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Sustainable Development: Basic Principles

The document discusses several topics related to sustainability: - Sustainable development aims to meet present needs without compromising future generations by balancing economic, environmental and social factors. - Watershed management implements land and water practices to protect water quality and natural resources within a watershed. This includes preventing soil erosion, aiding water management, and maintaining water quality. - Rainwater harvesting collects and stores rainwater to reduce reliance on imported water and demand for potable water, especially in low water areas. - The ozone layer protects the earth from UV rays but is being depleted by CFCs in refrigerants and aerosols, risking skin cancer and harming plants and aquatic life.

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37 views

Sustainable Development: Basic Principles

The document discusses several topics related to sustainability: - Sustainable development aims to meet present needs without compromising future generations by balancing economic, environmental and social factors. - Watershed management implements land and water practices to protect water quality and natural resources within a watershed. This includes preventing soil erosion, aiding water management, and maintaining water quality. - Rainwater harvesting collects and stores rainwater to reduce reliance on imported water and demand for potable water, especially in low water areas. - The ozone layer protects the earth from UV rays but is being depleted by CFCs in refrigerants and aerosols, risking skin cancer and harming plants and aquatic life.

Uploaded by

Gourab
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Sustainable Development

Sustainability is most often defined as meeting the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. It has three main
pillars: economic, environmental, and social. These three pillars are informally
referred to as people, planet and profits.

Basic Principles:
1. Development has to be eco-friendly
2. Resource should be used by present generation in such a way that future
generation does not suffer
3. Consumption of resource shall not be in such a way that natural resource
are over-exploited
4. Producers and consumers must have a balanced relationship.
5. Development shall be such that apart from economic benefit, social
benefits shall also be there.

Watershed Management
Watershed management is a term used to describe the process of implementing
land use practices andwater management practices to protect and improve the
quality of the water and other natural resources within
a watershed by managing the use of those land and water resources in a
comprehensive manner.
A watershed is an area of land that drains rain water or snow into one location
such as a stream, lake or wetland. These water bodies supply our
drinking water, waterfor agriculture and manufacturing, offer opportunities for
recreation (fishing, etc) and provide habitat to numerous plants and animals.

Essential Components of Watershed Management

1. Prevent soil erosion


2. Helps in water management
3. Helps to maintain water quality parameters
4. Helps prevent forest fire and conserves forests
5. Helps in good management of road construction
Rain Water Harvesting

Rain water harvesting is a technique of collection and storage of rainwater into


natural reservoirs or tanks, or the infiltration of surface water into subsurface
aquifers (before it is lost as surface runoff). One method of rainwater
harvesting is rooftop harvesting.

For communities that rely on imported water to supply their needs, collecting


rain water that falls naturally in the community can reduce the need for
imported water. Rainwater harvesting helps utilities reduce peak demands
during summer months, saving treated water for more important and
appropriate water uses.

Importance of Rain Water Harvesting


Rainwater is usually free from harmful chemicals, which makes it ideal
for irrigation purposes.
Another important advantage is that it reduces demand for potable water.
It is important especially in areas with low water levels. These are some of the
significant advantages of harvesting rainwater.

Ozone Layer Depletion


The ozone layer (also known as stratosphere) lies above troposphere and is
between 10-50km above ground level. It  is responsible for absorbing harmful
ultraviolet rays (specially UV B), and preventing them from entering the Earth's
atmosphere. However, various factors have led to the depletion and damage of
this protective layer.
Depletion begins when CFC's get into the stratosphere.
CFC is chlorofluorocarbon , a gas that is used in refrigerators, air-conditioners,
aerosol sprays etc. This contains chlorine and fluorine that can easily split an
ozone molecule into molecular oxygen and reactive oxygen species.
A single CFC molecule can split several hundreds of ozone molecules and is
therefore harmful to the environment.

Ill effects caused by destruction of ozone layer


1. Skin cancer, wrinkles in the skin at an early age
2. Raises overall temperature of the Earth
3. Arrests the proper growth of plants, because of more evaporation of
mositure due to excessive heat on the earth’s surface.
4. Loss of chlorophyll pigment in plants(upto 20-50%)
5. Death of different aquatic species

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