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The relationship of man with the environment is necessaraily symbiotic, the equilibrium between
the two must be maintained at all costs. Throughout man's existence on the earth, he has
depended upon a neat balance among the various elements of the earth. During the last few
centuries, however, man's relationship with his environment has drastically changed due to a vast
increase in his expectations and activities. Acquisition of knowledge baout science and
technologies and their application in meeting the ever in creasing needs of man has not left any
part of the biosphere untouched, making his own survival precarious.
Extensive modifications of the environment have been caused by shifting millions of tonnes of
materials from one place to another, converting them to less degradable forms or into substances
that are positively harmful to living beings. For example, hundreds of millions tonnes of
minerals, fuels and other toxic materials are being dug out from the interior of the earth every
year and thrown on the earth's surface in one from or the population, more and more demands are
made on the limited sources of energy and materials. The capacity of the environment to support
the increasing demands of man is limited.
The environment performs three basic functions in relation to man. Firts, it provides living space
and other amenities that make life qulitatively rich of man. second, the environment is a source
of agricultural, mineral, water, and other resources that are consumed directly or indirectly.
Third, the environment is a sink where all the waste produced by man is assimilated. It is
essential that the capacity of the environment to perform these functions is not impaired, which
explains our general concern for it. It is important, therefore, that due to stresses imposed on the
environment, the rate of exploitation of resources does not exceed nature's capacity to reproduce
them, or that the amount of chemical and industrial effluents do not exceed the assimilative
capacity of nature.
Rapid population growth, unplanned towns and random growth of f industry are common feature
of any developing country. Where as slums, chimneys emitting poisonous gases and deafening
noise fall to the lot of the dweller, soil contamination and river and subsoil water pollution due ti
the use fertilizers and pesticides are quite common in villages and small towns today, all section
of society are aware of the problems of environmental pollution. There is growing need to tackle
the problem through a variety of measures, such as legal, scientific, technical, economic, and
educational. Different legal and administrtive methods have been introduced in almost all
countries. The basic aim of legislation is to achieve air and water quality within acceptable
levels.