- The early hunter-gatherers expertly controlled their environment to ensure that future resources were not depleted. Agriculture, on the other hand, has had a noticeable impact on the environment. The environment was heavily exploited in industrial society. Industrialization outperforms permanent agriculture in terms of environmental impact. People lived in small communities for the most of human history, and population growth was sluggish.
- The average growth rate increased quickly as a result of industrialization and medical advancement. Other species, as well as the air, water, and soil on which we and other forms of life rely, were severely harmed by the rapid increase in population numbers.
- The health of an individual is affected by genetic, behavioural and environmental influences. Disease represents a maladjustment of human beings to their environment.
- Since the individual of a community share a common environment, their health problems are generally common. Therefore, these are investigated and healthcare is planned at the community level.
- Most natural calamities like earthquakes, floods, droughts, and cyclones cannot be predicated in advance and when they occur they cause great loss of life and extensive damage to property and infrastructure. Natural calamities have been occurring from times immemorial but of late the damage caused has become qualitatively and quantitatively more.
- Under certain circumstances development can increase disaster proneness. The location of a dam in an area of high seismic activity, the construction of roads in difficult terrains or unstable geomorphologic conditions and promotion of water intensity crops in areas of unpredictable rainfall are examples of development measures dictated by policies of globalisation leading to or aggravating the phenomena of natural calamities.
- In spite of the absence of predication mechanisms to pinpoint the location, the timing and intensity of natural disasters, the preparedness, management, the pre and post operative mechanisms help in the mitigation of people’s suffering and in reconstruction mechanisms.
- It is well known that both natural and human made disasters force people to move out of their lands.
- Strategies for rehabilitation and resettlement for displaced people are in the first place by way of preventive action. Provision of shelter is top priority.
- Taj Trapezium zone, Chipko movement, and Silent Valley movement Narmada Bachao Andolan are a few cases of PIL and people’s movements in India against environmental degradation.
