HAROLD O.BUENVENIDA, PhD.

Course Facilitator
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OVERVIEW
This course is designed as a adjunct major in management . It focuses on the principles
environmental health and safety, balance and sustainability. Environmental Management is
entirely an emerging and dynamic concept. Environmental Management is concerned with
the management for environment encompassing both natural, man-made and the even social
institutions. It represents the organizational structure, responsibilities sequences, processes
and preconditions for the implementation of an environmental policies, management and
control.

This course has significant value to students across various fields. Contained in this module
are the fundamental concepts and highlights in research that encompasses this exciting field.
This course contains topics on ecology, economics, statistics, laws and policies and
sustainable development.

The core concept that this course will try to deliver is the appreciation ,protection,
conservation and proper management and use of the environment. It is emphasized that it
takes into consideration all conditions required for the survival of corporate sectors. Absence
of environmental consideration causes serious ecological damage. Poverty, lack of resources,
population pressure and global inequity of the resource use are generating unparalleled social
and environmental problems at national and global levels. Sustainable development has a
tendency to strike a balance between the demands of economic development and the need for
management of environmental processes.

Supporting practicals and project-based activities are designed to enhance the learner’s
critical thinking, creativity, resourcefulness and problem-solving skills. Lessons are
complemented by video lectures and demonstrations, and supplemental reading articles and
materials. End of lesson self check and evaluations are also included.

HOB

Learning Outcomes

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In this course, students will gain precise knowledge of various facets of sound environmental
management is the sine qua non for sustainable development which meets not only the
requirements of the present generation but also of the future generation. Environmental
management is especially valuable for internal management initiatives with a specific
environmental focus, such as cleaner production, supply chain management, “given” product
or service design, environmentally preferable purchasing and environmental management
systems.

Having successfully completed this module, Students should gain from the course the
following:

1. An understanding of environmental management approaches

2. The ability to analyze environmental management in relation to the major principles of

sustainable development, defined broadly as: Biodiversity conservation; The Precautionary
Principle; Economic sustainability; Intergenerational equity; and Intergenerational equity.

3. The capacity to translate generic concepts and methods into critical reviews of
contemporary, real-world environmental management practices.

4. The capacity to critically assess theoretical and conceptual issues relating to

environmental management utilizing dialectical analysis approaches.

5. The ability to present synthesized and critically evaluated information in oral and written
forms.

6. The ability to work effectively to create environmental management analysis outputs of

professional quality, both independently and within team environments.

Suggested Learning Time Frame

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Theoretical Practical Activities to

Total Time
Learning Learning be
Allocated
Time Time Completed

Complete Learning
Sessions w/
54 hrs 30 hrs 24 hrs 10
Summative
Assessment

Orientation 1 hr 1 hr n/a

Purpose, Introduction
2 hrs 2 hrs n/a
& Learner Directions
Lesson 1 3 hrs 3 hrs - 1
Lesson 2 6 hrs 2 hrs 4 hrs 1
Lesson 3 6 hrs 2 hrs 4 hrs 1
Lesson 4 3 hrs 3 hrs - -
Lesson 5 3 hrs 3 hrs - -
Lesson 6 6 hrs 2 hrs 4 hrs 1
Lesson 7 3 hrs 3 hrs - -
Lesson 8 3 hrs 3 hrs - -
Lesson 9 6 hrs 2 hrs 4 hrs 1
Lesson 10 6 hrs 2 hrs 4 hrs 1
Lesson 11 6 hrs 2 hrs 4 hrs 1
Lesson 12 6 hrs - 6 hrs 3

Indicative Content

TOPIC

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LEARNING SESSION

Lesson 1 Definition and Scope of Environmental Management

Lesson 2 Challenges of Environmental Management

Lesson 3 Environment and Environmental Science

Lesson 4 Environmental Limits and Crisis

Lesson 5 Environmentalism, Greening Economics Trade and Management

Lesson 6 Business Environmental Management

Lesson 7 Development Goals: MDG’s and SDG’s

Lesson 8 Environmental Management Approaches

Lesson 9 EM Standards, Monitoring, Auditing and Data Generation

Lesson 10 Environmental Risk Management ; Env. Impact Assessment

Lesson 11 Case Studies in Environmental Problems& Global Challenges

Lesson 12 Special Project

Preface to the Learning Sessions

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Dear Learner - This Learning Module contains all the needed information to acquire all the
knowledge and skills leading to the successful completion of this course HE 426-
Environmental Management. The series of learning sessions (lessons) are designed to
proceed sequentially, this means that the topics and its corresponding activities that follow
are designed to help you gain the skills, knowledge and attitudes that you need in order to
become competent in this learning module. It is essential that you complete all the activities
and worksheets, as directed in this guide and at the time indicated by your facilitator. It is
also important that you ask questions, interact and participate in scheduled discussions ;
online meet-ups, or web meetings, as much as possible in order to play an active role in
reaching competence.

At the time you have completed all the lessons and activities, do not hesitate to contact your
professor, it will be marked it and he will guide you in areas where additional learning might
be required. Remember! You should not move on to the next step in the learning activities
process until prior topic is completed, marked and you have received feedback from the
professor.

Throughout this guide, you will come across marked “sections”. These sections each
represent a certain aspect of the learning process, containing information, which would help
you with the identification and understanding of these aspects.

The following is a list of these sections:

KEYWORDS - Each learning field is characterized by unique terms and definitions – it

is important to know and use these terms and definitions correctly.

SUMMARY- indicates a summary of concepts that we have covered, and offers you
an opportunity to ask questions to your facilitator if you are still feeling unsure of the
concepts listed.

ACTIVITY - You will be requested to complete activities, which are individual

activities. Please remember to complete the activities, as your professor will mark it and
these will become part of your over-all-assessment.

Should you need more assistance do not hesitate to contact your professor for questions,
clarifications and additional information.

Have an enjoyable and meaningful learning experience!

General Instructions for Marked Assignments,

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Activities & Final Paper

For this course you are expected to read, comprehend and understand the concepts
and perform the activities or assignments in every lesson. In this course, you will
submit nine (9) marked assignments or activities and one final paper. Your
assignments will require essay-type of answers or objective type answers. When
submitting online, the essay (maximum of 500 words each) and the final paper
(maximum of 2,000 words) should be saved in Microsoft Word file, double-spaced
and preferably 12-point type font. Save your document file using the following format:

HE426_EnviMgt_class/section_lastname_firstname_date

Please submit your assignments in understandable and grammatically-correct

English. Always cite the references in your text and make a List of References at the
end of each assignment/activities. Assignments/activities should be submitted on or
before the deadline. Late assignments/activities will only be acceptable within a
week’s time after the deadline, but they will have a grade deduction (minus 5 points
for each day late excluding weekdays). Assignments/activities submitted more than a
week after the deadline will be given zero (0) mark.

Course Introduction
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Physiology of aquatic organisms as a study will explain the physiological

mechanisms and ways in which aquatic (and marine) organisms thrive, interact with
each other and with their physical environment. It is a scientific belief that there is no
better way to teach about the delicate balance of natural systems than within the
context of aquatic and marine ecosystems. This course also strives to educate you
about the importance of aquatic (marine) ecosystems to terrestrial ecosystems and
to humankind. It is my hope that by studying aquatic and marine biology, you-
students will be able to make well-informed decisions and when they engage in
activities that have an impact on the natural world, especially with respect to the
aquatic and marine environments. It is also my hope that these lessons will provide
the factual foundation necessary for making such important decisions. The overall
focus of the course is on the functional adaptations and adjustments animals use to
cope with the various environmental and physiological challenges to life in aquatic
environments.

The course will emphasize the physiological mechanisms are conserved across taxa
and those that are unique to a particular aquatic animal group, with some case
studies on how particular groups of animals cope physiologically with extreme
environments and with contrasting environments at different parts of their life cycle
(e.g., anadromy in salmon, catadromy in eels). Case studies will also be used to
focus on the constraints solutions to particular physiological problems may impose
on other aspects of the life of the animas living in aquatic and marine environments.

Lesson 1
Definition and Scope of Environmental Management
At the end of this lesson you should be able to:

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1. Define the important concepts in environmental management.

2. Explain the importance of studying environmental management
3. Define environmental management contextually.

It is difficult to separate environmental management from the process of

development; put crudely, the environmental manager is expected to advise on wise
resource use, potential environmental opportunities and threats (linkages between
environmental management, the development process, and developing countries
areexplored by the author in Environmental Management and development –
Barrow,1999). Development is seen increasingly to require reduction of inter-group
disparity, or a ‘social transformation’ (alteration of society and culture), through the
use of capital, technology and knowledge. It has often been argued that richer
countries, international agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
should ‘assist’ others to develop. However, some feel that people must do this for
themselves, and there are countries which have tried ‘decoupling’ their development
from the rest of the world (Adams, 1990: 72, 83).

Recent human development has taken place during several thousand years of relatively stable
and benign environmental conditions; this is unlikely to last and deterioration may be
swift. There is a rapidly increasing human population

placing more and more stress on the environment, so even if there are not
challenges caused by nature there are some caused by development. Environmental
management must assess threats, and if any seem significant and likely, seek
avoidance, mitigation or adaptation. Assessing threats is not easy and is imprecise,

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there may be conflicting advice from experts, and vested interests are likely to lobby
for a particular response.

There are also biases caused by researchers’ personal, political and funding
backgrounds. For example, it is often more acceptable to blame land degradation on
the local peasantry, rather than accept that it lies with policies promoted by the ruling
elite. Misleading data are all too easy to acquire, particularly when researchers and
administrators hold particular worldviews which lead to ‘polarised perception’ (e.g.
‘Western, urban, colonialist, commercial’, economist, anthropologist, scientist).
Apparent causes of a problem may in reality be symptoms, and faulty diagnosis can
lead to costly mis-spending on ‘solutions’ and for more controversial questioning of
received wisdom (Lomborg, 2001, 2004). Lomborg makes a valuable point: that too
many people make selective and mistaken or misleading use of environmental and
developmental evidence. Discussion, negotiations and policy making must not be
based on misconceptions and poor statistics (‘myths’). Data and concepts must
always be questioned, and whenever possible multiple lines of evidence sought.

Environmental management seeks to steer the development process to take

advantage of opportunities, try to avoid hazards, mitigate problems, and prepare
people for unavoidable difficulties by improving adaptability and resilience .
Environmental management is a process concerned with human–environment
interactions, and seeks to identify: what is environmentally desirable; what are the
physical, economic, social and technological constraints to achieving that; and what
are the most feasible options (El-Kholy, 2001: 15). Environmental issues are so
intertwined with socio-economic issues that it has to be sensitive to them, especially
in poor developing countries – in the South, environmental management is ‘of a
single piece with survival and justice’ (Athanasiou, 1997: 15).

There can be no concise universal definition of environmental management, given its

very broad scope and the diversity of specialisms involved.

Definitions of environmental management which I have culled from recent literature

are presented in Box 1.1.

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Environmental management displays the following characteristics:

● it supports sustainable development;

● it is often used as a generic term;

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● it deals with a world affected by humans (there are few, if any, wholly
natural environments today – an eminent environmental scientist recently
suggested that the current geological unit, the Holocene, should be
declared ‘ended’ and succeeded by the Anthropocene or ‘human-altered’
period);
it demands a multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary or even ‘holistic’ approach;
● it has to integrate and reconcile different development viewpoints;
● it seeks to co-ordinate science, social science, policy making and planning;
● it is a proactive process;
● it generally embraces the precautionary principle;
● it recognizes the desirability of meeting, and if possible exceeding, basic
Human needs;
● the timescale involved extends well beyond the short term, and concern
ranges from local to global;
● it should identify opportunities as well as address threats and problems;
● it stresses stewardship, rather than exploitation.

Scope of Environmental Managament

Environmental management must do three things: (1) identify goals; (2) establish
whether these can be met; (3) develop and implement the means to do what it
deems possible. The first (1) is seldom easy: a society may have no clear idea of
what it needs. Indeed, some people may want things that are damaging to
themselves, to others and the environment, and needs and fashions change over
time. Sustainable development demands trade-offs between current enjoyment and
investment in ensuring future function; many people find it difficult to be altruistic and
forgo something in order to benefit future generations and non-relatives.
Environmental managers have to identify goals, and then win over the public and
special-interest groups. To pursue (2) and (3) requires the environmental manager to
interface with ecology, economics, law, politics, people and so on to seek
sustainable development. To co-ordinate such a diversity of factors is difficult
because most humans operate on a piecemeal, short-term basis. Much of what is
done at a given point in time and space has wider and longer term impacts, so it is
desirable for development to be managed at all levels: regional, national and
international.

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Activity

From the definition and scope of environmental management you have read from the
text, assimilate these information and contextually discuss how environmental
management becomes significant in our pursuit for health and safety of the
environment. This can be presented in a well written report, essay, facebook post,
vlog or any means.

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Lesson 2
Challenges of Environmental Management
At the end of this lesson you should be able to:
1. Identify the major challenges in environmental management.
2. Explain the importance of overcoming the challenges in environmental management
3. Illustrate an example of addressing the challenge of environmental management.

Environmental management involves making decisions . How these are made depends on
whether a technocratic or a consultative (bottom-up) model is adopted.

Whatever the overall approach, environmental management is, as Matthews et al. (1976)
noted, a ‘myriad of individual and collective decisions by persons, groups, and
organizations’, and ‘together these decisions and interactions constitute a process – a
process that in effect results in management (unfortunately, sometimes mismanagement) of
the environmental resources of a society’.

Of the many problems that beset environmental management inadequate data is a common
hindrance: there are still huge gaps in knowledge of the structure and function of the
environment, the workings of global, regional and local economics, and of how societies and
individual humans behave. The ideal is adequate data that may be presented in real time, so
that the scenario can be observed as it changes. With improved computers, software and
the development of tools such as geographical information systems (GIS), this may one day
be possible, but often all that is available today is an occasional, incomplete snapshot view
(i.e. limited in time and space, which can be misleading).

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Decision making is often made difficult by politics; lobbying; media, public and NGOs’
attention; lack of funding and expertise. Environmental managers are faced with two
temporal challenges: (1) problems may suddenly demand attention and allow little time for
solution; (2) the desirability that planning horizons stretch further into the future than has
been usual practice. Decisions are easier to make and policies more easily adjusted if there
is time available – for example, a 3°C climate change over a hundred years may not be too
much of a challenge, but if it happens over twenty years it would be (Chiapponi, 1992).
Predictions are difficult enough with stable environments, but many are unstable and some
are becoming uncertain; once the stability has been upset there may be unexpected and
sudden feedbacks or shifts to different states, all of which are difficult to forecast. The
behaviour of economic systems is even more challenging to predict, and human behaviour is
especially fickle, with tastes and attitudes often suddenly altering. The unpredictability and
rapidity of challenges prompted Holling (1978) to argue for adaptive assessment and
management.

 The need to be adaptable and to seek to reduce human vulnerability

Human development over the past several thousand years has enjoyed relatively stable and
benign environmental conditions. Modern societies have not even had to face relatively
gradual and limited challenges, like that of the Little Ice Age (c. AD 1500 to 1750), but this is
unlikely to last. The rapidly increasing human population is placing more and more stress on
the environment, which could trigger sudden changes. Estimates place world human
population between twenty and twenty-six million about 1,000 years ago; by AD 1500 it had
probably risen to between 400 and 500 million; now it has exceeded 6,500 million (McNeill,
2000: 7). That is a lot of mouths to feed if there are poor harvests. Globalization of trade and
complex technology means that a disaster in one nation can have worldwide impacts; for
example, disruption of computer chip production in the Far East soon affects Europe. World
food supplies are increasingly obtained from a few key regions. The challenges faced by
development management and environmental management are growing fast. Environmental
management is not just about coping with challenges; it has to model and monitor to gain
sufficient knowledge and give early-warning signs to have any chance of coping. Some
threats are random and difficult, if not impossible, to recognize in advance; others develop in
an insidious way and may be easily overlooked. Worse, a problem may have indirect and
cumulative causes – a number of unrelated factors suddenly conspire to cause trouble, or a
process develops a positive or negative feedback which (respectively) quickly accelerates or
slows down developments.

 The need to be multidisciplinary and integrative

Environmental management has to deal with humans and natural processes, and it has to
cope with changes of fashion, economic variations, changing technological capabilities,
alterations of attitudes, social capital, social values, skills, confidence, and many other
variables. Monitoring and responses have to be multidisciplinary to recognize challenges
and determine how environment, biota and people will be affected and react, and to weigh
up the best way to cope. In the past environmental management was mainly practiced by
those with a science background (e.g. environmental scientists, ecologists, pollution

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specialists, technologists), and those concerned with monitoring and enforcement. There
has been a very marked broadening out during the past decade or so, to the extent that
environmental management is now more than half staffed by social studies specialists. In
academic institutions sociologists, anthropologists, economists, geographers, physical
scientists, planners and engineers come together increasingly in departments of
environmental management and work as teams.

For effective environmental management there must be

the means of resolving controversies regarding proper
conduct (Cairns and Crawford, 1991: 23). Ethics can
guide his. Ethics may be defined as a system of cultural
values motivating people’s behavior (Rapoport, 1993). It
draws upon human reasoning, morals, knowledge of
nature and goals to act as a sort of plumb line for
development and help shape a worldview. Ethics
operates at the level of individuals, institutions, societies
and internationally.

Carley and Christie (1992) tried to summarize the

range of environmental ethics, dividing them into
four groups:

1 Technocratic environmental ethics = resource-exploitative, growth-oriented;

2 Managerial environmental ethics = resource-conservationist, oriented to sustainable

growth;

3 Communalist environmental ethics = resource-preservationist, oriented to limited or

zero growth;

4 Bioethicist or deep ecology environmental ethics = extreme preservationist,

antigrowth.

Group 1 is anthropocentric and places faith in the capacity of technology to overcome

problems. Group 4 is unlikely to attract support from enough people to be a viable approach,
and offers little guidance to environmental managers. Carley and Christie felt the ethics of
groups (2) and (3) were more likely to support sustainable development and provide
guidance for environmental management.

Another grouping of environmental ethics is:

1 Anthropocentric – human welfare is placed before environment or biota;

2 Ecocentric – focused on ecosystem conservation (holistic outlook);

3 Biocentric – organisms are seen to have value per se.

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Inevitably, the first of these three groups predominates. How will environmental management
achieve its policy goals? Probably through a mix of moral pressure, the spread of
appropriate ethics, and by ensuring that governments, citizens, economics, business and
law are sufficiently sensitive to the needs of the environment. Environmental management
will need to make use of education and the media to alter social attitudes so that there is
awareness of environmental issues and an acceptance of a new ethics. It will also have to
draw upon other fields to achieve its goals, and must develop effective institutions. Manuals,
checklists, conventions and agreements can help guide the identification of goals and
preparation of action plans and their implementation. The reductionist approach of splitting
problems into component parts for study and solution lies at the core of Western rational,
scientific study (which the modern world owes a great deal to). Some feel that a holistic
‘overall view’ approach should replace ‘compartmentalized and inflexible science’; that is a
mistake – there is a need for both without weakening rationalism (Risser, 1985;
Savory,1988; Atkinson, 1991a: 154; Rapoport, 1993: 176).

Sustainable development calls for trade-offs. For example, it may be necessary to forgo
immediate benefits to secure long-term yields – which may far outweigh the former. Such
trade-offs can be a cruel choice for individuals, groups or countries, and a minefield for the
environmental manager. For poorer nations, foreign aid could be focused to cushion trade-
offs. Institutional problems present difficulties for environmental anagement as much as
technical or scientific challenges (Cairns andbCrawford, 1991). Human institutions change
and can be difficult to understand andbcontrol, and building new ones may be hard. It is vital
that the institutions involved in environmental management are effective. Even if there is
technology and funding and a will to solve a problem, success will be unlikely without the
right type of effective sustainable institutions.

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Environmental problems and their management, particularly when related to urban

ecosystems, are becoming increasingly challenging. The end-of-pipe method which has
been practiced in the past, and is manifested in our laws and regulations, has gradually
changed towards a more pro-active approach. Industries now recognize that environmental
management and pollution control are no longer liabilities, but rather opportunities to
increase their competitiveness. The general public is increasingly aware of the fact that they
have to pay more for management of the environment that is based on the end-of-pipe
approach. International agencies and industries world-wide are responding positively with a
new paradigm shift towards proactive environmental management through voluntary
initiatives.

The most challenging task however, is to convince the small and medium scale enterprises
to shift from the old to the new management system. While local government agencies
remain the key players in the management of urban ecosystems, they still lack human
resources and the capacity to handle new challenges. This paper discusses new initiatives
towards achieving sustainable urban ecosystem management. It highlights the tools and
approaches that are being used as alternatives to the existing end-of-pipe approaches.
These tools include, eco-management, wastes minimization, ISO 14000 standardization,
design for environment, eco-labeling, life cycle assessment and industrial ecology.

Environmental problems associated with waste and emissions produced from various supply
chain activities have forced organizations, facing competitive, regulatory and community
pressures, to move towards greening their supply chains. However, most of the adopted
green solutions, especially in developing countries, remain to be the traditional command-
and-control or “end-of-the-pipe” solutions. The end-of –the-pipe approach does not eliminate
pollutants, but merely transforms them from one medium to another . Unlike the traditional
environmental management, the concept of green supply chain assumes full responsibility of
a firm towards its products from the extraction or acquisition of raw materials up to final use
and disposal of products .

All stages of a product’s life cycle will influence a supply chain’s environmental burden, from
resource extraction, to manufacturing, use and reuse, final recycling, or disposal. Various
environmental management practices such as, ISO 14001 certification and cleaner
production have been implemented by various industries. As a more systematic and
integrated strategy, green supply chain management (GSCM) has emerged as an important
new innovation that helps organizations develop ‘win- win’ strategies that achieve profit and
market share objectives by lowering their environmental risks and impacts, while raising their
ecological efficiency[16]. Nearly every industry has been hit by green fever.

Nowadays, environment is an emphasis problem in the world, and NGOs are worried about
environment future. Environmental concern is one of the main discusses in the international
societies. It is now increasingly recognized that many problems have an international
dimension. This is particularly clear in issues relating to the environment. For example,
global activities contribute to the emission of green house gases as well as global warming -
and climate change. Disasters such as the Tsunami now cross boundaries and are of an

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order rarely ever seen before. And they cause incredible damage within jurisdictions witness
the recent earthquakes in Pakistan, Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

The statistics makes all this clear. But there are variety reasons, more governments neglect
in implementation environmental law. main problem is implementation in this division,
because today in these countries exist steady laws to protect of the environment, in fact
environmental laws is a international matters, so the government cannot ignore
environmental laws. The governmental decisions that may have an environmental impact,
among other things, are increasingly being made outside the national sovereign sphere.
Treaties made elsewhere dictate the shape of national legislation.

On the other hand, some of the issues will cause to impact on the environmental such as
being able to develop stronger business relationships with suppliers, attracting ethical
investors and even penetrating new markets due to improved environmental performance.
Even more fundamental is the fact that global capitalism creates pressures and tendencies
for corporations to act and adopt strategic environmental practices. Concerning about the
relationships between groups, individuals, organizations and the rights to information that
such relationships entail (Gray R, Dey, 1997). Environmental accountability values can be
developed through discourses of accounting with transparency and completeness indicating
the collective meanings of the disclosures, self-respect and closeness of relationships
( Lehman, 1995). Inevitably, corporate environmental reporting acts as the vehicle for
providing environmental data designed to satisfy the accountability relationships and to
indicate corporate consciousness through a moral discourse on environmental issues.
(Shearer T, 2002) It justifies an environmental accountability level in creating a just society
amongst business corporations.

An ISO 14001 certification provides confidence to external parties, providing evidence that
the companies have control over the significant aspects of their operations and activities,
they are committed to comply with all relevant environmental legislation and regulations and
that they are continuously improving their environmental performance. Nevertheless, there
are companies that chose to set up environmental management systems (including
environmental disclosure practices) without seeking a certificate. The reasons maybe the
costs of implementing the procedures, investments towards controlling measures, auditing
costs, training costs and many more. ( Sumiani , 2006) Certification to international
environmental standards creates significant trade and investment relationships and in the
Asia-Pacific region, ISO 14001 has been seen as an important indicator of voluntary
business commitment towards environmental improvement.

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Summary

This chapter seeks to clarify the meaning of ‘development’,; ‘environmental management’,

and explores how they interrelate. The world and its resources are finite, yet human
demands continue to increase. The ultimate goal of environmental management is to
address this issue and to seek sustainable development. Modern humans are more
numerous than at any point in the past and are less adaptable. There is no one single
approach to environmental management, but there are key concepts. Environmental
management has many tools to choose from. These are often still evolving and may not be
tuned to non-Western country needs and new challenges. Environmental managers have to
select suitable strategies and tools best suited for a given situation. A precautionary and
proactive approach is wise if sustainable development is a serious goal, and because
humans appear to be more vulnerable than many admit.

Activity:
Write an essay about based on the following questions:

 What environmental issue(s) does the individual address?

 Which ethical perspectives discussed in class appear to motivate this person’s
actions?
 How would another ethical perspective inform a different approach to this
environmental issue?
 Out of the ethical perspectives discussed in class, which one aligns best with your
approach to this environmental issue?

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Lesson 3
Environment and Environmental Science
At the end of this lesson you should be able to:
1. Comprehend the significance of studying the environment
2. Recognize the different components of the environment
3. Appreciate role of science in environmental management.

It is important to understand
the structure and function of
the environment to be able to
assess the impacts of human
activities and the viability of
development efforts (Adger et
al., 2004: 21–24). Knowledge
about the Earth, its organisms
and human affairs is
incomplete and data collection
has often been inadequate, so
forecasting and decision
making are frequently far from
perfect. Nevertheless,
compared with the situation
before the International
Geophysical Year (1957–
1958), there is now much more
understanding of the
environment and humans, and
a vastly improved ability to
monitor and forecast.

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When environmental management makes use of science it can adopt one of two broad
approaches: (1) multidisciplinary – which involves communication between various fields but
without much of a breakdown of discipline boundaries; (2) interdisciplinary (even holistic) –
the various fields are closely linked in an overall, coherent way. The interdisciplinary
approach is widely advocated as a cure for the fragmentation of science (what some would
see as unwelcome compartmentalization), but of the two it is much the more difficult to
achieve (De Groot, 1992: 32). Environmental science often has to be problem oriented, and
this helps promote attempts at multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary study.

However, nowadays little of the world is a wholly natural environment. Many organisms alter
the environment, and the change they cause may be slow or rapid, localized or global. In the
past few thousand years, humans have become such a major force in modifying the Earth’s
ecosystems that an environmental scientist recently suggested the current geological unit,
the Holocene, should be succeeded by the Anthropocene or ‘human-altered’ period. Much of
the alteration is unwitting degradation rather than improvement; however, humans have the
potential to recognize and to respond consciously and appropriately to opportunities and
threats. Whether we will successfully exploit that potential remains to be seen. It is
environmental managers who will play a key part in prompting and supporting a better
response. If environmental management is to develop strategies and exploit opportunities
effectively it must be much more than applied science; it is also an art which requires
understanding of human–environment interactions, considerable management skills,
diplomacy and powers of persuasion

Environmentalism is a generic term for a range of interests directed at achieving better

environmental management (the environmental movement and environmentalism are
examined in Chapter 4). It must be stressed that while many environmentalists listen to
scientific reason, others take little heed or strongly oppose it. Environmental managers may
sometimes be confronted by less rational environmentalists who present their interests as
‘scientifically sound’, and in so doing degrade scientific rigour and truth. Efforts must be
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made to withstand misapplication, the lobbying of special-interest groups, and demands of

policy makers. Environmental management has to be practised in the real world, and it has
to sell important issues to people who decide policies. There will be demands for firm
answers that may be difficult to come by, and a public which can switch off from crucial
issues that fail to catch their eye. For a study of how people respond to threat warnings, see
Posner (2005); and for discussion of how individuals view nature and risk, see Maslin
(2004).

Those involved in environmental management each have their own worldviews, which affect
how they proceed. Environmental managers, whatever their worldview, are likely to face: (1)
data problems; (2) modelling difficulties; (3) analytical difficulties; (4) insufficient time for
adequate research; (5) lobbying from various stakeholders; (6)funding limitations. For
example, there may be little baseline data, and what there is may be inaccurate, have gaps,
or may be in an unsuitable form. Models may not have been developed or may have
deficiencies. Modelling cannot be effectively applied to random processes. The problem
under study may also be complex and difficult to understand. Increasingly, environmental
scientists are asked to provide advice before they have proof (Funtowicz and Ravetz, 1993).

There have been a number of developments which aid environmental science and
environmental management; these include:

 growing international co-operation;

 standardization of measurements and definitions;
 remote sensing and computing/data processing advances;
 the diminishment of Cold War rivalry and restrictions;
 the spread of the Internet which facilitates exchange of information and makes it
 hard for individuals, companies or national authorities to hide environmental
problems;
 improved communications between environmental science and social studies.

Structure and function of the environment

Since the early 1970s popular texts have occasionally published ‘laws of ecology’ (often
based on those published by Commoner, 1972); three of these are as follows, with
environmental management implications in brackets:

1 Any intrusion into nature has numerous effects, many of which are unpredictable
(environmental management must cope with the unexpected).

2 ‘Everything is connected’; therefore, humans and nature are inextricably bound together
and what one person does affects others and a wider world (environmental management
must consider chains of causation, looking beyond the local and short term).

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3 Care needs to be taken that substances produced by humans do not interfere with any of
the Earth’s biogeochemical processes (environmental management must monitor natural
processes and human activities to ensure that no crucial process is upset).

Living organisms, including humans, and non-living elements of the environment interact,
frequently in complex ways. Ernst Häckel founded the study of these interactions – ecology
– as an academic subject (oecology) in 1866. In 1927 Charles Elton described ecology as
‘scientific natural history’. Modern definitions include: the study of the structure and function
of nature; the study of interactions between organisms (biotic) and their non-living (abiotic)
environment; the science of the relations of organisms to their total environment (Fraser-
Darling, 1963; Odum, 1975; Park, 1980).

Synecology is the study of individual species–environment linkages – and autecology is

the study of community–environment linkages. Ecology is often a guide for environmental
management, environmentalism and environmental ethics, suggesting limits and
opportunities, and providing many key concepts and techniques (e.g. carrying capacity).

Since the early 1970s ‘ecology’ has also come to mean a viewpoint – typically a concern for
the environment – as much as a discipline (O’Riordan, 1976). Humans either adapt to, or
seek to modify, their environment to achieve security and well-being or to satisfy greed and
cultural goals. In making modifications people create a ‘human environment’ (Treshow,
1976). Human ecology developed in the early twentieth century to facilitate the study of
people and their environment, expanding in the 1960s and 1970s, and then dying back
(Sargeant, 1974; Richerson and McEvoy, 1976; Marten, 2001). A field that currently seems
to be expanding, and which can be very useful for environmental management, is political
ecology. Political ecologists seek to build foundations for sustainable relations between
society and the environment in the real world (Blaikie, 1985; Atkinson, 1991b).

The global complex of living and dead organisms forms a relatively thin layer, the biosphere.
The term ‘ecosphere’ is used to signify the biosphere interacting with the non-living
environment, biological activity being capable of affecting physical conditions even at the
global scale; for example, through the formation of oxygen, and the sequestration
carbonates in the oceans. The global ecosphere can be divided into various climates, the
pattern of which has changed in the past and will doubtless do so in the future.

limate may be affected by one or more of many factors, including:

● variation in incoming solar energy due to fluctuations in the Sun’s output or possiblydust in
space;

● variation in the Earth’s orbit or change in its inclination about its axis;

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● variation in the composition of the atmosphere: alterations in the quantity of dust, gases or
water vapour present (which may be caused by factors such as biological activity, human
pollution, volcanicity, and impacts of large comets or asteroids);

● altered distribution of continents, changes in oceanic currents, or fluctuation of sea levelhat

may expose or submerge continental shelves;

● formation and removal of topographic barriers;

● environmental managers must not assume that climate is fixed and stable

Trophic level and organic productivity

Organisms in an ecosystem may be grouped by function according to their trophic level – the
position in the food supply chain or web at which they gain nourishment. Each successive
trophic level’s organisms
depend upon those of the
next lowest for their energy
requirements (food). The
first trophic level, primary
producers (or autotrophs),
in all but a few cases
convert solar radiation
(sunlight) into chemical
energy. The exceptions
which do not depend on
sunlight include
hydrothermal-vent
communities and some
micro-organisms deep
below ground level. Seldom are there more than four or five trophic levels because
organisms expend energy living, moving, and in some cases generating body heat – and
transfer of energy from one trophic level to the next is unlikely to be better than 10 per cent
efficient. Given these losses in energy transfer, it is possible to feed more people if they eat
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at a low rather than high trophic level. Put crudely, a diet of grain supports a bigger
population than would be possible if it were used to feed animals for meat, eggs or milk (it
has been calculated that only about one part in 100,000 of solar energy makes it through to
a carnivore).

Ecologists have developed a number of concepts and parameters, some of which have been
adopted by those seeking to manage the environment. The most widely used are maximum
sustainable yield and carrying capacity (Box 3.1). These should be treated with caution.
Maximum sustainable yield may be correctly calculated, but if the environment changes a
reasonable resource exploitation strategy could lead to over-exploitation. Maximum
sustainable yield calculations can thus give a false sense of security.

A given ecosystem may have more

than one carrying capacity, depending
on factors such as the intensity of use
and the technology available. Some
organisms, including humans, adjust
to their environment through boom
and bust, feeding and multiplying
during good times, and in bad
suffering population decline, migrating
or hibernating; calculating carrying
capacities for such situations can be
difficult.

Biogeophysical carrying capacity may

differ from the behavioral carrying
capacity, such that a population could
be fed and otherwise sustained but
feel crowded and stressed to a
degree that limits their survival. the
more people the Earth supports, the lower the standard of living they are likely to enjoy, and
the more conflict and environmental damage are probable. However, there may be situations

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where human population increase does not exacerbate environmental degradation or lower
standards of living. With foreseeable technology, sustaining adequate standards of living and
satisfactory environmental quality probably demand that human population on the Earth be
less than today’s 6,500 million plus. The carrying capacity of an ecosystem may be stretched
by means of trade, human labor and ingenuity, technology and military power (the latter
ensures tribute from elsewhere – assuming it is available to be taken). Net primary
productivity often increases at the cost of species diversity. The timing of resource use may
be crucial: for example, rangeland might feed a certain population of livestock, provided that
grazing is restricted during a few critical weeks (at times when plants are setting seed,
becoming established or are otherwise temporarily vulnerable). If this is not done, or a
disaster like a bushfire strikes, land degradation occurs and far fewer livestock can be
supported in the future. Within even the simplest ecosystems there are complex
relationships among organisms and between organisms and environment. There are often
convoluted food webs; complex pathways along which energy (food) and perhaps pollutants
are passed; subtle interdependencies for pollination, seed dispersal and so forth.

The Ecosystem

The biosphere is composed of many interacting ecosystems (ecological systems), the

boundaries between which are often indistinct, taking the form of transition zones
(ecotones), where organisms from adjoining ecosystems may be present together. It is
possible for some organisms to be restricted to an ecotone only. Large land ecosystems or
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biomes (synonymous with biotic areas) are areas with a prevailing regional climax vegetation
and its associated animal life, in effect regional-scale ecosystems. Biomes, such as desert
biomes or grassland biomes, often mainly reflect climate, but can also be shaped by the
incidence of fire, drainage, soil characteristics, grazing, trampling and so on (Watts, 1971:
186). Ecosystems have long been recognised as environmental or landscape units (e.g. the
maquis scrubland of southern France or the taiga forests of Siberia). The ecosystem has
become the basic functional unit of ecology (Tansley, 1935; Golley, 1991). There are various
definitions, which include: ‘an energy-driven complex of a community of organisms and its
controlling environment’ (Billings, 1978); ‘a community of organisms and their physical
environment interacting as an ecological unit’ (Dickinson and Murphy, 1998); ‘an integration
of all the living and non-living factors of an environment for a defined segment of space and
time’ (Golley, 1993). According to Miller (1991: 112), ecosystems have six major features:
interdependence, diversity, resilience, adaptability, unpredictability and limits. They
also have a set of linked components, although the linkages may not be direct – a network or
web with organisms as nodes within it (Figure 3.4). Table 3.1 suggests two ways of
classifying ecosystems, by function or degree of disturbance. An ecosystem boundary may
be defined at organism, population or community level, the crucial point being that biotic
processes are sustainable within that boundary. It is also possible to have different physical
and functional boundaries to an ecosystem. No two ecosystems are exactly the same, but
one may recognize general rules and similarities.

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There are two ways of viewing ecosystems: (1) as populations – the community (biotic)
approach, in which research may be conducted by individuals; (2) as processes – the
functional approach (studying energy flows or materials transfers), best investigated by a
multidisciplinary team. Once understood, ecosystems can often be modeled, allowing
prediction of future behavior. It is possible to recognize three broad types of ecosystem: (1)
Isolated systems – boundaries recognizable and more or less closed to input and output of
materials and energy; (2) Closed systems – boundaries prevent input/output of materials, but
not energy; (3) Open systems – boundaries may be difficult

to recognize and these allow free input/output of materials and energy. Many of the Earth’s
ecosystems are type-3 and are often interdependent, which presents environmental
management with huge challenges. Alternatively, ecosystems may be classified as (1)
Natural – unaffected by humans; (2) Modified – some change due to humans; (3) Controlled
– whether by accident or design humans play a dominant role (e.g. agriculture –
agroecosystems or urban ecosystems). A naturalist might map the ecosystem of an animal,
say a bear, by reference to the resources it uses (i.e. as a function of the organism), so the
area may alter with the seasons and differ according to the age or sex of the animal. Such
an ecosystem would incorporate a number of distinct components: valley, mountain forest,
coastlands and so on, each of which could itself be recognized as an ecosystem (Gonzales,
1996).

Relationships within an ecosystem

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Ecosystem Inputs and outputs

Summary
Environmental management should consider the threat of infrequent but severe events and,
whenever possible, steer development to reduce human vulnerability, conserve biodiversity
and cultural riches, and enhance adaptability.
Environmental management must look carefully at the physical, social and economic factors
involved in each situation before drawing conclusions – false impressions are easily gained.
In recent decades there has been a spread of interdisciplinary approaches. Ecosystems are
widely used as study, planning and management units. Few ecosystems are wholly natural;
many have altered drastically and must therefore be managed to avoid degradation – nature
cannot regain control.

Activity
Based on the concepts presented in module 3, draw a concept map of the
ecosystem, and environmental science.

Lesson 4
Environmental Limits and Crises
At the end of this lesson you should be able to:
1. Understand the principles of environmental limits
2. Recognize the different crises in the environment.
3. Devise a solution to the environmental crises.

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The idea of environmental limits on the ability of the Earth's biophysical systems to cope with
and adapt to pressures from human activity, whether from demand for natural resources, the
waste products of modern economies, or from habitat modification and destruction. The
natural environment is very giving. Every day, humans take advantage of resources from
nature to meet their daily needs, including fresh air, food and clean water. When humans
take only what they need, nature replenishes these resources and life is sustainable.

However, if the natural environment is pushed beyond its limits because humans use
resources too quickly, introduce pollutants into the environment or destroy nature in a pursuit
of more economic and social prosperity, then nature has a hard time keeping pace. In this
lesson, we will take a look at a concept called 'sustainable development' and how it can only
occur within the limits of the environment.

Environmental limits can be defined as the point beyond which the environment exceeds its

ability to provide essential resources. ... These needs lead to the depletion of natural
resources, the destruction of ecosystems and an increase in pollution making it harder to
achieve environmental sustainability.

Human well-being is dependent upon renewable natural resources. Agricultural systems, for
example, depend upon plant productivity, soil, the water cycle, the nitrogen, sulfur and
phosphorus nutrient cycles and a stable climate. Renewable natural resources can be
subject to biological and physical thresholds beyond which irreversible changes in benefit
provision may occur. These are difficult to define and many are likely to be identified only
once crossed. An environmental limit is usually interpreted as the point or range of

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conditions beyond which there is a significant risk of thresholds being exceeded and
unacceptable changes occurring.

Biodiversity loss, climate change and a range of other pressures are affecting renewable
natural resources. If governments do not effectively monitor the use and degradation of
natural resource systems in national account frameworks, the probability of costs arising
from exploiting natural resources beyond environmental limits is not taken into account.
Appropriate measurement methodologies need to be developed and validated to assess the
capacity of natural resource systems to deliver benefits, such as relevant sets of indicators.
Decisions at local and regional scales need to reflect the implications and tradeoffs for
natural resource systems inherent in policy choices to determine possible consequences for
current and future wellbeing. Valuation of changes in the benefits provided by natural
resource systems are being incorporated into existing Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA)
techniques used in policy impact.

Assessment approaches. However, where there is a risk of thresholds being breached and
potentially irreversible impacts occurring, additional policy safeguards to maintain natural
resource systems within environmental limits are required. Managing ecosystems to
maximize one particular benefit, such as food provision, can result in declines in other
benefits. The evidence base is not yet sufficient to determine the most effective ways to
maintain benefit provision within environmental limits, but a range of policy responses are
seeking to optimize multiple benefit provision, including: „ agri-environment schemes „
generic measures to enhance biodiversity, which may increase the capacity of natural
resource systems to adapt to environmental change „ the use of ecological processes to
increase overall natural system resilience to address problems such as flood risk
management.

The consequences of large scale and potentially irreversible changes in benefits from
natural resource systems, such as marine fisheries, could affect ecological security to such
an extent that it is rational to minimize the risks, even if there is uncertainty as to exactly
where the limits lie. However, the policy response to environmental risks to human wellbeing
is mediated by the public response to that risk, with public acceptance affecting whether
policies responding to a risk are enacted. There are significant challenges to successfully
communicating environmental risks to the public.

An environmental limit is usually interpreted as the point or range of conditions

beyond which there is a significant risk of abrupt irreversible, or difficult to reverse,
changes to the benefits derived from natural resource systems that are judged to
have an unacceptable level of impact on human wellbeing.

„At a global level, the drivers of environmental change are continuing or increasing. Growing
demands for natural resources have impacted the complex systems of plants, animals, and
physical processes that sustain the flow of benefits from natural resource systems, which
support the conditions necessary for life. „ An insufficient diversity of organisms in
ecosystems to buffer environmental changes may result in ‘ecological surprises’ involving
unexpected, irreversible, and negative alterations of key ecological processes. However,
these shifts are difficult to predict and many such thresholds are likely to be identified only
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once breached. „ For most natural resource systems, environmental limits have not been
defined, although possible environmental limits have been suggested at the global level for
maintaining key biogeochemical processes.

Natural resources include land, water, air and associated living systems comprising the
mineral, plant and animal component of the biosphere (the part of the earth’s crust, waters
and atmosphere that supports life). These are organized into ecological systems, or
ecosystems. They influence, and in turn are influenced by, biogeochemical processes (the
chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes and reactions that govern the
composition of the natural environment) over different temporal and spatial scales that can
be used in conjunction with other types of resources (financial, manufactured and social) to
produce goods and services for human wellbeing. Natural resources are often referred to as
natural capital.

The stock of renewable natural resources should be maintained over time, for example, a
fish stock should not be harvested beyond sustainable limits or it will collapse. This report is
concerned with renewable natural resources and related ecosystem services (NRES), which
include land, water, air and associated living organisms from which goods and services
beneficial to human wellbeing are derived.

An environmental limit is regarded as the boundary beyond which exploitation of a natural

resource poses increasing risks. A range of terms has been used in relation to
environmental limits, listed in They have been more specifically defined as the ‘point or
range of conditions beyond which the benefits derived from a natural resource system are
judged unacceptable or insufficient’.

Environmental limits can be established on the basis of societal preference for the minimal
acceptable output of benefits or the level of risk of crossing a biological or physical threshold
at which unacceptable changes may occur.

Environmental limits relate to the delivery of benefits, rather than the state or extent of any
given ecosystem. For example, climate change may result in lower mean river flows in
summer, leading to less dilution of treated effluent from sewage plants. This in turn can
result in hypernutrification of watercourses (eutrophication), and the state of the watercourse
deteriorating to the extent that the disposal of waste benefits are reduced to unacceptable
levels. Once this water quality threshold is reached, the ability of the system to deliver other
benefits, such as angling or recreational activities, may also not fall below acceptable levels.

The environmental limit could be set in relation to the level of river flow, the concentration of
sewage effluent or the impacts on angling or other recreational benefits. Although biological
and physical thresholds are objectively based on available evidence , risk based limits reflect
political considerations. There is scientific uncertainty about thresholds, and the
consequence of exceeding them. This may result in a lack of political consensus about
where environmental limits should be set.

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Similarly, targets and indicators are used to monitor and set progress towards environmental
standards . If ecological thresholds are breached, impacts on human wellbeing could form
the basis of legal action. However, there is a lack of clarity in the relationship between limits
and existing environmental standards, targets and indicators . This is a reflection of
uncertainties about where the ecological thresholds for many natural resource systems lie,
and what would be the consequence of exceedance for human wellbeing.

The term ‘environmental limits’ has been used in a number of different contexts, most
commonly in terms of the consumption of products and services and the ability of natural
resource systems to sustain this), and in the management of impacts on natural resource
systems and ecosystem services„

 The former of these is usually referred to as ‘sustainable consumption and

production’. The main focus of this policy area is to promote better products and
services, which have lower environmental impacts from the use of energy, resources,
or hazardous substances through cleaner, more efficient, production processes and

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reducing impacts throughout the rest of the lifecycle of a product or services. The aim
of these policies is to ‘decouple’ economic growth from environmental impacts. „

 The latter policy area is usually referred to as the ‘ecosystem approach’ – “a strategy
for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes
conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way”.20 The ecosystem approach
provides a framework for considering impacts on natural resource systems as a
whole and maintaining options for future uses. In the context of regulatory decision
making, this report mainly considers how the concept of environmental limits could
be applied through the ecosystem approach to the delivery of benefits derived from
particular ecosystem services.

The ecosystem approach includes consideration of the ecological thresholds at which

changes occur, as well as societal trade-offs between different benefits. Ecological
thresholds exist at a range of scales from the global to the national, and local. Although the
concept of environmental limits tends to place emphasis on thresholds, the capacity of
natural resource systems to recover from impacts or pressure is also integral. Some natural
resource systems become more vulnerable to irreversible changes if the resilience of the
system is reduced by a plurality of pressures.

Environment and Development Goals

Development Goal of ‘ensuring environmental sustainability’ that has a number of targets

against which progress is being measured, including: „

target 7A: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and
programmes; reverse loss of environmental resources; „

target 7B: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of
loss as reflected in: proportion of land area covered by forest; CO2 emissions, total, per
capita; consumption of ozone-depleting substances; proportion of fish stocks within safe
biological limits; proportion of total water resources used; proportion of terrestrial and marine
areas protected and proportion of species threatened with extinction.

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The Strategic Plan of the convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) or the "Aichi Target" was
adopted at Nagoya in October 2010. The target includes a commitment to halve, and where
feasible, bring close to zero, the loss of natural habitats and also to protect 17% of terrestrial
and inland water areas and 10% of marine areas. Also included are measures to control
invasive species and a protocol on access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable
sharing of benefits arising from their utilization

Further Reading:

https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/post/POSTLon
gReport_370-Environmental-Limits.pdf

ACTIVITY:

Go further with your readings, critique the information regarding the current environmental
crisis. From the contemporary issues regarding the environment. Choose three
environmental crises and create a case study digest. Include all the discussions and
information and write a very comprehensive expository essay anchoring and relating on this
question:

Why there is a need to respect nature and its limits?

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