1

-
--
1 s
ENVIRONMENTAL
CONCEPTS

• Environment: Definition
A tm os ph er e H yd and Com . . .
· h po si
' rosp ere and Biosphertio e
n, Lithosphere
'
• Biogeochemical Cycles _ C
oncept and Water Cycle
• Ecosystem and Ecol
F lo w Py ra m id ogy .. Foo d Chai.n, Food Web
and Energy
• Resources : Meani~g, C la
ss ifi ca tio n (Renewable an
d Non
~e ne w ab l~ ), Types and E
xploitation of Natural Reso
in a Sustainable Manner urces

DEFINITION 'o F ENVIR

ONMENT
The w or d E nv ir on m en t is de
rive d from the French w or d'
that m ea ns ' to 'enc om pa ss environ'
' or to '_encircle' . It is belie
been in tr od uc ed in to th e su ved to have
bject by biologist Jacob Van
early 1900s.to be ar ou nd '. Erkul in the
En vi ro nm en t ca n be de
fi ne d as N at ur al su rr ou nd
or ga ni sm w hi ch di re ct ly in gs of th at
or in di re ct ly influence th
de ve lo pm en t of th e or ga ni e gr ow th &
sm. Th us the te rm environm
the th in gs w hi ch su rr ou nd ent ~e an s
us i.e . it includes all our su
rroundings.
Envi ro nm en t ca m al so be
de fi ne d as the 'su rr ou nd in
orga ni sm op er at es in cl ud gs in which an
in g_air, wate~, la nd & natu
flora, fa un a, hu m an s & th ral resources,
ei r in te r relations.
 2
•
En . E1rviron111e11t IM
v 1ron men t is the a anaRement (S. Y.B.M.S.: SEM-//1)
t h at com p s um total of II I' .
ose the surro unct in sofa tv1ng and non-living factors
Wha t 1· g . man .
ies around .
are al us is the env ·
way s in touc h and b irorunent. The air, with whic h we
we live, the wate r f tu reath, the sky abov e us, the land on whic
h
see arou nd u s ar ~~ h res we com e across and the vege tation we
' ea t e com pone nts of environn1ent.
In Hin du m y thol
('ftj'f~T-~1
~
)wh i h
ogy we com e across the word 'Pancha Mah abhu te'
·
Th c are the basic elem ents of our natur al envir onm ent
o:: ;re natu rally pres ent right from the origin of our earth . Thos~
~ e lV-.i 1, '31N, ~ , ~ JW6T~T. Thus the envi ronm ent includes all these
ive basic units - the earth (land), wate r, energy, air (wind) and the
sky (~pace). In othe r word s, we have a naturally formed surro undi ng
that 1s calle d 'Nat ural Environment'.
How ever , the man on the earth is surro unde d also by, (alon g with
the abov e m entio ned natural elements) the man- made or artificial
featu res.

Thu s wha t we note arou nd us, is the mixt ure of many man- made
featu res like build ings and houses, road s and rails, dams and cana ls
and cultu ral featu res. We also have vehicles, offices, electric poles,
play grou nds, gard ens and num ber of man- made features. They form
our artificial surro undi ngs and hence cons titute the 'Cultural
Environment'.

In reality, the real envi ronm ent is a mixture of the comp onen ts of
both natu ral and cultu ral envi ronm ents. The prop ortio n of these
two parts may be variable from place to place. In urba n areas, we
find the d omin a n ce of cultu ral or man -mad e featu res with 1
dimi nishi ng natu ral elem ents. On the othe r hand, we still preserve I
the natu ral elem ents to a large exten t in villages, even thou gh we
F
find the grad ual chan ge in the rural scene. The origi nal natu ral E
land scap e is bein g fastly chan ged with the addi tion of more and u
n1ore artificia l fea tures. 1
In short vve ca n say that Environm,ent encompasses the inter 'l
actio n ei
between the living (natu ral) and the non- livin g (cult ural) worl d
e1
'1vithin a particular geographiq1l area.
e,
 - ·..,o,zmental Concepts
£11v 1, ,
3

rs NATURE OF ENVIRONMENT

·e f environment is quite complex. Because it is a mixture

0
The naturf . g and non-living things that surround us. Thus the
h
e of a.11 the ";7
1
5
composed of Biotic (living) and A biotic (non-living)
en v1ronmen It includes plants, soil s and an1ma· Is inc
· I ucling human
features.
. At the same tune,· · Iu des the Iarge vanety
· me
1t · of rocks and
be_ings.J landforms and waterforms, air and space, alongwith
5
rru11era '
. _.:,d· g strUctures, roadways an d r ailways, farms and factories and
bwi invariety of arh·t·10.al f ea tu res.
a 1arge,
Thus we say, the envir~nment is comprehensive in nature. Infact, it
is inclusive of everything around us.
Another important pr~perty of• bot~ the n~tural (physical) and
uitural environments 1s their dynanusm. It 1s always in a state of
~hange. The natural courses of rivers are changingJ the coastlines
are broken and newly formed, the landforms are eroded and the
natural vegetation shows seasonal chan ges. The human factor in
the change of natural environment is becoming more significant.
Especially with the fastly changing technology, the rate of change
has been tremendously increased. The m echanisation has helped
human beings cut the forests on a large scale, dig the mines to greater
depth and change the courses of rivers as they want. Bridges and
tunnels have reduced the geographical distances and the revolution
in the modem communication has shrinked the whole earth into 'a
village' called 'global village'. All these indicate the dynamic nature
of our environment.
The third significant property of environment lies in its systems.
Both the na tural and the cultural environments sh ow certain
processes that take place according to some system or the other.
Especially, the laws of natural sciences are very much applicable to
understand how the physical or the n atural environment functions.
The functioning of the certain na_tural cycles like the most popular
' hydrological cycle', suggests the system-orientation of the natural
environment. Number of su ch systems get evolved jn the natural
environment-Some of the systems (like water cycle) are in existence
even in the absence of human being on the earth. H owever the
4
. . E1ruiro11111e11ta/ M
or10,na l s ys tems get hi hl n11age111ent (Sy
· •8.M .5.: SEM-1//)
..
o~•
along With his cha ng;g {e;~:;t~. due to the intervention of man

Even in the care of cultural e .

to find out the syste Of nv1ronment, there have been attempts
proofed due to the h ms. f co~rse, the systems may not be full-
h ave always tried t ~m~n actor itself. But the modern social sciences
econom ic and o u1c ~de the analysis of socio-cultural processes,
th h psychological process to know so1nething more about
e uman beh~vi~ ur. The recent attempts to know s~methin g more
about the function ing of human brain (neurological advances) also
sh ow the human will to discover the existence of systems in the
human environ ment. Thus the knowled ge of both natural and
physica l environ ments is getting rich day-by-day due to the modern
scien ce and applicat ion of technology. Hence the system-approach
has become very importa nt in the study of environ ment. The
environ mental study is thereby, becoming more scientific, objective,
theory- oriented, rational and therefore more useful. Thus the nature
of environ ment is comple x and comprehensive, dynamic and
system- oriente d.

SCOPE OF ENVIR ONME NT

By scope, we m ean an extension of the vie:'s or the ~pportunity of

environ mental underst anding. As the envrronment 1s co~pose d of
' w h atever that lies around us', it is apparen t that _the environme_nt
ives us a broad scope. Its compreh ensive na~re _itself suggests_ its
gvastnes s. H owe ver, the most common scope hes m understanding
the environ ment in the followin g ways :
(i) Firstly the nature of environ ment,

(ii) Secondly, how it function s,

. h ·t 1·s being interven ed and exploited by human
1
(iii) Thirdly , ow
actions, tJ
. . s .ve rise to environ men a
(iv) Fourthl y, h o\t\' the~e interv: ~~:n g ra~ation on local and global
issues like an env 1ronmen a
scales and
 5
. n,nental Concepts
£11viro h to miti gate the prob lems relat ed to the
0
(v) Las~ly, ~al loss, with the help of appr opria te technology
envuoiunen
and wise action of man .
. t give us the scop e of envi ronm ent. In doin g so, we
All thes ~~:dsapply these five basic issues to cultural environment
can exte th application may lead us to the stud y of, not only the
too. ~uls
phys1ca an
J biological sciences but also to the social sciences and
humanities.
of envi ronm ent, theredfore is extehnded .u pto the. branches
.
The scope economic, polit. ical
·a1 an even psyc o1ogica1env1ronmbents. .
like soa , k h . emg
However, the com mon peop le 1oo at t e env1
_ ronm ent as
com pose d of only the· natu ral or phys ical. featu res . As the
mponents of cultu ral envi ronm ent are beco nung stron ger day by
~:y, they are being included in the scop~. The stru ~e _o~ population
and social composition, hum an behav.1our at the md1v1dual and a
'group' scales, the direc t and remo te influences of global crisis like
that of energy, popu latio n, healt h, food security, etc. are so influential
on hum an life of com mon peop le, that we have to cons ider their
study in the total envi ronm enta l s tudy . Ther efore , the scope is
broadening and beco ming deep er due to the complexity. ·
Therefore, ther e is a need to stud y the envi ronm ent, mor e
syste mati cally . In the attem pt to stud y such com preh ensi ve
environment, the subj ect of Geography, stud ied righ t from the
school days , beco mes mor e pert inen t. As geog raph y is an
interdisciplinary stud y of mutu al inter -rela tion betw een man and
environment, the reca pitul ation of certa in geog raph ical terms and
co~cepts wou ld beco me pre-r equi site to the stud y of envi ronm ent.
It 15 clear that the basics of Physical Geography and Biology help
us to know the natu re of natu ral envi ronm ent more whil e the study
0
~ 1:fuma n Geog raph y alon g with othe r socia l scien
ces broa den our
k th .
. .n.. It helps us ma e e stud y of cultu ral env1ronment more
v1s1o
significant and useful.
6
Environmental Management (S. Y.B.M.S.: SEM-1fl)

COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENT
The v a rio u s features which constitute the environment, are termed
as the Components of Environment. Organisms get the things they
n eed from their environment or habitat. Different organisms live
in differe nt habitats because their needs are different. There are two
factors within an organism 's habitat. Biotic factors and the Abiotic
factors. While d e aling with the definition and the nature. of
environment above, we have already come across the terms I_ike
biotic and abiotic environment. The understanding of the following
chart gives u s n1ore precise idea of the various con1ponents of
environment.

ENVIRONMENT

Natural (Physical) Cultural (Man-made)

• Soci<rcultural
• Economic
• Political
Abiotic Biotic • Psychological
• Location • Soils
• Relief • Plants
• Geology • Animal
• Climate • Human beings
• Energy

ABIOTIC COMPONENTS

l. Location : Location of a place is a very vital cpmponent of

environment. It is abiotic and natural. It also refers to site,
situation and the position of the environment on the surface of
the earth.

The most comm on form of loca tion is given in terms of latitudes

and longitudes imagined on the earth's surface. Especially, the
JatitudinaJ extension of a region gives us a better idea of climatic
condition of that region. Such a location is termed as Absolute
Location. (For example: Mumbai - 73°E and 18°N.)
 ·...onmental Concepts 7
£tiVl 1 73<> N
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ I I I I I I I

D
D

Absolute LOC.A:rION Relative

Fig . 1.1 . : Ty pes of Loc atio n

How eve r, i.I) the rea l wo rld situ atio n, it is the Rel
ativ e Loc atio n
tha t bec om es mo re me ani ngf ul. It is giv en alw ays
wit h refe rence
to som e oth er kno wn fea tur e i.e. in-r ela tion to
oth er - as for
inst anc e, "M y far m is loc ate d ver y clo se to a per
enn ial stre am
or my fac tory is loc ate d at the jun ctio n of roa ds
and rail way s" .
On a wid er sca le, a loc atio n of cer tain citi es ma
y be des crib ed
as Maritime The wo rd ma riti me is an adj ect ive
tha t sim ply
me ans "of the sea ", thu s any lan d ass oci ate d wit
h the sea can
be con sid ere d a ma riti me sta te or pro vin ce (M
um bai , Che nna i,
Calcutta) or Co nti nen tal i.e. any lan d not ass oci
ate d or hav ing
the sea as a bou nda ry can be con sid ere d to hav
e a con tine nta l
location (Delhi, Na gpu r, Hy der aba d, etc.). Suc h loc
atio nal factor
is ver y sig nif ica nt as it pos ses ses som e inh ere
nt eco nom ic
adv ant age s wit h ref ere nce to dis tan ces fro m
por t, rail wa y
jun ctio ns, can als, ind ust rial pla nts and so on. The
loc atio n of a
cou ntry alo ng the inte rna tion al wa terw ays , like
the Sue z Can al
Rou te fav our s the gro wth and dev elo pm ent
of trad e and
com mer ce by suc h cou ntry . (Co mp are the loc atio
n of Egy pt wit h
Sud an) .
2. Relief : By relief, we me an the nat ure of ups and
dow ns of the
ear th's sur fac e. We den ote suc h qua liti es of
lan d s uch as
mo unt ain ous or pla in terr ain . Mo unt ain s, pla tea
us and pla ins
are the bas ic reli ef fea tur es pla yin g ver y vita
l role in the
dev elo pm ent of far min g, lay ing of tran spo rt line
s and in the
dom esti cat ion of ani ma ls. He re, the alti tud e abo
ve the me an-
sea -lev el and the nat ure of slo pes of lan d (ste
ep or gen tle)
8 -111)
Env iron men tnl Ma nag eme nt (S. Y.B .M. S. : SEM
det erm ine nu mb er Of acti v1t . .
d f ies re late d to far min g, tra nsp ort,
e enc e, tou ris m and hu ma n set tleme nts .
ula ted wh ile pla ins
Ge ner all y, the m o un tai ns are s par sel y pop
the for n1a tion and
s up po rt d e nse pop ula tio n. Pla ins fav our
ara ble lan ds wh ile
acc um ula tio n of soi ls and are mo s tly
tou ris m act ivit ies .
mo un tai no us top ogr aphy is attr act ive for
pro vid ed ma n wit h
Mo unt ain s act ed as bar rie rs in the pas t and
-sta tion s'. Ind us~ ial
bea uti ful spo ts for the dev elo pm ent of ' hill
pe nd on rel ief .
an d com me rci al act ivi tie s als o de
nd in mo unt ain ous
Hy dro ele ctr icit y gen era tio n site s are fou
mu nic atio n fac ilit ies
are as of hig h alti tud es. Tra nsp ort and com
are as. Ind ust ries als o
are eas ily dev elo ped at low er cos t in pla in
tra te in pla in are as.
nee d tra cts of lev el lan d and this con cen
' rel atio ns bet wee n
Th e stu dy of s uch dir ect and ' d e term ini stic
the stu den ts of
rel ief and hu ma n life is una voi dab le for
En vir onm ent al Stu die s.
itio n of und erl yin g roc ks
3 . Ge olo gic al Str uct ure : It is the rc om pos
min era ls and hen ce
in a reg ion . Ro cks con tain cer tain eco nom ic
ivi ties . Mo st of the
suc h are as are attr act ive for mi nin g act
tin ent s are fou nd
pla tea u reg ion s of anc ien t shi eld s of the con
the sea -ba sin s and
to con tain num ero us me tall ic min era ls wh ile
l min era ls lik e coa l,
allu via l pla ins are pot ent iall y ric h in the fue
vas t dep osi ts of coa l
oil and nat ura l gas . Th e cou ntr ies hav ing
the wo rld -ec ono my
c:µ1d esp eci ally oil and gas hav e dom ina ted
ies lik e Au stra lia,
(OP EC cou ntr ies ) wh ile rec ent ly the cou ntr
tan ce du e to the ir
Ca nad a, Fra nce , Na mib ia hav e gai ned im por
ial for the ato mic
ric hne ss in the Ur ani um ore tha t is ess ent
power gen era tion .
d and cla y is als o
Th e occ urr enc e of bui ldi ng sto nes and san
ent s are geo log ica l
sig nif ica nt at the loc al lev el. All suc h com pon
dep end s up on the
in nat ure . Res ista nce to ear thq uak e als o
in ch oo sin g the
geo log i~a l s_tr uct ure a nd acc ord ing ly
ion of gro un dw ate r
~pp rop nat e s1_tes for larg e dam s. Ex plo itat
on acc oun t of ove r-
1s ver.y ~u ch m the dis cus sio n esp eci ally
ter . Un con tro lle d
exp I01 taho n a nd res ult ing sca rci ty of wa
s to s u ch sho rta ge.
num ber _of bor e-w eUs in a sm all are a lea d
k wit h wa ter can no t
Rec har gin g the und erg rou nd lay ers of roc
p J

tal concepts £ exploitation. The capacity of

O
£,,1v;rort 711eri
with the rate ds upon the geological structure
ace irs depen h. t
keep P und reserv0 ble rock strata). T 1s componen
undergro eable or non-perme~fects the human life directly or
(j.e. pelrorngical strt1cture thu~ eer cannot go ahead with any
f geo wise eng1n .d . h
~ d" ctlY• Any . h t taking into cons1 eration t e
u1 ir~ activity wit ou
building • nment.
logical en\Tll'0 .
geo f lace/region is the most dominant
O
CliJllate : CU.mate 1jphysical environment. It refers to the
4
· component of naturfathe atmosphere - the air that surrounds
ndition o · k.
general co .
efore its con I
d"tion directly affects the humans 1n as
. d. .
us. The~ t t uch with the air. The changing con 1hon
we are mconstan °
os here prevailing for a longer interva1 o f time · ·
1s
of the atm PCLIMATE. It is the most vital natural factor that
referrei to ~srole in deciding the health condition of human
pl~ys recd thereby the efficiency. It affects the plant _life in
beings
' an
t ways and the whole of ·agricultural sciences· are directiy
di£J.eren
dependent on such natural components 1·k Ii d ·1
1 e c mate an soi s.

Temperature, humidity, winds, air-pr~ss~e, rainf~ll, etc .. are

all the basic elements of climate. The latitudinal location, heigh t
from the sea-level and distance from the· sea (continentality),
etc. are the wider geographical factors that determine the n ature
of climate - especially the temperature. The temperature
determines the pressure as it is inversely proportional to
temperature. The uneven pressure distribution over the g lobe
gives· rise to winds and the nature of winds (moist/ dry)
influences the rainfall. This leads to the formation of different
climatic regions.
The vegetal cover over the. globe depends mostly on rainfall
and temperature. Accordingly, we recognise the vegetation
belts/zone/regions in the world. Such vegetation give rise to
human activities and thus influences human life in different
parts of the world. We have recognised and studied in ou r
~chool geography, the distribution of forests grasslands and
eserts ~ver the globe. Similarly we have come across
geograp~cal regions based on the climatic and vegetation zones
along with human activities. ·
 nl Mn11nge111e11t (5 . Y.B.M.S.:SEM-111;
10 E11viro111ne11t £,ri
pical hous~ types ,
· · ·
Ther~ 15 a direct 1mpact of climate on the ty
in tl1e diHeren t
d
th ell as food eating habits foun
clo mg as w
p ort an d co m m u n ication are adverse_ly
parts of the world . Tra~ cess rainfall. The Jocatior~ ?f certain
d ex
~ffected by snow, fog an by th e clim atic conditions e.g.;
ermined
mdustries are also det a cool an d d ry clim ate. Thou~h ,
needs
the chocolate industry effects o f climate
by w~a~i~g
modify the
man has been able to h o u se s, ~s i~ g ~ires· and .a rt if ic ial
in
suitable clothing living practicing rrngat10n or u~m.g gl~ss
ld by
lighting or in the fie n d itio n s p re s~ n t d if fi c u lt ie s
climatic co
houses, yet ex treme co m e. M an ca n do little to combat
which ca nnot be easi
ly over
cold ar as su ag e to rrential trop ical rain s.
extreme artic
from th e su n a lso forms a very
received our solar
5. Energy : Energy l en v ir o n m en t. In
important compone
nt of natura osition. It is a
l an d d o m in a tin g p
centra
system, the sun has a r us on th e ea rth surface. It support
s
er gy fo
source of light and en an d th e an im al s indirectly. The
directly
the growth of plants g to th e se as on and the latitudin
al
co rd in
solar radiation varies ac cl im a tic ch an g es and thereby the
se to
location._ Tha t gives ri tion and crops.
geta
changes rn natural ve
on th e ea rt h w ith v arying degree.
Geo thermal en~rgy al
so exists
zing o f h o ts rin s
The areas of ~cave v?lc
an ic er
belts also
u p tio
gi
n
ve
s, th
th e
e o
en
o
er g y in the ftm ~f
and ~eysers J~ certam the north-wes t o f U K . . h
he~t. Iceland loca
ted to
u p tio n o f h o t~ '/ s quite a ot
in uous er a e r, gases and
region due to the cosnt
lava from volcanoe !
NTS
BIOTIC COMPONE
. .
e livin tl erials that directl )
Biotic factors are all tho _g ~ ~s or th eu mat
I
or indirectlv affect an rgarusm m its environment. n other word s
th b.iotic . ✓ mpon en ts of . • L
e co en vi ronmen t are th ose which form the
~'-=- t like .s
1 ,·
'.' ing uw1gs in a habita g~ 1ls, plants, bacteria, animals, and
an bein
buds and also the hum
in
I. Soils : Soil is partlv liv g and partly non li ving com nent of
-
the erwironment . it occurs as a thin l
po
over land ed by w e?t~r, ?f loo se sediments
is fo rm
climatic an~urface. _It il s Ia :m g ? fr o c k s die to
organic ac tiviti es. ~ t role
p y ery importan
I) en(OfvV' "•.,f' •~ ]]
;ro/1111 • . • •
Ef1V
s, spec•·ally in the achv1ty. like farming and horticulture. It 1.s an
e ·c ..,., 8 tter denved from plants and animals that gnt . d
0 rgan1 J•• '- m1xc
11
)'
P w1.th •he
L'
weathered rocks. • As per the•
rock' the weath ereoJ
n U
atetl·aJ would vary from · region to region and thu s gi·,•ns .
'- rise
., . ~ various soils as per the parent rock. Black-cotton-soil or the
t d ;I"\ the western part of the Deccan plateau is derived fr
regu ~· k om
g derlying parent roe called basalt, on the other hand th
the unf the Deccan p Iateau JS .
ma in1 y covered by a red soil derivede
II resto . .
anite-gne1ss1c comp 1ex.
s from gr
5
. depending upon the organic matter, climate and
t 5011s, how reg1ona
. l vanation.
. . Such soils are known
lying rocks s
un der ·duaJ soils. wh·l1 e the s01·1s depos1ted · in the form of
as resl
11 •um in the valley bottoms, lake-beds and the coastal plains
a uvi the drifted or aJIuv1·a1 so il s. Such soi·1s are more fertile and
are . ture retentive. · The mo1s . t ure hoId·mg capacity · of soils
mo~ .
o!
de ends upon the texture the s01ls. Coarse-~extured sandy;
rfvelly soils do not contam much wate~ while t~~ loamy or
gl ey soils hold more water for longer time. Fertthty of soils
~::ends upon the mine:~l contents oft.he parent rocks. Organic
matter increases its fertility and capacity to hold moisture.

Fig. 1.2 : Factors of Environment Affecting Soil Formation

From the view ·point of environmental study, the preservation

of such soil-cover is the most essential duty of farmers/
cultivators. Soil-conservation methods help them to protect the
soil cover and to check the loss due to soil-erosion.
12 Environmental Management (S. Y.B.M.S.: SEM-IIIJ
2. Plants: The natural vegetation occurs on the land in the nd
foni1
of ~rees, bushes, grasses and climbers, etc. It grow~ u er thl•
SUltable environmental conditions such as the sunlight, water,
supply and soil-cover. Ocean bottoms are also covered by
. nder sea-water. The
hr
another type of vegetation that t 1ves u th h .
vegetal. cover forms a biotic component P. ysti~a
enly on thee terres
of na Il
environment. It is spread or grown unev
and the maritime floors.
t f the presence of carbon,
The plants live and grow on accoun ° . Th
dioxide in the atmosphere and also of the sunlight. ey can
. food through the process called
f, orrn t e1r own · f
h t hnthesis' and produces carbohydrates as food or man,
p o osy . . h
animals and microorganisms. They also assist mt e ~rocess of
recycling organic matter and nutrients m the env1rorunent.
Plants influence the local temperature and make the climate
moderate. They play a major role in maintaining the ecological
balance in the natural environment.
3. Animals: Animal kingdom including man.constitutes another
biotic component of natural environment. Most of the ai:umals
depend upon the plant-growth as they are 'Herbivores' like
rabbit, deer etc.. Carnivores depend upon other smaller animals
for their supply of food. They are animal-eaters. Man is both,
the herbivore as well as carnivore and known as Omnivore. A
large number of micro-organisms include bacteria and fungi
which break down the complex compounds of dead plants and
animals.
It is ~teresting to note that both the plants and animal kingdoms
are ~terde~endent. While the grass (plant) forms a food for
herb_rvores l!ke de~r, the same animal (deer) forms a food for
carru:ores like a hon. This dependency gives rise to a chain-
react10n termed as 'Food Chain' Th t t I .
interdependence of micro-or . . e o a ~1cture o/
carnivores forms a network ct~~1;~!~:l,,heri1vho~es and
complex. Wiuc 1s more

Thes~ concepts of ~Food Chain' and , ,

explamed with the help of d" of Food Web can be
33 34. iagram as given on Page No. 32,
 . orimental Concepts
Envtr 13

HEAT

- , "HEAT

HEA~

Fig. 1.3: Functioning of the Biotic &

Abiotic Components in the Environment

CULTURAL (HUMAN) COMPONENTS

By cµltural components, we mean all those aspects that are the
creations of mankind as a whole. Whatever that is produced by man
and evolved in the process of civilization, form the components of
cultural (man-made) environment. These components may be visible
as in the case of houses, buildings, malls, towers, stations, depots,
rails and roads, farms and factories, hotels and hospitals and so on.
But some of the components of cultural environment are invisible.
They occur and influence indirectly. For example, the government
policy and systems, financial concerns and consultancies. Laws and
libraries, along with the human tendencies related to race, language,
religion and a large variety of socio-psychological phenomena are
all included in this component.
Some of these components are abstract. Human will-power and the
skill used in the developing techniques al~o form the part and parcel
of cultural environment.
 nm ental M anagem en t (S . Y.8.M,:, .. v- • · · - ·,
Enviro
14 t on ly on n~tura/
of a regi on de pe nd s no
Economic development hu m an reso urce s. The use o f man.
on th e
reso urces, but also up labo ur their m an agement, etc. are
illed
power-skilled and unsk l :esources. Human
resource;
the natura
equa ll y important as nt ri bu to ry fa ctor in the overall
am aj or co
development forms t of th e de ve lo pe d co untries have
try. Mos
development of a coun an ce of m an -p ow er (e.g. Germany,
l! impo rt
shown and proved th ur al en vi ro nm ent can be furthe r
The cu lt
Japan , Switzerland).
subdivided as follows: p ic a 1 m an m a d e
n m en t is a ty
i) Socio -cultural enviro consequence of human traits like
( ps as a
environment. It develo an d et hn ic ch aracte~ of the
al se t up
religion, type of politic m m er ci al ut ilization o f differen t
ic an d co
population. Econom io us pr ac tic es . A sian countries
d to re lig
resources is also relate ar in e an d an im al resources du e
pm en t of m
have limited develo th e lo ca l re ligious like Buddism
at ed by
to vegetarianism propag ve s in w orshipping animals
in du is m be lie
and Jainism . Even H r in du st ry . H igh standards of
s le at he
which adversely affect e an d North America may
be
pm en t in E ur op
eco~omic develo s be in g ad vo cated by th e
co ns tr ai nt
attnb_u_ted d~e to no
prevailmg religion of C
hristianity. ~

en t m ai nl y in cl udes th t
ro nm
The political envi ideolo ical . . e y p eatoef
t and its d g_ mc1ples which gen
er
,f governmennt pr
different co rols
~n pr o uc ho ~ an d co nsu mption activiti•es ·
Th e government up may be either demo ti. c, communist,
or se
w ith its . . . era
am on arch y, each
iti ow n pn _o nt ie s of re source use and
ol
allocation . A stable . ca l en vJ ronment contributes to
an d p
development prospenty.
.. .
. no
(1i) Eco . nment d
mic envuo
daeve!oped by ma~v:'.~
i:~i~·gtiesm
m
p;aras ~mg,resumltininof econo•mi~
· zmg,
' nu,act uri
ng and trad e. Eac h of th eseg,agctra
ivities
generate their own envuonment throu
I . gh resource utilisat .
The utilisation/ mn.
exp o1 tation o f res ourc e depe nd
factors viz ..
s upon tw o
(a) availab T
, ,ty of local reso
urces and
(b) availability technol
.
'
of
ogy to exploit resou rces
 r::,rw• ·
A v a n•ety of geographical factors make 1j
resources hi~hly . h distribution of t
.un even nau l
m c a racte:. Lar
leum lie in Middle Ea st, vas ge d epo<,ih ra
of
Petro Germany an d Ch . s· t deposits of coal in uSA 1 K
France, · ·1 l
. h mfa. . 1m1 ar y plains in Europe' u '
. countrie s are rug ly ertt1e
Asian and contribute to d anL1
riculture . O ther .c . .h l . c vel ope i
ag ntration remai ountries w it r.e at 1ve ly poor resourcL
conce n less developed 1n e
contrast to the " gifte
countries. d"
no
Tee h logy u s e d for d eve lopin g res ou
. ificant role in im . . th rces also pla vs a
provin g e economic en . .
sign tr
coun y· Mechanisation allows mass prod uctio vironment of a
innovations also e n . Techn ological
nhances the quah.ty
of production.
A ·udicious use of te
chnolo gy promotes
J roper use of te economic developm
1 chnolo gy, however ent.
; ~- g ro w th o f. , leads to se ri ous pro
1 ~ n e m p lo y m e n t, blems
.a n d deterioration of
envi•rorunent via arr and water polluti
on.

.STRUCTURE _·qF
THE ENVIRONM
ENT
While considering
t~e component of
them separately, as Environ~e1~t, we.
if they occu~ a~d hav e dealt
ity o p e rate m isolation. But , in
re al , all these components exist m as
integrated way . Th d . as se mblage and work
e ynamic .P d .
eets an inter depen in an
the components w dency among
ould b e clear if we
environment. The study the total com
st u d y of the struc position of
the Earth become ture of the enviro
s inevitable. Sim nment and
functions' is also a ilarly, 'h o w the e
matter of conside nvironment
'the issues related ra ti on in order to und
to environment an erstand
d their mitigation.
The Earth is comp
osed of three diffe
and Core. rent layers. The Cru
st, Mantle
Crust: It is the oute
rmost layer of the
the skin of an apple Earth . The Earth's
. It is very thin in c Crust is like
The crust is only ab omparison to the o
out 3-5 miles (8 kil ther layers .
(oceanic crust) and ome tre s) thick und
about 25 miles (3 er the oceans
continents (contin 2 kilometres) thick
ental crust). under the
 MS ·SEM~ttt 1

16 Environmen tal Mnnngeme11t (5. Y.B. · ..

Continental crust .
I Ocea nic crust

. erust of the Earth

Fig. 1.4 : The Continental & Oceanic

1nnerCOte

.•· -·· ()uterCont

J
/ '/ .' '
• 4 I
I
I /
/

' "

\ \ ,. .
\ .\" ' ...
............ ..,-;,,;;:;,-

Fig. 1.5 : The Structure of the Earth

e cru st of the Earth is broken into ma ny pieces called plates. Th P

Th
thenosphere.
plates 'float' on the soft, semi-rigid as

1
1
-1l tI . o11mentnl Concepts
£,1v1r
TflOSPHERIC PLATES 17
rflE LI

I t

The Mantle: The mantle is composed ?f hot iron rich silicate

rocks.
in the mantle occurs as convection currents, hot mat
1 erial in
;h: :an tle rises, c~ols and the sinks. Mantle is elastic that
means it
behaves in a plastic manner.
The Core: It forms about 1/3 rd of the Earth's mass and is
very hot
and mostly made of iron. It is divide into the Inner Cor
e and the
Outer Core.
The Inner Core is composed of iron and nickel and are
solid. It is
also called NiFe. It is very hot and pressure from the wei
ght of the
rest of the Earth doesn't allow the material to melt. Iron
's normal
temperature of melting is 1535 C. but om the Earth's Inne
r Core it
could stand 4000 C without melting.
The Outer Core is also n1ade of iron and nickel but beca
use the
weight exerted on this layer i~ less the pressure is also
less so the
iron and nickel is present her in a liquid state. The n1olten
outer fore
flows at a very slow speed and so the elec tron fron1
the metals
produce an electrical current. This electrical current pow
ers the
Earth's magnetic field.
 I

18
tood if we kno,\
Structure : The total environment can be unders
tems are operative :
the systems which occur in it. In all three sys
sical system (ii) Biological system and (iii) Cultural systen1.
(i) Phy

I. Physical System
ural (r.amework as
The physical system gives us the basic nat
ogrusmg th~ three
recognised in the basics of 'Geography' by rec
earth can be divided
distinct zones, the area near the surface of the
:': t~e lithosphere, ·
up into three inter-connected "geo-spheres
sify life and material
hydrosphere and atmosphere. Scientists can das
these four spheres.
on or near the surface of the earth to be in any of
the Greek words
The names of the three spheres are derived from
for stone (litho}, air (atmo) and water (hydro)
solid surface of the
(a) The Lithosphere (Lithos = Rock) that is the
structure i<;
earth occupying about 30% of its sur_face. It~
nts) and ot
composed of 'SIAL' Oayer associated ~,1th contm~
e 1s the _solid,
SIMA (the part of ocean basins) . The _hthosp~e~
rganic and
rocky crust covering entire planet. This ~rust 1s ino
is composed of minerals. It covers the entire
surface of the earth
the Mariana
from the top of Mount Everest to the bottom of
Trench.
(b) The Hydrosphere (Hydro= Water) tha
t is related to the water
bodies of the earth covering about 70%of the
surface area. This
if:clu~es the oceans, rivers, lakes, and even
the moisture in the

' a1r. Nmety-seven percent of the earth's

water is in the oceans
The remaining three percent is fresh water; thre
th e fresh water is solid and exists in ice sheets
e-quarters of

er around the earth

(c) ~e Atmosphere - which is the gaseous cov
• of our planet is 79% nitrogen·
1t dIS a. mix ture of gases. The air
t remaining ..
an Just under 21 % oxygen; the small amoun
. It is s rea is
composed of carbon dioxide and other gasses
:~~ :::; p\e art h upto about 300 kms thic kness. The chaifge i~
enc cond1t10ns are termed bYthe words - weath er ,
and climate Th 0
clouds, rain ·and:;~ ':, :{'17~;:;ontrols ~he
condition of wind,
atmosphere for their· res . . . g organisms depend upon the (
piration.
Environmental Concepts

)0 isphere 19

[ Biosphere]

Hydrosphere

Fig. 1.6 : The Earth as an Interacting S

ystem
n. Biological System
This a life-supporting system existing on the earth. AH th l' .
things live and thrive in all the three 'spheres' menti· de bivmg
, one a ove
The narrow zone of aII these three spheres' in which li£e • ·
, , . is supported
is termed therefore as BIOSPHERE . The biosphere is com d f
. . . Pl t . 1 pose o
all living organ~sms. an s, aruma s, and one-celled organisms are
all part of the biosphere.
It extends from deep seas to the peaks of mountains. It includes the
thin layer of ~oils,_supp_ortin? plant life: It ext_ends in the atmosphere
upto 8 km height m which nucro-orgarusms live. Most of life is found
on the earth surface that supports micro-organisms, birds, fish,
animals and human beings.
. Eco-Sy.stem - Types : A biological system occurs in a small unit
called 'Eco-system'. It could be very small like a pond of water or a
very large dense forest. The term ecosystem is applied to a local
co:n:1-munity of organisms interacting with their local non-living
environment. .
Every ecosystem has a flow of energy and cycling of nutrients
which bind the organisms together in a group. It forms a spatial
unit of nature. Basically there are two types of eco-systems : (i)
Aquatic or water ecosystems like pond, river and seas (ii) Terrestrial
or the land eco-systems like mountain, plains and forests.
20 Environmental Management (5. Y·B·M·S.: SEM-//1
. )

\
'
'
\ \ Hydrosphere (Water)
LlthQsphere (Earth)

. . 1..
F1g 7. The Biosphere

• - ; :• ) - ~10,pnere
vegetation and a,Jmars
SOIi
,\'
-1~
ijl~ . crust
Rock -----1v
.
I
'

Jthosphere ~ - - Crust
(soil anarocK)
Crust ,

,, Blosphe,..
(LMng aro ciead
organisms)
\
Atmosphtr1
Hydrotphtrt (air)
Uthotphn (water)
(crust, IDp of upper mantte) .

Fig. 1.8 : The Earth's lifeSupport System

 . orimental Concepts .
£,ivir . . .
osys te1"""u has• 1,ts own charac ten stIC com bina tion of
21
p,veff ~cal comrnuruties. Thes .
p1an t5
and aJliln s in more similar en e ~o up s of plants and animal species
ethe viro nm ental conditions.
nve tog r
culturV. System
Ill• · l syste I ·
an-made artificia m. t 1s an outcome of m
It is a rn . of natural land an 's
!"cat1 on scape to m ake a life comfortable. It is
modu_1 osed on th·e phys . .
ical system 1.e. ~a n develops
5up er ~P roduce food and raw mater agriculture
(farJll.lilg) tothe raw mater ial. He sets up industries
ial. He builds transport ne
to proce~s of finished good twork for
. m ·b uh on s. The deve lo pm ent of towns and cities
dis · art of this cultural system
is also the p .

BJOGEOCHEMICAL CY
CLES

coNCEPT:
omponents of environment
All the c are dynamic. They do not rem
ain
constan t l·n lo cation . f B'
or m orm. 10ti'c and Ab' .
. 1ohc components
interac t with physical and CHEMICAL changes. They
~:n d rgoing changes in locatio .
their original form and po
~umerous such cycles oper
n and form. However, they on
keep on
sition. They follow a CYCL
ce again
E.
ate in the environment. They
material and maintain the redistribute
ecological balance.
Biogeochemical Cycles are th
e cycling of chemical elemen
by life between the living (B ts required
iotic Component) and nonliv
Component ) parts of the en ing (Abiotic
vironment. Biogeochemica
the natural circulation path l cycles are
ways of the essential elemen
matter. These elements in ts of living
various forms flow from th
(abiotic) to the living (biotic e nonliving
) components of the biosph
to the nonliving again. In ere and back
order for the living compo
major ecosystem (e.g., a la nents of a
ke or forest) to survive, all
elements that make up liv the chemical
ing cells must be recycled
In simpler words the term continuously.
"biogeochemical" tells us th
geological and chemical fa at biological,
ctors are all involved for th
all living things on this Earth e survival of
. The circulation of chemica
like carbon, oxygen, nitroge l nutrients
n, phosphorus, calcium, an
d water etc.
 22
Environmental Management (5.Y.B .M.S.: SEM~1111
t~rough the biological and physical world are known i) ,
~iogeochemical cycles. In effect, the element is recycle~, alth0 ugh
111 some cycles there may be places (called reservoirs or stn.ks) wh<.' r,
the element is accumulated or held fo·r a Jong period of tune (such
as an ocean or lake for water).

Biogeochemical cycles can be classified as:

BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES

Sedimentary Cycles
Gas Cycles
• Phosphorus
• Carbon • Sulphur
• Nitrogen
• Oxygen
..
Gaseous, in which the reserv~ir is the air or. the oceans (vfai
• evaporation). Gaseous cycles include those of rutrogen, oxygen,
carbon, and water. Gaseous cycles tend to move more rapidly
and to adjust more readily to changes in the biosphere because
of the large atmospheric reservoir.
Sedimentary, in which the reservoir is the Earth's crust. In
• a sedimentary cycle elements move from Ian~ to water to
sediment. Main reservoirs are the soil and sedimentan
rocks. Sedimentary cycles include those of iron, calcium, I
phosphorus, and other more earthbound elements.

As biogeochemical cycles describe the movements of substances 011

the entire globe, the study of these is inherently multidiciplinary.
.
WATER OR THE HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE

Water Resources

Wat~r forms t~e mos t important resource on the earth. It is not on!\'
the life su pportmg component it is a unique liquid. Infact, in sansk ri!
the term water itself is termed as ffi i e Iif Th .
useful · h • · · e. us water 1s s0
m uman hfe that the terms 'water' and 'l'f , 'd .
1 e are 1 enttcal !
 23
11 f. riromn erital conceptshe
,
~
I 111
e whole e~r~t
f}1 cribed as b h P
n se en fr om th e sp ac e look
(anet'. T hi s is be ca ~s e th
_4% of th is w at er 1s a salt
s blue an d hence
e ea rt h is ~ery rich in
dester. f-loW~ver tC:S97 of pe r th o u s~ d as 35 %0)
w at er which contains
:;o/o (givetl lll ~edr (o r ta bl e diss olved su bstances .
sa lt ) is th e m os t ab un
J•
di tJJll ch to
,,ri un
e es iu m, ca lc· da nt is th ese
50 tu m an d ot h 1
e re em en ts m · th e re st of
50
bstan ces· iv•at:,-
er - .
y less proportion.
th e sa
Its have v
1 · D is so lv ed Substanc
Table 1· · es in Sea Water

--- - Jon Parts Per 1000

19
Percent(%)
ch lo ri de 55
5odiUIIl 11 31
sulphate 3 8
M ag ne si um 1 3
Calcium 0.5 1
Potassium 0.5 1
Total 35% 99 %
This salt w at er is no t ge~e
r~lly us ef ul for ~ ~ g
industrial pu rp os es. D nn , agricultural an d
km g w at er re qu ir es di ss
of no t rnore th an 1 pa rt olved su bstances
pe r th ou sa nd . In du st ry
less because th e sa lt s m also re qu ires ev en
ay de st roy th e m ac hi ne
ry .
Table 1. 2: Major Natur
al Stores of Water w it hi
G lo b al Hydrological C n th e
ycle
Store Pr op or ti on of T ot al (p er
cent)
Oceans & Se as
Icecaps an d G la ci er s
97.41
G ro un d W at er
1.9
Soil M oi st ur e 0.5
Lakes an d R iv er s 0.01
A tm os ph er e 0.009
0.0001
.
 L4 .S.:ScM-//1;
E11 viro11111e11InIMn11ngeme11t (S. Y.B .M

RCES
WATER RESOU

Canal&
Wells of Reservoir
Surface Run-o
ff Ground Lakes
all Types
(Rivers) Water & Tanks

v e n th o u g h the seas and ocean~

in in te re s t lie s in fresh watere d v a n ta g e s . They a c t a~
Our m a n a
e re sa lt w a te r have their ow a water can also be useq
with th rt system. The se
te rw a y s in th e tr a n sp o
d ir e c tl y a lso , the.sea-water
wa th e condensers. In in a hy drological (water
n g a g e n t in
as coo li
fr es h w a te r as can be seen
r
forms a so urce fo
cycle). d fo r s u s ta in in g o u r lif~ for
e
e r it is tJ 1e fr e sh water that we ne a n d manufacturing
.
Howev , fa rm in g
p u rp o se s - p o table (drinking) ter on the eartl1 is : x ~ e ~ e /y
all unt of fresh wa d
Unfortu n a te ly th e a m o
9 7 .4 ) = 2 .6 % o nly. This l1nute
-
n ts only for (100
lim ite d . It a c c o u
ti sfy o ur n e e d s of fresh water.
t to sa
amount is presen o f fr e sh w a ter, around
%
b a d -l u c k is th a t out of this 2.6 d is in a ccessible. Out
n o th er c a p s a n
it is locked in ice
A akes the
fo u rt h (7 5 % ) o f A n ta rc tic a , m
three is ice occurs in
is a g a in , th a t 9 0 % o f th
r a v a il a b le to mankind.
9£ th a te
n w o rs e in m a king the fresh w
conditio a v a il able in liquid
sh w a te r
b o u t 0 .6 % o f e a rth water is fre o u n d w a te r . O nly very
Only a r
o f this occurs as g sh
state. The va st p ro p o rt io n
f e a rt h 's w a ter occurs as fre
~e~s than ~.m4% we are usually associated ,,..
) o
s: ri a ll fr a c ti o n
very v ers with which
to la k e s a n d n
wa ter m g h a h y drologlQ · 1
d th r o u
a te rs o n th e e a rth are connecte m p ' th at circulates
A ll th e w . 'g re a t p u
I It
.
so m e tu n e s described as a n s . T h e circulation i 5
ey e e . IS n d o c e a
ro u g h th e a tm osphere, land a
water th e n e rg y from the sun.
powere d b y th e
d e rs ta n d is th e well k
t but simple to u
n
As the m o s t im p o r ta n
ra l fo rc e s c ir c u la te wa;er~~=
bo cle (W ater cy_cle). Nanatu
o l~ g ic a l cy
s! ~ ~ wa ter dies like rivers d eas, t o atmo~phere and then
ce o
e su rf a c e . T h e process . i5 a p o ~ a ti o n from lakes,
back to th
n co mvo v e s e v
ndensatio uds in the
rivers and seas. Co eratur . In verts v~pour into clo ud s to areas
ere where temp inds take clo
atmosph eis ower. W
flJ . nnrental Concepts
~¢~ . 2)-
·th highe r tempe rature and mms ture precip itates to fall as rain. A
~t of rain seeps down to collect as ground water in porou s rocks.
P e rest of water flows towards lakes and seas. It is once again
Th rated by solar heat to begin another cycle.
evapo .
.r-- -
S O LA R ·;· ' R A O I A Tl O N

t ~ ~- ~,: ~
I
·~ \
j (:CJNC~"ISI\ ON ~
.I

JAOIST AIR RC
~•o ~

f VAPOR.llfiON
,:;ROMOCf:AN

Fig. 1.9 : Hydrological Cycle

Human Impacts on the Water Cycle :

Deforestation: Removal of forests and vegetation increases

• runof f and erosion, reduces transpitation and lowers water
tables .
Irrig ation : This is a huge huma n-ma de impa ct on the
hydrological cycle, and thus on climate change. As we dema nd
more food for more people, we need more water, and irriga tion
is used globally to subst itute f(?r insufficient rainfall for crops.
Irrigation causes the removal of water from it's natur al sourc e
(grou ndwa ter suppl ies, streams, lakes, oceans) and can cause
leaching and run-off. The removal of nutrie nts forces farme rs
to use more fertilizers which contaminates the water supp ly.
Irriga ting agricultural fields depletes rivers, lakes and strea ms
and increases evaporation.
26
l
.5.: SEM-11
• Urba . . Environmental Management (5. Y.B.M '
.
n1sation· Urban1.zatio ea,,.
population . · eased ·t d . n effects are dependent on incr 1 '
, incrf d in cr ea se d pa ve d ar e~
affecting the in . CI Y ens1ty, an
iltra ho n of ra in waters. Increased deman d fr
wat
us es large r ra tes of ex tra ction of groundwater and fror-
er c~
rs, w hich is in crea sin gl y ha rm ful to endemic specie~,
rheservor d con trib uItr
oth b' ·
t e area' er 1ohc aspects of loc al ec os ys tem s, an
le.
to the lowering of the water tab
er s an d streaf}l
m in g of riv
• Impoundment in reserv
ts do w ns
oir
tre
s:
am
D
,
am
sm alle r stre~ms co~plete/:
cau~es drou gh 0nd1 h 0 ns fr
sil t th at al ter s cli m atic c
drymg up, build-up of
os ys tem s, bl oc ka ge s fo r m igrating fish or ot~~r a9ua1;
I?cal ec na tu re of prec1p1tat1o n.
po llu ta nt s ch an ge s th e
life. Emitting
ate ni ng im pa ct: ov er dr aw in g of groundw~ter fp.
• The most thre lec tricit y, urba n1satio,
at io n of hy dr oe
drinking, irrigation, gen~
oundwater mining.
needs and industrial use like gr

dw at er m in in g is th e w ith drawal or re m ov al of
Groun l recharge rate (or the
ex ce ss of th e na tu ra
groundwater in underground inflow ).
en t ra te, fro m in fil tra tion an d
replenishm
ov er-e xt ra ct ou r grou nd w ate r supplies, the water table
As we in lakes and streams
av ail ab ili ty of fre sh w ater
lowers, the
ter qu ality decline s, an d land subsistence occurs (a
decline s, wa
s of su pp ort be low gr ou nd , ca using soil to collapse) .
los

ECOSYSTEM AND ECOLO

GY

en t fu nctions as an in teg ra ted system. The biotic, abiotil

Environm is t in iso lation The ar
po ne nt s do no t ex
~nd ~ultural co m en de nt Al l th . s opye tc
nt
interlinke.d an d inte rd ep · os e co m po ne ra (
together m such a wa y th at ·
env1ronm en t be e •
m wh ich its a t omes a unity or (
complete 'one' fro k p rs ca nn ot be separated. Its variou~
parts amalgam ate to t •
. a e a ne w form. . Th·is un ity arnont
co m po ne nt s en ab le th
environme ntal
s e en vi ronm ent to operate likt
a LIVE.SYSTEM.
(J· Concepts
entnl
;,01111l .... inologies to Understand the Functioning of the
,., £,,v
\ rtan t 1 etuu
'o JJJ1P.:011 rnent: •
. fnVl . .
r • runent: Jt encompasses the interaction between the living
.
•; (a) ;:;~ ~nJ ivin g world in a particular geographic area

<: ulation: A population is all the members of a given species

(b) ~ aPgive
0
. n area. Example - All the elep hants or monkeys found
111
1
iI1 a forest.
I• ornrnunities: Encompas~es ~II the species in a given area.
(c) C pie_ all the living thin gs m the forests.
Exam
Ecosystem: An ecosystem is all the living and non-livin g thin
gs
(d) in a particular area.
(e) Biosphere: Encompasses the area on and above the eart
h surface
where life exis t.
(f) Niche: The niche describes the species' role or function
within
this community.
ed
(g) Natural Selection: The process in which only the best suit
.
organisms survive their environment is called natural selection
vior
(h) Adaptation: When organisms make changes in thei r beha
or physical appearance, this is called adaptation.
nisms
(i) Competition: Competition is a situation where orga
to
struggle with each other and their environments in order
get wha t they need to live.
s
u) Symbiosis: Symbiosis is a relationship between two organism
e
in which one or both o_f the partners benefit. The re are thre
types of symbiotic relationships: commensalism, mutualismand
parasitism.
t. All
Organic interdependence is the Key feature of the environmen
specific
organisms- Plants, Animals and Microorganisms perform a
ire food
role in their ecosystems . They grow, Reproduce and requ
for their maintenance and growth .
 •

•
. -
.~ ,
~ -
comm
.
. ...
untttesi
\.

.. - {)
0,0•~, ,U( .

ulaJon•

Ecosystems maintain themselves by cycling energy and nutri ents

obtained from exte rnal so urce s. At the FIRST TROPHI C
LEVEL, PRIMARY PRODUCERS (plants, algae, and some bacteria 1
use solar energy to prod uce organic plan t mate rial throu g~
PHOTOSYNTHESIS. This is the process whic h converts simpll
inorganic matter like carbon dioxide, water and other nutrients intt
comp lex substances like carbohydrates and sugar. Plants use thec;l
substances for their growth and sustenance. Plants thus play thl
role of PRODUCERS, since they are AUTOTROPHS' i.e. they can
I

produce their own food and form the base of the ecological Pyram iJ
and occupies the FIRST trophic level in the ecosystem.
1, ·,onrnental Concepts 29
£TfV' l y the role of CONSUMERS being call ed as
_Anirlla~~f;oPHS'. i.e: they cannot produce their ow~ food
1J1Ef 6 end
and
ent on the Prunary Producers (plants) for theu survival.
are dep the nature of the food eaten by the animals
they are
sasedon . ed into thre.e types namely:
categons
JVORES animal~ that feed _solely on plants and. they mak
e
}{ERB SECOND trophic level. It includes all grass eatin
g animals
up the abbits, horses, small fish etc.
1il<e catt1e, r
JVORES animals that_predate or that eat herbivores comprise
c.AfHIRD trophic level; ~ larger predators are present,
they
the t still higher trophic levels for example scavengers like
represen
vultures.
anisms that feed at several trophic levels i.e. cons~me both plan
Org as anunals (for example, bears that eat bernes and ts
fish) are
as weifi11·ed at the HIGHEST of the trophic levels at which they
class feed
DECOMPOSERS AND MICRO ~RGANIS~S~which ·
include
bacteria, fungi, molds, worms, and insects, assist m the proc
ess of
rnposition. They break down was tes and dead organisms
deco and
return nutrients back to the s01·1.
Thus a specific dependence of consumers can be seen from
macro
level to micro level.

Tertiary
Consumers

~
i
~,,.
~

Primary q,
Consumers

Producers
High Large

Figure 1.10 : ECOLOGICAL PYRAMID

 ent (S. Y.B.M .S.: SEM .111
30 Environmental Managem E
e fo od E N E R G Y TR ANSFER occurs fron, 01
~s or?anisms consum t 10 percent of net energ~
L
r. ?1 1 an av er ag e ab ou
~phic l~vel to anothe level is passed on to the next level. Evl'r ti
hic
p odu.ction at one trop so m e am ou nt of.the energy acqu irl·
e
ns un :ie
organ~sms need and co sp irat io n, gr ow th an d rep~oduction 1
like re
by eatu:ig for processes or y de at h (o rg an isms that die but ar{. c
ed at
defecation, and non pr ch re du ce the en~rgy tr ~sferr<
'c €
er s) w hi
not eaten by consum s m ea ns that at no po int o f time lOo· ,
between trophic levels
. Thi
ENER~Y LOSS occu~,
t
du ring pr ed atio n an d
energy transfer occurs at as w e m ov e up m the ecologka c
means th
at every transfer. This m or e an d m or e qu antity of food f01 l
s need
pyramid the organism w hy ther e ar e .so fe ~ large si 2{\
ex pl ai n
survival. This could S im pl y be ca us ~ th ere ts ~ot enoug~ J
1
is earth?
carnivores animals on th th ey w ou ld p er ish or dies du e Ir
al an d 1
food for their surviv fo r th e py ra midical shape o f the
e re as on
starvation. This is th f the f lants placed at tJ,1
the significance o
ecosystem. It indicates ou t whi ch the entire ecosystem Wou fa
w ith
bottom o f the pyramid e up in the ecosys tem energy tran sJe, 1
e m ov
collapse. Moreover as w o fpopulation o f organisms reduces.
size
and loss occurs and the

0
s .
t ...,.•
• •

ay s through an Ecosystem
Fig. 1.11 : Energy Pathw
:M.111 . n,nental Concepts 31
~~~ .
m0 flows from the extemal envtronment
.

(the sun) 10 fl, 1 5

ncr~111. tJsablt en1.rr-:,,es carnivores, and top camivores. Death at each ,C: ,a;' ' lbl'n
"' the hervtV ' e ransfers
Ev,,r·
'-
to .«nJ to deco ,nposers, Energy lost as /teat is reh1med to the extema/ e,iv1ro
.
11111e11t.
en,,,~:,
uirt rate of energy transfer between trophic levels m k
"tio
· n The JoWosers genera11y more important
. than producers in termsa esf
it ar; dec;Jtl~oW- Decomposers process large amounts of organic materi: I
!TrC'c en~ ~turn nutrients to th~ ecosystem m morgank form, which are
lOO' all aJ<en up again by primary producers. Energy is not recycled
:cur\ the~ t decomposition, but rather is released, mostly as heat (this is
gka: durtng akes compost piles and fresh garden mulch warm)
j for what m ·
12ec In the oceans, light and nutrients ar~ important controlling factors
ugt for productivity. In thhe Oceanths, l_1ght pen~trates only into the
~ to most level, so p otosyn es1s occurs m surface and near-
the uppfere waters. Marine primary productivity is high near coastlines
sur ac . . b . .
the and other areas where rivers nng nutrients to the su rface,
ufd moting plankton blooms. Runoff from land is also a source of
ife, :::ients in estuaries and along the continental shelves.
How many trophic levels ~an an_ecosystem support? The answer
depends on several factors, including the amount of energy entering
the ecosystem, energy loss ~tween trophic levels. Because of these
energy losses, most terrestrial ecosystems have no more than five
trophic levels, and marine ecosystems generally have no more than
seven.
The simplest way to describe the flow of energy through ecosystems
is by a food chain in which energy passes from one trophic level to
the next. Some very simple ecosystems may consist of a food chain
~ith only a few trophic levels.
Food Chain : (Examples)
(i) Grass ➔ Cattle ➔ Man
(ii) Insects ➔ Hen ➔ Frog ➔ Snake
(iii) Planktons ➔ Small Fish ➔ Big Fish ➔ Man.
 (s Y.B.M,5.: SEM,111,
32 Environmenta IManagement ·

. 112: Food Chain

Fig. ·

FOOD CHAIN
SUN

-Om~npo$~
.-

Nutien~
~
I' ■
L-~e,ia

Fig.1.13: Food Chain

Several foodchains interweave to form complex FOOD WEB. A fooi

web may involve a few aquatic organisms and terrestrial (land
organisms feeding on each other. A food web is a way to show h011
the energy from the sun gets passed around different organisms i·
the environment.
 . mental Concepts
Environ
. pie Illustration of Food Web .33
sun

Phytoplankton ➔ Swamp ➔ Sparrow ➔ Hawk

"" /
(Aquatic organisms)
~ /
(Land organisms)

vsua IrY many foodb chains interweave to form very extensive and
lex food-we .
coll1P

,
)(;.,("."'
._
- ..... f
~"
\ 1> ;
\
'

Fig. 1.14 (a) : Complex Food Web

 Environmen tnl Management (5. Y.B.M.S.: SEM .,,
34

Fig.1.14 (b): Complex Food Web

the levels in foot
We also observe a FOOD PYRAMID representing
chains. Each step in a food pyramid repres
ents a distinct troph ic
level (T-1 to T-5).
T-1 : At the base of the pyramid is compos
ed of green -plants 0
tiss ues .
autotrophs where energy is consumed in plant
consumers ).
T-2: Consists of Herbivores like rabbit (Prim ary
sumers).
T-3 : Includes Carnivores like lion (Secondary con
T~ : Consists of Omnivores like man that fee .
d on both pla nts an<J,
anunals.

T-5: It is made of Decomposers or Dentrivores w

hich
recycle organic
matter by consuming dead organi sms.
 . onmental Concepts ,')-
£11vzr ~------;:=====:::;------:::----)-
' ?
t ;.< Polar

'
large
~_.rp
,.. bearw 0
=

II
aeala
4
">.r-~
Salmon Consumers o-
> -·-
1I
-t". -.,...;:
V -v
6
fflOPHIC Herring
LEVELS ).~ Small ~

~ Zooplankton

~d Herbivores

....
.
r.·
~,
Gt'

i(
Phytoplankton
Producers

NUMBER OR BIOMASS OR PRODUCTIVITY

Fig. 1.15 : Food Pyramid

,,--.,,
(~:)
/'"-..
( . : : ,\ • r~
T♦ r1iary ~ • : , ; De composers
eonsutMrs

e
( hUMM )

Secondary
consumers
.. · · (perch)

Pl1mary
contume rs
(zoopl.,kton)
 36 Environmental Management (S. Y.B.M.5. :SfIVJ
1i A,J//
...
The trophic level of an organism depicts its relative distance fr 01
plants in the food chain. Energy passes from plants to herbivore
. d h ) St,
carnivores an t en to decomposers (dentrivores ·
There is_a progressive decrease in the numhE:r of organisms in rue\
successive level. The complexity of food chain leads to the stabi lit,
of ecosystem. '
An important consequence of the loss of energy. between troph·It
levels is that contaminants collect in animaI tissues - a proce1:
called BIOACCUMU.LATION. As contamiJ1ants bioaccumulate u:
the food web, organisms at higher trophic I~vels can~ threaten~u
even if the pollutant is introduced to the environment in ·very sn1011
quantities.
The insecticide
•
DDTI which was widely used in the United Statn '-~

from. the 1940s through the 1960s, is a fa~ous case 01

bioaccumulation. DDT built up in eagles to levels ~1gh enough k
affect their reproduction, causing the birds to _lay thin-shelled egg~
that broke in their nests. Fortunately, populations have rebound~rj
over several decades since the pesticide was banned in the United
States. However, problems persist in some developing countril'S
where toxic bioaccumulating pesticides are still used.
Equilibrium of Eco-system: Different organisms interact with each
other in their spatial unit called ECOSYSTEM, and keep it in a state
of equilibrium (balance). Plants and animals perform their role with
energy flows between them. They exchange material and the
ecosystem functions as a live unit. Ecosystems vary greatly in size
~om a puddle of water to a bay, lake or forest. The tern "ecosystem"
is moS t ~£ten applied to self-contained systems of moderate
?eographi~ extent. Adjacent ecosystems may share components and
;;e;:~:;;~i~~:s~r.
1
A transitional zone between ecosystems

Eco-systems are self re I t. Th. .

help of famous food-ch ~ : mg. . is can be exemplified with the
increase in rainy seasona;;1 o ~ass -insects--frogs -snake. The insects
insects increase there are ue to n;reased growth of vegetation. When
them. This keeps the num~ore ogs as well as more snake~ to hu nt
ers under check in the eco-system.
 . nmental Concepts 37
£t1VtfO
ATMOSPHERE
Solar energy
Evaporation (birds & anima ls)
Rainfall Predators

srrearn
· floW
l. I :-r
Man
~
Phytoplankton > Small fish >
LAKE
~ zooplankton/'i
Large
Stream
outflow
fish
Sediment Decay of living
deposition matter

Fig. 1.16 : Lake Eco - System

This feedback mec h~s m ensures t~at an increase at one part in the
stem causes of reaction elsewhere m the system which ' feedbacks'
· t ·t t · Ii
tsy the original poin t to res ore 1 o its ear er number. Thus the
noumbers are kept with in the CARRYI~G CAPA~ITY of the
ecosystem by PR~DA:TI.ON - a keyforce m food chain and food
web. When there IS a limited amo unt of food, water or space in the
environment, organisms are force d to compete with each other.
COMPETITION is a situation where organisms struggle with each
other and their environments in order to get what they need to live.
All Ecosystell15 are based on competition. Competition controls the
population within a habitat so that no oi:ie population gets too large.
In order to survive, organisms in an ecosystem must adapt or change
to survive in their e11vironment. Only the strongest organisms
survive and the ones who cannot adap t may not survive. The process
in which only the best suite d organisms survive their environment
is called NATURAL SELECTION. When the organi_sm makes
changes in their behaviour or physical appearance in order to survive
then it is called ADAPTATION. Living things may adap t in several
ways, e.g. a polar bear grows a thick fur to protect it from the cold,
some animals hibernate duri ng the winters when food is scarce,
 38 Environmental Management (S. Y.B.M.S.: SEtvi ,111
d;,
animals like the chameleon changes its colour as per its surroun
similarly a porcupine has sha rp quills to protect itself from ene,11 l._
~~-
etc.

ECOLOGY
Inea11\
The term 'eco' is derived from the Greek word.'Oikos' which
is thf
'Home' . Since 'logia' means 'stu dy of' in ~tin , ECO~~GY
'Study of Home'. The word 'ECONOMICS has the. sun ilar orig·I~
. h
s~d,
as 'nomos' in Greek is to 'manage' and thus economics 1st e
h a;
of management of home. Here the word home refers to t~e eart
nen t.
a home of mankind and thus it is a study of natural env1rom
Cy, ir-
Henry David Thorean was the first to use the word 'ECOLO
his letters in 1858. The German biologist Earnest H~e~kel in
186f
ions
has defined it as 'the study of org ~sm s and then: interact
d(
with each other and their physical environment'. In sun pler Wor
othel
Ecology is the study of how living things interact with each
and their environment.
come
Although scientists ~se this technical definition, ecology has
the
to mean many other things, especially to non-scientists. As
, and
environmental awareness has risen over the pas t few decades
er
environmental issues have come to be discussed in social rath
than scientific context, ecology has taken on new meaning .
Thus
t, ca1i
man y people who express concern about the environmen
themselves 'ECOLOGISTS' and are interested in ecology. I
icted
The c~nfusion arises when ecology is expanded beyond the restr
eni
~ea run g as ~ branch of biology that studies natural environm
who
~ecos~stems ) to refer to the social and political ideas of people
t,
e actively concerned with preserving those natural environmen
-~~ {ste ms) . For reasons of clarity, we might do better to use
e who
activel RONMENTALISTS' as a general term for someon
eco lo! st;r ts t~ pr~serve the natuyralitenv ironment, while reserving
o· or scientists who. stud · Of course, a person can be,
and often is both
' an eco1ogISt and an environmentalist.
 ·.-011mental concepr:, 39
£,rVI 1
RESOURCES

pefinition :
ral resources can be defined as the substances which occur in
Na:re and are found to be useful tools of development. It is obvious
na tural resources form the components of natural or physical
that_narunent. Thus resources can be defined as any stuff found in
e11v 1ro
which has got some uti·1·ty
1
for mank.md and is being used by
nature
him for his betterment.
ding to Zimmerman ' a resource is not just a thing or a
Acbcotrance but the function that the thing or substance performs in
su s to satisfy human need s and wants
order . '
.
The word 'natural endowmen; ~ay ~o ~e un~erstood here in the
li ht of resources. The natural gift' which ts available in the natural
gvironment is termed as an 'endowment'. This endowment is
:turally present in nature. But, if its utility is discovered by man, it
becomes a·resource. In other words the 'endowment' becomes a
source. There is a famous quotation in relation to these concepts _
"The endowments are; the resources become,, .
re

These resources become a wealth when they are d~veloped. If not

developed, they remain potential resources.
In the study of natural resources such basic terms like 'endowment'
'resources', 'wealth' and 'potential resources' should be made clear
in the beginning.

To make the definitions more clear, some examples can be given.

The 'Bababudan' hill near Bhadravati was a natural gift i.e. a natural
endowment. When it was discovered that it is very rich in iron
contents, it becomes a hidden resource. Its utility was recognised
for mining operation. It was potentially rich due to high percentage
of iron in the hill. Later on the large-scale surface mining has made
it a developed resource resulting into an accumulation of wealth,
as it proved to be the major source of raw material (iron ore) for the
well-known Bhadravati Steel Plant in Karnataka.
 cnvtronment l M
Importance : a. anagement (S.Y.B.M. S.: SEM-1111 f

!he natu ral resou rces fo

rtance. It basicall f uocl over the earth are of ":11men~~
impo
set-u p. Ferti le soils h 'y orms a raw material for industries to b(! I
metal11·c . 1 ' t ick forest cover, abundant fish life in the. seas.
nunera ores Of h.igh. grade, etc. are quite important 1n t_h~
over all <level
f opme nt of a region The large quantity and best qua11tv
o resou rces, both are equally u~eful. Their locations with referenc~
to sea-r oute~ and railways also are significant as such factors decid~
the econ omic feasibility of the resource exploitation. ,

If the natur al resources are to be tapped or exploit~d and to be used /

as raw materials for further processing, the detailed _s~i:veys are
carri ed out. Only the occurrence does not help._Access1bil1ty of t~e
natu ral resou rce is a prime consideration 1n the commercial
explo itatio n of resources. The remotely located resource may .not be j
explo ited eventhough the quality is high.
The importance and the actual exploitation of resources therefore
depe nds upon : · · /

1. Size of Deposit: The size of deposit is important• becau se

ultima tely the extraction of resource requires a large amount
of expensive equipment. Thus a cost benefit analysis becomes
necessary to judge if the cost of extraction of the resource is
worthwhile.
2. Accessibility: The accessibility of a region where the particular
resource occurs is of great significance. The terrain and climate

' 3.
determine accessibility which helps or hinders the exploitation
of the resource.
Demand: The dema nd for a resource will deter mine if the
resource is worth exploiting or not. This is the reason \.\:'hy
petroleum is extracted even in the hot inhospitable climatic
conditions of the Middle East. The value of the resource to be
tapped is very important determinant regarding the exploitation
of resources. For example if the Uranium ore is found in the
remo te place, it can be exploited on account of its high market
value. Siberian gas-pipelines are very good examples of
overcoming the problem of long distance due to its significance
 ....... ~ ..
'11, / • ,nental Concepts is th e case w ith Alaskan O il
&11vro
1 11
t need to Europe. Sa m e
and urgen
pjpeJiJte. pl oi ta tion of
ta tio n Fa ci lit ie s: Fo r a su cc es sf ul ex
ar e ve ry es se nt ia l.
sl,
\, J 4. 5 0
frans;::s
rta
tr
tio n
an
fa
sp
cil
or
ities
ta tio
ar e
n
ne
fa
ed
ci
ed
lit ie s
to reach the areas of de m an d
s, re u s lik e m in er al or es ar e
So m et im es re so ur ce
rr an sr ea rliest. rt
l (I
ly bu lk y an d he av y an d ar e th us co stl y to tra ns po
" at t~ st rie s an d to w ns in close
in de ve lo pm en t of in du
'(l relah ~e g .
resu1on
t'; proxiJl'lity to th e de po ts .
l D ev
si
el op m en t: Th e st ag e of industrialisation
f Industria
0 ra l in de x of th e ra te of ex pl oi ta tio n of
! 5. Sfage
of a co
un try is th e
ce
ge
s.
ne
M or e de ve 1op ed co un tn.es ha ve a he av ie r
. tu ra l re so ur d ft en im . po rt 1t . fr om the les s
rn a
he nd for re so ur ce s an ve ry o
H d w ood 1s . rm. po rtedby Ja pa n fo r its
de m a
, Joned re gi on s. Eg fr . ar
h pi .cal co un tri.es of SE Asia.
e tro
d ev
sh ipebuilding in du st ry om t
r -

Te ch no lo ~ is a m us t fo r ex ploitation_o~ re so ur ce s
Technology: ed te ch no logy 1t 1s po ss ible
6· from the ea rth . To da y w ith ad va nc
e~ en fr om r~ m ot e pl ac e~ . With the he lp of
to ex pl oi t re so ur ce s se rv es
ns in g te ch ni qu es , on e 1s ab le to es trm at e th e re
ot e se .
rem ce s of a re gi on . O th er te ch nological ch an ge s
f znineral re so ur n of m in er al re so urces.
iavech an ge d th e pa tte rn of ~x pl oi ta tio

ur su pp lyh : Bo th sk ill e~ as w el l as un sk ill ed la bo ur

. Cheap Jabo
7 ed to ex pl oi t t e re so ur ce s m an op tim um m an ne r.
is ne ed
an d ta rif f po lic ie s al so pl ay im po rta nt ro le
8. Economic system oi ta tio n of th e re so ur ce s
d qu an tit y of ex pl
in th e ra te an
es ou rc es
Characteristics of Natural R
ra l en do w m en t i.e . th ey ar e no t m an -m ad e. They
• They ar e Natu
by m an.
are gifts of G od fo r free us e
ec ifi c: M os t na tu ra l re so ur ces ar e in-situ. They ar e
• Location sp
t m ob ile . To ex pl or e th em, m an m us t
where th ey ex is t an d no
e .g . oi l an d m in e ra l
ur ce s ar e lo ca te d.
go to w he re re so
exp1ora tions.
l
D is tr ib ut io n: N at ur al re so ur ce s ar e na tu ra
• Uneven un ev en bo th w ith in an d
r di st rib ut io n is
en do w m en t an d th ei
 viro m ne nt al M a1 1a gem e11t (~. Y./j.JV1.~ .. ....... ..
betw tll
.
een countries :· So, me countries have monop~ly of som is
e t'.
g. Bauxite in Ja o f th e p ro d u ct io n ) while the rest
in 5 th . maica (80% n o t tr u e o f fo rests. Mos1
owever, th is is
ou_ Africa. H bl re st - it is not as uneven
u\
co u n tr ies a re capa e of g ro w in g fo
0 ther resources. .

l re so ur ce s can be st0 red for

• th at
Versatility: This means t deterioration.
ithou
na tu ra

long period of time w

th e qu an ti ty av ai la~le at a given t~rne.
• to
Finiteness: This refers resources available 1s absolutely fix ed
l
The quantity of natura be increased on the short run.
nnot
and their quantity ca
re so ur ce s ar e d es tro ye~ in th e
natural
• Destructibility: Most st ru ct io n co ul d en sue I arise fron1
e de
process of use. Resourc co al an d fi rewood for ~~oking,
pt io n -
the process of consum o f th e pr ob le m s of desertification
os t
fuel for vehicles etc. M ha ve re su lt ed from the activities
sa id to
and aridization were n - sh ifting cu ltivation, burning
l vegeta tio
of man on the natura g an d br ow sing o f the natural
d gr az in
of forest for games an io n o f th e o rig in al vegetation .
to desertific at
vegetation leading
rs hi p of n at u ra l re sources is not
y: Owne
• Common Propert ey are gifts of nature, no man can dain,
clearly defined since th er y , fo restry are also com 01)
m
ep se a fi sh
owners.hip - de
properties.
OF RESOURCES
CLASSIFICATION
urce s, they can be suitabl ,
uid, gas) or b ~
ety of natu ra l re so
As t~~re is a large vari ic al stat e (sol id , liq
class~1ed based on
the phys ca tion s: ase
e ge og ra ph ic al lo
upon its value or on th
rc es (s ea ) - T er re st rial Resources Qand)
(i) Maritime Resou
(u) Precio us - Ord
inary (of low value)

So lid, L iquid an d G aseous form ( ood, water and natural ga s)

(iii) w
.
als, pla n ts) vs In or ga nic (minerals)
(iv) Organic (fish, an
im
of (s ay ) natural .
the exis tenc e beauty can form an
(v) Only r to u r· d sc er uc
attractive resource fo ism evelopment.
 ·romrte111111 \..v111..cp1::i
£rtV1
') Lastly, but not the least the h . 43
(vl (population) and quality,(literat~::~llbd etng itself. Its quantitv
· • ' 1
e techn ical know-how),·
etc. are becom mg most significant in the ~od
knowledge is a resource and if used ern :-"~rid in which
e g. I.T. industries). Such situation hproperly,tlvit,~ a 'wealth'
(· as recen
;
f
orce
d
us to
describe the population as 'hum an res ,
for Education is therefore replaced by t~~r~:~ The ~ortfo lio
Resources Development'. term Human

~ classification of resources poses some problems of 1

.
Jlle
hr apptng.
urces are the features which are needed and used bovte
ReSO k , Y e people
11
'[hey are genera y dta enhas dnaf~:~l resources' but social scientist~
·der and broa en t e e m1hon to includ e also the h uman
cons l . .
ur ces· Human resources can be sub-d1v1ded into peo p1e and
reso able and non-renewable resou rces are
capt
·tal · Similarly the renew
d d .
also the terms used an escnb ed by other words like the 'flow'
and 'fund' resources.
The following charts gives a broader idea of the classification of
resources.

RESOURCES

NATURAL (Physical) . HUMAN

Non-Renewable Renewable Renewable

if carefully
! managed * l
J
Non-Cyclable Cyclable
(Fore?ts, Soils) Flow Continuous
(Metallic (Crops , (Wind power,
(Fossil Fuels) Tides,
(Fund) Ores) Water)
Waves, Sun)

Population Capital
(Numbers, Technology, Politics, etc.) (Buildings, Transport, etc.)
 Lttuironmental M
r -=::----_a_nagement (S. Y.B•M.S... SEM-//JJ
RESOURCES

NATURAL (Physical)
HUMAN

Land Water Air Anlmall

Plants

~Saline
(Gases)
Cool Forests ~ Wild Life
Grass Birds
Climate Fisheries
Fresh Shrubs
Deserts ·

Mineral Soils Landscape

Metallic {Sctnlc beauty)
Non meta.Ilic Coastline
Fuel mineral Mountains
Precious mineral Glaciers
Valleys, etc.

Large Small Literate Illiterate Skilled Unskilled

Population Population

Inexhaustible Resources: The resource~which cannot be exhausted

by human consumption are called inexhaustible resources. These
include energy sources like solar radiation, wind power, water
power (flowing streams) and tidal power, and substances like sand,
clay, air, water in oceans, etc.
Exhaustible Resources:On the other hand, there are some resources,
which are available in limited quantities and are going to be
exhausted as a result of continuous use. These are called exhaustible
resources. For example, the stock of coal in the earth is limited and
one day there will be no more coal available for our use.
Renewable Resources: Any natural resource that is recycled or
replaced constantly by nature are termed renewable. Renewable
resources are replaced through natural processes at a rate that is
equal to or greater than the rate at which they are used, and depletion
is usually not a worry.

I
 45
ental Concepts
e,,,;fD""' on examples include:
~,coJll!X'
Air (wifld)

' fresh water

' ,oil .
. rganisrns (trees)
' LiVlllg o ·

' 5UJ1light
' sometimes, however, renewable resources can be depleted
Ittl ,tan t;
used too fiast'· . ·
ifj~ a~ . .
"" few exam ples of how this can happen:
11 re are a
e a undergoes severe deforestation and the soil erodes
, If~;: this will deplete the land of fertile topsoil needed to
qt11 yrt, plant growth, so trees and shrubs cannot grow back.
supPo
tree5 and vegetation are removed without being replanted,
• If. thiS
can have effects on the land, air, and water. Common effects
ali
include runoff and water qu ty.
While fresh water is a renewable resource, in some areas,
' erpopulation and increased demand on the water supply,
~~ of water conservation practices, and pollution of the water
source can cause water to become scarce. This is especially a
big problem in densely_ po~~ated cities si~a ted in dry areas.
Adecrease in wa~er availability can affect agnculture, farmland,
livestock, and o~er living organisms (including humans) in
the area.
Non Renewable Resources: Natural resources that cannot be
replacea by nature and that are used up more quickly than they can
be replaced by natural processes or are exhaustible and are extracted
faster than the rate at which they formed are called as Non-renewable
resources. Some common examples are:
• Fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) takes millions of years to form
• . Diamonds and o~her precious gems and minerals
• Types of metals and ores
 46
enta l M anagem en t (5 . Y.B.M.S.: SEM -111
En vironm '
Important· No n rene bl ch as th es e exist in a fix ell
. wa e reso ur ce s su
am o u n t ar:td can I aced by proc esse s that take million s Of
ye ars. ff the on Y be re pl
pl et ed , they ar e de pleted for good.
B y are de . .
nd, arr, an d
eca us e of the severe .impact that we impose on thet lat
Water impor an ·
, conservation h as become increasingly

ERVATION OF RESOURCES
CONS
re so ur ce s is th e ne ed o f the tim l'.
eservation o f
Conservation or the pr th e fe at ur es us ef ul to the m an, the}
urces ar e
If we consider that reso sp ec ia lly , th e ov er ex ploi ta~on of
exhausted. E
shou!d not be fu1Iy co ve r) m ay le ad to the loss o f gr_ass an u
gras s
certam resources (like js m or e ex po se d to weathering an rj
barren. It fo r domesti('
also to make the area st . G ra ss is a fo dd er
cover is also lo
erosion so that the soil If th e lo ss is pe rm an ent, it affects th e
an in1als like cattle an
d sheep.
at io n an d le ad s to desertification.
bowine (animal) p opul
lik e co al , m in er al oi l an d natural g~s, it is
ces
In case of 'fund' resour be co nt ro ll ed . T he u n co n trolled
that has to
the rate of exploitation sc ar ci ty , in n'e ar future. The world
rise to
exploitation may give ve ry m uc h on th e su p ply o f crude oi/
economy, at present, de
pends
sits are ex ha us te d th e world w o u ld suffer
and coal. If their depo em de pe nd s m uc h on petroleum and
heavily. As the transp
ort syst
th e pr ic e- ri se af fe ct s the transport syste.rn
or
_diesel oil; their scarcity t o f co m m od itie s be co mes costlier
m such a way tl1at the
movemen e fossil fuels ar~
o f en er gy , in ca se th
aHects the gene ration
~ t als? tion of electricity.
th e pr oces s o f gene ra
sed m
h e caref u I use o f resources. It is a contro n
lo
se rv atio n re~ t
Con ers o t
the ra te of exploit ti I ta1so m .
~lud es th e regeneration of resources
like forests Re u till~sao~
.
o f ce rtain type s o f te (d omesti-.c wastes
n w as
ung, etc.) may ~
· ho
scar p m etal o r . w -d
mattellr lik e biom as s, co
reuti~ised to ,get~a~;~g as, a oy, etc.

Thus Conservation ca th
n be d~fin d , Protection, Preservation
l e as the
ional use o f al vironment'
and Rat e resources on the en .
to the careful
Conservation refers 1 use of resources. It
is a control on
. It also .
~herate of exploitation m e udes the regeneration f resources °
s.
like Fo rest
 ,,,e11tal Concepts . 47
~~,, f .
£ti . uous flow o certain natura l forces like river and . d
0
nt111 . . win
.<he
p·
c .
s10 ,...,.,,ficant 1n certam areas. Recently, the new resourc
1~
es are
~e ~150 used in case of ener_gyd .lThods e ~redC:':al\ed non-conventional
w,iflg 5olar energ y, ti a an wm energy, and the atom·
~ rces. .
t esotlrals l'ke1
Urani um to get nuc1ear energy are consid ered as the lC

rttif1e ntional sources, w h"l 1 e f"

1rewood , coal and oil- natural gas
conve
110!1' ventional.
e co!l
at ervation of resources of all types and their preservation
fhlls :~:rn e the keywo rd in the economic activities of the world.
pave esources are useful forever, the future generation also
AS thes:t ensur ed to get their supply. Recently the word 'security'
shOll~d used Qike food security, energ y securi ty) to ensure the
is 1,eing f neces sary comm oditie s even to future generation of
r
soPP1 do Therefore any devel opme nt has to be sustainable for the
aJU<lfl ·
I1l . of huma n beings .
welfare
rt it can be said that Conservation is using natural resources
In sho and not contri buting to pollut ion of the land, air or water.
wisel kase ''REDUCE, REUSE, AND RECYCLE" has been a catch
'fhe P of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
phrase ~
Reduce: Don' t use a resource if there is an alternative (walking
• vs. driving)
Reuse: Use a resource again without changing it or reprocessing
• it: Use glassware as opposed to paper plates and styrofoam

Recycle: Reprocess a resource so that the materials can be used

• in another item. People can recycle just about anything from
cardboard to old shoes!
48 Environmental Management (5.Y.B.M.S.:~tNHIJJ
Conservation is important because:
1· To maintain ecological balance for supporting life.
2 Top di££ . . (b'10diversity).
· reserve erent kinds of species
3 resent and futu r~
· To make the resources available for P
generations.
4. To ensure survival of human race. •s the need of the time
Conservation or the preservation of resourc:;omic growth of man
Resources are the key features use~ to ecally
1 in the case of 'func:i
they should not be fully exhau~ted,d spetucral gas it is the rate of
· ral 011 an na '
resources like coaI, nune
to d
be contro11e •
·
exploitation that has . . Th Golden rule of conservatton . is . the 3
Methods of conservatton. e
Rformula of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

1. Soil conservation:
• By adding manure and fertilizers regularly as well as by
rotation of crop.
Control on grazing
•
Reforestation
• Terracing and Contour ploughing in the hilly ·areas
•
2. Water Conservation:
• Growing vegetation in the catchment areas, which will
hold water in the soil ·
• Constructing dams and reservoirs
• Industrial wastes (effluents) and sewage should be treated
to prevent chemical and thermal pollution of fresh water.

• Judicious use of water in our day-to-day life.

• Rainwater harvesting.
 ental Concept
Forest Conservation: 49
3.
restation and reforestation on
ands along the margins of deserts, hill slopes and barren
lan
tracks. highways and railway
Substitute wood based products.
Recyclethe forest products like paper as many times
possible as

Vigilance in
Vigilance the
in th forest to
felling of trees.
prevent poaching and illegal
Energy Conservation:
4.
Avoiding wastage
Use of non-conventional resources ike solar power, wind
energy, tidal energy, bio mass energy and geo thermal
energy. These resources are in continuous supply on the
earth and thus there is no tear of their exhaustion in the
near future.

Use of hydel energy instead of thermal energy as it is

cleaner and water is a flow resource.

solution to sustainable use of resources is by reducing our

The
o n Exhaustible Non renewable resources and
dependence
to
vithching over KENEWABLE,
ALTERNATIVE forms of NON
cONVENTIONAL forms of energy. These are resources that are
earth and cause less damage to the
available in plenty on the
in a short period of
environment and can be replenished naturally
time.

Solar

Geothermal

Wind
Biomass

Water
Solar Power

that global winda.and

We know
from thesun. Traditionally man h
Solar energy
is energy solar energy.
currents
a r e powered
by clothes to make salt froms
for drying
long lastino
ocean

made use of solar

energy
food items and make
them
Ir
well as to dry or solar batteries
water as solar panels
to have available
recent times
it is possible Different gadgets are

and electricity. (calculators, wri

generate power which run on PV solar cells
heaters etc. Mo
the markets today cookers,
solar water
traffic signals,solar o n the roof ofthei
watches),
investing in solar panels
are and transform#
and more, people collect energy
solar cells actively
home, whereby
into electricity.
r e s o u r c e its intensity varies
is a ubiquitous
Although solarenergy hot Equatorial
and Iropical countries
to region. In the
region shortage but in the colder
from
to energy
it could be the solution
not solve their problem. Also
Temperate and Polar regions it may on cloudy days and
unfortunately, solar cells work less efficiently
store solar energy
Batteries can be used to
not at all during the night.
cannot hold very much and disposing properly of old
but they
batteries can be an issue.

Wind Power
wind. Wind has been
The horizontal movement of air is called as
used from thousands of years as a source of energy on sailing ships
and windmills to pump water. Today, windmills can be used to
The minimum speed of wind required for the
generate electricity.
 Environmentai Concepts

successful
working of a wind mill is
such wind millss aare at least
15 51
located
in clusters km/ hour. Usuall.
coastal areas, called as a windUsually
ated along Coastal
m a n y

farms are locate arCalledacur

barren landeds where mountain farm.

passes, open there
Pa
nds to rotate the is a
constant ridges and
blades of the
wind mills. flow of strong
gusty wind

Afad produces no waste; wind

power does not make
oas emissions. It doe
loes not
emissions. It directly cause greenhouse
of the world have pollution. However, not
many strong and
persistent enough winds
to generate electricity.
LoWever, critics of wind power say large number of windmills
a

could cause problems

tor animals, especially migratory birds. Some
onle think the windmills are unattractive and are a sore to the
eyes

Water Power

Water wheels have been used for over 100 years to

help create energy
to ground grain or cut lumber,
creating microhydropower.
Hydroelectric energy is created
releasing large amounts of water
through a man-made dam, which turn turbines, or
generators, to
create electricity. Hydro electric Power is considered to be one of
the cleanest form of energy but there are a number of
and social problems associated with the
environmental
building of sized dams. large
Geothermal Energy

the ground contain

heated water from
reservoirs within
Large heated water can create steam, thereby
internal heat in the earth. This
certain regions of the earth have
producing geothermal energy. Only
in tectonically active areas or
these geothermal hotspots, usually Yellowstone National
volcanic areas, such as Hawaii and Iceland.
good resource for geothermal energy.
Park would be a very
Artificially geo thermal energy
can be created by identifying the
rocks and hot belts beneath the earth
regions where there are how earth to the hot rocks and
hole into the up
.Then by drilling a
steam gush out of the earth and
a pipe in it let the hot
instilling
rotate the turbines which are strategically located over the pipe.

Biomass Energy
While not heard about very often, biomass energy, which is energy
derived from burning organic material like wood, alcohol, or
resource. A drawback of
garbage, is a common renewable energy
released into the
burning these items, however, is that particles are
atmosphere, potentially increasing air pollution. Bio gas is also
a

form of Bio mass which is obtained by the gasification of bio

degradable materials and can be used for cooking and lighting|
 EnvironmEHlUI

in i ural areas. The main

purpose
especially
advantages of bio
g a s i t i c a t i o na r e :

and safe method of waste disposal.

It is clean
C

need to store the gas as it can be

There
is no need
continuously
to the household.
2 Supplied
need any major investment in the form of
does not raww
It does not

and space.
3. terials, technology
left over sludge is rich in nitrates and can be extremely

fertile
fer
organic m a n u r e which can be used back in the
agricultural fields.

REVIEW QUESTIONS
terms
Define thefollowing
1. (b) Absolute location
(a) Autotrophs
(c) Bio-diversity (d) Biotic component
() Global village
(e)Ecology
(g) Permeable rock (h) Residual soil
Biosphere ) Dentrivores
) Endowment
(k) Resources )
(m) Sustainable energy (n) Clean energy
(o) Sustainable development
Write short notes on the following:
2 (a) Trophic level

(b) Ecologically sensitive zone

(c) Food-web

(d) Oxygen cycle

(e) Environmental impact assessment
(0 Locational advantage
3 Why should a commerce student be taught Environmental Studies ?
Discuss.
4. How is the natural system superimposed over cultural system ?
Explain.
5. Examine the role of human beings in modifying the natural
environment.
 EMVIroimental Management (S.Y.B.M.5.: SEM-I),
6. Describe the environmental
impacts of uncontrolled mning in
the
forested areas.
Discuss the dynamic role of man as both destructor and protector o;
environment.
8. Give the long forms of the following
(a) CRZ
(b) NBA
) OPEC
(d) sIAL/ SIMA
(e) UK
TEHETHT basis.
9. Give a broad classification of resources on suitable
10. Explain the term 'recycling of resources' giving suitable examples,
11. Discuss the geographical factors which determine the sites of the

following projects:
Wind mills
(i) Harnessing tidal energy
(ii) Centre for solar energy
(iv) Geothermal energy centre
Write an essay on any one of the following:
12
(a) Proposed Jaitapur nuclear plant in Ratnagiri district.
(b) Narmada Bachao Andolan
(c)Priority claims for water supply.
13. Classify the energy resources according to their nature.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS
A. Multiple Choice Questions:
1. Which of the following gases occupies the greatest percentage of the
current atmosphere on Earth?
(a) Nitrogen gas (b) Oxygen gas
(c) Carbon dioxide gas (d) Ozone
Predict on why an animal may change their skin or fur colour with
the seasons?
(a) In order to attract predators
(b) To blend in with the surroundings and avoid
() So predators can easily find them predators
(d) All the above
EnzironmentalConcepts 55
organisms would probably belong to the same
which of the following
Whicho

bear?
level a s a
3.
trophic
A deer
(b) An oak tree
(a) (d) A cow
) Awolf
Biotic environment includes

4 (a) Producers (b Consumers

(c) Decomposers (d) All the above
Decomposers include
5. (b) Fungi
Bacteria
(a) (d) Animals
Both
(c) environment does not include
Abiotic
6. (b) Water
(a) Air
(d) Plants
()Soil
Vermicomposting is done by
7.
(a) Fungus (b) Bacteria
Worms (d) Animals
() which convert light into food are called
The group of organisms
8 (a) Autotrophs (b) Heterotrophs
(c) Decomposers (d) Omnivores
Which one the following is not biodegradable?
9.
(a) Vegetables (b) Fruits
(c) Earthworm (d) Aluminium foil
Mahotsav Day is observed on
10. In our country the Van
(a)Second of October (b) First of December
(c)Tenth of August (d) First of July
11. Plants are green because of the presence of a pigment called:
(a) Glucose (b) Nitrogen
(c)Chlorophyll (d) Oxygen
12 Chief source of energy in environment is
(a) Fire (b) Moon
()Sun (d) Stars
13. Process through which plants reproduce
(a)Eating (b) Evaporation
(c)Pollination (d) Transpiration
14. Acid rain is caused
by
(a) CO and CO (b) SO, and O,
(c) SO, and NO, (d) NO, and O
 Environmental Management (S.
15. What will be the Y.B.M.S.: SEM-II)
outcome of
Eutrophication of surface wate
(a) Overproduction of biomass
b) Decrease in nitrogen concentration
(c) Decrease in phosphorus concentration
(a) Decrease in both nitrogen and
16.
phosphorus concentra
Group of individuals of the same species that share commonm attributes
are called:
(a) Community (b) Population
(c)Ecotype (d) Society
17. Bacterial decomposition of biological material under aerobic condition
is
(b) Fertilization
(a) Fermentation
(c) Contamination (d) Composting
are called
18. The organisms which directly feed on producers
Carnivores
(a) Herbivores (b)
(d) Saprophytes
(c) Decomposers is called
19 The sequence of eating and being eaten in an ecosystem
(a) Food chain (b) Carbon cycle

(c) Hydrological cycle (d) Anthroposystem

can be considered as a
20. In aquatic ecosystems phyto planktons
(a) Consumer (b) Producer
(d) Macro consumer
(c) Saprotrophic organisms
21. Organisms which feed directly or indirectly on producers are called
(b) Consumers
(a) Prey
(d) Detritus
Decomposers
22. Apredator is
(a) An animal that is fed upon
(b) An animal that feeds upon another animal
)Animal that feeds upon both plants and animals
d) Aprimary consumer
23. A food web consists of
(a) Aportion offood chain
(b) An organism's position in a food chain
()Interlockingfood chains d) A set of similar consumers
24. Sustainable development means
(a) Meeting present needs without compromising on future needs
(6) Progress of human beings
Balance between human needs and the ability of earth to provide
the resources
(d) All of the above
Environmental
tal Concepis
Con

57
25 Eutrophicationis

(a)
An improved quality of water in lakes
in carbon cycle
Aprocess
b)
(b) to ccumulation of plant nutrients in water bodies
aci
The result
A
water purific technique
(d) wing is the cleanest source of energy?
Which
one
ofthe
26.
( a) Hydropower (b) Fossil fuels
(c) Nuclear p o w e r (d) Wind power
that are used up more quickly than
Natural
resources

they can be
27.
replaced by natur processes are called
(a) Fund Resources (b) Renewable Resources
In exhaustible Resources (d) Flow Resources
Which of the followir statements are Not related to the problems
28. ed due to large dams and reservoirs
e x p e r i e n c e d

downstream region
lal Flooding of
(b) Displacement of people
c) Large
loss of
water through evaporation
of the aquatic systems
(d) Disruption
is based on the principle of
9. Biogas generation mainly
(a) Fermentation
b) Degradation
(c) Purification (d) Composting
20 Which of the following is not a form of Non conventional energy

(a) Tidal (b) Geo Thermal

(c) Wind (d) Hydel

Ans:(1)- (a), (2) - (b), (3)- (c), (4) - (d), (5) - (c), (6)- (d), (7) -(), (8) - (a),
(9)-(d), (10) (d), (11) - (c), (12) - (c), (13) - (c), (14) - (c), (15) - (a),

(16)-(a), (17) (a), (18) - (a), (19) - (a), (20) - (b), (21) - (b), (22) - (b),
(23)-(c), (24) - (d), (25) (c), (26) - (d), (27) - (a), (28) - (a), (29) - (a),

(30)- (d)
B. Match the Columns:
Column A Column B

(a CFC (i) Eutrophication

(b) CO (ii) Global Warming
(ii) Acid Rains
(c) Na
(iv) Ozone Depletion
(d) SO
Ans: (a) - (iv), (b) - (i), (c) - (), (d) - ( i )
 Environnnental MaiagEn
Column B
II Column A September 1987

(a) Montreal Protocol ()

(i) December 2009

(6) Rio-Summit (iii) December 1997

)Copenhagen Summit (iv) June 1992

(d) Kyoto Protocol

(d)
(i), (b) (iv), (c)- (ii), (
-

s: (a)
orFase,
-
irue

C. the Statements Carefullyand

Identify if they are
ead on
Earth.
1 The Sun is the main source of energy
transfer gets
to become
m o r e efficie
cient as
2 system the energy
In the ecosys
chain.
we go up in the food the food
chain.
lower down in in the foo
. is advisable to eat up we move
t of an organism
as
decreases
4. The Population
chain. chains interweave together
to form compley
5. Many integrated food
food webs.
to control the population
growth of any organism.
6. Predation helps
of extinct are called
becoming dangerous
7. Organisms that are in danger
species
world are on a rise and is a matter of grave
8. The Carbon Sinks in the
global concern.
worldwide conflicts.
9. Water Shortages creates
10. Niche and Habitat are the same.
11. Generally, Natural resources indicate the potential wealth of a countr
12. Most of the Natural Resources are in situ.
13. Soil is an example of Non Renewable resource.

14 Wind energy is a clean energy.

15 The sludge of a biogas plant is

non-degradable waste
a

Ans: (1) True, (2) False, (3) True, (4) True, (5) True, (6) True, (7) False
alse, (9) True, (10) False, (11) True, (12) Irue, (13) False, (14) True,
(15) False
D. Explain the following Concepts with suitable
1. Natural Selection examples:
2 Adaptation
3.
Carrying Capacity of the Environment
4
Population
5 Community
6 Ecosystem
 ironmental Concepts
Food Chain
7 Food Web

9. Biosphere
10. Niche

11. Symbiosis
12. Mutualism
Commensalism
13
14. Parasitism

Succession
15
16. Renewable Resources
17. Non Renewal Resources
18. Animate Resources
19 Inanimate Resources
20. Non-Conventional Energy
21. Conservation
22 Resource Management
 147

SUSTAINABILITY
3 AND ROLE OF
BUSINESS

• Sustainabili . . ..
Conserv atio: · Definition, Importance and Environment

• Environmental Cl
Industries i I . earance For Establishing and Operating
1400l n nd1a - E1A and Environmental Auditing, ISO

• Salient Featu ,1
Protection Ac;es 01 Water Act, Air Act and Wild Life

• Carbon Bank and Kyoto Protocol

SUSTAINABILITY

DEFINITION AND IMPORTANCE AND ENVIRONMENT

CONSERVATION
II
Sustain can mean maintain", support", or "endure". Since the
11

1980s sustainability has been used more in the sense of human

ustainability on planet Earth. Sustainability has emerged as a result
fsignificant concerns about the unintended social, environmental,
de~onomic consequences of rapid population growth, economic
owth and consumption of our natural resources. When we talk of
e:elopment, it cannot be perceived as development only for a
nvileged few who would have a high standard of living and would
erive all the benefits. Development also does not mean an increase
 148
Environ men .B .M .s . s
in th e G1'.rr. o f a few ffl tn/ fv!nnnge111e11t (5. Y ·· tJ\.t_, :p
V is u 1 · "H "'
· a u en t .
D ev el op m en t ne ec t ''J
a 12 ed nat io n s.
Only fo th. in a hseonlit g e
stic rna
, w h er e it br in gs benefits t o sauto "· ~
n ner , riot
r e p re ner at io n b
, u t aIso fo r th e fu tu re ge n
. eratio'l
The m o st
id el y quot d . . .
st ai n ab ility as a pa t
c o W u ti ~ n o f su
I e defir the Bru;dof the
n c e p t S ustaina b rn en t as g iv en by
~ tn rn is si o
0 n o f t e D e~elop N a ti o n s on M a rc h 2 0 , 198 7tlariq
h e U n it e d mee ts the , is:
S us tain a b le O ev el o p m en t th at
v ~Iopment is d of /leeds
o f th e p re se e it h o u t co m p ro mis in g th e abil it y
g e n e r a ti
su st a i
life ~~ t1~t~ is
:~s nt w
t~ me e t the
som et h in g
th
ir o
th
e ca
w
at
rr
n

y
im
n

in
ee
p
g
d
ro
ca
s.
ve
p
"
s
ac
A si m p le d efininU
"t
it y
h e quality of h on of
o f supportin gulec
t11r,

llctri
_
e li v in g w it h in 0
sy tw
s e m s" .
s th e sp ec ific at io n o f a se t of acti
ity "con cern h the prosp ons to
;.
: u s, su stainabil t w il l n o t d im in is
p e rs o n s th a ealth, util~cts of
ta k e n b y p re sen t co n su m p ti o n, w 51
enjoy le vels o f ty, 0t r~
fu tu re p e rs o n s to by p re se n t p e rs ons.
le to thos e enjoyed
w e lf a re co m p ar ab f
ai n ab le g ro w th a h d devel op
s a b o u t u nsu st
A lt h o u g h th e fear io n o n S u st ai n ab le Devel o p ;ent 51
e t a d e a r d is cu ss e U N Conferenc en
t s<
st a rt e d in 1970s, y ve l in 19 92 , in th
~
te rn at io n al le rly k no wn as ~ n
e m er ge d on a n In N C E D ), p o p u la
D ev el o p men t (U The Rio Declarati
e if
Environ m e n t a n d e Ja n er io , B ra zi l.
d a t Rio d roug h thecrearioonn
ei
Ear th Su m m it, h el a l p ar tn er sh ip th
d equitable. glob .. . . 0 u t o f its fiv
ct
aims a t" a n e w a n
11

n a m o n g st a te s.
f c o o p e ra ti o bal program 0; n
of n e w 1e v e ls o p ro p o se s a g lo
m e n ts A g e n d a 21 nomic and Political
sj g n if ic a n t a g re e en t in So ci al , E co 9
le D ev el o p m
action o n Sus tainab ,..
n te x t fo r th e 2 1 st C en tu ry .
co ir
th a t en v ir o n m e n ta l justice is as
05 p o in te d o u t logical economist
rr
A s tu d y fro m 20 v e lo p m e n t. E co
ustainable d e it h o u t a forest?" From
if
im p o rt a n t a s is s se is a sa w m il l w
e d, " wh a t u u m a n society, a
H e rm a n Daly a sk s u bs y s te m o f h 5
the ec on o my is a a in in one sector
this p e rs p e c ti v e, io sp h e re a n d a g
b sy ste m o f th e b n es te d circles figure
e
w h ic h is it s e lf a su ec ti v e le d to th e
th er. This p e rs p o n m ent1 a lso called
e
is a Joss fr o m a n o in si d e th e 'e n v ir
of 'econo m ics ' in
side 'socie ty ' e
a
stain ability.
a<; th e Three Pillars o f Su h
B
 . and Role of Business 149
1 /Ji/l1.1f
i,,,;,11 Thr ee pillars of sustainability

ars of
indicating the relationship between the "three pill
J1l
> ~ dia_grability", in which both
economy and society are constrained
f ta 111a 1 li .t
s~se11vironrnenta mi s.
r rl' . .
' 005 World Su mm it on Soc ial Development ide nti fie d
r1te ~ able development goals, such as econom
ic development,
.t i~s_taJJldevelopment and environmenta l protection. This view has
,,tJal
,t SIi" 1·11us tr
· g three overlapping ellipses
· n usin
n exp ressed as an . atio
11
e ~ - ting that the threet pill ars of sustainability are not mutually
~•d1ca b m u uallydreinforcmg . Sustam . able development
n clt1sive and can . e
n e~ . ts of balancing 1oca 1an g1obal efforts to meet basic human
,ons1 s d estroymg. or degrad'1ng the natural environment.
·e ds wit hou t
)f nee
ing that we
~ tainability is based on a simple principle: Everyth
er directly or
susd for our survival and well-being depends, eith
lity creates and
~~irectly, on our natural environment. Sustainabi
and nature can exist
is :aintains the conditions under which humans
social, economic
st in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the
m and other req uir em ent s of pre sen t and
fut ure gen era tio ns.
h the social and
Y, Sustainability interfaces with economics throug
y. Sus tainability
or ecological con seq uen ces of economic activit
tion of ecological
re economics rep res ent s: " ... a broad interpreta
~d iables and issues
economics where environmental.and ecological var
e. Social, cultural,
are basic but par t of a multidimensional perspectiv
e to be integrated
health-related and monetary / financial aspects hav
into the analysis.
 Environment l
a Management (5. Y.B.M 5 .
--- ',, SfA,
•rt•///J

Social

Environment Economic

Venn ct·1agram of sustainable development: at the confluence of

constituent parts. thret Jr
(I
Sustainability is important to making sure that we have and . C
continue to have, the water, materials, and resources to p \vi~ sl
human health and our environment. rote~ ,, I

Sustainability implies responsible and proactive decision-mak·

and innovation that minimizes negative impact and maint ~g
balance between ecological resilience, economic prosperity, poli~ins
justice and cultural vibrancy to ensure a desirable planet for:
species now and in the future. Specific types of sustainability induct
sustain~ble agriculture, sustainable architecture or ecologic;
economics.
However, the concept of sustainability is much broader than the
concepts of sustained yield of welfare, resources, or profit
margins. At present, the average per capita consumption of people
in the developing world is sustainable but population numbers are
increasing and individuals are aspiring to high-consumption
Western lifestyles. The developed world population is only
increasing slightly but consumption levels are unsustainable. The
challenge for sustainaqility is to curb .and manage Western
consumption while raising the standard of living of the developin~
world without increasing its resource use and environmental impac{ ~
This must be done by using strategies and technology that bred •I
•!
the link between, on the one hand, economic growth and on the ,1
other, environmental damage and resource depletion.
 .,·,-yfl",d Roleof Business / )/

1 ;i" '·J'IYof a sySlem depends largely upon thr Carn tn~

1
i of a system. lf
P 'flab•
· t9 1 I ·the ·Carrying Capacity
, of the sv<;tl'm 1<;
,v' llcitY b 0 ver exp oit~tion ~f _a resource, environmental
cl ed.,. Ystarts and continues till 1t reaches a point if no retu rn.
o'' t1ofl
cf ~(Ilda acity has two basic components·
JerJ . gcap .
r/Y'~ porting Capacity i.e. the capacity to regenerate.
I StlP'tJlla
.1 tive Capacity i.e. the capacitv, to tolerate different
p..sSl
e5ses,
stJ'
' attain Sustainability it is very important to utili,c the
0, 0er tobased upon the above two properties of the system.
~ 1~,otlrcesptton
. should not exceed
be
regeneration and the changes
.I
fe ,vfll be allowed to occur yond the tolerance capacity 01 t w
cor !d not
iQ potl
r1
~, s• rStefll·
1
)J

1g
l$ SUSTUWlU!Y
~ k i , _ ~10E,,.1tu n Scou
&aoncrimu~ f'lfnlll~ us
n ~t.nll6!\ ~~gtll'JI
le
tl

:e ENVIRONMENTAL L
it ,P,!!i&~ ~ •FtieecU:t f t ~
•E~.ia,~
le .~J~'.m,nn
,£,QQ,011' •CMnt,
e ·~~
.~-~~ •Hnfb11$

·~~-
ECONOMIC

•Ila~
, T(alllidfJU
\ . JtW.:W:
•:JWre1
,•·r:,;i ~~,
•.' x : t ~ &EJ"'..a't!~
-~ ! ~
·Scam.-u
 152 Enviromnemu, '"'......0 - ·· ·••.J,: St
41
While the United Nations Mille nnium Declaration ido -,,,J
· 1 t . \;;llt'1 ·
fte~
principles and treaties on Sustainable De~e opm en .' Including
Development and environmental protection ~t contin~ed usin ~l
domains: Economic, Enviro~ental_and SocialthSustainability~ t~
recently, using a systematic domain model ~t responds t~~
debates over the last decade, the Circles of Sustainability a ~
distinguished four domains of Economic, E_cological, Polittfroacl\
Cultural Sustainability. This is in accord with the United Nal 1,i\ti.q
Agenda 21, which specifies Culture as the fourth dorn:~ 01\s
Sustainable development. ltt or

ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE Foa

ESTABLISHING AND OPERATING
INDUSTRIES IN INDIA

Environmental Clearance is the permissio'd n for setting of c

.
ble impa ct erta~
on
proje cts which are going to h ave a cons1 era
ned fr the
environment. The perm ission or clearance has to be obtai
the Ministry of Environment cmd Forest, New Delhi. om

The pers on who desires to undertake any new project or th

expansion or modernization of any existing industry listed .e
Schedule I should submit an application to the secretary oft:
Ministry of Environment and Forest, ~ew Delhi. The applicati~
should be made in the Performa specified in Schedule II and has10
be acco mpa nied by a project repo rt whic h shal l include an
Envi ronm enta l Impact Assessment Repo rt or Environment~
Management Plan prepared m·accordance with the guidelines issued
by the Central Government in the Ministry of Environment and
Forest, New Delhi from time to time.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT:

Env iron men tal Imp act Asse ssme nt (EIA) is an important
management tool for ensuring optimal use of natural resources fer
sustainable developmenl, and was introduced in India initially f(J
River Valley Projects in 1978-79. The scope of the EIA has beeD
enhanced to cove r other developmental sectors such as industritS
 • tJtfli!f _.,._ • w •-. VJ UU~tnes5 'II
,.-1t1ttiil _
51• schemes, energy etc T0
f · ' · facilit ate pro·e t b3
t1''·f'liJlg·oJl o environmental dat
c0Jlectlernent plans, it is now a and forrnulatio~ ~f proponents in
t1'~aeCgtion) Act, 1986, for dif:andatory under th:nEv1r?nrnental
at I · · ·
rent categones nv1ronrn ent
(Pt. ·ties invo v1ng. investment be of develo
BctJ·~cation was i~s~e? on 27th Janu~Ond certain thresho~~e;~al
~oUMaY 1~94. This, it is hoped Wouldry/9~4 and was amend~d o~
Jtl1 the proJect pro~onents and Gove p ov1de an opportunity both
{of oncerned proJect on the environrnment to assess the impact of
tlte cplay . rnent before it actually comes
jtltO
.
cJA study document fulfills the requtrem
'1"}1e r:, • ents f
J ance from various agencies at th . or environmental
de~r tion Control Board and Cornn::tate :evel. These include State
pol u egis of Depar tment of Sc· ee o Experts working under
tne arnrnents. It is a pointer to the ;~n_ce & Technology, State
cove roject in terms of their locatio~lro~~ntal compatibility of
:cfency of resource utilisation, recycu:;:di~~o~~ technology,
was introdu ced in India in 1978 and no .
£IA w covers proJects like :
1. (a) river valleys, (b) thermal power,
. .
(c) muung , (d) rail, road, highways, bridges,

(e) atomic power, (f) industries,

(g) ports and harbours, (h) airports,

(i) new towns and 0) communication projects.

I
i
2. Those which require the approval of the Public Investment
Board/ Planning Commission/C entral Electricity Authority.
j
3. Those referred to the Ministry of Environment and forests by
other ministries.
4. Those which are sensitive and located in environ mentally
degraded areas.
f
1 5. Public Sector undertakings of the centre where the project costs
:11 is more than? 50 crores.
 154 E11uiro111nental Management (S. Y.B .M.S.: SE!vf.,
11
. . 1994 makes EIA statuto 1
A notification issued in January . ry for
categories of developmental projects under various sectors such~
industrial mining, irrigation, power, transport, touri ~
. 't· etc The EJA notification was amended in Jnnsln
commumca 10n, • f
provide for public hearing as well as or empo~enng st lo
. 7
'i' '
governments for awardin~ environmental clearance 1n respec-t'e
certain Thermal Power pro1ects. ~
The Impact Assessment Agency will prepare a set
recommendations based on technical assessment of documents Of
data, furnished by the proje~t authorities,_su~plemented by d~q
collected during visits to sites .or factories
d . if undertaken, an~~
interaction with affected population an envrronmental groups .
necessary. Summary of the reports, the recommendation anct 'hij
· · t 1 I · given
· te
conditionsI sub1·ect to wluch environmen 1· .a c earance 1s
h h
,S au
be made available subiect to the pub JC mtereS t to t e conce E
. ' C , med
parties or env1Jonmental groups on requeSt omments of the PUbll c
may be solicited, if so decided by the Im_apact ~ssess~ent Agen c e
within trurty days of receipt of proposat m ~ubhc hearings arran ~ r
for the purpose after giving thirty days notice of such hearings ig o
least two newspapers. Publte · shaJ I be provi'd ed access, subjectnat P
I
the public interest,to the summary of the reports/Environmen~ iI
Management Plans at the Headquarters of the Impact Assessmen! n
Agency. P
!E
Applications complete in every materia! ~spect are normallx cc
examined and decision conveyed to the ~pphc~nts within 30 days ai
in cases of site clearance and 120 days m case of environmental 58
clearance of projects. After a detailed scrutiny and assessment, the gE
appraisal committee makes its recommendations for approval or to
rejection of the projects. m
w
Cases rejected due to submission of insufficient or in adequate da~ au
and plans may be reviewed as and when submitted with complete
data and plans. Submission of incomplete data or plans for the D1
second time would itself be a sufficient reason the Impact co
Assessment Agency to reject the case summarily. If no commen~ pe
from the Impact Assessment Agency are received within the time ob
limit, the project would be deemed to have been approved as ne
proposed by project authorities The dearance granted shall be valid fra
for a period of 5 years for. comrnencement of the construction or
 . ,flbilifyand RoleoJBuc-.inC'si;
·I/JJ cf(III .
11
5 • tion, No construction w k --
• 1n era . f
or , pre!' . 1:n
~'1 oP e setting up o the pro·ect trninarvor oth .
l~ 10 t~ onrnental and/ or site cl~a rnay not be und ert\\.kr~~, r~lating
'Ill flvtf ranee is obt . er a en t,11 th('
7to, e ending th a1ned
on e nature of the r . .
a11 oeP rl'l 111 ended. For monitorin g P Ject, certain safe "> d
0
' cop• t d and ti . gua r s arc
t ~ ,efeguard s _sugges e ' 6 regional office rne1y implementation of
st! Pat Shillong, Bhu baneshwar Cha s _of the Ministr\' have be
et tJ ' nd 1 h - en
s d13hopal. gar ' Bangalore, Lucknow
01 t1J1
1
~ f~JRONMENT AL AUDIT:
ind ·ronrnental auditing started de .
friVI 1
;, ;1
11
O
f u,e past century in the United
· ve oping
States 0 fA
at. the begin · f 70
nmg o s
the rope. In that period the developed co me~ica and in the Western
laij £LI 1·ronrnen tal legislatio n in ord untnes were adopting the
'ed eri"sequence s o f the companies' a er to redu ce th e h
t' arm fuI
JUc conironrnent. At the beginning the eni. ions that had affected the
C}'j eri:ieWS of independent experts as;:o~menta~auditing invol\'ed
;ed re erated in line with the demands of th:sm~ w ether companies
1r op h · d . environme
a presently t e comparue s ec1de to undertake . ntal legislation .·
t b · ·rnd environmental audits
~n~ iJ1 order to
O nd
tam an epe e~~ external assessment whether th~
~nl rnanagem ent has created_eff1c1ent environ mental policv and
Provided for acceptabl . e environmental attitude. The most important
• ·
results of the environmel)tal audits are recommendations how a
lit company can reduce the damaging impacts on the environme nt in
,ys an efficient and c~st-bene_fit manner, and how it can in a long-term
.tal save funds by usmg environment friendly technology. Audit is a
:h~ general term that can reflect various types of evaluations intended
or to identify environmental compliance and management system
implemerytation gaps, along with related corrective actions. In this
way they perform an analogou s (similar) function to financial
3ta audits.
~It
h~ Definition: An environmental Audit is a management tool
1d comprising of systematic, periodic and documentary evaluation of
,~ performance of an organizations environmental aspect with an
ne objective to check whether organization is implying with all the
as necessary provisions and policies under environmental regulatory
lid frame work."
or
 Euvfro11111 e1tr(lL l VJ141"•o - ~~v, l
- · 4'
15b l eith er in form or cont ent. Typi
The re is no stan dard pro~oco ' toco ls to mee t thei r 8 cau,. l
th 1 0
com p~n ies deve !op e r :':n ~:g eme nt syst ems . Aud ,iie:ifi1
com plia nce requ irem ents an ls that can be appl ied to ~•~ f '
freq uent ly deve lop gene ral prot oco a toaq (
rang e of com panies/ oper atio ns.
Man y type s of audi t hav~ been carr ied out by com pani es (ti{~
99 '
1996, Tho mps on and The nvel , (t t).
• Com plian ce aud it-th e mos t com mon ~pe _o f aud it consistin
of ch ecks agai nst envi ronm enta l legis latio n and cornPan& y
policy;
• Issu es audi t - an eval uatio n of how a com pany '~ activ ities relate
to an envi ronmenta l issue _o_r (:.g. glob al p~ll u_hon, ener gy use
or an eval uation of a spec ific issu e (e.g. buil dings, supp lies); )

• Hea lth and safe ty aud it -· an asse ssm ent of risk s a

· d with · nq
cont inge ncy plan ning (som etim es mer ge. envi ronm ent
audi ting because of the inter conn ecte d imp acts of industn::
proc esse s and haza rds);
• Site audi t_ an audi t of a parti cula r site to exam ine actual or
pote ntial envi ronm enta l prob lems ;
• Corporate audi t - an audi t of the who le com pany and its polices
struc tures , proc edur es and prac tices ; . '

• Due dilig ence audi t - an asse ssme nt of pote ntial envi ronmental
and financial risks and liabilities carried out befo re a company
merg er or site acqu isitio n or dive stitu re (e.g. cont amin ated land
reme diati on costs);
• Acti vity or oper ation al audi t - an asse ssme nt of activities that
may cros s com pany depa rtme nts or unit s (e.g. ener gy or waste
man agem ent) and;
• Prod uct or life cycl e audi t - an anal ysis of envi ronmental
impa cts_ of a prod uct thro ugho ut all stag es of its design,
prod uction , use and disp osal, inclu ding its reus e and recycling
(crad le to grav e).
_ {]
r
•Jity and Role of Business
1 157
·~ab eil ta l au di ts sh ou ld be .
, ~ttt'
5 00 rJl l ap p~~Pnate to the particular
es . A s en vi ro nm en ta
vir 5ta nc th ng dr aw s upon various
d_
ea ch or ga ni sa ti au
~-(lctJf11d Jo gi es , on W11l . de f1ne 1·t s own system
cJf o o up , ities a
et.t't . g on its size, its activb t nd its co rp or at e cu ltu re . Th e
ry
t1' pe nd ~ st yl e of au di ts va u cornrnon sta ge s an d activiti
es
'
Je pe al l
,c,oltJde:
iflc
dit St ag e
e..a1.1
f1 Full m an ag em en t commitment;
l go al s, objectives sco d . ..
' tti ng ov er al , pe an pn on tte s;
5e
' en su re ob· . . an d pr of es si on al
l ct in g a te am to Jectiv1ty
, Se e
co m pe te nc e;

,.IJdl·t Stage t
ed an d sy ste ma tic in·
O n si te au di t, we ll de fin us g pr o oco1s or
, -
ch ec kl ist s;
co rd s;
, Re vi ew of do cu m en ts an d re
Re vi ew of policies;
•
In te rv ie w s;
•
Site in sp ec tio n;
•
tl Post-audit St ag e
J
Ev al ua tio n of fin di ng s;
.d •
en da tio ns ;
, Re po rti ng w ith re co m m
.at an; an d
;te , Pr ep ar at io n of an ac tio n pl
, Fo llo w- up .
tal en ta l auditing are:
pt,
The Be ne fit s of En vi ro nm
ing ns un de rst an d ho w to m ee t their le ga l sta tu to ry
1. O rg an is at io
re qu ire m en ts.
 . nemtH , u ... · - u -"'ll
Env1rom • J
t they are environment
158 dernonstra e ally
. t1·ons can
Organ1sa
2. l
responsib e. te their environmental Polic .
. demonstra yIs
Organisations can
3. d
. lemente . d
imp - . tal interactions of pro ucts, serv·
Understanding envrronrnen •tes
4. .
and activities. . .
. t problems and nsks to be anticipat
Enabling envrronmen a1 ed
5. and responses planned.
. that an organisation is aware of its impact up
6. Demonstrating h roviding feedback. 01)
the environment throug p
. . nmental performance more efficient resour
7. Improving enwo . ce
use and financial savings.

Environmental Auditing in Intlia:

The Supreme Audit Institution (SAi) in India is _headed by
the Comptroller and Auditor General_(CA~) of _India who is a
constitutional authority. The CAG of India derives his mandate from
Articles 148 to 151 of the Indian Constitution. The CAG's (Duties
Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971 prescribes functions'
duties and powers of the CAG. While fulfilling his constitutional
obligations, the CAG examines various aspects of government
expenditure and revenues. The audit conducted by CAG is broadly
classified into Financial, Compliance and Performance Audit.
Environmental audit by SAI India is conducted within the broad
framework of compliance and performance audit.
ISO 14001:
.
An I_SO standard is one that provides international standard
requirements or gives guidance on Good Management Practise.
(a) ISO 14000

After the success of ISO 9000 .

International Standard Or se~ies_ of quality standards, the
comprehensive set of standard f gan1s_a1ton (ISO) published a
or envrronmental management. This
 '------=--. .
1-11
;,1abi1t•:J
an/ Roleof Business
• 159
1/J ,,,stfl of s tan~ard is designed to cover the whole area of
jeS tal ISsues for organiz ti •
ly ,ef ·ro.rtJl'len a ons m the global market place.
fl~ . .
e sO 14000 senes pnmarily emerged as a result of the Uruguay
fre I d of the G~TT negotiations and the Rio Summit on
t held 1n 1992 while GAIT ·
~o11t.1fl
·roflllle~ . .' concentrates on bamers to
efl the Rio Summit generated a commitment to protection of the
tr8~e~J1l1lent across the world. The new series of ISO 14000 are
eriv1r d to cover-
oesigne
Environmental Management Systems
r)
Environmental Auditing
(2)
Environmental Performance Evaluation
(3)
e Environmental Labelling
(4)
Life-eycle Assessment
(5)
( ) Environmental aspects in Product Standard.
6
The ISO 14000 standards apply to all types of organizations and are
d igned to encompass diverse geographical, cultural and social
1 c:~ditions. The ISO 14000 family addresses various aspects of
environmental management. ISO 14001 : 2004 and ISO 14004 : 2004
1

deal with Enviro~mental Management Systems {EMS). The intention

ofISO 140001: 2004 is to provide a framework for holistic, strategic
approach to the organisations environmental policies, plans anq
actions, because ISO 14001 : 2004 does not lay down levels of
environmental performance the standards can be implemented to a
wide variety of organisations, whatever their current level of
environmental maturity. However a commitment to compliance
with applicable environmental legislations and regulations is
required, along with a commitment to continual improvement for
which the EMS provides the framework.
ISO 14001 is a voluntary international standard for environmental
management systems ("EMS"). ISO 14001:2004 provides the
requirements for an EMS and ISO 14004 gives general EMS
guidelines. An EMS meeting the requirements of ISO 14001 :2004 is
amanagement tool enabling an organization of any size or type to:
160 £11viro11111ental Management (S. Y.B.M S .
. . .. Sf:i½
1. Identify and control the environmental impact of its a . 'IIJJ 5
products or services;
Cti'v'1
ti~
I ,~
2. Improve its environmental performance continually ('l
' and
3. lmplen1ent a systematic approach to setting enviro
objectives and targets, to achieving these and to demonnrne~t~1
. d
that they have been achieve .
straring (:

Organizations implementing ISO 14001 usually seek to

certification by independent Certification Bodies. Certifobt~i~ I!
indicates that the documentation, implementation and effectiicatio~
of the EMS conform to the specific requirements of ISO 1400;~ness ('

A common misco nce ption is that ISO 14001 certifi .

automatically implies legal compliance. Certification under 1s;;ho~ ('.
does not directly reflect compliance with any legal requirements, alth 4001
1SO 14001 demands the organization to evaluate its complianceou?h (:
legal requirements. If there is no compliance with some th
1
t'
requirement, ISO 14001 requires that the organization sets spe~:I
targets related to the non-compliance(s) and establishes, implern e (
and maintains programmes to achieve compl!ance. Therefore~~~
possible that, at the time of audit, the organi2;ation fulfils thlS
requirements of ISO 14001, yet there are one or more no ~
compliances with specific requirements, which are identified an~
which the organization actively works to correct. Specific guidance
on this subject is provided by the European co-operation for
Accreditation.
ln the US, permits for air emissions, wastewater discharges and other
operational as pects, many times establish the primary legal
compliance standards for companies. In these cases, auditing only
to the regulations is inadequate. However, as these permits are site
specific, standard protocols are not commercially available that
reflect every permit condition for every company/ site. Therefore,
perm it holders and the auditors they hire must identify the permit
requirements and determine the most effective way to audit against
those require ments.
 . ,abilityanrl RoleofBusin
11cff''' ess
S• 14001 : 2004 is a tool that
1cJJ can be used to . 161
Provides assurance to"" rneetintemal object·
) . •l•anag ives-
(1 organizational processes a e~,ent that it is .
nvironment. nd activities hav· in ~ontrol of the
e tng an impact on the
Assures empl oyees th
(2) env1ronmen
· ta11y responsiblat the y are wo rk·
e organisation in g for an
rn 14001 : 2004 can also be used to . ·
1:,v meet external ob' .
provides assurance on e . Jectives -
(1) stakeholders - such as custo"" nvnonm l.
enta issues to ext 1
. •uers, theco . erna
agencies. mmuruty and regulatory
comply with environmental .
(2) regulations.
support the organisational cta·
(3) . •ms and comm . .
its own envuonmental policies · urucahons about
' P1ans and actions.
4) provides a framework for de st
.
( supplier's declaration of confoO:~n ratmg conformity via
by an external stakeholder such Y~ a~es~ment o_f conformity
s
certification of conformity by an indepse : mtess cilil~en~ and for
n en cert cation body.
The ISO 14000 Series Cover

- Standard Title/ Description

-14000 Guide to Environ~ental Management Prin~iples,
Systems and Supportingtechniques.
14001 Environmental Management System -Specification with
guidance for use.
~
14010 Guidance for Environmental Auditing - General
e principle of Environmental Auditing.
1t
) 14011 Guidelines for Environmental Auditing - Audit
•/
Procedures - Part 1 : Auditing of Environmental
it
Management Systems.
5t
14012 Guidelines for Environmental Auditing -Qualification
Criteria for Environmental Auditors.
14013 / 15 Guidelines for Environmental Auditing - Audit
-
programmes, Reviews & Assessments.
 . lllJ J'

162 I Labelirt1~1gL - - ~- - - (d)

1 1020 / 23 Environmenta --- . g _ Practitioner prograni
_2±-t~~~-+~~=~t~l La be110 . d ll1e
Environ01en a . practices an certificat· ,
1402-t ·nc1ples, p toh
Guiding pn . 1 Criteria rograms. •1
. of Mult1p1ee~~=-~- - - - -
procedures . nental Performance Evaluaij
. r111.es for Environr on
14031 / 32 Gmde t General Principles & Pract· ·
14040 / 43 Life Cyc1e A55essmen - le~
'~

14050 Glossary · l
. 1 sion of Env1ronmenta aspect .
14060 Guidance for the me u s lt)
product standards.

CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS FOR

PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT
(D
(I) CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL PROVISION IN INl)J;\

Environment Protection - From Indian Const itution Perspective

(a) The State's res ponsibility with regard to. environmental

protection has been laid down under Article 48-A of our
Constitution, which reads as follows:

"The State shall end eavour to protect and improve the

environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the
country''.

(b) Environmental protection is a fundarnental duty of every citizen Sc

of this country under Article 51-A(g) of our Constitution which
reads as follows: 1.
.
'' It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and •
improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers
c1nd wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures."

(cl Article 21 of the Constitution is a fundamental right which reads

ai, follows:

'No person s_hnll be deprived of his life or personal libert\'

l'\C't1p l i"ltcord111g to procedure established by law."
 ·11aviii •:1 ., ~ ~'"lflt:SS

r,1 511,tnt t·cie 48-A of the Const· . 163

Ar t fS . Itution c
(d) indples o tate Pohcy anct A ti ornes under Directive
fr riles under Fundamental Durt·1es. 51
cle A(g) of the Constitution
cop•
'f}1e State's responsibility With re ..
(e) trition and the standard of I' ?ard to raising the level of
~ 1
nil Ith has been laid down Und ~ng and to improve public
~ t,e;.1ch reads as follows: "The ;tr rltcle 47 of the Consti tu lion
' w 1evel of nutrition and the tatedshall regard the raising of
the s an ard of liv· f· l
n d the improvement of public h h mg o its peop e
an
du ties and , in· particu ea1sh
· 1ar, the State t as
11 among
d its .primary
.
h
bout pro 1·b·t·1 10n of the consumpt· a en eavour to brmg
a urposes of intoxicating
• • . drinks
. and ofion druexcepthi hfor medicinal
.. .
P
to hea ·1th " gs w c are m1unous
nd
The 42nd ame ment to the Constitution was brought about
1974
(D in the year makes it _the responsibility of the State
Government to protect and improve the environment and to
safeguard the foreS ts and Wildlife of the country. The latter,
under Fundamental Dulles, makes it the fundamental duty of
every citizen to protect and improve the natural environment
including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have
compassion for living creatures.

Environmental Pollution as a subject matter of legislation did

le not find a place in the Indian law books until as late as 1974.
le Prior to that the only resource available to citizens against
pollution of any nature was under the Indian Penal Code.
n Some important acts/ laws in India are :
h
1. Water Act (1974):

d • Objectives
rs
(i) Prevention and control of water pollution and maintaining
or restoring the wholesomeness of water.
ls
(ii) Creating boards for the above purpose.

V
 LH VII V" .. . .
lb4 -"'IVJ,J//)

• Definition
f water or alteration of the Phy .
.)
(1
. aJ
. .
Contamination ° .f
b' 1 gi·cal properties o water. sic 1
a,
chemic or 10 o
(ii) Discharge of any sewage or any ?ther liquid, gaseous o
solid substance in water. Rendenng su~h water hartl1f~r
. . . to public health or to the life and health l
or 1n1unous . . of
animals/ plants/ aquatic life.

• Authorities
(i) Central Board: All app~intments are made by the Central
government and it consist of :
(a) a full time chairman,
(b) maximum of 5 central government officials,

(c) maximum of 5 state board members,

(d) maximum of 3 non-officials of agriculture, fishing or
industry,
(e) 2 representatives of _central govern ment owned
companies or corporations and
(f) a full-time secretary qualifie d in public health
engineering and having practica l experience of
environmental protection methods.
(ii) State Board : All appointments are made by the state
governm ents and consists of all the above mentioned
bodies.
• Functions of the authorities
(i) To lay down standards for quality of water in streams or
wells,

(ii) To establish or recognise laboratories to perform sample

analysis and
 . bilih;and Role of Business
ff11 ,1n
115
5 .•·) To advise, provide techn· 165
(J1 1 h · 1caI a ·
researc ' plan anct or . ss1stance and guidance a d
· gan1se t . . n
prevention and control of raining of persons for
. water pollution.
penalties
' (i) Imprisonment for a peri d
upto ~ 5,000/- or both. o extending to 3 months or a fine

(1.i) Jn cases of continuing . .

1
.
exten d mg up to t 1,000/- v10 ations
d an add'thonal
.
fine
per ay of violation.
;\ir Act (1981):
z,
Objectives
' (i) Prevention/ Control and abateme t f . .
n o air pollut1on.
(ii) Creating boards for the above purposes.

• Definitions: Prese~ce in the atmosphere of any solid, liquid or

gaseous substance 1n such concentration so t be • • •
b · as o m1unous
to hu~an emgs or other living creatures or plants or property
or environment.

Authorities : Central Board for the prevention and control of

• water pollution is also entrusted with the prevention and
control of air pollution.

1 Functions of the authorities

(i) To advise, plan and execute nation wide programmes,
provide technical assistance and guidance, carry out
investigations and research, plan and organise the training
of persons, compile and publish technical and statistical
data, prepare manuals, codes or guides for prevention,
control or abatement of air pollution.
·(ii) Lay down standards for air quality.
(iii) To es tablish or recognise laboratories for the above
purposes.
 £rivironmet1rt" ,,,... ... .,
166
• Penalties . h' h rnaY exceed to 3 months or fine
(i) Imprisonment w ic uPt~
t 10,000/- or both.
(ii) In case of continuing offences t 100/- for per day.

3. Environment Ad :
The Environment (Protection) Act 1986 als~ cal~ed as_an umbreJ~
legislation was the first comprehensive leg1slati0n with regard lo

environmental pollution.
• Objective : Protection and prevention of the environment and
matters connected with it.
• Definition: presence in the environrne~t of any solid, liquid
or gaseous substance in such _concentra~on a_s to be _injurious
to the air and land and the mter-relattonships which exists
among the three and human beings and other living creatures, '
plants, micro organisms and property-
• Authorities : The central government constitutes the authority
for the purpose of exercising powers and performing the
functions under the act. The officers are appointed by the central
government.
• functions of the authorities
(i) Plan and execute nationwide programmes, carry out and I
(
sponsor investigations and research, collection of
information, preparation of manuals, codes or guides for
prevention, control and abatement of environmental s
f
pollution. r
(ii) Lay down standards for quality of environment. F
~
(iii) Lay down standards for emission of environmental (
pollutants. r
(iv) Lay down pr_ocedures and safeguards for prevention of
accidents which may cause environmental pollution and
remedial measures for the same.
 . t,ilityana J<oteo[B ustness= = = ~ - - - - - - - - -
,tP'rtP 767
5t1-- v) Lay down procedures an
( hazardous substances· d safeguard5 for handling of
.
,,i) oernarcate areas in wh.ICh tnd .
(y
. ustnes can be
vii) Examme manufacturing processes set up.
.
( to cause environmental p II . ' materiaJs that are l'k I
o ut1on. J ey

penalties
' (i) Jrnprisonment which ma
t 1 lakh or both. y extend to 5 months or fine upto

•.) In cases of continuing offences ~ 5OO0/

( 11 · ' - per day.
er irll portan t acts enacted by the
0 ention and control of pollution _government of India for
th
P~v are .
_ the Wildlife Act (1972) :
4
he Wildlife A.ct (1972) for preservation and protectio . .
rd'versity and wildlife hab'tat A
1 · ccording to the W'ldlif p
n of b10
·
I 1972 "wildlif e" includes any . al bee I . e rotectton
Act, . arum , s, butterflies crustacea
fish and .moths; and aquatic o~ land vegetation which fo;ms part of
In accordance fwith Wildlife (Protection) Amendment
anyhabitat. ,, It ti' bo
Act, 2002 no a erna on o undaries/ National Park/ Sanctuary
shall be made by the State Govt. except on recommendation of the
National Board for Wildlife (NBWL)".
further, in terms of Supreme Court Order dated 13.11.2000 the State
Govts have to seek prior permission of Supreme Court before
· submitting the proposal for diversion of forest land in National Park
sanctuaries. Whenever, any part of Wildlife Sanctuary/National
Park is getting affected by a hydro project the forest proposal in
respect of such project is entertained by MoEF, GOI only after
permission of de-reservation / de-notification of Wildlife Sanctuary/
National Park has been accorded . After recommendation of Standing
Committee of NBWL proposal for de-reservation/ de-notification is
ratified by Hon'ble Supreme Court.
168 Environmental Management (S. Y.B.M.S.: Sf)..
'VI,lflJ
ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENTS IN I ~

ROLE OF PUBLIC OPTION IN ENVIRONM.ENl'

PROTECTION J\t
During the past twenty to thirty year~ people in various r~gions
India have formed non-violent action movements Which h Of
emerged from the Himalayan regions of India to the tropica] fo a\'e
. . res~
of Kerala and from Gujarat to Tnpura m res~onse_ to projects that
threaten to dislocate people and to affect their basic human ri h
to land, water and ecological stability of life support systems. Sog Is
of the major environmental movements 1n · Ind'1a are : °'e
1. Chipko Andolan :

The movement of hug trees -is probably the worlds most well known
grass root ecodevelopment movement. .
The genesis of the chipko movement has both an ecological and an
economic background. The Alakananda Valley in which the
movement originated was a scene of reckless deforestation resulting
in devasting flooding in July 1970. The tragic aftermath of the flood,
dawned on the minds of the people, the ecological role of the forests
which they vowed to save.
So, when one morning in March 1973 in the remote hill town of
Gopeshwar in Chamoli District, U.P., representatives of Simon
Company a sports good manufacturer in distant Allahabad arrived
at Gopeshwar to cut ten ash trees, the villagers protested'. These
was a confrontation on April 24th, 1973 at village Mandal where
about hundred villagers and Dasholi Gram Swarajya Sangh (DGS-5)
workers beating drums and shouting slogans, forced the contractors
and their lumberers to retreat. Trees in another village Rampur Phata
were also saved in a similar manner.
The chipko movement reached its climax when on March 26th 1974,
27 women of Reni Village under the leadership of Gaura Devi
confronted the loggers. When aJl talking failed, the women resorted
to hugging the trees to stop them from being axed. This went on
 . bilitY unu Jw1t. v1 oustness
fµ1tlfl
,µ~ . i,t and the next day Wh
overttl!s of the movement spren the rnen of th . 169
!Pe tle ofllber of people joined ~ad to the surr e v1Uage came back
re fl
1110 contractors were forcedin. EventuaBy oundin ·1
ft g v1!ages and
,
off, the to leave ern a er a four day stand
rJl ve!Ilent well known for . Pty handed.
0
111e ce was advocated by Chandi1ts Gandhian rin . ,
~joJe~,rthef development of th Prasad Bhatt t~ c1ples of non-
111e J"" h I e movem ough
woJllen, w o a so demanded ent was greatly dthe DGSM . .
bf i..ayats. Thus, apart from its p their elections tOomFmated
paJ1° 1
. }<o rnovemen 1s
t · I 0 Pularity crests
a so one of th as being Gancth· th
ch1P
IJ1overllen t in the world e most i tan, e
. rnportant feminist

z.~save the Silent Valley M

ovement •
.
ve silent Valley Movement was a pr0 t
5af f-{ydro-Electric Power (HEP) pr . e~t against the construction
0
a OJect mKerala.
Kuntipuzha one of the major rivers or· . .
, rests of Silent Valley. In 1928 the loc1gti~ates m_the lush green
iO h R' . a on at Sairandhri on th
t1unthipuz
" . a 1ver was
d . 1958 identified as the •ct al . e
. I e site for electricity
eneration an m d adproposedfinall HEP of 120 MW andcosting~ . 17
g
crore was propose an Yin 1973 the Silent Valley H d
Electric Project (SVHEP) centred on a dams across the K thiy ro-
'd d hi h
River was d ec1 e w c would flood about 8.3 km2unof virgin puza
rainforests.
One of the major concerns related to SVHEP was the rich tropical
forests which would get submerged and whereby the endangered
lion-tailed macaque monkey found onlyin this forests in India would
also be in danger of disappearance. In 1977 the Kerala Forests
Research Institute carried out an Ecological ImpactStudy of theSilent
Valley area and proposed that the area be declared a Biosphere
Reserve.
The movement was pursued by the Kerala Sa~tra ~itya Parisha~
and joined by several prestigious organisations mcluding the Gandhi
Peace Foundation Friends of Trees, Society for Protection of Sile~t
Valley; the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and t ~
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natura
Resources (IU CN).
 Ma11ngewenr \..J· L . u.n1.v .. :,t!vf.,
£11vi ro111ne11tal . lIIJ
170 M" ·ster of India, Late (smt.) lnct·
p ·me in1 f lta,
In January 1980, the Hon. n nrnent of J(erala to st~p urther Wor
Gandhi requested the Gover ts were fully discussed. In 198ks
in the project area unt il a11 aspec
f Menon' s Report, the Hon. Pritn3
after a careful study ~f the Pr~~ndon the project and accordin t
Minister of India decided to a s declared as a National Pag?

though the boundaries of the l en

w:
on Nov. 15 1983 the Silent Vall;{ Valley Park were limited ~ '
d
no buffer zone was created.
. an w1ique example of people'
1

participation and expression n °

;5
The Silent Valley move~ ent ·ght to information as an integr:1~
~
part of right to liberty•

3. Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) :

· t · n that mobilised tribal peo l
It is a non-government orgarusa i~ . . Pe,
st nd
adivasis, farmers, environn1entah s ~ human nght activists
against the Sardar Sarovar Dam being built across the Narmada river 4
in Gujarat, lndia.
1
Post -1947 investigations regarding utilization of the Nar~ada river
C
passing through the states of Madhya Pra~esh, Gujarat and
0
Maharashtra was initiated. Due to inter-state differences regarding
tl
the distribution and sharing of the water, the Narmada Water
B
Disputes Tribunal was constituted by the Government of India. On
n
December 12th 1979, the decision given by the Tribunal was to have
~
30 major, 135 medium and 3000 small dams over the course of the (
river and the height of the dam was also to be increased. The project
is financed by the World Bank.
The proponents of the project are of the view that it will produce
1450 MW of electricity and pure drinking water to 40 million people
covering thousand of villages and towns. The opponents protests
that the proposed dam would displace more than 2,50,000 people
and a loss of rich bio diversity as thousands of acres of forest and
agricultural land would be submerged.

T~e ~l O\'ement is led by Med ha Patkar who won the 'Right

~I\'elihood Award' popularly known as the alternate Noble Prize
m~1991. The ~-BA_ began its campaign against the Narmada Dam for
LX:tter rehab1lttatton for the over one lakh oust ees of th e pro1ec
. t,
 . bilitY and l<ole oj Business
5,,,~~ over GuJarat,
.
Madhya Pradesh
1n
re8d stalised as a movement a . and Maharashtra and has
,P08y crY gamst large dams.
10
th e actions of the NBA have
.,lj,ile nts efforts to move and revl olved around resisting the
Y' rrtJl'le
0ve ence areas, particularly inreM
oca te the peopIe 11vmg
· · ·
m
g~b111erg 1·ts ideological position h · aharashtra and Madhya
,~de_sh, of a development polic wh. as centered on q_ues t·1onmg
· the
11
&!eet1° f projects like the Na!m dic~ does not weigh the benefits
~d cost ~he NBA has gained inte:n a .or the people living in their
sllad~W- the issue through the mass atio~al support. ~rotestors are
gitatIJ1g . Uies and through h media, hunger strikes, massive
a rches, ra . . s ort documentaries. The NBA has
II'~ pressunzmg the World Bank to withdraw its loan from the
tieo·ect through media. Under pressure from the NBA, the World
P~ decided to sus~end further assistance to the project till its
~pact was fully reviewed. The project is near completion now.

4. the Tehri Dam Movement :

1h second most prominent anti-dam campaign is against the~ 3 465

~e Tehri HEP in the Garhwal Himalayas. The Tehri dam w'hen
~:pleted, will be _one of the highest dam in the world harnessing
the water of tw~ impor~ant Himalayan rivers - Bhagirathj and
Bhilangana. Tehn dam w1ll be 260.S m high and will impound 3.22
million cu. m of water. The reservoir is expected to irrigate 2,70,000
hectares of land and generate 346 mw of HEP. The dam will
completely submerge Tehri town and 23 villages, while 72 other
villages will be partially submerged. Nearly 52,000 hectares of land
will also be lost to the reservoir. In addition, about 85,000 persons
will be displaced by the dam.

The project is located on a seismically volatile region. The project

was conceived more than 30 years ago but received clearance from
the Department of Forests only in 1987 and the Ministry of
Environment in 1990 and the Department of Mines in 1991.
Yet on October 20th 1991, when the entire region shook under a
massive earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale, destroying
some 2000 settlements and killing over 800 people, the safety aspects
of the Tehri Dam were questioned again.
172 Em,iromnentnl Management (S. Y.B.M.S.: Sf:
· ·insiste · lvf,11,)
Co rpo rat1 0n, d th
Th e Teh ri Hy dro De vel opm ent
tha t the darn w at the
ear thq uak e had not affected the project and 8
.<lfe
wit hst and ing on ear thq uak e of a hig her int :s
and was capable of tlsity
up of loc al peop}e\\1
The Tehri Bandh Virodhi Samiti (TBVS) a gro10s . .1st d 1..
d e e tha t the •10
have opposed the project for over a deca e
of building a darn~u¾
sho uld ale rt the authorities to the dangers ~ ~1
. 1e
region .
ts Sun derlal Bah
Anti dam activists led by environmentalis
o~ the dam on gr~8llna
have consistent ly opposed the construction
view to the inacte unds
ranging from safety from the seismic point of .
9uacy fl
kag e for the ous tee s of the pro jed
of the rehabilitation pac e~
cc
po sit ion to the Dahanu Thermal Power
Plan
5. Op r. t1i
3(
icant protests had be se
In Da han u, 125 Km north of Mumbai, signif
l power plant develo en tl1
organised against the 500 MW super therma
. (BSES) today Reli!ed
by the Bombay Suburban Electric Supply Ltd Tl
al green belt, best kno \ ce
Energy Ltd. Dahanu is an unique horticultur P1
en and others oppoS :
for its chickoos. Local chikoo farmers, fisherm
ying crops and rnann X;
the thermal plant for the possibility of it destro e C
life . tr
d and commissioned i UJ
Ins pite of opposition the project was cleare
1995 and the plant has come up in Dahan
u. The project is the firs~ aJ
01 certificate in India. tr
power utility to get both ISO 9000 and ISO 140
nuclear power plants at v:
Th e experie nce has been similar in case of
Enron built Thermal h•
Na rora, Ka kra para and Kaiga and the famous it
pow er plant at Dabhol. \\

~
6. Th e Ko el Karo Struggle: B
tern Indian state that tl
The Koel Ka ro basin is in Jharkhand, an eas
The Koel Karo basin is J,
wa s car ved out of the sta te of Bihar in 2000.
Mahal hills and the P
nes tled bet ween the Kaimoor hills, the Raj
er basins of the Sone C
Vindh ayachal Mo untains, straddles the riv
abitants of the area are 0
Ganga and the Mahanadi rive rs. The inh
onging to the Munda
largely adivasis (indigenous populations) bel F
and Ora on peo ple s. e
 d01 ,1a
. bilityand RoleoJBusiness
,,,. 955, when Jharkhand was .
1/1 1 eJectric project Was cone Still Part of B'h 173
~ydr: 19so,sconducted by the ~hlua!izect With ~uar, the Koe! Karo
iJ1 th proJect report had been ar State ElfW...• . bsequent surveys
~1 tne . Prepa d 1c1ty Boa d B
. ~ .• y 1972-
-\. l {
J1 • tention was to generate re , and land
~ 710
fl'e be dammed at two Point/ iegawatts of e1e:\U.1S1tion began.
,.,o~.iITli on the North Karo ~: Basia on the So th ~ty· lne rivers
~owaJcted through an inter b wer. The two re~e ?el River and
coJ1l1e ters. - asm channel w·th rvo1rs would be
~iJoJ11e l a length of 34.7
stirnated d isplacement has b .
111e e . . een W1d I
tirnates peg? 1ng it at 7,063 famT e Ycontested, withoffic" I
es...,,,,unity estimates going as h' h I ies from 112 villa b1a
o1i1w . ig as 200 000 ges, ut
~at 135 to 140 villages would be com 1 ' people. It is believed
cres of cultiva!ed land Would be e~tely submerged, while 66
a eral sacred sites of the local pop pl . anently flooded. Further
seV . u ation Would be b ,
the project. su merged by
fhe villagers united to form the Koe! K J
people's O_rganizatio~) Kl<JS. In Au;~t ~~,athan (Koel Karo
Xavier Institute of Sooal Service submitted a e: . · P. Lakra of the
court. The Court responded favorably, issu! :~n_to th~Supre?1e
that the government was not permitted to usgf nJunctio~ stating
I h e orce to acquire land
until a mutua agreemelnnt ad been reached. This was a shot in the
arm for the movement. 1985, the Government f Bih
b
that it would u il d two _model villages, meant as rehabilitation
o ar annou need
villages, and the~ the villagers were free to choose if the new
habitation was suitable; however, the government never fulfilled
its promise. In October 1986, all developmental activities in the area
were halted.

In December 2000, the new state of Jharkhand was carved out of

Bihar, and the opposition party (the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha) told
the newly-form ed government, led by the right-wing Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP), to expect dire consequences if the Koel Karo
Project was resumed.

On February 1, 2001, on the pretext of a search operation for 1:1embers

of a Maoist guerilla group, armed troops were s:nt to the site of the
project in Tapkara, where they removed the bamcade that had 6:en
erected by the KKJS and injured two locals. The KKJSheld a meeting
 . ,entnl Mannge111e11f (5. Y.B.M .S.: S£Aiv1,fIJ
..
J
Emnro1111
174
. h immediate steps that needed tO
in the evening, to revi_ew t_ e Th decided to hold a peac fu be
taken to deal with the s1tuat1on. _eyde had been placed T~ I Sit.
in at the same site where the barnca d a half thous and e ne~t
day, February 2, a crowd of abo~ _fo~ 3;aja Poulu sh Gud? athered
at Tapkara Under the leaders P
1 O ia, Sollla
nd
Munda, Viiay Gudia, Poulush Gudia, a ~der Kand~Ina, they
submitted a memorandum of their deman s to a police officet
•t The demands were as follows: "The poJ·ice
h
present on t e st e. . b k •th d
officials must replace the uprooted barne r ac · · i
._w_ ue_respecf
th
th _e InJured Vtctirn s ...
and in accordance with tribal customs. Bo
Amrit Gudia and Lorentus Gudia ~ muS ~ pa~d compensation of
t
50,000 rupees each. The twin guilty officers-in-charge must be
suspended with immediate effect and be removed from the area.''
After some time, a local BJP politician, Koche Mund~, arrived and
addressed the gathering. He left the site for ~ome time, at which
point, a sudden police firing took place, leadmg_t~ the death of 8
people (seven adivasis and one Muslim) and ~he InJur_y of some 30
people on the site. There are several contesting versions of what
happened. The official police version claims that the crowd got ,
agitated after being incited by a local timber merchant, after which
thev were warned several times, then tear gas shells were released
int~ the mob, foJlowing which the shoot order was given. Several
eyewitnesses and policemen, after a fact-finding team visited the c
site, revealed that the two policemen involved in the thrashing the
previous day began assaulting women and youth who were sitting
in front, following which some of the local youth got enraged and Ii
began pelting stones at the crowd. The police fired some shots in c;
the air, after which the crowd began dispersing, and the police g1
started firing indiscrimin ately at the retreating crow d: The site of ~
the firing was immediately renamed the Shaheed Stha1 (Martyrdom m
Site). The firing was met with outrage across the country. h;
In
On August 29, 2003, Arjun Munda, the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, es
announced that the Koe! Karo project was being scrapped. The bl,
reac;on stated was financial difficulty, and exorbitant rise in the d\
pro1ect costs and estim ates, since the initial form ulation of the project.
On July 21th, 2010, the Gove rnor finaIJy comp leted the dosing of Th
th e KoPI Karo project, giving official sanction to the announcement
madt: about ~even vearc; earlier. All offices of the project were closed,
•
 ,~, . abilih;and RoleoJBusiness
fp ,n
.
all employees promised re hab.ihtory empJ .
175
811d .rl'l rne nt agencies. oyment in other
goveJJ'"'.- . .
e sistance 1s widely lauded !Or c
ha ·
<11e r h pro ·e t vm g forced the govern t
JJ'w ith dra w a ydroel ectric
1Tc, a rare event in India . Mmoreen
10 ·ca11Y, it is remembered for th e apkar t· .
,.-!!g1 f h . 1ence perpe'- a hinng, wh ich has become
I.I" r11b ol o t • e v10 lrat ed b .
sYJ.J• Y t e police forces aga ms· t
a violen.t agitators. The moven, ent rema ·
ofl' ms a testament to the will
nf the indigenous peo. ple in the eastern part f I .
o
·ous means o res
t ist a hyd roeJ tr·ic pro1ee. o nd, a, who used
· s, li velihood and ec
. 11ve t th at threatened to
\farttroy their
des cu1tural roots.

piko Movement
1. Ap
~
m
The Appiko movement was a revolutionar . kovement based on
Jh
environmental conservation in India · The 1P o movement (Hu g
) · Uttarakhand in th H· . .
the Trees M ov em en t m 1
ayats tknsp51red t~e
da distric; of,mKaa rna
villagers of the Uttara Kanna . a a tate m
. 1 . 1corests.
out hern In d1a to aunch a sim ilar movement to save th e1r
S . September 1983 by
The App1ko Movement was launched in g1h
women and children
Pan du ran g He gd e along with men,
st. (The loca l term for
of Sirsi "h ug ge d the trees" in Kalase fore
e the Western Ghats in
•hugging" in Kannada is appiko) to sav
Southwest India. ·

In 1983, the villagers in Gubbi Gadde

, a small village near Sirsi
an 'embrace the trees'
taluka of North Kanara district launched
than 81 percent of tJ1e
campaign. " In 1950, forests covered more
rth Kanara) district. But
geographical area in Uttara Kannada (or No
a was selected for major
being declared a ' backward ' dis trict, the are
factory and a chain of
industries - a pu lp and paper mill, a plywood
rivers. By 1980, forest
hydroelectric dams constructed to harness the
to 25 per cent. Locals,
in the district was believed to have shrunk
s. Environ?1entalists
especially the poor, were displaced by dam
rces, affectin g forest-
blamed monoculture for drying up water sou
dwellers.
three-fold :
The objective of the Appik o Mo vement was
b sing various techniques
1 T forest cover Yu
o protect the existing
176 Environ111ental Management (S. Y.B.M.S.: sr-,\A
. C,vHl/J ~fl
to raise awareness like through foot marches in the intel'i nl
forests, slide shows, folk dances, street plays and so on, 0t r
re
• To regenerate trees in denuded lands and G
tri
• To utilize forest wealth with due consideration to conservati a
by introducing alternative energy sources to reduce the press on ~
on the forest. The activists have construct_ed 2,000 fuel•effici:e ~
chulhas ("hearths") in the area, which save fuel w llt
. . Ooct
consumption by almost 40 percent. The activists do not
for government subsidies or assistance, · ·
since there•va1t.
1. , •
8.,.
spontaneous demand from the peop1e. Ev~n in · 5·irsi town and IS
V
in other urban areas, these chulhas are installed in hotels r
reducing firewood consumption. ' e
To save, to grow and to use rationally - popularly know o
in Kannada as Susu ("save"), Belesu ("grow") and Balasu ("ration~ a
use") - is movement's popular slogan. c
}
Appiko movement was started against monoculture (the agricultural 1
practice of producing or growing one single crop over a wide area)
in the Western Ghats. The protest within the forest continued for 38
days and finally the felling orders were withdrawn. Today, it has
become a part of the lives of people. Their non-violent protest
movement has compelled the forest department to ameDd the policy
against felling of forests in eco-sensitive region. There has been a
silent revolution in the Western Ghats. The activists used local
folklore to reach out to the masses.
Started in Sirsi, the Appiko movement spread across the Western
Ghats, including in places outside Karnataka. This movement forced
the forest department to change the forest policy on felling of trees.
Some specific changes include ban on clear felling, no further issuing
of concessions to logging companies, and cessation on felling of
green trees in the tropi-cal rainforest of the Western Ghats. Besides
affecting the forest policy, it also spread to other parts and saved
forests. By linking up, campaigners managed to build awareness to
conserve the sensitive environment in this region. The western Ghats
biodiversity include 1,20,000 living species, 4,500 flowering plants,
500 species of birds, 120 species of mammals, 160 species of reptiles,
70 species of frogs, 800 species of fish and 1493 species of medicinal

f
 . bility and Role of Business
•ftJltlfl
511:i rhe centr al government' 777
pl" 11ized t h_e " .h'igh depIetion"
J'ltS· . s Plann
of natur i C
ng ommission has
fog 'fhe pnon ty of the Appiko M al re_sources in the Western
tS· f W oveme ntis .
G'1". 1forests o estern Ghats. Th saving the remaining
"1ca I t· hi
tfOr oruou s re a ions p betwee e movem ent' . 1s
. to establ
s aim ish
aparll1.,,., developm ent so that ecol: ~eolple and nature, to redefine
t}le.tefp• . bl
for a susta ma e, permanent eg1ca movem . en ts d
to ay form a
pasis conomy m the future .
save the Western Ghats
8,
~
rn Ghats (also known as Sahyadri).
west~aralle l to the western coast of the~~ ~ moun~ain range that
J1l!l~ ly in India . The ran g ian peninsula, located
enure e starts near the border
Gujarat and Maha rashtra, south of the Ta f R'
of . ma tel y 1,600 km (990 ') p 1 tver, and runs
approXI mi throu gh the state s
~Aaharasht ra, Goa, Kamataka, Kerala and Tamil N d ct·
of 1v, . t th h . a u en mg at
v nyak urnan , a e sout
r-a 2 ( 62 000 ') ern tip of India · These h'll I s cover
160,000 km . ' sq mi and forms the catchment area for comp lex
riverine drain age systems that drain almost 40% of India. The
Western Ghat s block southwest winds from reaching the Deccan
Plateau. The ~verage elevati~n is around 1,200 m (3,900 ft). They are
home to a uniqu e ecosystem m the country that is under threat from
human activities. Nearly 59%of this area has been exploited due to
habitation, plant ation or agriculture. Only 41 %of the area is a natural
landscape.
In 2006, India appli ed to the UNESCO MAB for the Western Ghats
to be listed as a protected World Heritage Site. In August 2011, the
Western Ghat s Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) designated the entire
Wester n Ghats as an Ecolo gically Sensitive Area (ESA) and assigned
three levels of Ecological Sensitivity to its different regions. The
Western Ghat s Ecology Expert Panel, headed by ecologist Madhav
Gadgil, was a comm ittee appointed by the Union Minis try of
Envi ronm ent and Fore sts to assess the biodiversity and
enviro nmen tal issues of the Western Ghats . Gadgil Committee and
its successor Kastu rirangan Committee recommen~~~ suggesti~ns
to protec t the Western Ghats. Gadgil report was criticized as being
to~ environme nt-fri endly and Kasturirangan report was labelled as
being anti-enviro nmen tal.
178 E11viro11111e11tal Ma11a geme11t (~. Y.B.M.S.: SEfvt,Jlf)
Toda y it is a UNE SCO Worl d Herit age Site an~ is one of the ei h
" hotte s t h o t-s p o ts" of biolo gical dive rs ity 11:' the worl d.
s omet irnes calle d the Grea t Esca rpme nt of India . The range tu
1f i:
north to south along the west ern edge of the De_ccan Plate au, a~
separates the plate au from a narro w coas ~al plain, ca~le~ I<onkan
along the Arab ian Sea. A total of thirty rune prop ertie s 1ncluct '
natio nal p arks "'' ildlif e sanc tuari es and reser ve fores ts we.111g
. ' . . K --=te
~ es1g nate d as worl d herit age sites - t_we nty in erala , ten
1n Karn ataka , five in Tami l Nadu and four in Mah arash tra.

The area is one of the worl d's ten " Hottest biodiversi ty hotsp ot ,,
and has over 7,402 species of flowe ring ?lantS, 1,8~4 sp ecie~ of no~,
flow ering plan ts, 139 mam mal spe~1es, 508 bird spec ies, 1
amph ibian species, 6,000 insec ts sp~c1es and 290 ~esh ~ater fish 79
s pecie s; it is likely that many undiscovered s pec~es hve in the
West ern Gh ats. At least 325 globally threatened species occur in the
West ern Ghat s.
A first- ever citize ns' mani festo on the Weste~n Gha~s was released
by the Save West ern Ghats Cam paign to bnng to light the critical
issue s afflicting the n1ou ntain ous stretc h along India's west coast
Some of the issue s affec ting the Western Ghat s highl ighte d in th~
mani festo inclu de shrin kage of fores t cover -
• The Western Ghat s have less than 35 p er cent of fores t cover
wher eas it shou ld be 66 per cent, wate r shrin kage in rivers such
as the Cau very due to fores t cover loss and a rise in man-animal
conflict.
• It also ta lks abou t dam- induc ed destr uctio n - sever al dams
acros s the rivers exist in th e West ern Gh a ts, £Tom Koyna in
Maha rasht ra, Supa and Shara vati in Kam ataka to Idduk i in
Kera la - erosi on of agric ultural diver sity, threa t to the livelihood
of tribal people and reckless minin g.
• The West ern Ghats are one of the mos t impo rtant carbo n sinks
in the world for reduc ing en1is sions and g lobal warm ing.
The West ern G h a ts fores ts are critic ally impo rtant for w ildlife
s urviv al as much as they are for huma ns. Thes e areas are threa tened
by large-scal e deve lop me ntal activ ities, inclu ding h ighway.,,
 . abili fl/
-f(ll 11 •
and Role of Busi
lless ----■■
11
S~ ys lines, power ·p ro·
·Jw3 h . . Jects .
ft!• . ts su e as mm1-hydel ' mines a d 779
oJec Gh and w. n even ,
r' s ve Weste rn ats Carn . lnd farm . green energy'
tJ1e a ea m ass movement w·tpha1gn, which bpro1e~ts. Those behind
1..« :001 d 85 i larg egan tn 1987 f
V"- )e. Aroun non-governm e-sca)e Partici . , eel it has
p~ people fr?m five states are a:ntanct researchpo:hon _by conunon
8, people s m o vement t dicatect rnernbe gan1sations and
Jt'Sd~versity
1
hotsp ots. o save on e of th rs of the campaign.
t,iO · e worl d's richest
save Jaitapur
9. -
~
government is planning to b .
'f]l:er plant in Jaitapur, on the Wes~Ild the world's largest nuclear
po
·x 1650
MW nu d ear reactors, provided
coast of Ind. . M
b . ta, m aharashtra.
~p will be op era ted by the Nude p y French company AREVA
L·rnited
1 (NPCIL), a company owne~rb o:er Corporation of India
• Yt e Government of lnd ia.
fbuilt the total capacity of 9900 MW .
I cto; 'p ark' the largest in the worldw111 make the Jaitapur nuclear
rea .
The major con cerns of the project are:

• The reactors are European Pressurised R t

· d 1 eac ors, or EPRs a
d es1g~ eve o p ed by AREVA NP. There are no EPRs
op eration a l yet anywhere in the world, and the safetv and
reliability of the technology is highly questionable. The EPR is
based on the same principle as older reactors and, being more
powerful, p resents even more potential for catastrophe.
Three EPR construction sites currently exist in the world, in
France, Finland and China. The plants in both France and
Finla n d h ave repeatedly run over budget, and are running years
behind schedule while there is little information on the status
of the projects in Ch ina.
• The land for which the Jaitapur nuclear power plant is ~ntende?
is classifie d as a seismic zone four, out of a possible five. This
has been con firn1ed by documents obtained und~r the R~ght to
. n A ct o f 2005 · The website of the National Disaster
In forma t10 · · th
Man agem ent Authority (NDM A) also places Ratnag1n, e
 ,.,.
\.{}Strict WI . Cnviron111 (•II 1fl IM t111age111ent (S. Y.n AA
"lere Ja ,tap 1. l .,v,.s. s
Zone four is k ur s oca ted , as a zone four r-.. . 1i\.i 1
national nown as the' l ligh Damage Risk 2 ~g1on. ~~- ,,1
FUrther d · systen1 fo.1 . · one' lJ 1~~r
assess ing the likelihood of ' 11tle 't
' ocun1ent . l I . earth tth
occurred the . . s revea t 1at nine ty-two earth u 9lla~ ,
The n10s re in Jus t the twenty yea rs between 19~5 akes hct~
t severe one n1easured 6.3 on the Richte . and i0o~~
However ·111 th J • l scale ~-
' .
e a1 tapur Ev1ronmcnta l 1mpact As
·
2010 5
1 'the NPCIL stated that the site was classified a ~ 5t11e11t
Wnich correspon d s to a lower n.sk. The organisat's zon Of

rece_ntly begun to resp ond to public pressure on

s tating that the Jaitapur site is a n1ere zone three.
. · e thte
has ais::~n
e Plant by
• .
Ja1tap t
ur is in the Konkan region in the Western Gh
~onsidered to be one of the world's biodiversity hots a~s. lt ~
ts h om e to thousands of species of plants and animals p ts and j1
w hich are threatened. This project will put this entire e~ any of ~
01

a t consider a ble risk. osysten-i ,:

,,
Spread over 938 hectares, the project will directly aff ~
vi ll ages of Madban, Niveli, Mithgavane, Karel and Varl:ct the
T hose whose land has been acquired for the plant havewada. ~
n1ostly compensated, but the fishermen of Nate village, ~n IV
stand to lose their livelihood because the hot water disch: 0 ~1
from the plant wil] destroy the fish, have been left out beca ge ~
they are "indirectly affected". They insist that studies claim t~se vi
even ha~ a degree of increase in the temperature of water w~: ,
affect the marine life. They will also not be allowed to fish in
the area around the plant.
There has been fierce opposition to the project from the people ,
of Jaitapur a nd the surrounding areas. The issues at st~ke for
the local p eople include concerns about loss of livelihood,
serious damage to the environment, issue of safety given the
seisn1ic activity of the site, track record of disaster preparedness
in India, and fina lly but importantly, the cost of the power
produced and lia bility in case of a disaster. To add to this after
the n uclear disaster in Fukushjma in 2011, there have been
c.,erious concerns around the safety of the nuclear reactors.
 I8 1
,t i/ 11 ,1 1<11/i' of H11c:111e,-.
,,,,,I I,1/ • tl

1
-1· •
1 1-IE BHO PAL GAS TRA GED Y
dV 111ornin g h~urs o f Dccc rn be r 3, 1984, a ve no~ ou_s ~ re~
e ~a ·y tons of toxic gases) from Union Ca rbide India Limite
t11 fort • turntn · g
• IP \.Id ( esticidC plant at Bhopa l spread throug hout the city
J'ci~'s) p chamb er. Wa ter carry ing cata lytic ma terial had entere d
l
ll)flto~gascyana te (M IC) s torage tank No. 610. What foJiow ed was
i\l ,11so
1etM dous.
~ 0rre!' .
, , ~ . er gas sp read s ilently throug h the city, se nding people
) ~ ~,ti blindly throug h the streets not knowing what to do. When
1 cllttf'iflgarrived at hospit als breathless a nd blind, doctors did not
~ jJ11 5 w to treat them, as UCIL had not provid ed emerg ency

s
:"o' " },~
,., auon. It was only d
when the sun rose the next morni ng tha t
.
•pfor.111 itude of the evasta tion
j
if
fl
~01ar was clear. Dead bodies of human s
als blocke d the s treets, leaves had turned black. Estima tes
JPd ari•f11d that as ma ny as 10,000 may have djed immed iately and
st
,11gge e SO 000 were too iU to ever return to their jobs .
. oootO I •

~ ~, obler11 was nobo~ y knew much about the toxin or its antido te.
,. 111e~r weeks of the accide nt many clajme d that the worst was over.
" ,~i~ date nobod y knows the health impac ts of MIC and how to
o &llt l1 uents expose d to the gas. The health burden is compo unded
3
e rreatP more variabl es:
e b)' twO .
H Childre n born after the disaster are also its victims becaus e of
JI • exposure to the deadly gas while they were in their mothe rs'
l\ wornbs.
Chemical wastes remain dumpe d in and around the premises
le ' of ucIL factory , contam inating the water that people drink.
lr The factory used to manuf acture three pesticides: carbaryl (trade
:i, narne Sevin), aldicar b (trade name Temik ) and a formu lation
1e
;s
~r
I
ofcarbaryl and gamm a-hexa chlorocyclohexan e (g-HC H), sold
under the trade name, Sevid ol. For 15 years till the disaste r, it
dt,JJllped proces s wastes , by-pro ducts, solven ts, sub-st andar d
~r products and wastes from machin ery and pollute d water at
n
dump sites inside and outside the plant. Anoth er 350 tonnes of
waste has been kept in a leakin g shed at the site . Th ese wastes
are still lying at the site, polluti ng soil and groun dwate r. This
l~L .. .,, M
now threate n s even a larger numbe r of people than the '111J
one. Many of the ch emicals degra d e slowly and are like f1r~t
reinain in the environme nt for hundred s o ( yea rs. Thc/Y !<,
keep s preadin g unl ess they a r e taken o ut and th ~. \V1!J
e site
decontan,inated. ,~
The a ll egations agains t UCIL, res p on s ibl e fo r the BhopaJ C
Tragedy: as
• The pesticide factory was built in the mids t of d e nsely popuJa
settle m ents. UCIL _chose to s t?re and produce MIC, one of ted
m ost deadly ch enucals (p er~tt~d ex~os u re levels in USA athe
Brita in are 0.02 parts per m1lhon), 1n an area where ne nd
120,000 people live d . arJy
The MIC plant was not designed to handle a runaway rea f
• 1
When the uncontrolled reaction started, MIC was fl oe ~n.
through the scrubber (meant to neutralize MIC emissio;)8
'ng
m ore than 200 times its d esigned capacity. at
MIC was not stored at zero degree centigrade as prescr·be
• a nd the refrigeration and cooling systems had been shut d d
1

fi ve m onths before the disas ter, as part of UCC' s global econ:~

d rive.
Vital gau ges and indicators in the MIC tank were defective.
•
• The flare tower meant to bum off MIC emissions was und
~ repair at the time of the disaster and the scrubber contained;~
J caustic soda.
• By withholding medical information on the chemicals 1•t
deprived victims of proper medical care. ' ,

By denying interim relief, as directed by two Indian courts, UCIL L

caused a lot hards hip to the survivors. In February 1989, the Supreme 5

Court of India ruled that UCC should pay US$470 million as e

compen sation in full and final settlement. UCC said it would accept c
the ruling provided Government of India (Go!) did not pursue any 11
further legal proceedings against the company and its officials. GoI 0
accepted the offer without consulting with the victims. Thirty years ~
late r, there is no closure. Not because of what happened that fateful ~
night, but because our response as citizens has been incompetent re
and ca llo u s.
 I J<C1ic,>f H11'-111c.,... OL
r,1,1_11 n''' 0 pROTOC
i '1'',,,, eoN~_.,~
!!-a~A~~K~A~N~D~KY~O~T~~::::..::------
c,-,it
at EDITS a resu l l o f
1160~ rbon cred its cam e into existe nce a~ ' . 0 115 The
·A"" of ca - g e rn 1ss1 ·
v ,,cePt ness of the need fo r contro 11_,n . h the Kyoto
fftc? ,o _J1g awar: tem was ratified in conjunctio n w1t di ox id e
il'cffc1s1credit syoal is to s top the inc rease o f carbo nt col was
lt,O~ol- ltS ~01bat these changes glo ball~, Kyoto Pro irnitting
«ot0 . tls- 'fo been ratified by 170 countries so far,. cdo . prove
r· •,st 0 d has . • an 1111
I' d aJ1 redu ce Green House Gas Em1ss1o n s . f G reen
~~teel\fes ~o The Kyoto Pro toco l envisages reduction °
~ r11s fi 1encY·
d'e d\l Ef c by 5.2 % in the period 2008-12.
~tl,; cases
JO~s d.,
rt • of 'Carbon Cre 1t: .
,....n1.it1°ll h holde r
ir1 d "ts are a tradable permit scheme that allo~s t e
I
bOJl ere n of carbon dioxide. It is a simple, noo-compulsory wa Y
Offl'lit o!le to the gree~ouse gasses that contribute to climate change
1
ll ~ u11te~c~arrning. one ton of CO2 reduction or its eq~i~alen~
to d globa Gases Carbon Credits are "Entitlement Certificates
~" J-{o~~= UN F~amework Con~ention of Climate Change (UN
i,,S ued by the implementation of the approved Clean Development
fCCC) t_oJll (COM) projects. Developed countries that have exceeded
~1ecnan~ can either cut down emissions, or borrow or buy carbon
t1ie J~ve;o.rn developing countries. E.g. If an environmental group
CJ'fditsenough trees to reduce emissions by one ton, the group will
plantsarded carbon credit. If a steel production unit has an emiss ion
i-e aw of10 tons, but is expected to produce 11 tons, it could purchase
. carbon ere d1t
qtJota " from th e environmental
· group. The carbon ere di t
thJStern, looks to reduce emission by having countries honour their
:ssion quotas and offe~ incentives for being below them.
Carbon credits create a market for reducing greenhouse emiss ions
bygiving a ~onetary value to the_cost of polluting the air. Emissions
t,ecome an internal cost of doing business and are visible on
!he baJance sheet alongside raw materials and other liabilities or
assets. The Carbon Credit is this new currency and each carbon credit
represents_one tonne of carbon dioxide either removed from the
,. - . -·- ·'"'•.:>.: S£i\i
at1nosphere or saved from being emitted. Carbon credits ·111, 5P
called emission permit. Carbon credit is an Environ ar~a~
Pollution Control subject. Carbon credits are certificate;ent alld
to countries that are successful in reducing emissions of g award~
gases. reei,h~St. i

Carbon credits are generated as the result of an addition

1
project. Carbon credits can be created in many ways but lhet catbon
broad types : e are t~·o 3.

1. Sequestration (capturing or retaining carbon dioxide fr

atmosphere) such as afforestation and reforestation act~~ l~
IVJ ti~
2. Carbon Dioxide Saving Projects such as use of ren · J.
energies. ewable
These credits need to be authentic, scientifically based
Verification is essential. and
t
Carb~n cred_it trading is an innovative method of controu· V
emissions using the free market. 1ng
g
For example, if an environmentalist group plants enough tr ;
reduce emissions by one ~o~, the group will be awarded a cred~sUto i!
steel producer has an emissions quota of 10 tons, but is expecun a o
produce 11 tons, it could purchase this carbon credit from ~to O
environmental group. The carbon credit system looks to red e ~
emissions by having countries honour their emission quotas Uce ~
offer incentives for being below them. Unchecked, energy use: r
hence emission levels are predicted to keep rising over time. Th ,1
the number of companies needing to buy credits will increase an~ ~
the rules of supply and demand will push ~p the market ~rice, t
encouraging more groups to undertake envrronmentally friend!, e
activities that create carbon credits to sell. Yale University econotni~ ,
professor William Nordhaus argues that the price of carbon needs 1
to be high enough to motivate the changes in behavior and changes
in economic production systems necesssiry to effectively limit
emissions of greenhouse gases.

Raising the price of carbon will achieve four goals.

1. It will provide signals to consumers about what goods and

 .,,ab''/itYU"" ··-·-.
.J

,~st~' ,;ices are high-carbon ones and shou ld therefore be used

,, 5ef spar ing Iy.
f110 re
twill prov ide signals to pr~u cers about whic h inpu ts use mor e
1 bon (such as coal a nd oil) and which use less or non e (suc h
i '~\,a tura l gas or nuc~ear power), there by indu cing firm s to
a5 titute low-carbon inpu ts.
sLlt,s
•)l give mar ket incentives for inventors and inno vato rs
to
l· ;e~;Jop and introd uce low-car!Jon products and processes that
call replace the curr ent generaho n of technologies.
high carb on pric e wiJI econ omize on the info rmat ion that is
J. Aequifed to do all three of these tasks . Thro ugh the mar ket
r eehanism, a hi?h carbon price will raise the price of prod ucts
ill rding to their carbon content.
3cco

. ~ Allo wan ces:

~ss iO••
the Kyo to Protocol, the 'cap s' or quotas for Gre enho use
(J11de! rni5sions for the developed countries are know n as Assi gned
gaseS e ts and are listed. The quantity of the initial assig ned amoW1t
" 1110un d m . .d ua l unit s, calle d Ass igne d amo unt
. d 1v1
. 1n
,v,- 001 inat e
iS ~e(AAUs), each of whic h represents an allowance to
emit one
¢11t _ tonne of carb on dioxide equivalent, and thes
5 e are entered
tl'etrthice country's national registry.
ifllO
urn these coun tries set quotas on the emissions of installations
ed
ll1 t by'1ocal busi ness and other organizations, generically term
0
,h
~ rators'. Cou ntrie s manage this through their national registries,
are requ ired to be validated and monitored for com plian ce
wthe IJNFCCC. Each operator has an allowance of cred its, whe re
~ unit gives the o:vner the right to emit one metric tonne of carbon
di xide or othe r eqw vale nt greenhouse gas. Operators that have not
~ tip their quot as can sell their unus ed allowances as carbon
~dits, while businesses that are about to exceed their quot as can
buy the extra allowances as credits, privately or bn the open
mar ket.

By permitting allowances to be bought and sold, an oper ator

can
r
seek out the mos t cost-effective way of reducing its emissions, eithe
ng
by investing in 'clea ner' machinery and practices or by purchasi
.
emissions from anot her operator who already has exce ss' capacity'
 l l>b • • v •• ~F
sidered c _·Ait.,,,, 51
For trad ing pur pos es, one all~ w~n ce or CER is con
to one met ric ton of CO,- em1 .
ss1ons. The se allo wances can9u,"
l k
al
i... ~,
v
prevail ' ~ soi tt
priv atel y or in the inte rna tlon a ma r et at the
rice The se trad e and set tle inte rna tion ally and h lTlg ll'larL Q t,J
P · . ence "'t1.
ntn es. Eac h in t a11 0 C
aUowan ces to be tran sfer red bet wee n cou
ork Cer nation'\ c<
tran sfer is val ida ted by the Uni ted Nat ion s Fra mew 0 nv il1
h ow ner sh. entio
on CJi mate Cha nge (UN FCC C). Eac tran sfer of
eJ
by the ~p \.vith1~
the Eur ope an Uni on is add itio nal ly va lida ted Urop
. . on. eel~
C omm1ss1
on all
Cur ren tly the re are five exc han ges trad ing in carb
X Cornowances:
the Eur ope an Clin 1ate Exc han ge, NA SD AQ OM 0
ty Ex cha nge Bra tisl : dities
Eur ope , Pow erN ext , Co mm odi
Commoct·vt_a and
the Eur ope an Ene rgy Exc han ge. NA SD AQ OMX l les]'
the deveJ
The ma in buy_ers of Car bon Cre dit are prin cip ally 0
ion s, Jap an, Can ada , Ne w Zea lan d etc. Th P_ed
Eur ope an nat
h as lnd i: ;a!or
sou rces of sup ply of carb on cre dits are cou ntri es suc ' htna
and Bra zi l.
of Car bon C .
China and Ind ia are mo vin g up fro nt in the wo rlds
For estr y M· ~edit
trad ing s tate s. Acc ord ing to the Env iron me nt and
in Ind ia, com pan ies in the cou ntry hav e alre ady
ear ned $ 7.9 ~tr y
t trad ing in mi boon
thro ugh carb on cred it trad ing . An aly st fore cas t tha
car n
credit wou ld tou ch US $ 100 bill ion by 2010.
of CERs are:
Various ind ust ries tha t hav e sco pe of gen era tion

• Agricul ture

• Energy (ren ewa ble and non -ren ew able sou rce s)

• Ma nuf actu ring uni ts

• Metal pro duc tion

• Mining

• Chemical ind us tries

• Affo restatio n and refo resta tion .

 . . , (1 11 rl Rnle af Busi11ess
f{lt,ll (1[11 I 1.1
1 · t0 tOp
,,,5 oilYbut steadily, the country's banks are gearing u~ 11
Gr8dtJ ly emerged and fast growing carbon credit market. A carbo
i,e 11;:an advise companies that want to go carbon ne_utral. The
1l,8n1< Bank provides a platform that enables ind1v1dual and
carbon te clients to keep tracks of Green House Gases in a secure
cotP0 rarl'lent A few banks Jike SBI ICICI Bank, IDBI and SIDBI have
·rot1 1 " • '
erivl dy rnade in roads in to the market.
ilrea ·~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
A CASE STUDY

rndia is expected to rake in $100 Million annually by trading in

carbon Credits. Indian firms are expected to corner 10% of the
tobal market in initial years. They are likely to generate $ 8.5 bn
!t the going rate of $10/ tonne of CER.
Green bucks are flowing into the country in exchange of eco-
friendly products. Many of these are public sector undertakings
]ike Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals which has been issued
57,004 CER Points by Carbon Credits by the UNFCCC.
Companies from the U.K and Japan are vying with one another
to strike a deal with the company and even at a conservative
cost estimate of 10 euros per CER, the company is all set to make
t 3.18 crore (f 31.8 million) The company only deal with green
projects which combat CO2 and ethane emissions. These are
CERs that are most in demand and qualitatively better.
A biomass project in Rajasthan, which makes power from
mustard crop residnes got 30,368 CERs.
Guj~r~t HFC got 1,157,472 CERs for its project from Green House
Em1ss1on .reduction by thermal oxidation.
The UNFCC issued 71,678 CERs to the 18 MW Kemphole mini
hydel scheme by International Power Crop Ltd In ::l . d
1,1~,570 CERs to a waste heat recovery based ca., tiv~ tao:'er
proiect at Mo~et and 10,971 CERs for Nagda Hills !ind lner
Proiect. The list Stretches further in ] d · . gy
worth 1.5 lakh CERs. cu mg two more pro1ects
 11
188 [ 11v 1·rc>1 lll1 l?ll f t1l JV1U " l'> . ..
- ·· v t- fi.1, J/f)
- - -· -
;-------------------
th
Whil e m ost o f the CER s are listed on ethG reen Exch an
As ia and Euro pe, man y deals takes place rou g h broke r~~-i
1
~
Sy nerg ie and Erns t and Youn g. k~

KYO TO PRO TOC OL

The mee ting of Unit ed Natio ns Fram .

ewor k Conv entto
h Id. D
• on Clim atic Chan ge (FCCC) was e m ecem ber 199n
8
. .hing a di matte
in Kyot o, amid st g reat expe ctati on of reac
G
proto col to redu ce Gree nhou se as enus s1on s.
The Seco nd Asse ssme nt repoPCC rt of the Inter gove rrun
entat
• ·
Pane l on Clim atic Chan ge (I in
·
) · 1996 exph·c1tly rul
that the "bala nce of evide nce now sugg est that there . ect
disce rnibl e hum an influ ence on clim ate." The IPcc ~s a
disti ngui s hed ' Hum an-in duce d clim ate chan ge' fro as
' natu ral clima te variability.' rn
The Rio Sum mit of 1992 adop ted the Fram ew k
• Con vent ion on Clim atic Cha nge . (FCC C) in clor
ear
recog nitio n of the nee d for urge nt actio n.
The basic objec tive of the FCC C is to attai n stabi lisati o
• of GHG conc entra tion in the atmo sphe re, with in a time~
fram e suffi cient to allow eco-s ystem to adop t natu rall
to climatic chan ge. The IPCC mode ls show that imrr iedia (
stabi lisat ion of the carb ondi oxid e conc entra tion as it:
prese nt level wou ld requ ire 50-70 perc ent redu ction in
emis sions .
This can be achie ved eithe r throu gh a 'com preh ensiv e
• mult i-gas appr oach ' (like the ozon e regim e) or a ' gas-b y
gas appr oach ' (like the long rang e trans boun dary air
pol1 ution regim e).
,,,,,a,.
ria
bility. and Role of Business 189

A CASE STUDY: CASH BEGINS GROWING

AT GORAi DUMP YARD

he Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation h as become the

'f untry's first civic body to earn and en cash carbon credi ts, a
~~nd of international re ward s programme that en co urages
reduction of green house gas e missions.

fhe BM~ earne~ these carbon credits by s uccessfully capping

-is Gora1 dumping groun d, that had reached its capacity, and
~en putting in place a mechanism to continually collect m~than e
being released inside the dump and burn it before it escaped
into the environment.

The Gorai dump is currently ' flaring' 300 to 400 cubic metre of
methane gas, one of the most dangerous of the green house gas,
every hour. The Solid Vvaste Management Department, which
helmed this pioneering project, is now looking at various options
to not burn the gas, bu t instead use it to generate energy. If it
manages this transition, the corporation's carbon credit earnings
will go up.
The 19.6 hectare Gorai dump stopped accepting garbage on
January 1st, 2008, thats 30 years after it was designated a landfill
site. By then, it had accumulated an estimated 2.34 million tonne
of trash. In the first stage of capping, the entire landfill site was
w alled from all sides. These walls had their foundations dug
deep enough to touch the hard rock underneath. This was done
to prevent the dirty underground water from flowing in to the
creek on the one side and the adjoining land on the other.
The dump was then covered with two feet of construction
demolition waste, followed b y a cover of high density
polyethy lene sheet. /\. geo membrane cover was laid on the
polyethylene sheet, followed by another layer of construction
and demolition waste and soil to grow grass.
Thirty interconnected wells were dug into this ' tamed' dump to
collect the m ethane gas, which it will continue to generate for
the next ten to fifteen years.
 .1 ::1v ..,,. "' .. - •• ..,, , II)

. "th the United Nations Frame

The project was re?1stered w1 ( opularly known as !<:Work
Convention of Climate Cha;;e !bon credits were solct ~Oto
Protocol) in February 2010. the Ac51·an Development BanL ll'\ a
.
fu ture trad mg ment to e ... 1.1\, Win..
arran~e . d Emission Reduction Pur h 41
which the corporation s1gne c ase
Agreement in 2008.
bl t earn 3 lakh Certified Ern1· .
The project has so far been a e O R d ti ss1on
Reductions (CERs) and 1.25 lakh Voluntary e uc ons ® $13.85
per CER and $ 8.81 per VER.
(Source: Ti1nes of India, 25th August, 2 0lO)

Que~tions:
1. What are carbon credits?
2. What is the significance of the Kyoto Protocol?

3. How was the scientific capping of Gorai dump done ?

4. Suggest ways of environmentally sound dumping of waste

for a mega city like Mumbai.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Define the following terms :

(i) ISO 14001
(ii) Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
(iii) Environmental Audit
(iv) Carbon Emission Reduction (CER)
(v) Environment Protection Act
(vi) Sustainability
2. What do you mean by Sustainable Development? What are the major
measures to attain Sustainability?
3. Discuss the salient measures of (a) Wildlife (Protection) Act (b) Water
Act (c) Air Act (d) Environment Protection Act.
4. Why do we refer to Environmental Protection Act, 1986 as an Umbrella
Act. Discuss the n1ajor Environmental Protection Rules, 1986.
 . bility and Role of Business 191
1air1t1
5115 WhYdo we ~eed to have the environmental impact assessment (ElA)
5. {ot any pro1ect to ~ taken up ? What are the various steps to be
dertaken for getting an EIA done?
i.Jfl hr II •
explain the P ase- Environmental Auditing". Discuss its relevance
6- iJ1 the present world.
ro what exte~t has the Legislation in India has helped to protect the
1- quality of environment?
Examine the nature of "Carbon Bank", giving suitable Jndian
8, examples.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS

Multiple Choice Questions :

J.
Environmental (protection) Act was enacted in the year
1.
(a) 1986 (b) 1989
(c) 1994 (d) 1998
2. The Air (prevention and control of pollution) Act was enacted in the
year
(a) 1981 (b) 1974
(c) 1994 (d) 2004
3. The Water (prevention and control of pollution) Act was enacted in
the year
(a) 1986 (b) 1974
(c) 1994 (d) 2004
4. The Wild life Protection was enacted in the year
(a) 1986 (b) 1974
(c) 1994 (d) 1972
5. The Forest (conservation) Act was enacted in the year
(a) 1986 (b) 1974
(c) 1980 (d) 1972
6. The first of the major environmental protection act to be promulgated
in India was
(a) The Wild life Protection Act
(b) The Air Act
(c) The Noise Pollution Act (d) None of the above
7. Environmental protection is the responsibility of
(a) Government of India (b) NGOs
(c) Individual (d) All
 . ·ital Management (S. Y.B.M.S.: St-1. A
192 E11v1ro11me1 · c,v1,11
.. . owered to take measure to pr I)
15
8. Which of the following empl· E ,irorunent protection a t otect R.
. . t as pert 1e n, c ~
improve environ.men (b) State government
(a) Central Govt.
. (d) .None
(c) Corporation . 1986 deals with
9. The Environmental (protection) Act, .
(b) Air
(a) Water • All
(c) Soil (d)
10. The ElA should be conducted
(a) Before commencement of the project
(b) During the project
(c) After completion of the project .
(d) At any ti.me before or after the p_ro1ect .
1972
11. The objectives of the Wildlife Prote~tion ~ct ts
(a) To preserve the wild life bio-diversit~ .
(b) To maintain essential ecological and \ife supporting systems
(c) Protection and conservation of wild life
(d) All
12. Environmental education is targeted to
(a) General public (b) Professional social groups
(c) Technicians and scientists (d) All
13. Which of the following animals is endangered species of India?
(a) Black buck (b) Elephant
(c) Fox (d) Giraffe
14. IS0-14000 standards deal with
(a) pollution management
(b) risk management
(c) environmental management
(d) none of the above
15. Environmental protection is the fundamental ~uties of the citizen of
India under the article
(a) 51-A{g) (b) 48-A
(c) 47 (d) 21
16. World summit on sustainable development was held at
(a) Johannesburg in 2002 (b) Rio de Janeiro in 1992
(c) Kyoto in 1994 (d) Stockholm in 2000
17. One Carbon Credit is equivalent to
(a) 100 tons carbon reduction (b) 10 tons of carbon reduction
(c) 1 ton of carbon reduction (d) ½ ton of carbon reduction
 . bility anrl Role of Bu sin ess
·tfl 111" 193
~11) LA was introduced m
• •
India for
1i ~a) ,nining projects
(b) airports
(c) new t~wns_ (d) all the above
Green Bu siness mcorporates the prin
ciple of
19• (a) Sustainability
(b) Profit maximization
(c) Social com~itment (d) AU the above
'fhe goal of National parks and wild
life sanctuaries is
zO· (a) To promote intern
ational trading of animals and their
(b) To evacuate tribal people from products
forest
(c) Conserv~tion of wild life
(d) None of the above
,,s: (1) - (a), (2) - (a), (3) - (b), (4)
~ (9) - (d), (10) - (a), (11) - (a), (12(d)),- (5)
- - (c), (6) - (a), (7) - (d), (8) - (a),
(d), (13) - (a), (14) - (c), (15) - (a)
(16) - (b), (17) - (c), (18)- (d), (19 ,
) - (a), (20) - (c)
z. Match the followings :
Group A
Group B
1) Environment Protection Act
2)
(a) 1974
Air Ac t
3)
(b) 1981
Water Act
(c) 1972
4) The Wildlife Act
(d) 1986
A,1s: (1) - (d), (2) - (b), (3) - (a),
(4) - (c)
3, Explain the following concepts in
one or two lines only:
1. EIA 2. Environment Audit
3. Pollution
4. Environmental Clearance
5. Sustainable Development
6. Air Pollution
7. Water Pollution 8. Environment Management
9. Carbon Credits 10. CERs
11. Umbrella Legislation 12. CDM
 INNOVATIONS .
4 IN BUSINESS - AN
ENVIRONMENTAL
PERSPECTIVE

Non- Conventional Energy Sources - Wind, Bio-fuel, Solar,

• Tidal a11d Nuclear E1tergtJ
Inn o v ative Business Models : Eco-Touris1n, Green
• Mark eting, Orga11ic Fa~ing, Eco-Fr_iendly Packaging,
Waste Management Pro;ects for Profits, Other Business
Projects for G.reener Future

N ON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY SOURCES

Wi th in crea s ing d e n1a nd for e n ergy and with fast depleting

conven tion a l s o urces of ener gy s uch as coal, petroleum, n a tural gas,
e tc. the non-conventional sources o f energy s u ch as energy from
s un, vvind , bio n1a ss, tidal e n e rgy, gee-the rmal e n e rgy and even
e n ergy fro m was te ma terial a r e gaining importance. This en ergy is
a bun da nt, renewable, pollution f ree a nd eco-frie nd] y. Energy
g ene ra te d by us ing wind, tides, s olar , geothe rmal h eat, and biomass
including fa rm a nd a n imal was te as w e ll as human excreta is known
a s non-convention a l e nerg y . All these sources are r en ewable or
inexhau s tible a nd do not cause en v ironmenta l pollution. Moreover
th ey d o not r equi re h eavy e x penditure. It ca n b e more conveniently
s u p plie d to urban, ru ra l and even r e m o te a r eas. T hus itis capable of
 • 11 ;,, Bus iness - A11 Env iro17111 (' 111t1I p <'r...pectu.,e
-,flft O
79.>
111
1,,, ' the twi n pro ble m s of enc
y sup ply in a dec entralit.,ed
.0JviJ1g "'nd h e lping in s us ta inin grglean er e
er " c ·
· n\·1ronn1 ent. I t ic; the
~1:JflJ1 of the futu re.
~11e(gY
WJ ND EN ER G Y
J• . ano the r imp orta n t sou rce of no .
. d is . n-co nven tion al, ener gy. Win d
tlifl sed by hug e con vec tion curr ents in th
jS c~tl by h eat e nergy from the Sun Th·
e Eart h a tmos phe re,
5

driven ther e wiJJ be win d . The m ov i~g an ~s (m~a ns as long as the s un

·pes , d t-: can be tran sfe wdind) has hug e an,o unts
sill tic en.e rgy , a n tuis .
1 en e rgy
of ~iJ1 ~u:, d turb ine s. The win d turn s the ~~= d~;t : e!ec tric~
t1S~i
i\lfiJC
con nec ts to a gen erat or a nd mak es elec trici h1ch s pin
hro ug h tran smi ss ion and d. tr'b .
a s l:1 ~ft,
. ty. The e lectnc1ty
n
. sent t b . -- is 1 u non Imes to a s ubs tatio
iS on to homes, u srne ss a nd edu. cati ona l ins titut·ions. rge w ind,
La .
tJlell con s is . o f h un d red s o f indi . vidu al win d t ur b.mes whi.ch a re
t h .
{arm s 1 ork . Win d
conn ecte d t o t e e ~ctr 1c po_wer tran smi ssio n netw
. es are u s u a lly s ited on hig h hills and ·m oun tam · •d ges to ta k e
turbJll h ilin n
g win ds. A_n ave rage win d spee d o f 14
advan tage of t . e pre va
elec trici ty.
iru1es per hou r 1s n eed ed to con vert w1nd ener gy into
arou nd for
Just like a win dm ill, win d en ergy turb ines h~ve been
ted S tate s,
over 100 0 year s. Fro m old H o llan d to fa rms m the Uni
grai n The
win dmi lls h ave bee n u sed f~r p~m pin g water or grin ding
gen erat ion
cost inp uts are o nly at the m1h al s tage and the pow er
ion s tarts ,
starts imm edi atel y afte r com mis sion ing. Onc e the gen erat
ther e is no
cost-free pow er is ava ilab le for abo ut 20 year s beca use
sett ing up a
recu rrin g cos t on fuel . Win d pow er is harn esse d by
gra in and
win dmi ll wh ich is use d for pum pin g wat er, grin ding
rnore than
gene ra ting e lect rici ty. As of 2013, Den mar k is gen erating
nd the wor ld
a third of its e lect rici ty from win d and 83 cou ntri es a rou
are using win d pow er to s upp ly the elec trici ty
grid . Win d pow er
4, and win q
capacity h as exp and ed rap idly to 336 GW in June 201
ide e lect rici ty
ener gy pro duc tion was aro und 4 % of tp tal wor ldw
usag e, and gro win g rap idly .
 196 en f (5. Y. B.M.s.: S£A~17
E11viro11111eutnl Mrmngem ' ·11,
ed Elec'-·l('J.ty 1
Advant ages and Disadvantagt!s o f Wind-Generat l[

Advantages:
gy is a fr ee, renewable resour
• A Renewable : W in d en er
ed to da y, ther e will still be the :e, So
no matter how muc h is us
~
supply in the futu re .
e: W in d en er gy is al ~o a source of cle~n
• Non-Polluting Resourc nl ike co nventwnal power plants'
elec tr ic ity . U
non-polluting, ta nts or greenhouse gases. '
no ai r po llu
wind plants emits
Wind
e: A ft er th e in itial cost of setting up the
Cost Effec tiv
• ug hl y 80 % of . the cos~ is the ~1achinery, WitJi
farm wherein ro on an d m stallahon, however •
pr ep ar aa
the balance being site or e co st effe ctive because there~~n
is m
the long run wind power op er at
.
in g expenses.
se an d m in im al
no fuel to purcha

Disadvantages:
s:
• Environmental Concern
d po w er pl an ts ha ve relatively Little impact 00
J. Although w in
m pa re d to fo ssil fuel power plants, there is
the environment co od uc ed by the rotor blades.
e no is e pr
some concern over th
ally
th e opinio n th at w in d farms are not aesthetic
2. Many are of si gh t an d thus aHects the natural
plea sa nt
(visually) a very
beauty of a region.
g
ha ving be en ki lle d (a vianjbat mortality) by flyin
3. .Birds and bats
mto the rotors.
Issues:
• Supply and Transport
ng e to us in g w in d as a source of power is that
1. .r~e ~ajor ~alle al w ay s blow when electricity is
It do es no t
it 1s mternuttent
needed.
2. ed (a lth ou gh w ind- generated electricity can
Wind cannot be stor us ed ), an d no t all winds can be
es ar e
be stored, if batteri of electricity demands.
to m eet th e tim in g
harnessed
 nlnl Pers pectw e , ., ,
. 11 in Business -A n En vir onme ,
. .
11
,ovaflO ..
, go od wm d sit es are often loc at ed in remote locations
/1 f urth er
ea s of electr ic po we r dem an d (such as cities).
~- far {ram ar
so ur ce de ve lo pm en t m ay co m pete with other
fiJtally, wind re
fo r the lan d, an d tho se alter na tive uses may be more highly
4. uses
va lu ed than electricity generatio
n.

untries by Nam eplate W ind Power Capacity

Top 10 Co
(2013 year-end)

Wind Power % World

Country New 2013 Total
Capacity Total Capacity
(MW) (MW)
,.,,- 91,412 28.7
16,088
Ch_ ina
,__ 19.2
1,084 61,091
United States 10.8
~
3,238 34,250
Germany
-
Spa in
,_
175
1,729
22,959
20,150
7.2
6.3
India 3.3
- 1,883 10,531
UK 2.7
-Italy 444 8,552
8,254 2.6
France 631
7,803 2.5
Canada 1,599
4,772 1.5
Denmark 657
48,332 15.2
Rest of World 7,761
3,18,105 MW 100%
World Total 35,289 MW

Countries by W ind Powe r Electricity Production

Top 10
(2012 Totals)

Wind Power Production %World

Country Total
(1Wh)
140.9 26.4
United States
118.1 22.1
China
49.1 9.2
Spain
46.0 8.6
Germany
 198 Environmental Management (S. Y.B.M.S.: SEM
·I//J
India 30.0 5.6
UK 19.6
France 14.9
Ital 13.4
Canada 11.8
Denmark 10.3
Rest of World 80.2

World Total 534.3TWh

India has vast wind potential and wind-farm s have emerged

f . d hn
O wm tee .ology in th
asa
viable option with the advancem ent
country. Estimates by the Ministry ~f Non-convenho~al Ener~
Sources (MNES) place the ultimate w~d energy potential in India
at 45,600 MW. Areas with constantly high s~eed ~referably above
20 km per hour are well-suited for ha~essmg ~md energy. The
first wind farms in India were installed m 1986 m coastal areas.
Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra and O~issa. ~me excellent sit:
for wind farms are at the coastal areas m Gu1arat, Tamil Nadu
Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal as well as vast areas of
Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are in a much better
~ position with respect to wind power resources.

, 2. BIOFUELS
Biofuels are energy sources made from living things, or the waste
that living things produce. A biofuel is, any hydrocarbon fuel that
is produced from organic matter Oiving or once living material) ina
short period of time (days, weeks, or even months). This contrasts
with fossil fuels, which take millions of years to form and with other
types of fuel which are not based on hydrocarbons (nuclear fission,
for instance). Supporters of biofuels argue tliat their use could
significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions; while burning the
fuels produces carbon dioxide, growing the plants or biomass
removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Detractors claim that
biofuel production poses a major threat to global food systems and
the natural environment.
Biofuels can come &om a wide variety of sources and can be roughly
divided into four categories or" generations:"

t
 . in Business -An Environmental Perspective 199
~h~ .
1/J) 1 • t generation biofuels are made from sugars, starches, 011,
1111

, fir~ anima l fats that are converted into fuel using alread y-
:n own processes or technologies. These fuels includ e biodiesel
( n renew able fuel made from seed oils (canola, sunflo wer,
s~ybean, etc., reclaimed vegetable or animal fats, or algae.),
bioalcohols, ethanol (an alcohol made from feed stock such_as
corn, sugar cane, or cellulosic material), and biogas ses, hke
rnethane captured from landfill decomposition.

Second generation biofuels are made from non-food crops or

' agricu ltural waste, especially ligno-cellulosic biomass like
switch-grass, willow, or wood chips.
a
e Third generation biofuels are made from algae or other quickly
t ' growing biomass sources.

, Fourth generation biofuels are made from specially engine ered

plants or biomass that may have higher energy yields or lower
barriers to cellulosic breakdown or are able to be grown on non-
agricultural land or bodies of water. ·

'[here are several factors that decide the balance betwe en biofuel
and fossil fuel use aroun d the world . Those factor s are cost,
availability, and food supply.
All three factors listed above are actually interrelated. To begin, the
availability of fossil fuels has been of concern almos t from day one
of their discovery. Pump ing fuel from the groun d is a difficult and
expensive process, which adds greatly to the cost of these fuels.
Additionally, fossil fuels are not renewable, which means they will
run out at some point. As our ability to pump fossil fuels from the
ground diminishes, the available supply will decrease, which will
inevitably lead to an increase in price.

It was originally thoug ht that biofuels could be produ ced in almos t

limitless quantity because they are renew able. Unfor tunate ly, our
energy needs far out-pace our ability to grown bioma ss to make
biofu~ls for one.s~ple reason, land area. There is only so much
land fit for farmmg m the world and growi ng biofuels necess arily
detracts from the process of growi ng food. As the popul ation grows
our deman ds for both energy and food grow. At this point, wed~
 2 00 Env iro111nent al Man age,n ent (S. Y.B M
not hav e eno ugh land to grow both eno ugh biof uel. a.$. S£
·· A1,,,,J
food to mee t both nee ds. The resu lt of this limi t h nd en ,,
. as an
uel and the cost of food . For wea lth· 1.tnPa ct\,(8h
0
both the cos t of b1of
the cost of food is less of an iss ue. How eve r for po ier count-..: on
. ,
u se of land for b1of uels , which driv es up the co s t o f foodnar10 ns,' 11th'
orer es
tre men dou s imp act. ' can have:
The bala nce betw een food and biof ue l is wha t keep th
sim ple pro cess of gro win g and mak ing biof ue~ f e
relatively
s ubst anti ally che ape r than foss il fuel . Wh en this fact : .roll\
. h an incr
. bein!)
wit ease d a b 1·11ty
· ( t h ank s to adv ance r
s in tech
18 comb· 0
Lneq
extr act oil from the gro und , the price of foss il fuel is actu 0
n~~ gy) to
than that of biof uel for the mos t part .
a Y lower
Ene rgy from Biom ass:

Bio mas s refe r s to all plan t mat eria l and anim al excr
et
con side r e d a s an ene rgy s ourc e. S01n e imp orta nt kind s
of~ when
are infe rior woo d, urb an was te, bag ass e, farm anim al and
homass
was te. Gas ific atio n of the biom ass by deco mpo sitio n
of orurna_n
m a tter in the abse nce of oxy gen res ults into the form atio n
of Biganic
Bio gas mai nly com pris es of gase s like met han e (55%) and
ca~~·
dio xide (45 % ) whi ch can be used as a sour ce of ener gy. This

I is pipe d for use as coo ~$ and ligh ting fuel in s peci ally
stov es and lam ps resp ecti vely . It can als o be used for repla
oil in dua l fuel eng ines for gen e rati on of mot ive pow
ener n
desig n~
cing diesel
er and
elec trici ty. The left- over dige sted s lurr y s erve s as enri ched
manure.
Biog as tech nolo gy is taki ng dee p root s in rura l Indi a beca
use of
cert ain inhe rent adv anta ges .
The mai n adv anta ges of bio gasi fic atio n are:
1. It is clea n and s afe m e thod of was te dis pos~ l.
2. The re is no nee d to stor e the gas as it can be cont inuo
usly
s upp lied to the hou seho ld .
3. It d oes not nee d a ny maj or inve s tme nt in the form of
raw
mat e ria ls, tech nolo gy and spa ce.
4. The le ft o ver s ludg e is ric h i n nitra tes and can be ext~emely
fe rtil e o r gan ic man ure whi ch c an be u s ed back 10 th
e
agricult ura l fie lds .

.i.
 .!U J
. -11 Bu sin es s - An Enviro1
1111en tnl Perspectiv e .
va n on 1
ht fu tu re in In di a. It h as be en es t1 m a t~ d
111110 te ch no lo gy h as a br ig is av ai la bl e p e r a nn un 1 1n
es of w as te du ng
o;oga 1 5 m iJl io n to nn
5
tity is u se d to pr od uc e bi og as.,
1 of th is qu an
tJ,9t t~ tr y. If tw o -th ird bi og as w hic h co ul d sa ve
c m e tre of
tJ,e c~~ y ie ld 22,4 25 m ilJ io n cu bi
ly., it sa ve s a bo ut 70 la kh
g
jtc 4 m ill io n lit
0
9
re s o f k e ro se
al ly .
n e. C ur re nt

~, 5 of fu el w oo d an nu
toJ11le
a nu re eq ui va le nt to 14 m ill io n to nn es of
the r., it co ul d y ie ld m
n to nn es o f ph os ph at e a nd 0. 9 m ill io n to nn e s of
f~ og en ., 13 m iJl io lo gy h as br o u g ht a bo ut a so rt
111 ta sh . Th e s u cc es s of bi og as te ch no
~f Br ow n R ev ol ut io n in ru ra
l In dia .

SO LA R EN ER G Y
n e rg y o n th e ea rt h. It is m os t ab un d an t.,
sun is the so urce of al l e
un iv e rs a l s ou rc e of en er gy . A ll ot he r so urce s of
in ex ha us tib le an d th e s un . Se ve ra l so la r th e rm al
gt h fr om
en e rg y dr aw th ei r s tr en fo r co n vert ing s ol ar en er gy to
be en de ve lo pe d
techn ol og ie s ha ve la r w at er h ea te rs., so la r co ok ers.,
in cl ud e so
th er m al en er gy . Th es e
n sy st em s., e tc.
so la r he at ers., sola r di sti lla tio
ch no lo gy fo r lo w te m pe ra tu re ra ng e is m ai n ly
So la r W ate r he at ing te ch a bs or b so la r ra di at io n an d r ai se
s., w hi
ba se d on fla t pl at e co lle ct or °C . Th is ho t w at er ca n be u se d fo r
w at er up to 80
th e te m pe ra tu re of h o te ls. , ho s te ls., re st au ra nt s an d
in ho m es .,
va rio us ap pl ic at io ns pe ra tu re is u s ed in a nu m be r of
is te m
ho sp ita ls. H ot w ate r a t th e m s (s ol ar ge ys er s ) of ca pa ci tie s
la r w at e r sy st
ind us tri es al so . So pe r da y ar e s ui te d fo r do m es t ic
00 lit re s
ra ng in g fr om 10 0 to 3 om hu nd re ds to th ou sa nd s of lit re s
s fr
ap pl ic at io ns . La rg er sy st em s tri a l es ta bl is hm en ts . The u se of
er ci al an d in du
ar e us ed in co m m ty an d co nt ri bu tes to a re duc tio n
s e lec tri ci
sola r w at er he at er s save
in pe ak lo ad de m an d.
s an d dr ye rs ca n co nv en ie nt ly be u se d b o th in
So la r a ir he at er
in du str y an d ag ric ul tu re .
vi ce w hi ch co ok s fo od w ith the he lp of
Sola r co ok er is a s im ple de
v~ s _co nv en tio na l fu e ls to a s ig ni fic an t ex te nt .
sola r e n e rg y an d sa
IS p os si bl e t o co ok bo th n oo n a nd e ve ni ng
On clea r. s un ny da ys., It ce . D iff e re nt ty pe s of s o la r co o ke rs
g de vi
me als w ith a so la r co ok in
have been - ·-~.. .,........ ........ ... o . . . ,,

developed w hich include box sola r cooker, steam cook

so l ar me al maker w' ith heat s torage and co ncen t ra t ·1ng tyer'
community cooker. P~
Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) techn ology enables d irect co nversion 0f
sunl'igh t into
· electricity withou t an y n, ov ·in g parts a nd Wtthout
·
jl
causing pollution . Pho tovolta ic systen1 s an ~ power plants hav
l' t on s such as r h . e 11
emerged as viable power so urces for ap p ica 1 . . ig hng, ~
water pumping and telecommunica tion and ar~ being mcreasing1l' C
used for meeting the electrical energy need s in .rem ote vi llages 0
hamlets and hospitals, besides hou seholds in the hilly, foreS l, dese~
and is land.
I
C
Advantages and Disadvantages of Solar Energy: (

Advantages: '
~
t
• Solar energy is an u biqu itou s reso urce en e r gy is lauded as an
e
inexhaustible fu el sou rce.
~
• Solar Energy is pollu tion a nd often noise free.
C
The technology is a lso versatile, can be u sed a nywhere on the I
• earth and can be stored. f
f
Disa dvantages: ~
~
• Solar energy doesn' t work a t nig ht w itho ut a sto rage device
1
such as a ba ttery. (

• Cloudy vvea ther can make the techno logy unrelia ble during the
dil\.

• Solar technologies are also very exp e n s ive a nd require a lot of

la nd area to coHect the s un's e ner gy a t ·ra tes u seful to lots of
people.
De~pi te the drawbacks, solar en ergy use h as surged a t about 20
percen~ a y_earo:~r the past 15 years, tha nks to ra pidly falling prices
an~ ga ins in efficiency. Japan, Germa ny, a nd th e U nited States are
~1a1or n1arkets fo~ sola: ce!ls. With tax incentives, solar electricity
\.:an often pay for itself 1n five to ten yea rs.
 , 111• • ~ , . . - - . --~
110
·s bfesse d wt. t h P Ienty of solar en er ov beca u se m os t o a rts of
11
l •
c11a • . b . h b ., ,..
Jt' untrY receive n g t s unshine throughou t the y ear excef1t a
e co . d I d. ·
tl1. f r11 on soon p e n o · n ia rece1ves solar energy eq uivale nt to over
~r•e Otrillion kWh p er year w hich is fa r more than the total e n er g}
,,oo urnptio n of the country. The daily average of s o la r e ne rg~v
,o ·dent over I n d.ia van.es fr om 4 to 7 kWh/ m 2 dependin g u pon the.,
(IS

~:tio!l-Sola r_water hea~ers, solar refrigeration, solar dry ing, s treet

I_ J,ting, cooking, pumping, power gen era tio n , photo-volta ic solar
~;i]s, sola r ponds, etc. are becoming very popular in diffe re nt parts
the country.
0f .
(thoug h solar energy can be gainfully u sed in any part of the
~ontrYexcept some hig her areas in the Hima layan ra n ges, the Thar
~esert of Rajas~han holds great promis e in this directio n . Parts of
tathiawar p enins ula. M aharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh ,
~adhya Pradesh ~ West Bengal, Jharkhand, Biha r, Uttar Prad esh,
f!a.ryana and Pun1ab als o hold great p oss ibilities of h arnessing solar
energy .
~esearch a nd development in the field of solar thermal energy is
continuously being pursued in the country for over three decades.
f\S a result, several products have been developed indigenously. To
promote these products, a s ubsidy-based therma l ex te n s ion
programme was launched in 1984 and continued upto 1993. This
jnitiative had resulted in disseminating the solar thermal products
iJl different parts of the country . The main objectives of the Solar
Thermal Energy Programme, being implemented by the Minis try
of Non- conventional Energy Source (MNES), are commercializatio n
and utilization of solar thermal systems for the fulfilment of h eat
energy r e quirements of different applications in domes tic,
institutional and industrial sectors. It has five components viz. Solar
Thermal Extension Programme, Solar Cooker Programme, Solar
Buildings Pro g ramme, R esea r ch and Developme nt (R&D)
Programme and Aditya Solar Shops.

4. TIDAL ENERGY
Sea water keeps on rising and falling alternatively nvice a day under
the influ e nce of gravitational pull of m oo n a nd s un . T hi s
phen o m e n o n is known a s tides . Tidal energy is a form of
hydropower that converts the energy of the tides into electricity
204
or th
~
Enviro11111entnl Ma11nge111e11t (S. Y.B.M.S.: Sf
o er useful f . ~-,,11
forms of orms of power. Tidal Energy 1s one of the
British energy used by humans used on the Span ish, Fren ~1deii
stora ecoa sts, dating back to 787 A.O .. Tide _mills consist~ ~
g pond, filled by the incoming (flood) tide through a 01~
and tiemPtied durin
The . . slu-1
g the outgoing (ebb) tide throu~h a water¼ih c~
. de~turned waterwheels, producing mechanical power to ~-
grain. Tidal energy is produced through the use of tidal en ll\ill
g~nerators. These large underwater turbines are placed in areas er~,
high tidal movements, and are designed to capture the kinetic m~1~
of the ebbing and surging of ocean ti~es in order to pro~!~
electnc1ty. Tidal power has great potential for future power e
electricity generation because of the mass ive size of the oceans.
Energy can be naturally generated w~ere t.he tidal range .
T:
sufficiently high. Tidal Range is the ~ertical d_1fference in heig~~
between the high tide and the succeeding low tide.

' .
•
.. .
,.
t
~ ,.

TIDE COMING IN
h ~ t, tJol elect.ncrty generat:40n wort~ a,
~he t-iGte come, in and •in when it ~oe~
out . .,.he turt,ine9 are driven by th~ power
of the ~ 1n both dlrectioM.

TIDE GOING OUT

 205
. ; 11 Bu siness -An En vironmental Perspecliz1e
oz1t1 f1011
y be constructed to ca pture
1111' • • ·al tid al barrages or lagoo ns ma
c i Turbines in the ba rri er or lag oo n ge nerate electricity1as the
d
;,rtJ~' d re eas e
e. s retain ed can then be
t11e fl ods into the reservoir; water thu
ti

tjde goh turbines, again generating

electricity once the tide ou tside
,hrOLl .
IJ'' barrier ha s receded
1J1e
ys:
fid,il energy can be exploited in two wa
s across estuaries with a
By building semi permeable barrage
1. high range.

By harnessing offshore tidal streams.

2.
ry via slu ices and to empty
arrages allow tidal waters to fill an estura
8 be ha rnessed us ing off sh ore
through turbines. Tidal str eam s can
tur bin es.
tJJlderwater devices similar to wi nd
al ran ge ma y va ry ov er a wi de ,ra ng e (4.5-12.4 m) fro m sit e to
fid
ran ge of at lea st 7 mi s req uir ed for economical op era tio n
site. A tidal
tur bin es Mo st mo de rn tidal
and for sufficient head of wa ter for the
cep ts em plo y a da m ap pro ac h wi th hy dr au lic tur bin es. A
con
of tid al po we r is its low cap aci ty factor, an d it mi sse s
drawback
.5 hr cycle of the tides. Th e tot al
peak de ma nd times because of 12
ha s been est im ate d at 64, 000
world potential for ocean tidal po we r
ft tid al va ria tio ns of Pa ssa ma qu od dy Bay (Bay of
M½7e. Th e 25- 30
een 800 to 14, 000 MWe.
fundy) have the potential of be tw
ly alt ho ug h the tec hn olo gy req uir ed to ha rne ss tidal en erg y
Current
abl ish ed, tid al po we r is ex pe nsi ve, an d the re is on ly on e
is well est
era tio n. Th is is a 240 me ga wa tt
major tidal generating station in op
tts ) at the mo uth of the La Ra nc e
(1me ga wa tt= 1 MW = 1 million wa
of France (a lar ge coal or nu cle ar
river est ua ry on the no rth ern co ast
power pla nt generates ab ou t 1,000
MW of electricity). The La Rance
tin g sta tio n ha s be en in op era tio n since 1966 an d ha s be en a
gepera
le sou rce ~f ele ctrici ty for Fra nc e. La Rance wa s su pp os ed
very reliab
ts in France, un til the ir nu cle ar
to be one of ma ny tidal po we r·p lan
the late 1960' s.
program was greatly ex pa nd ed in
206 Environme11tnl Ma11age111e11t (5. Y.B .M.S.: Sf->.,,
A ·~-¼
dvantages and Disadva ntages of Tidal Energy: '

Advantages:

• Tidal energy is a renewab le source of e lectricity·

• It does not result in the emissio n ~f ga~es resp_o ns ible for glo~ 1
warmin g or acid rain associat ed with fosS tl fuel generated
. .
e Iec tr1c1ty.

• Use of tidal energy could also decre~s e the need for nucle
power, with its associat ed radiatio n risks. ilr

Disadvantages:
t
• Changin g tidal flows by dammin g a bay or_ eS uary could
. and shorelit.'
howeve r, res ult in negativ e impacts don aquatic ...,e
ecosyste ms, as well as navigat ion an recreati on.

• As there are two high and two low tides each day, electricat
is characte rized by period
g eneratio n from tidal power plants 'h s
of maxim um generati on every ™:'elve hours, wit no electricity
gen eration at the six hour mark m between .
It is estimate d that India possess~s 8000-9000 _M W of tid~l energy
potential. The Gulf of Khambha t is the best suited area with about
7000 MW potentia l of tidal energy. This is followe d by Gulf of
Kachchh (1000 MW) and Sunderb ans (100 MW). A 900 MW tidal
power plant is propose d to be set up in the Gulf of Kachchh at the
cost of~ 4,000 crore.

5. GEO-TH ERMAL ENERG Y

Geo-the rmal energy is the heat of the earth's interior. This energy is
manifes ted in the hot springs. Large reservo irs within the ground
contain hea ted water from internal heat in the earth. This heated
water can create steam, thereby produ cing geother mal energy. Only
certain regions of the earth have these geother mal hotspots, usually
in tectonical1y active areas or volcanic areas, such as Hawaii and
Iceland. Yellows tone Nationa l Park would be a very good resource
for geothermal energy. Artificially geother mal energy can be created
by identify ing the regions where there are how rocks and hot belts
 20,....
. ; B11c; i11ess - /\11 F11v1 ro11111e11tnl Perspcct1i'e
1 11
,,,(l l tCJI
up to the
11111 ' the ear th .The n by dril ling a hol e into the ear th
1 s tea m g us h o ut of the
i,e11e"~~s a nd ins tiJling a pip e in it le t the hot
,,ot•tliroand rota te the turb ines w hich a re s tra teg icall.,y loca ted ove r
et1J .
11e pl Pe.
ibil itiec; of
not ver y rich in this sou rce. The re are vas t p oss
1
• js
Ind ia. Abo ut 340
Jf'ld :iop ing a nd exp loit ing geo the rm al e ne rgy in
of the m hzi ve
dev spr in g loca litie s hav e bee n iden tifie d; ma ny
urv eys are be ing
i,ot per atu re nea ring boil ing poi nt. Ext ens ive s
tet11ducted to dev elop geo ther mal ene rgy for dire
ct hea t and pov vc r
cofl .
,,er atio n.
ge
c ted s ites in
sess me nt o f Geo the rma l ene rgy potenti al of sele
cha l, Jha rkh a nd
~m u and Kas hm ir, Him ach al Pra des h, Utta ran
e n. A five kW
nd Ch ha ttis gar h has bee n/i s bei ng und e rtak
ed a t Ma nik ara n
aeoth ermal pilo t pow er plan t has bee n com mis sion
~ J(ul lu dist rict of Him ach al Pra des h.
n esti ma ted in
A potenti a l of 4-5 MW . geo -the rma l p ower has · bee
this pot ent ial has
puga Valley of Lad akh in J&K. Pla n to exp loit
rma l power pla nt
t,een fina lise d. San ctio n for ins talla tion of a geo the
bee n gra nte d. A
at Tat tapa ni geo ther mal fields in Chh atti sga rh has
y farm ing u s in g
pro ject on mu shr oom c ulti v atio n and p o ultr
io na l Res ear ch
geot her mal pow er is und er imp lem enta tion a t Reg
Labo rato ry, Jam mu .

6. NU CLE AR ENE RG Y
typ e of the rma l
Nuclear or atom ic p owe r is theo reti call y a spe cial
to gen era te s team .
energy as the pro cess crea tes hea t whi ch is use d
rma l pow er pla nt.
Then onw ard s it has the sam e tech niq ue as the the
In nuc lear ene rgy cha nge s are mad e in the stru
ctu re of the nuc lei of
ns. The en erg y
atoms. The se cha nge s a re call ed nuc lear rea ctio
en erg y or ato mic
created in a nuc lear reac tion is call ed nuc lear
energy.
niq ues of Nuc lear
Nuclear ene rgy is gen erated by usin g the tech
nuc lei of a tom s
Fusion and Nuc lear Fiss ion. In Nuc lear Fus ion, the
diti ons . Th e s un,
are join ed toge ther or fus ed und er very hot con
Nuc lear Fu s ion. In
like all oth er stars crea tes hea t and ligh t thro ugh
Hy dro ge n bom b,
the sun, hyd rog en nu~lei fuse to mak e Hel ium. The
LlJlj
Enviro11111e11tnl M,111nge111c11t (~.Y.H.M.S.: srM,111
1
hum ·t ' most .
powerful and destructive weapon works on th
ant Ys
~echnology of Fusion. The heat required to start the fu sion reacti ~
ts so ~reat that an atomic bomb is used to provide it. Hydrog~~
nuclei fu se to fo rm Helium and in the process release huge amount
of energy thus producing a huge explosio n. s

In Nuclear Fiss ion the nuclei of at01ns are split causing energy t
' k . o
be released. The atomic bomb and nuclear reactors war by Fission.
The element Uranium is the main fuel used to undergo nuclear
fission to produce energy since it has 1nany tavorable properties. In
this technology artificiall y the nuclei of a single atom ?f Uranium J.
235 is split causing multiple neutrons to be relea~ed which are used
to split other uranium nuclei. This phenomenon 15 known as a chain
reaction.
0
1.
O ~\,.
Fission
fragment

/ / ~e/4111'
- '/~ /
~ ---....A Free 2.
·..,,1 - - -+ Nucleu - - - ------,,,-V neutrons
Neutron """-,;..,., , ~ ,

''""'
's~, '•
',-x
/;\Fiss ion
\i,;11 fragment 3.

Fig. 4.1 : Fission of Uranium

4
A 11e11tro11 strikes tire 11ra11i11m 235 1wcleus, producing fission fragments a11d free
ueutrons aud releasiug heat. Tl1e released 11eutro11s may then each strike anotl,er
uranium 235 a tom, releasing more 11e11tro11s, fissio11 fragments, and e11ergy. As tire
process co11ti,wes a clrain reaction develops.

The process of atomic fusion and fission (breaking) creates enormous

heat which has to be controlled carefully. This heat is used to heat
the water to convert into steam.
 a Ru.;i11r.;c; -A n l:11 v 1ro11111e11ta/ Pa~pecln•c 209
·•ti I ll)11111
,,,,,
/1
1 tages of Nuclear energy:
0vafl
: ~ ,he Earth hat, l.i mited s upplies of coa l and oil. Nuclea r po\i, er
I• pJants could still produce electric ity after coal and oil becon1es
scarce on earth.

rJuclea r power plants need less fuel than ones which burn fossil
Z. fuels . One ton of Uraniu n1 produc es more energy than is
produc ed by several million tons of coa l or severa J miIJion

I barrels of oil.

Coal and oil burnin g plants pollute the air. Well operat ed
J. nuclea r power plants do not release contan 1inant s in the
environn1ent.

ojsadvantages of Nuclear Energy:

now have n1ore than enoug h nuclea r
1. The nations of the world logy can
bombs to kill all living organis ms on earth. The techno
be used destructively by nations resulti ng in nuclear war which
would have devast ating effects. Moreo ver there is also the fear
of this techno logy being wrongf ully used by terroris t as well.

2. Nuclea r explos ions produc e radiati ons which harms the cells
of the body and can make people sick or even kill them. Illness
than strike people even years after their exposu re to nuclea r
radiati ons. E.g. Victims of Hirosh ima and Nagas aki atomic
bombi ng during II world war.
type
3. There is high chances of nuclea r accide nts. One possib le
of reactor disaste r is known as a meltdo wn. In such an accide nt
the fission reactio n goes out of contro l leading to a nuclea r
explos ion and the emissi on of great an,oun ts of radiati on.

4. Nuclea r reactors also have waste dispos al proble ms. Reacto rs

produ ce nuclea r was te produ cts which emit dange rous
radia tions which could kill people who touch them. The nuclea r
waste cannot be thrown away as ordina ry waste or garbag e
and needs special care. Curren tly many countr ies store their
nuclea r waste in special cooling pools at the nuclea r reactor
site itself.
 r::. 11 u I1u1111I t fl11H , vu.,, ..6 - --- -

5. Nuclear reactors only last for about forty to fifty year.

,
Examples of Nuclear Disasters are:
• In 1979, the cooling system failed at the Three Mi_le Island
Nuclear reactor near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA.
Radiation leaked, forcing tens oft thousands of people to
flee. The problem was solved minutes before a total
tneltdown would have occurred. Fortuna tely there were
no deaths reported.

CHERNOBYL - EXPLOSION IN THE ATOMIC REACTOR

(26TH APRIL, 1986)

Those were the days of April end in the year 1986. The
scientists from Sweden noticed that there was an increasing
proportion of radiation in the surrounding environment. They
thought, probably their own atomic reactor ma y be
experiencing some leakage. However, they could not find any
fault with their own plant even after repeated check-ups Later
on, there were news received from neighbouring Norway,
Denmark, Finland about the increasing level of radiation . The
flows were observed blowing from the Baltic Sea towards
north-west. Immediately, the Scientists suspected that there
could be somewhere, either an explosion in an atom bomb or
a collapse of an atomic reactor; but where?
Michie} Garbaschev had just introduced his 'Glasnost' with '
i
'freedom of speech and thought'. Even then, as usuat the
Russian Government kept silent. Lastly the expected news I

appeared o~ the Russian T.V. There was an explosion of one

~f the atomK reactors located at Chernobyl in Ukraine. The
time of explosion wa.s 1.24 a.m. on Saturday, the 26th April,
1986, as per the Russian standard time.
~ussian~ had built a group of four atomic plants at Chernobyl
in l)kra1ne state. These were of 'Wa ter-cooled-gra phite
moderated' -type plants. This means that the core of the atomic
I
 ntio11 i11 Business -An Enviromncntnl Perspective
I1111ov 211

reactor was kept

. cooled with water and to redu ce the speed of
eutron partic1es produced due to the atomic fiss ion was
~011trolled usin g graphitic cove r. This group of four
plants at
Chern oby l_accou~ted .for 17% of the total electric energy
prod~ced in Russ ia.. Similarly~ as much as 2000 tonnes of
atonuc fuel was being used 1n these plants. Russia had
posse_ssed suffi cien t quantity of plutonium necessary for
atomic weapons. But there were many fault left with
Chernobyl reactors.
The explosion at Chernobyl atomic plant is a typical example
of unsuitable, uncapable and useless human tendency. It was
a result of very wrong decisions taken by an inexperienced
officer. In order to check the minimum capacity of the working
plant at Chernobyl, these officers forced the technicians to
follow their orders and made in all six blunders! The experts
said, 'even if, any one of these mistakes were avoided, they
coul d have saved the plant from explosion.
After explosion, the Chernobyl plant was burning for about
12 days. It was exactly like an explosion of an atomic bomb.
31 people died on the spot and in all 1 lakh 35 thou sand
Russians were to be displaced elsewhere. The agricultural land
upto the radius of 50 kms. around Chernobyl was affected by
radiation and had become useless. The area lying upto
Northern Europe was influenced and food grain, milk,
vegetables and meat worth crores of dollars had to be
destroyed. By 1995, the number of death due to Chernobyl
explosion went to 1.25 lakhs. Many of the newly born kids
were physically handicapped and the land around Chernobyl
would remain non-cultivable for about next 100 years. The
loss for Russia due to this accident was very heavy -358 billions
of clollars. This is the 'Memorial' of Chernob yl Atomic
Explosion!!
Ll L c11VI ron111en tnt JVJf,4/U◄ c, ..... · · - .,' )
r------------------.._
N.B.:
(1) Germa n governme nt has recently decided to completely
close the atornic power s ta tiorts 0 11e by one !
Sh o uld the n e wly d eve loping countries tu~n for their
(2) . d tl11·s alternative (atom 1·c
energy requ1re m en t to war s
en e r gy)?
What lesson s h o uld India learn from C h e rno by l accident?
(3)
... .....
EUROPE
b /
/ - ... .... ' ' '
/ '
I 4001<11, ' \
- ~ oscow ,
200 '
/ -,; ' \
I " -. \ \
\ '\
•- Che
J nfobyl I
'
-- /

Cloud of Radioactive Diffusion during Chernobyl Explosion

• On June 6, 2011 Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear plant

experienced a full meltdown in the ~ake of a11 earthquake
whic h struck the region on March 2011 followed by a
ts unami.
 . - - I
. 1 ill Bus11tes~ - l'H L L..l 1V i, v,. , .. .. . ....

1,,,,OvattO'

Fu ku sh im a Po we r Pl an t 20 11

fu s io n a nd fis sio n (b r ea ki ng ) cr ea te s e n o rm o u s
'[he proc es s of atom ic . Th i s h ea t is u se d to h ea t
be co nt ro lle d ca r ef ul ly
he at w hi ch h as to o nly m a jo r dra w ba ck o f th
is
co nv er t in to s tea m . T he
the w a te r to cr ea s in g ly in th e d ev el o p e_d
er n an d us ed in
po w e r, thou g h m o d e r a dio ac tiv ity o f th e a to m ic
S.A ., U. K. , Fr an ce , is th
coun tri es like U. n ge ro us r a di a tio n in to th e
to sp r ea d d a
mi ne r al s w hich i s lik ely tic at e d te ch no lo gy is u se d in
th o u g h th e so ph is
en vi ro nmen t. Ev en l pr ob le m s to the s ur ro un di ng
tes s u ch en vi ro nm e n ta
this ca se, it cr ea bi l (in R us si a) it h a d ca u se d
ts lik e C h e rn o
are as . In ca se of ac cid en f prec au tio n a ry m ea su re s
Eu ro p e in th e p as t. Lo t o
ha vo c th ro u g h o ut o n th e u se of thes e m ine r al
s
na l co nt ro l is n ec es sa ry
an d in te rnat io ic p ow er p la nt lik e T a r a pu r in
o pm e nt o f a to m
and in th e d ev el
M ah ar as ht ra .
cu lti es , t he r e ar e pl an s in In di a to incr ea se th e
In s pi te of s uc h di ffi uc h area s w he r e the r ai nf al
l
ge n e ra tio n es p ec ia lly in s
nu cle ar p ow er pl ac es . (R ef er to the m a p ) So
bl e a t d is ta nt
is les s a n d coal is av ai la du e to hi g h e r tra n sp or t cos t
al pl a nt s ar e co stl y
tha t no rm al th er m a nd u nr el ia ble r ai n . A re as
is n o t po ss ib le du e to le ss
an d H .E .P . a r e id ea l. A cco rd in gl y th e
11e y co al fie ld s
aw ay fro m D am od a r va ka m ; N ar oa; Ko ta ; K ak ra pa ra
os en : (f ar ap ur , K aJ pa
~~ j'er s ite s ar e ch
 l..ll lVI/ Vlll /ll,1 111
11 '" " ' ' "o ••
--- - - - --.a,, /J JI
---------

INDIA
ATOMIC POWER t
PLANTS !
'

• • .. 0
•,.••
,. ' '•

b
A ATOMIC POWER PLANTS
(1/jj)> COAL - FIELDS

Fig. 4.2: Atomic Pl an ts in In di a

r,,,,,,,, .
•1(1 {1 (1 /
I JI/ F /J

E BUS
l'

INE
ll

SS
lf

M
''
ODELS
- A ll F11V1ro//1111!
1111111 i , ., .. . .
..

INNOVATIV

o T O V R IS M
:
v e l to n a tu r a l a re a s that
eC rism is defin ed as " res ponsible vtreas th e well-being o f local
u e nt a n d impro
e e n v ir o n m
eco t~rves th .
1990 ).
c 1 . " (TIES'
0115
e ) d e fi n e s E c o tou ri s m a s
peoP n Union (IUC
N to
World C o n s e r v a ti o
n a tu r a l a re as, in o r de r
n ta ll y . r e s p o n sible travel to in g c u lt u r a l fea~u~ es,
: ; : v irorun e nd accompan
y
a p p r e c ia te n a tu re (a
a ti o n , h a v e a low v1s1to r
n·o y and t) th a t p romote conserv io - e c o n o n1ic
e pa in s t a n d p
p
r
r
e
o
s
v
e n
id e fo r beneficiall y a c ti v e s o c
.: p a c t a n d
e m e n t o f lo c a l peoples." u ri s m a s
~volv fi n e s e c o - to
a l E c o -t o u r is m Socie ty de th e e n v iro n m en t
r n a ti o n s e r v e s
fhe J n te
v e l to n a tu ra l areas tha t con
"responsible tra ll -b e in g o f loc al people."
the we r v a ti o n,
a!ld improves as is o n c o n s e
ti n g u is h e d by its e m p h v e c o mmunity
is d is d a c ti
eco tourism e rs ' r e s p o n s ib il ity a n a n d s u s ta in in g
n , tr a v e ll r e s e r v in g
ed ucatio u ri s m is focussed o n p n v ir o n m e n ts .
It
a tio n . E c o -t o c u lt u ra l e
particip
o f th e w o r ld 's natural a n d a y th a t is minimalJy
t],e di versit y w
n d e n te r ta in s visitors in a u s ta in s & s u p p o r ts
d a te s a t a n d s
acco mmo
tr u c ti v e to th e e n v ir o n m e n n g in . R e s p o nsi bility
s
ifltTu sive o r d e th e lo c a ti o ns it is o p e r a ti in e m e a n in g for
u lt u r e s in e g e n u
the na ti ve c
a n d s e rv ic e p rov id e r s is th
rs
of both travelle
eco-tourism. d s u p p o r t th e d iver s ity
n
e n d e a v o u r s to encourage a r e la te d in c o m e is
s m a ls o r is m -
Eco-touri
m ie s f o r w h ic h th e to u v ic e s a n d p roducers
econ o r
J of local p o r t fr o m to urists, local se lo c a l families c a n
it h s u p s a n d
important. W la r g e r, fo reign c o m p a n
ie
p roduced from
p e te w it h e r e v e n u e
can com
s e lv e s . B e s id es all these, th to f u n d c o n s e r v a ti o n
support them n c o u r a g e s g o v e r n m e n ts p r o v id e m u c h -
s a n d e m c a n
tourism help g p r o g r a m s . E c o to u r is a r k s a n d o th er
n d tr a in in a ti o n a l p
projects a r th e p r o te c ti o n o f
n
b le f r o m o th e r
u e s fo v a il a
needed reven n u e s th a t m ig h t n o t be a
natural areas
- reve
sources.
 se s I -·····-· ····· .. ·-······o -...-.. .
E co -t o u ri sm fo cu e ss ad v en tu r,\
al cu lt u re s, w il d e rn . \,; s,
te er in g o n oc . s to hv e
V o lu n , p er so n al g. ro w th a n d le ar n in g n e w w a y 0
o u r v u ln er ab l 1 d ef in ed as tr av el to d es ti na nns
tio
W h er e th fl oe ra P an et . It 1s ty pd ic al ly . ta ge a re th e p ru. n ar
at tr ac ti o
e R ' fa u i:1-a, a n c u lt u ra l h er 1
-t o u ri sm in c lu d e s p ro g ra m s thft
b le E c o
m in i . n s. es p o n s1 fe ct s o f tr ad it io n al to u ri sm o n th eI natura l
. m iz e th e ad v erse ef ·
in te g ri· ty o f I oc a peopl
e n v ir o n m en t, a n d en h an ce th e c u lt u ra l a n d cu lt ur :j
Th g e n v ir o ru n e n ta l
to e v a lu a ti n
f er ef o~ e,_ ~ ad d it io n o sp it al it y p ro v id e rs to p ~ o m o te recycling,
h
ac to rs , m 1t ia ti ve s b y , a n d th e c~ ea h o n o f ec on on ,i c
w a te r re u se g ra l p ar t of Eco-
en er g y ef fi ci en cy , n it ie s a re a n in te
ca l c o m m u
o p p o rt u ru ti es fo r lo
to u. ri sm .
cu I tu ra l c o n se rv a ~ io n, p re se rv at ion,
al a n d os el y related
H is to ri ca l, b io lo g ic m e o f th e fi el d s cl
m en t et c. a re so fa st es t gr ow in g
s u s ta in ab le d ev el o p c o n si ~ e re d th e
-t o u ri sm is sm
to E co -T o u ri sm . E co in d us tr y, a c c o rd in g to th e W o rl d Touri
sm rl d w id e and
m ar k et in th e to u ri th ra te o
_ f 5 % w o
a n a n n u a l g ro w u ct , 11 .4 % of all
O rg an iz at io n w it h ss d o m e st ic p ro d
th e w o rl d g ro
re p re se n ti n g 6 % o f t a m a rk e t to b e ta k e n li g h tl y .
- n o
con s u m e r s p e n d in g
o n a w id e sp re a d ar ea s in th e nearby
E co -t o u ri sm h a s p
ro sp e re d ce ss fr o m M um ba i, the
a n d ac
p . T h e n e a rn e ss f K o n k an and the
K o n k an co as ta l st ri la n d le ss p e o p le o
la n d , th e , h av e al l gi ve n rise
li m it ed ag ri cu lt u ra l e n af te r g ra d u a ti o n
y m en t e v a n d 'Coastal
g ro w in g n o n -e m p lo s o f 'H il l re so rt s'
h sp ec ia l ty p e to th e tourists
to ' E co -t o u ri sm ' w it n t ru ra l ex p er ie n ce
iv es a d if fe re rt p la ce s. Dahanu,
re so rts' . T h is ty p e g ti m e in su c h re so
a sh o rt il ls h av e developed
w h e n th e y li v e fo r e S a h y a d ri a n fo o th
as a n d th
P al g h ar, V as ai ta lu k .
su ch ty p e o f to u ri sm
E co to u ri sm :
C h ar ac te ri st ic s o f
s, lo w -i m p ac t v is it o r' b eh av io r.
• C o n sc ie n ti o u
n d a p p re c ia ti o n o f, lo ca l cu lt u re s and
a
• S en si ti v it y to w a rd s,
b io d iv er si ty .
rt fo r lo ca l c o n se rv a ti o n ef fo rt s.
• Suppo
n ab le b en ef it s to lo ca l co m m u n it ie s.
• S u st ai
 -, 7 -
/

- An £ 11v iro 11111ental Pe rsp ect u c

1
•n Bu sin
•
ess
• •
fi0 /1 I
Jt1''ot1fl pa rti c ipa tio n in de cis ion -m ak ing.
~ 0 ca 1 aI
, on e nts for bo th the tra v e l er an d lo c
d u ca tio na J co mp
£ ..
, co n:i rnu n 1t1e s .

. pJ es of Ec o tou ris m
b · · · · s, an d su~t1111· 1al1Jc,
·ou, co1111nun 1fle
ffjt 1 Cl
ris m is a o ut u111hng con ser val 1 d . . .
c o to UT his m ea n s tha t th ose wh o im ple me nt a n pa r tic ipa te in
,:,C
I ll o w the fo llo wi ng ec oto ur ism
trPv e ·ur i s m ac tiv i ti es s h ou ld fo
co t o
e -11c ipl es:
pfl
.M ini m ize im pa ct.
, l aw are n ess a n d res pe ct.
il d en v iro nm en ta l an d c ult ura
, Bu
th v is ito rs a n d h os ts.
, pr ov ide p osi tiv e ex p erie n ces fo r bo
d ire ct fin a n cia l be n e fits fo r co n ser va tio n .
, Pr ov ide
o w e rm e nt fo r loc a l pe op le.
, Pro vid e fin a n cia l ben efi ts an d e mp
p o litica l, en viro nm e nta l, a nd
, R a ise sen s itiv ity to h ost co un tries'
so cia l cli ma te.
sic do 's an d do n't s of eco -to ur ism are lis ted be low :
som e ba

oo 's
r s u c h as e mp ty b o ttle s, tins,
C arry b ack all n o n -d e gra d a ble litte
• pla sti c ba gs e tc. Th ese mu s t n o t litte r the e n v iro nm e nt o r b e
ey mu s t be dis po sed in mu nic ipa l dus tbi ns o nly .
bu rie d . Th
ve the san cti ty of h o ly s ite s, te mp les an d loc a l c ult ure s .
• O b ser
a lo ud r a d ios , t a p e rec orders
e p o llu tio n . D o n o t bla re
• C ut n
o r o the
ois
r e lec tro nic e nte r tai nm e nt eq u ipm e nt in n a tu re r es or ts,
s anc tua rie s an d wi ldl ife p ark s.
t - up n ea r ca m ps i tes , af ter
• In ca se tem por a r y t o ile ts a r e se
nd . M a k e s ure tha t the sp ot is
de fec atio n , co ve r w ith mu d o r .sa
w a te r so urce .
a t lea st 30 me te rs aw ay fr om the
hil e tak in g p h o tog rap h s. As k for
• Re_s p ec t p e? p~e ' s pr iva cy w
p h o togr a ph .
p rio r p e rm 1ss1o n befor e ta kin g a
 LIOOTEnal 1 i g t n

Don'ts
tings, seed,
Do not take away flora and fauna in the forms ofcuttin Sseeds
or roots. It is illegal, especially in the Himala
environment is really
alayas.
delicate in this region and the bin
The
Th

at all costs,
bio-
versity of the region has to be protected
streams or sprine
Do not use pollutants such as detergent,
in
prings
while washing and bathing
food at the campsite. Do ny
wood as fuel to cook
not use
DO make open
fires in the torests.
Cave cigarettes butts or

D o not consume aerated drinks, alcohol,

arugs orany other
the wild.
ntoxicant and throw bottles in

especially children by ofteringthem

Do not tempt the locals, traditions.
foodstuff or sweets. Respect local
are non
biodegradable and unhealthv
Polythene and plastics and littered.
and must not be used
environment
for the

GREEN MARKETING3
of seling products and/or
refers to the process
Green marketing Such a product or
their environmental benefits.
services based on
friendly in itself or produced and/
service may be environmentally
in an environmentaly
friendiy way.
oreen
Marketing
packaged on environmental
and services based
reters to marketing products
awareness. Green marketing
companies seekto goabove
factors or
core
and beyond traditional marketing by promoting environmental
associate these values with
values in the hope that c o n s u m e r s will
sustainable activities
their company or Engaging in these
brand.
line that caters to a new target
can lead to creating a new product
market.
is that potential
The obvious assumption of green marketing
as a benefit
or service's "greenness"
consumers will view a product
The not-so-obvious
and base their buying decision accordingly.
is that consumers will bewillingto
assumption of green marketing
than they would for a less-green
pay more tor green products
that, in my opinion
comparable alternative product-an assumption
has not been proven conclusively.
 jon in Busines5 - 1/l Clolronmental Perspective
Busile

nnoanth
of
oreen marketing growing greatly as increasing numbers
is

Dack their environmental consciousnesses

While

to
mers are wmg
consume
it Can
De dangerous. The public tends to be
their
wit dolars,
w

,al ofg
otical
i

of green claims to begin with and companies can seriously

t h

to
a m a g et h e
ge their brands and their sales if a green claim is discovered
oractices.
lee or contradicted by company's other products or
a
d a n

b et a l s e o r

product a when it's not is called

or
service as green
scenting
g r e e nw a s h

ng
i n g

odel green marketing mix contains four "P's":

A

Product: A producer should offer ecological products which

must not contaminate the environment but should
not only
orotect it and even liquidate existing environmental damages.
P
for such products may be a little higher than
Price: Prices
conventional alternatives. But target groups like for example
LOHAS are willing to pay extra for green products.

distribution logistics is of crucial importance; main

Place: A
focus is on ecological packaging. Marketing local and seasonal
products eg. vegetadies from regional farms is more easy to be
marketed "green" than products imported.

Promotion: A communication with the market should put stress

on environmental aspects, for example that the company
be
DOSsesses a CP certificate or is IS0 14000 certified. This may
to improve a firm's image. Furthermore, the fact that
publicized
a company spenas expenditures on environmental protection
should be advertised. Third, sponsoring the natural
environment is also very important. And last but not least,
ecologicalproducts will probably require special sales
promotions.
Green marketing can be a very powerful marketing strategy though
when it's done right.

ORGANIC FARMING:

Organic farming system is a method of farming system which

primarily aimed at cultivating the land and raising crops in such a
way, as to keep the soil alive and in good health by use of organic
 220

wastes Environmental Management

biological(crop, animal
materials along
and farm (S.Y.B.M.S.: SEMJ
to
release nutrients ong with wastes, aquatic wastes) and
an eco beneficial
crops for increased microbes (bioferti other
to cro
friendly pollution free erti
sustainable productionliz ers)
As per the
definition environment. on in
(USDA) study team on United States
of the
which avoids
or
largely
organic
ors
farming Department
"organic of Agriculture
arming is
as
fertilizers, excludes the use of a

maximum extent synthetic inputssystem

pesticides, hormones, feed additives
animal feasible rely upon crop etc) and to(such
manures, off-farm rotations, crop the
additives and organic waste, mineral grade residues,
protection". biological system of nutrient mobilization rock
and plant

GREEN LEAF
VERMICOMPOST MANURES
CROP ROTATION

ORGANIC
FARMING

MANURES

BIOLOGICAL
MANAGEMENT

BIOFERTILIZERS ANIMAL
HUSBANDRY

In simple words, Organic farming is a process in which a farmer is

not using pesticides and genetically modified organisms along with
fertilizers plus antibiotics to grow his vegetables and fruits. The main
goal of Organic farming is to produce environment and human
 227
Business -

An Environmental Perspective
01ation in and earth
which can benefit the humans
Griendly agro-ecosystem,
in general. Some of the
main purposes of the Organic
vironment degradation, optimize
biological
farming are minimize soil maintain soil
materials, decrease pollution,
oroductivity, recycle maintain vital qualities
of
the health of livestock,
fertility, promotes is a viable and profitable
alternative
the products. Organicallfarming
the farmers, but with many
challenges..
farming method for Cultivation,
methods of Organic farming includes,
Different and biological pest
rotation, green manure, compost
fertilizers, crop the productivity of
Which is there to e n s u r e and enhance
control.
without the use kind of chemical materials.
of any
the crops,

Need of Organic Farming

would be not only
With the increase in population o u r compulsion
to stabilize agricultural production
but to increase it further in
sustainable manner. The scientists have realized that the 'Green
Revolution' with high input use has reached a plateau and is n o w

sustained with diminishing return of falling dividends. Thus, a

natural balance needs to be maintained at all cost for existence of
life and property. There is aneed for world food production to
increase but at the same time environmental care and health issues
are also on the forefront of the planners. Non-organic foods have
numerous toxic pesticides which is linked to cancer and other life
threatening diseases. Changing over to organic farming may be the
solution in the long term but it also has to be understood that with
organic farming the food production may reduce and food may
actually get to become more expensive.

The general principles of organic production

Protecting the long term fertility of soils by maintaining organic
matter levels,
encouraging soil biological activity, and careful
mechanical intervention.
Protect the environment, minimize soil
erosion, decrease pollution, degradation and
and promote a sound state ofoptimize
health.
biological productivity
Maintain long-term soil fertility by
biological activity within the soil.
optimizing conditions for
LLL

Environmental Management (S. Y.B.M.S.:

Nitrogen self-sufficiency SEM-I1)
biological nitrogen fixation,through well
the us gumes and
organic materials including as as
erte
crop residues and
recycling of
manures. livestock
aintain
biological diversity within the system.
Recycle materials and resources to the greatest extent possible
within the enterprise.
rovide attentive care that promotes the health and meets the
behavioral needs of livestock.
repare organic products, emphasizing careful processing, and
handling methods in order to maintain the organic integrity
and vital qualities of the products at all stages of
production.
Weed, disease and pest control relying primarily on crop
rotations, natural predators, diversity, organic manuring.
resistant varieties and limited (preferably minimal) thermal.
biological and chemical intervention.

Methods of Organic Farming:

Instead of chemicals, organic farming uses a lot of organic
matter to give crops the nutrients that they need to
grow. Clover, for example, has a lot of nitrogen in it and farmers
use it to make the soil better.

Manure from animals and compost are also used to enrich the
soil. These fertilizers also help conserve the soil, not
after a few years.
destroy it
Organic farmers also use crop rotation to preserve the good
qualities of soils and avoid
monoculture.
Chemical pesticides destroy or weaken many of the natural
enemies of pests, like birds o r
frogs. They also can kill
those insects that control a great number of pests.
Organic farming creates new living areas for wasps, bugs,
beetles and flies by giving them water and food.
 Business
-

An Environmental Perspective
ation in straw
are
controlled by using special machines. Hay,
Weeds between the rows of plants to
are put
and wood chips
stop weeding.

a n organic way.
products c a n be produced in
Maty agricultural that a r e fed
and eggs c o m e from animals
Meat, dairy products live in conditions that
organically and can They
graze outdoors.
in pastures and
natural to them. Cows, for example, a r e kept
are
fruit a r e also produced with organic
fields. Vegetables and
methods.

and Disadvantages
Organic Farming Advantages

Advantages
of Organic Farming:
costs because they do not
Farmers can reduce their production
and fertilizers.
need to buy expensive chemicals
Healthier farm workers.

farms save energy and protect

In the long term, organic
the environment.It c a n slow down global warming.
Fewer residues in food.
in natural
More animals and plants c a n live in the same place a

way. This is called biodiversity.

Pollution of ground water is stopped.

Disadvantages of Organic Farming:

food is m o r e expensive because farmers do not get
as
Organic
much out of their land as conventional farmers do. Organic

products may cost up to 40% more.

workers.
Production costs are higher because farmers need more

Marketing and distribution is not efficient because organic food

is produced in smaller amounts.

Food illnesses may happen more often.

 Environnmental Management 1.B.M.S.: .S.: SEM
(>. SEM-II)
224 oduce enough food that the
farming
cannot prodi
uld lead to
This coul world's
Organic
population
needs

produce
to s u r v i v e .
enough food today.
tarvation
in
countries that
can be a alternative
viablealt productiónrmethod
alternative productión
farming
Organic challenges.
. there a r e many
farmers, but
for
ECO FRIENDLY PACKAGING:

material which is used

to

is defined any
as
Items like glassi ontain,
Packaging
protect, handle,
deliver and present goods.
wrappers, timber
od
food ottles,
containers,
aluminium cans,
waste can
allets
plastic
a r e all
classified as packaging. Packaging arise
and drums supermark.rkets, retail outle
wide range of s o u r c e s including
from a
manufacturing industries, households, Is, hotels, hospitals, restaura
and transport companies.

relatively short life,

it soon becomes a waste
waste has a
Packaging off.
treated or disposed
that must be
different methods are used to manage packaging wasth
A number of thermal treatmentand
included reuse, recycling, composting,
These
landfill.

waste can have a number of impactson

Packaging and packaging can be associated
with the
environment. Some of impacts
these
the
materials used for manufacturing the packagine
extraction of the raw
with the manufacturing processes, the
itself, impacts associated
waste and its subsequent treatment or
collection of packaging
s o m e critical substances
In addition packaging may contain
disposal. a risk the to
PVC and heavy metals which may pose
e.g.,
environment.

Due to the accelerated increase of waste generation, many

environmental
organizations have made it their goal to promote
awareness. Manufacturing plants have
also started doing their share
for the preservation of the environment and many have opted
to

for their products.

implementenvironmentally friendly packaging
Environmentally friendly packaging isn't an optional item. It's
increasingly a mandate, due to corporate standards, consumer tastes,
and/or government policies. Green packaging, sustainable
to
packaging, eco-triendly packaging are just a few of the names
e1Ovation tn Business - An Environmental Perspective 225

fer to
packaging that has been manufactured with consideration
the environment. More companies are now utilizing green
gackagiu order to minimize the waste materials that pile up in
ndfills. Some of these manufacturing companies have turnea
biodegradable packaging as well which can break down under
mal environmental conditions.
sour Key Factors in Environmentally Friendly Packaging:
Toughness: Stronger, stiffer materials support down
They allow
converters to cut material use while gauging:
reducing
product damage and waste and deliver
smaller, more
convenient and
optimized packages without
protection. compromising
Lightness: Lighter packaging makes
efficient. With millions transportation
and
distribution more
of tons of
materials used each year, the packaging
weight reduction can impact of just a few grams of
and the bottom line. quickly
add up for both the environment
Renewability and Recyclability: Advanced sealants and
application development support can allow converters to
achieve high-quality packaging by using material that was
renewably sourced and can be recycled. In addition, full lifee
cycle management can build efficient
production process, reducing overall costs recycling
into the
and environmental
impacts simultaneously.
Processability: Materials that enable better output and more
efficient processing can cut down on waste and energy use
while increasing
productivity and reducing labor and materials
costs.

Some of the types of Eco Friendly Packaging are:

Biodegradable Plastics: Some products that require the use of

plastics tor packaging now use biodegradable plastics that are
such as potatoes, corn and wheat.
made from natural sources
These plastics are also known as bioplastics, which were
engineered to break down easily when exposed to decomposing
226
Environmental Management (S.Y.B.M.S.: SEM-II)
gents.Cho0sing products with biodegradable packaging will
Surely help reduce landfill waste.
Recycled Packaging: A manufacturer may use preconsumer
post-consumer recycled materials or both. Pre-consumer
recycled packaging means that the packaging materials contain
Some recycled content. These materials may include corrugated
cartons, glass, steel, paperboard or some plastics.Post-consumer
recycle the
recycled content means that the consumer may in quality, the
packaging after use. Due to the improvements are now
and the cost advantage, many companies
availability
with post-consumer recycled
using paperboard packaging
over 50% of supermarket
packaging contains
content. Today
recycled paperboard.
coconut husks are an alternative
Natural Packaging: Today and
packaging. The husk is strong
used for has a
material to be
These composites are used for
low water absorption rate.
restaurant to-go boxes and other packaging materials. In fact,
coconut based packing materials are stronger when compared
These do not use chemical binders
to conventional packaging.
and other additives, making them good compostable materials.

By reducing their environmental footprint, companies can

increase differentiation and brand loyalty with consumers and

actually move form and function forwards. At the same time,

there is a chance to improve the business profile of packaging
by reducing raw material costs and, in some cases, avoiding
non-compliance fees while meeting - or anticipating -|

compliance requirements.

WASTE MANAGEMENT PROJECTS:

The waste management hierarchy - reduce, reuse, recycle - actually
expresses the order of importance of these ideas:

Reduce neèdless consumption and the generation of waste.

Reuse any item that can be reused or give it to a person or charity

that can reuse it.
 gnovno

Recycle whatever discards remain if you can and only dispose

what you must.

eds to be kept in mind that recycling is the least preferred option.

aoducing the generation of waste so there is no waste left to recycle
Redu

l d be the ideal. It also needs to be understood the difference

ween the concept of "cycle" in the term "recycle". For there to be
hetwe

a
complete cycie, the things which is send to be recycled must come
Com

k.So, as a Green Consumer one should look out for recycled

ntent
on
products whenever he buys, otherwise he is not truly
recycuing

Waste Management would therefore include the following steps to

he actually effective:

Prevention and Minimisation

Re-use

Recycling
Energy Recovery
Landfill

Prevention and Minimisation:

Prevention means eliminating or reducing the quantity of waste
which is produced in the first place, thus reducing the quantity of
waste which must be managed. Prevention can take the form of
reducing the quantities of materials used in a
process or
reducing
the quantity of harmful materials which may be contained in a
product. Prevention can also include the reuse of products.
Prevention is the most desirable waste management option as it
eliminates the need for handling, transporting,
waste.
recycling or disposal
of It provides the highest level of environmental protection
by optimising the use of resources and
by removing
of
a
potential
source pollution.
Minimisation includes any process or
activity
that avoids, reduces or eliminates waste at its source or results in
re-use or
recycling. It can be difficult to draw a clear distinction
between the terms
"Preventionand "Minimisation". Waste
prevention
in the
and minimisation measures can be
applied at all
stages
life-cycle of a product including the production process, the
 Environmental Management (S. Y.I
Y.B.M.S.:
SEM-I
228
M-II)
product at the end-of life stage. By examining
each discarding
marketing, distribution, or tilisation stages, up to discardino.
in #the
stage the
cycle of a product, it may be possible that the quantities of fe
waste
at each stage can be reduced. During the design stage of a
produced
product, consideration can be given to the types of materials to
used, the quantity of materials and the recyclability of the Droa.e
once it reaches its end of life. The use of efficient processes in uct
of
energy and material requirements duringthe manufactureof a
product are other important considerations. Consideration can also
be given to minimising the packaging for the product.

Re-use:

Re-use means the use of a product on more than one

for the same purpose or for a different
occasion, either
purpose, without the need
for reprocessing. Re-use avoids
discarding a material to a waste
stream when its initial use has concluded. It is
preferable
product be re-used in the same state e.g, returnable plastic that a
using an empty glass jar for storing items and using secondpallets,
clothes. Reuse is normally hand
preferable to
recycling as there isn't the
same
requirement for the material to have gone through a detailed
treatment process thus
helping to save on energy and material
usage.
Recycling
Recycling is processing of used materials
to prevent waste of (waste) into new products
potentially useful materials, reduce the
consumption
air pollution
of fresh raw
materials, reduce energy usage, reduce
(from incineration) and water
landfilling) by reducing the need for "conventional"pollution
waste
(trom
and lower
greenhouse gas emissions as disposal,
production. In simpler terms compared Virgin
to
Recycling
reprocessing of a discarded waste involves the
material to make ittreatment toror
suitable
subsequent re-use either for its
It includes original
recycling of organic wastes
form or for other
purposE
but excludes
Recycling benefits the environment energy recovE
materials. Many different by reducing the use of vig
can either be materials can by recycled. Waste mate
recycled for use in
use
(e.g, paper recycling) or can beproducts similar to their
different that the recycled ona
into a product whicn
original use (e-g., recycling
jackets or using construction and demolition plastic bottles in
leece

waste as road o e.
ag8re
Innovation in Business An Environmental Perspective 229
Recycling is a key component of modern waste reduction and is the
third component of the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle"
waste hierarchy.
There are some ISO standards relating to recycling such as ISO
15270:2008 for plastics waste and ISO 14001:2004 for environmental
management control ot recycling practice.
Recyclable materials include many kinds of glass, paper, metal,
plastic, textiles, and electronics. Materials to be recycled are either
brought to a collection center or picked up from the curbside, then
sorted, cleaned, and reprocessed into new materials bound for
manufacturing.
In the strictest sense, recycling of a material would a fresh
supply of the same material-for example, used office produce
paper would
be converted into new office
paper, or used foamed polystyrene
into new polystyrene. However, this is often difficult or too
expensive (compared with producing the same product from raw
materials or other sources), so "recycling" of
many products or
materials involves their reuse in producing different materials
(e.g.,
paperboard) instead. Another form of recycling is the salvage of
certain materials from complex
products, either due to their intrinsic
value (e.g., lead from car batteries, or
gold
fromcomputer
components), or due to their hazardous nature (e.g., removal and
reuseof mercury from various items). Critics
economic and
dispute the net
environmental benetits of recycling over its costs, and
suggest that proponents of recycling often make matters worse and
suffer from confirmation bias. Specifically, critics
argue that the costs
and energ8y used in
collection and
transportation detract from (and
outweigh) the costs and energy saved in the production
process;
also that the jobs produced by the recycling
industry can be a poor
trade for the jobs lost in logging mining and other industries
associated with virgin production; and that materials such as paper
pulp can only be recycled a few times before material degradation
prevents further recycling. Proponents of recycling dispute each of
these claims, and the validity of arguments from both sides has led
to enduring controversy.
 Environmental Management (S.Y.B.M SEM-I
230
MSW Eco-co-combustion Process

GrendondCenmont
Waste Collection

Municipal
Solid Waste

Sorting
Recyclable Non-Recyclable

Production : Processing9:
1. Cement Raw Remove materials and
Cement Material chemical compounds
that can form dioxin
2. Energy

Other Business Projects for Greener Future

GREEN BUSINESS AND GREEN CONSUMPTION

The word "Green" has become symbol of eco friendly policies,
a

practices or products. Accordingly the business which takes into

account the environment concern becomes a Green business, Green
business, is an enterprise that has no negative impact on the global
or local environment, community, society, or economy -a business
that strives to meet the economic needs of a nation. In
general,
business is described as green if it matches the following four
criterias:

1. It incorporates principles of
business decisions.
sustainability into each ot its

2 It supplies environmentally friendly products or services that

replaces demand for non green products and/or services.
3 It is greener than traditional practices or products or services
novation in Business-An Environmental Perspective 231
It has made an enduring commitment to environmental
principles in its business operations.

Green business is any organization that participates in an

environmentally friendly manner in the process of production or
oreen activities to ensure that all processes, products, and
activities adequately address current environmental
manufacturing
m

concerns while maintaining a profit. In other words, it is a business

that "meets the needs of the present world without compromising
the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs." lt is
the process of assessing how to design products that will take
advantage of the current environmental situation and how wella
company' s products perform with renewable resources.

Some of the ways by which Green business can be attained are:

Building Greener Buildings

For a lot of businesses, a major part of their environmental impact

can be found in the very building that their business takes place in.
A green building is not only potentially cheaper to operate, it can
and customer loyalty. At
pay big dividends in brand appearance
the very least the cost of a new building may be lesser than the

expense of a less than efficient building design incurring increased

cost. That is, you may find that it is cheaper to be green than not.

Open Green Practices

The business soon must responsibly measure and report their
environmental impact to a given standard. They must build the
places of business to a green standard. They will need to reach out
and connect to their customers on green matters, to the advantage
of both. And finally, they will need to develop and refine openly
green practices that tie together the sense of a green community.

Government Policies
A responsible Government would encourage Green Business by
providing tax benefits and subsidies so that more and more
enterprises are encouraged to become Green. This will go a long
way in making an economy prosperous and have Sustainable
Development.
 Environnental Iurugemttt (o.I.D.il.D.. EM-II)

Success Stories or Case Studies of Green Business are

1. Chicago paper company GPA, which has devised a way
to
produce paper without trees or water. Instead, it uses calcium
carbonate and mineral
limestone-derived powders
to make
paper, which it then binds with resin and polyethylene. Dubbed
the
Ultra Green paper, the product is cheaper than synthetic
more weatherproof, doesn't yellow, and is even
paper,
antimicrobjal
Despite this plastic-like durability, GPA claims the paper is as
printable as that made from trees. Energy savings and favorable
features make Ultra Green a product to watch out for.

McDonald, a world renown fast food company has successfully

changed it's packaging to limit environmental impacts and
received publicity for it's efforts from organizations such
as
the Audubon Society, Conservation
International, Keep
America Beautiful, the National
Recycling Coalition and the
EPA
Today's business is all about being green. More and more businesses
and industries are
joining in the green movement, either out of a
real interest in saving the
planet or a desire to capitalize on the
growing consumer demand for greener ways. For example, Wal-
Mart anticipates savings to the tune of billions of dollars
by reducing
packaging across the supply chain and Wells Fargo issues carbon
credits to offset its customers' credit card
purchascs. irst up,
businesses will find it harder to do business under the "Green"
herald unless they hold themselves accountable to their own
caroo
footprint. A company's net carbon footprint may be as important to
its success as its bottom line, since no doubt one could drive the
6ther. The act of being green is
really building
a responsibie
community on a global scale.

Environmental Green consumerism is the practice

o
using environmentally friendly products that do not cause risK TO
human health and do not threaten the function of
diversity to natura
ecosystems. Green consumerism comes from the desire to tect
pruflife.
resources for future
Green
generations and to increase our quality o
consumption is the regular practice of
consumption of
environmentally friendly products that do not cause any dal age
to human health and do not threaten the functions and
worsu
Innovation in Business - An Environmental Perspective
233
any natural ecosystem. Specialists of environmental protection have
agreed upon a definition of green consumption as the five "Rs":
Reduce, Revaluate, Reuse, Recycle, and Rescue
It refers to recycling purchasing and using eco-friendly products
that minimize damage to the environment. This involves decisions
Such as using Energy Star apphiances that consumne less power,
buying hybrid cars that emit less carbon dioxide, using solar and
wind power to generate electricity and buying locally grown
vegetables and fruits.

Green consumerism creates a balance between the expectations of

consumer behaviour and businesses' profit motives. A consumer
has to realize that he/she not just buys 'a' product, but everything
that went into its production, and everything that will happen in
the future as a result of that product. All products have an
environmental impact, however small. The is reduce it to
idea
to
the minimum.Green Consumerism creates a balance bewtween the
expectations of consumer behaviour and business profit motives
within the orbit of environmental protection. It increasingly calls
upon the consumer to look at the entire life cycle ofa consumers
purchases, because a consumer does notjust buy a product but also
everything that went into its production and everything that will
happen in the future as a result of that product. It is essential for all
of us to realise that all products have an environmental impact,
however small or big it may be.

The term "green consumption" covers a full range of activities in

both production and consumption fields, including green products
the recycling of materials, the efficient use of energy, the protection
of the environment, and the preservation of species. Friend's of the
Earth' (FOE), 'Green Peace', 'The World Wild Life' (WWF) are some
of the world famous international organisations working towards
promoting greater environmental awareness amongst the
consumers. These organisations also encourage productions ot
products which are eco friendly. 'Natural Farming' is one such
attempt and the farm produce are consumed by those who believe
in this concCept and are Green Consumers. It has been tound that tne
products from organic farming are more tasty, more nutritious,
234 Environmental Management (S. Y.B.M.S.: SEM-Jn
cheaper and locally available. Ecolabellin networks that moni
and evaluate green products have been developed in O
countries. These networks have done life cycle analyses
understand the impact of products.Green Consumerism has:
become the symbol for the future world system. And as peo thus
realise the importance there
of these
eco friendly Products
increasing response to the 'Green Movement' globally.
willbe
Environmentally friendly and pollution free, green products inflt.
less harm to the environment and are good for public
Mean hile, they are easy to recover and treat after use. nealth.

ples of Green Consumeris

Products freon-free refrigerators and environmentally
friendly
aerosol insecticides, degradable plastics, phosphorus.fr
washing powders, mercury-free cells, and other green products
free
can effectively cut down the pollution to local
surroundings.
2. Products that be recovered and recycled:
can
Reusing waste
can save resources and cut down pollution by a
large margin
In comparison to raw materials, waste is also more
energy-
efficient For example the
and
can cause less pollution.
papermaking industry, with recycled paper and recycled
plastics.
3. Products that can enhance the efficiency of resources and
energies lt reters to recycling, purchasing and using eco-friendly
products that minimize damage to the environment. This
involves decisions such as using Energy Star appliances that
consume less power, Energy-saving computers and
energy
saving lights,buying hybrid cars that emit less carbon dioxide,
using solar and wind power to generate electricity,washing
machines with low noise and compound floorboards with low
formaldehyde content are representatives of such products.
4 Products that is good for human health like
consuming buying locally grown vegetables and fruits, ar
buying and
consuming only organic fruits, vegetables and food grains
far100ation in Business An
Environmental Perspective
-

235
The steps towards creating a
consumers would be:
greater awareness amongst the

Encourage the people to choose green products that are

unpolluted or
good for public health,
Wastes are to be treated under
pollution, and
special surveillance to avoid

Public understanding of
raise
consumption is to be changed so as to
people awareness of healthy.Hfestyle, environmental
s a

protection, and cngyconservation in their pursuit of a

comfortable lite.

How to Start Green Consumption program

Role of Government

Roleof Industry/ Business

Role of NGOS

Role of General Public

of Green Consumerism is to achieve sustainable

The ultimate goal
Besides the demands for consumption,
consumption on the earth.
also be made aware to consider
safety, and people
health,future should
of descendants into consideration.
the needs
our
 Environmental Management (S.Y.B.M.S.,: SEM
236
Extracts from Article on Technologies for a Green Future

Business 2.0 Magaris.

Saheli Datta and Todd Woody,
By
March 72007: 3:00 PM EST
The planet's pressing environmental problems
most
global
warming, energy shortages,
over fishing, pollution may see
-

just too big to be solved

with
today s technology. But do
minds are working on futuristic projesects
despair: A lot of bright world greener while makine
that promise to make the ing
entrepreneurs some green..

Toxin-eating trees

Plant a forest, clean up a Superfund site. 1hat s the idea behind

phytoremediation, a technology that uses vegetation to absorb
hazardous waste from industrial plants and other polluters.

The technique has been around for years but hasn't proven very
effective. Now there's a new twist that promises to make toxic

dumping grounds green in more ways than one.

Researchers at York University in Britain have identified bacteria
living in the roots of poplar trees that produce an enzyme that
zaps residue from RDX, a chemical compound used by the
military and industry. The scientists are working on ways to
genetically engineer the enzyme to boost the tree's ability to suck
up toxic waste. So don't be surprised if you start seeing forests
sprouting on old military bases.
Meanwhile, a team from the University of Georgia has
transplanted a gene from bacteria that helps neutralize mercury
contamination into a common flower. The result: a solar-powered
bioremediation system that smells nice too.
Autonomous ocean robots
The world's seas are in an ocean of trouble: climate change,
vanishing fish, coral bleaching. Just keeping tabs on an airless
environment that covers three-quarters of the earth's surface is
11noouLO

distant planet. Which means it's best to

a bit like exploring a

send in the robots.

and
Unfortunately, today most oceangoing robots are big, dumb,
expensive. They need to be tethered to boats and operated by
Under
humans who collect paychecks. But not the Starbug.
development in Australia, the 4-foot-long yellow robot operates
to its
autonomously and is highly manoeuvrable, thanks
innovative thruster technology and robotic vision.

According to the roboe's designer, scientist Matthew Dunbabin

of CSIRO, the starbug will monitor water quality, map i5h
habitats, and survey threatened coral reefs. It could also be
deployed to detect drops in fish populations, as well as being
dispatched to help with underwater gas and oil exploration.

Rather than relying on costly sonar, the Starbug "sees" its

surroundings. Its cameras and the onboard Linux operating
system let the robot identify and count, for instance, marine pests
that are killing off parts of the Great Barrier Reef, a 135,000-
square-mile ecological cash cow that generates $8.3 billion
annually in tourism revenue.
With the roboe's initial cost at an estimated $24,000, Dunbabin
envisions fleets of Starbugs launched from shore or small boats.
His team is now building the next-generation Starbug, which
should start rolling off the assembly line late this year.

Endangered-species tracker

Old: Savethewhales! New: Web 2.0 those whales, and then clone
'em! There are more than 16,000 known threatened animal and
plant species; their plights worsen each year as deforestatiorn,
development, and climate change take their toll.

Conservationists are looking to tag endangered animals like the

Amazon's piglike white-lipped peccary with radio frequency ID
tags and GPS sensors, and then use Web 2.0 mashup techniques
to overlay their locations and map details of their habitats and
habits with other landscape features. The plan is to identify and
 (S. Y.B.M.S.:
238
Environmental Management SEM-
to ensure vival of
tnesurvival of spec.
species
design better wildlife preserves
edging toward extinction.

of oblívion, brave-new-World stepsa

For animals on the brink
In 2003, scientists cloned an endano
are
being contemplated.
banteng cow, and XY Inc. of Fort Collins, Colo., has loped
that day
could one for be used
sperm-sorting technology
to boost captive breedi
selection in endangered species
a laboratory
meanwhile, is setting up to
programs. India,
cryopreserve the sperm and
DNA of rare Bengal tigers andotha
ther
cloned.
animals so they can eventually be
Source:
money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2007
7/
02/01/8398988/(Business 2.0 Magazine)

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 Discuss on the significance of using Non renewable Energy sources,

2. Elaborate on the future of Solar Energy in India.
3. Wind Energy has advantages and disadvantages. Explain.
4. What is bio gas? What are its advantages and disadvantages?
5. What are bio fuels? What is its significance in today's world?
6. What is nuclear energy? Discuss its two types.
7. Write a brief note on Tidal Energy.
8. Explain how the heat inside the earth can be used for generation of
energy
9. Elaborate on the concept of Eco tourism and its prospects for
development in India.
10. What is Green Business and Green Consumerism.
11. Write a short note on Organic farming
12. Identify the
significance of Green Marketing
13. Discuss the
importance of waste management projects. Cite a few
examples
14 Elucidate the role of eco friendly
packaging in waste management.
Innovation in Business- An Environmental Perspective 239

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS
A Choose the correct/ most
statements: appropriate option for the following
1. What should you consider while buying an
product? environmentally friendly
(a) Use of minimal
packaging
(b) Product can be easily disassembled
( Products that offer take back
offers
(d) All of the above
2 Decomposing yard waste and fruits and vegetable
can be broken down by bacteria, which trimmings which
is called as reduces the need for fertilizers
(a) Chemical fertilizer
(c) Animal dung
(6) Composting
3. The predominant source of
(d) None of the above
energy on earth is
(a) Electricity
(6) Natural Gas
)The Sun (d) Plants
4. What is the most common
material used in making solar cells?
(a) Silver
(b) Iron
5.
Aluminium (d) Silicon
Which ofthe
wind power?
following states in India ranks first in the installation of
(a) Gujarat
(b) Andhra Pradesh
Maharashtra (d) Tamil Nadu
6. What kind of
energy does a wind
turbine use?
a) Kinetic energy
b) Potential energy
7.
()Chemical
A
Energy (d) Thermal energy
place
where many wind turbines are installed
electricity is called a together to produce
(a) Wind farm
(b) Propeller collection
(C)Windstation
Solar photovoltaic cell converts (d)
8. Wind turbine station
solar energy
(a) Mechanical energy directly into
(b) Electricity
Heat energy
9. An anemometer is an (d) Transportation
instrument used for measurement of
(a) Solar radiation
(b) Wind speed
) Temperature gradient (d) Depth in ocean
 EnvironmentaliuntugEen (.1.6,M.S.: SEM7
240 Which source of renewable energ is caused by uneven heating of A-II)
10.
earth's surface?
(6) Wind
(a) Solar
(d) Biomass
Geothermal

major
share in biogas?
11. Which gas has a
(b) CH4
(a) Na (d) H
)CO cteria digest organic
when anaerobic
12. Biogas is produced matters in
The process is called
absence of oxygen.
(a) Anaerobic reduction b) Anaerobic digestion
() Anaerobic oxidation (d) Anaerobic drying
as fuel through
13. Biomass can be used
(a) Combustion () Fermentation
(d) All of the above
() Digestion
14. The tidal waves are caused by the periodic rise and fall of ans.
Itis
associated with the position of
(a) Moon (b) Sun
(c) Earth (d) Sea
15. Energy derived from hot spots beneath the earth is called
(a) Bio energy (b) Geothermal energy
(c)Nuclearenergy (d) Hydrogen energy
16. What are the benefits of organic farming?
(a) Ithelps in maintaining environment health by reducing the level
of of pollution
(b) It reduces human and animal health hazards by reducing the
level of residues in the product
(c) It helps in keeping agricultural production at a higher level and
makes it sustainable
d) All the above
17. The limitations of marketing philosophy is
accepted by acknowledging
the need to impose regulatory constraints on the market
particularly
the impact of marketing activity on the environment due to the
of
concept
(a) Sustainable marketing (b) Relationship marketing
() Green marketing (d) Ethics in marketing
18. The material used for the
containment, protection, handling delivery
and preserntation of
goods refers to
(a) Packaging (b) A box
(c)Material handling (d) Containerization
 Innovation in Business - An Evironmental Perspective 241
19. Which ofthe following is not an environmental friendly packaging
strategy that firms might adopt?
(a) Reduce the amount of packing material used
(b) Use more environmentally friendly packaging materials
() Use reusable containers
(d) All the above
20 Which typeas of electricity-generating power plant releases radioactive
materials well as toxic metals such lead and arsenic under normal
as
operating conditions?
(a) Nuclear (b) Hydroelectric
) Solar (d) Coal-burning
21. Which of the following is not a practice associated with sustainable
agriculture?
(a) Fallowing of land b) Croprotation
()Biological control of pests (d) Perennial polyculture
Ans: (1)-(d), (2) - (b), (3) - (c), (4) - (d), (5) - (d), (6)- (a), (7) - (a), (8) - (b),
(9)-(b), (10) - (b), (11) -(b), (12) - (b), (13) - (b), (14) (a), (15) (b),
(16)-(d), (17)- (c), (18) - (a), (19) - (d), (20)- (a), (21)- ()

B. Explain the Concepts/Terms in one or two lines only:

1. Non conventional sources of Energy
2 2. Wind Energy
3 Bio Fuels
4. Solar Ener8y
5. Geo Thermal Energy
6. Biogas
7. Tidal Energy
8. Tidal Range
9. Composting
10. Eco Tourism
11. Green Marketing
12. Green Business
13. Green Consumerism
14. Organic Farming
15. Eco friendly Packaging
16. Waste Management
 Environmental Nlanugenet (o. I-D.M.S.: SEM.
242
1-II)
UNIVERSITY PAPER SOLUTIONS

NOVEMBER 2017

Time: 2% Hours Marks: 75

N.B. All questions are compulsory carrying 15 marks each.

Q.1 (A) Multiple Choice Questions (any 8): (8)

1 Vermicomposting is done by

(a) Fungus b) Worms

()Bacteria (d) Birds

2 Biotic Environment includes

(a) Producers (b) Consumers

(c) Decomposers (d) All of the above

3. Which of the
following are problems associated with landfills?
(a) Loss of soil fertility
(b) Methane production
(c) Contamination of ground wasters
(d) All of the above
4. Burning of which gas at landfills is
responsible for Global
Warming
(a) Ozone (b) Oxygen
(c) Methane (d) Propane
5. The Wildlife Protection Act was enacted in year
(a) 1986 (b) 1994
(c)1974 (d) 1972
University Paper Solutions 243
6. ISO-14000 standards deal with
(a) Pollution management
(b) Risk management
(c) Environmental management
(d) None of the above
7. One carbon credit is
equivalent to
(a) 100 tons of carbon reduction
(b) 10 tons of carbon reduction
(c) None of the above
(d) 1 tons of carbon reduction
8. The predominant source of energy on earth is

(a) Electricity (b) Sun

( Natural Gas (d) Plants
9. Energy derived from hot spots beneath the earth is called
(a) Bio energy (6) Nuclear energy
(c) Geothermal energy(d) Hydrogen energy
10. Which of the following is not a form of Non-conventional
energy?
a) Tidal (b) Wind
(c) Geothermal (d) Hydel
Ans. (1) - (b), (2) - (d), (3) (d), (4) - (c), (5) (d), (6) - (©), (7)- (d),
(8) - (b), (9)- (©), (10)-(d)

Q.1 (B) True or False (any 7): (

1. Flow of energy in the ecosystem takes place through food chain.

2. CFL and LED are examples of soft technology.

3. The water (prevention and control of pollution) was enacted in

1981.
4 Smog is the combination of smoke, fog and sulphur dioxide.
 Environmental Managenment (S. Y.B.M.S. SEAM
244
5.
Geothermal is the non-conventional source of energy
y
SEM-II)
6. Natural resources are evenly distributed on earth.
6.
Over ninety seven percent of the earth's water is in the
7.
8. Many integrated food chains interweave together to
oceans.
8. her to form
complex food webs.

9. Composting of waste is an anaerobic process of decom

solid wastes. decomposing
10. Bhopal gas tragedy took place in year 1984.

Ans. True:1,2,4,5,6, 7,8, 10; False: 3,9

Q.2 What are Biogeochemical cycles ? Explain the Wor
mechanism of water cycle along with its king
diagrammatie
1atica
representation.
(15)
Ans. Refer Chapter 1, Pgs. 21-22 and 24-25

OR

Q.2 What do you mean by Ecosystem ? What its

Explain the Energy Flow Pyramid in brief.
are
features ?
(15)
Ans. Refer Chapter 1, Pgs. 26 to 31
Q.3 Define water pollution. Discuss the causes, effect and
solution
to control water pollution. (15)
Ans. Refer Chapter 2, Pgs. 97 to 103
OR

Q.3 Discuss the phenomena of Global

and effects on the
warming, What are its causes
living and non-living things? (15)
Ans. Refer
Chapter 2, Pgs. 114 to 117
Q4 Write a detailed note on Air
(Prevention and
Pollution) Act, 1981. Contro
(15)
Ans. Refer
Chapter 3, Pgs. 165-166
 OK

o4 Discuss the Process

followed in India.
of Environmental Impact Assessment
(15)
AMs.Refer Chapter 3, Pgs. 152 to 155
Q.5 Write short notes on:(any 3) (15)
(a)SolarEnergy
b) Organic Farming
c) ISO 14001

d) Noise Pollution
eSolid Waste Management Techniques

Ans. (a) Refer Chapter 4, Pgs. 201 to 203

(b) Refer Chapter 4, Pgs. 219 to 224
(c) Refer Chapter 3, Pgs. 158 to 162
(d) Refer Chapter 2, Pgs. 111 to 114
(e) Refer Chapter 2, Pg. 134

OR

Q.5 (a) Discuss the importance of Waste Management Project. Cite

a few examples. 8)

|Ans. Refer Chapter 2, Pgs. 129 to 133

(b) Write the note on Green Marketing.

Ans. Refer Chapter 4, Pgs. 218-219

246
Environnmental Ma71agemen
EM-II)
MARCH-2018 (ATKT)

Time: 2% Hours Marks:75

15 marks each.
N.B. All questions are compulsory carrying
Q.1 (A) Multiple Choice Questions (any 8)
:
8)
The organism which breaks down the parts or dead plants and
1. and
animals is called
(b) Reducer
(a) Producer
(d) Consumers
(c) Carnivores
2. Its an attempt to control human impact on and interaction with
the environment in order to preserve natural resources

(a) Materials management

(b) Resource management

(c)Environmentalmanagement
(d) Natural resource management
3. Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act was enacted in
the year
(a) 1994 (b) 1974
(c) 1981 (d) 2002
ISO 14001 standard deals with

(a) Risk management (6) Disaster management

(c) Pollution management (d) Environment management
5. One of the best solutions to get rid of biodegradable waste is
(a) Land filling
(b) Composting
()Disposing in water bodies
(d) Recycling
University Paper Solutions 247
6. Which of the following is the cleanest source of
energy
(a) Fossil fuel (b) Nuclear energy
() Hydro power (d) Wind power
7. While buying an environmentally friendly product which of
the following should you consider?
(a) Use of minimal packaging
(b) Less carbon footprint
Product that can be recycled
(d) All of the above
8. Energy derived from hot spots beneath the earth is called
(a) Bio energy (b) Hydro energy
(c) Geothermal energy (d) Nuclear energy
9. Which of the following is a carbon negative country ?
(a) China (b) USA
)India (d) Bhutan
0. Kyoto Protocol was adopted on 11th December, 1997 in

(a) China (b) Bhutan

() Japan (d) Morocco
Ans. (1) (b), (2) - (c), 3) - (c), (4) - (d), (5) - (b), (6) - (d), (7) (d),
(8)- (e, (9)- (d), (10) - ()
Q.1 (B) True or False (any 7): (7)
1. Flow of energy in the ecosystem takes place through food chain.

2 The sun is not the main source of energy on earth.

3 Disaster management systems are predesigned plans of action.

Global warming could lead to a rise in sea levels worldwide.

5. One carbon credit is equivalent to 10 ton of carbon reduction.

of the
. Mechanical energy produced from the tides and waves

ocean is called wind energy.

 urgc
Environnental iva t (o. I.B.M.

248
7.
Environmental
protection
is one of the fundamenta
S:Sduties
EM-AI)
the Indian citizen. of
of setro
A food web consist ofthe interlocking ood chains.
8 nr
specific remedial
cutting is
a
9. Selective
conservation ot forests.
for the
are non-conventional l sources of
sources
10. Coal and petroleum energy.
False:2,5, 6, 10
Ans. True:1,3,4,7,8,9;
02 (a) Explain food chain and food web with diagram
(8)
31 to 38
Ans. Refer Chapter 1, Pgs.
(b) Explain the abiotic components ot the environment
)
6 to 10
Ans. Refer Chapter 1, Pgs.

OR

Q2 Explain the meaning of the term resource. Give a classification

of natural resources with example on suitable basis. Explain
the relationship between economic development and
exploitation of resources.
(15)
Ans. Refer Chapter 1, Pgs. 39 to 46

Q.3 Global warming is global warning - Elaborate with describing

the causes and effects of global warming. (15)
Ans. Refer Chapter 2, Pgs. 114 to 117

OR

Q3 (a) "Different waste requires a different waste manage and

treatment" explain
-

with the examples of E-waste

biomedical waste treatments and methods of managig
them. (8)
Ans. Refer Chapter 2, Pgs. 134 to 139
 niversity Paper Solutions 249
(b) Explain Disaster management cycle with the help of a
diagram. (7)
Ans. Refer Chapter 2, Pgs. 126 to 128
o4 (a) Discuss the following environmental issues in India. (8)
() Chipko Movement
() Bhopal Gas Tragedy
Ans. i). Refer Chapter 3, Pgs. 168-169
(ii) Refer Chapter 3, Pgs. 180-181
(b) What is carbon bank? How does it function? Explain the
carbon trading with example. (7)
Ans. Refer Chapter 3, Pgs. 183 to 187

OR

04 (a) Define Sustainable Development. What are the dimensions

of sustainable development? (8)
Ans. Refer Chapter 3, Pgs. 147 to 152
(b) Write a brief note on the need and importance of ElA. (7)

Ans. Refer Chapter 3, Pgs. 152 to 155

Q.5 Write short note on: (any 3) (15)
(a) Water Pollution

(b) Ecotourism

) Non-conventional Energy Sources

d) Green Marketing
e) Tsunami
to 103
Ans. (a) Refer Chapter 2, Pgs. 97
to 218
(b) Refer Chapter 4, Pgs. 215
 Environmental Management (S. Y.B.M.s.
250
) Refer Chapter
1, Pgs.
49 to 53 SEM-)
218-219
4, Pgs.
(4) Refer Chapter
122-123
2, Pg.
(e) Refer Chapter
OR

solar energy:
the advantages using
of
Q.5 (a) What are and wind
energy? 8)
195 to 198 and 201 to 203
Ans. Refer Chapter 4, Pgs.
is the need of the day." Elabo
(b) "Eco-friendly packaging
and also describe how its use leads to reduced carbon fo
print?
224-226
Ans. Refer Chapter 4, Pgs.
NOVEMBER 2018

Time: 2% Hours Marks: 75

N.B. All questions are compulsory carrying 15 marks each.

Q.1 (A) Match the following (any 8) (8)

Column A Column II
1. Stratosphere (a) Geothermal
2. Non-Conventional (b) Sikkim
Source of Energy (c) Microbial Environment
3. Sustainable (d) 1972
Development (e) Solid Waste
4 Carbon Credit
Management
5 Organic Farming () Certified Emission
Kyoto Protocol Reduction
Wildlife Protection Act (g) Resource Conservation
8. Green House Effect (h) 1997
9.
Decomposers i) Atmosphere
10. Incineration
) Global Warming
university Paper Solutions
251
AMS. (1)- (i), (2) - (a), 3)- (g, (4) - (), (5) - (6), (6) - (h), (7)- (d),

(8)-9, (9)-(), (10) - (e)

0.1 (B) True or False (any 7):
(7)
Only 10 percent of net energy production is passed from one
trophic level to another.

The practice of cultivating

crops in alternative strips to prevent
water movement is called Contour
farming.
Methane gas destroys the ozone layer of earth.
Pitcher plant is one of the endangered species of
plant.
Environment Impact Assessment enables local authorities to
evaluate the environmental impacts of the projects.
Energy flow is the flow of chemical elements and compounds
between living organisms and the physical environment.

Eco-tourism works on the principle of minimising the adverse

impact on environment, local culture and heritage.

8. Natural gas is used to produce nuclear energy.

9. Vermiculture is one of the practice followed in waste
management.
10. Many inter-connected food chains form the food web.
Ans. True: 1,4,5,6, 7,9,10; False:2,3,8
0.2 (a) What do you understand by the term Environment?
Discuss brietly about the abiotic components of the
environment. (8)
Ans. Refer Chapter 1, Pgs. 1 to2 and 6to 10
(b) Explain the mechanism of Water Cycle. (7
Ans. Refer Chapter 1, Pgs. 22 to 26
OR
 .5.: SEM-II)
arious trophic.:SEM-evds
M-I)I
Environmeniul
252 Discuss various
term bcosystem.
Define the
Q.2 (a)
of an ecosystem.

to 31
Chapter 1, Pgs. 26
Ans.
Ans. Refer
is said to lack sustainability
»
,
"Modern society
(b) into a
sustainable society? can
we change
it

Pgs. 49 to 53
Ans. Refer Chapter 1,
related with Environ.
the issues
Q.3 (a) Discuss ntal
Degradation.
60 to 63
Ans. Refer Chapter 2, Pgs.
E-waste in today's time ? Discu
(b) How can we manage
134 to 136
Ans. Refer Chapter 2, Pgs.
OR

?
Q.3 What do you mean by Disaster Management Explain tho
Disaster Management Cycle with reterence to an earthquake.

(15)
120 and 126 to 129
Ans. Refer Chapter 2, Pgs. 119 to
Q.4 of Central and State Pollution Control Boards
Discuss the role
under Water Act, 1974. (15)
Ans. Refer Chapter 3, Pgs. 162 to 165
OR

Q4 (a) Describe the salient features of ISO 14001. (8)

Ans. Refer Chapter 3, Pgs. 158 to 162
(b) Write a brief note on Environmental Audit. (7)
Ans. Refer Chapter 3, Pgs. 155 to 158
 LIniversity Paper Solutions 253
O.5 Write short notes on
(any 3) (15)
(a) Green Marketing

(b) Solar Energy

(c) Carbon Bank

d) Global Warming
(e) Food Chain and Food Web
Ans. (a) Refer Chapter 4, Pgs. 218-219
(b) Refer Chapter 4, Pgs. 201 to 203
(c) Refer Chapter 3, Pgs. 183 to 187
(d) Refer Chapter 2, Pgs. 114 to 119
(e) Refer Chapter 1, Pgs. 31 to 38

MARCH 2019 (ATKT)

Time:2% Hours Marks: 75

N.B. All questions are compulsory carrying 15 marks each.

Q.1 (A) Multiple Choice Questions (any 8): (8)
1. A study of relationship between man and nature
(a) Environment Studies (b) History
(c) Food Chain (d) Anthropology
Process through which plants reproduce
2.
(b) Evaporation
(a) Eating
c) Pollination (d) Transpiration

3. Which of the following is not biodegradable?

(b) Earthworm
(a) Vegetables
(d) Aluminium Foil
c) Fruits
 (5. I,.B.M.S.

254
Environmental
Managemen

ies the highest percents

tne highest
SEM-II)
4. Which of the
occupies
following8as earth centage of
on
atmosphere
current
the
(b) Oxygen
(a) CO% (d) Ozone
() Nitrogen
5. Noise is
(b) Constant sound
(a) Loud sound
(d) Slow sound
Unwanted sound
Act was enacted.
and Control of Pollution) in
6. Air (Prevention
the year.
b) 1974
(a) 1981
(d) 2004
() 1994
conducted
7. The ElIA should be
commencement of project
(a) Before
(6) During the project
of the project
(After completion
(d) At any time before or after the project

8. ISO 14000 standards deal with

(a) Pollution management
(6) Environmental management
(c) Risk management

(d) All the above

9 What kind ofenergy a wind turbine use?
(a) Potential energy b) Kinetic energy
(c) Thermal energy (d) Chemical energy
10. The material use for the containment,
protection, handing.
delivery and presentation of goods refers to
(a) Packaging (b) A box
c) Material handling
(d) Containerization
University Paper Solutions 255
Ans. (1)-(a), (2) -(c), (3) - (d), (4) - (c), (5) - (c), (6) - (a), (7) - (a),
(8) - (b), (9)- (b), (10) - ()

Q.1 (B) True or False (any 7):

7)
1. In the ecosystem the
energy transfer gets to become more
efticient as we go up in the food chain.

2. A food web consists of interlocking food chains.

3. Mitigation means minimizing the effect of disaster.

4. Global warming could lead to a rise in sea levels worldwide.

5. One carbon credit is equivalent to 1 ton of carbon reduction.
6. Environmental protection is not among the
of the citizens of India. fundamental duties
7. A solar cell is an electronic device which
into electricity.
directly converts wind
8. Geothermal energy is the heat from the earth it is clean and
sustainable.
9. Sustainable development means meeting present needs without
compromising on future needs.

10. The ozone layer enables the ultraviolet radiation of the sun to
enter the earth.

Ans. True:2, 3,4, 5, 8,9 False: 1,6, 7, 10

Q.2 Define environment and explain the composition of
environment.
(15)
Ans.Refer Chapter1, Pgs. 1 to 2 and 6 to15
OR

0.2 (a) Explain the biogeochemical cycles 7)

Ans. Refer Chapter 1, Pgs. 21 to 26
 S.: SEA.
Environmental Management (S. Y.B.M.S.: SEM-I)
256 flow pyramid.
Explain the energy
(b)
1, Pgs. 27 to 31
Ans. Refer Chapter

Q.3 (a) Explain

the meaning
degradation.
ana causes of
ironmental
environment

60 to 62 and 65 to 70
Ans. Refer Chapter 2, Pgs.
(b) Explain the cause and remedies of degradation of land. (8

70 to 74
Ans. Refer Chapter 2, Pgs.
OR

Q.3 What is global warming ? What are its causes and effects ? (15)

Ans. Refer Chapter 2, Pgs. 114 to 117

04 Define sustainability. Explain the process of Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA). (15)
Ans. Refer Chapter 3, Pgs. 148 to 152 and 152 to 155

OR

Q4 (a) What are thesalientfeatures of Water Act, 1974? (7)

Ans. Refer Chapter 3, Pgs. 162 to 165
(b) Explain how carbon bank and Kyoto Protocol would lead
to reducing the carbon foot print in the world. (8)
Ans. Refer Chapter 3, Pgs. 183 to 187
Q.5 Write short notes on: (any 3) (15)
(a) Ecotourism
(b) E-waste

(c) Disaster Management

(d) Food Web

(e Organic Farming
University Paper Solutions 257
Ans. (a) Refer Chapter 4, Pgs. 215 to 218
(b) Refer Chapter 2, Pgs. 134 to 136
(c) Refer Chapter 2, Pgs. 119 to 120 and 126 to 129
(a) Refer Chapter 1, Pgs. 30 to 34
(e) Refer Chapter 4, Pgs. 219 to 224
OR

Q.5 (a) "More and more non-conventiornal

be utilised for our energy source should
day day needs."Do you agree ? Justify
to
your agreement or
disagreement. (8)
Ans. Refer Chapter 4, Pgs. 190 to 207
(b) What is Green
useful in Marketing ? How can
green marketing be
reducing carbon footprint?
Ans. (7)
Refer Chapter 4, Pgs. 218-219