1.

INTRODUCTION TO NATURAL RESOURCES

Geography is an integrative spatial science which is devoted to the study of physical and human
elements, their inter-related aspects and attributes on the earth surface. Thus, two broad
categories of elements and their related aspects constitute the subject matter of geographical
studies:

 Physical elements or phenomena

 Human elements and attributes

Geographical study, thus, is concerned with the spatial dimensions of physical phenomena and
human or cultural phenomena on the earth’s surface and with spatial interrelationships and
interactions, and the resulting characteristics within and in between these two broad elements. It
also gives focus with regards to their formations, distribution, relationships, functions and
organization over the geographical space. It pays emphasis to the analysis and explanation of the
patterns and characteristics these elements.

Natural resources are composed of elements and combinations of elements of nature in any given
environment. They are principal constitute of the physical phenomena, of which geography is
mainly concerned in its spatial dimension. Humans and their socio-cultural and economic values
(the human phenomena) have a determining role in altering the spatial patterns and
characteristics produced by natural resources in any environment.

The Geography of Natural resources, therefore:

 is a specialized sub-field of physical geography;

 deals with natural resource studies, which are the chief components of physical,
biological and atmospheric spheres of any environment.
 is concerned with the analysis and explanations of the organization, patterns and
characteristics of natural resources in any given environment.
 It also pays attention to the investigation and explanation of their importance and the
influences they have within the environment, as well as on human socio-cultural and
economic life.
 It also adds to this dimension, the analysis of the reciprocal relationships. This means, it
also investigates and describes how humans and their resulting attributes affect and
change the existing spatial patterns and characteristics of natural resources in the
processes of obtaining and producing their material and spiritual necessities.

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1.1. Definition of natural resources

The word resource is a general term, which refers to any element or substance useful for the
satisfaction of man’s requirements. More systematic definitions are as follows.

 Resource is any substance or property that is of actual or potential value to man.

 Resources are the physical and human potentialities and actual values that constitute the basis
of material and spiritual satisfaction of human requirement.

From the word nature we could deduce that natural resources are those materials and assets that
are in nature. Natural resources are natural assets (raw materials) occurring in nature that can be
used for economic production or consumption. Natural resources are materials that are raw and
extracted from the Earth (Angela and Christianly, 2021). Natural resources are also those
resources that exist without any actions of humankind, i.e. they are there naturally. It can also be
defined as those resources that exist (on the planet) independent of human actions. They are the
resources that are found in the environment and are developed without the intervention of
humans.

Collins dictionary defined natural resources as all the land, forest, energy sources and minerals
existing naturally in a place that can be used by people. Merriam-Webster (2022) defined natural
recourses as those industrial materials and capacities (such as mineral deposits and waterpower)
supplied by nature. Natural includes things like minerals, forest, coal etc. that exist in a place and
can be used by man (Cambridge dictionary, 2022). It is a material source of wealth, such as
timber, fresh water, or a mineral deposit, that occurs in a natural state and has economic value.
Natural resources are materials from the Earth that are used to support life and meet people’s
needs.

It is the material or substance occurring in nature which can be exploited for economic gain
(English dictionary, 2022). They are the things that exist freely in nature for human use and don’t
necessarily need the action of mankind for their generation or production (Earth Eclipse, 2022).
They are sources of material and energy that are economically accessible in the natural
environment in primary form before their transformation by human activity (Insee, 2021).

“Natural resources provide the all-important basis for human existence and activities. The basic
functions of natural resources are often divided into two main functions. Natural resources
provide important raw materials for the production of goods and services as well as various
environmental services” (European Commission, 2002). “Natural resource is any asset that we
can obtain from our environment: water, soil, plants, wind, animals, minerals, the energy of the
sun and many others. Natural resources are often seen in terms of economic value, because so
many of them are crucial for people’s livelihoods” (CRS and MEAS. 2015). Natural resources
provide fundamental support to life and economic processes. Natural resource can be defined as
"a feature or component of the natural environment that is of value in serving human needs, e.g.,

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soil, water, wildlife, etc. Some natural resources have an economic value (e.g., timber), while
others have a 'non-economic' value (United Nations Peace Building Commission, 2007).

All the above definitions are not unlike and have common meanings. They meant that a resource
could be anything which comprises a substance or property, which is of physical or human
component, and have an actual or potential value i.e. it could be presently being used or to be in
the future by man. It is useful in satisfying human needs (both material and spiritual
requirements) either directly or indirectly, and in one-way or another. A resource, therefore, is
something material or abstract that can be used to satisfy human wants and deficiencies i.e. the
existence of a resource depends on its utility and functionality.

The above conceptual definition gives basically two broad categories and components of
resources: Natural or physical resources and human resources. The major and general distinction
or difference between the things in our surroundings is that, some are physical elements or
substances found in nature, while others are human creations or man made things. The physical
elements or substances found in nature constitute the categories known as Natural resources,
while the man made things and the labor as well as the skill vested on their creations constitute
the category of resources known as Human resources. A more systematic definition of the two is
as follows.

 Natural resources comprise the physical elements or combinations of elements of nature found
in any environment, and useful for the satisfaction of man’s requirement. They include energy,
water, land, soil, plants, air and so, on. These Natural components of the environment constitute
the basis of all life support system.

 Human resources comprise all the potentialities, creation and cultural values of any society.
These resources consist of Man’s labor, skills, and abilities (knowledge) and the materials and
wealth created by these potentialities and capabilities of the society.

1.1.1. The Scope and subject Matter of Natural Resources

This course material is confined to the study of the major category of resources known as
Natural resources. To deal on the other group, known as human resources is beyond the scope of
this course.

However, man / people occupy a pivotal position in all the geographical studies, particularly in
Human geography. Similarly, humans and their related attributes have a significant place and are
significantly treated in the study of Natural resources. Because: First, Natural resources are in the
service of man. It meant that they are exploited and used to meet human needs and wants and as
a result, are only considered to be resources. Second, people, their number, capabilities attitudes,
culture and their creations play a vital role in altering, producing, managing and developing or
destroying and degrading natural resources. Therefore, human’s including their potentialities,

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capabilities, socio-cultural creations and values (Constituting human resources) are treated in this
course with respect to the above inter-relations and interactions with natural resources.

1.1.2. Approaches to the study of Natural resources

In its study of Natural resources, geography applies the following methodological approaches.

 Regional Approach: - is concerned with assessment, identification and explanation of the

natural resources in any given environment, or a given geographical area or region, for instance,
the natural resources of Kenya, or Africa. Here, specific given environments, areas or regions are
a central focus concerning their natural resources study.

 Systematic Approach: - is concerned with analysis or investigations and explanations of

theories, concepts principles and models about natural resources as a whole. This approach is
concerned with the ecological and environmental organizations, relationships, functions and
interactions within and between natural resources and with that of humans and their activities.
E.g. The Geography of Natural Resources, or ecosystem,

 Resource Approach: - It places emphasis to the study of individual resources or a group of

resources as they occur in nature or an environment. Example: Atmospheric Air pollution and
ozone layer depletion, or soil resources, Biogeography, etc.

1.2. Classifications and Types of Natural Resources

1.2.1. Basis for Classifications

Natural resources could be classified in to different categories or groups on the basis of certain
concepts that would serve as criteria of classifications. Some of these include:

 The kind of environments forming or constituting various types of ecosystems;

 The form of life that the resource consist of or possess;

 The nature of the regeneration capacity of a natural resource

 On the pattern of occurrence and distribution:

 Possession or ownership system of resource

 Nature of management, control and utilization of resources and their environments

These are some general concepts. Each concept can consist of broad basis or criteria for
classification of natural resources into several categories or groups of resources.

1.2.2. Major Categories and types of Natural Resources

A. Resources Based on Environmental System

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Natural resources are basic constitute of ecosystems that are confined to varied environments.

 Ecosystems are basic organizational units that are mainly composed of natural resources found
in any environment over virtually all of the earth. Ecosystem refers to the functional interactions
and relationships between resources and the environment, as basic organizational unit.

 Environment is the space on the earth. The space or the environment forms the habitat to
which resources are confined and derive their functional interrelationships and interactions.

The earth’s environmental system is very broad and diversified. From the point of major
environmental systems, ecosystems and their components (Natural resources) are basically
organized in to three broad categories:

i. Terrestrial ecosystems- over land surface further sub-divided in to two groups.

- Lithospheric ecosystems – which include the zone of rocks and minerals.

- Biospheric ecosystem – consisting of living matter (plants and animals).

ii. Aquatic ecosystem- comprises the hydrosphere or the zone of water. It usually refers to
ecosystems confined to marine (ocean and sea) environments.

iii. Atmospheric ecosystem- comprises the zone of air surrounding the earth’s surface. This
realm refers to the lower portions of the atmosphere consists of various gaseous substances that
affect the vast complexes of life support systems in any environment.

 Within each or separate environmental system there could be a number of ecosystems.

 Each ecosystem forms interdependent and inter-locking organizational units (systems) within
and between environments. For example: - with in terrestrial environments several varied
ecosystems can exist consisting high mountain lands, dry hot lands, tropical hot-humid areas,
wind ward slopes, warm temperate low lands, cold polar areas, etc. that are composed of a
number of but more often similar resources, distinctively adapted to the specific organizational
unit and environmental system.

 On the basis of the form of life. All elements and substances of the natural environment
consist of two major form of life system. Living and non- living things similarly natural
resources on the basis of the form of life they consist of have been classified into:-

1. Biological or Biotic resources- this group consist of living resources mainly comprising plant
and animal life (resources).

2. Abiotic resources- are non-living resources that could be further divided into

 Geophysical/ chemical resources consisting organic or inorganic substances such as land,

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Minerals, water, soil etc.

 Atmospheric and gaseous resources consisting air, sun light/ heat, tidal power or energy.

B. Classifications on the basis of the regeneration capacity of Natural resource: -

Regeneration refers to the capacity or the nature of a resource to replace or substitute itself
naturally, so as to maintain sustainable life or existence within the environment, even under the
impact (or the interference) of the activities of man. Here are some of the natural processes
through which Natural resources regenerate or replace their substitutes, to maintain sustainably
rich and diversified ecological systems:

 Recycling e.g. energy cycle, air gaseous (carbon, Oxygen, Nitrogen etc) cycles, water (or

Hydrological) cycle, etc;

 Reproduction (birth); Growth/re-growth, Germination or planting and seedling;

Crystallization/Re crystallization, etc- Natural resources in any environment have varied capacity
and rate of regeneration. On the basis of the regeneration capacity natural resources are classified
in to two broad categories.

1. Renewable Resources

2. Non-renewable resources

1. Renewable resources: - of the two most widely accepted categories, the group known as
renewable resources comprises the most significant and widely frequent types of natural
resources. Renewable resources are resources that are recurrent, meaning they can replenish
themselves in the foreseeable future. They are also known as flow resources. The Renewable
resources:

 Are replaceable in character, because they regenerate themselves through reproduction or

recycling (energy and material cycles, Nutrient cycles, bio/geo-physical and chemical cycles,
photosynthesis, Gaseous cycles, and so on)

 Comprise all living or biotic resources and most of the Non-living or abiotic resources for
example:

Living /biotic- such as living organisms or animals and plants (vegetation), and Non-living / a
biotic - like solar energy, land and soil, water, Air etc.

 If carefully and properly used, they may last indefinitely, but misuses or overuses are likely to
affect the capacity and rate of regeneration of these resources. The renewable resources can be
further classified based on their exhaustion or vulnerability under inappropriate use by human
beings) into:

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a. Inexhaustible resources- are all those which remain unaffected by human action. Resources
comprising this group are found in abundance and continue to pour on the earth in whatever way
they are used by man. These resources sometimes are referred as Non-critical resources.

These resources are beyond the ability of man to change or manage. These include the earth’s
surface area or land surface area, Oceanic surface area, and solar radiation. They could be further
grouped into:

I. Immutable or perpetual resources include those, which are not affected in a known way in
terms of quality and quantity. Example, solar energy, wind etc

II. Misusable resource- includes those, whose quality, but not their quantity is affected. Example
marine water, and land surface.

b. Exhaustible resources: - are resources that seem endless and unmanageable in time, but are
subject and exposed to some damage depending on human mismanagement and abuses. They are
often referred to as critical resources. They include air, fresh water, soil, vegetation and wild life.
They could be further grouped in to: -

i) Maintainable resources- those that can be easily maintained e.g. soil, vegetation and wildlife.

ii) Non-maintainable resources- those that cannot be maintained easily and within short span of
time e.g. Air and water. Renewable resources however can be renewed and replenished relatively
by natural process if managed wisely. Just because a resource is renewable does not mean that it
can never be exhausted. Thus, a renewable resource will not be exhausted as long as it is used at
a rate of regeneration known as maximum sustained yield.

 The maximum rate at which a renewable resource is used without impairing or damaging its
ability to regenerate (renewal) is called maximum sustained yield. If this yield is exceeded a
potentially, renewable resource is turned into non-renewable resource.

Presently Global environmental warnings indicate that the maximum sustained yields of the
exhaustible resources are being exceeded in most parts of the world.

2. Non-Renewable Resources: - are resources that would not replace or regenerate by natural
processes.

This group of resources:

 Are also referred as fixed or fund (capital) resources from the human point of view, because
they are formed slowly and their supply is limited in nature. Therefore, with use are diminished
or last definitely though time, and once they are used up, they are gone forever.

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 Are irreplaceable or non-replaceable in character, even under appropriate way of utilization. It
consist most mineral resources, such as coal, petroleum, Natural gas, Ferrous and Nonferrous
metals, etc.

From the point of sustained utilization, the non-renewable resources further can be divided into:

i. Recyclable resources: - include those materials that can be recycled or reused repeatedly for
different purposes using various methods or techniques. So, some of the metallic ores and their
products could be recycled using different techniques to reuse them or their products repeatedly
for various purposes.

 Recycling is an artificial technique through which a resource or a material is reused or cycled

again and again in order to Maximize its value or duration of service (use), Reduce waste and
reduce environmental disturbance.

ii. Non-recyclable resources- those include non- renewable resources whose products can not
be recycled for reuse. This group comprises particularly the fossil fuels (coal natural gas and
natural oil) which will be totally exhausted once they had been worked out for human use.

This group of resources become available (sustained) though natural processes that are related to
geological time scaling only, i.e., the decaying of fossil remnants and their natural change in to
fossil quells through prolonged geological time.

C. Classification on the basis of location and Distribution

There are four categories of natural resources on the basis of their occurrence and availability (or
their location and distribution) spatially on the earth. These include: -

i. Ubiquitous- are resources that are spatially available or are occurring everywhere, like soil, air
and rocks or stones.

ii. Commonalities- comprise resources found in many places or that spatially occur at frequent
locations. Example: Fresh water features: rivers, lakes and springs) plants or vegetation, certain
common wild animals and a few constructional minerals.

iii. Rarities-refers to resources that occur in few places or which are spatially rare. Example: -

Fossil fuels, precious minerals (Gold, Diamond, Uranium), certain metallic ores (Iron, Copper,

etc.) a few wild animals (Lions, Tiger, Giraffes, etc.) and so on.

iv. Uniquitous- are resources found and peculiar to one specific location or place. Example
kangaroo in Australia, Mt, Nyala, Walia Ibex, Gelada Baboon Red fox and a few species of
Birds in Ethiopia, etc.

D. On the basis of development stage

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This classification particularly confirms for Non-renewable (mineral) resources- The
development and utilization of natural resources particularly that of the Non-renewable resources
primarily depends upon:

 The knowledge of availability /discovery,

 Identifying the quantity and quality,

 Finding a use-value /economic value

 Determining the feasibility of development using available capital and technology.

These necessary preconditions change and vary for a particular environment and society through
time, affecting or determining whether a resource is going to have a potential or actual value.

 On the basis of development stages (i.e., their discovery, production and utilization) that
natural resources possess at any particular time, are grouped in to:

a) Potential or Reserve stock resources- stocks refer to the material components comprising
mass energy, biotic and abiotic matter. The group of potential or reserve stock comprises
resources which presently are not developed, but which may be developed in the future, as
determined by the above four necessary preconditions (knowledge of discovery of the occurrence
and location, quantity and quality, identifying use or economic value and feasibility of
development) Potential or reserve stock resources could be dividing further in to sub-groups on
the basis of man’s knowledge of these resources.

b. Possible Reserve-stock is a resource with a known quantity, which have not yet been
developed and produced, but which can be exploited (produced) economically with existing
technology at any time in the future. So, often are called proven reserves.

c. Probable reserve stock is a conditional resource which its state of availability and economic
development is not ascertained with the existing economic and technological conditions. But in
future resources regarded in this category may become available and economical for
development.

d. Hypothetical or speculative reserves stock comprise a resource which is not fully discovered
or known to exist, but expected to be available based on the presence of favorable environmental
and geological conditions but are not based on preliminary explorations (surveys) that will be
carried to study the resources of a country or a region.

e. Developed stock resources- this category comprises resources, which are actually identified,
developed and being presently extracted or produced to meet a given end. They are also known
as operative reserve stocks. Example: gold and platinum in Ethiopia.

E. Classification based on Utility or Use Value: -

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Many of the natural resources are directly sold as a source of income, while some others have
indirect money value. On the basis either direct or indirect cash value, natural resources are
grouped into:

a. Utilitarian resource- These are resources that have direct money value. Example land minerals,
fresh waters, fish, and trees, are some of the resources which are usually directly sold for money
to obtain income.

b. Non-utilitarian resource- comprise resources which have direct environmental amenities and
scenic value, but an indirect money value. Example Landform features, wildlife, Oceans and
seas, atmospheric air, and solar radiation.

F. Classifications on the basis of resource or property ownerships: -

Based on who owns and manages a particular property or resource, they could be classified in to
the following groups:

a. State property resource: - is a resource controlled and managed under the ownership of the
state or the government.

b. Private property resources: - these are resources owned and managed by individuals, a family
or an enterprise/firm in private.

c. Common property resources: - Some resources are owned and utilized by groups of people or
a community in a village or a particular natural region. Every person, a committee or heads and

elders of the community usually manage the resources. Accordingly, there are two kinds of
access and utilization in relation to these resources:

 Open access- in which every body or member uses the resource in his own right, requirement
and way (both in terms of personal need, quantity and method)

 Managed access- In some case, where common property resource ownership prevails, the
utilization and management of the resources is controlled and run by committee, elders or leaders
of the community or the group.

In general, the type of resource or property ownership system in a particular region or a country
is determined by certain prevailing factors like the kind of political system, the nature of socio-
economic policy and structure, stage of socio-cultural and technological advancement of the
society and the type and critical value of the resource.

G. Based on the use (or Access) and management of Natural resources

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Resources could be also grouped on the basis of specified restrictions imposed or attached to
their use and management by law or agreements from governments or international
organizations. These groups include:

A. Exclusive resources-are resources, which possess and intended to meet some, specified
conditions (purposes) and whose use and management is restricted. These consist of resources
usually delineated as Bio-sphere reserves (Games, Parks, Sanctuaries, Zoos); resorts; play
grounds, Scientific research centers, secret places, cultural and religious centers (Churches,
Mosques, Spiritual holiday and ritual centers), and so on.

B. Non-exclusive resources- are determined depending on the nature of specification and

restriction on the resource use and management. This group comprises resources that are open to
use or visit freely or with lesser restrictions and expenses. Also include resources, which lack
any particular specification about their status of use and management. Example; open lakes, river
and streams, open ocean bodies and seas (beyond specified distance away from the boundary line
of adjacent country), inaccessible open forests, High mountain slopes, certain kinds of wild
animals (Hyena, snake, Jackal etc., ) cold polar frigid zones, etc

2.0 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION OF NATURAL

RESOURCES

Sustainable development means development that takes place without damaging the
environment. It meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future
generations. Therefore, resources should be utilised judiciously so that after fulfilling our present
requirements, they are also conserved for the future generations. Most of our resources are
limited in their supply. Over-use of many valuable resources has led to their degradation or
deterioration in quality, for example, soil, land and water resources. Therefore, it is essential that
we:

• use all renewable resources judiciously.

• minimize the depletion of natural resources.

• conserve the varied species.

Meaning of Sustainable Development of Resources

Sustainable development means ways people use resources without resources running out. The
term used by the Bruntland Commission(Year) defined it as “development with sustainability
that meets the need of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs”.

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- People need a better environment that means green spaces, play areas, no litter, nice gardens,
decent houses, less noise and pollution. The resources used should renew over generations.
- A better economy, that means jobs, reasonable prices, cheaper heat and light
- Better social conditions that mean good leisure facilities, lots of community groups offering
sports and arts, friendly neighbors.(Link it to sustainable development of resources)

Principles of sustainable development of resources include;

o Reduced dependence on fossil fuels, underground metals and minerals.
o Reduced dependence upon synthetic chemicals and other unnatural substances
o Reduced encroachment on nature
o Meet human needs fairly and efficiently

The goals of sustainable resource development include;

o Preservation of endangered species against extinction
o Protection of ecosystem and biodiversity upon which all life depends
o The establishment of nature and biosphere under various types of protection
o Conservation and careful use of scarce resources such as water, land and air
o Development of alternative, green, low carbon or renewable energy resources
o Conversion of non-recyclable materials into energy through direct combustion or after
conservation into secondary fuels

Problems/limitations of Sustainable Development of Resources

Natural resources are subject to increasing scarcity due to rapid environmental change,
increasing demand and their unequal distribution. Natural resources change may involve land
and water degradation, overexploitation of wild life and aquatic resources, extensive land
clearing or damage and climate change.
Natural resource scarcity may also result from the unequal distribution of resources among
individuals and social groups or ambiguities in the definition of rights to common property
resources. The effects of environmental scarcity such as constrained agricultural landed output,
constrained economic production can affect or limit sustainable resource development.
Natural resources are limited because these resources are used by people in ways that are defined
symbolically. Land, forests and waterways are not just material resources people compete for,
but are also part of a particular way of life (farmers, rancher, fisher, and logger).

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Another limitation or challenge of sustainable development of resources is human behavior. This
is as a result of rapid growth of human population worldwide which affects the resources in
various ways. These human behaviour include; agricultural burning, overconsumption of
resources, failure to recycle, production/disposal of toxic waste, improper disposal of human
waste and garbage and misuse of pesticides etc. Other limiting factors as a result of human
behavior include depletion of soils by over cultivation, erosion from removal of vegetation,
removal of carbon sinks (trees), inefficient use of fuel and urbanization of farmland etc. In this
aspect, human beings must make effort to conserve croplands, fresh water, energy, biodiversity
and other life supporting natural resources. Developed countries should assist by reducing high
consumption of all natural resources, especially fossil fuels.

Another limiting factor is inability to replace ecological functions. While it is possible to find
ways to replace some natural resources, it is much more unlikely that they will ever be able to
replace ecosystem services such as the protection provided by the ozone layer, or the climate
stabilizing function of the forest.

Another limitation to sustainable resource development is natural resources multifunction. In this

aspect, forests for example does not only provide the raw material for paper which can be
substituted quite easily, but they also maintain biodiversity, regular water flow and absorb
carbon (iv) oxide, CO2.

Partial irreversibility of natural resources is another problem of natural resources since their
deterioration lies in their partial irreversibility. For instance, the loss in biodiversity is often
definite and consumption of natural resources or capital may have no observable impact until a
certain threshold is reached. For example, a lake can absorb nutrients for a long time while
actually increasing its productivity. However, once a certain level of richness is achieved, there
is a lack of oxygen which causes the lake’s ecosystem to breakdown.

Conservation for Sustainable Development of Resources

The term conservation of natural resources depicts the management for human use of natural
resources so that they may yield the greatest sustainable benefit to the present generation, while
maintaining their potential to meet the needs of future generations.
It can also be defined as the protection of genetic resources for rational use. Wise utilization and
conservation of resources should be perceived within the context of sustainable development.
It can also be defined as sustainable use and protection of natural resources including plants,
animals, mineral deposits, soils, clean water, clean air and fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum,
and natural gas. The objectives of resource conservation are to:
 Ensure endless use of renewable resources

 Avoid reckless depletion of non-renewable resources

 Avoid extinction of biodiversity that may be actually or potentially beneficial

 Ensure further development of the resources

 Check or prevent any negative environmental externalities arising from exploitation

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 Ensure significant reduction in the level of wastage of natural resources

 To preserve genetic diversity

 To maintain essential ecological processes
 To ensure the sustainable utilization of species and ecosystems.
. The goal of renewable resource conservation is to ensure that such resources are not consumed
faster than they are replaced.
. Conservation of non-renewable resources focuses on maintaining an adequate supply of those
resources well into the future.

Conservation of substantial resource development can be on the basis of biodiversity

conservation. This biodiversity or biological diversity denotes the number and variety of
different organisms and ecosystems in a certain area. Protecting biodiversity is essential for
ecosystems to respond flexibility to damage or change.
A single species of corn crop can be destroyed by a certain insect or disease but if several
different species of corn are planted in the field, some of them may resist the insect or disease
and survive. Human beings benefit greatly from the many medicines, crops and other products
that biodiversity provides. It has been shown that a reasonable percentage of modern
pharmaceutical medicines are derived from plants or animals; unfortunately, human activities
have greatly reduced biodiversity around the world. The greatest threat to biodiversity is loss of
habitats as human beings develop land for agriculture, grazing, livestock, industry and habitation.
The most drastic damage has occurred in the tropical rainforests, which cover less than 7% of the
earth’s surface but contain well over half of the planet’s biodiversity.

The use of resources varies from one country to another. Due to technology and skilled human
resource, the developed countries like United Kingdom (UK) and USA make optimum use of
resources as compared to the developing countries. Distribution of resources across the world is
highly uneven. Rapid population growth has resulted in over-utilisation of the natural resources.
This has led to drastic depletion and degradation of natural resources. For example, over-
utilisation of soil has resulted in the depletion of the fertility of soil in many parts of the world.
Thus, there is an urgent need to maintain a balance between population, resource planning and
conservation. Resources should be used judiciously; otherwise mankind will have to face dire
consequences.

Over the last few decades, there has been a tremendous increase in the concern for the
conservation and management of resources as they are rapidly depleting and need to be
conserved.

Conservation means sustainable and optimum utilisation of resources. We must realise that
nature and its resources are not merely ours. They also belong to the future generation. Thus, it is
necessary to use the resources more efficiently and reduce wastage. Development of technology,
human skill and population control is essential for a long-term sustainability of natural resources.

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We have to create sustainable community for the sustenance of life on the planet; else the
ecological balance will be disturbed. Our Earth is the only habitable planet. So, spread awareness
for saving earth from further deterioration. Follow 5 R’s, i.e. reduce, reuse, recycle, refuse and
rethink. Use the resources according to the ‘need’ and not according to the ‘greed’. Care for
nature, it will care for you.

3.0 UTILISATION OF EARTH RESOURCES FOR DEVELOPMENT

Resources become usable when they are processed. For example, cotton is converted into
yarn. On further processing, it is converted into fabric, then finally into garments. Thus, at
various stages value addition is possible by applying skill and technology. Generally, the
utilisation of resources depends upon various factors, such as:
• Availability of resources
• Skill of human beings
• Availability of capital
• Availability of water
• Advancement of technology (tools, machines, etc.)
• Availability of transport and communication facilities, etc.
In the initial stages of economic development, availability of resources played a very important
role. With the advancement of technology, availability of capital and skilled labour became a
necessity for the utilisation of resources. For example, USA is termed as a developed country
because it is economically self-sufficient and technologically advanced. On the other hand, India
is still in a developing stage. Though resources are essential for development, their mere
presence does not guarantee development. Other factors also play a crucial role.

‘The earth has enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed’. This statement is
attributed to Mahatma Gandhi who pointed to the multitude of resources that might be enough
to provide for the entire human population- were it not for the inequality or unsustainable human
interference with the natural cycles. Resources on earth are not the same all around the globe,
they are not equally accessible, and they may be used differently depending on environmental
factors, such as temperature.

Our planet is unique in the solar system. The resource diversity on earth such as water and
oxygen, sustain life processes. Both natural and human systems highly depend on the availability
of planetary resources and on the processes that recirculate them.
Earth resources include air, water, land, sunlight, plants and animals. Human population growth
puts pressure on earth’s resources. This can lead to competition and conflict over who gets to use
them. It can also lead to environmental degradation as people try to extract more resources than

15
the earth can provide. Ultimately, sustainable management of earth resources is essential for the
long term health of the planet.

The most abundant resources on earth

Earth’s resources come from its main spheres: the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and
biosphere. The most abundant energy resources include gas, oil, wind, solar, thermal and
biomass. They produce electrical, mechanical and chemical energy that powers our homes and
industries. The lithosphere provides the following resources: Oxygen that aerates the soil for
plant growth Silicon that is used in almost all electronic devices such as computers, solar panels.
Metals used in building, construction and manufacturing. Rocks used for building and
construction. Soils for crop growth, forestry and building. minerals including oil. Land
formations such as mountains and rift valleys. The atmosphere represents the surrounding gas
layer our planet which contain large amounts of energy in terms of heat and light. This energy
can be used to power wind turbines and solar panels to generate electricity. Hydrosphere
resources include oceans, lakes, rivers and underground water. These can be used for transport,
industry, agriculture, domestic life.

Importance of natural resources in Development

Natural resources play an important role in our lives. They are essential to the world’s economic,
social and environmental wellbeing. We rely on them for food, water, fuel, raw materials etc.
natural resources are substances obtained from the environment and used to sustain life and meet
human needs.

1. Natural resources and agriculture.

Humans have utilized natural resources since they transitioned from a hunting and forage
lifestyle to one based on agriculture. Agriculture cannot exist without natural resources. Plants,
animals, trees, soil, water, fuel, energy and other resources are all needed for agriculture. The
quality of natural resources is also important for agriculture. For instance, land with poor soil
quality or too much dryness will not yield much. It is therefore important to protect and preserve
natural resources for future agriculture. Due to farming strong dependence on natural resources,
there has been a movement in recent years to make agriculture more sustainable. To accomplish
this, less intensive farming practices can be used that do not deplete natural resources such as
soil, water and plant species.

2. Natural resources and employment creation

Agriculture, manufacturing and energy production all rely heavily on natural resources. The
availability of natural resources directly affects employment in these sectors. Natural resources
can also be tourism attractions which promote employment in the hospitality industry for tour

16
guides, hotel workers and restaurant staff. Conservation and re-afforestation activities can create
employment opportunities.

3. Natural resources and wealth

The majority of nations’ wealth consists of natural resources. Countries which are rich in natural
resources are effectively wealth as these resources can be converted into financial capital. Due to
their diminishing supply and increased market demand, non-renewable natural resources now
have higher value. Many nations use their natural resources to sustain their economies. Some of
the world’s wealthiest nations also have abundant natural resources.

4. Natural resources and energy

The world today runs on energy. Natural resources such as wind water, tides, geothermal solar
radiation, fossil fuels are used to generate energy. This energy is used to power our homes,
businesses, industries and transport. Renewable energy resources such as solar, wind and hydro
are becoming increasingly important as we look for ways to reduce pollution and build a more
sustainable future. Solar panels depend on sunlight to generate electricity; without the sun, there
would be no solar power. A single hour of sunlight supplies enough electricity for every human
on earth for an entire year.

5. Natural resources and industries

Natural resources provide raw materials needed to produce products. Petroleum and gas industry
relies heavily on crude oil and natural gas. Access to natural resources thus determines location
of industries. For instance mining industries choose to locate their operations in areas with large
deposits of minerals in order to reduce transport cost and have easy access to raw materials.
When industries can extract and process raw materials efficiently, they can produce more goods
or services at lower costs.

6. Medicinal utilization of natural resources

People rely on plants for medicinal care. Herbs are used in their raw form or processed form to
treat illnesses. Traditional medicines are made from tree extracts while modern medicines are
derived from plants. Metals and minerals are used to manufacture medical equipment. Water is
used in many medical procedures including hydration and sterilization of surgical instruments.

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4.0 SOIL RESOURCES: DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION

Definition and Importance of Soil

Soil is the loose surface covering of the land in which all plant life grows. It is a complex
mixture of weathered minerals and rock particles, partially decomposed organic matter and host
of living organisms. Thus, soil is an assemblage of mineral particles organic matter, living
organisms, water and air components that form the surface covering of the land. It can be
considered an ecosystem by itself. It is a terrestrial abiotic resource although some pedologist
considers it as a living (biotic) resource. It constitutes the geo physical and chemical component
of land surface.

The Importance of soil: soil is a very critical or essential material of the earth surface.

It constitutes the substances (nutrients, minerals, air, water etc.) through which all plant life
draws.

It is a home of certain micro-organism and small creatures.

It contains organic compounds, nutrients and moisture, and maintains the balance of the
ecological system.

Generally speaking, life would have been impossible without this essential component of the
biosphere.

The organic growth and cycles or the ecological system is sustainably maintained under the
availability of stable and well-composed soils.

Soil Erosion

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Soil erosion generally refers to the activity or processes of detachment, transport, and loss of the
soil and soil materials by water, wind, ice and gravity. Erosion involves both the loss of the soil
itself and loss of organic and mineral nutrients found in the soil. Soil erosion does not apply to
the steady or slow process of nature, which involves the trans-location of parent (or soil-forming)
materials, and result in the formation and development of soil and large depositional lands (such
as deltaic or alluvial plains, etc,). This steady-natural and non-destructive (or building) process of
erosion is called Natural or Geological erosion.

Soil erosion applies to the rapid process of erosion known as accelerated erosion. Accelerated
erosion is the process involving the large scale removal, transportation and degradation of soil
particles and nutrient materials constituting the land. The activities of the mobile agents on
natural or geological processes of erosion changes or accelerate to a destructive- degradation
level (stage)- under the interference of inappropriate human activities on the natural processes of
erosion and the soil ecosystem. Thus, substantial erosion of the soil is possible when the two
processes, natural and accelerated erosion are simultaneously operative on soil and land. Gravity,
water, wind and ice are known as mobile agents of erosion. However, running water and wind
are the dominant agents of accelerated erosion. Depending on the mechanism and medium
through which these agents of erosion work, accelerated erosion can be divided in to Sheet
erosion / sheet-wash, Rill and gully erosion, Stream / river erosion, Leaching, Wind erosion.

 Sheet erosion –involves the horizontal surface wash of soil and soil materials by run-off.

 Rill and gully erosions involve the detachment and carrying or transporting of consolidated
soil material and rock particles by running water at the same time digging and forming rills and
gullies at varied depths and widths on slopping fields.

 Stream or river erosion- erosion at stream or river channels and banks, involving the
transportation of soil and soil materials in solution, suspension and bed-load transport.

 Leaching- is the process of downward transport of dissolvable mineral and organic matter by
percolating water in solution.

 Wind erosion- wind is one of the major agents of erosion, particularly in arid areas. It sweeps
high wind velocity in non- vegetative dry lands causes an extensive destruction to soil materials
and human life.

Factors affecting soil erosion

In all forms of erosional processes, there are certain factors or variables that play an influential or
determining role, in two ways:-

 By either speeding or accelerating the work of the natural agents, and increasing the extent (or
degree) of loss and degradation of the soil and land; i.e., by highly disturbing the natural or
geological equilibrium to the state of causing damage or destruction to the soil and land.

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 Or controlling or regulating the activities of the mobile agents to work at a steady natural
equilibrium state, with little or no damage to the soil and land.

The major variables affecting soil erosion are climatic factors, soil properties, vegetation cover,
human activities and topographic /Relief features,

A. Climatic factors

The important climatic factors / or elements/ that affect soil erosion comprise:

 Precipitation mainly amount and duration (frequency) and intensity of rain fall;

 Type and velocity of wind;

 Temperature- radiation receipts, amount and intensity of heat, and its changes.

i. Precipitation conditions- particularly pertaining to amount and duration or frequency of rainfall

and the intensity (rate) of rainfall are the most force-full factors (individually or in aggregate)
causing accelerated soil and land erosion, through their activities in splashing or breaking and
detaching particles, increasing and speeding run off, and more severe stream flow. Generally
speaking, the heavier the rainfall, the bigger and more intense the rain drop in an area, and
subsequently the greater the impact (or the force) with which it strikes and breaks the particles of
the soil and land, and the more rapid the amount of seepage or percolation, run off, and the
turbulent the stream flow- actions and thus, the greater the degree and intensity of the loss of the
soil, soil materials and degradation of the land.

ii. Wind velocity

More speedy and power full winds, mainly in arid and semi-arid areas cause considerable soil
loss through different ways:

 Saltation- increased evaporation and concentration of salt on the soil surface by blowing wind.

 Suspension- transport of soil particles in suspension by turbulent action of blowing wind.

 Surface creep-a steady interrupted movement of dispersed soil particles under the influence of
blowing wind.

In general, under high wind velocity soil particles are picked up from one location and are
blown, often over longer distance, to another location. This process of wind erosion sometimes
causes dust storms (like hurricane); forms sand dunes (like Ergs, ridges, etc); buries localities
with deposition; and creates arid conditions.

iii. Temperature

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Temperature conditions, mainly pertaining to amount and intensity of heat radiation receipts, and
its alternate changes affect soil erosion indirectly through the influence (impact) on the
pedogenic factors and processes involved in soil formation. This could be seen in the following
roles that temperature plays among various pedogenic factors and processes. Generally speaking,
rainfall amount and intensity increases with temperature (thus, the other controls of climate being
constant). This is because, the ability of warm air to absorb more water is high, and increases
with temperature increase. Therefore, erosion by running water is quite serious and more severe
in tropical and sub –tropical areas. The cooler the climate, the more likely for the rainfall to be
steady and the water erosion to be less severe or disastrous on the soil.

Changing conditions of warm and cool temperatures affect the degree of weathering of parent
material and the amount of particles available for accelerated erosion, because determines the
amount and duration of time available for the factors of weathering process and erosion. High
temperature also facilitates the decaying of organic materials (under humid conditions) and the
action of micro-organisms in decomposing this decayed matter, and thus affect the amount of
soil material available to be taken off by the mobile agents of erosion.

B. Type and nature of vegetation cover: - in the world, the general coincidence of soil and
vegetation zones with climatic belts show clearly the effect of climate on natural vegetation.
These consequently clarify that climate affects the erosion conditions of an area directly, as well
as through the vegetation, cover. Vegetation composition and distribution forms the natural cover
of the soil and land; hold soil particles through its root; reduces the force of rain-splash by their
leaves from breaking and detaching the soil particles; breaks the force of wind and running
water; shade the soil from fierce or intense heat and reduce amount of moisture loss through
evaporation; and add organic humus, which stick soil particles together and improve soil
structure. Thus, all these contributions affects control of accelerated erosion, and regulate the
mobile agents to work on the soil and land at the natural- equilibrium state.

In the absence of vegetation cover, wind erosion is more several in arid climates than elsewhere.
In arid and semi-arid regions, the absence of vegetation cover is accompanied by lack of organic
matter (humus) and this makes the soil more susceptible to severe erosion by running water from
infrequent and intense rainfall and more frequent-intensive winds.

C. Topography / Relief: - Topographic or relief features (or settings) impose different degree of
influences on the extent and rate of erosion of soil and soil materials:

 Directly through the kind and nature of the slope, such as altitude, levelness or steepness,
gradient, etc and the aspect of the slope

 Indirectly by affecting the type and nature of climate; the nature of vegetation cover; the
pedogenic processes and the amount of parent material available, associated parent material
available in association with various topographic settings. Slope, depending on the type and
degree of the gradient (steep, gentle or undulating gradient) can reduce soil erosion; or accelerate

21
soil erosion by increasing the velocity of flowing water and the amount of susceptible surface
material available for soil erosion. Sloppy fields are more vulnerable to soil erosion. Because the
capacity of running water to carry away the soil is maximum on inclined and steep-barren
surfaces; while is minimum on flat undulating (or plain) surfaces. For example, a four times
increase in the degree of the slope is estimated to double the velocity of the flowing water and
can increase its erosive power four times and its carrying capacity 32 times. Thus, other than
sheet erosion, rill and gully erosion are a severe problem on mountainous sloppy fields. On
nearly leveled land there is limited run off, because much of the water is held as stagnant and
depression storage. Thus, on leveled surfaces the capacity of water to percolate and leach down
the soluble nutrients is greater as compared to that on steep slopes. Besides sheet erosion is
relatively severe on a concave slope than on a convex slope, due to high drying rate, greater
steepness, and thin and shallow soil depth.

Non-uniformity of slopes and development of valleys (due to dissection) associated with

mountainous topography also enhances run off and stream erosion. The aspect of the slope is
also important in affecting soil erosion. From experience, slopes that face south and west
direction in the northern hemisphere suffer more from erosion than those that face north or east,
due to greater differences in temperature and moisture. Soils on north facing slopes are better
covered with vegetation, relatively moist and have relatively better organic content than south
facing slopes. South facing slopes, which face the sun directly, are exposed to more heat,
excessively drying conditions, little vegetation cover and organic humus content. Thus, aspect
conditions would increase the detachment and transportability of the soil particles of the south
facing slopes than that of the north-facing slopes in northern hemisphere mountainous region.

D. The properties of the soil

Soil erodibility is largely dependent upon the texture, structure, organic matter content, and the
nature of acidity of the soil, among other factors. Texture or the composition of different particle
sizes (clay, silt and sand) determines the porosity and permeability of the soil. Soils dominated
by coarse-grained particle sizes (like sandy soils) have greater porosity and permeability, and
consequently become loose or less intact; and are more erodible than the others (silt or clay
soils). Organic matter (humus) content in the soil determines the capacity of the particles to stick
together and its resistance to runoff and blowing wind. Humus improves soil structure by
attaching particles and increases the soil resistance to erosive forces. Acidity facilitates the
chemical decomposition of minerals and organic matter, and consequently enhances the
susceptibility of soil particles to the erosive forces. Under humid conditions particularly
accelerates the process of leaching (downward transportability) of soluble minerals and organic
substances.

Structure is determined by the properties such as texture, porosity, humus content, mineral mater,
and acidity or alkalinity of the soil. It includes the aggregation, the cohesion, thickness and
porosity of the particles in forming the most common arrangements with fairly distinctive shape

22
and size. These affect the absorptive and retentive capacities (moisture status), the sickness or
detachment of the particles and the solubility of the nutrients, and thus, the degree of the
transportability as well as leachness of the soil and soil materials.

Soils with greater absorptive and retentive capacities reduce run off and are less erodible whereas
high porosity and detachment or solubility increases the erodibility of the soil.

E. Human Activities: -

The activities of human beings directly or indirectly are the chief factor that causes accelerated
soil erosion. Humans via their activities are considered as the major cause or agents of soil
degradation, because all the other factors play roles to the extent of retarding or accelerating soil
erosion depending on human interference. The Human activities that disturb the natural state and
cause accelerated erosion, and the degradation of soil and land are:-

i. Deforestation: - cutting, Clearing, Burning and over grazing the trees, forest plants or the
vegetation cover. These comprises cutting trees and burning the residual mulch to obtain wood
for construction, housing or to secure fuel energy consumption; clearing and burning the plant
cover or forest cover to secure and prepare farmland, as in that of shifting or fallow cultivation;
overgrazing, that involves grazing of fields or pasture areas repeatedly (continuously) or by
allowing too numerous animal traffic above supporting capacity of the pasture fields, so as the
natural grass and plant cover will become unable to recover again. These activities will destroy
the natural vegetation and expose the soil surface to direct raindrops, runoff and stream water or
wind, thereby greatly enhancing the erodibility of the soil.

ii. Improper or bad land use and farming practices: - farming when poorly or improperly
managed can make the problem of erosion much worse, although it is believed that all farming
activities would likely to disturb the soil stability. Poor farming practices that could worsen the
soil erosion mainly includes:

1)Slash and burn practices:- the removal and burning of plant cover and residual mulch from soil
surfaces.

2)Over cultivation: - permanent and prolonged cultivation of the same farm plot impoverishes
soil nutrients particularly in dry soils and soils with poor or deficit nutrients.

3)Mono cropping: - is related to over cultivation in terms of continuity of cultivation, but differs
in that it involves the growing of the same crop on the same farm plot repeatedly. The practice
can deplete a particular type of nutrient most used by the crop and deprives the possibility of
nourishment of diversified organic matter in the soil.

4)Ploughing perpendicular or vertically to the slope- ploughing in line to the slope will pave an

23
easy way for down slope flow (runoff) of water and deprives contour plough depressions that can
hold back the flow and enforce the gradual seepage (in filtration) of the water in to the soil.

5)Absence of mixed farming- in traditional agriculture, sticking to either crop farming or

livestock farming alone can deprive the inter-dependence between the two activities, in that can
reduce the amount of manure from animal dung or crop residual to be added in to the soil.

Effects of Soil Erosion.

Soil erosion, which may called the "Creeping death of the land‖ is a worldwide problem. It
affects the land from which the soil is washed, damages the area downstream by floods and
sediments, destroys farmlands and harms an economy of a region. The major effects and
problems of soil erosion may include loss of the soil, loss of nutrients, excess of certain elements
in the soil, desertification, floods and siltation, loss of agricultural land and crop failure,
ecological degradation, destruction of utility services and economic harms; and health problems.

i. Loss of the soil: - Erosion continually removes or wears away the surface soil. Each year 75
million tons of top soil is lost around the world. Soil loss is usually worst in areas of high rainfall
and sloppy mountainous regions. In Ethiopia, the loss is estimated at 10.5 million tons annually.
The awash alone account for 2 million metric tons annual loss of soil in the country.

ii. Loss of nutrients: - erosion degrades the soil in many ways and qualities, among which the
major one is that it causes the deficiency of important minerals and organic elements that are
expected in the soil by decreasing the organic content; removing (depleting) the soluble minerals
like carbonates, sulfates, phosphate, etc.; and depriving the elements and nutrients needed for
plant growth.

The amount of essential nutrients lost by erosion is considerably high from the top valuable soil.
The loss is particularly severe during the process of down leaching of dissolvable nutrients,
although considerable loss also results during surface transportation by running water and wind.
This can be seen easily; in that flood deposited materials contain greater proportion of nutrients
than the normal or stabilized soils. The removal of inorganic minerals and organic matter means
a loss of all the fertility elements and the productivity condition of the soil.

iii. Excess of certain elements in the soil:- erosion, such as by wind or leaching can result in
excess of certain elements, like:  Salt: - an excess salt resulting from excessive evaporation or
deficiency of rain is not conducive for plant growth.  Iron: - When leaching removes
dissolvable minerals, in excess amount of insoluble iron remains on the top soil and can cause
toxic hazard.

 Excess of water from poor seepage (such as in clay soils) can cause rotten plant roots and peat
in the soil; underground water table to rise up; Stalinization problem, and increase salt on the
upper soil layer.

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iv. Desertification: - desertification can occur through gradual development on a good land or
though expansion or invasion from adjacent deserts to bordering areas, due to deforestation, and
soil and land degradation. It is estimated that the spread of deserts threats over one-third of the
world land surface. The expansion of deserts to border areas has become critical especially in the
Sahel, Andes and parts of South Asia. From land that is very severely at risk to desertification, is
estimated that productivity have reduced by over 50%; while from other lands that are certainly
at risk, the productivity decline ranges from 25% to 50% annually.

v. Floods and Siltation: - sedimentation, which is a quick built up of river and stream beds with
coarse materials that cannot readily transported further away, results due to an increase in the
rate of erosion beyond the geologic norms. It causes the reduction of the flow bed by fill
materials and the capacity of the channel to carry an increased water or runoff. This leads to the
flow of water over the banks and its spread over large surface area in sheets known as floods.
Siltation is the fill up of reservoir dams with sediments. Silt, clay and organic materials
remaining in suspension are carried to the lower end of reservoir dams and cause the siltation of
reservoirs that are built up for generation of H.E.P., or to provide irrigation water, urban
domestic (drinking ) water supply or fish farm. The rate at which siltation occurs depends on the
erodability of the soil in water shed area, type of agricultural practice, nature of climate and
topography in the total water shed area and the ratio between the size of the water shed area and
the volume of the reservoir. A considerable proportion of eroded sediment reaching a reservoir is
largely contributed by stream (river) bank erosion. Siltation can cause reduction water supply
carrying capacity of reservoir dams, failure of power (HEP), irrigation potential, domestic water
supply and damage to dams and loss of considerable national asset.

vi. Loss of agricultural land and crop failure: - all the so far mentioned consequences of
accelerated erosion and land degradations can turn a productive land into bare and non-
productive area, or can cause crop failure, or in times crop damage from flooding, siltation, or
dissection and fragmentation of land; And thus greatly affect food security, and have resulted to
a considerable decline in the agricultural output of many countries of the world.

vii. Ecological degradation and loss of sustainable environment: - soil is a biotic geophysical
resource useful to the recycling and regeneration of critical resources like plants, water, air,
climatic factors and others. Its loss and damage can create series imbalances between these
critical resources and can create inhospitable ecological systems.

viii. Destruction of utility services and Economic harms: - other than the so far listed problems,
erosion can cause the following economic harms.

 gullies and ravines create social and economic isolation;

 Winds, runoff and landslides can cause tilting and failing offences and poles;

 Floods and sedimentation fills, blocks or buries ditches and channels;

25
 Railways, roads or sewages are sometimes blocked by drifting sand, moving rock fragments
and soil materials;

 The cost of maintenance of these amenities, besides their cost of provision is a considerable
loss to national asset.

 Besides, soil particles from high concentration of harmful gases and acidic nutrient can cause
air and water pollution.

ix. Health problems: - Erosion of the soil can affect health conditions of people or can cause
sickness under certain specific circumstances. Thus, for example dust storms that result to
prolonged dust inhalation can cause great inconveniences and sometimes illness like pneumonia,
bronchiate, etc and even deaths. It can cause also inflamed eyes or trachoma. Besides, toxic
chemicals and hazardous wastes from polluted soil and water can cause a serious threat to human
health problems.

Conservation methods of soil resource

Principles and Strategies of Soil Resource Conservation.

Erosion working beyond the geologic norm is the primary problem of the soil and land.
Accelerated erosion basically occurs when soil particles are detached by action of forceful rain
drops, by action of reactive solutions, and activities of man and animals; and when the mobile
agents and percolating water picks up, removes and transports this detached particles and
nutrients within them. Therefore, soil conservation principles and strategies should basically be
geared towards protecting, minimizing or arresting these actions and problems. The strategies
generally include:

 Minimizing and preventing powerful rain drops and the detachment of soil particles there by
improving infiltration and soil moisture by using soil granulation techniques and vegetative
coverings.

 Reducing or Controlling surface runoff and soil transportation by applying soil stabilization
techniques and mechanical structures that allow safe-disposal or flow of water.

 Maintaining the nutrient materials in the soil and improving their structure by employing
biological methods.

 Influencing people to conserve the soil and land.

The principle also under lies that these strategies could provide a substantial result when only the
various methods are combined together in to practice.

Methods of Conservation

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1. Protecting and controlling the Removal of the soil- there are two general methods that involve
several practices, which are useful in preventing the detachment of particles by intercepting
raindrops and reduce the removal of soil and soil materials. These include:

a) The use of vegetation cover and soil granulation techniques

b) The use of artificial or mechanical structures.

The use of vegetation cover and soil granulation techniques: -

These comprise afforestation and Reforestation. Afforestation refers to the planting of trees of
indigenous species over areas that are naturally devoid of plant cover, such as mountain slopes,
hill-sides, bare fields around farms and river banks; while reforestation applies to replacing or
substituting trees after cutting or planting on deforested areas; grow tree crops, grasses, legumes
plants on higher terraces; grow drought resistant crops and plants in drier or semi-arid areas;
plant shelter belts or wind breaks in arid and semi-arid areas to break the force of wind or divert
the direction of blowing wind.

These practices are useful in that which help to intercept rain drop and reduce the force of wind;
reduce the velocity of runoff, cut-off the action of running water; increase porosity and
granulation and hence, improve infiltration capacity of the soil, reduce drying condition of the
soil and improve soil moisture.

The use of mechanical structures

These are manmade earthy works useful in reducing or controlling soil erosion, particularly
around agricultural land. These include:

i) Diversion drains or channels-are diverts or intercepts constructed by excavating (or digging)

the land across the slope to conduct or lead water to safe outlet and control the removal of the
soil. Are constructed to divert runoff from a hillside to a leveled bottom field or divert water out
of active gullies into a safe, non-destructive out let. The diversion drains or channels should have
to be covered with suitable spreading grasses or low growing bushes to prevent them from
destruction and further erosion.

ii) Terracing – involves the constructing of broad channels across the slope of rolling land.
Terraces are land embankments usually constructed on more or less leveled contour line across
the slope of a rolling land. They are useful in that:

- Reduce the length and gradient of the slope;

- Retain or hold back the water running down the slope and the soil;

- Facilitate percolation;

27
- Improve tillage operation on sloppy fields.

Terraces are constructed in a series of steps or separated and widely spaced ridges depending on
the kind (steepness) of the slope and the extent of runoff down the slope.

iii) Bunding – involves the practice of placing an embankment or a bund across the slope by
using a part of the soil surface itself, to save rain water from runoff and reduce erosion (sheet
erosion). There are several types of bunds:

- Contour bund – is the most common type of soil embankment constructed across the slope of
the land in contours or at right angle to the altitude of the slope in equally spaced lines. It forces
the water to walk rather than running down, creating a barrier to flow, increasing down seepage
and soil moisture, and reduces soil loss.

- Peripheral bund - constructed encircling the boundaries of an area, particularly farmlands.

- Marginal bund – constructed at the lowest part of the catchments (stream banks) without any
reference to slope or gradient (or contours).

- Side bund – constructed along the slope, usually at right angle to the contour bunds.

Biological methods of maintaining soil materials – These methods comprise suitable

measures that enable to prevent and maintain nutrients found in the soil, at the same time
providing improved structure to the soil and protecting the soil from erosion. The biological
methods involve practices that enable to protect the depletion of soil nutrients such as organic
humus; minerals and water from the soil, or that provide these nutrients and improve the soil
structure. These methods comprise two general methods, which comprise a number of several
useful practices and techniques. These include:

a) Securing the natural vegetation cover and growing plant coverage on the soil – plants beside
their importance in reducing or controlling the detachment, removal or transportation of the soil;
are also significant in maintaining nutrients and improving the soil structure. Some of the useful
methods of provision of plant coverage to the soil are Afforestation, Reforestation, Growing tree
crops and drought resistant food crops and vegetative plants, shelter belts, and applying
controlled grazing systems.

b) The application of proper cultivation methods and suitable measures to protect agricultural
lands. These include biological measures related to agricultural land and practices; which are
useful in protecting the existing nutrients and improve their status in the soil. They comprise:

i. Contour ploughing – also known as contour farming and applies to the tillage of farm land
found on sloping fields in contours, horizontal curved lines at right angle to the slope. The
contour ploughs make small embankments that act as a barrier to the flow water, increase the
infiltration of water into the soil and improve soil moisture.

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ii. Strip cropping – this involves the growing of different crops that have varied soil depleting
and run-off resisting behaviors, in alternate strips of rows or bands at right angle to the slope of
the land. The practice usually involves the planting of open growing (or erosion permitting –
coffee, cotton, maize, etc) crops in a series of rows or strips alternately with close growing
(erosion resisting – teff, leguminous, often alfalfa, etc,) crops. However, strip cropping could be
classified further into different practices, based on the type of crops employed, the nature of
slope and the strips. These consist of:

1. Contour strip cropping – this involves the growing of field crops (such as ground nut, horse
bean, peat) alternately with cereals on sloppy fields, using regular- long and narrow strips of
variable width. The method is applied when the unevenness of the slope makes difficult to use
exactly parallel strips.

2. Field strip cropping – is applied on soils of high permeability with fairly uniform (or even)
slopes or on undulating land without well-defined slopes. The practice involves the planting of
farm crops with different erosion resisting capacities in more or less parallel strips.

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3. Buffer strip cropping – are strips of permanent cover crops (such as coffee, cotton, orange, etc,
with grasses like alfa-alfa), usually practiced on steep and badly eroded areas, that do not fit into
a regular cereals or crop rotation. The strips are generally planted with perennial crops, legumes
crops, grasses or shrubs on a permanent or temporary basis.

4. Wind strip cropping – is a practice of planting tall-growing crops and low-growing crops in
alternately arranged straight and long, but relatively narrow-parallels strips laid right across (or at
right-angle to) the direction of wind, particularly in semi-arid and dry land. The strip cropping
methods maintain soil nutrients and control erosion in two ways:

- By slowing down flow of running water through the close-growing strips of crops.

- By increasing percolation rate, which in turn reduces total volume of runoff and improves soil
moisture available for plant growth, and at the same time adding organic materials that improve
the soil structure.

iii. Mulching – this practice involves the covering of the soil surface with crop residues, stubble,
straw, or wood-chips, etc. as determined by the amount of rainfall, aridity and type of soil. Is a
useful practice to farmlands confined in dry areas of limited rainfall amount and high rate of
evaporation. It enables to reduce the loss of moisture through evaporation and the soil through
incidental runoff, at the same time facilitating infiltration of rainwater and improving soil
structure from the decomposition of organic materials.

iv. Crop rotation –is a system of farming by which different crops with varying nutrient depleting
characteristics are grown on the same land (farm plot) in a specific order in different growing
period (or seasons). The crops in the rotation system may comprise a variety of legumes crops,
cereals, grasses, etc. grown in specific orders of rotation on a farm plot. The benefits of rotation
of crops are soil protection by reducing runoff, improve soil structure, in that different crops
have different depleting behaviors and leaves behind crop residues that add organic matter and
nitrogen to the soil, than that of cultivating the same crop permanently (always) on a specific
farm plot (known as mono cropping). Crop rotation, thus help to maintain soil fertility and
productivity

v. Multiple or mixed cropping system – this farming system involves the growing of different
crops which have varied responses to soil erodibility and to building up soil fertility, by mixing
up together on the same farm land. The practice is usually carried by mixing organic nutrient
maintaining or improving crops with soil depleting crops; small stem with long-stem crops;
dense foliage cover or more canopy plants (crops) with sparse foliage or less canopies; etc.

vi. Mixed farming – is a practice of keeping animals alongside of crop cultivation, to enhance
supporting advantages that could be obtained from the two practices, in improving the organic
status of the soil and its structure.

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vii. Fertilization – applies to the use (or adding-up) of animal manure, crop-residues green
manures and/or artificial chemical fertilizers.

3. Research, Education and promotion activities:-

Besides these erosion control mechanisms and practices, intensive research and educational
activities, promotional works and technical assistance provisions have to be carried or
implemented to influence people’s concern and involvement in the conservation of soil and land.

5.0 NATURAL VEGETATION RESOURCES: DEVELOPMENT AND

CONSERVATION

Definition of Natural vegetation

Natural vegetation refers to all naturally growing plant varieties that have varied adaptations,
densities and patterns of distribution. Natural vegetation is one of the most useful biotic
resources of the earth’s land surface, consisting great varieties of plants that are composed of the
following and growing in isolations or in association and forming the surface covering of the
land.

- Varieties of trees and grasses;

- Many kinds of wild herbs, bushes and shrubs,
- and several dependent and parasitic plants,
The varieties of plants that constitute vegetation form the natural coverage or clothing of the soil
and land, and the natural habitat for many kinds of wild animals, of which some are ground
dwellers, while others are tree dwellers (Arboreal). Besides the natural vegetation is the main
source of food for many herbivores (plant eaters) wild animals. Thus, without plants or
vegetation it is impossible think of wild animals, even of the carnivores and omnivores.

Importance of Natural Vegetation

Plants, which are the natural constitute of vegetation provide great uses or values both directly or
indirectly to man and the ecological system. Some of this value include:-

A. Economic value: - Plants provide man with essential food materials, clothing as well as
shelter are sources of different varieties of food stuff materials, in that; directly provide certain
seeds, fruits and herbs, as that used by some primitive (backward) communities who are gathers
and inhabit wild games to be hunted by those who are hunters; and indirectly provide food stuffs
via the food chain, because plants form and protect the soil in which crops are cultivated or
grown and provide pasture which support animal life. Of Kinds of forest products, that are used
to obtain fuel-energy in many traditional societies; used as constructional and building materials

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for shelter or houses, bridges and a variety of service facilities; employed as raw material in the
lumber, and plywood, pulp and paper industries and many other manufacturing establishments.

B. Ecological value: - The natural vegetation plays a primary basic role in maintaining the
ecological system in several ways. These include:

i. Plants form the natural sources of foodstuffs and the habitat of wild life resources.

- The natural vegetation is the natural home of many different kinds of animals, comprising
forest, ground dwellers and tree dwellers.

- Plants make up the sources of food and the basis of survival, directly for herbivores (browsers -
leaves eater and grazers-grass eaters), indirectly through the food web for carnivores (flesh
eaters) and Omnivores (both plant and flesh eaters)

- Wild life, in turn are basic constitute of the resource system, playing their own role in
maintaining the ecological system and providing economic value to man.

ii. Natural vegetation provides and maintains a balanced and sustained ecological system, in that:

- Upon death, they decompose to form the fertile nutrient material in the soil called humus;

- Plants form the natural coverage of the soil and land protecting soil from direct-extreme heat,
excessive rain drops, strong wind, accelerated run-off and stream flow, and severe erosion and
degradation;

- Facilitate decomposition, the infiltration of water, the movement and inter-mixing of nutrients
and help to maintain or improve soil moisture and ground water reserves;

- Serve to improve soil structure and fertility status;

- Facilitate the recycling and regeneration of water, air and organic matter, & energy through
photosynthesis (O2, C2 , H2 cycles); evapo-transpiration , nutrient cycles (food web)
decomposition, etc);

C. Aesthetic Value:- these values of vegetation and its habitat involves providing different
scenic values and attractive landscapes with clean- fresh air and variety of wild games that form
or constitute recreational environments for people’s mental and physical refreshments.

D. Scientific value

Both plants and animals form the focus and basis of scientific research or studies, from which
useful information and knowledge is derived in the fields of science, medicine and innovation,

Factors for the Variation of Natural Vegetation Resources

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The natural vegetation of the earth consists of great varieties of plants that have varied
adaptations, compositions, densities and patterns of distribution. The major factors affecting the
nature of adaptations, growth, structural properties and distributions of various kinds of plants
are:

a. The nature of climate, namely temperature, rainfall, wind velocity and net evaporation are
chief climatic factors.

b. Relief or landform condition, pertaining particularly to altitude, slope and aspect conditions
are important,

c. Soil conditions, comprising the texture, structure, permeability and its related nutrient and
moisture retaining status are chief factors in the nature and pattern of plant growth and their
distribution.

These factors affect and cause structural variations of vegetation spatially over land surface.
Structural variation and description of vegetation is based on the physical properties and forms of
plants. It comprises varieties in the following physical properties or forms:

- Life form of plants trees, shrubs, grasses and parasitic or dependent plants are major life forms

- Size and distribution- refers to the difference in sizes, that is usually classified as ―tall‖,

―medium,‖ and ―low‖ growing plants, as well as their composition and pattern of distribution
of the different life forms of plants

- Coverage – refers to the degree to which the forage of individual plants of a given life- form
cover the ground beneath them, usually regarded as barren or very sparse; Discontinuous or
scattered; tufts or patches (groups of association), or continuous coverage.

- Periodicity: - refers to the response of the plant foliage to the annual climatic cycles and regular
cold conditions. Based on their periodic responses, are commonly classified into deciduous
plants and evergreen plants.

- Leaf shape and size: - the type of leaf of plants usually varies in shape, size and texture. The
most common categories of lead-types include Broad leafed; Needle leafed; Spine, represents
plants with transforming leafs, and besides, the leaf texture of plants widely ranges from
membranous leaves of average thickness, through thin and delicate (filmy) leaves, hard thick
leathery leaves to that of very greatly thickened (succulent) leaves, that vary according to
climate, relief and soil condition. These leaf structures affect the degree of control or loss of
water through the leaves to the air (evapotranspiration).

The major Biomes of the World

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The Biome is a major broad group of biotic resources of an ecosystem that is mainly based on
plants as well as animal life. The major biomes are basically grouped on the basis of structural
distribution of their plants that vary according to climate, relief and soil conditions. The major
biomes that are recognized primarily on the basis of distribution of vegetation include:-

A. Forests B. Savanna C. Grassland D. Desert E. Tundra

A. Forests: - are the prominent components of natural vegetation. Forests are assemblages of
trees with similar or varied composition and densities, forming layers of foliage that largely
shade the ground. Forests may grow continuously covering large area, or in patches
(discontinuous association), and often may consist of grass. Forest can grow in both warm-humid
and cool-wet climates. But a good forest climate is the one with warm temperature, large annual
precipitations and moist sub-soil.

World forest biomes widely range with climate and latitudes. Thus the forest biomes of the world
can be further divided in to:

- Equatorial and tropical rainforest,

- Mountain forest,

- Monsoon forest,

- Broad leafed evergreen forest,

- Mid- latitude deciduous forest,

- Needle leaf (coniferous or Taiga) forest

B. The savanna Biome- consists of a combination of trees and grass lands, with varied proportion
and spacing, usually producing a pattern known as park landscape. It forms the natural habitat of
savanna animals (Antelopes, Giraffes, Elephants, Zebra, Lions, etc). Savanna is closely
associated with warm climates having alternate rainy and dry season. It widely occurs in the wet-
dry and semi-arid type of tropical climates. It may comprise several sub-types based on amount
of temperature, rainfall, soil moisture and rate of evaporation (aridity).

C. Grass land biome: - consists of largely or entirely herbs which may include grasses, grass like-
plants, and often scrubs and few trees, that may range from continuous to discontinuous
coverage. Grassland biome is closely associated with both the semi-arid type of mid-latitude
climate, sub-humid type of sub-tropical climate and moist continental climate. They usually form
the habitat of grass dwellers (such as rabbits, and smaller mammals).

D. The desert Biome: - Many areas of extreme aridity (representing at least 6% of the world land
area) consist of thinly dispersed plants, comprising xerophytes plants like cactus, few tufts of
grasses and few scrub plants. A large area of the surface of the deserts is bare ground exposed to

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direct insulation and forces of wind. This Biome consists of few ground animals, dwelling in the
soil and under rocks (reptiles like lizards, snakes, and others).

E. Vegetation of the Tundra Biome: - it consists of most commonly dwarf shrubs, mosses and
lichens, and also a variety of flowering herbs and grass-like plants that flourish during brief
summer rains. Tundra climate is cold throughout the year, with ground permanently frozen, and
even with possible forest during the short and brief summer time. The areas around the arctic
circles and Antarctica, and also high elevations around the snow line (in the middle and higher
latitudes) constitute this biome. It is mostly is the home of snow dwelling animals like Reindeer,
whales, polar bear and others.

Factors Affecting Natural vegetation

The major factors that cause the destruction of natural vegetation and habitat resources are:

 Human factors

 Climatic changes

 Natural disasters

A. Human factors: - humans by their activities are the principal or greatest cause of destruction
and disappearance of vegetation. Human activities that cause deforestation or loss of vegetation
include:-

- Clearing and burning the natural plant cover, to secure space for farming, settlement, and
construction purposes.

- Cutting trees to obtain logs for industrial raw materials, or wood for construction, fuel energy
consumption and other purposes

- Over grazing the natural plant cover beyond its grazing capacity, so that it could not regenerate
and recover.

Deforestation is predominantly a major problem in developing regions of rural based agricultural

economies due to population growth, expansion of agricultural land and settlement.

B. Climatic changes, pertaining particularly to long prevailing drought and aridity are altering
the existing biomes diversity (due to declining coverage and expanding desertification).

C. Natural disastrous- caused by volcanism, landslides, thunder- fire, etc. can cause in times
unexpected and extensive destructions of forest biomes, as it have been seen in many parts of the
world.

The consequences of Deforestation

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Deforestation primarily implicates the loss of plants, which are the surface covering of the land.

Deforestation consequently threatens:

a. Effects on Soil and land

- Exposes the unprotected soil to run off and accelerated erosion.

- Deprives the soil organic humus and aggregated structure.

- Exposes the land to strong (or fierce) sun shine, reduces amount of percolation, and this
increases soil aridity by increasing amount of loss of moisture though run off and evaporation

- Increases the extent of flooding and rate of siltation

- Exposes land to desertification

b. Effects on Habitat and wildlife resources: - deforestation destroys the habitat (or home) and
the source of food of many animals. It threats animal life, so that they become extinct or
disappear.

c. Effects on Ecological system and human life: - deforestation causes a severe threat to the
ecological system and human life, in that it;

- Causes a decline in the amount of crop productivity and food item.

- Leads to the loss of valuable genetic resources and sources of plant medicine.

- Burning and aridity increases the amount of carbon dioxide released into the air, adding to the
amount of greenhouse effect and acidity.

- These destructions and losses contribute to the increase in temperature (global warning) and
excessive heavy rains in some areas, or drought in others and in general leads to the existing
global climatic change.

The overall effect of deforestation in the growing ecological imbalances and degradations is a
severe threat to the very existence or survival of animal life and man himself.

Methods of Conservation of Vegetation

An effective conservation measure needs an integrated practice that is directed to three general
strategies.

These include Securing and protecting the existing forests; planting indigenous (genetic species)
plants in deforested areas and bare lands; and, the management and development of alternate
substitute resources in place of the use of forest products.

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In achieving the above strategic goals, the following are some of the useful methods and
practices:

a. Forest, woodland and tree resource management and conservation through:

- Controlling and restricting the large scale cutting, removal and burning of forest-plants

- The development and provision of alternative energy resources, such as that of water power

(H.E.P), fossil fuels, geothermal and solar energy, in place of the biomass energy resources,
particularly in the rural areas and small to medium size towns.

b. The management and developments of rangelands and pastoral areas through:

- Introducing and expending controlled grazing systems that may involve the delimitation of
grazing lands, their division into parcels or pasture plots and the use of rotation grazing system

- Planting fast growing and draught resisting plants and artificial foliage in and around pasture
areas, and semi-arid lands to supplement the natural pasture thus reduce overreliance on it.

- Along with the above practices developing and providing watering points by drilling
underground water holes (wells) and storing rain water in ponds in the pastoral areas is a very
essential measure.

- Herd reduction, at the same time securing higher productivity from reduced number of herds
increasing the maximum benefit from low animals’ population by improving their breeds is a
useful measure in reducing overgrazing, and to raise the income of the animal herders.

c. Reducing area of arable land and grazing land by improving soil, crop and animal husbandry
in order to ensure or increase forest land. The method calls for:

 The development or improvement of agricultural methods, the yields and productivity of both
the soil, crops and animals

 The increase in agricultural productivity enables to reduce cultivated and grazing land, and
thus enables (or ensures) to protect and improve forest land.

d. Reforestation as well as afforestation to increase or replace the lost vegetation cover

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e. habitat and wild life protection:- In addition to the above measures of maintaining and
managing the vegetation cover of the land, the following important methods are applied to
preserve and protect habitat and wildlife resources:

f. Preserving and establishing biosphere reserves: -these are special kinds of protected to natural
areas, consisting major ecosystem (components of vegetation, water features, wild games, etc.)
and delineated to preserve and protect habitat and wild animals and so mostly integrated with
regional development.

They are usually large enough, self-containing in plant species wild life species, topographic
setting and water features, sometimes useful for scientific research and for recreation purposes.
They include National parks, Game reserves and Sanctuaries.

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6.0 RANGELAND RESOURCES: DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION

Nature and Characteristics of Rangeland resources

Rangelands are extensive tracts of lands that are essentially unsuited to rain fed crop cultivation,
industrial, forestry, protected forests or urbanization but naturally produce forage plants suitable
for grazing and browsing (grazing is consumption of standing forages like grasses and forbs
while browsing is consumption of edible leaves and woody plants).

Rangelands are not suitable for crop cultivation mainly because of the physical limitations such
as low precipitation, very shallow soils and poor drainage. However, they are very important
resources since they provide important forage for domestic livestock and wild animals. Some
rangelands also support many species of wild life that provide a reservoir of genetic diversity.
Aesthetic value: Rangelands can also produce intangible products such as natural beauty, open
space and wilderness that satisfy important societal values and provide recreational
opportunities.

-Watersheds: The vast areas of rangelands serve as watersheds that receive precipitation which
eventually drains into rivers and small streams, or sinks into the soil to replenish springs and
groundwater reservoirs. Thrifty vegetation is the key to productive watersheds essential in
supplying water for agriculture, cities, and industry.

-Wildlife habitat: Most wildlife is found on natural grazing lands and includes big game, small
mammals, upland game birds, and predators. Unfortunately, numbers of many game species have
been decimated and some have been eliminated because of reckless hunting or loss of habitat due
to overgrazing by domestic animals. In many places where increasingly large areas are under
conservation management and hunting is controlled, income from game and associated
recreation facilities exceeds that from domestic animals.

-Wood and fuel: Often savannas and groves of low-value commercial timber are dependable
sources of fuel and building materials for small construction especially in developing countries.

-Medicines and Industrial Compounds.-Many primitive foods, medicines, and useful compounds
originate from natural vegetation including sugar, nuts, seeds, turpentine, rubber, quinine,
digitalis, gums, and poisons for control of insects and parasites.

-Minerals and Construction Materials.--In addition to vegetation values, native grazing lands
yield some of the world’s great supplies of minerals and construction materials and fertilizers
such as: coal, oil, precious minerals, tin, magnesium, uranium, limestone, granite, and
phosphorus.

Rangeland, in general, refers to expansive, mostly unimproved lands on which a significant

proportion of the natural vegetation is native grasses, grass-like plants, forbs, and shrubs.
Rangelands include natural grasslands, savannas, shrub lands, many deserts, tundra, alpine

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communities, coastal marshes, and wet meadows. Rangeland is generally arid, semi-arid, sub-
humid or otherwise unsuitable for cultivation. Range lands are characterized by low amount of
precipitation (mostly less than 500 mm per year), high rainfall variability and the ecology is
particularly fragile.

The rangelands are also ecologically important because of the significant number of endemic
species, high species diversity, areas of ecological and geomorphological integrity, unique
ecosystems and habitat for rare, threatened and endangered species. With the benefit of hindsight
there is now an appreciation that past management practices and some current ones have, in
many areas, proved inappropriate to the rangelands. These practices have resulted in accelerated
soil erosion, increased numbers and distribution of weeds and feral (untamed) animals, reduced
water quality, soil salinity, the decline of and changes to native plant communities, and
decreased biodiversity. This has led to significant areas of the rangelands being degraded, calling
into question on their long term sustainability under current use.

Major Rangeland Types and their Distribution

Rangelands are the most diverse category of the world’s open land resources. The major
rangelands of the world include temperate grasslands, the tropical savanna, tropical open
woodlands and desert shrub lands.

1. Temperate Grasslands

They are almost treeless grass covered areas found mainly in the temperate and subtropical
zones. They dominate areas where distinct summer and winter seasons occur, with fairly dry
period, and where precipitation does not fully meet the needs of trees and shrubs. Most of the
temperate grasslands of the Northern hemisphere are found within the interior continental
climates, where precipitation is just barely equal to potential evapotranspiration.

In the less continental climates of Southern hemisphere, such as those of South America, the
grasslands develop mainly in the rain-shadow of the Andes Mountain in Argentina and Uruguay.
Temperate grass lands can be divided in to Prairies and the Steppe or short grass Prairies. Tall
grass Prairies are mostly found between forests and grass land lands where there is relatively
abundant amount of rain fall. Where moisture is lesser, the dominant vegetation is short grass
prairie or steppe; the grass becomes bunched and tufted with bare ground often visible between
bunches. In tall grass prairie, black organic rich Chernozemic soils are common which are
among the richest in nutrients and the most fertile in the world. In drier parts of prairies, soils are
influenced by salinization. Wide variety of animals, both carnivores and herbivores inhabit the
temperate grassland biomes. The temperate grassland biome is one of the ecosystems that have
been strongly disturbed and modified by human beings due to intensive agricultural exploitation
and overgrazing; as a result there are very few areas of natural grassland left in the region.

2. The tropical Savanna

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The tropical grasslands with scattered drought resistance tress mostly occupy the areas between
the tropical rainforests and the drier region up to latitudes of 30O North and South.

Climatically, the biome is found closely associated with the tropical wet-dry climate with distinct
dry season. Temperature is hot all year long. Rain fall, which ranges from 250 – 500 mm, is
concentrated in a few summer months and thus very intensive. Soil moisture is not sufficient to
support a full tree cover and hence this biome consists of widely spaced tress and extensive
grassland in-between. Most of the tree and shrub species in the tropical savanna are thorny or
xerophilous, and shed their leaves during the dry season. Savanna trees commonly have thick fire
resistant barks and small drought resistant leaves. This adaptation reduces water loss from the
plants. The soils, mostly Leptosols, Vertisols and Luvisols, are fertile compared to other tropical
soils. Savannas support the richest diversity of herbivores (grass and herb eaters) and browsing
(twig and leaf-nibbling) big animals as well as carnivorous animals. Animals in this savanna
include wildebeest, zebras, giraffes, elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros, gazelle, lions, leopards,
hyenas etc. Unfortunately, due to hunting and rapid agricultural encroachment, the great herds of
game animals in Africa may disappear and shortly be restricted to a few protected reservations.

3. Tropical Woodland Savanna

They are characteristic of the higher tropical latitudes and the biome covers the markedly wet
and dry tropical climates of North Africa, Asia and Latin America. Here, large trees are found
scattered over continuous grass covered plains that typically form a belt adjacent to the
equatorial and tropical rain forests.

Most of the tree species shade their leaves during the dry season and have thick fire resistant
bark and drought resistant leaves. The African savannas are famed for their enormous herds of
grazing and browsing hoofed animals.

4. Desert Shrub Lands

These shrub lands primarily occupy the semi desert climate belt bordering the tropical savanna
environment. The desert shrub lands are characterized by rainfall of about 250 mm and
vegetation dominated by low growing shrubs less than 2 meter in height. The shrubs have of
major grazing values as precipitation allows considerable growth of annual grass and other
fodder plants.

Problems of Rangeland Resources

The most common problem related to rangeland resources include:-

 Desertification (the expansion of deserts) due to human activities like uncontrolled grazing,
burning, wood cutting, cultivation etc.

 Drought- shortage of rainfall that results in declining of forage quantity and quality.

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 Poisonous plant problems - which cause poor livestock reproduction and weight gain

 Problems of insects like grasshopper, range caterpillars, black grass bugs etc

 Problems of predators – have considerable influence on range livestock industry

 Communal resources- the tragedy of the commons (in most cases there is no tenure system)

 Shortage of drinking water for their livestock

 Salinization problem

Management and Conservation of rangeland Resources

Rangelands are ecologically fragile that needs particular attention. The following strategies help
to minimize at least the degradation of rangeland resources.

 Clear and unambiguous roles for all people and organizations with rangeland management
responsibilities, should be outlined, including mutual respect, recognition and support for
traditional practices where they are appropriate.

 Encourage rangeland businesses to manage change through promoting opportunities for

diversification, multiple use and alternative resource use.

 develop mechanisms for the restoration and future management of degraded lands

 Promote opportunities for alternative or multiple uses of areas held as a common resource,
consistent with the principles of ecologically sustainable management.

 State and county Governments should provide clarification of tenure and access to resources
to enable users and managers to make appropriate investment and management decisions for
ecologically sustainable rangeland management including business viability.

 Land capability assessment must be the basis for all land use planning in the rangelands.

 Government agencies and training providers should develop training programs in business and
financial skills, share available knowledge on best practice in ecologically sustainable rangeland
management and encourage acquisition by rangeland communities of broader management
skills.

 Extension services should be tailored to the rangeland environment needs in collaboration

with regional groups and managers.

 Governments should examine options for affordable access for remote and isolated rangeland
managers and users to telecommunications technology relevant to their business needs.

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 Financial and other institutions that plan and deliver services should be sensitive to the
ecological time scale, the climatic variability and the regional differences in the rangelands
which affect production levels and take into account the variability of commodity prices.

 The negative impacts of mining, tourism and other industries on rangeland resources should
be minimized and adequate rehabilitation of rangelands affected by these activities should occur.

 Self-reliant rural towns are required to provide economic and social focal points for rangeland
communities and access to improved social services.

 Surface and groundwater resources of the rangelands should be managed in a sustainable

manner to ensure long-term quality and availability.

 Regional planning should be flexible and responsive to the ongoing and changing needs of
rangeland communities, managers and the environment.

 There needs to be an effective program of strategic and adaptive research, development and
extension, with direct involvement by rangeland users, managers and communities.

7.0 WILDLIFE RESOURCES: DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION

Wild life includes the untamed or undomesticated plants and animals. Wild life resources
comprise all wild living biological forms of life, that are great or small creatures found on the
earth. Although few wild living creatures dwell under rock bodies and in the soil or ground; a
great majority are dwellers of the natural vegetation.

Wild animals can be used for;

a. Scientific and educational research (valuable information for medical purposes environmental
studies)

b. Physical & mental recreation (aesthetic value)

c. Promotion of tourism (economic value)

d. Potential for domestication

Some reasons for extinction of wildlife

 rapid expansion of farmland, settlements, urbanization and industrialization

 expansion of grazing land

 Wide spread practices of illegal hunting by the local people in search of meat, skin, fur, horn
and ivory.

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 frequent wild fires

 Frequent droughts that results in famine

 Very poor policies & administration of the national parks

What measures should be taken to protect or save this wildlife?

 Establishment of National Parks, sanctuaries & game reserves.

 Establish and implement strong laws that effectively prohibit illegal hunting.

 Controlling and administering the habitat properly

 Educate and encourage local communities to protect their animals’ habitats and resources.

 Educate the public about environment protection.

 Monitor and administer existing conservation areas properly.

As you can see, some of these mitigation measures involve direct protection of the animals – for
example by establishing and properly administering protected areas; and by training people in
how to protect these areas. Establishing Protected Parks, Reserves, and Sanctuaries.

National parks are conservation areas for wild animals in which legal hunting is allowed, with
some restrictions

Game reserves are wild-animal conservation areas where tourists are allowed to practice licensed
hunting. Sanctuaries are wild-animal conservation areas where hunting is strictly prohibited.

8.0 WATER RESOURCES: DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION

Availability and Distribution of water resource

The earth has a tremendous amount of water, but the largest amount (or proportion) is found in
the oceans and seas. According to its occurrence and distribution, water is divided into: non fresh
or salty (often oceanic) water and Terrestrial or fresh water.

The Importance of Water

The ultimate source of all natural drinkable water on the earth is rainfall. But rain water is rarely
used as a direct source, except under conditions where rain water is collected and led to storages
to serve as the only available water supply, particularly in areas of severe water deficient.

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When rain falls, water runs off into streams and rivers, soaks into the ground percolating through
porous strata until it reaches an impermeable stratum upon which it collects forming ground
water. Ground water is the source of wells and the springs that feed streams, rivers and lakes.
These together constitute the indirect sources of the fresh and natural drinkable water. The fresh
water from these supplies constitutes the major source of all life on land surface. The major
significance of water can be summarized as follows.

A. As a constitute of living matter

Water forms from 50 to 90% of the weight of living organisms. All living things, great or small
need a lot of water to carry out their life processes.

Protoplasm, the basic material of living cells consists of a solution in water of fats, proteins,
carbohydrates, salts and similar chemicals. Water acts as a solvent, transporting, combining and
chemically breaking down the above substances. Blood in animals and liquid in plants consist
largely of water that serves to transport food and remove waste material. Thus, every organism
consists mostly of water in their tissues and organs, and as a result takes a lot of water in
different forms and quantities.

B. Domestic purposes

Water is required by every person or family for cleaning, cooking, bathing and removing (or
carrying) away wastes. But the water available per person per year is very small and greatly
varies from region to region or country to country. Besides, in urban areas a large amount of
water is used for waste disposal purposes.

C. For Agriculture

In addition to rain water which allows the production of crops and the rearing of animals, the use
of water for irrigation agriculture has a profound effect in improving productivity and increasing
food production (output) in the world, particularly in areas of scarcity of rainfall.

D. For industrial purposes

In manufacturing activities water is used in many ways:

 Most water is used as an ingredient (or raw material) in many beverage and soft drink, food
canning and processing industries.

 A considerable amount of water is used for cooling purposes, i.e. to cool the steam engines or
power producing plants, to cool hot gases produced by refining crude oil, to cool hot steel made
by steel mills, and so on.

 Water is used also as a cleaning and waste removal agent in canning and food processing
(such as fruit, vegetable, meat, etc), textile industries, etc.

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E. For power production

Water is the primary source of energy produced in the form of Hydroelectric power, (followed
by the energy from fossil fuels, nuclear power, and solar radiation), that is used to light houses,
run industries and stream powered engines. Hydroelectric power production from flow-
waterfalls is the relatively cheaper source of energy than the fossil fuels and the nuclear energy
resources.

F. As a medium of transport

Water serves as a medium of transport, in inland navigation and maritime voyage, World trade
largely depends on maritime transport, because of two advantages.

 It enables to carry huge and bulky materials at a time, and

 Is the cheapest means of transportation over long distance, inter-continental travels and frights

In contrary, very little of the available inland water bodies (rivers and lakes) are suitable for long
distance navigation.

G. For recreational purposes

The availability of water at a particular place can provide recreational sites. People enjoy water
spots for swimming, fishing and sailing and as a result build mostly their recreational centers
along or adjacent to lakes, rivers, seas and ponds.

H. As a solvent, and agent of chemical and hydrological processes

Water is one of the best-known ionizing agents. Because most substances are somewhat soluble
in water, and thus frequently called as the universal solvent. Water combines with certain salts to
form hydrates. It reacts with metal oxides to form acids. It acts as a catalyst in many important
chemical reactions.

In its movement on and through the earth’s crust, water reacts with minerals in the soil and
rocks. The principal dissolved constitutes of surface and ground water is sulphates, chlorides,
bicarbonates of sodium and potassium and the oxides of calcium and magnesium. Water from
shallow wells may contain large quantities of nitrogen compounds and chlorides derived from
human and animal wastes.

Problems of water resources

Though water makes up the largest percentage of the surface covering of the earth, it is a
resource which is in short supply for human needs at global as well as micro scale.

The following are profound problems associated with water resource supplies.

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i.97% of the water supply on the earth is non –useable directly for domestic, agricultural
(irrigation) and industrial purposes, because contains high salt content and constitutes non-fresh
water supply.

ii. The total amount of water on land surface although is enough for all human needs, but is not
evenly or equally distributed throughout the world. This is because:

 some parts of the world, particularly the vast arid or desert lands (nearly 6% of the world-land
surface) suffer from lack of enough (or scarcity) rainfall, ground water, lakes and rivers.

 in some areas the available water, (nearly 2.1% of the total water supply or 70% of the water
supply on land surface) is locked up in the form of snow and glaciers in the high latitude in polar
ice caps.

 Moreover, 20% of the fresh water supply on land is found buried deep underground between
rocks and requires high capital and deep well drilling technologies to make it accessible for
direct human use.

iii. The seasonality of rainfall over large parts of the world aggravates the scarcity of rain water
which is most needed for agriculture, particularly during the dry season.

iv. Population increase to a large extent has aggravated the scarcity and problem of water supply.
Because, the amount of consumption of available water increases with the rise in the human
population number and their necessities (i.e. improvement in living standard and high
consumption levels of water).

In developed regions of low population growth rates, most people have access to clean piped
water and good sanitation. In the developing countries that are experiencing high population
increment, however, only less than half of the population have access to clean- safe water. For
example, in the year 1980, more than 70% of the rural and over 25% of the urban population of
the developing regions have lived without clean and safe supply of water. In these parts of the
world, many people spend a great deal of their time and energy in collecting and carrying water,
rather than on productive activities.

v. A large proportion of the available water is polluted, because of human misuse and lack of
proper purification techniques.

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Water Pollution

Water pollution is a major problem, not only in getting pure drinking water, but also has adverse
local and global effect on soil, atmospheric air and biotic life.

The capacity of water to dissolve in large amount numerous substances makes water to occur
rarely in pure state in nature. Surface water generally contains larger quantities of turbidity and
bacteria than ground water, but ground water contains higher concentrations of dissolved
chemicals. Seawater contains high concentrations of dissolved chemicals and some microscopic
organisms as well.

During condensation and precipitation, rain or snow absorbs from the atmosphere varying
amounts of carbon dioxide and other gases, as well as traces of organic and inorganic materials.
In addition, precipitation carries radio-active fallout to the earth’s surface.

Water is said to be polluted when it is changed in its quality or composition as a result of human
activity. In polluted water the natural capacity of the water to clean itself (or purify) is lessened
or completely destroyed. Water pollution arises from discharges of industrial, agricultural and
human wastes in to fresh waters. Water naturally has a capacity to decompose some wastes
without some adverse impacts on other activities. However, the volume of residues dumped into

48
rivers and lakes nowadays exceeds the capacity of the water to accommodate the wastes without
damage or harm.

The major causes of water pollution are:

A. Domestic wastes and Sewerage: - waste water from toilets, sinks and both tubs is carried by
sewers to a treatment area in a city. The treated or untreated waste is then dumped into a river, or
a lake. Wastes such as paper; cloth and other detergents also are added from homes into a lake or
a river.

B. Industrial wastes: - these include a wide variety of organic and inorganic waste pollutants
released by industries such as steel, chemical, paper product and food processing activities. Each
activity requires a large amount of water in the manufacturing process and generates a large
amount of waste water, which is dumped into the fresh waters.

C. Agricultural pollutants: - fertilizers and pesticides that are applied on fields to increase
agricultural productivity are carried by water from irrigation systems or natural run off into rivers
and lakes. Fertilizers used in agriculture contain chemicals such as phosphates and nitrates,
which disturb the natural life processes in water bodies like lakes and ponds.

The Consequences of Water Pollution

Water Pollution results in the following problems:

 Polluted water if used may cause various diseases like dysentery, cholera, typhoid and the like.

 Pollution may result in the poisoning of aquatic organisms or the depletion of oxygen to
excessive growth of microorganisms. This makes the water bodies less habitable for fish life and
may cause the increase in hard skin (shell) animals like crabs and crocodiles.

 Water pollution also contributes to the atmospheric air pollution, in that varying amounts of
carbon dioxide, organic and inorganic particles and other gases that are dissolved and found in
polluted water enter the atmosphere through vapors. These pollutants during condensation and
precipitation returns to the ground and in some circumstances may form acid rains.

 Polluted water may poison the soil and contaminate agricultural crops and plants. This is
likely to affect the quality of foodstuffs and the general health conditions of people, depending
on the concentration of the organic wastes and chemicals in the food intakes, especially when
consumed in raw or crude form.

Methods of conservation of Water Resources

Life is not possible without clean and sufficient water supply. The provision of enough pure
water has become now a days a growing global problem draining scarce capital resources for
several countries of the world. The lack of sufficient fresh water has a considerable impact in

49
worsening agricultural production, affecting industrial production and the natural functioning of
the ecosystem.

The conservation of water resources should be directed towards;

 Managing and developing the existing fresh water resources

 proper and systematic utilization of existing water while controlling pollution of water.

1. Managing and developing water resources: - This comprises several measures or practices that
enable the sustainable development and utilization of water resources. Some of the measures
include:

 Watershed management. Watershed is the network of streams and rivers by which the
entire areas of a region is watered. Watershed management systems can comprise
 Protecting the natural vegetation cover and re-establishing plant cover on river and
stream banks
 Reducing or avoiding the cultivation and grazing of the land along the edges of
watersheds.
 The development of small dams and reservoirs on small stream canals for proper
harvesting and utilization of water.

2. Collecting and storing rainwater directly in cisterns, reservoirs, ponds, or through watershed
systems.

3. Digging deep underground wells and developing springs and swamps by clearing, collecting
and diverting water for various uses from these natural sources.

2. Controlling water pollution and applying proper or systematic utilization of water. This can be
achieved by implementing several different techniques, that comprise;

 Reducing or avoiding impute of pollutants that will be discharged/ dumped to water

resources.
 Recycling of wastewater by using wastewater treatment plants for reuse or before it was
dumped in to pure natural water.
 Removal of pollutants by purification or filter systems from water, through screening and
sedimentation-organic and inorganic materials are removed by such methods known as
screening and sedimentation, which eliminate suspended materials; aeration or the
saturation water with air to produce maximum diffusion, usually by spraying water into
the air in fountains, removes odors and taste caused by decomposing organic matter, and
also industrial wastes such as phenols and volatile gases as well as chlorine. It also
converts dissolved iron and manganese’s compounds in to insoluble hydrated oxides of
the metals, which may then be readily settled out; treatment with such compounds as that

50
 of activated carbon to remove taste and odors, and chlorination or irradiation to kill
infective micro- organisms.
 Removing the hardness of natural waters. Hardness of natural waters is caused largely by
calcium and magnesium salts and to small extent by iron, aluminum, and other metals.

9.0 MINERAL RESOURCES: DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION

Minerals are materials derived from the earth’s crust. They are the largest constitute of the group
of resources known as nonrenewable resources. More specifically are defined as follows:

Minerals are naturally occurring inorganic crystalline solids with a definite chemical
composition. More broadly, mineral resources are defined as elements, chemical compounds or
rock materials that are concentrated mostly in the form of inorganic solids and sometime in the
form of organic solids or liquids that can be extracted to obtain valuable products and benefits.

Thus, a mineral is naturally occurring substance with a definite chemical composition of

elements or a combination of element that have specific crystalline structure or orderly
arrangements of atoms. Thus:

 Most minerals are composed of more than one element that form chemical compounds but few
minerals are composed of a single element and form at the same time a mineral. Most minerals
are combinations of two or more elements joining to form a chemically stable compound, but
some are entirely made of one element. E.g. Diamond, Gypsum and Graphite.

 Most minerals are inorganic solids but very few minerals are organic solids or liquids that are
derived from organic materials. These include particularly the fossil fuels, namely coal,
petroleum and Natural gas.

 Certain rock materials are considered as minerals. Rocks are mixtures (compounds) of
different minerals, that are known as rock forming minerals (include five major rock forming
chemical mineral groups, namely silicate, carbonates, sulphides, oxides and the Halides mineral
groups). Some building materials like sand, gravel, limestone, quartz etc. are considered as
mineral because of their economic importance, while a few others like gypsum, rock salt, and
coal form simultaneously both a mineral and a rock.

Uses of Minerals

How many of the materials around you are made from some kind of metal? Was brick or stone
used to build your home? Of what material is your street, driveway, or sidewalk paved? Do
members of your family have jewelry made of gold, silver, or some other precious metal or
gemstone? How is your home heated?

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Does the electricity in your area come from a plant powered by some fossil fuel or perhaps
nuclear energy?

How would your life and those of family members and friends be different were it not for
petroleum products to power vehicles? Do you use chemicals—fertilizers, pesticides, or
herbicides—on your own (or fields if you live on a farm area)? All of these and countless other
examples point to the importance of minerals and fossil fuels in our daily lives. Most minerals
are used to make things. Fossil fuels, on the other hand-coal and petroleum provide much of the
energy that makes many things work. We are highly dependent upon both.

Minerals have been used as resources from the moment the earliest human picked up a rock and
used it as a tool or weapon. A very strong link exists between rocks (or stones; they are the same)
and minerals and human development. In fact, our use of minerals is one of the most common
systems of classifying stages of cultural evolution:

Stone Age: This period includes most of human history, during which humans used stones for
making tools and weapons (often divided into Old, Middle, and New Stone Age, based primarily
upon different stone-working techniques

Copper Age: In its native form, copper is malleable and can be fashioned into different usable
items. Its use first appeared in Southwest Asia during the fifth millennium B.C.

Bronze Age: This is a period during which bronze, a blend of copper and tin, began to be used to
make tools, weapons, armor, and ornaments.

Iron Age: Around 1200 B.C., iron began to replace bronze as the metal of choice. It, too, was
first used in Southwest Asia.

The availability of mineral resources is one of the measures of the wealth of society. Countries
that have been successful in the discovery of location, extraction and use or exportation of
minerals have grown or prospered economically than those who have not. Thus, the standard of
living of people increases with the availability and production of useful mineral resources,
including metals, non-metals and energy fuels.

Mineral resources in general are useful to almost all activities of people. Some of the uses of
minerals include;

 As sources of energy and fuel used to run machineries. They include the fossil fuel minerals-
Natural gas, petroleum and coal.

 For building and construction materials, these include sand, gravel, clay/ stone for brick
cement and asphalt; and steel, aluminum and ceramic minerals for various constructions.

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 As raw materials in a variety of manufacturing industries. For example Iron, copper, tin etc.,
are used for the production of a wide variety of manufactured goods, such as Iron for making
steel;

Aluminum is useful in air craft manufacture and making beverage cans; Copper is used as
electric conductor, Lead is used in electrical batteries, soda-ash in chemical products, and Kaolin
(clay) is an important ingredient in ceramics.

 Some minerals such as phosphates, nitrates, potash, and the like, are used for the production of
fertilizers.

 Copper-brass lead, Zinc, Titanium (pigments) with some cement and ceramic materials are
used for making asbestos, glass-tile plastic and fibers.

 Petroleum products (by-products) are used for making plastic floor tiles or other plastics.

 For furniture synthetic fibers that are made from minerals steel springs and mineral varnish.

 For the production of food and clothing. Food is grown using minerals fertilizers and is
processed and packed by machines, steel and glass containers made up of metals and ceramic
minerals.

 While Natural fibers grown by mineral fertilizer and synthetic fibers made from minerals are
used for making cloths.

 Some minerals are used for ornamental purposes; precious minerals like gold, platinum, and
silver are used mainly for ornamentation.

 In addition to the above, drugs and cosmetics, chemical items, window screens, light bulbs
porcelain fixture nuclear reactors (from uranium and others) utensils and jewelries (from
diamond, tantalum, gold and others) are also made from mineral and mineral products.

Environmental Impacts of Mining activities

The following are some of the impacts and problems of mining processes.

A. Removal and disturbance of the land cover and materials in the mining area large scale
mining operations disturb the land by directly removing materials in the area, like vegetation,
soil and rock cover.

The removals cause changes in topography, result in dumping of wastes in other sites, dust at
mines are likely to affect the air resource, even though care is often taken to reduce dust
production by sprinkling roads

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B. Water resources are particularly vulnerable to degradation; even if drainage is controlled and
measures are taken to reduce sediment generation and resulting pollution. At mining sites, water
resource problems include;

 Surface drainage is often altered by dumped rock materials at mining sites.

 Run off from precipitation (rain or snow) may infiltrate into waste material, leaching out trace
elements and minerals.

 Ground water may also be polluted by mining operations when waste comes into contact with
slow- moving subsurface water. Sub-surface infiltrates on ground water causes leaching of
sulphide minerals from mine wastes, often producing acid water that may pollute ground water.

Polluted ground water eventually may seep or flow into streams and pollute surface water. The
reclamation of pollute ground water is very difficult and costly.

C. Physical changes and pollution of land, soil, water and air associated with mining operations,
directly or indirectly affects the biological environment and produce severe aesthetic
degradations. For example mining activity causes removal and destruction of forest resources;
contact with toxic soil or water directly kills living organisms; mining operations causes indirect
impacts such as change is soil nutrient cycling, change in total biomass and species diversity,
instability of ecosystem due to alteration (damage) of vegetation, ground and/or subsurface water
availability and quality.

D. Social impacts associated with large-scale mining activities; result from a rapid influx of
workers into mining sites. The social impacts include:

 Stress on local services, such as water supply problems, disposal of solid wastes, problems

(shortages) of schools and rental houses, if the areas are un prepared for such growths and related
problems.

 Land use shifts from open range, forest and agricultural land to urban land and mining centers.

 The construction activities and urbanization processes coupled with the mining operations
affect local streams through sediments, increased pollution, and reduced water quality.

 Air quality is reduced due to more vehicles, dust from construction and generation of power.

 The utilization of uranium inside nuclear reactor for atomic power plant and nuclear weapons
creates radioactive materials, and could hurt people if released; and facilitate the global warming
problem.

Methods of conservation of Mineral Resources and overcoming Environmental Impacts

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Following are some of the strategies that can be followed for the conservation of high quality
mineral resources:

 Use of alternate sources of energy like solar energy, hydroelectric energy etc. Some of the
energy resources are renewable (solar energy, wind power, geothermal power & Hydro-electric
power) substituting the fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) by these renewable energy sources has
manifold advantages. Thus, enables to reduce the amount of carbon emission to the atmosphere
and control air pollution, global warming and other related problems. It overcome the problem of
scarcity of mineral resources and saves huge national per capita that could be invested on these
minerals

 Social or public use of mineral products, particularly the use of public transportations such as
bus and trains in urban areas instead of private or individual cars (transport). This would
minimize the amount of mineral material used for the production of the service and the amount
of smoke and carbon emission to the air.

 Re-use and recycle the minerals and their products. In recycling, used and discarded items are
collected, re-melted and reprocessed into new products, e.g. gold, lead, nickel, steel, copper,
aluminum, silver, zinc, etc. However, minerals in other products are lost through normal use,
such as paints containing lead, zinc or chromium. During reuse used products are collected and
used over and over again, e.g. reuse of glass bottles.

 Using the mineral resources with a greater efficiency.

 Avoid over-exploitation of the mineral resources.

 Use of biogas as a fuel for cooking instead of the non-renewable sources of energy

10.0 INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION

Causes, Effects and Solutions to Industrial Pollution on Our Environment

With the coming of the Industrial Revolution, humans were able to advance further into the 21st
century. Technology developed rapidly, science became more advanced, and the manufacturing
age came into view. With all of these comes one more effect: industrial pollution. Earlier,
industries were small factories that produced smoke as the primary pollutant. However, since the
number of factories was limited and worked only a certain number of hours a day, the levels of
pollution did not grow significantly. But things have changed. Factories have become full-scale
industries operating round the clock, a change that has caused industrial pollution to gain traction
and become a global concern.

What is Industrial Pollution?

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 Pollution refers to the addition of any substance to the environment that has a harmful or
poisonous effect. Any form of pollution whose source can be traced to industrial activities is
called industrial pollution. In the most straightforward terms, industrial pollution is pollution
whose source originates from industry. The industrial revolution brought more factories and
technologies, which now stand to be blamed for the effect they’ve caused a lot of air, land, and
water pollution on our planet over the years. This pollution is one of the worst because the smoke
and other chemicals emitted by industries into the air contribute a lot to ozone depletion, global
warming, and health problems for animals and humans. Moreover, these industrial pollutants
release many harmful and unnatural chemicals into both soil and water, eventually leading to the
extinction of some plant and animal species. We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity
belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it
with love and respect. Any form of pollution that can trace its immediate source to industrial
practices is known as industrial pollution. Most of the pollution on the planet can be traced back
to industries of some kind. In fact, the issue of industrial pollution has taken on grave importance
for agencies trying to fight against environmental degradation. Countries facing sudden and rapid
growth of such industries are finding it a serious problem that must be controlled immediately.

Industrial pollution takes on many faces. It contaminates several sources of drinking water,
releases unwanted toxins into the air, and reduces the quality of soil all over the world. Major
environmental disasters have been caused due to industrial mishaps, which have yet to be
brought under control. Below are a few causes of industrial pollution that have resulted in
environmental degradation.

Industrial Pollution Facts

Industrial pollution is wreaking havoc on the Earth. Every nation is affected, and some people
are working tirelessly to increase awareness and advocate for change.

The activities causing pollution include:

 Burning coal
 Burning fossil fuels like oil, natural gas, and petroleum
 Chemical solvents used in dyeing and tanning industries
 Untreated gas and the liquid waste being released into the environment
 Improper disposal of radioactive material
Causes of Industrial Pollution
Industrial pollution takes many forms and has a negative influence on the land, water, and
environment; they are also the causing factors of sickness and death around the world. Coal
combustion, the combustion of fossil fuels such as petroleum, oil, natural gas, and chemical
solvents used in the tanning and dyeing industries are the primary drivers of industrial pollution.

1. Lack of Policies to Control Pollution

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The lack of effective policies has allowed many industries to bypass laws made by the pollution
control board, resulting in mass-scale pollution that has immensely affected many people’s lives.
Poor Implementation of Policies and Laws- Many developing countries do not have effective
environmental policies and laws. Absence of Nation-Wide Pollution Tax- There is no
nationwide pollution tax imposed in all the countries. So, industrial pollution is very high.

2. Unplanned Industrial Growth

Unplanned industrial growth is the hasty expansion of industrial activities that neglects
environmental sustainability. This results in heightened pollution caused by improper waste
management, emissions control, and resource consumption.

3. Use of Outdated Technologies

In most industries, old technologies are still used in the production of goods as a way to avoid
the high initial capital costs associated with new developments. Unfortunately, the old
production technologies and techniques produce a great deal of pollution. Most Industries rely
on old technologies to produce products that generate a large amount of wastes, which ultimately
cause pollution and lead to environment degradation

4. Presence of a Large Number of Small Scale Industries

Many small-scale industries and factories that don’t have enough capital and rely on government
grants to run their day-to-day businesses often escape environmental regulations and release
many toxic gases into the atmosphere.

5. Inefficient Waste Disposal

The mismanagement of waste within industrial settings is a major contributor to environmental

pollution. Failure to properly handle waste leads to the release of toxic substances into the air,
water, and soil. Insufficient waste treatment facilities, improper handling of hazardous materials,
and the absence of recycling programs compound the issue. Most of the industry units require a
large amount of water. Water used in different production processes comes into contact with
harmful chemicals, heavy metals, biological waste, etc.; after use, the water is dumped into water
bodies causing water contamination. Inefficient waste Disposal System- With unplanned and
rapid industrial development, all countries generate industrial waste quickly. All countries face
the challenge of effectively disposing of industrial waste, including e-waste, which contains toxic
material.

6. Leaching of Resources from Our Natural World

For industries to generate completed goods, a lot of raw materials are needed. This necessitates
the removal of minerals from deep inside the earth, a task frequently carried out by machinery
powered by fossil fuels. It is hazardous for marine life when the oils leak into the ground and

57
eventually into the sea. Unplanned Industrial Growth- In most countries, industrial development
and urbanization have progressed unexpectedly. It is responsible for all types of pollution.

Types of Industrial Pollution

Water Pollution- Industrial wastewaters contain a variety of organic and inorganic residues.
They heavily pollute all rivers and water bodies. The discharge of toxic industrial wastes
contains poisonous chemicals such as cyanide, cadmium, mercury, lead, arsenic, and chromium,
which are highly poisonous. They make river water unfit for the use of humans, aquatic plants
and animals. Colour producing dyes change the colour of water and decrease the oxygen level,
thereby affecting aquatic life. In addition, acids and alkalis rapidly change water pH, affecting
fish and other marine life.

Soil Pollution- The rapid growth of industries has resulted in the release of many industrial
wastes containing toxic acid disastrous chemicals that are usually non-biodegradable. Solid
waste from industries is dumped temporarily overland. During rains, heavy metals and toxic
chemicals wash down into the soil and pollute the same. It is mainly discharged from Pulp and
Paper Mills, oil refineries, sugar factories, glass industries, drugs, etc. Industrial waste affects
and alters soil’s chemical and biological characteristics, which finally enter the food chain,
disturb the biochemical processes and eventually induce serious hazards to living organisms.

Air Pollution- Many industries like chemical plants, steel, fertilizers, sugar and cement
manufacturing units emit a large amount of smoke and pollutants like oxides of sulphur and
nitrogen, lead particles and chlorofluorocarbons pollute the air. For example, the emissions from
the oil refinery at Mathura and the numerous coal-burning Industries at Agra contain sulphur
dioxide, which causes acid rain. In addition, many industries produce chemicals, some of which
escape into the atmosphere causing air pollution.

Noise Pollution– Industrial activities can cause noise pollution. Some familiar sources of noise
pollution are road traffic, aircraft, trains, construction sites, factories, electronic and electrical
equipment, and the bursting of firecrackers.

Effects of Industrial Pollution on Our Environment

1. Water Pollution

The effects of industrial pollution are far-reaching and liable to affect the ecosystem for many
years to come. Most industries require large amounts of water for their work. When involved in a
series of processes, the water comes into contact with heavy metals, harmful chemicals,
radioactive waste, and even organic sludge. These are either dumped into open oceans or rivers.
As a result, many of our water sources have a high amount of industrial waste, which seriously
impacts the health of our ecosystem. The same water is then used by farmers for irrigation
purposes, affecting the quality of food produced. Actually, many groundwater supplies are

58
currently unusable for both people and wildlife due to water pollution. At best, it can be recycled
and used again in other sectors. Industrial wastes discharged into water bodies contain many
toxic substances that make water unfit for drinking and bathing. Pollution of moisture also
reduces the number of aquatic plants and animals due to the destruction of their habitat and
nesting places. The wastewater released by factories and industries is rich in organic matter. The
wastewater is rich in nutrients resulting in a thick growth of algae and many other weeds like
ragweed, skunk, buckthorn, and horsemint, and these plants cover the entire surface of the water.
The algae use so much oxygen; hence the aquatic animals and other plants die due to its lack.
When industries release mercury, it contaminates with water, and it’s used for drinking by
human beings and animals; it causes numbness of lips, tongue and limbs. Also, it leads to blurred
vision and mental disorders.

2. Soil Pollution

Soil pollution is creating problems in agriculture and destroying local vegetation. It also causes
chronic health issues for the people that come into contact with such soil on a daily basis.

3. Air Pollution

Air pollution has led to a steep increase in various illnesses, and it continues to affect us every
day. With so many small, mid-sized, and large-scale industries coming up, air pollution has taken
a toll on our health and that of the environment.

4. Wildlife Extinction

In general, the problem of industrial pollution results in the failure of natural cycles and patterns,
which has a serious impact on wildlife. It is becoming more difficult for the environment to
recover from each natural disaster as habitats are destroyed, species are going extinct, and these
trends are continuing. Industrial disasters – such as oil spills, fires, and radioactive material leaks
– have a devastating impact that can be difficult to mitigate due to the short timeframe in which
their effects occur. Industrial pollution and industrial activities have led to the destruction of
animals’ natural habitats. As a result, many wildlife species face extinction due to these factors.

5. Global Warming

With the rise in industrial pollution, global warming has been increasing at a steady pace.
Emissions of smoke and greenhouse gases from industrial practices have greatly contributed to
this issue. The devastating impacts of global warming are seen in the form of melting glaciers,
the endangerment of polar bears, and natural disasters such as floods, tsunamis, and hurricanes.
Global warming leads to rising water levels due to the melting of glaciers, a constant threat of
natural disasters like tsunamis, and several storms. Moreover, due to global warming, many
animals and fishes are getting extinct.

6. Biodiversity Loss

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Industrial pollution continues to cause significant damage to the earth and its inhabitants due to
chemical wastes, pesticides, radioactive materials, etc. It affects wildlife and ecosystems and
disrupts natural habitats. Animals are becoming extinct, and habitats are being destroyed. The
growing amount of liquid, solid, and hazardous wastes endangers ecosystem’s health and
jeopardizes food, water, and health security. Industrial pollution disasters, including oil spills and
radioactive leakage, take years to decades to clean up.

7. Atmospheric Deposition

The other effect of industrial pollution is increasing the Cadmium (Cd) content in the soil.
Several studies have found that mines can contribute to this contamination, resulting in top soils
that show varying levels of Cd concentrations. Industrial effluents are commonly discharged to
surface water drainage systems after clarification in tailing ponds. Recent investigations have
disclosed very high concentrations of Cd in the overbank and bottom sediments of the rivers.
Effect on Human Health- Industrial pollution has been responsible for the contamination of
water, air and the natural environment. Moreover, it has affected the health of the people.
Industrial toxic waste is responsible for diseases like cancer, lung infection, asthma, etc.

8. Low Agricultural Productivity- The toxic materials dumped by the industrial units cause soil
and groundwater contamination. It affects the fertility of the soil. In addition, the consumption of
contaminated crops causes health problems.

9. Depletion of Green cover and Biodiversity- The green cover helps balance temperature.
Therefore, it is essential to protect areas and human health affected by rising temperatures due to
global warming. Unfortunately, unregulated industrial activities have been responsible for the
loss of green cover.

Ways to Control or Reduce Industrial Pollution

Industrial pollution is a worldwide issue. Its negative impacts are increasing, and numerous
organizations and individuals are working to reduce carbon footprints. Despite these attempts,
the problem of industrial pollution persists, and long-term, focused work is required to address it
successfully. But despite the efforts, industrial pollution remains rampant and may take years of
collective commitment to control and regulate properly. Here are some of the steps that can be
taken to seek permanent solutions to the problem.

1. Source Control

Adopting new technology, effectively training staff for safe use, developing better waste disposal
technologies, and being more mindful about the use of raw materials can all assist to limit
industrial pollution at its source.

2. Recycling

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Recycling as much polluted water in the industries as possible by increased recycling efforts to
reduce industrial pollution.

3. Cleaning of Resources

Organic methods should be adopted to clean the water and soil, such as using microbes that use
heavy metals and waste as feed naturally. Cooling rooms or bins need to also be developed to
allow industries recycle the water they use instead of pushing it back into the natural water
source it came from.

4. Industry Site Selection

It’s also imperative to consider the location of sites before establishment and the potential impact
on the surrounding environment as a way to help reduce harmful consequences.

5. Proper Treatment of Industrial Waste

This can be attained by developing and implementing adequate treatment facilities for handling
industrial waste and adopting proper habits that can help reduce pollution.

6. Rebuilding Habitats and Afforestation

Rebuilding habitats by planting more trees and plants can help give wildlife back their homes,
and the trees can help purify the air with enough oxygen and act as a buffer against the
environment.

7. Stricter Laws and Enforcement

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should come up with even more stringent
regulations on environmental conservation and impose harsher penalties on individuals and
companies that violate these measures while at the same time recognizing those that operate
ethically.

8. Regular Environmental Impact Assessments

To foster environmental consciousness in industries, it is imperative to conduct periodic

environmental impact assessments and report the findings for evaluation. If any adverse effects
on the environment are detected, appropriate mitigation measures must be implemented and
enforced.

How do industries pollute the environment?

Industries contribute to environmental pollution by dispensing toxic waste into the air, water, and
land. Speaking of air pollution, factories are undoubtedly a common source of toxic smoke,
which releases hazardous chemicals and gases into the atmosphere. This smoke poses a
significant health risk for humans, animals, and plants.

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Even more, some of these gaseous emissions contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer and
the exacerbation of global warming. This perfectly explains why the need for sustainable
industrial practices has never been more important.

Water pollution, on the other hand, comes from the wastewater that factories dump into oceans
or rivers. This water is often untreated and therefore contains toxic chemicals that harm aquatic
life. Even worse, this water is sometimes recycled for commercial use or irrigation, posing high
health risk to plants as well as humans and animals that consume them.

Lastly, land pollution occurs when industries contaminate the environment by throwing their
untreated waste, whether liquid or solid, on land. This waste causes soil pollution, attracting
agricultural problems and chronic health issues for humans and animals.

Even worse, the effects of land pollution stretch beyond causing health problems for animals and
plants; it can cause the extinction of some animal and plant species, affecting the ecological
system in its entirety.

11. AGRICULTURAL POLLUTION

Introduction

Agriculture is a type of land use in which an ecosystem is altered to support plant or animal life
for food production. This land alteration inherently disrupts the ecosystem's natural processes
and cycles, but the level of disruption depends on the management practices in use.

Over recent centuries, the global population has increased almost exponentially and is projected
to reach almost 10 billion by 2050. Clearly, cultivating enough food to sustain that ever-
increasing number of mouths is a gargantuan task but, thanks to the advances of science and
technology, one of which the human race has proven capable thus far.

The development of fertilizers has helped to boost growth rates and maximize crop yields,
squeezing the most amount of produce possible from the land. Meanwhile, pesticides, herbicides
and fungicides have protected these crops from flora and fauna which may encroach on their
growth, ensuring that humans access as many of the fruits of their own labour as possible.

While these developments and techniques have certainly been beneficial in increasing the
amount of food we are capable of producing, they have not been without their unintended
negative impacts. Indeed, modern agricultural methods are responsible for a significant amount
of pollution, which comes in a variety of types, has a multitude of causes and incurs a number of
undesirable effects.

What is Agricultural Pollution?

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Agricultural pollution can refer to the many different forms of pollution that result from land
uses aimed at food production. Agricultural pollution includes any byproducts of food
production that degrade the environment and/or negatively impact human health and human
interests. From mono-cropped fields of corn to pastures of organically raised cattle, nearly every
type of agriculture produces some form of pollution to varying degrees.

Types of Agricultural Pollution

Pollution is a broad term that stretches out to include negative effects on three main components
of the environment—air, water, and soil. The atmosphere interacts with agricultural byproducts
much differently than, say, water, so it's important to understand the differences between the
three types of agricultural pollution. To better understand the many effects of agriculture on
pollution, let's dive into the different types of agricultural pollution and the major agricultural
pollutants associated with them. There is a wide range of ways in which farming and livestock
rearing pollutes the natural world. However, for simplicity’s sake, we narrow things down to
three broad categories of agricultural contamination: air pollution, soil pollution and water
pollution.

Agriculture as a Cause of Air Pollution

Greenhouse gases are the heat-trapping gases that are essential to maintaining life here on Earth.
Without them, we'd freeze. However, these gases have been accumulating in excess in our
atmosphere, largely due to human activities like the burning of fossil fuels. Natural processes of
plant respiration and decomposition contribute to seasonal fluxes of greenhouse gases like
carbon dioxide (CO2). That's because plants and soils hold a lot of carbon locked up in the form
of organic matter. However, some agricultural practices can release excess greenhouse gases,
which contribute to air pollution as this locked up carbon is decomposed and respired out as a
heat-trapping gas. The major agricultural pollutants associated with air pollution are CO2,
methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). Each of these pollutants are created through different
processes in agriculture, so let's take a closer look at how each one is produced.

Carbon Dioxide

CO2 is primarily released from two agricultural practices: land-use change and tilling.
Deforestation often occurs when land is cleared for agricultural use, and it's the leading
agricultural cause of CO2 pollution. Clearing the land of the carbon-holding biomass results in a
release of this carbon in the form of gaseous CO2. This release also occurs when fields are
burned before planting. Similarly, tilling, or breaking up the soil before planting, exposes buried
organic matter to the air, where it is more quickly decomposed and respired out as CO2.

Methane

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One molecule of CH4, or methane, traps about 25 times more heat than a CO2 molecule when in
the atmosphere. There are two principal ways in which methane is released in agriculture: rice
production and livestock digestion and waste from ruminant animals. Ruminant animals are
herbivores that have evolved to have a special system of digestion in which consumed grasses
undergo fermentation by gut microbes. Common examples include cattle, sheep, and goats.

Microbes involved in enteric fermentation, a type of digestion in ruminant animals like cows,
release CH4 as they break down grasses. Their excrement continues to release CH4 into the
atmosphere as it decomposes. Furthermore, rice is often grown in flooded rice paddies, which
creates anaerobic conditions for soil microbes. With reduced access to oxygen in rice paddies,
microbes switch their metabolic pathways and release CH4 as a byproduct of respiration.

Nitrous Oxide

If you thought CO2 and CH4 were strong greenhouse gases, make way for nitrous oxide, or
N2O. It's got over 250 times the warming potential than a molecule of CO2. This potent gas is a
major agricultural pollutant that comes from the application of nitrogen containing agrochemical
fertilizers and the decomposition of animal waste. N2O is a natural byproduct of the nitrogen
cycle, in which atmospheric N2 is converted into plant available forms of nitrogen. When
agrochemical fertilizers are applied to a field, often in excess, microbes begin to break the
nitrogen down. This results in the release of N2O in quantities much greater than what is
normally possible within natural ecosystems. Similar to agrochemical fertilizers, animal waste is
high in nitrogen. This is why manure is often applied as a fertilizer on organic farms. While the
manure is indeed from organic sources, it can introduce excess nitrogen, and microbes release
N2O into the atmosphere as they decompose the animal waste.

Agriculture as a Cause of Water Pollution

Runoff from agriculture contributes to water pollution in surface waters (e.g. streams, rivers, and
lakes) as well as in groundwater. Water that enters agricultural land either through rainfall or
irrigation can suspend pollutants and transport them in water runoff. The major agricultural
pollutants in water include agrochemicals, animal waste, and sediments.

Agrochemical Runoff

Agrochemical pesticides and herbicides are applied to fields to deter pests like insects and
weeds. Since these agrochemicals are formulated to kill certain forms of life, they are a major
pollutant when they are washed away with water runoff. As they are deposited into lakes and
rivers, they can accumulate and become toxic to aquatic life. Agrochemical fertilizers are used to
increase plant growth, but they are often applied in excess. Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers
can be washed out of the soil with runoff and deposited downstream. Eutrophication can occur
when nitrogen or phosphorus from agrochemicals enrich a body of water beyond natural levels.

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Phyto-plankton in the water quickly utilizes the nutrients and proliferates in algal blooms. Their
uncontrolled growth depletes the water of oxygen, leaving fish and other aquatic organisms to
die. In addition, these algal blooms can release byproducts that are toxic to humans.

Animal Waste

Similar to the nutrient enrichment that occurs from agrochemical fertilizers, animal waste can
contain high concentrations of nitrogen. As runoff water carries manure away and into surface
waters or groundwater system, nitrogen is released from the manure and left to accumulate. Once
again, eutrophication will take place. Animal waste can also contain other contaminants and
pathogens.

Agriculture as a Cause of Soil Pollution

Soil is an indispensable natural resource for agriculture. This is true for both crop production and
livestock raising, as animal feed will be impacted by the health of the soil in which it is grown.
Agriculture can pollute soil through two primary processes: the accumulation of contaminants in
soil and the loss of soil through erosion.

Contamination

Soil contaminants like salts and heavy metals can accumulate from the use of agrochemicals and
irrigation. Soil salinization can occur when waters used in irrigation are high in dissolved salts.
These salts are left behind to accumulate when the water evaporates. Heavy metals can enter soil
through the application of agrochemicals. As metals and salts accumulate to toxic levels, soil
microbes and plant growth can be negatively affected.

Erosion

Erosion or loss of soil is initiated by agricultural practices that physically disturb soil structure,
such as tilling. Breaking apart soil aggregates makes soil particles more susceptible to being lost
to wind or water erosion. Some forms of contamination from agrochemicals can also contribute
to weakening soil aggregates. Soil transported by water runoff can accumulate around water
sources and contribute to water pollution. Excess sediment becomes suspended in water and can
block out sunlight, constricting aquatic plant growth.

Major Agricultural Pollutants

• Carbon dioxide (CO2)

• Agrochemical fertilizers containing nitrogen and/or phosphorus

• Salts from irrigation

• Methane (CH4)

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• Agrochemical pesticides

• Heavy metals from agrochemicals

• Nitrous oxide (N2O)

• Animal waste high in nitrogen

• Erosion

Causes of agricultural pollution

1. Pesticides and Fertilizers

Fertilisers may have optimized crop yields, but they are often used wantonly and recklessly,
resulting in oversaturation of the soil. This can imbalance nutrient levels underground and
contribute to fertility and groundwater quality problems in the future, while there are even more
serious repercussions if excessive precipitation is allowed to wash the chemicals (such as
ammonia, nitrates and phosphorus) contained within the fertilisers into surrounding bodies of
water. The use of pesticides and fertilizers has become a common practice among farmers.
Pesticides help combat local pests, while fertilizers seek to improve soil fertility for a better
yield. Regrettably, over time, pests have developed resistance to these chemicals, necessitating
higher concentrations or different formulations for effective control. Similarly, the soil’s nutrient
demands escalate, leading to an increased reliance on fertilizers to achieve desired productivity.
As a result, escalating chemical concentrations are often required to maintain desired outcomes
in agricultural processes. Even worse, once these chemicals are applied, they have a long-lasting
residual effect. Some of them mix with the water and seeps into the ground, causing the local
streams that are supplied water from the ground to become contaminated. The other proportion
of the chemicals winds up absorbed by the plant itself and eventually transferred to animals once
they eat the affected plants.

Pesticides are perhaps even more harmful. While chemicals like carbonates, organo-chlorines
and organophosphates may effectively target insects and other unwanted creepy-crawlies which
can reduce crop yields, they are indiscriminate in their efficacy. That means that other animals
(such as birds and small mammals) may ingest plants or bugs containing the chemicals and
suffer adverse reactions of their own. Meanwhile, beneficial pollinators, such as butterflies and
bees, are also vulnerable to poisoning from pesticides. Their decline has far wider ramifications
for the ecosystem.

2. Contaminated Water

Contaminated water used for irrigation is another cause of agricultural pollution. Much of the
water we use for growing crops comes from groundwater reservoirs, canals, and the rains. Now,
while plenty of it is clean and pure water, some of the sources are polluted with organic

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compounds and heavy metals. This happens due to the disposal of industrial and agricultural
waste in local bodies of water. As a result, the crops are exposed to water, which has small
amounts of mercury, arsenic, lead, and cadmium dissolved in it. The process of agricultural
pollution becomes harder to fight when such water poisons livestock and causes crop failure.

3. Soil Erosion and Sedimentation

Soil erosion and sedimentation are other factors to blame for agricultural pollution. You see, the
soil comprises many layers, and it’s only the topmost layer that can support farming or grazing.
But due to inefficient farming practices, this soil is often left open for erosion, leading to
declining fertility each year. Now, whether eroded by water or wind, all this soil ends up
deposited somewhere or the other. The resulting sedimentation causes the soil to build up in
areas such as rivers, streams, ditches, and surrounding fields. And so, the process of agricultural
pollution prevents the natural movement of water, aquatic animals, and nutrients to other fertile
areas.

4. Livestock

In the olden days, farmers would keep as much livestock as their land could support. The cattle,
sheep, pigs, chickens, and other animals were fed natural diets, which were supplemented by the
waste left over from the crops. As a result, the animals contributed to keeping the farm healthy as
well. But that has changed. Currently, livestock is grown in cramped conditions where it is fed
unnatural diets and sent to slaughterhouses on a regular basis, contributing to agricultural
pollution through emissions.

5. Pests and Weeds

Growing exotic crops and reducing the natural species in a certain area has become the norm for
agriculture. But what most people don’t know about this is that doing so contributes to
agricultural pollution. You see, with the arrival of new crops, the native population has to deal
with new diseases, pests, and weeds that it is not capable of fighting. As a result, the invasive
species destroy the local vegetation and wildlife, altering the ecosystem permanently. This is
especially the case with Genetically Modified Foods (GMO), which create plant and animal
species that can wipe out the existing species in a matter of years.

6. Heavy Metals

Using fertilizers, manure, and other organic wastes containing heavy metals such as arsenic,
cadmium, mercury, and lead can also lead to an accumulation of these heavy metals in the soil,
while farming techniques like irrigation can also lead to an accumulation of selenium.

When these substances are washed into waterways, leach into groundwater sources, or get
absorbed by plants, they are eventually consumed by animals and humans, causing heavy metal
toxicity, affecting their health, or even causing premature deaths.

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7. Soil Erosion and Sedimentation

Intensive farming operations greatly contribute to soil erosion and sedimentation as millions of
fertile soils are broken down, degraded, and eroded via storm water runoffs. The sedimented soil
ends up accumulating in rivers, streams, lakes, oceans, or other land regions, affecting water
quality by contaminating it with the agrochemical residues present in the soil. Sedimentation also
contributes to the build-up of agricultural pollutants in waterways and other land areas. But that’s
not all — sedimentation may also restrict light penetration in water, affecting aquatic life forms,
and the consequential turbidity can hamper the feeding habits of the aquatic fish.

8. Organic Contaminants

Manures and Biosolids frequently contain nutrients, including nitrogen, carbon, phosphorus, and
sometimes contaminants such as personal care products (PPCPs) and pharmaceuticals. These
products have been found in human and animal bodies and are believed to have negative health
impacts on wildlife, animals, and humans. Agricultural pollution becomes even harder to manage
with such types of organic contaminants.

9. Land Management

Modern methods of farming are also contributing to pollution in other ways. For example, the
intensity with which crops are produced, especially in monoculture environments, is wreaking
significant damage on soil quality.

Over-tilling of the land and improper irrigation techniques not only consume vast amounts of
resources, but actively damage the health of the soil, thus negatively impacting the biodiversity
within it.

In many parts of the world, forested areas are being felled to make way for more arable land,
while the practice of stubble burning – which is outlawed in most countries but remains
prevalent nonetheless – produces vast amounts of air pollution. Poor land management also leads
to an irreversible decline in soil fertility. Profound land management is crucial for keeping
agricultural pollution to a minimum level. Therefore farmers should have an awareness of how
their actions can impact the environment.

10. Excess Nutrients

The manure and fertilizers usually contain excess chemical nutrients, especially phosphorus and
nitrogen, and cause nutrient pollution from agricultural sources. Excess nutrients can have tragic
consequences on water quality and the survival of aquatic life. When these nutrients are washed
into the water systems, e.g., rivers, lakes, streams, or oceans during rainy periods, they alter the
marine and freshwater nutrient cycles and, consequently, the species composition of the
respective ecosystems. The most common consequence is eutrophication, which depletes the
water-dissolved oxygen, killing fish and other aquatic life.

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11. Over-consumption of meat products

Meanwhile, the global preoccupation with a meat-based diet means that more and more livestock
are being reared around the world. Much of the crops produced today go towards feeding cows,
sheep, goats, pigs and other animals bred for slaughter, thus creating an outsized footprint of the
resources consumed. What’s more, ruminant animals are responsible for significant emissions of
methane, which pollutes the air and contributes to global warming. That’s not only through
emissions caused by flatulence, but also the inadequate storage, disposal or application of the
manure they produce.

12. Agricultural Mechanization

Elsewhere, manually tilling, sowing and reaping the land has become a thing of the past, as
machinery, vehicles and electrical equipment have made farming more efficient. The downside
of these technological breakthroughs, however, is that they produce various greenhouse gases,
airborne chemicals and other pollutants that impinge on ambient air quality.

What are the effects of agricultural pollution?

The real-world effects of this agricultural pollution are concerning indeed. For example, the
rampant use of pesticides and fertilizers can be devastating for soil quality, meaning that the
ground is gradually becoming less fertile over time. It can also be eroded and end up as sediment
in nearby bodies of water, which makes the habitat murkier and allows less sunlight to infiltrate
it. This, in turn, inhibits photosynthesis, meaning aquatic plant life suffers.

It's not just the soil that has a negative impact on water quality and the health of the ecosystems
within it, either. Agricultural run-off sweeps excess chemicals into rivers, streams, lakes and
coastal areas, leading to an abundance of certain substances such as ammonia, nitrates and
phosphate. This encourages the rapid proliferation of certain species – such as algae – to the
detriment of others. That’s because the process of eutrophication means algal blooms block out
sunlight and consume more than their fair share of oxygen, making it more difficult for other
flora and fauna beneath the surface of the water to survive.

As well as negatively impacting soil and water quality, fertilisers and pesticides can also create
air pollution. In strong winds, they can become airborne before they even land on their intended
target, or else evaporate into the air over time. They can then be blown long distances and serve
as damaging contaminants in their own right, or else mix with other elements in the air, like
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to create even more
damaging types of pollution, such as particulate matter (PM) and ozone (O3). These are known
to have potentially disastrous repercussions for human health when exposure occurs over an
extended period of time.

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Finally, it’s not just the health of the humans, animals and plants in the vicinity of a farm which
can be compromised by agricultural activity, but that of the planet itself. The aforementioned
emissions associated with using agriculture machinery and rearing livestock are a leading
contributor to almost a quarter (24%) of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

Carbon dioxide greenhouse gases in our atmosphere; indeed, the EPA estimates that the industry
is responsible produced as a by-product of many agricultural processes persists in the atmosphere
for centuries or even millennia, trapping heat from the rays of the sun and raising ambient,
oceanic and ground-level temperatures and contributing to more intense and more frequent
extreme weather events. Meanwhile, the methane produced by livestock cultivation is maybe
even more concerning; although it persists in the environment for a far shorter time period, it has
a global warming potential (GWP) over 80 times that of CO2 over a 20-year period.

Generally, the effects of agricultural pollution may be summarized as follows:

1. Health-Related Issues

Agricultural pollution is the main source of pollution in water and lakes. Chemicals from
fertilizers and pesticides make their way into the groundwater that ends up in drinking water.
Health-related problems may occur as it contributes to blue baby syndrome which causes death
in infants. Generally, oil, degreasing agents, metals, and toxins from farm equipment cause
health problems when they get into drinking water.

2. Effect on Aquatic Animals

Fertilizers, manure, waste, and ammonia undergo a transformation into nitrate and phosphates.
When these substances are washed into nearby water bodies, they stimulate the growth of algae.
As a consequence, oxygen levels in the water decrease, leading to the demise of numerous
aquatic animals. Again, bacteria and parasites from animal waste can get into drinking water,
which can pose serious health hazards for various marine life and animals. Thus, the oxygen
levels are likely to decline, which can cause the death of fish and other water animals

3. Eutrophication

Eutrophication is the dense growth of plant life and algae on the water surface, causing high
incidences of algal blooms. In case of excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides, nitrogen,
phosphorus, and other chemical nutrients get washed into nearby surface waters by rain or
irrigation and lead to the eutrophication of rivers and lakes by supporting algae production.

Eutrophication extensively depletes the oxygen dissolved in water, which can adversely affect
the aquatic system by killing fish and other aquatic biotas. It is also linked to an increased
incidence of paralytic shellfish poisoning in humans, leading to death.

4. A Decrease in Crop Yields

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The excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides combined with other agrochemicals control
invasive pests, weeds, and diseases and produce large crop yields. However, the positive effects
of these substances last for a certain time since the soil is likely to suffer long-term from the
excessive use of these toxic chemical elements.

Since they remain in the soil for years, in the long run, crop yields are reduced, and the soil loses
the optimal characteristics to produce crops due to agricultural pollution. They have the potential
to contaminate waters and plants and kill soil microorganisms as well as beneficial insects.

5. Soil Pollution and Depletion of Soil Fertility

Agricultural pollution contaminates soil, leading to soil pollution and depletion of soil fertility by
killing soil microorganisms. The chemicals in pesticides and other different kinds of
agrochemicals can cause long-lasting damage to the soil. This can gradually alter the soil
microbial activities and chemistry, and reduce soil fertility. Thus, every year millions of fertile
soils are lost due to the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides combined with
other farm practices.

6. Air Pollution

Agricultural pollution also leads to air pollution. Many machines such as tractors or harvesters
used for tilling, harvesting, and other farm activities emit harmful greenhouse gases like CO2 by
combusting fossil fuel, which, in turn, can lead to global warming. Additionally, farm animals
and fertilized soils release substantial quantities of carbon and nitrogen-based compounds. These
include methane, nitrogen oxides and ammonia, which are classified as potential greenhouse
gases. But that’s not all, various soil biochemical processes naturally contribute to the emission
of numerous greenhouse gases.

7. Biodiversity Loss

Biodiversity is quite sensitive to small changes that may lead to big effects on the natural
ecosystem. The persistent use of chemical products in agricultural production degrades and
destroys the soils and waters, affecting animals, plants, and wildlife, gradually altering the
ecosystems which support biodiversity. Furthermore, the use of pesticides can kill beneficial
insects, soil microorganisms, birds, and some rare small species like butterflies, which have far-
reaching effects on biodiversity. If these insects vanish from the ecosystem, plants will be
adversely affected as these insects are responsible for the fertilization of crops. Since these
chemicals remain in the soil for many years, the repercussions on biodiversity are massive.

8. Water Pollution

Water pollution is another big problem of agricultural pollution. Agricultural operations and
practices such as inappropriate water management and irrigation mainly lead to water pollution
from surface runoff, both to surface and groundwater. With the excessive use of fertilizers and

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pesticides, many harmful substances reach our lakes, rivers, and eventually, the groundwater
leading to widespread contamination of waterways and ground waters and depreciating water
quality. Soil erosion and sedimentation equally contaminate the water, making it dirty, and
increasing its turbidity. In turn, plants, wildlife, humans, animals and aquatic life are negatively
affected since we need clean drinking water to survive and stay healthy.

9. Effects on Animals

Agricultural pollution can also have adverse effects on animals. Since animals consume parts of
the crop yield, they are heavily affected by pesticides and can even die from consuming these
contaminated crops.

10. Effects on Plants

Agricultural pollution can even change the dynamics of the whole ecosystem as it becomes a
problem for parts of the local plants since new invasive species could impact the population of
native species adversely. These invasive species can carry pests and diseases which can harm the
local ecosystem. Since the local species cannot deal with some of the pests, biodiversity may be
reduced. The local native plants can also be affected by the use of genetically modified
organisms in the form of crops leading to genetic contamination. This could also lead to the
extinction of native species.

Ways to Reduce Agricultural Pollution of Water

While agricultural pollution has been increasing, there are many efforts underway to reduce these
impacts. Agricultural water pollution is of particular concern because contaminated water
sources can severely impact human, animal, and aquatic populations' health.

i) Fewer Agrochemicals

One solution is to scale down the use of agrochemicals, which should only be applied in
appropriate amounts at the proper time of year. This can diminish agrochemical runoff and
prevent eutrophication downstream. Similarly, animal waste and be composted before field
application to more closely control the input of nutrients into the soil. Pesticide use can also be
reduced with integrated pest management, where plants that naturally deter pests are planted
alongside cash crops3.

ii)Riparian Buffers

Riparian buffers are areas of vegetation planted around water sources to provide a natural buffer
from agricultural pollution. They reduce the runoff flow of agrochemicals entering a water
source from agricultural fields, and they provide habitats for native plants and animals. The roots
of trees and shrubs soak up some of the excess nutrients before they can pollute the water.

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iii) Concrete methods by which the negative environmental impacts of farming can be addressed
include better optimisation of resources. This includes only consuming the volume of water and
the amount of chemical additives that are absolutely needed. This can be achieved through
precision farming. If fewer products are being used, fewer contaminants can infiltrate the
environment.

iv)Organic farming is another eco-friendly means of growing crops, though it is more expensive
and less productive than other methods.

v) Elsewhere, agricultural run-off and all of its attendant outcomes can be mitigated by better use
of the land in question. Planting grasses, reeds, shrubs and trees at the periphery of farmlands can
act as natural filters so that in the event of flooding, contaminants are caught and retained onsite
instead of being allowed to pollute the surrounding air, soil and water.

vi)Rotating crops and avoid overworking of the land can also help to boost soil health and
prevent negative impacts associated with intensive farming.

vii) As for livestock, a global shift towards a diet that focuses less on meat and more on plant-
based alternatives is perhaps the biggest single thing that we can do to address agricultural
pollution. However, farming is of course a demand-based industry and as long as people
continue to buy animal produce, farmers will continue to supply it.

viii) Livestock farmers can also better manage manure on their property and investigate ways to
harness the methane emissions that their animals produce.

ix) Government Regulations

Keeping agricultural pollution in check is much harder than it seems. For the farms to become
clean once again, levels of water, soil, and industrial pollution have to be kept in check. Over the
last decade or so, governments have become stricter about enforcing regulations.

x) Awareness of farmers

Farmers inadvertently cause harm to the environmental system. As such, they should be taught
that the excessive use of fertilizer and pesticides has a huge adverse impact on the whole
ecosystem. Creating awareness may not eliminate the problem completely. However, it can help
mitigate it to a certain degree.

It’s important that farmers know:

 Applying the right quantity of pesticides and fertilizers that are necessary to get a
reasonable crop yield.
 Using cover crops to prevent bare ground when the actual harvest is over, thus preventing
soil erosion and loss of waterways like drainage channels.

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  Planting grasses, trees, and fences along the edges of a field that lies on the borders of
water bodies. They could act as buffers, and nutrient losses can be avoided by filtering
out nutrients before reaching the groundwater. They may also intercept airborne agro-
chemicals before they reach the reservoirs.
 Reduction in the tillage of the fields to reduce runoffs, soil compaction, and erosion.
 Animal or cattle waste is a big cause of agricultural pollution. The management of these
pollutants is crucial.
 Several manure treatment processes need to follow, which aim to reduce the adverse
impact of manure on the environmental system.

xi) Change in Agricultural Practice

Many farms are returning to traditional manure, direct irrigation from local water bodies, and
organic means of keeping pest populations in check. But for the process of agricultural pollution
to be fully reigned in, there must be a complete shift in how agriculture is practiced.

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