Sustainable Architecture

Prof. Avlokita Agrawal

Department of Architecture and Planning
Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee

Lecture – 06
Environmental Impacts of Development: Impacts on water

Good morning. Welcome to the second week of the course on Sustainable Architecture and I
am your instructor Doctor Avlokita Agarwal; Assistant Professor at Department of
Architecture and Planning, IIT Roorkee. In the week one, we have seen the historical
development of sustainability as an idea, as a philosophy. We have seen the historical events
which have led to the understanding of sustainability as it is today. We have talked about the
different visionaries of their times who in some way or the other have worked towards
enhancing or strengthening the idea of sustainability or sustainable development through the
course of their works.

We have also seen different definitions of sustainability and sustainable development as they
are being discussed in today’s times and how they have evolved. In this week, we will be
talking about the different problems of development, urban development or human made
development and how it is impacting the natural environment. From this lecture onwards we
will see the impacts of development on natural environment through different elements.

Natural environment is primarily consisted of five basic elements; water, air, earth, space and
fire or energy. Water being one of the most important element of natural environment is also
available in limited portions, limited proportion on our planet earth. It is one of the very basic
life lines and earth is habitable only because it has water on it. It has water which we can
drink and life can flourish.

However, the development which humans have made have impacted the water bodies, the
water sources on earth in a severely negative manner. Let us look at some of the impacts on
water.
(Refer Slide Time: 03:02)

One of the major impacts on water as an element is the shrinking of water bodies across the
world.
(Refer Slide Time: 03:11)

There are several areas like this one in California which have been converted to barren lands
or deserts; every subsequent year because of lack of rain, lack of precipitation.

Now, this lack of precipitation itself is because of many reasons. It is because of the lack of
forest cover, plants which help in bringing rains, which help in creating the humidity required
for the rains precipitation to happen. Or it may also be because of the way development has
taken around these areas which has blocked the streams, the channels of water which are
reaching a certain area certain land.

But such sites are very common across the world where huge areas of land are gradually
converted into barren land or gradually becoming desertified deserts.
(Refer Slide Time: 04:17)

This is another picture of Rye Path Dam in the year 2014 where there was no water in the
dam reservoir for the dam to operate for supplying downstream. And such was the case in
many many other water bodies in other parts of the world.
(Refer Slide Time: 04:45)

This particular image was taken from the October issue of National Geographic Magazine in
2014 which shows boats crowding a marina in a large reservoir lake Oroville north of
Sacramento in California. That particular year was a severely draught year in US; especially
in California and water bodies had reduced greatly shrinked in size.
(Refer Slide Time: 05:12)

This is a view of Shasta lake in California when it was full yet; not full, but it was 65 percent
below the historic average.
(Refer Slide Time: 05:28)

Again, the picture has been taken from National Geographic Magazine; this is an image of
Sun City in Phoenix, Arizona where it uses a 336 mile long system of canals and pipelines to
carry water from the Colorado River through the desert.

To only feed this city, the City of Phoenix; Sun City in Phoenix which houses huge
population, large population which further consumes a lot of water which is being brought to
the city from a large distance.
(Refer Slide Time: 06:09)

This particular picture is of Enterprise Bridge which spans the Lake Oroville in Butte County
California and this picture was in July 2011.
(Refer Slide Time: 06:23)

And, this one is the same place in 2014. Look at the devastation to the water body which has
been caused. This is not the current state though it has gradually increased, the water level has
increased and 2014 was particularly a very bad year for the rains.

But the condition is gradually deteriorating. This was a sudden change that is why it was
evident, it was visible; but such changes are happening worldwide across the world.
(Refer Slide Time: 07:02)

This is again Lake Oroville as in July 2011 where it is full to it is brim, people are enjoying.
So, it is not just that water is essential for our survival as a basic need; for drinking and
bathing and all other basic uses. But it is also an important means of recreation for us
rejuvenating ourselves. This is the view of the same place in 2014 where there is hardly any
water left in Lake Oroville.
(Refer Slide Time: 07:34)

(Refer Slide Time: 07:38)

This is the image of Folsom Dam in 2011 and in 2014. We can see huge areas being
inundated initially in 2011.
(Refer Slide Time: 07:58)

And they are gradually revealed towards the 2014 when the water levels have shrunk,
declined. This particular image is of Aral Sea which is an inland sea. In from 1985 to 2009,
the sea a water body as large as a sea; it is called an Aral Sea was totally parched dried up and
it is now available in very small parts as lakes, small lakes.

So, an area which is as large as this has been reduced to these small patches of water bodies.
All courtesy the human development which has taken place around it, the blockages to the
water channels which were initially feeding this Aral Sea which were coming from all these
different sides, different channels. And, they have gradually been blocked up. They have been
blocked up. So, the water is actually not reaching Aral Sea and besides the drying up of this
water body, it has subsequent impacts. People who were thriving because of the fishing
industry, because of fishing in this sea Aral Sea; they have all lost occupation. People who
were cultivating, who were using the water of the sea and the farmland which was around this
sea is no more there. People are not farming there anymore because there is no water.

The quality of land has totally changed from Greenland to a totally dried up desert like
situation is there.

(Refer Slide Time: 09:50)

This is how water bodies are shrinking. This is just one of the examples. There are several
such examples, if you go to Bangalore; the famous Vrindavan gardens and the dam on
Krishna River. An entire temple and an entire community was submerged because of making
up of this dam which again revealed itself, because there were no rains and there was no
water in the reservoir.
So, much so that an ancient temple got revealed again, which has been taken out and rebuilt
on the banks of the reservoir, such examples are ample. They are available in plenty and what
is that leading us to. It is leading us to a crisis of portable water; water which is fit for
drinking and human use. There is less and less of rainfall across the world and hence our
water bodies are shrinking. Cities which were once built on the banks of rivers, no more can
draw water from these rivers and that is something which is a cause of worry for governments
across the world.

And as water bodies shrink, it is not just the quality of life which deteriorates. It also creates
socio political problems. Wars will be fought on water in the coming times because that
becomes a commodity. There will be countries, nations fighting over a resource as precious as
water. Because rivers are uncontrolled, and people will fight to gain the control of these water
bodies if this shrinking of water body continues at the same pace. Patrick Geddes; when he
advocated for a regional plan, it implied taking care of all the elements together in a plan in
planning.

However, till today we have not been able to do that as he advocated. That is why such a
devastating state, devastated state of water bodies, the availability of water across the world.
The second impact on water has been through pollution of water bodies. These water bodies
are of two types; one underground aquifer and surface aquifer, surface water bodies and
pollution has reached both of them underground as well as surface aquifer. Now the pollution
to these water bodies could be a further two types. It could be a point source pollution which
is originating from one point or it could be a non point source pollution which is almost
everywhere, either ways the water body is contaminated. And it is not only unfit for portable
use or human use, but it also stops supporting the ecosystem. The other life forms; aquatic
life, marine life and all other life forms which thrive through the water body because humans
still consume a smaller part of, smaller portion of this water.

There are several causes to this water pollution, how these aquifers are getting polluted,
contaminated. One of the major causes of this is sewage. Almost everywhere across the world
traditionally we have dumped our sewage into water bodies, into flowing rivers eventually
converting them to drains, large drains. Huge rivers as large as Yamuna which is originating
from Glacier which is a perennial river which will not dry up, has been converted to look like
a drain and that is one of the biggest rivers I am talking about. Smaller rivers have totally
disappeared. We do not know whether there was a river at one point of time.

You go to any city; Gwalior for example, has a huge nala, huge drain which is passing
through the city which was at one point of time; a river named as Subarnarekha. People do
not even know if a river ever existed. The city was actually on the bank of a river and such is
the case with almost all water bodies because they have been totally contaminated. And the
reason is; our growing population, we are more in number as Ramchandra Guha puts it and
we are creating more and more of waste. Instead of disposing it properly, instead of treating
it, we have taken to a very simple mechanism of just throwing our sewage waste into rivers.

(Refer Slide Time: 15:14)

Another cause a very serious of nature is dumping of industrial waste into water bodies. This
industrial waste contains chemicals and heavy metals and these chemicals and heavy metals
totally poison or disrupt the aquatic life. They poison they the; they poison the aquatic life.
They enter they taken up by fish, the fish further enters our food chain. It is part of the food
chain and humans are poisoned by the; these chemicals and heavy metals which have already
entered the system through pollution of water. There are several such examples and events
instances of this pollution entering into the human food chain and affecting human life from
across the world; for example, this event of 1938 where a Japanese factory discharged a
significant amount of mercury into Minamata Bay.

And which contaminated the fish stock there. And it does not get highlighted, it does not
come to the limelight immediately because the impact the effects are so subtle that it takes
decades, years to come to the forefront and get recognized. So, it is it got recognized much
later and by that time it had already done the damage to the human life form.
(Refer Slide Time: 16:58)

This is one of a very distressing pictures where all the fish suddenly died, and an entire water
body was rendered dead. Because all the life form suddenly died because of the
contamination which was dumped into it through the industrial waste and such have been
cases plenty of them.
(Refer Slide Time: 17:30)

Another cause is alien invaders. Now alien invaders in itself is not a cause, it is the result of
an activity like dumping of chemicals or excessive use of chemicals which have then got
washed off and entered into a water body. And then an alien invader enters into that aquatic
system. Now what is alien invader; alien invader is actually an animal or a plant from one
region which has introduced itself into another region.

Now in this new region which is for example, a polluted water body which is getting a lot of
excessive fertilizer being washed into it ; because excessive fertilizer is being used in the
farmlands today. Now there is a lot of nutrition which is available for this new animal or plant
species. Now this plant species or animal species will start to grow stronger because it can
thrive on the nutrition additional nutrition which is being supplied. And in that process, the
population of this one specie grows beyond the limit while it did not even belong to that
ecosystem. And thereby eating up on all other parties to that ecosystem, all other life forms;
plants or animals and thereby creating an imbalance in the system.

(Refer Slide Time: 19:02)

And so, gradually none of the other life forms would survive, but only this life form which
also may in the end totally eradicate get extinct from that water body; for example, this water
hyacinth. You must have seen this kind of image in several of the water bodies. Now water
hyacinth is an alien invader. It is not native. Why is it there in this water body? Because there
is a lot of nutrition available, because the sewer is being dumped.

Now, sewer is rich sewage is rich in nutrients and water hyacinth takes up all that nutrition. It
grows many fold, it multiplies very fast and it covers the surface of this entire water body.
Because of covering of this entire water body, because of water hyacinth the growth of water
hyacinth. The water beneath, the water body is devoid of sunlight and it also takes up all the
oxygen. It is getting a lot of oxygen from the environment and it takes up all the BOD and
there is no sunlight which is penetrated in. So, all the life form which is beneath in this water
body will stop getting the nutrition, the sunlight, the oxygen which initially it was getting.
And the water body eventually terms is turned dead; there is no life in it.

Gradually the water hyacinth when the nutrition which it requires is not there, it will also
become dead and the entire water body is then dead.

(Refer Slide Time: 20:57)

Another major cause is dumping of plastic.

(Refer Slide Time: 20:58)

We are seeing distressing images like this. Lot of aquatic life like this turtle are dying because
of the plastic which is flooding our oceans and other water bodies. They are dying, they are
getting paralyzed, they are their bodies are getting mutilated simply because we are dumping
plastic. And some way or the other this plastic when disintegrates enter into the bodies of this
these aquatic life forms comes back into the human food chain.

And we are also getting affected because of it.

(Refer Slide Time: 21:41)

Another major cause, specially in India is religious ceremonies. We have this faith in
immersing our idols into the water. Earlier, originally the way these idols were created; they
were created out of unburnt clay and only organic colors which would derived from nature
were used on these idols. Now gradually as the times changed, more and more idols were
required for celebrating these religious ceremonies, because we are more number of people.
Now families or artists who were creating these idols, took a lot of time in creating these
idols; because unburnt clay takes a lot of time to dry up and also the natural color takes a lot
of time in its processing, making.

So, to replace that labor intensive process, people started using materials, alternative
materials. So, instead of unburnt raw clay, they started using plaster of Paris. They started
mixing gypsum, cement with the clay or sometimes making an entire idol out of plaster of
Paris. And instead of making natural colors, they started using synthetic paints, which are
chemical based on to these idols. And it was very fast, because POP would set within half an
hour, and it would with the help of a cast.

One family which was earlier able to produce only 5 to 10 idols in a season was able to make
100 or 200 idols in a season; thereby increasing its his profit, the profit of the family, earning
of the family, but in turn totally contaminating or polluting the water body. So, it is a change
in culture which has led to the pollution contamination of the water body.

(Refer Slide Time: 24:05)

Another major cause across the world is oil spills. Because of our lifestyle changing lifestyle,
we need more and more of fuel oil for our day to day running of life. These oils are procured
out of some or the other oil field which leak and there are spills somewhere or the other in the
world.
It is not only affects the other life forms, but is it also affects people in those areas. There are
cases where communities are fighting for their rights because their fields have been inundated
by oils, the spilled oil. Their cultivation, their primary occupation has been ruined. People are
struggling for their own life because there are a lot of new diseases which they have been
exposed to and in turn the economy has gone down. So, initially communities who were
getting benefited economically out of setting up of an oil field in their communities, gradually
have their economy totally devastated; not able to survive because of a nexus, because of this
whole chain of events.

So, oil spill has been another major cause of water pollution.

(Refer Slide Time: 25:47)

Another cause though relatively smaller in proportion, but it is impact is often much larger
and at times goes unnoticed for years and decades before its it comes to surface is dumping of
radioactive waste. There have been cases where industries have dumped their radioactive
waste in water bodies and which has then created significant amount of effect negative impact
on human life and all the aquatic life downstream.

(Refer Slide Time: 26:31)

Another cause is washing away of nutrients, excessive nutrients which are being used in our
farmlands these days. This excessive washing away of nutrients causes alien invaders to enter
into the system and then eat up all the oxygen of the water body and turn it into a hypoxic
system. These are some of the images where algae as an alien invader, not an alien invader it
belonged to the system, but it increased it swelled in such proportions that that it renders the
entire water body hypoxic. And the water body eventually becomes a dead zone.
(Refer Slide Time: 27:22)

If we look at the world, there are many many dead zones across the world right now. And if
these causes or solution to solutions to these causes are not found out, there will be greater
damage to the water bodies, water systems of the world. And it would be very difficult for the
human kind mankind to survive. The third impact is of altering water cycle. Besides shrinking
water bodies and polluted water bodies, there is an impact on the water cycle itself. All these
three are connected to each other. In fact, everything that is the fundamental of sustainability
that everything in the world is connected to each other.

If we do something here, it has an impact on rest of the world though it may not be evident
immediately. So, the water cycle is altered. When water cycle is altered because of one of the
human activities, it has an impact on the size of the water bodies and water bodies shrink.
Once they shrink, they have a lesser capacity to carry the pollution, the contamination, the
waste and they become easily become polluted. So, all these three are interrelated. Let us see
how the water cycle is being altered.

(Refer Slide Time: 28:56)

But before we understand how water cycle, or any other cycle is being altered we have to
follow a systematic approach.

The first of it is accounting; we have to first know where things are, how much of that
particular component is stored in the ecosystem in which place. Once we have known that, as
on date it is in current state of time current moment then we go on to see cycling. How things
are moving from one state to the other state and how this entire cycle is going on. And
simultaneously; we also talk about, we also understand the controls which determine how the
system is functioning and what are the factors that are driving that cycling.
So, now let us look at how all these three steps would be taken care of or understood in terms
of water cycle and then we will see how water cycle is altering here.

(Refer Slide Time: 30:07)

So, first of all it is accounting. If you look at 100 percent of the total water which is available
on earth, only 2.5 percent of the water is available in surface aquifers and underground
waters. Rest of it 97.5 percent is in oceans which cannot be used by humans for consumption.
Out of that 2.5 percent, a large portion is logged in ice caps and ice glaciers.

They gradually melt and become available to us in the form of water bodies. A large part of
that 2.5 percent is also available as groundwater underground and only 0.014 percent is
available in terms of surface water bodies, lakes, rivers and also the soil moisture of the
topsoil. Now if we look if actively, we just have around 20 percent of 2.5 percent of water
which is portable available to us for consumption. Now this is accounting; we know we are
talking when we are talking of contamination, we are talking of this just minute minuscule
portion of this entire water body water which is [Link] are contaminating groundwater as
well as we are contaminating groundwater as well as the lakes and the rivers, the other water
bodies.

And it is hardly 1 percent of this total water which is available.

(Refer Slide Time: 32:03)

Now, how is the cycling happening? All of us have seen this water cycle right from our
school classes. So, we know how water which is stored in surface aquifers say oceans and
lakes and rivers gets evaporated. This evaporation is then transferred and then it precipitates
to come back to the land as well as water body as portable water. Part of it this water actually
percolates down the earth ground, part of it is also taken up by plants which further add to the
evaporation through transpiration. This ground water is available in terms of soil moisture;
part of it takes form of rivers and surface water bodies and as part of this groundwater goes
back to the oceans. This is how largely cycling is happening.

Now, once we have understood how a cycle what a cycle is taking place if it is not altered,
this is what it is. However, if we look at it in current scenario; when we cut down these trees
we have less of transpiration here. Less of transpiration implies let us less of precipitation
here ; that is one. Second, the water which is available as groundwater because we require
more of it is then brought out to the surface. Now this is reducing. So, this groundwater is
actually going down. We are consuming more and more of it and that is now the waste water
is now being dumped into surface water bodies even oceans.

So, the quality of water though the overall quantity may remain the same, following the basic
scientific principle of the mass of anything remaining constant at any given point of time.
Though the quality of this water is going down, it is reducing. So, we have less of portable
water available in surface aquifers, we have less of groundwater available in surf underground
water, we have less of precipitation which is further leading to several other problems which
is interconnected. We have less of vegetation, less of precipitation supports lesser vegetation
and vice versa.

So, we have totally altered this water cycle and there is the final impact is that we have less
and less of potable water available. While at the same time, the water which gets capped as
glaciers here and which reaches rivers and then oceans, this overall quantity is going up. Now
this is non potable water. So, we have potable water quantity getting reduced and we have
non potable water quantity which is increasing further causing leading to a lot of problems.
Now how will it be driven. So, we have to look at the controls. So, we have to see how the
cycle is getting altered through the controls; first and foremost of which is human
consumption.
(Refer Slide Time: 35:44)

The human consumption if we look at historic data from 1950s to 1980s has increased at
almost four times across the world and specially in developed countries like US.

Our traditional values especially in India where water was abundantly available; we have
many many rivers and surface aquifers which were available for us, and our practices of
conservation of water have gradually given the way to a more wasteful practice of consuming
water. And that is why more and more of portable water is being consumed, used up and also
the groundwater which is potable water and hence the groundwater table is going down. In
several places it has gone down to double the depth of what it initially used to be. So, the
areas are becoming parched, they are becoming deserts.
(Refer Slide Time: 36:54)

The second control is temperature. Because of human activity, the global temperature is
increasing. We have more and more of greenhouse gases being emitted into the atmosphere
because we are consuming the fuels, we are burning the fuels. Our lifestyle is more dependent
on energy, different forms of energy. Conventional fuels like coal and diesel, petrol, kerosene
and also electricity even when it is coming from a lot of renewable energy sources, but our
lives are becoming more and more dependent on them. Now all this together and also a
wasteful lifestyle ; all this is leading to global warming, rise in temperatures. Now this rise in
temperature is melting the glaciers.

Now, water; potable water which is stored in the form of ice caps and glaciers is melting and
it is reaching the sea. So, this melting of glaciers is causing sea level rise. It is also causing
the rivers to flow at an increased pace at some point of the time in the year and at other times
the flow is greatly reduced. So, there is no prediction or there is no continuity of the flow. So,
certain areas are suddenly flooded because of this overflowing river and sometimes the areas
which are otherwise fed by these rivers are forced to face draughts they are pushed.

(Refer Slide Time: 38:44)

Because of this increasing temperature, this is the state currently; the glaciers are melting. As
the climate change report has also pointed out.

Kilometers and kilometers of glaciers have become water bodies, or they have become the
flat lands.
(Refer Slide Time: 39:04)

And it is not just one, but almost all the glaciers. Very recently, I think last year my students
from sustainable architecture went on for a trek trip to one of the glaciers in Uttarakhand. And
the glacier had shifted, drifted back 14 kilometers from what it initially was almost three
decades back. So, in three decades the glacier had drifted back 14 kilometers. Now 14
kilometers and it is like thousand square kilometer of area which was initially a glacier has
totally disappeared.

Now, it is not feeding the rivers anymore, it is not available for people as potable water. That
is the state almost everywhere.
(Refer Slide Time: 40:05)
(Refer Slide Time: 40:12)

We can talk about any glacier and scientists are now recording how and at what pace the
glaciers are receding, they are going back.
(Refer Slide Time: 40:16)

Now, all these melting glaciers are resulting in the rising sea levels. The water because it is
constant the overall quantities constant, is now shifting from the ice caps and glaciers to these
sea levels. And several nations are under the threat of getting submerged because the water is
increasing like an entire nation of Mauritius.

(Refer Slide Time: 40:48)

This is the state and if another one meter sea level increases, several coastal areas across the
world will totally be submerged. We can very clearly see how the lines are shifting. Houses
which were right on the bank, right on the shore of the sea because the shore was anyway
probably here, they have all shifted back and this shifting is will continue it will continue.
(Refer Slide Time: 41:15)

This particular map very clearly shows that these areas were once land.

And this is further continuing. If the sea levels continue to rise, more and more of the land
will become submerged and will not be available for human habitation. We anyways have
less for the given population as we have today.
(Refer Slide Time: 41:47)

These are rising sea levels will also have an impact on the oceanic conveyor belts which are
the regulatory mechanism of the oceans. And they regulate the entire water body of on earth
because the seas which are cold in one part of the world and warm in the other part of the
world are regulated. And they support they help the sea life, aquatic life to thrive because of
this conveying of temperature and water from one place on earth to the other place.

Now, this would have an impact on the amount of food which will be available for us
humans. So, as I said in my very first lecture, we are not worried about anybody or anything
else on earth. We are only worried about our own survival. This is what all of this is leading
to. The third control, when we are talking about the altering water cycle is land use changes.
(Refer Slide Time: 42:55)

Now, this land use change is further reflected in the form of the temperature; global
temperature. But these are the changes; deforestation, increased runoff because we have more
and more of built up areas which are there. Places which used to have forests or if not forests
just barren land which helped to absorb water which helped water to percolate down to the
ground, now are being paved and they are leading to the increased runoff.

Now, this runoff water is going to rivers, channels, stream which are eventually going and
meeting the sea somewhere. So, we have less and less of potable water getting into the
ground. That is for the causing the land to become infertile and barren desertified and this
increased runoff is also leading to excessive nutrients in the water bodies. Now all these we
have seen leading to some or the other problems of water bodies.
(Refer Slide Time: 44:10)

If you look at this particular chart, all the changes which are happening in built environment
whether we are talking about of urbanization, we talking of impervious surfaces, we are
talking of movement of people or energy use, all of it through some way or the other is
leading to a biodiversity loss.

And this biodiversity loss is eventually a loss of human beings, human life. We may not see
those changes that impact coming directly, but it is actually leading to a loss of human life in
the time to come. Once we have understood the these three components, we will have
understood how the water bodies are getting impacted. It is not just water body, we have
almost all other natural cycles getting impacted.
(Refer Slide Time: 45:06)

Whether it is nitrogen cycle; we are cutting down more and more of trees which were able to
fix the atmospheric nitrogen and fix it in the form of nitrites and nitrates and de compose,
used for decomposition and hence further help our crops, our agriculture and farming to be
better.

Because of loss of this vegetation, the entire nitrogen cycle is altered; also because of the
emissions, the human activities. For example, cement industries. Huge industries which
directly emit and there is a lot of nitrogen which is released because it gets fixed. So, we have
more nitrogen in the atmosphere than which is fixed underground which is taken up by plants
and utilized. The nitrogen cycle is totally altered and there are severe impacts of this altered
nitrogen cycle.
(Refer Slide Time: 46:09)

And this nitrogen cycle alteration is again affecting the human built environment;
environment for us. It is acidifying the soils and water bodies, it is altering the forests and
grasslands, it is decreasing the atmospheric visibility. There are elevated ozone concentrations
leading to further health problems and global warming, acid rain, decreased agricultural
productivity and many more.
(Refer Slide Time: 46:38)

Same as with carbon cycle, there are alterations in carbon cycle which are there. There are
more and more of fossil fuels are being taken out for our consumption. There are less of trees,
the trees are being burnt which are the stores of carbon. Now all this is has already led to an
alteration of carbon cycle where more and more of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbon
in general is available in the atmosphere. While earlier, it used to stay fixed underground.
That is what all this alteration in carbon cycle is doing. So, these are the impacts which are on
natural cycles because of human activities and some way or the other some or the other
human activity is responsible for it.

In the next lecture, we will talk about the impact of human development, urban development
on land as natural part of the natural environment. That is all for today in this lecture. See you
tomorrow with the next lecture.
Thank you.