Environment and Ecology linkage

Ecology was traditionally defined as the ‘study of organisms in relation to the environment. The environment was considered a sort of inert stage in which the actors, that is the organism played the game of natural selection. Perceptions today have changed, wherein we now are cognizant of the fact that the ’stage’ and the ‘actors’ interact with each other constantly so that not only do organisms relate to the physical environment but they also change the environment. Not only are they shaped by the environment they live in but also shape it, thus when the first cyano-bacteria started putting oxygen in the environment they paved the way for the first aerobic organisms. Today everything outside a person affecting him is considered as the environment.
Environment refers to physical & social conditions in which people live, especially as they influence their feelings & development. The environment can be defined as the complex set of physical, chemical, biological factors & social factors in which a living organism or community exists. This includes factors that operate like air, water, land, natural resources, flora, fauna, humans & interrelationships. The totality of surrounding conditions & circumstances affects growth, developments, atmosphere & ambience, happiness & quality of life. This results in survival, growth, development & quality of life in general. The social environment of an individual refers to his culture, family life, people, institutions & others with whom the person interacts. Children need a “happy home” environment. A well planned modern factory needs to offer a pleasant working environment. People need to survive; hence they need clean water, air and unpolluted space. Therefore, we can create certain beautiful environmental conditions and we need to preserve the natural environmental conditions. The scientific study of the patterns of relations of plants, animals & people to each other & their surroundings refer to ecology.
Ecology is the science of relationships between organisms and their environments. This branch of Social Sciences is concerned with studying the relationships between human groups and their physical and social environments, which is called human ecology. The study of detrimental effects of modern civilization on the environment, with a view towards prevention or reversal through conservation is also a part of human ecology. The importance of understanding ecology is crucial to man’s future. An understanding of ecology provides the basis for substantial use of natural resources, for the conservation of habitats and species, and for the prediction of the effects of man’s activities on the natural environment. The science of ecology is thus concerned with relationships between living organisms: plants, animals, microorganisms and their environment. Ecologists study the way in which organisms, populations, communities and ecosystems function and in doing so draw on many other areas of knowledge. Ecology is thus a challenging and diverse subject. Ecology and applied ecology are covering a wide range including animal ecology, vegetation ecology, environmental science, soil science and microbial ecology. An ecologist works in very many different environments, natural and managed from tropics to the Arctic and from estuaries to mountain tops to man-made social environments.

Literally, environment means all that surrounds us. It is an external condition that influences our development and growth. The surroundings not only influence human development but also the development of animals, plants living or working. The environment is a totality that determines the way of life of the people. In our contemporary situation of world order environment is clubbed with development. There is no discussion about the environment without linking it with development.  It is argued that development, in the end, leads to the degradation of the environment. The debate environment versus development has assumed national significance in our country. The environmentalists suggest that all programmes of development should be cancelled as they lead to degradation of the environment and ecology. Recently, the environmentalists have become lesser doctrinaire and have agreed to sustainable development, that is, the development which also maintains the requirement of the environment. 

As, at present, in our country, there appears to be an agreement in the nexus between environment and development that we should make all efforts to attain development to the extent that it does not permit any degradation of the environment. ‘Ecology’ is basically concerned with the relationship between plants and man. As a matter of fact, the environment is a comprehensive term that relates to man-nature relationships. It relates to plants, wildlife, water, land and man-made things as pollution resulting from industry and other such technological development. The context of the environment, that is, the degradation of land, forest and water resources in India’s villages occupies crucial importance. The village people have been living in the villages and they are much closer to the natural environment compared to their counterparts in urban communities. A little degradation of the environment, natural resource base directly influences the village people. The village life is witnessing a fast transformation. Increasingly Indian villages are becoming towns; towns in their turn are transforming into cities and cities are becoming metropolitans.