Ecological Imbalance in Bangladesh

Ecological Imbalance

Definition-The naturally occurring changes in the environment which leave it unbalanced with respect to the type and quality of the feed they provide is known as ecological imbalance. Food chain maintains ecological balance. If there is change in the food chain it leads to ecological imbalance.

Ecological Development Leads To Ecological Imbalance

1) The difficulties of mitigating coffee include decreasing techniques gas pollutants, stopping deforestation, decreasing area deterioration, battling sea level increase, preventing droughts and flooding, and retrofitting structures to make them more energy-efficient.

2) Putting the fault mostly on the business countries, the review pointedly says the environment turmoil is the result of the very irregular design of economic progression that progressed over the past two years. 3) Describing the severity of coffee, he said the current proven medical proof reveals that even with 50-80 percent reduces in techniques gas pollutants by 2050, "there is a good venture that we will not stay below a 2-degree progression of international conditions which is considered already alarmingly great."

 4) "Hence reduces in pollutants will have to be severe and appropriate," said Vos. "This obstacle comes at the same time as we should anticipate power need to increase into power performance and low-carbon, alternative power.

 5) What is required next is to persuade plan creators that while apparently large assets will need to be made now, the cost of not making these will be hugely bigger than the costs that we calculate are required," Vos said.It should also be clear that commanders in the western world should lead the action towards more focused exhaust decrease.

 6) Vos also outlined that western world have started wealthy while giving off most of the techniques smells that are now in the weather. They also have a significant responsibility to support third world countries in preventing the same development design of "polluting first and cleaning up later".

Causes of ecological imbalance

·         Pollution

·         Deforestation and Habitat Loss

·         Fuel consumption

·         Natural disaster

·         Disproportion in cultivated land

·         Air conditioning equipment

·          Expansion of urban area

·          Change of position of water reservoir

·         Green house effect(Global Warming)

·         Hill destruction

·         Acid rain

·         Nuclear Inventions, attacks

·         Over fishing

·         Hunting

·         Improper use of nonrenewable resources

·         Ecological Imbalance due to ship breaking

·         Ecological Imbalance due to Medical        waste

·         Cutting down the jungles

·         Chemical waste left in the sea

These all things have affected not only people but all the living creatures on the world. These are the causes of weather conditions changes & bio-diversity reduction.

·         •    99% of confronted types are at risk from human activities.

·         •    Habitat reduction and deterioration are the best risks. They impact 86% of all confronted wildlife, 86% of the confronted animals evaluated and 88% of the confronted amphibians.

·         •    Introductions of peculiar types. Some of the toughest include kittens and cats and mice, green crabs, zebra mussels, the Africa tulip shrub and the brownish shrub reptile. For every of peculiar types can happen intentionally or accidentally, for example, by creatures "hitch-hiking" in bins, delivers, vehicles or ground.Over-exploitation. Resource extraction, hunting, and fishing for food, pets, and medicine threatens many species.

·         Pollution and diseases.

·         Human-induced climate change is increasingly recognized as a crucial threat. Climate change is altering migratory species patterns, causing coral bleaching, etc.

Ecological Imbalance due to Pollution

Air smog is define as the addition of extraneous materials to drinking water, air or land which adversely affect the natural quality of the environment.

Pollution in air, drinking water, ground, meals and sound causes environmental discrepancy. Many sectors like textile, paper, sugar, steel, petroleum, cement, meals, and chemical sectors release the wastes into nearby drinking water resources creating environmental discrepancy. This affects the air, drinking water, and ground condition. Pollutants released from the industries are gases like methane, cyanides, carbon tetrachloride, carbon disulphide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen disulphide, hydrochloric acids, ammonia and sulphur dioxide as well as multiples of liquid and solid compounds. This alters the climatic condition, changes the composition of gases in the atmosphere creating imbalance. Usage of fertilizers and pesticides leads a drastic change in soil and underground water condition leading to ecological imbalance.

Water Pollution

Water Pollution: Drinking water is essential for all forms of lifestyle and none can survive of this earth without water. Chemically, water contains two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. Drinking water for people to drink should be clean, colorless, odorless, well aerated, cool, soft, palatable, and free from contained toxic ingredients and revoked particles. But water is rarely found in pure state. The contained or revoked ingredients which deteriorate the quality of water and make it unfit for people to drink are called water quality. In the other word, water pollutants are those physical, chemical or biological factors which are harmful to aquatic lifestyle and to those who consume water.   

Sources of water pollution: Factories, power plants and sewage treatment plants are considered point sources of water pollution, because they emit pollutants at discrete locations, usually through a pipe that leads to a lake or stream. Non-point sources of water pollution are scattered or diffused. Cropland, forest, urban and suburban lands, roadways, and parking lots are nonpoint sources of a variety of substances including dust, sediment, pesticides, asbestos, fertilizer, heavy metals, salts, oil, grease, litter, and even air pollutants washed down from the sky by rain.

Pollution takes place in all the three main sources of water, i.e. rain water, surface water and ground water. Surface water is more susceptible than groundwater, which is naturally protected from surface activities.

Fig: Watrer pollution

Rainwater pollution: Acidity rainfall loss jungles and may cause significant decrease in efficiency. Numerous writers have also raised concern for plants harm. Acidity rainfall is particularly damaging to buds; therefore, chemicals falling on plants in spring may harm growth. Acidification of ground may also harm ground bacteria that play a huge role in vitamin bicycling and nitrogen fixation. Acidity rainfall may also harm house paint and imprinted the surfaces of vehicles. There is no record of acid rainfall in Bangladesh. However, due to extensive air air smog in Dhaka city, it is very likely that rainfall drinking water in Dhaka would be more acid than rainfall drinking water in non-urban areas.

Groundwater pollution Although groundwater is not directly exposed to surface polluting activities, numerous natural and anthropogenic activities cause groundwater pollution. A number of physical, chemical and biochemical (and microbiological) processes cause alteration of groundwater properties either by addition of new elements/ions/compounds or by increasing the existing concentrations. Before the discovery of arsenic contamination in Bangladesh, groundwater used to be considered a safer source of drinking water. Arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh is now considered the world's largest case of water pollution. Groundwater in Bangladesh is also polluted by a number of anthropogenic and natural sources. The most widespread anthropogenic sources are the infiltration of industrial and urban wastes disposed on the ground or in surface water bodies. Also intrusion or infiltration of saline water contaminates groundwater. Extensive use of agrochemicals can lead to groundwater pollution. Leaking sewers/septic tanks/pit latrines also cause groundwater pollution.

Fig: Arsenic diseases

Arsenic is natural in pyrite foundation actual much of Western Bengal. The harming began to occur as an incredible number of kiloliters of drinking water was being injected out from deep within subterranean tanks. As a result the level decreased and revealed the arsenic-bearing pyrite to air leading to oxidisation, a reaction which purged arsenic into the staying drinking water. Arsenic is a slow killer that accumulates in the body resulting in nails rotting, dark spots, bleeding sores, swelling, large warts and a form of gangrene. It is carcinogen increasing the risk of skin cancer and tumors of the bladder, kidney, liver and lungs.

As a result of widespread water contamination domestic abuse has become just one of the social costs. There are now many reports of broken marriage, as husbands send disfigured wives back to their parents. In Jampukkur, many young men and women don’t get married at all. Some people think the poison can be passed on from parent to child so many arsenic poisoned women have problems finding husbands.

Surface water pollution: Surface water occurs in oceans, rivers, lakes, ponds and floodplains. It has been the source of water supply since the dawn of civilization. But intense human activities have been polluting these readily available sources. Surface water used to be the primary source of water supply in Bangladesh, but it is no longer the case. Surface water in Bangladesh is extensively polluted by sources such as industrial and urban wastes, agrochemicals and sewerage wastes and seawater intrusion. Surface water bodies are extensively used for disposal of untreated industrial wastes and this is one of the main sources of pollution.

Polluted river of Dhaka city: Shitalakhya, Turag, Balu, Buriganga River.

The once mighty Buriganga river (most polluted river of Bangladesh), which flows by Dhaka, is now one of the most polluted rivers in Bangladesh because of rampant dumping of industrial and human waste. Much of the Buriganga is now gone, having fallen to ever insatiable land grabbers and industries and a large chunk of the country's 140 million people depend on them for a living and for transportation. But experts say many of them are drying up or are choked because of pollution and encroachment.

A World Bank study said four major rivers near Dhaka -- the Buriganga, Shitalakhya, Turag and Balu receive 1.5 million cubic metres of waste water every day from 7,000 industrial units in surrounding areas and another 0.5 million cubic meters from other sources. Unabated encroachment that prevents the free flow of water, dumping of medicinal waste and waste of river passengers have compounded the problem, making the water unusable for humans and livestock. Unfortunately, all these bad things encroachment, dumping of industrial waste and other abuses occur in full knowledge of the authorities," said Professor Abdullah Abu Saeed, an eminent campaigner for "Save Buriganga, Save Lives."

Research Among the top polluters are many tanneries on the financial institutions of the Buriganga. The government has initiated a move to relocate the tanneries outside the capital, and also asked illegal encroachers to vacate the river. But environmental groups say they defy such orders by using their political links or by bribing people.

water pollution in Buregonga

Fig: Buriganga River around Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh is polluted every day with thousand of tonnes of solid and liquid wastes coming from domestic and industrial sources. Dhaka Water and Sewage Authority(WASA) dumping 60 percent of the untreat sewage of the Dhaka city in the Buriganga river as a result river water become stinky black pitch water. Toxic metalic like chromium from Hazaribag Tannery units and released directly in the Buriganga river many cause genetic disorder birth defects and cancer if it get s in the food cycles.

Fig:. The tanneries and thousands of other highly polluting industries keep discharging millions of gallons of toxic wastes into the rivers. Dhaka WASA dumps over 90 percent of its untreated wastes which flow through its networks of sewerage lines and canals into the Buriganga river around the city.

Dholai Khal canal polluted in Dhaka, Bangladesh

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Fig: Dholai khal canal in the Dhaka capital city of Dhaka after years of pollution has turned into smelly, ugly mess, dumping ground of grabage and a breeding haven for mosquitoes. Polluted water from Dhaka city fall into the Buriganga river through Dholai khal canal in Sutrapur area in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Effect of water pollution

The various results of drinking water quality are discussed here as follows:

1.         Physicochemical effects

Many toxins produce unwanted colors, testing and scent in drinking water and male it distressing and unsuitable for drinking and domestic uses. These changes may be in fresh air material, temperature and pH which impact the physicochemical nature of drinking water.

2.         Biological effect

Excess toxins impact the marine plants.

3.         Toxic effect

Some toxins for example, pollutants, biocides, cyanides, and other organic and inorganic substances are harmful to marine creatures.

4.         Pathogenic effects

Few harmful toxins, for example, sewer contains several pathogenic fungus, bacteria and virus.

Different water pollution showing in picture:

Fig: Pollution-in-Dhaka

Fig : Pollution by tannery chemical.

Fig: Wastewater

By ismail

Fig: Polluted water reservoir.

Air Pollution 

 Air Pollutants smog contaminants of the weather caused by the release, random or talk of a variety of toxic ingredients. Often the amount of the released material is relatively high in a certain vicinity, so the side results are more recognizable. The major sources of air smog are transport engines, power and heat generation, industrial procedures and the burning of solid waste.

Schematic illustrating, causes and results of air pollution: (1) techniques effect, (2) air particle contaminants, (3) improved UV rays, (4) acid rain, (5) improved walk out ozone attention, (6) a higher level of nitrogen oxides. Pollutants

Major primary pollutants produced by human activity include:

·         Sulfur oxides (SO_x

·         Nitrogen oxides (NO_x)

·         Carbon monoxide

·         Carbon dioxide (CO₂)

·         Volatile organic compounds

·         Particulate matter

·         Persistent free radicals

·         Toxic metals, such as lead, cadmium and copper.

·         Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

·         Ammonia (NH₃)

·         Odors — such as from garbage, sewage, and industrial processes

·         Radioactive pollutants

Secondary pollutants include:

·         Particulate matter

·         Ground level ozone (O₃)

·         PeroxyacetylHYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peroxyacetyl_nitrate" nitrate (PAN)

·         A large number of minor hazardous air pollutants.

·         A variety of persistent organic pollutants.

Sources

Anthropogenic sources (human activity) mostly related to losing different kinds of fuel

•           "Stationary Sources" involve smoking lots of power vegetation, developing features (factories) and spend incinerators, as well as heaters and other types of fuel-burning heating devices

•           "Mobile Sources" involve automobiles, sea boats, planes and the effect of sound etc.

•           Chemicals, dirt and managed get rid of methods in farming and forestry management.

•           Fumes from colour, hair apply, varnish, aerosol fumigations and other solvents

•           Waste deposit in dumps, which generate methane.

•           Military, such as atomic weaponry, harmful smells, bacteria combat and rocketry

Natural sources

·         Dust from natural sources, usually large areas of land with little or no vegetation

·         Methane, emitted by the digestion of food by animals, for example cattle

·         Radon gas from radioactive decay within the Earth's crust.

·         Smoke and carbon monoxide from wildfires

·         Vegetation, in some regions, emits environmentally significant amounts of VOCs on warmer days.

·         Volcanic activity, which produce sulfur, chlorine, and ash particulates.

Dhaka has very high air pollution level

This issue is serious in Dhaka the investment of Bangladesh and also the hub of professional action. The other cities like CHITTAGONG, KHULNA, BOGRA and RAJSHAHI have much smaller medical to air air smog.

Dhaka, is the capital city of Bangladesh, has grown into a busy city of about 6.5 million people with an area of 815 km2. Dhaka city has heterogeneous traffic flows, as of 1996 an estimated total of 168,718 automobiles are on road. A substantial part of total traffic is non-motorized vehicles enhance severe congestion and pollution problem specially in road intersections. Around 80% of total trips in Dhaka city is comprised of non-motorized transport (NMT) and only 5.9% trips are made by motorized transport (MT). Average trip length of MT is 27 minutes. Trips made by public transport specially buses are very low, only 0.9%. The maximum trips of vehicle modes are made by using rickshaw is 43%. Though it is very difficult to quantify pollution contribution from such heterogeneous traffic combinations, the influence of non-motorized transport on pollution are averaged upon the pollution considering the average speed of traffic flows. Based on data from different sources and road surveys conducted by the author the traffic pollution contribution in Dhaka city has been assessed and presented in the following sections.
The industrial sources include brick kilns, fertilizer factories, sugar, paper, jute and textile mills, spinning mills, tanneries, garment, bread and biscuit factories, chemical and pharmaceutical industries, cement production and processing factories, metal workshops, and wooden dust from saw mills and dusts from ploughed land, and salt particles from ocean waves near the offshore islands and coastal lands. These sources produce enormous amount of smokes, fumes, gases and dusts, which create the condition for the formation of fog and smog.

Fig: Tannery wastes are responsible for environmental pollution.

Certain industries in Bangladesh, such as tanneries at Hazaribag in Dhaka City, emit hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, chlorine, and some other odorous chemicals that are poisonous and cause irritation and public complaints. This may cause headache and other health problems.

As a impact, within air air pollution (IAP) and destructive environmental has an impact on as a result of losing wooden and preparing losing of biomass fuel in worthless prepare varies is comprehensive. Women and children engaged in preparing are the first patients of this type of air air pollution..

Mine air pollution a major issue of concern in Bangladesh. Dust and mine gases create problems for coalmine. Fortunately Dinajpur district has insignificant gas content, therefore, in the process of mining of coal the danger of methane emission and methane gas related hazards are considered to be insignificant. The gases formed by the combustion of coal, fuel and lubricants in the mine both at the surface and underground pollute the ambient air. Dusts generated from coal and hard rocks especially during cutting, blasting, crashing and transportation in the mines are generally the cause of concern for the miners and for the surrounding localities.

Effect of Air pollution in ecological balance:
Air air smog causes a great environmental discrepancy both in flower and creature life. For this different biochemical periods (such as as well as pattern, Nitrogen pattern, drinking water pattern, etc.) are significantly affected. Photosynthesis procedure is also obstructed. It seriously affects the respiratory tract and causes irritation, cancer, headache, asthma, high blood pressure, heart ailments and even cancer. The mental faculty of children will be adversely affected by lead pollution, which can also affect the central nervous system and cause renal damage and hypertension.
Reduction efforts

There are various air air pollution management technology and place use planning techniques available to decrease air air pollution. At its most starting place use planning is likely to involve zoning and bring policy, ensuring that land is used efficiently for the benefit of the wider economy and population as well as to protect the environment.

The two-stroke engines are now discouraged in Bangladesh because of their pollution hazard. Sophisticated equipment is now being used to detect air polluters in Bangladesh. As such, four monitoring stations are set up at four divisional towns, namely, Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, and Bogra. In Dhaka the locations of vehicular emission test are at Tejgaon, Farmgate, Manik Mia Avenue, Gulshan, Lalmatia, and Agargaon. Bangladesh university of engineering and technology (BUET) has also been conducting ambient air quality surveys since 1995.
Government decisions recently the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) has taken important decisions, which are as follows (i) the minimum standard of lubricating oil for two-­ stroke engine should be APITC or JASOEB and (ii) marketing of straight mineral oil should stop immediately.
In 1985-86 the Bangladesh petroleum corporation started a project to use compressed natural gas (CNG) in vehicles instead of gasoline.
The Ministry of Environment and Forest and the Department of Environment were created in 1989 and the Environment Policy of 1992 was introduced. Further, the Environmental Conservation Act, 1995, and the Environment Conservation Rules, 1997, were approved by the Bangladesh National Assembly to restrict and mitigate ever-growing environmental problems in the country.

Control devices

The following items are commonly used as pollution control devices by industry or transportation devices. They can either destroy contaminants or remove them from an exhaust stream before it is emitted into the atmosphere.

·         Particulate control

·         Mechanical collectors (dust cyclones, multicyclones)

·         Electrostatic HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrostatic_precipitator"precipitators

·         Baghouses

·         Particulate HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_scrubber"scrubbers

·         Scrubbers

·         Baffle spray scrubber

·         Cyclonic spray scrubber

·         Ejector HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ejector_venturi_scrubber"venturiHYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ejector_venturi_scrubber" scrubber

·         Mechanically aided scrubber

·         Spray tower

·         Wet scrubber

·         NOxHYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_oxide" control

·         Low HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LO-NOx_burner"NOxHYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LO-NOx_burner" burners

·         Selective catalytic reduction (SCR)

·         Selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR)

·         NOxHYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_scrubber" scrubbers

·         Exhaust gas recirculation

·         Catalytic converter (also for VOC control)

·         VOC abatement

·         Adsorption systems, such as activated carbon

·         Flares

·         Thermal oxidizers

·         Catalytic converters

·         Biofilters

·         Absorption (scrubbing)

·         Cryogenic condensers

·         Vapor recovery systems

·         Acid Gas/SO_{HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur_dioxide"2} control

·         Wet scrubbers

·         Dry scrubbers

·         Flue gas desulfurization

·         Mercury control

·         Sorbent Injection Technology

·         Electro-Catalytic Oxidation (ECO)

·         K-Fuel

·         Dioxin and furan control

·         Miscellaneous associated equipment

·         Source capturing systems

·         Continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS

Different types of air pollution showing in picture:

Fig: Road-pollution

Noise pollution

Introduction: Much discussion happens in the media over the many serious environmental concerns that Bangladesh activities. Lately, polythene baggage in particular have drawn much attention so much so that the Government of Bangladesh revoked the use of polythene baggage. Air air pollution is also often described, though activities to reduce it have been limited currently. While it is sometimes described, it has not acquired serious attention. To some Dhaka people, it may be considered more of a necessary aggravation than a serious issue that can be fixed.

Sources of noise: The sources of noise may vary according to daily activities. They sources may be domestic (movement of utensils, cutting and peeling of fruits/ vegetables etc.) natural (shores, birds/animal shouts, wind movement, sea tide movement, waterfalls etc.), commercial (vendor shouts, automobiles, airplanes, marriages, laboratory, machinery etc.) industrial (generator sets, boilers, plant operations, trolley movement, transport vehicles, pumps, motors etc.).

Those Noise pollution Occurs Due To:

1.Vehicular horns: Due to traffic jams on the roads of Dhaka city, most of the vehicles use their horn constantly, which is extremely harmful to human health, especially for children. The World Health Organization (WHO) opines that 60 decibels of sound can make a person deaf (The Daily Bangladesh Observer, 9 April, 2004). The noise level of Dhaka is more or the city has sound level more than the noise quality standard. The WHO study already identified eight areas in Dhaka city as severe red zones and ten areas as moderate red zone for noise pollution of which Mahakhali, Gabtoli, and Sayedabad bus terminals are on the top for extreme noise pollution. Moreover, due to lack of awareness and inefficiency in driving, many drivers use the horn unnecessarily that increases sound level in the proximity. The practical situation is very severe in the mornings near any primary of secondary school. The drivers constantly blow their horns, which directly expose the students to higher level of sound. Many vehicles with very old engines ply on the city street that sometimes create more noise than the horns. However, proper enforcement of the following policies, acts and guidelines may ableto address the noise hazards in the city.

2. Industrial Operation: A large number of industries are located in three specific areas, though some are sited in a scattered manner in different parts of the city. Tejgaon and Hazaribagh are the major industrial areas of the city, which are identified as red zone for noise pollution. In fact, all these industrial sites are located very close to the major roads of the city. So throughout the day, transport noise and the noise of industries usually occur together. In Tejgaon industrial area, the sound level was found 87dB in 1999 and 84 dB in 2002, which shows that the sound level exceeded the standards by more than 10 dB in just 3 years. In Hajaribagh, the noise level was measured to be 80.8 dB in 1999 and 80 dB in 2002; both had exceeded the standards.It has been reported that about 16,000 people work in the Hazaribagh tannery industries with continuous exposure to chemicals and noise (Khan, 2003).Besides the workers, many nearby residents, professionals, school children, and medical patients are also highly exposed to this combined noise effect of industry and transport vehicles.However, the industries of the city may be compelled to comply with the above policies and guidelines with a view to reducing the noise level. Enforcement and monitoring on industrial operation is also needed on an emergency basis.

3.Construction and Repair Activities: The rapid urbanization, economic development and utility management of the city include construction and reconstruction of residential buildings, commercial buildings, roads and highways. All these development activities require brick grinding machines, forklifts, metal equipments, and generators etc. that create huge amounts of noise during their operation. These activities have tremendously increased in last few years in the city.

4.Use of Loudspeakers and Microphones: The most uncomfortable situation for city dwellers arise when the use of loudspeakers in the shops and markets and microphones for political processions, meetings, picnic parties, lottery ticket selling etc goes beyond human tolerance. Such nuisance and unnecessary use of mics and speakers are noticed mainly during the day all over the town, which seriously hassle the town residents. Learners can hardly focus in their studies due to the regular blare of mics in some places of Dhaka town. Most of the commercial and management places such as Motijheel, Farmgate, and Rajuk Opportunity have overtaken the standard restrict (WHO, 1999 & 2002). Motijheel and Farmgate were determined as red areas in terms of environmental disturbance due to the speakers used for selling lotto passes, for governmental, social, and spiritual and business events and processions. Such remarkable levels of tones disrupt the people in those places and may also cause psychological and physical sickness. The health area of the Atmosphere Policy of 1992 stringently declares the need for creating balanced environment for cities to ensure balanced work environment for employees (BELA, 1996). Future disturbance guidelines may be used to address this situation.

5. Vehicular movements on uneven/bumpy road surface: Much of the city road surface including major roads, link roads, and lanes and by-lanes are not smooth or clean enough for efficient transportation. Moreover, most of the city roads are frequently dug up for construction activities by the different utility services, and in many cases, the reconstruction job of the road is not properly completed. As a result, the road surfaces become uneven, patchy and bumpy, which in turn causes continuous friction with running vehicles.

Following are the necessary actions required to overcome the situation:

• Effective coordination between relevant organizations

• Completion of assigned construction or reconstruction of roads activities

• Frequent digging up of roads

Effects of Noise Pollution in ecological balance:

Mankind are mainly affected by environmental disturbance. It creates numerous illnesses in body. Different types of bad sides of environmental disturbance are given below:

 

Effects on the Ear

• Deafness
• Temporary Deafness: This Persists for about 24 hours after exposure to loud noise.
• Permanent Deafness: Repeated or continuous exposure to noise of around 100 dB results in permanent hearing loss. Even single exposure to noise of 160 dB can lead to rupture of ear drum and permanent deafness. In cases of long term exposure to moderately loud noise, the onset and progress of noise induced deafness is very gradual and by the time the individual is already somewhat deaf, he/she many not be aware of the deafness until the deafness starts affecting the person’s ability to hear normal conversation, telephone rings and doorbells etc.

•         Auditory Fatigue: Noise of 90 dB causes buzzing and whistling in the ears.

Effects on other systems

• Decreased Work Efficiency: With increasing noise, efficiency of work decreases because of disturbed concentration, annoyance and early onset of fatigue.
• Increased Intracranial Pressure: (Fluid Pressure of the Cerebro Spinal Fluid, the fluid present inside the cavites of brainand between brain and skull) This leads to Headache, Nausea and Giddiness.
• Increased Blood Pressure: Noise can very effectively raise the Blood Pressure of even a normal person.
• Increased Heart Rate, Respiration rate and Sweating.
• Diminished Night Vision, Colour Perception and visual disturbances.
• Increased Blood Pressure: Noise can very effectively raise the Blood Pressure of even a normal person.
• Increased Heart Rate, Respiration rate and Sweating.
• Diminished Night Vision, Colour Perception and visual disturbances.

Noise Control at Source:

The noise pollution can be controlled at the source of generation itself by employing techniques like-

• Reducing the noise levels from domestic sectors: The domestic noise coming from radio, tape recorders, television sets, mixers, washing machines, cooking operations can be minimized by their selective and judicious operation. By usage of carpets or any absorbing material, the noise generated from felling of items in house can be minimized.
• Maintenance of automobiles: Regular servicing and tuning of vehicles will reduce the noise levels. Fixing of silencers to automobiles, two wheelers etc., will reduce the noise levels.
• Control over vibrations: The vibrations of materials may be controlled using proper foundations; rubber padding etc. to reduce the noise levels caused by vibrations.
• Low voice speaking: Speaking at low voices enough for communication reduces the excess noise levels.
• Prohibition on usage of loud speakers: By not permitting the usage of loudspeakers in the habitant zones except for important meetings/functions. Now-a-days, the urban Administration of the metro cities in India is becoming stringent on usage of loudspeakers.
• Selection of machinery: Optimum selection of machinery tools or equipment reduces excess noise levels. For example selection of chairs or selection of certain machinery/equipment which generate less noise (Sound) due to its superior technology etc. is also an important factor in noise minimization strategy.
• Maintenance of machines: Proper lubrication and maintenance of machines, vehicles etc. will reduce noise levels. For example, it is a common experience that, many parts of a vehicle will become loose while on a rugged path of journey.

Ecological Imbalance due to Hill destruction

The Hills: The Mountain System is separated into four valleys ornamented by the Feni, Karnaphuli, Sangu (Sankhu) and Matamuhuri waters and their tributaries. The varies or mountains of the Mountain Areas increase significantly thus looking far more amazing than what their top would suggest and increase in lengthy filter side. The Chittagong Mountain Areas consist of an place of 13,295 km2 in south-eastern Bangladesh, and region Indian and Myanmar (Burma). It was 1 section of Bangladesh until 1984. In that season it was separated into three individual districts: Khagrachari, Rangamati and Bandarban. Topographically, this is the only hill extensive place of Bangladesh. It is one of the few staying homes of Buddhism in Southern region Japan, such as Ladakh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka

According to the 1991 census the population was 974,447 of which 501,114 were tribals and the rest were from different communities. The tribal peoples, collectively known as the Jumma, include the Chakma, Marma, Tripura, Tenchungya, Chak, Pankho, Mru, Murung, Bawm, Lushai, Khyang, Gurkha, Assamese, Santal and Khumi.

Tobacco cultivation is damaging the ecology of the area, with loss of trees and soil fertility. Many of the farmers of Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachhari districts of Bangladesh have been losing their interests in cultivating indigenous crops like paddy, banana, maize, sesame, cotton, potato, pumpkin etc. as they became defaulters of loans provided by tobacco companies, they said.

There are many natural views in Chittagong Hill Tracts. It is one of the best sides of tourism. But now-a-days it is destroyed by different ways.

Some news is given below which are collected from online news paper:

Hill cutting continues unabated

Hill cutting get rid of atmosphere guidelines remains out of hand in the mountain areas of Chittagong Hill Areas (CHT) for personal and creating and creating and building plots or professional specifications. Government commanders, successful individuals and self-centered marketers are involved in razing the mountains. Some one lakh individuals are unveiled to mountain glides in the three areas due to development of homes and professional businesses through creating mountains in most unexpected way. Plundering of mountains has also provided a serious risk to other personal homes, atmosphere and bio-diversity, individuals and environmentalist said. At least 25 individuals were murdered and one hundred homes pressurized due to hillslides in the CHT.

Around five miles of mountain have been levelled under the nasal area of management lately by the powerful marketers in Kathalbagan (Mistripara) area under Matiranga upazila as the authorities surprisingly stay quiet. Hill reducing is going on in all most all upazilas of Khagrachhari, Rangamati and Bandarban. Many govt businesses are also alarmingly revealed to landslides during stormy period due to mountain reducing. Unlawful mountain reducing has been going on leading to natural deterioration, stuffing up of stream and waterways, revealing life and qualities to landslides and display overflow in the CHT. The greedy components level mountains against the law to gather and sell world to complete up waterways and low relaxing areas for developing homes and marketplaces in the three mountain regions. The CHT regions are experiencing serious risk of landslides that can happen at any place and at any time to declare life and qualities. The need for a strategy and harmonized move to stop illegal mountain reducing in order to keeping life and qualities.

Chittagong Hill Tracts: The vanishing forest biodiversity of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is one of the signatories of the Convention on Natural Broad variety. Nevertheless, the three kinds of jungles provide in the nation are under risk. Bangladesh is one of the signatories of the Convention on Natural Broad variety. Nevertheless, the three kinds of jungles provide in the nation -- the confirmed and semi-evergreen jungles in the the south aspect of position and the Chittagong Mountain Locations position, the wet and dry deciduous jungles, known as "sal" jungles, in the main flatlands and the northeast position, and the tidal mangrove jungles along the shore -- are under risk, and little is being done to maintain them. Meanwhile, the yearly deforestation amount has acquired 3.3 %.

The Chittagong Hill Tracts comprise 14,000 square kilometers, which represent about 10 per cent of the country's area. Some of the major species in these forests grow to gigantic heights and diameters. The tallest part of the canopy is generally formed by deciduous and semi-deciduous trees while the under storey is of evergreen type. Bamboo formations and savannah are also present. Several important species of mammals inhabit the area: e.g. elephants, bisons, deers, leopards, etc. Birds like the imperial pigeon, the green pigeon, and the white winged wood duck are also present. Commercial tree plantations, illegal logging, dam mega-projects, and forced displacement are responsible for the accelerated destruction of those precious ecosystems, which means the destruction of their biodiversity. Rubber, teak and eucalyptus monocultures for export have provoked negative environmental effects by the alternative of part of the woodlands, as well as situations between local neighborhoods from the 13 cultural groups that reside the location and the Forest Office.

Unluckily these types of situations are frequent throughout Asia. The same authorities that promote plantations have proved unable to control illegal logging by gangs. Regarding mega-projects, the Kaptai Dam is a good/bad example of how external funding in the name if development can devastate an area and have multiplier effects on the environment, the economy, and the life of nearby communities. The dam, constructed in 1964 with the help of USAID, submerged 250 square kilometers of agricultural lands and forests belonging to the hill people, mainly the Chakma, and provoked the forced relocation of about 100,000 persons, who lost their homes and livelihoods. The displaced people were forced to clear new forest areas in order to carry out their subsistence agricultural practices.

Traditionally "sal" forests used to cover vast areas in the centre and east of Bangladesh. In addition to the "sal" trees (Shorea robusta) which constitute 70 to 75 per cent of the forest composition, this type of forest includes several valuable tree and herbaceous species like the sun grass. Biological diversity in the "sal" forests is unique. Nevertheless, the Asian Development Bank has actively promoted the destruction of the "sal" forests by considering them of low productivity, thus financing projects for tree monoculture plantations using eucalyptus and rubber among other species. Nowadays the only big patch of "sal" forest standing is that of Modhupur. Most of the forest land has been denuded, degraded, and occupied by forestry companies or displaced people.

Sundarban, the greatest mangrove in the world, is in the free commercial airline place of the nation, on the border between Native indian and Bangladesh. It is fed by a hydrological system of drinking water from the Ganges watershed, and the high salt drinking water of the Western of Bengal. It involves an area of more than 10,300 rectangular shape kilometers with a complex and rich atmosphere where many kinds of creatures and crops coexist: wildlife, several number of or so types of wildlife -- some of them migratory -- as well as crocodiles, other wildlife, amphibians, and invertebrates. Moreover, it is one of the last supplies of the Noble Bengal Competition. UNESCO has announced it a Community History Website.

Sundarban is the source of livelihoods -- fish, honey, timber, fuel wood -- for local populations. A recent survey has estimated that between 500,000 and 600,000 people --including commercial and industrial enterprises -- depend directly on the products obtained from these mangroves. In this case, the main direct cause of destruction is gas and oil prospection and exploitation by multinational companies whose activities are being favoured by the government itself under the name of development. The so-called Sundarbans Bio Diversity Project, designed to restore the original ecosystem and funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the Nordic Development Fund, is being strongly criticized by IEDS (Friends of the Earth-Bangladesh) because of the infrastructures for ecotourism built in the heart of the mangrove and the non-transparent way in which the whole project is being implemented, disregarding the viewpoints and interests of local communities.

Even though to the official and the development agencies viewpoint, population pressure is the only cause for forest destruction in Bangladesh, reality shows that unsustainable "development" and infrastructure projects, coupled with poor performance of the authorities regarding forest conservation constitute the most important, causes of deforestation and forest degradation in the country.

Bangladesh's hills threatened by rampant commercialisation

The large-scale destruction of the country's Arakanese mountains is worrying both environmentalists and locals. Environmentalists in Bangladesh say the large-scale destruction of the Arakanese mountains in the south-eastern part of the country is triggering landslides and floods and eliminating wildlife in this eco-sensitive region. One of the areas worst affected by commercial activity is the hill region near the picturesque port town of Chittagong, close to the Bay of Bengal. Over a hundred hills were levelled here after a real estate boom in the 1980s. The surge in land development activity and the mushrooming of brick kilns is severely degrading the hill districts of Khagrachhari, Rangamati and Cox's Bazaar, all within a 75-mile radius of Chittagong. Members of the newly-launched Chittagong Hill Destruction Resistance Movement (CHDRM) allege that the main culprits are the 300-plus brick kilns on the outskirts of Chittagong city which are allowed to function unchecked. Bangladesh's environment minister Shajahan Siraj admits that the lack of controls has brought about the degradation of Comilla district, 75 miles south-east of Dhaka, as well as the north-eastern Sylhet district near India. Flash floods, which claimed 28 lives in Chittagong's Khagrachhari district in the last two months alone, provide ample evidence of the looming environmental disaster. Says a 70-year-old Khagrachhari resident Subidyakanti Khisha: "This is the first time we have seen flash floods since 1962. Nor have there ever been so many casualties. Landslides have also increased here." Mohammad Musa, a CHDRM member, says: "The flattening of the hills has caused waterlogging in many parts of the city." 

The local creatures has also been affected. Due to the devastation of their environment, a variety of creatures such as lions, deer, monsters, apes and wildfowl -- regular population of the Chittagong mountains -- are no longer noticeable. Farming too has decreased sufferer to the fast devastation of the mountains. Mountain demolition is now cleansing away sand and ground through the cleansing and waterflow and drainage system, impacting both ground virility and plants efficiency. Unfortunately, the environment ministry's initiatives to restrain the deterioration have never generate good results due to the tremendous power of the property mafia. Citizens of Chittagong claim that the stone kiln owners themselves dig into the mountains, using the ground for stone generation. Land designers use the ground to complete up low-lying areas.  Although the Building Development Act identifies that the law enforcement must attack on violators, they are allegedly in group with the thieves, often helping them complete pickups under cover of night. Currently a hill has been cut to half its size, increasing to an area of around 1,500 feet. At this rate, the entire hill will appear reduced within a year.

Big shots levelled vast terrain of Ctg hills

Several quarters comprising influential political leaders, former ministers, criminals, big business houses and even government and autonomous bodies have been involved in massive cutting or razing of vast terrains of hills in Chittagong. City dwellers have been surprised over the past few years to see the brazen defiance of law and disregard for the country's interest in the activities of these political big shots and businessmen. The political figures include former commerce minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, former food minister and BNP Joint Secretary General Abdullah-Al Noman, Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) Mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury, and former civil aviation minister Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin. Business organisations like S Alam Group and Abul Khair Group are also involved in hill cutting. These people gobbled up hills at Khulshi, Nasirabad, Lalkhan Bazar, Bayezid Bostami, Sholoshahar, Sitakunda, Bhatiari, Hathazari and other places in the district over the last three decades using names of their relatives, friends, institutions, or in the name of other purpose.

Environmentalists believe that such damage of hills--both complete and partial--is the objective for huge landslides during weighty rain just like the latest reduction on May 11 that mentioned over 120 lifestyle. It was found that Ibrahim Organic natural natural natural cotton Perform, presented by former Chittagong city (now city corporation) chairman late Sekander Hossain Miah, took lease of a huge hilly position at Nachnikhola on Hathazari-Bhatiari Weblink Road near the Golf Group under Hathazari upazila many years ago in the name of horticulture

But the farm was never established, and instead the mill management further leased out the property to some influential people who soon razed the entire hill and built 12 brick kilns.  The Environment Act has provisions for monetary penalty ranging from Tk 5,000 to Tk 50,000. There is also a provision for maximum penalty of Tk 10 lakh but it has never been applied against any one yet. "None of the plunderers of hills could be placed behind bars either," said a DoE official.The DoE has filed a total of 32 cases of which only 12 have so far been disposed (Daily Star, June 18, 2007).

Effect of Hill destruction on ecological balance:

• The hill ecosystem is disturbed.
• The local wildlife has been affected.
• Forest biodiversity is vanished.
• Affect tourism.
• Natural beauty is lost.

Ecological Imbalance due to Greenhouse effect

The techniques impact can be imagined as follows: Suppose World has been encircled by a massive wine glass field. The warm of the sun enters through the wine glass. Some of the warm is consumed by the World, and some of it is extended back again towards area. The extended warm gets to the wine glass field and is avoided from scattering any further.

Similarly, the earth is surrounded by a blanket of gases. This blanket traps energy in the atmosphere, much the same way as glass traps heat inside a greenhouse. This results in an accumulation of energy, and the overall warming of the atmosphere. The 'greenhouse effect' is the popular expression for the above process.

Global warming and climate change result from the greenhouse effect. The consequences of global warming and climate change could well include:

• the eradication of entire ecosystems
• increased frequency and intensity of storms, hurricanes, floods and droughts
• melting glaciers and polar ice
• rising sea levels resulting in the permanent flooding of vast areas of heavily
• increased frequency of forest fires
• spread of tropical diseases due to insect proliferation

CLIMATE CHANGE LEAD

Atmosphere styles screen that ecological circumstances will improve by between 1.5 and 4.5°C by the period 2100 if a "wait and see and do nothing" technique is integrated. The worldwide warm variety improve since the last ice age (10,000 years ago) has been about 5°C.

This may not sound like much, but such serious warm variety improve would be unparalleled for modern lifestyle, both with regards to its durability and its quantity of improve. It is approximated to have serious community, economical and ecological implications:

• Because of thermal expansion of the water and melting of continental glaciers sea levels would rise, possibly as much as two feet, by the end of next century.

• Rising temperatures could lead to changes in regional wind systems which would influence global rainfall distribution and lead to the redistribution and frequency of floods, droughts and forest fires. Windstorms and hurricanes could become more frequent and more intense.
• Increased sea temperatures would cause coral bleaching and the destruction of coral reefs around the world.
• Climate change would create favorable conditions for growth in insect populations. This would likely have a negative effect on agriculture and human health, and result in a spread of malaria and other tropical diseases.
• Water supplies would become disrupted in some regions, particularly in already vulnerable, arid areas.

THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT OCCUR NATURALLY

The techniques impact is a organic procedure which made life on World possible. Without organic techniques smells such as water fumes, co2, methane and nitrous oxide, the Global exterior heat range would be 33°C chilly - a frosty -18°C rather than the bearable 15°C.

However, since the beginning of industrialization, 200 years ago, concentrations of these gases have increased substantially . It is estimated that the Earth's average temperature has risen by 0.5 to 0.6°C since 1880 because of emissions of greenhouse gases from human activity.

The main sources of these emissions, particularly carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, are the combustion of large amounts of fossil fuels in the energy and transport sectors, deforestation and the use of intensive farming methods.

When we talk about the greenhouse effect we mean the ENHANCED effect which is caused by the increase of greenhouse gases from human sources.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT, GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE

These circumstances are often used to describe the same problem, but actually be connected with cause and effect, or problem and effect. The methods effect is the cause and all over the community and java are the effects.

The greenhouse effect causes an accumulation of heat (or energy) in the Earth's atmosphere. The global climate must then adjust to deal with that extra accumulation of energy, and these adjustments result in global warming and climate changes.

Global warming results from an increase in the temperature of the Earth's lower atmosphere. Climate changes result from alterations to regional climatic events such as rainfall patterns, evaporation and cloud formation.

CAUSES OF THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT

The techniques effect is caused by smells in the weather which have the ability to process direct sunlight that is usually extended again into area from World. Power from the sun comes into the world as short-wave radiation; some is consumed and some is extended again as long-wave rays. The 'greenhouse gases' allow the short-wave rays to pass through to World but process the long-wave rays that is demonstrated again to space

. to space These smells involve natural smells - mainly water fumes, co2, methane, nitrous oxides - as well as business substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

The problem is that human activities have increased the atmospheric concentration of these gases well beyond their natural levels, and have introduced new greenhouse gases, such as CFCs. This in turn is throwing the natural climatic systems off balance.

One of the major greenhouse gases from human sources is carbon dioxide (CO₂). While CO₂ is naturally occurring, its concentration in the atmosphere is rapidly increasing because of the burning of the fossil fuels- oil, coal and gas.

Human activity is not only producing more CO₂, but is also severely damaging the ability of the earth to absorb carbon, via its carbon sinks, the forests and oceanic plankton. Growing forests absorb CO₂. Massive worldwide forest destruction results in much fewer trees to soak up CO₂, and releases the stored CO₂ from the trees into the atmosphere.

Similarly, the destruction of the ozone layer by human-made chemicals, such as CFCs, is allowing increased levels of harmful UV-B radiation to reach the surface of the earth. Increased levels of UV-B radiation could reduce the density of plankton in the oceans. Since plankton are the primary carbon sink of the planet, reduction in their density could result in less CO₂ being absorbed from the atmosphere.

Damage to the planet's carbon sinks, through deforestation and ozone layer depletion, thus makes a direct contribution to the enhanced greenhouse effect. 

THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT IS HAPPENING

The Intergovernmental Place on Environment Modify (IPCC) described in its 1990 assessment that "the unequivocal recognition of the improved techniques impact from results is not likely for a several decades or more". However, latest activities are resulting in an reassessment of that statement by many experts. Improving variety of experts are re-inifocing that the lately found all over the community style is not organic and is likely to be linked with the techniques impact.

There are many worrying indicators that something serious is happening:

• The nine hottest years on record have all occurred since 1980, despite the 2-3 year cooling effect of the Mount Pinatubo volcanic eruption in 1991. 1994 was the third or fourth hottest year on record.
• Since the mid-19th. Century global temperatures have increased by around 0.5°C. Temperatures have increased in all seasons in the Southern Hemisphere, and in spring, winter and autumn in the Northern Hemisphere.
• The European summer of 1994 brought temperatures up to 6°C above average, which induced massive fires in Southern Europe, chronic air pollution problems across the continent, and severe water shortages in many cities.
• Scientists at the Max-Planck Institute For Meteorology in Hamburg concluded from a recent examination of recent temperature records that they are 90 - 97.5 percent certain that the observed warming of the last 20-30 years is not due to natural variability.
• A study of global mean temperatures over 1000 years prompted Princeton University researchers to recently state, "...these results suggest that the observed trend is not a natural feature of the interaction between the atmosphere and oceans. Instead, it may have been induced by a sustained change in the thermal forcing, such as that resulting from changes in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations and aerosol loading."
• According to scientists, the retreat of glaciers and the warming of the tundra permafrost is clear evidence of climatic change. Currently, there is a pronounced loss of ice mass and mountain glacier retreat occurring all over the world.
• Alpine plants are migrating upwards in the Austrian and Swiss Alps in response to warming temperatures, migratory birds are confused, trees and small animals are migrating Northward in Canada, marine organisms are migrating northward in California, all in response to warming air or sea temperatures.
• In May 1994, the British Antarctic Survey reported the fastest sustained atmospheric warming on the Antarctic Peninsula, since reliable worldwide temperature observations began 130 years ago. A startling 2.5°C warming in Antarctica has been reported since 1940. Linked with that warming has been the disintegration of Antarctic ice-sheets; the recent unforeseen calving of a giant iceberg, the size of Cyprus (78km long and 37km wide); the decline of adelie penguin populations; and the blooming of plants.
• The medical journal the Lancet reported in January 1994 that increased temperatures in Pakistan since 1878 have extended the period suitable for the development of the malarial parasite. Paul Epstein, of the Harvard School of Public Health, considers that climate change may be liberating pests and pathogens from ecological controls and predation. He cites as an example that mosquitoes which transmit yellow and dengue fever were formerly restricted to less than 1000 metres in altitude by temperature, but are now reported at 2, 200 metres in India and Colombia.

 Green house effect: A little step in Bangladesh

Carbon di oxide is increasing day by day in the environment. It is also true for Bangladesh. If it is continuing we will lose our country under the water of bay of bangle. The environment specialists have said that the position of Bangladesh in response of GREEN HOUSE EFFECT is like this word “Bangladesh: Born on 1971 in blood, Died on 2050 in water”.

But how much we love our country?

Yes I am agree with you, we all love our country more than our own lives. Here a little step of us to keep ecological balance in Bangladesh by tree plantation.

We have taken a tree plantation movement in Bangladesh. In this movement we will plant 6 core plants in Bangladesh and will fulfill 25% of our total land by tree that was started in the year 2000.It is a matter of great joy that we have already planted 2 core plant.

As a part of this movement we have taken paulownia tree in Bangladesh. Now I am giving a summary about our project.

Paulownia root tree package in Bangladesh:

What is paulonia?

Paulownia is a genus of from 6 to 17 species of plants in the monogenetic family Paulowniaceae.They are  mostly found in China,Vietnam,south to northern loas and cultivated in asia mostly in Japan,Koria etc.

Originally the genus is Pavlovnia but now generally spelled Paulownia, was named after the Queen Anna Pavlovna of The Netherlands (1795–1865), who was the daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia.It is called "princess tree" also for this reason.

Why Paulownia is selected in Bangladesh?

Fig: Green House  effect

The effects of all over the community and coffee will not impact the same way upon every region on the planet, or upon all types of life. For example, a minor temperature increase in some of the chillier parts around the globe may create less dangerous circumstances for human habitation and improve circumstances for farming. In the same way, changing rain styles may favor some types over others.

Commercial advantages by increasing Paulownia tree:A 5-6 years old tree is ready for selling. In the international market whole sell price of a tree is  120$ and retail price is 150$.So commercially is the queen of all trees.

Religious benefits:

The Prophet (sala Allahu ‘Alihi wa Salaam - Peace be upon him) said, "If an individual has an opportunity to plant a tree, even if he knows the Day of Judgment is imminent, let him plant the tree."

“If the Day of Judgment erupts while you are planting a new tree, carry on and plant It.”, the Prophet said.

“Whoever plants a tree, reward will be recorded for him so long as it produces fruit.”

Where it will be found:

We are commercially afforesting Paulownia tree.15 sapling BDT 7,500.We will provide you a training about planting this tree. After this you can plant these in your land. Our special visitors will visit your project every month. They will meet all problems and give other facilities that they need. After 6 years trees will be ready to sell and you will take 80% and our company will take 20% of the total profit.

THE IMPACTS OF THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT

The repercussions of all over the team and coffee will not impact the same way upon every place on the world, or upon all types of lifestyle. For example, a minor warm variety improve in some of the frosty places around the world may make less dangerous circumstances for individual habitation and improve circumstances for farming. In the same way, changing rain styles may advantage some types over others.

However, favourable consequences of the greenhouse effect for some regions or species does not mitigate its overall negative global impacts. The social, economic and ecological disruptions brought about by climatic changes worldwide are projected to greatly outweigh regional benefits.

The impacts of global warming and climate change could become a source of increased tension between nations and regions .

While the developed, industrialized world is responsible for 75% of all CO₂ emissions, these impacts will most likely hit hardest upon the poorer, underdeveloped parts of the world.

For example, as sea levels rise countries like Bangladesh will suffer much more from the loss of valuable arable and populated lands, then European or North American countries, even though in comparison, they will have emitted only a tiny fraction of the greenhouse gases.

The effect of drowning coastlines could lead to hundreds of millions of climate refugees. Where will these refugees go? How will they be cared for? Undoubtedly, such a catastrophe will seriously exacerbate the already critical refugee problem in the world.

A severe disruption of the world's food supplies through floods, droughts, crop failures and diseases brought about by climate change would trigger famines, wars and civil disorder in many countries.

Most human societies - especially subsistence agricultural societies - have evolved over many centuries by adapting to their present climatic conditions. Their agriculture, technologies, economies and culture are based on familiar circumstances. These societies are likely to find climate change, on the scale and speed predicted for the coming decades, to be very traumatic.

In the same way, many natural environments will not be able to modify quick enough to a quickly heating world. This could cause to distinct improves in the already escalating rate of types annihilation on the earth. 

TO REDUCE HUMAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT

The the main thing is that the pollutants of techniques smells must be decreased. We must create business methods and means of transport which are less based mostly on energy sources, and eventually, control completely without them.

Since the problem is global, the solutions must be international. The international community took a first step in 1992 when the Framework Convention on Climate Change was signed by 167 countries in Rio. The Framework Convention morally committed industrialized countries to stabilizing their emissions of CO₂ by the year 2000 at 1990 levels. However, since the 1990 levels of global CO₂ emissions enhanced the greenhouse effect, the 1992 agreement is obviously inadequate.

Unfortunately, few, if any, of the industrialized countries will even meet this weak target. Consequently, the next step must be to make this commitment legally binding, and to strengthen it through a CO₂ Reduction Protocol aimed at meeting the objectives of the Convention. The minimum goal must be a 20% reduction in CO₂ emissions by 2005, based on 1990 levels.

The industrialized countries have the lion's share of the responsibility for creating the problem and for finding the solutions. They have developed their industrial base, and consequently, their higher standards of living, through the use of vast amounts of fossil fuels. This has resulted in high concentrations of CO₂ in the atmosphere.

Furthermore, their per capita emissions of CO₂ continues to be tens of times larger than all of the developing countries.

For example, the U. s. Declares, the largest single emitter, yearly pushes into the weather roughly 20 lots of CO2 per person. With less then 5% of the inhabitants, the U. s. Declares is accountable for 25% of global CO2 pollutants. In a comparison, the entire third world, made up of more than 100 countries and comprising almost 80% of the inhabitants, is accountable for the same amount of CO2 pollutants.

Save Electricity:

• Turn off that light. Switch to energy efficient light bulbs. Encourage others to do the same.
• Buy energy efficient appliances. Use your consumer power to support industries and products that strive for high energy efficiency.
• Demand that your electricity utility reward energy saving consumers with lower rates, instead of offering the cheaper rates to the largest users of electricity.
• Reduce Private Transport:
• If you must drive a car, make sure it is fuel efficient. Try to cut down the amount of car journeys you make each week. Join a car pool to go to work or school.
• Bike or walk if you are going somewhere local.
• Support Public Transport:
• Public transport is the best way to cut CO₂ emissions from cars. Effective public transport reduces the need for building new roads - another key source of CO₂. In turn, the money saved on road building can go into improving the public transport sector. These measures will also improve urban air-quality.
• Use public transport.
• Demand your municipality provide fast, convenient and economical public transport.
• SUPPORT the development of renewable energy technologies.
• DEMAND your government aims to achieve a minimum 3% per year penetration of your country's energy supply system with renewable technologies. 

 Ecological Imbalance due to ship breaking

·                    

·         Pollutants discharged from ship breaking and its impact

·         Though ship breaking has earned a good reputation for being a profitable industry in developing countries there are a number of environmental and human health hazards. Depending on their size and function, scrapped ships have an unleavened weight of between 5,000 and 40,000 tons (the average being 13000+), 95% of which is steel, coated with between 10 and 100 tons of paint containing lead, cadmium, organ tins, arsenic, zinc and chromium. Ships also contain a wide range of other hazardous wastes, sealants containing PCBs, up to 7.5 tones of various types of asbestos and; several thousands liters of oil (engine oil, bilge oil, hydraulic and lubricants oils and grease). Tankers additionally hold up to 1,000 cubic meters of residual oil. Most of these materials have been defined as hazardous waste under the Basel Convention. In Bangladesh, ships containing these materials are being cut up by hand, on open beaches, with no consideration given to safe and environmentally friendly waste management practices.

·         Ships are not properly cleaned before beaching. Generally, an eyewash test is carried out to certify that a ship is free from dangerous chemical and fumes.

·         Ship breaking activities is a threat to both the terrestrial and marine environment as well as to public health. It is like a mini version of a city that discharges every kind of pollutants a metropolis can generate like liquid, metal, gaseous and solid pollutants.

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP's) 
POPs are chemicals that are highly toxic, remain intact in the environment for long periods, become widely distributed geographically, bioaccumulation through the food web, accumulate in the fatty tissue of living organisms and pose a risk of causing adverse effects to the human population, wildlife and the environment. There has been a realization that these pollutants, upon exposure of human population, can cause serious health effects ranging from increased incidence of cancers to disruption of hormonal system. Ship breaking activities are a source of lethal POPs.

·         Asbestos 
Asbestos was used in old ships as a heat insulator. As there are no asbestos disposal procedures, during scrapping, workers and the surrounding environment are exposed to the asbestos fibers. Exposure to asbestos fibers (even in very low concentrations) especially through inhalation may cause cancer and asbestosis. On the ship breaking beaches, asbestos fibers and flocks fly around in the open air. Workers take out asbestos insulation materials with their bare hands.

·         It has also proven to be one of the most lethal, as inhaling asbestos fibers can lead to a wide range of pulmonary problems such as asthma and asbestosis - and can also be the direct cause of mesothelioma.

·         Heavy metals 
Heavy metals are found in many parts of ships such as in paints, coatings, anodes and electrical equipment. These are taken apart with no protective measures in place and reused. Exposure can result in lung cancer, cancer of the skin, intestine, kidney, liver or bladder. It can also cause damage to blood vessels.

                                      

·         Oil pollution
As a result of breaking the ships, oil residues and the other refuses are being spilled, mixed with the sea water and left floating along the entire seashore. Oil may cause serious damage in different ways, such as a reduction of light intensity beneath the water surface which inhibits photosynthesis. Oil films on water reduce the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide across the air-sea interface which is harmful to aquatic life. It also causes damage to the bird population by coating their feathers with oil which causes buoyancy and insulation losses. Sometimes spilling may cause wide spread mortality amongst the population of fish, mammals, worms, crabs, mollusks and other water organisms.

·         Impact of ship breaking on physiochemical properties of seawater 
Ship scrapping activities pollute the seawater environment in the coastal area of Fauzdarhat to Kumira of Chittagong, Bangladesh. As a result, toxic concentration of ammonia, marine organisms found in seawater had an increase in PH levels. Extensive human and mechanical activities accelerate the rate and amount of seashore erosion and results in higher turbidity of seawater. Critical concentration of DO and higher BOD were found with an abundance of floatable materials (grease balls and oil films) in the seawater.

Impact of ship breaking on inter-tidal sediments and soils 
In ship breaking areas various refuse and disposable materials are discharged and spilled from scrapped ships and often get mixed with the sand. The scraps from the ships are staked haphazardly on the sea shore, leaving behind an accumulation of metal fragments and rust (particularly iron) in the soil. These together with extensive human and mechanical activities often go on as matter of routine work resulting in the beach soil losing its binding properties and this accelerates the amount of shore erosion and increase the turbidity of sea water and sediments in the area.

Impact of ship breaking on biodiversity 
Ship breaking activities contaminate the coastal soil and sea water environment mainly through the discharge of ammonia, burned oil spillage, floatable grease balls, metal rust (iron) and various other disposable refuse materials together with high turbidity of sea water. The high PH of the seawater and soil observed may be due to the addition of ammonia, oils and lubricants. High turbidity of water can cause a decrease in the concentration of DO and substantially increase the BOD. Furthermore, oil spilling may cause serious damage by reduction of light intensity, inhibiting the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide across the air-sea water interface, and by acute toxicity. As a result the growth and abundance of marine organisms especially plankton and fishes may seriously be affected. Indiscriminate expansion of ship breaking activities poses a real threat to the coastal inter-tidal zone and its habitat.

·                   Benefits

·         Ship breaking plays an important role in the national economy for a number of reasons:

·         1. Production of steel: the scrapping of ships provides the country’s main source of steel and in doing so saves substantial amount of money in foreign exchange by reducing the need to import steel materials. Bangladesh needs 8 million tons of building materials per year, of which iron is a major component. The iron from recycled ships supplies iron materials in the country. This does mean however, that the owners have more power and control over the amount of steel that is sold and the price it is sold at.

·         2. In some ways it can be considered a “green industry”. Almost everything on the ship and the ship itself is recycled, reused and resold. The scrapping of ships supplies raw materials to steel mills, steel plate re-manufacturing, asbestos re-manufacturing as well as providing furniture, paint, electrical equipment and lubricants, oil to the number of businesses that have spouted up specifically as a result.

·         3. It generates large amounts of revenue for various Government authorities through the payment of taxes. Every year the Government collects almost 9000 million taka in revenue from the ship breaking industry through import duty, yards tax and other taxes.

·         4. Employment. Despite the conditions that the workers are employed under, this is an industry that employs more than 20,000 people directly. It provides employment for some of the poorest people from the north of Bangladesh who would otherwise have no employment.

·         These mainly economic benefits have made ship breaking a powerful industry. But these economic benefits should be considered together with the social and environmental costs. Together, with better regulation ship breaking can also bring social and environmental benefits.

·                   Ship Breaking in Bangladesh

·                   Worker Rights Violation

·         Human and labor rights violations

·         A lack of occupational health and safety standards, training or personal protection equipment provided.
• Limited or no access to treatment, emergency services and compensation when a worker is injured or killed on the job.
• Less than minimum wages. 
• Use of child labor.
• Extensive working hours with no right to overtime, sick or annual leave.
• Lack of job security: no work no pay.
• No right to join or form a trade union

·         In the majority of the shipyards, workers are being deprived of their rights. They work under risky conditions but have no access to safety equipment, job security or a living wage.

              

·         OHS, accidents and diseases

·         Over the last twenty years more than 400 workers have been killed and 6000 seriously injured according to the Bangladeshi media. These are the ones that have been reported. The explosion of the Iranian tanker TT Dena on 31st May 2000 alone is said to have caused 50 deaths. To this toll, the thousands of cases of irreversible diseases which have occurred and will continue to occur due to the toxic materials that are handled and inhaled without any precautions or protective gear need to be considered.

·         On average, one worker dies in the yards a week and everyday a worker is injured (End of Life Ships: the Human Cost of Breaking Ships). It seems like nobody really cares: ship breaking workers are easily replaceable to the yard owners: if one is lost they know another 10 is waiting to replace him due to the lack of work. The Government collects the taxes and turns a blind eye.

·         Ship breaking carries a very real risk to life. By any standards, the demolition of ships is a dirty and dangerous occupation. The hazards linked to ship breaking broadly fall into two categories: intoxication by dangerous substances and accidents on the plots. Explosions of leftover gas and fumes in the tanks are the prime cause of accidents in the yards. Another major cause of accidents is workers falling from the ships (which are up to 70 m high) as they are working with no safety harness. Other sources of accidents include workers being crushed by falling steel beams and plates and electric shocks.

·         Workers are not aware of hazards to which they are exposed. The overwhelming majority of workers wear no protective gear and many of them work barefoot. There is hardly any testing system for the use of cranes, lifting machinery or a motorized pulley. The yards re-use ropes and chains recovered from the broken ships without testing and examining their strength. There is no marking system of loading capacity of the chains of cranes and other lifting machineries.

·        

·          

·         Consequently, workers suffer from lung problems which cause temporary loss of working capacity. The hatches and pockets of vessel may contain explosive or inflammable gases. The cutters, if they understand from experience, drill small holes in order to release gases or fumes. This still however, often cause severe explosions.

·         Gas cutters and their helpers, cut steel plates almost around the clock without eye protection. This leaves their eyes vulnerable to effects of welding. They do not wear a uniform and most don't have access to gloves and boots. Those that are ‘unskilled’ carry truck able pieces of iron sheets on their shoulders and there are no weight limits to the sheets they carry. Usually, these workers carry weights far above the limit prescribed in the Factories Act and Factories Rules.

·         The beaches are strewn with chemicals and toxic substances, small pieces of pointed and sharp iron splinters causing injuries. Workers enter into the areas without wearing or using any protective equipment. Occupational health and safety is clearly not a priority for the owners and as for the workers their desperate need to find employment to support their families means that their livelihoods take precedence over their lives.

•  
• Conclusion:- It is harmful but so important for economical factor so we can take step in carefully. At a time we get interest on Ship breaking and take care our environment, thus we can protect our environment from pollution and change.

Ecological Imbalance due to Medical waste

INTRODUCTION:

One estimate shows that some 5.2 million people (including 4 million children) die each year

from waste-related diseases.  Globally, the amount of municipal waste generated will double by

the year 2000 and quadruple by year 2025”  (Haque, 1994 in  Akter et. al. 1999). Concerned with

this situation Agenda 21, adopted in the United Nations Conference on Environment and

Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janerio in June, 1992, set the following goals and targets with

regard to waste management in cities:

· All countries must establish waste treatment and disposal criteria and develop the ability to

monitor the environmental impact of waste by the year 2000.

· By 2025, developing countries should ensure that at least half of the sewage, wastewater and

solid waste are disposed according to national and international guidelines.

· By 2025, all countries shall dispose of all waste according to international quality guidelines.

The evolution of a separate category of medical waste within the municipal waste stream dates

back to the late 1970s, when medical wastes including syringes and bandages were washed up on

the eastern US coast. The public outcry that followed led to the formulation of the US Medical

Waste Tracking Act (MWTA) which finally, came into force on November 1, 1988. Much of the

outcry ignored the specifics of medical waste, its small quantities and its nature. The first

solutions adopted to solve this problem was reflected in the installation of 6500 on-site, small

and unregulated medical waste incinerators in health care facilities. It was soon realised that

these small burners are not only causing more pollution than the medical waste, but they also

provided license to create more and more waste, much of it disposable plastic, since it could all

be easily burned. Besides, the end  – of pipe solution did not even address itself to the crucial

question of worker safety (Agarwal, 1998 and BAN & HCWH, 1999).

Any anthropogenic activity generates some waste. For example, many industrial activities

generate toxic waste and effluents while consumption activities generate waste of various types.

A large part of hospital waste usually consists of clinical and non-clinical waste. Such pollutants

can, therefore, be broadly classified into a) solid wastes, and b) liquid waste (wastewater). Both

are important source of physical and natural environmental degradation and constitute a health

hazard. The soil associated or under the disposed wastes is one of the main reservoirs of

microbial life, and contaminated water contains pathogenic microorganisms, which are causative

agents of different types of disease.

Solid waste mean non-liquid wastes or  ‘refuse’. It is a variety of materials, such as, dust, ash,

food-waste, rags, paper, plastic, glass, metals, and radioactive and pathological wastes. Liquid

waste contain chemicals used in laboratory, pathogen containing urine, blood and other sample

for testing disposed off to the wastewater (detail explained in next section).

OBJECYTIVES:

· To collect information on the collection, , treatment, handling, hauling, and disposal of

medical wastes;4

· To determine the level of knowledge and awareness of individuals involved in the medical

waste industry in Bangladesh;

· To identify the potential impacts that medical wastes pose to both human health and the

natural environment due to improper disposal and management techniques;

· To collect available information on medical waste management system in different countries;

· To direct further study (recommendations).

METHODS:

This study is based on the review of available information on medical waste, as relates to their

nature, impacts and management techniques. The techniques described are either practiced or

recommended by different countries.  Information was obtained through literature review, online

search, and discussion with thesis committee members. Study has also included the authors work

experience and field data collection.

DEFINING MEDICAL WASTE:

Healthcare Wastes are wastes arising from diagnosis, monitoring and preventive, curative or

palliative activities in field of the veterinary and human medicine.  “Very broadly medical waste

is defined as any solid or liquid waste that is generated in the diagnosis, treatment or

immunisation of human beings or animals, in research pertaining thereto, or in the production or

testing of biologicals” (BAN & HCWH, 1999).

Definitions of medical waste have a view to aid in regulating it. Given that the medical waste

stream is an extremely complex one. This includes chemicals which could be hazardous, as also

normal kitchen or office waste those are akin to municipal solid waste, the definition of regulated

medical wastes produced by hospitals, clinics, pathological laboratories, diagnostic centres,

doctors offices and other medical and research facilities. These wastes include infectious,

hazardous, radioactive and other general wastes.

MEDICAL WASTE CLASSIFICATION:

Different authors introduce different ways of medical waste classification. These are based on

medical waste state or form (solid, liquid), character, source and effects. Some of those are

described below.

1. Classification of Hospital waste by Eigenheer &  Zanon (1991). They classified medical

waste according to their liquid and solid state. This is shown in following table.5

Type Typical examples

1. Liquid Wastes

* Biological waste Blood, excrement, body fluid etc.

*Chemical waste Solutions, inorganic salts etc.

* Over-date medicines Unused drugs, over-date drugs

* Radioactive waste Wastes from radiology (iodine 125, iodine 131 etc.)

2. Solid Wastes

* Perforating and cutting wastes Needles, syringes, scalpels, blades, broken glass, vials

* Non-perforating and non-cuttingwastes

* Wastes from treatment (dressings, stool napkins, plastercast etc.)

* Parts of the body: organs, placentas, tissue etc.

* Over-date medicines (Expired drugs)

* Household-type wastes: other wet and dry waste

Medical Wastes are also classified into four different categories based on their sources and

potential hazards they may cause.

A) Clinical Waste: this includes body fluid, drainage bags, blood collection tubes, vials, culture

dishes, other types of broken/unbroken glassware that were in contact with infectious agents,

gauze, bandages or any other materials that were in contact with infectious agents or blood,

pathological waste including organs, body parts, tissues. These are potentially dangerous and

present a high risk of infection to the general population and to the staff.

B) Laboratory Waste: This is also high risk category waste. This includes chemicals used in the

pathological laboratory, microbial cultures and clinical specimens, slide, culture dish, needle,

syringes, as well as radioactive waste such as Iodine-125, iodine -131 etc.

C) Non-clinical Waste: this includes wrapping paper, office paper, and plastic that has not been

in contact with patient body fluid.

D) Kitchen waste: This includes food waste, wash and  waste water. It is a potential source of

pests and vermin, such as cockroach, mice and rats and is thus an indirect potential hazard to the

staff and patients in a hospital.

NATURE OF MEDICAL WASTE:

Medical waste is a small fraction of urban municipal waste. There should be a greater consensus

on how much of the waste generated is actually infectious or hazardous. Infectious or hazardous

hospital waste represents only a small part of total medical waste; yet, because of ethical6

questions and potential health risks, it is a focal point of public interest. Most hazardous and

toxic waste is coming from clinical and hospital. Only a small amount is from domestic or

industrial sources. According to World Health Organization (WHO) (BAN & HCWH, 1999)

approximately 85% or hospital wastes are actually non-hazardous, 10% are infectious, and

around 5% are non-infectious but hazardous. In the US for example, about 15% of hospital waste

are regulated as infectious waste. In India this could range from 15 to 35% depending on the total

amount of waste generated (BAN & HCWH, 1999). In Pakistan about 20% of hospital waste is

found to be potentially infectious or hazardous (Agarwal, 1998). The total garbage generation in

Dhaka  city is 3500  mt per day from which only 5.7 % comes from medical establishment

(Asaduzzaman & Hye, 1997).  Around 200 metric tons of hospital wastes are generated per day

in the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Of this amount, roughly 20% is infectious and hazardous

(Kazi, 1998).

Estimated quantities of medical waste generated in each country

This table 1 is tentative and from International Healthcare Waste Network (IhcWaN) members

and various publications. It includes:

* Infectious Medical Waste (IMW) produced in the country

* Total Medical Waste (TMW) produced in the country

* National ratio of productions in kg/day/bed, kg/inhabitant/year, Ton/bed/year of IMW or TMW

STATUS IN CASE OF BANGLADESH

(Disposal, management and knowledge)

In Bangladesh, all types of waste that are generated in most urban and rural areas are disposed of

by open dumping in either low depressions or high areas. Waste decomposition occurs by means

of natural degradation. One type of waste that has been completely ignored in Bangladesh is

medical waste.  These wastes are a source of contamination and pollution to both humans and the

natural environment.  There is not much study done on medical waste disposal in Bangladesh.  A

survey was conducted by Dr. Salim Rashid (1996) and his students from North South University

on Medical Waste Disposal in Dhaka City.  The survey found that government hospitals placed

all wastes in open dustbins (i.e. open waste containers that are accessible to the general public)

and the wastes were left in the open for one to two days.  Other hospitals left their wastes outside

in open dustbins for two to three days at a time before a municipal truck would remove them.  At

the Orthopaedic Hospital, parts of human bodies were found in dustbins. It was also found that

revenue was generated by medical staff through the sale of medical wastes. Syringes and other

medical wastes were re-sold and clinical waste sold for 20Tk/kg at most hospitals and clinics

visited.  Dr. Salim Rashid (1996) concluded that there is a lack of knowledge and interest in safe

waste disposal by most health workers and an absence of adequate funding to effectively

implement safe waste disposal. The study made neither  recommendations for the proper disposal

of such wastes nor ways to protect human health.

BRAC’s (a non-governmental organization) Environment Group has conducted a study on

medical waste disposal at BRAC Health Centre (Akter et. al., 1997). At the same time they have

visited some government and private clinic at  Mymensingh and  Bogra. The overall findings of

this study indicate that there is a lack of awareness, concern, and knowledge of appropriate7

handling and disposal methods of medical waste.  This was apparent not just at  BRAC’s Health

Canters but also at the government hospitals, private laboratories, and private clinics. Clearly,

well conceived waste disposal systems are severely lacking in both government hospitals and

private clinics.

Bangladesh  lacks both effective and adequate waste management facilities and an inadequate

government policy to guide health providers and punish offenders. The Bangladesh

Government’s Environmental Policy of 1992 (BELA 1996 a & b), has six general goals which

have been further detailed into priority objectives for different sectors.  Applicable to medical

waste disposal practices  are the objectives under the Health and Sanitation Category. These

objectives are as follows:

*Prevent  activities which are harmful to public health in all spheres, including development activities in the country

*Integrate environmental concerns into the National Health Policy

*Incorporate environmental issues in Health Education Curriculum

*Ensure a healthy workplace for workers

Improper handling and disposal of medical wastes will undoubtedly not ensure a healthy

workplace for workers, as well these activities also are harmful to public health.

The Bangladesh Environment Protection Act 1995, defines pollution as “contamination or

alteration of the physical, chemical or biological properties of air, water, or soil, including the

change in temperature, taste, turbidity, odour or any other characteristics of these or such

discharge of any liquid, gaseous, solid and radioactive substance, the discharge, disposal and

dumping of which may cause adverse/negative changes of the environment.” There is no specific

legislation pertaining directly to the handling, transportation or disposal of medical waste in

Bangladesh’s Environmental Protection Act 1995.  However, medical waste can be classified

under Section 2 (1) which defines waste as  “any liquid, solid and radioactive substance that is

discharged, disposed, or dumped which may cause adverse/negative change to the environment.”

The findings from one study (Akter  et. al., 1999) were as follows: A variety of methods were

used by the medical facilities to dispose of waste. These included burning, burial, selling,

dumping, reuse and removal by municipal bins. Table 2 below is the summary of waste disposal

practices at Government hospitals and clinics, private clinics and laboratories. There was no

clear guidance to segregate wastes and ensure their proper disposal. Most hospitals collected all

wastes together and dump in a common place. Those places were roadside, hospital

surroundings, dustbin of city corporation, Corporation’s drum. Waste is placed in dustbin, resold or poured down drain to the main sewer.

Also, saline bags, x-ray water, syringes, vials, slides, empty packets and bottles were collected

and sold. Medical waste was collected by hospital authority,  tokai (waste picker), cleaners and8

sold to whole seller, hawkers. Wastes were sold and the following list (Table 3.) shows the prices

received for such waste.

A significant number of the urban poor in Bangladesh rely on the collection of secondary

materials for their primary source of income.  The wastes pickers (scavengers) sort through

waste at site, usually open dumps, and sell anything that can be recycled to agents of industry.

The waste pickers have no special protection for sorting through wastes and are in danger of

becoming seriously injured or sick.  Though large scale recycling occurs for both medical and

non-medical wastes, waste pickers are in constant danger of becoming contaminated and injured.

There has been no formal training of staff, to teach them how to deal with the disposal of

medical wastes. Though they have received training on laboratory analysis, it is done in an abhor

method.  Medical officers are generally aware that medical waste could pose a problem, however

most thought they were handling the situation sufficiently. Nurses, lab technicians, and  aya’s

(maids’), however, had no training (formal or non-formal) on handling procedures and disposal methods.

According to  Akter  et al. (1999), there was insufficient awareness at different levels, from the

director or divisional head to the waste pickers, about the potential threat posed by medical

wastes.  Given that 82.24 percent respondents described medical wastes as general waste, it is

clear that most people are simply unaware of and unclear about what constitutes medical wastes.

Most of the respondents did not know the harmful impact of medical waste; they also did not

know the harmful impact of recycling of wastes. Also, they are not aware of the environmental

effect of medical wastes. Study also showed that the hospital staffs including high officials and

waste collectors were not aware of the safe disposal and handling of hospital waste. Laboratory

analysis shows high levels of contamination from infectious wastes at various sources in the

environment (table 4). Children, adults, and animals all have the potential to come into contact

with these wastes which may pose severe health risks to them. Samples were collected from

several sources including dustbins (where medical wastes are dumped), wastewater from hospital

drains, and laboratory basins from different hospitals in Bangladesh. Laboratory analysis showed

improper disposal of medical waste and severe contamination of these infectious wastes to the

environment.

There was no safety measure observed in dealing with waste disposal or laboratory analysis of

infectious or hazardous diseases. The chemicals used for the staining and preservation of “slides”

and for the sterilization and cleaning of equipment and “surroundings” are potentially harmful to

the laboratory technician and the environment. This is due to lack of environmental awareness

among the respondents, which is true for maximum people of the country.

The study findings indicate that there is a need to improve medical waste handling and disposal

methods. This is necessary at government hospitals, private laboratories, and clinics as well. In

most government hospitals, private laboratories, and clinics waste is disposed in municipal bins

without proper regard to the harmful effects they may pose to human health and the environment.

None of these institutions have proper waste disposal systems in place to manage their medical

wastes.  Most hospitals visited believed that they were disposing of their waste in an appropriate

manner.  Though some medical officers did show their concern and generally wanted to improve

the situation.  Most health care workers have only a basic understanding of health care and don9

bot perceive handling or disposal of medial waste as a hazard at all.

POTENTIAL IMPACTS (RISKS) ASSOCIATED WITH MEDICAL WASTE

A. Health hazards related to medical waste could be the following

i. Injuries and accidents

There is a risk of injuries related to medical waste handling and carrying by waste  hauler and/or

cleaner. For example cut-injury punctured wound, laceration, strain and sprain of the joint of

limbs and backache due to load hauling.

Akter et. al., (1998) reported that, there were several incident (10 cases out of 17) of injury due

to exposure to medical wastes inside or outside of hospital premises. These were as follows:

· Hands cut due to handling broken glass

· Injured by needle and fingers permanently damaged/ became curved

· Right hands became paralyzed by the injury by a needle

· Two legs became paralyzed due to injury by the needle

· Skin diseases on legs and hands/ body

· Pus due to injury sometimes

· Ulcer on legs

As BAN & HCWH (1999), sharps, which include syringes and needles, have the highest disease

transmission potential amongst all categories of medical waste. Almost 85% of sharp injuries are

caused between their usage and subsequent disposal. More than 20% of those who handle them

encounter  ‘stick’ injuries. The study also mentioned that injuries from needle-stick and sharps

occur frequently in developing countries, and that safer disposal facilities and routine hepatitis B

vaccine should be adopted.

ii. Infectious medica

l waste risk

Infectious hospital waste represents only a small part of total medical waste; yet, because of

ethical questions and infection risks, it is a focal point of public interest.  Infectious waste

contains different kind of pathogens or organisms that is potential for infection or disease if it is

not properly disposed.  Table below shows few examples of different pathogen and diseases

caused by them.

Bacterial Tetanus, gas gangrene and other wound infection, anthrax, cholera,

other diarrhoeal diseases, enteric fever, shigellosis, plague etc.

Viral Various hepatitis, poliomyelitis, HIV-infections, HBV, TB, STD

rabies etc.

Parasitic Amoebiasis,  giardiasis,  ascariasis,  ankylomastomiasis,  taeniasis,

echinococcosis, malaria, leishmaniasis, filariasis etc.

Fungal infections Various fungal infections like candidiasis,  cryptococcoses,

coccidiodomycosis etc.10

Infected hospital waste can transmit diseases,  espicially if it finds portals of entry.  “There is

strong epidemiological evidence from Canada, Japan and the USA, that the main concern of

infectious hospital waste is the transmission of HIV/ AIDS virus and more often of Hepatitis B

or C virus (HBV) through injuries caused by syringes contaminated by human blood.” Other

than these, there is potential risk of TB/ Throat infection, Typhoid, Dysentery, Diarrhoea,

Bacterial/ Viral diseases, ARV (Rabies), VDRL (Sexually transmitted disease), UTI/ all C/S, and

Leprosy etc. as the pathological laboratories do all these analysis to diagnose the diseases (Akter

et. al., 1998).

iii. Hazardous medical waste risk

This class of hospital waste, while largely ignored, poses risk to workers handling them.

Hazardous medical waste consists primarily of chemicals and discarded cytotoxin drugs.

The pathological laboratories of medical center examine blood, stool, urine, and sputum.  The

chemicals used for the staining and preservation of slides and for the sterilization and cleaning of

equipment and surroundings are potentially harmful to the laboratory technician and the

environment.  Most of the chemicals are poured down the sink and drain out next to the clinic.

Children, adults, and animals all have the potential to come into contact with these chemicals.

Xylene, phenol, ethylene blue, hydrochloric acid, chlorine and  carbon  fuchsine are all used, and

some can have very damaging effects (Akter et. al., 1998). Other than these, a large number of

chemicals also used in different diagnosis and treatment (e.g. chemotherapy).  Some common

hazardous chemicals, some of which are probable carcinogens or pose other health risks and

effects, are summarized in Table 5.

The main health risks of medical wastes are summarized below (modified from WHO, 1999).

· Contamination of drinking water. Possibility of leach ate entering an aquifer, surface water or

drinking water system.

· Non-biodegradable antibiotics,  anatine plastics and disinfectants disposed of into the sewage

system may kill bacteria necessary for the treatment of sewage.  Antoine plastics flushed into

watercourses may damage aquatic life or contaminate drinking water.

· Burning of waste at low temperatures or in open container results in release of toxic

pollutants (e.g. dioxin) into the air.

· Carcinogenic waste such as heavy metals, chemical solvents and preservatives pose serious

human health risks not only to workers but to the general public as well.

· pollutants from medical waste (e.g. heavy metals and PCBs) are persistent in the

environment

· accumulation of toxic chemicals within soil (proximity to agricultural fields, humans, soil

organisms, wildlife, cattle)

· ground water contamination, decrease in water quality

· bio-accumulation in organism’s fat tissues, and biomagnified through the food chain

· repeated and indiscriminate application of chemicals over a long period of time has serious

adverse effects on soil microbial population - reducing the rate of decomposition, and

generally lowering the soil fertility.

· pathogens leads to long term accumulation  of toxic substances in the soil

· specimens collected for analysis have the potential to cause disease and illness in man, either

through direct contact or indirectly by contamination of soil, groundwater, surface water, and

air

· wind blown dusts from indiscriminately dumping also have the potential to carry hazardous

particulates

· with domestic animals being allowed to graze in open dumps, there is the added risk of

reintroducing pathogenic micro-organisms into the food chain.

· public nuisance (e.g. odors, scenic view, block the walkway, aesthetics, etc.)

· improper sterilization of instruments used in  labour room may cause infection to mother and

child

CONSEQUENCES OF IMPROPER DISPOSAL OR NON-DISPOSAL OF MEDICAL WASTE

Medical wastes are a source of contamination and pollution to both humans and the natural

environment as discussed in this paper. Improper disposal may be hazardous if it leads to

contamination of water supplies or local sources used by nearby communities or wildlife.

Sometimes exposed waste may become accessible to scavengers and children if a landfill is

insecure. Medical wastes are potentially capable of causing disease and illness in man, either

through direct contact or indirectly by contamination of soil, groundwater, surface water and air.

Wind blown dusts from these dumps also have the potential to carry pathogens and hazardous12

materials.  Where domestic animals are allowed to graze in open dumps, there is a risk of

reintroducing pathogenic micro-organisms into the food chain.  Medical wastes therefore pose a

risk to individuals, communities, and the environment if not carefully handled (Akter  et. al,

1998).

Wastes attract scavenging animals and bats. As it ferments it gives off foul odors, favors fly

feeding and contaminates both water and air. Piles of refuse or landfill during its decomposition

process generate several gases, the most important among which are methane (CH4), nitrogen

(N2) and occasionally hydrogen sulfide (H2S). If burnt, carbon  di-oxide (CO2) is released. CH4

and CO2 are greenhouse gases and have potential greenhouse effects. The soil underlying these

wastes is typically contaminated by pathogenic micro-organisms, heavy metals, salts, and

chlorinated hydrocarbons. These wastes also cause public nuisance by clogging sewers and open

drains, encroaching on roadways, diminishing landscape aesthetics and giving off unpleasant

odors and dust (World Bank, 1991).

Expired drugs pilfering from a stockpile of waste drugs or during sorting may result in expired

drugs being diverted to the market for resale and misuse.  Most pharmaceuticals past their expiry

date become less efficacious and a few may develop a different adverse drug reaction profile.

Medical waste incinerations are one of the largest sources of dioxin and mercury pollution in the

United States. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), dioxin

from medical waste incineration ends up in dairy foods and meat and both mercury and dioxin

are taken up by fish and shellfish. When one eats these foods, one adds to the existing dioxin and

mercury body burdens. Other than these, the ash from incinerator consists of both fly ash and

bottom ahs. The ash contains high levels of toxic substances such as heavy metals, dioxins and

furans. Ironically, as the air pollution equipment becomes more effective in removing particulate

matter, the toxicity of the fly ash increases. One of the largest hospitals in Delhi, India was found

to have lead in its incinerator ash at  levels which would classify the ahs as hazardous (BAN &

HCWH, 1999). In most cases, disposal of incinerator ash in landfills without a sufficient soil or

other impermeable cover may cause leachate to contaminate groundwater.

Incineration has specific health concern since it not only destroys the pathogen but also the

material on which the pathogen resides. Thus, those materials go under a process of

transformation and dematerialization. In the process they transform solid and liquid toxic waste

into gaseous emissions, particulate matters. The acid gases (e.g. hydrogen chloride, nitrogen

oxides and sculpture dioxides), can cause acute effects such as eyes and respiratory irritation, can

contribute to acid rain, and may enhance the toxic effects to heavy metals. Particulate matter can

cause chronic health effects. Burning of chlorine made material e.g. PVC, creates dioxin, a

known animal carcinogen, and considered as human carcinogen.

TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT

As can be seen from the foregoing discussion, there is no proper waste management system in

place in most developing countries. On-site incineration, autoclaving, and steam  disinfection are

a few processes currently in use for treating very small amounts of hazardous wastes. The13

countries found to practice incineration is Brazil, Argentina, Peru, India, Pakistan and

Bangladesh. Clinical waste incinerators, particularly in developing and poorer countries, often

operate under sub-optimal conditions. Most of the cases the percentage of incinerators that were

functioning poorly or not operational (BAN & HCWH, 1999). Most medical administrations

usually focus on installing disposal technologies such as incinerators and do not implement a

“practice” of waste management within the hospital. Over 6500 incinerators were installed in the

US alone in the 1980s (Agarwal, 1998). Chronic problems both relating to very high toxic levels

as well as difficulties in operating a sophisticated engineering technology in a medical setting

have given rise to a debate which attempts to define a clean technology for medical waste

disposal.  There are some techniques practiced by different countries all over the world such as:

Incineration, Autoclave  Disinfection, Microwave  Disinfection, and Mechanical/Chemical  Disinfection.

Each of this technique has limitations in terms of technological aspect, environmental condition and waste

composition. Parameters influencing selected treatment technique and it’s advantages and disadvantages

are summarized in table 6.  However, most of the developed countries have defined policy and

regulations to handle and manage medical waste such as Germany, France, Canada, and USA.

GUIDE LINES PROPOSED BY WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO)

WHO (1999) has proposed disposal methods for unwanted pharmaceuticals disposal in and after

emergencies. Types of waste and suggested disposal methods are summarized in table 7 and 8

below.

CONCLUSION

Medical wastes pose a significant impact on health and the environment. There is not enough

information on medical waste management technologies and impacts in developing countries.

Practice of proper medical waste disposal and management is also inadequate. However, from

this study it can be said that there is an urgent need for raising awareness and education on

medical waste issues. Proper waste management strategy is needed to ensure health and

environmental safety.

Ecological Imbalance due to Deforestation

Deforestation is the therapy of a jungles or take a place of vegetation and vegetation where the place is thereafter modified to a no jungles use. Designs of deforestation include modification of forestland to vegetation, ranches, or town use.

The term deforestation is often misused to describe any activity where all trees in an area are removed. However in temperate climates, the removal of all trees in an area—in conformance with sustainable forestry practices—is correctly described as regeneration harvest. In temperate mesic climates, natural regeneration of forest stands often will not occur in the absence of disturbance, whether natural or anthropogenic. Furthermore, biodiversity after regeneration harvest often mimics that found after natural disturbance, including biodiversity loss after naturally occurring rainforest destruction.

Deforestation happens for many reasons: bushes and shrubs or produced grilling are used as, or marketed, for petrol or as wood, while removed area is used as field for animals, farms of merchandise, and negotiations. The treatment of bushes and shrubs without adequate reforestation has led to damage to environment, bio-diversity loss and aridity. It has negative has an effect on on biosequestration of environmental co2. Deforestation has also been used in war to deny an attacker of cover for its makes and also important options. A modern example of this, for example, was the use of Broker red in Vietnam. Deforested parts generally have considerable negative ground loss and frequently lower into wilderness.

Disregard or ignorance of intrinsic value, lack of ascribed value, lax forest management and deficient environmental laws are some of the factors that allow deforestation to occur on a large scale. In many countries, deforestation, both naturally occurring and human induced, is an ongoing issue. Deforestation causes extinction, changes to climatic conditions, desertification, and displacement of populations as observed by current conditions and in the past through the fossil record.

Causes

The different causes of deforestation are as follows:

Overgrazing: Overgrazing in forests destroys newly regenerated growth. it also makes soil more compact and impervious. Soil become less fertile due to destruction of organic matter. Seeds of certain species do not germinate in excessively grazed soils which results if reduction of species. Overgrazing also leads to deforestation.

 Environmental problems

Atmospheric

Deforestation is ongoing and is shaping climate and geography.

Deforestation is a contributor to global warming, and is often cited as one of the major causes of the enhanced greenhouse effect. Tropical deforestation is responsible for approximately 20% of world greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change deforestation, mainly in tropical areas, could account for up to one-third of total anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. But recent calculations suggest that carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (excluding peatland emissions) contribute about 12% of total anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions with a range from 6 to 17%. Trees and other plants remove carbon (in the form of carbon dioxide) from the atmosphere during the process of photosynthesis and release oxygen back into the atmosphere during normal respiration. Only when actively growing can a tree or forest remove carbon over an annual or longer timeframe. Both the decay and burning of wood releases much of this stored carbon back to the atmosphere. In order for forests to take up carbon, the wood must be harvested and turned into long-lived products and trees must be re-planted. Deforestation may cause carbon stores held in soil to be released. Forests are stores of carbon and can be either sinks or sources depending upon environmental circumstances. Mature forests alternate between being net sinks and net sources of carbon dioxide (see carbon dioxide sink and carbon cycle). In deforested areas, the land heats up faster and reaches a higher temperature, leading to localized upward motions that enhance the formation of clouds and ultimately produce more rainfall. However, according to the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, the models used to investigate remote responses to tropical deforestation showed a broad but mild temperature increase all through the tropical atmosphere. The model predicted <0.2°C warming for upper air at 700mb and 500mb. However, the model shows no significant changes in other areas besides the Tropics. Though the model showed no significant changes to the climate in areas other than the Tropics, this may not be the case since the model has possible errors and the results are never absolutely definite.

Reducing emissions from the tropical deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in developing countries has emerged as new potential to complement ongoing climate policies. The idea consists in providing financial compensations for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from deforestation and forest degradation".

Rainforests are widely believed by laymen to contribute a significant amount of world's oxygen, although it is now accepted by scientists that rainforests contribute little net oxygen to the atmosphere and deforestation will have no effect on atmospheric oxygen levels. However, the incineration and burning of forest plants to clear land releases large amounts of CO₂, which contributes to global warming. Scientists also state that, Tropical deforestation releases 1.5 billion tones of carbon each year into the atmosphere.

Jungles are also able to design out co2 and toxins from the air, thus leading to biosphere balance.

Hydrological

The drinking water cycle is also affected by deforestation. Plants and plants sketch out groundwater through their roots and release it into the atmosphere. When part of a jungles is removed, the bushes and plants no longer escape away this drinking water, resulting in a much drier climate. Deforestation reduces the content of drinking water in the earth and groundwater as well as environmental moisture. The dry floor leads to lower consuming habits for the bushes and plants to sketch out. Deforestation reduces floor communication, so that loss, rising and landslides happen.

Shrinking forest cover lessens the landscape's capacity to intercept, retain and transpire precipitation. Instead of trapping precipitation, which then percolates to groundwater systems, deforested areas become sources of surface water runoff, which moves much faster than subsurface flows. That quicker transport of surface water can translate into flash flooding and more localized floods than would occur with the forest cover. Deforestation also contributes to decreased evapotranspiration, which lessens atmospheric moisture which in some cases affects precipitation levels downwind from the deforested area, as water is not recycled to downwind forests, but is lost in runoff and returns directly to the oceans. According to one study, in deforested north and northwest China, the average annual precipitation decreased by one third between the 1950s and the 1980s.

Trees and plants in general, affect the water cycle significantly:

• their canopies intercept a proportion of precipitation, which is then evaporated back to the atmosphere (canopy interception);
• their litter, stems and trunks slow down surface runoff;
• their roots create macropores – large conduits – in the soil that increase infiltration of water;
• they contribute to terrestrial evaporation and reduce soil moisture via transpiration;
• their litter and other organic residue change soil properties that affect the capacity of soil to store water.
• their leaves control the humidity of the atmosphere by transpiring. 99% of the water absorbed by the roots moves up to the leaves and is transpired.

As a result, the existence or lack of bushes and shrubs can change the quality of drinking water on the surface, in the ground or groundwater, or in the weather. This in turn changes loss rates and the option drinking water for either environment features or human services.

The woodlands may have little effect on surging in the case of large rain activities, which overcome the storage potential of woodlands ground if the earth are at or close to vividness.

Tropical jungles produce about 30% of our globe's fresh water.

Soil

                                                     

Undisturbed forests have a very low rate of soil loss, approximately 2 metric tons per square kilometer (6 short tons per square mile). Deforestation generally increases rates of soil erosion, by increasing the amount of runoff and reducing the protection of the soil from tree litter. This can be an advantage in excessively leached tropical rain forest soils. Forestry operations themselves also increase erosion through the development of roads and the use of mechanized equipment.

China's Loess Plateau was cleared of forest millennia ago. Since then it has been eroding, creating dramatic incised valleys, and providing the sediment that gives the Yellow River its yellow color and that causes the flooding of the river in the lower reaches (hence the river's nickname 'China's sorrow').

Removal of trees does not always increase erosion rates. In certain regions of southwest US, shrubs and trees have been encroaching on grassland. The trees themselves enhance the loss of grass between tree canopies. The bare intercanopy areas become highly erodible. The US Forest Service, in Bandelier National Monument for example, is studying how to restore the former ecosystem, and reduce erosion, by removing the trees.

Tree roots bind soil together, and if the soil is sufficiently shallow they act to keep the soil in place by also binding with underlying bedrock. Tree removal on steep slopes with shallow soil thus increases the risk of landslides, which can threaten people living nearby. However most deforestation only affects the trunks of trees, allowing for the roots to stay rooted, negating the landslide.

Biodiversity

Deforestation on a human range results in decrease in bio-diversity. and on a natural global range is known to cause the annihilation of many types. The treatment or devastation of places of woodlands protect has led to a changed atmosphere with decreased bio-diversity. Jungles support bio-diversity, providing environment for wildlife; moreover, forests nurture therapeutic efficiency. With woodlands biotopes being important source of new drugs (such as taxol), deforestation can eliminate inherited versions (such as plants resistance) irretrievably. Since the exotic jungles are the most different environments on Earth and about 80% of the known bio-diversity could be found in exotic jungles, treatment or devastation of significant places of woodlands protect has led to a changed atmosphere with decreased biodiversity.

It has been estimated that we are losing 137 plant, animal and insect species every single day due to rainforest deforestation, which equates to 50,000 species a year. Others state that tropical rainforest deforestation is contributing to the ongoing Holocene mass extinction. The known extinction rates from deforestation rates are very low, approximately 1 species per year from mammals and birds which extrapolates to approximately 23,000 species per year for all species. Predictions have been made that more than 40% of the animal and plant species in Southeast Asia could be wiped out in the 21st century. Such predictions were called into question by 1995 data that show that within regions of Southeast Asia much of the original forest has been converted to monospecific plantations, but that potentially endangered species are few and tree flora remains widespread and stable.

Scientific understanding of the process of extinction is insufficient to accurately make predictions about the impact of deforestation on biodiversity. Most predictions of forestry related biodiversity loss are based on species-area models, with an underlying assumption that as the forest declines species diversity will decline similarly. However, many such models have been proven to be wrong and loss of habitat does not necessarily lead to large scale loss of species. Species-area models are known to overpredict the number of species known to be threatened in areas where actual deforestation is ongoing, and greatly over predict the number of threatened species that are widespread.

Economic impact

Damage to jungles and other factors of characteristics could cut in half living requirements for the poor and reduce international GDP by about 7% by 2050, a report determined at the Conference on Natural Variety (CBD) meeting in Bonn. Traditionally, using woodlands products, such as wood and petrol wooden, has performed a key role in human organizations, similar to the tasks of water and cultivable land. Today, western world continue to utilize wood for building homes, and wooden pulp for paper. In creating nations almost three million people depend on wooden for heating and cooking.

The forest products industry is a large part of the economy in both developed and developing countries. Short-term economic gains made by conversion of forest to agriculture, or over-exploitation of wood products, typically leads to loss of long-term income and long-term biological productivity. West Africa, Madagascar, Southeast Asia and many other regions have experienced lower revenue because of declining timber harvests. Illegal logging causes billions of dollars of losses to national economies annually.

The new procedures to get amounts of wood are causing more harm to the economy and overpower the amount of money spent by people employed in logging. According to a study, "in most areas studied, the various ventures that prompted deforestation rarely generated more than US$5 for every ton of carbon they released and frequently returned far less than US$1". The price on the European market for an offset tied to a one-ton reduction in carbon is 23 euro (about US$35).

Increasing financial systems also have an effect on deforestation. Most pressure will come from the creating nations, which have the fastest-growing areas and most fast financial (industrial) development. In 1995, financial development in creating nations achieved nearly 6%, compared with the 2% rate of development for western world.” As our  inhabitants increases, new homes, areas, and expansions of places will occur. Linking all of the new expansions will be streets, a very important part in our everyday life. Non-urban streets enhance financial development but also assist in deforestation. About 90% of the deforestation has took place within 100 km of streets in most parts of the Amazon.

Control

v Reducing emissions

Major international organizations, including the United Nations and the World Bank, have begun to develop programs aimed at curbing deforestation. The blanket term Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) describes these sorts of programs, which use direct monetary or other incentives to encourage developing countries to limit and/or roll back deforestation. Funding has been an issue, but at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties-15 (COP-15) in Copenhagen in December 2009, an accord was reached with a collective commitment by developed countries for new and additional resources, including forestry and investments through international institutions, that will approach USD 30 billion for the period 2010–2012. Significant work is underway on tools for use in monitoring developing country adherence to their agreed REDD targets. These tools, which rely on remote forest monitoring using satellite imagery and other data sources, include the Center for Global Development's FORMA (Forest Monitoring for Action) initiative  and the Group on Earth Observations' Forest Carbon Tracking Portal. Methodological guidance for forest monitoring was also emphasized at COP-15  The environmental organization Avoided Deforestation Partners leads the campaign for development of REDD through funding from the U.S. government.

v Farming

New methods are being developed to farm more intensively, such as high-yield hybrid crops, greenhouse, autonomous building gardens, and hydroponics. These methods are often dependent on chemical inputs to maintain necessary yields. In cyclic agriculture, cattle are grazed on farm land that is resting and rejuvenating. Cyclic agriculture actually increases the fertility of the soil. Intensive farming can also decrease soil nutrients by consuming at an accelerated rate the trace minerals needed for crop growth.The most promising approach, however, is the concept of food forests in permaculture, which consists of agroforestal systems carefully designed to mimic natural forests, with an emphasis on plant and animal species of interest for food, timber and other uses. These systems have low dependence on fossil fuels and agro-chemicals, are highly self-maintaining, highly productive, and with strong positive impact on soil and water quality, and biodiversity.

v Monitoring Deforestation

Reducing and monitoring deforestation is a new chapter of this dense keywords lifetime. There are multiple methods that are appropriate and reliable for monitoring deforestation. One method is the “visual interpretation of aerial photos or satellite imagery that is labor-intensive but does not require high-level training in computer image processing or extensive computational resources”. Another method includes hot-spot analysis (that is, locations of rapid change) using expert opinion or coarse resolution satellite data to identify locations for detailed digital analysis with high resolution satellite images. Deforestation is typically assessed by quantifying the amount of area deforested, measured at the present time. From an environmental point of view, quantifying the damage and its possible consequences is a more important task, while conservation efforts are more focused on forested land protection and development of land-use alternatives to avoid continued deforestation. Deforestation quantity and finish place deforested, have been widely used for tracking deforestation in many areas, such as the B razil Amazon deforestation tracking by INPE. Monitoring deforestation is a very complicated process, which becomes even more complicated with the enhancing needs for alternatives.

v Forest management

Efforts to stop or slow deforestation have been attempted for many centuries because it has long been known that deforestation can cause environmental damage sufficient in some cases to cause societies to collapse. In Tonga, paramount rulers developed policies designed to prevent conflicts between short-term gains from converting forest to farmland and long-term problems forest loss would cause, while during the 17th and 18th centuries in Tokugawa, Japan, the shoguns developed a highly sophisticated system of long-term planning to stop and even reverse deforestation of the preceding centuries through substituting timber by other products and more efficient use of land that had been farmed for many centuries. In 16th century Germany landowners also developed silviculture to deal with the problem of deforestation. However, these policies tend to be limited to environments with good rainfall, no dry season and very young soils (through volcanism or glaciation). This is because on older and less fertile soils trees grow too slowly for silviculture to be economic, whilst in areas with a strong dry season there is always a risk of forest fires destroying a tree crop before it matures.

v  Sustainable practices

Certification, as provided by global certification systems such as Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification and Forest Stewardship Council, contributes to tackling deforestation by creating market demand for timber from sustainably managed forests. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), "A major condition for the adoption of sustainable forest management is a demand for products that are produced sustainably and consumer willingness to pay for the higher costs entailed. Certification represents a shift from regulatory approaches to market incentives to promote sustainable forest management. By promoting the positive attributes of forest products from sustainably managed forests, certification focuses on the demand side of environmental conservation." Some nations have taken steps to help increase the amount of trees on Earth. In 1981, China created National Tree Planting Day Forest and forest coverage had now reached 16.55% of China's land mass, as against only 12% two decades ago.

v Reforestation

In many parts of the world, especially in East Asian countries, reforestation and afforestation are increasing the area of forested lands. The amount of woodland has increased in 22 of the world's 50 most forested nations. Asia as a whole gained 1 million hectares of forest between 2000 and 2005. Tropical forest in El Salvador expanded more than 20% between 1992 and 2001. Based on these trends, one study projects that global forest will increase by 10%—an area the size of India—by 2050.

In Western countries, increasing consumer demand for wood products that have been produced and harvested in a sustainable manner is causing forest landowners and forest industries to become increasingly accountable for their forest management and timber harvesting practices.

v The Arbor Day Foundation's Rainfall Woodlands Save system is a charitable organisation that allows to avoid deforestation. The charitable organisation uses generously donated money to buy up and retain forest area before the material organizations can buy it. The Arbor Day Groundwork then defends the area from deforestation. This also hair in the way of life of the basic communities living on the forest area. Companies such as Group Forestry Worldwide, Awesome World, The Characteristics Conservancy, Group Large Finance for Characteristics, Efficiency Worldwide, Africa Efficiency Groundwork and Greenpeace also concentrate on protecting forest environments. Greenpeace in particular has also planned out the jungles that are still complete and released this information on the internet. Group Options Institution in turn has made a easier thematic map displaying the quantity of jungles provide just before the age of man (8000 years ago) and the provide (reduced) levels of forest. These charts level the quantity of afforestation required to fix the harm due to people.

v Forest plantations

To meet the world's demand for wood, it has been suggested by forestry writers Botkins and Sedjo that high-yielding forest plantations are suitable. It has been calculated that plantations yielding 10 cubic meters per hectare annually could supply all the timber required for international trade on 5% of the world's existing forestland. By contrast, natural forests produce about 1–2 cubic meters per hectare; therefore, 5–10 times more forestland would be required to meet demand. Forester Chad Oliver has suggested a forest mosaic with high-yield forest lands interpersed with conservation land.

In the country of Senegal, on the western coast of Africa, a movement headed by youths has helped to plant over 6 million mangrove trees. The trees will protect local villages from storm damages and will provide a habitat for local wildlife. The project started in 2008, and already the Senegalese government has been asked to establish rules and regulations that would protect the new mangrove forests.

Ecological Imbalance due to Radiation

Radiation:  In technology, light is a procedure in which powerful pollutants or powerful grows voyage through a technique or area. There are two exclusive types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing. The expression light is commonly used in recommendations to ionizing light only (i.e., having sufficient power to ionize an atom), but may also discuss non-ionizing light (e.g., channels grows, heated or recognizable light). The pollutants or grows display (i.e., goes exterior in all directions) from a source.

Fig: Illustration of the relative abilities of three different types of ionizing radiation to penetrate solid matter. Alpha particles (α) are stopped by a sheet of paper while beta particles (β) are stopped by an aluminium plate. Gamma radiation (γ) is dampened when it penetrates matter.

Both ionizing and non-ionizing radiation can be harmful to organisms and can result in changes to the natural environment. In general, ionizing radiation is far more harmful to living organisms per unit of energy deposited than non-ionizing radiation, since the ions that are produced by ionizing radiation, even at low radiation powers, have the potential to cause DNA damage. By contrast, non-ionizing radiation is harmful to organisms in proportion to the thermal energy deposited, and is conventionally considered harmless at low powers which do not produce significant temperature rise.

The concern of damage to natural techniques due to low-power ionizing and non-ionization rays is not resolved. Disputes carries on about possible non-heating results of low-power non-ionizing rays, such as non-heating micro-wave and stations trend visibility. At the same time, non-ionizating rays is usually regarded to have no completely safe reduced restrict, although at some energy, new exposures do not add significantly to qualifications rays. The proof that little some types of ionizing rays might consult a net health benefit in some circumstances, is known as rays hormesis.

Source of radiation

The Effects of Radioactivity on the Environment

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Radioactivity has profound effects on our environment. Understanding these effects can help us weigh the pros and cons of nuclear power, and understand the serious precautions that societies investing in nuclear power must take to keep local and global populations safe. The effects of radiation are largely dependent on the dose and length of exposure; however, radiation does have long-lasting effects on the environment that affect us all.

Negative Effects of Radiation

On Plants

Nuclear light does not have the same dangerous effect on crops as it does on creatures. This is mostly because the light has an effect on plant progression, often stunting crops or decreasing their progression. Rays can also effect the functionality of crops to reproduce. Following the Chernobyl problem, it took vegetation and vegetation in the place three years to start re-creating again. Radioactive crops can also provide side effects to individuals. Plants that contain radioactive n uclei or radioactive iodine and are absorbed by individuals can cause cancer malignancy metastasizing cancer malignancy. There is also the problem of light being absorbed in world and generating long-lasting damage to floor virility.

On Animals

Mammals are the most sensitive animals to radiation followed by birds, fish, reptiles and insects. This is largely because of the multitude of live cells found in mammals. Sensitivity to radiation also increases the younger the affected animal is. Embryos are particularly susceptible, which explains why there are often high rates of birth defects following radioactive exposure. Animals also suffer from bio-magnification. If they need to eat many smaller animals every day, and all those animals have been effected by radiation, the toxin load increases the higher up the food chain you go.

On Humans

Rays impacts virility in people as well. Following experience radiation, women are often incapable to consider, or if they are able to, their kids may have a variety of birth problems due to radiation. Cancer malignancy is the No. 1 health effect from radiation visibility. Before radiation visibility, natural procedures control the rate of mobile development, but after radiation, the mobile or molecular procedures accountable for managing mobile development may be broken. This results in out of hand development, which causes cancer. While cancer happens along with long-term experience radiation, instantly following visibility people may experience radiation illness or uses up. The first signs and symptoms of radiation illness including:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Headache
• Some loss of white blood cells

Positive Effects of Radiation on the Environment

For most people, the word light brings pictures of risks to individual and ecological health---Chernobyl, mushroom atmosphere, cancer malignancy therapies, and X-rays, for example. In fact, light involves a wide range of phenomena, some of which cause damage, and others of which have very results upon individuals and the planet. In fact, it's no overstatement to say that life on World would not be possible without the results of light.

Recognizing the Long-Term Impact of Radiation

The consequences of lighting style should not be taken effectively. The effect of even minor encounter lighting style can be long-lasting and can damage whole conditions. With lighting style, shipping issues that last a life-time and floor damage so serious the place cannot be used for at least three decades, we can't neglect that the effect lighting style has on our environment is long-lasting. Lighting has risky outcomes not only to our regional environment, but our worldwide environment as well.

Cyclone Aila

Cyclone Aila started as a disruption on May 21 in the Bay of Bengal, building up easily to a Exotic Cyclone with windspeeds gusting up to 120 km/h (75 mph). Aila created landfall soon after, providing weighty down pours, wind flow, and an tremendous weather increase of sea water that encouraged national, destructive or ruining tons of houses in Bangladesh, Indian and Myanmar. Over 300 individuals are verified to have passed away, with more than 8,000 still losing. Remaining citizens are now getting aid, feelings of loss the missing, starting to improve - and some are progressing critique at their own government authorities, asking why more powerful weather health were not in position. According to the Associated Media, some 2.3 thousand individuals were suffering from Aila. (29 images total)

Other Causes for Ecological Imbalance

Floor has its own stability because it preserves stability between little and macro creatures in the form of sequence of meals stores and meals internets. Such consideration account account balances are handled by physical and chemical kind type kind activities of ground.

Invasion of exterior of the earth by plant meals and bug fumigations has led concern in several meals stores between little and macro creatures as well as chemical kind type kind side effects. This has designed number of environmental effects. Enhanced ground reduction makes loss of exterior ground and visibility of un-weathered dry ground. It reduced plants makes and environmental nitrogen fixation.

Nuclear Inventions and attacks, fishing and hunting for food, improper use of nonrenewable resources, cutting down the jungles, chemical waste left in the sea affected not only humans but all the living beings on the earth. These are the causes of climatic changes and biodiversity loss.

Ecological imbalance is also caused due to green house effect, acid rain, deforestation. The other causes are gases which are emitted from the vehicles causes a type of ecological imbalance in the sense the harmful gases causes the ozone gases to get deplete. The poisonous wastage which is being thrown in the nearby river causes the marine animals to get distinct which is also an ecological imbalance.

Natural resources can be classified into geographical, hydro-geological, atmosphere, edaphic, forest, and crop, and wildlife, marine or aquatic, animal, human and microbial resources. Most of the resources depend on each other and also on the ecosystem. When these resources are misused it leads to ecological imbalance.

Protection of creatures is most essential for keeping environmental balance. Bacterial source is essential for many organic activities because it is used in the of minerals, chemicals, testosterone in medical. All organic options are abused in one way or other. Such neglect may create organic discrepancy.

Many of options are limited and can last only for few years. Mistreatment of some options has already become unusual. It is crucial that every human being in our community should launch the value of preserving organic source and embrace necessary actions to retain them during his daily routine.

Importance of The ecological balance

The environmental stability is the stability between, and useful coexistence of, creatures, such as plants, creatures & individual way of life and their atmosphere. If the stability gets likely in any direction, it will have an negative impact on the rest

For example:

"Humanity's destruction of tropical habitat for agriculture, logging and other development has inflated earth's normal background extinction rate by as much as 1,000 times.

Of an analyzed 7 thousand flower and being types on the community, about 85 % stay on place with about two-thirds of them in the tropics, mostly the woodlands. The offer broad variety of woodlands reduce is about 1 thousand rectangle-shaped miles every 5 to 10 decades and enhancing, with several periods that place being broken by places and discerning determining upon. At this amount, the exclusive woodlands will be gone well before the end of the millennium, along with over 50 % of all worldwide types."

Worst-case situation, if it goes out of aspect, progressively, the group as we know it would disappear. Team tendencies for foods would increase beyond where it already is, more and more of worldwide population, (including humans) would die off. Amazing removing would be the end outcome.