2 - Environmental Resources

7/30/2019 2 - Environmental Resources

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LESSON 2

ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES

INTRODUCTION: Forests are natural renewable resources to the mankind on planet

earth. The total forest cover of the country has been estimated to be 19.39% of the

geographical area. Forests comprise mainly trees which provide wood that may be

converted into solid, liquid, and gaseous fuels. They are important for the climate of the

Earth, they act as filters of carbon dioxide, they are habitats and shelters to millions of

species, and they are also important for their aesthetic appeal. Forests provide raw

material for various wood-based industries, viz., pulp and paper, composite wood, rayon

and other man-made fibers, sport goods, furniture, boat building, matches etc. Timber is

an important material in building construction. Miscellaneous products, like bamboos,

resins, gums, some oils, fibers, medicines, katha, lac, shellac etc. are obtained from

forests.

CONTENTS

IntroductionUses of forestsFunctions of forestsDeforestationCauses of deforestationEffect of deforestation on tribal people

Dams and forestsDisplacement of people by miningReferencesSelf Evaluation


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The forest cover of the country has

been estimated to be 637,293 Sq.Km.

which is 19.39% of the geographic area

of the country. The dense forest, open

forest and mangrove constitute 11.48%,

7.76% and 0.15% of the geographic area

respectively.

USESOFFORESTS:

Uses are broadly classified into three categories:

1. Protective functions: These include the protective role of forests against soil

erosion, droughts, floods, intense radiation.

2. Productive functions: Forests are the source of wood and many other products

like gums, resins, fibres, medicines, katha, honey, bidi wrappers, pulp, paper.

3. Accessory functions: These include the role of forests in recreation, aesthetics,

and as habitat of diverse wildlife.

FUNCTIONSOFFORESTS:

Atmospheric regulation:

- Absorption of solar heat during evapo-transpiration

- Maintaining carbon dioxide levels for plant growth

-

Maintaining the local climatic conditions

Water shed production:

- Reducing the rate of surface run-off of water

- Preventing flash floods and soil erosion


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- Producing prolonged gradual run off and thus safeguarding against drought.

Erosion control: Holding soil by preventing rain from directly washing soil away.

Land bank: Maintaining soil nutrients and structure

Local use(consumptive use):

- Food: gathering plants, fishing, hunting from the forest

- Fodder for cattle

- Fuel wood and charcoal for cooking and heating

- Poles for building homes especially in rural and wilderness areas

- Timber for household articles and construction

- Fiber for weaving baskets, ropes, nets, string etc.

- Sericulture for silk

- Apiculture or rearing bees for honey

- Medicinal plants for traditional medicines

Market use (Productive use)

- Most of the above forest products are sold as a source of income for supporting

the livelihoods of forest-dwelling people- Minor forest produce like fuel wood, fruit, gum, fiber etc., which are collected and

sold in local markets as a source of income for forest dwellers

- Major timber extraction for construction, industrial uses, paper pulp etc.

DEFORESTATION:

Deforestation is the permanent destruction of

indigenous forests and wood lands. One of the

serious environmental problems is forest degradation

due to timber extraction and dependence on fuel

wood. Trees on our planet are being depleted at a

very fast rate.


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Although humans have been practicing deforestation since ages, it was in the

mid-1800s that forests began to be destroyed at an unprecedented rate According to

some estimates, more than 50 percent of the tree cover has disappeared due to human

activity.

One of the most worrying factors today is the massive destruction of the rainforests of

the world, which is affecting the biodiversity adversely.

Over the last half century, forests have been subjected to overexploitation,

degradation and encroachment due to several reasons:

- Collection of firewood and charcoal

- Overgrazing and long traveling distances

-Construction of dams and roads

- Forest fires

- Mangrove felling for building materials

- Farming and agriculture

- Mining

- Urbanization, industrialization, population growth

- Poverty illicit trade

- Certain government policies

CAUSESOFDEFORESTATION:

The destruction of the forests is occurring

due to various reasons, one of the main

reasons being the short term economic benefits.

Given below are some more common causes of

deforestation:

Used for Urban and Construction

Purposes: The cutting down of trees for

lumber that is used for building materials, furniture, and paper products. Forests

are also cleared in order to accommodate expanding urban areas.


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To Grow Crops: Forests are also cut down in order to clear land for growing

crops.

To Create Grazing Land: Forests are cut down in order to create land for

grazing cattle.

Used for Fuel: Trees are cut down in developing countries to be used as

firewood or turned into charcoal, which are used for cooking and heating

purposes.

Some of the other causes of deforestation are: clearing forests for oil and mining

exploitation; to make highways and roads; slash and burn farming techniques; wildfires;

and acid rain.

EFFECTOFDEFORESTATIONONTRIBALPEOPLE

One person out of every 20 on earth belongs to indigenous cultures found in

about 70 countries. Many of earths tribal peoples, representing 5,000 cultures, are

vanishing as their lands are taken for economic development. Large dams are being

constructed on environmentally sensitive sites, as in the Himalayas, or in heavily

forested areas, and are creating more ecological problems in the long term and

displacing large tribal population. Silent valley and Bedthi projects have already been

given up by the Kerala and Karnataka governments respectively due to anti-dam

campaigns.

DAMSAND FORESTS

The forest is being cleared for approach

roads, offices, and residential quarters and forstorage of construction material due to the

construction of dams. With the reduction in forest

cover and the entry of people, the pressure on the

remaining forest increases. Their need for


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firewood leads to further denudation. There is a recurring loss in terms of timber and

firewood yield per year and degradation of environment.

Case study:

182 villages in Madhya Pradesh will be affected due to the construction of

reservoir while dam is in Gujarat. 60 to 80 thousand people will be displaced. It is

believed that larger areas of Gujarat will be irrigated and many more thousands of

people will be benefited by Sardar Sarovar dam. But people of Madhya Pradesh had to

make sacrifices out of which many of them are ancient tribals.

DISPLACEMENTOFPEOPLEBYMINING:

Most mining work leads to water and air pollution, despoliation of land and

deforestation, noise and ground vibration problems etc. Mining operations affected

forest and cultivated land areas mainly in U.P., Bihar, M.P., Orissa and A.P. The use of

land on large scale for townships, communication, excavation and transport affected the

socioeconomic and geology of these areas.

REFERENCES:

1. Surinder Deswal and Anupama Deswal, 2002, Energy Ecology, Environment

and Society, Dhanpat Rai and Company, New Delhi, pp-8.21

2. P.D. Sharma , 1996, Ecology and Environment, Rastogi Publications,

Meerut , (New Delhi), pp-326

SELF EVALUATION:

FILL IN THE BLANKS:

1. Anything we get from environment to meet our needs and desires is called

____________________(resource)

2. When soil is washed away into streams, transported into rivers and finally lost to

the sea is defined as ________________________( soil erosion)


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MULTIPLE CHOICES:

1. An extended period of deficient rainfall relative to the statistical multiyear average

for the reason is called

a. Drought

b. Flood

c. Deforestation

d. Soil erosion

2. Forest degradation is due to

a. Timber extraction

b. Construction of dams

c. Overgrazing

d. All the above

Additional information

ADVERSEEFFECTSOFDEFORESTATION:

Erosion of Soil: When forest areas are cleared, it results in

exposing the soil to the sun, making it very dry and

eventually, infertile, due to volatile nutrients such as nitrogen

being lost. In addition, when there is rainfall, it washes away

the rest of the nutrients, which flow with the rainwater into

waterways. Because of this, merely replanting trees may not

help in solving the problems caused by deforestation, for by the time the trees

mature, the soil will be totally devoid of essential nutrients. Ultimately, cultivation

in this land will also become impossible, resulting in the land becoming useless.

Large tracts of land will be rendered permanently impoverished due to soil

erosion


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Disruption of the Water Cycle: Trees contribute in a large way in maintaining

the water cycle. They draw up water via their root, which is then released into the

atmosphere. A large part of the water that circulates in the ecosystem of

rainforests, for instance, remains inside the plants. When these trees are cut

down it results in the climate getting drier in that area.

Loss of Biodiversity: The unique biodiversity of various geographical areas is

being lost on a scale that is quite unprecedented. Even though tropical

rainforests make up just 6 percent of the surface area of the Earth, about 80-90

percent of the entire species of the world exist here. Due to massive

deforestation, about 50 to 100 species of animals are being lost each day. The

outcome of which is the extinction of animals and plants on a massive scale

Flooding and Drought: One of the vital functions of forests is to absorb and

store great amounts of water quickly when there are heavy rains. When forests

are cut down, this regulation of the flow of water is disrupted, which leads to

alternating periods of flood and then drought in the affected area.

Flood Drought

Climate Change: It is well known that global warming is being caused largely

due to emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.


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However, what is not known quite as well is that deforestation has a direction

association with carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. Trees act as a

major storage depot for carbon, since they absorb carbon dioxide from the

atmosphere, which is then used to produce carbohydrates, fats, and proteins that

make up trees. When deforestation occurs, many of the trees are burnt or they

are allowed to rot, which results in releasing the carbon that is stored in them as

carbon dioxide. This, in turn, leads to greater concentrations of carbon dioxide in

the atmosphere.

FORESTDEGRADATIONIN INDIA:

India is the second most populous and

seventh largest country in the world having

population over 1 billion with only 1.8% of the

worlds forest cover. The degradation of

forests in India is due to the construction of

dams, fuel, fodder, valley projects, industrial

uses, road construction, urbanization,

industrialization etc. Destruction of biotic potential of land leads to desertification. Such

problems arise due to overgrazing, indiscriminate felling of trees and over exploitation of

land resources. The effects of deforestation in India include soil, water and wind

erosion. Deforestation has a major impact on the productivity of croplands in two ways:

a) soil erosion leads to floods and drought b) increased dependency on cow dung and

crop wastes due to shortage of firewood affects crop productivity due to loss in soil

fertility.

SOLUTIONSFORDEFORESTATION:

The safe keeping of our precious planet lies with each and every member of its

human population. We are the ones accountable for our actions even though it is

ourselves we are accountable too. We have the power and knowledge to turn this

planet to a green and pleasant place to live or to completely destroy all life.

Deforestation is one of the major pressing environmental issues we face and one we

must address the solutions to and quickly if we are to restore the damage we have done


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to the environment. Although forests may seem a small and insignificant part of the

world landscape. When seen as a whole they play a vital role in maintaining the

atmosphereand there is a real possibility that we could be left with nothing but waste

land if they were to disappear. So plant the trees, avoid the cutting of trees.

The limits of reserve strategy aimed to preserve the soil and prevent erosion

once the land was cleared did not really address the issue of deforestation.

Instead of protection to the soil it should have concentrated on protecting the

forest itself.

Planting different types of trees.

Overgrazing of animals should be prevented.

Forests play crucial role in regulation of global climate and temperature as the

forest cover absorbs the solar energy for primary production of food and energy.

Forests also regulate the flow of water from mountain highlands to croplands and urban

areas, and reduce the amount of sediment washing into streams, lakes, and reservoirs

by restricting soil erosion as the forests enrich soil binding capacity. Forests are fast

vanishing due to urbanization, industrialization and population growth. Deforestation

and over-grazing have been causing tremendous land erosion and landslides. Overgrazing is causing damage to the regenerating seedlings. More and more dams

construction and mining operations is leading to the displacement of tribal people.

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2 - Environmental Resources