ENVIRONMENTAL

SCIENCE
Semester – IV

Edition: 2018
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form,
by any means, without written permission from JAIN UNIVERSITY

The material is developed for the students of JAIN UNIVERSITY

For Internal Circulation Only

Edition: 2018

Developed by:

School of Commerce Studies,

JAIN UNIVERISTY

Published Printed by:

Center for Virtual Learning & Innovation,

JAIN UNIVERSITY
 MODULE-1

Module 1

Environment Science - A Multidisciplinary Subject

Structure
Learning Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 What exactly is environment?
1.3 Key terms related to environment.
1.4 Is environment a multidisciplinary subject?
1.5 Global, local and individualistic nature of environment
1.6 Need of public awareness.
1.7 Summary
1.8 Questions
1.9 Answers

Learning Objectives
At the end of the unit you will be able to:
>Understand environment
>Its multidisciplinary nature
> Its relevance at individual, local and global levels

1.1 Introduction
Chinese proverb, ‘If you plan for one year, plant rice, if you plan for ten
years, plant trees, if you plan for hundred years, educate people’
This education has to be in terms of our environment and its management
to be able to sustain our environment and consequently quality of life.

1.2 What exactly is environment?

Environment in one word means surroundings (obviously of
organisms)

1
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Environment is a collective term embracing all the conditions

in which an organism lives, for example, light, temperature, water and
other organisms. Some components of environment like soil water
etc serve as resource while other components such as temperature,
light etc. act as regulatory factor (to the organism). All components of
environment are interlinked and interdependent. 
The environment in relation to man is the sum total of all- social,
economical, biological, physical or chemical factors which constitutes
the surroundings of man, who is both creator and moulder of his
environment.
It is implicit in the above two descriptions of environment that
there can be  two types of environment; environment in natural form
without the interference of man is called natural environment and
environment changed or modified by the interference of human beings
is called man-made environment.

1.3 Key terms related to environment.

Weather- It refers to the short term properties of the atmosphere at
a particular place at a given time as regards heat, cloudiness, dryness,
sunshine, wind, rain, etc.
Climate- Climate is the weather averaged over a long period, the
standard averaging period being 30 years.
Habitat- It is the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the
physical environment that one finds around (influences and is utilized
by) different species. The habitat may be small as a burrow or very large
as ocean.
Ecological Niche- It is the role that an animal or plant species plays
in the environment, the status of an organism within its environment,
which affects its survival. Two species can occupy the same habitat in a
community but cannot occupy the same niche for a long time as it would
result in competition and survival of the fittest.
Biome- A large regional unit  characterized by distinctive plant and
2
 MODULE-1

animal species and with similar climatic conditions over the whole
region, especially such a community that has developed to climax. E.g.
desert, tropical rain forest etc.
Biosphere- Part of the Earth’s surface and atmosphere that contains the
entire terrestrial ecosystem, and extends from ocean depths to about
six kilometers above sea level which contains all living organisms and
what supports them, the soil, subsurface water, bodies of water, air and
includes hydrosphere and lithosphere. It is also called ecosphere.
Ecological Hierarchy – It is a series of graded ecological categories or
levels of organization, with the smallest unit being organism which is
an individual form of life such as a plant, an animal. Similar organisms
are called a species and the plants or organisms inhabiting a particular
area at a specific time constitute a population and various populations
present in a given area at a particular time constitute a community.
A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical
environment is termed as ecosystem. Above in hierarchy is biome,
followed by the whole of biosphere.

1.4 Is Environment a Multidisciplinary subject?

Environmental studies deal with every issue that affects an
organism and so it is essentially a multidisciplinary approach that
brings about an appreciation of our natural world and human impacts
on it. It is an applied science as it seeks practical answers in making
human civilization sustainable on the earth’s finite resources.
Its components include
1. Life Sciences including botany, zoology, microbiology etc help
in understanding the biotic and abiotic components of the
environment.
2. Geosciences are the sciences related to the planet Earth and
include topics of geology, oceanography, hydrology, soil science
etc Apart from these physics, chemistry and atmospheric
sciences together help us understand the physical and chemical
structure and also the mass and energy transfers in the abiotic
3
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

environment.
3. Engineering includes civil, chemical, hydraulics, nanotechnology
which help provide solutions to environmental problems.
4. Health is vital and it is important to be aware how our environment
affects our health.
5. Anthropology is the study of humanity and anthropological
insights could help in understanding the nature of the man
made environment and also deals with finding solutions to the
problems caused by man’s intervention in nature.
6. Economics and sociology provide inputs in dealing with socio-
economic aspects associated with various development activities
7. Statistics, mathematics and computer science are tools required
in environment modeling
8. Philosophy is required to understand and enhance the spiritual
environment, the inner health and peace of the individual which
can help in the holistic development of the society.
9. Environment education and mass communication help in
spreading environmental awareness

Fig 1.1 Diagrammatic representation of the Multidisciplinary nature of

environment science
4
 MODULE-1

1.5 Global, Local and Individualistic Nature of Environment.

Environment is a closely and intricately woven network of

components and functions. Any change affects all the components of the
environment. The various levels at which the changes affect, reflect the
global, local or individualistic nature of environment.

To explain how any act can have far reaching effects, let us
consider the example of the far reaching effects of the isolated act of
damage to the forests of a hilly region. Cutting down trees destroys the
habitat of a variety of flora and fauna thus reducing biodiversity which
is a wealth to the field of medicine. The deforestation on hills also leads
to erosion of soil from these hills during heavy rains. These hills are
catchments of streams and rivers and the soil that is carried by the
streams and rivers is deposited in the bottom of rivers which in turn
raises the river bottom (which is called siltation). The disastrous floods
of 1978 and 1980 which inundated almost all north India can to a large
extent was due to siltation of river beds. The siltation was a result of
felling of soil holding trees in the mountains affecting the length and
breadth of the Indo-Gangetic Plain . As the river bears with it its load
of silt and mud out to the sea, harbours too are silted up, making it
necessary to continuously carry out expensive dredging operations. All
this loss and expense affects the economy of the country. Apart from
all this, ground water is also being lost because water falling on hills
can be halted and can get percolated into the earth only if there is a
good cover of trees. Thus a single act of cutting of trees on hills has far
reaching effects- endangers various rare flora and fauna; erosion of soil
results in siltation of river and harbours which in turn leads to frequent
floods and dredging needs in harbours. Consequently there is loss of
soil, ground water, production, wealth.

There are environmental issues or changes which may occur at

any place but affects the globe as a whole and such issues reflect the
5
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

global nature of environment. For example, the green house gases in any
region affects the globe as a whole by increasing the over all temperature
over the years, that is it aggravates the process of global warming. CFCs
contributed by any act on earth anywhere effects the whole globe by
ultimately reaching the ozone layer and depleting it. Dwindling of
energy resources like petroleum would make us dependants on nuclear
fuels until they reach the stage of exhaustion too. Thus depleting energy
resources is a global problem. Dwindling biodiversity would make us
lose on valuable plants which could have been useful in the field of
medicine, and so to the whole humanity.
Issues like ground water pollution, hydroelectric projects,
impacts of mining etc effect a local area. These are local issues with
respect to environment. For example the region of Hinkley in California
was affected by hexavalent chromium in its groundwater percolated
from the unlined ponds from the cooling towers of PG&E. The
wastewater percolated into the groundwater, affected an area near the
plant approximately two miles long and nearly a mile wide. It adversely
affected the health of people who had been living in that area. Thus the
factors that constitute and influence the local environment reflect the
local nature of environment.
Individually each person needs clean air, clean water, healthy
food, clean and safe surroundings. The nature of the water, food and air
that an individual uses or interacts with constitutes the individual nature
of the environment. Any issues affecting our immediate surroundings
thus affect us. Thus, the most mundane needs and interactions of man
are related to our environment, so it becomes essential to understand
and preserve our environment at the individual, local and global levels.

1.6 Need for Public Awareness

In reality, environment consciousness is more difficult to
incorporate in the psyche of people as economic concerns make
people blind to the effects that a particular economic activity can have
on the environment. For example poachers know for a fact that there
6
 MODULE-1

are only a few hundred tigers left in the forests of India, but they are
more concerned about their economic needs. It is important to educate
the people that sometimes the adverse effects on us of the altered
environment is not experienced or noticed until a threshold is crossed.
The public has to be educated about the fact that if we are degrading the
environment we are actually harming our own selves, our own health
and our own future.

A passion for environment is essential to develop a change in the

consumption pattern of the populace (for example all people aware of
the problems of pollution still travel by private vehicle, do not switch off
their vehicles at traffic signals, use plastic covers extensively). Care for
environment is required to push a change in the individual consumption
pattern which is possible only through education.

Environment study necessarily requires developing awareness

of what is going on in the world. The holistic approach to teaching
of environment science in schools and holistic study of each topic
(understanding interconnections) is required to develop the ability of
problem solving, as the real purpose of studying environment science
is to be able to find solutions. The intelligence of the student pool is
required to find new ways out of the current deplorable situation.

1.7 Summary

• Study of a number of subjects is required to understand and find

solutions for environmental problems
• What we do to our environment actually comes back to us as all
components of environment are interconnected
• Creating awareness about environment and the interconnectedness
of all components is essential to replace indifference to environment
with proactive interest

7
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

1.8 Terminal Questions

1. Identify a local problem and what should be the approach to solve it.
2. One global problem is the threat to the biodiversity. Find out the
global level approach taken to reduce the threat?
3. How can an environmentally aware individual contribute towards a
healthy environment?

Activities

1. From your home to your college, note down the various features,
peculiarities and any major problem of your environment.
2. What would you need to study to resolve that particular problem?

1.9 Answers

Terminal Questions
1. Example: Noise pollution; planting quick growing shrubs and
trees in the vicinity
2. Refer “suggested reading”- conventions like CBD
3. Refer section 1.5

References
Our Environment , Laeeq Futehally, 1988, National Book Trust, India
http://www.newagepublishers.com/samplechapter/001426.pdf

*****

8
 MODULE - 2

Module 2

NATURAL RESOURCES

Structure

Learning Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Classification
2.3 Major Natural Resources
2.4 Summary
2.5 Questions
2.6 Answers

Objectives
At the end of the unit you will be able to:
• Understand natural resources and their importance
• Understand the issues that affect our resources and what we can do
to sustain them.

2.1 Introduction
There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for
man’s greed. 
~Mohandas K. Gandhi

A substance in nature becomes a resource when it is being

utilized. Thus natural resources can be defined as those natural reserve
stocks of supply, which man utilizes for his sustenance and welfare. The
reservoirs of natural resources are- (1) the sun (2) the atmosphere (3)
the lithosphere (4) the hydrosphere. Examples of natural resources
provided by these reservoirs are air, water, soil, coal, minerals, coal,
forests, crops, wildlife

9
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

2.2 Classification
Classification of resources can be done in three major ways.
I. Exhaustible and Inexhaustible resources
II. Renewable and Non renewable resources
III. Biotic and Abiotic resources (Traditional Classification)

I. Exhaustible Resources are those which are limited and can be

diminished or degraded if improperly used. E.g. fossil fuels
Inexhaustible Resources are those that will never run out (though
air can be qualitatively affected by pollution and become limiting). E.g.
Sunlight, air
II. Renewable Resources are those that can be replaced in a timely
manner, which include wild life, plants, trees, water, grass and wind
energy.
Non renewable resources may be irreplaceable once extracted from
water or soil and include gold, silver, fossil fuels, diamonds, natural gas,
copper and ore
III. Biotic resources include all living things and their products e.g.
forests and their products
Abiotic resources include all non living resources such as minerals,
fossil fuels and natural gas.

Fig 2.1 Diagrammatical depiction of the classification of resources

to understand how they are inter twined
10
 MODULE - 2

2.3 Major Natural Resources

It is very important to protect and conserve our natural resources
and use them in a judicious manner so that we donot exhaust them.
To be able to sustain resources we need to understand them and their
problems.
The major natural resources are:-
1. Forest resources 2. Water resources
3. Mineral resources 4. Food resources
5. Land resources

2.3.1. Forest resources

A forest can be defined as a biotic community predominantly of
trees, shrubs or any other woody vegetation usually with a closed canopy.
Depending upon the type of dominant vegetation, the forest biomes can
be classified into coniferous forest, tropical forest and temperate forest.
There are two broad categories of functions that forests perform.
The protective forests on hill slopes protect the soil and keep it in place;
the productive forest produce timber and other forest produce like
bamboo, cane and thatch. A third type of forest that is being included is
the social forest. The growing magnitude of our need for wood, matched
by the destruction of trees by our rapidly multiplying population has
made it important to plant and maintain many small areas of forests for
local needs.
We should recognize the importance for forest conservation as the
damage caused to environment when the original forest resources are
destroyed cannot always be corrected. Afforestation and reforestation
efforts should match the rate of exploitation of forests, which is more
often not the case. Reforestation of hilly regions is of utmost importance
as it helps flood prevention as tree roots hold the water and prevent
excess run off. The soil of the Himalayan region is rich and deep and
there is a chance of the new plantation in reforestation effort of growing
quickly. But the case with Western Ghats is not the same, where the soil
is thin and Laterite, held in place for centuries only by the tree roots.
11
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Once denuded, a slope on the western ghats cannot be replanted, for

the thin soil is almost immediately washed away. These were protective
forests but all over the country the ‘protective forests on the hillsides
have either gone, or are in the process of going. If a forest loses 40%
of its strength, it ceases to be efficacious, and can no longer protect the
soil. Therefore it is important to understand that the mistakes we make
in deforestation cannot always be remedied by reforestation. According
to Laeeq Futehalli “To reduce our forest area in size or quality, is to
deliberately impoverish our country, and ultimately, our earth. We must
think of ourselves not only as beneficiaries but also as trustees of the
wealth which comes to us through our forests.”

Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in

an area where the preceding vegetation or land use was not forest.

Reforestation is the reestablishment of forest cover either naturally

(by natural seeding, coppice, or root suckers) or artificially (by direct
seeding or planting), usually maintaining a same or similar forest type,
and done promptly after the previous stand or forest was removed.

Destruction of whole blocks of forests takes place to make room for
other activities like agriculture, hydro-electric projects or for resettling
refugees. But a great deal of forests is destroyed by more indirect
methods. While remaining a forest in name its character is drastically
changed in a manner that it cannot fulfill its role. The issues that make
a forest loose its character is in one word ‘exotics’. The invasion of
imported (exotic) plants which do not rightfully belong in our country,
once it captures the forest, it is virtually impossible to free it. An exotic
plant is a plant which has evolved in another geographical area far
away, but with a similar climate. By some chance- quite often human
–a seed or plant finds its way into our areas-like our forests. Here its
natural enemies are absent – that is, those animals, birds and insects,
which feeds on it, and so the exotic spreads everywhere unhampered by
12
 MODULE - 2

pests and predators. Meanwhile it does not provide suitable food and
shelter for the local animals for it could be strange tasting, unfamiliar,
indigestible or even poisonous. Thus the exotic plants with no natural
checks or enemies spread all through the forest, overwhelming the local
vegetation. The reduction in quantity of the natural vegetation means a
reduction in the food available for the forest animals, and this upsetting
of the balance starts a chain reaction where the vegetation and animals
both suffer, and the total quality of the forest is greatly diminished.
1. The eupatorium is an escapee from South America. It is a man
high bushy shrub which first appeared in our forests around the
1960s. Being without enemies it began to spread rapidly. Apart
from all the issues that are associated with the spread of exotic
plants as mentioned above, eupatorium has another alarming
characteristic; it is prone to catch fire during the dry months.
The eupatorium is such a disaster to our forests in every way
that unless we interfere we might find that our fine forests have
become eupatorium deserts.
2. Another exotic problem but of a different kind is the eucalyptus
which is native of Australia. Since it is very fast growing and
therefore useful for producing, quick timber, especially for
pulp and paper making, it was planted extensively in India,
especially in the south. It only grows where it is planted but its
great drawback is that its roots draw up a tremendous amount
of moisture from the ground, so that a large stand of eucalyptus
trees can reduce the water table of an entire area. It gives little
food or shelter to any native bird or animal, and except for one or
two special varieties, the native vegetation does not grow in its
shade. In other words, the eucalyptus does not integrate with the
local flora or fauna and a eucalyptus plantation remains a sterile
commercial plantation. It never becomes a part of a forest and so
it must not be mixed up with the forest proper and should rather
be treated as a crop.

13
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

The Kolar district of Karnataka is one of the leaders in Social Forestry

with World Bank Aid, but all its 11 taluks suffer from drought. It is
because the tree used for plantation here was Eucalyptus which later
came to be known to lower the water table because of its high tran-
spiration rate. This case speaks for the amount of damage we do to
our own region by our lack of understanding of the infinite aspects
of nature. Activities with least interference to natural processes or
replicating what existed naturally in an area(planting indigenous
trees) is the best option keeping in view that only nature knows best..

Uses of Forests
1. Commercial uses like timber, firewood, pulpwood, food items,
gum, resins, non-edible oils, rubber, fibers, lac, bamboo canes,
fodder, medicine, drugs etc.
2. Ecological services include production of oxygen, reduction
of global warming by absorbing CO2, habitat for wild animals,
regulation of hydrological cycle by absorbing water into soil and
recharging springs, soil conservation, improving air quality.
3. Proximity to forest area has uses like, reduction in heat due
to transpiration from the large mass of leaves in a forest. Thus
they help to moderate climate. The reduction in the number of
forests and trees near towns like Ranchi and Pune have made the
towns more scorching, forests near farmlands break the force
of wind, provides stillness and so protects the agricultural land
from losing the fertile top soil, pest population is also controlled
as the forest provides the natural enemies for the pests

Causes of deforestation
1. Increasing population and livestock resulting in increased
requirement of timber, fuel wood, land for grazing, for farms, for
habitation etc
2. Industrialization, paper industries, plywood industries based
on forest produce, clearing areas for setting up industries without

14
 MODULE - 2

considerations or assessments, all cause gradual decline of

forests. For example the finest areas of the great sal belt of north
India (Bihar) were sacrificed to build the industrial township of
Rourkela, Durgapur and Bhilai.
This case depicts how decisions favouring short term benefits leads
to long-term loss. As with the forest gone the climate of the locality be-
came unbearably hot and Bihar became a prey to alternating floods and
drought, even the local populace was found to be unable to adapt to work
in factories removed from their usual way of living on forest produce.
3. Activities like mining and quarrying are also responsible for
large scale deforestation.
4. Big dams and river valley projects are also responsible for the
destruction vast areas of forests
5. Other factors in the past have been shifting cultivation, allotting
forest land to refugees to accommodate the waves of refugees
over the last 25 years from Tibet, Burma, Sri Lanka, East Africa
and Pakistan

Hazards of Deforestation
1. Soil Erosion, increase of floods, heavy siltation of dams due to
soil lost from deforested hills
2. Depletion of resources like timber , firewood etc
3. Changes in the microclimate
4. Destruction of wildlife as the forest habitat is lost and depletion
of biodiversity in terms of both flora and fauna.
5. Desertification of formerly fertile lands, leading to loss of
precious land
6. Destruction of the scenic beauty of the environment

Forest Conservation measures

In 1953 Indian government drew up a National Forest Policy
whose main directive was that 33% of the land surface must remain
under forest, but less than 50 years later, we find that the area of forest
has been reduced to about 11% of the land surface
15
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

The central and State Government has launched several

afforestation programmes throughout the country as a part of the forest
conservation policy.
1. The Social Forestry Programme was launched in 1976 which
seeks to use public as well as waste land to grow firewood, fodder
and small timber to meet the daily requirements of the rural people
2. Another afforestation measure is the Urban Forestry Programme.
Have you noticed the trees in your city? What sort are the trees
throughout the length of the roadsides, are they impressive looking
(ornamental), shady or fruit trees? Urban forestry programme
involves planting of trees for aesthetic purposes in urban areas,
fruit trees and flower trees are also planted along roadsides and
also in the private compounds. Ornamental trees are planted in
vacant land and parks in the urban areas. These plants reduce air
pollution and also increase the scenic beauty of the area.
3. Agroforestry Programme encourages the use of a single block of
land for farming, forestry and animal husbandry. The forest area
enriches and protects the agricultural area and the crops. The
grass in the shade of trees especially during the hot months is more
nutritious for cattle and grazing to a limited extent also does no
major harm to a forest.

What can the common people do to help with forest conservation?

There are several movements started by people, for example the Chipko
Movement in Tehri Garhwal area of UP was initiated by Shree Sundar
Lal Bahuguna in1973 in which women hugged the trees and successfully
checked felling of trees by contractors.
The public agitation against the construction of a hydroelectric project
in Silent Valley saved a kind of forest now rare in India, evolved over
thousands of years, from being lost under water and this happened
as a result of public awareness towards the comparative need and
importance of preservation of nature with respect to short term benefits
of hydroelectric projects.
16
 MODULE - 2

Government drives cannot succeed without the support of local populace.

As far as Social forestry is concerned a lesson can be learnt from Gujarat
state, where every small piece of open land is used to plant trees for
fruit, fuel, wood and shade. People have to cooperate in supporting and
protecting the saplings.
Self-Assessment Question

1. Though Bangalore has a larger number of trees as compared to

other Indian cities, why according to you is it that the bird life is not
so rich? How do you think it impacts the agriculture?

2.3.2 Water Resources

Water resources are sources of water that are useful or potentially
useful to humans. Uses of water include agricultural, industrial,
constructions, household, recreational and environmental activities.
Virtually all of these human uses require fresh water.
97% of water on the Earth is salt water, and only 3% is fresh water
of which slightly over two thirds is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps.
The remaining unfrozen freshwater is mainly found as groundwater,
with only a small fraction present above ground or in the air.
Fresh water is a renewable resource, yet the world’s supply of
clean, fresh water is steadily decreasing. Water demand already exceeds
supply in many parts of the world and as the world population continues
to rise, so too does the water demand.
With the growth of human population, there is an increasing
need for larger amounts of water to fulfill a variety of basic needs. Today,
in many areas, this requirement cannot be met. The over-utilization of
water occurs at various levels .Most people use more water than they
really need. Most of us waste water during a bath by using a shower or
while washing clothes. The per capita use of water in a family of four
members in the USA is 1000m^3 per year, many times more than in the
17
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

developing countries. Many agriculturists use more water than necessary

to grow crops .There are many ways in which farmers can use less water
with out reducing yields such as the use of drip irrigation systems. It
is important to realize what the long term effects of overutilization of
water are and to understand how we could prevent major damages.

a. Overutilization of Surface and Groundwater

Water is among the most precious of natural resources. The
water coming through precipitation when does not percolate down
into the ground or is not lost as evaporation or transpiration loss
assumes the form of streams, lakes, ponds, wetlands etc. which
is known as surface water. The surface water is largely used for
public water supply, irrigation, industrial use; river water and sea
water are also used for transportation and often unfortunately for
waste disposal which is both industrial and human waste. In many
regions of the world, the pressures of economic development and
overpopulation are producing a surface-water scarcity which is both
in terms of quantity and quality. Yet in most places, groundwater
can be found within a relatively short distance below the ground
surface. The seemingly abundant supply of groundwater has led to
its indiscriminate and sometimes excessive use. However, this use
can have diverse and often wide ranging effects on the local and
regional hydrology and ecology as groundwater often supports
the water supply to streams, wetlands etc. and so their depletion
creates further surface water scarcity in connected areas. These
interdisciplinary aspects of groundwater utilization have brought
into question the concept of safe yield, defined as the maintenance of
a long-term balance between the rate of withdrawal and the rate at
which groundwater can be naturally recharged by the precipitation
and percolation which is specific to each area. A region’s groundwater
resources should be exploited without unduly compromising the
principle of sustainable development.

18
 MODULE - 2

Groundwater is the portion of the Earth’s water cycle that flows under-
ground. Groundwater originates from precipitation that percolates into
the ground. Percolation is the flow of water through soil and porous/frac-
tured rock.
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs (The World Commission on Environment and Develop-
ment, 1987).
b. Sustaining the water resource
Sustaining groundwater quantity- Sustainable utilization of
groundwater would mean utilization of ground water at a safe yield,
that is water drawn at a given point of time in an area should be
at a rate which matches its natural ground water recharge rate. For
sustainable utilization of groundwater, it is important to understand
the recycling rates and connectivity of groundwater with respect to
the surface water systems. Age is a major difference between surface
water and groundwater. Surface waters are typically fresh, distinctly
new. On a global basis, surface water recycles every 9 to 16 days with
an average of 11 days. Evaporation, evapotranspiration and surface
runoff are the agents responsible for the relatively fast recycling of
surface water. Unlike surface water, groundwater does not recycle
readily. Rates of groundwater turnover vary from days to years, and
from centuries to millennia, depending on aquifer location, type,
depth, properties, and connectivity (a layer of sediment or rock that
is highly permeable and contains water is called an aquifer) The
average time for the renewal of groundwater is 1,400 years. Shorter
renewal times tend to be associated with shallow groundwater, while
longer renewal times are associated with deep groundwater.
So it becomes important that shallow groundwater flow systems
be distinguished from deep groundwater flow systems; the former
interact with surface water, while the latter do not. Therefore the
sustainable use of groundwater should begin by tapping primarily deep
percolation, and secondarily shallow percolation. The latter should be
19
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

exploited only if its effects on the base flow (groundwater seepage into a
stream channel) of neighboring streams and water bodies are shown to
be minimal.
Excessive pumping can lead to groundwater depletion, where
groundwater is extracted at a rate faster than it can be replenished.
Unregulated groundwater use leads to the eventual depletion of the
resource. The effects of excessive groundwater development tend to
become apparent gradually, with time often measured in decades. The
unsustainable use of groundwater stands to significantly impact a host
of ecosystems. Base flow will decrease and wetlands will disappear,
streams and rivers will degrade as channel erosion (stream bank
erosion) will increase more than normally, occurs in stable river systems,
and wildlife habitat will be reduced due to effects of the depleted water
on vegetation. Other impacts include lowering of water table, drying up
of wells, ground subsidence and salt-water intrusion in coastal areas.
Therefore to assure sustainability of both ground and surface
water in any area, studies must be done to assure that the hydrological,
ecological, and other impacts of groundwater utilization are minimal.
When groundwater withdrawal is more than its recharge rate,
the sediments in the aquifer get compacted, a phenomenon known as
ground subsidence. Huge economic losses occur as it results in the sink-
ing of overlying land surface which leads to structural damage in build-
ings, fracture in pipes which causes reversing the flow of sewers and ca-
nals. As land continues to sink in coastal areas it can cause tidal flooding.

The natural balance between freshwater and saltwater in

coastal aquifers is disturbed by ground-water withdrawals and oth-
er human activities that lower ground-water levels, reduce fresh
ground-water flow to coastal waters, and ultimately cause salt-
water to intrude coastal aquifers referred as salt water intrusion.
Sustaining groundwater quality- In addition to water quantity,
sustainability must imply the preservation of water quality. A
contaminated aquifer cannot be used as a resource. Therefore, every
effort should be taken to ensure that both groundwater quantity and
20
 MODULE - 2

quality are preserved for the benefit of present and future generations.
Groundwater used to be considered very pure however, of late,
groundwater aquifers have been found to be contaminated by leachates
from sanitary landfills etc.
Rivers and streams have long been used for discharging the
wastes. Most of the civilizations have grown and flourished on the
banks of rivers but unfortunately growth in turn has been responsible
for pollution of the rivers. Increasing population and expanding
development is causing a high demand on water and also polluting the
waters. It is estimated that by 2024, two thirds of the world population
would be suffering from acute water shortage.

c. Floods
Basically flood is when the water level in an area rises where there
was normally little or none before. Floods can be dramatic and quick
or slow and creeping. Floods are natural phenomena common in
many places around the world where either there is river nearby or
the local weather can dump large amounts of rain.

Causes of floods
1. Heavy rainfall often causes floods in the low lying coastal areas .
2. Prolonged downpour can also cause the over flowing of lakes
and rivers resulting into floods.
3. Deforestation of catchments of rivers leads to heavy run off of
soil which settles down at the bottom of rivers raising the river
bed and causing more frequent floods.
4. Human activities have contributed largely to the sharp rise in
the incidence of floods, which otherwise is a natural disaster.
For mining activities, a land has to be cleared of all vegetation
and then dug up. This aggravates the possibilities of flooding.
Similarly are the effects of industrialization and overgrazing.
5. Researchers have found that if global temperatures increase by
2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), then large floods
that occurred about once every 100 years could occur up to 5
21
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

times more often. The flood risk is more in mountainous regions

as here run off rates is supposed to be significantly affected by
temperature.
6. Unplanned urbanization leads to land surface covered by
construction with very little open space to allow for percolation
of water. The result is that even moderate rainfall can cause
floods.
7. Dams are a reason for floods when excess water pressure on
dams during rains has to be eased by opening the flood gates.
CASE STUDY
In New Delhi, 66 people died on Nov. 15, 2010 when a building collapsed
in Laxmi Nagar area. The building collapsed as its foundation had been
weakened due to standing water in its basement during the monsoon
when the Yamuna breached its banks, Delhi Urban Development Minister
A K Walia on Monday said. What were the reasons for the waterlogging?
First of all the main reason for this rise of water level in Yamuna is
not natural but release of excess water from Tajewala headworks (a
bairrage) 240 kms upstream to the two canals one on left and oth-
er on the right bank of the river. When it rains heavily in the catch-
ment area excess water is released from Tajewala. Depending upon
the river flow level down stream, it takes about 48 hours for Ya-
muna level in Delhi to rise. The rise in water level causes backflow
effect on the city’s drains also because its network of 18 major
drains have catchment areas extending beyond the city’s limits.
High rates of development along with the resultant loss of
soft landscape has led to high surface water run-off rates. This re-
sults in flash floods in the low lying areas even after moderate pre-
cipitation. The low lying areas are obviously the worst hit,
particularly the unplanned colonies which get water logged.
Another factor adding to this effect is the siltation of river basin because
the river is already flowing at a higher level within its embank-
ments. Thus, the water gets logged in the city areas and it takes several
days to mechanically pump it out and bring the situation under control.

22
 MODULE - 2

d. Drought
Drought is a meteriological phenomenon, basically arising when
annual rainfall is below normal and less than evaporation. But apart
from countries and areas that have shown trends of drought, in
recent times many other regions have been added or the frequency
of droughts in some areas has increased beyond usual. In some cases,
drought prone areas have become dessertified ones. The causes here
can be easily understood as anthropogenic.
The major reason behind every problem is usually
overpopulation leading to poor land use, unplanned urbanization
and over utilization of water resources. Population needs, coupled
with industrialization, mining and quarrying needs leads to clearing
of forested areas, erosion etc which adversely impact the ability of the
land to capture and hold water which in turn effects the hydrological
cycle drastically, reducing ground water and also water available in
atmosphere due to reduced transpiration from lack of tree cover. All
this in turn reduces surface water supplies and an already water short
region become drought prone.

Increasing cattle population leads to overgrazing which exceeds the

rate of regeneration of grasslands or undergrowth of forests or even
the establishment of saplings of trees preventing forest regeneration.
Eventually the cattle move on to other areas and so more and more land
is denuded of vegetation which definitely effects the hydrological cycle
and could lead to eventual desertification.
Erroneous cropping practices also lead to drought. For example in
Maharashtra there has been no recovery from drought for the last 30
years due to over absorption of water by sugarcane crop. Intensive
cropping patterns and increased utilization of scarce water resources to
get high productivity has converted drought prone areas into desertified
ones.

23
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Lack of proper understanding, awareness or necessary research can

also become a cause of drought like in the case of Social Forestry with
eucalyptus (having high water needs) in Kolar district of Karnataka led
to droughts in those regions.

Drought mitigation strategies

• Drought monitoring - Continuous observation of rainfall levels
and comparisons with current usage levels can help prevent
man-made drought.
• Land use - Carefully planned crop rotation can help to minimize
erosion and allow farmers to plant less water-dependent crops
in drier years.
• Rainwater harvesting - Collection and storage of rainwater from
roofs or other suitable catchments.
• Recycled water - Wastewater (sewage) is treated and purified for
reuse.
• Cloud seeding- an artificial technique to induce rainfall is done in
some drought prone areas
• Desalination- of sea water for irrigation or consumption.
• Education to avoid overgrazing and overcropping.

e. Conflicts over water

Water conflict is a term describing a conflict between countries,
states, or groups in order to gain access to water resources. Water is
a basic requirement for life, sanitation, agricultural commercial and
industrial needs and with the burgeoning human population there
is quite a water crisis where the demand for water cannot be met
by the available water resources. Water crisis may put pressures on
affected parties to obtain more of a shared water resource, causing
diplomatic tension or outright conflict. This has led to the oft quoted
remark that the Third World War would be fought over water.

24
 MODULE - 2

Numerous types of parties can become implicated in a water

dispute. As a resource, some consider water to be as valuable as oil,
needed by nearly every industry, and needed nearly every day. As
many as 1.1 billion people are without adequate drinking water and
so the potential for water disputes is correspondingly large. Water’s
viability as a commercial resource, which includes fishing, agriculture,
manufacturing, recreation and tourism, among other possibilities, can
create dispute even when access to potable water is not necessarily
an issue. Corporate entities may pollute water resources shared by a
community, or governments may argue over who gets access to a river
used as an international or inter-state boundary. Fisheries can also
become sources of conflict, as nations expand and claim portions of
oceans and seas as territory for ‘domestic’ commercial fishing.
The broad spectrum of water disputes makes them difficult
to address. Local and international law, commercial interests,
environmental concerns, and human rights questions make water
disputes complicated to solve – combined with the sheer number of
potential parties, a single dispute can leave a large list of demands to be
met by courts and lawmakers.
Water conflicts can occur at intrastate and interstate levels.
Interstate conflicts occur between two or more neighboring countries
that share a transboundary water source, such as a river, sea, or
groundwater basin. For example, the Middle East has only 1% of the
world’s freshwater shared between 5% of the world’s population and
this has led to conflicts between the Middle East countries like Ethiopia,
Egypt, Sudan, Turkey for the three river basins of the Jordan, the Tigris-
Euphratus and the Nile. Intrastate conflicts take place between two or
more parties in the same country. An example is that of conflict among
different Indian states as out of 18 major rivers, 17 are shared among
different states. Another example would be the conflicts between
farmers and industry (agricultural vs industrial use of water).
Some analysts estimate that due to increase in human consumption
25
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

of water resources, water conflicts will become increasingly common

in the near future. But it has also been noted that water is a resource
whose characteristics tend to induce cooperation, and only rarely
incite violence. Shared interests along a waterway seem to consistently
outweigh water’s conflict-inducing characteristics. Furthermore, once
cooperative water regimes are established through treaty, they turn out
to be impressively resilient over time.

Water Crisis in Bangalore (Dec 15 2010 report in the Times of

India)
Even the Cauvery is not enough for a Bangalore bursting at its seams.
The BWSSB is now looking far and wide, and proposes to fetch water
from the river Krishna — a good 400km away. Bangalore is a thirsty
city, and faces a shortage of 225 million litres of water per day (mld).
This shortfall is expected to go up to 1030 mld by 2036. A proposal
has been made to get 12 tmcft water from the Krishna, though ex-
perts feel it is not economically sound and would also lead to an up-
roar..” Getting water 400km away from Bangalore might be a feasible
option. But the challenge lies in the economics of the project. Villag-
ers would be up in arms if water is not supplied to the villages falling
en route to Bangalore.

Water disputes in India

As per the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 (ISRWD

Act, 1956) when the water dispute arises among two or more State
Governments, the Central Government receives a request under Section
3 of the Act from any of the basis States with regard to existence of
water dispute. In accordance with the said Act, the Central Government
is required to refer a dispute to a Tribunal after it is satisfied that the
dispute cannot be settled through negotiations. (Refer table 2.1)

26
 MODULE - 2

Inter-State water disputes under Inter-State River Water Disputes Act

(ISRWD), 1956
River(s) States Date of Date of Award
Constitution (decision)
of Tribunal
Krishna Maharashtra, Andhra April 1969 May 1976
Pradesh, Karnataka
Godavari Maharashtra, Andhra April 1969 July 1980
Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya
Pradesh & Orissa
Narmada Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Oct 1969 Dece 1979
Gujarat, Maharashtra
Cauvery Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil June 1990 Report u/s
Nadu and Pondicherry 5(2) received
5.2.2007
Krishna Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh April 2004 Report u/s
& Maharashtra 5(2) pending
Model/ Goa, Karnataka and Under -
Mandovi/ Construction
Mahadayi/
Vansadhara Andhra Pradesh & Orissa Under -
Construction
Table 2.1 The status of inter-State water disputes under ISRWD Act,
1956 (source: India.gov.in)]

CASE STUDY
The Indus Water Treaty sets out the legal framework for the
sharing of the waters of six rivers: the Indus River and its five tributaries.
All six rivers - Indus, Chenab, Jhelum, Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi - flow through
northern India into Pakistan. Under the pact, the waters of three rivers
- the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum, which pass through Jammu &
Kashmir - are to be used by Pakistan, while India has rights to the waters
of the Sutlej, the Beas and the Ravi before these three enter Pakistani
territory. The Chenab is the key tributary, as it carries the waters of the
rest four rivers into the Indus. The Chenab combines the waters of four
rivers, the Jhelum, the Sutlej, the Beas and the Ravi, to form a single
water system which then joins the Indus in Pakistan. The Indus River is
27
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

considered to be the lifeline of Pakistani economy and livestock. Pakistani

concern regarding the water from the rivers started in the 1990s after
India began constructing a hydroelectric power project Baglihar
Dam on the Chenab River in the Doda district of Jammu & Kashmir.

While Pakistan’s domestic behaviour in terms of water usage is partly
responsible for the depletion of the water table, the construction of
Baglihar dam by India multiplied Pakistani concerns with fears that it will
deprive Pakistan of 321,000 acres’ feet of water during the agricultural
season, greatly affecting wheat production. In 2003, Pakistan served a
final notice to the Indian government, urging it to resolve the Baglihar
issue by December 31, 2003, a process that failed to yield results. In
2005, Pakistan approached the World Bank for mediation. The World
Bank noted that it was “not a guarantor of the treaty,” but had the
authority to appoint a neutral expert. In 2007, the appointed neutral
expert Professor Raymond Lafitte of Switzerland delivered a verdict
rejecting most of the Pakistani objections. However, Professor Lafitte
did require India to make some minor changes, including reducing the
dam’s height by 1.5m. Professor Lafitte’s judgment classified Pakistani
objections as “differences” and not a serious “dispute,” which could have
paved the way for the issue to be taken to a Court of Arbitration as
envisaged in the treaty. Pakistan was dissatisfied over the Lafitte verdict.
Bilateral talks between the two countries are increasingly focused on
water disputes. . A number of Pakistani commentators warned that
the water issues may incite nuclear war between the two countries.
However in late June 2009, Pakistani Water and Power Minister Raja
Parvez Ashraf observed that India does have a right to build dams, but
that it cannot stop the flow of water into Pakistan in order to fill the
dams. Also Jamaat Ali Shah, Pakistan’s Indus Water Commissioner,
gave an interview in April 2008, stating that the Indian water projects
currently undertaken do not contravene the provisions of the 1960 Indus
Water Treaty. Noting that India can construct dams within the technical
specifications outlined in the treaty, Shah acknowledged: “In compliance
28
 MODULE - 2

with the Indus Water Treaty, India has so far not constructed any storage
dam on the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum rivers. The hydroelectric
projects India is developing are on the run-of-the-river waters of these
rivers, projects which India is permitted to pursue according to the treaty.”

f. Dams and their issues

There are around 4000 large dams in India. A multipurpose dam
project is launched often for storing water for irrigation, generating
hydro-electricity by utilizing the water stored by the dams, preventing
floods and facilitating afforestation in the catchments areas of the
reservoirs. For example the Chambal Project in MP, Damodar Valley
project in Jharkhand. A ‘Multipurpose dam’ is impressive to watch and
hear about but it has too many disadvantages. The Kadam, Panchet,
Nanaksagar, Chickhole, Dantiwada and Aran dams are total failures.
The major problems that are an inescapable part of the building
of dams over river valleys situated between high hills are (1) The first
step of building roads to get the labour and equipment to the site
destroys the forest. (2) The encampment of a large labour force at the
dam site denudes the nearby hillsides of tree cover (for their fuel needs
as well as housing). The longer the construction takes, the greater the
damage- that is, the bigger the dam, the greater the erosion. (3) With
every rainfall, the unprotected soil on the hillsides is washed down into
the new lake. (4) The bottom of the lake becomes silted up, and in a short
time the lake is so reduced that it can no longer perform its function. In
Laeeq Futehalli words ‘As man became more confident, and began more
arrogantly to alter natural features, nature began to pay him back by
passive non- co- operation in completely predictable ways’.
  The life of many of our major dams has decreased in this manner.
So at the end of a long exercise of building a huge dam, it is found that a
fine mountainous area is destroyed, but the expected amount of power
is not produced. The dam which should have given us a certain amount
of electricity in fact ends up producing only half the amount due to all
29
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

the associated issues. Moreover large-scale confiscation(stagnation) of

water raises the level of contamination of this largely stagnant waters
and thus increases chances of several vector-borne diseases, like filarial
malaria, schistosomiasis etc.
We cannot exclude dams from our development goals either, so
the manageable midway solution could be in “scale”: “A manageable
project where failure does not imply total disaster”. Small things
that work well, is better than something big which does not as the
non functioning of something small affects only a few; while the non
success of a big project, can effect the wealth and well being of an entire
population. 
Another issue is that when government decided to irrigate
agricultural lands with river water, by building a dam and collecting a
body of water, canals were built in various suitable directions, by the
government. Farmers in nearby areas were required to draw the water
into their fields themselves, arranging to dig a length of channel between
the public canal and their own lands.  The first drawback is that many
farmers are reluctant to dig that last stretch which will bring water into
their properties usually because they do not believe that the benefits
will be worth the trouble and expense. In these circumstances, many a
time it has so happended that several kilometers of channelised water
found no takers and in turn water was wasted (as water evaporates
into the air or percolates into the soil). Since the canals are just plain,
straight mud ditches through which the water flows very slowly, much
of it seeps into the bed of the canal and is lost. With passage of time
the land on either side becomes waterlogged and salanisation also sets
in as a result. This could be prevented if the channels were lined with
cement or some other waterproof material but then it becomes costly.
For example only around six percent of the waters of the panchet dam
(the last of the four multi-purpose dams included in the first phase of
the Damodar Valley Corporation) was getting used, while the utilization
of some of the other dams was not much better. Water scarce lands thus
30
 MODULE - 2

become waterlogged and saline, and new irrigation schemes have to be

devised to bring water to new areas to replace the lost lands. It has been
said that the area which is ruined by canal irrigation is roughly the same
in extent as the new areas which are brought under irrigation each year.

Self Assessment Questions

2. What is the cause of ground subsidence?
3. As per your understanding of the causes of floods what do you
think should be the one major step to be taken to minimize floods?
4. What could be a major step to mitigate drought?
5. What is the major advantage of small dams compared to huge
ones?

2.3.3 Mineral Resources

Mineral resources are Earth’s storehouse of useful minerals

that can be recovered for use; mineral reserves on the other hand are
deposits that are not yet recoverable under present economic conditions
or technology.
Minerals are naturally occurring, inorganic solids, with a
distinctive internal crystal structure and having a definite chemical
composition and characteristic physical properties. These are found in
the lithosphere (earth) in rocks. Few common minerals usually found
in rocks are quartz, feldspar, biotite, dolomite, calcite, laterite . Based
on their properties minerals are basically of two types: (i) non metallic
minerals e.g. graphite, diamond, quartz, feldspar and (ii) metallic
minerals e.g. bauxite, laterite, haematite.
The term ore is commonly used for reserves of metallic minerals
that can be mined for profit. Use of metals by human beings has been so
extensive since the very beginning of human civilization to such that two
of the major epochs of human history are named after them as Bronze
Age and Iron Age
31
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Role in Nature

Some minerals are essential for the formation and functioning

of the body of living organisms e.g. calcium, phosphorus, magnesium.
Plants obtain the required minerals from the soil or water, animals get
it from plants through food chains and finally the minerals are restored
to the environment on their death by decomposers. Therefore use of
minerals in nature does not deplete them.

Use and exploitation by Man

There are between three to four thousand types of minerals but

only around 200 types are put to use by man. Of these, perhaps 100 can
be called “common,” 50 are “occasional”, the rest are rare. Out of the
various metallic minerals, the one used in maximum quantity is iron
followed by manganese, copper, chromium, aluminium and nickel.

Minerals in general are used in

1. Industries producing consumer goods like utensils, food packaging
(e.g. Aluminium)
2. Agricultural inputs like fertilizers, fungicides (e.g. Potassium for
fertilizer)
3. Defence equipments, heavy machinery (e.g. lead in ammunition, iron
in machinery)
4. Jewellery (gold, silver)
5. For making alloys (manganese, Iron, chromium for high strength
steel alloys);
6. Generation of energy (e.g. by coal and uranium)
7. Used for making wires, cables and electronic devices for communication
(e.g. copper for wires, gold, silver in electronic devices)
8. Photography (silver)
9. Medicinal system particularly ayurvedic (e.g. Zinc)
32
 MODULE - 2

The large-scale exploitation of minerals began with the Industrial

Revolution around 1760 in England and has grown rapidly ever since.
In a world economy depending on Industries, minerals are valuable.
The value increases in proportion to demand—which is increasing—
and supply—is decreasing. The result is two fold, minerals are getting
depleted and so the search for minerals has become very aggressive and
is detrimental to the environment.
It is estimated that at the current rates of consumption, the world
reserves of
(a) copper, lead, zinc, tin, gold, silver and platinum, will last the end of
the present century;
(b) aluminium, cobalt, manganese and molybdenum will last between
2100 and 2200 and
(c) iron and chromium will last between 2500 and 2800.

Environmental effects of extracting and using mineral resources

Mining has always been a dirty industry. As early as 1550,

German mineralogist and scholar Georgius Agricola wrote: “The fields
are devastated by mining operations … the woods and groves cut down
… then are exterminated the beasts and birds.… Further, when the ores
are washed, the water that has been used poisons the streams, and
either destroys the fish or drives them away.”
Negative environmental impacts of mining have been reduced
somewhat in recent times by laws and regulations. However a number
of negative effects, especially from older mines, continue to have serious
environmental impacts.

General Environmental Impacts of Mineral Extraction and use

1. Devegetation of land due to clearing to access a deposit and

defacing of landscape by the digging of holes for surface mining
and by the collected debris from the mining. E.g. the east coast
33
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Bauxite mine in Orissa there was the issue of land encroachment

and rehabilitation of the unsettled.
2. Subsidence of land happens due to underground mining which
often results in tilting of buildings, cracks in houses, buckling
of roads, bending of rail tracks and leaking of gas from cracked
pipelines leading to serious disasters. E.g. in Jharia coal mines,
Jharkhand, underground fire lead to land subsidence.
3. Ground water and surface water contamination happens due
to toxic drainage from mines, which is harmful and even fatal
to all life forms dependant on the waters especially the aquatic
life. E.g. North-Eastern Coal fields, in Assam there is very high
sulphur contamination of ground water. Kudremukh Iron ore
mine, Karnataka caused Bhadra river pollution and threat to
biodiversity. In Orissa, Sukinda chromite mine led to seeping of
toxic and carcinogenic hexavalent chromium into Brahmani river
posed serious health hazard as it is the only water source for the
residents and water treatment facilities are extremely limited..
4. Air pollution occurs during the processing of the extracted
ore. For example smelting done to purify the metal from other
impurities releases SOx, soot, arsenic particles, cadmium, lead
etc and increases the suspended particulate matter(SPM) all of
which causes health problems to people living near smelters.
5. Miners suffer from various respiratory and skin diseases due
to constant exposure to the SPM and toxic substances. Miners
working in different types of mines suffer from asbestosis,
silicosis, black lung disease etc.
6. The effects of uranium mining are disastrous. There can be
contamination of water bodies in the area and the radioactive
wastes effect the health of the local population E.g. the Jaduguda
Uranium mines in Jharkhand has a black history of massive
deaths and devastation.
7. Children playing in abandoned mining sites have often resulted
in fatality.
34
 MODULE - 2

Examples of Specific Environmental Impacts

Three major environmental impacts of mining:

1. Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) - AMD is the most serious environmental

problem in mining today. It is caused by mining of sulfur-based materials,
particularly high-sulfur coal and metal sulfide ores. AMD occurs when
oxygen-rich water percolates through sulfur-bearing minerals exposed
by mining resulting in sulfuric acid. Water containing sulfuric acid drains
out of the mine which apart from itself being toxic also result in acidic
reactions which release other toxic materials in the rock, particularly
heavy metals like iron, zinc and copper. The acid plus the toxic metals
wreak havoc on aquatic (river, stream and lake) ecosystems.

2. Impacts of Surface Mining

The main impacts of surface mining operations are scarring and altering
of the landscape, soil erosion and increased mud and silt in rivers and
streams which impacts river ecosystems, irrigation, and drinking water
supplies.

3. Impacts of Mineral Processing

With few exceptions, minerals need to be processed in some way,
once they have been extracted from the earth. Processing is done
to concentrate the valuable materials and remove the undesirable
materials. Many extraction processes have environmental impacts.

Tailings are waste rock left over from mine tunnels and extraction
operations. Large piles of tailings are common around nearly all mines.
Tailings piles are an unpleasant sight, and are potential sources of AMD.
Chemical processes are commonly used to concentrate mined materials.
The most common method is leaching -- pouring a chemical solution over
crushed ore to extract the valuable materials in solution. For example,
sulfuric acid is commonly added to crushed copper ore to dissolve the
copper and produce a solution of copper sulfate, from which the copper
35
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

can be extracted. Cyanidation is a common leaching method used to

extract gold and silver. It takes advantage of the fact that gold and silver
will dissolve in cyanide. In cyanide heap leaching a solution of cyanide
is pumped over a heap of crushed ore. The cyanide drains through the
ore and picks up the metal. The solution containing the metal is passed
through activated charcoal, which collects the metal, and the cyanide
(stripped of the metal now) is returned to leach through the ore heap
again. Cyanide is extremely toxic and any leaking from cyanide ponds
can make ground water toxic.

Mitigation

1. Safety of miners should be made a priority and also for those working
in ore processing industry. There should be strict regulations enforcing
the use of helmets and face masks.
2. Mitigation of AMD involves collecting and holding the water that
drains out of mines. The water can then be treated by alkaline substances
to neutralize the acid. Alkaline materials can also be pumped into the
ground to help neutralize acidic ground waters. Formation of AMD can
be reduced by grading the ground surface and covering potential acid-
forming (sulfur-containing) materials to reduce infiltration of water.
Furthermore, it has been found that some wetland plants are effective
at removing toxic metals from the water. Toxicity levels can be reduced
by planting such plants in affected areas.
3. It is also desirable to adopt eco-friendly mining technology. The
low grade ores can be better utilized by using microbial- leaching
technique. The bacterium Thiobacillus ferroxidans has been successfully
and economically used for extracting gold embedded in iron sulphide
ore. The ores are inoculated with the desired strains of bacteria, which
remove the impurities(like sulphur) and leave the pure mineral behind.
It is economic and environmentally sound.
4. Cyanide is extremely toxic-strict regulations govern its use in mineral
processing.
36
 MODULE - 2

• Linings of impermeable clay or plastic must be used under heaps

of ore and cyanide ponds to prevent leakage (see photo below).
• The cyanide solution must be kept highly alkaline to prevent
formation of lethal cyanide gas.
• Cyanide ponds must be secured to prevent wildlife from drinking
the poisonous water.
• On completion of the heap-leaching operation, the cyanide
must be thoroughly cleaned up and groundwater wells must be
monitored for several years afterwards to ensure that the cleanup
was successful.
5. Strip-mining and open pit-mining operations scar and alter large
areas of land. The only way to mitigate the scarring of land by surface
mining is to back-fill and replant the area after mining is completed.

Mine Land Reclamation methods

In the past mining companies could abandon mines after using the
site, leaving badly scarred land and possible toxic side effects (such as
AMD). Regulations today force companies to return (revive) the land to
a more natural state after using it, and to prevent toxic by-products from
entering the environment.

As an example of mine land reclamation, let us examine the processes

involved in restoring land after a coal mining operation. First, potential
AMD-producing materials are buried, and the area is graded so that
water will drain away and slopes will not erode. This will prevent
future formation of AMD. Second, after grading and drainage controls
are completed, the area is covered with topsoil and seeded with a fast-
growing cover crop. The cover crop, a fast-growing but temporary ground
cover, helps prevent surface erosion, and as it dies back it enriches the
soil with organic matter. Once the cover crop dies back, native grasses
and trees are encouraged to take over, returning the area to a relatively
natural condition.
37
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Self Assessment Question

6. What in general is the result of the excessive need for minerals?
7. Give one example of specific environmental effects of mining?
8. What is the major damage done to environment due uranium
mining?
9. Returning(Reviving) a used mine land to a natural state is
called………………

2.3.4 Food Resources

Among all the edible plants and animals in the world (over 50,000) only
about three dozen types of flora and fauna constitute the major food of
humans. Just three of them, rice, maize and wheat, provide 60 percent
of the world’s food energy intake. These three are the staple food (one
that is eaten regularly) of over 4 000 million people (as per 1995 FAO
publication).

Fig 2.2 World average diet [source Agriculture and Consumer

Protection (FAO.org)] Percentages, 1988-90
The 3 dozen types of food are wheat, rice, maize, potato, barley,
oats, cassava, sweet potato, sugarcane, pulses, sorghum, millet, 20 or
38
 MODULE - 2

so common fruits and vegetables like mango, apple, guava etc, and milk,
meat, fish and sea food.

The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of United Nations
estimated that on an average a person needs about 1800 kcal per day
as a minimum energy intake. FAO measures hunger as the number of
people who do not consume the minimum daily energy requirement
of 1800 kcal, which is the amount of calories needed for light activity
and a minimum acceptable weight for attained height. Over the past 40
years, the number of hungry people remained above 800 million. After
some successes in reducing world hunger, undernourishment increased
continuously from 1995-1997 and in 2009, with a significant spike in
2009(above 1 billion) following the economic and financial crisis. 
 
Adequate food resources are understandably important for
our health and survival. People supplied with less than the minimum
amount of calories essential for sound health and growth are called
undernourished. Besides the minimum caloric intake we also need
proteins, minerals etc. Deficiency or lack of nutrition often leads to
malnutrition resulting in several diseases like anemia and stunted
growth.

World Food Problems

Problems related to food resources arrive when the amount of food

required is huge and puts stress on the cultivation practices. Intensive
cultivation practices required for producing food for an immense and
increasing population is damaging to environment with more land
going into agriculture and more application of harmful pesticides etc.
Even when supply is good, problems arise in proper distribution which
is mainly due to the priority on economic profit. Therefore problems
in food resource production and supply can be considered under three
major heads:-
39
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

1. Population growth
As the world population continues to grow, great pressure is
being placed on arable land, water, energy, and biological resources
to provide an adequate supply of food while maintaining the integrity
of our ecosystem. The most recent estimate, released in October 2010
by FAO, says that 925 million people are undernourished and is due
to a combination of insufficient food, low incomes, and inadequate
distribution of food.

2. Capitalism
According to Scott H (in a letter related to world hunger and capitalism)
“The basic problem is not as much too large a world population, nor
uncontrolled population growth but that the food available (and the
additional food which could easily be produced) is not being distributed
to those who need it. The fundamental problem is the capitalist system
in the world. This system is simply not designed to meet even the basic
needs and interests of the world’s people. It is instead designed only to
amass more profits and wealth for the capitalist class. A system that does
this, in which more than a billion people live in hunger, and under which
millions of people literally starve to death every year, is a murderous
system” This system therefore needs remedies through government
interventions or by UN bodies.

26 Dec, 2010, The Economic Times

At a time when tomatoes are selling for up to Rs 40 a kg, farmers in
Jharkhand are dumping them on roads because they are not getting
money that meets even their production cost. At Rangamati, on the
Ranchi-Jamshedpur national highways, angry farmers are throwing
away their produce. Farmers have this to say “There is bumper production
of tomatoes. There is no place to keep them. In the evening when we
return home we dump them on the roads. Who is going to bear the
transportation cost. Why should we sell tomatoes at any cost less than
what it cost us?”Farmers say it costs them Rs 5-6 to produce a kilogram
40
 MODULE - 2

of tomatoes. They want Rs 8-10 from the middlemen, who are willing to
pay only Rs 4-6. The government is indifferent, say the farmers. Jharkhand
agriculture department secretary AK Singh said: “The farmers should
form a cooperative to sell their products in the market. The government
can assist in the formation of the cooperative but can’t buy vegetables or
sell them.”Farmers contend they cannot afford to sell in the market. “It is
impossible to travel 70-100 km every day to the market. It is the duty of
the government to form such cooperatives in each block and in villages,”
said Khagendra Mahto, another farmer.

3. Environmental effects of intensive food crop cultivation

Modern day forms of intensive crop based agriculture involve the use
of mechanical ploughing, chemical fertilizers, plant growth regulators
and/or pesticides. It is associated with the increasing use of agricultural
mechanization, which has enabled a substantial increase in production,
yet has also dramatically increased environmental pollution by
increasing erosion and poisoning water with agricultural chemicals.
Concerns have been raised over the sustainability of intensive
agriculture. Intensive agriculture has become associated with decreased
soil quality, and there has been increased concern over the effects of
fertilizers and pesticides on the environment, particularly as population
increases and food demand expands. The monocultures typically used in
intensive agriculture increase the number of pests, which are controlled
through pesticides. Integrated pest management (IPM), which “has been
promoted for decades and has had some notable successes” has not
significantly affected the use of pesticides because policies encourage
the use of pesticides
Integrated Pest Management was an alternative to calendar-based
insecticide programs which sought to identify the best mix of chemical
and biological controls for a given insect pest. Chemical insecticides were
to be used in manner least disruptive to biological control. The term
“integrated” was thus synonymous with “compatible.” Chemical controls
41
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

were to be applied only after regular monitoring indicated that a pest

population had reached a level (the economic threshold) that required
treatment to prevent the population from reaching a level (the economic
injury level) at which economic losses would exceed the cost of the artificial
control measures.

Impacts of modern agriculture

1. Constant and excessive use of chemical fertilizers in order to

enhance the yield of crops, has polluted water below the ground
with nitrate. This is hazardous for human health and may be fatal
for infants. Reaction of the nitrate with the haemoglobin of the
blood impairs the oxygen transport capacity of the blood. It is
called methaemoglobinemia or blue baby syndrome.
2. Excessive use of chemical fertilizers has been run off by rain into
the surface water bodies causing eutrofication and excessive
growth of other fast growing water weeds in rivers which change
the stream bank characteristics.
3. Some of the chemicals are non-degradable and enter the food
chain. Their biomagnification becomes harmful to human life .
4. The excessive use of pesticides and herbicides has harmed
some of the microorganisms in the soil which are ecologically
important.
5. Over irrigation for good yields, combined with inadequate
drainage leads to excess water accumulation underground . This
waterlogging reduces the aeration of sol and the mechanical
strength of the soil decline. The crop fails and the land also
becomes unsuitable
6. Excessive irrigation also results in salinization of soils mostly
because canal water or groundwater used for irrigation contains
salts unlike rainwater. Salinity causes stunted plant growth and
lowers yield. Such soil needs to be flushed with good quality
water to remove the salts. Excessive irrigation has led to the
42
 MODULE - 2

conversion of large tract of fertile land into saline and water

logged, for example in Haryana and Punjab.
7. Overirrigation may cause water to move below the root zone
resulting in rising water tables. In regions with naturally
occurring saline soil layers or saline aqifers, these rising water
tables may bring salt up into the root zone leading again to
problems of irrigation salinity.
8. The use of High yielding varieties encourages monoculture of
same genotype in large areas which can lead to loss of entire
crops in case of a pathogen attack, due to rapid spread of disease
encouraged by uniform conditions

Definitions

Eutrophication (eu-more, trophic- nutrition) is the enrichment of bodies

of fresh water by inorganic nutrients (e.g. nitrate, phosphate) causing fast
growth of algae or plants (like water hyacinth) which cuts off dissolved
oxygen supply to aquatic life either due to the plant cover over the water
surface or due to the decomposition of the algae that have a short life
cycle. Eutrophication may occur naturally but can also be the result of
human activity (cultural eutrophication from fertilizer runoff and sewage
discharge) and is particularly evident in slow-moving rivers and shallow
lakes….Increased sediment deposition can eventually raise the level of the
lake or river bed, allowing land plants to colonize the edges, and eventually
converting the area to dry land.”(Water hyacinth ‘harvest’ can in fact
become beneficial in removing the excess nutrient or eutrofic condition of
water bodies, though it can be labour intensive and expensive to have the
plant removed)

Bioaccumulation is the accumulation of a substance in a biological

tissue. Organisms at any trophic level may be capable of bioaccumulation.
Biomagnification is the increasing concentration of a substance up a food
chain - i.e. from one trophic level to the next.
43
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

E.g. Biomagnification of DDT in food chain can be depicted by representative

values of DDT concentration in the tissues, in parts per million (ppm), as
follows
Plankton(0.04ppm)->small fish(0.23ppm)->big fish(2.07ppm)->
Bird(13.8ppm)

Self Assessment Question

10. Increasing concentration of a toxic substance from one trophic
level to the next is called………………..
11. Which according to you is the major world food problem? Give
reason.

CASE STUDY
“Minamata mercury disease,”.. the groundbreaking case that studied the
relationship of chemical toxicity and biomagnification in humans
Minamata mercury disease was first discovered in Japan in 1956. The
first reported case was a five-year-old girl who exhibited seizures and
difficulty in walking and speaking. Another eight patients from the same
area were hospitalized with the same symptoms only days later. After
more investigations, it was discovered that domestic house pets—cats
and dogs—had been known to just drop dead in this area. Dead fish were
routinely floating to the surface of Minamata Bay, and seaweed was rarely
growing. Birds and other wild animals began to die in areas near the bay.
The death toll of humans began to mount as well. By 1958, the idea of
mercury poisoning as the likely lethal contaminant emerged through the
work of Douglas McAlpine, a neurologist from Britain.
He reviewed the data and discovered that there was a likely connection to
methyl mercury poisoning. Investigations revealed mercury levels within
the sediments of the canal to be in excess of 2 kilograms for every ton
of sediment. At that level, you could actually commercially extract the
mercury, and it would be profitable! It was like a mercury mine located
right in the bay, which was an active part of the ecosystem, delivering
food to that community. Ultimately, the source of mercury pollution in
44
 MODULE - 2

Minimata Bay was traced to the industrial polluter, the Chisso Chemical
Factory. Chisso produced a variety of chemicals, including fertilizers, The
wastewater from production of chemicals by the Chisso Chemical Factory
was released directly into Minamata Bay. The production of chemicals
like vinyl chloride required mercury as a catalyst and released the methyl
mercury with the waste water. The highly toxic chemicals accumulated
in the fish and shellfish from the bay, and the effect was magnified at the
various trophic levels, this phenomenon is called “biomagnification,”(toxins
becoming more concentrated at each trophic level) and the toxins
ultimately ended up in the tissues of humans who were eating the fish.
Through the trophic cascade in the ecosystem, mercury entered the food
chain and into the fish that people ate in the community, resulting in blood
levels of mercury that exceeded 700 parts per million for people who ate
the fish. That compared to control samples outside that community of
just 4 parts per million. A typical human eats about 500 pounds of food a
year,that is about 17 tons in a 70-year life span.
During that period of time we consume 15,000 gallons of water. Many
toxins, which are water soluble, can be easily removed. Yet in those toxins
that aren’t removed, every time they pass through our body, the water and
the food that carries those materials in are removed from the system, the
water is filtered out, but the toxins are captured. So the longer we live, the
more the toxins build up. So persistent chemicals build up in our tissues
through a process we call “biomagnification.” Toxins bioaccumulate
through the food chain, and higher trophic levels consuming more food of
a kind (toxin containing) accumulates more of the toxin thus magnifying
the toxin content.

2.3.5 Energy resources

The first form of energy technology probably was fire, which
produced heat and the early man used it for cooking and heating. The
burning of wood for fire was replaced by coal. Coal fueled the industrial
revolution in the 18th and 19th century. The twentieth century saw
a rapid twentyfold increase in the use of fossil fuels. With the advent
45
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

of the automobile, airplanes and the spreading use of electricity, oil

became the dominant fuel during the twentieth century. But after the
oil shocks of 1973 ( Arab oil embargo when the oil supplying nations
refused to supply oil to the US) and 1979 (Iranian revolution leading to
strikes resulting in reduction of oil extraction), during which the price
of oil increased from 5 to 45 US dollars per barrel, there was a shift away
from this oil dependency. This led to increased exploration and use of
several alternate sources of energy. There was effort to increase energy
efficiency. For e.g. in the U.S. the average car more than doubled the
number of miles per gallon. Japan, made spectacular improvements and
now has the highest energy efficiency in the world. Despite advances in
efficiency and sustainability, of all the energy created since the industrial
revolution, more than half has been consumed in the last two decades.
In 2009, world energy consumption decreased for the first time in 30
years (-1.1%) as a result of the financial and economic crisis. But overall
the energy needs are only expanding and the sources of energy are
getting exhausted at a very fast rate.

Growing Energy Needs

All development activities are directly or indirectly dependant

upon energy. Agriculture, industry, mining, transportation, lighting,
cooling, and heating in buildings all need energy. Developed countries
constitute 5% of the world’s population but consume one fourth of
global energy resources. A person in a rich country consumes almost
as much energy in a single day as one person does in a whole year in
a poor country. Thus, improved standard of living, change in lifestyle
apart from population growth is putting stress on our conventional
sources of energy like fossil fuels which are not going to last for many
more years. And so we have been looking at alternate sources of energy
to take the stress off the conventional sources and to supply the ever
increasing energy demands without running out. For this we require
renewable sources of energy, i.e which can be generated continuously
46
 MODULE - 2

in nature and are inexhaustible as compared to non renewable sources

like fossil fuels which are accumulated in nature over a long span of time
and cannot be quickly replenished when exhausted.

Sources of Energy

In energy sources, it is important not just to know the various

alternatives we have but also the feasibility of these alternate or non
conventional sources of energy sources when harnessed on a large scale
with the intent to put ‘in the shoes’ of the conventional sources. It is also
important to be aware of the current researches in the area of making
alternate sources more feasible, and be able to recognize or identify
the best possible solutions for the energy needs of any area, region or
country. There is in fact a significant potential in India for generation of
power from renewable energy sources-, small hydro, biomass, and solar
energy.

Renewable energy sources The major alternate sources which are also
environmentally favourable by being renewable are as follows
1. Solar Energy-   Energy derived from the Sun’s radiation is Solar
Energy. Passive solar energy can be exploited through architectural
design, as by positioning windows to allow sunlight to enter and help
heat a space. Active solar energy involves the conversion of sunlight to
electrical energy, especially in solar (photovoltaic) cells. With the sun
being one of our few freely available, infinite resources, it will be vital
to our future survival to harness the power of the sun and alleviate our
current reliance on finite resources which are fast running out. Current
usage of solar energy is Solar cooker, Solar water heater, Solar heat
collectors etc. Descriptions of some important usages are as follows:-
a. Solar cells used in calculators, electronic watches, street lighting,
traffic signals, water pumps, in artificial satellites for electricity
generation, for running radio, television.
b. Solar power plant-Solar energy is harnessed on a large scale by using
concave reflectors which cause boiling water to produce steam. The
47
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

steam turbine drives a generator to produce electricity. A solar power

plant (50K Watt capacity) has been installed at Gurgaon, Haryana. The
largest solar powerplant in India is located in Madhapur near Bhuj.
c. Solar Furnace- A solar furnace is a structure that captures sunlight
to produce high temperatures, usually for industry. This is done with a
curved mirror (or an array of small plane mirrors) that acts as a parabolic
reflector, concentrating light onto a focal point. The temperature at the
focal point may reach as high or higher than 3,000 °C , and this heat
can be used to generate electricity, melt steel, make hydrogen fuel or
nanomaterials.

Current Technology
a. Thin-film solar cells The manufacture and maintenance of solar
panels has traditionally been hugely expensive to set up and maintain
which accounts for the slowness of energy producers to switch to solar
from non renewable energy sources. Thin-film solar cells are a relatively
modern invention, often seen as a potential future replacement for
conventional crystalline solar panels due to their low cost, low space
usage and large flexibility in placement and form factor. It achieves low
production cost per watt and can drive down the cost of solar electricity
installations by around 20%. One major usage of thin film panels can
be in building a skyscraper with a glass façade. If thin-film type solar
panels are integrated there, buildings can generate power with the same
facade that was otherwise just glass.

Fig 2.3a Crystalline solar panel Fig 2.3b Thin film

solar panels
48
 MODULE - 2

b. Fresnel Reflectors These are a low-cost alternative to the use of

expensive parabolic mirrors as a means of concentrating the suns
rays. These reflectors make use of the Fresnel lens effect, which uses
a concentrating mirror with a large aperture and short focal length
while simultaneously reducing the volume of material required for
the reflector. This greatly reduces the system’s cost since parabolic
reflectors are typically very expensive, although it is to be noted that
in recent years thin-film nanotechnology has significantly reduced the
cost of parabolic mirrors.
Linear Fresnel reflectors (LFR) use long, thin segments of mirrors to
focus sunlight onto a fixed absorber located at a common focal point of the
reflectors. These mirrors are capable of concentrating the sun’s energy
to approximately 30 times its normal intensity. This concentrated energy
is transferred through the absorber into some thermal fluid (typically
oil capable of maintaining liquid state at very high temperatures). The
fluid then goes through a heat exchanger to power a steam generator.
As opposed to traditional LFR’s, the Compact Linear Fresnel Reflectors
(CLFR) utilizes multiple absorbers within the vicinity of the mirrors.
This is of advantage because a major challenge that must be addressed
in any solar concentrating technology is the changing intensity of the
incident rays as the sun progresses throughout the day. The reflectors of
a CLFR are typically aligned in a north-south orientation and turn about
a single axis using a computer controlled solar tracker system. This
allows the system to maintain the proper angle of incidence between
the sun’s rays and the mirrors, thereby optimizing energy transfer.

Fig 2.4a Parabolic Reflector Fig 2.4b Linear Fresnel

Reflector
49
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Many organizations are now trying to address the issue to make

solar more affordable. Research has been done to make solar power more
reasonable and by 2050 half of energy requirements is anticipated to
be from sustainable sources like wind, water and solar power. Germany
and Japan have long led the field in solar thermal energy production.
Germany is home to the Gut Erlasee Solar Park, a 12 megawatt facility
located near the Bavarian town of Arnstein. The park powers the homes
of 1,000 local residential customers each year. From 2007, Spain became
a pioneer in using Fresnel reflectors In July 2007 a test facility to cut
the cost of large-scale solar thermal energy production was opened in
Almería in southern Spain by utilizing Fresnel reflectors.

`With the number of commercial solar plants growing at a rapid
rate and the huge investment into research and development to make
solar energy more affordable it seems that solar does have the potential
to become a viable alternative energy source on a large scale. Solar is
particularly an attractive option for countries with vast expanses of
uninhabitable desert or even a good average of clear sunny days a year
(300days per year average for India). Presently India fulfills around
10.9% of the total requirement with renewable sources of energy
while solar accounts for a total of 1% of the renewable energy
generation. . In 2010, installed capacity for solar in India was only 54
megawatts (MW). Now, a year later, due to the speed with which solar
is becoming cost effective, it is expected to install six times as much
capacity by year’s end, and there is well over 1,600 MW of projects with
signed power purchase agreements in the pipeline. According to a new
report by GTM Research and Bridge to India, by 2016, India could be
installing more than 3,000 MW annually in solar projects. India also
plans to make solar-powered equipment and applications mandatory
in all government buildings including hospitals and hotels in the near
future.

50
 MODULE - 2

2. Wind Energy- Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a

useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity,
wind mills for mechanical power, wind pumps for pumping water or
drainage, or sails to propel ships. Wind energy, as an alternative to fossil
fuels, is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, and produces no
greenhouse gas emissions during operation. However, the construction
of wind farms is not universally welcomed because of their visual
impact but any effect on the environment is generally among the least
problematic of any power resource. Today, India has one of the highest
potentials for the effective use of renewable energy. India is the world’s
fifth largest producer of wind power after Denmark, Germany, Spain,
and the USA. As of 31st October 2009 the installed capacity of wind
power in India was 11,806.69 MW, mainly spread across Tamil Nadu
Maharashtra , Gujarat , Karnataka , Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra
Pradesh, Kerala, Orissa, West Bengal and other states. It is estimated
that 6,000 MW of additional wind power capacity will be installed in
India by 2012. Wind power accounts for 6% of India’s total installed
power capacity, and it generates 1.6% of the country’s power.

3. Tidal energy - Tidal power is a means of electricity generation

achieved by capturing the energy contained in moving water mass due
to tides. The rise and fall of the water in the oceans is referred to as
the high and low tide and this force of moving water is harnessed as
tidal energy to move turbines and generate electricity.Two types of tidal
energy can be extracted: kinetic energy of currents due the tides and
potential energy from the difference in height (or head) between high
and low tides. A difference of several meters is required between the
height of high and low tide to spin the turbines. The tidal energy can
be harnessed by constructing a tidal barrage. During high tide the sea
water flows into the reservoir and rotates the turbines and during low
tide the water flows out of the reservoir and again turns the turbine.
There are some drawbacks of tidal energy as an alternate source. A
major drawback of tidal power stations is that they can only generate
51
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

when the tide is flowing in or out - in other words, only for 10 hours
each day. However, tides are totally predictable, so we can plan to have
other power stations generating at those times when the tidal station is
out of action. Another disadvantage is that a barrage across an estuary
is very expensive to build, and affects a very wide area - the environment
is changed for many miles upstream and downstream. Many birds rely
on the tide uncovering the mud flats so that they can feed. Fish can’t
migrate, unless “fish ladders” are installed. There are also only a few
suitable sites for tidal barrages. Russia, France and the Gulf of Kutch in
India have huge tidal mill farms. In India the gulf of Cambay and the
Sundarbans are also the tidal power sites

Fish Ladder
Fish make only two really significant journeys in their lives. The first is
shortly after birth, when fish move away from their spawning grounds,
and the second occurs when the fish return to the spawning area to bree­d
and die. But now, fish face huge barriers and obstructions in the form of
dams. If they can’t get back to the spawning grounds, then fish populations
dramatically decrease. ­Fish ladders (also known as fish passages or
fishways) provide a detour route for migrating fish so that they can get
over or around a dam that’s blocking the way. Fish Ladder is a series of
ascending pools that are reached by swimming against a stream of water.
The fish leap through the cascade of rushing water, rest in the pool and
then repeat the process until they’re beyond the dam.
4. Biomass energy Biomass energy or bioenergy is the energy from
organic matter. It has been used for thousands of years, ever since
people started burning wood to cook food or to keep warm. Today, wood
is still our largest biomass energy resource. But many other sources of
biomass can now be used, including plants, residues from agriculture or
forestry, and the organic component of municipal and industrial wastes.
Even the fumes from landfills can be used as a biomass energy source.

52
 MODULE - 2

The use of biomass energy has the potential to greatly reduce our
greenhouse gas emissions. Biomass generates about the same amount of
carbon dioxide as fossil fuels, but every time a new plant grows, carbon
dioxide is actually removed from the atmosphere. The net emission of
carbon dioxide will be zero as long as plants continue to be replenished
for biomass energy purposes. These energy crops, such as fast-growing
trees and grasses, are called biomass feedstocks. The use of biomass
feedstocks can also help increase profits in agriculture.

There are three major biomass energy technology applications:

Bioproducts are obtained by converting biomass into chemicals for
making products that are typically made from petroleum. Whatever
products we can make from fossil fuels, we can make using biomass.
These bioproducts, or biobased products, are not only made from
renewable sources, they also often require less energy to produce than
petroleum-based products.

Biopower is from the burning of biomass directly, or converting it

into a gaseous fuel or oil, to generate electricity. The Biopower plants
could involve burning bioenergy feedstocks directly to produce steam.
Methane generated from landfills can be used as biopower by obtaining
it from drilling wells in land fills. It can be used as an energy source
in many ways. Most facilities burn it in a boiler to produce steam for
electricity generation or for industrial processes.

Biofuels are obtained by converting biomass into liquid fuels for

transportation. It is an alternate source of energy involving cultivation
of crops, the non-edible oil of which can be used as a bio-fuel, which
can replace fossil fuels. Biomass can be fermented to alcohols like
ethanol and methanol which is then used as fuel. Methanol is a clean
non polluting fuel. Gasohol is a mixture of Ethanol and Gasoline. It is
53
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

a common fuel used in Brazil and Zimbabwe for running cars and
buses. But there are certain issues related to the cultivation of plants
for biofuels. Questions like how much of land resource has to used to
produce a fair enough supplement to fossil fuels? Fargione et al. (2008)
estimated that the conversion of rainforests, peatlands, savannahs
or grasslands to produce ethanol and biodiesel in Brazil, Indonesia,
Malaysia or the United States of America releases at least 17 times as
much carbon dioxide as those biofuels save annually by replacing fossil
fuels. Though plant-based biomass from non-food crops and waste does
offer an effective alternative, but to make the process more efficient,
we need to examine ways of optimising the plant matter we use to
produce fuels. The Science Daily (Jan. 27, 2010), reports that scientists
have found a way to increase fermentable sugar stores in plants which
could lead to plant biomass being easier to convert into eco-friendly
sustainable biofuels. Also there is possibility of producing diesel (low
carbon) from plant wastes through genetically engineered E coli (1 step
easy process). This is to come through in two years and can be quite a
feasible option for the future.

In India Jatropha oil has been used for several decades as biodiesel
to cater to the diesel fuel requirements of remote rural and forest
communities. Jatropha oil is produced from the seeds of the Jatropha
curcas, a plant that can grow in wastelands across India, and the oil is
considered to be an excellent source of bio-diesel. Jatropha oil can be
used directly after extraction (i.e. without refining) in diesel generators
and engines. Jatropha has the potential to provide economic benefits
at the local level since under suitable management it has the potential
to grow in dry marginal non-agricultural lands, thereby allowing
villagers and farmers to leverage non-farm lands for income generation.
Increased Jatropha oil production delivers economic benefits to India on
the macroeconomic or national level as it reduces the nation’s fossil fuel
needs. Jatropha incentives in India is a part of India’s goal to achieve
energy independence by the year 2012. India is keen on reducing its
54
 MODULE - 2

dependence on coal and petroleum to meet its increasing energy

demand and encouraging Jatropha cultivation is a crucial component of
its energy policy.

5. Biogas energy Biogas typically refers to a gas produced by the

biological breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen.
Biogas originates from biogenic material and is a type of biofuel. Biogas
is produced by anaerobic digestion or fermentation of biodegradable
materials such as biomass, manure, sewage, municipal waste, green
waste, food waste, plant material and energy crops. It is very useful
for rural areas where lot of animal waste and agricultural waste are
available. This type of biogas comprises primarily methane and carbon
dioxide. The gases methane, hydrogen and carbon monoxide can be
combusted or oxidized with oxygen. This energy release allows biogas
to be used as a fuel. Biogas can be used as a low-cost fuel in any country
for any heating purpose, such as cooking. It can also be used in modern
waste management facilities where it can be used to run any type of
heat engine, to generate either mechanical or electrical power. Biogas
can be compressed, much like natural gas, and used to power motor
vehicles and in the UK for example is estimated to have the potential to
replace around 17% of vehicle fuel. Biogas is a renewable fuel, is clean,
non polluting and cheap. Direct supply from plant avoids problems of
storage requirements. Sludge left over is a rich fertilizer. Biogas plants
used in our country are basically of two types namely floating gas
holder type and fixed dome type. The latter one with fixed cement dome
avoides problems of corrosion and leakage problems of the former type.
In Indian villages, thousands of small biogas plants use the cattle waste
(especially cow dung) and provide biogas used for home heating and
cooking. It is estimated that over 2 million such biogas plants have
been installed all over India.
The use of biogas for electricity generation in India is more
recent, but this trend is accelerating. In many cities across India, sewage
55
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

treatment centers and organic waste treatment plants (those treating

organic municipal solid waste, for instance) already use anaerobic
digesters to generate biogas and electricity. Some of the industries that
generate significant amounts of solid or liquid organic waste also have
installed digesters and gas engines for electricity production. Many of
these require sizable investments, but it is estimated that they have
a good return on investment as the main feedstock that they use is
essentially free. It is estimated that India can produce power of about
17,000 MW using biogas. This is over 10% of the total electricity
installed capacity in India.

6. Geothermal energy Geothermal energy is the energy obtained

from the heat from the Earth. It’s clean and sustainable. Resources of
geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and
hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth’s surface, and down
even deeper to the extremely high temperatures of molten rock called
magma. In India hot water surface sources called natural geysers are
found in Manikaran, Kullu and Sohana, Haryana.
Geothermal Electricity Production Geothermal power plants
use steam, however, use steam produced from reservoirs of hot water
found a couple of miles or more below the Earth’s surface. . A hole can be
drilled to the hot rocks where the hot water has not found the escape to
the surface. The steam or hot water can be made to gush out by putting
a pipe in this hole. This high pressure hot water or steam turns the
turbine of a generator to produce electricity. Worldwide, about 10,715
megawatts (MW) of geothermal power is available in 24 countries. USA
has the world’s largest geothermal power plants followed by New
Zealand, Iceland, Philippines and Central America. In India, geothermal
plants are located in Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh and Puga Valley in
Ladakh.
Geothermal Direct Use Geothermal hot water can be used
for many applications that require heat. Its current uses include
heating buildings (either individually or whole towns), raising plants
56
 MODULE - 2

in greenhouses, drying crops, heating water at fish farms, and several

industrial processes, such as pasteurizing milk. With some applications,
researchers are exploring ways to effectively use the geothermal fluid for
generating electricity as well. In the United States, geothermal reservoirs
are located in the western states, Alaska, and Hawaii. Worldwide
28 gigawatts of direct geothermal heating capacity is installed for
application like heating, spas, industrial processes, desalination and
agricultural applications.

7. Hydropower- Flowing water creates energy that can be captured and

turned into electricity. This is called hydroelectric power or hydropower.
The most common type of hydroelectric power plant uses a dam on
a river to store water in a reservoir. . Some important hydel power
stations in India are Bhakra Nangal, Gandhi Sagar, Nagarjunsagar and
Damodar valley projects. Water released from the reservoir flows
through a turbine, spinning it, which in turn activates a generator to
produce electricity. But hydroelectric power doesn’t necessarily require
a large dam. Some hydroelectric power plants just use a small canal to
channel the river water through on to a turbine. These are called Small
Hydro Power projects. Small projects create less environmental damage
compared to large dams. India has an estimated SHP (small-hydro
power) potential of about 15000 MW. Small Hydro Power ( SHP)
Programme is therefore one of the thrust areas of power generation
from renewable in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.  It has
been recognized that small hydropower projects can play a critical role
in improving the over all energy scenario of the country and in particular
for remote and inaccessible areas.
A number of NGOs are now propagating water mills (water
wheels) or micro hydel sets for electricity generation to meet small
scale electrical requirements of villages. Uttaranchal has taken a lead
in setting up electricity generation watermills and over 450 such
watermills were installed in remote and isolated areas of the state.
Nagaland has recently commenced setting up such micro hydel sets for
57
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

rural electrification.  Watermills are also being installed in Arunachal

Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Karnataka and Manipur.

8. Hydrogen fuel Hydrogen is high in energy, yet an engine that burns

pure hydrogen produces almost no pollution. NASA has used liquid
hydrogen since the 1970s to propel the space shuttle and other rockets
into orbit. Hydrogen fuel cells power the shuttle’s electrical systems,
producing a clean byproduct - pure water, which the crew drinks.
Hydrogen can be separated from hydrocarbons through the application
of heat - a process known as reforming. Currently, hydrogen is made this
way from natural gas. An electrical current can also be used to separate
water into its components of oxygen and hydrogen. This process is
known as electrolysis. Some algae and bacteria, using sunlight as their
energy source, even give off hydrogen under certain conditions. However
hydrogen is highly inflammable and explosive in nature. Also it is
difficult to store and transport. In use as vehicle fuel, car manufacturers
still need a fuel cell that is sturdy, durable and cheap, as well as a way
to store enough hydrogen on board to allow for long-distance travel.
Hydrogen also requires a new distribution infrastructure, and even then
the greenhouse-gas benefits would be marginal until a cost-effective
way to make hydrogen from low-carbon energy sources rather than
natural gas is worked out.

Non renewable energy sources Other sources of energy which are more
in use as of today but have the possibility of getting exhausted being non
renewable are as follows
a. Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel in the world formed millions of
years ago in the carboniferous age when forests were buried by nature
and the action of heat and pressure gradually converted it into peat which
was converted with time to different types of coal. There are mainly
three types of coal anthracite(90% carbon), bituminous(80% carbon)
and lignite(70%). Peat is only 60% in carbon content. The Indian coal
industry is the fourth largest in terms of coal reserves and third largest in
58
 MODULE - 2

terms of coal production in the world.  The coal producing areas of India
are Raniganj, Jharia, Dhanbad and Bokaro in Jharkhand. But despite its
huge resource base, till date, India has not been able to minimize its coal
deficit. Also Indian coal reserves are likely to be exhausted by the year
2041, keeping in view the current rate at which the coal demands are
rising. About 70% of India’s energy generation capacity is from fossil
fuels, with coal accounting for 40% of India’s total energy consumption
followed by crude oil and natural gas at 24% and 6% respectively. Coal
is also likely to remain a key energy source for at least the next 30-40
years. But coal produces carbon dioxide which is a greenhouse gas. It
contains impurities like sulphur and so its burning produces toxic gases
like sulphur and nitrogen oxides. The development of cost effective
alternative renewable sources is not only good for the environment but
is also desirable for the Indian economy.

b. Petroleum- Along coastal areas and continental shelves where

marine life and sediment supplies from rivers are plentiful rock particles
accumulate into layers, they pile up microscopic plant and animal
remains, trapping them in the sediment. It then undergoes tremendous
heat and pressure without having undergone bacterial decomposition.
This process generates petroleum or crude oil . It consists of a complex
mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid
organic compounds. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling.
It is refined and separated, most easily by boiling point differences (in
its constituents), into a large number of consumer products, like petrol,
kerosene, chemical reagents used to make plastics and pharmaceuticals.
 The leading producers in India are Digboi in Assam, Bombay High in
Mumbai and the deltas of Krishna and Godavari rivers. The combination
of rising oil consumption and relatively flat production has left India
increasingly dependent on imports to meet its petroleum demand.
In 2009, India was the sixth largest net importer of oil in the world,
importing nearly 2.1 million bbl/d, or about 70 percent, of its oil needs.
The EIA(Energy Information Administration, US) expects India to
59
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

become the fourth largest net importer of oil in the world by 2025,
behind the United States, China, and Japan. Nearly 70 percent of India’s
crude oil imports come from the Middle East, primarily from Saudi
Arabia, followed by Iran.

Fig 2.5 Graphical Representation of India’s Oil Production and

Consumption 1990-2009

c. Natural Gas- Natural Gas is mainly composed of methane (95%)

with small amounts of propane and ethane. Natural gas deposits mostly
accompany oil deposits although natural gas will almost certainly be
one or two miles lower in the ground than oil as it requires greater
pressure for its formation. It is the cleanest fossil fuel and can be easily
transported through pipelines. It burns without any smoke. It is used as
a domestic and industrial fuel and in thermal power plants to generate
electricity. Compressed natural gas (CNG) is being used as an alternative
to petrol and diesel for transport of vehicles. Delhi public transport is
totally switched to CNG and it has greatly reduced vehicular pollution
in the city. In India Jaisalmer, Krishna Godavari delta, Tripura and some
areas off shore in Mumbai have natural gas resources.
60
 MODULE - 2

d. Nuclear fuel - Nuclear energy is the energy from nuclear reactions

of fission and fusion which can be harnessed for providing commercial
energy. There are now 439 nuclear reactors in operation around
the world in over 30 countries, providing almost 16% of the world’s
electricity. These are based on fission reactions where one neutron is
made to bombard certain isotope like Uranium (U235 ) nucleus which
releases a lot of energy which boils water to steam to run a turbine
and generate electricity. In fusion reaction, two nuclei of light element
like Hydrogen-2(Deuterium) are fused at high temperatures to form a
heavier nucleus (Helium-3) releasing enormous energy, higher than that
of fission reactions. This technology has not been put into practice, but
fusion reactors are now in experimental stages at several laboratories
in the United States and around the world.  Their advantage is that they
will not leak radiation above normal background levels and they will
produce less radioactive waste than current fission reactors.
The greatest producers of nuclear power are USA and Europe.
In India Rajasthan and Jharkhand have large deposits of Uranium.
Thorium is found in large quantities in the Monozite sands of Kerala.
For a large developing country like India with large population density,
nuclear power will play an important role for sustainable supply of
energy. Nuclear power is the fourth-largest source of electricity in
India after thermal, hydro and renewable sources of electricity. As
of 2010, India has 20 nuclear power plants in six nuclear powerplants,
generating 4,780 MW while 7 others are under construction and are
expected to generate an additional 5,300 MW. India’s nuclear power
industry is undergoing rapid expansion with plans to increase nuclear
power output to 63,000 MW by 2032. India stands 9th in the world
in terms of number of operational nuclear power reactors. Reactors
in India include Kalpakkam (Tamilnadu), Narora (U.P), Tarapur
(Maharashra), Rawatbhata(Rajasthan),Kakrapar (Gujarat) and Kaiga
(Kanataka) Only Nuclear Energy offers Emission free energy on the
massive and expanding scale the world so urgently requires. Moreover

61
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

nuclear energy is considered to be an environmentally benign source

of energy except for the problems of disposal and devastating nuclear
pollution from any leakage.

CASE STUDY
Concerns regarding the proposed Jaitapur nuclear plant
On November 26, 2010 the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF)
accorded environmental clearance for the 6x1650 MWe nuclear power
project in Jaitapur,in Ratnagiri district Maharashtra. The environmental
clearance granted to the project, has come after a serious hearing of
apprehensions over its environmental impact. Clearance has also been
accompanied by as many as 35 conditions and safeguards of a general as
well as specific nature. Extensive opposition to the project, notably from
the Konkan Bachao Samiti (KBS), was overruled by the MoEF in granting
this clearance. The reasons of apprehensions in the public are mainly the
following
1. Buying French high-priced power reactors of unproven design and
safety does not seem a sound decision to the masses.The French reactor
approved by India has not been approved by the Nuclear Regulatory
Authority of any country. There is not a single EPR (European Pressurized
Reactor) working reactor in the world and India has signed deal to build
4 of them. This has led to public outcry and insecurity
2. An impact assessment report by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)
has come down heavily on the proposed nuclear power plant stating that it
is sitting on a high to moderate severity earthquake zone. However, project
developer Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) has claimed that
the site selection for the power plant was done keeping in mind the safety
aspects and there was not “any active geological fault within 5-km radius
from the proposed site”.

Issues with Nuclear Energy

Non-conventional energy sources must be tapped to the fullest
extent but there is no viable alternative to nuclear power if we are going
62
 MODULE - 2

to bridge the enormous energy deficit, projected to touch 150,000

megawatts by 2030 despite all advances, there still is a long way to go
on in making the resources like solar more feasible So it is important
to understand the comparative advantages and disadvantages of using
Nuclear fuel compared to renewable resources as nuclear energy has
become an unavoidable need of the nation

Comparative Disadvantages
There are legitimate environmental concerns over nuclear power
generation. It is supremely important to ensure safety by strict adherence
to international protocols on the design, construction, and operation of
plants to avoid any leakages. There is also concerns regarding sabotage
as clear cases of breach of nuclear safety has occurred in the Kaiga
plant where the water in a water cooler was laced with tritium. There
is also the issue of final disposal of radioactive waste, which waits to be
resolved through advances in technology that seek to transmute such
waste into non-radioactive elements. Also carbon dioxide is released in
every component of nuclear fuel cycle except the actual fission or fusion
reaction in the reactor. Fossil fuels are involved in the mining, milling
conversion and enrichment of the ore, in the handling of mill tailings,
in the fuel-can preparation, in the construction of the station and its
de-commissioning and demolition, in the handling of the spent waste,
in its processing and vitrification and in digging the hole in rock for its
deposition.

Comparative Advantages
On the other hand existing alternatives for large-scale power
generation such as hydroelectric projects often bring massive
deforestation and displacement of people; and emissions from coal-fired
plants are a major contributor to harmful greenhouse gases. The net CO2
emissions from the entire nuclear power production process (including
uranium mining, enrichment, plant construction, plant operation, plant
decommissioning and waste disposal etc) is negligible compared to
63
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

fossil fuels and similar to renewable sources. Many scientific studies

have been performed to estimate the net CO2 emissions from various
energy sources. The studies show that nuclear’s net CO2 emissions is
~2% as much as coal, ~5% as much as gas, and similar to or lower than
most renewables.

Self Assessment Question

12. Enlist the four largest sources of eletricity in India?
13. Which renewable source shows the greatest promise with
respect to the situations of our country and why?

2.3.6 Land Resources

Land as a Resource
All human settlements subsist on land, so it is land, which
constitutes the single most important component of the total
environment upon which we also depend for our food, fibre and fuel
wood etc. Every environmental advantage or disadvantage arises
out of the way in which we use our land resources. Environmentally
compatible planning requires evaluating the land and keeping its
use as close to what nature intended. For example land which can be
cultivated should not be given in to industries and only land which is a
wasteland should be used for industrial use etc. The land use pattern
of agricultural communities is environmentally the most compatible.
As the agricultural cycle has to follow nature,(like keeping it fallow
in between cropping to retain its fertility) such land use is by and
large in harmony with the overall environment and causes the least
conflict between what nature had intended and what man disposes.
Inappropriate use of land is environmentally and economically costly.
For e.g. in Delhi barren land is converted into gardens at immense cost
while fertile land is smothered under concrete and asphalt. During a
study by IIT-Roorkee in 2010, it was found that 90% of the high rise
in Noida are unstable as Noida and GN region are on Yamuna Khadar(
the flood prone periphery of the yamuna). Environmentally speaking
64
 MODULE - 2

the true use of the yamuna khadar was as a flood moderator and its
pools marshes, ridges, grasses and trees harboured an aquaculture and
a mammal reptile and avian population and the destruction of khaddar
has made Delhi ecologically poorer. Another example is the use of fertile
south Gujrat land (which were famous for fruit crops) for industrial and
urban activity just because of its proximity to Bombay, whereas a proper
use of land plan would have used the 60 km stretch between Ahmedabad
and Limbdi known as Khar Patti of the Bhal for industries where the salt
encrusted land is unclaimable for any form of vegetation. The growth of
the slum called Dharavi in Bombay on low lying, mangrove covered salt
water pans and lagoons, for example, has not only created conditions of
filth and squalor, but it has also directly affected both land and water,
destroyed natural vegetation and adversely affected a fine habitat of
avifauna.
Understanding Land resources is thus the first step to proper
planning and assigning its use. Zoning is the present system of land
use planning but exclusive zoning like into residential area commercial
area, institutional area, industrial area can increase inter destination
distances like from home to work and so require wider roads and more
transportation needs. Proper planning should anticipate city growth
and provide space for poorer sections who cannot afford to compete in
market, to reside closer to work places.

Land Degradation
Land degradation is a global problem, where its natural characteristics
and aesthetic value is negatively affected. The major causes of
degradation include:
1.Land clearance, such as deforestation and clear cutting (in which most
or all trees in a harvest area are cut down).
2.Agricultural depletion of soil nutrients through poor farming practices
3.Overgrazing when plants are exposed to intensive feeding on grasses
and plants for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery
periods.
65
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

4.Inappropriate Irrigation can cause problems like salinisation and

water logging
5.  Overdrafting that is extracting groundwater beyond the safe yield or
equilibrium yield of the aquifer can cuase issues like land subsidence.
5.Urban sprawl (spreading outwards of a city) and commercial
development
6.Land pollution (which occurs when waste is not disposed
properly like industrial wastes which can be toxic).
7.Quarrying or open pit mining for stone, sand, ore and minerals

Some important issues linked to land are landslides, soil erosion
and desertification and the magnitude of their threat needs to be
understood

Landslides

Landslides are more widespread than any other geological event. They
are defined as downslope transport of soil and rock resulting from
natural phenomena or man made actions. Landslides can be secondary
effects of heavy storms, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
Man made causes of landslides
1.Intense deforestation, and consequent soil erosion.
2.Construction of human settlement or other anthropogenic activities
related to large dams etc in hilly or landslide prone areas.
3.Roads or communication lines in mountain areas.
4.Building with weak foundations.
5.Burying pipelines weaken an already mountainous area.

Soil Erosion

Soil erosion is a natural process where the natural top soil cover gets
removed. It becomes a problem when human activity causes it to
occur much faster than under natural conditions. The FAO (Food and
Agriculture Organization, a branch of United Nations) estimates that the
66
 MODULE - 2

global loss of productive land through erosion is 5-7 million ha/year.

Soil erosion also results in water loss as water percolation gets reduced,
induces frequent flood and drought, and soil nutrient is also lost. The
eroded soil generally ends up in the waterways, clogging them, silting
up lakes and estuaries. Often the soil is rich in added nutrients - leading
to toxic algal blooms in water bodies.

Causes Of Soil Erosion

Wind and water are the main physical agents of soil erosion. The amount
of soil they can carry away is influenced by two related factors:
1. Speed - The faster it moves, the more soil it can erode. On farmed
slopes steps like terracing and contour farming are helpful in cutting
the speed of water flow down the slope.
2. Plant cover - Plants protect the soil and in their absence wind and
water can do much more damage. Therefore conserving soil is all
about maintaining adequate vegetation cover.
The biotic agents in erosion are excessive grazing, mining, deforestation.
Due to these processes the top soil is disturbed or rendered devoid of
vegetation cover which in turn exposes the land to the physical forces of
wind and water.

Natural factors causing erosion

1.Heavy rains on weak soil: Rain drops loosen soil particles which
get transported downhill by water
2.Steep slopes: water flows faster; soil creeps, slips or slumps
downhill.
3.Rainfall: Erosion increases with unexpected rapidity with severe
rainstorms
4.Drought: Water dries up and dry soil is blown off more easily by the
winds. Soil biota dies. A sudden rain causes enormous damage and
especially more when vegetation cover is depleted due to drought.
5.Changing winds: areas previously sheltered, become exposed.
67
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Human-induced factors

1.Change of land (deforestation): The land loses its cover, then its soil
biota, porosity and moisture.
2.Intensive farming: Excessive fertilizer and irrigation damage the land,
often permanently.
3.Housing development: Soil is bared; massive earthworks are done to
landscape the area and all this leaves soil unprotected.
4.Road construction: When roads are cut, massive earthworks leave
scars behind. Not enough attention is paid to rainwater flow and
maintenance of road sides.
5.Grassland cultivation and overgrazing are also major causes of human
induced soil erosion as the soil loses its proper vegetation cover. Cattle
and sheep industries contribute to large levels of soil erosion. Cattle and
sheep compact the soil which then does not hold seed and so does not
favour vegetation growth, making the soil susceptible to erosion during
heavy rains

Types of soil erosion

• Water induced soil erosion is of the following types

Sheet Erosion- When there is uniform removal of a thin layer of soil
usually by run off, from a large surface area, it is called sheet erosion.
Rill Erosion- When there is rainfall and rapidly running water
produces finger-shaped grooves or rills over the area it is called rill
erosion
Gully Erosion- When the rainfall is very heavy, deeper cavities or
gullies are formed which may be U or V shaped
Slip Erosion- The soil layer slips due to heavy rainfall on slopes of
hills and mountains.
Stream bank erosion- During the rainy season, the fast running
streams take a turn in some other direction cutting the soil and
making caves in the banks.
68
 MODULE - 2

• Wind induced soil erosion shows three types of soil movement

Saltation- Due to the stormy wind the soil particles of 1- 1.5mm
diameter move up in a vertical direction
Suspension-The fine soil particles less than 1mm diameter which
are suspended in the air are carried in that manner to distant places
Surface creep- Here larger particles (5-10 mm diameter) creep over
the soil surface along with wind

Desertification

Desertification is often considered the greatest threat to the planet. Over

one third of the world’s land surface (38 percent) is threatened with
desertification, according to a new study published in the International
Journal of Life Cycle Assessment in 2010

Desertification is the process in which the productive potential of

arid or semiarid land falls by 10% or more as a result of poor land-
management, human and climatic factors. Moderate desertification
is 10-25% drop in productivity, severe desertification causes 25-50%
drop while very severe desertification causes more than 50% drop in
productivity often creating huge gullies and sand dunes. Desertification
occurs mainly in semi-arid areas (average annual rainfall less than 600
mm) bordering on deserts. In the Sahel, (the semi-arid area south of
the Sahara Desert), for example, the desert moved 100 km southwards
between 1950 and 1975. Also the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts are
about a million years old, yet they have become more barren during the
last 100 years.

Desertification is therefore not the literal invasion of desert

into a non desert area rather it includes degradation of the ecosystems
within as well as outside the natural deserts. . It involves conversion
of rangelands and irrigated or even rain-fed croplands to desert like
conditions in which agricultural productivity decreases.
69
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

What Causes Desertification?

1. Overgrazing is the major cause of desertification worldwide. Plants

of semi-arid areas are adapted to being eaten by sparsely scattered,
large, grazing mammals which move in response to the patchy rainfall
common to these regions. In modern times, the use of fences has
prevented domestic and wild animals from moving in response to food
availability, and overgrazing has often resulted. The use of boreholes
and windmills also allows livestock to stay all-year round in areas
formerly grazed only during the rains when seasonal pans held water.
Where not correctly planned and managed, provision of drinking water
has contributed to the massive advance of deserts in recent years as
animals gather around waterholes and overgraze the area.
2. Destruction of vegetation in arid regions, often for fuelwood which
invariably exceeds the rate of its regeneration.
3.Incorrect irrigation practices in arid areas can cause salinization,
(the build up of salts in the soil) which can prevent plant growth.
4.When the practices described above coincide with drought, the rate
of desertification increases dramatically.
5.Increasing human population and poverty contribute to
desertification as poor people may be forced to overuse their
environment in the short term, without the ability to plan for the long
term effects of their actions. Where livestock has a social importance
beyond food, people might be reluctant to reduce their stock numbers.
6. Deforestation leads to surface water runoff, preventing its percolation
and therefore depletion of groundwater due to its low replenishment.
This is a major cause of desertification.
7. Excessive mining and quarrying activities etc lead to loss of fertile
soil and vegetal cover in healthy areas within moderate drylands.
8.Overfarming - Overworking the land eventually drains the soil of its
nutrients, leaving it unable to produce crops

70
 MODULE - 2

The Effects Of Desertification

Desertification is self-reinforcing, i.e. once the process has

started, conditions are set for continual deterioration.
1.Desertification reduces the ability of land to support life, affecting
wild species, domestic animals, agricultural crops and people.
2. The reduction in plant cover that accompanies desertification
leads to accelerated soil erosion by wind and water. South Africa
losing approximately 300-400 million tonnes of topsoil every year. As
vegetation cover and soil layer are reduced, rain drop impact and run-
off increases.
3.Water is lost off the land instead of soaking into the soil to provide
moisture for plants. Even long-lived plants that would normally survive
droughts die.
4. A reduction in plant cover also results in a reduction in the quantity
of humus and plant nutrients in the soil, and plant production drops
further. As protective plant cover disappears, floods become more
frequent and more severe.

How Widespread Is Desertification?

The area at risk to desertification is thus large and likely to

increase.
About one third of the world’s land surface is arid or semi-arid.
It is predicted that global warming will increase the area of desert
climates by 17% in the next century. Worldwide, desertification is
making approximately 12 million hectares useless for cultivation every
year. This is equal to 10% of the total area of South Africa.
Desertification currently affects about 1/4 of Earth’s land area.
Amongst the most badly affected areas are the sub Saharan Africa (about
half of southern Africa is semi-arid and thus at risk of desertification),
the Middle East, Western Asia, parts of central and South America,
Australia and the western half of US.
71
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

The Fight against Desertification and Land Degradation.

The Desertification has come to note in about the last 30 years
or so. The fight against desertification has turned serious with steps
like the North American launch of the UN Decade for Deserts and
the Fight against Desertification, on 11 and 12 November 2010, in
Colorado. Some practices in curbing desertification include enclosure
of overgrazed areas for a duration for development of vegetation cover.
Stress on proper irrigation practices to prevent issues like salinization. .
Mulching (layer of straw etc over soil to reduce evaporation lossess) and
reseeding is also suggested although these are expensive. The realistic
large scale approach is good land management
The problems of desertification, landslide and soil erosion can
be prevented from further aggravation by proper survey of every region
before landuse planning and supporting vegetation cover wherever the
soil is healthy.
Self Assessment Question
14. Loss of productive land per year due to erosion is ……………………..
15. Desertification is making ……………. of land useless for
cultivation per year worldwide.

Role of an Individual in Conservation of Natural Resources

Conservation means using the resources in a wise manner so that
besides meeting the present requirement it also takes care of the future
generations. Conservation measures have been underway at National
and International levels but unless the individual cooperates nothing
substantial can be achieved. If each individual of the nearing 7 billion
population of the world starts conserving natural resources in the best
way possible definitely much can be achieved.

Conserving Energy
1. Turn off unneeded lights, fans etc even when leaving a room for a
short time.
72
 MODULE - 2

2. Set your refrigerator temperature at 36 to 38 and your freezer at 0

to 5 . Use a microwave when- ever you can instead of a conventional
oven or stove.
3. When using an oven, minimize door opening while it is in use; it
reduces oven temperature by 25 to 30 every time you open the door.
4. Clean the lint filter in your dryer after every load so that it uses less
energy or use natural sources as sunlight to dry clothes whenever
possible.
5. Unplug seldom used appliances.
6. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs to save money and energy.
7. Plant trees to shade your home. Shade outside air conditioning
units by trees or other means. All this will cut energy needs
8. Use Public transport or car pooling whenever possible.
9. Cooperate in recycling and reuse of paper, metal and glass.
10. For every one degree rise in temperature setting of AC, 3-5%
energy is saved, so whenever possible increase the thermostat
setting

Conserve Water
1. Check and fix any water leaks.
2. Install water-saving devices on your faucets and toilets.
3. Don’t wash dishes with the water running continuously.
4. Wash and dry only full loads of laundry and dishes.
5. Avoid shower or install a low-flow shower head.
6. Replace old toilets with new ones that use a lot less water (not
more than 6 litres per flush).
7. Turn off washing machine’s water supply to prevent leaks, check
and correct water leaks as a pin hole sized leak will lead to the
wastage of 640 litres of water per month.
8. Water plants in the evenings when evaporation losses are minimum
9. Agriculturists should use drip irrigation, sprinkler irrigation
wherever possible to increase irrigation efficiency.
10. Build rain water harvesting
73
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

11. Reuse the soapy water of washing from clothes to clean the
driveway, courtyards etc.
Apart from these, reducing wastes by reusing plastic covers, or
returning it to shopkeepers after use, using cloth napkins instead of
paper napkins, planting saplings, avoiding the cutting of trees, being
a responsible citizen and teaming up with NGO’s protesting against
environmentally unhealthy practices (like the cutting of trees to
widen roads) etc if done by every individual will make an enormous
contribution towards conservation of natural resources.

Equitable use of Resources for sustainable life style.

There is a limited capacity of the planet to meet the increasing

demand for resources and to absorb the emissions and waste resulting
from their use and there is evidence that the existing demand exceeds
the carrying capacity of the environment in several cases.
The two basic causes of unsustainabilty are over population in
poor countries who have under consumption of resources and over
consumption of resources by the rich countries, which generate wastes.
In order to achieve sustainable life styles it is desirable to achieve
a more balanced and equitable distribution of global resources and
income to meet everyone’s basic needs. That is the rich countries will
have to lower down their consumption levels while the bare minimum
needs of the poor have to be fulfilled by providing them resources via
the government initiatives.
With growth of economy, resource consumption increases,
however small the population. But even though some relative
decoupling of growth and resource consumption is emerging, there is
still an absolute increase of environmental pressure. With the growing
trend towards a globalised economy, competition for resources is likely
to increase progressively over time. This brings a consequential risk of
geopolitical instability as competing interests seek to take advantage of
key global resources. Growth is required in poor countries as it provides
74
 MODULE - 2

more employment and removal of poverty and so growth cannot be

stopped. So the solution lies in reaching a global consensus for more
balanced distribution of the basic resources like safe drinking water,
food, fuel etc. so that the poor in the less developed countries are able
to live a reasonable decent life and there should be an upper limit to the
per capita resource consumption of the more developed countries.
In short we have to remember and follow the wisdom of the
words of A. Einstein in this regard. “The world will not evolve past
its current state of crisis by using the same thinking that created the
situation”

2.4 Summary
• All the six major natural resources are under stress mainly due to
overexploitation, consumerism, and overpopulation.
• Sustainable resource use by equitable or balanced distribution of
basic resources should be practiced to prevent resource depletion
and mismanagement

2.5 Terminal Questions

1. Identify a resource mismanagement or depletion in your region and
how it can be avoided as per what you have learnt.
2. What are the various implications of overutilization of groundwater
and how should it be avoided?
3. What have you understood about water resources as a cause of
conflict?
4. Explain the environmental effects of the efforts to increase food crop
production? What according to you could be the feasible solutions to
reduce these negative environmental effects?
5. Write an opinion on nuclear power as a requirement in India.
6. Among all the resource linked issues studied so far what according
to you is the major global issue? Defend your choice and suggest your
solutions.
7. What are the land linked issues and how can each issue be avoided or
overcome?
75
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

2.6 Answers

Self Assessment Questions

1. Because of exotic trees in Bangalore, the bird population is less

and hence pests are more in the fields (refer 2.3.1 Introduction)
2. Withdrawal of ground water more than its recharge rate.
3. Afforestation and reforestation of catchment of rivers
4. Education to encourage appropriate land use
5. Failure causes comparatively much less damage
6. Aggressive search, mining of minerals causing damage to
environment.
7. E.g. Acid Mine Drinage
8. Contamination of water bodies with tailings that are toxic for
thousands of years
9. Mine land Reclamation
10. Biomagnification
11. E.g. Capitalism because it leads to wastage and inaccessibility of
available food resources
12. Thermal, Hydro, Renewable, Nuclear
13. E.g. Solar because of more sunny days per year
14. 5-7 million hec (FAO)
15. 12 million hec

Terminal Questions
1. Refer 2.3.6
2. Refer 2.3.2 a
3. Refer 2.3.2 e
4. Refer 2.3.4, World Food Problems 3
5. Refer 2.3.5, Issues with Nuclear Energy to form an opinion
6. Refer 2.3, e.g. depleting energy resources
7. Refer 2.3.6

76
 MODULE - 2

References
http://www.indianetzone.com/4/dams_india.htm
http://groundwater.sdsu.edu
http://www.cawater-info.net/bk/water_law/pdf/wolf_e.pdf
http://india.gov.in/sectors/water_resources/river_water.php
http://www.miracosta.edu/home/MEggers/MRE%20Mineral%20
ResourcesCh13.pdf
http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/1166/Depletion-Conservation-
Natural-Resources-MINERALS-OIL.html#ixzz18idMO6zv
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/05/nuclear-
greenpolitics
http://www.massline.org/Politics/ScottH/
HungerExceeds1Billion-090619.pdf)
http://www.fao.org/docrep/u8480e/u8480e07.htm
http://teachingcompany.12.forumer.com/a/18-the-human-ecology-of-
biomagnification_post2654.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_energy_resources_and_
consumption
http://solarenergyrenewableenergy.info/status-of-solar-energy-in-
inida-2010-the-solarity/
http://www.gizmag.com/go/8032/
India Energy Data, Statistics and Analysis - Oil, Gas, Electricity ...
http://www.eia.gov/countries/cab.cfm?fips=IN
http://www.indianuclearenergy.net/introduction.htm
http://www.bcb.uwc.ac.za/envfacts/facts/desertification.htm http://
www.seql.org/100ways.cfm
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/12/
report-projects-massive-solar-growth-in-india
Environmental consciousness urban planning, Tracts for the times/ 2,
MN Buch, Orient Longman Ltd 1993
Our Environment , Laeeq Futehally, 1988, National Book Trust, India
*****
77
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Module 3
ECOSYSTEMS

Structure

Learning Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Concept of Ecosystem
3.3 Structure and Function of Ecosystem
3.4 Ecological succession
3.5 Major types of ecosystem
3.6 Summary
3.7 Questions
3.8 Answers

Objectives

At the end of the unit you will be able to:

> understand how nature functions in relation to its various
components
> understand different types of ecosystems and their similarities and
differences.

3.1 Introduction

Let us a little permit Nature to take her own way; she better
understands her own affairs than we. 
~Michel de Montaigne (translated)

Our Earth is the only known planet with life. We have to

understand its delicate balance, develop respect for its complexity and
learn to obey it realizing that nature knows better than we do just as
parents know better than a little child. Anthropogenic interference
due to developmental activities affects the delicate balance that is
maintained in the units of self dependent systems in the biosphere
78
 MODULE - 3

called as ecosystems This is because in these units the living and non
living environment work in complete coordination for the well being
of the whole unit. It is important to understand this coordination to
fathom how man is working against this otherwise perfect system and
destroying it in small and big ways. Thus endangering his own survival.

3.2 Concept of Ecosystem

An  ecosystem  can be defined as a  biological environment
consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area interacting
with each other, as well as with all the nonliving, physical components
of the environment, such as air, soil, water, and sunlight, exchanging
energy and matter. That is, it is all the organisms or in other words
the biological communities of different species in a given area and its
physical environment or abiotic components of the area.

The study of ecosystems is called ecology. The term ecology was

coined in 1869 (by Earnst Haekal) much before the term ecosystem. It
is derived from the Greek word Oikos (Home) and Logos (study) and so
ecology meant the study of organisms in their natural environment or
home interacting with their surroundings. The unit of study of ecology
was later described by Tansley (1935) as ecosystem.

Ecosystems have become particularly important politically,

since the  Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) - ratified by 192
countries – which defines “the protection of ecosystems, natural
habitats and the maintenance of viable populations of species in natural
surroundings” as a commitment of ratifying countries. This has created
the political necessity to spatially identify ecosystems and somehow
distinguish among them. The CBD defines an “ecosystem” as a “dynamic
complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their
non-living environment interacting as a functional unit”. Some of the
major ecosystems are forest ecosystem, grassland ecosystem, desert
ecosystem, aquatic ecosystems etc. Though there are obviously various
differences in different ecosystems, the basic structure and functions
are common.
79
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

3.3 Structure and function of Ecosystem

Ecosystems show large variations in size, structure, composition
etc. However all the ecosystems are characterized by certain basic
structural and functional features which are common. The basic
structural components of an ecosystem are biotic and abiotic
components. That is the ecosystem can be viewed as a series of biotic
components that are linked together and thus interact with one another
exchanging energy and matter, and being influenced by other abiotic
factors. The fact that ecosystem components are linked indicates that
disturbances to one component impact on all other components of the
ecosystem to varying degrees.

A. Structure of ecosystems – This can be summarized in four ways

I. Trophic levels (Biotic Components)
II. Abiotic Components
III. Trophic relationships
IV. Ecological pyramids

I. Trophic levels - Ecosystems have a basic structure according to

how different populations acquire energy flow, where energy flow is a
function of ecosystems. Species obtaining energy in a similar way are
grouped into trophic levels. There are three primary trophic levels:
1. primary producers
2. consumers
3. decomposers

Primary producers  are autotrophic organisms(primarily green plants)

capable of photosynthesis making food for themselves and indirectly for
other components. In terrestrial ecosystems the autotrophs are usually
rooted plants, while in aquatic ecosystems shallow waters have rooted
plants and deep waters have phytoplanktons as the major autotrophs
Consumers are heterotrophic organisms dependent on other
organisms for food. Consumers can be subdivided into more
specific trophic levels .Those feeding directly on producers are
called primary consumers  (herbivores) like rabbit, deer for terrestrial
80
 MODULE - 3

and protozoa, many mollusk species for aquatic ecosystems. The

secondary and tertiary consumers (carnivores) eat other consumers.
For e.g. frog, tiger for terrestrial ecosystems and fishes for aquatic
ecosystems.   Decomposers are organisms that obtain energy and
nutrients from remains of dead producers and consumers. Decomposers
are primarily bacteria and fungi which are extremely important in the
process of nutrient cycling.

Composition of Species: For each ecosystem, the species

composition in these three basic structural levels of producers,
consumers and decomposers will be different. For example, pond
ecosystem will have different composition of species in the three levels
compared to marine ecosystem. A desert will have fewer species as
compared to the variety of species in a forest ecosystem. Thus Species
composition differentiates ecosystems.

II. Abiotic Components – The abiotic components are air, water, salts,
light, temperature, nutrients etc. These are basic components in the
structure of every ecosystem. In deserts, temperature and light will be in
excess, but with scarcity of water. In deep sea, light would be limited. But
all these components are vital and the species composition is affected
by these abiotic factors. Nutrients such as N, P and Ca, necessary for
the growth of living organisms are accumulated in the biomass and the
abiotic components like the soil. The amount of these nutrients present
in the soil at any given time is known as standing state. Different
ecosystems have different standing state of nutrients. The standing state
of nutrients may vary at different time even in the same ecosystem.

III. Trophic relationships - Ecosystems also have a basic structure

according to trophic relationships. This is the relationship of “who-eats-
whom” in an ecosystem and is a food chain. More often, however, food
chains are not isolated from one another but rather are “cross-linked”
into more complicated structures called food webs. Thus a food chain
can be defined as a linear series of organisms dependent on each other
for food, resulting in the function of transfer of energy in an ecosystem.
81
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Example Grass is eaten by sheep, which in turn is eaten by a lion. A

food web can be defined as an interconnected set of food chains in the
ecosystem. For example a mouse in the field may eat several types of
seeds and be preyed upon by several different carnivores animals. But
each of these carnivores animals may consume not just the mouse but
several different types of prey and so on, thus forming an interconnected
network of species.
The two most important functions of energy flow and nutrient cycling
takes place through this basic structure of food chains and food web.
The food chains are also significant in that it helps in maintaining and
regulating the population size of different animals and thus maintain
ecological balance.

As the diversity (e.g. number of species) in the ecosystem increases, the

complexity of these food webs also increases and as complexity increases
so does stability. e.g. disturbance or extinction of one or two species can
be compensated for . In simple food webs or chains, extinction of one
species may lead to the collapse of the entire system.

Fig3.1: Trophic Relationships

Human agricultural ecosystems are good examples of simple,

unstable ecosystems. Monocultures of single crop plants consumed by
livestock and/or humans are the single food source of insects in the
82
 MODULE - 3

ecosystem making the system unstable and because they are unstable,
they require additional energy inputs to prevent them from collapsing
e.g. insecticides, herbicides, fertilizers, irrigation water, etc. Irish potato
famine is an example of the instability of human agricultural ecosystems.

IV. Ecological Pyramids- Another way to summarize the structure

of trophic of ecosystems is in the form of ecological pyramids for the
trophic relationships. Ecological pyramids are graphic representation
of the structure of trophic and function of an ecosystem, starting with
producers at the base and successive trophic levels leading to the apex.
These are mostly upright but can be inverted or even urn shaped.
Ecological pyramids can be based on three different kinds of information
related to the trophic relationships. These are as follows:
1. Pyramid of numbers – It is based on numbers of individuals in
each trophic level. For example the producers in the grasslands are
grasses which are small in size and large in number thus forming
a broad base. The herbivores in this ecosystem are insects while
tertiary carnivores are hawks or other birds which are gradually
less and less in number, thus forming an upright pyramid. In forest
ecosystem the producers are big trees which are less in number,
where the birds, insects etc that feed on the trees are more in number
forming a broader middle structure. The secondary consumers like
lizards, snakes, fox etc which feed o these are lesser in number and
thus the pyramid is urn shaped. For parasitic food chain of few big
trees with fruit eating birds harboured on them, which in turn have
higher number of lice, bugs etc as parasites growing on them, while
a still greater number of hyperparasites like microbes feeding on
them, makes for an inverted pyramid of numbers.
2.  Pyramid of biomass – It is based on weight of living material
in each trophic level. For example in a forest the producers (trees)
accumulate a huge biomass while the total biomass of the consumers
feeding at each successive level decreases resulting in a broad base
and narrowing top, that is an upright pyramid. Whereas for a pond
ecosystem the producer are phytoplanktons which have much less
biomass as compared to herbivores (zooplanktons, insects) and
83
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

carnivores (small fish) and tertiary carnivores (big fish). Thus the
pyramid takes an inverted shape with narrow base and broad apex.
3. Pyramid of energy – It is based on energy content of each trophic
level. As energy is always lost at each step of a food chain, the
pyramid of energy is always upright. The energy loss in the form of
heat, respiration etc at each trophic level is as high as 90%, that is
only about 10% of the energy is passed on to the next trophic level.
This would mean that if there were a 1000 units of energy at the
producers level the primary consumers would receive 100 units of
energy, the secondary consumers would receive 10 units of energy,
and the tertiary consumer would receive 1 unit of energy. That is
why it takes a lot of producers to support a few top consumers.
Hence the pyramid of energy is the best representation of the trophic
relationship. This pyramid helps to demonstrate the loss of energy
from one level of the food chain to the next level.

Fig 3.2.a. Basic pyramid of trophic relationship (source: Utah

State Office of Education)
Lion, Tiger
Snakes, foxes, lizards
Insects, birds
Trees

Fig 3.2. b. Pyramid of Numbers for forests

84
 MODULE - 3

Big fish
Small fish
Insects
Phytoplanktons

Fig 3.2.c Pyramid of Biomass for pond

Values for all the pyramids based on the three types of

information, thus generally get smaller from producers to primary
consumers to secondary consumers, etc (hence takes a pyramidal
form when represented) where major exceptions are Forest
ecosystems showing urn shaped pyramid of numbers and parasitic
food chains showing inverted pyramid of numbers. Pond ecosystems
showing inverted pyramid of biomass. The pyramid of energy has
no exceptions being always upright. The three pyramids (of number,
biomass and energy) drawn for each ecosystem thus gives a holistic
representation of trophic relationships, or the structure of the
particular ecosystems, is based on the function they perform. (Refer
fig.)

B. Functions of Ecosystem- Interactions between ecosystem

components involve two general processes or functions:
1. Energy flow.
2. Nutrient cycling.

1. Energy Flow – Energy flow is an important function that sustains

the ecosystem but the energy does not cycle and so needs a
constant input. Energy flow is a one-way process in ecosystems
The sun is the ultimate source of energy for most ecosystems,
which provides for the essential constant input of energy. This
is called radiant energy in the form of electromagnetic waves, as
is sunlight. Primary producers capture a fraction of energy in
85
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

sunlight striking the earth and convert it into chemical energy

(carbohydrate) that is stored in their tissues. This is fixed
energy, which is potential chemical energy bound up in various
organic substances, which are broken down in order to release
their energy content. Energy in tissues of primary producers
is transferred to consumers as each consumes tissue of other
organisms. Each organism oxidizes the organic substances of the
first to liberate energy to synthesize its own cellular constituents,
thus further decreasing the useful energy at each step. About
90% - 95% of energy present in one component is lost as heat at
each transfer.
The fixation of energy and its flow thus obeys the two
laws of thermodynamics where the first law states that energy
can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only be transformed
from one form to another. And the second law states that every
transformation of energy is accompanied by a simultaneous
degradation of energy from concentrated form to dispersed
form. Energy flow is thus a very inefficient process and very little
energy is left when decomposers get to it.

There are two important energy flow models.

a. Single channel energy flow model- It depicts the energy

flow in a grazing food chain which starts from green plants
and ends to carnivores passing herbivores. This is depicted
using narrowing pipes to depict the gradual loss of energy at
every level and using smaller boxes to depict the decreasing
stored energy that is biomass (B). The incident energy (I),
energy assimilated (A), loss of energy, that is excreted or not
utilized energy (NU), the energy loss or respiration(R) and
the energy used for production (P) is depicted. (Refer fig 3.3)

86
 MODULE - 3

Fig3.3: Single channel shaped Enegy Flow Model

b. Y-shaped energy flow model- It was E.P. Odum who noted

that food chain may begin with live parts of plants or dead
parts of plants parts which led to his conclusion that in nature
two basic food chains the grazing food chain and detritus
food chain operate, in the same ecosystem. The detritus that
is dead matter derived from the grazing food chain serves
as source of energy for detritivores or decomposers that are
separate from the grazing food chain and generally termed as
the detritus food chain. The significant part in Y-shaped model
is that the two food chains are not isolated from each other.
Refer fig 3.4, for a representation of the Y shaped energy flow.
Y-shaped energy flow model is more realistic and
practical than the single-channel energy flow model
because of the following points :(i) It conforms to the basic
stratified structure of ecosystems.(it) It separates the two
chains i.e. grazing food chain and detritus food chain in both
time and space.(iii) Microconsumers  (e.g. bacteria, fungi)
and the macroconsumers (animals) differ greatly in. size-
metabolism relations in two models.
In some ecosystems either grazing or detritus food chain
may predominate. Grazing food chain predominates in
marine ecosystems as primary production in the open sea is

87
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

limited and much of it is eaten by marine herbivores leaving

little dead matter for the detritus food chain whereas in forest
ecosystem the huge quantity of biomass produced cannot be
all consumed by herbivores, leaving a large proportion of
biomass in the form of litter for the detritus food chain.

The basic components of an energy flow model can be examined in a
Generalized model of Y-shaped energy flow called the Universal model
given by E.P. Odum 1983. This model is applicable to both terrestrial
and aquatic ecosystems. It is applicable to any living component, an
individual, a population or a trophic group. (Refer fig 3.5)

Fig3.4: Simple Enegy Flow diagram representing both the grazing

and the detritus(dead matter) food chain

Fig3.5: Generalised Y shaped Enegy Flow Model (Universal

Model)
88
 MODULE - 3

It can be concluded form the energy flow, that shorter the food
chain, greater would be the available food energy as with the increase in
length of the food chain, there is a correspondingly greater loss of energy.
It also implies that a larger population of people can be supported if
people shorten the food chain by eating grains directly rather than
eating animals that feed on grains. Although fruit and vegetable-sources
of protein are more often lower in one or more essential amino acids
than animal sources, like lysine, and to a lesser extent methionine and
threonine. Yet the plant sources of protein can be adequate for adult
needs even with any one of the legume, cereal, nut, seed, or fruit food
groups.

2. Nutrient Cycling - Now, let’s consider nutrient cycling in ecosystems

and see how it is in contrasts to energy flow. Nutrients are molecules
required by living organisms e.g. carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus. Unlike
energy, there is no major input of nutrients from outside the ecosystem.
Thus, nutrients are used over and over again which would mean that
the carbon, nitrogen, etc. atoms in our body have been used over and
over again in ecosystems. Nutrients move through ecosystems by way
of biogeochemical cycles which by name indicate that these cycles
include biological, geological and chemical processes. Major cycles
are Nitrogen, Carbon and Phosphorous cycle. Nutrients exist in either
a reservoir or exchange pool: reservoir is the storehouse of nutrients.
The nutrients in the reservoir are not directly available to organisms in
the ecosystem e.g. reservoirs for carbon include limestone, coral reefs,
and fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas. Reservoir of phosphorous
are rocks, fossils etc. Exchange pool is the source of nutrients in a form
that can be taken up by primary producers e.g. carbon in the form of
atmospheric carbon dioxide is the exchange pool form. . From Phosphate
rocks the phosphorous becomes available as dissolved phosphorous due
to erosion. Nutrients tied up in biomass are released by decomposition
back into exchange pool.

89
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Nutrients are taken up by primary producers and passed from

trophic level to trophic level like energy but is not lost as heat, rather
are incorporated into biomass of each trophic level. In obtaining energy
from dead organic material, decomposers release nutrients back into
exchange pool. Some of this dead material may not be decomposed and
nutrients may become part of reservoir -- e.g. carbonification of dead
organic materials not decomposed produces reservoir forms such as
natural gas, oil and coal.

3.4 Ecological Succession

“Ecological succession” is the observed process of change in
the structure of species of an ecological community over a period of
time. Within any community some species may become less abundant
over some time interval, or they may even vanish from the ecosystem
altogether. Similarly, over some time interval, other species within the
community may become more abundant, or new species may even
invade into the community from adjacent ecosystems. This observed
change over a period of time in what is living in a particular ecosystem
is “ecological succession”.

It occurs because ecosystems are not static in nature, and is

triggered by changes in the environment. The original environment
may have been optimal for the first species of plant or animal, but the
newly altered environment is often optimal for some other species of
plant or animal. Under the changed conditions of the environment, the
previously dominant species may fail and another species may become
ascendant.

Does ecological succession ever stop?

In ecological succession there is the concept of the “climax” community.
The climax community represents a stable end product of the successional
sequence. Its apparent that the structure of the species and composition
will not change much over observable time. To this degree, we could say
that ecological succession has “stopped”. We must recognize, however,
that any ecosystem, no matter how inherently stable and persistent,
90
 MODULE - 3

could be subject to massive external disruptive forces (like fires and

storms) that could re-set and re-trigger the successional process. As
long as these random and potentially catastrophic events are possible,
it is not absolutely accurate to say that succession has stopped. Also,
over long periods of time (“geological time”) the climate conditions and
other fundamental aspects of an ecosystem change. These geological
time scale changes are not observable in our “ecological” time, but their
fundamental existence and historical reality cannot be disputed. No
ecosystem, then, has existed or will exist unchanged or unchanging over
a geological time scale.

Process of Succession

Thus Ecological Succession can be elaborately defined as an

orderly process of change in the community structure and function with
the passage of time, mediated through modifications in the physical
environment and ultimately culminating in a stabilized ecosystem
known as climax. The whole sequences of communities which are
transitory are known as Seral stage or seres whereas the community
established first of all in the area is called a pioneer community. The
process of succession takes place in a systematic order of sequential
steps as follows.

1 Nudation-It is the development of a bare area without any life form.

The bare area may be caused due to landslides, volcanic eruptions,
drought, glaciers, frost, overgrazing, outbreak of diseases, agricultural,
industrial activities etc

2. Invasion-It is the successful establishment of one or more species on

a bare area through dispersal (by wind water birds etc) or migration,
followed by ecesis or establishment. As growth and reproduction
start, these pioneer species increase in number and form groups or
aggregations.
91
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

3.Competition and coactions- As the number of individuals grows

there is interspecific (between species) and intraspecific(within
species) competition for space water and nutrition. This influence on
each other in a number of ways is called coaction.

4. Reaction- the cause of ecosystem change, is the impact that

established species have upon their own environments, sometimes
subtle and sometimes overt alteration of one’s own environment.
This modification of the environment by established species is called
reaction and the modifications are very often such that they become
unsuitable for the existing species and favour some new species which
replace them. This reaction is what leads to seral communities.

5. Stabilization-The succession ultimately culminates in a more or

less stable community called climax which is in equilibrium with the
environment owing to full adjustment with the environment, maximum
biomass and mutually beneficially linkages with other organisms

Significance of Biotic succession

The information gained through the understanding that the
sequence of seral communities in succession is fixed is very useful. For
ecologists it helps in their study of any area, in recognizing the seral stage
at any area and to understand its stage of succession. It also helps them
judge the history of an area whether it was a lake or rock or desert in the
past. In measures of afforestation and reforestation, this understanding
helps in incorporating the conditions and procedure that is conducive
to bringing about a climax community of forests. Commercially it helps
in maintaining a particular biotic community by interfering with biotic
succession by identifying and preventing the members of the next seral
stage to invade the area.

92
 MODULE - 3

Natural Control
Have you thought about the various implications of the fact that in a
forest all the plants and animals are present in relation to the dominant
species? For example in a typical rain forest an almost solid roof is
formed by the tops of large trees. The dense mass of leaf material makes a
permanent ceiling for the entire forest (since the trees are not deciduous).
This prevents direct sunlight from reaching the ground, which means that
there is little undergrowth.

It is obvious that because of the dominant tree canopy through out the
year, only shade loving plants flourish except in pockets where a tree
has fallen and sunlight enters in till the space is filled up again. It is
also obvious that according to the dominant flora of a habitat are the
fauna that survive in these habitats (animals etc dependent on the plants
prevalent in a habitat).So the climax condition in any habitat is very much
in accordance with the dominant species which is currently mankind and
mostly according to mankind is whatever other life survives and whatever
does not...
In this respect therefore our dominance of nature does not seem to have
been against the natural growth and climax in natural habitats! So it is
only natural that there also has to be a check not far off in future that is
predestined for a species like ours. Aren’t we the dominant species altering
our habitat making it unsuitable for our own survival which is what
does happen naturally in succession in habitats which eliminates that
errant species? Nature has never been helpless; it always has a check for
everything, however slow in coming. Our efforts to conserve environment
and remedy the damage is our effort to prevent the natural succeeding
stage of elimination of the errant species.

To understand Succession it would be interesting to study two

types of succession, depending upon the nature of the habitat; namely
Hydrosere and Xerosere. It is to be noted that the climax community
irrespective of whether succession started from water body or desert or
rock, is still a forest, implying that forest is the most diverse and hence
most stable community.
93
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Hydrosere:
Hydrosere or Hydrarch succession occurs in a pond and its community
are converted into a land community in the following stages-
Phytoplankton- rooted submerged stage -rooted floating
vegetation(swampy)- reed swamp stage(marshy) –sedge
meadow stage- Land plants

Characteristics of Hydrosere:
• Phytoplankton stage- In the initial stage, phytoplankton
(cyanobacteria), green algae (Spirogyra, Oedogonium), diatoms
etc are the pioneer colonizers.
• Rooted submerged stage- The phytoplanktons consumed by
zooplankton (protozoans as Amoeba, Euglena, Paramecium etc),
fish such as sun fish, blue gill fish etc. Gradually these organisms
die and increase the content of dead organic matter in the
pond. This is then utilized by bacteria and fungi, and minerals
are released after decomposition. Nutrient rich mud supports
rooted hydrophytes which have roots but are submerged such
as Hydrilla, Ceratophyllum etc in the shallow water zone which is
created by increasing silt brought in by streams of water flowing
into the lake. This submerged stage is also inhabited by animals
such as may flies, dragon flies etc. and Crustaceans as Daphnia,
Cyclops etc.
• Rooted floating stage- The hydrophytes die and are decomposed
by micro organisms and thus release nutrients. Due to silting,
depth of water is further reduced, and sunlight is able to
penetrate to the bottom. At the margin of pond grow rooted
floating vegetation. Example- Nelumbo nucifera, Monochoria,
Trapa etc.In floating stage faunal living space is increased and
diversified. Example- frogs, salamander, hydra, diving beetles etc
inhabit such conditions. Some turtles and snake also invade the
pond.
• Reed swamp stage- Gradually, the depth of water decreases
due to water evaporation and organic matter decomposition.
94
 MODULE - 3

Free floating plants as Lemna, Azolla, Pistia, Spirodella, Wolffia

etc increase in number as the availability of nutrients are more
in water. When these die, they build up the pond ecosystem,
resulting in further build up of the substratum. Pond becomes
a Swampy ecosystem where the shoots of the plants are above
water. The reed swamp species are Scirpus, Typha etc
• Sedge meadow stage- With further increase in sedimentation
the mud becomes almost visible with just a thin layer of water
over it finally forming a marsh land. Mesic (growing in moderate
moisture) communities like sedges like Juncus and grasses begin
forming a mat like vegetation.
• Wood Land Stage- The marshes get dry due to the sunlight and
the marshy vegetation disappears. The soil encourages land
plants as shrubs and trees.
• Forest stage- Depending upon the geographic conditions,
different forests like deciduous or tropical forest stage takes
over. The once aquatic fauna gets replaced by land animals.

Xerosere:
Xerosere or Xerarch succession begins on the exposed parent rocks
(lithosere) or dry sand (psammosere).

A lithosere involves following stages-

crustose lichen stage (pioneers) – foliose lichen stage – moss
stage – herbs stage – shrub stage – forest stage (climax stage).
Characteristics of Lithosere:
• Crustose lichen stage- The pioneer plants are lichens, later
followed by stages of mosses and Selaginella (Spikemossess)
that basically help in soil formation. Rocks cannot absorb water
and are not in a position to hold nutrients, but the weak acids
formed by the pioneer lichens to appear, the crustose lichens like
graphis, Rhizocarpum etc corrode the rock surface forming small
depressions and release the minerals needed for the growth of
these lichens.
95
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

• Foliose lichen stage- The dead and decaying organic matter of

the lichens along with the weathered rock and sand particles
brought by the wind get collected in depressions making
the substratum suitable for the growth of foliose lichens like
Parmelia, which gradually replace the crustose lichens. These
increase the shading of the rocks, accumulation of organic
matter and formation of larger depressions thus accelerating soil
formation. Lithosere also involves successive changes in animal
life. Pioneer stages in animals are few species of mites, spiders
and ants, which are exposed to harsh temperatures.
• Moss stage- Large sized xerophytic mosses like Grimmia, Tortula
shade the Lichens and replace them. Their rhizoids can penetrate
deep into the crevices of the rocks, and more of soil and organic
matter is added to the soil. During moss stage, many new species
of mites, spiders, springtails invade the community.
• Herbs stage- The compact mat formed by mosses retains
sufficient moisture and especially in rainy season making it
possible for seeds of annual grasses and herbs like Poa, Eleucine
etc to germinate. The roots of these annuals and herbaceous
vegetation penetrate deeper through the soil and cause more
weathering of the rocks. Increased moisture and soil invites
perennial grasses like Cymbopogon etc which spread very fast
because of runners and rhizomes. Increased shade, soil moisture
and perennial grasses makes the area suitable for the existence
of several small animals. Herb stage is invaded by nematodes,
mites and various insect larvae
• Shrub stage- Xerophytic shrubs like Zizyphus, Rubus etc start
invading the area and they soon replace the grasses. Shrubs
provide more shade for the sol surface, and the atmosphere
becomes more moist due to more of transpiration. Roots of
shrubs cause more fragmentation of rocks and there is more
accumulation of soil.
96
 MODULE - 3

• Forest stage: - Shrubs are replaced by hardy trees and the

community becomes more stable, called the climax community.
The nature of the climax community is determined by the climate
of the area. For example in tropical regions the climax community
may be a rain forest while in temperate regions it might be a
coniferous or deciduous forest. Whereas areas with less rainfall
will have grasses as climax community Great modifications occur
in the fauna of shrub and forest stage. Numerous kinds of animals
as snails, wire worm, millipede, mites, ants and amphibians such
as frogs, salamander occur. Reptiles which occur there are skinks,
turtles and other lizards. Birds such as goose, flycatcher and
mammals as shrews, mouse, mole, squirrels, fox and chipmunk
occur. Thus, the reason why climax community acquires stability
is that a variety of producers, consumers and decomposers are
present and the community can regulate the flow of energy and
matter economically.

3.5 Major Types of Ecosystem

Forest Ecosystems
These ecosystems tend to be stable climax community of various
strata of trees shrubs herbs climbers and a variety of animals and birds,
or they are always moving towards maturity called a climax forest.
This maturing, also called forest succession, of the ecosystem increases
diversity. Management of forests for sustainability is desirable when
forest diversity is threatened by overuse, resource exploitation and
poor management.
Forest ecosystems can be disrupted and harmed when not
properly sustained. A sustained forest that is certified by a qualified
certification program is assurance that the forest is managed to have
maximum diversity while satisfying environmental and economic
demands. Complex forest ecosystems are extremely diverse, ranging
from dry desert shrub land to large temperate rain forests
97
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Depending on climatic conditions forests can be of various types

a. Tropical Rain Forests- These are considered the storehouse of
biodiversity and found near the equator having high temperature,
humidity and rainfall favouring broad leafed evergreen tree
growth which forms a dense canopy which prevents sunlight
from reaching in. Therefore mostly shade loving smaller trees
and shrubs exist as understory. Some trees shoot out through the
canopy and stand out tall and are called emergent. On the tree
trunks some woody climbers are found to grow which are known
as Lianus. Epiphytes like orchids attach to the branches of big
trees and their special leaves capture and hold the water falling
from above. Large epiphytes often act like mini ponds in the
forest crown and attract birds and animals like monkeys to make
their home in the forest crown. Termites, mushroom and fungi
grown on the ground layer which receives almost no sunlight.
Warm temperature and moisture facilitate decomposition of
dropped leaves releasing nutrients rapidly which the trees
take up by the mycorrhizal roots. The silent valley in Kerala is
the only tropical rainforest lying in India. Other examples are
most notably the Amazon rainforest in South America, Central
American countries such as Panama, the Kilum-Ijim Forest (west
Africa) and Madagascar Lowland forest in Africa
b. Tropical Deciduous Forests-Found a little away from equator,
having warm climate, rainfall only during monsoon,(moderate
amount of precipitation), ), a large part of year remaining dry and
so favouring deciduous trees which lose their leaves in autumn.
c. Tropical Scrub Forests- Found in areas where the dry season
is very long favouring small deciduous trees and shrubs. Some
areas of Western Ghats in India have shrub forests.
d. Temperate Rain Forests- Found in temperate areas with
adequate rainfall dominated by coniferous trees like pines, firs,
redwood and also some evergreen broad leaved trees owing to
the plentiful rainfall. Found in United States along the coastline
98
 MODULE - 3

of the Pacific Northwest and in Canada, and Alaska. Temperate

rainforests are formed in the Pacific Northwest because the
coastal mountain ranges in Washington, Oregon, and Northern
California trap the air masses full of moisture that rise from the
Pacific Ocean. As this moisture condenses into rain it creates
lush rainforests with trees like the Coastal Redwood in California
that grow to enormous sizes and a biomass that exceeds that of
the tropical rainforests.
e. Temperate Deciduous Forests- Found in areas with marked
seasonality but moderate temperature and abundant rainfall
throughout the year favouring broad leaf deciduous trees like
oak(Quercus), hickory, poplar etc. Therefore they are more
precisely termed as temperate broadleaf forest, and are found
in North America, southern South America, Europe, and Asia. 
f. Evergreen Coniferous Forests(Boreal Forests)- Found south
of arctic tundra having long cold and dry winters, sunlight
being available for a few hours only and summer season being
mild and short favouring coniferous trees like fir, cedar, pines,
spruce etc. having tiny needle shaped leaves with wax coating
to withstand the cold. The soil gets frozen in winter where only
few species can survive. Species diversity is rather low in these
forests. The taiga or boreal forest exists as a nearly continuous
belt of coniferous trees across North America and Eurasia. Taiga
is the Russian name for this forest which covers so much of that
country

Grassland Ecosystem
Grasslands are open areas where grasses or grass-like plants are
the dominant vegetation and where there are few trees. Grasses came to
dominate over other species, such as trees, because they are better able
to thrive in hot, dry climates where spring and summer rain is sparse.
Grasses take advantage of moisture in the soil during spring and have
many long, fine roots to search for water at, and just below, the surface
99
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

of the soil. The blades of grass plants curve inward to capture rain drops
and direct them into the center of the plant, where they are absorbed by
the roots. A layer of mulch and a crust of mosses, lichens, liverworts and
other organisms on the ground between the grasses help to shade the
ground from summer heat and from wind, thus preventing evaporation
of precious water from the root zone below. Grass pollen is distributed
by the wind that blows constantly in these dry, open areas. Grass seeds
themselves are tiny cylinders, often with a long thread-like “awn” on the
end, allowing them to move into cracks in the ground towards moisture.
Grasses are also able to withstand grazing and fire. The growing point
of most plants is situated at the tip of a leaf or shoot, but in grasses it is
at the base, close to the ground. When a grass plant has been grazed or
burned it is able to grow again from this protected base. Grasses are not
the only plants in grasslands.

The rolling landscape of grasslands includes hills, river valleys,

canyons and cliffs. All these features alter the amount of sun and
precipitation a specific part of the landscape receives. Elevation also
influences temperature and precipitation: at higher elevations days are
cooler and shorter, precipitation is higher and snow stays longer. Some
areas of the grasslands are hot and dry while others may be relatively
cool and moist. Flowering plants become more abundant with elevation.
Many flowering plants, also called forbs, have adapted to the hot, dry
climate, completing their cycle of flowering, seed formation and drying
out before the hottest part of the summer. Shrubs are also an important
component of grasslands, and in some areas they are the dominant
plants which have long, deep tap roots that search for water well below
the surface. Water runs over the landscape in the form of rivers, streams
and small creeks, collecting in low areas to form lakes, ponds, wetlands
and moist ground. The combination of landscape features, elevation and
climatic differences create a mosaic of plant communities and habitats
that includes open grasslands; rocky talus slopes and rock outcrops;
riparian areas; wetlands; ponds and lakes; gullies; aspen stands; open
coniferous forests; and closed coniferous patches, shoal forests.
100
 MODULE - 3

Distinct plant and animal species live in grasslands; they are

adapted to living where drought is common, summers are long and
hot, and winters are cold and relatively dry. Many animals that live in
grasslands are grazers, like the California Bighorn Sheep, and many, like
the marmot, burrow underground. Some animals, such as the Sharp-
tailed Grouse, use both the grasslands and nearby forests during the
year, while others such as the Western Harvest Mouse (vole) spend their
whole lives in the grasslands.

Three types of grasslands are found to occur in different climatic regions

a. Tropical Grasslands-In Africa these are known as Savannas,
which have tall grasses, scattered shrubs, stunted trees and
perennating bulbs, rhizomes, runners etc. Termite mounds are
very common. Animal diversity is high including Zebras, giraffes,
gazelle, antelope
b. Temperate Grasslands-In United States and Canada these
grasslands are known as prairies, in South America as Pampas,
in Africa as Velds and in central Europe and Asia they are known
as Steppes. The soils are very fertile and often cleared for
agriculture.
c. Polar Grasslands- These grasslands are found in Arctic Tundra
where the climate is too cold and harsh for trees to grow. A thick
layer of ice remains frozen under the surface of soil throughout
the year. Only in summers when the sun shine round the clock
some annual plants grow and even shallow lakes, bogs etc
appear which attract migratory birds. Animals include arctic
wolf, weasel, arctic fox, reindeer etc.

Desert Ecosystem
Deserts  are defined as regions wherein the average annual
precipitation seldom exceeds more than 10 inches per year, and the
amount of water lost to evapotranspiration is much more than the
amount of water gained by precipitation. Deserts are basically of two
101
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

types that is, hot and cold deserts. Hot deserts such as the Sahara in
Africa (tropical desert) and Mojave in Southern California(temperate
desert) and cold deserts, like Gobi desert in China and the best example
being Antarctica. In India we have a hot desert, the Thar in Rajasthan.
One of the prominent differences between the two types of desert is
the form of precipitation, which is snowfall in cold deserts and rainfall
in hot deserts. Irrespective of whether it is a hot or a cold desert, the
characteristic traits of both almost remain the same. In fact the areas
which we refer to as hot deserts have a chilling temperature at night.

Though a desert may seem like a barren land devoid of forms
of life, life does exist in this harsh environment. Numerous plants and
animal species have adapted to these seemingly unsuitable conditions.
In the desert ecosystem, climate is a deciding factor for the existence
of forms of life. In deserts, temperatures can reach up to 115° F during
the day, and come down to 32° F at night. Many plants and animals have
adapted themselves over the years, and have become an important part
of the desert ecosystem today.

Desert Ecosystem: Animals

Deserts are home to a number of species of the animal kingdom.

Biodiversity of the deserts is as unique as other biomes of the world.
Like in most of the other ecosystems, plants are the primary producers,
while rodents, insects and reptiles which feed on these plants are the
primary consumers. Then come the secondary consumers, who mainly
comprise larger reptiles and insects which feed on primary consumers.
At the top of the desert food chain are the apex predators in the form
of birds and mammals. Most prominent members of the desert animals
list include the Gila monster, chuckawallas, desert tortoise, rattlesnakes,
hawks, ostriches, bobcat, kangaroo rats, mountain lions, etc. Most of
these desert animals are nocturnal, i.e. active during the night, and
spend the entire day burrowing. This adaptation helps them to fight
102
 MODULE - 3

the soaring temperatures that persist during the day. Water is scarce in
deserts; these animals also have modified themselves to make the most
of the available water. Some animals absorb water from plants, while
others store it in their fatty tissues like the hump of the Camel.

Desert Ecosystem: Plants

Desert vegetation is only thought about as cactus. However,
within cactus, there are different types which grow in different deserts
of the world. These plants have modified themselves to sustain in the
desert environment. Some plants store water in the specialized tissues,
while others have small leaves with hair like structures which reduce
the evaporation of moisture. In many cactus stem gets flattened and
develop chlorophyll and take up the function of photosynthesis whereas
leaves become like thorns to prevent evapotranspiration losses. In North
American deserts, barrel cactus is the most abundantly found cacti
species, while other species include crimson hedgehog cactus, pancake
prickly pear cactus, saguaro cactus, etc. Other cactus plants such as
brittle bush, saltbush, creosote bush, desert ironwood, gravillias, Joshua
tree, Mojave aster, Soaptree yucca, hanging chain cholla, etc., are also
quite common in deserts.

Aquatic Ecosystems
Aquatic systems are those that contain plants and animals that
predominantly depend on a significant amount of water to be present
for at least part of the year. They are either freshwater or marine.

Freshwater ecosystems are further standing type (lentic) like

ponds or free flowing type(lotic) like rivers.

Pond Ecosystem- Ponds are often shallow water bodies and seasonal.
Like in a forest, the top, middle, and bottom of a pond can be vastly
different from each other, and even the layers in between. Under
different temperature or light conditions the water in a pond can vary
103
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

greatly in oxygen, clarity, and other factors that effect where plants and
animals might live. The air above the pond and the land below the pond
are important as well, as those provide space for animals to live, plants
to root, and predators and prey to interact.

Diversity - A pond is not just a small lake with frogs and fishes, rather
there are thousands of different species of plants, algae, insects fishes
and animals living together in a natural pond. The more diverse a pond
is (more species that it has) the stronger and healthier it is.

Micro-organisms - Some of the most important plants and animals in

a pond are micro organisms and while a few may cause disease, almost
all are very beneficial and important to a pond ecosystem. While bigger
animals may fly, walk, or swim away to other ponds, micro-organisms
are always present in large numbers.

Macro-organisms - Larger plants and animals that are easy to see on

a pond are called “macro-organisms (macro=large). They are the plants
and animals that we often notice first, and can more easily spread from
pond to pond, for example water birds.

Lake Ecosystem- These are usually big water bodies having shallow
water zone called littoral zone, open water zone where effective
penetration of sunlight takes place called limnetic zone and a deep
bottom area where light penetration is negligible called profundal zone.
Organisms- Several types of organisms occur like planktons(that float on
water surface), nektons(that swim like fishes), Neustons (rest ir swim
on surface, like water insects, Benthos(attached to bottom like snails),
Periphytons(clinging to other plants and surfaces like crustacians)

Dal lake of Srinagar, Naini lake of Nainital , Loktak lake in Manipur are
some famous lakes of the country.

104
 MODULE - 3

Streams and Rivers- Streams are shallow flowing water and rivers are
large streams flowing through plains and falling into the sea. Stream
organisms have to face extremes of temperature and current but
constant movement and shallow water provides abundant oxygen. Large
rivers are relatively deep and wide and rich in organic matter but also
contain a lot of inorganic sediment produced by erosion and runoff into
the upland waters. Thus, the water is more turbid (muddy), and there
is insufficient light to support as much photosynthesis as in smaller
rivers. Collectors and predators dominate the consumer community,
and consumption exceeds primary production. Fish species such as
sturgeon and catfish, which feed on sediments, are more common here
than predatory fish.

All  lotic  organisms must adapt to drift, the incessant flow of
water towards the sea, carrying nutrients and the organisms themselves
downstream. Drift is particularly significant when spring snow melts and
heavy summer rains increase the current. River valleys offer especially
rich farmland because of the great quantities of nutrients deposited
by periodic flooding. Nutrient loss by drift is compensated for by the
continual addition of riparian organic matter to the lower-order upland
streams, while animals compensate for drift by their rheotaxis and other
means. Many aquatic insects fly upstream to lay their eggs, and fish such
as trout and salmon are well known for their upstream spawning runs.
The immature animals drift downstream as they grow and typically
reach maturity at lower altitudes, only to repeat the process and deposit
their offspring back in the headwaters.

Marine Ecosystem
These are among the largest of Earth’s aquatic ecosystems. They
include oceans, salt marsh and estuaries and lagoons, mangroves
and coral reefs, the deep sea and the sea floor. Marine waters cover two-
thirds of the surface of the Earth. Such places are considered ecosystems
because the plant life supports the animal life and vice-versa.
105
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Marine ecosystems are very important for the overall health

of both marine and terrestrial environments. According to the World
Resource Center, coastal habitats alone account for approximately 1/3
of all marine biological productivity, and estuarine ecosystems (i.e., salt
marshes, seagrasses, mangrove forests) are among the most productive
regions on the planet. In addition, other marine ecosystems such as coral
reefs, provide food and shelter to the highest levels of marine diversity 
An  estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or
more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the
open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments
and ocean environments and are subject to both marine influences, such
as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water; and riverine influences,
such as flows of fresh water and sediment. The inflow of both seawater
and freshwater provide high levels of nutrients in both the water column
and sediment, making estuaries among the most productive natural
habitats in the world.
Estuary mudflats seem an unlikely setting for some of the most
productive habitats in the world, but here at the interface of land and
sea life abounds though for the select few. Certain plants, seaweeds and
photosynthetic micro-organisms (phytoplankton) absorb nutrients at a
fast rate, grow rapidly and produce lots of food. The estuary is a hostile
environment for most plants because salt dominates. A few grow further
back on the shore, where they live in a fluctuating environment of sea
water and fresh water. These plants must cope with:
• varying salinity levels
• strong currents and storm waves
• varying exposure to sunlight and wind
• low oxygen levels in muddy soils.

Estuaries are termed ‘open’ ecosystems because they are vitally

linked to the wider environment. Nutrients are carried in from the
land via rivers, and from the sea by the tides. Some of these nutrients
are then taken out again when animals such as fish and birds leave
the estuary. Some are also flushed out to sea on outgoing tides. Living
106
 MODULE - 3

organisms within an estuary co-exist in a network of interdependent

feeding relationships that is food web. Estuaries have a rich biodiversity
and many of the species are endemic. An estuarine food web contains
the following elements:

• Phytoplankton. These microscopic organisms manufacture food

by photosynthesis and absorb nutrients such as phosphorus and
nitrogen from the water.
• Detritus (dead organic matter).
• Microscopic animals known as zooplankton eat some of the
phytoplankton. The remainder of the phytoplankton becomes
detritus, when it dies.
• Larger estuary animals such as filter-feeding worms, shellfish
and hungry young fish feed on the zooplankton and detritus.
There are many migratory species of fishes like eels and salmons
in which half of the life is spent in fresh water and half in salty
water. Some fishes migrate to fresh waters in the breeding season.

3.6 Summary

• Ecosystems are complex and varied but they have a basic structure
and functions.
• There is an amazing complexity to different ecosystems.
• Ecosystems are not stable and succession is a feature of
ecosystems, that is structural changes take place over time till
stable communities are established over time

3.7 Terminal Questions

1. Explain Ecosystem and its basic structure and functions

2. Describe any two ecosystems that you have noticed in your region
giving their structural and functional features.
3. Explain succession and explain with any one type of succession.
4. Differentiate pond, lake and marine ecosystem
107
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

3.8 Answers

Self Assessment Questions

1. Trophic levels, Trophic relationships, Ecological
pyramids
2. Energy flow and Nutrient cycling
3. Reaction

Terminal Questions
1. Refer in section 3.3
2. Refer in section 3.5 and 3.3
3. Refer in section 3.4
4. Refer in section 3.5

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosystem
http://schools.utah.gov/curr/Science/sciber00/8th/energy/acrobat/
ecosys.pdf
http://www.psu.edu/dept/nkbiology/naturetrail/succession.htm
http://forestry.about.com/od/environmentalissues/a/forest_
ecosystem.htm
http://www.bcgrasslands.org/whataregrasslands.htm
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/desert-ecosystem.html
http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/classes/bio100/Lectures/Lect22/lect22.
html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_ecosystem
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estuary
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/projects/jason/xv/docs/TempRain.pdf
http://www.tutornext.com/energy-flow-models/11853
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_web (file from the Wikimedia
Commons)
*****

108
 MODULE - 4

Module 4

BIODIVERSITY AND ITS CONSERVATION

Structure
Learning Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Biodiversity loss concerns
4.3 Value of Biodiversity
4.4 Biodiversity at Global, National and Local levels
4.5 India as a mega diversity nation
4.6 Biogeographical Regions of India
4.7 Biodiversity hotspots
4.8 Endemism in India
4.9 Endangered species of India
4.10 The Convention on Biological Diversity
4.11 Summary
4.12 Questions
4.13 Answers

Objectives
At the end of the unit you will be able to:
• Understand biodiversity and its importance
• Understand the biodiversity of our country in detail and learn
about the endemic and endangered species in our country.

4.1 Introduction
The following quote by Baba Dioum is the objective of any chapter on
biodiversity
“In the end, we will only conserve what we love.
We will only love what we understand.
We will only understand what we are taught.”
109
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Biodiversity is the variety of all forms of life, from genes to spe-

cies, through to the broad scale of ecosystems. The term was coined as
the compact form of “biological diversity” in 1985. It has developed a
broad meaning and also refers to the interrelatedness of genes, species,
and ecosystems and in turn, their interactions with the environment.
Three levels of biodiversity are commonly discussed—genetic, species,
and ecosystem diversity.

Genetic diversity is all the different genes contained in all the liv-
ing species including individual plants, animals, fungi, and microorgan-
isms.
Species diversity is all the different species, as well as the differ-
ences within and between different species. Roughly 1.4 million species
are known to science, but because many species are undescribed, an
estimated 10-30 million species likely exist at present.

Ecosystem diversity is all the different habitats, biological com-

munities and ecological processes, as well as variation within individual
ecosystems.

4.2 Biodiversity Loss Concerns

Biodiversity found on Earth today is the result of 3.5 billion years
of evolution. In the geological history there has been not only evolution
but also diversification and extinctions. Extinction is a natural event
which from a geological perspective can be said to be routine. Most
species that lived have gone extinct. The average rate over the past 200
million years (my) is 1-2 species per year, and 3-4 families per my. The
average duration of a species is 2-10 million years (based on last 200
million years). There have also been occasional episodes of mass ex-
tinction, when many taxa representing a wide array of life forms have
gone extinct in the same blink of geological time. In spite of several ex-
tinctions, the Earth supports more biodiversity today than in any other
period in history. The question then is why the fear of biodiversity loss?
110
 MODULE - 4

Higher rate of extinction: The story of extinction due to human

action started 1.65 million years ago, during the ice age, by hunting the
wooly mammoth. Since then it has continued and gained great speed.
In the modern era, due to human actions, species and ecosystems are
threatened with destruction to an extent rarely seen in earth history.
Species are becoming extinct at the fastest rate known in geological his-
tory , and most of these extinctions are tied to human activity. Roughly
about 400 years for the extinction of one mammal and 200 years for the
extinction of a bird is needed. But about 78 animals became extinct dur-
ing the first 75 years of the 20th century. Some conservation organiza-
tions estimate species are heading towards extinction at a rate of about
one every 20 minutes (Source: Conservation International).

Experts calculate that between 0.01 and 0.1 per cent of all spe-
cies will continue to become extinct each year, unless proper conserva-
tion measures are taken. That is if there are 100 million species on Earth
as some estimates suggest, then between 10,000 and 100,000 species
are becoming extinct each year. One figure frequently cited is that the
rapid loss of species we are seeing today is estimated to be between
1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate which
was 1-2 species per year (Source: IUCN)

More than one third of species assessed in a 2009 major inter-

national biodiversity study, are threatened with extinction that is of
the 47,677 species in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species of 2009,
17,291 are deemed to be at serious risk. The list reveals that 21 per cent
of all known mammals, 30 per cent of all known amphibians, 12 per
cent of all known birds, 28 per cent of reptiles, 37 per cent of freshwater
fishes, 70 per cent of plants and 35 per cent of invertebrates assessed so
far, are under threat. Never in the history of earth have so many species
been threatened, in so short a time and due to anthropogenic causes.
Importance of Biodiversity: Comparatively speaking just as it is impor-
tant to recognize the importance of all sorts of different skills in dif-
111
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

ferent individuals for the healthy progress of a community or nation, it

is important to respect the variety in terms of species and ecosystems
for the health of the world. Speaking with respect to mankind; since it
cannot be said which genes or species are going to prove beneficial to
us, it is best to assure the persistence of as many genes and species as
possible, that is it is important to preserve the diversity in all forms. For
example very recently a tropical seaweed is being studied for antima-
larial drugs as a group of chemical compounds that the sea weed uses to
ward off fungal attacks may have promising antimalarial properties for
humans. This is important as the malarial parasite has become resistant
to most drugs, even the latest called artemisinin and due to this resis-
tance to drugs more than a million people are dying each year of malaria

Biodiversity in terms of species and ecosystems provide clean,

consistent water flows, protection from floods and storms and a stable
climate. The loss of biodiversity is dangerous and its consequences are
immediate. It could mean unclean water due to lack of organic waste
decomposing species, less food for our survival, like less fish. It could
also mean a lack of forest resources such as plants for medicine, fewer
opportunities for livelihoods, for better health, education, and a better
life. In the long term, it also means less income overall and especially
for forest dependant communities, which are often already amongst the
poorest on Earth

Cultural diversity and biodiversity are intimately related to each

other. If we lose one, we risk losing the other. The diversity of societies,
cultures and languages that has developed throughout human history
is intimately related to biodiversity and its use. For example there are
primitive tribes still existing deep in the Amazon forests who have never
had any significant contact with the rest of humanity. Their ariel photo-
graphs and clips are now available (allowed only from an ariel distance
of 1 km). The tribe’s survival is in serious jeopardy as influxes of illegal
loggers invade the Peru side of the border. Many NGO’s have been cam-
112
 MODULE - 4

paigning to prevent this invasion. There is interest to preserve them as

they represent as said by a BBC report, the last free people, the example
that life can be lived differently. If illegal logging and mining activities
advance towards them, then their uniqueness will be lost.

Importance of diversity

The following are extracts from a letter Chief Seattle, Head of the Suqua-
mish and other Indian tribes of Washington’s Puget Sound, wrote in 1851,
responding to a treaty under which native Indians were to sell two million
acres of land for $150,000. Seattle’s letter to US President Franklin Pierce
is considered one of the most beautiful and profound environmental state-
ments ever made

“We will consider your offer to buy our land. If we decide to accept, I will
make one condition- the White Man must treat the beasts of this land as
his brothers. I am savage and do not understand any other way…

I have seen a thousand rotting buffaloes on the prairie, left by the White
Man who shot them from a passing train. I am savage and do not under-
stand how the smoking iron horse can be made more important than the
buffalo that we kill only to stay alive…

What is man without the beast?/ if all the beasts were gone, man would
die from a great loneliness of the spirit.

For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man.

All things are connected...”

113
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

What are the main causes of biodiversity loss?

There are many threats and challenges to our natural world and
as a consequence of these multiple forces, many scientists fear that by
the end of next century, perhaps 25% of existing species will be lost.

These threats include:

Habitat loss and destruction: This is one of the greatest threats
to biodiversity. Habitat loss is directly linked to human induced pres-
sures on land. If a house in bulldozed, the members are killed or
wounded and those surviving have to look for new habitation in which
they may or may not succeed. That is the damage happening in the
wild as forest lands are taken over by man and is therefore the greatest
threat to biodiversity.

Alterations in ecosystem composition: Variety of species and

their interactions with their ecosystems is critical for not only saving
the species, but also for their successful future evolution. In the event
of alterations, either within species groups, or within the environment,
entire ecosystems can begin to change. Alterations to ecosystems are a
critical factor contributing to species and habitat loss.

Invasive alien species: The introduction of exotic species that

replace local and native species is cited as the second largest cause of
biodiversity loss. Alien invasive species replace, and often result in the
extinction of native species. The spread of non-native species threatens
many local species with extinction, and pushes the world’s biota toward
a more homogeneous and widely distributed sub-set of survivors. The
annual economic damage caused by invasive plant and animal species is
estimated to be in the region of US$ 1.4 trillion.

Over-exploitation: Over-hunting, over-fishing or over-collecting

of a species can quickly lead to its decline. Changing consumption pat-
terns of humans is often cited as the key reason for this unsustainable
114
 MODULE - 4

exploitation of natural resources. E.g. Box turtles in the US illegally col-

lected and exported as pets are very slow to reproduce and poaching
has resulted in their decline.

Pollution and contamination: Biological systems respond slowly

to changes in their surrounding environment and so pollution and con-
tamination cause irreversible damage to species and varieties as spe-
cies cannot immediately adapt. High level of DDT in birds affects their
ability to reproduce as it leads to thinning of egg shells.

Global climate change: Both climate variability and climate
change cause biodiversity loss. Species and populations may be lost per-
manently, if they are not provided with enough time to adapt to chang-
ing climatic conditions. For example Monarch butterfly could lose their
wintering habitats in the mountains of Mexico. Climate change threat-
ens to force species and ecosystems to migrate towards higher latitudes,
with no guarantee of suitable habitat or access routes

What are the solutions?

a. The most important solution is conservation of wildlife. There are two
major methods

In Situ Conservation Methods

In-situ conservation, is the conservation of species in their natu-
ral habitats and is considered the most appropriate way of conserving
biodiversity. It involves conserving the areas where populations of spe-
cies exist naturally and is an underlying condition for the conservation
of biodiversity. That’s why protected areas form a central element of any
national strategy is to conserve biodiversity. These methods include the
following:-
Biosphere reserves- These conserve some representative ecosystems
as a whole. In India there are 17 biosphere reserves. e.g. Nanda Devi
(U.P) and Manas (Assam)
115
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

National Park- It is an area dedicated for the conservation of wildlife

along with its environment. It is also open to tourists. Within a Biosphere
reserve there may be one or more national parks. e.g. Nilgiri Biosphere
Reserve (covering areas of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu) has two
National Parks viz. Bandipur and Nagarhole National Park. Recently
(Feb 2011) a deer was photographed in Nagarhole eating a plastic cover.
It reflects the negligent attitudes of tourists and officials alike and is
a big blot on conservation efforts. There are 99 National Parks in the
country and each National Park usually aims at conservation of some
particular species of wildlife along with others. For example, Elephant
in Bandipur (Karnataka), Tiger in Kanha (M.P.) etc.

Wildlife Sanctuaries-These are protected areas for wildlife where

hunting and capturing of wildlife is prohibited but unlike National Parks,
private ownership rights and forestry operations are permitted to an
extent that they do not affect the wildlife adversely. There are 523 wild-
life sanctuaries in the country e.g. Ghana Bird Sanctuary, Rajasthan(for
300 species of birds), Hazaribagh Sanctuary in Bihar for Tiger and Leop-
ard. There are also gene sanctuaries for plants, like for pitcher plant in
Northeast India.

Projects- For the protection and conservation of certain animals there

have been specific projects, like in India there have been, project tiger,
Gir Lion Project, Crocodile Breeding Project, Project Elephant, Snow
Leopard Project etc. The Global Tiger Recovery Programme, a world-
wide plan to bring the species back from the brink of extinction which
was forged in November 2010 at an international tiger conservation
meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia organized by Russian Prime Minis-
ter Vladimir Putin. It marks the first formalized international initia-
tive to save the tiger from extinction. Key NGOs and global partners in
the GTRP(The Global Tiger Recovery Programme), include the World
Bank’s Global Tiger Initiative, the Global Tiger Forum, WWF (World
116
 MODULE - 4

Wildlife Fund), WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society), the Smithsonian

Institute, the Wildlife Trade Network TRAFFIC, CITES (Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species) and the International Fund
for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

Project Tiger- Numbering more than 100,000 at the turn of the last
century, tigers have lost more than 97 percent of their population and
94 percent of their home range in just 100 years. Various pressures in
the later part of the last century led to the progressive decline of wilder-
ness, resulting in the disturbance of viable tiger habitats. At the IUCN
General Assembly meeting in Delhi, in 1969, serious concern was voiced
about the threat to several species of wildlife and the shrinkage of wil-
derness in the country. In 1970, a national ban on tiger hunting was im-
posed . Subsequently, the first ever all India tiger census was conducted
in 1972 which revealed the existence of only 1827 tigers. In the same
year, the Wildlife Protection Act came into force. A ‘Task Force’ was then
set up to formulate a project for tiger conservation with an ecological
approach. The project was launched in 1973, and various tiger reserves
were created in the country on a ‘core-buffer’ strategy. The core areas
were freed from all sorts of human activities and the buffer areas were
subjected to ‘conservation oriented land use’. The project aims at tiger
conservation in specially constituted ‘tiger reserves’, which are repre-
sentative of various bio-geographical regions falling within our coun-
try. It strives to maintain a viable tiger population in the natural envi-
ronment. Initially, 9 tiger reserves were established in different States
during the period 1973-74, by pooling the resources available with
the Central and State Governments. Now there are 39 tiger reserves.

Ex Situ Conservation Methods

Ex-situ conservation is the preservation of components of biological
diversity outside their natural habitats.  This involves conservation of
genetic resources, as well as wild and cultivated species, and draws on a
diverse body of techniques and facilities.  Some of these include:
117
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

1.Gene banks, e.g. seed banks, sperm and ova banks, field banks;
2.In vitro plant tissue and microbial culture collections;
3.Captive breeding of animals and artificial propagation of plants, with
possible reintroduction into the wild; and
4.Collecting living organisms for zoos, aquaria, and botanic gardens for
research and public awareness.

Ex-situ conservation measures can be complementary to in-situ

methods as they provide an “insurance policy” against extinction. These
measures also have a valuable role to play in recovery programmes for
endangered species.  The Kew Seed Bank in England has 1.5 per cent of
the world’s flora - about 4,000 species - on deposit.

There are 120 botanical gardens in India. We have the follow-

ing important gene bank facilities (a) National Bureau of Plant Genetic
Resources(NBPGR), New Delhi. Here cryopreservation of seeds, pollen
etc is done by using liquid Nitrogen at -196 degree centigrade. (b) Na-
tional Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources(NBAGR) at Karnal, Haryana
preserves the semen of domesticated bovine animals. (c) National Facil-
ity for Plant Tissue Culture Repository (NFPTCR) for the conservation of
varieties by tissue culture.

b. Other initiatives aimed at promoting beneficial conservation of biodi-

versity in countries around the world include:

There are Multilateral Environmental Agreements related to

biodiversity such as: The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD),
The Convention on International trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITIES), The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS),
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and The World Heritage Conven-
tion. These are agreements to facilitate steps for conservation all over
the world. Focus on their implementation are an important measure in
which all signatory countries participate.

118
 MODULE - 4

Increasing “Communication, Education and Public Awareness”

(CEPA) programmes related to biodiversity with an aim to relate bio-
diversity to people and their livelihoods. These include identifying and
creating opportunities for rural enterprises based on biodiversity such
as eco-tourism, bio-prospecting to benefit local communities, the envi-
ronment, species and their habitats.

Promoting an increase in the number, size, and connectivity of

protected areas, both on land and at sea is another important initiative
that governments need to take so that increase in wildlife is supported
by increase in habitat and does not result in man wildlife conflicts which
could dampen the conservation campaigns. The year 2010 was the In-
ternational Year of Biodiversity which aimed at focusing intensively on
biodiversity conservation. By the end of the year in October at the meet-
ing of the Convention on Biological Diversity that took place in Nagoya,
Japan, governments agreed to increase the extent of land-based pro-
tected areas and national parks to 17 per cent of the Earth’s surface, up
from around 12.5 per cent now, and to extend marine protected areas to
10 per cent, up from under one per cent currently.

4.3 Value of Biodiversity

It is important to understand how Biodiversity is valuable to us
from as many perspectives as possible so that we develop the under-
standing and initiative to preserve it.

Biophilic Value Wilson’s I984 book Biophilia brought the idea

that love of nature may have been hardwired into our genes by natural
selection. A monotonous environment produces wave patterns contrib-
uting to fatigue and so biotic as well as cultural diversity, from the neu-
rological point of view, may well be fundamental to the general health.
In a nutshell, Wilson’s biophilia hypothesis presents love of nature as a
universal biological adaptation of humans, selected during the course of
evolution.
119
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Transformative Value Contact with biodiversity can be the occa-

sion to reconsider our shallow, consumptive preferences and make us
adopt values that are objectively better. This reflection and realization
that proximity to nature brings forth is called transformative value.

Intrinsic Value Humans have no right to destroy biodiversity.

This is an assertion which may be justifiable from certain religious
standpoints. If God or sacred process created the natural world along-
side humans, then all creatures are imbued with sacredness: all have
intrinsic value. This is fundamentally a religious argument. There is no
scientific way to ‘prove’ that nonhuman organisms (or for that matter,
human organisms) have a right to exist.

Spiritual Value Biologists find spiritual value in biodiversity pre-

cisely because of, not despite, their science. People turn to spirituality,
when confronted with vast unknowns that defy logical explanation. In
an analog to traditional religions, biodiversity’s spiritual power is linked
to our lack of knowledge of it. Since some biologists spend their profes-
sional lives surrounded by biodiversity, its unfathomable complexity
and its sublime beauty, all combine with feelings of humiliating igno-
rance to infuse spiritual feelings. The more they learn, the more awe
they feel; and the unknowns, the gaps that the world of science can’t fill,
leave further room for values and spirituality and aesthetics to rush in.

Aesthetic Value Biodiversity’s spiritual value is similarly insepa-

rable from its aesthetic value. What gives pleasure is beautiful. What
makes us feel transcendent we find beautiful. The more beautiful we
find it, the more it moves us spiritually, the more we appreciate it.

Scientific Value The most obvious value biologists might pro-

mote for biodiversity is that it has value for science. As the raw material
for biological study, biodiversity is essential for the scientific endeavor
to continue unhindered.
120
 MODULE - 4

Ecological Value We may value biodiversity because we value the

continued healthy functioning of ecosystems as such, regardless of any
services biodiversity performs for us. More often, however, humans ben-
efit from such ecosystem services, like protection from floods, providing
clean water etc. It’s folly for us to act in ways that are adversely affecting
the ability of ecosystems to provide these services that we’re depen-
dent on. But we’re doing that more and more as we pollute and destroy
habitats, or alter habitats in one fashion or another. We’re changing the
environment faster than our ability to understand the consequences of
how we’re changing it.

Economic Value There are direct and indirect benefits of biodi-

versity. The indirect benefits include the free ecosystem services pro-
vided by biodiversity which save us billions of dollars annually. To lose
them might bankrupt us, not only ecologically, but economically. These
include stability of biosphere, nutrient cycling, gene flow, water purifi-
cation etc. We can also extract from nature materials and services that
directly augment human wealth and well-being. Tropics are the major
biodiversity centres, gradually decreasing towards the poles. Direct
benefits the tropics have provided involve basically food, fodder, fuel,
fibre, medicine etc. These include corn, rice, coffee, orchids, tea, choco-
late, morphine, tobacco, cocaine, dahlias, cotton, bamboo, pepper, honey
bees, vanilla, milk, peppers, cinnamon, dates, quinine, rubber, bananas,
mahogany, pineapples, sorghum, coconuts, nuts, pumpkins, beans, cane
sugar, molasses etc. Quinine the cure for malaria is obtained from Cin-
chona tree. Some of these products have consumptive use values where
the biodiversity product can be harvested and consumed directly e.g.
fuel, food, drugs etc. Productive use values are the commercially usable
values where the product is marketed and sold, like lumber, silk , wool.
In fact instead of more of lumber, if the wildlands are mined for genetic
material, the economic benefits could be even greater, where discovered
species could provide medicine, and new raw material for industries etc.
Biodiversity, is thus our most valuable but least appreciated resource,
that needs to be looked from the perspective of extracting knowledge
and diversity benefits to be most useful.
121
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Social Value These are the values associated with the social life,
customs, religion and psycho spiritual aspects of the people e.g. many
plants are considered holy and sacred in our country like Tulsi, Peepal,
Lotus, Bael etc.

Option Values These are the potentials of biodiversity that are

presently unknown and need to be explored like the potential cure of
AIDS or cancer existing within the depths of a marine ecosystem, or a
tropical rainforest. It also includes value in terms of option to visit bio-
diverse areas.

4.4 Biodiversity at Global, National and Local levels

Global Biodiversity-It can be studied basically under two head of
Terrestrial Biodiversity and Marine (or aquatic ) Biodiversity.

Terrestrial Biodiversity- This can be best described as biomes

which are the largest ecological units present in different geographic
areas and are named based on the dominant vegetation e.g tall grass
prairies, tropical rainforests, desert etc. The variety of species in these
biomes has developed over time in highly specialized niches and that
makes them more vulnerable to extinction when their natural home or
niche is destroyed. Among all the biomes the Tropical rainforests are
richest and many cures and potential cures to diseases like malaria, can-
cer, AIDS have come from this storehouse. But hardly around 3% of the
species is known. Extinction is an irreversible process and we become
poorer in diversity by around 0.1% every year(100,000species), where
natural extinction rate is only 1 species per year. Given this scenario
imagine how many potential benefits we are losing forever, every year!
Marine Diversity- Sea is the cradle of every known animal phylum. Out
of the 35 existing phyla of multicellular animals, 34 are marine and 16
of these are exclusively marine. But ironically this diversity is very less
explored and described though marine diversity is much higher than
terrestrial biodiversity!
122
 MODULE - 4

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) notes that

• 75% of genetic diversity of agricultural crops has been lost
• 75% of the world’s fisheries is fully or over exploited
• Up to 70% of the world’s known species risk extinction if the glob-
al temperatures rise by more than 3.5°C
• 1/3rd of reef-building corals around the world are threatened with
extinction
• Every second a parcel of rainforest the size of a football field disap-
pears

National Biodiversity- Compared to Global diversity, India ranks

10 among the countries that are rich in flora, 11th in terms of number
th

of endemic species of higher vertebrates and 6th among the centers of

diversity and origin of agricultural crops. Since India has a variety of
climates, it houses an immense variety of species too becoming one of
the 12 mega diversity nations. Apart from the wild diversity, the domes-
ticated diversity is also important and it is not just accidental nor purely
natural as it is the outcome of thousands of years of deliberate selection,
cross breeding and other manipulations that farmers have tried out
leading to the diversification of a single species collected from the wild
in the past into thousands of varieties. India has among the world’s larg-
est diversity of domesticated animals, with some 26 breeds of cattle, 40
of sheep and 20 of goats etc. Scientists have discovered that migratory
pastorals in Rajasthan had selected and helped develop a new breed of
sheep called Dheri in response to the increasing drought incidence and
declining pasture availability. Many tribal villages in the hills of north
east India have been known to grow over 20 rice varieties within a sin-
gle year in their terraced fields. A village in Nagaland was found to have
70 varieties and in another region of Koraput district in Orissa scientists
identified over 1500 varieties. The system of Baranaja in Garhwal that
is sowing a mixture of 12 types of grains in a single plot of land was a
useful way of retaining soil moisture and constant supply of food as the
different crops are harvested at different times. Diversification provides
123
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

safeguard against unpredictable issues like drought, pest infestation etc

as some varieties of crops withstand where others succumb. Depen-
dence on single high yielding varieties and hybrid breeds has destroyed
the hard work of our farmers; the domesticated diversity of our country
has brought in more risks to farming with dependence on single variet-
ies.
Regional or Local Biodiversity- At local level the habitat is more or
less homogenous and so species diversity is low and as the region con-
sidered increases, more heterogeneous habitats are considered and the
diversity of the species increases. Therefore regional diversity needs to
be considered on four counts
1. Point richness-The number of species that can be found at a
single point in a given space.
2. Alpha richness-The number of species found in a small homog-
enous area.
3. Beta richness-The rate of change in species composition across
different habitats.
4. Gamma richness-The rate of change across large landscape gra-
dients( taken on different contour lines of a slope).

Self Assessment Questions

1. The total number of species at risk according to IUCN Red list of
Threatened species 2009, is …………………………..
2. The most appropriate way of conserving biodiversity is
………………………
3. Gene bank is an example of ……………………… conservation mea-
sure.
4. India ranks ………………………. globally among the centres of diver-
sity and origin of agricultural crops
5. The rate of change in species composition across different habi-
tats is considered under …………….. richness of regional diversity.
6. Which according to you is the most important value of biodiver-
sity and why?
124
 MODULE - 4

4.5 India as a Mega-Diversity Nation

Biodiversity rich countries are called mega-diversity countries.
In biodiversity, this concept emphasis more on regions with species
richness, threatened species and endemic species. It is mainly located
in the afro-tropical, Eurasian, and the Indo-Malayan bio-geographic
realms. Mega-diversity nations are Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru,
Brazil, Zaire, Madagascar, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and In-
dia. This India is among the twelve biodiverse nations of the world and
this is owing to many factors. India has different types of regions and
climates and ecosystems which favours its positioning as a Megadiver-
sity Nation. The main features that allot India this status are
a) Endemism-India shows a good number of endemic species, that
is, the species restricted to only a particular area. Western Ghats
are the site of maximum endemism. About 62% of amphibians
and 50% of lizards are endemic.
b) Centre of Origin-A large number of species are known to have
originated in India. Around 5000 species of flowering plants,
166 species of crop plants, 320 species of wild relatives of culti-
vated crops have originated from India.
c) Marine Diversity-More than 340 species of corals of the world
are found here. There is a rich diversity of mollusks crusta-
ceans, mangroves and sea grasses in the various marine ecosys-
tems across the 7,500km long coastline of the country.

4.6 Bio-geographical Regions of India

Biogeography deals with the geographical distribution of plants

and animals. Communities of plants and animals in different geographi-
cal areas of the world differ widely from each other. Biogeography is
divided into two branches: i] Phyto-geography and ii] Zoo-geography.
Phyto-geography (plant geography) deals with origin, distribution and
environmental interrelationships of plants. Zoogeography deals with
the migration and distribution of animals.
125
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

From the stand point of biodiversity, India is given the status of

a “Mega-diversity” nation. There are 10 biogeographic zones which are
distinguished clearly in India. They are as follows—
1 Trans Himalayan zone
2 Himalayan zone
3 Desert zone
4 Semiarid zone
5 Western ghat zone
6 Deccan plateau zone
7 Gangetic plain zone
8 North east zone
9 Islands present near the shore line
10 Coastal zone

1 Trans Himalayan zone:

This is the northern most area of the country around Himala-
yas. This zone is not related to mountains but it is the area present sur-
rounding the mountains. This region shows 1. Irregular vegetation, 2. it
has the richest wild sheep producing quality wool and also a goat com-
munity which is qualitatively and quantitatively superior in the world.
3. Snow leopard is a special animal observable in this zone. 4. Migra-
tory birds like black neck crane are seen here. The great Indian bustard
which is an endangered variety is also seen in the grasslands west to
this zone. It comprises 5.7 % of the country’s landmass.

2. Himalayan zone:
This is a hilly region with good flora and fauna, exhibiting maxi-
mum biodiversity. There are national parks in this zone. It comprises 7.2
% of the country’s landmass.

3. Desert zone:
This is a part of Rajasthan state, from where, the great desert of west-
ern India namely ‘Thar desert’ begins. It also comprises the salty desert
of Gujarat apart from the sand desert of Rajasthan, 6.9% of the country’s
landmass. Desert zone has areas like Jaisalmir surrounded by sand dunes.
126
 MODULE - 4

4. Semi arid zone:

It begins in Rajasthan and extends up to some parts in the state
of Punjab and Haryana. This zone exisits between the desert and the
Deccan plateau, including the Aravalli hill range and comprises 15.6 %
of the country’s landmass. In this area, ground water and surface water
is much less. Dry xerophytic vegetation is predominant, fauna is also
minimum.

5. Western ghats:
It represents the mountainous western zone of south peninsular
India having rich flora and fauna with tropical rain forests extending from
Konkan region of Maharashtra up to the western part of Kerala generally
called Malabaar coast of Arabian Sea. It occupies 5.8% of the landmass.
Wild relatives of cultivated plants like banana, mango, citrus, black pep-
per are found abundantly in this part.

6. Deccan Plateau zone:

This is the central table land of South India with rich flora and
fauna. But some areas represent semiarid type of vegetation. Rainfall
occurs mainly by the south west monsoon and so limited number of
dense forests is present in Deccan. Deccan plateau is represented in the
states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tam-
ilnadu, Karnataka and Kerala and occupies 42% of the landmass.

7.Gangetic plain:
Defined by the Ganges river system, these plains are relatively homog-
enous. It occupies 11% of the country’s landmass.

8. North-East India:
These are the plains and non-Himalayan hill ranges of northeastern
part of India with a wide variation of vegetation. It occupies 5.2% of the
country’s landmass.
127
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

9. Islands:
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal, with a highly
diverse set of biomes constitute 0.03% of the country’s landmass.

10. Coasts:
A large coastline distributed both to the west and east, with distinct dif-
ferences between the two; Lakshadeep islands are included in this with
the percent area being negligible.

4.7 Biodiversity hotspots

Biodiversity is not distributed uniformly over the earth. Some

areas, particularly along the tropics, are rich in species. Many species in
these areas are threatened with extinction. However, the fund for con-
servation is rather limited and hence it is important to fix priority areas
of conservation. In 1988 British ecologist, Norman Myres forwarded a
concept called hotspots to identify the most major criteria for designat-
ing an area as hotspot. These are: (i) richness in endemic species, and
(ii) impact by human activities. Endemic species are those restricted to
certain localized areas of the earth and rarely found outside of it. Plant
diversity is the biological basis for hotspot designation. To qualify as a
hotspot, a region must support 1,500 endemic plant species, 0.5 per-
cent of the global total. To qualify as a hotspot, a region must also have
lost more than 70 percent of its original habitat, that is, it retains only
30% or less of its original primary vegetation. Existing primary vegeta-
tion is the basis for assessing human impact in a region. Identification of
hotspot helps pin point priority areas for conservation.

According to the classification of Norman Myres’ there are 25

hotspots scattered in different parts of the world. Even though the 25
biodiversity hotspots together represent only1.4 percent of the earth’s
land area, they contain 44 percent of all plant species and 35 percent
of all terrestrial vertebrate species in the world. Each of these hotspots
128
 MODULE - 4

is under severe pressure due to anthropogenic interventions and has

already lost at least 70 percent of its original natural vegetation. The
potential anthropogenic activities in hotspots place the natural values
at risk, and it is likely this risk will increase in the future in the absence
of active conservation and management. Eight of the hottest hot-spots
recognized currently are Madagascar, Philippines, Sundaland, Brazil At-
lantic Coast, Caribbean Basin, Indo Burma, Western Ghats, Eastern Arc
and coastal forests of Tanzania/Kenya. Because the natural values of
hotspots are largely intact, undertaking action now to maintain these
values will contribute to the efforts in biodiversity conservation.
India is part of two hotspots- Indo-Burma (earlier Eastern Hi-
malayas ) and Western Ghats and Sri Lanka . Of late, conservationists
named nine new ‘Biodiversity Hotspots’, making the total to 34, which
also include the Himalayas .
The Western Ghats: These are also known as the Sahyadri Hills.
It is a mountain chain running from the north to the South and is iso-
lated by the Arabian Sea to the West, the arid Deccan Plateau to the East,
and the Vindhya-Satpura ranges to the North. The vegetation types are:
scrub jungles and grasslands at low altitudes, dry and moist decidu-
ous forests, montane grasslands and sholas, and the tropical evergreen
and semi evergreen forests. Complex topography, high rainfall and rela-
tive inaccessibility have helped the region retain its biodiversity. Of the
15,000 flowering plant species in India , there are an estimated 4,780
species in the Western Ghats region. There is also a great diversity of
traditional crop plants and an equal diversity of animal life. A large
number of amphibians, freshwater fishes and invertebrate groups are
endemic to Western Ghats .
Eastern Himalayas: The Indo-Burma hotspot encompasses
2,373,000square km of tropical Asia east of the Ganges-Brahmaputra
lowlands. Indo-Burma has immense biological treasure. New large
mammal species keep getting discovered; the large antlered muntjac,
the Annamite muntjac, the grey-shanked douc, the Annamite striped
rabbit, the leaf deer, and the saola. This hotspot also holds remarkable
129
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

endemism in freshwater turtle species most of which are threatened

with extinction due to over harvesting and habitat loss. Bird life is also
very diverse, having almost 1300 different bird species, including the
threatened white-eared night-heron, the grey-crowned crocias, and the
orange necked partridge.

4.8 Endemism in India

The Indian Subcontinent is home to 49,219 species of plants, 350 spe-
cies of mammals, 1,330 species of birds, 275 species of snakes, 408 oth-
er reptile species, 197 species of amphibians, 2,456 species of fishes,
700 species of ants, 1442 species of spiders.
Endemic animals and birds are species that are found only lo-
cally and are found no where else in the world. The endemism of Indian
biodiversity is highly determined primarily in the North-East, , North-
West Himalaya , Western Ghats and the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
• Of the 49,219 plant species, 5,150 are endemic and distributed
into 141 genera under 47 families corresponding to about 30%
of the world’s recorded flora, which means 30% of the world’s
recorded flora is endemic to India. Of these endemic species,
3,500 are found in the Himalayas and adjoining regions and
1,600 in the Western Ghats alone.
• About 62% of the known amphibian species is endemic with
the majority occurring in the Western Ghats.
• Nearly 50% of the lizards of India is endemic with a high degree
of endemicity in the Western Ghats.
• There are 42 species of Endemic birds in India out of which 35
are found in Western Ghats.
• Some Endemic mammals are Lion-tailed macaque(Macaca si-
lenus) Nilgiri Langur (Trachypithecus johni) Brown palm civet
(Paradoxurus jerdoni) Nilgir tahr (Hemitragus hylocrius)
130
 MODULE - 4

4. 9 Endangered species of India

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural

Resources (IUCN) publishes the Red Data Book of threatened species
(species threatened with extinction) which includes the list of endan-
gered species of plants and animals of all countries. It is done to under-
stand the species at risk of extinction, provide awareness of the degree
of threat, and plan conservation strategies. As mentioned earlier there
are 47,677 species in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species of 2009
of which 17,291 are at serious risk, which is more than 1/3 rd of the as-
sessed species. Also as per the IUCN report 2009, the total endangered
species in India are 687, of which mammals are 96, birds 75, reptiles 25,
amphibians 65, fish 64, mollusk 2, other invertebrates 113, plants 247.
In India recently Karnataka Forest department prepared its own list of
endangered species to identify which species of Karnataka are reduced
to a critical level. This is important to make conservation priorities and
plan specific conservation methods suited to endangered species of the
region. Red list was initiated in 1963 and has eight categories of spe-
cies. The basic four are as follows

A species is said to be endangered when its number has been re-

duced to a critical level or whose habitats have been drastically reduced
and if such a species is not protected and conserved, it is in immediate
danger of extinction.

A specie is said to be in vulnerable category if its population is

facing continuous decline due to overexploitation or habitat destruc-
tion. Such species are still abundant, but under a serious threat of be-
coming endangered if causal factors are not checked.

Species which are not endangered or vulnerable at present, but

are at a risk are categorized as rare species. These are usually endemic.
131
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

A species is said to be extinct when it is not seen in the wild for

50 years at a stretch e.g. Dodo, passenger pigeon. Extinction is an irre-
versible process. Nothing can be done about India’s loss of the magnifi-
cient Cheetah except look up pictures and regret that a wonderful and
competent creation of nature can never be seen again only due to the
ruthlessness of man. Stand in any vegetated area and look around and
you would have to be immensely lucky to chance sighting any bird of
colourful plumages as they have either been already traded to rarity or
extinction for their pretty feathers, taking away the little joys of sighting
beautiful birds.

Critically Endangered
• Jenkin’s Shrew (Crocidura jenkensii). (Endemic to India.)
• Malabar Large-spotted Civet (Viverra civettina).
• Himalayan Wolf (Canis himalayensis) (Endemic to India and Nepal.
• Namdapha Flying Squirrel (Biswamayopterus biswasi). (Endemic
to India.)
• Pygmy Hog (Sus salvanius).
• Salim Ali’s Fruit Bat (Latidens salimalii). (Endemic to India.
• Sumatran Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis).
• Wroughton’s Free-tailed Bat (Otomops wroughtoni). (Endemic to
India.)
• Indian Vulture

Some of the Endangered species

• Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica)
• Asiatic Wild Dog/ Dhole (Cuon alpinus)
• Asiatic Black Bear (Selenarctos thibetanus)
• Desert Cat (Felis libyca ornata)
• Great Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis)
• Hispid Hare (Caprolagus hispidus)
• Hoolock Gibbon (Hylobates hoolock)
• Flamingo
132
 MODULE - 4

Feb 19 2011 Report regarding a species of frog considered extinct

Researchers have rediscovered frog species including one last
seen in India more than a century ago, potentially offering clues on why
they have survived a global crisis killing amphibians. Scientists estimate
that more than 30 percent of amphibians are facing extinction due to a
mysterious fungus that has spread in the world. (study led by IUCN and
Conservation International) In India researchers found five species in the
biologically diverse Western Ghats region, one of them the florescent Cha-
lazodes Bubble-nest Frog which is a florescent green frog which has black
pupils with golden patches, it had last been seen in 1874 that is 136 years
ago. It is believed to live by day inside reeds.

142 flora fauna species in Karnataka state face extinction,

Feb7, 2011, Bangalore Mirror.

The IUCN prepares a nationwide survey but it is difficult to find

out what species are disappearing from the state forests. So the forest de-
partment sounded a red alert compiling a red list of plants and animals
facing extinction in the state. It was concluded from the study that in the
last 10 years, 39 species of flora have either become extinct or are facing
the threat of extinction.

A forest official said, “It is helpful to have a ready list of what we might
lose in the days to come. Using the list, we can prepare an action plan
and focus our conservation activities”. The forest minister has directed
officials to publish the red list in their jurisdictional areas and take ade-
quate measures to protect and conserve such species. Some of the species
that are included in the red list are –the Malabar Civet, Indian Vulture,
wild areca nut and gurjan balsam.

133
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

4.10 The Convention on Biological Diversity

On 29 dec, 1993, there came to force an international treaty of
far reaching significance for the future of humanity’s troubled relation-
ship with the earth: the Convention on Biological Diversity. What makes
this treaty significant is that it deals not only with conservation aspects
but also with the realms of national and international politics as this
is a field that significantly influences biodiversity conservation. The in-
terests in money making reflected in intellectual property rights which
sometimes is even claimed for species has negative effects on biodiver-
sity conservation efforts.

Three areas of thrust are: the conservation of Biological Diver-
sity, the sustainable use of biological resources and the equitable shar-
ing of the benefits of such use. The third aspect reflects that the financial
and technological benefits of any species should be shared and not mo-
nopolized in a way negatively affecting the aims and efforts of biodiver-
sity conservation.

Case Study
Tigers Safety in India: Source WWF and The Times of India

There are only 13 countries that still have tigers. They live in increasingly
isolated pockets of land in Asia and the Russian Far East in Indonesia, Ma-
laysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhu-
tan, India, Nepal, China and Russia.India has half of the world’s remaining
wild tigers.

The Indian Government released new tiger population numbers on March

28, 2011 for the first time since 2007, indicating that numbers have in-
creased. The figures were presented at the International Tiger Conserva-
tion Conference, a three day meeting (March 28-30), held in New Delhi.
The count was conducted by India’s National Tiger Conservation Author-
134
 MODULE - 4

ity with key partners, including WWF, in the largest tiger population sur-
vey ever undertaken. The techniques and the methodology used by experts
of WII on the tiger census, like camera traps, remained the same this time
also as they were in the last census of 2006-07 with the only difference
that this time the Wild life Institute of India has used the help of NGOs like
World Wide Fund, Wildlife Trust of India and Aaranyak which provided
the logistics for the census.

The government estimated current tiger numbers in India at 1,706,

up from 1,411 during the last count in 2007. However, the 1,706 figure
includes an additional tiger reserve in the count, the Sundarbans, that
contained 70 tigers. This area was not counted in 2007. Therefore, when
comparing the previous survey with the current one, the official estimate
stands at 1,636 when leaving out the Sundarbans, or an increase of 225.
Therefore though there have been depressing reports of further decline
over the past years, it is obvious that if tiger have been lost at certain re-
serves they have also been added in other places.

India’s tiger population is on the rise but their habitat is shrinking.

Uttarakhand -225(up47 from 2006), Uttar Pradesh- 120 (up 13), MP 257-
(down 43), Tamilnadu-163(up87) The main growth in tiger numbers be-
tween the last two census have taken place in well protected tiger reserves
which are close to their holding capacity . Several areas in India, includ-
ing those that are not Tiger Reserves and outside national parks, were
intensively surveyed for the first time. The Moyar Valley and Sigur Pla-
teau in Southwest India’s Western Ghats Complex, that has been a focus
of recent WWF conservation efforts, was found to contain more than 50
tigers. Similarly, the Ramnagar Forest Reserve outside Corbett National
Park showed a good number of tigers.

135
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

This means that tigers are increasingly moving closer to human popula-
tion, increasing the chances of man wildlife conflict. All national parks
are close to their holding capacity like Ranthambore, Bandhavgarh, Kazi-
ranga and the adjacent forests of Bandipur-Nagarhole-Mudumalai-Way-
anad, which the latest count shows is the single biggest tiger habitat in
the world and contains an estimated 382 big cats. Rising numbers usually
goes hand in hand with an increase in their territory. In the past , tigers
have moved from one source population to the other through ‘corridors’ –
wild patches that link one tiger forest with another.. Without the corridors
there would be increase in inbreeding which weakens the predator strain.
But development projects and growth pressures are increasingly snap-
ping down these links, for instance the link between Ranthambore and Sa-
riska has degraded. Bandhavgarh, a national park rich with high density
of tigers has no corridors for the predators to move out. With some effort
it can be linked to Sanjay-Dogri and to Palamau in Jharkhand. Therefore
the current scenario is that, a lot has now to be done to make space for the
growing tiger numbers and also to avoid man wildlife conflict.

4.11 Summary
• Biodiversity refers to the number and variety of species, of ecosys-
tems, and of the genetic variation contained within species.
• India is among the twelve biodiverse nations of the world and it is
part of two biodiversity hotspots
• Biodiversity is threatened by the sum of all human activities. It is
useful to group threats into the categories of over-hunting, habitat
destruction, invasion of non-native species, pollution, and climate
change.
• Unless we counter these threats that we impose on biodiversity we
would be loosing our advantages. The convention of Biological Di-
versity is one of many efforts globally to conserve biodiversity.

136
 MODULE - 4

4.12 Terminal Questions

1. Explain biodiversity, its importance and threats to it.

2. What is national biodiversity?
3. Write a note on conservation of biodiversity. Include the status of
protection of Tigers in the country.
4. Prepare a list of the most relevant and latest statistal information re-
lated to biodiversity.
5. What are the reasons that India is considered among the mega di-
verse countries?
6. Write briefly about the biodiversity hotspots in India
7. Write briefly about the Convention on Biological Diversity and on
Endemism in India

4.13 Answers

Self Assessment Questions

1. 47,677
2. In situ methods
3. Ex situ
4. 6th
5. Beta
6. E.g. ecological value as biodiversity loss would be the loss of valu-
able ecosystem services.

Terminal Questions
1. Refer in section 4.1 and 4.2
2. Refer in section 4.4
3. Refer in section 4.2 (What are the solutions) and Case sudy
4. Refer all sections
5. Refer section 4.5
6. Refer in section 4.7
7. Refer in section 4.10 and 4.8
137
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

References

Understanding Biodiversity, by Ashish Kothari, Orient Longman,1997

http://www.unep.org/iyb/about_iyb.asp
http://www.scribd.com/doc/41279963/Biodiversity
http://www.dhushara.com/book/diversit/restor/takacs.htm
http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lec-
tures/biodiversity/biodiversity.html
http://indiasendangered.blogspot.com/2010/03/indias-endangered-
species.html
http://www.jamaicachm.org.jm/BHS/conservation.htm
http://www.wildindia.org/wiki/Endemic
http://www.kerenvis.nic.in/isbeid/biodiversity.htm
http://www.conservation.org/where/priority_areas/hotspots/asia-
pacific/Indo-Burma/Pages/default.aspx

138
 MODULE - 5

Module 5
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

Structure

Learning Objectives
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Air Pollution
5.3 Water Pollution
5.4 Soil Pollution
5.5 Noise Pollution
5.6 Thermal Pollution
5.7 Marine Pollution
5.8 Nuclear Hazards (Radioactive Pollution)
5.9 Solid Waste Management
5.10 Role of an Individual in Prevention of Pollution
5.11 Disaster Management
5.12 Pollution Case Studies
5.13 Summary
5.14 Questions
5.15 Answers

Objectives

At the end of the unit you will be able to:

• Understand the causes, effects and control measures of various
types of pollution
• Learn about various, pollution linked disasters.
• Learn about disaster management.

139
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

5.1 Introduction
There’s so much pollution in the air now that if it weren’t for
our lungs there’d be no place to put it all. 
~Robert Orben
This statement speaks volumes not only about air pollution,
but also about all forms of pollution. As the environment we pollute
is connected to our being; it is entering and polluting us too. But the
problem is that progress can often not be backtracked and ‘not polluting’
does not seem to be an option. We can only understand the pollution we
are creating and do what is possible to keep it to the minimum possible.

“That the situation appears hopeless should not prevent us from

doing our best.”
-Aldo Leopold

Environmental pollution is any undesirable change in the physical,
chemical or biological characteristics of any component of the
environment (air, water, soil), which can cause harmful effects on
various forms of life or property. Since all of us contribute to pollution
directly or indirectly, we must study all kinds of pollution in detail and
discuss the means of controlling and preventing it.
The Materials or factors that cause adverse effect on the natural
quality of any component of the environment are called pollutants.
Pollutants present a serious long-term global problem that affects more
or less every country and, therefore, can only be solved by a coordinated
set of actions and unwavering commitment of nations to international
environmental agreements. In order to develop and implement an
effective international policy for pollutants’ management, it is important,
among other factors, to understand pollutants and their decomposition
mechanisms.
140
 MODULE - 5

Classification of pollutants:
The pollutants can be classified:-
a. Based on their natural disposal, they can be biodegradable or
non biodegradable
Pollutants that are easily decomposable by natural processes
(used up or broken down to harmless products by microbes, insects etc)
are called biodegradable like domestic sewage but these cause pollution
when their production exceeds the capacity of the environment
to degrade them. Microbial and mechanical treatments in sewage
treatment plants are the option to control this pollution.
The pollutants are either not degraded (cannot be converted to
harmless products through natural activities) or degraded very slowly
by natural biological processes like tin and aluminium cans, glass,
plastic and radioactive materials. These pollutants accumulate on the
earth (like plastics) as well as can be biologically magnified (like DDT).
These have to be either minimized or recycled
b. Based on their existence in nature they can be qualitative or
quantitative
The pollutants that are not natural but are added to the
environment by the activity of man like pesticides, insecticides are
called qualitative pollutants. The natural components present in nature
when concentrated in excess of a threshold value in the environment
are called quantitative pollutants like CO, CO2 and nitrogen oxides.
c. Based on the persisting form after release to environment they
can be primary or secondary
The pollutants persisting in the environment in the form they
are passed into it are called primary pollutants, e.g. DDT
The pollutants which are formed by the reaction amongst
primary pollutants are called secondary pollutants, e.g. peroxyacyl
nitrates (PAN) are formed by the reaction between nitrogen oxides and
hydrocarbons in the presence of sunlight to understand pollution and
its management, it is important to study pollution as different types,
which can be air, water, land, thermal, noise, and radioactive pollution.
141
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

5.2 Air Pollution

Air pollution can be defined as ‘the change of composition of air
by the addition of harmful substances like the industrial and automobile
gases and particulate matter.’ Human activities can release substances
into the air, some of which can cause problems for humans, plants, and
animals. Humans probably first experienced the harm from air pollution
when they built fire in poorly ventilated caves. Since then we have gone
on to pollute more of the earth’s surface. Until recently, environmental
pollution problems have been local and minor because of the Earth’s
own ability to absorb and purify minor quantities of pollutants. The
industrialization of society, the introduction of motorized vehicles,
and the explosion of the population, are factors contributing toward
the growing air pollution problem. At this time it is urgent that we find
methods to clean up the air.
In India, about 100 million tons of pollutants are being added
to the atmosphere annually. This figure is likely to go up in future. The
primary air pollutants found in most urban areas are carbon monoxide,
nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter
(both solid and liquid). These pollutants are dispersed throughout the
world’s atmosphere in concentrations high enough to gradually cause
serious health problems. Serious health problems can occur quickly
when air pollutants are concentrated, such as when massive injections
of sulphur dioxide and suspended particulate matter are emitted by a
large volcanic eruption. Polluted air is harmful to man and the biosphere
on the whole as well. This problem needs to be tackled urgently.

Sources of Air Pollution

Most of the sources of air pollution are related to man’s activities
as a result of the modern lifestyle. The two main sources of pollutants in
urban areas are transportation (predominantly automobiles) and fuel
combustion in stationary sources, including residential, commercial,
and industrial heating and cooling and coal-burning power plants.
142
 MODULE - 5

Motor vehicles produce high levels of carbon monoxides (CO) and a

major source of hydrocarbons (HC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Whereas,
fuel combustion in stationary sources is the dominant source of sulphur
dioxide(SO2). Added to this are also natural causes like the volcanoes,
anaerobic decomposition of organic matter, atmospheric reactions, etc.

a. Natural Sources- Volcanic eruptions release oxides of nitrogen

that pollute the atmosphere. Decomposition of organic matter under
anaerobic conditions produces methane which on being oxidized in the
atmosphere produces carbon monoxide. Decomposition of this matter
also produces foul smelling gases.

Photochemical oxidation of marine organic matter and biological

oxidation by marine organisms produce lot of carbon monoxide on the
surface of the oceans which enters the atmosphere.

b. Man Made Sources-

Burning of Fossil Fuels-Fossil fuels include petroleum and coal.
Burning of coal produces a lot of smoke and dust whereas burning
of petrol mainly produces sulphur dioxide. In addition to these, the
pollutants include Carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2),
nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, particulate matter and traces of metals.
Automobiles-Petrol on combustion produces carbon monoxide,
hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, aldehydes, sulphur compounds, organic
acids and ammonia and carbon particles. Incomplete combustion of
petrol produces a hydrocarbon, 3, 4 benzpyrene. There is more pollution
during acceleration and deceleration than during constant speed.

Industries-These include
a) Fertiliser Plants-They produce oxides, sulphur, nitrogen,
hydrocarbons, particulate matter and fluorine.
b) Thermal Plants-Since they are coal based the pollutants are fly
ash, soot and sulphur dioxide.
143
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

c) Textile Industries-They produce cotton dust, nitrogen oxides,

chlorine, naphtha vapors, and smoke along with sulphur dioxide.
d) Steel Plants-They produce carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide,
sulphur dioxide, phenol, fluorine, cyanide, particulate matter, etc.

Major Pollutants
There are six main categories of air pollutants:
• oxides of carbon
• sulphur dioxide
• oxides of nitrogen
• hydrocarbon
• inorganic particulate matter and aerosols
• organic particulate matter

Main types of pollution can also be covered under two main groups.
1. Particulate pollution -One type of air pollution is the release of
particles into the air from burning fuel for energy. Diesel smoke is a good
example of this particulate matter. The particles are very small pieces of
matter measuring about 2.5 microns or about .0001 inches. The exhaust
from burning fuels in automobiles (can release lead which is harmful to
nervous system), homes (cement, asbestos), and industries (pulverized
fly ash from thermal plants) is a major source of pollution in the air.
Burning of wood and charcoal (coal dust) in fireplaces and barbeques
can release significant quantities of soot into the air. These particles
can in general impair plant growth by causing damage to tissues and in
human; it can basically affect lungs which could lead to allergies or even
cancer.
2. Noxious Gases pollution-Another type of pollution is the release
of noxious gases, such as sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen
oxides, and chemical vapors. These can take part in further chemical
reactions once they are in the atmosphere, forming smog and acid rain.

144
 MODULE - 5

a. Carbon monoxide (CO) and Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Pollution from Carbon Monoxide occurs primarily from
emissions produced by fossil fuel powered engines. The incomplete
reaction of air with fuel produces the colorless, odorless and highly toxic
gas. This happens when there is insufficient oxygen gas present when
the fuel is burned, which in turn happens in vehicles which are not well
maintained and are inefficient. The main issue with Carbon Monoxide
is its ill effects on health. It is capable of binding the chemicals in our
blood, called haemoglobin. It does so far more effectively than oxygen
and also stays bound to the haemoglobin for far longer than oxygen
does. The effect of this is that the blood is starved of oxygen, which then
affects the rest of the body. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the major
pollutants in the atmosphere and is released from engines burning
fossil fuels (efficiently). Major sources of CO2 are therefore fossil fuels’
burning and deforestation. The concentrations of CO2 in the air around
1860 before the effects of industrialization were felt, is assumed to have
been about 290 parts per million (ppm). In the hundred years and more
since then, the concentration has increased by about 30 to 35 ppm that
is by 10 percent. Industrial countries account for 65% of CO2 emissions,
the United States and Soviet Union responsible for 50%. Less developed
countries (LDCs), with 80% of the world’s population, are responsible
for 35% of CO2 emissions but may contribute 50% by 2020. “Carbon
dioxide emissions are increasing by 4% a year”(2007 stats).
The ocean waters contain about sixty times more CO2 than the
atmosphere. If the equilibrium is disturbed by externally increasing the
concentration of CO2 in the air, then the oceans would absorb more and
more CO2. 
If the oceans can no longer keep pace, then more CO2 will remain
into the atmosphere. As water warms, its ability to absorb CO2 is reduced.

145
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

N0X - nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2)

The source of NO2 is burning of biomass and fossil fuels. It is
important in the formation of both acid precipitation and photochemical
smog (ozone). It also has a role in reducing stratospheric ozone. Around
30 to 50 million tons of these gases are produced per year from human
activities, while naturally around 10 to 20 million tons per year. Average
residence time in the atmosphere is days.

N2O - nitrous oxide

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is also a natural component of the Earth’s
atmosphere as the other nitrogen gases. It is produced by both natural
and human-related sources. Primary human-related sources of N2O
are nitrogen based fertilizers, deforestation, biomass burning, animal
manure management, sewage treatment, combustion of fossil fuel and
nitric acid production. Nitrous oxide is produced naturally from a wide
variety of biological sources in soil and water, particularly microbial
action in wet tropical forests.
Human inputs are 6 million tons per year, and 19 million tons
per year by nature. Residence time in the atmosphere is about 170
years. It is an important contributor in the greenhouse effect and causes
nitrogen loading.

Sulphur oxides
sulphur dioxide is produced by combustion of sulphur
-containing fuels, such as coal and fuel oils, and also, in the process
of producing sulphuric acid and in metallurgical process involving
ores that contain sulphur. Sulphur oxides can injure man, plants and
materials. At sufficiently high concentrations, sulphur dioxide irritates
the upper respiratory tract of human beings because potential effect of
sulphur dioxide is to make breathing more difficult by causing the finer
air tubes of the lung to constrict. Power plants and factories emit the
sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.

146
 MODULE - 5

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
Chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs (also known as Freon) are non-
toxic, non-flammable and non-carcinogenic. They contain fluorine
atoms, carbon atoms and chlorine atoms. The 5 main CFCs include CFC-
11 (trichlorofluoromethane - CFCl3), CFC-12(dichloro-difluoromethane -
CF2Cl2), CFC-113 (trichloro-trifluoroethane -C2F3Cl3), CFC-114 (dichloro-
tetrfluoroethane - C2F4Cl2), and CFC-115 (chloropentafluoroethane -
C2F5Cl).

CFCs are widely used as coolants in refrigeration and air

conditioners, as solvents in cleaners, particularly for electronic circuit
boards, as blowing agents in the production of foam (for example fire
extinguishers), and as propellants in aerosols. Indeed, much of the
modern lifestyle of the second half of the 20th century has been made
possible by the use of CFCs.

Man-made CFCs however, are the main cause of stratospheric

ozone depletion. CFCs have a lifetime in the atmosphere of about 20
to 100 years, and consequently one free chlorine atom from a CFC
molecule can do a lot of damage, destroying ozone molecules for a long
time. Although emissions of CFCs around the developed world have
largely ceased due to international control agreements, the damage to
the stratospheric ozone layer will continue well into the 21st century.

Hydrocarbons- Hydrocarbons (HC) are released into the

atmosphere as a result of incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, as
well as fuel evaporation. According to the EPA, 47% of hydrocarbon
emissions in the atmosphere can be attributed to on-road and off-road
vehicles. The strong odor associated with diesel emissions is due to the
presence of hydrocarbons.

147
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

When hydrocarbons combine with NOx and sunlight, ozone is

formed. This is a serious form of air pollution and a key component of
smog. The brown haze of smog that plagues many urban areas causes
irritation and damage to eyes, skin and lungs. It dries out the protective
membranes of the nose and throat, interfering with the body’s ability
to fight infection. Some hydrocarbons are also considered toxic, causing
serious health problems such as cancer or death.
3. Indoor pollution-Pollution also needs to be considered inside
our homes, offices, and schools as many people spend large portion of
time indoors - as much as 80-90% of their lives. We work, study, eat,
drink and sleep in enclosed environments where air circulation may be
restricted. Some experts feel that more people suffer from the effects
of indoor air pollution than outdoor pollution as pollution exposure at
home and work is often found to be greater than outdoors.
There are many sources of indoor air pollution. Tobacco smoke,
cooking and heating appliances, and vapors from building materials,
paints, furniture, etc. cause pollution inside buildings. Radon is a natural
radioactive gas released from the earth, and it can be found concentrated
in basements. Radon can be emitted from building materials like bricks,
concrete, tiles etc. which are derived from soil containing radium.
Consequences of outdoor pollution: These include smog, acid
rain, the greenhouse effect, and ozone layer hole. Each of these problems
has serious implications for our health and well-being as well as for the
whole environment.
Smog is a type of large-scale outdoor pollution. It is caused by chemical
reactions between pollutants derived from different sources, primarily
automobile exhaust and industrial emissions.
Smog is the term for smoke or other atmospheric pollutants
combined with fog in an unhealthy or irritating mixture. It is a malady
of the cities due to its pollution causing activities. For each city, the exact
causes of pollution may be different. Depending on the geographical
location, temperature, wind and weather factors, pollution is dispersed
differently. However, sometimes dispersion does not happen and the
148
 MODULE - 5

pollution can build up to dangerous levels. Gases, smoke and particles

are lifted up and are generally blown away from the center of its origin.
But due to meteorological factor, topography etc. the discharged material
may not go further away but circulate in limited area for a longer period.
A temperature inversion occurs when air close to the earth is cooler
than the air above it. Under these conditions the pollution cannot rise
and be dispersed (as warmer air rises). This pollution combines with the
fog and when it stays trapped for long it can cause deaths. Apart from
inversions, cities surrounded by mountains also experience trapping of
pollution.
Acid rain is another major consequence of outdoor air pollution.
When a pollutant, such as sulphuric acid combines with droplets of
water in the air, the water (or snow) can become acidified. Much of the
SO2 emissions are released by tall smoke stakes, enabling the emissions
to travel long distances. As emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitric oxide
from stationary sources are transported long distances by winds, they
form secondary pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, nitric acid vapor,
and droplets containing solutions of sulphuric acid, sulphate, and
nitrate salts. These chemicals descend to the earth’s surface in wet form
as rain or snow and in dry form as gases fog, dew, or solid particles.
This is known as acid deposition or acid rain. The effects of acid rain on
the environment can be very serious. It damages plants by destroying
their leaves, it poisons the soil, and it changes the chemistry of lakes and
streams. Damage due to acid rain kills trees and harms animals, fish,
and other wildlife.
Greenhouse Effect, also referred to as global warming, is
generally believed to come from the buildup of carbon dioxide gas in the
atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is produced when fuels are burned. Plants
convert carbon dioxide back to oxygen, but the release of carbon dioxide
from human activities is higher than that of the world’s vegetation can
process. The situation is made worse since many of the earth’s forests
are being removed, and plant life is being damaged by acid rain. Thus,
the amount of carbon dioxide in the air is continuously increasing. This
buildup acts like a blanket and traps heat close to the surface of our
149
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

earth. Changes of even a few degrees to climate of the different parts of

the world will affect all ecosystems and life and puts forth the possibility
that the polar ice caps may melt. (One of the consequences of polar ice
cap melting would be a rise in global sea level, resulting in widespread
coastal flooding.) CO2 is a good transmitter of sunlight, but partially
restricts infrared radiation going back from the earth into space.
This produces the so-called greenhouse effect that prevents a
drastic cooling of the Earth during the night. Increasing the amount of
CO2 in the atmosphere reinforces this effect and is expected to result in a
warming of the Earth’s surface. Currently carbon dioxide is responsible
for 57% of the global warming trend.

Ozone depletion is another result of pollution. Chemicals
released by our activities affect the stratosphere, one of the atmospheric
layers surrounding earth. The ozone layer in the stratosphere protects
the earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Release
of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) from aerosol cans, cooling systems
and refrigerator equipment removes some of the ozone, causing
“holes”; to open up in this layer and allowing the radiation to reach
the earth. Ultraviolet radiation is known to cause skin cancer and has
damaging effects on plants and wildlife. CFCs are lowering the average
concentration of ozone in the stratosphere. Since 1978 the use of CFCs
in aerosol cans has been banned in the United States, Canada, and most
Scandinavian countries. Aerosols are still the largest use, accounting for
25% of global CFC use. Spray cans, discarded or leaking refrigeration
and air conditioning equipment, and the burning plastic foam products
release the CFCs into the atmosphere. Depending on the type, CFCs stay
in the atmosphere from 22 to 111 years. Chlorofluorocarbons move up
to the stratosphere gradually over several decades. Under high energy
ultra violet (UV) radiation, they break down and release chlorine
atoms, which speed up the breakdown of ozone (O3) into oxygen gas
(O2). Chlorofluorocarbons are also greenhouse gases that contribute to
global warming.
150
 MODULE - 5

Photochemical air pollution is also commonly referred to

as “smog”. Smog, a contraction of the words smoke and fog, has been
caused throughout recorded history by water condensing on smoke
particles, usually from burning coal. With the introduction of petroleum
to replace coal economies in countries, photochemical smog has
become predominant in many cities, which are located in sunny, warm,
and dry climates with many motor vehicles. The worst episodes of
photochemical smog tend to occur in summer. Photochemical smog is
a unique type of air pollution which is caused by reactions between
sunlight and pollutants like hydrocarbons and nitrogen dioxide.
Photochemical smog is often invisible, but it can be extremely harmful,
leading to irritations of the respiratory tract and eyes. In regions of the
world with high concentrations of photochemical smog, elevated rates
of death and respiratory illnesses have been observed.
Heat Island effect The unrelenting heat even in night times is
often the bane of high rise buildings. The bricks and concrete of cities
absorb heat during day time which radiate slowly during night creating
heat island effect as the heat cannot move out easily because of high rise
buildings.

Harmful Effects of the Pollutants in Air

Years of exposure to air pollution adversely affects the natural
defenses of the respiratory system of humans and so can result in lung
cancer, asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema (damage to air sacs
leading to loss of lung elasticity and acute shortness of breath.
Suspended particulate matter can cause damage to lung tissues
and diseases like asthma, bronchitis and cancer especially when they
bring with them cancer causing or toxic pollutants attached on their
surface.
Sulphur dioxide causes constriction of respiratory passage and
can cause bronchitis like condition. With suspended particles they form
acid sulphate particles which can go deep into the lungs and affect them
severely.
151
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Nitrogen oxides can irritate lungs and cause conditions like

chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The ability of CO to bind so strongly
to the haemoglobin means that even when CO is in low concentrations
it can rapidly build up in the blood. Initial symptoms of mild poisoning
include headaches and dizziness due to lack of oxygen to the brain.
Hydrocarbons can be carcinogenis, can cause acute respiratory
symptoms, headaches, reduced cardiovascular function brain damage.
It is also a precursor to ground-level ozone and a major component of
smog
PAN - peroxylacetyl –nitrate formed by photochemical reactions
of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides can cause irritation of eye, throat
and respiratory tract, damage to clothes, paint and rubber articles,
damage to leaves and stomatal tissue in plants. Air pollutants enter
plants through stomata, destroy chlorophyll and affect photosynthesis.
Pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone and peroxyacl
nitrates (PANs) cause direct damage to leaves of crop plants and trees
when they enter leaf pores (stomates).
Long exposure to pollutants can erode waxy coating of the leaves
called cuticle. (Cuticle prevents excessive water loss and damage from
diseases, pests, droughts and frost) Particulates deposited on the leaves
can form encrustations and plug the stomata. The damage can result in
the death of the plant.
Damage to leaf structure in this manner therefore causes necrosis
(dead areas of leaf), chlorosis (loss or reduction of chlorophyll causing
yellowing of leaf), epinasty (downward curling of leaf), and abscission
(dropping of leaves).
Acid rains affect aquatic life. Some of the freshwater lakes have
experienced total fish death
Particulates are corrosive and can damage exposed surfaces.
Ozone in the atmosphere can cause cracking of rubber. Oxides of
nitrogen can also cause fading of cotton and rayon fibres.

152
 MODULE - 5

Presence of SO2 and moisture can accelerate corrosion of

metallic surfaces. SO2 can affect fabric, leather, paint, paper, marble and
limestone.
It causes yellowing and reduced storage time for paper, yellowing
and damage to limestone and marble, damage to leather, increased rate
of corrosion of iron, steel, zinc and aluminium.

Control of Air pollution

Air pollution control is neither simple nor can it be controlled
totally. Problems associated with air pollution control are high cost,
banning of any industry would affect other industries etc. Setting air
quality standards and enforcing laws for maintenance of these standards
is essential. Other measures include-
1. Environment impact assessment studies before citing industries
thereby assuring proper pollution control measures and so
remove or minimize possible damages.
2. Using low sulphur coal in industries or removing sulphur from
coal by washing or with the help of bacteria)
3. Gaseous effluent matter can be removed by (a) combustion like
flame combustion where organic pollutants are converted into
water vapour and less harmful products like CO2. (b) Absorption
where gaseous effluent is passed through suitable liquid
absorbent (scrubbers) which removes or modifies one or more
of the pollutants present. (c) Adsorption where gases are passed
through porous solid adsorbent which adsorb the organic and
inorganic constituents in it.
4. Particulates from stack exhaust gases can be removed by
employing electrostatic precipitators, bag house filters, settling
chambers, cyclone separators, wet collectors or scrubbers etc.
5. Chimneys should be high so that pollutants are carried by winds
for dispersal and not trapped at lower levels.
153
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

6. Use of unleaded petrol and controlling over use of fuel. Use

of alternate sources of energy like solar power etc wherever
possible and feasible.
7. By planting more trees we provide a natural sink for pollutants
like CO2 and make available more of the life giving oxygen in our
surrounding.
8. We can contribute to reducing the amount of Carbon Monoxide
in the atmosphere by making sure that our vehicles are regularly
serviced, ensuring they are running as efficiently as possible.
Replacement of more polluting old vehicles. New vehicle of
maruti called Essex 3 has an alarm system that tells when it is
time for servicing and thus helps avoid pollution. Not using a car
or car pooling whenever possible will further reduce pollution.
Lawn mowers and other devices with small petrol engines are
also excessive polluters and avoiding their use will also help
cut carbon monoxide levels. Slow and cooler burning of fuels to
reduce NOx emission (Honda Technology). We can also minimize
pollution by driving at a constant moderate speed as there is
more pollution during acceleration and deceleration than during
constant speed.

Self Assessment Questions

1. The natural components present in nature when concentrated
in excess of a threshold value in the environment are called
…………………. pollutants like CO, CO2 and nitrogen oxides.
2. What are any two significantly damaging consequences of
outdoor pollution?
3. ……………….is a natural radioactive gas emitted from building
materials like bricks, concrete, and tiles etc. which are derived
from soil containing radium.

154
 MODULE - 5

Water pollution
Comprising over 70% of the Earth’s surface, water is undoubtedly
the most precious natural resource that exists on our planet without
which life on Earth would be non-existent.  Although we recognize
this fact, we still disregard it by polluting our rivers, lakes, and oceans.
Subsequently, we are slowly but surely harming our planet to the point
where organisms are dying at a very alarming rate and our drinking
water has become greatly affected.  In order to combat water pollution,
we must understand the problems and become part of the solution.
Water pollution occurs when a body of water is adversely affected
due to the addition of large amounts of materials to the water.  When it
is unfit for its intended use, water is considered to be polluted. In other
words, any change in the physical, chemical and biological properties
of water that has a harmful effect on living things is water pollution. It
is the second most important environmental issue next to air pollution.

Sources of Water pollution

Depending upon the origin, sources of water pollution are
classified basically as point source and non-point source. Point sources
of pollution occur when harmful substances are emitted directly into a
body of water.  The Exxon Valdez oil spill best illustrates point source
water pollution.  A non point source delivers pollutants indirectly
through environmental changes.  An example of this type of water
pollution is when fertilizer from a field is carried into a stream by rain,
in the form of run-off which in turn effects aquatic life. In essence if the
pollution comes from a single source, such as an oil spill, it is called point-
source pollution. If the pollution comes from many sources, it is called
non point-source pollution. The technology exists for point sources of
pollution to be monitored and regulated, Non point sources are much
more difficult to control. 
Pollution arising from nonpoint sources accounts for a majority
of the contaminants in streams and lakes.

155
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Leaching is another manner of pollution that can also be

considered separately as the source of ground water pollution. Leaching
can be of pesticides, fertilizers etc or from leaking septic tanks etc.
Most types of pollution affect the immediate area surrounding the
source. Sometimes the pollution may affect the environment hundreds
of miles away from the source, such as nuclear waste, this is called
transboundary pollution.

Causes of Pollution
Domestic Sewage: Domestic sewage is wastewater generated
from the household activities. It contains organic and inorganic
materials such as phosphates and nitrates. Organic materials are food
and vegetable waste, whereas inorganic materials come from soaps and
detergents.
Organic Materials: Usually people dump the household wastes
in the nearby water source. Pollution in the form of organic material
enters waterways in many different forms as sewage, as leaves and grass
clippings, or as runoff from livestock feedlots and pastures. Sewage
contain nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates. When natural
bacteria and protozoan in the water break down this organic material,
they begin to use up the oxygen dissolved in the water. The amount of
organic wastes that can be degraded by the water bodies is measured in
terms of Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD). BOD is the amount of oxygen
needed by microorganisms to decompose the organic waste present in
the sewage. The higher the amount of BOD, the more water is polluted
with organic waste.  Many types of fish and bottom-dwelling animals
cannot survive when levels of dissolved oxygen drop below two to five
parts per million.  When this occurs, it kills aquatic organisms in large
numbers which leads to disruptions in the food chain.
Inorganic materials: Soaps and detergents enrich the water
bodies with phosphates. These phosphates often lead to algal bloom and
eutrophication, which is most common in stagnant water bodies such as
ponds and lakes. Algal bloom and eutrophication lead to the suffocation
of fish and other organism in a water body.
156
 MODULE - 5

Industrial Effluents: Wastewater from the manufacturing and

processing industries causes water pollution. The industrial effluents
contain organic pollutants and other toxic chemicals. Some of the
pollutants from industrial source include lead, mercury, asbestos,
nitrates, phosphates, oils, etc. Wastewater from food and chemical
processing industries contribute more to water pollution than the
other industries such as distilleries, leather processing industries and
thermal power plants. Also dye industries generate wastewater which
changes the water quality especially water color. Since the water color is
changed, there is alteration in the light penetration and hence it disturbs
the aquatic plants and animals. Many of the big industries have come
up with wastewater treatment plants. However, it is not the case with
small-scale industries.

Let’s take the example of Minamata disease in which more than

1,784 people died and many more suffered due to consumption of
fish, bio accumulated with methyl mercury. It was caused by release of
methyl mercury from Chisso Corporation’s chemical factory. The disease
continued toaffect animalsandhumansfor over 30 years, from 1932 to 1968.
It is really very difficult to clear up the mess that industries create in water.

Agricultural Waste: Agricultural waste includes manure, slurries

and runoffs. Most of the agricultural farms use chemical fertilizers
and pesticides. The runoffs from these agricultural fields cause water
pollution to the nearby water sources such as rivers, streams and
lakes. The seepage of fertilizers and pesticides causes groundwater
pollution, which is commonly known as leaching. Although the quantity
of agricultural waste is low, the effects are highly significant. It causes
nutrient and organic pollution to both water and soil. Nutrient pollution
causes an increase in the nitrates and phosphates in the water bodies,
which leads to eutrophication. That is, in excess levels, nutrients over
stimulate the growth of aquatic plants and algae.  Excessive growth of
157
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

these types of organisms consequently clogs the waterways, use up

dissolved oxygen as they decompose, and block light to deeper waters.
This, in turn, proves very harmful to aquatic organisms as it affects the
respiration ability of fish and other invertebrates that time in water.

Oil pollution: Oil leaked or spilled from oil tanker and offshore
oil rigs float over the sea water polluting the water and thereby causing
damage to marine ecosystem.

Silting: Pollution is also caused when silt and other suspended

solids, such as soil, wash off plowed fields, construction and logging
sites, urban areas, and eroded river banks when it rains. .  When these
sediments enter various bodies of water, fish respiration becomes
impaired, plant productivity and water depth if become reduced, and
aquatic organisms and their environments become suffocated.

Harmful Effects of Water Pollution

Water pollution may not damage our health immediately but can
be harmful after long term exposure. Different forms of pollutants affect
the health of animals in different ways:
• Heavy metals from industrial processes can accumulate in
nearby lakes and rivers. These are toxic to marine life such as
fish and shellfish, and subsequently to the humans who eat them.
Heavy metals can lead to slow development and result in birth
defects, some are carcinogenic.
• Toxic compounds are often present in Industrial effluents
that damage the health of aquatic animals and those who eat
them.
Some of the toxins in industrial waste may only have a
mild effect whereas others can be fatal. They can cause immune
suppression, reproductive failure or acute poisoning.

158
 MODULE - 5

• Eutrofication is harmful for aquatic life as it depletes oxygen

content. Organic matter and nutrients cause an increase in
aerobic algae and depletes oxygen from the water column. This
causes the suffocation of fish and other aquatic organisms.
• Sulfate particles from acid rain can harm the health of marine
life in the rivers and lakes it contaminates, the water bodies and
can result in mortality.
• Suspended particles in freshwater reduces the quality of
drinking water for humans and the aquatic environment
for marine life. Suspended particles can often reduce the amount
of sunlight penetrating the water, disrupting the growth of
photosynthetic plants and micro-organisms.
• Pathogens are another type of pollution that proves very
harmful to both aquatic and terrestrial life.  They can cause many
infections and illnesses like typhoid, dysentery, skin diseases
and even minor respiratory diseases.  Pathogens include such
organisms as bacteria, viruses, and protozoan.  These pollutants
enter waterways through untreated sewage, storm drains, septic
tanks, runoff from farms, and particularly boats that dump
sewage. Microbial water pollution is a major problem in the
developing world, with diseases such as cholera and typhoid
fever being the primary cause of infant mortality.
• Mercury pollution is one of the major concerns in areas where
large number of paper industries are situated. Paper industries
use fungicides and algicides which contain mercury compounds.
Methyl-mercury is a highly persistent pollution that accumulates
in the food chain.
• Reduction in Marine produce as most of the water pollution
in rivers finally finds its way into the seas which alters marine
ecosystem and kills sea animals. The countries dependent upon
marine products are adversely affected. Oil pollution in sea
brings further cooling effect in polar region.

159
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

• Bio magnification of chemicals such as arsenic, mercury, lead

enter aquatic animals through the food chain get magnified as
they finally reach the top most consumer which is man and cause
diseases.
• Corrosion of machines and weakening of their joints takes place
if polluted water is used in industries. Thus it is not even suitable
for industrial use as gases and acids present in water attack
machines and cause several complications resulting in drop of
efficiency.
• Biological and genetic effect Some chemicals in water from
industrial effluents induce mutagenic, tertogenic or carcinogenic
effects on man and animals. The effect may be delayed for years
or a generation. Mutation is not only caused by ionizing radiation
but by way of these chemicals too.

Control of water pollution

For the control of water pollution, the right approach has to be
selected, for example often a great deal of time and money is wasted
in building effluent treatment plants and systems where a change of
process or raw material would have ensured the problem is removed
with minimum costs, without affecting the quality of the product.
Whereas purification of waste water creates sludge, incineration of
chemical wastes creates toxic gases as well as particulate matter. This is
an environmental paradox where pollution removal generates residues
which require more resources to dispose and disposal again causes
pollution.
Wastewater from point sources should compulsorily be treated
to reduce total solids, nitrates phosphates, oil, grease, toxic metals etc
before releasing them. Solid wastes may be removed before water is
tipped into river or sea. The solid waste can be converted into sludge
which can be used as fertilizer or even for making cardboard by using
waste cardboard machine which solves the environmental paradox
causing zero pollution and even achieving economic benefits from
160
 MODULE - 5

waste. Industrial water can be made less polluted before discharge by

biological treatment using water hyacinth which has remarkable capacity
to accumulate poisonous metals including radioactive substances. It can
filter out heavy metals like mercury and lead along with nickel as well as
other toxic substances found in industrial waste waters. Certain strains
of bacteria can reduce the oil spill effect and can use up cyanides and
heavy metals.

Oxidation and stabilization ponds can be used, where domestic

or industrial wastes are stored in large, well defined shallow ponds and
kept in it for a few days. Because of the presence of sufficient sunlight
and organic nutrients in waste, a healthy bloom of algae flourishes
(which absorbs toxic substances), along with colonies of bacteria which
digest the organic waste and render it harmless.

There could also be a linking of several different industrial,

agricultural and urban activities where the waste of one industry
becomes the raw material for another. Treatment of sewage yields
irrigation water that contains all the essential nutrients to be a good
fertilizer. Zinc can be extracted from wastewater of rayon manufacturing
and lignosulfonate from paper and pulp wastewater. Treated sewage
can also be used for air conditioning purpose.

Techniques like adsorption; electro dialysis, ion exchange and

reverse osmosis etc can be used for the removal of biological, chemical
and radioactive water pollutants. Phosphorous from sewage that
enhances eutrophication can be removed by electrolysis. Hydrogen gas
liberated during electrolysis makes the phosphate and sludge to float on
the surface as scum, which can be scraped off from the top layer.

Some experiments have concluded that a combination of sunlight

and a catalyst such as titanium dioxide could dissociate chemical
toxicants of water. Such photolytic reactions can kill pesticides (DDT,
PCB’s), explosive solvents, dioxins and cyanides.
161
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Many researchers have been done on water purification systems

in order to have safe drinking water like incorporating steps of biological
treatment and disinfection. Ozone wastewater treatment is a method
that is increasing in popularity but ozone treatment can  sometimes
produce by-products such as bromate that can harm human health if
they are not controlled. Therefore prevention of water pollution is more
important approach than purification.
1. Reducing the amount of water use by improving housekeeping,
turning off the water tap when not needed etc… can help conserve
water as well as save money. This not only helps prevent water
shortages but also reduces the amount of contaminated water that
needs treatment.
2. Prevention of water pollution includes using eco-friendly
household products such as non-phosphate or low-phosphate
detergents and other toiletries, disposing the household wastes in
proper sites far off from the water sources.
3. Taking care not to overuse pesticides and fertilizers. This will
prevent runoffs of the material into nearby water sources. Also
supplementing with compost and planting nitrogen fixing plants to
minimize the need of fertilizers.
4. Planting more trees can also prevent water pollution by reducing
soil erosion and water runoff.
5. Not throwing litter into rivers, lakes or oceans and helping clean
up any litter that is seen on beaches or in rivers and lakes(like plastic
bottles) and putting it in a nearby dustbin.
6. Educating people about water pollution is an important way of
preventing water pollution.

5.4 Soil Pollution

Soil pollution can be described as the contamination of soil of a
particular region and results from the addition and build up of toxic and
harmful chemicals, salts, microorganisms and radioactive elements to
the soil layer. The most common soil pollutants are hydrocarbons, heavy
162
 MODULE - 5

metals (cadmium, lead, chromium, copper, zinc, mercury and arsenic),

herbicides, pesticides, oils, tars, PCBs and dioxins. Following World
War-II and Vietnam, scientists discovered high incidences of mutation,
miscarriage, mental defects, cancer and sickness in areas where nuclear
warheads had been dropped. Food shortages also alerted officials that
something was seriously wrong with the local soil. DDT and Dioxin were
two of the worst pollutants from the war aftermath of war.

Causes of soil pollution

Soil pollution mainly is a result of penetration of harmful

pesticides and insecticides, which on one hand serve whatever their
main purpose is, but on the other hand, bring about deterioration in the
soil quality, thus making it contaminated and unfit for use. Pesticides
applied to plants can also seep into the ground, leaving lasting effects.
Heavy metals can arrive in the soil by using polluted water to irrigate
crops and by using mineral fertilizers. Unfavorable and harmful
irrigation practices could lead to water logging or soil salinisation.
Industry is to blame for some of the biggest soil-pollution
disasters. Industrial wastes, such as harmful gases and chemicals,
agricultural pesticides, fertilizers and insecticides are the most
important causes of soil pollution. Heavy metals come from iron, steel,
power and chemical manufacturing plants that recklessly use the Earth
as a dumping ground for their refuse. Plants that burn their waste on-site
are guilty of releasing heavy metals into the atmosphere, which come to
settle in the soil, thus leaving behind lasting effects for years to come.
Even companies that try to dispose of their waste properly contribute to
the problem when faulty landfills and bursting underground bins leach
undesirable toxins into the soil.
Mining leaves a tremendous impact on the surrounding
communities. The 2001 West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey
found that people living near mines have a 70 percent higher risk of
kidney disease, 64 percent higher risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease and a 30 percent higher risk of high blood pressure
163
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Soil pollution can also result from many seemingly minor

activities and experiments done by mankind. The intensity of all these
causes on a local or regional level might appear very small. However, as
these practices are evident almost everywhere in the world, thinking
globally, these are significant polluters.
• Improper septic system and management and maintenance of
the same.
• Leakages from sanitary sewage, seepage from landfill, rupture of
underground storage tanks.
• Acid rains, when fumes released from industries get mixed with
rains. Contaminated water reaches and percolates into the soil
affecting it adversely.
• Fuel leakages from automobiles, that gets washed away due to
rain and seep into the nearby soil.
• Unhealthy waste management techniques, which are
characterized by release of sewage into the large dumping
grounds and nearby streams or rivers.
• Improper land use allocations and ignorance towards soil
management and related systems.

Effects of Soil Pollution

The effects of pollution on soil are quite alarming and can
cause huge disturbances in the ecological balance and health of living
creatures on earth. Some of the most serious soil pollution effects are
mentioned below.
• Various chemicals like acids, alkalies, pesticides, insecticides,
weedicides, heavy metals etc in the industrial discharge affect
soil fertility by causing change in the physical chemical and
biological properties of the soil and therefore cause decrease in
the soil productivity.
• The entire ecosystem changes when new materials are added
to the soil, as microorganisms die off or move away from
contaminants. Persistent pollutants in soil adversely affect
164
 MODULE - 5

the beneficial (non target) soil fauna and flora resulting in

disturbance in the balance of flora and fauna residing in the
soil and leading to loss of soil health and the natural nutrients
present in soil. Also as plants would not thrive in such a soil, it
would further result in soil erosion.
• Predators who feed off the microorganisms and worms in the
polluted soil are also affected. Researchers found that some
species of birds -- like the Peregrine Falcon, the Brown Pelican
and the Bald Eagle became prey to DDT poisoning, which caused
egg shells of future generations to thin. Mother birds would
arrive home to omelets in their nests, as the thin shells could
not support the weight of the incubating offspring. Mortality
rates of predatory birds increased, nearly sending the birds to
extinction.
• Increase in salinity of the soil, which therefore makes it unfit
for vegetation, thus making it useless and barren.
• Generally crops cannot grow and flourish in a polluted soil and
if some crops manage to grow, then those would be poisonous
enough to cause serious health problems in people consuming
them. Chemicals can sometimes be absorbed into food like
lettuce and be ingested. Other times, the pollutants simply kill
the plants, which created widespread crop destruction and
famine in many parts of the world.
• Creation of toxic dust like of lead is another potential effect of
soil pollution.
• Foul smell due to industrial chemicals and gases might result in
headaches, fatigue, nausea, etc. in many people.
• People living near polluted land have higher incidences of
migraines, nausea, fatigue, and miscarriage along with skin
disorders. Long-term health effects of pollution include cancer,
leukemia, reproductive disorders, kidney and liver damage, as
well as central nervous system failure. Children often suffer from
developmental problems and weakened immune systems.
165
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

• Soil pollutants would bring in alteration in the soil structure,

which would lead to death of many essential organisms in it. This
would also affect the larger predators and compel them to move
to other places, once they lose their food supply.
• Radioactive fallout on vegetation is a source of radio-isotopes
which enter the food chain in the grazing animals. Some of these
radio isotopes replace essential elements in the body and cause
abnormalities e.g.strontium-90 instead of calcium gets deposited
in the bones and tissues. The bones become brittle and prone to
fracture. Radioisotopes which attach with clay become a source
of radiations in the environment.
• Sewage sludge has pathogenic bacteria, viruses and intestinal
worms which may cause various types of diseases. Decomposing
organic matter in soil also produces toxic vapors.
• If nothing is done to clean up soil pollution, water supplies could
become contaminated, threatening the human species.

Control of Soil Pollution

Bio-fertilization and manures should be used instead of their

chemical alternatives. Bio fertilization is a process in which certain
microorganisms are used to increase the fertility and growth capacity
of soil.
The process reduces the need for pesticides and fungicides.
Manure and compost, meanwhile, are always considered preferable to
fertilizers.
Cropping techniques (mixed cropping, crop rotation) should
be improved to prevent growth of weeds to avoid weedicides. Crop
rotation or mixed cropping can also improve the fertility of the land.
Materials such as glass containers, plastic bags, paper, cloth etc.
can be reused at domestic levels rather than being disposed, reducing
solid waste pollution.
166
 MODULE - 5

Recycling and recovery is another way to reduce and

control soil pollution. Recycling paper, plastics, glass and other materials
reduces the volume of refuse in landfills, another common cause of soil
pollution. Recovery of one ton of paper can save 17 trees.
Solid wastes should be properly collected and disposed off by
appropriate method Designated pits should be used for the dumping
of soil wastes. These wastes should be treated chemically and
biologically to make them less toxic and hazardous. Biological treatment
involves the use of anaerobic microorganisms, such as methanogens
and acetogens, which help break down the soil wastes into a less toxic
and biodegradable form.

Control of land loss and soil erosion can be attempted through

restoring forest and grass cover thus avoiding wastelands, soil erosion
and floods.
Enacting tougher legislation to stop illegal dumping, like a larger
fine or even imprisonment as is prevalent already in some states in
the United States of America like Texas (five years in jail and a fine of
$100,000 for soil pollution)
Over the years, stronger and more indestructible bins were
created to store hazardous materials to avoid pollution due to their
bursting underground. Researchers continue to look for ways to
improve manufacturing, packaging and agricultural processes to avoid
the need for toxic byproducts. Till a substitute is found for plastic covers,
minimizing its use or returning used covers to shopkeepers for reuse
are the little things we can do
Gardens should be situated away from old painted buildings and
roadways to avoid poisoning by lead. Outer leaves of lettuce should be
discarded and all vegetables should be washed before eating. Consumers
can also make a concerted effort to buy organic foods which will bring
a pressure by creating a market demand that chemical pesticides aren’t
used on their foods.
167
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Treatment of soil

The conventional methods of treatment of soil pollution are

very time-consuming and very costly which could involve excavating
the soil to dispose it off elsewhere. This is essential for toxic disasters
in highly populated places. Soils can be aerated, heated up in a process
called thermal remediation, contained with pavement or caps, extracted
with an active electromechanical system or propagating the soil with
microbes that will digest organic pollutants. Other new processes are
being developed to combat the problem in a natural, less laborious way.
By studying plants that grew naturally in toxic mines, it was discovered
that certain plants loved to eat heavy metals like arsenic, bronze, lead,
zinc, cobalt and cadmium. The contaminants can then be retrieved from
the plant’s leaves and used in industrial materials.

Case Studies of Soil Pollution

Love Canal is the most famous case study of soil pollution. In the
snowy winter of 1976, chemical waste began to seep above ground in school
playgrounds and communities in Niagara Falls, New York. The area suffered
high incidences of stillborn births, miscarriages and birth defects. Officials
soon realized that there were over 400 toxic substances in the air, water
and soil -- many of them cancerous. As it turned out, the area had been used
as a chemical dumping ground for more than 22,000 tons of toxic waste at
the turn-of-the-century, when no one was aware of the hazardous impact
it could have decades later. The chemical wastes were of Hooker Chemicals
and Plastic Corporation sealed in steel drums and dumped underground of
the Love Canal between 1942-1953 following which the site was covered
with clay and top soil and sold to the city board of education which built
the school. This tragedy highlights the dangers of underground dumping.
Another case of soil pollution is Ethiopia. The worst area is in Somalia’s
Ayaha valley near Hargeysa. To boost their economy, many farmers began

168
 MODULE - 5

using chemical fertilizers and pesticides to increase productivity without

understanding the full ramifications. Over their war-torn years, metal
drums holding 14,200 liters of chemicals like fenitrothion, malathion,
diazionon and durban were punctured. As a result, land pollution has
caused widespread famine and sickness.

In the year 2006, it was estimated that in China, 12 million tons

of grain is polluted each year by heavy metals that had found their way
into soil. About 10 million hectares of arable land in China was roughly
estimated as having been polluted.”

Self Assessment Questions

4 ……………. pollution in rivers is one of the major concerns in

areas where large number of paper industries are situated.

5. Soil pollution mainly is a result of penetration of harm-

ful.................................

5.5 Noise Pollution

The word noise is derived from the Latin term nausea. It has
been defined as unwanted sound, a potential hazard to health and
communication dumped into the environment with regard to the adverse
effect it may have on unwilling ears. Noise is defined as unwanted sound.
Sound, which pleases the listeners, is music and that which causes pain
and annoyance is noise. At times, what is music for some can be noise
for others. Section 2 (a) of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution)
Act, 1981 includes noise in the definition of ‘air pollutant’. According to
it air pollution means any solid, liquid or gaseous substance including
noise present in the atmosphere in such concentration as may be or
tend to be injurious to human beings or other living creatures or plants
or property or environment.
169
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Measurement

A decibel is the standard for the measurement of noise. The

zero on a decibel scale is at the threshold of hearing, the lowest sound
pressure that can be heard, at 20 db is whisper, 40 db the noise in a
quiet office, 60 db is normal conversation, 80 db is the level at which
sound becomes physically painful. The Noise quantum of some of the
cities in our country indicate their pitch in decibel in the nosiest areas
of corresponding cities, e.g. Delhi- 80 db, Kolkata - 87,Bombay-85,
Chennai-89 db etc.

Sources of Noise Pollution

Noise pollution like other pollutants is also a by- product of

industrialization, urbanizations and modern civilization. Broadly
speaking, the noise pollution has two sources, i.e. industrial and non-
industrial sources. The industrial source includes the noise from various
industries and big machines working at a very high speed and high noise
intensity. Non- industrial source of noise includes the noise created by
transport/vehicular traffic and the neighborhood noise. Noise pollution
can also be divided in two different categories, namely, natural and
manmade. Most leading noise sources will fall into the man made
category like roads traffic, aircraft, railroads, construction, celebrations,
industry, noise in buildings, and consumer products. Natural sources of
sound including thunder, rain wind etc are mostly tolerable and only
occasionally loud. More over they are not too often or lasting.

1. Road Traffic Noise:-In the city, the main sources of traffic noise are
the motors and exhaust system of autos, smaller trucks, buses, and
motorcycles. This type of noise can be augmented by narrow streets
and tall buildings, which produce a canyon in which traffic noise
reverberates.

170
 MODULE - 5

2. Air Craft Noise:- Now-a-days , the problem of low flying military

aircraft has added a new dimension to community annoyance, especially
in areas near to the defense stations and airports Aircraft operations
over national parks, wilderness areas , and other areas previously
unaffected by aircraft noise has claimed national attention over recent
years.

3. Noise from railroads:-The noise from locomotive engines, horns

and whistles, and switching and shunting operation in rail yards can
impact neighboring communities and railroad workers. For example,
rail car retarders can produce a high frequency screech that can reach
peak levels of 120 dB at a distance of 100 feet, which at the railroad
worker’s ear is as high as 138, or 140 dB.

4. Construction Noise:-The noise from the construction of highways,

city streets, and buildings is a major contributor to the urban
scene. Construction noise sources include pneumatic hammers, air
compressors, bulldozers, loaders, dump trucks (and their back-up
signals), and pavement breakers.

5. Noise in Industry:-Although industrial noise is one of the less

prevalent community noise problems, neighbors of noisy manufacturing
plants can be disturbed by sources such as fans, motors, and compressors
outside the building’s Interior noise can also be transmitted to the
community through open windows and doors, and even through
building walls. These interior noise sources have significant impacts
on industrial workers, among whom noise- induced hearing loss is
unfortunately common.

6. Noise in building:-Internal building noise from plumbing, boilers,

generators, air conditioners, and fans, can be audible and annoying.
Improperly insulated walls and ceilings can reveal the sound of-
amplified music, voices, footfalls and noisy activities from neighboring
171
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

units. External noise from emergency vehicles, traffic, refuse collection,

and other city noises can be a problem for urban residents, especially
when windows are open or insufficiently glazed.

7. Noise from Consumer products:-Certain household equipment,

such as vacuum cleaners and some kitchen appliances have been and
continue to be noisemakers, although their contribution to the daily
noise dose is usually not very large.

8. Festivities: - Loudspeakers used during functions and celebrations

can be a major source of noise and disturbance.

Harmful Effects on humans, animals and property

Noise definitely is a part of life but the last century it has been so
intense and pervasive that it definitely cannot be ignored and requires
to be controlled. Often neglected, noise induces a severe impact on
humans and on living organisms and property. Some of the adverse
effects are summarized below.

Annoyance: It creates annoyance to the receptors due to sound level

fluctuations. The aperiodic sound due to its irregular occurrences
causes displeasure to hearing and causes annoyance.

Physiological effects: The physiological features like breathing

amplitude, blood pressure, heart-beat rate, pulse rate, blood cholesterol
are affected.

Loss of hearing: Long exposure to high sound levels cause loss of

hearing. This is mostly unnoticed, but has an adverse impact on hearing
function. Mechanics, locomotive drivers, telephone operators etc can
have impaired hearing as a result of noise at the place of work. Continued
exposure to noise level above 80 to 100 db is unsafe. Loud noise causes
temporary or permanent deafness.
172
 MODULE - 5

Human performance: The working performance of workers/human

will be affected as experiments reveal that noise does lead to reduction
in efficiency. In big cities, mostly all the offices are on main road. The
noise of traffic or the loud speakers of different types of horns divert the
attention of the people working in offices.

Fatigue: Because of Noise Pollution, people cannot concentrate on their

work. Thus they have to give more time for completing the work and
they feel fatigue or tiredness.

Nervous system: It causes pain, ringing in the ears, feeling of tiredness,

thereby affecting the functioning of human system.

Sleeplessness: It affects the sleeping there by inducing the people to

become restless and lose concentration and presence of mind during
their activities.
Abortion: There should be calm atmosphere during the pregnancy.
Sudden noise can cause abortion in females.

Poor quality of Crops: Now it is known that plants are similar to human
beings regarding sensitivity. Peaceful environment leads to better
growth in the same control environment.

Effect on Animals: Noise pollution can damage the nervous system of

animal. Animal can also become more dangerous when subjected to
excess of noise.

Damage of material: Loud noise is very dangerous to buildings,

bridges and monuments. It creates waves which strike the walls and
puts the building in danger and monuments may crack. The buildings
and materials may not only get damaged by exposure to infrasonic /
ultrasonic waves but may even collapse.

173
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Noise Control at Source: The noise pollution can be controlled at the

source of generation itself by employing techniques like-

Reducing the noise levels from the domestic sectors: The domestic
noise coming from radio, tape recorders, television sets, mixers,
washing machines, cooking works can be minimized by their selective
and judicious operation. By usage of carpets or any absorbing material,
the noise generated from falling of items in house can be minimized.

Maintenance of automobiles, machines: Regular servicing and

tuning of vehicles will reduce the noise levels.. Fixing of silencers to
automobiles, two wheelers etc., will reduce the noise levels.

Proper lubrication and maintenance of machines, vehicles etc. will
reduce noise levels. For example, it is a common experience that, many
parts of a vehicle will become loose while on a rugged path of journey.
If these loose parts are not properly fitted, they will generate noise and
cause annoyance to the driver/passenger.
Similarly is the case of machines. Proper handling and regular
maintenance is essential not only for noise control but also to improve
the life of machine..

Control over vibrations: The vibrations of materials may be controlled

using proper foundations, rubber padding etc. to reduce the noise levels
caused by vibrations.

Prohibition on usage of loud speakers: By not permitting the usage

of loudspeakers in the habitant zones except for important meetings /
functions. Now-a-days, the urban Administration of the metro cities in
India is becoming stringent on usage of Loudspeakers. For celebrations
and festivals there is a restriction of timing too as loud noises are not
allowed after 10 pm.

174
 MODULE - 5

Selection of machinery: Optimum selection of machinery tools or

equipment reduces excess noise levels. For example selection of chairs
or selection of certain machinery/equipment which generate less
noise (Sound) due to its superior technology etc… is also an important
factor in noise minimization strategy. The best remedy for automobiles,
machinery and aircrafts is better engineering.

Legal Control

(a) Constitution of India (Right to Life): Article 21 of the Constitution

guarantees life and personal liberty to all persons. It is well settled
by repeated pronouncements of the Supreme Court that right to life
enshrined in Article 21 is not of mere survival or existence. It guarantees
a right of persons to life with human dignity. Anyone who wishes to live
in peace, comfort and quiet within his house has a right to prevent the
noise as pollutant reaching him.

5.6 Thermal pollution

Thermal pollution is a part of water pollution and refers to an
increase of temperature in a body of water which may be a river, lake
or ocean environment due to human or environmental causes. While a
degree or two of difference may sound minor, warming of an aquatic or
marine environment even by a small amount can result in devastating
alterations to the habitats of fish, insects, plants, and animals.

Causes
One of the major causes of thermal pollution is industrial use
of water as a coolant. Factories and power plants use nearby sources
of water to keep machinery cool and functional. While inexpensive
and effective, this form of cooling process can wreak havoc on
aquatic ecosystems. Water is typically siphoned away from a source, run
through cooling systems at a factory or plant, and then returned to the
original source.
175
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Elevated river temperatures in water can also arise from

deforestation or urbanization that can reduce shade over streams and
the body of water absorbs more sunlight, Shore plants and trees help
shade water, keeping temperatures in check by providing protection
from sunlight.

Soil erosion can also lead to unnatural increase in temperature. When

plants are removed, soil held in place by root structures falls into
the water. Soil erosion can cause river and lake beds to rise, creating
shallower pools of water which heat more quickly.

Thermal pollution is mostly considered in the context of elevating

natural water temperature, but may also be caused by the release of
cooler water from the base of reservoirs into warmer rivers.

Extent of Thermal pollution

Generally power plants are situated along the coastline or near the
estuaries all over the world for the easy intake of coolant water.
Marine organisms in the tropical seas can often withstand variations
in temperature but the tolerance for the lowest and the highest
temperature range is often critical. These effects are studied all over
the world and are documented but in India this problem is hardly
studied and data is sparse. The extent of thermal pollution worldwide
is considerable, particularly in the industrialized countries of
Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. For example in the United
Kingdom, it is estimated that one half of all rivers’ flow is used for
cooling purposes and hence leads to some elevated discharge of higher
temperature water. Even in the 1980s in the USA thermal discharges
amounted to one sixth of the total national river flow. In Australia,
there are many instances of warm water discharge subsequent to
cooling uses; however, cold water release downstream of reservoirs
is also a great problem; for example, in New South Wales it is thought
that up to 3000 river kilometers may be adversely affected by such
coldwater releases.

176
 MODULE - 5

Effects
One of the primary causes for concern with thermal pollution is
the depletion of oxygen in the water. Fish rely on a certain amount
of oxygen to survive underwater; they do not easily adapt to oxygen
level shifts. The warmer the water is, the less oxygen it can hold. This
depletion of oxygen levels due to increase in water temperature affects
aquatic species such as fish amphibians and copepods adversely. . If the
water temperature is greater than 95[degrees]F, the dissolved oxygen
content may be too low to support some species. In addition, warmer
water allows bacterial populations to increase and thrive.
Shallow and warmer waters also increase the production of
oxygen consuming plants (photosynthesis) such as algae, the higher
aquatic vegetative density leads to an increased plant respiration rate
and also to a reduced underwater light intensity.  The outcome is similar
to the eutrophication that occurs when watercourses are polluted with
leached agricultural inorganic fertilizers. Greater amounts of algae and
other plants means more plant material to decompose with the help
of bacteria and so result in further decrease in oxygen levels as they
decompose. This adds to the stress on fish and other organisms.
The influx of warm or hot water into a natural source can destroy
food sources or kill off species that require a certain temperature to
survive thus causing decrease in biodiversity. It causes stress for many
cold water fish (such as trout) making a flourishing  ecosystem  turn
deadly for inhabitants in a short time. For example the Diablo
Canyon  nuclear power  plant, San Luis Obispo County,  California was
found to have produced kills of many marine organisms, when thermal
discharges were inadequately analyzed or mitigated.
In the case of injection of cooler water from a reservoir into a
warmer stream or river below, there can also be significant impacts
upon  fish, especially in the  egg and  larval stage; upon  macro
invertebrates and upon total aquatic productivity. These cold water forms
of thermal pollution can also create a modified aquatic environment
such that certain alien species may have a competitive advantage over
native species.
177
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

The adverse affects of thermal pollution are often conjoined

with other forms of water pollution  such as chemical contamination
or biological contamination, such that the combined effects of two or
more pollution types can create severe stresses on aquatic ecosystems.

Ecological Impacts
The higher water temperature typically raises the metabolic rate
of aquatic organisms; for example, increasing enzyme activity occurs, that
causes plants and animals to take in greater quantities of nutrients and
either carbon dioxide or oxygen.

These metabolic changes can alter the balance of species

composition and may also lead to faunal  migration, as species attempt
to adapt to changed thermal conditions. As a result, original species may
migrate away, and alien species may enter a local aquatic system. In some
cases significant loss of biodiversity can arise, and in some instances total
bio-productivity can increase at the expense of species declines. The most
readily observable phenomenon is that of mass fish kills in a surface water
body; in this case, there are often large numbers of dead fish seen floating
on the surface of the water or washed up on the water banks.

Juveniles or fish fry are particularly vulnerable to small changes in

water temperature.

Many aquatic organisms are very sensitive to small temperature

changes of as little as one degree Celsius; even adverse changes in
other cellular biology may arise, including reduction of  cell wall
permeability,  harming  osmotic processes. In addition alteration of
enzyme metabolism can be effected as well as coagulation of cell proteins.
In many cases these cellular level impacts can affect reproductive success
and even impact organism  mortality. A large increase in temperature
can lead to the denaturing of life-supporting enzymes by breaking
down hydrogen and disulphide bonds within the structure of the enzymes.
178
 MODULE - 5

Decreased enzyme activity in aquatic organisms can cause problems such

as the inability to break down lipids, which leads to malnutrition.
Primary producers are affected by thermal pollution since elevated
water temperature increases aquatic  plant growth rates, potentially
resulting in a shorter lifespan and species overpopulation. 

Control of Thermal Pollution

Regulation of thermal pollution has been more elusive than for

other forms of water pollution, although straightforward mitigation
measures are available, especially in the case of elevated temperature
discharges

Factories that use water as coolant can install cooling towers

(like hyperbolic cooling towers, a design of cooling towers chosen due
to enhancement of convective cooling) and cooling ponds which return
water to original temperature before releasing it back into the natural
source. There can be also productive use of the heated water for a
secondary industrial process or space heating.

 In the case of cold water discharge from reservoir bottoms, the
mitigation is not as straightforward, and can often be very expensive.

Since there are seasonal variations in the degree of vertical

thermal stratification, the timing of water releases can sometimes be
conducted to minimize temperature differences, provided these releases
are consistent with needs for flood control or power generation. In the
summer, for example, there may be extremes in formation of cold water
layers at the reservoir bottom; such times would be adverse for cold
water release into the much warmer waters downstream.  

Ensuring that banks and shorelines have adequate vegetation to

provide shade and retain soil can also help prevent thermal pollution.
179
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Regulation:

Some countries and even individual states and provinces require

limits on discharges that lead to thermal pollution of receiving waters.

Regulation, judicial control of clean water acts, can also

reverse approval of construction of industrial or nuclear plants where
anticipated thermal pollution impacts have sufficient grounds. There
can be a numerical limit, for e.g. the World Bank standard provides a
maximum increase of three degrees Celsius at the margin of the mixing
zone.

Self Assessment Questions

6. What is the unit to measure noise pollution?

7. How can soil erosion be responsible for Thermal pollution?

5.7 Marine Pollution

Marine pollution is a diversified term. Several factors have
created the present dilapidated condition of the sea. Sources are many
but the solutions are few. Because oceans are part of the food chain,
marine pollution affects wide spectra of species, including humans.
Ocean and human life is so inextricably interwoven that the effects of
marine pollution are drastically visible on human life.

Sources of Marine Pollution

Pipelines: In many areas pipelines are major sources as they
discharge effluents along the coast which includes domestic sewage,
industrial wastes or mixed effluent. Both the effluent and environmental
effects can be monitored and controlled and pipelines usually discharge
below the low water mark of the sea.
180
 MODULE - 5

Storm water: Urban runoff, or storm water, is more difficult to control

as numerous storm water outlets discharge over beaches and rocks.
Storm water drains collect and channel the water from all non-porous
surfaces, such as pavements and tarred roads, within a catchment.

Since storm water from urban areas runs off hardened surfaces rather
than filtering through porous ground, this increases the volume of
contaminated water reaching the sea. Storm water flow depends on
rainfall, and the first flow following a dry spell often contain high levels
of pollutants, such as heavy metals (particularly lead), oil residues,
nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), and pathogenic (disease causing)
micro-organisms, such as viruses, bacteria and protozoa from faecal
material.

Rivers: Rivers carry to the sea water contaminants such as nutrients

and pesticides from agricultural runoff, faecal pollution resulting from
poor sanitation, and industrial discharges.

Soil erosion: Often a result of poor catchment management, can cause

increased water turbidity and siltation of estuaries.

Dumping at sea: It can involve Operational dumping of garbage

(particularly plastics), and controlled dumping. Controlled dumping
can be of industrial wastes and sewage sludge or can also be of dredge
spoils (mostly routine harbor dredging) and unserviceable equipment.
Dredge spoils are often rich in heavy metals (e.g. lead, copper, zinc,
mercury, and cadmium), and are dumped at designated sites
Sources of plastics include waste disposal from plastic industries,
plastic garbage from ships, and litter on beaches. Millions of boaters
discard tons of garbage every year in every nation’s coastline. A large
part of this debris is plastic, such as six-pack beverage holders, plastic
fishing line and plastic bags.

181
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Oil at sea– Tankers and other shipping means, ship accidents and off
shore oil production (oil rigs) adds to marine pollution. Oil pollution
sources at sea include accidental and deliberate discharges of oil. Only
about 5 percent of oil pollution in the oceans is due to major tanker
accidents.  Oil finds its way into the sea through many ways such as
automobiles, waste discharge of heavy industries, and also from offshore
structures. Tankers transporting oil, after delivering the oil through
ship route used to fill the empty tank with water called ballast-water to
maintain balance at sea. This water containing residual oil from tankers
was released into the sea on completion of return journey. Now a days
the oil floating on the ballast water is removed in the newly designed
‘load on top tankers” before ballast water is let off.

Miscellaneous- Increased numbers of people cause increased pollution,

increased waste dumping, even using the beaches as toilets.

The high population density and high level of industrialization

of the northern hemisphere means that this region produces more
waste per person than the southern hemisphere. Marine pollution is
generally more serious in the northern hemisphere than in the southern
hemisphere.

Wetlands filter and slow water flow and clears pollution to an

extent. Large scale destruction of wetlands in coastal areas all over the
world has intensified the problem of pollution.

Ships often paint their hulls with anti-fouling substances, e.g.

tributyl-tin or TBT, to prevent growth of marine organisms. These
substances leach into water and, in high traffic areas such as harbors
and marinas, can affect animal life. There is a worldwide trend towards
limiting the use of TBT containing paints.
182
 MODULE - 5

Harmful Effects of Marine Pollution:

Effects of Nutrients & Pathogens:

Untreated or partially treated sewage effluent, or organically

rich industrial effluent such as that from fish processing plants,
present a number of problems. Organic matter is disposed of into the
sea, absorbs dissolved oxygen which reduces the level of oxygen in
the ocean that marine organisms require. This  organic matter  also
stimulates algae blooms. Algae blooms that feed on human sewage
also causes discoloration of water due to the decomposition of matter.
The decomposing algae not only deplete the oxygen content but also
release toxic substances that are harmful to marine organisms causing
red tides. The toxins can even enter food chain through fish or other sea
organisms, which in turn, can poison humans. Algae blooms can choke
fish gills and even poison them with the chemicals created from the
decomposition process.

Human sewage also contains bacteria and pathogens that

contaminate the coastal areas by accumulating on shores and beaches.
This might even enter the food chain or spread diseases like cholera,
typhoid, or other dangerous diseases. One more source of pathogens
is the water used to wash livestock that is disposed into the sea. This
water contains high level of germs and bacteria.

Also, ocean organisms like mussels, oysters and clams (filter

feeding animals) that are consumed as food have a tendency of
concentrating pathogens in their gut. Consumption of these foods will
increase the possibility of food poisoning, creating possible health risks
to people consuming them. Pathogenic microorganisms cause gastric,
ear-nose- throat infections, hepatitis, and even cholera and typhoid.

183
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Effects of Oil
Oil is the most dangerous form of marine pollutant. Its effects are
not only the most harmful but are also permanent.

Even the slightest type of contamination can kill the larvae of

marine animals and also spread diseases. The chemical ingredients of
oil causes physiological changes in the organisms leading to behavioral
changes, or even impair reproduction.

Larger oil spills are the worst type of marine pollution. The thick
oil sticks to the body of marine organisms making them incapable of
performing some necessary functions. In seabirds and mammals it can
cause a breakdown in their thermal insulation. Sea birds are the ones
most affected by oil spills as the oil sticks to their wings, rendering them
flightless. As the density of oil is lesser than water, it floats on the top,
forming a thick impermissible membrane. This thick layer prevents
marine organisms to come to the surface for sunlight and oxygen, and
eventually will kill them.

As the layer is black and opaque, the sunlight cannot pass through
the surface. This prevents the marine plants to photosynthesize sunlight
into energy. Thus marine plant and animals are smothered. Tar balls
formed due to the coagulation of oil, water, and other debris is washed
onto the shore, causing harm to human and coastal life that relies on the
water and beaches for food. Oil pollution is an eyesore, and cleanup and
subsequent disposal of oily wastes is difficult.

Effects of Sediments
Sediments from dredging and mining make the sea water cloudy;
preventing sunlight to reach the marine plants on the sea bed (much
like oil spills). When heavy sediments settle on the ocean floor it can
bury fish and other delicate species such as coral reefs. These sediments
can also clog fish gills and smother a large part of the marine ecosystem.
184
 MODULE - 5

Effects of Plastics
Plastics can stick to marine life and affect their breathing or
swimming. When settled on the sea bed, the plastics can also smother
any life that calls the sea floor home. Discarded fishing nets can continue
to catch huge numbers of fish. Small plastic fragments can be mistaken
as food by fish or other sea life which on being ingested can kill them by
filling up or damaging their stomach or other digestive organs. Turtles,
for example, often swallow floating plastic bags, mistaking them for
jelly- fish. Another common piece of plastic that holds together 6 packs
of soda cans are infamous for getting stuck around the necks of birds,
sea turtles, and other marine life.
Most of the plastic dumped at sea washes up on to beaches where
birds, fish, and other marine life encounter it. Every year, thousands of
fish, birds and even sea lions die with six pack holders around their
necks and bodies, or entangled in plastic fishing line and netting. Some
animals eat plastic, which makes them feel full while they slowly starve
to death. Plastic debris in the water can cause life-threatening situations
for boaters too. Plastic items foul propellers and clog engine intake
systems, resulting in disabled vessels, as well as expensive repairs and
loss of time.

Foreign Species
Different parts of the oceans have different inhabitats.
Thousands of gallons of water, along with any local species in the water,
is transported by ships in their ballast tanks. When the water is released
in a different area, the foreign species in the transported water can kill
off native species.

Chemical, Radioactive, and Thermal Pollution

Pesticides like DDT, PCBs etc can enter the oceans through city
waste water and industrial discharges from farms and forests. Pesticides
are easily absorbed by marine organisms in the fatty tissues causing
numerous defects or even reproductive failure. Pesticides that enter the
food chain pose greater risks to humans who consume fish and sea food.
185
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Discarded radioactive materials from nuclear submarines and

military waste have been a major source of radioactivity in the oceans,
which cause fatal harm to marine life. They can also enter the food
chain as some organisms like shell fish concentrate radioactivity in their
bodies which are later consumed by humans.

Thermal pollution is when high or low temperature water is

discharged from an industrial source. The difference in temperatures
can kill corals and other sensitive marine organisms that are not
developed to handle the different temperatures.

Control of Marine Pollution

Boaters should develop a simple vessel trash plan. Separate
plastics and store the trash on board and dispose it of in dumpsters at
port.

Recycle and reuse to minimize the wastes ultimately reaching

the sea. In short the more we minimize waste in our day to day activity,
the less pollution by dumping.

Participate in beach clean-up activities or pick up litter as you

walk along the beach.

Use care when fueling, changing oil, or repairing machinery or

boats. Do not dispose of toxic wastes or used motor oil in drains as they
often end up in rivers, and then in the sea.

Careful planning of all future developments through Integrated

Environmental Management which allows any interested group to have
a voice should ensure that developments, such as marinas or harbors,
are managed in such a way that they have little adverse effect on the
environment.
186
 MODULE - 5

Ecologically sensitive coastal areas should be protected by not

allowing drilling for oil. Report any sign of marine pollution is individual
responsibility.

Antipollution vessels, and a patrol aircraft, plus an unsympathetic

approach to illegal oil discharges at sea, will definitely contribute to a
decline in the number of oil slicks off the coast as has happened in many
countries like South Africa where sightings of oil slicks by the patrol
aircraft has dropped more than five-fold since 1985 due to the ‘Kuswag’
fleet of four antipollution vessels and a patrol aircraft.

Coastal Degradation

The problem of deep sea pollution can only solved by

international co-operation.

But the problem of pollution and coastal degradation of our

own shoreline is our special problem, which we must be conscious
of and tackle by ourselves. Coastal and estuarine lands are often
extremely fertile; the nutrients washed down in rivers often ‘pile up’
in these flat marshy areas, making the soil rich while the lagoons are
the fish nurseries. Good vegetation cover is one way of dealing with
polluted water in such areas, for the plants absorb much of the waste
matter.

Drilling for oil in the sea, etc means the need for supporting
mechanized structures and pipes and above all means human
settlements, which in turn affects the natural features of the coastal
areas. It may be found on examination, that in the long run, the profits
from an undisturbed coast are more durable than those from oil wells.

187
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

5.8 Nuclear hazards (Radioactive pollution)

Radioactive materials are a major source of environmental

pollution. Radioactive pollution is unseen and invisible, its nature
of contamination and effects are quite different from other kinds of
pollution. In this atomic age of nuclear energy generation, the amount of
radioactivity has increased manifold. Nuclear energy has been recognized
as a clean energy because it doesn’t release pollutants such as CO2 to the
atmosphere after its reaction that could damage our environment. It’s
also known that nuclear energy has reduced the amount of greenhouse
gas emission, reducing emissions of CO2 for about 500 million metric
tons of carbon.

Despite the advantage of nuclear as a clean energy, the big

concern is the waste resulted from nuclear reaction, which is a form
of pollution, called radioactivity. Radioactivity is a form of energy
that travels through space. Some elements in this world are naturally
radioactive while some others are made to be. Radioactivity is emitted
when a radioactive element becomes unstable and begins to decay in the
attempt to regain their molecular stability. When an element decays, it
emits energy and small particles. If it’s still radioactive, it will repeat the
process, until it finally regains its molecular stability and stops decaying.
The time that it takes for half way of decaying process is called half-life,
and this differs for each radioactive element. It possibly takes up to 4.5
billion years (Uranium 238) and as short as 8 days (Iodine 131).

This process constantly remains, not considering external

factors such as pressure or temperature. This process is expressed in
units called becquerels. One becquerel is equal to one disintegration of
nuclei per second. 
188
 MODULE - 5

There are commonly three types of radiation, namely:

• Alpha particles (protons) can be blocked by a piece of paper and
human skin and so cannot penetrate to internal organs.
These are fast moving positively charged particles which
lack penetration power but have more energy than beta, and
are therefore more dangerous when they enter the body by
inhalation or through food
• Beta particles (electrons) can penetrate through skin to reach
internal organs, while can be blocked by some pieces of glass and
metal. These are high speed negatively charged electrons.
• Gamma rays (short-wave electromagnetic wave) can penetrate
human skin easily and damage cells on its way through, reaching
far, and can only be blocked by a very thick, strong, massive piece
of concrete.
X-rays are also ionizing radiation, virtually identical to gamma
rays, but not nuclear in origin. Cosmic radiation consists of very
energetic particles, mostly protons, which bombard the Earth from
outer space.
Neutrons are mostly released by nuclear fission (the splitting of
atoms in a nuclear reactor), and hence are seldom encountered outside
the core of a nuclear reactor. Thus they are not normally a problem
outside nuclear plants. Fast neutrons can be very destructive to human
tissue.
Nuclear energy is the energy that occurs as a result of nuclear
reactions (fission, fusion) there are definitely benefits to nuclear energy.
• Nuclear medicine uses radiation to provide diagnostic information
about the functioning of a person’s specific organs. The most
common radioisotope used in diagnosis is technetium-99, with
some 30 million procedures per year, accounting for 80% of all
nuclear medicine procedures worldwide.
• Radiotherapy can be used to treat some medical conditions,
especially cancer, using radiation to weaken or destroy particular
targeted cells. 
189
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

• Approximately 17% of the electrical energy generated in the

world comes from nuclear power plants.

However, on the other hand, the radioactive wastes from nuclear

energy have caused, and continue to cause, serious environmental
damage. Nuclear fission is the splitting of the nucleus of the atom; the
resulting energy can be used for a variety of purposes. . The 40’s was the
era where the first nuclear bomb was being developed, and that’s why
it’s called the nuclear era.
However, nuclear energy dates back to early 20th Century 1900,
and after the first controlled fission of an atom was carried out in
Germany in 1938. The world’s first electricity-generating reactor was
constructed in the United States in 1951 and the Soviet Union built its
first reactor in 1954.
However nuclear era had reached its greatest peak in the world
war, by showing its massive ability of destroying things.
The United States was the first country to develop the atomic
bomb, which was subsequently dropped on the Japanese cities of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is impossible to forget the devastation that
nuclear bombs caused in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Sources of radiation 
Radiation can arise from human activities or from natural
sources. Radiation that goes inside our bodies causes what we refer to
as internal exposure. The exposure that is referred to as external comes
from sources outside the body, such as radiation from sunlight and man-
made and naturally occurring radioactive materials.
Most radiation exposure is from natural sources. Small
quantities of radioactive materials occur naturally in the air we breathe,
the water we drink, the food we eat, and in our own bodies. Natural
190
 MODULE - 5

sources include: radioactivity in rocks and soil of the Earth’s crust;

radon, a radioactive gas given out by many volcanic rocks and uranium
ore; and cosmic radiation. The human environment has always been
radioactive and accounts for up to 85% of the annual human radiation
dose.
Radiation arising from human activities typically accounts for up
to 15% of the public’s exposure every year. This radiation is no different
from natural radiation except that it can be controlled. X-rays and other
medical procedures account for most exposure from this quarter. Less
than 1% of exposure is due to the fallout from past testing of nuclear
weapons or the generation of electricity in nuclear, as well as coal and
geothermal, power plants.
Backscatter X-ray scanners being introduced for airport
security gives exposure of up to 5 microsieverts (μSv). Aircrew can
receive up to, about 5 mSv/yr from their hours in the air, while frequent
flyers can score a similar increment. In the UK, the National Radiation
Protection Board›s 1999 survey showed that on average, nuclear power
workers received a lower annual radiation dose than flight crew, and
frequent flyers in 250 hours would receive 1 mSv.
There is minimal radiation received from nuclear power
production under normal circumstances. The maximum annual dose
allowed for radiation workers is 20 mSv/yr, though in practice, doses
are usually kept well below this level. In comparison, the average dose
received by the public from nuclear power is 0.0002 mSv/yr, which is of
the order of 10,000 times smaller than the total yearly dose received by
the public from background radiation.

191
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Medicine
Food/ Drink/ 14%
Water
11% Nuclear
Industry
1%
Buildings/soil
18%
Radon
42%
Cosmic
14%

 
Fig 5.1 Percentage representation of Sources of Radiation, Natural
and from human activities (source: World Nuclear Association)

Accidents- Several serious accidents have caused worldwide

concern about safety and disposal of radioactive wastes. The risk
of a serious malfunction such as at Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and
Fukushima Daiichi (recent plant damage after earthquake and tsunami
in Japan) is not trivial. The degree and the kind of damage from nuclear
accidents vary with the kind of radiation, the amount of radiation, the
duration of exposure, and the types of cells irradiated. Accidents are
rated according to the level of damage it can do to people. The recent
disaster in Japan that caused radioactive release was of level 7, equal to
that of Chernobyl which had released 5.2 million tera becquerals (TBq).
(Radiation is measured in becquerals, tera meaning a million).
Level 7 is the highest level possible defined as releasing tens
of thousands of TBq and it means a major release of radioactive
material with widespread health and environmental effects requiring
implementation of planned and extended control measures. Level 5 is
at par with “three mile island” which means of a level where some lives
can be lost by the amount of radiation released.
192
 MODULE - 5

Extraction and disposal of nuclear fuel- The use of nuclear power is

supposed to reduce CO2 production; however there are environmental
consequences to the use of nuclear power including CO2 production! In
order to appreciate the consequences of using nuclear fuels to generate
energy it is important to understand how the fuel is processed. Low-
grade uranium ore, which contains 0.2% uranium by weight, is obtained
by surface or underground mining.

When a mine is opened a large amount of land is cleared for

the mine and access roads, resulting in deforestation and a decrease
in biodiversity. Whilst in operation the mine produces large amounts
of CO2 as the mining process is energy intensive. The major impact on
the local environment though, comes from a radioactive by product
know as tailings that could leach down to groundwater.  This can cause
groundwater to become slightly contaminated and so affect local animals
and plants. (For example Rum Jungle was a Uranium mine in northern
Australia that caused similar issues of groundwater pollution).

After it is mined the ore goes through a milling process where it

is crushed and treated with a solvent to concentrate the uranium and
produces ‘yellow cake’. It is necessary to increase the amount of U-235
by enrichment, although it is a difficult and expensive process. The
enrichment process increases the U-235 content from 0.7 to 3%. Fuel
fabrication then converts the enriched material into a powder, which
is compacted into pellets. These pellets are sealed in metal fuel rods
about 4 m in length, which are then loaded into the reactor. As fission
occurs, the concentration of U-235 atoms decreases. After about three
years, a fuel rod does not have enough radioactive material to sustain
a chain reaction and the spent fuel rods must be replaced by new
ones. However, these spent rods are still very radioactive, containing
about 1% U-235 and 1% plutonium. These rods are a major source of
radioactive waste material produced by a nuclear reactor. The storage
and treatment of nuclear waste after electricity production can also
193
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

have impacts on the environment. Although it is normally safely stored

underground leakages can occur. Since 1952 low level treated nuclear
waste has been released into the Irish Sea from Sellafield power station.
This has lead to it being known as the most radioactive sea in the world.
The environmental impacts include increased contamination in marine
animals and plants, leading in a few cases to mutations and discoloration
of species
Initially, it was thought that spent fuel rods could be reprocessed,
not only to provide new fuel but also to reduce the amount of nuclear
waste. However, the cost of producing fuel rods by reprocessing was
found to be greater than the cost of producing fuel rods from ore.
Presently, India does operate reprocessing plants to reprocess spent
fuel as an alternative to storing them as nuclear waste. At each step in
the cycle, there is a danger of exposure to harmful radiation and poses
several attendant health and environmental concerns.

Cell phone Radiation

Ongoing research studies are yet to prove conclusively that cell radiation
is life-threatening. It’s equally true that this lack of certainty has been
abused in India as a license for rampant cell-technology “penetration”
and for lax policy-making as well.  

The Indian government two years ago (in 2008) accepted a set of
outdated and dubious norms formulated by the International Commission
for Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), supposedly to limit such
emissions. The very act of enforcing the ICNIRP norms — most notably,
the alarmingly high cell-tower radiation limit of 9.2 watts/sq meter for
the GSM 1800 band — serves to implicitly legitimize that limit, however
unsound and therefore its basis is unacceptable. Most environmentally-
progressive countries (in Europe, for instance) have rejected the norms
outright as being dangerously lenient. Even China has opted for a stringent
radiation limit of 0.1 w/sq m. This reveals the utter callousness with which
our government has ignored a key tenet of international environmental
law — the Precautionary Principle — which is the starting point for the
National Environment Policy approved by the UPA in 2006.
194
 MODULE - 5

Effects of Radioactive Pollution

The amount of injury caused by a radioactive isotope depends on
its physical half-life, and on how quickly it is absorbed and then excreted
by an organism. Radiation can affect the body in a number of ways, and
the adverse health consequences of exposure may not be seen for many
years. These adverse health effects can range from mild effects, such as
skin reddening, to serious effects such as cancer and death, depending
on the amount of radiation absorbed by the body (the dose), the type
of radiation, the route of exposure, and the length of time a person is
exposed. Exposure to very large doses of radiation may cause death
within a few days or months. Exposure to lower doses of radiation may
lead to an increased risk of developing cancer or other adverse health
effects.
Radioactivity is toxic because it forms ions when it reacts with
biological molecules. These ions can form free radicals, which damage
proteins, membranes, and nucleic acids.
Most studies of the harmful effects of radiation have been
performed on single-celled organisms. Obviously, the situation is more
complex in humans and other multi cellular organisms, because a
single cell damaged by radiation may indirectly affect other cells in the
individual. The most sensitive regions of the human body appear to be
those which have many actively dividing cells, such as the skin, gonads,
intestine, and tissues that grow blood cells (spleen, bone marrow,
lymph organs). Somatic (cell) damage includes burns, miscarriages,
eye cataract and cancer of bone, thyroid, breast, lungs and skin.
Radiation can cause mutations, which are changes in the genetic
makeup of the cells or in other words can be said as genetic damage.
Radioactivity can damage DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) by destroying
individual bases (particularly thymine), by breaking single strands, by
breaking double strands, by cross-linking different DNA strands, and by
cross-linking DNA and proteins. Mutations can occur in the ovaries or
the testes leading to the formation of mutated eggs or sperms, which in
turn can lead to abnormal offspring.
195
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Mutations can also occur in the tissues of the body and may
manifest themselves as abnormal tissue growths known as cancer.
Damage to DNA, that is genetic damage can therefore lead to, birth
defects, cancers and even death.

Control of Radioactive Pollution

Radiation Pollution Control can be done at various levels,
including the handling and treatment of radiation waste, the control and
mitigation of nuclear accidents, as well as the control and minimization
of personal exposure to radiation at an individual level.
In general it includes the stoppage of leakage from the radioactive
materials including the nuclear reactors, industries and laboratories.
The disposal of radioactive material must be safe and secure. They must
be stored in the safe places and must be changed into harmless form.
The wastes with a very low radiation must be put into the sewage. The
nuclear power plants must follow all the safe instructions. The protective
garments must be worn by the workers who work in the nuclear plants.
The natural radiation must be at the permissible limits and they must
not cross it.
Treatment of radiation waste  cannot be done through
degradation by chemical or biological processes. Additionally, many
radioactive materials have very long half-times (time necessary for half
of the material to degrade or transform into non-radioactive materials)
and thus radiation waste may pose a risk for many years after it was
produced. Basically, there are only few options for radiation waste
treatment involving:
Containment of the waste in radiation-shielded containers is
usually buried under ground. Highly insulated concrete sealed drums
containing radioactive wastes are also buried at least 1000 fathoms
deep into the sea.
Isolation of radiation waste in remote locations such as remote
caves or abandoned mines - which may also involve the use of some
kind of barriers (shields),
196
 MODULE - 5

When the first two alternatives are not possible, the waste may
be  diluted till background  values are achieved (like by mixing them
with glass, concrete etc in a complicated way in which they become
unleachable or unabsorbable).

Heat and Radiation Pollution – basically radiation is a method

of heat transfer. While radiation may be generated in any condition, the
heat increases the amount of radiation and thus may increase the health
risk. For example, radiation is concentrated in the ash due to burning
processes. Also, the higher the heat, the higher the energy of radiation
produced (e.g., UV rays are produced by hot bodies such as the sun). This
is why radiation waste should be stored in cold places, away from any
heating source.
Law Enforcement for Radiation Pollution Control  –
Environmental standards designed to protect human health from
radiation should be issued in all countries
At individual levels, there are measures you may take to prevent
and/or reduce radiation pollution that may affect you and your family.

Here are some examples:

First, testing of your home for radon may be done by each person
using inexpensive testing kits or by specialized consulting services.
If radiation seems to be an issue (a higher than background value of
radon in home is found), a preferred radon reduction technique is the
installation of a special system called active soil depressurization
(ASD). This system contains a vent pipe with an inline centrifugal fan
that operates continuously to vent radon and other intruding gases
from beneath the house. Thus, the system may be efficient to block the
intrusion into homes not only of radon, but also of other toxic chemicals
(non-radioactive) that may get from the subsurface into indoor breathing
air. Choosing an appropriate location for your home, away from the
main radiation pollution sources. Also, unless absolutely necessary,
X-ray scans should not be frequently taken.
197
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Self Assessment Questions

8. Which is the most dangerous form of marine pollution?
9. Radiation can cause ………………………….and ……………………………….
damage.

5.9 Solid Waste Management

Human and animal activities generate different kinds of wastes.
These wastes are generally in solid form, and may cause pollution of
land, water, and air unless treated and disposed off. The process of
collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal can be grouped under
solid waste management. The increase in the quantity of solid waste is
due to overpopulation, affluence, and technological advancement and
is the major issue regarding solid wastes. If the waste generation is
not controlled it would be difficult to manage the mounting heaps of
filth. In European and American cities several graveyards of abandoned
automobiles can be seen. In New York City where 12-thousand tons
of garbage is generated every day. India produces 42.0 million tons of
municipal solid waste annually at present.

The stench, the ugly sight of garbage on roads and over flowing
from drains is common in many parts of India and is disgusting until
you become conditioned and then blind to it. Indian cities are under
a serious threat of being overwhelmed by the garbage generated
everyday by their citizens. Landfill is the only way of waste disposal by
Indian municipalities. And all the waste is dumped on abandoned land
without any treatment or planning. So if cities exhaust a land, they just
find another one to dump garbage on.
The Energy Research Institute estimates that 1400 sq. km. of land
would be required by 2047 for municipal waste! The cities which had
the luxury of a river flowing through them, strangled them by dumping
their wastes into them. Yamuna, flowing through Delhi, has practically
no living creatures in it.
198
 MODULE - 5

The World Bank estimates that India’s per capita waste generated
in urban areas will grow from 0.2- 0.6 kg to 1 kg per head per day by
2030, when the population would be 600 million. Limited by a small
budget marked for waste disposal; make city’s Urban Local Bodies
(ULBs) ill-equipped to operate an efficient waste collection, storage,
and treatment and disposal system. So currently 90% of urban waste
generated is dumped on low lying land in environmentally unsound
methods. With land being a scarce commodity this practice is clearly
unsustainable and unsafe for human health and environment. The local
municipal bodies need to strategize for managing the rapidly growing
amount of waste generated daily. Today they manage to collect only
about 50% of the waste, while the rest continues to collect in urban
areas.
Sources
The main sources for solid wastes are domestic, commercial,
industrial, municipal, biomedical along with agricultural and slaughter
house wastes.
The composition of a city waste is as follows:
- Paper, wood, cardboard 53 percent.
- Garbage (domestic waste) 22 percent.
- Ceramics, glass, crockery 10 percent.
- Metals 8 percent.
- Rubber, plastics, discarded textiles 7 percent.

Effects of Waste Pollution

If solid wastes are not collected and allowed to accumulate, they
may create unsanitary conditions. This may lead to epidemic outbreaks.
Many diseases like cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, plague, jaundice, or
gastro-intestinal diseases may spread and cause loss of human lives. In
addition, improper handling of the solid wastes is a health hazard for
the workers who come in direct contact with the waste.
199
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

If the solid wastes are not treated properly, decomposition and

putrefaction may take place, causing land and water pollution when the
waste products percolate down into the underground water resources.
The organic solid waste during decomposition may generate
obnoxious odors and waste strewn across slums etc cause unaesthetic,
unhygienic and unhealthy surroundings.
Industrial Solid Wastes are sources of toxic metals and hazardous
wastes, which when spread on land as waste cause changes in physico-
chemical and biological characteristics thereby affecting productivity
of soils. Toxic substances may leach or percolate to contaminate the
ground water.

Control Measures
The main purpose of solid waste management is to minimize the
adverse effects on the environment. The steps involved in general are:
- Collection of solid wastes.
- Disposal of solid wastes.
- Management and Utilization of wastes.

Collection of solid wastes:

Collection of waste includes gathering the waste, transporting it
to a centralized location, and then moving it to the site of disposal.
The collected waste is then separated into hazardous and
non-hazardous materials. There are a number of waste separation
technologies available such as air stripping, stream stripping, carbon
absorption, precipitation, manual separation. Transfer of wastes is
very crucial for proper waste collection as it requires a fleet of vehicles.
Only rich countries are able to provide this because of which in poor
countries due to lack of vehicles wastes in many areas go uncollected.

200
 MODULE - 5

Disposal of solid wastes

Before the final disposal of the solid wastes, it is processed
to recover the usable resources and to improve the efficiency of the
solid waste disposal system. The main processing technologies are
compaction, incineration, and landfill.

Utilization and management of wastes

Solid wastes can be managed to make waste disposal more
effective, for which the three R’s’ are stressed-Reduce, Reuse and
Recycle. Reduction of waste generation can be done by reducing the
need to hoard for useless things which finally end up unused in waste
bin. Avoid using disposable plastic cups and plates. Reuse can be in
short stated as ‘Best out of Wastes’. Many uses are possible from things
that seem waste. Making flower vase from old bottles, pen stands from
Bislery bottles. The villagers and poor are best at reusing and are known
to make rubber rings from discarded cycle tubes etc.
The solid wastes can also be properly utilized by composting,
energy generation etc which provide benefits such as conservation of
natural resources, economic development, employment opportunities,
control of air pollution.
Composting
In composting earthworms, insects, bacteria etc breakdown
the garbage (organic substances like vegetables, plant leaves, human
waste etc.) and turn it into a healthy soil called compost which is good
for restoring organic content of agricultural soils and also enhances
pest resistance of the crops. Composting had been proposed as a viable
solution for India based on the typical composition of waste generated
in India, but poor yields coupled with requirements for large land to
dispose the rejects, resulted in many failed projects. Community based
compost pits should be developed to make this option work out as has
been successfully tried out by the NGO ‘Waste Concern’ in Dhaka.
201
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Waste to Energy (WtE) Plants:

Another method to utilize wastes that are being considered, are
waste-to-energy (WtE) plants. These plants will reduce the physical
size of waste to be disposed and also generate electricity to supply to
the grid. According to the 10th National Plan from 2002-03 to 2005-06,
estimated capacity of WtE projects is 2100 MW, but currently 34.5 MW
of grid connected WtE projects exist.
The amount and characteristics of non-recyclables in Municipal
Solid Waste (MSW) dictate the technology for WtE. Indian MSW
composition contains higher biodegradables than in the developed
nations, and also a lower calorific value due to higher moisture content.
WtE seems to be most qualified solution to waste treatment because it
reduces volume of waste in landfill to 60%-90% and also decreases the
amount of greenhouse gas emissions from landfills.
1. Incineration: Incineration is the combustion of organic material
such as waste, and it can be done with energy recovery which is the
most common WtE implementation. Modern incinerators reduce the
volume of the original waste by 95-96 %, depending upon composition
and degree of recovery of materials such as metals from the ash for
recycling. Almost all the operating incineration plants take a feedstock
of industrial or agricultural wastes. (Incineration without energy and
materials recovery is being increasingly banned in OECD countries).
Incineration of urban wastes in India have been largely
unsuccessful because of the nature of the wastes and highly polluting
because of the lack of regulation in attaining emission standards in air
control
2.  Gasification: Gasification is a process that converts carbonaceous
materials (like biomass) into carbon monoxide and hydrogen by
reacting with the raw material, such as house waste, or compost at high
temperatures with a controlled amount of oxygen and/or steam. The
resulting gas mixture is called synthesis gas (syngas) and is itself a fuel.
202
 MODULE - 5

Gasification is a method for extracting energy from many

different types of organic materials. Gasification occurs at greater than
700°C which differentiates it from anaerobic digestion. Its advantage is
that almost any organic material even plastic can be used as feedstock,
which decreases the need for segregating waste. It has tremendous
potential to be used as a way to utilize urban waste.
3. Anaerobic digestion: Anaerobic digestion is a series of processes
in which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the
absence of oxygen. It is most widely used to treat waste water sludges
and organic waste. It produces three principal products: biogas, water
and digestate. The biogas is about 50-75% methane and rest is mostly
CO2. The released CO2 is not considered to increase atmospheric CO2
concentrations because it comes from an organic source with a short
carbon cycle. The water needs further treatment before usage. The
digestate can be used as a soil fertilizer with high organic content. Its
advantage is that establishing a plant requires low investment and such
plants have been promoted by the Indian government as one of the most
useful methods of cheap electricity generation.
4.  Landfill gas power: Large municipal or industrial landfills produce
gas that can be tapped to generate electricity. Microorganisms that live
in organic materials such as food wastes or paper cause these materials
to decompose. This produces landfill gas, typically comprised of roughly
60 percent methane and 40 percent carbon dioxide (or “CO2”). Landfill
gas is collected from landfills by drilling “wells” into the landfills, and
collecting the gases through pipes. Once the landfill gas is processed,
it can be combined with natural gas and used as fuel (for combustion
turbines etc) Landfill gas may also be used in fuel cell technologies,
which use chemical reactions to create electricity, and are much more
efficient than combustion turbines. Landfill gas if not used will emerge
as methane and CO2 into the atmosphere which is undesirable. Specially
designed landfill sites are needed to tap the gas. Currently none exist in
India, but construction is not very high capital intensive. Existing landfill
sites in developed world show that profitability is low but this has to be
carried at government initiative as it is a possible source of decreasing
carbon emissions and producing electricity.
203
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Past experiences with WtE (Think About it website) :

Several small decentralized projects utilizing industrial waste have been
successful in generating energy for local captive usage. But experience with
generating energy from MSW has been unsatisfactory so far. Projects setup
in Timarpur (Delhi) and Lucknow shut down due to mismatch of wastes
received and plant design and lack of accountability of Urban Local Bodies
to segregate the wastes and provide it. The Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF)
plants set up in Hyderabad and Vijayawada still operate, but at a fraction
of their installed capacities of 6 MW each. To overcome the low calorific
values of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) received they supplement the
feedstock with agricultural waste. But these plants remain underutilized
due to desired amount of MSW not being received. Major issues have been
quality and amount of wastes received due to lack of a strategy in waste
disposal and poor administration of local bodies. But in the past couple of
years there has been increasing initiative by the government of India to
restart the WtE market. So there is some momentum at the center to find
solutions to the growing problem of disposing waste, but the local bodies
are not adequately equipped to locally solve the issues. Additionally project
developers need to understand local wastes carefully before introducing a
technology that was previously successful in a different country. In 2007
the Supreme Court allowed the GOI to subsidize five commercially run
WtE plants on a pilot basis and take a decision on future of WtE on the
basis of these pilot operations. In 2008 three MSW processing plants with
power plants were awarded to private players. Special Purpose Vehicles
(SPVs) which undertook waste characterization, plant design, technology
selection, engineering and finalizing all contracts were transferred to
successful bidders following a competitive bidding system. The Twelfth
Finance Commission has recommended states to provide grants to support
collection, segregation and transportation of MSW under the Jawaharlal
Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission to boost waste management in 63
big cities of the country. The GOI has also promised a subsidy of USD 30m
(INR 150 crore) for MSW projects according to project type and scope.

204
 MODULE - 5

World’s first carbon-trading scheme based on compost

  Every day 3,500 tons of garbage is produced in Dhaka. Dhaka

simply does not have the resources to gather and dispose of all that waste.
Most of it is left on the streets or in open trash sites.

The NGO ‘Waste Concern” developed community-based composting

(CBC), in which residents put their food scraps into big composting barrels.
The chest-high metal barrels sit on concrete bases and can hold up to 400
pounds of waste. Specially drilled holes encourage aerobic decomposition.
The barrels are shared among three to seven families, and each family is
held accountable for the barrel’s contents. They also share in the profits:
7% (taka) per kilogram (about 5 cents per pound). Barrel composting is
extremely simple. People can simply sweep up their waste and dump it into
the barrel. There is no need to do anything else; the design takes care of all
composting needs. CBC is successful and the program is being replicated
in 26 other cities in Bangladesh as well as in other developing nations.
 
After perfecting the community-based composting model, Waste
Concern turned its attention to the many tons of organic waste generated
by Dhaka’s business sector, notably its many produce markets. WC took
advantage of the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
to create the world’s first carbon-trading scheme based on compost.

After the waste is trucked in, it is spread out in open-air bins,

monitored carefully, and becomes saleable compost in a little over a
month.

That works out to 233 tons of finished, dry compost every day
with a retail value of nearly $14,000. Composting, works well in a nation
like Bangladesh because of the tropical climate and high percentage of
organic waste in the trash stream.
Organic waste buried in a landfill can generate greenhouse gases
205
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

but when the organic waste is composted in the open air, these gases
are not made. The fact of this negative generation amounts to carbon
credits, which can be traded on overseas markets for $20 per ton. “From
one ton of organic waste half a ton of greenhouse gas can be reduced.
When it reaches full capacity, this CDM project will reduce CO2 emissions
by 127,750 tons per year. The carbon credits will be worth $2.5 million. It
is therefore really important to translate wastes into resources because
that will help achieve sustainable development in the years ahead for all
nations

5.10 Role of an Individual in Prevention of Pollution

Pollution prevention is the reduction or elimination of wastes and
pollutants at their sources. For all the pollution that is avoided in the
first place, there is that much less pollution to manage, treats, disposes
of, or cleans up. Regulations and measures that focus on the end of
the pipe or the top of the stack do little to prevent pollution or avert
future impacts — often, they just cause the pollution to be shifted from
one environmental medium (air, water, or land) to another. Therefore,
pollution prevention represents a challenge that is open to all members
of society, at all levels of activity and decision making. The role of
education is crucial: pollution prevention requires having the skills,
creativity, and mindset to holistically identify options for improvement
and innovation. Individuals often think there is little they can do to
combat a global problem like pollution. However, the role of individuals
in the prevention of pollution has a great impact on the overall picture.
When every individual does their part it can add up quickly.
The move towards the use of hybrid vehicles and alternative
gasoline may have been prompted more by the price of fuel than the
concern over pollution, but this trend has greatly helped reduce vehicle
emissions which can cause pollution of the air, water and soil.
Any little effort an individual takes to stop polluting is helpful. Not
littering, not dumping waste in unauthorized areas and buying energy
efficient appliances, taking steps to reduce energy consumption, are all
examples of how an individual can help in the prevention of pollution.
206
 MODULE - 5

Planting pest resistant crops can reduce or eliminate the need for
chemical pesticides, thereby reducing the water, air, and soil pollution
In office settings, simple steps such as making double-sided
copies and printing drafts on the back sides of discarded paper can
substantially reduce the consumption and disposal of paper products.
In the home, minimizing the use of toxic household chemicals
such as drain cleaners and herbicides will reduce the amount of
hazardous chemicals that eventually end up in the environment. Opt for
phosphate free detergent and shampoo.
Using rechargeable batteries will reduce metal pollution.
Implementing better housekeeping practices to minimize leaks and
fugitive releases from manufacturing processes using products with
eco mark (eco friendly products), and encouraging organic farming by
buying organic foods.
Not using polystyrene cups that have CFC molecules in them,
being environmentally aware and so discouraging products with CFC
or any product or device that is environmentally harmful in any way
by not buying them. For example: not purchasing juice from vendors
who sell in disposable plastic glasses and instead opt for those who sell
in reusable glasses. Co operating in segregating wastes and thus aid in
proper disposal using cloth carry bags for general purchases.
In clearing an area for building a home or any structure or
pavement, save as many trees as possible. The role of the individual is to
keep in mind the impact of everything he uses, or does as it applies to the
environment. The individual should be aware of how his activities will
affect demand, manufacturers, future generations and the environment
and ecosystem as a whole. The range of pollution prevention is
constrained only by the limits to our imagination and ingenuity, and
the strength of our commitment to improve our relationship with the
environment opportunities.
207
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Role of an Individual in terms of Cooperation

The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has
directed 64 registered manufacturers to halt producing bags less than 40
microns thick. The board’s move follows a notification from the Ministry
of Environment and Forests to implement the Plastic Waste (Management
and Handling) Rules, 2011 to ban bags below 40 microns. Now, there is
no other option but to stop manufacture of all thin plastic bags as it is
a gazette notification. Violators can be taken to court. Around 14% of
total garbage generated is plastic, amounting to 35 to 40 tons per day.
Plastics below 40 micron cannot be recycled and is causing a lot of horrors
clogging pipes and choking landfills. Multiplied packing of different daily
items for an enormous population has multiplied the plastic load on land
and is a scary problem which the ban can alleviate but only with the part
of participation of people. In Bangalore, the ban is in effect from 15th
march 2011

Some points covered by the centre’s notification.

• Plastic carry bags shall either be white or only with those pigments
and colorants which are in conformity with the bar prescribed by the
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
• Plastic carry bags shall not be less than 40 microns in thickness.
Under the earlier rules, the minimum thickness was 20 microns.
• No carry bags shall be made available free of cost to consumers. The
municipal authority may determine the minimum price for plastic
carry bags.
There is also a ban on sachets of gutka or tobacco packets. As per
the notification, the main implementing authority, the Bruhat Bangalore
Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is supposed to ensure safe collection, storage,
segregation, transportation, processing and disposal of plastic waste, and
setting up of collection centers for such waste which involve manufacturers.
More importantly, no carry bags shall be made available free of cost to
208
 MODULE - 5

consumers. BBMP may determine the minimum price for plastic carry
bags. BBMP has announced plans to setup waste segregation and plastic
collection centers in wards. Two to four rupees is being charged for 40
micron covers.

The garbage in houses/ commercial establishments should be
segregated at source, at the place where it is generated. If the garbage
is not segregated and disposed completely and scientifically, it has an
adverse effect on the environment. There has to be rigorous monitoring
to get the latest rules implemented strictly. Manufacture and Usage Rules,
1999, which banned plastic bags below 20 micron thickness, were not
implemented in to These thin bags are still sold across the city in ‘kirana’
stores, vegetable shops and meat stores. There has been a considerable
extent of non cooperation among the public to the inconvenience of
segregating wastes. Customers were also found insisting on carry bags and
on not paying for the plastic bags. Also on the flip side, there is no penalty
for thin plastic bags users in the new rules, which weakens management
of plastic waste as it a great deal up to public willingness and cooperation.
This is where comes the role of an individual to take up the discomforts
and willingly help relieving the choking load of plastics from land. To
segregate waste diligently and to carry always a cloth bag in vehicle or
hand bag to prevent having to ask for plastic covers. Little discomforts
on our part would amount to great service to our land. But even months
later plastic bags are still abound. It was found that people could not
give up their habits and shopkeepers eventually again started giving
complementary plastic covers the only difference that these are thicker.
But it does not solve the original problem of plastics strewn everywhere
and their eventual clogging of drains in the monsoon. Biodegradable
bags or cloth bags will take a long time to set in, where perseverance by
shopkeepers and willingness of customers could have made the change
happen sooner.

209
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

5.11 Disaster Management

Disaster management is a process or strategy that is implemented
when any type of catastrophic event takes place. Sometimes referred to
as disaster recovery management, the process may be initiated when
anything threatens to disrupt normal operations or puts the lives of
human beings at risk.
Governments of all levels as well as many businesses create some
sort of disaster plan that make it possible to overcome the catastrophe
and return to normal function as quickly as possible.
Various disasters like earthquake, landslides, volcanic eruptions,
fires, flood and cyclones are natural hazards that kill thousands of people
and destroy billions of dollars of habitat and property each year. The
rapid growth of the world’s population and its increased concentration
often in hazardous environment has escalated both the frequency and
severity of natural disasters. With the tropical climate and unstable
land forms, coupled with deforestation, unplanned growth leading to
proliferation of non-engineered constructions make the disaster-prone
areas mere vulnerable. Asia tops the list of casualties due to natural
disaster. Among various natural hazards, earthquakes, landslides,
floods and cyclones are the major disasters adversely affecting very
large areas and population in the Indian sub-continent. These natural
disasters are of (i) geophysical origin such as earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions, landslides and (ii) climatic origin such as drought, flood,
cyclone, locust, forest fire. Though natural phenomenon is not within
our control but the efforts could be made to avoid its disastrous impact
on life and property. Rising frequency, amplitude and number of natural
disasters and attendant problem coupled with loss of human lives
prompted the General Assembly of the United Nations to proclaim
1990s as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction
(IDNDR). It established the disaster management related traditions and
by spreading public awareness the IDNDR provided required stimulus
for disaster reduction
210
 MODULE - 5

The disaster mitigation works mainly address the following:

(i) minimize the potential risks by developing disaster early warning
strategies, (ii) prepare and implement developmental plans to
provide resilience to such disasters, (iii) mobilize resources including
communication and tele medicinal services and (iv)to help in
rehabilitation and post-disaster reduction. Disaster management on the
other hand involves: (i) pre-disaster planning, preparedness, monitoring
including relief management capability. (ii) Prediction and early warning.
(iii) Damage assessment and relief management. Disaster reduction is a
systematic work which involves different regions, different professions
and different scientific fields, and has become an important measure for
human, society and nature’s sustainable development.

Some Important Aspects for Effective Disaster Management Plan

In all types of disasters there are basic three phases to disaster
management, i.e. preparedness, prevention and relief. Creating an
effective disaster management plan is often easier said than done. As
many nations have learned, what were thought to be comprehensive
emergency plans, turned out to be partially effective at their best.

This has especially come to light after the recent earthquake in

Japan which led to Tsunami and which further led to a nuclear disaster
at Fukusima Daichi Nuclear plant where the Disaster Management Plans
fell short. In recent years, many government agencies stretching from
the local to the national level have taken steps to revisit the structure
of their disaster plans and run computer simulations to identify
weaknesses in the plans, and refine them so they can operate with more
speed and efficiency. Some important aspects of disaster management
plan are as follows:-

211
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Defining and Identifying potential Disasters- One of the

essential elements of disaster management involves defining the types
of catastrophes that could possibly disrupt the day to day operation of
a city, town, business, or country. Identifying those potential disasters
makes it possible to create contingency plans, assemble supplies, and
create procedures that can be initiated when and if a given disaster does
come to pass. A truly comprehensive disaster management plan will
encompass a wide range of possibilities that can easily be adapted in the
event one disaster sets off a chain reaction of other types of disasters in
its wake.

Multi Layered Plan- Because of the need to continue functioning

in emergency situations, disaster management plans are often multi-
layered and can address such issues as floods, hurricanes, fires,
bombings, and even mass failures of utilities or the rapid spread of
disease. The disaster plan addresses important matters as evacuating
people from an impacted region, arranging  temporary housing, food,
and medical care. The plan could also work toward containing and
possibly neutralizing the root causes of the disaster if at all possible.

Creating Awareness- In areas prone to disasters or people

working in industries or people living in vicinity of facilities like nuclear
reactors require that disaster management exercises be necessarily
conducted with mock drills on what should be done in case of a disaster.
One of the effective activities to increase consciousness of people about
the safety of community is making and providing a map to indicate
locations of essential facilities or dangers in the community in case of
earthquake or other disasters requiring evacuation.
Alternative Communication- Since many disasters can cause
communication networks to fail, a competent disaster plan will include
the quick setup of alternative communication capabilities that do not
rely on the various switches, towers and hubs that are usually part of

212
 MODULE - 5

telephone and cellular communication networks. Often making use of

short-wave transmissions that are supported with satellite technology,
the communication flow can continue from the area impacted by
the disaster to other points from where aid can be extended when and
as possible.

Disaster Kit- As part of the crisis management component of

a disaster plan, some type of disaster kit may also be developed.

The kit may include food and clothing for people who are
evacuated from an area that has experienced flooding or extensive
damage from a hurricane or tornado. Kits may also include basic
medication to help with headaches, fevers, and other minor ailments.
In some cases, the kits may include items such as sleeping bags or other
necessities that will help displaced persons to cope with the after effects
of the disaster.

Space Technology- Space technology plays a crucial role in

efficient mitigation of disasters. While communication satellites help
in disaster warning, relief mobilization and tele medicinal support,
earth observation satellites provide required database for pre-disaster
preparedness programmes, disaster response, monitoring activities
and post-disaster damage assessment, and reconstruction, and
rehabilitation. With a constellation of both INSAT and IRS series of
satellites, India has developed an operational mechanism for disaster
warning especially cyclone and drought, and their monitoring and
mitigation. However, prediction of certain events likes earthquake,
volcanic eruption and flood is still at experimental level. Developments
in space-based earth observation and weather watch capabilities in
future may help refining existing models/approaches for prediction of
such events and their management.
213
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Defining and Understanding Some Natural Disasters and their

Management
Earthquakes, Volcanoes, floods and landslides are normal and
natural events but they can be disastrous in their impacts when they
affect Human settlements:

Cyclone 
An atmospheric system characterized by the rapid inward
circulation of air masses about a low-pressure center, usually
accompanied by stormy, often destructive weather. Cyclones circulate
counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the
Southern Hemisphere. They move like a spinning top at the speed of
10-30km per hour. They can last for a week or so and have a diameter
varying between 100 to 1500 Km.
The intense tropical storms are known in different part of the
world by different names. In the Pacific Ocean, they are called ‘typhoons’,
in the Indian ocean they are called ‘cyclones’ and over North Atlantic,
they are called ‘hurricane’. Among various natural calamities, tropical
cyclones are known to claim a higher share of deaths and destruction
world over. More storms occur in the Bay of Bengal and when the storm
surge and normal high tide coincide the devastation is more as sea water
with combined force rushes inland and inundates the low lying areas.

Control- There exist a very efficient cyclone warning system in India

which is comparable to the best known in the world.
The approach essentially involves the prediction of the track and
intensity of the cyclone using conventional as well as satellite and radar-
based techniques. Some management measures include planting more
trees on the coastal belt, construction of dams, dykes, embankments,
storm shelter, wind breaks, proper drainage and wide roads for quick
evacuation.
214
 MODULE - 5

Cyclone Management with Earth Observation Satellite Data

The most striking advantage of the earth observation satellite data has
been demonstrated during the recent Orissa super-cyclone event. A
severe cyclonic storm with a wind speed about 260 km ph hit the Orissa
coast at Paradip on 29-Oct-99 causing extensive damage to human life,
property, live stock and public utilities. The National Remote Sensing
Agency acted promptly and provided spatial extent of inundated areas
using pre-cyclone IRS LISS-III data collected on 11th October, 1999 and
Radarsat Synthetic Aperture Radar(SAR) data of 2nd November, 1999
since cloud -free optical sensor data over the cyclone-hit area were
not available. This proved very helpful in making relief available in the
areas identified.

Floods
Flood is the rising of a body of water like river and it’s overflowing
into normally dry land. India is the worst flood-affected country in the
world after Bangladesh and accounts for one-fifth of the global death
count due to floods. About 40 million hectares or nearly 1/8th of India’s
geographical area is flood-prone (20% of the land being of UP). An
estimated 8 million hectares of land are affected annually. The cropped
area affected annually ranges from 3.5 million ha during normal floods
to 10 million ha during worst flood. Therefore flood control measures
are imperative.

Control- Flood Disaster Impact Minimization is done by

flood forecasts issued currently by Central Water Commission using
conventional rainfall runoff models with an accuracy of around 65% to
70% with a warning time of six to twelve hours.
Flood control measures consists mainly of construction of new
embankments, check dams on small streams drainage channels and
afforestation i.e. providing ground cover on water courses.. What needs
to be done is to restore wetlands and floodplains should be used for
wildlife habitats, parks etc rather than housing.
215
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor, or

temblor) is the result of a sudden release of energy or strain that has
built up in the Earth’s crust that creates seismic waves. Most zones of
maximum earthquake intensity and frequency occur at the boundaries
between the moving plates that form the crust of the earth. Major
earthquakes also occur within the interior of crustal plates such as
those in China, Russia and the south-east United States.
India is highly vulnerable to earthquakes, with more than 60%
of the land being prone to tremors of Richter Intensity 7.0 and greater,
that can cause structural damage. Earthquakes continue to cause large-
scale human fatalities, most of which are due to collapse of man-made
structures. Earthquake generated water waves called tsunamis can
severely affect coastal areas as was again seen on March 11, 2011 in
Japan. These giant waves can move at a speed up to 1000 Km/hr or even
faster. While approaching the sea shore they may often reach 15m or
sometimes up to 65m or more in height and cause massive devastation
in coastal areas. The largest earthquake ever recorded was of magnitude
9.5 on Richter scale, affecting 90,000 square miles and killing 6000
people. On the other hand the earthquake in Bhuj Gujarat on 26th Jan
2001 of 7.9 magnitude earthquake killed 20,000 to 30,000 people.
Control- Recent earthquakes have revealed the under-
preparedness of the country in facing its impacts. Earthquakes
are recorded with a seismometer, also known as a seismograph. A
considerable research has been carried out to predict earthquakes using
conventional technologies, but the results to date are inconclusive. Since
short- or mid-term prediction of earthquakes is difficult, seismic safety
of built environments that will ensure that structures do not collapse
forms an important cornerstone of earthquake disaster mitigation
efforts. The structures are to be heavily reinforced, weak spots are
strategically placed in the building that can absorb vibrations from the
rest of the building, pads or floats are placed beneath the building on
which it can shift harmlessly during ground motion. Wooden houses are
preferred in earthquake prone areas as in Japan.
216
 MODULE - 5

Anthropogenic activities that can enhance the frequency of

earthquakes should be avoided like impounding of huge dams is
sensitive areas like Koyna dam which is supposed to have increased
the earthquake frequency in the area. Underground Nuclear Testing is
another suspect and it should be avoided. Deep well disposal of liquid
wastes should also be avoided and alternative strategies for disposal
should be identified. Seismic risk analysis based on historic earthquakes
and the presence of active faults is an established method for locating
and designing dams, power plants and other projects in seismically
active areas.

Current trends in Earthquake Monitoring

Very recently the space geodetic techniques and high resolution

aerial and satellite data have been used for earthquake prediction.
Space geodetic technique with Global Positioning System (GPS) helps in
measuring the surface deformations and monitoring accelerated crustal
deformations prior to earth quakes with required accuracy. Earthquake
risk assessment involves identification of seismic zones through collection
of data which calls for considerable amount of extrapolation and
interpolation on the basis of available data. There is also a tendency for
earthquake to occur in “gaps” which are in places along an earthquake
belt where strong earthquake had not previously been observed. The
knowledge of trends in time or in space helps in defining the source
regions of future shocks. Space techniques have overcome the limitations
of ground geodetic surveys/measurements and have become an essential
tool to assess the movement/displacements along fault/plate boundaries
to even millimeter level accuracy. 
IIT Bombay actively participates in the national programme on
GPS for earthquake hazard assessment launched by the Department
of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India after the Latur
earthquake. DST funded projects have been taken up to study crustal

217
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

deformation in the Koyna region of Maharashtra through extensive GPS

networks. A permanent GPS station has also been set up at the Institute. A
GPS laboratory has been set up in the Civil Engineering Dept with facilities
like GPS receivers and GPS data processing software packages.
The GPS Network in Gujarat- The IIT Bombay team has established
a GPS station network at 12 locations in the State of Gujarat for carrying
out observations using geodectic dual-frequency GPS receivers. The
stations monitor deformations of the epicentral region from an outside
reference point, so as to assess future crustal movements in the region.

Landslides 
A landslide is the movement of a mass of rock, earth or debris
down a slope. It can be defined as a geological phenomenon which
includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rock falls, deep
failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore,
coastal and onshore environments. Although the action of gravity
is the primary driving force for a landslide to occur, there are other
contributing factors affecting the original slope stability. Water and
vegetation influence landslides. Chemical action of water gradually
causes chemical weathering of rocks making them prone to landslides.
Vegetation consolidates the slope material, provides cohesion by its
root system and also retards the flow of water and its erosion capacity.
Clearing vegetation therefore is a major cause to landslides. Other
anthropogenic activities such as adding excessive weight above the
slope, digging at mid-slope or at the foot of the slope, can also increase
the possibilities of landslides.

Control- Aerial photographs and large-scale satellite images

have been used to locate the areas with the incidence of landslide. A
number of studies have been carried out in India using satellite data and
aerial photographs to develop appropriate methodologies for terrain
classification and preparation of maps showing landslide hazards
218
 MODULE - 5

in the Garhwal Himalayan region, Nilagiri hills in South India and in

Sikkim forest area. Landslides can also be minimized by stabilization of
slopes by providing adequate drainage to surface and subsurface water
example by altering the slope into contours and terraces.
Slope stabilization netting systems are also commonly installed
in areas where soil erosion, rock & debris flow, and slope failure are
common occurrences.  Woven wire rope and ring net protection systems
are now used compared to the rigid steel wire meshes as they are more
adaptable and topographically conforming. Land stabilization can also
be achieved by planting certain grasses like vetver (khus khus grass).
Concrete support can also be provided at the base of slope.

Vetiver Grass Technology (VGT)

It is cheap, replicable, sustainable and fully effective in stopping

erosive degradation and increasing crop yield. Commonly called as Khus
grass, it has been used for soil and water conservation in agricultural
lands for many years but its related impact on land stabilization, soil
erosion and sediment control only started in the late 1980s following its
promotion by the World Bank. When planted, the grass quickly forms a
dense, permanent hedge which will reduce water flow velocity. Its strong
fibrous root system penetrates and binds the soil to a depth of 3 meters
and can withstand the effects of tunneling and cracking. It is perennial
and requires minimal maintenance. It will not compete with the crop
plants it is used to protect. It has stiff and erect stems which can stand up
to relatively deep water flow. Its sharp leaves and aromatic roots repel
rodents, snakes and similar pests. When applied correctly, the technology
is very effective on slopes. A well established grass hedge will slow down
rainfall run off, spreading it out evenly, and will trap runoff sediments
to create natural terraces. Once established, it is generally unpalatable
to livestock. It can withstand drought, flood and long periods of water
logging. It will grow in all types of soil and is highly tolerant to toxic levels
in the soil
219
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Disaster Management Plan Failure in Japan, March 2011

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake on March 11, 2011, which occurred near
the northeast coast of Honshu, Japan was the fourth largest in the world
since 1900 and the largest in Japan since modern instrumental recordings
began 130 years ago. It led to a tsunami which was at least 23 meters
(76 feet) high according to a Japanese study. It devastated northeastern
Japan. It led to a third, connected catastrophe — a nuclear disaster at
Fukushima reactor 4— as the tsunami waters inundated and made useless
the backup power source which had to operate to pump water for cooling
of the fuel rods after the reactor was shut down due to the earthquake.
Since the rods could not be cooled radiation leak and release could not be
averted as attempts to quell the overheating plant with water bombs from
helicopters failed and despite the army pelting the site with water cannon,
radiation levels rose higher and the nuclear disaster reached level five
which is as bad as three mile Island disaster. Situation became so bad that
high level of radioactivity has also been found in the ground water near the
reactor. Radioactive water from the runoff from the water pelted on the
plant made it too dangerous to go near the reactors and so halted repair
work being done to restore power to the coolant pumping system knocked
out by the tsunami. Now the one option considered seems to be of burying
the reactor at Fukushima under concrete which was done for Chernobyl
the level seven and biggest nuclear disaster till date. A month after the
disaster Fukushima was declared a level seven at par with Chernobyl. Now
evacuation plans are for beyond the 20 km radius evacuation zone around
the plant which was already in place.

Japan is very used to large earthquakes and is one of the best-prepared

countries in the world to deal with such events. From a disaster management
perspective, Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Authority plans for
much larger earthquakes – events with a magnitude of nine or more but
all plans fell short.
220
 MODULE - 5

Even though seismologists know Japan is at risk from even larger

earthquakes than the one on Friday the 11th, it has still exceeded Japan’s
response capability. While Japan has the world’s most sophisticated
tsunami early warning system, the warnings could not be given soon
enough for many people to evacuate. Japan also has built massive
physical infrastructure designed to protect coastal communities, yet those
protective measures were in many cases overwhelmed and useless.

Finally for a Disaster Management Plan it was not considered into account
that the probability of an earthquake followed by a tsunami followed by
a nuclear accident though very low was not zero. The Fukushima nuclear
power plant’s risk-management plans had to be made accordingly and
there should have been a plan C for cooling the fuel rods in case of failure
of the backup.

The safety systems of the plant had not been upgraded sufficiently to
take account of current knowledge and standards. Not only did it suffer
physical damage from the earthquake, but also its back-up power sources
failed. There was no solid plan B or plan C. Ideally it should have safely
generated electricity and contributing to the recovery if it had been
prepared enough.

Post-disaster responsibilities of search and rescue, provision of emergency

shelter, food, water and medicines are a long term process. Engineers have
to check the structural integrity of every building to determine which is
safe to reoccupy and which must be knocked down which will take time.
Getting essential services and infrastructure repaired and rebuilt will
take longer still. With devastation over such a wide area, reconstruction
of towns and recovery to a more normal life will take years. The region
around the plant that has been evacuated is lost to man for years to come.
The psychological impacts to all mankind are immense.
221
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

This event shows us that current disaster science and management are
failing. If they failed in Japan — one of the world’s most technologically
advanced countries, it is time to ask some hard questions about disaster
science and the management plans based on this science.

In India the Tsunami in 2004 came close to Kalpakkam Atomic Power

plant, Tamil nadu but though the waves reached the pumping station of
the plant, it fortunately did not do any damage. But are we prepared for
an emergency in case of damage? The question again on all minds that
is causing discomfort is that if a technologically advanced country like
Japan couldn’t manage a disaster then how prepared could our country be.
March 20, 2011 Times of India reported an article which made aware the
state of disaster preparedness of our own Nuclear plants. Tarapur Atomic
Power plant in Maharashtra has special reason to pay attention to the
Japanese crisis as two of its reactors are similar to Fukushima but villagers
are clueless about disaster preparedness. According to the villagers it has
been years since they were asked to take part in an evacuation exercise.
They are clueless about what to do to save themselves if a radiation leak
occurs. Villagers admit to receiving random visits from doctors and district
officials and random collection of food and water samples, villagers are
not informed if it is part of an emergency drill. Training for radiation
emergency preparedness seems to be given to police and district officials
but not to village representatives. According to the villagers they would
have known almost nothing about emergency drills being undertaken like
the last offsite emergency exercise which was

222
 MODULE - 5

5.12 Pollution Case Studies.

Biggest Oil Spills-British Petroleum (BP) oil spill and Exxon Valdez
oil spill.

BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, 2010, killing 11

people and spewing oil from the underwater well that rose to the surface.
It also created a plume of air pollution downwind of the spill which flowed
for three months in 2010. On July 15, the leak was stopped by capping the
gushing wellhead after it had released about 4.9 million barrels (205.8
million gallons) of crude oil. On September 19, the relief well process (well
dug to remove pressure from the oil reservoir and the leak to finally be able
to cap the well permanently) was successfully completed, “The relief well
being drilled intersected the blown-out well Thursday, September 16, and
crews started pumping in cement on Friday, September 17 to permanently
plug it and declared the well was “effectively dead”

History repeats itself. A blowout at the Ixtoc 1 offshore oil rig in the
Gulf of Mexico in June 1979 took 9 months to contain. It was an exploratory
rig, 200 feet under water, whereas the BP rig was 5000 feet under
water. Ultimately, 71,500 barrels (11,000 m3) of oil impacted 162 miles
(260 km) of U.S. beaches, and over 10,000 cubic yards (8,000 m3) of oiled
material were removed. An average of approximately 10,000 to 30,000
barrels (2,000 to 5,000 m3) per day were discharged into the Gulf and no
measures to cap the rig worked until it was finally capped on 23 March
1980, nearly 10 months later by constructing relief well. Technology to
cap leak hasn’t improved in 31 years.

In similarity to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill 31 years later, the

list of methods attempted to remediate the leak included lowering a cap
over the well, plugging the leak with mud and “junk”, use of huge quantities
of dispersants, and spending months attempting to drill relief wells.
The Gulf of Mexico still harbored 15,700 species of sea life before
223
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

the BP disaster despite the oil exploration activities and damages in the
past. The oil, coupled with the dispersants designed to break it up are
harmful to the phytoplankton and zooplankton. Sperm whales and sea
turtles found in the gulf are expected to be affected. Entire generations of
shrimp, crab, oysters, and other commercially important marine life may
be wiped out and take years to recover. Despite the Gulf’s warm waters
and indigenous population of oil-eating microbes, the impacts of this oil
spill are likely to be felt for a long time especially if a hurricane blows
the oil deep into Gulf Coast wetlands, the marsh areas that are nurseries
for a lot of these species. To understand the devastation possibilities of
the BP oil spill, it is important to review how the Exxon oil spill affected
Prince William Sound in 21 years from the midnight of March 24, 1989
when the Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground on Bligh Reef in Alaska’s
Prince William Sound spilling eleven million gallons of oil, to today—21
years later. In an NBC News report on June 11, 2010, scientists claimed
that the amount of oil that was being spilled in the Gulf of Mexico was
the equivalent of “one Exxon Valdez spills everyone to 10 days.” The
impacts of Exon Valdez spill are still seen twenty-one years later As many
as half a million birds had died. Over 30,000 carcasses of 90 species of
birds were plucked from the beaches, but this was only a fraction of the
actual mortality, and harm to birds from chronic effects and decreased
reproduction continues today. But the most serious damage was to their
critical spawning and rearing habitats. Salmon spawn in the intertidal
zone, herring in the sub-tidal zone etc. Twenty years after the oil spill, the
ecosystem is still suffering. The Office of Technology Assessment estimated
beach cleanup and oil skinning recovered only 3-4 percent of the Exxon
Valdez oil, and studies by government scientists estimated that only 14
percent of the oil was removed during cleanup operations. It turns out
that oil often got trapped in semi-enclosed bays for weeks, going up and
down with the tide and some of it being pulled down into the sediment
below the seabed. Substantial contamination of mussel beds persists,
and this un weathered oil is a continuing source of toxic hydrocarbons.
Sea otters, river otters, Barrow’s golden eyes and harlequin ducks have
showed evidence of continued hydrocarbon exposure.
224
 MODULE - 5

The Exxon oil spill resulted in profound physiological effects to fish

and wildlife. These included reproductive failure, genetic damage, curved
spines, lowered growth and body weights, altered feeding habits, reduced
egg volume, liver damage, eye tumors and debilitating brain lesions.
In its 20th anniversary Status Report, the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
Trustee Council lists only 10 of the 31 injured resources and services they
monitor as “recovered” (which includes bald eagles and river otters). Ten
more including killer whales and sea otters are listed as “recovering.”
Populations of Pacific herring and pigeon guillemots are listed as “not
recovering.”
Wildlife population decline continue for harbor seal, killer whales,
harlequin ducks, common loon, pigeon guillemot, and pelagic red-
faced cormorants and double-crested cormorants. The most important
species that is still experiencing significant problems is Pacific herring,
an ecologically and commercially important species in Prince William
Sound. They are central to the marine food web, providing food to marine
mammals, birds, invertebrates and other fish. They are a critical source of
food for over 40 predators including seabirds, harbor seals etc and their
depressed population is having severe impacts up the food chain. Herring
are also commercially fished for food, bait, sac-roe and spawn on kelp.
Due to the decreased population, the herring fishery in Prince William
Sound had been closed for 13 of the 19 years since the spill and remains
closed today. Prince William Sound will not be considered recovered until
the herring are recovered.
Human services that depend on natural resources were also injured
by the spill. These services are each categorized as “recovering” until the
resources they depend on are fully recovered: commercial fishing, passive
use, recreation and tourism, and subsistence. According to the Exxon
Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, the Exxon Valdez oil is decreasing at a rate
of 0-4 percent per year and at this rate, the remaining oil will take decades
and possibly centuries to disappear entirely. The BP oil spill is many times
more than from the Exon Valdez which was the biggest disaster till BP
happened and the effects can be imagined as of now from what we know
of Prince William Sound.
225
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Worst Industrial Disaster- Bhopal Gas Leak

Around midnight on Dec. 2, 1984, an accident at a Union Carbide

(UCC) pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, resulted in 45 tons of poisonous
methyl isocyanate(MIC) escaping from the facility. Accidental entry of
water in the MIC tank resulted in overheating of the reaction mixture and
explosion as the cooling system failed. Thousands died within hours. More
followed over subsequent months — more than 15,000 in all.
The initial effects of exposure were coughing, vomiting, severe
eye irritation and a feeling of suffocation. People awakened by these
symptoms fled away from the plant. Those who ran inhaled more than
those who had a vehicle to ride. Owing to their height, children and other
people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations. Many people
were trampled trying to escape.
Many of those who survived suffered blindness, organ failure and
other awful bodily malfunctions. Other reported symptoms are respiratory
difficulties, immune and neurological disorders, cardiac failure secondary
to lung injury, female reproductive difficulties and birth defects among
children born to affected women. A shockingly higher number of children
in the area have been born of birth defects. It is estimated that 100,000
to 200,000 people have permanent injuries. In total, about half a million
people were affected in some way.
Contamination at the site and surrounding area was not caused by
the gas leakage. The area around the plant was used as a dumping ground
for hazardous chemicals, including benzene hexachloride and mercury
held in open containers or loose on the ground. Chemicals abandoned
at the plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater. A sample of
drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination 500
times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization By 1982 tube wells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had
to be abandoned. In 1991 the municipal authorities declared water from
over 100 tube wells to be unfit for drinking. Activists have demanded that
the company clean up this toxic waste, and have pressed the government
226
 MODULE - 5

of India to demand more money from them.

In 1989, Union Carbide paid out about half a billion dollars to
victims (470 million dollars), an amount the afflicted say is not enough
to deal with the decades-long consequences. In June 2010, seven former
employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary, all Indian nationals and
many in their 70s, were convicted of causing death by negligence and
each sentenced to a mere two years imprisonment and fined Rs. 1 lakh.
All were released on bail shortly after the verdict. Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide, such as the International Campaign for Justice
in Bhopal, claim that several internal studies by the corporation, which
showed severe contamination, were not made public and the Indian
authorities were also refused access. .
It is now a common knowledge that. Bhopal gas tragedy is a result
of gross corporate negligence on the part of Union Carbide Company.
This tragedy could have been averted if the company had spent $1
million on safety improvement. They stored dangerous materials in bulk
without adequate security, they had no systems in place to warn local
community about gas leaks and they had no emergency plans if some
disasters occurred. This was at a time when they had all safety measures
and emergency plans in place at the factory site in the United States. The
old imperialist attitude of considering lives of people in weaker countries
to be of less value was very much evident in the actions of the Union
Carbide Company. But the government of India secured a safe passage for
Mr. Anderson to leave the country and from then onwards he has been
declared an absconder by the Indian judiciary.
Government of India is also accused of being appallingly negligent
in the way they joined with Union Carbide in contravening rules and
regulations. The government gave permission to start the factory at a
densely populated area even when they knew that it handled poisonous
gases and did nothing to make sure that safety measures are followed by
the Company. Even after the tragedy struck, the Indian government did
little in providing comfort to the victims of the tragedy. The compensation
that was promised to the victims hasn’t been given till now. There have
227
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

been no efforts in fixing the accountability of the disaster to Union Carbide

and to make them pay for the destruction caused. Adequate measures to
address the long term impacts of the gas leak, including cleaning up the
site, remediation of the factory, regular supply of safe water and economic
rehabilitation, haven’t been done till now. Bhopal remains not only the
worst industrial disaster ever but also the worst humanitarian disaster
where the afflicted people and the land were denied justice.

The eye opening Disaster- London Smog:

London Smog and its resulting death toll made people aware of
the seriousness of air pollution. The London smog disaster resulted in the
introduction of the first Clean Air Acts in 1956 and thus is the disaster that
opened eyes to the ill effects of industrialization and pollution.
The December 1952 episode of heavy smog in London lasted until
March 1953. The weather in Greater London had been unusually cold for
several weeks which caused additional coal combustion and many people
travelled only by car. Households were burning more coal than usual to
keep warm. The smoke from approximately one million coal-fired stoves,
in addition to the emissions from local industry, was released into the
atmosphere. This in turn caused the occurrence of a combination of black
soot, sticky particles of tar and gaseous sulphur dioxide which combined
with the moisture of the fog to form the heaviest winter smog episode
known to men. Light winds and a high moisture content created ideal
conditions for smog formation. The smoke and fumes from the heavy coal
combustion settled close to the ground and due to a temperature inversion,
remained motionless and created dense smog.
Increases in smoke and sulphur emissions from the combustion
of coal had been occurring since the Industrial Revolution and the British
were familiar with these types of smog events. However, while the area had
experienced heavy smog in the past, no event had caused such problems
as the weather event in December, 1952. Temperature inversions are
228
 MODULE - 5

uncommon but occur more frequently on cold winter nights because the
ground cools and water vapor precipitates on low-level dust particles,
forming a mist. This caused the thick, smoke-polluted air to be trapped
under the inversion. A temperature inversion occurs when the air closer to
the ground is cooler than the air above it.
This cool air is denser than the warmer air above it and does not
rise, , but remains trapped under the inversion, close to the ground. After
nightfall, the fog thickened and reduced visibility to only a few meters.
The following 114 hours in London experienced visibility less than 500
meters with 48 hours below 50 meters visibility. Heathrow Airport had
visibility levels below 10 meters for nearly 48 hours following the morning
of December 6. The city was brought to a practical standstill with road,
rail, and air transport unable to operate because of the impaired visibility.
Temperature inversions are often reversed in the morning when
radiation from the sun warms the ground below the mist. However, on the
morning of December 6 the concentrations of smoke were still extremely
high, and water vapor continued to condense around the black soot and
tar particles. The sun’s radiation was unable to break through the dense
smog. This caused the static layer of cooler, polluted air to remain trapped
in the lower atmosphere.
Measurements suggested that the concentration of particulate
matter in the air had reached 56 times its normal level. Sulphur dioxide
concentrations increased to seven times its peak level at 700 parts per
billion (ppb). The smoke particles trapped in the fog gave it a yellow-black
color. Sulphur dioxide reacted with substances in foggy droplets to form
sulphuric acid, adding acid rain to the process.
By night of December 5 the smog was so dense that visibility
dropped to only a few meters. Smog even easily entered buildings, causing
cinemas, theatres and stores to be closed. Transport became largely
impossible. Motor vehicles were abandoned, trains were disrupted and
airports were also closed. The fog lasted for 5 days, from December 5 to
10, until winds dispersed the dense air mass and transported the pollution
through the Thames Estuary and into the North Sea.
229
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

The implications of the fog were not immediately clear. It was

not until the deaths peaked on the 8th and 9th of December at 900 per
day that the people knew something was wrong. In some parts of the city
the rate of death even increased to nine times the normal number. Until
spring the rate of death remained high at almost a thousand more deaths
per week than expected in a normal winter.
During the smog and for two weeks following, approximately
4,000 people were killed. Some reports indicate that rate of death
remained above-normal for the entire winter and it is now thought that
approximately 12,000 deaths can be tied to the smog, mainly children,
elderly people and people suffering from chronic respiratory or cardiac
disease. The death toll could be thousands higher if it were known how
many died from complications of smog-related illnesses in the following
months and years.
The number of deaths during the smog disaster was three or four
times that on a normal day. They were due to lung disease, tuberculosis
and heart failure. Mortality from bronchitis and pneumonia increased
more than sevenfold. Most deaths occurred because of breathing in acid
aerosols, which irritates or inflames the bronchial tubes. Only two-thirds
of the original 4,000 dead were over 65 years of age. Deaths in the middle-
age range of 45 to 64 years experienced death rates three times greater
than normal during the event. Infants were also highly-susceptible to the
pollution-laden smog and infant mortality doubled during the week of
December 5, 1952.
Peaks of smoke and sulphur dioxide were in line with peaks in
deaths. Non-fatal health effects from the smog included short-term chest
pains, lung inflammation and diminished breathing ability, damaged
respiratory cells, permanent lung damage, and increased incidence of
asthma attacks. It is also thought that the smog could have increased the
population’s risk of cancer.
The smog-related deaths spurred the British government to
take action and clean up the nation’s air. Society was becoming aware
of the connection between fuel combustion, atmospheric pollution, and
230
 MODULE - 5

damages to public health. The 1956 Clean Air Act gave local governments
the authority to provide funds to households to convert their coal-fired
heaters for use of cleaner sources of energy such as gas, oil, smokeless
coal, or electricity. The 1968 Clean Air Act was aimed at industry and
introduced the use of taller chimneys which allowed the pollution from
coal combustion to be released higher into the atmosphere so, as it may be
alleviate the immediate pollution impacts of coal combustion.

5.13 Summary
>The enormity of the problem of pollution calls for stringent measures
at global level and awareness and participation at the individual level
for its control and minimization
>The various pollution disasters have had a wide spectrum of
consequences and loss in terms of life and land and precious water.
>Use of Nuclear energy for power production and its implications is an
evil in the energy deficient world call for proper safety measures and
disaster preparedness at all levels.
>The rapid growth of the world’s population and its increased
concentration often in hazardous environment has escalated both
the frequency and severity of natural disasters which calls for better
disaster preparedness to minimize losses.

5.14 Terminal Questions

1. What have you understood about air pollution? Explain in terms of its
causes, consequences and effects
2. What is water pollution? Explain the causes of water pollution.
3. Write a note on Soil Pollution.
4. Is Thermal Pollution significant in terms of water pollution? Explain.
5. What is radioactive pollution and what are its control measures?
6. Research and give your personal perspective to any pollution disaster
that you find grave.
7. What do you think are the reasons of the often observed failure of
disaster management plans?
231
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

8. How is waste management important? Elaborate your personal waste

management and that of your neighborhood and municipality.

5.15 Answers

Self Assessment Questions

1. Quantitative
2. Smog and Acid rain
3. Radon
4. Mercury
5. pesticides and insecticides
6. A decibel is the standard for the measurement of noise.
7. Soil erosion can cause river and lake beds to rise, creating
shallower pools of water which heat more quickly.
8. Oil because its effects are both damaging and permanent
9. Somatic damage and genetic damage

Terminal Questions

1-5 Answers in respective topic heads of Air, Water, Soil, Thermal,

Radiocative Pollution.
6. Refer Case Studies
7. Refer text box Disaster Management Plan Failure in Japan,
March 2011
8. Refer section 5.9

References

http://healthandenergy.com/air_pollution_causes.htm
http://www.dbw.ca.gov/Pubs/Pollute/old.HTM
http://www.brighthub.com/engineering/marine/articles/37397.aspx
http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2284
http://www.environmentandpeople.org/NuclearHazards.html
232
 MODULE - 5

http://www.all-recycling-facts.com/soil-pollution.html
http://climatechange.thinkaboutit.eu/think4/post/indias_garbage/
http://www.brighthub.com/environment/science-environmental/
articles/88021.aspx
http://www.fyse.org/2009/04/garbage-turns-into-gold-in-
bangladesh/
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-disaster-management.htm
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Thermal_pollution
http://www.english-magazine.org/index.php/sci-tech/913-science-
article.html
http://www.english-magazine.org/index.php/sci-tech/913-science-
article.html

*****

233
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Module 6

SOCIAL ISSUES AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Structure
Learning Objectives
6.1 Introduction
6.2 From unsustainable to sustainable development
6.3 Energy issues due to urbanization
6.4 Water issues and their conservation measures
6.5 Resettlement and Rehabilitation Issues
6.6 Environmental issues
6.7 Environmental legislation
6.8 Environmental organizations, particularly NGO’s and their role
6.9 Environmental awareness and education
6.10 Summary
6.11 Questions
6.12 Answers

Learning Objectives

At the end of the unit you will be able to:

> understand sustainable development
> understand the challenges and issues due to current trends and
environmental challenges in the society.
> learn about measure to overcome the challenges to ensure
sustainability.

6.1 Introduction
The struggle to save the global environment is in one way
much more difficult than the struggle to vanquish Hitler, for this
time the war is with ourselves.  We are the enemy, just as we have
only ourselves as allies.  ~Al Gore
234
 MODULE - 6

Man has overexploited natural resources and disturbed

the environment. Environmentally sound development involves
understanding, managing and meeting social needs and not overburdening
the environmental systems, characteristics and resources. Global issues
like damage to ozone layer, extinction of wildlife and climate change are
now understood as threats to our very survival. The cause of all social
issues like deforestation and global warming is man’s ever increasing
greed and this has come to threaten man’s survival. The global economy
could be seriously affected by environmental problems, such as the lack
of access to enough resources to meet growing population demands.
Environmental degradation can result in social and political instability,
even increase in violence and human rights abuses as disputes about
territories, food and water could become wars and internal conflicts.
Environmental ethics incorporated in all nations and individuals is the
only solution.
Environmental ethics consists of basic issues of decision making
and involves a system of values reasoning and knowledge of nature
which directs a pattern of right conduct towards the environment so
that needs of the present generation are fulfilled without compromising
the ability of the future generation to meet their needs.

6.2 From unsustainable to sustainable development

The land belongs to a vast family of which many are dead,
few are living, and countless numbers are still unborn. These words
of an unknown author, very simply sums up the need to move from
unsustainable to sustainable development.
Development which meets the needs of the present generation
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs is the definition of sustainable development given by the
Bruntland Commission convened (to address the growing concern
about the deteriorating environment) by UN in 1983 and chaired by
the Norwegian Prime Minister GH Bruntland. The definition was given
in the Brundtland Report titled ‘Our Common Future” published in
235
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

1987. The report deals with sustainable development and the change
of politics needed for achieving that.Though the fears of unsustainable
development started in 1970’s but it was numerous summits like the
Earth Summit in Rio, Brazil, 1992, (United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development or UNCED) and many others which
brought the term of sustainable development to the mainstream.
Sustainable Development is often an over-used word, but goes to the
heart of tackling a number of inter-related global issues such as poverty,
inequality, hunger and environmental degradation.

The key aspects of sustainable development are

a. Inter-generational equity- emphasizes the goal of maintaining
ecological balance and preserving resources and environment
for future generations,
b. Intra-generational equity-emphasizes the goal of minimizing the
wealth gap within and between nations.

Measures for sustainable development

a. Use appropriate technology that basically uses less resources
and produces minimum waste
b. Reduce, reuse and recycle to reduce waste generation, pressure
on resources and pollution
c. Environment education and awareness which brings in a culture
of environment ethics in our general thinking, attitude and
actions
d. Use of Resource should be limited as per carrying capacity to
prevent crossing it and thereby making the system sustainable.
Carrying capacity has two basic components that need to keep in
mind while using any resource - supporting capacity, the capacity to
regenerate and assimilative capacity, the capacity to tolerate different
stresses. That is, to attain sustainability, consumption should not exceed
regeneration and changes should not be allowed to occur beyond the
tolerance capacity of the system.
236
 MODULE - 6

(In theory, development that is sustainable and not damaging

to the planet is possible although, in reality there are a lot of politics
and challenges involved.) For example enforcing environmentally
clean technologies often has resulted in pollution burdened on poorer
countries! Rich countries have been in the process to migrate some
polluting industries to poor countries, but still producing from there
primarily for their own self. This is done as it is cheaper than paying
for costly environmentally clean technologies. The basic step to save
our environment therefore is to prevent this culture of prioritizing
short term conveniences and profit motives and therefore approaching
sustainable development requires understanding any issue from many
angles and finding ways to prevent such unethical escapades. Following
are certain issues that need to be understood holistically to understand
their implications on society and identify solutions.

6.3 Energy issues due to Urbanization

Changing environments can cause or aggravate social issues.
Urbanization, a byproduct of industrialization is the major and rapid
change in environment that is causing and aggravating a lot of issues.
With the dawn of industrial era cities showed rapid development and
now more than 200 years later more than half of the world population
lives in urban areas. The western nations are highly urbanized and though
they form a small percentage of the world population, consume far more
resources. Problems such as climate change and energy depletion can be
said to have been largely caused by these urbanized nations. However,
as highly populated countries like China and India grow rapidly there
is a fear that these countries’ demands for energy and resources will
very quickly see the world’s natural resources stripped away. In these
countries rural population is rapidly migrating to urban areas causing
the urban areas to expand unplanned into the sub-urban and rural
areas (urban sprawl). The energy needs increase with modern lifestyles
which involve using large number of electrical gadgets, transportation
and personal vehicle needs etc and this situation happening for heavily
237
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

populated countries would create exploding demand for energy sources.

In fact increase in the cost of energy resources like oil is blamed on this
process. Some fear that already we are close to, or are exceeding, the
planet’s carrying capacity. With expanding needs of the huge (once
rural) population, the resources of two more earths could be required to
quench the exploding demand! Highly populated nations are therefore
under pressure to address issues of population growth, energy demand
and emission reduction.
But the fact is that highly populated developing countries have
just as much of a right to development as any other nation.
But they also have to take the responsibility to pursue a path
of development that is less wasteful and more efficient, avoiding the
mistakes of developed nations, so that it would be a more sustainable
development for the world as a whole. The developed countries on the
other hand have to be proactive in relinquishing their excessive and
wasteful use of finite energy resources (to accommodate the growing
use by developing countries), changing their wasteful ways in terms
of consumer goods, their use and throw attitude which creates excess
waste, miles of waste yards and more usage of energy in production
processes etc. Only that would help in distributing the finite energy
and resource more equitably and creating intra generational equity for
sustaining energy and resources.

6.4 Water issues and their Conservation Measures

Household water supply and sanitation services are important
for social welfare. Demand for water is growing in most cities as every
individual citizen requires almost double the amount of water that a
rural individual requires. India is rapidly urbanizing. Not long ago, most
of our cities were self sufficient in meeting their water needs from the
extensive urban water bodies to supply water to citizens. Today these
water bodies have completely disappeared. Municipalities have been
stretched to their limits to find water for the growing urban populations
which in India had grown almost five times in just five decades from
238
 MODULE - 6

1951 (62.44 million) to 2001 (286.08). Many countries have seen an

increase in household water charges due to more expensive water
treatments for increasingly polluted water sources. The pressures on
water-supplies effect rivers and summer flow-rates are substantially
reduced. Groundwater is being extracted by the government as well
as the private parties to meet water demands. But the groundwater
potential is getting reduced due to urbanization resulting in over
exploitation. Also due to rapid urbanization, infiltration of rain water
into the sub-soil has decreased drastically and recharging of ground
water has diminished. Construction activity in and around the cities are
also resulting in the drying up of water bodies and reclamation of tanks
and lakes (by filling lakes) for conversion into plots for houses. This has
happened to a number of lakes in Bangalore and such activities further
prevent recharge of groundwater, which these water bodies had helped
with and thus further reduction of groundwater table occurs.

Urbanization effects on Groundwater Hydrology can be summed up

as follows:
• Increase in water demand.
• More dependence on ground water use.
• Over exploitation of ground water.
• Increase in run-off, decline in well yields and fall in water levels.
• Reduction in open soil surface area.
• Reduction in infiltration and deterioration in water quality.

Water Conservation
The protection, development, and efficient management of
water resources for beneficial purposes is called water conservation.
The involvement of local people on the management of scarce resources
is a correct approach to try to solve some of the difficulties of decision-
making processes for water conservaton. This type of co-management
requires sharing of power between government agencies and citizens
with a stake in the common pool of resources and territory. They can be
239
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

involved in decision-making processes identification of actual problems

and potentialities, evaluation of the validity of proposals, and also to
understanding interactions and conflicts among the various social
actors, whether individual or collective. It emphasizes a bottom-up
rather than top-down process of participation and implies user groups
playing an active role in decision-making. Water conservation measures
most importantly involve rainwater harvesting and watershed
management. Just these two measures have often proved that no region
is really water scarce, that in fact we always have plenty of water that
we forget to manage or harvest. The basic approach is managing our
water resources in a way that the water availability and supply becomes
sustainable.

A. Rain water Harvesting

The principle of collecting and using precipitation from
a catchments surface is called rain water harvesting. Rain water
harvesting is essential because surface water is inadequate to meet our
demand and we have to depend on ground water.
Extensive rain water harvesting apparatus existed 4000 years
ago in Palestine and Greece. In ancient Rome, residences were built
with individual cisterns and paved courtyards to collect rain water to
augment water from city’s aqueducts. As early as the third millennium
BC, farming communities in Baluchistan and Kutch impounded rain
water and used it for irrigation dams.
The easiest and most cost-effective way of water conservation
is to use harvested rainwater instead of mains water for non-potable
uses such as toilet-flushing, clothes washing machines, car washing and
irrigation. This can reduce mains water consumption by around 50%
in the home and by more than 80% in any building that combines a
large roof with a high demand for non-potable water. Using rainwater
in this way is convenient for the user as it is indistinguishable from
using the normal mains supply, with simple control levers to shift to the
mains water backup when needed during prolonged dry spell that is
exhaustion of rain water supply and thus ensuring continuity of supply.
240
 MODULE - 6

There are two main techniques of rain water harvesting.

• Storage of rainwater on surface for future use.
• Recharge to ground water.

I) The storage of rain water on surface Traditional techniques

and structures like underground tanks, ponds, check dams, weirs
etc., used in the storage of rain water on surface.

II) Artificial recharge to ground water is a relatively new

concept and is a process by which the ground water reservoir
is augmented at a rate exceeding that obtaining under natural
conditions or replenishment. Any man-made scheme or facility
that adds water to an aquifer may be considered to be an artificial
recharge system.

The structures generally used depend on where the permeable strata

of soil starts or depending upon the depth of the aquifer. The structures
for this are:

1. Pits: - Recharge pits are constructed for recharging the shallow

aquifer. These are constructed 1 to 2 m, wide and to 3 m. deep which are
back filled with boulders, gravels, coarse sand.
2. Trenches: - These are constructed when the permeable strata is
available at shallow depth. Trench may be 0.5 to 1 m. wide, 1 to 1.5m
deep and 10 to 20 m long depending on the availability of water. These
are back filled with filter materials.
3. Dug wells: - Existing dug wells may be utilized as recharge structure
and water should pass through filter media before channeling into dug
wells.
4. Hand pumps: - The existing hand pumps may be used for recharging
the shallow/deep aquifers, if the availability of water is limited. Water
should pass through filter media before diverting it into hand pumps.
241
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

5. Recharge wells: - Recharge wells of 100 to 300 mm. diameter are

generally constructed for recharging the deeper aquifers and water is
passed through filter media to avoid choking of recharge wells.
6. Recharge Shafts: - For recharging the shallow aquifer which is
located below clayey surface, recharge shafts of 0.5 to 3 m diameter and
10 to 15 m deep are constructed and back filled with boulders, gravels
& coarse sand.
7. Lateral shafts with bore wells: - For recharging the upper as well
as deeper aquifers lateral shafts of 1.5 to 2 m. wide & 10 to 30 m. long
depending upon availability of water with one or two bore wells is
constructed. The lateral shafts are back filled with boulders, gravels &
coarse sand.
8. Water spreading techniques: - When permeable strata starts
from top itself then this technique is used. Spreading the water in
streams/’Nalas’ by making check dams, ‘nala’ bunds, cement plugs,
gabion structures or a percolation pond.
9. Diversion of Run off Into Existing Surface Water Bodies.
Free flow of storm runoff from roadsides etc into these tanks and
water bodies must be ensured. The storm runoff may be diverted and
finally collected into the nearest tanks or depression, which will create
additional recharge.

Methods of artificial recharge in urban areas can be summed up as

follows:
• Water spreading
• Recharge through pits, trenches, wells, shafts
• Rooftop collection of rainwater
• Road top collection of rainwater (storm runoff)
• Induced recharge from surface water bodies.

A strategy to implement the groundwater recharge, in a major way

needs to be launched with concerted efforts by various Governmental
242
 MODULE - 6

and Non-Governmental Agencies, village panchayats municipalites and

Public at large to build up the water table and make the groundwater
resource, a reliable and sustainable source for supplementing water
supply needs of the urban dwellers. Citizens and builders should adopt
suitable recharge method in one’s own house or building through
demonstration and offering subsidies for materials and incentives, if
possible.

B. Watershed Management
Watershed is a delineated area with a well defined topographic
boundary and one water outlet. The water drained from the watershed
becomes concentrated within a particular location like a river or a
reservoir. A watershed can be a few square kilometers to few thousand
square kilometers. The land area drained by the whole of a river is known
as river basin. Water sheds are very important as their condition would
determine the water table, water availability, food production, social and
economic condition etc of the region. Thus management of watersheds,
treating them as a basic functional unit is extremely important and the
first such Integrated Watershed Management was adopted in 1949 by
Damodar Valley Corporation.

243
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

As shown in figure a watershed has a ridge line that is the point

from where water flows down slope that is down the contours. The path
of flow of the water down the contours is the drainage line and the final
convergence point of the waters is the outlet.

Watershed management is the practice of combining science,

technology, and society to empower people to carry watershed based
planning and bringing favorable changes in environmental factors like
water, food and fodder availability and consequently results in better
economic and social conditions. Effective watershed management can
increase property values, expand the marketability of a community, and
improve the health of the environment.

Local watershed management involves steps of assessment of

natural resources, planning, implementation, and evaluation.
1. Assessment and Planning- Accurate demographic, economic,
and resource information specific to a watershed is crucial in
the development of a successful watershed management plan.
Computer technology and geographic information systems allow
individual users the ability to assess the watershed and identify
problem areas and plan suitable action.
2. Implementation and peoples participation-The practices
for conservation and development of the watershed area can
be taken up successfully only with peoples participation for a
continued long duration. It involves afforestation as it prevents
soil erosion and helps retention of moisture and ground water
recharge. Steeply sloped watersheds can be converted to terraces
or contours. Agro forestry can be incorporated depending on
the social needs of the people and suitability of the area. Check
dams can be constructed to collect the water of the watershed at
the watershed outlet. Overgrazing has to be checked to prevent
soil binding grasses from being lost faster than their rate of
replenishment.
244
 MODULE - 6

3. Evaluation-The weaknesses of the plan has to be identified by

evaluation of success and failure in terms of water harvested
and crop yield increases etc. Challenges to watershed include
mining activities in hilly regions which destabilize the hills and
damage the watershed. These have to be handled separately
and scientifically by contour trenching every 1m, planting quick
growing soil holding grasses, encouraging water drainage in the
area etc.

Case Study- Ralegan Siddhi

The most notable of the watershed based planning and people’s
participation is the remarkable work of Mr. Anna saheb Hazare in
Ralegan Siddhi village. The case study shows how a region backward in
all aspects can be turned around by watershed based planning. When
Anna saheb first returned to his village at the age of 35 in 1975 it was a
extremely degraded village. There was large scale migration, ill health,
low productivity and a flourishing business in the illegal distilling of
alcohol, resulting into violence especially against women. He first put his
savings from his army life to reconstruction of a temple. His selflessness
drew people to contribute and listen to his leadership. Having started with
water management, Anna Saheb Hazare went on to include community
work to prevent erosion and to promote widespread afforestation
since 1975, beginning with renovation of the temple, this has resulted
into participation of all the 325 village families, stopping illicit liquor
distillation, water harvesting in 4 small watersheds, construction of many
check dams, plantation of five hundred thousand forest trees, controlled
grazing, raising of ground water level from 20 m depth to 6.5 m, sale of
onions worth Rs. 80 million in 1995 alone (exchange rate in June 1995 1
US$ = Rs. 31.3), solar street lights, village toilets, biogas, organic farming,
introduction of livestock, a full high school, institutionalization of decision
making at village assembly level, local voluntary organizational capacity
building, acceptance and application of voluntary code of conduct,
formation of different action committees, etc.
245
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

The holistic impact of these measures began to be felt within a

decade. It is noteworthy that the villagers have been working continuously
in the process for more than 35 years now. Thus, long term continuity is a
vital ingredient in the strategy for sustainable development. The process
of sustainable development envisages that people should not merely
participate, but be in charge of their own development. Today Ralegan
is unrecognizable. Productivity has increased manifold. There is a sense
of community and sharing among all the people, and complete self-
sufficiency in food grains. Ralegan only demonstrates what village people
can do when they take control of their own development. It serves as a
testimony to community interest taking precedence over self-interest

C. Miscellaneous conservation measures

Water conservation programs are also initiated at the local level,
by either municipal water utilities or regional governments. Common
strategies by them include public outreach campaigns, tiered water
rates (charging progressively higher prices as water use increases),
or restrictions on outdoor water use such as lawn watering and car
washing in some countries.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that water
metering alone can reduce consumption by 20 to 40 percent. In addition
to raising consumer awareness of their water use, metering is also an
important way to identify and localize water leaks.
Some researchers have suggested that water conservation efforts should
be primarily directed at farmers, in light of the fact that crop irrigation
accounts for 70% of the world’s fresh water use.The agricultural sector
of most countries is important both economically and politically, and
water subsidies are common. Conservation advocates have urged
removal of all subsidies to force farmers to grow more water-efficient
crops and adopt less wasteful irrigation techniques.
246
 MODULE - 6

Self Assessment Questions

1. The key aspects of sustainable development are …………………
and ……………..
2. Two basic components of carrying capacity are ……………….
and ……………
3. Which method of artificial recharge of groundwater is used
when permeable strata starts from top itself?

6.5 Resettlement and Rehabilitation Issues.

Planned development immediately after independence, specially

the growth of core sectors like power, mining, heavy industry and
irrigation, displaced a large number of people. Conservative estimates
put this figure to be between 30 to 50 million persons. Only about 25
per cent of this number was resettled and the rest either died or took
the road to poverty. All this took place in the name of national interests.
In the era of new economic policy of liberalization and globalization, the
entry of private sector in the arena of development has increased the
demand for land. This simply means more displacement and resultant
uprooting and forced dislocation in livelihoods and lifestyles of those
displaced.
Development projects come into existence after a fairly long
period of planning and awareness of displacement caused by such
projects already exists among those who initiate the projects. The tragedy
is that despite this prior knowledge of the extent of displacement, those
in charge for development projects pay little attention to the processes
of resettlement and rehabilitation of displaced people. Development
projects instead focus on economic efficiency and not on those who
stand to lose all that they have, their land means of livelihood and stable
patterns of social and cultural life. The natives affected are often the
poorest of poor tribal people and they often stand to lose a lot more
than the perceived gains to the nation from most of the projects.
247
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Development projects that displace people involuntarily give rise

to a lot of issues. There is of course emotional and psychological trauma
caused by forcibly removing people from their homeland where their
families have lived for centuries. Also resettlement requires alternate
land but in our overpopulated country, there is no arable high quality
land easily available. Thus, most project-affected people are usually
given unusable wasteland. Rehabilitation involves more than just giving
land but in most cases, even this basic aspect is not adequately done.
Rather than communal resettlement, individual based resettlement it
leads to break up of families.

The result is in general severe economic, social, and environmental

problems: production systems are dismantled; productive assets
and traditional income sources are lost; people are relocated to
environments where their productive skills may be less applicable and
the competition for resources greater; community structures and social
networks are weakened; kin groups are dispersed; and cultural identity
like folk songs dances disappear; traditional authority and indigenous
knowledge about the flora fauna etc is lost; the potential for mutual
help are diminished. Involuntary resettlement may cause severe long-
term hardship, impoverishment, and environmental damage unless
appropriate measures are carefully planned and carried out.

The Land Acquisition Act 1894 empowers the Indian Government

to serve notice to people to vacate land under section 16 of the Act.
Following are cases of social impact of development projects of the
government like dams and of conservation measures like creation of
National Parks and reserves (where the declared core area is prevented
from accessibility to the local dwellers, who always had access)

1. Hirakud Dam displaced more than 20,000 people of 250 villages.

2. Bhakra Nanagal Dam was constructed in 1950’s and even half of
the displaced have not yet been rehabilitated.
248
 MODULE - 6

3. Tehri Dam on Bhagirathi in UP is being constructed, despite the

years of protest by Chipko Movement under Sundarlal Bahuguna
and it would eventually displace 10,000 people of nearly 100
villages.
4. Sardar Sarovar Project on Narmada and its tributaries is of 30 big
dams and 3000 small dams which would eventually affect three
lakh people of 573 villages that will be submerged. The lost area
would be almost equal to the area that would benefit in terms
of irrigation. The greatest battle to save their own precious land
has been carried out by the tribal people of the Narmada River.
5. Jharia Coal Mines have frequent underground fires since 1976
which pushes to the need for relocation of 0.3 million people. The
firefighting has already been an expense in crores and relocation
expenses would be more and seems impossible. Advanced fire
fighting may prevent the need for displacement.
6. Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar, West Champaran District
led to people of 142 villages loosing their ancestral rights to
collect firewood fodder and were not provided alternate job
opportunities which led to illegal logging and poaching.
7. Wayanad Wildlife sanctuary required the displacement of more
than 50, 000 families. Until 2003 only 843 families could get
land. The tribes in retaliation encroached forest and this led to
violent encounters with forest officials which caused deaths and
injuries.

The right to habitation is a basic human right under article

25(1) of the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights.
In India there is still a need for a comprehensive rehabilitation
policy. There are positive trends like in Karnataka; the Belligere
Ranganatha Temple Sanctuary will have tigers living with tribes. The
programme of relocation, involving a package of 10 lakh is purely
voluntary and there is no force as those who don’t want to move can
stay. (June- 5-2011, Times city. Times of India)
249
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

6.6 Environmental Issues

Man has the ability of transforming his surroundings. While
doing so he can develop and enhance the quality of life for his fellow
human beings. But, when heedlessly applied the same creativity has
caused harm to the environment. One can observe this destruction in
every field. He polluted the water; he polluted the air, caused harm to
the living beings on earth, land and in the sky. Because of his actions the
ecological balance is disturbed. The actions of man have hence caused
harm to the physical, social and mental health of his fellow human
beings. Natural resources are drained, global climate is changing, rain
has turned acidic, ozone layer is depleted, promotion of consumerism
is causing excessive wastage and over exploitation of resources, nuclear
dangers loom large and nuclear and industrial disasters have caused
havoc one time too often.

a. Climate Change and Global Warming

The weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over
a long period (not less than 30 years) is called climate. Global warming
due to anthropogenic factors is causing climate change.
Climate change is not a new phenomenon. The Earth’s climate
has always been changing, going from ice age to tropical greenhouse and
back again. The Sahara was once a blooming savannah with large lakes,
Antarctica was a tropical paradise, and southern Africa was covered by
glaciers. But the current era of anthropogenic global warming is not just
another chapter in the book of Earth’s climate history as this time it’s
different from the past causes of climate change.

Climate Change
In the past, climate change was caused by subtle shifts in
the Earth’s angle and orbit around the sun and the location of the
continents, all of which affects the amount of solar energy absorbed on
Earth. Emissions from cars, factories, and burning forests are changing
the Earth’s atmosphere adding CO2 and other greenhouse gases making
250
 MODULE - 6

the atmosphere now trap more of the sun’s energy, which leads to rising
temperatures. The problem therefore is that high CO2 related warming
has not been known in the earth’s history of climate. Human greenhouse
gas emissions are producing a warming not seen for some 125,000 years
as per Paleoclimatologists.

Paleoclimatologists are scientists who study ancient climate.

Reliable temperature records only date back to the late nineteenth
century. Everything beyond the last 150 years is based on deduction and
deciphering proxy data that is of tree rings, ice cores, ocean sediments,
corals, or cave stalagmites. Tiny bubbles of air locked in ice samples (so-
called ice cores) contain a record of every stable molecule in the ancient
air: nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, argon, methane. These records
help us to understand the atmospheric composition of ancient times.
The oldest ice collected from a core in Antarctica contains 800,000 years
of ice while Greenland ice sheet records date back more than 100,000
years of composition. But the fact that brings concern is that there are
no ice core samples with levels of CO2 as high as they are today!

Causes- Human activity since the Industrial Revolution has

increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, like
CO2, methane, tropospheric ozone, CFCs and nitrous oxide. The
concentrations of CO2 and methane have increased by 36% and 148%
respectively since 1750. These levels are much higher than at any time
during the last 800,000 years, the period for which reliable data has
been extracted from ice cores. (Less direct geological evidence indicates
that CO2 values higher than this were last seen about 20 million years
ago.)

Fossil fuel burning has produced about three-quarters of the increase in

CO2 from human activity over the past 20 years. The rest of this increase
is caused mostly by changes in land-use, particularly deforestation.
251
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Effects- Sudden climate change due to anthropogenic activities

has no precedence in earth’s climatic history. High greenhouse gases is
also against earths atmospheric nature and so effects from this manner
of climate change can’t be predicted and could be very sudden, damaging
and unpleasant. Stable climates have resulted in the current distribution
of wildlife and area specific agriculture and hence even slight changes
in climate may disturb agriculture and hence yields, which lead to food
problems and require migration of wildlife to suitable climates. So
going by the precautionary principle, CO2 emissions must be reduced to
manageable levels and we have to go back to the slow, natural climate
change that unfolds over thousands of years.

Global Warming

Global warming is the term used for the rise in temperature of

the Earth above its usual average temperature because of the trapping of
sun’s heat and light in the earth’s atmosphere by an excess of greenhouse
gases (carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and methane).
The greenhouse effect is the process by which absorption and
emission of infrared radiation by gases in the atmosphere warm a
planet’s lower atmosphere and surface.
It was proposed by Joseph Fourier in 1824 and was first
investigated quantitatively by Svante Arrhenius in 1896. The Earth
is compared by scientists to a greenhouse that is constructed in cold
countries as the effect is similar. A greenhouse is a glass covered enclosure
that provides a warm moist atmosphere to grow plants. Glass allows the
short wave radiations of the sun to come in but the earth radiates it back
in the form of long waves which are not allowed to escape by the glass
and hence the greenhouse is heated up. This effect is called greenhouse
effect. The earth’s atmospheric gases like CO2, methane act like the glass
of the greenhouse. Water vapor is the most abundant greenhouse gas,
followed by carbon dioxide and other trace gases.
252
 MODULE - 6

The greenhouse effect makes the earth appropriate for people

to live on. Without the atmosphere to hold the radiated heat, the earth
would be freezing. As per the rate of emission from the earth, the average
temperature of the earth should be -20o C but the measured average
temperature of the Earth is +15oC. This is achieved by the composition
of our atmosphere contributing to the greenhouse effect. Naturally
occurring greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect of about 33 °C
(59 °F).

Causes
The major greenhouse gases are water vapor, which causes
about 36–70 percent of the greenhouse effect; carbon dioxide (CO2),
which causes 9–26 percent; methane (CH4), which causes 4–9 percent;
and ozone (O3), which causes 3–7 percent. (Apart from these, Nitrous
Oxide and CFC are also considered greenhouse gases) Clouds also affect
the radiation balance, but they are composed of liquid water or ice and
so have different effects on radiation compared to water vapor. With
excessive greenhouse gasses in the air, the earth’s atmosphere traps
too much heat and the earth will get too hot. Humans have caused this
excess in the past 50 years by

1. Burning large quantities of fossil fuels (Oil and Gas, Coal, Natural
Gas) for vehicles, machinery, energy etc (CO2 and N2O). The U.S.
transportation sector emits more CO2 than all but three other countries’
emissions from all sources combined.

2. Agricultural practices (CH4 and N2O), Methane release (CH4), is

caused by emissions from landfills, livestock, rice farming (which uses
methane-emitting bacteria), septic processes, and fertilizers.

3. Introduction of new chemicals with little foresight about their

possible consequences (like CFCs which is a greenhouse gas with a
much higher potential to enhance the greenhouse effect than CO2).
253
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

4. Land clearing or deforestation is also a major cause of global

warming. Currently, humans are emitting around 29 billion tons of
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year. Around 43% remains in
the atmosphere.

The rest is absorbed by vegetation and the oceans. These are

called sinks of CO2. With deforestation the CO2 removal from atmosphere
decreases, thus reduction of sinks is another cause of increase in Global
temperatures. The United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization
(FAO) observed in 2006: “Most people assume that global warming is
caused by burning oil and gas. But in fact between 25 and 30 percent
of the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere each year – 1.6
billion tons – is caused by deforestation.

Trees are 50 percent carbon. When they are felled or burned,

the C02 they store escapes back into the air.”According to per Science
News Daily (2008), “Decreasing forest cover, almost exclusively from
deforestation in tropical countries, was responsible for an estimated
1.5 billion tons of emissions to the atmosphere above what was gained
through new plantings.”

Measuring Global Warming

Temperature is believed to have been relatively stable over the

one or two thousand years before 1850. Average (Earth) temperatures
have climbed 0.8 degree Celsius (1.4 degrees Fahrenheit) around the
world since 1880, much of this in recent decades, according to NASA’s
Goddard Institute for Space Studies. The scientific consensus on climatic
changes related to global warming is also that the average temperature
of the Earth has risen between 0.4 and 0.8 °C over the past 100 years.
Scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate carrying out
global warming research have recently predicted that average global
temperatures could increase between 1.4 and 5.8 °C by the year 2100.
254
 MODULE - 6

The most common measure of global warming is the trend in

globally averaged temperature near the Earth’s surface. Temperatures
in the lower troposphere have increased between 0.13 and 0.22 °C (0.22
and 0.4 °F) per decade since 1979, according to satellite temperature
measurements. The urban heat island effect is estimated to account for
about 0.002 °C of warming per decade since 1900. Seven of the eight
warmest years on record have occurred since 2001 and the 10 warmest
years have all occurred since 1995.

Levels of Green House Gases- The total amount of CO2 in the

atmosphere is increasing dramatically. The world’s most current data for
atmospheric CO2 is from measurements at the Mauna Loa Observatory
in Hawaii. These high-precision measurements were started by Dave
Keeling in March 1958. The monthly average concentration of CO2 in
the atmosphere is published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) within a week after each month ends.  

Current CO2 levels are the highest in 15 million years. There are
other gases capable of contributing to the global warming like methane,
nitrous oxide etc. The GWP (global warming potential) for methane over
100 years is 25 and for nitrous oxide 298. This means that emissions
of 1 million metric tons of methane and nitrous oxide respectively is
equivalent to emissions of 25 and 298 million metric tonnes of carbon
dioxide.

The upper safety limit for atmospheric CO2 is 350 parts per
million (ppm). Atmospheric CO2 levels have stayed higher than 350
ppm since early 1988. The levels have been- at 388.76 ppm-March
2009, at 391.01 ppm-March 2010 and now 392.40 ppm-March 2011.
Models suggest that by the year 2100, the atmospheric concentration
of CO2 could range between 541 and 970 ppm. This is an increase of 90-
250% above the concentration in the year 1750. Fossil fuel reserves are
sufficient to reach these levels and continue emissions past 2100 if coal,
oil sands or methane clathrates are extensively exploited.
255
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Effects
Warming and related changes will vary from region to region
around the globe, though the nature of these regional changes is
uncertain. Changes resulting from global warming may include
rising sea levels due to the melting of the polar ice caps, change in
the amount and pattern of precipitation as well as altered weather
patterns like an increase in occurrence and severity of storms and
other severe weather events, probably even expansion of subtropical
deserts. Other effects could be extinctions of species due to shifting
isotherms, and changes in agricultural yields.
• Sea Level Rise- Rising sea levels lead to flooding and displacement
and death of possibly millions of people. Increasing temperatures
result rise in sea level by two ways; firstly by the  thermal
expansion of water and secondly through the addition of water to
the oceans from the melting of mountain glaciers, ice caps and ice
sheets. Global mean sea level has been rising at an average rate
of 1.7 mm/year (plus or minus 0.5mm) over the past 100 years,
which is significantly larger than the rate averaged over the last
several thousand years. Models of glacier mass balance (the
difference between melting and accumulation of snow and ice on
a glacier) give a theoretical maximum value for rise in sea level
in the current century of 0.8 to 2 meters. One meter rise of sea
level will inundate low lying areas of Cities like Shanghai, Venice.
Cairo, Bangkok, Sydney. In India Lakshadweep and Mumbai
may be vulnerable. The Deltas of Ganges, Mississippi, Nile, the
Mekong, and the Yangtzee would be affected. Rise in water could
adversely affect spawning grounds, agricultural lowlands and
corals.
• Glaciers and mountain snows are rapidly melting—for
example, Montana’s Glacier National Park now has only 27
glaciers, versus 150 in 1910. Ice caps and glaciers serve as
sunlight reflectors, bouncing high-temperature sun rays back
into space and away from Earth.
256
 MODULE - 6

When these natural structures have diminished greatly

or vanished, Earth will be further warmed as the darker oceans
absorb heat of the sun. Also fresh-water polar ice caps melting
into salt-water oceans alter the ocean gulf-stream patterns that
regulate temperatures. This process leads to major temperature-
pattern changes around Earth.
• “Arctic ice is rapidly disappearing- Warming is expected to be
strongest in the Arctic and would be associated with continuing
retreat of glaciers, permafrost and sea ice and the region may
have its first completely ice-free summer by 2040 or earlier. Polar
bears and indigenous cultures are already suffering from the sea-
ice loss. The changing landscapes and higher temperatures in
Polar Regions will endanger countless animal and plant species,
and irretrievably alter the balance of the ecosystem.
• Droughts and heat waves - Although some areas of Earth will
become wetter due to global warming, other areas will suffer
serious droughts and heat waves. Africa will receive the worst of
it, with more severe droughts also expected in Europe.
• Hurricane intensity and frequency - Researchers at Florida
State University analyzed satellite-derived data of tropical storms
since 1981 and found that the maximum wind speeds of the
strongest storms have increased significantly in the years since,
and this is believed to be due to rising ocean temperature due to
global warming. The number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has
almost doubled in the last 30 years.”
• The effects of Global Warning on Mankind - The direct effects
global warming on mankind of include; Homeless refugees
displaced by flooding, hurricanes and drought. Increased hunger
due to food shortages because of loss of farmable land, Spread of
diseases, such as malaria and Lyme disease, due to the migration
of disease-carrying insects with warmer, wetter weather in
the northern hemisphere. Economic hardships caused by
catastrophic conditions, such as those in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina. War and conflicts over shrinking resources.
257
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Control of Climate Change and Global warming

Solutions to slowing or stopping global warming and climate

change lie in mankind’s ability to slow and stop activities that inject
greenhouse gases into Earth’s atmosphere. Hence it is vital to bring in
changes through Global and local initiatives.

Control at the Global level

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

(UNFCCC or FCCC) is an international environmental treaty produced
at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
(UNCED), held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to 14, 1992, signed by 154
nations on June 12th.
The objective of the treaty is to stabilize greenhouse gas
concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous
anthropogenic interference with the systems of climate. According to
terms of the UNFCCC, having received over 50 countries’ instruments
of ratification, it entered into force on March 21, 1994. It committed
the signatories’ governments to reduce atmospheric concentrations
of greenhouse gases. As of may 2011, UNFCCC has 194 parties. One of
its first tasks was to establish national greenhouse gas inventories of
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals, which were used to
create the 1990 benchmark levels for the commitment of industrialized
countries to GHG reductions. UNFCCC, through the parallel efforts of
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), aims to gain
consensus through meetings and the discussion on various strategies
for stabilizing the emissions of greenhouse gases of the developed/
industrialized countries which were listed and identified in Annex I of
the UNFCCC and thereafter referred to as “Annex I” countries. The treaty
itself set no mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions for individual
countries and contains no enforcement mechanisms and hence was not
legally binding. Instead, the treaty provides updates (called “protocols”)
258
 MODULE - 6

that would set mandatory emission limits. The parties of the convention
have met annually from 1995 in Conferences of the Parties (COP) to
assess progress in dealing with climate change. In 1997, in the third
COP, the Kyoto Protocol was concluded and established legally binding
obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas
emissions. COP 3 or the World summit on global warming was held in
Kyoto Japan (Kyoto Summit) in December 1997. It adopted the Kyoto
Protocol, which outlined the greenhouse gas emissions reduction
obligation for Annex I countries, along with what came to be known
as Kyoto mechanisms such as emissions trading, clean development
mechanism and joint implementation. Most industrialized countries
and some central European economies in transition (all defined as
Annex B countries) agreed to legally binding reductions in greenhouse
gas emissions of an average of 6 to 8% below 1990 levels between the
years 2008–2012, defined as the first emissions budget period. It was
signed by 169 countries and approved by their governments (ratified)
by 1998. The United States was required to reduce its total emissions an
average of 7% below 1990 levels; however Congress did not ratify the
treaty after Clinton signed it. The Bush administration later explicitly
rejected the protocol in 2001.

As of November 2009, 187 states had signed and ratified the

protocol. Proposed responses to global warming include mitigation
to reduce emissions, adaptation to the effects of global warming, and
geoengineering to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

Important Aspects of the UNFCCC treaty

Benchmarking- In the context of the UNFCCC, benchmarking is
the setting of emission reduction commitments measured against a
particular base year. The only quantified target was for developed
countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by
the year 2000.

259
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Precautionary principle- change in climate causes damages that are

uncertain. However, following the precautionary principle (One of the
26 principles for guiding national and international action which was
adopted in the 1972,Stockholm Conference), uncertainty is not a reason
for inaction, and this is acknowledged in Article 3.3 of the UNFCCC
In decision making, the precautionary principle is considered when
possibly dangerous, irreversible, or catastrophic events are identified,
but scientific evaluation of the potential damage is not sufficiently
certain The precautionary principle implies an emphasis on the need to
prevent such adverse effects.

Conferences of the Parties

Since the UNFCCC entered into force, the parties have been
meeting annually in Conferences of the Parties (COP). From 2005
the Conferences have met in conjunction with Meetings of Parties of
the Kyoto Protocol (MOP), and parties of the Convention who are not
parties of the Protocol can participate in Protocol-related meetings as
observers. There have been 17 COP and 7 MOP till 2011.

Some important discussions and decisions at some of the COP are as

follows

2005 – COP 11/MOP 1, Montreal, Canada

It was the first Meeting of the Parties (MOP-1) to the Kyoto Protocol
since their initial meeting in Kyoto in 1997. The Montreal Action
Plan is an agreement of the conference to “extend the life of the Kyoto
Protocol beyond its 2012 expiration date and negotiate deeper cuts in
greenhouse-gas emissions.”

2002 – COP 8, New Delhi, India

It adopted the Delhi Ministerial Declaration that, amongst others, called
for efforts by developed countries to transfer technology to developing
countries to minimize the impact of climate change.
260
 MODULE - 6

2000 – COP 6, The Hague, Netherlands. In this meeting here was a

major controversy over the United States’ proposal to allow credit
for carbon “sinks” in forests and agricultural lands, satisfying a major
proportion of the U.S. emissions reductions in this way.

There were also disagreements over consequences for non-

compliance by countries that did not meet their emission reduction
targets; and there were difficulties in resolving how developing
countries could obtain financial assistance to deal with adverse effects
of climate change and meet their obligations to reducing greenhouse gas
emissions. As a result COP 6 negotiations were on hold in this meeting
and resumed July 17–27, 2001, in Bonn, Germany, This meeting took
place after George W. Bush had rejected the Kyoto Protocol in March
2001 and America participated as observer. Agreement was reached on
most of the major political issues. The agreements included:

1. Flexible Mechanisms: The “flexibility” mechanisms (which

the United States had strongly favored) when the Protocol
was initially put together), includes emissions trading; Joint
Implementation (JI); and the Clean Development Mechanism
(CDM) which allow industrialized countries to fund emissions
reduction activities in developing countries as an alternative
to domestic emission reductions. Operational rules for these
were given in the Marrakech Accords COP 7, 2001 Marrakech,
Morocco.

2. Carbon sinks: It was agreed that credit would be granted for

broad activities that absorb carbon from the atmosphere or store
it, including forest and cropland management, and re-vegetation.

About Flexible Mechanisms- These mechanisms enable Parties to

achieve emission reductions or to remove carbon from the atmosphere
cost-effectively in other countries. This mechanism takes advantage
261
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

of the fact that the cost of limiting emissions varies considerably

from region to region but the benefit for the atmosphere is the same,
wherever the action is taken. The three mechanisms involved under this
are described below.

1. Emissions trading in theory, intends that those who can reduce

emissions most cheaply will do so, achieving the pollution reduction at
the lowest cost. It is a market-based approach, a form of carbon pricing
used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving
reductions in the emissions of pollutants. A central authority (usually a
governmental body) sets a limit or cap on the amount of a pollutant that
can be emitted. The limit or cap is sold to firms in the form of emissions
permits which represent the right to emit or discharge a specific volume
of the specified pollutant.

Firms are required to hold a number of permits (or carbon

credits) equivalent to their emissions. The total number of permits
cannot exceed the cap, limiting total emissions to that level. Firms that
need to increase their emission permits must buy permits from those
who require fewer permits. The transfer of permits is referred to as
a trade. In effect, the buyer is paying a charge for polluting, while the
seller is being rewarded for having reduced emissions.

2. Clean Development Mechanism- The CDM is similar except that

instead of firms, it is designed to start off developing countries (non-
Annex I countries) on a path towards less pollution, with industrialized
countries paying for these reductions. The economic basis for including
developing countries in efforts to reduce emissions is that emission cuts
are thought to be less expensive in developing countries than developed.
The CDM is one of the Protocol’s “project-based” mechanisms; in that
the CDM is designed to promote projects that reduce emissions. It allows
the Annex I countries to meet part of their caps using credits called
262
 MODULE - 6

“Certified Emission Reductions”(CER) from CDM emission reduction

projects in developing countries. CERs are commonly known as carbon
credits, where each unit is equivalent to the reduction of one metric
ton of CO2 or its equivalent. If a project is registered and implemented,
the CDM Executive Board issues these credits, , to project participants
based on the monitored difference between the baseline and the actual
emissions, From the viewpoint of bringing about a global reduction
in emissions, emissions from developing countries are projected to
increase substantially over this century. Infrastructure decisions made
in developing countries could therefore have a very large influence on
future efforts to limit total global emissions.

3. Joint Implementation- Any Annex I country can invest in emission

reduction projects (referred to as “Joint Implementation Projects”)
in any other Annex I country as an alternative to reducing emissions
domestically. In this way countries can lower the costs of complying with
their Kyoto targets by investing in greenhouse gas reductions in Annex I
country where reductions are cheaper, and then applying the credit for
those reductions towards their commitment goal. Most JI projects are
expected to take place in so-called “economies in transition. Currently
Russia and Ukraine are stated to host the greatest number of JI projects.
Unlike the case of the Clean Development Mechanism, the JI has caused
less concern of spurious emission reductions, as the JI, unlike the CDM,
takes place in countries (Annex I or developed countries) which have
an emission reduction requirement. Emission reductions are awarded
credits called Emission Reduction Units (ERUs), where one ERU
represents an emission reduction equaling one ton of CO2 equivalent.

Control at the individual level

Recycle paper, plastic, newspaper, glass and aluminum cans. By recycling
half of your household waste, you can save 2,400 pounds of carbon
dioxide annually.
263
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

CFLs last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, use two-thirds less
energy, and give off 70 percent less heat. Avoid products that come with
excess packaging, especially molded plastic and other packaging that
can’t be recycled. If you reduce your household garbage by 10 percent,
you can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide annually.

Plant a tree as a single tree will absorb approximately one ton of

carbon dioxide during its lifetime. Also stopping the deforestation is the
fastest and cheapest solution to climate change. Minimize the need for
driving and while driving, make sure the vehicle is running efficiently.
For example, keeping the tires properly inflated can improve the fuel
mileage by more than 3 percent. Every gallon of gas that is saved also
keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

Solutions to reduce reliance on vehicles that burn fossil fuels include:

• Taking mass public transportation whenever possible, rather
than use of individual cars
• Alternative fuels, rather than fossil fuels, in vehicles,
• Hybrid vehicles, which are vehicles that combine two types of
power, typically internal combustion engines , which burns fossil
fuels, and electrical power, and
• Vehicles that achieve high miles per gallon of gas consumed.

Control at regional level

A system of enforcement and incentives initiated by governments that
prevents mindless deforestation should be introduced.
As per the accessibility of alternate energy sources, regions should
aim at reducing reliance on fossil fuels to produce energy and warmth.
Alternative energy sources include:
• Solar power, which is usually generated by solar panels or a solar
tower
• Wind power, which is usually generated by groups of wind
turbines
264
 MODULE - 6

• Biomass energy, which is derived from “lumber mill wastes,

urban wood waste, forest and agricultural residues and other
feed stocks” as well as waste from factories and landfills.
• Geothermal energy, which is derived from steam and hot water
found deep beneath the Earths surface

b. Ozone Depletion
Ozone is present in the stratosphere.  It is a form of oxygen with
three atoms in a molecule instead of the normal two. Stratosphere
extends from 10 to 50 km of the earth’s atmosphere. The ozone in the
stratosphere is present in its top end for 24 kms that is it extends from
16 km to 40 km of the stratosphere above the Earth.

Its concentration is about 100 ppm and this equilibrium

concentration is maintained by the continuous formation and
destruction of ozone due to the UV radiations. It is continuously formed
in the stratosphere by the absorption of UV radiation less than 242nm
which break up O2 into O which in turn reacts with molecular oxygen
again to form O3. This ozone formed absorbs UV radiations between 200
to 320nm and in the process is again continuously converted back to
molecular oxygen.

The ozone layer protects us from deadly amounts of UV-B

radiation. The fact that the ozone layer was being depleted was
discovered in the mid-1980s. The layer is 5 mm thick most of the time
and the two poles show thinning for a brief period down to 1 mm of
thickness. The amount of atmospheric ozone is measured by “Dobson
spectrometer” and is expressed in Dobson units (DU). One DU is
equivalent to 0.01mm thickness of pure ozone at the density it would
possess if it were brought to ground level pressure that is at 1atm
pressure. Average concentrations of ozone over tropics is 250 DU, over
temperate latitude it is 350 DU, over the sub polar regions it is 450 DU.

265
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

• There is a common misconception that the “ozone hole” is really a hole

in the ozone layer. The “ozone hole” is not really a hole, but rather a
region above Antarctica where the ozone layer — the 15-mile-thick
blanket of O3 molecules that acts as our planet’s natural sunscreen —
is very, very thin. When the “ozone hole” occurs, the ozone in the lower
stratosphere is destroyed. The upper stratosphere is less affected, so
that the amount of ozone over the continent decreases by 50 percent
or even more. The ozone does not disappear through the layer, nor is
there a uniform ‘thinning’ of the ozone layer. The “hole” is a depression.
• CFCs are well mixed globally in the troposphere and the stratosphere.
The reason for occurrence of the ozone hole above Antarctica is
not because there are more CFCs concentrated but because the low
temperatures help form polar stratospheric clouds. In fact, there are
also findings of significant and localized “ozone holes” above other
parts of the earth.

Causes
The main cause of ozone depletion is the release of CFCs, (e.g.
CFC-12), chlorofluorocarbons. Other causes being halos (used in fire
extinguishers), carbon tetrachloride (used as a dry cleaning solvent and
as a refrigerant) and methyl chloroform (used as an industrial solvent
,degreaser, a coolant etc) CFC was discovered in the 1930s by American
chemist Thomas Midgley, CFCs came to be used in refrigerators, home
insulation, plastic foam, and throwaway food containers. Refrigerators
used rather dangerous gasses that were deadly if they leaked. In 1930,
Midgley was commissioned by General Motors to see if he could produce
a better alternative to these deadly gasses. It needed to be stable, non-
flammable, non-corrosive and safe to breathe.

He devised a compound made from chlorine, fluorine and carbon

– it was called Freon, a type of chlorofluorocarbon, or CFC. It was only
around fifty years later, that the real dangers of CFCs were discovered,
caused in the stratosphere. In 1974, Sherwood Rowland and Mario
266
 MODULE - 6

Molina followed the path of CFCs.  Their research proved that CFCs
were entering the atmosphere, and they concluded that 99% of all CFC
molecules would end up in the stratosphere as they are stable and hence
not broken down in the lower atmosphere.

Only in 1984, when the ozone layer hole was discovered over
Antarctica, was the proof truly conclusive. Dr. Joe C. Farman and his
colleagues in the British Antarctic survey had been recording ozone levels
over the Antarctic region since 1957. During September to November,
that is spring season each year, ozone depletion was observed. The
British scientists shocked the world when they revealed on May 16th,
1985- 25 years ago- that aerosol chemicals, among other factors, had
torn a hole in the ozone layer over the South Pole. They had noted steep
decline from mid 1970’s with record low concentration later noted of
90 DU in early October of 1993.

About Thomas Midgley

In 1921, when working for General Motors, Midgley discovered that by
adding lead to petrol he was able to prevent a problem known as ”knocking’.
Actually – surprisingly – the dangers of tetra-ethyl lead were well known
at the time of discovery, yet this did not seem to sway the production of
it. In fact, Midgley took it upon himself to hold a demonstration where
he illustrated just how harmless he believed lead to be. He did this by
pouring tetra-ethyl lead over his hands and then holding a cup of it
under his nose and inhaling it for sixty seconds. Whilst performing this
deadly demonstration he was assuring reporters of how he could repeat
this practice daily without harm. He did this whilst knowing full-well
the dangers of lead poisoning due to having been over-exposed to the
substance a few months previous to the demonstration. Midgely not only
invented Tetraethyl Lead, responsible for much of the lead now in our
atmosphere (before invention the levels were pretty non existent), he also
promoted for as many applications as possible, whilst knowing the effects.
After the ‘success’ of tetra-ethyl lead, Midgely moved onto his next deadly
267
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

substance CFC. His [Midgely’s] death was unusual. After becoming crippled
with polio, Midgely invented a contraption involving a series of motorized
pulleys that automatically raised or turned him in bed. In 1944, he became
entangled in the cords as the machine went into action and was strangled.
His manner of death seems symbolic of what heedless inventions could
mean for all life. Entangled in and strangled by thoughtless progress...

How is ozone depleted?

The overall cause of ozone depletion is the presence of chlorine-
containing source gases (primarily CFCs and related halocarbons). In
the presence of UV light, these gases dissociate, releasing chlorine
atoms, which then go on to catalyze ozone destruction. The breakdown
products of anthropogenic chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are turned into
aggressive, ozone destroying substances during exposure to extremely
cold conditions.
The advantage of CFCs being stable and uncreative in the lower
atmosphere proved a disadvantage in the long run as most of the
CFC ever produced would reach the stratosphere where they would
be dissociated by UV light, releasing Cl atoms. These chlorine atoms
removed from the CFC, attracts one of the three oxygen atoms in the
ozone molecule, thus removing O3 and producing O2.
Cl + O3 -> ClO + O2

The chlorine monoxide then reacts with atomic oxygen to produce

molecular oxygen and atomic chlorine. The regenerated chlorine atom
is then free to initiate a new cycle.
ClO + O -> Cl + O2

The process continues, and a single chlorine atom can destroy over
100,000 molecules of ozone.
The Cl-catalyzed ozone depletion can take place in the gas phase, but it
is dramatically enhanced in the presence of polar stratospheric clouds
(PSCs).
268
 MODULE - 6

These polar stratospheric clouds form during winter, in the

extreme cold when temperatures drop below -78°C. Polar winters are
dark, consisting of 3 months without solar radiation (sunlight). Not only
lack of sunlight contributes to a decrease in temperature but also the
polar vortex formed by the winds blowing in circular pattern over the
earth’s poles, traps and chills air which converts water droplets into ice.
Temperatures hover around or below -80 °. These low temperatures
form cloud particles and are composed of either nitric acid or ice. Both
provide surfaces for chemical reactions that lead to ozone destruction.
CFC’s get collected on the surface of these ice crystals and destroy ozone
much faster.

Chemical reactions that convert innocuous reservoir gases (e.g.

hydrochloric acid) into active ozone depleting gases take place on the
clouds particles. The result is rapid destruction of ozone if sunlight is
present. In Antarctica the so-called ozone hole is an annually recurring
winter/spring phenomenon due to the existence of extremely low
temperatures in the stratosphere. In the Arctic the meteorological
conditions vary much more from one year to the next and the
temperatures are always warmer than over Antarctica.
Hence, some Arctic winters experience almost no ozone loss,
whereas cold stratospheric temperatures in the Arctic lasting beyond
the polar night can occasionally lead to substantial ozone loss.

The role of sunlight in ozone depletion is the reason why the

Antarctic ozone depletion is greatest during spring. During winter, even
though PSCs are at their most abundant, there is no light over the pole to
drive the chemical reactions. During the spring, however, the sun comes
out, providing energy to drive photochemical reactions, and melt the
polar stratospheric clouds, releasing the trapped compounds.
Scientists have also pointed to a connection between ozone loss and
climate change. Global warming may in fact be increasing the ozone
depletion increasing greenhouse gas concentrations retain the Earth’s
269
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

thermal radiation at lower layers of the atmosphere, thus heating

up these layers. Less of the heat radiation reaches the stratosphere,
intensifying the cooling effect there.” This cooling takes place in the
ozone layer and can contribute to larger ozone depletion.

Record stratospheric ozone loss in the arctic in spring of 2011

GENEVA 5 APRIL 2011 (WMO) — Depletion of the ozone layer- the shield
that protects life on Earth from harmful levels of ultraviolet rays - has
reached an unprecedented level over the Arctic 2011 spring because of
the continuing presence of ozone-depleting substances in the atmosphere
and a very cold winter in the stratosphere. The record loss is despite
the international agreement which has been very successful in cutting
production and consumption of ozone destroying chemicals. Observations
from the ground and from balloons over the Arctic region as well as from
satellites show that the Arctic region has suffered an ozone column loss
of about 40% from the beginning of the winter to late March. The highest
ozone loss previously recorded was about 30% over the entire winter.
Even though this Arctic winter was warmer than average at ground level,
it was colder in the stratosphere than for a normal Arctic winter.

The dramatic reduction in CFC over the last 20 years is an

environmental success but it is found that nitrous oxide commonly
called laughing gas (emitted by supersonic aircrafts, during combustion
of fossil fuel and use of nitrogen fertilizers), has replaced CFCs as the
potent destroyer of ozone. By comparing the ozone depletion potential
(weighted anthropogenic emissions of N2O with those of other ozone-
depleting substances), it can be shown that N2O emission currently is
the single most important ozone-depleting emission and is expected to
remain the largest throughout the 21st century. N2O is unregulated by
the Montreal Protocol. Limiting future N2O emissions would enhance
the recovery of the ozone layer from its depleted state and would also
reduce the anthropogenic influence in changing of the climate system as
nitrous oxide is a green house gas as well.
270
 MODULE - 6

Effects:
Energy from the sun reaches the earth as visible, infrared, and
ultraviolet rays
1. Ultraviolet A(UVA) is made up of wavelengths 320 to 400
nanometers (nm) in length.
2. Ultraviolet B (UVB) wavelengths are 290 to 320 nm.
3. Ultraviolet C (UVC) wavelengths are 100 to 280 nm.
Only UVA and UVB ultraviolet rays reach the earth’s surface. The
earth’s atmosphere absorbs UVC wavelengths. Even minor problems
of ozone depletion can have major effects.  Every time even a small
amount of the ozone layer is lost, more ultraviolet light from the sun
can reach the Earth. Every time 1% of the ozone layer is depleted, 2%
more UV-B (290-320nm) is able to reach the surface of the planet. 
UV-A increases the damaging effects of UV-B, including skin cancer and
cataracts. UV-B increase is one of the most harmful consequences of
ozone depletion because it affects DNA and can result in skin cancer
(basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma) which cause disfigurement.
Thus UV-B rays cause a much greater risk of skin cancer than UVA,
however, UVA rays cause aging, wrinkling, and loss of elasticity.

UV rays are easily absorbed by lens and cornea of the eye

and would result in increase in incidence of cataracts. Increased UV
radiation can cause significant damage, particularly to small animals
and plants. Unlike humans they cannot avoid the noon time sun either.
Phytoplankton, fish eggs, and young plants with developing leaves
are particularly susceptible to damage from overexposure to UV. The
most basic microscopic organisms such as plankton may not be able
to survive as they are sensitive to UV exposure thus affecting marine
food chain.  It would mean that all of the other animals that are above
plankton in the food chain would also die out.  Other ecosystems such as
forests and deserts will also be harmed. Ecosystem degradations could
have an effect of increasing infectious diseases like malaria (as per some
researches)
271
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

The planet’s climate is also noted to be affected by the levels of

the ozone layer.  Increases in solar UV radiation could affect terrestrial
and aquatic biogeochemical cycles, thus altering both sources and sinks
of greenhouse and chemically-important trace gases e.g., carbon dioxide
(CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), carbonyl sulfide (COS) and possibly
other gases, including ozone. These potential changes would contribute
to biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks that attenuate or reinforce the
atmospheric buildup of these gases. Thus wind patterns could change,
resulting in climatic changes throughout the world. Yield of vital crops
like corn, rice, soya bean, cotton, bean, pea, sorghum and wheat could
decrease as a result of all the disruptive changes. The difficulty with the
CFC problem is that there are already great quantities of CFCs in the
environment. 
CFCs would remain in the stratosphere for another 100 years
even if none were ever produced again. But since the banning of CFC in
1989 under Montreal protocol, atmospheric levels of ozone-depleting
chemicals have reached their lowest levels since peaking in the 1990s,
and the hole has begun to shrink.

Control
The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone
Layer (a protocol to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the
Ozone Layer) is an international treaty adopted under the UN umbrella
designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of
numerous substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion.
The treaty was opened for signature on September 16, 1987, and entered
into force on January 1, 1989, followed by a first meeting in Helsinki, May
1989. Since then, it has undergone seven revisions, in 1990 (London),
1991 (Nairobi), 1992 (Copenhagen), 1993 (Bangkok), 1995 (Vienna),
1997 (Montreal), and 1999 (Beijing).  The treaty has been amended
to ban CFC production after 1995 in the developed countries, and later
in developing countries. If the international agreement is adhered to,
the ozone layer is expected to recover by 2050. Due to its widespread
272
 MODULE - 6

adoption and implementation it has been hailed as an example of

exceptional international co-operation, and as per Kofi Annan (7th
secretary general of UN) quoted as saying that “perhaps the single most
successful international agreement to date”. It has been ratified by 196
states.
The signatory states accept a series of stepped limits on CFC use and
production, including:
• from 1991 to 1992 its levels of consumption and
production of the controlled substances in Group I of
Annex A do not exceed 150 percent of its calculated levels
of production and consumption of those substances in
1986;
• from 1994 its calculated level of consumption and
production of the controlled substances in Group I of
Annex A does not exceed, annually, twenty-five percent
of its calculated level of consumption and production in
1986.
• From 1996 its calculated level of consumption and
production of the controlled substances in Group I of
Annex A does not exceed zero.

There is a slower phase-out (to zero by 2010) of other substances

(halon 1211, 1301, 2402; CFCs 13, 111, 112, etc) and some chemicals
get individual attention (Carbon tetrachloride; 1, 1, 1-trichloroethane).
The phasing-out of the less active HCFCs started only in 1996 and will
go on until a complete phasing-out is achieved in 2030.
Because of the long atmospheric lifetimes of these compounds
it will take several decades before their concentrations are back down
to pre-1980 levels, the target agreed in the Montreal Protocol. Until
that time the fate of the Arctic ozone layer essentially depends on the
temperature in the stratosphere at an altitude of around 20 km and is
thus linked to the earth’s climate.
273
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Thanks to the Montreal Protocol the ozone layer outside the polar
regions is projected to recover to its pre 1980 levels around 2030-2040
according to the WMO/UNEP Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion.
In contrast, the springtime ozone layer over the Antarctic is expected to
recover around 2045-60, and in the Arctic it will probably recover one
or two decades earlier.

In the Montreal Protocol, 30 nations worldwide agreed to reduce

usage of CFCs and encouraged other countries to do so as well. Work on
alternatives for chlorofluorocarbons in refrigerants (like HCFC) began
in the late 1970s after the first warnings of damage to stratospheric
ozone were published. The hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are less
stable in the lower atmosphere, enabling them to break down before
reaching the ozone layer. Nevertheless, a significant fraction of the
HCFCs do break down in the stratosphere and they have contributed to
more chlorine buildup there than originally predicted. Later alternatives
lacking the chlorine, the hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) have even shorter
lifetimes in the lower atmosphere. One of these compounds, HFC-
134a, is now used in place of CFC-12 in automobile air conditioners.
Hydrocarbon refrigerants (a propane/isobutane blend) are also used
extensively in mobile air conditioning systems in Australia, the USA and
many other countries, as they have excellent thermodynamic properties
and perform particularly well in high ambient temperatures. One of
the natural refrigerants (along with Ammonia and Carbon Dioxide),
hydrocarbons have negligible environmental impacts and are also used
worldwide in domestic and commercial refrigeration applications, and
are becoming available in new split system air conditioners. Various
other solvents and methods have replaced the use of CFCs in laboratory
analytics.

274
 MODULE - 6

What individuals could do

The UV Index provides a daily forecast of the expected risk of
overexposure to the sun. The Index predicts UV intensity levels on a
scale of 0 to 10+, where 0 indicates a minimal risk of overexposure and
10+ means a very high risk. It can be referred to daily and depending
on the risks, the protections like sunscreens or hat can be taken or the
noon times could be avoided for outdoor activities.
Be aware of the Ozone depleting substances that might be used in
products used and avoid them. If not possible to avoid, limit the usage
and replacement rate that is don’t discard the product too quickly to buy
another of the same kind.

c. Acid Rain
Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is
unusually acidic .There are many forms of acid rain that are seen around
the world. In parts of the world where there is wet weather, there is acid
rain, acid snow, and acid fog. In parts of the world where there is dry
weather, there is acid gas and acid dust.

Causes
Acid rain is mainly caused by Carbon dioxide, Nitrogen oxides
and Sulphur dioxides etc in the air resulting in the formation of carbonic
acids, nitric acid, sulphuric acids besides some other organic acids on
reaction with the atmospheric moisture. Damage from acid rain is
widespread in North America, Europe, Japan, China and South-east Asia.
In the US, coal-burning power plants contribute to about 70% of sulfur
dioxide. In Canada, oil refining, metal smelting and other industrial
activities account for 61% of the sulphur dioxide pollution. Motor
vehicle exhaust fumes are the main source of nitrogen oxides. The acids
in acid rain chemically react with any object they come into contact
with. Industries and automobiles are the main cause of the pollutants
that result into acid rain.

275
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Effects
Acid rain that falls or flows as ground water to reach rivers,
lakes arid wetlands causes the water in them to become acidic. This
affects plant and animal life in aquatic ecosystems. Fishes are sensitive
to pH levels of water. Fresh water has pH close to neutral. Clams and
mayflies have a high rate of mortality when water has a pH of 6.0. Frogs
can tolerate more acidic water, although with the decline in supply
of mayflies, frog populations may also decline. Land animals that are
dependent on aquatic organisms are also affected.
Acid rain dissolves and washes away nutrients in the soil, which
are needed by plants. It can also dissolve naturally occurring toxic
substances like aluminum and mercury, freeing them to pollute water
or poison plants.
Acid rain falling on slopes dissolves metals like aluminium in the
soil as it flows down into the lakes. Aluminium irritates fish gills, forms
mucus and suffocates the fish. It displaces the calcium in the bodies of
birds with aluminium which reduces the thickness of egg shells and
hence causes reproductive failure.
Acid rain indirectly affects plants by removing nutrients from
the soil in which they grow. It affects trees more directly by creating
holes in the waxy coating of leaves, causing brown dead spots which
affect the plant’s photosynthesis. Such trees are also more vulnerable
to insect infestations, drought and cold. Spruce and fir forests at higher
elevations seem to be most at risk. Farm crops are less affected by acid
rain than forest.
The acidified water containing toxic metals are absorbed into
fruits, vegetables; sea food etc and these are magnified in humans
and animals that eat them. Acid, along with other chemicals in the air,
produces urban smog, which causes respiratory problems.
They can corrode stone statues like happened to Parthenon
Greece and Italy and buildings of marbles like Taj Mahal. Crystals of
calcium and magnesium sulfate are formed as a result of corrosion due
to acid rain. It could leach out leaving the structure damaged.
276
 MODULE - 6

In 1967 the bridge over Ohio collapsed killing 46 people and

cause was traced to corrosion by acid rain. Billions of dollars are spent
in repairing the damage to buildings in Europe annually.

It can damage metals and car finishes. Rain of 2.4pH (as acidic
as viniger) was recorded during storms in new England USA with one
instance of yellow color leaching out of the green paint on a car leaving
blue spots.

Control Measures for Acid Rain

Cutting down the sources is the major measure to control acid
rain. Improvement in technologies and switching to clean combustion
technologies are highly essential. Coal with lower sulphur content is
desirable to use in thermal plants. Replacement of coal by natural gas
would also reduce the problem substantially. Installing scrubbers to
reduce smoke stack emissions, though expensive, would be economical
compared to the losses due to damage done to lakes, forests, monuments,
food production and so on.

Conventions in this regard are the Convention on Long Range

Transboundary Air Pollution, Nov.1979. Also Sulphur Protocol, Helsinki,
July 1985, which aimed to reduce annual emission of sulphur by atleast
30% from 1980 level at the latest by 1993.

The US EPA initiated Acid Rain Program is viewed around the

world as a prototype for tackling environmental issues. It has allowance
trading system which capitalizes on the power of the marketplace to
reduce SO2 emissions in the most cost-effective manner possible. An
allowance authorizes a utility or industrial source to emit one ton of SO2
during a given year or any year thereafter. At the end of each year, the
source must hold an amount of allowances at least equal to its annual
emissions, i.e., a source that emits 5,000 tons of SO2 must hold at least
5,000 allowances that are usable in that year.
277
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

However, regardless of how many allowances a source holds, it is

never entitled to exceed the limits set under Title I of the Act to protect
public health. If the sources’ emissions do not exceed its allowances, the
remaining allowances are carried forward, or banked for future use. If a
source’s emissions exceed its allowances, the source must pay a penalty
and surrender allowances for the following year to EPA as excess
emission offsets. The continuous emissions monitoring and reporting
systems provide the accurate accounting of emissions necessary to make
the program work, and the excess emissions penalties provide strong
incentives for self-enforcement. Each of these separate components
contributes to the effective working of an integrated program that
lets market incentives do the work to achieve cost-effective emissions
reductions. The General Accounting Office recently confirmed the
benefits of this approach, projecting that the allowance trading system
could save as much as $3 billion per year—over 50 percent—compared
with a command and control approach typical of previous environmental
protection programs.

Control at Individual level

Measures include shifting to more efficient vehicles that could
lead to control of large quantity of the nitrogen oxides emissions,
acidified lakes and streams can be regained by liming by the addition of
limestone (calcite), primarily calcium carbonate (CaCO3), to neutralize
acid waters and soils and buffer them.

Nuclear accidents and Holocaust

The nuclear power plant design strategy for preventing accidents
and mitigating their potential effects is string. If something fails, there is
a back-up system to limit the harm done; if that system also fails there
is another back-up system for it etc… Of course it is possible that each
system in this series of back-ups might fail one after the other, but the
probability for that is exceedingly small. Risks from reactor accidents
are estimated by the rapidly developing science of “probabilistic risk
278
 MODULE - 6

analysis” (PRA). A PRA must be done separately for each power plant
(at a cost of $5 million) but typical results are: A fuel melt-down might
be expected once in 20,000 years of reactor operation. In 2 out of 3
melt-downs there would be no deaths, in 1 out of 5 there would be over
1000 deaths, and in 1 out of 100,000 there would be 50,000 deaths. The
average for all meltdowns would be 400 deaths.

Nuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of nearly complete

annihilation of human civilization by nuclear warfare. “Holocaust” is
commonly defined as great destruction resulting in the extensive loss of
life, especially by fire. Under the scenario of a nuclear holocaust, all or
most of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear weapons in future
world wars.
The first, and to date only, nuclear war was World War II: near the
end of the war, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, Japan. At the time of those bombings, the United States
was the only country to possess atomic weapons. After World War II,
nuclear weapons were also developed by the United Kingdom, France,
the Soviet Union, and the People’s Republic of China, which contributed
to the state of conflict and tension that became known as the Cold War.
In the 1970s, India and 1990s, Pakistan, countries openly hostile to
each other, developed nuclear weapons. Israel, North Korea, and South
Africa are also believed to have developed nuclear weapons, although
South Africa subsequently abandoned them.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the resultant
end of the Cold War, the threat of a major nuclear war between
the superpowers was generally thought to have receded. Since then,
concern over nuclear weapons has shifted to the prevention of localized
nuclear conflicts resulting from nuclear proliferation (spread of nuclear
weapons), and the threat of nuclear terrorism (the threat of its use in
terrorism).

279
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Nuclear holocaust could result in an end to human life, or at least

to modern civilization on Earth due to the immediate effects of nuclear
fallout, the loss of much modern technology due to electromagnetic
pulses, or nuclear winter and resulting extinctions.

Nuclear Fallout is the residual radiation hazard from a nuclear

explosion, so called because it “falls out” of the atmosphere after the
explosion. It commonly refers to the radioactive dust created when
a nuclear weapon explodes. This radioactive dust, consisting of hot
particles, is a kind of radioactive contamination. It can lead to the
contamination of ground and the animal food chain.

An electromagnetic pulse (sometimes abbreviated EMP) is a

burst of electromagnetic radiation that results from the detonation of
a nuclear weapon and/or a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field. The
resulting rapidly changing electric fields or magnetic fields may couple
with electrical/electronic systems to produce damaging current and
voltage surges. The high altitude nuclear tests of 1962 by US increased
awareness of EMP. In July 1962, a 1.44 megaton (6.0 PJ) United States
nuclear test in space, 400  kilometres (250  mi) above the mid-Pacific
Ocean, called the Starfish Prime test, demonstrated to nuclear scientists
that the magnitude and effects of a high altitude nuclear explosion were
much larger than had been previously calculated. Starfish Prime also
made those effects known to the public by causing electrical damage
in Hawaii, about 1,445 kilometres (898 mi) away from the detonation
point, knocking out about 300 streetlights, setting off numerous burglar
alarms and damaging a telephone company microwave link.

The nuclear winter scenario predicts that the huge fires caused by nuclear

explosions (from burning urban areas) would loft massive amounts of
dense smoke from the fires, into the upper troposphere / stratosphere. At
10-15 kilometers (6–9 miles) above the Earth’s surface, the absorption
of sunlight would further heat the smoke, lifting some, or all of it, into
280
 MODULE - 6

the stratosphere, to where the smoke would persist for years, with no
rain to wash it out. This aerosol of particles would block out much of
the sun’s light from reaching the surface, causing surface temperatures
to drop drastically.

The Environmental issue of Wasteland Reclamation

Reclaiming lands that have been laid waste in an extraction
or industrial process is “wasteland reclamation.” Strip-mining coal
produces wastelands. Using chemicals in an industrial process, then
dumping the used chemicals either on the land or into a stream creates
wastelands. Or releasing chemicals into the air in an industrial process
can create waste lands. Sometimes, just running an industrial process,
particularly when there is no regulation of its wastes, can create waste
lands. And finally, nuclear accidents can create wastelands.
India is an agriculture based country. Vast tracts of the land
are, however, degraded but can be brought under plough with some
effort. Such lands are known as Wastelands. The productivity of these
lands is very low and people owning these lands are poor and are
therefore forced to earn a living from wage employment. Redressing
these lands is regarded as a powerful tool of attacking the issues of
poverty and backwardness. Around 70 million hectares of land in India
are considered wasteland rendered unproductive by the destructive
forces of wind and water erosion or by salinity and water logging, these
vast stretches of land have been abandoned and neglected, while food
production centers around a few fertile pockets.

The dry lands and marginal lands, where for ages millets and
pulses were grown, have suffered the most in the last three decades.
Small and medium farmers, unable to make ends meet and drawn to the
ever-growing cities, gradually left these lands to the destructive forces
of wind and water erosion. The common grazing lands have suffered
even more. With the introduction of short-stemmed, so-called high-
yielding varieties, fodder became scarce and the already overstretched
grazing lands have consequently been utterly ravaged.
281
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Food production is now centered around big dams in a few districts

of the various Indian states. But even there, degradation has become a
major problem. On level lands with convenient road access and assured
water availability, urban and industrial development competes with
agriculture.

Hence there is growing pressure on the marginal lands to

produce food crops which may be very different from the crops grown
earlier on them 

Wasteland Development measures-  

1. Water shed based development- Government of India has launched
the Integrated Wastelands Development Programme (IWDP) throughout
the country so as to improve the productivity of these lands and there by
improve the living standards of the rural poor who own these lands. The
development of wastelands by IWDP is taken up on watershed basis.
(Watershed is a geographical unit where rain falling in the area drains
through a common point.) 
       The objective of the programme is to arrest rain water runoff and
conserve it in situ where it falls. This would in turn lead to control of
soil erosion which is usually caused by rainwater –run-off. Water and
soil conservation also leads to improved green cover in the project
areas leading to improved productivity of land. Under this programme,
wastelands are sought to be developed in an integrated manner based
on village micro watershed plans. These plans are prepared after
taking into consideration the land capability and site conditions and
in consultation with the local people in regard to their needs. The
watershed projects are executed by the local people using low cost
technologies locally available. 

DRDA assigns project areas to Project implementing Agencies

which may be  either from Government Sector including Panchayati Raj
Institutions or the non- Government Sector. The Project Implementing
282
 MODULE - 6

Agency facilitates the actual implementation of the projects by the

watershed communities through Watershed Associations. Besides,
planning and execution of the watershed projects, the local people
are also responsible to maintain and manage these projects through a
special provision in the form of Watershed Development Fund created
through people’s contributions.                  
           
The watershed activities result in improved productivity of
wastelands, improved availability of fuel wood and fodder, increased
water availability, reduction in migration from rural areas and overall
improvement in the economic status of the rural people.

2. Restoring soil health

Select plant species can play a major role in reversing erosion and
restoring soil health. It is possible to bring back to productivity even the
most degraded soils. Reforestation directly with timber wood species
etc cannot be done in such lands and so select plant species are used to
serve as ‘pioneers’ for improving the environment and soil condition
prior to the planting of these desired timber and minor fruit trees. After
soil and water conservation measures, pioneer species are identified.
Considering the devastated condition of the land, extremely
hardy species are selected to serve as ‘pioneer vegetation’. That is which
is fast growing, with deep roots to aerate the soil, which can grow in
very poor soils under adverse conditions, drought- or flood-resistant,
unpalatable to livestock. After around three years of growth of these
pioneers, the environment and the soil condition improve considerably
with protection against winds, organic matter cover and aeration of soil.
Subsequently secondary species consisting of indigenous trees like teak
and neem bearing oilseed or fruits etc can be planted specifically, three
land categories are identified, namely ‘most degraded’, ‘degraded and
poor’, requiring different approaches (or combinations of them) in the
regeneration work:

283
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

(a) Category 1- The most degraded areas, is where even the hardiest
Prosopis julifera (Vilayati babool) suffer die back in summers. These
areas are regenerated for growing mixed forest species.

(b) Category 2- In degraded areas, after some regeneration, a firewood

cash crop of Casuarina equisetifolia could be grown.

(c) Category 3- In the relatively better portions, which were however

still very poor, with regeneration work, dry land crops such as
millets, pulses and oilseeds could be grown with organic inputs and
appropriate soil and water conservation methods.

Other methods include

1. Leaching- Excessive irrigation of saline soils to leach the salts
down
2. Drainage-Water collected on land can be helped by creating
surface and subsurface drain by a network of pipes
3. Selecting soil specific crops like salt tolerant crops like barley,
sugar beet, wheat, bajra, soya bean, rice.
4. Soil Treatment- Soil affected with sodium can be treated with
gypsum to make the soil suitable for agriculture as calcium
replaces the unsuitable sodium
5. Green Manures and Bio fertilizers-These help in bringing back
health to degraded soils
6. Soil and water conservation- Measures include contour bunding
with earth bunds stabilized with grasses, water harvesting ponds
by constructing check dams etc

Consumerism and Waste Products

The world has gone from self-sufficiency based on internal
common sense of reasonable limits to compulsive and accustomed
consumerism. It is important to note that there is in fact one person
who can be blamed for this consumerism in the world. It is Edward
284
 MODULE - 6

Bernays, nephew of Sigmund Freud. Edward Bernays invented the

public relations profession in the 1920s and was the first person to take
his Uncle Sigmund Freud’s ideas to manipulate the masses. He showed
American corporations how they could make people want things they
didn’t need by linking mass-produced goods to their unconscious desires.
Bernays was one of the main architects of the modern techniques of
mass-consumer persuasion, with celebrity endorsement, PR stunts etc.
It was the start of the all-consuming self which has come to dominate
today’s world. People become used to the intrusion of advertising into
their consciousness in the form of television and newspaper
Advertisers bombard people’s consciousness with its images making
them imagine the product and its comforts leading to desire and drive
to get what was advertised. This artificial internal drive tapped into
by advertisers is one of the things that allows people to surrender to
consumerism.
Moreover certain policies and laws also promote consumerism.
“Free trade” laws were promoted by America so that American
corporations could export pollution which is regulated in America and
import tariff-free goods back into the US from their foreign subsidiaries
where they can find the cheapest workers. NAFTA is an example of
this policy. The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an
agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United
States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement
came into force on January 1, 1994. NAFTA created the world’s largest
free trade area, which now links 450 million people producing $17
trillion worth of goods and services. Free trade laws that promote profit
motives led to Americans loosing their Jobs to other countries with
cheaper labor.
Consumerism thus weakens economy where companies of
developed nations want its citizens to buy their products, but they don’t
want to put its citizens to work and earn a living in making those products.
More recent attempts at promoting other free trade agreements have
been thwarted by citizen activism.
285
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

WASTE

Consumerism leads to buying things that are not really needed

that remain unused or underutilized and thus leads to waste. Companies
that shift to countries where labor cost is less cause wastage of fuel
in the transport of the goods back as imports. Goods of low quality
produced for one time use to promote more sale of the good lead to
wastage of the precious resources used in its manufacture which would
have been better utilized if durable goods had been made. We become
responsible for the wastage by the patterns in how we live, our choice
of what to buy, what to consume and what to do with the byproducts.
Waste happens in the cheap, short duration products that we buy for
convenience or “fun”. Waste happens in ritualized annual style-changes,
and in the cleverly engineered consumer dissatisfaction with what we
already have.”Time and labor put in manufacture of an item is wasted
when it is discarded underutilized.

Money which could be used in education, leisure and savings

is wasted in buying new things when something useful and working is
discarded for reasons like being ‘last years model’

Changing population trends also influences consumption and waste

statistics. Two types of conditions of population and consumerism exist.
1. People over population, occurs in Less Developed Countries
(LDC’s) causing less per capita consumption but high over
all consumption. It occurs when there are more people than
available resources and causes degradation of the limited
resources, poverty, undernourishment and premature deaths.
2. Consumption over population occurs in the More Developed
Countries (MDC’s) causing more per capita consumption and
excessive waste generation. Here the population size is smaller
while resources are in abundance and life style is luxurious.

286
 MODULE - 6

The overall environmental impact of these two types of consumerism

may be the same or even greater in case of MDC’s. This can be depicted
using the model of Paul Ehrlich and John Hodlren (1972):

For MDC’s two factors, per capita resource use and waste
generated per unit of resource used are high and for LDC’s only one
factor that is population is high whereas per capita use of resources and
waste generated per unit is quite low thus increasing the possibility
that MDC’s cause more environmental degradation. Hence there is a
need for regulate consumption by understanding consumerism along
with its effects and its control.

Effects of Consumerism
Consumerism creates waste. It causes the wasteful use of energy
and material far above and beyond that needed for everyday living at a
comfortable level. When all the raw materials and energy that go into
the goods and services consumed over an individual’s lifetime is added
up, the toll on the environment is staggering. When this cost is multiplied
out over the lifespan of families, cities and countries, the proportions
are incredible. An example: 220 billion cans, bottles, plastic cartons and
paper cups, are thrown away each year in the “developed” world.

The inherent value, longevity, and the environmental

consequences of manufacture and disposal of a product, lose importance
due to consumerism. Rather than compete on quality or reliability,
products are made for a one time use called disposable goods.
Discarding the old appliances and cars often leads to an almost total
waste of the energy and material already invested in these products.
This alone may more than nullify the energy savings of the new models.

287
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Control or methods to overcome consumerism and waste

Overcoming consumerism reduces waste and promotes
sustainability as sustainability requires choosing among products that
each use a certain amount of energy in the production process, and
selecting the one which requires the least energy and contains materials
that originate, biodegrade and are replaceable by nature in a reasonable
amount of time. Sustainability means that one learns the origins and
production processes of the goods and services one buys. Such proactive
steps call for eliminating complacency and active learning.
Overcoming consumerism involves the overall reduction of
demand for socially destructive products and services taking away from
the sales of non-sustainable enterprises. It could transfer the demand
to sustainable businesses or simply cause the demand to disappear.
The best method to overcome consumerism is to consider practical
repair before replacement. If an old item can be repaired, or a substitute
borrowed, rented or bought used then avoid buying new. Having fewer
things means enjoying what you have more and actually getting to use
it, thereby raising its intrinsic value.
Every item in possession should be utilized to its maximum buy
lasting products as the lowest cost to both the purse and the environment
is a quality product that lasts, yet can be eventually repaired if need be.
Before buying a new item that you personally may not use up or wear
out over the life of the product, determine whether there is a secondary
market for the used product and whether the material it contains can be
recycled when it ultimately does wear out.

Learning about the materials that the products you buy are made
of, their national origin and the conditions of the workers that make
them, are some ways of resisting consumerism and waste. Buying goods
made in your state or local area prevents the squandering of fossil fuels
used to transport goods for long distances.

288
 MODULE - 6

Take inventory of your household possessions and give

underutilized things to those who can actively use them. This creates
wealth for the giver sometimes in the form of money and also creates
storage space and less clutter.

Each item that you give away can take the place of one yet to
be purchased and thus you have prevented the shrinking of resources,
energy and material that would be used in the manufacture of the new
item.
Pooling resources and material goods, saves a tremendous
amount of energy, money and time. For example, a neighborhood, or
community wide lending library of tools eliminates the duplication and
expense of everyone having their own rarely-used tools. Setting up a
community wide exchange service based on category and (clothing)
size is practical with widespread use of community bulletin boards and
servers.
Spending money in a way that keeps people working instead of
consuming more resources is another means of fighting consumerism.
Companies should not completely automate or exporting telephone
service jobs only because of customer resistance to this practice. So
one should resist job destroying technology and refuse to buy from
companies that export or destroy service jobs.
Reuse and recycling is another key way of avoiding waste. Items
are useful if they have any utility or recyclable material left in them. Treat
every serviceable item that one discards as a potential resource that can
be used somehow. Making do with an old item adapting it for a different
use is an intellectual challenge and can be far more satisfying than
spending money for a new item. Education is the heart of overcoming
consumerism.
An alternate economy of Sustainable Practices can develop only
when all cooperate to reduce the destruction of the Earth’s natural
resources through our daily activities and it is possible only through
education.
289
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Self Assessment Questions

4. Between 25 and 30 percent of the greenhouse gases released

into the atmosphere each year – 1.6 billion tons – is caused by
…………………........................
5. Excessive irrigation of saline soils to leach the salts down is called
…………………
6. The best method to overcome consumerism is to consider …………….
before replacement.

6.7 Environmental Legislation

UN Conference on Human Environment-The historical conference

on Human Environment was held in Stockholm from 5th June to 16th
June1972 under the initiative of economic and social council of UN.

It was the first global recognition that the environment was

endangered and the governments and the industry had to collectively
put in an effort to protect the environment. The Conference called upon
governments and peoples to exert common efforts for the preservation
and improvement of the human environment, for the benefit of all the
people and for their posterity. The UNEP (United Nation Environment
Programme) was formed under the recommendation of this conference.
All most all the countries of the world have undertaken to monitor the
quality of air, water and other natural resources of the world. The United
Nations General Assembly laid down 26 principles to be followed by
signatory nations in the Conference held at Stockholm in 1972.

Environment Legislation in India- For any country the effective

way to control pollution and degradation of resources is to combine
traditional laws, with modern legislation. A country should adopt
relevant environmental safeguards- designed to protect their limited
290
 MODULE - 6

resources. As far as India is concerned, the Ministry of Environment and

Forests is the nodal agency at the Central level for planning, promoting
and coordinating the environmental programmes, apart from policy
formulation. A number of enforcement agencies assist the Ministry of
Environment and Forests, in executing the assigned responsibilities.
The Central Pollution Control Board monitors the industrial pollution
prevention and control at the central level, which is a statutory authority
attached to the Ministry of Environment and Forests. At the State level,
the State Departments of Environment and State Pollution Control
Boards are the designated agencies to perform these functions.

In India, though, the Wild Life (Protection Act), 1972 came into
existence in the month of September, after the UN General Assembly
Conference on Human Environment in June 1972, it is not in compliance
with the principles laid down at the conference. This Act was amended
in 1991 and in 1996. The Rules came into being in 1995.

Under this Act every State has to constitute a Wild Life Advisory
Board to advise the State Government in formulation of the policy for
protection and conservation of the wildlife and specified plants; and in
selection of areas to be declared as Sanctuaries, National parks, etc.

This Act is basically for the protection of animals, plants and birds
of the forests specified in the schedules. Hunting of the wild animals
is permitted only when such animals become dangerous to the human
beings or it becomes diseased beyond recovery. This is to be done with
the permission of wild life warden in writing. The same Act prohibits
picking and uprooting of specified plants and cultivation of some other
specified plants.

One of the first legislations, after the UN Conference on Human

Environment that came into existence was Water (Prevention and
Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
291
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

The objective of the Act was to provide for the prevention

and control of water pollution and the maintaining or restoring of
wholesomeness of water and establishing Boards for the Prevention
and Control of Water Pollution for carrying out these purposes and
assigning to such Boards powers and functions connected to it. This Act
was followed by the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess
Act, 1977.

The objective of this Act was to levy and collect cess on water,
which was consumed by persons carrying on certain specified industries
and by local authorities. This was done with a view to augment the
resources of the Central Board and the State Boards for the prevention
and control of water pollution constituted under the Water (Prevention
and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. This was further amended in 2003
to expand the scope of industry to any operation process or treatment
and disposal system, which consumes water or gives rise to sewage
effluent or trade effluent and extending the provisions of the Act to all
the industries where it was applied only to specified industries earlier.

Followed suit was the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution)

Act, 1981. The objective of the Act was to provide prevention, control
and abatement of air pollution, and basically aimed at the industrial
pollution and automobile pollution. For carrying out this function, the
Act further provided the establishment of Boards and conferred powers
related to the objectives of the Act. Without establishing separate Boards
to carry out the functions envisaged in the Act, the already established
Boards under Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 are
conferred with the powers specified in this Act.

The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Rules and the Air
(Prevention and Control of Pollution) (Union Territories) Rules came
into existence in, 1982 and 1983 respectively.
292
 MODULE - 6

Forest Conservation Acts

• The Indian Forest Act, 1927 consolidates the law relating to
forests, the transit of forest-produce and the duty leviable on
timber and other forest-produce.
• The Forest Conservation Act 1980 was enacted to help conserve
the country’s forests and strictly restricts and regulates the
de-reservation of forests or use of forest land for non-forest
purposes without the prior approval of Central Government. To
this end the Act lays down the pre-requisites for the diversion of
forest land for non-forest purposes.
• The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1986 was passed with a
view to check deforestation of forests. The Act provides that
no destruction of forests or use of forestland for non-forest
purposes can be permitted without the previous approval of the
Central Government. The conservation of forests act includes not
only preservation and protection of existing forests but also re-
afforestation, which is a continuous and integrated process and
the Act must be enforced strictly for the benefit of the general
public.
• The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers
(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, recognizes the rights
of forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest
dwellers over the forest areas inhabited by them and provides a
framework for according the same.

The exclusionary model of forest conservation had greatly compromised

the state’s capability to effectively manage resources. It was recognized
that whether it is the state or the poacher that gets the support of
local communities depends largely on the degree of the alienation of
the community from the forest resource by the state. The Recognition
of Forest Rights Act , 2006, was also the result of recognition over time
that though all human resource use is clearly not compatible with
293
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

maintenance of biodiversity, not all human activity is ‘incompatible’ with

wildlife conservation. It had been found that the exclusion of humans from
some areas had led to decline of biodiversity. For example in Keoladeo
NP, Rajasthan; after 1981 restrictions, the clogging of water bodies with
grasses formerly grazed by buffaloes affected the habitat of diving birds.
Valley of flowers NP, Kumaon lost its diversity of flowering plants to herbs
which had been grazed by sheep before 1982 restrictions in the region.

The well-known Environment (Protection) Act came into

existence in 1986- after 14 years of Stockholm Conference on Human
Environment. The Act came into existence as a direct consequence of the
Bhopal Gas Tragedy in 1984. The objectives of the enactment are three
fold. 1. Protection of the environment 2. Improvement of environment
3. Prevention of hazards to a) human beings b) other living creatures,
c) plants and d) property.6 This is an umbrella legislation, which covers
from Radioactive Substances disposal to use of plastic bags.

All the notifications, rules and regulations dealing with the

environmental protection are the subsidiaries of this Act. This Act
provided for coordination and planning of the nationwide programmes
for the prevention, control and abatement of environmental pollution,
laid down standards for the quality of environment, restricted certain
areas to establish industries, laid down procedures for the prevention of
accidents in such industries and handling hazardous substances. Above
all the Act barred the jurisdiction of the Civil Courts in respect of the
actions done under the directions of the Central Government. This Act
was further amended in 1991.

The E(P)A 1986 rules were amended a number of times in later

years for reasons, such as setting up standards for the industrial area or
laying down standards for pulp and paper industries, Issuing guidelines
for disposal of solid wastes, drilling cutting and drilling fluids off shore
and on shore for drilling operations, setting up standards for boilers,
294
 MODULE - 6

using of agricultural waste as fuel and guidelines for the ginning

mills etc. As the human activity increased in scientific and technological
fields the need to amend the rules increased.

The Constitutional Provisions:

Article 14 of the Indian Constitution envisages that the State shall
not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection
of the laws within the territory of India. This corroborates with the
Principle 1 of UN conference on Environment which observes that
the man has the fundamental right to freedom, equality and adequate
conditions of life, in an environment of a quality that permits a life of
dignity and well-being, and he bears a solemn responsibility to protect
and improve the environment for present and future generations.
In this respect, policies promoting or perpetuating apartheid, racial
segregation, discrimination, colonial and other forms of oppression and
foreign domination stand condemned and must be eliminated.

Article 48A The State shall endeavor to protect and improve

the environment and to safeguard the forests and wild life of the
country. This amended article is in compliance with the principle 4 of
the UN Conference, which stressed upon the Principle 4 man’s special
responsibility to safeguard and wisely manage the heritage of wildlife
and its habitat, which are now gravely imperiled by a combination of
adverse factors. Nature conservation, including wildlife, must therefore
receive importance in planning for economic development.

Article 51 A (g) It is the duty of every citizen to protect and improve the
natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to
have compassion for living creatures. They must be safeguarded for the
benefit of present and future generations through careful planning or
management.
295
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Public Interest Litigation (PIL) and Environment:

The Indian judiciary has taken a lead in terms of the actual immediate
effects in the matters of the environment. Failure of the governmental
agencies to implement the laws that were created prompted the NGO
and Public to approach the Courts as a last resort.

Though the credit for the evolution of environmental

jurisprudence in India goes to the Supreme Court, it was the 1997
Magsaysay Award Winner for Public Service, MC Mehta- who used PIL
to protect the environment in India very wisely. Others also had a share
in this practice. According to this any concerned citizen can move the
court for any environmental issue that threatens their fundamental
rights.

Environment Impact Assessment (EIA):

EIA was introduced in India initially by river valley projects
(dams) in 1978- 1979. It is now mandatory under E(P)A act 1986 for
different categories of development activities involving investment
beyond certain threshold.

The notification regarding this was issued on 27th Jan 1994 and
was amended on 4th may 1994. Under this the project proponent has to
assess and prepare the report of the possible environment effects and
the mitigation strategies planned for it. Depending upon the gravity of
the impacts on environment the government can refuse permission for
a project. EIA provides an opportunity for both the project proponents
and the government to assess the impact of the concerned project before
it actually comes into play.

Issues in Enforcement of Environmental Legislation:

The status of environment is still deplorable and degrading
despite the environmental legislation. This shows up drawbacks and
problems in effective implementation.
296
 MODULE - 6

A. Major drawbacks of Wildlife Act, 1972

• It has not included any locally evolved conservation measures.
• Some states like Jammu and Kashmir have there own Wildlife
Act which allows for rading of certain endangered species
• The offender of the Act is not subject to very harsh penalties
B. Major drawbacks of Forest Act, 1980
• The local communities have been completely kept out from the
decision making process regarding use of forest area.
• The Forest Acts provide protection and compensation for legally
recognized individual or community rights to forest land or its
products but at the same time deny forest dwellers access to
forests.
• As they are kept out from the forest area which had been their
livelihood, it lead to non cooperation and criminal activities.
• The act failed to get public support as it infringed upon human
rights of native people
C. Major drawbacks of pollution related acts
• Excessive centralization as a result of the act hinders efficient
execution of the provisions of the Acts in the states
• The penalty for the damage caused by industries is much less
than the costs of the pollution control equipments for treatment.
This makes for a loose rope for the industries
• The EPA, 1986 seems superfluous due to overlapping areas of
jurisdiction with the earlier two acts.

6.8 Environmental Organizations, particularly NGO’s and their

Role:
The phrase “non-governmental organization” (NGO) only
came into popular use with the establishment of the United Nations
Organization in 1945 with provisions in Article 71 of Chapter 10 of
the United Nations Charter for a consultative role for organizations
297
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

which are neither governments nor member states. The definition

of “international NGO” (INGO) is first given in resolution 288 (X) of
ECOSOC on February 27, 1950: it is defined as “any international
organization that is not founded by an international treaty”. The vital
role of NGOs and other “major groups” in sustainable development was
recognized in Chapter 27 of Agenda 21, leading to intense arrangements
for a consultative relationship between the United Nations and non-
governmental organizations.

Globalization during the 20th century gave rise to the

importance of NGOs. Many problems could not be solved within a
nation. International treaties and international organizations such as
the World Trade Organization were perceived as being too centred on
the interests of capitalist enterprises. In an attempt to counterbalance
this trend, NGOs have developed to emphasize humanitarian issues,
developmental aid and sustainable development.

Though the term NGO encompasses a vast category of groups

and organizations, NGOs are typically value-based organizations which
depend, in whole or in part, on charitable donations and voluntary
service. These are non-profit organizations and function in areas where
government cannot, does not or seems slack in. The World Bank defines
NGOs as “private organizations that pursue activities to relieve suffering,
promote the interests of the poor, protect the environment, provide
basic social services, or undertake community development.”

Although the NGO sector has become increasingly professionalized

over the last two decades, principles of altruism and voluntarism remain
key defining characteristics.”

298
 MODULE - 6

NGOs are meant to be politically independent; in reality it is a difficult task,

because of the requirement of funds which can be from their government,
from other institutions, businesses and/or from private sources. All or
some of these can have direct or indirect political weight on decisions and
actions that NGOs make. NGOs can be said to be a natural outcome of
a free democratic (and capitalistic) society demanding social justice to
balance out negative aspects of market forces such as exploitation and
environmental degradation. This leads to a notion of what Adam Smith
(regarded as a father of capitalism) described as a “hidden hand” in his
1776 book, Wealth of Nations, where through the pursuit of self-interest,
hidden forces would automatically help balance things out. Yet, NGOs
are typically weaker because they are not as financially independent
as the other two actors, and are often dependent upon them. Or, when
independent, they typically do not have the resources and political power
that the other two wield (for example, both states and corporations can
own large influential media organizations), and are not as well and long
established as the other two. One of many effects then is that many NGOs
are subject to political and market forces

Some Important NGO’s

Greenpeace International
Greenpeace evolved from the peace movement and anti-nuclear protests
in Vancouver, British Columbia in the early 1970s. It is the most noted
non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over 40
countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam,
Netherlands. Greenpeace states its goal is to “ensure the ability of
the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity” and focuses its work on
world wide issues such as global warming, deforestation, overfishing,
commercial whaling and anti-nuclear issues and toxic wastes. The global
organization does not accept funding from governments, corporations or
political parties, relying on more than 2.8 million individual supporters
and foundation grants. Greenpeace is known for its direct actions and
299
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

has been described as the most visible environmental organization

in the world. Apart from direct action, greenpeace uses lobbying and
research to achieve its goals. Greenpeace has raised environmental
issues to public knowledge, influenced both the private and the public
sector. In the late 1970s the different regional Greenpeace groups
formed Greenpeace International to oversee the goals and operations of
the regional organizations globally. In the following years Greenpeace
evolved into one of the largest environmental organizations in the world.

Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS)-

It is the largest NGO in the Indian sub-continent engaged in nature
conservation research since 1883. It spreads awareness about the need
to protect the environment and sustainable use of natural resources.
Its Mission Statement is: “Conservation of Nature, primarily
Biological Diversity, through Action based on Research, Education
and Public Awareness”. It was started by 8 Mumbai citizens, of which
two were Indians. The Society’s guiding principle has always been
that conservation must be based on scientific research - a tradition
exemplified by its former president, late Dr Sálim Ali. It is designated as
a Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (SIRO) by Department
of Science & Technology, Government of India.

Centre for Science and Environment (CSE):

It is an Indian NGO specializing in sustainable natural resource
management. It is based in New Delhi and believes in `knowledge-based
activism’ to cope with India’s environmental threats of ecological poverty,
land degradation, toxic degradation etc. The CSE campaign involves test
products (reported in more than permissible limits of pesticides in cola
drink), blood (like Punjab farmers), soil and water (first organisation
to do the endosulfan test in 2001 in padre village in kasaragod, kerala).
CSE campaign pushes for policies, which will reduce our exposure
to toxins and regulate poison in the environment.

300
 MODULE - 6

Greenpeace India-It is the Indian wing of the international

non-profit organization. Its activities include discouraging genetic
engineering, promoting peace, saving the environment from pollution
(eliminating toxic wastes, saving the seas), promoting sustainable
agriculture etc.

Apart from non governmental, there are governmental and

Intergovernmental organisations too. Intergovernmental organizations
(IGOs) are international organizations whose members are governments
of countries (and, for some purposes, governmental agencies).  IGOs
include the United Nations and its various units, and a range of
organizations outside the UN system. Some IGOs are focused entirely on
environmental matters, for example, the United Nations Environment
programme. Such Environmental Organisations (many of which are
established by UN) could be at the International, regional or local level.
The IGOs at international or worldwide level include

1. United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP), was set up after the

Stockholm conference to coordinate the programme of action for the
protection of the environment. UNEP has been active in funding and
implementing environment related development projects. UNEP has
aided in the development of guidelines and treaties on issues such as
the international trade in potentially harmful chemicals, transboundary
air pollution, and contamination of international waterways.

2. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)-The

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a scientific
intergovernmental body tasked with reviewing and assessing the most
recent scientific, technical and socio-economic information produced
worldwide relevant to the understanding of climate change. The panel
was first established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization
(WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), two
organizations of the United Nations.
301
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

At the Regional level two prominent IGOs are

• European Environment Agency (EEA)
• Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East
Asia (PEMSEA)

6.9 Environmental awareness and education

Prevention is better than cure. The efforts of social workers, NGOs

and the public spirited lawyers in India, their campaigns or the Public
Interest Litigation etc are not sufficient to abate the environmental
pollution.

This can be achieved basically only by trying to prevent pollution

by educating the general public. Their awareness can help in combating
the problem on a major scale. The Supreme Court of India directed
that all over the country the cinema theatres shall exhibit two slides
free of cost on environment in each show failing which their licenses
will be cancelled. For televisions a minimum 5 to 7 minutes will be
given by the television network in the country to televise programmes
on environment apart from giving a regular weekly programme on
environment. Environment has become a compulsory subject up to
12th standard from academic session 1992 and University Grants
Commission will also introduce this subject in higher classes in different
Universities. Thus education in schools, mass media to reach the masses
and workshops and training programmes to planners, and leaders is
important.

The Eco-mark (eco labeling) Scheme of India introduced

in 1991 by Indian Government aims to increase the environmental
awareness amongst the citizens and is another effort at creating public
awareness and participation. With this scheme the Government aimed
to encourage citizens to purchase products, which are environmental
friendly and intends to improve the environment and encourage the
sustainable management of resources.
302
 MODULE - 6

Tree plantation campaigns serve as the most effective

environmental conservation efforts involving local people and it should
be encouraged wherever possible.

6.10 Summary

>Water, energy, resettlement, environmental degradation and nuclear

dangers are some issues that have been affecting the human society.
>Society needs to move from its unsustainable practices to sustainability.
>NGOs and environmental legislations are working towards making the
human environment better, but they have their limitations which need
to be complemented with people’s cooperation which can only happen
through education.

6.11 Terminal Questions

1. What are the measures taken for sustainable development

and explain its need in the context of any environmental issue.
2. Write a note on rain water harvesting as a water conservation
measure.
3. What are the control measures for Climate change and Global
warming?
4. What are the causes and effects of acid rain?
5. Why is consumerism a major environmental issue? Explain
6. Despite laws to prevent environmental degradation, the
condition of environment is still degrading. What do you think is
the cause?
7. What are NGOs and their role in environmental protection?
Write briefly an account of any one NGO and its role.

303
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

6.12 Answers
Self Assessment Questions
Intergenerational and intra generational Equity
1. Supporting capacity and assimilative capacity
2. Water Spreading
3. Deforestation
4. Leaching
5. Practical repair

Terminal Questions
1. Refer in section 6.2, 6.3
2. Refer in section 6.4
3. Refer in section 6.6a
4. Refer in section 6.6c
5. Refer in section 6.6f
6. Refer in section 6.7
7. Refer in section 6.8

References
People, Parks and Wildlife, by V. Saberwal, M. Rangarajan, A. Kothari,
Orient Longman, 2000

• http://www.verdant.net/society.htm
• http://answers.yahoo.com/question/
index?qid=20090717070739AAziMIk
• http://www.physics.isu.edu/radinf/np-risk.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fallout
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_winter
• http://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/progsregs/arp/basic.html
• http://www.ehso.com/ehshome/OzoneDepletionFAQs.htm
• http://knowledge.allianz.com/?622/climate-change-history-
ice-age-global-warming
• http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&c
304
 MODULE - 6

ontext=krishnaareti&sei
• http://www.scribd.com/doc/50138924/Rain-Water-
Harvesting
• http://www.livescience.com/topics/global-warming/
• http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/globalwarming.html
• http://usliberals.about.com/od/environmentalconcerns/a/
GlobalWarm4.htm
• http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/faqs/climfaq09.html
• http://www.theozonehole.com/uvindex.htm
• http://www.fao.org/docrep/X5669E/x5669e06.htm#ralegan
siddhi
• http://www.nieindia.org/bulletin/bull-PDF/V15/B15-227.pdf
• http://www.interenvironment.org/wd1intro/aboutorgs.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Make_a_Wave_
Committee
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brundtland_Commission
• http://www.google.co.in/search?q=Watershed+manag
ement+pictures&hl=en&newwindow=1&client=firefox-
a&hs=ySs&sa=G&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&bi
w=1024&bih=604&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ
&ei=e_9JTqPhFseIrAfzzuyOBw&ved=0CCMQsAQ
• http://www.globalissues.org/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_pulse
• http://www.verdant.net/society.htm
• http://www.findouter.com/Asia/India/Science_and_Social_
Science/Environment/Environmental_Organisations
• http://angul.nic.in/iwdp.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fallout

*****

305
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Module 7

HUMAN POPULATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Structure
Learning Objectives
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Population growth and population explosion
7.3 Environment and human health
7.4 Human rights
7.5 Family welfare and planning
7.6 Woman and child welfare
7.7 Role of information technology in environment and human health
7.8 Case study
7.9 Summary
7.10 Questions
7.11 Answers

Objectives
At the end of the unit you will be able to:
> understand population growth and its reasons
>effects of population explosion on the environment
> population control possibilities and need

7.1 Introduction
“If in a city we had six vacant lots available to the youngsters
of a neighborhood for playing ball, it might be “development” to build
houses on the first, and the second, and the third, and the fourth, and
even the fifth, but when we build houses on the last one, we forget what
houses are for.”- Aldo Leopold
Environmental degradation we see today is a result of over
exploitation due to consumerism and geopolitical interests, but now

306
 MODULE - 7

increasingly, environmental degradation is resulting from the over

exploitation due to increasing populations. It is an ever expanding
problem. Even when consumerism is minimized population explosion
trends will keep on multiplying the use of resources. Therefore it is a
grave problem that needs to be understood. It is important therefore
to know the current and projected scenario in terms of population, to
understand population explosion and its reasons and to be aware of
the level of its current stress and predicted stress on the environment.
Understanding is the first step to being a part of the solutions.

7.2 Population growth and population explosion

The literal meaning of population is “the whole number of people
or inhabitants in a country or region” The world population is the total
population of humans on the planet Earth, currently estimated to be
6.91 billion by the United States Census Bureau.
Population growth is the change in a population over time, and
can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals (of any
species) in a population using “per unit time” for measurement. In
demography, population growth is used informally for the more specific
term population growth rate, and is often used to refer specifically to the
growth of the human population of the world. Population growth rate of
the world is 1.092% (2011 est.) The world population has experienced
continuous growth since the end of the Bubonic Plague around 1348-
1350.The highest rates of growth ( above 1.8% per year) were seen
briefly during the 1950s, for a longer period during the 1960s and
1970s; the growth rate peaked at 2.2% in 1963, and declined to 1.1% by
2009. Annual births have reduced to 140 million since their peak at 173
million in the late 1990s, and are expected to remain constant, while
deaths number 57 million per year and are expected to increase to 80
million per year by 2040.
Simple models of population growth include the Malthusian
(Exponential) Growth Model and the logistic model.

307
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Demography

Demography refers to population charecteristics and the

information on it can be gained through census reports. The terms in
population charecteristics need to be understood to comprehend the
Census. Population charecteristics are as follows:-
Exponential Growth- Occurs when the rate of growth, a
mathematical function is proportional to the function’s current value.
(e.g.102, 103, 104…) Here a quantity increases by a constant amount per
unit time. Population growth takes place exponentially. The exponential
growth model is also known as the Malthusian growth model.
Doubling time-The time needed for a population to double
its size at a costant annual rate is known as doubling time. Doubling
time(Td)=70/r(annual growth rate). Population with 2% rate of growth
will double in 70/2 =35 years.
Replacement Level Fertility- Replacement level fertility is the
level of fertility at which a population exactly replaces itself from one
generation to the next. In developed countries, replacement level fertility
can be taken as requiring an average of 2.1 children per woman. In
developing countries the average number of births may need to be much
higher due to high infant mortality rates. Replacement level fertility will
lead to zero population growth only if mortality rates remain constant
and migration has no effect.
Population stabilisation (also called the replacement level of
fertility)- This implies Zero population growth, sometimes abbreviated
ZPG. Two parents are replaced by two offspring giving a stabilisation
ratio of 1 and zero population growth. Average family size is now at
or below replacement level in 65 countries, including 15 developing
nations.
Total fertility rates(TFR)- It is defined as the average number of
children that would be born to a woman in her lifetime. In India currently
it is 2.62 children born/woman (2011 est.). In develop countries it is
lower while in developing countries it is more.
308
 MODULE - 7

Infant mortality rate- It is the percentage of infants died out of

those born in a year. It is 47.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 estimate)
Age structure-It is represented in pyramids’ structure based
on people belonging to different age classes like pre-reproductive,
reproductive and post reproductive and accordingly there are three
types of pyramids that can be derived from different populations. Where
the young is more it is pyramid shaped. Where there are not much
differences in the numbers the pyramid will be bell shaped and imply
stabilization. When the numbers of the youngest is smallest it becomes
urn shaped.
Male female ratio-It is the ratio of number of girls per 1000 boys.
It should be fairly balanced for a healthy society. In some regions because
of less number of girls there is such shortage of brides that there have
been instances where people from Haryana had gone to Kerala to bring
brides.
Life expectancy-It is the average age that a newborn infant
is expected to attain in a given country. It is 66.8 years as per 2011
estimates.
Demographic transition-The fall in death rates and birth rates due
to improved living conditions and leading to low population growth is a
phenomenon called demographic transitions. It is related to urbanization,
growth and industrial development. . Demographic transition passes
through four stages with eventual reduction in population growth
rates as a country becomes fully developed. As a result of demographic
transitions the developed nations are growing at very low rate with a
high doubling time whereas the population of developing countries are
growing at comparatively higher rates. . Demographic transition passes
through four stages with eventual reduction in population growth
rates as a country becomes fully developed. As a result of demographic
transitions the developed nations are growing at very low rate with a
high doubling time whereas the population of developing countries are
growing at comparatively higher rates.

309
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Population Explosion The current rate of population growth

is now a significant burden to human well-being. Over-population is
defined as the condition of having more people than can live on the earth
in comfort, happiness and health and still leave the world a fit place
for future generations. The literal meaning of population explosion is
“a pyramiding of numbers of a biological population”. As the number
of people in a pyramid increases, so do the problems related to the
increased population. The main factors affecting the population change
are the birth rate, death rate and migration. The birth rate is the ratio
between births and individuals in a specified population and time. The
death rate is the ratio between the number of deaths and individuals
in a specified population and time. Migration is the number of people
moving in (immigration) or out (emigration) of a country, place or
locality. The population change is calculated by the formula:

Population change = (Births + Immigration) – (Deaths +

Emigration)

Here’s some interesting statistics related to population which

exemplifies the term ‘explosion’. ‘It took about 2 million years for the
world population to become 1 billion (1830), 100 years for 2 billion
(1930), 30 years for 3 billion (1960), 15 years for 4 billion (1986) and
11 years for 5 billion (1997). The world population stands at 6.3 billion
(2000) and is estimated to touch 7 billion by late 2011 and to become
four times the population in 2000 by the year 2100 that is around 22.5
billion.

 Variation among Regions and Nations Asia accounts for over 60%
of the world’s population with more than 4 billion people. China and
India together have about 37 percent of the world’s population. Africa
follows with 1 billion people, 15% of the world’s population. Europe’s
733 million people make up 11% of the world’s population.
310
 MODULE - 7

Latin America and the Caribbean region to 589 million

(9%), Northern America is home to 352 million (5%) and Oceania/
Australasia to 35 million (less than 1%). Demographic transition is
an important factor that determines the differences in population and
population growth in various regions and countries. In pre-industrial
society, death rates and birth rates are high and roughly in balance and
thereby have very low growth rate. In a developing country, the death
rates drop rapidly due to improvements in food supply and sanitation,
which increase life spans and reduce disease. But birth rates stay high
and so population growth rate is high. In developed countries due to
better family planning facilities, education, higher age of marriage; birth
rates are also low along with the death rates. In countries like Germany,
Italy and Japan the birth rates fell below replacement level leading to
shrinking population.

Effects of Population explosion- The amount of resources that

could have been available to one person a few years ago now need to be
shared between two people, which are not sufficient for either of them.
Instead the resources keep decreasing, leading to making survival for a
human being more and more competitive even for the basic necessities
of life like food, clothing and shelter. The population increase has lead
to air and water pollution, unemployment, poverty, lack of educational
resources, and even malnourished women and children. Population
grows fastest in the world’s poorest countries which leads to even
further poverty, and high childhood mortality rates. Population growth
also leads to clearing of more areas for industries and agriculture.
During the past 10 years, the world’s food production has increased
by 24 per cent, outpacing the rate of population growth. Clearing land,
increasing use of pesticides etc are the down side of this advancement
in meeting food requirements. Thus population explosion can be seen
as having the effect of multiplying every single environmental issue.
311
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Think about it
• One billion seconds is 31.7 years. Two billion seconds is 63.4 years. Five
billion seconds is 158.5 years. So if the world population was before
you and you want to count the population of the world on your own
counting one person per second then it would take you more than 200
years. That would mean it would require two lifetimes to count them
all!
• Imagine a middle class nuclear family of four members living happily
in a house with two bedrooms and one toilet which is sufficient for the
family. If 10 guests come and live for a month, one bedroom would be
shared by 5 which would lead to some preferring to sleep in the hall
and also keep their things there. One toilet would be shared by 10 and it
would rarely be neat. The income that could sustain the family of four
falls short. With lesser comforts and space, tempers will soar; fights
will increase and over all the environment of the home will deteriorate.
This is what happens to a country suffering from population explosion.

Census
The Indian Census is the most credible source of information on Population
characteristics, Economic Activity, Literacy and Education, Housing &
Household Amenities, Urbanisation, Fertility and Mortality, Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Language, Religion, Migration, Disability
and many other socio-cultural and demographic data since 1872.
Census 2011 is the 15th National Census of the Country. This is the only
source of primary data in the village, town and ward level. It provides
valuable information for planning and formulation policies for Central and
the State Governments and is widely used by National and International
Agencies, Scholars, business people, industrialists, and many more.
The Provisional Population Totals for Census 2011 in India has been
announced on 31-03-2011 by the Census Commissioner, India. The entire
data processing used to take more than 5 years in the Censuses till 1991.
The time taken was significantly reduced to around 3 years in Census 2001
and the effort was to reduce it further to around 1.5 years for Census 2011.
312
 MODULE - 7

Indian Scenario-

India, being a developing country, has had to face several
economic and political challenges. One of the most important problems
is the population explosion when the population doubles, resources do
not double and the critical condition in India today is that its resources
can no longer sustain this exploding population. Post-independent India
in 35 years (1947-81) literally added a second India, i.e doubled its
population. In 2000 India’s population touched 1 billion mark whereas
in 1901 it was around 238 million. India is the second most populous
country in the world, with now over 1.21 billion people (2011 census),
more than a sixth of the world’s population. Although India occupies
only 2.4% of the world’s land area, it supports today over 17.5% of the
world’s population.  This means that population has increased by more
than 181 million from 1.03 billion to 1.21 billion between 2000 and 2011
which happens to be lesser than the growth in the previous decade. The
population density of India in 1996 was about 287 persons per square
kilometer and in 2001 it was 324 persons per square kilometer and in
2011 it has increased to 382 persons per sq. km.

India is projected to be the world’s most populous country by

2025, surpassing China, its population exceeding 1.6 billion people by
2050. However, its population growth rate is only 1.41%, ranking 93rd
in the world. The average population growth rate of the world is around
1.1% and comparatively although the population growth rate of India
is not too much at 1.41 and has decreased from 1.8%( in the previous
census) which is considerable, it is still not a satisfactory level. To achieve
population stabilization, the growth rate should be ideally brought
below 0.5% which has been achieved by most developed countries.

Reasons for this population explosion are basically poverty, better

medical facilities, and immigration from the neighboring countries of
Bangladesh and Nepal.
313
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

a.Poverty
India currently faces a vicious cycle of population explosion and
poverty.Birth rate: 20.97 births/1,000 population (2011 est.) where it
was 22.22 in 2009.
One of the most important reasons for this population increase in
India is poverty. Percapita income is very low. The poor have to struggle
to make two ends meet produce more children because more children
mean more earning hands. Also, due to poverty, the infant mortality rate
among such families is higher due to the lack of facilities like food and
medical resources. Thus, they produce more children assuming that
not all of them would be able to survive. The end result is a mounting
increase in the population size of India. Due to the increase in population,
the problems of scarce resources, jobs, and poverty increases. Thus the
cycle continues leading to an ever-increasing population that we see
today. The increase in one results in the increase of the other factor. As
the poverty and the population both increase, the development of the
country and the society takes the downswing.

b. Beliefs, Traditions and Cultural Norms

India’s culture runs very deep and far back in history. Due to the
increased population, the educational facilities are very scarce. As a
result, more people still strictly follow ancient beliefs and a lot of families
have more children than they actually want or can afford, resulting in
increased poverty, lack of resources, and most importantly, an increased
population.
    Another of India’s cultural norms is for a girl to get married at an
earlier age of 14 or 15. Although child marriage is illegal in India, the
culture and the society surrounding the girls in India does not allow
them to oppose such decisions taken by their family. For many, giving a
girl child in marriage is done not by choice, but rather out of compulsion.
The poor economic status of tribal villagers is attributed as one of the
primary factors responsible for the prevalence of child marriages in
India.
314
 MODULE - 7

c. Improvements in Medical Facilities   

 Although poverty has increased and the development of the country
continues to be hampered, the improvements in medical facilities have
been tremendous. This improvement might be considered positive, but
as far as population increase is considered, it has only been positive in
terms of increasing the population further. The crude death rate in India
in 1981 was approximately 12.5, and that decreased to approximately
8.7 in 1999. 7.48 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.) The average
life expectancy of people in India has increased from 52.9 in 1975-80 to
66.8 in 2011. Also, the infant mortality rate in India decreased from 129
in 1981 to approximately 72 in 1999 to 47.57 deaths/1,000 live births in
2011. These numbers are clear indications of the improvements in the
medical field. This development is good for the economy and society of
India, but strictly in terms of population, this advancement has further
enhanced the increase in population.  Medicine has helped in longer life
spans, infant survival etc. Fertility treatments, surrogacy etc have helped
the childless to have children but medical, contraceptive intervention is
not preferred to prevent birth due to various considerations. Interference
with nature should be in both aspects to maintain the balance in
nature, otherwise population increases beyond carrying capacities.
Due to the increase in the population, the resources available per person
would be much less, leading to a decrease in the curvature of the slope
of development instead of a higher gradient.

d. Migration:
    In countries like the United States (U.S.), immigration plays an
important role in the population increase. However, in countries like
India, immigration plays a very small role in the population change.
Although people from neighboring countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan
and Nepal, migrate to India; at the same time Indians migrate to other
countries like the U.S., Australia, and the U.K. During the 1971 war
between India and Pakistan over Bangladesh, the immigration rate
increased tremendously. However, currently the migration in India is
315
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

decreasing with Net migration rate is -0.05 migrant(s)/1000 population

(2011 est.). This is definitely good for India. This way, the population
might eventually come close to being under control and more people
may get better job opportunities and further education.

7.3 Environment and Human Health

A clean environment is essential for human health and well-being.
However, the interactions between the environment and human health
are highly complex and difficult to assess. A deteriorated environment
gives rise to more health issues. Air, water and land is polluted by
industrial discharges and wastes which have direct impact on health
causing diseases like cancers and bringing in ever new microbial attacks.

Population growth is a major contributor to deteriorating
the environment and aggravating health. Population explosion has
contributed to changing the human environment, making it suitable for
the growth of infectious agents. People from rural areas move to urban
areas in search of Jobs etc. Urban areas utilise more of natural resources
and generate more wastes than rural areas. These urban wastes are more
hazardous to environment. Therefore increasing population, expanding
urbanisation and industrialisation have degraded the environment in
all ways be it physical, biological, chemical or even ethical.

India has grown steadily in the last few decades and the percentage
of poor persons in the population came down from 47 percent in 1973-
74 to 26 percent in the year 2007. Due to focus on improvement in public
health and living conditions, a substantial enhancement in the health
status of the people has been witnessed in the last 50 years. Though
there are lot of private hospitals and advanced health care availability,
still the poor are often left out of the advancements. India’s public
health sector has not grown in proportion to its economic growth and
its facilities and outreach to the poor is not sufficient. There is still a lot
of ground to be covered in the public health field.
316
 MODULE - 7

In India, new public health challenges have emerged from

demographic and epidemiological transitions, environmental
degradation, emerging infectious diseases and lack of resistance to new
pathogens. India’s public health infrastructure, however, is unable to
respond to these new challenges as it is not based on the current needs
of the community and health care delivery system is inadequate. The
Government in its National Health Policy 2002, advocated the need for
ensuring adequate availability of personnel with specialization in public
health. There is an urgent need to strengthen public health education in
India. The main challenges for public health institutions in India is to
become socially responsive and accountable, develop quality assurance
systems, keep pace with advancing technology and develop an interface
with the community and health care delivery system.

AIDS and Population growth

The easing of the world population growth is chiefly due to the
rising mortality rates from HIV/AIDS in several countries, even though
the bulk of decline stems from lower birth rates linked to the process
of modernization and to people’s aspirations for better lives. The
recent United Nations (UN) population projections are lower than past
projections for the same period, reflecting earlier-than-expected declines
in family size in some countries and increased estimates of deaths from
AIDS, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

7.4 Human Rights

Human rights are rights and freedoms to which all humans
are entitled. According to this concept everyone is endowed with
certain entitlements merely by reason of being human. The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR) by the UNO on December 10,
1948 provides comprehensive protection to all individuals against all
forms of injustice and human rights violations.
317
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Environmental rights
Environmental rights gained significance after the Earth
Summit 1992 which stressed on sustaining development. A sustainable
society affirms equity, security, attainment of basic human needs
and environmental justice to all. Hence soon after on May 16, 1994
at Geneva, the United Nations drafted the first ever Declaration of
Human Rights and Environment, which embodies the right of every
human being to a healthy, secure and ecologically sound environment.
Environmental rights therefore revolve around the idea of a right to a
livable environment both for the present and the future generations.
There are two basic conceptions of environmental human rights in the
current human rights system. The first is that the right to a healthy or
adequate environment is itself a human right The second conception
is the idea that environmental human rights can be derived from other
human rights, usually – the right to life, the right to health, the right to
private family life and the right to property (among many others). This
second theory enjoys a much more widespread use in human rights
courts around the world, as those rights are found written in many
human rights documents (and is also stated in Indian constitution too).
Poverty and Human Rights
The failure to control population growth leads to poverty and
poverty is a violation of human rights. The United Nations Committee
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights defines poverty as a human
condition characterized by sustained or chronic deprivation of the
resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary for the
enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other civil, cultural,
economic, political and social rights. Poverty has been and remains a
constructed social and economic reality. The poor are not poor simply
because they are less human or because they are physiologically or
mentally inferior to others whose conditions are better off. On the
contrary, their poverty is often a direct or indirect consequence of
society’s failure to establish equity and fairness as the basis of its social
and economic relations.
318
 MODULE - 7

The view of poverty as a human rights and social justice issue

has gained increased recognition. The United Nations General Assembly
(UNGA) has resolved that extreme poverty and exclusion from society
constituted a violation of human dignity (General Assembly Resolution
53/146 on Human Rights and Extreme Poverty adopted December 18,
1992). Poverty is indisputably the most potent violation of all human
rights, and constitutes a threat to the survival of the greatest numbers
of the human population.

7.5 Family Welfare and Planning

Family planning services are defined as “educational,
comprehensive medical or social activities which enable individuals,
including minors, to determine freely the number and spacing of
their children and to select the means by which this may be achieved.”
Developed nations have already achieved population stabilisation and
this is mainly due to family planning measures.

Indian scenario
India has been in desperate need of family planning measures
to control the exploding population. India has carried out many efforts
in this regard with both successes and failures. The Indian Government
launched the national family welfare programme in 1951 and was
one of the first countries in the world to do that, with the aim initially
to provide the facilities and education for family planning. However,
later as birth rate reduction targets were set and in view of rigidity in
enforcement of targets by field functionaries and an element of coercion
in the implementation of the programme in 1976-77 in some areas,
the programme received a set-back during 1977-78. As a result, the
Government made it clear that there was no place for force or coercion
or compulsion or for pressure of any sort under the programme and
the programme had to be implemented as an integral part of “Family
Welfare” relying solely on mass education and motivation. The name
of the programme also was changed to Family Welfare from Family
319
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Planning. In 1978 the minimum age of marriage was increased in a

bid to control population growth. In 2000 state governments were
allowed to adopt their own approaches to ensure family planning and
welfare. Health and family planning workers are required to regularly
visit households in their assigned areas in order to provide information
related to health and family planning, counsel and motivate women to
adopt appropriate health and family planning practices, and deliver
other selected services. Subsequently in Kerala the population was
stabilised and later Andhra Pradesh also achieved ZPG.

The National Population Policy, provides a framework for

achieving the twin objectives of population stabilization and
promoting reproductive health within the wider context of
sustainable development.
The Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007) outlines efforts in three broad
areas:
1. Meeting the unmet need for contraception;
2. Reducing infant and maternal mortality; and
3. Enabling families to achieve their reproductive goals.

However there are many challenges in India related to family

planning which prevent its proper implementation. High levels of
illiteracy, poor access to information, poverty, and gender-based
disparities serve as significant barriers to family planning. A major
impediment is lack of male involvement in family planning

Staff shortages continue to plague the services at all levels. Where

workers are available, they are generally poorly trained and have little
knowledge of the methods they are promoting. Only 13% of women
report receiving a home visit from a health and family planning worker
during the last year, and only 11% of those visited report receiving
family planning services.
320
 MODULE - 7

Access to quality health services is limited in both urban and

rural areas. A substantial population residing in slum areas has no
access to family planning services owing to poor health infrastructure.
Furthermore, only 37% of rural women live in a village with a primary
health centre or sub-centre. Important sub-groups, such as adolescents
are neglected or under-served. Contraceptive choice, and the quality of
and access to care are limited within the programme.

Family planning is also not widely advertised in rural areas or all

measures are not cleared to them. Also, in rural areas, social and cultural
norms are more strictly followed. Family planning is considered a sin in
many of the tribal and rural communities as they are aware of only some
measures. Hence education is required to give complete knowledge and
clear their misconceptions. Inadequate knowledge of contraceptive
methods, and incomplete or erroneous information about where to
obtain, methods and how to use them are the main reasons cited for not
accepting family planning. Contraceptive use is lowest in the states of
Meghalaya (20%), Bihar (25%), and Uttar Pradesh (28%).

It is essential for the women to be educated so that they can

decide on the number of children they want and be aware of the
available birth control measures and of natural controls. But in India,
almost no importance is given to the education of women because of
the financial conditions in some families, social norms in some. In such
a case, educating women about family planning becomes a difficult
task. Women also need to get educated about the impacts of having
many children on their socio-economic status and the impact of the
consequences on their children. In addition, not only the young ones,
but also the older women need to be educated so that they can teach the
right family planning to their own daughters.

321
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Self Assessment Questions

1. What is the term used to refer to the population characteristics?

2. The current birth rate in India is ………………………..
3. Current population growth rate of India is ……………………….
4 Give the equation for population change.
5. The Indian Government launched the National Family Welfare
programme in the year ………..

7.6 Woman and child Welfare

Census 2011 has brought to light a disturbing fact. Girl children
are of even lesser importance in India’s growth story than they have
been. The sex ratio for children below 6 years has dropped from 927 to
914 for every 1000 boys. Ideally under natural conditions the number
of females per 1000 boys would always be greater than 1000 and the
current scenario points out that the increased education scenario has
done nothing at all to change the mindset towards girl children. It also
points towards the status of women in society, lack of equal rights, their
lack of freedom, and education to influence the decision making. Sex
determination techniques are regulated to combat abortion of female
fetuses. Nevertheless, sex selective abortion and female infanticide
still result in unbalanced sex ratios. It is estimated that in 2001 there
were more than 3 million missing girl children in India. There are cases
of new born girl children being thrown away and it reflects very badly
on the Indian society and shows the immense pressure on woman for a
boy child. Woman are discriminated against and often treated as lesser
than human often as an object which gives rise to a lot of abuse and
human rights violations against women.

Welfare of women and child are interlinked. Children and women

are the weaker sections of the society in one or the other way and so
need to be protected from abuse. Woman are also powerful in many
ways as an educated woman is often the one who takes the initiative
322
 MODULE - 7

and is instrumental in bringing positive social and environmental

changes. Children are also the seeds of our future and their healthy and
emotionally secure childhood implies a healthy future to the society.
Hence the nations have to give importance to their welfare.

Welfare could be educational, economic and social which could

provide a broad foundation for the future development of child and well
being of women in our society. Education of women and higher age of
marriage usually is beneficial to the society as a whole with women
taking to the decision making, lowering the birth rate and keeping
the healthy gender ratio as has been evident in the Kerala Model. The
success of family planning greatly depends on women and their status.

The past decade witnessed improvement in the health of women

and children in India. Pregnancies and deliveries are safer in India today
than they were in the years immediately following independence. Yet
the number of avoidable deaths of mothers and infants in India is still
high The maternal mortality ratio, an important indicator of maternal
health in India, is estimated to be 301/100,000 live births Forty seven
percent of maternal deaths in rural India are attributed to anaemia and
haemorrhage, causes that are very much avoidable. Abortions are the
third leading single cause of maternal mortality, being responsible for
12 percent of deaths.

The importance of Woman and Child welfare is understood in

India and world over.

In India The Ministry for Women and Child development encompass
areas like family planning, health care, education and awareness.
There are also NGO’s mostly as “Mahila Mandals” which aim to create
awareness amongst women of remote villages, educate them, empower
them to become economically self- dependent. In order to achieve the
targets set by the Constitution of India and UN General Assembly the
323
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

National Plan of Action for Children, 2005 had been introduced by

Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India for
priority areas like health, education, sanitation and environment.

On the International level, the United Nations Decade for
Women (1975-85) witnessed inclusion of several woman welfare
related issues on international Agenda. Within that decade an
International standard for protection and promotion of women’s human
rights and socio-economic upliftment was accepted in the International
Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW), 1979.

The UN General Assembly in 1959 adopted the Declaration of

the Rights of a Child. It became International Law in the year 1990. The
World Summit on Children, Sept 30, 1990 adopted a Declaration on the
Survival, Protection and Development of Children and a Plan of Action
for implementing the Declaration in the 1990s. India is also a signatory
to it.

7.7 Role of Information Technology in Environment and Human

Health
Technology has played a key role in the development of human
society. Modern technologies such as information technology, have
changed the human lifestyle. Development of sophisticated instruments
like computers, satellites, telecommunication instruments etc have
resulted in total revolution in almost all spheres of life. The important
role of information technology in environment and human health are as
follows.

1. Database- Database is the collection of inter-related data on various

subjects in computerized form the advantage of which is that it is
highly systematic, easily manageable and can be retreived whenever
required. Advantages include the convenience that the data regarding
324
 MODULE - 7

birth and death rates, immunisation and sanitation programmes can be

maintained more accurately than before in computers at health centers.
Database is also available about the diseases like malaria, fluorosis, AIDS
etc. The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India has
taken up the task of compiling a database on various environmental
issues like wildlife, forests cover, wasteland etc. A database on Research
and Development Projects along with information about research
scientists and personnel involved has been compiled by National
Management Information System (NMIS) of Department of Science and
Technology. Environmental Information System (ENVIS) created by the
Ministry of Environment, with headquarters in Delhi, has 25 different
centres generating a network of database in areas like pollution control,
clean technologies, remote sensing, coastal ecology, biodiversity,
desertification, environmental management etc. The National Institute
of occupational health provides database on occupational health aspects
and safety measures for various industries.

2. Remote Sensing- Remote sensing has proved to be very effective tool

in environment management. Remote Sensing (RS) refers to the science
of identification of earth surface features and estimation of their geo-
biophysical properties using electromagnetic radiation as a medium
of interaction. This provides digital information on desertification,
deforestation, urban sprawl, mineral reserves, water logging etc. Remote
Sensing (RS) plays a significant role in providing geo-information in a
spatial format and also in determining, enhancing and monitoring the
overall capacity of the earth. Satellite observations of land, oceans,
atmosphere, and specifically, during natural and human-induced
hazards have become crucial for protecting the global environment,
reducing disaster losses, and achieving sustainable development. These
data could be used for a number of applications, such as crop inventory
and forecasts; drought and flood damage assessment, land use planning
etc. The ongoing changes in the environment can also be assessed easily
through satellites by remote sensing techniques. The occurrence of a
number of natural calamities like droughts, floods, volcanic erruptions
325
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

etc., can also be predicted well in advance. Such assessments help

the environmentalists and planners to take ameliorative measure to
minimise the effects of these extreme natural events.

3. Geographical Information System (GIS)- GIS combines layers

of information by superimposing various thematic maps of different
aspects about a place to give a better understanding of that location.
The different maps that are superimposed could contain information
like water resources, road map, soil type, tribal settlements, forest areas
etc. The main benefits of GIS are better resource management, better
decision making, cost saving and increased efficiency. It can be used in
areas like planning a wildlife reserve buffer zone, land use planning,
finding location suitable for any industry (by preparing Zoning Atlas) or
tracing a point source pollution event in a stream etc.

3. Human health- Information technology also plays a key role in human

health. It helps the doctors to monitor the health of people of that area.
The information regarding outbreak of epidemic diseases from remote
areas can be sent more quickly to the district administration to take
corrective measures. Now, patients can seek help of a super specialist
doctor placed at far off distance. Many hospitals now, take on-line help
of experts to provide better treatment and services to their patients.
This has become possible only because of advancement of IT in the
recent times.

4. Online Information- A vast quantity of current data is available

on World Wide Web. It has resource material on class room activities,
photos, videos, powerpoint presentations, animations, quiz, case
studies etc. Thus these have both student friendly and teacher friendly
features There are several Distribution Information Centres (DICs) in
our country that are linked to each other and with central information
network having access to international database. This leads to easy
accessibility to current information, pictures and videos which make
global environment awareness more real.
326
 MODULE - 7

7.8 Case Study

a.The Endosulfan Issue in Kerala

Endosulfan is a persistent organic pesticide, that is it persists

in soil for a long time which has its ill effects. It has emerged as a
highly controversial agrichemical due to its acute toxicity, potential for
bioaccumulation, and role as an endocrine disruptor. Banned in more
than 63 countries, including Australia, New Zealand, European Union,
many Asian and West African nations, and being phased out in the United
States,Brazil and Canada. It is still used extensively in many other countries
including India and China. It is produced by Bayer CropScience, Makhteshim
Agan, and Government-of-India–owned Hindustan Insecticides Limited
among others. Because of its threats to the environment, a global ban
on the use and manufacture of endosulfan is being considered under the
Stockholm Convention

Kasaragod in Kerala has become an overwhelmingly tragic story

related to Endosulfan. Thousands have been affected with severe neurological
and congenital deformities, as a result of 20 years of endosulfan being
sprayed from helicopters on cashew plantations. Ten years ago, Kerala
banned endosulfan. In December, the National Human Rights Commission
expressed its support for a countrywide ban and asked the Kerala government
to increase the compensation being given to those already affected.

India accounts for 70 percent of the global production and

consumption of the pesticide. At the Stockholm Convention in October
2010 on Persistent Organic Pollutants, India had opposed a global
ban on endosulfan. It was the lone vote against whereas some 61
countries endorsed a ban. POPRC (review committee) will report its
conclusions and make recommendations to the fifth meeting of the
Conference of the Parties (COP5). COP5 will be held from 25 to 29 April
327
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

2011 in Geneva. At the international convention in Geneva, activists

want India to endorse a move to ban endosulfan globally Those
opposed to banning endosulfan point out that it is the cheapest and
most effective pesticide available to Indian farmers. Others say there’s
been no substantive evidence of its alleged dangers. This, despite a
much-quoted 2002 study by India’s National Institute of Occupational
Health (NIOH) that reported the hazards. At least two committees set
up by the Agriculture Ministry have given the pesticide a clean chit!
Commercial interests here have taken precedence over environmental
safeguards, health and human rights to a healthy environment.

b. Family Planning and Development model of Kerala

The Kerala model of development, refers to the state’s achievement
of significant improvements in material conditions of living, reflected in
indicators of social development that are comparable to that of many
developed countries, even though the state’s per capita income is low
in comparison. Achievements such as low levels of infant mortality and
population growth, and high levels of literacy and life expectancy, along
with the factors responsible for such achievements have been considered
the constituting elements of the Status of women in Kerala

Historically, Kerala has been quite different from the rest of the
country in terms of the indicators of women’s development. Kerala is the
only Indian state which always has had a female –male ratio above one.
Women continue to outnumber men in Kerala with sex ratio increasing
to 1084 in 2011 from 1058 in 2001. Similarly in terms of literacy, life
expectancy, and mean age at marriage, women in Kerala score higher
than any other state in the country since the beginning of this century.
Today, Kerala’s female literacy is 93.91 % (74 % at the national level ).

Kerala also has a high Gender Equality Index (GEI) of 0.83 and
328
 MODULE - 7

a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.59. In contrast are states like

Haryana and Punjab which have very high levels of economic development
and per capita income but have greater gender disparity and lower overall
levels of human development .

Kerala has the lowest birth rates among all the states of India. The
factors that have led to this success are higher age of marriage of women,
high female literacy against the Indian average, better medical facilities
and complete knowledge regarding contraception. A unique feature of
Kerala is that in this Christian majority state it is compulsory to attend a
marriage preparation course conducted by the church and the certificate
of that is required to get married. Though there are certain religious
taboos regarding abortion etc, information is also provided on natural
family planning methods and booklets are made available in the course.
This has been an important measure that has helped in family welfare.

7.9 Summary

• Population has an undeniable impact on human environment and

so it is important to understand population growth, population
explosion with its reasons and population characteristics. The
changes in population of the world and of India requires study and
relate it with the status and changes in human environmentis
• In this context measures should be taken to control population
through proper family planning programmes
• The census also brings to light the relation between the status of
women and human environment. Welfare of women and child
therefore brings improvement in the human environment.
• Poverty and population are related and it leads to violation of human
rights. Therefore Population control is essential to remove poverty
and better the human environment.
329
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

7.10 Questions

Terminal Questions

1. Write about any five demographic features.

2. What are the reasons for population explosion in India?
3. Write a note on human rights. Give an example where commercial
interests had taken precedence over human rights.
4. What are the problems in India related to implementation of
family planning programmes?
5. What is being done to better the situation of women and children
and why is it important with respect to environment
6. What is the role of information technology with respect to
environment?

7.11 Answers

Self Assessment Questions

1. Demography
2. is 20.97 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)
3. is 1.41%,
4. Population change = (Births + Immigration) – (Deaths + Emigration)
5. 1951

Terminal Questions
1. Refer section 7.2, topic demography
2. Refer section 7.2, topic population explosion
3. Refer section 7.4 and unit end case study
4. Refer in section 7.5
5. Refer in section 7.6
6. Refer in section 7.7
330
 MODULE - 7

References

http://www.searo.who.int/LinkFiles/WHO_Country_Cooperation_
Strategy_-India_Health_Development_Challenges.pdf
http://www.indiastudychannel.com/resources/113224-role-
information-technology-environment.aspx
http://www1bpt.bridgeport.edu/~darmri/population_explosion.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_growth
http://express.howstuffworks.com/wq-population.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_India
http://censusindia.gov.in/2011-Common/why_imp.html
http://pbhealth.gov.in/pdf/FW.pdf
http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/dec252007/1747.pdf

*****

331