Friday, January 05, 2007

Environmental laws in India

The protection and improvement of environment is a major issue which affects the well being of people and economic development throughout the world. It is he urgent desire of the people of the whole world and the duty of all governments. When we talk of environment, we talk of air, water, soil, conservation of natural resources, flora, fauna, noise, vehicular pollution and interaction between them.

Today, the world has more than 2000 international environmental laws, about 6000 bilateral agreements and more than 150 regional legislations (mostly European Union). Instiutions like the UNO and its specialized agencies, international non-governmental organizations (NGO) like the International Union for Conservation of nature (IUCN), Friends of the Earth (FOE), Greenpeace International, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), regional institutions like the European Union (EU), The Commonwealth, Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Organizartion of African Unity (OAU), Souh Asian Association for regional cooperation and so on, as also special purpose instiutions like the International tribunal on Law of the Sea (ITLOS), facilitate inplementation of these environmental laws.

India has also enacted numerous laws needed for protecting and improving the quality of environment and preventing, controlling and abating environmental pollution. These laws have been enacted for implementing the decisions of the United Nations Conference on Human Environment held at Stockholm, in June 1972, which called upon the Nations of the World to take appropriate steps for the protection and improvemnt of environment. Statutory Notifications, Rules, Directions and Orders issued by the Government along with the primary laws on environment have now become voluminous Environmental Law of India, occupying a distinct field of law in India well grown and properly developed.

No comments: