Syllabus Of Grade XI – ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES (ES1102)
Instructions:
- All the units are compulsory.
- Separate marks are given with each unit.
| Unit | Area Covered | Marks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | People and Environment | 10 | read more |
| Unit 2 | Institutions (social, economic, political, legal and cultural) and Environment | 20 | read more |
| Unit 3 | Knowledge, Science, Technology and Environment | 15 | read more |
| Unit 4 | Man-made Artefacts and Environment | 15 | read more |
| Unit 5 | Geosphere | 10 | read more |
| Unit 6 | Biosphere | 15 | read more |
| Unit 7 | Energy, Material, Information Flows | 15 | read more |
| Total Marks | 100 | Time: 3 Hours | |
Unit 1 - People and Environment (10 Marks)
- Humans as an integral part of the environment
- Growth in human numbers over historical times
- Migrations of people
- Dispersion of human populations
- Rural and urban settlements
- Environment and health
- Gender and Environment
Unit 2 - Institutions (social, economic, political, legal and cultural) and Environment (20 Marks)
- Evolution of technology, social, economic and political organisation, and growing resource demands 2.2 Impact of economic growth on environment
- Inequitable economic growth, poverty and environment
- India as a country where many different modes of resource use co-exist
- Open access, community controlled, private and state management of resources
- Evolution of environmental concerns in different societies over the course of history
- India’s manifold traditions of conservation and sustainable use
- Shift of environmental regulation from nature worship, customary law to Wildlife Act, Forest Conservation Act, Environmental Impact Assessment and Biological Diversity Act, etc.
- Tools of environmental management, efficiency of resource use, sustaining harvests, pollution control
- Concept of sustainable development
- Concept of sustainable consumption
- Ecological footprints
- International economic regimes, forces of globalisation
- International regimes of environmental regulation, framework convention on climate change, law of sea, trans-boundary movement of hazardous wastes, etc
Unit 3 - Knowledge, Science, Technology and Environment (15 Marks)
- Growth of knowledge and human colonisation of new environments
- Growth of knowledge and use of newer resources
- Growth of knowledge, control of diseases and population growth
- Implications of intellectual property rights for environment
- Biotechnology, agriculture, health and environment
- Intellectual property rights over living organisms
- Traditional indigenous knowledge and its implication for environment
Unit 4 - Man-made Artefacts and Environment (15 Marks)
- Technological advances and ever accelerating pace of manufacture of artefacts
- Impact of agriculture, animal husbandry, aquaculture
- Impact of agrochemicals on environment
- Impact of industry, mining, transport
- Generation and provision of energy, water and other natural resources
- Impact of synthetic chemicals
- Life cycle analysis of newspaper, household consumables, house construction, transport, personal computer, cell phones, etc.
Unit 5 - Geosphere (10 Marks)
- Sustainable and non-sustainable use of renewable and non-renewable natural resources, such as water and minerals
- Changing patterns of land use and land cover
- Management of gaseous, solid, liquid and hazardous wastes
- Air, water (fresh and marine), soil pollution – sources and consequences
- Noise and radiation pollution – sources and consequences
- Ozone layer depletion and its effect
- Greenhouse effect; global warming and climatic change and its effects
- Impact of natural and man-made disasters— prevention, control and mitigation
- Strategies for reducing pollution and improving the environment
Unit 6 - Biosphere (15 Marks)
- Sustainable and non-sustainable use of biological populations
- Sustainable agriculture
- Impact of Genetically Modified Organisms
- Deforestation, over-grazing, over-fishing
- Concept and value of biodiversity
- Components of biodiversity–genes, species and ecosystems
- Landscape ecology
- India as a mega diversity nation
- Economic potential of biodiversity
- Loss of biodiversity—threatened, endangered and extinct species
- Strategies for conservation of biodiversity – in situ and ex situ
- Mitigating the people—wildlife conflict
Unit 7 - Energy, Material, Information Flows (15 Marks)
- Changing global patterns of energy and water consumption – from ancient to modern times
- Energy and water consumption and quality of life
- Rising demand for energy, and water—gap between demand and supply
- Conventional and non-conventional energy sources—potential (Indian context) and limitations of each source, methods of harnessing and environmental consequences of their use with special reference to Indian context
- Energy conservation—efficiency in production, transportation and utilisation of energy
- Planning and management of energy; future sources of energy—hydrogen, alcohol, fuel cells
- Enhancing efficiency of devices and optimising energy utilisation
- Modern Information Communication Technology Revolution and Environment