:The unscientific disposal of wastes and pollution in urban water bodies has caused immense problems not only to human beings but also to the aquatic biodiversity. Assessment of heavy metals in Vartur Lake, Bangalore, revealed that Cadmium (Cd), Cobalt (Co), Chromium (Cr), Nickel (Ni), and Lead (Pb) all exceeded drinking water standards. Nevertheless, Chromium (Cr) exceeded the CPCB's tolerance limits for water bodies subjected to effluent discharge. In Eichornia crassipes, Cd, Co, Cr, and Ni were critical. In the sediments, Cadmium (Cd) and Nickel (Ni) exceeded the Probable Effect Level (PEL). Sediment Geo-accumulation Index of the lake showed moderate contamination with Mn, Cu, and Pb. Cr had the highest plant/sediments metal concentration factor even though its bioavailability in plants (71.5 ppm) was lower compared to Manganese (192.3 ppm). This calls for immediate action to be implemented to carry out necessary environmental mitigation measures for the lake.

Water is cradle of life.To protect this precious resource, one needs a stringent enforcement system meant for its conservation, sanitation and supply.Environmental laws are meant to set standards for what people and institutions must do to control or prevent environmental pollution including water.After enactment it becomes the job of the central and state governments to make sure that those who are subject to these environmental protection laws know what they must do to comply.In this case,we have designated central and state institutions called the Central and State Pollution Control Boards respectively. Their primary role is the enforcement of the Environmental Protection Act(EPA) and its constituent statutory frameworks dating back to the Post Stockholm environmental laws such as the water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974.This paper provides an insight into the evolution and development of the legal aspects of water pollution and its environment-related laws in India.It gives an assessment of these environment-related laws in a context of Pre-Stockholm and Post-Stockholm statutory frameworks.The structural arrangements and functioning of the pollution control boards and the persistent challenges that they face in enforcing the laws of the land aimed at environmental protection are vital in understanding environmental management at policy and action levels.This is were citizen participation is vital.

Never before in the history of the islands of Zanzibar has an issue of environmental concern evoked such a passionate debate and been of such controversy as the current problem of unregulated import and selling of Used and Waste Electricals and Electronics Equipment (also known as e-waste). Initially, for many decades since the economic liberalization of the country in 1984, “Second Hand Goods” were mainly understood to be garments, shoes, and the reconditioned Japanese vehicles imported into the country. However, the period between the late 1990s and the beginning of 21st Century saw a new trend of imports where almost all consumer products, particularly the domestic electrical and electronic appliances, were flooded into the local markets from the Far East (China). These mainly included Calculators, Battery Cells, Electronic and Electrical Toys, TV sets, Video Recorders, DVD/CD Players, Radio Sets, assembled desktop computers, etc. The Zanzibar Chamber of Commerce believes that such imports of used products have improved the living standards of much of the impoverished population of the country, while the Department of Trade complains about its limited mandate in safeguarding the interests of the country’s vulnerable consumers. Who’s on the right side of the debate with respect to this issue? As the debate about how to approach this issue continues, so are the environmental impacts and concerns associated with the unregulated import, handling and final disposal of these products.

Remote sensing data have been used to derive thematic information of various natural resources and environment.The type and level of information extracted depends on the expertise of the analyst and what he/she is looking for in the data.An application in remote sensing is the practical use to which a series of aerial satellite images are put. The application of remote sensing or earth observation techniques to atmospheric, Earth and environmental sciences can vary according to the final user's requirements.The utilization of remote sensing data can be broadly classified into three categories as a baseline data generator for a variety of environmental resources; as a tool to monitor change detection, Environmental monitoring, and for mapping purposes. Different environmental applications require different frequencies of information updates for monitoring to be effective. Environment phenomena such as weather systems, natural hazards, and other rarely extreme events such as tsunamis; pollution or oceanographic events are very dynamic and rapidly develop over minutes and hours. Therefore for satellite data to be useful in their analysis imaging frequency and data delivery has to be atleast several times a day. At present only low spatial resolution meteorological satellite data can meet this need. Other applications such as crop monitoring require better spatial detail but rates of change occur only over a matter of weeks and therefore image updates need not be more frequent than weekly or monthly. This data can be processed, refined, and managed with the use of advanced tools such as Geographic Information System(GIS) and Geographic Positioning System(GPS).