Geo Chp 2

Date : 04-07-2024 STD 10 CBSE Social Studies Total Marks : 53

Question Bank

Que 1 (A) Answer The Following Questions In Short.[3 Marks Each] [33]
1. How have human activities affected the depletion of flora and fauna? Explain.

Ans. : If you look around, you will be able to find out how we have transformed nature into
a resource obtaining directly and indirectly from the forests and wildlife- wood, barks,
leaves, rubber, medicines. dyes, food, fuel. fodder, manure, etc. So it is we ourselves who
have depleted our forests and wildlife.
The greatest damage inflicted on Indian forests was during the colonial period due to the
expansion of the railways, agriculture, commercial and scientific forestry and mining
activities.
Even after Independence, agricultural expansion continues to be one of the major causes
of depletion of forest resources. Substantial parts of the tribal belts, especially in the
northeastern and central India, have been deforested or degraded by shifting cultivation
(jhum), a type of 'slash and burn' agriculture. Large-scale development projects have also
contributed significantly to the loss of forests.

2. What is biodiversity? Why is biodiversity important for human lives?

Ans. : Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, or on
an entire planet. There are millions of living organisms on planet earth. All these living
organisms, including man, are interdependent on each other.

3. What are the reasons for land degradation? Describe briefly any four measures to
conserve land from degradation.

Ans. : Reasons for land degradation

1. Deforestation.
2. Overgrazing.
3. Over irrigation.
4. Mining and quarrying.
5. Industrial effluents.
Conservation Methods
1. Afforestation.
2. Shelter belts of plants.
3. Control on overgrazing.
4. Stabilisation of sand dunes by growing thorny bushes.
5. Proper discharge of industrial wastes.
6. Control on over mining.

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 4. Analyse any four reasons for the depletion of forest resources in India.

Ans. : Reasons for the depletion of forest resources-

1. The greatest damage was done during the colonial period due to the expansion of
the railways, agriculture, commercial and scientific forestry.
2. Due to agricultural expansion over 26,200 sq. km of forest area was converted
into agricultural land.
3. Deforested or degraded by shifting cultivation.
4. Large scale development projects e.g. Narmada Sagar Project.
5. Mining activity.
6. Grazing and fuel wood collection.
7. Rapidly expanding industrial- urban economy.
8. Habitat destruction, hunting, poaching, forest fires etc.
5. What do you understand by IUCN?

Ans. : The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International
Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization
working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.

6. What are the major threats to the tiger population in India?

Ans. :
i. Poaching for trade.
ii. Shrinking habitat.
iii. Depletion of prey base species.
iv. Growing human population.
v. The trade of tiger skins and the use of their bones in transitional medicines,
especially in the Asian countries left the tiger population on the verge of
extinction.
7. Why do we need to conserve our forests and wildlife?

Ans. : Conservation preserves the ecological diversity and our life support systems – water,
air and soil. It also preserves the genetic diversity of plants and animals for better growth
of species and breeding. For example, in agriculture, we are still dependent on traditional
crop varieties. Fisheries too are heavily dependent on the maintenance of aquatic
biodiversity.

8. Which are 'Extinct Species'?

Ans. : These are species which are not found after searches of known or likely areas where
they may occur. A species may be extinct from a local area, region, country, continent or
the entire earth. Examples of such species are the Asiatic cheetah, pink head duck.

9. What were the provisions of The Indian Wildlife Act of 1972?

Ans. : The Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act was implemented in 1972, with various provisions
for protecting habitats. An all - India list of protected species was also published. The thrust
of the programme was towards protecting the remaining population of certain
endangered species by banning hunting, giving legal protection to their habitats, and
restricting trade in wildlife.

10. Which is a great achievement of the Chipko Movement?

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 Ans. : One of the major achievements of the movement was that the government of Uttar
Pradesh ensured zero tolerance towards commercial forest felling and thousands of trees
were saved from being felled which resulted in conserving abundant forest wealth for local
benefits.

11. Which are endangered species?

Ans. : The survival of such species is difficult if the negative factors that have led to a
decline in their population continue to operate. The examples of such species are black
buck, crocodile, Indian wild ass, Indian rhino, lion tailed macaque, sangai (brow anter deer
in Manipur), etc.

Que 2 (A) Answer The Following Questions In Brief.[5 Marks Each] [20]
12. Explain how communities have taken measures for conservation of forests in India.

Ans. : India has a multi-cultural and multi-religious society where protection of forests and
wildlife is a part of their daily life. Contributions by these communities towards the
protection of forests and wildlife can be explained as given below:
1. The inhabitants of five villages in Alwar district of Rajasthan have declared 1200
hectares of forest as the Bhairodev Dakav ‘Sonchuri’, declaring their own set of
rules and regulations which do not allow hunting, and are protecting the wildlife
against any outside encroachments.
2. Some trees are considered sacred by different communities e.g. the Mundas and
Santhals of Chotanagpur region worship Mahua and Kadamba trees, and the
tribals of Orissa and Bihar worship the Tamarind and Mango trees during
weddings.
3. In and around Bishnoi villages in Rajasthan, herds of blackbuck, nilgai and
peacock can be seen as an integral part of the community and no one harms
them.
4. The Chipko Movement in Uttaranchal has successfully resisted cutting of trees as
forests are home to different communities and hilly people.
13. What methods of conservation have been adopted by the Indian government?

Ans. : Method of conservation:

In the 1960s and 1970s, conservationists demanded a national wildlife protection
programme. The Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act was implemented in 1972, with
various provisions for protecting habitats.

An all-India list of protected species was also published.

The thrust of the programme was towards protecting the remaining population of
certain endangered species by banning hunting, giving legal protection to their
habitats, and restricting trade in wildlife.
Subsequently, central and many state governments established national parks
and wildlife sanctuaries.

The central government also announced several projects for protecting specific
animals, which were gravely threatened, including the tiger, the one horned
rhinoceros, the Kashmir stag or hangul, three types of crocodiles – fresh water
crocodile, saltwater crocodile and the Gharial, the Asiatic lion, and others.

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 Most recently, the Indian elephant, black buck (chinkara), the great Indian bustard
(godawan) and the snow leopard, etc. have been given full or partial legal
protection against hunting and trade throughout India.
14. Consumption pattern is also a reason for ecological damage’. Justify with examples.

Ans. :
a. Resources are important for the sustenance of human life and also for
maintaining the quality of life.
b. Resources are basic requirement for economic development be it land, water,
energy resources, minerals.
c. Both industrial, agricultural sector require resources to remain functional and to
ensure production.
d. We have witnessed indiscriminate use of resources, accumulation of resources in
the hands of few have widened the gap between the rich and the poor.
e. Over exploitation of resources by few groups or countries have damaged the
environment leading to severe ecological crisis like pollution, land degradation,
global warming etc.
f. Thus, to ensure equitable distribution of resources, optimum utilisation of
available resources and to prevent depletion of resources
resource development and planning is important.
g. We have to judiciously use our limited resources and conserve them because of
their growing consumption and the potential scarcity.
h. We may give example of The third World countries have often been blamed for
causing environmental damage in their bid to attain development.
i. However we may not forget that much of the damage has been done to the
environment by the developed countries.
j. It is estimated that an average ​A merican consumes 40 times more resources than
an average Somalian in an underdeveloped country.
k. Developed countries with their maximum level of industralisation cause maximum
carbon emissions damaging the environment.Within third world again it is the
richest who consume more and cause more damage than the poor.
15. State the differences between unclassed forests and protected forests.

Ans. : Protected forests:

1. These are protected from any further depletion.
2. Almost 1

3
rd of the total forest area of India is called as the protected forest.
3. These are controlled by the government.
4. The forests of Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan
fall under this category.
Unclassed forests:
1. These consist of inaccessible forests or wastelands.
2. These consist of only 16% of the total forest areas of India.
3. These are owned by government and private individuals.
4. The forests of north-eastern states and parts of Gujarat fall under this category.
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