Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change · UPPCS (Uttar Pradesh)

What the official syllabus says

UPPCS Preliminary Examination, Paper I: General Studies-I:

General Issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialization.
General Issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialization, General awareness of the subject is expected from candidates.
Note: Candidates are expected to have general awareness about the above subjects with special reference to Uttar Pradesh.

Topics in detail

General awareness, not specialisation, is expected: the concepts below, the main laws and agreements, and protected areas and species in the news.

Ecology

Ecosystem: structure (biotic and abiotic) and function; food chains and food webs; trophic levels; ecological pyramids; energy flow
Biogeochemical cycles: carbon, nitrogen, water, phosphorus
Ecological succession; population and community ecology (niche, keystone species, symbiosis)
Types of ecosystems: forest, grassland, desert, freshwater, wetland, mangrove, coral reef, marine

Biodiversity

Genetic, species and ecosystem diversity; endemism
Biodiversity hotspots, India's four (Himalaya, Indo-Burma, Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, Sundaland); megadiverse countries
Threats to biodiversity: habitat loss, invasive species, poaching, pollution
IUCN Red List categories; species in India of special concern (for example the tiger, Gangetic dolphin, gharial, great Indian bustard, swamp deer)
In-situ conservation: national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, conservation and community reserves, biosphere reserves, tiger and elephant reserves
Ex-situ conservation: zoos, gene banks, seed banks, botanical gardens
Project Tiger (1973), Project Elephant (1992), Namami Gange and dolphin conservation

Environmental laws and bodies

Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972; Water Act 1974; Air Act 1981; Forest (Conservation) Act 1980; Environment (Protection) Act 1986; Biological Diversity Act 2002; Forest Rights Act 2006
National Green Tribunal (2010); Central and State Pollution Control Boards; environmental impact assessment

Pollution

Air pollution: pollutants, Air Quality Index, stubble burning, vehicular emissions
Water, soil, noise, plastic, e-waste and biomedical waste; solid waste management rules
Ganga pollution and its control

Climate change

Greenhouse effect and greenhouse gases; global warming and its effects (sea level, glaciers, extreme weather, agriculture)
Ozone depletion; the Vienna Convention and Montreal Protocol
UNFCCC (1992), Kyoto Protocol (1997), Paris Agreement (2015); IPCC reports in outline
India's National Action Plan on Climate Change (2008) and its missions; India's net-zero target (2070) and commitments
Carbon credits, carbon sinks, mitigation and adaptation

International conventions

Ramsar Convention on wetlands (1971), CITES, Convention on Migratory Species, Convention on Biological Diversity and its Protocols (Cartagena, Nagoya), UNCCD
UN Environment Programme; Global Environment Facility

Overlaps

Protected areas, wetlands and pollution in the state are on Uttar Pradesh: Geography and Environment. Environment and biodiversity are written topics of Mains General Studies III, and the environment of Uttar Pradesh of General Studies VI.