Transcript Document

The GENERAL OBJECTIVE of this
presentation is to provide an overview of the
problem of LAND DEGRADATION with particular
emphasis on the problem of DEFORESTATION
TARGET
GROUP
Classes: IX - XII
Ages: 13 -18
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
After interacting with this software the
learner will be able to:
DEFINE
•Land degradation and deforestation
IDENTIFY
•Factors responsible for land
degradation and deforestation
STATE
•Effects of deforestation on
the environment
ASSESS
•Consequences of deforestation
on human population
EVOLVE
•Strategies to combat effects of
deforestation
Land degradation is the over exploitation and
depletion of land resources, such as, soil, forests,
and pasture land.
It happens as a result of deforestation and
desertification.
FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR
LAND DEGRADATION
•Deforestation
•Soil Erosion
•Mining activities
•Solid waste disposal
•Agricultural practices
WHAT IS A FOREST?
It is a plant community consisting of
trees and woody vegetation with a
more or less closed canopy.
It is a renewable resource with rich flora and
fauna
•It provides fuel wood, timber and other
forest produce.
•Cleans the air
•Protects the soil
•Influences the environment to make
it habitable
What is Deforestation?
Deforestation is the permanent
conversion of forests to other uses such
as;
•pastures,
• shifting
cultivation,
•agricultural land ...
Shifting Cultivation is preceded by slash and burn of forests
leading to massive deforestation
or for other activities, like
Setting up industries
Building roads and
railway tracks
Road building in the Amazon forest
Constructing dams
Effects of deforestation on
the general environment:
•loss of genetic material,
•Loss of flora and fauna
•decline in agricultural productivity due to
massive soil erosion and landscape
degradation
•Increase in levels of atmospheric
carbon dioxide leading to the melting of
polar ice caps and thus causing the sea
level to rise.
IMPACT OF DEFORESTATION ON
HUMAN POPULATIONS
•Under
develop
ment
•Low
‘Quality
of Life’
•Poverty
MEASURES TO CHECK
DESTRUCTION OF FORESTS -•Proper management of forests
•A ‘forest sensitive’ development policy
•Extensive afforestation in degraded
areas
Agricultural practices:
by these we mean
practices which have an
adverse impact on soil
fertility and productivity,
e.g. unskilled irrigationleading to salinity and
water logging, use of
chemical fertilizers and
pesticides, and the
practice of shifting
cultivation.
Desertification:
A process by which land
becomes increasingly
infertile and unproductive
until almost no vegetation
grows on it, making it a
desert.This could happen
due to soil erosion,
increasing salinity or water
logging.
Mining Activities
:the two types of mining activities;
open cast and underground mining,
lead to the deposition of ore on
adjacent sites.This not only causes
unwanted occupation of land, but
when this ore is washed out to
agricultural fields the debris blocks
drainage channels and results in
water logging. The other
environmental problem is run off of
acids and toxic substances into
nearby surface water and soil erosion.
Overgrazing
:it results in the absence of ground
vegetation, which causes soil
erosion, gradual depletion of soil
organisms, ultimately leading to
the transformation of land into
wasteland.
Soil erosion
:It is a natural and normal
process, by which the
earth’s crust is constantly
eroded under the forces of
weathering
Solid waste disposal
:any unwanted or discharged
non-liquid waste material
generated from domestic,
commercial, industrial and
agricultural activities
WHAT IS AFFORESTATION?
Afforestation involves plantation in
wastelands, degraded government lands,
private and village panchayat land, road sides,
canal banks, along railway lines etc. the
purpose is to grow trees and other vegetation
to provide green cover which may be of
commercial importance.
see an example of successful afforestation at Kudremukh, Karnataka where iron
ore mines had ravaged the landscape
Kudremukh
At kudremukh a massive yet brisk afforestation programme unfolds a
serene spectacle of over 7.5 million trees to restore the the mined
mountain scape to its original splendour. The green silence of the hills, comes
alive with life, bird sanctuary, wildlife sanctuary and picnic spots supported by
KIOCL adorn the region enhancing scenic beauty.
ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS
In the past economists dealing with the issue of growth and development have
not paid adequate attention to the economic implications of environmental
pollution and the depletion and degradation of natural resources.
However, with increasing exploitation and degradation of natural resources
and neglect of the environment having direct and indirect, impact on human
lives it has now become necessary to compute the economic effect of
environmental degradation.
Deteriorating air quality, difficulties faced in disposal of solid waste,
increasing pollution of land, water and soil and depletion of forest cover are
steadily impacting the productivity of human populations in the negative
realm.
Environmental Economics is a relatively new subject helping to develop
approaches and methodologies for costing of the environment and placing
an economic value on environmental degradation and damage.
GOVERNMENT’S ROLE IN
PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT The government has enacted several laws
such as
The Environmental (Protection) Act, (1986)
Forest Conservation Act, 1980
The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
STUDENT QUIZ
ARE YOU ABLE TO ANSWER THESE
QUESTIONS?
•What is land degradation?
•What is deforestation?
•What are the underlying causes of
deforestation?
•Describe the effect of deforestation on the
environment and on people?
STUDENT PROJECT
Research and document information on at least
two ongoing people’s movements to conserve or
stop the destruction of forests in the country.
Present your findings in the form of a multimedia
presentation.
CREDITS:
Presentation developed by:
Reeta Kapur
Snehlata Gupta
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
•Looking Back to Think Ahead - GREEN India 2047 by
TERI, New Delhi.
•Man and Environment - M.C. Dash and P.C. Mishra
(Macmillan India Ltd.)
•Indian Economy - a textbook for class XI, N.C.E.R.T.
•Encarta Encyclopaedia
www.terin.org