Environmental Protection and Human Rights - How to Protect Human Rights and Ecosystems

Environmental protection is an essential tool in an effort to ensure and secure an effective global enjoyment of human rights. 
Human rights directly affected by environmental conditions include, but are not limited to. 
The right to a healthy environment combines the environmental dimensions of cultural, civil, political, economic and social rights. 
The basic right to life is threatened by exposures to toxic chemicals, contaminated drinking water, hazardous wastes, soil degradation, and deforestation. 
The right to a healthy environment protects the essential elements of a natural environment that allows for a life of dignity.

How to Protect Human Rights and Ecosystems

Environmental Protection and Human Rights - How to Protect Human Rights and Ecosystems

Environmental Protection and Human Rights

Environmental protection and human rights are interdependent. A clean, safe and a healthy environment is necessary for the enjoyment and satisfaction of human rights, the exercise and use of human rights including the right to freedom of expression, participation, education, the remedy, and measures, is important for the protection of the environment.

Environment Protection

Environmental protection is a political and moral movement that seeks to improve and protect the natural environment from harmful human actions by adopting forms of political, economic and social organization that are necessary or at least conducive to the early treatment of the environment by humans in different ways. 

Human Rights

Human rights are a group of rights belonging to an individual or a group of human beings. 
These rights are undoubtedly the result of the inherent weakness of human beings, or because they are necessary for a fair society free of injustice. 
Whatever the theoretical justification, human rights refer to a wide range of values or the capacities that protect the human interest, and which are of a universal nature, where they have existed since ancient times and called for human equality.

In general, the natural and internal environment is essential to human safety and the enjoyment of basic rights such as the right to survival, and the ability to change the environment for the better. 
The development is the search for human rights in ways that protect the environment, and do not harm it.

In addition, it is necessary to tamper with nature in ways that avoid damage, and to try to eliminate the dangers caused by technology, because people do not know the consequences of activities on the environment.

There are many activities that adversely affect the environment despite their association with science and technology, deforestation, widespread desertification, air, water, and land pollution, damage to plants and animals, and non-renewable resources on the land.

Natural Equilibrium and Environmental Protection

Natural Equilibrium

Natural equilibrium is that living creatures, whether they are consumed or produced, remain in the middle without any unusual phenomena, whether in increasing numbers, decreasing numbers or in the extinction of one type of creature.

The natural equilibrium or balance of nature is based on two basics and two pillars:

• The stability of the food chains 
• The stability of the earth and climatic factors

It should be noted that the number and quantity of plants produced depend mainly on the quality of the culture and its characteristics as well as its nutritional requirements, in addition to the climatic factors present in the environment surrounding the plant and human beings who rely on plants to feed them mainly on the availability of plants, and third-class consumers depend on the presence of the first two consumers.

Causes of Natural and Ecological Imbalance 

Environmental protection and human rights 

Causes of Ecological Imbalance

Environmental pollution is often caused by human activities, whether directly or indirectly, and causes of imbalance, pollution of the basic environment components namely soil, air, and water. 
Examples of pollution include:

Excessive use of chemical fertilizers leads to contamination of groundwater used by humans primarily in industry, as well as pollution of the environment, resulting in the inability to produce some food plants for some livestock such as sheep.

Forest fires ignite air pollution with fire fumes and pollution of the factory filter air pollution with toxic fumes.

Consequences of Ecological Imbalance

Environmental pollution and ecological imbalances have a number of consequences:

• A decline in the area of vegetation, and therefore the soil is exposed to erosion and desertification.
• Extinction in some creatures, whether plants or animals because these creatures will lose the environment suitable for living, and pollution can lead to the spread of a species of organisms such as locusts, or rats.

Environmental Hazard and Risk Assessment

There are many risks to not protecting the environment, including:

Extinction: Environmental pollution has a negative impact on wildlife. A report in 2004 in New Scientist states that pollution is the main cause of the extinction of different species of butterflies and other insects in Britain. 
Pollution poses a major threat to marine organisms and terrestrial organisms.

Global warming: The burning of fossil fuels for energy, such as coal, oil and natural gas, releases carbon dioxide and other toxins in the Earth's atmosphere. 
Higher levels of carbon dioxide increase air temperature.

The disease: Environmental protection agency (EPA) notes that exposure to pollutants is directly related to many diseases, including cancer and heart disease. 
Air pollution is one of the main problems faced by urban residents living near roads since vehicles cause a high concentration of pollutants.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Roles and Responsibilities

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established under the Environmental Protection Act of 1997. 
The Environmental Protection Agency includes the following administrative functions:

• Prevent environmentally degradation and damage to human beings.
• Ask people to participate in activities that improve the environment gradually.
• Facilitate the implementation of national environmental protection measures and laws.
• Provide environmental control and report environmental violations.
• Take into account human health and the environment in contaminated land.
• Treat the land which is contaminated and threatens human health.

How to Protect Human Rights and Ecosystems

How to Protect Human Rights and Ecosystems

How to Protect Human Rights

The rights to life, liberty, equality, and dignity of the individual and the ecosystem can be protected if public authorities are required to follow human rights law in everything they do. 

Everyone can protect their rights if they respect their rights when they make individual decisions and protect ecosystems and biodiversity and follow human rights law when they plan to access services.

What we can do to protect our ecosystem?

Some things you can do to prevent pollution, reduce waste, protect the ecosystem and conserve energy include:

Save water 

Water is one of the most important natural sources in the environment; its protection from pollution helps to protect the environment; the use of chemicals, such as household cleaning materials, vehicles and the human body, that go through sewage channels and end up in water extensions, which are not good for animals, plants, and humans. 

Chemical alternatives can be used to clean the house and use natural detergents. 
For example, apple cider vinegar can be used with water, making a paste made from baking soda and salt.

It is important to rationalize the daily water consumption by repairing any leaks of water in the house, re-using the water to clean the bathroom, or to irrigate the plants in the garden.

Use solar panels

 It is preferable to install solar panels on the roof of the house. It is considered an alternative energy source and a good means of protecting the environment. 
It can be used for heating water. It turns the sun into electricity without causing pollution to the environment. 
It also requires little maintenance to function efficiently, noise is not generated during the electricity production process, and solar panel technology continues to evolve to reduce the cost of production and increase its efficiency.

Minimize the use of plastic

The plastic used in several industries should be minimized; it is a non-biodegradable material in the soil, and the use of other plastics alternatives is environmentally friendly. 
There are some ways in which plastic can be minimized:

• Use glass jars to keep things in the fridge, stainless steel, or metal ice cubes; there is a common belief that plastic is the only material in which the substances can be stored, that's not completely true, there are many other better alternatives and useful materials that can store substances safely.  
• Take drinks in plastic bottles less often; soft drinks and fruit juices are often sold in plastic bottles, but there are other alternatives, such as buying beverages in recyclable or re-used bottles or cardboard, etc.
• Use soap molds instead of liquid soap, which is usually found in plastic containers, and use paper tissues manufactured without plastic parts.

Other methods of Environmental Protection

⇨Take care of plants and trees, so as to intensify vegetation and to go green and save green. 

⇨Use organic fertilizer produced from kitchen waste and animals, rather than chemical fertilizers that cause great harm to animals.

⇨Establish strict laws that penalize individuals who seek to harm the environment, such as punishing factory owners who neglect to place filters in their factories or who discharge their factory water into seawater and river waters.

⇨Work on separating the waste from each other, so that there are containers for glass and other for plastic, and other papers, and one of the kitchen waste, in order to take advantage of the largest possible recyclable materials that can be recycled, and so on. 

⇨Separate the absorption drills from groundwater wells.

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By: Mahtab Alam Quddusi