4 Answer the following questions in about 30 words.
(i) What is biodiversity? Why is biodiversity important for human lives?
Answer:
Biodiversity refers to the variety of life forms found on earth. It is a measure of variation at the ecosystem, species and genetic level. Biodiversity is abundant in tropical areas. Tropical areas cover 10 per cent of the earth surface, but they host 90% of the world’s species.
Contribution of biodiversity in human lives
Agriculture – A variety of plant species meet our needs for food.
Its contribution to business and industry Leisurely activities Ecological processes (ii) How have human activities affected the depletion of flora and fauna? Explain
Answer:
Various river valley projects have affected the flora and fauna. Many illegal mining projects have depleted the flora and fauna. Too many development projects for leisure activities in the forests have negatively affected them. Too many human activities in the forest area due to rising population and lack of space has created human-animal conflict. 5. Answer the following questions in about 120 words.
(i) Describe how communities have conserved and protected forests and wildlife in India.
Answer:
Chipko Movement:
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.
Certain societies revere a particular tree which they have preserved from time immemorial. The Mundas and the Santhals of Chota Nagpur region worship mahua (Bassia latifolia) and kadamba (Anthocaphalus cadamba) trees. The tribals of Odisha and Bihar worship the tamarind (Tamarindus indica) and mango (Mangifera indica) trees during weddings. Many people also consider peepal and banyan trees sacred. In Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, villagers have fought against mining by citing the Wildlife Protection Act. In many areas, villagers themselves are protecting habitats and are explicitly rejecting government involvement. The inhabitants of five villages in the Alwar district of Rajasthan have declared 1,200 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.
(ii) Write a note on good practices towards conserving forest and wildlife.
Answer:
In India, joint forest management (JFM) programme is a good example for the involvement of local communities in the management and restoration of degraded forests. The programme has been in formal existence since 1988 when the state of Odisha passed the first resolution for joint forest management. JFM depends on the formation of local (village) institutions that undertake protection activities mostly on degraded forest land managed by the forest department. In return, the members of these communities are entitled to intermediary benefits like non-timber forest produces and a share in the timber harvested by ‘successful protection’. The clear lesson from the dynamics of both environmental destruction and reconstruction in India is that local communities everywhere have to be involved in some kind of natural resource management. But there is still a long way to go before local communities are at the centre stage in decision-making. Accept only those economic or developmental activities that are people-centric, environment-friendly and economically rewarding.
