Environmental Degradation - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics

Abstract

Environmental degradation has been among the most concerning global issues in the 21st century. The aggravation of environmental issues is becoming increasingly more worrisome to the world as it affects multidimensional aspects of a nation in terms of economics, social, and environment. As the global economy continues to develop, reaching an equipoise between economic progression and environmental sustainability is a critical challenge to the world. In light of that, the role of renewable energy (RE) in the environmental sustainability has raised significant concern. The application of RE technologies has advanced to serve a critical role in mitigating the environmental degradation issue. Unlike conventional fossil fuels, REs are sustainable energy sources, and most importantly, they are not as detrimental to the environment as non-REs. As continuous efforts are put into the advancement of RE technologies, it is important to comprehend the principles of the RE–environment nexus. In this chapter, the impacts of RE on environmental degradation, theoretical and literature reviews of the interconnection between RE and environmental degradation, existing policies about RE in the world, case study analysis on the nexus between the two variables, and some policy recommendations alongside the insights of future studies are explored.

22.1 Introduction

Environmental degradation has become a “common concern” for humankind over the past few decades. The distinctive nature of the present environmental problems is that they are caused more by anthropogenic than natural phenomena. Mindless consumerism and economic growth have started to demonstrate pernicious effects on Mother Nature. In spite of this, the pace and desire for economic development have never ceased. It is economics that has dictated environmental policy. Emphasis has been placed on the role of science and technology as a catalyst for integrating ecology with economics. In this process, sustainable development became a buzzword. This concluding chapter delves into the philosophy behind the concept of green/clean development. It argues that the concept of green/clean development is a result of an understanding that is primarily driven by economic objectives. The chapter highlights various economic approaches to address environmental issues. It also critically analyzes the role of technology in sustainable development. Finally, an attempt has been made to highlight socio-legal issues associated with the process of phytomanagement. Sincere efforts have been maintained to sustain a scientific overtone in writing, as per the requirement of the book. However, the author of this chapter claims the privilege to express his limitations of not being formally trained in science and technology.

Abstract

Environmental degradation is an alarming issue in the planet. The main reasons behind the problem are industrial revolution and population explosion and high demand of luxury items in the life. Presently, lack of proper education, awareness, knowledge and approach of people towards environment degrades the nature and its resources. Thus, sustainable development appears to be a doom stay approach for various countries across the globe. There is a need of hour to develop a strong environmental education (EE) system with the responsiveness of human towards the nature for sustainability and environmental security. United Nation and various countries are taking active steps in this aspect to develop collaboration with the society. Various initiatives in the form of awareness campaigning and community development programmes are running across various countries of the globe in this connection. This chapter focusses on the major emphasis of EE programmes towards sustainability to develop the awareness and perception on the environmental issues among the students, researcher, policymakers and society. However, success stories rely on the concept of public participation, awareness and knowledge to gain environmental security. Proper policy and planning in-terms of locality and sector-specific approaches are required very much at the present moment. Further the potential role of women along with recognizing traditional culture needs to be recognized for successful implementation of EE on the earth.

9.1 Backdrop

Environmental degradation and its associated risks in the aquatic environment are escalating in the wake of climate change and human alterations of environmental factors at accelerated rates. Naturally, human and ecological health issues are discussed worldwide for minimizing risk factors and maximizing the resource potential from local to global scales. Aquatic environments and ecosystems cover two-thirds of the Earth and are much more diversified in terms of their functioning (Tadesse, 2018). Marine ecosystems are the largest units of the aquatic ecosystems that face great troubles due to the intensive urbanization, industrialization, and development of coastal tourism at a mass scale as exemplified by Brazil (Gallardo et al., 2021). Moreover, unprecedented growth in the coastal regions violating the coastal regulation acts is posing a threat to the biota and ecological system as evidenced in India (Panigrahi and Mohanty, 2012). Moreover, oil spills (e.g., Zhang et al., 2019), deep sea mining (e.g., Sharma, 2015), and microplastic (e.g., Hasan et al., 2023) are largely inducing serious problems in marine ecosystems worldwide. Similarly, the other forms of aquatic environments like lotic (running water bodies like river) and lentic (standstill waterbodies like lake) freshwater ecosystems are going through pressing conditions in the “Anthropocene” (Dudgeon, 2019). The running water ecosystem like rivers is polluted due to intensive agricultural practices on the riverbeds, application of chemical fertilizer, and discharge of municipal waste directly into the river without any treatment (e.g., Yadav et al., 2022; Hoque et al., 2022). This leads to elevated biological oxygen demand, and lower dissolved oxygen inducing the disruption of the fluvial ecosystems of the world (Sarkar and Islam, 2021). Lake water ecosystem also faces similar problems often at higher scales due to the stagnation of the water (Jeppesen et al., 2015). The quality of the aquatic ecosystem improved substantially due to lesser human interventions at the global scale due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. River water quality (e.g., Dutta et al., 2020; Siddique et al., 2023) and lake water quality (e.g., Mohinuddin et al., 2023) were recorded in better conditions in post-lockdown periods in densely populated regions like India and Bangladesh. Similarly, marine pollution was also controlled to a large extent. However, in a few cases, the discharge of PPE kits into the ocean enhanced marine pollution (Hasan et al., 2023). As soon as the critical phases of the COVID-19 era passed, human interventions started to pollute the environment. Naturally, this pollution tends to threaten aquatic plants, animals, and humans through the biomagnification process (Kelly et al., 2007). Thus, it is imperative to assess the ecological and human health risks in the wake of water pollution.

3 Degradation of xenobiotic compounds by different microorganisms

Until recently, studies were aimed to understand the various enzymatic mechanisms considering the degradation potential of individual microorganisms, studies on the degradation of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (Peng et al., 2008) on pyrene (Gupta et al., 2019) degradation of polychronatebiphenyl (Chang et al., 2013) several aromatic compounds by Cupriavidus necator JMP 134 (Perez-Pantoja et al., 2008) and many more such are available. Burkholderia xenovorans LB400 shows a well-coordinated three benzoate degradation pathways (Denef et al., 2005). Mainly genes found in metabolizing the various central aromatic intermediates have been isolated and identified from Rhizobiales, Actinomycetales, Rhodobacterales, Burkholderiales, Chloroflexales, Pseudomonadales and different other groups of microbes. The pioneer degraders were Methylobacterium sp., Rhodopseudomonas sp., Bordetella sp., Rhodoferax sp., Bradyrhizobium sp., Ralstonia sp., Paracoccus sp., Streptomyces sp., Pseudomonas sp., Strptomyces sp., and Mycobacterium sp.

For the peripheral pathways, the catabolism of several aromatic compounds was identified from Myxococcales, Burkholderiales, Actinomycetalis, Sphingomonadales, Bacillales Pseudomonadales, Rhodocyclales, Enterobacteriales and several different orders of the bacterial phylum. Essentially, Mycobacterium spp., Acidovorax, Rhodococcus spp., Streptomyces sp., Bordetella sp., Methylobacterium sp., Anaeromyxobacter sp., Burkholderia sp., Escherichia sp., Azoarcus sp., Aromatoleum sp., Sphingomonas sp., and Silicibacter sp., were identified mainly for the degradation of xenobiotic, aromatic substrates through the peripheral pathways.

Microbial species from all ecological niches have been identified for degradation of pharmaceutically active compounds (paracetamols, ibuprofen, antibiotics, etc.), viz. environmental strains of Pseudomonas and Bacillus (Singh and Saluja, 2021). Brevibacterium epidermidis has been found to be effectively removing sulfonamides in artificial coculture, whereas Bacillus subtilis was found to be working at the bioreactor scale for the removal of norfloxacin from effluents.

Various microbial forms habitually develop a course of different mechanisms essential for encountering the multiple stresses of the surrounding environment like the occurrence of heterogonous habitats. In different stress forms, the most frequent stress countered by microbes is oxidative stress while performing normal cell metabolic processes and also during the degradation of xenobiotic components. Various studies have been conducted to detect genes like catalase, manganese superoxide dismutase, and peroxidase which may play important role in protecting from several reactive oxygen species and superoxide radical generation. Glutathione S-transferase enzymes are also involved in the metabolism process, degrading xenobiotics as well as different drugs through cytochrome P450. Several genes were detected encoding the enzymes required for encountering the osmotic stress such as choline dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.99.1), choline sulfatases, and L proline glycine binding ABC transporter proteins as well. Aquaporin Z enzymes responsible for choline, betaine synthesis and betaine uptake are recognized.

The collective occurrence of genes for responding to stress like osmotic stress, also reflects the physiological aspects of microbes in adaptation to different salt concentrations. For example, during dye applications and manufacturing processes in textile industries, a high amount of dyes is used, and salts are essentially required too. Microbes have been identified which metabolize these dyes and break them into simpler molecules for their energy generation. These oxidative stress genes help the microbes in the metabolism of several xenobiotic components such as heavy metals, different aromatic compounds, reactive oxygen species, etc. Genes responsible for the degradation of central aromatic components were mainly identified from Burkholderiales, Actinomycetales, Rhodobacterales, Rhizobiales, Chloroflexales and other groups of microbes.

2 What We Can Learn?

The environmental degradation of the Nile Delta is typical of many of the world’s deltas, such as the Mississippi and the Yangtze (Changjiang). The geographic setting of each delta and its watershed results in different spatiotemporal patterns of distribution of hydrological, ecological, and biological indicators for each delta; however, the key biophysical processes of degradation are similar in all deltas and similarly affect their ecology and food chain dynamics, and this in turn impacts mankind. By knowing this, we must work together to generate a better and sustainable future for deltas and mankind.

24.7 Effects of Crude Oil Contamination on the Society

The environmental degradation caused by oil spillage has socioeconomic impacts on the oil-producing communities. This pollution destroys the esthetic values of water bodies. It also affects other qualities of water such as drinking, recreation, swimming, fishing, and domestic use. Eventually, there is loss of aquatic lives, which has a devastating impact on the livelihood of fisherfolk households who solely depend on fishing. Webler and Lord (2010) noted that humans can be affected by oil spills in three major ways: oil can affect ecological processes that cause direct harm, e.g., health impacts from eating seafood with bioaccumulated oil toxins; oil spill stressors can change intermediary processes, e.g., economic impacts on fishers caused by oil spill damage to fisheries; and stressors can directly harm humans, e.g., health impacts from breathing oil vapors. It is therefore important to restore the ecosystem, ensure conservation, and protect human health.

Abstract

As environmental degradation has become a matter of concern in today’s era, immediate action is needed to restore the environment and prevent further downturn. Biochar is an adsorptive carbon-rich organic material produced by converting raw biomass in an oxygen limited environment by pyrolysis. It is a cost-effective systematic method for remediation of environmental contaminants due to its adsorptive property. The adsorption phenomenon is a boon in the field of pollution remediation for eliminating pollutants from the environment. Diverse applications of biochar on soil can improve soil character, increase soil water-holding capacity, and decrease heavy metal contamination in soil, thus improving plant growth and enhancing soil–microbial activity. It contains strong binding properties with metal ions for eliminating soil contamination from environment, while in water biochar enhances remediation by adsorbing pollutants and has the potential to affect the behavior, diversity, and abundance of the microbial community wherever applied. It can affect different groups and types of microbes in water which can upgrade the process of bioremediation. Application of biochar in air shows that it can effectively remove volatile organic contaminants, nitric oxide emissions, and other gaseous contaminants, including remediation of gaseous emissions using biochar beads in the environment. This chapter provides an overview on biochar characteristics, production, its potential effects, and microbial related aspects in environmental compartments (soil, water, and air). This chapter also highlights the use of biochar for remediation in the environment and its applications, along with future perspectives.

6.1 Humåtak Project