Environment Law and Policies in India: A Historical Overview

Environmental policies are influenced by a multitude of factors and determine how environmental resources are accessed, apportioned, consumed, conserved and governed. It led to the creation of an extensive protected area network, albeit by overlooking the needs of the forest dwellers. In the 1990s, the judiciary innovated by creating space for civil society to take up environmental issues and played an active role. This period also saw a gradual shift towards participatory natural resource management and collaboration between the state and the civil society. However, by the early 21st century this bonhomie weakened when civil society successfully se-cured the tenurial rights of the forest dwellers. The key influencing factors of environmental poli-cy change were discerned as international diplomacy, political leadership, judicial activism, civil society advocacy and environmental disasters.