Paper-1
Environment, Ecology and Ecosystem Dynamics
Unit I: Concept of environment, scope of Environmental Science, environmental components, scope and subdivisions of ecology, ecological principles pertaining to population, community, ecosystem and biome.
Unit II: Population dynamics and population regulations, concept of carrying capacity, population fluctuations, population dispersion, r and k selection, ecotypes and ecophene, habitats and niches.
Unit III: Energy in ecosystem, Primary and secondary production, Biomass, Methods of measuring productivity, Pattern of primary production in the major ecosystems of the world, Energy flow in ecosystems, Feedback and control mechanism, Pathways of energy transfer- grazing and detritus food chain, Ecological efficiency and ecological pyramids.
Unit IV: Biogeochemical cycles: nutrient cycling in the ecosystems, Gaseous cycles (Carbon and Nitrogen) and sedimentary cycles (Phosphorus and Sulphur), Impact of man on nutrient cycles; Major ecosystems of the world: A general idea of forest, grassland, desert, wetland, freshwater and marine ecosystems.
Environmental Pollution
Unit I: Types and sources of air, water and soil pollution, monitoring of air and water pollution, noise pollution, impact of poltution on human health, environment and assets; Water Pollution control technologies: Waste water treatment, primary treatment, secondary treatment and Advance treatment.
Unit II: Air pollution control technologies and devices: Limestone injection and fluidized bed combustion, Desulfurization; Catalytic converter and ‘control of vehicular emission, Gravity settling chamber, Centrifugal collectors- cyclone collector and ‘dynamic precipitators; Electrostatic precipitators; Fabric filters.
Unit II: Solid, Toxic, and Hazardous ‘waste management; ‘solid waste disposal methods – open dumps, ocean dumping, Landfills, Incineration; Recycling and reuse, Organic pollutants; pesticides- organochlorine insecticides, ‘organophosphates and carbamates; fertilizers, Hazardous waste disposal and management corporate social Responsibility.
Unit IV: Electronic waste (E-waste): Sources and types, constituents of E- wastes, recycling of e- waste and its environmental consequences, Transboundary movement and management of e-wastes, Basel convention, Radioactive wastes: Types, hazards, storage and management.
Environmental Microbiology, Biotechnology and Toxicology
Unit I:
Scope and importance of microorganisms; Microorganism in different environments- soil, water, air and extreme environments, Reproduction and growth, methods for determining bacterial numbers, Role of microorganisms in waste treatment, Anaerobic (methanogenesis) and aerobic (trickling filter, activated sludge, oxidation pond) treatment of wastewater, production of enzymes and alcohol.
Unit II:
Basic techniques in genetic engineering: Nucleic acid hybridization and polymerase chain reaction as
sensitive detection methods, Gene cloning, Introduction of cloned genes into new hosts using plasmids
and phage vector systems, expression of genes in new host, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
and their possible environmental implications.
Unit III:
Principles in toxicology; Toxicants and toxicity, Factors affecting concentration of toxicants in environment, Toxicity tests and concepts of LDso and LCs0, Sources and types of toxicants and their health hazards, Dose-effect and Dose response relationship, Absorption, translocation and excretion of toxicants.
Environmental Impact Assessment, Environmental Policies and Ethics
Unit I: Introduction to environmental impact ‘assessment (EIA), origin and development of ELA, Environmental impact statement and environmental management plan. EIA Notifications & Guidelines 1994, 2006, and 2009, Stages of grantin Environmental Clearance: Screening, Scoping, Public consultation, Appraisal & recommendations and grant of environmental clearance and its validity.
Unit II: Components of an EIA report; Generation of
baseline data & preparation of ELA report, procedure for reviewing ELA report, Authorities/ Institutions
involved in granting environmental clearance at Central & State Government levels.
Unit III: Environmental policy 2006, Environmental policy resolution, Legislation, Public policy strategies in
pollution control, International and National Conservation agencies, policies and strategies, Convention
‘on biodiversity, Convention on Climate change, Kyoto protocol, Carbon credit and Carbon trading.
Unit IV: Concept of environmental ethics, philosophies of biocentrism and ecocentrism, application of
ethics to environmental issues, eastern and western philosophical traditions/religious treatises. on the
relationships between humans, animals, and the natural environment, value of wilderness.
Environmental Law
Unit I: Basics of Law: Rights and Privileges Article 21 of the Constitution of India, Acquisition of Rights Indian Penal code; Laws of Criminal procedure ,Cognizable and non — ‘cognizable offences, Search warrant; Indian Forests Act 1927: Application of Indian Penal code (Act XLV of 1860 to forest offences, Land Acquisition Act ,1894 Forest Act Salient features and ‘amendments ; Classification of forests as per IFA, 1927:Reserved forests (Sections 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 20, 23, 25, 26 and 27); Village forests (Section 28) and Protected forests (Sections 29, 30, 32), Biological Diversity Act (2002) Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.with explanations (amendments made ‘on the basis of verdict of the High Court and Apex court) Sixth schedule and Article 371A of the Constitution of India: Vis-a Vis Forest Conservation Act,1980: A critical appraisal.
Unit II: Environment (Protection) Act, (1986) and Rules (1986); Water Prevention and control of Pollution Act, 1974; Air Prevention and control of Pollution Act, 1981, Disaster management act 2005; Disaster
and administrative reforms. Salient features of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Protection of specified plants (Sections 17 to 17H). Sanctuaries, National parks and Closed areas (Sections 18 to 38). Trade in wild animals, animal articles and trophies (Sections 39 to 41). Major amendments of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
PAPER-II
Environmental Geoscience and Energy
Unit I: Primary differentiation and formation of core, mantle, crust, atmosphere and hydrosphere; Geomagnetism: remnant magnetization, paleomagnetism. Gravity and figure of the Earth: mass inhomogeneties and associated gravity anomalies; Stress and Strain: Definition, classification and types. Behavior of rocks under of stress and strain.
Unit II: Seismology: causes and space distribution of earthquakes; seismic waves; tbody and surface waves), Precursors to the earthquakes. Sea floor spreading; Plate tectonics theory: types of plate boundaries, processes and corresponding geophysical and geological signatures; Himalayan tectonics.
Unit III: Energy resources and their exploitation. Energy: Conventional and non-conventional energy sources. Renewable sources of energy- hydroelectric power, solar, tidal, wind, geothermal energy, biomass and biofuels. Environmental impacts of conventional and renewable energy. Sun as source of energy, nature of solar radiation, heat budget of the earth, earth’s temperature and atmosphere, Photovoltaics and Solar
collectors. Energy use pattern in India and the world.
Unit IV: Concept of Minerals and Rocks. Atomic minerals as a source of energy. Atomic fuel, radioactive wastes and their management, Fossil fuels- physico-chemical characteristics and energy content of coal, petroleum and natural gases, Petroleum and coal deposits of Northeast India.
Research Methods, Techniques and Statistical Analyses
Unit I: Definition of applied science and research. Classification of research. Critical appraisal of research studies, Planning research projects, Advance planning and its value, Methods of data collection and analysis, interpretation and presentation.
Unit II: Sampling techniques: Sampling of air, water and soil, sampling of plant and animal populations,
concept of species area curve, concept of random and stratified sampling, Methods of Social Science
research, PRA.
Unit III: Population and sample, frequency table, mean, mode, median, measure of
dispersion, standard deviation, variance, correlation, regression and prediction, multivariate analysis.
Test of significance- (Z & T test) variance in one and two sample cases.
Test of equality of K— variance (Bartlett’s test).
Unit IV: Basic principles of field experimentation: Randomization, Replication and
Local Control. Lay out and analysis of data of completely Randomized block design, Latin square
designs, Factorial design, Split plot and Strip plot designs.
Disaster Management
Unit I: Introduction and Concept of disasters and hazards related to Earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic eruption, Cyclones, Floods, Drought, Landslides, Forest fires, Avalanches and Pest infestation. Prediction and perception of hazards and adjustments to hazardous activities; Rates of natural cycles and residence time.
Unit II: Landslide: causes, prevention and correction. Landslide hazard mitigation. Earthquakes: intensity and
magnitude of earthquakes; geographic distribution of earthquake zones; precursors to the earthquakes,
seismic waves, travel-time and location of epicentre; nature of destruction; ground subsidence;
protection from earthquake hazards; do’s and don’ts during earthquake; Tsunamis- causes and
consequences.
Unit III: Floods: Causes, nature and frequency of flooding: nature and extent of flood
hazard; urban floods, environmental effects of flooding; flood mitigation methods. Tropical cyclone-
formation and consequences. Coastal erosion; sea level changes and its impact on coastal areas, Drought:
Nature and effect on plant and animal systems. Study of pattern and mitigation of forest fires.
Unit IV: Geological and environmental investigations for the construction of dams, bridges, highways and
tunnels. Impact of major geotechnical projects on the environment. Disaster Management: Capability-
Vulnerability- risk- preparedness and mitigation- Disaster management cycle; Disaster Risk Reduction
and Resilience; Disaster Management Act and Policy.
Environmental Issues and Problems
Unit I: Population growth, urbanization, growth of vehicles and its impact on air quality. Changes in forest cover, biodiversity loss and conservation measures, issues and concerns related to sacred forests and sacred groves. Impact of introduction of high yielding varieties, use of fertilizers and pesticides, issues and problems associated with shifting agriculture; Industrialization: environmental impacts of oil refineries, cement plants, paper mills, wood based industries and tea industry.
Unit II: Environmental impacts of coal and lime stone mining, quarrying of sand from hills and rivers, Extraction of petroleum and natural gas; Environmental and socio-economic implications of mega hydro electric projects; Issues relating to conservation of Ramsar sites of north-east India: Loktaklake, Deeporbeel, Impact of tourism, social conflicts and environment.
Environmental Economics and Sociology
Unit 1: Introduction to Environmental Economics and Natural Resource Accounting; Natural Goods and Services; Valuation methods of Natural Resources; Valuation of tangibles and intangibles; Accounting of Forest, Land and Water resources; Natural Resource Accounting and sustainable development;
System of Environmental and Economic Accounting, and Green Accounting.
Unit 2: Population growth of humans; Malthusian theory of population; factors affecting human population growth and distribution; Impact of human population growth on natural resources and environment, city and village ecosystem.
Unit 3: Environmental sociology: concept of culture, inequality, gender and equity, interaction between society and
environment, environmental problems in historical perspective, individual interaction with environment
and impact thereof, social movements influencing environmental protection, society and resources
management, decision making.
Unit 4: Communication: definition, models, characteristics, process
and approach, learning experience, principles and types, learning in groups, group defined, group size
and characteristics, task and techniques: Snowball groups and Buzz group. Motivation: definition,
models; Training- concept, type and steps required to be followed to train different level of
functionaries. . .