BOS, 21.07.2017 Annexure-X
For Batch
2017-21Onwards and 2017 admission batch – All courses
UNIVERSITY
GRANTS COMMISSION
Ability
Enhancement Compulsory Course (AECC – Environment Studies, ES-101)
Unit 1: Introduction to environmental studies
·
Multidisciplinary nature of environmental
studies;
·
Scope and importance; Concept of
sustainability and sustainable development.
(2 lectures)
Unit 2: Ecosystems
·
What is an ecosystem? Structure and function
of ecosystem; Energy flow in an ecosystem: food chains, food webs and
ecological succession. Case studies of the following eco systems :
a)
Forest ecosystem
b)
Grassland ecosystem
c)
Desert ecosystem
d)
Aquatic ecosystems (ponds, streams, lakes,
rivers, oceans, estuaries)
(6 lectures)
Unit 3: Natural Resources : Renewable and Non-‐renewable Resources
·
Land resources and land use change; Land
degradation, soil erosion and desertification.
·
Deforestation: Causes and impacts due to
mining, dam building on environment, forests, biodiversity and tribal
populations.
·
Water: Use and over-‐exploitation of
surface and ground water, floods, droughts, conflicts over water (international
& inter-‐state).
·
Energy resources: Renewable and non-renewable
energy sources, use of alternate energy sources, growing energy needs, case
studies.
(8 lectures)
Unit 4: Biodiversity and Conservation
·
Levels of biological diversity : genetic,
species and ecosystem diversity; Biogeographic zones of India; Biodiversity patterns
and global biodiversity hot spots
·
India as a mega-‐biodiversity
nation; Endangered and endemic species of India
·
Threats to biodiversity : Habitat loss,
poaching of wildlife, man-‐wildlife
conflicts, biological
- invasions;
Conservation of biodiversity : In-‐situ and
Ex-‐situ
conservation of biodiversity.
·
Ecosystem and biodiversity services:
Ecological, economic, social, ethical, aesthetic and Informational value.
(8 lectures)
Unit 5: Environmental Pollution
·
Environmental pollution : types, causes,
effects and controls; Air, water, soil and noise pollution
·
Nuclear hazards and human health risks
·
Solid waste management: Control measures of
urban and industrial waste.
- Pollution
case studies.
(8 lectures)
Unit 6: Environmental Policies & Practices
·
Climate change, global warming, ozone layer
depletion, acid rain and impacts on human communities and agriculture
·
Environment Laws: Environment Protection Act;
Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act; Water (Prevention and control
of Pollution) Act; Wildlife Protection Act; Forest Conservation Act.
International agreements: Montreal and Kyoto protocols and Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD).
·
Nature reserves, tribal populations and
rights, and human wildlife conflicts in Indian context.
(7 lectures)
Unit 7: Human Communities and the Environment
·
Human population growth: Impacts on
environment, human health and welfare.
·
Resettlement and rehabilitation of project
affected persons; case studies.
·
Disaster management : floods, earthquake,
cyclones and landslides.
·
Environmental movements :Chipko, Silent
valley, Bishnois of Rajasthan.
·
Environmental ethics: Role of Indian and other
religions and cultures in environmental conservation.
·
Environmental communication and public
awareness, case studies (e.g., CNG vehicles in Delhi).
(6 lectures)
Unit 8: Field work
·
Visit to an area to document environmental
assets: river/ forest/ flora/fauna, etc.
·
Visit to a local polluted site-‐Urban/Rural/Industrial/Agricultural.
·
Study of common plants, insects, birds and
basic principles of identification.
·
Study of simple ecosystems-‐pond, river, Delhi Ridge, etc.
(Equal to 5
lectures)
Note for Paper-setter: EIGHT
questions are to be set covering entire syllabus. Students will be required to
attempt FIVE questions.
Suggested Readings:
1.
Carson, R. 2002. Silent Spring. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
2.
Gadgil, M., &Guha, R.1993. This Fissured Land: An Ecological History of
India. Univ. of California Press.
3.
Gleeson, B. and Low, N. (eds.) 1999.Global Ethics and Environment, London,
Routledge.
4.
Gleick, P. H. 1993. Water in Crisis. Pacific Institute for Studies in Dev., Environment
& Security. Stockholm Env. Institute, Oxford Univ. Press.
5.
Groom, Martha J., Gary K. Meffe, and Carl
Ronald Carroll.Principles of Conservation
Biology. Sunderland: Sinauer Associates, 2006.
6.
Grumbine, R. Edward, and Pandit, M.K. 2013.
Threats from India’s Himalaya dams. Science,
339: 36-‐37.
7.
McCully, P. 1996. Rivers no more: the environmental effects of dams(pp. 29-‐64). Zed Books.
8.
McNeill, John R. 2000. Something New Under the
Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth Century.
9.
Odum, E.P., Odum, H.T. & Andrews, J. 1971.Fundamentals of Ecology. Philadelphia:
Saunders.
10. Pepper, I.L.,
Gerba, C.P. &Brusseau, M.L. 2011. Environmental and Pollution Science.
Academic Press.
11. Rao, M.N.
&Datta, A.K. 1987. Waste Water
Treatment. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd.
12. Raven, P.H.,
Hassenzahl, D.M. & Berg, L.R. 2012.Environment.
8th edition. John Wiley & Sons.
13. Rosencranz, A.,
Divan, S., & Noble, M. L. 2001. Environmental
law and policy in India. Tripathi
1992.
14. Sengupta, R.
2003. Ecology and economics: An
approach to sustainable development. OUP.
15. Singh, J.S.,
Singh, S.P. and Gupta, S.R. 2014. Ecology,
Environmental Science and Conservation. S. Chand Publishing, New Delhi.
16. Sodhi, N.S.,
Gibson, L. & Raven, P.H. (eds). 2013. Conservation
Biology: Voices from the Tropics.
John Wiley & Sons.
17. Thapar, V. 1998. Land of the Tiger: A Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent.
18. Warren, C. E.
1971. Biology and Water Pollution Control.
WB Saunders.
19. Wilson, E. O.
2006.The Creation: An appeal to save life
on earth. New York: Norton.
20. World
Commission on Environment and Development. 1987.Our Common Future. Oxford University Press.
