Unit 7.

Environmental
Management
 Introduction to
 Environmental laws and Regulation

Environmental Law can be explained as a legal framework

comprising principles, directives, policies, and regulations
founded by different local, national, or international units. Its
purpose is to safeguard and maintain the environment,
verifying its appropriateness for both present and future
generations.

According to Black’s Law Dictionary, environmental law is

defined as, “A collective body of rules and regulations, orders
and statutes, constraints and allowances that are all concerned
with the maintenance and protection of the natural
environment of a country”.

Based on the definition of the Free Legal Dictionary,

“Environmental Law is, “an amalgam of state and federal
statutes, regulations, and common-law principles covering Air
Pollution, Water Pollution, hazardous waste, the wilderness,
and endangered wildlife”.

 Development of Environmental Law in India

The development of Environmental Law in India can be
classified into two distinct phases:
  Development prior to 1972 - During this period, India mainly
depended on an amalgamation of tort laws, criminal laws,
regulations related to water and forests, and specialized
legislation to look into environmental protection matters. It can be
noticed that there was comparatively restricted advancement in
Indian Environmental Law during this generation.
 Development after-1972 - This phase aligned with the outcome of
the Stockholm Conference and marked a significant development
in the field of International Environmental Law. The Stockholm
Conference carried global awareness of environmental protection
concerns, and India was no exception to this developing
awareness.

 At the Stockholm Conference, where Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the then-

Prime Minister of India, participated, the discussion, issues raised,
and progress had a significant impact on her. This motivation
resulted in rapid enhancements to India's environmental strategy
immediately following the Stockholm Conference.

 The 42nd Amendment to the Constitution of

India
The 42nd amendment introduced significant modifications to
the Indian Constitution, especially in the context of
environmental law. Particularly, it assigned a shared
accountability to both the state and its citizens for the safety
and fortification of the environment.
o By incorporating Article 48-A into the Indian Constitution's
Directive Principles of State Policy, the state was given the
responsibility "to safeguard and improve the environment and to
protect the country's forests and wildlife."
o With the enactment of Article 51-A, the Constitution imposed ten
fundamental responsibilities on its citizens. Subsequently, Article
51-A (g) obligated citizens "to protect and improve the natural
environment, including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife, and to
have compassion for living creatures"
Article 47 of the Indian Constitution mandates that the state
better the nutritional and living standards of its citizens and
public health. States must also limit the use of all intoxicating
substances, with the exception of tobacco. The provisions of
this article impose on the state the obligation to implement all
essential health protection parameters.
Article 21 of the Indian Constitution guarantees the
Fundamental Right to reside in a pollution-free environment
and to have access to clean air and water. While the right to life
and personal liberty were inherent in the Constitution, their
multiple facets emerged gradually, guided by court decisions
and investigations.
In the 1980s, the Supreme Court of India began rendering
decisions in numerous cases involving the protection of an
individual's right to exist in a pollution-free environment.
During this time, the Court issued a number of directives,
conducted crucial analyses, and imposed restrictions, all with
the goal of ensuring that every person could appreciate a clean
environment as a fundamental, life-sustaining right.

 Introduction To Environmental Legislation

Environmental legislation is a set of laws and regulations that
protect the environment. It can include laws, regulations,
statutes, codes, treaties, licenses, conditions, or ordinances
that relate to environmental matters. These matters can
include:
Land use and development, planning, pollution, waste disposal
toxic and hazardous substances, conservation of natural or
cultural resources.
Environmental legislation serves to prohibit, restrict, and
regulate environmentally harmful practices.
 Environmental Legislation On forest, wildlife and pollution
control.

 The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,

1981
The act aims to control and prevent air pollution in India. It got
amended in 1987
Its main objectives are as follows:
o To provide for prevention, control and abatement of the air pollution.
o To provide for the establishment of the boards at the central and state
levels with a view to implementing the Act (Central Pollution Control
Board and State Pollution Control Board),

To confer on the Boards the powers and duties to implement the

provisions of the act.
The states should prescribe emission standards for industry and
automobiles after consulting the central board and seeing its
ambient air quality standards.
It states that the sources of air pollution such as Internal combustion
engine, industry, vehicles, power plants, etc., are not permitted to
release particulate matter, lead, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide,
nitrogen oxide, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or other toxic
substances beyond a predetermined limit.
It also empowers the State Government to designate air pollution
areas. They have to prescribe the type of fuel to be used in these
designated areas.
According to it, it is required the consent of the State Board to
operate certain types of industries including the asbestos, cement,
fertilizer and petroleum industries.

 The Wild Life (Protection) Act of 1972

The Wild Life Act provides for
o Centre and state wildlife advisory boards. Regulations for hunting wild
animals and birds.
o Establishment of the national parks.
o Sanctuaries and regulations for trade in wild animals, animal products
and trophies.
o Judicially imposed penalties for violating the Act.
It was amended in 1982 to permit the capture and transportation of
wild animals for scientific research & management.
Hunting of Species (endangered) listed in Schedule 1 of the Act is
prohibited throughout India.
This act provides for the regulation of species, like those requiring
special protection (Schedule II), big game (Schedule III), and small
game (Schedule IV) through licensing.
A few species in Schedule V known as vermin which may be hunted.
This act administered by the Wildlife wardens and their staff.
The Indian government has also started some conservation projects
under it for individual endangered species like project Hungal (1970),
project Tiger (1973), project Crocodiles (1974), project vulture,
Brown-antlered Deer (1981) and Elephant (1991-92,) Ganges Dolphin
(1997), and project Olive Riddley etc.

 The Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980

In 1927, the first Forest Act was enacted to serve the purpose of
British rule. It recognizes 4 categories of the forests, namely reserved
forests, village forests, protected forests and private forests.
o Subsequently, in 1980, the Forest (Conservation) Act was promulgated
to make certain reforms over the preceding Act of 1927. It was due to
alarming India’s rapid deforestation that resulting in environmental
degradation
 o It was enacted to consolidate the laws related to forest, the transit of
forest produce and the duty livable on timber and other forest produce.
o It empowered the State to declare forest lands or wastelands as
reserved forest and it can sell the produce from these forests.
o It ensured the preservation of protected forests through rules, licenses
and criminal prosecutions. Forest officers and their staffs administer the
Forest Act.
o As per the provisions of this Act, prior approval of the Central
Government is required for diversion of forestlands for non-forest
purposes. For this, guidelines for compensatory land on the basis of net
present value is made under CAMPA act.
 Environmental Management System
An Environmental Management System (EMS) is a framework that
helps organizations manage their environmental impacts and
improve their environmental performance. An EMS integrates policy,
procedures, and processes for:
o Training personnel
o Monitoring
o Summarizing
o Reporting environmental performance information to internal and
external stakeholders

An EMS can be a powerful tool for managing the environmental

aspects and negative impact of an organization. It can help
organizations:
o Reduce their environmental impact while maintaining operational
efficiency
o Monitor, control, and continuously improve their environmental
performance
o Assess their environmental goals
o Analyze their environmental impacts
o Analyze legal requirements
o Establish environmental objectives or goals to comply with
environmental impacts and legal requirements
  Concept of circular
Economy
A circular economy is a model of
production and consumption that aims
to reduce waste to a minimum. It
involves keeping products and
materials in circulation through
processes like:
Maintenance, Reuse, Refurbishment, Remanufacture, Recycling,
Composting.
In a circular economy, materials never become waste and nature is
regenerated. All forms of waste, such as clothes, scrap metal, and
obsolete electronics, are returned to the economy or used more
efficiently.

 Life Cycle Analyses

Life cycle analysis (LCA) is a method for evaluating the environmental
impacts of a product or service throughout its life cycle. LCA is also
known as life cycle assessment.
LCA can help:
o Identify eco-friendly potential within design processes
o Compare similar products or services
o Model the environmental implications of industrial production
o Judge whether a product can be certified
 Cost Benefit Analyses
A cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is a systematic approach for assessing
the advantages (benefits) and disadvantages (costs) associated with
a particular decision, project, or policy. The goal is to decide if the
benefits outweigh the costs.
A CBA is a versatile method that's often used for business
administration, project management, and public policy decisions.
The results of the analysis are often expressed as a payback period –
this is the time it takes for benefits to repay costs.
o Key steps in the CBA process include:
o Determining scope and objectives
o Identifying the constraints
o Listing feasible alternatives
 Environmental Audit
An environmental audit is a systematic evaluation that assesses a
company's environmental responsibility. It aims to identify
environmental compliance, verify environmental responsibility
implementation gaps, and related corrective actions.
Environmental audits are similar to financial audits. They are a
pragmatic management tool that helps an industry or organization:
o Verify compliance with environmental norms or requirements
o Evaluate the effectiveness of the environmental management system
o Assess risks
o Identify and correct environmental hazards

Environmental audits examine the risk or impacts of the organization

on the environment from emission, resource utilizations, waste
production, and more. They can also encourage the systematic
incorporation of environmental perspectives into many aspects of an
organization's overall operation.
The five steps of an environmental audit are:
o Understanding internal controls
o Assessing internal controls
o Gathering audit evidence
o Evaluating audit findings
 Impact assessment
Impact assessment (IA) is a structured process for evaluating the
implications of proposed actions on people and their environment. It
is applied at all levels of decision-making, from policies to specific
projects.
The purpose of an impact assessment is to attribute outcomes and
impacts to project operations. It does this by establishing a
counterfactual, which is what would have happened in the absence
of the project.
There are four types of impact: Clear impact, High impact, Wide
impact, Deep impact.

 Environmental risk assessment Pollution Control

and management
Environmental risk assessment (ERA) is a systematic approach for
assessing and managing the risk associated with human health and
ecological entities caused by an event occurring in the environment.
Pollution control and management involves:
o Managing wastes to control pollution
o Developing a knowledge and understanding of air, noise, land, and
water pollution control and management
o Saving limited resources
o Helping to produce energy

Waste Management- Concept of 3R

The principle of reducing waste, reusing and recycling resources and
products is often called the "3Rs." Reducing means choosing to use
things with care to reduce the amount of waste generated. Reusing
involves the repeated use of items or parts of items which still have
usable aspects. Recycling means the use of waste itself as resources.
Waste minimization can be achieved in an efficient way by focusing
primarily on the first of the 3Rs, "reduce," followed by "reuse" and
then "recycle."
Here are some examples of the 3Rs:
o Reduce: The best way to manage waste is to not produce it.
o Reuse: It makes economic and environmental sense to reuse products.
For example, instead of throwing away clothes you don't want anymore,
give them to someone who will want them.
o Recycle: Recycling is a series of steps that takes a used material and
processes, remanufactures, and sells it as a new product.

 Ecolabeling/Ecomark
Ecolabeling is a voluntary method of environmental performance
certification and labeling. It's a process of standardizing a product as
“Green” or” Eco-friendly.
Ecolabeling has three primary objectives:
o Encouragement of innovation in the environmental and efficiency sector
o Consumer engagement
o Environmental protection

Ecolabeling effectively identifies and establishes markets for green

and efficient products.