Human Rights and Ecological Security
Justice Shri J.S, Verma, delivered a lecture on ‘Human Rights and Ecological Security’ at a function organized by the Foundation for Ecological Security on 24 September 2002 in New Delhi. Delivering the lecture, the Chairperson called for a sustainable development based on inter- generational equity, which is necessary for a proper balance between human rights and development. He said that with the growth in population, the demand on natural resources is increasing. The principle of sustainable development, though evolved, is yet to be realized. The adverse impact of the present situation on developing countries like India, which had a large population, is alarming. Man-made disasters like the Bhopal Gas Tragedy (1984) had left several unanswered questions and ‘its lessons do not appear to have been learnt. The victims of the eco-disaster still languish for reparation and justice and the promised medicare also remains a far cry’. The Chairperson also spoke of natural calamities such as the Orissa Super Cyclone (1999) and the Gujarat Earthquake (2001), which had resulted in adverse consequences of great scale. Further, mega projects, undertaken in the name of developments had, in some instances, threatened to become man-made disasters. Continued indifference, Justice Verma stated, would result in irreversible damage. There was therefore need to act while there was time to make amends.
The Asia-Pacific region has lost 88 per cent of its original forest cover and only 5 per cent of the remaining area was protected at present. It is apprehended that, within the next 25 years, only 10 percent of the forests of this region will remain. Tropical forests are being destroyed at the rate of 17 million hectares a year. The rich biodiversity of Arunachal Pradesh and the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans and other coastal regions are being fast depleted. A recent UNEP study had suggested that an Asian Brown Haze existed, spreading a vast blanket of pollution across South Asia damaging agriculture, modifying rainfall patterns and risking the life of millions of people.
The country’s wildlife is also seriously threatened. The tigers had been reduced to only about three thousand. The DNA tests show Siberian genes in Indian tigers and the mismatch may lead to sterility. Air and noise pollution, vehicular as well as commercial, is another disturbing factor. Pollution is contaminating water reservoirs, many of which are the only source of potable water in certain places, public health being endangered because of environmental and ecological degradation.
All of these factors, the Chairperson asserted, had resulted in the violation of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which gives every citizen the right to a clean and healthy environment. The right to life with dignity is a recognized fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and it is a basic human right inherent in human existence, which is not the gift of any law. The law merely recognizes an inherent right and is not its source. A healthy environment conducive to the health and well being of human beings must, therefore, form an essential component of the right to life.
The Asia-Pacific region has lost 88 per cent of its original forest cover and only 5 per cent of the remaining area was protected at present. It is apprehended that, within the next 25 years, only 10 percent of the forests of this region will remain. Tropical forests are being destroyed at the rate of 17 million hectares a year. The rich biodiversity of Arunachal Pradesh and the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans and other coastal regions are being fast depleted. A recent UNEP study had suggested that an Asian Brown Haze existed, spreading a vast blanket of pollution across South Asia damaging agriculture, modifying rainfall patterns and risking the life of millions of people.
The country’s wildlife is also seriously threatened. The tigers had been reduced to only about three thousand. The DNA tests show Siberian genes in Indian tigers and the mismatch may lead to sterility. Air and noise pollution, vehicular as well as commercial, is another disturbing factor. Pollution is contaminating water reservoirs, many of which are the only source of potable water in certain places, public health being endangered because of environmental and ecological degradation.
All of these factors, the Chairperson asserted, had resulted in the violation of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which gives every citizen the right to a clean and healthy environment. The right to life with dignity is a recognized fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and it is a basic human right inherent in human existence, which is not the gift of any law. The law merely recognizes an inherent right and is not its source. A healthy environment conducive to the health and well being of human beings must, therefore, form an essential component of the right to life.