Industrial Environmental Management. Tapas K. Das

USEPA is working with countries in the Middle East to improve “environmental governance, water pollution and water security, clean fuels and vehicles, public participation, and pollution prevention.”

      2.12.5 Oceania

      The main concerns on environmental issues in the Oceanic Region are “illegal releases of air and water pollutants, illegal logging/timber trade, illegal shipment of hazardous wastes, including e‐waste and ships slated for destruction, and insufficient institutional structure/lack of enforcement capacity.” The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environmental Program (SPREP) is an international organization between Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, France, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Island, Tonga, Tuvalu, United States, and Vanuatu. The SPREP was established in order to provide assistance in improving and protecting the environment as well as to assure sustainable development for future generations (SPREP n.d.; Taylor et al. 2013).

      2.12.6 Australia

      The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is the centerpiece of environmental legislation in the Australian Government. It sets up the “legal framework to protect and manage nationally and internationally important flora, fauna, ecological communities and heritage places” (EPBC 1999). It also focuses on protecting world heritage properties, national heritage properties, wetlands of international importance, nationally threatened species and ecological communities, migratory species, Commonwealth marine areas, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and the environment surrounding nuclear activities (EPBC 1999). Commonwealth v. Tasmania (1983), also known as the “Tasmanian Dam Case,” is the most influential case for Australian environmental law (Commonwealth v Tasmania 1983).

      2.12.7 Brazil

      The Brazilian government created the Ministry of Environment in 1992 in order to develop better strategies of protecting the environment, use natural resources sustainably, and enforce public environmental policies. The Ministry of Environment has authority over policies involving environment, water resources, preservation, and environmental programs involving the Amazon.

      2.12.8 Canada

      The Department of the Environment Act establishes the Department of the Environment in the Canadian government as well as the position Minister of the Environment. Their duties include “the preservation and enhancement of the quality of the natural environment, including water, air and soil quality; renewable resources, including migratory birds and other nondomestic flora and fauna; water; meteorology” (Department of the Environment Act 1985/2009). The Environmental Protection Act is the main piece of Canadian environmental legislation that was put into place on 31 March 2000. The Act focuses on “respecting pollution prevention and the protection of the environment and human health in order to contribute to sustainable development.” Other principle federal statutes include the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and the Species at Risk Act. When provincial and federal legislation are in conflict, federal legislation takes precedence, that being said individual provinces can have their own legislation such as Ontario's Environmental Bill of Rights and Clean Water Act (1985).

      2.12.9 China

      According to the USEPA, “China has been working with great determination in recent years to develop, implement, and enforce a solid environmental law framework. Chinese officials face critical challenges in effectively implementing the laws, clarifying the roles of their national and provincial governments, and strengthening the operation of their legal system” (EPA Collaboration with China 2017). Explosive economic and industrial growth in China has led to significant environmental degradation, and China is currently in the process of developing more stringent legal controls (McElwee 2011). The harmonization of Chinese society and the natural environment is billed as a rising policy priority (NRDC 2014; Pettit 2014; Stern 2013; Wang 2013).

      2.12.10 Ecuador

      With the enactment of the 2008 Constitution, Ecuador became the first country in the world to codify the Rights of Nature. The Constitution, specifically Articles 10 and 71–74, recognizes the inalienable rights of ecosystems to exist and flourish, gives people the authority to petition on the behalf of ecosystems, and requires the government to remedy violations of these rights. The rights approach is a break away from traditional environmental regulatory systems, which regard nature as property and legalize and manage degradation of the environment rather than prevent it (CELDF 2017).

The Rights of Nature articles in Ecuador's constitution are part of a reaction to a combination of political, economic, and social phenomena. Ecuador's abusive past with the oil industry, most famously the class‐action litigation against Chevron, and the failure of an extraction‐based economy and neoliberal reforms to bring economic prosperity to the region has resulted in the election of a New Leftist regime, led by President Rafael Correa, and sparked a demand for new approaches to development. In conjunction with this need, the principle of “Buen Vivir,” or good living – focused on social, environmental, and spiritual wealth versus material wealth – gained popularity among citizens and was incorporated into the new constitution (Gudynas 2011).

      The influence of indigenous groups, from whom the concept of “Buen Vivir” originates, in the forming of the constitutional ideals also facilitated the incorporation of the Rights of Nature as a basic tenet of their culture and conceptualization of “Buen Vivir” (Becker 2011).

      2.12.11 Egypt

      The Environmental Protection Law outlines the responsibilities of the Egyptian government to “preparation of draft legislation and decrees pertinent to environmental management, collection of data both nationally and internationally on the state of the environment, preparation of periodical reports and studies on the state of the environment, formulation of the national plan and its projects, preparation of environmental profiles for new and urban areas, and setting of standards to be used in planning for their development, and preparation of an annual report on the state of the environment to be prepared to the President” (Ministry of Environment Egyptian Environmental Affairs 2009).

      2.12.12 Germany

      Since 15 November 1994, environmental protection has been enshrined as an objective of the state in Article 20a of the German Basic Law. Constitutional status has thus been afforded to environmental protection and its objectives. All state bodies – in particular the legislature – are required to be “mindful also of [their] responsibility toward future generations” and to protect the environment (Seider 2010):

       Law on Conservation and Environmental Care (Gesetz über Naturschutz und Landschaftspflege – Bundesnaturschutzgesetz – BNatSchG)

       Law on Protection for Environmental Harms due to Air Pollution, Noise, etc. (Gesetz zum Schutz vor schädlichen Umwelteinwirkungen durch Luftverunreinigungen, Geräusche, Erschütterungen und ähnliche Vorgänge – Bundes‐Immissionsschutzgesetz – BImSchG)

       Regulation on Drinking Water Quality (Trinkwasserverordnung – TrinkwV)

       Regulation on Soil Protection (Bundesbodenschutzgesetz – BBSchG)

       Regulation on Waste Management (Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz – KrwG)

       Regulation on Water Usage (Wasserhaushaltsgesetz – WHG)

      2.12.12.1 Environmental Rules for Doing Business in Germany: Legal Requirements

      The environmental laws at the federal and state level are generally implemented by the Länder. The highest national authority for environmental matters is the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. The 16 Länder also have their own environment ministries.

      The