1.

Environment and Sustainable Development

1.1 Interdisciplinary nature of Environment provides us with a basic life

Environment support system through air, water and food. We
1.2 Scope and Importance can not continue to survive without protecting
1.3 National and International the earth's environmental resources.
Organizations Basic terms related to the environment:
1.4 Contribution of people for
1. Environment : It includes all aspects of
environment protection
1.5 Sustainable Development the world around us in which humans,
animals and plants live with non-living
1.1 Interdisciplinary nature of Environment. things.
“Environmental studies deal with every issue 2. Ecology : The science that studies the
that affects living organisms. It is essentially a relationships between living organism and
multidisciplinary approach that brings about an non-living things. It studies the structure
appreciation of our natural world and human and function of nature.
impact on its integrity.” 3. Environmental Science : It is the
The word environment is derived from the systematic and scientific study of our
French word “Environ” meaning environment. It integrates knowledge from
“Surroundings” i.e. everything around us is the pure sciences, ecology, engineering,
environment. management, social sciences and other
aspects.
4. Environment Education : A subject
Do you know?
concerned with learning on all
World Environment Day is celebrated on
environmental issues. It has a wider
5th June every year.
coverage than environmental science or
The Stockholm Conference: ecology. It also includes the social aspects
United Nations International Conference of the environment.
on Human Environment, was held at 5. Environmental Degradation : It is the
Stockholm, Sweden, from 5th June to 16th damage caused to the environment due to
June 1972. It was attended by representatives various human activities which harm our
of 114 nations. For the first time respective surrounding. For example: Deforestation,
governments at the highest level came pollution of water, air, soil etc.
together to take note of how mankind had 6. Environmental Conservation: It includes
misused our environment of which we are ways in which to protect nature and control
an integral part. 150 Action plans and 20 the damage caused to our natural
principles were approved to protect the environment. For example when we
delicate balance of ecosystems and to prevent the killing of wildlife, or we turn a
preserve them for the coming generation. barren land into a forest, we are conserving
The conference adopted the motto “Only the environment.
one earth” for the entire humanity. The
The environment consist of four segments.
conference declared 5th June as World
These are 1. Atmosphere 2. Hydrosphere 3.
Environment Day.
Lithosphere 4. Biosphere
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1. Atmosphere 2) Stratosphere : Stratosphere is a layer
About 99% of the total earths atmospheric between tropopause and stratopause. The
mass is concentrated in the first 30 km above height of this layer keeps changing
Earth's surface. Based on characteristics such as according to seasons. Temperatures remain
temperature and composition, the earth's constant for certain height of the layer. But
atmosphere can be divisible into following beyond 32 Km of height, the temperature
layers –Troposphere, Stratosphere, Ionosphere, increases. This layer is called 'Isothermal
Exosphere. Zone'. The heat from the sun is absorbed in

Layers of Atmosphere; this layer hence temperature is retained.

The extension of this layer is much higher
1) Troposphere : Troposphere is at about 12
in the summer than in the winter. The air in
km from Earth's surface. The lowest layer
this part of the atmosphere is sparse.
from the surface of the earth is known as
Humidity, dust, clouds, etc. are not exactly
" Troposphere ". The temperature decreases
the same.
according to the height at this level. The
drop of temperature rate at every 160 m Ozonosphere is a layer of Ozone which

height is about 100C. The temperature cover at a height of about 20 to 35 km from

differs at different heights and at different the surface of the earth. When the ultraviolet

layers. Although this layer is smaller than radiation from sunlight come in contact

the other layers, it is important as regards with oxygen, they are processed and ozone

the weight of the air and it covers 80% of (O3) gas is produced. Ozone layer absorbs

the atmospheric air. Other elements of the the harmful ultraviolet rays radiated from

air are vapour, water molecules, dust and Sun, hence the temperature of Ozone layer

microscopic organisms are found in this increases. This layer protects life on Earth.

layer. This layer is very important and Hence ozone layer is called "Protective

useful for the life of living beings. in which umbrella of earth ". Today, due to increasing

rain, wind, storm, hail, snow, clouds etc. pollution, the layer of ozone is becoming

exist. weak, that results in increase in global

temperature, (Global Warming). This has
Tropopause the layer that separates
become a serious matter in terms of survival
troposphere and stratosphere layers is
of living organisms.
called as tropopause which is at 2 to 3 km
above the troposphere. It is umbrella like 3) Ionosphere: Ionosphere is a layer found

coat of air which has stable air. Rain, wind, beyond the stratosphere, around 360 to 400

lightning, clouds, storm, etc., do not exist in km from the surface of the earth, which is

this layer. The tropopause has a width of until the end of atmosphere. It extends from

1.5 km, and temperature of this layer is 104 to 112 km from the surface of the earth.

about - 53° C. It also contains high amount The radio waves travel from this layer to

dry ozone. the Earth, because of which we can listen to

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 the radio. Only 1% of the air is present in than 71% of the earth’s surface either as
this layer of the total atmospheric air. oceans (salt water) or as fresh water.
The mesosphere extends upto 85 km from Hydrosphere includes (both surface and
stratosphere. The top of the mesosphere, underground water) sea, rivers, oceans,
called mesopause, is the coldest part of lakes, ponds, streams and wetlands.
Earth's atmosphere with temperatures 3. Lithosphere: It includes the Earth’s crust
avaranging about -1300 F (-900C). Jets and and upper mantle. It contains the fossil
ballons don't go high enough in this layer. fuels and minerals and the soil chemicals
4) Exosphere : (nutrients) needed to support plant life.

Exosphere extends from 500 to 750 km 4. Biosphere : The portion of earth where
from the surface of the earth. At a height of living (biotic) organisms are found and
about 490 km radio waves of a temperature interact with one another and with their
of 17000 C has been detected through rocket non-living (abiotic) environment. This
and radio waves. This layer contains zone of life includes, plants, animals, and
neutral atoms of Oxygen, Helium and their habitat.
1.2 Scope and Importance
Hydrogen. At a height of about 2000 km,
the Neutral atoms have an effect called a
magnetic circle. Atmosphere

Role of atmosphere in climate : Vegetation and animals

Biosphere

Earth is able to support a wide variety of Soil {

living beings because of its diverse regional Rock { Crust

climate, that ranges from extreme cold at

the poles to tropical heat at the Equator. A
region's climate is often described, for
example, as sunny, windy, dry or humid,
Lithosphere
but while the weather can change in just a
few hours, climate changes over a longer Core

span of time.
Mantle
Earth's global climate is an average of Crust
regional climates. Today, we are Upper Mantle

experiencing unusually rapid warming. Crust

The scientific consensus is that, the Biosphere

greenhouse gases are increasing because of Atmosphere

human activities and trapped heat in the Lithosphere Hydrosphere
atmosphere.
2. Hydrosphere: Hydrosphere covers more Figure 1.1 : Our life support system: The general
structure of the earth
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1.2 Scope and Importance as forests, grasslands and rivers for resources.
Environment is not a single subject; it is an The industrial development and intensive
integration of several subjects that includes agricultural practices that provide the goods for
both Natural science as well as social science. our increasing consumer oriented society uses
To understand all the aspects of our environment, up a large amount of natural resources.
we need to know about life sciences, chemistry, Consequently, these will get exhausted in the
physics, geography, resource management, near future. If we continue to extract them.
economics, and engineering and social science, There will be nothing left for the next generations.
population, issues of poverty, resource use and Rapid economic growth and unplanned
allied issues. Thus the scope of environment development has inevitably led to environmental
education is extremely wide and covers some degradation.
aspects of nearly every major discipline. The environment affects us in many ways
If we study the natural history of the areas due to weather changes and quality of air and
in which we live, we would see that our water. We in turn affect the natural environment
surroundings were originally a natural often negatively. We cut trees or throw away our
landscape such as forest, river, mountain, garbage, which has an adverse effect on the
desert, marine environment or a combination of environment.
these elements. Most of us live on landscapes In the industrialized era that we live in
that have been profoundly modified by human today, every component of our environment
beings into villages towns or cities. We get our such as air, water or food are impacted by
food supply from surrounding villages which in industrial activities, infrastructure development,
turn, are dependent on natural landscapes such population explosion and pollution.

e Chem
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Agr
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sop cs
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Earth

Environmetal
Science
Sociology
Comp e
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En
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Polit
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Figure 1.2: Interdisciplinary nature of Environment

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How can you contribute to our Environment must take part in protecting our environment .
1. Gain knowledge about various types of Environmental pollution cannot be
environmental problems and different prevented by laws alone. Public participation is
equally important for environmental protection.
environmental hazards.
Environment education is a process of
2. By creating a concern and respect for the
learning by imparting an overall perspective of
environment. knowledge and awareness of the environment.
3. Begin to appreciate and adopt the ideas of It sensitizes the society about environmental
development without destruction of the issues and challenges. Individuals must develop
environment. relevent skills, expertise and must be able to
4. Play an effective role in protecting the provide appropriate solutions.
environment by understanding and
Activity: 1
following environmental laws.
Learning by doing can be achieved in With the help of your teacher and internet,
the environment by doing experiments at find out the details of any two international
micro and macro levels with air, water, conferences on environment. Write the
soil, plants, animals and their interactions information related to this and prepare an
with each other. informative poster for the class.

Environment Education and Awareness:

Steps of Environment Education:
Since 1970, many National and
International Conferences have been held, to 1. Knowledge: Provide individuals with
enhance environmental awareness. However, information to acquire basic understanding
most people recognize the urgent need for more of environment, its associated problems
information and action through environmental and their solutions.
education. India is one of the major countries
2. Awareness: Help communities to create
having large number of NGO’s working on
awareness of their own environmental
environmental awareness campaigns.
issues and sensitize them towards
The role of mass media and various public
environmental problems and solutions.
institutions that furthered environment
awareness is a key to better environmental 3. Attitudes: Help individuals acquire a set
management. This will need to integrate of values and feelings of concern for the
economic long term growth with the needs of environment and motivation for active
environmental conservation. participation in environmental improvement
Increasing population, urbanization and and protection activities.
poverty have generated pressure on natural 4. Skill : Develop skills for identification of
resources and led to environmental degradation. problems and provide solutions for
To prevent the environment from further environmental management.
degradation, Hon'ble Supreme Court of India
5. Values : Imbibe and inculcate values and
has ordered and initiated environmental
the need for conservation of natural
protection awareness programs through
resources.
government and non government agencies who

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1.3 National and International Organizations knowledge in various aspects of animal life. Its
There are several government and non- headquarter is located in Kolkata.
government organizations (NGOs) that are The main objectives of ZSI are exploration,
working towards environmental protection and survey, inventorying and monitoring of faunal
for conservation of natural resources. diversity in various states, ecosystems and
A) Botanical Survey of India (BSI) protected areas of India.
BSI was established D) The International Union for Conservation
in 1890 with the of Nature (IUCN)
objectives of
IUCN, was established
exploring the plant
on 5th October 1948. As
resources of the
the first global
country and environmental union, it
identifying plant species with economic values. broughttogether
Its headquarter is located in Kolkata. governments and civil society organizations
The objectives of BSI are undertaking with a shared goal to protect nature. Its aim is to
encourage international cooperation and provide
intensive floristic surveys and collecting
scientific knowledge and tools to guide
accurate and detailed information on the
conservation action. Its headquarter is located in
occurrence, distribution, ecology and economic
Switzerland.
utility of plants in the country.
B) Forest Research Institute (FRI) IUCN played a fundamental role in the
creation of key international conventions,
FRI was
including the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
established in
(1971), the World Heritage Convention (1972),
1906at Dehradun the Convention on International Trade in
to conduct training Endangered Species (CITES),(1974) and the
research and Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD),
management of (1992).
protection of In 1980, IUCN in partnership with the
forest. United Nations Environment Programme
The institute provides training for forest (UNEP) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
published the World Conservation Strategy : a
officers and forest rangers of our country.
ground-breaking document which helped define
the concept of ‘sustainable development’ and
C ) Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) shaped the global conservation and sustainable
ZSI was established on development agenda.
1st July, 1916 to promote E) National Environmental Engineering
survey, exploration and Research Institute (NEERI)
research leading to the NEERI, in Nagpur is a constituent of
advancement of our Council of Scientific & Industrial Research

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 (CSIR), New Delhi and G) United Nations Environment Programme
has a nation-wide (UNEP)
presence with its five UNEP was established in
zonal laboratories at 1972, with headquarter
Chennai, Delhi, at Nairobi, Kenya. It is
Hyderabad, Kolkata the leading global
and Mumbai. The environmental authority
mandate of NEERI is to that sets the global
conduct research and developmental studies in environmental agenda. It also promotes the
implementation of environmental dimensions of
environmental science and engineering, to
sustainable development within the United
render assistance to the industries of the region
Nations system.
and local bodies in solving the problems of
environmental pollution. UNEP's mission is "to provide leadership
and encourage partnership in caring for the
It's vision is to create Leadership in environment by inspiring, informing and
Environmental Science and Engineering for enabling nations and people to improve their
Sustainable Development. quality of life without compromising that of
F) World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) future generations."
WWF was established in H) Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)
April, 1961 at Switzerland. CPCB is a statutory
The Giant Panda became organisation, constituted in
the logo for WWF. WWF's 1974 under the Water
wildlife trade arm, (Prevention and Control of
TRAFFIC (Trade Record Pollution) Act, 1974. Further,
Analysis of Flora and Fauna CPCB was entrusted with the
In Commerce), launched an powers and functions under
extensive publicity the Air (Prevention and
campaign to combat illegal Control of Pollution) Act,
wildlife trade in 1986. 1981.
WWF aims to stop the degradation of the The functions of the Central Pollution
planet’s natural environment and build a future Control Board at the National Level is to advise
in which humans live in harmony with nature.It the Central Government on any matter
aims in conserving the world's biological concerning prevention and control of water and
diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable air pollution and improvement of the quality of
natural resources is sustainable, promoting the air.
reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.
I) Maharashtra Pollution Control Board
(MPCB)
Activity :2 MPCB was established
1. Collect Information about wild in 1970.
animals, birds which are reared in
your locality. The functions of MPCB
2. Educate people that it is illlegal includes.
activity and it is against law to keep • To collect, plan and
wild animals and birds in their
houses.

7
disseminate comprehensive information
Activity : 3
program for the prevention, control or abatement
Try to identify the organizations that work
of pollution.
for the conservation of forest, birds, wild
l To inspect sewage or effluent treatment and
life, rare plants and animals species.
disposal facilities, and air pollution control
systems.
l Supporting and encouraging the K) Wildlife Institute of India (WII)
developments in the fields of pollution Established in 1982,
control, waste recycle-reuse, eco-friendly Wildlife Institute of India
practices etc. (WII) is an internationally
l Creation of public awareness about the acclaimed Institution,
clean and healthy environment. which offers training
program, academic courses
J) Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS)
and advisory in wildlife research and
BNHS, was the
management. The Institute is actively engaged
pioneer orgnisation
in research across the breadth of the country on
started for
biodiversity related issues. Its headquarter is
conservation in
located at Deharadun.
India. A pan-India
wildlife research organization, was initiated in The aims and objectives of WII are :
l To build up scientific knowledge on
1883. It is one of the largest non-governmental
wildlife.
organizations in India engaged in conservation
l To train personnel for conservation and
and biodiversity research. It supports many management of wildlife and carry out
research efforts through grants and publishes research.
the Journal of the Bombay Natural History l To collaborate with international
Society. organizations and develop as a regional
center of international importance.
It's mission is conservation of nature,
primarily biological diversity through action L) Environmental Information System in
based research, education and public awareness. India (ENVIS)
It's vision is to excel in the conservation of In 1982, the Government of India
threatened species and habitats. established an Environmental Information
Main activities of BNHS include natural System (ENVIS) .that provides environmental
history collection, research on various species information to decision makers, policy planners,
and habitat, conservation of landscapes and scientist, engineers, researchers etc. across the
seascapes, environmental information system, country.
outreach (camps, exhibitions, lectures, and other Activity:4
events), conservation education centres, Visit a scientific organization /
communications and advocacy, university NGO working in the field of
studies, library, wildlife publications and environment and find out the work it
souvenirs. does in nearby your locality.

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1.4 Contribution of people for environment
What do we learn?
protection
It shows that there are adequate
Dr. Salim Ali was an Indian ornithologist environmental laws in India, to further
and naturalist, often referred to as the "Birdman conservation of natural resources and
prevent pollution. We can use them, when
of India." He was the first person to introduce
we wish to take action against the
systematic ornithology when nobody was aware
environmental destruction caused by
of distribution of birds in India. Keoladeo unsustainble development. More
National Park (Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary) was importantly, Mehta’s work has shown what
established after Dr. Salim Ali’s continuous a single determined individual could do to
interventions. He fought to save the Silent protect the environment. His story is an
inspiration to all of us.
Valley National Park in Kerala, where the
government planned to construct a hydroelectric Activity 5 :
power project. His research on the habitat of 1. Find out more about the air pollution
weaver birds was appreciated by ornithologists on Taj Mahal.
all over the world. In 1967 he received the J. 2. Ganga Action Plan.
Paul Wildlife Conservation award, a prestigeous Sundarlal Bahuguna initiated Chipko
award in conservation. movement which became an internationally
well-known example of highly successful
M. C. Mehta undoubtedly India’s most
conservation action programs through the efforts
famous environmental lawyer since 1984, has of local people for guarding their forest resources.
filed several Public Interest Litigations (PILs)
His fight to prevent the construction of the
for supporting the cause of environmental
Tehri dam in a fragile earthquake – prone setting
conservation. His most famous and long – is a battle that he continued to wage.
drawn battles includes protecting the Taj Mahal,
Dr. M. S. Swaminathan is called as the
cleaning up the Ganga river, banning intensive
Father of Green Revolution of India. He was one
shrimp farming on the coast, initiating of India's foremost agricultural scientist and has
government to implement environmental showed concern about various aspects of
education in the schools and colleges and variety biodiversity conservation of both traditional
of other conservation issues. crops and wild species. He has founded the Dr.
M. S . Swaminathan Research Foundation in
Through his work, Mehta has the national Chennai, which works for the conservation of
agenda in the field of water and air pollution, biological diversity.
vehicular pollution control, coastal zone
Activity 6:
conservation and the translocation of heavy
industries from urban areas. He has obtained Make a list of people who have worked
in Maharashtra for environment
more than forty landmark judgments and
conservation and document the work
numerous orders from the Honb'le Supreme done by them.
Court against the polluters.
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1.5 Sustainable Development proclaimed the UN Decade of Education for
India is an emerging economy with diverse Sustainable Development (DESD), 2005-2015,
communities, cultures and religions.It covers a emphasized that ‘education is an indispensable
vast geographical area and long coastline. element for achieving sustainable development.
Topographically the Indian subcontinent is Education is often considered to be done in
diverse.It has 10 distinctive biogeographic classrooms. According to UNESCO (2004),
zones. India has been experiencing rapid growth Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
in population which has led to socio-economic is formal education, but it extends to daily
inequity and rampant / uncontrolled growth social and professional life. ESD can make
patterns which has led to environmental education ‘participatory’. This enhances the
degradation. All this would obviously have long problem solving capacities of young people
term negative impacts on the environment and through processes which enable collaboration
its consequences would be felt particularly by and dialogue.
the socio-economically challenged groups and Concept of sustainable development
our future genrations. Sustainable Development refers to
To combat the problems of unsustainable development which can meet the needs of the
growth patterns, post Stockholm Conference of present generation without compromising on the
1972, India adopted the concept of Sustainable ability of the future generations to meet their
Development (SD). In 1992, during the United own needs (Brundtland Report, 1987).
Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED); India became a part of There are three aims of sustainable
the 187 countries pledging their commitment development
towards achieving Sustainable Development by 1. Economic - to attain balanced growth
signing the Rio Declaration. 2. Environmental - to preserve the
In 1992 during the Earth Summit of the environment
UNCED, the role of education in achieving 3. Social- to include all human communities
Sustainable Development was a major concern to access all resources.
(Agenda 21). Education has been considered as
one of the basic requirement and tool towards
achieving Sustainable Development. Educating
l

Ec
ta

people from all walks of life would serve the

en

on
m

dual purpose of creating awareness about

om
n
ro

environment conservation and protection.Thus

ic
vi

safeguarding the environment would help to

En

combat and reduce the socio-economic inequity

by empowering people through education.
The Government of India later
recommended the Ministry of Human Resource Social
Development to integrate environmental
concerns, issues and awareness in education at
all levels.
In its 57th meeting in December 2002 Figure 1.3 : Three aims of sustainable development
(UNESCO, 2002), the UN General Assembly

11
 The concept of ‘‘needs’’ refers to consumption patterns are responsible for
essential needs of human beings. Millions of increasing pollution which damages our
people today do not have adequate food, proper environment.
house, clean drinking water or basic education.
The definition suggest that such essential needs There is sufficiency in the world for man's
of all people must be met with. But at the same need but not for man's greed.
time the pattern of development has to be such - Mahatma Gandhi
that future generations would also be able to
meet their own needs from the resources without
In the recent past consumerism has become
destroying or degrading nature. This may
a part of our daily life. There is also inequality in
include water resource, productivity of various
the way, rich and underpreviledged groups in the
ecosystems, quality of air etc.
Development conventionally means society use resources. Our excessive resource use
enhancing economic well-being and wealth. creates excess amounts of waste. All this requires
Well-being of an individual or family and changes to be made in our lifestyles to prevent
community depends on several factors apart the further degradation of our environment.
from income levels. Development is more than Each one of us is creating a large environment
economic growth. The development achieved in foot print in our resource base. We all need to
the short term may not continue over time and is reduce our environmental foot print and create
unsustainable in the longer term. positive impacts to conserve our environmental
resources for the future. This is now refered to as
Think and Act…. environmental handprint.
The past and present generations used Inspite of India’s rapid population growth,
energy from fossil fuels for domestic and industrialzation and consumerism our country
industrial processes. This use in energy still includes a wealth of Natural Resources
has led to the global climate change. which requires urgent conservation measures.
How do conserve energy in daily life.
Activity 7:
1. Switch off lights and fans in the
classroom when it is not necessaary. How you will reduce your environment
2. ---------------------------------. footprint and increase your environmental
handprint. Give some actions of your daily
Concept of sustainable consumption life.
Development is largely based on the use of
Activity 8:
resources. Therefore a change in the pattern of
development requires a change in the pattern of Find out which activities will
resource use. The pattern of sustainable make water resource unsustainable. What
consumption relates to use of both renewable should be done to make it sustainable? List
and non-renewable resources. For renewable down all activities in school to make
resources the use of a resource should not exceed sustainable use of water resource. What
the capacity of the environment to replenishing can you do at home?
the resources. Non-renewable resources should
Activity 9:
be used with care as they can be totally used up.
The natural available resources are shrinking Observe one day in a week as "No
because consumption levels are so high. Current Vehicle Day" and eduacate others to
follow this.
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