VIT (A) ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

UNIT - II Natural Resources

FOREST RESOURCES: Forests are most important resources on the earth. They cover the Earth
like green carpet, produce innumerable goods and provide several environmental services which
are essential for life. About 1/3 rd of the world’s land area is forested.
Functions of the forests: Forests are of immense value to us. They are not only useful for industry
but also for rural economic growth. They offer huge potential for reducing poverty while also
conserving their valuable key resources.
Commercial Uses: Forests provide us a large number of commercial goods which include timber,
firewood, pulpwood, food items, gum, resins, non-edible oils, rubber, fibre, bamboo canes, fodder
medicine, drugs and many more items.
Ecological Uses:
Production of Oxygen: The trees produce oxygen by photosynthesis which is so vital for life on
this earth. They are rightly called as “EARTH’S LUNGS”.
Reducing Global Warming: The main green house gas carbon dioxide is absorbed by the forests
as a raw material for photosynthesis. Thus forest canopy acts as a sink for carbon dioxide there by
reducing the problem of global warming caused by green house gas carbon dioxide.
Wildlife habitat: Forests are the homes of wild animals and plants. About 7 million species are
found in the tropical forests alone.
Regulation of hydrological cycle: Forested watersheds act like giant sponges, absorbing the rain
fall, slowing down the runoff and slowly releasing the water for recharge of springs. About 50-
80% of the moisture in the air above tropical forests comes from their transpiration which helps in
bringing rains.
Soil conservation: Forests bind the soil particles tightly in their roots and prevent soil erosion.
They also act as wind-breaks.
Pollution Moderators: Forests can absorb many toxic gases and can help in keeping the air pure.
They have also been reported to absorb noise and thus help in preventing air and noise pollution.
Causes, effects and Control of Deforestation: Forests have been known to possess huge potential
for human use and they have been exploited since early times for their vast potential.
Causes: Exploitation of forests has taken place to meet human demands in the following ways:
➢ Shifting cultivation: There are an estimated 300 million people living as shifting cultivators who
practice slash and burn agriculture and are supposed to clear more than 5 lakh ha. of forests for
shifting cultivation annually. In India, we have this practice in north–east and to some extent in
Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and M.P which contribute to nearly half of the forest clearing annually.
➢ Fuel requirements: Increasing demands for fuel wood by the growing population in India alone
has shot up to 300-500 million tons in 2001 as compared to just 65 million tons during
independence, thereby increasing the pressure on forests.
➢ Raw materials for industrial use: Wood for making boxes, furniture, railway-sleepers, plywood,
match-boxes, pulp for paper industry etc. have exerted tremendous pressure on forests. Plywood
is in great demand for packing tea for Tea industry of Assam while fir tree wood is exploited
greatly for packing apples in J&K.
➢ Developmental projects: Massive destruction of forests occur for various development projects
like hydroelectric projects, big dams, road construction, mining etc .
➢ Growing food needs: In developing countries this is the main reason for deforestation. To meet
the demands of rapidly growing population, agricultural lands and settlements are created
permanently by clearing forests.
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➢ Overgrazing: The poor in the tropics mainly rely on wood as a source of fuel leading to loss of
tree cover and cleared lands are turned into grazing lands.
➢ Forest fires: These may be natural or manmade, and casus huge forest loss.

Major activities in Forests are Timber extraction in which logging for valuable timber, such as
teak not only involves a few large trees per hectare but about a dozen more trees since they are
strongly interlocked with each other. Also road construction for making approach to the trees
causes further damage to the forests.
Mining operations for extracting minerals and fossil fuels like coal often involves vast forest
areas. Large scale deforestation activities are reported in Mussorie and Dehradun valley due to
mining of various minerals over a length of about 40 km. The rich forests of Western Ghats are
also facing same threat due to mining for copper, chromite, bauxite and magnetite. Coal mining in
Jharia, Raniganj and Singrauli ares have cause extensive deforestation in Jharkand.
Other main causes of deforestation are: Population explosion, forest fires, pest attack, natural
calamities like floods, storms, mining and mineral processing, dams and reservoirs, irrigation
canals, military activities, roads and railways etc.
Effects of Deforestation:
• It threatens the existence of many wildlife species due to destruction of their natural habitat
• Biodiversity is lost and along with that genetic diversity is eroded.
• Hydrological cycle gets affected, thereby influencing rainfall.
• Problems of soil erosion and loss of soil fertility increase.
• In hilly areas it often leads to landslides
• Reduction in oxygen liberated by plants
• Decrease in availability forest products and Loss of cultural diversity
• Scarcity of fuel wood for people living nearby forests
• Lowering of water table due to more run off
• Raise in CO2 level resulting global warming, melting of ice and flooding of coastal areas
Control of Forest Degradation:
✓ More efficient agriculture on suitable farmland.
✓ Efficient forestry practice includes plantations.
✓ Reserves to protect species and ecosystems.
✓ Using alternate source of energy instead of fuel wood, growing more trees.
Dams and their effects on Forests and Tribal people: Big dams cause many ecological
problems including deforestation and socio-economic problems related to tribal or native people
associated with them. For building of dams, large scale devastation of forests takes place which
breaks the natural ecological balance of the region. Floods, droughts and landslides become more
prevalent in such areas. Many species having marvelous economic or medical value going to be
lost from these areas,
For example, Sardar Sarovar Dam, situated on river Narmada, which spread over three states of
Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh aimed to provide irrigation water, drinking water and
electricity have raised challenging questions as the environmental impacts are more. A total or
1,44,731 ha of land is submerged by the land, out of which 56,547 ha is forest land. A total of 573
villages are submerged by the Narmada dam. Submergence area is very rich in wildlife e.g., tigers,
panthers, black bucks, marsh crocodiles, turtles etc.

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According to an agency, the Narmada valley project will lead to eventual displacement of more
than one million people. It is the largest rehabilitation issue ever encountered as per the World
Bank. Uprooting of the tribal and their forced shifting in far-flung areas may not be easily
adjusted.
Besides serious economic deprivation, the displacement will affect the tribal people’s culture,
their beliefs, myths and rituals, festivals, songs and dances, all closely associated to hills, forest
and streams. Most of these tribal are poor and belong to schedule castes and tribes who are being
uprooted from a place where they have lived for generations. It takes government to pay maximum
attention for rehabilitation for these people.

WATER RESOURCES:
Types and importance of water resources
Water Resources can be divided into two parts.
✓ Surface water - rain water, river water, lake water and sea water
✓ Underground water - spring and well water
Water covers 70% of earth’s surface but only 3% of this is fresh water of this 2% is present
as polar ice caps. Only 1% is usable water in rivers lakes and subsoil aquifers. Ice caps and
glaciers are about 77.2% of fresh water and remaining 22.4% is ground water and just 0.4% is
distributed in lakes, swamps, rivers and streams. From 1% of the available water, 70% of water is
used up for agriculture, 25% industry and 5% domestic use.
India uses 90% of its water for agriculture, 7% in industries and 3% domestic use.
In future, there is a great challenge facing the world in this century is the need to rethink the
overall management of resources.
The world population has passed more than 7 billion in future there is a great problem for
water in 2000 years the world commission on dams studied indicate that a person needs minimum
20-40 liters of water per day.
Effects of ground water depletion
1. Water logging & Salinity.
2. Lowering of Water table.
3. Soil Erosion.
Effects of over- utilization and pollution of surface and ground water
•With the growth of human population there is a increasing need for large amount of water to
fulfill a variety of basic needs. Most of the people are using more water than they really need.
•Many agriculturists use more water than necessary to grow crops.
•There are many ways in which farmers can use less water without reducing yields such as the use
of drip irrigation systems.
•Agriculture also pollutes surface water and ground water stores by the excessive use of chemical
fertilizers and pesticides
Conflicts over water
Future global conflicts could arise over control of the shared river basins on which millions
of people depend for drinking water, irrigation and energy. There were many conflicts over the
world on river water.
As much as 90 % of the waste water in the world is discharged without treatment in the developing
countries.

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Conflicts over water around the world may be classified into the following categories:
Military tool – where water resources or water systems themselves are used by a nation or state as
a weapon during military action
Political tool - where water resources or water systems themselves are used by a nation or state or
a group for a political goal
Terrorism – where water resources or water systems themselves are either targets or tools of
violence by terrorists.
Development disputes – where water resources or water systems are a major source of contention
and disputes in the context of economic and social development.

Some of the disputes are

Ganges – Brahmaputra basin: India and Nepal wants to exploit the basins huge hydro electric
power generating potential, where as Bangladesh wants water to be managed in such a way as to
minimize flooding during monsoon and water shortages during dry months.
 Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and Tamilnadu
 Sutlej Yamuna canal between Haryana and Punjab.

Sustainable Water Management Methods

✓ Save water campaign
✓ Construction of several small reservoirs instead of larger once
✓ Develop small catchment dams and project wetlands
✓ Soil Moisture conservation works
✓ Treating and recycling municipal water for agricultural use
✓ Preventing leakages from Dams and canals
✓ Preventing loss in Municipal pipes
✓ Effective Rain water harvesting in Urban areas
✓ Effective water conservation measures in agriculture by using drip irrigation
✓ Pricing water at its real value

BENEFITS OF CONSTRUCTION OF DAMS:

Water is precious resource that is becoming an increasingly scarce commodity worldwide.
To reduce scarcity, there is growing pressure to harness and utilize surface water sources like
rivers by building dams over them for irrigation, hydro electricity, water transport etc. Multi-
purpose dams account for a large proportion. Irrigation comes first in this category also, followed
by flood control, hydro power, domestic and industrial water supply and recreation, with fish
farming and navigation.
Various benefits of the dams are
✓ hydro electric power generation
✓ transfer of water using canals from excess to areas of deficit
✓ irrigation
✓ flood control and soil protection
✓ ensuring year round water supply
✓ multipurpose river valley projects also provide for inland navigation

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❖ Most of the single purpose dams around the world (48% approx.) are for irrigation and
therefore it contributes greatly to food production and a considerable proportion (15%) of those
dams serve for domestic and industrial water supply.
➢ For the World as a whole, nearly 20% of dams generate electricity. However, in Europe alone,
about 40% are hydro power dams.
➢ Other purposes include flood control (8%), recreation (4%) and to a lesser degree, inland
navigation and fish farming.
➢ 40% of world food production comes from irrigated farming, with a direct 16% contribution
from land irrigated from dam reservoirs. 30-40% of the 268 million hectares of irrigated land is
watered from dams.
➢ Hydro-electric power produces 19% of world energy and is used in more than 150 countries. It
accounts for more than 90% of all energy in 24 countries and more than 50% in 63 countries.
➢ 12% of large dams supply towns and cities with water (60% in North America).
➢ 13% of the world's dams help control river floods and flooding in nearly 75 countries.
➢ Some dams have helped improve ecosystems by creating new wetlands and new opportunities
for fishing and recreation in the reservoirs.
Effects of Construction of Dams.
➢ Fragmentation and physiological transformation of rivers
➢ Impact on Riverine ecosystem
➢ Water logging and salination of surrounding soils
➢ Loss of Migratory routes for birds and animals
➢ Fishing and travel by boat disrupted.
➢ Emission of green house gases due to rotting vegetation and carbon inflows
➢ Sociological: Poorly managed involuntary displacement and loss of livelihood
➢ Many of the displaced people were not recognized and therefore were not resettled or
compensated

MINERAL RESOURCES:
Importance and Environmental Effects of Mining:
Environmental effects of extracting mineral resources: Mining is extraction of economic
minerals and building materials from the earth. These materials may be extracted by adopting
opencast mining or underground mining. Generally most of the mines are located in forest areas. In
opencast mining it requires removal of huge quantity of unwanted material along with useful
minerals. Mining activity requires diversion of forest land for various activities. Forest land is
diverted for
• Opening of mine and extraction of material
• Dumping of unwanted waste material
• Road to be formed for transportation of men and materials.
• Big mines require residential accommodation for employees and providing basic amenities
Effects of Mining
❖ Deforestation
❖ Air, water, Soil, Noise pollutions
❖ Loss of forest cover
❖ Loss of biodiversity
❖ Soil erosion
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❖ Water logging
❖ Ground water depletion
❖ Appropriation of the land belonging to the local communities
❖ Impacts on health
❖ Destruction of forms of community subsistence and life
❖ Social disintegration
❖ Radical and abrupt changes in regional cultures

THE EFFECTS OF MINING - SUSTAINABLE MINING:

Mining can become more environmentally sustainable by developing and integrating
practices that reduce the environmental impact of mining operations. These practices include
measures such as reducing water and energy consumption, minimizing land disturbance and waste
production, preventing soil, water, and air pollution at mine sites, and conducting successful mine
closure and reclamation activities.
Sustainable development is most commonly defined as development that meets the needs
of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. A
number of industry associations, including the International Council on Mining and Metals have
endorsed the principles of sustainable development and have developed their own guidelines to
promote sustainable practices among their member organizations.
The continued discoveries of new oil, coal, and mineral reserves, improved recycling of
materials, and advances in technology in recent years have largely lessened the fears of running
out of non-renewable resources
Example: The development of technologies including froth floatation for processing certain metal
sulphide ores, and the use of cyanide in gold extraction.
Although mining itself may occur on a relatively small land area, the associated
infrastructure and pollution from mining activities have the potential to affect the health of
ecosystems.
Mining operations can reduce both the quantity and quality of water available downstream
for aquatic ecosystems and other industrial and municipal water users, especially in areas with arid
climates.
Mining and metal processing can be very energy-intensive processes. For instance, diesel
fuel is used by trucks and excavators during mining, electricity is used to grind ore and refine
copper and aluminum, and coal is required in order to smelt iron ore and make steel. The
extraction of fossil fuels and the construction of infrastructure required for energy generation have
their own environmental impacts, including the production of greenhouse gases and increased risk
of environmental contamination along the energy supply route.
Mine sites currently disturb a small fraction of the Earth’s total land surface. Vegetation is
cleared for the construction of buildings, roads, and power lines, open pits or tunnels are dug to
gain access to the ore, and waste storage facilities such as tailings ponds are expanded over the life
of the mine, potentially leading to habitat loss and deforestation.
There are a number of ways to reduce the land-use impacts of mining. These include
reducing the overall footprint of the mining area, minimizing the amount of waste produced and
stored, maintaining biodiversity by transplanting or culturing any endangered plants found on site,
and planning mines around existing infrastructure where possible.

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COAL MINING: The importance of coal’s advantages – it is abundant, safe to store,

available and affordable – has not diminished with time. The environmental consequences of
rapidly growing and uncontrolled coal use were, of course, unacceptable. During the 20th century
technological advances allowed a range of new energy sources to be developed – oil, gas and
nuclear energy.
SAND MINING: Mining within or near riverbed has a direct impact on the stream's
physical characteristics. Alteration or modification of river flow may cause hazardous impact on
ecological equilibrium. This may also cause adverse impact on in-stream biota.
IMPACTS OF MINING

IMPACTS ON DESCRIPTION

Biodiversity Impacts on related ecosystems (for example; fisheries)

Land losses Both inland and coastal through erosion
Hydrological functions Change in water flows, flood regulation and marine currents
Water supply Through lowering of the water table and pollution
Infrastructures Damage to bridges, river embankments and coastal infrastructures
Climate Directly through transport emissions
Landscape Coastal erosion, changes in deltaic structures, quarries, pollution
of rivers
Extreme events Decline of protection against extreme events (flood, drought, etc.)
ENERGY RESOURCES:
Classification of Energy resources with examples
Sources of energy can be described as renewable and non-renewable.
Renewable sources are those which are being continually replenished.
e.g.: Solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, Biogas, biomass, nuclear, tidal etc
Non-renewable energy sources: The resources which are available in limited amount and develop
over longer period of time. (Being used faster than it can be replaced)
e.g.: Coal, Natural oils and Natural gas.
Advantages and disadvantages of Renewable and non renewable energy sources

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ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS OF VARIOUS RENEWABLE ENERGY

RESOURCES
a. Solar Energy
Solar power (also known as solar energy) is the technology of obtaining usable energy
from the light of the sun. Solar energy has been used in many traditional technologies for
centuries, and has come into widespread use where other power supplies are absent, such as in
remote locations and in space. Solar energy can be used in a number of applications including
• Heat (hot water, building heat, cooking)
• Electricity generation (photovoltaic cells, heat engines)
• Desalination of seawater
• Plant’s lifecycle
Indirectly, the sun is responsible for all our energy. Plants use the sun's light to make food, animals
eat plants for food, decaying plants hundreds of millions of years ago produced the coal, oil and
natural gas that we use today. So, fossil fuels is actually sunlight stored millions and millions of
years ago.
Benefits: Solar power is an extremely clean way to generate electricity. There are no air emissions
associated with the operation of solar modules or direct application technologies. Residential-scale
passive construction, photovoltaic, solar water heating, and other direct applications reduce power
generation from traditional sources and the associated environmental impacts.
Solar thermal energy: Solar Thermal is one of the best ways to lower your carbon footprint
and help protect the environment. Typically over 20% of a home's Green house gas emissions
come from heating water. For many commercial businesses, such as fitness centers, water heating
can account for over 50% of green-house emissions. A solar water heater is one of the most
influential and economical ways to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions. For example, a two
collector solar thermal system will offset the same amount of greenhouse gasses as a 2.5 KW solar
electric system at a fraction of the cost.
Solar energy is the most readily available and free source of energy since prehistoric times.
It is estimated that solar energy equivalent to over 15,000 times the world's annual commercial
energy consumption reaches the earth every year
Applications of solar energy:
1. Solar water heaters, 2. Solar lights, 3. Solar Cookers 4. Solar vehicles 5. Solar home appliances
6. Solar power plant 7. Solar furnace
Advantages
• Solar energy is free - no fuel, no waste or pollution.
• In sunny countries, easy to use in remote places
• Good for low-power uses such as solar powered garden lights and battery chargers
Disadvantages
• Doesn't work at night.
• Very expensive to build solar power stations.
• Can be unreliable unless you're in a very sunny place
b. Wind energy
It is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to
make electricity, wind mills for mechanical power, wind pumps for pumping water or drainage, or
sails to propel ships. India now has the 5th largest wind power installed capacity, of 3595 MW, in
the world estimated gross Wind potentials in India is 45,000 MW.

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Advantages
1. Wind is free.
2. Produces no waste or greenhouse gases.
3. The land beneath can usually still be used for farming.
4. Wind farms can be tourist attractions.
5. A good method of supplying energy to remote areas
Disadvantages
1. The wind is not always predictable - some days have no wind.
2. Suitable areas for wind farms are often near the coast, where land is expensive.
3. Some people feel that covering the landscape with these towers is ugly
4. Can kill birds.
5. Can affect television reception if you live nearby.
6. Can be noisy.
c. Hydro Energy
Hydropower or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of moving water,
which may be harnessed for useful purposes. The potential energy of falling water, captured and
converted to mechanical energy by waterwheels, powered the start of the industrial revolution.
d. Geothermal Energy
The word geothermal comes from the Greek words geo (earth) and therme (heat). So, geothermal
energy is heat from within the Earth. We can recover this heat as steam or hot water and use it to
heat buildings or generate electricity.
Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source because the heat is continuously produced inside
the Earth.
Advantages
•Geothermal energy does not produce any pollution, and does not contribute to the greenhouse
effect.
•The power stations do not take up much room, so there is not much impact on the environment.
•No fuel is needed.
•Once you've built a geothermal power station, the energy is almost free.
It may need a little energy to run a pump, but this can be taken from the energy being generated.
Disadvantages
•The big problem is that there are not many places where you can build a geothermal power
station. You need hot rocks of a suitable type, at a depth where we can drill down to them.
The type of rock above is also important, it must be of a type that we can easily drill through.
•Sometimes a geothermal site may "run out of steam", perhaps for decades.
•Hazardous gases and minerals may come up from underground, and can be difficult to safely
dispose of.
e. Tidal Energy:
The tide moves a huge amount of water twice each day, and harnessing it could provide a
great deal of energy - around 20% of Britain's needs.
Although the energy supply is reliable and plentiful, converting it into useful electrical
power is not easy. There are eight main sites around Britain where tidal power stations could
usefully be built, including the Severn, Dee, Solway and Humber estuaries. Only around 20 sites in
the world have been identified as possible tidal power stations.
A few years ago, "tidal power" meant "tidal barrage",but these days there are other options as well.

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Advantages
•Once you've built it, tidal power is free.
•It produces no greenhouse gases or other waste.
•It needs no fuel.
•It produces electricity reliably.
•Not expensive to maintain.
•Tides are totally predictable.
•Offshore turbines and vertical-axis turbines are not ruinously expensive to build and do not have a
large environmental impact.
Disadvantages
•A barrage across an estuary is very expensive to build, and affects a very wide area - the
environment is changed for many miles upstream and downstream. Many birds rely on the tide
uncovering the mud flats so that they can feed. Fish can't migrate, unless "fish ladders" are
installed.
•Only provides power for around 10 hours each day, when the tide is actually moving in or out.
•There are few suitable sites for tidal barrages
f. Wave Energy:
Ocean waves are caused by the wind as it blows across the sea. Waves are a powerful
source of energy. The problem is that it's not easy to harness this energy and convert it into
electricity in large amounts. Thus, wave power stations are rare.
Advantages
•The energy is free - no fuel needed, no waste produced.
•Not expensive to operate and maintain.
•Can produce a great deal of energy.
Disadvantages
•Depends on the waves - sometimes you'll get loads of energy, sometimes almost nothing.
•Needs a suitable site, where waves are consistently strong.
•Some designs are noisy. But then again, so are waves, so any noise is unlikely to be a problem.
•Must be able to withstand very rough weather.
g. Nuclear Energy:
Advantages
• One gram of U235 can deliver as much energy as two tons of coal.
• Reactors can run for years without refueling and do not produce CO2 or other greenhouse
gases.
Disadvantages: We have no permanent disposal system for the nuclear waste and there have
been several “meltdowns” in the industry and they have taken the lives of many people.
h. Biomass Energy
 Biomass is available all round the year. It is cheap, widely available, easy to transport, store,
and has no environmental hazards.
 It can be obtained from plantation of land having no competitive-use.
 Biomass-based power generation systems, linked to plantations on wasteland, simultaneously
address the vital issues of wastelands development, environmental restoration, rural employment
generation, and generation of power-with-no-distribution-losses.
 It can be combined with production of other useful products, making it an attractive by product.

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i. Fossil fuels:
The Industrial Revolution in Europe in the 19th century fired man’s search for alternative
sources of fuel to meet energy needs of the mushrooming industries. With the realization that fossil
fuels could meet this requirement, the energy needs of the world were fulfilled for the time being.
Fossil fuels are called so because they have been derived from fossils, which were formed millions
of years ago during the time of the dinosaurs. They are fossilized organic remains that over
millions of years have been converted to oil, gas, and coal. Because their formation takes so long,
these sources are also called non-renewable.
These fuels are made up of decomposed plant and animal matter. When plants, dinosaurs,
and other ancient creatures died, they decomposed and were buried, layer upon layer under the
ground. Their decomposed remains gradually changed over the years. It took millions of years to
form these layers into a hard, black rock-like substance called coal, a thick liquid called oil or
petroleum, and natural gas—the three major forms of fossil fuels.
Fossil fuels are usually found below ground. Coal is either mined or dug out while oil and
natural gas are pumped out. Coal is widely distributed and is easier to locate than oil and gas.
Fossil fuels take millions of years to make, but burn and disappear in seconds. Once they
are used, they cannot be reused. People have irretrievably damaged the planet by extracting and
burning these fuels. It is best not to waste fossil fuels as they are not renewable. We have to learn
to conserve these sources of energy.
Every year, millions of tonnes of coal is consumed as energy. This has led to global
warming (greenhouse effect) and the depletion of resources. At present, the worldwide burning of
coal, oil, and natural gas releases billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every
year. Burning any fossil fuel means pollution of some sort. Even if the fuel is low in sulphur, the
atmosphere contains nitrogen, which combines with oxygen at the high burning temperatures
found in boilers, jet, or car engines. This yields nitrogen oxides, which like sulphur dioxide,
dissolves in rain to form nitric acid. Both gases are poisonous to humans.
Mining and exploration for fossil fuels can cause disturbance to the surrounding ecosystem.
The burning of fossil fuels emits oxides of sulphur and nitrogen into the atmosphere.

FOOD RESOURCES AND WORLD FOOD PROBLEMS:

World Food problems: “The World Food Problem” is a phrase familiar from the 1970s, but one
that has largely lain dormant for the last decade: throughout the 1980s, concern was less with
world food supplies and prices than with the problem of hunger and with individual access to food.
The International Conference on Nutrition in 1992 was a high-water mark for this perspective.
Now, although hunger and malnutrition remain grave problems throughout the world, issues to do
with world food supplies have re-emerged on the international agenda. There are several reasons
for this: the slowdown in the rate of increase in yields of the main cereal staples gives cause for
concern that the Green Revolution is running out of steam; the problems of environmental damage
and pesticide resistance associated with industrial agriculture are receiving more attention; there
are worries about the impact of GATT on food prices and food aid; and, of course, population
continues to increase relentlessly, by over 100 million people a year.
These entire factors nave sparked a new interest in the future ability of the world to feed
itself. Many organizations are now thinking about the future of the world food system: FAO to
2010, the International Food Policy Research Institute to 2020, a group of American researchers to

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2050. The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research has also commissioned a
“vision paper” for the next century.
Effects of Overgrazing: Soil Erosion, Land degradation, Loss of Useful species
Effects of Agriculture: a. Traditional Agriculture: Forest clearing, Soil erosion and depletion of
nutrients
b. Modern Agriculture: Impacts related to high yielding varieties, Fertilizer related impacts,
pesticide related impacts, water logging and Salinity.
i. Fertilizer related impacts: Micro nutrient imbalance, Nitrate Pollution, Eutrophication
ii. Pesticide related impacts: Pest resistant problems, Biomagnifications, Non target species death
Green Revolution: Green Revolution refers to a series of research, development, and technology
transfer initiatives, occurring between the 1940s and the late 1970s, that increased agriculture
production around the world, beginning most markedly in the late 1960s.The initiatives involved
the development of high-yielding varieties of cereal grains, expansion of irrigation infrastructure,
modernization of management techniques, distribution of hybridized seeds, synthetic fertilizers,
and pesticides to farmers. The term "Green Revolution" was first used in 1968 by former USAID
director William Gaud.
Effects of modern agriculture
1. High yielding variety (HYV) seeds – Loss of genetic diversity
2. Effect of Chemical Fertilizers – By nitrate pollution Blue baby syndrome, by enrichment of
nitrates and phosphates into the lakes and ponds - Eutrophication
3. Effect of Chemical pesticides – Bioaccumulation of toxic elements into the plants and
Biomagnifications in various species and effects to the human health
4. Killing of Non target Organisms: The pesticide impact will be more on birds which will depend
on insects and pests present in agriculture.
5. The over irrigation leads to loss of ground water, energy, soil erosion.
Water logging: Presence of water in an area over a period of time is called water logging. The
main cause is due to the over usage of ground water leads to decrease of soil porosity and results
lack of water penetration into the subsurface. The rain water will not recharge and stagnant at the
top soil. The excessive usage of (agricultural) irrigation will also leads to Water logging condition.
Due to this, excess water in the plant root zone restricts the aeration required for optimum plant
growth. It may affect the availability of several nutrients by changing the environment around the
roots.
Salinity: Accumulation of salts in the topsoil due to Water logging condition and effects the plant
growth is called Salinity. The salts in the subsoil will mix with water and reached to the top layers.
When water completely evaporates, the salts will remain in the top soil and causes salinity.

LAND RESOURCES: Land is a major constituent of the lithosphere and is the source of
materials essential to man and other organisms. India’s geographical area is 328 million hectares.
Increase in population has put great pressure on land resources and this has led to
- destruction of forest land for agricultural and other purposes
- urbanization
- industrialization and infrastructure (roads, railways and transmission lines)
Causes, effects and control of a. Land degradation b. Soil erosion c. Desertification are
a. Land degradation:
Causes: 1.Natural factors: Heavy rains, High speed winds, Natural Disasters, Expansion of Desert

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VIT (A) ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

2. Anthropogenic factors: Mining, Urbanization, Deforestation, Overgrazing, Construction of

Dams and Canals, Excessive use of fertilizers, dumping of industrial and municipal waste
Soil Erosion:
Causes: Large-scale deforestation, Floods in rivers, Overgrazing by cattle, Dry violent winds, and
improper agriculture techniques.
Effects: Decrease in the productivity of land, Desertification of land, Deposition of soil in water
bodies, Reduction of agricultural land at the banks of rivers
Control: Forestation on barren land, Control of overgrazing, Construction of small check dams,
Promoting equitable use of water resources, preventing excavation of rocks
Desertification: Desert is an area of land that receives very less or no rainfall. It is very thinly
populated with little or no vegetation. The fertility in deserts is minimum and they are devoid of
wildlife. Conservation of fertile non deserted land into infertile deserted land is called
desertification.
Causes: Natural factors: Very low rainfall, Excessive evaporation, vast difference in diurnal
temperature extremes, High salinity of soils.
Anthropogenic factors: Continuous cutting of trees, overgrazing, over-irrigation, Excessive
ploughing, conservation of pastures to arable lands, excessive use of fertilizers.
Effects: Rapid soil erosion, Poor soil quality, Unfavorable climate, Low water table, salty and hard
water, increase of economic and human costs.
Control: Promoting large scale plantation of trees, changing agricultural practices and promoting
dry land farming and development of water catchment areas.

ROLE OF AN INDIVIDUAL IN CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES:

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