Presented by: Vaibhavi Apte Visiting Faculty Environment Awareness Life on this planet earth depends on a variety of goods and services provided by the nature, which are known as Natural Resources. Any stock or reserve that can be drawn from nature is a Natural Resource Natural Resources of two Types: Renewable Resources- they are in exhaustive and can be regenerated in a given span of time. E.g. Forests, wildlife, wind, biomass, tidal, hydro energies etc. Non-Renewable Resources- they are exhaustive and cannot be regenerated. E.g. Fossil fuels- coal, petroleum, minerals, etc. Forest Resources Water Resources Mineral Resources Energy Resources Food Resources Land Resources Forests is green blanket covering the Earth About 1/3 rd of the worlds land area is forested which includes closed as well as open forests. But the forest cover is depleting. Greatest losses have occurred in Tropical Asia, where one third of the forest is destroyed. Current Forest area of India: 24.1% (FSI report 2013) Sr.NoCommercial UsesEcological Uses 1.Wood: timberRegulates water cycle 2.FirewoodProduces Oxygen 3.PulpwoodAbsorbs Pollutants 4.Food itemsAct as a sink of CO2 (Reduce Global Warming) 5.Gums, resinsDriving Energy flow and Nutrient Cycling 6.Fibres, canes, fodderHabitat for wildlife 7.Medicines and drugsConservation of Soil 8.Worth: Rs.30,000/year by one typical tree Worth:1,00,000/year by typical tree Over Exploitation: Rapid & Excessive use of forest to meet human demands Deforestation: clearance or clearing is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a non-forest use. Due to wood cutting & large scale logging for raw material Deforestation due to road construction Forest clearing to convert it to Agricultural Land to meet food demands Encroachment of Forests Heavy grazing Mining activities Hydropower projects Fuel Requirement Raw material for industries Shifting cultivation Development projects dams Growing food needs Overgrazing Forest fires Existence of Species is affected- Natural Habitat Biodiversity is lost Hydrological cycle affected Soil erosion In hilly areas Landslides Increase in Carbon levels.Global Warming AdvantagesDisadvantages Checks Floods, famineLoss of Forest area Generate ElectricityLarge land under submergence Reduce water & power shortageRelocation of many tribal, communities, people, farmers. Provide Irrigation water to low areasLocal Riots, abuse Promote fisheriesFlash Floods EmploymentSeismic changes Siltation & Sedimentation Problem Micro-Climate Change Breeding of Vector & Spread of disease Society now moving towards construction of small dams or mini- hydal projects. Sardar Sarovar Dam Tehri Dam Silent Valley Chipko Movement Water is known as LIFE Nearly 80% of body composition Water is a chemical substance, a liquid at ambient conditions, often co-exists on earth with its solid state i.e ice, and gaseous state i.e water vapor or steam. Properties: Universal solvent- so it can be nutrient carrier, High surface tension- so it can rise easily at great heights, Anomalous expansion- it freezes, it expands instead of contacting. World oceans cover about 3/4 th of earths surface. Fresh water constitutes a very small proportion of this enormous quantity. About 2.7 % of the total water available on the earth is fresh water of which about 79 % lies frozen in polar regions and another 20% is present as ground water. The rest is available in lakes, rivers, atmosphere, moisture, soil and vegetation Sr.No Uses 1.Agriculture- 2.Drinking 3.Washing 4.Transportation 5.Chemical uses 6.Fire Extinguish 7.Recreation 8.Water Industry 9.Food Processing 10.Industrial Application Water Rain Ground Water AquiferConfinedUnconfined Surface Water Pond, Lake, Rivers, Streams, Artificial Reservoirs Ice Caps, Glaciers Water which percolates or infiltrates down in the ground Huge source of fresh water. Layer of sediment or rock that is highly permeable and contains water is an AQUIFER Confined- Which are sandwiched between two impermeable layers of Rock/Sediments, Recharged where it intersects the land surface and Unconfined aquifers- which are overlaid by permeable earth materials, recharged by water seeping down form surface. Subsidence When groundwater withdrawal is more than its recharge rate, the sediments in the aquifer get compacted, a phenomenon known as groundwater subsidence. Lower of Water Table Mining of water is done extensively in arid & semi-arid regions, which leads to lowering of water table. Water Logging When irrigation is done with Brackish water, water table level increases leading to logging Water Pollution Discharge and dumping of waste in water resources Heavy Rainfall causes floods in low-lying areas coastal areas. Prolonged downpour cause overflow of rivers, lakes leading to floods. Anthropogenic Activities- Deforestation, overgrazing, mining, rapid industrialization. It is very regular feature in some North Eastern Parts of India & Bangladesh When annual rainfall is below normal and less than evaporation, drought conditions are created. Meteorological Phenomenon Anthropogenic Causes:Grazing, deforestation, mining. Leads to desertification Proper crop plantation is a remedial measure. Unequal distribution is the major cause Cauvery water dispute: Cauvery River is contention between Karnataka & Tamil Nadu, and the problem is hundred years old. The upstream is in Karnataka & downstream is in TN. The TN people wants water-use regulated in Upstream, whereas the Karnataka people claims primacy over it. June 2, Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal was set up. Indus the water treaty- established in 1960 The Jhelum,Chenab & Indus itself given to Pakistan while The Sutlej, Ravi & Beas to India Sutlej-Yamuna link canal dispute Issue between Punjab & Haryana Minerals are naturally occurring, inorganic, crystalline solids having a definite chemical composition & characteristics properties. Composition of Mineral: Silicon, oxygen, iron, magnessium, calcium, aluminium, etc. Some common minerals like quartz, feldspar, biolite, dolomite, calcite, laterite, etc. Minerals classified based on their properties are of two types: Metallic Non-Metallic Minerals are also classified as : Critical Essential for economy of Nation e.g. Iron, Aluminium, Gold, Copper, etc. Strategic Essential for defence of Country e.g. Manganese, Cobalt, Platinum, Chromium, etc. Sr. No MineralUses 1.AluminiumPackaging food items, transportation, utensils, electronics 2.ChromiumFor making high strength steel alloys, textile/tanning ind. 3.CopperElectric & Electronic Goods, building, construction, vessels 4.IronHeavy machinery, steel production, transportation means 5.LeadGasoline, car batteries, paints, ammunition 6.ManganeseMaking high strength, heat resistance steel alloys 7.GoldOrnaments, medical use, use in aerospace 8.SilverJewellery, photography, electronics 9.NickelBatteries 10.PlatinumAutomobiles, catalytic convertors, jewellery, medical use Sr. No MineralUses 1.SilicateSand & gravel for construction, bricks, paving, etc 2.LimestoneUsed for concrete, building stone, used in agriculture for neutralizing acid soils, used in cement industry. 3.GypsumUsed in plaster wall-board, in agriculture 4.Potash, phosphorite Used in fertilizers 5.Sulphur pyrites Used in medicine, car battery, industry Mining Surface- shallow Deposits Open Pit Mining Machines dig holes Dredging-chained buckets & draglines are used Strip Mining Ore is stripped by using bulldozers, power shovels& stripping wheels Sub-surface- deep deposits Devegetation and defacing of landscape Subsidence of land Ground water contamination Air pollution Surface water pollution Occupational health hazards Jaduguda Uranium mines: Jharkhand Jharia coal mines: Jharkhand Sukinda Chromite mines: Orissa Kudremukh iron ore mines: Karnataka East coast bauxite mines: Orissa North eastern Coal fields: Assam Reduce, reuse, recycle New and improved mining technologies MICROBIAL LEACHING TECHNIQUE Restoration of mined lands Revegetation and stabilization. The most important natural resource, upon which all human activity is based since time immemorial, is land. Land resource is our basic resource. Throughout history, we have drawn most of our sustenance and much of our fuel, clothing and shelter from the land. It is useful to us as a source of food, as a place to live, work and play. It is a productive economic factor in agriculture, forestry, grazing, fishing and mining. It is considered as a foundation of social prestige and is the basis of wealth and political power. Out of the total land area, as many as 175 million hectares suffer from degradation. Land degradation is caused largely by soil erosion, but also by water logging and excessive salinity. Most serious threat deforestation. The exponentially growing population ----immense pressure The high degree of degradation of existing land resources, the changing climate and increasing diversion of land from agricultural to non-agricultural uses have aggravated the problem. The productivity of land has suffered to a great extent, beyond repair India, being a large agrarian society, has, therefore, an enormous task to meet the growing demands for food, fuel, fiber together with environmental security for its people in the coming years. Soil Erosion Water induced erosion Wind induced erosion Water Logging & Salinity Desertification Landslides Means wearing of soil Defined as the movement of soil components, especially surface-litter and top soil from one place to another. It leads to loss of fertile soil layer Two types of Soil Erosion: Normal or geologic Erosion: Removal of top soil by natural processes- physical, biological & hydrological activities Accelerated Erosion : mainly caused by anthropogenic activities like overgrazing, deforestation, mining. Two factors : Climatic Agents- Water & wind Biotic Agents- Excessive grazing, deforestation, mining. Sheet Erosion: Uniform removal of thin layer of soil from large surface area. Rill Erosion: Due to rainfall finger like grooves or rills are formed, it is called rill erosion Gully Erosion: it is prominent in heavy rainfall, where deeper cavities or gullies are formed of U /V shaped. Slip Erosion: this occurs due to heavy rainfall on slopes of hills & mountains Stream bank Erosion :in rainy season, when fast running streams take a turn in some direction, they cut the soil and make caves in the banks. Saltation: This occurs due to direct pressure of stormy wind and the soil particles of mm diameter move up in vertical direction. Suspension: Here fine soil particles (less than 1 mm dia) which are suspended in air are picked and taken away to distant places. Surface Creep: Here larger particles (5-10 mm dia) creep over the soil surface along with wind. Conservational till farming Contour farming Terracing Strip Cropping Alley Cropping Wind breaks or Shelterbelts Tillage is the agricultural preparation of the soil by mechanical agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of human-powered tilling methods using hand tools include shoveling, picking, mattock work, hoeing, and raking. Examples of draft-animal-powered or mechanized work include ploughing, etc On gentle slopes horizontal rows of plants Helps slow down run off Done on steep slopes Extremely efficient to prevent run off. Good in high rainfall areas Alternate strips of crops with grasses or grass legume mixture Run off is retained by strip cover Also helps nitrogen fixing Alley Cropping is planting rows of trees at wide spacing with a companion crop grown in the alleyways between the rows. Alley cropping can diversify farm income, improve crop production and provide protection and conservation benefits to crops. It is a plantation usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted around the edges of fields on farms. Result of excessive irrigation Pore spaces filled with water Roots cannot breath Make continuous column with water When evaporates leaves behind a white crust of salt Extremely high sodium quantity. Precious LAND RESOURCE IS WASTED In this huge masses of land slide down destroying anything in its path. Various developmental activities like large dams, reservoirs, construction of roads etc require large scale deforestation. This increases chances of landslides Process of conversion of productive land to arid or semi arid lands 10-25% drop in productivity in moderate desertification More than 50% in serious desertification Creates gullies or sand dunes Leads to depletion of ground water, salinization Causes are deforestation, overgrazing and mining Areas include Saharan Africa, Middle East, Western Asia, parts of central and south America. Domino effect Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or mineral. Out of thousands of edible plants and animals around 3 dozen types form major food of humans Agriculture is the source of majority of food components Wheat Rice Maize Potato Barley Oats Cassava Sweet potato Sugarcane Pulses Millet Sorghum Vegetables Meat Milk Fish Minimum caloric intake should be 2500 calories /day If less than 90% of this amount: Undernourished If less than 80% : Seriously undernourished Deficiency or lack of nutrition causes: MALNUTRITION. Last 50 years food productiontripled Population growth rate also high.. Every year 40 million people die of MALNUTRITION and UNDERNOURISHMENT 300 million Indians are UNDERNOURISHED Food production in 64 developing countries.lagging behind population growth rate Staple foods: Agriculture Meat, Milk and products: Livestock Agricultural improvement by: new machines, hybrid technology, improved varieties, excessive fertilizers, irrigation etc Milk, poultry and meat products: Hybridisation techniques, improved sanitary conditions, disease control, medicines, OVERGRAZING Grazing on grasslands or pastures. Available areas under decline Exceed the CARRYING CAPACITY Impacts: Land degradation Soil erosion Loss of Useful Species Necessary as its the major source of food It dates back to as long as humans exist Hunter gatherer civilized by agriculture Slash and burn traditional technique used. Traditional agriculture and its impacts: Forest clearing, Soil erosion and Depletion of nutrients Modern Agriculture and its Impacts: Impacts of HYV(high yield varieties) Fertilizer related problems Pesticide related problems Water logging Salinity problem Deforestation due to Slash and burn technique Clearing of forests for new land area Depletion of Nutrients Impacts of High yield varieties Encourage MONOCULTURE These crops demands controlled irrigation. These crop should be irrigated at right time as per the schedule and in right quantity. Most of the HYV seeds are dwarf varieties. They need higher doses of fertilizer. HYV crops are highly susceptible to pests. N, P, K are essential macronutrients Highly used to get boost in production They cause MICRONUTRIENT IMBALANCE Eg: Punjab and Haryana soils suffer from severe deficiency of Zinc. Nitrates pollute ground water. Conc more than 25 mg/l.causes Blue Baby Syndrome Eutrophication Development of Resistant varieties: Super pests Death of non target organisms Biological magnification Over irrigation is the major cause Inadequate drainage leads to high water column Pore spaces drenched with water No adequate gaseous exchange 1/3 rd of cultivable land affected by salts caused by excess irrigation Accumulation of salts like NaCl, sodium sulphate, calcium and magnesium chloride High electrical conductivity and high sodium percentage Water evaporates and leaves behind a white crust of salt Punjab and Haryana face problem Thank You..