UNIT – I

MULTIDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF
ENVIRONMENT

1.1 INTRODUCTION
When our fore fathers heard the word environment, it meant beautiful forests, clear flowing
waters and fresh breeze. Nowadays environment refers to global warming, deforestation and
ozone depletion. The earth maintains its environment in equilibrium and no other species than
humans has altered the equilibrium as much as to lead to an irreversible change. The only
reason has been development at the cost of environment due to ignorance. Today, we stand at
the threshold of climate change and still no drastic steps are being taken to save environment
from the repercussions of human luxuries. The reason is again only ‘ignorance’. We can save
the environment only if we are genuinely concerned about leaving a better planet to our
coming generations.

Environmental studies are the systematic study of our environment and our place in it. It
gives the students an opportunity to experience the interdisciplinary nature of the subject. The
environmental studies educate students in the fundamentals of environmental and social
sciences along with the major environmental issues. As this programme provides a holistic
view of the environment and human environmental relationships, students undergoing
environmental studies will acquire the knowledge and technical skills for active participation
in environmental careers. Environmental science implies that we have a responsibility to be
involved in and try to do something about the problems we ourselves have created. Nearly
every measure we use to assess the health of ecosystems tells us that we are drawing from
them more than ever and degrading them at an accelerating pace. One of the most disturbing
findings is that human activities are now beginning to significantly affect the natural
chemical cycles of water, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus on which all ecosystems depend.

1.2 DEFINITION
Environment (derived from the French word environner, meaning to encircle or surround)
can be defined as the circumstances and conditions that surround an organism or group of
organisms or the social and cultural conditions that affect an individual or community.
Humans inhabit the natural world as well as the built or technological, social and cultural
world.

1.3 NEED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS

The enhanced pace of development activities and rapid urbanization have resulted in stress on
natural resources and quality of life. The trend of increasing pollution in various

1
environmental media is evident from the deteriorating air and water quality, higher noise
levels, increasing vehicular emission etc. Realizing the urgent need for arresting the trend,
Ministry adopted Policy for Abatement of Environmental Degradation. But this is only an
approach and not a movement. Till movement is not effected, approach shall stand null and
void. To make movement effective public support is very necessary. There is an urgent need
for public awareness about cleaner environment.

The present generation is the only hope for sustaining and preventing further damage to the
environment. If everyone is sensitized and aware of their responsibility to protect the
environment then only can this problem be solved.

1.4 SCOPE OF ENVIRONMENT

Environmental studies as a subject has a wide scope. It encompasses a large number of areas
and aspects, which may be summarized as follows:

 Natural Resources – their conservation and management

 Ecology and biodiversity

 Environmental pollution and control

 Social issues in relation to development and environment

 Human population and environment

These are the basic aspects of environmental studies which have a direct relevance to every
section of the society. Environmental studies can also be highly specialized concentrating on
more technical aspects like environmental science, environmental engineering or
environmental management. In the recent years, the scope of environmental studies has
expanded dramatically the world over. Several career options have emerged in this field that
are broadly categorized as:

1.4.1 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (R&D) IN ENVIRONMENT:

Skilled environmental scientists have an important role to play in examining various

environmental problems in a scientific manner and carry out R & D activities for developing
cleaner technologies and promoting sustainable development.

There is the need for trained manpower at every level to deal with environmental issues.
Environmental management and environmental engineering are emerging as new career
opportunities for environmental protection and management. Some of the major areas of R &
D in environmental studies are as follows:

1.4.1.1 Environmental Analysis - This is concerned with the analysis of the

environment into its basic four components viz. Atmosphere, hydrosphere,
lithosphere and biosphere. Each component is dynamic and changes with time

2
 and space. While affecting life (biosphere) this is the integrated whole of three
systems that operate upon an organism.

1.4.1.2 Ecosystem Analysis – This deals with the structure and function of
ecosystems making the biosphere. It is mainly concerned with the productivity
and energy relations at various trophic levels in a food chain and also with the
circulation of organic matter and mineral elements between non-living and
living components.

1.4.1.3 Community Studies – These are concerned with the composition, structure,
distribution and dynamics of communities of ecosystems. The factors
responsible for stabilization of communities are also studied.

1.4.1.4 Environmental Degradation – This is the study of various factors

responsible for environmental degradation. Studies include pollution, toxic
agents, desertification, deforestation etc.

1.4.1.5 Environmental Monitoring, Impact Assessment and Development –

Studies are designed for repeated and regular observations on status of
chemical, physical and biological factors of the environment. This is followed
by chemical monitoring for various chemicals in the environment as well as
bio-monitoring for changes in the life forms in different ecosystems with a
view to assess risk due to pollution. There are also undertaken studies on risk
assessment, safety evaluation and sustainable development. Now a days some
recent technologies like Remote Sensing and GIS (Geographic Information
System) are been used for environmental monitoring using satellite images.

1.4.2 GREEN ADVOCACY:

Environmental laws and legislation is concerned with creating awareness in general public
for environmental problems around them through formal and informal education. With
increasing emphasis on implementing various acts and laws related to environment, need for
environmental lawyers has emerged, who should be able to pled the cases related to water
and air pollution, forest, wildlife etc.

1.4.3 GREEN MARKETING:

While ensuring the quality of products with ISO mark, now there is an increasing emphasis
on marketing goods that are environmental friendly. Such products have ecomark or ISO
14000 certification. Environmental auditors and environmental managers would be in great
demand in the coming years.

Ecomark: India launched ‘Ecomark’ as a voluntary eco-labelling scheme, to encourage

industry to adopt eco-friendly production methods and consumers to pursue sustainable
consumption patterns. Between 1992 and 1996 the Central Pollution Control Board defined
eco-labelling criteria for 14 products like soaps and detergents, cosmetics and aerosol
propellants, food items and additives, paper, architectural paints and powder coatings,

3
lubricating oils, packaging, wood substitutes, plastics, textiles, batteries,
electrical/ electronic goods and, most recently, for leather and fire
extinguishers. Eco-mark Certification is done by the Bureau of Indian
Standards (BIS), which has for decades administered the ISI [Indian
Standards Institute] mark of quality. Although many consumer products
today meet or even exceed both ISI and Ecomark standards, their
manufacturers do not apply for or use these marks because of the ongoing fees charged by
BIS, which are perceived to be steep and to bring no value for money. Brand leaders in their
respective fields prefer to develop customer confidence and loyalty through quality and
service, without applying for the marks. The ISI mark, whose monitoring and inspection is
perceived as onerous red tape, is frequently applied for and used, either by smaller firms to
project an image of quality or because it is a statutory requirement for sales through tenders
for certain purchases by the Government. There is no such requirement for the Eco-mark, so
till date, except for two paper mills, no-one has “volunteered” to sign up.

The Ecomark criteria for automotive lead-acid batteries (1995) specified the weight of lead in
different battery types, a recycled lead content upto 50% within 3 years, non-polluting
methods of lead production or recycling, and a stipulation that “the manufacturer shall
organize the collection payback system for the used batteries”. The total lack of voluntary
compliance by industry and the dangerously polluting methods used by informal recyclers,
led to notification of the Battery (Management & Handling) Rules 2001, which requires an
equal number of batteries to be collected back against new batteries sold, to ensure that these
are sent only to authorized recyclers or an in-house recycling facility. Unfortunately, these
Rules are silent on the massive import of used car batteries from developed countries which,
despite the Basel Convention, continue to be clandestinely imported and recycled in highly-
polluting fly-by-night facilities.

The Global Eco-labelling Network (GEF) is working successfully with the UNEP, ISO and
WTO to promote eco-labelling in many countries. The recent request of India’s coir industry
to have Ecomark criteria spelled out for their eco-friendly natural products indicates that the
environmental awareness of consumers in global markets, if not yet enough of those in India,
will provide the driving force for eco-labellling here too.

1.4.4 GREEN MEDIA

Environmental awareness can be spread amongst masses through mass media like television,
radio, newspaper, magazines; advertisements etc. and also through social sites like facebook,
twitter etc. for which environmentally educated persons are required.

1.5 INSTITUTIONS IN ENVIRONMENT

Managing natural resources require efficient institutions at all levels i.e. local, national,
regional and global. Institutions, as defined by Young (1999), are systems of rules, decision-
making procedures, and programs that give rise to social practices, assign roles to participants
in these practices, and guide interactions among the occupants of the relevant roles.
Institutions often figure prominently in efforts to solve or manage environmental problems.

4
Several Government and Non- Government Organizations (NGO’S) are working towards
environmental protection in our country. They play a role both in causing and in addressing
problems arising from human-environment interactions. They have led to a growing interest
in environmental protection and conservation of nature and natural resources. Among the
large number of institutions that deal with environmental protection and conservation, a few
well-known organization include government organizations like the BSI and ZSI, and NGOs
like the BNHS, WWF-1, etc.

The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Mumbai: It was founded on 15 September
1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organizations in India engaged in conservation
and biodiversity research. It supports many research efforts through grants, and publishes a
popular magazine called the Hornbill and also an internationally well-known the Journal of
the Bombay Natural History Society. Its other publications include salim Ali’s Handbook on
Birds, JC Daniel Book of Indian reptiles. SH Prater’s book of Indian mammals and PV
Bole’s book of Indian trees. Many prominent naturalists, including the ornithologists Sálim
Ali and S. Dillon Ripley have been associated with it. The BNHS has over the years helped
the government to frame wildlife-related laws and has taken up battles such as the ‘save the
silent valley’s campaign.

World Wide fund for nature- India (WWF-1), New Delhi: The WWF-
1 was initiated in 1969 in Mumbai, after which the head quarters were
shifted to Delhi with several states, Divisional and Project offices spread
across India. In the early years it focused attention on wildlife education
and awareness. It runs several programs, including the nature clubs of
India program for school children and works as a think–tank and lobby
force for environmental and development issues.

Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi: is a public interest research and
advocacy organization based in New Delhi. CSE researches into, lobbies for and
communicates the urgency of development that is both sustainable and equitable. It has
published a major document on the State of India’s Environment, the first of its kind to be
produced as a citizen’s report on the environment. It also publishes a popular magazine;
‘Down to Earth’ which is a science and environment fortnightly. It is involved in the
publication of material in the form of books posters, video films and also conducts workshops
and seminars on biodiversity- related issues. The Centre’s efforts are built around five broad
programmes: Communication for Awareness, Research and Advocacy, Education and
Training, Knowledge Portal and Pollution Monitoring.

C.P.R Environmental Education Centre, Madras: the CPR-EEC was set up in 1988
CPREEC) is a Centre of Excellence of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF),
Government of India, established jointly by the Ministry and the C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar
Foundation. It conducts a variety of programs to increase awareness and knowledge of
public i.e., school children, local communities, woman as main key target groups about the
various aspects of environment. Its programs include components on wildlife and biodiversity
issues. CPR-EEC also publishes large number of text books for school children and video-on

5
wheels for rural public. The C. P. R. Environmental Education Centre received the Indira
Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar for the year 1996.

The Centre for Environment Education (CEE) in India was established in August 1984 as
a Centre of Excellence supported by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The
organisation works towards developing programmes and materials to increase awareness
about the environment and sustainable development. The head office is located in
Ahmedabad. The Centre has 41 offices including regional cells and several field offices,
across India. It has international offices in Australia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. CEE's
primary objective is to improve public awareness and understanding of the environment with
a view to promoting the conservation and sustainable use of nature and natural resources,
leading to a better environment and a better quality of life. To this end, it undertakes
demonstration projects in education, communication and development that endorse attitudes,
strategies and technologies which are environmentally sustainable. CEE is committed to
ensuring that due recognition is given to the role of education in the promotion of sustainable
development.

Bharati Vidyapeeth University, Institute of Environment Education & Research, Pune

was established in 1993.This is part of the Bharati Vidyapeeth deemed University. Its major
focus is to spread the message of the need for pro-environmental action in society at large
through a dual strategy of formal and non –formal integrated activities. BVIEER is a one of a
kind institution that caters to the need of Environment Education at all levels - PhD, M.Sc
and Diploma. The distinctive characteristics of BVIEER are its wide mandate of teaching,
research and extension. It implements a large outreach program that has covered over 435
schools in which it trains teachers and conduct fortnightly environment education programs.
Biodiversity conservation is a major focus of its research initiatives. It develops low-cost
interpretation centers for natural and architectural sites that are highly locale-specific as well
as a large amount of innovative environment educational material for a variety of target
groups. It has developed a teacher’s handbook linked to school curriculum and a textbook for
UGC for thecompulsory undergraduate course on environment. Its director has developed a
CD-ROM on India’s biodiversity.

The Salim Ali Center for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON): - It is an
autonomous organization with headquarters at Coimbattore. It is a national centre for
information, education and research in ornithology and natural history in India. This
institution was Dr. Salim ali’s dream, which became a reality only after his demise and was
named in honor of Salim Ali, the leading pioneer of ornithology in India. Its mission is "To
help conserve India’s biodiversity and its sustainable use through research, education and
peoples’ participation, with birds at the centre stage".

Wild life Institute of India (WII), Dehradhun: Is an autonomous institution of MoEF,

GOI, established in 1982. It is an internationally acclaimed Institution, which offers training
program, academic courses and advisory in wildlife research and management. The Institute
is actively engaged in research across the breadth of the country on biodiversity related
issues. Its most significant publication has been ‘Planning wild life and protected area

6
network for India (Rodgers and Panwar, 1988).It has environment impact assessment cell. It
trains personnel in eco-development, wildlife biology, habitat management and nature
interpretation.

Zoological Survey of India (ZSI): is a premier organisation in zoological research and

studies. The activities of the ZSI are coordinated by the Conservation and Survey Division in
the MoEF, GOI. This is the only taxonomic organization in the country involved in the study
of all kinds of animals from Protozoa to Mammalia, occurring in all possible habitats from
deepest depth of the ocean to the peaks of Himalaya, was established on 1st July, 1916 to
promote survey, exploration and research leading to the advancement in our knowledge of the
various aspects of the exceptionally rich animal life. It has over the years collected type
specimens on the basis of which our animal’s life has been studied over the years. Its origins
were collections based at the Indian museum at Calcutta, which was established in 1875. The
older collections of the Asiatic society of Bengal and of the Indian museum were also
transferred to the ZSI. Today, it has over a million specimens. This makes it one of the largest
collections in Asia. It currently operated from 16 regional centers.

The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust (MCBT): MCBT, the first crocodile conservation
breeding in Asia, was founded in 1976 to conserve Indian crocodilians and establish program
for the conservation and propagation of other species of endangered reptiles Head quarters
are at Madras. Over years, over 1500 crocodiles and several hundred eggs have been supplied
to various state forest departments for restocking programmes in the wild, and for setting up
breeding facilities in other state in India and neighboring countries. It is the one which started
the first sea turtle surveys and conservation program in India, including a sea turtle hatchery.
It is involved in environmental education programs for the villages and schools that include
nature camps, training workshop for teachers and youth from fishing villages.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands Environmental team (ANET) a division of the MCBT was
constituted in 1992. A base was set up by Harry Andrews in south Andaman for
herpetological and other ecological studies in these islands. The Crocodile bank is the site of
the irula Snake catchers’ cooperative society, which is an adivasi self-help project and
supplies all of India’s snake and scorpion venom needed for the production of antivenom and
for medical use. MCBT personal also initiated the Irula Tribual Women’s welfare society,
which is primarily a society for reforestation of wastelands and income generation projects
for irula women.

Uttarkhand Seva Nidhi (USKN), Almora: It is a public charitable trust founded in 1967.
This organization was appointed as a nodal agency in 1987 by the Department of Education,
Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India to undertake locale-
specific environmental education programmes both in rural schools and villages in the hill
districts of Uttar Pradesh, now Uttaranchal. Subsequently, a research and resource centre, the
Uttarakhand Environmental Education Centre (UEEC), was set up in 1993, also with support
from the Department of Education. As activities continued to increase, a separate
organisation, the Uttarakhand Seva Nidhi Paryavaran Shiksha Sansthan (USNPSS), a
registered society, was set up in 1999 to handle all the environmental activities of the Nidhi.

7
As Uttaranchal is a fragile ecological zone where human activities can cause extensive land
degradation (deforestation and soil erosion) if not carried out in an environmentally-sound
manner. The organization conducts education, training and on the spot problem solving
programmes with the aim of helping people to understand their surroundings from a broad
ecological point of view and encourage them to organise themselves to deal with
environmental problems that affect their daily lives, and to provide training in technical
know-how and practical skills. Its main target is sustainable resource use at the village level
through training school children. Its environment education program covers about 500
schools.

Kalpavriksh: This NGO, initially Delhi-based, is now working from pune and is active in
several other parts of India. Kalpavriksh worked on a variety of fronts: education and
awareness; investigation and research; direct action and lobbying, and litigation with regard
to environment and development issues. Its activities include talks and audiovisuals in
schools and colleges, nature walks and outstation camp, organizing student participation in
ongoing campaigns including street demonstrations, pushing form consumer awareness
regarding organic food, press statements, handling green alerts, and meeting with city
administrators. Kalpavriksh was among those responsible for developing India’s National
Biodiversity Strategy and action plan in 2003.The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) is an
institution set up by the Government of India in 1887 to survey the plant resources of the
Indian empire. The Botanical Survey was formally instituted on 13 February 1890 under the
direction of Sir George King, who had been superintendent of Royal Botanic Garden,
Calcutta since 1871. King became the first ex-officio Director of BSI. Presently, it has nine
regional centres. It carries out surveys of plant resources in different regions. It monitors
botanical resources by analyzing their occurrence, distribution, ecology, economic utility,
conservation, environment impact, etc.

1.6 MULTIDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL

STUDIES

Figure 1.1: Multidisciplinary Nature of Environmental Studies

8
Because, the environment is complex and actually made up of many different environments,
including natural, constructed and cultural environments, environmental studies is the inter
disciplinary examination of how biology, geology, social studies, law, engineering, chemistry
and economics combine to inform the consideration of humanity’s effects on the natural
world. This subject educates the students to appreciate the complexity of environmental
issues and citizens and experts in many fields. By studying environmental science, students
may develop a breadth of the interdisciplinary and methodological knowledge in the
environmental fields that enables them to facilitate the definition and solution of
environmental problems.

It is essentially a multidisciplinary approach and its components include Biology, Geology,

Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, Sociology, Health Sciences, Anthropology, Economics,
Statistics and Philosophy It is essentially a multidisciplinary approach. An Understanding of
the working of the environment requires the knowledge from wide ranging fields. The table
below shows a list of topics dealt commonly in air pollution and the related traditional fields
of knowledge illustrating the interdisciplinary nature of the subject.

Table 1.1: Interdisciplinary Nature of Environmental Science Ex: Air Pollution

1.7 INDIAN ENVIRONMENTALIST

Salim Ali was an Indian ornithologist and naturalist; known as the "birdman of India", Salim
Ali was among the first Indians to conduct systematic bird surveys across India. He was
instrumental in creating the Bharatpur bird sanctuary (Keoladeo National Park) and
prevents the destruction of what is now the Silent Valley National Park. He was awarded

9
India's second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan in 1976. His autobiography, fall
of a sparrow, should be read by every nature enthusiast. He was our country’s leading
conservation scientist and influenced environmental policies in our country for over 50 years.

Smt. Indira Gandhi as PM played a very significant role in the preservation of India’s
wildlife. It was during her period as PM, that the network of protected areas (PAs) grew from
65 to 298 and the wildlife protection act was formulated. The Indian Board of wildlife was
extremely active as she personally chaired all its meetings.

S P Godrej was one of Inida’s greatest supports of wildlife conservation and nature
awareness programs. Between 1975 and 1999 SP Godrej received 10 awards for his
conservation led to his playing a major advocacy role for wildlife in India.

M. S. Swaminathan has founded the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation in Chennai,

which does work on the conservation of biological diversity. Madhav Gadgil is a well-
known ecologist in India. His interests range from board ecological issues such as developing
community Biodiversity Registers and conserving sacred groves to studies on the behavior of
mammals, birds and insects. His research interests include population biology, conservation
biology, human ecology and ecological history and he has published over 215 research papers
and 6 books and and the editor for the series lifescapes of peninsular India’.

India has many pioneers working for various environment causes. One of the premiers of the
movement has been Shri. Sunderlal Bahuguna who spearheaded the Chipko Andolan.
Chipko Andolan is a movement that practised the Gandhian methods of satyagraha and non-
violent resistance, through the act of hugging trees to protect them from being felled. The
modern Chipko movement started in the early 1970s in
the Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand. Anil Agarwal, a journalist who wrote the first report
on the state of India’s Environment in 1982. He was the founder of CES, an active NGO that
supports various environmental issues.

Shri M.C. Mehta is known as the green advocate as he introduced a PIL (Public Interest
Litigation) in 1988 to introduce environmental studies course in all undergraduate
programmes. Likewise, Justice Kuldeep Singh is known as the Green Judge who passed the
judgement that the course be implemented. Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar,
one of India's foremost rights activists, animal rights campaigner Maneka Gandhi, globally
renowned sustainable development expert Vandana Shiva and the head of the New Delhi-
based Centre for Science and Environment Sunita Narain are among the other
environmentalist of India.

Rajendra Singh is the "waterman of India", he won the Ramon Magsaysay Award for
community leadership in 2001 for his pioneering work in community-based efforts in water
harvesting and water management.

1.8 ENVIRONMENTAL CALENDAR

10
It is important to sensitise the public towards environmental concerns and dedicating a few
days for certain environmental causes serves the purpose immensely. The various days
observed are:

1. February 2 (World Wetland Day) - On this day, in 1971, the Ramsar Convention on
Wetlands of International Importance was signed. Wetlands are a very important part
of our biodiversity and it is essential to see that they are well protected.

2. February 28 (National Science Day) - It is necessary to highlight the role of science

in the protection of the environment. This day should be taken as a platform to put
forward the message.

3. March 21 (World Forestry Day) - Activities such as the planting of trees and
highlighting the urgency to increase the green cover.

4. March 22 (World Water Day) - The decision to celebrate this day has been taken
recently as drinking water sources are fast depleting. The world must wake up to the
problem and begin conserving it.

5. March 23 (World Meteorological Day) – Everyone has to be reminded that weather

is an integral part of the environment.

6. April 7 (World Health Day) – The World Health Organisation (WHO) was
constituted on this day in 1948. In the changing environment around us health is
becoming an important issue.

7. April 18 (World Heritage Day) - Environment includes not just the natural
surroundings but also the manmade ones.

8. April 22 (Earth Day) - In 1970 a group of people in the United States of America got
together to draw the attention of the world to the problems being caused to the earth
due to modernisation. Since then this day has been celebrated all over the world as
Earth Day.

9. May 31 (Anti Tobacco Day) - The world is now aware of the problems faced by not
only the smokers but also the people who inhale the smoke. You can take up an anti
smoking campaign in your family or the neighbourhood.

10. June 5 (World Environment Day) - On this day, in 1972, the Stockholm Conference
on Human Environment was held in Sweden. There was a large gathering from all
over the world and people expressed their concerns for the increasing environmental
problems.

11. (July 11 World Population Day) - Population has to be given special attention, as it
is an ever-increasing problem especially in India.

11
12. September 16 (World Ozone Day) -The United Nations declared this day as the
International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. It is the day the Montreal
Protocol was signed.

13. September 28 (Green Consumer Day) -The problems of consumerism and its
impact on the environment is an area of major concern in today’s world. Awareness
building on the importance of recycling-reusing-reducing should be taken up
seriously.

14. October 3 (World Habitat Day)-The earth is the habitat of not only human beings
but also all living creatures. Increasing human activities is threatening the habitat of
other living things.

15. October 1-7 (World Wildlife Week) -Celebrate this week by building awareness on
the importance of preservation of our wildlife.

16. October 4 (World Animal Welfare Day)-The welfare of animals has to be looked
into and given due importance.

17. October 13 (International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction)-Due to a change

in the environment there has been an increase in the number of natural disasters.
Efforts have to be taken to reduce these disasters.

18. November 14 (Children’s Day in India) - Children can work together for a better
tomorrow by improving the environment around them.

19. December 2 (Bhopal Tragedy Day) - Mark this occasion by taking a pledge to put in
your best efforts to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again.

QUESTIONS
1. Explain the need for public awareness about environment.

2. What are the causes of environmental protection ignorance?

3. Explain methods to disseminate environmental information among people.

4. What is the scope of environmental education?

5. What is meant by ‘Ecomark’?

6. How do we apply Mathematical and Engineering aspects to environmental studies?

7. What is green marketing?

12
 UNIT – II
NATURAL RESOURCES
The main problem associated with natural resources is unequal consumption. A real some
piece of natural resources are devoured in the ‘developed’ world. The 'developing countries'
likewise over utilize numerous resources due to their more terrific human populace.
However, the consumption of resources per capita of the developed countries is upto 50 times
greater than in most developing countries. Advanced countries produce over 75% of global
industrial waste and greenhouse gases. Energy from fossil fuels consumed in relatively much
greater quantities in developed countries. Their per capita consumption of food too is much
greater as well as their waste. The USA for example with just 4% of the world’s population
consumes about 25% of the world’s resources. Producing animal food for human
consumption obliges more land than developing crop yields. Thus countries that are highly
dependent on non-vegetarian diets need much larger areas for pastureland than those where
the people are mainly vegetarian.

Our natural resources can be compared with money in bank. If we use it rapidly the capital
will be reduced to zero. On the other hand if we use only the interest, it can sustain us over
the longer term. This is called sustainable utilization or sustainable development. The
quality of human life and the quality of ecosystems on earth are indicators of the sustainable
use of resources. There are clear indicators of sustainable lifestyles in human life, these are:
increased longevity, an increase in knowledge and an enhancement of income. These three
together are known as the ‘human development index’. It means a source of supply i.e,
generally held in reserve natural means, an ecosystem not influenced by man. It means that
reserve stock of supply which living things can take from nature for sustenance and welfare
of their life.

The term “natural resources” was first coined and popularized by E.F. Schumacher in the
1970s by his famous book ‘Small is Beautiful’. Natural resource can be defined as ‘any
substance that is present in nature independently of human industry and that is exploited in
some or another way by humans’. Eg: Plants, animals and microbes (living or biotic part),
Air, water, soil, minerals, climate and solar energy (non-living or abiotic part). They are
essential for the fulfilment of physiological, social, economical and cultural needs at the
individual and community levels.

CLASSIFICATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Classification of natural resources based on exhaustibility is as follows:

(a) Perpetual resources: These are resources which exist irrespective of the amount of
their usage. With sufficient technology, they provide a huge prospective for use, eg.
Sun, wind and water.

13
 (b) Renewable resources: Natural resources which can be used but can be regenerated
by natural processes provided if there is no intervention in natural regeneration cycle.
Ex: water, wood, wildlife etc. Renewable resources can be further classified as living
renewable resources and non-living renewable resources.

 Living renewable resources are those renewable resources which come from
living (biotic) sources like forest, plants.

 Non – living renewable resources are those that renewable resources which
come from non-living (abiotic) sources like land, water, air, minerals etc.

(c) Continuous/flow renewable resources: continuous / flow renewable resources are

resources which do not need regeneration. Similar to that of perpetual resources, eg
wind, tides etc.

(d) Non Renewable Resources: Any naturally occurring, finite resources that diminish
with use, such as oil and coal. In terms of the human timescale, a non-renewable
resource cannot be renewed once it has been consumed. Most non-renewable
resources can only be renewed over geologic time, if at all. All the fossil fuels and
mineral resources fall into this category. Non renewable resources can be further
classified as recyclable and non-recyclable resources.

 Recyclable resources are those which can be processed to be used again and
again. These are non-renewable resources, which can be collected after they
are used and can be recycled. These are mainly the non-energy mineral
resources, which occur in the earth’s crust (eg., ores of aluminium, copper,
mercury etc.) and deposits of fertilizer nutrients (eg., phosphate rock and
potassium and minerals used in their natural state like asbestos, clay, mica
etc).

 Non-recyclable resources are those which once used perish. These are non-
renewable resources, which cannot be recycled in any way. Example of these
are fossil fuels and uranium, which provide 90% of our energy requirements.

2.1 FOREST RESOURCES

A forest can be defined as a biotic community predominant of trees, shrubs or any other
woody vegetation usually in a closed canopy. It is derived from latin word ‘foris’ means
‘outside’.

Forest resources in India relate to the distinctive topography, terrain, wildlife, climate and
vegetation of the country. Forest resources in India have always been one of the richest
resources. India’s Forest Cover is 6,76,000 sq.km (20.55% of geographic area). Scientists
estimate that India should ideally have 33% of its land under forests. Today we only have
about 12% thus we need not only to protect our existing forests but also to increase our forest
cover.

14
 2.1.1 IMPORTANCE OF FORESTS

Forests have always had great importance to people. Prehistoric people got their food mainly
by hunting and by gathering wild plants. Many of these people lived in the forest and were a
natural part of it. With the development of civilization, people settled in cities. But they still
went to the forest to get timber and to hunt.

Today, people depend on forests more than ever, especially for their (1) economic value, (2)
environmental value, and (3) recreational value. The science of forestry is concerned with
increasing and preserving these values by careful management of forestland.

1) Economic value

 Forests supply many products. Wood from forest trees provides lumber, plywood,
railroad ties, and shingles. It is also used in making furniture, tool handles, and
thousands of other products. In many parts of the world, wood serves as the chief fuel
for cooking and heating.

 Various manufacturing processes change wood into a great number of different

products. Paper is one of the most valuable products made from wood. Other
processed wood products include cellophane, plastics, and such fibres as rayon and
acetate.

 Forests provide many important products besides wood. Latex, which is used in
making rubber, and turpentine come from forest trees. Various fats, gums, oils, and
waxes used in manufacturing also come from trees. In some primitive societies, forest
plants and animals make up a large part of the people's diet.

 Unlike most other natural resources, such as coal, oil, and mineral deposits, forest
resources are renewable. As long as there are forests, people can count on a steady
supply of forest products.

 For the majority of rural people, forest food adds variety to diets, improves
palatability and provides essential vitamins, minerals, protein and calories. Forest and
farm tree resources serve to complement existing food resources and income. Forest
fruits and nuts are the regular snack food, particularly for children.

2) Environmental value

 Protection from intense radiation: Forest provides space, shade and shelter to
animals and lower plants from the intense sun radiation. Trees are an essential part of
many traditional agro-forestry systems. They offer shade for crops, animals and
humans, make a favourable microclimate and supply feed for livestock.

 Protection of soil from wind and water erosion: The foliage and strong root system
of trees of forests protect the soil from the corroding effects of wind and water.
Surface erosion includes sheet, rill and small gully erosion and is minimum in

15
 forests. Forests with under storey trees, shrubs and ground over and forest floor debris
protect soil from the impact of falling raindrops (soil dislodgement and splash
erosion), overland flow of rainwater as a sheet, or channelling into rills and gullies.
Mass wasting consists of landslips, slumps and debris flows (landslides) and, again,
forests are the most effective vegetative cover for minimizing these soil movements,
particularly shallow landslips and slump. Wind – row and shelterbelts reduce the
loss of nutrient rich topsoil and protect young plants from wind within their zone of
influence.

 Protection of water resources from soil sedimentation: The product of erosion is

sediment which deposits in stream channels or standing water bodies (such as ponds,
lakes and reservoirs). Sediment can damage or kill precious aquatic life; harm water
quality for drinking, domestic use or industry; reduce reservoir capacity for flood
control, hydropower, irrigation or low flow augmentation; interfere with navigation;
shorten the useful life of hydro-turbines or pumps; and build up river channel beds,
aggravating flooding.

 Protection from natural disasters: Forest ecosystems offer defence from extreme
events such as hurricanes, tsunamis, high tides, floods, droughts, etc. Fore example,
mangroves and coral reefs shield coastal areas from storm surge; vegetation cover on
slope can help prevent erosion and mudslides.

 Regulation of climate: The forests play a vital role in regional climate regulation by
their interaction with water cycles and contribute significantly to continuous water
supply in small and large scale water cycles. Planting trees in cities provides shade
and increases the evaporation of water. This cools the microclimate and can reduce
the costs of artificial air – conditioning.

 Regulation and purification of water: Forest ecosystems have strong water

retention capacities. Forests regulate water flow and quality and store nutrients in soil.
Natural wetlands can process and filter pollutants such as metals, viruses, oils, excess
nutrients, and sediment. Forests retain water and slowly filter it through the ground.

 Absorption of pollutants: Forests perform the function of lowering the pollutant

levels. In addition to that they also act as noise and dust absorbers. They also help in
reducing acid rain, carbon dioxide and in carbon sequestration. Forest plants, like all
green plants, help renew the atmosphere. As the trees and other green plants make
food, they give off oxygen. They also remove carbon dioxide from the air. People and
nearly all other living things require oxygen. If green plants did not continuously
renew the oxygen supply, almost all life would soon stop. If carbon dioxide increases
in the atmosphere, it could severely alter the earth's climate. It regulates earth
temperature and hydrological cycle. Forest litter help in maintaining soil fertility.

 Habitat for diverse wildlife: Wildlife is an integral part of any healthy forest
community. Natural forests provide habitat to wild plants and animals and thereby

16
 contribute to the (in situ) conservation of biological and genetic diversity and the
evolutionary development.

3) Recreational value

The natural beauty and peace of the forest offer a special source of enjoyment. In the United
States, Canada, and many other countries, huge forestlands have been set aside for people's
enjoyment. Many people use these forests for such activities as camping, hiking, and hunting.
Others visit them simply to enjoy the scenery and relax in the quiet beauty.

2.1.2 CLASSIFICATION OF FORESTS

17
The type of forest depends mainly on location i.e., distance from equator and altitude and
climate.

1) Tropical Forest – These types of forests are characterised by their location near the
equator. They have year – round high temperatures and abundant rainfall which
makes them a dense and lush with vegetation. They are vital storehouse of
biodiversity on the planet.

2) Sub-tropical Forests – These are found to the south and north of the Tropical
Forests. The trees here are adapted to resist the summer drought.

3) Mediterranean Forests – These forests are found to the south of the temperate
regions around the coasts of the Mediterranean, California, Chile and Western
Australia. The growing season is short and almost all trees are evergreen, but mixed
hardwood and softwood.

4) Temperate Forests – These forests are found in eastern North America, north-eastern
Asia, and western and eastern Europe. Temperate forests are a mix of deciduous and
coniferous evergreen trees. Usually the broad – leaved hardwood trees shed leaves
annually. There are well-defined seasons with a distinct winter and sufficient rainfall.

5) Coniferous Forests – Coniferous forests are found in the cold, windy regions around
the poles. There are both hardwoods and conifers found in this region. The conifers
are evergreen and structurally adapted to withstand the long drought – like conditions
of the long winters, whereas the hardwoods are deciduous.

6) Montane Forests - These forests receive most of their precipitation from the mist or
fog that comes from the lowlands and as such are known as cloud forests. Some of
these montane woodlands and grasslands are found in high elevation tropical, sub-
tropical and temperate zones. Plants and animals in these forests are adapted to
withstand the cold, wet conditions and intense sunlight. Trees are mainly conifers.

2.1.3 OVER - EXPLOITATION OF FOREST RESOURCES

The causes of over-exploitation of forest resources as well as the threatening process to the
environment are briefly summarized below:

 Agriculture: Shifting agriculture, livestock rearing, grazing, crop-plantations.

 Extraction: Mining, fisheries, timber, harvesting, harvesting of non-woody

vegetation.

 Development: Industry, human settlement, tourism, infrastructure development

(roads, dams)

 Hunting & Collecting: Food support, cultural uses, medicinal plants.

 Trade (legal): Food commodities, traditional medicines.

18
  Accidental: Trapping, hooking, netting, poisoning.

 Natural disasters: Volcanoes, drought, floods.

 Wild Fire: Intentional, unintentional and natural

 Others: Land and water pollution, global warming acid rains, ozone hole effect

2.1.4 DEFORESTATION

Deforestation is one of the major causes to the environmental degradation which is affected
by the agents like small farmers, ranches, loggers and plantation companies. There is a broad
consensus that expansion of cropped areas and pastures are a major source of deforestation.
The term 'deforestation' describes the complete long term removal of tree cover. The loss
forest cover influences the climate and contributes to a loss of biodiversity. The economic
activity is adversely affected by siltation, flooding, soil degradation and reduced timber
supplies. Thus, in turn, threatens the livelihood of people.

2.1.4.1 Causes for Deforestation:

1. Agriculture: With growing population we need to feed more mouths. Natural forests are
cleared to give space for growing crops, building farms and other lands for agricultural
purposes. Shifting cultivation or slash and burn is a farming system in which natural forest
lands are cleared and used for the purpose of farming. They are utilized until the soil loses its
fertility and then abandoned. This was mainly practised by the tribal groups of north east
India. The rampant expansion of farming on the hill slopes has been the major cause of
deforestation on hills.

2. Commercial logging: (which supplies the world market with woods such as meranti, teak,
mahogany and ebony) destroys trees as well as opening up forest for agriculture. Cutting of
trees for fire wood and building material, the heavy lopping of foliage for fodder and heavy
grazing of saplings by domestic animals like goals.

3. Mining: This causes environmental impacts like erosion, formation of sinkholes, loss of
biodiversity, and contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water by chemicals from
mining processes. In some cases, additional forest logging is done in the vicinity of mines to
increase the available room for the storage of the created debris and soil. Contamination
resulting from leakage of chemicals can also affect the health of the local population if not
properly controlled. Extreme examples of pollution from mining activities include coal fires,
which can last for years or even decades, producing massive amounts of environmental
damage.

4. Increase in population: The needs also increase and utilize forests resources. To meet the
demands of rapidly growing population, agricultural lands and settlements are created
permanently by clearing forests.

19
5. Urbanization & industrialization: Since Industrialization and Urbanization needs land to
grow, so major amount of forest lands are cut in order to promote Industrialization and
Urbanization. This creates harmful effect on environment and forest ecological balance.

6. Construction of dam reservoirs: For building big dams, large scale devastation of forests
takes place which breaks the natural ecological balance of the region. Floods, droughts and
landslides become more prevalent n such areas. Forests are the repositories of invaluable gifts
of nature in the form of biodiversity and by destroying these we are going to lose these
species even before knowing them. These species could be having marvellous economic or
medicinal value. These storehouses of species which have evolved over millions of years get
lost due to deforestation in a single stroke.

7. Forest fires: Forest fires are one of the important natural threats leading to decline of
natural forests. Forest fires can be natural as well as man-made. Natural fires are set off by
lightning and dry conditions can cause forest loss whereas man-made fires are sometimes
intentional (for clearing purposes) or accidental (escaped fires).

2.1.4.2 Consequences of deforestation:

Consequences of deforestation can be categorized under two categories:

1. Long-term effects

 Climate change / Global warming: Together with oceans our forests, are the
largest carbon sink on this planet which help to regulate climate and temperature.

 Loss of biodiversity: Collectively with forests numerous animals and plants that
depend on them will also die. Rainforests, for example, are areas of the richest
biodiversity on the earth, and if we continue to destroy them many animals and
plants will become extinct.

2. Short-term effects

 Flooding: Trees are highly efficient in regulating water quantities, and also serve as
a cover against erosion and once they are removed, excess of surface run-off can
lead to flooding downstream.

 Soil erosion: As discussed above the loss of vegetation cover exposes the soil to
erosion caused by wind and water.

 Loss of watersheds: The loss of trees affects the hydrological cycle. When Forest
Mountains are cleared, watersheds are degraded and this leads to the loss of
sustained water supply for valley population.

 Displacement of indigenous communities: The loss of natural forests leads to loss

of local tribal communities and their traditional way of life.

3. Other effects

20
  Where forests are replanted, their replacement can mean a loss of quality

 Loss of future markets for ecotourism. The value of a forest is often higher when it
is left standing than it could be worth when it is harvested.

 Some indigenous peoples’ way of life and survival are threatened by the loss of
forests. Fewer trees results an insecure future for forest workers.

 The stress of environmental change may make some species more susceptible to the
effect of insects, pollution, disease and fire

 Most humid regions changes to desert

 Environmental pollution

Case Study: Desertification in hilly regions of the Himalayas

Deforestation in Himalayas, involving clearance of natural forest and plantation of

monocultures like Pinus roxburghi, Eucalyptus camadulensis etc. has upset the ecosystem
by changing various soils and biological properties. Nutrients cycling has become poor,
original rich germplasm is lost and the area is invaded by exotic weeds. These areas are
not able to recover and are losing its fertility. The entire west khasi hill district of
Meghalayas in north east Himalayas, Ladakh and parts of Kumaon and Garhwal are now
facing the serious problems of desertification.

2.1.5 SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT

Sustainable forest management (SFM) is the management of forests according to the

principles of sustainable development. Sustainable forest management uses very broad social,
economic and environmental goals. A range of forestry institutions now practice various
forms of sustainable forest management and a broad range of methods and tools are available
that have been tested over time.

The stewardship and use of forests and forest lands in a way, and at a rate, that maintains
their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfill,
now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions, at local, national,
and global levels, and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems.

There appears to be growing international consensus on the key elements of sustainable forest
management. Seven common thematic areas of sustainable forest management have emerged
based on the criteria of the nine ongoing regional and international criteria and indicators
initiatives.

21
 The seven thematic areas are:

Extent of forest resources

Biological diversity

Forest health and vitality

Productive functions and forest resources

Protective functions of forest resources

Socio-economic functions

Legal, policy and institutional framework

2.1.6 SOME FOREST CONSERVATION METHODS

Conservation of forest includes the development and management of forests in such a way as
to improve climate and water flow, prevent soil erosion and provide optimum sustainable
yield both for present and future generations. In India, increasing destruction and degradation
of forests, especially in mountainous and hilly areas, lead to heavy deforestation. Thus,
forests are to be developed and managed judiciously. These programmes are aimed at
sustainable supply of tree products and services to people and industry and maintenance of
long term ecological balance through production and protection. To achieve these goals
following methods are commonly used.

(a) Conservation of forest is a national problem so it must be tackled with perfect

coordination between forest department and other departments.

(b) People's participation in the conservation of forests is of vital importance. So, we must get
them involved in this national task.

(c) The cutting of trees in the forests must be stopped at all costs.

(d) Celebrations of all functions, festivals should proceed with tree-plantation.

(e) Cutting of timber and other forest produce should be restricted.

(f) Grasslands should be regenerated.

(g) Forest conservation Act 1980 should be strictly implemented to check deforestation.

(h) Joint Forest Management (JFM): The need to include local communities in forest
management has become a growing concern. Local people will only support greening an area
if they can see some economic benefits from conservation. An informal agreement between
local communities and the forest department began in 1972, in the Midnapore district of West
Bengal. JFM has now evolved into a formal agreement which identifies and respects the local

22
community’s right and benefits that they need from forest resources. Under JFM schemes,
forest protection communities (FPCs) from local community members are formed. They
participate in restoring the green cover and protect the area from being over – exploited.

Realising this, the MoEF formulated the National Forest Policy of 1988 to give added
importance to joint forest management (JFM), which co-opts the local village communities
and the forest department to work together to sustainable manage our forests. Another
resolution in 1990 provided a formal structure for community participation though the
formation of village forest communities (VFS). Based on this experience, new JFM
guidelines were issued in 2000 which stipulated that at least 25% of the income from the area
must go to community. From the initiation of the program until 2002, there were 63,618 JFM
communities managing over 140,953 sq km of forest under JFM in 27 states in India.

Case Study: Chipko Movement

About 300 years ago, a ruler in Rajasthan decided to fell the ‘khejri’ trees in his state
to create lime. Local women led by a Bishnoi woman, Amrita Devi, clung to the trees
to prevent the felling of the trees that formed the basis of the scarce resources on
which they were dependent. The women were ruthlessly massacred. It is said that the
ruler later realised his mistake. The story, however, has been remembered and was
revived in the 1970s when severe tree-felling for timber in the Himalayas prompted
local women, supported by people such as Sunderlal Bahuguna and Chandi Prasad
Bhat, ted a people’s movement to prevent deforestation by timber contractors. They
catted their movement the ‘Chipko’ movement in memory of the event during which
women had clung to their trees and given up their lives. The movement followed the
path the 300 Bishnoi women had taken three centuries ago in Rajasthan. Chipko is a
movement primarily begun and supported by local women in the hills of Uttarakhand
and Garhwal, where the women (the traditional fuel collectors) have had to bear the
brunt of deforestation. They have not only realized that their fuelwood and fodder
resources have receded away from their ‘resource use areas’ around their settlements
due to commercial timber extraction, but that this has led to serious floods and the toss
of precious soil. Chipko activists have made long padyatras across the Himalayas
protesting against deforestation. The movement has been highly successful and has
been primarily supported by empowering local women’s groups, who are the most
seriously affected segment. The movement has proved to the world that the forests of
the hills are the life-support systems of local communities and of immense value in
terms of local produce, and that the forest has less quantifiable but even more
important ecological services such as soil conservation and the maintenance of the
natural water regime of the whole region. The ability of local women to band together
in the foothills of the Himalayas goes back to the pre independence days when women
such as Miraben, a disciple of Gandhiji, moved to this region and understood that it
was the deforestation that led to floods and devastation of villages in the valleys and
in the Gangetic plains below. They also appreciated that substitution of oak and other
broad-Leaved forests of the Himalayas with the planting of fast-growing pine for
timber and resin was an ecological and social disaster which reduced the forest
23
resources used by traditional hill communities.
The various states have tried a variety of approaches to JFM. The share of profits for the
VFCs ranges from 25% in Kerala to at 100% in Andhra Pradesh, 50% in Gujrat, Maharastra,
Orrisa and Tripura. In many states, 25% of the revenue is used for village development. In
many states, non-timber forest products (NTFPS) are available to the people free of cost.
Some states have stopped grazing completely. While others have rotational grazing schemes
that have helped in forest regeneration.

(i) Agroforestry: A sustainable system of managing a piece of land through combined

production of agricultural crops and forest crops/animals, either simultaneously or
sequentially to ensure the most efficient land use under a management system in accordance
with socio-cultural practices of local people. Types of agroforestry which are categorized on
the basis of their growth or combination with forestry.

 Silvopasture agroforestry introduces forage crops into a forest for animals to

graze.

 Silvoarable agroforestry combines woods with traditional arable crops,

particularly winter varieties that can thrive in deciduous forests.

 Forest forming harvests high-yield crops, including specialty mushrooms such as

shiitake, nuts, honey and forest fruits.

 Forest gardening involves the cultivation of shrubs, flowers and perennial plants
in a wooded setting.

(j) Social Forestry: The rapid rate of deforestation in India has led to a large number of
problems. With the loss of forest cover the satisfaction of basic requirements of forest
products of the rural people, like fuel, fodder etc. have become more and more difficult. To
supply the rural people with these necessities and to develop the rural eco-system social-
forestry programmes were launched in India. The term social forestry first came to
prominence in the 1976 report of the National Commission of Agriculture in India, in which
it was used for a programme of activities to encourage those who depended on fuel wood and
other forest products to produce their own supplies in order to lighten the burden on
production forestry. Government of India has implemented the social forestry programme
with the objectives to encourage the farmers to grow forest species (supplied to them free of
cost) in their fields and along the boundaries to enhance their income, reduce soil erosion,
conserve soil moisture, reduce pollution and to provide them wood for making farm
implements and timber for construction of houses.

2.2 WATER RESOURCES

Water is an indispensable natural resource on this earth on which all life depends. About 97%
of the earth’s surface is covered by water and most of the animals and plants have 60-65%
water in their body.

Water – a unique resource:

24
Water is characterized by certain unique features which make it a marvellous resource:

1) It exists as a liquid over a wide range of temperature i.e. from 0ºC to 100 ºC.

2) It has the highest specific heat, due to which it warms up and cools down very slowly
without causing shocks of temperature jerks to the aquatic life.

3) It has a high latent heat of vaporization. Hence, it takes a huge amount of energy for
getting vaporized. That’s why it produces a cooling effect as it evaporates.

4) It is an excellent solvent for several nutrients. Thus, it can serve as a very good carrier
of nutrients, including oxygen, which is essential for life. But it can easily dissolve
various pollutants and become a carrier of pathogenic microorganisms.

5) Due to high surface tension and cohesion it can easily rise through great heights
through the trunk even in the tallest of the trees like Sequoia.

6) It has anomalous expansion behaviour i.e. as it freezes; it expands instead of

contracting and thus become lighter. It is because of this property that even in extreme
cold, the lakes freeze only on the surface. Being lighter the ice keeps floating,
whereas the bottom waters remain at a higher temperature and therefore, can sustain
aquatic organisms even in extreme cold.

2.2.1 HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE

The hydrologic cycle begins with the evaporation of water from the surface of the ocean. As
moist air is lifted, it cools and water vapor condenses to form clouds. Moisture is transported
around the globe until it returns to the surface as precipitation. Once the water reaches the
ground, one of two processes may occur; 1) some of the water may evaporate back into the
atmosphere or 2) the water may penetrate the surface and become groundwater. Groundwater
either seeps its way to into the oceans, rivers, and streams, or is released back into the
atmosphere through transpiration. The balance of water that remains on the earth's surface is
runoff, which empties into lakes, rivers and streams and is carried back to the oceans, where
the cycle begins again.

25
 Figure 2.1 Hydrological Cycle

2.2.2 SOURCES OF WATER

Naturally available water can be classified as:

(i) Surface water and

(ii) Ground water

Figure 2.2 Distribution of Earth’s water

2.2.2.1 Surface water:

26
 a) Rain Water – it is the purest form of natural water because it is received by
evaporation of surface water. But it is made impure by the polluted atmosphere from
where it falls. Gases like SO2, CO2, NO and NO2 from the industries and automobiles
dissolve in the rain water forming the corresponding acids. Such polluted rain is acid
rain. Eg.

SO2 + H2O  H2SO3

2SO2 + O2 + H2O  2H2SO4

4NO2 + 2H2O + 2O2  4HNO3

b) River water – River receives water from rain and when this water travels over the
land different minerals of the soil get dissolved in it.

c) Lake water – A lake, unlike a river does not flow through different lands, therefore it
contains much lesser amounts of dissolved minerals and it has a constant chemicals
composition. It can be used for drinking purposes.

d) Sea water – It is the most impure form of natural water because all the impurities
thrown into rivers enter the sea. Continuous evaporation of sea water takes place. Out
of the dissolved salts present in sea water, 2.6 % is NaCl. Sea water also contains
bicarbonates of Ca, K, Mg and bromides of K and Mg in small percentage.

2.2.2.2 Ground water:

About 9.86 % of the total fresh water resources is in the form of groundwater and it is about
35 – 50 times that of surface water supplies. Till some time back groundwater was considered
to be very pure. However of late, even groundwater aquifers have been found to be
contaminated by leachates from sanitary landfills etc.

Sources of groundwater are as follows:

1. Meteoric water: it is the water derived from precipitation (rain and snow). Although bulk
of rainwater or melt water from snow and ice reaches the sea through surface flows or run
off, a considerable part of precipitation gradually infiltrates into ground. This infiltrated water
continues its journey downwards till it reaches the zone of saturation to become a part of
groundwater in aquifer.

2. Connate water: it is known as fossilized water. This is the water present in the rocks from
the time of their deposition in an aqueous environment. During the process of formation of
sedimentary rocks in a lake or sea or river, deposition is followed by compaction, which leads
to the squeezing out of most of the water present between the sediments. Sometimes,
however incomplete compaction may cause retention of some water by these rocks. This is
the connate water and may be encountered in sedimentary rocks like limestone, sandstone
and gravels. It is saline in nature, and is of no importance as a source for exploitable
groundwater.

27
3. Juvenile water: It is also known as magmatic water. It is the water formed in the cracks or
pores of rocks due to condensation of steam emanating from hot molten masses or magmas
existing below the surface of the earth. Some hot springs and geysers are clearly derived from
juvenile water.

4. Metamorphic water: this is the water trapped in metamorphic rocks during the rock
forming process eg: Marbels.

Water bearing quality of rocks

1. Aquifers: Aquifer is a natural formation or a geological structure saturated with water

which has good hydraulic conductivity to supply a reasonable quantity of water to a well or
spring. Some examples of aquifers are sedimentary formation like gravels and sand, fractured
igneous and metamorphic rocks, carbonate rocks with solution cavities. Aquifers may be of
two types:

Aquifers

Unconfined Aquifers Confined Aquifers

a. Unconfined aquifers: Unconfined aquifers are those which are overlaid by permeable
earth materials and they are recharged by water seeping down from above in the form of
rainfall and snow melt.

b. Confined aquifers: Confined aquifers are those which are sandwiched between two
impermeable layers of rock or sediments and are recharged only in those areas where the
aquifers intersect the land surface. Sometimes the recharged area is hundreds of kilometres
away from the location of the well. Ground water is not static, it moves, through at a very
slow rate of about a meter or so in a year.

Figure 2.3: Types of Aquifers

28
2. Aquiclude: A rock body or formation which may be porous enough to hold enough
quantity of water but which by virtue of its other properties does not allow an easy and quick
flow through it, is called an aquiclude. It is to be treated as practically impermeable rock
mass. Compacted clay formations are the best examples of aquicludes.

3. Aquifuge: It is an absolutely impermeable rock formation through which there is no

possibility of storage or movement of water. Such a formation is always free pores and other
interstices. For example compact interlocking granites and quartizites.

4. Aquitard: Aquitards are the formation having insufficient permeability to make it a source
of water but, allows interchange of groundwater between adjacent aquifers due to vertical
leakage. Therefore aquitards serve as semi-confining layers. For example silt, kankar, shale
etc.

2.2.3 OVER EXPLOITATION OF WATER RESOURCES

2.2.3.1 Sources for over exploitation of water resources

Surface water is mainly misuse, due to which its quality and quantity both degrades. Since
lakes, ponds, rivers, sea are used for dumping industrial and sewage wastes, dead bodies,
solid wastes etc. hence their quality degrades, which give rise to many environmental,
ecological and health problems.

Some of the major reasons for the over-exploitation and over-utilization of water resource
are:

(i) Population growth

In 2000, the world population was 6.2 billion. The UN estimates that by 2050 there will be an
additional 3.5 billion people with most of the growth in developing countries that already
suffer water stress. Thus, water demand will increase unless there are corresponding increases
in water conservation and recycling of this vital resource.

(ii) Expansion of business activity

Business activity ranging from industrialization to services such as tourism and entertainment
continues to expand rapidly. This expansion requires increased water services including both
supply and sanitation, which can lead to more pressure on water resources and natural
ecosystems.

(iii) Rapid urbanization

The trend towards urbanization is accelerating. Small private wells and septic tanks that work
well in low-density communities are not feasible within high-density urban areas.
Urbanization requires significant investment in water infrastructure in order to deliver water
to individuals and to process the concentrations of wastewater – both from individuals and
from business. These polluted and contaminated waters must be treated or they pose
unacceptable public health risks.

29
 (iv) Climate change

Climate change could have significant impacts on water resources around the world because
of the close connections between the climate and hydrological cycle. Rising temperatures will
increase evaporation and lead to increases in precipitation, though there will be regional
variations in rainfall. Overall, the global supply of freshwater will increase. Both droughts
and floods may become more frequent in different regions at different times, and dramatic
changes in snowfall and snow melt are expected in mountainous areas. Higher temperatures
will also affect water quality in ways that are not well understood. Possible impacts include
increased eutrophication. Climate change could also mean an increase in demand for farm
irrigation, garden sprinklers, and perhaps even swimming pools.

(v) Pollution

Water pollution is one of the main concerns of the world today. The governments of
numerous countries have striven to find solutions to reduce this problem. Many pollutants
threaten water supplies, but the most widespread, especially in developing countries, is the
discharge of raw sewage into natural waters; this method of sewage disposal is the most
common method in underdeveloped countries, but also is prevalent in quasi-developed
countries such as China, India and Iran. In addition to sewage, nonpoint source pollution such
as agricultural runoff is a significant source of pollution in some parts of the world, along
with urban storm water runoff and chemical wastes dumped by industries and governments.

2.2.3.2 Effects of over exploitation of water resources

(i) Ground subsidence: when groundwater withdrawal is more than its recharge rate, the
sediments in the aquifer get compacted, a phenomenon known as ground subsidence.
Subsidence can occur rapidly due to a sinkhole or underground mine collapse, or during a
major earthquake. Subsidence can also take place slowly, becoming evident over time span of
many years. Once the water has been removed from the sediment, it cannot be replaced. The
clay layers within the aquifer compact and settle, resulting in lowering the ground surface in
the area from which the groundwater is being pumped. The rock compacts because the water
is partly responsible for holding the ground up. When the water is withdrawn, the rock falls in
on itself. It can be triggered by man-made disturbance, a change in drainage patterns, heavy
rain or by water abstraction. Huge economic losses may occur due to this phenomenon
because it results in the sinking of overlying land surface. The common problems associated
with it include structural damage in buildings, fracture in pipes, reversing the flow of sewers
and canals and tidal flooding.

(ii) Lowering of water table: The Earth’s crust can be divided into two main zones: the
unsaturated zone, which contains some water but has room for more, and the phreatic zone, in
which all rocks and soil are completely surrounded and filled with water. The water table is
the point between the two zones at which the ground becomes completely saturated. The
water table rises and falls according to the season of the year and the amount of rain and
snow melt that occurs. Every time it rains, for example, water trickles down through layers of
soil, raising its level. Runoff from lakes, rivers and streams also contributes, as does melted

30
snow. Impermeable rock, like granite or basalt, cannot collect water, although aquifers are
often surrounded by deposits of impermeable rock which keep the water trapped inside. It is
typically higher in early spring and lower in the late summer. Heavy rainfall or drought
conditions may cause changes in the typical pattern; however soil pattern also affects the
specific yield of drainage.

The level of water table can fluctuate considerably, depending upon environmental conditions
like seasonal dryness and tidal changes, as well as human use. A dry spell, for example, can
cause it to drop significantly. In some places, seasonal fluctuations are common enough to be
predicted with some degree of accuracy. The water level near oceans sometimes changes
daily along with the tides, getting higher during high tide and lower as the tide goes out.
Humans sometimes changes water levels intentionally, usually for industrial purposes. For
instance, if there is a deposit of ore below the water table, a mining company might install
wells or pumps to remove the water to get to the ore. After the project is complete, the water
is usually allowed to flow back into the area, raising the level again.

The most severe consequence of excessive groundwater pumping is that the water table,
below which the ground is saturated with water, can be lowered. For water to be withdrawn
from the groundwater must be pumped from a well that reaches below the water table. If
groundwater levels decline too far, then the well owner might have to deepen the well, drill a
new well, or, at least attempt to lower the pump. Also as water levels decline, the yield from
the well may decline.

(iii) Water logging: Another problem associated with excessive irrigation on poorly drained
soils is waterlogging. Waterlogging occurs whenever the soil is so wet that there is
insufficient oxygen in the pore space for plant roots to be able to adequately respire. Other
gases detrimental to root growth, such as carbon dioxide and ethylene also accumulate in the
root zone and affect the plants. It happens because the irrigation water eventually raises the
water table in the ground the upper level of the groundwater from beneath. The raised water
table results in the soils becoming waterlogged. When soils are water logged, air spaces in the
soil are filled with water, and plant roots essentially suffocate due to lack of oxygen.
Waterlogging also damages soil structure. Worldwide, as much as 10% of all irrigated land
may suffer from water logging. Waterlogging damage is worse in the following situations:

 Water accumulating or poorly drained areas;

 Duplex soils, particularly sandy duplex with less than 30 cm sand over clay;

 Low nitrogen status crops;

 Warmer temperatures;

 Deeper sown crops; and

 Saline or mildly saline soil.

31
(iv) Salinization: All irrigation water contains dissolved salts derived as it passed over and
through the land, and rain water also contain some salts. These salts are generally in very low
concentration in the water itself. However, evaporation of water from the dry surface of the
soil leaves the salts behind which results the rise in saline groundwater and the build up of
salt in the irrigated soil surface, eventually to toxic levels for plants, the phenomenon is
known as salinization. Salt in soils decreases the osmotic potential of the soil so that plants
can’t up water from it. When soils are salty, the soil has greater concentrations of solute than
does the root, so plants can not get water from soil. The salts can also be directly toxic, but
plant troubles usually result primarily from inability to take up water from salty soils.
Problems with salinization are most commonly associated with excessive water application,
rather than with too little.

The major cause of irrigation salinity include over-irrigation of farm land, inefficient water
use, poor drainage, irrigating on unsuitable or ‘leaky’ soils, high residence time of water in
pond and allowing seepage from irrigation channels, drains and water storages. This increases
leakage to the groundwater system, causing the water table to rise which may mobilize salt
that has accumulated in the soil layers. When the saline water table rises to within two metres
of the surface evaporation concentrates salt at the surface. As the soil becomes accumulated
vegetation and crops die because they have limited access to oxygen and they are not able to
take water up. Soil saturation is compounded by periods of heavy rainfall, but drought helps
improve the situation.+

2.2.3.3 Water Calamities

Water calamities may be caused by both abundance and deficiency of water.

1) FLOODS

Flood refers to the presence of unusually large amount of water at any place, or more water
than what can be handled by the drainage of the area. It is also characterised by the overflow
of rivers. Occurrence of flood depends on many factors such as climate, nature of collecting
basin, streams, soil, vegetation cover, amount of snow melt and overall rainfall.

Classification of Floods

Coastal River Flash Groundwater Sewer

Flooding Flooding Flooding Flooding Flooding

1. Coastal flooding

Heavy storms or other extreme weather conditions combined with high tides can cause sea
levels to rise above normal, force sea water to the land and cause coastal flooding. Proper
flooding defences need to be in place to safeguard life and property. The Environment
Agency constantly monitors sea levels and releases flood warnings when required.

32
2. River flooding

This type of flooding, where a river bursts or overtops its banks and floods the areas around
it, is more common than coastal flooding in the UK. River flooding is generally caused by
prolonged, extensive rain. Flooding can be worsened by melting snow. Flooding can also
occur if the free flow of a river gets blocked by fallen trees, natural overgrowth or rubbish.

People who own land around rivers (riparian owners) have a legal duty to prevent flooding by
making sure that they avoid blocking the free flow of the river.

3. Flash flooding

A flash flood is a fast-moving and unexpected flood. Flash flooding is usually due to heavy
rain. While natural events may be responsible for most flash flooding, it may also arise if the
flood defences fail or the drainage systems are insufficient. It is expected that flash flooding
may become more frequent, due to climate change and too much development in flood plains.

4. Groundwater flooding

Groundwater flooding can occur when water levels underneath the ground rise above normal
levels approaching the surface. It is usually caused by prolonged periods of rainfall.
Groundwater flooding can last for weeks and months. The Groundwater Forum estimates that
groundwater flooding affects several hundred thousand properties in the UK. It differs from
surface water flooding which is caused when heavy rain directly hits the ground surface.

5. Sewer flooding

Sewer flooding may result from a system failure. It may also happen when the sewer system
does not have enough capacity to take water entering the system from heavy rainfall or river
or highway flooding. Sewage water flowing into a building is classified as internal flooding.
When it floods a garden or other open space such as roads or public grounds it is considered
as external flooding.

Effects of Floods:

1. Floods damage property and endanger the lives of humans and animals.

2. Rapid run-off causes soil erosion as well as sedimental deposition problems downstream.

3. Spawning grounds for fish and other wildlife habitats are often destroyed.

4. High velocity currents increase flood damage; prolonged high floods delay traffic and
interfere with drainage and economic use of lands.

5. Bridge embankments, bank lines, sewer outfalls, and other structures within floodways are
damaged, and navigations and hydroelectric power are often impaired.

6. Financial losses due to floods commonly amount to millions of pounds each year.

Control of Floods

33
1. Construction of dams, reservoirs and floodways artificial channels that divert floodwater.

2. Construct coordinated groups of dams and reservoirs on the headwaters of the stream that
lead into the main rivers, so that the water can be stored during periods of heavy run-off
and released gradually during the dry seasons.

3. By restoring vegetation and instituting efficient methods of soil management and

conversation, such as crop rotation and contour ploughing, construction of floodways on
the reaches of rivers to divert flood waters.

4. On the individual level more public awareness programmes are needed to help people
understand living with floods to ensure safety of river ecosystem.

2) DROUGHTS

Drought is a complex physical and social process. It is said to be occurring at a place when
the place does not get as much water as the need, over a significant period of time. Drought is
defined in three ways: an extended period of below normal rainfall, a long term depletion of
groundwater, or the stunting of vegetation growth due to lack of water.

Classification of Droughts

Meteorological Hydrological Agricultural

Droughts Droughts Droughts

1. Meteorological drought

Meteorological drought is often demarked by a period of substantially diminished

precipitation duration or intensity. The commonly used definition of meteorological drought
is an interval of time, generally in the order of months or year, during which the actual
moisture supply at a given place consistently falls below the climatically appropriate moisture
supply.

2. Hydrological drought

It occurs when there is running down of surface water leading to very low stream flow and
drying of lakes, rivers and reservoirs.

3. Agricultural drought

Agricultural drought links various characteristics of meteorological or hydrological drought

to agricultural impacts, focusing on precipitation shortages, differences between actual and
potential evapotranspiration, soil water deficits, reduces ground water or reservoir levels, and
so forth.

34
Effects of Drought:

The impacts of droughts may be economic, environmental and social.

1. Drought implies a lack of moisture for an extended period of time which in turns causes a
deficit of moisture in the soil.

2. It results in crop damage and water supply shortage.

3. People consider drought a natural or physical event, it has both natural and social
component.

4. The consequence of drought can be very serious for a country that still depends largely on
rain-fed agriculture.

5. A drought also increase pressure on the environment, in terms of falling groundwater

tables and reduced tree cover. Industry would have to contend with a power crisis, due to
the expected shortfall in hydropower generation. Similarly, even the prosperous irrigated
regions would be hit by a fall in dam reservoir levels.

2.2.4 CONFLICTS OVER WATER

Indispensability of water and its unequal distribution has often led to inter-state or
international disputes. Issues related to sharing of river water have been largely affecting our
farmers and also shaking our governments. Many countries are engaged in bitter rivalries
over this precious resource. For instance,

 Argentina and Brazil, dispute each other's claims to the La Plata river,

 India and Pakistan fight over the rights to water from the Indus,

 Mexico and USA have come in conflict over the Colorado river,

 India and Bangladesh are fighting for Bhrahmaputra river, and

 Iran and Iraq contest for the water from Shatt-Al- Arab River.

Within India, water conflicts are still being continues between the states.

For Eg.,

 Sharing of Krishna water between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh,

 Sharing of Siruvani water between Tamilnadu and Kerala, and others.

 Sharing of Cauvery between Karnataka and Tamilnadu

35
  On June 2,1990, the Cauvery Water dispute Tribunal was set up which through an
interim award directed Karnataka to ensure that 205 TMCF of water was made
available in Tamil Nadu's Mettur dam every year, till a settlement was reached.

 In 1991-1992 due to good monsoon, there was no dispute. In 1995, the situation
turned into a crisis due to delayed rains and an expert Committee was set up to look
into the matter which found that there was a complex cropping pattern in Cauvery
basin.

 Samba paddy in winter, Kuravai paddy in summer and some cash crops demanded
intensive water; thus aggravating the water crisis.

2.2.5 BIG-DAMS –BENEFITS AND PROBLEMS

Dams are built across the river in order to store water for drinking, agricultural, industrial
purpose. Now days they are mainly used for the hydropower production.

2.2.5.1 Benefits

 River valley projects with big dams play a key role in the development process due to
their multiple uses.

 These dams aim at providing employment for tribal people and raising the standard
and quality of life.

 Dams can help in checking floods and generate electricity and reduce water and
power shortage, provide irrigation water to lower areas, provide drinking water in
remote areas and promote navigation, fishery.

2.2.5.2 Problems

PROBLEMS DUE TO LARGE DAMS

Upstream Problems: Downstream problems:

 Displacement of tribal people  Water logging and salinity due

 Loss of forests, flora and fauna to over irrigation
 Changes in fisheries  Microclimatic changes
 Saltation and sedimentation of  Reduced water flow and slit
reservoirs deposition in river
 Loss of non-forest land  Flash foods
 Stagnation and water logging  Salt water intrusion at river
near reservoir mouth
 Breeding vectors and spread of  Loss of land fertility
vector –borne diseases  Outbreak of vector-borne
 Reservoir induces seismicity diseases like malaria.
causing earthquakes
 Microclimatic changes
36
 Growth of aquatic weeds
 Case Study: Water Pollution – Nepal

The Narayani River of Nepal has been polluted by factories located on its banks. This has
endangered the fish, dolphins, crocodiles, and other flora and fauna of the region.

2.2.6 SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF WATER RESOURCES

Sustainable development of water resources refers to reducing the usage of water and
recycling of waste water for different purposes such as cleaning, manufacturing, and
agricultural irrigation in such a way that water demands of future generations are not
hampered.

Case Study: Narmada River Dams - For over a decade, villagers have waged an intense
battle to stop dams on India’s Narmada River. The Narmada Valley Development Project
includes 30 major dams and 3,000 smaller dams. The Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) has
gained international notoriety due to intense opposition by villagers. Led by the Narmada
Bachao Andolan (Save the Narmada movement), activists and villagers forced the World
Bank to withdraw from the project in the early ‘90s. A case filed with the Indian Supreme
Court stopped construction for nearly six years. However, on October 18, 2000, the Indian
Supreme Court issued a controversial final ruling allowing construction to proceed. About
200 000 people would be displaced for the reservoir; hundreds of thousands more will lose
land or livelihood due to related developments. Thousands of people who have been
resettled are struggling to survive on cramped plots with no arable land or source of
livelihood. Faced with these future prospects, villagers have vowed to remain on their
lands and face submergence behind the partly-built dam rather than face a life of certain
destitution. People affected by the extensive canal system are not considered as project
affected people and are not entitled to the same resettlement and compensation packages
as those living in the reservoir area. There are no credible environmental studies or
rehabilitation plans. Although the legal framework requires that affected people be given
land-for-land compensation, there is no land available for resettlement. The project is
expected to generate only 50MW (of 1450 MW planned) after seasonal water flow and
power consumption for pumping water is accounted for. The project is supposed to irrigate
1.9 million hectares and provide drinking water to over 20 million people. However, these
benefits are based on overestimates of annual flow in the river and assume extremely high
irrigation efficiency. The arid Kutch region will not receive any water supply benefits until
2025.

2.2.6.1. SOCIAL SOLUTIONS

Water conservation programs are typically initiated at the local level, by either municipal
water utilities or regional governments. Common strategies include public outreach
campaigns, tiered water rates (charging progressively higher prices as water use increases), or

37
restrictions on outdoor water use such as lawn watering and car washing. Cities in dry
climates often require or encourage the installation of xeriscaping or natural landscaping in
new homes to reduce outdoor water usage.

2.2.6.2. HOUSEHOLD/DOMESTIC SOLUTIONS Water-saving technology for the home

includes:

 Low-flow shower heads sometimes called energy-efficient shower heads as they also
use less energy,

 Low-flush toilets and composting toilets. These have a dramatic impact in the
developed world, as conventional Western toilets use large volumes of water.

 Saline water (sea water) or rain water can be used for flushing toilets.

 Wastewater reuse or recycling systems, allowing:

 High-efficiency clothes washers

 Weather-based irrigation controllers

 Using low flow taps in wash basins

Water can also be conserved by landscaping with native plants and by changing behavior,
such as shortening showers and not running the faucet while brushing teeth.

2.2.6.3. COMMERCIAL SOLUTIONS Many water-saving devices (such as low-flush

toilets) that are useful in homes can also be useful for business water saving. Other water-
saving technology for businesses includes:

 Infrared or foot-operated faucets, which can save water by using short bursts of water
for rinsing in a kitchen or bathroom

 Pressurized water brooms, which can be used instead of a hose to clean sidewalks

 X-ray film processor re-circulation systems

 Cooling tower conductivity controllers

 Water-saving steam sterilizers, for use in hospitals and health care facilities.

 Rain water harvesting: it means capturing rain, where it falls or capturing the run off
in your own village or town, and taking measures to keep that water clean by not
allowing polluting activities to take place in the catchments. Water harvesting can be
undertaken through variety of ways: 1) capturing runoff from rooftops 2) capturing
runoff from local catchments 3) capturing seasonal flood waters from local streams
and 4) conserving water through watershed management.

2.2.6.4. AGRICULTURAL SOLUTIONS

38
For crop irrigation, optimal water efficiency means minimizing losses due to evaporation,
runoff or subsurface drainage while maximizing production.

 An evaporation pan in combination with specific crop correction factors can be used
to determine how much water is needed to satisfy plant requirements

 Drip Irrigation: Drip irrigation is also known as trickle irrigation or micro

irrigation. It is an irrigation method which saves water and fertilizer by allowing
water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either onto the soil surface or directly onto
the root zone, through a network of valves, pipes and emitters.

Case Study: Israel’s Drip Irrigated Farming

The small and arid state of Israel began using drip irrigation systems, as it is short of
water. With this technique, Israeli farmers have been able to improve the efficiency of
irrigation by 95%. Over a 20 year period, Israel’s food production has doubled without
an increase in the use of water for agriculture. Today Israel is one of the major
suppliers of fruits and vegetables in the world.

In India, some traditional communities in urban and semi urban towns used to grow
their own vegetables in backyards, using wastewater from their own homes. Kolkota
releases its wastewater into surrounding lagoons in which fish are reared and the water
is also used for growing vegetables.

2.2.6.5. ROLE OF SPACE TECHNOLOGY FOR SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER

MANAGEMENT

The distribution of groundwater is not uniform throughout the country. The spatio – temporal
variations in rainfall and regional/local differences in geology and geomorphology have led
to uneven distribution of groundwater in different regions across the country. Unplanned and
haphazard development of groundwater in some areas has further compounded the problem
and has led to a sharp decline in groundwater levels. Systematic estimation and budgeting of
groundwater resource based on its spatio-temporal distribution, its allocation for meeting the
competing demands for irrigation, industrial and domestic usage, and conjunctive use of
surface and a groundwater resource are, therefore, pre-requisite for optimal utilization of
available groundwater on a sustained basis.

Groundwater study of an area requires the knowledge of the nature of lithological units
occurring in the area, their structural disposition, geomorphic set up, surface water conditions
and climate. These has been studied by the conventional method

39
 2.3 LAND RESOURCES
Land is a major resource for, food production, animal husbandry, industry our growing
human settlements, Forests, wild life and biodiversity. Land on earth is as finite as any of our
other natural resources. Scientists today believe that at least 10 percent of land and water
bodies of each ecosystem must be kept as wilderness for the long term needs of protecting
nature and natural resources.

Soil types are red soil, black cotton soil, literate soil, alluvial soil, desert soil etc. In nature
India is moving North East @5cm/yr (fastest continent) so the Eurasian plate deforms and
India compresses by 4mm/year

2.3.1 IMPORTANCE OF SOIL AS A RESOURCE

Soil is one of the world’s most valuable assets. It is essential to all life forms on this plant due
to the following reasons:

 Soil acts as a sieve to protect the quality of water, air and other resources.

 Soil provides a physical medium, chemical environment and biological setting for
water, nutrient, air and heat exchange for living organisms.

 Soil controls biological activity and molecular exchanges among solid, liquid and
gaseous phases. This affects nutrient cycling, plant growth and decomposition of
organic materials;

 It offers mechanical support for living organisms and their structures, including most
of our buildings, dams, pipelines and underground cables; and

 Soils influence the water distribution of runoff, infiltration, storage and deep drainage.

 They regulate water distribution to runoff, infiltration, storage or deep drainage.

 They regulate water flow, which affects the movement of soluble materials such as
nutrients or pollutants

 Soils make it possible for plants to grow. Soils mediate the biological, chemical and
physical processes that supply nutrients, water and other elements to growing plants.
Soils are the water and nutrient storehouses on which most plants survive.

 We eventually depend on soils for much of our food and fibre.

2.3.2 SOIL PROFILE:

It is an exposure from the surface downward through a soil to its parent material. A general
soil profile has the following horizon.

40
 Figure 2.4: Soil Profile

O – Organic horizon: This horizon contains surficial organic deposit with litter layer of
plant residues in relatively non-decomposed form.

A – Surface horizon: The layer contains organics mixed with mineral matter. This Layer is
of mineral soil with the most organic matter accumulation and soil life. This layer eluviates
(is depleted of) iron, clay, aluminium, organic compounds, and other soluble constituents. A-
horizons may also be the result of a combination of soil bioturbation and surface processes
that winnow fine particles from biologically mounded topsoil. In this case, the A-horizon is
regarded as a "biomantle".

B – Subsurface horizon: Subsurface layer reflecting chemical or physical alteration of parent

material. This layer accumulates iron, clay, aluminum and organic compounds, a process referred to
as illuviation.

C – Unconsolidated horizon: The parent material in sedimentary deposits. It is a layer of

large unbroken rocks. This layer may accumulate the more soluble compounds.

R - Bedrock: The parent material in bedrock landscapes. This layer denotes the layer of
partially weathered bedrock at the base of the soil profile. Unlike the above layers, R
horizons largely comprise continuous masses of hard rock that cannot be excavated by hand.
Soils formed in situ will exhibit strong similarities to this bedrock layer. These areas of
bedrock are less than 50 feet of the other profiles.

2.3.1 LAND DEGRADATION: It is the decline in land quality or reduction in its

productivity or production potential caused by human activities. Worldwide 5 -7 m ha farm
land is being degraded annually.

41
2.3.1.1 Mechanisms that Initiate Land Degradation

1) Physical processes: decline in soil structure leading to crusting, compaction, erosion,

decertification, Ana vision, environmental pollution and unsustainable use of natural
resources.

2) Chemical processes: Acidification, leaching, decrease in cations retention capacity and

loss of nutrients.

3) Biological processes: Reduction in total and biomass carbon and decline in land
biodiversity.

Figure 2.5: The vicious cycle of land degradation

2.3.1.2 Causes for Land Degradation

i. Intensive irrigation leads to water logging and salinisation, on which crops cannot grow.

ii. The use of more and more chemical fertilizers poisons the soil so that eventually the land
becomes unproductive.

iii. The roots of trees and grasses bind the soil. If forests are depleted, or grasslands
overgrazed, the land becomes unproductive and wasteland is formed.

iv. Land is also converted into a non-renewable resource when highly toxic industrial and
nuclear wastes are dumped on it.

v. As urban centres grow and industrial expansion occurs, the agricultural land and forests
shrink. This is a serious loss and has long term ill effects on human civilization.

vi. Land degradation/soil erosion due to deforestation is more evident on steep hill slopes in
the Himalayas and in the Western Ghats. These areas are called ‘ecologically sensitive
areas’ or ESAs. To prevent the loss of millions of tons of valuable soil every year, it is

42
essential to preserve what remains of our natural forest cover. It is equally important to
reforest denuded areas. The linkage between the existence of forests and the presence of soil
is greater than the forest’s physical soil binding function alone. The soil is enriched by the
leaf litter of the forest. It is broken down by soil micro-organisms, fungi, worms and insects,
which help to recycle nutrients in the system. Further losses of our soil wealth will
impoverish our country and reduce its capacity to grow enough food in future.

vii. The rate of mangrove loss is significantly higher than the loss of any other types of
forests. If deforestation of mangroves continues, it can lead to severe losses of biodiversity
and livelihoods, in addition to salt intrusion in coastal areas and siltation of coral reefs, ports
and shipping lanes.

Case Study: Salinity and Water logging in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan

The first alarming report of salt-affected wasteland formation in connection with irrigation
practices came from Haryana (then Punjab) in 1858. It was reported that several villages in
Panipat, Rohtak and Delhi lying in command area of western Yamuna canal were suffering
from destructive saline efflorescence. The “Reh Committee” in 1886 drew the attention of
the government on some vital points showing a close relationship between irrigation,
drainage and spread of “reh” and “usar” soils. The floods of 1947, 1950, 1952, 1954-56 in
Punjab resulted in aggravated water logging with serious drainage problems. Introduction
of canal irrigation in 1.2 m ha in Haryana resulted in rise in water table followed by water
logging and salinity in many irrigated areas causing huge economic losses as a result of fall
in crop productivity. Rajasthan too suffered badly in this regard following the biggest
irrigation project “Indira Gandhi Canal Project” and the sufferings of the big area in
Western Rajasthan have changed from a condition of “water-starved wasteland” to that of
a “water soaked wasteland”.

43
2.3.2 SOIL EROSION

Soil erosion is the process of removal of superficial layer of the soil from one place to
another. Soil erosion leads to soil infertility as the top soil layer is lost and also ability of soil to
hold water and sediment is reduced.

2.3.2.1 Types of soil erosion

TYPES OF SOIL EROSION

Normal Erosion Accelerated Erosion

 Gradual removal of top soil by  Caused by man-made activities

the natural process.
 The rate of erosion is much faster
 The rate of erosion is slower. than the rate of formation of soil.

2.3.2.2 Agents of soil erosion

AGENTS OF SOIL EROSION

Water Wind

 Sheet Erosion  Saltation

 Rill Erosion  Suspension

 Gully Erosion  Surface Creep

 Slip Erosion

 Stream Bank Erosion

(i)Water

Water causes soil erosion in the form of rain, run-off, rapid flow, wave action.

 Sheet erosion: When there is uniform removal of a thin layer of soil from a large
surface area, it is called sheet erosion.

 Rill erosion: when there is rainfall and rapidly running water produces finger-shaped
grooves or rills over the area, it is called rill erosion.

 Gully erosion: When the rainfall is very heavy, deeper cavities or gullies are formed,
which may be U or V shaped.

44
  Slip erosion: This occurs due to heavy rainfall on slopes of hills and mountains.

 Stream bank erosion: During the rainy season, when fast running streams take a turn
in some other direction, they cut the soil and make caves in the bank.

(ii)Wind

Wind is the important climatic agent, who carry away the fine particles of soil and creates
soil erosion.

 Saltation: This occurs under the influence of direct pressure of stormy wind and the
soil particles of 1-1.5 mm diameter move up in vertical direction.

 Suspension: Here fine soil particles (less than 1mm diameter) which are suspended
on the air are kicked up and taken away to distant places.

 Surface creep: Here the large particles (5-10 mm diameter) creep over the soil
surface along with wind.

There are some biotic agents as well which causes soil erosion.

(iii) Biotic Agents

 Overgrazing, mining and deforestation are the major biotic agents, cause soil erosion.

 Deforestation without reforestation, overgrazing by cattle, surface mining without

land reclamation, irrigation techniques that lead to salt build- up, water logged soil,
make the top soil vulnerable to erosion.

 35% of world soil erosion is due to overgrazing.

 30% of world soil erosion is due to deforestation.

2.3.2.3 Soil conservation practices

1. Conservational till farming (or) no-till-farming

In tradition method, the land is ploughed and soil is broken up and leveled to make a planting
surface. This disturbs the soil and makes it susceptible to erosion. However, no-till-farming
causes minimum disturbance to the top soil. Here the tilling machines make slits in the
unploughed soil and inject seeds, fertilizers and water in the slit. So the seed germinates and
the crop grows.

2. Contour farming

It involves planting crops in rows across the contour of gently sloped land. Each row acts
as a small dam to hold soil and to slow water runoff.

3. Terracing

45
It involves conversion of steep slopes into broad terraces, which run across the contour.
This retains water for crops and reduces soil erosion by controlling runoff.

4. Alley cropping (or) Agro forestry

It involves planting crops in strips or alleys between rows of trees of shrubs that can
provide fruits and fuel wood. Even when the crop is harvested, the soil will not be eroded
because trees and shrubs still remain on the soil and hold the soil particles.

Figure 2.6: Alley Cropping

2.3.3 LAND USE PLANNING

Land use planning is an iterative process based on the dialogue amongst all state holders
aiming at the negotiation and decision for a sustainable form of land use. Land use planning
creates the prerequisite required to achieve a type of land use, which is sustainable, socially
and environmentally compatible, socially desirable and economically sound. Planning
approaches often fail because global models and implementation strategies are applied and
taken over automatically and uncritically. Land use planning is not a standardized procedure
which is uniform in its application worldwide its content is based on an initial regional or
local situation analysis. Land use planning should consider following principles.

1. It should take into account traditional strategies and local environmental knowledge.

2. Differentiation of state holders and the gender approach are core principles in land use
planning.

3. The ecological, economic technical financial, social and cultural dimension of land use
makes it necessary to work with inter disciplinary approach.

46
4. It should aim at finding solutions for present problems (soil erosion, low yield, and low
income in rural households) with the planning towards long conservations and sustainable use
of land resources.

2.3.4 DESERTIFICATION

It is land degradation occurring in arid, semiarid and dry sub-humid areas of the world. It is a
process where in fertile lands become arid through land mismanagement or climate changes.
Many deserts in the world are man-made. Desertification is taking place much faster
worldwide than historically and usually arises from the demands of increased populations that
settle on the land in order to grow crops and graze animals. These susceptible dry lands cover
40 percent of the earth’s surface and put at risk more than 1 billion people who are dependent
on these lands for survival. Around 80 % of the productive land in the arid and semi-arid
regions of the world is estimated to be converting into deserts and around 600 million people
are threatened by desertification (according to UN EP). Globally around 2 billion acres of
land have become deserts in the past 50 years. The current rate of desertification is around 15
million acres per year, the worst being in sub-saharan Africa. Thar desert in Rajasthan covers
about 12,000 hectares of land.

2.3.4.1 Causes of desertification:

1) Overgrazing: By pounding the soil with their hooves, livestock compact the substrate,
increase the proportion of fine material, and reduce the percolation rate of the soil, thus
encouraging erosion by wind and water. Grazing and the collection of firewood reduce or
eliminate plants that help to bind the soil.

2) Increased population: Livestock pressure on marginal lands accelerates desertification.

3) Deforestation practices: Loss of vegetation results in surface run off as there are no plants
to bind the soil and resulting in soil erosion and depletion of nutrients.

4) Increased food production from marginal lands in arid or semi- arid areas.

5) Irrigation projects in areas with no drainage facility.

6) Shifting of sand dunes by wind storms

Effects: Major impact of desertification is biodiversity loss, and loss of productive capacity,
such as the transition from grassland dominated by perennial grasses to one dominated by
perennial shrubs. In extreme cases, it leads to the destruction of land’s ability to support life.

2.3.4.2 Control of desertification:

1. Afforestation and planting of soil binding grasses can check soil erosion, floods and water
logging.

47
2. Crop rotation and mixed cropping improve the fertility of the soil. It would increase
production which can sustain large population.

3. Desertification can be checked by artificial bunds or covering the area with proper type of
vegetation.

4. Shifting of sand can be controlled by mulching (use of artificial protective covering.)

5. Salinity of the soil can be checked by improved drainage. Saline soil can be recovered by
leaching with more water, particularly where water table of the ground is not very high.

Case Study: Selenium – Punjab

In 1981-82, farmers from Hoshiarpur and Nawanshehar districts approached the scientists
in Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, as their wheat crops had turned white. Soil
analysis indicated selenium levels in the area were above toxic limits. Selenium is
naturally occurring trace element, essential for animal and human health, but the gap
between the requirement and excess is narrow. Soil containing 0.5 µg of selenium per kg
or more is injurious to health. In some areas of Punjab, selenium levels range from 0.31
µg/kg to 4.55 µg/kg. Rice cultivation requires the presence of standing water. Being
highly soluble, selenium dissolves and comes to the surface; the water then evaporates
leaving the selenium behind.

2.3.5 LANDSLIDES

Landslides are the downward and outward movement of a slope composed of earth materials
such as rock, soil, artificial fills. Other names of landslides are rockslide, debris slide, slump,
earth flow and soil creep. During construction of roads and mining activities huge portions of
fragile mountainous areas are cut and thrown into adjacent areas and streams. These land
masses weaken the already fragile mountain slopes and lead to landslides called man induced
landslides.

2.3.5.1 Causes of landslides

1. Removal of vegetation: In the sloppy area creates soil erosion, which leads to landslides.

2. Underground mining: Cause subsidence of the ground.

3. Transport: Due to the movement of buses and trains in the unstable sloppy region cause
landslides.

4. Addition of weight: Addition of extra weight (or) construction on the slope areas leads to
landslide.

5. Ground water level: Over exploitation of ground water also leads to landslides.

2.3.5.2 Harmful effect of landslides

48
  Landslide increases the turbidity of nearby streams, thereby reducing their
productivity.

 Destruction of communication links.

 Loss of habitat and biodiversity.

 Loss of infrastructure and economic loss.

Case Study: Landslide in Uttarakhund

The Himalayan State of India, Uttarakhand on 16 June 2013 faced one of the toughest
situations of the century in form of a natural disaster with landslides and flash floods.
Landslides are one of the major forms of natural disaster in the Himalayan ecosystem as it
lies in seismic Zone 5. The natural calamity in Uttarakhand took lives of thousands as per
official and recorded data, but as per the survivors of the crisis, the story is completely
different with more than ten thousands dead. The heavy rainfall created havoc by
affecting the fragile nature of the Himalayan range that is known for its poor soil salinity
in the steep slopes. Apart from the stability of soil in the peaks of the youngest mountains
of the world, the other reasons for the disaster as per the expert are: the blind expansion of
the hydro-power projects and unplanned construction of roads in the Himalayan region, to
match up with the demands of ever increasing traffic in the area. Mining and construction
of big hydropower projects are one of the big reasons behind the disaster that killed
thousands in Uttarakhand.

2.4 MINERAL RESOURCES

Minerals are naturally occurring, inorganic, crystalline solids having a definite chemical
composition and characteristic physical properties. There are thousands of minerals occurring
in different parts of the world. However, most of the rocks, we see everyday are just
composed of a few common minerals like quartz, feldspar, biotite, dolomite, calcite, laterite
etc. There minerals, in turn, are composed of some elements like silicon, oxygen, iron,
magnesium, calcium, aluminium etc.

2.4.1 USE AND EXPLOITATION

Minerals find use in a large number of ways in everyday use in domestic, agricultural,
industrial and commercial sectors and thus form a very important part of any nation’s
economy. The main uses of minerals are as follows:

(i) Development of industrial plants and machinery.

(ii) Generation of energy eg. coal, lignite, uranium.

49
 (iii) Construction, housing, settlements.

(iv) Defence equipments – weapons, armaments.

(v) Transportation means

(vi) Communication – telephone wires, cables, electronic devices.

(vii) Medicinal system – particularly in Ayurvedic system.

(viii) Formation of alloy for various purposes (e.g. steel alloys)

(ix) Agriculture – as fertilizers, seed dressings and fungicides (e.g. zineb containing
zinc, maneb – containing manganese etc.)

(x) Jewellery – e.g. gold, silver, platinum, diamond.

Use of metals by human beings has been so extensive since the very beginning of human
civilization that two of the major epochs of human history are named after them as Bronze
Age and Iron Age. The reserves of metals and the technical know-how to extract them have
been the key elements in determining the economy and political power of nation. Out of the
various metals, those used in maximum quantity are iron and steel (740 million metric tons
annually) followed by manganese, copper, chromium, aluminium and nickel.

2.4.2 SOME MAJOR MINERALS OF INDIA

Principal minerals found in the country along with their estimated reserves are given below:

1) Bauxite Ore (Aluminium)

The total in situation reserves is 3.076 million tonnes. About 84 per cent of this reserve is of
metallurgical grade. The conditional resources of bauxite are about 5, 99,780 tonnes. In
addition, prospective resources are placed at 90 million tonnes. Orissa, Andhra Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Jharkhand are the principal states where bauxite
deposits are located. Major reserves are concentrated in the East Coast Bauxite deposits of
Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.

2) Chromite

Total in situ reserves of chromite are estimated at 114 million tonnes. Total geological
resources were estimated at 187 million tonnes, consisting of around 114 million tonnes in
situ reserves and about 73 million tonnes as conditional resources. The largest share (about
96 per cent) in the total geological resources is accounted by the Cuttack district in Orissa.
Deposits of economic significance occur in Orissa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Jharkhand,
Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Manipur. However, refractory grade reserves
of chromite are very meagre.

3) Copper

50
The total in situ reserves of copper ore in the country are 712.5 million tonnes, equivalent to
9.4 million tonnes of metal content. The all-India conditional resources of copper are 722
million tonnes (3.15 million tonnes of copper metal) and prospective resources are 0.6
million tonnes of copper ore. Major and important copper ore deposits are located in
Singhbhum district (Jharkhand), Balaghat district (Madhya Pradesh) and Jhunjhunu and
Alwar districts (Rajasthan). In addition, there are small copper ore deposits in Gujarat,
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Maharashtra and West
Bengal.

4) Gold

There are three important gold fields in the country, namely, Kolar Gold Fields, Kolar
district, Hutti Gold Field in Raichur district (both in Karnataka) and Ramgiri Gold Field in
Anantpur district (Andhra Pradesh). Total in situ reserves of gold ore are estimated at 22.4
million tonnes, with 116.50 tonnes of metal.

5) Iron Ore

The total in situ reserves of iron ore in the country are about 1,23,17,275 thousand tonnes of
haematite and 53,95,214 thousand tonnes of magnetite. The resources of very high-grade ore
are limited and are restricted mainly in the Bailadila sector of Chhattisgarh and to a lesser
extent in Bellary-Hospet area of Karnataka and Barajamda sector in Jharkhand and Orissa.
Haematite resources are located in Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Goa,
Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. Magnetite resources are located in Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Kerala, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

6) Lead-Zinc

Lead-Zinc resources are located in Rajasthan, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat,
Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Tamil Nadu and Sikkim.
Total in situ reserves (all grades) of lead and zinc ores are 231 million tonnes comprising
metal content of 5.1 million tonnes of lead and 17.02 million tonnes of zinc metal.

7) Manganese

The total in situ resources of manganese ore are 406 million tonnes out of which 104 million
tonnes are proved, 135 million tonnes are in probable and 167 million tonnes are in possible
categories. Main reserves fall in Karnataka, followed by Orissa, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra and Goa. Minor occurrences of manganese are in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand,
Gujarat, Rajasthan and West Bengal.

8) Tungsten

The total in situ reserves of tungsten ore have been estimated at 43.15 million tonnes or 1,
32,478 tonnes of W03 content. The main reserves are at Degana, Rajasthan. It also occurs in
Maharashtra, Haryana, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.

9) Diamond

51
Diamond deposits occur in three types of geological settings such as kimberlite pipes,
conglomerate beds and alluvial gravels. The main diamond bearing areas in India are the
Panna belt in Madhya Pradesh, Munimadugu-Banganapalle conglomerate in Kurnool district,
Wajrakarur Kimberlite pipe in Anantapur district and the gravels of Krishna river basin in
Andhra Pradesh. Reserves have been estimated only in the Panna belt and Krishna Gravels in
Andhra Pradesh. The total in situ reserves are about 26, 43,824 carats. There are conditional
resources of 19, 36,512 carat. The new kimberlite fields are discovered recently in Raichur-
Gulbarga districts of Karnataka.

10) Dolomite

Dolomite occurrences are widespread in almost all parts of the country. The total in situ
reserves of all grades of dolomite are 7,349 million tonnes. The major share of about 90 per
cent reserves is distributed in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Gujarat,
Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

11) Fluorspar

Total in situ reserves of fluorspar in India are 14.15 million tonnes. Commercial deposits of
Fluorspar are located in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

12) Gypsum

The in situ reserves of gypsum are estimated at 383 million tonnes. Out of this, two millions
are of surgical/plaster grade. 92 million tonnes of fertilizer/pottery grade, 76 million tonnes of
cement/paint grade, 13 million tonnes of soil reclamation grade and the rest is unclassified.
The production of gypsum is confined to Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, and
Gujarat. Rajasthan is the main producer of gypsum followed by Jammu and Kashmir.

13) Graphite

The in situ reserves of graphite are 16 million tonnes. Orissa is the major producer of
graphite. Almost the entire reserves of Tamil Nadu under the proved category are in
Ramanathapuram district. Deposits of commercial importance are located in Andhra Prade"
Jharkhand, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan and
Tamil Nadu.

14) Limestone

The total in situ reserves of limestone of all categories and grades are placed at 1, 69,941
million tonnes. The total conditional reserves have been estimated at 3,713 million tonnes.
The major share of its production comes from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra
Pradesh, and Gujarat: Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh,
Orissa, Bihar, Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh. The remaining part comes from Assam,
Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Ker and Meghalaya.

15) Mica

52
India is the world's leading producer of sheet mica and accounts for about 60 per cent of
global mica trade. Important mica-bearing pegmatite occurs in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand
Bihar and Rajasthan. The total in situ reserves of mica in the country are placed at 59, often
tonnes. The in situ reserves of mica in Andhra Pradesh are 42,626 thousand tonnes, Bihar
12,938 tonnes, Jharkhand 1,494 tonnes and in Rajasthan 2,007 tonnes.

16) Magnesite

The total in situ reserves of Magnesite are about 415 million tonnes of which 76 million
tonnes are in the proved category. Major deposits of magnesite are found in Uttaranchal,
Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan while minor deposits are in Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka,
Himachal Prade and Kerala.

17) Other Minerals

Other minerals occurring in significant quantities in India are bentonite (Rajasthan, Gujarat,
Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir), corundum (Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and
Chhattisgarh), clacite (Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana,
Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat), fuller's earth (Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra
Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Karnataka), garnet (Tamil Nadu,
Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Kerala), pyrites (Jharkhand; Rajasthan, Karnataka,
Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh), steatite (Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala,
Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh), wollastonite (Rajasthan and Gujarat), zircon (beach sand
of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa) and quartz and silica minerals are
widespread and occur in nearly all states. Besides, the country has vast marble, slate and
sandstone. Granite is mainly mined in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and
Rajasthan; marble in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh; slate in Chhattisgarh, Madhya
Pradesh. Haryana and Andhra Pradesh; and sandstone in Rajasthan

2.4.3 MINING

Mining is the process of taking mineral and other substances from the earth. These substances
include metal compounds, non-minerals such as coal, sand, oil and natural gas and many
other useful things.

Mining provides iron and copper for making aeroplanes, refrigerators. Mines also supply salt
for food, gold, silver and diamonds for jewellery; and coal for fuel. We mine uranium for
nuclear energy, stone for buildings, phosphate for fertilizers and gravel for roads.

Some minerals can be mined more cheaply than others because they are found at the earth’s
surface. Some minerals lie for beneath the surface and can be removed only by digging deep
underground. Other elements are found in oceans, lakes and rivers.

2.3.3.1 Various stages of mineral exploration

The following are the steps / stages of mineral exploration and development:

53
1. Prospecting and Exploration: Prospecting and exploration for precious metals, base
metals, minerals and diamonds begins with research to choose target areas for exploration
and taking samples from areas that look like they might have minerals. Exploration includes
prospecting, mapping and surveying, either on the ground or from a plane or helicopter,
where special equipment measures the magnetic or electrical properties of rocks on the
surface and underground.

2. Discovery and Advanced Exploration: Discovery and advanced exploration happens

when something of value is really found. At this stage, higher impact activities such as
further ground geophysics, channel sampling, trenching and diamond drilling, take place.
Very few discovered mineral deposits become producing mines. It may take between 10-15
years or more for a mine to be developed. The operational challenges such as limited
infrastructure, including roads and power, as well as associated costs such as fuel,
transportation, materials and labour make it much more difficult to move beyond this stage.
Most projects never get past this stage.

3. Development / Construction: Development / construction is based on economics (is an

area or deposit worth mining), and if shareholders approve. During this stage the landowner
raises money in order to begin construction and develop a mine.

4. Operation and Production: Operation and production is the actual mining, milling and
processing of the metal, ore or diamonds. The length of time a mine is in production (the
mine life) depends on the amount (reserve) and quality (grade) of the mineral, metal or gems
and whether the operation is still profitable.

5. Reclamation: Reclamation of a site and protection of the environment starts at the

beginning of the project. All existing and new mines must have closure and reclamation plans
and are required to set aside in a trust, the total estimated reclamation costs. The goal is to
protect the environment right from the beginning, to make sure the site is as productive as
possible and safe for people and animas when the mine closes.

2.4.3.2 Types of Mining:

There are basically two types of mining:

TYPES OF MINING

Open-cast or surface mining Underground mining

 Strip mining process  Slope mining process

 Placer mining process  Hard rock process
 Mountain top process  Drift mining process
 Hydraulic mining  Shaft process
process  Borehole process
 Dredging process
 Open pit process

54
(i) Surface mining – in this type of mining the minerals or rocks that are to be mined are
exposed at the surface or very close to the surface. To extract the materials, earlier the miners
used to dig an open-pit on the surface and then dig out the materials. But nowadays, giant
earthmovers remove the top soil and the rocks and the material is extracted.

There are many types of surface mining processes. They are:

Strip mining process – as the name suggests the surface of the earth is stripped. In this
process the soil and rocks that lie above is removed generally by heavy machinery and then
the material is extracted. This type is possible only when the targeted materials are relatively
near the surface. The mineral generally extracted is coal or some kinds of sedimentary rocks.

Placer mining process – in this process alluvial deposits in sand or gravel are extracted. This
process does not involve the usage of any sort of heavy materials and can be considered
relatively easy when compared to others. Generally gold and other gemstones are mined in
this process.

Mountain top process – this process involves blasting of the top of mountains expose the
coal below it. This process is relatively new.

Hydraulic mining process – in this process high pressure water jets are used to dislodge
rocks and minerals. During earlier times gold was found in an easier way by this method.
However, this process has been discontinued due to environmental concerns.

Case Study: Uranium mining in Naldona, A.P.

The present reserves of uranium in Jaduguda mines, Jharkhand can supply yellow lake
only for a few years. There is pressing need for mining more uranium to meet the demand
of India’s nuclear programme. The Uranium Corporation of India(UCIL) proposes to
mine uranium from deposits of Lambapur and Peddagattu villages in Nalgonda district in
Andhra Pradesh and processing unit at about 18km at Mallapur. The plan is to extract
11.02 million ton ore in 20 years. The UCIL is trying its best to allure the villagers
through employement opportunities and some other means. But experts charge for
keeping the company silence on the possible contamination of the nearby water bodies.
The proposed mines are just 900 m away from human habitation and hardly 10kn away
from Nagarjun Sagar dam and barely 4km away from the akkampali reservoir which is
Hyderabad’s new source of drinking water. It is estimated that 20years of mining will
generate 7.5 million metrics ton of waste of which 99.9% will be left behind. The
villagers are likely to be affected by the radioactive waste. Though UCIL claims that
there won’t be any such accidents, but no one can deny that it is a highly hazardous
industry and safety measures cannot be neglected. The pathetic condition of Jaduguda
mine in Jharkhand where there is a black history of massive deaths and devastations have
outraged the public, who don’t want it to be repeated in Nalgonda. The proposed uranium
mines will cover about 445ha of Yellapuram reserve forest and Rajiv Gandhi tiger
sanctuary. The public hearing held in February, 2004 witnessed strong protests from
NGOS and large number of villagers. The fate of the proposed uranium mining in
55
Nalgonda district of A.P. is yet to be decided.
Dredging process – it is the process of underwater excavation by deepening a water body. In
this method sediments and other substances are removed from harbors, rivers and other water
bodies and minerals are extracted.

Open pit process – the easiest and the cheapest way to mine materials that are close to the
surface, large open holes are dug in the ground. Sometimes, explosives are used to get large
blocks of rocks out of the way.

(ii) Underground mining – Regarding underground mining there are five processes. They
are:

Slope mining process – a type of underground mining, slopes are made into the ground and
the desired material is accessed. This is done when the minerals are located far enough and
surface mining cannot be employed to reach it. Generally, coal is mined in this way.

Hard rock process – here tunnels deep in the ground are dug sometimes with dynamite or
large drills. The tunnels are supported by pillars through which miners can move about. Tin,
lead, copper, silver, gold etc are mined with this process. This is typically the mine that
comes to our minds when we think of it.

Drift mining process – this process is carried out when the material is situated sideways of a
mountain. The materials are easier to access and the mouth is made slightly lower than the
resource area so as to allow gravity to pull down the materials easily. Generally, coal or iron
ore is mined through this process.

Shaft process – the deepest form of underground mining, this is done by excavating a
vertical passageway deep down. The materials to be extracted are situated deep inside and
elevators are used to take the miners up and down. It is kept in mind that the tunnels are made
airy for miners to work without any problems. Generally, coal is mined in this process.

Borehole process – using a drill a deep hole is dug and a high pressure water-jet is used to
force the materials up the hole. Sand, galena, gold etc are mined by this process.

Case Study: Mining and quarrying in Udaipur

About 200 open cast mining and quarrying centres in Udaipur, about half of which are
illegal are involved in stone mining including soapstone, building stone, rock phosphate
and dolomite. The mines spread over 15,000 hectares in Udaipur have caused many
adverse impacts on environment. About 150 tonnes of explosives are used per month in
blasting. The overburden, washoff, discharge of mine water etc. pollute the water. The
Maton mines have badly polluted the Ahar River. The hills around the mines are devoid
of any vegetation except a few scattered patches and the hills are suffering from acute
soil erosion. The waste water flows towards a big tank of “Bag Dara”. Due to scarcity of
water people are compelled to use this effluent for irrigation purpose. The blasting
activity has adversely affected the fauna and the animals like tiger, lion, deer and even
hare, fox, wild cats and birds have disappeared from the mining area.

56
2.4.3.2 Impacts of mining: Mining is done to extract minerals from deep deposits in soil.

Environmental damages caused by mining activities are as follows:

1) De-vegetation and defacing of lands: Mining requires removal of vegetation along

with underlying soil mantle and overlying rock masses. This results in destruction of
landscape in the area.

2) Subsidence of land: Subsidence of mining areas results in tilting of buildings, cracks

in houses, buckling of roads, bending of rail tracks and leaking of gas from cracked
pipe lines leading to serious disasters.

3) Groundwater contamination: Mining pollutes the groundwater. Sulphur, usually

present as an impurity in many ores is known to get converted into sulphuric acid
through microbial action, thereby making the water acidic.

4) Surface water pollution: The acid mine drainage often contaminates the nearby
streams and lakes. The acidic water, radioactive substances like uranium, heavy
metals also contaminate the water bodies and kill aquatic animals.

5) Air pollution: In order to separate and purify the metal from other impurities in the
ore, smelting is done which emits enormous quantities of air pollutants. Oxides of
sulphur, arsenic, cadmium and lead etc. shoot up in the atmosphere near the smelters
and the public suffers from several health problems.

6) Social effects: Potential influx of people and significant community change represent
challenges for the existing communities. The stoppage of mining activities imposed
by depletion of the available reserves often leads to migration of people from the
mining areas to other places. This may result in the formation of “ghost towns”, which
are abandoned towns and previous bubbling mining communities.

7) Occupational Health Hazards: Miners working in different type of mines suffer

from asbestosis, silicosis, black lung disease.

8) Economic effects: The mining process results in increased training and skill
development opportunities, which in turn increases buying power and creates positive
role models.

9) Radiation hazards: Exposure to natural radiation emitted by radioactive minerals is a

major source of health hazards. The radiation intensity increases when the minerals
are concentrated.

2.4.4 REMEDIAL MEASURES

Safety of mine workers is usually not a priority subject of industry. Statistical data show that,
on an average, there are 30 non-fatal but disabling accidents per ton of mineral produced and
one death per 2.5 tons of mineral produced.

57
In order to minimize the adverse impacts of mining it is desirable to adopt eco-friendly
mining technology. The low grade ores can be better utilised by using microbial leaching
technique. The bacterium Thiobacillus ferroxidans has been successfully and economically
used for extracting gold embedded in iron sulphide ore. The ore are inoculated with the
desired strains of bacteria, which remove the impurities (like sulphur) and leave the pure
mineral. This biological method is helpful from economic as well as environmental point of
view.

Restoration of mined areas by re-vegetating them with appropriate plant species, stabilization
of the mined lands, gradual restoration of flora, prevention of toxic drainage discharge and
confirming to the standards of air emissions are essential for minimizing environmental
impacts of mining.

Case Study: Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan

The Forest Department has leased land for mining in the Sariska Tiger Reserve area by
denotifying the protected forest areas. The local people have fought against the mining
lobby, and have filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court in 1991.
Rajendra Singh, secretary of TBS, points out that as many as 70 mines operate in close
proximity to the forest.

2.5 ENERGY RESOURCES

Energy Distribution –World Scenario

 U.S.A and Canada 5% of the world’s population- consume 25% of the available
world’s energy resources.

 It has been observed, that in U.S.A and Canada an average person consumes 300 GJ
(Giga Joules; equal to 60 barrels of oil) per year.

 But in poor countries like Bhutan, Nepal and Ethiopia, an average person consumes
less than 1 GJ per year.

 So a person in a developed country consumes almost as much energy in a single day

as one person consumes in a whole year in a poor country.

 From the above scenario it is clear that our life style and standard of living are closely
related to energy needs.

58
 Figure 2.7: World Energy Consumption Pattern

2.5.1 GROWING ENERGY NEEDS OF INDIA

India, the second largest populated nation in the world with more than a billion people has an
economy which is growing at nearly 8% over the last decade and about 6% on the average
since her independence in 1947. It is expected that India's economy will go at more or less
the same rate even till 2050, which will naturally demand enormous amounts of energy. This
is also highlighted by the fact that globally, the nations with improved quality of life, as
reflected by the larger value of the human development index, consume more amount of
energy per capita (see Figure).

Though India is presently the fourth largest electricity producing country in the world, her per
capita energy consumption (500 kWh) is rather small, which is only about 1/2 of China , ¼ th
of World average and about 1/13th of developed nations. This is also reflected by the low life
expectancy in India and other similar nations. However, India aspires to reach at least the
global average by 2050, which would require her to produce about 1300 GW of electricity,
ten times more than the present value of about 130 GW. Of the present electricity generation,
about 80% of the resources is fossil fuels, Hydro about 15%, renewables about 2% and
nuclear about 3%.

Relying on fossil fuels alone to increase the energy production is both impractical and
impossible, first because of lack of access to required resources and second, even if resources
are available, it would produce irreparable damage to the environment through global
warming. The conventional nuclear power production based on fission reactions is slated to
grow to about 20% of the total by 2050. To meet the energy demand in coming decades, it is
essential to find alternate resources. Thus fusion, which can be viewed as an advance nuclear
technology, provides a great opportunity to countries like India and China to meet their
energy needs.

59
Table 2.1: Energy consumption by fuel type (in million tones of oil equivalent) for the year 2004

2.5.2 RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES

Renewable resources are those which can be generated continuously in nature and are
inexhaustible eg. wood, solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy, hydropower, biomass
energy, biofuels, geothermal energy and hydrogen. They are also known as non-
conventional sources of energy and they can be used again and again in an endless manner.

1) Solar Energy: The sun offers an ideal energy source, unlimited in supply, expensive,
which does not add to the earth’s total heat burden and does not produce air and water
pollutants. It is powerful alternative to fossil and nuclear fuels. Solar energy is so abundant
but, with a collection efficiency of only 10%. The daily solar energy incidence is between 5
to 7 kWh/m2 at different parts of the country. This enormous solar energy resource may be
converted into other form of energy through thermal or photovoltaic conversion routes. The
solar thermal route uses radiation in the form of heat that in turn may be converted to
mechanical, electrical or chemical energy.

Limitations for Solar power generation:

1. Intensity of solar energy is not constant.

2. Density of solar energy is low as compared to oil, gas or coal etc.

3. There is problem of economically collecting solar energy over large area.

4. Problems of designing facilities that can utilise diffused sunlight.

Solar thermal devices like solar cookers, solar water heaters, solar dryers, photovoltaic cells,
solar power plats, solar furnace etc.

Solar Heat Collector: These can be passive or active in nature. Passive solar heat collectors
are natural materials like stones, bricks etc. or material like glass which absorb heat during
the day time and release it slowly at night. Active solar collectors pump a heat absorbing

60
medium (air or water) through a small collector which is normally placed on the top of the
building.

Figure 2.8: Solar Heat Collector

Solar Cells: They are also known as photovoltaic cells or PV cells. Solar cells are made of
thin wafers of semi conductor materials like silicon and gallium. When solar radiations fall
on them, a potential difference is produced which causes flow of electrons and produces
electricity. Silicon can be obtained from silica and sand, which is abundantly available and
inexpensive. By using gallium arsenide, cadmium sulphide or boron, efficiency of the PV cell
can be improved. The potential difference produced by a single cell of 4 cm2 size is about
0.4-0.5 V and produces a current of 60 milli amperes.

Solar Cooker: Solar coolers make use of solar heat by reflecting the solar radiations using a
mirror directly on to a glass sheet which covers the black insulated box within which the raw
food is kept.

Solar Heaters: It consists of an insulated box painted black from inside and having a glass
lid to receive and store solar heat. Inside the box it has black painted copper coil through
which cold water is made to flow in, which gets heated and flows out into a storage tank. The
hot water from the storage tank fitted on roof is then supplied through pipes into buildings
like hotels and hospitals.

Solar Furnaces: Here thousands of small planes mirrors are arranged in concave reflectors,
all of which collect the solar heat and produce as high a temperature as 3000ºC

Solar Thermal Power Plant: Solar energy is harnessed on a large scale by using concave
reflectors which cause boiling of water to produce steam. The steam turbine drives a
generator to produce electricity. A solar power plant (50 K Watt capacity) has been installed
at Gurgaon, Haryana.

2) Wind Energy: Wind power is energy from turbines which create the electricity as the
wind turns the blades of wind mills. A large number of wind mills are installed in clusters
called wind farms. The wind turbine is built to a certain specification in order to maximise
the efficiency of the power generation. The typical turbine revolves at about 10 to 25

61
revolutions per minute and the type of wind to yield this rotation is about eight to 10 knots or
10 miles per hour (16 km/h). From a meteorological perspective, wind is described as moving
air and is essentially a movement from an area of high pressure to one of low pressure. This
motion is enhanced when there is little to disrupt the overall flow. Thus, the most effective
wind turbine energy generation should be done in areas of high elevation or over open water.

The wind power potential of our country is estimated to be about 20,000 MW, while at
present we are generating about 1020 MW. The largest wind farm of our country is near
Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu generating 380 MW electricity.

Figure 2.9: Wind Mill

3) Hydropower: The first hydropower station in India was a small hydropower station of 130
KW commissioned in 1897 at Sidrapong near Darjeeling in West Bengal. With the
advancement in technologies and increasing requirement of electricity, emphasis was shifted
to large sized hydropower stations.

The water flowing in a river is collected by constructing a big dam where the water is stored
and allowed to fall from height. The blade of the turbine located at the bottom of the dam
move with the fast moving water which in turn rotates the generator and produces electricity.
We can also construct mini or micro hydel power plant on the river in hilly regions for
harnessing the hydro energy on a small scale, but the minimum height of the waterfalls
should be 10 metres.

Advantages

Hydel power has several advantages such as:

 It is a clean source of energy.

62
  It provides irrigation facilities.

 It provides drinking water to people living, particularly in desert of Rajasthan and

Gujarat.

 It is absolutely non-polluting, has a long life, and has a very low operating and
maintenance costs.

 Help in controlling floods and making water available during non-rainy seasons for
irrigation and other uses.

Problems

Hydro power site (dam) has major environmental problems:

 The dam sites are specially the forest and agricultural areas and get submerged during
construction.

 It causes water logging and siltation.

 It cause loss of biodiversity and fish population and other aquatic organisms are
adversely affected.

 Displaced local people and create problems of rehabilitation and related socio-
economic problems.

 Increase seismicity due to large volume of water impounded.

4) Tidal Energy: Ocean tides produced by gravitational forces of sun and moon contain
enormous amount of energy. The ‘high tide’ and ‘low tide’ refer to rise and fall of water in
the ocean. A difference of several meters is required between the height of high tide and low
tide to spin the turbines. The tidal energy can be harnessed by constructing a tidal barrage.
During high tide, the sea-water flows into the reservoir of the barrage and turns the turbine,
which in turn produces electricity by rotating the generators. During low tide, when the sea
level is low, the sea water stored in the barrage reservoir flows out into the sea and again
turns the turbine.

5) Ocean Thermal Energy: The energy available due to difference in temperature of water
at the surface of the tropical ocean and at deeper levels is called Ocean Thermal Energy
(OTE). A difference of 20ºC or more is required for operating OTEC (Ocean Thermal Energy
Conversion) power plants. The warm surface water of ocean is used to boil a liquid like
ammonia. High pressure vapours of the liquid formed by boiling are then used to turn the
turbine of a generator and produce electricity. The colder water from the deeper oceans is
pumped to cool and condense the vapours into liquid.

63
 Figure 2.10: OTEC Plant

6) Geothermal Energy: Geothermal energy is the heat from the Earth. It's clean and
sustainable. Resources of geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and
hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth's surface, and down even deeper to the
extremely high temperatures of molten rock called magma. The steam or the hot water comes
out of the ground naturally through cracks in the form of natural geysers. Sometimes the
steam or boiling water underneath the earth does not find any place to come out. We can
artificially drill a hole up to the hot rocks and by putting a pipe in it make the steam or hot
water gush out through the pipe at high pressure which turns the turbines of a generator to
produce electricity.

7) Biomass Energy: We have used biomass energy or bio-energy, the energy from organic
matter for thousands of years, ever since people started burning wood to cook food or to keep
warm. And today, wood is still our largest biomass energy resource. But many other sources
of biomass can now be used, including plants, residues from agriculture or forestry, and the
organic component of municipal and industrial wastes. Even the fumes from landfills can be
used as a biomass energy source. The use of biomass energy has the potential to greatly
reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Biomass generates about the same amount of carbon
dioxide as fossil fuels, but every time a new plant grows, carbon dioxide is actually removed
from the atmosphere. The net emission of carbon dioxide will be zero as long as plants
continue to be replenished for biomass energy purposes. These energy crops, such as fast-
growing trees and grasses, are called biomass feedstocks. The use of biomass feedstocks can
also help increase profits for the agricultural industry.

The burning of plant residues or animal wastes cause air pollution and produce a lot of ash as
waste residue. The burning of dung destroys essential nutrients like Nitrogen and Phosphorus.
It is therefore, more useful to convert the biomass into biogas or bio fuels.

8) Biogas: Biogas is a mixture of methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and hydrogen sulphite,
the major constituents being methane. Biogas is produced by anaerobic degradation of animal
wastes (sometimes plant wastes) in the presence of water. Anaerobic degradation means
breakdown of organic matter by bacteria in the absence of oxygen.

64
Biogas is a non-polluting, clean and low cost fuel which is very useful for rural areas where a
lot of animal waste and agricultural waste are available. There is a direct supply of gas from
the plant and there is no storage problem. The sludge left over is a rich fertilizer containing
bacterial biomass with most of the nutrients preserved as such. Biogas plants used in our
country are basically of two types:

1. Fixed dome type biogas plant:

A fixed-dome plant consists of a digester with a fixed, non-movable gas holder, which sits on
top of the digester. When gas production starts, the slurry is displaced into the compensation
tank. Gas pressure increases with the volume of gas stored and the height difference between
the slurry level in the digester and the slurry level in the compensation tank.

Figure 2.11: Fixed dome type biogas plant

The costs of a fixed-dome biogas plant are relatively low. It is simple as no moving parts
exist. There are also no rusting steel parts and hence a long life of the plant (20 years or
more) can be expected. The plant is constructed underground, protecting it from physical
damage and saving space. While the underground digester is protected from low temperatures
at night and during cold seasons, sunshine and warm seasons take longer to heat up the
digester. No day/night fluctuations of temperature in the digester positively influence the
bacteriological processes.

The construction of fixed dome plants is labor-intensive, thus creating local employment.
Fixed-dome plants are not easy to build. They should only be built where construction can be
supervised by experienced biogas technicians. Otherwise plants may not be gas-tight
(porosity and cracks).

2. Floating-drum type biogas plant:

Floating-drum plants consist of an underground digester and a moving gas-holder. The gas-
holder floats either directly on the fermentation slurry or in a water jacket of its own. The gas
is collected in the gas drum, which rises or moves down, according to the amount of gas

65
stored. The gas drum is prevented from tilting by a guiding frame. If the drum floats in a
water jacket, it cannot get stuck, even in substrate with high solid content.

In the past, floating-drum plants were mainly built in India. A floating-drum plant consists of
a cylindrical or dome-shaped digester and a moving, floating gas-holder, or drum. The gas-
holder floats either directly in the fermenting slurry or in a separate water jacket. The drum in
which the biogas collects has an internal and/or external guide frame that provides stability
and keeps the drum upright. If biogas is produced, the drum moves up, if gas is consumed,
the gas-holder sinks back.

The steel drum is relatively expensive and maintenance-intensive. Removing rust and
painting has to be carried out regularly. The life-time of the drum is short (up to 15 years; in
tropical coastal regions about five years). If fibrous substrates are used, the gas-holder shows
a tendency to get "stuck" in the resultant floating scum.

Figure 2.12: Floating - drum type biogas plant

9) Biofuels: Unlike other renewable energy sources, biomass can be converted directly into
liquid fuels, called "biofuels," to help meet transportation fuel needs. The two most common
types of biofuels in use today are ethanol and biodiesel.

Ethanol is an alcohol, the same as in beer and wine (although ethanol used as a fuel is
modified to make it undrinkable). It is most commonly made by fermenting any biomass high
in carbohydrates through a process similar to beer brewing. Today, ethanol is made from
starches and sugars, but NREL scientists are developing technology to allow it to be made
from cellulose and hemicellulose, the fibrous material that makes up the bulk of most plant
matter.

Ethanol can also be produced by a process called gasification. Gasification systems use high
temperatures and a low-oxygen environment to convert biomass into synthesis gas, a mixture
of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The synthesis gas, or "syngas," can then be chemically
converted into ethanol and other fuels.

66
Ethanol is mostly used as blending agent with gasoline to increase octane and cut down
carbon monoxide and other smog-causing emissions. Some vehicles, called Flexible Fuel
Vehicles, are designed to run on E85, an alternative fuel with much higher ethanol content
than regular gasoline.

Biodiesel is made by combining alcohol (usually methanol) with vegetable oil, animal fat, or
recycled cooking grease. It can be used as an additive (typically 20%) to reduce vehicle
emissions or in its pure form as a renewable alternative fuel for diesel engines.

Research into the production of liquid transportation fuels from microscopic algae, or
microalgae, is re-emerging at NREL. These microorganisms use the sun's energy to combine
carbon dioxide with water to create biomass more efficiently and rapidly than terrestrial
plants. Oil-rich microalgae strains are capable of producing the feedstock for a number of
transportation fuels—biodiesel, "green" diesel and gasoline, and jet fuel—while mitigating
the effects of carbon dioxide released from sources such as power plants.

10) Hydrogen: Hydrogen (H2) is being aggressively explored as a fuel for passenger
vehicles. It can be used in fuel cells to power electric motors or burned in internal combustion
engines (ICEs).

It is an environmentally friendly fuel that has the potential to dramatically reduce our
dependence on imported oil, but several significant challenges must be overcome before it
can be widely used.

Benefits of hydrogen fuel-

1. Produced Domestically: Hydrogen can be produced domestically from several

sources, reducing our dependence on petroleum imports.

2. Environmentally Friendly: Hydrogen produces no air pollutants or greenhouse

gases when used in fuel cells; it produces only nitrogen oxides (NOx) when burned in
ICEs.

Challenges of hydrogen fuel-

1. Fuel Cost & Availability: Hydrogen is currently expensive to produce and is only
available at a handful of locations, mostly in California.

2. Vehicle Cost & Availability: Fuel cell vehicles are currently far too expensive for
most consumers to afford, and they are only available to a few demonstration fleets.

3. Onboard Fuel Storage: Hydrogen contains much less energy than gasoline or diesel
on a per-volume basis, making it difficult for hydrogen vehicles to go as far as
gasoline vehicles between fillups—about 300 miles. Technology is improving, but the
onboard hydrogen storage systems do not yet meet size, weight, and cost goals for
commercialization.

2.5.3 NON-RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES

67
Non – renewable resources which have accumulated in nature over a long span of time and
cannot be quickly replenished when exhausted eg. coal, petroleum, natural gas and nuclear
fuel like uranium and thorium.

1) Coal: Coal is a solid fossil fuel formed in several stages as buried remains of land plants
that lived 300-400 million years ago were subjected to intense heat and pressure over millions
of years. The ancient plants along the bank of rivers and swamps were buried after death into
the soil and due to the heat and pressure gradually got converted into peat and coal over
millions of years of time. There are mainly three types of coal namely anthracite (hard coal),
bituminous (soft coal) and lignite (brown coal). Anthracite coal has maximum carbon (90%)
and calorific value (8700 kcal/kg). Bituminous, lignite and peat contain 80, 70 and 60%
carbon, respectively. Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel in the world.

When coal is burnt it produces carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas responsible for
causing enhanced global warming.

TYPES OF COAL

ANTHRACITE BITUMINOUS LIGNITE

(Hard coal) (Soft Coal) (Brown Coal)

Figure 2.13: Various stages of coal

68
Figure 2.14. Schematic diagram of coal genesis (source: J. C. Macrae, An Introduction to
the study of fuel, Elsevier Publishing Company, 1966)

69
 Figure 2.15: Schematic representation of the processes taking place in a power plant

2) Petroleum

Petroleum is oily, flammable, thick dark brown or greenish liquid that occurs naturally in
deposits, usually beneath the surface of the earth; it is also called as crude oil. Petroleum
means rock oil, (Petra – rock, elaion – oil, Greek and oleum – oil, Latin), the name inherited
for its discovery from the sedimentary rocks. It is used mostly for producing fuel oil, which is
the primary energy source today. Petroleum is also the raw material for many chemical
products, including solvents, fertilizers, pesticides and plastics. For its high demand in our
day-to-day life, it is also called as ‘black gold’.

Oil in general has been used since early human history to keep fires ablaze, and also for
warfare. Its importance in the world economy evolved slowly. Wood and coal were used to
heat and cook, while whale oil was used for lighting. Whale oil however, produced a black,
smelly, thick liquid known as tar or rock oil and was seen as a substance to avoid.

When the whaling industry hunted the sperm whale almost to extinction and the industrial
revolution needed a fuel to run generators and engines, a new source of energy was needed.
In the search for new products, it was discovered that, from crude oil or petroleum, kerosene
could be extracted and used as a light and heating fuel. Petroleum was in great demand by the
end of the 1800’s, forcing the creation of the petroleum industry.

Petroleum is often considered the lifeblood of nearly all other industry. For its high energy
content and ease of use, petroleum remains as the primary energy source.

70
 Table 2.2: Energy density of different fossil fuels
Fuel Energy Density
Petroleum or Crude oil 45 MJ/Kg
Coal 24 MJ/Kg
3
Natural Gas 34 – 38 MJ/m

Large deposits of petroleum have been found in widely different parts of the world and their
chemical composition varies greatly. Consequently the elemental compositions of petroleum
vary greatly from crude oil to crude oil. It is not surprising that the composition varies, since
the local distribution of plant, animal and marine life is quite varied and presumably was
similarly varied when the petroleum precursors formed. Furthermore, the geological history
of each deposit is different and allows for varying chemistry to have occurred as the organic
matter originally deposited matured into petroleum.

Table 2.3: Overall tank Composition of Petroleum

Element Percentage composition
Carbon 83.0-87.0
Hydrogen 10.0-14.0
Nitrogen 0.1-2.0
Sulphur 0.05-6.0
Oxygen 0.05-1.5

Figure 2.16: Schematic diagram of the distillation of crude oil

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG): LPG is manufactured during the refining of crude oil, or
extracted from oil or gas streams as they emerge from the ground. Liquefied petroleum gas
(also called liquefied petroleum gas, liquid petroleum gas, LPG, LP Gas, or auto gas) is a
mixture of hydrocarbon gases used as a fuel in cooking, heating appliances, vehicles, and

71
increasingly replacing fluorocarbons as an aerosol propellant and a refrigerant to reduce
damage to the ozone layer. Varieties of LPG bought and sold include mixes that are
primarily propane, mixes that are primarily butane, and mixes including both propane and
butane, depending on the season. Propylene and butylenes are usually also present in small
concentrations. A powerful odorant, ethane thiol, is added so that leaks can be detected
easily.

At normal temperatures and pressures, LPG will evaporate. Because of this, LPG is supplied
in pressurized steel bottles. In order to allow for thermal expansion of the contained liquid,
these bottles should not be filled completely; typically, they are filled to between 80% and
85% of their capacity.

3) Natural Gas:

Natural gas has emerged as promising fuel due to its environment friendly nature, efficiency,
and cost effectiveness. Natural gas is considered to be most eco-friendly fuel based on
available information. Economically natural gas is more efficient since only 10 % of the
produced gas wasted before consumption and it does not need to be generated from other
fuels. Moreover natural gas is used in its normal state. Natural gas has high heat content of
about 1000 to 11000 Btu per Scf for pipeline quality gas and it has high flame temperature.
Natural gas is easy to handle and convenient to use and energy equivalent basis, it has been
price controlled below its competitor oil. It is also suitable chemical feedstock for
petrochemical industry. Hence natural gas can substitute oil in both sectors namely fuels
(industry and domestic) and chemicals (fertilizer petrochemicals and organic chemicals).

Table 2.4: All India Region-wise & Sector-wise Gas Supply by GAIL - (2003-04) in
(MMSCMD)

Natural gas was formed from the remains of tiny sea animals and plants that died 200-400
million years ago. Natural gas is a mixture of light hydrocarbons including methane, ethane,
propane, butanes and pentanes. Other compounds found in natural gas include CO 2, helium,
hydrogen sulphide and nitrogen. The composition of natural gas is never constant, however,
the primary component of natural gas is methane (typically, at least 90%). Methane is highly
flammable, burns easily and almost completely. It emits very little air pollution. Natural gas

72
is neither corrosive nor toxic, its ignition temperature is high, and it has a narrow
flammability range, making it an inherently safe fossil fuel compared to other fuel sources. In
addition, because of its specific gravity (0.60), lower than that of air (1.00), natural gas rises
if escaping, thus dissipating from the site of any leak.

Natural gas can be used as a fuel in two ways:

1) Compressed natural gas (CNG), which is the most common form, and as liquefied
natural gas. Cars using natural gas are estimated to emit 20% less greenhouse gases
than gasoline or diesel cars. In many countries NGVs are introduced to replace buses,
taxis and other public vehicle fleets. Natural gas in vehicles is inexpensive and
convenient.

2) Fuel cells: Natural gas is one of the multiple fuels on which fuel cells can operate.
Fuel cells are becoming an increasingly important technology for the generation of
electricity. They are like rechargeable batteries, except instead of using an electric
recharger; they use a fuel, such as natural gas, to generate electric power even when
they are in use. Fuel cells for distributed generation systems offer a multitude of
benefits, and are an exciting area of innovation and research for distributed generation
applications.

Figure 2.17: The flow diagram for commercial use of natural gas

4) Nuclear Energy:

Nuclear energy is known for its high destructive power as evidenced from nuclear weapons.
The nuclear energy can also be harnessed for providing commercial energy. The nuclear
energy can also be harnessed for proving commercial energy. Nuclear energy can be
generated by two types of reaction.

73
(i) Nuclear Fission: it is the nuclear change in which nucleus of certain isotopes with
large mass number are split into lighter nuclei on bombardment by neutrons and a
large amount of energy is released through a chain reaction. Nuclear reactors make
use of nuclear chain reaction. In order to control the rate of fission, only 1 neutron
released is allowed to strike for splitting another nucleus. Uranium – 235 nuclei are
most commonly used in nuclear reactors.

92U
235
+ 0n1  36Kr92 +56Ba141 +3 0n1 +Energy

Figure 2.18: Nuclear Fission

(ii) Nuclear Fusion: If light nuclei are forced together, they will fuse with a yield of
energy because the mass of the combination will be less than the sum of the masses of
the individual nuclei. If the combined nuclear mass is less than that of iron at the peak
of the binding energy curve, then the nuclear particles will be more tightly bound than
they were in the lighter nuclei, and that decrease in mass comes off in the form of
energy according to the Einstein relationship. For elements heavier than
iron, fission will yield energy. For potential nuclear energy sources for the Earth,
the deuterium-tritium fusion reaction contained by some kind of magnetic
confinement seems the most likely path. However, for the fueling of the stars, other
fusion reactions will dominate.

1H
2
+ 1H2  3He2 +0n1 + Energy

Figure 2.19: Nuclear Fusion

74
Nuclear energy has tremendous potential but any leakage from the reactor may cause
devastating nuclear pollution. Disposal of the nuclear waste is also a big problem. Nuclear
power in India is still not very well developed. There are four nuclear power stations with an
installed capacity of 2005 MW.

The advantages and disadvantages of using nuclear power are given in Table 2.3.

Table 2.5 Advantages and Disadvantages of nuclear energy

Advantages Disadvantages

Nuclear power costs about the same as Although not much waste is produced, it is
coal, so it’s not expensive to make. dangerous. It must be sealed up and buried for
many years to allow the radioactivity to die
away

Does not produce smoke or carbon Nuclear power is reliable, but a lot of money
dioxide, so it does not contribute to has to be spent on safety – if it does go wrong, a
greenhouse effect. nuclear accident can be a major disaster

Produces huge amounts of energy from

small amounts of fuel.

Produces small amounts of waste

Nuclear power is reliable

2.6 FOOD RESOURCES

We have thousands of edible plants and animals over the world out of which only about three
dozen types constitute the major food of humans.

2.6.1 TYPES OF FOOD RESOURCES

There are three major resources of human food supply: agricultural crops, livestock and fish.

1) Agricultural Crops: All cereals, wheat, maize, rice, barley, pulses, etc. fruits and
vegetables are important sources of food. Rice, wheat and maize are the major grains,
about 1500 million metric tons of which are grown each year, which is about half of
all the agricultural crops. Most of the world’s food is provided by 20 crop species
including wheat, rice, corn, potato, bananas, coconuts etc.

2) Livestock: Livestock are the by-products of animal’s metabolic activities. Milk is

obtained from cattle. Similarly food items such as meat, eggs, honey, etc are obtained
from animals. In addition, a number of bird species such as chicken are also used as
food material globally.

75
 3) Fish: A major part of the world’s populations depends on fish as food source other
aquatic organisms such as crabs, prawns, shrimps etc. are also eaten. Artificial
production of these may be done in aquaculture and marine culture.

2.6.2 WORLD FOOD PROBLEMS

There is a wide gap between developing and developed countries with regards to the
production of food. In spite of several efforts many countries of the world are still facing
acute problems of food shortage and starvation. Some of the important problems related to
the food resources are:

1. Natural catastrophes (droughts, heavy rain and flooding, crop failures): Hurricanes,
floods, land or mudslides, volcanic eruptions, and sea surges directly influence food
availability as well as in the survival of livestock. Standing crops may be completely
destroyed, and seed stores and family food supply may be lost, especially if there is o
warning period. Volcanic eruptions can cause widespread crop destruction: food crops may
be burned, defoliated, and buried under ash-fall; reduced photosynthesis resulting from ash
clouds limits subsequent production.

2. Environmental degradation (soil erosion and inadequate water resources):

Environmental degradation due to unsustainable human practices and activities endangers the
entire production platform of the planet. Land degradation and conversion of cropland for
non-food production including bio-fuels, cotton and others are major threats that could shrink
the available cropland. Species infestation of pathogens, weeds and insects, combined with
water scarcity from overuse and the melting of Himalayan glaciers, soil erosion and depletion
as well as climate change may reduce current yields.

3. Food supply and demand imbalances: The basic cause of food crisis can be attributed to
supply and demand imbalance. It is in turn due to a “production crisis” coupled with
increasing material demand and purchasing power in recent years. Specifically, these include
the strong combination of effects arising from low food stocks and climate change and
growing demand for some food products, linked with population and income growth,
urbanization, and changing diets in urban centres. Demographic pressures have indeed been
increasing while harvests have been declining. In the case of India for instance, it is estimated
that per capita production of cereals and pulses has declined considerably.

4. Inadequate food reserves: Food inadequacy exists when people are undernourished as a
result of the physical unavailability of food, their lack of social or economic access to
adequate food, and / or inadequate food use.

5. Warfare and civil disturbances: The agriculture requires numerous things in order to
thrive. Farmland must be productive and relatively undisturbed by human activities. A local
workforce must be available for either traditional manual sowing and harvesting, or to
operate modern equipment that accomplishes those tasks. There must be a market for the
goods produced, whether it is a local farmer’s market or the international commodities
market. Warfare can have a shocking impact on these aspects. It can have direct impacts as

76
farmers are driven off the land, or recruited into the conflict as soldiers. In other areas, farm
fields may be laden with land mines, which can make fields unstable even years after
conflicts end. Conflict can also have indirect effects as international cooperation breaks down
to prevent epidemic or conflict prevents the transportation of foodstuffs. Sometimes famine
becomes a weapon of war to punish an enemy population.

6. Migration refugees: Population migration affects food production and the nutritional well
being of citizens. Migration may be seasonal or permanent, but either way it often causes the
major burden on farming, while the demand for additional food to provide for the city
dwellers continually increases.

7. Declining ecological conditions in agricultural regions: Demographic and

environmental pressures such as population growth, deforestation, and soil erosion, reduce
the agricultural productivity of the land. As rural incomes are closely related to the
productivity of the land, decreasing productivity increases poverty Land scarcity and
degradation threatens the ability of food production to keep pace with population growth.

8. Excessive population growth: Population growth directly affects needs and forces many
farm families into marginal areas where conservation practices are essential. Such area
includes cleared forest soils of fragile structure, steeply sloping lands and dry land areas with
limited rainfall. In addition, the increased demand for fuel wood for cooking may leave
marginal lands permanently denuded of soil cover and subject to erosion. Such loss of
productivity in the resource base inevitably reduces food supplies and increases food
insecurity and nutritional stress. Reduction in the availability of fuel or time for cooking (as
women have to walk further to gather wood) could also result in preparation of fewer cooked
meals or inadequate reheating of foods, thus decreasing food consumption by children and
increasing the risk of microbial contamination of food.

9. Pollution: To survive humans need food. Healthy food needs a healthy ecosystem balance
within an unpolluted air, water and soil system. Soil and water pollutants that adversely affect
agriculture include sediment, out of place plant nutrients, inorganic salts and minerals,
organic waste, infectious agents, industrial and agricultural chemicals and heat. Air pollutants
cause injury to agricultural crops when present in high concentrations. Injury ranges from
visible marking on the foliage, to reduce growth and yield, to premature death of the plant.

10. Economic causes: When global community as a whole faces financial crisis. Countries
exporting agricultural commodities are affected by the global recession. The impact of global
financial crisis creates fall in agricultural commodity prices. The financial crisis also causes
less export demand which in turn, creates unfavourable environment for procedures. Under
such circumstances, farmer reduce the area under cultivation, use lesser amount of farm
inputs especially chemicals which generally are not affordable by resource – poor farmers
and thus eventually cause negative effect on overall food production and national food
security.

77
2.6.3 IMPACTS OF OVERGRAZING AND AGRICULTURE

Efforts to increase food production have several side effects.

(A) OVERGRAZING: Livestock wealth plays a crucial role in the rural life of our
country. India leads in livestock population in the world. The huge population of
livestock needs to be fed and the grazing lands or pasture areas are not adequate. Very
often we find that the livestock grazing on a particular piece of grassland or pasture
surpass the carrying capacity. Following are the impacts of overgrazing.

IMPACTS OF OVERGRAZING

Land Degradation Soil Erosion Loss of Useful Species

(i) Land Degradation: Overgrazing removes the vegetal cover over the soil and the
exposed soil gets compacted due to which the operative soil depth declines. So the roots
cannot go much deep into the soil and adequate soil moisture is not available. Organic
recycling also declines in the ecosystem because not enough detritus or litter remains
on the soil to be decomposed. The humus content of the soil decreases and overgrazing
leads to organically poor, dry, compacted soil. Due to trampling by cattle the soil loses
infiltration capacity, which reduces percolation of water into the soil and as a result of
this more water gets lost from the ecosystem along with surface run off. Thus
overgrazing leads to multiple actions resulting in loss of soil structure, hydraulic
conductivity and soil fertility.

(ii) Soil Erosion: Due to overgrazing by cattle, the cover of vegetation almost gets
removed from the land. The soil becomes exposed and gets eroded by the action of
strong wind, rainfall etc. the grass roots are very good binders of soil. When the grasses
are removed, the soil becomes loose and susceptible to the action of wind and water.

(iii) Loss of useful species: Overgrazing adversely affects the composition of plant
population and their regeneration capacity. The original grassland consists of good
quality grasses and herbs with high nutritive value. When the livestock graze upon
them heavily, even the root stocks which carry the reserve food or regeneration get
destroyed. Now some other species appear in their place. These secondary species are
hardier and are less nutritive in nature. Some livestock keep on overgrazing these
species also.

(B) AGRICULTURE: The type of agriculture practiced these days is very different from
the traditional ones and their outputs in the terms of yield as well as their impacts on the
environment show lots of differences.

IMPACTS OF AGRICULTURE

78
 Traditional Agriculture Modern Agriculture

 Deforestation  High yielding varieties

 Soil erosion  Fertilizers
 Depletion of nutrients  Pesticides
 Improper Irrigation
Practices

(i) Traditional Agriculture and its Impacts: the main impacts of this type of agriculture are
as follows:

Deforestation – The slash and burn of trees in forests to clear the land for cultivation and
frequent shifting result in loss of forest cover.

Soil erosion – Clearing of forest cover exposes the soil to wind, rain and storms, thereby
resulting in loss of top fertile layer of soil.

Depletion of nutrients – During slash and burn the organic matter in the soil get
destroyed and most of the nutrients are taken up by the crops within a short period, thus
making the soil nutrient poor which makes the cultivators shift to another area.

(ii) Modern Agriculture and its impacts: Modern agriculture gave rise to several
problematic off-shoots as discussed:

- Impacts related to high yielding varieties (HYV)

The uses of HYVs encourage monoculture i.e. the same genotype is grown over vast areas.
In case of an attack by some pathogen, there is total devastation of the crop by the disease
due to exactly uniform conditions, which help in rapid spread of the disease.

 Monoculture wipes out natural variability, destroys the diversity and replaces it with a
single cultivar or genetically similar crop.

 In monoculture there is a massive range of genetically identical plants, against wild

pests, which include fungi, bacteria, insects and numerous other organisms.
Monocultures are particularly susceptible to disease because a pathogen that can
infect one plant will be able to infect the whole field, leading to an epidemic. For
instance, the Irish potato famine of the 1840s was due mainly to the crop’s
susceptibility to a particular mould.

 Because monoculture farming requires ever increasing levels of chemical inputs, the
negative impacts on the environment also increase continuously.

 Uniform cultivars are able to better use available light and space, but also drain soil
nutrients more.

79
  Continuously growing the same crop tends to exploit the same soil root zone which
can lead to a decrease in available nutrient for plant growth and to a decrease in root
development.

- Fertilizer related problems

1) Micronutrient imbalance: Chemical fertilizers have nitrogen, phosphorus and

potassium (N, P and K) which are essential macronutrients. Excessive use of
fertilizers cause micronutrient imbalance. For example, excessive fertilizer use in
Punjab and Haryana has caused deficiency of the micronutrient Zinc in the soils,
which is affecting productivity of the soil.

2) Nitrate Pollution: Nitrogenous fertilizers applied in the fields often leach deep into
the soil and ultimately contaminate the ground water. The nitrates get concentrated in
the water and when their concentration exceeds 25 mg/L, they become the cause of a
serious health hazard called "Blue Baby Syndrome" or methaenoglobinemia. This
disease affects the infants to the maximum extent causing even death.

3) Eutrophication: A large proportion of nitrogen and phosphorus used in crop fields is

washed off along with runoff water and reach the water bodies causing over
nourishment of the lakes, a process known as Eutrophication. (Eu=more,
tropic=nutrition). Due to Eutrophication the lakes get invaded by algal blooms. These
algal species grow very fast by rapidly using up the nutrients. The algal species
quickly complete their life cycle and die thereby adding a lot of dead matter. The
fishes are also killed and there is lot of dead matter that starts getting decomposed.
Oxygen is consumed in the process of decomposition and very soon the water gets
depleted of dissolved oxygen. This further affects aquatic fauna and ultimately
anaerobic conditions are created where only pathogenic anaerobic bacteria can
survive. Thus, due to excessive use of fertilizers in the agricultural fields the lake
ecosystem gets degraded.

- Pesticide related problems

Thousands of types of pesticides are used in agriculture. The first generation pesticides
include chemicals like sulphur, arsenic, lead or mercury to kill the pests. They have number
of side effects as discussed below:

1) Creating resistance in pests and producing new pests: About 20 species of pests
are now known which have become immune to all types of pesticides and are known
as "Super pests".

2) Death of non-target organisms: Many insecticides not only kill the target species but
also several non-target species that are useful to us.

3) Biological magnification: Many of the pesticides are non-biodegradable and keep on

accumulating in the food chain, a process called biological magnification. This is very
harmful.

80
- Improper Irrigation Practices

Salinity from irrigation can occur over time wherever irrigation occurs; since almost all water
(even natural rainfall) contains some dissolved salts. When the plants use the water, the salts
are eft behind in the soil and eventually begin to accumulate. Excess of irrigation, in the
absence of leaching, can bring salts to the surface. The salts from the groundwater are raised
by capillary action to the surface of the soil.

Irrigation salinity occurs due to increased rates of seepage and groundwater recharge causing
the water table to rise. Growing water tables can transport salts into the plant root zone which
affects both plant development and soil structure. The salt remains behind in the soil when
water is taken up by plants or lost to evaporation. In efficient irrigation and drainage systems
are a major cause of excess leakage and increase the risk of salinity and water logging in
irrigation areas.

As salts build up in saline release areas they can reach levels that affect plants in a following
ways:

 Under normal conditions, plants readily obtain water from the soil by osmosis
(movement of water from a lower salt concentration outside the plant to a higher salt
concentration in the plant). As soil salinity increases this balance shifts making it
more difficult for plants to extract water.

 Plant growth can be directly affected by high levels of toxic ions such as sodium and
chloride. Excess sodium accumulation in leaves can cause leaf burn, necrotic (dead)
patches and even defoliation.

 An excess of some salts can cause an imbalance in the ideal ratio of salts in solution
and reduce the ability of plants to take up nutrients.

 Waterlogging aggravates the effect of salinity. Waterlogged plant roots are unable to
exclude sodium and chloride due to the increased rates of transport of these ions, and
concentrations in the plant shoot increase. Poor aeration also affects soil biology
responsible for responsible for converting nutrients to their plant available form,
causing nutrient deficiencies.

2.7 ROLE OF AN INDIVIDUAL IN CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Already we know that natural resources are exhausting rapidly, we must

conserve for future generation. So it’s a duty of individual to conserve natural resources.

2.7.1 MEASURES OF CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES:

1. Conservation of energy:

 Switch off lights, fans and other appliances when not in use.

81
  Use solar heater for cooking your food on sunny days, which will cut down your LPG
expenses.

 Grow trees near the houses and get a cool breeze and shade .this will cut off your
electricity charges on air conditioners and coolers.

 Use always pressure cooker.

2. Conservation of water:

 Use minimum amount of water for all domestic purposes.

 Check for water leaks in pipes and toilets and repair them promptly.

 Reuse the soapy water, after washing clothes, for washing off the courtyards, drive
ways, etc..,

 Built rainwater harvesting system in your house.

3. Conservation of soil:

 Grow different types of plants, herbs, trees and grass in your garden and open areas,
which bind the soil and prevent erosion.

 Don't use more fertilizer and pesticides.

 Use nature manure to the crops.

 While constructing the house don't uproot the trees as far as possible.

 Use mixed cropping, so that some specific soil nutrients will not get depleted.

4. Conservation of food resources:

 Don’t wastes the food instead gives it to someone before getting spoiled.

 Cook only required amount of the food.

 Store the food resources for the future use.

5. Conservation of forest:

 Use non-timber products.

 Plant more trees and protect them.

 Over grassing must be controlled.

 Minimise the use of papers and fuel wood.

82
 Avoid of executing developmental works like dam, road and industrial constructions
in forest areas.

83