Sustainable Management of Natural
Resources
Introduction
Pollution in Ganga
The river Ganga is used as a sewage dump for more than 100 cities stretching across
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.
Dumping of untreated sewage, excreta, and chemicals from industries increases the
toxicity of the water.
This makes it inhabitable for the flora and fauna in the river system.
In 1985 the GAP (Ganga Action Plan) project was initialised to curb the poor quality of
the water of river Ganges.
Reduce, recycle and reuse
The 3 R's to save the environment can be performed by each individual in our society:
Reduce: Reducing our usage and wasteful habits. Eg. not wasting food, turning off the
switches to save electricity, repairing leaky taps, reducing the amount of water used
for bathing etc.
Reuse: Using things again and again instead of discarding them. For example, reusing
plastic utensils and bottles. Many things cannot be recycled or require a lot of energy,
instead, we can utilize them for other purposes.
Recycle: Collecting discarded plastic, paper, glass or metal objects to manufacture
different products instead of synthesizing them from scratch. Must have a mechanism
to segregate and dispose of each type of waste separately.
Why Do We Need to Manage Our Resources?
Need to manage natural resources
Due to the ever-increasing population and rising demands of changing lifestyles,
natural resources are being depleted at an alarming rate. To ensure sustainable,
equitable distribution of resources and reduction of damage to the environment,
management of resources must be an integral part of our society.
We must ensure judicious use of our natural resources as it is not unlimited and
management of such requires long-term planning in order to last generations.
Increase in demand for natural resources
Increasing population is increasing demand for more resources that are getting
depleted at an exponential rate.
, Changing lifestyles and advancements in technology is compelling industries to
exploit our natural reserves to meet the demands.
Forests and Wildlife
Forests and wildlife
Forests are termed as biodiversity hotspots.
Biodiversity is the variety and range of plant and animal life in a particular habitat.
Loss of biodiversity may result in loss of ecological balance and damage to the
ecosystem.
Stakeholders of forest
When we consider conservation of forests we must consider the following stakeholders:
People who habituate around forests and are dependent on forest produce.
Forest Department of the Government that own the land and resources.
Industrialists: who use the forest to produce certain products e.g tendu leaves
for bidis and paper mills.
Conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts who want to conserve nature in its pristine
form.
Monoculture
Monoculture is the cultivation of a single crop in a given area.
Excessive monoculture destroys the biodiversity of the area.
Various needs of the people local to forest areas are neglected such as leaves for
fodder, herbs, and fruits for consumption.
Industrialist's mentality and influence
Industrialists consider forest as a source of raw materials.
Industries have more political power than the locals and only bother about meeting
their demands. They do not care about sustainability and will move on from one
habitat to another in search of raw materials.
People intervention in forests
Human intervention is a necessity in the management of forest resources and
landscapes.
Resources must be utilised to ensure development while preserving the environment.
Resources
Introduction
Pollution in Ganga
The river Ganga is used as a sewage dump for more than 100 cities stretching across
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.
Dumping of untreated sewage, excreta, and chemicals from industries increases the
toxicity of the water.
This makes it inhabitable for the flora and fauna in the river system.
In 1985 the GAP (Ganga Action Plan) project was initialised to curb the poor quality of
the water of river Ganges.
Reduce, recycle and reuse
The 3 R's to save the environment can be performed by each individual in our society:
Reduce: Reducing our usage and wasteful habits. Eg. not wasting food, turning off the
switches to save electricity, repairing leaky taps, reducing the amount of water used
for bathing etc.
Reuse: Using things again and again instead of discarding them. For example, reusing
plastic utensils and bottles. Many things cannot be recycled or require a lot of energy,
instead, we can utilize them for other purposes.
Recycle: Collecting discarded plastic, paper, glass or metal objects to manufacture
different products instead of synthesizing them from scratch. Must have a mechanism
to segregate and dispose of each type of waste separately.
Why Do We Need to Manage Our Resources?
Need to manage natural resources
Due to the ever-increasing population and rising demands of changing lifestyles,
natural resources are being depleted at an alarming rate. To ensure sustainable,
equitable distribution of resources and reduction of damage to the environment,
management of resources must be an integral part of our society.
We must ensure judicious use of our natural resources as it is not unlimited and
management of such requires long-term planning in order to last generations.
Increase in demand for natural resources
Increasing population is increasing demand for more resources that are getting
depleted at an exponential rate.
, Changing lifestyles and advancements in technology is compelling industries to
exploit our natural reserves to meet the demands.
Forests and Wildlife
Forests and wildlife
Forests are termed as biodiversity hotspots.
Biodiversity is the variety and range of plant and animal life in a particular habitat.
Loss of biodiversity may result in loss of ecological balance and damage to the
ecosystem.
Stakeholders of forest
When we consider conservation of forests we must consider the following stakeholders:
People who habituate around forests and are dependent on forest produce.
Forest Department of the Government that own the land and resources.
Industrialists: who use the forest to produce certain products e.g tendu leaves
for bidis and paper mills.
Conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts who want to conserve nature in its pristine
form.
Monoculture
Monoculture is the cultivation of a single crop in a given area.
Excessive monoculture destroys the biodiversity of the area.
Various needs of the people local to forest areas are neglected such as leaves for
fodder, herbs, and fruits for consumption.
Industrialist's mentality and influence
Industrialists consider forest as a source of raw materials.
Industries have more political power than the locals and only bother about meeting
their demands. They do not care about sustainability and will move on from one
habitat to another in search of raw materials.
People intervention in forests
Human intervention is a necessity in the management of forest resources and
landscapes.
Resources must be utilised to ensure development while preserving the environment.
