Constitutional Provisions for The Protection and Conservation of Environment with Important Caselaws (original) (raw)
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The global concern for environment was reflected in the UN Conference on Human Environment held in Stockholm in June 1972. The Conference proclaimed that the protection and improvement of human environment is a major issue which affects the well-being of people and economic development throughout the world and it is the duty of all the governments and people to exert common effort for the preservation and improvement of human environment, for the benefit of all people and their prosperity. In India, there is a need for all-round growth, which is not harmful to the environment. India's concern for the environment is evident from the fact that the Constitution of India makes provisions for Environmental Protection in Chapters on: Directive Principles, Fundamental Duties, Fundamental Rights and Legislation relating to water Pollution.
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There seem to be no answers to resolve the deadlock between the Global North and the Global South on liability and compensation for loss and damage from climate change. Revisiting the original story of international environmental law from the Stockholm Conference of 1972 may help us address these historical tensions. In doing so, this article unveils the genesis of Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) from the Stockholm Conference as an alternative consciousness centred around the aspirations of the Global South. Indira Gandhi's plenary address at Stockholm outlined the Global South's position on environmental issues, which greatly influenced early TWAIL scholarship in the 1980s. Locating TWAIL's origins at Stockholm allows us to: (1) chart the environmental concerns of the Global South till date; (2) infer its evolved view on the “development versus environment” debate; and (3) understand the role of future TWAIL scholarship in challenging the enduring an...
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Even before Indian independence in 1947, several environmental legislations existed but the real impetus for bringing about a well-developed framework came only after the UN Conference on the Human Environment. Under the influence of this declaration, the National Council for Environmental Policy and Planning within the Department of Science and Technology was set up in 1972. This Council later evolved into a full-fledged Ministry of Environment and Forests in 1985 which today is the apex administrative body in the country for regulating and ensuring environmental protection. After the Stockholm Conference, in 1976, Constitutional sanction was given to environmental concerns through the 42nd Amendment, which incorporated them into the Directive Principles of State Policy and Fundamental Rights and Duties. Since the 1970s an extensive network of environmental legislation has grown in the country. The pollution control boards (CPCB Central Pollution Control Board and SPCBs State Pollution Control Boards) form the regulatory and administrative core of the sector. A policy framework has also been developed to complement the legislative provisions. The Policy Statement for Abatement of Pollution and the National Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement on Environment and Development were brought out by the MOEF in 1992, to develop and promote initiatives for the protection and improvement of the environment. The EAP (Environmental Action Program) was formulated in 1993 with the objective of improving environmental services and integrating environmental considerations in to development programmes'. Other measures have also been taken by the government to protect and preserve the environment. Several sector-specific policies have evolved, which are discussed at length.
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Right to environment, the right to life and the right to health came together. This right was not initially included in international agreements. However, with the development of environmental awareness in people, the right to environment has started to be defined as a right in the field of human rights. Then the right to the environment has taken place in international contracts or documents. The first international organization on environmental issues was the “United Nations Conference on Human and Environment” in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972. Article 1 of the Declaration of the Conference states: “Living in an environment of honor and prosperity that provides humanity, freedom, equality and adequate living conditions is a fundamental right.” The European Convention on Human Rights does not contain any provisions concerning the protection of the environment. But the European Court of Human Rights has made important contributions to the protection of the environment with positive case-laws. The Court regarded the protection of the environment as an element of general interest. At the same time, the court interpreted many of the rights and freedoms contained in the treaty as "the right of the individual to live in a healthy environment". The court has also given some guarantees that the person can use this right.
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"Environmentalism" is a term that denotes the concern for the preservation, restoration, or improvement of the natural environment, such as the conservation of natural resources, prevention of pollution, certain land use actions and shaping a better human life by keeping the purity of the nature. It supports efforts and struggles of people, organizations and institutions against the spread of the objects and means of environmental degradation, such as exploitative and destructive misuses of natural resources that end up the ecological balance and creates multi-dimensional pollution to their way of life, which are seen as less harmful to the environment. For the last four decades, the world has continuously struggled to reach a new beginning to initiate a united journey with the growing need to protect the environment and natural systems that support all life. The present study aims to discuss issues of environmental degradation and significant administrative trends in India. It reveals a comprehensive range of legal provisions adopted by the government to balance the environment with the development of the nation. The people should recognize the environmental problems and change their attitudes and behaviour suitably to devote themselves to helping the mother earth to renew. Hence, implementing strict constitutional and legal environmental laws, educating the young generation, and organizing awareness programmes are the crucial and motivating steps that will help in increasing the people"s concern for nature and boost the public to participate in programs organized to protect the environment. Awareness and participation can efficaciously help society to develop sustainability.
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All human beings depend on the environment in which we live. A safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment is integral to the full enjoyment of a wide range of human rights, including the rights to life, health, food, water and sanitation. Without a healthy environment, we are unable to fulfill our aspirations or even live at a level commensurate with minimum standards of human dignity. At the same time, protecting human rights helps to protect the environment. When people are able to learn about, and participate in, the decisions that affect them, they can help to ensure that those decisions respect their need for a sustainable environment. Principle I of the Stockholm Declaration stressed that “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 recent years, the recognition of the links between human rights and the environment has greatly increased. The number and scope of international and domestic laws, judicial decisions, and academic studies on the relationship between human rights and the environment have grown rapidly. Many countries now incorporate a right to a healthy environment in their constitutions. Many questions about the relationship of human rights and the environment remain unresolved, however, and require further examination. As a result, in March 2012 the Human Rights Council decided to establish a mandate on human rights and the environment. People more and more started to see that a clean and healthy environment is essential to the realisation of fundamental human rights. Such as the right to life, personal integrity, family life, health and development. Because each human being depends on protecting the environment as the resource base for all life. And where it started with mere linking acknowledged human rights to cases of environmental disruption, like the Bhopal and Chernobyl disasters, it has become more acknowledged over the years that human rights and the environment are so inherently interlinked that (a clean and healthy) Environment is a Human Right. It is important to recognise our dependence on the earth’s natural resources. Natural resources such as air, water, and land are fundamental to all life forms: they are, much more than money and economic infrastructure, the base of our survival.
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The whole web of rights and duties created by the legal environmental system becomes knotty when the matter comes to the actual level of enforcement. It may pertain to the question of aesthetics versus means of livelihood, environment versus development, ecology versus economics, rich versus poor, industry versus worker, third world versus developed world, biodiversity versus the world trade, genetic resources versus intellectual property, indigenous versus modern technologies or people versus the establishment. It is being observed that rights of one group of people become a matter of folly for a group of another people, duties of one set of individuals become liability for the society on the whole, and the obligations of the nation become disability for its people.