After reading this article you will learn about the relationship between man and environment.
Man cannot be considered in isolation from his environment. Over the world, the needs of people still differ enormously.
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At one time the environmental problems debated in international organizations would predominantly have been those recognized by the developed countries—the need to control pollution and the desirability of conserving samples of the ecological and genetic richness and the natural beauty of the earth.
Since the United Nations Conference of the Human Environment, however, it has been increasingly realized that environmental issues are also of vital concern to developing countries and that over much of the world the environ-mental problems are still those associated with poverty—poor housing, bad public health, malnutrition and inadequate employment.
Both the creation and the recognition of environmental problems depend closely on the way society is organised and on its values and objectives. Changes on the relationship between man and his physical environment depend to a large degree on changes in the organisation and aims of society.
If man is to escape from a situation in which much energy and resources are devoted to correcting part mistakes, his aim must be to build a society which is intrinsically compatible with its environment (Fig. 1.3).
The net effect of these changes, particularly during the second half of the twentieth century, was an increase in exposure to many hazards and increased potential for catastrophic losses. More than 1.4 million people have died as a result of natural disasters over the past 50 years, with earthquakes by far the biggest killers.
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Hazards can cause major financial problems, as well as killing many people and damaging such property. In 1998, for example, financial losses from natural disasters worldwide were greater than US$ 93 billion.
Analysis of recent trends shows significant regional disparities in losses, particularly between developed and developing regions. Financial losses associated with natural hazards are highest among the developed countries, such as the USA, where natural hazard losses exceed those of many other national social problems, including fire and crime.
In the developing world, in contrast, the costs are largely measured in terms of human suffering and hardship. Many low-income populations are forced to occupy illegal settlements on low-lying lands, steep hillsides, floodplains or other hazard-prone areas.
They are very vulnerable to significant health risks from flooding, landslides, mud slides and other natural hazards, and their dwellings and infrastructure are subject to accidents, massive damage and collapse (Fig. 1.4).
Three technological advancements of man were highly detrimental to environment—especially air, land and water.
These are:
(i) Lighting of fire,
(ii) Agricultural production of food, and
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(iii) Industrial revolution.
These opened the floodgate of anthropogenic pollution of air, water and land and threatening the very existence of life on mother earth.
With the development of religious concepts several religions—particularly Judaism, Christianity and Islam—viewed the created order as existing for human exploitation. In Genesis (1:27) it is said that man was created in the image of God and was set over nature and had authority to do much as he liked.
In Genesis (1:28), Adam and Eve were told ‘Be fruitful and increase, fill the earth and subdue it, rule over the fish in the sea, the birds of heaven, and every living thing that moves upon the earth’.
J. L. White (1967), in analysing the ecological crisis of earth, wrote “Christianity is the most anthropocentric religion … it insisted that it is God’s will that man exploit nature for his proper ends”. In the Vedic literature, mother earth is personified as the Goddess Bhumi or Prithvi. The abundant mother showers her mercy on her children.
The resources are. therefore, endless and can be exploited for human benefit. Exploitation of nature or other types are done under the pretext of God’s will (You do it Oh mother, but people say that I do it).
In Buddhism, there is very strong emphasis on how we should relate to the natural world—for example, there is a prohibition on animal slaughter. Religious-ethical sanctions encouraged human activities leading to large scale degradation of the environment without any consideration for sustaining the abiotic and biotic elements of the ecosystem.
Some of the important ones are:
1. Over-Exploitation of Natural Resources:
Natural forest, vegetation cleared off for “Swinden” and “Zhoom” cultivation. Mining of earth resources, large scale urbanisation, network of roadways were built at the cost of fertile agriculture or forest lands.
Inundation of millions of acres of land, villages and human settlements by dams and hydroelectric projects are glaring examples of the cost of human progress. A rough estimate indicate that out of a total global production of 7.7 x 107 kcal/year, man alone consumes 4.5 x 107 kcal/year i.e., more than half of global production is consumed by one single species—man.
2. Intervention with Biogeochemical Cycles:
C, O2, N2, P, S and trace element cycles maintaining the steady state environmental conditions and, therefore, sustaining life on earth, have been drastically interfered by man for need as well as greed.
3. Pollution of the Environment:
Anthropogenic pollution of air, water and land has taken colossal dimensions. Man is constantly increasing the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Comfort seeking modern humans are paving the way of O3 layer depletion through CFCs. Man is dumping industrial and city sewage wastes into lakes, rivers and seas.
Toxic chemicals used in modern agriculture for combating pests, diseases and weeds plus synthetic fertilizers are silently killing useful microbes maintaining the biogeochemical cycles, useful insects, birds, butterflies of the forests and fishes in the streams and lakes.
At least five activities of man may lead to global cataclysm killing all life on the earth:
1. Continuous Greenhouse Gas Emission:
Emission of CO2, CH4, N2O and CFCs by the civilized world, if not reduced to 75% of current emission rate by 2030, there will be global warming and large scale O3 depletion.
2. Hazardous Chemicals of Agriculture and Industry:
More than 100,000 Xenobiotic chemicals are now being used. Many of these are recalcitrant compounds. They are accumulating in the environment causing threat of cancer epidemics and total extinction of birds, fishes, butterflies, bees and trillions of soil microbes essential for geo-chemical cycles.
3. Man-Made Nuclear Arsenals:
Several countries possess nuclear bombs with efficient delivery system for target sites. As compared to ‘Hiroshima type’ these bombs are 5, 25, 100 or 500 times more powerful. If 10 of 100 megaton bombs are exploded in different parts of the world, whole fabrics of life-forms including man will be extinct.
4. Man-made Radioactive Wastes:
Nuclear wastes generated in reactors are real threat to life on earth. Plutonium239 produced in reactors are used in bombs. It has half life of 24,400 years and after that half of it decays to U235 with a half-life of 750,000 years. We have accumulated 750,000 kg of plutomum. Even if bombs are not made and those already existing are dismantled (another 100,000 kg of Plutonium) — what to do with these wastes?
5. Biotechnological Misuse:
The deliberate production of extremely powerful disease-producing bacteria, viruses or fungi for biological warfare is another great environment threat to mankind. These super-powered pathogens, when released, will disseminate through air or water and can cause catastrophic epidemics to man and his domestic animals.
Man—supposedly the most intelligent life-form—by misuse and over-use of science and technology has become the potential terminator of mankind and other life-forms.
Gaia theory suggests cooperation between men of different nations for not allowing further pollution and cooperative approach for ameliorating the pollutants already accumulated. By cooperation between the nations—not by competition—we can avoid and prevent total annihilation of mother earth and its offspring’s including the human beings.
On the whole, the environmental problems can only be solved through development.
But that development, producing more food and drawing on the still great resources of the planet, needs to be environmentally wise, and to be based upon thorough evaluation of the potential uses of the different regions of this highly variable earth. Short-term solutions may all too easily—as they have in many countries—lead to long-term losses which a growing world population cannot afford.
UNESCO’s programmes on environment and natural resource management (MAB) aim at providing the scientific basis and trained personnel needed for solving the environmental problems of our times.
Traditionally, MAB has involved research by interdisciplinary teams on ecological and social systems, field training and the application of a system approach to understanding the relationship between natural and human components of development. Today, the overall goal of MAB is to help establish the scientific basis for sustainable development and to assist countries in the development of their human resources.
Although there were 14 defined areas of research, the financial and human resources of MAB were concentrated—more or less—on the following main areas for the initial phase of the programme- Coastal areas and islands, humid and sub-humid tropics, arid and semiarid zones, temperate and cold zones, urban systems, and biosphere reserves.
Some of the more notable and recent achievements of MAB includes:
1. MAB established an international network of biosphere reserves, which are protected areas representative of the world’s major ecosystem types.
2. MAB evolved, through the work in biosphere reserves and specialized projects, interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral approaches to sustainable development, indifferent ecological and socio-cultural settings, including arid and semi-arid zones, Mediterranean systems, small islands, mountain areas etc.
3. MAB set up networks for comparative studies on topics which scientists around the world consider of vital importance.
4. MAB promoted regional cooperation on natural resource issues through regional field projects and technical seminars.
5. MAB published technical syntheses useful for scientists and resource managers.
6. MAB contributed professional trainees through various courses.
7. MAB mobilized resources for building up the capacities of developing countries for integrated approaches to resource management.
8. MAB prepared a series of 36 posters — “Ecology in Action” — as an experiment in communicating scientific information to a broad public audience.