Environment

The Water Prevention and Control of Pollution Act

The Water Prevention and Control of Pollution Act was enacted in 1974 to provide for the prevention and control of Water Pollution, and for the maintaining or restoring of wholesomeness of water in the country. The Act was amended in 1988. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act was enacted in 1977, to … Read more

The Air Prevention & Control of Pollution

The Air Prevention & Control of Pollution Act is an Act by Parliament to provide for the prevention, control and abatement of Air Pollution, for the establishment, with a view to carrying out the aforesaid purposes, of Boards, for conferring on and assigning to such Boards powers and functions relating thereto and for matters connected … Read more

Environmental Laws-The Environment Protection Act

The Environment Protection Act is an important legislation that provides for coordination of activities of the various regulatory agencies, creation of authorities with adequate powers for environmental protection, regulation of the discharge of environmental pollutants, handling of hazardous substances, etc. The Act provided an opportunity to extend legal protection to non-forest habitats (‘Ecologically Sensitive Areas’) … Read more

Global Environmental Issues: Climate change

Climate Change It is the long term change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods of time Though it has been happening naturally for millions of years, in recent years it has accelerated due to anthropogenic causes and has been causing Global Warming. UNFCCC defines Climate Change as – “a change of climate … Read more

Biodiversity: concept, hotspots, threats to biodiversity

Biodiversity is defined as the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic Ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part; this includes diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems. Basically biodiversity is the total number of genes, species and ecosystems of a region. It includes … Read more

Human role in pollution control, Environment and human health; Effects of pollutants on animals and plants; urbanisation and industrial development.

Human role in pollution control The enhanced pace of developmental activities and rapid Urbanization have resulted in Stress on natural Resources and Quality Of Life. The trend of increasing pollution in various environmental media is evident from the deteriorating air and water quality, higher noise levels, increasing vehicular emission etc. Realising the urgent need for … Read more

Human and wild animal struggle

Man-animal conflicts are common in various parts of the country. Incidents of man-animal conflict are reported from States/Union Territories of the country. In India, wild elephants probably kill far more people than tiger, leopard or lion. But, surprisingly, human conflict involving leopard draws great amount of public attention compared to other animals. Other carnivores – tigers, … Read more

National parks, Sanctuaries, Biosphere reserves and Botanical gardens

The Indian Constitution entails the subject of forests and wildlife in the Concurrent list. The Federal Ministry acts as a guiding torch dealing with the policies and planning on wildlife conservation, while the provincial Forest Departments are vested with the responsibility of implementation of national policies and plans. The Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme initiated … Read more

Development and environment

Environmental influences are important both at the prenatal and postnatal stages of Human Development. At the prenatal stage, when a fetus is in the mother’s womb,  internal or external harmful agents, such as certain legal or illegal drugs, alcohol, lead and pollutants can harm the unborn baby’s development. The mother’s Nutrition, diseases and emotional Stress … Read more