UNIT 4

This unit deals with contemporary issues of our time affecting humans
and the environment
Including water quality and health, Some toxicology principles
Integrated Water Resources Management, COVID 19 Pandemic,
DALY (Disability adjusted life years) and Environmental Quality Index
Ghana’s Environmental Protection Bureau
Environmental Impact assessment
Water Quality and Health
Water is very important for every human being as well as other organisms.
Water thus has become a major source of pathogenic organisms and because
we are in the tropics we suffer greatly from such diseases. Most of them are
from human faeces and due to poor sanitation practices we also suffer
greatly. Water also is a universal solvent and dissolves several chemical
substances. All these have had grave consequences on human health. The
world is currently running out of clean water as water bodies become
polluted due to anthropogenic activities. This calls for clarion call to ensure
proper management of water resources known as integrated water resources
management . This section will look at some of the pollutants and the type of
disease they cause together with how the chemicals in the water are
assessed toxicologically and integrated water resources management.
 Water Quality
Aim
To provide you with information on what parameters are
considered when defining the quality of water

To offer you a survey of situations and conditions in which the

quality of water changes
A six minute video on micro-organims
• https://youtu.be/fU0XO1X1tAE

• Microorganims are living things that we cannot see with our naked
eye.
• These are viruses, bacteria, protozoa, algae and fungus
• Helminths have been added because the mode of infection which are
their eggs cannot be seen with the naked eye
 Bacteria
Bacteria are unicellular organism found almost
everywhere including hot springs. Some are
beneficial but others are also harmful. Bacteria are
the cause of many diseases associated with poor
sanitary practices. Their generation time is very
short e.g. as short as 12 minutes.
Nitrification pays a major role in the nitrogen cycle
and is carried our by Nitrosomonas or nitrifying
bacteria as presented in the equation below:
C5H7O2N + 5 O2 → H2O + 4 CO2 + NH4+ + HCO3-
Others are used in the food and beverage industry like
bread and beer.
Pandemic Covid 19
• This is a virus which causes severe acute respiratory syndrome SARS.
• Taxonomically is a strain of SARSr related coronavirus(SARSr-CoV). Believed to
have zoonotic origins and has close genetic similarity to bat corona viruses.
• Genus name is Betacoronavirus
• Species is Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus
• A positive-sense single stranded RNA virus
• Discovered in 2019 in the city of Wuhan China
• Highly infectious in humans and is airborne
Routes of Transmission and control of
COVID 19
• Through the mucosal membrane of the ocular, buccal and nasal cavities
• Unfortunately, the virus has been found in human faeces making it a
serious faecal oral transmission route.
• Strict adherence to hygiene must be practiced and wearing of nose and
facial masks are recommended
• Regular handwashing with soap under running water is highly
recommended.
• Hand sanitizers which are alcohol based is also very essential
• Scientists are developing vaccines and medications to control and
eliminate the disease from the world
Water associated diseases
• There are four categories of diseases transmitted by microbes which
associated with water. These are mainly due to poor hygienic
practices and thus are sanitary related.
• 1. Water borne
• 2. Water washed
• 3. Water based helminth diseases
• 4. Water vector borne related diseases
Public significance of diseases associated with excreta and
water related diseases
Classification of water and related diseases

Disease Disease
Cholera Guinea worm
Waterborne Water-based
Infectious hepatitis Schistosoma
Polio (Bilharzia)
Paratyphoid
Typhoid
Amoebic dysentery Malaria
Bacillary dysentery Waterborne Onchocerciasis
or water – Water related
Gastroenteritis Yellow fever insect vector
washed
Sleeping
sickness
Ascaris
Conjuctivitis Water –
Diarrhoea diseases washed
Leprosy
 Water quality and health

Waterborne disease- Diseases spread by contamination of water (or hands) by human feaces or
urine. With this type of disease, infection occurs in a manner as shown in the scheme below:

Infected person → Pathogens in excreta→ contaminated water source

Susceptible person consumption of untreated water

Preventive measures: Improve quality of drinking water. Prevent casual use of untreated or
unimproved sources

Water based helminth disease- Diseases whose causative pathogen spend part of its life cycle in
aquatic animals such as water snails. The most well known example is schistosomiasis. Its
pattern of disease transmission includes a part of the pathogen (worm) life cycle in an
intermediate host (as eggs in snails). After the eggs of the worm have penetrated a snail they
hatch inside the snail. These larvae can only survive for 48 hours in water.
The larvae can however, penetrate the skin of human beings and they can then migrate through
the body, where they can multiply. It is unfortunate that schistosomiasis is often spread by
irrigation schemes which tend to provide suitable habitats for the snail host as wells as
increasing the likelihood of contact with the water by agricultural workers.
The scheme of development of the pathogen is given as follows:
 Water quality and health

Preventive measures: Desist from the use of or contact with any water resource known
to have the infection. Control snail population and prevent people or inhabitants
from defecating in surface waters.

Water – related insect vector diseases

Diseases spread by insects that breed or feed near open surface waters eg. malaria.
Preventive measures: include avoiding suitable habitats for insect like shallow stagnant
water pools, regions around the edges of lakes and irrigation canals. Control by the
use of insecticides, although this measure has the possibility of creating some water
quality problems. Biological control measure like the introduction of fish species
that prey on the larvae of the insect could be adopted.
Integrated Water resources Management
• This part briefly looks at the water available for human and other uses,
• The hydrological cycle and management of the water available.
• Sources of water
• Rain
• Surface water in the form of streams, rivers and lakes
• Groundwater
• Water at the poles
• Water in the clouds
• Sea water
• Soil
 The Water Cycle
Water travels on the surface of the earth,
underground and in the atmosphere in a
cycle – the Water Cycle.
• Clouds provide precipitation in the form of
rain, snow and hail.
•Water runs on the surface. Part is used by
the vegetation; part flows to the water
bodies or infiltrates the soil to form the
underground water bodies.
Invisible phenomena
Evaporation, absorption, water
•Surface water bodies evaporates under the
vapour and transport by winds – effect of the sun and finds itself in a
sun energy required for process
gaseous form in the atmosphere.
Visible phenomena –
condensation, precipitation, •Water vapour condenses in contact with
snow, runoff, infiltration,
superficial and underground cold air masses, which then creates clouds
flow. and comes down as rain.
Water Quality

• As precipitated water encounters the atmosphere and the

environment, its quality changes through interactions with:
- Gases in the air
- soil and rock– contaminants
- anthropogenic activities eg mining, agriculture and irrigation,
industries e.g. dyeing and tannin
Water use
• About 66% of the human body is made up of water
• Depending on the human body needs about 3 – 10 litres of
water / day is required for normal functioning.
• Uses – cooking, recreation, laundry, drinking gardening,
transportation, waste disposal, fire fighting, industrial
applications etc.
• Influences: Cultural habits, pattern and standard of living, utility
fee for water, quality of water, proximity of water source.

In the selection of the type of water supply / source, finance,

location, size of community, geographical conditions and the
available water source are normally the major considerations.
Water consumption
• Water use and consumption are normally expressed
in litres per capita(head) per day (l.c.d).

l.c.d is useful for making rough estimates of a

community’s water demand
 Typical Domestic Water Usage
Type of water supply Typical water Range (l.c.d)
consumption (l.c.d)

Communal water point

(e.g. village well, public stand-post)
- at considerable dist. (>1000 m) 7 5 - 10
- at medium dist.(500 – 1000m) 12 10 - 15

Village well
walking distance < 250m 20 15 - 25

Communal standpipe
walking distance < 250m 30 20 - 50

Yard connection
(tap placed in house-yard) 40 20 - 80

House connection
- single tap 50 30 - 60
 Water and Wastewater Quality parameters
• Important properties of water focused on when considering
water quality include, the bpt., Melting pt., vapour pressure,
surface tension, solvent, density, heat capacity.

• The very notion of water quality is linked to the intended use of

the water: swimming, drinking and cooking, irrigation,
industrial process water etc. Whatever we use it for, its quality
must be preserved. As the natural content varies considerably.
We must define average conditions for natural and safe waters.
Above a predestined threshold, water will be declared polluted.
Water pollution
• Water pollution is a harmful modification of
water caused by the addition of substances likely
to modify its quality, aesthetic aspect and use for
human purposes. The polluting agent may be
physical, chemical or biological in nature and
cause discomfort, nuisance or contamination
Wastewater effluent guidelines

Parameter EPA Ghana Guidelines

BOD5 mg/l 50
COD mg/l 250
pH 6-9
Total Phosphorous mg/l 50
Total Nitrogen mg/l
Total suspended solids 50
mg/l
Total Dissolved solids 1,500
mg/l
E.coli MPN/100ml 10
Total coliforms 400
MPN/100ml
Mercury mg/l 0.005
Lead mg/l 0.1
 IRON AND MANGANESE
• Consumer complaints – dark brown to black precipitates,
stain laundry and porcelain fixtures
Coating and darkening of filters in treatment plant
Concentration as low as 0.02 mg/l could form coating in
distribution mains, service lines, meters
chronic exposure to manganese concentration beyond
0.5mg/l could give rise to a disease condition similar to
Parkinsonism.
•
WHO health based guideline for manganese occurrence in
drinking water is pegged at 0.4 mg/l (WHO guideline 2004).
WHO guideline value of 0.1 mg/l has been recommended
for Mn for drinking water sources
 ARSENIC
• Long term exposure to drinking water with [As] > 10 μg/l
• Can cause cancer of the skin, lungs, urinary bladder,
kidney, etc
• Skin pigmentation,
• Hardening and laceration of sole of feet.
• Retardation in the intelligence of children.
• In Ghana – upsurge in the incidence of cancer especially
breast, meanwhile patronage of groundwater as drinking
water source is on the increase.
 FLUORIDE (high fluoride a very serious problem in Northern Ghana

The claim of F- being beneficial has not held up

independent scientific scrutiny.
High [F-] → more brittle and fragile bones, increased bone
mass density but reduce strength of the bone at the same
time due to F- caused defects in the bone structure.
F- + Al in drinking water → accumulates in brain →
neurotoxic morphological changes.
A study in China has shown that even accepted levels in F- in
water (0.88 mg/l) may affect children’s intelligence
High F- is also a contributing factor to a bone cancer
condition of osteosarcoma.
May cause elevation in blood sugar possibly exacerbating
diabetes.
Effects of excess flouride
 Heavy metal health impacts

LEAD -Anaemia, mental retardation,

MERCURY
• Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is found in air, water and soil.
• Exposure to mercury – even small amounts – may cause serious health
problems, and is a threat to the development of the child in utero and early
in life.
• Mercury may have toxic effects on the nervous, digestive and immune
systems, and on lungs, kidneys, skin and eyes.
• Mercury is considered by WHO as one of the top ten chemicals or groups of
chemicals of major public health concern.
• People are mainly exposed to methylmercury, an organic compound, when
they eat fish and shellfish that contain the compound.
• Methylmercury is very different to ethylmercury. Ethylmercury is used as a
preservative in some vaccines and does not pose a health risk.
• Our water bodies are now been seriously contaminated with mercury due to
Other health impacts dues to chemicals
SO2 released from industries causes Bronchitis
Acid rain – precipitation causes corrosion of monuments and materials.
Changes acidity of water bodies and can cause death of fish
Impedes photosynthesis.
The presence of all these chemicals in the water we consume calls for
special toxicity tests to limit the amount of contaminants that are
safe for human consumption
 Toxic Chemical compounds and their extent of toxicity

In toxicology the adverse effects of chemicals (pollutants) on living

organisms is studied and the probability of these effects occurring
upon consumption of the pollutant is considered.

The toxicity of a pollutant is described using various terminologies:

Lethal dosage, ADI, MAC etc.

The toxicity of a chemical substance in water depends upon several

factors other than the actual concentration. Some substances, which
are highly toxic, are unstable in water and break down into innocuous
by-products. The degree of toxicity also has to be assessed on the
daily intake from sources other than water, for example lead pollution
in air.
 Toxic Chemical compounds and their extent of toxicity
• Sub-acute toxicity
This is often expressed using the no observed effect level
or no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL)
The NOAEL is the highest dose or concentration of a
substance that causes no detectable health effect. (Based
on long term studies)

In some cases LOAEL may be used. LOAEL refers to the

lowest observed dose or concentration of a substance at
which there is a detectable adverse health effect.
 INDUSTRIAL WATER
Maximum conc. Of constituents in raw waters for various industrial operations (mg/l)

Characteristic Boiler Cooling Textile Pulp and Chemical Petroleum

water water Plants paper industry
Silica 150 50 - 50 - 85
Aluminum 3 3 - - - -
Iron 80 14 0.3 2.6 10 15
Manganese 10 2.5 1.0 - 2 -
Calcium - 500 - - 250 220
Magnesium - - - - 100 85
Ammonia - - - - - 40
Bicarbonate 600 600 - - 600 480
Sulfate 1400 680 - - 850 900
Chloride 19000 600 - 200 500 1600
Nitrate - - - - - 8
Dissolved 35000 1000 150 1080 2500 3500
solids
Suspended 15000 5000 1000 - 10000 5000
solids
Hardness 5000 850 120 475 1000 900
Alkalinity 500 500 - - 500 500
Color 1200 - - 360 500 25
Integrated Water Resource Management

Integrated management means that all the different

users of Water resources are considered together.
Water allocations and management decisions consider
the effects of each use on the others. They are able to
take account of overall social and economic goals,
including the achievement of sustainable development.
• The Facts
• Global water: 97% seawater, 3% freshwater. Of the freshwater 87% not
accessible, 13% accessible (0.4% of total).

• Today more than 2 billion people are affected by water shortages in

over 40 countries.

• 263 river basins are shared by two or more nations;

• 2 million tonnes per day of human waste are deposited in water

courses

• Half the population of the developing world are exposed to polluted

sources of water that increase disease incidence.

• 90% of natural disasters in the 1990s were water related.

• The increase in numbers of people from 6 billion to 9 billion will be the

main driver of water resources management for the next 50 years.
• Within this IWRM principle, it is vital to recognise first the basic
right of all human beings to have access to clean water and
sanitation at an affordable price.

• Water has a value as an economic good as well as a social good.

• Many past failures in water resources management are
attributable to the fact that the full value of water has not been
recognised and has led to wasteful and environmentally damaging
uses of the resource.

• Allocation
• Treating water as an economic good is an important means for
decision making on the allocation of water. This is particularly
important when extending supply is no longer a feasible option.
• Agriculture
• Water supply & wastewater
• Mining, industry
• Environment
• Fisheries
• Tourism
• Energy
• Transport
• Each of the water uses identified above has valuable positive impacts.
Most also have negative impacts which may be made
worse by poor management practices, lack of regulation
or lack of motivation due to the water governance
regimes in place. Water management within government
structures is distributed across many agencies and tends
to be dominated by sectoral interests.
 Agriculture Water
• Water Quality for irrigation (tropical conditions)
TDS
- < 400 mg/l – poor drainage
saline soil
inadequate water supply
< 1000 mg/l – good drainage
- proper irrigation management
< 2000 mg/l – salt resistant crops
- good drainage
- low sodium adsorption ratio (S.A.R.)
E.C. < 100 mS/m (25˚C)
SAR < 10 - poor drainage
< 18 - good drainage
 Quality requirements for fishing in tropical streams
• CO2 <12 mg/l
pH 6.5 – 8.5
NH3 <1
Heavy metals <1
Copper <0.02
As <1
Pb <0.1
Selenium <0.1
Hg <0.01
Cyanides <0.012
Detergents <0.2
DO >2

Pesticides
DDT <0.002
Endrin <0.004
Methylparathion <0.21
Malathion <0.16
Fresh water is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life, development
and the environment.

Water development and management should be based on a participatory approach,

involving users, planners and policymakers at all levels.

Women play a central part in the provision, management and safeguarding of water.

Water has an economic value in all its competing uses and should be recognised as
an economic good.

The participatory approach involves raising awareness of the importance

of water among policy-makers and the general public. It means that
decisions are taken at the lowest appropriate level, with full public
consultation and involvement of users in the planning and implementation
of water projects
 SOME ACTIVITIES TO EMBARK UPON FOR INTEGRATED
ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

1. Awareness creation
2. Proper Solid and Liquid Waste management
3. Creation of buffer zones for water bodies
4. Development of woodlots
5. Appropriate farming (both crops, fishing and animal farming)
practices
6. Water Abstraction, Use and Drilling license
7. Creation of Game reserves
Ghana’s Environmental Protection Bureau, EIA
and Some Principles of Environmental laws
• With the massive pollution problems mankind is facing each country
in addition to the provision of the concerted efforts globally, is
supposed to address its own local environmental challenges. It is in
line with these directives that Ghana has established its own
Environmental Protection Bureau (EPA) which supervises the
implementation of policies and regulations to protect the local
Environment. One of such key regulation is the requirement for all
developmental projects to undertake an Environmental Impact
Assessment before Project implementation.
Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency
• In order to implement all these environmental regulations and Agency
has to be established to develop the laws and regulations to manage
that aspect
• The Environmental Protection Agency, is an agency of Ministry of
Environment, Science Technology and Innovation, established by EPA
Act 490 in 1994. Prior to that it was just a advisory council called
Environmental Protection Council established in 1974 after a world
conference on Environment in Stockholm 1972.
Functions of EPA
• The agency is dedicated to improving, conserving and promoting the country’s
environment and striving for environmentally sustainable development with
sound, efficient resource management, taking into account social and equity
issues. It oversees the implementation of the National Environment Policy.[2]
EPA Ghana's mission is to manage, protect and enhance the country’s
environment and seek common solutions to global environmental problems.
Its mission is to be achieved through an integrated environmental planning
and management system with broad public participation, efficient
implementation of appropriate programmes and technical services, advice on
environmental problems and effective, consistent enforcement of
environmental law and regulations. EPA Ghana is a regulatory body and a
catalyst for change to sound environmental stewardship.
Environmental Assessment
• There are several procedures for assessing environmental quality
• These are Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
• Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
• Environmental Risk Assessment
• Environmental audit etc
• We shall focus on EIA which now has social impact assessment as a key
Component
Environmental Impact Assessment
EIA is a process of assessing environmental impact of a development
project to improve decision making on its implementation

Brief History (Before the concept of EIA)

-Project evaluation – formerly prior after the execution of a major
project there used to be project evaluation. This was based on
technical studies valued in monetary terms (cost benefit analysis).
-Rough evaluation – full of shortcomings and failures
-Efforts to develop new evaluation approach led to EIA. In this
Technical, Financial, Economic and Environmental aspects were
given their proper weight in the decision making process.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
1960 in the USA to create environmental awareness
1962 - First evidence of local application of insecticides had
far reaching ecological impacts
Environmental aspects of projects became a requirement
for decision making
National Environmental Policy Act / Law (NEPA) published
in 1970. Environmental impact Statements ( EIS ) should
be published for major actions significantly affecting
quality of human environment.
Purpose of the EIA
• It enables financier/ client to take environmental issues into
account
• It seeks to compare the various alternatives which are available for
any project. Each alternative will have economic cost and benefit
as well as environmental impact. Adverse impacts may be reduced
at higher project cost whilst environmental benefits may be
enhanced at environmental cost.
• It attempts to weigh the environmental effects on a common basis
with economic cost and benefit in the overall project evaluation
• It identifies and forecasts the possible positive and negative
impacts to the environment resulting from a proposed project.
• It helps to avoid costs and delays in implementation.
 Some common targets
EIA seeks to identify probable alternatives for project with little or no
adverse impacts on the community or environment.
EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) is the assessment report
produced after the assessment exercise; it details both the beneficial
and adverse impacts anticipated upon completion of a project and the
probable impacts that would be experienced during the operational
phase of the project.
To perform an EIA about 5 major parties are involved:
• The Proponent or the Initiator e.g. Gov’t agency, private personnel,
company etc.
• Decision makers – Central or Local gov’t agency, provincial official (EPA
– Gh)
• Review Commission – EPA, EIA committee – management committee
It provides a formal mechanism for direct agency co-ordination to
deal with concerns.
• It measures the level of plan implementation and the degree of
effectiveness of the above environmental protection provision.
Some key environmental laws, policies and
regulations in Ghana
• Ghana is still in the process of developing laws to protect the environment in addition to several
environment laws dating back as 1892 on the Towns Ordinance which ensures proper planning of
towns
• LI 1999 for the mandatory requirement for Environmental Impact Assessment for Development
projects
• Public Nuisance Decree Act 29 of 1960 Prevent indiscriminate disposal of waste and noise
disturbance.
• Ghana Investment code of 1988 which mandated all investors to examine the impact of their
activities on the environment
• There are guidelines for the various levels of sound for different places
• Guidelines for effluent discharges from industries
• Guidelines for ambient air quality
• Environmental sanitation policy of 2010. This needs to be revised.
• Water policy of 2007 also needs to be revised
 Principles of Environmental laws
• Several principles guides the development of these laws.
• 1. Precautionary: This is done when the impact is not known bust suspected
• Prevention: Impacts are known and the laws are made to prevent them. Most
environmental laws are based on this principle
• Polluter pays: Ensures that industries pay for impact of the harmful effects of
their products through life cycle of the product
• Integration: Integrates environmental concerns in all decisions of corporate
bodies and activities
• Public participation: Incorporates the views of the public as well.
• Sustainable development: This is an approach to economic planning to foster
development whiles preserving the environmental quality for present and future
generations. This has been difficult to do because of the multipurpose nature of
resources in question. Key sustainable laws are in ecotourism
Levels of Environmental laws
• It exists at three main levels
• 1. international declarations, conventions and treaties
• National laws are generated by agencies charged by Governments with the
protection of the environment
• Local laws such as the sanitation by laws are developed by Assemblies

Incentives are also provided by some of these national laws to encourage the
compliance of the laws. Such as pollution taxes for the use of clean
technologies
Types of Environmental laws
• Command and control
• Identification of harmful effects
• Imposition of specific conditions of standards for the control
• Imposed conditions for failing to apply
• Environmental Assessments mandates
• Identification of a level of threshold potential impact which will require an EIA
report
• Establishment of specific goals for the assessment
• Setting of requirements to decide whether to proceed with the action or not
The EIA process
• Includes
• Project description and the legal and administrative framework
• Scoping and screening which will look at the major impacts
• The description of the environment for the project
• Analysis of alternatives
Impacts associated with the project with a check list of all things the project can
have impact
Mitigative measures in place
Environmental Assessment procedures
A preliminary form is collected from the Ghana Environmental
Protection Agency to determine the nature of the project whether an
EIA is required.
• If it is needed the proponent seeks consultants to help in the
development of the report which is assessed and approved by the EPA
after public hearing.
DALY Disability adjusted life years
• DALY is a health gap measure that extends the concept of potential years of health life lost
due to premature death (PYLL) to include equivalent years of healthy life lost as a result of
a disability.
• The DALY combines one measure of the time lived with a disability and the time lost due to
premature mortality
• In the application of DALY to environmental studies, we only look at DALY as time lost in
years to a disability as a result of an environmental hazard or disease due to environmental
neglect like incidence of malaria, time lost due to air pollution etc in a community in years.
• Eg How many years are lost as result of people been hospitalized due to air pollution
problems in a community. Suppose the community has a population of 1000 and 200
people were hospitalized for three 5 days due to air pollution in one month.
• Example of The DALY in this case is 200X 5 =1000 days /365 days which is equal to 2.7 years
lost in that community in just one month
Environmental Quality Determination
Depends on:
• population,
• resource used and
• impact generated from resource used

• Q = IFP
Where
• Q = level of pollution or the Environmental Quality Index
• I = impact index (pollution per unit of resource
consumed.
• F = amount of materials resource or energy resource
consumed per person
• P = size of population.
Example of Environmental quality measurement

• Determine the Environmental quality Index of a hair dressing salon at Ayeduase

in a day if the number of people who come to the salon daily is 120.
• Each person uses 30 Litres of water for her hair washing and styling.
• The pollution load in the water which is the impact is 40mg of Dissolved Organic
matter per litre
• Q=IFP
• Q is the level of pollution of Environmental Quality index
• I is the impact per unit resource used ie organic matter dissolved per litre
• P is the size of the population, F is the amount of resource used per person
• Thus Q= 40mg/l x 30L x 120=144,000 in grams
Environment impacts associated with various engineering disciplines
The impacts of the old engineering practices are known because they
have been in existence for long:

• Civil engineering -changing of landscape, land degradation

• Agricultural engineering –land degradation, water pollution with
pesticides, depletion of ground water resources
• Mechanical Materials, chemical, petroleum engineering cause
Noise pollution, fossil fuels depletion and air pollution

• Computer engineering impact details on man and the environment

are not known apart from electromagnetic radiations.

• Impact of every the new disciplines will be better understood with

time and also if a life cycle analysis is carried on the products
developed.
The Millennium Development goals
• This was initiated in 2015 to promote human wellbeing.
• The goal had 8 goals and the implementation ended in 2015
• At the end of the period sub-Saharan Africa could not achieve all the
goals
 Key facts from JMP 2015

SubSahara Africa
Population

962 million
Access to at least basic drinking water - 58 %

Access to safely managed sanitation - 28%

Ghana
Access to basic drinking water - 78%
Access to safely managed sanitation - 14.3%
Open Defecation - 19
 Environmental sustainability
• The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in
1992 in Rio de Janerio, Brazil
• Set out a roadmap for sustainable development.
• In a follow up conference in South Africa in 2002
• Why is there a lack of international progress in reducing poverty and
protecting the environment? Discuss this.

Social

Equitable
Bearable
Stnble

Environment Viable Economic

Stnble – Sustainable’
The MDGs Interest groups
• Governments
• NGOs,
• General Universities
• Chiefs,
• District Assmeblies
• Consultants
• Companies
• etc
 MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

2. Achieve universal primary education for all
3. Gender equality
4. Child health
5. Maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Global partnership
GOAL 7
ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Target 1
Integrate the principles of sustainable development into
country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of
environmental resources.
Target 2
Reduce biodiversity loss; achieving by 2010, a significant
reduction in the rate of loss
Target 3
Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without
sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic
sanitation
Target 4
By 2020 to have achieved a significant improvement in
Target 1
Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes
and reverse the loss of environmental resources.

Immediate action is needed to contain rising green house gas

emission.
Success in limiting ozone depleting substances is also helping to
mitigate climate change
Target 2
Reduce biodiversity loss; achieving by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss

Marine areas and land conservation need greater

attention

Deforestation slows and more forests are designated

for biodiversity conservation

The number of species threatened with extinction is

rising rapidly

Fish stocks require improved fisheries management to

reduce depletion
Target 3
Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking
water and basic sanitation

Almost half of the world’s population face a scarcity of water

More people are using improved sanitation facilities, but meeting

the target will acquire a redoubling of efforts
In developing regions, nearly one in four uses no form of
sanitation
Though access to improved drinking water has expanded, nearly
one billion people do without

Women shoulder the largest burden in collecting water

Target 4
By 2020 to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers

Simple, low – cost interventions could significantly

improve the lives of many slum dwellers
Sustainable Development Goals
• In September 2015, The United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda SDG with 17
goals to succeed the MDGs
• The SDGs are to address the following dimensions of sustainable development:
environment
economic
social
The time Horizon is 2015-2030
The SDG goals
• 1. No poverty
• 2. Zero Hunger
• 3. Good health and well being
• 4. Quality Education
• 5. Gender Equality
• 6. Clean Water and Sanitation
• 7. Affordable and clean Energy
• 8. Decent work and economic growth
• 9. Industry innovation and infrastructure
• 10 Reduced inequality
• 11. sustainable Cities ans communities
SDG Cont’nd
• 12. Responsible consumption and production
• 13. Climate Action
• 14. Life below water
• 15. Life on Land
• 16. Peace and justice strong institutions
• 17. Partnership to achieve the goals
Incorporation of SDGs in National Development Agenda

• THE National Development Planning Commission is the lead

government Institution on Development Planning policy and strategy.
• The SDGs must be triggered down in our all our communities
including all programs in our Universities to enhance the achievement
of the goals
Facts for Water and sanitation
• 2.6 billion people have gained access to improved drinking water sources
since 1990, but 663 million people are still without
• At least 1.8 billion people globally use a source of drinking water that is
faecally contaminated
• Between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of the global population using an
improved drinking water source has increased from 76 per cent to 91 per cent
• But water scarcity affects more than 40 per cent of the global population and
is projected to rise. Over 1.7 billion people are currently living in river basins
where water use exceeds recharge
• Floods and other water-related disasters account for 70 per cent of all deaths
related to natural disasters
Facts continued
• 2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation services, such as
toilets or latrines

• More than 80 per cent of wastewater resulting from human activities

is discharged into rivers or sea without any pollution removal

• Each day, nearly 1,000 children die due to preventable water and
sanitation-related diarrhoeal diseases

• Hydropower is the most important and widely-used renewable

source of energy and as of 2011, represented 16 per cent of total
electricity production worldwide

• Approximately 70 per cent of all water abstracted from rivers, lakes

and aquifers is used for irrigation
Goal 6 of the SDG
• By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable
drinking water for all. By 2030, achieve access to adequate and
equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation,
paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in
vulnerable situations.
• This goal affects the success of almost all the goals and hence the
special attention to that.
8 Targets for SDG 6
• By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water
for all
• Achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open
defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in
vulnerable situations
• Improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing
release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated
wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally
• Substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable
withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially
reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity
• Implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through
transboundary cooperation as appropriate
• Protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands,
rivers, aquifers and lakes
SDG 6 Targets
• Expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to
developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities and
programmes, including water harvesting, desalination, water
efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse technologies

• Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in

improving water and sanitation management
Assignments1
1. a) Determine the DALY for the people of Hopeland in one month if
the people infected in a month is 1000 cases. The total quarantine
period is 21 days for full recovery. b) If the total cost per person’s
treatment is 12,000 cedis for the 21days calculate the economic
significance of the disease in a month.
2. Determine the Environmental Quality Index at Beebianeha if each
of the 80 welding shops produce 39 ug of Hg/m3 from their foundry
activities. Each shop is confined to a space of 500m3.
3. What impact will this have on the health of the artisans after a long
exposure?
Assignment 2
• Biomimicry in the class song calls for three key things. What are they?
Give examples in ecosystems and where such practice has been used
• Why are people not bothered about matters of the environment?
Reading materials
• Visit Wikipedia for topics which are not too clear. Wiki has very good
reference materials
• Living in the environment by George by Tyler Miller 2005
• Introduction to environment and society by J. P. Evans 2012
• WHO Guidelines for Drinking water
The Epilogue
• The environment is a complex system requiring a proper
understanding of how things are connected and how they impact
each other. The environment in which we live have natural
ecosystems that are self sustaining and self regulating. We can learn
from nature on how it recycles matter in the ecosystem, manages its
problems on water, air, and soil pollution and general interactions
with other organisms in the environment.
• This concept of biomimicry which is the study of nature's most
successful ideas over the past 3.5 million years, and adapt them for
human use will go a long way to make our planet livable and healthy.
Class song
• Every year a class song is composed to the class highlighting some important
aspects of the environment or comtemporary issues related to the environment. ’
• This year’s class song is entitled Biomimicry:

• We cannot go back to hunter gather days but we can mimic nature for survival
DC
• Biomimicry for pollution control
• Biomimicry for food production
• Biomimicry for cooperation
• Oh yes study biomimicry