Contents

1. Humans and the Environment

1. Introduction

2. The Man-Environment Interaction

2.1 Humans as Hunter-gatherers

2.2 Mastery of Fire

2.3 Origin of Agriculture

2.4 The Emergence of City-States

2.5 Great Ancient Civilizations and the Environment

2.6 Middle Ages and Renaissance

2.7 Industrial Revolution and its Impact on the Environment

2.8 Population Growth and Natural Resource Exploitation

2.9 Global Environmental Change

3. The Emergence of Environmentalism

3.1 Anthropocentric and Eco-Centric Perspectives (Major Thinkers)

3.2 The Club of Rome- Limits to Growth

3.3 UN Conference on Human Environment 1972

3.4 World Commission on Environment and Development and the Concept of Sustainable Development

3.5 Rio Summit and Subsequent International Efforts

2. Natural Resources and Sustainable Development

1. Introduction

2. Overview of Natural Resources

2.1 Renewable Resources

2.2 Non-Renewable Resources

2.3 Comparison between Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources

2.4 Biotic Resources

2.5 Abiotic Resources

2.6  Comparison between Biotic Resources and Abiotic Resources

3. Biotic Resources

3.1 Forests

3.2 Grasslands

3.3 Wetlands

3.4 Wildlife and Aquatic (fresh water and marine)

3.5 Microbes as a Resource

3.6 Status and Challenges

4. Water Resources

4.1 Types of Water Resources

4.2 Availability and Use of Water Resources

4.3 Environmental Impact of Over-exploitation

4.4 Issues and Challenges

4.5 Water Scarcity and Stress

4.6 Conflicts over Water

5. Soil and Mineral Resources

5.1 Important Minerals

5.2 Mineral Exploitation

5.3 Environmental Problems due to Extraction of Minerals and Use

5.4 Soil as a Resource and its Degradation

6. Energy Resources

6.1 Sources of Energy and their Classification

6.2 Renewable and Non-renewable Sources of Energy

6.3 Conventional Energy Sources - Oil, Natural Gas, Coal, Nuclear Energy

6.4 Nonconventional Energy Sources

6.5 Implications of Energy use on the Environment

7. Introduction to Sustainable Development

7.1 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

7.2 Targets and Indicators

7.3 Challenges and Strategies for SDGs

3. Environmental Issues: Local, Regional and Global

1. Introduction

2. Environmental Issues and Scales 

2.1 Concepts of Micro-, Meso-, Synoptic and Planetary Scales

2.2 Temporal and Spatial Extents of Local, Regional, and Global Phenomena

3. Pollution

3.1 Impact of Sectoral Processes on Environmental Pollution

3.2 Types of Pollution

4. Land Use and Land Cover Change

4.1 Land Degradation

4.2 Deforestation

4.3 Urbanization

4.4 Biodiversity Loss: Past and Current Trends, Impact

5. Global Change

5.1 Ozone Layer Depletion

5.2 Global Climate Change

4. Conservation of Biodiversity and Ecosystems

1. Introduction

1.1 Biodiversity as a Natural Resource

1.2 Levels and Types of Biodiversity

1.3 Biodiversity in India and the World

1.4 Biodiversity Hotspot

1.5 Species and Ecosystem Threat Categories

2. Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services

2.1 Major Ecosystem Types in India and Their Basic Characteristics

2.2 Ecosystem Services- Classification and their Significance

3. Threats to Biodiversity and Ecosystems

3.1 Land Use and Land Cover Change

3.2 Commercial Exploitation of Species

3.3 Invasive Species

3.4 Fire, Disasters, and Climate Change

4. Major Conservation Policies

4.1 In-situ and Ex-situ Conservation Approaches

4.2 Major Protected Areas

4.3 National and International Instruments for Biodiversity Conservation

4.4 The Role of Traditional Knowledge, Community-Based Conservation; Gender and Conservation