Social Issues and Environment

By
Mrs. Vaibhavi H. Apte

Introduction
We live in a natural as well as social
world
Development cannot be of only the rich
nor it means only high living standards.
Also not just ECONOMIC development
It has to be a holistic approach.

Does development lead to

environmental problems?
YES
Socialaspects,developmentandenvironmenthaveastrong
relation.
Development aims at improving global economy
and standard of living yet leads to environmental
degradation
Major factor is Unsustainable Resource Use And
Unsustainable Growth Practices

From Unsustainable to
Sustainable
G.H Bruntland, (Norwegian Prime Minister and Director of World Health Organisation) :
meeting the needs of present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs

Current status
Until now development has been human oriented.
We have touched greatest heights of scientific and
technological developments.
At WHAT COST????
Everyone talks and walks sustainability
Earth Summit in Rio de Janerio in 1992 (United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development - UNCED)

Many programmes have been initiated.

Agenda- 21 proposed

Key aspects of Sustainable

development
Inter- generational equity

Stop overuse
Reduce Impacts
Maintain ecological balance
Hand over a safe, healthy and resourceful
environment to our future generations

Intra-generational equity
Minimize gap between and within nations
Support economic growth of poorer countries
Provide technological help

Measures for Sustainable

development
Using appropriate technology: concept of Design with nature
3-R approach: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
(Minimization of resource use, use again and process to get new product
from same material)

Promoting environmental awareness and education

Resource utilization as per carrying capacity.
Improving quality of life including social, cultural and
economic dimensions

Indian Scenario
tremendous population and natural diversity
makes planning sustainably all the more important but
complex.
National Council of Environmental Planning and
Coordination set up in 1972.
Ministry of Environment and Forests set up in 1985 has
formulated guidelines keeping in view SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
.

Social Issues

Urban problems related to ENERGY

WATER CONSERVATION
Resettlement and Rehabilitation issues
Climate Change
Global Warming
Acid Rain and Ozone layer Depletion
Nuclear Accidents and Holocaust
Wasteland Reclamation
Consumerism and waste products

1. Urban problems related to energy

Cities are the main centers of economic growth,
trade, education, employment
Now 50% population lives in Urban areas
Urban sprawl
Difficult to accommodate
Uncontrollable and unplanned growth
Densely populated, consume more resources,
NEED MORE ENERGY

Energy demanding activities

Residential and Commercial lighting- Malls, offices,
hotels.
Private and Public transport.
Modern life style: electronic gadgets.
Industries
Waste disposal
Prevention and Control of pollution

Effects
Unequal distribution of energy
Power cuts and load shedding
Demand energy from other states
Overall society suffers
Economic development hampered.

2. Water Conservation
Water is a vital resource.
Majority of water resources
are polluted heavily
Its amount is limited for use
So conservation is Extremely important

Water conservationrefers to reducing the

usage of water and recycling of waste water for
different purposes such as cleaning,
manufacturing, and agricultural irrigation.

Actions
Some researchers have suggested that water conservation efforts
should be primarily directed at farmers, in light of the fact that
crop irrigation accounts for 70% of the world's fresh water use.
Drip irrigation instead of sprinkle irrigation.
Common strategies include: public outreach campaigns, tiered
water rates (charging progressively higher prices as water use
increases), or restrictions on outdoor water use such as lawn
watering and car washing.
100s of ways to conserve water

Rain Water Harvesting

Introduction
In urban areas, the construction of houses, footpaths and roads
has left little exposed earth
for water to soak in.
In parts of the rural areas of India, floodwater quickly flows to the
rivers, which then dry up soon after the rains stop. If this water
can be held back, it can seep into the ground and recharge the
groundwater supply.
This has become a very popular method of conserving water
especially in the urban areas.
Rainwater harvesting essentially means collecting rainwater on the
roofs of building and storing it underground for later use. Not only
does this recharging arrest groundwater depletion, it also raises
the declining water table and can help augment water supply.

Status
Town planners and civic authority in many cities in India
are making rainwater harvesting compulsory in all new
structures.
No water or sewage connection would be given if a new
building did not have provisions for rainwater harvesting
A number of government buildings have been asked to go
in for water harvesting in Delhi and other cities of India.

Process

Case study
The area surrounding the River Ruparel in Rajasthan, is an
example of proper water conservation. The site does not
receive even half the rainfall received by Cherrapunji, but
proper management and conservation have meant that more
water is available than in Cherrapunji.
The water level in the river began declining due to extensive
deforestation and agricultural activities along the banks and,
by the 1980s, a drought-like situation began to spread.
Under the guidance of some NGOs (non-government
organizations), the women living in the area were encouraged
to take the initiative in building johads (round ponds) and
dams to hold back rainwater.

 Gradually, water began coming back as proper methods

of conserving and harvesting rainwater were followed.
The revival of the river has transformed the ecology of
the place and the lives of the people living along its
banks. Their relationship with their natural
environment has been strengthened.

Water Harvesting: A great success at Kalakhoont,

(Jhabua, MP), 2001
For the first time in India drought proofing, rather than drought
management, was the focus of the state Governments (Madhya Pradesh
& Gujarat).
For two years these state governments took up water conservation
activities in the hope that monsoon this year would not be wasted even if
it rained below the normal level.
Kalakhoont village of Jhabua district in Madhya Pradesh (MP) spin out
of the poverty cycle with the beginning of rainy season this year. Four
days of the rain filled up to the brim the long- forgotten tank. Now
almost the entire village is enriched by water overflowing from the tank.

Way to Success
Crippled by two consecutive droughts, when an NGO, Action for Social
Advancement (ASA), offered to renovate the tank, it was hard for the residents
to decide to contribute 25 percent of the tanks renovation cost of Rs. 3 lakh.
Three meters of silt, which had erroded from the surrounding hills, was
removed from the tank. This was used as manure in farmlands and the tank was
soon renovated. The decision paid rich dividends and to changed the lives of
the villagers forever.
According to Nana Basna, President of the Lift-irrigation Society formed to
regulate water use in the village there is enough water for the next three
years. The stored water is enough to irrigate more than 61 hectares (ha) of
land. The recharged wells will be an additional source. Now water is
overflowing from the dam and residents are planning to revive a defunct lift
irrigation point as a result of which three villages will be irrigated.

WATER SHED
MANAGEMENT

Concept of Watershed
Watershed is a geo hydrological unit or piece of land that
drain at a common point.
A watershed is defined as any spatial area from which
rain or irrigation water is collected and drained through a
common point.
Thewatershed and drainage basin are synonymous term
indicating an area surrounded by a ridge line that is
drained through a single outlet.

 A watershed is simply the land that water

flows across or through on its way to a
common stream, river, or lake.
A watershed can be very large (e.g. draining
thousands of square miles to a major river
or lake or the ocean), or very small, such as
a 20-acre watershed that drains to a pond.

Objectives of watershed
management
1. To control damaging runoff and degradation and thereby conservation

of soil and water.

2. To manage and utilize the runoff water for useful purpose.
3. To protect, conserve and improve the land of watershed for more
efficient and sustained production.
4. To protect and enhance the water resource originating in the
watershed.
5. To check soil erosion and to reduce the effect of sediment yield on the
watershed.
6. To rehabilitate the deteriorating lands.
7. To moderate the floods peaks at down stream areas.
8. To increase infiltration of rainwater.
9. To improve and increase the production of timbers, fodder and wild life
resource.
10. To enhance the ground water recharge, wherever applicable.

Watershed management practices

Watershed management involves many techniques
The techniques can be summarized as : Grassland
development, Gully Plugs, Tree plantation and contour
trenching on hill tops and slopes, Contour bunding,
Water conservation structures, Lift irrigation schemes,
Land leveling etc.
Public participation and awareness

INTEGRATED WATERSHED
DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
The Integrated Watershed Development Project (Hills-II) started in
April 1999.
It has a budget of US$24.4 million and is being run by experts from
different line departments.
It is World Bank-funded and operated in Haryana, Jammu and
Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal.
One of its working areas lies in northeast Haryana in the most
degraded watersheds of the Siwalik hills and their adjoining
piedmont plains. The project area has been identified as one of
Indias eight most degraded rainfed agro-ecosystems.

 The Sukhomajri - Water Shed Management

Project : A Success Story of Participatory
Approach

Sukhomajri, a small hamlet of about one hundred families

located in the foothills of Shivaliks in Panchkula district of
Haryana.
Central Soil & Water Conservation Research and Training
Institute, Chandigarh.
Until 1975, Sukhomajra had no source of regular irrigation.
The entire agricultural land (52 hectares) was under rain-fed
single cropping.

But, once the domestic animals, especially the goats and cows, were allowed
to graze freely in the nearby hills, followed by indiscriminate felling of trees
for fuel and other domestic consumption, the hill slopes, once covered with
lush green vegetation, soon became bare and not even a blade of grass
was to be seen.

 In the year 1975, the continuing problem of silting of the prestigious

man-made Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh drew the attention of the
Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Center,
Chandigarh.
survey conducted by the Centre revealed that the major source of
sediment was about twenty-six per cent of the catchment area
located in the close proximity of Sukhomajri and a few nearby
villages.
Sedimentation was caused by the erosion of the bare hill slopes
caused by over-grazing particularly by goats whose rearing had been
the traditional occupation of the Gujjars inhabiting the village.

To address the problem the Research Center applied soil conservation

techniques developed by comprising of mechanical and vegetative measures.
This reduced the runoff sediment from the highly eroded Shivaliks at a
spectacular rate from eighty tonnes to less than one tonne per hectare,
within a short span of a decade.

The vegetative measures consisted of planting of tree species like khair

(Acacia catechu) and shisham (Dalbergia sissoo), in pits and bhabbar
grass (Eulaliopsis binata) at mounds of trenches, and also Agave
americana and Ipomea cornea, in critical areas to protect the soil
against erosion.
To promote agriculture and water availability in the area earthern
dams were constructed. This resulted in rain water harvesting &
storage which could be used by the villages for agriculture through out
the year.
Villagers agreed to protect the hilly watersheds from grazing and illicit
cutting of vegetation and in turn, were allowed to cut grass to stall feed
their cattle and collect dry and dead wood or pruned branches for
their domestic fuel consumption.
As a result, the forest areas which had a desolate look in the beginning
of the project were covered with grass and trees within a period of 10
to 15 years. Grass production increased more than double in the same
period (from 3.82 t/ha to 7.72 t/ha).

 At Sukhomajri, four earthen dams have been

built between 1976 and 1985. These serve
three main purposes;
to check instantly the gully formation in
agricultural fields and, thereby, effectively
prevent silting through the erosion of soil;
to store surplus rainwater from the
catchment area to be used later for irrigation
after the withdrawal of monsoon and
rehabilitation of the catchment.

LESSONS FROM SUKHOMAJRI

Peoples participation must be ensured right from the beginning.
The needs and the problems of the people must be identified at the
outset.
Unless a project is aimed at meeting their needs, solving their
problems and mitigating their hardship, it may not succeed.
Watershed Management Projects should have short gestation period.
The benefits should be available in shortest possible period.
Constitution of a village society (HRMS) must be a pre-requisite
before taking up such projects.
The emphasis should be on sustainability and equity, i.e., all the
common property resources must be available to all sections of the
society.

3. Resettlement and
Rehabilitation

Intro

Development projects very very essential.

For development natural resources are utilized.
Most affected are locals or native people
Poorest of poor and underprivileged people
Various types of project lead to displacement of locals
Displacement due to dams
Displacement due to mining
Displacement due to formation of PAs

Displacement due to dams

Need space for such huge project.
Locals, tribals and natives are affected.
Families have to leave the ancestral place and need to settle
elsewhere.
Hirakund dam: 20000 people in 250 villages
Bhakra Nangal : not even half of displaced resettled.
Sardar Sarovar: 41,000 families will get displaced due to reservoir.
Tehri dam: 10000 people of Tehri town
A review by the World Bank posits that an average of 13,000 people
are displaced by each new large dam constructed currently (Cernea
1996b).
By this estimate, Indians displaced by the countrys 3000+ large
dams would number over 39 million.

Displacement due to mining

Several thousand hectares of land are covered
in Mining operations
Mining accidents also cause displacement.
Jharia Coal Mines, Jharkhand: 0.3 million
people asked to leave the place
Reason: Underground fires
No alternative provided yet.
Cost of R & R: 18000 crores

Displacement due to creation of Protected area

Displacement also takes place where protected areas
are established as compensatory measures for the
forest lands and natural habitats that are lost.
A welcome step for natural resource conservation
But tribals loose the right to their natural homes
Entry is prohibited in core areas.
Valmiki Tiger reserve: 142 villages in Bihar of Tharu
Community
Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary: 53,472 tribal families in
Kerala.

Rehabilitation- issues and policies

Right to housing a basic human right

Government acquires land for various reasons
Already poor tribals most affected.
Loss of land, food, home, jobs, property assets,
social isolation
Cash compensation not enough, tribals are
unaware so might be a case of cheating.
Communal settlement does not happen.

Policy
Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development
has formulated a National Policy on Resettlement and
Rehabilitation for Project Affected Families, 2003 with the
objectives to:
Minimize displacement and to identify non-displacing or leastdisplacing alternatives;
Plan the resettlement and rehabilitation of Project Affected
Families, (PAFs) including special needs of tribals and
vulnerable sections;
Provide better standard of living to PAFs; and
Facilitate harmonious relationship between the Requiring Body
and PAFs through mutual cooperation.
National Policy on Rehabilitation and Resettlement 2007.

4. Climate change
Climate is average weather of an area
Control temperature, evaporation rate,
seasons, moisture content.
Conditions if prevail for 30 yearsits said to
be the climate of an area
Currently Climate is Changing

GLOBAL WARMING
Overall increase in temperature by a few
degrees.
It happens when greenhouse gases (carbon
dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and
methane) trap heat and light from the sun in
the earths atmosphere, which increases the
temperature.
This hurts many people, animals, and
plants.
Many cannot take the change, so they die.

Facts
Unsustainableconsumptionpatternsoftherichindustrialized
nationsareresponsibleforthethreatofclimatechange.

Only25%oftheglobalpopulationlivesinthesecountries,
buttheyemitmorethan70%ofthetotalglobalCO2
emissionsandconsume75to80%ofmanyoftheother
resourcesoftheworld.

Impactsarealreadybeingseeninunprecedentedheat
waves,cyclones,floods,salinisationofthecoastline
andeffectsonagriculture,fisheriesandhealth.

Climate change Evidence

IntergovernmentalPanelOnClimateChange.
Publishedevidenceofclimatechange(IPCCreport,2007)
Observedthatearthsclimatehaschangedoveryears.
Averagetemperatureshavefluctuatedby0.5to10C.
Anthropogenicactivitiesareaffectingclimate
Itsnotuniforminallplaces.Poleswillbemorewarmer

Why should India be Concerned about Climate

Change?
India is home to a third of the worlds poor, and climate change will
hit this section of society the hardest.
Set to be the most populous nation in the world by 2045, the
economic, social and ecological price of climate change will be
massive.
The three main categories of impacts are those on agriculture,
sea level rise leading to submergence of coastal areas, as well as
increased frequency of extreme events. Each of these pose serious
threats to India.
Indias main energy resource is coal. With the threat of climate
change, India is called upon to change its energy strategy based on
coal, its most abundant resource, and to use other energy sources
(e.g. oil, gas, renewable and nuclear energy) which may turn out to
be expensive.

Green House Effect

Thegreenhouseeffectisanaturallyoccurringprocessthataidsinheating
theEarth'ssurfaceandatmosphere.
Itresultsfromthefactthatcertainatmosphericgases,suchascarbon
dioxide,watervapor,andmethane,areabletochangetheenergybalance
oftheplanetbyabsorbinglongwaveradiationemittedfromtheEarth's
surface.
Withoutthegreenhouseeffectlifeonthisplanetwouldprobablynotexistas
theaveragetemperatureoftheEarthwouldbeachilly18Celsius,rather
thanthepresent15Celsius.
Anthropogenicactivitiesincreasetheconcentrationofgreenhousegases.

Enhancedgreenhouseeffect:CO2,CH4,NO2,CFCs

Effects

Change in Wind current patterns

Ocean currents will change
Hydrological cycle will intensify
Sea level rise: submergence of areas.
Changed agricultural production
Cases of flood, droughts, cyclones on a
rise.

 Globalwarmingisaffectingmanypartsoftheworld.Globalwarming
makesthesearise,andwhenthesearises,thewatercoversmanylow
landislands.Thisisabigproblemformanyoftheplants,animals,and
peopleonislands.
Thewatercoverstheplantsandcausessomeofthemtodie.Whenthey
die,theanimalsloseasourceoffood,alongwiththeirhabitat..
Whentheplantsandanimalsdie,peoplelosetwosourcesoffood,plant
foodandanimalfood.Theymayalsolosetheirhomes.Asaresult,they
wouldalsohavetoleavetheareaordie.Thiswouldbecalledabreakin
thefoodchain,orachainreaction,onethinghappeningthatleadsto
anotherandsoon.

 Theoceansareaffectedbyglobalwarminginotherways,as
well.Manythingsthatarehappeningtotheoceanarelinkedto
globalwarming.Onethingthatishappeningiswarmwater,
causedfromglobalwarming,isharmingandkillingalgaeinthe
ocean.
Itiskillingalgae,butitisalsodestroyingmanyhugeforests.
Globalwarmingisalsocausingmanymorefiresthatwipeout
wholeforests.Thishappensbecauseglobalwarmingcanmake
theearthveryhot.Inforests,someplantsandtreesleavescanbe
sodrythattheycatchonfire.

Solution

Renewable energy
Biofuels
Afforestation
Reduce the current rate of CFCs use
Trap methane for fuel
Potential of algae in Carbon dioxide
utilization
Sustainable agriculture

Acid Rain

 "Acid rain" is a broad term referring to a mixture of wet and

dry deposition (deposited material) from the atmosphere
containing higher than normal amounts of nitric and
sulfuric acids.
Acid rain occurs when these gases react in the atmosphere
with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form various
acidic compounds. The result is a mild solution of sulfuric
acid and nitric acid.
When sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released from
power plants and other sources, prevailing winds blow these
compounds across state and national borders, sometimes
over hundreds of miles.
pH less than 5.6

 If The acid chemicals in the air are blown into areas

where the weather is wet, the acids can fall to the
ground in the form of rain, snow, fog, or mist.
As this acidic water flows over and through the ground,
it affects a variety of plants and animals.
The strength of the effects depends on several factors,
including how acidic the water is.
In areas where the weather is dry, the acid chemicals
may become incorporated into dust or smoke and fall to
the ground through dry deposition, sticking to the
ground, buildings, homes, cars, and trees.
Taj Mahal in Agra

Ozone layer depletion

Natural sunscreen: Ozone layer

 TheproductionandemissionofCFCs,chlorofluorocarbons,isby
fartheleadingcause.
CFCsinthestratosphere.There,thechlorineatomisremovedfrom
theCFCandattractsoneofthethreeoxygenatomsintheozone
molecule.Theprocesscontinues,andasinglechlorineatomcan
destroyover100,000moleculesofozone.
In1984,ozonelayerholewasdiscoveredoverAntarctica
Increase risk of Skin cancer
Loss of phytoplankton: they are sensitive to UV.
Fair people at higher risk
MONTREAL PROTOCOL
Phase out the use of CFCs

ENVIRONMENTAL
LEGISLATION
Indiafirstcountrytohavemadeprovisionsforenvironmentprotectionin
itsconstitution
AfterStockholmConference,1972
Manylawsandruleshavebeenmade
Article48A:Thestateshallendeavourtoprotectandimprovethe
environmentandtosafeguardforestsandwildlifeofthecountry.
Article51A(g):ItshallbethedutyofeverycitizenofIndiatoprotect
andimprovethenaturalenvironmentincludingforests,lakes,riversand
wildlifeandtohavecompassionforlivingcreatures

ACTS
Wildlife(Protection)Act,1972
Water(PreventionandControlofPollution)Act,1974
Forest(Conservation)Act,1980
Air(PreventionandControlofPollution)Act,1981
TheEnvironment(Protection)Act,1986
TheBiomedicalwaste(ManagementandHandling)Rules,1998
TheMunicipalSolidWaste(ManagementandHandling)Rules,2000
TheNoisePollution(RegulationandControl)Rules,2002
TheBiologicalDiversityAct,2002

Environmental Ethics
Ethicalbehaviourisofutmostimportance
Webelieveandthink:Manisallpowerfulandsupremecreatureoftheearth.
Naturehasprovideduswithresourcesandshenourishesuslikeourmother,
soweshouldrespectandnurtureher
Livesustainably.
Twoviews:AnthropogenicandEcocentric.
Earthethicsorenvironmentalguidelineshelpustoprotectourmotherearth.
DONOTsandDOs
Havingfewerwants=limitstogrowth=goodenvironment

THANK YOU