Ways By Which The Social Environment Affects The Physical/ Natural Environment

Belief system: Some societies do not destroy the resources in their surroundings. For example Australians believe that they did not own the land, but they have to protect it. Again some groups of people in India believe that the trees in the forest are gods and thus it is their responsibility to protect it. Some Ghanaian societies believe the river and the water bodies were considered scared as well as the forest so regulations (taboo bans individuals who would take or use such resource at their own will). On the other hand, other societies do not hold the same beliefs which protect their natural environment. People in these societies tend to be the living and non-living things in their natural environment. They view these things as resources to be used rather than protected. Due to their belief they find it less important to cater for the environment leaving it in a bad state.

Festivals: Some societies have festivals which protect their environment. For instance, the people of Winneba celebrate the Aboakyire Festival every year. During this festival, the Asgo companies go to the bush and catch a live deer for the festival rituals. It has become necessary and needful for the people in winneba to protect the forest (vegetation and wild life) to get the live Deers needed for their festival. On the other hand communities whose festivals have no regards for the natural environment destroy them. A typical example will be bush burning by the youth and teens in order to obtain bush meat which would have been prevented in another community.

Taboos: In the olden days, the Ghanaian traditional societies had respect for taboos which protect our environment, especially the vegetation (forest) and water bodies. The taboo prevented activities such as farming near water bodies, defecating in water bodies as well as polluting water bodies with dangerous chemicals (DDT) during fishing. The current generation pays little or no respect of these taboos which were set more or less to protect the environment. These behaviors have made the shores (Beaches) of the sea unattractive and uncomfortable to stay compare to other communities where to seat to enjoy nature.

The quality of the existing laws: The quality of the existing laws and the extent in which they are enforced affect our environment. Degradation is likely to occur. For example, the Indian River in Dominica Caribbean Island was polluted by tourist and boat operators because there were no laws governing their activities. The Korle Lagoon and Odo River in Ghana (Accra) are degraded due to poor enforcement of law by the administrators. People put up buildings on waterways and do not care what the result might be after a heavy down pour. And law enforcers have little or no say to these practices. When laws are enacted and proper measure of enforcement is put in place degradation would be the least to talk about in a community.

Local Administrators: Good administration will find answers to human activities that would destroy the environment. They would provide a system that would conserve rather than degrade the environment through provision of place of convenience, dump site and sewage system. Introducing activities such as afforestation and good farming and fishing practices help in conserving the environment. Administrations which do not provide for the dwellers basics necessities as mentioned are likely to degrade the environment.

Attitude / concern: The attitudes of people determine the quality of the environment. For example; People with good environmental attitude will grow plants after cutting; put litter into proper bins etc. however, people who do not care about the environment would litter their surroundings, cutting down trees indiscriminately.