Environment Management: Semiester - 1

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Kolhan University or Ranchi University

Semiester -1

Environment Management

Sandeep Ghatuary
Environment Management 2

Environmental Management
Environmental management is a process that industries, companies, and individuals undertake to regulate and protect
the health of the natural world. In most cases, it does not actually involve managing the environment itself, but rather is
the process of taking steps and promoting behaviors that will have a positive impact on how environmental resources
are used and protected. Organizations engage in environmental management for a couple of different reasons, but
caring for the natural world, following local laws and rules about conservation, and saving money are usually near the
top of most lists. Management plans look different in different industries, but all aim for roughly the same goals.
Most management plans roughly follow a “plan, do, check” model.
1. The first step, planning, requires the organization to set out specific goals, like reducing wastewater,
implementing new standards for toxin disposal, or better managing erosion. Once an end-point has been
identified, leaders need to come up with a systematic way of bringing the entire organization into compliance.
2. Next, the company needs to actually take steps to implement the processes laid out in the planning stage. This is
the “do” aspect, and it can be harder than it sounds.
3. Action typically requires a coordinated effort that must be put into place over several weeks or months; more
often than not, this step is ongoing, and cannot easily be “checked off” a list.

Definition of Environment management


1. It’s an attempt to control human impact on and interaction with the environment in order to preserve natural
resources
2. Environmental management focuses on the improvement of human welfare for present and future generations.
3. Administrative functions that develop, implement, and monitor the environmental policy of an organization.

Reasons to study Environment and Business at Leeds:


1. Research-led teaching across the breadth of our environment and business disciplines from specialists in their
field
2. Major investments in our teaching facilities, including new computer clusters for our students
3. Flexible study pathways that accommodate your personal interests in areas including business governance,
management and natural science
4. On our excellent fieldwork programme the School covers the costs of accommodation and travel for all of your
compulsory field classes and most of the cost of optional trips and project work
5. A wide range of options includes modules in the Business School and the School of Law, and the opportunity to
undertake a major environmental enterprise project

Trends in Environmental Management


 Impact Assessment and Planning (IAP) - Assessing environmental and social impacts prior to setting up
operations and obtaining environmental approval from the authorities is almost mandatory in most project
categories. IAP assessments may be required not only for newly constructed facilities, but also for new
operations that will be housed in an existing building.
 Environmental Liability and Clean-up - Foreign investment has resulted in heightened scrutiny of current and
historic environmental liabilities associated with property transactions in India.
 Sustainability and Regulatory Compliance - The increasing desire of Indian companies to meet world class
standards has caused established companies in India to take on sustainability initiatives as a means of improving
their global brand and reputation.
 Climate Change - While India still lags the West in coming up with concrete regulations based on the
development versus environment debate, there is an increasing awareness in India that climate change is not
about scoring points but about the existence of entire communities inside and outside of India.
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Sustainable Development
The concept of sustainable development can be interpreted in many different ways, but at its core is an approach to
development that looks to balance different, and often competing, needs against an awareness of the environmental,
social and economic limitations we face as a society. All too often, development is driven by one particular need,
without fully considering the wider or future impacts. We are already seeing the damage this kind of approach can
cause, from large-scale financial crises caused by irresponsible banking, to changes in global climate resulting from our
dependence on fossil fuel-based energy sources. The longer we pursue unsustainable development, the more frequent
and severe its consequences are likely to become, which is why we need to take action now.
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts:
 The concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should
be given; and
 The idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability
to meet present and future needs.

The concept of sustainable development has in the past most often been broken out into three constituent parts:
 Environmental sustainability
 Economic sustainability
 Sociopolitical sustainability.
More recently, it has been suggested that a more consistent analytical breakdown is to distinguish four domains of
economic, ecological, political and cultural sustainability.
Sustainable development constantly seeks to achieve social and economic progress in ways that will not exhaust the
earth’s finite natural resources. The needs of the world today are real and immediate, yet it’s necessary to develop
ways to meet these needs that do not disregard the future. The capacity of our ecosystem is not limitless, meaning that
future generations may not be able to meet their needs the way we are able to now.
Some of the more common examples of sustainable development practices are:
 Solar and wind energy. Energy from these resources is limitless, meaning we have the ability to eliminate
dependence on non-renewable power sources by harnessing power from renewable resources.
 Sustainable construction. Homes, offices and other structures that incorporate recycled and renewable
resources will be more energy efficient and stand the test of time.
 Crop rotation. Many farmers and gardeners are using this method as a chemical free way to reduce diseases in
the soil and increase growth potential of their crops.
 Water fixtures. Water conservation is critical to sustainable development, and more and more products are
available that use less water in the home, such as showers, toilets, dishwashers and laundry systems.

Definitions of Sustainable Development


 Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their own needs.
 When human beings strive for enhanced life conditions without diminishing the meaning of life itself - namely
our children's future - we call this development sustainable.
 Sustainable development is often thought to have three components: environment, society, and economy. The
well-being of these three areas is intertwined, not separate.
 Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their own needs.

So is it all just about the environment?


Living within our environmental limits is one of the central principles of sustainable development. One implication of not
doing so is climate change. But the focus of sustainable development is far broader than just the environment. It's also
about ensuring a strong, healthy and just society. This means meeting the diverse needs of all people in existing and
future communities, promoting personal wellbeing, social cohesion and inclusion, and creating equal opportunity.
Environment Management 4

If sustainable development focuses on the future, does that mean we lose out now?
Not necessarily. Sustainable development is about finding better ways of doing things, both for the future and the
present. We might need to change the way we work and live now, but this doesn't mean our quality of life will be
reduced. A sustainable development approach can bring many benefits in the short to medium term, for example:
 Savings - As a result of SDC scrutiny, government has saved over £60m by improving efficiency across its estate.
 Health & Transport - Instead of driving, switching to walking or cycling for short journeys will save you money,
improve your health and is often just as quick and convenient.

How does it affect me?


The way we approach development affects everyone. The impacts of our decisions as a society have very real
consequences for people's lives. Poor planning of communities, for example, reduces the quality of life for the people
who live in them. (Relying on imports rather than growing food locally puts the UK at risk of food shortages.)
Sustainable development provides an approach to making better decisions on the issues that affect all of our lives. By
incorporating health plans into the planning of new communities, for instance, we can ensure that residents have easy
access to healthcare and leisure facilities. (By encouraging more sustainable food supply chains, we can ensure the UK
has enough food for the long-term future.)

The Limits to Growth


The Limits to Growth is a 1972 book about the computer modeling of exponential economic and population
growth with finite resource supplies. Funded by the Volkswagen Foundation and commissioned by the Club of Rome it
was first presented at the St. Gallen Symposium.
Five variables were examined in the original model. These variables are:
 World population
 Industrialization
 Pollution
 Food production
 Resource depletion.
Definition - Club Of Rome Report of 1972, based on computer models of then-current population growth rates and
depletion of natural resources rates. Drawing on a revised Malthusian thesis, it predicted that the world will face an
environmental catastrophe by the year 2000. Though its findings were hotly debated at that time, it was later largely
ignored because resource-conservation efforts and new technologies negated many of its basic assumptions. In 1992,
the report was revised and updated, with more refined computer simulations, and called 'Beyond the Limits' which is
slowly gaining wider acceptance.
Environment Management 5

Energy management

Energy - Energy always means converting energy from one form into another. For instance, in space heating, we utilize
energy, that is, we convert chemical energy of wood into heat. Or, in lift irrigation, a diesel engine converts chemical
energy of oil into mechanical energy for powering the shaft of a pump which, in its turn, converts shaft power into
potential energy of water.

Forms of energy - Energy can exist in various forms. Examples are:


 Radiation energy: the radiation from the sun contains energy, and also the radiation from a light or a fire. More
solar energy is available when the radiation is more intense and when it is collected over a larger area. Light is
the visible part of radiation;
 Chemical energy: wood and oil contain energy in a chemical form. The same is true for all other material that
can burn. The content of chemical energy is larger the larger the heating value (calorific value) of the material is
and, of course, the more material we have. Also animate energy (delivered by bodies of human beings and
animals) is, in essence, chemical energy. Furthermore, batteries contain chemical energy;
 Potential energy: this is, for example, the energy of a water reservoir at a certain height. The water has the
potential to fall, and therefore contains a certain amount of energy. More potential energy is available when
there is more water and when it is at a higher height;
 Kinetic energy: this is energy of movement, as in wind or in a water stream. The faster the stream flows and the
more water it has, the more energy it can deliver. Similarly, more wind energy is available at higher windspeeds,
and more of it can be tapped by bigger windmill rotors;
 Thermal energy or heat: this is indicated by temperature. The higher the temperature, the more energy is
present in the form of heat. Also, a larger body contains more heat;
 Mechanical energy, or rotational energy, also called shaft power: this is the energy of a rotating shaft. The
amount of energy available depends on the flywheel of the shaft, i.e.:. on the power which makes the shaft
rotate;
 Electrical energy: a dynamo or generator and a battery can deliver electrical energy. The higher the voltage and
the current, the more electrical energy is made available.

Energy sources
 Biomass. We distinguish between: woody biomass (stems, branches, shrubs, hedges, twigs), non-woody
biomass (stalks, leaves, grass, etc.), and crop residues (bagasse, husks, stalks, shells, cobs, etc.). The energy is
converted through combustion (burning), gasification (transformation into gas) or anaerobic digestion (biogas
production). Combustion and gasification ideally require dry biomass, whereas anaerobic digestion can very well
take wet biomass. Fuel preparations can include chopping, mixing, drying, carbonizing (i.e. charcoal making) and
briquetting (i.e. densification of residues of crops and other biomass).
 Dung from animals, and human excreta. The energy is converted through direct combustion or through
anaerobic digestion.
 Animate energy. This is the energy which can be delivered by human beings and animals by doing work.
 Solar radiation, i.e. energy from the sun. We distinguish between direct beam radiation and diffuse (reflected)
radiation. Direct radiation is only collected when the collector faces the sun. Diffuse radiation is less intense, but
comes from all directions, and is also present on a cloudy day. Solar energy can be converted through thermal
solar devices (generating heat) or through photovoltaic cells (generating electricity). Direct beam solar devices
(whether thermal or photovoltaic) would need a tracking mechanism to have the device continuously facing the
sun.
 Hydro resources, i.e. energy from water reservoirs and streams. We distinguish between: lakes with storage
dams, natural heads (waterfalls), weirs, and run-of-river systems. Hydro energy can be converted by
waterwheels or hydro turbines.
 Wind energy, i.e. energy from wind. Wind machines can be designed either for electricity generating or for
water lifting (for irrigation and drinking water).
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 Fossil fuels, like coal, oil and natural gas. Unlike the previous energy sources, the fossil energy sources are non-
renewable.
 Geothermal energy, that is, the energy contained in the form of heat in the earth. A distinction is made between
tectonic plates (in volcanic areas) and geopressed reservoirs (could be anywhere). Geothermal energy is, strictly
speaking, non-renewable, but the amount of heat in the earth is so large that for practical reasons geothermal
energy is generally ranked with the renewable. Geothermal energy can only be tapped at places where high
earth temperatures come close to the earth's surface.

Energy management includes planning and operation of energy-related production and consumption units.
Objectives are resource conservation, climate protection and cost savings, while the users have permanent access to the
energy they need. It is connected closely to environmental management, production management, logistics and other
established business functions.
Definition
 Energy management is the discipline and measures executed to achieve the minimum possible energy use and
cost while meeting the true needs of the activities occurring within a facility. Actions intended to achieve this
energy efficiency focus on reducing necessary end-use, increasing efficiency, reducing wasted energy, and
finding superior energy alternatives.
 Energy management is the proactive, organized and systematic coordination of procurement, conversion,
distribution and use of energy to meet the requirements, taking into account environmental and economic
objectives.
 The strategy of adjusting and optimizing energy, using systems and procedures so as to reduce energy
requirements per unit of output while holding constant or reducing total costs of producing the output
from these systems

Objective of Energy Management


The objective of Energy Management is to achieve and maintain optimum energy procurement and utilization,
throughout the organization and:
 To minimise energy costs / waste without affecting production & quality
 To minimise environmental effects

Why is it important?
Energy management is the key to saving energy in your organization. Much of the importance of energy saving stems
from the global need to save energy - this global need affects energy prices, emissions targets, and legislation, all of
which lead to several compelling reasons why you should save energy at your organization specifically.
The global need to save energy - If it wasn't for the global need to save energy, the term "energy management" might
never have even been coined... Globally we need to save energy in order to:
 Reduce the damage that we're doing to our planet, Earth. As a human race we would probably find things rather
difficult without the Earth, so it makes good sense to try to make it last.
 Reduce our dependence on the fossil fuels that are becoming increasingly limited in supply.
Controlling and reducing energy consumption at your organization - Energy management is the means to controlling
and reducing your organization's energy consumption... And controlling and reducing your organization's energy
consumption is important because it enables you to:
 Reduce costs – this is becoming increasingly important as energy costs rise.
 Reduce carbon emissions and the environmental damage that they cause - as well as the cost-related
implications of carbon taxes and the like, your organization may be keen to reduce its carbon footprint to
promote a green, sustainable image. Not least because promoting such an image is often good for the bottom
line.
 Reduce risk – the more energy you consume, the greater the risk that energy price increases or supply shortages
could seriously affect your profitability, or even make it impossible for your business/organization to continue.
Environment Management 7

With energy management you can reduce this risk by reducing your demand for energy and by controlling it so
as to make it more predictable.
On top of these reasons, it's quite likely that you have some rather aggressive energy-consumption-reduction targets
that you're supposed to be meeting at some worrying point in the near future... Your understanding of effective energy
management will hopefully be the secret weapon that will enable you to meet those aggressive targets...

How best to manage your energy consumption?


We identified four steps to the energy-management process above. We'll cover each of them in turn:
1. Metering your energy consumption and collecting the data - Detailed interval energy consumption data makes
it possible to see patterns of energy waste that it would be impossible to see otherwise. For example, there's
simply no way that weekly or monthly meter readings can show you how much energy you're using at different
times of the day, or on different days of the week. And seeing these patterns makes it much easier to find the
routine waste in your building.
2. Finding and quantifying opportunities to save energy - The detailed meter data that you are collecting will be
invaluable for helping you to find and quantify energy-saving opportunities. We've written an article that
explains more about how to analyze your meter data to find energy waste. The easiest and most cost-effective
energy-saving opportunities typically require little or no capital investment. For example, an unbelievable
number of buildings have advanced control systems that could, and should, be controlling HVAC well, but,
unbeknown to the facilities-management staff, are faulty or miss configured, and consequently committing such
sins as heating or cooling an empty building every night and every weekend
3. Targeting the opportunities to save energy - Just finding the opportunities to save energy won't help you to
save energy - you have to take action to target them. For those energy-saving opportunities that require you to
motivate the people in your building, our article on energy awareness should be useful. It can be hard work, but,
if you can get the people on your side, you can make some seriously big energy savings without investing
anything other than time.
4. Tracking your progress at saving energy
 Energy savings that come from behavioral changes (e.g. getting people to switch off their computers before
going home) need ongoing attention to ensure that they remain effective and achieve their maximum
potential.
 If you've invested money into new equipment, you'll probably want to prove that you've achieved the
energy savings you predicted.
 If you've been given energy-saving targets from above, you'll need to provide evidence that you're meeting
them, or at least making progress towards that goal...
 And occasionally you might need to prove that progress isn't being made (e.g. if you're at your wits' end
trying to convince the decision makers to invest some money into your energy-management drive).
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Fossil fuel
Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The
age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million
years. Fossil fuels contain high percentages of carbon and include coal, petroleum, and natural gas. They range from
volatile materials with low carbon: hydrogen ratios like methane, to liquid petroleum to nonvolatile materials composed
of almost pure carbon, like anthracite coal. Methane can be found in hydrocarbon fields, alone, associated with oil, or in
the form of methane clathrates. The theory that fossil fuels formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants by
exposure to heat and pressure in the Earth's crust over millions of years was first introduced by Georg Agricola in 1556
and later by Mikhail Lomonosov in the 18th century.

There are three major forms of fossil fuels: coal, oil and natural gas.
All three were formed many hundreds of millions of years ago before the time of the dinosaurs – hence the name fossil
fuels. The age they were formed is called the Carboniferous Period. It was part of the Paleozoic Era. "Carboniferous" gets
its name from carbon, the basic element in coal and other fossil fuels. The Carboniferous Period occurred from about
360 to 286 million years ago. At the time, the land was covered with swamps filled with huge trees, ferns and other large
leafy plants, similar to the picture above. The water and seas were filled with algae – the green stuff that forms on a
stagnant pool of water. Algae are actually millions of very small plants.
Definition - Ancient organic remains (fossils) in sediments which over eons became sedimentary rock, giving rise to solid,
liquid, and gaseous fuels such as coal, crude oil, and natural gas. Coal is derived from vegetable matter altered by
pressure, whereas crude oil and natural gas are derived from animal and vegetable matter altered by pressure and heat.
Essentially, all fossil fuels are highly concentrated forms of far-ancient sunlight trapped in organic cells. They are the
primary energy source for human societies since the industrial revolution (mid 19th century to early 20th century), are
non-renewable, and also a primary source of global warming.

Why Are Fossil Fuels Important?


Fossil fuels are important because they are at present the largest source of energy the world has. Fossil fuels are so
called because they are formed from the remains of animals that have decomposed over millions of years.

What are fossil fuels used for?


1. Fossil fuels are used to fuel cars and airplanes, power electricity plants, and heat our homes.
2. They are also used to make medicines, cosmetics, plastics, synthetic fabrics, and lubricants.
3. When you brushed your teeth today, you used a product made from oil – toothpaste.
4. Look at your shoes – they are a product made from oil.
5. Sunglasses, tires, tennis balls and TV’s are all products of oil and gas.
Next time you’re playing basketball with your friends, think about the ball your dribbling. You guessed it; the rubber to
make that ball came from oil. The fact is, a huge number of products that we use every day, wouldn’t be available
without the oil and gas extracted and processed right here in New Mexico.
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Advantages of Fossil Fuels


1. A major advantage of fossil fuels is their capacity to generate huge amounts of electricity in just a single
location.
2. Fossil fuels are very easy to find.
3. When coal is used in power plants, they are very cost effective. Coal is also in abundant supply.
4. Transporting oil and gas to the power stations can be made through the use of pipes making it an easy task.
5. Power plants that utilize gas are very efficient.
6. Power stations that make use of fossil fuel can be constructed in almost any location. This is possible as long as
large quantities of fuel can be easily brought to the power plants.
7. Easily combustible, and produces high energy upon combustion helping in locomotion and in the generation of
electricity and various other forms of energy
8. Widely and easily distributed all over the world
9. Comparatively inexpensive due to large reserves and easy accessibility
10. Very large amounts of electricity can be generated in one place using coal, fairly cheaply.
11. Gas-fired power stations are very efficient.
12. A fossil-fueled power station can be built almost anywhere, so long as you can get large quantities of fuel to it.
Did cot power station, in Oxford shire, UK, has a dedicated rail link to supply the coal.
13. Fossil Fuels are long lasting and we still have many deposits of fuel that will last at least another 300 years

Disadvantages of Fossil Fuels


1. Pollution is a major disadvantage of fossil fuels. This is because they give off carbon dioxide when burned
thereby causing a greenhouse effect. This is also the main contributory factor to the global warming experienced
by the earth today.
2. Coal also produces carbon dioxide when burned compared to burning oil or gas. Additionally, it gives off sulphur
dioxide, a kind of gas that creates acid rain.
3. Environmentally, the mining of coal results in the destruction of wide areas of land. Mining this fossil fuel is also
difficult and may endanger the lives of miners. Coal mining is considered one of the most dangerous jobs in the
world.
4. Power stations that utilize coal need large amounts of fuel. In other words, they not only need truckloads but
trainloads of coal on a regular basis to continue operating and generating electricity. This only means that coal-
fired power plants should have reserves of coal in a large area near the plants location.
5. Use of natural gas can cause unpleasant odors and some problems especially with transportation.
6. Use of crude oil causes pollution and poses environmental hazards such as oil spills when oil tankers, for
instance, experience leaks or drown deep under the sea. Crude oil contains toxic chemicals which cause air
pollutants when combusted.
7. They are Nonrenewable (in the sense that once used it is no longer available) and take millions of years to form.
8. Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide: the gas that causes global warming.
9. Mining of such fuels leads to irreversible damage to the adjoining environment; (narrow shafts for oil, caverns
for coal)
10. Some speculate that it might run out this century
11. Prices for fossil fuels are rising.
12. Mining coal is a very dangerous job to do and it involves deforestation
13. Power stations, which make/use coal, need lots of fuel. They regularly get this supply through truck or train, to
operate/generate electricity. This means that they also need a large area for the reservation of coal.
14. The using of natural gases causes horrible smells, especially during transportation.
15. Crude oil is very hazardous. It causes environmental pollution
16. They release a poisonous gas called carbon monoxide; this gas is very toxic for humans and animals.
Environment Management 10

The Energy Balance


Earth gets all its energy from the Sun and loses energy into space if more energy is lost into space than is received from
the Sun, the planet gets cooler. If it loses less energy than it receives, the planet will warm up. Have you noticed that it is
often cooler when there are clouds in the sky? Some types of clouds act like giant sun umbrellas, shading the Earth and
reflecting the sunlight that hits them. Other types of clouds act like a jacket, holding the heat in and preventing it from
leaving the atmosphere. Today, most clouds act more like a sun umbrella and help keep our climate cool. However, this
could change if global warming affects the type of clouds, their thickness, and how much water or ice they contain.
While it might be quite warm in the countryside on a summer day, it can get unbearably hot in a nearby city! That’s
because the buildings and pavement in cities absorb oodles of sunlight, much more than the countryside. These cities
are called “heat islands.” The countryside is also cooled by water evaporating from lakes and given off by the plants in
forests and fields. Cities have fewer plants and bodies of water and so are not cooled very much by evaporation.
An energy balance of a region (or country) is a set of relationships accounting for all energy which is produced,
transformed and consumed in a certain period. This basic equation of an energy balance is:
Source + import = export + variation of stock + use + loss
Consider a primary energy balance.
 Sources are the local (or national) primary energy sources, like coal, hydro, biomass, animate, etc.
 Imports are energy sources which come from outside the region (or country).
 Exports go to other regions (or countries).
 Variations of stock are reductions of stocks (like of forests, coal, etc.), and storage.
 Use can be specified sectoral, or by energy form, or by end-use, etc., as required.
 Losses are technical losses and administrative losses:
 Technical losses are due to conversions and transport or transmission
 Administrative losses are due to non-registered consumptions.
Energy balances can be aggregate, or very detailed, depending on their functions. They can also be elaborate, showing
all sorts of structural relationships between energy production and consumption, and specifying various Intermediate
forms of energy. An energy balance can also be set up for a village, a household, a farm, or an agricultural unit. It will
show the inputs of energy in various forms, the end-use energy, and the losses. Specific for energy balances of
agricultural systems is the fact that parts of the outputs of the system are, at the same time, energy Inputs into the
system (agricultural residues, dung). Energy balances have to be built up from surveys of what is actually going on. This
requires energy resource surveys, and energy consumption surveys, as well as more technical energy audits. Section 12
goes into some aspects of energy auditing. Energy balances provide overviews, which serve as tools for analyzing current
and projected energy positions. The overviews can him useful for purposes of resource management, or for indicating
options in energy saving, or for policies of energy
redistribution, etc. However, care must be taken not to
single out energy from other economic goods. That means
that an energy balance should not be taken as our ultimate
guide for action. Energy data are to be translated into
economic terms, for a further analysis of options for
action. And, of course, socio-cultural and environmental
aspects are equally important.
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Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a community of plants, animals and smaller organisms that live, feed, reproduce and interact in the
same area or environment. Some ecosystems are very large. For example, many bird species nest in one place and feed
in a completely different area. On the other hand, some ecosystems may be physically small, such as you would find in a
meadow at the edge of a forest, or in a coral reef in the ocean. How does everything fit together in a forest ecosystem
versus a meadow ecosystem? While some species may be found naturally in both areas, the species that live in the
forest ecosystem are usually very different from those that inhabit the meadow, even though the two environments are
right next to each other. In other words, if we protect existing natural habitats, we will help to maintain biodiversity
(biodiversity is the variety of life in all its forms, levels and combinations). Unfortunately, natural habitats and their
ecosystems are more and more endangered because of the damaging environmental effects of growing human
populations everywhere.
The study of ecosystems mainly consists of the study of certain processes that link the living, or biotic, components to
the non-living, or abiotic, components. Energy transformations and biogeochemical cycling are the main processes that
comprise the field of ecosystem ecology. As we learned earlier, ecology generally is defined as the interactions of
organisms with one another and with the environment in which they occur. We can study ecology at the level of the
individual, the population, the community, and the ecosystem.
Studies of individuals are concerned mostly about physiology, reproduction, development or behavior, and studies of
populations usually focus on the habitat and resource needs of individual species, their group behaviors, population
growth, and what limits their abundance or causes extinction. Studies of communities examine how populations of
many species interact with one another, such as predators and their prey, or competitors that share common needs or
resources.
In ecosystem ecology we put all of this together and, insofar as we can, we try to understand how the system operates
as a whole. This means that, rather than worrying mainly about particular species, we try to focus on major functional
aspects of the system. These functional aspects include such things as the amount of energy that is produced by
photosynthesis, how energy or materials flow along the many steps in a food chain, or what controls the rate of
decomposition of materials or the rate at which nutrients are recycled in the system.

Aspects of ecosystem are:


 Actors (species)
 Relations between actors (network)
 Performance (health)
 Dynamics (evolution)
 Strategies and behaviour of actors (roles).

Components of an Ecosystem
You are already familiar with the parts of an ecosystem. You have learned about climate and soils from past lectures.
From this course and from general knowledge, you have a basic understanding of the diversity of plants and animals,
and how plants and animals and microbes obtain water, nutrients, and food. We can clarify the parts of an ecosystem by
listing them under the headings "abiotic" and "biotic".

ABIOTIC COMPONENTS BIOTIC COMPONENTS


Sunlight Primary producers
Temperature Herbivores
Precipitation Carnivores
Water or moisture Omnivores
Soil or water chemistry (e.g., P, NH4+) Detritivores
etc. etc.
All of these vary over space/time
By and large, this set of environmental factors is important almost everywhere, in all ecosystems. Usually, biological
communities include the "functional groupings" shown above. A functional group is a biological category composed of
Environment Management 12

organisms that perform mostly the same kind of function in the system; for example, all the photosynthetic plants or
primary producers form a functional group. Membership in the functional group does not depend very much on who the
actual players (species) happen to be, only on what function they perform in the ecosystem.

Processes of Ecosystems
This figure with the plants, zebra, lion, and so forth illustrates the two main ideas about how ecosystems function:
ecosystems have energy flows and ecosystems cycle materials. These two processes are linked, but they are not quite
the same (see Figure).

Figure - Energy flows and material cycles.


Energy enters the biological system as light energy, or photons, is transformed into chemical energy in organic
molecules by cellular processes including photosynthesis and respiration, and ultimately is converted to heat energy.
This energy is dissipated, meaning it is lost to the system as heat; once it is lost it cannot be recycled. Without the
continued input of solar energy, biological systems would quickly shut down. Thus the earth is an open system with
respect to energy. Elements such as carbon, nitrogen, or phosphorus enter living organisms in a variety of ways. Plants
obtain elements from the surrounding atmosphere, water, or soils. Animals may also obtain elements directly from the
physical environment, but usually they obtain these mainly as a consequence of consuming other organisms. These
materials are transformed biochemically within the bodies of organisms, but sooner or later, due to excretion or
decomposition, they are returned to an inorganic state. Often bacteria complete this process, through the process called
decomposition or mineralization (see previous lecture on microbes).
During decomposition these materials are not destroyed or lost, so the earth is a closed system with respect to
elements (with the exception of a meteorite entering the system now and then). The elements are cycled endlessly
between their biotic and abiotic states within ecosystems. Those elements whose supply tends to limit biological activity
are called nutrients.
Environment Management 13

Business Ecosystem
Definition of 'Business Ecosystem' - The network of organizations – including suppliers, distributors, customers,
competitors, government agencies and so on – involved in the delivery of a specific product or service through both
competition and cooperation. The idea is that each business in the "ecosystem" affects and is affected by the others,
creating a constantly evolving relationship in which each business must be flexible and adaptable in order to survive, as
in a biological ecosystem. The ecosystem model can also be applied to organizations such as hospitals and universities.
This term is part of a recent trend toward using biological concepts to better understand ways to succeed in business.
Advances in technology and increasing globalization have changed ideas about the best ways to do business, and the
idea of a business ecosystem is thought to help companies understand how to thrive in this rapidly changing
environment.

A business ecosystem has seven types of actors:


 Customers
 Markets
 Products
 Processes
 Organizations
 Stakeholders
 Government / society.

Pros:
 The model helps with the identification of sustainable strategic positions in situations where the production and
distribution of a firm’s own products and services depend on a loose network of suppliers, distributors and other
organizations that transcend the traditional boundaries of the ‘industry’. Most companies analyze competitors
and suppliers, but forget to do the same with their complementary because common interests are
overestimated, the potential for conflict and the investment needed to achieve strategic alignment
underestimated.
 Moore provided tools to measure a business ecosystem’s health. The inclusion of network dimensions allows a
higher-level analysis than just one-on-one connections between firms. Network analysis needs to include linear
or structural component as well longitudinal or temporal effects. Researchers can study topics such as co-
evolution only when time is included as a variable.
 The model incorporated insights from evolutionary economics and complexity theory and made them accessible
to managers and consultants. The metaphor of an ecosystem was smartly chosen in a decade characterised by
the rise of the personal computer and the Internet supporting the acceptance of the model.
Cons:
 Where Moore’s definition of business ecosystem is indeed at a higher conceptual level, the model’s strategic
analysis is from the perspective of a singular company. It sticks to the classical ‘firm-centric’ view of competition
and cooperation.
 One may argue that this model is nothing but an excellent reframe of Hughes’ 1983 Large Technical System
theory characterized by the four stages: invention, transfer, system growth and momentum with the sole
addition that business ecosystems need to evolve continuously.
 Lansiti and Levine’s study downplayed the importance of longitudinal co-evolution. Moore regarded this variable
as a key factor of healthiness. The two authors stated in their conclusions that “roles in an ecosystem aren’t
static” allowing companies the option to evolve. The scientific question remains whether a firm can “choose” its
role or whether a position is the result of an adaptation process. Does the technology determine the network’s
make-up or are the firms the main force of change?
 Business community might be a better metaphor than business ecosystem. The famous scientist and founder of
the modern evolutionary theory, Charles Darwin, defined an ecosystem as an island lacking interaction with
other islands. However, actors in business ecosystems are typically members of multiple technology platforms.
The – probably positive – effect of interactions between different ecosystems has not been researched in depth.
Environment Management 14

Industrial ecology
Industrial ecology (IE) is the study of material and energy flows through industrial systems. The global industrial
economy can be modeled as a network of industrial processes that extract resources from the Earth and transform
those resources into commodities which can be bought and sold to meet the needs of humanity. Industrial ecology
seeks to quantify the material flows and document the industrial processes that make modern society function.
Industrial ecologists are often concerned with the impacts that industrial activities have on the environment, with use of
the planet's supply of natural resources, and with problems of waste disposal. Industrial ecology is a young but growing
multidisciplinary field of research which combines aspects of engineering, economics, sociology, toxicology and the
natural sciences.
Industrial ecology has been defined as a "systems-based, multidisciplinary discourse that seeks to understand emergent
behaviour of complex integrated human/natural systems”. The field approaches issues of sustainability by examining
problems from multiple perspectives, usually involving aspects of sociology, the environment, economy and technology.
The name comes from the idea that we should use the analogy of natural systems as an aid in understanding how to
design sustainable industrial systems.
Definition –
 Product and process design-philosophy which (in addition to market competitiveness) takes into account their
environmental interactions and impacts.
 Industrial ecology is also taken to be the activity of designing and managing human production-consumption
systems, so that they interact with natural systems to form an integrated (eco) system which has ecological
integrity and provides humans with a sustainable livelihood.
 Strategies for optimal utilization of resources can be developed (for societies as well as companies) that are
based on an understanding of such flows of material and energy resources.
Hence we can say that Industrial Ecology is:
 The study of the flows of materials and energy in industrial and consumer activities.
 The study of the effects of these flows on the environment.
 The study of the influences of economic, political, regulatory, and social factors on the flow, use, and
transformation of resources.
Industrial ecology is concerned with the shifting of industrial process from linear (open loop) systems, in which resource
and capital investments move through the system to become waste, to a closed loop system where wastes can become
inputs for new processes.
Much of the research focuses on the following areas:
 Material and energy flow studies ("industrial metabolism")
 Dematerialization and de carbonization
 Technological change and the environment
 Life-cycle planning, design and assessment
 Design for the environment ("eco-design")
 Extended producer responsibility ("product stewardship")
 Eco-industrial parks ("industrial symbiosis")
 Product-oriented environmental policy
 Eco-efficiency
Environment Management 15

Principles of Industrial ecosystem


One of the central principles of Industrial Ecology is the view that societal and technological systems are bounded within
the biosphere, and do not exist outside of it. Ecology is used as a metaphor due to the observation that natural systems
reuse materials and have a largely closed loop cycling of nutrients. Industrial Ecology approaches problems with the
hypothesis that by using similar principles as natural systems, industrial systems can be improved to reduce their impact
on the natural environment as well. The table shows the general metaphor.
Biosphere Technosphere
Environment Market
Organism Company
Natural Product Industrial Product
Natural Selection Competition
Ecosystem Eco-Industrial Park
Ecological Niche Market Niche
Anabolism / Catabolism Manufacturing / Waste Management
Mutation and Selection Design for Environment
Succession Economic Growth
Adaptation Innovation
Food Web Product Life Cycle
Tools of Industrial ecosystem
People Planet Profit Modeling
Stakeholder analysis Environmental impact Cost benefit Stock and flow
Strength Weakness Opportunities Threats assessment (EIA) analysis (CBA) analysis
Analysis (SWOT Analysis) Input-output analysis (IOA) Full cost accounting Agent based
Eco labeling Life-cycle assessment (LCA) (FCA) modeling
ISO 14000 Material flow analysis (MFA) Life cycle costing
Environmental management system (EMS) Substance flow analysis (SFA) (LCC)
Integrated chain management (ICM) MET Matrix
Technology assessment
Environment Management 16
Environment Management 17

Greenhouse effect
The greenhouse effect is a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric
greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated
radiated in all directions. Since part of this re-radiation
re radiation is back towards the surface and the
lower atmosphere, it results in an elevation of the average
average surface temperature above what it would be in the absence
of the gases. Solar radiation at the frequencies of visible light largely passes through the atmosphere to warm the
planetary surface, which then emits this energy at the lower frequencies of infrared thermal radiation. Infrared radiation
is absorbed by greenhouse gases, which in turn re re-radiate much of the energy to the surface
urface and lower atmosphere. The
mechanism is named after the effect of solar radiation passing through glass and warming a greenhouse, but the way it
retains heat is fundamentally different
rent as a greenhouse works by reducing airflow, isolating the warm air inside the
structure so that heat is not lost by convection.
convection

Greenhouse gas - A greenhouse gas (sometimes abbreviated


abbrevia GHG)) is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits
radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary
greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane,, nitrous oxide, and ozone. In the
Solar System, the atmospheres of Venus,
Venus Mars, and Titan also contain gases that cause greenhouse effects. Greenhouse
gases greatly affect the temperature of the Earth;; without them, Earth's surface would average about
abo 33 °C (59 °F)
colder than the present average of 14 °C (57 °F).

Greenhouse gases are those that can absorb and emit infrared radiation, but not radiation in or near the visible
spectrum. In order, the most abundant greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are:
 Water vapor (H2O)
 Carbon dioxide (CO2)
 Methane(CH4)
 Nitrous oxide (N2O)
 Ozone (O3)
 CFCs
By their percentage contribution to the greenhouse effect on Earth the four major gases are:
 Water vapor, 36–70%
 Carbon dioxide, 9–26%
 Methane, 4–9%
 Ozone, 3–7%
Environment Management 18

The Greenhouse Effect and Greenhouse Gasses


Have you ever been inside a greenhouse on a cold winter day? It might be cold outside, but inside the
greenhouse lush green plants flourish in the warmth and sunshine. Greenhouses are made of glass and are
designed to hold heat inside. Our planet's atmosphere traps energy just like a greenhouse. Energy from the
Sun can enter the Earth’s atmosphere, but not all of it can easily find its way out again.
What blocks the Sun’s energy from escaping from the Earth? Unlike a greenhouse, the Earth does not have a
layer of glass over it! Instead, molecules in our atmosphere called greenhouse gasses absorb the heat.
Greenhouse gasses include water vapor, methane, ozone, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide. There may not be
much of some of these gasses in our atmosphere, but they can have a big impact. Each greenhouse gas
molecule is made of three or more atoms that are bonded loosely together. These molecules are able to
absorb heat, which makes them vibrate. They eventually release the heat energy and it is often absorbed by
another greenhouse gas molecule.
The greenhouse effect is useful because trapping some energy keeps the temperatures on our planet mild and
suitable for living things. Without its atmosphere and the greenhouse effect, the average temperature at the
surface of the Earth would be zero degrees Fahrenheit. However, too many greenhouse gases can cause the
temperature to increase out of control. Such is the case on Venus where greenhouse gases are abundant and
the average temperature at the surface is more than 855 degrees Fahrenheit (457 degrees Celsius).
You might hear people talking about the greenhouse effect as if it is a bad thing. It is not a bad thing, but
people are concerned because Earth’s greenhouse is warming up very rapidly. This is happening because we
are currently adding more greenhouse gases to our atmosphere, causing an increased greenhouse effect. The
increased Greenhouse Effect is causing changes in our planet that can affect our lives.
Environment Management 19

Environmental management system


Environmental management system (EMS) refers to the management of an organization's environmental
programs in a comprehensive, systematic, planned and documented manner. It includes the organizational structure,
planning and resources for developing, implementing and maintaining policy for environmental protection.
More formally, EMS is "a system and database which integrates procedures and processes for training of personnel,
monitoring, summarizing, and reporting of specialized environmental performance information to internal and external
stakeholders of a firm."
Definition - Organizational structure, planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes, resources,
and standards (such as ISO 14000 or BS 7750) employed in formulating an organization's environmental policy and
achieving its objectives on both short- and long-term basis.

Goals of Environmental management system (EMS) - The goals of EMS are to increase compliance and reduce
waste:
 Compliance is act of reaching and maintaining minimal legal standards. By not being compliant, companies may
face fines, government intervention or may not be able to operate.
 Waste reduction goes beyond compliance to reduce environmental impact. The EMS helps to develop,
implement, manage, coordinate and monitor environmental policies. Waste reduction begins at the design
phase through pollution prevention and waste minimization. At the end of the life cycle, waste is reduced by
recycling.

Features of Environmental management system (EMS) - An environmental management system (EMS):


 Serves as a tool, or process, to improve environmental performance and information mainly "design, pollution
control and waste minimization, training, reporting to top management, and the setting of goals"
 Provides a systematic way of managing an organization’s environmental affairs
 Gives order and consistency for organizations to address environmental concerns through the allocation of
resources, assignment of responsibility and ongoing evaluation of practices, procedures and processes
 Creates environmental buy-in from management and employees and assigns accountability and responsibility.
 Sets framework for training to achieve objectives and desired performance.
 Helps understand legislative requirements to better determine a product or service's impact, significance,
priorities and objectives.
 Focuses on continual improvement of the system and a way to implement policies and objectives to meet a
desired result. This also helps with reviewing and auditing the EMS to find future opportunities.
 Encourages contractors and suppliers to establish their own EMS.

Basic Elements of an EMS:


 Reviewing the company's environmental goals
 Analyzing its environmental impacts and legal requirements
 Setting environmental objectives and targets to reduce environmental impacts and comply with legal
requirements
 Establishing programs to meet these objectives and targets
 Monitoring and measuring progress in achieving the objectives
 Ensuring employees' environmental awareness and competence
 Reviewing progress of the EMS and making improvements
Environment Management 20

Costs and Benefits of an EMS

Potential Costs Potential Benefits


Internal Improved environmental performance
Staff (manager) time Enhanced compliance
Other employee time Pollution prevention
(Note: Internal labor costs represent the bulk of the EMS resources Resource conservation
expended by most organizations) New customers/markets
External Increased efficiency/reduced costs
Potential consulting assistance Enhanced employee morale
Outside training of personnel Enhanced image with public, regulators, lenders,
investors
Employee awareness of environmental issues and
responsibilities

International standard organization

Meaning of ISO - ISO means international standard organisation. In business environment, ISO word is so famous and
International organisation provides standards to those business organizations that fulfill its conditions. It has
authority to issue certificate of quality management and quality environment. There are large numbers of business
organisation who satisfy the conditions. They have ISO certificate.
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world's largest developer and publisher of International
Standards. This organisation has made by participation of all countries .Its central secretariat is in Geneva, Switzerland.
It is NGO which helps to promote business by providing them solution of quality problems.

Meaning of ISO 9000 - This is the latest version of International organisation for standardization which gives to those
organisation who satisfy the following condition
 It fulfills the quality requirements of customers.
 It fulfills regulatory requirements.
 Customers satisfaction
 Continual improvement in quality management.
 Records should show how and where raw materials and products were processed, to allow products and
problems to be traced to the source.
 You need to test and document whether the product meets design requirements, regulatory requirements and
user needs.

Meaning of ISO 14000 - ISO 14000 is standard certificate which gives to those business organisations that fulfill the
conditions relating to quality environment. Quality environments mean all measure to protect the environment
from pollution.
Definition of 'ISO 14000' - A set of rules and norms for environmental management of industrial production ISO 14000
applies to all businesses and is designed to reduce environmental damage and industrial waste. The ultimate goal of
these guidelines is to promote useful and usable tools to businesses to help them manage their environmental impact.
ISO 14000 has several subsets that address various aspects of environmental regulations. These rules were all created by
the Industrial Organization for Standardization. They first became popular in Europe and then began to be widely used in
the U.S. in the 1990s.
Conditions
 Company has minimized harmful effect on environment by proper control on waste and pollution.
 Achieve improvement in its environment performance by planting the trees and other projects.
Environment Management 21

 ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 are given after taking test of products who apply for same and ISO takes also some fees
for issuing the certificate . There is no guarantee, any quality of end products but almost all ISO products are
high quality.
 The certificate will be for three years and after this product will again review for giving certificate.
ISO 14001 is known as a generic management system standard, meaning that it is relevant to any organization seeking
to improve and manage resources more effectively. This includes:
 Single site to large multi-national companies
 High risk companies to low risk service organizations
 Manufacturing, process and the service industries; including local governments
 All industry sectors including public and private sectors
 Original equipment manufacturers and their suppliers.

Objectives of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000


 To Increase the goodwill of company - Main objective of getting these standards is to increase the goodwill of
company. Customer can compare the quality of two companies, one is with ISO standard and other is without
ISO standard. Goodwill may be in form of increase in sale or more promotion of product of company.
 Control on Quality - After getting ISO standards, company has to control on quality and it is the objective of ISO
standards. ISO standard 9000 controls product's quality and ISO 14000 controls environment quality.
 Revolution - After coming, ISO 9000 and ISO, 14000 companies have started to label the product by eco labeling.
Moreover awareness has come in the minds of company after its ISO standard in 1987.
 Working of ISO - ISO 9000 is more powerful tool to get confidence in market. Company can invite customers to
check the quality before purchasing the products. It will only possible after implement ISO 9000 standards. Every
product's package is with ISO 9000 and customer can understand its value.

Environmental audit
Environmental audit is a general term that can reflect various types or evaluations intended to identify
environmental compliance and management system implementation gaps, along with related corrective actions. In this
way they perform an analogous (similar) function to financial audits.
There are generally two different types of environmental audits:
 Compliance audits
 Management systems audits.
An environmental audit is a tool which can quantify an organization’s environmental performance and position. An
environmental audit is useful for finding the areas of your business that impact the most on the environment. It is also
an effective risk management tool for checking how effectively your business acts in accordance with environmental
regulations. An environmental audit assesses the nature and extent of harm to the environment caused by the activities,
waste or noise from your business. Use the audit as a tool to help you:
 Assess how you can manage or improve the condition of the environment
 Prioritize what actions you can take to reduce your impact on the environment
 Demonstrate accountability to third parties such as government, customers and shareholders.
Environmental audits must be independent, objective, credible and transparent in order to be successful. Audits should
also be regular and ongoing, and conducted against a benchmark or initial assessment, generally detailed in your
environmental plan.

Objectives of Environmental Auditing - The overall objective of environmental auditing is to help safeguard the
environment and minimize risks to human health. Clearly, auditing alone will not achieve this goal (hence the use of the
word help); it is a management tool. The key objectives of an environmental audit therefore are to:
 Determine how well the environmental management systems and equipment are performing
 Verify compliance with the relevant national, local or other laws and regulations
 Minimize human exposure to risks from environmental, health and safety problems.
Environment Management 22

Scope of the Audit - As the prime objective of audits is to test the adequacy of existing management systems; they
fulfill a fundamentally different role from the monitoring of environmental performance. Audits can address one topic,
or a whole range of issues. The greater the scope of the audit, the greater will be the size of the audit team, the time
spent onsite and the depth of investigation. Where international audits need to be carried out by a central team, there
can be good reasons for covering more than one area while onsite to minimize costs. In addition, the scope of an audit
can vary from simple compliance testing to a more rigorous examination, depending on the perceived needs of the
management. The technique is applied not only to operational environmental, health and safety management, but
increasingly also to product safety and product quality management, and to areas such as loss prevention.
Environmental Safety Occupational Health Product Safety
-Site history -Safety policy/procedures -Employee exposure to air -Product safety programme
-Process/materials -Accident reporting contaminants -Product quality control
-Storage of -Accident recording -Exposure to physical -Product packaging, storage and
materials -Accident investigation agents, e.g., noise, shipping
above ground -Permit to work systems radiation, heat -Product recall/withdrawal
below ground -Special procedures for confined -Measurements of procedures
-Air emissions space entry, work on electrical employee exposure -Customer information on
-Water discharges equipment, breaking into pipelines, -Exposure records product handling and quality
-Liquid/hazardous etc. -Ventilation/engineering -Regulatory compliance
wastes -Emergency response controls -Labelling
-Asbestos -Fire fighting -Personal protective -Specifications for purchased
-Waste disposal -Job safety analysis equipment materials/products/packaging
onsite -Safety training -Information and training -Materials safety data
offsite -Safety communication/promotion on health hazards -Vendor qualification programme
-Oil/chemical spill -Housekeeping -Medical surveillance -QA testing and inspections
prevention -Regulatory compliance programme -Record keeping
-Permits/licenses -Hearing conservation -Product literature
-First aid -Process control
-Regulatory requirements

What are the different types of environmental audits?


There are three main types of environmental audits which are compliance audits, management audits to verify whether
an organisation meets its stated objectives, and, functional audits such as for water and electricity.

Benefits of Environmental Auditing - If environmental auditing is implemented in a constructive way there are many
benefits to be derived from the process. The auditing approach described in this paper will help to:
 Safeguard the environment
 Verify compliance with local and national laws
 Indicate current or potential future problems that need to be addressed
 Assess training programmes and provide data to assist in training
 Enable companies to build on good environmental performance, give credit where appropriate and highlight
deficiencies
 Identify potential cost savings, such as from waste minimization
 Assist the exchange and comparison of information between different plants or subsidiary companies
 Demonstrate company commitment to environmental protection to employees, the public and the authorities.
Environment Management 23

Who should complete an environmental audit?


ISO 19011:2012 Guidelines for auditing management systems provides information regarding the choice of
Environmental Auditor. Environmental Auditors should have personal attributes, such as ethics, open-mindedness, be
perceptive and have tact. They should understand audit principles, procedures and techniques, as well as having gained
experience through conducting audits. They should know the subject matter they are auditing against and how this
applies to different organizations. Audit team leaders should be able to plan and resources effectively, have good
communication and leadership skills. Preferably Environmental Auditors should complete environmental auditing
training and have attained an appropriate level of education. A good Auditor should have adequate skills and
experience. When seeking an external Auditor consideration could be given to the skills outlined above. The RABQSA
provides details of Environmental Auditors that have completed training (5 days) and have met a minimum certification
standard. Depending on the auditing requirements consideration could be given to determining whether the Auditor
needs to be certified by additional organizations (e.g. EPA appointed Environmental Auditors).

Environmental auditing in India


1. Auditing in India - The Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) in India is headed by the Comptroller and Auditor General
(CAG) of India who is a constitutional authority. The CAG of India derives his mandate from Articles 148 to 151 of
the Indian Constitution. The CAG’s (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971 prescribes functions,
duties and powers of the CAG. While fulfilling his constitutional obligations, the CAG examines various aspects of
government expenditure and revenues. The audit conducted by CAG is broadly classified into Financial,
Compliance and Performance Audit. Environmental audit by SAI India is conducted within the broad framework
of Compliance and Performance Audit.
2. Environment protection in India - The Ministry of Environment & Forests is the nodal agency in the
administrative structure of the Central Government of India, for the planning, promotion, coordination and
overseeing the implementation of environmental and forestry programmes. The Ministry is also the Nodal
agency in the country for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). In the states, the Department of
Environment and Forest is the main agency for implementation of environment programmes.
The principal activities undertaken by Ministry of Environment & Forests consist of
 Conservation & survey of flora, fauna, forests and wildlife;
 Prevention & control of pollution; afforestation and regeneration of degraded areas; and
 Protection of environment, in the frame work of legislation.
Major policy initiatives by Ministry of Environment and Forests include:
 National Environment Policy, 2006;
 Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement on Environment and Development,1992;
 Policy Statement for Abatement of Pollution;
 National Forest Policy etc...
Environment Management 24

How to Set-Up an Enterprise

Permissions/Clearances Required - Obtaining Clearances - An entrepreneur has to obtain several clearances or


permission depending upon the nature of his unit and products manufactured.

Regulatory or Taxation Clearances


 Registration under Sales Tax Act - Commercial Tax officer of area concerned
 Registration under Central Excise Act - Collector of Central Excise or his nominee for area
 Payment of Income Tax - ITO of the area concerned
 Registration of Partnership deed - Inspector General of area concerned
 Calibration of weights & measures - Weights and Measures Inspector of State
 Power Connection - Designated Officer of State Electricity Board
 Employee strength exceeding 10 with power connection or 20 without power - Chief Inspector of Factories

Environment and Pollution Related Clearances


 Pollution Control - State Pollution Control Board. A No Objection Certificate (NOC) should be obtained from the
State Pollution Control Board before commencement of construction activity. In case the industry is of the highly
polluting category, a full-fledged or rapid Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study has to be carried out
and submitted to the State Pollution Control Board for approval, after which the construction can commence.
 Industries Requiring Water and Affecting Effluent Disposal - State Pollution Control Board No Objection
Certificate (NOC) should be obtained from the State Pollution Control Board before commencement of
construction activity.
 For units functioning outside Industrial Area - Permission from Municipal Corporation/ Municipality/ Panchyat.
In case private agricultural land is purchased for the project, the land would have to be rezoned as industrial
zone. Permission to convert such agricultural land to industrial area would have to be obtained before the actual
start of the construction from the local office of the Directorate of Town & Country Planning.
 Registration and Licensing of a Boiler - Chief Inspector of Boiler. The safety clearance of the Chief Electrical
Inspector and the Chief Inspector of Boilers are required before commencing operations with electrical and
pressure vessels(boilers) respectively.
For registration as a 100% export oriented unit (EOU) which can enjoy many additional concessions, the clearance of the
Development Commissioner of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) would be required. If the company wishes to offer
equity shares to the public, the clearance of the Stock Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has to be taken.

Product Specific Clearances


 Establishing a Printing Press - District Magistrate
 License for Cold Storage Construction - Designated Official in State
 Pesticides - Central/State Agricultural Department - Ministry of Agriculture
 Drugs and Pharmaceuticals - Drug license from State Drug Controller
 Safety Matches/ Fireworks - License under Explosives Act from Directorate of Explosives, Nagpur
 Household Electrical Appliances - License from Bureau of Indian Standards
 Wood Working Industry within 8 km from forest - District Forest Officer
 Milk Processing & Milk products manufacturing units - Approval under Milk and Milk Products Order from State
Agricultural/ Food Processing Industries Department above a designated capacity.
Environment Management 25

Approvals Required for establishing an Industrial Project

Approval Type Authority Remarks


1.0 Industrial Approval
1.1 Entrepreneurship District Industries Centre For setting up SME
Memorandum (EM) FORM EM PART-I
FORM EM PART-II
1.2 Industrial Secretariat For Industrial For setting up projects other than SME, and not
Entrepreneurship Approval(SIA), New Delhi included in the list of compulsory licensing
Memorandum(IEM) provision
Application in prescribed form(IEM) Part I .
Format of Follow-Up Report to be submitted
Till Commencement of Production – Status of
Project – (format)
After Commencement of Production – Part-B
1.3 Letter of Intent(LOI) Do Projects requiring compulsory licensing
Application in prescribed form
1.4 100% Export Oriented Development Commissioner, Application in prescribed form
Units(EOU) & SEZ units KASEZ
2.0 Business Constitution
2.1 Registration as Firm Registrar of Firms Proprietary concerns or Partnership Firm
2.2 For approval of Name Registrar of Companies Private Ltd. or Public Ltd. Company
of Private/Public
Limited Company and
incorporation thereof
2.3 Cooperative Society Registrar of Cooperatives For forming Cooperative Society
3.0 Land for project
3.1 Allotment of plot/shed GIDC Application in prescribed form
in Industrial Estate
3.2 Allotment of District Collector No prescribed application
Government land
3.3 Agricultural Land Purchase through negotiation No prior permission required
4.0 NA Permission Collector/DDO Prescribed application form for deemed NA
5.0 Environment Clearance
5.1 No Objection Gujarat Pollution Board Application in the prescribed form by polluting
Certificate industries like chemicals, pharmaceuticals, etc.
(other than 99 industries listed by GPCB)
5.2 Environmental Ministry of Environment and Specific projects need prior environmental
Clearance (EC) Forest (MOEF) clearance from MOEF/State level Environment
Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA)
5.3 Consent and G.P.C.B. On completion of the project and meeting the
Authorization norms for disposal of effluents, G.P.C.B. will issue
consent letter
6.0 Construction of Building
6.1 Plan Approval in GIDC Application to Regional Manager, GIDC
Industrial Estate
6.2 Plan Approval in other Local Authority, Application to concerned local authority, where
area site is selected
7.0 Water Requirement
7.1 In Industrial Estate GIDC Application to Regional Manager/ Executive
Environment Management 26

Engineer of GIDC
7.2 River/Public Service Department of Narmada & Application to Executive Engineer in-charge of
Water Resources, GoG concerned Irrigation scheme
8.0 Power Requirement
8.1 Power requirement Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd.- Application in prescribed form
Distribution Company or
respective agencies
9.0 Financial Requirement
9.1 Capital Issue SEBI Application in prescribed form to Security
Exchange Board of India
9.0 Financial Requirement
9.2 Term Loan Financial Institutions or Bank Application in prescribed form along with detailed
Project Report
9.3 Working Capital Banks Application to Branch Manager of a Commercial
Bank
Under the ‘Single Window Scheme’, both term
loan & working capital upto Rs 25 lakhs is
considered
10.0 Final Approval
10.1 SME DIC EM Part II
10.2 Large Units SIA LOI is to be converted into IL
IEM Part B in case of delicensed units
11.0 Registration of Establishment
11.1 Registration under Local Authority/Municipal Registration of an industrial unit not covered
Shops & Establishment Corporation under Factories Act
Act
11.2 Registration as Factory Chief Inspector of Factories Application in prescribed form under the Factories
Act
12.0 Value Added Tax
12.1 VAT Registration Commercial Tax Officer Application for certificate of registration under
GVAT Act 2003. (In case of turnover exceeding Rs.
5 lakhs having sales of above Rs. 10,000 VAT
applicable items)
Environment Management 27

Environmental Accounting
Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) is a cover title used to describe different aspects of this burgeoning field
of accounting. The focus of EMA is as a management accounting tool used to make internal business decisions,
especially for proactive environmental management activities. EMA was developed to recognize some limitations of
conventional management accounting approaches to environmental costs, consequences, and impacts. For example,
overhead accounts were the destination of many environmental costs in the past. Cost allocations were inaccurate and
could not be traced back to processes, products, or process lines. Wasted raw materials were also inaccurately
accounted for during production. Each aspect of EMA has a general accounting type that serves as its foundation,
according to the EMA international website. The following examples indicate the general accounting type followed by
the environmental accounting parallel:
 Management Accounting (MA) entails the identification, collection, estimation, analysis, and use of cost, or
other information used for organizational decision-making. Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) is
Management Accounting with a focus on materials and energy flow information, with environmental cost
information.
 Financial Accounting (FA) comprises the development and organizational reporting of financial information to
external parties, such as stockholders and bankers. Environmental Financial Accounting (EFA) builds on Financial
Accounting, focusing on the reporting of environmental liability costs with other significant environmental costs.
 National Accounting (NA) is the development of economic and other information used to describe national
income and economic health. Environmental National Accounting (ENA) is National Accounting focusing on the
stocks of natural resources, their physical flows, environmental costs, and externality costs.
EMA is a broad set of approaches and principles that provide views into the physical flows and costs critical to the
successful completion of environmental management activities and increasingly, routine management activities, such as
product and process design, capital budgeting, cost control and allocation, and product pricing, according to the EMA
international website. EMA offers potential benefits to industry, such as the capability track and managing the flows
and use of materials and energy with greater accuracy. The EMA international website reports that accurate
identification, estimation, allocation, and management or reduction of costs is important, too. Environmental
performance can be supported and improved by using more accurate and complete information. This information will
also improve the measurement and reporting of environmental information to the public. Government can benefit from
the application of these principles according to the EMA international website. The cost of environmental protection
can be lowered on the basis of industries’ financial self-interest. Industry data can be used to estimate and report
environmental performance metrics and financial and environmental and benefits to government stakeholders. These
metrics can also be used to effectively affect future environmental policies and regulations. Societal benefits exist also.
With the implementation of these principles, energy, water, and other natural resources can be used more efficiently.
The EMA international website reports these principles can help reduce external societal costs stemming from industrial
pollution such as environmental control, monitoring, remediation, and public health costs.

Forms of Environmental Accounting


1. Environmental Management Accounting (EMA): Management accounting with a particular focus on material
and energy flow information and environmental cost information. This type of accounting can be further
classified in the following subsystems:
 Segment Environmental Accounting: This is an internal environmental accounting tool to select an
investment activity, or a project, related to environmental conservation from among all processes of
operations, and to evaluate environmental effects for a certain period.
 Eco Balance Environmental Accounting: This is an internal environmental accounting tool to support
PDCA for sustainable environmental management activities.
 Corporate Environmental Accounting: This is a tool to inform the public of relevant information
compiled in accordance with the Environmental Accounting. It should be called as Corporate
Environmental Reporting. For this purpose the cost and effect (in quantity and monetary value) of its
environmental conservation activities are used.
2. Environmental Financial Accounting (EFA): Financial accounting with a particular focus on reporting
environmental liability costs and other significant environmental costs.
Environment Management 28

3. Environmental National Accounting (ENA): National Level Accounting with a particular focus on natural
resources stocks & flows, environmental costs & externality costs etc. Need of Environmental Accounting at
Corporate Level: It helps to know whether corporation has been discharging its responsibilities towards
environment or not. Basically, a company has to fulfill following environmental responsibilities.
 Meeting regulatory requirements or exceeding that expectation.
 Cleaning up pollution that already exists and properly disposing of the hazardous material.
 Disclosing to the investors both potential & current, the amount and nature of the preventative measures
taken by the management (disclosure required if the estimated liability is greater than a certain percent say
10 per cent of the company’s net worth).
 Operating in a way that that environmental damage does not occur.
 Promoting a company having wide environmental attitude.
 Control over operational & material efficiency gains driven by the competitive global market.
 Control over increases in costs for raw materials, waste management and potential liability

Scope of Environment Accounting - The scope of Environmental Accounting (hereinafter called as EA) is very wide. It
includes corporate level, national & international level. As far as this article is concerned the emphasis is given on the
corporate level accounting. The following aspects are included in EA:
1. From Internal point of view investment made by the corporate sector for minimization of losses to environment.
It includes investment made into the environment saving equipment/ devices. This type of accounting is easy as
money Measurement is possible.
2. From external point of view all types of loss r indirectly due to business operation/activities. It mainly includes:
 Degradation and destruction like soil erosion, loss of bio diversity, air pollution, water pollution, voice
pollution, problem of solid waste, coastal & marine pollution.
 Depletion of nonrenewable natural resources i.e. loss emerged due to over exploitation of nonrenewable
natural resources like minerals, water, gas, etc.
 Deforestation and Land uses.
This type of accounting is not easy, as losses to environment cannot be measured exactly in monetary value. Further, it
is very hard to decide that how much loss was occurred to the environment due to a particular industry. For this purpose
approx idea can be given or other measurement of loss like quantity of non-renewable natural re- sources used, how
much Sq. meter area deforested and total area used for business purpose including residential quarters area for
employees etc., how much solid waste produced by the factory, how much wasteful air pass through chimney in air and
what types of elements are included in a standard quantity of wasteful air, type and degree of noise made by the
factory, etc. can be used.
Limitations of Environmental Accounting - EA suffers from various serious limitations as follows:
1. There is no standard accounting method.
2. Comparison between two firms or countries is not possible if method of accounting is different which is quite
obvious.
3. Input for EA is not easily available because costs and benefits relevant to the environment are not easily
measurable.
4. Many business and the Government organizations even large and well managed ones don’t adequately track the use
of energy and material or the cost of inefficient materials use, waste management and related issue. Many
organizations, therefore, significantly underestimate the cost of poor environment performance to their
organization.
5. It mainly considers the cost internal to the company and excludes cost to society.
6. EA is a long-term process. Therefore, to draw a conclusion with help of it is not easy.
7. EA cannot work independently. It should be integrated with the financial accounting, which is not easy.
8. EA must be analysed along with other aspects of accounting. Because costs and benefits related to the environment
itself depend upon the results of the financial accounting, management accounting, cost accounting, tax accounting,
national accounting, etc.
9. The user of information contained in the EA needs adequate knowledge of the process of EA as well as rules and
regulations prevailing in that country either directly or indirectly related to environmental aspects.
Environment Management 29

Environmental ethics
Environmental ethics is the part of environmental philosophy which considers extending the traditional
boundaries of ethics from solely including humans to including the non-human world. It exerts influence on a large range
of disciplines including environmental law, environmental sociology, ecotheology, ecological economics, ecology and
environmental geography. There are many ethical decisions that human beings make with respect to the environment.
For example:
 Should we continue to clear cut forests for the sake of human consumption?
 Why should we continue to propagate our species, and life itself?
 Should we continue to make gasoline powered vehicles?
 What environmental obligations do we need to keep for future generations?
 Is it right for humans to knowingly cause the extinction of a species for the convenience of humanity?
 How should we best use and conserve the space environment to secure and expand life?
Definition on Environmental Ethics - Environmental ethics refers to the moral relations between human beings and
their natural environment. More specifically, it refers to the value that mankind places on protecting, conserving, and
efficiently using resources that the earth provides. It is a standard that we use to view issues pertaining to the
environment. Some people may have varying degrees of consciousness in this area, but everyone has an environmental
ethic that they hold to. The key is to balance an awareness and motivation for environmental issues while not
neglecting the needs of people.

Environmental ethics, then, might include such issues as the following:


 Why care about nature "for itself" when only people "matter"? If you deny that "only people matter," on what
grounds can you defend that denial? (After all, if no people are around to regret it, what difference does it make
if a species, a canyon, or even a planet is destroyed? If people who are around prefer to destroy natural objects
and landscapes, then so what? Why not?
 When species or landscapes or wilderness areas are destroyed, what, of value, is lost to mankind?
 Will future generations "miss" what we have "taken from them"? (How could they if they never will know what
they have "lost"?)
 "Should Trees Have [Legal] Standing?" (as Christopher Stone contends). On what grounds, if not for mankind's
sake?
 Does "land ownership" make moral sense, or is it a morally absurd and repugnant concept in Western culture
(as the native Americans would claim).
 Do human beings have a need for nature that implies an obligation to preserve it? What is the evidence for this?
 What are the ultimate grounds of an affirmation to protect the environment? Are they rational? Irrational? Non-
rational? Mystical?
 What, basically, is wrong with the developer's anthropocentric and utilitarian land ethic? Why not treat land as a
"commodity" rather than a "community"?
 If five-hundred backpackers and river runners per year enjoyed Glen Canyon before 1962, and fifty thousand
power boaters and water skiers enjoy it now, then why not have a Lake Powell there?
 Do future generations (who, after all, do not exist now) have a "right" now to a clean and natural environment
when their time comes?
 Can man "improve" upon nature? How? What constitutes "improvement"?
 Do the facts of environmental science have moral implications?
Environment Management 30

Environmental laws
In the Constitution of India it is clearly stated that it is the duty of the state to ‘protect and improve the environment and
to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country’. It imposes a duty on every citizen ‘to protect and improve the
natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife’. Reference to the environment has also been made in
the Directive Principles of State Policy as well as the Fundamental Rights. The Department of Environment was
established in India in 1980 to ensure a healthy environment for the country. This later became the Ministry of
Environment and Forests in 1985. The constitutional provisions are backed by a number of laws – acts, rules, and
notifications. The EPA (Environment Protection Act), 1986 came into force soon after the Bhopal Gas Tragedy and is
considered an umbrella legislation as it fills many gaps in the existing laws. Thereafter a large number of laws came into
existence as the problems began arising, for example, Handling and Management of Hazardous Waste Rules in 1989.
Following is a list of the environmental legislations that have come into effect:
1. General
 1986 - The Environment (Protection) Act authorizes the central government to protect and improve
environmental quality, control and reduce pollution from all sources, and prohibit or restrict the setting and /or
operation of any industrial facility on environmental grounds.
 1991 - The Public Liability Insurance Act and Rules and Amendment, 1992 was drawn up to provide for
public liability insurance for the purpose of providing immediate relief to the persons affected by accident while
handling any hazardous substance.
 1995 - The National Environmental Tribunal Act has been created to award compensation for damages to
persons, property, and the environment arising from any activity involving hazardous substances.
 2002 - The Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) (Amendment) Rules lay down such terms and conditions
as are necessary to reduce noise pollution, permit use of loud speakers or public address systems during night
hours (between 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight) on or during any cultural or religious festive occasion
2. Forest and wildlife
 1927 - The Indian Forest Act and Amendment, 1984, is one of the many surviving colonial statutes. It was
enacted to ‘consolidate the law related to forest, the transit of forest produce, and the duty leviable on timber
and other forest produce’.
 1972 - The Wildlife Protection Act, Rules 1973 and Amendment 1991 provides for the protection of birds and
animals and for all matters that are connected to it whether it be their habitat or the waterhole or the forests
that sustain them.
 1980 - The Forest (Conservation) Act and Rules, 1981, provides for the protection of and the conservation of
the forests.
3. Water
 1956 - The River Boards Act enables the states to enroll the central government in setting up an Advisory River
Board to resolve issues in inter-state cooperation.
 1970 - The Merchant Shipping Act aims to deal with waste arising from ships along the coastal areas within a
specified radius.
 1974 - The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act establishes an institutional structure for preventing
and abating water pollution. It establishes standards for water quality and effluent. Polluting industries must
seek permission to discharge waste into effluent bodies. The CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) was
constituted under this act.
 1991 - The Coastal Regulation Zone Notification puts regulations on various activities, including construction,
are regulated. It gives some protection to the backwaters and estuaries.
4. Air
 1981 - The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act provides for the control and abatement of air pollution.
It entrusts the power of enforcing this act to the CPCB .
 1982 - The Atomic Energy Act deals with the radioactive waste.
 1987 - The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Act empowers the central and state pollution
control boards to meet with grave emergencies of air pollution.
 1988 - The Motor Vehicles Act states that all hazardous waste is to be properly packaged, labelled, and
transported.
Environment Management 31

Intellectual property rights


Intellectual property (IP) is a legal concept which refers to creations of the mind for which exclusive rights are
recognized. Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets,
such as musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs.
Common types of intellectual property rights include copyright, trademarks, patents, industrial design rights, trade
dress, and in some jurisdictions trade secrets. Although many of the legal principles governing intellectual property
rights have evolved over centuries, it was not until the 19th century that the term intellectual property began to be
used, and not until the late 20th century that it became commonplace in the majority of the world
Definition of 'Intellectual Property' - A broad categorical description for the set of intangibles owned and legally
protected by a company from outside use or implementation without consent. Intellectual property can consist of
patents, trade secrets, copyrights and trademarks, or simply ideas. The concept of intellectual property relates to the
fact that certain products of human intellect should be afforded the same protective rights that apply to physical
property. Most developed economies have legal measures in place to protect both forms of property.
Companies are diligent when it comes to identifying and protecting intellectual property because it holds such high
value in today's increasingly knowledge-based economy. Extracting value from intellectual property and preventing
others from deriving value from it is an important responsibility for any company. Many forms of IP cannot be listed on
the balance sheet as assets, but the value of such property tends to be reflected in the price of the stock. Management's
ability to manage these effectively and turn a profit is just one example.
A right that is had by a person or by a company to have exclusive rights to use its own plans, ideas, or other intangible
assets without the worry of competition, at least for a specific period of time. These rights can include copyrights,
patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. These rights may be enforced by a court via a lawsuit. The reasoning for
intellectual property is to encourage innovation without the fear that a competitor will steal the idea and / or take the
credit for it.
Intellectual property rights (IPRs), largely overlooked by the public in earlier periods, have caused mixed reactions over
the past decades. At the domestic governmental level, patentable subject matter has been expanded greatly to include
living organisms (microorganisms, plants, and animals), software, and business methods, while internationally, with the
establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1994, some 140 countries made commitments to adopt
minimum harmonized levels of IPR protection. In the case of developing countries, those minimum standards represent
a substantial expansion of IPR over previous standards. The Bush administration, through then-Attorney General
Ashcroft, has also been aggressive in protecting private IP rights. For example, the rights of music copyright owners have
been upheld against file-sharing systems such as Napster. Medicare medicine benefits prohibit government groups from
negotiating over prices, which enhances the partial monopoly rights granted under patents. Concurrent to this
apparently pro-IPR governmental position, numerous individuals and groups have been raising serious issues about the
implementation of those policies and their consequences (see citations below). At one level, the United States Patent
and Trademark Office (USPTO) has been criticized repeatedly for inadequate examination procedures that lead to
frivolous patents, which serve only to impede research, or alternatively overly broad ones (compared to the no
obviousness contribution), which thwart subsequent inventive activity. Internationally, IPRs have been linked with
blocking access by the poor to lifesaving medications—most notably AIDS therapies. For systems that are intended to
provide public benefits by granting private incentives for research and development (R&D) investments, these are
indeed damning critiques.
Environment Management 32

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)


Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are legally constituted corporations created by natural or legal
people that operate independently from any form of government. The term originated from the United Nations, and
normally refers to organizations that are not a part of a government and are not conventional for-profit businesses. In
the cases in which NGOs are funded totally or partially by governments, the NGO maintains its non-governmental status
by excluding government representatives from membership in the organization. In the United States, NGOs are typically
nonprofit organizations. The term is usually applied only to organizations that pursue wider social aims that have
political aspects, but are not openly political organizations such as political parties.
DEFINITION OF NGOs - A non-governmental organization (NGO) is any non-profit, voluntary citizens' group which is
organized on a local, national or international level. Task-oriented and driven by people with a common interest, NGOs
perform a variety of service and humanitarian functions, bring citizen concerns to Governments, advocate and monitor
policies and encourage political participation through provision of information. Some are organized around specific
issues, such as human rights, environment or health. They provide analysis and expertise, serve as early warning
mechanisms and help monitor and implement international agreements. Their relationship with offices and agencies of
the United Nations system differs depending on their goals, their venue and the mandate of a particular institution.

Non-government organizations roles and responsibilities - Non-government organizations, also known as


community agencies or non-profits, provide a variety of services and activities in the community and at various stages of
the justice system. They are governed by voluntary boards of directors and make extensive use of volunteers to deliver
programs. Some may also engage in public education activities or speak out on social policy issues that relate to
developing safe communities. Some non-government organizations provide services and programs to people directly
involved in the criminal justice system, such as victims, witnesses or offenders. These services might include counseling
and information for victims, victim-offender mediation programs, assistance with obtaining pardons, or supervision of
offenders on release. Other agencies provide services or support to parents, extended families, children, or spouses
involved in family law or divorce courts. There are also some service providers that may have interest in or occasional
contact with the justice system, such as educators, mental health professionals, social workers, child welfare workers
and others.

What Is the Function of an NGO?


A non-governmental organization (NGO) is generally established to engage in not for-profit activities. The function of an
NGO may revolve around one or more humanitarian causes. Such causes typically have the central goal of advancing and
supporting human welfare as well as other human activities. Depending on the particular focus of the NGO, it may
collect donations, support the poor, promote education, encourage social responsibility, develop communities, and
provide essential social services. Moreover, the function of an NGO may be grounded in other areas, such as protecting
the environment and promoting animal welfare. Many NGOs focus on humanitarian issues. These include counseling
and rehabilitation of war victims and other violent situations, anti-human trafficking, and education. An NGO may be
involved in the assistance and education of the poor regarding health issues, such as HIV/AIDS. It may also provide them
with financial support or basic food requirements. Over the last few decades, there has been a growing sense of
awareness for environmental issues. Many experts believe them to threaten the sustainability of life on earth, in the
long run. Included in these issues are global warming, deforestation, toxic waste and overfishing. The main function of
an NGO concerned with these issues is to find a solution in order to curtail these threats.
• Promote the interest of the poor;
• Protect the environment;
• Provide the basic social services;
• To relieve suffering and Undertake community development
Environment Management 33

Types of Non-Governmental Organizations – NGO types can be understood by their orientation and level of
operation.
1. NGO type by level of orientation:
 Charitable Orientation often involves a top-down paternalistic effort with little participation by the
"beneficiaries". It includes NGOs with activities directed toward meeting the needs of the poor.
 Service Orientation includes NGOs with activities such as the provision of health, family planning or education
services in which the programme is designed by the NGO and people are expected to participate in its
implementation and in receiving the service.
 Participatory Orientation is characterized by self-help projects where local people are involved particularly in
the implementation of a project by contributing cash, tools, land, materials, labour etc. In the classical
community development project, participation begins with the need definition and continues into the planning
and implementation stages.
 Empowering Orientation aims to help poor people develop a clearer understanding of the social, political and
economic factors affecting their lives, and to strengthen their awareness of their own potential power to control
their lives. There is maximum involvement of the beneficiaries with NGOs acting as facilitators.
2. NGO type by level of operation:
 Community-based Organizations (CBOs) arise out of people's own initiatives. They can be responsible for raising
the consciousness of the urban poor, helping them to understand their rights in accessing needed services, and
providing such services.
 Citywide Organizations include organizations such as chambers of commerce and industry, coalitions of
business, ethnic or educational groups, and associations of community organizations.
 National NGOs include national organizations such as the Red Cross, YMCAs/YWCAs, professional associations,
etc. Some have state and city branches and assist local NGOs.
 International NGOs range from secular agencies such as Redda Barna and Save the Children organizations,
OXFAM, CARE, Ford Foundation, and Rockefeller Foundation to religiously motivated groups. They can be
responsible for funding local NGOs, institutions and projects and implementing projects.
Comparison between a trust, a society and a section 25 company
Public Trust Society Section 25 Company
Statute/Legislation Public Trust Act like Bombay Societies Registration Act of Companies Act of 1956
Public Trust Act, 1950 1860
Jurisdiction of the Act Concerned state where Concerned state where Concerned state where
registered registered registered
Authority Charity Commissioner/Deputy Registrar of Societies Registrar of Companies
Registrar
Registration As Trust As Society (and by default As Section 25 Company
also as Trust in Maharashtra
and Gujarat)
Main Document Trust deed Memorandum of Association Memorandum and Articles
and Rules & Regulations of Association.
Stamp Duty Trust deed to be executed a No stamp paper required for No stamp paper required for
non-judicial stamp paper of Memorandum of Association Memorandum and Articles
prescribed value and Rules & Regulations of Association
Number of persons Minimum two trustees; no Minimum seven, no upper Minimum three, no upper
needed to register upper limit limit limit
Board of Management Trustees Governing body or Board of
council/managing or Directors/Managing
executive committee Committee
Mode of succession on Usually by appointment Usually election by members Usually election by members
board of management of the general body of the general body
Environment Management 34

Co-operative Societies - In India, cooperative societies are regarded as instruments to mobilize and aggregate
community effort to eliminate layers of middlemen in any product or service supply chain hence resulting in greater
benefit sharing for the grassroot farmer, worker or artisans. The Cooperative Credit Societies Act, 1904 enabled
formation of cooperatives for supplying to farmers cheap credit and protect them from exploitation in the hands of the
moneylenders. The cooperative act 1912 expanded the sphere of cooperation and provided for supervision by central
organization.

Multi-State Co-operative Societies (MACTS) - The Multi-state Co-operative Societies Act, 2002 which
substitutes the earlier statute of 1984, facilitates the incorporation of cooperative societies whose objects and functions
spread over to several states. The act provides for formation of both primary (with both individual and institutional
members) and federal cooperatives (with only institutional memberships). Any application for the registration of a multi-
state cooperative society, of which all the members are individuals, should be signed by at least fifty persons from each
of the states concerned. In case of a society of which members are cooperative societies, it should be signed by duly
authorized representative of at least five such societies registered in different states

SOCIETY - Society is not an organization, and not legally bounded too. More explanation is as:: Society or human
society is the manner or condition in which the members of a community live together for their mutual benefit. By
extension, society denotes the people of a region or country, sometimes even the world, taken as a whole. Used in the
sense of an association, a society is a body of individuals outlined by the bounds of functional interdependence, possibly
comprising characteristics such as national or cultural identity, social solidarity, language or hierarchical organization.
Human societies are characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals sharing a distinctive culture and
institutions. Like other communities or groups, a society allows its members to achieve needs or wishes they could not
fulfill alone. A society, however, may be ontologically independent of, and utterly irreducible to, the qualities of
constituent individuals; it may act to oppress. The urbanization and rationalization inherent in some, particularly
Western capitalist, societies, has been associated with feelings of isolation and social "anomie". More broadly, a society
is an economic, social or industrial infrastructure, made up of a varied collection of individuals. Members of a society
may be from different ethnic groups. A society may be a particular ethnic group, such as the Saxons; a nation state, such
as Bhutan; a broader cultural group, such as a Western society. The word society may also refer to an organized
voluntary association of people for religious, benevolent, cultural, scientific, political, patriotic, or other purposes. A
"society" may even, though more by means of metaphor refer to a social organism such as an ant colony.

PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION


"Public interest Litigation", in simple words, means, litigation filed in a court of law, for the protection of "Public
Interest", such as pollution, Terrorism, Road safety, constructional hazards etc.
PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION is not defined in any statute or in any act. It has been interpreted by judges to consider the
intent of public at large. Although, the main and only focus of such litigation is only "Public Interest" there are various
areas where a PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION can be filed.
Public Interest Litigation, in Indian law, means litigation for the protection of public interest. It is litigation introduced in
a court of law, not by the aggrieved party but by the court itself or by any other private party. It is not necessary, for the
exercise of the court's jurisdiction, that the person who is the victim of the violation of his or her right should personally
approach the court. Public Interest Litigation is the power given to the public by courts through judicial activism. Such
cases may occur when the victim does not have the necessary resources to commence litigation or his freedom to move
court has been suppressed or encroached upon. The court can itself take cognizance of the matter and precede suo
motu or cases can commence on the petition of any public-spirited individual.

ORIGIN OF PIL - The term "PIL" originated in the United States in the mid-1980s. Since the nineteenth century, various
movements in that country had contributed to public interest law, which was part of the legal aid movement. The first
legal aid office was established in New York in 1876. In the 1960s the PIL movement began to receive financial support
from the office of Economic Opportunity, This encouraged lawyers and public spirited persons to take up cases of the
Environment Management 35

under-privileged and fight against dangers to environment and public health and exploitation of consumers and the
weaker sections.

HISTORY OF PIL IN INDIA - PIL had begun in India towards the end of 1970s and came into full bloom in the 80s.
Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer and Justice PM. Bhagwati, honourable Judges of the Supreme Court of India. They delivered
some landmark judgements which opened up new vistas in PIL.

OBJECTIVES OF PIL - According to Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, PIL is a process, of obtaining justice for the people, of
voicing people's grievances through the legal process. The aim of PIL is to give to the common people of this country
access to the courts to obtain legal redress.

NATURE OF PIL - According to Justice Bhagwati "PIL is not in the nature of adversary litigation but it is a challenge and
an opportunity to the Government and its officers to make basic human rights meaningful to the deprived and
vulnerable sections of the community and to assure them social and economic justice which is the significant tune of our
Constitution. The government and its officers must welcome PIL because it would provide them an accession to examine
whether the poor and the downtrodden are getting their social and entitlements or whether they are continuing to
remain victims of deception and exploitation at the hands of strong and powerful sections of the community... when the
court entertains PIL, it does not do so in a cavilling spirit or in a confrontational mood or with a view to tilting at
executive authority or seeking to usurp it, but its attempt is only to ensure observance of social and economic rescue
programmes, legislative as well as executive, framed for the benefit of the have-nots and the handicapped and to
protect them against violation of their basic human rights, which is also the constitutional obligation of the executive.
The court is thus merely assisting in the realization of the constitutional objective," (AIR 1984 SC 802)

Issues relating to the following matters can be taken in to PIL


 Rehabilitation of displaced persons.
 Identification and rehabilitation of bonded and child labourers.
 Illegal detention of arrested persons.
 Torture of persons in police custody.
 Custodial deaths.
 Protection of prisoner's rights.
 Ragging in colleges.
 Atrocities against SCs/STs.
 Neglect of inmates of government welfare homes,
 Corruption charges against public servants.
 Maintenance of law and order,
 Payment of minimum wages.
 Indecent television programmes.
 Environmental pollution.
 Violation of fundamental rights of the weaker sections.

A PIL CAN BE FILED WHEN THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS ARE FULFILLED:


 There must be a public injury and public wrong caused by the wrongful act or omission of the state or public
authority.
 It is for the enforcement of basic human rights of weaker sections of the community who are downtrodden,
ignorant and whose fundamental and constitutional rights have been infringed.
 It must not be frivolous litigation by persons having vested interests.
Environment Management 36

WHO MAY FILE A PIL?


The Supreme Court (SC), through its successive judgements has relaxed the strict rule of 'locus standi' applicable to
private litigation. ANY PERSON CAN FILE A PIL PROVIDED:
 He is a member of the public acting bona fide and having sufficient interest in instituting an action for redressal
of public wrong or public injury.
 He is not a mere busy body or a meddlesome interloper.
 His action is not motivated by personal gain or any other oblique consideration.

HOW TO FILE A PIL: A PIL may be filed like a write petition. However, in the past the SC has treated even letters
addressed to the court as PIL. In People’s Democratic union v Union of India, a letter addressed by the petitioner
organization seeking a direction against the respondents for ensuring observance of the provisions of famous labour
laws in relation to workmen employed in the construction work of projects connected with the Asian games was
entertained as a PIL. The SC has encouraged the filing of PIL for tackling issues related to environment, human rights etc.
DIFFERENT WAYS TO FILE A PIL - The different ways PIL can be filed in the Supreme Court and High Courts are;
1. Sending letter petitions with relevant facts and documents to the Chief Justice of the concerned court. The
matter must be sent by registered post.
2. By directly filing the PIL in the court through the Free Legal Service Committee of the court.
3. Directly filing the case with the help of any PIL lawyer.
4. Filing the case through NGOs or PIL firms.

POINTS TO BE FOLLOWED WHEN FILING PIL


1. Discuss the legal issue with the affected people thoroughly.
2. Find out whether the matter infringes on the fundamental rights of the people or not. It is also important to
specify which fundamental rights have been violated.
3. Help the people to decide whether legal action must be taken in the court to enforce their rights or to prevent
the violation of their rights.
4. Write out a petition with all the facts and details, dates, etc,
5. Specify in the petition the type of relief wanted by the people.
6. Get the signatures of all the affected people, if possible.
7. Collect all the available documents, paper clippings, photographs, investigation reports, certificates and
affidavits related to the issue and attach them to the main petition as annexure.
8. If possible, consult a socially conscious lawyer or the members of the local legal aid society before sending the
petition.
9. Send the registered petition to the Chairman of the High Court Legal Services Committee of the respective High
Court or to the Chairman of the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee, New Delhi-110 001.
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MERITS OF PIL
1. The character of the Indian Constitution. Unlike Britain, India has a written constitution which through Part III
(Fundamental Rights) and Part IV (Directive Principles of State Policy) provides a framework for regulating
relations between the state and its citizens and between citizens inter-se.
2. India has some of the most progressive social legislation to be found anywhere in the world whether it be
relating to bonded labor, minimum wages, land ceiling, environmental protection, etc. This has made it easier
for the courts to haul up the executive when it is not performing its duties in ensuring the rights of the poor as
per the law of the land.
3. The liberal interpretation of locus standi where any person can apply to the court on behalf of those who are
economically or physically unable to come before it has helped. Judges themselves have in some cases initiated
suo moto action based on newspaper articles or letters received.
4. Although social and economic rights given in the Indian Constitution under Part IV are not legally enforceable;
courts have creatively read these into fundamental rights thereby making them judicially enforceable. For
instance the "right to life" in Article 21 has been expanded to include right to free legal aid, right to live with
dignity, right to education, right to work, freedom from torture, bar fetters and hand cuffing in prisons, etc.
5. Sensitive judges have constantly innovated on the side of the poor. for instance, in the Bandhua Mukti Morcha
case in 1983, the Supreme Court put the burden of proof on the respondent stating it would treat every case of
forced labor as a case of bonded labor unless proven otherwise by the employer. Similarly in the Asiad workers
judgment case, Justice P.N. Bhagwati held that anyone getting less than the minimum wage can approach the
Supreme Court directly without going through the labor commissioner and lower courts.
6. In PIL cases where the petitioner is not in a position to provide all the necessary evidence, either because it is
voluminous or because the parties are weak socially or economically, courts have appointed commissions to
collect information on facts and present it before the bench.
Criticism on PIL
 Supreme Court allowing filing of a PIL mere by writing a letter opens a door for flooding the SC with cases
claiming to be violation of Fundamental Rights there by resulting delay in deciding many other important cases.
 Interference of Courts in the activities of Legislature and Executive would lead to conflict between the three
organs of the Government.
 In some cases, courts have no capacity to enforce its orders and in many cases the conditions have not changed.

CONCLUSION - PIL represents the first attempt by a developing common law country to break away from legal
imperialism perpetuated for centuries. It contests the assumption that the most western the law, the better it must
work for economic and social development such law produced in developing states, including India, was the
development of under develop men. The shift from legal centralism to legal pluralism was prompted by the
disillusionment with formal legal system. In India, however instead of seeking to evolve justice- dispensing mechanism
ousted the formal legal system itself through PIL. The change as we have seen, are both substantial and structural. It has
radically altered the traditional judicial role so as to enable the court to bring justice within the reach of the common
man. Further, it is humbly submitted that PIL is still is in experimental stage. Many deficiencies in handling the kind of
litigation are likely to come on the front. But these deficiencies can be removed by innovating better techniques. In
essence, the PIL develops a new jurisprudence of the accountability of the state for constitutional and legal violations
adversely affecting the interests of the weaker elements in the community. We may end with the hope once expressed
by Justice Krishna Iyer, “The judicial activism gets its highest bonus when its orders wipe some tears from some eyes”.
Environment Management 38

Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that causes adverse change. It is created
mostly by human actions, but can also be a result of natural disasters. Pollution has a detrimental effect on any living
organism in an environment, making it virtually impossible to sustain life. Pollution can take the form of chemical
substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light. Pollutants, the components of pollution, can be either foreign
substances/energies or naturally occurring contaminants. Pollution is often classed as point source or nonpoint source
pollution. Pollution is the addition to the ecosystem of something which has a detrimental effect on it. One of the most
important causes of pollution is the high rate of energy usage by modern, growing populations.

What are the different types of pollution?


Pollution harms the Earth’s environment and its inhabitants in many ways. The three main types of pollution are:
 Air Pollution.
 Water Pollution.
 Land Pollution.

Air Pollution - Air pollution is the accumulation in the atmosphere of substances that, in sufficient concentrations,
endanger human health or produce other measured effects on living matter and other materials. Among the major
sources of pollution are power and heat generation, the burning of solid wastes, industrial processes, and, especially,
transportation. The six major types of pollutants are carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, particulates,
sulfur dioxide, and photochemical oxidants. Examples of Air Pollution
 Noise Pollution - Noise pollution or unwanted sounds that are carried by the air, have an irritating and
detrimental effect on humans and other animals. Careful planning of streets and buildings in towns and better
control over noisy vehicles may add to the control of noise pollution.
 Tobacco Smoke - Tobacco smoke is one of the major forms of pollution in buildings. It is not only the smoker
who is infected, but everyone who inhales the polluted air. There is a very strong connection between smoking
and lung cancer. Bronchitis is common among smokers and unborn babies of mothers who smoke also suffer
from the harmful effects of smoking.
 Exhaust Gases of Vehicles - Pollution from exhaust gases of vehicles is responsible for 60% of all air pollution
and in cities up to 80%. There is a large variety of harmful chemicals present in these gases, with lead being one
of the most dangerous.
 Combustion of Coal - The combustion of coal without special precautions can have serious consequences. If
winds do not blow away the poisonous gases, they can have fatal effects and may lead to death.
 Acid rain - Acid rain is the term for pollution caused when sulfur and nitrogen dioxides combine with
atmospheric moisture to produce highly acidic rain, snow, hail, or fog. The acid eats into the stone, brick and
metal articles and pollutes water sources. Coal in South Africa is rich in sulfur SO2 and the power stations in the
Mpumalanga Province could be responsible for acid rain over other areas of our country.
What are the sources of air pollution? - Some of the main contributors to air pollution are:
 Automobile emissions
 Tobacco smoke
 Combustion of coal
 Acid rain
 Noise pollution from cars and construction
 Power plants
 Manufacturing buildings
 Large ships
 Paint fumes
 Aerosol sprays
 Wildfires
 Nuclear weapons
Environment Management 39

Control Measures - Although individual people can help to combat air pollution in their own immediate environment,
efficient control can be best achieved by legislation. Some commonly enforced control measures include –
 The establishment of more smokeless zones;
 Control over the kinds of fuel used in cars, aeroplanes, power stations, etc.

Facts about Air Pollution - Here are a few facts about air pollution:
 Almost 232 million different types of vehicles are driven by U.S. citizens every day, adding greenhouse gases into
the air
 U.S. vehicle emissions contribute 45% to global warming
 The average adult consumes 3,000 gallons of polluted air every day
 Vehicle exhaust contributes to 60% of carbon monoxide emissions in the U.S. and up to 95% in large cities
 Every year 335,000 Americans die of lung cancer, which is a direct result of air pollution
How to Prevent Air Pollution - The number one way to prevent air pollution is to walk or bike more and drive less. This
will prevent fossil fuels from polluting the air. Here are some other ways to prevent air pollution:
 Carpool or join a ride share with friends and coworkers
 Don’t smoke
 Keep your car maintenance up-to-date
 If you have to drive, do your errands at one time
 Don’t buy products that come in aerosol spray cans
 Avoid using lighter fluid when barbecuing outside
 When you drive accelerate slowly and use cruise control
 Always replace your car’s air filter
 Use a push or electric lawnmower rather than a gas-powered one
 Don’t use harsh chemical cleaners that can emit fumes
 Inspect your gas appliances and heaters regularly
Water Pollution - Water pollution is the introduction into fresh or ocean waters of chemical, physical, or biological
material that degrades the quality of the water and affects the organisms living in it. This process ranges from simple
addition of dissolved or suspended solids to discharge of the most insidious and persistent toxic pollutants (such as
pesticides, heavy metals, and no degradable, bioaccumulative, chemical compounds). Examples of Water Pollution
 Industrial affluent - Water is discharged from after having been used in production processes. This waste water
may contain acids, alkalis, salts, poisons, oils and in some cases harmful bacteria.
 Mining and Agricultural Wastes - Mines, especially gold and coal mines, are responsible for large quatities of
acid water. Agricultural pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides may wash into rivers and stagnant water bodies.
 Sewage Disposal and Domestic Wastes - Sewage as well as domestic and farm wastes were often allowed to
pollute rivers and dams.
What are the sources of water pollution? - Some of the main contributors to water pollution are:
 Factories
 Refineries
 Waste treatment facilities
 Mining
 Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers
 Human sewage
 Oil spills
 Failing septic systems
 Soap from washing your car
 Oil and antifreeze leaking from cars
 Household chemicals
 Animal waste
Control Measures - The following measures can be used to stop water pollution:
 Every intelligent people should be wise enough not to pollute water in any way;
Environment Management 40

 By research and legislation the pollution of water bodies, even though not entirely prevented, must be
effectively controlled.
Facts about Water Pollution - Here are a few facts about water pollution:
 Over two-thirds of U.S. estuaries and bays are severely degraded because of nitrogen and phosphorous pollution
 Every year almost 25% of U.S. beaches are closed at least once because of water pollution
 Over 73 different kinds of pesticides have been found in the groundwater that we eventually use to drink
 1.2 trillion gallons of sewage, storm water and industrial waste are discharged into U.S. waters every year
 40% of U.S. rivers are too polluted for aquatic life to survive
 Americans use over 2.2 billion pounds of pesticides every year, which eventually washes into our rivers and lakes
How to Prevent Water Pollution - The best way to prevent water pollution is to not throw trash and other harmful
chemicals into our water supplies. Here are a few more ways you can prevent water pollution:
 Wash your car far away from any storm water drains
 Don’t throw trash, chemicals or solvents into sewer drains
 Inspect your septic system every 3-5 years
 Avoid using pesticides and fertilizers that can run off into water systems
 Sweep your driveway instead of hosing it down
 Always pump your waste-holding tanks on your boat
 Use non-toxic cleaning materials
 Clean up oil and other liquid spills with kitty litter and sweet them up
 Don’t wash paint brushes in the sink
Land Pollution - Land pollution is the degradation of the Earth's land surface through misuse of the soil by poor
agricultural practices, mineral exploitation, industrial waste dumping, and indiscriminate disposal of urban wastes. It
includes visible waste and litter as well as pollution of the soil itself. Examples of Land Pollution
 Soil Pollution - Soil pollution is mainly due to chemicals in herbicides (weed killers) and pesticides (poisons
which kill insects and other invertebrate pests). Litter is waste material dumped in public places such as streets,
parks, picnic areas, at bus stops and near shops.
 Waste Disposal - The accumulation of waste threatens the health of people in residential areas. Waste decays,
encourages household pests and turns urban areas into unsightly, dirty and unhealthy places to live in.
What are the sources of land pollution? Some of the main contributors to land pollution are:
 Chemical and nuclear plants
 Industrial factories
 Oil refineries
 Human sewage
 Oil and antifreeze leaking from cars
 Mining
 Littering
 Overcrowded landfills
 Deforestation
 Construction debris
Control Measures - The following measures can be used to control land pollution:
 Anti-litter campaigns can educate people against littering;
 Organic waste can be dumped in places far from residential areas;
 Inorganic materials such as metals, glass and plastic, but also paper, can be reclaimed and recycled.
Facts about Land Pollution - Here are a few facts about land pollution:
 Every year one American produces over 3285 pounds of hazardous waste
 Land pollution causes us to lose 24 billion tons of top soil every year
 Americans generate 30 billion foam cups, 220 million tires and 1.8 billion disposable diapers every year
 We throw away enough trash every day to fill 63,000 garbage trucks
 Every day Americans throw away 1 million bushels of litter out their car window
 Over 80% of items in landfills can be recycled, but they’re not
Environment Management 41

How to Prevent Land Pollution - The best way to prevent land pollution is to recycle. Here are a few other ways you can
reduce land pollution:
 Reuse any items that you can
 Buy biodegradable products
 Store all liquid chemicals and waste in spill-proof containers
 Eat organic foods that are grown without pesticides
 Don’t use pesticides
 Use a drip tray to collect engine oil
 Buy products that have little packaging
 Don’t dump motor oil on the ground

Waste Management
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal, managing and monitoring of waste
materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to
reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics. Waste management is a distinct practice from resource
recovery which focuses on delaying the rate of consumption of natural resources. All waste materials, whether they are
solid, liquid, gaseous or radioactive fall within the remit of waste management.
Waste management practices can differ for developed and developing nations, for urban and rural areas, and for
residential and industrial producers. Management of non-hazardous waste residential and institutional waste in
metropolitan areas is usually the responsibility of local government authorities, while management for non-hazardous
commercial and industrial waste is usually the responsibility of the generator subject to local, national or international
authorities.
Definition - The collection, transportation, and disposal of garbage, sewage, and other waste products. Waste
management encompasses management of all processes and resources for proper handling of waste materials, from
maintenance of waste transport trucks and dumping facilities to compliance with health codes and environmental
regulations.

Methods of Proper Waste Management - It is important how you carry out waste disposal. In today’s world where
population is on the rise and so is rapid industrialization, creation of waste material is a common phenomenon. These
wastes are harmful to the environment and how you dispose them off depends on how they affect the environment.
Proper disposal of waste material helps keep the environment free from disease causing pathogens and keeps it green.
Given below are four methods of proper waste management that will help you keeping your environment clean -
1. Recycling - Recycling is one of the most well know method of managing waste. It is not expensive and can be
easily done by you. If you carry out recycling, you will save a lot of energy, resources and thereby reduce
pollution. You can also save money if you recycle. You can recycle papers, glass, aluminum and plastics. If you
want to reduce the volume of your waste material, the best way to do so would be to recycle. If you recycle, you
can eliminate batteries, tires and asphalt from your waste material and this prevents them from ending up in the
landfills and incinerator. The municipality of almost all cities encourages their citizens to take up recycling. Be a
responsible citizen and reduce your waste by recycling.
2. Composting - This is a natural process that is completely free of any hazardous by-products. This process
involves breaking down the materials into organic compounds that can be used as manure. You can carry out
composting in your own backyard. You can use the leaves, grass, twigs and add vegetable and fruit peels and
skins. You can use DATS bin hire system to get the bins for composting. After a few days, you will see that the
matter has decomposed. You can use this compost, which is rich in nutrients, to improve the soil in your garden.
3. Landfills - Waste management through the use of landfills involves the use of a large area. This place is dug open
and filled with the waste. The area is then covered up with soil. Landfills are not safe because they give off gases
like methane, which are highly hazardous. You should not carry out waste management through landfills if you
cannot ensure proper safety means. The landfill should be properly lined and the waste should not come in
contact with the adjoining areas.
4. Burning the Waste Material - If you cannot recycle or if there are no proper places for setting up landfills, you
can burn the waste matter generated in your household. Controlled burning of waste at high temperatures to
Environment Management 42

produce steam and ash is a preferred waste disposal technique. Combustion reduces the volume of waste to be
disposed significantly. Moreover, solid waste can provide for a continuously available and alternative source for
generating energy through combustion. This energy can be channeled into useful purposes.

Pollution and Waste Management:


Pollution and Waste Management aims to facilitate and develop programmes, projects, co-operative management and
policy mechanisms, measures and decision-support systems to ensure integrated pollution and waste management.
Pollution and Waste Management also aims to:
 Ensure efficient and effective provision of staff for the new structure and development of personnel
 Collect, analyse and disseminate relevant and current information regarding pollution and waste management
 Promote programmes on pollution and waste management that give effect to integrated pollution and waste
management
 Promote public participation in environmental governance and decision-making with respect to integrated
pollution and waste management
 Provide efficient and effective support to all clients and ensure co-operative governance to achieve integrated
pollution and waste management
 Develop and implement pollution and waste management legislation, policies, norms, standards and guidelines
and ensure compliance with relevant environmental legislation.

Purpose of Pollution & Waste Management - To implement and co-ordinate effective pollution and waste
management by focusing on prevention

Objective of Pollution & Waste Management


 To promote the waste management hierarchy (waste minimisation, cleaner production, reuse/recycling,
treatment and disposal).
 To provide management, strategic and specialist support and direction for pollution and waste management
programmes in KZN.

Legislation - This sub-programme draws its mandate from the following policies and legislation:
 The White Paper on Environmental Management Policy (1998);
 National Environmental Management Act (NEMA);
 National Environmental Management Waste Act (NEMWA);
 National Environmental Management Air Quality Act (NEMAQA);
 The Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA);
 Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA); and
 The Constitution
Environment Management 43

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