National Environmental Laws
Around the world, environmental laws are designed to address risks to human health and the nature environment posed by complex industrial societies and capital consumption. Many environmental laws, and the capacity to enforce them, were developed in response to industrial risks that manifest in industrial accidents that have resulted with the death of thousands in Bhopal, India and other serious incidents around the world. Environmental laws reflect a calculus of risk and construct compliance requirements designed to reduce those risks and to respond to incidents in an appropriate manner. However, other events’ and issues such as global warming and the depletion of the bio-diversity have changed those terms, imposing environmental security and protection as a paramount value in environmental laws, regulations, and environmental management strategies.
National environmental laws
National environmental legislation reflects basically three stages of governmental reaction to environmental issues: exploitative, protective, and managerial. There are four basic components of modern environmental law arising out of governmental intervention,
- Developmental legislation;
- Legislation relating to the disposition of natural resources;
- Conservation of natural and cultural resources; and
- Environmental planning and protection legislation.
The relationship between these four areas of legislation can be seen as a counterbalance between developmental legislation and legislation relating to the disposition of natural resources and conservation of natural and cultural resources and environmental planning and protection legislation. These opposing legislative instruments govern what may be done to the built and social environs and the natural environment highlights the various competing interests between economic developments and the conservation and preservation of the natural environment. The legislation designed to protect the built and social environment can be classified as the preservation of culturally significant historic buildings and works and other features of cultural and social interest. Legislation designed to protect the natural environment can be classified as the conservation and protection of the land, water, and atmosphere from degradation and pollution.
