eChapters

15.1 CONTAMINATION

Milk is sterile at secretion in the udder, but contaminated by bacteria when it leaves the udder of a healthy cow. Milk is subject to contamination from the animal and adjacent areas. Bacteria found in manure, soil and water may enter milk from these sources. Certain diseases may be transmitted through milk, from a cow. It is essential that cows producing milk should be free from any contagious or infectious disease. Bovine tuberculosis comes from consumption of milk of tuberculous cows. Tuberculosis, brucellosis, mastitis and actinomycosis are the human disease transmitted through milk. The disease producing bacteria may find their way into milk and cause infectious diseases in children and adults.

COMMON BACTERIA IN MILK: The common bacteria found in milk are: Rickettsia, Coxiella burnetii, lactic acid bacteria, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, aerobic rods, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, anaerobic bacteria, Clostridium butyricum .

Sources of Microbial contamination: Milk contains relatively few bacteria when it leaves the udder of a healthy cow. Milk is subject to contamination from the animal udder, skin and adjacent areas barn yard, milk utensils, milkers. Bacteria found in manure, soil and water may enter milk from these sources.

16.1. CANNED FOODS-PRESERVATION

Canning is a method of preserving food from spoilage by storing it in containers that are hermetically sealed and then sterilized by heat. The process was invented after prolonged research by Nicolas Appert of France in 1809, in response to a call by his government for a means of preserving food for army and navy use. Appert’s method consisted of tightly sealing food inside a bottle or jar, heating it to a certain temperature, and maintaining the heat for a certain period, after which the container was kept sealed until use. It was 50 years before Louis Pasteur was able to explain why the food so treated did not spoil: the heat killed the microorganisms in the food, and the sealing kept other microorganisms from entering the jar. Samuel C. Prescott and William Underwood of the United States set canning on a scientific basis by describing specific time-temperature heating requirements for sterilizing canned foods.

Most vegetables, fruits, meat and dairy products, and processed foods are stored in tin cans, but soft drinks and many other beverages are now commonly stored in aluminum cans, which are lighter and do not rust. Aluminum cans are made by impact extrusion; the body of the can is punched out in one piece from a single aluminum sheet by a stamping die. This seamless piece, which has a rounded bottom, is then capped with a second piece as its lid. The tabs used in pop- top cans are also made of aluminum. Bimetal cans are made of aluminum bodies and steel lids.

Canneries are usually located close to the growing areas of the product to be packed, since it is desirable to can foods as quickly as possible after harvesting. The canning process itself consists of several stages: cleaning and further preparing the raw food material; blanching it; filling the containers, usually under a vacuum; closing and sealing the containers; sterilizing the canned products; and labeling and warehousing the finished goods. Cleaning usually involves passing the raw food through tanks of water or under high- pressure water sprays, after which vegetable or other products are cut, peeled, cored, sliced, graded, soaked, pureed, and so on. Almost all vegetables and some fruits require blanching by immersion in hot water or steam; this process softens the vegetable tissues and makes them pliable enough to be packed tightly, while also serving to inactivate enzymes that can cause undesirable changes in the food before canning. Blanching also serves as an additional or final cleansing operation.

Food poisoning is an acute illness resulting from the ingestion of injurious agents such as chemical, heavy metals, parasites, microbial toxin, wild species of mushroom in food. Food poisoning is commonly caused by certain bacteria or their toxins, which are the poisonous proteins that these bacteria produce. Food borne pathogens are potential global problem, more than 90 per cent of the cases of food poisoning are caused by bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp, Clostridium perfringens, Campylobacter jejuni, Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Shigella dysenteriae, Bacillus cereus and enteropathogenic E. coli. These bacteria are commonly found in many raw foods. Generally a large number of food poisoning bacteria must be present to cause illness. In most of these food poisonings, the food serves as a vehicle of transmission. The role of food here is significant, since the product not only may permit the survival of the pathogens, but also may provide a suitable medium for the rapid multiplication of microbes and production of toxin. A more serious aspect of microbial contamination is the possibility of serious health hazards due to potential pathogenic organisms gaining entry into foods due to low standards of hygiene and sanitation.

Food poisoning may be due to food intoxication or food infection. Food intoxication and food infection differ in many characteristics (Table 17.1). Food intoxication refers to food borne illness caused by the ingestion of a microbial toxin preformed in the ingested food (Botulism). The most serious food poisoning caused by toxins is botulism, an often fatal disease that results from eating improperly canned foods containing the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. Classically, food intoxication is caused by the growth of Clostridium botulinum, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus in food. Clostridium botulinum produces a neurotoxin, while Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus cultures produce enterotoxins in food.

Fungi cause diseases in plants and animals and in such diseases, the fungi actively grow and invade the body of their hosts. There is another means by which fungi can cause harm is growing on stored food material that we consume and produce toxic metabolites referred to as mycotoxins (means fungus poisons). Food is particularly susceptible to fungal infections at almost every stage of storage or production. Mycotoxin is toxic substance produced by a fungus. The term is restricted to toxins produced by fungi growing in human foods or animal feeds. The growth of the fungi in food grains leading to physical spoilage of grains and toxin production is a serious problem in developing countries. Their occurrence in food and feed has both economic and health implications, as the toxic effects in human beings, animals and other living systems were well established. The effects of poisoning by mycotoxin are referred to as mycotoxicoses.

GENETIC ENGINEERING

Genetic engineering is a means of improving the food supply even before harvest or slaughter by improving yields, increasing disease resistance, and enhancing the nutritional qualities of various foods. Broadly speaking, genetic engineering refers to any deliberate alteration of an organism’s DNA. Genetic engineering has been practiced for thousands of years, ever since humans began selectively breeding plants and animals to create more nutritious, better tasting foods. In the past two decades, genetic engineering has become increasingly powerful as scientific advances have enabled the direct alteration of genetic material. Genetic engineering is alternately called as ‘ recombinant DNA technology’ or ‘gene cloning’. Genes have been cut and pasted from one species to another, yielding, for example, disease- resistant squash and rice, frost-resistant potatoes and strawberries, and tomatoes that ripen-and therefore spoil-more slowly.

Genetically modified organism (GMO) is a microbe or more complex plant or animal in which DNA has been altered for a particular purpose such as manufacturing proteins, making improvement to the organism, research into the nature of genes and biological process, correcting genetic defects.

Ex.No.1. MICROBIAL SPOILAGE OF FRUITS

Fruits are living structures that continue to perform metabolic reactions and sustain physiological processes for a considerable length of time after harvest. The post-harvest infection of fruits by microorganisms may cause serious losses of fruits both in terms of quantity and quality. Initial infection which may be the direct result of mechanical or insect damage is followed by invasion of fruit tissues by secondary infection by common saprophytic organisms. . Many bacteria and fungi, for instance, are involved in decay after harvest. Typical fungi include Alternaria, Botrytis, Colletotrichum, Fusarium, Monilia, Penicillium, and Rhizopus. These fungi are generally weak pathogens, in that they usually infest only weak or damaged fruit. Molds are the most predominant spoilage organisms in fruits. Fungal rots in fruits like apple show brown or cream coloured areas.

Bacterial soft rot caused by Erwinia carotovora is wide spread in fruits that are not very acid. Fruits like straw berries, melons are in direct contact with moist soil and become infected from that source.

Microorganisms (or microbes) are organisms too small to be seen with the naked eye. The science of microbiology is the study of microorganisms, their properties, classification, growth requirements, method of reproduction and distribution in nature. These organisms range in size from tiny viruses to larger bacteria, protozoa, algae, fungi and some of the microscopic worms (helminthes). They are present everywhere in our environment, in our homes, on our bodies, on the things we touch and on the food we eat. They are important for human survival on Earth, playing an essential role in many processes that maintain life. In nature, microorganisms carry out a number of important functions.

1.They are responsible for the decomposition of organic matter.

2.Recycling of nutrients that help to maintain the balance of chemicals in the soil.

3.Special nitrogen-fixing bacteria live symbiotically with certain plants, absorbing nitrogen from the air and converting it into compounds which can be used by the plant for growth.

4.Some algae are capable of photosynthesis, using energy from the sun to convert carbon dioxide in air into carbohydrate.

5.Marine microorganisms form the basis of the food chain in lakes, rivers and oceans.

6.Certain microorganisms are used in the manufacture of food.

7.Pharmaceuticals and drugs.

8.Industrial processes.

9.A valuable tool for scientific research.

10.Use in laboratory experiments to understanding metabolic pathways and in the discovery of the genetic code.

One of the major discoveries that gave birth to the field of microbiology was the development of instruments that could magnify, so that objects too small to be seen with the naked eye could be visualized. Robert Hooke in 1665, using an instrument with two sets of lenses (a crude compound microscope), was the first person to describe cells as life’s smallest structural units. In the early 1670s Anton van Leeuwenhoek used a simple magnifying lens to observe microbes he called ‘animalcules’ in rainwater, and was possibly the first person to observe microorganisms. The development of electron microscopes in the 1930s enabled magnifications of a further hundred times greater to be achieved.

A microscope can be defined as an optical instrument consisting of a lens or a combination of lenses for getting magnified images of minute objects. A simple microscope is essentially an ordinary magnifying lens held on an adjustable stand. It can give magnification up to 20 times the size of the object.

Improvements in microscopes enabled scientists to study the ‘invisible’ organisms – that is, those too small to be seen with the naked eye. They were able to show that certain of these microscopic creatures are responsible for the infectious diseases of higher organisms. Most of them are harmless, some are essential for life and some are used in the manufacture of products that are of benefit to humans.

Size shape and Appearance of Bacterial cells

Bacteria vary significantly in their morphology, that is in their appearance. They range in size from 0.2 μm to1 μm in diameter and 1 μm to 10 μm in length. There are three basic shapes of cells :

1. Spherical

2. Rod-shaped

3. Spiral.

Bacteria are morphologically different. This characteristic is helpful in the identification of bacteria. Routine study of bacterial morphology should include examination of stained preparations. Motility should be examined by hanging drop preparation. According to the requirement, certain cell structures may be stained. Stained preparations should be made preferably from fresh agar slant cultures. Smears of Streptococcus should be made from a liquid culture. Morphology of bacteria may be described under the following terms:

1.Shape: Spherical, coccobacillary, short or long rods, filamentous, comma- shaped, curved or spiral forms.

2.Size: Spherical are measured in diameter and rod-shaped in length and breadth. Measurement is expressed in microns (µ).

3.Sides: Straight, concave, bulging, parallel or irregular.

4.Ends: Round, pointed, truncate or concave.

5.Axis: Straight or curved.

6.Arrangement: Singly, in twos, in groups of four or eight, in grape-like bunches, in long chains, or scattered irregularly, may be in bundles, angular arrangements or in Chinese letters.

7.Pleomorphism: Bacteria may differ from their typical shape. Some of the older cultures may depart greatly from their typical forms, and may show spindles, clubs, and filaments, swollen and branching forms. Variation may be both in shape and size.

8.Capsule: May or may not be present. When present, size should be noted. This requires special staining.

Cultural characteristics of bacteria deal with the appearance of the growth in various liquid and on solid media. The growth characteristics of most of the bacteria are typical of the group or species and help in their identification. The terminology employed to describe various features of bacterial growth are mentioned below.

Yeasts

Yeasts are non filamentous, unicellular fungi that are typically spherical or oval. Like molds, yeasts are widely distributed in nature; they are frequently found as a white powdery coating on fruits and leaves.

Growth of a microorganism implies an increase in amount of protoplasm, formation of new structures and eventually formation of new cells. Balanced growth means cell components increase in proportion to each other and unbalanced growth means cell components increase in a non constant relationship to each other

Microbial growth and growth curve

Phases of growth

When bacteria are grown in the laboratory in liquid medium, the medium becomes cloudy or turbid. It is possible to measure the increase in numbers of bacteria at various time intervals and plot the values on a graph representing a growth curve.

Lag Phase: When cells are first inoculated into fresh medium containing all the nutrients they require, they take a short time to adapt before they start to divide. This is termed the lag phase.

Metabolic Processes in Bacterial Cells

All living cells are continually undergoing processes of replication, breakdown, synthesis and repair. The overall term used to describe these processes is metabolism and refers to all the different reactions that must occur in order for a cell to grow and reproduce. The pathways of metabolism are remarkably similar in all living cells. The differences that do occur usually reflect the availability of nutrients or the need for a cell to provide for a specific function. This may be secretion, storage, structural support, energy for movement, or reproduction. Our knowledge of many of the metabolic processes that occur in human cells has been derived from research on the major pathways that also occur in microbial cells.

Catabolism is the process of breakdown of complex molecules, usually with the release of energy. Anabolism refers to the synthesis of new or replacement molecules. This is an energy-requiring process. A metabolic pathway is a series of reactions in the process of metabolism.

The energy from the sun that is trapped and used to produce glucose is released when a molecule of glucose is broken down during metabolism. This complex process is called oxidation, or respiration, and consists of a number of interrelated biochemical pathways, including those of glycolysis, fermentation and aerobic respiration. Reactions that occur in the presence of oxygen are termed aerobic; those that occur in the absence of oxygen are anaerobic. Many of these reactions require the involvement of various cofactors as well as enzymes, and result in the production of energy which is captured by the synthesis of a small molecule called adenosine triphosphate (AT). ATP is termed an ‘energy-rich storage molecule’ because breakdown of ATP releases energy for use in other reactions in the cell.

What are Genes? Genes are linear sequences of nucleotides of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Each gene consists of a specific sequence of nucleotides and is responsible for determining a particular characteristic of cell. Nucleotides consist of nitrogen –containing compounds called bases, joined to the sugar, deoxyribose and to phosphate. The nucleotide bases are the purines, adenine and guanine and the pyrimidines, thymine and cytosine.

A number of genes are joined together to form a structure called a chromosome.

DNA consists of two strands of nucleotides twisted around each other into a double helical structure. The nucleotide bases are arranged in a specific sequence in each strand. The strand has a backbone of sugar and phosphate from which the bases protrude.

Culture methods employed depend on the purpose for which they are intended. In the laboratory the indications for culture are mainly to

1.Isolate bacteria in pure culture.

2.Demonstrate their properties

3.Obtain sufficient growth for preparation of antigens and for other tests.

4.Type isolates by methods such as bacteriophages and bacteriocin susceptibility.

5.Determine sensitivity to antibiotics

6.Estimate viable counts

7.Maintain stock solution

A five-kingdom classification system fails to classify viruses because they are not considered to be living. They neither reproduce independently nor utilize energy

General properties of virus

Viruses differ fundamentally from other classes of microorganism in that:

1.They are ultramicroscopic disease-producing entities.

2.They are simple in structure, basically composed of nucleic acid wrapped up in a protein coat.

3.The genome nucleic acid is either DNA or RNA , either single stranded or double stranded, but never both

4.Viruses have no metabolic activity of their own and lack enzyme systems and other constituents fundamental for independent growth and multiplication.

5.They do not posses ribosomes, nor transfer RNA and enzymes required for synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins.

6.Viruses are incapable of growth and division.

When unwanted organism settle on objects, substances or pure culture is called contamination.

Infection

Invasion of the body of a man or an animal or a plant by disease producing organism. Infectious disease is a condition brought about by an infection of the body by an organisms which is responsible for the disease. Organism that are capable of bringing about infectious diseases are called pathogens while those organism without this capacity are said to be non pathogenic.

Commensals

Organisms on skin and mucous membrane which multiply without causing damage to the tissue.

Subclinical infection / latent infection

When organism enters the tissue and lead to immunity without the appearance of any definite clinical symptoms.

Sterilization is defined as the process by which an article, surface or medium is freed of all living microorganisms either in the vegetative or spore state.

Disinfection means the destruction or removal of all pathogenic organisms, or organisms capable of giving rise to infection. Chemical disinfectants which can be safely applied to skin or mucous membrane and are used to prevent infection by inhibiting the growth of bacteria are called antiseptics.

Five main methods are used for sterilization. 1. Red heat (flaming) 2. Dry heat (hot air) 3. Moist heat 4. Filtration 5. Radiation.

The killing effect of dry heat is due to protein denaturation, oxidative damage and toxic effect of elevated levels of electrolytes. The lethal effect of moist heat is due to the denaturation and coagulation of protein. In the case of spore, steam condenses on it, increasing its water content with ultimate hydrolysis and breakdown of the bacterial protein.

Bacterial species vary greatly in the ability of their cultures to remain alive after the completion of growth. Some species such as Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Streptobacillus are poorly viable and their cultures usually die out within a few day, whether kept at 37°C at room temperature or at 4-5°C; thus, they must be sub cultivated every 2-4 days for maintenance in the laboratory. Other species are much hardier,. especially sporing species which may remain viable for many years. There are also many non - sporing species (enterobacteriaceae) whose cultures, under suitable conditions, commonly remain viable for many months and often for as much as 10-20 years.

Physical Methods of Food Preservation

Conditions too stressful for microbial growth can damage cells. Food environments can be manipulated to inhibit or kill microbes. Physical manipulation of foods can inhibit microbial growth, kill cells, or mechanically remove them from the food. Dehydration, refrigeration, and freezing inhibit microbial growth. Microbes can be killed by heating or ultraviolet (UV) or ionizing radiation. Non thermal energy is also lethal. Membrane filtration removes microbes from liquid foods. This chapter discusses all these physical preservation methods

Physical Dehydration Processes

Drying

When foods are being dried, hot air evaporates the water and carries it away. Both the drying temperature and the decreased water activity (a_w) affect the microbes.

During the initial period of drying, the temperature is still low and the relative humidity is high. The size and composition of the food particle determine the length of this phase. If this particle size is large and the material is dense, this phase can be long, allowing microbes to grow. During later phases of drying, the temperature is high but the relative humidity is low. This provides no opportunity for growth but is not very lethal either. The higher temperatures result in lower moisture content, and dry heat is less lethal than wet heat. If the drying lasts long enough (at least 30 min.), there are time-temperature combinations that kill microbial cells. With certain drying methods, the surface temperature may reach 100°C, while internal temperature remains lower. This kills surface microbes, but not those in the food’s interior.

Microscope

A microscope can be defined as an optical instrument consisting of a lens or a combination of lenses for getting magnified images of minute objects. A simple microscope is essentially an ordinary magnifying lens held on an adjustable stand. It can give magnification up to 20 times the size of the object.

A compound microscope consists of two separate lens system, the objective and eye piece (ocular) mounted on a holder known as body tube and with adjustment for illuminating the objects. It gives much greater magnification (100 to 1500 times) when compared to a simple microscope.

1.1 Introduction

Due to the ever increasing world population, the demand for food would also increase. India is one of the largest food producer countries of the world (first in milk production, second largest in fruit and vegetable production and third largest in grains production). It is the seventh-largest country in the world, with a total land area of 3,287,263 square kilometres. India has varied climates of snow covered Himalayas, desserts, oceans, fertile plains and areas receiving the highest rainfall in the world. Name any food item; it can be grown in one or the other part of the country. All these make the production of various types of foods of plant (fruits, vegetables, cereals, pulses, oilseeds, spices etc) as well as animal origin (fish, meat, milk etc.) possible in the country. The annual production of cereals, fruits and vegetables is 260, 57 and 77 million tonnes respectively, besides this, the production of cow and buffalo milk is about 102.1 million tonnes and that of sugarcane and spices are 355.52 and 1.1 million tonnes respectively [15]. Table 1 shows that the production of various food items has increased many folds during the last five decades. On one hand, we feel proud as we produce one of the largest quantities of foods in the world and there has been an enormous rise in the production of various foods in India during the last five decades, on the other hand we should be very much worried being a leading country as far as the wastage of food in the world is concerned. The postharvest losses are huge and only meagre quantity (2%) of the food is processed. Sharma [41] very rightly said that when we do not agree to throw away Rs 4000/-per month out of a salary of Rs 10,000/-per month then why do we accept 40% postproduction losses of food in the country. This would require immediate necessary action to save a major portion of the food that has already been produced.

2.1 Introduction

Each step in the food industry system e.g. food production, processing, transportation, storage, distribution and marketing, has some impact on the environment and there is much concern about environmental pollution. Due to the highly diversified nature of the food industry, various food processing, handling and packaging operations create wastes of different quality and quantity, which, if not treated, could lead to increasing disposal problems and severe pollution problems [24]. The preservation of the natural environment from industrial pollution is currently receiving much attention. In food industry, the most important problem is treatment and disposal of large quantities of waste water, a by-product of various processing operations. It is one of the largest industry groups comprising the manufacturing sector of the U.S. economy [47]. Likewise, India is the world’s second largest producer of food next to China, and has the potential of being the largest food processor. The total food production in India is likely to double in the next ten years [22]. Flour and grain; soft drinks and carbonated water; breweries; starch and miscellaneous food products; meat, poultry and fish; tea, coffee and other beverages; fruit juices; animal feed; sugar; distilleries and blending of spirits; cocoa, chocolates and sugar confectioneries; agricultural and food chemicals and industrial packaging are important sub-sectors of the food processing industry. Food processing projects involve the processing and packaging of meat products, fish and shell fish, dairy products, fruit and vegetables, grains and beverages production. It includes refinement, preservation, improvement of product, storage, handling, packaging and canning (Fig. 1). The processing may involve receiving and storing raw or partially processed plant, animal or other food materials, processing the raw materials into finished products, packaging and storing the finished products.

3.1 Introduction

The production of food grains in India is around 200 million tonnes and most of the grains are converted to primary products after primary processing such as threshing, dehulling, de-branning. Some of the grains are converted to secondary products such as flour or grits. The yields of primary and secondary products range between 65-80% indicating a wastage of 20-35%. These wastes lead to unclean surroundings and air pollution due to fine dust. Hence, proper waste management/utilization of food grain processing industries has become a societal need for a clean environment.

The term ‘waste’ has different meanings to different people. It can be retractions from the main process or less utilizable by-products or undesirable waste material depending on the commodity. All food-processing industries generate wastes and create problems for its management. The best way the food processing industry can treat its waste is to avoid producing it. Much of the waste now being produced or generated in some food processing plants can become a managed resource for producing economic credits. In fact, waste utilization is one of the world’s prominent industries and its activities cut across the normal divisions into which industries are placed. Similarly, there will be wastes from agriculture, animal and meat industries, textile, rubber etc. Even the local governmental activities that collect and dispose the household wastes become apparent in terms of the huge size of it.

4.1 Introduction

A huge amount of waste in the form of liquid and solid is produced in the fruit and vegetable processing industry which causes pollution problem if not utilized or disposed off properly. Generally solid waste is dumped in local landfills, eaten and scattered by stray animals, which has now become a major cause of environmental pollution. The waste obtained from fruit processing industry is extremely diverse due to the use of wide variety of fruits and vegetables, the broad range of processes and the multiplicity of the product [79]. The solid waste from fruits and vegetables includes peel, stone, rag, seed, core etc is of economic value and can be used for manufacturing of various by-products [21]. The extent of the waste produced from processing industries of some of the important fruits and vegetables, is given in Table 1.

In India, utilization of fruits and vegetables for processing is hardly 1.8% of the total production. There were 5166 processing units till 1^st Jan, 2009 of fruits and vegetables products throughout the country. About 90% of these units are small scale units with annual production limit of 50-250 tonnes. These units have no organized methods of waste disposal. In certain places this waste is taken away by farmers for their disposal as cattle feed or field manure.

5.1 Introduction

Waste from the dairy processing industry is generated through production of milk products at different stages. With diversification of dairy products, by-products have also gained some importance. Utilization of dairy by- products improves economical and nutritional aspects of milk production and reduces environmental pollution originating from dairy waste. Important dairy by-products include butter milk, ghee residues and whey, the major waste arising from production of cheese, casein, paneer and chhana. Whey arises as a result of protein coagulation/precipitation in the preparation of these products. It is used for manufacture of whey powder, whey drinks and lactose (milk sugar). Whey protein concentrates can be prepared by modern technological methods like ultra-filtration and reverse osmosis. Desi buttermilk is an important domestic beverage since olden days. Ghee residue can be utilized for manufacture of chocolate burfi, samosa filling etc. Hence, utilization of dairy waste particularly whey, butter milk and ghee residues obtained during manufacturing of various main products, has not only increased the availability of nutritional milk foods but has also indicated the profitable method of by products utilization and helped in minimizing the problems of pollution. This chapter focuses on utilization of these dairy industry wastes.

6.1 Introduction

The food industry produces large volumes of waste both solid and liquid, starting from the initial step of raw material to the final consumption of processed food. Apart from a loss of valuable biomass and nutrients, the generated waste poses increased disposal and potentially severe pollution problems. Meat and meat industry is no exception where slaughter houses, meat processors, wholesalers and rendering plant generates huge amount of waste [1, 2].

Meat and meat processing industry, is among the least profitable industries despite its immense size and large gross sales. Effective recovery and utilization of by-products and wastes is the lifeline of meat and poultry processing industry. Thus, it becomes imperative that an effort be made to reduce expenses by employing the use of new or modified processing methods and through in-plant treatment, where waste effluents and by-products could be recovered and often upgraded to useful products of higher value. Meat processing wastes have a potential for recycling raw materials or for conversion into useful products of higher value as by-product or even as raw material for other industries or for use as food or feed after biological treatment.

7.1 Introduction

Fisheries are emerging as one of the fastest growing food production system all-over the world. The potential for fisheries development world over and especially in India is highly promising in view of physical and biological resources available coupled with technological development. The demand for fish fishery products is ever increasing as the awareness of health benefits are being made available to public at large. The world fish production has not kept pace with demand which means less and less fish is available. Nevertheless, a large fraction of this valuable commodity is wasted due to deterioration after landing or consumer preference. An estimate by FAO [1] indicates nearly 20-25% of the total catches are wasted as postharvest loss. Better utilization of aquatic resources should therefore, aim primarily at reducing this enormous loss by improving preservation of fish and fishery products and upgrading the discarded low value fish to high value fishery products. The processing of fish into different types of products generates considerable waste. Commercially, fish is being processed into fillets, steaks, mince, canned products and a variety of ready-to-eat products. Fish processing plants contributes substantial wastes in the form of skins, bones, offal, exoskeletons from shrimps and nutrients in wash water from surimi plants.

Fish processing waste utilization is an important issue for the seafood industry both from a regulatory standpoint as well as one that has potential economic impacts. It is estimated that only 25-50% of the raw material is utilized for primary products (fillets, canned and stabilized mince production). The remaining 50-75% of the raw material is considered processing waste and is utilized for low-value products or disposed-off at sea. A large volume of solid waste is currently processed into fish meal, fish protein hydrolysates, and fertilizers. A small percentage is processed into higher valued items, such as, seafood flavourants, colourants, chitosan, enzymes, etc.

8.1 Introduction

Spices are appetizers and hence, esse ntially used in the culinary preparations. They also possess antioxidant, antimicrobial and antibiotic properties. Further, they possess medicinal properties and hence, play an important role in human health.

According to International Organization for Standards (ISO), there is no clear cut division between ‘Spices’ & ‘Condiments’ and as such they have been clubbed together. The term ‘Spices’ & ‘condiments’ applies to “such natural plants or vegetable products or mixtures there of, in whole or ground form, which are used for imparting flavour, aroma and piquancy and seasoning of foods”. Spices are divided into different groups based on their plant components such as floral, fruits, berries, seeds, rhizomes, roots, leaves, kernel, aril, bark, bulbs etc.

About 70 spices are grown in different parts of the world and a major portion of these are grown in India. Hence, India is called “The home of Spices”. It is well known that spices played a significant role in ancient times, in the development of civilization – the life of the people and trade among the nations of East and West. Spices like ginger, pepper and turmeric have an intense and immediate impact on sensory perceptions and exhibit strong physiological effects as food and medicinal constituents. Some spices and herbs like cardamom, saffron and vanilla, which have less intense but more delicate sensory effects, are well known for their contribution to fragrance and usage as food flavouring agents. The history of spices and their use in food and medicine in ancient India have been reviewed earlier [1-3].

9.1 Introduction

Depleting natural resources, regulations on synthetic material, growing environmental awareness and economic considerations today happens to be major driving force for utilization of wastes from the agricultural crops and their residues throughout world [1]. These challenges have led to the introduction of sustainable waste management practices via optimization of processing technologies for minimization and creative conversion of the plant and the processing industries biowastes the world over [2,3,4,5]. Although world prices for sugar and petroleum products have shown spectacular variations during the last few decades, the long term outlook is very likely to be a continuous increase in the price of all fossil fuels and stagnation, at best, for the price of sugar [6]. This gloomy prospect led to the renewed interest in the wastes of the sugarcane industry during the last 50 years and has proved that the optimal use of wastes can provide not only a non-negligible support to the sugarcane industry but will also be able to redress the difficult situation sugar is presently experiencing [7]. Reliable statistics are not available to show the detailed end uses of these wastes on a world basis, but from a very rough picture of their trade, we can say that the wastes from the sugar and jaggery industry serve to be amongst the richest bioresource in this era of recycling of biowastes for renewable wealth generation [8].

10.1 Introduction

Edible oil production is a separate sector of the food processing industry. There are several species of plants in the world whose oil can be utilized for human consumption for edible and non-edible uses. Though around 40 oilseeds are known, only around a dozen oilseed crops have become commercially important including ten seed crops and three tree crops. These oil seed crops (mostly annual) of commercial importance are groundnut, rapeseed-mustard, sesame, soybean, sunflower, cottonseed, safflower, niger, castor and linseed. The three major tree oil crops are palm, olive and coconut [63]. Besides these, the kernels of some other tree crops i.e. apricot, almond, walnut, hazelnut, olive (fruits are used), peach, can also be utilized for oil extraction purposes for edible and non-edible uses. Besides oil of the oilseed crops, the oils of tree fruits and kernels are also becoming popular very fast for various food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.

Large scale requirement and local shortages of oils for various edible and non-edible uses have prompted the identification of many new sources of oil during the last few decades. They are ricebran, corn, sal, mahua, jatropha, kokum, melia, rubber, mango kernel, kusum, simarouba, neem, karanj, crambe, moringa, tumba, jojoba and tobacco seed etc. Most of these oilseeds and their products have wide utility in the specialty oils sector and are mostly used for non-edible purposes. Soaps and detergents, paint and varnish, lubricants, pesticides and medicines, cosmetics, bio-diesel fuel industry are the major consumers of these non-traditional oilseeds. All the oil crops will gain greater attention in future as they are renewable and biodegradable in nature [63]. List of oil crops have been given in Table 1.

11.1 Introduction

Fermented foods are the result of the activity of a few specialized types of micro-organisms among the thousands of species known to mankind. Success of such processes is depended upon the control of environmental conditions ensuring the growth of the desired microbial species and inhibition of others. The fermentation can be broadly defined as the process in which the carbohydrate or like compounds are broken down, under anaerobic or aerobic conditions [171]. The basic role of micro-organisms is to breakdown the organic compounds to get energy for their metabolic activities. From ancient times, people all over the world have developed traditional processes for production of alcoholic beverages (wine) either from natural sugar such as in wine or by degrading the starchy materials (beer). Fruit wines referred to as ‘Soma’ in our ancient scriptures have been part of food of man and were used as medicine, might have originated accidentally (transformation of fruit juice beverages having exhilarating or stimulating properties). Wines are made principally from fruits like grape or extract of other fruits of various types (table wine, sparkling wine, dessert, aperitif or vermouth and pop wines) while the beers are prepared from grains like barley, rice and corn. The principal carbohydrate in grain is starch which can not be fermented directly. This process is brought about by starch splitting enzymes by germinating the grains followed by drying and storage until needed. Distillation of beer produces a variety of liquors (whisky, rum, gin, vodka), while that of wine produces the brandy. Besides, the improvement in the raw material selection, fermentation conditions and techniques, a lot of waste material is generated during fermentation process in the industries. Nevertheless, the food based industries are significant contributors to the economy of the many countries of the world (Fig 1). The global market value of food fermentation based industries is estimated to be around 250 million US dollars. Interestingly, more than 10% of this accounts for alcoholic beverages (Fig 2) with projected increase of US$ 27 billions in 1989 to 40 billions in 1990 [93,123,123,129].

12.1 Introduction

Man is the most beautiful of all God’s creations and like man, his environment too is beautiful with rivers to quench his thirst with sweet water, atmosphere to provide him oxygen, land and fire to provide him food. Primitive man ate uncooked food and lived in caves. Soon he learnt the use of firewood for cooking of raw meat and provided the first instance of ‘Pollution from food processing’ in history. As man shifted from one place to another, this sort of living never polluted the environment. But as the man ascended the ladder of civiliz ation, his needs grew in arithmeti c progression but corresponding pollution grew in geometric progression. With increase in agriculture produce, a need was felt to preserve the glut production in the form of processed foods giving rise to massive development of food processing industries all over the world. The rapid industrialization of agriculture and horticulture, increased the pollution load many folds especially the biodegradable waste from food industry [41].The wineries and distilleries (distill wine to make brandy) are no exception. Nevertheless, the waste is a precious source of several useful materials as such or after fermentation [1,31,46,86]. Thus, development and environment are two sides of the same coin.

From time immemorial, the biosphere is acting as a sink for all the waste products and recycles them to make good the loss so that every generation finds it the same as one before it. But, of late, this self-cleaning and equilibrium maintenance of biosphere is disastrously disturbed as the waste produced from man’s activities is continuously exceeding the capacity to purify herself. Consequently, our biosphere is becoming more and more poisonous and days are not far away when this planet will become inhabitable.

13.1 Introduction

Hospitality industry is the second largest industry in the world. It is well diversified and can be chosen as per the interest. Hospitality management involves planning, organizing, directing and controlling human and other resources within the different segments of hospitality industry i.e. lodging, restaurant, travel and tourism, institutional management, recreational management, meeting and convention planning industries. Although, these all are separate but related segments of the hospitality industry and are interrelated to provide good and efficient services to the guests and users. Hospitality industry provides services which are need oriented and differ in various parts of the world as per regions and the traditional styles.

The first building created specifically for hotel was ‘City Hotel’ with 73 rooms at 115 Broadway, New York in 1794. Pallonjee Pestonjee established the very first western-style hotel in India, “The Bristol Hotel” in Mumbai in 1840. According to the report of the department of Tourism, Government of India, at the end of the year 2004, there were 167 Five star hotels with approx. 28,900 rooms, whereas 126 Four star hotels, with 8,831 rooms [2]. To expedite the ongoing process of classification/re-classification of functioning hotels in one to three star categories, five Regional Committees have also been set up in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati and Chennai to conduct inspection [3].

14.1 Introduction

The increasing human population and changing life styles have resulted in a huge demand for processed and packaged foods. As a result of this demand, large amounts of water, air, electricity and fuel are consumed on a daily basis for food processing, transportation and preservation. Although not one of the most heavily polluting, the food industry does contribute to the increase in volume of waste produced [1]. There is an increasing pressure from regulatory bodies through incentives, legislation and financial penalties to minimize waste generation and encourage adoption of eco-friendly options for waste management. Nanotechnology is a panacea for food waste management.

Key words : Remote Sensing, Ecosystem, Environmental Pollution, Biodiversity Conservation, Coastal Environmental Degradation, Wetland.

Introduction

National prosperity and human resources development are primarily shaped by the availability of natural resources and their use. None the less, the benefits are quite often negated by the resultant environmental degradation concomitant with their utilisation for economic values. The problems of environmental degradation have assumed critical dimensions in many parts of India due to resources exploitation; industrialisation and urbanisation, unchecked population growth and a never ending quest for energy to meet the increasing demands. Moreover, improper utilisation of resources has resulted in such environmental problems as soil erosion, waterlogging, floods, droughts and pollution of various types besides socio-economic disparity among people.

After the 1972 Stockholm conference on Human Environment and Development, there has been a phenomenal increase in the worldwide interest in the environmental issues associated with development. Consequently, the focus of development has shifted to environment friendly and sustainable developmental planning in recent years. The Rio Summit (June 3-14, 1992) further emphasised the fact that earth is an integral and interdependent system, which require sustainable developmental planning. During deliberations of the Rio Summit (Earth Summit), it was emphasised that satellite imagery will be quite helpful in monitoring earth’s environment.

India has a long tradition of environmental protection and has enacted laws during the last three decades to give further impetus to the conservation of natural resources and protection of environment. Some of the important laws are:

Introduction

Precision Farming (PF) revolves around the idea that any agricultural land contains wide spatial variations in soil types, nutrient availability, and other important factors. If these variations are not taken into account, then there may be a loss in productivity. Precision farming is one of the most scientific and modern approaches to sustainable agriculture that has gained momentum in 21^st century. Consider the situation: ‘A farmer goes to his/her field with his/her Global Positioning System (GPS) guided tractor. The GPS senses the exact location of the tractor within the field. It sends the signal to a computer on the tractor that has a Geographical Information System (GIS), storing the soil nutrient requirements map in it. GIS, in consultation with a Decision Support System, decides what is the exact requirement of the fertilizer for a given location and then commands a variable rate fertilizer applicator, attached with the tractor, to apply the exact dose at that precise location. All this is done within a second, before the tractor moves further.’ This may sound like an excerpt from a scientific fiction, but this is what precision farming means to the large growers of the United States or European countries and day is not far off when it will be feasible for large Indian farmers as well.

PF refers to a developing agricultural management system that promotes variable management practices within a field according to site or soil conditions. Within a short span of time, this concept has been described with various names viz. farming by soil; farming soil, not fields; farming by the foot; spatially prescriptive farming; computer aided farming; farming by computer; farming by satellite; high-tech sustainable agriculture; soil-specific crop management; site-specific farming; and site-specific crop management.

Key words : NRSA, Natural Resource and Disaster Management, Agricultural Drought, Ecosystems, Biodiversity Information System, Water Resources, Sea Surface Temperature.

Introduction

A few decades ago, paper maps were the principal means to synthesize and represent geographic information. Manipulating this information was limited to a manual, non-interactive process. Since then the rapid development of new technologies to collect and digitize geographic data, together with an increasing demand for both interactive manipulation and analysis of this data, has generated a need for dedicated software’s namely geographic information systems (GISs).

A GIS is more than a cartographic tool to produce maps. It stores geographic data, retrieves and combines this data to create new representations of geographic space, provides tools for spatial analysis, and performs simulations to help expert users to organize their work in many areas like public administration, transportation networks, military applications and environmental information systems. These above mentioned are few among many others where we are concerned with geographical locations, their present status, its potential for developmental activities, patterns of change over the years and the processes on the surface of the earth.

Geographic information technology is used to manipulate objects in geographic space, and to acquire knowledge from spatial facts. Spatial information theory provides a basis for GIS by bringing together fields that deal with spatial reasoning, the representation of space, and human understanding of space.

Key words : Horticultural Resource Information System. INARIS.

Introduction

Wide ranging Indian climatic conditions are well suited for boosting production of a variety of horticultural crops (fruits, vegetables, flower/ornamental/medicinal and aromatic crops) which presently hold an important position in the global scenario. Development was at a very low ebb till the Third Five-Year Plan and increased significantly since the Seventh Five Year Plan (Rs.10,000 millions plan outlay). Government of India established National Horticultural Board (NHB) in 1984 and Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) in 1986 to facilitate its larger development. The outlay is expected to increase even more in the Tenth Plan. Significant progress has been made in area expansion of different horticultural crops resulting in higher production. Besides, use of modern technologies has also brought about improvement in productivity. More than 50 per cent increase in production is seen in many of the horticulture crops during last one decade.

The efficient planning and implementation of different developmental programs on horticultural crops depends on production parameters like soil suitability, varietals dominance, marketable surplus, marketing channels, post harvest handling practices, cost of cultivation and market availability for sustained production. In addition, information on latest technologies developed by various research organizations on horticultural improvement, production, protection and post-harvest technologies are needed to be collected and made available to the scientists, planners and managers working in the related fields. But the available information on this aspect is scattered and the database is too weak to provide adequate support for developmental strategies. The digitization of comprehensive database on horticultural crops will definitely enhance the pace of increasing the area, production, productivity and promoting industry of horticultural crops that have taken lead in the new millennium with reference to nutritional quality of food and export potential. A strong, well-knit database to support need-based, market-driven and cost-effective horticultural development is imperative. Therefore, under National Agricultural Technology Project (NATP) a Mission Mode Sub-project on “Integrated National Agricultural Resources Information System (INARIS)” has been taken up to evolve a comprehensive computerized data management system on various agricultural resources like crops, animals, fishes and natural resources by harnessing RDBMS and GIS. The Co-operating Center at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore has developed the “Horticultural Resources Information System” with the objectives of (i) integrating existing databases in horticulture, (ii) designing and developing a comprehensive database in horticulture and (iii) developing resource maps of major horticultural crops in the country by integrating attribute and spatial data through GIS. In addition to simple storage and retrieval it will include other functions such as manipulation and dissemination of information to various users. This database will be integrated with 13 other Co-operating Centers dealing with different agricultural resources through a virtual private network (VPN). The Lead Center at Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, New Delhi provide warehouse facility with a capability to analyze the data variously and provide report as cubes, tables and graphs to form a national database to cater to the needs of the users through a website. The facility of retrieving information as value-added maps using GIS will also be built in.

Key words : Wasteland Reclamation, Poverty Indicators, Food Insecurity, Alternate Livelihood Systems, Rural Infrastructure Index.

Introduction

The countries of Asia and the Pacific region accounts for nearly two-thirds of the chronically poor and undernourished in the world. FAO estimates indicate that, by 2010, Asia will still account for about one-half of the world’s malnourished population (FAO 2000). In Asia, poverty has mainly been rural phenomenon and nearly three-fourth of the poor live in rural areas, with large majority of them dependent on natural resources for employment and income. South Asia, which had a poverty incidence of 43 percent (or about 520 million people), contributed about 40 percent of the world’s poor. Development of natural resources thus offers a potentially enormous means of poverty reduction.

In developing countries poverty and environmental deterioration are often viable in proximity to each other, and have led many to infer that a two-way causality exists between human and environmental degradation. Environmental degradation usually occurs when production and consumption activities of growing population irreversibly weaken nature’s recycling capabilities. These economic activities are also attributed to the development of markets, the advent of modern technology, and the spatial integration of inaccessible areas to market systems. In many developing countries, however, environmental degradation such as soil erosion, deforestation and pollution are most visible around poor settlements, leading some policy makers to highlight the direct links between poverty and the environment.

One has to recognize that both poverty and the environment are descriptions of states of human and natural resource attributes and cannot be reduced to simple one-dimensional cause-effect relationships. Apart from conceptual difficulties in modeling linkages, another handicap has been the absence of adequate or reliable data sets on poverty and environment characteristics. The challenge for operational research is exploring how circumstantial evidence and inductive logic can be used to explain the nature of interactions between the two states. Based on nationwide wasteland statistics vis-à-vis state and district wise poverty estimates available with the concerned agencies, this study is one such attempt, and evaluates the incidence of poverty with the backdrop of natural resources degradation and role of institutional interventions with illustrations from India.

Key words : Glaciers, Glacial Lakes, Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF), Himachal Pradesh, Glacial Inventory, Glacier Recession.

Introduction

Glaciers are large masses of snow, re-crystallized ice and rock debris that accumulate in great quantities and begin to flow outwards and downwards under the pressure of their own weight. Glaciers form when yearly snowfall in a region far exceeds the amount of snow and ice that melts in a given summer. In this way, massive quantities of glacial material accumulate in relatively small periods of geologic time. The glaciers exist in environments of high and low precipitation and in many temperature regimes; they are found on all the continents except Australia and they span the globe from high altitudes in equatorial regions to the polar ice caps. Presently, 10% of the Earth’s land area (5.8 million square miles) is covered with glaciers storing about 75% of the world’s freshwater. However, during the last Ice Age, glaciers covered 32% of the total land area of the planet.

Key words : GPS, GIS, DSS, SDSS, RS, Digital Elevation Model (DEM), Ground Water Exploration, Conjunctive Use of Surface and Ground Water, Digital Terrain Modeling (DTM).

Introduction

Water is one of the most precious gifts of nature to living beings and particularly to the mankind. On account of erratic distribution of rainfall both in time and space, the country is subjected to cycles of floods and droughts. With the increase in demand for water for various purposes and to mitigate the twin problems of floods and droughts faced by the country, a coordinated approach for optimum utilization and proper management of this precious resource is of prime importance. In addition, proper development and management of both irrigation and drainage systems are essential. This would require integrated management of surface water as well as gorund water. All the water related problems whether mitigating droughts or floods or better irrigation management practices, dictate for adoption of state of the art water management practices. Water management deals with the control, distribution and allocation of water flows and the treatment of rivers and catchments, consequently, solutions to many of the problems in water management require the knowledge and expertise from diverse sources.

Key words : Integrated Watershed Management (IWM), GIS, DTM, Watershed Delination, Water Quality Modeling, RS, DSS, Ground Water Information System (GWIS).

Introduction

The availability of land and water resources has a major effect on the economic and ecological aspects of life everywhere around the world. As a result, the need to develop better tools for efficient land and water resources management has become very vital. For quicker, reliable and precise results, it is necessary to use the geospatial tools and techniques such as Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) image interpretation and analysis techniques to manage the natural resources. The application of these tools and techniques not only facilitates timely and repetitive analysis of all the topological features, but also assists in development of Decision Support Systems (DSS) to generate alternative scenarios for optimal use of the natural resources in the long term. The optimal use of these resources through integrated management of land water and vegetation leads to enhanced production and productivity of food, fodder, fiber, fuel, fish, flower and forest resources. Moreover, the holistic management of the resources to produce these outputs is plausible and manageable within the watershed systems, which are hydro geological units from which the runoff resulting from precipitation flows past through a single outlet to downstream locations. The systematic management of land, water, vegetation and livestock resources within the watershed systems is termed as Integrated Watershed Management (IWM). Broadly, IWM can be defined as a multidisciplinary, holistic way of protecting and managing a watershed’s natural resources to enhance biomass production in an eco-friendly manner. The watershed is viewed as a hydro-geological complex and dynamic ecosystem in which natural and anthropogenic processes occur and interact resulting in generation of runoff at the watershed outlet.

Key words : Flood Plains Agro-ecosystem, GIS, RS, Spatial Cropping Pattern, Radiometric Normalization, NDVI, Agricultural Systems.

Introduction

Of late, evidence is accumulating to suggest that high productivity and growth rates achieved during the Green Revolution era in the well-endowed regions of the country (i.e North West India) are no longer being sustained to meet the needs of still increasing population in the country. Past growth sources have nearly exhausted and there is also no scope for expansion of crop land. Indeed pressure for competing land uses will likely reduce area under food grain crops. Shrinking natural resource base (per capita availability of land and water devoted to agriculture), declining quality of resources and environmental degradation issues will imply increasing threat to our ability to meet the basic needs of the growing population of the region unless we shift our effort to potential regions like flood plains of the country for improving productivity.

The flood plain riverine lands of India covering approximately 42 m.ha though most endowed with natural resources and has all the potential of becoming rich, is still economically backward. The reason behind this paradox of extent of poverty in the midst of richness of resources is that the natural resources of the region are not being productively harnessed into the process of the economic development and thus are not delivering their potential and commensurate benefits to the people. The Green Revolution technologies evolved during of 60’s and 70’s had little or no impact in this region of the country. Undesirable spatio-temporal distribution of flood in these areas keeps agriculture under uncertainty and risks. These are also the areas where the poorest are concentrated and agriculture largely continues to be more of subsistence. The nature of agricultural problems are highly variable due to great diversity in the production system as also in the socio-economic conditions of the communities requiring location specific approaches to address the problems and enhance the productivity.

Key words : Groundwater Modelling, GIS, PMWIN, ArcInfo Interface Con2grid, Interface Programme, ArcMacro Language.

Introduction

Groundwater is an important source of irrigation in India and has played a major role in increasing the food production. About 50 per cent of total irrigated area in the country is dependent on groundwater (Central Water Commission (CWC), 2000). Productivity of groundwater is normally more than the surface water due to the fact that it is available at the point of use, requires minimum conveyance infrastructure, is available on demand and maximizes the application efficiency. However, in past few years, excessive and unplanned groundwater pumping in certain parts of the country has resulted in depletion of groundwater resources. Water table in these region is going down day by day and making it beyond the reach of poor farmers. Therefore, keeping the water table in the desirable range is a major concern. This can be achieved by adopting proper pumping rate and pumping schedule. Groundwater modelling has successfully been used for deciding the pumping rate and pumping schedule. Groundwater modelling refers to simulation of groundwater behaviour under varying pumping and recharge conditions. A groundwater model is simply a set of equations, which describe the physical processes active in the aquifer subjected to certain assumptions. While the model itself obviously lacks the detailed reality of the groundwater systems, the behaviour of the validated model approximates that of the aquifer.

Key words : Participatory GIS (P-GIS), Geo-Participatory Rural Appraisal (Geo-PRA) Social Mapping, Resource Mapping, Seasonality Maps, DGPS.

Participatory GIS

Geographical information System (GIS0 and Geographics Information Technologies (GITS) are no more restricted to the elite group of the society. Planners are busy in searching ways in merging community participation with GIS in the context of urban planning, environment equity, sustainable development etc. (Aitken and Michael, 1995, Craig and Ehwood, 1998; Talen, 2000 and Sieber, 2000). In all the cases, common thing is the linking of community participation and GIS in a diversity of social and environmental contexts. Through development, demonstration and modification of methodologies by academics and practitioners the concept of Participatory GIS (P-GIS) emerges. It is an outcome of a spontaneous fusion of participatory forms of development planning with modern information technologies. Experts gave considerable thoughts on the probing questions like whether a bottom up GIS could be successfully developed, how many community participation could be incorporated into GIS and to what context such participation would serve only to legitimize conventional top-down decision making. From these reflections only the concept of people’s participation GIS arose.

In this chapter, an attempt is made to emphasize the fact that while no country in the World is safe from geohazards, a proper understanding on their causes, ways to mitigate them and surviving techniques would help reduce the life and property loss. Each geohazard has its own characteristic way of potential impact and hence classifying vulnerability of different regions and creating awareness on potential impact is essential. In addition to providing basic information on geohazards, this chapter presents a conceptual model on hazard mitigation, rescue and relief operations.

INTRODUCTION

Every year, thousands of people are killed by volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides and floods. These natural causes damage human settlements and infrastructures (GOI, 2004) inflicting life and economic loss. As human population increases, habitation on hazardous and or vulnerable land becomes more common and the risks posed by these hazards increase. The need to observe their behavior, understand them better and mitigate their effects become ever more urgent (IGOS, 2003). Decades of research may have contributed towards betterment of our understanding on the processes of geohazard formation but still a long way has to be covered to develop better mitigation procedures.

This chapter reviews the published information on tsunami and attempts to characterize tsunamigenic sediments in terms of their microfossil content. Tsunamisare long-period waves generated by vertical displacements of marine watercolumn due to earthquakes, volcanic explosion and landslides. These waves can exceed heights of 25 meters (in shallow water) and lengths upto 100km with a velocity of more than 1000km/hour. Even at this magnitude, they are undetectable in deeper waters owing to very low wave height which in turn reduces significantly the response time, causing sudden havoc along coasts. They can cause flooding of coastal areas and affect areas thousands of kilometers away from their point of origin. These characteristics of tsunami imprint ensuing sediments with unique assemblage of microfossils.

INTRODUCTION

Shallow water progressive waves with very large wavelength and long duration caused by the rapid displacement of ocean water are called “tsunami”. Tsunami is a sudden non-meteorologically induced impulse in water regardless of size. Tsunamis are formed by submarine tectonic activity more often due to earthquakes and less frequently due to volcanic eruption, landslides near the coast, meteor impact and nuclear explosions.

The velocity of the tsunami varies and depends on many parameters such as bathymetry, height of the originating wave, initial pressure changes in the sea, etc. and can travel at a speed of more than 1000 km/hr. At the place of origin (directly above the epicentre of submarine earthquake or any other causative factor), the wavelength may be upto few tens to several hundred kilometres but the wave height is often less than one metre only. Since the velocity is proportional to the depth of the water column, it gets reduced to few tens of kilometres as the tsunami approaches the coast. However, the wave height increases significantly reaching 100 m in extreme cases. As a result, the tsunami strikes the coast with massive force. The effect is colossal in islands with low relief. The tsunami waves appear as flooding with water rushing inside the land more violently and with great force towards a river course. In several cases, when the tsunami arrives, the water level in the sea may drop significantly and the waters receding several hundred metres come back with great speed drubbing the coastal lands doubly from both the directions. Though an event of short duration in terms of geological history, tsunami deposits, owing to their higher rate of deposition and other salient characteristics, find place in stratigraphic records. This chapter is an attempt to review the characteristics of tsunami and tsunamigenic sediments, to find out the ability of microfossil content of such sediments for characterization and to identify tsunami deposits in stratigraphic records.