ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
(19B13BT211)
Module 2: Natural resources, Energy consumption & conservation
(Water, Land, Energy (Renewable, non-renewable, wind, solar,
hydro, Biomass), Mineral, Forest, & Food resources, Global
Conventions on Energy, Kyoto protocol, Case studies)
EVS Lecture:2.2
Module-2
Topics Covered: Land & Food
DEFORESTATION
Causes – Case study
Economy tight spots
⚫ Rain forests: 4,26,372 sp.
⚫ 587,000 km2 – lost in less
than one decade (>30%)
⚫ Carbon sequestration -
1.1 × 1011 metric tonnes of
carbon
⚫ Brazil
Development of
Amazon basin - Grand
Carajas project
CASE STUDIES ON DEFORESTATION
& MINING IN AMAZON BASIN
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HUNT OIL – TEXAS BASED OIL COMPANY
Hunt Oil
⚫ A major fundraiser for President Bush, known to
have close ties to the Bush administration.
The crisis
⚫ Lot 76 - the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve.
⚫ The 400,000 hectare reserve was created in 2002 to protect
the flora and fauna of the area, as well as to safeguard
watersheds of particular importance to indigenous groups
in the region.
Despite its protected status, in 2006 the Peruvian
government granted concessions within the reserve to
two oil companies, Hunt Oil and the Spanish company
Repsol
“ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT”
– HUNT OIL
Claims that, for now, they simply want to poke
around in the woods to see if there’s anything of
interest to them.
What does this innocent-sounding “poking around in
the woods” involve ?
⚫ According to their own estimates
⚫ Blazing some 300 miles of “seismic testing trails” through
the trackless wilderness,
⚫ Detonating more than 12,000 explosive charges, and
⚫ Carving more than 100 helicopter landing pads out of the
virgin rainforest.
“ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT”
– HUNT OIL
Claims that, for now, they simply want to poke
around in the woods to see if there’s anything of
interest to them.
What does this innocent-sounding “poking around in
the woods” involve ?
⚫ According to their own estimates
⚫ Blazing some 300 miles of “seismic testing trails” through
the trackless wilderness,
⚫ Detonating more than 12,000 explosive charges, and
⚫ Carving more than 100 helicopter landing pads out of the
virgin rainforest.
BOUGAINVILLE COPPER MINE - PANGUNA
⚫ Solomon islands
⚫ Compensation
⚫ Jaba river
⚫ Most serious conflicts of 1990’s
▪ Vedanta is the largest mining company in India
and also has mining issues in Australia and Zambia
▪ Vedanta has been criticised by the human rights
because of the company operation in Orissa that are said to threaten
the lives of the people.
▪ It was also criticised by the Orissa State Pollution Control Board for
air and water pollution in that area.
▪ The USD 12 billion steel project of POSCO
in Odisha, India, conceived in 2005, was
to be one of the largest investments in the
country.
▪ The project could not materialize, and in
2017 POSCO withdrew from the project
after a lot of controversies.
Articles: Does impact assessment meet stakeholder
expectation: case study of POSCO project in Odisha
([Link]
SAVE SOIL
▪ Save Soil is a global movement launched by Indian
spiritual leader Sadhguru to address land degradation and
advocate for healthy soil.
▪ The initiative was presented on 5 April at the United
Nations in Geneva by the Isha Foundation and supported
by the WHO, UN SDG lab, and IUCN.