Environment is defined as the total planetary inheritance and the totality of all resources.
It includes all the biotic and abiotic factors that influence each other. While all living
elements—the birds, animals and plants, forests, fisheries etc.—are biotic elements, abiotic
elements include air, water, land etc. Rocks and sunlight are examples of abiotic elements of the
environment.
Functions of the Environment
1) it supplies resources: resources here include both renewable and non-renewable resources.
Renewable resources are those which can be used without the possibility of the resource
becoming depleted or exhausted. That is, a continuous supply of the resource remains
available. Examples of renewable resources are the trees in the forests and the fishes in the
ocean.
Non-renewable resources, on the other hand, are those which get exhausted with extraction
and use, for example, fossil fuel
(ii) it assimilates waste
(iii) it sustains life by providing genetic and bio diversity and
(iv) it also provides aesthetic services like scenery etc.
The environment is able to perform these functions without any interruption as long as the
demand on these functions is within its carrying capacity
CARRYING CAPACITY
This implies that the resource extraction is not above the rate of regeneration of the resource
and the wastes generated are within the assimilating capacity of the environment.
When this is not so environment is not able to perform its third function that is sustenance of life
which results in environmental crisis
Absorptive capacity means the ability of the environment to absorb degradation.
REASONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS
The rising population of the developing countries & the affluent consumption and production
standards of the developed world have placed a huge stress on the environment. Many
resources have become extinct and the wastes generated are beyond the absorptive capacity of
the environment which is leading to crisis.
OPPORTUNITY COST OF NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The intensive and extensive extraction of both renewable and non-renewable resources has
exhausted some of these vital resources and the Government is compelled to spend huge
amounts on technology and research to explore new resources.
Health costs of degraded environmental quality — decline in air and water quality (seventy per
cent of water in India is polluted) have resulted in increased incidence of respiratory and
water-borne diseases. Hence the expenditure on health is also rising. Global environmental
issues such as global warming and ozone depletion also contribute to increased financial
commitments for the government
Are environmental problems new to this century?
Yes
In the early days when civilisation just began, or before this phenomenal increase in population,
and before countries took to industrialisation, the demand for environmental resources and
services was much less than their supply. This meant that pollution was within the absorptive
capacity of the
environment and the rate of resource extraction was less than the rate of regeneration of these
[Link] environmental problems did not arise.
But with population explosion and with the advent of industrial revolution to meet the growing
needs of the expanding population, things
changed. The result was that the demand for resources for both production and consumption
went beyond the rate of regeneration of the resources; the pressure on the absorptive capacity
of the environment increased tremendously — this trend continues even today. Thus what has
happened is a reversal of supply-demand relationship for environmental quality — we are now
faced with increased demand for environmental resources and services but their supply is
limited
State of INDIA’S ENVIRONMENT
India has abundant natural resources in
terms of rich quality-of soil, hundreds of rivers and tributaries,lush green forests,
plenty of mineral deposits beneath the land surface, vast stretch of the Indian Ocean, ranges of
mountains, etc. The black soil of the Deccan Plateau is particularly suitable for cultivation of
cotton, leading to concentration of textile industries in this region.
Large deposits of iron-ore, coal and natural gas are found in the country. India accounts for
nearly 8 percent of the world’s total iron-ore reserves. Bauxite, copper, chromate, diamonds,
gold, lead, lignite, manganese, zinc, uranium, etc. are also available in different parts of the
country. However, the developmental activities in India have resulted in pressure on its finite
natural resources, besides creating impacts on human health and
.The threat to India’s environment poses a dichotomy
Threat of poverty-induced environmental degradation
At the same time, the threat of pollution from affluence and a rapidly growing industrial sector.
Some of the most pressing environmental concerns of India
● Air pollution,
● water contamination,
● soil erosion,
● deforestation
● wildlife extinction
The priority issues identified are
1) Land degradation
2) Biodiversity loss (
3) Air pollution with special reference to vehicular pollution in urban cities
4) Management of freshwater
5) Solid waste management.
Some of the factors responsible for land degradation are:
(i) loss of vegetation occurring due to deforestation
(ii) unsustainable fuel wood and fodder extraction
(iii) shifting cultivation
(iv) encroachment into forest lands
(v) forest fires and overgrazing
(vi) non-adoption of adequate soil conservation measures
(vii) improper crop rotation
(viii) indiscriminate use of agro-chemicals such as fertilisers and pesticides
(ix) improper planning and management of irrigation systems
(x) extraction of groundwater in the competing uses of land for forestry, agriculture, pastures,
human settlements and industries exert an enormous pressure on the country’s finite land
resources.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The concept of sustainable development was emphasised by the The concept of sustainable
development was emphasised by the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED), which defined it as: ‘Development that meets the need of the present
generation without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs’.
This above definition says sustainable development as ‘meeting the basic needs of all and
extending to all the opportunity to satisfy their aspirations for a better life’. Meeting the needs of
all requires redistributing resources and is hence a moral issue
Edward Barbier defined sustainable development as one which is directly concerned with
increasing the material standard of living of the poor at the grass root level — this can be
quantitatively measured in terms of increased income, real income, educational services, health
care, sanitation, water supply etc. In more specific terms, sustainable development aims at
decreasing the absolute poverty of the poor by providing lasting and secure livelihoods that
minimise resource depletion, environmental degradation, cultural disruption and social
instability. Sustainable development is, in this sense, a development that meets the basic needs
of all, particularly the poor majority, for employment, food, energy, water, housing, and ensures
growth of agriculture, manufacturing, power and services to meet these needs
The Brundtland Commission emphasises on protecting the future generation.
According to this the present generation can promote development that enhances the natural
and built environment in ways that are compatible with:
(i) conservation of natural assets
(ii) preservation of the regenerative capacity of the world’s natural ecological system
(iii) avoiding the imposition of added costs or risks of future generation
According to Herman Daly, a leading environmental economist, to achieve sustainable
development, the following needs to be done:
(i) limiting the human population to a level within the carrying capacity of the environment.
(ii) technological progress should be input efficient and not input consuming
(iii) renewable resources should be extracted on a sustainable basis, that is, rate of extraction
should not exceed rate of regeneration
(iv) for non-renewable resources rate of depletion should not exceed the rate of creation of
renewable substitutes
(v) inefficiencies arising from pollution should be corrected.