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12.3 environmental degradation notes
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notes on unit 12.3 on environmental management
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Environmental Management12.3 environmental degradation
Environmental degradation: any change or disturbance to the environment apparent
to be harmful or undesirable causing a decrease of quality. This can happen naturally
e.g. erosion, landslides, forest fires, floods or man made pollution
Pollution: is the contamination of the earth / atmosphere by people disposing of
wastes. Pollution is a dominant factor of environmental degradation of land, air and
water and impacts significantly on human health.
Land pollution: includes rubbish dumps, spoil heaps and contaminated land
- Derelict land – land which has been so damaged by industrial or other
development that its incapable of beneficial use without treatment, e.g. worked
out mineral excavations, abandoned industrial installations, contaminated land –
leakages or dumping of waste on site
Air pollution: as the release of chemical particulates into the atmosphere.
Common gaseous pollutants include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, CFCs
- Emission from industries and, manufacturing activities – manufacturing company’s
chimney erected into the air
- Burning of fossil fuels release carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and
carbon monoxide which increase acid rain and eutrophication (excessive richness
of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to run-off from the
land, which causes a dense growth of plant life).
Water pollution: by the discharge of wastewater from industries, domestic
sewage, acid drainage, toxic salts from mines, pesticides, pesticide
fertilisers, farm effluents and thermal change
- All life and virtually every human activity need water. It’s the world’s most
essential resource and pivotal element in poverty reduction. But for 80 countries,
with 40% of the world’s population, lack of water is a constant threat and the
situation is getting worse
- The world’s fresh water resources are linked to human health:
o 25000 people die everyday because of poor water (4500 are children under
5)
o 790 million people lack clean water (1.2 billion lack proper sanitation)
o 525000 children under 5 die of diarrhoea each year commonly linked to poor
water quality
- Water scarcity is a major world environmental problem, threatening to put world
food supplies in jeopardy, limit economic and social development, and create
serious conflicts between neighbouring drainage basin countries.
Water utilisation at a global scale:
- There is a great imbalance in water demand and supply. Over 60% of the world’s
population live in areas receiving only 25% of global annual precipitation. Figure 12.6
shows how global water use has increased. In the developing world agriculture accounts
for over 80% of total water use, with industry using more of the remainder than
domestic allocation. In the developed world, agriculture accounts for slightly more than
40% of total water use. This is lower than the amount allocated to industry. As in the
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