MEANING OF

ENVIRONMENT,
ECOLOGY,
ECOSYSTEM
 Conservation of nature and natural
resources.
 Conservation of biological diversity.
 Control of environmental pollution.
 Stabilization of human population and
environment
 Social issues in relation to
development and environment.
“ environment is derived from the French
word “environ” which means
“surrounding”. It is a complex of many
variables, which surrounds man as well
as the living organisms.
 Itincludes water, air and land and the
interrelationships which exist among
and between water air and land and
human beings and other living
creatures such as plants, animals and
microorganisms (Kalavathy, 2004)
“ an ecosystem is the ecological unit
consisting of biotic factors (living) and
abiotic factors (non-living) in a
specific area. For example forest,
grassland, dessert, aquatic etc.”
 environment literally means
surrounding and everything that
affect an organism during its lifetime.
 Environment is the sum total of water,
air and land interrelationships among
themselves and also with the human
being, other living organisms and
property”.
 Inother words it includes all the
physical and biological surrounding
and the interactions.

 Thus environment is actually global in

nature, it is a multidisciplinary subject
including physics, geology,
geography, history, economics,
physiology, biotechnology, remote
sensing, geophysics, soil science and
hydrology etc.
 DEFINITION OF ECOLOGY
 1866 Ernst Haeckel: The comprehensive
science of the relationship of the
organism to the environment
 1927 Charles Elton: Scientific natural
history
 1963 E.P. Odum: the study of the stucture
and function of nature.
 1972 C. J. Krebs: the scientific study of
the interactions that determine the
distribution and abundance of organisms
 taken from Greek words OIKOS =
“HOUSE” LOGOS = “the study of”
 The scientific study of relationships in
the natural world. It is the study of the
interactions of organisms with each
other and their environment.
 According to A.G. Tansley (1935), “ An
ecosystem is the ecological unit
consisting of biotic factors (living) and
abiotic factors (non-living) in a
specific area.
 Abiotic
› ( non-living) Sunlight, water,
temperature, soil, chamical,
proteins, Carbohydrates, Fats,
Minerals.
 Biotic
- (living) Producers/autotophs,
Consumers/heterotrophs,
Decomposers
 Producers;they are chlorophyll
bearing, self-nourishing organisms,
which prepare organic compounds
from inorganic raw materials, through
the process of photosynthesis e.g. all
green plants.
 Consumers: They depend on the
energy, produced by the producer.
Different categories of consumer are
herbivores, carnivores and omnivores.
 Decomposers: they attack on dead
animals, producers etc. and convert
the complex organic compounds,
locked in to them in to simpler
compounds ( by the process of
decomposition and disintegration)
and then recycle all the nutrients
back. For example bacteria and
Fungi.
METHODOLOGY OF
ENVIRONMENTAL
STUDIES
 Define the meaning of Environmental
Ethics, the role of educational
institution in environmental education,
environmental education and mass
media
 Discuss the different foci of
environment ethics, the components
of environment and thee role of mass
media in education.
 Environment is everything that is
around us. It can be living or non-living
things. It includes physical, chemical
and other natural forces. Living things
live in their environment. They
constantly interact with it and adapt
themselves to conditions in their
environment. In the environment there
are different interactions between
animals, plants, soil, water, and other
living and non-living things.
 It is the discipline in philosophy that
studies the moral relationship of
human being and also the value of
moral status of the environment ant its
non-human contents.
(Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
1. Anthropocentric- human centered –
the environment has value only for what
it can provide for us.
 Instrumental value- the environment
has value because it helps people to
reach some end
 Food, shelter, clothing, medicine,
entertainment
 Ecosystem Services- are the processes
by which the environment produces
resources that we often take for
granted such as water, timber and
habitat, and pollination of native and
agricultural plants.
 Moderate weather extremes and their
impacts
 Disperse seeds
 Mitigate drought and floods
 Protect people from the sun’s harmful
ultraviolet rays
 Cycle and move nutrients
 Protect stream and river channels and
coastal shores from erosion
 Detoxify and compose wastes
 Control agricultural pests
 Maintain biodiversity
 Generate and preserve soils and
renew their fertility
 Contribute to climate stability
 Purify the air and water
 Regulate disease carrying by
organisms
 Pollinate crops and natural vegetation
 in the 1990’s group of ecologist
attempted to estimate the monetary
value of ecosystem services, estimates
range from 18-52vtrillion dollars, mean-
33 trillion, equal to 1.8 times the GDP
of the USA.
2. Bio centric Ethic- views all life as
possessing intrinsic value.
 Intrinsicvalue- aspects of the
environment have inherent value just
because they exist an individual bio
centric ethic recognizes intrinsic value
in every living thing.

- A holistic bio centric ethic recognizes

species or aggregates of living things, so
some argue that is not possible to have
holistic approach because “species”
are not living.
 Land Ethic- Leopold (1939) thought
that ethics direct individuals to
cooperate with each other for the
mutual benefit of all. –He argued that
this ‘community’ should be enlarge to
include non-human elements such as
soils, water, plants and animals, “or
collectively the land”.
 “Land is community is the basic
concept of ecology, but that land is
to be loves and respected is an
extension of ethics.”
 Land ethics reflects the existence of
an ecological conscience, and this in
turn reflects a conviction of an
individual responsibility for the health
of land.
 Stewardship Ethic – claims that they
have superior intellect; it is ethically
correct that humans act as stewards
of the land.

- To use earth to provide our needs, but

we need to do so in a sustainable
manner. – Sustainability Ethic
 Deep Ecology- core principle is the
belief that, like humanity, the living
environment as a whole as the same
right to live and flourish.
- Describes itself as “deep” because it
persists in asking deeper questions
concerning “why” and “how” and thus it
concerned with the fundamental
philosophical questions about the
impacts of human life as one part of the
ecosphere, rather than with a narrow
view of ecology as a branch of biological
science.
 Environmental Education- is the
process by which people develop
awareness, concern and knowledge
of the environment and learn to use
this understanding to preserve,
conserve and utilize the environment
in a sustainable manner for the benefit
of present and future generations.
 Environment mainly consist of
atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere
and biosphere.
 But in can roughly divided into two
types such as (a) microenvironment
and (b) macro environment. It can
also be divided into two other types
such as (c) Physical and (d) biotic
environment.
 Micro Environment refers to the
immediate local surrounding of the
organism.
 Macro Environment refers to all the
physical and biotic conditions that
surrounds the organism externally.
 Physical environment refers to all
abiotic factors or conditions
 Biotic environment includes all biotic
factors or living forms like plants,
animals and macro-organisms
 in 1977, the goals of environmental
education were agreed in the Tbilisi
Declaration at the intergovernmental
Conference on environmental
education held at Tbilisi. They were
amended at UNESCO meetings in the
Asia-Pacific region in order to capture
the notion of sustainability.
 The three goals of Environmental
Education agreed upon are:
 to foster clear awareness of, and
concern about, economic, social,
political and economic
interdependence at local, regional,
national and international/global
levels;
 Toprovide every person with
opportunities to acquire the
knowledge, values, attitudes,
commitment and skills needed to
protect and improve the environment;
 Todevelop and reinforce new
patterns of environmentally sensitive
behaviour among individuals, groups
and society as a whole for a
sustainable environment.
 AWARENESS- to help social groups and
individuals acquire awareness and
sensitivity towards: “ the environment
as a whole, and; “issues, questions
and problems related to environment
and development.
 KNOWLEDGE- to help individuals,
groups and societies gain a variety of
experience in, and acquire a basic
understanding of what is required to
create and maintain a sustainable
environment.
 ATTITUDES-to help individuals, groups
and societies acquire: “ a set of
values and feelings of concern for the
environment, and “ the motivation to
actively participate in protection of
the environment.
 SKILLS- help individuals, groups and
societies acquire the skills for:
identifying, anticipating preventing
and solving environmental problems.
 Participation- to provide individuals,
groups and societies with an
opportunity and the motivation to be
actively involved at all levels in
creating a sustainable environment.
 “environmental education provides
important opportunities for students to
become engaged in real world issues
that transcend classroom walls. They
can see the relevance of their
classroom studies to the complex
environmental issues confronting our
planet and they can acquire the skills
they’ll need to be creative problem
solvers and powerful advocates.”
Environmental
Education benefits
students, schools, and
our larger world.
Environmental Education benefits
students by..

1. Improving academic achievement. EE

improves test scores by providing
students with engaging lessons about
the natural world that can be applied
to all subject areas and grades.
2. breaking the indoor habit. EE offers an
antidote to the plugged-in lives of
today’s generation, which is the first to
grow up indoors. Children who
experience school grounds or play
areas with diverse natural settings are
more physically active, more aware of
good nutrition, more creative, and more
civil to one another.
3. Improving Student Health. EE gets
students outdoor and active, and helps
to address common health issues in
children today, such as obesity,
attention deficit disorder, and
depression.
4. Supporting STEM. EE offers an
engaging platform for gaining and
applying knowledge and skills in
science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM).
5. Meeting the 21st Century Needs. EE
emphasizes skills essential for
succeeding in tomorrow’s world, such
as questioning, investigating, defining
problems, analysing, interpreting,
reasoning, developing conclusions, and
solving problems.
6. Cultivating Leadership Qualities. EE
emphasizes cooperative learning with
others, critical thinking and discussions,
and a focus on action strategies with
real-world applications.
7. Improving Focus and Cognition. EE
increases the ability of students to focus
and improves their cognitive abilities.
Children with attention deficit disorder
also benefit from more exposure to
nature- the greener a child’s everyday
environment, the more manageable
are their symptoms.
“ Right now, in the second decade of
21st century, preparing our students to
be good environmental citizens is some
of the most important work any of us
can do. It is for our children, and our
children’s children, and generations yet
to come.”- US Department of Education
Secretary Arne Duncan, Sept. 2010.
Environmental Education benefits school
and educators by…
1. Creating Enthusiastic Students. EE
offers opportunity for rich, hands-on real
world and authentic learning across the
curriculum. This relevance to students
lives engages and inspires them more
than traditional pedagogy.
2. Fostering Innovative Teacher-
Leaders. EE gives educators the
confidence to take students outdoor
and to design more dynamic,
interactive learning experiences that
spark students engagement.
2. Addressing Academic Standards. EE
offers an engaging way to meet the
content and skill identified in Common
Core State Standards in English
Language Arts and Mathematics, as
well Next Generation Science Standards
and C3 Framework for Social Studies
 Saving Schools Money. When students
investigate and take action to improve
the environmental performance of their
school buildings and grounds, they often
cut cost in electricity, water, waste
management, and more.
3. It is estimated that by 2030, the world
population of 7 billion will demand twice
as many resources as the planet can
supply (The Economist). Environmental
education equips learners with the
knowledge, skills, and motivation to
address complex environmental
challenges in the 21st century.
Environmental Education Benefits the
Larger world by…
1. Fostering healthier Schools. EE
empowers students to lead the way in
creating greener and healthier learning
environments inside and outside their
school buildings.
2. Supporting Sound Decision-Making. EE
ensures citizens are informed about
sound science and equipped to make
decisions that are critical to ensuring the
US and greater world have the natural
resources on which our economy and
quality of life depend.
3. Contributing to Sustainability. EE builds
the knowledge and skills needed to
address complex environmental issues,
as well as take action to keep our
natural world healthy, our economies
productive, and communities vibrant.
4. Conserving our Natural Resources.
Higher levels of environmental
knowledge correlate significantly with a
higher degree of pro-environment and
conservation behaviour. The more
people know, the more likely they are to
recycle, be energy efficient, conserve
water, etc.
1. Nature knows best.
2. All forms of life are important.
3. Everything is connected to everything else.
4. Everything must go somewhere
5. Ours is a finite earth
6. Nature is beautiful and we are stewards of
gods creation
7. Environmental issues
 The greenhouse effect
 Ozone
 Water pollution
 Air pollution
 Solid waste management
 Deforestation
 To control these overwhelming
changes, we must inculcate certain
changes like the famous three, reuse,
recycle and reduce along with creating
clean energy, afforestation, defending
endangered animals and fostering
sustainable communities.
Mass Media- comprises the institutions
and techniques by which specialized
group employ technological devices like
press, radio, television, computer films,
internet etc. to disseminate knowledge to
larger heterogeneous as well widely
dispersed audience. Mass media is a tool
for the transfer of information, concepts
and ideas to both general and specific
audience.
 To inform
 To educate
 To entertain
 Print Media- composed of newspaper,
community newsletter, wire services,
magazines, and other publications.
 Electronic Media- is the media that
one can share on any electronic
device for the audience viewing, and
it is broadcasted to the wider
community
 InteractiveMedia- normally refers to
products and services on digital
computer- based system which
responds to the user’s actions by
presenting content such as text,
moving image, animation, video,
audio, and video games,
PARIS
AGREEMENT ON
CLIMATE CHANGE
 strengthen the global response to the
treat of climate change by keeping a
global temperature rise this century
well below 2 degrees Celsius above
pre-industrial levels and to pursue
efforts to limit the temperature
increase even further to 1.5 degrees
Celsius.
 The agreement aims to strengthen the
ability of countries to deal with the
impacts of climate change. To reach
these ambitious goals, appropriate
financial flows, a new technology
framework and an enhanced
capability building framework will be
put in place, thus supporting action by
developing countries and the most
vulnerable countries, in line with their
own national objectives.
 Theagreement also provides for
enhanced transparency of action
and support through a more robust
transparency framework. There will be
a global stock take every 5 years to
assess the collective progress towards
achieving the purpose of the
Agreement and to inform further
individual actions by parties.
 The Paris climate agreement, also
referred to as Paris climate accord,
Paris climate deal or Paris agreement
is a pact sponsored by the United
Nations to bring the world’s countries
together in the fight against climate
change.
 Participating nations made a holistic
pact on Dec. 12, 2015, in Paris, France,
to adopt green energy sources, cut
down on greenhouse gas emissions and
limit the rise of global temperatures.
 Under the agreement, every country has
an individual plan (or “Nationally
Determined Contributions”) to tackle its
greenhouse gas emissions).
 The US also pledged 3 billion dollars to
the Green Climate Fund, which helps
developing countries adapt and
mitigate practices to fight climate
change.
 The overall agreement asks
developed countries to provide 100
billion dollars to the fund.
1. the world as a whole agreed on a
path forward. 196 nations signed the
Paris Agreement, the first time – since
climate change rocketed to the top of
the list of global issues – that the world
has agreed on a path forward.
2. the Paris Agreement is a turning point.
The agreement “signals the turning point
in the road to a low-carbon economy”,
a road paved by continued innovation
in the technology, energy, finance, and
conservation sectors.
3. the Paris Agreement was years in the
making. When negotiations to address
climate change failed in 2009, countries
walked away with a better sense of how
to make an agreement work. Using past
failures as a guide helped launch a
“bottoms up” approach in which each
country set its own goals, enabling the
Paris agreement to work for everyone-
the best way to ensure change.
4. the deal asks any nation signing it, of
which there were 196, to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and to
regularly increase their ambitions. The
agreement requires that ratifying
nations “peak” their greenhouse gas
emissions as soon as possible and pursue
the highest possible ambition that each
country can achieve.
5. countries will aim to keep warming
well below 2 degrees Celsius, and for
the first time to pursue efforts to limit
temperature increase to 1.5 degrees C.
The nations involve in COP 21 agreed
upon and required that they would all
work towards making sure the Earth’s
temperature doesn’t rise above 2
degrees C.; this degree change is
usually agreed upon as being the
tipping point to preventing massive
effects of climate change.
6. Ratifying countries can independently
decide on how to lower their emissions. This
is a big deal: previous attempts at a climate
deal required that similar measures be
adopted by all signing parties. However,
because economies, cultures, and nations
differ so greatly, a common denominator
was hard to determine and, therefore,
achieve. Allowing ratifying countries to
determine the best way forward for them,
individually, galvanized support for the
agreement.
7. the Paris Agreement has aspects that
are binding, and aspects that are not.
Some elements of the agreement- such
as requirements to report on progress
towards lowering emissions are binding.
However, some elements are non-
binding, such as the setting of emission-
reduction targets.
8. the Paris Agreement calls out the
power of nature – specifically forest – to
reduce climate change. “the Agreement
affirms the important role that
ecosystems, biodiversity, and land use
can play in reducing greenhouse gas
emissions and helping communities and
countries reduce risks and adapt to
climate change impacts. It also promotes
sustainable management of land, which
can range from conserving and restoring
forest to improving agriculture”. – Duncan
Marsh
9. investing in nature is clearly a smart
way forward for combatting climate
change. The conservancy is well
positioned to create major strides in how
healthy ecosystems can protect people
from the effects of climate change. In
fact, our science-based methods have
been informed this work for decades.
10. you can make a difference. What
the world did by ratifying the Paris
Agreement was truly inspiring, but you
don’t have to be a diplomat, or
scientist, or politician to make
difference. Sign our pledge that calls on
world leaders to keep their promise for
action on climate change.
 what is the overall mission?
 What is each country responsible
for?
 When did the agreement enter
into force?
 How many nations are part of the
accord?