ENVIRONMENTAL

PLANNING & PRACTICE

Unit 1: Introduction
BY: ENGR. ZAFAR IQBAL

CONTACT : [email protected]
CELL # +92 314 5849 473
Contents
1. Basics of Environment & its Pollution
2. Defining the subject/Environmental Planning & Practice
3. Scope of Environmental Planning & Practice
4. Sustainable Development

i. Energy
ii. Food & Agriculture
iii. Forestry
iv. Soil
v. Water
5. Main Environmental Agenda’s
Basics of Environment & its
Pollution
 The word “Environment” refers to:

◦ The place where we live or work;

◦ The air we breath/ the atmosphere which shield us from harmful
radiations of sun;
◦ The water we drink;
◦ Unpolluted areas of earth which could be spoiled;
◦ any where else which could affect the well-being of the living
organisms.

 Hence, all physical & biological systems which sustain/support life and
contribute to its well being are referred to as environment.
Basic Terminology,, Continued
 Pollution: A process by which air, land and water is accidentally or
deliberately contaminated by discharge of a particular substance in harmful
concentration (in the form of liquid leakage/ leachate, oil spill, air
emissions/flue gases and aesthetic contamination of landscape etc.)

 The term pollution is characterized by any physical, chemical or biological

change which alters the environment in an undesirable way;

 Pollution brings dirtiness, uncleanliness and toxicity; hence it adversely

affects health, survival and other activities of the living organisms
Types of Environmental
Pollution
Major Types
Natural pollution - Origin lies in natural events
Anthropogenic Pollution - Caused by human interventions

Other types include:

Air pollution
Water pollution
Soil and land pollution
Thermal pollution
Oceanic/Marine Pollution
Nuclear/Radioactive pollution
Noise pollution
Sources of Environmental Pollution
Interaction with the Nature & Environment

 Production of goods and services

 Resources use and exploitation
 Aesthetics/landscape
 Food
 Shelter
 Clothing
 Leisure/Comfort

Result is the Pollution:

Excessive degradation of earth resources has shifted the emphasis now
towards Sustainable Development (Meeting the present demands
without compromising on the needs of future generations). It
helps to recover and regenerate the exploited resources to
maintain the natural ability of the planet earth to sustain life on it.
History & historic Pollution Events
1273: One of first laws related to pollution was introduced by the King of
England who prohibited the burning of soft coal to control air pollution
1550: Leonardo da Vinci noted a blue haze in the atmosphere.
17th Century: Acid rain phenomenon was first described
Major Pollution Events:
Meuse Valley, Belgium 1932 industrial air pollutants killed 60 people
Donora, Pennsylvania USA, 1948 intensive industrial smog killed 70 people
London Smog Crisis,1952 (4000-6000 deaths; >25ooo were sick)
Bhopal Tragedy, India 1984 (3787 deaths, > 500,000 injured)
Thames River Pollution (50 years ago the river was so polluted that it was
declared biologically dead. From 1830 to 1860, tens of thousands of people died
of cholera as a result of the pollution in the Thames)
Minimata Japan (Mercury contamination resulted into sense loss)
Love Canal disaster (Landfill site pollution;, 950 families had been evacuated. 
Issues/ Reasons of Concern for
Environment?
 Not only the quality of life but even the life itself is being threatened.

 With the very rapid population growth (more than twice during last 50
years), there was parallel increase in energy consumption and certainly
the waste produced on earth.

 There was increased resources consumption which resulted into

inevitable environmental degradation.

 Thanks to greater ease of communication and greater awareness of the

problems, care and concern for environment is now an integral part of
everyday life.

 This care and apprehension leads to Environmental Planning & Practice.

Environmental Planning &
Practice
 Environmental planning focuses on designing for the
environment by laying the foundation to adapt to the needs
of the changing world and avoid the hazards, risks and high
costs associated with poor environmental practices.
 It is ability to manage human impact on natural environment
by effective strategies and practical models.
 Contrary to the belief that the costs of implementing
environmental practices are high, there are cases where
companies have increased profitability by proper
environmental planning & practice.
 Similarly case studies are there where companies have
suffered huge costs and loss of customer goodwill due to
their poor environmental practices.
Environmental Planning &
Practice: Designing for
Environment
 Products and services have to be designed to achieve high levels of
efficiency. Recycling strategy in paper, electronic, automobile,
computer industries helps to prolong the life of materials and
substances that are used and reduce the energy demand required in
excavating new materials.
 Designing products or services to meet the challenges of today and
tomorrow require that a thorough environmental impact assessment
of all the components of the product or service be conducted by
tracking the entire production process and the product life cycle to
ensure that the final product creates the minimum environmental
burden.
 For example, decisions on which alternative material or component
to use in a product should be based on estimating each material’s
lifetime impacts on the natural environment and not simply on one
or few direct impacts that are quite obvious (Life cycle assessment).
Scope of the Environmental
Planning & Practice
Scope of the Environmental
Planning & Practice
 To safeguard endangered resources
 To improve the degraded sites
 To create new ecological assets
 To develop skills to mediate/ facilitate/ negotiate use/integration
of environmental resources
 To create/ promote a culture of sustainable use
 To ensure Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing
 To address trans boundary pollution problems
 To practice environmental sustainability and have sustainable
development
Scope of the Environmental
Planning & Practice
Environmental planning & Practice can be carried out at all levels/scales;
from individual to societies, from private to public organizations; from local
to national, regional and then on international levels.
It demands for the following:

1.Increased understanding of causes and consequences of environmental

problems
2.Judicious inclusion of environmental considerations/ extension of
conventional scientific framework
3.Commitment of key stakeholders to address the key issues
4.Determined/ and devoted actions to solve environmental problems
5.To jointly adapt the principles of sustainability
Sustainable Development
Some Definitions:
Development which meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
World Commission on Environment and Development WCED, 1987, p. 43
Improving the quality of life while living within the carrying capacity of
supporting ecosystems. UNEP et al., 1991
Maximizing the net benefits of economic development, subject to
maintaining the services and quality of natural resources. Barbier, 1989
The satisfaction of basic needs, including the needs for individual
autonomy and making meaningful contributions to society. Attfield, 1999, p.
98
Sustainable Development
Some definitions
A comprehensive economic, social, cultural and political process, which
aims at the constant improvement of the well-being of the entire population
and of all its inhabitants on the basis of their active, free and meaningful
participation in development and in the fair distribution of the benefits
resulting therefrom. UN, 1986
Sustainable development is a process in which the exploitation of
resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological
development and institutional change are all in harmony, and enhance both
current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations. WCED,
1987, p. 46
Environmental Change &
Sustainable Development
 It is important to recognize that the environment is dynamic and
changing. As we consider sustainable development, it is important to
distinguish between natural environmental change and that which is
aggravated by humans.
 Environmental change is not always a bad thing: it can create new
opportunities and new habitats. However, it is generally agreed that
environmental change is now occurring more quickly than previously,
and also that anthropogenic disturbances are now a significant force
of global environmental change.
 It is this anthropogenic effect on the environment which sustainable
development seeks to curb.
 The challenge is to work alongside environmental change to ensure
sustainable development.
Rate of Change ~ SD
 The resilience of an ecosystem is defined as its buffering
capacity or ‘the ability of a system to absorb perturbations’.
Rapid rates of environmental change are more challenging to
ecosystems, and to humans (Berkes and Folke, 1998, p. 6).

 Extremely rapid rates of change leave little time for ecosystems,

or the people living within them, to adapt to change. There is
concern that we may be stressing environmental systems
beyond their resilience.

 When the pace of gradual change is accelerated to the point

where change occurs as shock events, ecosystems and human
livelihood systems may be destroyed.
Sustainable Development
 The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in
Stockholm in 1972 linked environment and development.
 At the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in 2002,
the link between poverty and environment was reinforced.
Political and economic issues such as alleviation of poverty, and
international debt relief, are also issues which need to be
addressed as part of sustainable development. International
debt puts pressure on countries to misuse natural resources to
meet debt payments. For example, countries may need to sell
tropical timber, so decreasing forest cover and biodiversity.
 Campaigns for ethical trade are also key to sustainable
development.
Sustainable Forestry
 Refers to sustainability of timer harvest and forest ecosystem
 Sustainable timer harvest is mount of timber that can be removed
periodically without decreasing the capacity/annual yield of a forest
ecosystem to sustain that level of harvest in future years.
 Large and older trees are becoming scarce largely so glue wood
products should be encouraged
 Timber is a renewable resources so can be sustained if it is replaced
at the rate matching rate of its harvest
 Avoiding unsustainable deforestation can lead to sustainable
forestry
Source: Given in the Text Book
Sustainable Water
 Improving water conservation measures and storage measures/
additional dams
 Drought resilient crops
 High efficiency irrigation systems
 Managing losses of water in irrigation and agriculture
 Trans boundary water allocations
 Trans boundary water pollution
 Ground water use efficiency and legislation
 Surface water quality/reuse issues
 Controlled use of pesticides etc.
Sustainable Soil
 Soil is a fragile and living ecosystem with variety of life to be
protected and nurtured
 In Pakistan, wastewater being released from various industrial
sectors is usually released into the surrounding soils & lands
damaging human health (Rahman et al. 2008).
 One of such industrial estates, Hattar Industrial Estate consists of
around 117 operational units that are mainly composed of food and
beverage, textile, paper printing, cement, chemical, rubber and
leather products. This industrial estate is releasing a diverse range
of pollutants like PCB, PAH, VOCs, etc. and inorganic compounds like
heavy metals.
 The management of polluted sites is a site‑specific approach that
includes characterization, risk assessment and remediation
technologies selection, and therefore is mainly focused on local or
point‑source contamination.
Sustainable Energy System
 It aims to provide reliable sources of energy; fossil
fuels and alternative, renewable (wind, hydro, solar
etc.)
 It tries to avoid harm to local, regional and global
environment
 It helps to ensure that future generations inherit a
good quality environment with an integrated energy
management system
 A good system must provide a balance between
economic health and quality of environment
 Sustainable Architecture
 Refers to sustainability of built environment, house, road, airport or
a dam etc.
 Sustainable construction is prime sub-disciple addressing
procurement, material, machinery selection and methods of
construction including management of construction waste etc.
 Recycling of construction waste reduces impacts on environment

 Adequate drainage and water conservation facilities may transform

the conventional construction into sustainable construction
activities.
 Effective inputs at the design stage help to addressing noise
pollution, energy issues and indoor pollution.
 Main Environmental
Agendas
1. Population & health of environment
2. Human Settlement
3. Food and Agriculture
4. Forests and Farm lands
5. Wildlife and Habitat
6. Energy
7. Freshwater
8. Oceans and Coastal pollution
9. Atmosphere and Climate
10. Sustainable design, materials and sustainable construction industry
(As per open Class discussion and details given in text book)