MAN AND ENVIRONMENT AN INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES MAN AND ENVIRONMENT AN INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES Produced by: CEA Library Central Environmental Authority In collaboration with University Grant Commission Sponsored by: Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) '(;5719 i Man and Environment 1st published in 1995 by the Central Environmental Authority Sri Lanka. ISBN 955-9012-08-8 Funded by NORAD Printed by Gunaratne Printers, Colombo 10. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form without the written permission of the Central Environmental Authority. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The publication titled "Man and Environment" could be described as the first text book on environmental education produced in Sri Lanka for tertiary level students, at a time when the country is placing greater emphasis on environmental education. It is envisaged that this book would be an asset to students following the tertiary level environmental studies curriculum. This book should provide the necessary background and the skills needed to equip young people with the ability and confidence to take responsible decision pertaining to environmental conservation and to guide the general public towards the same goal in the 21st century. University Grant Commission has rightly decided that environmental studies should be one of the five core-courses in Affiliated University Colleges. This book is a positive response to their timely decision. "Man and Environment" which is meant for the use of tertiary level educational institutions is a product of the joint efforts of a number of institutions. It is produced by the Central Environmental Authority under its tertiary Level Environmental Education Project. We gratefully acknowledge the collaboration received from the University Grants Commission for the completion of this task. Similarly we are sincerely thankful to the learned members of the Tertiary Level Environmental Education Committee established on the advice of the National Level Steering Committee on Environmental Education for their assistance. We gratefully remember the invaluable contribution made by the late Prof. I Balasuriya who pioneered the launching of the Environmental Education Project and functioned as the chairman of the Environmental Education Steering Committee. Undoubtedly this should be a very happy moment for the Director of the Promotion Division of the Central Environmental Authority Mr Pandula Endagama, the Deputy Director Ms Lalitha Fonseka and Mr Chitral De Silva who was seconded to the Division as the Environmental Education Consultant. They very effectively carried out the coordination of the programme from its inception with dedication and enthusiasm. We are very thankful to them for their valuable contribution. We are specially thankful to NORAD which provided financial resources needed to launch this programme. We are also thankful to Mr G Dharmawardena for his assistance in translating and copy editing of the manuscripts. Finally we are thankful to the officials of "Gunaratne Print" who were responsible for the successful printing of the publication. G K AMARATUNGA, CHAIRMAN, CENTRAL ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITY B3:ME ; v".:.cs 5^4* 2- L PREFACE Students entering the Tertiary Education System in the last decade of this century will be the decision makers (citizens) of the first decade of the 21st century and many of them will become leaders in their chosen fields of activity. It is inperative, therefore, that they become aware of and make an effort to understand the problem of man's relationship to the environment. The University Grants Commission when planning Affiliated University Colleges considered this new enterprise as a great opportunity to introduce the basic awareness of the environment to the widest possible range of students. Some information about environmental matters perhaps feature in the carriculum of many University Courses especially in the Science based areas. However, the great majority of students of this country have very little formal exposure to environmental studies. The University Grants Commission decided, therefore, that a course on Environmental Studies will form one of the five core- courses to be offered to all students in the Affiliated University College System. This course would be administered to all students regardless of their background. In preparing the materials every effort was made to ensure that the materials were selected and presented in a manner that would give the students a comprehensive holistic but simple view of the environment. The Committee on Environmental Education of the Central Environmental Authority with support from NORAD had already launched a project to produce lesson materials in environmental studies for use at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. It was agreed with the CEA and NORAD that the objectives of CEA as well as the UGC could be met without any duplication of effort if the UGC undertook to implement the programme concerning tertiary education and used the materials in the Affiliated University Colleges. The course materials are designed to introduce to the student the basic concepts and ideas that are essential to an understanding of the natural environment and the processes that maintain it. The history of man in the environment is traced showing hoe from being an integral part of the natural system he has tended to take over the system and fashion it according to his own requirements. The major consequences of man's activities in this direction are explained as elements of the present environmental crisis. The final chapters outline the type of approaches that need to be taken and which obviously loom large in the lives of these very students in the first years of the 21st century. A number of experts from various fields took part in the writing process. However the material provided was extensively edited in' order to transform it to a level easily understandable by students of varied and non-science background. The editing process was also essential in order to maintain a thread of continuty of philosophy and approach throughout the lesson materials. In the final writing the editors decided that a recognised popular science writer should edit the material further to make it is compre­ hensible as possible to a largely lay audience. Illustrations have been used as widely as possible and chosen with a view to making the text material as clear as possible to the student. The relevant body of information is made available to the student, both with regard to our own country as well as the region and the world as a whole without overloading the book with too much statistics and data. This is the first book on the environment oroduced for the tertiary education system in this country. While it is directed in the first instance to students in the Affiliated University College System it will certainly be useful to the students in the Universities and other Tertiary Educational Institutions. Professor I. Balasooriya Prof. K. D. Arudpragasam Vice-Chairman Editor-in-Chief University Grants Commission V r I I I i . 1 I I L TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT PREFACE CHAPTER page 1. Overview SECTION I - THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT 2. Systems of Nature 3. Structure and Functioning of Ecosystems 1 4. The Cycling of Materials 23 5. Role of Forests in Nature 33 SECTION II - NATURAL RESOURCES 6. Living Resources of the World 39 7. Non-living Resources of the World 45 8. Living Resources of Sri Lanka 51 9. Non-living Resources of Sri Lanka 57 10. Energy Resources 65 SECTION III - IMPACT OF MAN 11. Hunter Gatherer and Farmer 77 12. Urbanisation 83 13. Industrialisation 89 SECTION IV - THE LOOMING CRISIS 14. Growth of Human Populations 93 15. Environmental Impacts of Population Growth 99 16. Use and Misuse of Land 105 17. Soil Erosion and Soil Conservation 109 18. The Emerging Water Crisis 115 19. The Pollution of Natural Waters 121 20. The Pollution of Atmosphere 129 21. Poverty and Environmental Degradation 137 22. Environment and Human Health 141 23. Global Environmental Problems 149 SECTION V - MANAGING THE ENVIRONMENT 24. The Concept of Sustainable Development 161 25. Environmental Planning and Management 165 26. The Individual, the Community and the Environment 171 27. Legal and Institutional Framework 177 28. International Cooperation in Environmental Protection 181 29. Preserving Planet Earth 185 VII r L STEERING COMMITTEE EDITOR IN CHIEF CENTRAL ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITY Prof K D Arudpragasam G K Amaratunga EDITORIAL BOARD Chairman Prof I Balasooriya E A Nanayakkara Prof U Coomaraswamy Former Director General Prof M D Dassanayake Prof R N de Fonseka Dr V U Ratnayake N J Gunawardene Director General Dr U Pethiyagoda M Ponnambalam A K Gunapala L C A de S Wijesinghe Former Director (Envt. Promotion) CONTRIBUTORS Pandula Endagama Director (Envt. Promotion) Dr Padmini de Alwis Prof K D Arudpragasam L Fonseka Prof Uma Coomaraswamy Deputy Director (Envt. Promotion) Dr G M Fonseka Prof Savitri Goonatilake Chitral De Silva Prof A D V de S Indraratne Consultant/Envt. Education Project M Ponnambalam Dr Jayanthi de Silva L de Silva R A D B Samaranayake Dr S Somasiri Dr W L Sumathipala Kanthi Vitharne L C A de S Wijesinghe COORDINATOR Prof U Coomaraswamy CONSULTANTS Prof K D Arudpragasam Prof I Balasuriya PRODUCTION ADVISOR Prof R N De Fonseka COPY EDITOR Sita Kulatunga ILLUSTRATIONS Pradeep Perera COPY EDITOR G Dharmawardena COVER DESIGN Dhammika Mallawarachchi IX C HAPTER I OVERVIEW A person's environment is made up of his surroundings. So is it with a plant or an animal. And just as we could refer to the environment of an individual, we could also refer to the environment of a group of individuals. The environment of a village or other human settlement is made up of the conditions under which that community lives. Likewise we could recognize the environment of a grassland or of a forest. On an increasing scale, we could recognize the environmental conditions in a whole country, and finally the environment of the whole planet, or the global environment.