Protection of Human Rights Through Environmental Ethics

One of the most crucial problems facing the mankind today is the preservation of the environment. The pollution of the environment around our mother earth is affecting not only the lives of human beings but also the entire living organism. Environmental problem has received the attention of the whole world as it is recognized as a worldwide disaster. The main reason of this problem is increasing human activities in the modern society which has accelerated the pace of environmental pollution. Pollution is a major human rights problem. Human rights are the basic and inalienable rights a man possesses. The presence of human rights can be seen throughout the history of mankind. These rights need to be protected and at times enforced. The effects of pollution on human health as well as other living organism are really profound. The need to protect and improve the environment is so compelling and pressing for the survival of not only mankind but also the life form on the planet-Earth. This right to environment has emerged as a human right. Environment plays a protective and promotional role in the survival of humanity. No doubt, specific laws with the intention to preserve the environment have been legislated all over the world. But the sources indicate that environmental problem is increasing day by day due to various kinds of pollutions. It is true that human beings by their own misdeeds are responsible for the environmental pollution. The growing population coupled with the modern culture of consumerism has caused alarming damage to our environment. It is a fact that the economic development is essential to improve the quality of life; and natural resources play an important role to achieve this goal. But today the ecological disaster has made it mandatory for us to utilize these limited resources in a judicious and rational manner. The collective destiny of our globalised world lies in our attempts at “improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting eco-systems.” This is what we call ‘sustainable development’. Sustainable development means the kind of development that can be effected by us without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This idea embodies a pious aspiration for economic growth and social equity while ensuring environmental protection simultaneously. To meet this goal, we need to imbibe a holistic approach comprising human values, social participation, clean technologies and good governance. The only solution to our current environmental problems is to go back to nature, our ancient ideals and traditional values. Our current living style, preferences in life, and attitude towards nature is not only causing environmental degradation, but also distorting human personality and value pattern. Environmental ethics are the best means to protect the human rights from the environmental pollution. Environmental ethics are required to play a major role in preserving the environment. Every one of us is having the responsibility to protect the environment from all sorts of pollution. Environmental ethics can help the society tremendously in protecting environment. It is the high time to develop environmental ethics to understand the problems of environment through relevant experiences and to extend all possible assistance to the society so that the right to environment of human beings is protected. Therefore, the main objective of the paper is to highlight how polluted environment violates the human rights and focus on the significance of environmental ethics to protect human rights by preserving nature from polluted environment.