UNIT 3

Natural Resources: Renewable and

Non-renewable Resources

Dr Debasish Roy
 Unit 3 : Natural Resources: Renewable and
Non-‐renewable Resources (6 lectures)

 Land resources and land use change; Land degradation, Soil

erosion and desertification

 Deforestation: Causes and impacts due to mining, dam building on

environment, forests, biodiversity and tribal populations.

 Water : Use and over--‐exploitation of surface and ground water,

floods, droughts, conflicts over water (international & inter-state).

 Energy resources : Renewable and non-renewable energy sources,

Use of alternate energy sources, growing energy needs, case
studies.
 What is Deforestation
 Deforestation is the reduction in forest areas across the world
caused by both natural and human activities. It is undeniably
accelerated by humans via actions such as urbanization, mining and
agricultural farming
 It is also defined as the clearing or thinning of forests by humans.
Deforestation represents one of the largest issues in global land use.
Estimates of deforestation traditionally are based on the area of
forest cleared for human use, including removal of the trees for
wood products and for croplands and grazing lands. In the practice
of clear-cutting, all the trees are removed from the land, which
completely destroys the forest.
 In some cases, however, even partial logging and accidental fires
thin out the trees enough to change the forest structure dramatically.
 Causes of deforestation and forest degradation

 Agriculture accounts for around 85% of deforestation

worldwide.
 Timber logging- Around 380,000 hectares of forest are cut
every year to meet the incredible global demand for wood and
wood products, accounting for around 60% of degradation.
 Conversion of forests for other land uses, including pulp,
palm, and plantations, pastures, settlements,
roads and infrastructure.
 Forest fires: Each year, fires burn millions of hectares of
forest worldwide. Fires are a part of nature but degraded
forests are particularly vulnerable. The resulting loss has wide-
reaching consequences on biodiversity, climate, and the
economy.
 Fuel wood harvesting: Over-harvesting for domestic use or
for commercial trade in charcoal significantly damage forests.­­
 Causes of deforestation and forest
degradation
 Expansion and Infrastructure: As the tide of human
population growth washes over the land, large areas of forest
get cleared to make way for the expansion of cities,
settlements and more infrastructure and expansion.
 Mining: The impact of mining on tropical forests is growing
due to rising demand and high mineral prices. Mining projects
are often accompanied by major infrastructure construction,
such as roads, railway lines and power stations, putting further
pressure on forests and freshwater ecosystems.
 Climate change: Forest loss is both a cause and an effect of
our changing climate. Climate change can damage forests, for
instance by drying out tropical rainforests and increasing fire
damage in boreal forests. Inside forests, climate change is
already harming biodiversity, a threat that is likely to increase.
How to check and control deforestation
 Decouple economic growth from deforestation by urging
corporations to reconfigure their supply chains and to adopt
strict “zero deforestation” policies
 Generate awareness to implement sustainable land use
policies and to safeguard forest and dissuade the practices
which lead to deforestation
 Invest time in campaigns which would lessen the any
anthropogenic pressure on rainforest ecosystems
 Support campaigns that protect indigenous rights —
Assist the indigenous people and other local forest
communities constituted by Government to protect forests
whenever required
 Minimize mining operation in forest areas which has rich
biodiversity
 Types of Mining
 Surface mines: Surface mines are often used for the recovery
of less valuable resources which are located near the surface.
 Underground mines: Underground mines are usually more
expensive and are often used to recover more valuable
resources that are located deeper inside the ground.
 In-situ mining: In-situ mining is used to obtain uranium.
Along with the uranium, additional elements like selenium,
arsenic or lead are also extracted.
 Placer mining: Placer mining is usually done in river beds or
on beaches with the goal of separating precious metals out of
the sand.
 What is the need for Mining
 Population growth: One cause of mining is population growth
With an increasing population, the overall world consumption levels
also increase. This means that in order to be able to provide enough
goods for the world population, resources have to be extracted at
large scale.
 Consumption behaviour: There are several different kinds of
mines, including coal, iron and also diamond mines. Since our
demand for all these goods increases at a steady rate, we have to
increase our mining activities in order to provide these goods to our
population. Our consumption behavior leads to more mining since
in order to meet the demand, industries have to extract more
resources out of our earth
 Income growth: No generation had an overall global income that is
higher than we have it today. Through the industrial revolution, we
are able to produce large numbers of goods which have a quite low
unit price. However, this lifestyle is not sustainable in the long run
since we will run out of resources in the long run.
 What is the need for Mining
 Increasing demand for resources: Not only the overall world
consumption level is increasing, also on an individual level, consumption
behaviors increases. This is especially true in developing countries..
 Single source of income: For many people, mining is the only source of
income they can generate. Hence, this means that people rely on their
mining jobs in order to survive. In many developing countries, mining is
done by accepting severe health threats. For example, there are African
gold mines in which gold is separated with the help of mercury. Workers
often do this process by using their hands without any protection. This
behavior usually leads to contamination of these people which eventually
leads to death. This example shows how dependent certain people are on
the mining industry. They risk their life since this is the only way for them
to create enough income.
 Advancements in technology: Technological progress is also positively
correlated with more mining. With advanced technology, it is easier and
more profitable to extract resources out of the ground compared
 Effects of Mining

 Injuries  Destruction of vegetation

 Fatalities cover
 Effects on animals
 Hearing issues
 Effects on plants
 Heavy metal
contamination  Effects on aquatic life
 Cancer  Effects through the food
 Lung diseases chain
 Deforestation
 Biodiversity loss
 Global warming
 Erosion
 Water pollution
 Air pollution
 Soil pollution
 Solution for mining problem
 Government regulations: Authorities have to make sure that mining is done in a
responsible manner adhering to the regulation. This includes the protection of
workers and also the protection of local wildlife and plants. However, in many
under developed countries, there are often quite low safety standards in place. This
has to be changed in order to mitigate the adverse effects related to mining.
 Reduce consumption: Our excessive consumption levels also contribute to the
problems caused by mining. We have to change our behavior in a way that we
value things that are old but still functional. We have to make used goods be
regarded as more valuable and not dodgy.
 Reuse and recycle: We should also reuse our old stuff. For example, if you find
things that are still working but you do not use them anymore, try to find people
who still see value in it. By doing so, you can save resources and also ensure that
resources are used more efficiently.
 Nature reserves: To protect the environmental system from the adverse effects of
mining, states and governments have to install enough nature reserves so that
animals and plants are protected from harmful human interventions. Nature
reserves are crucial for animals and plant species to reproduction since they provide
and ensure their natural living conditions.
 Solution for mining problem
 Education: Education is another crucial measure against mining and
its adverse effects on the environmental system. By educating school
children, they are likely to also convince their parents and so also
parents are likely to pay more attention to this issue and act
accordingly. In addition, when these educated children turn into
grownups, they are also more likely to adjust their behavior in an
environmentally-friendly manner.
 Convince others: Making your contribution, especially through a
reduction in consumption, matters! However, you can do much more
than that. You should try to convince your family and friends about
the adverse consequences of their consumption on behavior and how
this also translates into the adverse effects caused by mining. By
doing so, you can change not only your own behavior but also
contribute to a changed consumption behavior on a large scale.
 Social impacts of mining
 Social and economic impacts: Mining can impact local communities both
positively and negatively. While positive impacts such as employment and
community development projects are important, they do not off-set the
potential negatives.
 Mining can negatively affect people by:
 forcing them from their homes and land
 preventing them from accessing clean land and water
 impacting on their health and livelihoods
 causing divisions in communities over who benefits from the
mine and who doesn’t
 changing the social dynamics of a community
 exposing them to harassment by mine or government security
These impacts are intensified when local people aren’t consulted and are given
no information about a planned mine. Even worse is when people are not
given an opportunity to know how the mine would be developed.
 What is Dam?
 A Dam is a structure built across a stream
or river to hold water back. Dams can be
used to store water, control flooding, and
generate electricity.
 It has a large wall or barrier like structure
that blocks or stops the flow of water,
forming a reservoir or a lake. Most dams
have a section called a spillway or weir over
which, or through which, water flows, either
sometimes or always.
 Impact of Dams on Environment
 As a result of dam construction and holding of sediments in
reservoirs, sediment feeding of downstream channel or shore beaches
is prevented.
 Reproduction of migrating fishes is hindered by the floods that harm
the egg beds. Or the egg gravel beds can be destructed while the
excavation and coating works in the stream beds.
 Temperature of water, salt and oxygen distribution may change
vertically as a consequence of reservoir formation. This may cause
the extinction of existing rich biodiversity & generation of new living
species.
 Normal passing ways of territorial animals are hindered since the dam
works as a barrier. Meantime the upstream fish movement aiming
ovulation and feeding is prevented and thus fish population decreases
significantly.
 Archaeological and historical places in company with geological and
topographical places that are rare with their exceptional beauties,
 Impact of Dams on Environment
 The fishes can be damaged while passing trough the floodgates, turbines
and pumps of the high bodied dams and the excavation works causing
changes in the stream bed structures affect the creatures living here
negatively; even result in their death.
 Large dams have led to the extinction of many fish and other aquatic
species, the disappearance of birds in floodplains, huge losses of forest,
wetland and farmland, erosion of coastal deltas, and many other un-
mitigable impacts.
 There will be serious changes in the water quality as a result of drainage
water returning from irrigation that was done based on the irrigation
projects.
 The species may change parallel to the erosion caused by the human
activities or the permanent increase in the water turbidity as an outcome of
the dam construction.
 Discharge of toxic matters (pesticides, toxic metals etc.) and their
condensation in food chain may affect sensitive animals immediately; all
living organisms may expire when the stream becomes irrecoverable.
 Impact of Dams on Environment
 The water regime may change as a result of destruction of nature,
unexpected floods may occur and consequently vegetation and natural
structures in the riverbanks can be damaged.
 Some increase in earthquakes may occur because of filling of big dam
reservoirs.
 Rise in evaporation loses may be expected as a result of the increase in the
water surface area.
 Large dams have led to the extinction of many fish and other aquatic
species, the disappearance of birds in floodplains, huge losses of forest,
wetland and farmland, erosion of coastal deltas, and many other
unmitigable impacts.
 Dams affect the social, cultural and economical structure of the region
considerably. Especially forcing people, whose settlement areas and lands
remain under water to migrate, affect their psychology negatively.
 Dams have a multi-pronged impact on biodiversity by submerging forests,
changing the natural hydro graph of a river, reducing sediment discharge in
rivers, affecting groundwater recharge, increasing salinity, increasing
pollution concentration,
 Impact of mining on tribal community
 Most of the mineral resources are located in tribal lands and the forests. Thus,
mines have an impact on forest-dependent tribals the most. The greatest
impact of displacement due to mining has been the transformation of tribals
from a close association and symbiosis with nature to culturally and
ecologically different communities.
 The situation in these areas are already disturbing, with massive mining
leading to the displacement of tribals, destruction of their livelihood support
system including forests and water sources, large scale air and water
pollution, and destruction of socio-cultural life through massive influx of
outsiders.
 Relevant laws for rehabilitation are sometimes inadequate to safeguard the
economic, cultural and social interests and identities of the tribal people. This
has strongly affected the mindset of the tribal people. Undoubtedly,
displacement brings a drastic change in socio-economic and cultural life of
the tribal people.
 Subsequently, sometimes it also has resulted in emergence of many
movements in tribal areas which act as counterproductive in nation building
process.
 Impact of large Dams on tribal community
 Similar is the condition in case of dam construction where a
huge amount of land, be it forest land or tribal area are
submerged under water when a dam is constructed.
Displacement brings a drastic change in socio-economic and
cultural life of the tribal people,

 Another reason can be that most users of hydro-electricity live

far away from the impacted areas and that the sites selected for
dam building have been often those inhabited by indigenous
peoples, tribal people, ethnic minorities and poor communities
having little capacity of being heard by the wider national
community.