ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND NEED FOR SUSTAINABILITY

The environment is just the natural world that surrounds us. Our environment provides us with everything we need: air, food, water and all the natural resources needed to build our civilization and keep it running. Environmental degradation is a decline in the quality of our environment. Degradation of the environment is caused due to various direct and indirect activities. Population explosion, urbanization, industrialization, deforestation, solid and hazardous waste and even natural events like natural calamities can cause environmental degradation. Environmental degradation, including depletion of renewable and non-renewable resources can be significant source of stress upon societies.The non-renewable resources are depleting in a much faster rate than ever before. If the present rate of production and utilization continues, it is estimated that within the next 25 years, all the resources would deplete completely. Thus it is required to manage and conserve the natural resources. A sustainable way of management and conservation is necessary. It is important to save the resources for the future generations, without compromising with our present needs. It is important to analyze the impact of depletion of resources and degradation of the environment. This paper is an honest attempt to analyze the need of resource management. This paper emphasizes the sustainable ways of conservation of water resource, land and soil conservation, regulation of use of non-renewable resources and biodiversity conservation. Management of the natural resources would lead to a proper distribution and equal benefits from the resources, instead of being concentrated in the hands of a few. This paper is an attempt to find sustainable ways to conserve the environment and biodiversity