Introduction to Environment, Biodiversity and Climate Change

Navale Pandharinath

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000480894
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Environmental Science
• Index: Biological Sciences

Environment includes air, water, land and the inter relationship between air water, land and human beings and other living creatures, plants micro-organisms and property. Environment effects the wellbeing of man, animal and plants world over. Man is more advanced in intellect and hence it is the duty of man to protect the environment from undesired pollutions. The book discusses various aspects of Global warming, climate change, health hazards, dwindling of forest, water resources and natural resources and stress on biological diversity.
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CHAPTER - 1 Environment

INTRODUCTION

According to the constitution of India (Article 51A, g), it shall be one of fundamental duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures.

The state of environment observed to be declined in quality world over since 1960 due to population growth, loss of vegetation, loss of biodiversity and climate change UN Conference on the Human Environment held Stockholm in June 1972.

UN Conference on the Human Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro in 1990, where all members agreed of protect the environment from further degradation of air, soil, water and biosphere and to improve social, economic development to ensure sustainable development. In 2002, at world summit on sustainable development in Johannesburg world members of UN reaffirmed their commitment (a collective effort necessary at local, national, regional and global level) to ensure economic, social development and environmental protection.

Biological environment includes parts of atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. Environment thus includes air, water, land and human beings other living creatures, plants, micro-organisms and property. Environmental pollution means presence of solid. Liquid or gaseous substances in such concentration as may be injurious or tend to be injurious to environment.

Environment may be defined as the place in which an organism lives and also includes the conditions under which it survives. Environment includes water, air and land and the inter-relationship which exists among and between water, air and land and human beings, other living creatures, plants, micro-organisms and property. From the dawn of civilization man has been trying to use the natural resources for making life easier and comfortable. Science has helped him to understand the nature of animate and inanimate objects around him. Acquisition of knowledge helped him to understand the physic-chemical laws/principles which govern the behaviors of living and non-living things and their inter-relations ship. The beneficial application of science to mankind is called technology. Application of technology in industry greatly modified the life style of man in twentieth century.

It is now known that all forms of life is made up of protoplasm and carry identical processes but they live in totally different surroundings or environments. There exists a critical relationship between livings things and its physical environment. Biosphere is the space (area) near the earth’s surface which encompasses all living organisms. This region includes parts of atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. Environment of an organism is its surrounding media. Ecology is the relationship of an organism to its environment. Ecosystem is the functioning of living and non-living components of environment.

The principal physical factors of an environment are: soil conditions, temperature, inclination of the sun (light), water, atmospheric conditions and topography.

The application of technology in twentieth century not only brought benefits but also brought decline in the environmental quality and threatening to effect the available natural resources for the present and future generations besides causing damage to the health of living being and extinction of some species of life. Thus technology proved to be both Boon and Bane to life on earth. The UN Conference on Human Environment was held at Stockholm in June 1972 to take appropriate steps for the protection and improvement of human environment. This step is required because the state of environment has substantially declined in quality due to increasing pollution, loss of vegetation cover and loss of biological diversity. There has been excessive concentration of harmful chemicals in the ambient atmosphere and in food chains. Environmental accidents risk increased and threatened the life supporting systems. The first World Environment Day Observed in 1973.

All living organisms are composed of carbon, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Hydrogen, which are also the basic elements of water and air-shells of the earth. A large part of the living matter contained in green plants, which entrap solar energy and make complex compounds by photosynthesis process. The main sources of plant feeding are carbon dioxide and water. Plants use about 2% of insolation (incoming solar radiation) for photosynthesis process, about 7w/m² is consumed by plants.

Plant kingdom provides about 10¹⁷ kg of biomass annually and an equal amount of oxygen. An average size of tree supplies about 3500kg of oxygen per year which is sufficient for three people. Because of this plant kingdom is also called the lungs of the earth. On an average a man requires about 3.13 kg oxygen or 15 kg of air per day.

The total mass of CO₂ in the atmosphere is about 0.23 × 10¹⁶ kg while the mass of CO₂ in the ocean water is about 1.4 × 10¹⁷ kg, which is more than 60 times the mass of CO₂ in the atmosphere. Sea water plays a peculiar role in respect of dissolved natural gases of N, O2, CO₂ and H₂S. these gases are closely related to living matter on the land and in the sea. Carbon dioxide enters into the atmosphere by human and animal breathing decay and burning of materials containing carbon and volcanic activity. More than 90% of the earth CO₂ is dissolved in sea waters. The stability of CO₂ in sea changes with temperature.

A jet airliner consumes 6-9 tons of oxygen in one hour, 25-50 thousand hectares of forest expels (gives) 50-75 tons of O₂ in 8 hours.

1.1 MAN AND ENVIRONMENT

Earth environment affects the well being of man, animal and plants world over. Compared to other species of life, man is more advanced in intellect and hence it is the duty of man to protect the environment from undesired pollution, which is injurious to all life. For many reasons man is mostly responsible for the pollution of air, water, soil and in turn responsible for global warning, climate change and health hazards, dwindling of forests, water resources and undesirable changes in ecological balance of the biosphere, destruction/dwindling of natural resources. It is the fundamental duty of every citizen (by virtue of constitution) to protect and improve the natural environment including air, forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife. It is in this context, the following government protection Acts came into existence.

1. The Environmental Protections Act, 1986
2. The Air pollution Act, 1981
3. The water (protections and control) Pollution Act, 1974
4. The Indian Forest Act 1927 and Forest (protection) Conservation Act, 1980
5. The Wildlife (Biodiversity) Protection Act, 1972 and
6. The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991

Man is the highest form of life on the earth, but he is dependent on other forms of life and environment. Man has the ability to modify or destroy an environment or burn a whole forest and cause damage to the ecosystem, yet he is very closely dependent on the nature-environmental system, like atmospheric oxygen for breathing, and animal, plant kingdom for his food.

According to UN Report, at present mankind is persisting with thoughtless and extravagant consumption of natural resources and damaging the natural resources in an unprecedented manner. UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) outlook-4 report (25 October 2007) says, at the present consumption rate it requires 21.9 hectares per person while earths capacity (on an average) 15.7 hectares per person. As a result of this 116550 square kilometers of forest area being lost across the world each year. 60% of the world’s major rivers have been damaged or diverted and fresh fish population declined by 50% during last 20 year. About 30% amphibians, 23% of mammals and 12% of birds are under threat of extinction due to human activity, while 10% of the world’s large rivers are running dry every year before reaching in to sea. The US’s consumption of energy increased by 20% over the last two decades. Of the total GHGs (greenhouse gases) increased in atmosphere by human activity, 70% accounts to energy sector. The IPCC further noted that due to global warming there would be glacier retreat in the Himalayas, sea level rise, production of wheat, rice, maize would drop in India and China and more than one billion people may face fresh water shortage by 2020. International Renewable Energy Agency promotes the adaptation of renewable energy worldwide and aims to provide a definite policy advice and facilitates capacity building and technology transfer.

1.2 ENVIRONMENTS IN NATURE

It is common observation plants and animals live under variety of conditions. A wood, a field, a deep ravine or a marshy land all create totally different environments from each other. All they have a direct effect on the organisms under their influence. As said earlier each environment made of many factors. The physical factors include soil condition, temperature, sunlight, water, atmospheric conditions and changes in earth. Equally important are the biological factors or the living surroundings of organisms and non-living surroundings. A plant growth depends on soil, temperature, water, sunlight and atmospheric conditions. The plants in turn create environment for animals. Almost any set of environmental conditions are suitable for certain plants and animals. Because of this we find living organisms on land, under water bodies and mountain tops to mountai...