UNIT 1��THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Environment

Definition: The complex set of physical, geographic, biological, social, cultural and political conditions that surround an individual or organism and that ultimately determines its form and nature of its survival.

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1) All factors living and nonliving that affect an individual organism or population at any point in the life cycle.

2) Set of circumstances surrounding a particular occurrence.

3) All the things that surrounds us.

Environmental Science

An interdisciplinary branch of science that investigates questions related to the human population, resources, and damages caused by pollution and disturbance.

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Environmental science is integrative and involves complex biology, chemistry, politics, sociology, geology, agriculture, economics.

Why We Want to Study the State of Environment?

• The need for information that clarifies modern environmental concepts such as the need to conserve biodiversity, the need to lead more sustainable lifestyles and the need to use resources more equitably.
• A need to change the way in which we view our own environment by a practical approach based on observation and self learning.
• The need to create a concern for our environment that will trigger pro-environmental action, including activities we can do in our daily life to protect it.

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• Biodiversity: The part of nature which includes the differences in genes among the individuals of a species, the variety and richness of all the plant and animal species at different scales in space i.E. Local, regional, country wise and global, and various types of ecosystems- both terrestrial and aquatic-within a defined area.
• Sustainable development: Implies the use of resources in a managed way as to provide resources for future generations.

Objective of This Course

• Develop a concern for our environment.

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• Begin to act at your own level to protect the environment we all live in.

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Scope and Importance

• We live in natural surrounding (forest, river, mountain, etc.). Resources: renewable (forest and water) and non-renewable (minerals and oil).
• Due to increase in population these resources are getting depleted gradually.
• There is a need to understand make ourselves aware of our natural assets and get concerned about our environment and sustainable utilize the resources.
• Scope of environmental studies is very wide and nearly covers some aspects of every major discipline (biology, chemistry, physics, geography, resource management, economy, etc.).

• Water, air, soil, forests are all part of our life support systems. Without them life itself would be impossible.
• Natural resources are limited in nature and continue to shrink and may be get depleted if not utilized in a sustainable manner.
• Almost every act of human beings cause some effect on environment: solid waste, water pollution, air pollution, soil pollution , etc. And these have ill-effect on human health.
• Individual efforts together with the public and also government actions are needed to protect our environment from further more degradation and safeguard it.

Importance

Values of Nature

• Productive value

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• Aesthetic value, recreational value

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• Option value

Productive Value of Nature

• Biotechnology is fast advancing in this modern world.
• Nature has species which contain an incredible and uncountable number of complex chemicals that are raw material and can be used for developing new medicines and industrial products.
• Destruction of these species due to human activity is happening rapidly and hence these species might become extinct in near future.
• Hence there is an urgent need to protect these species
• Protection of these species by individual or group efforts.

Aesthetic and Recreational Value of Nature

• Nature encompasses every aspect of living (biodiversity: flora and fauna) and non-living (sea, forest, desert) part of the earth.
• Nature enlivens our existence on earth.
• Developing national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in relatively undisturbed areas.
• Enjoy the wilderness – nature tourism or wildlife tourism – pleasurable experience and also creates a deep respect and love for nature.
• Urban setting there will be green spaces and gardens – psychological and physical health of city dwellers and provides aesthetic value and visual appeal. It also gives access to certain amount of peace and tranquility.

The Option Values of Nature

• Day-to-day activities have adverse impacts on nature’s integrity.
• Present generation’s lifestyles and economies are based on unsustainable pattern which can lead to destruction of biodiversity and will leave nothing for future generations.
• Option value: nature provides us with options to utilize it resources which we can use it either greedily (destroy its integrity and long term values) or sustainably and reducing our impacts on environment.
• Allows us to use its resources sustainably and preserve its goods and services for the future.

Need for Public Awareness

• Earth’s resources are dwindling and our environment is being increasingly degraded by human activities and hence something needs to be done.
• Government alone cannot perform all the clean-up functions.
• Individual/group efforts in their own every possible way has to be made to protect our environment.
• Mass public awareness: newspapers, radio, television strongly influences public opinion on conserving our environment.

• Interested students can join environmental group (WWF-I, BNHS)
• Read environment related magazines such ‘DOWN TO EARTH’, ‘WWF-I’, BNHS HORNBILL’, etc.
• Practice and promote good civic sense: no spitting, no tobacco chewing, not throwing garbage on the road, etc.
• Take part in events organized on world environment day, wildlife week, etc.
• Visit a national park or sanctuary, or spend time in whatever nature you have near your home.

Institutions in Environment

Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Mumbai

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• An NGO founded in 1883.
• Wildlife policy building, research, popular publications and peoples action have been unique features of this multifaceted society.
• Works towards conservation of wildlife species and ecosystems.
• Publications: HORNBILL, journal on natural history, Salim Ali handbook on birds, JC Daniel’s book on Indian reptiles, SH Prater’s book of Indian mammals and PV bole’s book of Indian trees.
• Assisting government in framing of wildlife related laws.
• ‘SAVE THE SILENT VALLEY’ campaign.

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-I),

New Delhi

• Initiated in 1969 in Mumbai and then moved to new Delhi with several branch offices all over India.
• Wildlife education and awareness.
• Organizes nature clubs of India program for children. Works as a think tank and lobby force for environment and development issues.

Center for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi

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• Organizing campaigns, holding workshops/conferences and producing environment related publications are some of its activities.
• It published ‘State of India’s Environment’, the first of its kind to be produced as a Citizen’s Report on the Environment.
• It publishes popular magazine ‘DOWN TO EARTH’ a Science and Environment fortnightly.
• It is also involved in publication of material in the form of books, posters, video films and also conducts workshops and seminars on biodiversity related issues.

CPR Environmental Education Centre, Madras

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• CPR EEC was set up in 1988.

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• Conducts variety of programs to spread environmental awareness and creates an interest in conservation among the general public.

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• It focusses attention on NGOs, teachers, women, youth and children to generally promote conservation of nature and natural resources.

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• Its programs include components on wildlife and biodiversity issues. It also produces a large number of publications.

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Centre for Environment Education (CEE), Ahmedabad

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• It was initiated in 1989.
• It has wide range of programs on the environment and produces a variety of educational material. CEE’s training in Environment Education (TEE) program has trained many environment educators.

Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Environment Education and Research (BVIEER), Pune

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• This institute is a part of Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University and has a Ph.D, masters and Bachelors program in Environmental Sciences.

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• Also offers an innovative Diploma in Environment Education for in-service teachers.

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• It implements a large outreach programme that has covered over 135 schools in which it trains teachers and conducts fortnightly Environment Education Programs.

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• Biodiversity Conservation is a major focus of its research initiatives.

• It develops low cost Interpretation Centres for Natural and Architectural sites that are highly locale specific as well as a large amount of innovative environment educational material for a variety of target groups.

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• Its unique feature is that it conducts environment education from primary school level to the the post graduate level.

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• It has produced several EE aids, developed a teacher’s handbook linked to school curriculum, a textbook for UGC for its undergraduate course on environment .

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• Its director has developed a CD ROM on India’s biodiversity published by Mapin Publishers, Ahmedabad.

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Uttarkhand Seva Nidhi (UKSN), Almora

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• A Nodal Agency and supports NGOs in need of funds for their environment related activities.

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• Major program is organising and training school teachers to use its locale specific Environment Education Workbook Program.

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• The main targets are linked with sustainable resource use at the village level through training school children.

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• Its environment education program covers about 500 schools.

Kalpavriksh, Pune

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• It is an NGO and works on variety of fronts: education and awareness;investigation and research; direct action and lobbying; and litigation with regard to environment and development issues.
• Its activities include talks and audio-visuals in schools and colleges, nature walks and outstation camps, organizing student participation in ongoing campaigns including street demonstrations, pushing for consumer awareness regarding organic food, press statements, handling green alerts, and meetings with the city’s administrators.
• It is involved with the preparation of site-specific, environmental manuals for school teachers.
• Kalpavriksh was responsible for developing India’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan in 2003.

Salim Ali Center for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), Coimbatore

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• Dr.Salim Ali wished to support a group of committed conservation scientists on permanent basis and that dream became a reality only after his demise.

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• It is an independent organization and is based at Coimbatore since 1990.

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• It has instituted a variety of field programs that have added to the country’s information on our threatened biodiversity.

Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun

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• This institution was established in 1982 as a major training establishment for Forest Officials and Research in in Wildlife Management.
• Its most significant publication has been ‘Planning A Wildlife Protected Area Network for India’ (Rodgers and Panwar, 1988).
• The organisation has over the years added an enormous amount of information on India’s biological wealth.
• It has trained a large number of Forest Department Officials and Staff as Wildlife Managers.
• Its M.Sc. Program has trained excellent wildlife scientists. It also has an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) cell.
• It trains personnel in ecodevelopment, wildlife biology, habitat management and Nature interpretation.

Botanical Survey of India (BSI)

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• It was established in1890 at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Calcutta.

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• However it was closed for several years after 1939 and was reopened in 1954.

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• It carries out surveys of plant resources in different regions.

Zoological Survey of India (ZSI)

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• It was established in 1916.
• Its mandate was to do a systematic survey of fauna in India.
• It has over the years collected ‘type specimens’ on the bases of which our animal life has been studied over the years. Its origins were collections based at the Indian Museum at Calcutta, which was established in 1875.
• Older collections of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, which were made between 1814 and 1875, as well as those of the Indian Museum made between 1875 and 1916 were then transferred to the ZSI.
• Today it has over a million species!. This makes it one of the largest collections in Asia.
• It has done an enormous amount of work on taxonomy and ecology.

Individuals who have been instrumental in shaping the environmental history in our country:-

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Salim Ali

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• He has written several great books including the famous ‘Book of Indian Birds’.

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• His autobiography,’Fall of a Sparrow’ should be read by every nature enthusiast.

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• He was our country’s leading conservation scientist and influenced environmental policies in our country for over 50 years.

People in Environment

Indira Gandhi

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• As a PM, she has played a highly significant role in the preservation of India’s wild life.

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• It was during her period as a PM, that the network of protected areas (Pas) grew from 65 to 298!.

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• The Wildlife Protection Act was formulated during the period when she was PM and the Indian Board for Wildlife was extremely active as she personally chaired all its meetings.

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• India gained a name for itself by being a major player in CITES and other International Environmental Treaties and Accords during her tenure.

SP Godrej

• One of India’s greatest supporters of wildlife conservation and nature awareness programs.
• He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1999 and several other awards between 1975 and 1999.

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MS Swaminathan

• One of India’s foremost agricultural scientists and has also been concerned with various aspects of biodiversity conservation both of cultivars and wild biodiversity.
• Founder of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation in Chennai, which does work on the conservation of biological diversity.

Madhav Gadgil

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• A well known ecologist in India.
• His interests range from broad ecological issues such as developing Community Biodiversity Registers and conserving sacred groves to studies on the behavior of mammals, birds and insects.

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Anil Agarwal

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• He was a journalist who wrote the first report on the ‘State of India’s Environment’ in 1982.
• He founded the Center for Science and Environment which is an active NGO that supports various environmental issues.

MC Mehta

• India’s most famous environmental lawyer.
• Since 1984, he has filed several Public Interest Litigation (PIL) for supporting the cause of environmental conservation.
• Protecting the Taj Mahal, cleaning up the Ganges River, banning intensive shrimp farming on the coast, initiating Government to implement environmental education in schools and colleges, and a variety of other conservation issues.

Medha Patkar

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• She is known as one of India’s Champions who has supported the cause of downtrodden tribal people whose environment is being affected by the dams on the Narmada river.

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Sunderlal Bahuguna

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• His Chipko Movement has become an internationally well-known example of a highly successful conservation action program through the efforts of local people for guarding their forest resources.
• His fight to prevent the construction of the Tehri Dam in a fragile earthquake prone setting is a battle the he continues to wage.
• The Garhwal Hills will always remember his dedication to the cause for which he has walked over 20 thousand kilometers.

Internationally known environmental thinkers who have made landmarks and whose names are frequently mentioned are:-

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Charles Darwin

• Author of “Origin of Species” which brought to light the close relationship between habitats and species.
• It also brought about a new thinking of man’s relationship with other species that was based on evolution.
• Alfred Wallace came to the same conclusions during his work.

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Henry Thoreau

• In 1860, he wrote that the wilderness should be preserved after he lived in the wild for a year.
• He felt that most people did not care for nature and would sell it off for a small sum of money.

Ralph Emerson

• He spoke of the dangers of commerce to our environment way back in the 1840s.

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John Muir

• He is remembered as having saved the great ancient sequoia trees in California’s forests.
• In the 1890s he formed the Sierra club, which is a major conservation NGO in the USA.

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Aldo Leopold

• He was a forest official in the US in the 1920s.
• He designed the early policies on wilderness conservation and wildlife management.

Rachel Carson

• In the 1960s Rachel Carson published several articles that caused immediate worldwide concern on the effects of pesticide on nature and mankind.
• She wrote a well-known book called ‘Silent Spring’ which eventually led to a change in Government policy and public awareness.

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EO Wilson

• An entomologist who envisioned that biological diversity was a key to human survival on earth.
• He wrote ‘Diversity of Life’ in 1993, which was awarded a prize for the best book published on environmental issues.
• His writings brought home to the world the risks to mankind due to man made disturbances in natural ecosystems that are leading to the rapid extinction of species at the global level.