A SEMINAR REPORT

ON

CURRENT ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND EMERGING GLOBAL CHALLENGES

IN THE 21ST CENTURY

BY

KAREEM BLESSING ASABI

MATRIC NO:

1909005129

SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY,

FACULTY OF SCIENCE, EKITI STATE UNIVERSITY, ADO-EKITI,

NIGERIA

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (B.S.C HONS)

DEGREE IN INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY

JANUARY, 2024
 CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that this seminar on Current Environmental Issues and Emerging Global
Challenges in the 21st century was written by KAREEM BLESSING ASABI, with matriculation
number 1909005129, of the Department of Industrial Chemistry, the Faculty of Science, Ekiti
StateUniversity (EKSU), Ado Ekiti.

……………………………….. ………………………..

Dr. O.A. Ibigbami Date

Supervisor

………………………………... ………………………

Prof. F.J. Faleye

Head of Department Date

 DEDICATION

This seminar report is dedicated to the Almighty God, and my supervisor in person of Dr.
Ibigbami for his endless supports. This is also dedicated to my dear parents, Mr and Mrs.
Kareem for their unending support and encouragement.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I sincerely appreciate the Almighty God for His unconditional love and care. I acknowledge my
beloved parents, in person of Mr. and Mrs. Kareem for being there for me to support me
financially and prayerfully, as well as my siblings. I love you all.

My special appreciation goes to my great supervisor Dr. Ibigbami for his love, advice and
guidance. You really did so well Sir.

I will also like to appreciate all the lectures in the Department of Industrial Chemistry for their
love and support, you really impacted me.
 TABLE OF CONTENT

Title Page…………………………………………………………………………………………..i

Certification……………………………………………………………………………………….ii

Dedication………………………………………………………………………………………...iii

Acknowledgement………………………………………………………………………………..iv

Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………..vii
ABSTRACT
 CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Emerging environmental problems in the last decades have been acummulated to the old
ones, bringing new challenges to international and national environmental protection
insitutions. The history of the emerging environmental problems facing advanced societies
in the period 1950s-1970s is very revealing. At the same time there are new economic,
social and technological changes on a global scale due to globalization. New forms of
political, environmental and social mobilizations appear in developed and developing
countries that promote new strategies for sustainable development (Harper and Snowden,
2005). Some of the most urgent and challenging environmental problems in the last
decades were identified in the last 50 yearts creatring greater awareness for the urgent
need tyo take positive action (Mannion and Bowlby, 1992). Examples, urban air
photochemical pollution from vehicular exhausts (Los Angeles), the stratospheric ozone
layer depletion in Antarctica, water pollution by agricultural runoffs and microplastics, soil
erosion and desertification, industrial and municipal sewage wastewater in developed
countries, ,damaging acid rain incidents in the lakes of Scandinavian countries, excessive
overpopulation and urbanization in most continents, increasing solid waste disposal
difficulties in big cities, deforestation of vast areas of valuable tropical forests and loss of
biodiversity, were some examples that threatened human health and sensitive ecosystems
before they were discovered. In some cases, solutions were very difficult to apply and
certain condiitions were expensive for remedation interventions (Hill, 1997). In the last
decades, scientific endeavour and policy actions have led to innovative solutions and vital
advancements in environmental protection (UNEP, 2012). Yet these advances are frequently
outpaced by overall economic growth. For example, as the fuel efficiency of cars has
increased, the size of the global vehicle fleet continues to grow in urban areas. Some
environmental pollution problems were discovered before substantial damage or threatening
conditions developed in environemntal resources and sensitive ecosystems (Harris, 2005).

But in some cases high concentrations of toxic pollutants appeared in the environment, in
particular rivers, lakes and seas that proved to be very expensive for rementation actions.
Some emerging environmental problems from anthropogenic activities appeared with
serious toxic impact in humans and biological organisms or as diseases and premature
deaths (Moser et al., 2017). The key messages to environmental organizations and policy
authorities are that human civilization will increasingly need access to timely, reliable
environmental information from various locations around the world so that authorities can
identify urgent environmental issues as they emerge and develop effective actions and
policies to respond to them. Without this, the global community‘s efforts will be
hampered (Lynch et al., 2019).

A global issue is a matter of public concern worldwide. This list of global issues presents
problems or phenomena affecting people around the world, including but not limited to
widespread social issues, economic issues, and environmental issues. Organizations that
maintain or have published an official list of global issues include the United Nations, and the
World Economic Forum. Not all of these risks are independent, because the majority, if not all of
them are a result of human activity; Biodiversity loss, Climate change, Destructive artificial
intelligence, Environmental disaster, Nuclear holocaust, Pandemic Biotechnology risk,
Molecular nanotechnology, Societal collapse.

Major current environmental issues may include climate change, pollution, environmental
degradation, and depletion. The resource conservation movement lobbies for protection of
endangered species and protection of any ecologically valuable natural areas, modified foods
and global warming. The UN system has adopted international frameworks for environmental
issues in three key issues, which has been encoded as the " triple planetary crises": climate
change, pollution, and biodiversity loss (Environment and U.N, 2021). Human impact on the
environment (or anthropogenic environmental impact) refers to changes to biophysical
environments (Wuebbles et al.,2014) and to biodiversity, and ecosystems, natural resources
caused directly or indirectly by humans. Modifying the environment to fit the needs of society
(as in the built environment) is causing severe effects including global warming, environmental
degradation (such as ocean acidification), mass extinction and biodiversity loss (Pimm et al.,
2014), ecological crisis, and ecological collapse. Some human activities that cause damage
(either directly or indirectly) to the environment ona global scale include population growth
(Nordström et al., 2020), neoliberal economic policies (Jones et al.,2021) and rapid economic
growth, overconsumption, overexploitation, pollution, and deforestation. Some of the problems,
including global warming and biodiversity loss, have been proposed as representing catastrophic
risks to the survival of the human species (Torres and Phil, 2016).

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH

The period of 1989-2001was known as the long decade because of the events that took place.
These events include globalization, the fall of the Soviet Union, communication revolution and
9/11. These events greatly impacted societies development. During 1988, climate change was on
the rise there was a panel that was created to try and combat climate change, extinction and
deforestation. In the early 2000, technology was changing and the way people communicated
advanced significantly due to the creation of social media and more personal communication
devices. 9/11 was a devastating attack on the world trade center which was taken down by
hijacked united airlines flight 175. This attack cause panic all over the world because many
people were affected by it

1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH

 CHAPTER TWO

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

Environmental issues are disruptions in the usual function of ecosystems. Further, these issues
can be caused by humans (human impact on the environment or they can be natural. These issues
are considered serious when the ecosystem cannot recover in the present situation, and
catastrophic if the ecosystem is projected to certainly collapse. Environmental protection is the
practice of protecting the natural environment on the individual, organizational or governmental
levels, for the benefit of both the environment and humans (Eccleston and Charles, 2010).
Environmentalism is a social and environmental movement that addresses environmental issues
through advocacy, legislation education, and activism. Environment destruction caused by
humans is a global, ongoing problem (McNeill and Zane, 2022). Water pollution also cause
problems to marine life. Most scholars think that the project peak global world population of
between 9-10 billion people, could live sustainably within the earth's ecosystems if human
society worked to live sustainably within planetary boundaries (Alberro and Heather, 2020).
The bulk of environmental impacts are caused by excessive consumption of industrial goods by
the world's wealthiest populations (Mose et al.,2017). The UN Environmental Program, in its
"Making Peace With Nature" Report in 2021, found addressing key planetary crises, like
pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss, was achievable if parties work to address the
Sustainable Development Goals. Enviornmental issues and in particular the most damaging
to natural resources, biodiversity, sustainability, and human health are on the top on the
list of priorities and concern of national and international environmental protection
organizations. These organizations played important role in information and understanidng
of the threats, promoted investigations and follow up studies fro environmental trends.
Also, numerous publcations and expert reports were directing scientifc research not only
for identification of emerging problems but also on practical solutions in the long term. A
selection of environmental organizations (selection).
2.1 National and International Organizations Facing Challenging Environmental Issues

a. International: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP, New York), Global

Green Growth Institute (GGGI, Seoul, South Korea), Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC, UN New York). International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN, Gland, Switzerland), European Environment Agency (EEA,
Copenhagen), Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia
(PEMSEA, Guezon, Philippines), etc .

b. Europe: Climate Action Network-Europe (CAN-Europe), European Association of

Environmental and Resource Economists, European Environmental Bureau (EEB),

c. USA : Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), The Audubon Society (conserve

and restore natural ecosystems), National Wildlife Federation (dedicated to
preserving animals in the USA and works with local agencies), Rainforest Action
Network (RAN) based in San Francisco and Tokyo,

d. UK, Green Alliance (1979) both a charity and a leading independent thinktank,
Institution of Environmental ScienceI(1971) on promoting sustainable development.

e. Germany. Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Bundesamt für Naturschutz,

BfN), German Environmental Aid Association (DUH) in favour of sustainable
technologies, Association for German Nature Conservation (DNR – Deutscher
Naturschutzring, 1950),

f. Sweden Swedish Environmental Protecion Agency (Natur Vards Verket).

g. Japan. Japanese Ministry of the Environment (Tokyo, 1971)

h. Non-Govermental Organizations (NGOs): Confederation of European

Environmental Engineering Societies, The Natural Resources Defense Council (USA),
Earthwatch, Environmental Defense Fund, Friends of the Earth, World Resources
Institute (WRI), World Wide Fund for Nature(WWF), World watch Institute, Sierra
Club (USA, Canada), Greenpeace, The Confederation of European Environmental
Engineering Societies, etc.
2.2 Sixth Global United Nations Environmental Outlook (GEO-6)

The UN Environment’s Sixth Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-6) in 2019 is the most
comprehensive assessment of the state of the world's environment. The report also offers
a rigorous analysis of Earth’s prospects for a healthy future. It contains chapters on the
most important environmental issues facing the Earth in the next decades. The most
important problems:

A. Climate change and Global Warming

The first challenge is sustainable development and climate change. Sustainable development is
about capacity of our eco-system. We have some resources which are not limitless and we should
carry them into future for the next generations. There are many kinds of definition on sustainable
development but widely acclaimed definition is that development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs6 . In this
case humanity at present has to be regardful of natural resources and should not forget that next
generations will need the same resources as us. Therefore, states and societies are supposed to
attach importance to this issue. There are some examples of sustainable development like solar
and wind energy, sustainable construction, crop rotation, water fixtures etc.7 The second part of
the first challenge is climate change that is very trendy topic nowadays. Climate change is
directly related to global warming. Global warming is a result of high level of CO2 in the air.
This level of CO2 generates another term named greenhouse effect connected with decreasing
ozone layer. This ozone layer is what keeps the Earth's climate livable. Without it, the Earth's
surface would be on average about 60 degrees Fahrenheit colder. Because of the change in this
level, ice on the polar caps is melting and the level of oceans is getting higher. Also it is really
harmful for some kind of animals not just for human beings. Climate change is one of the most
important challenges for the world. For instance the winter in the USA was extremely cold in
2014. A lot of people died because of that problem. Actually, Earth's average temperature has
risen by 1.4°F over the past century, and is projected to rise another 2 to 11.5°F over the next
hundred years8 . If we do not take some precaution about climate change and about its reasons, it
can be the end of humanity and our planet. Climate change and rising temperatures, Floods,
droughts, forest fires and other climate disasters are already disrupting Earth‘s food
supply, natural resources and human health. Such threats will probably become more
frequent in the future (Letcher, 2015). Climate change occurs due to pollution of the
atmosphere by greenhouse gases (and by other) It is now regarded as one of the major global
environmental issues. It occurs largely as a result of the burning of fossil fuels, emissions from
agriculture, and land-use changes that accompanies the destruction, clearance and burning of
forests. Climate change already has noticeable ecological and social effects, and its projected
impacts could potentially result in profound changes in global mean surface temperature, sea
level, ocean circulation, precipitation patterns, climatic zones, species distributions and
ecosystem function (Agbola & Agbola, 1997). The lack of protective ozone at high altitudes
results in increased levels of harmful solar ultraviolet (UV-B) radiation reaching the earth’s
surface, causing a range of health-related issues and ecological impacts (Taylor, 2000). Rate of
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and cli mate change have strong correlation with each other
(Davis 2017). Currently climate change is happening mainly due to increased emission and
accumulation of GHGs such as (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), water vapors
(H2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)
(Fig. 1) (IPCC 2013). As per the estimates atmospheric GHGs concentration has increased; such
as CO2 from 280 to 395 ppm, CH4 from 715 to 1882 ppb and N2O concentration from 227 to
323 ppb since 1750–2012 (IPCC 2013). It is reported that GHGs are now at their highest levels
in the history of earth, with continuous increment and even if emissions are stopped immediately,
climate change will still continue for years to come. It is now projected that changes in
temperature to extremes over different areas of earth are likely to occur earlier than was expected
(Li et al. 2018). The average global surface temperature has increased by 0.74 °C since the late
19th century and is expected to increase by 1.4–5.8 °C by 2100 with significant regional
variations (IPCC 2014; Harris et al. 2017). It is well known that the most important GHG is CO2
which currently constitutes 76% of the total global warming impact. CO2 production is
increasing by most of the countries of the world and some countries with major contribution (%)
in total CO2 emission are depicted in Fig. 2. Although global CO2 level is increasing but Bhutan
is the only country with negative carbon value due to highest percentage of forest cover region
(Climate Council 2017). Fossil fuel consumption is the main reason of carbon emission. It was
estimated that in 2015 fossil fuel consumption accounted for 82% of total primary energy supply
(Boden et al. 2017). Global carbon emissions are increasing due to coal burning (42%), liquid
fuels (primarily oil) (33%), combustion of natural gas (19%), cement production and gas far ing
(6%) (Boden and Andres 2016). It is reported that annual CO2 emission due to fossil fuel
combustion have intensely increased from nearly zero to over 33 Gt in between 1870 and 2014
(Fig. 3) (Boden et al. 2017). Rapid deforestation and land-use change have large impact on
climate change as well (Ramankutty and Foley 1999; Scott et al. 2018). Destruction of wetlands,
especially peatlands, mining and deforestation add signifcantly to the increased release of GHGs
because these are carbon stores on earth (Bergkamp and Orlando 1999).

Fig.1 Contribution of GHGs in global warming (F-gases -HFC, PFC and SF6)

It only makes sense to start things off with the biggest environmental concern of our time.
Human actions over many years have caused almost irreparable damage to our ozone layer and
the environment. This caused our climate to start changing, which is a process that is
continuously occurring, but not on this level. With the help of human negligence towards the
environment, we have reached a period of average temperatures that are higher than ever.
Humanity caused this by releasing greenhouse gases, which are dispersed through agriculture,
the burning of fossil fuels, and various other activities (Eneh & Agbazue, 2011; Efobi, 1994;
Goldstein, 1990; Hales, 2000; Kadir, 2006; Kjellstrom & Mercado, 2008).

Climate change is being exacerbated by global warming, and since small-holder farmers depend
on rain-fed agriculture, even minor changes in weather from what they are used to can have a
significant impact on their livelihood These reforms have a negative impact on agricultural
farmers and household food security is jeopardized. This is because climate variability and
change affect 62 weather pattern and seasons which has an effect on house hold’s ability to
secure food (Cecilia, Godwin, Emeka & Ojong, 2021). Greenhouse gases are rising rapidly and
changing our climate, which causes much higher temperatures, but, also extreme weather events.
The levels of the sea are rising as well, which has a huge impact on wildlife. It is our
responsibility to lower greenhouse gas emissions and urge the large corporations to do so as well
because their impact is the largest.

Attempts have been made by government to address the issue of environments management.
This is plainly proven by the whirlwind of meetings, conferences, reports and inquires about the
topic. Nigeria has taken an interest in all significant universal activities signatory to various
treaties, conventions and shows. Among these are framework convention or climate change held
in Rio 1992, convention on drought and desertification, the biodiversity, convention etc. (Essien,
Cecilia, Ojong, Lucy & Imo, 2020).

B. Biodiversity

Biodiversity is vital to sustain a balance of the ecosystem in the form of combating pollution,
restoring nutrients, protecting water sources and stabilizing climate. Deforestation, global
warming, overpopulation and pollution are few of the major causes for loss of biodiversity
(Agukoronye, 2004). Many do not even think about the importance of biodiversity, but, it is one
of the most vital aspects of life on our planet. It is a complex subject, but, it boils down to the
ecosystem and the importance of every single living organism that is a part of the environment
All of the organisms, no matter how small or large are playing an important role in keeping our
world in balance.

Biodiversity is brought into danger with the rise of climate change, deforestation, and increased
levels of pollution, and it could seriously impact the way our planet functions in the future. This
could create serious problems for everyone living on earth right now, and there are several ways
we can combat this. Naturally, the most important one is to reduce our meat intake. This mostly
refers to red meat, and while no one is suggesting that you need to go vegetarian or vegan, it
would not be a bad thing to skip the steak or burger from time to time. Biodiversity is under
serious threats as a result of human activities in exploiting natural resources (air, soil,
marine environment, forests, aquatic resources). The main dangers worldwide are
population growth and resource consumption, climate change and global warming, habitat
conversion and urbanization, invasive alien species, over-exploitation of natural resources
and environmental degradation. The three greatest proximate threats to biodiversity are
habitat loss, overharvesting, and introduction of exotic species. Toxic pollution, have
specific targeted effects on species, but are not generally seen as threats at the magnitude
of the other causes (Martin, 2017).

C. Land Degradation and Agricultural Constraints

Land degradation is a problem confined not only to the compromised quality of soil but also
linked to the diminution of the entire ecosystem along with the associated biodiversity,
ecological cycles, ecosystem provisions like carbon sequestration, even affecting food prices,
and forced migrations, affecting all life forms (Lal 2004; ELD-Initiative 2013). Land degradation
has been categorized as a global issue by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification
(UNCCD) resulting in alarming consequences on the health and productivity of soil resources
(UNCCD 2002). According to estimates of Global Assessment of Land Degradation and
Improvement (GLADA) a quarter of land area is declared to be degraded (Lal et al. 2012), with
the economic loss of about US$ 230 billion annually (Nkonya et al. 2016). Of the total, 25% of
land area is highly degraded, 8% moderately or slightly degraded, 36% stable and 10%
improving (FAO-State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture
(SOLAW) 2011). Hamdy and Aly (2014) stated that globally land degradation is directly
influencing the lives of 1.5 billion people; annually there is a loss of 15 billion tons of fertile
soils, whereas Global Soil Partnership (led by FAO) reports that 75 billion tonnes (Pg) of soil
from arable land are degraded every year with financial loss of about US $400 billion (FAO-
Global Soil Partnership 2017). There are several such reports available from time to time
addressing the menace of land degradation, suggesting causes and remedies but still the estimates
are spurious and improvement is not taking place as well. Climatic variability is playing a major
role and is directly linked to land degradation and in reducing the productivity and fertility of
agricultural lands (Tewari et al. 2016; FAO 2017). Climate change has been challenging various
terrestrial ecosystems reducing the vegetation density, negatively affecting the soil microbial
biomass, which is an important component of agro-ecosystems and thereby leading to
desertification of lands because of high temperatures, scarce rainfall and accompanied soil and
water erosion (Lal 2012).

Drought is another menace which is engulfing more and more areas of the globe. Climate change
has resulted in frequent cycles of drought and foods, and caused long periods of water scarcity
resulting in desertification. Over the last 40 years there has been notable increase in droughts
throughout the globe, particularly in tropics and sub-tropic. Ever since the beginning of
Anthropocene era, the world is facing water stress and environmental challenges mainly
attributed to anthropogenic activities. The most obvious impact of drought is on the uptake of
nutrients, as water is the transporting medium for nutrients in plants; increase in soil temperature
leading to loss of beneficial microbial communities; drought also affects SOM decomposition
causing increased carbon dioxide emission and also influences increased release of nitrate as its
absorption by plants is reduced due to lack of moisture. These negative impacts cause long term
soil infertility, due to imbalanced C, N contents and microbial diversity (Geng et al. 2015).
Drought also causes damage to habitats through biodiversity loss, wildfires and soil erosion.
African countries including Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia have been majorly affected
by droughts since last 12 years, Australia suffered multi-droughts between 2002 and 2010 and
currently (in 2018) is facing second most severe autumn drought with reduced rainfall of
56.54 mm in comparison to average autumn’s rainfall of 102.3 mm

D. Urbanization and Overpopulation

In 1800 the majority of the world population 98% lived in rural areas (villages and small
towns), and only about 2% of the world‘s population lived in urban areas. But in the
last 200 years the growth of urban areas was inevitable because of steady increase in
migration to the cities and the increased fertility of urban populations. Urban migration is
the result of rural populations‘ desire for the advantages that urban areas offer (schools,
hospitals, transport, services, entertainment, new housing). In only 200 years, the world‘s
urban population has grown to nearly 55% of the population and is expected to increase
to 68% in 2050. The most striking examples of the urbanization of the world are the
megacities of 10 million or more people. In 1975 only four megacities existed; in 2000
there were 18. In 2016 it is estimated that 4 billion people lived in urban areas, and 3.4
billion in rural areas. Most of the investigations of urbanization and its impact on
environmental indicators showed that cities and high density urban populations created
major environmental problems ranging from substantial air and water pollution, icreased
consumption of fresh water resources, deforestation for housing needs, motorways, parking
spaces, public amenities etc. Urbanization played a significant role in increasing CO2
emission in some countries (from studies in China).69-72 There is in recent years a
vigorous debate on the role of urbanization on the adverse effects on Ecosystem Services.
They are grouped into four broad categories: provisioning, such as the production of food
and water; regulating, such as the control of climate and disease; supporting, such as
nutrient cycles and oxygen production; and cultural, such as spiritual and recreational
benefits.73,74 An international team of researchers gathered by the Secretariat of the
Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD, Montreal, Canada) contacted an extensive study
on the impact of urbanization on the degradation of ecosystem services. The
Report: ―Cities and Biodiversity Outlook. Action and Poliycy‖ (CBO, 2012) found that
ecosystem services are beneficial to humans through particular characteristics of the natural
environment and from properly-functioning ecosystems.75 The report argues that while
there are many different causes of ecosystem services degradation, including loss of
habitat, climate change, and regulatory and institutional barriers, one fundamental
underlying problem was identified in several of the chapters of the CBO: many
ecosystem services, in particular regulatory and cultural services, are common or public
goods. That is, these ecosystem services are non-excludable goods, in that the benefits
they provide are not easily limited to only those who can pay for them, but are freely
available to a large set of people. For instance, a large forested patch in an urban region
helps to maintain and regulate air quality and temperature locally and potentially
regionally, yet these benefits are available to essentially all those near the forested patch,
regardless of whether they have paid for their provision.76 In the last decades big cities
were transformed into an essential element of a prosperous national economy in most
industrial-developed countries. All statistical evidence showed that cities are huge drivers
of economic growth. With more than 80% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
generated in cities, inevitably inhabitants of rural areas migrated to big cities.
Urbanization can contribute to sustainable growth if managed well by increasing
productivity, allowing innovation and new ideas to emerge. Cities have a large share of
the educated citizens, both public and private institutions and advanced infrastructure.
There are about 7.7 billion people living on Earth in 2019. At the same time these
people will be increasingly drawn to life in cities (50% now). It is estimated that by
2050, roughly 68% of the population will live in urban areas. Urbanization increases
energy consumption by raising the demand for housing, food, public utilities, land use,
transportation, use of more electric appliances, etc (Ehrlich, 1968).

E. Food Security and Unemployment

Imagine a large group of people who can’t earn cash to spend on their livelihood and save what
is left. It is a very dire economic situation that has exacerbated negative consequences and effects.
These human beings can’t feed themselves and their families. Unemployment is a significant
issue that affects individuals, families, and entire communities. It not only hampers economic
growth but also leads to a decline in the standard of living. The most important reason for
unemployment is the mismanagement of countries in addressing the issues of national economies.
Employment is necessary from two aspects, the first is economic growth forward, and the second
is enabling employees to secure their living requirements. Other major causes of unemployment
are population growth and slow economic growth. The COVID-19 pandemic has further
aggravated the situation, causing many people to lose their jobs. To overcome this challenge, it is
essential to address the root causes of unemployment and implement effective solutions to create
job opportunities and stimulate economic growth. There has been an increase in the number of
hungry people in the world over the previous few years. United Nations reports show that one in
nine humans in the world suffers from starvation and malnutrition. In addition, 11 percent of the
world's population suffers from malnutrition due to a lack of food per capita or pollution. The
problem is not that people do not produce enough food, but that a large number of them do not
have enough cash to buy food. Moreover, they cannot farm for themselves according to the
world food program. There is a close link between migration and lack of food, as the countries
that export the most refugees and migrants have the highest rates of poverty, hunger and
malnutrition.
 F. Overexploitation of Natural Resources and Ecosystems.

Throughout of the history of established human societies their survival dependent on

exploitation of natural resources. Even primitive humans have manipulated natural
resources to produce the materials (food, energy. construction materials, medicinal
products) they needed to sustain their growing populations. Natural resources are an
important material basis for a stable natural economy and social development. With
industrialization and urbanization mankind‘s demands for natural resources increased
substantially and large scale exploitation and consumption resulted in deterioration and
exhaustion of nonrenewable natural resources. The overexploitation of natural resources
(air, water, soil, forests, minerals, etc) and Earth‘s ecosystems by humans has long-lasting
consequences for the future provision of natural resources and ecosystem services.
Inevitably if this trend continues there will be problems in the provision of food, increase
health hazards and risks of natural disasters. Emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) may
affect the global climate for centuries, the non-sustainable harvest of fisheries and forests
may leave these systems degraded for decades. The limitations of natural resources has
been widely recognized by the scientific community and the transition to sustainability
constitute the focus of an ongoing debate (Bringezu and Bleischwitz,2009).

G. Global Energy Demand and Renewable Energy Production.

Global energy demand is increasing substantially in the last decades and although
renewable energy production is on the increase, electricity generated from coal and fossil
fuels is also on the rise. Latest statistical evidence show that about 2/3 of global
electricity production still comes from fossil fuels which produce CO2. Renewables have
grown significantly over the past ten years. It is now at a record high. Renewable power
capacity is set to expand by 50% between 2019 and 2024, led by solar PV (Photo-
Voltaic systems) and installation of wind turbines. This increase of 1,200 GW is
equivalent to the total installed power capacity of the USA today. Solar PhotoVoltaic
panels (PV) account for almost 60% of the expected growth, with onshore wind turbines
representing 25%. Hydropower remains the leader with 1,712 MW, wind turbines
generated 564 GW, solar PV parks 480 GW. Bioenergy capacity is 121 GW (2018)
geothermal power was 13 GW and marine energy capacity 500 MW.
Renewable energies are expected to meet 40% of the projected demand and capture 2/3
of global investments in power plants between now and 2040. Looking even further
ahead (2050 or 2060) the renewable energy production will reduce substantially the CO2
production from thermoelectric stations using fossil fuels. Similar reduction of GreenHouse
Gases (GHGs) will be achieved with the expansion of use of electric vehicles. This
dramatic transformation and the replacement of fosil fuels with Li-ion batteries can be
beneficial to future climate changes and rising temperatures. All efforts at global scale to
reduce energy consumption, increrase efficiency and reduce energy loss, and subsequently
reduce GHGs in the energy sector is hoped to contribure substantially in keeping Earth
warming to well below 2°C. In the last decade offshore wind power increased
substantially. Wind power turbines have the capacity to meet all of the world‘s electricity
demand, and is set to be a ―game-changer‖ for energy systems, according to the
International Energy Agency (IEA, Paris). The IEA estimates falling costs of offshore
wind would make it competitive with fossil energy within the next decade, forecasting
that the global average cost of power generated by offshore wind would drop 40% by
2030. In 2019 most of the world‘s offshore wind-power was in Europe, but recently
China has seen a surge in offshore wind installations.

H. Global Ethics.

Protests show that there is a sensitivity to unethical decision making by power elites. The world
is still trying to recover from the proliferation of unethical decisions that led to the 2008 financial
crisis. This proves that there is a connection between ethics and economy. There is no protection
against a global crisis. Although there is a improvement in S&T, this will give rise to future
ethical issues, for example if it is possible that one day in the future a single individual could
make and deploy a bio-weapon of mass destruction. 160 countries and the European union
ratified the international convention in 2012. This is only one instrument to unite universally
anti-corruption. Today 12-27 million people are slaves, more than at the height of the nineteenth
century. Slavery is due to organized crime. We need to create encouragement for ethics in global
decisions. We also need to encourage respect for legitimate authorities.
 I. Pollution and Global Problem of Hazardous/Toxic Waste.

Hazardous or toxic wastes (liquid, solid and sludge) are discarded materials that can
cause substantial threats to environmental resources (air, water, soil) and to human health.
Hazardous waste is dangerous byproduct of a wide range of activities, including
manufacturing, farming, water treatment systems, construction, automotive garages,
laboratories, hospitals, and other industries. Hazardous waste contains chemicals, heavy
metals, cacinogens, pathogens, radioactive or other toxic materials. Hazardous waste are
also municipal and households generated waste, from items such as discarded food,
plastics, furniture, batteries, used computer equipment, and leftover paints or pesticides.
On a global scale humans produce every year more than 400 million tons and the amount
is increasing. Statistical data showed that in 2016 each European citizen produces 5-6
tonnes of hazardous waste per year, of which 45% were landfilled and 37% were
recycled in the European Union (EU) in 2016.The global market for waste is worth
$410 billion, and not all of it is legal. Safely disposing of hazardous waste is an
expensive undertaking, so some people decide to just ship it to other (usually poorer)
parts of the world. Humanity used an estimated 90 billion tons of resources in 2017.
More than 50% of that was dispersed or emitted as waste, while less than 10% was put
back into the economy. In the last decades electronic waste (discarded telephones,
computers, etc) amounted to about 50 million tons in 2018, nearly a 50% increase in
under a decade.

According to various reports, approximately one billion people who reside in areas that mainly
include industrial cities suffer the most from pollution. Environmental pollution can be
categorized into three groups. These are air or atmospheric pollution, aquatic or water pollution
and land or surface area pollution. The World Health Organization (WHO, 1990) defined air
pollution as “limited to situations in which the outer ambient atmosphere contains materials in
concentrations which are harmful to man and his environment”. Man’s activity on the earth
surface has largely degraded the quality of the lower atmosphere (World Bank, 1995). The
growth and development of industries and urbanization has contributed greatly to the excess
carbon monoxide produced by combustion and other human activities. Carbon monoxide reacts
with the blood vessel and prevents it from taking up oxygen and the people are suffocated In
Nigeria for instance, several rural towns that had in the past enjoyed fresh and dry air are
currently experiencing air pollution problems due to industrialization process and expansion in
human activities (Obajimi, 1998).

Aquatic or water pollution is the discharge of unwanted biological, chemical and physical
materials into water bodies from man’s environment The pollutants are usually chemical,
physical and biological substances that affect the natural condition of water. This incidence is
responsible for the widespread water contamination in most cities of the world. Also, solid
wastes have equally flooded the water ways in these urban centres. Land surface pollution is the
occurrence of unwanted materials or waste on land. The commonest pollutant on land is the
waste products that are often scattered on land area in the cities. According to Onwioduokit
(1998), most environmental problems are due to the production or consumption of goods whose
waste products translate easily into pollutants. It is believed at the emergence of urbanization is
responsible for the rapid accumulation of solid waste, however, it would appear that the growth
of urbanization and industrial development coupled with improper waste management control
have added a great dimension to land area pollution in the world today. Many air pollutants are
responsible for the degradation of air quality, but some key pollutants include particulate matters
such as oxides of nitrogen, oxides of sulphur, and various aromatic compounds (such as benzene).
Many air pollutants may cause/aggravate respiratory and vascular illnesses; some are known
carcinogens; and some can cause damage to vegetation and, in turn, produce a range of
ecological effects (Porteous, 1977).

J. Health Issues

There are many problems that affect health on a global scale. For example, the world has passed
through the Corona pandemic. No sooner it had ended then it appeared again. The disease has
infected more than 554 million human beings worldwide and caused the death of more than 6
million of them. Previously, the most important subject of focus was infectious diseases such as
hepatitis, cholera, malaria, tuberculosis and HIV. Currently, the importance of the cooperation
between all countries for the sake of achieving a strong cohesion in the face of the disease and its
challenges. So that, this cooperation ought to be far from everything that might weakens it such
as politics, financial profit and racial discrimination. The challenge does not stop here, but also
teaching desirable hygiene practices. Emphasize the importance of proper nutritional education
and prevention of personal harm. For many diseases that are still after many advances in medical
fields. Several infectious diseases are still responsible for 71 death cases globally.

K. Deforestation

Last but not least, we have deforestation, the loss, and destruction of large forests. A forest is a
large area of land with trees and noticeable in area with sub-equatorial and monsoon types of
climate. The importance of the forest to man cannot be over-emphasized. They act as sanctuary
for rare and/'or endangered animals. Forests act as storm breaks, thereby protecting the towns
and villages from destruction. They provide useful products, such as wood and charcoal for fuel,
fibre for paper and textiles, and medicine from the bark and leaves of some plants. Forests are
breeding ground for animals, erosion checks, and sources of food and materials for building
houses (Omofonmwan, 2000).

Deforestation is a process whereby trees are felled for several purposes, but without replanting to
replace the ones felled. Deforestation is dangerous to man, animals and properties. It leads to
erosion of the soil and storm, which can cause destruction of properties, crops and animals.
When forests are cleared, the soil are exposed to erosion devastation, floods occur, and rivers and
lakes are filled up with silt. The water becomes dirty and impure for mankind. The removal of
tree canopy (particularly the leaves) has effect on the rainfall of that area, as there is less leaf
surface area for the transpiration of water, which in turn affects the relative humidity of the
atmosphere (Aribigbola, 2008). The repeated cultivation of crops on cleared area of plants tends
to exhaust the soil of its mineral content. Deforestation in general, for agricultural development,
urban growth, industrial expansion and pressure from an increasing population has reduced the
extent, diversity and stability of the Nigerian forest. The Food and Agricultural Organization
(FAO) estimates that Nigerians destroy about 600,000 hectares of her forest every year through
careless exploitation and husbandry- This has been implicated for a number of worsening
environmental problems in the country, including soil erosion and infertility, desertification and
flooding (Schmidt, 2003).

It has been estimated that around half of the world’s mature forests have been cleared by humans.
Deforestation occurs for a variety of reasons, but, the majority of deforestation now occurs when
tropical forests are cleared for agriculture and pastoralism; other reasons include the destruction
of trees for charcoal production and the selective logging of forests for timber. Whilst tropical
forests cover only around 6 percent of the earth’s surface, they are an essential part of the global
ecosystem and of the biosphere: they help to regulate climate; they protect soils from erosion;
and they provide habitats for a vast number of plant and animal species. One estimate suggests
that around 90 per cent of the world’s species are found in tropical forest. Forests contain a large
number of trees and plants, and we need them in order to survive. These plants give us water,
food, medicine, and, most importantly, oxygen, which are all hugely important factors needed for
our survival (Rio, De Janeiro, 1992).

By destroying forests, we are directly influencing our ability to survive. If the trend of
deforestation continues, we might completely lose all of our forests. That would complicate our
lives tremendously, and future generations would suffer extreme consequences. The causes of
deforestation are mostly wildfires, the harvest of timber, and illegal logging. By buying recycled
products, we can help slow down this process because we limit the amount of paper we are using
(World Health Organization, 1990).
 CHAPTER THREE

3.0 SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND GLOBAL

CHALLENGES

Aforementioned environment issues raised debates about the corrective measures that have to be
taken so as to prevent further deterioration of environment. Though scientists and
environmentalists have documented the magnitude and signifcance of these environmental
problems since decades, little success has been achieved so far in achieving the targets. Apart
from this, sustainable solutions of environmental problems are more often overlooked and
instead of this, technical approaches are used. Hence, for creating a sustainable environment a
corrective plan must be implemented which encompasses biological solutions or greener
approaches. This section discusses sustainable solutions, mainly biological approaches, to tackle
the various problems caused by anthropogenic activities.

3.1 Microbes as Key Players

Microbes are ubiquitous and present in every part of biosphere. Microbes are very diverse in
nature and their presence everywhere suggests the roles they can play in maintaining the
ecosystems. Due to their flexible and adaptive genetic makeup and versatile metabolic
capabilities microbes can be used for the solution of various environmental issues, particularly
related to treatment of pollution, combating climate change and global warming, land
reclaimation, enhancing agricultural productivity, tackling industrial effluents, remediation of
waste and pollution affected systems (Ahmad et al. 2011; Mishra et al. 2017; Akinsemolu 2018).
Microorganisms, particularly bacteria and fungi can be employed to tackle the issues in simple
and economical manner by minimal inputs and issues.

3.1.1 Biodegradation and Bioremediation

Application of microbes can serve as a powerful tool in handling the problem of environmental
pollution. Microbes can be wonderful cleaning agents and can degrade almost everything (Gupta
et al. 2018). Biodegradation involves removal of pollutants generally at source by the help of
biological means, mainly microorganisms (Abatenh et al. 2018). Microbial techniques are used
as suitable alternatives to various traditional methods for degradation of waste materials (Błaszak
et al. 2011). A diversity of microorganisms can be utilized for detoxification of xenobiotic
organic compounds in a very sustainable manner. Khatoon et al. (2017) reported biodegradation
as an important technique for removal of various polymeric pollutants through microbial
applications. In bioremediation, microorganisms or other biological systems such as plants
(phytoremediation) or plants plus rhizospheric microbes (rhizoremediation) are utilized for
reclamation of already contaminated habitats by transformation of pollutants into less-hazardous
or non-hazardous substances (Coelho et al. 2015). Bioremediation is a very promising, eco-
friendly and effective technology which is applied to remove hazardous pollutants (pesticides,
heavy metals, PAH, PCBs, halogenated organic solvents and radio nuclides) from the
environment (Lal et al. 2010; Abhilash et al. 2016; Kotoky et al. 2018). On the basis of their
application sites bioremediation is of two types in situ and ex situ. In ex situ method
contaminated soil or water is excavated and transported to laboratory or industry for treatment.
This method is a bit complicated and involves more capital input but is a swift process and can
be used for re calcitrant and diverse range of contaminants under optimum conditions (Philp and
Atlas 2005; Azubuike et al. 2016). In in situ remediation of pollutants is done on the site. This is
simpler, cheaper and convenient in comparison to ex situ method. In in situ technique native
microbes (present at the contaminated sites) are used to cause remediation by utilization of
sufficient amount of nutrients essential for their metabolism (Bhatnagar and Kumari 2013).
Under suitable environmental conditions rate of bioremediation is increased by supporting
microbial growth of autochthonous species (Verma and Jaiswal 2016).

Microbes play very promising role in environmental sustainability by performing wastewater

treatment and recycling of thermal, agricultural and industrial wastes (Sharma et al. 2013a;
Cydzik-Kwiatkowska and Zielińska 2016). Discharge of industrial effluents is a major problem.
The effluents and the contaminated sites can be remediated by application of microbes such as
Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Flavobacterium, Alcaligenes, Acinetobacter and Zooglea sp. (Kumar
et al. 2011; Maulin 2017). In this context Mandal et al. (2012) reported large scale
bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated waste at Indian oil refineries by
application of indigenous microbial consortium on field and successfully bioremediated 48,914
tons of different types of oily waste. Gonzalez-Martinez et al. (2018) reported the full-scale
biological wastewater treatment systems in the Polar Arctic Circle region in Finland by using
archaea, bacteria and fungi. Industrial effluents contain various hazardous components and
microbial treatment cause detoxification of those components (Shaker-Koohi 2014).

3.1.2 Combating Climate Change

Reduction in change of climate and impacts of global warming is urgently required for present as
well as future. Various types of measures are taken for combating climate change and global
warming and microbes have great potential to do the task (Willey et al. 2009; Abatenh et al.
2018). Various types of microbes are known for their application in controlling global warming.
Methylotrophs such as Methylobacillus and Methylokorus infernorum found in geothermal areas
in acidic and hot environment and anaerobic aquatic conditions (benthic zones of lakes and sea)
help in reduction of GHGs particularly CH4 by using them as growth substrate (Chistoserdova
et al. 2009). Methylotrophs (methanotrophs) present in soil and water bodies consume large
amount of methane (800–1000 kg CH4 per ha per year) from environment which affect the
global methane budget and reduce the impact of global warming and climate change (Mohanty
et al. 2006; Pandey et al. 2015). Some microbes are also able to convert CO2 into insoluble
calcium carbonate or calcite that can reduce their load in atmosphere (Mitchell et al. 2010). Anbu
et al. (2016) reported that microbial strains of Sporosarcina pasteurii and Bacillus megaterium
show great ability of calcite formation by using CO2.

Beneficial soil microorganisms can reduce the impact of climate change by enhancing the
productivity of agro-ecosystems as well as by reclamation of waste and marginal lands by
making them fertile (Tewari and Arora 2013). These microbes can increase the soil organic
content of wastelands and infertile or stressed soils (Mishra et al. 2016). Climate smart
agriculture using plant growth promoting microbes (PGPM) as biofertilizers and biopesticides
can help in combating the impact of climate change. It is suggested by various researchers that
applications of microbial inoculants in agricultural crop productions can be used as sustainable
tools to overcome the negative effects of climate change as well as global warming (Dim-kpa
et al. 2009; Nie et al. 2015). Higher application of microbial inoculants in agriculture minimizes
the chemical load which also reduces risk of global warming and climate change (Mishra et al.
2016). Reduction of waste and contaminated lands by application of microbial bioremediation
and biodegradation can also help in combating the effect of climate change (Sinha et al. 2010).
3.1.3 Abiotic stress management

Microbes are successful tools in ameliorating abiotic stresses in agro-ecosystems. Microbes have
been used to combat the stresses such as drought, temperature, pH, heavy metal and salinity and
enhance the crop productivity in hostile conditions (Tewari and Arora 2016). PGPM have the
negative impacts of the abiotic stresses through various tolerance mechanisms such as synthesis
of osmo-protectants (K+, glycine, trehalose, proline, glutamate), exopolysaccharides (EPS),
phytohormones (indole-3-acetic acid IAA, Gibberellic acids GA), siderophores, biosurfactants
and enzymes such as ACC deaminase (Barriuso et al. 2008; Mishra and Arora, 2017).

In drought stress, PGPM are known to help plants to survive under drought conditions. Many
PGPM produce EPS which enhance water circulation in plants and also improve the quality of
soil. EPS produced by PGPM aggregate soil particles trapping water molecules, hydrating soil
and maintaining water retention capacity and nutrient uptake under drought conditions (Tewari
and Arora 2014a, b; Mishra et al. 2018). PGPM also facilitate drought stress tolerance through
production of cytokinin, antioxidants and ACC deaminase. Cytokinins are responsible for
accumulation of abscisic acid (ABA) which further leads to closure of stomata to minimize foliar
water loss (Figueiredo et al. 2008; Ngumbi and Kloep-per 2014). Production of antioxidants by
PGPM mitigates the damaging effect of ROS in plants. The antioxidant activity thus reduces the
damage to cells, biomolecules and membranes (Grover et al. 2011). With the onset of drought
stress, ethylene is produced in the plants. PGPM act against the synthesis of ethylene by
production of enzyme ACC deaminase which acts as an ACC sink. The mechanism involves the
conversion of ACC (the precursor of ethylene synthesis) to ammonia and α-ketobutyrate thereby,
extruding ACC from roots to soil (Zahir et al. 2011; Saleem et al. 2018). The symbiosis between
plants and AMF proves very beneficial in ameliorating drought stress and protecting the plant by
increasing the antioxidant activity and regulating osmotic balance and root hydraulic properties,
also maintaining the photosynthetic rate (Yooyongwech et al. 2016; Quiroga et al. 2017)

3.2 Biotechnological Solutions and Future Prospects

Biotechnological tools and applications can provide solutions to an array of environmental issues
and problems. With the introduction of transgenic cultivars, management of pests has become
possible in a more specific way than with the use of herbicides and pesticides. A global meta-
analysis study conducted by Klümper and Qaim (2014) reveals that the advent of genetic
engineering technology reduced the use of pesticides by 37% whereas increment in yield of
crops was reported by 22% from 1995 to 2014. These genetically modified (GM) crops being
narrower in their mechanism of action do not affects non-target organisms. The toxins that are
produced by such crops in order to combat against pests are only produced within tissues of
plants and are targeted against the pathogens only, hence not causing harm to the ecosystem
(Lozzia 1999; Dively and Rose 2002). Insect resistant Bt crops such as Bt maize and Bt cotton
are excellent examples which are used as green substitutes to broad spectrum synthetic pest
controls. Similarly, there are GM herbicide tolerant (HT) varieties (like soybean, canola, sugar
beet). Crops like papaya and squash have been engineered to combat against viral diseases (e.g.
against ring spot in papaya) (Brookes and Barfoot 2015).

Biofuels are an important success story gaining a lot of attention in recent times. The production
of biofuels has increased by 8% since the year 2000 and has equated to 4% of global transport
fuels in 2015 (BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2015). Although biofuel production is still
in nascent stage but its production and use is expected to grow in coming time. Biofuels like bio-
methanol, bioethanol, biobutanol, biodiesel and biogas have already been commercialized
(OECD 2011; Immerzeel et al. 2014). Nowadays, biofuels from cellulosic feed stocks and
agricultural and forest residues have further settled the debate on controversy related to edible
feed stocks and are reported to reduce GHG emissions (USEPA 2011). Advances in production
of microbial enzymes like celluloses have further improved their efficiency (Knauf and
Moniruzzaman 2004; Ezeonu et al. 2012). Amended fuels like biodiesel-diesel blends and
ethanol-gasoline blends are being commercialized since past few years to further minimize GHG
emissions and other toxic pollutants (Manzetti and Andersen 2015). Likewise, production of
biogas through microbes from solid waste management, wastewater treatment and composting
are now being utilized successfully in order to make use of biodegradable wastes to generate
useful source of bioenergy. Dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC) are yet another interesting
alternatives which are used successfully as a substitute to photovoltaic cells with significant
conversion efficiency (Yum et al. 2012). Bacterial dyes are utilized in such cells which makes
them environment friendly. Polar Regions are a huge source for pigment producing bacteria and
algae and have now been explored to make use of such bacterial DSSC which could minimize
use of fossil fuels (Montagni et al. 2018). Uses of cyanobacteria which are oxygenic phototrophs
and are known to dissipate hydrogen gas are also an effective alternative energy source (Tiwari
and Pandey 2012). These microbes through their multienzyme systems (hydrogense and
nitrogenase) are considered as potential candidates for production of biohydrogen as energy
source (Oncel 2013). With recent developments in biotechnology such as bioprocess engineering,
optimization in bioreactor design and integration of metabolic engineering the production of this
clean fuel is expected to increase in future (Gangl et al. 2015). In fact hydrogen based biofuels
are believed to be the greenest alternatives with zero CO2 emission. Hydrogen based biofuels are
hence considered fuels of future. A growing demand in transportation and aviation sector has
made it necessary to develop a wide range of biofuels. Therefore omics approaches are also
being applied to develop fourth generation biofuels which would be derived from engineered
organisms and would prove to be cost effective, sustainable and a cleaner approach for future.
Bioplastics are another example in this context which are produced from biomass (plant products
like sugarcane, potato starch or cellulose from trees) and could be a better alternative to reduce
pollution of landfills. Like plants, microbes (bacteria and yeasts) are also known to produce
bioplastics in form of poly (3-hydroxyalkoanates) (PHA), such as poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB)
(Luengo et al. 2003). The first commercialized bioplastic was produced as Biopol by ICI Ltd in
1982 (Angelova and Hunkeler 1999). Nowadays, with help of metabolic genetic engineering,
industrial wastes are being utilized as readily available carbon sources for high value production
of bioplastics through microbes (Jiang et al. 2016). These bio-based polymers due to their wide
range of biotechnological aspects and unique characters such as biodegradability, low carbon
footprint, less manufacturing costs and above all being eco-friendly have made them extremely
important compounds for future (Chen 2014).
 CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

REFERENCES