Unit 1 - Introduction

Topics under this unit 

Ø MULTIDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Ø SCOPE AND IMPORTANCE

Ø CONCEPT OF SUSTAINIBILITY

Ø CONCEPT OF SUSTAINIBLE DEVELOPMENT

WHAT IS ENVIRONMENT

The word ‘environment’ is derived from the old French word  ‘environer’ – which means to ‘surround, enclose, and encircle’. Environment refers to an aggregate of conditions or surroundings in which living beings such as humans, animals, and plants live or survive and non-living things exist. All living beings including man and their environment are mutually reactive, affecting each other in a number of ways. It is generally equated with nature wherein physical components of the planet earth such as earth, air, water, etc. support and affect life in the biosphere.

The environment broadly includes living and non living components which are listed below.

Abiotic

Light, climate (humidity and temperature)atmospheric gases, water, substrata (soil, river/sea bed).

Biotic

Living organisms including plants,animals, microorganisms (bacteria,fungi, protozoa), and human beings.

A.Abiotic components

i. Light – Sunlight provides energy. Green plants utilize sun light for photosynthesis for synthesizing food for themselves as well as all other living organisms.

ii. Rainfall –Water is essential for all living beings. Majority of biochemical reactions take place in an aqueous medium. Water helps to regulate body temperature. Further,water bodies form the habitat for many aquatic plants and animals.

iii. Temperature– Temperature is a critical factor of the environment which greatly influences survival of organisms. Organisms can tolerate only a certain range of temperature and humidity.

iv. Atmosphere - The earth’s atmosphere is made of 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen and 0.038% carbon dioxide. Rest are inert gases (0.93%Argon, Neon etc).

v. Substratum- Organisms may be terrestrial or aquatic. Land is covered by soil and a wide variety of microbes, protozoa, fungi and small animals (invertebrates) thrive in it.Roots of plants pierce through the soil to tap water and nutrients. Terrestrial animals live on land.Aquatic plants, animals and microbes live in fresh water as well as in the

sea. Some microbes live even in hot water vents under the sea.

B. Biotic components

i. Green Plants – Prepare food through photosynthesis for all living organisms.

ii. Animals – Individuals of the same species occur in a particular type of habitat. They also live with other species. One species forms food for another. Micro-organisms and fungi decompose dead plants and animals releasing nutrients locked in bodies of dead organisms for reuse by the growing plants. Living organisms, therefore, need both abiotic and biotic components of the environment for survival.A delicately balanced relationship between living organisms and their environment is critically important for their survival.

WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES ?

Environmental studies is essentially a multidisciplinary approach that brings seeks to build our knowledge of the importance of our natural world, with the purpose of studying the impacts of human beings on its structure, functions and continuity. It is an applied science as its seeks practical answers to making human civilization sustainable on the earth’s finite resources.Its components include biology, geology, chemistry, physics, engineering, sociology, health,anthropology, economics, statistics, computers and philosophy.

 In short it deals with every issue that affects an organism in its environment.

WHAT IS THE SCOPE and IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES ?

Environmental studies deals with a wide field of topics, that humans have caused severe impacts since the dawn of history. Under it we can study topics related to the following issues:

1)    Issues related to LAND DEGRADATION: Ninety-five per cent of our basic needs for food, shelter and clothing are obtained from land. Human activities have not only brought about degradation of land but have also aggravated the pace of natural forces to cause damage to land. At present, there are about 130 million hectares of degraded land in India. Approximately, 28 per cent of it belongs to the category of forest degraded area, 56 per cent of it is water eroded area and the rest is affected by saline and alkaline deposits. Some human activities such as deforestation, over grazing, mining and quarrying too have contributed significantly in land degradation. Mining sites are abandoned after excavation work is complete leaving deep scars and traces of over-burdening. In states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa deforestation due to mining have caused severe land degradation. In states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra overgrazing is one of the main reasons for land degradation. In the states of Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, over irrigation is responsible for land degradation due to water logging leading to increase in salinity and alkalinity in the soil. The mineral processing like grinding of limestone for cement industry and calcite and soapstone for ceramic industry generate huge quantity of dust in the atmosphere. It retards the process of infiltration of water into the soil after it settles down on the land. In recent years, industrial effluents as waste have become a major source of land and water pollution in many parts of the country.

2)    Issues relating to Forests: Forests are the dominant terrestrial ecosystem of Earth, and are distributed across the globe. Forests account for 75% of the gross primary productivity of the Earth's biosphere, and contains 80% of the Earth's plant biomass. Due to increasing population and consequential expansion of modern civilization, there has been continuous depletion of natural forests over the centuries. In 1990, the world had 4128 million ha of forest; by 2015 this area had decreased to 3999 million ha. This is a change from 31.6 percent of global land area in 1990 to 30.6 percent in 2015. Average per capita forest area declined from 0.8 ha to 0.6 ha per person from 1990 to 2015.Over the past 25 years, global carbon stocks in forest biomass have decreased by almost 11 gigatonnes (Gt). This reduction has been mainly driven by conversion to other land uses and to a lesser extent by forest degradation.

3)    Issues related to Climate Change : Scientists, environmentalists, and biologists worldwide are now alarmed that climate change can have an impact on the drainage pattern and hydrological cycle on the earth thereby severely affecting the surface and groundwater availability.Climate change is believed to rise the global temperature at an increasing pace. Temperature increase affects the hydrological cycle by directly increasing evaporation of available surface water and vegetation transpiration. As a result, precipitation amount, timing and intensity rates are largely affected. It impacts the flux and storage of water in surface and subsurface reservoirs.

4)    Issues related to Floods & Draughts: Floods and droughts are two well-known natural hazards in the world. The former is due to excess in water flow and the latter is due to scarcity of water. The amount of rainfall received by an area varies from one place to another depending on the location of the place. In some places it rains almost throughout the year whereas in other places it might rain for only few days. India records most of its rainfall in the monsoon season. Heavy rains lead to rise in the water level of rivers, seas, and oceans. Water gets accumulated in the coastal areas, which results in floods. Floods bring in extensive damage to crops, domestic animals, property and human life. During floods, many animals get carried away by the force of water and eventually die. On the other hand, droughts set in when a particular region goes without rain for a long period of time. In the meantime, the soil will continuously lose groundwater by the process of evaporation and transpiration. Since this water is not brought back to earth in the form of rains, the soil becomes very dry. The level of water in the ponds and rivers goes down and in some cases water bodies get dried up completely. Ground water becomes scarce and this leads to droughts. In drought conditions, it is very difficult to get food and fodder for the survival. Life gets difficult and many animals perish in such conditions. Frequent floods and droughts are mostly due to climate change and global warming. Various environmental organizations world over are of the view that climate change is a long-term change in weather patterns, either in average weather conditions or in the distribution of extreme weather events.

5)    Issues related to overutilization of Surface and Ground Water: Water scarcity has become a burning global issue. The UN has held several conventions on water in recent decades. Continuous overutilization of surface and ground water has led to virtual water scarcity in the world today. The depleting sources for high growth in human population over the centuries and increased man-induced water pollution across the world have created unforeseen water scarcity around the globe. As a result, there has been continuous overutilization of the existing water sources due to mammoth growth in world population. Groundwater is the major source of water in many parts of the world. However, there has been continuous depletion of this source due to its overexploitation by rising human population and the rapid rise in industrialization and urbanization in modern times.

6)    Issues related to Biodiversity destruction: Today, major loss to biodiversity in the world has been done by man. Man has begun to overuse or misuse most of these natural ecosystems. Due to mindless and unsustainable resource use, once productive forest and grasslands have been turned into deserts, and wastelands have increased all over the world. Rapid industrialization, urbanization, and growth in population have resulted in massive deforestation and consequential habitat loss around the world. For instance, mangroves have been cleared for fuel-wood and prawn farming, which has led to a decrease in the habitat essential for breeding of marine fish. Forests all over the world, in particular tropical rainforests such as the Amazon, are under unforeseen threat largely from conversion to other land-uses. Scientists have estimated that human activities are likely to eliminate approximately 10 million species by the year 2050. It is also estimated that at the present rate of extinction about 25 percent of the world’s species will undergo extinction fairly rapidly. Rich biodiversities such as tropical forests, wetlands, and coral reefs world over will constitute the major part of this extinction.

7)    Issues related to Poaching of Wildlife : Poaching of wildlife for trade and commercial activities has been on the rise for the last many decades. It has been a significant cause of the extinction of hundreds of species and the endangerment of many more, such as whales and many African large mammal, Asian tigers, etc. Most extinction over the past several hundred years is mainly due to overharvesting for food, fashion, and profit. Illicit trade in wildlife in current times is driving many species of wild animals and plants to extinction. Elephants are poached for ivory; tigers and leopards for their skin; pangolins for meat and scales; and rare timber is targeted for hardwood furniture. The global illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be between $7 billion and $23 billion in illicit revenue annually. It is now considered the most lucrative global crime after drugs,humans, and arms. In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution for tackling illicit trafficking in wildlife. The Sustainable Development Goals has laid down specific targets to combat poaching and trafficking of protected species.

8)    Issues related to Man-Wildlife Conflict : Man-wildlife conflict refers to the interaction between wild animals and people and the consequential negative impact on both of them. Human population growth and the resultant destruction of wildlife habitat for human habitation and economic prosperity create reduction of resources or life to some people and wild animals. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) defines this conflict as “any interaction between humans and wildlife that results in a negative impact on human social, economic, or cultural life, on the conservation of wildlife population, or on the environment.” Although man-wildlife conflict is as old as human civilization, in modern times the degree of conflict has been on the rise due to high rise in human population in the past several centuries. Since human populations expand into wild animal habitats, natural wildlife territory is displaced. Reduction in the availability of natural prey/food sources leads to wild animals seeking alternate sources. Alternately, new resources created by humans draw wildlife resulting in conflict. Competition for food resources also occurs when humans attempt to harvest natural resources such as fish and grassland pasture.

9)    Issues related to Pollution: Pollution of air, water and soil require millions of years to recoup. Industry and motor vehicle exhaust are the number one pollutants. Heavy metals, nitrates and plastic are toxins responsible for pollution. While water pollution is caused by oil spill, acid rain, urban runoff; air pollution is caused by various gases and toxins released by industries and factories and combustion of fossil fuels; soil pollution is majorly caused by industrial waste that deprives soil from essential nutrients.

10)                      Issues related to Waste Disposal: The over consumption of resources and creation of plastics are creating a global crisis of waste disposal. Developed countries are notorious for producing an excessive amount of waste or garbage and dumping their waste in the oceans and, less developed countries. Nuclear waste disposal has tremendous health hazards associated with it. Plastic, fast food, packaging and cheap electronic wastes threaten the well being of humans. Waste disposal is one of urgent current environmental problem.

Environmental studies thus deal with every issue that affects an organism in its environment, and specially the impact of Human activity on nature. Thus from the above discussion we can understand the serious importance of the subject and the overall scope of Environmental studies.