Pinkz Public School

Grade :X - CBSE
Geography and Economics

Geography Chapter - 2

Question 1. I
Name four animals and two species of flora which are on the verge of
extinction.
Answer:
Animals and plants on the verge of extinction:
Four animals: Cheetah, pink-headed duck, mountain quail, forest
spotted owlet.
Two plants:
1. Wild mahua (madhuca insignis)
2. hubbardia heptaneuron (a species of grass).
Question 2.
Name six groups of flora and fauna under which they are classified by
International
Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).
Answer:
1. Normal species
Species, whose population levels are considered to be normal for
their survival.
2. Endangered species
Species, which are in danger of extinction because their population is
declining.
For example, Black buck, Indian rhino, lion-tailed macaque and Indian
wild ass.
3. Vulnerable resources
These are the species whose population has declined so much that
they are likely
to move into endangered category in the near future, if negative
factors continue
to operate. For example, Blue sheep, Asiatic elephant, Gangetic
dolphin.
4. Rare species
Species with small population. If care is not taken they may also
become
endangered species. For example, Himalayan Brown bear, desert fox,
wild Asiatic
buffalo, hornbill.
5. Endemic species
Species which are only found in particular areas usually isolated by
natural or
geographical barriers. For example, Andaman teal, Nicobar pigeon,
Andaman wild
pig.
6. Extinct species
These are species which are not found after searches of known or
likely areas
where they may occur, i.e., the species which were existing earlier,
but are not
seen today.
Question 4.
Name any four resources which are obtained from our biodiversity.

Answer:
The resources are: wood, rubber, medicines and dyes.
Question 5
Write four major reasons for the depletion of forest cover.
Answer:
1. Deforestation for agricultural purposes.
2. Shifting cultivation which is still practised in substantial parts of
tribal belts.
3. Large-scale development of river valley projects.
4. Mining activities have also resulted in deforestation. For example,
the tiger reserve
in West Bengal is seriously threatened by the ongoing dolomite
mining.
5. Environmental pollution and forest fires have also led to depletion
of forests.
Question 6.
Write three adverse impacts of dolomite mining in the Buxar Tiger
Reserve on the
ecosystem.
Answer:
Adverse effects of dolomite mining in the Buxar Tiger Reserve:
1. It has caused ecological damage.
2. It has blocked the migration route of several species.
3. It has disturbed the natural habitat of many species.
Question 7.
List six factors which have led to the decline in India’s biodiversity.
Answer:
1. Habitat destruction
2. Over-exploitation
3. Environmental pollution
4. Forest fires
5. Hunting and Poaching
6. Poisoning
Question 8.
Write four most important causes of environmental
destruction/degradation.
Answer:
1. Unequal access to resources.
2. Inequitable consumption of resources.
3. Differential sharing of responsibility for environmental well being.
4. Over-population.

Question 9.
“The destruction of biodiversity is highly correlated with the loss of
cultural diversity.”
Give four facts to support this statement.
Answer:
Such losses have:
1. Increasingly marginalised and impoverished many forest
dependent communities.
2. Among the poor, women are affected more than men, for women
bear the major
responsibility of basic subsistence needs. With the depletion of these
resources,
the drudgery of women increased for they had to walk for more than
10 km to
collect these resources which, in turn, affected their health and
negligence of
home and children.
3. The indirect impact of degradation, eg. drought or floods etc. also
hits the poor the
hardest.
4. Poverty is a direct outcome of environmental destruction.
Question 10.
Why do we need to conserve our biodiversity?
Answer:
Conservation of biodiversity is necessary because it:
1. Preserves the ecological diversity.
2. Preserves our life support systems, i.e., water, air and soil.
3. Preserves the genetic diversity of plants and animals for better
growth and
breeding of species.
4. Fisheries too are heavily dependent on the maintenance of aquatic
biodiversity.
Question 11.
List various provisions made by “The Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act
1972” for protecting
habitats.
Answer:
1. An All India list of protected species was published.
2. The thrust was on protecting the remaining population of certain
endangered
species by-
 banning hunting;
 giving legal protection to their habitats and
 restricting trade in wildlife.
Question 12.
Write four steps taken by the Government for conservation of wildlife.
Answer:
Five steps that have been taken to protect the wildlife in India:

1. Under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act 1972, an All India list of
protected species
was published. The thrust was on protecting the remaining population
of certain
endangered species by –
 banning hunting,
 giving legal protection to their habitats and
 restricting trade in wildlife.
2. Many wildlife sanctuaries have been developed and National Parks
have been set
up.
3. Many projects have been started for protecting specific animals
which were
gravely threatened, eg. Project Tiger, One-horned Rhino, the Kashmir
Stag
(hangul), three types of crocodiles —the fresh water, salt-water and
Gharials, the
Asiatic Lion, etc.
4. Most recently, some animals have been given full or partial legal
protection
against hunting and trading throughout India, eg., Indian elephant,
black buck,
great Indian bustard and the snow leopard, etc.
5. Setting up of biosphere reserves for conserving flora and fauna in
their natural
surroundings and protection of wetland ecosystems is another step
taken in this
direction.
Question 13.
Which agency manages forests in India? Name three broad categories
in which the
forests are classified.
Answer:
The forests in India are owned and managed by the Government
through the Forest
Department.
They are classified under the following categories:
1. Reserved Forests
2. Protected Forests
3. Unclassed Forests
Question 14.
What are ‘Permanent Forest Estates’ and why? Which state has
maximum forest cover
falling under this category? Write its percentage share in the total
forest area of this
state.
Answer:
Reserved and protected forests are referred to as the Permanent
Forest Estates
maintained for the purpose of producing timber and other forest
produce.
Madhya Pradesh has the largest area under permanent forests,
constituting 75% of its
total forest area.
Question 15.
Write the major differences between reserved and protected forests.
Answer:
Difference between Reserved and Protected forests

Reserved forests Protected forests

1. They cover more than half of the total forest area.

1. Almost V 3 of the total forest area is protected

forest.

2. They are most valuable from the point of view of

forest and wildlife conservation.

2. These forest lands are protected from any further

depletion.

Question 16.
Name five states which have large reserved and protected forests
respectively.
Answer:
Five states having large percentages of reserved forests are: Jammu
and Kashmir,
Andhra Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and
Maharashtra.
Protected Forests: Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa
and Rajasthan.
Question 17.
What are unclassed forests? Name two areas which have high
percentages of their
forests as unclassed forests.
Answer:
Unclassed forests are the other forests and waste lands belonging to
both Government
and private individuals as well as local communities.
Two areas with high percentage of unclassed forests are: North-
Eastern states and
parts of Gujarat.
Question 18.
Write three examples of conservation of biodiversity at community
level. (2025)
Answer:
Three examples of community participation:
1. 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 explicitly rejecting Government involvement.
2. The inhabitants of five villages in the Alwar District of Rajasthan
have declared
1200 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.
3. The famous Chipko Movement in the Himalayas has successfully
resisted
deforestation and has also shown that community afforestation with
indigenous
species can be a great success.
Question 19.
Explain the ‘Beej Bachao Andolan’ and ‘Navdanya’ concept.
Answer:
Farmers and Citizens’ groups like the Beej Bachao Andolan in Tehri
and Navdanya
have shown that adequate levels of diversified crop production
without the use of
synthetic chemicals are possible and economically viable.
Question 20.
Write two characteristics of Joint Forest Management Programme and
its two benefits
for the community. Which Indian state started this programme first of
all and when?
Answer:
Joint Forest Management Programme involves local communities in
the management
and restoration of degraded forests. It was first started in Orissa in
1988.
Two characteristics: It depends on—
1. the formation of local (village) institutions that undertake
protection activities
mostly on degraded forest land managed by the Forest Department
and
2. the local communities also work towards restoration of such
degraded forests.
Two benefits:
1. The members of these communities are entitled to intermediary
benefits like non-
timber forest products.
2. They are also entitled to share in the timber harvested by
‘successful protection’.
Question 21.
What is biodiversity? Why is biodiversity important for human lives?
Give three points.
Answer:
Biodiversity denotes variety of living beings, including all types of
organisms, plants and
wildlife, diverse in form and functions but closely integrated in a
system through multiple
network of interdependencies. Its importance: We humans along with
all living
organisms form a complex web of ecological systems in which we are
only a part and
are dependent on this system for our own existence. For example,
the plants, animals
and micro-organisms recreate—
 the quality of the air we breathe,
 the water we drink and
 the soil that produces our food without which we cannot survive.
Forests play a
key role in the ecological system as these are also the primary
producers on

which all other living beings depend not only for food but indirectly
for many other
forest produces which are used for varied purposes. So this
biodiversity maintains
an ecological balance and our life support systems (air, water and
soil).
Question 22.
Write a brief note on ‘Project Tiger’.
Answer:
‘Project Tiger’ was one of the well-published wildlife campaigns in the
world, launched in
1973. Initially it had shown an increase in tiger population till 1989
but in 1993 the tiger
population dropped. There are 27 tiger reserves in India covering an
area of 37,761 sq
km.
Tiger conservation has been viewed not only as an effort to save the
endangered
species but with equal importance as a means of preserving biotypes
of sizeable
magnitude. Corbett National Park, (Uttarakhand), Sundarbans
National Park (West
Bengal), Bandhavgarh National Park (Madhya Pradesh), Sariska
Wildlife Sanctuary
(Rajasthan) Manas Tiger Reserve (Assam) and Periyar Tiger Reserve
(Kerala) are
some of the reserves in India.
Question 23.
Give an account of the forest cover in India.
Answer:
The dimensions of deforestation in India are staggering. The forest
and tree cover in the
country is estimated at 79.42 million hectare, which is 24.16% of the
total geographical
area (dense forest 12.2%; open forest 9.14%; and mangrove 0.14%).
According to the
State of Forest Report (2015), the dense forest cover has increased
by 3,775 sq km
since 2013. However, this apparent increase in the forest cover is due
to conservation
measures, management interventions and plantation, etc., by
different agencies.
Question 24.
Give an account of the Himalayan Yew highlighting its importance.
Answer:
The Himalayan Yew is in trouble. The Himalayan Yew
(Taxuswallachiana) is a
medicinal plant found in various parts of Himachal Pradesh and
Arunachal Pradesh. A
chemical compound called ‘taxol’ is extracted from the bark, needles,
twigs and roots of
this tree, and it has been successfully used to treat some cancers-the
drug is now the
biggest selling anti-cancer drug in the world.
The species is under great threat due to over-exploitation. In the last
one decade,
thousands of yew trees have dried up in various parts of Himachal
Pradesh and
Arunachal Pradesh.
Question 25.
Give the main characteristics of the Asiatic Cheetah. Where has it
gone?

Answer:
The world’s fastest land mammal, the cheetah (Acinonyxjubantus), is
a unique and
specialised member of the cat family and can move at the speed of
112 km./hr. The
cheetah is often mistaken for a leopard. Its distinguishing marks are
the long teardrop
shaped lines on each side of the nose from the comer of its eyes to its
mouth. Prior to
the 20th century, cheetahs were widely distributed throughout Africa
and Asia. Today,
the Asian cheetah is nearly extinct due to a decline of available
habitat and prey. The
species was declared extinct in India long back in 1952.
Question 26.
‘33% of area should be under forests’. Justify the statement
highlighting the
environmental values of forests.
Answer:
Forest area in the country is far lower than the desired 33% of
geographical area, as
outlined in the National Forest Policy (1952). Forests are considered
essential for
maintenance of the ecological balance. The livelihood of millions of
people who live on
the fringes of these forests depend upon it.
Forests play a key role in the ecological system as these are also the
primary producers
on which all other living beings depend. The forest preserves the
ecological diversity
and our life support systems—water, air and soil. It also preserves the
genetic diversity
of plants and animals for better growth of species and breeding. The
destruction of
forests have marginalised and impoverished many indigenous forest
dependent
communities. The indirect impact of degradation is severe drought or
induced floods.
Poverty is a direct outcome of environmental destruction.
Question 27.
Assess the need for the conservation of forests and wildlife in India.
Answer:
There is a need to conserve the forests and wildlife in India:
 Conservation of biodiversity is necessary because it preserves the
ecological
diversity.
 Forests and wildlife preserve our life support systems, i.e., water,
air and soil. For
example, the plants, animals and micro-organisms recreate the
quality of the air
we breathe, the water we drink and the soil that produces our food
without which
we cannot survive.
 It also preserves the genetic diversity of plants and animals for
better growth and
breeding of species. For example, in agriculture we are still
dependent on
traditional crop varieties.
 Fisheries too are heavily dependent on the maintenance of aquatic
biodiversity.
 Forests are primary producers on which all other living beings
depend not only for
food but indirectly for many other forest produces which are used for
varied
purposes