B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 10 Environmental Law 2014 Jun Question Paper with Solutions

For full marks, cover: Part I, the ecosystem: meaning and the definition in Article 2 of the Convention on Biological Diversity; its living and non-living parts; how it works (energy flow, food chains and webs, nutrient cycles, ecological balance); its kinds; its services; and how modern law protects ecosystems (EPA s.2(a), protected areas, wetlands, coastal zones, biodiversity); Part II, Kautilyan jurisprudence: the Arthashastra and its seven heads (a Superintendent of Forests, forests classified by use, the abhayaranya, protected species and elephant forests, graded fines for trees, water and cleanliness, irrigation), its place beside Manu and Ashoka; the modern counterparts (a table); the courts' use of it (K.M. Chinnappa, Rural Litigation, Nagaraja); an honest assessment; and a conclusion.

Part I: the ecosystem

Meaning. An ecosystem is a community of plants, animals and micro-organisms living together with their physical surroundings and functioning as one unit. A pond, a forest, a grassland, a mangrove and the sea are each an ecosystem.

2. Nutrient cycles. Carbon, nitrogen, water and minerals move in cycles between living things, air, water and soil.
3. Ecological balance. Populations stay roughly stable because what is taken is replaced. Remove one link, such as the trees on a slope or the predators in a forest, and the whole system suffers. Indian judgments call this ecological balance.

Its kinds. Terrestrial ecosystems include forests, grasslands and deserts. Aquatic ecosystems include ponds, lakes, rivers, wetlands, estuaries and the sea. Farms, plantations and cities are man-made ecosystems, simpler and less stable than natural ones.

Its services. Ecosystems give food, water, timber and medicine. They purify air and water, control floods, build soil, pollinate crops and store carbon.

Ecosystems under pressure. Deforestation, mining, pollution, invasive species and climate change break food chains and nutrient cycles. When an ecosystem collapses, the services people depend on, clean water, fertile soil, fish and protection from floods, collapse with it. That is why the law now protects whole ecosystems and not only single species.

1. A Superintendent of Forests. An officer was in charge of forest produce, plantations, timber collection and forest workshops. A parallel officer looked after the protection of animals.
2. Forests classified by use. There were forests for produce, forests reserved for the king's hunting, and forests set apart for ascetics and religious study.
3. The abhayaranya. This "forest of safety" was an area in which animals were not to be killed.
4. Protected species and elephant forests. Certain animals were protected absolutely. Elephants were a State monopoly, with their own forest, the hastivana, and its guards.
5. Graded fines for damaging trees. The fine rose with the importance of the part of the tree harmed, and with the kind of tree. Cutting a branch cost less than cutting the trunk. Harming a fruit tree, a shade tree or a tree in a sacred place cost more.
6. Water and cleanliness. Fouling water sources, throwing refuse into streets and damaging tanks were punished.
7. Irrigation. The State built tanks and canals, users paid a share, and those who damaged them were fined.

How the courts have used it

K.M. Chinnappa v. Union of India, (2002) 10 SCC 606. An iron ore company was mining inside the Kudremukh National Park in the Western Ghats under an expired lease. The Supreme Court allowed mining only until the end of 2005, on strict conditions. Explaining the duty to protect nature, it noted that Manu prescribed punishments for injuring plants. It added that "Kautilya went a step further and fixed the punishment on the basis of importance of the part of the tree". It also quoted Ashoka's decree against killing named animals and burning forests.

Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra v. State of Uttar Pradesh, AIR 1987 SC 359. Limestone quarrying in the Doon Valley was causing landslides and drying up water channels. The Supreme Court weighed the valley's ecology against the mining leases and upheld closures. In Chinnappa the Court quoted it: natural resources must be tapped with care, as "permanent assets of mankind", not exhausted in one generation. That is Kautilya's balance of use and protection.

Conclusion. An ecosystem is a dynamic unit of living communities and their non-living surroundings, kept in balance by energy flow and nutrient cycles. It is protected today through the EPA, protected areas, wetland and coastal rules and biodiversity law. Kautilya's Arthashastra protected ecosystems through a Superintendent of Forests and classified forests. It added the abhayaranya, protected species, elephant forests, graded fines for trees and rules on water. Chinnappa cites Kautilya directly, and Rural Litigation and Nagaraja carry the same ethic. Kautilya supplies a source of principle, though not a citizen's right against the State.