Environmental Studies

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This textbook uses a balanced approach to the study of environment adopting operational definitions, broad and realistic classification and focused analyses and discussions that highlight the complexities, importance and scope of environmental studies to a wide array of undergraduate students.The book categorizes the environment into three general chapters: - Non-Living (or abiotic) Environment; Living (or biotic) Environment; Social (or human) Environment and the fourth chapter, Environmental Conservation, integrates the first three chapters.The intention of this textbook is to focus on specific topics and headings, appearing in the Core Module Syllabus proposed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for Environmental Studies, which is applicable to Undergraduate Courses of all Branches of Higher Education. For this purpose, the book has redistributed the proposed topics and headings under the four interlinked chapters and discussed them with well-established examples and case studies. Table of contents : ForewordPrefaceSyllabus MapChapter 1 Nonliving EnvironmentLearning Objectives1.1 SoilOriginClassificationSoil Types of IndiaMineral ResourcesEquitable Use of Mineral Resources1.2 WaterEarths ReservesSaltwaterFreshwaterAtmospheric Water and RainfallHydrologyMinimum Environmental Flows1.3 AirCompositionOxygenCarbon dioxideNitrogenWind1.4 Solar SystemThe SunSolar EnergySummaryKey TermsReview QuestionsObjective-Type QuestionsAnswersShort-Term ProjectsChapter 2 Living EnvironmentLearning Objectives2.1 BiodiversityGenesPopulationsSpecies What is Species?CommunitiesValue of Biodiversity2.2 EcosystemsClassificationEcosystem ResilienceProductivityFood ChainFood WebNutrient Cycling2.3 BiomesRainforestsSeasonal Broad-Leaved ForestsConifer ForestsSwamps GrasslandsArid and Semi-Arid BiomePolar Biome (Arctic and Antarctic)OceansSummaryKey TermsReview QuestionsObjective-Type QuestionsAnswersShort-Term ProjectsChapter 3 Social EnvironmentLearning Objectives3.1 PopulationPopulation Explosion and MigrationWomen and ChildrenPressures of Population GrowthIndustrializationConflicts Over LandSocial ConflictsDisastersHuman Rights and Value Education3.2 FoodAgricultureIrrigationLivestockFisheriesSustainable Agriculture3.3 HealthCommunicable DiseasesVector-Borne DiseasesPandemicsVulnerable GroupsRole of Information and Awareness3.4 EnergyNon-Renewable EnergyRenewable EnergyHydroelectric EnergySolar EnergyWind EnergyEnergy from BiomassBiodiesel3.5 UrbanizationHabitationCommunicationRecreation3.6 WasteSolid WastesSewage and WastewaterHazardous WastesManagement of Solid WastesLand Disposal and Sanitary LandfillsRecyclingMedical WastesIndustrial WastesWastewater TreatmentBioremediation of WastewaterBiodegradation and CompostingManagement of Toxic and Hazardous Wastes3.7 PollutionAir PollutionNoise PollutionThermal PollutionWater PollutionMarine PollutionBiomagnificationLand PollutionControl3.8 EconomySubsistenceMarketsGlobal Trade Regimes3.9 Natural Resource DepletionDeforestationMiningSoil ErosionLoss of WetlandsLoss of BiodiversityDesertification3.10 Invasive SpeciesPlantsAnimalsGenetically Modified OrganismsSummaryKey TermsReview QuestionsObjective-Type QuestionsAnswersShort-Term ProjectsChapter 4 Environmental ConservationLearning Objectives4.1 Early warning systemsBioindicatorsTsunami and Other Natural DisastersDisaster Management4.2 Impact AssessmentInventoryingMonitoringGeographical Information System (GIS)4.3 Protected AreasWildlife SanctuariesNational ParksBiosphere Reserves4.4 Endangered SpeciesAssessmentEx-Situ ConservationConservation Breeding4.5 Economic ValuationBioresourcesNatures Services4.6 National LegislationConstitutional Provisions for Safeguarding the EnvironmentThe Environmental (Protection) ActThe Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) ActThe Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) ActThe Wildlife (Protection) ActForest ActBiodiversity Act4.7 International Conventions and TreatiesRamsar ConventionCITESConvention on Biological DiversityConvention to Combat DesertificationConvention on Climate Change4.8 Global Efforts in Protecting the Living EnvironmentGlobal Biodiversity AssessmentEcosystem Services and Millennium Ecosystem Assessment4.9 Awareness and the Role of Individuals in Conservation of the EnvironmentExercise Caution While Planting TreesBeware of Invasive OrganismsAvoid Actions That Lead to Pollution and InconvenienceDo Not Allow Pets and Domestic Animals to Become Public NuisanceConserve WaterSummaryKey TermsReview QuestionsObjective-Type QuestionsAnswersTerm PapersFrequently Asked QuestionsAppendix IAppendix IIAppendix IIIAppendix IVAppendix VGlossaryBibliographyIndex About Author : R. J. Ranjit Daniels is currently the Director of Care Earth an organization he founded in June 2000 that is dedicated to biodiversity research and training. He has been a Research Scientist at the Madras Crocodile Bank, an Honorary Secretary at the Chennai Snake Park and also the Principal Scientific Officer (Biodiversity and Biotechnology) and Chair (Biodiversity) at the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation. He has been an advisor on the conservation of biodiversity for UNESCO, UNEP, IUCN, NAM Centre for Science and Technology, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (Government of India), the Tamil Nadu State Government and academic institutions like the IIT (Madras).As a guest faculty, he has taught in colleges affiliated to Mangalore University, Pondicherry University, State Forest Service College (Coimbatore) and National Centre for Biological Sciences (Bangalore). Throughout his research career, he has focused on the conservation of biodiversity taking lessons from the ecology of a wide range of organisms including ants, birds, amphibians, fishes, reptiles and mammals in the Western Ghats, the Great Nicobar Island, the Eastern Ghats, the mangroves of Bhitarkanika (Orissa) and in the rainforests of Panama.He has authored 8 books on biodiversity and nearly 200 articles on the subject in natural history magazines and scientific journals. He has published extensively in national and international journals on diverse topics such as ecology, conservation and taxonomy, and on various groups like birds, frogs, ants and plants.Ranjit Daniels was awarded a Doctorate from the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 1990 for his study of birds of the Western Ghats. He has a Masters degree in Agricultural Entomology from the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and has completed a Post-doctoral research on amphibians.Jagdish Krishnaswamy is currently the Convenor of the Suri Sehgal Centre for Conservation Science at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), a conservation and research Non-Government Organization (NGO) in Bangalore, India. He has worked as a scientist and faculty member at institutions such as the Wildlife Institute of India, Centre for Wildlife Studies and Wildlife Conservation Society-India Program, National Centre for Biological Sciences and ATREE. He is also an Affiliate Teaching Faculty at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Bangalore.He has contributed to many regional, national and international conservation initiatives and campaigns, including the Kudremukh mining impact study, selection and nomination of UNESCO World Heritage Sites from the Western Ghats, and the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund for the Western Ghats.His research interests are in the fields of forest soils and hydrology, applied landscape ecology and applied statistics. He has contributed to science-based conservation planning, monitoring and policy in India, especially in the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot. He has used remote sensing data in his efforts to develop effective surrogates for biodiversity and ecosystem services for large landscapes.He has authored and edited book and numerous scientific papers in international peer-reviewed journals. He is also on the editorial board of the international journal, Biotropica.Jagdish Krishnaswamy has a PhD in soil and hydrologic science from the Department of Environment of the Graduate School, Duke University; a Masters in Statistics from the Institute of Statistics and Decision Sciences, Duke University and is a Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.