Vegetation and wildlife Impact Assessment

Summary

Dr. Sushmita Bhaskar's module MEVE001 delves into environmental impact assessment, focusing on vegetation and wildlife. It discusses the threats posed by human activities to these resources, the importance of vegetation in biogeochemical cycles, and the alarming rate of wildlife loss. The module outlines techniques for impact assessment, including biological surveys, indicators, and mitigation strategies, emphasizing the need for conservation to ensure environmental and ecological sustainability.

Takeaways

• 🌳 Dr. Sushmita Bhaskar introduces herself as a specialist in environmental studies, focusing on the impact of human activities on vegetation and wildlife.
• 🌿 The rapid growth of the human population is causing significant stress on the environment and its resources, affecting both plants and animals.
• 🐾 Anthropogenic activities such as fishing, hunting, deforestation, and urbanization are major threats to vegetation and wildlife resources.
• 🌐 By 2150, the global population is expected to reach 10 billion, exacerbating issues like global warming, food scarcity, and environmental health.
• 🌱 Vegetation is crucial for life as it regulates biogeochemical cycles and serves as a habitat and energy source for wildlife, playing a critical role in the biosphere.
• 🐊 Environmental degradation and pollutants can lead to a decline in biodiversity, with an estimated 50% loss of wildlife in the past 40 years.
• 🔍 Biological concepts and terms like biological assessment, biological survey, and biological indicators are essential for analyzing environmental impacts.
• 🏞️ Reference sites provide a benchmark for assessing the biological condition of surveyed sites, representing natural conditions undisturbed by human activities.
• 🛠️ Impact assessment helps in decision-making to ensure projects are environmentally and socially sound, identifying and evaluating potential impacts of development activities.
• 🌳 Baseline studies are crucial for understanding how a proposed project might change the existing environmental conditions and for predicting and monitoring impacts.
• 🔎 Biotic assessment uses the presence, condition, and abundance of various species to determine the health of an ecosystem and assess environmental impacts.

Q & A

Who is the speaker in the module MEVE001?

The speaker is Dr. Sushmita Bhaskar, working in the discipline of environmental studies at the School of Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi.

What is the main focus of the module MEVE001?

The module focuses on environmental impact assessment, specifically discussing the impact on vegetation and wildlife.

What are the main anthropogenic activities threatening vegetation and wildlife resources mentioned in the script?

The main anthropogenic activities mentioned are fishing, hunting, ecosystem fragmentation, deforestation, gathering firewood, overgrazing, and human settlement.

What is the expected human population by 2150 according to the script?

The script suggests that by 2150, the human population is expected to reach an alarming level of 10 billion.

How does the script describe the role of vegetation in the biosphere?

The script describes vegetation as a most copious biotic element of the biosphere, playing a critical role in regulating biogeochemical cycles, being a primary source of oxygen, and serving as a habitat and energy source for wildlife.

What is the estimated percentage of wildlife lost in the past 40 years according to the script?

The script estimates that 50 percent of the total wildlife has been lost in the past 40 years.

What are biological indicators in the context of environmental impact assessment?

Biological indicators are a group of organisms that can be employed to assess the condition of an ecosystem or environment, providing insights into the health of the ecosystem based on their presence and condition.

What is the purpose of impact assessment in environmental projects?

The purpose of impact assessment is to help in decision-making, ensuring that projects and programs are environmentally and socially sound and sustainable, by identifying, predicting, and evaluating the foreseeable impacts of these activities.

What are some of the mitigation measures mentioned in the script for the conservation of flora and fauna?

Some mitigation measures mentioned include preservation measures like land purchase or conservation easements, management practices like controlled grazing and pollution control, restoration efforts like reforestation and wetland creation, and compensation like purchasing lands of comparable habitat size and quality.

How does the script explain the process of selecting alternatives for addressing environmental impacts?

The script explains that alternatives for addressing impacts should be identified through brainstorming, stakeholder dialogues, and surveys of similar impacts. Innovative solutions should be encouraged and assessed for their cost and benefits, considering socioeconomic and ecological expertise, and public participation.

What is the importance of baseline studies in environmental impact assessment according to the script?

Baseline studies are important for understanding how the system might be changed by the proposed project. They provide information about the existing conditions and the components of biodiversity that may be affected, establishing a foundation for impact prediction, monitoring, and evaluating the success of mitigation measures.