Unit 3

Lesson Outcomes
❑ Define social issues and their impact on the Environment
❑ Sustainable development.
❑ Urban problems related to energy.
❑ Water conservation.
❑ Resettlement and rehabilitation
❑ Climate Change
❑ Laws Related to environment
Relation between Social Issues and Environment
 Social Issue
• THE PROPORTION OF THE WORLD POPULATION LIVING IN EXTREME POVERTY HAS
BEEN HALVED SINCE 1990
• OVER 2 BILLION PEOPLE HAVE GAINED ACCESS TO DRINKING WATER, UP TO 89%
OF THE GLOBAL POPULATION
• MALARIA AND TUBERCULOSIS DEATHS ARE DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY SINCE 1990
• India is the largest contributor to world population growth, adding about 17 million
people every year.
• Although more than two-thirds of India’s population still lives in the rural areas, it
has experienced rapid urbanization over the last two decades.
• India has attained food sufficiency in spite of its growing population. It has also
created a large base of skilled scientific and technical human resources with a
diversified industrial base.
• However, the benefits of this impressive growth have been substantially offset by
environmental degradation.
• The spread of input- intensive green technology has given India, of a certain measure
of food security, but it has been at the cost of falling water tables, degrading soils,
poor management of irrigation systems and the harmful side- effects of increasing
pesticide and fertilizer use.
• Industrial growth and uncontrolled urbanization pollute water, air and land.
• Similarly, rapid economic growth led to changing lifestyle such as increasing use of
automobiles and plastics are also putting an immense stress on resources and the
environment.
• GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, DEFORESTATION, FISHERY DEPLETION, AND
BIODIVERSITY LOSS ARE ACCELERATING
• All these circumstances raise the issue of how to achieve environmentally
sustainable economic development. In this context, it is fundamental that policy-
makers and the public understand how society and the economy have changed, and
how they cause environmental degradation.
Two school of thought regarding our attitude for mother nature
Frontier Mentality OR Human Centric Sustainable Society
View
• Economic growth and Technical
Advancement may solve all the ❖To promote the kind of development
problems that minimises environmental
problems.
❖ Humans are apart from nature
❖To meet the needs of the existing
❖ Unlimited supply of resources is generation without compromising
available. with the quality of the environment
❖ Nature is something to overcome. for future generations.
What is Sustainable Development?
Sustainable development can be defined as an approach to the economic development of a country
without compromising with the quality of the environment for future generations.

In the name of economic development, the price of

environmental damage is paid in the form of land
degradation, soil erosion, air and water pollution,
deforestation, etc. This damage may surpass the
advantages of having more quality output of
goods
and services.

What aíe the thíee types of sustainable development?

ľ h e thíee types of sustainable development aíe:
1.Economic viability
2. Enviíonmental píotection
3. Social equity
History of Sustainable development
• 1992: United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Earth
Summit), Rio de Janiero was the first major conference on Sustainable
development.
• 2000: Millennium Summit – Millennium Development Goals declared Goals to be
completed by 2015
• Agenda 21 proposed
• Everyone walk and talk sustainability
• UN Agenda 2030 : SDG
17 Goals to transform our world
adopted by all United Nations Member States in
2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and
prosperity for people and the planet,
now and into the future.
Achieving Sustainable Development

Sustainable development can be achieved if we follow the following

points:
• It can be achieved by restricting human activities.
• Technological development should be input effective and not input
utilising.
• The rate of consumption should not surpass the rate of salvation.
• For renewable resources, the rate of consumption should not surpass
the rate of production of renewable substitutes.
• All types of pollution should be minimised.
• It can be achieved by sensible use of natural resources.
• Recycling and reuse of materials.
In the sustainable development strategy:

➢Each activity that is expected to bring about economic growth must

consider its environmental impact through a scientific Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA).
➢Thus it is consistent with long-term development and growth. For
example, large dams, highways and the mining industry are all
essential for our social and economic development.
➢At the same time, this developmental work means the use of natural
resources, loss of forest cover, depletion of biodiversity and increase
in pollution. Thus, for every project, according to the sustainable
development strategy, a scientific EIA is done.
Examples of Sustainable Development

• Wind energy
• Solar energy
• Crop rotation
• Sustainable construction
• Efficient water fixtures
• Green space
• Sustainable forestry
Urban Problem Related to Energy
• Energy is one of the major pillars of economic development of the society. Economic
growth along with a growing population will obviously consume a lot of energy.
• To meet the enormous energy needs and for long term sustainability we should be
more specific about the most efficient and cost-effective manner of energy use.
• This can be achieved through the use of more renewable energy resources than
non-renewable energy resources in addition to steps such as:
(i) Urban planning for more efficient energy utilization.
(ii)Change of lifestyle to increase community involvement, which means using car
pools.
(iii)In India, the importance of the development of renewable energy sources as an
alternative to fossil fuels for a sustainable energy base has been recognized since
1970. Since then, considerable effort has gone into the development, trial and
introduction of a variety of non-conventional energy technologies in the industry and
for domestic use.
Urban Problem Related to Energy

• Energy requirement :
• Industrial Activity
• Transportation
• Urban water supply
• Energy use for buildings
• Energy required for clean up drive
• Essential Services
The Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources, Government of India is
involved in the implementation of these programmes for the development,
demonstration and utilization of renewable energy-based technologies such as
solar and thermal, and green technologies such as
(i) Solar photovoltaic.
(ii) Wind power generation and water pumping.
(iii) Solar power. (iv) Geothermal energy.
(v) Energy recovery from municipal and industrial waste.
(vi) Chemical source of energy.
(vii) Fuel cell.
(viii) Alternative fuel for transportation.
(ix) Biomass combustion.
(x) Hydroelectricity
 Wasteland Reclamation

Wastelands are lands that are economically • The following are the major categories of
unproductive, ecologically unsuitable and subject to wastelands
environmental deterioration. • 1. Gullied or ravenous land
WASTELANDS ARE BROADLY CATEGORIZED UNDER TWO
GROUPS: • 2. Land without scrub
Barren and Uncultivable Wasteland- It includes lands that • 3. Waterlogged land or Marsh land
cannot be brought under cultivation or economic use • 4. Land of soil salinity/alkalinity
except at a very high cost.
• 5. Land of shifting cultivation
Cultivable Wasteland- These lands are cultivable but not
cultivated for more than five years. • 6. Underutilized Degraded Notified Forestland
• Degraded Pasture/ Grazing Land
• 8. Degraded Land of Plantation Crops
• 9. Desertic sands or Coastal sands
• 10. Mining or industrial waste lands
• 11. Barren land with rock/ stony wastes
• 12. Steep sloping lands
• 13. Snow covered lands
Wasteland Reclamation
Ways of Wasteland Reclamation
• Afforestation:
• Reforestation:
• Providing surface cover: leave crop
residue on the land after harvesting.
• Mulching: protective cover of organic
matter and plants which reduce
evaporation
• Changing Ground Topography on
Downhill's:
• Leaching:
• Changing agricultural practices:
• Ecological Succession:
 Water Conservation
Water being one of the most precious and indispensable resources needs to be conserved.
The following strategies can be adopted for conservation for water
1) Decreasing run off losses: This can be achieved by
• Contour cultivation on small furrows and ridges across the slopes trap rainwater and allow more
time for infiltration
• Conservation bench terracing
• Water spreading by Lagoon :small depressions are dug in the area so that there is temporary
storage of water
• Chemical wetting agents or conditioners like Gypsum when applied to sodic soils improves soil
permeability and reduce runoff
• Surface crop residues Tillage, mulch, animal residues
• Water storage structures like farm ponds, dug wells
2) Reducing evaporation losses:
• Horizontal barrier of asphalt placed below the soil surface increases water availability
• A co-polymer of starch and acrylonitrile called super slurper absorbs water 4000 times its weight
Water Conservation contd..
3) Storing water in soil:
Soil should be wetted to field capacity
Leaving the soil fallow for one season water can be made available for the next season for crop
growth
4) Reducing irrigation losses:
Use of lined canals to reduce seepage
Irrigation in early morning or late evening
Sprinkling irrigation or drip irrigation
5) Reuse of water:
Treated waste water can be used for ferti-irrigation
Using grey water from washings, bath tubs for watering gardens washing cars
6) Preventing wastage of water:
Closing taps when not in use
Repairing any leakage from pipes
RAIN WATER HARVESTING:

➢In present age, concrete houses, well built roads, footpaths and well concreted
courtyards have left few open grounds
➢With the decrease in natural forest cover, increase in concrete jungles and decrease
in exposed earth very little open ground is left for water to soak in and thereby
increasing the ground water table
➢So, artificial recharging of groundwater is extremely essential . Rainwater
harvesting is a technique of increasing the recharge of ground water by capturing
and storing water
➢This is done by constructing special water harvesting structures like dug wells,
percolation pits, lagoons, check dams etc
Objectives
• To reduce runoff loss
• To avoid flooding of roads
• To meet the increasing demands of water
• To raise the water table by recharging ground water
Rain water harvesting techniques:
Traditional method:
• Traditionally rainwater is collected from roof tops and stored in open storage bodies
such as lakes, ponds, and tanks.
• It is still practiced in villages. In rural areas the harvested rain water is stored in
underground tanks(called tankas in Rajastan) or embankments(called khadins in
Rajastan)
• In foot hills, water flowing from springs are collected by embankment type water
storage
• In Himalayan foot hills people use the hallow bamboo as pipeline to transport the
water of natural springs
Modern method:
There are two main techniques for rain water harvesting
• Storage of water on the surface for future use
• Recharge of ground water
• Storage of water on the surface for future use is a very old practice. Recharge of
ground water is a recent concept and the structures used for the purpose are
Rain Harvesting Technique
➢Pits: For recharging shallow aquifer, recharge pits are constructed. These are
1-2 m wide and 3m deep. This is backfilled with boulders, gravel, sand to aid
filtration before percolation
➢Trenches: About 0.5-1m wide, 1-1.5m deep and up to 20m long trenches
are constructed where a permeable stream is available at shallow dept. The
trench is also backfilled with filter material just as it is done in the case of
pits
➢Dug wells: Existing dug wells may be utilized as recharge structures. The
excess water should pass through the filter media before percolation.
➢Spreading technique: The water is allowed to spread in streams/nullahs,
making check dams, nullah bunds, cement plugs or in a percolation pond
RESETTLEMENT AND REHABILITATION ISSUES:
Displacement problems due to dams:
• The big river valley projects have one of the most serious socio economic impacts due to large
scale displacement of local people from their ancestral home and loss of their traditional
profession or occupation.
• In India due to big dam construction, more than 20 million people are estimated to have been
directly or indirectly affected by these dams
• The Hirakund dam has displaced more than 20,000 people residing about 250 villages.
• Tehri dam and Sardar sarovar dam also have same issues.
• The Three Gorges Dam, located on the Yangtze River in the Hubei province in China, has also
been called China’s “Dam of Doom”. Tt is known to be the one of the largest dam structures
in the world. It is also the single largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world. At the time
it was built, it flooded 13 cities, 140 towns, and 1,352 villages, and led to the forced
displacement of more than 1.5 million million people. If it collapses, it will affect about 500
million people living close to or downstream of the river Yangtze.
RESETTLEMENT AND REHABILITATION ISSUES:
Displacement due to mining:
• Mining is another developmental activity which causes displacement of the native people.
• Several thousands of hectares of land area is covered in mining operation and the native
people are displaced.
• Sometimes displacement of local people is due to accidents occurring in mined areas like
subsidence of land that often leads to shifting of people.
• Jharia coal fields, Jharkhand have been posing big problems to the residents due to
underground fires and they are asked to vacate the area.
• According to latest estimates, about Rs.18,000 crores will be spent for shifting the
population while the cost of extinguishing the fire would be around 8,000 crore.
Climate Change
• Climate change is a change in the
average temperature and cycles of
weather over a long period of time.
Why Is Climate Change a Problem?
Climate change disrupts weather
patterns and causes extreme weather
events to become more common.
These include hurricane activity,
droughts and floods.
As the global temperature has
increased, so has the number of
reported natural disasters.
 Urban Climate Change
Factors responsible for Urban Climate change

1. Energy Consumption
2. Electricity
3. Fuel usage
4. Deforestation

Urban Heat Island" (UHI)

defined as the tendency for a city or town to remain
warmer than its surroundings, by as much as 10 deg.
F
Climate Change
Climate Change
What cause Climate Change

• Climate change can be caused gradually by natural processes or suddenly

by large events, such as a massive meteorite strike or volcanic activity.
However, the rapid climate change we are experiencing now is due to three
main human activities:
• Burning fossil fuels for heating and cooking, generating electricity and
powering vehicles releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
• Deforestation (destruction of forests) releases carbon dioxide and reduces
the number of trees able to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
• Reduction of biodiversity creates an unstable ecosystem. Nature loss leads
to ecosystems that are less able to capture carbon from the atmosphere
and less resilient to rising temperatures.
Climate Change

Global carbon dioxide emissions continued to rise and are

now 62% higher than they were in 1990. Global net CO2
emissions need to fall by 45% from 2010 levels by
2030 to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
Which of the following is correct for Sustainable Development

A. Social + Economic Sustainability

B. Social + Environmental Sustainability

C. Economic + Environmental Sustainability

D. All of the above

What aíe the Píimaíy Goals of Sustainability?

I . ľ h e end of poveíty and hungeí
II. Betteí standaíds of education and healthcaíe -paíticulaíly as it peítains to wateí quality and
betteí sanitation
I I I . ľ o achieve gendeí equality
IV. Sustainable economic gíowth while píomoting jobs and stíongeí economies
Code:
A. I, II & III
B. I, III & IV
C. I & III
D. I, II, III & IV
.
How much of the world’s drinking water is provided by rivers?
• A. 50%
• B. 75%
• C. 90%

If we stopped burning fossil fuels today, what would happen to the climate?
• Earth's average temperature would continue to rise.
• Temperatures would continue to warm, then begin to cool down in 100
years or more.
• Temperatures would fluctuate, but stay the same on average.
• Temperatures would stop increasing once greenhouse gas concentrations
stopped increasing.
• Which of the following gases does not play a part in the greenhouse effect?
• Methane
• Water vapour
• Nitrogen
• Carbondioxide
So far, most of the strongest impacts of climate change have been observed in:
• Southern latitude
• Northern Latitude
• All Latitude
• Tropics
The likelihood of which extreme weather event is expected to increase with climate
change?
Drought
Flood
Hurricane
B and C
All the above