Environmental Ethics and Sustainable Living
Domain 7 examines duties to nature, intergenerational justice and practical sustainable living, linking Indian traditions to contemporary policy concepts.
Ethical frameworks
- Anthropocentrism centres human interests; biocentrism values living beings; ecocentrism values ecosystems as wholes.
- Intergenerational equity: present choices must not destroy future generations’ options.
- Precautionary principle: act to prevent serious harm even under uncertainty.
- Polluter pays and common but differentiated responsibilities in environmental law.
- Sustainable development, defined by the Brundtland Report (1987), meets present needs without compromising future generations; the SDGs operationalize it.
Indian and Tamil resources
- Ahimsa and reverence for trees, rivers and animals; sacred groves as community conservation.
- Tamil eri tanks, kudimaramathu community maintenance and harvest festivals express ecological reciprocity.
- Practical tools: reduce, reuse, recycle; energy and water efficiency; waste segregation; local purchasing.
Worked example
A village tank has silted up and a builder wants the land. A strong answer calculates flood storage, groundwater recharge and irrigation benefits, identifies downstream users, and applies intergenerational equity and precaution. Restoration with community maintenance may cost less than disaster relief and protects common property. The answer should also address unequal access, not just “save nature.”
Traps that cost marks
- Setting environment against development as a false binary.
- Accepting greenwashing without evidence.
- Ignoring policy and collective action while blaming individuals only.
- Confusing conservation with total non-use.
- Forgetting social equity in environmental decisions.