Environmental law and policy some imp questions

1. 1. Proper laws and policies play a crucial role as enablers; they provide the rules for the
governance of the state, as well as lay down the path that the state is looking to take in the
future.
Write a short essay laying out the main characteristics of law as well as policy; the roles of both
in the governance process, as well as what the major advantages and drawbacks are of each
as a tool for governance. Explain with case studies.
Ans1. Law is the set of rules and regulations which is made by the state or the judicial body of
the nation which should be followed by every citizen of the respective nations or country for
better conduct enforced by government. The basic characteristics of the law are:-
1. It is a set of rules which is maintained by the state for better human conduct.
2. It has a certain amount of stability, fixity and uniformity​.
3. Violation of it leads to punishment.
4. The concept relates to sovereignty.
The plays an important role in the governance process as these are the rules which
need to be followed by every citizen of the subject country. It serves as a norm of
conduct for citizens. It was made to provide for proper guidelines and order upon the
behaviour for all citizens. Without law, there would be complete disorder and it
would be survival of the fittest and every man for himself which leads to not an ideal
lifestyle. It is a legislative framework.
The policy is a plan which acts as a guide for the course of action either for a
government, political parties or business which determines decisions, actions and
other matters. The basic characteristics of the policy are:-
1. It should be flexible.
2. It reviewed periodically and defined clearly.
Like the law, the policy also plays an important role in governance as we
know that it is a plan which acts as a guide management tool for any action
so it acts as a framework which includes laws, regulations, court decisions,
public ordinances etc which we also knew as the public policy. Today the
government policies affect many aspects of our lives many people try to
influence that policy by choosing their representatives or political parties, it
might be a good way but not best. So, policy acts as a guiding framework

2. which has to reviewed periodically before any implementation as we are
recently doing in our discussion forum for ICAP Policy.
Advantages of Law and Policy
The various advantages of law are:-
1. Provides rights to the citizens
2. Prevent the offences
3. Also helpful in conservation of biodiversity like declaring the Tiger as
the national animal and peacock as a national Birds has soon some
positive results in its conservation.
4. Provides uniformity.
5. Determines the duties
6. Provides justice to the citizens
The various advantages of Policy are:-
1. Act as a framework.
2. Flexible.
3. Helpful in the planning before its implementation.
4. Guiding tool.
5. The backbone of law.
Disadvantages of law and policy
Disadvantages of law are:-
1. The rigidity of law is the basic problem because the
legal system has to keep changing the law as per the
needs of citizens.
2. Conservative nature as the lawyers and judges favour
continuing the existing laws.
3. Needless complexity in some laws.

3. 4. No implementation due to corruption as we see in that
the forest is eradicated to make private buildings,
malls etc. Which might violate the Forest Act.
5. This does not bring justice nearer but merely helps the
clever and the crooked.
Disadvantages of Policy
1. Need a regular review which generally does
not happen in a developing country like India.
2. Some are not as good as possible like ICAP.
3. Some policies, not a bit clear but a policy
should be clear.
4. Some policy only benefits a particular group of
people or society
2. Write short notes on the following:
Ans 2a) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)-It is a set of goals and targets relating to
future international development it is also known as global goals it is a blueprint to achieve
a more sustainable future for all. It replaces the Millennium Development Goals expired at
the end of 2015. It addresses the global challenges which are specifically related to poverty,
inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice. SDGs
came into the act from January 2016, and they will continue to guide UNDP policy and
funding until 2030. It is set of 17 global goals and 169 specific targets for those goals which
are set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 for the year 2030. the strategic
SDGs focuses on key areas including poverty alleviation, democratic governance and
peacebuilding, climate change and disaster risk, and economic inequality each goal is
interconnected with each other.
The 17 Global goals are as follows:-
1.No Poverty
2. Zero Hunger

4. 3.Good Health and Well-being
4.Quality Education
5.Gender Equality
6.Clean Water and Sanitation
7.Affordable and Clean Energy
8.Decent Work and Economic Growth
9.Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
10.Reducing Inequality
11.Sustainable Cities and Communities
12.Responsible Consumption and Production
13.Climate Action
14.Life Below Water
15.Life On Land
16.Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
17.Partnerships for the Goals.
Achieving the above goals requires the partnership of governments, private sector, civil
society and citizens to make sure we leave a better planet for future generations. It requires
the basic participation and coordination of the public to meet the SDGs. As well as the

5. UNDP is working and supporting the government of various nations to include these global
goals into there plans and policies.
Ans 2b) The evolution of environmental law - ​Protection of nature and maintaining
ecological balance unaffected is a task that not solely the government but conjointly every
individual, association and corporation must undertake. It is a social obligation and
fundamental duty Internationally Environmental law is formed by collective actions of nearly
200 countries around the world the close interaction with national laws and policies has
been the major driving force for innovation in international environmental law, that isn't ruled
by one international body or an establishment. These are made to protect the environment
from various destructive activities of humans and it is also very important for the
industrialisation era. Environmental law had taken a variety of treaties, conventions,
protocols etc. These are lawfully binding agreements among several countries for united
action to tackle various environmental issues. Environmentalism isn't a fixed concept
however is usually evolving influenced by its context. This also applies to International
environmentalism, which has developed and changed throughout the years. The evolution
of international environmental law distinguish three or four major ‘periods’ or ‘phases’: the
‘traditional era’ till regarding 1970 (preceding the 1972 United Nations Stockholm
Conference on the Human Environment), that is usually divided into a pre-1945 and a
post-1945 period; the ‘modern era’ from Stockholm to the 1992 United Nations Conference
on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro; and the ‘post-modern era’ after Rio. In
India post-1972 (Stockholm’s) and the coming of modern legislation on environmental laws
in India, a great sense of concern has been shown by the legislature and even the Indian
judiciary shown great concern regarding the environment with its landmark judgements.
3. Economic development and environmental conservation are often seen to be at odds
with each other. This clash was recently seen in the implementation of the ‘odd-even’
regulations implemented for vehicles plying on the roads of New Delhi. Keeping in mind that
India is still a developing country where substantial development of urban centres is still
required. Do you think that economic development should take priority over environmental
conservation?
Ans.3 As we knew about the Environmental Kuznets curve which states that pollute first
and then clean up as per which in the development or at industrialisation phase like in India
the major aim of the nation is to meet the nations economic growth these nation does not
care about environmental degradation in order to increase the national GDP or economic
growth a time comes when the environmental degradation reaches a peak level which we
have seen in Delhi in recent years it interesting to see that how frequently and how strongly
a view emerges that India, at its current stage of development, should ignore environmental

6. costs for the sake of meeting its development goals but nowadays environmental
perception is increasing because India is now entering in a cleanup phase of Kuznets
Curve as we have seen the odd-even scheme for vehicles in Delhi and its NCR. We saw
this when, in May 2014, the World Health Organization declared Delhi the city with the
worst air quality in the world. Now various motivational policies have been introduced to
India like reduction in the cost of Electric Vehicles and it also offers the tax benefits as well
use of light-emitting diode which has reduced the electricity demands as well. Various
modifications have been done in the motor act like regular PUC certificates of the vehicles
which has eradicated the most polluting vehicles from Delhi introduction of fuel standards
also reduced the amount of sulphur and other harmful toxic compounds from the
atmosphere of Delhi and its nearby areas. We need to strike a balance between the
environment and economic benefits. But the problem is balance is specific to each
situation. You cannot build a factory or an industrial plant near a large city population they
will suffer from pollution. For developing countries like India and a high population of
low-income group people, economic growth is matters more than the environment. Yes, the
in currents situation the environment matters us more and in my opinion, the environment
should be given more priority than the economic growth but we cannot deny the fact that
economic progress typically allows scientific progress, which means better ways of
preserving the environment. We replaced wood with plastic, developed viable solar power,
hybrid cars, house insulation, etc. But when we replaced wood with plastics it created a
new and biggest problem of plastic pollution and this compound is non-degradable as well
as the solar power also requires maintenance and have a limited life span of that pannels
and it also requires batteries to store the energy which also requires maintenance more
than pannels and it needs a replacement after a certain time period which is increasing the
lead (Pb) pollution. So, in the current situation, the environment should be given more
priority than the economic development because it is vital for the survival for the living biota
the economic development has its own importance that we cannot deny but environmental
perception is a vital component of our lifestyle because economy will require when the
human population survives and if the environmental degradation continues it will become a
more harsh condition than economical development.
4. 'In the post-independence era, the environmental problem received the Government’s
attention for the first time in the fourth five-year plan.' Based on this statement, discuss how
environmental protection has been included in the various five-year plans in India.
Ans 4. The First Five Year Plan (1951-56) put considerable emphasis on the development
of forests. The Plan aimed to provide for the expansion and improvement of areas under
forests, for meeting the increased demand for timber and forest produce in the immediate
future as well as for the planning of long-range development of forest resources. Besides
these, revenue derived from forests was also an important consideration for which forests
had to be managed. A most significant step in this direction was the enunciation of the New
National Forest Policy of India in 1952, revising the old forest policy of 1894 to bring it into

7. line with the requirements of the economy. The policy emphasized the protective as well as
productive roles of forests and suggested, as a desirable long term objective, that one-third
of the land area (around 33%) should be under forests including 60% of the land 86 in hilly
regions and 20% in the plains.
The Forth Five Year Plan (1969-74) It was launched by indira Gandhi had stated three main
objectives in the area of forestry, namely, to increase the productivity of forests, to link up
forest development with various forest-based industries and to develop forests as support
to the rural economy. In view of the large scale demand for timber and various forest
products for industrial purposes, the plan envisaged efforts at creating large scale
plantations of valuable quick-growing species and species of economic and industrial
importance. An important objective was to achieve self-sufficiency in forest products,
especially for major forest-based industries. Accordingly, steps were proposed to bridge the
gap between demand and supply by fuller utilization of forest resources other than wood
such as bamboos and grasses and by encouraging the use of nonconventional woods and
small-sized timber. As far as conservation of wildlife was concerned, the plan
recommended special training in ecology and conservation.
conservation and protection of the environment and forests were included in the economic
planning of the country. The environmental problems which received government attention
were land degradation, soil erosion, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, water scarcity, water
and air pollution, etc. Accordingly, various programmes and schemes were initiated and a
number of institutions and boards were set up by the government to address these issues.
However, despite these efforts, the degradation of environment and forests is continued in
the country due to ineffective implementation of various policies and programmes. The
Indian forests have been shrinking for several decades due to the imbalance between the
productivity of forests and exploitation of forest produce. In fact, population pressure and
poverty, as well as growing demand for forest-based inputs for industrial use and other
developmental projects like irrigation and power projects, have resulted in a continuous
deterioration in the forest cover of the country.
5. 'Environmental Protection is not new and has been an integral part of the Indian culture.'
Discuss this statement.
Ans5. In India from ancient environmental rules including Buddhism and Jainism to
medieval and then from the British era the perception of the environment has existed from
prevedic times. In the prevedic Indian valley Civilization which flourished in northern India
about 5,000 years ago. There is various evidence which is gathered by archaeological from
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro which were the prominent cities of the civilization. Their
awareness about hygiene and sanitation as evident from their constructions of ventilated
houses, orderly streets, numerous wells, bathrooms, public baths and covered underground

8. drains. Arthashastra an ancient book on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy,
has various punishments which were prescribed for cutting of trees, damaging the forests,
and for killing wild animals and environmental ethics of nature conservation. It is not only
applicable to the common man but also on rulers and kings are bound by them.
Medieval India (1638-1800 AD)
It is a time of Mughal rulers which are dominated by Muslim Rulers where no noteworthy
development of environmental jurisprudence took place except during the rule of Mughal
Emperor Akbar.
Chipko Movement (the 1970’s)
The chipko movement was first originated in the Chamoli district in the year 1973 and from
there it is spread to the other various parts of India. Similar to that there is a famous story of
a girl named Amrita Devi who died while saving the trees to be cut in his village and around
300 Bishnoi has lost their life while saving the trees soon after which the area was declared
the Bishnoi state as a protected area, forbidding harm to trees and animals. (Bishnoi
Movement). The Chipko Movement gained momentum under Sunderlal Bahuguna, an
eco-activist, who spent his whole life persuading and educating the villagers, to protest
against the destruction of the forests and the Himalayan mountains by the government. It
was he, who appealed to the Prime Minister of India Mrs Indira Gandhi to ban the cutting of
trees. He shouted the slogan 'ecology is the permanent economy'. Another main leader of
the movement was Mr Chandi Prasad Bhatt, who advocated the development of small
scale local industries, which were based on the sustainable use of the forests resources for
the local benefits. Many slogans originated during that period.
The various other laws are passed by the Lok sabha such as The Forest Act, Wildlife
Protection Act etc has been passed to conserve the environment and wildlife of the country.
From the ancient time till now the perception about the environment is increasing day by
day the citizens of India is also becoming aware and participating in the various government
programs to reduce the environmental destruction. The government of India as well as
trying to increase the perception about the environment in the youth of the country by
introducing the Environmental Studies at various levels of education. The various plantation
projects also have been launched by Govt. Of India under smart city projects and lake
cleaning projects and other various work to improve the quality of the environment.