Unit 1. Introduction to environmental studies.pdf

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1. Unit 1 –Introduction to
Environmental Studies
Multidisciplinary nature of environmental studies;
Components of Environment: atmosphere, hydrosphere,
lithosphere and biosphere
Scope and importance; Concept of sustainability and
sustainable development; Brief history of Environmentalism
Dr. NawinKumar Tiwary
Assistant Professor
Department of Environmental Studies
Indraprastha College for Women
University of Delhi

2. Environment
‘Environment’isatermderivedfromtheLatinword‘Environ’thatmeans‘tosurround’.
AsperEnvironment(Protection)Act,1986,environmentincludesallthephysicaland
biologicalsurroundingsofanorganismalongwiththeirinteractions.
Environmentis“thesumtotalofwater,airandlandandtheinter-relationshipsthatexist
amongthemandwiththehumanbeings,otherlivingorganismsandmaterials.”

3. Components of Environment

4. Sustainable development
Sustainabledevelopmentisdefinedas“meetingtheneedsofthepresentwithout
compromisingtheabilityoffuturegenerationstomeettheirownneeds.”
ThisdefinitionwasgiveninBrundtlandCommissionReport,‘‘OurCommonFuture’’,bythe
NorwegianPrimeMinister,G.H.Brundtland,whowasalsotheDirectorofWorldHealth
Organisation(WHO).
History:Acleardiscussiononsustainabledevelopmentemergedonaninternationallevelin
1992,intheUNConferenceonEnvironmentandDevelopment(UNCED),popularlyknownas
TheEarthSummit,heldatRiodeJaneiro,Brazil.TheRioDeclarationaimsat“anewand
equitableglobalpartnershipthroughthecreationofnewlevelsofcooperationamongstates
….”OutofitsfivesignificantagreementsAgenda-21proposesaglobalprogrammeofactionon
sustainabledevelopmentinsocial,economicandpoliticalcontextforthe21stcentury.Thiswas
followedbyUNWorldSummitonSustainableDevelpment(WSSD)inJohannesburg,South
Africain2002whichemphasizedonnationalstrategiesforsustainabledevelopment.

5. Sustainable development
Thekeyaspectsforsustainabledevelopmentare:
(a)Inter-generationalequity:Thisemphasizesthatweshouldminimizeanyadverseimpacts
onresourcesandenvironmentforfuturegenerationsi.e.weshouldhandoverasafe,
healthyandresourcefulenvironmenttoourfuturegenerations.Thiscanbepossibleonly
ifwestopover-exploitationofresources,reducewastedischargeandemissionsand
maintainecologicalbalance.
(b)Intra-generationalequity:Thisemphasizesthatthedevelopmentprocessesshouldseek
tominimizethewealthgapswithinandbetweennations.TheHumanDevelopment
ReportofUnitedNations(2001)emphasizesthatthebenefitsoftechnologyshouldseek
toachievethegoalsofintra-generationalequity.Thetechnologyshouldaddressthe
problemsofthedevelopingcountries,producingdroughttolerantvarietiesforuncertain
climates,vaccinesforinfectiousdiseases,cleanfuelsfordomesticandindustrialuse.This
typeoftechnologicaldevelopmentwillsupporttheeconomicgrowthofthepoor
countriesandhelpinnarrowingthewealthgapandleadtosustainability.

6. Sustainable development goals

7. Measures for Sustainable Development
(i)Usingappropriatetechnology,theonewhichislocallyadaptable,eco-friendly,resource
efficientandculturallysuitable.Itmostlyinvolveslocalresourcesandlocallabour.
Indigenoustechnologiesaremoreuseful,cost-effectiveandsustainable.
(ii)Reduce,Reuse,andRecycleapproach:The3-Rapproachadvocatingminimizationof
resourceuse,usingthemagainandagaininsteadofpassingitontothewastestream
andrecyclingthematerialsgoesalongwayinachievingthegoalsofsustainability.It
reducespressureonourresourcesaswellasreduceswastegenerationandpollution.
(iii)Promotingenvironmentaleducationandawareness:Makingenvironmentaleducation
thecentreofalllearningprocesswillgreatlyhelpinchangingthethinkingpatternand
attitudeofpeopletowardsourearthandtheenvironment
(iv)Resourceutilizationaspercarryingcapacity:Anysystemcansustainalimitednumber
oforganismsonalong-termbasiswhichisknownasitscarryingcapacity.Incaseof
humanbeings,thecarryingcapacityconceptbecomesallthemorecomplex.Itis
becauseunlikeotheranimals,humanbeings,notonlyneedfoodtolive,butneedso
manyotherthingstomaintainthequalityoflife.Inordertoattainsustainabilityitisvery
importanttoutilizetheresourcesbasedupontheabovetwopropertiesofthesystem.
Consumptionshouldnotexceedregenerationandchangesshouldnotbeallowedto
occurbeyondthetolerancecapacityofthesystem.
(v)Improvingqualityoflifeincludingsocial,culturalandeconomicdimensions:
Developmentshouldnotfocusjustononesectionofalreadyaffluentpeople.Ratherit
shouldincludesharingofbenefitsbetweentherichandthepoor.

8. Multidisciplinary nature of Environmental Studies
Environmentalsciencelooksatoursurroundings,includinghowweview,interpret,fitinto,
interactwith,andalteroursurroundings.Bearingecologicalprinciplesatitscore,
environmentalsciencedrawsandintegratesinputsfromdifferentdisciplinesinscience,
socialscienceandhumanities.Forexamples:
-Zoologistsstudyanimals,
-Botanistsstudyplants,
-Ecologistsstudyhowplantsandanimalsinteractwiththeirenvironment,
-Geologistsstudytheformation,history,structure,andphysicalcompositionoftheearth,
-Chemistsstudythecompositionofbothliving,andnonlivingmaterials,andthereactions
controllingthedistributionofmaterials,
-Socialscientistsandeconomistsstudyhowweuseandinteractwithourenvironment,
-Philosophersexaminehowwevalueourenvironment,
-Journalistsdescribeandinterpretourenvironment,andillustratorsshowusour
environment.
Because,theenvironmentiscomplexandactuallymadeupofmanydifferentenvironments,
includingnatural,constructedandculturalenvironments,environmentalstudiesistheinter-
disciplinaryexaminationofhowbiology,geology,politicspolicystudies,law,geology,religion
engineering,chemistryandeconomicscombinetoinformtheconsiderationofhumanity’s
effectsonthenaturalworld.

9. Multidisciplinary nature of Environmental Studies
Thissubjecteducatesthestudentstoappreciatethecomplexityofenvironmentalissuesand
citizensandexpertsinmanyfields.Bystudyingenvironmentalscience,studentsmay
developabreadthoftheinterdisciplinaryandmethodologicalknowledgeinthe
environmentalfieldsthatenablesthemtofacilitatethedefinitionandsolutionof
environmentalproblems.

10. Multidisciplinary nature of Environmental Studies
Ex: Air Pollution:
Environmental issue/topics Major subject/ Topic knowledge required
Nature and reaction of air pollutantsChemistry and Chemical engineering
Effects of air pollutants on human beings,
animal and plants
Zoology and botany and various branches of life
science. Physics and Chemistry
Effect of air pollutants on materialsMeteorology, Thermodynamics, Geography
Effect of climate on air pollutionMathematical modeling, etc.
Air pollution control devices Physics, chemistry and various branches of
Engineering
History of air pollution and air pollution
episodes
History
Economic impacts of air pollutionEconomics, Demography
Sociological impacts of air pollutionSociology
Alternative fuels Various branches of physical sciences
Conservation of resources and pollution
control
Various branches of physical and political sciences
Ozone hole and global warming Almost all fields under the sun have got something
to contribute to the understanding and prevention
of this phenomenon.

11. Brief history of Environmentalism
InternationalEffortsforEnvironment
Environmentalissuesreceivedinternationalattentionabout35yearsbackinStockholm
Conference,heldon5thJune,1972.SincethenwecelebrateWorldEnvironmentDayon
5thJune.AttheUnitedNationsConferenceonEnvironmentandDevelopmentheldatRio
deJaneiro,in1992,knownpopularlyasEarthSummit,andtenyearslater,theWorld
SummitonSustainableDevelopment,heldatJohannesburgin2002,keyissuesofglobal
environmentalconcernwerehighlighted.Attentionofgeneralpublicwasdrawntowardsthe
deterioratingenvironmentalconditionsallovertheworld.

12. Brief history of Environmentalism
ContemporaryIndianEnvironmentalistsinEnvironmentalAwareness
Justice KuldeepSingh, known popularly as the green judge and Sh. M.C. Mehta, the green
advocate, who have immensely contributed to the cause of environment.
Sh. SunderlalBahuguna, known for his ‘Chipko movement’ and ‘TehriBachaoAndolan’
Smt. MedhaPatkarand Ms. ArundhatiRoyknown for their ‘Narmada BachaoAndolan’
The Magsaysay awardeeSh. RajenderSinghknown for his water conservation efforts are
some such contemporary figures.
Dr. SalimAliwas a renowned ornithologist, famous for his work on Indian birds.
In modern India, late Prime Minister Mrs. IndiraGandhi was instrumental in introducing
the concept of environmental protection in the Constitution of India as a fundamental duty
Mrs. ManekaGandhi, former environment minister, has worked a lot for the cause of
wildlife protection.
Citizen’s report on environmentwas first published by late Sh. Anil Aggarwal, the founder
Chairman of Centre for Science & Environment.
Even with many such key persons leading the cause to environment, India is yet to achieve a
lot in this field.