Introduction to Environmental Protection and Management

Man’s environment consists of natural resources like air, land, water, plants, and animals. With the progress of industrialization and civilization, man has interacted with his surroundings and disturbed the nature. It leads to environmental pollution, which cannot be eradicated by nature’s self-acting process, i.e., various biogeochemical cycles. Environmental problems stem from two main categories of human activities: (a) resources utilization at unsustainable levels and contamination of the environment through pollution and (b) discharge of wastes at levels beyond the earth’s and environment’s capacity to absorb them or render them harmless which results in ecological damage and degradation of the environment. Environmental damage around includes pollution of water and air and consequent health problems, biodiversity loss, deterioration of buildings and monuments, soil fertility loss, desertification, ozone depletion, and many more. Environmental protection and management has become one of the foremost concerns of the world community. International concern for environmental protection and management has gained momentum with Stockholm Declaration in 1972. It is considered as Magna Carta of environmental protection and sustainable development. Then a series of global efforts have been undertaken internationally for protection of the environment. Hence, environmental protection has become not only local, regional, or national importance but also a global concern. Over the past several decades, growing public awareness regarding threats to the environment, informed by warnings from scientists, has led to demands that law protects the natural surroundings on which human well-being depends. Under growing pressure from national and international public opinion, governments began to demonstrate concern over the general state of the environment introduced legislation to combat pollution of inland waters, ocean, and air. © 2018 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.