എ.കെ.ജി.മെമ്മോറിയൽ എച്ച് .എസ്.എസ് .പിണാറായി/അക്ഷരവൃക്ഷം/OUR ENVIRONMENT

OUR ENVIRONMENT Plants, animals, birds, insects and people live together on Earth. We need to take care of all living beings. We need to understand their needs. Survival of living beings on Earth depends mainly based on the availability of fresh air, good food and drinking water. These are the main essential factors of our daily lives. But there are so many other factors that also requires for a good life. Environment is formed by whatever surroundings we live in. In the case of Earth, all physical surroundings present on our planet are called environment. The environment includes both living and non-living things also. The part of the environment where life exists is called Biosphere. All the living beings, plants, animals, birds and human beings are part of the Biosphere. The non-living parts of the environment has three main parts. They are: •The Atmosphere •The Hydrosphere •The Lithosphere The Atmosphere is the air which consists oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and other gases. The Hydrosphere consists water bodies. All oceans, seas, rivers, ponds, lakes etc. make up the Hydrosphere. The Lithosphere denotes the outer layer of the Earth. But in anyway the survival and existence depends entirely based on atmosphere. All the living beings depends upon the the non-living aspects of the environment for survival. Biosphere comes from the Greek word 'Bios' which means 'life'. Biosphere is a layer that extends slightly above and slightly below the surface of the Earth. Biosphere is the living part of our home planet and it consists a number of ecosystems. It also includes the atmosphere. The atmosphere acts just like a blanket over the Earth as it protects our planet from harmful rays of the Sun. India, a mega diverse country with only 2.4% of the world's land area, accounts 7-8% of all recorded species, including over 45,000 species of plants and 91,000 species of animals. In India, the ministry of environment, forest and climate change is the nodal agency for planning, promotion, co-ordination and overseeing the implementation of India's environmental and forestry policies and programs. It also link to the International agencies including United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The chapter on fundamental duties of the Indian Constitution imposes duty on every citizen to protect our environment from various negative activities. Article 51-A (g) says, " It shall be duty of every citizen of India, to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures." Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a standard process used to foresee the environmental consequence of a policy, plan, project or programme before implementing them. EIA process compulsory for various projects, such as mining, thermal power plants, river valley, infrastructure and industries including small scale industries to get environmental clearance. Millions of different ecosystems are present in the biosphere and they are contained within many geographical area known as biomes. The ecologists divide the biosphere into smaller units such as ecosystems, habitats and niches. Ecology is a science that studies the behaviour of plants and animals and in a particular environmental conditions. Ecology address the full scale of life, from tiny bacteria to process that span the entire planet. Ecology comes from the Greek word 'Oikos'. The word means a place to live in. Ancient Greek philosopher such as Hippocrates and Aristotle were the first thinkers who discussed ecology in their studies on natural history. Biotic is the name given to the living parts of an ecosystem while abiotic are the non-living parts. Ecosystem is the co-existence of different life forms in a given geographical area. The Indian Government has established 18 biosphere reserves in India, conservation of wildlife. India also has 23.39% of its geographical area under forest and tree cover. Out of the 34 globally identified biodiversity hotspots (Global Hotspots), four are from India: •Himalaya •Western Ghats •North- East Indo Burma •Andaman and Nicobar part of Sundaland Western Ghats are recently included in World Heritage list. International Biodiversity Day is celebrated across the globe on 22nd May every year. Biodiversity Hotspot is a biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity, that is under threat from humans. Around the world biodiversity hotspots support 60% of the world's plants, birds, mammals, reptiles and a number of endemic species and microbes. The Biodiversity hotspots are the treasure houses on this planet, Earth. Our primary needs food, shelter, medicine are all satisfied by rich biodiversity around us. The environmental issues creates very harmful effects of human activities on the bio-physical environment. The major environmental problems are: •Ozone Depletion_Greenhouse Effect _Global Warming •Air Pollution •Water Pollution •Soil and Land Pollution •Deforestation •Increased Carbon Footprint .Climate Change .Genetic Modification •Effect of Marine Life •Public Health Issues State, National and International levels of authorities take strict action against the environmental problems. Over the years, a number of acts have been helped to full fill the objectives of the ministry of environment and forest. The regulatory framework consists of following major acts: •The Indian Forest Act,1927 •The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 •The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1977 •The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 •The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 •The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 •The National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 The above mentioned laws and acts which safe guards our Earth and mainly our country, India, treats as a safe heaven. At last, I conclude my writings by remembering a famous and the most valuable quote on environment by Mahatma Gandhi, "The Earth, the air, the land and the water are not an inheritance from our forefathers, but on loan from our children. So we have to hand over to them atleast as it was handed over to us." "There is a sufficiency in the world for human's need but not for human's greed." ഗീതാഞ്ജലി ഷാജി 8 A എ.കെ.ജി.എം.ജി.എച്.എസ്.എസ്. പിണറായി തലശ്ശേരി നോ‌‌‌ർത്ത് ഉപജില്ല കണ്ണൂർ അക്ഷരവൃക്ഷം പദ്ധതി, 2020 ലേഖനം