Education for Peace and Security

Interrelationship among Population, Environment and Development

2012-10-18T23:03:00.001-07:00

The environment is the source for human beings to receive what they need. Population growth, poverty and economic means and resources are not equal everywhere. In some places, people make the excessive use of natural resources. While carrying on development works, they should not forget the concept of sustainable development. They have to make development model considering the existence of human beings, environment and developmental activities.

The chart given below indicates the interrelation among population, environment and development.

Interrelationship Among Population, Environment and Development

How Population, Environment and Development are Inter-related?

Use of Natural Resources: People must understand the importance of the interrelationship among various aspects of the environment. They use the natural resources in various ways. They make their house on land and obtain food by cultivating it. They bring wood, firewood, herbs, etc. from the forest. They get air and water from the environment. They can fulfill their needs if the interrelationship among the environmental aspects is well-retained. Population growth has caused the excessive exploitation of natural resources. They use land and water to increase production of food grains. Similarly, poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, etc. grow with the increase in population. The per capita use of natural resources also increases. If the expansion of population continues, natural resources cannot fulfill the demand of the people.
Development and Construction Activities: Human beings conduct various development works to meet their aspirations. Development activities should be regularly conducted to satisfy the desire of the growing population. The conservation of the environment must not be stopped while conducting development works.
Economic Development: It is necessary to run various development activities like road construction, increase in agricultural production and industrial goods, exports of ready made goods and others for economic development. Such activities provide employment to the people and help to develop their working skills and performance. It leads the development of person, society and nation. Quality of life of people cannot be improved without development activities.
Socio-cultural Activities: Development activities include physical construction as well as socio-cultural development. People preserve, renovate and innovate their traditions and customs, religious places, temples and monasteries. These development works are related to social and cultural aspects. The preservation, promotion and development of these aspects support the people's cultural progress. The interrelationship among the development works, population and different aspects of the environment should always be managed. Development works must satisfy the need of the present generation without harming the requirement of the future generation.

Development and Development Work

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Introduction to Development
Population denotes the number of people in a certain place and in a certain time. People fulfill their needs by using means and resources from the environment. In fact, development is concentrated towards the fulfillment of human needs and necessities. It is necessary to run developmental activities for the development of a country. By development, we mean, positive and constructive improvement in existing physical human and cultural status.

Development programmes bring gradual change in existing situation. Development causes the progress in social, economic and cultural aspect. It helps not only to fulfill the various needs and necessities but also increases the capability of people to be self-dependent. Human being has vital role in developmental activities because man directs the development towards practical and specific direction. Planned and environment-friendly developments support the environmental conservation. Developmental activities provide security, education health, employment, food, healthy residence, etc. to human being. As a result, people can acquire and utilize rights, live and honorable life and develop their full potentiality with freedom.

Importance of Development Work
Development works are associated with environment. In order to conduct development works, environmental resources such as land, forest, water, minerals, etc. are used. They bestow upon people various types of advantages. Different countries conduct different kinds of development works according to the resources found there. The importance of development works can be described in the following way.

Economic Progress: Development works bring about economic development. Agriculture, industry, electricity generation, road construction, tourism, etc. help to acquire income. Economic development provides job opportunities. Therefore, development works are essential to raise the economic status of the country. Sustainable development work contributes to economic prosperity.
Promotion of quality of life: Development works provide facilities. For example, road construction makes it easy for people and goods to go from one place to another. Building hospitals and health centers provides people health service. Agricultural development improves economic status of the people. It supplies industry with raw materials. Establishment of industries provides employment. In this way, development activities bring economic improvement which helps people to improve their quality of life.
Availability of Essential Goods: Food, clothing, education, health service, drinking water, sanitation, energy, entertainment, security, etc. are people basic needs. The aims of various developmental works are to fulfill these needs.
Environmental Balance: Each country has its own geographical features which influence development and construction works there. Development activities should be conducted in different parts of the country favorable to the place so that each part gets proper facility. Then adjustment of population is easy. Development works use resources like land, water, forest, mineral, etc. Their status should be not spoilt. So, attempts should be made to compensate the loss. New trees should be planted where the old ones are cut down and where the land is barren. Similarly, grass should be grown where landslides occur.
Social Development: Development and construction works are indispensable for social welfare. They encourage people to utilize natural resources like land, water resources, herbs found there. People feel the need for conserving these resources. Development and construction works with the feeling of environmental conservation helps to fulfill social needs continuously. People get necessary things such as food, drinking water, health service, etc. They become self-dependent. There is improvement in their economic status. It makes difference in their life-style. When environment conservation feeling arises in men, they will be involved to conserve it.
Development of Human Efficiency: If development and construction activities are launched in the country, people get opportunities to use their knowledge and skills. Their experience, work, efficiency and job-oriented skills are increased. The development of knowledge and skills of people produce the tendency of maintaining the resources. Other people also gain knowledge and dexterity from it. The development and expansion of human dexterity contribute to national development and environmental conservation.
Development of Technology: Development and construction works are determined by the country's geographical condition, educational status, economic capacity, social condition, national development policy etc. Accordingly suitable machines, means, work style, etc. are developed in the country. Consequently, various kinds of technology and machinery are developed. Knowledge without technology is incomplete. Technological advancement accelerates national development.

Sources of Family Income and Expenditure

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Family Income

Quality life in the family is the symbol of good civilization. All families do not have same type of life style. Some have very high standard of living whereas some have low. It is essential to make the size of family small and increase family income for attaining quality life.

Family income plays a significant role in making the family qualitative. The fact that the larger the sizes of the family, the greater are the needs of the family is an accepted one. That is why, the family income and expenditures are related with happiness and prosperity of the family. Income is the fundamental means for fulfilling the needs and wants of the family. Active labor forces of a family are regarded as sources of income for the family. If these members are efficient, active and productive, income of the family increases. Therefore, active labor forces or productive members of the family should be motivated toward the income generating activities. Moreover, level of education and mental as well as physical capacity of family members always determine their income.

Family Expenditure

The matter of expenditure for family welfare depends on income. Daily needs can be easily fulfilled and additional needs and wants can also be met with. The balance between the income and expenditure of the family can only be maintained when the expenditure does not exceed the income.

Each family makes and estimated budget consciously or unconsciously for expenditure. Estimated budget is prepared to keep balance between expenditure and income. The family usually spends the money that has been set aside for the expenditure. Generally, an estimated detail of expenditures to be incurred in the family is prepared due to the following reasons:

To calculate the actual amount of income and expenditure during a whole year.
To maintain balance between income and expenditure by determining priority of expenditures in accordance with the sources of income.
To save some amount of income for the providence, after fulfilling the needs that have been given priority.

In this way, to maintain the balance between income and expenditures, a family budget should be prepared. Expenditures should be in accordance with the income of the family. But, in many families, family income is not sufficient even to meet the everyday needs.

Cycle of Family Life

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Completion of the family cycle and the growth of family are very sensitive matters of family life education. Family life begins when a person enters the conjugal life. Each couple has different responsibilities in their respective families. The structure, growth and development are the important issues related to family life education.

The family life cycle consists of the following stages:

Founding Stage: The first stage of marital life is founding stage. The period from the day of marriage to the day of having first baby is called starting or primary stage. During this stage, there is love, affection, co-operation, understanding and mutual faith between the couple.
Expanding Stage: Expanding stage begins after the birth of the first baby. This is the stage when couples give birth to the child, take care of it by breastfeeding, immunizing and providing extra food if required. This stage lasts until the child starts going to school.
Schooling Stage: In this stage, the couple sends the child to school, providing it with different training and developing it psychologically. During this stage, parents teach their child how to read and write, encourage the child to assist them in their daily activities and help them to extend the hands of the relationship with their friends.
Launching Stage: This stage begins when parents start to provide the skill oriented trainings, in order to get better job opportunities. This stage lasts until their children get married and start to spend their own conjugal life.
Retirement Stage: This stage begins when children get married and reach the stage of maturation. Parents get rid of their responsibilities towards their children and start to lead such a life that is completely tension free. They get redemption from family burdens. Sometimes, there arises conflict and misunderstanding between the parents and young generation due to ageing.

Objectives and Importance of Family Life Education

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Objectives of family life education
In simple terms, family life education is an educational process that helps in developing physical, social, emotional and moral character of people in relation to the sociocultural aspects of the society. Family life education has flowing major objectives.

To help married couples to have fewer number of children.
To help the youth in learning how to deal with physical, emotional and social changes faced in the process of growing up.
To provide counseling services to the couples planning to have children.
To help the youth in learning how to establish and maintain satisfying relationships with members of the family, with friends and other whom they come into contact with.
To help in the protection and promotion of child and maternal health.
To create favorable environment for population control programmes.
To mobilize youths to spread population education among the people of community.

Importance of family life education
The importance of family life education is summed up in the following points:

Family life education helps the young people to solve family problems.
It helps the youth in their growing stage to know about the social, emotional and physical changes that take place in this stage.
It develops the knowledge about different roles, function and maintenance of family.
It provides knowledge about maintaining good relationship among the members of the family and other people of the society. It helps to make the family happy and prosperous.
It develops the knowledge, values and the skills, which are necessary for adulthood, marriage and parenthood as well as for participation in community life.
It helps to deal with the changes in the adolescents' lives in their society.
It helps them to make wise decision and communicate effectively with others about all matters concerning the social behavior. It makes people aware that they are becoming sexually mature and leads them to understand the sex attitudes and behaviors.

Family life education

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Family life is a very broad concept. It is quite complex as well, full of different responsibilities and duties of the family members, the probable conflicts and crises that arise in the family, generational conflict and many other matters related to family. If the members of the family do not know their duties and responsibilities, then the family condition may turn toward degradation and instead of love, affection and care, violence can be caused. Therefore, the knowledge about various aspects of family life is a must. Family life education is an educational programme designed to assist young generations in their physical, social, emotional and moral development to make them able to cope with temporal changes like adolescence, puberty and ageing, with an objective of living a better family life. In other words, it is a training to young people for being successful parents in the future and to perform their designated roles effectively. It is also taken as protection, reservation and extension of the family.

Family life education is not an education about physiology of reproduction, anatomy and sexuality or an education to prepare successful family members alone; rather it is an amalgam of all these. The major target group of family life education is young generation because on the one hand, they are the future heads to regulate the family. On the other hand, the radical thinking of young people brings fluctuation in family affairs. Family life education is intended to minimize the possible crises in family life. It also trains them to tackle with such problems; provides knowledge about practices, values and attitudes affecting family relations.

It does not simply deal with the physiology of the reproduction, anatomical changes, human development, and sexual behavior. It focuses mainly on assisting people in developing the ability to understand themselves and the society in which they live, to learn to think independently, to work out and clarify their own values and to evaluate and use information effectively in making responsible decisions about their lives.

Family life education refers to a broad program in home, designed to impart knowledge regarding practices, values and attitudes affecting family relationships.

National and Local Biodiversity Conservation Programme

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Programmes for the conservation of biodiversity should be conducted at national, local and individual levels. Organizations and associations too must be encouraged. Conservation programmes can be effectively implemented when there is assistance from all. Some of the major conservation programmes and efforts are given below:

National Park, Reserve wildlife and Conservation Area: National Parks, Reserves and Conservation Area have been established as protected areas in different parts of Nepal. There are 9 National Parks, 4 Wildlife Reserves and 3 Conservation Areas in Nepal. About 18.5 percent of the total area fall under such protected areas including buffer zones. The Wildlife Reserves, Conservation Areas and National Parks are helping to conserve the living beings in in-situ that is, in their original places. The in-situ conservation provides the vegetation, animals and birds the natural environment. Conservation of biodiverity in its original place is in-situ conservation. The in-situ conservation help various species to be conserved in the original site in the protected form. The effort provides the biodiversity conservation. The living beings get proper natural environment, food and habitat there. This is why National Parks, Wildlife Reserves and Conservation Areas have been set up in different parts of the country. Chitwan National Park, Sagarmatha National Park, Rara National Park, She-phosksundo National Park, Langtang National Park, Khaptad National Park, Koshitappu Wildlife Reserve, Parsa Wildlife Reserve, Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve, Annapurna Conservation Area, Makalu-Barun Conservation Area, Gokarna Conservation Area, Nagarjun Conservation Area etc are some examples.
Artificial Conservation Site: The in-situ Conservation is not possible for all types of living beings. If they are not given appropriate natural environment, they become extinct. Therefore, ex-situ (artificial natural environment) should be created for the conservation of disappearing and rare living beings. This type of conservation is known as ex-situ conservation. Thus, the conservation of living things can be done in other favorable places.

Methods of Conservation of Biodiversity

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Considering the importance of biodiversity, it is essential to preserve the biodiversity of each geographical region. The methods of conservation of each region will be different. Various methods can be practised.

The following methods can be adopted for the purpose of conserving biodiversity.

Knowledge of biodiversity: People should have the knowledge on the biodiversity of each on geographical region. The place, habitat and status of the creatures should be found out in order to plan the conservation programmes.
Information on biodiversity: Local people of each region should be given information on biodiversity. After understanding the importance of biodiversity, their role in the conservation programme will be clear.
Public participation: Local organization, village development committee, municipality, community, civic society etc. should be encouraged to participate in the conservation work jointly. They should prepare plans and implement them. Local people should be encouraged to participate in this work. The rules and programme which they make are obeyed well.
Religious value: Various kinds of trees such peepal, banyan (bar), basil (tulasi), bel, lotus (kamal), rudraksha are considered very important in our religion and tradition. Animals like lion, elephant, tiger, peacock, monkey, tortoise, rat etc are religiously important. So, religious and cultural traditions should be utilized for the protection of biodiversity.
Rules and Regulations: Conservation laws are very important for the conservation of biodiversity. So, dissemination of conservation laws among the people is necessary. People should be acquainted with such laws. The laws should encourage local agencies to conduct conservation programmes.
Income generation: We have to make local people knowledgeable through effective means on importance and methods of utilization. The raw materials of biodiversity can be used for income generating activities without degrading them. Therefore, they should not be utilized at random. The people should be trained properly to use them. The income, thus obtained, can be used to raise the living standard to use the community people. Some percentage of income should be spent on biodiversity conservation.
Change in consumption pattern: While using natural resources such as plants, animals and metals, they should use them properly. For this, change of consumption pattern is necessary. We have to use them economically. We have reduce their use as far as applicable. If possible, we have to emphasize on re-use and recycle. We are selfish. Conversational use of biodiversity can certain the conservation of biodiversity.
Develop positive attitude: It is essential for the people to keep beneficial view to the biodiversity. They should be friendly to the biodiversity and not exploit it for their personal gain in the present. They must keep in mind that there are many generations to come and use it for the fulfillment of their need. It will help conservation of the biodiversity.

Some more importance of biodiversity

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Development of Tourism: The mountain, hill and the terai regions have their own types of natural environment and beauty. Different types of plants, trees, fruits, flowers, animals are found in these regions in these regions. Biodiversity is the root of this diversity. There are some important cultural heritages in various places creating beauty. The beauty spots have special importance for observation, study and research. They provide the background for tourism development. They attract to the native and the foreign tourists. The development of Eco-tourism helps the local people improve their economic status.
Economic Development: Biodiversity is the prominent source of food grain and medicinal herbs for survival and raw materials for industry. Development and use of herbs can contribute to the improvement of medical science. Biodiversity provides people different types of goods to conduct various activities. More organic goods can be produced by conserving and promoting biodiversity. Selling and distribution of such goods can support economic development.
Environmental Balance: Environment us related with multiple aspects. It is integrated to biological, natural, social, economic, physical aspects. These are related to human activities in social and cultural fields. Biological aspect is that which keeps the whole environment alive. With the disappearance or destruction of any aspect, the status of biological aspect of environment is distributed. Biodiversity is essential to maintain a balance in the environment.
Function of Natural Ecosystem: Biodiversity plays a significant role in the functioning of natural ecosystem. Different species are its integral part. It helps the natural process like water cycles, food-cycle, flow of energy, recycling of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and other atmospheric gases. It also helps to balance temperature and maintain the fertility of soil. In this way, biodiversity plays an important role in the functioning of human life and other natural ecosystem.
Study and Research: Innovative knowledge and information are basic aspects for the development of biodiversity. Therefore, it is essential to conduct research and study on the different aspects of biodiversity for economic and social development of human beings. The knowledge and skills which are acquired after the study and research should be used to preserve and promote the living organisms on the earth. Biodiversity is a wide area for research on the living beings. The research can be a great contribution to the welfare of human beings as well as other creatures of the world.

Importance of Biodiversity

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Biodiversity is main source to meet the needs of people. Biodiversity is used in human activities related to settlement, life style, social functions and economic activities. The importance of biodiversity can be presented as:

Agriculture Product: The crops like paddy, wheat, maize, barley etc. are the main foods of people. The source of these foods is the agricultural biodiversity. In the ancient time, people brought the useful species from the forest and cultivated to produce food for them then they selected best seeds to get high yield. These processes contributed in the development of best agricultural crops, which are the sources of food for people.
Animal Products: Animals are the source of milk, meat, eggs, labor and other raw materials. Fish is another sources of food. Birds are the beauty of nature. They can be used for food and other purposes. Dogs are pet animals. Some medicines are made by using some animals products. People can conduct animal farming to produce more production. Thus, all of the animal products are the products of biodiversity.
Plant Products: Plants are the sources of food, flowers and raw materials are either obtained from forests or from agricultural land. Industries use leaves, barks, fruits and materials. Several species of mushrooms, medicinal herbs, fruits, vegetables and plant products are collected and marketed. Plants have the economic value in improvement of living standard of the people.
Improvement of Breeds: Animals and plants are used for breeding to produce new varieties. It is for improving their production and quality. Wild animals, birds and other living beings are valuable source that can be used for breeding. This breeding can help to improve the quality of the established domesticates. Within domesticates they can be crossed to generate new varieties in the world. These improved varieties/ hybrids produce high yield of excellent quality.
Conservation of Soil: Land is one of the important natural resources. Soil erosion deteriorates the quality of land. Vegetation is the basic ground that protects the land. The vegetation and plants conserve moisture of the land. Their roots contribute to keep together the particles of soil.
Conservation of Watershed: The vegetation and plants contribute in the conservation of sources of water. Plants absorb water and helps to remain in soil. The plants also speed down the evaporation process. Thus, there is close relationship among the biodiversity, water sources and watershed.
Natural Scene: Nature is full of biodiversity. The plants and animals in the nature have their own habitat and life styles. There is diversity of plants and animals withe the diversity of geographical structure. The diversity of plants and animals keep the beauty of the nature. Thus, biodiversity has contributed to make a most valuable natural scene.

Classification of Bio-diversity

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Generally there are three types of bio-diversity which are given below:

1. Ecosystem Diversity: Ecosystem is the habitat of living beings. Living beings adjust in the ecosystem and survive there. Each organism has it's own heredity character, which helps them to adapt and survive in their habitat. The living beings like animals and human beings of Mountain, Hill and Terai regions have different heredity characters and adaptability. Nepal occupies 0.1% land of the world. The climatic situation, food and habitat determines the survival of living organisms. There are 118 ecosystems in Nepal.

There are various types of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem according to ecological region. Different types of ecosystem are found in Nepal according to ecological characters. Nepal is divided into three ecological regions, namely Mountain, Hill and Terai. The mountain range lies in the north and extends from west to east. Everest, the world's highest peak, is situated here. Hill region lies in between the mountain region in the north and the terai region in the south. It occupies 41.7 percent area of the country. There are mountains, hills, valleys and tars here. There is plain land in the south. It is like strip from Mahakali in the west to Mechi in the east. Each of the ecological regions has a different climate. The terrestrial and the aquatic ecosystem have variation in Nepal because of diversity in topography and climate. Almost all types of ecosystem in the world are found in Nepal except marine and desert ecosystem.

Geographical factors like soil, slope and steepness of land, face and altitudes cause difference in ecosystem. These differences have brought on diversities in the ecosystem of each ecological region. Due to ecosystem, diversity, the vegetation and creatures are of different types in Nepal.

Nepal is rich in wetlands also. In the mountain region, there are high altitude glacial lakes. Similarly, lakes, ponds and swamps are the wet lands found in the hill region. Similarly, there are stream reservoirs, ponds, etc. in the terai region. There wetlands are found from small to large aquatic ecosystems in various regions of Nepal. The wetland ecosystem is very important for the growth and conservation of biodiversity. Because of the difference in land topography, physical and chemical quality of water, there is diversity in vegetation and organisms in the ecosystem of our country.

2. Genetic Diversity: There are some differences in living beings of different kind of vegetation, animals, birds, etc. found on the earth. Genes within nucleus of cells found in hereditary characters of living beings in their off springs. Hence, hereditary characters of living beings contribute to maintain biodiversity too.

3. Species Diversity: There are different types of organisms in the nature. The existence of different types of organism shows the diversity of species. Diversity of species causes the biodiversity in nature. Nepal has covered only about 0.1 percent of total land of the world, but it has a great diversity of species. The diversity of species is found to be different as the ecosystems is different from Terai to Himalayan region. Therefore, Nepal is rich in biodiversity.

Concept of Biodiversity

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Biodiversity is composed of two words 'bio' and 'diversity'. Literally 'bio' means living being and 'diversity' means variety. So, biodiversity refers to the variety of living beings. Biodiversity of a location means the existence of organisms and species of living beings per square unit. It indicates a total of the living heritage of the earth and their states as well as differences. It indicates the system and structure of living beings in the nature.

In short, the biodiversity is the total number of the living organisms on the earth. Biodiversity can be classified into three groups i.e. ecosystem, genes and species. That's why, biodiversity is the degree of species diversity existed in a particular region i.e. natural habitat.

The biodiversity differs according to the geographical regions, climatic conditions and adaptability characters of the living beings. Some species of biodiversity are found in land, some are in land, some are in water whereas others are found even in atmosphere. The nature of ecosystem differs the biodiversity of a place to another. Accordingly they, too, are maintaining their ecosystem. Biodiversity of an area refers to existing organism, gene, animals and ecosystem per unit of land. In totality, biodiversity refers to the existing number of living organism and their diversity.

Species diversity include living beings and vegetation like man, animals, birds, plants and trees etc. the species of bacteria and virus, too are contained in it. Species denote the number of group of living beings according to their similarity.

Ecosystem is the habitat of living beings. Living beings survive according to their capacity and adaptation. Biodiversity is the result of the structure of ecosystem too. Every living beings have own genetic characteristics. For example, people in mountain can easily adopt in pretty cold whereas the people in the terai can tolerate very hot.

Genes control physical characteristics, growth and development. They change and reproduce themselves. They are passed on from one generation to another. It is because of genes that the organisms living in the terai can bear more heat than the organisms living in the mountains.

Need and Importance of Conservation of Religious and Cultural Heritages

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The need and importance of conservation of religious and cultural heritages are given below:

Harmony in the society: If people practice their religious principle properly, they will be in discipline. It helps to develop a harmony in the society.
Integral part of the environment: The religious place, sites, rivers and ponds are the elements of the natural environment. The temples, Gumbas and Masjits are the physical aspects.
Creation of people: They are related to their life styles and social aspects. They reveal tradition, developments, arts and life-styles of the ancient time.
Field of research: They provide most valuable lessons that are fruitful to the present and future generations too. The people of the country and outside are interested in the research in religious and cultural aspects.
Publicity and existence: The people of the other countries will be interested to know about Nepal. It gives importance to our religious and cultural heritages.
Job opportunity: The religious cultural activities are attractive to the foreign people. Why they come to visit Nepal? They also visit to religious and cultural sites. They will create job opportunities to the local people.

Methods of Conservation of Religious and Cultural Heritages

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Cultural heritages are the symbol of ancient civilization. Temples, statues, stone taps, ancient buildings etc. are our important cultural heritages. Cultural heritage shows the traditional activities and development of human civilization. Ancient cultural heritages attract foreigners and tell them how Nepalese are different from the rest of the world. So, the promotion and conservation of Nepalese cultural and religious heritages is needed. Some of the cultural and religious heritages are damaged by the environmental pollution. Following are the methods of conservation of cultural heritages:

Some of the objects of cultural heritages are ruined. They should be repaired in time.
The ruined heritages should be repaired without spoiling their uniqueness.
Cultural heritages can be stolen or destroyed. So, proper care should be taken regularly for their conservation.
People should understand the value of religious and cultural heritages in their life and society. So, awareness programme should be launched in the local level.
For the conservation of the religious and cultural heritages, there should be public participation. The local people should take initiation in the activities of conservation.
Government should mobilize the local, national and international organizations in the conservation of the religious and cultural heritages by providing technical and financial supports to them.
The need and importance of religious and cultural heritages should be incorporated in the educational programmes. This effort will encourage students, parents and teachers to conserve heritage.
There is diversity in religion and culture in the country. People of one cultural group should respect the culture of others.
The methods of celebration of festivals should not be expensive. They should be simple and practicable in life.
The historical and most valuable cultural and artistic items should be preserved in the museum.
Different media like radio, television, newspapers etc. should be properly used to publicize the importance and ways of conservation of the heritages.

The effects of the development on the ecosystem of terai region and its preventive measures

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Specifically, the land of this region is plain and fertile. These factors and development works and modernization have affected the ecosystem of this region. Some major effects and measures to control them are described below:

Forests are destroyed to expand the agricultural lands and to collect the forest products. There is a high probability of loss of forest near cultivable land. We should stop the process of deforestation and make people aware about the conservation of forests.
While establishing infra-structures, the cultivable land, sources of water, forest area may be destroyed. So, the concept of integrated development should be launched.
The stones, soils, sand etc. transported from the hill region are deposited in the terai. These materials are covering fertile land. Due to this reason, fertility of land is declining. Landslide and soil erosion of the hill region should be checked for it.
The people use chemical fertilizers and insecticides to yield more agricultural production. Due to this activity, the fertility of soil will decrease and the useful insects may die along with harmful insects. Therefore, more use of chemical fertilizers and insecticides should be discouraged. Similarly, the awareness programmes should also be conducted to make local people conscious about the negative effect of degradation of ecosystem.

The Ecosystem of Terai Region

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In the southern part of the country, there is a plain area of terai region. This is about 23 percent of total area of country. The terai region is situated between the altitudes of 60 meters to 610 meters from the sea level. Its breadth ranges from 25 to 30 kilometers. The climate of this region is hot and humid. It is composed of fertile alluvial soil. Following are the determining aspects of ecosystem of this region.

Physical Aspects:
The Terai region is extended from east-west. It has been formed by fine and fertile soil. This region becomes lower from the north to south. The climate of this region is hot and humid. There are several longitudinal valleys in chure and mahabharat ranges. This region can be divided into three sub regions: Inner terai, Bhawar terai and Main terai. There are 20 districts of Nepal in this region. The structure of their ecosystem is different.

Biological Aspects:
The vegetation, animals, birds and other living things differ with respect to the sub-region. The tropical and sub-tropical plants are found in this region. Sal, Sishau, Khayar, Pipal, Bamboo, Simal are the example of common plants of this region. The Bhawar sub-region has thick forests. Tiger, Bear, Rhinoceros, Elephants, Vulture, Cuckoo, Hawk, Dove, Kites, Crane, Giant horn-bill etc are found in this forests. There are fish and other aquatic animals in river, lake, streams, pond etc. These biological aspects contributed to the development of its own ecosystem in terai region.

Socio-economic Aspect:
The land of the terai region is fertile. Since enough agricultural production is made in the terai, it is known as the “Granary of Nepal.” So, the terai region is the main agricultural region of the country. Many cottages and other industries are established in this region. Along with agriculture, people are engaged in trade, industries, services, fishing and cattle rearing. There are dense populated residential areas in urban places. Biratnagar, Janakpur, Birgunj, Dhangadhi, Mahendranagar etc. are the major towns in this region.

The Rajbanshi, Tharu, Dhimal, Satar are main ethnic groups. There are more physical facilities in comparison to the hill and mountain region. Due to the high population density, the natural resources are being over-used there day by day. The houses are made of stone and mud with tiled roofs. Some of the large houses are made of cement and rods by using modern technology.

Effects on the Ecosystem in Terai Region

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Due to human activities, development construction and modernization, the ecosystem of terai region has adversely affected. Some of such effects and mitigating measures are given below:

The people of terai region are also dependent on agriculture and forest products as in other ecological regions. The land in this region is fertile. Hence, in order to meet the demand for food for rapidly increasing population, the deforestation for the extension of agricultural land has increased day-by-day. There is high possibility of destruction of jungle near the fertile land. Various programmes are increasing awareness towards utilization of forest products without deteriorating the forests. It helps to protect environment and ecosystem.
Transport in this region has been developed more than other regions. Special attention should be paid to conserve forest and wildlife while conducting developmental works like road construction and irrigation canal construction. Integrated programmes should be run for this purpose.
Fertile and plain land is being submerged by the flood with stone, soil, sand. Fertile land and the fertility has decreased. For this, landslide in hilly region should be stopped.
Small to large-scale industries have been established in the terai region due to convenience to produce raw materials, development of transport and communication. Raw materials like sugarcane, jute, cotton, oil-producing materials etc are produced in this region. Industrialization is increasing the discharge of wastage, chemicals, smoke and other pollutants. Various programmes should be conducted to reduce such pollutants. For example, wastage materials and chemicals can be discharged only after processing and treatment. Low-polluting machines and devices should be used. Green belt should be made on the surrounding of industries. It also can control dust, smoke and sound pollution.
The feelings like, “It is difficult to survive due to deterioration of ecosystem of surrounding environment” should be developed by awareness rising programme at local level. Such feelings help to conserve the ecosystem of surrounding area very well.

Effects on the ecosystem in Mountain Region

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Local mobility, opportunity of employment, source of income, etc. are rare in mountain region due to geographical remoteness. Because of these reasons, there is low effect of development construction and industrialization on the ecosystem of this region.

There is low population pressure in this region; however, the dependency of people on the limited natural resources like land, forests etc. are increasing. Forest product is the main source of fuel. So, it is being declined. Due to pretty cold climate, it takes long time to regenerate the forest. Fertility of soil had been decreasing in the lack of fertilizer. In order to mitigate such environmental problems we should run forestation programme to increase forest area. Local people should be inspired to use appropriate technology like use of organic fertilizer, follow crop-cycle to maintain the fertility of soil. We must convince them that protection of ecosystem may support for them.
The people in this region are engaged in agricultural occupation like farming and animal husbandry. Similarly, they collect and sell natural herbs from jungle. The awareness programme on protection of forests while collecting herbs should be conducted. Pasture lands are being desertified due to overgrazing. Encroachment of pasture land and random grazing to cattle in the forest also has adversely affected to natural environment. In order to control overgrazing, people should encourage to plant grass-trees and medicinal herbs in their own fields. It may protect the beauty and originality of this region and supports for tourism development.

Effects on the ecosystem in hilly region

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Most of the people are engaged in agriculture, cattle rearing, farming and business activities. The facilities such as transport, communication, education and health are gradually expanding here. Following are the major effects of development works and modernization on the ecosystem of this region and their control measures:

The forests are being destroyed to increase agricultural land and people cultivate in the slope and marginal lands. This causes different types of natural disasters like floods and landslides. To minimize this effect cultivation by terrace method should be applied and cultivation in slope and marginal land should be stopped.
People own cattle in this region. Natural environment is being deteriorated by collecting firewood, fodder, medicinal herbs from the forest. To minimize these effects, awareness in people to protect forests should be arisen.
Due to development of infra-structure, forests, sources of water, habitat of wildlife etc are being destroyed. While conducting the development activities of development, integrated development should be followed.
Lands are been extensively used to farmland in this region. Cultivation on fragile, slope, banks of streams and rivulets is increasing to meet the demand of food grain. As a result, agricultural yielding has also decreased.

Hilly region is suitable for horticulture farming

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In general, hilly region has temperate climate. However, the specific parts of this region have specific type of climate. For example, the basins are hot; valleys are moderately hot while gentle slopes are mild. Hence, a variety of flowers, fruits and vegetable can be grown here. For example, the flowers, fruits and vegetables that are grown in Terai can be grown in river basins the mild region flowers, fruits and vegetables valleys and tars and cold region’s items can be grown, the higher parts. Differences in slope of the land, soil, rainfall pattern etc. provide a suitable condition needed for different flowers, fruits and vegetables. So, hilly region is suitable for horticulture farming.

Socio-economic Aspect of Hilly Region

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Some parts of the hilly region have fertile soil where as the others are not fertile. Maize, wheat, rice, millet, barley, potato, oil seeds etc are produced here. Rice is cultivated in the irrigated areas. They have to depend only on rain water. The people of this region keep the cattle such as buffaloes, cows, and goats. Most of the people on this region depend on agricultural occupations. This region is suitable for fruit farming. People live in plain area, hills and hillocks of the hilly region. Rural settlements are dominated here. Kathmandu, the capital city of our country is located in the hilly region. The Kathmandu valley has the highest density of population.

The people of various castes and ethnic groups such as Rai, Limbu, Magar, Gurung, Tamang, Brahman, Chhetri, Newar, Thakali, Kami, Damain, Sarki settle in this region. There is religious and cultural tolerance in this region. People follow different religions like Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim and others. Various festivals like Dashain, Tihar, Maghesankranti, Janaipurnima, Lhosar and other national as well as local festivals are celebrated well. This region is also very rich in famous cultural heritage. Some of them are Pashupatinath, Bouddhanath, Budhanilkantha, Dakshinkali, Palanchowk Bhagawati, Dolakha Bhimsen, Manakamana, Khaptad, Ruru Kshetra, Ridi, Halesi, Pathivara, Sworgadwari etc. The houses are made according to the suitability of this region. The houses are made up of mud stone, bricks, tiles, iron-zinc and cement. Some people of this region settle in terai region in winter and return in summer season. As reported by the national census, 2058 this region represent 46 percent of the total population.

The main occupation of the people in this region is agriculture. Some are engaged in trade while others in services. The environment of this region is attractive for travel by foot. Therefore, some of the people are engaged in tourism. Limited agricultural land is excessively used due to rapid population growth.

Biological Aspect of Hilly Region

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The hilly region is made up of the Mahabharat range, Middle land and Chure or Siwalik range. There is some differences in the eco-system of each of the sub regions of the hill. Both the dense and thin forests are found in this region. This is the main area of deciduous forests. Sal, Rani Salla, Chilaune, Bamboo, Simal, Kharsu, Rhododendron, Devdar, Sisau and Khayare are the main vegetation of the forests. Maize, wheat, rice, potato, millet, buckwheat, oilseeds and soyabeans are the main crops of this region. Fish are available in the river, rivulets and lakes of this region. Various types of wildlife animals and birds appear here. This region is a proper place for animal husbandry and the cultivation of fruit. Different kinds of such biological aspects have helped in the ecosystem of this region.

Physical Aspect of Hilly Region

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The hilly region is situated between the mountain in the north and terai in the south and extends from east to west. The medium mountain ranges verying from 610 meters to 4788 meters above the sea level. Depending upon physiographic, climate and wildlife, the hilly region has its own ecosystem. The climate of hilly region is mild and warm. It is neither too hot nor too cold. There are hills of different heights, valleys, basins, and tars etc. Some areas with terraced slopes and various features are found here. Thirty nine out of seventy five districts are located in the hill region like Illam, Panchthar, Sindhuli, Gorkha, Pyuthan, Achham and many others. Kathmandu and Pokhara are famous city of this region and also for fertile land. This region occupies about 42% areas of total area of the country. This region can be divided into three sub-divisions as Mahabharat range, Middle land and Chure or Siwalik range. There is diversity in ecosystem due to difference in physical aspects of these different sub-regions.

Socio-economic Aspects of mountain Region

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There is a lack of agricultural fertile land in the mountain region due to the cold and dry climate. Grasslands are enough for cattle. Occasional snowfall disturbs vegetation to grow and produce fruits. The yaks and mules are reared here. There are some small valleys and plains in the districts such as Humla, Jumla, Mugu, Manang etc. Settlements are found along the river side and some areas near steep slopes. The people of Sherpa, Thakalis, Mugal, Managis and Bhote communities are found here. Hindu and Buddhism are main religion of this region. People celebrate Pitripuja, Lhosar, Dashain, Tihar and other local as well as national festivals. Muktinath, Gosainkunda, Chandannath, Shey-Gumba are some examples of famous religious heritages.

Thakkhola, Namche, Chame and Olangchungola are important settlements of this region. Winter is very cold here. During this period, people migrate to the southern parts with their cattle and move to the north in the summer. The physical and ecological aspects have influenced the life of people here. Housing, food, dress, occupation and life style here are different from that of other regions. The houses are made with mud, stone and wood. The roofs are flat and thatched with mud: doors and windows are small. They keep their cattle downstairs. They wear thick woolen clothes called Bakkhu and Docha. Animal husbandry, wool industry and trade during winter season are the main occupation of this region. The chief source of income earnings are animal husbandry and small closed trade. The people find it difficult to pass their life due to limitation of physical facilities such as transport, communication, electricity etc. According to the census of 2058 B.S. 7.5 percent of the nation’s population is sparsely distributed due to the geographical difficulty. The overall economic development is very poor in this region due to cold climate, geographical structure and so on.

Biological Aspect of Mountain Region

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The mountain region lies in the north part of the country and there is diversity in the topography and climate of this region. This is the mountainous area that extends from east to west. As a result, this region is the habitat of various types of vegetation, agricultural crops, animals, birds, and other many creatures. The animals and plants which have adapted in the cold and dry climate are found here. Barley, uwa, buckwheat, maize, potato, radish, cereals, beans etc. are vegetables and apple, lemon fruit are cultivated in this region. Alpine forests and pastureland are abundantly found here. The forest components comprises with oaks, maples, blue pines, gobre-salla, dhupi, deodar, rhododendron and bhojpatra. Similarly, bushes and shurbs are also found here up to the height of 4,000 meters but there is no trees above it. The wild animals from the mountain region are wild yak, snow-leopard, ghoral, black bear, black pheasant, sheep etc. are found in the forest. Somewhere, there are pine forest and grasslands. The animals tolerating difficult situation of cold, less oxygen can live here. They can spend their lives with the adaptation to the natural environment of this region.