Download Natural Resource Management Course Instructor: Prof. Shambu

Natural Resource Management
Course Instructor: Prof. Shambu Prasad
Term Paper
Topic:
SOCIAL ECOLOGY
Date of Submission: 05.12.2006
Submitted by:
Saurabh Pandey (Roll No. u306047)
&
Shruti Rao (Roll No. u306048)
ABSTRACT
Due to an increase in the population, in the last few decades,
there has been a substantial increase in the demands for products.
These products have an ever rising demand due to their requirement
in the society. To make available these products there is a need for
industrialisation and for industrialisation we need space. This space
comes from the depletion of already existing natural resources.
According to one school of thought industrialisation is the main
reason for the ecological degradation. It is believed that the rapid
increase in the demand for industrial goods has led to overexploitation of the natural resources. In this term paper we try to
review the steps taken and challenges faced in sustaining
development of the society without hampering the environmental
setup.
Social Ecology is a radical view of ecology and of social/political
systems. The World Commission on Environment and Development
(1987) defines the concept of sustainable development as a
‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. This clearly
states that in case we do not sustain our natural resources now we
will be in trouble in the future. It is also said that the elite class
manipulates the natural resources “for their own benefits but only at
a substantial cost to the environment and disadvantaged social
group.” This term paper expects to put emphasis on sustainable
development and calculated use of the natural resources. This conflict
over natural resources has gone form the conflict for forest resources
to conflict for water. And it has been rightly said that the next world
war could be fought for water.
A holistic and integrated vision of sustainable development is
ideal, yet the consensus is that there is currently no universal
development model which leads to sustainability at all levels. It is after
the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, that Sustainable Development was
universally accepted as a steering paradigm integrating economic
growth, social development and environmental protection as
interdependent and mutually supportive elements of long-term
development. Furthermore, in September 2000, The United Nations
have declared Environmental Sustainability as one of the eight
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be reached by the year
2015 and established to integrate the principles of Sustainable
Development into country policies and programmes and to reverse the
loss of environmental resources as one of the three targets to be
achieved under this goal.
"The domination of nature by man stems from the very real
domination of human by human ’The Ecology of Freedom’,
Murray Bookchin
INTRODUCTION
As explained above the term social ecology has its bearing on
mankind as well as on the environment. This can be demonstrated by
a simple example; the demand for water is ever increasing at the same
time the forest cover is decreasing. These along with the other natural
resources are non-renewable resources and they cannot be redeemed
once lost. They should, therefore, be judiciously used. And a sight
imbalance can go a long way in affecting the lives of the future
generations. The term “social ecology” was given by Murray Bookchin
in 1964. And it has become more relevant at a time when the
uncontrolled exploitation of the natural resources by human beings is
taking place. The forest cover in India has decreased from to and this
figure is even more alarming in the sense that all this has taken place
in a span of few decades. Food security and rural development policies
have been revised in recent years placing more emphasis on holistic
approaches to rural livelihoods focusing on the sustainable use of
natural resources, multi-sectoral collaboration and stakeholder
participation in accessing rural assets.
We can, therefore, say that the task of an environmentally
oriented sociology or social ecology is the study of the reciprocal
relations between institutions in the one hand and ecological
infrastructure on the other. It has been found that the existing
institutions have failed in maintaining this balance between the
demand of both the society as well as the environment. This has its
bearing on the environment. This impact has to be minimised by the
mankind as a whole. And an adequate knowledge on this issue will
help us in our cause because this issue does not have its bearing on
the human life alone but also on its culture. The depletion of natural
resources leads to migration, which is again a very serious problem
engulfing the nation today. If the depletion of the natural resources
can be controlled then we can surely control the migration of people
dependent on these resources.
Sociology and ecology are closely related to each other. In many
instances social facts can only be properly understood with reference
to natural environment with which humans live, survive and
reproduce. The ecological infrastructure powerfully conditions the
evolution and direction of human economic life, political relation and
social structure and ideology. At many times human activities reshape
their natural environment in its own image. Basic categories of social
ecology are:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Ecological infrastructure.
Economy.
Social structure.
Polity.
Culture.
TIME LINE OF SOCIAL ECOLOGY
• History: The human attachment with nature is well known from
the historical text.
• 1882: Term ecology coined by Ernst Haeckel but it contained
the attachment of humanity with the environment.
• 1950: William Vogt’s “Our Plundered Planet” which dealt with
the ways in which human being started exploiting the
environment and causing large scale destruction to the
environment as a result of industrialisation.
• 1950s: Murray Bookchin’s work on hazards of pesticides & food
activities. This study proved beyond doubt the way in which the
hazardous chemicals were getting into the human food chain
• 1962: Murray Bookchin’s book “Our Synthetic Environment”
this book dealt mainly with the concept of human movement in
a world which lacked the essence of nature.
• 1962: Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, in this book the author
talks about the impact of human being on the environment, but
the author confined herself to wildlife and nothing more.
• 1964: Term Social Ecology coined by Murray Bookchin in his
book “Ecology & Revolutionary Thought”, this generated vast
interest within the society.
• 1964: Article in “Bioscience” titled “A Subversive Science”
challenged the accepted social & economic practices. This
article compelled people to think if the traditions they were
following were right or wrong.
• 1970s & 1980s: Anti-Nuclear Alliance. This helped strengthen
the existing demand for social ecology.
• 1980s: Green Politics in West Germany & other European
Countries. Though it was on political lines but it affected the
cause of social ecology to a greater extend.
• 1999-2000: Conference on Biodevastation was carried out
against Biotechnology. Biotechnology became the new target as
it has more long term effects than short term gains.
• March 2002: Labeling of Genetically Engineered food. A big
victory for the social ecologists.
SOCIAL ECOLOGY IN INDIAN CONTEXT
In Indian context there are many evidences which show the
relationship between the society and ecology. Many tribes in India
practice shifting cultivation in which they burn the forest and grow
crop on the new cleared area. Here we are taking the case of Saora
tribes of Orissa. Every Sarora village inhabitant practices shifting
cultivation in the hills located in the village boundaries. According to
research, 96% of tribes said that forest resources have decreased. This
was due to deforestation and population growth. This decrease of
forest resources has affected 97% of the tribal population of Orissa. in
this we have tried to highlight the effect of culture on the ecological
condition.
As India is a developing country, therefore, industrilisation is at
its peak and the basic mentality what exists is either grow or die.
Though many industries are flourishing but at the cost of our
environment. We have taken recent example of POSCO which is
establishing a steel plant in Orissa. If the Korean steel maker, POSCO,
is allowed to build a port at Jatadhari near Paradip, it will adversely
affect the nesting beaches for Olive Ridley sea-turtles in the
Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary.
There has always been a tussle between development and the
environment. Many trees are cut down; organisms there get affected in
the name of development. Many have to sacrifice their fertile
agriculture lands as in the case of Sardar Sarovar Dam where tribes
were displaced by the Narmada Control Authority to raise the height
of the Dam to 121.9 meters. To save their land by stopping
government to increase the height of the dam at the cost of people
living over there, people started protesting against this decision. But
their mission was not successful and the whole area particularly
Harsud town fell under submergence.
OBJECTIVES OF SOCIAL ECOLOGY
Social ecology emphasises on the sustainable use of natural
resources for the human development. It also highlights the fact that
human development should not take place at the expence of the
environment. It is, therefore, necessary to put forth the development
in a very well coordinated manner and this manner should be in tune
with the environment and its components. To point out a few
objectives of social ecology:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Conservation of biodiversity.
Sustainable development.
Reducing the dependency of the society on the ecosystem.
Creating awareness about the environment.
CHALLENGES IN SOCIAL ECOLOGY
1. Industrialisation-Due to an ever increasing demand for goods
and services it is necessary to increase the production which
requires additional regions to set up production units. The
land area required for this purpose has to come from the
forests and other natural resources. Therefore, it is a threat to
the social ecology initiative.
2. Development- The development is another major problem
facing social ecology. In this run for development and
generating higher returns human beings have toyed with the
nature. This has resulted in large scale destruction of the
environment. This blind race has given a threatening sign for
the future.
3. Improving lifestyle- With an increase in the social lifestyle,
there has been an increase in the demand for various products
that cost a lot in comparison to the price being paid as one
cannot compute the right price for damaging the environment.
This again has its bearing on the environment and its
components which includes the human beings and its culture.
4. Over-population- In India every 3 seconds a child is born, with
the child come demands for food, shelter, clothes etc. and
these basic demands are to be met even at the expense of
environment. This exponential rise in the population has to be
controlled as this explosion can have its adverse affects on
mother nature
5. Controlling demands- Demands are something that have to be
controlled in order to sustain the environment and decrease
the pressure on the environment. Human beings can find
alternative methods to decrease this pressure.
CONCLUSION
Social Ecology is a very important concept specially in the light
of over exploitation of natural resouces. The concept of social ecology
can help us minimise our dependence on natural resources. The
formulation of a consensus framework of conservation biology marks
an important stage in the establishment of this branch as a discipline.
This shows the sense in which conservation biology is a hybrid
discipline that cuts across the boundary of the natural and the social
sciences: the multiple criteria that have to be synchronized are
generically socioeconomic.
LEARNING POINTS
Principle of social ecology states that the ecological problems
arise from deep-seated social problems. Ecological problems cannot be
understood without facing social issues, as both society and ecology
work hand in glove. So we learnt that both ecology and society have
symbiotic relation. Last few decades have seen an uncontrolled loss of
biodiversity in the name of industrialization. In 1993, it was estimated
that the Earth was losing something on the order of 30,000 species
per year -- which breaks down to the even more daunting statistic of
some three species per hour. So to save our environment it is very
necessary to learn about the importance of ecology in the human
society and how it can play a major role in saving the environment. As
we can take the example from the past were the tribes of Uttaranchal
district came forward to save the trees by hugging them (Chipko
Movement). Another example is of Lakshadweep where fishing is
carried out by poll and line method only. It is acknowledged all over
the world that Pole and line method is most eco-friendly method of
fishing of tuna in which only mother fishes are caught and young ones
as also mother marine creatures are spared, which are unnecessarily
destroyed in other fishing methods. We learnt from the above facts
that how peoples participation and awareness can protect the
environment. This term paper was a nice learning experience as we
were not aware of the various initiatives being taken worldwide in
order to protect the environment.
REFERENCES
1. Baviskar A “For a Cultural Politics of Natural Resources”,
Economic and Political Weekly, November 29, 2003
2. Bookchin M “Reflections: An Overview of the Roots of Social
Ecology”, Harbinger, A Journal of Social Ecology (Vol 3, No. 1)
3. Gadgil G “Ramachandra Guha: The trouble with radical
environmentalists”, www.infochange.com/changemaker5
4. Guha R (ed.) 1994 Social ecology (Delhi: Oxford University Press)
5. Guha
R
and
Martinez-Alier
J
1998
Varieties
of
environmentalism: essays north and south (New Delhi: Oxford
University Press)
6. Malik B B 2004 Social Ecology of Forest Resources (Delhi:
Kalpaz Publication)
7. Staudenmaier P “Economics in a Social-Ecological Society”,
Harbinger, A Journal of Social Ecology (Vol 3, No. 1)
8. Tokar B “Social Ecology and Social Movements from the 1960s
to the Present”, Harbinger, A Journal of Social Ecology (Vol 3,
No. 1)
9. http://www.thegreenfuse.org/socialecology.htm
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
RAMACHANDRA GUHA: - Historian Ramachandra Guha was
professorial fellow at the Centre for Contemporary Studies, Nehru
Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi. He has taught at Yale
University, the Indian Institute of Science and University of California
at Berkeley, where he was the Indo-American Community Chair
professor in 1997 and 1998. He is the author of an acclaimed study of
the Chipko movement, The Unquiet Woods, and co-author of This
Fissured land, An Ecological History of India and Ecology and Equity.
He has also written a critically-acclaimed biography of Verrier Elwin
titled Savaging the Civilised. In the book titled “social ecology” he has
highlighted the issue of society and resources use and abuse.
Dr. BIBHUTI BHUSHAN MALIK:- Dr. Bibhuti Bhushan Malik is a
lecturer in sociology at the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidhyapith
University , Varanasi. He completed his master’s in social systems and
successfully obtained a doctorate from the center for the study of
Social systems at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He was
awarded Junior Research Fellowship as well as Senior fellowship by
University Grants Commission, New Delhi. His book titled “SOCIAL
ECOLOGY OF FOREST RESOURCES” offers a comprehensive analysis
of social ecology, environmental sociology and tribal life in the state of
Orissa. Deterministic approach has been developed to understand the
facets of tribal life and culture. This book studies different aspects of
tribal life by utilizing new theoretical developments in the study of
social ecology and forest.