Ecology - Foundation Course Semester 2- Prof. Karishma Shetty

PROF. KARISHMA SHETTY
ECOLOGY

IMPORTANCE OF
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES IN
THE CURRENT
DEVELOPMENTAL CONTEXT:

PROF. KARISHMA SHETTY 3
(1) Environmental studies will help us to develop without destroying our environment. It will help
individuals to focus on sustainable development.
(2) Modern environmental concepts on conservation of biodiversity can be learnt though environmental
studies.
(3) It will educate masses to use natural resources efficiently, especially the non-renewable resources.
(4) The knowledge of environmental studies will enable one to have a better understanding of organism
under natural conditions.
(5) Awareness of environmental issues and problems at local, national and international levels will be
highlighted and deliberate effort will be taken to resolve them.
(6) Environmental studies will definitely educate the masses on the various types of environment and
the environmental hazards related to it.
(7) It will play a drastic role in changing the law and order enforcement systems related to environment.
(8) It will inculcate respect for the environment. the habit of having concern and awareness of the
environment.

CONCEPT OF ENVIRONMENT:
◍ Environment may be defined as "The external surroundings
including all of the biotic and abiotic factors that surround and
affect the survival and development of an organism or
population."
◍ The word "environment" comes from French word "Environ",
which means "whereabouts", "around", "surroundings."
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COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENT:
◍ Environment is the totality of all living factors and non-living factors that constitute the
surroundings of man. The external factors affecting an organism are also called as
Environment. These factors may be biotic Components (living organisms) and abiotic
components (non-living variables).
◍ Biotic components include all living organisms in the ecosystem. Abiotic components
are non-living compounds and physical elements in the environment.
◍ The components of environment can be further broadly divided into two groups:
(I) Natural Environment- The Natural environment can be listed into 4 major aspects -
Lithosphere, Hydrosphere, Atmosphere and Biosphere.
(II) Human Environment- The Human Environment is called as Anthrosphere.
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•Lithosphere: The earth's outer layer consisting of the soil and rocks is the lithosphere.
There are 2 types of lithosphere namely oceanic lithosphere and continental lithosphere.
•Hydrosphere: This comprise all water possessions both surface and ground water.
Only less than 1% of water resources are obtainable for human exploitation.
•Atmosphere: The state of layer adjoining the earth and extending up to 500 kms above
the earth's shell, is called atmosphere. Atmosphere is also called as layer of gases
which protects the earth as of cosmic radiations and provides life supporting Oxygen.
The atmosphere plays a major role in temperature control on earth.
•Biosphere: The biosphere consists of the places where life can be found. Since life
exists in the air, on and in the earth, and on and in water, the biosphere overlaps,
connects, and influences all of the other spheres - and they all affect the biosphere. The
biosphere is a shell encompassing the earth's surface where all the living organisms
exist. This segment extends from 10000 m underneath sea level to 6000 m above sea
level.
(I) NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

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CONCEPT OF ECOLOGY:
◍ Ecology is usually considered as a branch of
biology. Ecology as a term has been derived
from the Greek word ‘oikos’, which means
"home' or place to live!. When first described
in 1869 by Emst Haeckel this new science
dealt with the study of the relationships
between an organism and its environment.

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DEFINITION:
"Ecology is the study of interactions between organisms (biotic part) and their non-living
environment (abiotic factors)"
Biotic factors includes plants, animals, fungi, & microorganisms. They may be producers,
consumers, or decomposers.
Abiotic factors include climate, soll, temperature, water, air, sunlight, humidity, pH, and
atmospheric gases.
.

INTERCONNECTEDNESS
BETWEEN ENVIRONMENT
AND ECOLOGY:
Environment and Ecology are two different terms
But they are interrelated.

•The natural surroundings of an organism, both living and physical is its environment.
•The scientific analysis and study of interactions among organisms and their environment is termed as Ecology.
Understanding of the ecosystems is comfortably done because of Ecological science.
•It is an interdisciplinary field that includes both biology and earth science, but is a separate area of study from
environmental science.
•Environment is a broader term that incorporates many elements both living and non-living factors, whereas ecology
is usually more focused on how organisms interact with each other and their surroundings, and often on a very
specific population of living things.
•Ecologists may also focus on specific interactions within a group, such as food preferences, mating habits, predatory
patterns or migration.
•They use careful observation and data to explain developmental and evolutionary adaptions that may influence a
species and study how biodiversity affects populations.
•Ecologists study issues such as population size, diversity, distribution and prevalence of specific organisms, as well
as the competition between them and among different ecosystems.

FOOD CHAIN
Food chain shows how each living thing gets its food. Some A animals eat plants and
some animals eat other animals. For example, simple food chain links the trees &
shrubs, the giraffes (that eat trees & shrubs), and the lions (that eat the giraffes). Each
link this chain is food for the next link. A food chain always starts with plant life and
ends with an animal.

(1)Plants are called producers because they are able to use light energy from the Sun to produce food
(sugar) from carbon dioxide and water. The process by which plants make food is called
photosynthesis.
(2) Animals cannot make their own food so they must eat plants and/or other animals. They are
called consumers. There are three groups of consumers.
(3) Animals that eat ONLY PLANTS are called herbivores (or primary consumers)
(4) Animals that eat OTHER ANIMALS are called carnivores. (5) Carnivores that eat herbivores are
called secondary consumers
(6) Carnivores that eat other carnivores are called tertiary consumers
(7) E.g., killer whales in an ocean food web ... Phytoplankton, small fishes - seals killer whales
(8) Animals and people who eat BOTH animals and plants are called omnivores.
(9) Then there are decomposers (bacteria and fungi) which feed on decaying matter.
(10) These decomposers speed up the decaying process that releases mineral salts back into the
food chain for absorption by plants as nutrients.

In a food chain, energy is passed from one link to another.

ECOSYSTEM

MEANING:
•An ecosystem is a community of plants and animals interacting with each other in a given
area, and also with their non-living environments.
•The non-living environments include weather, earth sun, soil, climate and atmosphere.
•The ecosystem relates to the that all these different organisms live in close proximity to
each other and how they interact with each other.
•For instance, in an ecosystem where there are both rabbits and foxes, these two creatures
are in a relationship where the fox eats the rabbit in order to survive.
•This relationship has a knock on effect with the other creatures and plants that live in the
same or similar areas.
•For instance, the more rabbits that foxes eat, the more the plants may start to thrive
because there are fewer rabbits to eat them.

“
DEFINITION OF ECOSYSTEM
"An ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction with the non-
living components of their environment (things like air, water and mineral soil),
interacting as a system. These biotic and abiotic components are regarded as linked
together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. As ecosystems are defined by the
network of interactions among organisms, and between organisms and their
environment, they can be of any size but usually encompass specific, limited spaces
(although some scientists say that the entire planet is an ecosystem)."
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STRUCTURE OF ECOSYSTEM:
◍ At a basic functional level, ecosystem generally contains primary producers (plants) capable of
harvesting energy from the sun through the process called photosynthesis. This energy then flows
through the food chain.
◍ Next come consumers. Consumers could be primary consumers (herbivores) or secondary
consumers (carnivores).
◍ These consumers feed on the captured energy. Decomposers work at the bottom of the food chain.
◍ Dead tissues and waste products are produced at all levels. Scavengers, detritivores and
decomposers not only feed on this energy but also break organic matter back into its organic
constituents. It is the microbes that finish the job of decomposition and produce organic
constituents that can again be used by producers.
◍ Energy that flows through the food chain i.e. from producers to consumers to decomposers is
always inefficient. That means less energy is available at secondary consumers level than at
primary producers level. It is not surprising but amount of energy produced from place to place
varies a lot due to amount of solar radiation and the availability of nutrients and water. 17

TYPES OF ECOSYSTEM:
There are very many types of ecosystems out there,
but the three major classes of ecosystems,
sometimes referred to as 'biomes', which are
relatively contained, are the following:
◍ Freshwater Ecosystems;
◍ Terrestrial Ecosystems;
◍ Ocean Ecosystems.
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(1) Freshwater Ecosystems: These can then be broken up into
smaller ecosystems. For instance, in the freshwater ecosystems we find:
(a) Pond Ecosystems: These are usually relatively small and contained.
Most of the time they include various types of plants, amphibians and
insects. Sometimes they include fish, but as these cannot move around as
easily as amphibians and insects, it is less likely, and most of the time
fish are artificially introduced to these environments by humans.
(b) River Ecosystems: Because rivers always link to the sea they are more
likely to contain fish alongside the usual plants, amphibians and insects.
These sorts of ecosystems can also include birds because birds often hunt
in and around water for small fish or insects.

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(2) Terrestrial Ecosystems:
Terrestrial ecosystems are many because there are so many different sorts of places on Earth. Some
of the most common terrestrial ecosystems that are found are the following:
(a) Rainforests: Rainforests usually have extremely dense ecosystems because there are so many
different types of animals all living in a very small area.
(b) Tundra: As mentioned above, tundra usually have relatively simple ecosystems because of the
limited amount of life that can be supported in these harsh conditions.
(c) Deserts: Quite the opposite of tundra in many ways, but still harsh, more animals live in the
extreme heat than live in the extreme cold of Antarctica, for instance.
(d) Savannas: These differ from deserts because of the amount of rain that they get each year.
Whereas deserts get only a tiny amount of precipitation every year, savannas tend to be a bit
wetter which is better for supporting more life.
(e) Forests: There are many different types of forests all over the world including deciduous forests
and coniferous forests These can support a lot of life and can have very complex ecosystems.
(f) Grasslands: Grasslands support a wide variety of life and can have very complex and involved
ecosystems.

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(3) Ocean Ecosystems: Ocean ecosystems are relatively contained, although they, like
freshwater ecosystems, also include certain birds that hunt for fish and insects close to the
ocean's surface. There are different sorts of ocean ecosystems:
(a) Shallow Water: Some tiny fish and coral only live in the shallow waters close to land.
(b) Deep Water: Big and even gigantic creatures can live deep in the waters of the oceans. Some
of the strangest creatures in the world live right at the bottom of the sea.
(c) Warm Water: Warmer waters, such as those of the Pacific Ocean, contain some of the most
impressive and intricate ecosystems in the world.
(d) Cold Water: Less diverse, cold waters still support relatively complex ecosystems. Plankton
usually form the base of the food chain, following by small fish that are either eaten by
bigger fish or by other creatures such as seals or penguins.

ENVIRONMENT AS NATURAL CAPITAL
AND CONNECTION TO QUALITY OF
HUMAN LIFE:

•Natural resources include geology, air, water, soil and all living organisms.
•This in totality is called natural capital. Natural capital assets provide people with a wide array of free goods and
services, often termed as ecosystem services.
• Food, fuel, medicines, raw materials; etc. we get from the environment.
•The environment also provides us with various natural services like water catchment and protection services like
forests which prevents soil erosion and also helps in the pollination of crops by insects. We are also inspired from
the wild life existence.
•When financial capital is not spent carefully, we end up in debt, similarly if we overuse the natural capital we will
also end up in a debt, which needs to be paid back. For e.g.: In the form of afforestation. If we keep on drawing
natural resources from the environment without giving time to nature to replenish, this will result in the collapse of
global ecosystem.
•Natural capital, if managed poorly will result in a liability from social and economic point of view also. Working
against nature can be suicidal, which will result in not only biodiversity loss but also productivity of ecosystem
declines over time and some regions get more susceptible to floods and droughts.
•This in turn will make sustenance of human communities difficult. In the long run, it will affect the overall
productivity, may lead to starvation, conflicts over resource scarcity can arise and also may amount to displacement
of the populations.
•All these will result into negative effect on quality of life.

•A healthy functional environment is able to continuously supply
with goods and services from the available natural capital assets.
•There are various natural capital assets checks that can be
undertaken to check the impact of current natural capital assets
on the human beings and the economy.
•Nature is priceless. However it is not valueless and there are now
many studies around the world which have tried to calculate
Natural Capital in financial terms. For example it is calculated that
avoiding greenhouse gas emissions by conserving global forests
would be worth US$ 3.7 trillion.

•Monitoring the environment is important.
•The quality of life is affected by the various types of pollution i.e., air, water, land, noise pollutants and emissions.
•Natural capital needs to be safeguarded by keeping a check on those factors that affect the biodiversity in a negative
way.
•Environmental conditions affect human health directly and indirectly through negative effect on the ecosystems and
causing natural disasters and affecting quality of human life drastically.
•Nowadays, citizens have become increasingly aware of their right to have a high quality environment. Right from the
basics like clean potable water to more derived aspects like noise-free residential and work areas or access to natural
and green spaces.
•People take the environmental factors into account while deciding on the location of their house.
•People are ready to pay more for a house located in a pleasant environment or are even ready to live out of town to
have a peaceful natural environment.
•But problem is of lack of availability of such open green spaces with minimal pollution.
•Quality of life is definitely enhanced with the natural capital assets if used productively. The more the harmful
effects of pollution on environment, the more will be drastic impact on the quality of life.
•Thus natural capital if managed efficiently, will lead to sustainable development and also enhance the quality of life
of the human community.

ENVIRONMENTAL
DEGRADATION

Environmental degradation is an umbrella concept which covers a variety of issues including:
pollution, biodiversity loss & animal extinction, deforestation & desertification, global warming, and a
lot more.
Environmental degradation is basically anything and everything that deplates from a natural process
or structure. In other words, degradation of the environment is either: a significant damage to, or a
complete loss of an environmental process or structure. Most people associate environmental
degradation with environmental pollution.
But it encompasses a much broader area than just pollution and touches upon all realms of life - air,
water and land. The state of our environment has been deteriorating for at least the past couple of
centuries, and virtually every part of the planet has been touched by this process in one way or
another.
It would be no exaggeration to say that environmental degradation was jump-started by the industrial
revolution that took place in the 19th century. The industrial revolution mechanized the production of
goods and introduced the use of machinery and other heavy equipment - which, in their turn, were
fuelled by dirty sources of energy, e.g.: petroleum
The modem technological progress that the humanity is so proud of, is in fact the very basis of
environmental deterioration. On the one hand, we all enjoy the benefits of such progress; on the other
hand, it is a major driving cause of the environmental decline in general.

Environmental degradation is a result of socio-economical, technological and
institutional activities. Degradation occurs when Earth's natural resources are depleted.
These resources which are
affected include: Water, Air, Soil.
The degradation also impacts our:
Wildlife.
Plants.
Animals.
Micro-organisms.
Environmental changes are based on many factors including:
Urbanization.
Population growth.
Economic growth.
Intensification of agriculture.
Increase in energy use.
Increase in transportation.

Cutting down massive forests impacts our biosphere.
Our land, water and soil are compromised when people exhaust resources or release
harmful chemicals into the air.
Deforestation, wasting resources, and pollution all add to the demise of an
environmentally sound and safe planet.
For example, when trees in forests are cut down in large quantities, so that more homes
can be built on the land, the birds and wildlife who lived in the forest must find a new
place to live.
The vegetation that once grew on the land is destroyed. Trees that absorbed carbon
dioxide to help the biosphere are now unable to do so. If the wood from the trees is used
to make products and those products (such as paper) are later recycled, that is one
hopeful aspect for the planet.
However, sometimes trees are just cut down and burned. This is what is known as slash
and burn, a practice that only destroys forests and all that live in them. All these results
into environmental degradation.

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(1) Environmental Degradation of Air
Atmosphere is an inseparable part of our planet.
Life simply cannot exist without air - whether we talk about humans, animals or plants.
We absolutely depend upon the atmosphere to protect all life on Earth.
The atmosphere performs the following very important environmental functions:
-It provides us with clean air and oxygen;
-It protects the Earth from ultra-violet solar radiation; It regulates the global temperature;
-It keeps the climate stable for the whole planet.
-From this perspective, if any of these atmospheric functions are impaired, we all suffer alongside
the wider environment.
-Air pollution is an obvious example of atmospheric degradation.
Possibly the biggest problem with air pollution is its trans boundary nature: it travels freely around
the planet knowing no borders and spreading toxins around many different regions of the world.
The most immediate concern about air pollution is, of course, the damage it can potentially cause
to human health. Most gaseous air pollutants are tiny in size, and are easily lodged within a
person's lungs. From there they can transport themselves straight into one's blood supply and
cause havoc within one's whole body. Particulate air pollutants are larger in size and cannot enter
the blood supply as freely as gaseous pollutants. Despite that, particulates too can cause all sorts of
discomfort to humans and animals alike.

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(2) Environmental Degradation of Water:
The loss of water quality and quantity is another huge sign of environmental degradation.
It is hard to over-estimate the importance of water for life on Earth.
Water covers 70% of the planet's surface, it makes up 60% of the human body and is also present
in the air in the form of vapour and clouds.
So clean water is absolutely crucial for human health as well as the health of our physical
environment. Yet water just like air - has not escaped its destiny of being "used and abused" by
people.
Industrialized methods of production of physical goods and agricultural crops usually require
large quantities of water, Factories and especially modern agricultural practices depend heavily
on water for their mechanized processes.
So water is drawn from surrounding areas; once the production process is completed, the waste
water is dumped back into natural water reservoirs - rivers, lakes and so on, which are often
expected to re-absorb this polluted water, purify it to a certain degree and send it back into
"environmental circulation".
Urbanization doesn't help the situation either. Large cities require huge sewage systems. Millions
of people concentrated in relatively small areas generate far too much water waste - and the
neighbouring environment usually doesn't have enough capacity to neutralize such waste
quickly before it starts contaminating it.

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(3) Environmental Degradation of Land:
Degradation of land is almost a natural "continuation" of air & water pollution.
Deposition of air pollutants onto the soil and seeping of water pollutants through to
adjacent land areas lead to land contamination and its quality deterioration.
But in addition to that, many other direct actions by humans make this situation even
worse.
(4) Soil Erosion and Chemicalization:
Soil erosion is a reduction in the quality of topsoil, specifically from the view-point of
agricultural production. Soil may quickly become infertile due to being over-exploited
and over-treated with harsh chemicals which are often used to increase crop yields.
On top of that, deforestation may also play a big part in soil erosion.
This is especially true for soils supporting vegetation in rainforests.
It is a well-known fact that rainforest soils are very poor nutrient wise. All of the
"biological & nutrient goodness" of the rainforests is actually contained in the
vegetation above the soil - rather than deep down in the soil itself. So once the trees are
lost, soil is almost impossible to regenerate nothing ends up growing there for many
years to come.

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(5) Deforestation:
Rainforests regulate regional & global climates, they are also Incredibly large storages of biodiversity
which sustains life.
Deforestation therefore may lead to: serious destabilization of the climatic system of the world: loss
of animal and plant diversity, including many foods that are unique to rainforests; habitat loss for
local tribes; irreparable damage to many other localized environmental services.
As industrialization and material consumption took an enormous leap forward, so did regrettably
deforestation. Forests are being lost at a rate similar to that global consumption in general.
(6) Desertification:
Desertification is one of the most extreme and saddest examples of environmental degradation of
land. Desertification is a process during which productive lands with a healthy vegetation cover
turn into "empty dead sand spaces" unable to sustain plants, animals or any other life around them.
There are many deserts in the world which had been formed naturally over many thousands of
years, with their own unique living systems.
But desertification that we are discussing here is often a result of human activities, and may be
caused by deforestation, global warming & droughts, over-exploitation of natural water reservoirs,
and so on.In fact, Brazil - being a host to some of the largest forested areas in the world - can be a
good example for our purposes. The north-eastern part of Brazil is now being affected by
desertification at an alarming rate. Deforestation is often cited as a major contributor to
desertification in this part of the country.

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(7) Other forms of Environmental Degradation:
Since environmental degradation covers a very wide area
of global ecology, there are of course many other important
issues that deserve our attention.
Global warming, biodiversity loss, animal extinction (and a
lot more) are all big international topics. They all
demonstrate yet again just how degraded our environment
has grown to be over the last several decades.

CAUSES OF
DEGRADATION

◍ Habitat Fragmentation
◍ Area Sensitive Plants
◍ Aggressive Plant Life
◍ Human Sources of Environmental
Degradation
◍ Agricultural Run-Off
◍ Urban Development
◍ Natural Causes
◍ Poverty
◍ Transport 36

IMPACT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL
DEGRADATION

◍ Losing Earth’s Beauty
◍ Ozone Layer Protection
◍ Potable Water Contamination & Depletion
◍ Ocean Acidification And Acid Rain
◍ Water And Air Pollution
◍ Spread Of Diseases
◍ Land Productivity Reduce
◍ Localized Flooding
◍ Loss Of Biodiversity
◍ Atmospheric Changes
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WAYS TO STOP
DEGRADATION

◍ Conserve Water
◍ Conserve Energy
◍ Purchase Recycled Products
◍ Join An Awareness Group
◍ Be An Advocate To Save Our Planet
◍ Talk With Others About The Impacts
Of Environmental Degradation.
◍ Do Not Litter Or Toss Waste Into
Inappropriate Places
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SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT:

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The idea of sustainable development grew from numerous environmental movements in
earlier decades. Summits such as the Earth Summit in Rio, Brazil, 1992, were major
international meetings to bring sustainable development to the mainstream.
However, the record on moving towards sustainability so far appears to have been quite
poor. The concept of sustainability means many different things to different people, and a
large part of humanity around the world still live without access to basic necessities.
Sustainable development is defined by the Brundtland Commission as "development that
meets the need of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs". The field of sustainable development is broadly categorized into the
following dimensions: social, economic, environmental and institutional. The future of our
planet depends on our use of the available resources. This does not mean that we stall all
progress to save the resources for our future generation. This calls for efficient use of non-
renewable resources. Wastage of such resources must be minimized and alternative sources
should be made more feasible for even the common man. By shifting the energy burden from
non-renewable to renewable resources, we can stand up to the challenges of the future.

PRINCIPLES OF
SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPEMENT

Many governments and individuals have pondered what sustainable development means beyond
a simple one-sentence definition. The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development flashes
out the definition by listing the principles of sustainability. People are entitled to a healthy and
productive life in harmony with nature.
Development today must not undermine the development and environment needs of present and
future generations.
Nations have the sovereign right to exploit their own resources, but without causing
environmental damage beyond their borders.
Nations shall develop international laws to provide compensation for damage that activities under
their control cause to areas beyond their borders.
Nations shall use the precautionary approach to protect the environment. Where there are threats
of serious or irreversible damage, scientific uncertainty shall not be used to postpone cost-effective
measures to prevent environmental degradation. In order to achieve sustainable development,
environmental protection shall constitute an integral part of the development process, and cannot
be considered in isolation from it. Eradicating poverty and reducing disparities in living standards
in different parts of the world are essential to achieve sustainable development and meet the
needs of the majority of people.

Nations shall cooperate to conserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the
Earth's ecosystem. The developed countries acknowledge the responsibility that they
bear in the international pursuit of sustainable development in view of the pressures
their societies place on the global environment and of the technologies and financial
resources they command.
Nations should reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and
consumption, and promote appropriate demographic policies.
• Environmental issues are best handled with the participation of all concerned
citizens. Nations shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by
making environmental information widely available.
Nations shall enact effective environmental laws, and develop national law regarding
liability for the victims of pollution and other environmental damage. Where they have
authority, nations shall assess the environmental impact of proposed activities that are
likely to have a significant adverse impact.

Nations should cooperate to promote an open international economic system that will lead
to economic growth and sustainable development in all countries. Environmental policies
should not be used as an unjustifiable means of restricting international trade.
The polluter should, in principle, bear the cost of pollution. Nations shall warn one another
of natural disasters or activities that may have harmful transboundary impacts.
Sustainable development requires better scientific understanding of the problems. Nations
should share knowledge and innovative technologies to achieve the goal of sustainability.
The full participation of women is essential to achieve sustainable development. The
creativity, ideals and courage of youth and the knowledge of indigenous people are needed
too. Nations should recognize and support the identity, culture and interests of indigenous
people.
Warfare is inherently destructive of sustainable development, and Nations shall respect
international laws protecting the environment in times of armed conflict, and shall
cooperate in their further establishment.

GLOBAL NEED FOR
SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT:

(1) Man has made use of the forces of nature for his benefits to satisfy his needs and wants. After the industrial
revolution, our lifestyle has changed. There is over industrialisation which has resulted in urbanisation and
pollution problems.
(2) Lot of solid waste is generated in the urban areas. The urbanisation has resulted in the pollution of land,
water, etc.Industrial growth normally conflicts with preserving natural resources
(3) Water bodies are getting polluted day by day due to the dumping of waste, toxic wastes into them. Also the
ground water table is getting reduced.
(4) There is deforestation on a large scale rampant all over the world. This has resulted into increase in carbon
dioxide & this has resulted in top global warming. We are faced with unseasonal rains, unbearable hot and cold
climates; etc.
(5) Deforestation plays several roles in the flooding equation. When the soil is compacted and the trees are
removed, soil is not held in place by the roots and water is not absorbed by the soil and so during heavy rain
falls, it runs over the compacted soil causing floods. Eventually, heavy rains lead to soil erosion, as the running
water strips the top layer of soil away. The top layer of soil is the most nutritious and without it, it is hard for
plants to grow.
(6) Human population growth has been identified as a primary cause of ecologically destructive phenomena and
if left unchecked, will threaten the survivability of human species. Environmentalist argue that if not all of the
environmental problems from climate change to species loss to overzealous resources extraction are either
caused or exacerbated by population growth.

COMPONENTS OF
SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT:

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When the World Commission on Environment and Development presented
their 1987 report, Our Common Future, they sought to address the problem
of conflicts between environment and development goals by formulating a
definition of sustainable development:
Sustainable development is development which meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.
In the extensive discussion and use of the concept since then. there has
generally been a recognition of three aspects of sustainable development
which are also called as the components of sustainable development. The
three major components are Social, Economic and Environmental.

(1) Social:
It is essential to link social causes with economic and environmental
components. Social like poverty are also an economic issue. It's the
poor people who receive inadequate housing, health care, education
and family planning services. Social issues are also linked with
environmental issues. Air and water pollution are also cause for
many water borne diseases and respiratory problems; all of which
place an extra burden on local health care system.
A socially sustainable system must achieve distributional equity,
adequate provision of social services including health and education,
gender equity, and political accountability and participation.

2) Economic:
The sustainable economic growth of a country depends not only on the
economic goals, but also on social and environmental goals, policies and
strategies. Economic components are closely linked to environmental
components.
E.g.: Overuse of the non-renewable resources for short gain may shorten
a country's long term economic future. Economic issues are also linked
with social concerns.
For e.g If sufficient investment is not made in education and training and
development of workers then the potential for economic growth is less.
An economically sustainable system must be able to produce goods and
services on a continuing basis, to maintain manageable levels of
government and external debt, and to avoid extreme sectoral imbalances
which damage agricultural or industrial production

(3) Environmental:
Environmental concerns are undoubtedly linked to
economic issues such as poverty. In their struggle for
livelihood, poor people tend to destroy the environment by
cutting down trees for fuel purpose, do overgrazing, pollute
urban water supplies, etc. Environmental concerns are also
linked with social issues such as population growth. As
population increases it tends to create a burden on the
country's natural resources and also strains its ability to
provide housing, health care, education, clean portable
water, and sanitation facilities for all.

SOCIAL
ECONOMIC
ENVIRONMENT
BEARABLE EQUITABLE
VISIBLE
SUSTAINABLE

POVERTY AND
ENVIRONMENT

Poverty in particular has played a major role in environmental degradation across the world.
Forests are a rich source of fresh air, also it acts as a sinking hole to absorb the negative climate
changes. With rising level of deforestation, environment is finding itself difficult to sustain.
Poverty has pushed the poor people to use natural resources in a unjust way and that is further
harming the environment. Increased deforestation is further resulting into lesser resistance of
pollutants absorption in nature. Poverty has made the communities to depend on forest wood.
Increasing air pollution levels is also a result of poverty, because these poor people depend on
firewood for fuel purpose and their combustion results into air pollution.
For example, Nepal and Bangladesh have suffered from various environmental problems such as
increasingly devastating floods, often believed to be resulting from large-scale deforestation.
Forests around the world face increased pressures from timber companies, agricultural businesses,
and local populations that use forest resources. Some environmentalists, from rich nations
especially, also raise concerns about increasing populations placing excessive burdens on the
world's resources as the current major source of environmental problems.
The more the population, the more burden is placed on the environment. Water bodies are also
contaminated to a large extent by the poor communities.

Water pollution deprives water of nourishing elements, kills off fish, and is extremely harmful to
human health.
Because extreme poverty does not always lend to widespread education, many poor women lack
the resources necessary to engage in birth control measures. Therefore, it is common feature for
poor women to continue having children well after they would have liked to stop because of little
to no access to medical resources and education.
The more the global population grows, the more weight is placed on the environment. Every
human being consumes their share of resources from the environment, and with so many births
originating from poor communities, the burdens placed on the environment grow heavier and
heavier each day.
Poor countries need to be educated on what the proper and harmless methods are in which they
can dispose of their waste. They must learn how to lead a healthy and sound agricultural system
without the dependence on degraded soil, and other unfit resources. More importance must be
given to water management and protecting fisheries, as these are important for the livelihood of
many people. Re-forestation projects needs to be undertaken to replenish the supply of
environmental "goods" that deforestation has destroyed.

HAPPY
LEARNING!
58

Ecology - Foundation Course Semester 2- Prof. Karishma Shetty

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