Environmental Science - Forest Resources

Environmental Science – Forest Resource
Presented by
Dr.K.Manjula Rani
Associate Professor
Department of Chemistry
Kongu Engineering College
Perundurai, Erode

UNIT - I - Environmental Studies and Natural Resources
Introduction to Environmental Science – uses, over-exploitation and
conservation of forest, water, mineral, food, energy and land
resources – case studies

Introduction to Environmental Science
Environment:
The term environment is derived from a French word
‘environner’ which means ‘surrounding’. It refers to
an aggregate of all conditions that affect the existence,
growth, and welfare of an organism or a group of
organisms.
Definition: It can be defined as a sum total of all the living (biotic) and non-living
(Abiotic) elements and their effects that influence human life.
While all living or biotic elements are animals, plants, forests, fisheries, and birds, non-
living or abiotic elements include water, land, sunlight, rocks, and air.

Environmental Science:
“The systematic & scientific study of our environment and our role in it. This branch
includes the knowledge of Pure Science & to some extent Social Sciences”.
Environmental Studies:
“The branch of Study concerned with environmental issues. It has a broader coverage
than environmental science and includes the social aspects of the environment”.
Environmental Education:
Environmental education is a process that allows individuals to explore environmental
issues, engage them in problem solving, and take action to improve the environment.
As a result, individuals develop a deeper understanding of environmental issues and
have the skills to make knowledgeable and responsible decisions.

Objectives of Environmental Education
Awareness: To help individuals and social groups to acquire basic awareness of and
sensitivity towards the environment & its related problem.
Knowledge: To help individuals and social groups to acquire basic understanding of
the environment, its associated problems and their responsible role towards the
betterment of the environment.
Attitude: To help individuals and social groups to acquire social values, strong feeling
of concern for the environment and the motivation for actively participating in its
protection and improvement.
Skills: To help individuals and social groups to acquire the skills for solving
environmental problems.

Evaluation ability: To help individuals and social groups to evaluate environmental
measures and education program in terms of ecological, political, economical, social,
aesthetic and education factors.
Participation: To help individuals and social groups to develop a sense of
responsibility and urgency regarding environmental problems to ensure appropriate
action to solve those problems.

Importance of Environmental Studies
 Environmental Studies is useful in checking environmental pollution and related
solutions.
 It helps in maintaining ecological balance.
 It helps to gain skills to assess the environmental impact of human activities.
Environmental study will help to protect biodiversity.
 It gives us basic knowledge of environment and associated problems.
 It helps to achieve sustainable development .
 It helps to educate people regarding their duties towards the protection of
environment.
 The knowledge of environmental science will be applied to the study of agriculture..

International Efforts for Environment
 Environmental issues received international attention
about 35 years back in Stockholm Conference, held on
5th June, 1972.
 Since then we celebrate World Environment Day on
5th June.
 At the United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development held at Rio de Jeneiro, in 1992,
known popularly as Earth Summit.
 Ten years later, the World Summit on Sustainable
Development, held at Johannesberg in 2002,
highlighted the key issues of global environmental
concern.
 Later, Conference on Climate Change was held at
Copen Hagen in the year 2009 and is known as Copen
Hagen Summit.

Need for Public Awareness
 Earth’s resources are dwindling and our environment is being increasingly degraded
by human activities and hence something needs to be done.
 Government alone cannot perform all the clean-up functions.
 Individual/group efforts in their own every possible way has to be made to protect
our environment.
 Mass public awareness: newspapers, radio, television strongly influences public
opinion on conserving our environment.
Methods for Public Awareness
 Environmental education
 Through mass & media
 Through organizing seminars & conferences
 Entertainment
 Science centers
 Involvement of youth
 Through print, broadcast and internet

Natural Resources
Life on this planet earth depends upon a variety of goods and services provided by the
nature, which are known as Natural Resources.
(Or)
Natural resources are resources that exist without any actions of human kind.
(Or)
Any stock or reserve that can be drawn from nature is a natural resource.
Examples:
water, air, soil, minerals, coal, forests, crops and wildlife
Classification of Natural Resources:
The natural resources are of two kinds
1. Renewable Resources
2. Non-Renewable Resources

1. Renewable Resources
The resources which cannot be exhausted even after continuous utilization are termed
as renewable resources.
Examples: Sun, Wind, and Tidal energy etc.
2. Non-Renewable Resources
The resources which cannot be immediately replaced once they are depleted are called
Non-renewable resources.
Examples: Fossil fuels, such as coal, petroleum and natural gas etc.

Here we are going to discuss the following six Natural Resources

1. FOREST RESOURCE
The term “forest ”is derived from the latin word “foris” meaning outside. Originally ,it is
uncultivated and uninhabited village boundary consisting of natural plants, i.e., trees and
grasses .
 A forest is a biotic community with a
predominance of trees; it is an
important renewable resource.
 Forests restore oxygen in our
atmosphere through photosynthesis and
also provide solvents, medicines, fuels,
and many other products that are
important for our health and comfort.
 India is rich in forest resources with a
great diversity of flora and fauna.

Direct (or) Commercial uses of forest
 They provide timber for house-building, ship-building, bridges, railway carriages,
furniture's etc.
 They supply fire wood and charcoal for fuel in homes and in industries.
 They provide wood pulp for the paper and rayon industries.
 They provide honey for food and medicines.
 They provide bee wax for candles, medicines, shoe-making etc.
 They provide canes for baskets, mats, chairs, ropes, walking sticks and umbrella
handles.
 They provide sandal wood for carved boxes and small domestic articles .
 They provide tanning materials in the form of wood, barks, leaves, roots, and fruits
for tanning hides and skin.

 They provide corks for bottle-stoppers.
 They provide camphor for medicines.
 They provide rubber for rubber industries.
 They provide balata for the preparation of sea cables and machine belts.
 They provide edible fruits.
 They provide fibers.
 They provide grasses for the grazing of animals, thatching
Indirect (or) Ecological uses of forest
 Forests help in minimizing natural hazards.
 They help in reducing soil erosion and siltation of downstream water bodies.
 They help in reducing desertification and land degradation.
 They help in maintaining biodiversity by providing habitat to wild animals.
 They help in regulating hydrological cycle.

 They help in regulating the gases in atmosphere.
 They reduce global warming.
 They control floods during heavy rain by absorbing excess rain water.
 The thick roots of the trees absorb large quantity of water thus, forest help in the
flow of rivers and streams.
 They offer hunting grounds.
 They improve the sanitary condition of a place.
 They are a source of revenue to the government.
 They facilitate human existence by providing O2 to human beings and absorbing
CO2 by human beings.
 They provide employment to large number of people in different capacities as wood
cutters, carriers etc.

Over Exploitation of Forest
Forest have been known to possess huge potential for human use and they have been
exploited since early times for their vast potential. Exploitation of forests has taken
place to meet human demands in the following ways
 Encroachment of forest land for agricultural use to meet the growing demands of
foods.
 Expansion of cities to accommodate the growing population
 Construction of dams, canals, and highways
 Establishment of industrial areas
 Demand for firewood
 Mining activity
 Deforestation due to road construction
 About 78% of forest area is under heavy grazing

Deforestation
The term deforestation refers to the removal or reduction of forest cover.
 Causes of Deforestation
 Population explosion: Population
explosion is the root cause of all the
environmental problems, vast area of
forests are cleared for human settlement
 Shifting Cultivation: It is a traditional
agroforestry system in which felling
and burning of forests followed by
cultivation of crop for few years and
abandon of cultivation allow forests for
re-growth cause extreme damage to
forest.

 Growing food demand: To meet the food
demand of rapidly growing population more and
more forests are cleared off for agricultural
purpose.
 Fire wood: Increasing demand of wood for fuel
increases pressure on forests.
 Raw material for wood based industry:
Increasing demand of wood for making
furniture, plywood, paper, match box etc results
into tremendous pressure on forests.

 Infrastructure development: Massive destruction
of forest occurs for various infrastructure
development like, big dams, highways projects
etc.
 Forest fires: Forest fires may be natural or man
made cause a huge loss of forest.
 Over grazing: Overgrazing of land by cattle
result into soil erosion, desertification.
 Natural forces: Floods, storms, heavy winds,
snow, lightening are some of the natural forces.

 Effects of Deforestation
 Loss of natural habitat of wild animals and plants
 Increased intensity and frequency of floods
 In hilly areas it often leads landslides and also
land degradation
 Loss of forest products
 Change in climatic conditions i.e., global warming
is enhanced
 Siltation of rivers and lakes
 Loss of revenue
 Change in hydrological cycle and reduced rainfall
 Increased socio-economic problem in the long run
 Problems of soil erosion and loss of soil fertility
increase

 Control of Deforestation
 Mining activities should be prohibited in areas
declared as protected forests.
 Cutting of trees should be followed by massive
plantation.
 The environmental laws and legal provisions
should be strictly enforced.
 Public awareness should be created regarding
medicinal and other economic and environmental
significance of forests.

Case Study 1
Cherrapunji was famous because it received the largest volume of rainfall in the world.
It still does but ironically, experiences acute water shortages. This is mainly the result
of extensive deforestation (no trees to hold the water and the water run off to rivers.
Because proper methods of conserving rainwater are not used. There has been
extensive soil erosion. Only rain water harvesting can sort out the problems of the
world's wettest town. Scientists point out the example of Jaisalmer, one of the driest
towns in India in Rajasthan, with rainfall levels as little as 100 mm of water per year,
where it was found that if you harvest water on just one hectare of land, you have
captured as much as one million litres of water --enough to meet drinking and cooking
water needs of 182 people at 15 litres per day for one year.

Case Study 2
Sardar Sarovar Dam
 The Sardar Sarovar Dam is a gravity dam on the
Narmada river near Navagam, Gujarat in India.
 It is one of the largest water resources projects of
India covering four major states - Maharashtra,
Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
 The project took form in 1979 as part of a
development scheme to increase irrigation and
produce hydroelectricity.
 Most importantly, This dam is one of India's most
controversial project and its environmental impacts
are widely debated.
 It is, in fact, designed as a concrete gravity dam,
having a height up to FRL 138.68 m.

Projected Benefits : Recreation 38% Flood control 18% Fire & farm ponds 17%
Irrigation 11% Tailing & others 8% Undetermined 4% Hydroelectric 3% Debris control
1% Recreation Flood control Fire & farm ponds Irrigation Tailing & others
Undetermined Hydroelectric Debris control

Environmental impacts of Sardar Sarovar dam project
1) Submergence causing loss of forest and agricultural land :
In order to minimize the adverse effects of submergence it becomes necessary
 To compensate and mitigate the losses due to deforestation.
 To reduce the dam height up to a minimum possible value.
After thoroughly examining, dam height was finally decided FRL 138.68 m by
constituted tribunal in 1979.
2) Loss of wild life :
 It was clarified that it will not cause any loss of flora and fauna.
 Also it will help to develop five sanctuaries.
3) Displacement of Tribals :
 Tribals, living in submergence zone, need to be displaced elsewhere.
 Nearly 2000-3000 families may opt rehabilitation in Gujarat, which is
manageable.

4) Submergence of old monuments:
• No protected archaeological monument lies in submergence area.
• Only few temples, like Shoolpaneshwar Mahadev at village Supan, are
likely to be affected.
5) Water-logging and Salinity problem:
• The problem of waterlogging and soil salinity is little serious here.
• It is so because the command areas of the projects have largely black
soils, which have very good water retention capacity.
6) Seismic effect of the reservoir :
• By survey, it was concluded that formation of reservoir in this area
may cause earthquake to occur but not of destructing dimensions.
• So the dams have been designed to withstand earthquake shocks of
magnitude 6.5 (Richter scale).
7) Health aspects :
• No risk of malaria & Schistosomiasis like diseases by irrigation
facilities for 17 years (As studied by teams of WHO)

Environmental Science - Forest Resources

Environmental Science - Forest Resources

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