Planning and Management of Lakes and Reservoirs: An Integrated Approach to Eutrophication
COLLECTED BY
Organization:
Alexa Crawls
Starting in 1996,
Alexa Internet
has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the
Wayback Machine
after an embargo period.
this data is currently not publicly accessible.
The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20070624223801/http://www.unep.or.jp:80/ietc/Publications/techpublications/TechPub-11/2-4.asp
IETC homepage
 |
United Nations Environment
Programme
Division of Technology, Industry, and Economics
|
 |
|
Newsletter and Technical Publications
<Planning and Management of Lakes and
Reservoirs:
An Integrated Approach to Eutrophication>
CHAPTER 2. SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS OF EUTROPHICATION
2.4. Approaches to Solution of Eutrophication
The causes and consequences of eutrophication of lakes and water
reservoirs are discussed in detail in Chapter 1 of this publication.
Urbanization in developing countries is proceeding rapidly under severe
population pressure. Treating human waste is the basis of urban
sanitation, and the inability to do this starts the vicious circle of
water problems and sanitation measures. Deterioration of lakes,
reservoirs, and rivers near cities is particularly a serious environmental
problem. Furthermore, modernization of agricultural practices brings about
heavy use and run-off of nitrogen and phosphorus from chemical
fertilizers, causing eutrophication of waters near the cities. Fundamental
to a solution is the treatment and disposal of human wastes. Recovering
urine and reusing it in agriculture is particularly important to solving
the problem of the Earth's limited water resources.
An overall look at the world reveals regional differences in how people
manage human waste, provide for sanitation, and deal with local water
quality. The distinct regions are as follows: 1) Arabic/Iranian/Islamic
cultural sphere; 2) Pan-Indian cultural sphere; 3) Chinese cultural
sphere; and 4) Japanese cultural sphere.
In the Arabic/Iranian/Islamic cultural sphere, people follow the
teachings of Islam by observing the principle of discarding human wastes.
In this rather hot and dry region, urine is easily disposed of because it
evaporates, and feces can be dispersed when it dries. In accordance with
the Koran, people dispose of their excrement by washing it away and
purifying with water. While this method ensures cleanliness, it burdens
local waters.
The Pan-Indian cultural sphere comprises Pakistan, India, Bangladesh,
Nepal, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Indonesia.
Under the influence of Hinduism and Islam, people wash away their
excrement, just as with the water purification mentioned above. There is
no consideration for the environment at all. This cultural sphere has no
Buddhist influence. However, bovine manure is used as a fertilizer and
fuel.
The Chinese cultural sphere comprises China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Korea, and
Japan. It is the only one of the World's four major civilizations that has
reused human wastes, which was at first used to feed pigs, then later
actively used as a fertilizer. Even now, farming villages actively use
night soil as a fertilizer. While this is an effective way to prevent
further contamination of rivers and lakes, it is now difficult in urban
areas. Further, farmers now use large amounts of chemical fertilizers,
which cause the eutrophication of lakes by nitrogen and phosphorus. The
people in the cultural sphere of Taiwan and Korea, which may be called the
Japanese cultural sphere, made, under the Japanese influence, a continuous
use of night soil as a fertilizer until after the war. After the war,
these countries implemented Japanese sanitation measures, with collected
human wastes treated as sewage in special night soil treatment plants. The
possibilities for protecting water in this Asian milieu by enhancing the
good attributes of this tradition while, at the same time, overcoming its
nonscientific side, should be considered.
A perspective of recycling is necessary for the effective use of the
earth's limited resources. An effective measure to provide for the
utilization of nitrogen and phosphorus, and to prevent the eutrophication
of lakes, rivers, and enclosed seas, would require the recovery and reuse
of human urine. In the Edo period, Japan made thorough and effective use
of it. In the Chinese and Japanese cultural spheres, it would be possible
to modify modern sewerage to achieve this. However, such modification may
be quite difficult in other cultural spheres due to their religious and
cultural traditions. Basically, this approach is conceivable for solving
environmental problems in Asian countries with their high population
densities.
The strong influence of history and religion in Asia needs to be
considered in the effective incorporation of scientific findings into
solutions for environmental problems. Asia has one of the keys to the
dissemination and advancement of scientific understanding, which is
fundamental to solving environmental problems.