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Prelims Environment and Ecology Syllabus for UPSC Exam 2024

PWOnlyIAS April 13, 2024 06:39 5049 0

Prepare for UPSC Prelims 2024 with a thorough understanding of the Environment and Ecology syllabus. Get insights, strategies, and recommended books.

Prelims Environment and Ecology Syllabus for UPSC Exam 2024

Prelims Environment and Ecology Syllabus is increasingly becoming dynamic, thus making it unpredictable. A comprehensive detail of the prelims Environment and Ecology syllabus is provided here. Let’s read the article for more details!

UPSC Prelims Syllabus: An Overview

The Union Public Service Commission Preliminary Examination, or UPSC Prelims, is the first stage of the Civil Services Examination conducted by the UPSC.  The Prelims consist of two papers: General Studies Paper-I and General Studies Paper-II (CSAT), both of which are objective-type multiple-choice exams.  

The detailed UPSC Prelims Syllabus is given in the table below:

General Studies Paper I General Studies Paper II (CSAT)
  • Current events of national and international importance. 
  • History of India and Indian National Movement.
  • Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World. 
  • Indian Environment and Ecology and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
  • Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc. 
  • General issues on Environmental ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization. 
  • General Science.
  • Comprehension; 
  • Interpersonal skills including communication skills; 
  • Logical reasoning and analytical ability; 
  • Decision making and problem solving; 
  • General mental ability; 
  • Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. — Class X level).

 

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UPSC Prelims Environment and Ecology Syllabus Complete Details

The UPSC Prelims Environment and Ecology syllabus involves basic understanding of ecological concepts. Candidates must be aware of flora and fauna that are currently trending. In recent times, random questions from animal behavior have been asked. The complete detail of UPSC prelims Environment and Ecology syllabus is as follows:

Part I: Environment and Ecology
1. Basic Understanding of Environment and Ecology
  • Introduction
  • Categories of Environment
  • Features of Environment
  • Components of Environment
  • Ecology
2. Ecosystems 
  • Ecosystem definition;
  • Ecosystem Dynamics;
  • Properties, Components of Ecosystem;
  • Food Chain and Food Web
  • Population Pyramids
  • Biotic and Abiotic Factors
  • Types of Ecosystems
  • Ecosystem Conservation
  • Changes in the Ecosystem;
  • Eutrophication, Coral Reefs, Namami Ganga Program, Recent Measures.
3. Biogeochemical Cycles
  • Gaseous Cycle, Sedimentary Cycle
  • Human Impact on the Carbon Cycle
  • Nutrient Cycle
4. Pollution and Degradation
  • Land Degradation, Soil Conservation, Soil Erosion; Sustainable Land Management, Desertification;
  • Air Pollution, Noise Pollution, Plastic Pollution, Radioactive Pollution, Thermal Pollution
  • Water Degradation and Marine Pollution
  • Mining & Pollution
  • Bioremediation, Environmental Pollution and health 
  • Acid Rain
5. Environmental Issues
  • Indian Himalayan, Sand Mining, Palm Oil, Wildlife Deaths, Genetically Engineered Trees, Cost of Environmental Degradation
6. Environment Impact Assessment
  • Environmental Impact Assessment:
  • Need for EIA, EIA Cycle and procedure
7. Population Ecology
  • Population Characteristics
  • Population Growth Models
  • Species and Threats
  • Carrying Capacity of Earth      
8. Waste Management
  • Biomedical Waste
  • e-waste Management
  • Hazardous Waste
  • Solid Waste Management
Part II: Biodiversity 
1. Basics of Biodiversity 
  • Types of Biodiversity, Levels of Biodiversity, Measurement of Biodiversity, 
  • Biodiversity Services, Modes of Conservation, 
  • Red Data Book
  • Threats for Biodiversity
  • Extinction of Species, Types of Extinction, and Causes of Extinction
  • Consequences of Extinction of Species
  • Threatened Species of India
  • Biodiversity Conservation in India
  • Biodiversity Protection Conventions and Protocols
2. Indian Biodiversity
  • Indian Bio-Geographical Classification, Fauna and  Flora Diversity
  • Animal Diversity of India: Mammals,  Critically Endangered Animals, Mammals, Birds, Fishes,Corals, Man- Animal Conflict.
  • Plant Diversity of India: Plant Classification, Insectivorous Plants, Invasive Alien Flora, Medicinal Plants, and Tree Characteristics
  • Schedule Animals of Wpa, 1972
  • Marine Organism: Plankton and Its Types, Seagrass and SeaWeed
3.Biodiversity Conservation Initiatives
  • National Initiatives: Wildlife Sanctuary and National Parks Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves, Coastal Protected Areas, Sacred Groves of India, Export Prohibited Items.
  • GLobal Initiatives: Man And Biosphere, Biosphere Reserves, National Biosphere Reserve Programme, World Network of Biosphere Reserves, Biodiversity Hotspots, World Heritage Sites
4. Conservation Efforts
  • Project Tiger, Lion, Leopards, Elephant, Secure Himalaya, Hangul 
  • Crocodile Conservation Project 
  • Captive Breeding, and Other Government Measures
Part III: Climate Change
1. Basic Understandings
  • Greenhouse Gases and Greenhouse Effects; 
  • Global warming and its potential 
  • Ozone depletion; 
  • Ocean Acidification and Rising Sea Level
  • India and Climate Change: Agriculture and Food Security, Water Stress, Sea Level, Rise, Ecosystem and Biodiversity, Health
2. India and Climate Change
  • Carbon Mitigation Strategies:  Carbon Sequestration Carbon Credit and Offsetting,  Carbon Tax, and Geo-Engineering.
  • Climate Change in India
  • Indian Network on Climate Change Assessment, NATCOM, India’s Policy Structure Relevant to GHG Mitigation, Green Building, Griha, NAFCC
3. Climate Change Organizations
  • IPCC and IPCC Reports;
  • UNFCCC and Important Conference of Parties.
  • Kyoto Protocol and Other Developments
  • REDD and REDD+ , Global Environment Facilities, Climate Smart Agriculture, National GreenHouse Gas Inventories Programme. 
  • Green Economy, Climate Finance and Other GLobal Initiatives
Part IV: Agriculture
Agriculture
  • Crop and its Classification, Various Tillage Operations, Cropping System and Patterns, Types of Farming System, Sustainable Agriculture,  and its Components  Organic Farming and Natrual Farming,  Integrated Farming System, Soil and its characteristics.
Part V: Miscelleneous
1. Acts and Policies
  • WPA 1972, EPA 1986,  National Forest Policy 1988, Biological Diversity Act 2002 , FRA 2006, CRZ, 
  • Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016, E-Waste Management Rules, 2016, Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules, 2016, Wetland Rules 2010 National Green Tribunal, The Ozone Depleting Substances Rules.
2. Environmental Organisations
  • Following Bodies, their Origin and various initiatives taken
  • Animal Welfare Board, Central Zoo Authority, National Bio Diversity Authority, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau 
3. Environmental Conventions: 
  • UNCED, UNCCD, UNCBD, Ramsar Convention, CITES, TRAFFIC, CMS, IUCN, Stockholm, Basel, and Rotterdam Convention, Vienna Convention and Montreal Protocol, Kigali Agreement,Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems, and Minamata Convention
4. Other Facts
  • State Animals and State Birds, Animal and Plant species in News, National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuary, TIger Reserves, Elephant reserves, Lakes , Dams, India’s Biosphere Reserves, List of Sacred Groves, Mangrove sites, etc.

UPSC Prelims Environment and Ecology Syllabus Booklist

Candidates preparing for prelims have to choose books that completely cover the UPSC prelims Environment and Ecology syllabus. The dynamic aspects have to be covered in newspapers and magazines. The complete booklist for the Environment and Ecology syllabus is given below:

Book Type Book Name
NCERT 
  • NCERT Science: From Class VI to Class X (Environment-related chapters)
  • NCERT Biology: Class XII (Environment-related chapters)
  • NCERT Geography: From Class VI to Class XI (Environment-related chapters)
Reference Books
  • Textbook of Environmental Studies by Erach Bharucha
  • Environmental Ecology Biodiversity and Climate Change by Pratiyogita Darpan
  • Environment and Ecology – Biodiversity, Climate Change and Disaster Management by Majid Hussain
  • Environment for Civil Services by McGraw Hill
Other Sources
  • Newspapers such as The Hindu and The Indian Express
  • Press Information Bureau
  • Down to Earth
  • International Reports

 

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UPSC Prelims Environment and Ecology Syllabus Marks Weightage

In recent years, The UPSC Prelims Environment and Ecology syllabus has gained significant weight. The questions are mainly factual, which requires basic understanding of ecology and environment. The detailed weights of Environment and Ecology questions is given below:

Year of Preliminary Examination Number of Environment and Ecology Questions
2023 14
2022 19
2021 16
2020 25
2019 20
2018 11
2017 15
2016 12
2015 13
2014 20


UPSC expects a candidate to have a basic understanding of all the topics listed in the syllabus. In this regard, a good knowledge of topics that are part of the
UPSC Prelims Environment and Ecology syllabus is necessary. Candidates must not ignore current events taking place related to the environment or any species in the news. This news forms the basis on which questions may be framed in the UPSC Prelims Exam.

Must Read
NCERT Notes For UPSC UPSC Daily Current Affairs
UPSC Blogs UPSC Daily Editorials
Daily Current Affairs Quiz Daily Main Answer Writing
UPSC Mains Previous Year Papers UPSC Test Series 2024

 

Frequently Asked Questions

The number of environment and ecology questions asked in UPSC prelims starts at 12 and can go up to 25. This is the reason the subject is very important.

Yes. Many questions are directly related to current affairs topics that have been extensively covered in newspapers such as The Hindu and The Indian Express.

Most of the questions about environment and ecology range from easy to moderate. Sometimes UPSC increases the difficulty of the questions.

No. NCERT books form the basic understanding of the subject. The knowledge base has to be increased by reading the reference books mentioned above.

Magazines such as Down to Earth and Science Reporter must be read for the exam. In addition, PIB, Reports of the Ministry of Environment, UNFCCC, UNEP, etc. are also important.

Yes. It is preferable for candidates to make note of any news topic related to the environment and ecology. In case they cannot manage, they can read any monthly magazine.
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Quick Revise Now !
AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD SOON
UDAAN PRELIMS WALLAH
Comprehensive coverage with a concise format
Integration of PYQ within the booklet
Designed as per recent trends of Prelims questions
हिंदी में भी उपलब्ध
Quick Revise Now !
UDAAN PRELIMS WALLAH
Comprehensive coverage with a concise format
Integration of PYQ within the booklet
Designed as per recent trends of Prelims questions
हिंदी में भी उपलब्ध

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