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Ch-16 Sustainable Management of Natural Resource

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27 views5 pages

Ch-16 Sustainable Management of Natural Resource

Uploaded by

dharmendra25112006
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Ch-16 Sustainable Management of

Natural Resource
Introduction
Natural resources are substances obtained from the planet that are used to sustain life and
provide for human needs. A natural resource is something that comes from nature that humans
use. Natural resources include things like stone, sand, metals, oil, coal, and natural gas. Air,
sunlight, soil, and water are other natural resources.
The wellbeing of people depends on natural resources. We cannot survive without the fresh
water we drink, the plants we consume, or the pure air we breathe. To build roofs over our heads
and heat our homes, we require natural resources.

Pollution in Ganga
• The river Ganga is used as a sewage dump for more than 100 cities stretching across
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.
• Dumping of untreated sewage, excreta and chemicals from industries increases the
toxicity of the water.
• This makes it inhabitable for the flora and fauna in the river system.
• In 1985 the GAP (Ganga Action Plan) project was initialised to curb the poor quality of
the water of river Ganges.

Reduce, recycle and reuse


The 3 Rs to save the environment can be performed by each individual in our society:

• Reduce: Reducing our usage and wasteful habits. Eg. not wasting food, turning off the
switches to save electricity, repairing leaky taps, reducing the amount of water used for
bathing, etc.
• Reuse: Using things again instead of discarding them. For example, reusing plastic
utensils and bottles. Many things cannot be recycled or require a lot of energy, instead,
we can utilize them for other purposes.
• Recycle: Collecting discarded paper, plastic, glass or metal objects to manufacture
different products rather than synthesizing them from scratch. Must have a mechanism
to segregate and dispose of each type of waste separately.
To know more about Saving the Environment from Pollution, visit here.

Why Do We Need to Manage Our Resources?

Need to manage natural resources


• Due to the ever-increasing population and rising demands of changing lifestyles, natural
resources are being depleted at an alarming rate. To ensure sustainable, equal
distribution of resources and reduction of damage to the environment, management of
resources must be an integral part of our society.
• We must ensure judicious use of our natural resources as it is not unlimited and
management of such requires long-term planning in order to last generations.

Increase in demand for natural resources


• Increasing population is increasing demand for more resources that are getting depleted
at an exponential rate.
• Changing lifestyles and advancements in technology is compelling industries to exploit
our natural reserves to meet the demands.
To know more about Management of Natural Resources, visit here.

Forests and Wildlife

Water for All

Water
• Water is a necessity for all terrestrial forms of life.
• In India places having water scarcity are also the places experiencing acute poverty.
• Despite the monsoon, there exists failure to retain groundwater due to loss of vegetation
and release of effluents from industries.
• Decrease in fresh usable water due to the destruction of water table and disruption in
water cycle.
To know more about Water, visit here.

Rains and irrigation practices


• Intervention of government to pursue mega projects neglected the local irrigation
methods
• Strict regulations on usage of stored water and building tanks, dams and canals
• Optimum cropping patterns must be followed based on water availability.

Involvement of local people (ex: kulhs)


• Himachal Pradesh had a canal irrigation system called kulhs where flowing stream water
was diverted to man-made channels which took it to villages down the hillside.
• The water was used first by the village farthest from the origin of the kulh. This helped
water percolate in the soil.
• It was made defunct after government irrigation system took over.

Dams
• Dams can store large amounts of water and generate electricity.
• Mismanagement of dams causes exploitation and there is no equitable distribution of
this resource.
• Criticism about large dams address:
(i) Displacement of tribals without compensation
(ii) Corruption and consumption of money without generation of benefits
(iii) Environmental problems like deforestation.
Uses:

• For irrigation, water from dams is used.


• Dam water is purified and made available for drinking in neighbouring towns and cities.
• Hydroelectric power is produced by dams and utilised to produce electricity.
• Dams stop flooding from taking lives and property.

Coal and Petroleum

Water harvesting
• Water harvesting encourages soil and water conservation in order to sustain and
increase biomass.
• Increases income for the local community but also alleviates floods and droughts.
• Examples: Rajasthan’s tanks, Khadins, and Nadis, Maharashtra’s Tals and Bandharas,
Madhya Pradesh’s and Uttar Pradesh’s Bundhis, Bihar’s Pynes and Ahars, Himachal
Pradesh’s Kulhs, Kattas in Karnataka, ponds in the Kandi belt of Jammu region, and Eris
(tanks) in Tamil Nadu, Kerala’s Surangams.
• Water harvesting constructions are crescent-shaped earthen embankments/concrete
check dams built in areas that are seasonally flooded
• The main purpose is to recharge groundwater.
The following is a list of the advantages of a rainwater harvesting system.

• Decreases the demand for water imports.


• Encourages energy and water conservation.
• Increases groundwater availability and quality.
• Does not need a filtering system for irrigation in gardens.
• This technology is comparatively straightforward and simple to install and use.
Groundwater
Advantages:

• does not evaporate


• recharges wells
• when flowing does not allow mosquitoes to breed
• does not come in contact with human contamination
To know more about Groundwater, visit here.

Coal and petroleum


• Coal and petroleum are derived from fossil fuels which are non-renewable. They will get
depleted in due time. Hence, proper management for consumption of fossil fuels is
important.
• Their combustion pollutes our environment due to the production of oxides of carbon,
sulfur and nitrogen. Therefore, we need to use these resources judiciously.
To know more about Coal and Petroleum, visit here.

Why should fossil fuels be used judiciously?


• Fossil fuels are formed over millions of years of degrading biomass and have a huge
amount of carbon.
• When combusted in a limited supply of oxygen they form harmful gases that pollute the
atmosphere which leads to global warming.
• Judicious use of fossil fuels addresses the efficiency of our machines and ensures
sustainability of our resources for the future.

Choices that can make difference in energy consumption


• Put your computer to sleep.
• Unplug any gadgets and equipment you are not using.
• Shower for fewer minutes.
• Set the refrigerator to 37–40 degrees F.
• Reduce your plug load by using a power strip.

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