Class | Subject | Book | Chapter | Session | Questions covered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
XI | Economics | Indian Economic Development (NCERT) | 7 – Environment and Sustainable Development | 2026-27 | 19 of 19 |
Chapter at a glance
Topic | Key facts |
|---|---|
Environment | All biotic and abiotic factors that influence each other |
Functions | Supplies resources, assimilates wastes, sustains life (genetic and biodiversity), provides aesthetic services |
Carrying capacity | Extraction must stay below regeneration and wastes within absorptive capacity |
Crisis | Supply–demand reversal: high demand for resources and services, falling supply |
India’s problems | Land degradation, loss of biodiversity, air and water pollution, solid waste, deforestation; caused both by poverty and by affluence |
Sustainable development | Meets present needs without compromising future generations’ ability to meet theirs (Brundtland Commission) |
Strategies | Non-conventional energy, LPG/CNG, wind and solar power, mini-hydel, traditional knowledge, bio-composting, biopest control |
Exercise Questions
What is meant by environment?
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Environment is defined as the total planetary inheritance and the totality of all resources. It includes all the biotic factors (living things such as birds, animals, plants, forests, fisheries) and abiotic factors (non-living elements such as air, water, land, rocks and sunlight) that influence each other.
Environment is the totality of biotic and abiotic resources and factors that influence one another.
What happens when the rate of resource extraction exceeds that of their regeneration?
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When extraction exceeds regeneration, the environment fails to perform its function of supporting life: renewable resources get depleted (they become exhausted like non-renewable ones), and the carrying capacity of the environment is exceeded. This leads to an environmental crisis (e.g. falling water tables, loss of forests and fish stocks), and future generations will have fewer resources.
Resources get depleted, the carrying capacity is crossed and an environmental crisis results.
Classify the following into renewable and non-renewable resources: (i) trees (ii) fish (iii) petroleum (iv) coal (v) iron-ore (vi) water.
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Renewable | Non-renewable |
|---|---|
(i) Trees | (iii) Petroleum |
(ii) Fish | (iv) Coal |
(vi) Water | (v) Iron-ore |
Renewable: trees, fish, water. Non-renewable: petroleum, coal, iron ore.
Two major environmental issues facing the world today are ________ and ________.
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Global warming and ozone depletion.
How do the following factors contribute to the environmental crisis in India? What problem do they pose for the government?
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- Rising population (ii) Air pollution (iii) Water contamination (iv) Affluent consumption standards (v) Illiteracy (vi) Industrialisation (vii) Urbanisation (viii) Reduction of forest coverage (ix) Poaching, and (x) Global warming.
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Factor | Contribution to the crisis | Problem for the government |
|---|---|---|
(i) Rising population | More demand for land, water, food and fuel; overuse of resources | Providing food, housing, jobs and services; controlling population |
(ii) Air pollution | Vehicles and industry release harmful gases; respiratory diseases | Higher health costs; enforcing emission norms |
(iii) Water contamination | Sewage and industrial effluents pollute rivers; water-borne diseases | Supplying safe drinking water; cleaning rivers |
(iv) Affluent consumption | More cars, electricity, plastic and waste per person | Waste management and energy shortages |
(v) Illiteracy | Lack of awareness about conservation and hygiene | Spreading awareness; low support for green measures |
(vi) Industrialisation | Pollution, resource depletion and hazardous waste | Regulating pollution without hurting growth |
(vii) Urbanisation | Slums, traffic, solid waste and loss of green cover | Providing urban infrastructure and sanitation |
(viii) Reduction of forest cover | Soil erosion, floods, loss of biodiversity, climate change | Afforestation and protecting forest rights |
(ix) Poaching | Extinction of species; loss of biodiversity | Protecting wildlife; enforcing laws |
(x) Global warming | Melting glaciers, rising sea level, erratic monsoon | Adapting agriculture and coasts; cutting emissions |
All these factors increase demand on the environment beyond its carrying capacity and require large public spending to correct, which has an opportunity cost.
Each factor overuses resources or adds pollution, harming health and ecology; the government must bear high costs of correction, regulation and awareness.
What are the functions of the environment?
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- It supplies resources: renewable (trees, fish) and non-renewable (fossil fuels, minerals).
- It assimilates waste produced by human activity.
- It sustains life by providing genetic and biodiversity (sun, soil, water, air).
- It provides aesthetic services such as scenery and recreation.
Supplying resources, assimilating wastes, sustaining life, and providing aesthetic services.
Identify six factors contributing to land degradation in India.
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- Loss of vegetation due to deforestation.
- Unsustainable fuelwood and fodder extraction.
- Shifting cultivation.
- Encroachment into forest lands.
- Forest fires and overgrazing.
- Non-adoption of adequate soil conservation measures.
(Others: improper crop rotation, indiscriminate use of agro-chemicals, improper irrigation, mining, groundwater overuse, poverty of agriculture-dependent people.)
Deforestation, fuelwood and fodder overuse, shifting cultivation, encroachment, forest fires and overgrazing, and lack of soil conservation.
Explain how the opportunity costs of negative environmental impact are high.
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- Environmental damage forces society to spend on health care (air- and water-borne diseases), cleaning polluted rivers, reclaiming degraded land, and finding new sources of water and energy.
- The money spent on correcting these damages could have been used for other development purposes, such as education, infrastructure or poverty removal. This forgone alternative is the opportunity cost.
- Some damage, such as extinction of species or exhausted resources, is irreversible, so the cost is permanent.
Thus negative environmental impact imposes very high opportunity costs on the economy.
Money spent repairing environmental damage and treating its effects could have been used for development, and some losses are irreversible.
Outline the steps involved in attaining sustainable development in India.
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- Non-conventional energy: wind, solar and mini-hydel power in place of thermal power.
- LPG and gobar gas in rural areas instead of wood and dung cakes.
- CNG for public transport in cities.
- Solar power through photovoltaic cells.
- Traditional knowledge and practices in agriculture, health (Ayurveda, Unani) and housing.
- Bio-composting and biopest control instead of chemicals.
- Controlling population, conserving forests and water, and recycling waste.
Shift to clean and renewable energy, use CNG/LPG/biogas, revive traditional practices, use bio-compost and biopest control, conserve resources.
India has abundant natural resources — substantiate the statement.
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- Fertile soil: the Indo-Gangetic plain is among the most fertile regions in the world.
- Water: many large rivers and tributaries, and plentiful rainfall.
- Forests: a large green cover providing timber and many forest products.
- Minerals: large reserves of iron ore, coal, natural gas, bauxite, copper, chromite, diamonds, gold, lead, lignite, manganese, zinc, uranium and others.
- Biodiversity: a wide variety of flora and fauna.
- A long coastline with marine resources.
India has fertile soil, many rivers, forests, rich mineral deposits, biodiversity and marine resources.
Is environmental crisis a recent phenomenon? If so, why?
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Yes, it is largely recent.
- In earlier times population was small and demand for resources was low; extraction was within the rate of regeneration, and waste was within the absorptive capacity of the environment.
- With the population explosion, the Industrial Revolution, and affluent consumption, demand for resources and environmental services increased sharply, while their supply fell due to overuse and misuse.
- This reversal of supply–demand relationship is what we call the environmental crisis.
Yes; population growth, industrialisation and affluent consumption have recently pushed demand on the environment beyond its supply and carrying capacity.
Give two instances of (a) Overuse of environmental resources (b) Misuse of environmental resources.
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(a) Overuse:
- Excessive extraction of groundwater for irrigation, causing falling water tables.
- Overfishing and deforestation beyond their regeneration capacity.
(b) Misuse:
- Dumping industrial effluents and sewage into rivers.
- Excessive use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, which degrade soil and pollute water.
Overuse: groundwater depletion, overfishing/deforestation. Misuse: dumping effluents into rivers, excessive chemicals in farming.
State any four pressing environmental concerns of India.
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- Air pollution, especially from vehicles and industry in cities.
- Water pollution and scarcity.
- Land degradation and soil erosion.
- Deforestation and loss of biodiversity.
(Also: solid waste management, management of fresh water.)
Air pollution, water pollution and scarcity, land degradation, and deforestation with loss of biodiversity.
Correction for environmental damages involves opportunity costs — explain.
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- To correct environmental damage, the government has to spend money on treatment plants, river cleaning, afforestation, pollution control and health services for affected people.
- Resources are limited; money used for this is no longer available for alternative uses such as schools, hospitals, roads or anti-poverty programmes.
- The benefit forgone from those alternatives is the opportunity cost of correction. For example, if pure water must be bought because rivers are polluted, the money spent could otherwise have been used elsewhere.
Spending scarce resources to repair the environment means giving up their alternative uses; this lost benefit is the opportunity cost.
Explain how the supply-demand reversal of environmental resources account for the current environmental crisis.
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- Earlier: with a small population and limited industrial activity, the supply of environmental resources and services was greater than the demand for them, so the environment could regenerate and absorb waste.
- Now: population explosion, industrialisation and affluent consumption have greatly increased the demand for resources and services, while their supply is limited and falling due to overuse and misuse.
- Demand now exceeds supply — a reversal of the earlier relationship. Resources are depleted faster than they regenerate and wastes exceed absorptive capacity. This is the environmental crisis: pollution, scarcity and degradation.
Earlier supply of environmental resources exceeded demand; now demand exceeds a shrinking supply, causing depletion, pollution and the environmental crisis.
Highlight any two serious adverse environmental consequences of development in India. India’s environmental problems pose a dichotomy — they are poverty induced and, at the same time, due to affluence in living standards — is this true?
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Two serious consequences
- Air and water pollution from industries, vehicles and urban sewage, harming health.
- Land degradation and deforestation, leading to soil erosion and loss of biodiversity.
The dichotomy — yes, it is true.
- Poverty-induced: the poor depend directly on natural resources for survival. They cut forests for fuelwood, overgraze land, practise shifting cultivation and lack sanitation, which degrades land and water.
- Affluence-induced: the rich consume more energy, vehicles, air conditioners and packaged goods, causing air pollution, waste and resource depletion; rapid industrial growth adds pollution.
So India faces both kinds of threat simultaneously.
Pollution and land degradation are major consequences; yes, India’s problems arise both from poverty (overdependence on resources) and from affluence (high consumption and industry).
What is sustainable development?
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According to the Brundtland Commission (UN, 1987), sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
It means using resources in a way that keeps them available, maintaining the quality of the environment and ensuring a better quality of life for all.
Development that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Keeping in view your locality, describe any four strategies of sustainable development.
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- Use of LPG, biogas and solar cookers in homes instead of firewood and dung cakes, reducing indoor pollution and saving forests.
- CNG and electric vehicles for public transport, which reduce air pollution in towns.
- Rainwater harvesting and recharging wells, to restore groundwater.
- Bio-composting of kitchen and farm waste, and segregation and recycling of waste.
(Others: solar street lights, wind power, tree plantation, biopest control.)
Clean cooking fuels, CNG/electric transport, rainwater harvesting, and composting and recycling of waste.
Explain the relevance of intergenerational equity in the definition of sustainable development.
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- Intergenerational equity means fairness between generations: the present generation should pass on to the next generation a stock of resources and environmental quality at least as good as what it received.
- The definition of sustainable development is built on this idea: present needs must be met without compromising future generations’ ability to meet their needs.
- So resources must be used carefully (renewables within their regeneration rate, non-renewables used efficiently with substitutes developed), and pollution must not impose risks on future generations.
Sustainable development requires fairness between generations: we must leave future generations at least as good a resource base and environment as we inherited.
Topic checklist
- Meaning and four functions of the environment
- Carrying capacity and supply–demand reversal
- India’s environment: land, air, water, forests, biodiversity
- Opportunity cost of environmental damage
- Sustainable development and intergenerational equity
- Strategies for sustainable development