Introduction to Environment

and

Environment Audit

Nameeta Prasad,

Director,

International Center for Environment Audit and

Sustainable Development (iCED), Jaipur

Session Plan

• Environment concerns in India

• Institutional set up for managing

environment in India

– MEAs

• Environment audit

Environment concerns

Why concerns about environment….

• Signs of pollution everywhere

– Waste dumps

– Air pollution levels very high

– Change in weather patterns

– Increase in frequency of extreme weather events–

landslides, floods, hurricanes, droughts. Extreme

precipitation

• Signs of degradation every where

– Cutting down of forests

– Disappearing species

Evidence of environment

degradation

• 13 million hectares of

forests lost every year

between 2000 and 2010

• 41% of amphibians, 33% of

reef building corals, 25% of

mammals, 13% of birds,

and 30% of conifers

threatened with extinction

• Every day, 2 million tons of human wastes are disposed in water courses

– In developing countries, 70 % of industrial wastes are dumped untreated into waters

– More than 50 % of the world’s hospital beds occupied by people suffering from water-related diseases

• Air pollution has reached its highest limits seen over the decades

– Smog in Delhi, Beijing

• Increasing evidence of climate change– 97% of the surface of

Greenland's frozen interior melted in summer melt which was a spectacular departure from the expected

– 40% decrease in the summer sea ice in the Arctic to humans

– phenomenon of extremes in weather patterns like extreme rains, hurricanes, droughts etc.

Environment Performance Index (EPI)

• Ranks countries on

performance indicators tracked

across policy categories that

cover both environmental

public health and ecosystem

vitality

– 132 countries ranked

– Switzerland was ranked first

– India ranked 125, below

countries like Congo, Russia,

Zimbabwe etc

Concern about environment

• Unsustainable use of resources for development has led to:

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Environment degradation

Increase in levels of pollution

Deforestation

Loss of biodiversity

Climate change

Altered weather patterns

More extremes in weather like storms,

droughts etc

Environment degradation

• As Gandhiji put it “There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need

but not for man's greed”

When nature's resources are being consumed faster than nature can replenish them

When pollution results in irreparable damage to the environment

When human beings destroy or damage ecosystems in the process of development

Environment degradation occurs:

Consequences of environment

degradation and pollution

• Depletion of natural resources

• Changes in weather patterns

• Impact on livelihoods

• Impact on heath

• Extinction of biodiversity

• Destruction of habitats

Major environmental concerns in

India

• Incomplete treatment of Municipal Waste water

• Lack of safe disposal of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)

• Fly Ash Management

• Lack of safe disposal of hazardous Waste Management

• Lack of safe disposal of Bio Medical Waste Management

• Lack of E-Waste Management

• Presence of Hazardous Air Pollutants in Chemical Industry

Zone

• Pollution From Small Scale Industries

• Vehicular Pollution in Urban Areas

Municipal Waste water

• 35000 Million litres per day (MLD) generated in India– only 11000 MLD collected and

treated

– Rest discharged untreated in water bodies and land causing pollution in surface and groundwater

– Cause severe pollution at water bodies, BOD > 100 mg|l, Coliform > 1Cr (in some water bodies)

– Spread of water borne diseases

• 1.5 million children under 5 years die each year due to water related diseases

Municipal Solid Waste

• 1,20,000 Tonne per day (TPD)

Municipal Solid Waste is

generated all over India

– only 50% collected

– only 5% is treated and disposed

as per Municipal Solid Waste

Management Rules

– Indiscriminate disposal of MSW

is major nuisance in urban

areas including groundwater

quality problem

– Causes health problems

Fly Ash Management

• Indian coal contains 34-47% ash

– Ash generation from coal based power station presently about 112 million tonnes per annum

– air pollution due to use of coal in thermal power plants– heath impacts

– Increase in particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen

– Detrimental effect on health

Hazardous Waste Management

• Presently 8.14 million tonnes

of hazardous wastes

generated from 29716

industries

– only 27 TSDF (Transport, Storage

and Disposal Facility) exists

– inadequate to handle all hazardous

wastes

• Toxic for health as well as

environment

– Spread of harmful chemicals like

chromium, Lead slag, mercury etc

– Damage to ground water, surface

water as well as land pollution

Bio Medical Waste Management

• Presently only 20-30% of

Bio-medical wastes

collected, segregated and

treated as per Bio-medical

Waste Management Rules

• Rest disposed by dumping

on land/water bodies

• Health and environment

implications

– Pollution of water bodies

– Possibilities of infections

E-Waste Management

• More than 400,000 tonnes of E-

waste generated which may

increase manifold in coming years

– Unsafe disposal can lead to cancer

and other health issues as well as

pollution of land and water sources

– Incineration leads to emission of

harmful chemicals into the

atmosphere like lead, cadmium,

mercury

– Acid leaching and release of very

harmful toxins which can cause

cancer

Hazardous Air Pollutants in Chemical Industry

Zone

• Large number of chemical industries

(pesticides, pharmaceutical, dye and dye

intermediate, organic chemical

manufacturing industries)

– in chemical industrial zone of Gujarat,

Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil

Nadu etc. (Vapi, Ankleshwar, Bharuch,

Panoli, Tarapur, Taloja, Mahad,

Patancherru, Medak, Cuddalore, Manali

etc.).

– toxic pollutants like Volatile Organic

Compounds, Benzene, toluene and xylene

pollution, Organic Solvents emissions are

quite high

– Critical levels of pollution which is very

harmful for human health

Pollution From Small Scale Industries

• More than 3-5 million Small Scale industries exists which are polluting in nature– Stone crushing units, Hot Mix

Plants, Sponge iron plants, Electroplating industries, Tannery units, Brick kilns, Lime kilns etc

– Cause immense pollution of water sources as well as land pollution

– Pollution control devices not in place due to low levels of investment

• Air pollution

• Water pollution: Effluents like chromium, dyes etc

Vehicular Pollution in Urban Areas

• Vehicular population growth in urban

areas of India very high

• Vehicular emissions mainly responsible

for poor air quality in urban areas

• Air pollution from motor vehicles is the

result of fuel burning in the engine

• Harmful chemicals produced during

combustion process and released as

exhaust

– These chemicals cause a variety of human and

environmental health problems

– Hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, carbon mono-

oxide, carbon dioxide, particulates etc very

harmful for health

– Outdoor air pollution has become the fifth largest

killer in India after high blood pressure, indoor air

pollution, tobacco smoking and poor nutrition

Institutional framework

for protection of

environment in India

Protection of environment in India

• Article 246 of the Constitution of India

– 3 Lists of the subjects in the 7th Schedule of the Constitution

– List –I: Union List

• Defense, P & T, Foreign Affairs, citizenship, Railways, Banking,Census, UPSC etc.

– List- II: State List

• Law & Order, Public health & sanitation, Agriculture, Land, Water,fisheries etc

– List – III Concurrent List

• Criminal Law and procedure, marriage and divorce, Contracts,forests, protection of wild life, economic-social planning factories etc.

• Article 48 A & Article 51

– added to the Constitution (42nd Amendment,1976) after U.N.

Conference of Human Environment, Stockholm, 972

• Article 48 A : Added to the part IV, directive principles of the State

Policy which reads as follows- “The States shall endeavor to protect

and improve the environment to safeguard the forests and wild life

of the country”

• Article 51 A Enumerates the fundamental duties of a citizen of

India which include the duty to protect and improve the natural

environment including forests, compassion for living creatures

• Subjects like forests, population control, family planning

were transferred from State list to the concurrent list by

the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976.

• Environment subjects like

– land, agriculture, fisheries, water and health sanitation still in the

State list

Framework for protection of

environment in India

• Ministry at federal level, departments at state level

• Policies– National Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement on Environment and

Development, 1992

– Policy Statement for the Abatement of pollution, 1992

– National Environment Policy, 2004 and 2006

• Acts– Environment Protection Act, 1986

– The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974

– The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981 amended 1987

– The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

– Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, amended 1988

– Biological Diversity Act, 2002

• Rules– Municipal Solid Waste (Handling and Disposal) Rules

– Bio-medical waste (Handling and Disposal ) Rules

MoEF

• Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) is the nodal agency in the

administrative structure of the Central Government for the planning,

promotion, co-ordination and overseeing the implementation of

India's environmental and forestry policies and programmes

• The broad objectives of the Ministry are:

– Conservation and survey of flora, fauna, forests and wildlife

– Prevention and control of pollution

– Afforestation and regeneration of degraded areas

– Protection of the environment and

– Ensuring the welfare of animals

National Conservation Strategy and Policy

Statement on Environment and

Development

• Identified Nature and dimension of the environment problem

– Negative effect of very process of development

– Condition of poverty and under-development

• Action taken – large number of statutes and institutions

– Water and air quality monitoring

– Fiscal incentives for control of pollution

– GAP and NRAP

– Eco-mark

– Adoption of new forest policy

– National wildlife action plan

– Seven biosphere reserve set up

Policy Statement for the Abatement of

pollution, 1992

• Agenda for action

– Carry out Environment Impact Assessment

– Compulsory prior clearance

– Encourage R&D and environment compatible

technologies

– Recycling of wastes & energy conservation

– People’s participation

– Development of appropriate organization structures and

pool professionals

– Effective implementation of environment laws

National Environment Policy, 2006

• A response to commitment to a clean environment,

mandated in the Constitution in Articles 48 A and 51 A

(g), strengthened by judicial interpretation of Article 21

– maintaining a healthy environment is not the state's responsibility

alone, but also that of every citizen

– spirit of partnership should be realized throughout the spectrum

of environmental management in the country

– state to galvanize its efforts, and there should also be

recognition by each individual - natural or institutional, of its

responsibility towards maintaining and enhancing the quality of

the environment

EPA, 1986

• Act provides for the protection and improvement of the environment

• Defined pollutant/pollution for first time

• comprehensive act which covers air, water, land, human beings and

living creatures, plants, micro organisms, property, and the

interrelationship of all these

• Central government to have power to take measures for protection

and improvement of the environment and preventing, controlling and

abating pollution

– central government to lay down standards for the quality of the

environment

– Wide powers to control pollution and levy penalty for pollution

– Environment labs set up to monitor levels of pollution

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The Water (Prevention and

Control of Pollution) Act, 1974

• Objectives

– prevent and control water pollution and maintain

wholesomeness of water

– establish control on State Boards for prevention and control of

pollution

– empower the Boards for prevention/control of pollution

– To provide penalties for contravention of the provisions of the

Act

– To establish control on state water testing laboratories

• Set up Central/State pollution control Boards to control

pollution

The Air (Prevention and Control of

Pollution) Act, 1981

• Provides for the prevention, control and abatement of

air pollution.

• Further rules were added in 1982 and 1983

– The state governments in consultation with the Board to

declare air pollution control areas

– provides for control of emission from auto mobiles

– It also restricts certain industries on the basis of air pollution

– It declares the level of air pollutants as per standards

– It applies to the courts to restrain persons from polluting

– Gives power to PCBs to enter and inspect the factory

The Indian Wildlife (Protection)

Act, 1972, amended 1993

• enacted with the objective of effectively protecting the

wild life of this country and to control poaching,

smuggling and illegal trade in wildlife and its

derivatives

– The objective is to provide protection to the listed

endangered flora and fauna and ecologically important

protected areas

Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980

• Aims to help conserve the country’s forests– Strictly restricts and regulates the de-reservation of forests or

use of forest land for non-forest purposes without the prior

approval of Central Government

– To this end the Act lays down the pre-requisites for the diversion

of forest land for non-forest purposes

– Payment of NPV and CA

Biological Diversity Act, 2002

• Act born out of India's attempt to realise the objectives

enshrined in the United Nations Convention on Biological

Diversity (CBD),1992 which recognizes the sovereign

rights of states to use their own Biological Resources

• The Act aims at

– conservation of biological resources and associated knowledge

– facilitating access to them in a sustainable manner

• For purposes of implementing the objects of the Act it

establishes the National Biodiversity Authority in

Chennai

The Municipal Solid Wastes (Management

and Handling) Rules, 2000• Applicable to every municipal authority

• Municipal authority responsible for collection, segregation, storage,

transportation, processing and disposal of household waste/MSW

• A typical waste management system includes the following elements:

– Waste generation and storage

– Segregation, reuse, and recycling at the household level

– Primary waste collection and transport to a transfer station or community bin

– Street sweeping and cleansing of public places

– Management of the transfer station or community bin

– Secondary collection and transport to the waste disposal site

– Waste disposal in landfills

• But in most of the Indian cities , waste does not get collected and

segregated and open dumping is a common practices which adversely

affects environment and Public health

The Bio-Medical Waste (Management

and Handling) Rules, 1998

• With a view to control the indiscriminate disposal of hospital

waste/bio medical waste, the central government issued a

notification on Bio Medical Waste Management under the

Environment (Protection) Act

– Rules apply to hospitals, Nursing Homes, Veterinary Hospitals,

Animal Houses, Pathological labs & blood banks, generating

hospital wastes

– Every occupier generating the bio-medical waste need to install

appropriate facility in the premises/join a common facility to

ensure requisite treatment of waste in accordance with the kinds

of waste generated (human tissue, drugs, hospital sharps etc)

and in compliance with standards

– Segregation of waste and its differential treatment

Standards for environment protection

in India • National Ambient Air Quality standards

• Water quality standards

• Vehicular emission standards

• Noise standards

• Industry specific standards

– Thermal Power Plants, Petroleum Oil Refinery, Cotton Textile

Industries, Stone Crushing Unit, Leather Tanneries, Fertilizer

Industry, Thermal Power Plants, Hotel Industry, Common

Effluent Treatment Plants

• http://cpcb.nic.in/#

Role of judiciary in environment

protection

• Article 21also includes right to pollution free environment

• Sustainable development concept introduced

• Introduced concept of “The Precautionary Principle" and

"The Polluter Pays principle

• Public trust doctrine

• Expanded the definition of forests to stop illegal felling

• Role in forcing executive to stop dumping of waste and

restore wholesomeness of water, control environmental

pollution etc.

International efforts

• United Nations Conference on Environment and

Development, better known as the Earth Summit ,held in

Rio in June 1992

– Milestone event, effectively focusing the world's attention on

environmental & development problems we face as a global

community

– Brought together 172 nations, 108 heads of state, 1400 non-

governmental organisations (NGO’s), and about 8000 Agenda 21,

the world's plan of action for sustainable development,

– Landmark achievement, incorporating environmental, economic

and social concerns into a single framework

International efforts

• Ten years later, the international community came together

once again at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002

– Objective was to review the developments of the past decade & to

forge a cohesive global partnerships to achieve a comprehensive

implementation of Agenda 21

• The Commission on Sustainable Development also

known as CSD created in December 1992 to ensure

effective follow-up of the 1992 Earth Summit

• Rio +20 conference organised in June 2012

– Objective is to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable

development, assess the progress to date and the remaining gaps

in implementation

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MEAs: Some International Treaties

1. Convention on Biological Diversity, signed on 05/06/1992, ratified by

India 18/2/1994

2. Convention to Combat Desertification - signed on 14/10/1994, ratified by

India on 17/12/1996,

3. Cartagena Protocol on Bio-safety- signed on 23/01/200, ratified by India

on 11/9/2003

4. The Basel Convention on the Control of Trans-boundary Movements of

Hazardous Wastes – signed on 16/4/1990, ratified by India 24/6/1992

5. Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change - signed by India10/8/1992, ratified on 1/11/93

6. Ramsar Convention on Wetlands – Ratified by India 10/10/1981

7. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild

Fauna and Flora (CITES) – Ratified by India on 20/7/1976

Why MEAs?

• Growing understanding that environmental issues are

often regional and global and that solutions and tools to

deal with them should also be regional and global

– Environment problems are trans-national– eg: water pollution,

air pollution

– Action by one country affects neighbors

• A response to the gravity of environmental problems

• The United Nations Conference on the Human

Environment (the Stockholm Conference) 1st major UN

conference on environment issues (1972)

MEAs: Biodiversity

• The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (1975)

– to promote the conservation and wise use of all wetlands

through local, regional, and national actions and international

cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable

development worldwide

– India ratified in February,1982

• 26 Ramsar sites in India; eg: Chilika, Ashtamudi, Bhoj,

Chandertal

• National Wetland Conservation Programme (NWCP)

– Operated in cooperation with state government

– 115 wetlands identified for urgent conservation and

management initiatives

MEAs: Biodiversity

• Convention on Trade of Endangered Species, 1975 (CITES)

– To ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does

not threaten their survival

– Imposes a duty on Parties to subject international trade in specimens of

selected species to certain controls via licensing of import, export, re-export,

and introduction from the sea of species

– India ratified it in 1977

– CITES cell set up in India in 2010

• Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and Export- Import Policy

implement CITES

– Species covered by CITES listed in three Appendices 1 to III of Act, according

to the degree of protection they need

– About 300 Indian animal and 40 Indian plant species in various CITES

appendices

MEAs: Biodiversity

• Convention on Biological Diversity, 1992

– aims at conserving biological diversity, the sustainable use of

its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the

benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources,

taking into account all rights over those resources

– Ratified by India in 1994

• To implement this, India introduced Biological Diversity

Act, 2002

– Set up National Biodiversity Authority, State Biodiversity

Authority

MEAs: Biodiversity

• Other important conventions

– Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild

Animals, 1979

– International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1994

– Convention to Combat Desertification, 1994

– Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural

and Natural Heritage, 1972

MEAs: Climate Change

• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change, 1992

– aims at achieving stabilization of GHGs concentrations in

the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous

anthropogenic interference with climate by setting emission

limits to be accomplished within a determined timeframe

– India ratified in 1993

– National Action Plan on Climate Change, 2008

• 8 sectors identified for mitigation and adaptation measures

– State level Action Plans: Delhi, Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan,

Sikkim, MP, Mizoram, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, WB, Assam,

Meghalaya, Odisha

MEAs: Climate Change

• Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the

Ozone Layer, 1987

• Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer,

1985

• Protocol to the United Nations Framework

Convention on Climate Change, 1997

MEAs– Hazardous Materials/Waste/

Chemical-related

• Convention on the Control of Trans-boundary

Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal

(Basel Convention, 1989)

– to ensure that management of hazardous wastes and other

wastes, including their trans-boundary movement and

disposal, is consistent with the protection of human health

and the environment whatever the place of disposal

– India ratified in 1992

• The Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Trans-

boundary Movement) Rules,2009, to implement Basel

Convention

Understanding environment audit

51

What is Environment Audit

• General definition

– Environmental audit is a general term that can reflect

various types of evaluations intended to identify

environmental compliance and whether there are any

implementation gaps relating to environment issues,

along with related corrective actions

– Evaluations based on criteria which may be local,

national or global environmental standards

• Thus it is a systematic process of obtaining and evaluating

information about the environmental aspects

52

Environment auditing: INCOSAI

• At the XV INCOSAI in Cairo in 1995, environmental

audit (EA) emerged, for the first time, as a major

congress theme

– Provided an overall framework for EA and incorporated

sustainable development into governmental policies and

programs subject to audit

53

Environment auditing

– Environment auditing is not significantly different from

normal auditing as practiced by SAIs

– Environment auditing can encompass all types of audit:

financial, compliance, and performance audits. With

respect to performance audits, the three E’s of

Economy, Effectiveness, and Efficiency can be

included. (The adoption of the fourth E, that is

Environment, depends very much on a SAIs mandate

and its government’s environmental policy but is not

critical to carrying out environmental audit).

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Environment audit – Need for it

• Resources spent by the government on environment

conservation and protection have grown exponentially

• Rethinking of the role and responsibilities of both governments

in light of evidence of environment degradation

• Global awareness of environmental issues has also grown

rapidly

– More scientific knowledge and interest in environment issues like

ozone depletion, the destruction of rain forests, and global warming.

• Some of the crucial changes to have taken place are:

– Expansion of environmental regulation by state and local authorities

– Increasing cost of environmental protection for both the private and public

sectors

55

Environmental Auditing framework

Regularity audit

• Compliance audit

• Financial audit Performance audit

Environment Auditing is the 4th E

Types of performance audits on

Environmental issues

Audits of Government monitoring of compliance with environmental laws

Audits of the performance of Government environmental programmes

Audits of the environmental impact of other Government programmes

Audits of environmental management systems

Environmental assessment of proposed environmental policies and programmes

INTOSAI Material

• Guidance on Conducting Audit Activities with an

Environmental Perspective-- ISSAI 5110

– Purpose

• provides SAIs nature of EA as it has so far developed in governmental sphere

• Intended to provide a starting point from which each SAI can create its own

approach to satisfactory discharge of EA responsibilities within the context of

each SAI’s jurisdiction & mandate

– Increasing concern that organisations affecting environment to be

accountable for their actions has led to requirements for the

consequences of those actions to be reported

• Expectation has grown that representations made in

environmental reports should be subject to independent audit

INTOSAI Material

• Environmental Audit and Regularity Auditing-- ISSAI

5120

– Provides guidance to SAIs on how to conduct environmental

audits by applying regularity (financial and compliance) auditing

practices

– Demonstrates that SAIs do not necessarily require a

performance audit mandate to conduct audit work with an

environmental focus

– Regularity issues include financial and compliance issues

Planning and conducting an environment

audit

• Choosing a topic

– Based on risk assessment

• Destruction of habitats

• Pollution

• Deforestation and loss of species

• Environment governance– EIA and EMS

• Identifying criteria• Standards

• Conducting audit• Audit evidence: in form of reports of water pollution, aidr pollution, violation of emission

standards

• Can use photos, monitoring reports

• Reporting• Use of recommendations

What iCED does

• Capacity building

– Training programs

• Introduction to Environment Audit for Group A & B officers

• Planning and Conducting Environment audit

• Audit of waste issues and audit of water issues

• Audit of Biodiversity, mining and forestry issues

• Audit of issues related to Sustainable development and Climate Change

• International training

– Helping AG offices with their audits

• Gujarat, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Karnataka

– Writing research papers

• On EIA

• Green Offices

Thank you!