(i) The major threats to tiger population are numerous, such as poaching for trade, shrinking habitat, depletion of prey base species, growing human population, etc. The trade of tiger skins and the use of their bones in traditional medicines, especially in the Asian countries left the tiger population on the verge of extinction
(ii) Some of the tiger reserves of India are Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, Sunderbans National Park in West Bengal, Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh, Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary in Rajasthan, Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam and Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala.

Joint Forest Management (JFM) programmes have been launched by various State Governments. The first state to start this programme was Odisha in 1988.
The important features of JFM are
(i) In India, Joint Forest Management (JFM) programme has been proved to be a good example for involving local communities in the management and restoration of degraded forests.
(ii) The major purpose of the JFM is to protect the forests from encroachments, grazing, theft and fire and also to improve the forests in accordance with an approved Joint Forest Management Plan.
(iii) JFM depends on the formation of local (village) institutions that undertake protection activities mostly on degraded forest land managed by the forest department.

The human activities that have been major causes for the depletion of flora and fauna, are
(i) Agricultural expansion.
(ii) Shifting cultivation (Jhum), a type of slash and burn agriculture.
(iii) Large-scale development projects.
(iv) Mining activities.

(i) Colonial Forest Policy is being blamed for promoting 'enrichment plantation' which in the course of time eliminates native precious species.
(ii) The extract tells us that environment conservation was a traditional practice in India society. It is mixed in our cultural norms and beliefs.
(iii) It is essential to conserve the trees as human beings receive many products from trees and their conservation is a way to return that kindness.

Every species is the part of a particular eco-system. Human beings due to their diversified adaptability and abundance in nature have become part of almost all eco-systems on the Earth. When any species is lost or extinct, it affects the eco-system in the following ways
1. Food chain and food web are two important aspects of any eco-system. When any species is lost, the link fails and energy and material could not transfer/ flow properly in the trophic levels.
2. All species including human being are affected resulting in catastrophic events in long-term.

The differences between reserved forests and protected forests are
(i) In reserved forests, right to all activities like hunting, grazing, etc are banned unless specific orders are issued by the government. But in protected areas, right to do activities like hunting and grazing ere are sometimes given to communities living on the fringes of the forests and depend on forests for their livelihood.
(ii) Reserve forests enjoy a higher degree of protection and may be upgraded to the status of wildlife sanctuary and national parks. The protected forests do not face such possibility.
(iii) More than half of the total forest land has been declared as reserved forests. On the other hand, only one-third of the total forest area is under protected forests.
(iv) Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Maharashtra have large percentages of reserved forests of their total forest area. On the other hand, Bihar, Odisha, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan have their large area under protected forests.

Importance of Himalayan Yew
1. The Himalayan Yew (Taxus wallachiana) 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.
2. It has been successfully used to treat some cancers.
3. The drug is now the biggest selling anti-cancer drug in the world.
Threat to Himalayan Yew
1. The Himalayan Yew is under great threat due to over-exploitation.
2. In the last one decade, thousands of yew trees have dried up in various parts of Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh

(i) In shelter belts, rows of trees are planted at the edge of farm lands. This breaks up the force of wind thereby reducing the spreading of sand dunes.
(ii) There is so much variation in net sown area in India due to the presence of different types of landforms i.e. mountains, plateaus and plains.
(iii) Their high level of technological development led to the exploitation of rich resources of the colonies.

The highest increase was in forest cover i.e. from 18.11% in 1960-61 to 23.3% in 2014-15. This increase is due to government efforts made in. the field of conservation of environment by demarking the forest areas. Still, it is below the outline of 33% set in National Forest Policy, 1952.
The highest decrease was in Barren and Uncultivable wasteland i.e. from 18.11 % to 5.5%. It is due to rise in area under non-agricultural uses. Massive urbanisation, development of roads, railways, and other uses have brought wasteland into area under non-agricultural uses.

Gross Cropped Area (GCA) is the total area sown once as well as more than once in a particular year. When the crop is sown on a piece of land for twice, the area is counted twice in GCA. On the other hand, Net Sown Area is the area sown with crops but is counted only once.

The objectives of agenda 21 are as follows:
1) It aims for achieving Global Sustainable Development.
2) It is an agenda to fight environmental damage, poverty, disease etc.
3) In agenda 21, needs of shared responsibilities were discussed. example: polio drops.
4) One of its major objectives is that every local govt. should draw its own agenda 21.

(i) The forest dependent Communities directly depend on various components of the forest and wildlife for food, drink, medicine, culture, spirituality etc.
(ii) Within the poor, women are affected more than men.
(iii) In many societies, women have the major responsibility of collection of fuel, fodder, water and other basic subsistence needs.
(iv) As these resources are depleted, the drudgery of women increases and sometimes they have to walk for more than 10 km to collect these resources.
(v) This causes serious health problems for women and negligence of home and children.
(vi) Due to increased hours of work, there are many serious social implications.
(vii) The indirect impact of degradation such as severe drought or deforestation induced floods, etc. also hits the poor hardest.
(viii) Poverty in these cases is a direct outcome of environmental destruction.

(i) In the name of enrichment plantation, the promotion of a few favoured species, in many parts of India, has been carried.
(ii) In enrichment plantation, a single commercially valuable species was extensively planted and other species eliminated.
(iii) For example, teak manufacturer has damaged the natural forests in South India.
(iv) Chir Pine plantations in the Himalayas have replaced the Himalayan oak and Rhododendron forests.
(v) During the colonial period, the greatest damage was inflicted on Indian forests due to the expansion of the railways, agriculture, commercial and scientific forestry and mining activities.

Vulnerable Species: The population of species which has decreased to the level into endangered category in the near future are known as vulnerable species. E.g. Asiatic elephant, blue sheep, Gangetic dolphin etc.

Direct effects:
i. Many tribal communities or forest dependent communities are impoverished due to the destruction of forests and wildlife.
ii. Many species of plants and animals became endangered or extinct.
Indirect effects:
i. It destroyed the ecological balance.
ii. It leads to severe droughts in some parts and floods in other areas.
iii. It affected the health of women and negligence of home and children because of their increased hours of work to collect their requirements.

Biodiversity: 
Biodiversity refers to rich flora and wildlife. In this diversity, species with diverse forms and functions live together.
Importance of Biodiversity for Human:
Biodiversity is important for human lives because the human being, along with the biodiversity, form a complete ecological system in which we are a part and are dependent on this system for our own existence.

a) Resource planning in India is done through Five Year Plan after independence.
b) Resource planning is a complex process which involves:
(i) Identification and inventory of resources across the region of the country. This involves surveying, mapping and qualitative and quantitative estimation and measurement of the resources.
(ii) Evolving a planning structure endowed with appropriate technology, skill and institutional set up for implementing resource development plans.
(iii) Matching the resource development plans with overall national development plans.

Resource Planning is a technique of skill of proper utilization of resources.
1. They are beneficial to human being
2. Different types of things are made by them
3. Resources are limited. Do not waste the great gifts of the nature.

Alluvial Soil
(1) Most important soil
(2) Such a soil is the result of deposits of river.
(3) Very fertile soil

Khadar (New Alluvium)
(1) New Alluvium a new soil  (2) Very fertile soil less Kankar nodules
Bangar (Old Alluvium)
(1) Old alluvium or Old soil  (2) Not to fertile, often contains Kankar nodules

1992.Rio-de-Janeiro(Brazil)
To achieve sustainable development in order to combat environment damage, poverty and disease, it laid emphasis on global cooperation mutual needs and shared responsibilities.

1.Terracing on hilly area
2.Building Dams on hilly areas
3.Afforestion

(a) Depletion of resources for satisfying the greed of few individuals.
(b) Accumulation of resources in few hands, which, in turn, divided the society into two segments as haves and have notes or rich and poor.
(c) Indiscriminate exploitation of resources has led to global ecological crises such as global warming, ozone layer depletion, environmental pollution and land degradation.

It held at Rio de Janerio in Brazil.
It is the first ever International Earth Summit.
It is United Nations Conference on Environment and Development [UNCED].
The Summit was aimed at the urgent problems of environmental protection and socioeconomic development at the global level.
The assembled leaders signed the Declaration on Global Climatic Change and Biological Diversity. The Rio Convention recognised 21 for achieving Sustainable Development in the 21st century.

(i) The three states having black soil are Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. The crops, which mainly grown are cotton, tobacco and sugarcane.
(ii) Alluvial soil is found in the river deltas of the Eastern coast. Three main features of this type of soil are
(a) It is very fertile.
(b) It contains adequate proportion of potash, phosphoric acid and lime.
(c) It is more alkaline in the drier areas.
(iii) Following steps should be taken to control soil erosion in the hilly areas
(a) Afforestation This is done by planting trees.
(b) Terrace farming and contour ploughing This is done across the hill slopes.
(c) Restricted grazing of animals Animals should be moved over different pastures so as to avoid erosion of soil.
(d) Plugging of gullies By this method, gully erosion can be prevented

Two ways to solve the problems of land degradation are as follows
(i) Afforestation and proper management of grazing lands.
(ii) Discharge and disposal of industrial wastes after treatment.

The Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act was implemented in 1972. This act consisted of various provisions for protecting habitats. Under this act, an all India list of protected species was also published. The main objective of this programme was protecting the remaining population of certain endangered species by banning hunting and restricting trade in wildlife.

From the above descriptions, it is known that black soil is being referred to by Aaron as this type of soil is mainly found in Maharashtra.

The denudation of the soil cover and it's subsequent washing down is described as soil erosion. It is responsible for the formation of gullies and ravines.

Mr. Palani can cultivate tea in his state Tamil Nadu. Tea is more suitable in his state than wheat due to the following reasons
(i) Laterite soils found in Tamil Nadu which is very useful for growing tea, after adopting appropriate soil conservation techniques.
(ii) Laterite soil lacks nutrient due to leaching which is required by wheat crops.

Two ways for the conservation of resources are
(i) Judicious use of limited energy rersources
(ii) Use of public transport