Topic: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment
Q6. Analyse the impact of increasing human activities on wildlife habitats in India. How do such pressures affect the conservation of apex predators? (10 M)
Difficulty Level: Medium
Reference: DTE
Why the question
Increasing human pressure on forests, rising wildlife conflicts and recent studies on stress among tigers have raised concerns regarding the sustainability of India’s conservation model and protected area governance.
Key Demand of the question
The question requires analysing the impact of anthropogenic activities on wildlife habitats in India and examining how such ecological disturbances affect the survival, breeding and conservation of apex predators like tigers and leopards.
Structure of the Answer:
Introduction
Briefly mention India’s biodiversity significance and the growing ecological stress caused by expanding human activities in forest ecosystems.
Body
- Impact on wildlife habitats: Mention habitat fragmentation, tourism pressure, mining, encroachment or human-wildlife conflict affecting ecosystem stability.
- Effect on apex predator conservation: Explain impact on breeding behaviour, prey availability, territorial movement, genetic diversity or poaching vulnerability among predators.
Conclusion
Emphasise the need for landscape-based conservation, scientific wildlife management and balanced ecological governance to ensure long-term survival of apex predators.
