Water conservation, rain water harvesting, watershed management - Environmental ethics: Issues and possible solutions, climate change, global warming

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Water conservation, rain water harvesting, watershed management - Environmental ethics: Issues and possible solutions, climate change, global warming

Water Conservation

Water conservation includes all the policies, strategies and activities to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water, to protect the hydrosphere, and to meet the current and future human demand. Population, household size, and growth and affluence all affect how much water is used. Factors such as climate change have increased pressures on natural water resources especially in manufacturing and agricultural irrigation. 

The goals of water conservation efforts include:

·         Ensuring availability of water for future generations where the withdrawal of freshwater from an ecosystem does not exceed its natural replacement rate.

·         Energy conservation as water pumping, delivery and wastewater treatment facilities consume a significant amount of energy. In some regions of the world over 15% of total electricity consumption is devoted to water management.

·         Habitat conservation where minimizing human water use helps to preserve freshwater habitats for local wildlife and migrating waterfowl, but also water quality

 

The key activities that benefit water conservation (save water) are as follows:

1.  Any beneficial reduction in water loss, use and waste of resources.^[4]

2.  Avoiding any damage to water quality.

3.  Improving water management practices that reduce the use or enhance the beneficial use of water

Conserving water in multiple small percolation tanks and ‘jheels’ was important in traditional agriculture. Villages all over the country had one or more common ‘talabs’ or tanks from which people collected or used water carefully.

One method to protect the ground water from effluent waste, the waste water has to be treated and utilized for irrigation. Many homes had a kitchen garden that was watered by the wastewater. Conservation of water was done in traditional homes through a conscious effort.

Saving water in agriculture: Drip irrigation supplies water to plants near its roots through a system of tubes, thus saving water. Small percolation tanks and rainwater harvesting can provide water for agriculture and domestic use. Rainwater collected from rooftops can be stored or used to effectively recharge subsoil aquifers.

Saving water in urban settings: Urban people waste large amounts of water. Leaking taps and pipes are a major source of loss of water. Canals and pipes carrying water from dams to the consumer lead to nearly 50% loss during transfer. Reducing the demand for water by saving it is more appropriate than trying to meet growing demands.

Rain water Harvesting

One strategy in water conservation is rain water harvesting.  Digging ponds, lakes, canals, expanding the water reservoir, and installing rain water catching ducts and filtration systems on homes are different methods of harvesting rain water. Many people in many countries keep clean containers so they can boil it and drink it, which is useful to supply water to the needy. Harvested and filtered rain water can be used for toilets, home gardening, lawn irrigation, and small scale agriculture.

          Another strategy in water conservation is protecting groundwater resources.  When precipitation occurs, some infiltrates the soil and goes underground. Water in this saturation zone is called groundwater. Contamination of groundwater causes the groundwater water supply to not be able to be used as resource of fresh drinking water and the natural regeneration of contaminated groundwater can takes years to replenish. Some examples of potential sources of groundwater contamination include storage tanks, septic systems, uncontrolled hazardous waste, landfills, atmospheric contaminants, chemicals, and road salts. Contamination of groundwater decreases the replenishment of available freshwater so taking preventative measures by protecting groundwater resources from contamination is an important aspect of water conservation.

An additional strategy to water conservation is practicing sustainable methods of utilizing groundwater resources. Groundwater flows due to gravity and eventually discharges into streams. Excess pumping of groundwater leads to a decrease in groundwater levels and if continued it can exhaust the resource.  Ground and surface waters are connected and overuse of groundwater can reduce and, in extreme examples, diminish the water supply of lakes, rivers, and streams. In coastal areas over pumping groundwater can increase saltwater intrusion to groundwater. Sustainable use of groundwater is essential in water conservation.

In many parts of the world especially in very dry areas collection of rain water has been traditionally practiced. However, the stored water has to be kept pollution free and clean so that it can be used as drinking water. Stored water can grow algae and zooplankton (microscopic animals). This can be pathogenic and cause infections. Thus keeping the water uncontaminated is of great importance.

Current technologies of rainwater harvesting require that all roof and terrace water passes down into a covered tank where it can be stored for use after the monsoon. This is most advantageous in arid areas where clean water is very scarce. However there are practical difficulties such as constructing large storage tanks which are expensive.

Another way of using rooftop rainwater harvesting is to collect it so that it percolates into the ground to recharge wells instead of flowing over the ground into rivers. Thus by recharging ground water harvested from rooftops, the water table rises and the surrounding wells retain water throughout the year.

Case study

During the British period many dams were built across the country to supply water especially to growing urban areas. Post independence, India’s policy on water changed towards building large dams for expanding agriculture to support the green revolution. While this reduced the need to import food material and removed starvation in the country, the country began to see the effects of serious water shortages and problems related to its distribution. The newer forms of irrigated agriculture such as sugarcane and other water hungry cash crops required enormous quantities of water. Finally however, such irrigated areas become waterlogged and unproductive. As excess water evaporates rapidly from the surface of heavily irrigated croplands, it pulls up subsoil water along with salts to the surface of the soil. This leads to salinization by which the land becomes unproductive. Reducing the high salinity levels in soil is extremely expensive and frequently impossible.

Watershed Management

Rivers originate in streams that flow down mountains and hill slopes. A group of small streams flow down hillsides to meet larger streams in the valley which forms the tributaries of major rivers. The management of a single unit of land with its water drainage system is called watershed management. It is a technique that has several components. This includes soil and water management and developing vegetative cover. The natural drainage pattern of a watershed unit if managed appropriately can bring about local prosperity by a year round abundance of water that improves the quality of human life in the area.

As it provides water throughout the year, this improves health in the community, as clean water becomes available. Watershed management enhances the growth of agricultural crops and even makes it possible to grow more than one crop in a year in dry areas.

Watershed management begins by taking control over a degraded site through local participation. People must appreciate the need to improve the availability of water both in quantity and quality for their own area. Once this is adequately demonstrated, the community begins to understand the project, people begin to work together in the activities that lead to good watershed management.

The first technical step is to take appropriate soil conservation measures. This is done by constructing a series of long trenches and mounds along contours of the hill to hold the rainwater and allow it to percolate into the ground. This ensures that underground stores of water are fully recharged. This is enhanced by allowing grasses and shrubs to grow and by planting trees (mainly local species) which hold the soil and prevents it from being washed away in the monsoon. Local grass cover can however only increase if free grazing of domestic animals is prevented by stall feeding.

The next measure is to make ‘nala’ plugs in the streams so that the water is held in the stream and does not rush down the hillside. In selected sites, several small check dams are built which together hold back larger amounts of water. All these measures constitute sound watershed management. It improves the water table and keeps the streams and nalas flowing throughout the year.

Watershed management principles:

Watershed management is the study of the relevant characteristics of a watershed aimed at the sustainable distribution of its resources and the process of creating and implementing plans, programs, and projects to sustain and enhance watershed functions that affect the plant, animal, and human communities within the watershed boundary. Features of a watershed that agencies seek to manage include water supply, water quality,  drainage, stormwater runoff, water rights, and the overall planning and utilization of watersheds. Landowners, land use agencies, stormwater management experts, environmental specialists, water use surveyors and communities all play an integral part in watershed management.

This is a land management program that looks at a region from the perspective of all its water related issues. It can be used to manage a river from its source to its termination. Watershed management could also consider the management of a single valley as a unit, based on its small streams. Saving water from its local source by allowing it to percolate into the ground by nala plugs and check dams instead of allowing it to run off rapidly along the surface during the monsoon, is a major aspect of good watershed management. This allows underground aquifers to fill so that ground water is recharged. Deforestation is a major cause of poor water supply. Afforesting such degraded areas is an important aspect of watershed management.

In agricultural systems, common practices to control pollution in water shed include the use of buffer strips, grassed waterways, the re-establishment of wetlands, and forms of sustainable agriculture practices such as conservation tillage, crop rotation and inter-cropping. After certain practices are installed, it is important to continuously monitor these systems to ensure that they are working properly in terms of improving environmental quality.

In urban settings, managing areas to prevent soil loss and control stormwater flow are a few of the areas that receive attention. A few practices that are used to manage stormwater before it reaches a channel are retention ponds, filtering systems and wetlands. It is important that storm-water is given an opportunity to infiltrate so that the soil and vegetation can act as a "filter" before the water reaches nearby streams or lakes. In the case of soil erosion prevention, a few common practices include the use of silt fences, landscape fabric with grass seed and hydroseeding. The main objective in all cases is to slow water movement to prevent soil transport.

Environmental ethics: issues and possible solutions

Environmental ethics deals with issues related to the rights of individuals that are fundamental to life and well being. This concerns not only the needs of each person today, but also those who will come after us. It also deals with the rights of other living creatures that inhabit our earth.

Resource consumption patterns and the need for their equitable utilisation:

Environmental ethics deals with issues that are related to how we utilise and distribute resources. Can individuals justifiably use resources so differently that one individual uses resources many times more lavishly than other individuals who have barely enough to survive? In a just world, there has to be a more equitable sharing of resources than we encounter at present. The just distribution of resources has global, national and local concerns that we need to address. There are rich and poor nations. There are rich and poor communities in every country. There are rich and poor families. In this era of modern economic development, the disparity between the haves and have-nots is widening. Our human environments in the urban, rural and wilderness sectors, use natural resources that shift from the wilderness (forests, grasslands, wetlands, etc.) to the rural sector, and from there to the urban sector. Wealth also shifts in the same direction. This unequal distribution of wealth and access to land and its resources is a serious environmental concern.

An equitable sharing of resources forms the basis of sustainable development for urban, rural and wilderness dwelling communities. As the political power base is in the urban centers, this itself leads to inequalities and a subsequent loss of sustainability in resource management in the rural and even more so for forest dwelling people.

In 1985, Anil Agarwal published the first report on the Status of India’s Environment. It emphasized that India’s environmental problems were caused by the excessive consumption patterns of the rich that left the poor poorer. It was appreciated for the first time that tribals, especially women and other marginalized sectors of our society, were being left out of economic development. There are multiple stakeholders in Indian society who are dependent on different natural resources which cater directly or indirectly to their survival needs. Anil Agarwal brought forth a set of 8 propositions which are of great relevance to the ethical issues that are related to environmental concerns. These include:

1. Environmental destruction is largely caused by the consumption of the rich.

2. The worst sufferers of environmental destruction are the poor.

3. Even where nature is being ‘recreated’, as in afforestation, it is being transformed away from the needs of the poor and towards those of the rich.

4. Even among the poor, the worst sufferers are the marginalised cultures and occupations, and most of all, women.

There cannot be proper economic and social development without a holistic understanding of society and nature.

6. If we care for the poor, we cannot allow the Gross Nature Product to be destroyed any further. Conserving and recreating nature has become our highest priority.

7. Gross Nature Product will be enhanced only if we can arrest and reverse the growing alienation between the people and the common property resources. In this we will have to learn a lot from our traditional cultures.

8. It is totally inadequate to talk only of sustainable rural development, as the World Conservation Strategy does. We cannot save the rural environment or rural people dependent on it, unless we can bring about sustainable urban development.

Who pays for the cost of environmental degradation? Most sections of society do not feel the direct effects of degradation of the environment till it is too late. Those who suffer most are the poor, especially rural women, and tribal people who are dependent on forests. Traditional fishermen who are dependent on streams and rivers, and coastal people who fish and catch crustacea, are seriously affected by the degradation of aquatic ecosystems. Fuelwood gatherers from different types of forests, and pastoralists who are dependent on common grazing lands suffer when their resources are depleted.

Several marginalised sectors of society are most affected by deforestation, or the loss of grassland tracts, or the deterioration of perennial water sources. All these effects can be linked to unsustainable increasing pressures on land and natural resources

The well to do educated urban dweller consumes much larger quantities of resources and energy, than the traditional rural individual. Urban dwellers who are far removed from the source of natural resources that sustain their lives thus require exposure to a well-designed environment education program to appreciate these issues. While the rural people have a deep insight on the need for sustainable use of natural resources and know about methods of conservation, there are however several newer environmental concerns that are frequently outside their sphere of life experiences. Their traditional knowledge of environmental concerns cannot be expected to bring about an understanding of issues such as global warming, or problems created by pollution, pesticides, etc. These people thus require a different pattern of environment education that is related to their gaps in information. With the rapidly changing rural scenario the development that is thrust on unsuspecting rural communities needs to be addressed through locale specific environment awareness programs designed specifically for rural school children and adults. This must also use their local traditional knowledge systems as a base on which modern concepts can be built, rather than by fostering concepts that are completely alien to their own knowledge systems.

Common property resources in India once included vast stretches of forests, grazing lands and aquatic ecosystems. When the British found that they were unable to get enough wood for ship building and other uses they converted forest areas into Government ‘Reserved Forests’ for their own use to grow timber trees. This alienated local people from having a stake in preserving these resources. This in turn led to large-scale losses in forest cover and the creation of wasteland. In the past, in traditional villages that were managed by local panchayats, there were well defined rules about managing grazing lands, collecting forest resources, protecting sacred groves, etc. that supported conservation. There was a more or less equitable distribution that was controled by traditional mechanisms to prevent misuse of common property resources. Any infringement was quickly dealt with by the panchayat and the offender was punished. Common property resources were thus locally protected by communities. As landuse patterns changed, these mechanisms were lost and unsustainable practices evolved, frequently as a result of an inadequately planned development strategy.

Equity – Disparity in the Northern and Southern countries

Environmental ethics are concerned with, who owns resources and how they are distributed. This can be looked upon at different levels. At the global level it deals with the great North – South divide between the rich industrialized nations of North America and Europe, as against the needs of developing countries of the South such as in South and Southeast Asia and South America. People living in the economically advanced nations use greater amounts of resources and energy per individual and also waste more resources. This is at the cost of poor people who are resource dependant and live in developing nations.

The economically advanced West has exploited their own natural resources to such an extent that they have exhausted them nearly everywhere. They now buy their resources from resource rich but economically deprived nations at a low cost. This depletes the developing nations of natural resources on which their poor depend for their livelihood.

Changing this unfair economic practice to a more just and fair way in managing trade would require a new thinking on the part of people who live in the super rich countries Urban – rural equity issues

The common property of rural communities has increasingly been used to supply the needs of the urban sector. Land itself that was once held as a common property resource of villages is being taken over by the urban and industrial sectors as it expands. The rural sector not only supplies food, but also a part of the energy needs (mainly fuelwood) to most towns and cities in India, at a pittance. As a result, the commons of the rural sector are being depleted of their resources. Thus while the cities get richer, the rural sector, especially the landless, get poorer. The urban rich must appreciate where their resources are derived from and be willing to pay a fair price for using them.

The need for Gender Equity

All over India, especially in the rural sector, women work on the whole longer hours than men. The life of a woman is enmeshed in an inextricable cycle of poverty. In attempting to eke out a living from their environment, they must constantly collect fuelwood for their homes and for sale to nearby urban areas. They laboriously collect fodder for their cattle. They have to trudge several kilometers to reach a reasonably clean water source. And finally must cook meals in a smoky unhealthy atmosphere on crop waste or other inefficient sources of energy. All this can take 10 to 12 hours a day of very hard work, every day of the year. There is thus the question of who should control the environmental resources of a rural community. Unfortunately it is the men who play a decisive role in managing the village commons and its resources whereas it should be the local women whose lives are deeply linked with the utilisation and conservation patterns of natural resources, who should be decision makers at the local level. Unfortunately women have not been given an equal opportunity to develop and better their lot. This begins with the lack of attention given to girls whose education is always given less attention than the boys in the family. Unless society begins to see that development cannot be planned by a male dominated society from the male perspective alone, will we be able to create a better living environment for women and their children?

The great divide between women and men is most apparent in communities that live near forests and have by tradition made the woman play a greater role than men in collection of natural resources. Women fetch water, collect fuelwood, fruit, medicinal products, etc. day in and day out, while the men work only sporadically in the fields. This disparity in the lives of women and men has also led to a lower access to education and health care for girl children.

This has deep implications for the rate of utilization of natural resources and its conservation. Rural women who are intimately connected to resources, appreciate the value of conserving natural resources more deeply than men. Thus several environmental movements such as Chipko have been more strongly supported by local women folk rather than men.

Preserving resources for future generations

Can we use up all the resources of the world, leaving nothing for our future generations? This ethical issue must be considered when we use resources unsustainably. If we overuse and misuse resources and energy from fossil fuels, our future generations would find survival much more difficult. A critical concern is to preserve species and natural undisturbed ecosystems that are linked with bioresources, which must be protected for the use of future generations. Our generation does not own the world’s resources to do whatever we please with them. Just as our ancestors have left resources for us, it is our duty to leave them behind for our future generations. These unborn people have a right to these resources. We only hold the world as trustees so that future generations can also survive.

Our current development strategies have led to environmental resources being overused and misused by our present generation, without a thought for the needs of future unborn generations. We need to appreciate that the next generation and those that will come later also have a right to the earth’s natural resources. As they are not here today to exercise their rights, it is our generation’s responsibility to appreciate the needs of future generations. We have no right to destroy their claim to the use of the earth’s resources just because of the accident of being born before them. Development strategies have not looked at the sustainable levels at which we can use resources so that the rights of future generations are protected. We are not given the earth so that we can use up its resources. It is given to us to hold in trust so that future generations are given their just share of the earth’s resources.

 

The rights of animals:

Can man, a single species, use and severely exploit the earth’s resources which we share with billions of other plant and animal species? Within our world there are a variety of living beings. The plants and animals that share the earth with us too have a right to live and share our earth’s resources and living space. We have no right to push a species that has taken millions of years to evolve towards extinction. Not only do wild and domesticated animals have a right to life, but have the right to a dignified existence. Cruelty to an animal is no different ethically from cruelty to another human being.

Human beings are one small cog in the wheel of life on earth. We frequently forget that man has learned to exploit nature and other species well beyond what we should use justifiably. Every plant and animal has a right to life as a part of our earth’s community of living things. While nature by itself has natural prey-predator relationships, left to itself, nature maintains a balance in each ecosystem. While evolution has developed a system whereby species become extinct and new ones evolve to fill the world’s ecosystems with new plant and animal species, it is man alone that has been responsible for the recent rapid decline in the number of species on earth. Much more important man is now reducing the abundance levels of so many species that in the near future we will in all probability create a major extinction spasm on earth that will seriously endanger the existence of mankind. Thus endangering the existence of wild plants and animals and bringing them close to the brink of extinction is not only unfair to a species but also to future generation of people who may find them of great use. Quite apart from the use of these species, there is a strong ethical basis for the rights of animals and plants to exist on earth. Every individual, human or animal, that is living has feelings and emotions. Cruelty to animals is a crime that must be regarded seriously and action must be taken against offenders. Animals have a right to a dignified existence, and their life, well-being and liberty must be respected. While dominating over the animal world due to his superior intelligence, man cannot remain unfeeling to the right to life and well being of other species. There is a growing awareness of animal rights in our country and cruelty to animals is being increasingly regarded as a criminal offence.

Case study

Mewar, Rajasthan

The Mewar region of Rajasthan has a rich legacy of traditional water harvesting systems to share the available water for cultivation. There are various types of rainwater harvesting systems.

Medhbandi : This is a stone embankment built on a hill slope to help create a level field for cultivation. It controls erosion and conserves moisture.

Naada/bandha: These are stone check dams across streams or gullies that are constructed to capture runoff on a stretch of fertile land that is submerged in water during the monsoon. The land not only becomes more fertile after trapping silt, but also retains substantial quantities of water in the soil. These dams are constructed in phases over several years. The height is slowly increased up to the right height of the check dam which determines the size of the naada.

Hembar: These are small temporary dams constructed with stones, twigs and mud over a seasonal stream when water flows in it is reduced to a point that it cannot be taken directly to the fields for irrigation.

Chak: Chak is a big plot of land, usually a charnot or village pasture land, enclosed by a stone boundary wall called kot. Tree plantations, seeding of grass for fodder, contour bunds with trenches and loose stone check dams are developed in the chak. The chak is used for fodder and fuel wood. It reduces soil erosion and enhances recharge of ground water.

Talab: The Mewar region is well-known for its built reservoirs (talabs ). Udaipur City is famous for its large number of talabs , and is called the lake city. A small reservoir of less than five bighas is called talai, a medium sized lake is called bandh or talab and a bigger lake is called sagar or samand.

Saza kuva: This is an open dug well which has several owners. In Mewari language, saza means partner. This is an important method for irrigation in the Aravalli hills. About 70,000 wells in the Udaipur District provide water for 80% of the area under irrigation and provide water for their owners. These are considered common property resources

 

 

Pani Panchayat – Pune District, Maharashtra

Mahur village in Pune District of Maharashtra is situated in a drought prone area. People were not able to grow a good crop in most years. Clean drinking water was also scarce. Vilasrao Salunkhe initiated a movement known as Pani Panchayat, to conserve water in this drought prone area. Watershed development was initiated on a barren and uncultivated piece of land belonging to a temple. Conservation of soil and water harvesting through a comprehensive microwatershed management program gradually led to a surplus of water. Out of the 16 hectares of land in the village, 9.6 hectares were brought under irrigation, 2.4 hectares was afforested and 4 hectares was

 

converted into percolation tanks. Wells and field bunds were built. While 200 quintals of grains were produced on 24 acres of Salunkhe’s land, 40 acres in the same area yielded only 10 quintals. This made other villagers follow suit. The area rapidly turned green and productive

Chipko movement

About 300 years ago, a ruler in Rajasthan decided to fell ‘khejri’ trees in his State to create lime. Local women led by a Bishnoi woman, Amrita Devi, clung to the trees to prevent the felling of the trees that formed the basis of the scarce resources on which they were dependent. The women were ruthlessly massacred. It is said that the ruler later realised his mistake. The story however has been remembered and was revived in the 1970s when severe tree felling for timber in the Himalayas prompted local women, supported by people such as Sunderlalji Bahuguna and Chandi Prasad Bhat, led a people’s movement to prevent deforestation by timber contractors. They called their movement the ‘Chipko’ movement in memory of the event during which women had clung to their trees and given up their lives. The movement followed the path the 300 Bishnoi women had taken three centuries ago in Rajasthan.

Chipko is a movement primarily begun and supported by local women in the hills of Uttarakhand and Garhwal, where the women have had to bear the brunt of deforestation. They have not only realised that their fuelwood and fodder resources have receded away from their ‘resource use areas’ around their settlements due to commercial timber extraction, but that this has led to serious floods and loss of precious soil.

Chipko activists have made long padyatras across the Himalayas protesting against deforestation. The movement has been highly successful and has been primarily supported by empowering local women’s groups who are the most seriously affected segment of society by deforestation. The movement has proved to the world that the forests of the hills are the life support systems of local communities of immense value in terms of local produce that is essential for the survival of local people and that the forest has less quantifiable but even more important ecological services such as soil conservation and the maintenance of the natural water regime of the whole region.

The ability of local women to band themselves together in the foothills of the Himalayas goes back to the pre Independence days when women such as Miraben, a disciple of Gandhiji, moved to this region and understood that it was the deforestation that led to floods and devastation of villages in the valleys and in the Gangetic plains below. They also appreciated that substitutions of oak and other broadleaved forests of the Himalayas by planting fast growing pine for timber and resin was an ecological and social disaster which reduced the forest resources used by traditional hill communities.

The ethical basis of environment education and awareness:

Perhaps the most important concern is related to creating an ethos that will support a sustainable lifestyle in society. This brings us to the need for environmental education. The Honorary Supreme Court of our country has thus ordered that every young individual at school and college level be exposed to a course on environment. It is not to create only an awareness of environmental issues, but also to bring about pro environmental action. Among the variety of tools that can bring home the ethical issues of the environment, no solution is as powerful as real life experiences in nature. Creating a love for nature brings about strong pro environmental action. Our current educational processes at school and college level are being reoriented to bring this about.

There are two aspects that are closely connected with ethical issues that are related to our environment. These are based on valuing nature and appreciating the beauty of nature and treasuring the magnificence of the wilderness.

Valuing nature as a resource: It is essential that a value system that is based on environmental concern becomes a part of the thinking that we as responsible citizens of our country and our earth need to bring into our own daily lives. For our ancestors, Nature was considered to be like a mother. This has been essentially forgotten. In ancient India, forests were considered sacred. We now know that forests clean up our air, and act like a sponge that can hold water for the dry season. In the Hindu scriptures, Buddhist philosophy and especially in the Jain religion, each and every species on earth is supposed to have a place in the scheme of life.

Many species were not only valued, but also venerated.

In today’s world where many of us are far removed from nature, we need to remind ourselves that everything we use, if tracked back to its source, has come from nature. We depend on an intact unpolluted world which is based on nature’s goods and services. No life is possible without this. If we as citizens begin to again respect Nature and all its varied species forming a complex web of life, and appreciate Nature’s functions and services, it will continue to support our lives. If we disrespect nature one cannot expect her to continue to support our well being. Nature’s resources that we all use and depend on can only be optimized if they are equitably shared by all of us. If the disparity is too great it can only result in anarchy. The ‘have not’s’ cannot be expected to remain in abject poverty, making a bare minimum living from the meager resources they can get, while the ‘haves’, who are already rich become richer through unsustainable consumer oriented, short-term economic development strategies.

Bringing back an ethic for nature conservation requires environment education and conservation awareness. The best way to do so is to expose young people not only to our dependence on natural resources from the wilderness, but by bringing about an appreciation of the beauty and wondrous aspects of nature. This forms a sharp contrast to the sad plight of degraded areas and polluted sites in which most of humanity now lives in the developed and developing world.

Appreciating the beauty of Nature and treasuring the magnificence of the Wilderness: We often take Nature for granted. We rarely take the opportunity to gaze at a scenic sunset, or spend the time to sit in the incredible silence of the forest, or listen to the songs of birds and the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves. Or take the trouble to watch the magic of a seed germinating from the ground and gradually growing into a seedling over several days. Or observe a tree through a round of seasons as it gets new leaves, flowers, fruit and seeds. Or reflect on the incredibly large number of linkages between all the different animals and birds that depend on the seasonal changes in their habitat. It is the beauty of Nature that gives it an intrinsic value which we tend to ignore. These are not mundane day to day events, they are magical and mystical aspects of nature’s clock that is ticking silently all around us. They are part of our living throbbing earth. If we fail to enjoy these wondrous aspects of Nature our lives will always remain empty.

Once we realise that the wilderness has a value all its own, this puts man in his rightful role as a custodian of nature rather than an exploiter. Visit a wilderness area, a forest, lakeside, waterfall,

or seashore where man’s hand has not made drastic changes to the ecosystem and one begins to value its beauty. It is there to heal the human soul and elevate his spirit. Without the wilderness, the earth would be a sad bleak human dominated landscape. The problem is how much of the wilderness can we preserve in the presence of an ever-growing hunger for land and resources for its utilitarian values. Unless we begin to see the ecological values of the wilderness, an ethic for its conservation cannot become part of our daily lives. And without the wilderness the earth will eventually become unlivable.

The concept of ‘Karma’ is based on a thinking that the soul moves from man to animal and in reverse depending on ones actions. This itself brings about a concept of the oneness of all forms of life. Ahimsa or non-violence towards life which includes all plants and animals provides India with its basic philosophy which early Hindu philosophers and later sages such as Buddha, Mahavir and Mahatma Gandhi spoke of. Buddhist and Jain philosophy is intrinsically woven around non-violence and the great value of all forms of ‘life’. It brings in the notion that animals are not to be viewed purely for their utility value but are a part of the earth’s oneness which is linked with our own lives as well. In Hindu philosophy the earth itself is respected and venerated. In contrast, in Western thought Nature is to be subjugated and used. These are basic differences in thinking processes. Several modern philosophers in the West have now begun to see these eastern patterns of thought as a new basis for human development. This shift however, from a purely utilitarian or scientific exploitation of Nature, to one of harmony with Nature, can only occur if each of us loves and respects nature’s great ‘oneness’.

The conservation ethic and traditional value systems of India

In ancient Indian traditions people have always valued mountains, rivers, forests, trees and several animals. Thus much of nature was venerated and protected. Forests have been associated with the names of forest gods and goddesses both in the Hindu religion as well as in tribal cultures. ‘Tree’ goddesses have been associated with specific plant species. Ficus religiosa , the peepal tree, is venerated and is thus not to be cut down. The Banyan tree in some regions such as Maharashtra, is venerated once a year by tying a thread around it as a symbol of respect. The Tulsi plant is grown on the doorstep outside every home.

Patches of forest have been dedicated to a deity in many Indian cultures especially in tribal areas. These traditionally protected forest patches depict the true nature of undisturbed vegetation and have a large number of indigenous plant species as their exploitation has been controlled through local sentiments.

Certain species of trees have been protected as they are valued for their fruit or flowers. The mango tree is protected for its fruit around most farms even when wood becomes scarce. The Mohua tree ( Madhuca indica ) is protected by tribal people as it provides edible flowers, oil from its seeds and is used to make a potent alcohol. Many plants, shrubs and herbs have been used in Indian medicines which were once available in the wild in plenty. These are now rapidly vanishing. Many species of animals are venerated as being the ‘vahan’ or vehicle of different gods on which they are said to travel through the cosmos.

In Indian mythology, the elephant is associated with Ganesha. The elephant headed Ganesha is also linked to the rat. Vishnu is associated with the eagle. Rama is linked to monkeys. In mythology, Hanuman, the monkey god, rendered invaluable help to Rama during his travels to Lanka. The Sun god, Surya, rides a horse and has a superb chariot on which he moves through the sky. The lion is linked to Durga and the blackbuck to the moon godess. The cow is associated with Krishna. Vishnu’s incarnations have been represented as taking various animal forms which serially include, fish, tortoise, a boar and a dwarf, and a half man half lion form.

The associations to various plants that have been given a religious significance include Tulsi, which is linked to Lakshmi and Vishnu. The Tulsi plant is also linked to the worship of ones own ancestors. The peepal tree is said to be the tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment. It is also =associated with Vishnu and Krishna. Several trees are associated with the goddess Laxmi, including Amalaki, Mango and the Tulsi shrub.

Traditions also held that these species, which were considered as an important aspect of Nature, were the basis of local life support systems and were integral to bringing about a harmonious life. In traditional societies of the past, these examples were all a part of ethical values that protected nature. As modern science based on the exploitation on nature spread into India, many of these traditions began to lose their effectiveness as measures that led to conserving nature.

Concepts that support nature’s integrity must thus become a part of our modern educational systems. This constitutes a key solution to bring about a new ethic of conserving nature and living sustainable lifestyles.

Climate change, global warming, acid rain, ozone layer depletion, nuclear accidents and holocaust

Climate change:

The average temperature in many regions has been increasing in recent decades. The global average surface temperature has increased by 0.6° + 0.2° C over the last century. Globally, 1998 was the warmest year and the 1990s the warmest decade on record. Many countries have experienced increases in rainfall, particularly in the countries situated in the mid to high latitudes.

In some regions, such as parts of Asia and Africa, the frequency and intensity of droughts have been observed to increase in recent decades. Episodes of El Niño, which creates great storms, have been more frequent, persistent and intense since mid-1970s compared with the previous 100 years. All these are signs that the earth is sick. Its climate is changing, making it more difficult for mankind to survive. The earth is losing its ability to balance itself due to the imbalances created by human activities.

Projections of future climate change are derived from a series of experiments made by computer based global climate models. These are worked out on estimates of aspects such as future population growth and energy use. Climatologists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have reviewed the results of several experiments in order to estimate changes in climate in the course of this century. These studies have shown that in the near future, the global mean surface temperature will rise by 1.4° to 5.8°C. Warming will be greatest over land areas, and at high latitudes. The projected rate of warming is greater than has occurred in the last 10,000 years. The frequency of weather extremes is likely to increase leading to floods or drought. There will be fewer cold spells but more heat waves. The frequency and intensity of El

Niño is likely to increase. Global mean sea level is projected to rise by 9 to 88 cm by the year 2100. More than half of the world’s population now lives within 60km of the sea. They are likely to be seriously impacted by an ingress of salt water and by the rising sea. Some of the most vulnerable regions are the Nile delta in Egypt, the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh, and many small islands including the Marshall Islands and the Maldives, (WHO, 2001).

Human societies will be seriously affected by extremes of climate such as droughts and floods. A changing climate would bring about changes in the frequency and/or intensity of these extremes. This is a major concern for human health. To a large extent, public health depends on safe drinking water, sufficient food, secure shelter, and good social conditions. All these factors are affected by climate change. Fresh water supplies may be seriously affected, reducing the availability of clean water for drinking and washing during drought as well as floods. Water can be contaminated and sewage systems may be damaged. The risk of spread of infectious diseases such as diarrhoeal diseases will increase. Food production will be seriously reduced in vulnerable regions directly and also indirectly through an increase in pests and plant or animal diseases. The local reduction in food production would lead to starvation and malnutrition with long-term health consequences, especially for children. Food and water shortages may lead to conflicts in vulnerable regions, with serious implications for public health. Climate change related impacts on human health could lead to displacement of a large number of people, creating environmental refugees and lead to further health issues.

Changes in climate may affect the distribution of vector species (e.g. mosquitoes) which in turn will increase the spread of disease, such as malaria and filariasis, to new areas which lack a strong public health infrastructure. The seasonal transmission and distribution of many diseases  that are transmitted by mosquitoes (dengue, yellow fever) and by ticks (Lyme disease, tickborne encephalitis) may spread due to climate change

A Task Group set up by WHO has warned that climate change may have serious impacts on human health. Climate change will increase various current health problems, and may also bring new and unexpected ones. Strategies aimed at reducing potential health impacts of anticipated climate changes should include monitoring of infectious diseases and disease vectors to detect early changes in the incidence of diseases and the geographical distribution of vectors; environmental management measures to reduce risk; disaster preparedness for floods or droughts; and their health related consequences. It will be necessary to create early warning systems and education for epidemic preparedness. Improved water and air pollution control will become increasingly essential for human health. Public education will have to be directed at changes in personal behaviour. Training of researchers and health professionals must become an essential part of the world becoming more responsible towards the expected outcome of Global Climate Change (GCC).

Global warming:

About 75% of the solar energy reaching the Earth is absorbed on the earth’s surface which increases its temperature. The rest of the heat radiates back to the atmosphere. Some of the heat is trapped by greenhouse gases, mostly carbon dioxide. As carbon dioxide is released by various human activities, it is rapidly increasing. This is causing global warming.

The average surface temperature is about 15°C. This is about 33°C higher than it would be in the absence of the greenhouse effect. Without such gases most of the Earth’s surface would be frozen with a mean air temperature of -18°C.

Human activities during the last few decades of industrialisation and population growth have polluted the atmosphere to the extent that it has begun to seriously affect the climate. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by 31% since pre-industrial times, causing more heat to be trapped in the lower atmosphere. There is evidence to show that carbon dioxide levels are still increasing. Many countries have signed a convention to reduce greenhouse gases under the United Nations Convention on Climate Change. Current international agreements are however not still effective to prevent the significant changes in climate and a rise in sea levels.

Global warming is accelerating faster than what climatologists had calculated a few years ago. In 1995, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predict that global warming would rise temperatures by 3.5 to 10 degrees Centigrade during the 21st century, if the present trends continue. It is now believed that this could be much greater. This would lead to not only temperature changes but in the amount of rainfall. India may see great annual fluctuations in rainfall leading to floods and drought.

Case studies

Damage to coral reefs, Pacific

The severity of periodic warming due to El Nino in 1997 in the Pacific led to the most serious death in coral ever known. It is estimated that about 10% of the Earth’s coral reefs were dead, another 30 % were seriously affected and another 30% were degraded.

The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network Townsville, Australia, has predicted that all the reefs could be dead by 2050.

Butterfly populations in the United Kingdom

Global warming is leading to an early arrival of butterflies in Britain. Scientists say that butterflies can now be spotted much earlier every year in the last two decades. Some, like the red admiral, can now be seen a month earlier than was the case in the mid – 1970s. Others, like the peacock and the orange tip are appearing between 15 and 25 days earlier than in the past. Future rise in temperature is likely to have a detrimental effect on these butterflies. Some butterflies which need cooler temperatures might suffer.