ABSTRACT
Our environment is mainly composed of biotic and abiotic factors which play a major role in the survivability of living organisms. A healthy environment plays a part in maintaining climate stability, the natural ecosystem and the biodiversity of various living organisms. But from a few decades, the physical and chemical components – mainly air, water and soil – have been rapidly degraded. Such a degraded environment is the cause of the loss of environmental health which is adversely affecting natural habitats, biodiversity and animal health in both developed and developing countries. Recently, as a result of the advent of bioinformatics and biotechnology, new enzyme technology-based pollutants, toxic compound tracking, dissolved oxygen in various ecological habitats, growth of pathogenic bacteria and fungi-sensing advanced biosensors have been document and this information can be used to monitor environmental health. Similarly, several techniques, including bioremediation, have been developed for scavenging of organic pollutants, certain metals and toxic compounds from the atmosphere. Recently genetically modified organisms have been developed for in situ biological degradation of heavy metals and most hazardous organic and inorganic pollutants into non-toxic substances: this is a hope for the future for environmental health management. This chapter gives an explanation of many conventional and advanced techniques, including biosensor and bioremediation, their mechanisms, effectiveness, applications and limitations for environmental monitoring and management.
