ANCIENT LAWS ON CONSERVATION OF ENVIRONMENT

I chose this topic for a two-fold reason. First, there is this general notion that conservation of
environment is something which kicked out in the recent past and is accorded to being very
new-generational for example- Greta Thunberg protesting in various parts of the world for
environmental causes. So, I wanted to highlight through this paper that scriptures and
religious texts, which are the sources of ancient law have been keen on protecting the
environment since a very long time.

Secondly, when talking in terms of legal developments, focus is put mostly on contemporary
laws, this project paper is an attempt to draw an inspiration from ancient laws as well. Ive
used secondary references like Various Books, Different Journals, Articles, blogs Etc.

Defining environment in a single sentence is difficult, however the statutory definititon

according to section 2(a) of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 is- "Environment includes
the inter-relationship, between natural resources, human beings, other living creatures and
property."
The project commences with discussing ancient literature on environmental conservation
like: Arthashastra with a focus on wildlife and forest conservation, Manusmriti on ecological
awareness, Vedas on weather cycles and climate change. Then comes the Indus valley
civilisation where the environment concerns can be reflected through their city planning,
seals, coins,usage of floating timber to make the bricks. Interestingly, the primary reason for
the fall of this civilisation was environmental changes.

Then comes the environment conservation within religions in India. Buddhism and Jainism,
the two post-vedic religions preached truth, ahimsa and compassion for all living creatures.
Then , in Hinduism the nature is considered the body of God and various plants, birds and
animals are associated with and worshipped along with Gods and Goddesses for their
protection. For example, neem, peepal, tulsi are accorded high reverence in Hinduism for
their healing properties. In Sikhism, There are references in holy religious discourse in Guru
Nanak Bani about creation of world from natural resources of water, fire, air, sky and God and thus
every follower is dutybound to protect the nature. In Islam, there are many references from the Holy
Quraan and Hadees , For ex in Surah Al Rahman Allah states the natural resources are provided to
humans and that they are mere trustees of these resources, which need to be preserved for the
mankind. The tenets of holy Bible orders man not to exhaust natural resources by misuse as
they are useful in maintaining ecological balance and environment.
Thus in Case Of Environment Conservation We Can Learn A Lot From Our Ancestors
and maybe it can be an approach towards tackcling present day climate change AND
ENVIRONMENT