UGC NET PAPER 1 · UNIT 09 · REVISION
People, Development and Environment Rapid-Recall Sheet
Each line is a typical direct-recall item. Use it in the last days of revision, after you have read the topics and the exam traps.
- 80 high-yield facts
- One page
- Type to filter
High-yield facts
| Item | Key fact |
|---|---|
| 1962 | Silent Spring (Rachel Carson); Pesticides, DDT, start of the modern environmental movement |
| 1968 | Tragedy of the Commons (Garrett Hardin); Overuse of shared resources |
| 1972 | Stockholm Conference; Limits to Growth; First UN environment conference; UNEP created |
| 1974 | Water Act; Created Central and State Pollution Control Boards |
| 1980 | Forest (Conservation) Act; Central approval for diversion of forest land |
| 1981 | Air Act; Air pollution control |
| 1984 | Bhopal gas tragedy; Methyl isocyanate, led to the EP Act |
| 1985 | Vienna Convention on the ozone layer; Framework; Ganga Action Plan launched in India |
| 1986 | Environment (Protection) Act; Chernobyl; Umbrella law; nuclear accident in Ukraine |
| 1987 | Montreal Protocol; Our Common Future; ODS phase-out; definition of sustainable development |
| 1988 | IPCC set up; By WMO and UNEP |
| 1989 | Basel Convention; Exxon Valdez spill; Hazardous waste; oil spill in Alaska |
| 1990 | Human Development Index; Mahbub ul Haq, UNDP |
| 1992 | Rio Earth Summit; UNFCCC; CBD; Agenda 21 and Rio Declaration |
| 1994 | UNCCD; Third Rio Convention |
| 1997 | Kyoto Protocol; Binding targets for Annex I |
| 1999 | Odisha Super Cyclone; Led to disaster management reforms |
| 2000 | Millennium Summit; Noise Rules; Eight MDGs; Cartagena Protocol also adopted |
| 2001 | Bhuj earthquake; 26 January, Gujarat |
| 2002 | Johannesburg WSSD; Biological Diversity Act; Agenda 21 review; India's CBD law |
| 2004 | Indian Ocean tsunami; 26 December |
| 2005 | Disaster Management Act; Kyoto enters into force; Hyogo Framework (2005 to 2015) also adopted |
| 2008 | NAPCC; Eight National Missions |
| 2010 | NGT Act; Nagoya Protocol; JNNSM; Green tribunal; ABS; solar mission |
| 2011 | Fukushima; Nuclear accident in Japan |
| 2012 | Rio+20; The Future We Want; SDG process begins |
| 2013 | Kedarnath floods; Uttarakhand; Ahmedabad Heat Action Plan |
| 2015 | Sendai; SDGs; Paris Agreement; ISA; Year of the major frameworks |
| 2016 | SDGs take effect; Kigali Amendment; Waste Rules; 1 January 2016; HFC phase-down |
| 2018 | IPCC 1.5 degree report; SDG India Index; Special report; NITI Aayog |
| 2019 | NCAP; Kigali enters into force; Clean air programme; 1 January 2019 |
| 2021 | COP26 Glasgow; CAQM Act; Panchamrit and net zero 2070 |
| 2022 | Kunming-Montreal framework; 23 targets, 30 by 30 |
| MDGs | 8 goals, 21 targets, 2000 to 2015, baseline 1990 |
| SDGs | 17 goals, 169 targets, about 230 indicators, 2016 to 2030 |
| 2030 Agenda themes | 5 Ps: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, Partnership |
| Rio Declaration; Agenda 21 | 27 principles; 40 chapters |
| Sendai Framework | 4 priorities, 7 global targets, 2015 to 2030 |
| Aichi targets; Global Biodiversity Framework | 20 targets (2011 to 2020); 23 targets (2030) |
| NAPCC | 8 National Missions (2008) |
| National AQI | 8 pollutants; 0 to 500; six categories |
| EP Act | 26 sections, 4 chapters |
| Acid rain | pH below 5.6 |
| Water stress and scarcity | Below 1,700 and below 1,000 cubic metres per person per year |
| WHO guideline: fluoride; arsenic | 1.5 mg/L; 10 micrograms per litre |
| WHO 2021 PM2.5 annual guideline | 5 micrograms per cubic metre |
| Residential noise limit (day; night) | 55 dB(A); 45 dB(A) |
| Silence zone | 100 m around hospitals, courts, educational institutions |
| National Forest Policy 1988 | 33 per cent forest and tree cover target |
| Small hydro in India | Up to 25 MW |
| Betz limit | About 59 per cent |
| Kyoto first period; target | 2008 to 2012; about 5 per cent below 1990 |
| Paris temperature goals | Well below 2 degrees Celsius, pursue 1.5 degrees Celsius |
| Climate finance goal (Paris) | 100 billion US dollars a year from 2020 |
| ODA target (SDG 17) | 0.7 per cent of gross national income |
| India's net-zero year | 2070 |
| Kyoto and Paris | Kyoto: 1997, binding targets for developed countries only, top-down. Paris: 2015, every country submits NDCs, bottom-up |
| Vienna and Montreal | Vienna 1985 is the framework; Montreal 1987 is the protocol with phase-out schedules |
| Montreal and Kigali | Montreal controls ozone-depleting substances; Kigali phases down HFCs, which are greenhouse gases |
| Cartagena and Nagoya | Cartagena: biosafety and LMOs. Nagoya: access and benefit sharing of genetic resources |
| Rio and Rio+20 | Rio 1992: Agenda 21, UNFCCC, CBD. Rio+20 2012: The Future We Want, SDG process |
| MDGs and SDGs | 8 goals for mainly developing countries (2000 to 2015); 17 universal goals (2016 to 2030) |
| Water Act and Air Act | Water 1974 created the boards; Air 1981 extended board powers to air; EP Act 1986 is the umbrella law |
| Richter and Mercalli | Richter: magnitude (energy, logarithmic). Mercalli: intensity (observed effects) |
| Mitigation and preparedness | Mitigation reduces risk beforehand; preparedness readies the response |
| Structural and non-structural | Structural: embankments, shelters. Non-structural: zoning, warning, awareness |
| Bioaccumulation and biomagnification | Within one organism over time; up the food chain across organisms |
| BOD and COD | BOD: oxygen used by microbes. COD: oxygen for chemical oxidation |
| Primary and secondary pollutants | Primary emitted directly (SO2, CO); secondary formed by reaction (ozone, PAN) |
| Weak and strong sustainability | Weak: capital substitutable. Strong: some natural capital irreplaceable |
| PM10 and PM2.5 | 10 and 2.5 micrometre diameters; PM2.5 penetrates deeper |
| Chipko, Appiko, Silent Valley, Narmada | Uttarakhand (trees), Karnataka (trees), Kerala (hydro project), Narmada valley (dams) |
| Jhum and Jal Jeevan | Jhum is shifting cultivation in the north-east; Jal Jeevan is the tap water mission linked to SDG 6 |
| Environmental SDGs | 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15 (water, energy, consumption, climate, ocean, land) |
| Indian environmental laws in order | Water 1974, Forest 1980, Air 1981, EP 1986 |
| Sendai priorities | Understand, Govern, Invest, Prepare |
| Metal and disease pairs | Mercury with Minamata, cadmium with Itai-itai, arsenic with arsenicosis and blackfoot disease, fluoride with fluorosis, nitrate with blue baby syndrome, lead with plumbism, silica with silicosis |
| Seismic and tsunami | Richter for magnitude, Mercalli for intensity, INCOIS for tsunami warning |
| EP Act sections | 3 powers, 5 directions, 6 rules, 7 standards, 8 hazardous handling, 15 penalty, 16 companies, 17 government departments |
| Kyoto flexibility mechanisms | ET, JI, CDM; Paris tools: NDC, Global Stocktake, Article 6 |
Where each fact is explained
Open the topic for the concept behind any line you cannot recall.
- 1 Development and Environment: Sustainable Development, MDGs and SDGs
- 2 Human and Environment Interaction: Anthropogenic Activities and Their Impacts
- 3 Environmental Issues: Local, Regional and Global
- 4 Impacts of Pollutants on Human Health
- 5 Natural and Energy Resources
- 6 Natural Hazards and Disasters: Mitigation Strategies
- 7 The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
- 8 International Agreements and Efforts
- 9 Syllabus Map, Question Framing and Study Method
- 10 Revision Toolkit: Timeline, Numbers and Look-Alike Pairs
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