Environment Management Project Report On NATURAL RESOURCES AND THEIR CONSERVATION - LAND

Prepared by the students of METs INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, MUMBAI COURSE: MMS (Semester 4)

Prepared By: 1. Ninad Gaikwad 2. Nirav Gala 3. Ronak Gala 4. Anoop Gawali : : : : Roll No. 25 Roll No. 26 Roll No. 27 Roll No. 28

NATURAL RESOURCES AND THEIR CONSERVATION LAND Table of Contents

1. Introduction 2. Why conserve Land. 3. Causes of Land degradation. 4. How to conserve land.

Ninad Gaikwad (25), Nirav Gala (26), Ronak Gala (27), Anoop Gawali (28) MMS DIV A

NATURAL RESOURCES AND THEIR CONSERVATION LAND INTRODUCTION Land is an essential natural resource, both for the survival and prosperity of humanity, and for the maintenance of all terrestrial ecosystems. Over millennia, people have become progressively more expert in exploiting land resources for their own ends. The limits on these resources are finite while human demands on them are not. Increased demand, or pressure on land resources, shows up as declining crop production, degradation of land quality and quantity, and competition for land. Attention should now be focused on the role of humankind as stewards rather than exploiters, charged with the responsibility of safeguarding the rights of unborn generations and of conserving land as the basis of the global ecosystem. Why Conserve Land? Currently, land as a natural resource is clearly under stress; 16 percent of arable land is degraded and the percentage is increasing. The primary reason for this situation is the increasing demands placed on land by the unprecedented rate of population growth and the effects it induces. Externalities related to global change are also becoming a constraint to sustainable land management. Land is a precious resource. 3/4th of the Earths surface is water and just 1/4th is land. Except for the small amount added when volcanoes erupt, new land cannot be created. All the people on Earth must share this limited amount Land supports life. Land that is undeveloped keeps air and water clean for living things. That land, with its grasses and forests and rocky hillsides, filters toxins, pollution, and foreign matter from those elements necessary for life. Land supports livelihoods. In particular, the scenic beauty of the Thousand Islands attracts people who want to live here, and to visit here. Those people build houses, buy goods & services, rent hotel rooms and generally support the economy of the region. Land supports wildlife. Many species are experiencing a loss of habitat because of increased development or changes in agricultural practices. Conserving land in its natural state protects wildlife habitats and species populations. Land provides recreation. The modern world is full of stresses and demands on our time. We have to carve out opportunities to be with family, to have fun and to achieve balance in our daily lives. The recreational opportunities provided by a natural landscape hiking and biking, swimming and kayaking are essential to a healthy lifestyle.

Ninad Gaikwad (25), Nirav Gala (26), Ronak Gala (27), Anoop Gawali (28) MMS DIV A

NATURAL RESOURCES AND THEIR CONSERVATION LAND CAUSES OF LAND DEGRADATION MINING Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, or reef, which forms the mineralized package of economic interest to the miner. To gain access to the mineralised package within an area it is often necessary to mine through or to remove waste material which is not of immediate interest to the miner. The total movement of ore and waste constitute the mining process. Often more waste than ore is mined during the life of a mine, depending on the nature and location of the ore body. Waste removal and placement is a major cost to the mining operator, so detailed characterization of the waste material forms an essential part of the geological exploration programme for a mining operation. The waste is classified as either sterile or mineralised, with acid generating potential, and the movement and storage of this material forms a major part of the mine planning process. When the mineralised package is determined by an economic cut-off, the near-grade mineralised waste is usually dumped separately with view to later treatment should market conditions change and it becomes economic viable. Civil engineering design parameters are used in the design of the waste dumps, and special conditions apply to high-rainfall areas and to seismically active areas. Waste dump designs must meet all regulatory requirements of the country in whose jurisdiction the mine is located. It is also common practice to rehabilitate dumps to an internationally acceptable standard, which in some cases means that higher standards than the local regulatory standard are applied. Ores recovered by mining include metals, coal and oil shale, gemstones, limestone, and dimension stone, rock salt and potash, gravel, and clay. Mining is required to obtain any material that cannot be grown through agricultural processes, or created artificially in a laboratory or factory. Mining in a wider sense includes extraction of any non-renewable resource such as petroleum, natural gas, or even water. Mining of stone and metal has been done since pre-historic times. Modern mining processes involve prospecting for ore bodies, analysis of the profit potential of a proposed mine, extraction of the desired materials, and final reclamation of the land after the mine is closed. The nature of mining processes creates a potential negative impact on the environment both during the mining operations and for years after the mine is closed. This impact has led to most of the world's nations adopting regulations to moderate the negative effects of mining operations. Safety has long been a concern as well, and modern practices have improved safety in mines significantly.

DEFORESTATION Deforestation, clearance or clearing is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a non-forest use.[1] Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use.

Ninad Gaikwad (25), Nirav Gala (26), Ronak Gala (27), Anoop Gawali (28) MMS DIV A

NATURAL RESOURCES AND THEIR CONSERVATION LAND About half of the world's original forests had been destroyed by 2011, the majority during the previous 50 years. Since 1990 half of the world's rain forests have been destroyed. More than half of the animal and plant species in the world live in tropical forests. The term deforestation is often misused to describe any activity where all trees in an area are removed. However in temperate climates, the removal of all trees in an area in conformance with sustainable forestry practicesis correctly described as regeneration harvest. In temperate climates, natural regeneration of forest stands often will not occur in the absence of disturbance, whether natural or anthropogenic. Furthermore, biodiversity after regeneration harvest often mimics that found after natural disturbance, including biodiversity loss after naturally occurring rainforest destruction. Deforestation occurs for many reasons: trees are cut down to be used or sold as fuel (sometimes in the form of charcoal) or timber, while cleared land is used as pasture for livestock, plantations of commodities and settlements. The removal of trees without sufficient reforestation has resulted in damage to habitat, biodiversity loss and aridity. It has adverse impacts on bio-sequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Deforestation has also been used in war to deprive an enemy of cover for its forces and also vital resources. A modern example of this was the use of Agent Orange by the United States military in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Deforested regions typically incur significant adverse soil erosion and frequently degrade into wasteland. Disregard or ignorance of intrinsic value, lack of ascribed value, lax forest management and deficient environmental laws are some of the factors that allow deforestation to occur on a large scale. In many countries, deforestation, both naturally occurring and human induced, is an ongoing issue. Deforestation causes extinction, changes to climatic conditions, desertification, and displacement of populations as observed by current conditions and in the past through the fossil record OVERGRAZING Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, or by overpopulations of native or non-native wild animals. Overgrazing reduces the usefulness, productivity, and biodiversity of the land and is one cause of desertification and erosion. Overgrazing is also seen as a cause of the spread of invasive species of non-native plants and of weeds. Overgrazing is used as the canonical example of the Tragedy of the commons.[1] Sustainable grassland production is based on grass and grassland management, land management, animal management, and livestock marketing. Grazing management, with sustainable agriculture practices, is the foundation of grassland-based livestock production since it affects both animal and plant health and productivity. OVER IRRIGATION Over irrigation because of poor distribution uniformity or management wastes water, chemicals, and may lead to water pollution. Deep drainage (from over-irrigation) may result in rising water tables which in some instances will lead to problems of irrigation salinity requiring water table control by some form of subsurface land drainage Ninad Gaikwad (25), Nirav Gala (26), Ronak Gala (27), Anoop Gawali (28) MMS DIV A

NATURAL RESOURCES AND THEIR CONSERVATION LAND HOW TO CONSERVE LAND AFFORESTATION / REFORESTATION Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no forest. Reforestation is the reestablishment of forest cover, either naturally (by natural seeding, coppice, or root suckers) or artificially (by direct seeding or planting). Many governments and nongovernmental organizations directly engage in programs of afforestation to create forests, increase carbon capture and sequestration, and help to anthropogenically improve biodiversity. It helps in conserving land by preventing soil erosion caused by floods. An open land without any forest will result into soil erosion through wind. Such open land has high chances of becoming arid land in few years down the line. Hence forests act as a shelter belts of plants for land conservation. CONTROLLING OVERGRAZING As mentioned above overgrazing reduces the usefulness, productivity, and biodiversity of the land and is one cause of desertification and erosion. One indicator of overgrazing is that the animals run short of pasture. In such cases of overgrazing, soil may be visible between plants in the stand, allowing erosion to occur, though in many circumstances overgrazed pastures have a greater sward cover than sustainably grazed pastures. Overgrazed plants do not have enough time to grow to the proper height between grazing events. The animals are turned into a paddock before the plants have restored carbohydrate reserves and grown back roots lost after the last defoliation. The result is the same as under continuous grazing: in some parts of the United States tall-growing species die and short-growing species that are more subject to drought injury predominate the pasture, while in most other parts of the world tall, drought tolerant, unpalatable species such as Imperata or Aristida come to dominate. Research shows when up to 50% of a plant's leaf volume is removed, root growth stoppage is about 2-4%. If 60% of the leaf volume is removed, root growth stoppage escalates to about 50%. At 80% removal, the roots have no regrowth. Hence an effective way to prevent overgrazing is to have rotational grazing wherein land can be divided in two or more parts and cattle can be allowed to graze one part of land for certain period of time after that the land can be freed from cattle for certain period to allow plants to re-grow. The cattle then can be taken to other parts of land for grazing. STABILISING SAND DUNES New Zealand is a country with a very long coast line that consists of around 1090 km of sand dunes. From the early 1900s to the early 2000s the area of sand dunes has declined by about 70% from 129,000 ha to 39,000 ha. This decline has been mainly due to erosion caused by the depletion of vegetation cover in order to convert sand dunes to land for forestry, farming and urban areas. Loss in vegetation cover exposes sand to the action of wind and leaves sand dunes vulnerable to increased erosion as it is vegetation that binds sand together. The loss of vegetation causes sand to move inland which is a process known as sand encroachment, this process can having damaging effects on inland properties and leaves properties vulnerable to future coastal hazards for example storm surge.

Ninad Gaikwad (25), Nirav Gala (26), Ronak Gala (27), Anoop Gawali (28) MMS DIV A

NATURAL RESOURCES AND THEIR CONSERVATION LAND Sand dunes are common features of shoreline and desert environments. Dunes provide habitat for highly specialized plants and animals, including rare and endangered species. They can protect beaches from erosion and recruit sand to eroded beaches. Dunes are threatened by human activity, both intentional and unintentional. Countries such as the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Netherlands, operate significant dune protection programs. Stabilizing dunes involves multiple actions. Planting vegetation reduces the impact of wind and water. Fences catch sand and other material. Footpaths protect dunes from damage from foot traffic CONTROLLING MINING ACTIVITIES As mentioned above extensive mining activities are a threat to land degradation. Appropriate laws and regulations should be made to control the mining areas and to prevent large scale mining which can have severe negative impact on environment. USING RENEWABLE RESOURCES Use of renewable resources should be encouraged and investments in developing technology to have a optimum usage of such resources should be done. At present coal mining is majorly done for power generation. If renewable resources like wind or solar is used then demand for coal can be substantially be reduced.

PROPER DISPOSAL AND TREATMENT OF INDUSTRIAL WASTE Landfill Disposal of waste in a landfill involves burying the waste, and this remains a common practice in most countries. Landfills were often established in abandoned or unused quarries, mining voids or borrow pits. A properly designed and well-managed landfill can be a hygienic and relatively inexpensive method of disposing of waste materials. Design characteristics of a modern landfill include methods to contain leachate such as clay or plastic lining material. Deposited waste is normally compacted to increase its density and stability, and covered to prevent attracting vermin (such as mice or rats). Many landfills also have landfill gas extraction systems installed to extract the landfill gas. Gas is pumped out of the landfill using perforated pipes and flared off or burnt in a gas engine to generate electricity. Incineration Incineration is a disposal method in which solid organic wastes are subjected to combustion so as to convert them into residue and gaseous products. This method is useful for disposal of residue of both solid waste management and solid residue from waste water management. This process reduces the volumes of solid waste to 20 to 30 percent of the original volume. Incineration and other high temperature waste treatment systems are sometimes described as "thermal treatment". Incinerators convert waste materials into heat, gas, steam and ash. Recycling Recycling is a resource recovery practice that refers to the collection and reuse of waste materials such as empty beverage containers. The materials from which the items are made can be reprocessed into new products. Ninad Gaikwad (25), Nirav Gala (26), Ronak Gala (27), Anoop Gawali (28) MMS DIV A

NATURAL RESOURCES AND THEIR CONSERVATION LAND MANAGEMENT OF WASTE LAND Wastelands are the degraded and unutilized lands. Poor land practices have led to malnutrition and decline in production capacity of the soil. It is estimated that in wastelands the biomass production is less than 20% of its overall potential. It includes areas affected by water logging, ravine, sheet and gully erosion, riverine lands, shifting cultivation, salinity and alkalinity, shifting and sand dunes, wind erosion, extreme moisture deficiency, coastal sand dunes etc. These degraded lands are ecologically unstable with almost complete loss of top soil and are unsuitable for cultivation due to decline in their quality and productivity. Agriculture is the mainstay of Indias economy. Land and Water therefore, are of critical importance. Vast tracts of the land are, however, degraded but can be brought under plough with some effort. Such lands are known as Wastelands. The productivity of these lands is very low and people owning these lands are poor and are therefore forced to earn a living from wage employment. Redressing these lands is regarded as a powerful tool of attacking the issues of poverty and backwardness. Government of India have therefore, launched the Integrated Wastelands Development Programme (IWDP) throughout the country so as to improve the productivity of these lands and there by improve the living standards of the rural poor who own these lands. The IWDP is a 100% centrally sponsored scheme. The development of wastelands is taken up on watershed basis. Watershed is a geographical unit where rain falling in the area drains through a common point. The objective of the programme is to arrest rainwater runoff and conserve it in situ where it falls. This would in turn lead to control of soil erosion which is usually caused by rainwater run-off. Water and soil conservation also leads to improved green cover in the project areas leading to improved productivity of land. Under this programme, Wastelands are sought to be developed in an integrated manner based on village micro watershed plans. These plans are prepared after taking into consideration the land capability and site conditions and in consultation with the local people in regard to their needs. The watershed projects are executed by the local people using low cost technologies locally available. DRDA assigns project areas to Project implementing Agencies which may be either from Government Sector including Panchayati Raj Institutions or the non- Government Sector. The Project Implementing Agency facilitates the actual implementation of the projects by the watershed communities through Watershed Associations. Besides, planning and execution of the watershed projects, the local people are also responsible to maintain and manage these projects through a special provision in the form of Watershed Development Fund created through peoples contributions. The watershed activities under the Integrated Wasteland Development Programme are expected to result in improved productivity of wastelands, improved availability of fuel wood and fodder, increased water availability, reduction in migration from rural areas and overall improvement in the economic status of the rural people.

Ninad Gaikwad (25), Nirav Gala (26), Ronak Gala (27), Anoop Gawali (28) MMS DIV A