World Environment Day 2025: India has slew of regulations to protect Blue Planet. Know about them

Today, millions worldwide are observing World Environment Day 2025, highlighting the urgent need for eco-legal action. Hosted by South Korea, the UN event drives home how local laws can combat environmental threats.

There are multiple initiatives that have been taken across the world regarding the better protection of the environment. For starters, cities like Jeju, South Korea, now enforce strict bans on disposable plastics. Jeju’s 2040 "plastic-free" goal includes deposit systems for cups and mandatory waste sorting. Similar bans are expanding globally, cutting landfill waste.

The United States is not behind in this aspect, as US cities are rewriting zoning codes to boost sustainability. Buffalo eliminated parking minimums, prioritising walkability over cars. Indianapolis now mandates pedestrian-friendly designs near transit hubs, reducing emissions, according to Urban Land Magazine.

In a report by the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP’s Inger Andersen was quoted as saying, “Ending plastic pollution is possible, but we need systemic change—governments, businesses, and citizens together.”

Stringent laws required for enhanced protection: Legal expert

Bivas Chatterjee, Advocate and Special Public Prosecutor, Government of West Bengal, tells LiveMint, "We, as humans, must remember that trees too, have a life. If humans are convicted for taking away lives under sections of the law, why are those, who cut down trees brutally, not tried under similar laws? If trees are cut down or uprooted in areas that are not forests, the accused is simply fined, and no other penalisation is generally imposed."

"The existing laws regarding environmental protection in India are age-old and relatively weak, which is why the attack on nature is so brutally conducted in recent years. Stringent laws need to be in place so that people do not get away with harming the environment, which is necessary for our sustenance in the long run."

What laws in India are in place to enforce environmental protection?

Neil Basu, Advocate, Calcutta High Court, weighed in on the existing laws in the country regarding the proper preservation of the environment. "Protecting the environment is a fundamental right and a collective social responsibility, as environmental justice is social justice. So, let's act now," he told LiveMint.

"If we start in terms of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, any person running any establishment which includes a factory and any kind of industry must take due permission from the State Pollution Control Board as well as the Central Pollution Control Board concerned," Basu said.

"Section 7 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 prohibits the discharge or emission of environmental pollutants in excess of prescribed standards by any person involved in an industry, operation, or process. This ensures that pollution levels remain within acceptable limits and prevent any environmental damage," he continued.

Other laws include the Indian Forest Act, 1927, which empowers the state governments to notify forest areas to oversee the wildlife conservation and preservation, as well as plantation and afforestation. Also, Section 17A of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 prohibits the willful picking, uprooting, damaging, destroying, acquisition, or collection of any specified plant from forest land or other areas notified by the central government.