SOCIAL ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT

Course Objectives
The objective of this course is to provide students with insights into the dynamics of human environment interactions in Nepal. The ecology
of human societies is about connections between ecological and human social, cultural, and organizational processes. It is a very broad and
general subject that crosses numerous scientific disciplines. It therefore has to be approached in a broad and general way, with an emphasis
on theoretical ideas.
Course Description
The core theme of social ecology and environment course is to understand the concept and quality of people–environment relationships. The
course is designed around the main themes like environment, poverty and development; risk and adaptation to natural hazards and climate
change; conservation, deforestation and biodiversity; and issues related to environmental policies and programs.
Course Outcomes
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
1. Explain the concept and core principles of social ecology and environment;
2. Discuss current environmental issues with an understanding of the basic social ecological concepts involved.
3. Identify and describe major approaches that help to integrate social and ecological, or human-natural systems, dynamics, or
understandings;
4. Describe the multidimensional structure of human environment;
5. Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches, including how they may help navigate environmental change;
6. Analyze and express what purposeful socio-ecological change and awareness might entail, and understand how such changes might
be engineered or fostered through policy, management, or other interventions;
7. Explain how ecological culture works as a means of harmonizing interactions between society and nature.
Course Contents
The following themes or topics are included:
1. Concept of social ecology
2. Core principles of social ecology
3. Human-environment system and transactions
4. Multidimensional structure of human environment
5. Concept of ecosystem; various ecosystems and their features
 6. Social hierarchy and domination over resources
7. Social culture and economic relationship
8. Present day socio-ecological crisis
9. Environment and public policy
10. Global environmental change
11. Social Impact Assessment
12. Ecological awareness
13. Sustainability of social ecological system
References
1. Kogent, Energy, Environment, Ecology and Society. New Delhi: Wiley India.
2. Harper, C. L. Environment & Society. New Delhi: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
3. Sutton, M. Q. and Anderson, E. N. Introduction to Cultural Ecology. Altamira Press.
4. Rajagopalan, R. Environmental Studies: From Crisis to Cure. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
5. Sankar, A. Environmental Management. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
6. DeSimone, L. D. & Popoff, F. Eco-efficiency: The Business Link to Sustainable Development. MIT Press.

1. CONCEPT OF SOCIAL ECOLOGY

Social Ecology is a critical social theory founded by American anarchist and libertarian socialist author Murray Bookchin.
Conceptualized as a critique of current social, political, and anti-ecological trends, it espouses a
reconstructive, ecological, communitarian, and ethical approach to society.
Social Ecological Model (SEM),
The present Module provides a description of (1) the Social Ecological Model (SEM), a framework for understanding the
multiple levels of a social system and interactions between individuals and environment within this system, (2) a model of
the communication for development (C4D) approach. The importance of identifying and incorporating social norms into
program planning, partnerships, and capacity strengthening are also discussed.

UNICEF C4D supports behavior and social change strategies that produce program and outcome synergies and positive
change within a social system. The Social Ecological Model represents a social system (Figure 1). For every level in the
SEM there are corresponding C4D approaches for achieving behavioral and social change (Figure 2).

Social Ecological Model (SEM)

The Social Ecological Model (SEM) is a theory-based framework for understanding the multifaceted and interactive effects
of personal and environmental factors that determine behaviors, and for identifying behavioral and organizational leverage
points and intermediaries for health promotion within organizations. There are five nested, hierarchical levels of the SEM:
Individual, interpersonal, community, organizational, and policy/enabling environment (Figure 1). Table 1 provides a brief
description of each of the SEM levels. The most effective approach to public health prevention and control uses a
combination of interventions at all levels of the model.

Policy/Enabling Environment (national, state, local laws)

Organizational (organizations and social institutions

Community (relationships between organizations)
Interpersonal (families, friends, social
networks)
Individual
(knowledge, attitudes,
behaviors)

Figure 1. The Social Ecological Model.

Source: Adapted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), The Social Ecological Model: A
Framework for Prevention, http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/overview/social-ecologicalmodel.html (retrieved April
21, 2014).

Table 1. A Description of Social Ecological Model (SEM) Levels.

SEM Level Description

Individual ● Characteristics of an individual that influence behaviour change, including knowledge, attitudes, behavior, self-
efficacy, developmental history, gender, age, religious identity, racial/ethnic identity, sexual orientation, economic
status, financial resources, values, goals, expectations, literacy, stigma, and others.

Interpersonal ● Formal (and informal) social networks and social support systems that can influence individual behaviours,
including family, friends, peers, co-workers, religious networks, customs or traditions.

Community ● Relationships among organizations, institutions, and informational networks within defined boundaries, including
the built environment (e.g., parks), village associations, community leaders, businesses, and transportation.

Organizational ● Organizations or social institutions with rules and regulations for operations that affect how, or how well, for
example, MNCH services are provided to an individual or group.

Policy/Enabling ● Local, state, national and global laws and policies, including policies regarding the allocation of resources for
Environment maternal, newborn, and child health and access to healthcare services, restrictive policies (e.g., high fees or taxes
for health services), or lack of policies that require childhood immunizations.

Social Mobilization
Social mobilization (SM) is a continuous process that engages and motivates various inter-sectoral partners at national
and local levels to raise awareness of, and demand for, a particular development objective. These partners may include
government policy makers and decision-makers, community opinion leaders, bureaucrats and technocrats, professional
groups, religious associations, non-governmental organizations, private sector entities, communities, and individuals.
This communication approach focuses on people and communities as agents of their own change, emphasizes
community empowerment, and creates an enabling environment for change and helps build the capacity of the groups in
the process, so that they are able to mobilize resources and plan, implement and monitor activities with the community.

Engagement is usually through interpersonal communication (i.e., face-to-face dialogue) among partners toward changing
social norms and accountability structures, providing sustainable, multifaceted solutions to broad social problems, and
creating demand and utilization of quality services. Other channels and activities for SM may include mass media
awareness-raising campaigns, advocacy with community leaders to increase their commitment to the issue, and activities
that promote broad social dialogue about the issues, such as talk shows on national television and radio, community
meetings, traditional participatory theater performances, home visits, and leaflets. The outcomes are usually oriented
toward developing a supportive environment for decision-making and resource allocation to empower communities to act
at the grassroots level. Table 3 shows the five usual phases of the social mobilization process1:

Table 3. Five Phases of the Social Mobilization Process.

Phase Description
1. Building rapport and Partners organize meetings and activities to understand one another, determine
sharing knowledge commonalities, and share knowledge and perspectives with regard to the problem that will
be addressed.

2. Problem analysis and Partners conduct exercises to analyze the nature of the problem, identify and prioritize needs,
action plan develop a common problem statement, goals and objectives, and draft an action plan.

3. Organization building Partners develop a participatory, self-governing, self-managing, and self-sustaining

1
Shefner-Rogers, C. (2013). Regional Communication Strategy Development Guide for Newborn Care and the Prevention and Control of Childhood
Pneumonia and Diarrhoea in East Asia and the Pacific Region. New York: UNICEF (unpublished).
 committee, coalition, or working group through which resources and actions are organized.

4. Capacity building
5. Action and sustainability
Partners may identify weakness in their ability to take action and engage experts or
experienced individuals or groups to build the capacity of the committee or coalition to help
them achieve their goals and objectives.
Partners must be involved consistently through all phases of the action plan. It is important
that there is shared recognition for implementation and success, transparency, equity, and
joint decision-making.

Social mobilization recognizes that sustainable social and behavior change requires collaboration at multiple levels, from
individual to community to policy and legislative action, and that partnerships and coordination yield stronger impacts than
isolated efforts. Key strategies of social mobilization include using advocacy to mobilize resources and change inhibiting
policies, media and special events to raise public awareness and create public spheres for debate, building and
strengthening partnership and networks, and motivating community participation.

The Importance of Social Norms

Social norms refer to the perceived standards of acceptable attitudes and behaviors within formal and informal networks.
These are the “unwritten rules” that are adhered to in a person’s family or peer group, and within a community or society
at large. Norms can generally be defined as those regulating factors that determine how a person behaves in a particular
context.2 Individuals may engage in specific behaviors as a result of their perceptions about (1) the consequences of not
conforming to social norms, (2) what others in their social network are doing and how they are behaving, and/or (3) what
others in their social network think they should be doing.

Changing social norms or creating new social norms requires shifting (1) people’s paradigms about what they perceive to
be right or true, and (2) people’s expectations regarding normative behaviors. Social norms that are deeply rooted in

2
Kempf, WF, Hilke. R (December, 2012). The measurement of social norms in mathematical models for social psychology, ed. by Wilhelm F. Kempf. Bern :
Huber, 1977, p. 157
one’s beliefs are the most difficult to change. The various C4D approaches can be used to shift social norms toward
positive norms through interpersonal and community dialogue, social mobilization, and advocacy. For example, gender
norms and social expectations of the roles that men play in reproductive health affects their attitudes and behaviors about
HIV and pregnancy prevention, gender-based violence, and their participation in pregnancy, childbirth, newborn care and
child care. Programs that address the social construction of gender roles through group or peer education, community
outreach, mobilization, and mass media campaigns, and promote policy-level changes that support positive social norms
have been shown to have effects on changing norms (Approaches for Changing Gender-Based Norms). In Yemen, the
Safe Age of Marriage intervention used a community-based approach to change social norms and community attitudes
regarding early marriage, girls’ education, and the rights of girl children, including educating communities about the social
and health consequences of child marriages, gaining support for keeping girls in school as an alternative to child
marriage, and securing the support of religious leaders and stakeholders to support of increased age of marriage
(Fostering Change in Social Norms Around Safe Age of Marriage in Yemen).

Social norms are usually understood by measuring individual attitudes (positive or negative feelings regarding an idea or
behavior) and beliefs (perceptions about what is true or false). Figure 3 is a schematic that highlights the concepts to
consider when measuring social norms. To date, the most commonly used surveys (e.g., Demographic and Health
Survey (DHS) and Multi-Cluster Indicator Survey (MICS)) do not capture social norm data. Efforts are underway to
develop ways to measure social norms.
Figure 3. General Considerations in Measuring Social Norms.

Source: UNICEF 2013

How to Use the Social Ecological Model for Planning a Strategic C4D Intervention
Since individuals exist in a social ecological system, changing individual-level behaviors and creating new social norms
requires creating an enabling environment, that is, facilitating change and removing bottlenecks that inhibit change at the
household, community, organizational, and policy levels. For example, if a program’s goal is to increase the number of
children that are immunized, then (1) parents and caregivers must understand why it is important to have their child
immunized and be motivated to seek and demand immunization for their child, (2) parents and caregivers must have easy
access to immunizations for their child in their locale, (3) health facilities and/or community health workers must be trained
and equipped to provide immunizations, and (4) communities must embrace and own the importance of child survival,
demand immunization, and create a social norm around immunization.

Program managers and program planners should use the SEM (1) to understand the complexity of, and possible avenues
for addressing, the health problem, and (2) to prioritize resources and interventions that address the multiple facets of the
problem, remove bottlenecks, and create an enabling environment for sustained behavior and social change. As
described above, a preliminary tool that some program managers and program planners use to help them assess the
social ecological landscape prior to developing a strategic program plan is the SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis is one
element of a strategic plan. The SWOT analysis is an inventory of resources and usually focuses on four key program
management areas: (1) Partnerships, (2) capacity development, (3) research, monitoring and evaluation, and (4) resource
mobilization.

The SWOT analyses will highlight internal organizational strengths, internal weaknesses, external opportunities, and
external threats or barriers to achieving your program’s goal and objectives. Understanding the SWOT analysis will help
to determine how to focus on high-priority vulnerable, marginalized, and hard-to-reach populations, where change is
possible, and provide opportunities to change course or revise priorities as appropriate in order to reach your program
goals. For example, an assessment of resources for a strategic C4D program with a goal of increasing immunization may
allow (1) for advocacy activities toward a policy that assures that every child is immunized, (2) for organizational capacity-
building to develop a cadre of trained healthcare providers and promoters at the local level, (3) for community
engagement activities to create demand for quality healthcare services where immunizations can be obtained at a
reasonable cost, and (4) for a campaign to promote the importance, availability, skilled providers, and points-of-access for
immunizations in an underserved community.

Partnerships, Collaborations, and Ownership

Strong partnerships and collaborations are at the core of effective C4D programs. When partners take ownership of a
program, it is more likely to succeed. A strong communication program should engage multiple partners at the national
and local levels in a participatory manner; no single entity can achieve the results produced through multi-partner
collaborations. Partners can provide program support through expertise, capacity building, and resource mobilization, can
broaden the reach and profile of the program through network affiliations, and can help to avoid duplication of efforts.

A key strategy for developing and administering C4D programs is to create an infrastructure or centralized mechanism for
engaging partners in a participatory process to manage the program (e.g., C4D Coordinating Committee). Such
centralized mechanisms are more successful when partners create the mechanism together. The process for developing
such a mechanism, and the ground rules by which it will operate, helps to create the culture of the partnership and
develop working relationships.

The key to high-performance partnerships is continuous and open information sharing. There should be a mechanism for
sharing information and communicating about the activities of the group and the program. For newly formed groups, it is
useful to begin by clarifying a shared vision to help partners focus on the path to achieving success and brainstorming
about the limitations and challenges to realizing the vision and how the team of partners can overcome the limitations or
challenges. The partners should also develop a common goal and objectives for the partnership and discuss the potential
contributions of each individual, group, or organizational partner. Meetings should be held on a regular basis to share
information, assess progress, re-visit program objectives and activities, and discuss next steps in the program steering
process.

Capacity Strengthening
Capacity strengthening at the institutional and community levels is an important component for strong and effective C4D
programs. There are many strategies for developing capacities for the management and delivery of C4D programs,
including formal and informal skills training, mentoring, supportive supervision, and team building exercises. The type of
strategy selected depends on the existing level of capacity, the type of strengthening required and the level at which the
capacity needs to be strengthened (e.g., individual, group, community, organization/institution, or national level).
Individuals might benefit from topic- or skills- based trainings, demonstrations, study-tours, observations, and supportive
supervision. Groups and communities might engage in participatory training workshops, group education meetings, and
team-building exercises.

Organizations and institutions might gain insight into their capacities through special studies, for example a SWOT
analysis, that engages members of the organization in an exercise to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,
and threats facing the institution in such areas as partnerships, research, monitoring, and evaluation, and resource
mobilization, and enable them to make recommendations for leveraging internal strengths, improving internal
weaknesses, exploiting external opportunities, and minimizing external threats.

For example, recent SWOT analyses for UNICEF offices in East Asia and the Pacific identified weaknesses in the area of
research, monitoring and evaluation. Training programs for national staff may be designed to cover specific topics (e.g.,
how to develop a survey questionnaire, how to write an evaluation report) or the more broad area of how to implement
and manage the monitoring and evaluation component of a program. Training may be provided formally, through
workshops and courses, or informally, through working together. Program managers might identify and circulate copies of
a well-written monitoring plan or evaluation to illustrate what end products are expected. Formal training followed by on-
site technical assistance is an effective way of supporting the skills building process.

Strengthening capacity at the national level, for example, with government officials who are not clear on the contributions
of C4D for child survival programs, might involve briefings, study tours, focused trainings, invitations to participate in
special events (e.g., National Immunization Days), and educational materials (e.g., DVDs, booklets). It is useful to
conduct an inventory of current skills and gaps in capacity to decide what type of capacity strengthening is needed and at
what level. Program managers also need to be mindful of strengthening program staffing and institutional policies that
can affect overall program capacity (UNICEF C4D Capability Framework). The UNICEF C4D Capability Development
Framework3 can guide and support program managers on the identification of gaps and the development of plans for
capacity strengthening.

3
Communication for Development (C4D) Capability Development Framework, UNICEF and 3D Change, 2009. This document is available at the following
UNICEF C4D Intranet Page:. http://intranet.unicef.org/pd/cbsc.nsf/Site%20Pages/Page01?OpenDocument&TableRow=3.2.3#3.2.
Steps in Developing a C4D Strategy
Developing a C4D strategy to influence or reinforce behavior and social change is a step-wise process that begins with a
solid understanding of the problem and population of interest in order to ensure more efficient use of resources and
greater behavior change impact. Each step of the process should include consultation with, and the participation of,
partners (e.g., policymakers, technical experts, local change agents, and media specialists) and members of the intended
participant groups that can impact and are affected by child survival issues.

The next Module in this Guide, Module 2, will take you through the steps for developing a C4D strategy.

2. THE SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL MODEL IS BASED ON

FOUR CORE PRINCIPLES:

1. Multiple factors influence behaviours. Therefore

efforts to change behaviour, including physical activity
behaviour, should be based on the understanding of the
interrelationship between the four levels of the social-
ecological model: individual, social environment, physical
environment and policy. Physical activity interventions are
more likely to be successful when they target multiple
components of the social-ecological model.

2. Environments are multidimensional and complex.

Social or physical environments can be described as
containing a variety of features or attributes, such as the size,
temperature, facilities and safety. Environments can also be
described in terms of their actual or perceived qualities. The
variable nature of environments has a direct implication on
the design of initiatives to promote physical activity participation. For example, a community may have good access to
parks which are easily accessible and well equipped with play equipment for children, however parental perceptions
about traffic safety en-route to the park and ‘stranger danger’ may prevent children from using this aspect of their
physical environment.
3. Human-environment interactions can be described at varying levels of organization. Human interactions with the
environment can occur at individual, small group, organizational, community or population levels. The social-ecological
model does not just focus on the individual but includes multiple levels of human interaction with environments. For
example, interventions promoting physical activity can be large such as whole population mass media campaigns or
may focus on organizations such as a school or workplace settings or may be based around a local community which
they are tailored to. The effectiveness of campaigns to promote physical activity is enhanced when they target differing
levels of the human-environment interaction.

4. The interrelationships between people and their environment are dynamic. There is a reciprocal relationship between
people and their environments. The social, physical and policy environments influence the behavior of the individual,
while at the same time behavior of the individual, group or organization also impact on the wellbeing of their
environments. The environment can control or set limits to the physical activity behavior that occurs within it. Making a
change in the environment can result in a modification of behavior. Example of this reciprocal relationships include:

● lack of access of facilities such as a swimming pool limits the number of people who are able to undertake
swimming as an activity (environment influencing behaviour)

● Increasing numbers of people riding bicycles and lobbying of community groups has influenced governments to
include facilities such as bike paths and bicycle lanes on roads (behavior influencing the environment).

5. The core principle of social ecology is that ecological problems arise from deep-seated social problems. Ecological
problems cannot be understood, much less resolved, without facing social issues.

6. Social hierarchy and class legitimize our domination of the environment and underpin the consumer system.

7. "The root causes of environmental problems are such as trade for profit, industrial expansion, and the identification of
"progress" with corporate self-interest."

8. The ecological damage done by our society is more than matched by the harm it inflicts on humanity. Social ecology
emphasizes that the destiny of human life goes hand-in-hand with the destiny of the non-human world.

9. "Social ecologists believe that things like racism, sexism, third world exploitation are a product of the same
mechanisms that cause rainforest devastation"' (Environmental Philosophy: From Animal Rights to Radical Ecology')
10. Ecology shows that nature can provide us with ethical principles. A flourishing eco-system maximizes diversity and
interaction and minimizes hierarchy and domination. The good of the whole is archived through "rich individuality and
complex interrelationship of the parts." (John Clark, 'Renewing the Earth', Bookchin calls for a holistic 'ecological
sensibility' that would encourage play and celebrate imagination.

11. Bookchin emphasizes that human beings are basically just highly intelligent primates. We are a part of nature and
suggestions that we are a 'special case' are superficial and potentially misanthropic.

12. Anthropocentrism places humans at the top of a species hierarchy with the premise that the world was made for us.
The opposing principle, biocentricity, claims that all beings have equal intrinsic value and is bound up with the notion of
a 'biocentric democracy' which Bookchin describes as "almost meaningless". See the Deep Ecology Critique section
on bio centric equality

13. Our second nature, the development of technology, science, social institutions, towns and cities, all depended on
human abilities that evolved from first nature.

14. In place of the existing hierarchical and class system social ecology proposes an egalitarian society based on mutual
aid, caring and communitarian values. People in this new society would appreciate that the interests of the collective
are inseparable from those of each individual.

15. Humans building cities and towns to create a comfortable place to live, just like any other species. The problem is that
the environmental changes we produce are far greater that those of other species. Our 'second nature' has become a
problem for ourselves and non-human life. How and why this happens is the key to solving our ecological crisis.

16. In a comment aimed at some deep ecologists, Bookchin says that to depict human beings "as 'aliens' that have no
place or pedigree in natural evolution, or to see them essentially as an infestation that parasitizes a highly
anthropomorphic version of the planet (Gaia) the way fleas parasitize dogs and cats, is bad thinking, not only bad
ecology." (Bookin. Ibid.)

Components of the social-ecological model

There are a number of versions of the social-ecological model, which use slightly different classifications of environmental
influences. For the purposes of VCE Physical Education the social-ecological model made up of the individual, social
environment, physical environment and policy components.
Bronfenbrenner’s work saw the influences on behavior as a series of layers, where each layer had a resulting impact on
the next level. He described these layers as being like being a series of Russian dolls, where the innermost level
represents the individual, which is then surrounded by differing levels of environmental influences. For example, an
individual’s social environment of family, friends and workplace are embedded within the physical environment of
geography and community facilities, which is in turn embedded within the policy environment of different levels of
government or governing bodies. All levels of the social-ecological model impact on the behavior of the individual. The
social-ecological model represents this concept as a series of overlapping circles, with each circle representing a different
layer or component of the model.
The social-ecological model needs to be tailored to suit particular behaviours and population groups. For example,
adolescents will perform different physical activities in different settings to older adults; therefore intervention strategies
would differ for each population. While the components of the social-ecological model will remain the same and can be
used in a range of populations, the specific examples within each component will vary depending on the population group.

Individual

The individual is at the Centre of the social-ecological model. This level includes personal factors that increase or
decrease the likelihood of an individual being physically active. Individual factors which influence physical activity
participation include:

1. knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, perceived barriers, motivation, enjoyment

2. skills (including fundamental motor skills and sports specific skills), abilities, disabilities or injuries
3. age
4. sex
5. level of education
6. socioeconomic status
7. employment status
8. self-efficacy.
Strategies which bring change at the individual level tend to focus on changing an individual’s knowledge, attitudes,
behaviour and skills. They include education and mentoring programs.

Social environment

Surrounding the individual in the social-ecological model is the social environment. The social environment comprises the
relationships, the culture and the society with whom the individual interacts. The social environment has a significant
influence on physical activity behaviour. For example, having someone such as a peer, family member or work colleague
to be physically active with can impact on physical activity behaviour.

The social environment includes:

1. family, such as the influence of parental and sibling physical activity levels and family support
2. spouse or partner
3. peers
 4. institutions and organisations, such as schools, workplaces and community organisations
5. access to social support networks versus social isolation
6. influence of health and other professionals such as doctors, teachers and coaches
7. community norms
8. cultural background
9. socioeconomic status of the community
Strategies which bring change at the social environment level include community education, support groups, peer
programs, workplace incentives and social marketing campaigns. These are used to promote positive community attitudes
and awareness to participation in physical activity.

Physical environment

Physical activities take place in physical environments. Physical environment includes the natural environment and the
built (or man-made) environment. Physical environments are likely to influence the amount and type of physical activity,
this influence can be positive or negative. For example, physical environments such as sports fields, bike paths,
swimming pools and gymnasiums are designed for physical activity, while other physical environments such as
workplaces, schools, family homes or theatres may discourage, restrict or prohibit physical activity. The physical
environment includes:

1. natural factors such as weather or geography

2. availability and access to facilities such as parks, playgrounds, sporting grounds, gymnasiums, walking or cycling
tracks

3. aesthetics or perceived qualities of facilities or the natural environment safety such as crime rates or amount and
speed of traffic community design such as connectivity of streets, living in a cul-de-sac, density of housing or land
use public transport.

The built environment provides opportunities for intervention, such as the inclusion of walking or bicycle tracks and parks
in new housing developments and ease of access to them. The natural environment has fewer opportunities for
intervention; these tend to focus on overcoming barriers to physical activity within the natural environment.

Strategies focusing on the physical environment usually should be put in place before educational or community
awareness initiatives are attempted. Sometimes educational initiatives encourage impossible or unrealistic behaviour. For
example, media campaigns that encourage people to walk will be ineffective in communities where there are no or poorly
maintained walking paths or where safety is an issue. In this scenario, education and awareness programs are more likely
to be effective when preceded by programs for the development of community facilities and promoting community safety.

Policy

This refers to legislation, regulatory or policy making actions that have the potential to affect physical activity. These are
often formal legal actions taken by local, state or federal governments but also can be informal local policies or rules in
settings such as schools or workplaces. Policy includes:

1. urban planning policies

2. active transport policies
3. education policies such as mandating time for physical education classes
4. health policies
5. environmental policies
6. workplace policies
7. Funding policies.
Developing the political will to implement policies promoting physical activity participation can sometimes be difficult.
Strategies which align physical activity participation with priorities from other sectors can increase the chances of
succeeding. For example, climate change is a significant issue and the context of reducing reliance on fossil fuels and the
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions provides the opportunity to combine both health and environmental policies to
promote physical activity participation .

HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT SYSTEM AND TRANSACTIONS

Both quantitative and qualitative aspects of the human environment are important to the international manager. The number of
people and their social, economic, and political behavior are fundamental determinants of the success or failure of business
activities. The international manager must be well informed in order to be able to allow for these human variables in formulating
strategies.

Population Every minute of every day more than 250 babies are born into the world.
religion Religion is a socially shared set of beliefs, ideas, and actions that focus on
a reality that cannot be verified empirically, yet is believed to affect the
 course of natural and human events. The world's main religions can be
classified into six categories (see Figure 4.3): (1) no literate religions; (2)
Hinduism; (3) Buddhism; (4) Islam; (5) Judaism; (6) Christianity.
Language Language is the means of communication. In some countries, more than
one language is spoken. In India, for example, over fifteen languages are
recognized
Politics
economics

Population
Every minute of every day more than 250 babies are born into the world. The earth's population as of 1988 stood at about 5.2 billion
people, and it continues to grow rapidly. If current trends continue, by the year 2050 there will be some 11 billion people on
earth. Figure 4.2 vividly illustrates population dynamics. At the beginning of recorded history, there were about 300 million people on
earth. World population then took more than 1500 years to double. That is a growth rate of much less than ½%. At the beginning of
the eighteenth century, the world's population started to rise steadily. By 1900, it had reached the 1.7 billion mark, the result of a
growth rate of about 1/2%.

The twentieth century saw a truly remarkable rate of population growth. During the first half of the century, the world's population,
growing at 1% per year, reached the 2.5 billion level. Today, as a result of an absolutely devastating growth rate of some 2% per
year for the first two decades of the second half of the century, world population has doubled again.

The remarkable growth during the second half of the twentieth century took place almost exclusively in the developing countries. This
fact is of major importance for international business managers. The contrast between the developed and the developing countries is
evident. Most of the former experienced a slight rate of growth in population. Two countries, Britain and West Germany, actually
experienced a decline in population over the last five years. While most of Europe, including the USSR and Japan, grew at an annual
rate of less than 5%, the United States and Canada added to their populations at a rate of more than 5% per year.

Religious

Religion is a socially shared set of beliefs, ideas, and actions that focus on a reality that cannot be verified empirically, yet
is believed to affect the course of natural and human events. The world's main religions can be classified into six
categories (see Figure 4.3): (1) nonliterate religions; (2) Hinduism; (3) Buddhism; (4) Islam; (5) Judaism; (6) Christianity.
Whereas most businesspeople who are briefed for a business trip abroad are advised about the eating and drinking habits of the
people they plan to visit, few receive an organized introduction to the country's religions. Avoiding the social embarrassment that may
be encountered as a result of not knowing another's religious beliefs and traditions is only one of the reasons to carefully study the
religious makeup of a country in which one intends to do business. Religious holidays and preparations for major religious events can
have tremendous implications for production schedules, delivery deadlines, unloading of ships, and other operating practices.

Language
Language is the means of communication. In some countries, more than one language is spoken. In India, for example, over fifteen
languages are recognized.
English is the language most widely used in international business dealings. It is estimated that more than 400 million people use
English as their primary and official language, and some 700 million use English as a second language; one half of the world's
newspapers are printed in English. For this reason most North Americans have developed the attitude that they can speak any
language as long as it is English. When asked whether he had any language problem during his year in Egypt, a friend once responded,
"I had no problem. They did."
For the manager who will work in another country, however, some knowledge of the languages spoken is an invaluable asset. The
manager who has to live with the people in a foreign country must be concerned with their language for the simple reason that he or
she must decide on the language of the everyday directives, training manuals, report systems, and all forms of spoken and written
exchange.
 MULTIDIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE OF HUMAN ENVIRONMENT
Dimension
Environ men
Work domain
Organizational analysis
Task analysis in work domain
terms
Task analysis in decision-making
terms
Task analysis in terms of
strategies that can be used
Actor’s resources and values
CONCEPT OF ECOSYSTEM; VARIOUS ECOSYSTEMS AND THEIR FEATURES
Examples
What elements outside the organization affect it?
What are the goals of the work domain? The constraints?
The priorities? The functions?
What physical processes take place? What tools are
employed?
How is work divided among teams? What criteria are used?
What is the nature of the organization, hierarchical,
democratic, chaotic? What are the organizational values?
What is the task (e.g., design of navigation functionality)?
What are the goals of the task that generated an
information problem? Constraints? The functions involved?
The tools used?
What decisions are made (e.g., what model to select for the
navigation)? What information is required? What sources
are useful?
What strategies are possible (e.g., browsing, the analytical
strategy)? What strategies does the actor prefer? What type
of information is needed? What information sources does
the actor prefer?
What is the formal training of the actor? Area of expertise?
Experience with the subject
domain and the work domain? Personal priorities? Personal
value
An ecosystem consists of the biological community that occurs in some locale, and the physical and chemical factors that
make up its non-living or abiotic environment. There are many examples of ecosystems -- a pond, a forest, an estuary,
grassland. The boundaries are not fixed in any objective way, although sometimes they seem obvious, as with the
shoreline of a small pond. Usually the boundaries of an ecosystem are chosen for practical reasons having to do with the
goals of the particular study.

Components of an Ecosystem You are already familiar with the parts of an ecosystem. You have learned about climate
and rocks and soils from past lectures. From this course and from general knowledge, you also have a basic
understanding of the diversity of plants and animals, and how plants and animals and microbes obtain water, nutrients,
and food. We can clarify the parts of an ecosystem by listing them under the headings "abiotic" and "biotic".

ABIOTIC COMPONENTS BIOTIC COMPONENTS

Sunlight Primary producers,

Temperature Herbivores,

Precipitation Carnivores

Water or moisture Omnivores

Soil or water chemistry (e.g., P, NH4+)

Detritivores

etc. etc.

Processes of Ecosystems

Figure 2 portrays a simple food chain, in which energy from the sun, captured by plant photosynthesis, flows from trophic level to
trophic level via the food chain. A trophic level is composed of organisms that make a living in the same way, that is they are
all primary producers (plants), primary consumers (herbivores) or secondary consumers (carnivores). Dead tissue and waste
products are produced at all levels. Scavengers, detritivores, and decomposers collectively account for the use of all such "waste" --
consumers of carcasses and fallen leaves may be other animals, such as crows and beetles, but ultimately it is the microbes that finish
the job of decomposition. Not surprisingly, the amount of primary production varies a great deal from place to place, due to
differences in the amount of solar radiation and the availability of nutrients and water.

For reasons that we will explore more fully in subsequent lectures, energy transfer through the food chain is inefficient. This means
that less energy is available at the herbivore level than at the primary producer level, less yet at the carnivore level, and so on. The
result is a pyramid of energy, with important implications for understanding the quantity of life that can be supported.

Usually when we think of food chains we visualize green plants, herbivores, and so on. These are referred to as grazer food chains,
because living plants are directly consumed. In many circumstances the principal energy input is not green plants but dead organic
matter. These are called detritus food chains. Examples include the forest floor or a woodland stream in a forested area, a salt marsh,
and most obviously, the ocean floor in very deep areas where all sunlight is extinguished 1000's of meters above. In subsequent
lectures we shall return to these important issues concerning energy flow.

Finally, although we have been talking about food chains, in reality the organization of biological systems is much more complicated
than can be represented by a simple "chain". There are many food links and chains in an ecosystem, and we refer to all of these
linkages as a food web. Food webs can be very complicated, where it appears that "everything is connected to everything else" (this
is a major take-home point of this lecture), and it is important to understand what are the most important linkages in any particular
food web. The next question is "how" do we determine what the important processes or linkages are in food webs or ecosystems?
Ecosystem scientists use several different tools, which can be described generally under the term "Biogeochemistry".

SUMMARY OF ECO SYSTEM

● Ecosystems are made up of abiotic (non-living, environmental) and biotic components, and these basic
components are important to nearly all types of ecosystems. Ecosystem Ecology looks at energy transformations
and biogeochemical cycling within ecosystems.

● Energy is continually input into an ecosystem in the form of light energy, and some energy is lost with each transfer
to a higher trophic level. Nutrients, on the other hand, are recycled within an ecosystem, and their supply normally
limits biological activity. So, "energy flows, elements cycle".
● Energy is moved through an ecosystem via a food web, which is made up of interlocking food chains. Energy is
first captured by photosynthesis (primary production). The amount of primary production determines the amount of
energy available to higher trophic levels.

● The study of how chemical elements cycle through an ecosystem is termed biogeochemistry. A biogeochemical
cycle can be expressed as a set of stores (pools) and transfers, and can be studied using the concepts of
"stoichiometry", "mass balance", and "residence time".

● Ecosystem function is controlled mainly by two processes, "top-down" and "bottom-up" controls.

● A biome is a major vegetation type extending over a large area. Biome distributions are determined largely by
temperature and precipitation patterns on the Earth's surface.
Ecosystem: It’s Structure and Functions (With Diagram)

An organism is always in the state of perfect balance with the environment. The environment literally means the
surroundings.

The environment refers to the things and conditions around the organisms which directly or indirectly influence the life and
development of the organisms and their populations.
ystem is a complex in which habitat, plants and animals are considered as one interesting unit, the materials and energy
of one passing in and out of the others” – Woodbury.

Organisms and environment are two non-separable factors. Organisms interact with each other and also with the physical
conditions that are present in their habitats.

Ecosystem: It’s Structure and Functions (With Diagram)

An organism is always in the state of perfect balance with the environment. The environment literally means the
surroundings.

The environment refers to the things and conditions around the organisms which directly or indirectly influence the life and
development of the organisms and their populations.

“Ecosystem is a complex in which habitat, plants and animals are considered as one interesting unit, the materials and
energy of one passing in and out of the others” – Woodbury.

Organisms and environment are two non-separable factors. Organisms interact with each other and also with the physical
conditions that are present in their habitats.

“The organisms and the physical features of the habitat form an ecological complex or more briefly an ecosystem.”
(Clarke, 1954).

The concept of ecosystem was first put forth by A.G. Tansley (1935). Ecosystem is the major ecological unit. It has both
structure and functions. The structure is related to species diversity. The more complex is the structure the greater is the
diversity of the species in the ecosystem. The functions of ecosystem are related to the flow of energy and cycling of
materials through structural components of the ecosystem.

According to Woodbury (1954), ecosystem is a complex in which habitat, plants and animals are considered as one
interesting unit, the materials and energy of one passing in and out of the others.

According to E.P. Odum, the ecosystem is the basic functional unit of organisms and their environment interacting with
each other and with their own components. An ecosystem may be conceived and studied in the habitats of various sizes,
e.g., one square metre of grassland, a pool, a large lake, a large tract of forest, balanced aquarium, a certain area of river
and ocean.
All the ecosystems of the earth are connected to one another, e.g., river ecosystem is connected with the ecosystem of
ocean, and a small ecosystem of dead logs is a part of large ecosystem of a forest. A complete self-sufficient ecosystem
is rarely found in nature but situations approaching self-sufficiency may occur.

Structure of Ecosystem:
The structure of an ecosystem is basically a description of the organisms and physical features of environment including
the amount and distribution of nutrients in a particular habitat. It also provides information regarding the range of climatic
conditions prevailing in the area.

From the structure point of view, all ecosystems consist of the following basic components:

Abiotic components

1. Ecological relationships are manifested in physicochemical environment. Abiotic component of ecosystem includes basic
inorganic elements and compounds, such as soil, water, oxygen, calcium carbonates, phosphates and a variety of organic
compounds (by-products of organic activities or death).

2. It also includes such physical factors and ingredients as moisture, wind currents and solar radiation. Radiant energy of sun is
the only significant energy source for any ecosystem. The amount of non-living components, such as carbon, phosphorus,
nitrogen, etc. that are present at any given time is known as standing state or standing quantity.

Biotic components

The biotic components include all living organisms present in the environmental system.

From nutrition point of view, the biotic components can be grouped into two basic components:

(i) Autotrophic components, and

(ii) Heterotrophic components

The autotrophic components include all green plants which fix the radiant energy of sun and manufacture food from inorganic
substances. The heterotrophic components include non-green plants and all animals which take food from autotrophs.

So biotic components of an ecosystem can be described under the following three heads:
1. Producers (Autotrophic components),

2. Consumers, and

3. Decomposers or reducers and transformers

The amount of biomass at any time in an ecosystem is known as standing crop which is usually expressed as fresh weight, dry weight
or as free energy in terms of calories/metre.

Producers (Autotrophic elements):

The producers are the autotrophic elements—chiefly green plants. They use radiant energy of sun in photosynthetic process whereby
carbon dioxide is assimilated and the light energy is converted into chemical energy. The chemical energy is actually locked up in the
energy rich carbon compounds. Oxygen is evolved as by-product in the photosynthesis.

This is used in respiration by all living things. Algae and other hydrophytes of a pond, grasses of the field, trees of the forests are
examples of producers. Chemosynthetic bacteria and carotenoid bearing purple bacteria that also assimilate CO2 with the energy of
sunlight but only in the presence of organic compounds also belong to this category.

The term producer is misleading one because in an energy context, producers produce carbohydrate and not energy. Since they
convert or transduce the radiant energy into chemical form, E.J. Kormondy suggests better alternative terms ‘converters’ or
‘transducers’. Because of wide use the term producer is still retained.

Consumers:

Those living members of ecosystem which consume the food synthesized by producers are called consumers. Under this category are
included all kinds of animals that are found in an ecosystem.

There are different classes or categories of consumers, such as:

(a) Consumers of the first order or primary consumers,

(b) Consumers of the second order or secondary consumers,

(c) Consumers of the third order or tertiary consumers, and

(d) Parasites, scavengers and saprobes.

(a) Primary consumers:

These are purely herbivorous animals that are dependent for their food on producers or green plants. Insects, rodents, rabbit, deer,
cow, buffalo, goat are some of the common herbivores in the terrestrial ecosystem, and small crustaceans, molluscs, etc. in the aquatic
habitat. Elton (1939) named herbivores of ecosystem as “key industry animals”. The herbivores serve as the chief food source for
carnivores.

(b) Secondary consumers:

These are carnivores and omnivores. Carnivores are flesh eating animals and the omnivores are the animals that are adapted to
consume herbivores as well as plants as their food. Examples of secondary consumers are sparrow, crow, fox, wolves, dogs, cats,
snakes, etc.

(c) Tertiary consumers:

These are the top carnivores which prey upon other carnivores, omnivores and herbivores. Lions, tigers, hawk, vulture, etc. are
considered as tertiary or top consumers.

(d) Besides different classes of consumers, the parasites, scavengers and saprobes are also included in the consumers. The parasitic
plants and animals utilize the living tissues of different plants and animals. The scavengers and saprobes utilize dead remains of
animals and plants as their food.

Decomposers and transformers:

Decomposers and transformers are the living components of the ecosystem and they are fungi and bacteria. Decomposers attack the
dead remains of producers and consumers and degrade the complex organic substances into simpler compounds. The simple organic
matters are then attacked by another kind of bacteria, the transformers which change these organic compounds into the inorganic
forms that are suitable for reuse by producers or green plants. The decomposers and transformers play very important role in
maintaining the dynamic nature of ecosystems.

Function of Ecosystem:
An ecosystem is a discrete structural, functional and life sustaining environmental system. The environmental system consists of biotic
and abiotic components in a habitat. Biotic component of the ecosystem includes the living organisms; plants, animals and microbes
whereas the abiotic component includes inorganic matter and energy.

Abiotic components provide the matrix for the synthesis and perpetuation of organic components (protoplasm). The synthesis and
perpetuation processes involve energy exchange and this energy comes from the sun in the form of light or solar energy.

Thus, in any ecosystem we have the following functional components:

(i) Inorganic constituents (air, water and mineral salts)

(ii) Organisms (plants, animals and microbes), and

(iii) Energy input which enters from outside (the sun).

These three interact and form an environmental system. Inorganic constituents are synthesized into organic structures by the green
plants (primary producers) through photosynthesis and the solar energy is utilized in the process. Green plants become the source of
energy for renewals (herbivores) which, in turn become source of energy for the flesh eating animals (carnivores). Animals of all types
grow and add organic matter to their body weight and their source of energy is complex organic compound taken as food.

They are known as secondary producers. All the living organisms whether plants or animals in an ecosystem have a definite life span
after which they die. The dead organic remains of plants and animals provide food for saprophytic microbes, such as bacteria, fungi
and many other animals. The saprobes ultimately decompose the organic structure and break the complex molecules and liberate the
inorganic components into their environment.

These organisms are known as decomposers. During the process of decomposition of organic molecules, the energy which kept the
inorganic components bound together in the form of organic molecules gets liberated and dissipated into the environment as heat
energy. Thus in an ecosystem energy from the sun, the input is fixed by plants and transferred to animal components.

Nutrients are withdrawn from the substrate, deposited in the tissues of the plants and animals, cycled from one feeding group to
another, released by decomposition to the soil, water and air and then recycled. The ecosystems operating in different habitats, such as
deserts, forests, grasslands and seas are interdependent on one another. The energy and nutrients of one ecosystem may find their way
into another so that ultimately all parts of the earth are interrelated, each comprising a part of the total system that keeps the biosphere
functioning.
Thus the principal steps in the operation of ecosystem are as follows:

(1) Reception of radiant energy of sun,

(2) Manufacture of organic materials from inorganic ones by producers,

(3) Consumption of producers by consumers and further elaboration of consumed materials; and.

(4) After the death of producers and consumers, complex organic compounds are degraded and finally converted by decomposers and
converters into such forms as are suitable for reutilization by producers.

The principal steps in the operation of ecosystem not only involve the production, growth and death of living components but also
influence the abiotic aspects of habitat. It is now clear that there is transfer of both energy and nutrients from producers to consumers
and finally to decomposers and transformers levels. In this transfer there is a progressive decrease of energy but nutrient component is
not diminished and it shows cycling from abiotic to biotic and vice versa.

The flow of energy is unidirectional. The two ecological processes—energy flow and mineral cycling which involve interaction
between biotic and abiotic components lie at the heart of ecosystem dynamics. The principal steps and components of ecosystem are
illustrated in Fig. 3.1.
 SOCIAL HIERARCHY AND DOMINATION OVER RESOURCES
The Origins of Social Domination

Social domination originated with human males dominating females. The infirmities of age, increasing population, natural disasters,
technological changes, the growth of civil society, and the spread of warfare were contributory factors.

Bookchin claims that the notion of a natural world separate from human culture appeared with the rise of hierarchy: "the idea of
dominating nature has its primary source in the domination of human by human and the structuring of the natural world into a
hierarchical Chain of Being"

We can only overcome the ideology of dominating nature by creating of a society without hierarchical structures or economic classes.
Bookchin claims that industrial growth isn't the result of a change in a cultural outlook alone, nor is it due to the impact of scientific
rationality. Rather it stems from the principle of the market itself, the demand to grow or die.

Property would be shared and, ideally, belong to the community as a whole. In this "commune of communes" property would not
belong to private producers or to a nation-state.

This transformation is to be achieved through radical collective action and co-operative social movements. The process of eliminating
all domination must begin:

"not only in the factory but also in the family, not only in the economy but also in the psyche, not only in the material
conditions of life but also in the spiritual ones."

'Open Letter to the the Ecology Movement', in Towards an Ecological Society Bookchin.

Bookchin believes that oppressive hierarchies & inequality are at the root of the problem, & that only a true community can solve the
environmental crisis. Social Ecology is less well known in the UK than Deep Ecology, but deserves to more widely study.

85 RICHEST PEOPLE AS WEALTHY AS POOREST HALF OF THE WORLD OXFAM)

Oxfam report found people in countries around the world believe that the rich have too much influence over the direction
their country is heading.

The world's wealthiest people aren't known for travelling by bus, but if they fancied a change of scene then the richest 85 people on
the globe – who between them control as much wealth as the poorest half of the global population put together – could squeeze onto a
single double-decker.

The extent to which so much global wealth has become corralled by a virtual handful of the so-called 'global elite' is exposed in a new
report from Oxfam on Monday. It warned that those richest 85 people across the globe share a combined wealth of £1tn, as much as
the poorest 3.5 billion of the world's population. [Source: F. Alvaredo, A. B. Atkinson, T. Piketty and E. Saez, (2013)]

‘The World Top Incomes Database only includes countries with data in 1980 and later than 2008. Photograph: Oxfam

The wealth of the 1% richest people in the world amounts to $110tn (£60.88tn), or 65 times as much as the poorest half of the world,
added the development charity, which fears this concentration of economic resources is threatening political stability and driving up
social tensions.
It's a chilling reminder of the depths of wealth inequality as political leaders and top business people head to the snowy peaks of
Davos for this week's World Economic Forum. Few, if any, will be arriving on anything as common as a bus, with private jets and
helicopters pressed into service as many of the world's most powerful people convene to discuss the state of the global economy over
four hectic days of meetings, seminars and parties in the exclusive ski resort.

Winnie Byanyima, the Oxfam executive director who will attend the Davosmeetings, said: "It is staggering that in the 21st Century,
half of the world's population – that's three and a half billion people – own no more than a tiny elite whose numbers could all fit
comfortably on a double-decker bus."

Oxfam also argues that this is no accident either; saying growing inequality has been driven by a "power grab" by wealthy elites, who
have co-opted the political process to rig the rules of the economic system in their favor.

In the report, entitled Working for the Few (summary here), Oxfam warned that the fight against poverty cannot be won until wealth
inequality has been tackled.

"Widening inequality is creating a vicious circle where wealth and power are increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few, leaving
the rest of us to fight over crumbs from the top table," Byanyima said.

Oxfam called on attendees at this week's World Economic Forum to take a personal pledge to tackle the problem by refraining from
dodging taxes or using their wealth to seek political favors.

As well as being morally dubious, economic inequality can also exacerbate other social problems such as gender inequality, Oxfam
warned. Davos itself is also struggling in this area, with the number of female delegates actually dropping from 17% in 2013 to 15%
this year.

How richest use their wealth to capture opportunities

Polling for Oxfam's report found people in countries around the world - including two-thirds of those questioned in Britain - believe
that the rich have too much influence over the direction their country is heading.

Byanyima explained that in developed and developing countries alike we are increasingly living in a world where the lowest tax rates,
the best health and education and the opportunity to influence are being given not just to the rich but also to their children.
Without a concerted effort to tackle inequality, the cascade of privilege and of disadvantage will continue down the generations. We
will soon live in a world where equality of opportunity is just a dream. In too many countries economic growth already amounts to
little more than a 'winner takes all' windfall for the richest.

The Oxfam report found that over the past few decades, the rich have successfully wielded political influence to skew policies in their
favor on issues ranging from financial deregulation, tax havens, anti-competitive business practices to lower tax rates on high incomes
and cuts in public services for the majority. Since the late 1970s, tax rates for the richest have fallen in 29 out of 30 countries for
which data are available, said the report.

This "capture of opportunities" by the rich at the expense of the poor and middle classes has led to a situation where 70% of the
world's population live in countries where inequality has increased since the 1980s and 1% of families own 46% of global wealth -
almost £70tn.
Opinion polls in Spain, Brazil, India, South Africa, the US, UK and Netherlands found that a majority in each country believe that
wealthy people exert too much influence. Concern was strongest in Spain, followed by Brazil and India and least marked in the
Netherlands.

In the UK, some 67% agreed that "the rich have too much influence over where this country is headed" - 37% saying that they agreed
"strongly" with the statement - against just 10% who disagreed, 2% of them strongly.

The WEF's own Global Risks report recently identified widening income disparities as one of the biggest threats to the world
community.

Oxfam is calling on those gathered at WEF to pledge: to support progressive taxation and not dodge their own taxes; refrain from
using their wealth to seek political favors that undermine the democratic will of their fellow citizens; make public all investments in
companies and trusts for which they are the ultimate beneficial owners; challenge governments to use tax revenue to provide universal
healthcare, education and social protection; demand a living wage in all companies they own or control; and challenge other members
of the economic elite to join them in these pledges.

SOCIAL CULTURE AND ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIP

In social science, a social relation or social interaction is any relationship between two or more individuals. Social relations derived
from individual agency form the basis of social structure and the basic object for analysis by social scientists. Fundamental inquiries
into the nature of social relations feature in the work of sociologists such as Max Weber in his theory of social action.

Categorizing social interactions enables observational and other social research, such as Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft (lit.
"Community and Society"), collective consciousness, etc. However different schools and theories of sociology and other social
sciences dispute the methods used for such investigation

Cultural relations are reciprocal, non-coercive transnational interactions between two or more cultures, encompassing a range of
activities that are conducted both by state and non-state actors within the space of cultural and civil society. The overall outcomes of
cultural relations are greater connectivity, better mutual understanding, more and deeper relationships, mutually beneficial transactions
and enhanced sustainable dialogue between states, peoples, non-state actors and cultures.

Through public policy tools such as public diplomacy and cultural diplomacy (state to people relations), strategic communication and
conditionality (including policies of mass persuasion and propaganda, countries and state sponsored institutions rely on non-state
actors and culture with the aim of promoting and strengthening their foreign policy interests and influencing perceptions and
preferences.

Cultural relations can be distinguished from state led activities such as public diplomacy; cultural diplomacy and nation branding, in
that they do not originate only from policies of state actors; through the range of institutions and non-state actors involved pursuing
their own goals as transnational actors and by their reciprocity. They are, however, a tangible component of International Relations in
the sense that they encompass the space in which a wide range of non-state actors engage in the fostering of intercultural dialogue
which can be either in favour of, or against, the national interests of state actors.

Economic relation

First the word “Relationship” being defined as connection or association; the condition of being related. Second is
“Economics” being defined as the study of resource allocation, distribution and consumption; of capital and investment;
and of management of the factors of production. So I will define the collective meaning of Relationship Economics
as: The people and things we are connected with or have an association to which distribute or consume our “capital”
which influences our individual production outputs. We will use the term “capital” meaning that which we give or take that
creates numerous forms of value.

Practical Relationship Economics Examples: We have relations with people and things. Both either take or give to our
“capital“. People and things take or give us time (capital). People give or take information and knowledge (capital). We
work with people to make money (capital). We strive in business to create or loose money (capital). We use machines
and technology that either give or take value (capital). We interact with “things” that either give or take value (capital). We
participate in institutions that both give and take value (capital). Our governments provide the means to gain or lose our
freedoms (capital). In essence we have relationships with people and things that give, take or both in terms of our
individual abilities to be “productive with our capital”. Collectively “Relationship Economics” is about people and things we
give or take which influences numerous forms of value, our “capital“.

PRESENT DAY SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL CRISIS

1. Pollution: Pollution of air, water and soil require millions of years to recoup. Industry and motor vehicle exhaust are the
number one pollutants. Heavy metals, nitrates and plastic are toxins responsible for pollution. While water pollution is
caused by oil spill, acid rain, urban runoff; air pollution is caused by various gases and toxins released by industries and
factories and combustion of fossil fuels; soil pollution is majorly caused by industrial waste that deprives soil from
essential nutrients.
2. Global Warming: Climate changes like global warming is the result of human practices like emission of Greenhouse
gases. Global warming leads to rising temperatures of the oceans and the earth’ surface causing melting of polar ice
caps, rise in sea levels and also unnatural patterns of precipitation such as flash floods, excessive snow or desertification.

3. Overpopulation: The population of the planet is reaching unsustainable levels as it faces shortage of resources like
water, fuel and food. Population explosion in less developed and developing countries is straining the already scarce
resources. Intensive agriculture practiced to produce food damages the environment through use of chemical fertilizer,
pesticides and insecticides. Overpopulation is one of the crucial current environmental problem.

4. Natural Resource Depletion: Natural resource depletion is another crucial current environmental problems. Fossil fuel
consumption results in emission of Greenhouse gases, which is responsible for global warming and climate change.
Globally, people are taking efforts to shift to renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, biogas and geothermal energy.
The cost of installing the infrastructure and maintaining these sources has plummeted in the recent years.

5. Waste Disposal: The over consumption of resources and creation of plastics are creating a global crisis of waste
disposal. Developed countries are notorious for producing an excessive amount of waste or garbage and dumping their
waste in the oceans and, less developed countries. Nuclear waste disposal has tremendous health hazards associated
with it. Plastic, fast food, packaging and cheap electronic wastes threaten the well being of humans. Waste disposal is
one of urgent current environmental problem.

6. Climate Change: Climate change is yet another environmental problem that has surfaced in last couple of decades. It
occurs due to rise in global warming which occurs due to increase in temperature of atmosphere by burning of fossil fuels
and release of harmful gases by industries. Climate change has various harmful effects but not limited to melting of polar
ice, change in seasons, occurrence of new diseases, frequent occurrence of floods and change in overall weather
scenario.

7. Loss of Biodiversity: Human activity is leading to the extinction of species and habitats and and loss of bio-diversity.
Eco systems, which took millions of years to perfect, are in danger when any species population is decimating. Balance of
natural processes like pollination is crucial to the survival of the eco-system and human activity threatens the same.
Another example is the destruction of coral reefs in the various oceans, which support the rich marine life.

8. Deforestation: Our forests are natural sinks of carbon dioxide and produce fresh oxygen as well as helps in regulating
temperature and rainfall. At present forests cover 30% of the land but every year tree cover is lost amounting to the
country of Panama due to growing population demand for more food, shelter and cloth. Deforestation simply means
clearing of green cover and make that land available for residential, industrial or commercial purpose.

9. Ocean Acidification: It is a direct impact of excessive production of CO2. 25% of CO2 produced by humans. The
ocean acidity has increased by the last 250 years but by 2100, it may shoot up by 150%. The main impact is on shellfish
and plankton in the same way as human osteoporosis.

10. Ozone Layer Depletion: The ozone layer is an invisible layer of protection around the planet that protects us from the
sun’s harmful rays. Depletion of the crucial Ozone layer of the atmosphere is attributed to pollution caused by Chlorine
and Bromide found in Chloro-floro carbons (CFC’s). Once these toxic gases reach the upper atmosphere, they cause a
hole in the ozone layer, the biggest of which is above the Antarctic. The CFC’s are banned in many industries and
consumer products. Ozone layer is valuable because it prevents harmful UV radiation from reaching the earth. This is one
of the most important current environmental problem.

11. Acid Rain: Acid rain occurs due to the presence of certain pollutants in the atmosphere. Acid rain can be caused due to
combustion of fossil fuels or erupting volcanoes or rotting vegetation which release sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the
atmosphere. Acid rain is a known environmental problem that can have serious effect on human health, wildlife and aquatic species.

12. Water Pollution: Clean drinking water is becoming a rare commodity. Water is becoming an economic and political issue as the
human population fights for this resource. One of the options suggested is using the process of desalinization. Industrial development
is filling our rivers seas and oceans with toxic pollutants which are a major threat to human health.

13. Urban Sprawl: Urban sprawl refers to migration of population from high density urban areas to low density rural areas which
results in spreading of city over more and more rural land. Urban sprawl results in land degradation, increased traffic, environmental
issues and health issues. The ever growing demand of land displaces natural environment consisting of flora and fauna instead of
being replaced.

14: Public Health Issues: The current environmental problems pose a lot of risk to health of humans, and animals. Dirty water is the
biggest health risk of the world and poses threat to the quality of life and public health. Run-off to rivers carries along toxins,
chemicals and disease carrying organisms. Pollutants cause respiratory disease like Asthma and cardiac-vascular problems. High
temperatures encourage the spread of infectious diseases like Dengue.

15. Genetic Engineering: Genetic modification of food using biotechnology is called genetic engineering. Genetic modification of
food results in increased toxins and diseases as genes from an allergic plant can transfer to target plant. Genetically modified crops can
cause serious environmental problems as an engineered gene may prove toxic to wildlife. Another drawback is that increased use of
toxins to make insect resistant plant can cause resultant organisms to become resistant to antibiotics.

The need for change in our daily lives and the movements of our government is growing. Because so many different factors come into
play; voting, governmental issues, the desire to stick to routine, many people don’t consider that what they do will affect future
generations. If humans continue moving forward in such a harmful way towards the future, then there will be no future to consider.
Although it’s true that we cannot physically stop our ozone layer from thinning (and scientists are still having trouble figuring out
what is causing it exactly,) there are still so many things we can do to try and put a dent in what we already know. By raising
awareness in your local community and within your families about these issues, you can help contribute to a more environmentally
conscious and friendly place for you to live.

Environment degradation and in Nepal.

Environmental degradation is a result of socio-economical, technological and institutional activities. Degradation occurs when earth's
natural resources, like water, air soil are depleted. The degradation also impacts wildlife, plants, animals, micro-organisms.
Environment degradation in Nepal takes place in a high extent due to deforestation, soil erosion, landslides, flood and pollution.

Deforestation: Deforestation is the excessive cutting down of trees and clearing of forests for different purposes. In other
words, it is the destruction of forests. These directly and indirectly affect us. Between 1990 and 2005, Nepal lost 24.5% of
its forest cover, or around 1,181,000 hectares. Thus, deforestation is a serious type of environmental degradation.

Soil erosion: Soil erosion can be defined as the destruction of the top layer of the soil as a result of natural or human
activities. Soil erosion refers to the carrying away of soil. Soil erosion is also serious type of environmental degradation. It
affects crop production, pollutes water resources and causes many other direct and indirect problems to human beings.
Steep slows and unstable soil, heavy rain, melting slow , the use of trees for firewood by tourist and trekkers, increased
animal grazing due to rising populations are some reasons of soil erosion in Nepal. On an annual basis, average soil loss
rate predicted by the RMMF model for the watershed considered was found to be 3.76 tons per hectare (t/ha) over the
agriculture land and 0.002 t/ha over the forested area.

Landslide: The downward slide of land on hilly slopes is called landslide. Nepal is mountainous country. Excluding the
Terai region, the entire country has hills and mountains spread all around. Many times, due to various reasons the land on
hilly slopes gets destroyed. Landslide often occurs naturally. However, as a result of various human activities, the
occurrence of landslide in the country has increased. No single monsoon season goes without news of some major or
minor landslide occurring. The Krishna Vhir, between Kathmandu and Narayanghat has become notorious landslides
troubling travelers throughout the year. Landslides also harmfully affect human beings and their possessions.

Flood: The overflow of water from rivers and streams into nearby lands is called a flood. Flood is a serious type of
environmental degradation in our country. Environmental problem is directly related to surface water. As result of the
excess amounts, sometimes flowing water breaks its embankment and overflows into nearby lands as flood. A large
numbers of rivers flow directly from the Himalayas. Every year, during the monsoons, many of these rivers flood nearby
land causing great destruction to human beings and property. In a recent study done by UNESCO it is revealed that
Mahakali river flood caused 1 person dead, 350 families displaced, 463 families affected, 109 houses
damaged/destroyed. The rainfall from Jun 1 to Jun 24, 2013, made disaster effect were 39 death, missing people 18,
injured people 7, displaced people 1752, affected 1826 household fully destroyed, 602, household partially destroyed
1204, district affected 18 (United Nation Nepal Platform, 2012).

Pollution: Pollution can be defined as an undesirable change in our air, water and land resources, which directly or
indirectly cause harm to us. Pollution is also a major type of environmental degradation. Its impact is seen on almost all
component of the environment including air, land and water. Pollution may be in the form of addition of undesirable
chemicals e.g.; poisonous gases into the air by factories or it may be in the form of reduction of something useful from the
environment e.g.; death of all fishes in the rivers. Pollution may be of the following types: air pollution, water pollution,
noise pollution, land pollution, sound pollution.

Smoke, dust and gas emissions cause air pollution. Chemical, pesticides, medicines, sewage, etc cause soil pollution;
washing clothes, mixing sewerage, industrial outlet dirty filth etc cause water pollution; vehicle sound, horn, load speaker,
etc cause sound pollution. All these degrade the condition of environment.

Earthquake

Lying in one of the most seismically active regions of the world, Nepal has a long history of earthquakes. The first
documented earthquake event in the country dates back to 7 June 1255, during the reign of King Abhaya Malla. The
quake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, took the life of the king and wiped out a third of Kathmandu's then
population. Nepal has witnessed at least one major earthquake per century ever since.

Date Time‡ Place

1988, 20 August 23:09 Kathmandu/Bihar see 1988 Nepal earthquake
2011, 18 September 06:29 Sikkim, India
2015, 25 April 11:56:26 Kathmandu/India/Tibet
12:38
2015, 12 May Nepal/China/India
IST

Earthquake management in Nepal

Along with haphazard building constructions, Nepal’s telecom companies are installing big towers over the roofs of houses in
Kathmandu Valley, irrespective of the safety standards adopted in terms of the size and strength of the buildings.

Similarly, Nepal Electricity Authority is yet to take any safety measures in installing its electricity transformers in various parts of
Kathmandu Valley. Almost all transformers are likely to fall if a major quake shakes the valley.

The construction of buildings continues even as enforcement of the building codes is very weak in Nepal. Although Kathmandu
Metropolitan City introduced the building code a few years back, its full implementation is far from realized.

“Kathmandu Metropolitan City is now strictly enforcing the building code,” said Laxman Aryal, its chief. Given the present situation,
there will be a heavy damage in case an earthquake measuring over 8 in the Richter scale or something equivalent to the great
earthquake like of 1934.

General secretary of National Society for Earthquake Technology-Nepal (NSET) Amod Mani Dixit holds the view that a major
earthquake will be devastating for the valley. “Despite making certain improvements in safety against earthquakes, Kathmandu
valley’s more than 60 percent houses will be destroyed in case of a major quake. There will be over 100,000 death and 300,000
injuries,” said Dixit (see interview).

According to the seismologists, a major earthquake is due in the fault line lying between Kathmandu of Nepal and Shimla of India.
Studies have shown that Nepal has no record of a major earthquake in the span of 80 years. As there was no major quake since 1934,
the threat is looming large.

Along with earthquakes, landslides, floods and other calamities are creating a havoc annually, making Nepal a disaster prone country.
Earthquakes are not as frequent, but they have the potential for causing the greatest damage.
As a country in the high risk seismic zone, earthquakes are very likely in Nepal. Past records have shown that Nepal can expect two
earthquakes of magnitude anywhere between 7.5 and 8 on the Richter scale every forty years and one earthquake of magnitude of 8+
in Richter scale every eighty years.

The last great earthquake to strike Nepal was in 1934. It had a magnitude of 8.3 on the Richter scale. It caused a considerable damage
to buildings and a great loss of lives. Since then, the population of Kathmandu Valley has gone up. Urban development and
inadequately planned construction practices have deteriorated the situation further. As Nepal is celebrating the Earthquake Day on
January 16, to remember the loss from the great earthquake of 1934, no body needs to predict that such disasters would cause a greater
loss of lives and properties now.

Haphazard construction of buildings and other infrastructures has created further problems. Although Nepal lies in an earthquake
prone zone, there is yet to dawn enough realization about the safety measures at official level also. Towers built by Telephone
companies and Nepal’s electricity offices are two examples of their inattention to the knowledge on disaster. Despite availability of
technology to make safe homes, an overwhelming number of people are yet to perceive the real threat.

Earthquakes are inevitable in a regular process of time. According to Seismological Center, more than 500 small and big shocks occur
annually. Scientists, government officials and the public can all help to make societies more resilient to earthquakes and other natural
hazards by way of some prudent actions. But, despite several efforts, the lack coordination among the authorities is starkly visible at
times of disaster.

Some have predicted that the level of Haiti’s Quake may completely ruin Kathmandu, cutting it from outside world. Deadly
earthquakes often occur on fault lines at any time. Nepal is no an exception in terms of its location. Unless it prepares for earthquakes,
developing a broad set of tools to make communities resilient, the risks will grow bigger.

The main problem with Nepal is imparting knowledge to the common people. “Scientists must assess and effectively communicate
their knowledge about earthquakes. Public officials must admit their mistakes and learn from them,” said an expert.

The public are generally poor judges of their own safety. They think they are safe until a disaster occurs. More public awareness of the
need to prepare for disasters is needed. There is the need to make annual earthquake drills to sensitize the people.

Following the earthquake of 1988, seismology related technology has improved in Nepal and certain precautionary methods have also
been taken. The government has disaster contingency plans and programs.
With support from development partners, Nepal has already formulated a number of programs. But problems may remain over the
quality of data and research. “We need to improve the research and quality of data to prepare for Disaster Risk Reduction.

In the wake of a series of large earthquakes, the country's scientists are debating how technology might help limit the devastation
caused by future disasters.

Although the scientists have been used technology to successfully identify the direction of movement and major cracks in faults in
different parts of world, Nepal is yet to build its own capacity to get this routine information.

Academic research was being hampered by a lack of seismic technologies. Productive research in this area needs old and new seismic
data but, unfortunately, Nepal’s old seismic data is either not reliable or of poor quality.

The need to speed up work on a reliable system for predicting potential aftershocks in the days following a strong earthquake has
become more urgent

A report has showed the number of earthquakes worldwide of more than [magnitude 5.5] increasing by some facto

Disastrous management
Nepal is woefully unprepared for calamities which are made even more deadly because of bad planning and poor
response

We call them ‘natural disasters’: earthquakes, floods, landslides. Yet, earthquakes don’t kill people, unsafe buildings do. Our ancestors
instinctively knew not to live along river banks, settlements were located along ridges. Countries exposed to seismic and tsunami risk,
like Japan, have detailed prevention and rescue plans in place. Most disasters may be natural, but the casualties are largely manmade.

In 2010, two earthquakes struck the Americas. The one in Haiti killed more than 300,000 people, but a much greater earthquake
in Chile a few months later killed less than 600. The Chileans were better prepared, had stricter building codes and had trained rescue
teams. Nepal has Chile-like earthquakes and Haiti-like preparedness.

The Himalayan arc is the planet’s highest and youngest mountain range, and it is still rising. The bedrock is on the move with the top
soil clinging precariously to steep slopes. The mountains act as a rain barrier, too, giving the Himalayan foothills some of the heaviest
precipitation rates in the world. In this naturally unstable terrain is situated the most-densely populated mountain country in the world.
Now, add to this mix a prolonged state of flux in which criminalised politicians recklessly resettle people for vote banks and plunder
natural resources, and you have a recipe for manmade human catastrophes.
Nepal’s location makes natural calamities a given. We have to learn to live with them occurring at regular intervals, we should not be
taken by surprise when they happen. Yet, when they do we blame god ('daibi prakop') even though most of the casualties are a result
of bad planning, lack of hazard mapping, the non-enforcement of zoning and building codes.

Let’s start calling them ‘unnatural disasters’ because most of the damage is preventable. The Kosi embankment did not breach by
itself in 2008, quarrying of the boulders on the levee had weakened it. This was repeated on the Kamala this month. The Siraha bridge
did not just collapse, it was caused by illegal sand-mining upstream. The highest death toll in the mid-west on the night of 12 August
was among people recently resettled along riverbanks. Indiscriminate mining of river beds along the Seti, Trisuli, Narayani and the
Tarai rivers increases water velocity, making even a normal river run amok.

However, there are extreme weather events or catastrophic once-in-a-lifetime floods that happen without warning, but are not all that
unexpected. The last three issues of this paper have flood stories on page 1 (below).

In 2008, the government, after much prodding from a consortium of donors, set up a Central Disaster Relief Committee under the
Home Ministry which drew up a ‘conceptual framework’ for response management. The focus has been to decentralise disaster
preparedness and relief to the district level. The aftermath of the Bhote Kosi landslide showed that decentralised response does work
well.

The Sindhupalchok district administration organised rescue, relief and rehabilitation of survivors. First response is always by local
communities, and the lesson learnt from the landslide was to further strengthen local capacity to deal with calamity. The Nepal
Army acted promptly, but by being slow to accept an offer of help from Chinese engineers with experience in unblocking a river after
the Yunnan earthquake on 3 August, may have unnecessarily prolonged the crisis.

The flashflood in the mid-west showed that central disaster management and coordination is still woefully inadequate. Three weeks
later, relief hasn't reached many villages, as Naresh Newar's report on page 19 proves.

A disproportionate number of the dead and displaced in both disasters were women and children. This is a result of male outmigration,
but it carries a valuable lesson for future disaster planning: that the most vulnerable segment of our society will be even more
vulnerable in future disasters.

Economic crises
Madhesi protesters began blocking the Birganj border days after Nepal’s new constitution was promulgated on 20
September; revenue collection from the country’s biggest customs point in terms of trade volume has been nearly nil. The
Department of Customs had set a target of Rs 7 billion from Birganj during October. It didn’t even manage 1 per cent of
that.

India’s not-so-tacit support for the cause espoused by Madhesi leaders in enforcing a blockade has certainly complicated
transit problems, but customs revenue collection was badly hit even before the Indian blockade.

Already reeling under damage caused by the April-May earthquakes, Nepal’s economy began to dip when the Madhesi
parties launched their anti-constitution movement in the Tarai 100 days ago.

Nearly 2,200 factories have been shut along the Tarai’s industrial corridors, more than 200,000 people have lost their jobs
and inflow of tourists has gone down by half. The country’s economic growth rate is expected to be restricted to two per
cent – or even less if the crisis continues for a few more months.

In the past four months the government has lost Rs 38 billion in tax revenue. The accumulative loss incurred by the
private sector in the corresponding period exceeds Rs 200 billion. And soon inflation rate is likely to hit double digits. This
is the worst economic crisis Nepal has ever suffered. With remittance still flowing in, the banking sector is relatively less
affected but there will be an epidemic of defaults.

Ironically, it is the central Tarai districts that have been most impacted by the Madhes protests. The eight districts of this
region were already ones with some of the lowest Human Development Index (HDI) scores in Nepal. Schools have been
forcibly shut for over three months. Local farmers are busy blocking the border at a time when they should be harvesting
paddy and preparing to plant wheat. At a program in Kathmandu this week, Janakpur-based economics professor
Surendra Labh said: “If it were not for remittances, the people would have already started eating each other’s flesh in the
Tarai.”

It seems that Nepal’s economic crisis is now full-blown, and Nepalis cannot endure it any more. But the economic crisis
we have dealt with so far may not be the main shock. If the Kathmandu-Madhes face-off continues, it could turn out to be
just a teaser of a more devastating economic meltdown.

For now, we are just worried about immediate petrol and cooking gas needs, that we have not even begun to fathom the
longterm impact of this crisis. The sooner we begin to think about food and energy security and trade diversification the
better will the country’s state be in the long run. But for the time being, we urgently need a political solution so we can
work to mitigate the devastating impact of the economic crisis.
Political crises in Nepal

Many countries of the world have reached the state of developed and progressive nation because of strong and stable governments. It
is the major responsibility of the ruling government to provide facilities to the people. Though it is the fact, the present government
has failed to provide the minimum requirements to the people.

The country’s present condition is getting worse day by day. For several months, life in the Terai region and all parts of the country
have been badly crippled and paralyzed. All the educational institutions, hospitals, government offices, industries, banks, shops,
agricultural activities and transport services have been crippled. Most of the essential items, including food grains, petrol and gas are
in short supply and black marketing in these items are increasing day by day. There is a great problem of scarcity facing the people of
the country. In this case, unscrupulous elements could pose a security risk by taking advantage of the open border between the two
countries

ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY

ISO 14000
ISO 14000 is a series of environmental management standards developed and published by the International Organization for
Standardization ( ISO ) for organizations. The ISO 14000 standards provide a guideline or framework for organizations that need to
systematize and improve their environmental management efforts. The ISO 14000 standards are not designed to aid the
enforcement of environmental laws and do not regulate the environmental activities of organizations. Adherence to these standards
is voluntary.

The ISO 14001 standard is the most important standard within the ISO 14000 series. ISO 14001 specifies the requirements of an
environmental management system (EMS) for small to large organizations. An EMS is a systemic approach to handling
environmental issues within an organization. The ISO 14001 standard is based on the Plan-Check-Do-Review-Improve cycle.

The Plan cycle deals with the beginning stages of an organization becoming ISO 14001-compliant. The Check cycle deals with
checking and correcting errors. The Do cycle is the implementation and operation of the ISO 14001 standard within an organization.
The Review cycle is a review of the entire process by the organization's top management. And the Improve cycle is a cycle that
never ends as an organization continually finds ways to improve their EMS.
The entire process can take several months to several years depending on the size of the organization. If an organization is already
ISO 9000-certified, the implementation of ISO 14001 does not take as long. When an organization is compliant, they can either
register with a third-party registrar or self-declare their compliance. The ISO 14001 standard is the only ISO 14000 standard that
allows an organization to be registered or "certified.

Environment policy
An Environmental Policy is a statement outlining your business’s environmental strategy and the driving force behind your objectives.
It should include time-related targets and a measurable management programme.

INTRODUCTION
With the environment being a topic constantly in the news, it is no wonder that many supply chains and tenders require an
environmental policy to be in place. For additional weight, many organisations formalise their policy with
the environmental management standard ISO 14001 (where an environmental policy is mandatory). For a public facing
company, having a policy in place demonstrates to customers and your organisation’s other stakeholders that you’re both
responsible and committed with regards to your environmental impact.

Your organisation’s environmental policy should be formed by management, but it’s certainly worth including all staff at
the ideas stage too. After all, your staff are stakeholders in the organisation, including them may prove motivational,
turning your policy into positive action.

BENEFITS OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

A well written environmental policy has many benefits. It helps your organisation to:

● Meet current environmentally related legislation.

● Save money in terms of consumption, waste and recycling.
● Reduce chances of incidents resulting in liability.
● Differentiate you from the competition.
● Improve reputation with stakeholders.
In order to work as well as it can, an environmental policy should be part of the overall business strategy. It is also
important to assess your policy, ideally through external verification (ISO 14001). By being assessed independently, your
policy is far more credible and reliable.

GETTING STARTED
An in-house risk assessment should bring to light most issues. How does your organization affect the environment and
what risks face it? You can check industry related laws by checking the Government’s NetReg’s website.

No two policies are exactly the same, as there isn’t an agreed set layout on how you should write one. The key is to have
a environmental policy that is both easy to understand and that clearly states the organization’s aims and objectives,
similar to a Mission Statement. It doesn’t need to be longer than a single page.

If your organization is keen to become part of a supply chain, or is already part of one, it’s worthwhile trying to obtain
policies from key customers so your statements can reflect their own requirements.

A good environmental policy allows management to communicate its aims and objectives to employees, shareholders,
customers, SUPPLIERS and other stakeholders. All goals should be measurable, realistic and have accountable actions
with deadlines.

Your environmental policy should outline:

● The organisation’s mission and information about its operations.

● A commitment to continually improve and monitor environmental performance.
● A commitment to managing your environmental impacts.
● Your compliance with relevant environmental legislation (as a minimum).
● Your expectations from SUPPLIERS and sub-contractors.
● A commitment to employee awareness and training.
Your policy could be categorized by different business activities, such as:
 ● Choosing like-minded suppliers.
● Energy usage (incl. water).
● Recycling and waste management.
● Use of stationary and other goods.
● Transportation.
To help you get started writing your own environmental policy, you can see links to the policies of well-known
organizations below:

There are also numerous policy templates available on the internet, such as the one available from Sustainable Business
Toolkit.

Once your environmental policy has been finished and signed off by senior management, you should distribute it to all
employees as well as your customers.

MAINTAINING YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

The following questions will need to be answered in order to determine whether the environmental policy statement meets
the intent of iso 14001:
1. Has executive management defined and signed the organization's environmental policy?
2. Appropriate to the nature of the organization's activities, products and/or services?
3. Is the policy appropriate to the organization's scale?
4. Is there a commitment to prevention of pollution?
5. Is there a commitment to continual improvement?
6. Is there a commitment to comply with all appropriate environmental laws and regulations?
7. Is there a commitment to comply with voluntary requirements to which the organization subscribes?
8. Does it provide a framework for establishing environmental objectives?
9. Is there a process to review environmental objectives?
10. Is it documented?
11. Is it implemented?
12. Do all employees know how their job function relates to the environmental policy?
13. Is it available to the public?
KEEPING ON TOP

As already mentioned, the aim of continually seeking to improve environmental performance should be part of your policy.
Regular walk-arounds (at least twice a year) of your premises should be carried out in order to see if you are using energy
and water efficiently, detailing whether measures to reduce waste and pollution are so far effective. You can read our Eco
Friendly Office Guide for more ideas.
Be sure to involve employees in the policy review process. If employees are expected to deliver on environmental policy
commitments, they may be a good source of ideas for improvements.
Bear in mind that if your business activities or operations change significantly, the policy may need to be amended. The
walk-around will provide an opportunity to set more specific targets. If your policy does change, make sure your staff can
read the latest version by making it available on your intranet or website.
A justification for getting your environmental policy externally verified is that, if not kept up-to-date, it becomes
meaningless. If your policy says that you are taking your environmental responsibilities seriously and you fail to back this
up, you may face questions over the quality of operations in other parts of your organization. This could tarnish your
reputation both customers and SUPPLIERS. Getting your policy checked ensures that doesn’t happen.
INFLUENCING OTHERS
All organizations have suppliers. Use your influence as a client to encourage suppliers and contractors to uphold similar
environmental standards, you may even want to make it a requirement if you have significant weight.
You could integrate your green message into your marketing materials, encouraging customers to adopt a similar ethos.
By communicating your aims and objectives, it may even bring your organization more work.
Environment Protection Act, 2053 (1997):Royal seal and date of publication, 17 Magh 2053 (jan.30. 1997)
1. To carry Out Initial Environmental Examination or Environmental Impact Assessment: A proponent shall have to carry out Initial
2. Environmental Examination and Environmental Impact Assessment of the proposals as prescribed.
3. Prohibition on Implementation of Proposal Without Approval :
4. Upon the commencement of this Act, no one shall implement or cause to be implemented a proposal without getting it approved
from the concerned agency or the Ministry.
5. To submit Proposal for Approval : A proponent who is desirous of implementing any proposal shall have to submit such a
proposal, accompanied by the report on Initial Environmental Examination or
6. Environmental Impact Assessment of the proposal, to the concerned agency
7. Prevention and Control of Pollution
8. Environment Inspector
9. Protection of National Heritage
10. Environment Protection Area
11. To Allow Collection of Samples
12. Establishment and Operation of Environment Protection Fund :
13. Power to Constitute Environment Protection Council
14. Concession and Facility May be Provided
15. Committee May be Formed
 GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
Environmental Change and Infectious Disease

Ample evidence suggests that human disruption of ecological systems is changing the distribution of infectious disease, leading in
many instances to increased transmission. Global land use and climate change drive new patterns of disease exposure through five
main mechanisms:

• Changes in the density or presence of disease-related organisms. Changes in temperature, precipitation, nutrient concentrations, and
other parameters are often fundamental in defining the range and breeding habitat of vectors, hosts, and pathogens;
 • Changes in exposure pathways. Direct human incursions into wildlife habitat (e.g., to establish new settlements or for bushmeat
hunting), rural-to-urban migration, and the movement of non-immune workers into disease-endemic areas can all lead to new
exposure pathways.

• Change in the genetics of pathogens. Intensified livestock management can allow pathogens to proliferate and develop genetic
modifications more rapidly, affecting both the infectiousness and virulence of disease organisms.

• Changes in the life cycles of pathogens and vectors. Higher air temperatures, for example, are associated with shorter egg-laying
cycles, faster development, and increased survivorship among Anopheles mosquitoes, increasing their capacity to spread malaria.

• Changes in species composition. Complex changes in the types of organisms that make up ecological communities can have
dramatic impacts on disease exposure by creating conditions and relationships that favor certain pathogens over others. Infectious
diseases that are transmitted by a vector or that have a non-human host or reservoir, such as malaria, dengue fever, schistosomiasis,
and Chagas disease, are particularly sensitive to these types of changes. Given that such diseases affect more than half the human
population, alterations in their transmission can have significant impacts on global public health.

Environmental Change, Food, and Nutrition

Although altered exposure to infectious disease receives much of our attention, the most important impacts of global change on human
health are likely to result from reduced access to food and safe water.Already, an estimated 1.02 billion people worldwide—nearly
one-sixth of the global population—are undernourished (see Figure), and malnutrition is responsible for at least a third of the disease
burden in poor countries. As the human population expands and as more people eat meat, world agricultural production will need to
roughly double over the next 50 years to keep up with projected demand. But food production is already facing significant ecological
constraints—including limits to arable land, water scarcity, soil nutrient depletion, and biological limits to increasing crop
yields.Climate change will further challenge food production through myriad mechanisms and is expected to reduce yields
significantly in many regions of the world—particularly those where food scarcity is already endemic Other Health Outcomes Human-
caused environmental change adversely affects health through other pathways as well. These include: Water and sanitation.
Inadequate access to drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene causes an estimated 1.7 million deaths annually. As with food, our ability
to meet future water needs faces serious constraints, from reduced access to fresh water as a result of climate change, to declining
water quality, to rising demand as a result of population growth and economic development. Poorer populations are especially
vulnerable to the health consequences of water scarcity because they are less capable of insulating themselves with technology and
other infrastructure and lack the ability to purchase water on the international market. Natural disasters. Since 1980,the number of
Category 5 (devastating) natural disasters worldwide has more than doubled, with a record 40 such disasters registered in 2008.As
both the number of events and human vulnerabilities to them have increased, so too have the associated impacts, ranging from death
or illness as a result of heat stress, acute injuries, or drowning; to air and water contamination and mental health effects. In addition,
sea-level rise, more-intense storms, and the rapid destruction of coastal barriers as a result of climate change represent a “triple threat
“that is likely to cause significant human morbidity and mortality. Air pollution. Air pollution as a result of changing environmental
conditions has numerous effects on human health. Atmospheric brown clouds (ABCs), composed primarily of the combustion
products of fossil fuels and biomass, trigger deaths from heart and respiratory disease and also block out the sun’s rays, Other Health
Outcomes Human-caused environmental change adversely affects health through other pathways as well. These include: Water and
sanitation. Inadequate access to drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene causes an estimated 1.7 million deaths annually. As with food,
our ability to meet future water needs faces serious constraints, from reduced access to fresh water as a result of climate change, to
declining water quality, to rising demand as a result of population growth and economic development. Poorer populations are
especially vulnerable to the health consequences of water scarcity because they are less capable of insulating themselves with
technology and other infrastructure and lack the ability to purchase water on the international market. Natural disasters. Since 1980,the
number of Category 5 (devastating) natural disasters worldwide has more than doubled, with a record 40 such disasters registered in
2008.As both the number of events and human vulnerabilities to them have increased, so too have the associated impacts, ranging
from death or illness as a result of heat stress, acute injuries, or drowning; to air and water contamination and mental health effects. In
addition, sea-level rise, more-intense storms, and the rapid destruction of coastal barriers as a result of climate change represent a
“triple threat” that is likely to cause significant human morbidity and mortality. Air pollution. Air pollution as a result of changing
environmental conditions has numerous effects on human health. Atmospheric brown clouds (ABCs), composed primarily of the
combustion products of fossil fuels and biomass, trigger deaths from heart and respiratory disease and also block out the sun’s rays,
thereby reducing agricultural yields. Higher temperatures increase the formation of ground-level ozone, which causes sickness and
death from heart and lung disease. And warmer temperatures and higher CO2 concentrations are associated with longer pollen seasons
and increased pollen production for many allergenic plants, contributing to allergic respiratory disease, particularly asthma. Population
displacement and conflict could become common outcomes as large, vulnerable populations suffer amplified exposure to water
scarcity, hunger, and natural disasters. In 2008, an estimated 42 million people worldwide were considered refugees or displaced
persons, and the United Nations estimates that climate change alone will displace an additional 250 million to 1 billion people by
2050. Health consequences of increased migration include malnutrition, greater susceptibility to infectious disease, and higher than
normal death rates. Displaced peoples also suffer high levels of violence, sexual abuse, and mental illness.

Adapting to the Health Impacts of Climate Change Because climate change is a rapidly accelerating source of human-induced
environmental change, there is a special urgency to address it. Climate change will magnify water scarcity in areas that already face
unsustainable water use, and create new scarcities elsewhere. It will affect crop yields and generate obstacles to meeting global
nutritional needs. It is also likely to cause more frequent and severe natural disasters, alter the distribution of infectious diseases, and
reduce air quality across large parts of the globe. And, it is likely to cause large scale population displacement and migration to a
degree not before witnessed. But the fact that climate change is a threat magnifier (and not, primarily, a source of entirely new public
health challenges) may represent an opportunity as well as a challenge. If the international community accepts the moral imperative to
help lower-income countries reduce their vulnerability to the health threats from climate change, it will also be helping these countries
take strides toward addressing entrenched threats that have been a longstanding scourge to their economies and people. To be most
effective, efforts to adapt to the health impacts of climate change must include the following measures:

1. Adaptation assistance. Wealthy countries (responsible for most of the carbon emissions driving climate change) have a moral
imperative to assist lower-income countries with adaptation, given the size of the health threats, their preventability, and the
disproportionate vulnerability of lower income countries to them;

2.“No-regrets” solutions. The chosen interventions should yield benefits regardless of the timing and location of specific climate-
related events. Examples include improving public health infrastructure, developing more-tolerant crop strains, increasing freshwater
storage capacity, creating early-warning systems, and bolstering disease surveillance;

3. Insurance strategies. Because it is impossible to predict the precise impacts of climate change in a specific location, it makes sense
to pool risk and develop insurance strategies whereby countries agree to help whichever populations absorb the greatest impacts;

4. Surveillance. Because even the most sophisticated models are unable to predict exact climate-related changes in specific locations,
it will be important to monitor key factors such as crop productivity, in-stream flow rates and water tables, food consumption and
malnutrition rates, and population movements, as well as changing distributions of infectious diseases. This will help countries target
the resources to address emerging threats before they become humanitarian crises.

5. Demographics. Population growth in the face of limited land and resources exacerbates such threats as food and water scarcity,
vulnerability to disasters, and human displacement. Meeting the unmet need for family planning services is a central way to both
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce vulnerability to the health impacts of climate change, while simultaneously improving
maternal and child health.

6.Further research. There is an urgent need for more research to model the health impacts of climate change in specific locations, to
evaluate approaches to reducing vulnerability, and to perform cost-effectiveness analyses on different adaptation approaches. Specific
policy recommendations must be based on a careful analysis of local conditions. National-level risk assessments that cut across
disciplines and sectors will be critical to helping countries target limited resources to the highest-priority threats and the most
vulnerable populations.
Moving Forward in a Changing World Accelerating changes to the planet’s land surface and the functioning of its ecosystems are
acting synergistically with climate change to generate threats to human health at a unprecedented scale. Responding to these threats
effectively will require new approaches to economic and human development, new technologies, and new research efforts, as well as
new approaches to policy and decision making. The good news is that much of the human suffering likely to result from these trends is
preventable—and a tremendous amount can be done. There are many positive trends that should encourage us as we seek to slow the
pace of environmental change and lessen its toll on health. These include advances in reducing global population growth as well as
efforts to reverse or at least manage some of the worst impacts of environmental change—from less polluting cook stoves and water-
efficient farming practices, to improvements in urban transport and advances in renewable energy technologies. In the health arena,
inexpensive multimedia and mobile communications technologies are an important component of health systems strengthening. The
challenge will be to take these efforts to scale rapidly enough to slow the pace of environmental change. From a research standpoint,
there is a critical need to improve our understanding of the complex connections between environmental change and health. This
includes:

• better integrating information across sectors and scientific disciplines;

• better integrating the training of research scientists, with researchers in health, natural, and social sciences learning across each
other’s disciplines; and

• filling important gaps in the availability of reliable, high-resolution, and geographically referenced data about population, health,
and environmental conditions. Unfortunately, the sheer complexity of some of these relationships will make the exact impacts of
changing environmental conditions on human wellbeing difficult to quantify.

In this context, stepped-up surveillance will improve efforts to detect changing patterns of infectious disease, malnutrition, heart and
respiratory disease, morbidity from natural disasters, and environmental migration. Governments and other stakeholders will also need
to mobilize substantial financial resources, technical capacity, and new partnerships that can help build capacity over the long term.
For many years, the industrialized world has done less than it could to relieve suffering among the global poor. Now, it will need to
vigorously reframe its development assistance to address the impacts of climatic disruption. With the upcoming climate talks in
Copenhagen, Denmark,2009 may be a defining moment in human history: a year in which the historical injustice of human-induced
climate change could fuel an international effort to reduce vulnerability and simultaneously address some of the longest-standing
scourges to human health. Addressing the health impacts of global environmental change needs to be a priority for the public health
community, environmental scientists, and natural resource managers, as well as for governments and intergovernmental bodies such as
the United Nations and multilateral development banks. What we need most are political will and financial resources. While these
resources will need to be large, they are small compared to the cost of ignoring the impacts of large-scale change and trying to address
the overwhelming problems of famine, epidemic disease, massive population displacement, and civil strife that may ensue.

SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT

Social impacts are everything that affects people. Social impacts are changes to one or more of the following:

a. people’s way of life – that is, how they live, work, play and interact with one another on a day-to-day basis;

b. their culture – that is, their shared beliefs, customs, values and language or dialect; • their community – its cohesion, stability,
character, services and facilities;

c. their political systems – the extent to which people are able to participate in decisions that affect their lives, the level of
democratisation that is taking place, and the resources provided for this purpose;

d. their environment – the quality of the air and water people use; the availability and quality of the food they eat; the level of
hazard or risk, dust and noise they are exposed to; the adequacy of sanitation, their physical safety, and their access to and
control over resources;

e. their health and wellbeing – health is a state of complete physical, mental, social and spiritual wellbeing and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity;

f. their personal and property rights – particularly whether people are economically affected, or experience personal disadvantage
which may include a violation of their civil liberties;

g. their fears and aspirations – their perceptions about their safety, their fears about the future of their community, and their
aspirations for their future and the future of their children.

The management of the social issues of projects and therefore the full span of work of SIA practitioners potentially includes the
following activities. Note, however, that these tasks are not all done at the same time and what a specific SIA practitioner should do in
a specific case will depend on the particular context.
a. Undertake an ex-ante assessment of likely social impacts

b. Liaise with the EIA team (and any other assessment teams) to ensure that the social aspects of environmental and
biodiversity impacts and the environmental and biodiversity impacts of social changes are considered in the impact
assessments and management plans

c. Compile a community profile (i.e. a description of the local social context)

d. Construct a social baseline relevant for decision-making and documenting social changes (i.e. collect data for key social
variables to document the pre-impact state)

e. Identify and implement changes to the project and undertake other actions to mitigate social impacts

f. Plan the resettlement and/or compensation for people who will experience economic displacement in instances where there is
no alternative

g. Prepare a Resettlement Policy Framework, Resettlement Action Plan, Livelihood Restoration and Enhancement Plan and
ensure that these are integrated into the project development plans and timeframes

h. Undertake human rights due diligence and human rights impact assessments, involving human rights experts as necessary

i. Identify ways of enhancing the benefits of the project

j. Identify stakeholders, and map their interests, relationships, and potential two-way project-stakeholder impacts

k. Facilitate genuine community engagement processes consistent with the spirit of free, prior and informed consent

l. Where Indigenous communities are involved, assist in processes to comply with formal Free, Prior and Informed Consent
requirements

m. Assist affected communities in understanding what the likely social impacts of a proposed project might mean for them
n. Enhance local content and local procurement arrangements

o. Monitor social issues

p. Design and implement social investment actions

q. Establish appropriate compensation mechanisms

r. Design and implement grievance mechanisms

s. Negotiate Impacts & Benefits Agreements

t. Develop Social Impact Management Plans

u. Prepare documentation for a regulatory authority

v. Identify issues and/or obligations for addressing the management of social impacts to be included in contracts with project
subcontractors

w. Prepare performance standard compliance documentation for a financial institution (World Bank, IFC, another multilateral
development bank, or an Equator Principles bank)

x. Undertake a due diligence assessment or audit of social performance for a community, NGO or for a financial institution

y. Assist in closure planning.

 ECOLOGICAL AWARENESS

⚫ Ecology comes from two Greek words: “οἶκος” house and “λογία” study of

⚫ Awareness is the state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects, or sensory patterns. Awareness is
defined as a human's or an animal's perception and cognitive reaction to a condition or event.
⚫ Scientific study of the relationships that living organisms have with each other and with their natural environment.
⚫ To cause minimal damage to the environment
We should do.

⚫ Energy conversation
⚫ Water conversation
⚫ Recycling “PIENSA VERDE”
⚫ Green Lunch Box
⚫ Sound pollution
⚫ Organic products

SUSTAINABILITY OF SOCIAL ECOLOGICAL SYSTEM

A General Framework for Analyzing Sustainability of Social-Ecological Systems

A major problem worldwide is the potential loss of fisheries, forests, and water resources. Understanding of the processes
that lead to improvements in or deterioration of natural resources is limited, because scientific disciplines use different
concepts and languages to describe and explain complex social-ecological systems (SESs). Without a common
framework to organize findings, isolated knowledge does not cumulate. Until recently, accepted theory has assumed that
resource users will never self-organize to maintain their resources and that government must impose solutions. Research
in multiple disciplines, however, has found that some government policies accelerate resource destruction, whereas some
resource users have invested their time and energy to achieve sustainability. A general framework is used to identify 10
subsystem variables that affect the likelihood of self-organization in efforts to achieve a sustainable SES.

ADVANCING SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH A SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

The concept of social-ecological systems describes how social systems and ecological systems are inherently interlinked. Advances in
sustainability science and practice have been inspired by this growing recognition.
During a visioning-workshop in September 2014, a group of PECS-researchers and members of the PECS Science Committe met and
asked: (1) what are the key ways in which advances in sustainability science and practice have been inspired by growing recognition
of the interlinked nature of social–ecological systems (2) what are the priority areas in which further efforts are required to improve
our understanding of social–ecological systems, and foster progress towards sustainable development.

The resulting paper, led by Joern Fischer (who also has a great summary piece on his blog ) is published in Current Opinion in
Environmental Sustainability.

In the first half of the paper we point out four important ways in which the social-ecological systems approach has begun to shift
research and practice only in the past two decades:

Advance 1: Recognition is growing that humanity depends on nature – it’s no longer a small community that understands that
humanity fundamentally needs nature (and has an ethical obligation towards it).

Advance 2: The need for solutions to sustainability problems has increased communication and collaboration across disciplines, and
between science and society – interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity are growing rapidly, especially in a sustainability context.

Advance 3: Conceptual and methodological pluralism is increasing in an effort to better understand complex social-ecological
systems – scientists increasingly seek to understand systems through multiple modes of enquiry.

Advance 4: Appreciation of social-ecological systems is beginning to influence major policy frameworks – although there is a long
way to go still, national assessments and international frameworks now explicitly recognize social-ecological linkages.

In the second part of the paper we identify four interlinked priorities for researchers and decision makers:

Priority 1: Social-ecological interactions between regions need to be better understood, and institutions should be developed to
govern such interactions – this is the issue of “teleconnections”, which are common and important, but poorly understood and
governed.
Priority 2: Both researchers and decision makers must pay greater attention to long-term drivers that gradually shape social-
ecological systems – these long-term drivers continue to be (largely) ignored and include inconvenient issues such as dominant value,
political and economic systems.

Priority 3: The interactions among power relations, equity, justice and ecosystem stewardship need to be better understood – this is
the issue of who is in control and who benefits from ecosystems, and includes greater attention to major global injustices.

Priority 4: Commitment is needed by governments and society at large to support the development of a stronger science-society
interface – we have only just begun to link science with society through transdisciplinary processes, but a step change is needed to
bring about major changes.
… and major changes are what we need.

As we say in the paper: Despite the progress that has been made, “there is a real danger that the growing challenges of the
Anthropocene – such as climate change, global social injustices, and biodiversity loss – will outpace the progress that is being made.”