Unit: 6 Global Environmental Issues and Policies

Causes of Climate change, Global warming, Ozone layer depletion, and Acid rain; Impacts on humancommunities, biodiversity, global economy, and agriculture • International agreements and programmes: Earth Summit, UNFCCC, Montreal and Kyoto protocols,Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD), Ramsar convention, The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC),UNEP, CITES, etc • Sustainable Development Goals: India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change and its major missions • Environment legislation in India: Wildlife Protection Act, 1972; Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution)Act, 1974; Forest (Conservation) Act 1980; Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981; EnvironmentProtection Act, 1986; Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights)Act, 2006

Climate Changes:

Climate change refers to significant changes in global temperature, precipitation, windpatterns and other measures of climate that occur over several decades or longer. The seas arerising. The foods we eat and take for granted are threatened. Ocean acidification isincreasing. Climate change is one of the major challenges for the international community.However, there is no intuitive approach to the problem. Rather, it can only be graspedthrough scientific knowledge. This is why our Climate Course explains the scientific basis ofclimate change, the impacts on nature and society, and identifies potential solutions – so thatfact-based knowledge is available for everyone and can guide the transformation processtowards a sustainable future.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC):

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental bodyof the United Nations that is dedicated to providing the world with objective, scientificinformation relevant to understanding the scientific basis of the risk of human-inducedclimate change, its natural, political, and economic impacts.

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Government Missions under National Acton Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC):

1. National Solar Mission: This initiative started in 2010 to promote the use of solar power. Recently, in January thisyear, India achieved 20 gw (giga watt) cumulative solar capacity-achieving the milestonefour years ahead of the target for 2022 originally set in the National Solar Mission.

2. National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency: The initiative was undertaken to promote the market for energy efficiency by fosteringinnovative policies and effective market instruments. In 2009, it was approved 'in principle'by the PM's Council on Climate Change.

3. National Mission on Sustainable Habitat Approved by the PM in 2011, it aims to make cities sustainable through improvements inenergy efficiency in buildings, management of solid waste and shift to public transport. TheMinistry of Housing and Urban Affairs backs the mission.

4. National Water Mission: The mission was put in place to ensure integrated water resource management helping toconserve water, minimize wastage and ensure more equitable distribution both across andwithin states. This mission is one of the most proactive ones and is backed by the NationalWater Policy as well as the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and GangaRejuvenation.

5. National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem: A multi-pronged, cross-cutting mission across various sectors, NMSHE got a nod from theUnion Cabinet in 2014. Aimed at protecting the Himalayas, it has mapped institutes and civilsociety organisations working on the Himalayan ecology for ease of coordination betweengovernmental and nongovernmental agencies.

6. National Mission for a Green India: National Mission for a Green India also termed as the Green India Mission/Scheme, it aimsat protecting; restoring and enhancing India's diminishing forest cover and responding toclimate change by a combination of adaptation and mitigation measures. It was launched inFebruary 2014 for protecting; restoring and enhancing India's diminishing forest cover andresponding to climate change by a combination of adaptation and mitigation measures Drivenby the Ministry of Environment and Forests, it received the nod of approval from the Cabinetin 2014.

7. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture:National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture another one of the govt's most efficientmissions, it has been formulated for enhancing agricultural productivity especially in rain-fedareas focusing on integrated farming, water use efficiency, soil health management andsynergizing resource conservation It got the nod back in 2010, and has recently got approvalfor one of its key missions - National Bamboo Mission - by the Cabinet.

8. National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change: The mission seeks tobuild a dynamic and vibrant knowledge system that informs and supports national policy andaction for responding effectively to climate change challenges, while not compromising onthe nation's growth goals. Department of Science and Technology drives the mission, and a

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recent development under the mission was the govt's approval for establishing Karnataka'sfirst climate change lab.

Green house Effects:The greenhouse effect is caused by greenhouse gases; the most important greenhousegases in Earth's atmosphere are: water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane. Whenthere is more greenhouse gas in the air, the air holds more heat. This is why more greenhousegases cause climate change and global warming.

Greenhouse gases:Greenhouse gases are those that absorb and emit infrared radiation in the wavelength rangeemitted by Earth. Carbon dioxide (0.04%), nitrous oxide, methane and ozone are trace gasesthat account for almost one tenth of 1% of Earth's atmosphere and have an appreciablegreenhouse effect.The two main gases responsible for the greenhouse effect (and not only its recent increase)are : Water vapour (H2O),carbon dioxyde (CO2).There are others such gases, and even many others. Some of them are “natural”, which meansthat they were present in the atmosphere before the apparition of men, and other can becalled “artificial”, in the sense that they are present in the atmosphere only because of us.Beyond water and CO2, the other important “natural” greenhouse gases are :methane (CH4), which is nothing else than the cooking gas we use in our stoves, Nitousoxyde (N2O), the scholarly name for laughing gas (which is not so much amusing here),ozone (O3), which molecule comprises 3 oxygen atoms (the molecules of the “regular”oxygen gas have only 2 atoms of oxygen). When we say that these gases are “natural”, itdoes not mean that men did not play a role in the amount we can find in the atmospheretoday. It just means that there are also natural sources (or natural cycles). For these 3 abovementionned gases, humanity “simply” adds its part to natural emissions and thereforesignifically increases their concentration in the air.

Acid rain:

Rainfall made so acidic by atmospheric pollution that it causes environmental harm, chieflyto forests and lakes. The main cause is the industrial burning of coal and other fossil fuels,the waste gases from which contain sulphur and nitrogen oxides which combine withatmospheric water to form acids.Acid rain is a result of air pollution. Some of these gases (especially nitrogen oxides andsulphur dioxide) react with the tiny droplets of water in clouds to form sulphuric andnitric acids. The rain from these clouds then falls as very weak acid - which is why it isknown as "acid rain".Acidity is measured using a scale called the pH scale. This scale goes from 0 to 14. 0 is themost acidic and 14 is the most alkaline (opposite of acidic). Something with a pH value of 7,we call neutral, this means that it is neither acidic nor alkaline. Very strong acids will burn ifthey touch your skin and can even destroy metals. Acid rain is much, much weaker than this,never acidic enough to burn your skin. Rain is always slightly acidic because it mixes withnaturally occurring oxides in the air. Unpolluted rain would have a pH value of between 5and 6. When the air becomes more polluted with nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide theacidity can increase to a pH value of 4. Some rain has even been recorded as being pH2.Vinegar has a pH value of 2.2 and lemon juice has a value of pH2.3. Even the strongestrecorded acid rain is only about as acidic as lemon juice or vinegar and we know that thesedon't harm us - so why do we worry about acid rain?

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Effects of Acid RainAcid rain can be carried great distances in the atmosphere, not just between countries but alsofrom continent to continent. The acid can also take the form of snow, mists and dry dusts.The rain sometimes falls many miles from the source of pollution but wherever it falls it canhave a serious effect on soil, trees, buildings and water.Forests all over the world are dying, fish are dying. In Scandinavia there are dead lakes,which are crystal clear and contain no living creatures or plant life. Many of Britain'sfreshwater fish are threatened, there have been reports of deformed fish being hatched. Thisleads to fish-eating birds and animals being affected also. Is acid rain responsible for all this?Scientists have been doing a lot of research into how acid rain affects the environment.

Ozone Layer Depletion:Ozone depletion, gradual thinning of Earth's ozone layer in the upper atmosphere caused bythe release of chemical compounds containing gaseous chlorine or bromine from industryand other human activities. The thinning is most pronounced in the polar regions, especiallyover Antarctica.

Effects on Human Health:Ozone layer depletion increases the amount of UVB that reaches the Earth’s surface.Laboratory and epidemiological studies demonstrate that UVB causes non-melanoma skincancer and plays a major role in malignant melanoma development. In addition, UVB hasbeen linked to the development of cataracts, a clouding of the eye’s lens.

Effects on Plants:UVB radiation affects the physiological and developmental processes of plants. Despitemechanisms to reduce or repair these effects and an ability to adapt to increased levels ofUVB, plant growth can be directly affected by UVB radiation.Indirect changes caused by UVB (such as changes in plant form, how nutrients aredistributed within the plant, timing of developmental phases and secondary metabolism) maybe equally or sometimes more important than damaging effects of UVB. These changes canhave important implications for plant competitive balance, herbivory, plant diseases, andbiogeochemical cycles.

Effects on Marine Ecosystems:Phytoplankton form the foundation of aquatic food webs. Phytoplankton productivity islimited to the euphotic zone, the upper layer of the water column in which there is sufficientsunlight to support net productivity. Exposure to solar UVB radiation has been shown toaffect both orientation and motility in phytoplankton, resulting in reduced survival rates for

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these organisms. Scientists have demonstrated a direct reduction in phytoplankton productiondue to ozone depletion-related increases in UVB.UVB radiation has been found to cause damage to early developmental stages of fish,shrimp, crab, amphibians, and other marine animals. The most severe effects are decreasedreproductive capacity and impaired larval development. Small increases in UVB exposurecould result in population reductions for small marine organisms with implications for thewhole marine food chain.

Effects on Biogeochemical Cycles:Increases in UVB radiation could affect terrestrial and aquatic biogeochemical cycles, thusaltering both sources and sinks of greenhouse and chemically important trace gases (e.g.,carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbonyl sulfide, ozone, and possibly other gases). Thesepotential changes would contribute to biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks that mitigate oramplify the atmospheric concentrations of these gases.

Effects on Materials:Synthetic polymers, naturally occurring biopolymers, as well as some other materials ofcommercial interest are adversely affected by UVB radiation. Today's materials aresomewhat protected from UVB by special additives. Yet, increases in UVB levels willaccelerate their breakdown, limiting the length of time for which they are useful outdoors.

Kyoto Protocol:

The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty which extends the 1992 United NationsFramework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reducegreenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part one) global warming isoccurring and (part two) it is extremely likely that human-made CO2 emissions havepredominantly caused it. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December1997 and entered into force on 16 February 2005. There are currently 192 parties (Canadawithdrew from the protocol, effective December 2012) to the Protocol. The Kyoto Protocolimplemented the objective of the UNFCCC to reduce the onset of global warming byreducing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere to "a level that would preventdangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system" (Article 2). The KyotoProtocol applies to the six greenhouse gases listed in Annex A: Carbon dioxide (CO2),Methane (CH4), Nitrous oxide (N2O), Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), Perfluorocarbons(PFCs), and Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). The Protocol is based on the principle of commonbut differentiated responsibilities: it acknowledges that individual countries have differentcapabilities in combating climate change, owing to economic development, and thereforeputs the obligation to reduce current emissions on developed countries on the basis that theyare historically responsible for the current levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. TheProtocol's first commitment period started in 2008 and ended in 2012. A second commitmentperiod was agreed in 2012, known as the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol, in which37 countries have binding targets: Australia, the European Union (and its 28 member states),Belarus, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, and Ukraine. Belarus,Kazakhstan, and Ukraine have stated that they may withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol or notput into legal force the Amendment with second round targets. Japan, New Zealand, andRussia have participated in Kyoto's first-round but have not taken on new targets in thesecond commitment period.

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Paris Agreement:

The Paris Agreement is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention onClimate Change (UNFCCC), dealing with greenhouse-gas-emissions mitigation, adaptation,and finance, signed in 2016. The agreement's language was negotiated by representatives of196 state parties at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC in Le Bourget, nearParis, France, and adopted by consensus on 12 December 2015. As of March 2019, 195UNFCCC members have signed the agreement, and 186 have become party to it. The ParisAgreement's long-term temperature goal is to keep the increase in global average temperatureto well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels; and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to1.5 °C, recognizing that this would substantially reduce the risks and impacts of climatechange. This should be done by peaking emissions as soon as possible, in order to "achieve abalance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhousegases" in the second half of the 21st century. It also aims to increase the ability of parties toadapt to the adverse impacts of climate change, and make "finance flows consistent with apathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development." Underthe Paris Agreement, each country must determine, plan, and regularly report on thecontribution that it undertakes to mitigate global warming. No mechanism forces a country toset a specific target by a specific date, but each target should go beyond previously settargets. In June 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw theUnited States from the agreement. Under the agreement, the earliest effective date ofwithdrawal for the U.S. is November 2020, shortly before the end of President Trump'scurrent term. In practice, changes in United States policy that are contrary to the ParisAgreement have already been put in place.

Montreal Protocol:

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (a protocol to theVienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer) is an international treaty designedto protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that areresponsible for ozone depletion. It was agreed on 26 August 1987, and entered into force on16 September 1989, following a first meeting in Helsinki, May 1989. Since then, it hasundergone nine revisions, in 1990 (London), 1991 (Nairobi), 1992 (Copenhagen), 1993(Bangkok), 1995 (Vienna), 1997 (Montreal), 1998 (Australia), 1999 (Beijing) and 2016(Kigali). As a result of the international agreement, the ozone hole in Antarctica is slowlyrecovering. Climate projections indicate that the ozone layer will return to 1980 levelsbetween 2050 and 2070. Due to its widespread adoption and implementation it has beenhailed as an example of exceptional. International co-operation, with Kofi Annan quoted assaying that "perhaps the single most successful international agreement to date has been theMontreal Protocol". The two ozone treaties have been ratified by 197 parties (196 states andthe European Union), making them the first universally ratified treaties in United Nationshistory. These truly universal treaties have also been remarkable in the expedience of thepolicy-making process at the global scale, where only 14 years lapsed between a basicscientific research discovery (1973) and the international agreement signed (1985 and 1987).Within 25 years of signing, parties to the Montreal Protocol celebrate significant milestones.Significantly, the world has phased-out 98% of the Ozone-Depleting Substances (ODS)contained in nearly 100 hazardous chemicals worldwide; every country is in compliance withstringent obligations; and, the MP has achieved the status of the first global regime withuniversal ratification; even the newest member state, South Sudan, ratified in 2013. UNEPreceived accolades for achieving global consensus that "demonstrates the world’scommitment to ozone protection, and more broadly, to global environmental protection.

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The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC):

The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is a multilateral treaty that bans chemicalweapons and requires their destruction within a specified period of time. The treaty is ofunlimited duration and is far more comprehensive than the 1925 Geneva Protocol, whichoutlaws the use but not the possession of chemical weapons. CWC negotiations started in1980 in the UN Conference on Disarmament. The convention opened for signature onJanuary 13, 1993, and entered into force on April 29, 1997. The CWC is implemented by theOrganization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is headquartered inThe Hague with about 500 employees. The OPCW receives states-parties’ declarationsdetailing chemical weapons-related activities or materials and relevant industrial activities.After receiving declarations, the OPCW inspects and monitors states-parties’ facilities andactivities that are relevant to the convention, to ensure compliance. The CWC is open to allnations and currently has 193 states-parties. Israel has signed but has yet to ratify theconvention. Three states have neither signed nor ratified the convention (Egypt, North Koreaand South Sudan).

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC):

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is aninternational environmental treaty adopted on 9 May 1992 and opened for signature at theEarth Summit in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992. It then entered into force on 21March 1994, after a sufficient number of countries had ratified it. The UNFCCC objective isto "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would preventdangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system". The framework setsnonbinding limits on greenhouse gas emissions for individual countries and contains noenforcement mechanisms. Instead, the framework outlines how specific international treaties(called "protocols" or "Agreements") may be negotiated to specify further action towards theobjective of the UNFCCC Initially, an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC)produced the text of the Framework Convention during its meeting in New York from 30April to 9 May 1992. The UNFCCC was adopted on 9 May 1992, and opened for signatureon 4 June 1992. The UNFCCC has 197 parties as of December 2015. The convention enjoysbroad legitimacy, largely due to its nearly universal membership. The parties to theconvention have met annually from 1995 in Conferences of the Parties (COP) to assessprogress in dealing with climate change. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was concluded andestablished legally binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhousegas emissions in the period 2008–2012. The 2010 United Nations Climate ChangeConference produced an agreement stating that future global warming should be limited tobelow 2.0 °C (3.6 °F) relative to the pre-industrial level. The Protocol was amended in 2012to encompass the period 2013–2020 in the Doha Amendment, which as of December 2015had not entered into force. In 2015 the Paris Agreement was adopted, governing emissionreductions from 2020 on through commitments of countries in Nationally DeterminedContributions (NDCs), lowering the target to 1.5 °C. The Paris Agreement entered into forceon 4 November 2016. One of the first tasks set by the UNFCCC was for signatory nations toestablish national greenhouse gas inventories of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions andremovals, which were used to create the 1990 benchmark levels for accession of Annex Icountries to the Kyoto Protocol and for the commitment of those countries to GHGreductions. Updated inventories must be submitted annually by Annex I countriesOn 12 June 1992, 154 nations signed the UNFCCC, which upon ratification committedsignatories' governments to reduce atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases with the

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goal of "preventing dangerous anthropogenic interference with Earth's climate system". Thiscommitment would require substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Article 3(1)of the Convention states that Parties should act to protect the climate system on the basis of"common but differentiated responsibilities", and that developed country Parties should "takethe lead" in addressing climate change. Under Article 4, all Parties make generalcommitments to address climate change through, for example, climate change mitigation andadapting to the eventual impacts of climate change.

Earth Summit UNCED:

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), by name EarthSummit, conference held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (June 3–14, 1992), to reconcile worldwideeconomic development with protection of the environment. The Earth Summit was thelargest gathering of world leaders as of 1992, with 117 heads of state and representatives of178 nations in all attending. By means of treaties and other documents signed at theconference, most of the world’s nations nominally committed themselves to the pursuit ofeconomic development in ways that would protect the Earth’s environment andnonrenewable resources. The main documents agreed upon at the Earth Summit are asfollows.

1. The Convention on Biological Diversity is a binding treaty requiring nations to take inventories of their plants and wild animals and protect their endangered species. 2. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), or

Global Warming Convention, is a binding treaty that requires nations to reduce theiremission of carbon dioxide, methane, and other “greenhouse” gases thought to beresponsible for global warming; the treaty stopped short of setting binding targets foremission reductions, however. Such targets were eventually established in anamendment to the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol (1997), which was superceded bythe Paris Agreement on climate change (2015).

3. The Declaration on Environment and Development, or Rio Declaration, laid down27broad, nonbinding principles for environmentally sound development. Agenda 21outlined global strategies for cleaning up the environment and encouragingenvironmentally sound development.

4. The Statement of Principles on Forests, aimed at preserving the world’srapidlyvanishing tropical rainforests, is a nonbinding statement recommending thatnations monitor and assess the impact of development on their forest resources andtake steps to limit the damage done to them.

The Earth Summit was hampered by disputes between the wealthy industrialized nationsof the North (i.e., Western Europe and North America) and the poorer developingcountries of the South (i.e., Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and parts of Asia). Ingeneral, the countries of the South were reluctant to hamper their economic growth withthe environmental restrictions urged upon them by the North unless they receivedincreased Northern financial aid, which they claimed would help make environmentallysound growth possible

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora(CUTES):(the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) isan international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international tradein specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Widespreadinformation nowadays about the endangered status of many prominent species, such as thetiger and elephants, might make the need for such a convention seem obvious. But at the time

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when the ideas for CITES were first formed, in the 1960s, international discussion of theregulation of wildlife trade for conservation purposes was something relatively new. Withhindsight, the need for CITES is clear. Annually, international wildlife trade is estimated tobe worth billions of dollars and to include hundreds of millions of plant and animalspecimens. The trade is diverse, ranging from live animals and plants to a vast array ofwildlife products derived from them, including food products, exotic leather goods, woodenmusical instruments, timber, tourist curios and medicines. Levels of exploitation of someanimal and plant species are high and the trade in them, together with other factors, such ashabitat loss, is capable of heavily depleting their populations and even bringing some speciesclose to extinction. Many wildlife species in trade are not endangered, but the existence of anagreement to ensure the sustainability of the trade is important in order to safeguard theseresources for the future. Because the trade in wild animals and plants crosses bordersbetween countries, the effort to regulate it requires international cooperation to safeguardcertain species from overexploitation. CITES was conceived in the spirit of such cooperation.Today, it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 35,000 species of animals andplants, whether they are traded as live specimens, fur coats or dried herbs. CITES was draftedas a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of IUCN (The WorldConservation Union). The text of the Convention was finally agreed at a meeting ofrepresentatives of 80 countries in Washington, D.C., the United States of America, on 3March 1973, and on 1 July 1975 CITES entered in force. The original of the Convention wasdeposited with the Depositary Government in the Chinese, English, French, Russian andSpanish languages, each version being equally authentic

Definition of Sustainable Development:

“Sustainable development is defended is as meeting the needs of the presentwithout compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

“The concept of 'needs', in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, towhich overriding priority should be given.”

“The idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organizationon the environment's ability to meet present and future needs”.

History of Sustainable development:

Though SD thinking is widely recognised to have its origins in the 1972 UN Conference onthe Human Environment, SD as a concept began to gather momentum following the 1987Brundtland Report, Our Common Future, and the 1992 UN Conference on Environment andDevelopment (UNCED), also known as the Earth Summit. For the first time, the BrundtlandReport introduced the need for the integration of economic development, environmentalprotection, and social justice and inclusion. The main outcomes of the Earth Summit werethe Rio Declaration, which recognised the right of states to economic and social developmentand contained 27 principles of sustainable development, including the well-knownprecautionary and polluter pays principles; endorsement of the Forest Principles, whichrecognised the importance of forests for economic and social development, indigenouscommunities, biodiversity and maintaining ecological processes; the signing of theConvention on Biological Diversity and the Framework Convention on Climate Change;and Agenda 21, which was a voluntary SD plan of action, for implementation by national,regional and local governments.

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The Sustainable Development Goals are:

1. No Poverty 2. Zero Hunger 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

Principals and Concepts:Common Principles International and national SD agreements and strategies commonlyinclude certain principles to be applied when making governance decisions in a sustainableway. Most of these are derived from the two key concepts identified in the Brundtlanddefinition: the concept of needs, particularly the needs of poor people, and the concept oflimits, particularly the limits on the environment’s ability to deliver people’s needs. Commongoverning principles are: living within environmental limits; integrated decision making(policy and legislation that works in a complementary way); ‘good’ governance that isgood’ governance that isdemocratic, transparent, inclusive, participatory and accountable; and responsible use ofrobust and credible scientific evidence in decision making. In addition to these principles,the Precautionary Principle and the Polluter Pays Principle are well recognised, particularlyin relation to environmental decision-making.

Background on the goals:The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were born at the United Nations Conference onSustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in 2012. The objective was to produce a set ofuniversal goals that meet the urgent environmental, political and economic challenges facingour world.

Urban Problems to energy:10

Urban center use enormous quantities of energy. In the past, urban housing requiredrelatively smaller amounts of energy than we use at present. Traditional housing in Indiarequired very little temperature adjustments as the material used, such as wood and bricks,handled temperature changes better than the current concrete, glass and steel of ultra-modernbuilding. Cities are the main centres of economic growth, trade, education, innovations andemployment. Until recently a big majority of human population lived in rural areas and theireconomic activities cantered on agriculture, cattle, rearing, fishing, hunting or some cottageindustry.It was some two hundred years ago with the dawn of industrial era the cities showed rapiddevelopment. Now about 50% of the world population lives in urban areas and- there isincreasing movement of rural folk to cities in search of employment.

Industrialized developed countries use energy for these purposes:(i) Residential and commercial(ii) Industrial(iii) Transportation.

Due to high population density and high energy demanding activities, the urban problemsrelated to energy are much more magnified as compared to rural population.There are several hurdles that play havoc in energy conservation. They are:(i) Lack of awareness(ii) Attitude(iii) Lack of technical knowledge(iv) Market distortion(v) Capital shortages.

Water Conservation:

Water conservation is the practice of using water efficiently to reduce unnecessary water usage. Water conservation is important because fresh clean water is a limited resource, as well as a costly one. As a homeowner, you’re probably already well aware of the financial costs of inefficient water use. Conservation of this natural resource is critical for the environment and our wallets.Water conservation means using water wisely and not contributing to unnecessary wastage. Using less water keeps more in our ecosystems and helps to keep wetland habitats topped up for animals like otters, water voles, herons and fish.

Reasons to conserve water:

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Water is essential to all life. Not only does it keep us and the animals and plants around usalive, but it also provides specialist habitats for wildlife. Conserving water can save youmoney– the less water you use, the less you may be charged by your water company.Conserving water saves energy. Energy is needed to filter, heat and pump water to yourhome, so reducing your water use also reduces your carbon footprint. Waiting for the tap torun cold can waste 10 litres of tap water a day! Save water in the kitchen:

1. Put a large bottle of tap water in the fridge to save waiting for the tap to run cold.Waiting for the tap to run cold can waste 10 litres of water a day!

2. Only fill the kettle with the amount of water needed.3. Put lids on saucepans to reduce the amount of water lost during heating.4. Put your dishwasher and washing machine on with full loads and on an eco-setting

wherever possible.5. Use a washing-up bowl in your sink to reduce the volume of water you use to fill the

area.

Save water in the bathroom:1. Turn the tap off while brushing your teeth. A running tap can waste more than 6

litres of water a minute!2. Purchase a water-efficient toilet (one with a dual flush) or go by the old saying ‘good’ governance that isif it’s

yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down!’3. Get a cistern displacement device to save up to 5,000 litres of water every year. They

are free from most water companies.4. Shower instead of bathe. An average bath uses around 80 litres of water, but a shower

typically uses between 6 and 45 litres.5. Install water-efficient taps and showers to minimise heating water – this will save you

money on your water and energy bills, as well as decreasing your carbon footprint.6. Fix a dripping tap. A dripping tap can waste 15 litres of water a day!

Save water in the garden:1. Sprinklers can use as much as 1,000 litres of water an hour! In truth, it’s okay for the

lawn to go brown, it will recover the next time it rains.2. Use a water butt to catch large amounts of rainwater and use this to water your plants,

clean your car and wash your windows.3. Use mulch and bark in your garden, it will help to reduce evaporation by up to 75%.4. Plant drought-resistant plants that don’t require as much watering.

Rain water harvesting:

Rainwater harvesting is a simple method by which rainfall is collected for future usage. Thecollected rainwater may be stored, utilized in different ways or directly used for rechargepurposes. With depleting groundwater levels and fluctuating climate conditions, rainwaterharvesting can go a long way to help mitigate these effects. Capturing the rainwater can helprecharge local aquifers, reduce urban flooding and most importantly ensure water availabilityin water-scarce zones. Though the term seems to have picked up greater visibility in the lastfew years, it was, and is even today, a traditional practice followed in rural India. Someancient rainwater harvesting methods followed in India include madakas,aharpynes, surangas, taankas and many more.This water conservation method can be easily practiced in individual homes, apartments,parks, offices and temples too, across the world. Farmers have recharged their dry borewells,

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created water banks in drought areas, greened their farms, increased sustainability of theirwater resources and even created a river. Technical know how for the rooftop Rainwaterharvesting with direct storage can be availed for better implementation.

Watershed Management:

Watershed or a drainage basin is a unit draining run-off water to a common point. Watershedmanagement is the process of guiding and organizing the use of land and other resources in awatershed to provide goods and services desired without adversely affecting the soil andwater resources. So far as water resources in India are concerned, only 35% of rainfall iscaptured and the rest flows as run-off. Almost 60% of the captured precipitation is lost againin evaporative transpirations due to open storage. The need of the hour is to regenerate thenature resources that have degraded through land mismanagement in the last 50 years. Amicro-watershed is the basic unit of development, whose average area is around 500ha. Withthe object of water and soil conservation different structure such as contour bunds, contourtrenching, minor pit, gully plugging, lose boulder check dams and check dams areimplemented in the micro-watershed.

India has about 55.27 million hectares (m ha) of wasteland. These are not suitable for anypurpose and are exposed to the vagaries of nature like weathering, gully erosion, etc. TheDepartment of Land Resources has been implementing three area development schemes viz.,Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP), Desert Development Programme (DDP) andIntegrated Wastelands Development Programme (IWDP) on watershed basis since 1995-96which have been integrated and consolidated into a single modified programme calledIntegrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) with effect from 26.02.2009 beingimplemented under the Common Guidelines for Watershed Development Projects, 2008.

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Ramsar Convention:

The Convention on Wetlands, called the Ramsar Convention, is the intergovernmental treatythat provides the framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and theirresources. The Convention was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came intoforce in 1975. Since then, almost 90% of UN member states, from all the world’s geographicregions, have acceded to become “Contracting Parties”. The mission of the RamsarConvention, as adopted by the Parties in 1999 and refined in 2005 and 2011 is “theconservation and wise use of all wetlands through local, regional and national actions andinternational cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable developmentthroughout the world. The Ramsar Convention encourages the designation of sites containingrepresentative, rare or unique wetlands, or wetlands that are important for conservingbiological diversityThe convention entered into force in India on 1 February 1982. India currently has 27 sitesdesignated as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), with a surface area of1,056,871 hectares. In 1981, Chilika Lake was designated the first Indian wetland ofinternational importance under the Ramsar Convention.

Resettlement and Rehabilitation:

1. Development projects that displace people involuntarily generally give rise to severeeconomic, social, and environmental problems: production systems are dismantled;productive assets and income sources are lost; people are relocated to environments wheretheir productive skills may be less applicable and the competition for resources greater;community structures and social networks are weakened; kin groups are dispersed; andcultural identity, traditional authority, and the potential for mutual help are diminished.

Environmental ethics:Environmental ethics refers to the issues, principals and guidelines relating to humaninteractions with their environment. Environmental ethics is a branch of ethics that studiesthe relation of human beings and the environment and how ethics play a role inthis. Environmental ethics believe that humans are a part of society as well as other livingcreatures, which includes plants and animals.

Function of environment:

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1. A life supporting medium for the organisms2. It provides food, air, water & other natural resources3. Moderates the climate conditions4. Disintegrates the waste discharges by the society5. Healthy economy depends on health environment

Environmental problems:1. Deforestation2. Population growth & urbanization3. Pollution due to effluent and smoke4. Water scarcity5. Land degradation

The Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986: An Act to provide for the protection and improvement of environment and for mattersconnected therewith. Whereas the decisions were taken at the United Nations Conference onthe Human Environment held at Stockholm in June, 1972, in which India participated, to takeappropriate steps for the protection and improvement of human environment; And Whereas itis considered necessary further to implement the decisions aforesaid in so far as they relate tothe protection and improvement of environment and the prevention of hazards to humanbeings, other living creatures, plants and property;

Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981:

The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.The Act provides for theprevention, control and abatement of air pollution. It also provides for the establishment ofBoards with a view to carrying out the aforesaid purposes. Industrialization and urbanization have resulted in a profound deterioration of India's airquality. of the 3 million premature deaths in the world that occur each year due to outdoorand indoor air pollution, the highest numbers are assessed to occur in India. Objectives of air act:To prevent, control & abatement of air pollution To maintain the quality of air

Important features of air pollution:1. The Central Board settle disputes between state boards, provide technical assistance& guidance to State board.2. The State Board verify the emissions of air pollutants from industrial / automobileunits3. The State Board Collect information about air pollution4. SB examine the standards of manufacturing process & control equipment5. SB can advise State Government to declare the heavily polluted areas & advice toavoid burning of waste products.6. Operation of industrial unit is prohibited in a heavily polluted areas7. Violation of law is punishable with imprisonment & Fine

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Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974:

This is an Act to provide for the prevention and control of water pollution and themaintaining or restoring of wholesomeness of water through various management guidelinesand restrictions.The act was passed in pursuance of clause (1) of article 252 of theConstitution.

Objectives:1. To protect water from all kinds of pollution2. To preserve the quality of water3. Establishment of Central & State Boards for preventing water pollution4. Restrain any person for discharging sewage/effluent into any water body5. Any contravention of the standards leads to prison for 3 to 6 months6. Requires permission to set up an industry which discharges effluent.

State pollution Control Board:1. Take step to establish any industry, disposal system, extension/addition in industry,discharge of effluent into river2. Use any new / altered outlet for discharge of sewage3. Begin to make any new discharge of sewage.

Wildlife Protection Act 1972:

The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted for protectionof plants and animal species. The Act provides for the protection of wild animals, birds andplants; and for matters connected there with or ancillary or incidental thereto.Aimed protect & preserve wildlife. Wildlife refers to all animals & plantsIt is declining due to human actions for wildlife’s skins, furs, feathers, ivory etc.

Objectives:1. To maintain ecological process & life supporting system 2. To preserve biodiversity3. To ensure a continuous use of species.

Important Features:1. Covers the right & non-rights of forest dwellers2. Provides restricted grazing in sactuaries & prohibits in national parks 3. Prohibits the collection of non-timber forest.

Forest Conservation Act 1980:

The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 an Act of the Parliament of India to provide for theconservation of forests and for matters connected therewith or ancillary or incidental thereto.It was further amended in 1988. This law extends to the whole of India.

Objectives:1. To protect & conserve the forest2. To ensure judicious use of forest products

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Important Features of Forest Act:1. Forests are not diverted without the prior permission of the Central Government 2. Land registered for forest may not be used for non-forest purposes3. Any illegal activity in a forest area can be stopped immediately4. Clearance of forest land for re-afforestation is forbidden5. One who violates the forest law is punishable.

Environmental Public awareness:

Public awareness of the environment is the ability to understand the surrounding world,including understandings to all the changes occurring in the environment, understanding ofcause- and-effect relationships between the quality of the environment and human behavior,and a sense of responsibility of preserving them.Environmental education has an effective role in creating healthy awareness and preparingsuitable environment for the development and maintenance of human minds. Environmentaleducation prepares the individual to become able to balance between his vital needs and thenatural environment that provides spiritual, aesthetical and ethical sources for manycommunities. Environmental education includes both formal and informal education andtraining that increase human capacity and capability to participate in environmentalmanagement and in solving environmental crisis and challenges. This could be achieved byincreasing awareness and effectively changing the individual outlook on the environment.We need awareness in our behavior; we need ethical values for protecting and conserving theenvironment and improving the quality of human life

Objectives of public awareness:1. Create awareness among people of rural and city about ecological imbalances, localenvironment, technological development and various development plants.2. To organize meetings, group discussion on development, tree plantationprogrammes exhibitions.3. To learn to live simple and eco-friendlily manner.Methods to create environmental awareness:1. In schools and colleges2. Through mass – media3. Non – government organizations4. Audio - Visual media5. Voluntary organizations6. Traditional techniques7. Cinema8. Newspapers9. Arranging competitions

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