GEOGRAPHY O LEVEL(FORM FOUR) NOTES – ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND MANAGEMENT

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND MANAGEMENT

1. Rapid pollution growth in the world especially in the thirds world countries this led to the increase rate of production of waste and problem in the managing of the waste.
2. The increase level of poverty in the developing country.This made people uses cheap energy resources that cause air pollution like charcoal and fuel wood. Rapid advance in technology that has led to the development of supplicated industries which emits a lot of gases and waste.

3. Development of transport let work that has net to the development and increase number of cars that emits a lot of fumes smokes.
4. Increase in political conflict that forces people to keep on migrating from place to place end up polluting the environment as well as the use of bombs and nuclear weapons.
5. Advancement of Science and Technology.

1. Reduction in amount of solar energy because of being blocked by the layer of dusts or fumes hanging in the atmosphere leading to problems in photosynthesis.
2. Transportation in plants in upset since the smoke and dust setting on the leaves block the stomata.
3. Occurrence of global warming as the result of trapping of heat energy from the sun by the green houses gases.
4. Death of plants and animals due to poisonous gases.
5. Destruction of Ozone layer.
6. Reduction of air dirty.
7. Occurrence of acidic rainfall when gases like carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide mix with rainfall.
8. It can causes bad and irritating smell keeping people in residence area uncomfortable.
9. It can causes dangerous disease like skin cancer.

1. Disposal of untreated sewage into the water bodies. The sewage can be form homestead. Institution like schools, hotels and hospitals.
2. Dumping of wastes from industries into the water bodies these c
   an be either liquid or solid form.
3. Some chemicals and other wastes from the farms ear get into the water bodies through the surface turn off or by deliberate dumping by human being leading to water contamination.
4. Oil spills from the leaking oil containers or pipes. This happened in the Indian Ocean where there are some oil spills from TIPPER in Dar es Salaam in 1990s oil forms a uniform over on the surface of water.
5. Fishing activities, some fishermen tend to use harmful chemicals in fishing which lead to water pollution.
6. Breaking of rocks along the coastal areas or near other sources of water using explosives like dynamite which in turns leads to the dying of marine organisms including fish.
7. Introduction of dust into the water sources mainly due to wind action. This is also another way into which water can be polluted.

1. Water pollution can lead to the death of plants and animals if the pollutants and poisonous or causes the rise of temperature to extreme levels.
2. Spread of disease like cholera, diarrhea, dysentery and typhoid.
3. Oil spills kills aquatic organisms because it prevents oxygen from penetrating into water, organisms die because of lacking oxygen.
4. Water pollution leads to the emission of soil smells that causes discomfort to the people round the water body. The soil smell is caused by decomposition of the organic matter introduced into the water body.
5. Decline of tourist activities due to the fact that tourist who depends on water bodies for swimming will find difficult due to the fact that water bodies has been polluted (i.e. presence of toxic chemicals)
6. The color of water changes. The water becomes under due to the presence of impurities.
7. Multiplication of sea weeds as a result of the increase in nutritious from the wastes in water.
8. The death of fish leads to the loss of valuable sources of protein to human being.

1. Encourage the proper use of fishing methods rather than using chemicals, since chemicals end up killing different fish, animal and plant species.
2. The oil container and pipes should be kept properly and frequently inspected so as to avoid the problem of soil spiller
3. Population controlling the population number of people will reduce the amount of water produced.
4. Reduction in the uses of fertilizers and chemicals in agriculture organic agriculture should be encouraged in which manure is used
5. The government and the NGO’S should cooperate in educating people on how to use water, conserve it and where possible they should assist financial in trying to prevent the problem of water pollution.
6. Water should be kept in a clean containers or reservoirs and be covered flighty to avoid contamination
7. Breaking of rocks using dynamite should be discouraged and hence alternative ways should be applied.
8. Dumping of wastes on the land should be hand in hand with land filling method since random throwing of it leads to water pollution
9. There should be recycling of wastes rather than throwing them into the water bodies.

• Floods which kill most of the organisms at the place where they occur.
• Pests and diseases tend to kill large number of organisms.
• Landslides and other types of mass wasting.
• Earthquakes kill organisms in large number.
• Wars; When wars breakout the weapons kill not only people but also other organisms.
• Pollution, poison of air, water and soil lead to the death of living organisms.
• Illegal fishing when people use dynamites, bombs and poisoning lead to death of fish and other organisms.
• Poaching.

• Change of climate of the world due to death of plants and organisms which can regulate the temperature and rainfall of the area.
• Loss of wild life and hence affect tourism activities.
• Desertification due to death of plants.
• Lack of food, the death of plants and organisms lead to the shortage of food.

1. Poor use or mismanagement of land leads to desertification.In most cases many people are still ignorant and hence unaware of how to use the land properly due to low level of technology e.g. Over cultivation and overgrazing, as well as poor methods of cultivation especially cultivation facing down the slope.

2. Deforestation: This is the process which is mainly associates with massive destruction of trees and vegetation cover.

3. Increase of population in some countries has led to clearing of forested areas for cultivation in order to increase food production, settlement purposes,construction of infrastructures.
4. Natural drought cycles have been responsible for the advance of the desert. Drought leads to loss of soil moisture and hence death of different plant species.

1. It leads to decline in agriculture. This is because of drought condition that causes water problems when there is poor precipitation plant growth is inhabited leading to poor food production.
2. Migration of people from affected area to productive land area.

3. The desert advance acceleration of soil erosion which leads to deforestation and loss of arable land. Erosion also affect different structure like building bridge, roads and railway line.
4. Leads to the loss of important species of trees and animals as well as organism like bacteria.
5. Scarcity of water makes travel long distance in search for water for domestic uses like cooking, drinking, washing.
6. The desert also contribute at high rate the destruction of wild life animals and species which in turn leads to decline of tourist industries in the country .This happens when animal die or migrate away or when lakes and rivers dry up.

1. Alternative source of energy should be used in the developing countries especially in natural areas where the majority live. Alternative energy includes solar energy, wind power, bio gas and hydroelectric power.
2. The local people should be educated on how to conserve vegetation. Some programs like affore
   station and reforestation should be encouraged in order to mitigate them.
3. The government should advice some substantive policies whose objectives are to lay down principles to guide development and control of forests.

1. Leaching process:

2. Over cultivation: In a certain area caused by the rapid population growth. The crops grown on the some pieces of land for a long time lead to depletion of nutrients.
3. Monoculture:

4. Soil erosion

5. Mass wasting

6. Severe loss of soil water through excessive evaporation especially in arid and semi arid.

• Educating people so as to promote and encouraged land management skills among them this has to be undertaken by the government collaboration with NGO’S and some individual.
• Training and encouraging farmers to uses proper farming methods like crop rotation counters roughing and inter cropping
• Planting of cover crops forestation and reforestation in order to check soil erosion.
• Reducing or stopping the uses of industrial chemical which tend to accumulate in the soil and causes soil pollution.
• Waste products should be recycled rather than dumping them in the soil.
• Destocking animal members should be reduced or controlled so as to avoid overgrazing that leads to destruction grass.
• Encouraging dry farming that involves mulching in order to reduce loss of water through evaporation
• Land filling with bush wood should be used where the soil has been severely eroded producing gullies.
• Population should be controlled so as to discourage excessive exploitation of resources which in nature leads to land degradation
• Alternative energy resources should be exposed and used effectively to avoid the excessive exploitation of forest and oil which causes hazard to the environment.
• Radioactive materials should be dumped very deeply in the soil to prevent the upper soil layer from being high affected.
• Terracing and contraction of some stone lines should be undertaken so as to control the movement of water and forces it to get into the soil rather than flowing over the land.

1. It led to the increase of acidity in water bodies hence killing of aquatic animals and plants
2. Reduction of the rate of soil fertility due to the increase amount of acidity into the soil.
3. Increase the rate of leaching process.
4. Destruction of different structure like buildings, bridges, railways as result of the corrosive action of acid on paint and rocks containing calcium.
5. Sulphuric acid lead itching and irritation of eyes in human beings and animal
6. Erosion of limestone rock lead to the formation of features like sink holes dollies and garpikes

1. Wildlife animals are the sources of food such as meat which in turn provides protein in our bodies.
2. Wild animals attract tourism and are sources of foreign
3. They are sources of material valuable to man such as skin and medicine takes
4. Wildlife conservation areas have contributed to increase of employment opportunities.
5. Development of manufacturing industries due to availability of raw materials such as skin etc.

1. Shallowness of the soil due to the presence of the impermeable rock layer just near the surface.
2. Earth quakes that place below the sea tends to lead to the formation of large waves – flooding
3. Damming of the river by human being by lava spread out during volcanic eruption.
4. Blocked up drainage system in town and cites can lead to the flooding
5. Shallowness and name lines of the river system can also lead to flooding
6. Cleaning of vegetation accelerate flooding because on a base surface water runs freely to the stream
7. It can also take place where the rives has many bends

1. Death of people and animals for example the frequent flood in Bangladesh has claimed the death of many people leading to depopulation.
2. Destruction of farm land they can be destroyed by running water leaching to devastation of crops.
3. Outbreak and spread of disease especially water born disease which then affected the health of people and sometimes death.
4. Floods also lead to the demolition of houses rending people homeless.
5. Silting of dams and other water resources resulting in the problem of water conservation and inadequate water supply.
6. Flood can lead to soil and air pollution
7. Occurrence of the soil erosion and the occurrence of lands.
8. Destruction of infrastructure like railways, roads and bridges.
9. Floods bring problem of industrial location in a particular place,.
10. It leads to migration of people who move as refugees
11. Destruction of various economic sectors like farms and industrial structures this lead to occurrence of poverty in the country.
12. Destruction of transport system hinders the movement of goods and services from one place to another.

1. There should be proper management of the watershed catchment areas through planting trees people should be allowed to settle in the catchment areas
2. Construction of dams across the river channels helps in combating the problem of flood which affects the low land areas.
3. The stream of the rivers should be deeper widened and straightened so as to increase the speed of the river down the slope to the sea.
4. People should be frequent inspection and cleaning of the drainage by flooding.
5. There should be frequent inspection and cleaning of the drainage system.
6. Availability of rescue team which is skilled and actives in rescuing people affected by floods
7. International cooperation should be intensified so as to improve the techniques of combating this environmental problem.

• Embarking an forestation programmers the trees moisture to the atmosphere and hence led to rain formation
• The uses of proper farming method which do not deplete vegetation
• Control of population should be encouraged so as to avoid the excessive exploitation of vegetation
• The water conservation centers should be established like dams so as to promote irrigation streams
• Farmers should be given proper education on how to conserve water resources sustainability to avoid environmental degradation
• Strict policies should be instituted so as to restrict excessive use of trees
• These should be the woof alternative energy sources like solar energy, wind energy, and Geothermal.
  

1. The rise in temperature has led to the melting of ice in various parts of the world e.g. The cap at the peak of Mt Kilimanjaro has decreased in size due to the effect of global warming
2. The melting of ices has led to the increase of water in the sea and hence the sea level rises. As results of those phenomena some of coastal areas are flooded.
3. Global warming has led to the occurrence of strong storms in different parts of the world that kill people and destroy properties.
4. Some cold areas have become warm such that tropical crops are grown.
5. Disappearance of some animals and plant species due to the failures to adopt the abrupt in temperature.
6. Global warming has caused the occurrence of precipitation in other areas which is used to be dry due to the changes in hydrological cycles.
7. Decline of production due to drought and desertification process which then leads to poverty and death of people
8. Spread of disease like skin cancer, malaria and other.

9. Discouraging the uses of burning of material that release harmful green house gases such as CO2, CFC’s
10. Alternative sources of energy, which are environmentally friendly, should be encouraged e.g. geothermal, power, solar energy, and wind energy.
11. Formation of an international policies and cooperation among different nations in the fight against air pollution.
12. Control of pollution in order to control and discourages excessive uses of fossils and biomass energy.
13. Recycling of wastes should be encouraged rather than burning or dumping on the surface.
14. Modification of the combustion system in the machines in order to attain efficient fuel burning in and out of massive release of green house gases especially carbon dioxide.

• Low income.
• Poor standard of living.
• Short life expectancy
• Poor infrastructure.
• Unemployment.
• Environmental degradation.
• Diseases

• Soil erosion due to poor farming methods and overgrazing.
• Desertification due to cutting down of trees to obtain firewood and charcoal for domestic use because people can not afford the use of fuel and electricity.
• Loss of biodiversity due to clearance of forest and bush firing.