UPSC IAS Mains 2021: Questions on Environment and Ecology

1. What are the environmental implications of the reclamation of water bodies into urban land use? Explain with examples (GS I, 150 words, 10 Marks) 

2. How do the melting of Arctic ice and glaciers of the Antarctic differently affect the weather patterns and human activities on earth? Explain. (GS I, 250 words, 10 Marks)

3. How and to what extent would micro-irrigation help in solving India’s water crisis? (GS III, 150 words, 10 Marks)

4. Explain the purpose of the Green Grid Initiative launched at World Leaders Summit of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November, 2021. When was this idea first floated in the International Solar Alliance (ISA)? (GS III, 150 words, 10 Marks)

5. Describe the key points of the revised Global Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs) recently released by the World Health Organisation (WHO). How are these different from its last update in 2005? What changes in India’s National Clean Air Programme are required to achieve these revised standards? (GS III, 150 words, 10 Marks)

6. Describe the major outcomes of the 26^th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). What are the commitments made by India in this conference? (GS III, 250 words, 10 Marks)

7. Describe the various causes and the effects of landslides. Mention the important components of the National Landslide Risk Management Strategy. (GS III, 250 words, 10 Marks)

Model answers to these questions can be found in Rajagopalan, Environment and Ecology: A Complete Guide for Civil Services Preliminary and Main Examinations, Fully Updated Third Edition, Gurugram: OakBridge Publishing, 2022.

The book will be released in early February 2022.