Form 4 Geography – ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND MANAGEMENT

THE MEANING AND IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENT

Environment refers to all external conditions surrounding an organism and which have influence over its behaviour and activities.

IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENT

i. To support the life of living organisms. Environment contains all resources which sustain life of living organisms for example water, soil, gases and minerals.

ii. Some of landscapes, water bodies and Flora and Fauna are pleasing to the eyes hence accelerate to the development of tourism activities.

iii.Sustain economic development, the environment contain variety of natural resources includes forest, minerals, water, fish and air which can be exploited by people for     various human need.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

Are hazard, disasters or calamities that result into destruction of environment.

Examples of environmental problems

   i.    Environmental pollution.

   ii.   Loss of biodiversity.

   iii.  Soil erosion and land degradation.

   iv.   Desertification.

v.     Flooding.

   vi.    Acid rain.
vi.    Harmful radiation.

   viii. Drought.

1. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
     Is the introduction or addition of any substance or situation that is harmful or not required to the environment i.e. Addition of unwanted material into environment.

     POLLUTANTS
     These are substance or materials that caused pollution i.e. Pollutant are material that pollute environment

     FACTORS WHICH LEAD TO THE INCREASE OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

1.   Rapid pollution growth in the world especially in the thirds world countries this led to the increase rate of production of waste and problem in the managing of the waste.
2.   The increase level of poverty in the developing country.This made people uses cheap energy resources that cause air pollution like charcoal and fuel wood. Rapid advance in technology  that has led to the development of supplicated industries which emits a lot of gases and waste.
3.  Development of transport let work that has net to the development and increase number of cars that emits a lot of fumes smokes.
4.  Increase in political conflict that forces people to keep on migrating from place to place end up polluting the environment as well as the use of bombs and nuclear weapons.
5. Advancement of Science and Technology.

edu.uptymez.com

CLASSIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
Environment pollution can be classified as follows
a)  Air pollution.
b)  Soil/land pollution.
c)  Water pollution.
d)  Noise pollution.

a) AIR POLLUTION
Is an addition of waste material into air, Air is an important resource in sustaining life, without it there would be no life on earth. It is a mixture of gases surrounding the earth. These gases are such as nitrogen, oxygen carbon dioxide and others gases.

CAUSE OF AIR POLLUTION
A)   Natural causes
i) Volcanic eruption
   That gives out dust ashes and gaseous like sulphur and carbon dioxide.

ii)Wind
   That, raise the dust and pollen to a certain levels. Dust has chemical that are toxic and hence harmful to the living organism both flora and fauna.

B) Human causes
iii)  Industrial activities and automobile.

This process led to the emission of fumes and gases that pollute the air.

iv)  The uses of charcoal, coal, firewood and fuel oil for difference purpose like cooking, lighting, smelting etc. pollute environment.

v)  Construction activities
     The construction of project like road construction, salting up buildings and etc. lead to introduction of dust into the air.

vi)  Agricultural activities pollute the air through;-
    – Digging in the soil that raises dust into air.
     -Spraying some chemicals like insecticides.

vii)Mining activities:  this in also led to the introduction of dust and some gases into the atmosphere.

       EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION

1.  Reduction in amount of solar energy because of being blocked by the layer of dusts or fumes hanging in the atmosphere leading to problems in photosynthesis.
2.  Transportation in plants in upset since the smoke and dust setting on the leaves block the stomata.
3.  Occurrence of global warming as the result of trapping of heat energy from the sun by the green houses gases.
4.  Death of plants and animals due to poisonous gases.
5.  Destruction of Ozone layer.
6.  Reduction of air dirty.
7.  Occurrence of acidic rainfall when gases like carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide mix with rainfall.
8.  It can causes bad and irritating smell keeping people in residence area uncomfortable.
9.  It can causes dangerous disease like skin cancer.

edu.uptymez.com

          MEASURES TOWARDS REDUCING AIR POLLUTION

 i)     Planting trees which absorb gases like carbon dioxide and prevent fast movement of air that lead to the introduction of dust into the atmosphere and destruction of Ozone
layer.
 ii)    Improving the combination system in the engines so that fuel can burn easily.
 iii)   Reducing number of small cars or industries.
 iv)   Finding out alternative sources of energy instead of depending on the charcoal, fire wood, and fuel wood.
 v)    Government policies should be active and strict laws should be passed to ensure proper management of resources.
 vi)   Land filling when dumping the wastes so that when they decompose they cannot lead to the emission of gases like methane into the Atmosphere.

b) SOIL POLLUTION

        Soil pollution is the process of introducing or adding any unwanted material in the soil.
        or
        Is the process of adding harmful material into the soil or earth surface which then led to the loss of soil fertility.

     SOURCES OF SOIL POLLUTION
The main causes of soil pollution can be categorized as follows  

a)  From the atmosphere: the pollutants are introduced into the soil through the acidic rain. Acid rain leads to the increase of acidity into the soil which later on destroy the soil structure. Acidic rain is predominant in the industrialized countries like Germany Eastern Canada and USA.

b)  From the industries: Some chemical such as radioactive material and metals can be introduced into the soil and render the soil units for Agriculture.

c)  From the home steeds: Some waste from homes like bottles, metallic material plastics baby’s cans etc. which are dumped into the soil they lead to soil pollution.

d) From the farms: There are chemicals which include pesticides like DDT crop remains and fertilizers when all these chemicals get into the soil they lead to the soil pollution. Likewise irrigation activities can lead to soil pollution especially when applied in steep slope areas for a long period of time.

e) Mining activities: On the other hands mining activities can lead to the introduction of some rocks. Fragments into the upper layer of the soil which then leads to the soil     pollution.

    EFFECTS OF SOIL POLLUTION

i)    Death of animals (Biota) since some chemicals affect plant and animal cell for instance organism like bacteria which are mainly used for decomposition of some materials to form Humus.
ii)   Decline in Agriculture as a results of poor production caused by poor plant growth. Poor plant growth takes place due to the decline in soil fertility in turn to  the occurrence of famine which  leads to the poor health and death of people.
iv)  It can lead to water logging and flooding because of poor drainage caused by the soil pollution which tends to create an impermeable layer of substance in the soil.
v)  Change in soil structure as some of the mineral and nutrients are dissolved by acidic materials.
vi)  Migration of people to other areas which have not been affected by soil erosion.
vii) Change in soil color which causes problems in the soil classification and determination of land uses.

MEASURES TO BE TAKEN IN ORDER TO REDUCE THE RATE OF SOIL POLLUTION

 i)   Reducing or stopping the uses of chemicals in agriculture like DDT and used killers.
 ii)   Increase of manure instead of industrial fertilizers.
 iii)  Recycling of wastes rather than dumping them in the soil.
 iv)  Launching afforestation and reforestation programmers which can reduce soil erosion.
  v)  Control of population so as to reduce the rate of production of wastes that lead to the pollution of soil. Population control can be done through family planning.
 vi)  Educating people on how to undertake their activities properly.
 vii)  Radioactive materials should be dumped so deep in the ground. Method like crops rotation use of organic manure and switch the traditional system like shifting cultivation.
viii)  Formulating strict policies that govern on how to dump the wastes. Fines and punishment should be impressed those who dump the waste randomly.

c) WATER POLLUTION
  Water is a very important resource that supports human life. No water hardly life.
  Water pollution; Refers to the addition or introduction of unwanted materials or substances in the water which has negative effect of animal and plant.
  Polluted water is not fit for human consumption like drinking unit treated first.

WAYS THROUGH WHICH WATER CAN BE POLLUTED

1.   Disposal of untreated sewage into the water bodies. The sewage can be form homestead. Institution like schools, hotels and hospitals.
2.   Dumping of wastes from industries into the water bodies these can be either liquid or solid form.
3.   Some chemicals and other wastes from the farms ear get into the water bodies through the surface turn off or by deliberate dumping by human being leading to water    contamination.
4.   Oil spills from the leaking oil containers or pipes.  This happened in the Indian Ocean where there are some oil spills from TIPPER in Dar es Salaam in 1990s oil forms a uniform over on the surface of water.
5.   Fishing activities, some fishermen tend to use harmful chemicals in fishing which lead to water pollution.
6.   Breaking of rocks along the coastal areas or near other sources of water using explosives like dynamite which in turns leads to the dying of marine organisms including fish.
7.   Introduction of dust into the water sources mainly due to wind action. This is also another way into which water can be polluted.

edu.uptymez.com

EFFECTS OF WATER POLLUTION

1.  Water pollution can lead to the death of plants and animals if the pollutants and poisonous or causes the rise of temperature to extreme levels.
2.  Spread of disease like cholera, diarrhea, dysentery and typhoid.
3.  Oil spills kills aquatic organisms because it prevents oxygen from penetrating into water, organisms die because of lacking oxygen.
4.  Water pollution leads to the emission of soil smells that causes discomfort to the people round the water body.  The soil smell is caused by decomposition of the organic matter introduced into the water body.
5.  Decline of tourist activities due to the fact that tourist who depends on water bodies for swimming will find difficult due to the fact that water bodies has been polluted (i.e. presence of toxic chemicals)
6.  The color of water changes. The water becomes under due to the presence of impurities.
7.   Multiplication of sea weeds as a result of the increase in nutritious from the wastes in water.
8.  The death of fish leads to the loss of valuable sources of protein to human being.

edu.uptymez.com

MEASURES TOWARDS WATER POLLUTION CONTROL

1.   Ennglish-swahili/courage” target=”_blank”>courage the proper use of fishing methods rather than using chemicals, since chemicals end up killing different fish, animal and plant species.
2.   The oil container and pipes should be kept properly and frequently inspected so as to avoid the problem of soil spiller
3.   Population controlling the population number of people will reduce the amount of water produced.
4.   Reduction in the uses of fertilizers and chemicals in agriculture organic agriculture should be ennglish-swahili/courage” target=”_blank”>couraged in which manure is used
5.  The government and the NGO’S should cooperate in educating people on how to use water, conserve it and where possible they should assist financial in trying to prevent the problem of water pollution.
6.   Water should be kept in a clean containers or reservoirs and be covered flighty to avoid contamination  
7.   Breaking of rocks using dynamite should be disnglish-swahili/courage” target=”_blank”>couraged and hence alternative ways should be applied.
8.   Dumping  of wastes on the land should be hand in hand with land filling method since random throwing of it leads to water pollution
9.   There should be recycling of wastes rather than throwing them into the water bodies.

edu.uptymez.com

    d)    NOISE POLLUTION

           This refers to the disorganized sound produced from different activities.

            CAUSES OF NOISE POLLUTION

     i.     Motor vehicles

     ii.    Construction activities

    iii.    Bombing activities

    iv.     Machines in factories

             EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION

     i.      Mental and physical illness

     ii.    High blood Pressure problem

    iii.    Death on organism

   (2)   LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY

             Loss of biodiversity refers to all processes that lead to loss of variety of species of organisms and plants of the Earth.

         CAUSES OF LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY

• Floods which kill most of the organisms at the place where they occur.
• Pests and diseases tend to kill large number of organisms.
• Landslides and other types of mass wasting.
• Earthquakes kill organisms in large number.
• Wars; When wars breakout the weapons kill not only people but also other organisms.
• Pollution, poison of air, water and soil lead to the death of living organisms.
• Illegal fishing when people use dynamites, bombs and poisoning lead to death of fish and other organisms.
• Poaching.

edu.uptymez.com

         EXTENT OF LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY

         The rate of loss of biodiversity is very great in the world today because of rapid expansion of human activities.

          EFFECTS OF LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY

• Change of climate of the world due to death of plants and organisms which can regulate the temperature and rainfall of the area.
• Loss of wild life and hence affect tourism activities.
• Desertification due to death of plants.
• Lack of food, the death of plants and organisms lead to the shortage of food.

edu.uptymez.com

3. DESERTIFICATION

        This is the process by which the desert fringes are encroaching on agricultural potential land.
        OR: I t is the process in which the fertile land is demanded and degraded to produce or initiate desert.

CAUSES OF DESERTIFICATION

1.  Poor use or mismanagement of land leads to desertification.In most cases many people are still ignorant and hence unaware of how to use the land properly due to low level of technology e.g. Over cultivation and overgrazing, as well as poor methods of cultivation especially cultivation facing down the slope.
2. Deforestation: This is the process which is mainly associates with massive destruction of trees and vegetation cover.

edu.uptymez.com

         In most cases in African countries, natural forest have been destroyed, using trees for different activities such as building, making furniture, building ships and boats,      making paper and fuel, charcoal making, etc.

1.  Increase of population in some countries has led to clearing of forested areas for cultivation in order to increase food production, settlement purposes,construction of infrastructures.
2.  Natural drought cycles have been responsible for the advance of the desert. Drought leads to loss of soil moisture and hence death of different plant species.

edu.uptymez.com

EFFECTS OF DESERTIFICATION

1.  It leads to decline in agriculture. This is because of drought condition that causes water problems when there is poor precipitation plant growth is inhabited leading to poor food production.
2.  Migration of people from affected area to productive land area.

edu.uptymez.com

People and other animals are compelled to move from areas with scarcity of water to areas that experience enough rainfall.

1. The desert advance acceleration of  soil erosion which leads to deforestation and loss of arable land.  Erosion also affect different structure like building bridge, roads and railway line.
2. Leads to the loss of important species of trees and animals as well as organism like bacteria.
3. Scarcity of water makes travel long distance in search for water for domestic uses like cooking, drinking, washing.
4. The desert also contribute at high rate the destruction of wild life animals and species which in turn leads to decline of tourist industries in the country .This happens when animal die or migrate away or when lakes and rivers dry up.

edu.uptymez.com

MEASURES TO BE TAKEN IN ORDER TO MINIMIZE THE RATE OF DESERTIFICATION

1.  Alternative source of energy should be used in the developing countries especially in natural areas where the majority live.  Alternative energy includes solar energy, wind power, bio gas and hydroelectric power.
2.  The local people should be educated on how to conserve vegetation. Some programs like afforestation and reforestation should be ennglish-swahili/courage” target=”_blank”>couraged in order to mitigate them.
3.  The government should advice some substantive policies whose objectives are to lay down principles to guide development and control of forests.

edu.uptymez.com

   4. The government should ennglish-swahili/courage” target=”_blank”>courage forest conservation by avoiding deforestation.

4.  LAND DEGRADATION (SOIL)
      Land degradation refers to the deterioration of the quality of land (soil) through the loss of fertility, soil pollution erosion and mass wasting.

      Loss  of soil fertility
      This refers to the decline in the soil ability to support plant growth due to the lack of plant nutrients necessary for growth.

      CAUSES OF SOIL INFERTILITY

1.  Leaching process:

edu.uptymez.com

This process contributes to the soil infertility due to the fact that nutrients which are necessary for plants growth and washed away.

1.  Over cultivation: In a certain area caused by the rapid population growth. The crops grown on the some pieces of land for a long time lead to depletion   of nutrients.
2.  Monoculture:

edu.uptymez.com

           That involves cultivation of one type of crop without crop of inter cropping.  Nutrients are used up without replacement and the soil structure can be destroyed rendering the soil unstable.

1. Soil erosion

edu.uptymez.com

          Which accelerated by poor land management like deforestation feat cultivation on the slopes etc.

1.  Mass wasting

edu.uptymez.com

          That lead to the loss of the upper layer of soil and its nutrients

1. Severe loss of soil water through excessive evaporation especially in arid and semi arid.

edu.uptymez.com