The study of environmental studies helps us to bring about awareness with respect to the environmental problems cropped up in the name of development. The developmental issues include:
Industrial growth: There has been a significant growth in industries since the 19 century. Industrial processes release chemicals, which rise into the stratosphere and degrade the ozone. Acid rain, smog and poor air quality have been the result of air pollution. Industrial activities have resulted in depletion of natural resources. The environmental studies will help us to understand the use of natural resources rationally, and the need to find out substitutes for renewable resources.
Urbanization: More and more people are migrating to urban areas from rural areas for employment and better lifestyle. Urbanization has resulted in excessive use of automobiles and created slums in cities. This has resulted in increasing crowding and congestion, which in turn has led to air and water pollution. The study of environmental science enables us to know the aspects related to soil and water contamination, measures to prevent them, solid waste management and l sustainable development.
Agriculture: With the developments in agriculture, thefarmers have resorted to farm mechanization. This has resulted in soil erosion. Excessive use of chemical fertilizers has reduced the soil fertility. Also, excessive use of pesticides and herbicide has caused imbalance in soil composition as these chemicals are not easily biodegradable. The environmental studies help to understand ways and means of soil conservation. It also helps to know about organic fertilizers which are environment-friendly. It helps to know the causes and effects of over-cultivation, overgrazing and desertification.
Pollution: Due to advancement and development taking place in the modern world, pollution is one of the major environmental problems. Air, water, noise and soil pollution poses serious health problems to mankind. A study of environmental science enables to know the causes of pollution and measures to prevent it. It helps us to understand the related concepts of global warming and climate change.
Development projects: Government has initiated development projects like construction of dams and mining projects. Big dams, reservoirs and canals have been constructed for irrigation which has caused the problem of water logging. The mining projects can affect the natural environment. The environmental studies help us to study water conservation, rainwater harvesting, and alternative use of renewable and non-renewable resources.
Objectives and Guiding Principles of Environmental Studies:
According to UNESCO (1971), the objectives of environmental studies are:
(a) Creating the notice about environmental problems among people.
(b) Imparting basic knowledge about the environment and its allied problems.
(c) Developing an attitude of concern for the environment.
(d) Motivating public to participate in environment protection and environment improvement.
(e) Acquiring skills to assist the concerned individuals in identifying and solving environmental problems.
(f) Striving to achieve harmony with Nature.
According to UNESCO, the guiding principles of environmental education should be as follows:
(a) Environmental education should be compulsory, right from the first up to the post graduate stage.
(b) Environmental education should have an interdisciplinary approach by including physical, chemical, biological also as socio-cultural aspects of the environment. It should build a bridge between biology and technology.
(c) Environmental education should take under consideration the historical perspective, the present and therefore the potential historical issues.
(d) Environmental education should emphasize the importance of sustainable development i.e., economic development without degrading the environment.
(e) Environmental education should emphasize the need of seeking international cooperation in environmental planning.
(f) Environmental education should lay more stress on practical activities and first-hand experiences.
The components of environment can be broadly divided into two groups:
Natural Environment
Human (Cultural) Environment
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT:
The area near the surface of the earth can be divided into four interconnected " geo-spheres": lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere. Scientists classify life and material on or near thesurface of the earth to be in any of these four spheres.
The names of the four spheres are derived from the Greek words for stone (litho), air (atmo), water (hydro), and life (bio).
Lithosphere: The lithosphere is the solid, rocky crust covering entire planet. This crust is inorganic and is composed of minerals. It covers the entire surface of the earth from the top of Mount Everest to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The lithosphere is the solid shell of inorganic materials on the surface of the earth. It is composed of soil particles and the underlying rocks down to a depth of 50 km. The soil layer is also referred to as the pedosphere which is a mixture of inorganic and organic solid matter, air, water and micro-organisms. Within the soil, biochemical reactions by micro-organisms are responsible for most of the chemical changes of matter. However, soil and rock are mainly storage components for deposited matter.
Hydrosphere: The hydrosphere is composed of all of the water on or near the earth. This includes the oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, and even the moisture in the air. Ninety-seven percent of the earth's water is in the oceans. The remaining three percent is fresh water; three-quarters of the fresh water is solid and exists in ice sheets. The hydrosphere covers about 70% of the surface of the Earth and is the home for many plants and animals. The hydrosphere, like the atmosphere, is always in motion. The motion of rivers and streams can be easily seen, while the motion of the water within lakes and ponds is less obvious. Some of the motion of the oceans and seas can be easily seen while the large scale motions that move water great distances such as between the tropics and poles or between continent are more difficult to see. The large scale motions are in the form of currents that move the warm water in the tropics toward the poles, and colder water from the polar regions toward the tropics. These currents exist on the surface of the ocean and at great depths in the ocean (up to about 4 km).
Biosphere: The biosphere is composed of all living organisms. Plants, animals, and one-celled organisms are all part of the biosphere. Most of the planet's life is found from three meter below the ground to thirty meters above it and in the top 200 meters of the oceans and seas. The biosphere occupies the least volume of all of the sphere but it is the cause of the majority of the flow of matter through nature. The biosphere is responsible for the grand scald recycling of energy and matter on earth.
Atmosphere: The atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention (greenhouse effect), and reducing temperature extremes between day and night. The atmosphere is the body of air which surrounds our planet Most of our atmosphere is located close to the earth's surface where it is most dense. The air of our planet is 79% nitrogen and just under 21% oxygen; the small amount remaining is composed of carbon dioxide and other gasses.
All four spheres can be and often are present in a single location. For example, a piece of soil will of course have mineral material from the lithosphere. Additionally, there will be elements the hydrosphere present as moisture within the soil, t biosphere as insects and plants, and even the atmosphere pockets of air between soil pieces.
HUMAN ENVIRONMENT
The human environment is called as anthrosphere. anthrosphere is dead part of environment made or modified by humans and used for their activities. Of course, there are some ambiguities associated with that definition. Clearly, a factory building used for manufacture is part of the anthrosphere as is an ocean-going ship used to ship goods made in the factory. The ocean on which the ship moves belongs to the hydrosphere, but it is clearly used by humans. A pier constructed on the ocean shore and used to load the ship is part of the anthrosphere, but it is closely associated with hydrosphere.
CONCEPT OF ECOLOGY
Ecology comes from the Greek words OIKOS (house or place where one lives) and LOGOS (study of). Ecology is a sub-discipline of biology, the study of life. The word "ecology" (Okologie') was coined in 1866 by the German scientist Ernst Haeckel.
E. Haeckel defined ecology as "the science of relations between organisms and their environment".
Scope of Ecology
Ecology is usually considered a branch of biology, the general that studies living organisms.
Organisms can be studied at many different levels, from proteins and nucleic acids (in biochemistry and molecular biology), to cells (in cellular biology), to individuals (in botany, zoology and other similar disciplines) and finally at the level of populations communities and ecosystems, to the biosphere as a whole, these latter strata are the primary subjects of ecological inquiry. Ecology is a multi-disciplinary science. Because of its focus on the higher levels of the organization of life on earth and on the interrelations between organisms and their environment, ecology draws heavily on many other branches of science, especially geology and geography, meteorology, pedology, genetics, chemistry and Therefore, ecology is considered by some to be a holistic science. one that over-arches older disciplines such as biology, which in this view become sub-disciplines contributing to ecological knowledge In other words, ecology is viewed as a subject in its own right as opposed to a sub-discipline of biology.
The scope of ecology can be explained from the viewpoint of its various sub-disciplines:
Disciplines of Ecology
Ecology is a broad discipline comprising many sub-disciplines. A common, broad classification of sub-disciplines is as follows:
Eco-physiology examines how the physiological functions of organisms influence the way they interact with the environment, both biotic and abiotic.
Behavioral ecology examines the roles of behavior in enabling an animal to adapt to its environment.
Population ecology studies the dynamics of populations of a single species.
Community ecology (or synecology) focuses on the interactions between species within an ecological community.
Ecosystem ecology studies the flows of energy and matter through the biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems.
Systems ecology is an interdisciplinary field focusing on the study, development and organization of ecological systems from a holistic perspective.
Landscape ecology examines processes and relationship across multiple ecosystems or very large geographic areas.
Evolutionary ecology studies ecology in a way that explicitly considers the evolutionary histories to species and their interactions.
Political ecology connects politics and economy to problems of environmental control and ecological change.
Ecology can also be sub-divided according to the species of interest into fields such as animal ecology, plant ecology, insect ecology and so on. Another frequent method of subdivision is by biome (lite zones of interrelated plants and animals, determined by climate forests, deserts, ice-zones), e.g. Arctic ecology (or polar ecology), tropical ecology, desert ecology, etc.
Natural environment is of crucial importance for social and economic life of human beings. Environment is a natural capital and it enhances the quality of human life.
Resource for food supply: For survival and sustenance, in olden days, humans collected fruits and vegetables from nature by food gathering, forestry, hunting and fishing. With the development of art of cultivation, man produced crops for the first time and that is a landmark in the history of human development. Agriculture was undertaken in the fertile flood plains of the Nile, the Indus, the Ganga, the Yantse and others. It forms a major source of food for man today. It is the most important activity that provided stability to human life and gave path to human progress. Natural environment is a resource for food supply not only through the means of agriculture but also by way of forests and animals. Various aquatic resources are available to man as food from water bodies like fishes, crabs, seaweeds and others.
Energy source: Energy is an important source of human development. It is pervasive in every households and industries. At present, fuels are principal sources of energy and are fast depleting, and cannot be renewed. Natural environment also provides energy from sun, wind and water. The energy from these sources are renewable sources of energy. The quality of human life has improved with the application of such renewable sources of energy to generate electricity.
Source for recreation: Natural environment attracts tourism as it comprises of natural and geographical assets, such as pleasing weather, scenic beauty, flora and fauna and so on. Thus, the Physical and climatic conditions of a region influence recreation and tourism. For instance, people travel to Nainital, Mysore, Ooty, Kodaikanal, Goa and so on for recreation and relaxation. Natural environment also provides scope for sports, adventure and wildlife. The quality of human life enhances when people engage in such recreational activities.
Forest resources: Natural environment is a major source for forest products. Timber obtained from forests is used for construction of houses, shipbuilding and other wood-related industries. Forests are resources for medicinal plants. For instance, quinine is extracted from the bark of the Chinchona tree and is used for curing malaria. other non-timber based products that can be obtained from forests are rubber, oil, nuts, fiber, gum, tannin and others. The use of all this forever product enhances the quality of human life.
Natural capital is defined because the land, air, water, living organisms and natural resources of the world that produce value to people. As we see from this definition, natural capital includes both living resources, like trees, plants, crops and wildlife, also as non-living resources, like coal, oil and gas .
It is easy to ascertain that the weather of natural capital are essential for human survival. But they're also the inspiration of most human economic activities. for instance, a rustic could also be rich in oil and have a robust economy due to this natural resources. Of course, if the country exploits its supply of oil and depletes the resource, the country will actually deplete its economic wealth. Therefore, it are often argued that it's within the best interest of nations to assess their natural capital to form better economic decisions.
Natural capital contributes to the standard of lifetime of a neighborhood in two complementary ways: first, by directly providing environmental services that can't be imported, and second, by supplying the natural resources that, through a person's controlled production process, become valuable to humans.
The evolution of the mixture of those two components of the standard of life determines the trail of development a neighborhood takes. Environmental services also determine the power of natural capital to regenerate itself.
Ecosystems and other components of the regional natural capital produce environmental services that provide life-support functions necessary for natural capital reproduction. The destruction of this critical natural capital impairs the interior sources of improvement of the standard of lifetime of a neighborhood, resulting in a non-sustainable path of development. This subject a model of the connection between natural capital and quality of life that gives a stricter definition of sustainable development through explicit characterization and classification of natural capital consistent with its ability to supply life-supporting environmental services, by its substitutability, and by its possible reconstruction.
Application of this model then shows that there are 51 possible regional development paths, only 32 of which are sustainable and only 14 of which are sustainable while also providing improvements in quality of life. Only six of those 14 sustainable development paths are attained with economic process, however, while the opposite eight paths increase quality of life by increasing the assembly of environmental services. The model could help within the development of institutional interventions that might promote regional development paths that are sustainable.
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; their destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife. When the environment becomes less valuable or damaged, environmental degradation is said to occur. There are many forms of environmental degradation. When habitats are destroyed, biodiversity is lost, or natural resources are depleted, their environment is hurt.
Environmental degradation can occur naturally, or through human processes. The largest areas of concern at present are the loss of rain forests, air pollution and smog, ozone depletion and the destruction of the marine environment.
Environmentalists are working hard to combat environmental degradation. There are countless organizations located all over their world that are dedicated to preventing the global destruction of the environment.
The causes of environment degradation are stated as follows:
1. Industrial Activities: Industrial processes release chemicals, which rise into the stratosphere and degrade the ozone. For instance, CFCs or chlorofluorocarbons are the primary cause of ozone depletion. Acid rain, smog and poor air quality have been the result of air pollution. Both industrial operations and automobiles have released gigantic amounts of emissions in the atmosphere. The emission has resulted in acid rain, smog and poor air quality, which in turn have intensified air pollution. Industrial activities have resulted in depletion of natural resources. For instance, coal, natural gas and petroleum resources that were scarcely used only a century ago are now consumed in enormous quantities.
2. Population Explosion: Third world or developing countries are witnessing population explosion. Due to population explosion, there is ever increasing pressure on land and water resources. For instance, in India, the per capita availability of land is declining every year due to growing population. Due to population explosion, human activities regarding survival compound the problem of environment degradation. For instance, traditional methods of cooking with firewoodon an increasing scale affects the air environment. Population explosion also results in overgrazing of animals, over-utilization land for cultivation, urbanization problems including slum Increase in tribal populations has increased hunting activities which in turn resulted in depletion in wild life resources.
3. Farm Mechanization: Soil erosion takes places due to various activities including the use of mechanization of agriculture. Due to use of farm machines like tractors, rapid destruction of organic components of farm is taking place. The imbalance in organic component decreases productivity and also results in ecological imbalance in the farm system.
4. Pesticides and Insecticides: Excessive use of chemical fertilizers has reduced the fertility of soil. Faulty use of fertilizers has caused the growth of microorganisms which in turn cause various diseases. Also, the ground water gets contaminated Also the excessive use of pesticides (to destroy pests/ and herbicides (to destroy weeds) has caused imbalance in soil composition, as these chemicals biodegradable.
5. Felling of Trees: There has been illegal felling of trees in most parts of developing countries. Tree felling is done by villagers for fuel (cooking) and to earn livelihood by selling logs. Tree felling has resulted in depletion of forest cover. For instance, places closer to Mumbai such as Lonavala and Mahabaleshwar which once boasted of thick green cover has shown the signs of massive deforestation. Even in Mumbai, the forest land has reduced due to encroachments.
6. Changing Life Styles: The changing life style of people especially, in urban and semi-urban areas has resulted environmental degradation. In urban areas, the middle upper and the rich class make excessive use of air conditioners inrefrigeration systems, which affects the air environment. People also go for packaged water and soft drinks (in PET bottles) and make excessive use of plastic carry bags. The plastic materials do not degrade and create problems for soil and water resources.
7. Development Projects: Big dams, reservoirs and canals have been constructed for irrigation which has caused the problem of waterlogging. Wrong use of irrigation is causing soil erosion and landslides as well. The construction of dams like Tehri Dam in Uttarakhand may cause severe damage since it is located on earthquake prone area. The mining projects can affect the natural environment. This is because mining operations can affect pollution of surface and ground water resources.
8. Natural Causes: Many natural processes cause emissions. When a volcano erupts, it lets out acid, ash and many toxic gases. When fires break out in forests, they release smoke, soot, carcinogenic hydrocarbons, dioxins and carbon dioxide.
IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENT DEGRADATION ON HUMAN LIFE
Environmental degradation can occur due to natural factors such as floods, earthquakes, etc., or due to human factors such as deforestation, emissions, etc. Environmental degradation can have adverse effects on human life:
1. Air Pollution: It is caused by mass burning of fossil fuels such as petrol and diesel in urban India and kerosene, coal and wood fuels in rural areas, release of carbon monoxide, Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Health problems due to air pollution include cancers, respiratory disorders such as asthma and bronchitis, nervous system damage, headaches, nausea and loss of coordination.
2. Noise Pollution: It is caused by increasing mechanization, vehicular traffic and overpopulation. Health problems due to noise pollution include hearing loss, high blood pressure and rise in risk of heart diseases.
3. Water Pollution and Scarcity: Due to excessive use of harmful chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides; underground water is getting polluted. The concentration of zinc, lead, manganese and nitrates has increased in underground water. Excessive use of water resources for industrial use has depleted the water resources in several States and the water has turned saline. Health problems due to water pollution include gastroenteritis, jaundice and cholera. It is said that water pollution is the major cause of diseases in India.
4. Soil Contamination: It is caused through hydrocarbons, heavy metals, pesticides and chlorinated hydrocarbons, which poison vegetation and food products. Health problems due to soil contamination include cancers damage to brain, kidney and nervous system, fatigue, eye irritation and skin allergies.
5. Global Warming: It is the increase in the average temperature of the earth since the mid-20th century. It is caused b greenhouse gases and deforestation. It causes extreme weather like freak rains and frequent flash floods and extreme heat. The Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC report has predicted that warmer weather can reduce agricultural yield by 30 to 40% by 2050; creating a major food crisis for humans.
Climate change can cause health problems like cancers, hear diseases, fatigue, eye irritation, skin allergies, headaches nausea, damage to nervous system, waterborne diseases, and so on.
6. Effect of Ozone Depletion: CFCs, or chlorofluorocarbons, art the primary cause of ozone depletion. When industrial processes release these chemicals, they rise into the stratosphere and deplete the ozone layer. There is a 24 km thick ozone shield above 15km from the earth surface. It is situated in the stratosphere and this layer shield the earth from the harmful ultra violet radiations of the sun. An imbalance is created when chlorine atoms released from the earth react with ozone molecules. These chlorine molecules are released from man-made chemicals such as CFCs. When these chemicals reach the ozone layer, there is loss of ozone molecules, which is termed as depletion of ozone layer. When this happens, the capacity of the ozone layer reduces, to filter out the harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun. The ultraviolet rays have harmful effects including skin cancer.
The most frequently quoted definition on Sustainable Development is from the Brundtland Report "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present (people) without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
Sustainable development focuses on improving the quality of life for all of the Earth's citizens without increasing the use of natural resources beyond the capacity of the environment to supply them indefinitely. It requires an understanding that inaction has consequences and that we must find innovative ways to change institutional structures and influence individual behaviour. It is about taking action, changing policy and practice at all levels, from the individual to the international.
Need for Sustainable Development
The need for sustainable development arises due to the following reasons:
1. After the industrial revolution, our social, cultural and economic values have changed. Due to changes in life style, the materialistic demands have increased. Therefore, there is overuse of materialistic goods to satisfy our lifestyles. There is over industrialization in several parts of the globe causing environmental problems.
2. The overuse of the natural resources has created the problem of generation of solid waste material mainly in the urban and in the industrial areas. This has caused the degradation of the natural environment, i.e., of the plant and the animal species.
3. Due to overuse, the water bodies are getting polluted. There is depletion of ground water resources and the water has turned saline in many places.
4. The forests are getting depleted due to felling of trees. This has resulted in the soil erosion. The surface soil gets deposited in the river valleys making the river basins shallow to cause floods.
5. The felling of trees has also resulted in increasing rate of carbon dioxide, which creates the problem of global warming.
6. Due to increase in population, there is overuse of all natural resources.
The above factors have led to degradation of environment. Therefore, there is a need for sustainable development. People need to be made aware of the needs and the methods to control their demands and to overcome the problem of overuse of natural resources.
Principles and Guidelines -Sustainable Development
PRINCIPLES:
1. Integration of Environment and Economic Decisions: Requires that we ensure economic decisions adequately reflect environmental impacts including human health. Environmental initiatives shall adequately take into account economic consequences.
2. Stewardship: Requires that we manage the environment and economy for the benefits of present and future generations. Stewardship requires the recognition that we are caretakers of the environment and economy for the benefit of present and future generations. A balance must be struck between today's decisions and tomorrow's impacts.
3. Shared Responsibility: Requires that all citizens acknowledge responsibility for sustaining the environment and economy. with each being accountable for decisions and actions, in a spirit of partnership and open cooperation.
4. Prevention: Requires that we anticipate, prevent or mitigate significant adverse environmental (including human health) and economic impacts of policy, programs and decisions.
5. Conservation: Requires that we maintain essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life-support systems of our environment; harvest reusable resources on a sustained yield basis; and make wise and efficient use of our renewable and non-renewable resources.
6. Waste Minimization: Requires that we endeavour to reduce, reuse, recycle and recover the products of our society.
7. Enhancement: Requires that we enhance the long term productive capability, quality and capacity of our natural ecosystems.
8. Rehabilitation and Reclamation: Requires that we endeavour to restore damaged or degraded environments to beneficial uses. Rehabilitation and reclamation require ameliorating damage caused in the past. Future policies, programs and developments should take into consideration the need for rehabilitation and reclamation.
9. Scientific and Technological Innovation: Requires that we research, develop, test and implement technologies essential to further environmental quality including human health and economic growth.
10. Global Responsibility: Requires that we think globally when we act locally. Global responsibility requires that we recognize there are no boundaries to our environment, and that there is ecological interdependence among provinces and nations. There is a need to work cooperatively locally, and internationally to accelerate the merger of environment and economics in decision making and to develop comprehensive and equitable solutions to problems.
GUIDELINES:
1. Efficient Use of Resources: We shall encourage and support development and application of systems for proper resource pricing, demand management, and resource allocation together with incentives and disincentives to encourage efficient use of resources and full environmental costing of decisions and developments.
2. Public Participation: We shall establish appropriate forums which encourage and provide opportunity for consultation and meaningful participation in decision making processes by all citizens. We shall endeavour to ensure due process, prior notification and appropriate and timely redress for those affected by policies, programs, decisions and developments.
3. Understanding and Respect: We shall be aware that we share a common physical, social and economic environment in the country. Understanding and respect for differing social and economic views, values and traditions and aspirations is necessary for equitable management of these common resources. Consideration must be given to the aspirations, needs and views of various regions and groups.
4. Access to Adequate Information: We shall encourage and support the improvement and refinement of our environmental and economic information base and promotion of the opportunity for equal and timely access to information by all citizens.
5. Integrated Decision Making and Planning: We shall encourage and support decision making and planning processes that are open, cross-sectoral, incorporate time horizons relevant to long term implications and are efficient and timely.
6. Substitution: We shall encourage and promote the development and use of substitutes for scarce resources where they are both environmentally sound and economically viable.
Livelihood: Natural environment provides food, water, energy and shelter to poor people. The poor people rely extensively on natural environment for their well-being and basic needs. The environment provides opportunities for poor people to earn income in sectors such as agriculture, fishing, forestry and tourism, both in formal and informal markets.
Health Risks: The poor people are more vulnerable to environmental risks and problems. Environment and health of the poor have a direct relationship. The health of the poor and the health of the community, in general, can be maintained and improved only when environment is protected and measures are taken to upgrade it. But, unfortunately, there is too much of environmental degradation throughout the globe. Studies on health and environment indicate how preventable illnesses and premature deaths are still occurring in very large numbers especially among the poor. Pollution and climate change can cause health problems such as cancers, heart diseases, fatigue, eye irritation, skin allergies, headaches, nausea, damage to nervous system, waterborne diseases and so on.
Resilience to Environmental Risks: The poor people are more affected by natural disasters such as floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes, etc. Such environmental disorders threaten the livelihood of the poor. Thus, it is imperative for effective environmental management of natural resources to increase the resilience of poor people to environmental risks.
Economic Development: The environment contributes to economic growth and level of employment through agriculture, energy, forestry, fisheries and tourism. Poor people depend on various such activities for their livelihoods. However, excessive use of such natural resources may have a negative effect on natural resource management. For instance, a fisherman catches fish for his livelihood. If his income increases, he might buy a boat and a bigger net and thus increase his fish catch to unsustainable levels. In the short term, his income will rise further, but that action may impoverish his children.
Poor people are often impoverished by a declining resource base, and are thus forced to degrade the environment.
Poverty is a state of human deprivation which does not allow people to get even the basic necessities of life i.e. food, clothing, shelter, basic sanitation and medical care. A large proportion of the population in developing countries of Asia and Africa live below the poverty line.
The main cause of poverty is the concentration of wealth in few developed countries of the west at the cost of many under-developed countries like Asia, Africa and South America. The European and North American countries created colonies in Asia, Africa and South America. This resulted in exploitation and poverty among Asia, Africa and South America and concentration of wealth in European and North American countries. The developed countries over exploited the resources in their colonies to meet the demands for raw materials and other food commodities in their own countries. The overexploited countries continued to depend heavily on developed countries for food grains as well as other basic goods for a long time even after freedom. Introduction to technology increased production capacities of developing countries of Asia, Africa and South America. But rapid population growth easily off set the increase in production. Thus, over exploitation of land, water, mineral and animal resources continues, even today.
Many international reports claim that poverty may be a major explanation for environmental degradation, including the planet Commission on Environment and Development’s report, Our Common Future70and UNEP’s Geo 2000.71 there's little or no evidence that this is often actually the case on a worldwide scale either in rural areas72 or in urban areas. In urban areas, it's overwhelmingly the consumption patterns of non-poor groups (especially high income groups) and therefore the production and distribution systems that serve them that are liable for most environmental degradation. The urban poor contribute little or no to environmental degradation because they use so few resources and generate so few wastes.
References
Foundation course - Manan Prakashan
Industrial Hygiene by Frances Alstone
Industrial Environmental Management by Tapas K. Das
