FACUALITY OF TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES AND IRRIGATION

ENGINEERING
ENTERPRINARSHIP FOR ENGINERING FISSIBLE STUDY ON
ENVIROMENTAL IMPACT AND THEIR SOLUTION ON
CROP PRODUCTION

NO. GROUP MEMBER ID.NO

1. Dires Ambachew-------------------------------------------------------0292/06
2. Bimerew Mekonen ---------------------------------------------------0241/06
3. Alemayehu Engidawork----------------------------------------------0164/06
4. Zelalem Terefe----------------------------------------------------------0716/06
5. Wubetu Dejen----------------------------------------------------------0682/06
6. Mulugeta Aberham----------------------------------------------------0535/06
7. Dawit Woldie------------------------------------------------------------0273/06

Cheeked by Shumeye.H

May 2018 Woldia, ETHIOPIA

ABSTRACTS

As a matter of fact pollution knows no boundaries. Air pollution, for instance has
no regional limitation. The reduction of rainforests and the effects on the earth
ecosystem and the whole ecological changes in our world are important issues
which concerns us all. Furthermore biological diversity and desertification are not
only problems of the developing world, but also the industrialized countries.
Despite all these environmental facts, the problems are yet classified as regional,
national, continental or global. For instance, river and Lake Cutrophication caused
by excess phosphorous and nitrogen from agriculture and domestic and industrial
effluents as well as acidic rain are considered as a problem.
 CHAPTER ONE
1. Introduction
1.1 Background of the study

The Action Plan aimed to ensure stable and strategic growth for the organic sector,
and it set out steps that the Government and the food and farming industry would
take to encourage a sustainable organic farming and food sector in Ethiopia.
Although organic farming is just one strand of The Government’s Strategy for
Sustainable Food and Farming, its uptake is being encouraged because it is
considered to deliver benefits for the environment. If environmental benefit is a
key driver for Government support of organic farming, there needs to be a
collation of the scientific evidence to confirm this.
1.2 Research questions
This study answered the following research questions.

What are the common problems in the productivity phase?

What are the factors that affect environment?
What are the risks in affected environment?
What types of strategies do use the people to improve their environmental
leadership?
1.3 Objective of the study
Prevent the pollution of the atmosphere, plants, land, water and aquatic life
etc .in the most cost- effective way.
Ensure the empowerment and participation of the people and their
organizations at all levels in the protection of environment.
Maintain and increase long-term fertility and biological activity of soils
using locally adapted cultural, biological and mechanical methods as
opposed to reliance on inputs.
Aware everyone involved in organic farming and processing with a quality
of life that satisfies their basic needs, within a safe, secure and healthy
working environment.
1.4 Significance of the study
 The specific significance of the study will for farmers.
 The research expects to give current and timely information about the
problem.
 This study gives fresh insight about the symptoms of air pollution.

CHAPTER TWO
 2.DFINITION AND CHARACTERSTICS

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ARE DEFINED AS A RISK WITH THE POTENTIAL TO

FUNDAMENTALLY DISRUPT THE STABILITY OF THE EARTH’S SYSTEMS, WHILE RISK
ITSELF IS DEFINED AS THE COMBINATION OF THE PROBABILITY OF AN EVENT AND
ITS NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES. THE DESTABILIZATION OF THE EARTH’S SYSTEMS
COULD TRIGGER ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES THAT WOULD BE DELETERIOUS OR
EVEN CATASTROPHIC FOR HUMAN BEINGS. SUCH ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
ENCOMPASS WIDE RANGE OF AREAS SUCH AS CLIMATE CHANGES, WATER
SCARCITY, DEFORESTATION, LAND DEGRADATION, BIODIVERSITY LOSS, OZONE
DEPLETION AND CHEMICAL POLLUTION. BY THEIR NATURE, ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
ARE CHARACTERIZED BY:

 SPATIAL PROPAGATION
 TIME – LAG OCCURRENCE
 MULTIPLIER EFFECTS
 ACCUMULATION &
 IRREVERSIBILITY

HOWEVER THE MOST STRIKING CHARACTERISTIC OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS IS

THEIR INTERCONNECTEDNESS. FOR INSTANCE EXCESSIVE LOGGING CAUSES
DEFORESTATION AND DESTRUCTS WILD LIFE HABITATS, THEIR BY DEPLETION
BIODIVERSITY. DEFORESTATION NOT ONLY ACCELERATES SOIL EROSION BUT
PROMPTS THE EMISSION OF GREEN HOUSE GASES AND THEIR CONCENTRATION IN
THE ATMOSPHERE THERE BY INCREASING THE LIKELIHOOD OF CLIMATE CHANGE
AND DESTABILIZING THE WATER CYCLE. A NEGATIVE CHANGE IN ONE OF THE
AREAS CAN AGGRAVATE ANOTHER AREAS AND VICE VERSA.

ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS AND THEIR COUNTER MEASURES ALWAYS ENTAIL POSITIVE

AND NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL TRADE-OFFS. FOR
INSTANCE RAPID REFORESTATION WITH A NEWLY-INTRODUCED SPECIES OF EXOTIC
FAST – GROWING TREE MAY BE EFFECTIVE IN INCREASING FOREST COVER AND
SEQUESTRATING CARBONS; HOWEVER IT MAY ALSO MAKE THE LONG TERM
INTEGRITY AND AUTONOMY OF THE FOREST ECOSYSTEM UNCERTAIN. IT WOULD
REDUCE THE SPACE FOR ENDEMIC/INDIGENOUS TREE WOULD ALSO HINDER THE
ACCESS OF LOCAL VILLAGERS TO DIVERSE FOREST RESOURCES SUCH AS LEAVES,
FODDER, FUEL WOODS AND OTHER NON-TIMBER PRODUCTS.

2.1 CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate is usually defined as the average weather in a place. It includes patterns of

temperature, precipitation (rain or snow) , humidity , wind and seasons. Climate
patterns play a fundamental role in shaping natural ecosystems, and the human
economies and cultures that depend on them. But the climate we have come to
expect is not what is used to be , because the past is no longer a reliable predictor
of the future. Our climate is rapidly changing with disruptive impacts, and that
change is progressive faster.

Rising levels of carbon dioxide and other heat trapping gases in the atmosphere
have warmed the earth and are causing wide ranging impacts, including rising see
levels. Melting snow and ice; more extreme heat events, fires and droughts ; and
more extreme storms , rainfall and floods. These trends will continue and in some
cases accelerate, posing significant risks to human health , our forests , coastlines
and other natural resources.

The energy budget of the planet is critical for understanding how the climate
system may change over time, because on long-time scales, climate is governed
largely by the total amount of energy in the system and where it goes. Change to
the energy budget both natural and caused by humans, will cause climate change.
Because climate is a set of different distribution of weather states in different
places, climate change is the altering of some or all of these distributions (e.g. ;
temperature or rainfall at a particular place ). Climate change implies a specific
metric (global average temperature) and specific direction (warming or appositive
trend). Global warming is a subset of climate change.

Now a day human activity exerts a strong effects on the climate system. The
change in green house gases caused by human activity changes the energy flow in
the climate system and creates a forcing on the system. Humans through largely
terrestrial creatures are a significant parts of the climate system.
 2.2WATER SCARCITY

Water scarcity is the lack of sufficient available water resources to meet the
demands of water usage within a region. It already affects every continent and
around 2.8 billion people around the world at least one month out of every year.
More than 1.2 billion people lack access to clean drinking water. Water scarcity
involves water stress, water shortage or deficits and water crisis.

While the concept of water stress is relatively new, it is the difficulty of obtaining
sources of fresh water for use during a period of time and may result in further
depletion and deterioration of available water resources. Water shortage may be
caused by climate change, such as altered weather patterns including droughts or
floods, increased pollution , and human demand and overuse of water. A water
crisis is a situation where the available potable, unpolluted water within a region is
less than that region’s demand.

2.3 Biodiversity loss

Biodiversity can be divided into three components:

 Diversity between and within ecosystems and habitats

 Diversity of species
 Genetic variation within individual species

Biodiversity is insurance for the future. It provides the variability on which every
species relies to help to adapt to change. For this reason alone, it is important to
maintain, or improve biodiversity. In addition, some aspects of biodiversity
provide some of the most visually attractive features of the landscape (flora, birds
and arthropods). These aesthetic effects are important to the general public and are
underpinned by key quality of life indicators such as number of farmland birds.
There is a requirement under organic management to protect and enhance
biological processes and wildlife habitats. Some Organic Certification Bodies have
worked with English Nature towards the development and inclusion of specific
conservation objectives within the organic production standards.
Maintaining and enhancing biodiversity is considered central to developing a
sustainable organic system. As well as protecting and enhancing biodiversity
perse, increased biodiversity plays a functional role by improving nutrient cycling,
pest control and disease control in the production system.

2.3.1 The farming system

Many aspects of organic farming will favor increased biodiversity:
 Organic standards require the sympathetic management of wildlife-rich
infrastructure features, such as hedges, and ditches. These features also play
a role for the organic farmer, providing reservoirs for the predators of crop
pests as part of the integrated pest control strategies practiced on organic
farms.
 A higher proportion of organic lowland farms are in mixed farming.
 Use of synthetic fertilizers, agrochemicals and veterinary medicines is
prohibited or much restricted, which removes direct and indirect problems
for wildlife.
 There is a greater variety of crop structure because of more spring cropping
in more varied rotations.
 Organic farms use more under sowing, such as with stubble turnips with the
land then used for autumn grazing. This can produce attractive over-winter
habitat for seed eating birds and helps boost populations of some farmland
invertebrates.
 Stocking densities are limited by productive capacity underpinned by the
Organic Standards and so tend to be less in organic systems. The lower
density can be an advantage when grazing sensitive habitats. A wider range
of species of livestock are more often maintained on organic farms. This
helps to control parasite burdens and has advantages in maintaining
structurally diverse swards.
2.4 Deforestation

2.4.1 Forest
Forests are ecological a socio-economic resource. Forests have to be managed
judiciously not only because they are source of various products and industrial raw
materials but also for environmental protection and various services they provide.
Approximately 1/3rd of the earth’s total land area is covered by forests. The forests
provide habitat for wildlife, resources such as timber, fire wood, drugs etc. and
aesthetic environment. Indirectly, the forests benefit people by protecting
watersheds from soil erosion, keeping rivers and reservoirs free of silt, and
facilitate the recharging of groundwater. Forest plays an important role in the
cycling of carbon, water, nitrogen and other elements.
What is forest? Forest is a complex ecosystem consisting mainly of trees that
support a myriad form of life. The trees are the most important component that
help to create a unique environment which, in turn, supports various kinds of
animals and plants. Trees are the prime producers for the forest purify and cool the
air and control the climate.
Forests may be subdivided into natural forests and plantations or man made forests.
Natural forests are forests composed of mainly naturally grown indigenous (local)
trees while plantations are forests established by growing trees by humans.
Climate, soil type, topography, and elevation are the main factors that determine
the type of forest. Forests are classified according to their nature and composition,
the type of climate in which they thrive, and its relationship with the surrounding
environment. Ethiopia has a many types of forests that cover little percent of the all
land.
2.4.2 Importance of Forests
Early life of humans on this planet began as forest dweller. In early days human
were totally dependent on forest for food, clothing, and shelter. Even after
agriculture was started humans remained dependent upon the forests for several of
their needs. The source of fuel wood and provide raw materials to various wood
industries. Ethiopian forests also provide many other valuable minor products such
as essential oil, medicinal plants, resins, turpentine etc. Forests are renewable
resources which provide a wide variety of commodities. Forests satisfying
aesthetic needs of humans and have been a source of inspiration for the
development of culture and civilization. Forests are home to a very large variety of
plants, animals and micro-organisms. This great richness of flora and fauna which
has evolved over the years is an important part of nature. Forests provide habitat
and food as well as protection to wildlife species against extremes of climate.
Forests have great biological importance as reservoirs of genetic diversity apart
from playing an important role in regulating earth’s climate.
Forests enhance local precipitation and improve water holding capacity of soil,
regulate water cycle, maintain soil fertility by returning the nutrients to the soil
through leaf fall and decomposition of litter. Forests check soil-erosion, landslides
and reduce intensity of flood and droughts. Forests, being home of wildlife are
important assets of aesthetic, touristic and cultural value to the society.
Forests have profound effect on the climate. Forest absorbed carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere and help in balancing carbon dioxide and oxygen in the
atmosphere. The forests play a vital role in maintaining oxygen supply in the air,
we breathe. They also play a vital role in the regulation of water (water cycle) in
the environment and act as environmental buffers regulating climate and
atmospheric humidity. Heat build-up in the atmosphere is one of the important
problems of the century known as green house effect is the partly caused by the
result from deforestation. Annual rainfall has declined Chronic droughts have
begun even in areas like woldia town where they were not known earlier.
2.4.3 DEFORESTATION
Deforestation is a very broad term, which consists of cutting of trees including
repeated lopping, felling, and removal of forest litter, browsing, grazing and
trampling of seedlings. It can also be defined as the removal or damage of
vegetation in a forest to the extent that it no longer supports its natural flora and
fauna. The rapid rate of deforestation in the tropics is a key driving force in the
yearly increase of flood disasters. Deforestation refers to the loss of tree cover;
land that is permanently converted from forest to non-forest uses such as
agricultural pasture, desert, and human settlement. In the beginning of 20th century
about 7.0 billion hectares of forests were present over the land of our planet and by
1950 forest covers was reduced to about 4.8 billon. If the present trend continues
forests will be reduced to only 2.35 billion ha hectares in 2000 A.D. In a
FAQ/UNEP study it was found that about 7.3 million hectares of rich tropical
forests every year and about 14 hectare of closed forest every minute are lost. At
the final deforestation leads to desertification of the wet lands which that is suitable
for crop production.
The arid and semi-arid areas where climate is dry, restoration is very slow, mining
and overgrazing etc. adds to several other desertification pressures. Desertification
is a systemic phenomenon resulting from excessive felling of trees which manifests
itself in the loss of soil fertility, high wind velocity, low precipitation, increasing
aridity and extremes of temperatures in the affected area.
Desert supports very little of vegetation and animals which are especially adapted
to extremely unfavorable conditions. Although desertification can develop from
natural causes alone, in a majority of instances human intervention promoted arid
conditions in an already dry areas. This can happen in any climatic zone or
ecosystem, resulting from exploitative interaction of man with the natural
ecosystem. Most of the deserts of recent origin have resulted form any one or more
of the following human activities.
o Uncontrolled and overexploitation of grazing land, indiscriminate cutting of
trees and forest resources leading to drought, soil erosion, deterioration of
soil fertility which results in stunted plant growth.
o Excessive mining in arid and semi-arid regions for extraction of minerals,
coal or limestone resulting in loss of trees, and green cover, and leading to
total destruction of conditions conducive to vegetation growing.
o Uneconomic land use for agriculture by cultivation on marginal lands
affecting adjacent fertile lands and causing soil erosion.
 o Intensive and uneconomic exploitation of water resources leading to fall in
water table, seepage and problems of excessive Stalinization of soil.

Extent and causes of land degradation of the world

Area Causes of land degradation
580 million ha Deforestation -- Vast reserves of forests have been degraded by
large scale logging and clearance for farm and urban use. More than
200 million ha of tropical forests were destroyed mainly for food
production.
680 million ha Overgrazing – About 20% of the world’s pasture and range lands
have been damaged. Recent losses have been most severe in Africa
and Asia.

137 million ha Fuel wood consumption – About 1730 million m3 of fuel wood are
harvested annually from forests and plantations. Wood fuel is the primary
source of energy in many developing regions.

550 million ha Agricultural mismanagement – Loss of soil due to water erosion is

estimated at 25,000 million tonnes annually. Soil salinization, water
logging, chemical degradation and desertification affect about 40 million
ha of land globally.
19.5 million ha Industrialization and urbanization – Urban growth, road construction,
mining and industry are major factors in land degradation in different
regions. Valuable agricultural land is often lost.

2.5 Ozone layer depletion

The ozone layer is a layer in Earth's atmosphere which contains relatively high
concentrations of ozone (O3). This layer absorbs 93-99% of the sun's high
frequency ultraviolet light, which is potentially damaging to life on earth. Over
91% of the ozone in Earth's atmosphere is present here. It is mainly located in the
lower portion of the stratosphere from approximately 10 km to 50 km above Earth,
though the thickness varies seasonally and geographically. The ozone layer was
discovered in 1913 by the French physicists Charles Fabry and Henri Buisson. Its
properties were explored in detail by the British meteorologist G. M. B. Dobson,
who developed a simple spectrophotometer (the Dobson meter) that could be used
to measure stratospheric ozone from the ground. Between 1928 and 1958 Dobson
established a worldwide network of ozone monitoring stations which continues to
operate today. The "Dobson unit", a convenient measure of the total amount of
ozone in a column overhead, is named in his honor.
2.5.1 CAUSES OF OZONE DEPLETION
Ozone depletion occurs when the natural balance between the production and
destruction of stratospheric ozone is tipped in favors of destruction. Although
natural phenomena can cause temporary ozone loss, chlorine and bromine released
from man-made compounds such as CFCs are now accepted as the main cause of
this depletion. It was first suggested by Drs. M. Molina and S. Rowland in 1974
that a man-made group of compounds known as the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
were likely to be the main source of ozone depletion. However, this idea was not
taken seriously until the discovery of the ozone hole over Antarctica in 1985 by the
Survey. Chlorofluorocarbons are not "washed" back to Earth by rain or destroyed
in reactions with other chemicals. They simply do not break down in the lower
atmosphere and they can remain in the atmosphere from 20 to 120 years or more.
As a consequence of their relative stability, CFCs are instead transported into the
stratosphere where they are eventually broken down by ultraviolet (UV) rays from
the Sun, releasing free chlorine. The chlorine becomes actively involved in the
process of destruction of ozone. The net result is that two molecules of ozone are
replaced by three of molecular oxygen, leaving the chlorine free to repeat the
process:
Cl + O3 = ClO + O2
ClO + O = Cl + O2
Ozone is converted to oxygen, leaving the chlorine atom free to repeat the process
up to 100,000 times, resulting in a reduced level of ozone. Bromine compounds, or
halos, can also destroy stratospheric ozone. Compounds containing chlorine and
bromine from man-made compounds are known as industrial halocarbons.
Emissions of CFCs have accounted for roughly 80% of total stratospheric ozone
depletion.
Apart from this, traces of gaseous nitrogen compounds, such as NO, NO2 and
N2O, present in small quantities in the atmosphere are considered to be the largest
ozone- depleting substances emitted by human activities exceeding the
contribution of chlorofluorocarbons. If these chemicals escape into the
environment, they drift up the stratosphere where Cl and Br radicals are liberated
by the action of ultraviolet light on their molecule and act as a catalyst affecting the
ozone layer at −78°C (critical temperature required by chlorine to breakdown
ozone at surface of polar stratospheric cloud crystals), where they lead to a
complete breakdown of ozone and thus reduce it to oxygen molecules. One
chlorine or CFC molecule can destroy 100,000 ozone molecules. As a result the
ozone layer becomes incapable of absorbing UV radiations which enter the earth’s
surface and affect various living organisms.
The ozone layer plays an important role in the biology and climatology of the
earth’s environment. Radiations below the wavelength of 3000 Å are biologically
harmful and ozone helps to filter-out these radiations. The stratospheric ozone
layer protects life on earth by absorbing the damaging, high-energy UV-C
radiation. Depletion of stratospheric ozone increases the concentration of terrestrial
ozone, which is considered harmful for health. Ozone depletion resulted in global
warming by increase of the atmospheric temperature by 5.5°C [18]. Exposure to
UV rays due to ozone depletion causes innumerable biological hazards such as
variation in the physiological and developmental processes, reduced growth and
productivity of plants. Indirect damage caused by the UV-B includes changes in
the plant form and distribution of nutrients within the plant. These changes have
important implications for plant competitive balance, herbivore, plant diseases, and
biogeochemical cycles. Exposure to solar UV- B radiation has been shown to
affect both orientation mechanisms and mortality in phytoplankton, resulting in
reduced survival rates for these organisms. Solar UV-B radiation has also been
found to cause damage to the early developmental stages of fish, shrimp, crab,
amphibians and other animals. Most severe effects are decreased re- productive
capacity and impaired larval development. In- crease in solar UV radiations affect
terrestrial and aquatic biogeochemical cycles, thus altering both sources and sinks
of greenhouse and chemically important trace gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2),
carbon monoxide (CO), carbonyl sulphide (COS) and possibly other gases,
including ozone. These potential changes would contribute to the biosphere-
atmosphere feedbacks that attenuate or reinforce the atmospheric build-up of these
gases. Synthetic polymers, naturally occurring biopolymers, as well as some other
materials of commercial interest are adversely affected by solar UV radiation.