NCERT
Every NCERT book that matters for UPSC — open a book, then a chapter. Learn each chapter's concepts, then how UPSC tests them — with diagrams, flowcharts and the past questions to attempt.
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← Resource and Development — all chaptersLand, Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources
Start here: why this chapter matters
In simple wordsTwo families, two farms. One sits on rocky ground with a long walk to the nearest well; the other on deep soil with water at the tap and machines in the shed. Same hard work, very different harvests. This chapter is about the ground under our feet, the soil in it, the water on it, and the plants and animals that live there — and how quickly each can be used up.
This is Chapter 2 of NCERT's Class 8 geography book Resource and Development (2024–25 reprint), book pp. 7–21 (15 PDF pages; QR code 0858CH02). It opens with two children — Mamba in Tanzania and Peter in New Zealand — and then takes five natural resources in turn: land (with land use, its conservation and a box on landslides); soil (profile, factors of formation, degradation and conservation); water (availability, problems and conservation); and natural vegetation and wildlife (value, distribution and conservation, with a box on forest fires and one on CITES). Nineteen figures, many boxes and five exercises. We use nine concept sections. The book is world-scale; it has no maps, and we draw none — regions and vegetation types become tables, and every slope or field drawn here is a schematic. This edition has no world land-use pie chart, so none is drawn and no land-use percentages are invented. The book's numbers are recomputed with asserts; anything beyond it is marked †.
- How this chapter relates to UPSC: it is a first pass over five GS1/GS3 favourites — land use, landslides, soils and their conservation, freshwater, protected areas. Old Prelims questions on mulching, contour bunding, terraces, freshwater shares, vultures and diclofenac, national parks vs biosphere reserves and CITES rest directly on ideas taught here; Mains asks landslide mitigation, land-use change and freshwater crises at a higher level.
- The senior versions: jess101 (Resources and Development — India's land use, soils, erosion and conservation, in depth); jess103 (Water Resources — dams, rainwater harvesting); jess102 (Forest and Wildlife Resources — Project Tiger, Chipko, community conservation); kegy105 (Natural Vegetation — India's forest types, protected areas, biosphere reserves); kegy106 (Natural Hazards — landslides); kegy205 (Geomorphic Processes — weathering, mass movement); kegy212 (Water — the hydrological cycle); kegy214 (Biodiversity and Conservation); legy203, legy204 (Land; Water Resources); Class 9 iest102 (Shaping of the Earth's Surface) and iest202 (Life on Earth).
- In this book: hess401 (Resources — renewable, stock, conservation, sustainable development) comes before; hess403 (Agriculture) builds on land and soil next. hess307 (Public Facilities) is the civics view of water.
- UPSC from this chapter: 19 questions — 14 Prelims (1982–2015) and 5 Mains (2019–2026). List at the end; several are shared with jess101, kegy212 and kegy105 within the 3-chapter cap.
| Word | What it means here |
|---|---|
| Land use | What land is used for — agriculture, forestry, mining, houses, roads, industries |
| Common property resources | Community land for common uses — fodder, fruits, nuts, medicinal herbs |
| Landslide | Mass movement of rock, debris or earth down a slope |
| Soil | The thin layer of grainy substance covering the earth's surface: organic matter, minerals and weathered rock |
| Weathering | Breaking up and decay of exposed rocks by temperature changes, frost, plants, animals and people (glossary) |
| Humus | Organic matter from decayed plants and animals, in the top soil (exercise 3) |
| Soil profile | The layers of a soil from the surface down to the parent rock |
| Mulching, terracing, shelter belts | Soil-conservation methods — straw cover, steps on slopes, rows of trees against wind |
| Freshwater | Non-saline water: about 2.7% of the earth's water (book) |
| Water cycle | Evaporation, precipitation and run-off moving water through oceans, air and land |
| Drip (trickle) irrigation | Water delivered drop by drop to plant roots; useful in dry regions |
| Biosphere | The narrow zone of contact between lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere where life exists |
| Ecosystem | The life-supporting system in which living beings are inter-related and interdependent |
| National park / biosphere reserve | Protected natural area for ecosystems / a series of protected areas in a global network linking conservation and development (glossaries) |
| CITES | Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora |
Reading the chapter opener, the first ‘Let's do’ and ‘Do you know?’ (page 7)
- Opener drawing (colour): a curved banner with a grey elephant, a spotted deer drinking at a pool, a tiger peering through tall grass, trees, rocks, red flowers, a small bird and bees; the chapter number and title, with a QR code (0858CH02). The point: land, water, plants and animals together — the chapter's five resources. Footers carry a cartoon lion under a tree.
- Let's do: observe the land, soil and water where you live and discuss how they shape people's lives. The point: Mamba and Peter in your own neighbourhood (outline in the in-text section).
- Do you know?: 90% of the world's people occupy only 30% of the land; the other 70% is sparsely populated or uninhabited. The point: people follow good land — but see the trap in section 1 on the figure.
At a glance — the six ideas to carry away
- Land ≈ 30% of the earth's surface; people crowd onto plains and river valleys. Land use depends on physical factors (topography, soil, climate, minerals, water) and human ones (population, technology).
- Ownership: private and community land — common property resources. Conserve land: afforestation, reclamation, regulated chemicals, checks on overgrazing. Landslides: hazard mapping, retention walls, vegetation, drainage.
- Soil forms by weathering; major factors parent rock and climate (temperature, rainfall), then relief, living things, time. Four layers: top soil, sub soil, weathered rock, parent rock.
- Soil conservation: mulching, contour barriers, rock dams, terraces (steep slopes), intercropping, contour ploughing, shelter belts (coastal and dry regions).
- Water: freshwater ≈ 2.7%, about 70% of it ice, ‘only 1%’ usable. Conserve: treat effluents, vegetation, rainwater harvesting, lined canals, sprinklers, drip irrigation.
- Vegetation: forests → grasslands → scrubs as rain falls; tundra in the cold. Wildlife threatened by habitat loss, fires, poaching (vultures: diclofenac); protected by parks, sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, laws, CITES.
1. Land: a small, uneven share of the earth
In simple wordsIn a crowded classroom, everyone wants a desk by the window and near the fan; the corner behind the cupboard stays empty. People choose land the same way: the flat, watered, fertile spots fill up; mountains, swamps, deserts and dense forests stay almost empty.
Mamba walks a long way each morning to fetch water; her father barely grows some maize and beans on rocky land around their hut — not enough for the year. Peter's family runs a wool-processing factory in New Zealand's sheep-rearing heartland, on a wide grassy plain, managed scientifically with the latest technology, and grows vegetables organically. The book's lesson: differences in the quality of land, soil, water, natural vegetation, animals and the use of technology make places — and lives — differ. Land is among the most important natural resources, yet it covers only about thirty per cent of the earth's surface, and not all of that is habitable. The uneven distribution of population follows land and climate: rugged topography, steep mountain slopes, low-lying areas prone to waterlogging, deserts and thick forests are sparsely populated or empty; plains and river valleys, good for agriculture, are densely populated.
| Mamba and Peter: the book's two lives, compared | Mamba (Tanzania) | Peter (New Zealand) |
|---|---|---|
| Land | a piece of rocky land around a small hut | a wide grassy plain, hills in the distance |
| Water | a long walk each morning; hours to fetch it | not described as a problem |
| Use of land | maize and beans, barely; goats | sheep rearing, a wool factory, organic vegetables |
| Technology | hand labour, ‘after toiling hard’ | managed scientifically, latest technology |
| Result | not enough food for the whole year | a processing business beside the farm |
NCERT details to read carefully — land and people
- Two different ‘30%’s: land is about 30% of the earth's surface; and (the box) 90% of people live on 30% of the land. Do not mix them.
- ‘90% on 30% of land’ (this book) vs ‘90% on about 10% of land’ (Class 12 NCERT, legy102). Both are NCERT; the Class 12 figure is the one usually quoted. Safe line: ‘most of the world's people live on a small fraction of its land’.
- Land is about 29% of the earth's surface, water about 71% † — ‘about thirty per cent’ is a fair rounding.
- Exercise 1(iii): land is important because it supports agriculture, forests, minerals, settlement and industry — and it is limited while demand grows.
2. Land use, common land and conserving land
In simple wordsA family plot can be a vegetable patch, a cowshed, a room for a tenant or a shop — each choice shuts out the others. The village common, where everyone once grazed cattle and picked fruit, belongs to no single family, so it is the easiest to quietly fence off. That is land use, and why the commons shrink first.
Land use means using land for agriculture, forestry, mining, building houses, roads and setting up industries. It is decided by physical factors — topography, soil, climate, minerals and availability of water — and by human factors — population and technology. By ownership, land is private (owned by individuals) or community land, owned by the community for common uses such as collecting fodder, fruits, nuts or medicinal herbs; community lands are also called common property resources. People and their demands keep growing while land is limited and differs in quality, so people have encroached on common lands — for commercial areas and housing in towns, and to extend farmland in villages. Vast changes in land use also reflect cultural changes. Land degradation, landslides, soil erosion and desertification are major threats caused by the expansion of agriculture and construction. Growing demand has destroyed forest cover and arable land, so the present rate of degradation must be checked. Conservation methods: afforestation, land reclamation, regulated use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers, and checks on overgrazing.
⤵ How land degrades — and the book's four checks (pp. 8–9)
Pressurepopulation and demand grow; land is limited and of uneven quality
Change of usecommons encroached; forests and farmland turned to housing, commerce, roads
Damageland degradation, landslides, soil erosion, desertification
Restoreafforestation; land reclamation
Regulatecontrolled use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers; checks on overgrazing
| Who should decide how common land is used? — positions side by side († rows; no position endorsed) | Who | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Commons are being lost | NCERT (p. 8) | encroachment for housing, commerce and farming is eating into common property resources |
| Development needs land † | urban and industrial planners | growing towns need housing, roads and industry; unused or degraded land can be put to productive use |
| Communities as managers † | advocates of community resource management (e.g. Elinor Ostrom's work on the commons, Nobel 2009) | local users with clear rules can manage commons sustainably; outside takeover can weaken them |
| Legal safeguards † | Indian law, e.g. the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (jess102) | recognises community forest resource rights of forest-dwelling communities |
Reading Fig. 2.1 (Salzburg), the elderly-person ‘Let's do’ and Fig. 2.2 (pages 8–9)
- Fig. 2.1, ‘Salzburg in Austria’ (aerial colour photograph): a town of red-roofed houses and white buildings along a winding river, with green fields, woods and a few factories around it. Caption: notice in how many ways the land is used. The point: houses, roads, river, farms, forest, industry — land use in one frame.
- Let's do: ask an elderly person how land use has changed where you live and display it on a bulletin board.
- Fig. 2.2, ‘Change in land use over time’: four numbered drawings — (1) thatched huts among maize fields with a farmer and bullocks; (2) brick houses, power lines, a tractor, fields still present; (3) concrete buildings, a bus and cars on a road, few fields; (4) high-rise blocks, a flyover with heavy traffic, no farmland. The point: farmland and commons give way to built-up land as places grow (our diagram above lists the stages).
- Glossary — Weathering (p. 9): taken up in section 4.
NCERT details to read carefully — land use
- The physical determinants are five (topography, soil, climate, minerals, water) and the human ones two (population, technology).
- Common property resources = community land; not government land in general, and not private land lent out.
- Exercise 1(ii), two reasons for land degradation: the expansion of agriculture and construction; deforestation, overgrazing, overuse of chemicals, mining † — any two with an example.
- Exercise 3(i): land use → productive use of land.
3. Landslides: a hazard of the slopes
In simple wordsPile wet sand on a tilted tray and tap it — at some point a whole slab slips. Hills behave the same way: heavy rain soaks them, a quake or a blast jolts them, a road cut removes their support, and a slope that stood for centuries comes down in minutes.
A box defines landslides simply as the mass movement of rock, debris or earth down a slope. They often come with earthquakes, floods and volcanoes. A prolonged spell of rainfall can cause a heavy landslide that blocks a river for some time; when such a block bursts, it can wreck settlements downstream. In hilly terrain, landslides are a major, widespread natural disaster. Case study: a massive landslide hit Pangi village near Reckong Peo in Kinnaur district, Himachal Pradesh, damaging a 200-metre stretch of the old Hindustan–Tibet road (National Highway 22). It was triggered by intense blasting; the weak zone of the slope collapsed, damaging the road and nearby villages, and Pangi was completely vacated to avoid loss of life. Mitigation: scientific advances help us understand and manage landslides — hazard mapping to locate prone areas so settlements can avoid them; retention walls to stop land slipping; more vegetation cover; and surface drainage control to manage the movement of landslides with rainwater and spring flows.
⤵ The Kinnaur case study (p. 10), step by step
A weak slopea weak zone in the hillside at Pangi village, near Reckong Peo, Kinnaur
Triggerintense blasting at Pangi
Collapsethe weak zone gave way — a massive landslide
Road200 m of the old Hindustan–Tibet road (NH-22) damaged
Peoplenearby villages damaged; Pangi completely vacated to save lives
Lessonhuman activity on fragile slopes can set off disasters; map hazards before building
Reading the landslide box and its two photographs (page 10)
- Photograph ‘A Landslide’ (colour, aerial): a brown scar of debris running down a green, steep hillside between tall apartment blocks. The point: towns built on slopes are exposed.
- Photograph ‘Retention Wall’ (colour): a long, tall concrete wall lining one side of a mountain road. The point: engineering can hold a slope back.
- Text: the definition, causes, the Kinnaur case and the four mitigation techniques, summarised above.
Beyond NCERT — landslides in India (bare facts)
- The National Disaster Management Authority released a National Landslide Risk Management Strategy in 2019; it covers hazard mapping, monitoring and early warning, awareness, capacity building and mountain-zone regulation (UPSC Mains 2021 asked for its components).
- The Geological Survey of India is the nodal agency for landslide studies and susceptibility mapping (kegy106).
- The Himalayas are young, tectonically active and steep, with heavy monsoon rain; the Western Ghats are older but steep on the windward side, with very heavy rain — compare in kegy205 and kegy106.
- Under the 2010 renumbering of national highways, the old NH-22 (Ambala–Shimla–Khab) became part of NH-5 — please verify before quoting.
NCERT details to read carefully — landslides
- The Kinnaur trigger in the book is blasting (a human cause), not rain or an earthquake.
- The case has no year in the book — do not date it.
- The four mitigation methods: hazard mapping, retention walls, vegetation cover, surface drainage control. Hazard (zonation) mapping is a preparedness step — it tells you where not to build (UPSC Mains 2019).
- A landslide-dammed river is dangerous after the slide too — a breach can flood settlements downstream.
4. Soil: what it is and how it forms
In simple wordsLeave a biscuit on the kitchen shelf for months: it cracks, crumbles, gets nibbled and mixes with dust. Rocks do the same, only over centuries — heat, cold, frost, roots and animals break them down, and dead leaves rot into them. The crumbly, living mix that results is soil, and a single centimetre can take hundreds of years.
Soil is the thin layer of grainy substance covering the earth's surface, closely linked to land; landforms determine the type of soil. It is made of organic matter, minerals and weathered rocks, through the process of weathering — the breaking up and decay of exposed rocks by temperature changes, frost action, plants, animals and human activity. The right mix of minerals and organic matter makes soil fertile. A soil profile (Fig. 2.3) has four layers: top soil with humus and vegetation; sub soil with sand, silt and clay; weathered rock material; and parent rock. Factors of soil formation: the major ones are the nature of the parent rock and climatic factors; others are topography (relief), the role of organic material and the time taken. Fig. 2.4 spells out each: parent rock decides colour, texture, chemical properties, mineral content and permeability; climate — temperature and rainfall — influences the rate of weathering and humus formation; relief — altitude and slope — decides how soil accumulates; flora, fauna and micro-organisms affect the rate of humus formation; time decides the thickness of the profile. All these differ from place to place. It takes hundreds of years to make one centimetre of soil.
⤵ From rock to fertile soil (pp. 9–11)
Exposed rockthe parent rock decides colour, texture, minerals, permeability
Weatheringtemperature changes, frost, plants, animals, people break and decay it
Organic matter addedflora, fauna, micro-organisms form humus; climate sets the pace
Layers formtop soil, sub soil, weathered rock over parent rock; relief decides where soil collects
Timehundreds of years for a centimetre; time decides the profile's thickness
Reading Fig. 2.3, the ‘Do you know?’, Fig. 2.4 and the soils activity (pages 11–12)
- Fig. 2.3, ‘Soil Profile’: a smiling cartoon character shaped like an upturned cone, with grass for hair, its body in bands — a reddish layer, a yellow layer and grey stones at the feet — labelled top soil with humus and vegetation; sub soil with sand, silt and clay; weathered rock material; parent rock. The point: soil is layered, from living top to rock beneath (our diagram is an original drawing).
- Do you know?: hundreds of years make one centimetre of soil. The point: soil is renewable only in theory on a human time scale.
- Fig. 2.4, ‘Factors affecting soil formation’: five boxes with arrows to a yellow ‘Soil’ circle — parent rock, climate, relief, flora-fauna-micro-organisms, time — each with its effect (summarised above).
- Activity (p. 12): India's soils could be alluvial, black, red, laterite, desertic and mountain; collect and compare a handful of each. The point: the factors make real, visibly different soils (jess101 has the full soil table).
NCERT details to read carefully — soil
- Exercise 1(i): the two main climatic factors are temperature and rainfall (Fig. 2.4).
- Exercise 2(i): soil texture is not a factor of soil formation — it is a property of soil that the parent rock helps decide. Time and organic matter are factors.
- The major factors are parent rock and climate; relief, organic material and time are ‘other factors’.
- Humus = organic matter in the top soil (exercise 3(ii) → (d)).
- Weathering in the glossary is physical and biological; rain also weathers rocks chemically (carbon dioxide in rainwater forms a weak acid) † — kegy205.
5. Soil degradation and conservation
In simple wordsPour water on a bare sandcastle and it melts away; pour it on one covered with a cloth or held by twigs and most of it stays. Every soil-conservation method in the book does one of three things: covers the soil, slows the water, or breaks the wind.
Soil erosion and depletion are the major threats to soil as a resource; both human and natural factors cause them: deforestation, overgrazing, overuse of chemical fertilisers or pesticides, rain wash, landslides and floods. Methods of conservation: Mulching — bare ground between plants is covered with organic matter such as straw, retaining soil moisture. Contour barriers — stones, grass and soil built into barriers along contours, with trenches in front to collect water. Rock dam — rocks piled to slow the flow of water, preventing gullies and further soil loss. Terrace farming — broad flat steps on steep slopes give flat land for crops and reduce surface run-off and erosion. Intercropping — different crops in alternate rows, sown at different times, protect the soil from rain wash. Contour ploughing — ploughing parallel to the contours of a hill slope makes a natural barrier to water flowing down. Shelter belts — in coastal and dry regions, rows of trees check the wind and protect the soil cover. An activity with two trays of soil — one bare, one with sprouted grain — shows how much soil plants hold.
| Method (book) | What it does | Best suited to | Works by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mulching | covers bare soil with straw or other organic matter | fields between plants; dry spells | covering soil; keeping moisture |
| Contour barriers | stone, grass, soil bunds along contours; trenches collect water | sloping land | slowing water |
| Rock dam | piled rocks across a channel | gullies and channels | slowing water |
| Terrace farming | broad flat steps on a slope | steep slopes (exercise 2(ii)) | slowing water; flat land for crops |
| Intercropping | alternate rows of different crops, sown at different times | fields exposed to heavy rain | covering soil |
| Contour ploughing | furrows parallel to contours | hill slopes | slowing water |
| Shelter belts | rows of trees | coastal and dry regions | breaking the wind |
Reading Figs 2.5–2.7 and the two-tray activity (pages 12–13)
- Fig. 2.5, ‘Terrace Farming’ (colour): a green hillside cut into many narrow steps of fields, woods above. Fig. 2.6, ‘Contour Ploughing’ (colour, aerial): broad wavy bands of yellow and dark green following the shape of the land. Fig. 2.7, ‘Shelter Belts’ (colour): a straight, dense row of tall, thin trees beside a ploughed field. The point: three of the methods as they look on real land.
- Two-tray activity (drawing): trays A (bare soil) and B (sprouted wheat or rice) with six holes at one end, set on a slope; a mug of water poured on each; the run-off collected in two jars — A's jar is muddy, B's clearer. The point: plant cover holds soil (outline in the in-text section).
NCERT details to read carefully — soil conservation
- Exercise 2(ii): on steep slopes the answer is terrace cultivation; shelter belts are for wind, mulching for moisture.
- Exercise 4(iii): rows of trees against wind are shelter belts, not intercropping — false.
- Exercise 3(iii): rock dams → prevent soil erosion; ‘contour ploughing’ (e) is the leftover distractor.
- Contour bunding (UPSC 1982, 2013) is the same idea as the book's contour barriers — used on slopes, not on flat flood plains or desert margins.
- UPSC 2014 asked what soil erosion in India is associated with; the stored key is deforestation only — terrace cultivation checks erosion. Whether ‘tropical climate’ (intense monsoon rain) also counts is disputed; follow the key, but know the argument.
6. Water: plenty on the planet, little to use
In simple wordsImagine a 100-litre tank of the earth's water. Fewer than three litres are fresh; about two of those are frozen solid; much of the rest is deep underground. What sits in rivers and lakes would barely wet the bottom of a cup. That cup is shared by eight billion people, their farms and their factories.
Water is a vital renewable natural resource. Three-fourths of the earth's surface is covered with water — the ‘water planet’; life began in the primitive oceans about 3.5 billion years ago, and the oceans, covering two-thirds of the surface, still support rich life. Ocean water is saline. Freshwater is only about 2.7%; nearly 70% of it is ice sheets and glaciers in Antarctica, Greenland and mountain regions — inaccessible. Only 1% of freshwater is available and fit for human use: as groundwater, surface water in rivers and lakes, and water vapour. Water can be neither added to nor removed from the earth; its volume is constant and it only moves through the water cycle — evaporation, precipitation and run-off. Humans use water for drinking and washing, for agriculture, industry and electricity from dams. World use rose from 3,850 km³ a year (1975) to more than 6,000 (2000). Rising population, demand for food and cash crops, urbanisation and rising living standards cause shortages — sources dry up or are polluted. Scarcity affects most of Africa, West Asia, South Asia, parts of the western USA, north-west Mexico, parts of South America and all of Australia; countries in drought-prone climatic zones suffer most. Shortage comes from variation in seasonal or annual rainfall, or from over-exploitation and contamination.
| The book's water-short regions (p. 14) — as a table, no map | Region | Cause the book points to (general) |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | most of the continent | drought-prone climates; seasonal and yearly rainfall variation |
| Asia | West Asia; South Asia | dry climates; heavy use for farming and growing cities |
| North America | parts of the western USA; north-west Mexico | dry climates; over-exploitation |
| South America | parts of the continent | rainfall variation |
| Australia | the entire continent (book) | a mostly dry continent; drought |
⤵ Why freshwater runs short (pp. 13–14)
Small supplyfreshwater ≈ 2.7% of all water; most locked in ice
Rising demandpopulation, food and cash crops, urbanisation, higher living standards
Natural causevariation in seasonal or annual rainfall; drought-prone zones
Human causeover-exploitation; pollution by sewage, farm chemicals, industrial effluents
Resultsources dry up or become unfit for use — scarcity in many world regions
Reading the two ‘Do you know?’ boxes on page 13 and the 150-litre activity (page 14)
- Do you know? (water use): 3,850 km³ a year in 1975; more than 6,000 in 2000. The point: demand rose by more than half in 25 years (our arithmetic: ≥ 56%).
- Do you know? (dripping tap): 1,200 litres a year. The point: small leaks add up — about 3.3 litres a day.
- Activity table: an average urban Indian uses about 150 litres a day — drinking 3, cooking 4, bathing 20, flushing 40, washing clothes 40, washing utensils 20, gardening 23. ‘Can you suggest ways to bring down this amount?’ The point: most water goes to flushing and washing, not drinking (redrawn in section 7).
Beyond NCERT — water figures to quote carefully
- USGS: about 96.5% of the earth's water is in the oceans and about 2.5% is fresh; of the freshwater, about 68.7% is ice and snow, 30.1% groundwater and 1.2% surface and other water.
- Agriculture takes about 70% of the world's freshwater withdrawals (FAO AQUASTAT).
- India: per-person water availability fell from 5,177 m³ (1951) to 1,816 (2001) and 1,545 (2011) — below the common ‘water-stress’ mark of 1,700 m³ (legy204). This is exercise 4(ii): true.
NCERT details to read carefully — water
- The same page says water covers three-fourths of the surface and oceans two-thirds. Safe line: ‘about 71% of the earth's surface is water’ †.
- 2.7% freshwater is the book's figure and the 1987 UPSC answer; USGS rounds to about 2.5% †.
- Ice ≈ 70% of freshwater (book) — not 95% (UPSC 2010 statement 2 is false).
- ‘Only 1% of freshwater is available’ leaves 29% unexplained: that is mostly groundwater, the largest store after ice (UPSC 2013). Usable freshwater is less than 1% of all water (UPSC 2010 statement 1, true).
- ‘Life began about 3.5 billion years ago’: the usual range is about 3.5–3.8 billion years †.
7. Conserving water
In simple wordsThink of a leaky bucket you carry from the well. You can carry more often (pump harder), patch the holes (lined canals, drip pipes), catch the rain on the way (harvesting), and stop throwing dirt into the well (treat waste). Only the last three save water — the first just empties the well faster.
Access to clean, adequate water is a major world problem; this dwindling resource must be conserved. Although water is renewable, overuse and pollution make it unfit. Untreated or partly treated sewage, agricultural chemicals and industrial effluents are the major contaminants, adding nitrates, metals and pesticides; most are non-biodegradable and reach human bodies through water. Pollution can be controlled by treating effluents before release. Forests and other vegetation slow surface run-off and replenish groundwater. Water harvesting saves surface run-off; rainwater harvesting collects rain from rooftops and directs it to storage — one two-hour spell of rain can save about 8,000 litres (book). Irrigation canals should be properly lined to cut seepage; sprinklers irrigate efficiently by checking seepage and evaporation losses; in dry regions with high evaporation, drip or trickle irrigation is very useful.
| Conservation method (book) | Saves water by | Where it helps most |
|---|---|---|
| Treating effluents | keeping sewage, farm chemicals and industrial waste out of water bodies | rivers near cities and industry (Fig. 2.8, Yamuna) |
| Forests and vegetation | slowing run-off so water soaks in and recharges groundwater | catchments and slopes |
| Rainwater harvesting | collecting rooftop or surface run-off for storage or recharge | towns, schools, dry regions |
| Lined canals | cutting losses by seepage | canal-irrigated plains |
| Sprinklers | cutting seepage and evaporation | uneven or sandy fields |
| Drip (trickle) irrigation | delivering water to roots drop by drop | dry regions with high evaporation |
Reading Fig. 2.8 (Yamuna), Fig. 2.9 (sprinkler) and the rainwater ‘Do you know?’ (pages 14–15)
- Fig. 2.8 (colour): a shallow, grey river with white foam and patches of scum beside a stony bank. Caption: the Yamuna is getting polluted by sewage, industrial effluents and garbage. The point: a renewable resource made unusable by pollution.
- Fig. 2.9, ‘A Water Sprinkler’ (colour): a jet of water arcing from a sprinkler head over a green crop field. The point: efficient irrigation saves water.
- Do you know?: rainwater harvesting defined; ‘one spell of rain for two hours is enough to save 8,000 litres’. The point: rooftops are catchments. (No roof area is given — see the trap.)
NCERT details to read carefully — water conservation
- ‘8,000 litres from a two-hour spell’ depends on roof area and rainfall intensity, which the book does not give — use it as an illustration, not a rule.
- 150 litres a day (this chapter) vs the 135-litre urban norm in hess307: two NCERT figures for different things (estimated use vs a planning norm).
- Drip irrigation suits dry regions with high evaporation; sprinklers check seepage and evaporation; lining canals checks seepage.
- Exercise 1(v), three ways: rainwater harvesting, drip or sprinkler irrigation, treating waste water, fixing leaks, reusing water — any three.
- Exercise 2(iii): disposing of polypacks after shopping is the action not in favour of conservation (the other two save electricity and water).
8. Natural vegetation and wildlife: what they give and where they grow
In simple wordsLook around a handicrafts fair: a jute bag, cane chairs, bamboo lamps, a silk scarf. Every one began as a plant or an animal. Take away the forest and the field and the fair would be empty — and so would our plates, our medicine cabinets and the air we breathe.
At a handicrafts exhibition, Mona admires a jute handbag; the teacher points to baskets, lamp shades and chairs of cane and bamboo, which grows plentifully in India's humid east and north-east; Jassy sees a silk scarf — silk comes from silkworms bred on mulberry trees. Plants give us countless products. Natural vegetation and wildlife exist only in the biosphere — the narrow zone of contact between lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere — where living beings are inter-related and interdependent; this life-supporting system is the ecosystem. Plants give timber, shelter animals, produce oxygen, protect soils, act as shelter belts, help store groundwater, and give fruits, nuts, latex, turpentine oil, gum, medicinal plants and paper. Wildlife — animals, birds, insects and aquatic life — gives milk, meat, hides and wool; bees give honey and pollinate flowers; insects play a role as decomposers; vultures, feeding on dead livestock, are scavengers and vital cleansers of the environment. Distribution: vegetation depends mainly on temperature and moisture. Major types: forests, grasslands, scrubs and tundra. Heavy rainfall supports huge trees; as moisture falls, trees shrink and thin; moderate rainfall gives grasslands with short, stunted trees; low rainfall gives thorny shrubs and scrub with deep roots and thorny, waxy leaves that cut transpiration; tundra of cold polar regions has mosses and lichens. With far more people than two centuries ago, large forests have been cleared for crops; forest cover is vanishing rapidly worldwide.
| The book's vegetation types (pp. 16–17) — a table, no map | Climate | Plants | Adaptation or feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forests | heavy rainfall, abundant water | huge trees | tree size and density fall as moisture falls |
| Grasslands | moderate rainfall | grasses; short, stunted trees | the world's grasslands (e.g. prairies, steppes †) |
| Scrubs | dry, low rainfall | thorny shrubs and scrub | deep roots; thorny, waxy leaves reduce transpiration |
| Tundra | cold polar regions | mosses and lichens | cold, not rain, is the limit |
Reading Figs 2.10–2.13 and the vulture ‘Do you know?’ (pages 15–16)
- Fig. 2.10, ‘Silk Worms’ (colour): a pale green caterpillar on a twig among leaves. The point: an animal resource that depends on a plant (mulberry).
- Fig. 2.11, ‘Brahma Kamal, a Medicinal Herb’ (colour): pale yellow-green, cup-shaped flower heads among green leaves on a rocky slope. The point: medicinal plants of the high mountains (Brahma Kamal is the state flower of Uttarakhand †).
- Fig. 2.12, ‘A Blue Kingfisher’ (colour): a small bright blue and orange bird on a twig. Fig. 2.13, ‘Grassland and Forest’ (colour): tall green grass in front of a dense wall of trees. The point: two vegetation types side by side.
- Do you know? with a photograph of a dark vulture with a red, bare neck: vultures in the Indian subcontinent were dying of kidney failure after eating livestock treated with diclofenac, a painkiller similar to aspirin or ibuprofen; efforts are on to ban it for livestock and to breed vultures in captivity. The point: a medicine for cattle nearly wiped out the cleaners of the countryside (UPSC 2012).
Beyond NCERT — vultures and forests (bare facts)
- India's populations of several Gyps vultures fell by more than 95% from the 1990s; veterinary diclofenac was banned in India in 2006, and captive breeding centres were set up.
- FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020: forests cover about 31% of the world's land; about 10 million ha a year were deforested in 2015–2020.
- India's forest types and protected areas are in kegy105; community conservation (Chipko, Bishnois, sacred groves) in jess102.
NCERT details to read carefully — vegetation and wildlife
- ‘Birds… act as decomposers’ and bees named among decomposers: decomposers are mainly bacteria and fungi (with detritivores such as earthworms); birds and bees are not decomposers. Vultures are scavengers. Safe line: ‘insects such as bees pollinate; scavengers like vultures clean up carcasses; bacteria and fungi decompose’.
- The two main controls of vegetation are temperature and moisture; tundra is limited by cold.
- Biosphere = narrow zone of contact of lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere (exercise 3(iv) → (b)).
- Diclofenac harmed vultures through treated livestock carcasses, not through disease or loss of nests (UPSC 2012).
9. Conserving natural vegetation and wildlife
In simple wordsAn ecosystem is like a woven basket: pull out one strand and it still holds; pull out many and it falls apart. Every cleared forest, poached tiger or burnt hillside is a pulled strand. Protecting wildlife means guarding the whole basket — the places, the laws and people's habits — not just the most famous strands.
Forests are our wealth: plants shelter animals and together they maintain the ecosystem. Climate change and human interference destroy habitats; many species have become vulnerable or endangered, some are near extinction. Deforestation, soil erosion, construction, forest fires, tsunami and landslides speed extinction. Poaching — for hides, skins, nails, teeth, horns and feathers — sharply cuts some species: tiger, lion, elephant, deer, black buck, crocodile, rhinoceros, snow leopard, ostrich and peacock; awareness can help. National parks, wildlife sanctuaries and biosphere reserves protect vegetation and wildlife; creeks, lakes and wetlands must be conserved. The environment is balanced when the relative number of species is not disturbed; indiscriminate killing has made several birds and animals extinct or nearly so. Awareness: social forestry and Van Mahotsav (book: ‘Vanamohatasava’) at regional and community level; bird watching and nature camps for children. Laws: many countries ban trade in and killing of birds and animals; in India, killing lions, tigers, deer, great Indian bustards and peacocks is illegal. CITES, an international convention, lists species in which trade is prohibited. Conservation is ‘an ethical duty of every citizen’. A box on forest fires gives three causes — natural (lightning), heat in litter from people's carelessness, and fires set on purpose — and two controls: prevention through education, and prompt detection through observation points, ground patrols and communication.
⤵ Forest fires: the book's box (p. 18)
Naturallightning
Carelessheat built up in litter through people's carelessness
Deliberatefires set by local people, mischief makers, miscreants
Threatthe whole region's flora and fauna
Preventeducation
Detect earlyobservation points, ground patrols, a communication network
| Protected areas and CITES — the book's definitions with standard additions | Book (glossary or text) | Standard addition † |
|---|---|---|
| National park | a natural area designated to protect the ecological integrity of one or more ecosystems for present and future generations | in India, boundaries fixed by law; no human rights of use inside, e.g. grazing (Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972) |
| Wildlife sanctuary | named, not defined | some human activity can be permitted (UPSC 2010: ‘limited biotic interference’) |
| Biosphere reserve | a series of protected areas in a global network, showing the relationship between conservation and development | UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere programme (1971); core, buffer and transition zones; India's first, the Nilgiri BR (1986) — protects whole ecosystems, not a few species |
| CITES | an agreement between governments so that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival; ~5,000 animal and 28,000 plant species | signed 1973, in force 1975, India a party since 1976; legally binding but does not replace national laws (UPSC 2015); the listed total is now over 40,000 species (check the CITES website) |
| How should wildlife be protected? — positions side by side (book row, plus † rows; no position endorsed) | Who | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Protected areas, laws, awareness | NCERT (pp. 17–19) | national parks, sanctuaries and biosphere reserves; bans on killing and trade; CITES; awareness and an ethical duty for every citizen |
| Strict protection † | supporters of inviolate core areas | some species need large areas free of human use and settlement |
| Community conservation † | community and rights-based approaches (jess102: Bishnois, sacred groves, Joint Forest Management) | local people who depend on forests can protect them best when their rights and needs are recognised |
| Sustainable use and trade † | some range states and conservation economists in CITES debates | regulated, legal use can fund conservation and give local people a stake; total bans may push trade underground |
Reading Figs 2.14–2.17 and the forest-fire box (pages 17–18)
- Fig. 2.14, ‘A Python in a forest’ (colour): a large patterned python coiled in dry grass. Fig. 2.15, ‘A collage of a forest made by school students’: a big paper tree with leaves of green cut-outs, banner ‘Tree the world we depend upon, where will we go when the tree is gone’, and pictures round it of fruit, furniture, paper, rain, O₂ and a bare tree. The point: everything we use from trees, made by children. Fig. 2.16, ‘Loss of rainforest in Great Nicobar after Tsunami’: broken, bare trunks over a floor of dead vegetation (the 26 December 2004 tsunami †). Fig. 2.17, ‘Black buck also needs protection’: a black-and-white antelope with long spiral horns on dry grass.
- Forest-fire box: a collage of newspaper headlines about wildfires in California (‘500,000 flee California fires’, ‘Kid with matches started massive US fire’, ‘Did global warming fan the wildfire?’) and one on fires killing 41 in Greece; an activity — find out how the California fire started and whether it could be avoided; ‘Know More’ on three causes and two controls (summarised above). The point: fires have natural, careless and deliberate causes, and most are preventable.
Reading the two glossaries, Figs 2.18–2.19 and the CITES box (page 19)
- Glossaries: national park; biosphere reserves (in the table above).
- Fig. 2.18, ‘A Herd of Cheetals’: spotted deer (chital) grazing on a green meadow. Fig. 2.19, ‘A herd of Elephants in Kaziranga National Park’: grey elephants with calves among water plants in a marsh (Kaziranga, Assam, a World Heritage Site since 1985 †).
- Do you know? — CITES: summarised in the table. The point: wildlife trade is global, so protection must be too.
Beyond NCERT — laws and dates (bare facts)
- Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: protects listed species and sets up sanctuaries and national parks; the great Indian bustard, tiger, lion and peacock (India's national bird) are among the most protected (jess102 has the timeline).
- Van Mahotsav, a tree-planting week each July, began in 1950 under K.M. Munshi.
- CITES sorts species into three Appendices by degree of protection; it was signed in Washington on 3 March 1973.
NCERT details to read carefully — conservation
- ‘Vanamohatasava’ is the book's spelling of Van Mahotsav; ‘Cheetals’ are chital (spotted deer), not cheetahs.
- A biosphere reserve conserves whole ecosystems and links conservation with development — not ‘a few specific species’ (UPSC 2010 statement 2, false).
- CITES is an agreement between governments; IUCN is not a UN organ (UPSC 2015). The book's ‘5,000 animal and 28,000 plant species’ is out of date.
- Exercise 1(iv), two government steps: national parks, sanctuaries, biosphere reserves; laws banning killing and trade; joining CITES; Van Mahotsav, social forestry.
- Exercise 4(iv): human interference and climate change disturb the ecosystem — false.
In-text questions and activities — answer outlines
Every ‘Let's do’, activity and question in the text, in page order.
(p. 7) Let's do: Observe the land, type of soil and water availability in the region you live. Discuss how it has influenced the lifestyle of people there.
Describe: flat or hilly; soil colour and fertility; water from rivers, wells, taps or tankers. Link to life: what crops are grown, what jobs people do, the type of houses, food habits, how far people walk for water, whether people migrate. Example: on a fertile river plain — dense villages, rice or wheat, brick houses; in a dry rocky area — fewer people, millets, livestock, long walks for water (like Mamba).
(p. 8) Can you list out the different ways in which Mamba's and Peter's family use their land?
Mamba's: a hut; growing maize and beans; grazing goats. Peter's: sheep rearing on a grassy plain (pasture); a wool-processing factory (industry); organic vegetable farming; a house.
(p. 8) Fig. 2.1: Notice in how many ways the land has been used in the picture of Salzburg.
Housing; roads; a river and its banks; agricultural fields; forests and woods; industrial or commercial buildings; open spaces and parks.
(p. 8) Let's do: Talk to an elderly person about changes in land use over the years where you live; display your findings.
Ask what stood where your school, market or colony now stands; whether there were more fields, ponds, trees, grazing land; when roads, shops or factories came. Record: then vs now; reasons (population, jobs, transport); what was lost (commons, ponds). Present as a two-column chart with drawings, like Fig. 2.2.
(p. 12) Activity: In India soils could be alluvial, black, red, laterite, desertic and mountain soil. Collect a handful of different types of soil and observe. How are they different?
Compare colour (black, red, yellow-brown, grey), texture (sandy and gritty vs fine and sticky), how they hold water (clay holds, sand drains), smell and organic matter (dark, humus-rich vs pale), pebbles. Link to factors: parent rock gives colour and texture; climate and vegetation give humus (jess101 has the full table).
(p. 13) Activity: Two trays A (bare soil) and B (sprouted grain) on a slope; pour a mug of water on each — compare how much soil is washed out.
Tray A's water is muddy and carries much more soil; tray B's is clearer. Roots bind soil, leaves break the force of the water, and plant cover slows run-off. Conclusion: vegetation prevents soil erosion — the reason for afforestation, intercropping, shelter belts and mulching.
(p. 14) Activity: An average urban Indian uses about 150 litres of water a day. Can you suggest some ways to bring down this amount?
Flushing (40 L): dual-flush cisterns, a bottle in the cistern, reuse grey water. Washing clothes (40 L): full loads, reuse rinse water for mopping. Bathing (20 L): a bucket, not a shower; short showers. Utensils (20 L): a basin, not a running tap. Gardening (23 L): water at dawn or dusk, use kitchen waste water, mulch, drip. Fix dripping taps (1,200 L a year each).
(p. 16) Plants have innumerable uses — you can add some more.
Food grains, vegetables, spices, tea and coffee; fibres (cotton, jute, coir); fuelwood; rubber; dyes (indigo, henna); oils (coconut, mustard); fodder; perfumes; cork; bamboo for housing; shade; flowers for festivals; ornamental plants; carbon storage.
(p. 18) Activity: Read the news items and find out how the fire started in California. Could it be avoided?
One headline says a child playing with matches started one of the fires; others mention winds spreading the blaze and asks whether global warming fanned it. Causes: careless or deliberate human acts; dry vegetation, heat and strong winds spread fires. Avoidable in part: education (no open flames in dry season), clearing litter, fire lines, prompt detection by watch towers, patrols and satellites, quick response. Natural (lightning) fires cannot be prevented, only detected early.
Exercises (pages 20–21) — answer outlines
Five exercises: short answers, multiple choice, matching, true or false with reasons, and an interview activity. Try first, then open.
1(i). Which are the two main climatic factors responsible for soil formation?
Temperature and rainfall — they control the rate of weathering and of humus formation (Fig. 2.4).
1(ii). Write any two reasons for land degradation today.
(1) Expansion of agriculture and construction — forests and commons cleared, land overused. (2) Overgrazing, deforestation and overuse of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. (Mining and dumping † also degrade land.)
1(iii). Why is land considered an important resource?
Land supports agriculture, forestry, mining, housing, roads and industry; it carries soil, water and vegetation; people settle where land is good. It is limited — only about 30% of the earth's surface, not all habitable — while demand keeps growing.
1(iv). Name any two steps that government has taken to conserve plants and animals.
(1) Setting up national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and biosphere reserves. (2) Laws making it illegal to kill lions, tigers, deer, great Indian bustards and peacocks, and joining CITES to stop trade. Also: Van Mahotsav, social forestry.
1(v). Suggest three ways to conserve water.
Rainwater harvesting; drip or sprinkler irrigation and lined canals; treating sewage and industrial effluents before release; also fixing leaks and reducing household use.
2(i). Which one of the following is NOT a factor of soil formation? (a) time (b) soil texture (c) organic matter
(b) soil texture — a property of soil, not a factor that forms it.
2(ii). Which one of the following methods is most appropriate to check soil erosion on steep slopes? (a) shelter belts (b) mulching (c) terrace cultivation
(c) terrace cultivation — flat steps cut into the slope reduce run-off and erosion.
2(iii). Which one of the following is NOT in favour of the conservation of nature? (a) switch off the bulb when not in use (b) close the tap immediately after using (c) dispose polypacks after shopping
(c) dispose polypacks after shopping — throwaway plastic wastes resources and pollutes; carry a cloth bag.
3. Match: (i) Land use (ii) Humus (iii) Rock dams (iv) Biosphere — with (a) prevent soil erosion (b) narrow zone of contact between lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere (c) productive use of land (d) organic matter deposited on top soil (e) contour ploughing
(i) → (c); (ii) → (d); (iii) → (a); (iv) → (b). (e) is left over.
4(i). True or false: Ganga–Brahmaputra plain of India is an overpopulated region.
True as the book intends: it is very densely populated because its flat land, fertile alluvial soil and water from rivers suit farming. (Prefer ‘densely populated’ — ‘overpopulated’ is a judgement.)
4(ii). True or false: Water availability per person in India is declining.
True: the population is rising while the total water stays the same, and pollution and over-use shrink usable supply. Per-person availability fell from 1,816 m³ (2001) to 1,545 m³ (2011) †.
4(iii). True or false: Rows of trees planted in the coastal areas to check the wind movement is called intercropping.
False — these are shelter belts. Intercropping is growing different crops in alternate rows.
4(iv). True or false: Human interference and changes of climate can maintain the ecosystem.
False — they destroy habitats and push species toward extinction, disturbing the ecosystem's balance.
5. Activity: Discuss reasons for changes of land use; has your place changed? Interview parents and elderly people (table: cattle and poultry, trees and ponds, main occupation; cars, rooms, metalled roads, flyovers, parks — then and now; why; are commons disappearing?) and draw your neighbourhood's land use 20 years ahead.
Reasons: population growth, migration to towns, new roads and transport, industry and jobs, rising incomes (more cars, bigger houses), farming changes (tractors instead of cattle), government projects. Fill the table for both generations; usually: fewer cattle, trees and ponds; occupations move from farming to services; more cars, rooms, roads, flyovers; fewer open spaces. Drawing: denser buildings and roads — and add what could be protected (parks, ponds, commons).
Reading the exercise interview table (pages 20–21)
- A table with columns ‘Place’, ‘When your grandparents were in their 30s’, ‘When your parents were in their 30s’, ‘Why do you think this is happening?’ and ‘Are common areas and open spaces disappearing?’; rural rows (cattle and poultry, trees and ponds, main occupation) and urban rows (cars, rooms, metalled roads, flyovers, parks and playgrounds); then: draw your neighbourhood's land use after 20 years. The point: land-use change is something you can measure in your own family.
Keys and slips to handle with care
- Exercise keys: 2(i) (b); 2(ii) (c); 2(iii) (c); 3: c, d, a, b; 4: true, true, false, false.
- Book slips with safe lines: three-fourths vs two-thirds (≈ 71% water †); 90% on 30% of land (Class 12: about 10%); the 29% of freshwater left unexplained (groundwater); bees and birds as ‘decomposers’; ‘Vanamohatasava’; the dated CITES counts; the 8,000-litre claim without roof area; no year for the Kinnaur slide; ‘overpopulated’.
- Stored UPSC keys: 2014 soil erosion — key ‘deforestation only’; whether tropical climate counts is disputed (kept with this note). 2013 contour bunding — key ‘none of the above’ is consistent with contour methods being for slopes. No other doubtful key; none of the pending key issues applies.
⤵ Answer frame for a GS question on land, soil, water or wildlife
Define and sizethe resource, with a dated figure and its source (e.g. freshwater ≈ 2.5–2.7%; forests ≈ 31% of land, FAO 2020)
Why it variesphysical factors (relief, climate, parent rock, water) and human ones (population, technology)
Threatsdegradation, erosion, landslides, pollution, over-use, habitat loss, poaching — with an example
Measuresterraces, contour methods, shelter belts; harvesting, drip; protected areas, laws, CITES; hazard mapping
Debatesdevelopment vs commons; strict vs community conservation — attributed side by side
Concludesustainable use (hess401), with no characterisation of any present-day party or government
What to remember
Numbers
ChapterClass 8, Resource and Development, Ch. 2, book pp. 7–21 (15 PDF pages); QR 0858CH02; 2024-25 reprint
Landabout 30% of the earth's surface (usual: 29% land, 71% water †)
People and land (book)90% of people on 30% of land (Class 12 NCERT: about 10%)
Land-use determinantsphysical: topography, soil, climate, minerals, water · human: population, technology
Land conservationafforestation, land reclamation, regulated pesticides and fertilisers, checks on overgrazing
Landslide casePangi village near Reckong Peo, Kinnaur (HP); 200 m of the old Hindustan–Tibet road (NH-22); blasting; village vacated; no year
Landslide mitigation4: hazard mapping, retention walls, vegetation cover, surface drainage control
Soil profiletop soil (humus) → sub soil (sand, silt, clay) → weathered rock → parent rock
Soil factors5: parent rock and climate (major), relief, flora-fauna-microbes, time; 1 cm takes hundreds of years
Soil conservation7: mulching, contour barriers, rock dam, terraces, intercropping, contour ploughing, shelter belts
Freshwater (book)2.7% of all water; ~70% of it ice; ‘1%’ usable (ours: ice ≈ 1.89% of all water)
Freshwater (USGS †)ice and snow 68.7%, groundwater 30.1%, surface and other 1.2%; oceans ≈ 96.5% of all water
World water use (book)3,850 km³/yr (1975) → > 6,000 (2000): ≥ 56% rise
Urban Indian use (book)150 L/day: flushing 40, clothes 40, gardening 23, bathing 20, utensils 20, cooking 4, drinking 3
Dripping tap / rain harvest1,200 L a year (≈ 3.3 L a day) / 8,000 L from a 2-hour spell (no roof area)
India per-person water †5,177 m³ (1951) → 1,816 (2001) → 1,545 (2011); stress mark 1,700
Vegetation typesforests (heavy rain), grasslands (moderate), scrubs (low), tundra (cold: mosses, lichens)
Poached (book)10: tiger, lion, elephant, deer, black buck, crocodile, rhinoceros, snow leopard, ostrich, peacock
CITESbook: ~5,000 animal + 28,000 plant species; signed 1973, in force 1975, India 1976 †
Dates †Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972; Van Mahotsav 1950; UNESCO MAB 1971; Nilgiri BR 1986; Kaziranga WHS 1985; vet diclofenac ban 2006
One-liners
- Land is about 30% of the earth's surface, and people crowd onto plains and river valleys.
- Land use depends on physical factors and on population and technology.
- Community land — fodder, fruits, nuts, herbs — is a common property resource.
- Landslides are mass movements down a slope; hazard mapping tells us where not to build.
- Soil forms by weathering; parent rock and climate are the major factors.
- Terraces suit steep slopes; shelter belts break the wind; mulch keeps moisture.
- Freshwater is a tiny share of the earth's water, and most of it is ice.
- Pollution makes renewable water unfit; treat effluents, harvest rain, use drip irrigation.
- Temperature and moisture decide whether forest, grassland, scrub or tundra grows.
- Habitat loss, fires and poaching threaten wildlife; protected areas, laws and CITES protect it.
Traps to avoid
- Land is about 30% of the earth's surface; separately, 90% of people live on 30% of land (Class 12 says about 10%).
- The book says water covers three-fourths of the surface and oceans two-thirds; about 71% is standard.
- Ice holds about 70% of freshwater, not 95%; groundwater is the next largest store.
- Soil texture is a property, not a factor, of soil formation.
- The two climatic factors of soil formation are temperature and rainfall.
- On steep slopes, terraces — not shelter belts or mulching — check erosion.
- Rows of trees against wind are shelter belts, not intercropping.
- The Kinnaur landslide was triggered by blasting; the book gives no year.
- Birds and bees are not decomposers; vultures are scavengers.
- Vultures declined because of diclofenac in treated livestock carcasses.
- A biosphere reserve protects whole ecosystems, not a few species.
- ‘Cheetals’ are chital (spotted deer); ‘Vanamohatasava’ is Van Mahotsav.
- The book's CITES counts are dated; the listed total now exceeds 40,000 species.
How to strategise
Prelims — what UPSC asks
- Soil conservation: contour bunding (1982, 2013), mulching (1983), terraces on slopes (1991), the four methods (2010), soil erosion and deforestation (2014, key disputed on climate). Water: freshwater 2.7% (1987), less than 1% usable, not 95% ice (2010), groundwater as the largest store after ice (2013).
- Wildlife: deforestation destroys flora and fauna (1989), biodiversity's services (2011), vultures and diclofenac (2012), national park vs biosphere reserve vs sanctuary (2010), IUCN and CITES (2015).
- Elsewhere: specific parks and reserves by state (1985, 2004, 2005, 2013, 2019) sit on kegy105; weathering chemistry (2024) on kegy205 and iest102; drip irrigation's benefits (2016) on legy204.
Mains — where it appears and how to answer
- From this chapter: GS3 2019 (hazard zonation mapping for landslides) and GS3 2021 (causes and effects of landslides; the National Landslide Risk Management Strategy) — the book's definition, the Kinnaur case and its four measures, then kegy106; GS1 2021 (reclaiming water bodies for urban land use) — commons, land-use change and the book's call to conserve creeks, lakes and wetlands; GS1 2026 (drivers of human-induced land-use change) — the book's physical and human determinants and Fig. 2.2, with legy203 data; GS3 2024 (technologies for the freshwater crisis) — the book's conservation methods as a start, then desalination and reuse from legy204.
- Elsewhere: water scarcity in India (GS1 2015, 2019) and the global freshwater crisis (GS1 2023) on jess103, legy204, kegy212; Himalayan landslides (GS1 2013, 2016, 2021) on kegy205 and kegy106; vegetation diversity (GS1 2023) on kegy105 and iest202.
- Keep answers neutral: data with year and source; positions on commons, protected areas and community rights attributed side by side; no present-day political commentary.
Self-check
Tap an option. NCERT's own exercise questions come first; the rest test the figures and common confusions.
1. According to the book, which areas of the world are densely populated?
2. Community land used for fodder, fruits, nuts and medicinal herbs is called:
3. Which is NOT one of the book's four landslide-mitigation methods?
4. The two MAJOR factors of soil formation, according to the book, are:
5. Rows of trees planted in coastal and dry regions to check wind and protect soil are called:
6. According to the book, freshwater makes up about what share of the earth's water?
7. Vultures in the Indian subcontinent declined mainly because of:
8. Which statement about a biosphere reserve is correct?
UPSC questions from this chapter
Open any question to attempt it in the Question bank — your attempt is saved to your progress.