Unit 6:Environmental Management:

Laws, Policies & Practices

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 REFERENCES

1. Basu,M and Xavier S, Fundamentals of Environmental Studies, Cambridge

University Press.
2. Daniel D. Chiras, Environmental Science: Creating a Sustainable Future, Jones
& Bartlett Publishers; 6th edition, 2001.
3. Howard S. Peavy and Donald R. Rowe, Environmental Engineering, McGraw-
Hill International Editions, 1985.
4. Karpagam, M and Geetha Jaikumar, Green Management, Theory and
Applications, Ane Books Pvt. Ltd., 2010.
5. Bala Krishnamoorthy, Environmental Management, PHI learning PVT Ltd,
2012.

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 Unit 6:Environmental Management: Laws, Policies &
Practices

• UN Initiatives and International agreements: Montreal and Kyoto

protocols, Paris Climate Summit (2015) and Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD).
• Environmental ethics: Role of Indian and other religions and cultures in
environmental conservation.
• Green Politics, Earth Hour, Green Option Technologies,
• ISO standards: ISO 9000 and 14000.
• Environmental communication and public awareness,
• Environment Laws: Environment Protection Act (1986); Air (Prevention &
Control of Pollution) Act (1981); Forest Conservation Act (1980); Water
(Prevention and control of Pollution) Act (1974); Wildlife Protection Act
(1972). Role of National Green Tribunal; EIA Formulations, stages, Merits
and demerits: case studies (e.g., CNG vehicles, Bharat IV stage)

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• Environmental Policy (EP) forms
the backbone and skeletal framework for interaction, decision making
And for future policies regarding environmental concerns

• EP Has dual Role:

A. Functional Role: Policy needs to be fulfilled/ carried out to meet objectives

B. Informative Role: to communicate to a wide and varied audience ,
the level of commitment the country/state/organization has towards the
environment

• EP acts as a guideline for future action.

Environmental 1. Environmental Policies

Management 2. Environmental Legislations (LAWS)
3. Environmental Standards (ISO-9000, 14000)
 OBJECTIVES OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES

• Principles of Sustainable Management (WCED, 1989)

-Brundtland Commission Report (Our Common Future)
• Adopt Highest Level Environmental Standards: {setting
up standards}
Eg: WHO, APHA, BIS, MINAS, NAAQS
• Adopt Cradle to Grave approach
{adopt cleaner Technology- CDM} environmental impact
assessment
• Accept responsibility for Product and services
-EcoMark, Ecolabel: Logo an Earthen pot
- ISO standards
• To minimise or eliminate Non-Renewable materials
• Promote use of Renewable materials
• Impose Strict Liability for Environmental Damage
E.g.: NGT (Green Bench)- Fining POSCO, VEDANTA, Sri Sri
Program in Yamuna River Bank
 Ecolabelling
The International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) identified three broad
types of voluntary labels

TYPE I:
 a voluntary, multiple-criteria based, third party programme; awards a license
that authorises the use of environmental labels on products indicating overall
environmental preferability of a product within a particular product category
based on life cycle considerations.
TYPE II:
 informative environmental self-declaration claims.
TYPE III:
 voluntary programmes that provide quantified environmental data of a
product, under pre-set categories of parameters set by a qualified third party
and based on life cycle assessment, and verified by that or another qualified
third party.
 EU Flower (European Union)

Blue Angel (Germany)

Nordic Swan (Scandinavian countries)

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• The Government of India launched the eco-labelling
scheme known as `Ecomark' in 1991
• for easy identification of environment-friendly products.
• Any product which is made, used or disposed of in a way
that significantly reduces the harm it would otherwise
cause the environment could be considered as
Environment-Friendly Product.

An earthern pot has

been chosen as the
logo for the Ecomark
scheme in India.
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 Evolution of Policies

• Pre-independence/ colonial rule

Exploitation of resources
• Post -independence Eradication of poverty
Increase literacy rate
Equity and growth

• 1972 UNCHE at Stockholm held.

• VIth Five year plan with an entire chapter on
Environment and Development included
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• Yet environmental problem continued.

• Which threatens economic and social progress

• Environmental protection was included in Indian

Constitution.
Article 48(A) states-

“Protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of

forests and wild life.-The State shall endeavour to protect and
improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wild
life of the country".
Acticle 51 A (g) states about the Fundamental duties-

“It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve
the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild
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life, and to have compassion for living creatures”.
 Environmental Policies

Three Dimensions of EPS

Social: Quality of Life and Public

health
Economic: Resource management
and Biodiversity
Commitment of an organization
-To the laws, regulations (compliance)
-concerning environmental
sustainability Air, water, SWM, BD,
WWM, Wetland Ecosystem and biome
Maintenance, Energy Management,
Toxic Substance and Pesticide
Management.
 Environmental Policies
1) Polluter Pays Principle (PPP)
2) Use of water : Water Cess, Tax
3) Trade Permits: (Bioprospecting & Biopiracy)
• TRIPS
• CITES
4. Economic Incentives- Carbon Credits (Carbon Emission Trading, CDM, JI)
5. Compliance- Environmental Audit
6. Precautionary measure- Environmental Clearance through EIA
7. Bilateral and Multilateral Agreements
- Basel Ban Treaty (Convention)-Hazardous substances transport
- Kyoto Protocol;-Global Warming and Climate change
- Montreal Protocol;- reducing/banning ODS
- Cartagena Protocol- Biosafety-LMO Handling and transportation
-Nagoya Protocol on Biodiversity, Genetic Resource sharing
ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT

a basic management tool comprising a systematic,

documented, periodic, and objective evaluation of how
well environmental organization, management systems
and equipment are performing.

• Facilitates that the company is in compliance with

regulatory requirements.
 International Organization
International Organization
for Standardization
for Standardization

www.iso.org
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www.iso.org
Dept. of Environmental Studies 15
 Some facts about ISO

NOT an acronym
From Greek “isos” meaning equal
“International Organization for Standardization”. A worldwide
federation of national standards bodies (>140 countries)
www.iso.org
ISO Established in 1947 *

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 Certification and registration

-Bureau Veritas Certification

Certification is known in some (India) Private Limitied
countries as registration.
-Vincotte International India
Assessment Services Private
It means that an independent, Limited
external body has audited an
organization's management -URS Certification Limited
system and verified that it
conforms to the requirements -Zenith Certification
specified in the standard (ISO
9001 or ISO 14001).

ISO does not carry out

certification and does not issue
or approve certificates.
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 Accreditation
Accreditation is like certification of the National Accreditation Board for
certification body. Certification Bodies
Quality Council of India (QCI)
It means the formal approval by a
specialized body - an accreditation body - IAS : International Accreditation
that a certification body is competent to Service (USA)
carry out ISO 9001:2008 or ISO
14001:2004 certification in specified European Co-operation for
business sectors. Accreditation (EA)  

JAS-ANZ is the government-

Certificates issued by accredited
appointed accreditation body for
certification bodies - and known as
Australia and New Zealand
accredited certificates - may be
perceived on the market as having
increased credibility.

ISO does not carry out or approve

accréditations.
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 Certification not a requirement

Certification is not a requirement of ISO 9001

or ISO 14001.

The organization can implement and benefit from an

ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 system without having it
certified.

The organization can implement them for the

internal benefits without spending money on a
certification programme.

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 Certification is a business decision

Certification is a decision to be taken for business

reasons:
it meets market requirement
If it meets customer preferences
it is part of a risk management programme, or
if it will motivate staff by setting a clear goal.

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 ISO does not certify

ISO does not carry out ISO 9001 or ISO 14001

certification.
ISO does not issue certificates.
ISO does not accredit, approve or control the
certification bodies.

ISO develops standards and guides

to encourage good practice in
accreditation and certification.

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 Benefits of ISO Standards (1)
Business
Wide acceptance of products and services
Free to compete in broader market

Government
Provides technical and scientific underpinnings for
health, safety, environmental legislation

Consumers
Conformance of products and services provide
assurance about quality, safety, & reliability

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 Benefits of ISO Standards (2)
Trade
Remove technical trade barriers
Support political trade agreements

Planet
Standards for air, water, soil, emissions contribute
toward environment

Everyone
Contribute to quality of life ensuring transport,
machinery and tools are safe

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12/15/2022 24
Dept. of Environmental Studies
 INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES

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UN Initiatives

• UNCHE (1972, Stockholm, Sweden)

• WCED
• UNCED (1992, Rio, Brazil)
 UNFCCC COPs (Climate Summits, Paris 2015
• WSSD (Rio+10,2002) JBG, SA
 UNCHE, Stockholm, 1972
• 113 nations met at Stockholm from 5 to 16 June 1972.
• felt the need for a common outlook and for common principles to
inspire and guide the peoples in the preservation and enhancement
of the human environment.

Goal - reducing human

impact on the
environment
that would require
extensive international
cooperation since many
of the problems are
global in nature.
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Outcomes-

 Stockholm Declaration also known as Magna carta of environment

 creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), based in

Nairobi, Kenya.

 5th June declared as World Environment Day.

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 Environment Secretariat and environment fund created.
 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

• An agency that coordinate its environmental activities,

• assist developing countries to implement environmentally sound
policies and practices.
• headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya; with 6 regional offices and various
country offices.
• (UNEP) serve as a catalyst, advocate, educator, and facilitator to
promote sustainable development and smart use of the global
environment.
• The World Meteorological Organization and UNEP established
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988.
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 World commission on Environment and Development
“Environment" is where we all live; and "development" is what we all do in
attempting to improve our conditions within. The two are inseparable.
Further, development issues must be seen as crucial as most of the
development of the industrialized nations are unsustainable.

Urgent call by the General Assembly of the United Nations:

• to propose long-term environmental strategies for achieving sustainable

development by the year 2000 and beyond.

• to recommend ways how environment may be translated into greater co-

operation among developing countries.

• to achieve common and mutually supportive objectives and draw

interrelationships between people, resources, environment, and
development.
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• The commission, also known as the Brundtland
Commission, established in 1987 published a report
titled ‘Our Common Future’. It contained the UN
perspective of environment and development until
2002 and beyond (The Brundtland Report).

•  The report contains guidelines on how to achieve

sustainable development. Sustainable development
is defined as meeting "the [human] needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs."
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WCED outlined three elements of sustainable development:
1. Environmental protection
2. Economic growth    
3. Social Equity
        

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 UNCED, Rio de Janeiro,1992

• The United Nations Conference on

Environment and
Development (UNCED), also known
as the Rio de Janeiro Earth
Summit , Rio Summit, Rio
Conference, and Earth Summit, was
a major  conference held in Rio de
Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992.

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The Earth Summit resulted in the following outcomes:

1. Rio Declaration on Environment and Development

2. Agenda 21
3. Forest Principles
4. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
5. UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
6. United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
7. In order to ensure compliance to the agreements at Rio
(particularly the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21, delegates to the
Earth Summit established the Commission on Sustainable
Development (CSD).

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The Declaration on Environment and Development, or Rio Declaration, laid
down 27 broad, nonbinding principles for environmentally sound
development. 
• Principle 7 - common but differentiated responsibilities
• Principle 15 - precautionary approach

Agenda 21 was meant to be “a programme of

action for sustainable development
worldwide”. A comprehensive plan of action
to be taken globally, nationally and locally by
organizations of the United Nations System,
Governments, and Major Groups in every
area.
It is “a comprehensive blueprint for action to
be taken globally, from now into the twenty-
first century”.
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SECTION I: Social and SECTION II: Conservation and
economic dimensions management of resources
• Accelerating sustainable •Protecting the atmosphere
development •Managing land sustainably
• Combating poverty •Combating deforestation
• Changing consumption •Combating desertification and drought
patterns •Sustainable mountain development
• Population and •Sustainable agriculture and rural
sustainability development
• Protecting and promoting •Conservation of biological diversity
human health •Management of biotechnology
• Sustainable human •Protecting and managing the oceans
settlements •Protecting and managing fresh water
• Making decisions for •Safer use of toxic chemicals
sustainable development •Managing hazardous wastes
  •Managing solid wastes and sewage
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radioactive wastes 38
SECTION III: strengthening the role SECTION IV: means of
of major groups implementation
• Women in sustainable • Financing sustainable
development development
• Children and youth in sustainable • Technology transfer
development • Science for sustainable
• Strengthening the role of development
indigenous peoples • Education , training , and public
• Partnerships with awareness
nongovernmental groups [civic • Creating capacity for sustainable
groups ] development
• Local authorities • Organizing for sustainable
• Workers and trade unions development
• Business and industry • International law
• Scientists and technologists • Information for decision -making
• Strengthening the role of farmers
•  12/15/2022 Mahua Basu 39
THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION TO COMBAT
DESERTIFICATION (UNCCD), Paris, 1994

"Desertification" means land degradation in arid, semi-

arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various
factors, including climatic variations and human
activities.

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WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
(WSSD), Johannesburg, 2002
• held at Johannesburg, South Africa.
• The goal was to hold a ten-year review of the 1992 UNCED at the
Summit level to reinvigorate global commitment to sustainable
development.

• The WSSD negotiated and adopted two main documents: the Plan
of Implementation and the Johannesburg Declaration on
Sustainable Development.

• Major areas of controversy: time-bound targets for sanitation,

renewable energy, energy subsidies, chemicals and health, Rio
Principles 7 (common but differentiated responsibilities) and 15
(precautionary approach); health and human rights.
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THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION (FAO) OF THE
UNITED NATIONS
• Founded in 1945, mandated to ensure - people have regular access to enough
and quality food in order to lead active, healthy lives.
• Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum
where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy.
• FAO helps developing countries and countries in transition modernize and
improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices and ensure good nutrition
for all.
• Its objectives are as follows:
– To raise levels of nutrition,
– To improve agricultural productivity,
– To better the lives of rural populations and
– To contribute to the growth of the world economy.

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 United Nations Development Programme （ UNDP ）
• Founded on 22 November 1965, global development
network.
• It advocates for change and connects countries to
knowledge, experience and resources to help people
build a better life.
• The UNDP Human Development Report Office also
publishes an annual Human Development Report (since
1990) to measure and analyse developmental progress.

Headquartered in New York City.

has country offices in 166 countries, where it works with local
governments to meet development challenges and develop local
capacity.
works internationally to help countries achieve the Millennium
Development Goals （ MDGs ） .
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Function
• provides expert advice, training, and grant support to
developing countries, with increasing emphasis on
assistance to the least developed countries.

• UNDP also encourages the protection of human rights and

the empowerment of women in all of its programs.

• The UNDP Human Development Report Office also

publishes an annual Human Development Report (since
1990) to measure and analyse developmental progress.

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 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

At the Millennium Summit in September

2000, the largest gathering of world
leaders in history adopted the UN
Millennium Declaration,
committing their nations to a new global
partnership to reduce extreme poverty
and setting out a series of time-bound
targets, with a deadline of 2015, that have
become known as the Millennium
Development Goals.

• MDGs are the world's time-bound and quantified targets for

addressing extreme poverty in its many dimensions.
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• Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Hunger and
Poverty
• Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education
• Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and
Empower Women
• Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality
• Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health
• Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other
diseases
• Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability
• Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for
Development

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 CONVENTION ON LONG-RANGE TRANSBOUNDARY AIR
POLLUTION (CLRTAP), 1979, Geneva

•  To limit and gradually reduce and prevent air pollution

including long-range transboundary air pollution.

• Contracting Party to develop the best policies and

strategies including air quality management systems and
control measures by using the best available technology
which is economically feasible and low- and non-waste
technology, exchanges of information, consultation,
research and monitoring.

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 Basel Convention, 1989
The Basel Convention on the
Control of Transboundary
Movements of Hazardous Wastes
and their Disposal was adopted on
22 March 1989 in Basel,
Switzerland.

Objective
• to protect human health and the environment against the
adverse effects of hazardous wastes. It covers a wide range of
wastes defined as “hazardous wastes” based on their origin
and/or composition and their characteristics, as well as two types
of wastes defined as “other wastes” - household waste and
incinerator ash. 
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 London Dumping Convention, 1972
• adopted on 29 December 1972 and entered into force on 1975.
• to control pollution of the sea by dumping of wastes which
could create hazards to human health, marine life,
damage amenities, or interfere with other legitimate uses
of the sea.

• A so-called "black- and grey-list" approach is applied for wastes,

which can be considered for disposal at sea according to the hazard
they present to the environment. For the blacklist items (Annex I)
dumping is prohibited. Dumping of the grey-listed materials (Annex
II) requires a special permit from a designated national authority
under strict control and provided certain conditions are met. All
other materials or substances (Annex III) can be dumped after a
general permit has been issued.
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 International Union for Conservation of Nature and
Natural Resources.  (IUCN)
• An international organization with
headquarters in Gland, Switzerland.
• IUCN was established in 1948, previously
called the International Union for Protection
of Nature (1948–1956) and the World
Conservation Union (1990–2008).
• Mission - "influence, encourage and assist
societies throughout the world to conserve
nature and to ensure that any use of natural
resources is equitable and ecologically
sustainable."

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 CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL
TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES (CITES), 1973

• Enforced in 1975; ensures that international wildlife trade is based

on sustainable use and management of wild and captive
populations.
• Secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.
• CITES identifies and enlists endangered species as follows :

Appendix I which includes species threatened with extinction and

allows no commercial trade in these species. Examples include
gorillas, sea turtles, most lady slipper orchids, and giant pandas.

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• Appendix II includes species that, although currently not
threatened with extinction, may become so without trade
controls. Most CITES species are listed in this appendix,
including American ginseng, paddlefish, and many corals.

• Appendix III includes species that a range country has asked

for cooperation from other parties to help them better control
international trade in native species. Examples include the
walrus, Cape stag, beetle, etc.

• The African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) is currently

split-listed, with all populations except those of Botswana,
Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe listed in Appendix I.
Those of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe are
listed in Appendix II.
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 The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, Montreal, 2000

• The Cartagena Protocol to the CBD, originally scheduled

at Columbia, is an international agreement which aims to
ensure an adequate level of protection in the field of the
safe transfer, handling and use of LMOs
• resulting from modern biotechnology
• that may have adverse effects on the conservation and
sustainable use of biological diversity,
• taking also into account risks to human health,
• and specifically focusing on transboundary movements.

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Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPS)
• An international agreement administered by the World Trade
Organization (WTO) that
• Sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual
property (IP) regulation as applied to nationals of other WTO
Members.
• Negotiated at the end of the Uruguay Round of the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1994.

“Whenever there is a conflict between human

rights and property rights, the former must
prevail”
Abraham Lincoln
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• IPRs are rights given to people over the creations of their minds.
These rights are given by society through the State as an
incentive to produce and disseminate ideas and expressions
that will benefit society as a whole.

• Unlike Fundamental Rights of citizens which are guaranteed by

the Constitution of a country, IPRs are statutory rights enacted
by the lawmaking authority in a country.

• Linkage between Intellectual Property (IP) and trade: broadly

through following two premises:
(I) Widespread piracy and infringements of intellectual property
rights constitute a barrier to trade
(II) IPRs transfer agreements

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 Patents
 The TRIPS Agreement requires Member countries to make
patents available for any inventions, whether products or
processes, in all fields of technology without discrimination,
subject to novelty, inventiveness and industrial applicability.

 Invention to be novel, useful and non-obvious. For instance, if a

person has invented an electric door lock, which is a new
innovation, is functional and shows inventive skills, then it can
be patented. If the product (lock) is patented, it is a product
patent. If the process by which it was created is patented, it is a
process patent.

 The agreement allows countries to exclude inventions from

patentability on following grounds:
1. Inventions necessary ‘to protect ordre public or morality;
including to protect human, animal or plant life or health or to
avoid serious prejudice to the environment…’
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2. Diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical methods for the treatment
of humans or animals
3. Plants and animals other than micro-organisms and essentially
biological processes for the production of plants or animals
other than non-biological and microbiological processes
 The term of protection (for a period of 20 years counted
from the filing date)

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 THE MONTREAL PROTOCOL, 1987
1985
Vienna Convention established mechanisms for
international co-operation in research into the ozone layer
and the effects of ozone depleting chemicals (ODCs).
1985 - discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole.

On the basis of the Vienna Convention, the Montreal

Protocol was negotiated and signed by 24 countries and by
the European Economic Community in September 1987.
The Protocol called for the Parties to phase down the use of
CFCs, halons and other man-made ODCs.
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• The Montreal Protocol was designed to protect the
earth’s fragile ozone Layer.

• The Montreal Protocol was agreed on 16 September

1987 and entered into force on 1 January 1989.

• The Montreal Protocol is one of the first international

environmental agreements that includes trade sanctions
to achieve the stated goals of a treaty. It also offers
major incentives for non-signatory nations to sign the
agreement.

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 Summary of Montreal Protocol Control Measures

Ozone Depleting Developed Countries Developing Countries

Substances

Chlorofluorocarbons Phased out end of 1995 a Total phase out by 2010

(CFCs)
Halons Phased out end of 1993 Total phase out by 2010
Carbon tetrachloride Phased out end of 1995 a Total phase out by 2010

Methyl chloroform Phased out end of 1995 a Total phase out by 2015

(HCFCs) Total phase out by 2020 c  Total phase out by 2040

 
(HBFCs) Phased out end of 1995 Phased out end of 1995
Methyl bromide Total phase out by 2005 Total phase out by 2015

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 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

• is an international environmental treaty negotiated at the

Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992, then
entered into force on 21 March 1994.
• objective is to "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in
the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous
anthropogenic interference with the climate system".
• Adopted on 9 May 1992, and opened for signature on 4 June
1992. UNFCCC has 197 parties as of December 2015.
• The parties to the convention have met annually from 1995
in Conferences of the Parties (COP) to assess progress in
dealing with climate change.

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Parties to the UNFCCC are classified as:
• Annex I: 43 Parties including the European Union.
- classified as industrialized (developed) countries and
"economies in transition" (EITs). The EITs also includes former
centrally-planned (Soviet) economies of Russia and Eastern
Europe.

• Annex II: Of the Parties listed in Annex I, 24 are also listed in

Annex II of the Convention, including the European Union. These
are made up of members of the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD). Are required to provide
financial and technical support to the EITs and developing
countries.

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 List of Annex II Countries, UNFCCC In 2000, the IMF listed the following
countries with transition economies
1. United States of 1. Austria 1. Albania
America 2. Switzerland 1. Kazakhstan
2. Armenia 2. Kyrgyz Republic
2. United Kingdom 3. Belgium 3. Azerbaijan 3. Laos
of Great Britain 4. Canada
4. Belarus 4. Republic of
and Northern 5. Denmark
6. European Union 5. Bulgaria Macedonia
Ireland
7. Finland 6. Cambodia 5. Moldova
3. Italy 8. Greece 6. Poland
7. Croatia
4. Japan 9. Iceland 8. Czech 7. Romania
5. Germany 10. Luxembourg 8. Russia
Republic
6. Australia 11. Netherlands 9. Slovak Republic
9. Estonia 10. Slovenia
7. France 12. New Zealand
13. Norway
10. Georgia 11. Tajikistan
14. Portugal 11. Hungary 12. Turkmenistan
15. Spain 12. Latvia 13. Ukraine
16. Sweden 14. Uzbekistan
17. Turkey 15. Vietnam
16. Lithuania
in 2002 the World Bank defined Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
(later Serbia and Montenegro) ;In 2009, World Bank included Kosovo in the list of transition
economies. Some World Bank studies also include Mongolia. According to the IMF, Iran is in
12/15/2022 Mahua Basu 64
transition to a market economy,
• Non-Annex I: Parties to the UNFCCC not listed in Annex I
of the Convention are mostly low-income developing
countries. Developing countries may volunteer to become
Annex I countries when they are sufficiently developed.

- Least-developed countries (LDCs): 49 Parties are LDCs, and

are given special status under the treaty in view of their
limited capacity to adapt to the effects of climate change.

• Annex B: Annex I Parties with first- or second-round Kyoto

greenhouse gas emissions targets (see Kyoto Protocol for
details).
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 UNFCCC Updates/ Conference of Parties (COP)
1995: COP 1, The Berlin Mandate
took place from in Berlin, Germany. It voiced concerns about
the adequacy of countries' abilities to meet commitments.

1996: COP 2, Geneva, Switzerland

• Accepted the scientific findings on climate change
proffered by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) in its second assessment (1995);
• Rejected uniform "harmonized policies" in favour of
flexibility;
• Called for "legally binding mid-term targets".

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1997: COP 3, The Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change
• "The Kyoto Protocol is a legally binding agreement under which
industrialized countries will reduce their collective emissions of
greenhouse gases by 5.2% compared to the year 1990 to be
completed by 2012.

• The goal is to lower overall emissions from 6 greenhouse gases

- carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride,
HFCs, and PFCs.

• The Protocol could enter into force only when it was ratified by
at least 55 countries accounting for at least 55 percent of
developed country emissions in 1990. The first threshold was
met in 2001. It was enforced after Russia ratified in 2005.
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• The overall 5.2 % target for developed countries is to be met
through cuts (from 1990 levels) of -
 8 % for the European Union (EU[15]), Switzerland, and most
Central and East European states;
 6 per cent in Canada; 7 per cent in the United States (although
the US has since withdrawn its support for the Protocol); and
 6 per cent in Hungary, Japan, and Poland.
 New Zealand, Russia, and Ukraine are to stabilize their
emissions, while
 Norway may increase emissions by up to 1 per cent,
 Australia by up to 8 per cent (subsequently withdrew its
support for the Protocol), and
 Iceland by 10 per cent.

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2000: COP 6, The Hague, Netherlands
• major controversy over the United States' proposal to allow credit
for carbon "sinks" in forests and agricultural lands that would
satisfy a major proportion of the U.S. emissions reductions in this
way.
• despite some compromises agreed between the United States
and some EU countries, like United Kingdom, the EU countries as
a whole, led by Denmark and Germany, rejected the compromise
positions.

2001: COP 6, Bonn, Germany

• with little progress having been made to resolve the differences.

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• The agreements included:

1. Flexible mechanisms: include emissions trading, joint

implementation (JI), and the Clean Development Mechanism
(CDM) which allows industrialized countries to fund emissions
reduction activities in developing countries as an alternative to
domestic emission reductions. One of the key elements of this
agreement was that there would be no quantitative limit on the
credit a country could claim from use of these mechanisms

2. Carbon sinks: credit would be granted for broad activities that

absorb carbon from the atmosphere or store it - include forest
and cropland management, and re-vegetation, with no over-all
cap on the amount of credit that a country could claim for sinks
activities.

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• Compliance: Final action on compliance procedures and
mechanisms that would address non-compliance includes –
 failing to meet emissions targets that would include a requirement
to "make up" shortfalls at 1.3 tons to 1,
 suspension of the right to sell credits for surplus emissions
reductions,
 and a required compliance action plan for those not meeting their
targets.
• Financing: agreement on the establishment of 3 new funds to
provide :
(1) a fund for climate change that supports a series of climate
measures;
(2) a least-developed-country fund to support National Adaptation
Programs of Action; and
(3) a Kyoto Protocol adaptation fund supported by a CDM levy and
voluntary contributions.
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• 2001: COP 7, Marrakech, Morocco
• 2002: COP 8, New Delhi, India
• 2003: COP 9, Milan, Italy

• 2004: COP 10, Buenos Aires, Argentina

• 2005: COP 11/CMP 1, Montreal, Canada
• 2006: COP 12/CMP 2, Nairobi, Kenya

• 2007: COP 13/CMP 3, Bali, Indonesia

• 2008: COP 14/CMP 4, Poznań, Poland

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 2009: COP 15/CMP 5, Copenhagen, Denmark
• The Copenhagen Accord was drafted by the United States,
China, India, Brazil and South Africa (BASIC) on 18 December,
and judged a "meaningful agreement" by the United States
government.
• It was "taken note of", but not "adopted", in a debate of all the
participating countries the next day, and it was not passed
unanimously.
• The document recognised that climate change is one of the
greatest challenges of the present day and that actions should
be taken to keep any temperature increases to below 2 °C.
• The document is not legally binding and does not contain any
legally binding commitments for reducing CO2 emissions.

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• 2010: COP 16, Cancún, Mexico

• 2011: COP 17, Durban, South Africa

• 2012: COP 18, Doha, Qatar
• 2013: COP 19, Warsaw, Poland

• 2014: COP 20, Lima, Peru

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 2015: COP 21, Paris, France
• Paris Agreement adopted on 12 December, governing climate
change reduction measures from 2020. The text represented a
consensus of 196 parties attending it.

• The agreement will become legally binding if joined by at least 55

countries which together represent at least 55 percent of global
greenhouse emissions.

• aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate

change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well
below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue
efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5
degrees Celsius. 

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 CARBON CREDIT
• A carbon credit is a generic term for
- any tradable certificate or permit representing the
- right to emit 1 tonne of carbon dioxide or the mass of
another GHG with a carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO 2e)
equivalent to 1 tonne of carbon dioxide.

Objective:
Carbon credits and carbon markets are a component of
national and international attempts
to mitigate the growth in concentrations of greenhouse
gases (GHGs).

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Carbon credits must be real, quantifiable, verified reductions in
GHG emissions
• 6 gases are eligible for carbon credits
• Gases have different values depending on their global
warming potential. Methane 21 – 23 times more potent than
CO2.
• All GHG expressed as metric tons of CO2equivalents.
• One ton of CO2 equivalent = one carbon credit

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 International Emissions Trading
• Parties with commitments under the Kyoto Protocol (Annex B
Parties) have accepted targets for limiting or reducing emissions.
These targets are expressed as levels of allowed emissions, or
“assigned amounts,” over the 2008-2012 commitment period.
The allowed emissions are divided into “assigned amount units”
(AAUs).
• Emissions trading, as set out in Article 17 of the Kyoto Protocol,
allows countries that have emission units to spare - emissions
permitted them but not "used" - to sell this excess capacity to
countries that are over their targets.
• Since carbon dioxide is the principal greenhouse gas, people
speak simply of trading in carbon.
• More than actual emissions units can be traded and sold under
the Kyoto Protocol’s emissions
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trading scheme.
Mahua Basu 78
• The other units which may be transferred, each equal to one tonne of CO 2,
may be in the form of:
- A removal unit (RMU) on the basis of land use, land-use change and forestry
(LULUCF) activities such as reforestation
- An emission reduction unit (ERU) generated by a joint implementation
project.
- A certified emission reduction (CER) generated from a clean development
mechanism project activity.
• Transfers and acquisitions of these units are tracked and recorded through
the registry systems under the Kyoto Protocol.
• An international transaction log ensures secure transfer of emission
reduction units between countries.
• In order to address the concern that Parties could "oversell" units, and
subsequently be unable to meet their own emissions targets, each Party is
required to maintain a reserve of ERUs, CERs, AAUs and/or RMUs in its
national registry. This reserve, known as the "commitment period reserve",
should not drop below 90 per cent of the Party's assigned amount or 100 per
cent of five times its most recently reviewed inventory, whichever is lowest.
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Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) 

• The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), defined in Article 12

of the Protocol, allows a country with an emission-reduction or
emission-limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol
(Annex B Party) to implement an emission-reduction project in
developing countries.

• Such projects can earn saleable certified emission reduction

(CER) credits, each equivalent to one tonne of CO2, which can be
counted towards meeting Kyoto targets.

• for example, a rural electrification project using solar panels or

the installation of more energy-efficient boilers.

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 Joint Implementation (JI)
• The mechanism known as “joint implementation,”
defined in Article 6 of the Kyoto Protocol, allows a
country with an emission reduction or limitation
commitment under the Kyoto Protocol (Annex B Party) to
earn emission reduction units (ERUs) from an emission-
reduction or emission removal project in another Annex
B Party, each equivalent to one tonne of CO 2, which can
be counted towards meeting its Kyoto target.

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 CARBON SEQUESTRATION

• The process of capture and long-term storage of

atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and refers specifically
to:
"The process of removing carbon from the atmosphere and
depositing it in a reservoir.“
• When carried out deliberately, this may also be referred to
as carbon dioxide removal, which is a form of geo-
engineering.
• Objective: to either mitigate or defer global warming and
avoid dangerous climate change. It has been proposed as
a way to slow the atmospheric and marine accumulation
of greenhouse gases, which are released by burning fossil
fuels.
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 ENVIRONMENTA
L LEGISLATION
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 WILDLIFE PROTECTION AND WILDLIFE
Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
PROTECTION ACT, 1972
•Wildlife Protection seen for the first time in certain notification by
the State administrative authorities around 1972.

•The main objective was to protect hunting reserves.

•No separate legislation for the protection of wildlife.

•The National Forest Policy 1952, emphasized on the wildlife

protection through the formulation of special laws and by setting up
of Sanctuaries and Parks.
• It also established the Central Board of Wildlife under the Ministry
of Food and Agriculture.

•The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 is a major step to protect wildlife

with a complex administrative structure.
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• The act empowers the Central Government to constitute a
Central Zoo Authority (CZA).
• The authority may:
 recognize and derecognize zoos.
 identify the animals for their use of captive breeding.
 synchronize training programmes both in and outside India.
 organize research and educational programmes.
 co-ordinate acquisition and exchange of animals.
• The act prohibits teasing, injuring and disturbing of animals.
• The law provides for the establishment of National Board of
Wildlife (NBWL) and State Board of Wildlife.
• The State Wildlife Department is headed by Chief Wildlife
Warden.
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• The Act seeks wildlife
protection through the
creation of
• National Parks.
• Sanctuaries.
• Conservation Reserve.
• Community Reserve.

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 THE WATER (PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF
POLLUTION) ACT, 1974
•This Act was enacted in order “to • The organization has to get
provide for the prevention and permission from the State
control of water pollution and the Pollution Control Board prior
maintenance or restoring to any category of new
wholesomeness of water’’. release into the water body
and this applies for
• Provides for the establishment of temperature discharges
Boards to prevent and control also.
water pollution.
• Individuals are required to
•The law confers the boards with comply with the effluent
powers and responsibilities to look standards during any
into the matters connected discharge of sewage or
therewith. sullage.

• Prohibits discharge of any • The law specifies the

poisonous, noxious or polluting standards for small scale
matter into the water bodies
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whether static or frees flowing.
• THE WATER CESS ACT, 1977

• For collection of cess or levy on the amount

of water usage.

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 Forest Conservation Act, 1980
•The purpose is to provide
for the conservation of
forests.

•extends to whole of India

except the state of Jammu
and Kashmir.

•The Central Government

may constitute an Advisory
Committee to advise the
Government relating to
granting of approvals or any
matters related to
conservation of forests.
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• Whoever fails to abide by the
given rules shall be punishable
with a single imprisonment for a
period that may extend up to
15 days.
Mahua Basu 89
• Without prior approval of
the Central Government
the act prevents the
• The 1989 amendment permitted
State Government, to the forest officers to be
cease a ‘reserved prosecuted and to be subjected
forest’ partially or to fine similar to other persons.
wholly; • The government adopted and
from giving any forest started the concept of social
forestry in order to provide fuel
land for non-forest wood to the domestic users.
purpose such as • The scheme comprised of 3
cultivation of cash components:-
crops, horticultural or i. Community woodlots on common
medicinal plants and to village lands.
clear naturally growing ii. Strip plantations along the
trees for the purpose of roadsides and canal bank.
reforestation. iii. Farm forestry.
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THE AIR (PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF POLLUTION) ACT, 1981
• The government enacted
this act to provide for
“prevention, control and
abatement of air pollution.’’
• According to the law an air
pollutant is “any solid, liquid
or gaseous substance
present in the atmosphere
in such concentration as
may be or may be or tend to
be injurious to human
beings or other living
creatures or plants or
property or environment’’.
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• provides for the establishment of
boards and also assigns them with
powers and responsibilities to look
into such matter.
• prohibits the discharge of toxic
substances into the air, beyond the
prescribed emission level.
• SPCB is assigned with the
responsibility to monitor the pollution
levels in air at specific sites.
• The Act requires an approval to any
industrial plant prior to its operation.
Mahua Basu 91
 THE ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION ACT, 1986

• The act was passed to

“provide for the protection
and improvement of
environment and for matters
connected therewith’’.

As per the Act, environment is defined as which 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-organisms
and property’’.

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 • The law gives general powers to the Central government.
• Central government can undertake any measures that become
necessary for protecting and improving environment.
• The Act provides for the standards that defines quality of air, water
and land for different areas for different purposes.
• The highest permissible limits for various pollutants are also
specified under this law.
•The Act makes Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)
mandatory for the specified 29 industries.

•Under this Act all companies must possess a type of Spill

Prevention Control and Countermeasures plan.

•The law requires Environmental Audit since 1993, the

report of which is to be submitted to the SPCB. The law
provides for the declaration of Coastal
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Regulation Zone.
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 The National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995

An Act to provide for strict liability for damages arising

out of any accident occurring while handling any
hazardous substance and for the establishment of a
National Environment Tribunal for effective and
expeditious disposal of cases arising from such accident,
with a view to giving relief and compensation for
damages to persons, property and the environment and
for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

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Public Liability Insurance Act,1991
• Public liability insurance act 1991 was enacted to
providing immediate relief to the person affected by
accident occurring during handling any hazardous
substances, vicarious liability of the every industries to
protect physical harm or death of his employees
during the course of employment and adequate
compensate for injury or death of employees this
burden of compensate of industries shifted toward
the insurance company by giving premium or
remuneration, so that to sake of welfare of the
employees and guarantees to safe guard the
compensate the government of India implemented
this act.
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 An accident is that which involves a fortuitous or
sudden or unintended occurrence while handling of
hazardous substance resulting continue or
intermittent or repeated, exposure to death or injury
to any person or damage to any property.

• Owner of any hazardous company shall take out

insurance policy as soon as commencement of
this act.

• It should renew the policy before expiry of the policy

or within period of limitation
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• For fatal accidents the relief will be Rs. 25,000 per
person in addition to reimbursement of medical
expenses if any, incurred on the victim up to a maximum
of Rs. 12,500.

• Final settlement through court

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 National Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997

• The National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA) was set up

by the Ministry of Environment and Forests to address cases in
which environment clearances are required in certain restricted
areas.

• It was established to hear appeals with respect to restriction of

areas in which any industries, operations or processes or class of
industries, operations or processes shall or shall not be carried
out, subject to certain safeguards under the Environment
(Protection) Act, 1986.

• The Authority shall become defunct and the Act shall stand
repealed upon the enactment of the National Green Tribunal Act
2010.
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• Any person aggrieved by the order regarding order of
environmental clearance in the areas prescribed under Act has the
right to entertain appeal to the Appellate Authority and Appellate
Authority should dispose the appeal within 90 days.
• Authority have power to regulate its own procedure including
fixing of places to sit and shall not bound by procedure of Civil
Procedure Code, 1908, but the Authority has power vested in a
Civil Court under Code, 1908 while trying a suit and matters
regarding summoning and enforcing the attendance of oath,
recording statements made under Section 123 and 124 of Indian
Evidence Act, 1872.
• No Civil or any other authority have jurisdiction to entertain any
appeal with regard to the matters for which the Appellate
Authority been enacted under the Act.
• Under section 16 of the Act all proceedings before the Appellate
Authority deemed to be as judicial
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proceedings. 
Mahua Basu 99
 GREEN BENCH
A Supreme Court division bench directed
the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court to
comprise a special division bench called
the ‘green bench’ on 16th of April 1996.
Green bench thus constituted was to hear
environment related petitions. This
initiative brought environmental issues to
the door steps of the judiciary system.

• The first green bench in Calcutta was followed by another

in Chennai as directed by Justices Kuldip Singh, Falzan-
uddin and K.Venkataswami while dealing with the Madras
tannery case in the same year 2nd September. Such benches
had also been set up in MP,Mahua
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Punjab,
Basu
Haryana, etc. 100
• The green bench had issued several judgments assisting
environmental conservation. Public interest litigations
such as felling of trees, illegal encroachments and
illegal quarrying are the most frequent heard cases.
Examples of landmark judgment includes ban on sand
quarrying in Tamiraparani river, ban on cutting
Karuvelam trees (Acacia nilotica) at Vaagaikulam tank
near Alwarkurichi in order to protect the nesting sites of
birds.

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 NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL,
2010
The Law Commission of India in
its 186th Report recommended
that the government needs to
constitute special Environmental
Courts, to deal with
multidisciplinary issues relating to
protection of environment, which
would have members with judicial
or legal experience assisted by
members with technical
knowledge.
• It would now hear all the pending cases dealing with
environmental issues and the genuine Public Interest
Litigations, also the Tribunal would decide the high profile
Posco and Vedanta cases.
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•The tribunal would have benches only at five locations
initially and this would significantly reduce the access to
justice, as civil courts would not deal with such cases
anymore. In future, the tribunal will have benches all over
the country.

•The bill did not provide the tribunal the power to deal
with some laws related to environment, which ruined the
whole point of having such a body.

•By setting a Green Tribunal India becomes the third

country that has specialized courts to deal with
environment related cases following Australia and New-
Zealand, which already have such specialized courts.
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 The enactment of NGT, 2010
came as an outcome of several
observations by the Supreme
Court such as:

• the requirement of scientific data evaluation in environment related

cases.
• requirement of professional judges and experts in relevant fields.
• expeditious judgments in environment related cases.
• establishment of environmental courts with both civil and criminal
jurisdiction.
• the existence of National Environmental Tribunal under National
Environmental Tribunal Act, 1995 and National Environmental
Appellate Authority under National Environmental Appellate
Authority Act, 1997 only in paper
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Mahua Basu
IT applications in Environmental Science

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 Remote sensing
• is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without
making physical contact with the object
• it is in contrast to on-site observation.
• especially applied to acquiring information about the Earth.
• is used in numerous fields, including geography, land surveying, hydrology,
ecology, meteorology, oceanography, glaciology, geology); it also has military,
intelligence, commercial, economic, planning, and humanitarian applications,
among others.
• Passive sensors gather radiation that is emitted or reflected by the object or
surrounding areas. Reflected sunlight is the most common source of radiation
measured by passive sensors. Examples of passive remote sensors include film
photography, infrared, charge-coupled devices, and radiometers.
• Active sensors, on the other hand, emits energy in order to scan objects and
areas whereupon a sensor then detects and measures the radiation that is
reflected or backscattered from the target. RADAR and LiDAR are examples of
active remote sensing where the time delay between emission and return is
measured, establishing the location, speed and direction of an object.
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 Geographic information system (GIS)
• A conceptualized framework that
• provides the ability to capture and analyze spatial and geographic
data.
• GIS integrates many types of data.
• GIS apps are computer-based tools that allow the user to create
interactive queries (user-created searches), store and edit spatial and
non-spatial data, analyze spatial information output, and visually
share the results of these operations by presenting them as maps. It
analyzes spatial location and organizes layers of information into
visualizations using maps and 3D scenes.
• GIS provides the capability to relate previously unrelated
information, through the use of location as the "key index variable".
Locations and extents that are found in the Earth's space-time, are
able to be recorded through the date and time of occurrence.

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 Global Positioning System (GPS)
• The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based
radio-navigation system owned by the United States government and operated
by the United States Space Force.

• It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provides

geolocation and time information to a GPS receiver anywhere on or near the
Earth where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites.
Obstacles such as mountains and buildings block the relatively weak GPS signals.

• Does not require the user to transmit any data, and it operates independently of
any telephonic or internet reception.

• The GPS provides critical positioning capabilities to military, civil, and

commercial users around the world. The United States government created the
system, maintains it, and makes it freely accessible to anyone with a GPS
receiver.

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 Global Positioning System (GPS)
• The GPS project was started by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1973,
with the first prototype spacecraft launched in 1978 and the full
constellation of 24 satellites operational in 1993.
• The Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) was developed
contemporaneously with GPS, but suffered from incomplete coverage of
the globe until the mid-2000s. GLONASS can be added to GPS devices,
making more satellites available and enabling positions to be fixed more
quickly and accurately, to within two meters (6.6 ft).
• China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System began global services in 2018,
and finished its full deployment in 2020.
• There are also the European Union Galileo positioning system, and India's
NavIC.
• Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) is a GPS satellite-based
augmentation system to enhance GPS's accuracy in Asia-Oceania, with
satellite navigation independent of GPS scheduled for 2023.
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