EVIRONMENTAL LAW

Introduction
 The growing public awareness of the importance of the
environment and environmentally friendly procedures, the
discipline of environmental law has emerged as a key area of
study in the legal field.
 Environmental Law and legislation are central in protecting
humans as well as the different plants and animals in the
greater ecosystem that we exist in.
 To know about the different legislations initiated not only in
our country but different initiatives taken by different
countries as well as different international treaties to protect
our environment.
 What is Environmental Law?

 It is an organized way of using all of the laws in our

legal system to minimize, prevent, punish, or remedy
the consequences of actions which damage or
threaten the environment, public health and safety.
 Environmental law consists of a wide variety of
legislation, enactments, and provisions that are
chiefly concerned with the regulation of human
activity concerning our natural environment and its
various interconnected ecosystems
 Importance of environmental law

 Environmental law ensures that individuals,

governments and co-operates and do not cause harm
to the environment or its ecosystems. It is central in
setting up, regulating, and interpreting the various
conventions and laws that have been initiated by
various countries and international organisations
across the world, to prevent transgressions that pose
a threat to the environment and by extension the
human race as a whole.
 ENVIRONMENT
Meaning: Taken from the French word “environner”
which means to “to encircle” or “to surround”
Everything that surrounds or affects an organism during
its life time is collectively known as its environment or
simply put everything surrounding a living organism.
“Surroundings, especially the material and spiritual
influences which affect the growth, development and
existence of a living being”
In the context of human beings, “Environment is the
sum of all social, economical, biological, physical or
chemical factor which constituent the surroundings of
man, who is both creator and moulder of his
environment”.
 Definition of Environment
According to Sec 2 (a) of the Environment Protection Act,1986
"Environment" includes water, air and land and the inter-
relationship which exists among and between water, air and
land, and human beings, other living creatures, plants, micro-
organism and property.
According to Goudie, “Environment is the
representative of physical components of the
earth, wherein man is the important factor
influencing his environment”.
 TYPES OF ENVIRONMENT: -

On the basis of structure:

1. Physical/Abiotic environment
2. Biotic environment
3. Cultural Environment
 Physical/Abiotic Environment
It consists of
i. Forces of nature like wind
ii. Gravity conditions like temperature and light
iii. Time
iv. Non-Living materials like soil and water
 Biotic/Biological Environment

It includes the plants, animals and other

organisms or we can say it consists of all the
flora and fauna.
 Cultural/Social Environment
Here, all the organisms work to form their social
groups and organizations at several levels and
thus formed social environment, where in, the
organisms work to derive matter from the
physical environment for their sustenance and
development.
 Environment may also be classified into
two categories:

1. Natural Environment
2. Man-Made Environment
 Natural Environment
 Which comes into existence without the interference
of man
 It operates through self-regulating mechanism called
homeostatic environment mechanism
 Man-Made Environment
 The environment which is modified by human
activities
 It is also called anthropogenic environment
 COMPONENTS OR FACTORS OF ENVIRONMENT

1. Atmosphere
2. Hydrosphere
3. Lithosphere
4. Biosphere
 Atmosphere
It means the air envelope which surrounds the earth. It is the thick gaseous mantle
surrounding the earth.
i. Troposphere is the first layer. Here, the temperature of air decreases with
height at an average of one degree centigrade for 165 metres. It extends to a
height of roughly 18 km along the equator and about 8 km along the poles.
Tropopause is the upper limit of the troposphere.
ii. Stratosphere is the second layer extending from roughly 12 kms to 50 kms.
Here, in this layer, we can find the Ozone layer.
iii. Mesosphere or Metrosphere is the third layer which extends about 40 km in
height. In this zone temperature shows a decrease up to 80 degree centigrade.
iv. The fourth layer is the Ionosphere or thermosphere which extends from 80 to
300 km. The ionosphere contains electricity charged particles called “ions”,
these particles reflect radio waves back to the earth’s surface and enable
wireless communication. The upper most layer is called the exosphere.
 HYDROSPHERE (Water Factor):
The hydrosphere may be classified into two sub-
components (a) A conveyor i.e. a river system that
collects the substances within the water-shed and
delivers them to the second hydrologic sub-continent
(b) Oceans
 LITHOSPHERE:
 It is the solid shell of inorganic materials on
the surface of the earth.
 It is composed of soil particles and the
underlying rocks down to a depth of 50 km.
 BIOSPHERE
• It is the thin shell or organic matter on the
surface of earth comprising all the living things
• The living organisms form the biotic
components of the environment