COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENT

 

COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENT

            Environment comprises number of factors that interact with each other in some or other way so that keep the planet earth alive and support life on earth. If we closely look at these factors they form the components of the environment. These components can be grouped as Abiotic or non-living and Biotic or living components.

 A. Natural Environment

1. Abiotic or Non-living Components:

a) Location : The term Location in Geography has been used since very early days of Romans and Greeks. This term is derived from the Latin word locus, meaning place. It is a relative term. It expresses relative occurrence of space.

            The location of a country becomes one of the most prime factors that influence the range of human activities that will develop in that country. Location primarily has an influence on climate. Location is looked upon either as absolute location or as relative location. Absolute location is referred in terms of latitudes and longitudes. For example, India's location is 8° 4' 28" and 37° 17' 53" North latitudes and 68° 7' 3" and 97° 24' 47" East Longitudes. It gives us an idea about any country's products, people and level of economic and commercial development. Relative location is mentioned with reference to some other reference like a country or a natural or man-made feature. Relative location of the country can be studied in different ways

i) Location in Terms of Its Relation to Water Bodies and Land Areas : Countries located near the sea have maritime location. With the help of this type of location we get an idea about continental and maritime activities of the country. There are different types of maritime locations. They are (i) Insular, (ii) Peninsular, (iii) Isthmian and (iv) Littoral. Maritime location gives direct, access to the world market for finished products and raw materials. There are a number of other advantages of maritime location. Coastal waters provide rich harvest of fish, salt and petroleum etc. In addition to these advantages, maritime countries enjoy more pleasant climate which keeps people active. Of all the maritime locations, insular location is most advantageous since it provides advantages for import of raw materials and export of finished products.

ii) Continental Location : Countries which are located away from the sea in the interior parts of the continents have, continental location. e.g. Afghanistan, Mongolia, Poland etc. Since such countries are away from the sea and surrounded by land from all sides, contacts with other countries are limited. Extreme climate of continenta countries affects productive activities. Overall effect of this is seen in their economic backwardness and poor development of international trade.

iii. Location in Relation to Transport Lines : There can be two types of locations in relation to transport lines. They are :

• Focal Location : Whenever two or more than two trade routes converge or cross, it is said to have focal location. For example, Chicago in U.S.A. (Fig. 1.2) and Thane, Pune, Ahmednagar, (Fig. 1.1) Kolhapur and Mumbai in Maharashtra. Focal location is the best location for the development of manufacturing industries and trade since two roads or railways cross each other. Thane is the best example of focal location. It was just an ordinary village of fishermen. Today, it has become one of the important industrial and trade centres of India. Two national highways and a railway that passes through this town has made it easily accessible to different parts of India.

• Portal Location : The location of a coastal site, possessing a harbour, at which ships call to load and unload goods is known as portal location. For example, Mumbai, (Fig. 1.4), New York (Fig. 1.3). Such portal locations are very important for the development of internal and international trade.

 iv) Vicinal Location : Location with reference to two immediate neighbouring countries is known as Vicinal location. It is advantageous to have economically developed countries in the neighbourhood. This encourages the development of economy and the trade of the country. For example, the economy and the trade of most of the South American countries have developed mainly because of USA. Big American companies have invested huge capital in these countries. Americans have invested their capital in sugar industry of Cuba and Brazil, coffee plantation of Brazil and Columbia, or oil and minerals mining industry of Venezuela, Chile and Peru. All these countries have benefited greatly because of their nearness to U.S. manufacturing region and U.S. market.

 b) Topography : Physical features of a region like mountains, plateaus, plains, valleys, etc. form the topography. These factors of environment influence the development of economic activities.

i) Mountains : Mountain regions have remained economically backward. Agriculture is not much developed due to limited level land and rapid soil erosion. Due to lack of transport and communication facilities and undulating nature of the terrain, human settlements are limited and manufacturing industries are not developed. Mountains offer limited opportunities for primitive activities, such as, fruit gathering, animal rearing, shifting agriculture etc. However, mountains are store houses of minerals and forests. Around the mountains which are accessible to densely populated industrial regions, mining and lumbering activities are well developed. These mountain products move to the plains and thus trade is developed to some extent.

    With a rapid revolution in transport and communication technology, research in plant growth and animal breeding and agriculture, many mountainous regions which were considered hopeless for the development of economic and commercial activities have become very useful for man. Today, most of the plantation crops like rubber, tea, coffee etc. are cultivated along the lower slopes of some mountains and tourism in tropical countries has developed in the areas of high mountains.

ii) Plains : Plains occupy about 55 per cent of the land area and support nearly 90 per cent of the world's population. The concentration of population in plains is mainly because of fertility of soil, level land, presence of a number of rivers and well developed transport facilities. Since transport and communication facilities are well developed and different raw materials are easily available, a number of manufacturing industries are also well developed. The development of both, agriculture and manufacturing industries helps to develop trade. Foodgrains and manufactured products from plains move to mountains and minerals and wood move to the plains. Thus, trade between plain regions and mountainous region always well developed atleast for certain commodities.

iii) Plateaus : Rolling or flat land at higher elevation is known as plateau. Development of economic and commercial activities on plateau depends upon their location, climate, natural vegetation and the availability of mineral and power resources.

    A plateau which is located in the interior part of a continent, the climate is cool and dry. Grazing and dry farming are the only economic activities of man. Agriculture is only on subsistent basis. Only surplus animal products are available for trade. For example, Plateaus of N. America, Central Asia etc.

    Plateaus located near coastal areas, enjoy hot and humid climate. On such plateaus, plantation crops like coffee, tea, sugarcane etc. can be well developed and exported to many other countries. For example, Deccan plateau of India, plateau of East Africa etc.

    The plateaus of S. Africa and Brazil are rich in mineral and power resources. They export this mineral wealth to European countries and N. America.

c) Climate : Of all the factors of the environment, climate is the most fundamental factor. Climate influences practically all the dimensions of human life, ranging from man's physical and mental abilities to the choice of his activities. Human settlements, capacities to undertake work, soil types, vegetation types, etc. are all affected by climate. Climate is that factor of our physical environment which has a profound effect on economic development and activities of man. Climate is the sum total of the atmospheric conditions experienced over any region during a long period of time.

Climate and Activities : Activities of man are greatly influenced by climate. Certain activities are found only in certain climatic region. For example, hunting, fishing, collection of wild fruits and primitive agriculture are the important activities of equatorial region, hunting is the main activity of tropical grassland region, wheat cultivation, fruit farming, wine manufacturing etc. are the activities of Mediterranean region, agriculture is the most important activity of man in monsoon region, lumbering and trapping of animals is well developed in coniferous forest region, while in tundra and deserts, due to very harsh environmental conditions, the scope for the development of human activities is very limited.

            The soil types also differ from region to region, and are greatly influenced by climate. Agricultural decisions when to grow, how to grow, what to grow are influenced by the climate. For example, Rubber cannot be grown anywhere else other than the tropical countries or wheat can be grown worldwide but the time of cultivating wheat is different.

Climate and Transport : Climate also affects the development of transport facilities. In the areas of heavy rain, road and railway tracks are often flooded. River transport is also disrupted due to floods. Air transport becomes very difficult in stormy and cloudy or fogy weather conditions. In polar areas, water in ports and harbours is frozen, in Himalayan region due to heavy snowfall, roads are covered with snow which has to be removed with the help of dredgers.

Climate and Markets : Distribution of population is greatly affected by the types of climate. Areas of extreme climate are the areas of low density of population and the areas of mild climate are the areas of high density of population. Due to this, the distribution of population on the surface of the earth is very uneven. In other words, the distribution of needs and wants is uneven. Densely populated countries of Europe import wheat from U.S.A. and Canada or Pakistan and China imports rice from Myanmar and Thailand. Due to cold winters in Europe and N. America, demand for woollen clothing is very high and therefore, these areas import raw wool from Australia and South Africa.

            There is a good relationship between climate and development of some tertiary activities like tourism industry. To escape from the severe cold of winter season many people from N. Europe and N. America go to spend their vacation in the sunny climate of the Southern part of these continents. In tropical areas, many rich people go to hill stations like Matheran, Mahabaleshwar, Simla or Ooty.

d) Size and Shape of a Country :  Large-sized countries like the U.S.A., Canada, Russia, China or India are likely to have a wider range of resources. Owing to their large size, they might posses a larger diversity in their geological and geographical conditions. Larger and more diverse the resource base more is the possibility of economic growth and development.

  Smaller countries like the U.K. or Japan have limitations in the availability of resources. Smaller countries may have to depend on imports for their requirements. For example U.K. has to import about 50% of its food requirements from Canada, U.S.A. and Argentina.

            On the other hand, a country may have a fragmented, elongated or compact shape. A compact country can have all its economic development as the co-ordination of its various resources becomes easy. On the other hand, if it is fragmented it will hinder the development and that too which will be uneven. A country having a great longitudinal extent or elongated shape like in the case of Chile or Peru, may face problems of political control and integration. A fragmented country like the Philippines also faces problems of overall balanced development.

e) Coastline: Among the different modes of transport, water transport is the cheapest. Most of the world trade is carried out by water transport. Therefore the nature of coastline is an important geographical factor influencing international trade of any country. Coastlines may be (i) Broken and Smooth or Indented and Regular and (ii) Low and High.

            The development of ports and harbours for international trade depends upon the nature of coastline. Broken coastline encourages the development of natural ports and harbours. When a coastline is broken, there are a number of bays and headlands. Headlands help to reduce the force of wind and waves. Water in bay is, therefore, calm, which is essential for launching ships and also for loading and unloading of cargo. Coastline of many West European countries, Japan and N. America is broken and has encouraged the development of a number of natural ports and harbours to develop international trade. On the other hand, smooth or regular coastlines are directly exposed to strong winds and powerful sea waves. This discourages the development of natural ports and harbours. The coastline of Africa, S. America and India is smooth. There are a very few good natural ports and harbours. Their international trade is also not very well developed.

            Low coastlines have deep water and high coastlines have shallow water near the coast. Therefore, low coastlines are better for the development of ports and harbours than high coastlines. Coastline of West European countries is low and hence a number of ports and harbours are well developed, on the other hand, coastline of S. African countries is high and hence few natural ports and harbours.

f) Minerals : Minerals are the most unevenly distributed resource on the Earth's surface. Some countries possess large amounts of the world's known deposits of minerals and power resources, while others are completely devoid of those particular minerals e.g. 75% of the world's coal reserves are concentrated in the U.S.A and Western Europe, about 90% of the world's oil reserves are found in the U.S.A. and Middle-Eastern countries. This uneven distribution of minerals and power resources has led to large-scale trade in mineral and power resources.

The areas with rich mineral deposits have attracted large number of people, from distant places to areas which were considered to be less suitable for human settlement. The economies of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq are entirely dependent on oil exports:

g) Soils : Different types of soils are found in different regions. Soil is a governing factor in raising a particular crop e.g. black cotton soils are suitable for cotton, tobacco, etc. alluvial soils for sugarcane, jute, rice, etc. The fertility of soil controls the quality and quantity of a particular crop e.g. Alluvial soil in the Nile delta is good for cotton or Virginia tobacco grown in the sandy loam soil in South-Eastern parts of U.S.A. As a result, Egypt exports cotton and U.S.A exports tobacco. The permafrost soils of the Tundra are not useful for agricultural practices.

 2. Biotic or Living Environment:

            The Natural vegetation and animal life are the two most important factors of the living or biotic environment.

a) Natural Vegetation:    The vegetation cover is directly dependent on climate. Natural vegetation provides us with timber, wood, fruits, etc. Lumbering is an important activity in the areas of softwood coniferous regions. It has also helped to develop paper and pulp industry, and shipbuilding industry. On the other hand, in the regions of tropical hardwood forest, the scope for the development of economic activities is very limited on account of the nature of wood, unhealthy climate, lack of transport facilities, etc.

b) Animal Life:   Hunting and fishing are amongst the oldest occupations: of man. From time immemorial, native animal life of the lands have been hunted for food, clothing and other materials, likewise, from wherever man has lived by sea, lakes and rivers, fishing has developed. Both occupations require direct adjustment to the environmental conditions.

            Hunting and fishing are still the primary occupations of several tropical parts of the world. Today, commercial grazing and commercial fishing are the leading occupations in the extensive temperate grasslands and coastal regions of the temperate latitudes.

            Thus, various factors of the natural environment exert considerable influence on the production of various goods and the commodities and pattern of economic and commercial activities of man. The development of internal, inter-regional and international trade is deeply rooted in the variations in various environmental factors.

 

B. HUMAN OR ANTHROPOGENIC ENVIRONMENT

            When we examine the ascent of man, we find that initially he was subordinate to Nature. The sheer necessity for survival made him look around for tools and weapons or aids to increase his power and efficiency. Nature with her inherent resistance, posed tremendous difficulties for man to progress. But with superior intellect, man ultimately won the struggle with the aid of culture, which not only strongly changed his physical existence but also helped him to flourish. According to Zimmermann, culture is the sum total of all the devices produced by man, with the aid, advice and consent of Nature, to assist him in the attainment of his objectives. Natural Environment determines the extent of opportunities but to what extent these opportunities are exploited and used by man depends on the level of technological, cultural, economic and social changes, Government attitudes, population, etc.

 a) Social Environment: The population is unevenly distributed on the Earth's surface. The size of the population affects the flow of world commerce. Densely populated countries of Asia demand large quantity of food grains as their domestic production is inadequate to feed their population. On the other hand, countries like the U.S.A. and Canada export food grains, owing to their moderate population and large exportable surplus. The composition of trade is not only determined by the size of the population but also by the habits, tastes, fashions and religions, etc. of the people in different parts of the world. For instance, Americans prefer coffee as a major beverage and import it from Brazil, whereas the British prefer tea owing to the habits and tastes, therefore, import tea from India. As fashions of wearing different styles of dresses change very fast, the Australians prefer exporting raw wool rather than readymade garments.

Sometimes, even thickly-populated regions with high per capita income restrict trade in particular commodities, as in the case of the Middle-Easi countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, etc. ban trade in wine, as it is prohibited by their religion or India for instance, has not developed beef cattle, in spite of the highest number of cattle population in the world, as cattle is considered as holy animal.

 b) Political Environment : A Government plays a significant role in promoting people's welfare through economic development. The political condition prevailing in a country directly affects the flow of commerce of that country. The countries of the world follow different political systems such as Democratic, Communist, Dictatorial, etc. The countries following the same political system form a Trade Block to regulate their trade and get more benefits from international trade, e.g. EEC, LAFTA, WTO, G-7, OPEC, etc. Formation of such groups helps to reduce unhealthy competition amongst the members and stimulate commerce.

The countries with stable political conditions can develop their domestic and international trade. The countries with internal political conflicts and external wars, etc. find it difficult to export their goods e.g. recent political crisis in the former Russia had created tremendous shortage of commodities or the political crisis in the Middle-East created major oil crisis. The Government policies of taxation, quota system, assistance for the development of industries also determines the economic development and political environment of the country.

c) Economic and Technological Environment : The development of science and technology has raised the position of man from being at the mercy of Nature to the one who can exploit its resources systematically. Man has overcome the barriers of the environment and today, can produce certain goods in the areas that were unsuitable for their production. He has converted the temperate grasslands into areas producing wheat and corn on a large scale, by the use of sophisticated machinery, which does the entire farm work from ploughing to harvesting. This also requires large capital investment. He has also extended his search for mineral resources to deep-sea beds and to Polar Regions. All this was possible due to the availability of huge capital and technological development.

            The development of infrastructure is also greatly influenced by the availability of capital and technology. Infrastructure forms the backbone of any economy. Therefore, development of manufacturing, trade and commerce is dependent on this infrastructure which requires capital and technological advancement in the form of communication facilities, speedy transport, banking, etc. from above we have understood so far, it is clear that human race is entirely dependent of its natural environment for its survival. But so far, except in theory, man has shown no apparent signs of respecting his environment. He has been considering the Earth as an unlimited storehouse of resources that will support man for an indefinite period.

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