Development

Surabhi Tanwar

“The earth we abuse and the living things we kill will, in the end, take their revenge; for in exploiting their presence we are diminishing our future” - Marya Manes.

Introduction

The dawn of the twenty-first century witnessed an intimidating threat of depletion of the environment and its natural resources stand

It is difficult to say how long the living species can survive the developed as well as developing countries have to march with the promises and pay heed to the call for ‘one earth’ an ‘one environment’ made by India at the Stockholm Conference, 1972.

A series of international conferences and initiatives formulated a theoretical framework for sustainable development during 1972 to 1992. The UN Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm in 1972, was the first major international gathering to discuss sustainability at the global scale. The conference was a milestone in laying down a series of recommendations which led to the establishment of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)

Sustainable Development

Our Common Future, a.k.a. the Brundtland Commission Report(1987)

Development that meets the need of the present without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs.

(Brundtland, 1987)

Sustainable Development

Gro Harlem Brundtland(b. 1939)

Prime Minister of Norway (1981, 1986-89, 1990-96; 1st woman)

Director General of World Health Organization (1998-2003)

Special Envoy on Climate Change to U. N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (since 2007)

Indira Gandhi Peace Prize(1988)

What is Sustainable Development?

- it is the harmonious integration of

a sound and viable economy ;

responsible governance;

social cohesion; and

ecological integrity

to ensure that development is a life-sustaining process.

Sustainable Development = Economic Development

+ Environment Protection

+ Social Reform

+ People’s Empowerment

PEOPLE

ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPMENT

Sustainable Development

Business is the key actor in ECONOMY,

which is mainly concerned with

producing goods and services for people

Government is the key actor in POLITY, which

is concerned with democratic governance and security of human

rights.

Civil Society is the key actor in CULTURE, which

is concerned with the development of the social and spiritual capacities of

human beings.

It adopted the following principles:

The Precautionary Principle- Principle 15:

“In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environment degradation.”

the Precautionary Principle means : -

(1) Environmental measures – To anticipate, prevent and attack the causes of environmental degradation.

(2) Lack of scientific enquiry should not be used to postpone measures for prevention of environmental degradation.

(3) The onus of proof is on the actor, developer or industrialist to show that his action is environmentally benign.

 The Inter-Generational Equity Principle- Principle 3:

“The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations”.

The Polluter Pays Principle- Principle 16:

Polluter Pays Principle has become a popular catchphrase in recent times. 'If you make a mess, it's your duty to clean it up'- this is the main basis of this slogan.“National authorities should endeavor to promote the internalization of

environmental costs and the use of economic instruments, taking into account the approach that the polluter should, in principle, bear the cost of pollution, with due regard to the public interest and without distorting international trade and investment”. It embraced the need for the internalization of environmental costs and the “polluter pays”

• In Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v Union of India (Tamil Nadu Tanneries case),( AIR 1996 SC 2715) the Supreme Court of India, in a judgment delivered by Kuldip Singh J, held that the polluter pays principle had been accepted as part of the environmental law of the country.

Fundamental Principles of Inter Generational Equity:

• Three Fundamental Principles:The “conservation of options” principle The “conservation of quality” principle The “conservation of access” principle

In the landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, Minors Oposa v Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources ,the Supreme Court held that : “We find no difficulty in ruling that they can, for themselves, for others of their generation and for the succeeding generations, file a class suit. Their personality to sue on behalf of the succeeding generations can only be based on the concept of intergenerational responsibility insofar as the right to a balanced and healthful ecology is concerned. Such a right, as hereinafter expounded, considers the ‘rhythm and harmony of nature’.

In State of Himachal Pradesh v Ganesh Wood Products, The ground for seeking the writ was that the establishment of Katha manufacturing units would lead to indiscriminate felling of Khair trees which would have a deep and adverse effect upon the environment and ecology of the State.

• Public Trust Doctrine

• The public trust doctrine primarily rests on the principle that certain resources like air, sea waters and the forests have such a great importance to the people as a whole that it would be wholly unjustified to make them a subject of private ownership. The said resources being a gift of nature, they should be made freely available to everyone irrespective of the status in life. The doctrine enjoins upon the government to protect the resources for the enjoyment of the general public rather than to permit their use for private ownership or commercial purposes.

• Another major principle accepted by the Supreme Court is the public trust doctrine for the protection of natural resource. This doctrine came up for consideration in the M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath.

• CASE STUDY The flow of the river Beas was deliberately diverted because it used to flood Span Motels in the Kulu Manali valley in which a prominent politician's family had a direct interest. The motel was also allotted protected forestland by the State Government and had also encroached on protected forestland, which encroachment was subsequently regularized.

• The Supreme Court used the public trust doctrine in this case to restore the environment to its original condition. Briefly, this doctrine postulates that the public has a right to expect that certain lands and natural areas will retain their natural characteristics.

• Applying the public trust doctrine, the Supreme Court cancelled the lease of forestland granted in favor of Span Motels and the State Government was directed to take over the area and restore it to its original condition. The motel was directed to pay compensation (damages for restitution of the environment and ecology of the area). It was also asked to show cause why a pollution fine be not imposed.

ConclusionIt is clear that the law on sustainable development is

gaining momentum at local, national, regional, and international levels.

While the four fundamental elements of sustainable development – the precautionary principle, intergenerational and intra-generational equity, the conservation of biological diversity and ecological integrity, and the internalization of environmental costs – have been much discussed and promulgated in various international and national legal contexts, there is still a long way to go in terms of their implementation.

The role of the judiciary in relation to the law of sustainable development is thus of the greatest importance.

Many key decisions of national judiciaries in the Asia-Pacific Region have been discussed and it has been shown that, on a case by case basis, a body of environmental jurisprudence with respect to sustainable development is indeed emerging.

It is up to the judiciary to clearly define the circumstances of application and the means of implementation of the principles of sustainable development so that this body of law can continue to develop.

The achievement of ecologically sustainable development depends on the commitment and involvement of all arms of government – the legislature, executive and judiciary – as well as other relevant stakeholders.

Klaus Toepfer, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), stated in his message to the UNEP Global Judges Programme: “Success in tackling environmental degradation relies on the full participation of everyone in society.

It is essential, therefore, to forge a global partnership among all relevant stakeholders for the protection of the environment based on the affirmation of the human values set out in the United Nations Millennium Declaration: freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect for nature and shared responsibility.

The judiciary plays a key role in weaving these values into the fabric of our societies. If individual members of the judiciary work towards the common goal of achieving an environmentally sustainable future, the law on sustainable development will gain strength and through collective effort the goal will be reached.

To use a phrase of Victor Hugo’s, “there is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world and that is an idea whose time has come”. It is clear that the time for sustainable development has come, and it is essential that individual judges and national judiciaries seize the opportunity. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.worldbank.org/depweb/english/sd.html

http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/consumers/consumer_safety/l32042_en.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_development

http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/pages/what-is-sustainable-development.html

https://www.uow.edu.au/~sharonb/esd/equity.html

Presentation by: Surabhi Tanwar

Student of Masters in Environmental Science- Institute of Science, Mumbai