ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
When the environment becomes less valuable or damaged, environmental degradation is said to occur. There are many forms of environmental degradation. When habitats are destroyed, biodiversity is lost, or natural resources are depleted, the environment is hurt. Environmental degradation can occur naturally, or through human processes. The largest areas of concern at present are the loss of rain forests, air pollution and smog, ozone depletion, and the destruction of the marine environment. Pollution is occurring all over the world and poisoning the planet's oceans. Even in remote areas, the effects of marine degradation are obvious. In some areas, the natural environment has been exposed to hazardous waste. In other places, major disasters such as oil spills have ruined the local environment.
CFCs, or chlorofluorocarbons, are the primary cause of ozone depletion. When industrial processes release these chemicals, they rise into the stratosphere and degrade the ozone. Acid rain, smog and poor air quality have been the result of air pollution. Both industrial operations and automobiles have released gigantic amounts of emissions that have intensified these problems. Deforestation and the logging industry have destroyed many tropical rain forests around the world. This has destroyed many natural habitats, and the plants and animals native to the areas.
BACKGROUND OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
1. United nations Conference on Human Environment (1972)
2. Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (1985)
3. Earth Summit (1992) Rio de Janeiro
4. Montreal Protocol (1995)
5. Kyoto Protocol (1997)
6. United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (2005)
FACTORS OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
Environmental degradation is a result of the dynamic inters play of socio-economic, institutional and technological activities. Environmental changes may be driven by many factors including economic growth, population growth, urbanization, intensification of agriculture, rising energy use and transportation. Poverty still remains a problem at the root of several environmental problems. Some of major factors are given as under,
1. Deforestation
2. Energy Security
3. Over-Population
4. Malnutrition
5. Depletion of Ozone Layer
6. Overuse of Resources
7. Pollution
8. Global Warming
9. Unplanned Development
10. Waste Mismanagement
11. Lack of Environmental Legislation
12. Release of Methane in Arctic
13. Emission of Greenhouse Gases
14. Unequal Distribution of Resources
15. Lack of Climate Monitoring Capability
IMPACTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
The environmental crisis affects everyone on the planet, but the degree to which the inhabitants of different parts of the world contribute to this crisis depends on the level of their economic development and their consumption patterns. As much as 70% of the world's consumption of fossil fuel and 85% of chemical products is attributable to 25% of the world's population. Water consumption is also unevenly distributed. The per caput water consumption in the United States is about 2 300 m³ per annum, as compared to 1 500 m³ for the Canadians and 225 m³ for the British. The average per caput consumption of water in developing countries ranges between 20 to 40 m³. The consumption patterns for forest products and many other commodities have the same direct inverse proportion to the size of population of the top 20% of the richest societies. This profligate demand puts excessive pressure on both national and global natural resources. The rest of the world, comprising 80% of its population with a share of less than 20% of global income, has a far more modest consumption level.
While international environmental concerns are often expressed in broad terms such a desertification or climatic change, the environmental problems of concern to vulnerable groups in marginal areas are generally quite localized in nature, revolving around immediate issues, such as the degradation of a particular rangeland or soil erosion on farmland or the progressive shortening of fallow. These affect the poor because they are directly related to household food security.
Degradation of the resource base generally translates into decreases in production or income and thus in the availability of food. Declining soil fertility leads to lower crop yields while rangeland depletion reduces off-take, and any deterioration in water quality adversely affects the fish catch. Degradation of common property resources pulls labor away from directly productive activities towards gathering - simply collecting non-wood and minor forest products - and probably diminishes opportunities for deriving income from this source. Linkages with food security can also be less direct. Shortages of biomass may result in a transition to lower-nutrition foods that require less fuel for cooking. In addition, recurrent drought or natural calamities also directly result in progressive loss of food security prospects.
1. Domestic Instability
2. Problem of International Refugees
3. Abrupt Environmental Changes
4. Fickle Behavior of Weather
5. Eradication of Habitat & Species Extinction
6. Rise in the Sea Level
7. Scarcity of Portable Drinking Water
8. Global Warming
9. Acid Rain
10. Desertification
11. Acute Diseases
12. Deterioration of Land & Soil
13. Dearth of Resources
14. Environmental Racism
15. Reduction in Economic Opportunities
REMEDIES OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
Over the past two decades, environmental degradation, including land degradation has continued to worsen exacerbating further poverty and food insecurity. Conversely, awareness of the importance of the environment and its conservation has increased. There has been a transformation in people's perception of the poverty problem in developing countries. If one accepts that hard core rural poverty is increasingly a phenomenon associated with marginal lands, then new strategies are required that integrate poverty alleviation and environmental management. Until recently, the international community and national governments have tended not to appreciate the need for integrated rural poverty alleviation and environmental management programmes in marginal areas.
There were a number of promising initiatives in this field, usually undertaken by NGOs and community- based organizations, but they were usually small and much localized. At the same time, in many regions, rural people's perceptions of their environment and the priority they give to a better relationship with it have changed. Increasingly, rural people are realizing that: (a) the fragile environment on which they depend for their survival is being neglected or over- exploited, and it is now necessary to rehabilitate it and manage it sustainably; and (b) the environment belongs primarily to them, and they must take the responsibility for the land and organize themselves in groups, cooperatives, village development associations and other local association to defend it. Some of steps are,
1. Rehabilitation of degraded land
2. Change in Institutional Arrangements
3. Reforestation Programs
4. Renewable Energy Resources
5. Creating Mass Awareness
6. Environmental Knowledge in Syllabus
7. Regional Feedback Mechanisms
8. Formulation of Regional Legal Framework
9. Transformation of Science & Technology
10. Waste Management
11. Reduction of Emission of Greenhouse Gases
12. Role of Regional & International Organizations
13. Role of Electronic & Print Media
14. Pro-environment Developmental Policies
15. Geo-Engineering Techniques
16. Injunction of Sulphur Dioxide into Stratosphere (Paul Curtzon)
When the environment becomes less valuable or damaged, environmental degradation is said to occur. There are many forms of environmental degradation. When habitats are destroyed, biodiversity is lost, or natural resources are depleted, the environment is hurt. Environmental degradation can occur naturally, or through human processes. The largest areas of concern at present are the loss of rain forests, air pollution and smog, ozone depletion, and the destruction of the marine environment. Pollution is occurring all over the world and poisoning the planet's oceans. Even in remote areas, the effects of marine degradation are obvious. In some areas, the natural environment has been exposed to hazardous waste. In other places, major disasters such as oil spills have ruined the local environment.
CFCs, or chlorofluorocarbons, are the primary cause of ozone depletion. When industrial processes release these chemicals, they rise into the stratosphere and degrade the ozone. Acid rain, smog and poor air quality have been the result of air pollution. Both industrial operations and automobiles have released gigantic amounts of emissions that have intensified these problems. Deforestation and the logging industry have destroyed many tropical rain forests around the world. This has destroyed many natural habitats, and the plants and animals native to the areas.
BACKGROUND OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
1. United nations Conference on Human Environment (1972)
2. Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (1985)
3. Earth Summit (1992) Rio de Janeiro
4. Montreal Protocol (1995)
5. Kyoto Protocol (1997)
6. United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (2005)
FACTORS OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
Environmental degradation is a result of the dynamic inters play of socio-economic, institutional and technological activities. Environmental changes may be driven by many factors including economic growth, population growth, urbanization, intensification of agriculture, rising energy use and transportation. Poverty still remains a problem at the root of several environmental problems. Some of major factors are given as under,
1. Deforestation
2. Energy Security
3. Over-Population
4. Malnutrition
5. Depletion of Ozone Layer6. Overuse of Resources
7. Pollution
8. Global Warming
9. Unplanned Development
10. Waste Mismanagement
11. Lack of Environmental Legislation
12. Release of Methane in Arctic
13. Emission of Greenhouse Gases
14. Unequal Distribution of Resources
15. Lack of Climate Monitoring Capability
IMPACTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
The environmental crisis affects everyone on the planet, but the degree to which the inhabitants of different parts of the world contribute to this crisis depends on the level of their economic development and their consumption patterns. As much as 70% of the world's consumption of fossil fuel and 85% of chemical products is attributable to 25% of the world's population. Water consumption is also unevenly distributed. The per caput water consumption in the United States is about 2 300 m³ per annum, as compared to 1 500 m³ for the Canadians and 225 m³ for the British. The average per caput consumption of water in developing countries ranges between 20 to 40 m³. The consumption patterns for forest products and many other commodities have the same direct inverse proportion to the size of population of the top 20% of the richest societies. This profligate demand puts excessive pressure on both national and global natural resources. The rest of the world, comprising 80% of its population with a share of less than 20% of global income, has a far more modest consumption level.
While international environmental concerns are often expressed in broad terms such a desertification or climatic change, the environmental problems of concern to vulnerable groups in marginal areas are generally quite localized in nature, revolving around immediate issues, such as the degradation of a particular rangeland or soil erosion on farmland or the progressive shortening of fallow. These affect the poor because they are directly related to household food security.
Degradation of the resource base generally translates into decreases in production or income and thus in the availability of food. Declining soil fertility leads to lower crop yields while rangeland depletion reduces off-take, and any deterioration in water quality adversely affects the fish catch. Degradation of common property resources pulls labor away from directly productive activities towards gathering - simply collecting non-wood and minor forest products - and probably diminishes opportunities for deriving income from this source. Linkages with food security can also be less direct. Shortages of biomass may result in a transition to lower-nutrition foods that require less fuel for cooking. In addition, recurrent drought or natural calamities also directly result in progressive loss of food security prospects.1. Domestic Instability
2. Problem of International Refugees
3. Abrupt Environmental Changes
4. Fickle Behavior of Weather
5. Eradication of Habitat & Species Extinction
6. Rise in the Sea Level
7. Scarcity of Portable Drinking Water
8. Global Warming
9. Acid Rain
10. Desertification
11. Acute Diseases
12. Deterioration of Land & Soil
13. Dearth of Resources
14. Environmental Racism
15. Reduction in Economic Opportunities
REMEDIES OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
Over the past two decades, environmental degradation, including land degradation has continued to worsen exacerbating further poverty and food insecurity. Conversely, awareness of the importance of the environment and its conservation has increased. There has been a transformation in people's perception of the poverty problem in developing countries. If one accepts that hard core rural poverty is increasingly a phenomenon associated with marginal lands, then new strategies are required that integrate poverty alleviation and environmental management. Until recently, the international community and national governments have tended not to appreciate the need for integrated rural poverty alleviation and environmental management programmes in marginal areas.
There were a number of promising initiatives in this field, usually undertaken by NGOs and community- based organizations, but they were usually small and much localized. At the same time, in many regions, rural people's perceptions of their environment and the priority they give to a better relationship with it have changed. Increasingly, rural people are realizing that: (a) the fragile environment on which they depend for their survival is being neglected or over- exploited, and it is now necessary to rehabilitate it and manage it sustainably; and (b) the environment belongs primarily to them, and they must take the responsibility for the land and organize themselves in groups, cooperatives, village development associations and other local association to defend it. Some of steps are,1. Rehabilitation of degraded land
2. Change in Institutional Arrangements
3. Reforestation Programs
4. Renewable Energy Resources
5. Creating Mass Awareness
6. Environmental Knowledge in Syllabus
7. Regional Feedback Mechanisms
8. Formulation of Regional Legal Framework
9. Transformation of Science & Technology
10. Waste Management
11. Reduction of Emission of Greenhouse Gases
12. Role of Regional & International Organizations
13. Role of Electronic & Print Media
14. Pro-environment Developmental Policies
15. Geo-Engineering Techniques
16. Injunction of Sulphur Dioxide into Stratosphere (Paul Curtzon)
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