THE PLANET

EARTH APUYA ∙ BRAZAL ∙ REONAL

TERRA
ECOLOGICAL CONCEPTS
 Environmental Engineering
 Ecology of life
 Biogeochemical Cycles
 Ecosystem
Pollution Environmental
Environmental Management System

…AND MORE!

Hazardous Waste The Water Cycle The Oxygen Cycle The Nitrogen Cycle

...
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ECOLOGICAL
CONCEPTS
CONCEPTS
1.1 Introduction to Environmental Engineering
Environmental engineering is the
application of science and engineering principles to
improve the environment {air, water, and/or land
resources}, to provide healthful air, and land for
human habitation and for other organisms, and to
remediate polluted sites. Negative environmental
effects can be decreased and controlled through
public education, conservation, regulations, and the
application of good engineering practices.
Origin of Environmental Engineering
>> Engineers of antiquity
 Providers of adequate water supply for
settlements.
 Builders of wells and aqueducts are the same
people who built the city walls and moats,
and other engines of war.
>> In mid-1700’s: Engineers who built facilities for
the civilian population.
 “civil engineering” was born.
>> 18th – 19th century: Industrialization
 Unsanitary conditions in cities because of
lack of water and waste management.
 Public health became an integral concern.
>> 19th century: Elimination of waterborne
diseases became a major objective.
 Public health engineers
 Sanitary engineers
1 The Planet Earth || Ecological Concepts
Environmental Engineering Today
>>Acute concerns replaced by more complex and
chronic problems
 Climate change
>> Depleting aquifers.
>> Indoor air Pollution.
>> Endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
>> Global transport of persistent pollutants.
>> Challenges to individual environmental media
must be managed at the ecosystem level to avoid
shifting pollution concerns from one environmental
medium to another.
>> Legislation is passed addressing the public’s desire
for clean environment.
>> Objectives in spending resources.
 Protection of wildlife habitat.
 Preservation of species.
 Health of ecosystems.
 Environmental ethics.
Environmental engineering on the horizon
>> In the 21st century
 Preserving health, economic, and social well-
being of people depends on
 preserving and maintaining the
integrity of the ecosystem and
ecosystem services they provide.
Areas of environmental engineering
 Water supply and treatment
 Wastewater treatment
 Air quality and control
 Solid wastes
 Hazardous wastes
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Water supply and treatment

o Environmental engineers protect
water quality.
o Environmental engineers create and
protect drinking water sources and
provide safe drinking water.
o Typical water treatment plant.

Wastewater treatment
o Environmental engineers clean used
water to allow its discharge into the
environment—protecting the
inhabitants and users of waterways.
o Wastewater treatment plant.

Air quality control

o Environmental engineers keep the air fit
for ourselves as well as animals and
plants.

Hazardous Waste
o Environmental engineers design
systems to manage hazardous waste
properly.

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ECOLOGICAL
CONCEPTS
CONCEPTS
1.2 Ecology of Life
The vibrant mélange of life found in natural
ecosystems is godlike in its all-embracing
nurturing. Ecology is the meaning of life

Ultimately, all humanity and all life 1.3 Biochemical Cycles

have is the biosphere, the thin layer
ECOLOGY of life just above and below Earth’s Energy flows directionally through
surface, composed of ancient, ecosystems, entering as sunlight (or inorganic
molecules for chemoautotrophs) and leaving as
miraculously evolved natural
heat during energy transformation between
ecosystems. The natural Earthsimilar
organism, is a marvel – a complex
biologically to a trophic levels. Rather than flowing through an
coupling of species within
cell, ecosystems,
plant, animal, orwhereby life
ecosystem. ecosystem, the matter that makes up organisms
begets life. Without large intact ecosystems, is conserved and recycled. The six most common
elements associated with organic molecules—
Ecology isEarth becomes
far more than the uninhabitable. Yet
study of life and carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus,
sadly,
its environment. The wordsheis used
is being
here murdered
as a synonym by
and sulfur—take a variety of chemical forms and
for ecosystems industrial
– the vibranthumanconnections
growth at that the
may exist for long periods in the atmosphere, on
expense of ecosystems.
emerge between species across scales, which Past certain land, in water, or beneath Earth’s surface.
cumulatively makeplanetary boundary
life on Earth conditions, like
possible. Geologic processes, such as weathering, erosion,
any life, Earth can die. water drainage, and the subduction of the
Nature is far, far more than pretty plants and continental plates, all play a role in the cycling of
animals. EcosystemsThemake
vibrant mélange
Earth of lifeproviding
habitable, found in
elements on Earth. Because geology and
natural and
water, food, air, shelter, ecosystems is godlike inthat
more – everything its
chemistry have major roles in the study of these
all-embracing nurturing.
we need and desire to live well. In naturally evolvedEcology is processes, the recycling of inorganic matter
ecosystems, fromthe meaning
genes of life organisms and
to individual between living organisms and their nonliving
species, to ecosystems and everything else in environment are called biogeochemical cycles.
between, each living being present fulfills a niche
which sustains itself, its neighbors, and the whole. The six aforementioned elements are used
by organisms in a variety of ways. Hydrogen and
All species uniquely express evolutionary oxygen are found in water and organic molecules,
brilliance and have a purpose, a reason for being, a both of which are essential to life. Carbon is found
right to exist, and are necessary to maintain life’s full in all organic molecules, whereas nitrogen is an
potential. From the lowly worm to soaring eagles, to important component of nucleic acids and
the human race – all naturally evolved life has value proteins. Phosphorus is used to make nucleic
and relies upon all the rest. Even seemingly noxious acids and the phospholipids that comprise
disease organisms and man-eating predators have a biological membranes. Lastly, sulfur is critical to
role to play in maintaining ecological balance. the three-dimensional shape of proteins.

The Earth as a whole is a living organism, The cycling of these elements is

similar biologically to a cell, plant, animal, or
ecosystem. Without large intact ecosystems, Earth
becomes uninhabitable. Yet sadly, she is being
murdered by industrial human growth at the
expense of ecosystems. Past certain planetary
boundary conditions, like any life, Earth can die.
3 The Planet Earth || Ecological Concepts
interconnected. For example, the movement of
water is critical for the leaching of sulfur and
phosphorus into rivers, lakes, and oceans.
Minerals cycle through the biosphere between
the biotic and abiotic components and from one
organism to another.
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Water cycle
The hydrosphere is the area of Earth where water movement and storage occurs: as liquid water on
the surface (rivers, lakes, oceans) and beneath the surface (groundwater) or ice, (polar ice caps and glaciers),
and as water vapor in the atmosphere. The human body is about 60 percent water and human cells are more
than 70 percent water. Of the stores of water on Earth, 97.5 percent is salt water (see Figure 1 below). Of the
remaining water, more than 99 percent is groundwater or ice. Thus, less than one percent of freshwater is
present in lakes and rivers. Many organisms are dependent on this small percentage, a lack of which can have
negative effects on ecosystems. Humans, of course, have developed technologies to increase water availability,
such as digging wells to harvest groundwater, storing rainwater, and using desalination to obtain drinkable
water from the ocean. Although this pursuit of drinkable water has been ongoing throughout human history,
the supply of fresh water continues to be a major issue in modern times.

The various processes that occur during the cycling of water are illustrated in Figure 2 below. The
processes include the following:

 Evaporation and Sublimation

 Condensation and
precipitation

 Subsurface water flow

 Surface runoff and snowmelt

Figure. Only 2.5 percent of water on earth is fresh water, and less than 1 percent of
fresh water is easily accessible to living things streamflow.

The water cycle is driven by the Sun’s energy can be taken up by plant roots. The plant will use
as it warms the oceans and other surface waters. This some of this water for its own metabolism and
leads to evaporation (liquid water to water vapor) of some of that will find its way into animals that eat
liquid surface water and sublimation (ice to water the plants, but much of it will be lost back to the
vapor) of frozen water, thus moving large amounts of atmosphere through a process known
water into the atmosphere as water vapor. Over as transpiration: water enters the vascular system
time, this water vapor condenses into clouds as liquid
of plants through the roots and evaporates, or
or frozen droplets and eventually leads
transpires, through the stomata (small microscope
to precipitation (rain, snow, hail), which returns
water to Earth’s surface. Rain reaching Earth’s openings) of the leaves. Ecologists combine
surface may evaporate again, flow over the surface, transpiration and evaporation into a single term
or percolate into the ground. Most easily observed that describes water returned to the
is surface runoff: the flow of freshwater over land atmosphere: evapotranspiration. Water in the soil
either from rain or melting ice. Runoff can make its that is not taken up by a plant and that does not
way through streams and lakes to the oceans. evaporate is able to percolate into the subsoil and
bedrock where it forms groundwater.
In most natural terrestrial environments rain
encounters vegetation before it reaches the soil
surface. A significant percentage of water evaporates
immediately from the surfaces of plants. What is left
reaches the soil and begins to move down. Surface
runoff will occur only if the soil becomes saturated
with water in a heavy rainfall. Water in the soil can
4 The Planet Earth || Ecological Concepts
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cvz

Groundwater is a significant, subsurface reservoir of fresh water. It exists in the pores between particles
in dirt, sand, and gravel or in the fissures in rocks. Groundwater can flow slowly through these pores and
fissures and eventually finds its way to a stream or lake where it becomes part of the surface water again.
Many streams flow not because they are replenished from rainwater directly but because they receive a
constant inflow from the groundwater below. Some groundwater is found very deep in the bedrock and can
persist there for millennia. Most groundwater reservoirs, or aquifers, are the source of drinking or irrigation
water drawn up through wells. In many cases these aquifers are being depleted faster than they are being
replenished by water percolating down from above.

Rain and surface

runoff are major ways in
which minerals, including
phosphorus and sulfur,
are cycled from land to
water. The environmental
effects of runoff will be
discussed later as these
cycles are described.

Figure. Carbon dioxide gas exists in the atmosphere and is dissolved in water. Photosynthesis converts
carbon dioxide gas to organic carbon, and respiration cycles the organic carbon back into carbon dioxide
gas. Long-term storage of organic carbon occurs when matter from living organisms is buried deep
underground and becomes fossilized. Volcanic activity and, more recently, human emissions bring this stored
carbon back into the carbon cycle.

Nitrogen cycle
Getting nitrogen into living organisms is
difficult. Plants and phytoplankton are not equipped
to incorporate nitrogen from the atmosphere (where
it exists as tightly bonded, triple covalent N2) even
though this molecule comprises approximately 78
percent of the atmosphere. Nitrogen enters the living
world through free-living and symbiotic bacteria,
which incorporate nitrogen into their organic
molecules through specialized biochemical
processes. Certain species of bacteria are able to
perform nitrogen fixation, the process of
converting nitrogen gas into ammonia (NH3),
which spontaneously becomes ammonium
(NH4+). Ammonium is converted by bacteria into
nitrites (NO2−) and then nitrates (NO3−). At this
point, the nitrogen-containing molecules are
used by plants and other producers to make
organic molecules such as DNA and proteins.
This nitrogen is now available to consumers.

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Organic nitrogen is especially important to the study

of ecosystem dynamics because many ecosystem
processes, such as primary production, are limited by
the available supply of nitrogen. As shown in Figure 4
below, the nitrogen that enters living systems is
eventually converted from organic nitrogen back into
nitrogen gas by bacteria (Figure 4). The process
of denitrification is when bacteria convert the
nitrates into nitrogen gas, thus allowing it to re-enter
the atmosphere.

Figure 4. Nitrogen enters the living world from the atmosphere via nitrogen-fixing bacteria. This nitrogen and
nitrogenous waste from animals is then processed back into gaseous nitrogen by soil bacteria, which also supply
terrestrial food webs with the organic nitrogen they need.
Oxygen Cycle
The oxygen cycle is the cycle that helps move
oxygen through the three main regions of the Earth, the
Atmosphere, the Biosphere, and the Lithosphere. The
Atmosphere is of course the region of gases that lies above
the Earth’s surface and it is one of the largest reservoirs of
free oxygen on earth. The Biosphere is the sum of all the
Earth’s ecosystems. This also has some free oxygen
produced from photosynthesis and other life processes. The
largest reservoir of oxygen is the lithosphere. Most of this
oxygen is not on its own or free moving but part of chemical
compounds such as silicates and oxides.

The atmosphere is actually the smallest source of oxygen on Earth comprising only 0.35% of the Earth’s
total oxygen. The smallest comes from biospheres. The largest is as mentioned before in the Earth’s crust. The
Oxygen cycle is how oxygen is fixed for freed in each of these major regions.

In the atmosphere Oxygen is freed by the process called photolysis. This is when high energy sunlight
breaks apart oxygen bearing molecules to produce free oxygen. One of the most well known photolysis it the
ozone cycle. O2 oxygen molecule is broken down to atomic oxygen by the ultra violet radiation of sunlight. This
free oxygen then recombines with existing O2 molecules to make O3 or ozone. This cycle is important because
it helps to shield the Earth from the majority of harmful ultra violet radiation turning it to harmless heat before
it reaches the Earth’s surface.

In the biosphere the main cycles are respiration and photosynthesis. Respiration is when animals and
humans breathe consuming oxygen to be used in metabolic process and exhaling carbon dioxide. Photosynthesis
is the reverse of this process and is mainly done by plants and plankton.

The lithosphere mostly fixes oxygen in minerals such as silicates and oxides. Most of the time the process
is automatic all it takes is a pure form of an element coming in contact with oxygen such as what happens when
iron rusts. A portion of oxygen is freed by chemical weathering. When a oxygen bearing mineral is exposed to
the elements a chemical reaction occurs that wears it down and in the process produces free oxygen.

These are the main oxygen cycles and each play an important role in helping to protect and maintain
life on the Earth.

6 The Planet Earth || Ecological Concepts

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1.4 Ecosystem Nutrient flow in ecosystem

o A biological community of
interacting organisms and their
ECOSYSTEM physical environment
o Energy flow is in only one
direction while material flow is
cyclical

Photosynthesis
[𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠] + 𝑐𝑜2 → 𝑂2 + [ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ − 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦_𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠]

Respiration

[𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉 − 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚𝒎𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒔 + 𝒐𝟐 → 𝑪𝑶𝟐 + [𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔]

Types of microbial decomposers
 Classified according to whether or
Groups of organisms
not they have the ability to use
o Producers dissolved O2 as an electron
 Plants; manufacture high-energy molecules acceptor in the decomposition
o Consumers reaction
 Animals that use the molecules produced
by plants as source of energy
o Decomposers >> Obligate aerobes- needs oxygen to
 Organisms that use detritus, a pool of dead survive.
organic matter
[𝐷𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑠] + 𝑂2 → 𝐶𝑂2 + 𝐻2 𝑂 +
Energy flow in ecosystem [𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠]

>> Obligate anaerobes- dissolved O2 is

toxic
[𝐷𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑠] + 𝑂2 + 𝐶𝐻2 + 𝐻2 𝑆 +
+𝑁𝐻3 + …+
[𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠]

>> Facultative microorganisms

Use oxygen when available
but can use anaerobic reactions
when it is not available

Food chain & Food web

Food chain is a linear sequence of organisms which starts from producer organisms and ends with
decomposer species. Food web is a connection of multiple food chains. Food chain follows a single path
whereas food web follows multiple paths. From the food chain, we get to know how organisms are
connected with each other. Food chain and food web form an integral part of this ecosystem.
7 The Planet Earth || Ecological Concepts
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Food Chain
In scientific terms, a food chain is a chronological
pathway or an order that shows the flow of energy from
one organism to the other. In a community which has
producers, consumers, and decomposers, the energy
flows in a specific pathway. Energy is not created or
destroyed. But it flows from one level to the other,
through different organisms.
A food chain shows a single pathway from the
producers to the consumers and how the energy flows
in this pathway. In the animal kingdom, food travels
around different levels. To understand a food chain
better, let us take a look at the terrestrial ecosystem.
Food chain in a Terrestrial Ecosystem
The sun is the source of energy, which is the
initial energy source. This is used by the producers
or plants to create their own food, through
photosynthesis and grow. Next up, in this chain is
another organism, which is the consumer that eats
this food, taking in the energy.
The primary consumers are the organisms
that consume the primary producers. In a
terrestrial ecosystem, it could be a herbivore like a
cow or a goat or it could even be a man. When a
goat is consumed by man, he becomes the
secondary consumer.
8 The Planet Earth || Ecological Concepts
As the energy goes one level up, the
food chain also moves up. Each level in the
food chain is called a trophic level. The
different trophic levels are Primary producers,
primary consumers, secondary consumers,
tertiary consumers and quaternary
consumers.
Example of food chain
Grass (Producer) —–Goat (Primary
Consumer) —– Man (Secondary consumer)
When dead organic matter becomes
the starting of a food chain, then it is called
the detritus food chain (DFC). The
decomposers, which are the fungi and
bacteria, feed on the organic matter to meet
the energy requirements. The digestive
enzymes secreted by the decomposers help in
the breakdown of the organic matter into
inorganic materials.
Food Web
Many interconnected food chains
make up a food web. When you look at the
larger picture, a food web shows a realistic
representation of the energy flow through
different organisms in an ecosystem.
Sometimes, a single organism gets
eaten by many predators or it eats many other
organisms. This is when a food chain doesn’t
represent the energy flow in a proper manner
because there are many trophic levels that
interconnect. This is where a food web comes
into place. It shows the interactions between
different organisms in an ecosystem.
The following diagram shows the energy flow
between various organisms through a food
web.
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POLUTION
ENVIRONMENTS
CONCEPTS
What is Environmental Pollution?
The dictionary explains pollution as “the
presence in or introduction into the environment of
a substance which has harmful or poisonous
effects.” Wiki explains pollution as “the introduction
of contaminants into the natural environment that
cause adverse change.” Simply put, Environmental
Pollution is something that brings harm to our
environment and in turn to the people who exist
based on the environment.
How does Environmental Pollution
occur?
Environmental Pollution occurs when
pollutants contaminate the surroundings; which
brings about changes that affect our normal
lifestyles adversely. Pollutants are the key elements
or components of pollution which are generally
waste materials of different forms. Pollution
disturbs our ecosystem and the balance in the
environment. With modernization and
development in our lives pollution has reached its
peak; giving rise to global warming and human
illness.
Sources and Causes of Environmental
Pollution
The sources and causes of environmental pollution
include the following:
Industrial activities: The industries all over the
world that brought prosperity and affluence, made
inroads in the biosphere and disturbed the
ecological balances. The pall of smoke, the swirling
gases, industrial effluents and the fall-out of
scientific experiments became constant health
hazards, polluting and contaminating both air and
9 The Planet Earth || Pollution Environments
and water. The improper disposal of
industrial wastes are the sources of soil and
water pollution. Chemical waste resulting
from industry can pollute lakes, rivers and
seas and soil too as well as releasing fumes.
Dumping solid waste: Household and
commercial waste pollutes the environment
when not disposed of properly.
Vehicles: The smoke emitted by vehicles
using petrol and diesel and the cooking coal
also pollutes the environment. The
multiplication of vehicles, emitting black
smoke that, being free and unfettered,
spreads out and mixes with the air we
breathe. The harmful smoke of these
vehicles causes air pollution. Further, the
sounds produced by these vehicles
produces causes noise-pollution.
Rapid urbanization and industrialization:
The urbanization and the rapid growth of
industrialization are causing through
environmental pollution the greatest harm
to the plant life, which in turn causing harm
to the animal kingdom and the human lives.
Population overgrowth: Due to the
increase in population, particularly in
developing countries, there has been surge
in demand for basic food, occupation and
shelter. The world has witnessed massive
deforestation to expand absorb the growing
population and their demands.
Combustion of fossil fuels: The combustion
of fossil fuels pollutes the air, the soil and
the water with noxious gases such as CO2
and CO.
Agricultural waste: Fertilizers and
pesticides used in agriculture are key causes
of environmental pollution.
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Types & Causes of Pollution:
2.1 Water Pollution
Every living being depends, directly, on
water so this has taken a heavy toll on the entire
living population. Other than direct
dependencies, more than 60% of the species live
in some form of water. Thus water pollution is
another major type of pollution that needs to be
curbed.
It can be attributed to many factors -
industrial effluent dumped into the rivers and
sea causes a huge imbalance in the water
properties which renders the water bodies unfit
for aquatic lives. Water pollution is also a major
cause of diseases caused to the non-aquatic
species.
Insecticides, pesticides which are sprayed
on the plants, pollutes the ground water system
and oil spills in the oceans have caused
irreparable damage to the water bodies.
Eutrophication is another big source; it occurs
due to daily activities like washing clothes,
utensils near lakes, ponds or rivers; this forces
detergent to go into water which blocks sunlight
from penetrating, thus reducing oxygen and
making it inhabitable.
According to National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 80 percent
of the pollution in marine environments comes
from the land through sources such as runoff.
Water pollution can severely affect marine life.
For example, sewage causes pathogens to grow,
while organic and inorganic compounds in water
can change the composition of the precious
resource. According to the EPA, low levels of
dissolved oxygen in the water are also
considered a pollutant. Dissolved oxygen is
caused by the decomposition of organic
materials, such as sewage introduced into the
water.
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Water pollution not only harms the aquatic
beings but it also contaminates the entire
food chain by severely affecting humans
dependent
on these. Water-borne diseases like cholera,
diarrhoea have also increased in all places.
2.2 Air Pollution
It is the most prevalent and dangerous
form of pollution especially considered to go
hand in hand with urbanization. There are
many reasons to it. Primary among these is the
excessive fuel combustion which has become a
basic necessity for cooking, transport and
other industrial activities. This releases
umpteen no. of chemicals to the air which are
far from being removed from it. These are
directly affecting our existence.
Smoke releases SO2 into the air making
it toxic. It is caused mainly due to chimneys,
factory stacks, vehicles or something as
common as ‘burning of wood’. Release of SO2
and other greenhouse gases into air causes
global warming and has capacity to cause acid
rain. Global warming or emission of these
gases has increased temperatures, erratic rains
and droughts worldwide. This has heavily
increased the cases of Asthma, Bronchitis and
the more dangerous lung cancer, mainly in the
metro cities.
One of the major and unfortunate
examples of what can air pollution lead to is
the Bhopal Gas Tragedy of 1984. It was a direct
result of release of methyl isocyanate gas at
Union Carbide plant in Bhopal. It killed over
2,000 people, and over 200,000 suffered
respiratory problems. An irritant (e.g.
particulates less than 10 micrometers) may
cause respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular
disease and increases in asthma. Even today
there are birth defects in the babies borne,
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which are believed to be because of the tragedy.

Effects of Environmental Pollution
Environmental pollution has negatively affected the life of both human-beings and animals.
Almost all of our gains in the fields of industrial progress, science and technology had so far been
realized at the cost of our health. Even our flora and fauna were found to be threatened with
extinction.
All this really leaves us wondering if all our achievements and industrial civilization really help
us climb the peaks of prosperity or simply take us down the blind alleys of adversity. It is not only in
India, but all over the world – even in Europe and U.S.A. – that the question is being raised whether
all is well with our industrial growth and progress in the field of science and technology. Many
crusaders against environmental pollution are vehemently protesting against the indiscriminate
violations committed daily in the name of development.
The environmental pollution is not caused by the fall-out from nuclear tests or industries
alone. The smoke left behind the automobiles and other vehicular traffic, the increasing use of
synthetic detergents, nitrogen fertilizers and insecticides contaminate both air and water.
The water we drink the vegetables are all contaminated to-day. As a result of this
contamination our world is afflicted with a quite a number of incurable diseases.
Environmental pollution affects water sources which mean that there is less fresh water
available for drinking, washing, cooking and irrigating crops.
Nothing in this world is immune, no life is safe and the future of this world is bleak.
The factories are mostly built in populated areas and the smoke-emitting vehicles ply through
the congested areas. Besides causing immense disturbances, there are increasing case of pulmonary
tuberculosis and thrombosis and various sorts of brain and heart complications.
Air-pollution may cause severe lungs-diseases, asthma, brain-disorder diseases, etc.
The heat generated by industries and vehicles causes thermal pollution by raising the
environmental temperature of the nearby areas.
Many scientists believe that we are living in an era of mass extinction, due to human made
environmental pollution.
The birth of mills and factories is the result of the growth of industry in this machine-predominated
age. As long as they will be there, they must emit smoke, pollute the air and hasten our end by slow-
poisoning.

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ENVIRONMENTAL
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Environmental Impact
Assessment
What is Impact Assessment?
Impact assessments are carried out to assess
the consequences of individual projects --
Environmental Impact Assessment -- or of policies and
programmes -- Strategic Environmental Assessment.
Environmental Impact Assessment
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a
process of evaluating the likely environmental impacts
of a proposed project or development, taking into
account inter-related socio-economic, cultural and
human-health impacts, both beneficial and adverse.
UNEP defines Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) as a tool used to identify the
environmental, social and economic impacts of a
project prior to decision-making. It aims to predict
environmental impacts at an early stage in project
planning and design, find ways and means to reduce
adverse impacts, shape projects to suit the local
environment and present the predictions and options
to decision-makers. By using EIA both environmental
and economic benefits can be achieved, such as
reduced cost and time of project implementation and
design, avoided treatment/clean-up costs and
impacts of laws and regulations.
a. Screening to determine which projects or
developments require a full or partial impact
assessment study;
12 The Planet Earth || Environmental
Management System
b. Scoping to identify which potential impacts
are relevant to assess (based on legislative
requirements, international conventions,
expert knowledge and public involvement), to
identify alternative solutions that avoid,
mitigate or compensate adverse impacts on
biodiversity (including the option of not
proceeding with the development, finding
alternative designs or sites which avoid the
impacts, incorporating safeguards in the
design of the project, or providing
compensation for adverse impacts), and
finally to derive terms of reference for the
impact assessment;
c. Assessment and evaluation of impacts and
development of alternatives, to predict and
identify the likely environmental impacts of a
proposed project or development, including
the detailed elaboration of alternatives;
d. Reporting the Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) or EIA report, including an
environmental management plan (EMP), and
a non-technical summary for the general
audience.
e. Review of the Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS), based on the terms of
reference (scoping) and public (including
authority) participation.
f. Decision-making on whether to approve the
project or not, and under what conditions;
and
g. Monitoring, compliance, enforcement and
environmental auditing. Monitor whether the
predicted impacts and proposed mitigation
measures occur as defined in the EMP. Verify
the compliance of proponent with the EMP, to
ensure that unpredicted impacts or failed
mitigation measures are identified and
addressed in a timely fashion.
 TERRA
The Planet Earth
All rights reserved:
Copyright 2019

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