Habitat, Ecology and Ekistics: An Overview

The contemporary issues of environmental degradation, population growth, human settlements and growing need for livelihood security pose ever increasing risks and vulnerability to human development. The chapter intends to focus on such major themes to include: (a) habitat and environmental issues of human concerns, (b) ekistics and ecology of social environment and (c) hazards and environmental management for sustainable development. Management of environment, food security and poverty alleviation are the primary factors contributing to the complexity of natural resource management, which is very important for achieving sustainable development goals. The rural poor depend on agriculture or are otherwise dependent on natural resources for their basic life support systems. The livelihood and well-being of rural and urban people depend fundamentally on the opportunities available to them, and these opportunities are shaped substantially by their access to resources, which in turn depends on numerous underlying political, social and macro-economic factors, those are transforming with the current trends of globalization, migration, market integration, democratization and decentralization.