Chapter Environmental Problems and Issues

Deforestation
Deforestation, clearance, clear cutting or clearing is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from
land which is then converted to a non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest
land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated deforestation occurs in tropical
rainforests. About 31% of Earth's land surface is covered by forests.
Between 2000 and 2012, 2.3 million square kilometers (890,000 sq mi) of forests around the
world were cut down. As a result of deforestation, only 6.2 million square kilometers
(2.4 million square miles) remain of the original 16 million square kilometers (6 million square
miles) of tropical rainforest that formerly covered the Earth. An area the size of a football pitch is
cleared from the Amazon rainforest every minute, with 136 million acres (55 million hectares) of
rainforest cleared for animal agriculture overall.
More than 3.6 million hectares of virgin tropical forest was lost in 2018.

Causes

According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

secretariat, the overwhelming direct cause of deforestation is agriculture. Subsistence farming is
responsible for 48% of deforestation; commercial agriculture is responsible for 32%; logging is
responsible for 14%, and fuel wood removals make up 5%.

Other causes of contemporary deforestation may include corruption of government institutions,

the inequitable distribution of wealth and power, population growth and overpopulation, and
urbanization.

Globalization is often viewed as another root cause of deforestation, though there are cases in
which the impacts of globalization (new flows of labor, capital, commodities, and ideas) have
promoted localized forest recovery.

Environmental Effects

Atmospheric

Deforestation is a contributor to global warming, and is often cited as one of the major causes of
the enhanced greenhouse effect. Tropical deforestation is responsible for approximately 20% of
world greenhouse gas emission. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
deforestation, mainly in tropical areas, could account for up to one-third of total anthropogenic
carbon dioxide emissions.

Hydrological

The water cycle is also affected by deforestation. Trees extract groundwater through their roots
and release it into the atmosphere. When part of a forest is removed, the trees no longer transpire
this water, resulting in a much drier climate. Deforestation reduces the content of water in the
soil and groundwater as well as atmospheric moisture. The dry soil leads to lower water intake
for the trees to extract. Deforestation reduces soil cohesion, so that erosion, flooding and
landslides ensue.

Soil

Due to surface plant litter, forests that are undisturbed have a minimal rate of erosion. The rate of
erosion occurs from deforestation, because it decreases the amount of litter cover, which
provides protection from surface runoff. The rate of erosion is around 2 metric tons per square
kilometer. This can be an advantage in excessively leached tropical rain forest soils. Forestry
operations themselves also increase erosion through the development of (forest) roads and the
use of mechanized equipment.

Biodiversity

Deforestation on a human scale results in decline in biodiversity and on a natural global scale is
known to cause the extinction of many species. The removal or destruction of areas of forest
cover has resulted in a degraded environment with reduced biodiversity. Forests support
biodiversity, providing habitat for wildlife; moreover, forests foster medicinal conservation.With
forest biotopes being irreplaceable source of new drugs (such as taxol), deforestation can destroy
genetic variations (such as crop resistance) irretrievably.

Economic impact

Damage to forests and other aspects of nature could halve living standards for the world's poor
and reduce global GDP by about 7% by 2050, a report concluded at the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD) meeting in Bonn in 2008. Historically, utilization of forest products,
including timber and fuel wood, has played a key role in human societies, comparable to the
roles of water and cultivable land. Today, developed countries continue to utilize timber for
building houses, and wood pulp for paper. In developing countries, almost three billion people
rely on wood for heating and cooking.

The forest products industry is a large part of the economy in both developed and developing
countries. A Short-term economic gains made by conversion of forest to agriculture, or over-
exploitation of wood products, typically leads to a loss of long-term income and long-term
biological productivity. West Africa, Madagascar, Southeast Asia and many other regions have
experienced lower revenue because of declining timber harvests. Illegal logging causes billions
of dollars of losses to national economies annually.

Deforestation in Nepal
 It has always been a serious issue, which has a severe effect on the lives of poor people. In the
past, Nepal was a widely forested nation. However now with the requirement for the extension of
rural areas, migration of hills people to the plains, the developing regional interest for timber,
and the local residents dependence on firewood as the essential source of energy, less than 30%
of the nation's forest cover remains. Due to the continuous deforestation in Nepal, many people
and creatures are dying. Around 70 percent of the people in Nepal work in agriculture, even if it
is difficult to farm in the prevailing unfavorable weather conditions.

Rate of Deforestation
Between 1990 and 2000, Nepal lost an average of 91,700 hectares of forest per year. This
amounts to an average annual deforestation rate of 1.90%. However, between 2000 and 2005, the
rate of deforestation decreased by 28.9% to 1.35% per year. In total, between 1990 and 2005,
Nepal lost 24.5% of its forest cover, or around 1,181,000 hectares. 42,000 hectares of its primary
forest cover was last during that time. Deforestation rates of primary cover have decreased
10.7% since the close of the 1990s. Measuring the total rate of habitat conversion (defined as
change in forest area plus change in woodland area minus net plantation expansion) for the 1990-
2005 interval, Nepal lost 7.9% of its forest and woodland habitat.
Smuggling of Timber
Nepal has fallen victim to illegal timber processing in many of Nepal's forests. These timber
operations illegally smuggle wood into India. Sources say that the smuggling is being done on
both major roads and back roads. Nepal's forest administration has confiscated many trucks and
tractors laden with timber from Nepal's forests.
Effects on Biodiversity
Biodiversity and Protected Areas are at risk due to deforestation. The country of Nepal has 1240
known species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles according to figures from the World
Conservation Monitoring Centre. Of this population 2.9% are endemic, meaning they exist in no
other country, and 5.6% are threatened. In addition, Nepal is home to at least 6973 species of
plants, of which 4.5% are native to the country itself. Not to mention, Nepal's bamboo forests are
home to the Red Panda, a threatened species, found very few places in the world. These animals
are even more prone to extinction with the high level of deforestation occurring.

Human Overpopulation (Population Overshoot)

Human overpopulation (or population overshoot) is when there are too many people for the
environment to sustain (with food, drinkable water, breathable air, etc.). In more scientific terms,
there is overshoot when the ecological footprint of a human population in a geographical area
exceeds that place's carrying capacity, damaging the environment faster than nature can repair it,
potentially leading to an ecological and societal collapse. Overpopulation could apply to the
population of a specific region, or to world population as a whole.
Causes
Overpopulation can result from an increase in births, a decline in mortality rates, an increase in
immigration, or an unsustainable biome and depletion of resources. It is possible for very
sparsely populated areas to be overpopulated if the area has a meager or non-existent capability
to sustain life (e.g. a desert).
Advocates of population moderation cite issues like exceeding the Earth's carrying capacity,
global warming, potential or imminent ecological collapse, impact on quality of life, and risk of
mass starvation or even extinction as a basis to argue for population decline.
A more controversial definition of overpopulation, as advocated by Paul Ehrlich, is a situation
where a population is in the process of depleting non-renewable resources. Under this definition,
changes in lifestyle could cause an overpopulated area to no longer be overpopulated without any
reduction in population, or vice versa.
Scientists suggest that the overall human impact on the environment, due to overpopulation,
overconsumption, pollution, and proliferation of technology, has pushed the planet into a new
geological epoch known as the Anthropogenic.
Current Population Dynamics
As of August 10, 2019 the world's human population is estimated to be 7.725 billion. Or,
7,622,106,064 on May 14, 2018 and the United States Census Bureau calculates 7,472,985,269
for that same date and over 7 billion by the United Nations. Most contemporary estimates for the
carrying capacity of the Earth under existing conditions are between 4 billion and 16 billion.
Depending on which estimate is used, human overpopulation may or may not have already
occurred.
Nevertheless, the rapid recent increase in human population has created concern. The population
is expected to reach between 8 and 10.5 billion between the years 2040 and 2050. In 2017, the
United Nations increased the medium variant projections to 9.8 billion for 2050 and 11.2 billion
for 2100.
As pointed out by Hans Rosling, the critical factor is that the population is not "just growing",
but that the growth ratio reached its peak and the total population is now growing much slower.
The UN population forecast of 2017 was predicting "near end of high fertility" globally and
anticipating that by 2030 over ⅔ of world population will be living in countries with fertility
below the replacement level and for total world population to stabilize between 10-12 billion
people by year 2100.
Concern
The rapid increase in world population over the past three centuries has raised concerns that the
planet may not be able to sustain the future or even present number of its inhabitants. The Inter
Academy Panel Statement on Population Growth, circa 1994, stated that many environmental
problems, such as rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, global warming, and pollution,
are aggravated by the population expansion.
Other problems associated with overpopulation include the increased demand for resources such
as fresh water and food, starvation and malnutrition, consumption of natural resources (such as
fossil fuels) faster than the rate of regeneration, and a deterioration in living conditions.
Population Growth in Nepal
Pesticides
Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests, including weeds.[1] The term pesticide
includes all of the following: herbicide, insecticides (which may include insect growth
regulators, termiticides, etc.) nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide,
bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, antimicrobial, and fungicide.
In general, a pesticide is a chemical or biological agent (such as a virus, bacterium, or fungus)
that deters, incapacitates, kills, or otherwise discourages pests. Target pests can include insects,
plant pathogens, weeds, molluscs, birds, mammals, fish, nematodes (roundworms), and microbes
that destroy property, cause nuisance, or spread disease, or are disease vectors.
Classification
Pesticides can be classified by target organism (e.g., herbicides, insecticides, fungicides,
rodenticides, and pediculicides), chemical structure (e.g., organic, inorganic, synthetic, or
biological (biopesticide), although the distinction can sometimes blur), and physical state (e.g.
gaseous (fumigant)). Biopesticides include microbial pesticides and biochemical pesticides.
Plant-derived pesticides, or "botanicals", have been developing quickly. These include the
pyrethroids, rotenoids, nicotinoids, and a fourth group that includes strychnine and scilliroside.

Type of pesticide pest group

Algicides or
Algae
algaecides

Avicides Birds

Bactericides Bacteria

Fungicides Fungi and oomycetes

Herbicides Plant

Insecticides Insects

Miticides or acaricides Mites

 Molluscicides Snails

Nematicides Nematodes

Rodenticides Rodents

Slimicides Algae, Bacteria, Fungi, and Slime molds

Virucides Viruses

Many pesticides can be grouped into chemical families. Prominent insecticide families include
organochlorines, organophosphates, and carbamates.
Pesticides can be classified based upon their biological mechanism function or application
method. Most pesticides work by poisoning pests. A systemic pesticide moves inside a plant
following absorption by the plant. With insecticides and most fungicides, this movement is
usually upward (through the xylem) and outward. Increased efficiency may be a result. Systemic
insecticides, which poison pollen and nectar in the flowers, may kill bees and other needed
pollinators.
In 2010, the development of a new class of fungicides called paldoxins was announced. These
work by taking advantage of natural defense chemicals released by plants called phytoalexins,
which fungi then detoxify using enzymes. The paldoxins inhibit the fungi's detoxification
enzymes. They are believed to be safer and greener.
Uses
Pesticides are used to control organisms that are considered to be harmful. For example, they are
used to kill mosquitoes that can transmit potentially deadly diseases like West Nile virus, yellow
fever, and malaria. They can also kill bees, wasps or ants that can cause allergic reactions.
Insecticides can protect animals from illnesses that can be caused by parasites such as fleas.
Pesticides can prevent sickness in humans that could be caused by moldy food or diseased
produce.
Herbicides can be used to clear roadside weeds, trees, and brush. They can also kill invasive
weeds that may cause environmental damage. Herbicides are commonly applied in ponds and
lakes to control algae and plants such as water grasses that can interfere with activities like
swimming and fishing and cause the water to look or smell unpleasant. Uncontrolled pests such
as termites and mold can damage structures such as houses.
Pesticides are used in grocery stores and food storage facilities to manage rodents and insects
that infest food such as grain. Each use of a pesticide carries some associated risk. Proper
pesticide use decreases these associated risks to a level deemed acceptable by pesticide
regulatory agencies such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the
Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) of Canada.
DDT, sprayed on the walls of houses, is organo chlorine that has been used to fight malaria since
the 1950s. Recent policy statements by the World Health Organization have given stronger
support to this approach. However, DDT and other organ chlorine pesticides have been banned
in most countries worldwide because of their persistence in the environment and human toxicity.
DDT use is not always effective, as resistance to DDT was identified in Africa as early as 1955,
and by 1972 nineteen species of mosquito worldwide were resistant to DDT.

Costs

On the cost side of pesticide use there can be costs to the environment, costs to human health as
well as costs of the development and research of new pesticides.

Health Effects

Pesticides may cause acute and delayed health effects in people who are exposed. Pesticide
exposure can cause a variety of adverse health effects, ranging from simple irritation of the skin
and eyes to more severe effects such as affecting the nervous system, mimicking hormones
causing reproductive problems, and also causing cancer.

Owing to inadequate regulation and safety precautions, 99% of pesticide related deaths occur in
developing countries that account for only 25% of pesticide usage.

Large quantities of presumably nontoxic petroleum oil by-products are introduced into the
environment as pesticide dispersal agents and emulsifiers. A 1976 study found that an increase in
viral lethality with a concomitant influence on the liver and central nervous system occurs in
young mice previously primed with such chemicals.

Environmental effects

Pesticide use raises a number of environmental concerns. Over 98% of sprayed insecticides and
95% of herbicides reach a destination other than their target species, including non-target
species, air, water and soil. Pesticide drift occurs when pesticides suspended in the air as
particles are carried by wind to other areas, potentially contaminating them. Pesticides are one of
the causes of water pollution, and some pesticides are persistent organic pollutants and contribute
to soil and flower (pollen, nectar) contamination.

In addition, pesticide use reduces biodiversity, contributes to pollinator decline, destroys habitat
(especially for birds), and threatens endangered species.
 Pests can develop a resistance to the pesticide (pesticide resistance), necessitating a new
pesticide. Alternatively a greater dose of the pesticide can be used to counteract the resistance,
although this will cause a worsening of the ambient pollution problem.

Alternatives

Alternatives to pesticides are available and include methods of cultivation, use of biological pest
controls (such as pheromones and microbial pesticides), genetic engineering, and methods of
interfering with insect breeding. Application of composted yard waste has also been used as a
way of controlling pests. These methods are becoming increasingly popular and often are safer
than traditional chemical pesticides.

Cultivation practices include polyculture (growing multiple types of plants), crop rotation,
planting crops in areas where the pests that damage them do not live, timing planting according
to when pests will be least problematic, and use of trap crops that attract pests away from the real
crop.[19] Trap crops have successfully controlled pests in some commercial agricultural systems
while reducing pesticide usage; however, in many other systems, trap crops can fail to reduce
pest densities at a commercial scale, even when the trap crop works in controlled experiments. In
the U.S., farmers have had success controlling insects by spraying with hot water at a cost that is
about the same as pesticide spraying.

Release of other organisms that fight the pest is another example of an alternative to pesticide
use. These organisms can include natural predators or parasites of the pests. Biological pesticides
based on entomopathogenic fungi, bacteria and viruses cause disease in the pest species can also
be used.

Interfering with insects' reproduction can be accomplished by sterilizing males of the target
species and releasing them, so that they mate with females but do not produce offspring. This
technique was first used on the screwworm fly in 1958 and has since been used with the medfly,
the tsetse fly, and the gypsy moth. However, this can be a costly, time consuming approach that
Benefits.

Primary Benefits
Controlling pests and plant disease vectors

 Improved crop yields

 Improved crop/livestock quality
 Invasive species controlled

Controlling human/livestock disease vectors and nuisance organisms

 Human lives saved and disease reduced. Diseases controlled include malaria with
millions of lives having been saved or enhanced with the use of DDT alone.
 Animal lives saved and disease reduced
Controlling organisms that harm other human activities and structures

 Drivers view unobstructed

 Tree/brush/leaf hazards prevented
 Wooden structures protected

Climate Change
It occurs when changes in Earth's climate system result in new weather patterns that last for at
least a few decades, and maybe for millions of years. The climate system comprises five
interacting parts, the atmosphere (air), hydrosphere (water), cryosphere (ice and permafrost),
biosphere (living things), and lithosphere (earth's crust and upper mantle). The climate system
receives nearly all of its energy from the sun, with a relatively tiny amount from earth's interior.
The climate system also gives off energy to outer space. The balance of incoming and outgoing
energy, and the passage of the energy through the climate system, determines Earth's energy
budget. When the incoming energy is greater than the outgoing energy, earth's energy budget is
positive and the climate system is warming. If more energy goes out, the energy budget is
negative and earth experiences cooling.
As this energy moves through Earth's climate system, it creates Earth's weather and long-term
averages of weather are called "climate". Changes in the long term average are called "climate
change". Such changes can be the result of "internal variability", when natural processes inherent
to the various parts of the climate system alter Earth's energy budget. Examples include cyclical
ocean patterns such as the well-known El Niño–Southern Oscillation and less familiar Pacific
decadal oscillation and Atlantic multi-decadal oscillation. Climate change can also result from
"external forcing", when events outside of the climate systems five parts nonetheless produce
changes within the system. Examples include changes in solar output and volcanism.
Human activities can also change earth's climate, and are presently driving climate change
through global warming. There is no general agreement in scientific, media or policy documents
as to the precise term to be used to refer to anthropogenic forced change; either "global
warming" or "climate change" may be used. The first describes the average effect on a global
scale, whilst the second describes how different geographical regions are affected differently.
The field of climatology incorporates many disparate fields of research. For ancient periods of
climate change, researchers rely on evidence preserved in climate proxies, such as ice cores,
ancient tree rings, geologic records of changes in sea level, and glacial geology. Physical
evidence of current climate change covers many independent lines of evidence, a few of which
are temperature records, the disappearance of ice, and extreme weather events.
Global warming
It is the long-term rise in the average temperature of the Earth's climate system. It is a major
aspect of current climate change, and has been demonstrated by direct temperature
measurements and by measurements of various effects of the warming. The term commonly
refers to the mainly human-caused increase in global surface temperatures and its projected
continuation. In this context, the terms global warming and climate change are often used
interchangeably, but climate change includes both global warming and its effects, such as
changes in precipitation and impacts that differ by region. There were prehistoric periods of
global warming, but observed changes since the mid-20th century have been much greater than
those seen in previous records covering decades to thousands of years.
In 2013, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report
concluded, "It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the
observed warming since the mid-20th century." The largest human influence has been the
emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Climate model
projections summarized in the report indicated that during the 21st century the global surface
temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to 1.7 °C (0.5 to 3.1 °F) in a moderate scenario, or as
much as 2.6 to 4.8 °C (4.7 to 8.6 °F) in an extreme scenario, depending on the rate of future
greenhouse gas emissions and on climate feedback effects. These findings have been recognized
by the national science academies of the major industrialized nations and are not disputed by any
scientific body of national or international standing.
The effects of global warming include rising sea levels, regional changes in precipitation, more
frequent extreme weather events such as heat waves, and expansion of deserts. Surface
temperature increases are greatest in the Arctic, which has contributed to the retreat of glaciers,
permafrost, and sea ice. Overall, higher temperatures bring more rain and snowfall, but for some
regions droughts and wildfires increase instead.
Climate change threatens to diminish crop yields, harming food security, and rising sea levels
may flood coastal infrastructure and force the abandonment of many coastal cities.
Environmental impacts include the extinction or relocation of many species as their ecosystems
change, most immediately the environments of coral reefs, mountains, and the Arctic. Because
the climate system has a large "inertia" and greenhouse gases persist in the atmosphere, climatic
changes and their effects will continue for many centuries even if greenhouse gas emissions are
stopped.
Globally, a majority of people consider global warming a serious or very serious issue. Possible
societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction, adaptation to its
effects, and possible future climate engineering. Every country in the world is a party to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), whose ultimate
objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change. Although the parties to the
UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required and that global warming should
be limited to well below 2 °C (3.6 °F) (with efforts made to limit warming to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F)]),
the Earth's average surface temperature has already increased by about half this threshold. Some
scientists call into question the feasibility of the 2 °C (3.6 °F) temperature target, and some
question the feasibility, in higher emissions scenarios, of climate adaptation.
The Greenhouse Effect
It is the process by which radiation from a planet's atmosphere warms the planet's surface to a
temperature above what it would be without this atmosphere.
Radiatively active gases (i.e., greenhouse gases) in a planet's atmosphere radiate energy in all
directions. Part of this radiation is directed towards the surface, warming it. The intensity of the
downward radiation – that is, the strength of the greenhouse effect – will depend on the
atmosphere's temperature and on the amount of greenhouse gases that the atmosphere contains.
Earth’s natural greenhouse effect is critical to supporting life, and initially was a precursor to life
moving out of the ocean onto land. Human activities, however, mainly the burning of fossil fuels
and clearcutting of forests, have accelerated the greenhouse effect and caused global warming.
The planet Venus experienced runaway greenhouse effect, resulting in an atmosphere which is
96% carbon dioxide, with surface atmospheric pressure roughly the same as found 900 m
(3,000 ft) underwater on Earth. Venus may have had water oceans, but they would have boiled
off as the mean surface temperature rose to 735 K (462 °C; 863 °F)
The term "greenhouse effect" continues to see use in scientific circles and the media despite
being a slight misnomer, as an atmosphere reduces radiative heat loss while a greenhouse blocks
convective heat loss. The result, however, is an increase in temperature in both cases.
Ozone Depletion
It consists of two related events observed since the late 1970s: a steady lowering of about four
percent in the total amount of ozone in Earth's atmosphere (the ozone layer), and a much larger
springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone around Earth's polar regions. The latter phenomenon
is referred to as the ozone hole. There are also springtime polar tropospheric ozone depletion
events in addition to these stratospheric events.
Causes: The main cause of ozone depletion and the ozone hole is manufactured chemicals,
especially manufactured halocarbon refrigerants, solvents, propellants and foam-blowing agents
(chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), HCFCs, halons), referred to as ozone-depleting substances
(ODS). These compounds are transported into the stratosphere by turbulent mixing after being
emitted from the surface, mixing much faster than the molecules can settle. Once in the
stratosphere, they release halogen atoms through photodissociation, which catalyze the
breakdown of ozone (O3) into oxygen (O2). Both types of ozone depletion were observed to
increase as emissions of halocarbons increased.
Concern: Ozone depletion and the ozone hole have generated worldwide concern over increased
cancer risks and other negative effects. The ozone layer prevents most harmful UVB
wavelengths of ultraviolet light (UV light) from passing through the Earth's atmosphere. These
wavelengths cause skin cancer, sunburn and cataracts, which were projected to increase
dramatically as a result of thinning ozone, as well as harming plants and animals. These concerns
led to the adoption of the Montreal Protocol in 1987, which bans the production of CFCs, halons
and other ozone-depleting chemicals.
The ban came into effect in 1989. Ozone levels stabilized by the mid-1990s and began to recover
in the 2000s. Recovery is projected to continue over the next century, and the ozone hole is
expected to reach pre-1980 levels by around 2075. The Montreal Protocol is considered the most
successful international environmental agreement to date.
Biological Effects
The main public concern regarding the ozone hole has been the effects of increased surface UV
radiation on human health. So far, ozone depletion in most locations has been typically a few
percent and, as noted above, no direct evidence of health damage is available in most latitudes. If
the high levels of depletion seen in the ozone hole were to be common across the globe, the
effects could be substantially more dramatic. As the ozone hole over Antarctica has in some
instances grown so large as to affect parts of Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, and
South Africa, environmentalists have been concerned that the increase in surface UV could be
significant.
Ozone depletion would magnify all of the effects of UV on human health, both positive
(including production of vitamin D) and negative (including sunburn, skin cancer, and cataracts).
In addition, increased surface UV leads to increased tropospheric ozone, which is a health risk to
humans.
Effects on Crops
An increase of UV radiation would be expected to affect crops. A number of economically
important species of plants, such as rice, depend on cyanobacteria residing on their roots for the
retention of nitrogen. Cyanobacteria are sensitive to UV radiation and would be affected by its
increase. "Despite mechanisms to reduce or repair the effects of increased ultraviolet radiation,
plants have a limited ability to adapt to increased levels of UVB, therefore plant growth can be
directly affected by UVB radiation.
Acid Rain

It is a rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated
levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). It can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals and
infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which react
with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids. Some governments have made
efforts since the 1970s to reduce the release of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide into the
atmosphere with positive results. Nitrogen oxides can also be produced naturally by lightning
strikes, and sulfur dioxide is produced by volcanic eruptions. Acid rain has been shown to have
adverse impacts on forests, freshwaters and soils, killing insect and aquatic life-forms, causing
paint to peel, corrosion of steel structures such as bridges, and weathering of stone buildings and
statues as well as having impacts on human health

Acid Deposition

Wet Deposition
Wet deposition of acids occurs when any form of precipitation (rain, snow, and so on.) removes
acids from the atmosphere and delivers it to the Earth's surface. This can result from the
deposition of acids produced in the raindrops (see aqueous phase chemistry above) or by the
precipitation removing the acids either in clouds or below clouds. Wet removal of both gases and
aerosols are both of importance for wet deposition.
Dry Deposition
Acid deposition also occurs via dry deposition in the absence of precipitation. This can be
responsible for as much as 20 to 60% of total acid deposition. This occurs when particles and
gases stick to the ground, plants or other surfaces.
Adverse Effects
Acid rain has been shown to have adverse impacts on forests, freshwaters and soils, killing insect
and aquatic life-forms as well as causing damage to buildings and having impacts on human
health.
Both the lower pH and higher aluminium concentrations in surface water that occur as a result of
acid rain can cause damage to fish and other aquatic animals. At pH lower than 5 most fish eggs
will not hatch and lower pH can kill adult fish. As lakes and rivers become more acidic
biodiversity is reduced. Acid rain has eliminated insect life and some fish species, including the
brook trout in some lakes, streams, and creeks in geographically sensitive areas, such as the
Adirondack Mountains of the United States. However, the extent to which acid rain contributes
directly or indirectly via runoff from the catchment to lake and river acidity (i.e., depending on
characteristics of the surrounding watershed) is variable. The United States Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) website states: "Of the lakes and streams surveyed, acid rain caused
acidity in 75% of the acidic lakes and about 50% of the acidic streams". Lakes hosted by silicate
basement rocks are more acidic than lakes within limestone or other basement rocks with a
carbonate composition (i.e. marble) due to buffering effects by carbonate minerals, even with the
same amount of acid rain.
Soils
Soil biology and chemistry can be seriously damaged by acid rain. Some microbes are unable to
tolerate changes to low pH and are killed. The enzymes of these microbes are denatured
(changed in shape so they no longer function) by the acid. The hydronium ions of acid rain also
mobilize toxins, such as aluminium, and leach away essential nutrients and minerals such as
magnesium.
2 H+ (aq) + Mg2+ (clay) ⇌ 2 H+ (clay) + Mg2+ (aq)
Soil chemistry can be dramatically changed when base cations, such as calcium and magnesium,
are leached by acid rain thereby affecting sensitive species, such as sugar maple (Acer
saccharum).
Forests and Other Vegetation
Adverse effects may be indirectly related to acid rain, like the acid's effects on soil (see above) or
high concentration of gaseous precursors to acid rain. High altitude forests are especially
vulnerable as they are often surrounded by clouds and fog which are more acidic than rain.
Other plants can also be damaged by acid rain, but the effect on food crops is minimized by the
application of lime and fertilizers to replace lost nutrients. In cultivated areas, limestone may also
be added to increase the ability of the soil to keep the pH stable, but this tactic is largely unusable
in the case of wilderness lands. When calcium is leached from the needles of red spruce, these
trees become less cold tolerant and exhibit winter injury and even death.
Ocean Acidification
Extreme Weather

It includes unexpected, unusual, unpredictable, severe or unseasonal weather; weather at the

extremes of the historical distribution—the range that has been seen in the past. Often, extreme
events are based on a location's recorded weather history and defined as lying in the most
unusual ten percent. In recent years some extreme weather events have been attributed to human-
induced global warming, with studies indicating an increasing threat from extreme weather in the
future.

Over most land areas since the 1950s, it is very likely that there have been fewer or warmer cold
days and nights. Hot days and nights have also very likely become warmer or more frequent.
Human activities have very likely contributed to these trends. There may have been changes in
other climate extremes (e.g., floods, droughts and tropical cyclones) but these changes are more
difficult to identify.
Projections suggest changes in the frequency and intensity of some extreme weather events.
Confidence in projections varies over time. In the U.S. since 1999, two warm weather records
were set or broken for every cold one.
Near-Term Projections (2016–2035)
Some changes (e.g., more frequent hot days) will probably be evident in the near term, while
other near-term changes (e.g., more intense droughts and tropical cyclones) are more uncertain.
Long-Term Projections (2081–2100)
Future climate change will be associated with more very hot days and fewer very cold days. The
frequency, length and intensity of heat waves will very likely increase over most land areas.
Higher growth in anthropogenic GHG emissions will be associated with larger increases in the
frequency and severity of temperature extremes.
Assuming high growth in GHG emissions (IPCC scenario RCP8.5), presently dry regions may
be affected by an increase in the risk of drought and reductions in soil moisture. Over most of the
mid-latitude land masses and wet tropical regions, extreme precipitation events will very likely
become more intense and frequent.
Heat Waves
Global warming boosts the probability of extreme weather events, like heat waves, far more than
it boosts more moderate events.
In the last 30–40 years, heat waves with high humidity have become more frequent and severe.
Extremely hot nights have doubled in frequency. The area, in which extremely hot summers are
observed, has increased 50-100 fold. These changes are not explained by natural variability, and
attributed by climate scientists to the influence of anthropogenic climate change. Heat waves
with high humidity pose a big risk to human health while heat waves with low humidity lead to
dry conditions that increase wildfires. The mortality from extreme heat is larger than the
mortality from hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes together.
Tropical Cyclones
At the global scale, the frequency of tropical cyclones will probably decrease or be unchanged.
Global mean tropical cyclone maximum wind speed and precipitation rates will likely increase.
Changes in tropical cyclones will probably vary by region, but these variations are uncertain.
Effects of Climate Extremes
The impacts of extreme events on the environment and human society will vary. Some impacts
will be beneficial—e.g., fewer cold extremes will probably lead to fewer cold deaths. Overall,
however, impacts will probably be mostly negative. A rise in temperature will cause the glaciers
to melt, when water heats up, it expands, both of these factors contribute to a rise in sea levels
which will put people living in lowland areas, for example The Netherlands in danger.

Invasive Species
An invasive species is a species that is not native to a specific location (an introduced species),
and that has a tendency to spread to a degree believed to cause damage to the environment,
human economy or human health.
The term as most often used applies to introduce species that adversely affect the habitats and
bioregions they invade economically, environmentally, or ecologically. Such species may be
either plants or animals and may disrupt by dominating a region, wilderness areas, particular
habitats, or wildland–urban interface land from loss of natural controls (such as predators or
herbivores). This includes plant species labeled as exotic pest plants and invasive exotics
growing in native plant communities. The European Union defines "Invasive Alien Species" as
those that are, firstly, outside their natural distribution area, and secondly, threaten biological
diversity. The term is also used by land managers, botanists, researchers, horticulturalists,
conservationists, and the public for noxious weeds.
Invasive Species of Nepal
Food Security

It is a measure of the availability of food and individuals' ability to access it. Affordability is
only factor. There is evidence of food security being a concern many thousands of years ago,
with central authorities in ancient China and ancient Egypt being known to release food from
storage in times of famine. At the 1974 World Food Conference the term "food security" was
defined with an emphasis on supply. Food security, they said, is the "availability at all times of
adequate, nourishing, diverse, balanced and moderate world food supplies of basic foodstuffs to
sustain a steady expansion of food consumption and to offset fluctuations in production and
prices". Later definitions added demand and access issues to the definition. The final report of
the 1996 World Food Summit states that food security "exists when all people, at all times, have
physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs
and food preferences for an active and healthy life.

Challenges to Achieving Food Security

1. Water deficits, which are already spurring heavy grain imports in numerous smaller
countries, may soon do the same in larger countries, such as China or India. The water tables are
falling in scores of countries (including northern China, the US, and India) due to widespread
over pumping using powerful diesel and electric pumps. Other countries affected include
Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. This will eventually lead to water scarcity and cutbacks in grain
harvest. Even with the over pumping of its aquifers, China is developing a grain deficit. When
this happens, it will almost certainly drive grain prices upward. Most of the 3 billion people
projected to be born worldwide by mid-century will be born in countries already experiencing
water shortages. After China and India, there is a second tier of smaller countries with large
water deficits – Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Mexico, and Pakistan. Four of these already
import a large share of their grain. Only Pakistan remains self-sufficient. But with a population
expanding by 4 million a year, it will likely soon turn to the world market for grain.

2. Degradation
Intensive farming often leads to a vicious cycle of exhaustion of soil fertility and decline of
agricultural yields. Approximately 40 percent of the world's agricultural land is seriously
degraded. In Africa, if current trends of soil degradation continue the continent might be able to
feed just 25 percent of its population by 2025, according to UNU's Ghana-based Institute for
Natural Resources in Africa.
3. Climate Change

Climate change and related extreme climate events are key drivers behind the recent rises in
global hunger and one of the leading causes of severe food crises. This causes migration – both
seasonal and permanent – amongst communities that are forced to find more sustainable sources
of food.
4. Agricultural Diseases
Diseases affecting livestock or crops can have devastating effects on food availability especially
if there are no contingency plans in place. For example, Ug99, a lineage of wheat stem rust,
which can cause up to 100% crop losses, is present in wheat fields in several countries in Africa
and the Middle East and is predicted to spread rapidly through these regions and possibly further
afield, potentially causing a wheat production disaster that would affect food security worldwide.

5. Food versus Fuel

Farmland and other agricultural resources have long been used to produce non-food crops
including industrial materials such as cotton, flax, and rubber; drug crops such as tobacco and
opium, and biofuels such as firewood, etc. In the 21st century the production of fuel crops has
increased, adding to this diversion. However technologies are also developed to commercially
produce food from energy such as natural gas and electrical energy with tiny water and land foot
print.
6. Politics
Governments sometimes have a narrow base of support, built upon cronyism and patronage. Fred
Cuny pointed out in 1999 that under these conditions: "The distribution of food within a country
is a political issue. Governments in most countries give priority to urban areas, since that is
where the most influential and powerful families and enterprises are usually located. The
government often neglects subsistence farmers and rural areas in general. The more remote and
underdeveloped the area the less likely the government will be to effectively meet its needs.
Many agrarian policies, especially the pricing of agricultural commodities, discriminate against
rural areas. Governments often keep prices of basic grains at such artificially low levels that
subsistence producers cannot accumulate enough capital to make investments to improve their
production. Thus, they are effectively prevented from getting out of their precarious situation."
Food Sovereignty
The approach known as food sovereignty views the business practices of multinational
corporations as a form of neocolonialism. It contends that multinational corporations have the
financial resources available to buy up the agricultural resources of impoverished nations,
particularly in the tropics. They also have the political clout to convert these resources to the
exclusive production of cash crops for sale to industrialized nations outside of the tropics, and in
the process to squeeze the poor off of the more productive lands. Under this view, subsistence
farmers are left to cultivate only lands that are so marginal in terms of productivity as to be of no
interest to the multinational corporations. Likewise, food sovereignty holds it to be true that
communities should be able to define their own means of production and that food is a basic
human right. With several multinational corporations now pushing agricultural technologies on
developing countries, technologies that include improved seeds, chemical fertilizers, and
pesticides, crop production has become an increasingly analyzed and debated issue.
Food Waste
Food waste may be diverted for alternative human consumption when economic variables allow
for it. The waste of consumable food is even gaining attention from large food conglomerates.
For instance, due to low food prices, simply discarding irregular carrots has typically been more
cost-effective than spending money on the extra labor or machinery necessary to handle them. A
juice factory in the Netherlands, however, has developed a process to efficiently divert and use
previously rejected carrots, and its parent company is expanding this innovation to plants in
Great Britain
Risks to Food Security
1. Population Growth and Fossil Fuel Dependence
While agricultural output has increased, energy consumption to produce a crop has also
increased at a greater rate, so that the ratio of crops produced to energy input has decreased over
time. Green Revolution techniques also heavily rely on chemical fertilizers, pesticides and
herbicides, many of which are petroleum products, making agriculture increasingly reliant on
petroleum.
2. Homogeneity in the Global Food Supply

Since 1961, human diets across the world have become more diverse in the consumption of
major commodity staple crops, with a corollary decline in consumption of local or regionally
important crops, and thus have become more homogeneous globally. The differences between
the foods eaten in different countries were reduced by 68% between 1961 and 2009. The modern
"global standard “diet contains an increasingly large percentage of a relatively small number of
major staple commodity crops, which have increased substantially in the share of the total food
energy (calories), protein, fat, and food weight that they provide to the world's human
population, including wheat, rice, sugar, maize, soybean (by +284%), palm oil (by +173%), and
sunflower (by +246%).
Whereas nations used to consume greater proportions of locally or regionally important crops,
wheat has become a staple in over 97% of countries, with the other global staples showing
similar dominance worldwide. Other crops have declined sharply over the same period, including
rye, yam, sweet potato (by −45%), cassava (by −38%), coconut, sorghum (by −52%) and millets
(by −45%). Such crop diversity change in the human diet is associated with mixed effects on
food security, improving under-nutrition in some regions but contributing to the diet-related
diseases caused by over-consumption of macronutrients.
3. Price Setting
On April 30, 2008, Thailand, one of the world's biggest rice exporters, announced the creation of
the Organization of Rice Exporting Countries with the potential to develop into a price-fixing
cartel for rice. It is a project to organize 21 rice exporting countries to create a homonymous
organization to control the price of rice. The group is mainly made up of Thailand, Vietnam,
Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. The organization attempts to serve the purpose of making a
"contribution to ensuring food stability, not just in an individual country but also to address food
shortages in the region and the world". However, it is still questionable whether this organization
will serve its role as an effective rice price fixing cartel that is similar to OPEC's mechanism for
managing petroleum. Economic analysts and traders said the proposal would go nowhere
because of the inability of governments to cooperate with each other and control farmers' output.
Moreover, countries that are involved expressed their concern that this could only worsen the
food security.
4. Land Use Change
China needs not less than 120 million hectares of arable land for its food security. China has
reported a surplus of 15 million hectares. By contrast, some 4 million hectares of conversion to
urban use and 3 million hectares of contaminated land have also been reported. A survey found
that 2.5% of China's arable land is too contaminated to grow food without harm.
In Europe, the conversion of agricultural soil implied a net loss of potential, but the rapid loss in
the area of arable soils appears to be economically meaningless because EU is perceived to be
dependent on internal food supply anymore. During the period 2000–2006, the European Union
lost 0.27% of its cropland and 0.26% of its crop productive potential. The loss of agricultural
land during the same time was the highest in the Netherlands, which lost 1.57% of its crop
production potential within six years. The figures are quite alarming for Cyprus (0.84%), Ireland
(0.77%) and Spain (0.49%) as well.
5. Global Catastrophic Risks

As anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions reduce the stability of the global climate, abrupt
climate change could become more intense The impact of an asteroid or comet larger than about
1 km diameter has the potential to block the sun globally,

A fertilizer

It is any material of natural or synthetic origin (other than liming materials) that is applied to
soils or to plant tissues to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants.
Many sources of fertilizer exist, both natural and industrially produced

Environmental Effects
Use of fertilizers is beneficial in providing nutrients to plants although they have some negative
environmental effects. The large growing consumption of fertilizers can affect soil, surface
water, and groundwater due to dispersion of mineral use.

Water

Phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizers when commonly used have major environmental effects. This
is due to high rainfalls causing the fertilizers to be washed into waterways. Agricultural run-off is
a major contributor to the eutrophication of fresh water bodies. The main contributor to
eutrophication is phosphate, which is normally a limiting nutrient; high concentrations promote
the growth of cyanobacteria and algae, the demise of which consumes oxygen. [Cyanobacteria
blooms ('algal blooms') can also produce harmful toxins that can accumulate in the food chain,
and can be harmful to humans.

The nitrogen-rich compounds found in fertilizer runoff are the primary cause of serious oxygen
depletion in many parts of oceans, especially in coastal zones, lakes and rivers. The resulting
lack of dissolved oxygen greatly reduces the ability of these areas to sustain oceanic fauna.

Nitrate Pollution

Only a fraction of the nitrogen-based fertilizers is converted to plant matter. The remainder
accumulates in the soil or is lost as run-off. High application rates of nitrogen-containing
fertilizers combined with the high water solubility of nitrate leads to increased runoff into surface
water as well as leaching into groundwater, thereby causing groundwater pollution. The
excessive use of nitrogen-containing fertilizers (be they synthetic or natural) is particularly
damaging, as much of the nitrogen that is not taken up by plants is transformed into nitrate which
is easily leached.

Nitrate levels above 10 mg/L (10 ppm) in groundwater can cause 'blue baby syndrome' (acquired
methemoglobinemia). The nutrients, especially nitrates, in fertilizers can cause problems for
natural habitats and for human health if they are washed off soil into watercourses or leached
through soil into groundwater.

Soil Acidification

Nitrogen-containing fertilizers can cause soil acidification when added. This may lead to
decrease in nutrient availability which may be offset by liming.

Accumulation of Toxic Elements

Cadmium

The concentration of cadmium in phosphorus-containing fertilizers varies considerably and can

be problematic. For example, mono-ammonium phosphate fertilizer may have cadmium content
of as low as 0.14 mg/kg or as high as 50.9 mg/kg. The phosphate rock used in their manufacture
can contain as much as 188 mg/kg cadmium. Continuous use of high-cadmium fertilizer can
contaminate soil and plants.

Fluoride

Phosphate rocks contain high levels of fluoride. Consequently, the widespread use of phosphate
fertilizers has increased soil fluoride concentrations. It has been found that food contamination
from fertilizer is of little concern as plants accumulate little fluoride from the soil; of greater
concern is the possibility of fluoride toxicity to livestock that ingest contaminated soils. Also of
possible concern are the effects of fluoride on soil microorganisms.

Radioactive Elements

The radioactive content of the fertilizers varies considerably and depends both on their
concentrations in the parent mineral and on the fertilizer production process. Uranium-238
concentrations can range from 7 to 100 pCi/g in phosphate rock and from 1 to 67 pCi/g in
phosphate fertilizers. Where high annual rates of phosphorus fertilizer are used, this can result in
uranium-238 concentrations in soils and drainage waters that are several times greater than are
normally present. However, the impact of these increases on the risk to human health from
radionuclide contamination of foods is very small (less than 0.05 mSv/y).

Other Metals

Steel industry wastes, recycled into fertilizers for their high levels of zinc (essential to plant
growth), wastes can include the following toxic metals: lead arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and
nickel. The most common toxic elements in this type of fertilizer are mercury, lead, and arsenic.
These potentially harmful impurities can be removed; however, this significantly increases cost.
Highly pure fertilizers are widely available and perhaps best known as the highly water-soluble
fertilizers containing blue dyes used around households, such as Miracle-Gro. These highly
water-soluble fertilizers are used in the plant nursery business and are available in larger
packages at significantly less cost than retail quantities. Some inexpensive retail granular garden
fertilizers are made with high purity ingredients.

Trace Mineral Depletion

Attention has been addressed to the decreasing concentrations of elements such as iron, zinc,
copper and magnesium in many foods over the last 50–60 years. Intensive farming practices,
including the use of synthetic fertilizers are frequently suggested as reasons for these declines
and organic farming is often suggested as a solution. Although improved crop yields resulting
from NPK fertilizers are known to dilute the concentrations of other nutrients in plants, much of
the measured decline can be attributed to the use of progressively higher-yielding crop varieties
which produce foods with lower mineral concentrations than their less productive ancestors. It is,
therefore, unlikely that organic farming or reduced use of fertilizers will solve the problem;
foods with high nutrient density are posited to be achieved using older, lower-yielding varieties
or the development of new high-yield, nutrient-dense varieties.
Fertilizers are, in fact, more likely to solve trace mineral deficiency problems than cause them: In
Western Australia deficiencies of zinc, copper, manganese, iron and molybdenum were
identified as limiting the growth of broad-acre crops and pastures in the 1940s and 1950s. Soils
in Western Australia are very old, highly weathered and deficient in many of the major nutrients
and trace elements. Since this time these trace elements are routinely added to fertilizers used in
agriculture in this state. Many other soils around the world are deficient in zinc, leading to
deficiency in both plants and humans, and zinc fertilizers are widely used to solve this problem.

Changes in Soil Biology

Natural Resources

Natural resources are resources that exist without actions of humankind. This includes all valued
characteristics such as magnetic, gravitational, electrical properties and forces etc. On Earth it
includes sunlight, atmosphere, water, land (includes all minerals) along with all vegetation, crops
and animal life that naturally subsists upon or within the heretofore identified characteristics and
substances.

There are various methods of categorizing natural resources, these include source of origin, stage
of development, and by their renewability.
On the basis of origin, natural resources may be divided into two types:

Biotic — Biotic resources are obtained from the biosphere (living and organic material), such as
forests and animals, and the materials that can be obtained from them. Fossil fuels such as coal
and petroleum are also included in this category because they are formed from decayed organic
matter.

Abiotic – Abiotic resources are those that come from non-living, non-organic material.
Examples of abiotic resources include land, fresh water, air, rare earth metals and heavy metals
including ores, such as, gold, iron, copper, silver, etc.
Considering their stage of development, natural resources may be referred to in the following
ways:

Potential Resources — Potential resources are those that may be used in the future—for
example, petroleum in sedimentary rocks that, until drilled out and put to use remains a potential
resource

Actual Resources — Those resources that have been surveyed, quantified and qualified and, are
currently used—development, such as wood processing, depends on technology and cost

Reserve Resources — The part of an actual resource that can be developed profitably in the
future
Stock Resources — Those that have been surveyed, but cannot be used due to lack of
technology—for example, hydrogen
Many natural resources can be categorized as either renewable or non-renewable:

Renewable Resources — Renewable resources can be replenished naturally. Some of these

resources, like sunlight, air, wind, water, etc. are continuously available and their quantities are
not noticeably affected by human consumption. Though many renewable resources do not have
such a rapid recovery rate, these resources are susceptible to depletion by over-use. Resources
from a human use perspective are classified as renewable so long as the rate of
replenishment/recovery exceeds that of the rate of consumption. They replenish easily compared
to Non-renewable resources.

Non-Renewable Resources – Non-renewable resources either form slowly or do not naturally

form in the environment. Minerals are the most common resource included in this category. By
the human perspective, resources are non-renewable when their rate of consumption exceeds the
rate of replenishment/recovery; a good example of this are fossil fuels, which are in this category
because their rate of formation is extremely slow (potentially millions of years), meaning they
are considered non-renewable. Some resources actually naturally deplete in amount without
human interference, the most notable of these being radio-active elements such as uranium,
which naturally decay into heavy metals. Of these, the metallic minerals can be re-used by
recycling them, but coal and petroleum cannot be recycled. Once they are completely used they
take millions of years to replenish.

Extraction
Resource extraction involves any activity that withdraws resources from nature. This can range
in scale from the traditional use of preindustrial societies, to global industry. Extractive
industries are, along with agriculture, the basis of the primary sector of the economy. Extraction
produces raw material, which is then processed to add value. Examples of extractive industries
are hunting, trapping, mining, oil and gas drilling, and forestry.
Depletion
In recent years, the depletion of natural resources has become a major focus of governments and
organizations such as the United Nations (UN). This is evident in the UN's Agenda 21 Section
Two, which outlines the necessary steps for countries to take to sustain their natural resources.
The depletion of natural resources is considered a sustainable development issue. The term
sustainable development has many interpretations, most notably the Brundtland Commission's 'to
ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs', however in broad terms it is balancing the needs of the
planet's people and species now and in the future. In regards to natural resources, depletion is of
concern for sustainable development as it has the ability to degrade current environments and
potential to impact the needs of future generations.

Natural Resource Management

It refers to the management of natural resources such as land, water, soil, plants and animals,
with a particular focus on how management affects the quality of life for both present and future
generations (stewardship).
Natural resource management deals with managing the way in which people and natural
landscapes interact. It brings together land use planning, water management, biodiversity
conservation, and the future sustainability of industries like agriculture, mining, tourism,
fisheries and forestry. It recognizes that people and their livelihoods rely on the health and
productivity of our landscapes, and their actions as stewards of the land play a critical role in
maintaining this health and productivity.
Natural resource management specifically focuses on a scientific and technical understanding of
resources and ecology and the life-supporting capacity of those resources. Environmental
management is also similar to natural resource management. In academic contexts, the sociology
of natural resources is closely related to, but distinct from, natural resource management.
Ownership Regimes
Natural resource management approaches can be categorized according to the kind and right of
stakeholders, natural resources:
State Property: Ownership and control over the use of resources is in hands of the state.
Individuals or groups may be able to make use of the resources, but only at the permission of the
state. National forest, National parks and military reservations are some US examples.

Private Property: Any property owned by a defined individual or corporate entity. Both the
benefit and duties to the resources fall to the owner(s). Private land is the most common
example.

Common Property: It is a private property of a group. The group may vary in size, nature and
internal structure e.g. indigenous neighbors’ of village. Some examples of common property are
community forests.

Non-Property (open access): There is no definite owner of these properties. Each potential user
has equal ability to use it as they wish. These areas are the most exploited. It is said that
"Everybody's property is nobody's property". An example is a lake fishery. Common land may
exist without ownership, in which case in the UK it is vested in a local authority.

Hybrid: Many ownership regimes governing natural resources will contain parts of more than
one of the regimes described above, so natural resource managers need to consider the impact of
hybrid regimes. An example of such a hybrid is native vegetation management in NSW,
Australia, where legislation recognizes a public interest in the preservation of native vegetation,
but where most native vegetation exists on private land.

Management of Resources
Natural resource management issues are inherently complex. They involve the ecological cycles,
hydrological cycles, climate, animals, plants and geography, etc. All these are dynamic and inter-
related. A change in one of them may have far reaching and/or long term impacts which may
even be irreversible. In addition to the natural systems, natural resource management also has to
manage various stakeholders and their interests, policies, politics, geographical boundaries,
economic implications and the list goes on. It is a very difficult to satisfy all aspects at the same
time. This results in conflicting situations.
After the United Nations Conference for the Environment and Development (UNCED) held in
Rio de Janeiro in 1992, most nations subscribed to new principles for the integrated management
of land, water, and forests. Although program names vary from nation to nation, all express
similar aims.
The various approaches applied to natural resource management include:

 Top-down (Command and Control)

 Community-Based Natural Resource Management
 Adaptive Management
 Precautionary Approach
 Integrated Natural Resource Management

Community-Based Natural Resource Management

The community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) approach combines conservation
objectives with the generation of economic benefits for rural communities. The three key
assumptions being that: locals are better placed to conserve natural resources, people will
conserve a resource only if benefits exceed the costs of conservation, and people will conserve a
resource that is linked directly to their quality of life. When a local people's quality of life is
enhanced, their efforts and commitment to ensure the future well-being of the resource are also
enhanced. Regional and community based natural resource management is also based on the
principle of subsidiarity.
The United Nations advocates CBNRM in the Convention on Biodiversity and the Convention to
Combat Desertification. Unless clearly defined, decentralized NRM can result an ambiguous
socio-legal environment with local communities racing to exploit natural resources while they
can e.g. forest communities in central Kalimantan (Indonesia).
A problem of CBNRM is the difficulty of reconciling and harmonizing the objectives of
socioeconomic development, biodiversity protection and sustainable resource utilization. The
concept and conflicting interests of CBNRM, show how the motives behind the participation are
differentiated as either people-centered (active or participatory results that are truly empowering)
or planner-centered (nominal and results in passive recipients). Understanding power relations is
crucial to the success of community based NRM. Locals may be reluctant to challenge
government recommendations for fear of losing promised benefits.
CBNRM is based particularly on advocacy by nongovernmental organizations working with
local groups and communities, on the one hand, and national and transnational organizations, on
the other, to build and extend new versions of environmental and social advocacy that link social
justice and environmental management agendas with both direct and indirect benefits observed
including a share of revenues, employment, diversification of livelihoods and increased pride and
identity. Ecological and societal successes and failures of CBNRM projects have been
documented. CBNRM has raised new challenges, as concepts of community, territory,
conservation, and indigenous are worked into politically varied plans and programs in disparate
sites. Warner and Jones address strategies for effectively managing conflict in CBNRM.

Adaptive Management
The primary methodological approach adopted by catchment management authorities (CMAs)
for regional natural resource management in Australia is adaptive management.
This approach includes recognition that adaption occurs through a process of ‘plan-do-review-
act’. It also recognizes seven key components that should be considered for quality natural
resource management practice:

 Determination of scale
 Collection and use of knowledge
 Information management
 Monitoring and evaluation
 Risk management
 Community engagement
 Opportunities for collaboration.

Integrated Natural Resource Management

Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM) is a process of managing natural resources in
a systematic way, which includes multiple aspects of natural resource use (biophysical, socio-
political, and economic) meet production goals of producers and other direct users (e.g., food
security, profitability, risk aversion) as well as goals of the wider community (e.g., poverty
alleviation, welfare of future generations, environmental conservation). It focuses on
sustainability and at the same time tries to incorporate all possible stakeholders from the
planning level itself, reducing possible future conflicts. The conceptual basis of INRM has
evolved in recent years through the convergence of research in diverse areas such as sustainable
land use, participatory planning, integrated watershed management, and adaptive management.
INRM is being used extensively and been successful in regional and community based natural
management

Precautionary Biodiversity Management

The "threats" wreaking havoc on biodiversity include; habitat fragmentation, putting a strain on
the already stretched biological resources; forest deterioration and deforestation; the invasion of
"alien species" and "climate change" . Since these threats have received increasing attention from
environmentalists and the public, the precautionary management of biodiversity becomes an
important part of natural resources management. According to Cooney, there are material
measures to carry out precautionary management of biodiversity in natural resource
management.
Concrete "policy tools"
Cooney claims that the policy making is dependent on "evidences", relating to "high standard of
proof", the forbidding of special "activities" and "information and monitoring requirements".
Before making the policy of precaution, categorical evidence is needed. When the potential
menace of "activities" is regarded as a critical and "irreversible" endangerment, these "activities"
should be forbidden. For example, since explosives and toxicants will have serious consequences
to endanger human and natural environment, the South Africa Marine Living Resources Act
promulgated a series of policies on completely forbidding to "catch fish" by using explosives and
toxicants.
Administration and Guidelines
According to Cooney, there are 4 methods to manage the precaution of biodiversity in natural
resources management;

1. "Ecosystem-based management" including "more risk-averse and precautionary

management", where "given prevailing uncertainty regarding ecosystem structure,
function, and inter-specific interactions, precaution demands an ecosystem rather than
single-species approach to management".
2. "Adaptive management" is "a management approach that expressly tackles the
uncertainty and dynamism of complex systems".
3. "Environmental impact assessment" and exposure ratings decrease the "uncertainties" of
precaution, even though it has deficiencies, and
4. "Protectionist approaches", which "most frequently links to" biodiversity conservation in
natural resources management.

Land Management
In order to have a sustainable environment, understanding and using appropriate management
strategies is important. In terms of understanding, Young emphasizes some important points of
land management:

 Comprehending the processes of nature including ecosystem, water, soils

 Using appropriate and adapting management systems in local situations
 Cooperation between scientists who have knowledge and resources and local people who
have knowledge and skills

Dale et al. (2000) study has shown that there are five fundamental and helpful ecological
principles for the land manager and people who need them. The ecological principles relate to
time, place, species, disturbance and the landscape and they interact in many ways. It is
suggested that land managers could follow these guidelines:
 Examine impacts of local decisions in a regional context, and the effects on natural
resources.
 Plan for long-term change and unexpected events.
 Preserve rare landscape elements and associated species.
 Avoid land uses that deplete natural resources.
 Retain large contiguous or connected areas that contain critical habitats.
 Minimize the introduction and spread of non-native species.
 Avoid or compensate for the effects of development on ecological processes.
 Implement land-use and land-management practices that are compatible with the natural
potential of the area.

Toxin
It is a poisonous substance produced within living cells or organisms; synthetic toxicants created
by artificial processes are thus excluded. The term was first used by organic chemist Ludwig
Brieger (1849–1919), derived from the word toxic.
Toxins can be small molecules, peptides, or proteins that are capable of causing disease on
contact with or absorption by body tissues interacting with biological macromolecules such as
enzymes or cellular receptors. Toxins vary greatly in their toxicity, ranging from usually minor
(such as a bee sting) to almost immediately deadly (such as botulinum toxin).
Bio-toxins
The term "bio-toxin" is sometimes used to explicitly confirm the biological origin. Biotoxins can
be further classified, for example, as fungal bio-toxins, microbial toxins, plant bio-toxins, or
animal bio-toxins.
Toxins produced by microorganisms are important virulence determinants responsible for
microbial pathogenicity and/or evasion of the host immune response.
Bio-toxins vary greatly in purpose and mechanism, and can be highly complex (the venom of the
cone snail contains dozens of small proteins, each targeting a specific nerve channel or receptor),
or relatively small protein.
Bio-toxins in nature have two primary functions:

 Predation, such as in the spider, snake, scorpion, jellyfish, and wasp

 Defense as in the bee, ant, termite, honey bee, wasp, and poison dart frog

Some of the more well known types of bio-toxins include:

 Cyanotoxins, produced by cyanobacteria

 Dinotoxins, produced by dinoflagellates
 Necrotoxins cause necrosis (i.e., death) in the cells they encounter and destroy all types of
tissue. Necrotoxins spread through the blood stream . In humans, skin and muscle tissues are
most sensitive to necrotoxins . Organisms that possess necrotoxins include:
o The brown recluse or "fiddle back" spider

o Most rattlesnakes and vipers produce phospholipase and various trypsin-like

serine proteases
o Puff adder

o Necrotizing fasciitis (caused by the "flesh eating" bacterium Streptococcus

pyogenes) – produces a pore forming toxin
 Neurotoxins primarily affect the nervous systems of animals. The group neurotoxins
generally consist of ion channel toxins that disrupt ion channel conductance. Organisms that
possess neurotoxins include:
o The black widow spider.

o Most scorpions

o The box jellyfish

o Elapid snakes

o The cone snail

o The Blue-ringed octopus

o Venomous fish

o Frogs

o Palythoa coral

o Various different types of algae, cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates

 Myotoxins are small, basic peptides found in snake and lizard venoms, they cause muscle
tissue damage by a non enzymatic receptor based mechanism. Organisms that possess
myotoxins include:
o rattlesnakes

o eastern bearded dragon

 Cytotoxins are toxic at the level of individual cells, either in a non-specific fashion or only in
certain types of living cells:
o Ricin, from castor beans

o Apitoxin, from honey bees

 o T-2 mycotoxin, from certain toxic mushrooms

o Cardiotoxin III, from Chinese cobra

Environmental Toxins
The term "environmental toxin" can sometimes explicitly include synthetic contaminants such as
industrial pollutants and other artificially made toxic substances. As this contradicts most formal
definitions of the term "toxin", it is important to confirm what the researcher means when
encountering the term outside of microbiological contexts.
Notable Pollutants
Notable pollutants include the following groups or compounds:

 Mercury (Hg)
 Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
 Ozone
 Particulate Matter (PM)
 Environmental Persistent Pharmaceutical Pollutants (EPPP)
 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons( PAHs)
 Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)