ASSIGNMENT NO.

1. National and International Organizations

a. BNHS b. WWF c. RSI d. IUCN e. NEERI

There are several government and non-Government organizations (NGOs) that are Working
towards environmental protection and for conservation of natural resources.

A. Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS)

• BNHS, was the Pioneer organisation Started for Conservation in India.
• A Pan-India Wildlife research organization, was initiated in 1883.
• It is one of the largest non-governmental Organizations in India engaged in conservation and
biodiversity research. It supports many Research efforts through grants and publishes the
Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society.
• Its mission is conservation of nature, Primarily biological diversity through action Based
research, education and public awareness.
• Its vision is to excel in the conservation of Threatened species and habitats.
B. World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF)

• WWF was established in April, 1961 at Switzerland. The Giant Panda became the logo for
WWF.
• WWF's wildlife trade arm, TRAFFIC (Trade Record Analysis of Flora and Fauna in
Commerce), launched an extensive publicity campaign to combat illegal wildlife trade in
1986.
• WWF aims to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and build a future in
which humans live in harmony with nature.
• It aims in conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable
natural resources is sustainable, promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful
consumption.

C. Botanical Survey of India (BSI)

• BSI was established in 1890 with the objectives of exploring the plant resources of the
country and identifying plant species with economic values. Its headquarter is located in
Kolkata.
• The objectives of BSI are undertaking intensive floristic surveys and collecting accurate and
detailed information on the occurrence, distribution, ecology and economic utility of plants
in the country.
D. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
• IUCN, was established on 5th October 1948. As the first global environmental union, it
brought together governments and civil society organizations with a shared goal to protect
nature.
• Its aim is to encourage international cooperation and provide scientific knowledge and tools
to guide conservation action.
• Its headquarter is located in Switzerland. IUCN played a fundamental role in the creation of
key international conventions, including the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (1971), the
World Heritage Convention (1972), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species (CITES), (1974) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), (1992).
• In 1980, IUCN in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programmes (UNEP)
and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) published the World Conservation Strategy: a
groundbreaking document which helped define the concept of ‘sustainable development’ and
shaped the global conservation and sustainable development agenda.

E. National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI):

• NEERI, in Nagpur is a constituent of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research’s a

nationwide presence with its five zonal laboratories at Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata
and Mumbai.
• The mandate of NEERI is to conduct research and developmental studies in environmental
science and engineering, to render assistance to the industries of the region and local bodies
in solving the problems of environmental pollution.
• Its vision is to create Leadership in Environmental Science and Engineering for Sustainable
Development.
 ASSIGNMENT NO. 2

Q. What is ecosystem? Explain the energy flow in ecosystem.

Ans: An ecosystem is a structural and functional unit of ecology where the living organisms
interact with each other and the surrounding environment.

Energy flow in ecosystem:

• Energy can be defined as the capacity to perform work. The solar radiation is the primary
source of energy for all organisms which passes through the different trophic levels.
• Organisms that can fix energy from inorganic sources into organic molecules are called
autotrophs.
• Organisms that cannot obtain energy from abiotic sources but depend on energy-rich organic
molecules which is synthesized by autotrophs are called heterotrophs.
• Those organisms that obtain energy from living organisms are called consumer and those
that obtain energy from dead organisms are called decomposers.
The movement of energy in an ecosystem is termed as the energy flow in nature.

1. The producers absorb and convert solar energy into plant material.
2. The energy converted into biomass is used by consumers.
3. The total input of energy in form of food is used for day to day activities and biomass.
4. The loss of energy occurs through respiration, heat, excretion.
5. The gross net production.

• About 23% of incoming solar energy is absorbed in the atmosphere by water vapours, dust
and ozone, and 48% passes through the atmosphere and is absorbed by the surface.
• Thus, about 71% of the total incoming solar energy is absorbed by the earth system.
• However, plants do not absorb all incoming sunlight and do not convert all harvested energy
into biomass, which results in an overall photosynthetic efficiency of 3 to 6 % of total solar
radiation.
• It means very small amount of sunlight reaching the earth’s atmosphere is used in
photosynthesis. The plant synthesize food in the form of carbohydrates i.e. is a form of
chemical energy.
• This chemical energy of carbohydrates is used as a food for herbivores. In the food chain or
food web, there is transfer of both the matter and energy in the living world.
• The transfer of energy is never 100 %.
• Therefore, they transfer less amount of energy to the next trophic level.
• At every trophic level, a considerable amount of energy is lost to the surroundings in the
form of heat.
• The amount of energy available to the next higher level is only 10%. Even decomposition of
organic matter carried out by microbes is responsible for release of heat energy.
• Thus, most of the solar energy trapped by the green plants goes to the atmosphere in the
form of heat. But, this heat energy never returns to the sun. Energy transfer is therefore never
in the reverse direction.
 ASSIGNMENT NO. 3

Q. Why is India a Mega Diversity Nation? Also explain the Biodiversity hotspot.
Ans:

1. India has been recognized as one of the World’s top 17 Mega Diversity Nations.
2. In India, about 1,15,000 species of plants and Animals have been identified and described.
3. The country boast of 45,000 species which Account for 15% of the known world plants.
4. The North Eastern is known for a being unique Treasure house of orchids in the country.
5. India is very rich in faunal wealth and has Nearly 92,037 animal species.
6. About 61,375 of which are insects. In animals, the rate of Endemism in reptiles is 33% and
in amphibians 62%.
7. Further there is wide diversity in domestic Animals. There are no clear estimates about the
Richness of marine biota. There is an abundance of sea weeds, fish, crustaceans, molluscs,
Corals, reptiles and mammals associated with Marine and coastal ecosystem.

17 Mega Diversity Nations

1) Mexico 2) Colombia 3) Ecuador 4) Peru 5) Brazil 6) Papua New Guinea 7) Madagascar

8) China 9) India 10) Malaysia 11) Indonesia 12) Australia 13) South Africa 14) USA
15) Philippines 16) Venezuela 17) Democratic Republic of Congo

Biodiversity Hotspots
a. Hotspots are areas which are extremely rich in species, having high endemism and face a
constant threat.
b. There are 35 hotspots in the world. In India there exist 2 hotspots, the Western Ghats and the
Eastern Himalayan.
c. The Indian Gene Centre is among the 17 mega diversity region of the world.
d. More than 20 crop species were domesticated here. It is known to have more than 49,000
species of plants, 18,000 species of higher plants including major and minor crops (166) and
their wild relatives (326).
e. Around thousands of wild edible plant species are widely used by Indian local tribal
communities.
f. These include 145 species of roots and tubers, 521 of leafy vegetables/ greens, 101 of buds
and flowers, 647 of fruits and 118 of seeds and nuts.
g. In addition, nearly 9,500 plant species of ethnobotinical uses have been reported from the
country of which 7,500 are the ethno medicinal importance and 3,900 are multipurpose,
edible species.
 ASSIGNMENT NO. 4

Q. What are Forest resources? Enlist the Commercial & Ecological uses of forest. Add
note on Threats to forest.

Ans: Forest resources:

▪ Forest is a dense growth of trees, together with other plants, covering a large area of land.
▪ Forests are important natural resources on earth.
▪ Covering the earth like a green blanket the forests not only produce innumerable material
goods, but also provide several environmental services which are essential for life.

USES OF FOREST

1. Commercial use:
a. Forest provide a large number of commercial goods which include timber, firewood,
pulpwood, food items, gums, resins, non-edible oils, rubber, fibers, lac, bamboo, cane,
fodder, medicines, drugs and many more items.
b. Half of the timber cut each year is used as fuel for heating and cooking.
c. Wood is used for building material for, plywood and hardwood, particle board and chipboard
and some portions are converted into pulp and used for paper industry.
d. Many forest lands are used for mining, agriculture, grazing, tourism and recreation and for
development of dams.

2. Ecological uses:
a. Production of oxygen: Trees produce oxygen by photosynthesis which is vital for life on
this earth. They are called lungs of the earth.
b. Reducing global warming: The main greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed
by the forest as a raw material for photosynthesis. Thus, forest can act as a sink for CO2 thereby
reducing the problem of global warming caused by the greenhouse gas.
c. Wildlife habitat: Forests are the homes of millions of wild animals and plants. About 7
million species are found in the tropical forests alone.
d. Regulation of hydrological cycle: Forested watershed act like giant sponges, absorbing
the rainfall, slowing down surface runoff, percolation into ground water and slowly releasing
the water for recharge of springs. About 50-80% of the moisture in the air above tropical
forests come from their transpiration.
e. Soil conservation: Forests bind the soil particles tightly in their roots and prevent soil
erosion. They also act as windbreakers.
f. Pollution control: Forest can absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. This helps in
keeping the air pure and clean. They have also been reported to absorb noise and thus help in
preventing air and noise pollution.

THREATS TO FOREST

▪ Over exploitation of forests:

a. Humans depend on forest for food, medicine, shelter, wood and fuel. With growing
civilization, the demands of raw material like timber, pulp, minerals, fuel wood etc. has
increased. Large scale logging, mining, road-building and clearing of forests are major
threats.
b. Our forests contribute substantially to the local economy. Excessive use of fuel wood and
charcoal has led to forest degradation. The expansion of urban, agricultural, industrial areas
leads to severe land use and land cover changes.
c. Overgrazing and repeated fires has led to over exploitation of our forests.

▪ Deforestation:
a. The total forest area of the world in 1990 was estimated to be 7000 million hectares which
was reduced to 2890 million hectors in 1995 and reduced to only 2300 million hectares by
2000.
b. Deforestation rate is relatively less in temperate countries, but is alarming in tropical
countries.
c. In developing countries, it can be as high as 40-50% and at the present rate it is estimated
that in the next 60 years we would lose more than 90% of our tropical forest.
d. The forested area in India seems to have stabilized since 1982 with about 0.04% decline
annually between 1982-90.
e. The current Forest report of Govt. of India has shown that the forest and tree cover has
increased by 1 % from 2017 to 2018. The total forest and tree cover is now 24.39% of the
geographical area of the country.
 ASSIGNMENT NO. 5

Q. Explain any one Natural & Man - made disaster in detail.

Ans: A disaster is “a sudden accident or a natural catastrophe that causes great damage or loss
of life”. A disaster is an event or series of events, which gives rise to casualties and damage or
loss of property, infrastructure, essential environmental services, or means of livelihood.

NATURAL DISASTER
Drought:
▪ Variations of rainfall in monsoon leading to water shortage causes drought.
▪ In India, almost three-fourths of annual rainfall is received during South West Monsoon
Period (June-September) and erratic nature of monsoon (South West Monsoon), with long
dry spells and high temperature.
▪ This is mainly responsible for drought. Drought is declared by the respective State
Governments considering rainfall situation, crop growth etc.
▪ The Deccan plateau constitutes 50 percent of the drought-prone areas of the state. 12 percent
of the population lives in drought-prone areas.
▪ Once in 5 years, deficient rainfall is reported. Severe drought conditions occur once every 89
years. The 1996 drought affected 7 districts and 266.75 lakh people. The 1997 drought
affected 17 districts.

Types of droughts:
1. Meteorological Drought: referring to lack of precipitation.
2. Agricultural drought: referring to lack of moisture in the soil where crops grow.
3. Hydrological drought: referring to low levels of water in reservoirs.
4. Socio-economic drought: referring to water shortages affecting people in society, which
impacts availability of food grains, fodder, etc. Do’s and Don'ts
1. Monitoring of rainfall situation during South West Monsoon period, on regular basis.
2. Issue of advisories to farmers for taking up drought resistant crops & crops requiring less
water.
3. Judicious use of available water.
4. Ensure availability of agricultural inputs.
5. Optimum utilization of funds available under various schemes/programmes implemented by
Central and State Govts. towards mitigating adverse effects of drought.
6. Do not waste water, especially drinking water, as it is precious. 7. Do not waste food, as it
could be useful for those in need.

MAN-MADE DISASTERS FIRE

Fires can spread rapidly and have a very serious effect on our lives, homes, and families. It is

very important that everyone in your family is aware of proper fire protection.

Do's
1. Stay Calm, don’t panic and don’t run.
2. Raise alarm and alert everyone in your premises.
3. Escape first and then call for help.
4. Use nearest available exit routes.
5. While leaving the premises, close all doors & windows behind you if possible but must
ensure that nobody is left behind and you are safe.
6. Use only escapes routes because they are built for the purpose.
7. Use staircase “Don’t use Lifts”.
8. If you are trapped in your room, close the door and block any gaps which might let smoke or
fumes through. Shout from the window to attract attention of rescue team as well as others.
9. Do not forget to carry the disaster emergency kit before you evacuate!
Don’ts
1. Never stand up in a fire always crawl low under the smoke and try to keep your mouth
covered.
2. Never go back into a burning building for any reason.
3. Teach children not to hide from fireman, if someone is missing, tell the fireman. They are
equipped to perform rescues safely.
4. Don’t secure open fire and smoke check doors as they limit the spread of fire and smoke
when in closed position.
5. Don’t be tempted to clutter the stairs, corridors and lobbies as they are your escape routes.
6. Never use lifts in case of fire. Always use staircase.
7. Do not stop to collect belongings.
8. Don’t shout or run. This tends to cause panic to others
9. Discourage use of fire crackers.