Topic: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
4. Desertification is caused by human activity on lands that are extremely vulnerable to overexploitation and improper agricultural methods and has heavy socio-economic and environmental implications. Examine. (250 words)
Difficulty level: Easy
Reference: Insights on India
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 3 and mentioned as part of Mission-2023 Secure timetable.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the causes and consequences of desertification in India.
Directive word:
Examine – When asked to ‘Examine’, we must investigate the topic (content words) in detail, inspect it, investigate it and establish the key facts and issues related to the topic in question. While doing so we should explain why these facts and issues are important and their implications.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by defining desertification and present statistics regarding it.
Body:
First, write about its causes – It is caused primarily by human activities and climatic variations. It occurs because dryland ecosystems, which cover over one third of the world ‘s land area, are extremely vulnerable to overexploitation and inappropriate land use.
Next, elaborate upon the socio-economic impact of desertification.
Next, stress on the measures needed to fight desertification.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward.
