COURSE NAME: ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY

COURSE CODE: BENV 1102

CONTACT HOURS: 60 HRS
PREREQUISTES: NONE

COMBILED BY RATEMO SAMMY KINARA

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 1. Course description
This course will examine the relationships between human society, including economic and political
institutions, cultural beliefs, and individual behaviors, and the natural environment. Through a historical
perspective, the role that social organizations play in either fostering an ecologically sustainable society,
or in accelerating ecological destruction will be examined. The course will start with a consideration of
the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to agricultural societies, and then to industrial societies, and
how these transitions effected the impact of human society on the natural environment. After this
introduction, the course will focus on the dynamics of the current global industrial society and the social
processes that impact on the process of ecological degradation. The course will conclude with a
consideration of the possibilities for developing an ecologically sustainable society.

1.1 Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this course a student will be able to:

 Investigate the ways which people interact with their environment in order to make
informed decisions and implement relevant social action;
 Understand that the interaction people have with places in which they live is shaped by
the location patterns and processes associated with natural and built features;
 Understand that people attempt to meet their needs and wants by making optimum use of
limited resources in enterprises ways;
 Understand that people form groups because of their shared understanding of the world
and in turn they are influenced by the particular culture so informed;
 Understand that systems provide order to the dynamic natural and social relationships
occurring in the world.

1.2 COURSE OUTLINE

1. Introduction: definitions, Environmental and societal perspective

2. State of the environment: Pollution, urban environment, eutrophication, ground water,
biodiversity and hazardous substances
3. Environmental impact to the society
4. General economic development: demographic consideration, economic growth and
structure of trade and industry
5. Energy sector: consumption, supply, problems and action plans
6. Transport: traffic and transport, air pollution and policies
7. Rural production: agriculture, forestry, production, economic significance and
environmental impacts
8. Industry: development, impact, regulative control

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 9. Household: consumption, sewage, waste production, emissions and action plans

Mode of Delivery

Lecture method, case studies, field work, and group discussions.

Mode of Assessment / Evaluation

Each paper shall be assessed on the basis of 100% total marks apportioned as follows:

a) End of Semester written Examination 70%

b) Continuous Assessment: In-class questions, tests, take-home assignments, individual/group

presentations; 30%

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 ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY

1. INTRODUCTION

What is environment?

The term environment means the surrounding and all what it contains. It the totality of what we
live in, constitutes of the living nonliving things and people. The environment can be
characterized by its components which include; the lithosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere,
atmosphere and the buildup environment (human environment). These components can be
referred to as the Abiotic and Biotic components of the environment.

What is a society?

It is a group of people living together in an organized community, with laws, beliefs, culture, and
traditions controlling the way that they behave towards one another.

The environmental and society perspective

People/ society perceive the environment in different ways that is some societies perceive the
environment as a pull of resources which have value to improving society’s livelihoods.
However others perceive the environment as a place in which they must live and exploit the way
they want; and because of that prescription they end up degrading the environment thus lowering
its value to the society.

The intrinsic value

The following are the resources that societies derive from the environment and they perceive
them to have intrinsic value e.g. natural environment: mountains, valleys, land, swamps, animals,
forests, rocks, etc. buildup (human) environment/ social environment: telecommunication, roads,
phones, buildings, cultures, food, etc.

Importance of resources

 Employment opportunities
 Income revenues
 Food
 Medicines
 Foreign exchange
 Climatic modification
 Habitat for wildlife
 Research and study purpose
 Improve transport and communication
 Markets
 Raw material
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  Soil fertility building
 Social amenities,
 Reduce area for agriculture
 Affects infrastructure development
 Habitat for dangerous animals that affect people’s crops, etc

The negative perception of the society has affected the environment and its resources

Deforestation
Overgrazing, Pollution
Swamp destruction
Overfishing, Bush burning
Excessive use of inorganic/ synthetic fertilizers and chemicals
Over exploitation of environmental resources
Over consumerism

Environment plays an intrinsic value to the society and because of that value, people have/
societies have put measures in place to safeguard the environment as highlighted below:

1. Afforestation, reforestation, and agro forestation

2. Creation of the awareness to the masses in the society about the values of the
environment to the society. This is intended to change their attitude and behaviuor to
those who degrade it.
3. Formulation of by-laws i.e. do not urinate here fine 5,000/=, no dumping here fine
100,000/=, etc.
4. Soil and water conservation practices i.e. contour ploughing, terraces, mulching, tree
planting, etc
5. Pollution control measures e.g. polluters pay principle, emission standard, waste water
treatment, etc
6. Demolition of structures constructed in wetlands i.e. buildings, etc
7. Waste management e.g. proper waste collection, transport, and disposal.
8. Society involvement in environmental management ie the society involves all
stakeholders in management resources. This requires all the people i.e. male, female,
youths, elderly, etc.
9. Population control i.e. family planning, ABC, etc
10. Biodiversity conservation i.e. establishment of protected areas like national parks, gene
banks, etc

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 2. STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Pollution

This is the change in the state of the environment i.e. biologic, chemical, and physical. There are
many types of environmental pollution: water pollution, air pollution, soil pollution, noise
pollution, etc. All these pollutions are very harmful and can cause a serious impact on living
beings.

Pollution is having a horrific impact on the planet and us human beings. Water pollution, air
pollution, acid rain due to air pollution, land pollution, noise pollution, are all adversely affecting
the environment and people. Some countries are so polluted that children are born with birth
defects, such as mutations of different body parts, while several others develop such defects later
in life, due to their exposure to different types of pollution.

Air pollution is related to the emission of harmful gases in the earth's atmosphere which is
resulting in global warming. Ecologists have noted that billions of tons of toxic gases and
poisons pour into the air each year and damage the health and habitat near their source, and via
the wind sometimes a few miles away. Air pollution is a problem now experienced in all
countries in the world since each year industries, automobiles, increase in numbers and all enrich
more toxic gases into the atmosphere. Other effects cancer, asthma, impairs thinking, etc.

Water pollution on the other hand, is related to the dumping of waste materials in the water
which causes harm to the aquatic as well as terrestrial life. The problem of water pollution is due
to the discharge of domestic and industrial waste into aquatic systems has become a serious one
in developing countries. This problem is as a result of pollution due to radioactive substances,
inorganic chemicals and minerals, plant nutrients, and disease causing organisms.
Adverse effects of water pollution: breeding places for disease causing vectors and germ, disease
spread, reduction in oxygen demand in water bodies, death of fish species, gastric cancer,
discoloration of skin, effects on water transport, effects on industries, reduction in revenues/
taxes, etc.

Soil pollution is also related to the dumping of waste material in the soil which causes
degradation of the soil. This refers to that material which arises from various human activities
and which is normally discarded as useless/ unwanted in the environmental. It can be classified
into;
Garbage: it refers to solid waste generated due to preparation or storage of meat, fruits,
vegetables, etc and such waste have a moisture content of 70% and heating capacity of
6x106J/Kg.
Rubbish: this refers to either combustible or noncombustible waste. The combustible include
scrap, robber, wood, leather, etc while noncombustible include glass ceramics, metals, etc. their
moisture content is 15% while their heating value is 15x106J/Kg.

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Pathogens waste: these are made up of dead animals, human wastes, etc. they have a moisture
content of 85% and heating value of 2.5x106J/Kg.
Industrial waste: these include chemicals, paints, sand, metal, ore processing, fly ash, sewage
treatment, etc. This pause a health hazard to the environment, transmission root of dysentery,
diarrhea, etc. leachates pollute. Now comes noise pollution, which is related to the high
frequency sound ways which are harmful for the air.

The impact of pollution to the society

It leads to soil degradation especially in the agricultural sector where a lot of inorganic fertilizers
have been applied to improve the soil fertility. When the soils absorb a lot of chemicals, they will
reach an extent where they could not produce good results and this has a major effect to the
society as poor soils will lead to low yields leading to food insecurity hence poverty.

It affects the land where by litter, soil contamination, and deforestation and consumption of non-
renewable resources are all forms of environmental pollution. When the land is polluted
especially with oils which even affect the living organisms in the soil, the environment becomes
less valuable or damaged thus talking about environmental degradation where human life is
affected as there is no plant growth and death of animals.

Pollution also leads to changes in climatic conditions. This may happen as a result of carbon
monoxide and a lot of smoke in the air which affects the ozone layer. Once the ozone layer is
affected, the climate changes as sunlight will directly heat the surface without any protective
layer and this may cause desertification. This process may affect human life and animal life and
in general affects the society since it will lead to poor growth of plants, drought and death of
animals.

Pollution leads to the spread of diseases which may cost a lot of money to the individual and the
Government to purchase drugs and construction of hospitals to be accessed by the sick people.
An example of this may be through the contaminated water that people drink. If heavy metals
stay long in a certain place, they will rust and produce pollutants to the soil. Also due to
application of too many inorganic fertilizers in the soils have effects to the water that we drink.
When it rains, all these pollutants are taken to the water bodies through soil erosion process and
in turn human beings drink this water which is polluted hence acquiring diseases like lung cancer
and other heart diseases which affects the society most especially in labour force to produce
commodities in large quantities.

Also pollution has got an adverse impact to the society through the changes in national incomes.
An example is where by the polluted water bodies like lakes are affected which in turn affect the
aquatic life especially the population of fish in the lakes. When the water is polluted especially
the lakes, the population of fish will reduce and a country like Uganda which transports fish will
fail to get enough revenue in the fishing industry and this will also reduce the country’s income
plus the employment hence a challenge to the society.

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Pollution has also got and adverse impact to the society since it leads to limited rainfall
availability. The formation of rainfall becomes less due to pollution in the air which affects the
ozone layer. Even the little rains that will be formed will also be acidic (acid rains) which is
harmful to human life. Rainfall is formed through the process of hydrologic cycle and in case of
pollution where the leaves stomata will be closed, there will be no photosynthesis to take place
where the plants will not make their own food and the situation of no plant growth will lead to
little formation of rainfall which affects the entire society.

Pollution leads to the formation of carbon monoxide which is toxic to humans. Even healthy
people can be affected by carbon monoxide. People who breathe high levels of carbon monoxide
can develop vision problems, reduced ability to work or learn or have difficulty performing
complex tasks. People who have heart diseases may cause chest pains or other more serious
cardiovascular effect. Therefore, carbon monoxide is a very big threat to the air we breathe
which is a result of pollution.

Minimizing pollution from the society

i. Proper waste disposal

ii. Encourage the use of EFI
iii. Educating the masses
iv. Bylaws
v. Formulation of policies and regulations
vi. Establishing incentive and disincentives
vii. Recycling and resource pollution agents
viii. Polluters pay principle
ix. Tree planting

Research on the following

a) Urban environment
b) Eutrophication
c) Ground water

Biodiversity Conservation

According to UN summit of 1992, biodiversity is defined as the variability of among living

organism and resources interlia the terrestrial marine and other aquatic ecosystem and the
ecological complex of which they are apart.

Biodiversity can simply be defined as the variation of life at a given site or ecosystem, however,
it is through this diversity that natural systems adapt, evolve, and thrive. This link is so strong
that the term biodiversity is synonymous with ecosystem health. Diversity ecosystems usually

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have increased stability, increased productivity, and resistance to invasion and other
disturbances, it is these features that make biodiversity desirable within a given biological
community/ biome most importantly, biodiversity holds enormous value for the entire planet.

It can also be defined as the totality of genes, species and ecosystems of a region.

Levels of Biodiversity

Genetic diversity, the total number of genetic x-tics in the genetic makeup of a species, genetic
diversity allows species to adapt to changing environments. The diversity aims arms to ensure
that some species survive drastic changes and thus carry on desirable genes. The survival of
individuals ensures the survival of the population.

Species diversity a rate of one species population over total number of organisms across all
species in the given biome “zero” would be infinite diversity and one represents only one species
present.

Ecosystem diversity, the diversity of a place at the level of ecosystems, the earth is our biosphere
and the variation of ecosystems within our biosphere is a measure of ecosystem diversity.

IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY

Ecological importance

a. Trees provide habitat and food for birds, insects, other plants and animals, fungi and
microorganisms.

b. Insects, bats, birds, and other animals serve as pollinators.

c. Parasites and predators act as natural population controls

d. Various organisms are responsible for recycling organic materials and maintaining the
productivity of soils.

e. Green plants remove carbon dioxide from atmosphere and replenish it with Oxygen.

f. Forests for example are particularly important “sinks” for the absorption of Co2 and thus
are key factors for reducing global climatic change.

g. Wetlands serve as storages to reduce the impacts of floods and dense steams by filtering
sediments, nutrients, and contaminants from inflowing waters.

The interaction of all these natural processes forms a complex web of life, if any part of this
web suffers or breaks downs the future of the other parts is threatened.

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Humans are in many cases degrading and destroying the ability of BD to perform the services
mentioned above.

Economic importance

a. Food: species are muted (e.g. antelopes, birds) fished (e.g. cod, tuna fish, and gathered
(e.g. fruits: berries, mushrooms) as well as cultivated fro agriculture (e.g. wheat, com,
rice, vegetables) and aquaculture (e.g. salmos, mussels).it is interesting to know that of
the about 80,000 available comestible plants, human use less than 30 to satisfy 90% of
our planets alimentary needs.

b. Fuel: timber and coal are only two examples of natural resources used to produce energy.

c. Shelter and warmth: timber and other forest products, leg oak, beach, pine is used as
building materials and for shelter, fibres such as wool and cotton are used to make
clothes.

d. Medicines, both traditional medicines and processed drugs are obtained from BD:
penicillin is produced by a mould, codeines obtained from poppies; digital is from fox
floe and quinine from the bank of cinchona trees.

e. Other goods such as paper and pencils provided by the earth’s diversity.

Indirect services

a. Clean and drinkable water, only a small amount about 1% of the water on our planet is
useable directly. The rest is either salty (97%0 or frozen (2%) forests around the world
filter our usable water again , constantly replenishing the water we use for drinking ,
bathing and growing crops;

b. Air to breathe, plants around the world take CO2 of the air and put O2 that almost all
creatures need to breath.

c. Fertile soils, microorganisms recycle the soils organic matter and maintain its fertility.

d. Pollination, insect, birds and bat spp carry protein from one plant to another (or from one
part of a plant to another) those fertility fruit crops and flowers.

Cultural importance

a. Plants and animals are often used as symbols, for example in flags, paintings, sculptures,
photographs, stamps, songs, and legends.

b. Finally, BD is also beautiful, it’s a pleasure to see and smell flowers in a field to listen to
birds singing etc.

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Threats to Biodiversity

1. Habitat loss: habitat loss, alteration and fragmentation directly affect the species that rely
on the habitat that is being changed; it is common / serious in areas where urbanization,
agriculture and road densely are greatest.
2. Invasive spp: these are harmful non–native spp whose introduction or spread threatens
the environment, the economy and society, including human health. They originate from
other continents adjacent counties or from other ecosystem. Free there from predation
and competition that would normally limit their limitation distribution and abundance in
their natural habitats, many invasive spp reproduce rapidly and damage displace or
destroy native spp in our forests (e.g. emerald ash borer) agricultural areas (e.g. plum pox
virus ), wetland (e.g. purple loose strife) and lakes and rivers (e.g. zebra mussel). Zebra
mussel disrupts ecosystem composition and structure, clogs water intake pipes and affects
public beaches.
3. Pollution, it is emitted in many different forms including atmospheric pollution,
pesticides, particulate matter and heavy metals, there are thousands of pollutants
circulating through the earth’s ecosystems and many of these materials have significant,
large scale impacts on forests and aquatic ecosystems.
4. Acid precipitation for example, has had a significant impact on forests and others
resources and industrial pollutants such as DDT are known to have caused significant
declines in population of many bird spp e.g. peregrine falcons and bold eagles. Pollution
can also disrupt ecological processes. For example scientists are now linking light
pollution to declines in migratory songbirds.
5. Population growth, human population growth adds to the impact of all other causes
because more people require more space and more resources. There are now about 6
billion people on the earth, more than twice as many as 1950 while the rate of increase is
slowing; it still adds more than 90 million people per year. Habitats, even healthy ones,
can support just so many of anything including people.
6. Over consumption or unsustainable use, over consumption is the harvest of spp at a rate
higher than can be sustained by the natural reproduction of the population. In Ontario for
example wild American ginseng has been over –harvested from its natural rich woodland
habitat to the point of being endangered.
7. Climatic change and other cumulative impacts (the C in HIPPOC) people have added
CO2, nitrous oxide, methane and other greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere by extracting
and burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gases, the effect of these gases has
been to trap heat and accelerate the rate of global warming and climatic change, climatic
change is a major threat to the world’s BD.
8. The cumulative impacts of pollution and habitat modification, the global redistribution of
spp and over harvesting put many ecosystems at risk. These cumulative impacts cause
alteration, reduction, loss and fragmentation of habitat, they also demand human health.

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 9. Inadequate knowledge at local and region / national and international and this creates a
lot of problems to BD. Also knowledge on ecosystems is still lacking and this has given
changes to degradation of the BD resources because of understands the market between
spp and ecosystems.
10. Lack of awareness about the roles / uses / services of the spp and ecosystem, Limited
information about the types of spp and ecosystems
11. Unawareness about the lines between spp and ecosystem: Relate this to your area /
locally, Social change and development biases
12. Consumption rates/ patterns – amount of goods consumed by relating to the nature of the
society e.g. the rich and the poor. As people become richer, they will demand more
resources for consumption as compared to the poor people. So all in all these affect the
behavior of the people and what happens negatively may affect the areas.
13. Bias – development bias
14. Agriculture, industries, education, all may affect the biological resource depletion. If
resources are not equally distributed in the region, very many people will resort to
destruction as a result of regional imbalances.

Biodiversity conservation (BD): Strategies

1) In-situ- conservation (protected areas) i.e. National parks, Game reserves –Pian Upe
protection of spps in the natural habitats, Sanctuaries (for birds)
2) Ex-situation areas (gene banks) i.e. Botanic gardens: MUK, Entebbe, SCC-Vi. These
used for protection of spp out of the natural habitats – physical areas. Most of this
conservation strategies are as a result of colonial administration and has given little
involvement of the local communities - communities participation and this has resulted
into conflicts especially by those people that leave with in and around the protect dares.
3) The use of force as was used during the colonial times ad has resulted into resentment of
the people. But this is of advantageous that is has been able to yield the present
conservation of Spp.
4) The formulation of policies such as wetland land policy, water, Natural Resource policy,
so there is a need to restructure the current policies in order to fill in the management of
the natural resources.
5) Integrated land use management approaches conservation of BD that is agriculture land
use, agro forestry, this is because improvement in the land use systems can lead to
improvement in yields and reduced poverty thus employment and incomes.
6) Habitat protection and this is based on specific criteria like looking at Hotspot areas.
Are the areas having a variety of Spp. Habitat protection goes hand in hand with the
creation of the corridors.
7) Capacity building, this takes into account resources available i.e. Finances, technical
demands, natural resources, and political commitments for industrial establishments.

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 These should be integrated in both traditional and the modern ways app for conserving
BD.
8) Creating partnerships with local community, police force, international bodies
(organizations) in order to help in conservation of species. E.g. WWF, UNEP, etc have
helped in creating awareness to communities.
9) The conventions i.e. GCS, UNCED, CBD, RAMSAR, Bilateral agreements, etc

HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES

These are waste that has physical, chemical, or biological characteristics which require special
handling and disposal procedures to avoid risk to health and other adverse environmental effects.
These are materials that are potentially dangerous to the environment or may interact with other
materials to cause a threat to the environment e.g. carbon dioxide, sulphurdioxide from industries
combines in atmosphere.

It is either because of its quality and physical, chemical or infectious characteristics could
significantly contribute in mortality or incapacitating irreversible illness or pause potential
hazard to the human environment when improperly stored, transported disposed-off or managed.

Characteristics of Hazardous substances

These four characteristics of hazardous waste are listed by the Environment protection agency of
the USA:

Corrosivity (dissolve): It identifies waste that requires special containers because of their ability
to corrode standard materials or requires segregation from other waste because of their ability to
dissolve toxic contaminants.

Theactivity/ explosiveness: It identifies waste that requires during routine management tend to
react spontaneously, react vigorously with air or water, are stable to shock or heat, generate toxic
gases or explode.

Toxicity: It identifies waste that when improperly managed may release toxicants in sufficient to
pose a substantial hazard to human health or the environment. They are harmful if ingested,
inhaled or absorbed. When toxic waste are disposed-off on land, contaminated liquid may drain
(leach) from the waste and pollute the ground water

Ignitability: It identifies waste that pose fire hazard during routine management such as fires.
Fires not only present immediate dangers of health and smoke but also can spread harmful
particles and gases and over wide areas.

Other hazardous waste not with the above characteristics include: domestic sewage, industrial
waste discharges, healthcare waste, nuclear, mining waste, agro-animal waste including some
pesticides.

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 3. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT TO THE SOCIETY

Excessive land use

Over utilization of forest cover

In the struggle to promote and realize the goal and sustain the consumer society, humans have
cleared forest covers, woodlands and wetlands not only for agricultural purpose but also to
promote industrialization. Forests are an important part of the ecological cycle. They are a good
source of oxygen, rainfall, moisture, etc. But deforestation has brought about a drastic change in
the ecological balance of the earth. It takes years for a tree to grow and every year approximately
16 million hectares of forests are cut down for various purposes.

Despite the various benefits that human beings have realized, they have generated terrible
ecological distortion in some parts of the world leading to dissertation and causing serious
climate change. This has resulted in a climate shift, less rainfall, soil erosion, danger to wild
animals etc.

Overuse of water bodies

There has been excessive over use of underground aquifers in many parts of world for instance
North America, Arabian Peninsula, South East and South Africa where the aquifers have been
drained at a rate faster than rain can revitalize them, example in the Sahel countries (region).

Pollution

There are many types of environmental pollution: water pollution, air pollution, soil pollution,
noise pollution, etc. All these pollutions are very harmful and can cause a serious impact on
living beings.

Depletion of ozone layer

Ozone is a protective layer which saves the earth from harmful ultra violet rays of the sun. But
due to the emission of the CFC (Chlorofluorocarbon) gases the ozone layer is getting depleted. If
the emission of these gases and other harmful gases are not checked, the ozone layer will
disappear very soon. This may expose the living beings to harmful radiations which can cause
life-threatening diseases like skin cancer.

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The greenhouse effect/ Global warming

Global warming is directly connected to the percentage of CO2 present in the earth's atmosphere.
The earth gets its warmth from the greenhouse effect. But due to the increasing percentage of
greenhouse gases, the temperature of the earth is increasing day by day. This has resulted in the
depletion of glaciers which in turn are responsible for the increasing sea level. If the temperature
keeps increasing at such a rate, then slowly the entire land will be submerged in water.

The high amounts of air pollution due to the development of several industries, and water
pollution due to discarding of toxic waste in oceans and other water bodies, and the high rate of
deforestation, are also contributing towards a drastic climate change. This widespread misuse is
causing global warming like never before. Erratic changes in weather, brutal blizzards and
floods, and vicious heat waves, are now affecting lands where such phenomena were not so
common.

Ecosystem and Species extinction

Lots of ecosystems and species are facing a complete breakdown and collapse because of
extinction of some key species existing in it. The loss of these ecosystems can be catastrophic in
nature. People usually take ecosystems/ species for their aesthetic value, but the function of
ecosystems and the species that exist in them can be multi-dimensional and extremely important
to maintain an ecological balance.
Conservation of ecosystems and endangered species is often neglected as an issue but still remai
ns a very critical environmental issue.

Biodiversity loss

Earth comprises several life forms that together contribute to the biological diversity that exists
on the planet. The world is experiencing degeneration of biodiversity. Biodiversity is important
because all life species on this planet play a crucial role in its sustenance.

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 4. GENERAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Demographic consideration

What is population?

This is the total number of inhabitants of an area such as a city, country or continent, in a given
period of time. However, population growth refers to the increase in the number of human
inhabitants of a given place. It is expressed as a percentage and it is importance in forecasting
future population totals of a given country.

The role of population in economic development

 Exploitation of idle resources
 Infrastructural development
 Industrialization and Urbanization
 Security
 Provision of markets
 Employment opportunity
 Creativity and innovation
 Cheap labour
 Increased tax base

Economic growth

Economic growth refers to the quantitative increase in the volume of goods and services
produced in a country in a given period of time. It is normally used to explain the persistent
increase in a country’s per capital volume of output or a country’s productive capacity for a
particular period of time. It indicates a shift in the PPF curve to the right.

Economic development

It is a wider concept. It is involves both qualitative and quantitative increase in a county’s output
capacity. Therefore, it involves a change in economic growth or increase in growth plus the
distribution of the increased goods and services among other people.

The differences between economic growth and development

Difference economists use different variables to distinguish economic growth from development
however; they all agree that the following are some of the variables:

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Table 1: Differences between economic growth and development
Economic Growth Economic Development
1. It is Rapid It is Gradual: it involves complete change
2. It can do without development It cannot do without development: growth
leads to development
3. It can be attained by use of the It can be attained through complete change/
available resources to increase output transformation in all sectors from traditional to
highly scientific sectors in the economy
4. It may occur in a single sector or a few It involves all sectors in the economy
sectors of production in an economy
5. A country may achieve high rates of There is a persistent rate of efficiency which is
economic growth but when efficiency even permanent in the long run
is low and output is poor
6. It simply aims at increasing the volume It emphasizes the complete changes in all the
of output but it does not require sectors of the country which may have
changes in negative consequences.
terms of religion, beliefs, conservativen
es, cultural value, and poor land tenure
systems which are barriers, to progress

Indicators of economic growth and development

 The level of education

 The level of nutrition and health
 The level of infrastructural development both social and economic infrastructure
 The level of employment
 The contribution of manufacturing sector and other non-agricultural sectors
 The level of technology available to exploit a country’s natural resources
 The level of consumption of durable goods and services/ steel and metals eg vehicles,
radios, TVs, iron sheets and other durable goods
 The level of urbanization and industrialization within the country
 The degree of political, social and economic stability

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Benefits of growth and development

 Increased quality and quantity of goods and services which may result into fall of the
general price levels, permitting low incomes earners to attain their SOL/ COL
 Increased quality and quantity of goods and services produced may lead to stability in the
countries BOP, relates more on exports than imports
 Increased investment which improves the level of employment in the country
 Improved level of infrastructure both social and economic
 Expand in the tax base and tax potentials, as incomes increase governments generate
more revenues
 Increased savings, investments and later improved capital formation which boosts the
economic productivity of the country
 It is one of the basic indicators of economic power prosperity and prestige

Costs of growth and development

 Pollution of the environment which may affect the lives of people

 Development of slums plus its associated evils such as prostitution
 Leisure is foregone due to hard work and sacrifice
 Increased exploitation of natural resources due to increased production goods and
services
 It results into rural urban migration and its associated problems like high crime rates
 Increased cost of living especially in urban areas where the basic necessities of life are
expensive
 It may lead to demand-pull inflation, if people’s incomes improve without appropriate
increase in the volume of goods and services produced in the country
 It may prove expenses if it involves massive displacement of people in order to provide
land for the establishment of industries, power projects and any other forms of
infrastructure
 The material prosperity and increased production of goods and services may expand on a
country’s population size since people’s chances to service would have been improved

Obstacles to economic growth and development

 Limited skilled and high level of man power

 Social and cultural backwardness
 Limited market both local and foreign
 Poor technology
 Political instability
 Poor infrastructure both social and economic plus their level of development
 Foreign domination

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  High population growth
 Lack of the sustainable natural resources and their level of exploitation
 The viscous cycle of poverty

STRUCTURE OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY

The industry can be explained in form of:

o Compositional output
o Distribution
o Ownership
o The size

Factors for the location of industries

 Raw materials
 Technology
 Power and energy
 Government policy
 Economies of scale
 Transport and communication
 Labour
 Markets
 Climate and weather
 Natural and manmade resources
 Population
 Water supply
 Political stability

Contribution of the industrial sector

 Employment opportunity
 Tax and revenues
 Urbanization
 Foreign exchange
 Provision of goods and services
 Incomes

Problems faced by the industrial sectors

o Poor technology
o Unreliable climate and weather

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 o Soil infertility
o Wars
o Pests and diseases

Strategies to improve the industrial sector

 Privatization
 Establishment of import substitution
 Liberation of the economy i.e. encourage free trade
 Control inflation
 Protection of infant industries
 Maintaining political stability
 Infrastructure improvements
 Provision of credit facilities
 Modernization of agriculture
 EIA

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 5. TRANSPORT SYSTEMS: A CASE OF UGANDA

Types of transport

1) Road
2) Railway
3) Water
4) Air (space)
5) Pipelines

Road transport

Categories

a) Gazette/ main roads

b) Feeder roads; routes connecting rural areas to urban centers/ main roads
c) Community and institution roads
d) Numerous trucks and paths; lead to individual homesteads in rural areas and dwelling
units in urban areas.

Importance road improvements in rural societies

1. Increased access to exploitation of community resources such as quarry mines, murrum

extraction sites which provide employment and more income to the people
2. Increased agriculture in terms of more and bigger gardens hence increased harvest.
3. Increased road site selling points and markets that open up along the new roads;
generally the volume of agricultural products and business activities also increased.
4. Sprouting of new infrastructure such as new schools, health centers, etc
5. Increased traffic on roads in terms of pedestrian, bicycle and motor vehicles which have
led to the improvements in development of people as well as good reduced transport

Impact of the road network to economic development

1. Opening up of new areas for development: new and improved road networks have the
potential to opening both rural and urban societies for various economic activities i.e.
processing, etc
2. Domestic trade: good roads encourage domestic trade through transportation of
agricultural products from rural societies to markets mainly found in the urban societies.
3. Industrial development: a good road network is one of the factors that affect industrial
development
4. Tourism development: in some areas like Kenya, Uganda, etc tourism is one of the
sectors that earn those countries substantial foreign exchange revenues. Tourism

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 attraction like national parks, game reserves are mainly accessed by roads to make a
meaningful contribution to tourism development, thus their roads are of good standards.
5. Reduced travel time and fares: road improvements in the economy contribute
considerably to increased number of buses and taxis which reduce both the travel time
between various destinations and transport costs.
6. Reduce vehicle maintenance costs: relatively good transport networks have contributed to
longer life span of the vehicles and reduced their maintenance costs. This in turn
contributes a saving to the country’s petroleum consumption as well as spare parts all
which are imported.
7. Foreign trade: the Northern corridor route in Uganda i.e. the route between Kampala and
Mombasa plays a very important role in Uganda’s foreign trade (imports and exports).

Transport and traffic

Traffic jam is a common problem in urban societies. It is due to motor vehicles’ traffic
congestion especially during the peak hours on the account of some reasons below:

a) Narrow roads that were designed and built during the colonial times considered a few
vehicles. i.e. limited numbers of vehicles owned by then by the low populations.
b) Most roads in urban societies have got dilapidated especially due to economic and
political chaos due to lack of maintenance.
c) The fewer roads constructed to direct traffic away from the central business district
(CBD) of urban areas. Most of the traffic is funneled through CBD hence congestion in
the cities.
d) Unreasonable road users particularly omnibus (taxi) drivers.

Possible solution to control traffic jam

1) Widening the roads where possible

2) Tarmacking surrounding roads to smoothen and divert traffic away from the CBD
3) Construction of satellite taxi terminals in the city’s outskirts so that taxis just transit
trough the CBD.
4) Installation of additional electronic traffic control signal systems
5) Constructions of flyovers, bypasses, or express highways in and around the city

Air pollution……………………….

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 6. INDUSTRIALIZATION AND SOCIETY

Factors that influence industrial development in the society

1. The industries that are located near the source of raw materials are mainly the extractive
types; industries that are engaged in mineral ores and cement production are
characterized with inputs e.g. cotton, fish, sugar, tea processing are located near the
source of raw materials.
2. Nearness to power supply
3. Market, all industries produce goods for sale neither in the local or foreign markets.
4. Labour, the supply of labour is an important consideration but not quite significant
location factor. There is a general riot e.g. on Uganda and where specialized skills are
required; investors may bring in expatriate staff from the country of origin.
5. Good transport net work
6. Water supply
7. Government policy
8. Unskilled labour is readily available since the level of unemployment in developing
countries is extremely high.
9. External economies of scale: EES (where added advantages are gained by industry from
the presence of other industries in the vicinity) are becoming extremely important today.
The presence of already established infrastructure such as roads, warehouse, piped water,
readily available inputs from neighboring factories and services, industries are now quite
important in the location decisions.

Importance of industries development to the society (economy)

Industrial development is considered to be a wheel of economic progress in any given society

because of potential benefits that would be generated. The following are some of the benefits of
industrialization to the society e.g. Uganda:

Market for agricultural products

As mentioned earlier, Uganda in an agriculture country producing a wide range of both food and
cash crops e.g. cotton, coffee, tobacco and sugar cane provided a basis for initial/ primary
processing industries. Cotton ginneries, coffee processing mills, tea and sugar consumed and to
provide market for agricultural products hence supporting the farmers in the society.

Employment opportunities: industries create employment for a number of people in any society
where industries are established. Through the income earned, employees are able to meet their
basic requirements like food, shelter, clothing as well as education.

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Infrastructure development, industrial development encourages and supports various
infrastructures such as roads, railways, power, and water supply e.g. in Uganda, the extension of
Kampala – Kasese railway line in the 1950s primarily targeted the Kirembe copper mines.
Kasese Cobalt Company (KCCL) constructed Mobuku III hydroelectric power station to supply
additional power needs to the processing plant to reduce on power costs and ensure reliability
and also easy access by the society.

Industrialization of urban societies, it encourages the development of several towns for example
in Uganda it led to the development of Jinja, Tororo, Kasese, Kampala, etc.

Foreign exchange earnings: this is through the export of products to the neighbouring countries
e.g. Uganda exports sugar, cooking oil, beers, milk, etc. in addition, Uganda’s fish processing
plants are among the top foreign exchange earnings.

Revenue to the government: the government levies taxes to industries that operate within its
territory, they include income tax, VAT, corporate tax, etc. the tax can be used by to improve
social amenities/ infrastructure with the society thus improving their standards of living.

Economic diversification: most of developing countries have narrow export base heavily
dependent on the export of primary products which are adversely affected by the fluctuating
prices on the world market. This normally results declining exchange earnings.

Export diversification is now a necessary strategy to strengthen the country’s fragile economic
situation for example Uganda is now considering industrialization as a key strategy focusing on
value addition widen the export base, increase the on competitiveness of the export products and
increases foreign exchange earnings; it is therefore discouraging the export of unprocessed
goods/ products.

Others

i. Pollution
ii. Wetland destruction
iii. Deforestation
iv. Rural urban migration

Problems to industrialization

a) Unreliable power supply

b) Climate change
c) Limited access to credit
d) Unskilled labour supply
e) Poor technology
f) High taxes

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 g) Corruption and deficiencies in tax administration; this normally occurs throughout the
falsification and under declaration of goods subsequently similar good imported into the
country which become cheap on the market.
h) Political instabilities
i) Relatively high costs of production affect the final cost and consumption of the locally
manufactured goods/ product.
j) Dumping cheaply manufactured/ initiates and substandard from other countries affect the
local products.
k) Smuggling goods are smuggled into the country hence affecting the local products

Questions

1. a) Examine the impact of industrialization to the society

b) Explain the factors that influence the location of industries to any society
2. Identify and discuss the negative impacts of industrialization to the society
3. Explain the strategies that would be put in place to minimize the negative impacts of
industrialization.

25
 7. RURAL PRODUCTION

Agricultural production in Uganda

Introduction

Agriculture is basically the growing of crops and rearing animals for either subsistence or
commercial purposes in Uganda, fishing is also part of agricultural activities.

Agriculture is a key economic activity and ever 90% of the population earns a living. It
contributes about 50% of the country’s GDP; it generates nearly 85% of the export earnings and
a basis for most industries and services. Agriculture production in Uganda can be divided into
three major sub sectors namely; crops, livestock and fisheries.

The crop sub sector is the largest in agriculture production in terms of area coverage and
contributes to GDP; much of the food crop production however is for direct consumption by the
farmers with a small portion entering the domestic export market. It is practiced on small scale of
about 1.5 – 5 acres.

The livestock sub sector is increasingly becoming important economic activity acting for about
7% of total agriculture GDP, about 66% of livestock products reach the market compared to
about 33% of the food crop produced.

Fisheries sub sector accounts for about 5% agriculture GDP, almost the entire production is
marketed with domestic market consuming an estimated 85% and processed fresh consuming
about 15%.

Subsistence agriculture

Most of the agriculture is carried out by peasant farmers in rural societies; they own small plots
of land usually measuring about 1.5 – 5 acres on average and contribute about 94% of all
agriculture production in the country. They grow various crops like coffee, cotton, tobacco,
vanilla, and cocoa basically for export market; the traditional food crops grown include sweet
potatoes, cassava, Irish, beans, etc.

Characteristics

a) Small plots are cleared

b) Poor crops and animal husbandry
c) Low crop yields
d) Rudimentary tools are used
e) Use family labour
f) Limited application of fertilizers
g) Heavily dependent on natural environment i.e. rainfall
h) Mostly it production for home consumption with little for sale
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Plantation agriculture

It is increasingly becoming important in Ugandans agricultural systems largely to produce

products more efficiently than the small holder farms. It also encourages land fragmentation and
job creation i.e. growing and rearing animals no large scale.

Characteristics

i. Practiced on large scale

ii. Practiced on Monoculture basis
iii. Plantations supplements their production through purchases from out growers
iv. Provide basic necessities i.e. education, shelter, closing, health, etc
v. Pay huge taxes to the government of the host country
vi. Employ thousands of people i.e. reduce unemployment
vii. They also tend to contribute to infrastructure development i.e. roads, power,
Tele-communication, etc.

Contribution

1. Provide employment opportunities

2. Minimize waste i.e. waste products are converted to numerous application such as
fertilizers of fuel
3. They contribute to growth and development of some urban areas
4. Foreign exchange
5. Generates government revenues/ taxes
6. The work force is given relevant and specialized training skills which improves
productivity
7. Regular supplies of the crops maintained by the plantation system which sometimes
justifies the establishment of factories on the spot instead of transporting the bulky raw
materials over long distances
8. Provision of ready markets for the products produced by the society
9. Rural urban migration and its associated problems like low production in rural societies,
prostitution, etc
10. Deforestation
11. Soil degradation
12. Profit expatriation
13. Pollution of the environment

Problems affecting agriculture production

a) High costs of agriculture inputs

b) Limited access to storage facilities
c) Limited market for the produce

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 d) Poor road network
e) Land fragmentation
f) Climate change i.e. seasonal changes, droughts, low and unreliable rainfalls, etc
g) Pests, parasites and diseases
h) Limited access to financial credit
i) Limited storage facilities (perishability of agricultural products)
j) Etc……..

FORESTRY MANAGEMENT

A forest is a vegetation type dominated by trees, many species of which are tall at maturity and
have straight trunk i.e. forests can be planted or natural forests.

Natural resources found in forests have for centuries contributed to human well-being. Forests
are the source of many hidden treasures and a fertile ground for scientific research. In particular,
the properties of some genetic resources from timber and non-timber forest products have
contributed to the development of a broad range of products, including pharmaceuticals and
cosmetics.

Other forest resources with potential for development include:

▪ A Madagascan tree commonly called “handy” (Neobeguea mahafalensis), used as a “sexual
enhancer” in the island nation;
▪ A tree, Cussonia zimmermannii, found in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Mozambique and
widely distributed in South Africa is used as a remedy for mental disorders (ACB 2009);
▪ The bark of the Prunus Africana tree, in sub-Saharan Africa has been used by local
communities for the treatment of a variety of illnesses, including malaria, syphilis, high blood
pressure, Asthma, etc.

Students take part

a) Importance of forestry
b) Problems affecting forestry management
c) Strategies to safeguard the forests and their resources

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 8. THE ENERGY SECTOR

Power plays an important role in the country’s socio-economic development while providing the
necessary infrastructural economic base for societal attractiveness for investment in the various
sector particularly industry, commerce and agriculture.

Examples of energy sources

a) Hydro-electric power
b) Petroleum
c) Thermal
d) Solar, Wind
e) Biomass
f) Biogas, Geothermal

Hydro Electric Power

Hydro energy is the use of gravitational force of falling or flowing water to generate electricity.
The hydropower is the largest and most widely form of renewable energy sources that can be
found commonly in almost every part of this world. Basically the hydropower plants are
constructed and located in big dams that have high gravitational forces, the hydroelectric does
not produce any waste directly or indirectly which make it to be considered the sources of energy
that has lower level output of the greenhouse carbon dioxide (CO2). Below is a figure that can
illustrate how hydro energy is used to generate energy.
Basically, a majority of the hydroelectric power and energy comes from dammed water which
drives a water turbine and generator. The energy from the water depends on the volume in the
difference in height and pressure between the water outflow and the source of the water. The
height difference as a term is called the head; this determines the total amount of the potential
energy from water totally depends on the head.

Advantages of HEP
a) It is clean and renewable
b) It has low transportation cost
c) It provides comparatively cheaper power for industrial development
Disadvantages
i. It expensive
ii. It has a low coverage
iii. Theft of power by users
iv. It is unreliable in supply

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Solar Energy

Solar energy or power involves the utilization of sun light to generation electricity. This can be
done by trapping direct sunlight rays using photovoltaics (PV), or using indirect method where
the sun’s light or energy is focused to boil and heat water which is later used to provide power,
the indirect method is called concentrating solar power (CSP). However, besides geothermal and
tidal, all other renewable energy sources get their energy from the sun.
The energy influx from the solar radiation is the expression of power density that is used to
indicate the number of watts per square meter (Da Rosa, 2008, Nadabo, 2010).
This energy from the sun is used as solar thermal and solar power applications. Solar thermal
energy, through various technologies, is utilized for various purposes which includes heating,
drying, cooking, seasoning of timber, water treatment (Distillation and disinfection), cooling
(Refrigeration and Cold storage), high temperature process heat or industrial purposes. Solar
power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity. Photo voltaic or PV is used to convert
Sunlight directly into electricity, or uses concentrating solar power or CSP to indirectly generate
electricity. Solar Photovoltaic or SPV cells convert solar radiation into DC electricity directly.

Importance of solar energy

1) It provides bright light which is used for reading by the rural standards both in schools
and homes resulting in improved academic performance.
2) It reduces expenditure met on the purchase of batteries for radios; torches and paraffin
thus cash savings for the families
3) It reduces on carbon fumes released from thousands kerosene lamps (Tadooba) lit every
day thus reducing on pollution hence living in harmony with the environment
4) It reduces eye diseases caused by dim light and paraffin fumes
5) At health centers, the storage of drugs especially vaccines is facilitated hereby reducing
on mortality rates
6) It also provides a link between the urban and rural societies through improved
telecommunication systems
7) The solar systems have the advantage of long life span, low maintenance costs and easy
to operate
8) They are portable, making it easy to install in remote areas. Solar energy is generated
from the sun using solar panel during the day and stored in solar batteries for later use.

Disadvantages

i. Solar equipment have high initial costs which is not affordable by many people
ii. Theft of solar panels

30
Biomass

Biomass energy is a source of renewable energy that is biologically derived from living materials
or organisms, like waste, wood, and alcohol fuels. The most commonly use biomass are dead
trees, wood chips and tree trumps. It also includes plants or animals that a used for production of
chemicals and fibers. It may also include waste that is biodegradable, meaning waste that is
usually burnt as a fuel.
The biomass- based energy process usually starts with the capture sunlight by the plants and
production of chemical compound. This is called photosynthesis which leads to glucose. This
creates biochemical transformations in a very large quantity with great commercial value.
Usually, the photosynthesis proceeds with efficiencies of less than 8% (Nadabo, 2010).

However firewood demand has contributed to deforestation as wood reserves depleted at a rapid
rate; charcoal consumptions increases at a rate close to that of urban population (6% per year).

To conserve energy, most of the traditional energy technology (wood and charcoal stoves,
Rocket Lorena Energy Saving Stoves and production kilns) are increasingly being used though
remain largely inefficient. Several programs to conserve biomass resources have been
undertaken by governments and private sectors including NGS, CSOs, CBOs, etc. The
promotion of improved stoves as well as afforestation, however the impact of this effort is still
limited.

Problems affecting energy use and conservation

a) Poverty

b) Ignorance

c) Low incomes

d) Drought

e) Etc.

31
 9. HOUSEHOLDS

Consumption

This relates to the pattern and use of the environment and its resources by man to satisfy his
needs. Man consumes the environment through exploitation, hunting, deforestation, products
collection and others. However, the consumption results into degradation, pollution and sewage
and waste generation which are threats to the environment as well as the society.

Sewage

This refers to Waste water discharged from small/ medium industrial and commercial
establishments, food premises and dwellings (domestic waste water) but shall not exclude storm
water / surface runoff. This wastewater in households is stored into septic tanks and some
household allow it to continue into drainage channels, rivers, wetland/ swamps or land. The most
common practice in to treat this sewage.

Waste production

A waste is any scrap or unwanted material arising from any process or any substance or article
which requires to be disposed-off as being a worn out or spoilt.

Examples of Households waste include; paper, garbage, glass, peelings, trimmings, garden,
kitchen/ food remains, fecal matter, sewage, etc.

The methods employed in the management of household waste include; dumping, composting,
incineration, recycle, reuse, treatment, burning,

The process of waste management at household level involves; generation, collection, storage,
transportation and disposal.

32
Emissions

These are particulate matter, dust particles, ash and industrial gases that are sent into the
atmosphere as a result of households’ activities in the environment such as fossil burning, bush
burning, charcoal burning, open burning of waste, construction, transport and industry – air
pollution.

This is increasingly becoming a danger to residents in societies. This is due to the increasing
number of cars and industries have meant pollution of the atmosphere through gaseous
emissions. These emissions are a health hazard and with regard to industrial emissions the
NEMA Uganda has put in place certain controls designed to minimize adverse environmental
consequences to the society which include: EIA, Environmental inspections, laws and policies/
standards.

Students’ research

 The impact of air pollution/ emissions

 Action plans

33
References
Brulle, Robert J. And Jenkins, J. Craig 2005. The U.S. Environmental Movement: Crisis Or

Transition?. Paper presented at the conference: Double Standards And Simulation: Symbolism,

Rhetoric And Irony In Eco-Politics, Bath, UK, September 2005.

Buttel, F. H., and C. R. Humphrey. 2002. Sociological theory and the natural environment. Pages 33-69
in R. E. Dunlap and W. Michelson, editors. Handbook of environmental sociology. Greenwood, Westport,
Connecticut, USA.

Diamond, Jared 2005. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, New York: Viking Press.

Ernst, Howard R. 2003. Chesapeake Bay Blues: Science, Politics, and the Struggle to Save the

Bay. Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield.

Shellenberger, M, and Nordhaus, T. 2004. The Death of Environmentalism: Global Warming

Politics in a Post-Environmental World. El Cerrito CA: The Breakthrough Institute.

York, R, Rosa, E. and Dietz, T. 2003. Footprints on the Earth: The Environmental

Consequences of Modernity, American Sociological Review Vol. 68: 279-300.

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