Introduction to Cybercrime and Environmental Laws and Protection 1

Chapter 7
Man and environment

At the end of this chapter the student should be able to:

• Define Environment
• Understand the Composition of Natural Environment
• Explain the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
• Explain the Drivers-Pressure-State-Impact-Response
• Determine Causes

Man and environment are inter-related. The environment influences the

life of human beings and also human beings modify their environment as a result
of their growth, dispersal, activities, death and decay etc. Thus all living beings
including man and their environment are mutually reactive affecting each other
in a number of ways and a dynamic equilibrium is possible in between the two,
ie. human beings (society and environment are interdependent.

The different social structures like industrial, agricultural, religious,

aesthetic etc. have developed during various stages of human civilization and
these structures represent human being's accumulated cultural resources based
on natural environment.

If the natural environment helped in the development of different

structures of the society on the one hand, the existence and quality of
environment now rests on the responses of these social structures to the
environment on the other hand.

The burning issues like quality of environment, disruption of earth's

natural ecosystem, environmental degradation and pollution, ecological
imbalances, depletion of resources etc. can be approached and solved only after
considering the value judgments which may be determined by taking into
account the consequences of environmental improvement program on the entire
 Introduction to Cybercrime and Environmental Laws and Protection 2

society and society's response towards the improvement program. Actually all
these depend on the interest and desire of the society in improving the quality of
environment.

The interaction between environment and society depends largely on the

social and political system. Even the capitalistic and socialistic systems
perceptions and reactions to the environment are quite different. The differential
interactions are due to uneven distribution of natural resources, uneven
economic and social development, dissimilarity of demographic factors, varying
view points of the governments and individuals towards environment etc.

Continuous and exceedingly increasing rate of rapacious exploitation of natural

resources, industrialization, technological growth, unplanned urbanization and
profit-oriented capitalism by the developed western world are responsible for
grave environmental crisis and ecological imbalance not confined to their own
countries but to the whole world.

The socialistic system of government gives more emphasis on the social

importance of natural resources and environmental problems and the urgent
need to tackle, these problems. Marxism preaches to organize society's control
over the rapacious exploitation of natural resources and to develop harmony
between man and nature. The emphasis on rational exploitation of natural
resources and ecological balance was in the constitution of USSR.

The changes in the relationship between man and environment depend

upon the change in organization and attitude of society. To improve
environmental standard and to maintain ecological balance, the followings are
some issues before the present civilized society.

1. Rapid population explosion: Puts tremendous pressure on the natural

resources and environmental quality. This is due to the fact that
population growth leads to poverty which directly or indirectly declines
the environmental standard.
2. Rational use of non-polluted water resources: The restoration of water
quality of our water bodies and their optimum uses are the challenges
before the present society.
3. To sustain and increase agricultural growth: Without damaging
environment. The over cultivation of soil, results in nutrient deficiency,
lack of organic matter, soil salinity and damage to physical structure of
the soil.
 Introduction to Cybercrime and Environmental Laws and Protection 3

4. To check soil erosion: The soil erosion can be prevented by the

restoration of land or soil resources which are directly or indirectly
related to strategies for the management of land, water and forest.
5. Restoration of forest resources: The forest resources are depleting at a
very faster rate in order to meet growing need of timber and farmland for
the increased population. Vast forest areas have been converted into
barren waste lands. So, it is the need of the present society to restore our
forest resources possibly through social forestry and afforestation
programs.
6. To check pollution: The overexploitation of natural resources,
intervention of bio-geochemical cycles and trace element cycle,
extraneous release of matter and energy etc. cause serious environmental
hazards.

In addition, continuous green-house gas emission, hazardous chemicals of

industry and agriculture, nuclear arsenals: radioactive wastes and
biotechnological misuse lead to global catastrophism. So, the prevention of
pollution is of prime importance for the present society. Considering the above
issues, it is clear that the fate of human being depends on how he is managing
and overcoming the above problems

Meanings of Environment

Descending from the Middle French preposition environ *around,"

environment, in its most basic meaning, is "that which surrounds." When
preceded by the and unmodified, it usually refers to the natural world ("please
don't litter if you care about the environment"). In a less physical, more
extended sense, it may signify the circumstances and conditions that make up
everyday life ("He grew up in a loving environment.") The word may also be
applied in highly specialized ways, denoting, example, "the position of a
linguistic element" ("how g gets pronounced in Italian depends upon its phonetic
environment") or a computer interface from which various tasks can be
performed" ("the app works in varied environments").

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.
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Environment is the sum total of all surroundings of a living organism,

including natural forces and other living things. Both biotic and abiotic
components form environment. These two components interact with each other
and they are interdependent. The environment consists of the interactions
among plants, animals, soil, water, temperature, light, and other living and non-
living things.

Environment Can Be Categorized as:

1. Built Environment
2. Natural Environment
3. Social Environment

Built Environment

The term-built environment refers to the human-made surroundings that

provide the setting for human activity. The built environment encompasses
places and spaces created or modified by people including buildings, parks or
green spaces and supporting infrastructures, such as water supply, or energy
networks, transportation systems etc.

Built environment is shaped by:

1. Climate and geology

2. Economy
3. Government
4. Culture and fashion
5. Technology
6. Customers

Natural Environment

The natural environment includes all living and non-living things occurring
naturally on Earth. Natural environment is often used as a synonym for habitat.
For instance, when we say that, the natural environment of giraffes is the
savanna.
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Composition Natural Environment

1. The Lithosphere: The lithosphere is the rigid outermost shell of a rocky

planet defined on the basis of the mechanical properties.
2. The Hydrosphere: The hydrosphere refers to the combined mass of water
found on, under, and over the surface of the planet Ocean, rivers, lakes,
ponds and as a whole all the water body of the earth.
3. The Atmosphere: The atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases surrounding
the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere
protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the
surface through greenhouse effect, and reducing temperature extremes
between day and night.
4. The Biosphere: The biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems. It can
also be termed the zone of life on Earth a closed system and largely self-
regulating. The biosphere is the global ecological system integrating all
living beings and their relationships

Social Environment

The social environment refers to the immediate physical and social setting
in which people live or in which something happens or develops. It includes the
culture that the individual was educated or lives in, and the people and
institutions with whom they interact. The interaction may be in person or
through communication media, even anonymous or one-way and may not imply
equality of social status. Social environment includes culture, language, social
condition, health, profession, living condition, economic capability of the people
in a certain area

The Three Types of Environmental Adaptations

The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus originated the theory that things
are constantly changing - and the saying, "The only constant is change," is
attributed to him. This is the situation in the natural world organisms inhabit.
Organisms need to find ways to adapt to conditions that are gradually or
suddenly different from pre-existing ones. If they don't, they die. The types of
adaptations are categorized by observable or measurable means, but genetic
change is at the basis of all adaptations.
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Adaptations

Organisms, from microbes to plants and animals, inhabit environments that

can change to become drier, hotter, colder, more acidic, darker and sunnier with
an almost infinite number of variables, Organisms with genetic advantages, such
as a mutation that helps them survive the new conditions, pass down the change
to descendants, and it becomes prevalent in the population to be expressed as
an adaptation

The three basic types of adaptations, based on how the genetic changes
are expressed, are structural, physiological and behavioral adaptations. Most
organisms have combinations of all these types

I. Structural

An organism's environment shapes its appearance through structural

adaptations.

II. Physiological

Based on body chemistry and metabolism, physiological adaptations

usually don’t show from the outside.

III. Behavioral

Adaptations that affect how an organism acts are called behavioral

adaptations.

Some possible ways of tackling the problem and maintaining environmental

standard

1. Taking effective measures for population control.

2. Optimum use of natural resources.
3. Conserving and protecting biodiversity.
4. Creating public awareness about the benefits and implications of
environment.
5. Giving top priority for environmental protection.
6. Developing ecofriendly technological processes.
7. Promoting sustainable agriculture which will not harm the environment.
8. Using bio-fertilizer or ecofriendly fertilizers.
 Introduction to Cybercrime and Environmental Laws and Protection 7

9. Using minimum number of pesticides and insecticides.

10.Developing waste land by adopting afforestation programs.
11.Developing suitable biotechnology to clean up hazardous wastes in the
environment.
12.Choosing suitable technique to treat the pollutants before their discharge
into environment.

Human-Environmental Interactions

Human Environmental Interactions can be defined as interactions between

the human social system and (the "rest" of) the ecosystem.

Human social systems and ecosystems are complex adaptive systems

(Marten, 2001). Complex because ecosystems and human social systems have
many parts and many connections between these parts. Adaptive because they
have feedback structures that promote survival in a constantly changing
environment.

Human social system

In order to analyze Human Environmental Interactions, it is important to be

aware of specific characteristics of the human social system. The type of
society strongly influences people's attitude towards nature, their behavior and
therefore their impact on ecosystems. Important characteristics of human social
systems are population size, social organization, values, technology, wealth,
education, knowledge and many more. Especially values and knowledge strongly
influence peoples view of life and consequently define the way people act. The
choice of possible actions is then limited by the available technology.

People modify the environment for their purposes and obtain benefits
(Ecosystem Services) from it. These Ecosystem Services are essential for
human well-being and include for example the provision of resources like water,
timber, food, energy information, land for farming and many more. Obviously by
using these resources people affect the environment in a lot of ways
Furthermore people often reorganize existing ecosystems to achieve new ones
that seem to be more effective in serving their needs.
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Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

MA analyzed how Ecosystem Services and constituents of human well-

being are interlinked. The MA research programme was launched with support
from the United Nations in 2001.

Coevolution and Coadaptation

The terms coevolution and coadaptation describe the never-ending

process of mutual adjustment and change between human social systems and the
environment. People actions have consequences on the environment. But also,
the environment influences human activities. Human social systems have to
adapt to their specific environment. Natural phenomena like storms. earthquakes
force people to react. These natural phenomena can either be directly or not
primarily caused by human actions and again influence human behavior as
people have to respond to a new situation.

Drivers-Pressures-State-Impact-Response

The Drivers-Pressures-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) model was

originally developed by the European Environmental Agency (EEA) and is used
to assess and manage environmental problems. Many national and European
institutions adopted this conceptual framework. It identifies the various causal
chains of links between human activities and environmental degradation.

The model distinguishes several categories of indicators in order to

explain how the state of the environment is changed due to human activities.
Human activities increase or mitigate pressure on the environment. The driving
forces which initiate human activities are mainly socio-economic and socio-
cultural forces.

Causes:

1. Human overpopulation
2. Overconsumption
3. Technology
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Mass extinction, defaunation, and decline in biodiversity

Ecological collapse
Biodiversity generally refers to the variety and variability of life on Earth,
and is represented by the number of different species there are on the planet.
Since its introduction, Homo sapiens (the human species) has been killing off
entire species either directly (such as through hunting) or indirectly (such as by
destroying habitats), causing the extinction of species at an alarming rate.
Humans are the cause of the current mass extinction, called the Holocene
extinction, driving extinctions to 100 to 1000 times the normal background rate.

Habitat destruction

A habitat is the natural place where plants, animals, or other organisms

live; it is where they call home. This is the living area necessary for an
ecosystem to remain healthy. Destruction means to change something so much
that it can no longer exist as it once was. So, when we put the two definitions
together, we get: habitat + destruction = a home to species that has been
changed to the point it no longer exists.

Habitat destruction occurs when enough change has happened to an area

that it can no longer support the natural wildlife. This change can actually be in
many forms, including destruction, fragmentation, and degradation. But no matter
how it happens, the plants, animals, and other organisms whose habitat has been
destroyed no longer have a home.

Another important term to know is ecosystem. An ecosystem is a group of

species that interact with each other in a living area. This living area is
necessary for their survival as a healthy ecosystem. This lesson describes
types, causes, and effects of destroying this living area

Types of Habitat Destruction

There are different types of habitat destruction that can occur. Three
main types are actual destruction, fragmentation, and degradation. All three
types of habitat destruction can be just as lethal. Some take longer to completely
destroy a habitat and some Destroy the habitat instantly. In this lesson, you will
learn about what causes these different types of habitat destruction.
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Causes of Habitat Destruction

Picture a bulldozer pushing its way through the woods, creating flat open
land so that a wooded area can be turned into a subdivision or office building. As
the bulldozer is knocking down trees, it is also crushing grasses and packing the
ground super tight. The bulldozer is not only killing the trees and other plants
that it is running over, but it is killing the living area of multiple species This is
just one example of habitat destruction, known simply as destruction.
Destruction is instant and the species have little to no e to adapt. The animals
must move if they are to survive at all. ants must adapt to the newly compacted
land or find a way to disperse their seeds elsewhere.

Another example of instant destruction to habitats is when humans fill in

wetlands. We fill in wetlands usually to construct other buildings, such as work
spaces or houses. Sometimes it is the law that if you are filling in a wetland in
one area, then you must create a new wetland area somewhere else. However,
wetlands are home to some of the most diverse ecosystems and many species
are destroyed in this process. Mowing fields and cutting trees are other
examples of instant habitat destruction.

Land degradation

Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical

environment is affected by a combination of human-induced processes acting
upon the land. It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to
be deleterious or undesirable. Natural hazards are excluded as a cause; however
human activities can indirectly affect phenomena such as floods and bush fires

This is considered to be an important topic of the 21st century due to the

implications land degradation has upon agronomic productivity, the environment,
and its effects on food security. It is estimated that up to 40% of the worlds
agricultural land is seriously degraded

Desertification is a type of land degradation in which a relatively dry area

of land becomes a desert, typically losing its bodies of water as well as
vegetation and wildlife. It is caused by a variety of factors, such as through
climate change (particularly the current global warming) and through the
overexploitation of So through human activity. When deserts appear
automatically over the natural course of a planet’s life cycle, then it can be
called a natural phenomenon; however, when deserts emerge due to e rampant
 Introduction to Cybercrime and Environmental Laws and Protection 11

and unchecked depletion of nutrients in soil that are essential for it to remain
stable, then a virtual «soil death» can spoke of, which traces its cause back to
human overexploitation. Desertification is a significant global ecological and
environmental problem with far reaching consequences on socio-economic and
political conditions.

Disaster mitigation

Disaster mitigation measures are those that eliminate or reduce the

impacts and risks of hazards through proactive measures taken before an
emergency or disaster occurs. One of the best-known examples of investment in
disaster mitigation is the Red River Floodway.

A mitigation action is a specific action, project, activity, or process taken

to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from hazards and
their impacts. ... The actions to reduce vulnerability to threats and hazards form
the core of the plan and are a key outcome of the planning process.

Mitigation - Ways To Reduce Damages From Future Disasters

✓ Develop and rehearse a family disaster plan-what to do if you are forced

to leave home.
✓ Include a communications plan-how to contact each other if you become
separated.
✓ When severe weather threatens, turn on your radio to a local station to
stay informed of imminent danger.

Purpose of Mitigation

Mitigation is a critical component of the EIA process. It aims to prevent

adverse impacts from happening and to keep those that do occur within an
acceptable level. Opportunities for impact mitigation will occur throughout the
project cycle.
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Importance of Mitigation

People also play an important role in reducing the impact from disasters
by understanding their own risks and taking actions to minimize potential
damage from hazards before they occur. Taking proactive steps to reduce risk,
also known as mitigation, helps reduce damage to homes and businesses and
prevent loss of life.

Significance of Mitigation

Mitigation is significant in the following ways: It helps in preventing loss

of lives during disasters. It helps in controlling economic damages and losses to
property. It helps in minimizing the long-term after-effects of a disaster that
have their impact on society.

Reference:
Introduction to Cybercrime and
Environmental Laws and Protection

PCol Adelene Maghinay Florendo, PNP (Ret)

PSSgt Rizza Ruth Maghunay Florendo