A disaster refers to sudden serious disruption of the normal functioning of a society, involving large damages to life, property, and environment, beyond its ability to cope with its resources. It can be natural or man-made.
A natural disaster is a natural process or phenomenon that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage. Ex. agricultural diseases & pests, damaging winds, drought and water shortage, earthquakes, emergency diseases (pandemic influenza), extreme heat, floods and flash floods, hail, hurricanes and tropical storms, landslides & debris flow, thunderstorms and lightning, tornadoes, tsunamis, wildfire, etc.
Man-made disaster: Human-instigated disasters are the consequence of technological hazards E.g. hazardous materials, power service disruption & blackout, nuclear blast, radiological emergencies, chemical threat and biological weapons, cyber-attacks, war, etc.
Some disasters can result from the combination of both Natural and Man-made causes. These are called complex emergencies.
Disaster Management refers to managing disaster response in the country. India has been traditionally vulnerable to natural disasters on the account of its unique geo-climatic conditions. About 60% of the landmass is prone to earthquakes of various intensities; over 40 million hectares is prone to floods; about 8% of the total area is prone to cyclones and 69% of the area is
Floods
Floods occur when land that is usually dry is submerged by large amounts of water. Sudden submergence or inundation of land area with water is called a flood. The occurrence of floods can be due to both natural and human causes.
Anthropogenic causes of floods include:
- Clearing of forests: Lack of vegetation cover to hold the soil together on slopes causes erosion and deposition in river beds making them shallow, flooding occurs when these rivers overflow. Also, bare slopes increase surface runoff and the volume of water flowing into the rivers.
- Urban development: The clearing of land for the development of residential, commercial, and industrial complexes has rapidly increased built-up areas. These concrete pavements and roads prevent infiltration of rainwater into the ground coupled with lack of vegetation cover to intercept the rainwater results in increased runoff flowing into the rivers resulting in flooding.
- Improper farming and other land-use practices: The combination of the absence of forest cover on one hand, and inappropriate farming and land-use practices on the other have aggravated the flood devastation. There are hardly any forests left in the catchment area of the rivers. It is a well-known fact that forest areas are characterized by high infiltration capacity.
- Enhanced greenhouse effect: Various human activities resulting in the increased greenhouse effect and causing global warming are leading to various climate changes such as higher rainfall in a short duration, melting of more ice, etc. All these have led to increased incidences of floods.
Natural causes of floods:
1. Excessive rainfall: Floods occur when rainwater is unable to seep into the ground quickly enough or rivers overflow their banks because river channels cannot contain excess water. It is common in tropical areas.
2. Storm Surges: It occurs when strong winds raise the waves in the ocean to exceptionally high levels, causing them to crash into the coast and flood the land. It is common in coastal areas with low-lying relief.
3. Melting Snow: Melting of snow in spring releases a large amount of water into the rivers, causing them to overflow their banks. It is common in places with a cool temperate climate.
4. Global Atmospheric processes: Abnormal weather phenomenon such as El Nino (warming of surface ocean waters at South-eastern part of Pacific Ocean).
5. Earthquakes: Earthquakes can bring about landslides or trigger tsunamis. When landslides occur, loosened soil, rocks, mud debris, etc. may be deposited in rivers causing overflowing of these rivers. Tsunamis triggered by strong undersea earthquakes can flood and devastate coastal settlements.
Impact of floods:
1. Loss of life: Floods mostly strike people unprepared, leading to loss of lives in drowning. Along with livestock and other life forms. The impact is higher in flood plain areas that are densely populated.
2. Damage to infrastructure and property: Flood causes huge losses to homes, roads, power supply, and other infrastructure.
3. Spread of Diseases: After flood water recedes, shallow stagnant water may cover areas over a considerable period. This may result in an outbreak of water-borne diseases. Moreover, homeless flood victims are housed in temporary shelters that are mostly overcrowded and with poor sanitation conditions which may turn the situation worse.
4. Loss of natural habitat: Trees, vegetation, and other natural habitats may get destroyed leading to loss of biodiversity.
Mitigation of floods
Floods can be mitigated by structural, water control, and non-structural measures such as:
Structural methods include building dams, reservoirs, and retarding basins, channel management, and embankments.
Water control methods: include increasing forest and vegetation cover, watershed management, floodproofing, and catchment modifications. Schemes of drainage and flood protection.
Non-structural methods: flood forecasting, flood warning, and emergency preparedness systems, flood insurance, public information and education, and flood relief.
Earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor, or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth, with the sudden release of energy in the form of seismic waves on the surface of the earth. The point inside the crust where the pressure is released is called the focus. The point on the Earth's surface above the focus is called the epicentre. When an earthquake occurs beneath the sea it causes a tsunami. The study of earthquakes is called seismology and the instrument used to measure seismic waves is called a seismometer or seismograph. The magnitude of an earthquake is measured by the Richter scale and intensity by Mercalli scale.
Causes of earthquake: According to the theory of plate tectonics, Earth is composed of many individual plates that move and interact, constantly changing and reshaping Earth's outer layer. Plates do not always move smoothly against each other and sometimes get stuck. This builds up pressure. When this pressure is eventually released, an earthquake tends to occur. Volcanoes and earthquakes both result from the movement of tectonic plates. Volcanoes, tides can also trigger seismicity. Underground nuclear testing and dams can also cause seismic waves.
Effects:
1) Soil Liquefaction: Due to earthquakes granular material (such as sand) temporarily loses its strength and transforms from a solid to a liquid (Soil liquefaction). This causes rigid structures, like buildings and bridges, to tilt or sink into the liquefied deposits.
2) Landslides and avalanches: Earthquakes can produce slope instability leading to landslides and avalanches.
3) Tsunamis: When earthquakes occur undersea it causes a tsunami. Most destructive tsunamis are caused by earthquakes of magnitude 7.5 or more.
4) Floods: These are secondary effects of earthquakes, as they may occur if dams are damaged.
5) Fires: Earthquakes can cause fires by damaging electrical power or gas lines.
6) Destabilization: It destabilizes the ecological and social structure of a nation. Essential services also got disrupted.
7) Loss of life and property: An earthquake may cause injury and loss of life, general property damage, and collapse or destabilization of buildings. The aftermath may bring disease, lack of necessities, mental consequences such as panic attacks and depression to survivors, etc.
Management and mitigation methods:
Earthquakes cannot be stopped or predicted accurately but certain management techniques could be followed to minimize their effect:
1) Construction of buildings that can tolerate earthquakes. This can be done by:
a) By keeping weak spots in the building to absorb vibrations.
b) To keep pads or floats beneath buildings.
c) Wooden house to be preferred in an earthquake-prone area.
2) Soil testing should be done so that the stability of the building is assured.
3) Seismic retrofitting is the modification of existing structures to make them more resistant to seismic activity, ground motion, or soil failure due to earthquakes.
4) Preparedness and safe building construction can reduce the extent of damage and loss.
5) Establishment of GPS station in the earthquake-prone region to assess future crustal movements
Landslides
A landslide/landslip is primarily a combination of several geological processes that include earth movements like extensive slope failure, rocks falling, and debris flow under the action of gravity. Landslides occur when gravitational and other types of shear stresses within a slope exceed the shear strength (resistance to shearing) of the materials that form the slope.
Causes
Extensive Rainfall: Prolonged and heavy intensity rainfall triggers landslide. If rain duration and pore pressure are high, moderate rainfall can also trigger a landslide. A universal landslide survey held in 2003 revealed that 90% of the landslides that occurred were activated by heavy rainfall.
Melting of Snow: In several cold mountain places, during snowmelt, the water produced infiltrates into the earth. These increases pore water pressures, causing the initiation of the landslide process.
Rivers: Rivers can damage the slopes, particularly during the floods triggering a landslide. Seismic Shaking and volcanic eruption: They cause slope failure triggering a landslide.
Deforestation: Roots of plants hold soil particles firmly thereby avoiding soil erosion. But the removal of vegetation makes rocks prone to landslides.
Geology: Type of rock or soil such as coarse particles have low cohesive strength making it vulnerable to a landslide.
Developmental activities: Excavation for minerals, tunnels, etc. and road construction can, too, trigger landslide.
Effects:
Landslides block streams with debris and stones, leading to overflowing. It disrupts vehicular movement, damages vegetation, roads, communication networks, and buildings. It also results in accidents. Overall, it acts as a risk to life. Ex. A massive landslide in 2017 in Himachal Pradesh has killed at least 46 people and injured several others.
Management and mitigation methods:
1) Afforestation: It consolidates the slope thus checking slope instability. Degraded areas should be afforested and existing patches should be preserved.
2) Wired stone blocks: Stone ridge is strapped with wire mesh to protect against landslides.
3) Retaining wall: Construction of concrete retaining walls to prevent slippage from a slope.
4) Landslide hazard zonation mapping: Zonation mapping will help in preventing settlements in the hazard-prone area and also developing and continuously updating the inventory of landslide incidences affecting a country.
5) Surface drainage: Draining of surface and subsurface rivers to allow smooth flow of water.
6) Landslide Warning Techniques: Sensors have been developed which are used for landslide warning and detection Early warning systems can disseminate information to masses on time, thereby saving many lives.
7) Managing of catchment: Excess water in catchment areas should be stored to reduce the effect of flash floods, this will also recharge the groundwater level in areas prone to landslide in India.
8) Public awareness: An aware and vigilant community can reduce the impact of impending landslides.
Cyclones
Cyclone refers to any spinning storm that rotates around a low-pressure centre. The low-pressure centre is also referred to as the 'eye' of the storm. It is accompanied by powerful winds blowing anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. They are known by different names in different countries. Typhoons in the northwest Pacific Ocean, hurricanes in the North Atlantic Ocean and the northeast and south pacific ocean, Tropical cyclones in the southwest pacific ocean, southeast and southwest Indian ocean. Willy Willy in Australia Baguio in China Sea, Taifu in Japan, and Tornado in South America.
Formation of cyclone
When warm (above 26 °C), moist air over the ocean rises upward, it causes an area of low air pressure below. Air from surrounding areas with higher air pressure pushes into the low-pressure area. Then this new cool air becomes warm and moist and rises too and this cycle continues. As the warm, moist air rises and cools the water in the air forms clouds. The Coriolis effect made by the Earth's rotation causes the winds to rotate. As the storm system rotates faster and faster, an eye forms in the centre. It has little rain or wind. The eyewall maximum rain and the strongest winds. When the winds in the rotating storm reach 39 mph, the storm is called a tropical storm. And when the wind speeds reach 74 mph, the storm is officially a tropical cyclone, hurricane, typhoon, or cyclone based on the storm location Tropical cyclones usually weaken when they hit land, because they are no longer being fed by the energy from the warm ocean waters. However, they travel far inland, bringing heavy rain and wind before dying out completely. Cyclone may last from days to a week.
Indian cyclones:
The 7517 km long coastline of India is the world's most cyclone-affected stretch. Around 8% of the total land area in India is prone to cyclones. West Bengal, Odisha, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, and Kerala are the most cyclone-affected states of India. Ex Cyclone Phailin originated in Vietnam in October 2013. This cyclone-affected Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, and eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh. A total of 1,34,426 people were eventually evacuated. Power and communication lines went down across many districts. Besides economic losses, Odisha recorded casualties of 44 people.
Effects:
Cyclones bring destruction to life and property. It is characterized by heavy rains and strong winds.
1) Storm surge: It is an abnormal rise of sea level near the coast caused by a severe tropical cyclone resulting in the inundation of low-lying areas of coastal regions. It drowns human beings and live-stock, erodes beaches and embankments, destroys vegetation, and reduces soil fertility.
2) Floods: Heavy and continued rains due to cyclones may cause floods and submergence of low-lying areas resulting in loss of life and property. Floods and coastal inundation pollute drinking water sources causing an eruption of epidemics.
3) Strong winds: Very strong winds may damage infrastructure, dwellings, communication systems, trees, etc. vandalizing life and property. It affects the normal functioning of life.
4) Crop: It damages crops, which could lead to inflation.
5) Decline in tourists: Tourists will not come to a cyclone-affected area, thereby affecting the livelihood of people.
6) Storm churn: By churning up cold water, tropical cyclones tend to leave a cold wake behind them that can depress ocean temperature and thus, stifling trailing storm.
7) Psychological impact: Disaster of any kind has long-lasting fear on the minds of the masses. They have witnessed a large number of deaths, collapse of infrastructure, cries, pains, and many sorrows.
Management and Mitigation of Cyclones
1) Coastal plantation: Forests act as a buffer zone against cyclones. Cyclones travel unchecked in absence of a forest. The degraded forest land must be planted as the plantation will act as a green wall/windbreak for cyclones and water flow reduction in storm surges. Mangrove forests shall be managed.
2) Effective weather Monitoring: Cyclones can be predicted several days’ before. So, effective weather monitoring and forecast can help in minimizing the losses due to cyclones. Warning messages should be simple and reach in time to the masses.
3) Land Use control: Land use should be such that minimum critical activities are carried out in vulnerable areas. Buildings should be water and wind-resistant. Retrofitting of the older buildings should be mandatory. There should be the maintenance of river embankments. Communication lines should be drawn underground. Construction of strong halls in vulnerable areas.
4) Coastal Regulation Zone norms: They should be strictly enforced.
5) Insurance cover: Comprehensive state insurance cover needs to be provided for persons, their properties, and cattle.
6) Preparedness: Coastal areas should have adequate preparedness against cyclones. Wide roads for quick evacuation, disaster-resilient buildings, shelter houses, etc.
7) Awareness: Focused awareness activities are required to increase public awareness of storm surge, flooding, and rainfall related to a cyclone.
Key Takeaways:
- A disaster refers to sudden serious disruption of the normal functioning of a society, involving large damages to life, property, and environment, beyond its ability to cope with its resources. It can be natural or man-made. Disaster Management refers to managing disaster response in the country.
- Floods occur when land that is usually dry is submerged by large amounts of water. Floods can occur because of excessive rainfall, earthquakes, deforestation, melting snow, etc.
- An earthquake is the shaking of the surface of the Earth, with the sudden release of energy in the form of seismic waves on the surface of the earth. Earthquakes can have devastating effects such as landslides, soil liquefaction, tsunamis, loss of life and property, etc.
- Landslides occur when gravitational and other types of shear stresses within a slope exceed the shear strength of the materials that form the slope. They may occur due to the melting of snow, earthquakes, deforestation, development activities, etc.
- Cyclone refers to any spinning storm that rotates around a low-pressure centre. They travel far inland, bringing heavy rain and wind before dying out completely. Cyclone may last from days to a week.
Urban centres use enormous quantities of energy. In the past, urban housing required relatively smaller amounts of energy than we use at present. Traditional housing in India required very little temperature adjustments as the materials used, such as wood and bricks handled temperature changes better than the current concrete, glass, and steel of ultra-modern buildings.
Until the 1950s many urban kitchens were based on fuelwood or charcoal. This was possible and practical when homes had chimneys and kitchens were isolated from the rest of the house. Smoke became a problem once this changed to apartment blocks. Kerosene thus became a popular urban fuel. This changed to electrical energy and increasingly to natural gas by the 1970s in most parts of urban India.
Urban centres in hot climates need energy for cooling. The early systems of fans changed into air-conditioning, which consumes enormous quantities of energy. New buildings in our country have taken to using large areas covered by glass. While in cold climates this uses the green-house effect to trap the warmth of the sun inside, in our hot climate this adds several degrees to the temperature inside. Thus, it requires even more energy to run large central air conditioning units. High rise buildings in urban centres also depend on energy to operate lifts and an enormous number of lights.
Urban transport depends on energy mainly from fossil fuels. Most urban people use their transport rather than public transport systems for a variety of reasons. Urban transport in different cities and even different parts of a city are either inefficient or overcrowded. Thus, even middle-income groups tend to use their private vehicles. This means more and more vehicles on the road which leads to traffic congestion, waste of time for all the commuters, and a great load of particulate matter and carbon monoxide from the exhaust of vehicles. This causes a rise in the number of people having serious respiratory diseases. Thus, there is a need to develop a more efficient public transport system and discourage the use of individual vehicles in all our urban areas.
Each of us as environmentally conscious individuals must reduce our use of energy. An unnecessary light left on carelessly adds to energy use. Imagine the amount of energy wasted by thousands of careless people. If we learned to save electricity, we would begin to have a more sustainable lifestyle.
Water Conservation:
Conserving water has become a prime environmental concern. Clean water is becoming increasingly scarce globally. With deforestation surface runoff increases and the subsoil water table drops as water has no time to seep slowly into the ground once vegetation is cleared.
As many areas depend on wells, it has become necessary to go on making deeper and deeper wells. This adds to the cost and further depletes underground stores of water. This could take years to recharge even if the present rate of extraction is reduced which seems hardly possible in most situations.
As deforestation and desertification spread due to extensive changes in land use the once perennial rivers are becoming increasingly seasonal. In many areas, the small streams run dry soon after the monsoon as the water table drops further and further below the surface. To this is added serious problems caused by the rapid surface flow of water during the rains, which leads to extensive floods with loss of life and property.
When we waste water, we do not realize that it is affecting the lives of all of us in so many different ways. Water has to be equitably and fairly distributed so that household use, agriculture, and industry all get a share of the water. Its overuse and misuse due to various activities that wastewater has led to a serious shortage of potable drinking water. Thus, water conservation is linked closely with overall human well-being. Traditional systems of collecting water and using it optimally have been used in India for many generations. These have been forgotten in the recent past. Conserving water in multiple small percolation tanks and ‘jheels’ was important in traditional forms of agriculture. Villages all over the country had one or more common ‘talabs’ or tanks from which people collected or used water carefully.
As women had to carry water to their homes over long distances, this was a time-consuming and laborious activity, thus the water could not be wasted. Many homes had a kitchen garden that was watered by the wastewater. Conservation of water was done in traditional homes through a conscious effort.
During the British period, many dams were built across the country to supply water, especially, to growing urban areas. Post-independence, India’s policy on water changed towards building large dams for expanding agriculture to support the green revolution. While this reduced the need to import food material and removed starvation in the country, the country began to see the effects of serious water shortages and problems related to its distribution. The newer forms of irrigated agriculture such as sugarcane and other water-hungry cash crops required enormous quantities of water. Finally, however, such irrigated areas become waterlogged and unproductive. As excess water evaporates rapidly from the surface of heavily irrigated croplands, it pulls up subsoil water along with salts to the surface of the soil. This leads to salinization by which the land becomes unproductive. Reducing the high salinity levels in the soil is extremely expensive and frequently impossible.
With all these ill-effects of the poorly conceived management of water at the national and local level, there is a need to consider a new water policy for the country. Saving water in agriculture: Drip irrigation supplies water to plants near its roots through a system of tubes, thus saving water. Small percolation tanks and rainwater harvesting can provide water for agriculture and domestic use. Rainwater collected from rooftops can be stored or used to effectively recharge subsoil aquifers. Saving water in urban settings: Urban people waste large amounts of water. Leaking taps and pipes are a major source of loss of water. Canals and pipes carrying water from dams to the consumer lead to nearly 50% loss during transfer. Reducing the demand for water by saving it is more appropriate than trying to meet growing demands.
Rainwater Harvesting
As our world faces serious water shortages, every drop of water we can use efficiently becomes of great value. One method is to manage rainwater in such a way that it is used at the source. If as much water as possible is collected and stored this can be used after the rainy season is over. In many parts of the world especially in very dry areas, this has been traditionally practiced. However, the stored water has to be kept pollution-free and clean so that it can be used as drinking water. Stored water can grow algae and zooplankton (microscopic animals). This can be pathogenic and cause infections. Thus, keeping the water uncontaminated is of great importance.
Current technologies of rainwater harvesting require that all roof and terrace water pass down into a covered tank where it can be stored for use after the monsoon. This is most advantageous in arid areas where clean water is very scarce. However, there are practical difficulties such as constructing large storage tanks which are expensive.
Another way of using rooftop rainwater harvesting is to collect it so that it percolates into the ground to recharge wells instead of flowing over the ground into rivers. Thus, by recharging groundwater harvested from rooftops, the water table rises and the surrounding wells retain water throughout the year.
Watershed Management:
Rivers originate in streams that flow down mountains and hill slopes. A group of small streams flows down hillsides to meet larger streams in the valley which forms the tributaries of major rivers. The management of a single unit of land with its water drainage system is called watershed management. It is a technique that has several components. This includes soil and water management and developing vegetative cover. The natural drainage pattern of a watershed unit if managed appropriately can bring about local prosperity by a year-round abundance of water that improves the quality of human life in the area.
As it provides water throughout the year, this improves health in the community, as clean water becomes available. Watershed management enhances the growth of crops and even makes it possible to grow more than one crop in a year in dry areas.
Watershed management begins by taking control over a degraded site through local participation. People must appreciate the need to improve the availability of water both in quantity and quality for their area. Once this is adequately demonstrated, the community begins to understand the project, people begin to work together in the activities that lead to good watershed management.
The first technical step is to take appropriate soil conservation measures. This is done by constructing a series of long trenches and mounds along the contours of the hill to hold the rainwater and allow it to percolate into the ground. This ensures that underground stores of water are fully recharged. This is enhanced by allowing grasses and shrubs to grow and by planting trees (mainly local species) that hold the soil and prevents it from being washed away in the monsoon. Local grass cover can however only increase if free grazing of domestic animals is prevented by stall feeding.
The next measure is to make ‘Nala’ plugs in the streams so that the water is held in the stream and does not rush down the hillside. In selected sites, several small check dams are built which together hold back larger amounts of water. All these measures constitute sound watershed management. It improves the water table and keeps the streams and Nalas flowing throughout the year.
Key Takeaways:
1. Water conservation is linked closely with overall human well-being. Reducing the demand for water by saving it is more appropriate than trying to meet growing demands.
2. Rainwater harvesting requires that all roof and terrace water pass down into a covered tank where it can be stored for use after the monsoon. This is most advantageous in arid areas where clean water is very scarce. Another way of using rooftop rainwater harvesting is to collect it so that it percolates into the ground to recharge wells instead of flowing over the ground into rivers.
3. Watershed management begins by taking control over a degraded site through local participation. Long trenches and mounds along the contours of the hill are constructed to hold the rainwater and allow it to percolate into the ground. Nala’ plugs are made in the streams so that the water is held in the stream and does not rush down the hillside.
Major projects such as dams, mines, expressways, or the notification of a National Park disrupts the lives of the people who live there and may also require moving them to an alternative site. None of us would like to give up the home we grew up in. Uprooting people is a serious issue. It reduces their ability to subsist on their traditional natural resource base and also creates great psychological pressures. Especially tribal people, whose lives are woven closely around their natural resources, cannot adapt to a new way of life in a new place. Thus, no major project that is likely to displace people can be carried out without the consent of the local people. In India, lakhs of people have been unfairly displaced by thousands of dams created since independence to drive the green revolution. The dams have been built virtually at the cost of these poor local people who have been powerless to resist the Government’s will. The Government is expected to find ‘good’ arable land to resettle displaced persons and provide them with an adequate rehabilitation package to recover from the disruption. This has rarely occurred to the satisfaction of the project affected individuals. In many cases across the country, this has not been implemented satisfactorily for decades.
Resettlement requires alternate land. However, in our overpopulated country, there is no arable high-quality land available. Thus, most project affected persons are given unusable wasteland. Rehabilitation involves more than just giving land. In most cases, this is also not adequately done. The greatest battle to save their precious land has been carried out by the tribal people of the Narmada River. They have fought to save their lands for decades. The Narmada Bachao Andolan has shown how bitter people can get over this issue.
Resettlement not only puts pressure on the project affected people but also on the people who have been living in the area that has been selected for resettlement. Thus, both the communities suffer and conflict over resources is a distinct possibility in the future.
There are however situations where communities request for shifting to a new site. This is often observed where people live inside or on the periphery of a National Park or Wildlife Sanctuary. In these situations, such as the GIR in Gujarat, the local people have asked to be given alternate land where they could live peacefully away from lions that kill their cattle, but the Government has been unable to find suitable areas where they can be shifted for decades.
Environmental ethics deals with issues related to the rights of individuals that are fundamental to life and well-being. This concerns not only the needs of each person today but also those who will come after us. It also deals with the rights of other living creatures that inhabit our earth.
Resource consumption patterns and the need for their equitable utilization:
Environmental ethics deals with issues that are related to how we utilize and distribute resources in a just world, there has to be a more equitable sharing of resources than we encounter at present. The just distribution of resources has global, national, and local concerns that we need to address. There are rich and poor nations. There are rich and poor communities in every country. And there are rich and poor families. In this era of modern economic development, the disparity between the haves and have-nots is widening.
Our human environments in the urban, rural, and wilderness sectors, use natural resources that shift from the wilderness (forests, grasslands, wetlands, etc.) to the rural sector, and from there to the urban sector. Wealth also shifts in the same direction. This unequal distribution of wealth and access to land and its resources is a serious environmental concern. An equitable sharing of resources forms the basis of sustainable development for urban, rural, and wilderness dwelling communities. As the political power base is in the urban centers, this itself leads to inequalities and a subsequent loss of sustainability in resource management in the rural and even more so for forest-dwelling people
A report emphasizing India’s environmental problems that were caused by the excessive consumption patterns of the rich that left the poor poorer was published in1985. It brought forth a set of 8 propositions that are of great relevance to the ethical issues that are related to environmental concerns. These include:
1. Environmental destruction is largely caused by the consumption of the rich.
2. The worst sufferers of environmental destruction are the poor.
3. Even where nature is being ‘recreated’, as in afforestation, it is being transformed away from the needs of the poor and towards those of the rich.
4. Even among the poor, the worst sufferers are the marginalized cultures and occupations, and most of all, women.
5. There cannot be proper economic and social development without a holistic understanding of society and nature.
6. If we care for the poor, we cannot allow the Gross Nature Product to be destroyed any further. Conserving and recreating nature has become our highest priority.
7. Gross Nature Product will be enhanced only if we can arrest and reverse the growing alienation between the people and the common property resources. In this, we will have to learn a lot from our traditional cultures.
8. It is inadequate to talk only of sustainable rural development, as the World Conservation Strategy does. We cannot save the rural environment or rural people dependent on it unless we can bring about sustainable urban development.
Most sections of society do not feel the direct effects of degradation of the environment till it is too late. Those who suffer most are the poor, especially rural women, and tribal people who are dependent on forests. Traditional fishermen who are dependent on streams and rivers, and coastal people who fish and catch crustacea, are seriously affected by the degradation of aquatic ecosystems. Fuelwood gatherers from different types of forests and pastoralists who are dependent on common grazing lands suffer when their resources are depleted. Several marginalized sectors of society are most affected by deforestation, or the loss of grassland tracts, or the deterioration of perennial water sources. All these effects can be linked to unsustainable increasing pressures on land and natural resources
The well to do educated urban dweller consumes much larger quantities of resources and energy, than the traditional rural individual. Urban dwellers who are far removed from the source of natural resources that sustain their lives thus require exposure to a well-designed environment education program to appreciate these issues. While the rural people have a deep insight on the need for sustainable use of natural resources and know about methods of conservation, there are however several newer environmental concerns that are frequently outside their sphere of life experiences. Their traditional knowledge of environmental concerns cannot be expected to bring about an understanding of issues such as global warming, or problems created by pollution, pesticides, etc. These people thus require a different pattern of environmental education that is related to their gaps in information. With the rapidly changing rural scenario, the development that is thrust on unsuspecting rural communities needs to be addressed through locale-specific environment awareness programs designed specifically for rural school children and adults. This must also use their local traditional knowledge systems as a base on which modern concepts can be built, rather than by fostering concepts that are completely alien to their knowledge systems.
Common property resources in India once included vast stretches of forests, grazing lands, and aquatic ecosystems. When the British found that they were unable to get enough wood for shipbuilding and other uses they converted forest areas into Government ‘Reserved Forests’ for their use to grow timber trees. This alienated local people from having a stake in preserving these resources. This in turn led to large-scale losses in forest cover and the creation of wasteland. In the past, in traditional villages that were managed by local panchayats, there were well-defined rules about managing grazing lands, collecting forest resources, protecting sacred groves, etc. that supported conservation. There was a more or less equitable distribution that was controlled by traditional mechanisms to prevent misuse of common property resources. Any infringement was quickly dealt with by the panchayat and the offender was punished. Common property resources were thus locally protected by communities. As land-use patterns changed, these mechanisms were lost and unsustainable practices evolved, frequently as a result of an inadequately planned development strategy.
Equity – Disparity in the Northern and Southern countries
Environmental ethics are concerned with, who owns resources and how they are distributed. This can be looked upon at different levels. At the global level, it deals with the great North-South divide between the rich industrialized nations of North America and Europe, as against the needs of developing countries of the South such as in South and Southeast Asia and South America. People living in economically advanced nations use greater amounts of resources and energy per individual and also waste more resources. This is at the cost of poor people who are resource dependant and live-in developing nations.
The economically advanced West has exploited their natural resources to such an extent that they have exhausted them nearly everywhere. They now buy their resources from resource-rich but economically deprived nations at a low cost. This depletes the developing nations of natural resources on which their poor depend for their livelihood.
Changing this unfair economic practice to a more just and fair way of managing trade would require new thinking on the part of people who live in the super-rich countries.
Urban-rural equity issues
The common property of rural communities has increasingly been used to supply the needs of the urban sector. The land itself that was once held as a common property resource of villages is being taken over by the urban and industrial sectors as it expands. The rural sector not only supplies food but also a part of the energy needs (mainly fuelwood) to most towns and cities in India, at a pittance. As a result, the commons of the rural sector are being depleted of their resources. Thus while the cities get richer, the rural sector, especially the landless, gets poorer. The urban rich must appreciate where their resources are derived from and be willing to pay a fair price for using them.
The need for Gender Equity
All over India, especially in the rural sector, women work on whole longer hours than s men. The life of a woman is enmeshed in an inextricable cycle of poverty. In attempting to eke out a living from their environment, they must constantly collect fuelwood for their homes and sell it to nearby urban areas. They laboriously collect fodder for their cattle. They have to trudge several kilometres to reach a reasonably clean water source. And finally, must cook meals in a smoky unhealthy atmosphere on crop waste or other inefficient sources of energy. All this can take 10 to 12 hours a day of very hard work, every day of the year. There is thus the question of who should control the environmental resources of a rural community. Unfortunately, it is the men who play a decisive role in managing the village commons and its resources whereas it should be the local women whose lives are deeply linked with the utilization and conservation patterns of natural resources, who should be decision-makers at the local level. Unfortunately, women have not been given an equal opportunity to develop and better their lot. This begins with the lack of attention given to girls whose education is always given less attention than the boys in the family.
The great divide between women and men is most apparent in communities that live near forests and have by tradition made the woman play a greater role than men in the collection of natural resources. Women fetch water, collect fuelwood, fruit, medicinal products, etc. day in and day out, while the men work only sporadically in the fields. This disparity in the lives of women and men has also led to lower access to education and health care for girl children. This has deep implications for the rate of utilization of natural resources and their conservation. Rural women who are intimately connected to resources appreciate the value of conserving natural resources more deeply than men. Thus, several environmental movements such as Chipko have been more strongly supported by local women folk rather than men.
Preserving resources for future generations:
Can we use up all the resources of the world, leaving nothing for our future generations? This ethical issue must be considered when we use resources unsustainably. If we overuse and misuse resources and energy from fossil fuels, our future generations would find survival much more difficult. A critical concern is to preserve species and natural undisturbed ecosystems that are linked with bioresources, which must be protected for the use of future generations. Our generation does not own the world’s resources to do whatever we please with them. Just as our ancestors have left resources for us, we must leave them behind for our future generations. These unborn people have a right to these resources. We only hold the world as trustees so that future generations can also survive.
Our current development strategies have led to environmental resources being overused and misused by our present generation, without a thought for the needs of future unborn generations. We need to appreciate that the next generation and those that will come later also have a right to the earth’s natural resources. As they are not here today to exercise their rights, it is our generation’s responsibility to appreciate the needs of future generations. We have no right to destroy their claim to the use of the earth’s resources just because of the accident of being born before them. Development strategies have not looked at the sustainable levels at which we can use resources so that the rights of future generations are protected. We are not given the earth so that we can use up its resources. It is given to us to hold in trust so that future generations are given their just share of the earth’s resources.
The rights of animals:
Can man, a single species, use and severely exploit the earth’s resources which we share with billions of other plant and animal species? Within our world, there are a variety of living beings. The plants and animals that share the earth with us, too, have a right to live and share our earth’s resources and living space. We have no right to push a species that has taken millions of years to evolve towards extinction. Not only do wild and domesticated animals have a right to life, but have the right to a dignified existence. Cruelty to an animal is no different ethically from cruelty to another human being.
Human beings are one small cog in the wheel of life on earth. We frequently forget that man has learned to exploit nature and other species well beyond what we should use justifiably. Every plant and animal has a right to life as a part of our earth’s community of living things. While nature by itself has natural prey-predator relationships, left to itself, nature maintains a balance in each ecosystem. While evolution has developed a system whereby species become extinct and new ones evolve to fill the world’s ecosystems with new plant and animal species, it is man alone that has been responsible for the recent rapid decline in the number of species on earth. Much more important man is now reducing the abundance levels of so many species that soon we will in all probability create a major extinction spasm on earth that will seriously endanger the existence of mankind. Thus, endangering the existence of wild plants and animals and bringing them close to the brink of extinction is not only unfair to a species but also to the future generation of people who may find them of great use. Quite apart from the use of these species, there is a strong ethical basis for the rights of animals and plants to exist on earth. Every individual, human or animal, that is living has feelings and emotions. Cruelty to animals is a crime that must be regarded seriously and action must be taken against offenders. Animals have a right to a dignified existence, and their life, well-being, and liberty must be respected. While dominating the animal world due to his superior intelligence, man cannot remain unfeeling to the right to life and well-being of other species. There is a growing awareness of animal rights in our country and cruelty to animals is being increasingly regarded as a criminal offense.
The ethical basis of environment education and awareness:
Perhaps the most important concern is related to creating an ethos that will support a sustainable lifestyle in society. This brings us to the need for environmental education. The Honorary Supreme Court of our country has thus ordered that every young individual at school and college level be exposed to a course on the environment. It is not to create only an awareness of environmental issues, but also to bring about pro-environmental action. Among the variety of tools that can bring home the ethical issues of the environment, no solution is as powerful as real-life experiences in nature. Creating a love for nature brings about strong pro-environmental action. Our current educational processes at the school and college level are being reoriented to bring this about.
Two aspects are closely connected with ethical issues that are related to our environment. These are based on valuing nature and appreciating the beauty of nature and treasuring the magnificence of the wilderness.
Valuing nature as a resource: A value system that is based on environmental concern must become a part of the thinking that we as responsible citizens of our country and our earth need to bring into our own daily lives. For our ancestors, Nature was considered to be like a mother. This has been essentially forgotten. In ancient India, forests were considered sacred. We now know that forests clean up our air, and act like a sponge that can hold water for the dry season. Many species were not only valued, but also venerated.
In today’s world where many of us are far removed from nature, we need to remind ourselves that everything we use, if traced back to its source, has come from nature. We depend on an intact unpolluted world that is based on nature’s goods and services. No life is possible without this. If we as citizens begin to again respect Nature and all its varied species forming a complex web of life, and appreciate Nature’s functions and services, it will continue to support our lives. If we disrespect nature one cannot expect her to continue to support our well-being. Nature’s resources that we all use and depend on can only be optimized if they are equitably shared by all of us. If the disparity is too great it can only result in anarchy. The ‘have not’s’ cannot be expected to remain in abject poverty, making a bare minimum living from the meager resources they can get, while the ‘haves’, who are already rich become richer through unsustainable consumer-oriented, short-term economic development strategies. Bringing back an ethic for nature conservation requires environment education and conservation awareness. The best way to do so is to expose young people not only to our dependence on natural resources from the wilderness but by bringing about an appreciation of the beauty and wondrous aspects of nature.
Key Takeaways:
- Resettlement puts pressure on the project affected people and the people who have been living in the area that has been selected for resettlement.
- Environmental ethics deals with issues related to the rights of individuals that are fundamental to life and well-being. These ethics include equitable distribution of resources, Equity disparity in northern southern countries, urban-rural equity issues, gender equity, preservation for future generations, rights of animals, etc.
Climate change:
The average temperature in many regions has been increasing in recent decades. The global average surface temperature has increased by 0.6° + 0.2° C over the last century. Globally, 1998 was the warmest year, and the 1990s the warmest decade on record. Many countries have experienced increases in rainfall, particularly in the countries situated in the mid to high latitudes.
In some regions, such as parts of Asia and Africa, the frequency and intensity of droughts have been observed to increase in recent decades. Episodes of El Niño, which creates great storms, have been more frequent, persistent, and intense since the mid-1970s compared with the previous 100 years. All these are signs that the earth is sick. Its climate is changing, making it more difficult for mankind to survive. The earth is losing its ability to balance itself due to the imbalances created by human activities.
Projections of future climate change are derived from a series of experiments made by computer-based global climate models. These are worked out on estimates of aspects such as future population growth and energy use. Climatologists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have reviewed the results of several experiments to estimate changes in climate in this century. These studies have shown that soon, the global mean surface temperature will rise by 1.4° to 5.8°C. Warming will be greatest over land areas, and at high latitudes. The projected rate of warming is greater than has occurred in the last 10,000 years. The frequency of weather extremes is likely to increase leading to floods or drought.
Human societies will be seriously affected by extremes of climate such as droughts and floods. A changing climate would bring about changes in the frequency and/or intensity of these extremes. This is a major concern for human health. To a large extent, public health depends on safe drinking water, sufficient food, secure shelter, and good social conditions. All these factors are affected by climate change. Freshwater supplies may be seriously affected, reducing the availability of clean water for drinking and washing during drought as well as floods. Water can be contaminated and sewage systems may be damaged. The risk of spread of infectious diseases such as diarrhoeal diseases will increase. Food production will be seriously reduced in vulnerable regions directly and also indirectly through an increase in pests and plant or animal diseases. The local reduction in food production would lead to starvation and malnutrition with long-term health consequences, especially for children. Food and water shortages may lead to conflicts in vulnerable regions, with serious implications for public health.
Climate change-related impacts on human health could lead to the displacement of a large number of people, creating environmental refugees and lead to further health issues. Climate changes may affect the distribution of vector species (ex. mosquitoes) which in turn will increase the spread of diseases, such as malaria and filariasis, to new areas that lack a strong public health infrastructure. The seasonal transmission and distribution of many diseases that are transmitted by mosquitoes (dengue, yellow fever) and by ticks (Lyme disease, tick-borne encephalitis) may spread due to climate change. new and unexpected ones.
Strategies aimed at reducing potential health impacts of anticipated climate changes should include monitoring of infectious diseases and disease vectors to detect early changes in the incidence of diseases and the geographical distribution of vectors; environmental management measures to reduce risk; disaster preparedness for floods or droughts; and their health-related consequences. It will be necessary to create early warning systems and education for epidemic preparedness. Improved water and air pollution control will become increasingly essential for human health. Public education will have to be directed at changes in personal behaviour. Training of researchers and health professionals must become an essential part of the world becoming more responsible towards the expected outcome of Global Climate Change (GCC).
Global warming:
About 75% of the solar energy reaching the Earth is absorbed on the earth’s surface which increases its temperature. The rest of the heat radiates back to the atmosphere. Some of the heat is trapped by greenhouse gases, mostly carbon dioxide. As carbon dioxide is released by various human activities, it is rapidly increasing. This is causing global warming.
The average surface temperature is about 15°C. This is about 33°C higher than it would be in the absence of the greenhouse effect. Without such gases, most of the Earth’s surface would be frozen with a mean air temperature of -18°C.
Human activities during the last few decades of industrialization and population growth have polluted the atmosphere to the extent that it has begun to seriously affect the climate. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by 31% since pre-industrial times, causing more heat to be trapped in the lower atmosphere. There is evidence to show that carbon levels are still increasing. Many countries have signed a convention to reduce greenhouse gases under the United Nations Convention on Climate Change. Current international agreements are however not still effective to prevent the significant changes in climate and a rise in sea
levels.
Acid rain:
When fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas are burned, chemicals like sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are produced. These chemicals react with water and other chemicals in the air to form sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and other harmful pollutants like sulphates and nitrates. These acid pollutants spread upwards into the atmosphere, and are carried by air currents, to finally return to the ground in the form of acid rain, fog, or snow. The corrosive nature of acid rain causes many forms of environmental damage. Acid pollutants also occur as dry particles and gases, which when washed from the ground by rain, add to the acids in the rain to form a more corrosive solution. This is called acid deposition.
Damage from acid rain is widespread in North America, Europe, Japan, China, and Southeast Asia. In the US coal-burning power plants contribute to about 70% of sulphur dioxide. In Canada oil refining, metal smelting and other industrial activities account for 61% of 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 in contact with. Acids react with other chemicals by giving up hydrogen atoms. Effects:
Acid rain is known to cause widespread environmental damage.
1. Acid rain dissolves and washes away nutrients in the soil which are needed by plants. It can also dissolve naturally occurring toxic substances like aluminium and mercury, freeing them to pollute water or poison plants.
2. 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 that 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 forests.
3. Acid rain that falls or flows as groundwater to reach rivers, lakes, and wetlands, causes the water in them to become acidic. This affects plant and animal life in aquatic ecosystems.
4. Acid rain also has far-reaching effects on wildlife. By adversely affecting one species, the entire food chain is disrupted, ultimately endangering the entire ecosystem. Different aquatic species can tolerate different levels of acidity. For instance, clams and mayflies have high mortality when the water has a pH of 6.0, while frogs can tolerate more acidic water, although, with the decline in the supply of mayflies, frog populations may also decline. Land animals that are dependent on aquatic organisms are also affected.
5. Acid rain and dry acid deposition damages buildings, automobiles, and other structures made of stone or metal. The acid corrodes the materials causing extensive damage and ruins historic buildings. For instance, the Parthenon in Greece and the Taj Mahal in India have been affected by acid rain.
6. Although surface water polluted by acid rain does not directly harm people, the toxic substances leached from soil can pollute the water supply. Fish caught in these waters may be harmful for human consumption. Acid, along with other chemicals in the air, produces urban smog, which causes respiratory problems.
Solutions: The best way to stop the formation of acid rain is to reduce the emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere. This can be achieved by using less energy from fossil fuels in power plants, vehicles, and industry. Switching to cleaner-burning fuels is also a way out. For instance, using natural gas which is cleaner than coal, using coal with lower sulphur content, and developing more efficient vehicles. If the pollutants have already been formed by burning fossil fuels, they can be prevented from entering the atmosphere by using scrubbers in smokestacks in industry. These spray a mixture of water and limestone into the polluting gases, recapturing the sulphur.
In catalytic converters, the gases are passed over metal coated beads that convert harmful chemicals into less harmful ones. These are used in cars to reduce the effects of exhaust fumes on the atmosphere. Once acid rain has affected soil, powdered limestone can be added to the soil by a process known as liming to neutralize the acidity of the soil.
Ozone layer depletion:
Ozone is formed by the action of sunlight on oxygen. It forms a layer 20 to 50kms above the surface of the earth. This action takes place naturally in the atmosphere but is very slow. Ozone is a highly poisonous gas with a strong odour. It is a form of oxygen that has three atoms in each molecule. It is considered a pollutant at ground level and constitutes a health hazard by causing respiratory ailments like asthma and bronchitis. It also causes harm to vegetation and leads to a deterioration of certain materials like plastic and rubber. Ozone in the upper atmosphere, however, is vital to all life as it protects the earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation. The ozone layer in the upper atmosphere absorbs the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, preventing it from reaching the earth’s surface.
This layer in the atmosphere protects life on earth from the dangerous UV radiation from the sun. In the 1970s, scientists discovered that chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs, which were used as refrigerants and aerosol spray propellants, posed a threat to the ozone layer. The CFC molecules are virtually indestructible until they reach the stratosphere, where UV radiation breaks them down to release chlorine atoms. The chlorine atoms react with ozone molecules which break down into oxygen molecules, which do not absorb UV radiations. Since the early 1980s, scientists detected a thinning of the ozone layer in the atmosphere above Antarctica. This phenomenon is now being detected in other places as well including Australia. Although the use of CFCs has been reduced and now banned in most countries, other chemicals and industrial compounds such as bromine, halocarbons, and nitrous oxides from fertilizers may also attack the ozone layer.
The destruction of the ozone layer is seen to cause increased cases of skin cancer and cataracts. It also causes damage to certain crops and plankton, thus affecting nature's food chains and food webs. This in turn causes an increase in carbon dioxide due to the decrease in vegetation.
With the signing of the Montreal Protocol in 1987, a treaty for the protection of the ozone layer, the use of CFCs was to be banned by the year 2000. After 2000, the ozone layer is expected to recover slowly for about 50 years.
Nuclear Accidents and Nuclear Holocaust:
Nuclear energy was researched and discovered by man as a source of alternate energy that would be clean and cheap compared to fossil fuels. And although this did happen, along with the benefits of nuclear energy came its downfalls. In the short history of nuclear energy, there have been accidents that have surpassed any natural calamity or other energy source extraction in their impacts. A single nuclear accident can cause loss of life, long-term illness, and destruction of property on a large scale for a long period. Radioactivity and radioactive fallout lead to cancer, genetic disorders, and death in the affected area for decades after, thus affecting all forms of life for generations to come.
Nuclear holocaust:
The use of nuclear energy in war has had devastating effects on man and earth. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki incident during World War II, the only use of nuclear power in the war in history, is one of the worst disasters in history. In 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs in Japan over the towns of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These two atomic bombs killed thousands of people, left many thousands injured, and devastated everything for miles around. The effects of the radiation from these nuclear bombs can still be seen today in the form of cancer and genetic mutations in the affected children and survivors of the incident.
Key Takeaways:
- Earth’s climate is changing, making it more difficult for mankind to survive. The earth is losing its ability to balance itself due to the imbalances created by human activities. Human societies will be seriously affected by extremes of climate such as droughts and floods.
- Climate change has huge impacts such as global warming, ozone layer depletion, acid rain, nuclear accidents, etc.
Loss of vegetation cover leads to loss of soil through erosion, which ultimately creates wastelands. This is one of the pressing problems of the country. Loss of soil has already ruined a large amount of cultivable land in our country. If it remains unchecked, it will affect the remaining land. Unless we adequately safeguard our ‘good’ lands, we may eventually face a serious shortage of food grains, vegetables, fruit, fodder, and fuelwood. Hence, conservation of soil, protecting the existing cultivable land, and reclaiming the already depleted wastelands figures prominently among the priority tasks of planning for the future. Some of the wasteland reclamation programs have been unsuccessful because after some time the land reverts to its original poor condition due to mismanagement and unscientific ways in which the reclamation has been carried out.
In choosing wasteland reclamation methods attention must be paid to the cost factor. This has to be taken into account before deciding on a particular method for the reclamation of wastelands. A proper study of environmental aspects and human impacts that are responsible for the development of wastelands have to be looked into.
Wasteland can be classified into three forms:
(1) Easily reclaimable,
(2) Reclaimable with some difficulty,
(3) Reclaimable with extreme difficulty.
Easily reclaimable wastelands can be used for agricultural purposes. Those which can be reclaimed with some difficulty can be utilized for agro-forestry. Wastelands that are reclaimed with extreme difficulty can be used for forestry or to recreate natural ecosystems.
Agriculture: Wasteland can be reclaimed for agriculture by reducing the salt content which can be done by leaching and flushing. Gypsum, urea, potash, and compost are added before planting crops in such areas.
Agro-forestry: This involves putting land to multiple uses. Its main purpose is to have trees and crops inter-and /or underplanted to form an integrated system of biological production within a certain area. Thus, agroforestry implies the integration of trees with crops or livestock management simultaneously.
Forestry: Attempts to grow trees in highly non-alkaline saline soils have been largely unsuccessful. Field experiments have shown that species like Eucalyptus, Prosopis, and Acacia Nilotica could not be grown in highly alkaline soil. Studies have shown that if tree seedlings are planted with a mixture of the original soil, Gypsum, and manure, better growth can be achieved. It is however important to use indigenous species of trees so that the program recreates the local ecosystem with all its species.
Need for wasteland development:
Wasteland development provides a source of income for the rural poor. It ensures a constant supply of fuel, fodder, and timber for local use. It makes the soil fertile by preventing soil erosion and conserving moisture. The program helps maintain an ecological balance in the area. The increasing forest cover helps in maintaining local climatic conditions. Regenerated vegetation cover helps in attracting birds that feed on pests in the surrounding fields and function as natural pest controllers. The trees help in holding back moisture and reduce surface runoff rates thus helping in the control of soil erosion.
Components of wasteland reclamation:
The first major task is the identification of the problem at the micro-level. For this, it is necessary to have District, Village, and plot-level surveys of the wasteland. A profile of the maps indicating the detailed distribution and information on the wasteland is essential. With the help of local government institutions such as the village Panchayats, along with Block Development Officers, Revenue Department functionaries, a plan based on the community needs must be produced. This must be done through a participatory exercise that involves all the different stakeholders in the community. A think-tank of administrators, ecologists, and local NGOs must also be involved in the process.
The next step is to identify the factors that are responsible for the formation of wastelands. Based on these factors the wasteland is classified into: marginally, partially, or severely deteriorated lands. Locale specific strategies for reclaiming the wasteland must be worked out. Government officials along with the local NGOs must assist the farmers by demonstrating improved methods of cultivation, arranging for loans for the small, marginal, and landless farmers and the people from the weaker sections of the society. Involving local women has proved to be of great value. Another essential component of the program is to organize publicity campaigns, integrated with training farmers and frontline Government and Forest Department staff on the various aspects of wasteland utilization. Environmental scientists can help by suggesting the necessary changes in cropping patterns, particularly for drought-prone areas. Other tasks that should be addressed include the selection of appropriate crops for fodder and trees that provide local people with non-wooded forest products according to the nature of the wasteland. Testing soil in laboratories guides the farmers on the proper land management to be used. Irrigation and other expertise needed for improving productivity without creating unsustainable patterns of development provide the local people with newer technological advances. Guidelines regarding control of waterlogging must be provided. Appropriate technologies must be made available to people belonging to the weaker sections and landless farmers. Collective efforts have to be made to check soil losses through water and wind erosion to prevent the collapse of the irrigation system through siltation. Plans concerning wasteland reclamation and utilization prepared at various stages must be properly integrated for a successful long-term outcome.
The demands of our increasing human population for environmental goods and services have imposed severe pressures on the available land resources especially on the forests and green cover. This is closely linked to the wellbeing of the rural population which constitutes a large percent of the population that depends on local natural resources for their survival. The increasing demand for food, fodder, fuelwood, etc. has led to activities that are responsible for increasing environmental degradation. This is responsible for the extension of wastelands. Thus, the development of agro forestry-based agriculture and forestry has become the prime prerequisite for the overall development of the economy in the country. The pressure on land is already very high and the only hope of increasing productivity lies in bringing appropriate improvement in the various categories of wasteland spread over the country.
Key Takeaways:
1. Loss of vegetation cover leads to loss of soil through erosion, which ultimately creates wastelands, Wasteland can be classified as easily reclaimable, reclaimable with some difficulty, reclaimable with extreme difficulty.
2. Wasteland development provides a source of income for the rural poor. It ensures a constant supply of fuel, fodder, and timber for local use. It makes the soil fertile by preventing soil erosion and conserving moisture.
Modern societies that are based on using large amounts of goods, especially those that are manufactured for one-time use, are extremely wasteful. The increasing consumption of natural resources has led to serious environmental problems around the world. Current consumption patterns are depleting non-renewable resources, poisoning and degrading ecosystems, and altering the natural processes on which life depends. The present pattern of consumption, especially in affluent societies, is mainly responsible for the high level of utilization of resources.
People in the industrialized countries makeup 20% of the world population but consume 80% of the world’s resources and produce 80% of wastes. This is due to a pattern of economic development that ensures that people go on consuming even more than they need. India is rapidly moving into this unsustainable pattern of economic growth and development. The rich in such a society get richer often at the cost of the poor whose lives are not improved by the process of development. It is seen that today’s consumption patterns are depleting natural resources at a rapid rate and widening the inequalities in consumption in different societies.
Consumerism causes wasteful use of energy and material far beyond that needed for everyday living at a comfortable level. Money is not the only way to measure the cost of an item that we use. When one adds up all the raw material and energy that goes into the manufacture of goods or the services provided by nature that one uses during a day’s activities, the toll on the environment is large. When this cost is multiplied over a lifespan, the amount is staggering. If one considered the overutilization in each family, city, or country, the impacts are incredibly high. For example, two hundred billion cans, bottles, plastic cartons, and paper cups, are thrown away each year in the “developed” world. “Disposable” items greatly increase this waste. Rather than compete on quality or reliability, many industrial consumer products are made for one-time use. Buying quality products that are warranted against failure or wearing out, learning about the raw materials that things are made of, and an appreciation of their origin from nature’s storehouse, as well as knowing the conditions of the workers that make them, are some ways of resisting consumerism and decreasing waste.
Consumerism is related to the constant purchasing of new goods, with little attention to their true need, durability, product origin, or the environmental consequences of their manufacture and disposal. Consumerism is driven by huge sums spent on advertising designed to create both a desire to follow trends and a personal feeling of satisfaction based on acquisition. Materialism is one of the results of consumerism.
Consumerism interferes with the sustainable use of resources in society by replacing the normal common-sense desire for an adequate supply of life’s necessities, with an insatiable quest for things that are purchased by larger and larger incomes to buy them. There is little regard for the true utility of what is bought. An intended consequence of this strategy which is promoted by those who profit from consumerism is to accelerate the discarding of the old, either because of lack of durability or a change in fashion. Especially in developed countries, landfills are being rapidly filled with cheap discarded products that fail to work within a short time and cannot be repaired. In many cases, consumer products are made psychologically obsolete by the advertising industry long before they wear out.
The inordinate amount of waste that is generated by consumer-oriented societies around the world is now a serious environmental issue. Most human activities are related to production and consumption cycles which produce excessive amounts of waste in the form of solid, liquid, and gaseous waste products. The problems of waste management in the urban and rural sectors are different. Smaller rural communities once had a limited amount of waste which was recycled as the communities used them effectively. With the advent of industrial civilization, the highly complex technological processes for the production of goods have rapidly increased problems due to inadequate waste disposal. This creates a heavy burden on natural resources, degrades the environment, and creates health hazards. With the rapid increase in population, the amount of waste in terms of quantity and quality has increased waste management pressures much fold in recent years. If the high quantities of waste generated continue, mankind will be drowned under heaps of garbage, and streams of sewage. His health will be affected by dangerous industrial effluents, and he will be smothered by clouds of smoke and unhealthy gases. Human civilization will run out of resources, preventing further development.
The increasing demands of consumption on the finite resources of the planet, increasing level of environmental pollution, and the problems of waste disposal must be changed to the careful utilization of resources, recovery of used material by waste recycling. Therefore, reuse of goods and waste utilization should become a part of the production-consumption cycle. Utilizing various forms of waste must be made a part of the planning and development process. Current patterns in the industrial sector have led to the disposal of waste in a careless uneconomical manner. Burning or dumping wastes into streams and oceans, or creating more landfills damages the environment. For example, it is estimated that the per capita production of domestic waste is many times higher in a developed country when compared to a developing country. Unfortunately, many developing countries are now working out similar wasteful trends through development, but do not have the same economic potential to handle the waste this new unsustainable strategy produces. Large quantities of solid, liquid, and gaseous waste are produced by urban industrial communities in the form of plastic, paper, leather, tin cans, bottles, mineral refuse, and pathological waste from hospitals. Dead animals, agricultural wastes, fertilizer and pesticide overuse, and human and animal excreta are essentially rural concerns. The waste is either discharged into the atmosphere, into water sources or buried underground. These wastes are not considered to have any economic value. This attitude towards waste has led to disastrous effects on the environment besides overexploiting natural resources.
Reduce, reuse, recycle
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, or the 3Rs principle is the new concept in waste management. Although some waste is inevitable in any society, we must minimize the generation of waste at the source by using minimal resources. Do not use what you do not need. The goal of every society should be to reach a low-waste or no-waste society. Ex. Fancy packaging of consumer products in two or three layers is not necessary. Use your own reusable cloth/ jute bags instead of plastic bags. The residual waste can be converted into a useable resource. In developed countries waste is used to produce energy. Several technological breakthroughs have recently been made to recover material from industrial waste such as heavy metals and chemicals such as mercury and nitric acid. Thus, the waste does not remain a waste product anymore but becomes a useful resource. ex. Using kitchen wet waste to make compost that can be used as an organic fertilizer. Using sewage in a biogas plant to make fuel. One industry’s waste could be a valuable resource for another industry. Ex. Cloth rags from the textile industry are bought and used by paper and other industries. Bagasse, a waste product of the sugar industry, is used in the paper, ply industries. The material left over after the extraction of oil from seeds is used as cattle feed.
The generated waste or discarded material that cannot be used again in its original form can be sent back to the industry to be broken down and used as a resource to be made into a new product of the same type or something entirely different. Ex. Plastic items are recycled into new plastic products. Metal scrap and broken glass are used to make new metal products. Finally, the waste material generated which can neither be reused nor recycled must be disposed of properly with minimum impact to the environment. – Non-toxic solid waste should be properly segregated and disposed of in landfills that are properly sealed to avoid leakage and contamination of surrounding land and groundwater. - Toxic wastes should be treated or disposed of separately properly. Sewage and industrial wastewater should be adequately treated and raw materials recovered from it where possible before it is released into our rivers and waterways. The 3R principle of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, should be followed in that order. - Reduction is the best option. If we reduce at source, there is a smaller chance of waste generation and the pressure on our already stretched natural resources is reduced. - Reuse is the next best option, as the product is reused in its current form without any energy expended to convert it into a new item. - Recycling is the last option, as although it converts waste into a resource, it uses energy to transform that resource into a new useable product. Thus, by following the ‘Reduce, Reuse, recycle’ principle, i.e. by reducing use at source, by reusing and recycling whatever possible, and finally by proper disposal of residual waste, we can cut down or the waste generated and ensure that the minimal residual waste does not harm our environment. This principle can be followed by everyone, from an individual or an industry to a whole country.
You can follow the 3Rs principle in the following ways:
1. Use only as much as you need, be it any resource – water, food, paper, etc.
2. Next time you throw away something, think about whether it is a waste. Reuse rinse water to water your garden, etc. Donate old clothes to the needy, instead of throwing them away.
3. If you are sure the item is not usable in its present form, can it be recycled? Paper, plastics, glass, metal can all be recycled.
4. Segregate your waste into wet and dry garbage. Wet garbage includes most kitchen wastes. Most of this can be used for composting. Most dry garbage is recyclable. The amount of dry waste generated in your household is an
indicator of how well you are following the 3Rs principle. A lot of dry waste means you should go back to the ‘Reduce and Reuse’ principles and try to follow them better.
5. Avoid the use of non-biodegradable materials such as Styrofoam and certain types of plastics. Although most plastics are recyclable, recycling still takes up energy, which is another precious resource not to be wasted. If thrown away as waste, Styrofoam and plastics can take hundreds of years to decompose.
6. Do not litter or throw garbage in public places. Garbage and litter is a visual contaminant and can cause diseases health problems. Proper disposal of garbage is an important part of waste management.
7. Be a conscious consumer and do not buy over-packaged products. Try choosing products that are made from recycled material or are organically grown.
Suggestions for better waste management:
1) Every country must survey all the different forms of waste generation along with its sources. They must set up priorities concerning waste utilization. Most waste can be converted to resources that can enhance the economy of the country.
2) Plans should be prepared for controlling waste at the source. This must include the segregation of wet and dry waste, where the wet waste can be converted to compost and used and the dry waste is recycled.
3) Research and developmental programs to find innovative methods of waste recycling must be encouraged. Recycling should be a part of conservation and environmental protection programs. Private and public organizations for waste recycling and management should be set up.
4) Uneconomical methods of waste disposal like landfilling, or incineration must be reduced to a minimum. Plans for the appropriate disposal of non-utilizable hazardous waste from chemical industries must be implemented and strictly monitored.
5) Every community should organize extensive programs on education and demonstration on the reduction of waste, and the proper disposal and effective re-utilization of waste material. People should be informed of the need for waste management to protect the quality of the environment. This should be included in the curriculum at the school and college level.
6) Every society should make efforts to design peoples’ lifestyles and cultural patterns based on low waste production. The goal of every society should be to reach a low-waste or no-waste society. Resources must be conserved by proper selection, production technologies, recovering and recycling what is usable and reducing unnecessary demands for consumption, and inventing technologies that would make it possible for reusing the waste resources to reduce overexploiting of our existing resources
Key Takeaways:
- Consumerism causes wasteful use of energy and material far beyond that needed for everyday living at a comfortable level. The inordinate amount of waste that is generated by consumer-oriented societies around the world is a serious environmental issue.
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, or the 3Rs principle is the new concept in waste management. Although some waste is inevitable in any society, we must minimize the generation of waste at the source by using minimal resources. Do not use what you do not need.
References:
- Textbook Of Environmental Science By Deeksha Dave And E.Sai Baba Reddy, Cengage
- Publications.
- Text Book Of Environmental Sciences And Technology By M.Anji Reddy, Bs Publication.
- Comprehensive Environmental Studies By J.P.Sharma, Laxmi Publications.
- Environmental Sciences And Engineering – J. Glynn Henry And Gary W. Heinke – Prentice Hall Of
- India Private Limited.
- A Text Book Of Environmental Studies By G.R.Chatwal, Himalaya Publishing House
