Chapter # 10
Dimensions of Environment
Management
Environment Management
Environment management has been viewed
in various prospective.
One of it is to review it in a limited sense------
Conservation of the environment for the sake
of environment.
However, environment management is much
broader and can be defined as the
management of the effects and impacts of
various interactions and activates that human
societies have on the environment.
The growing awareness among the general
public about the interconnectedness of
human and ecological systems led to
emergence of the environment management
in the current form.
It is gained focus due to the cascading effects
like pollution, deforestation, wetland loss,
flooding, and so on that may have on the
economy and human health.
These aspects provided a strong requirement
for a more comprehensive and schematic
planning and regulatory approach, to reduce
the effects on the environment due to human
activities.
Scope and Importance
The scope of environmental management is very
wide. It involves the complex relationship that
living beings have with their respective habitats.
As such, it is the comprehensive management of
all the biotic and abiotic components of the
environment.
It is also involves the interrelationships of
human environment, with the bio-physical
environment. The various human environments
include socio-cultural and economic
environment.
Further, the movements that is provided impetus to
environment management ranges from social, to
economic and environmental issues.
Some of the social issues include civil rights issues,
issues related to women, tribal issues and so on.
On the environmental side, the endangered species
and their protection, the protected areas, water
bodies, pesticides, toxic wastes contributed to the
emergence of environment management.
Principles of the Environmental Management
Principles are used in the designing of instruments
to enable rising of funds so as to finance
environment investments. The five principles are:
1. Polluter Pays Principles (PPP)
2. User Pays Principle (UPP)
3. Precautionary Principles (PP)
4. Subsidiary Principles (SP)
5. Intergenerational Equity Principle (IEP)
All these principles can be used to guide the
sectoral policies as well as the budgeting process.
Each one of them is now described in detail.
1. Polluter Pays Principles (PPP)
The PPP was discussed in detail and endorsed in
the Rio Conference of 1992.
Under this principle, which is based on equity, the
polluter has to bear the cost of complying with the
environmental standards, which are set by the
public authorities.
Subsidizing the pollution abatement measures. The
PP encourages a more efficient production process
through promotion of economic efficiency in the
implementation of pollution control policies, and
minimizing potential trade.
PPP only requires that the environment is in an
acceptable state, which will evolve from a political
process requiring inputs from local, national and
2. User Pays Principle (UPP)
This principle states that the beneficiaries
are to pay for the full cost of using the
resources and its related services.
This cost can include those losses caused to
the future generations. The PPP is more
easily applied to the consumers of public
services involving the collection and
treatment of effluents.
Both PPP and UPP principles are considered
as equitable as both of them offer to the
people the prospects of achieving efficiency.
However, there are many who are of the
opinion that the UPP concept is in conflict
with some social objectives.
For instance, the supply of water, electricity
and gas at affordable cost to all homes; and
access to telecommunication facilities,
transportation, sewage, etc. is supposed to be
social necessities associated with welfare
state.
3. Precautionary principle (PP)
Precautionary principle adopted at the earth Summit
1992 is based on the principle that where there are
threats of serious or irreversible damage to the
environment, lack of scientific certainty should not
be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective
measures to prevent environmental degradation.
This principle seeks easing of stress on the
environment before conclusive evidence of damage
exists and the adoption of appropriate policy
measures, even when the evidences available are
raw in nature.
4. Subsidiary Principle (SP)
Subsidiary principle is not primary designed as an
environmental principle. It provides useful guidance
for applying PPP, UPP, and PP.
This principle states that political decisions should
be taken at the lowest possible level of public
authority.
It emphasize the decisions making process to be
made by the authorities that are closed to the
concerned population.
This will enable effective action and implementation.
Those decisions which involve substantial use of
local natural resources are taken after this grass
root level organization into confidence.
5. Integrational Equity Principle (IEP)
IEP can be said to be the central principle in the
definition of sustainable development.
This principle literally uses the Brundtland report
definition of sustainability- meeting needs of present
generations without compromising the needs of
future generations.
The IEF harmoniously blends the trilogy of
economic, environmental and social objectives to
make the development sustainable.
This principle can be said to be the basis of the
environmental accounting measures that can lead to
sustainable income.
Drawbacks of Conventional Environment
Management Approaches
The conventional environment management approach has its
own inherent drawbacks. Some of them are:
1. Conventional management examines each resource sector
or environmental component in isolation. For example, it
may consider the components of land, water, air,
agriculture, forestry and son on while ignoring their
interdependencies. Since interdependences are ignored,
solution to a problem in one sector can lead to problems in
another.
2. It often ignores impact to ecological process unless it
directly relates to particular resource being managed.
Further it targets only a few specific resources that may
have commercial value or interest. This can lead to
conflicting management policies at various levels.
3. It ignores the possibility of cumulative effects from
multiple stressors on the environment. For example,
there may be seemingly unrelated development
actions and policies that can have its effect in the
same environmental factor at the same time.
4. Conventional practices have jurisdictional and
temporal fragmentation. For instance, each
Government agency would be having its own separate
mandate. This may lead to ignoring those components,
areas and sector that may not be well-defined.
Integrated Environment management
Integrated Environment Management (IEM) is defined
as an approach to the environmental management
which requires recognition of the linkages between
parts of the environment, and adopts a range of tools to
identify and manage environmental effects across these
different parts, and to ensure co-ordination across
institutional barriers such as agency boundaries.
The IEM implies certain qualities which include a
proactive approach that is inclusive, systems-based,
inter-generational, unified, dynamic and
interdisciplinary in nature; so that competing values are
reconciled from the initial process of policy-making.
The IEM offers greater transparency in policy
development and encourage greater
involvement and acceptance of the public.
It also provides a framework for identifying
and resolving complex resources problems,
which, but for the concept would normally go
undetected.
Principles and Assumptions of IEM
The overall framework is ecological in the sense that it
recognizes and evaluates the interactions among physical
and biological resources and the human uses thereof. It is
based on the following principles and assumptions:
1. All environmental management actions are the result of
decisions, and these decisions address management goals.
2. All environmental management decisions are ultimately
based on values.
3. Living and non-living natural resources interact to from
ecological systems that provide good and services to
humans.
4. Decisions for all environmental management actions
should base on a common frame work of values.
5. Information and data to make decisions should
be of the appropriate type and of adequate
quality for supporting the decision making
process.
6. All relevant stakeholders should be identified
and allow to participate in environmental
planning and management.
7. Stakeholders must be able to understand the
decision making process in order to participate.
Benefits of IEM
The IEM has a number of benefits over the conventional
management approach. It facilitates innovation,
competitiveness, growth and employment in all spheres.
Benefits derived from IEM are as follows.
1. IEM has the capability to reduce the time and cost
associated with the implementation of various
projects. It provide resources users and interested
parties with required assistances and a single window
clearance for consents, sanctions and licenses.
2. It provides long-term protection of the resources being
managed, enables progress in the right direction
towards the long-term goals resulting in sustainable
management and development.
3. IEM has the enhanced potential for multiple
resources uses, thereby reducing wastages.
4. It reduces the expenditure of energy and
money due to reduction of conflicts over
completing users.
5. The most important benefits of IEM is that it
has the capability of rapidly and effectively
rehabilitating the ecosystems that is damaged by
human actions.
Utility of IEM
Other uses of IEM include:
1. Maximizing the effectiveness of the different
policies with in the available budgets.
2. Greater transparency in policy development.
3. Greater public involvement and acceptance.
Steps in an IEM System
An IEM system has the following steps:
1. Baseline review: This will bring out the present
environmental and administrative situation, legal
requirements, political priorities, and provide the basis
for the next stages of the process, including
identification of the actions in the strategic programmer.
2. Target setting: This involves preparation of the strategic
program and action plans. The plans are established by
identifying the priorities, initiatives and actions that are
necessary in the short, medium and long term. It should
also bring out the active participation of various stake
holders including citizens, business, Government, NGOs,
etc.
3. Approval of the strategic programme: The programme to
succeed should get the required support and approval from
the appropriate authorities.
4. Implementation; this step involves the implementation of
the approval strategic programme in an integrated manner.
5. Monitoring: the programme should be monitored for the
adherence to the plan, and its effectiveness. Corrective
actions as and when required should be initiated.
6. Reporting and evaluation: The programme should be
measured as to the environmental performance and be
reported to the authorities so as to maintain the required
transparency in governance.
Environmental Determinism
This theory consider the physical environment as a
factor that shapes human occupation of the land.
It also propose that physical environment has an
influence on the use of different resources,
determination of the course of the history, the culture
of an area, the settlement pattern and human behavior.
Further, the people inhabiting a particular region are
constantly adapting to the changing nature of their
respective environments.
It is this controversial aspect of the theory, which was
considered as a rationale for racism and imperialism
that led to the theory of the environmental possibilism.
Environmental possibilism:
This theory is based on the idea that the
environment composes constraints, but does
not override human potential to adapt to
them.
The constraints so imposed by the nature
provide a wide range of possibilities or
opportunities for development of mankind.
It can be observed that a variety of human
responses are practicable in a certain
physical environment, as a function of its
culture and history.
Around the globe, a number of scientists have
observed and analyzed the historical impact of
civilization, particularly aspects like deforestation and
watershed degradation.
They have argued that a moral compromise with the
land is required in order to ensure human survival.
Further, the human ethical values and responsibility
could be extended to land, by enlarging the
community to include environmental components.
This attitude while provides for exploitation of nature,
affirms its preservation too.
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