Lecture notes

1. Environmental sciences- Dr.S.Santhana Bosu
S.NO TITLE OBJECTIVE TYPE QUESTIONS
8 Biodiversity value,
threats and
conservation
Fill in the blanks:
1. The word biodiversity refers to the variety of living organisms both flora and fauna.
2. Genes are the basic units of hereditary information transmitted from one generation to other.
3. Wilson in 1992 estimated that there are 10 million to 50 million total numbers of living species in
the world.
4. Two hotspots are available in India viz., Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats.
5. There are over a thousand major eco-regions in the world. These areas are referred to as the Global
200.
9 Biogeographic
classification of India: Fill in the blanks:
1. India has 350 different mammals (rated eighth highest in the world)
2. Humans now use about 10 % of the world’s land surface for crop production, and about twice that
amount for pasture lands.
3. Around 1.8 million species of plants and animals are known to science.
4. . Cattle grazing especially goat rearing in forest areas retard regeneration of forest as young
seedlings are trampled.
5. The skin and bones from tigers, ivory from elephants, horns from rhinos and perfume from the
musk deer are extensively hunted by human beings.

2. Environmental sciences- Dr.S.Santhana Bosu
10 Endangered &
endemic species in
India
Fill in the blanks:
1. The Species whose existence is in danger by human activities are called Man-wild life conflict.
2. To protect endangered species India has created the Wildlife Protection act.
3. India has 589 PAs of which 89 are national parks and 500 are wildlife sanctuaries.
4. Gemplasm is preserved in a gene bank for future need; this is taken up for expensive
endangered /extinct species.
5. Modern zoo’s function is to breed endangered species as conservation.
11 Biodiversity – Values
and Threats Fill in the blanks:
1. At the Earth summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, most of the governments of the World signed a
global Convention on Biological Diversity.
2. The type of values associated with biodiversity, and a type harder to quantify, is non-use value.
3. The forests of the country can be divided into 5 major groups based on climatic factors.
4. Tropical forests are so important because they harbor atleast 50 % of the world’s biodiversity.
5. A keystone species is one whose presence or absence both directly or indirectly influence other
species through food web connectivity.
12 Biological Diversity
Act 2002
Fill in the blanks:
1. The Biological Diversity Act was enacted as part of India’s commitment under the International
Convention of Biological Diversity.

3. Environmental sciences- Dr.S.Santhana Bosu
2. A national biodiversity authority has been established by the Biodiversity Act 2002 to regulate the
act and implementing the Biological Diversity Rules 2004.
3. The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) is located at Chennai.
4. Biodiversity management committees (BMCs) at local levels in India are documenting bio-diverse
species in the locality to prepare Biodiversity Register.
5. The country has 33,000 BMCs and the constitution of BMCs gained momentum after revision of
guidelines in 2009 and again in 2013.
13 Biodiversity
conservation Fill in the blanks:
1. More than 25 per cent of the drugs currently sold in the market worldwide are derived from plants.
2. Ethically, every species has an intrinsic value, even if it may not be of current or any economic
value to us.
3. The historic Convention on Biological Diversity('The Earth Summit') held in Rio de Janeiro in
1992, called upon all nations to take appropriate measures for conservation of biodiversity
4. India now has 14 biosphere reserves, 90 national parks and 448 wildlife sanctuaries.
5. Amazon forest is estimated to produce, through photosynthesis, 20 per cent of the total oxygen in
the earth's atmosphere.