PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

The fundamental core of sustainability is environmental protection for posterity. To achieve this, some principles have been globally accepted to guide our interactions with the environment and natural resources. The principles of environmental protection are basic guidelines laid down to ensure environmental protection and economic prosperity. These principles can be adopted by organizations, both private and public to guide their activities that affect and impact the environment.

These principles have one end goal; they ensure human interactions with the environment are properly guided. The principles have also played the function of shaping and developing environmental laws over the years. They are extremely useful in policy making and policy formulation.? Most laws on the environment have these principles as their bedrock. These principles are key concepts that are common to environmental law as a whole.

The question is, what is the main importance of these fundamental principles?

??????? i.??????????? They embody a common ground in environmental law as they reflect its past and future growth.

????? ii.??????????? They indicate the essential characteristics of international laws and their institutions.

??? iii.??????????? They guide in interpreting legal norms

??? iv.??????????? They fill in the gap where the law presents lacunae

????? v.??????????? They influence international and national Jurisprudence

Some have acknowledged that the principles guiding environmental protection are non-exhaustive while some have identified the precautionary principle, preventive principle, and polluter-pays principles as the all-encompassing principles of environmental protection. To wit, the principles that will be discussed in this Newsletter are

• Precautionary Principle
• Polluter Pays Principle
• Principle of Participation
• Principle of Intergenerational Equity

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1.????? Polluter Pays Principle

This means that the polluter should be allowed to bear the cost of repair for the damage caused to the environment. Thus, the party responsible for the pollution should bear the costs of managing and cleaning up the pollution. Many economists and lawmakers believe that organizations contributing to environmental pollution should be made to pay the price of such greenhouse gas emissions and the damages caused.

It is the most accepted principle of environmental law which makes it a recurring principle in international treaties and national laws. The Polluter Pays Principle is seen as a way of internalizing the damages caused by environmental pollution and also a way of deterring the polluter from continuing with the act of pollution. The principle is premised on the idea that as polluters are taking all measures to be economically efficient, they must also take measures to avoid pollution. Thus, polluters t not only see the benefits of their economic activities, but they must also bear the costs of the damages caused.[1] Under this principle, the government does not bear the burden of environmental damage to prevent the burden from being shifted to ordinary taxpayers.

This principle is however not clear-cut as it seems. There are some questions left unanswered and aspects left untouched by the principle. For instance, who is to pay for previous damages caused to the environment? Another critical inquiry to consider when applying this principle is: Is the entity responsible for the pollution the manufacturer of the product that generates the waste, or is it the consumer who uses the product and ends up with the waste? This question becomes particularly relevant in industries such as bottled water manufacturing. Often, these companies source their products from another manufacturer. Hence, the question arises: Who should be responsible for managing the pollution, including waste disposal and recycling, caused by plastic bottles?

Given these circumstances, it is clear that it is easy to blame someone else for environmental pollution. Thus, in the case of an organization, the implementation of this principle should be with caution. Nevertheless, there should still be a visible link between the polluters and the repair of the damages caused.

2.????? Precautionary Principle

The objective of the precautionary principle is to ensure that a substance or activity posing a threat to the environment is prevented from adversely affecting the environment, even if it hasn’t been proven scientifically that such a substance or activity causes environmental damage. If humans cannot help the environment, then humans should not cause harm to the environment even if it is uncertain if the act poses an imminent danger. The principle suggests that positive actions should be taken even though it is yet to be ascertained that the proposed act would have a negative impact.[2] Under this principle, it is preferable to prevent pollution than to deal with pollution after it has occurred.

This principle has, however, been criticised as one that is averse to policymaking and carrying out economically beneficial actions. Almost all human actions have an impact on the environment and ceasing actions because of proposed damage will regress economic progression.?

3.????? Principle of Proportionality

The principle of proportionality is premised on the concept of balance. A balance is to be maintained between economic development on the one hand and environmental protection on the other hand. It is indisputable that no development is possible without some adverse effects on ecology. Therefore, it is essential to adjust the interests of the people as well as the necessity to maintain the environment. Moreover, comparative hardships have to be balanced, and benefits to a larger section of the people have to be maintained.

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4.????? Principle of Intergenerational Equity

This principle, at its core, is closely associated with the tenet of the Sustainable Development Goals. Just like the SDGs, the principle aims to enable society to meet its current needs and ensure that future generations meet their needs without stressing the earth’s resources. Just like we have inherited the earth's resources from past generations, we must ensure to leave the environment in a state that will be beneficial to future generations. This is so that future generations can enjoy at least a comparable quality of life, and inherit a healthy and sustainable environmental heritage. The main focus of the principle of intergenerational equity is to limit the human scale to a level that is commensurate with the carrying capacity of the environment because once human activity exceeds the carrying capacity of the environment; there will be a deviation from the path of sustainable development.

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CONCLUSION

Corporate organisations looking to strengthen their sustainability outlook can incorporate these principles into the company’s practices. For example, a company that emits greenhouse gases can launch an afforestation project. Organisations can also cut down on their products that are not environmentally friendly and limit their unsustainable use of energy. Using fossil fuels to power an organisation’s operation can be replaced with a renewable energy source.

To ensure all-round sustainability, it is paramount that we all look for ways we can incorporate sustainable practices into our day-to-day activities. This is not only limited to orgaisation that are ‘big’ polluters but also applicable to individuals and households. Thus, the principles of environmental protection guide our actions and interactions with the environment.

[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/polluter-pays-principle

[2] A. Wallace Hayes, ‘The Precautionary Principle’ Arh Hig Rada Toksikol [2005] (56) 161 -166.