Advanced Institute for Research on Religion and Culture (ARRC)

M.Th Ist Year (Hinduism) Sub: Ecology and Indian Religious Traditions
Assignment on: Define the terms “Ecology” and “Environment” and highlight reasons for
ecological crisis keeping in view the environment state of India.
Submitted to: Rev. Dr. Swami Raju
Submitted by: Soloman. S

Introduction:
Ecological Crisis is the disintegration of the earth or deterioration of the environment through
consumption of assets, like, air, water and soil. The destruction of environments and the
eradication of wildlife. Air pollution, water pollution, garbage, and pollution of the natural
environment are all challenges for India. This paper attempts to highlight the main reasons for
the cause of ecological crisis especially keeping in view the environment state of India. Thus
through the paper we can see the definitions of ecology and environment, along with the several
causes of ecological crisis like pollution, deforestation, greenhouse effect etc.
1. Definition of Ecology:
The concept of ecology was developed in the study of religion from the 1960’s onward. The
word ecology (from Greek oikos, “house, habitat,” and logos, “doctrine,”).1
Leonardo Boff, in his book Ecology and Liberation says, “Ecology means the study of the
conditions and relations that make up the habitat (the house) of each and every person and,
indeed, organism in nature.2
According to Haeckel, “Ecology is the study of interdependence and interaction of living
organisms (animals and plants) and their environment (inanimate matter).”3
2. Definition of Environment:
According to Merriam Webster dictionary an Environment is “the complex of physical,
chemical, and biotic factors (such as climate, soil, and living things) that act upon an organism
or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival.”4
3. Reasons for Ecological Crisis in India:
There are several reasons and factors that have affected the ecology of our country. Ecological
crisis have become a matter of huge concern for the environment. There has been drastic
changes in the ecology and the environment because of these Crisis. So we shall look at the
causes for these Crisis, especially keeping in view of the environment state of our country,
India.

1
Ake Hultkrantz, “Ecology”, The Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. 4, Mircea Eliade (ed.) (New York:
Macmillan Publishers, 1987), 581.
2
Leonardo Boff, Ecology & Liberation, A New Paradigm (New York: Orbis books, 1993), 9.
3
Leonardo Boff, Ecology & Liberation…, 9.
4
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/environment, accessed on 04.08.2018.

1
3.1. Pollution:
3.1.1. Air Pollution:
Once we didn’t have distrust to breath air and drink water, but now we fear to breath ‘air’ and
drink ‘water’ due to “pollution”. Surveys show how pollution is affecting the lives of people
who are living in metropolitan cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and
other towns in India. High alert is declared in Hyderabad city about the danger of increasing
ground level “ozone” limits in atmosphere due to vehicular and industrial pollution as per the
recent survey and report of Pollution Control Mandali. Generally it is not harmful, if ozone is
below 100 micro grams in one cubic meter, but it is now 138 micro grams in Hyderabad city.
Many people are suffering from breathing problems due to oxides of nitrogen and hydro
carbines released by vehicles. Every year 6,20,000 people die due to pollution in India.5
3.1.2. Water pollution:
Water pollution is another factor adding to the ecological crisis, because of the huge industrial
wastages dumped in the rivers and lake. Further the life sustaining quality has been lost totally
by many rivers across the country. The study done in 1997 on Yamuna river in Delhi by Sri
Ram Institute of Industrial Research for the popular magazine, India Today, reveals that the
river which functioned as the arteries of life and allowed civilisation to flourish during the past
have become “the Rivers of Death”. The rivers are polluted because of the wastages dumped
into it and dead bodies being dumped in the rivers in the name of rituals. This polluted river
waters used for irrigation have started causing irreversible damage to soil and corps. The crisis
of water has reached critical dimensions and should become the agenda number one on the
ecological front. The deaths due to epidemics like cholera, hepatitis of various strains, dengue,
malaria, plague, etc. are alarmingly increasing.6 This is a very critical issue to ponder, because
the whole humanity is dependent on the availability of fresh water, and it is our main source to
sustain human race in the earth.
3.2. Deforestation:
Forest cover is considered to be a good indicator of the quality of the land. In India, there are
not more than 22% of the country’s land surface is actually under adequate tree cover against
the target of 33% recommended by the National Forest policy of 1952. The poor quality of
India’s forests is clear from the fact of that of the 75 million hectares classified as forests lands
not even half is under adequate tree cover. It has been estimated that about 20 million hectares
of forest land is affected by erosion. Moreover large scale deforestation in recent decades has
exposed sensitive catchment area in the Himalaya and other hilly areas to soil erosion.7
In recent years deforestation has risen to dangerous levels. Deforestation is the clearing the
land of forest or trees. Many people do not even know that this problem exists, although it may
be occurring right in their own neighbourhoods. The effects of deforestation on the

5
T. Swami Raju, Christian Theological Responses, Contemporary Contextual Concerns (New Delhi:
Christian World Imprints, 2014), 92-93.
6
Ipe M. Ipe, “Ecological Crisis and Agenda for Mission,” Ecological Challenge and Christian Mission,
Krickwin C. Marak & Atul Y. Aghamkar (eds.) (Delhi: ISPCK, 1998), 15-16.
7
R. Vijayalakshmi, G. Valarmathi & R. Krishnapriya,
“Ecological Imbalance and Environment Decay,” Climate Change Crisis, Challenges and Options, S.
Annamalai & N. Mani (New Delhi: Serials Publications, 2013), 210-211.

2
environment are numerous. The reduction of forests upsets the entire ecological cycle. The
forests are home to a number of plants and animals. When a forest is cut down, the whole cycle
suffers because; the forests act as a carbon “sink”. That is they help to take in carbon, a
greenhouse gas, and offset its effect on the atmosphere. Also trees and plants on a forest can
help to supply an alternative source of fossil fuels.8
There is overwhelming evidence and consensus that deforestation is one of the major cause for
climate change. In fact, the impacts of climate change are occurring faster than what many
scientists first predicted. An estimated 75 to 80% of global emissions stem from industrial
sources, specifically, the burning of fossil fuels. The remaining 20 to 25% can be sourced to
deforestation emissions, predominantly in the tropics. Both, the burning of fossil fuels and
deforestation, must be urgently and effectively addressed in order to save the world’s
biodiversity and people from catastrophic climate change. At this time, a new opportunity
exists to address the issue of deforestation within the climate change regime.9
3.3 Carbon Emissions and Greenhouse Effect:
David Adam a journalist thus explains the carbon emissions and the greenhouse effect. “Carbon
emissions usually refer to man-made production of a series of gases that accumulate in the
atmosphere and help to warm it. Carbon emissions “trap heat sent from Earth’s surface in a
physical trick (a phenomenon) discovered by Svante Arrhenius in 1896, known as the
greenhouse effect. Sunlight either direct from the sun or reflected back from shiny parts of the
Earth, can pass straight through. But sunlight absorbed by the Earth and re-emitted as thermal
energy, such as tarmac road on a sunny day is absorbed. As carbon emissions build up in the
atmosphere, the amount of heat they trap and send back to the surface increases. This steadily
increases the temperature of the earth’s surface and drives global warming.10
3.3.1. Impact on Environment of Greenhouse Effect
3.3.1.1. Global Warming
Increase of greenhouse gases concentration causes a reduction in outgoing infrared radiation,
thus the Earth's climate must change somehow to restore the balance between incoming and
outgoing radiation. This “climatic change” will include a “global warming” of the Earth's
surface and the lower atmosphere as warming up is the simplest way for the climate to get rid
of the extra energy. However, a small rise in temperature will induce many other changes, for
example, cloud cover and wind patterns. Some of these changes may act to enhance the
warming (positive feedbacks), others to counteract it (negative feedbacks). Using complex
climate models, the “Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change” in their third assessment
report has forecast that global mean surface temperature will rise by 1.4℃ to 5.8℃ by the end
of 2100. This projection takes into account the effects of aerosols which tend to cool the climate
as well as the delaying effects of the oceans which have a large thermal capacity. However,

8
Archana K, “Impact of Deforestation on Climate Change,” IOSR Journal of Environmental Science,
Toxicology and Food Technology, Volume 4, Issue 2 (May. - Jun. 2013): 24, http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-
jestft/papers/vol4-issue2/D0422428.pdf (accessed on 05.08.2018).
9
Archana K, “Impact of Deforestation on Climate Change…, 24.
10
John Desrochers, The Climate Change Challenge (Bangalore: NBCLC, 2012), 33.

3
there are many uncertainties associated with this projection such as future emission rates of
greenhouse gases, climate feedbacks, and the size of the ocean delay.11
3.3.1.2. Sea Level Rise
If global warming takes place, sea level will rise due to two different processes. Firstly, warmer
temperature cause sea level to rise due to the thermal expansion of seawater. Secondly, water
from melting glaciers and the ice sheets of Greenland and the Antarctica would also add water
to the ocean. It is predicted that the Earth's average sea level will rise by 0.09 to 0.88 m between
1990 and 2100.12
3.4. Social Factors
3.4.1. Population:
The rapid population growth and economic development in country are degrading the
environment through the uncontrolled growth of urbanization and industrialization, expansion
and intensification of agriculture and the destruction of natural habitats. One of the significant
reasons for environmental degradation in India could be ascribed to quick development of
population which is antagonistically influencing the natural resources and condition. The
developing population and the ecological weakening face the test of maintained improvement
without natural harm. The presence or the nonattendance of ideal characteristic assets can
encourage or hinder the procedure of economical development.
Population is an important source of development, yet it is a major source of environmental
degradation when it exceeds. Population impacts on the environment primarily through the use
of natural resources and production of wastes and is associated with environmental stresses
like loss of biodiversity, air and water pollution and increased pressure on arable land. India
supports 17 per cent of the world population on just 2.4 per cent of world land area.13
3.4.2. Urbanization:
Urbanization in India started to quicken after freedom because of the nation's reception of a
blended economy which offered ascend to the advancement of the private area. Urbanization
is occurring at a quicker rate in India. Population living in urban territories in India, as per 1901
statistics, was 11.4%. This tally expanded to 28.53% as indicated by 2001 enumeration, and
intersection 30% according to 2011 evaluation, remaining at 31.16%. As indicated by a review
by UN State of the World Population report in 2007, by 2030, 40.76% of nation's population
is required to dwell in urban zones. According to World Bank, India, alongside China,
Indonesia, Nigeria, and the United States, will lead the world's urban population surge by 2050.
Lack of opportunities for gainful employment in villages and the ecological stresses is leading
to an ever increasing movement of poor families to towns. Such fast and spontaneous extension
of urban areas has brought about debasement of urban condition. It has extended the hole

11
Pooja T. Latake, Pooja Pawar & Anil C Ranveer, “The Greenhouse Effect and Its Impacts on
Environment,” International Journal of Innovative Research and Creative Technology, Vol. 1, Is. 3 (2015): 335.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/302899977_The_Greenhouse_Effect_and_Its_Impacts_on_Environme
nt (accessed on 05.08.2018).
12
Pooja T. Latake, The Greenhouse Effect…, 335.
13
Rajiv Chopra, “Environmental Degradation in India: Causes and Consequences,” International
Journal of Applied Environmental Sciences, Volume 11, Number 6 (2016): 1595,
https://www.ripublication.com/ijaes16 /ijaesv11n6_21.pdf.

4
amongst request and supply of infrastructural administrations, for example, vitality, lodging,
transport, correspondence, instruction, water supply and sewerage and recreational pleasantries, along
these lines exhausting the valuable ecological asset base of the urban areas. The outcome is the
developing14
Conclusion:
The primary causes of environmental degradation in India are attributed to the rapid growth of
population in combination with economic development and overuse of natural resources. Major
environmental calamities in India include land degradation, deforestation, soil erosion, habitat
destruction and loss of biodiversity. Economic growth and changing consumption patterns have
led to a rising demand for energy and increasing transport activities. Air, water together with
water scarcity dominate the environmental issues in India. These are some of the major issues
due to which the ecological crisis has risen.

Bibliography:

Boff, Leonardo. Ecology & Liberation, A New Paradigm. New York:

Orbis books, 1993.

Desrochers, John. The Climate Change Challenge. Bangalore: NBCLC,

2012.

Hultkrantz, Ake. “Ecology”.The Encyclopedia of Religion.Vol. 4, Mircea

Eliade (Ed.). New York: Macmillan Publishers, 1987.

Ipe, Ipe M. “Ecological Crisis and Agenda for Mission.” Ecological

Challenge and Christian Mission. Krickwin C. Marak &
Atul Y. Aghamkar (Eds.). Delhi: ISPCK, 1998.

Raju, T. Swami. Christian Theological Responses, Contemporary

Contextual Concerns. New Delhi: Christian World
Imprints, 2014.

Vijayalakshmi, R. G. Valarmathi “Ecological Imbalance and Environment Decay.”

& R. Krishnapriya. Climate Change Crisis, Challenges and Options. S.
Annamalai & N. Mani. New Delhi: Serials Publications,
2013.

Webliography:

Chopra, Rajiv. “Environmental Degradation in India: Causes and

Consequences.” International Journal of Applied
Environmental Sciences. Volume 11, Number 6. 2016.
https://www.ripublication.com/ijaes16 /ijaesv11n6_21
.pdf.

14
Rajiv Chopra, “Environmental Degradation in India…, 1596.

5
K, Archana. “Impact of Deforestation on Climate Change.” IOSR
Journal of Environmental Science, Toxicology and Food
Technology. Volume 4, Issue 2. May. - Jun. 2013. Http:
//www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jestft/papers/vol4-
issue2/D0422428.pdf. (accessed on 05.08.2018).

Latake, Pooja. T. Pooja Pawar “The Greenhouse Effect and Its Impacts on
& Anil C Ranveer. Environment.” International Journal of Innovative
Research and Creative Technology. Vol. 1, Is. 3. 2015.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/302899977_T
he_Greenhouse_Effect_and_Its_Impacts_on_Environm
ent (accessed on 05.08.2018).

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/environment, accessed on 04.08.2018.