Ecosystem Environmental Assessment

A number of environmental problems are continuing as a major part of our concern. Habitat destruction and fragmentation, biodiversity loss, stratospheric ozone depletion, global climate change, herbicides, pesticides, pollution of surface- and ground-water, acid deposition, oil spills, and thermal pollution are direct environmental problems. Human population growth, unsustainable consumerism, urbanization, international conflicts, and inequities in the distribution of wealth are indirect environmental problems. All such problems are presently being viewed in a totality, to ameliorate the said problems, and to ensure the future of life on earth. Expansion of chemical industries, during and after World War II, has aggravated such problems. “Silent Spring” written by Rachel Carson awakened about pollution threats to living species. Environmentalism has become accepted in the public Agenda since the first National Earth Day in 1970. The 1970s were the decade of environment.Between the 1980s and 1990s, environmental issues were pushed into the political background, and now coming to the forefront as human abuse of the earth is continuing. Emphasis on preventive measures rather than curative measures on environmental problems is believed to contribute a lot.

Diversity in living forms occurs due to changes in their genetic make up, inheritance of changes, and operation of natural selection. Interaction between environment, genetic variation, and natural selection leads to evolution. Origin of new species is the result of evolution. Existing biodiversity is the result of evolution, and extinction. Evolution and extinction are make, and breake system in nature. Diversity of species and the complex interrelationships that sustain them are encompassed by the term biodiversity. The term “Biological Diversity” was coined by Thomas Lovejoy in the year 1980. E. O. Wilson applied the term “Biodiversity” in 1986. The 1992 United Nations Earth Summit held at Rio de Janeiro defined biodiversity as “the variability among living organisms from all sources, including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part: this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems”.

Brown, an administrator of UNDP has recently argued that biodiversity is far from being optional or a luxury; rather a key development issue that frequently provides the welfare system for poor people and communities. Most of the world’s biodiversity exist in the economically poorest countries, which offer opportunities to the poor to enhance their income by exploiting the biodiversity resource. According to Brown, our future programmme should focus on “biodiversity for development”, not biodiversity or development. Continue Reading

Environmental protection and resource management has conventionally been given importance all over the world which has increased in recent time. The ancient practices taught people to live in perfect harmony with nature. However, industrialization, urbanization and changing life styles over the years have affected environment drastically in causing pollution and environment degradation.

What is EIA

The pollution in air, water and land has lead to ecological imbalance and potential health hazards. As a result, regulations in the form of laws and policies on environmental protection were introduced. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is one such effort.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is the official appraisal process to identify, predict, evaluate and justify the ecological, social, and related biophysical effects of a proposed policy, program or project on the environment. It provides insight on alternatives and measures to be adopted before any commitment, thus helps in important decision-making. The overall objective of the EIA is to design developmental projects and activities taking into consideration the environmental perspective.

Functions of EIA

The EIA provides the following benefits:

• an opportunity for public participation,
• increased protection of human health,
• the sustainable use of natural resources,
• reduced project costs and delays,
• minimized risks of environmental disasters,
• and increased government responsibility.

EIA particularly aims to optimize a trade-off between developmental activities and socio-ecological losses. It is a management tool linked closely to the project providing appropriate environmental information within the stipulated time.

Legislation

Many countries now have mandatory legislation or policies for environmental impact assessments. In India Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was formally introduced in 1994. Both central and state authorities together share the responsibility of its development and management. An post project evaluation analysis report drawn on Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat (SWOT) highlights several constraints, such as improper screening and scope, ineffective monitoring and provides necessary guidelines. The legislation provides realization of opportunity for increasing public awareness, initiatives of environmental groups and business community and to integrate environmental consideration into plans and policies. Some of the unforeseen threats to the system are poor governance, rapid economic reforms and favors to small-scale units. Continue Reading

How far are we willing to go to protect “native” species? Would you be willing to put your body on the line? If there was a native Hawaiian tapeworm, would you be willing to serve as its host? If it was an endangered Hawaiian tapeworm, you may be able to get a government grant to become critical habitat for the parasite. Nobody would be able to touch you without a permit or an environmental assessment.

Actually, there is a native Hawaiian parasite of plants, called dodder (Cuscuta sandwichiana), that hangs from trees and shrubs and smothers them to death and sucks out their juices. The dodder drapes over its host with its green and orange-tan filaments like a net, until all you see is the dodder. Large areas of trees, including o’hia, are destroyed by dodder.

This can create a dilemma for native species advocates. If the dodder is growing on a native tree, such as the o’hia, do you let it kill the tree, or do you kill the dodder?

I suppose the answer to that depends on whether you value the o’hia more than the dodder. But given the political correctness to protect native ecosystems, environmental managers may have trouble deciding on which native species to save, the resource or the parasite. After all, parasites are a normal and necessary part of the environment. All ecosystems need predators, parasites, competition, and all the rest for the cycle of life and death to go round.

But what if the tree the dodder is smothering is nonnative? Let’s say the native dodder is growing on a nonnative ornamental bush, such as rose bush, or a nonnative fruit or ornamental tree, such as a mango or lychee. Should we kill the native dodder or let it kill its nonnative host?

According to the nativists, the answer is clear. The native parasite must prevail.

Now this may seem odd to anyone who does not share the nativists’ bias. We all have some sympathy for endangered species. And some of us extend that sympathy to nonendangered native species. But there is more to consider than nativity. Continue Reading