resources.
- Environmental governance is a concept in political ecology and environmental policy that advocates sustainability (sustainable development) as the supreme consideration for managing all human activities—political, social and economic.
- It views natural resources and the environment as global public goods, belonging to the category of goods that are not diminished when they are shared. This means that everyone benefits from, for example, a breathable atmosphere, stable climate and stable biodiversity.
Key principles of environmental governance include:
- Embedding the environment in all levels of decision-making and action
- Conceptualizing cities and communities, economic and political life as a subset of the environment
- Emphasizing the connection of people to the ecosystems in which they live
- Promoting the transition from open-loop/cradle-to-grave systems (like garbage disposal with no recycling) to closed-loop/cradle-to-cradle systems (like permaculture and zero waste strategies).
Environmental issues :
Main drivers of environmental degradation
Economic growth – The development-centric vision that prevails in most countries and international institutions advocates a headlong rush towards more economic growth. Environmental economists on the other hand, point to a close correlation between economic growth and environmental degradation, arguing for qualitative development as an alternative to growth. As a result, the past couple of decades has seen a big shift towards sustainable development as an alternative to neo-liberal economics. There are those, particularly within the alternative globalization movement, who maintain that it is feasible to change to a degrowth phase without losing social efficiency or lowering the quality of life.
Consumption – The growth of consumption and the cult of consumption, or consumerist ideology, is the major cause of economic growth. Overdevelopment, seen as the only alternative to poverty, has become an end in itself. The means for curbing this growth are not equal to the task, since the phenomenon is not confined to a growing middle class in developing countries, but also concerns the development of irresponsible lifestyles, particularly in northern countries, such as the increase in the size and number of homes and cars per person.
Destruction of biodiversity – The complexity of the planet’s ecosystems means that the loss of any species has unexpected consequences. The stronger the impact on biodiversity, the stronger the likelihood of a chain reaction with unpredictable negative effects. Another important factor of environmental degradation that falls under this destruction of biodiversity, and must not be ignored is deforestation. Despite all the damage inflicted, a number of ecosystems have proved to be resilient. Environmentalists are endorsing a precautionary principle whereby all potentially damaging activities would have to be analyzed for their environmental impact.
Population growth – Forecasts predict 8.9 billion people on the planet in 2050. This is a subject which primarily affects developing countries, but also concerns northern countries; although their demographic growth is lower, the environmental impact per person is far higher in these countries. Demographic growth needs to be countered by developing education and family planning programs and generally improving women’s status.
“Pollution” – Pollution caused by the use of fossil fuels is another driver of environmental destruction. The burning of carbon-based fossil fuels such as coal and oil, releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. One of the major impacts of this is the climate change that is currently taking place on the planet, where the earth’s temperature is gradually rising. Given that fuels such as coal and oil are the most heavily used fuels, this a great concern to many environmentalists.
“Agricultural practices” – Destructive agricultural practices such as overuse of fertilizers and overgrazing lead to land degradation. The soil gets eroded, and leads to silting in rivers and reservoirs. Soil erosion is a continuous cycle and ultimately results in desertification of the land. Apart from land degradation, water pollution is also a possibility; chemicals used in farming can run-off into rivers and contaminate the water.
Challenges
Challenges facing environmental governance include:
- Inadequate continental and global agreements
- Unresolved tensions between maximum development, sustainable development and maximum protection, limiting funding, damaging links with the economy and limiting application of Multilateral Environment Agreements (MEAs).
- Environmental funding is not self-sustaining, diverting resources from problem-solving into funding battles.
- Lack of integration of sector policies
- Inadequate institutional capacities
- Ill-defined priorities
- Unclear objectives
- Lack of coordination within the UN, governments, the private sector and civil society
- Lack of shared vision
- Interdependencies among development/sustainable economic growth, trade, agriculture, health, peace and security.
- International imbalance between environmental governance and trade and finance programs, e.g., World Trade Organization (WTO).
- Limited credit for organizations running projects within the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
- Linking UNEP, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank with MEAs
- Lack of government capacity to satisfy MEA obligations
- Absence of the gender perspective and equity in environmental governance
- Inability to influence public opinion[
- Time lag between human action and environmental effect, sometimes as long as a generation
- Environmental problems being embedded in very complex systems, of which our understanding is still quite weak
Some of the important legislations for environment protection are as follows:
- The National Green Tribunal Act, 2010
- The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981
- The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974
- The Environment Protection Act, 1986
- The Hazardous Waste Management Regulations, etc.
Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974
- The main objective of this act is to provide prevention and control of water pollution and maintaining or restoring of wholesomeness and purity of water (in the streams or wells or on land).
- The Act vests regulatory authority in State Pollution Control Boards (SPCB) and empowers these Boards to establish and enforce effluent standards for factories discharging pollutants into water bodies.
- A Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) performs the same functions for Union Territories and formulates policies and coordinates activities of different State Boards.
- The State Pollution Control Boards control sewage and industrial effluent discharges by approving, rejecting, or impose conditions while granting consent to discharge.
- The Act grants power to SPCB and CPCB to test equipment and to take the sample for analysis. Before its amendment in 1988, enforcement under the Act was achieved through criminal prosecutions initiated by the Boards.
- The 1988 amendment act empowered SPCB and CPCB to close a defaulting industrial plant.
Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act of 1977
- Water Cess, or to be precise, Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess refers to a tax levied under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977 on water consumed by persons operating and carrying on certain types of industrial activities.
- Every local authority – a municipal corporation or a municipal council or a cantonment board or any other body, entrusted with the duty of supplying the water is also liable to pay the cess.
- The Water Cess Act was passed to generate financial resources to meet the expenses of the Central and State Pollution Boards.
- The Act creates economic incentives for pollution control and requires local authorities and certain designated industries to pay a cess (tax) for water effluent discharge.
- The Central Government, after deducting the expenses of collection, pays the central and state boards such sums, as it seems necessary.
- To encourage capital investment in pollution control, the Act gives a polluter a 70% rebate of the applicable cess upon installing effluent treatment equipment.
The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981
- The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 (the “Air Act”) is an act to provide for the prevention, control and abatement of air pollution and for the establishment of Boards at the Central and State levels with a view to carrying out the aforesaid purposes.
- To counter the problems associated with air pollution, ambient air quality standards were established under the Air Act.
- The Air Act seeks to combat air pollution by prohibiting the use of polluting fuels and substances, as well as by regulating appliances that give rise to air pollution.
- The Air Act empowers the State Government, after consultation with the SPCBs, to declare any area or areas within the Sate as air pollution control area or areas.
- Under the Act, establishing or operating any industrial plant in the pollution control area requires consent from SPCBs.
- SPCBs are also expected to test the air in air pollution control areas, inspect pollution control equipment, and manufacturing processes.
The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
- The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 was enacted with the objective of effectively protecting the wild life of this country and to control poaching, smuggling and illegal trade in wildlife and its derivatives.
- The Act was amended in January 2003 and punishment and penalty for offences under the Act have been made more stringent. The Ministry has proposed further amendments in the law by introducing more rigid measures to strengthen the Act.
- The objective is to provide protection to the listed endangered flora and fauna and ecologically important protected areas.
- This Act provides for the protection of a listed species of animals, birds, and plants, and also for the establishment of a network of ecologically-important protected areas in the country.
- The Act provides for the formation of wildlife advisory boards, wildlife wardens, specifies their powers and duties, etc.
- The Act prohibited the hunting of endangered species.
- Scheduled animals are prohibited from being traded as per the Act’s provisions. The Act provides for licenses for the sale, transfer, and possession of some wildlife species.
- It provides for the establishment of wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, etc. Its provisions paved the way for the formation of the Central Zoo Authority. This is the central body responsible for the oversight of zoos in India. It was established in 1992.
- The Act created six schedules which gave varying degrees of protection to classes of flora and fauna. ” Schedule I and Schedule II (Part II) get absolute protection and offenses under these schedules attract the maximum penalties. ” The schedules also include species that may be hunted. ” Schedule VI was added by the amendment of 1991 to include certainly specified plants.
- The National Board for Wildlife was constituted as a statutory organization under the provisions of this Act.
- The Act also provided for the establishment of the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
- There are five types of protected areas as provided under the Act.
- ” Sanctuaries: It is a place of refuge that was injured, abandoned, and abused wildlife is allowed to live in peace in their natural environment without any human intervention.
- ” National Parks: These are the areas that are set by the government to conserve the natural environment.
- ” Conservation Reserves: The State government may declare an area (particularly those adjacent to sanctuaries or parks) as conservation reserves after consulting with local communities.
- ” Community Reserves: The State government may declare any private or community land as a community reserve after consultation with the local community or an individual who has volunteered to conserve the wildlife.
- ” Tiger Reserves: These areas are reserved for the protection and conservation of tigers in India. They are declared on the recommendations of the National Tiger Conservation Authority
The 2006 amendment introduced a new chapter (IV B) for the establishment of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and notification of Tiger Reserves (before this amendment, Tiger Reserves were not defined under the law, but were merely administrative designations to enable funding under Project Tiger).
” The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) was constituted via the 2006 amendment to monitor and control the illegal trade in wildlife products. ” The act provides for investigation and prosecution of offenses in a court of law by authorized officers of the forest department and police officers. ”
The amended Wildlife Act doesn’t allow any commercial exploitation of forest produce in both wildlife sanctuaries and national parks, and local communities are allowed to collect forest produce only for their bona fide requirements.
The Forest Conservation Act, 1980
- The Forest Conservation Act, 1980 was enacted to help conserve the country’s forests.
- It strictly restricts and regulates the de-reservation of forests or use of forest land for non-forest purposes without the prior approval of Central Government.
- To this end the Act lays down the pre-requisites for the diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes.
National Forest Policy, 1988
The principal aim of National Forest Policy, 1988 is to ensure environmental stability and maintenance of ecological balance including atmospheric equilibrium which is vital for sustenance of all life forms, human, animal, and plant.
Objectives
- ” Conserving the natural heritage of the country by preserving the remaining natural forests with the vast variety of flora and fauna, which represent the remarkable biological diversity and genetic resources of the country.
- ” Checking soil erosion and denudation in the catchments areas of rivers, lakes, reservoirs in the interest of soil and water conservation, for mitigating floods and droughts, and for the retardation of siltation of reservoirs.
- ” Checking the extension of sand-dunes in the desert areas of Rajasthan and along the coastal tracts. ” Increasing substantially the forest/tree cover in the country through massive afforestation and social forestry programmes, especially on all denuded, degraded and unproductive lands.
- ” Increasing the productivity of forests to meet essential national needs.
- ” Encouraging efficient utilization of forest produce and maximizing substitution of wood.
The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, recognises the rights of forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers over the forest areas inhabited by them and provides a framework for according the same.
- Forest Rights Act, 2006 provides for the restitution of deprived forest rights across India, including both individual rights to cultivated land in forestland and community rights over common property resources.
- The Act is significant as it provides scope and historic opportunity of integrating conservation and livelihood rights of the people.
- FRA is a potential tool ” To empower and strengthen the local self-governance ” To address the livelihood security of the people
- To address the issues of Conservation and management of the Natural Resources and conservation governance of India.
- For the first time the Forest Rights Act recognizes and secures: ” Community Rights in addition to their rights “
- Right to protect, regenerate or conserve or manage any community forest resource which the communities have been traditionally protecting and conserving for sustainable use.
- ” Right to intellectual property and traditional knowledge related to biodiversity and cultural diversity “
- Rights of displaced communities & Rights over developmental activities
- Nodal Agency for the implementation is MoTA.
The Indian Forest Act, 1927 consolidates the law relating to forests, the transit of forest-produce and the duty leviable on timber and other forest-produce.
- Indian Forest Act, 1927 1865: The Indian Forests Act of 1865 extended the British Colonial claims over forests in India
- 1878: The Forest Act of 1878 was introduced and it truncated the centuries-old traditional use by communities of their forests and secured the colonial government’s control over the forestry. The provision of this Act established a virtual State monopoly over the forests in a legal sense on one hand and attempted to establish, on the other, that the customary use of the forests by the villagers was not a ‘right’, but a ‘privilege’ that could be withdrawn at will.
- Indian Forest Act, 1927: The main objective was to secure exclusive state control over forests to meet the demand for timber. Most of these untitled lands had traditionally belonged to the forest dwelling communities.
- ” The Act defined state ownership regulated its use and appropriated the power to substitute or extinguish customary rights.
The Act facilitates three categories of forests, namely
- Reserved forests
- Village forests
- Protected forests
” Reserved forests are the most protected within these categories. No rights can be acquired in reserved forests except by succession or under a grant or contract with the government. Felling trees, grazing cattle, removing forest products, quarrying, fishing, and hunting are punishable with a fine or imprisonment. Although the Indian Forest Act is a federal act, many states have enacted similar forest acts but with some modifications.
The Environment (Protection) Act,1986
- The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 authorizes the central government to protect and improve environmental quality, control and reduce pollution from all sources, and prohibit or restrict the setting and /or operation of any industrial facility on environmental grounds.
- The Environment (Protection) Act was enacted in 1986 with the objective of providing for the protection and improvement of the environment.
- It empowers the Central Government to establish authorities charged with the mandate of preventing environmental pollution in all its forms and to tackle specific environmental problems that are peculiar to different parts of the country. The Act was last amended in 1991.
- The Environment (Protection) Rules lay down procedures for setting standards of emission or discharge of environmental pollutants.
- The objective of Hazardous Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1989 is to control the generation, collection, treatment, import, storage, and handling of hazardous waste.
- The Manufacture, Storage, and Import of Hazardous Rules define the terms used in this context, and sets up an authority to inspect, once a year, the industrial activity connected with hazardous chemicals and isolated storage facilities.
- The Manufacture, Use, Import, Export, and Storage of hazardous Microorganisms/ Genetically Engineered Organisms or Cells Rules,1989 were introduced with a view to protect the environment, nature, and health, in connection with the application of gene technology and micro-organisms.
- The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 has relaxed the rule of “Locus Standi” and because of such relaxation, even a common citizen can approach the Court provided he has given a notice of sixty days of the alleged offense and his intention to make a complaint to the Central Government or any other competent authority
The Biological Diversity Act, 2002
- The Biological Diversity Act 2002 was born out of India’s attempt to realise the objectives enshrined in the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 1992 which recognises the sovereign rights of states to use their own Biological Resources.
- The Act aims at the conservation of biological resources and associated knowledge as well as facilitating access to them in a sustainable manner.
- The National Biodiversity Authority in Chennai has been established for the purposes of implementing the objects of the Act.
- The Biological Diversity Act 2002 and Biological Diversity Rules provide for the conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components, and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the use of biological resources and knowledge associated with it.
Its key provisions aimed at achieving the above are:
- Prohibition on transfer of Indian genetic material outside the country, without specific approval of the Indian Government;
- Prohibition on anyone claiming an Intellectual Property Right (IPR), such as a patent, over biodiversity or related knowledge, without permission of the Indian Government;
- Regulation of collection and use of biodiversity by Indian nationals, while exempting local communities from such restrictions;
- Measures for sharing of benefits from the use of biodiversity, including transfer of technology, monetary returns, joint Research & Development, joint IPR ownership, etc.;
- Measures to conserve and sustain-ably use biological resources, including habitat and species protection, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) of projects, integration of biodiversity into the plans, programmes, and policies of various departments/sectors;
- Provisions for local communities to have a say in the use of their resources and knowledge, and to charge fees for this; Protection of indigenous or traditional knowledge, through appropriate laws or other measures such as registration of such knowledge;
- Regulation of the use of genetically modified organisms; Setting up of National, State, and Local Biodiversity Funds, to be used to support conservation and benefit-sharing;
- Setting up of Biodiversity Management Committees (BMC) at local village level, State Biodiversity Boards (SBB) at state level, and a National Biodiversity Authority (NBA).
The Public Liability Insurance Act and Rules 1991 and Amendment, 1992
The Public Liability Insurance Act and Rules 1991 and Amendment, 1992 were drawn up to provide for public liability insurance for the purpose of providing immediate relief to the persons affected by accident while handling any hazardous substance.
National Green Tribunal Act, 2010
- Under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010 for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources including enforcement of any legal right relating to environment and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
- It is a specialized body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environmental disputes involving multidisciplinary issues.
- The Tribunal shall not be bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but shall be guided by principles of natural justice.
- The Tribunal’s dedicated jurisdiction in environmental matters shall provide speedy environmental justice and help reduce the burden of litigation in the higher courts.
- The Tribunal is mandated to make and endeavour for disposal of applications or appeals finally within 6 months of filing of the same.
- Initially, the NGT is proposed to be set up at five places of sittings and will follow circuit procedure for making itself more accessible. New Delhi is the Principal Place of Sitting of the Tribunal and Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai shall be the other 4 place of sitting of the Tribunal
The Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000
The Rules apply to every municipal authority responsible for the collection, segregation, storage, transportation, processing, and disposal of municipal solid wastes.
Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016
- Salient features: The Rules are now applicable beyond Municipal areas and extend to urban agglomerations, census towns, notified industrial townships, areas under the control of Indian Railways, airports, airbase, Port and harbor, defense establishments, special economic zones, State and Central government organizations, places of pilgrims, religious & historical importance.
- The source segregation of waste has been mandated to channelize the waste to wealth by recovery, reuse, and recycle.
- Responsibilities of Generators have been introduced to segregate waste into three streams, Wet (Biodegradable), Dry (Plastic, Paper, metal, wood, etc.) and domestic hazardous wastes (diapers, napkins, empty containers of cleaning agents, mosquito repellents, etc.) and handover segregated wastes to authorized rag-pickers or waste collectors or local bodies.
- Integration of waste pickers/ ragpickers and waste dealers/ Kabadiwalas in the formal system should be done by State Governments, and Self Help Group, or any other group to be formed.
- No person should throw, burn, or bury the solid waste generated by him, on streets, open public spaces outside his premises, or in the drain, or water bodies.
- The generator will have to pay ‘User Fee’ to waste collector and for ‘Spot Fine’ for Littering and Non-segregation.
- The bio-degradable waste should be processed, treated, and disposed of through composting or bio-methanation within the premises as far as possible.
- The residual waste shall be given to the waste collectors or agency as directed by the local authority.
- Construction and demolition waste should be stored, separately disposed off, as per the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016.
Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 and Amendment Rules, 2018
- To promote the use of plastic waste for road construction as per Indian Road Congress guidelines or energy recovery, or waste to oil, etc. for gainful utilization of waste
- Rural areas have been brought in the ambit of these Rules since plastic has reached rural areas also. Responsibility for implementation of the rules is given to Gram Panchayat.
- The first time, the responsibility of waste generators is being introduced. Individual and bulk generators like offices, commercial establishments, industries are to segregate the plastic waste at source, handover segregated waste, pay user fee as per bye-laws of the local bodies.
- Plastic products are left littered after the public events (marriage functions, religious gatherings, public meetings, etc) held in open spaces. The first time, persons organizing such events have been made responsible for the management of waste generated from these events.
- Use of plastic sheets for packaging, wrapping the commodity except for those plastic sheet’s thickness, which will impair the functionality of the product are brought under the ambit of these rules.
- Extended Producer Responsibility applicable.
Amendment Rules, 2018
- Phasing out of Multilayered Plastic (MLP) is now applicable to MLP, which are non-recyclable, or non energy recoverable, or with no alternative use.
- The central registration system for the registration of the producer/importer/brand owner.
- A national registry has been prescribed for producers with a presence in more than two states, a state-level registration has been prescribed for smaller producers/ brand owners operating within one or two states.
- Explicit pricing of carrying bags has been omitted.
Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016 and Amendment 2018
The Biomedical waste (Management and Handling) Rules,1998 is a legal binding on the health care institutions to streamline the process of proper handling of hospital waste such as segregation, disposal, collection, and treatment.
- The ambit of the rules has been expanded to include vaccination camps, blood donation camps, surgical camps or any other healthcare activity.
- Phase-out the use of chlorinated plastic bags, gloves and blood bags within two years.
- Pre-treatment of the laboratory waste, microbiological waste, blood samples and blood bags through disinfection or sterilization on-site in the manner as prescribed by WHO or NACO.
- Provide training to all its health care workers and immunize all health workers regularly.
- Establish a Bar-Code System for bags or containers containing bio-medical waste for disposal.
- Report major accidents.
- Existing incinerators to achieve the standards for retention time in the secondary chamber and Dioxin and Furans within two years.
- Bio-medical waste has been classified into 4 categories instead of 10 to improve the segregation of waste at source.
- Procedure to get authorization simplified. Automatic authorization for bedded hospitals has been announced.
- The validity of authorization synchronized with the validity of consent orders for Bedded HCFs. One time Authorisation for Non-bedded HCFs.
- The new rules prescribe more stringent standards for an incinerator to reduce the emission of pollutants in the environment.
- Inclusion of emissions limits for Dioxin and furans.
Amendment Rules, 2018
- Phase-out chlorinated plastic bags (excluding blood bags) and gloves by March 27, 2019.
- All healthcare facilities shall make available the annual report on its website within two years (from 2018).
- Operators of common bio-medical waste treatment and disposal facilities shall establish a barcoding and global positioning system for handling bio-medical waste as per guidelines issued by the CPCB.
- Every person having administrative control over the institution generating biomedical waste shall pre-treat it through sterilization on-site in the manner as prescribed by WHO and then sent to the Common biomedical waste treatment facility for final disposal.
E-Waste Management Rules, 2016 and Amendment Rules 2018
- The manufacturer, dealer, refurbisher, and Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) have been introduced as additional stakeholders in the rules.
- The applicability of the rules has been extended to components, consumables, spares, and parts of EEE in addition to equipment.
- E-waste rules will now include Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) and other mercury-containing lamps, as well as other such equipment.
- The new Rules will bring the producers under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), along with targets.
- Producers have been made responsible for the collection of E-waste and for its exchange i.e. the bulk consumers have to collect the items and hand them over to authorized recyclers.
- Various producers can have a separate Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) and ensure collection of E-waste, as well as its disposal in an environmentally sound manner.
- Under the new rules, the role of State Governments is to ensure the safety, health, and skill development of the workers involved in dismantling and recycling operations.
- The provision of penalties for violation of rules has been introduced.
- The process of dismantling and recycling has been simplified through one system of authorization and that the Central Pollution Control Board will give the single authorization throughout the country.
- Toxic constituents present in E-waste and their disposal mechanism affect human health and lead to various diseases thus the transportation of E-waste has been made more stringent.
- Deposit Refund Scheme has been introduced as an additional economic instrument wherein the producer charges an additional amount as a deposit at the time of sale of the electrical and electronic equipment and returns it to the consumer along with interest when the end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment is returned.
The Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000
The Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation and Control) Rules,2000 have been laid down for the regulation of production and consumption of ozone depleting substances.
- The rules are framed under the jurisdiction of the Environment (Protection) Act.
- These Rules set the deadlines for phasing out of various ODSs, besides regulating production, trade import, and export of ODSs and the product containing ODS.
- The Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation and Control) Rule, 2000 was amended in 2001, 2003, 2004, and 2005 to facilitate the implementation of ODS phase-out at enterprises in various sectors.
- These Rules prohibit the use of CFCs in manufacturing various products beyond 1st January 2003. Except in metered-dose inhalers and for other medical purposes.
The Noise Pollution (Regulation and control) (Amendment) Rules, 2010
These rules lay down such terms and conditions as are necessary to reduce noise pollution, permit use of loud speakers or public address systems during night hours (between 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight) on or during any cultural or religious festive occasion.
Following are the salient features of the amendment:
- In the heading ‘PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEM’ the words ‘AND SOUND PRODUCING SYSTEMS’ shall be inserted.
- A loudspeaker or any sound producing system or a sound amplifier shall not be used at night time except in closed premises for communication within like auditorium, conference rooms, community halls, banquet halls or during public emergency.
- The noise level at the boundary of the public place where loudspeaker or public address system is being used the sound should not exceed 10dB above the ambient noise standards of that area or 75dB whichever is less.
- No horn shall be used in silence zones or residential areas at night except in emergency situations.
- Sound emitting construction equipments shall not be operated during night.
UN global assessment of environmental laws
Context: United Nations (UN) has released in its first ever global assessment of environmental laws.
Key findings:
- The world fares poorly on implementation of environmental laws and regulations despite the fact that 38 times more green laws have been framed and approved in the last four decades.
- As many as 88 countries have adopted the constitutional right to a healthy environment and more than 350 environmental courts and tribunals exist in around 50 countries. But, failure to fully implement and enforce the environmental laws is one of the greatest challenges towards mitigating climate change, reducing pollution and preventing widespread species and habitat loss.
- Other problems: Poor coordination across government agencies, weak institutional capacity, lack of access to information, corruption and stifled civic engagement are the key factors behind the poor effectiveness and implementation of environmental regulations.
- Underlining the growing resistance to environmental laws, the report also advocated on behalf of the environmental activists and whistle blowers. It said 908 people, including forest rangers, government inspectors, and local activists, were killed in 35 countries between 2002 and 2013 and 197 were killed in 2017 alone.
Indian scenario:
- India serves as a perfect example to this issue. India’s people and the environment have been paying the price for its lethargic and poor state of environmental governance. This is reiterated by a high-level committee set up the environment ministry in 2014. Like the Water Act, which was implemented in 1974, a number of laws and regulations have been existing for more than four decades now, but are proving to be ineffective.
- India ranked 177th out of 180 countries in the 2018 Global Environment Performance Index (EPI) rankings of the Yale University for being unable to improve its air quality, protect its biodiversity, and cut its greenhouse gas emissions. It also slipped by 36 points in 2018 from 141 in 2016.
- India has several rules and guidelines to control air pollution, but they aren’t put to good use. Coal-based power plants continue to be the major source of air pollution in the country as more than 300 coal thermal power plants still violate emission standards.
- Judiciary ignored: More than two-thirds of the states/union territories in the country have neither bothered to comply with the orders passed by the Supreme Court, nor complied with the directions given by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). The judiciary’s order failed to even curb illegal rat hole mining and miners in Meghalaya paid the price for that.
Need of the hour:
Unless implementation and enforcement is strengthened, even rules that appear to be rigorous are destined to fail and the fundamental human right to a healthy environment will go unfulfilled. The world needs to shift its focus from development of policies and institutions to implementation and enforcement.
https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/08/12/development-goals-must-be-pursued-without-breaching-environment-regulations-comment/
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