India

India is one of the most important countries of the South concerning environmental law and policy. This is due to a variety of factors: India is not only a large country but also densely populated. It still faces some of the basic development challenges such as food insecurity for millions of people while having a very significant industrial sector and a thriving services sector. It is also hosts to significant environmental amenities as one of the few mega-diversity countries on the planet. Overall, the path towards economic development is fraught by limited access to resources such as water and arable land.

In other words, with or without international environmental law in the background, India as a country has to face all the challenges of what is known as ‘sustainable development’.

India may be self-sustaining in most areas but further progress in poverty alleviation and further progress in economic development are intrinsically linked to sustainable environmental management. A comprehensive examination of environmental law and policy in India thus requires a broad outlook which considers not only the environment per se but other areas such as human rights and economic law for instance.