DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY2014

© Debabrata Ghosh

Discuss economic issues related to agriculture and the environment

Consider solutions to natural resource problems• Technical solutions• Economic and institutional solutions

Inputs into production and consumption

Amenity Life sustenance Sink for waste

The earth's natural resources are finite, which means that if we use them

continuously, we will eventually exhaust them.

NEED FOR SUSTAINABLE USE OF RESOURCES

An increasing global population needs more resources. At a basic level we need

uncontaminated food and water supplies, shelter, clothing and good health. Resources are also

required to make all the things that we use in our daily lives

AIMS OF SUSTAINABILITYTo conserve natural resources for future

generations, sustainable management of the natural environment is necessary.

•The environment should be preserved.•Resources need to be retained for future

generations to enjoy.•Humans need to continue to make and do the

things that allow them to live comfortably.

Soil erosion, desertification, salinity, water-logging, and flooding

Chemical pollution Depletion of forest resources Need for new energy sources Emission of greenhouse gases and

climate change

Examples of technical causes: • Overgrazing and droughts• Soil erosion leads to silting of rivers

which leads to flooding• Irrigation leads to waterlogging &

salinity• Deforestation leads to emission of CO2

and reduced capacity to absorb carbon

• Population pressures leading to farming on steep slopes, drylands, and flood plains

• Poverty – must eat, natural resource conservation is a luxury

• Exploiting natural resources such as forests to earn foreign exchange

• Transfer of chemical technologies from developed countries

•Misguided national policies such as rules on use of forests

•Colonial heritage affects land use patterns

•Breakdown of traditional social structures or institutional arrangements

Ensure that the use of resources does not cause an imbalance in the environment. An example of sustainable development is ecotourism.

Recycling resources reduces waste. Limiting carbon emissions generated from use of

fuels can assist in reducing pollution levels and limit environmental problems such as global warming and acid rain.

Resource substitution is another sustainable way in which we can limit the damage caused by humans to the environment .

Countries find new types of energy, that are more sustainable than fossil fuels.

Industry and domestic users of energy use it more efficiently (ie stop wasting it).

The purpose of sustainability is to manage resources or run projects or industries, so future generations can use the resources too.

With energy consumption rising, it is important that industry, transportation and consumers in their homes use energy more efficiently, so that less is wasted.

EXAMPLES OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY

•Walking, cycling, or using public transport rather than fossil-fuel powered cars.•Using smaller more energy-efficient cars.•Switching off lights, power sockets, phone chargers and TVs when not in use.•Using energy-efficient light-bulbs and rechargeable batteries.•Recycling and reusing plastics and oil-based products.

Energy Efficiency

Sound environmental management is essential for sustained agricultural and economic development

Both technical and institutional solutions are needed to solve environmental problems