Solutions-Class 10-Science & Technology-2-Chapter-4-Environmental management -Maharashtra Board

Correct food Chain : Paddy field → Grasshopper → Frog →Snake → Eagle

• Such food chain is seen in the terrestrial ecosystem. There are many biotic factors in the terrestrial ecosystem, such as insects, birds, mammals etc.
• Paddy field represents the primary producer which are plants.
• Grasshopper is a primary consumer. Primary consumers are organisms that eat the primary producers and are usually herbivores.
• Frog is a secondary consumer. Secondary consumers are organisms that eat the primary consumers and are generally meat-eaters/carnivores.
• Snake is a tertiary consumer. Tertiary consumers are organisms that eat the secondary consumers. These organisms are carnivore-eating carnivores, like snakes or big fish.
• Eagle is a quaternary consumer and in this case it is the apex consumer because it occupies the highest position in the food chain.
• The above example mentions about paddy field, so it must be in area of coastal lands. There is water logging in the paddy fields. Therefore, it offers a habitat to the frogs.

On every trophic level the bacteria, fungi and some scavenging worms can act as the decomposers.

In this ecosystem, the solar energy is transferred from the paddy crops to eagle in a step wise food chain.

• The above statement refers to the fact that earth belongs to everyone, from our ancestors to our future generations. The earth was inhabited by older generations before us. We have replaced them.
• But during their life time, they have created hazardous impact on the earth. The industrialization, the quest for more and more natural resources, wars fought, the construction activities such as dams, roads and bridges, extensive deforestation etc. were their thoughtless activities.
• It highlights an underlying problem which is the over exploitation of resources which could eventually lead to the destruction of life on earth.
• The planet earth can be protected for future generations by following the path of sustainable development.
• Due to ever increasing population of human beings there is shortage of food, clothing and shelter. To procure these basic needs, we have exploited many natural resources causing destruction of the earth’s natural ecosystem.
• Now it is our turn to protect the earth as on the same planet the next generations have to survive. We have to hand over the ecosystems of the earth which are in perfect balance to the new generations.
• Sustainable development seeks to promote a judicious use of non-renewable energy sources such as coal and petroleum so that they do not get depleted beforehand and our future generations do not have these resources at their disposal.
• Sustainable development thus means developing in such a way that not only our present but our future is also secured.

• Due to natural and man-made causes, there are many environmental problems on the earth. These problems affect the existence of various living organisms. In order to save these organisms and maintain the environmental balance, there is need for environmental conservation.
• There is a direct relationship between environment and life on earth. Any kind of harm or disruption to the environment will directly and indirectly affect the life of organisms on this earth.
• We need to understand that natural resources should be used in a sustainable manner and not to fulfill our greeds.
• Environmental conservation implies to the conservation of forests, water resources, mineral resources etc.
• There are various projects which are being carried out at different levels with respect to environment conservation. These programmes are carried out by government organisations, NGO's, RWA's, schools, colleges etc.
• Sensible or proper use of natural resources is also a way of environmental conservation.

• Bishnoi is the community from Jodhpur district of Rajasthan, India. The first event of Chipko Movement in the recorded history took place in Khejadli village in this district in 1730 AD.
• In this village 363 Bishnois, led by Amrita Devi sacrificed their lives for protecting the trees of Khejri (Prosopis cineraria) trees. These trees are considered as sacred by Bishnoi.
• Amrita Devi along with her three daughters viz. Asu, Ratni and Bhagu bai protested against King’s men who were attempting to cut green trees of Khejri, by hugging these trees. King wanted trees to burn lime for the construction of his new palace.
• Bishnoi from 83 villages came together and sacrificed their lives. Three hundred and sixty-three Bishnois from neighbouring villages become martyrs in an attempt to save trees. After realizing the mistake, the king ordered stoppage of the felling of trees.
• Honouring the courage of the Bishnoi community, the ruler of Jodhpur, Maharaja Abhay apologized and issued a royal decree, engraved on a copper plate ordering the following:—“All cutting of green trees and hunting of animals within the revenue boundaries of Bishnoi villages was strictly prohibited. It was also ordered that if by mistake any individual violated this order, he would be prosecuted by state and a severe penalty imposed. Even the members of ruling family did not shoot animals in or even near the Bishnoi’s Village”.
• Chipko movement of 20th century in Uttar Pradesh & Garhwal in Uttarakhand also followed the same pattern of embracing the trees and saving them from cutting.
• It was because of Chipko Movement that the government of India realized the importance of formulating wildlife conservation plans and policies in order to protect the biodiversity of the country.

Biodiversity: The richness of living organisms in nature due to presence of varieties of organisms, ecosystems and genetic variations is called biodiversity. Biodiversity occurs at following three different levels.

Levels of biodiversity:

Genetic Diversity- Diversity among the organisms of same species.

Species Diversity -Diversity in the species of organisms that occur in the nature. E.g. Various types of plants, animals and microbes.

Ecosystem Diversity -  Diversity of the different ecosystems. E.g. Natural and artificial ecosystems.

Due to development of mankind, the biodiversity is threatened. There are special efforts taken to restore the lost and threatened biodiversity. Some of these are establishing sanctuaries, National Parks, biodiversity hotspots and reserves etc. Certain endangered species are protected by carrying out conservation projects.

Importance of biodiversity:

(i) A wide range of materials such as fibres, dyes, resins are obtained from plants.

(ii) A variety of plants and animals are utilised as sources of food.

(iii) Medicinal plants act as sources of drugs.

(iv) Plants and animals also have a cultural and aesthetic value.

Some green forest patches were conserved in the name of god by the locals and tribal people. These are considered sacred and hence the name sacred grove.

• These groves are ‘sanctuaries’ conserved by the society.
• Sacred groves have special protection because they are conserved as god’s abode.
• Such patches of thick forests are mostly present in Western Ghats.
• More than 13000 sacred groves have been identified all over India.

There are two types of disasters, viz, man-made and natural disasters. They are linked together. Some disasters can be prevented while during some disasters, we can take precautions.

• Due to phenomena of climate change, the frequency of natural disasters is increased.
• Natural disasters such as famine, lightning strikes, cloudbursts, storms, etc. result due to climate change.

During such calamities, there is possibility of loss of life and damage to property.

The damage caused by disasters can be reduced by making ourselves prepared in disaster management. Disaster management is the strategy and course of action to be executed at the time of any such disaster to save as much life as possible. This includes:

• Improving tolerance
• Preventing losses and dangers
• Providing relief to the affected people
• Preparing for actions to be taken at the time of disaster
• Assessing the damage caused
• Arrangement of rescue for the affected
• Rehabilitation and rebuilding the affected area

Measures taken government :

To deal with calamities such as floods and landslides under the disaster management programme Measures taken by government.

• Government makes efforts to stop the large scale damage of property and loss of life by executing this plan.
• Government also have plans for giving all the kind of help to citizens during calamities.

We know that the major cause of environmental damage is pollution.

• Pollution of air, water bodies, soil etc. all contribute to various environmental problems.
• The continuous increase in pollution has made the environment nearly unfit for us.
• This can largely be attributed to the rapid rate at which trees are being cut. In the absence of trees, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases, adding to the problem of global warming.
• Moreover, the emission of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and other such gases, from vehicles and factories, is rapidly polluting the air making it even difficult to breathe.
• Pollution of water bodies have resulted in the death of aquatic life and making most of the water bodies unfit for human and animal use.
• Pollution must be controlled in order to have good quality of the environment. E.g. When plastic is thrown anywhere, it causes pollution of the land, it clogs the rain water drains, it affects feeding of the animals.  By recycling or reusing, we can overcome the plastic pollution. This would be a powerful way of environmental management.
• Similarly, when we reduce pollution of different types, we automatically help to regain the environmental health.All the above points highlight the fact that pollution is one of the causes of environmental degradation. Environmental management can help solve this issue by efficiently managing the problems associated with pollution.

(1) Tree plantation is one such easier project that can be undertaken to conserve environment. The further nurturing of the tree will also be our responsibility. While selecting the tree, the local and sturdy varieties will be selected. Such trees can survive in polluted environment too and even under the pressure of urbanization.

(2) Water conservation- Conservation of water is of utmost importance for human survival because almost all forms of life depend on water. Conservation of water is essential for securing food grain production and sustaining various life-forms. The most talked about method is rain water harvesting. We can persuade people to practice rain water harvesting and the government can provide loans and expert advice for this purpose.
(3) Solid waste management is another very important project that should be undertaken by every society, colony or school. Segregation of waste into dry and wet types and then its proper disposal will be taught to all the people in the neighbouring area.

(4) To ban the plastic and make people aware about harmful effects of plastic is another very significant project.

(5) Fossil fuels are non-renewable and polluting. Therefore, their use should be reduced as far as possible. Therefore, using bicycle, or walking down for shorter distances or using public transport systems are the better alternatives. The awareness drive about these facts will be taken up as a project.

(6) To take care of stray animals, provide shelter, feeding endangered birds like sparrows and allowing them to survive with our support is also one of the essential act to conserve other species. !

(7)Forest conservation- Forest conservation not only deals with conservation of trees of a forest but it also implies to the protection of wildlife which exists there. We need to start projects which our aimed at recycling of products like paper etc. so that less of trees are cut down. We need to take responsibilities that less of forest cover is destroyed for urbanisation projects.

Such small acts can bring about major shift in the attitude of the people. This will certainly help in the environmental conservation.

The factors which affect the environment are grouped into two categories- biotic and abiotic factors.

• Biotic factors refer to the living components of an ecosystem like animals and plants.
• Abiotic factors refer to the non living components of an ecosystem, for example, sunlight, temperature, air etc.

The biotic and abiotic factors together affect the environment as both are connected to each other. Abiotic factors are required for the existence and survival of organisms.

Factors affecting the environment : The natural as well as artificial or man-made factors affect the environment.

• Among natural factors, the sudden changes in the weather, the different types of natural disasters etc. affect the normal environment. Due to such changes there are problems in the interrelationships that exist between food chain and food web.
• Due to various man-made causes, there are extreme destruction of environment. Industrialization, the pollution due to such industries, Urbanization, hunting and poaching of wild animals, construction of dams, roads, bridges etc are all man-made changes that cause lot of damage to environment.

• There is an inter relationship between humans and environment which means humans and environment are interconnected.
• The existence of humans is not possible without striking a balance with the environment.
• Humans developed ways to use these natural resources for their existence, however when these needs turned into greed, it resulted in over exploitation of resources.
• Over exploitation of resources by humans have threatened the existence of other species as well, resulting in their extinction.
• Various problems like global warming, changed weather patterns, water scarcity etc. are results of human activities.

These problems highlight the fact that how important is the role of humans with respect to environment. If human activities are controlled and an effort is made to make harmony with the nature, it is most probable we can revert these environmental changes. Except man no other organisms can change the ecosystems in such a drastic way. Therefore it is rightly said that humen beings have important place in environment.

There are 3 types of diversity which are as follows:
Genetic diversity: Genetic diversity refers to the diversity which occurs among the organisms of same species. For example, the diversity which is found among humans, each human being is different from another.

Species diversity: Species diversity refers to the innumerable species of organisms which are found in nature ranging from plants, animals to microbes.

Ecosystem diversity: Ecosystem diversity refers to the various kinds of ecosystem which are found in a region. Each ecosystem will have its own characteristic plants, animals, abiotic factors etc.

Biodiversity can be conserved by :

(1) Protection of the rare species.

(2) Creating National Parks and Sanctuaries.

(3) Declaration of ‘Bioreserves’, thus offering protection to resident species.

(4) Conservation of special species by carrying out projects.

(5) Conservation activities for all living organisms.

(6) Strictly following the environmental protection rules.

(7) Recording and maintaining traditional knowledge.

(8) There are many state-level, national and international level institutes that work for conservation of the environment.

Jadav Molai Peyang was a nomadic tribe born in Assam.

• There is a jungle which has been named on his name to honor his hard work.
• After a flood affected the areas of Assam, Jadav started a reforestation process by planting 20 bamboo plants.
• This initiative was then supported by the Assam government and with the hard work of Jadav and the government, the barren area witnessed the forest cover over the 1360 acres.
• His contribution to the environment was acknowledged by honoring him with the 'Padmashree' award. His story gives us a message that a single person can bring about a big change and it is the will which is required to do so.

Biodiversity hotspots are regions with high species richness and high degree of endemism. Endemism is the indigenousness of a species to a particular region. Western Ghats, Sri Lanka, Himalaya and Indo-Burma are the high biodiversity regions that cover India.

Hotspots of Biodiversity :

1. Highly sensitive biodiversity spots in world : 34
2. Areas of the Earth were occupied by these hotspots : 15.7%
3. Currently, sensitive areas that are destroyed : 86%
4. Presently left over sensitive spots on the earth : 2.3%.
5. Hotspots have 1,50,000 plant species which are 50% of the world count.
6. In Eastern India jungles, 85 species are found out of 185 species of animals.
7. In Western Ghats about 1,500 endemic plant species.
8. Out of the total plant species in the entire world, 50,000 are endemic.

In the last 20 years have seen the loss of 27 species. Some of the causes of this loss are:

• Habitat loss and fragmentation: This is the major cause for loss of biodiversity. Habitat destruction is caused by human activities such as deforestation and increasing pollution, leading to the loss of many plants and animals. Habitat fragmentation is the breaking up of habitat of a particular species into fragments.
• Over-exploitation: Humans, because of their greed and increased exploitation of natural resources, have contributed to the endangerment of commercially important species of plants and animals. Species such as the Steller’s sea cow and passenger pigeons have become extinct as a result of over-exploitation by humans.
• Co-extinction: When plants or animals become extinct, other plants or animals that are dependant on it in an obligatory way also become extinct.

Endangered plant and animal species can be saved by adopting methods which do not disturb their environment. We need to protect the habitats in which they survive and also protect them from poachers and hunters. Lot of steps are being taken at personal and public level to ensure their protection.