Chapter 4

Environment
Environment
• Ecosystem: Defined area in which a community lives with interactions
taking place among the organisms between the community and its non
living physical environment.
• An ecosystem is formed by the interactions between all living and non-
living things
Terminolgy
• System= regularly interacting and interdependent components forming a
unified whole
• Ecosystem = an ecological system;
= a community and its physical environment treated together as a functional
system
Ecology
The study of the distribution and abundance of organisms
And
The flow of energy and materials between abiotic and biotic components
of ecosystems
Ecosystems : basic features
• Structure
▪ Living (biotic)- which includes non-living things
▪ Non Living (abiotic) – which includes living things
• Process
▪ Energy flow
▪ Cycling of matter( chemicals)
• Change:
▪ Dynamic
▪ Succession

Abiotic components:
• Solar energy provides practically all the energy for ecosystems
• Inorganic substances, e.g., Sulphur, boron, tend to cycle through
ecosystems.
• Organic compounds such as proteins , carbohydrates, lipids and other
complex molecules, from a link between biotic and abiotic components
of the system
➢Biotic components:
• The biotic components of an ecosystem can be classified according to
their mode of energy acquisition
• In this type of classification, there are:
Autotrophs and Heterotrophs
• Organisms that produce their own food from an energy source , such as
the sun, and inorganic compounds
• Organisms that consume other organisms as a food source
Importance of ecosystems
i. Wetlands
✓Wetlands provide flood protection by absorbing excess water from
storm events,with a being capable of absorbing upto 1.5 million gallon
of water. single acre of wetlands

ii. Forests:
✓In addition to timber, forests ecosystems supply clean air by processing
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and according to the National
Research Council, Forest ecosystem also provide a source of sustainable
clean water.
iii. Rainforests
✓Human health depends upon rainforest ecosystems, from which at
least 25% of modern pharmaceuticals originated.

iv. Freshwater and marine Ecosystems

✓Freshwater and marine ecosystems generate $152 billion in the
united states alone annually through fish and shellfish catches and
harvests, according to the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman’s
Associations.
Conservation of environment
• Environment protection is a practice of protecting the natural
environment on individual , organizational or governmental levels, for
the benefit of the natural environment and humans.
• Due to the pressures of population and technology , the biophysical
environment is being degraded, sometimes permantly.
• This has been recognized ,and governments have begun placing
restraints on activities that cause environmental degradation.
Approaches to environment conservation
Intra Country Efforts
• National and conservation parks
• Environmental friendly laws , acts and regulations.
• Emphasis on renewable energy technologies
• Forestation programs
International efforts
• Mutual understandings.
➢Montreal protocol (efforts to reduce Ozone depleting substances
production, use and emission)
➢Kyoto Protocol ( Efforts to reduce Global GHG emission)
➢CDM (Clean development mechanism) Carbon trading , helps in
minimizing emissions from least developed countries who are not
industrial sector to sustain their status
➢Protocol on Persistant Organic Pollutants (POPs): Efforts to minimize
Organic Pollutants Emission
• United Nations Panel to Control Global Warming
Optimum Utilization of Natural Resources
• Optimum Natural Resource Utilization is concerned the supply,
demand, and allocation of the Earth’s natural resources.
• One main objective is to better understand the role of natural
resources in the economy in order to develop more sustainable
methods of managing those resources to ensure their availability to
future generations.
• Resources economists study interactions between economic and
natural systems, with the goal of developing a sustainable and
efficient economy.
Renewable Resources and non- renewable Resources
Renewable resources:
• A renewable resource is a natural resource which can replenish with
the passage of time, either through biological reproduction or other
naturally recurring process.
• Renewable resources are a part of earth’s natural environment and
the largest components of its ecosphere.
• Renewable resources:
➢Natural vegetation
➢Animalia
➢Natural processes such as Wind, Water cycle, Geo energy,etc.
Non Renewable Resources:
• A non renewable resource( also known as a finite resource) is a
resource that does not renew itself at a sufficient rate for sustainable
economic extra action in meaningful human timeframes.
• Non renewable resources:
➢Carbon based energy sources such as coal and fossil fuels
➢Mineral sources
➢Radio- active fuel
Threats to natural resources:
Renewable resources:
• Over exploitation has endangered resources such as forests and
marine ecosystem.
• Species are being extinct as a result of overuse and excessive hunting.
Non renewable resources:
• State on Non-Renewable resources in further problematic.
• Fossil fuel resources will barely last for another century because of
alarming rate of exploitation.
• Future Generations will have a very hard time meeting their needs.
Conflict Resources:
• Man kind has always been in the hunt for Natural Resources. There
have been was fought for controlling large pools of natural resources.
• Conflict for resources started from the very earliest of civilizations and
is still underway in most parts of the world. The European colonies,
the American revolution, all had natural resources as a primary factor.
• While “ wars to control resources” have not taken place for a long
time. These resources have been used to fund the internal rebellions
in most countries
• “Conflict resources are natural resources whose systematic
exploitation and trade in context of contribute to benefit from or
result in the commission of serious violations of human rights,
violations of international humanitarian law or violations amounting
to crimes under international law.”
Global Environmental issues
• Global Warming: Global warming has been an issue for almost 3
decades now. Various efforts are being made towards minimizing its
effect but nothing is going to change unless GHG emissions are
considerably reduced.
• Energy: Consuming fossil fuels for over two centuries now.There had
never been a substitute such effective . But resources are going to run
dry sooner or later. Efforts are being made to find alternatives to fossil
fuels. But the situations at present are not quite optimistic.
• Waste Management: Another major problem. With the ever
increasing population solid waste management has been a major
headache. With land more precious as ever. Constructing land fill sites
has been difficult.
• Drinking water supply: Another very important environmental issue.Fresh
water resource is very unevenly distributed. Some regions have abundance
whilst others remain dry. Resorting to dirty water to fulfill the basic needs
has left many dead and infected.
• Food security: The population is ever increasing the productivity has not.
The fertility of the soil is decreasing. Various Regions in Africa have always
had an issue with famine.
• Natural resources exploitation: The mammoth human population and the
race to economic growth has made man-kind exploit natural resources well
over what should have been. Future generations are going to have a very
hard time managing resource.
• Ecosystems and Endangered species: Rapid urbanization and Industrial
growth has had a very adverse effect in the ecosystem and the ecosystem
and the natural habitat. Rapid Infrastructure Expansion.
Hunting(particularly fishing) has made various species extinct whilst others
are risking being extinct.
Environmental isssues: Nepal
i. Global warming: Although comparatively Nepal is not a great
contributor of greenhouse gases. It is paying a price for it. The
effects have been evident with the rapidly melting glaciers and
snow-less mountain peaks.
ii. Waste management: The volume of municipal and industrial solid
waste is minimal in Nepal compared to other municipalities around
the world.
➢Lapses and management has made solid waste management a very
serious environmental problem.
➢It has become a source of epedimic.
➢Had management been good there would never had been a problem.
iii. Drinking water supply :
➢Although we boast Nepal being a very rich country in water
resources.
➢We have a very poor statistics of barely 10-15% population having
access to drinkable water.
➢Others rely on natural sources and risk acquiring deadly water borne
diseases.
➢Another problem is the community water supply systems being
unsustainable because of lack of regular maintenance .
iv. Food security:
➢Time and again we hear about people in western Nepal suffering from
food scarcity.
➢The land there are in most parts of Nepal is very in-fertile.
➢Barely one crop grows one season that too in minimal quantities.

v. Natural Resources Exploitation:

➢Nepal’s leap towards prosperity and development has had a wide variety
of side effects.
➢One among them is Natural resources exploitation.
➢Forests are being cut down to give way to highways, and other infra
projects.
➢Lots of other resources are being consumed at an alarming rate.
Thank You