CONSERVATION OF ENVIRONMENT

1.Introduction


Conservation of Environment

Living organisms live in different surroundings. Some plants and
animals completely live in water and some others live on land.

Man also leads life in different surroundings. Some live in cities, some in towns
and some in villages. How do they adapt themselves to the place they live in?

Plants, animals, human beings s u r v i ve with the interaction between them and the non-living things like
air, water and l and. Human beings depend on the resources of nature. These resources include s oil, water,
coal, electricity, oil, gas, etc. These resources improve the life s tyle of human beings.

Environmental science can be define as the study of organisms in the
relation to their surrounding. In the course of development, unplanned
and vast misuse of natural resources like water, forest produce, land and
mineral resources have occurred. This has led to an imbalance in nature
and release of many harmful substances in the atmosphere.
Mankind is greatly influenced by the surrounding in view of the problem
of over Population, environmental pollution, human survival, pest
control and conservation of natural resources.

1.1 Interaction between non-living and living components in the biosphere



Fig. 1.1 Interaction between non-living and living components in the biosphere

2. Human activities related to livelihood and welfare generate waste. All wastes
are pollutants and they create pollution in one way or another. Air, land and water
surroundings are affected due to improper disposal of wastes which create an
imbalance in the environment.

What Is Pollution?
What Are Pollutants?

Pollution: Any undesirable change in the physical, chemical or biological
characteristics of air, land and water that affect human life adversely is called
pollution.
Pollutants: A substance released into the environment due to natural or
human activity which affects adversely the environment is called pollutant. e.g.
Sulphur-di-oxide, carbon-monoxide, lead, mercury, etc.

2.1. CLASSIFICATION OF WASTES

1. Biodegradable wastes

2. Nonbio-degradable wastes

Substances that are broken down by biological process of
biological or microbial action are called bio-degradable waste.
e.g. wood, paper and leather.

Substances that are not broken down by biological or microbial
action are called non-bio-degradable wastes. e.g. Plastic
substances and mineral wastes.


Ho w t o p r o t e c t u s f r o m t h e s e h a z a r d o u s wa s t e s ?

Why do the government and so many or ga ni z a t i ons c onduc t
a wa r e ne s s Progarmmes against using plastics ?



The following methods are adopted for the disposal of harmful waste
materials: IT O
VER
1 . L a nd F i l l s
There are permanent storage facilities in secured lands for military related liquid
and radioactive waste materials. High level radioactive wastes are stored in deep
underground storage.
2 . De e p we l l i nj e c t i o n
It involves drilling a well into dry porous material below ground water.
Hazardous waste liquids are pumped into the well. They are soaked into
the porous material and made to remain isolated indefinitely.
3 . I nc i ne r a t i o n
The burning of materials is called incineration.Hazardous bio-medical wastes are
usually disposed off by means of incineration. Human anatomical wastes, discarded
medicines, toxic drugs, blood, pus, animal wastes, microbiological and bio-technological
wastes etc., are called bio-medical wastes.
2.2 Management of non-hazardous wastes solid waste management
Re u s e a n d r e c y c l i n g t e c h n i q u e :

The separating out of materials such as rubber, glass, paper and scrap metal
from refuse and reprocessing them for reuse is named as reclamation of waste or recycling.

Paper

(54% recovery) Can be repulped and reprocessed into recycled paper, cardboard and other
products.

Gl ass

(20% recovery) Can be crushed, re-melted and made into new containers or crushes used as a
substitute for gravel or sand in construction materials such as concrete and asphalt, Food waste
and yard wastes (leaves, grass etc.,) can be composted to produce humus soil conditioner.

3.WATER MANAGEMENT







3. Water Management
Due to increasing demands for water and reduced availability of fresh ground
water resources, urgent measures have to be taken to conserve each and every
drop of water that is available.
Clean and fresh water is essential for nearly every human activity.
Perhaps more than any other environmental factors, the availability of
water determines the location and activities of human beings.

3.1 Sources of water
Wat er i s a basi c nat ural r esour ce and val uabl e asset to al l
nati ons. Human bei ngs depend on water f or al l t hei r needs such
as bat hi ng, washi ng, cooki ng, tr anspor tat i on and power. Water
i n I ndi a i s of two ki nds. Sal t wat er and f r esh wat er. Fr esh water
i s obtai ned f rom r ai n wat er , surf ace wat er and ground wat er.

3. 2 The mai n source of the water are rai n and snow whi ch
f rom t he par t of hydrol ogi cal cycl e:
S ur f a c e wa t e r :
India is blessed with a number of rivers, lakes, streams and ponds.
Gr ou nd wa t e r :
Aquifers are under ground reserves of fresh water.
In the water table, water that percolates into the ground through porous rocks is
ground water. These porous rocks are saturated with water to a certain level. The
upper layer of waterlevel is the watertable. Scanty rainfall and unnecessary felling
of trees affect the ground water level.
3.3 Fresh water management

To meet out the water scarcity we need several ways to increase the water supply.
i ) S e e d i n g c l oud s :
Seeding clouds with dry ice or potassium iodide particles sometimes can
initiate rain if water laden clouds and conditions that favour precipitation
are present.

i i ) De s a l i na t i on : ( Re v e r s e os mo s i s ) :
Desalination of ocean water is a technology that has great potential for
increasing fresh water. Desalination is more expensive than most other
sources of fresh water. In desalination, the common methods of
evaporation and re-condensation are involved.

( i i i ) Da ms , r e s e r v oi r s a nd c a na l s :
Dams and storage reservoirs tap run-off water in them and transfer the
Water from of excess to areas of deficit using canals and underground
pipes.


( i v ) Wa t e r s h e d ma na g e me n t :
The management of rainfall and resultant run-off is called water shed
management. Water shed is an area characterized by construction of small dams
to hold back water which will provide useful wildlife habitat and stock watering
facilities.




v ) Ra i n wa t e r ha r v e s t i n g :

Rain water harvesting essentially means collecting rain water from the roof of building or
courtyards and storing it under ground for later use. The main idea in harvesting rain water is
to check the run-off water. The main water that falls on the roofs of buildings or in courtyards is
collected through pipes and stored in under ground tanks.






v i ) D o me s t i c c o n s e r v a t i o n :
As an individual, every one can reduce the water loss by taking shower, using
low-flow taps, using recycled water for lawns, home gardens, vehicle washing and
using water conserving appliances.

v i i i ) I n d u s t r i a l c o n s e r v a t i o n
Cooling water can be recharged and waste water can be treated and reused.

,,n
n 4.WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES
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4.1 Wildlife :
All non-domesticated and non-cultivated biota found in natural habitat are termed
wildlife. It includes all the natural flora and fauna of a geographic region. Wildlife
is an asset to be protected and preserved to our own advantage and to the benefit
of future generations.
It is essential to protect and conserve wildlife because they have aesthetic,
ecological, educational, historical and scientific values, a good biotic diversity
is essential for ecological balance. Large scale destruction of wildlife could lead to
ecological imbalance. Wildlife also adds aesthetic value and from this, eco-tourism
is being promoted in a big way by several countries. Wildlife and their products
could be of great economic value if utilized properly. The invulnerable plants
could yield products of immense medicinal value in future. Wildlife also forms as
store of vast genetic diversity which could be properly used with advances in
genetic engineering. Thus wildlife has been of great value in the past and will
continue to be so in the future. Protection and conservation of wildlife, therefore
gains importance.

SANCTUARIES:
Wildlife sanctuary is an area constituted by competent authority in which hunting
or capturing of animals is prohibited except by or under control of the highest
authority responsible for management of the area.

4.2 Balance In Eco System:
Wha t i s E c o s y s t e m?
Fish lives in Water
Tiger lives in Forest.









Important sanctuaries in Tamilnadu:




Important National Parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserves.

5. ECO SYSTEM


5. Eco System:
A community of organisms that interact with one another and with the
environment is called an ecosystem. The Ecosystem is of two types, namely
aquatic and terrestrial.

5.1 Wh a t a r e t h e ma j o r c o mp o n e n t s i n E c o s y s t e m?
There are four major components, namely:

1. Abiotic factors
2. Producers
3. Consumers
4. Decomposers.

Abiotic factors:
It includes light, temperature, hydrogen ion concentration, inorganic substances
like CO2, H2, O2, N, PO4, CO3 and S and organic substances like carbohydrates,
proteins and lipids.


B i o t i c f a c t o r s :
I t i nc l ude s pr oduc e r s a nd c o ns ume r s . P r o duc e r s a r e
t he wa t e r l i v i ng pl a nt s l i k e h y d r i l l a e t c .




Consumers

P r i ma r y c o n s u me r s o r h e r b i v o r e s

Zooplanktons like insects, larvae of Dragon-fly consume the phytoplanktons.

S e c o nda r y Co ns ume r s

These ar e cer t ai n f i shes, f r ogs, wat er beet l es et c. , whi ch f eed on
t he pr i mar y consumer s i n t he pond.

T e r t i a r y Co ns ume r s
These are big fishes and kingfisher that feed on small fishes.


De c o mpos e r s

Several bacteria and fungi form the decomposers in the pond.




Fig 5.1Flow of energy in an ecosystem



5.2 BALANCE IN ECO-SYSTEM

A balanced ecosystem is an ecological community together with its environment
and functioning as a complex unit.

They are balanced between resources like a banana tree and monkeys. If the
banana trees stop growing, the monkeys wont get bananas.

An ecosystem maintains the balance between the number of resources and the
number of users or the balance between prey and predators.


5.3 What is food chain and food web?

Various organisms are linked by food chains in which the food energy is passed
from one organism to another in a linear fashion.
e.g. Food chain of a grassland ecosystem.



Fig 5.2 Grassland ecosystem

Food Web :

The food chains are interlinked to form food webs, So every component of the
ecosystem is connected to one another.


5 . 4 How i s t he e c os y s t e m ma i n t a i ne d?

There are many factors which maintain the harmony in an ecosystem naturally.
Disturbing any one factor could have a drastic impact upon the living conditions of
other organisms that will result in an imbalance. For example, removal of trees
and vegetation would affect both land and water ecosystems as there will be no
food for organisms. Killing animals and polluting land, air and water also disturb
the balance in nature.

Inorder to maintain the eco-balance in an ecosystem, there should be recycling of
nutrients, minerals, and water. Careful use of natural resources will maintain the
eco-balance.

The balance between living components and its resources of an ecosystem, so
that it remains a stable environment community for the better functioning of the
organisms



Conclusion





Conclusion:

For resolving the increasing stress on the environment and resources, and also
responding to the everincreasing demands of the citizens for environmental
quality protection and improvement in ecologicalenvironment, the Environmental
Protection Bureau (DSPA) conducted the environmental master planning of
Macao SAR, in order to realize the vision of "Building a Low Carbon Macao,
Creating Green Living Together

The "Environmental Protection Planning of Macao (2010-2020)", as the first
environmental planning of Macao, has systematically depicted the roadmap of
future environmental management works in Macao. The Environmental Planning,
on the one hand, has proposed objectives in improving environmental quality and
guidance in actions to be taken for Macao up to year 2020.On the other hand, it
has also acted as the foundation of the environmental management works in
Macao, in the view of harmonizing the environment, society and economy,
leading for the sustainable social and economic development.

However, since the environment is a complex, variable and extensive system,
protecting the environment is a hard and enduring task. It is impossible that all
the existing pollution problems in the environmental can completely be resolved
in the next decade. A wonderful and quality environment must be achieved by
continuous planning, governmental policies, efforts of the enterprises and public
participation

It is the responsibility of everyone to protect our environment. Let us fulfill our
responsibilities in environmental protection , creating a quality ecological
environment and sharing wonderful green living together.