Guwahati, the largest metropolis of Northeastern part of India with an country of 216 sq.km, It is the 5th fastest turning metropolis of India in footings of urbanisation.
Guwahati being the lone metropolis of North eastern part, the metropolis witnessed many alterations like rapid addition of population, depletion of forest screen, spread of diseases which resulted many environmental jobs akin to set down, air, H2O and society. Most of the alterations have taken topographic point due to the consequence of altering natural environment, enormous growing of population peculiarly after switching of the capital from Shillong to Dispur, hill incline destabilization due to building of roads, brooding houses, public establishments and besides for invasion in wetlands and low lying countries. As the metropolis of Guwahati is bounded on three sides by hills and the other side by the mighty river Brahmaputra, the horizontal enlargement is restricted for which many multistoried edifices have come up in recent old ages merely to suit of all time increasing population ( 1991- 2001 decadal growing rate is 38.6 % ) . On the other manus, required substructure and metropolis comfortss necessary for metropolis inhabitants and metropolis users have non developed consequently. As a consequence many jobs arisen in the metropolis, such as traffic congestion, H2O logging, dusty atmosphere, H2O borne and airborne diseases etc. In this survey an effort has been given to foreground the environmental jobs arisen in Guwahati, their causes and effects.IntroductionThe metropolis of Guwahati is said to be the legendary Pragjyotispur, the metropolis of eastern visible radiation. Guwahati is said to be the gateway of Northeast India. The metropolis is situated between 260 10'25 †north latitude and 910 45'0 †east longitude. The southern, eastern and a portion of western sides of Guwahati are surrounded by hills and knolls. The mighty river Brahmaputra in the North is fluxing in north-east to south-west way. Other of import rivers in and around Guwahati are Bharalu, Mora-bharalu, Basistha-bahini etc. The metropolis is dotted with swamps, fens and H2O organic structures like Dipor beel, Dighali pukhuri, Silsaku measure etc. The metropolis falls under humid, semitropical part characterized by warm humid clime with heavy rainfall ( mean rainfall 1600mm ) and a comparatively cool winter with instead bare rainfall. The maximal and minimal temperature recorded in the metropolis is 38 grade and 16 grade severally with comparative humidness of more than 76.6 % . As the metropolis is the commercial nervus Centre of the Northeast has developed route ( National Highway No31, No37 and No 40 ) , rail and air connectivity with remainder of the state. Main jobs identified in the metropolis are different types of pollution caused due to adult male induced activities, addition of population, H2O logging, dirt eroding etc.PurposesThis survey aims at making such an environment in Guwahati that the metropolis could be made liveable and loveable 1. With this purpose the aim this survey has been designedAimsTo analyse the geo-ecological apparatus of Guwahati. To foreground the environmental jobs associated with be aftering procedure of the metropolis. To analyze the cause and consequence of assorted jobs, and To throw visible radiation on the remedial steps to be taken to minimise the wretchednesss of the metropolis inhabitants and metropolis users.MethodologyHere, in the survey both primary and secondary beginnings of informations have been used. Primary informations were collected by topographic point visit and direct observation of the phenomena. On the other manus secondary informations have been collected from assorted published plants such as books, diaries research articles, studies etc. Topographical maps ( No 78N/12 & A ; 16 ) and satellite imaginations ( SPOT MLA P-238, R-298 Dated 18/10/1990 and Landsat TM P-137, R -042 Dated 10/06/1988 ) have been used to analyze the nature of the metropolis growing, understand the environmental issues and to happen out solutions for minimising the wretchednesss of the metropolis inhabitants. Collected informations have been summarized, analyzed and presented in assorted signifiers like graphs, tabular arraies, maps etc. for easy apprehension of the content of the paper.Data Analysis and Findingss1. Locational distinctive feature of the metropolis invites many environmental jobs. Back in clip the metropolis was known as Pragjyotishpur, which finds reference in Mahabharata, Ramayana, Raghuvansha of Kalidas. Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang visited the metropolis in 640 AD and described in inside informations about the imposts and manners of the people of Guwahati. Located on strategic point the metropolis has ever been a bone of contention between rival political powers. A figure of bloody wars were fought between Ahom and Mughal swayers for Guwahati ‘s ownership. Deforestation Addition in surface run offHillHill incline destabilization Soil eroding Land slide/ land faux pas Rock autumnHill landSiltation in low prevarication countries and storm H2OinvasiondrainsPlainDecrease in H2OWetlandkeeping capacity Flood of new countriesinvasionShackles free flow of H2O Degeneration of H2OWetlandsorganic structures Dwindling Flora & A ; Fauna Fig. 1: Conventional Diagram demoing impact of human activities on the environmental jobs of Guwahati With the weakening of Ahom power in Assam, the metropolis passed into the custodies of British in 1826. During the British yearss political pre-eminence of Guwahati shifted to Shillong, which they chose as State Capital. In 1971 with the reorganisation of Assam State and shifting of capital to Guwahati ( Dispur ) it once more recovered its political pre-eminence in north east part [ 1 ] . Since so Guwahati has made a rapid advancement every bit far as demographic, commercial and industrial activities are concerned. All these activities are responsible for many environmental jobs in the metropolis ( Fig.1 ) . . 2. Geographic and geological apparatuss are responsible to a great extent for the jobs like water-logging, landslide etc. in the metropolis. The general form of the metropolis is merely like a bowl surrounded by hills and knolls in three sides and river side roads on the staying side. The height in the field countries of the metropolis varies from 49.5m to 55.5m. . There are a figure of little knolls in the metropolis of which Sarania ( 193m ) , Nabagraha ( 217m ) , Nilachal ( 193m ) , and Chunsali ( 293m ) are of import. The hills are composed of Granite, Quartzite, Hornblende-Biotic-Schist, Pegmatite and Quartz. On the other manus the field countries of the metropolis covered by old and new alluvial sediment. Most portion of the metropolis composed of light yellowish to ruddy dirt. When the dirts wholly H2O saturated during the monsoon months accelerate the rate of landslide jeopardies. The flinty stones on the hills bit by bit exposed due to hill dirt eroding. Quite frequently rock fall occur during the end portion of the monsoon months and take cherished human lives and harm belongings. Since August 1987 to August 2005 every bit many as 22 instances of landslide and stone autumn instances recorded in different locations of Guwahati. 3. Climatic status peculiarly rainfall concentration in monsoon months from June to September do many incommodiousness like water-logging, dusty atmosphere, spread of H2O borne and airborne double daggers. Normally June rainfall is ever dismaying but the cloudburst absorbed by dirt. At this phase landslide, stone autumn and H2O logging etc. make non originate. But from July onwards in each heavy shower cause H2O logging in the countries like Narengi, Satgaon, Saimail, Khanapara, Noonmati, Bamunimaidam, Chandmari, Silpukhuri, Guwahati Club, Uzanbazar, Panbazar, Fancy Bazar, Paltan Bazar, Athgaon, Bharalumukh, Maligaon, Adabari, Jalukbari, G.S. Road, Zoo Road Tinali, Rajgarj Road, Bhangagarh, Dispur. When hill soils become concentrated landslide and stone autumn occur. Again, instantly after H2O logging, route surface become boggy and roadside drains clogged with silt derived from the hills. Soon after, dry clay on the roads create dust-covered ambiance and increase air pollution. Furthermore, storm H2O cause commixture of drain H2O and infected armored combat vehicle wastewaters with imbibing H2O beginnings aggravate the wellness jeopardies in the metropolis. 4. Almost all the jobs of the metropolis related to the population growing. The decadal growing of population in Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority ( GMDA ) clearly indicates how population may make jobs in the metropolis ( Table- 1 ) The urban conurbation map since 1911 besides bespeak how metropolis has been expanded ( Fig-4 ) . This has drastically changed the land usage form in the metropolis ( Table-2 ) .More peculiarly slums and homesteaders have increased manifold in last few old ages. As a consequence many incommodiousness and jobs have arisen in the metropolis. 5. Defective planning and blank in put to deathing the development schemes aggravate the jobs in the metropolis. In this respect, unequal route infinite, deficiency of parking installation, undersized wayside drains, randomly set public-service corporation wires and pipes are deserving adverting. Almost all the of import roads, viz. GNB Road, GS Road, MG Road and most of the traffic point face ague traffic congestion. Up to 1975 the figure of motorised vehicles in the metropolis was merely 27,000 which has increased to 1,29,856 in the twelvemonth 1990. After that the rate of addition accelerated and by 2003 it records 3,13,387. As such around one hundred thousand motor vehicle added to the roads of Guwahati every twelvemonth [ 2 ] . On the other manus the metropolis country has increased by merely 46 sq kilometer in last 20 old ages. Most of the streets in the metropolis are merely 4.8m broad. There are many lanes, which have merely 3.6m or even 3.0m breadth. Thesiss should be at least 8.0m for visible radiation and medium vehicles and at least 9.0m for heavy vehicles [ 3 ] . The consequences of the vehicular emanation show the misdemeanor in emanation bound by 53 per centum and 81 per centum in instance of gasoline and Diesel vehicles severally [ 4 & A ; 5 ] . It clearly indicates the magnitude of pollution degree in the metropolis. 6. Lack of consciousness and inclination of go againsting the norms and regulations in building houses, disposing family wastes and staying traffic regulations cause many jobs in the metropolis. 7. Inanition in implementing Torahs besides responsible for the jobs of traffic congestion, waste disposal, hill slope destabilization, wetland invasion and assorted types of pollution in the metropolis. Table- 1: Population Growth in Guwahati ( from 1971 to 2001 ) Year Population 1971 2,93,219 1981 4,51,200 1991 6,93,660 2001 10,67,40012000001000000800000600000Population40000020000001971198119912001Fig. 3:Population Growth in Guwahati ( from 1971 to 2001 )Land Use Category19902001Residential 8904 ( 71.04 % ) 6600 Commercial 202 ( 1.62 % ) 660 Industrial 516 ( 4.14 % ) 1375 Public & A ; Semi Public 1504 ( 12.08 % ) 2475 Transport & A ; 1053 ( 8.47 % ) 3399 Communication Parks & A ; Diversion 14 ( 0.11 % ) 1450 Particular Use/Others 257 ( 2.06 % )—Table- 2: Area under Various Land Uses 1990 to 2001
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Newfoundland and Labrador is the eastern most province of Canada. The majority of the province's population can be found on the island of Newfoundland, as most of the province's source of economy. As the island is located next to the Atlantic ocean, fisheries and fish products have been of the main exports for the province, yet within the last 30-40 years or so, oil has increasingly become an export that contributes to a growing provincial economy.Exploration in Newfoundland waters first began in the 1960s although, there was no rush in finding oil in Newfoundland because at the time, it was much less expensive for oil companies to drill elsewhere in the world. Things changed in 1973 when oil prices increased dramatically and the interest in the possibility of finding oil in Newfoundland also increased. Before any oil was found, but exploration was ongoing, the provincial government of Newfoundland set up a series of regulations on how oil resources were to be developed in the event of discovery, to ensure the maximization of local benefits.In 1979, the Hibernia oil field was discovered, proving that Newfoundland and Labrador had economic potential in the oil industry (Fusco, n. d. ). This discovery meant that the regulations that the provincial government created would have to be implemented. The Hibernia oil field discovery ignited a series of disagreements between the federal government of Canada and the provincial government of Newfoundland.The federal government had their own goals for development and believed that Newfoundland should not have the administrative or decision making authorities for offshore mineral resources, stating that “oil was too important of a commodity to have under provincial control†(Crosbie, 2003). This dispute resulted in years of legal battles over jurisdiction of offshore projects. In 1985 the Atlantic Accord was signed, this accord initiated a joint management system for the province's offshore resources.The accord also included the creation of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (CNLOPB), a board of six members in charge of managing offshore resources on behalf of both the federal and provincial levels of government (Fusco, n. d. , Fraser, 2009) (See Appendix A for more information on the CNLOPB). Hibernia finally began its oil production in 1997 followed by three more oil field productions; Terra Nova in 2002, WhiteRose in 2005 and Hebron, which is expected to begin production in 2017 (See Appendix B for a map of the locations of oil fields off the coast of Newfoundland). This case study relates to Lesson 9 of the course, which looks at Energy resources that could be found in Canada. Challenges and Opportunities Nearly twenty years passed after the Hibernia oil field was discovered before any official production was made. This demonstrates the magnitude of difficulty the province of Newfoundland experienced just to begin to have oil as one of their main exports.The regulations that Newfoundland and Labrador had implemented after the discovery of Hibernia clearly conflicted with the plans of the federal government, which were to increase profits that would benefit the government of Canada as opposed to the people of Newfoundland. The government of Canada wanted to gain an equity stake in the project with increased royalties during times of high oil prices. Newfoundland's regulations also limited benefits for the oil companies that would be drilling in Hibernia stating that the province was asking for too much and that the companies wanted a fair share of the benefits.Another large obstacle and devastating event surrounding Hibernia, was the sinking of the Ocean Ranger drilling unit, which not only sank completely, undoing all the work that had been done but also resulted in the death of all 84 crew members (Collier, 2010). Investigations later revealed that there were construction flaws and that the crew lacked appropriate training and equipment in the event of an emergency. After this disaster, it was decided that Hibernia would be a Gravity Base Structure (GBS), which is an oil platform that is held in place by gravity.Even more challenges were faced with this decision because many of the engineers that worked on the GBS had little experience in this type of structure. Additionally, due to the complicated nature of this project, most of the workforce came from other countries who had more experience which ultimately resulted in less jobs for locals (Fusco, n. d. ). In regards to the environment, oil production in Newfoundland waters, although it may serve as economic gold, also brings the possibility of environmental destruction for the ocean.Since fisheries and fish products are some of Newfoundland's main exports, the fear that exploration and drilling in important areas of fisheries may interfere or damage the overall marine ecosystem is an important challenge. Furthermore, oil spills continue to be one of the oil industry's largest environmental hazards. Not only would the marine ecosystem be affected but any life surrounding the ocean would be permanently damaged (Higgins, 2011). Despite the overwhelming challenges, the overall opportunities that offshore oil production would bring to the province of Newfoundland and Labrador would be worth all of the difficulties.This venture would serve as a boost in the province's general economy which was particularly helpful during the 1990s after the cod fishing industry took a dive for the worst (n. a. , 1998 Fisheries). Not only would the economy be benefitting but the local people would also have new opportunities for employment. All of the challenges that the government of Newfoundland faced in the development stages of this venture ultimately gave the government the experience it needed in order to maintain, control, and manage all future oil field developments.This can be seen in the quick and effective development of the Terra Nova and White Rose oil fields. There are other issues surrounding the Hebron field, for example, the type of oil that is found in that location is particularly difficult to extract. These issues are part of the reason as to why oil production at Hebron is scheduled to only begin in 2017 (Fusco, n. d. ). Case Lesson Connection In Lesson 9 of the course, it is discussed that crude oil and petroleum contributes to about 31. 3% of the country's energy resources (Mulrennan, Lesson 9, slide 7).Although Alberta has about 39% of Canada's remaining conventional oil reserves, Newfoundland and Labrador offshore developments come second with 28%, not including the oil sands in Alberta, which in that case would account for over 95% of oil in Canada (National Energy Board, 2007). The case study which was examined in Lesson 9 looked implicitly at oil sands in Alberta, in particular, how the extraction of this type of oil is devastating for the environment. Development in Newfoundland is also not environmentally friendly, since drilling in the ocean results in the destruction of certain marine habitats.The threat of possible oil spillage that also continues to be an issue. However, both Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador have been working to tighten regulations surrounding the environmental hazards in oil sands and offshore oil production respectively. The Alberta government has demonstrated through the implementation of regulations and outlined plans for measures in protecting the environment, as well as the CNLOPB in Newfoundland who have also instilled regulations in regards to environment protection.The benefit of having a joint management system, such as the CNLOPB is that the federal government is as involved in all issues surrounding offshore oil, including the environment (Fraser, 2009). Similarly, as per the reading for Lesson 9, the responsibility of the federal government in pollution control and environmental protection is crucial in attaining results on a national level. References 1. Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board. http://www. cnlopb. nl. ca/ 2. Collier, K. (2010). The loss of the Ocean Ranger, 15 February 1982.Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web site. http://www. heritage. nf. ca/society/ocean_ranger. html 3. Environmental Defence (2010). Duty calls: Federal responsibility in Canada's oil sands. Pembina Institute and Equiterre. http://www. econcordia. com/courses/environmental_issues/lesson9/PDF/ed-fedpolicy-report-oct2010-web-redo. pdf 4. Crosbie, J. C. (2003). Overview paper on the 1985 Canada-Newfoundland Atlantic Accord. Royal Commission on Renewing and Strengthening our Position in Canada. 206. Retrieved from http://www. exec. gov. l. ca/royalcomm/research/pdf/Crosbie. pdf 5. Fusco, L. (n. d. ). Offshore oil: an overview of development in Newfoundland and Labrador. Memorial University of Newfoundland. Retrieved from http://www. ucs. mun. ca/~oilpower/documents/NL%20oil%207-25-1. pdf 6. Fraser, G. S. (2009). The Canada-Newfoundland Atlantic Accord implementation act: transparency of the environmental management of offshore oil and gas industry. Marine Policy. 33(2), 312-316. http://0-dx. doi. org. mercury. concordia. ca/10. 1016/j. marpol. 2008. 07. 012 7.Higgins, J. (2011). Oil and the environment. Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web site. http://www. heritage. nf. ca/society/oil_environment. html 8. House, J. D. (2003). Myths and realities about petroleum-related development: Lessons for British-Columbia from Atlantic Canada and the North Sea. Journal of Canadian Studies. 37(4), 9-34. http://0-search. proquest. com. mercury. concordia. ca/docview/203556887? accountid=10246 9. National Energy Board. (2007). Canadian Energy Review 2007 – Energy Market Assessment. http://www. neb. gc. a/clf-nsi/rnrgynfmtn/nrgyrprt/nrgyvrvw/cndnnrgyvrvw2007/cndnnrgyvrvw2007-eng. html#s4_4 10. n. a. (1998) Fisheries. Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Website. http://www. heritage. nf. ca/society/fishery. html 11. Mulrennan, M. E. (2013). Canadian Environmental Issues (GEOG 203) Lesson 9. Concordia University. Appendix A CNLOPB Organization Chart – http://www. cnlopb. nl. ca/pdfs/orgchart. pdf Appendix B Location of Newfoundland oil fields – http://www. cbc. ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2012/05/31/nl-hebron-development-approval-531. html
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