What are the measures to control Environmental Degradation ?

Environmental degradation is the decay of the ecosystem caused by human consumption of resources such as air, water, and land. Simply put, the increasing deterioration of the climate as a result of different factors is referred to as Environmental degradation. Some of these factors include unusual weather fluctuations, deforestation, ecological pollution, and ozone-depleting compounds. Environmental degradation consists of both pollution and the degradation of resources. 

The environment meets our fundamental needs for endurance. People are a significant aspect of the environment and hold real responsibility for environmental damage. Our activities have an impact on the environment as well as on the organic organism. Hence, environmental degradation should be considered a major problem and different measures should be taken to control it.

Measures to Control Environmental Degradation

Some of the measures required to control environmental degradation are as follows:

1. Control Population: The rate at which the population is growing is very high, which has an adverse impact on the environment. Hence, it is essential to control the population growth rate to a level within the carrying capacity of the environment.

2. Public Participation: Another way to control environmental degradation is by encouraging public participation in protecting the environment. For this, it is important to increase awareness of the safety of the environment among the people.

3. Control of Industrial, Vehicular, and Agricultural Pollution: Pollution caused by industries, vehicles, and agricultural activities is a major concern. Therefore, it is essential to focus on controlling pollution from these sources on a priority basis.

Industrial pollution can be controlled with the help of different measures such as introducing economic incentives, promoting cleaner technologies, strengthening emission standards, etc. Vehicular pollution can be controlled through different strategies like taxes on fuels and vehicles; expansion of public transport; traffic management; promotion and use of alternative fuels such as LPG, CNG, battery-operated vehicles; tightening emission norms and fuel quality specifications, etc. However, agricultural pollution can be controlled by minimising the use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers.

4. Protect Biodiversity: Most of the legal provision existing in the country focuses on the use and exploitation of biological resources instead of their conservation. Therefore, it is essential to give more emphasis on the conservation of resources through the rules. Besides, comprehensive legislation on biodiversity conservation should also be implemented.

5. Prevent Land Degradation: Preventing land degradation is essential to control environmental deterioration. It can be done through the development of a well-defined integrated land use policy. Besides, the development of rural fuel wood and grazing and fodder policies can also help in preventing land degradation through guiding management of land and forest, sustainably and scientifically.

6. Pollution Monitoring and Control: The responsibility of tackling the pollution problems of the country is in the hands of the CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board). CPCB investigated, collects, and disseminates information related to water, air, and land pollution and then lays down standards for sewage effluents and emissions. For this, the board has to develop trained manpower who can deal with pollution problems.

7. Environmental Education, Training, and Awareness: In order to create environmental awareness, the government relies on formal as well as non-formal educational channels. Under a formal education system, the government wishes to involve NCERT for schools and UGC for universities. However, under a non-formal education system, the National Museum of Natural History plays a major role in creating awareness.

8. Management of Hazardous Waste: Another measure to control environmental degradation is through the development of strategies that can ensure scientific management of hazardous waste. These strategies consist of all the aspects of waste management cycles, starting from waste generation to its handling, segregation, transportation, treatment, and disposal. Besides, the primary focus of these strategies should be on waste minimisation.

9. Poverty Eradication: There is a close interrelation between poverty and a degraded environment, especially where the dependency of people for their livelihood is primarily on natural resources. To survive, poor people are forced to exploit the already degraded resources of the environment. Therefore, to protect the environment, the removal of poverty is essential.

10. Implement Eco-development Programmes: Lastly, environmental degradation can be controlled through eco-development programmes. The basic aim of these programmes is to restore the already degraded ecosystem through practical schemes such as land reclamation, cleaning water bodies, etc.