Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering,
Department of Civil Engineering
Autonomous Institute, Affiliated to VTU
Accredited by NBA | NAAC with ‘A’ Grade
SUBJECT
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
SUBJECT CODE – BENSK509/609
Manoj P
Asst Prof, Dept of Civil Engg
VVCE, Mysuru
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 1
MODULE 1: . Ecosystem and Sustainability
Ecosystem: Types & Structure of Ecosystem: Forest, Desert,
Wetlands, Riverine, Oceanic.
Sustainability: 17SDG targets and possible actions
Self-Study Component (SSC): Components of environment
MODULE 2: Natural resources and Energy
Natural Resources: Water resources – Availability & Quality aspects,
Water borne diseases & water induced diseases, Fluoride problem in
drinking water.
Energy :Different types of energy, Conventional sources & Non -
Conventional sources of Energy, Solar energy, Wind Energy,
Hydrogen as an alternative energy
MODULE 3: Environmental Pollution
Environmental Pollution: Water Pollution, Noise pollution, Air
pollution (Sources, Impacts, Preventive measures and Public Health
Aspects.
Self-Study Component (SSC): Case studies of air pollution
episodes
MODULE 4 : Waste management
Waste management: Solid Waste Management, E - Waste
Management & Biomedical Waste Management - Sources,
Characteristics
Environmental Legislation : Solid Waste Management Rules,2016
Self-Study Component (SSC): Case studies of water quality issues
MODULE 5: Global Concerns
Global Concerns :Global warming, Climate change, Acid rain, Ozone depletion,
Field work: Visit to Environmental Engg. Lab, Zero Waste Management Plant
and Solid waste management plant
Self-Study Component (SSC): Case studies of global warming
Text Books
1. S M Prakash , “Environmental Studies” 3rd Edition, Elite Publishing House,
Mangalore, 2018
2. Benny Joseph (2005), “Environmental Studies” , Tata McGraw – Hill
Publishing Company Limited.
3. R. Rajagopalan, “Environmental Studies- From Crisis to Cure” , 2nd Edition,
Oxford university press, New Delhi, 2013.
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 7
ACTIVITY BASED ASSESSMENT DETAILS
Description Activities Requirements
• Zero Waste Management The detailed report including,
Plant • Objectives
• Contribution to
environment
• Solid waste management
• Contribution to society
Survey / Site investigation plant • Application
Solid waste management • Advantages and
systems disadvantages
• Your opinion
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 11
IMPLEMENTATION
❖Students are made a group of 6 people in a team in a random sampling
method
❖After completion of module - 4, any one of the above said activity will be
selected by the each team
❖Each team will visit the site for survey and the observations are made at the
site
❖All collected data and the literature survey made are combined with proper
understanding to address waste management systems contribution to society.
❖One Report per team is prepared with the above said requirements and will
be submitted before CIE - III to their respective course instructor
❖The Report will evaluated as per the rubrics framed by the course instructor
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 12
CHOICE OF ANSWERING IN CIE
Modules 1 - Mandatory
Modules 2 - Mandatory
Modules 3 - Mandatory
Modules 4 - Choice
Modules 5 - Choice
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 13
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
ENVIRONMENT (JACOB VAN - 1869)
French word - 'environ’
surroundings.
Hence, everything surrounding us
(EUGINE P ODUM 1935)
ENVIRONMENT
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 14
MOST PRECISE DEFINITION OF ENVIRONMENT
Environment is Define as “The Complex of Physical, Chemical &
Biotic factors affecting an organism and ultimately determining its
form and survival” is known as Environment.
It can also be defined as “ external surroundings and conditions
which directly or indirectly affects the living organism”
It is a comprehensive sum of all living and non – living things and
their interactions.
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 15
Components of Environment
Atmosphere – A gaseous cover that surrounds the earth, extending up to
1600 km from earth’s surface, Acts as a protective layer against adverse
effects of outer space Contains gases like Oxygen 78%, Nitrogen 21%
Others 01%, animal life
Troposphere – Lower most region of atmosphere in contact with earth
surface The temperature ranges from 170C to - 56 0C
( 0 – 12 Km) Contains N2, O2, CO2 GIRISH
09-10-2025
andP VVCE,
water
Mysore
vapors 16
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 17
HYDROSPHERE
Refers to all that portion of earth where water & its forms are available.
Oceans cover 75% of earths surface & contain 97% of earths water source.
97.2% Salt water 2.2 % Fresh water on the earth surface
2.8 % Fresh water 0.6 % Fresh water as Ground water
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 18
LITHOSPHERE
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 19
BIOSPHERE
Term was coined by
Russian Scientist, Vladimir
Vernadsky in 1929
It is the domain living and
non living organisms and
their interaction to the
environment
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 20
ECOLOGY - Ecology is derived from two Greek words “Oikos” & “Logos”
Oikos means house or place , Logos means study, Thus Ecology can be
defineD as “Study of organisms with respect to their environment.
Ecology was proposed by Ernst Haeckel in 1969.
Ecosystem - Define as “Natural Functional Ecological Unit Comprising of
living organisms & nonliving environment which interact to form a self-
supporting system” is known as Ecosystem.
Ecosystem was proposed by A G Tensley in 1935.
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 21
A discrete unit that consists of living and non-living parts, interacting
to form a stable system
It is relationship of organism / group of organism and their
relationship to environment
It is complex of regularity and independent components
An ecosystem is an array of organisms and their physical
environment, interacting by a one-way flow of energy and a cycling
of materials
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 22
TYPES OF ECOSYSTEM - Natural & Artificial Ecosystem
Natural Ecosystem - Terrestrial & Aquatic Ecosystem
Aquatic Ecosystem - Lentic Ecosystem (stagnant water)
-Lotic Ecosystem (flowing water)
Ecosystem - A community and its physical environment
treated together as a functional system
COMPONENTS OF ECOSYSTEM - Biotic & Abiotic components
Biotic components – Producers, Consumers,
Decompose -
-Primary Consumers
- Secondary Consumers
- Tertiary Consumers
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 23
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 24
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 25
Types of food chain - Grazing food chain Deterivorus food chain
Parasitic food chain
Grass----Grasshopper----Frog---Snake
Grass----Rabbit-----wolf
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 26
FOOD WEB – Interlocking system
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 28
Ecological pyramids – Charls Elton
• They are used to illustrate the feeding relationships between
organisms.
Pyramid of number Pyramid of energy Pyramid of biomass
tiger
cows
birds
grass birds
insects
birds insects
trees
insects trees Unit: kg
Unit:
trees
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 29
number
FOREST ECOSYSTEM
Biological community of interacting organisms and their physical
environment.
A forest ecosystem is a terrestrial unit of living organisms (plants, animals
and microorganisms), all interacting among themselves with the
environment (soil, climate, water and light) in which they live.
• Forests help in reducing physical and chemical contaminants of the
environment.
➢ According to the 2019 report, the total forest cover of the country is
712,249 square km (21.67 percent of India's total geographical area)
➢ 12 million hector of forest will lost every year
➢ India lost 1.3 million tons of forest cover
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 30
Forests food web
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 31
TYPES OF FOREST
1. Deciduous forests- These grow in places with hot,
wet summers and dry winters. Light can penetrate
easily onto the forest floor.
2. Rainforests- Tropical rain forests, located near the
equator. located in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands
(25% of the world's tropical rainforests) and West Africa
(18%). Temperate rain forests, found along temperate
zones. largest temperate rainforests are found on the
Pacific coast of North America.
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 32
3. Coastal forests- Grows in places where
there is lots of rain. Temperature is not too
hot or too cool.
4. Coniferous forests-Grow in the Himalayan
mountain region. Temperature is low.
5. Mangrove forests - grow along the coast,
especially in the river deltas and are able to
grow in a saline and fresh water in muddy
areas.
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 33
Threats to forest ecosystems
• Deforestation
• Overexploitation of resources
• Development activities
• Changing land use patterns
• Habitat degradation
Services of forest ecosystem
• Control flow of water
• Watershed protection
• Help increase ground Water level
• Prevent soil erosion
• Control temperature
• Absorb CO2
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 34
To prevent forest cover
Conservation of Reserve forest
Limited production forest
Production forest
Social or Commercial forest
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 35
DESERT ECOSYSTEM
Desert ecology is the study of interactions
between both biotic and abiotic components of
desert environments.
Deserts are arid regions which are generally
associated with warm temperatures, however
cold deserts also exist.
Deserts can be found on every continent, with the
largest being located in Antarctica (5.5 million
square miles), the Arctic, Northern Africa, and the
Middle East.
Most of the major desert areas like, Sahara,
Arabian, Kalahari, and Deserts of Australia, All
lie between 10 and 30 degrees north or south of
the equator.
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 36
Wetlands - Areas where a water table is at, near, or just above
the surface and where soils are water-saturated for a sufficient
length of time such that excess water and resulting low soil oxygen
levels
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 38
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 39
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 40
Sustainable Development
• Development Summit in New York in September 2015.
• Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development with its 17 SDGs was adopted at the UN
Sustainable
SDG-1:No Poverty
SDG-2: Zero Hunger
SDG-3: Good Health
SDG-4: Quality Education
SDG-5: Gender Equality
SDG-6: Clean Water and Sanitation
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 41
SDG-7: Affordable and Clean Energy
SDG-8:Decent Work &Economic Growth
SDG-9: Industry, Innovation &Infrastructure
SDG-10: Reduced Inequalities
SDG-11:Sustainable Cities
SDG-12: Responsible Consumption
SDG-13: Climate Action
SDG-14: Life Below Water
SDG-15: Life on Land
SDG-16: Peace, Justice
SDG-17: Partnerships for the Goals
09-10-2025 GIRISH P VVCE, Mysore 42
SDG-1:No Poverty
The first Sustainable Development Goal aims to “End poverty in
everywhere”.
SDG-2:Zero Hunger
The Sustainable Development Goal to “End hunger, achieve food
security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”
Zero Hunger Challenges are,
Zero stunted children under age
100% access to adequate food
All food systems are sustainable
100% increase in income
Zero loss or waste of food
SDG-3: Good Health and Well Being
“ensure healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages”.
SDG-4: Quality Education
"Ensure equitable quality education and promote life-long learning
opportunities for all" and includes a set of associated targets.
The crucial role of education in achieving sustainable development was also
duly noted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, through Chapter 36 of its
outcome document - Agenda 21.
SDG-5: Gender Equality
Gender inequalities are still deep-rooted in every society. With the aim
of better addressing these challenges single recognized coordinate UN
activities on gender equality issues, UN Women was established in
2010.
SDG-6: Clean Water and Sanitation
Water and sanitation are at the core of sustainable development
2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water, and
more than 4.2 billion people lack safely managed sanitation.
SDG-7: Affordable and Clean Energy
In 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development, which include a dedicated goal on energy "ensure access to
affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all".
SDG-8:Decent Work and Economic Growth
“promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth,
employment and decent work for all”.
SDG-9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Sustainable industrial development has been incorporated, together with
resilient infrastructure and innovation, as Sustainable Development Goal 9
Industrialization is a driver of development. Industry increases productivity,
job creation and generates income, thereby contributing to poverty
eradication and addressing other development goals
SDG-10: Reduced Inequalities within and among the countries
Agenda highlights the necessity at global level the number of scholarships
available to developing countries, for enrollment in higher education, including
vocational training and information and communications technology, technical,
Engineering and scientific programme
SDG-11:Sustainable Cities and Communities "Promoting
sustainable human settlements development" is the subject which calls for
1) Providing adequate shelter for all
2) Promoting sustainable land-use planning and management
3) Promoting the integrated provision of environmental infrastructure: water,
sanitation, drainage and solid waste management
4) Promoting sustainable energy and transport systems in human settlements
5) Promoting sustainable construction industry activities and
SDG-12: Responsible Consumption and Production
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development aims to ensure
sustainable consumption and production patterns
SDG-13: Climate Action
The average global temperatures have increased by 1.2 degrees
Celsius since 1880, particularly in the late 20th century.
The concentration of atmospheric CO2, that contributes more than
2/3 to global warming, is at its highest level ever.
SDG-14: Life Below Water
It covers more than two-thirds of the earth’s surface and contain 97%
of the planet’s water.
Over three billion people depend on marine and coastal resources
SDG-15: Life on Land
Sustainable Development is devoted to “protect, restore and promote
sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests,
and reverse land degradation and avoid biodiversity loss”.
SDG-16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Sustainable Development focuses on decision-making with particular
reference to participation of vulnerable groups.
SDG-17: Partnerships for the Goals
The 2030 Agenda recognizes that capacity-building forms part of the
means of implementation for the SDGs.