How to Prepare for Environmental Studies?

We are destroying our mother nature and calling it development. Many of us do not even know the relation between birds and agriculture. Many people will laugh when you say that Humans will become extinct when all birds are dead. So to maintain the balance between environment and development, this subject is included in all government exams.

Shankar IAS Book on Environment and Ecology: Not Recommended - Shankar IAS book is an amalgamation of internet articles. It has more content than is required for IAS preparation. It has become a bulky book over a period of time.

Books and Resources

Foundation

1. NCERT Class XI – Geography – Fundamentals of Physical Geography
   1. Chapter 15 – Life on the Earth
   2. Chapter 16 – Biodiversity and Conservation
2. NCERT Class XII – Geography – India : People and Economy
   1. Chapter 12 – Geographical Perspective on Selected Issues and Problems
3. NCERT Class XII – Biology – Last Four Chapters (Ecology)
   1. Chapter 13 – Organisms and Populations
   2. Chapter 14 – Ecosystem
   3. Chapter 15 – Biodiversity and Conservation
   4. Chapter 16 – Environmental Issues

Standard

1. IGNOU Course BEVAE-181 – Ability Enhancement Compulsory Course (AECC) on Environmental Studies (OR)
2. Environmental Studies For Undergraduate Courses by Erach Bharucha (OR)
3. Environmental Studies by R Rajagopalan

References

1. Remaining Books from Standard List.
2. Government Policy Framework – Click Here
3. Content by GoI – Click Here
4. An Inconvenient Truth - Documentary by Al Gore
5. Planet Earth - TV Series by David Attenborough

How to Study

• You should complete all chapters from Foundation books.
• Then you should choose ONLY one book from the list of standard books. Study it thoroughly.
• Search in ‘Reference Books’ to read only leftover topics.
• Latest current affairs related to the environment regarding legislation (national and international) and court judgments are to be read to get maximum advantage.