8 Major Urban Environmental Challenges Faced in India | Ecology

This article throws light upon the eight major urban environmental challenges faced in India.

1. Providing basic environmental services in a way that most effectively protects health:

(a) Access to safe potable water, sanitation and drainage facilities.

(b) Proper management of solid waste col­lection and disposal.

(c) Reduction of pollution within the house­holds by providing cleaner fuel for cook­ing and improved household ventilation.

2. Identification and implementing integrated ap­proaches to urban environment so as to pre­vent and abate the impacts of pollution and degradation:

(a) Ambient air pollution.

(b) Surface water pollution.

(c) Ground water pollution and depletion.

(d) Land use and ecosystem degradation.

3. Proper dealing with accidents and environ­mental disasters deriving from both natural and man-made efforts. Some of the worst sites of ecological disaster are found in and around cities.

4. Urban poverty and environmental conditions are interrelated. This poverty is exacerbated by environmental threats that account for a large share of ill health, early death and hard­ships to human beings.

5. Urban environmental factors are affecting hu­man health, particularly in the field of fertil­ity. In some countries, sperm counts have dras­tically reduced.

6. Understanding the influence of urbanisation on food system i.e., food supply, marketing and distribution because of adulterated food supply in urban areas.

7. Management of urban sprawl. The popula­tion is increasing in urban areas, leading to the decline in the amount of open space available and urban poor will take up illegal residence on the periphery of the city. These settlements become slums of the most appalling nature and adversely affect the environment.

8. Urban consumption and production patterns are the root cause or main culprit of environ mental deterioration. With this backdrop of urban environmental issues and challenges, globalisation generates new challenges in preparing strategies for urban devel­opment. The effects of globalisation will pro­foundly affect the future development of the ur­ban centers and cities.