Environment and Sustainable Development Class 12 Notes
Environment and sustainable development class 12 notes aid students with some basic as well as specific knowledge on what is environment and the state of India’s environment. Class 12 Environment and Sustainable Development Notes engage students with attentive reading and eventually with better marks.
| Category | CBSE Economics Class 12 Notes |
| Subject | Economics |
| Topic | Environment and Sustainable Development Class 12 Notes |
These “environment and sustainable development notes for class 12” are a complete help book for last-minute revision and provide necessary data.
Environment and Sustainable Development Class 12 – Introduction
Environment and sustainable development class 12 notes start with a discussion on the primitive state of the Indian environment.
Between the primitive and modern age, man has covered a long distance. Man’s march from a primitive age to the modern age is often viewed as a process of growth and development. Raped growth and industrialization have led to the excessive exploitation of natural resources which are scarce and also have damaged the environment and ecology.
Thus, there are two following serious effects
- Depletion of exhaustible natural resources leads to a reduction of availability of resources for the future generation.
- Environmental degradation and ecological imbalance.
Environment – Definition, Functions and Carrying capacity of Environment
Definition of Environment
Environment and sustainable development class 12 notes define environment as follows;
The total inheritance of the planet and the totality of all resources surround us and affect our existence and quality of life.
- It Includes biotic/living elements such as animals, birds, plants, forests, etc., and abiotic/non-living elements such as air, water, earth, climate, mountains, minerals, and other resources that nature has given us as gifts.
- Therefore, the environment refers to all conditions, resources, or environmental elements that affect human life and existence.
Functions of environment
- It offers resources for production: Production is the process of conversion of natural resources into useful things. The environment provides natural resources which are used as inputs or raw materials for production. Resources include renewable and non-renewable resources.
- It assimilates (absorbs) wastage; Production and consumption activities generate wastage mostly in the form of garbage. Environment absorbs all this wastage.
- It sustains life; the Environment includes sun, soil, air, water, etc. which are essential ingredients (basic elements) for the existence of human life. So, the environment sustains life by providing these basic elements.
- Enhances quality of life; Environment includes land, water, oceans, seas, rainfall, mountains, desserts, etc. These all elements make our surroundings beautiful and refreshing. People enjoy these surroundings which help in improving their quality of life.
Carrying capacity of the environment
The carrying capacity of the environment refers to the situation when ;
- The exploitation of resources does not exceed the regeneration of resources so that resources are not depleted
- The generation of wastage does not exceed the absorption capacity of the environment so that the environment is not polluted.
Or
- Resource extraction should remain below/ less than the rate of generation of resources.
- Generation of wastage should remain within the absorption/ assimilation capacity of the environment.
If these above two conditions are not fulfilled, then the environment fails to perform its vital function of sustaining life and results in an economic crisis.
Thus, an environmental crisis occurs when exploitation of resources and generation of wastage exceed the carrying capacity of the environment.
Reasons for environment crisis
According to Environment and sustainable development class 12 notes, the following are the reasons for the environmental crisis.
1. High population growth
The high rate/rapid rate of population growth (known as population explosion) is one of the major causes of environmental degradation/ crisis. Increasing population has caused substantial conversion of forest land into land for industrial and residential use and it has also put a huge burden on natural resources which are limited or exhaustible.
Besides it, increasing population is also generating more wastes into the environment than the absorbing capacity
2. Poverty
Widespread poverty is also another cause behind environmental degradation/ crisis. About 30% of total
The Indian population is below the poverty line. They exclusively depend on forests for living and for fulfilling energy requirements or fuel. These people resort to an indiscriminate tree falling.
On the one hand, this results in deforestation and leads to loss of natural assets and on the other hand, causes pollution.
3. Rapid industrialization
It has also contributed to environmental degradation or crisis. Though it is necessary for economic development, unplanned and uncontrolled growth of industries led to air, water, and noise pollution and indiscriminate felling of trees to set up industries cause deforestation.
4. Urbanization
It is the outcome of migration of rural population to urban areas in search of jobs and also an important/major cause of environment crisis/ degradation.
- It put more pressure/ burden on land and environmental resources to meet the increasing demand of settlement and other civic amenities in cities.
- The overcrowding in cities also leads to an increase in slums areas and undesirable land-use changes.
- It causes the generation of huge wastes and a decline in water and air quality.
Thus, urbanization results in environmental degradation/crisis.
5. The massive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides
Chemical fertilizers and pesticides are used to increase agricultural productivity and production but agricultural development based on these chemical fertilizers and pesticides are not eco-friendly and adversely affects the environment by causing soil pollution (loss of fertility) and water pollution.
6. Increase in several vehicles
India’s transport system is based on the intensive use of petroleum products. The number of motor vehicles has increased to 14.18 in crores in 2011 from 6.5 lacs in 1951. The rapid increase in the number of motor vehicles has contributed significantly to about 60% of total air pollution and has caused mice pollution leading to environmental degradation.
7. Disregard the civic norms
The general people of India tend to disregard the civic norms. Therefore, roads are littered and horns and loudspeakers are indiscriminately used which results in an environmental crisis.
Measures to control environmental degradation
Population control: High rate/rapid rate of population growth (known as population explosion) are one of the major causes of environmental degradation/ crisis. There is a serious need to control the growth rate of the population to a level within the carrying capacity of the environment.
It will help in maintaining;
- The balance between extraction of resources and their generation.
- Balance of generation of wastes and absorption capacity of the environment.
- Ecological balance by reducing environmental degradation.
Eradication of poverty: -Widespread poverty is also another cause behind environmental degradation/ crisis. The survival needs of the poor force them to continue to degrade an already degraded environment.
They exclusively depend on forests for living and for fulfilling energy requirements or fuel. Removal of poverty is very essential to protect our environment.
Creation of awareness and encouraging public participation; Environmental degradation is a challenge to India’s environment which can be solved only by the active participation of people.
There is an urgent need to create awareness among people about the dangers of population or environmental degradation and how each can contribute his bit to check environmental degradation.
It will certainly reduce further degradation of the environment.
Control on vehicular pollution; Rapid increase in the number of motor vehicles has contributed significantly to about 60% of total air pollution and about 80% in metro cities. Vehicular pollution may be controlled by adopting the following strategies:
- Expansion of public transport
- Tightening of emission norms.
- Promotion and use of alternative fuel like CNG/LPG/battery-operated vehicles.
- Traffic planning and management etc.
Control over industrial pollution:-unplanned and uncontrolled growth of industries led to air, water, and noise pollution. There is a serious need to control pollution caused by industrial development without affecting economic
growth. It may be controlled by the followings strategies;
- Promotion of cleaner technologies.
- Fixation of emission norms.
- Introducing economic incentives etc.
Control over agricultural pollution:- agricultural development based on chemical fertilizers and pesticides
adversely affects the environment by causing soil pollution (loss of fertility) and water pollution. Agricultural pollution can be controlled by motivating farmers to avoid chemical-based fertilizers and pesticides and to use eco-friendly fertilizers and pesticides.
Management of solid wastes:-Strategies needs to be developed to ensure scientific management of hazardous wastes. It includes all the aspects of waste management, starting from the generation of wastes to its handling, segregation, transportation, treatment, and disposal.
Besides it, strategies need to be developed to minimize wastes generation and proper arrangements should be made to dump wastes.
Developing urban areas: – migration of rural population to urban areas in search of jobs puts more pressure/ burden on land and environment resources to meet the increasing demand of settlement and other civic amenities in cities. This should be handled by the following:
- By converting unutilized land and other resources of urban areas to plan townships.
- By developing rural areas or creating job opportunities to control migration from rural to urban areas.
- By controlling the increase in slums areas and adopting/ implementing alternative human settlements.
The negative opportunity cost of the environment.
- The inverse in health Expenditure
- The financial commitment of the government increases to international issues.
- Government’s Expenditure on Health increases.
Government measures for environmental protection
Environment Protection Act, 1986
According to this act, the environment includes water, air, and land, and the interrelationship, which exists among and between water, air, land, and human beings and other creatures, plants, micro-organisms, and property.
The main objective of this act is to provide protection and improvement of the environment and for matters connected therewith. It provides power to make rules to regulate environmental pollution and notify standard and maximum limits of pollutants of air, water, and soil.
Pollution control board
To address water and air pollution in India, the government set up the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in 1974. This was followed by states establishing their state-level board to address all the environmental problems. It has identified 17 categories of industries that pollute the environment.
Functions of pollution board
- They investigate, collect and disseminate information relating to water, air, and land pollution.
- They lie down/ determine standards for sewage/ trade effluent and emissions.
- These boards provide technical assistance to the government in promoting cleanliness of streams and wells by prevention, control, and abatement of water and air pollution
- These boards also carry out investigations and research relating to problems of water and air pollution.
- They also organize comprehensive awareness programs to create awareness among people about the possible dangers of environmental degradation.
- They monitor the quality of water of 125 rivers including tributaries.
- These boards also periodically inspect every industry under their jurisdiction to assess the adequacy of treatment
The forests (conservation) act 1980
The act has strict provisions to check the diversion of forest land for any other purpose. Due to the implementation of this act, the rate of diversion of forest land has declined to 6,500 hectares per annum after 1980 from 1,50,000 hectares per annum between 1950-80.
National Afforestation and eco-development board (NAEB)
To promote afforestation, tree plantation, ecological restoration, and economic development activities in The national afforestation and eco-development board (NAEB) was set up in August 1992.
Environmental education and awareness
To bring environmental awareness among the people, a scheme named National Environmental Awareness Program was launched in 1986. A center for environmental education was established in Ahmedabad to frame educational materials and curriculum.
State of India’s environment
Environment and sustainable development class 12 notes talk about the state of India’s environment as follows.
India has abundant natural resources in terms of the rich quality of soil, hundreds of rivers and tributaries, lush green forests, plenty of mineral deposits, vast stretches of the Indian Ocean, ranges of mountains, etc.
- The black soil of the Deccan Plateau is particularly suitable for cotton cultivation, leading to a concentration of the textile industry in the region.
- The Indo-Gangetic Plain (from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal) is one of the most fertile, intensively cultivated, and densely populated areas in the world.
- India’s forests provide green cover for most of its population and natural cover for its wildlife.
- There are large deposits of iron ore, coal, and natural gas in the country.
- India alone accounts for nearly 20% of the world’s iron reserves.
- Bauxite, copper, chromite, diamond, gold, lead, lignite, manganese, zinc, uranium, etc. are also available in different parts of the country.
Threats to India’s environment
- India is the habitat of about 17% of the total world population and 20% of the total livestock population but occupies only 2% of the total geographical area.
- The rising population and the economic growth and industrialization have placed huge pressure on its finite natural resources. Many resources are exhausted and wastes generated are beyond the absorptive capacity of the environment.
Threat to India’s environment poses a dichotomy
- The threat of poverty-induced environmental degradation: – About 30% of the total population of India is below the poverty line (poor). Poverty is causing environmental degradation through cutting down trees, overgrazing of animals, pollution of water resources, encroachment of forest land, etc.
- The threat of pollution from rapidly growing industrial sectors:-India is the 10th largest industrial country in the world. The rapid expansion of the industrial sector causes air, water, and noise pollution leading to environmental degradation.
Air pollution, water contamination, soil erosion, deforestation, and natural resources, and wildlife extinction are some of the most pressing environmental concerns in India.
Challenges to India’s environment
1. Land degradation
Land degradation refers to a loss/ decline in the fertility/productivity of land and the quality of the soil.
In India, land suffers from varying degrees and types of degradation because of unstable use and inappropriate management practices. This leads to loss of valuable nutrients and loss of fertility,
Causes of land degradation
It occurs mainly because of soil erosion (due to water and wind) and waterlogging alkalinity and salinity).
Some of the other factors are:
- Loss of vegetation due to deforestation.
- Overgrazing and forest fire.
- Encroachment of forest land.
- Improper crop rotation.
- Indiscriminate use of agrochemicals, such as fertilizers and pesticides.
- Improper planning and management of the irrigation system.
- Shifting cultivation.
- The poverty of the agriculture-dependent people.
- Excessive extraction of groundwater.
- Inadequate soil conservation measures.
About 174 million hectares (50% of total land area) are suffering from the problem of land degradation. Out of 174 million hectares, 144 million hectares suffer from soil erosion through water and wind.
2. Deforestation
Deforestation refers to a continuous and substantial decrease in the forest area.
Or
Deforestation refers to the continuous removal or destruction of forest cover (area).
Deforestation in India has been continuing on a large scale since independence but after independence, it is rising at a rapid rate that has disturbed the ecological balance of the country.
At present, forest cover area is only 23.04% of the total land area which is much less than recommended forest cover area 33% (1,000 lakh hectares) of total land area.
The per capita forest land area in the country is only 0.08 hectares against the requirement of 0.47 hectares to meet basic needs.
The consequences of deforestation are:
- Chances of more floods.
- Soil erosion.
- biodiversity loss and air pollution.
- Negative effect on wildlife etc.
Causes of degradation
- To meet growing needs raw material for industrialization.
- Clearing forest for Construction of buildings (human settlement), roads, development of a township, etc. growing urbanization.
- Construction of dams for multipurpose river projects.
3. Soil erosion
Deforestation is one of the major reasons for soil erosion and takes place when the surface soil is washed away through excessive rains or floods and wind.
Soil erosion refers to loss of the upper layer of soil which contains major nutrients for the growth of plants leading to loss of fertility of the land.
4. Biodiversity loss
Biodiversity is defined as the variability among living organisms from all sources and ecology of our ecosystem of which they are a part; conservation and sustainable use biodiversity crisis are fundamental to ecologically sustainable development.
India has approximately 17% of the world population and 20% of the livestock population on a mere 2.5% of the world’s geographical area.
The high density of population, livestock, and competing uses of land for agriculture, forestry, pasture, human settlements, and industries exert enormous pressure on the country’s finite land resources, which puts a strain on the ecosystem resulting in the extinction of plants and animal species. This is known as biodiversity loss.
After independence, economic reforms caused rapid industrialization, growing townships, and urbanization. This has led to the destruction of habitats and biodiversity sites.
Sustainable Development
These Environment and sustainable development notes discuss sustainable development as follows.
- Environment and economy are interdependent but development that ignores its repercussions on the environment will destroy the environment that sustains life.
- Present development strategies have serious followings implications;
- Environment degradation and environmental pollution.
- Rapid depletion of natural resources and reduction of availability of resources for future generations implies a reduction in the production capacity of future generations.
- There is an emerging challenge to the quality of life of the present and future generations.
- Thus, this is very difficult to sustain the process of growth and development due to depletion environment degradation of resources and
- So, there is a need for a process of growth and development that can be sustained over a long period without causing any damage to the environment and fall in the quality of life of future generations.
The concept of sustainable development was first propounded by the world commission on Environment and development (set up by the united nation) in its report submitted in 1987,
According to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, “Sustainable development refers to development that sustains over a long period and meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs.”
According to Edward Barbier Sustainable development is a development that is directly concerned with increasing the material standards of living of the poor. It can be measured in terms of increased real income. Increased in educational services, increased in health care services, increased in sanitation and water supply, etc. or fall in absolute poverty, environmental degradation, cultural disruption, and social instability
Features of Sustainable Development
- It aims at the potential average quality of life for both present and future generations.
- It emphasizes protecting the future generation.
- It emphasizes sustainable, equitable, and rational use of resources to meet the needs of present and future generations.
- It discards those activities which induce environmental pollution or stresses upon the protection of the environment.
Difference Between Economic and Sustainable development
| Economic development | Sustainable development |
| 1. It implies a long-term increase in real per capita income and economic welfare. | 1. It implies an increase in real per capita income and the economic welfare of present and future generations. |
| 2. It leads to environmental degradation. | 2. It emphasizes environmental protection. |
| 3. It neglects the exploitation of natural resources. | 3. It emphasizes sustainable, equitable, and rational use of resources to protect the interest of future generations. |
Necessary conditions for sustainable development
According to Herman Daly, the following conditions are necessary for sustainable development:
- Limiting the population to a level within the carrying capacity of the environment.
- Technological progression should be input efficient and not input consuming. In other words, more should be produced with a given amount of inputs. It will then reduce the exploitation of resources.
- Renewable resources should be extracted on a sustainable basis. In other words, the rate of extraction of renewable resources should not exceed the rate of regeneration.
- Non-renewable resources are limited and are depleting rapidly. The rate of depletion of non-renewable resources should not exceed the rate of creation of renewable resources.
- Pollution should be controlled/ limited to the absorption capacity of the environment and inefficiency arising from pollution should be corrected.
Strategies for sustainable development
Use of non-conventional sources of energy
India is largely dependent on thermal and hydropower plants to meet its power requirements.
Thermal power plants emit large quantities of carbon dioxide which is a greenhouse gas and also produces fly ash which causes water, land, and the environment.
Hydropower plants inundate forests and interfere with the natural flow of water.
Non-conventional sources like wind power and solar rays are cleaner and greener technologies for producing power that can effectively replace thermal and hydropower without any adverse impact on the environment.
Establishing/ setting up mini-hydel plants
In mountain regions, streams can be found almost everywhere. Most of such streams are perpetual or perennial or flow all the year round Mini hydel plants are set up to use the energy of such streams to move small turbines for producing electricity/ power.
Such power plants are eco-friendly as they do not change land-use patterns or do not interfere natural flow of water and generate enough electrical power to meet local demand.
Besides it, They do not need large-scale transmission towers and cables and avoid transmission loss.
Use of cleaner fuel in both rural and urban areas
In rural areas, households generally use wood, cow dung, and other biomass as fuel. These practices/consumption of fuel have several adverse impacts like deforestation, reduction in green cover, wastage of cattle dung and air pollution, etc.
To overcome this problem, LPG and gobar gas are being promoted. Subsidized LPG is being provided and gobar gas plants are being encouraged through easy loans and subsidies. These are eco-friendly and cleaner fuels and help in reducing pollution to a large extent.
In urban areas, the Indian transport system is based on petroleum products which emit huge carbon dioxide and pollute the environment. The use of compressed natural gas (CNG) in place of petrol and diesel as environmentally friendly and cleaner fuel has substantially reduced the level of air pollution.
Use of bio-compost
After the advent of the green revolution, Indian farmers have switched over to the use of chemical fertilizers and neglected the use of compost to enhance agriculture productivity and production.
An increase in the use of chemical fertilizers or excessive use of chemical fertilizers has not only adversely affected the fertility/ productivity of land but also contaminated the water bodies including groundwater.
In recent years, due to the increase in demand for organic food farmers have become aware of to use of compost and again have started using compost made from organic wastes which maintain and enhance the fertility of the soil and does not contaminate food.
In certain parts of the country, cattle are maintained only because they produce dung which is an important fertilizer and soil conditioner.
Use of bio pest control
The advent of the green revolution has increased the use of chemical pesticides for higher production which not only contaminates the food products but also pollutes soil and water bodies including groundwater.
To meet the challenge:
- Use of pesticides based on plant product:-Neem-based pesticides are environment friendly and free from side
- effects.
- Creation of awareness among people about the use of various animals and birds (like snakes, lizards, owls, peacocks, etc.) which help in controlling pests.
- Mix cropping and growing different crops in consecutive years on the same land.
Traditional knowledge and practices
Traditionally/ in past, Indian people have been close to the environment or used to be close to their environment. All practices/ activities relating to the agriculture system, healthcare system, housing, transport, etc. were/ used to be environment friendly. With modernization, we have drifted/ gone far away from the traditional system.
It has caused large-scale damage to the environment and our rural heritage. For example, India is well known for its traditional AYUSH treatment with about 15,000 species of plants, which have medicinal properties and are very effective for treating chronic health problems.
These old systems are environment friendly, relatively free from side effects, and do not involve large-scale industrial and chemical processing. With the advent of the western system of treatment, we have ignored our traditional system of medicine which has resulted in environmental degradation and pollution.
In recent years/ time, people have started demanding organic and herbal products like hair oil, toothpaste, body lotion, face cream, etc. These products are environment friendly, relatively free from side effects, and do not involve large-scale industrial and chemical processing.
Awareness among people
Environmental degradation is a challenge to India’s environment which can be solved only by the active participation of people.
At the micro-level/ family level, people do their best to preserve assets for the future generation but at the macro-level/ national level, they do not think about the conservation of natural wealth/resources for future generations.
There is an urgent need to create awareness among people about the dangers of population or environmental degradation and rational use of natural resources and how each can contribute his bit to check environmental degradation.
It will certainly reduce further degradation of the environment and will lead to sustainable development.
Environment and sustainable development class 12 notes thoroughly examine the definition of environment, carrying capacity of the environment, state of India’s environment, and sustainable development. These notes also provide students with reasons for the environmental crises and the solutions to overcome them. Students can also view these solutions as steps to be taken in the future and can work on protecting India’s environment.
CBSE Class 12 Economics Notes Term II Syllabus
Part A: Introductory Macroeconomics
- Circular Flow of Income Class 12 Notes
- Basic Concepts of Macroeconomics Class 12 Notes
- National Income and Related Aggregates Class 12 Notes – 10 Mark
- National Income and Related Aggregates Class 12 Numericals
- Determination of Income and Employment Class 12 Notes
Part B: Indian Economic Development
Current challenges facing Indian Economy – 12 Marks
-
- Employment Class 12 Notes
- Infrastructure Class 12 Notes
- Sustainable Economic Development Class 12 Notes
Development Experience of India – A Comparison with Neighbours – 6 Marks