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Definition
Its an attempt to control human impact on and interaction with the environment in order to
preserve natural resources
Environmental management focuses on the improvement of human welfare for present and
future generations.
Administrative functions that develop, implement, and monitor the environmental policy of an
organization.
Sustainable Development
is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment
so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come.
The development initiatives be initiated in such a way that the future generations can enjoy the
benefits of Nature without any compromise.
Using the resources to the extent to which it is sustained.
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Significance in India
WHY factor
India is the world's sixth largest and second fastest growing producer of greenhouse
gases.
Delhi , Mumbai and Chennai are three of the world's ten most polluted cities.
India urban population grows equivalent of another New York City every year. This
equals to a projected urban population of over 500 million in 20 years.
liable
Strict Liability
Strict liability imposes an obligation to compensate the victim for harm resulting from actions or
failure to take action, which may not necessarily constitute a breach of any law or duty of care.
Public Trust Doctrine
The State is not an absolute owner, but a trustee of all natural resources, which are by nature meant for
public use and enjoyment, subject to reasonable conditions, necessary to protect the legitimate interest
of a large number of people, or for matters of strategic national interest.
Decentralization
Decentralization involves ceding or transfer of power from a Central Authority to State and Local
Authorities, in order to empower public authorities having jurisdiction at the spatial level at which
particular environmental issues are salient, to address these issues.
Integration
Integration refers to the inclusion of environmental considerations in sectoral policymaking, the
integration of the social and natural sciences in environment related policy research, and the
strengthening of relevant linkages among various agencies at the Central, State, and Local SelfGovernment levels, charged with the implementation of environmental policies.
Environmental Standard Setting
Environmental standards must reflect the economic and social development situation in which they
apply. Standards adopted in one society or context may have unacceptable economic and social costs if
applied without discrimination in another society or context.
Preventive Action
It is preferable to prevent environmental damage from occurring in the first place, rather than
attempting to restore degraded environmental resources after the fact.
Environmental Offsetting
There is a general obligation to protect threatened or endangered species and natural systems that are
of special importance to sustaining life, providing livelihoods, or general well-being.
Regulatory Reforms
Revisiting the Policy and Legislative
Framework
Process Related Reforms
Substantive Reforms
Process Related Reforms
Approach
The objective is to reduce delays and levels of decision-making, realize decentralization of
environmental functions, and ensure greater transparency and Accountability.
Framework for Legal Action
A judicious mix of civil and criminal processes and sanctions will be employed in the legal regime for
enforcement, through a review of the existing legislation.
Substantive Reforms
Environment and Forests Clearances
Under the new arrangements, there would be significant devolution of powers to the State/UT level.
Coastal Areas
Living Modified Organisms (LMOs)
Environmentally Sensitive Zones
Monitoring of Compliance
Use of Economic Principles in Environmental Decision-making
LMOs
In order to ensure that development of biotechnology does not lead to unforeseen adverse impacts, the
following actions will be taken:
Review the regulatory processes for LMOs so that all relevant scientific knowledge is
taken into account, and ecological, health, and economic concerns are adequately
addressed.
Ensure the conservation of bio-diversity and human health when dealing with LMOs
Economic Development
Industrialization/ Globalisation
Destruction of Forests
Environmental Conflict
India lags behind in putting forward any system for planned management of its fragile ecosystem that is in constant conflict with the needs of development .
Indian scenario is bleak, what with all round failures in arresting the population growth with
attendant pressures on land and scarce natural resources , increasing urbanisation ,
industrialisation , growth in rapacious consumption , wasteful life styles
In India, relationship between westernised models of development and the preservation
environment on the face of its fight against poverty, the conflict exists broadly on three levels:o
Some others feel that concern for environment is bound to divert attention from the problems
of the poor. Environment, to this group has nothing to do with trying to give a better deal to the
large and ever growing population.
Some believe that in India at least the very large and ever-growing population is responsible for
the environment crises.
Environmental Issues in India
Forest and Agricultural Degradation of land
Resource depletion (water, mineral, forest, sand, rocks etc.) is an economic term referring to
the exhaustion of raw materials within a region.
Environmental Degradation
Public health
Loss of biodiversity
Loss of resilience in ecosystems
Livelihood security for the poor
Forest and Agricultural Degradation of land
Degradation means reduction of
Forest quality - the density and structure of the trees, the ecological services supplied,
the biomass of plants and animals, the species diversity.
Biomass is the mass of living biological organisms in a given area or ecosystem at a given time.
Causes:
Vehicle off-roading.
Overdrafting is the process of extracting groundwater beyond the safe yield or equilibrium yield of the
aquifer.
An aquifer is a wet underground layer
The Urban sprawl is the spreading of urban developments (as houses and shopping centers) on
undeveloped land near a city
A commercial clear cut is when cutters remove only the valuable trees and leave others standing.
Effects
Soil acidification and the formation of acid sulfate soil resulting in barren soil.
Soil alkalinisation owing to irrigation with water containing sodium bicarbonate leading
to poor soil structure and reduced crop yields.
Soil salination in irrigated land requiring soil salinity control to reclaim the land.
Soil waterlogging in irrigated land which calls for some form of subsurface land drainage
to remediate the negative effects.
Environmental Degradation
is defined as any change or disturbance to the environment perceived to be deleterious or
undesirable.
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through
Water resources
Usage of Ground and Underground water by the Industry - causes huge droughts and
contamination to a massive area by exploiting an excessive amount of ground water and then
replacing it with toxic discharge.
85% of rural drinking water and 55% of urban water comes from underground sources has
caused the national water table to suddenly and very dramatically drop.
The rivers are slowly being polluted and destroyed by sewage, chemicals and other agricultural
and industrial waste.
Deforestation
almost 5.3 Million hectares of forest have been destroyed since the independence for housing,
industrialisation and river projects.
Poor management and abuse of power are again the increasingly sad cause behind the mass
deforestation- Poaching.
The invasion of foreign tree species such as Eucalyptus etc.
Eucalyptus is water intensive and nutrient intensive.
Eucalyptus is toxic, due to allelopathic properties, which serve to reduce not only other plant life,
including crops, by restricting germination of other species, but is also detrimental to soil micro and
macrofauna.
macrofauna (biology), in soil science, animals that are one centimetre or more long but smaller than an
earthworm. Potworms, myriapods, centipedes, millipedes
Public Health
Public health has often been defined as a science dealing with the determinants and defence of
health at the population level, while clinical medicine deals with multiple maladies and their
remedies at the level of an individual patient.
Public health aims to understand and influence the social, cultural and economic determinants
of health as well as to study and structure health systems as efficient channels for health
services delivery.
Loss of Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the distribution and number, variety and variability of living organisms over time.
Biodiversity may be diversity within species (genetic diversity), between species (species
diversity), and between ecosystems (ecosystem diversity).
Biodiversity includes all ecosystemswildlands, nature preserves or national parks, plantations,
farms, croplands, aquaculture sites, rangelands and urban parks too have their own biodiversity.
Loss in biodiversity has direct and indirect negative effects on Food security, Vulnerability,
Health, Energy security, Clean water and Social relations.
Fragmentation of habitats and the sharp decline in small subpopulations of plants and animals
bring them on the edge of decline.
18 domestic poultry breeds are under threat and around 40 species of plants and animals have
extincted.
India has lost about 40% of its mangroves and some crucial part of its wetlands.
Major problems with biodiversity conservation
Low priority for conservation of living natural resources.
Exploitation of living natural resources for monetary gain.
Values and knowledge about the species and ecosystem inadequately known.
Unplanned urbanization and uncontrolled industrialization.
Air Pollution
Vehicle emissions are responsible for 70% of the countrys air pollution.
Air pollution from vehicle exhaust and industry is a worsening problem for India.
Exhaust from vehicles has increased eight-fold over levels of twenty years ago; industrial
pollution has risen four times.
At average trip speeds between 20 to 40 kilometers per hour, the cars pollutant emission was
twice and At average trip speeds between 5 to 20 kilometers per hour, the cars pollutant
emissions were 4 to 8 times as much as much as when the average speed was 55 to 75
kilometers per hour.
Some Indian taxis and auto-rickshaws run on adulterated fuel blends.
Some adulterants increase emissions of harmful pollutants from vehicles, worsening urban air
pollution.
Fuel adulteration is essentially an unintended consequence of tax policies and the attempt to
control fuel prices, in the name of fairness.
Indias environmental problems are exacerbated by its heavy reliance on coal for power
generation.
Emits a high amount of carbon and greenhouse gases.
Harmful pollutants like nitrogen and sulphur oxides emitted by aircraft at approximately
35,000ft combine with other gases in the atmosphere to create noxious particulate matter.
8,000 people will die due to aircraft pollutants this year, and 3,500 of them would be from India
and China.
Fuelwood and biomass burning is the primary reason for near-permanent haze and smoke
observed above rural and urban India, and in satellite pictures of the country.
Fuelwood and biomass cakes are used for cooking and general heating in over 100 million
Indian households, and are used two to three times a day, daily.
World Health Organization, claim 300,000 to 400,000 people die of indoor air pollution and
carbon monoxide poisoning in India because of biomass burning and use of chullahs.
Recent trends in India's air quality
Most Indian cities continue to violate India's and world air quality PM10 targets. Respirable
particulate matter pollution remains a key challenge for India.
A decreasing trend has been observed in sulphur dioxide levels in residential areas of many
cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Bhopal during last few years. The decreasing trend in
sulphur dioxide levels may be due to recently introduced clean fuel standards, and the
increasing use of LPG as domestic fuel instead of coal or fuelwood, and the use of LPG instead of
diesel in certain vehicles.
PM10 (meaning Particulate Matter 10 micrometers or less in diameter).
Most Indian cities greatly exceed acceptable levels of suspended particulate matter. This is
because of refuse and biomass burning, vehicles emissions, power plant emissions, industrial
sources.
The Indian air quality monitoring stations reported lower levels of PM10 and suspended
particulate matter during monsoon months possibly due to wet deposition and air scrubbing by
rainfall. Higher levels of particulates were observed during winter months
Poor management of waste
Huge amount of wastage pileups have been created in the cities because of high population
density and congestion in most Indian cities.
Large numbers of factories have been established across the city area and in the outer circles
of the city which ignore the system of proper waste disposal.
Unplanned drains coming out of the slum areas.
Drainage water gets added to the drinking water and resulting in serious health problem to the
public.
In India, ineffective drainage has been a major reason for the spread of water borne diseases.
Improper disposal of bio-medical waste by several health centres, mainly dental clinics, primary
health centres, community health centres and diagnostic centres poses a health hazard to the
general public, sanitation workers and rag pickers.
Lack of regular supervision of health centres by the Pollution Control Board on disposal of biomedical waste
Falling groundwater tables
Groundwater levels have dropped in many places across the globe over the past nine years.
The decline is due to expanding agriculture which in turn has increased water demand.
Climate change may also accelerate declines in groundwater in some places as precipitation
patterns are becoming more extreme, increasing the severity of droughts.
Groundwater currently makes up about 97 percent of all the available fresh water on the planet
and presently accounts for about 40 percent of our total water supply
Precipitation is Rain, sleet, hail, snow and other forms of water falling from the sky.
Falling groundwater tables
Groundwater is a key driver of the global economy. If it becomes depleted, entire industries may
be forced to shut down or move. Whole regions could face acute water scarcity.
Over-extraction also has serious implications for the environment, especially when the climate is
warming, as falling water tables can lead to emptying lakes and rivers and dying landscapes as
the water they depended on is withdrawn.
In the 10 years since Coca-Cola started operations (2000-2010), groundwater levels have
plummeted 25.35 meters (83.2 feet)
Preservation and quality of forests
When deforestation perpetrates, a whole gamut of consequences from soil infertility to global
warming arises.
Depletion of forests increases the risk of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere with the resultant
effect of the reduction of the ozone layer, which leads to global warming.
Global warming is said to pose a serious danger to civilisation because of its devastating effects
on the ecosystem.
Deforestation changes the quantity of water that percolates into the soil which results in
reduction of evaporation.
Preservation and quality of forests
Forestry in India is a significant rural industry and a major environmental issue.
India's forest cover to be about 68 million hectares, or about 20 percent of the country's area.
India's consumption of fuelwood is about five times higher than what can be sustainably
removed from forests.
The variety and distribution of forest vegetation is large. There are 600 species of hardwoods
To achieve sustainable forest and ecological security
India must pursue rural development and animal husbandry policies to address local
communities need to find affordable cattle fodder and grazing.
To avoid destruction of local forest cover, fodder must reach these communities on reliable
roads and other infrastructure, in all seasons year round.
Revenue generated from lease of mines must be pooled into a dedicated fund to conserve and
improve the quality of forests in the region where the mines are located.
Power to declare ecologically sensitive areas must be with each Indian state.
Sustainable agro-forestry and farm forestry must be encouraged through financial and
regulatory reforms, particularly on privately owned lands.
Government should reform regulations and laws that encourages sustainable Growth of Forest.
Social organisations and Local people be involved in activities that preserve and conserve forest
and to maintain ecological security.
Biodiversity loss
Biodiversity is defined as the variability among living organisms from all sources, including
terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are
a part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.
India has a total of 89,451 animal species accounting for 7.31% of the faunal species in the
world and the flora accounts for 10.78% of the global total.
44 plant species are critically endangered, 113 endangered and 87 vulnerable. Amongst
animals, 18 are critically endangered, 54 endangered and 143 are vulnerable.
The major proximate causes of species extinction are habitat loss and degradation.
However, the Underlying causes of biodiversity loss are:
Poverty
Macroeconomic policies
International trade factors
Policy failures
Poor environmental law/weak enforcement
Unsustainable development projects and lack of local control over resources
Population pressures and concomitant increases in the collection of fuelwood and fodder, and
grazing in forests by local communities too take their toll on the forests, and consequently its
biodiversity.
Firms
pollution prevention
eco-efficiency
green accounting
environmental management
Across Firms
industrial symbiosis
product life-cycles
Regional / Global
Major Achievements
The number of carbon credits issued for emission reduction projects in India is set to triple to
246 million by December 2012 from 72 million in November 2009.
This will cement India's second position in the global carbon credits market (technically called
Certified Emission Reduction units or CERs).
India's renewable energy capacity to increase to 20,000 megawatt (MW) by December 2012,
from the current 15,542 MW.
The contribution of renewable energy to the power business in India has now reached 70 per
cent, compared to 10 per cent in 2000.
Growth in use of green technologies has put India on the green-building leader board with
countries such as the US. About 2-3 per cent of all construction in India is green, as good as (in)
the US. In the next two or three years, we want to bring it up to 10 per cent, which will put us on
top
The US$ 1.79 billion Indian lighting market is estimated to be growing at 18 per cent annually
and switching rapidly to energy-efficient systems.
On the back of the incentive package for electric vehicles average monthly sales of electric twowheelers has risen 20 per cent.
National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), the Navratna PSU, under the Union Ministry of
Mines, Govt. of India, has become the first PSU in the country by implementing a pilot-cumdemonstration project on Carbon Sequestration in its captive power plant at Angul.
Corporate Investments
State-owned Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited (GACL) has entered into an agreement with
a Germany-based specialty chemicals maker, Evonik Industries for setting up a multi-million
Hydrogen Peroxide and Propylene Oxide (HPPO) project at Dahej in Gujarat. This project would
be based on an innovative, environment friendly HPPO technology.
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), an agency of the US Government, has signed
an agreement with Azure Power to fund its 15 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project in Gujarat.
The investment in the US$ 40 million project will be led by OPIC.
The worlds first facility to manufacture carbon foam batteries will be set up at Bavla near
Ahmedabad. Firefly Energy India is planning to build a plant to produce carbon foam batteries at
an investment of US$ 28 million.
State Bank of India (SBI), the countrys largest lender, has become a signatory investor in the
Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a collaboration of over 550 global institutional investors with
assets under management of US$ 71 trillion.
CDP is an independent not-for-profit organisation, holding the largest database of primary corporate
climate change information in the world. Over 3,000 organsations across the worlds largest economies
measure and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate change strategies through CDP. These
disclosures aid them in setting reduction targets and make performance improvements.
National Solar Mission
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has informed that the progress in
implementing the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission is satisfactory and according to
schedule.
The Ministry has sanctioned 802 MW capacities of grid-connected solar projects and 36 MW of
off-grid solar projects.
In addition, six major research projects include setting up of National Centre for Photovoltaic
Research and Education at IIT-Bombay were also approved.
Government Initiatives
Planned launch of National Mission in hybrid and electric vehicles.
Allocations of US$ 89.41 million from National Clean Energy fund for speeding up The National
Mission for a Green India.
The budget of the Environment Ministry increased by around US$ 67.1 million.
Extension of Tax holiday for the power sector by one year.
A budgetary provision (2011-12) of US$ 56.6 million has been made for research and
development in new and renewable energy for the first four years of the 11th Five Year Plan of
the MNRE.
The government would dole out US$ 335 million over the next two years to banks and finance
companies to lend money to solar energy projects at a generous 5 per cent interest rate, top
government official said. The money would be lent to small solar projects adding up to 200 MW
by companies like Sidbi, Nabard and National Housing Bank. These lenders would be provided
interest-free loans by IREDA.
IFC will provide up to US$ 15 million in corporate equity financing to Simran Wind Project Private
Limited (Simran), a privately-owned entity which is into wind-based power production. The
company will use the money to finance its pipeline projects worth US$ 40 million in Tamil Nadu.
IFC International Finance Corporation is a member of the World Bank Group. It finances and provides
advice for private sector ventures and projects in developing countries.
Punjab government has initiated an ambitious clean energy project to generate 1,500 MW
power from the run of the canal turbines. The Punjab Energy Development Agency (Peda) has
already developed an indigenous prototype of the turbines.
To facilitate fast track exploration of shale gas, the Ministry for Petroleum and Natural Gas
expects the process of carving out suitable blocks to be completed by April 2011, which would
allow floating of the first round of auctions of shale gas blocks in August 2011.
Solairedirect Energy India is in talks with the Gujarat government to set up a 20 MW plant at the
Solar Energy Park in Kutch at an estimated cost of US$ 67.1 million.
Shale gas refers to natural gas that is trapped within shale formations. Shales are fine-grained
sedimentary rocks that can be rich sources of petroleum and natural gas.
Reference Text
Krishnamoorthy: Environmental Management (Prentice - Hall India)
Vijay S Chitris : Changing face of the planet and Environmental Law (Snow White)
Tietenberg. Environmental & Natural Resources Economics (Pearson)
G.N. Pandey: Environment Management (Vikas)
Y.K. Saxena & N.K. Oberol: Environment Emplaned (Excel)
N.K. Oberol: Environmental Management (Excel Books)