CBSE Class 10 Social Science Forests And Wildlife Resources Notes

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS (3MARKS)

Question “India is one of the world’s richest countries in terms of its vast array of biological diversity” Support the statement with three facts.
Ans. Three facts arei) India has about 8% of the total number species of plants and animals of the world(estimated to be 1.6 million )
ii) Over 81,000 species of fauna and 47,000 species of flora are found in our country.
iii)Of the estimated 47,000 species of flora 15,000 flowering species are endemic to India

Question Attempt the classification of plants and animal species given by International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources(IUCN).Give suitable examples of each.

Ans. The different categories of existing plants and animal species based on the IUCN are as follows.

i)NORMAL SPECIES-Species whose population levels are in danger considered to be normal for their survival such as cattle, sal ,pine, rodents etc

ii) VULNERABLE SPECIES-Species whose population has declined to levels from where it is likely to move into the endangered category in the near future if the negative factors continue to operate such as Blue sheep, Asiatic elephant, Gangetic dolphin

iii)ENDANGERED SPECIES-Species which are in danger of extinction.Thesurvival of such species is difficult if the negative factors that have led to a decline in their population continue to operate. The examples are black buck ,crocodile Indian wild ass, sangai etc

iv) RARE SPECIES- Species with small population may move into the endangered or vulnerable category if the negative factors effecting them continue to operate .the examples are Himalayan brown bear, wild Asiatic buffalo, desert fox and hornbill.

v)ENDEMIC SPECIES-These are species which are only found in some particular areas usually isolated by natural or geographical barriers such as Andaman teal, Nicobar pigeon, Andaman wild pig, Mithun in Arunachal Pradesh

vi) EXTINCT SPECIES-These are species which are not found after searches of known or likely areas where they may occur.These species may be extinct from local area, region ,country, continent or the entire earth.Examples are the Asiatic cheetah, pink head duck

Question When was ‘Project tiger’ launched? Write important features of this project

Ans ‘Project Tiger’ was launched in 1973.
i) There are 27 tiger reserves in India covering an area of 37,761sq km
ii)Tiger conservation has been viewed not only as an effort to save endangered species but with equal importance as a means of preserving biotypes off sizable magnitude.
iii)Corbett National Park in Uttranchal,Sunderbans National Park in West Bengal , Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam are some of the examples of the tiger reserves in India

Question. ‘The destruction of forest and wildlife is strongly co-related with the loss of cultural diversity”Justify the statement with suitable facts.

Ans.The destruction of forest and wildlife has affected the livelihood of many communities who are directly dependent on forests. They depend on forest for their food, medicine, drink, livelihood culture and spirituality. In certain societies women are involved in fuel collection,fodder for animals and water for their basic needs. Due to large scale daforestation these forest products are not available to them and the life of these people, especially women is largely aeffected.

Women have to go in search offood, water, fuel over long distances leaving their family for long time resulting in social tensions.
It has also resulted in severe droughts and floods which has affected these communities very badly. These people live inextreme poverty which is the direct result of the environmental degradation

Question. Why do we need to conserve our forests and wildlife?

Ans i)Conservation preserves the ecology diversity and our life support system-water, air And soil.

ii)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 varities of crop.Fisheries too are heavily dependent on the maintenance acquatic biodiversity

Question. Give some examples of flora and fauna conserved by people through their cultural and religious practices.

Ans. Examples of flora and fauna conserved by people through their cultural and religious pratices are following
i)The Mundas and Santhals of Chhotanagpur region worship mahua and kadamba trees
ii)The tribals of Orissa and Bihar worship the tamarind and the mango trees during weddings.
iii)Other trees like tulsi, peepal and banyan are also considered sacred.
iv) Troops of macaques and langurs around many temples are fed daily and treated as a part of temple devotees
v) In and around Bishnoi villages in Rajasthan,herds of blackbuck,nilgai and peacock can be seen as an integral part of the community and nobody harms them

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS(5 MARKS)

Question. Write the steps taken by the government for the conservation of flora and fauna in India

Ans. The following steps have been taken by the government conservation of flora and faunai) The Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act was enacted in 1972 .An all-India list of protected species was also published.
Hunting of endangered species was banned and trading in wildlife was restricted
ii)National parks,Wildlife sanctuaries andBird sanctuaries were established
iii)Special programmes like ‘Project Tiger’, ‘Project Rhino’ have been taken up to conserve these species
iv)Under Wildlife Act of 1980 and 1986 several hundered butterflies,moths, beetles have been added to the list of protected species
v) In 1991, for the first time plants were also added to the list , starting with six species.

Question. What are the negative factors that cause depletion of flora and fauna in India?

Ans. The negative factors responsible for depletion of flora and fauna in India arei) During the colonial period due to the expansion of the railways,mining scientific and commercial forestry and agriculture there was a huge loss of the Indian forests
ii)Even after independence,agricultural expansion continued and between1951-1980 according to the Forest Survey of India, over 26,200 sq km of forest area was
converted into agricultural land all over India
iii)Substantial parts of the tribal belts, especially in the north- eastern and the central India, have been deforested by shifting cultivation, a type of ‘slash and burn’ agriculture.
iv) Large scale developmental projects like Narmada Sagar Project of Madhya Pradesh would inundate 40,000 hectares of forest.
v)Mining is another important factor,mainly the Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal is seriously threatened by dolomite mining.It has disturbed the natural habitat of many species and migration route of animals,especially the great Indian Elephant.
vi)Many foresters and environmentalists hold the view that the greatest degrading factors behind the depletionof forest resources are grazing and fuel wood collection

Question. Analyse the various factors responsible for the decline in India’s biodiversity

Ans. The various factors responsible for the decline in India’s biodiversity are following
i)Habitat destruction
ii) Hunting
iii)Poaching
iv) Over-exploitation
v) Environmental pollution
vi) Poisoning
vii) Forest fires
viii)Unequal access
ix) Inequitable consumption of resources
x) Differential sharing of responsibility for environmental well-being

For example an average American consumes 40 times more resources than an average Somalian.
The richest 5% of Indian society probably cause more ecological damage due to The amount they consume than the poorest 25%.Rich people share minimum responsibility for environmental well-being

Question. Describe how communities have conserved and protected forest and wildlife in India?

Ans. The communities have conserved forest and wildlife in the following ways
i) In Sariska tiger reserve.Rajasthan , villagers have fought against mining by citing the Wildlife Protection Act
ii)The inhabitants of five villages in the Alwar district of Rajasthan have declared 1,200 hectares of forest as the Bhirodev Dakav ‘Sonchuri’declaring their own set of rules and regulations which do not allow hunting and are protecting the wildlife against any outside encroachment.
iii) The famous ‘Chipko movement’ in the Himalayas has not only successfully resisted deforestation in several areas but has also shown that community afforestation with indigenous species can be enormously successful.
iv) Farmers and citizen’s group like Beej Bachao Andolan inTehri and Navdanya have shown that adequate levels of diversified crop production without the use of synthetic chemicals are possible and economically viable
v) The Joint Forest Mnagement(JFM)Programme is a good example of how local communities were involved in the management and restoration of degraded forests.
The programme has been in formal existence since 1988 when the state of Orissa passed the first resolution for joint forest management.JFM depends on the formation of local institutions that undertake protection activities mostly on degraded forest land managed by forest department.In return the members of these communities are entitled to intermediary benefits like non timber forest products and share in the timber harvested by ‘succesful protection’.

Question and Answer (3 Marks)

1.Mention three factors that have contributed significantly to the loss of forest after Independence?

• Agricultural expansion, large scale development projects, shifting cultivation or slash and burn cultivation have degraded forest in north-eastern and central belt, mining is another important factor.

2. List three steps taken by the government to conserve forest and wildlife?

• Indian Wildlife Protection Act implemented-1972

• Established National parks and Wild life sanctuaries

• Several projects introduced like project Tiger

Question and Answer (5 Marks)

1. Give reasons for the launching of ‘Project Tiger’ in 1973- mention three tiger reserves in India?

• The major threats to tiger population such as poaching for trade, shrinking habitat, depletion of prey base species, growing human population etc. The trade of tiger skins and the use of their bones in traditional medicines, especially in the Asian countries left the tiger population on the verge of extinction. Some of the important Tiger Reserves are

• SuderbansNaitonal Park in West Bengal,

• Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam

• Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala.

2.What is NFP ?

• National Forest Policy –that the claims of communities near forests should not override the national interests, It also stated that the forest area in the country is far lower than the desired 33 percent of geographical area.