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Energy
Published in Bhaskar Singh, Ramesh Oraon, Advanced Nanocatalysts for Biodiesel Production, 2023
Economic growth cannot be accepted at the cost of environmental degradation. The Paris Agreement goals and SDGs should be targeted in parallel. Population pressure, coupled with rapid economic growth, adversely affects nature and natural resources, to a lesser or greater extent. Also, the reduction of the use of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions is another great challenge which the world is attempting to tackle. Land resources are limited and the growing energy demand is negatively affecting land use and land-use change at the global level. This eventually leads to land degradation and loss of forest cover. The debate about food and fuel remains relevant as the demand for food grain is increasing, while the size and productivity of agricultural lands are decreasing at a fast pace. Land acquisition for mega projects is also a challenging area for states and authorities as it requires the relocation and rehabilitation of people on a large scale. Similarly, on one hand, the energy sector demands a huge volume of water for various purposes, while, on the other hand, the global population is facing an unprecedented crisis due to a shortage of safe and potable drinking water. Therefore, a balancing act is required for a sustainable energy future.
Water Systems (Drinking Water Quality)
Published in Herman Koren, Best Practices for Environmental Health, 2017
About 1% of the fresh water in the world is available for human use, and this has stayed constant over many centuries despite the fact that there is an enormous demand for water created by huge increasing populations, which will continue to grow in the foreseeable future. There is a vast difference in the distribution of fresh water in various parts of the world as well as in the United States. Climate change, increasingly more powerful storms, and droughts are making the situation worse in certain areas. This is compounded by substantial population pressure in coastal areas and the growth of large cities and communities. Certain water sources, such as fossil water which has been trapped for a very substantial amount of time, may be used but not replenished. While the demand for safe drinking quality water is expanding rapidly, the supplies are diminishing.
Soil erosion and desertification
Published in F.G. Bell, Geological Hazards, 1999
The expansion of desertification is not estimated easily, because several years may need to elapse before it can be distinguished from an area that has been subjected to a prolonged drought. Be that as it may, the annual loss of land is thought to be about 60 000 km2. It has been estimated that 14% of the world’s population live in drylands that are under threat, and that over 60 million people are affected by desertification. About one-third of the land surface (Figure 9.18) and one-seventh of the population of the world are affected directly, but the rest of the population has to face the indirect effects of lower agricultural production in the form of international aid. Furthermore, in many desert margin regions there have been dramatic increases in population during the twentieth century, and many formerly nomadic peoples in Africa have become settled. Hence, the increased population pressure on soil resources has led to environmental degradation and a decline in productivity.
Local perception of watershed degradation in the upper Gibe basin, southwest Ethiopia: implications to sustainable watershed management strategies
Published in International Journal of River Basin Management, 2022
Fekadu Mengistu, Engdawork Assefa
Other theories, such as Malthusian and the Boserupian theory of agricultural change (Boserup, 1965), explain the relationship of resource management and watershed degradation using population and technology. According to Malthusian perspective, population pressure is the key cause of watershed degradation in developing countries through overexploitation. This perspective underestimates the capacity of technology to overcome the problem of watershed degradation. However, according to the Boserupian perspective, population growth with better knowledge to apply and access to favourable policy improve technology such as land conservation; available resources (Boserup, 1965; Hunt, 2000) are the sources of agricultural development. This perspective emphasizes more on technological development and adoption supported by labour intensification and technological innovation. However, watershed degradation through soil erosion and soil fertility decline are not exclusively caused by population excess and the high use of natural resources (Essahli & Sokona, 2008). It is an intermingled effect of anthropogenic and physical factors accompanied by unfitting development programmes and policy, technology, as well as a weak comprehension of the possibilities and limitations for adopting watershed conservation measures. Hence, understanding area-specific scientific information, about local knowledge on severity, causes and indicators of watershed degradation considering the different theories, is crucial for guiding appropriate watershed management interventions and target policy actions.
Assessment of the performance of GIS-based analytical hierarchical process (AHP) approach for flood modelling in Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal, India
Published in Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, 2022
Rajib Mitra, Piu Saha, Jayanta Das
The population is taken as an important parameter to assess flood vulnerability. The environmental vulnerability is accelerated due to the increasing number of populations. In developing countries or third world countries, due to excess population pressure, hazards and disasters frequently happen. The population density of an area has been considered another important parameter, particularly for understanding the pressure on the area of the concerned region. It has been observed that the extreme population density regions are more vulnerable to flooding and vice-versa (Roy et al. 2021). Land use is also considered an essential component that influences infiltration, runoff, and evapotranspiration (Samanta et al. 2018). Thus, LULC has directly affected the hydrological parameters of any region. Specifically, in urban areas, the natural hydrological cycle has been disrupted by changing land-use patterns (Mahmoud and Gan 2018). The accessibility of flood shelters and medical facilities, as well as their proximity to people's residences, play an important role in assessing the vulnerability of inhabitants (Hoque et al. 2019). Every vulnerable individual's quick access ability to flood shelters and medical facilities can significantly reduce hazards consequences. When there are victims, an appropriate amount of hospital beds and professionally skilled employees are needed for optimal hazard control (Roy et al. 2021). Roads are the artificial obstacle to flooding; hence it affects the vulnerability of the region (Sarkar and Mondal 2020). Here two parameters related to roads are considered, i.e., distance to road and road density. Education is one of the significant variables for studying vulnerability. A higher literate population is adopted more strategies to cope with flooding; hence, they can better deal with floods (Salazar-Briones et al. 2020). As the literacy rate, the employment rate is another essential parameter when considering the vulnerability of any region. The greater employment ratio represents the strong economic strength to cope with a physical vulnerability like floods, droughts, landslides, etc. Figure 2 manifests the methodological framework used to delineate susceptibility, vulnerability and risk zonation.