Year: 2020

Indians are strongly guided by their respective religions and their shared values. Respect for elders and hierarchy are core values that permeate all aspects of Indian society. Indians also place huge importance on family and community. And as in many Asian cultures, the concept of saving face – avoiding blame or any type of shameful situation can influence decision-making processes and affect your business dealings in India.

Building good business relationships and trust are important in India, so you should expect to spend plenty of time at meetings, dinners and social clubs with potential business partners. In a first meeting, let the Indian host guide the initial stages of the conversation. As in some other Asian cultures, Indians like to develop a personal connection first. So expect to be asked and prepare to ask your own questions – about family.

Role of Indian Culture in Business Promotions are:-

1. Greetings and titles

A handshake is the standard way to greet men and women in a business setting, whatever their age or seniority. When meeting with small independent retailers in non-urban areas, you may be greeted by your potential partner with the word namaste (pronounced nah-mas-tay). You may reciprocate by repeating the word, with the palms of your hands together and a slight bow or nod of the head. Often people will slightly nod or bow their heads when shaking hands, particularly with senior figures. The left hand is considered unclean and as such, should never be used alone to offer or accept a handshake, drink, food, money, gifts or business cards.

2. Body language

Indians tend to value their personal space and are generally not prone to making much physical contact. However, it is not uncommon for Indian men to engage in friendly back patting. This is a sign of friendship and a positive signal for your working relationship. Indians are generally expressive and use body language to convey messages that are not always verbal.

Showing the soles of your feet or your shoes, or pointing your feet towards anyone, is considered highly disrespectful and insulting in India, as is stepping on or over papers, books, religious offerings on the ground – and especially people.

It is rude to touch anyone’s head. Pointing with fingers is also disrespectful; if you must point, use your thumb, with the rest of your fingers curled into a fist, palm facing upward.

3. Business cards

These are essential when conducting business in India and must be handled with respect. Make sure your card includes your name, company name, position and email address, all in English. If you have a higher degree such as a masters or a PhD, you may wish to disclose it on your business card, as it will earn you greater respect in India.

When presenting your card, do so with both hands holding the card at the top in between your thumb and index finger with the writing facing the recipient. After receiving a business card, spend a few moments examining it, providing positive feedback with a smile, before placing it either in your chest pocket or in front of you at the table.

4. Corporate culture

Depending on the type of Indian business you are dealing with, it is not common for middle management to have decision-making autonomy. Make sure the person you are negotiating with is senior enough to commit to business and partnership decisions. Do not begin business meetings by getting straight to the heart of the negotiation. Take a short time to ask personal questions about your contact’s family and background, covering topics such as how long they have worked in the company or industry and where they grew up. Make a concerted effort to be on time for formal business meetings, but be aware that they will not always start on time. Indians are less constrained by time than Australians.

5. Dress code

Conservative, professional attire is expected in the business setting, although this can differ depending on the season and the city. Men should generally wear a suit (with tie) and women should wear a business dress or a suit with a blouse (not low-cut and, in the case of skirts, not too short). In summer, however, it is more acceptable for men to not wear a jacket. Women should avoid wearing short outfits or exposing their shoulders.

6. Indian Business Meetings and Negotiations

Give as much warning as possible of your intended dates of travel and try to schedule your meetings well in advance. If you require help with your India trip our business advisors based in both the UK and India can help source qualified leads, set up introductions, and arrange business meetings as well as plan productive business trips to India. Do bear in mind that the arrangements may change several times and may not be confirmed until the day of the meeting itself. Although punctuality is expected, be prepared for meetings to start and finish late and for interruptions to occur on a regular basis. Negotiations can be slow by UK standards. Be patient and demonstrate good character; forcefulness will likely drive your contact away.

7. Understanding Business Relationships in India

Business relationships are of the utmost importance. Indians will base their decisions on trust and intuition as much as on statistics and data, so be mindful of the importance of a good working relationship. Take the time to engage in small talk and get to know your prospective partner. Rushing straight into the business issue could be perceived as rudeness.

8. The Role of Hierarchy in Indian Business

Indian businesses are often very hierarchically structured. In negotiations, decisions are generally made at the highest of levels. Therefore, unless the company director, owner or a very senior manager is present at a meeting, a decision is not likely to occur at that stage. Roles are well defined and tasks such as manual labour will only be carried out by a specific person. An Indian manager is typically not expected to carry out tasks that could otherwise be undertaken by someone at a lower level in the organisation.

When you choose to set up an India based office you will need to take into account these cultural differences. If your office does not follow a vertically structured hierarchy, with closely defined responsibilities, it will be important to create a dynamic feedback and communication mechanism between your UK and Indian employees to encourage collaboration. Interactions between UK and Indian staff may at times cause miscommunication. For example junior staff in India may not be used to making decisions or questioning senior staff with the same level of freedom as their UK counterparts.

You may well find that your Indian operations are much more flexible than your UK operations. Indian’s are often prepared to take on time sensitive and important tasks at the last minute.. Likewise your Indian staff may find the rigidity of timelines on the part of UK staff challenging and inflexible. Sensitising your UK and Indian employees about the cultural differences is therefore important for smooth day to day operations.

Yoga philosophy is one of the six major orthodox schools of Hinduism. Ancient, medieval and most modern literature often refers to the Yoga school of Hinduism simply as Yoga. It is closely related to the Samkhya school of Hinduism. The Yoga school’s systematic studies to better oneself physically, mentally and spiritually has influenced all other schools of Indian philosophy. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a key text of the Yoga school of Hinduism.

The epistemology of the Yoga school of Hinduism, like the Sāmkhya school, relies on three of six Pramanas as the means of gaining reliable knowledge. These include Pratyakṣa (perception), Anumāṇa (inference) and Sabda (Āptavacana, word/testimony of reliable sources). The metaphysics of Yoga is built on the same dualist foundation as the Samkhya school. The universe is conceptualized as composed of two realities in the Samhkya-Yoga schools: Puruṣa (consciousness) and prakriti (matter). Jiva (a living being) is considered as a state in which puruṣa is bonded to prakriti in some form, in various permutations and combinations of various elements, senses, feelings, activity and mind. During the state of imbalance or ignorance, one or more constituents overwhelm the others, creating a form of bondage. The end of this bondage is called liberation, or moksha, by both the Yoga and Samkhya schools of Hinduism. The ethical theory of the Yoga school is based on Yamas and Niyama, as well as elements of the Guṇa theory of Samkhya.

The Yoga school of Hinduism differs from the closely related non-theistic/atheistic Samkhya school by incorporating the concept of a “personal, yet essentially inactive, deity” or “personal god” (Ishvara). While the Samkhya school suggests that jnana (knowledge) is a sufficient means to moksha, the Yoga school suggests that systematic techniques and practice, or personal experimentation, combined with Samkhya’s approach to knowledge, is the path to moksha. Yoga shares several central ideas with the Advaita Vedanta school of Hinduism, with the difference that Yoga philosophy is a form of experimental mysticism, while Advaita Vedanta is a form of monistic personalism. Advaita Vedanta, and other schools of Hinduism, accept, adopt and build upon many of the teachings and techniques of Yoga.

Modern Relevance of Yoga

The modern life tempts us with comfort. And to make our life more comfortable and convenient we pay for it with obesity, hypertension and cardiac problems. Although we have hi-tech medical facilities, we are still leading a stressful, unhealthy and unstable life. In this situation, yoga can bring peace to our body, mind, and soul and add more value to our life. The importance of yoga in modern life is abundant.

Yoga teaches us the knowledge of how to lead a healthy living. It improves our concentration, creativity and sharpens our memory. To maintain a positive physical and mental health, yoga is a must.

In the middle of hustle and bustle of the modern life, our emotional stability declines day by day. But yoga can help to prevent it. So another importance of yoga in modern life can be that yoga improves our muscle strength, stamina and bring immune and mental stability.

Importance of Yoga in Modern Life

(i) Improves concentration and helps to stay focused

The importance of yoga in modern life is endless. One of the best lessons yoga teaches us is to focus on the present. In recent studies, it was found that practicing yoga every day improves our IQ and memory. Everyday our focus and concentration get bombarded by our modern lifestyle in form of cell phones, laptops, TVs and social media. Thankfully yoga can bring our awareness to the present moment and help us to stay focused and improve our concentration.

For the city dwellers, yoga works like magic. Regular practice of yoga can improve the coordination and reaction time and help them with their busy schedule. It also improves their concentration and helps them to be less distracted by their thoughts.

The constant breathing practice of yoga helps to relax and shift the balance from the sympathetic nervous system to the parasympathetic nervous system. And by doing this it lowers the heart rate and breathing and decreases blood pressure.

(ii) Helps to build strength

Yoga plays a vital role when it comes to strengthening your body. Doctors these days suggest their patients perform yoga on a daily basis. For example, for a new mothers, yoga is essential. Yoga helps to strengthen their body and helps them to get back in shape. The reason behind this is, yoga involves a lot of stretching exercises. So even it’s a total body workout, it is a low-impact exercise.

We start losing muscle mass around 40 and by 50 the process only accelerate. If we don’t do anything to exercise our muscles, we will only get weaker and lose independence later in our life. But thanks to yoga, we can prevent this process. Yoga involves a set of exercise where you constantly transition into different positions. By doing this, we challenge our muscles to support the weight of our body and strengthen it.  Regular practice of yoga tones the muscles and helps us to look more attractive.

Our busy life makes us go through anxiety, low energy level or even in some cases through depression to balance our work and personal life. In such a case, yoga can bring peace and mindfulness to our life. One of the importance of yoga in modern life is it helps to calm our fluctuating energy level. Yoga is not just an exercise to be lean and thin. It helps us to build strong muscle. And strong muscle does more for us than look good. Doctors now prescribe to practice yoga to prevent back pain and arthritis.

(iii) Improves flexibility & posture

Another importance of yoga in modern life is that it helps us to have a more flexible body and as a result, our life becomes just a bit more manageable. Often we suffer from knee joint pain. It’s because tight hips strain the knee joint due to improper alignment of the thigh and shin bones. Another discomfort occurs due to the inflexibility of muscle is back pain and poor posture. Tight hamstring flattens the lumbar spine and causes back pain. Inflexibility in muscle and connective tissue causes poor posture.

Environment literally means Surrounding in which we are living. Environment includes all those things on which we are directly or indirectly dependent for our survival, whether it is living component like animals, plants or nonliving component like soil, air water.

Environmental Protection Act (1986) defined “Environment as the sum total of water, air and land, their interrelationship among themselves and with the human beings, other living beings and property.”

Meaning Of Environmental Studies:

Environmental studies are the scientific study of the environmental system and the status of its inherent or induced changes on organisms. It includes not only the study of physical and biological characters of the environment but also the social and cultural factors and the impact of man on environment.

Objectives and Guiding Principles of Environmental Studies:

According to UNESCO (1971), the objectives of environmental studies are:

(a) Creating the awareness about environmental problems among people.

(b) Imparting basic knowledge about the environment and its allied problems.

(c) Developing an attitude of concern for the environment.

(d) Motivating public to participate in environment protection and environment improvement.

(e) Acquiring skills to help the concerned individuals in identifying and solving environmental problems.

(f) Striving to attain harmony with Nature.

According to UNESCO, the guiding principles of environmental education should be as follows:

(a) Environmental education should be compulsory, right from the primary up to the post graduate stage.

(b) Environmental education should have an interdisciplinary approach by including physical, chemical, biological as well as socio-cultural aspects of the environment. It should build a bridge between biology and technology.

(c) Environmental education should take into account the historical perspective, the current and the potential historical issues.

(d) Environmental education should emphasise the importance of sustainable development i.e., economic development without degrading the environment.

(e) Environmental education should emphasise the necessity of seeking international cooperation in environmental planning.

(f) Environmental education should lay more stress on practical activities and first hand experiences.

Scope and Importance of Environmental Studies:

The disciplines included in environmental education are environmental sciences, environmental engineering and environmental management.

(a) Environmental Science:

It deals with the scientific study of environmental system (air, water, soil and land), the inherent or induced changes on organisms and the environmental damages incurred as a result of human interaction with the environment.

(b) Environmental Engineering:

It deals with the study of technical processes involved in the protection of environment from the potentially deleterious effects of human activity and improving the environmental quality for the health and well beings of humans.

(c) Environmental Management:

It promotes due regard for physical, social and economic environment of the enterprise or projects. It encourages planned investment at the start of the production chain rather than forced investment in cleaning up at the end.

It generally covers the areas as environment and enterprise objectives, scope, and structure of the environment, interaction of nature, society and the enterprise, environment impact assessment, economics of pollution, prevention, environmental management standards etc.

The importance’s of environmental studies are as follows:

1. To clarify modern environmental concept like how to conserve biodiversity.
2. To know the more sustainable way of living.
3. To use natural resources more efficiently.
4. To know the behaviour of organism under natural conditions.
5. To know the interrelationship between organisms in populations and communities.
6. To aware and educate people regarding environmental issues and problems at local, national and international levels.

Need of Public Awareness about Environment:

In today’s world because of industrialization and increasing population, the natural resources has been rapidly utilised and our environment is being increasingly degraded by human activities, so we need to protect the environment.

It is not only the duty of government but also the people to take active role for protecting the environment, so protecting our environment is economically more viable than cleaning it up once, it is damaged.

The role of mass media such as newspapers, radio, television, etc is also very important to make people aware regarding environment. There are various institutions, which are playing positive role towards environment to make people aware regarding environment like BSI (Botanical Survey of India, 1890), ZSI (Zoological Survey of India, 1916), WII (Wild Life Institute of India, 1982) etc.

Ecology and Scope of Ecological Studies:

Ecology is that part of environmental studies in which we study about organisms, plants and animals and their relationship or interdependence on other living and non living environment.

The term ‘Ecology’ is derived from Greek word ‘Oekologue’ which is composed of two words:

(a) ‘Oekos’ means surrounding

(b) ‘Logs’ means study on a whole ecology means ‘Study of surrounding’

The scope of ecological study includes:

1. It deals with the study of flow of energy and materials in the environment.
2. It deals with the study of nature and its function.
3. It deals with the exchange of various materials between the biotic and abiotic components of environment. E.g., Biogeochemical cycles.

In the year 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) is introduced the term sustainable development in its report our common future (the Brundtland Commission). According to WCED, sustainable development may be defined as a process of changes in which the exploitation of resources, direction of investments, the orientation of technological development and the institutional changes are in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human need as aspiration.

In other words, sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising on the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable development considers the impact of environmental changes and tries to minimise the impact.

Sustainable development is based on two fundamental concepts. The first concept considers earth’s carrying capacity and stresses on natural resources like forest, soil fertility, healthy wetlands, ozone layer etc. which provide basic requirements of human being.

This also tells about a critical limit for sustainability. The second concept focuses on balancing of economical, social and ecological goals which include the basic needs like health, literacy, democratic values etc. However, both the concepts are concerned with quality of life and conservation of environment.

There are three pillars of sustainable development namely community development (which includes providing basic needs like food, shelter, clothes, health, education etc.), economic development (which include industrialization creating job opportunity) and environmental protection (which includes providing clean air, safe water, quality environment).

Since development activities are always associated with environmental degradation, sustainability in development has to enter in all our planning processes as an important parameter.

The sustainability in environmental restoration programme considers the following key issues:

(i) Stabilisation of population growth

(ii) Conservation and rational exploitation of forest resources.

(iii) Afforestation in waste lands and deforested areas.

(iv) Control of pollution (Air, water, land etc.)

(v) Maintenance of sustainability in agriculture

(vi) Recycling of waste and residue

(vii) Conservation of biodiversity

(viii) Development of non-polluting renewable energy stems.

(ix) Updating environmental laws and its strict imposition.

(x) Assessment of ecological security.

For the sustainable development, the following points should be considered

(i) The input of matter and energy should be reduced up to their limiting values.

(ii) The exhaustible and polluting fossil fuels should be replaced by less harmful renewable energy.

(iii) Technology should be developed which provides essential goods with minimum waste in a non-polluted manner.

(iv) The population growth should be slow down which will reduce stress on global life support.

(v) There should be strict implementation of environmental laws.

(vi) Steps should be taken for the conservation of forest, conservation of biodiversity, recycling of wastes, control of pollution etc.

(vii) There should be integrated land use planning.

(viii) Environmental education should be made compulsory to create awareness about the basic environmental issues.

The ecological is defined as the practices, discourses, and material expressions that occur across the intersection between the social and the natural realms, focussing in this case on the important dimension of human engagement with and within nature, ranging from the built-environment to the ‘wilderness’.

In other words, the ecological domain is treated as narrower that the natural realm. While the ecological is grounded in the natural and includes a spectrum of environmental conditions from the the profoundly modified, through the relatively untransformed, the natural realm includes all of that, and much more. It includes nature beyond the reach of the Anthropocene: the infinitely big and infinitesimally small. The distinction between the social realm and the natural realm, with the natural as a ‘context’ for human action, is common in traditional (cosmological) and modern (scientific) understandings, but we are adding a further dimension.

Our definition recognizes these understandings without being confined to them. It lays ‘the ecological’ across both terms — that is, across ‘the natural’ and ‘the social’ — as naming the connections of human and non-human engagement with and within nature, ranging from objects and bodies to zones of engagement. This means that the ecological domain pertains to questions of social-environmental interconnection, including the unintended consequences of humans living on the planet. The ecological is thus not treated as a background context for human action but rather a place of being human and non-human.

Perspectives and Aspects of Ecology

1. Materials and Energy
   1. Availability and Abundance
   2. Soil and Fertility
   3. Minerals and Metals
   4. Electricity and Gas
   5. Petroleum and Biofuels
   6. Renewables and Recyclables
   7. Monitoring and Reflection
2. Water and Air
   1. Vitality and Viability
   2. Water Quality and Potability
   3. Air Quality and Respiration
   4. Climate and Temperature
   5. Greenhouse Gases and Carbon
   6. Adaptation and Mitigation Processes
   7. Monitoring and Reflection
3. Flora and Fauna
   1. Complexity and Resilience
   2. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Diversity
   3. Plants and Insects
   4. Trees and Shrubs
   5. Wild Animals and Birds
   6. Domestic Animals and Species Relations
   7. Monitoring and Reflection
4. Habitat and Settlements
   1. Topography and Liveability
   2. Original Habitat and Native Vegetation
   3. Parklands and Reserves
   4. Land-use and Building
   5. Abode and Housing
   6. Maintenance and Retrofitting
   7. Monitoring and Reflection
5. Built-Form and Transport
   1. Orientation and Spread
   2. Proximity and Access
   3. Mass Transit and Public Transport
   4. Motorized Transport and Roads
   5. Non-motorized Transport and Walking Paths
   6. Seaports and Airports
   7. Monitoring and Reflection
6. Embodiment and Sustenance
   1. Physical Health and Vitality
   2. Reproduction and Mortality
   3. Exercise and Fitness
   4. Hygiene and Diet
   5. Nutrition and Nourishment
   6. Agriculture and Husbandry
   7. Monitoring and Evaluation
7. Emission and Waste
   1. Pollution and Contamination
   2. Hard-waste and Rubbish
   3. Sewerage and Sanitation
   4. Drainage and Effluence
   5. Processing and Composting
   6. Recycling and Re-use
   7. Monitoring and Evaluation

An environmental management system (EMS) is “a system and database which integrates procedures and processes for training of personnel, monitoring, summarizing, and reporting of specialized environmental performance information to internal and external stakeholders of a firm”.

The most widely used standard on which an EMS is based is International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001. Alternatives include the EMAS.

An environmental management information system (EMIS) or Environmental Data Management System (EDMS) is an information technology solution for tracking environmental data for a company as part of their overall environmental management system.

Goals

The goals of EMS are to increase compliance and reduce waste:

• Compliance is the act of reaching and maintaining minimal legal standards. By not being compliant, companies may face fines, government intervention or may not be able to operate.
• Waste reduction goes beyond compliance to reduce environmental impact. The EMS helps to develop, implement, manage, coordinate and monitor environmental policies. Waste reduction begins at the design phase through pollution prevention and waste minimization. At the end of the life cycle, waste is reduced by recycling.

To meet these goals, the selection of environmental management systems is typically subject to a certain set of criteria: a proven capability to handle high frequency data, high performance indicators, transparent handling and processing of data, powerful calculation engine, customised factor handling, multiple integration capabilities, automation of workflows and QA processes and in-depth, flexible reporting.

Features

An environmental management system (EMS):

• Serves as a tool, or process, to improve environmental performance and information mainly “design, pollution control and waste minimization, training, reporting to top management, and the setting of goals”
• Provides a systematic way of managing an organization’s environmental affairs
• Is the aspect of the organization’s overall management structure that addresses immediate and long-term impacts of its products, services and processes on the environment. EMS assists with planning, controlling and monitoring policies in an organization.
• Gives order and consistency for organizations to address environmental concerns through the allocation of resources, assignment of responsibility and ongoing evaluation of practices, procedures and processes
• Creates environmental buy-in from management and employees and assigns accountability and responsibility.
• Sets framework for training to achieve objectives and desired performance.
• Helps understand legislative requirements to better determine a product or service’s impact, significance, priorities and objectives.
• Focuses on continual improvement of the system and a way to implement policies and objectives to meet a desired result. This also helps with reviewing and auditing the EMS to find future opportunities.
• Encourages contractors and suppliers to establish their own EMS.
• Facilitates e-reporting to federal, state and provincial government environmental agencies through direct upload.

EMS Model

An EMS follows a Plan-Do-Check-Act, or PDCA, Cycle. The diagram shows the process of first developing an environmental policy, planning the EMS, and then implementing it. The process also includes checking the system and acting on it. The model is continuous because an EMS is a process of continual improvement in which an organization is constantly reviewing and revising the system.

This is a model that can be used by a wide range of organizations from manufacturing facilities to service industries to government agencies.

It has been estimated that more than 50 million species of plants, animals and micro-organisms are existing in the world. Out of these, about 2.15 million species have been identified so far. Each species is adapted to live in specific environment, from mountain peaks to the depth of seas, from polar ice caps to tropical rain forests and deserts. All this diversity of life is confined to only about one kilometer thick layer of lithosphere hydrosphere and atmosphere which form biosphere.

Though the study of environment and ecology is quite old, the term biodiversity has been introduced by Walter Rosen in 1986. Biological diversity or Biodiversity is defined as the variety and variability among the living organisms and the ecological complexes in which they occur.

It refers to the variability’s among species of plants, animals and microorganisms; ecosystems; ecosystem including terrestrial, aerial, marine and other aquatic system and ecological complexes of which they are part. 

Significance of Biodiversity:

Biodiversity, besides its ecological significance provides a socio-economic and monetary asset to the nation. Human society depends on biological resources, their diversity and the ecosystems that sustain them to provide essential goods and services.

Values related to biodiversity can be grouped into three categories as below:

Productive use:

This is assigned to the products that are commercially harvested for exchange in formal markets and is, therefore, the only value of biological resources that is concerned in national income. Biodiversity provides us many products, such as fuel, timber, fish, fodder, skin, fruits, cereals and medicines. In 1994-95 the income from agriculture, forestry and fisheries in India was nearly 30 per cent or 736.88 billion rupees.

Consumptive use:

Consumption value is related to natural products that are consumed directly, i.e., the goods which do not come under normal circulation of trade. For example, a significant number of such non-timber forest products as soft broom grass and cane come under this category.

Indirect use:

Indirect use of biodiversity is of much significance because this value is related primarily with functions of ecosystem and is concerned with national accounting systems. They may provide us indirect benefits as non-consumptive values. Maintenance of ecological balance, conservation of natural resources and prevention of soil erosion may be considered as the examples of indirect use of biodiversity.

Types of Biodiversity:

Biodiversity is of three types:

1. Species diversity
2. Genetic diversity
3. Ecological diversity

1. Species Diversity:

According to Biological Species Concepts (BSC), species is a basic unit of classification and is defined as a group of similar organisms that interbreed with one another and produce offspring’s and share a common lineage. Species diversity refers to biodiversity at the most basic level and is the ‘variety and abundance of different types of individuals of a species in a given area’. It includes all the species on Earth, ranging from plants such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, algae, bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms, angiosperms and all the species of animals including unicellular protozoans to mammals.

Certain regions support a more diverse populations than others. Regions that are rich in nutrients and have well balanced climatic factors, such as moderate temperature, proper light and adequate rainfall, show high degree of diversity in their life forms. The tropical areas support more diverse plant and animal communities than the desert and polar areas, as for examples, tropical forest has a higher species diversity as compared to a timber plantation. The regions that are rich in species diversity are called hotspots of biodiversity.

2. Genetic Diversity:

‘Genetic diversity pertains to the range of diversity in the genetic resources of the organisms’. Every individual member of a plant or animal species differs from other individuals in its genetic constitution. Each individual has specific characters, which is due to the genetic makeup or code. The genes present in the organisms can form infinite number of combinations that causes genetic variability.

Thus, we find that each human, who is representative of the same species, i.e. Homo sapiens, is distinct from another. Similarly, there are many varieties within the same species such as rice, wheat, apples, mangoes, etc. that differ from one another in shape, size, colour of flowers and taste of fruits and seeds due to the variations at the genetic level.

3. Ecological/Ecosystem Diversity:

Each ecosystem consists of organisms from many different species, living together in a region connected by the flow of energy and nutrients. The Sun is the ultimate source of energy for all the ecosystems. The Sun’s radiant energy is converted to chemical energy by plants. This energy flows through the different systems when animals eat the plants and then are eaten, in turn, by other animals. Fungi and bacteria derive energy from the decomposing dead organisms, releasing nutrients back into the soil as they do so.

An ecosystem, therefore, is a collection of living components, like microbes, plants, animals, fungi, etc. and non-living components, like climate, matter and energy that are connected by energy flow. Ecological diversity refers to the ‘variability among the species of plants and animals living together and connected by flow of energy and cycling of nutrients in different ecosystems or ecological complexes’. It also includes variability within the same species and variability among the different species of plants, animals and microorganisms of an ecosystem. Thus, it pertains to the richness of flora, fauna and microorganisms with in an ecosystem or biotic community.

Measuring Biodiversity:

There are various mathematical ways of measuring biodiversity, which calculate the number of species diversity in different regions. The measure of diversity of species is also known as species richness.

These are as follows:

Alpha diversity:

This is the diversity in species, i.e. the number of species within a community. This depends on the interaction between the biotic and abiotic factors and also takes into account immigration from other locations.

Beta diversity:

This is the change in the composition of the species with reference to the changes in the environment.

Gamma diversity:

This refers to the overall diversity and is applied to larger areas in which both alpha and beta diversity are measured.

Environment is closely related with business. There is a constant ‘give and take’ relationship between environment and business. The business receives inputs, information and technology from the environment and gives it back in the form of outputs (goods and services).

If these outputs are accepted by the environment, the environment-business interaction continues but if they are unacceptable to the environment, firms adapt to the environmental requirements and change their operations.

The organisation has to look after the interest of stakeholders like shareholders, consumers, workers, suppliers etc. The environment also offers threats and opportunities to which organisations have to respond positively.

Business and environment interaction takes place in the following ways:

1. Business is affected by economic conditions of the environment. During recessionary conditions, for example, firms reduce the production or pile their inventories to sell during normal or boom conditions. Business, on the other hand, can create artificial scarcity of goods by piling inventories and force the economic conditions to show signs of adversity while it is not actually so. Both business and environment, thus, affect and are affected by each other.
2. When financial institutions increase the lending rates, firms may resort to other sources of funds, like bank loans or internal savings (reserves). This may force the financial institutions to lower the interest rates. The financial environment and the business system, thus, act and interact with each other.
3. The firm’s micro environment consisting of workers, suppliers, shareholders etc. affects the business activities and is, affected by them. Workers demand high wages, suppliers demand high prices and shareholders demand high dividends.

Firms reconcile the interests of diverse groups and satisfy their demands. If management resolves these demands, it will be positively affected by the environmental forces but if it fails to satisfy these demands, it becomes a victim of the environment. Growing firms pay high wages and dividends to their workers and shareholders to maintain harmonious industrial relations and a positive business-environment interface.

4. Business receives useful information from the environment regarding consumers’ tastes and preferences, technological developments, Government policies, competitors’ policies etc. and provides useful information to the environment regarding its goals, policies and financial returns. This information is transmitted to environment through annual reports as a requirement of disclosure practices.
5. The basic function of a business enterprise, input-output conversion, is carried through active interaction with the environment. It receives inputs from the environment, converts them into outputs through productive facilities which are also received from the environment and sends them back to the environment. A constant feedback is received from the environment to improve its performance.
6. The environment offers threats and opportunities to business systems which they overcome and exploit through their strengths and weaknesses. SWOT analysis helps in integrating external environment with the internal environment.

The business and environment, thus, have much to give and take from each other. The economy is structured by effective interaction of the business and its environment. The business-environment interaction is a continuous process. It is like a biological organism that keeps environment and management responsive to each other.

This interaction is shown as:

Environment—————— > Management——————- > Environment——————– >

The continuous interaction of environment with business leads to new expectations of environment from business (in terms of social responsibilities and business ethics) and business from environment (in terms of regular supply of inputs at reasonable prices). This involves changes in business and environmental policies and leads to new level of business-environment interface or business-environment equilibrium.

Most of the following agreements are legally binding for countries that have formally ratified them. Some, such as the Kyoto Protocol, differentiate between types of countries and each nation’s respective responsibilities under the agreement. Several hundred international environmental agreements exist but most link only a limited number of countries. These bilateral or sometimes trilateral agreements are only binding for the countries that have ratified them but are nevertheless essential in the international environmental regime. Including the major conventions listed below, more than 3,000 international environmental instruments have been identified by the IEA Database Project

The United Nations is very much conscious of the world-wide problem of maintaining the environment safe for human beings. The United Nations on the conference on the Human Environment was held at Stockholm in June 1972. The conference evolved the principles and action plan for controlling and regulating environment degradation. Institutional and financial arrangements were made for achieving that purpose. The United National General Assembly passed a resolution on December 15, 1972 emphasising the need of active cooperation among the States in the field of human environment. The resolution had designated June 5 as the World Environment day and had urged governments and organisations in the United Nations system to undertake on that day every year, world-wide activities reaffirming their concern for the preservation and enhancement of the environment.

Another resolution was passed, which provided for institutional and financial arrangement for international environment cooperation. Provisions were made for establishing a government council for environment program (UNEP) having global jurisdiction, environmental secretariat and environmental fund. Some of the recommendations of the first conference were regarding long and short term plans at the regional, sub-regional levels in the field of environment relating to the advancement of developing nations.

The international environmental legislation chart included:

‘The protection, preservation and the enhancement of the environment for the present and future generations is the responsibility of all states and they should ensure that the activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment. All states should cooperate in evolving natural laws and norms regulations in the field of environment.’

Recently in 2009, a conference was held in Copenhagen , Denmark relating to the changing environment and climate around the world. Many leaders actively participated in that so as to find solution to rapid environment change.