Ecology & Environment - CSAT

Prelim, 2014 had quite a few surprises up its sleeve. As far as paper-1 is concerned, emphasis on environment, ecology and bio-diversity was clearly evident. Over the years this topic has figured prominently in paper-1 but now it seems to have gathered as much importance as the conventional areas. There were about 18 questions from environment, ecology and related topics in this year’s prelim. It seems that there is still not much clarity on how to go about this area of syllabus atleast not as much as the conventional areas of history, polity etc. Many of us either leave this topic or do it vaguely. Following is an effort to dissect this area of the syllabus and work out a strategy. Also mentioned in italics, are the sources from which different topics can be studied.

If you see the UPSC notification, this topic can be divided under four broad headings. These are:

1.      Environment

2.      Ecology

3.      Biodiversity

4.      Climate-change

It is easy to infer that these topics are inter-related. Here’s taking them up one by one;

1. ENVIRONMENT- very broad subject but if you see questions from last few years, they basically come from the following areas:

(i) Natural Resources– renewable and non-renewable (questions on non-conventional energy resources have become a surety in last few years, so it should be done rather comprehensively)

* Two questions in prelim, 2014; relating to solar energy and shale gas & coal-bed-methane.
(Source– Erach Bharucha’s Environmental Studies for Undergraduate Courses)

(ii) Pollution – a thorough understanding of Air, water, noise, soil, nuclear, thermal,e-waste.

*one question in prelim, 2014; relating to pollutants of steel industry.

(Source– Erach Bharucha’s Environmental Studies for Undergraduate Courses)

(iii) International Efforts –just basic ideas about:

·         United Nations Environment Program (UNEP),

·         International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),

·         Global Environment facility

*question asked in prelim, 2014.

·         World Wildlife fund for nature (WWF).

*question about WWF’s ‘earth hour’ appeared in prelim, 2014.

·         NGOs like Conservation International, Greenpeace etc.

(Source- all these organizations have their own web-pages, can google-search and read).

(iv) India’s Efforts – get basic ideas of:

·         Environment protection act-1986

*question on eco-sensitive zones figured in prelim, 2014. Eco-sensitive zones come under Environment protection Act.

·         Various pollution related acts (Air pollution Act-1981, water pollution act-1974 etc.),

·         Environment Impact Assessment.

·         Indian institutions and organizations like BNHS, Animal Welfare Board of India, NGRBA (*all three figured in a question this year), Centre for Science and Environment, TERI, Central Pollution Control Boards etc.

(Source- Google search and read them, best option)

(v) Current happenings – reports, issues, discoveries.

(Keeping an eye on The Hindu’s Thursday science page can take care of most things here. Don’t go for every small piece of information coming from various research groups, just some important ones coming from national, international platforms).

2.      ECOLOGY- questions here are easy pickings if you just go through the basic ecology. Areas one can cover here are:

1.  Structure of ecosystem (biotic-abiotic components, Producer-consumer-decomposer concept),
2.   Types of ecosystems (grasslands, mangroves, estuaries,
3.    Food chains and food web (*question asked in prelim,2014),
4.    Ecological pyramids,
5.    Biogeochemical cycles,(*question asked on carbon cycle, prelim 2014)
6.    Ecological succession,
7.    Biological interactions (mutualism, parasitism etc.)
8.    A glossary of ecological terms.

(Source– http://mrunal.org/2013/0 2/food-chain-food-web-trophic-levels-biotic-potential-bio-magnification-ignou-download.html#download, any basic book on ecology will do the needful).

    3. BIO-DIVERSITY- here one can go for a mix of theory and the present International and India’s         efforts:

(i) Theory–

·         concept of bio-diversity (genetic, species, ecosystem diversity),

·         threats to bio-diversity (habitat fragmentation, desertification, poaching),

·         Conservation of biodiversity (in-situ and ex-situconservation),

·         Bio-diversity in India (hot-spots, world heritage sites of natural importance).

(Source– ICSE board books on environmental studies, class-IX, X ; Erach Bharucha’s Environmental Studies for Undergraduate Courses).

(ii) International Efforts – get basic ideas about

·         Convention on bio-diversity (CBD)-history and current events/decisions.

·         Cartagena Protocol,

·         Nagoya protocol (and Aichi targets),

·         IUCN Red list (its various categories, important additions to it in last year, especially from India),

·         Various conventions like Convention on migratory species (CMS), Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), Ramsar convention (* 2 questions in this year’s prelim) etc.

(Sources- Basically just go to ‘Convention on biological diversity’ page (https://www.cbd.int/) and read )

(iii) India’s Efforts– basic idea of;

·         Wild-life protection act,

·         Forest conservation act,

·         Bio-diversity Act, 2002 (and National Biodiversity Authority),

·         Protected areas (biosphere reserves, National parks, wildlife sanctuaries – names and states in which they are located, protected areas known for particular animals {e.g. Kaziranga for rhino}, protected areas that have been in news, protected areas notified recently)

* two questions apperared in prelims 2014)
(questions on protected areas is a certainty every year,; there is no alternative to memorizing them; repeated revision and use of maps can help).

·         Conservation efforts (project tiger, project elephant, rhino vision-2020 etc.)

·         Concept of Genetically Modified Organisms (or Transgenic organisms), current debate on it, institutional mechanisms in India.

·         Environmental clearance, National Green Tribunal.

(all the above topics are easily available on google search)

4. CLIMATE CHANGE- again can be divided into theory, International Efforts and India’s Efforts;

(i) Theory– basic understanding of

·         Global warming; ozone layer and its depletion; Acid Rain.

·         Implication of these events on climate

*one question figured in prelim, 2014.
(questions from this area are common)
(Source- Erach Bharucha’s Environmental Studies for Undergraduate Courses).

(ii) International Efforts–

·         UNFCC- history (the convention, Kyoto protocol, Bali Road map, Cancun Agreement, Durban Outcomes, Doha climate gateway, Warsaw outcomes), current happenings/decisions (COP deliberations).

(Source–http://unfccc.int/essentialbackground/items/6031.php)

·         IPCC- crux of its recent reports.

(Source-http://www.ipcc.ch/organization/organization.shtml)

·         Vienna Convention, Montreal protocol.

(iii) India’s Efforts–

·         National Action Plan for climate change, its various sub-planes.

·         India’s stand at international platforms.

·         Various policies/projects/schemes related to climate change.

      (Source-Economic Survey Chapter ; India Year Book chapters)

As is clear there is a greater use of internet in studying various topics since nothing is available at one particular place. You can compile your notes/material in the manner described above and keep adding on to it as and when you find or read something. Also, there is greater scope of using common-sense in environment related questions. Many times an intelligent guess backed by logic can make up for lack of precise knowledge. It goes without saying that at the end it’s about retaining what you read and applying it during the exam.

Best of Luck.