Construction criteria for the sustainable ecosystem

Abstract

During the present global warming process it is taken for granted that human activities whereby ecological balance or the integrity of ecosystem is not considered cannot be sustained after a while. Various new economic structures, namely, eco-agriculture and ecotourism which claims integration with the ecological balance, are increasing in time. Eco-building or eco-construction is now under consideration in the construction sector to contribute to the life quality in the planet. It is observed in every part of the world that several big investments that have destroyed the ecosystems are no more allowed to be used and that the resources exploited for their realization have been wasted. Many wrong investments could have been prevented if it were possible to price the environmental losses incurred in the feasibilities that dwell on simple cost/benefit ratio, disregarding the environmental constraints of the economy. However, engineering should also challenge the nature in search for the solutions to meet the basic requirements of the mankind. This chapter tries to give some approaches towards the ecological balance concept to be followed up in different implementations of the construction sector for an acceptable “environmental impact assessment”.