1. Renewable and non-renewable
Forest resources:
Water resources:
Food resources:
Energy resources:
Land resources:
UNIT 2: NATURAL RESOURCES:
2. RENEWABLE RESOURCES
Renewable resources which are inexhaustive and can be
regenerated within a given span of time.
Ex :- Forests
Wildlife
Wind Energy
Biomass Energy
Tidal Energy
Hydro power.
Oxygen
Natural reform rate comparable to utilization rate
3. NON RENEWABLE RESOURCES
Non Renewable resources which can not be
regenerated.
Ex :- Fossil fuels like - Coal,
Petroleum,
Minerals,
Natural reform rate too low compared to the
utilization rate
4. FOREST RESOURCES
Forest of the most important natural
resources on this earth.
It is produce innumerable material
goods, but also provide several
environmental services which are
essential for life.
6. ECOLOGGICAL:
Production of oxygen:-They are rightly called as
“earths lungs”.
Reducing global warming:- The main greenhouse
gas carbon dioxide(co2) is absorbed by the forests as
a raw material for photosynthesis.
Wild life habitat:- About 7 million species in the
tropical forests alone.
Regulation of hydrological cycle
Soil conservation
Pollution moderators
7. OVER EXPLOITATION OF FORESTS
DEFORESTATION
1900 - 7000 ha F
1975 - 2890 ha F
2000 - 2300 ha F
1982-1990 0.04%
decline
India 19.27%
8. MAJOR CAUSES OF DEFORESTATION
Shifting cultivation:- 300 million people
- 5 Lakh ha.
- India, North East,
- Andhra Pradesh, Bihar,and M.P.
Fuel requirements:- 65 million
- 2001, 300-500 million
Raw materials for industrial use
Development projects
Growing food needs
Overgrazing
9. MAJOR CONSEQUENCES OF DEFORESTATION
CASE OF STUDIES
Desertification of hilly regions of the Himalayas.
Disappearing Tea garden in ChhotaNagpur.
11. DAMS AND THEIR EFFECT ON FOREST AND PEOPLE
SARDAR SAROVAR DAM
12. WATER RESOURCES
Water use and over- exploitation
Ground water
Effect of ground water usage.
Surface water.
Floods.
Droughts.
Conflicts over water.
The Indus water Treaty
The Cauvery water dispute
The Satluj-Yamuna link canal dispute.
15. FOOD SUPPLY INCREASES FROM 1960
ENORMOUSLY
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION INCREASED BY 18%
SINCE 30 YEARS
FOOD INSECURITY LINKED NOT FOR FOOD
PRODUCTION BUT FOR
POVERTY AND
ECONOMIC STAGNATION
16. CROP LANDS (76%) FOOD GRAIN
RANGE LANDS (17%) MEAT
FISHERIES (7%) FISH
ENOUGH FOOD IS AVAILABLE IN THE
WORLD
2 Kg. / PERSON / DAY (GRAIN + BEANS +
NUTS + VEGETALBE + MEAT + MILK + EGG)
17. WORLD FOOD PROBLEMS
F.A.O. - 2004 (1997-2002)
World - 1.8 C
Growth - 85.2 C (20 C children
die)
Developing 84.3 C
India 22.1 C
18. IMPACTS OF OVERGRAZING AND AGRICULTURE
OVERGAZING
IMPACTS OF OVERGRAZING
(1) Land Degradation
(2) Soil Erosion
(3) Loss of useful species
19. AGRICULTURE
10,000 - 12,000 years ago he
took to agriculture by
culivating.
Slash and burn cultivation or
Shifting cultivation.
20. TRADITIONALAGRICULIURE AND ITS IMPACTS
Small plot,
Simple tools,
Naturally available:-
Water, Organic fertilixer
and Mix crop.
½ The global
population
21. DEFORESTATION:- Slash and burn of
trees in forests to clear the land for
cultivation and frequent shifting .
SOIL EROSION:-
DEPLETION OF NUTRIENTS:- During
Slash and burn the organic matter in the
soil gets destroyed.
Nutrients are taken up by the crops.
22. Modern Agriculture and its impacts
Hybrid seed
Single crops variety
High tech equipments
Fertilizers
Pesticides
Irrigation water
Food production
23. IMPACTS RELATED TO HIGH YIELDING
VARIETIES. (HYV)
HYV - Monoculture
Pathogen
25. NITRSTE POLLUTION
Leach deep into the soil and
ultimately contaminate
the ground water.
Concentration
exceeds25mg/L
Blue Baby Syndrome
EUTROPHICATION
26. PESTICIDE RELATED PROBLEMS
Thousands of types of pesticides
are used in agriculture .
The first generation pesticides
includes chemicals like Sulphur,
Arsenic,lead,or Mercury to kill the
pests.
DDT second generation pesticides.
(Paul Mueller 1940)
29. CREATING RESISTANCE IN PESTS AND
PRODUCING NEW PESTS
About 20 species of pests
are now known which have
become immune to all
types of pesticides and are
known as
“Super pests”
30. DEATH OF NON TARGET ORGANISMS
Many insecticides are
broad spectrum
poisons which not only
kill the target species
but also several non-
target species that are
useful to us.
BIOLOGICAL MAGNIFICATION
31. SALINITY PROBLEM
At present 1/3 of the total cultivable land area of the
world is affected by salts.
India 7 million hectares of land are estimated to be salt.
Sodium chloride, sodium sulphate, calcium chloride,
magniesium chloride etc.
pH 8.0 more than.
20 % area world crop lands affected by canal &ground
water.
Crop growth stunted and lowers crop yield.
WATER LOGGING
32. ENERGY RESOURCES
ENERGY SOURCES (99% SUN + 1% OTHER)
GLOBAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION
NON-RENEWABLE SOURCES
COAL (21%)
OIL (32%)
NATURAL GAS (23%)
NUCLEAR (6%)
RENEWABLE SOURCES
BIOMASS (WOOD) (11%)
HYDRO, WIND, GEOTHERMAL (7%)
SOLAR (18%)
33. FOSSIL FUELS
(COAL, OIL AND NATURAL GAS)
OIL
SECOND WORST INVENTION AFTER NUCLEAR BOMB
MAIN – TRANSPORTATION
(RELEASES LARGE VOLUME OF CO2).
OILS ARE EASY TO CARRY
OIL WELLS ARE DEPLETING FAST IN ANOTHER 20 YEARS
COAL
LASTS ANOTHER 200 YEARS
COAL MINING – LUNG DISEASES, WATER AND AIR POLLUTION
NATURAL GAS
METHANE + BUTANE + ETHANE + PROPANE
ANOTHER 200 – 300 YEARS
LOW PRODUCTION COST, LOW POLLUTION
(TRANSITION - RENEWABLE TO NON-RENEWABLE TYPES)
34. NUCLEAR POWER
NEUTRON SPLIT THE NUCLEI OF ELEMENTS LIKE
URANIUM AND PLUTONIUM AND RELEASING
ENERGY IN THE FORM OF HEAT
SOLVES WORLD ENERGY PROBLEM
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT IS VERY LOW, BUT
SAFETY MUST BE A LOT
SOLAR ENERGY
PURE, NON-POLLUTING, INEXHAUSTIBLE FORM OF
ENERGY
COLLECTING AND CONVERTING PROBLEM
CHENNAI EXAMPLE
35. WIND ENERGY
NAGERCOIL – KANYAKUMARI
SLEEK LOOKING, SLOWLY ROTATING WIND BLADES
25,000 MW OF ENERGY
LOW CAPITAL COST
HYDROPOWER
25% OF WORLD’s ENERGY IS FROM HYDROPOWER
SUBMERSION PROBLEM
HYDROGEN
HYDROGEN BURNS AND GIVES ENERGY
IT COMBINES WITH O2 TO PRODUCE WATER VAPOUR
NO AIR POLLUTION OR NO EMISSION OF CO2
36. LAND RESOURCES
PRESERVES TERRESTRIAL BIODIVERSITY AND GENETIC P
REGULATE WATER AND CARBON CYCLES
ACTS AS THE STORE OF BASIC SOURCES LIKE GROUNDWATER,
MINERALS AND FOSSIL FUELS
SOLID AND LIQUID WASTE DUMP
HUMAN SETTLEMENT AND TRANSPORT ACTIVITIES
EVEN MORE IMPORTANT, THE TOP SOIL SUPPORTS ALL PLANT
GROWTH AND THEREFORE LIFE SUPPORTING SYSTEM OF ALL
ORGANISM.
ABOUT 23% OF ALL USABLE LANDS ARE DEGRADED
DEFORESTATION FUEL WOOD OVER AGRICULTURAL
CONSUMPTION GRAZING MIS
MANAGEMENT
38. UNIT 3: ECOSYSTEMS
Definition
Concept of an ecosystem
Structure and function of an ecosystem
Producers, consumers and decomposers
Energy flow in the ecosystem
Types ecosystem:
Forest ecosystem
Grassland ecosystem
Desert ecosystem
Aquatic ecosystems (ponds, streams, lakes, rivers, ocean estuaries)
39. What is an Ecosystem?
Term proposed by British ecologist A. G. Tansley in 1935.
An Ecosystem is a Natural unit.
Consisting of all Plants, Animals and Micro- organisms in
an area functioning together with all the physical &
chemical (soil, climate, water and light) factors of the
environment.
An ecosystem is formed by the interactions between all
living and non-living things.
Eco = the Environment; System = regularly interacting
and interdependent components forming a unified whole.
40. Ecosystem = an Ecological system;
= A community and its physical
environment treated together as a functional
system.
41. Is This A Correct Approach??
"Oh well, it's renewable so we can use as
much as we want"
Could this be the attitude of those who clear-
cut forests?
42. Fundamental Characteristics of Ecosystem:
Structure:
Living/Biotic (Plants, Animals and Micro-
organisms )
Non-living/Abiotic (soil, climate, water and light )
Process:
Energy flow
Cycling of matter (chemicals)
Change:
Dynamic/ Changing (not static)
43. What Forests Are?
Common View:
Large Group of trees
Correct View:
A complex ecosystem consisting
mainly of trees that buffer the earth and
support a myriad of life forms.
44. What Forests Provide?
The many values and functions of tropical forests
can be split into 'goods' and 'services'.
Services:
Climate regulation
Reduce greenhouse effect
Watershed protection
Soil erosion prevention
Goods:
Provision of hardwood timber
Non-timber forest products (fibers, resins, plant and animal products)
Food source
Medicines
45. What Can Happen If Forests Are
Cut?
Can change the soil and the climate of the ecosystem,
as a result:
new trees cannot grow
plants die
animals lose their habitat and die or leave the area
more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, boosting
the likelihood of global warming
smaller amounts of rain and snow
46. A Big Question
Should humans, be allowed to buy the whole
ecosystem for the purpose of destroying them
- for money?
47. Case Study
Area of severest forested wetland losses in the United
States, the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Plain.
Since the time of European settlement, nearly 60% of
America's original endowment of 215 million acres of
inland wetlands - forested bottomlands, marshes, bogs,
swamps and tundra - has been converted to other uses.
This depletion has been particularly rapid during the past
30 years.
48. Case Study Cont’d
Forest depletion has largely been the result of
economic incentives and the federal projects which
have significantly tipped those incentives toward
conversion of wetlands to agricultural uses.
It remains to ask whether the federal government
ought to be thanked or condemned for providing this
service. This question can be addresses by comparing
the actual rate of forested wetland depletion with
what would be optimal from a socioeconomic
perspective.
49. Optimal Use
A set of necessary conditions under which individual
landowners may be expected to seek to convert their
forested wetlands to agriculture production or to
abandon their agricultural croplands and allow them to
return to forest.
"Socially optimal" land use of the land is achieved if
landowners, when deciding how to utilize their
wetlands, take into account all benefits of forested
wetlands, not only their financial benefits from timber
production.
Consider environmental costs associated with the
conversion of forested wetlands to agricultural
cropland.
50. Forest Conservation
Reuse and recycle all paper products would be one
way to help
Establishing institutions focusing on “sustainable
development”
fulfilling needs of present generation
committed to conserving forests
51. CIFOR - Center for International
Forestry Research
To improve the scientific basis that underpins
balanced management of forests and forest lands
To develop policies and technologies for sustainable
use and management of forest goods and services
To assist partner governments improve their capacity
to research and support the optimal use of forests and
forestlands
53. Renewable resources account for major
fraction of total energy resources
E.g. Geothermal, solar, and wind resources
Less environmentally damaging than fossil
fuels
Costs of using fossil and nuclear fuels are
increasing
It will make the renewable resources :
Competing for some markets (as substitutes)
Assisting in the general market growth (as complements)
Renewable energy is available domestically
Technological improvements
Why renewable energy?
54. Fossil fuels impose external costs on society
These costs are not accounted for in current
market places
In energy markets, two categories of
externality are discussed
Preferential tax treatment or subsidies
Environmental costs and benefits
If costs of externalities favouring renewable
resources are introduced into the capacity
selection process, technologies using
renewable resources may be chosen more
readily for electricity supply additions
Role of externalities
55. Usually not accessible
Market trends
In some cases, such as wind and solar thermal
generation
Small improvements in generating costs may significantly
increase their market penetration
In other cases, such as photovoltaic and most
forms of geothermal power
Large cost reductions are needed to spur greater market
penetration
Too Scattered
Too costly to employ, given current
technologies and costs
Problems
56. Renewable resources are likely to increase
their contributions to the electricity supply
As technologies and market experiences improve
On a regional basis, where they are available and
the costs of alternatives are higher
Additional environmental regulations on
fossil-fueled plants could make the use of
renewable resources economically more
attractive
Social policies, including favorable tax
treatments or other forms of assistance, could
promote interest in renewable resource use
Solutions
57. Non-Renewable "Renewable"
Resources
Question: When are renewable resources not
renewable?
"Renewable" resources become non-renewable
due to the mis-management of renewable
resources by humans and pollution of the
environment by humans.
58. Conclusion
Optimal Use
Environmental Equilibrium
Socioeconomic Equilibrium
To achieve a balance between these two aspects,
optimal usage of renewable resources is must.
Different policies suit different resources
