Environmental Science

and Engineering-GE 2021

Unit-1
Environment, Ecosystem
and Biodiversity.

Dr. V.Nagarajan

UNIT-I
Definition, scope and importance of Risk and hazards; Chemical hazards,
Physical hazards, Biological hazards in the environment concept of an
ecosystem structure and function of an ecosystem producers,
consumers and decomposers- Oxygen cycle and Nitrogen cycle energy
flow in the ecosystem ecological succession processes Introduction,
types, characteristic features, structure and function of the (a) forest
ecosystem (b) grassland ecosystem (c) desert ecosystem (d) aquatic
ecosystems

(ponds,

streams,

lakes,

rivers,

oceans,

estuaries)

Introduction to biodiversity definition: genetic, species and ecosystem

diversity biogeographical classification of India value of biodiversity:
consumptive use, productive use, social, ethical, aesthetic and option
values Biodiversity at global, national and local levels India as a
mega-diversity nation hot-spots of biodiversity threats to biodiversity:
habitat loss, poaching of wildlife, man-wildlife conflicts endangered and
endemic species of India conservation of biodiversity: In-situ and ex-situ

USA former President Herbert Hoover, who was an engineer before he

became a politician, said:
o The great liability of the engineer compared to men of other
professionsis that his works are out in the open where all can
see them. His acts ..step by step are in hard substances.
o He cannot bury his mistakes in the grave like the DOCTORS.
(Tuticorin incident)
o He cannot argue them into thin air..or blame the judge..like
the LAWYERS.
o He cannot, like the ARCHITECT, cover his figures with trees and
vines. (TN- Assembly Building)
o He cannot, like the politicians, screen his shortcomings by
blaming his opponents.and hope the people will forget.
o The ENGINEER simply cannot deny he did it.
If his works do not workhe is damned.

Civil Engineering is a Renaissance field that requires the

knowledge of many disciplines.

Quotes

A good scientist is a person with original

ideas. A good engineer is a person who
makes a design that works with as few
original ideas as possible . Freeman Dyson
The joy of engineering is to find a straight
line on a double logarithmic diagram.
Thomas Koenig
One has to watch out for engineers they
begin with the sewing machine and end up
with the atomic bomb. Marcel Pagnol
Nothing can be of great worth or holy which
is the work of builders and mechanics.
Zeno, Stoic Philosopher.

History of Engineering

Military Engineering (making

catapults,
war and building

towers, and other instruments used for

fortifications for defense, making bridges, canals

etc.,)

Engineering
Non-Military Engineering
(included all
engineering).

Civil Engineering

engineers that did not practice military

18th century- the term came into use to

describe engineering work that was performed by civilians for
nonmilitary purposes.
First Civil Engineer was an Englishman, John Smeaton in 1761.
Civil Engineers have saved more lives than all the doctors in
history - development of clean water and sanitation systems.
First college in the U.S that included Civil Engineering as a
separate discipline was Norwich University established in the year
1819.
ASCE is the first national engineering society in U.S and was

Environment
Definition, Scope and Importance of Environment- Need for
Public awareness.

Environment - Environner to encircle or surround.

Literary environment means the surrounding external
conditions influencing development or growth of people,
animal or plants; living or working conditions etc.
Douglas and Holland: The term environment is used to
describe, in the aggregate, all the external forces,
influences and conditions, which affect the life, nature,
behaviour and the growth, development and maturity of
living organisms.
Environment (Protection) Act,1986 - Environment is the
sum total of water, air and land, inter-relationships among
themselves and also with human beings, other living
organisms and property.

Environment
Definition, Scope and Importance of Environment- Need for
Public awareness.

Environment- A Multidisciplinary subject where different

aspects are dealt with holistic approach. The study involves
Life Science- to under stand biotic components and its interactions
Basic concepts of P,C, Geology,Atmospheric science,Geography and
Oceanography- to understand the structure of abiotic components and
energy transfer and flow
Maths, Statistics, CSE- tools in mathematical modeling and management.
Education, Economics,Sociology and Mass communication- provides input
to socio-economic aspects for various developmental activities.
Synthesis of EE,CE, Hyd, ChE- provides technological solutions for
treatment and disposal of wastes.
Laws- tool for regulation, enforcement and thereby protection of
Environment.

Objectives of Environmental Studies

As per UNESCO(1971), Objectives of ES

are
Creating the awareness
Imparting basic knowledge
Developing an attitude
Motivating for public participation for protection
Acquiring skills
Striving to attain harmony with nature.

Scope of Environment.

Environmental science can be specifically applied in the following

spheres:

Ecosystem Structure and Function- study of biotic and abiotic

system.

Natural Resource Conservation (forests,water etc,.)

Environmental Pollution Control

Environmental management

Scope of environmental studies in industry.

Research and development

Social Development (NGO's -public awareness)

Scope of The Environmental Studies:

The

scope

of

the

environmental

studies

are

summarised

as:

-To study the interrelationship between biotic and abiotic

components.
-To carry out the impact analysis and environmental audit in
order to minimise the environmental problems.
-Reduce the pollution.
-Managing the unpredictable disaster.
-To create awareness to the public.

Risk and Hazard

Risk - in terms of a hazard, chance, bad
consequences, loss, etc., exposure to
mischance.
Risk - in terms of to expose to chance of injury
or loss, venture on, accept the chance of.
Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology
and in Environmental Engineering,
Hazard is the potential to cause harm;
Risk on the other hand is the likelihood of
harm

Physical Hazards

Need for Public awareness.

o Due to many discoveries and inventions from 16th century
onwards, man has over exploited the natural resource which
leads to many environmental problems such as
o acid rain,
o ozone layer depletion,
o green house effect,
o land slides,
o cancer and other health problems.
o Lack of awareness and less number of people participation
leads to poor pollution management which are the major
reasons for climate instability and unhealthy ecosystem.
o Hence, it is necessary to create awareness to the public about
environmental problems and to protect the environment
through implementing proper regulations.

o In order to protect the environment from the pollution, Supreme

court has initiated the environmental awareness to the public
through government and non governmental agencies.
o And it is important duty of us to cooperate with government from
our side and work for the protection of environment.
o The Active co-operation of every one, at every level of social
organizations, scientist- educationalists, social workers, politicians,
administrators and public is needed for issues concerning
environment. Individuals collectively make a society or a state.
o Movements, which begin at gram root levels, effects the ideologies
and policies of a country or the nation as a whole more effectively
than the policies introduced from top to downwards.

Forest

Resources.

o Forest is a highly complex natural resource.

o It is a constantly changing environment made up of a living and
non living things.
Living matters- all kinds of plants majorly trees, wildlife and
microscopic soil organisms
Non living water, nutrients, rocks, sunlight and air.

o Key benefits of Forests are:

o
o
o
o
o
o

Provides clean water.

Provides clean air.
Provides home to unique plants and animals.
Source of economic growth
Provides recreational facilities.
Ecological benefits.

o Deforestation ( loss of forest cover- land that is permanently

converted into farm land, lakes, houses etc,.)
o FAO defines deforestation as change of forest with depletion of tree
crown cover more than 90%.
o Less than 90% depletion of tree crown cover is considered as forest
degradation. (Logging).
o Forest degradation rate is comparatively higher than deforestation.

Causes of Deforestation
o Agriculture. (grazing cattle, planting crops etc,.)
Central America 40% of rainforests cleared for cattle pasture
o Commercial Logging.( Timber and wood pulp)
o The cash crop economy ( Malaysia- rubber and oil palm
plantations)
o Mining and Dams
Brazil- The Grand Carajas Project- Mining-9,00,000 sq.km and
affected 23 tribal groups.
Narmadha Valley Project- India. Dam and Hydro power project.

Adverse effects of Deforestation.

o Social and Economic effects

Insecure future to the forest workers.

Re-plantation may lead to loss of quality.
Loss of future market for ecotourism.
Disappearance of aesthetic, recreational and cultural rewards occur.
Social and economic life threat for tribal groups.

Environmental effects
Destruction of Biodiversity ( World Wildlife Fund(WWF) definition:
The wealth of life on earth, the millions of plants, animals and
microorganisms, the genes they contain and the intricate ecosystem they
build into the living environment.)- Deforestation effects extinction of
plants and animals and thus destructs the biodiversity.
Desiccation of previously moist soil.- moist soil becomes dry and
crack.
Moist humid region changes to desert.
No recycling of water.
Less Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogen exchange.
More desertification UNEP report - Sahara Desert expanded
100sq.km southward between 1958 and 1975.
Soil Erosion
Case Study-( Brazil- Gold prospectors)

Solutions to the problems of

Deforestation.
o Reduce the consumption of forest and related products.
o Consciously

boycott

products

of

companies

involved

in

deforestation.
o Seek changes in Forest Policies.
o Environmental conservation may be given importance in school
education.

Reduce

Reuse

Recycle 3 Rs

Though sound and appear similar, they are distinct elements in the language of
resource conservation.
Reduce:
o Lowering consumption is the key to the concept of reducing.
o Lowering or eradicating from the start.
o Life style- use of public transport, carpooling, walking etc,.
o Textile- MLR
Reuse:
o Reuse of materials and items that have reusable qualities. (paper plates
cutlery)
An old shirt may become a car rag.
o Though reuse is different from reducing use, when an item is reused,
consumption is reduced as a by-product.
o Tannery- Leather meal, glue etc,.
Recycle:
o refers to the process in which an item or its components are used to create
something new.
o It is technically a form of reusing, but it refers more specifically to items
that are discarded and broken down into their raw materials.
o Plastic bottles are recycled and made into carpet, pathways and benches.
Glass and aluminum are other commonly recycled materials.
o e-waste.

Impacts:

Timber Extraction

o Fragmentation in remaining forest, damage to the valuable species

and also decrease in biodiversity.
o Composition of bird and mammal communities is significantly
modified.
o Number of wildlife species is eliminated.
o Heavy machinery can compact the soil and destroy vegetation.
o High volume harvesting contribute to erosion and reduce species
diversity and regenerative capacity.
o In the event of fire, excess organic debris can make forest more
vulnerable to destruction in the event of fire.
UNFAO guidelines addresses methods to reduce env.impacts in
forestry operations.
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) provides framework for
organizations certifying sustainable logging operations.

Classifications of Timber Extraction

o Clear felling -

complete destruction of the native forest.

o Selective logging Large individuals of a few commercially

marketable species are selectively harvested.
o Mechanized logging use of heavy machinery in clear felling and
also in selective logging.
o Hand- logging adopted in seasonally flooded and permanently
water logged areas for clear felling and selective logging.
o Reduce- Impact logging
UNFAO guidelines provides basis for reduced-impact
logging practices.
Environmental damage can be minimized through selection
of site-sensitive harvesting techniques.

Case study- Chipko Movement

Sunderlal Baghuguna- leader - active in Bhageerathi valley

People movement in North India to prevent commercial timber
harvesting.
Unique strategy

is recognizing trees as valuable and this

movement followers are literally known as tree huggers.

Man is the butcher of earth.
Stop construction of dam at Tehri- due to uproot of trees and heavy
flood threat.

Mining

It is act of extracting ore, coal etc., from the Earth.

Exploratory Phase- Less impact: Operational phase- More impact.
Impacts of Mining on Forests and Environment:
Quantum of waste generated is more compared to other natural
extraction processes (Open-pit Mining:)
Contact of water with this waste leads to generation of
contaminated fluids of acidic/alkaline/heavy metal conc. etc,.
(pollution of river, soil and groundwater.
Aid mine drainage (sulphide content more in the waste). This
gets aggravated when the rainfall and temperature are high.
Erosion and sedimentation present.
Damage to forest cover by mining is less compared with logging.
Dust generation- air pollution, surface water pollution, health
problems etc,.
Noise pollution
Disruption to aquatic habitats.

Social Damages of Mining

Appropriation of the land belonging to the local communities.
Alteration of social relationships
Destruction of forms of community subsistence and life.
Social disintegration.
Radical and abrupt changes in regional cultures.
Displacement of other present and/or future local economic activities.

Case Study: Bougainville Copper Mine.

- It is an Island of extent 10000 sq.km. (nearby to Soloman Island)- Colonial RuleBritish/Germany/Australia.
- As a UN trusteeship, it unitedgerman and British territiories of Papua and New
Guinea.
- Then become Pap New Guinea (PNG) and obtained independence.
- Copper mine export accounted for 40% and 17-20% of government revenue.
-Till 1972 production of copper ore from mine was carried out.
-Environmental damage-copper tailings dumped into the Jaba river.
-Compensation was meagre and lead to public agitation like civil war.
-Bougainville conflict affects PNG relation with its neighbors.
-On May,17,1990, Bo.Interim Governemnt declared independence from PNG.

Dams
Impounding of water in small dams.
Development of turbines leads to hydropower and large dams( More than
15m, as per International Commission on Large Dams.)

Purposes of Dam:
Irrigation( 48%)

for domestic and industrial supply(15%).

Generation of Electricity.( 20 % -worldwide and in Europe-40%)

Flood control( 8%)

Recreation (4%)
Inland Navigation and fish Farming (lesser degree)

Benefits of Dam
Problems with Dams.( economic returns, ecology, loss of aquatic
biodiversity, waterlogging and salinity factor)