Assignment 1 (1).docx

Q1 Based on the above information, discuss how clauses for environmental protection have been incorporated in various five year plans in India. (Trace the timeline by doing a detailed comparative analysis). In the Indian society management and conservation of the environment is not a new concept. In the Hindu, theology environment is considered sacred and given high respect since ancient times. The Vedas give a detailed description of the importance of the environment. Background The Hindu society was conscious of adverse environmental effects caused by deforestation and extinction of animal species. As the cutting of trees was prohibited during the Vedic period and there was a penalty for cutting trees under Yajnavalkya Smriti. Many instructions for the use and maintenance of water were given in Charak Samhita. In the medieval period, the Mughals contributed to the conservation of the environment by constructions of gardens, orchids, green park roundabouts near their palaces on the bank of rivers. Officials have known as “Muhtasibs” were vested with the duty of prevention of pollution. Though the Mughal emperors were great lovers of nature they didn't make any attempts to conserve the forest. During the British period, exploitation of forest started on a large scale, a fierce onslaught of forest started to meet the demand of English Army. The second half of the 19thcentury marked the beginning of an organized forest management in India with some administrative steps taken to conserve forest the formulation of forest policy and legislation to implement the policy decisions. The systematic management of forest resources started with the appointment of first Inspector General of Forest in 1864. The task of forest department under theInspector gen. was that of exploration of resources, demarcation of reserves, protection of forests etc. The objective of management of forests thus changed from obtaining timber to protection and improvement of forests. than first forest policy was introduced in 1862 to implement the forest policy Forest act was enacted in 1927. Management of environment during post independence At the time of independence, India inherited the dismal economy from the Britishers. The country was struggling with poverty, food scarcity, unemployment, lack of infrastructure, lack of communication facilities, illiteracy and was lacking in every sphere of life. The Indian forests though preserved by many acts asking for special attention because those preindependence acts were based on the commercial line. Thus the government decided to set up a planning commission to work on policy for a span of five years. Thus the national planning was started in the country in 1951. The thrust areas in these Five Year Plans kept changing according to priorities at that point in time. While forestry and wildlife management programmes found reflection in the national planning right from the First Five Year Plan, programmes regarding environmental protection were completely overlooked and were

initiated only in the Forth Five Year Plan. A comparative analysis on five year plans is as follows : First five-year plan : ●

In the first five-year plan emphasis was on the development of the forest. To meet the demand for various development work and to meet the future demand. The revenue generated by the forest resources is also one important reason.

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An important step was the enactment of new forest policy replacing the old 1894 policy, based on the economic requirements. The policy emphasized on the one-third of the total land of the country must be under forest cover, including 60% in hilly areas and 20% in plains. For the conservation of Indian wildlife, a wildlife board was constituted in 1952

Second five-year plan The Second Five Year Plan (1956-61) aimed mainly at the enlargement of the processes initiated in the First Plan and provided for the large increases in the pace of forest development. Besides continuing the work initiated during the First Five Year Plan, programmes of the Second Plan included measures for afforestation and improvement of poorer areas in the forests. Third five-year plan The plan stated that "it is essential to develop the forest wealth of the country on a long-term basis not only for providing adequate fuel and timber for the rural areas but also for meeting the requirements of construction and various industries including paper, rayon, plywood, matches and tanning" The plan emphasized for the conservation of biodiversity as an important aspect of forest development, the plan included programmes for the development and establishment of five zoological parks, five national parks, and ten wildlife sanctuaries. Fourth five-year plan. 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 creating large-scale plantations of valuable quick-growing species and species of economic and industrial importance. For the effective management and conservation of habitat two new centrally-sponsored schemes- Project Tiger and Development of National Parks and Sanctuaries also came into existence in 1973. Fifth five-year pan. The primary objective laid down in the Plan was to initiate measures for increasing production of industrial wood and other forest products by clear felling and creating largescale man-made forests with the help of institutional financing. The second important

objective was to develop farm forestry and improvement of degraded forests to increase the fuel and timber supply in the rural areas. Sixth five-year plan It was for the first time during the Sixth Five Year Plan that the concern for environmental protection, which was almost overlooked during the first five National Developmental Plans, was regarded as the very basis of development. Separate steps were undertaken for water, air, noise and land pollutions. Though plans and 109 programmes in the field of soil conservation, forest and wildlife protection, industrial hygiene, etc. had been in existence in India for many decades, the first formal recognition of the need for integrating environment into developmental planning was made during this plan. Seventh-five year plan During the Seventh Five Year Plan, environmental management was accepted as a major guiding factor for national development. A significant progress was made in environment and ecology, forestry and wildlife and wastelands development. Fourteen river basins of the country were monitored to control water pollution. Besides, under wildlife conservation programme, seven Biosphere Reserves were set up for preserving the genetic biodiversity apart from ecological restoration in fragile areas. The National Forest Policy 1988 initiated during the plan marked a major departure from the past policies and almost reversed the objectives of forest management in the country by giving priority to the protection and conservation of forests over revenue orientation Eighth five-year plan Two new centrally sponsored schemes namely, GAP-II and National River Conservation Programme 111 (NRCP) were also approved during the plan for sewage treatment. In the forestry sector, Joint Forest Management (JFM) was regarded as the principal element of forest management strategies in the country, with a primary focus on protection and conservation goals.

Tenth five-year plan ●

The Plan was mainly a continuation of some previous projects with some new initiatives. The plan targeted cleaning of major polluted rivers by 2007 and other notified stretches by 2012. ● Management of hazardous waste through collection processing and disposal to given priority. ● Emphasis on environmental education among masses through the involvement of NGOs, youth educational institutes. Eleventh five-year plan ● In order to improve the quality of air, a programme for real-time air quality monitoring for cities with a population of more than 1 million was started during the plan. ● Increase forest and tree cover by 5% points. ● Treat all urban waste water by 2011-12 to clean rivers

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Increase the energy efficiency by 20% by 2016-17

12th five-year plan The Approach Paper for the Twelfth Plan for the environment, forests, wildlife and climate change focused strategic attention on the following: • Securing ecology of watersheds and catchments; • Cumulative environmental impact assessments for vulnerable regions; • Carrying capacity studies in selected river basins; • Maintaining acceptable water quality and quantity through pollution control of water resources; • Restoration of wetlands/lakes; and • Management of wastewater discharge from industrial and commercial establishments into major water bodies. ● Establishment of Department of Environment in the States for environmental management to resolve inter-sectoral issues needs to be addressed on priority. ● It is proposed to set up a high powered body called the National Environment and Forestry Council (NEFC) with the Prime Minister as Chairperson, the Minister of Environment and Forests as Vice Chairperson, aided and advised by a group of experts. ● It is proposed to set up a National Environmental Monitoring Programme (NEMP) for monitoring forests, air and water quality, river and ocean pollution, noise and so on with sharing of real-time data from local to national levels which will also help in monitoring change. ● Promotion of continuous 24 × 7 online air quality monitoring which includes Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) and Continuous Emission Monitoring System (CEMS); ● The Biological Diversity Act 2002 has to be implemented at all levels throughout the country. Immediate steps need to be taken to constitute Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at Gram Panchayats, Taluka Panchayats, Zilla Panchayats, as well as Nagarpalikas and Mahanagar Palika. Conclusion It was found that conservation and protection of 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 116 of biodiversity, water scarcity, water and air pollution, etc. However, despite these efforts, the degradation of environment and forests is continued in the country due to ineffective implementation of various policies and programmes Q2Review the election manifestos of any two political parties and present a comparative analysis of the same “Nature can complete the need of human being but not the greed of human being“, the words of Mahatma Gandhi said in the early 20th century become very relevant today. Every developing country is running for a high growth rate, which they are achieving at the

expense of the environment. How can countries achieve indefinite growth on a earth with definite resources? This raises a debate on environment vs development? The issue of the environment is only a burning topic among scholars it has no place in political platform yet. The burning issues in political platforms, in elections and in election manifestos are still "roti,kapda aur makan" i,e economic prosperity. Roadmap of every political party is to achieve a growth rate of 8 to 10 % of GDP. Why is it so? Because these issues are directly connected to the lifestyle of every person and the politics is based on direct issues. So that the work done on those issues directly impact the common man and political parties get favor for that work. But such a roadmap would, in all likelihood, extract a big environmental cost. Because of this environmental cost, not only the lifestyle but the livelihood of people start affecting and the environment does not remain an elitist issue. In Recent Lok sabha election of 2014, every political party put forward their vision of high economic growth and prosperity which throws up an issue of their vision on the environment, the debate on green clearances, mandate for big projects needed for this projected growth. Though green matters are not the central political plank for any of the political parties in the fray, environmental issues and matters of governance do find some mention in the party manifestos. While manifestos are largely ritualistic exercises, they are also the most important documents that declare the intentions of the political outfits, besides the other statements of the party leaders and track records of the parties and their leaders. These documents need to be read both in terms of the promises that they make as also the roadmaps that the parties provide to achieve the promises. Let's compare the manifestos of the three most prominent parties battling at the national level—the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian National Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Environmental governance BJP manifesto seems more business-friendly when it comes to environmental governance. they talk about a hub-spoke model at both the Centre and the state levels to simplify the clearance processes through a single-window mechanism. Though streamlining the process is certainly desirable for ensuring a timely and transparent decision making, a single window process without proper checks and balances—which the manifesto does not clarify—can also create a more general and biased understanding of the impacts of a proposed project and influence subsequent decision making. .Congress' manifesto proposes for an independent regulatory body for environmental clearance processes. The manifesto outlines the setting up of a National Environmental Appraisal and Monitoring Authority (NEAMA)—a professional agency to conduct an environmental appraisal of projects in a transparent and time-bound manner. However, such a plan has little to do with the party’s intention. It actually stems from the directive of the Supreme Court of July 2011, when the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) was asked to appoint a national regulator to appraise projects, regulate their clearances and monitor compliance with the environment clearance conditions. The ministry actually showed much reluctance in abiding by the apex court directives, following which the matter was

again taken up by the Supreme Court in September 2013. In an order delivered in January this year the government was given a deadline of setting up the national regulator with its offices in all the states by March 31, 2014. The AAP manifesto broadly speaks about a mechanism for decentralized/ bottom-up governance structure and decision making on all resource allocations—from mining to the exploitation of forest resources, to harnessing the renewable energy potential. The manifesto underlines the role of Gram Sabhas (and/or Mohalla Sabhas) in decision making at their respective levels and their integration in the overall governance process. For example, the AAP manifesto talks about reforming “MoEF and its agencies so that they can empower and help Gram Sabhas to be effective custodians and managers of their local natural resources.” However, it does not throw much light on how such a reform will be achieved.

Natural resources: Conservation of water

Congress manifesto has nothing new on the conservation of water. It refers to usual phrases of rainwater harvesting, conservation of water, efficient utilization of water etc. when it comes to conservation of Ganges,Congress proposes to take forward its earlier plan through the National Ganga River Basin Management Authority and proposes similar plans for other rivers too. Congress manifesto also talks about increasing irrigation efficiency and water use efficiency in general, but without any roadmap. BJP along with the conventional water conservation terms has mentioned few important schemes like …’Pradhan Mantri Gram Sinchayee Yojana’ with a motto of ‘har khet ko paani’. We will launch multi-pronged ‘water strategy’ for reducing farmer’s dependence on monsoon.”The BJP manifesto pledges to clean the Ganga and calls the river “a symbol of faith in India, and has a special place in the Indian psyche”. But Ganga gets the place in the cultural heritage section of the manifesto instead of environment section.This cultural tag will sideline the other water bodies which do not match this yardstick.The mention of interlinking of the rivers is also one of the important environmental concern in BJP manifesto. There is no mention of depleting water table and deteriorating quality of water in any of the manifestos. Though BJP manifesto talks about supply of drinking water to every household and 50 % supply and demand gap by 2050 but there in roadmap to face this problem.

Climate change Of all the national-level political parties contesting in 2014 , the BJP is the only one to take over note of climate change. In its manifesto, the party says, “We will take climate change mitigation initiatives with all seriousness and work with the global community and institutions in this regard.The party has also promised to create a Himalayan Sustainability Fund, a central university dedicated to Himalayan technology. It says it will give “due importance to the programmes devised to arrest the melting of Himalayan glaciers from which most of the rivers in north India originate”.Another most important issue which is taken up by BJP is promoting carbon credit.

The Congress manifesto promises of continued implementation of National Action Plan on Climate Change when the plan and its mission stand discredited, along with the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change. Matter of equity Most important aspect in the debate of environment vs development is a matter of equity. Those who face the brunt of displacement, loss of livelihood and pollution often left untouched in political discourse. Same as happened in the present manifestos of the political parties. The manifestos of the parties do not hold out much hope to the deprived and the marginalized, with the exception of the AAP manifesto to some extent. The AAP manifesto says that “commercial exploitation of natural resources would be done based on a royalty and revenue sharing agreement with local communities.” But when it comes to Congress and BJP manifestos, it's not just benefit sharing, even the idea of the participatory decision in development projects has been sidelined. While the BJP manifesto is largely silent on participatory decision-making, the Congress manifesto talks of decentralized forest management involving tribal and forest-dwelling communities Conclusion The developing countries like India are passing through the phase of dual injustice, environment /climate change crisis and development needs. Require us to acknowledge the necessity and urgency for both continued growth at the current pace and rapid greening of this growth strategy. The threat of human-induced climate change poses a serious question to humanity: how can India achieve an all-rounded human development in the future without degrading our environment. Thus serious environmental problems such as ecosystem disturbance, climate change, water and air pollution, and rising sea levels can be seen as the unintended consequences of the development process. This is the time for the political parties to consider the environmental issues as the priority. With the deteriorating environment condition,, the basic problems of "roti, kapda aur makan", even cannot be solved kept aside the quality living.

Q2 Review the election manifestos of any two political parties and present a comparative analysis of the same “Nature can complete the need of human being but not the greed of human being“, the words of Mahatma Gandhi said in the early 20th century become very relevant today. Every developing country is running for a high growth rate, which they are achieving at the

expense of the environment. How can countries achieve indefinite growth on a earth with definite resources? This raises a debate on environment vs development? The issue of the environment is only a burning topic among scholars it has no place in political platform yet. The burning issues in political platforms, in elections and in election manifestos are still "roti,kapda aur makan" i,e economic prosperity. Roadmap of every political party is to achieve a growth rate of 8 to 10 % of GDP. Why is it so? Because these issues are directly connected to the lifestyle of every person and the politics is based on direct issues. So that the work done on those issues directly impact the common man and political parties get favor for that work. But such a roadmap would, in all likelihood, extract a big environmental cost. Because of this environmental cost, not only the lifestyle but the livelihood of people start affecting and the environment does not remain an elitist issue. In Recent Lok sabha election of 2014, every political party put forward their vision of high economic growth and prosperity which throws up an issue of their vision on the environment, the debate on green clearances, mandate for big projects needed for this projected growth. Though green matters are not the central political plank for any of the political parties in the fray, environmental issues and matters of governance do find some mention in the party manifestos. While manifestos are largely ritualistic exercises, they are also the most important documents that declare the intentions of the political outfits, besides the other statements of the party leaders and track records of the parties and their leaders. These documents need to be read both in terms of the promises that they make as also the roadmaps that the parties provide to achieve the promises. Let's compare the manifestos of the three most prominent parties battling at the national level—the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian National Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Environmental governance BJP manifesto seems more business-friendly when it comes to environmental governance. they talk about a hub-spoke model at both the Centre and the state levels to simplify the clearance processes through a single-window mechanism. Though streamlining the process is certainly desirable for ensuring a timely and transparent decision making, a single window process without proper checks and balances—which the manifesto does not clarify—can also create a more general and biased understanding of the impacts of a proposed project and influence subsequent decision making. .Congress' manifesto proposes for an independent regulatory body for environmental clearance processes. The manifesto outlines the setting up of a National Environmental Appraisal and Monitoring Authority (NEAMA)—a professional agency to conduct an environmental appraisal of projects in a transparent and time-bound manner. However, such a plan has little to do with the party’s intention. It actually stems from the directive of the Supreme Court of July 2011, when the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) was asked to appoint a national regulator to appraise projects, regulate their clearances and monitor compliance with the environment clearance conditions. The ministry actually showed much reluctance in abiding by the apex court directives, following which the matter was

again taken up by the Supreme Court in September 2013. In an order delivered in January this year the government was given a deadline of setting up the national regulator with its offices in all the states by March 31, 2014. The AAP manifesto broadly speaks about a mechanism for decentralized/ bottom-up governance structure and decision making on all resource allocations—from mining to the exploitation of forest resources, to harnessing the renewable energy potential. The manifesto underlines the role of Gram Sabhas (and/or Mohalla Sabhas) in decision making at their respective levels and their integration in the overall governance process. For example, the AAP manifesto talks about reforming “MoEF and its agencies so that they can empower and help Gram Sabhas to be effective custodians and managers of their local natural resources.” However, it does not throw much light on how such a reform will be achieved.

Natural resources: Conservation of water

Congress manifesto has nothing new on the conservation of water. It refers to usual phrases of rainwater harvesting, conservation of water, efficient utilization of water etc. when it comes to conservation of Ganges,Congress proposes to take forward its earlier plan through the National Ganga River Basin Management Authority and proposes similar plans for other rivers too. Congress manifesto also talks about increasing irrigation efficiency and water use efficiency in general, but without any roadmap. BJP along with the conventional water conservation terms has mentioned few important schemes like …’Pradhan Mantri Gram Sinchayee Yojana’ with a motto of ‘har khet ko paani’. We will launch multi-pronged ‘water strategy’ for reducing farmer’s dependence on monsoon.”The BJP manifesto pledges to clean the Ganga and calls the river “a symbol of faith in India, and has a special place in the Indian psyche”. But Ganga gets the place in the cultural heritage section of the manifesto instead of environment section.This cultural tag will sideline the other water bodies which do not match this yardstick.The mention of interlinking of the rivers is also one of the important environmental concern in BJP manifesto. There is no mention of depleting water table and deteriorating quality of water in any of the manifestos. Though BJP manifesto talks about supply of drinking water to every household and 50 % supply and demand gap by 2050 but there in roadmap to face this problem.

Climate change Of all the national-level political parties contesting in 2014 , the BJP is the only one to take over note of climate change. In its manifesto, the party says, “We will take climate change mitigation initiatives with all seriousness and work with the global community and institutions in this regard.The party has also promised to create a Himalayan Sustainability Fund, a central university dedicated to Himalayan technology. It says it will give “due importance to the programmes devised to arrest the melting of Himalayan glaciers from which most of the rivers in north India originate”.Another most important issue which is taken up by BJP is promoting carbon credit.

The Congress manifesto promises of continued implementation of National Action Plan on Climate Change when the plan and its mission stand discredited, along with the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change. Matter of equity Most important aspect in the debate of environment vs development is a matter of equity. Those who face the brunt of displacement, loss of livelihood and pollution often left untouched in political discourse. Same as happened in the present manifestos of the political parties. The manifestos of the parties do not hold out much hope to the deprived and the marginalized, with the exception of the AAP manifesto to some extent. The AAP manifesto says that “commercial exploitation of natural resources would be done based on a royalty and revenue sharing agreement with local communities.” But when it comes to Congress and BJP manifestos, it's not just benefit sharing, even the idea of the participatory decision in development projects has been sidelined. While the BJP manifesto is largely silent on participatory decision-making, the Congress manifesto talks of decentralized forest management involving tribal and forest-dwelling communities Conclusion The developing countries like India are passing through the phase of dual injustice, environment /climate change crisis and development needs. Require us to acknowledge the necessity and urgency for both continued growth at the current pace and rapid greening of this growth strategy. The threat of human-induced climate change poses a serious question to humanity: how can India achieve an all-rounded human development in the future without degrading our environment. Thus serious environmental problems such as ecosystem disturbance, climate change, water and air pollution, and rising sea levels can be seen as the unintended consequences of the development process. This is the time for the political parties to consider the environmental issues as the priority. With the deteriorating environment condition,, the basic problems of "roti, kapda aur makan", even cannot be solved kept aside the quality living.

Q3.Present a brief personal analysis on Bhopal Gas Tragedy. Why mostly developing countries are privy to such environmental crisis? On the night of 2nd December 1984, a central Indian city Bhopal with 5 million population suffered one of the worst industrial disasters in human history. Taking lives of more than 3000 people on the same day and many more in upcoming years, the accident, has raised questions about doing business in the third world - not only for the multinational companies but for the host countries as well. It raises a question whether developing countries are not yet ready to receive the technological advancement or the multinational companies have double standard in the developing world?

Background

At 1 am on the night of 3rd December 1984, there is a leak of a gas from union carbide Bhopal plant, a most technologically advanced industry of India and with 3 layers of safety equipment. The leak of one of the most lethal gases Methyl Isocyanide in a spam of a few minutes caused havoc. Reason of leakage There were 3 tanks in the storage facility of the MIC.As per the recommendations only, 50% of storage is allowed in two tanks and one is to remain empty but in Bhopal, the tanks are filled up to 75% of storage capacity. Other than that to reduce the budget only single water cleaning pipe was used instead of two and this pipe is also connected to tanks of the MIC without a slipped disk which is used to stop water entering the tank of the MIC. Before disaster scheduled cleaning was done of hoses, by mistake the water enters the MIC tank and liquid MIC on reacting with iron contaminated water gets evaporated and tanks pressure valve gets exploded. But due to faulty gauges staff come to know about it only when pressure is out of limit. Safety system failure Union Carbide has many branches in the world and was considered as one of the safest, technologically advanced industries at that period of time. There was three safety system to avoid any leakages. The first, gas vent scrubber which was not of the capacity to absorb this much gas. Second, flare tower whose pipe was eroded and was not changed from months. Third, water spray cannons which don't have enough pressure to reach up to chimneys. These all safety systems were not checked from months and company don't want to spend money as they are going in loss. The parent company has already reduced the budget of the company by 12.5lakh $. Aftermath Thousands of people rushed to hospitals by 3 am but hospitals were informed that its leakage of ammonia. Patients were given conventional treatment to cure ammonia effect but when patients were kept increasing, doctors asked union carbide officials about the gas again then only they were told about the leak of the MIC. this was totally a new kind of gas for doctors and they were unaware about its treatment neither union carbide has ever informed them about any antidote for this gas. so that doctors can fight with the unmanageable situation. By the morning, roads of Bhopal were filled with dead bodies of humans, cows, buffaloes, birds etc. Structural lapses , management lapses or negligence by government? In my opinion, to cut short the budget all the safety measures taken in the industry are just an eyewash like gas vent scrubber it is only for minor leakages, water spray cannons are small enough to create pressure that can reach up to chimney. These structural lapses are the cause of such a huge disaster. Along with that, the management was eyeing only on the huge market of pesticide in India but the company was not earning as expected the management of the parent company was

not giving importance to the company. there were no proper safety audits. To cut short the budget safety supervisor was dismissed. The Indian government was also struggling to increase the production of food crops thus need industry to produce inputs for the agriculture sector. Thus its lenient towards the establishment of MNCs in India. There was no safety audits by the Indian government, no training for local administration for dealing with such kind of disaster.

Why are developing countries privy to such structural disaster? Since the disaster in Bhopal, scientists, Government officials, policymakers, medical experts, cultural specialists and business leaders - including officials from Union Carbide - have converged on the city to glean the lessons of Bhopal. The city, they say, has become a laboratory for the study of how industrial companies can better conduct business in the third world - and what steps might be taken to avoid a repetition of what happened here. These are some of the issues which are often overlooked and cause structural disaster in developing countries: Hazardous facilities often pose added risks in developing nations, where skilled labor and public understanding are often lacking. Special training is needed to compensate for these extra risks. Public education is critical in developing countries, where people often do not understand the hazards of toxic substances. Repeated drills and clear warning signals are needed. The more rural areas of the developing world should not be used to test complex new technology. A sense of urgency about all safety problems and attention to worst-case possibilities routine in industrial countries but often not transferred to developing countries - should be part of worker training, especially in plants with a high turnover of personnel. The company headquarters should audit its plants in developing countries frequently, perhaps more often than it audits plants at home. Sophisticated backup safety systems, often installed in industrial nations, are needed to compensate for lapses in training and staff in developing nations, where they are needed more. Company executives should be technical - not just administratively - trained in businesses that use toxic materials; such training can compensate for a lack of technical know-how in the local plant staff. Many areas of the developing world are growing rapidly and without zoning laws. Suitable buffers should be placed around the factory to prevent the dangers of crowding. Cultural differences between foreign and host countries should be considered. If preventive maintenance is a new concept, it should be more thoroughly taught.

Host governments should closely and continually inspect hazardous factories and their management, enforcing strict and quick sanctions for safety lapses. In making agreements with multinational companies, the governments of developing countries should consider only those technologies that can be safely handled in the long run. It may be necessary to change laws that mandate turning factories over to local control completely.

Justice or Eyewash The supreme court of India in 1989 delivers its decision that the union carbide corporation was to pay 470 million us dollars as a final settlement for all the liabilities, by giving the justification that “this court, considered it a compelling duty, both judicial and humane to secure immediate relief to the victims.” For the Bhopal gas victims despite sincere efforts made by various civil society organizations justice remain a far distant dream over the last thirty years. With this all, the tragedy can surely be said to be a stigma in the Indian history as the government, firstly, for giving a boost to the economic development started industrialization in densely populated areas putting people’s lives in danger, and secondly no strict surveillance mechanism was put in place to cope up with the situations arising after a disaster. Following this disaster, the Government of India soon passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster (Processing of Claims) Act, 1985.2 Under this Act, the Government in 1985 itself formulated a scheme known as the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Scheme for the registration, processing, and determination of compensation to each claim and appeals arising from thereon. However, the saddest part of this incident is that even after the passage of more than 30 years the victims are still running from the pillar to the post in search of just and fair justice. It is, therefore, appropriate to recall the words of Prof. Upendra Baxi: “The broken world of Bhopal victims invites a jurisprudence of human solidarity.” Legislative development after Bhopal gas tragedy ●

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The most important legislative development was the enactment of environment protection act of 1986. The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 is popularly known as mother legislation or umbrella legalization as it covers almost all the possible dimensions relating to the environment. It is, in fact, a comprehensive piece of legislation which extends to the whole of India. Hazardous waste management and handling rules 1989 The manufacturing,stotrage and import of hazardous rules 1989 The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991 is a well-intended act to provide immediate relief to the victims affected by accidents while handling hazardous substances and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The Act incorporates a provision making it mandatory for the industrial units that every owner shall take out before he starts handling any hazardous substance, one or more insurance policies and renews it or them from time to time before the expiry of validity.

Conclusion

The government of developing countries must ensure that in the race of economic growth and prosperity for their citizens they should not ignore the consequences of importing technical know-how without creating a proper physical, mental, cultural and educational infrastructure.

Q4.Our dependence on nature is so great that we cannot continue to live without protecting the Earth’s environmental resources. Most traditional societies have learned that respecting nature is vital in protecting their own livelihoods’. Explain by quoting a few such traditional practices practiced by communities in your respective countries and how well have they been integrated into the present environmental laws and policies.

Humanity and the environment are the two dynamic processes thus there is a need for synchronization among the two. Since the industrial revolution, this synchronization is disturbed a lot. Post industrialization humans are synchronizing with the environment through various traditional practices but now the pace is disturbed.

We as Indians,always feel pride in our cultural heritage. If we look, since ancient time Hindu theology practices worship of air, water, and land which is the very basis of the human survival. In many parts of India, communities have inherited the rich tradition of love and reverence for nature through ages. Religious preaching, traditions, and customs have played a big role in this regard: Indian religions have generally been the advocates of environmentalism. They campaigned for such guidelines to the commoners that ensured an intimate contact and sense of belonging in nature. Further, ancient texts were written in Sanskrit, Pali or other languages can provide significant details. For instance, the scripture Vishnu Samhitâ in the Sanskrit language contains some direct instructions dealing with biodiversity conservation. The various natural bodies like the sun, moon, rivers, oceans etc are worshipped. The sun is of vital importance in the Vedic period. It is worshiped in many forms of gods like Sūrya, Mārtaṇḍa, Uṣa, Pūṣan, Rudra, etc. Today, it is a scientifically accepted fact that the sun is the ultimate source of energy. The whole process of life, ecosystem, food chain is governed by the energy of the sun. Similarly, the AtharvaVeda highlights the importance of nature and has a beautiful hymn in praise of the earth. With remarkable foresight, Thiruvalluvar’s Kural, an ancient text in Tamil from south India stresses the need to remain under nature’s protection: ‘Sparkling water, open space, hills, and forests constitute a fortress.’ Guru Granth Saheb states, ‘Air is the guru, water is the father, and earth is the great Mother of all.’ In fact, whole civilizations have their existence near the water bodies whether its Indus valley civilization, Mesopotamia etc. In this sense, nature and culture are inextricably attached to each other. Revolutions in the technological and communication fields and the advent of globalization have made an impact on our culture which has also evolved with time. However, it becomes imperative that we adopt new things without losing the basic character of our long cherished traditions and values which include environmental conservation. India is a culturally rich and diverse country where people speak many different languages, with many communities which live in their respective social structures completely depending on their environment to ensure their livelihood. If we go through the timeline of environmental policy emergence, we find since united nations conference on human-environment many steps are taken internationally and nationally both. But the problem of the environment is deteriorating day by day. We are looking for its solution through technology, science, and development through the traditional knowledge is has always contributed to the modern remedy of environmental crisis. Further for centuries, indigenous communities were used to surviving and adjusting their agriculture, fishing, and hunting in the event of changes in climate. It is ironical that now when the threat of climate change is so imminent we are looking for solutions outside. However, there is another threat looming large, that is, of losing these communities to outright

annihilation or due to their amalgamation into the mainstream. Moreover, with the commercialization of even natural resources, traditional knowledge that managed to maintain sustainable levels of harvest has been sidelined. By analyzing the ethnic communities in different part of the world we can get the insights of their traditional knowledge. I am substantiating my view with few traditional practices of Indian ethnic communities which become role model to be incorporated in policies of environmental conservation. Sacred groves The tradition of sacred groves in many parts of India is one such practice of ancient time which is still followed by many tribal communities. The sacred groves are the bunch of plants are preserved in a particular area on the religious beliefs. People don't destroy them because such groves were regarded as the abodes of gods and goddesses or spirits and hence protected with utmost care. The cutting of trees was prohibited in these areas and nobody dared to disobey the injunction, partly because of religious faith and partly due to the fear of facing the wrath of the gods, goddesses, and spirits. This tradition of sacred grooves is similar to today's practice of sanctuaries, national park or biosphere reserves. In the ancient times the countries I,e monarch states are small so they have small patches under conservation while a now countries are too big which leads to bigger reserves. The khejri tree and Bishnois In medieval time many sects emerged and propagated conservation of nature. One among them is Bishnois which became widely accepted in a climatically hostile zone of Rajasthan. The followers of the sect advocated the banning of tree felling since they believed that trees are the basis of a harmonious and prosperous environment. The love for trees was so greatly infused in the minds and souls of the Bishnois that in Khejrali village of Rajasthan about 363 young and old men and women embraced the khejri trees (Prosopis cineraria) to protect them from being felled.The local ruler had ordered the cutting of khejri trees to use them for his lime kilns as fuel; the Bishnois hugged them and many were killed in the episode. Later, a temple was built in honor of the Bishnoi martyrs. One of the leading women of the movement was Amrita Devi Bishnoi. The repentant king later issued an edict protecting trees and animals in Bishnoi-controlled lands. The commoners from a semi-arid zone had understood the real value of trees. Khejri leaves constitute an important feed for livestock in a desert region like western Rajasthan, as they have high nutritional value for camels, cattle, sheep, and goat. A unique feature of this tree is that it yields much green foliage even during dry winter months when no other green fodder is available in the dry tracts. People from semiarid parts of western Rajasthan encouraged the growth of the khejri tree in between

the cultivable lands and pastures because its extensive root system helped to stabilize the shifting sand dunes. It also fixes nitrogen through bacterial activity. Besides, villagers used khejri leaves as organic matter for rejuvenating the nonfertile soil. Women use its flowers mixed with sugar during their pregnancy as a safeguard against miscarriage, and its bark is effective against dysentery, asthma, common cold and rheumatic arthritis. Apatani Cultural Landscape A small tribe in Arunachal Pradesh located in a small valley has been able to defeat modern technological advancements in terms of environmental conservation. The Apatanis from Ziro have a unique lifestyle that focuses on living in harmony with nature. In April 2014, Apatani Cultural Landscape has also been added to the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites for “extremely high productivity” and “unique” ways of preserving ecology. They are famous for the sustainable and efficient methods that they have been following to cultivate rice. The farmlands are built on flatlands and therefore, wet rice cultivation is followed along with pisciculture. Even the elevated partition bunds between rice plots are utilized to grow millets. Their farms are uniquely marked with efficient channels and canals for irrigation purposes. There are no farm animals or machines used; instead, the focus is on using nature-friendly and sustainable methods only. They have also successfully been able to conserve the forests around the valley which serve as watersheds for streamlets flowing down into the fields, thereby, helping them in the irrigation system. There is too much to learn from them on how they have used traditional methods to attain what the modern machines and systems have been unable to! Similarly, the indigenous inherited knowledge provided by the fishermen of Greater Mumbai and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra was found to be rich, varied with potential technical know-how associated with the management of bag net, shoreseine, gill net, long line and traditional trawl fishery We are facing today challenge of not only industrialization, liberalization and urbanization but also to make sure that fresh air and clean water are available to our people. This is possible only by active participation both by the government and the people in resource conservation and management. This requires political will, education, and a change in the mindset of the people at large. Conservation of natural resources and culture can be achieved only through the empowerment of indigenous communities and their development. Finally, it is good to know that our efforts at preservation of natural resources have been recognized the world over with the latest survey by National Geographic magazine calling Indians as the most environment-friendly people. But this puts an additional responsibility on Indians, that is, not only to protect, preserve and promote Indian cultural heritage and traditional

knowledge but also to lead the world in environmental conservation through sustainable development through the ages.