4
Environmental laws aim to:
• Control pollution
• Conserve resource
Both aims are directly linked to the health of humans.
Protection of environment would have not been a major concern if it was not
related to human health. Had pollutants not affected human health, then obviously, the
nations would have not taken the issue seriously to curb it by either technology or law.
Technology does not come free of cost and so enforcement of law. Mere adoption of law without compelling to use technology would not fulfil the objectives of
the environmental laws. People and business entity hardly abide by the laws without
enforcement and imposing punishment. But non-binding international regulations
formulated by international conference or conferences play a major role in the field
of environmental protection.
The belief that environmental laws can resolve environmental problems is not
realistic. Total elimination of legislation for environmental protection would result
in failure of protection. Proper understanding of the location as well as the role of
legislation will help to keep proper balance amongst various extremes. Furthermore,
mere passing of legislation would not set right the situation. Many countries do not
consider the actual capacity of enforcing agencies.
The concepts of framing international laws involve:
• Common but differentiated responsibilities (CDR)
• Common concern of humanity (CCH)
• Common heritage of mankind (CHM)
• Rights of future generations(RFG)
• Sustainable development (SD)
CCH provides a structure for way to resolve global problems and is well suited
for environmental problems that do not honour national boundaries. As per Dinah
Shelton (2009),“issues of common concern are those that inevitably transcend the
boundaries of a single state and require collective action in response”. The concept
of the CHM normally applies to geographic resources or areas, whereas the CCH
concept is applicable to specific issues to address concerns that will otherwise have
long-lasting undesirable effects, significantly overshelming future generations.
Global health is imparted by the value of social justice intend to address health
difference within and among nations (Goldie et al. 2014). It attempts to understand
the universal right to health, vested in international human rights (Gostin et al. 2019).
1.2 Principles of Environmental Legislation
Even though the preceding decades have seen a considerable decline in major global
risk factors like malnutrition and unsafe sanitation, new threats have come out
(GBD 2015 Risk Factors Collaborators 2016), making it necessary for formulating
new principles in changing scenario.
1 Environmental Legislation
Environmental laws aim to:
• Control pollution
• Conserve resource
Both aims are directly linked to the health of humans.
Protection of environment would have not been a major concern if it was not
related to human health. Had pollutants not affected human health, then obviously, the
nations would have not taken the issue seriously to curb it by either technology or law.
Technology does not come free of cost and so enforcement of law. Mere adoption of law without compelling to use technology would not fulfil the objectives of
the environmental laws. People and business entity hardly abide by the laws without
enforcement and imposing punishment. But non-binding international regulations
formulated by international conference or conferences play a major role in the field
of environmental protection.
The belief that environmental laws can resolve environmental problems is not
realistic. Total elimination of legislation for environmental protection would result
in failure of protection. Proper understanding of the location as well as the role of
legislation will help to keep proper balance amongst various extremes. Furthermore,
mere passing of legislation would not set right the situation. Many countries do not
consider the actual capacity of enforcing agencies.
The concepts of framing international laws involve:
• Common but differentiated responsibilities (CDR)
• Common concern of humanity (CCH)
• Common heritage of mankind (CHM)
• Rights of future generations(RFG)
• Sustainable development (SD)
CCH provides a structure for way to resolve global problems and is well suited
for environmental problems that do not honour national boundaries. As per Dinah
Shelton (2009),“issues of common concern are those that inevitably transcend the
boundaries of a single state and require collective action in response”. The concept
of the CHM normally applies to geographic resources or areas, whereas the CCH
concept is applicable to specific issues to address concerns that will otherwise have
long-lasting undesirable effects, significantly overshelming future generations.
Global health is imparted by the value of social justice intend to address health
difference within and among nations (Goldie et al. 2014). It attempts to understand
the universal right to health, vested in international human rights (Gostin et al. 2019).
1.2 Principles of Environmental Legislation
Even though the preceding decades have seen a considerable decline in major global
risk factors like malnutrition and unsafe sanitation, new threats have come out
(GBD 2015 Risk Factors Collaborators 2016), making it necessary for formulating
new principles in changing scenario.
1 Environmental Legislation