Answers: Causes: (1) Over-extraction of groundwater for irrigation and domestic use; (2) Reduced recharge due to deforestation, sealed surfaces or less rainfall recharge.

Solutions: (1) Implement rainwater harvesting (roof-top collection to recharge pits); (2) Promote water-efficient irrigation such as drip systems and crop planning; (3) Watershed measures — check dams, contour bunding and afforestation to enhance infiltration and recharge.

Answers: Pollution can cause loss of aquatic biodiversity, contamination of drinking water leading to waterborne diseases (diarrhoea, skin infections), bioaccumulation of toxins in fish and disruption of livelihoods (fisheries).

Immediate measures: stop discharge, provide alternative safe water supply, conduct health screening. Long-term: enforce effluent treatment for factories, regular monitoring, penalties, river cleanup, and community awareness on pollution prevention.

Answers: Components: roof gutters, first-flush diverter, storage tank or recharge pit, filter (gravel, sand) and recharge bore or percolation trench.

Advantages: reduces dependence on municipal water (cost saving), increases local groundwater levels benefiting nearby wells and reduces stormwater runoff and erosion.

Answers: Soil erosion occurs due to gravity and runoff during rains; lack of vegetation cover and ploughing straight down slopes increases surface runoff and loss of topsoil.

Conservation practices: terracing or contour bunding to slow water flow; planting cover crops or agroforestry (trees and shrubs) whose roots bind soil and reduce runoff.

Answers: Impacts: habitat loss and reduced biodiversity, increased soil erosion and landslides, altered local climate and reduced carbon sequestration.

Alternatives: promote use of sustainable timber from managed plantations and certified wood, and use alternative building materials (bamboo, recycled materials). Implement community forestry and tree-planting programmes.

Answers: Conflict increases when habitat shrinks or food becomes scarce due to deforestation, or when human settlements encroach on wildlife corridors, forcing animals into farms.

Methods: create buffer zones and use deterrents (bee fences, chilli ropes), provide alternative livelihoods and compensation schemes, implement habitat restoration and maintain corridors for animal movement.

Answers: Benefits: reduced fossil fuel dependence and lower recurring costs; cleaner air and reduced greenhouse gas emissions; reliable power for irrigation and household needs.

Challenges: initial capital cost, need for maintenance and technical training, energy storage for night-time use (battery), and system sizing to meet demand.

Answers: Routes: contamination of groundwater via leachate, vectors (flies, rodents) spreading pathogens, and direct contact with contaminated materials causing infections.

Solutions: immediate closure of open dump, provision of covered landfill or sanitary landfill, segregation at source, composting organic waste, recycling, and public awareness campaigns. Develop routine collection and safe disposal systems.

Answers: Monoculture reduces biodiversity, allowing pests that specialise on that crop to multiply. Continuous chemical use degrades soil microbial health and reduces fertility, leading to dependency on more fertilisers.

Practices: crop rotation and intercropping to break pest cycles, integrated pest management (biological control), and organic amendments/compost to restore soil fertility.

Answers: Sources include natural geological deposits leaching into aquifers, and sometimes industrial pollution. Over-extraction can change flow patterns and mobilise arsenic.

Measures: provide alternative safe water (treated surface water), install arsenic removal filters at community or household level, conduct regular testing, raise awareness to avoid affected wells, and implement long-term remediation and safe well-siting.

Answers: NTFPs provide food, medicine and income without necessarily destroying forests, supporting both livelihoods and biodiversity. Overharvesting, however, can deplete resources.

Sustainable use: implement community-based management with harvest limits, value-addition locally to increase incomes, provide market linkages, and enforce seasonal or rotational harvesting to allow regeneration.

Answers: Mangroves stabilise shorelines with their complex root systems, reduce wave energy, trap sediments and act as buffers during storms and tsunamis.

Ecological costs: loss of nursery habitats for fish and crustaceans, reduced carbon sequestration, increased coastal erosion and loss of livelihoods dependent on fisheries. Restoration of mangroves and sustainable coastal planning are needed.

Answers: Causes include loss of vegetation, heat-absorbing surfaces (concrete, asphalt), high energy use and vehicle emissions.

Measures: increase urban tree cover and green roofs, create parks and reflective building materials (cool roofs), promote public transport and reduce vehicular emissions.

Answers: Reasons include overfishing, habitat loss (mangroves, coral reefs), pollution and changes in sea temperature affecting breeding.

Management: implement fishing quotas and seasonal bans, protect nursery habitats (mangroves, reefs), community-based co-management, and promote sustainable fishing practices and alternative livelihoods.

Answers: SO₂ can cause respiratory irritation, aggravate asthma and form acid rain damaging plant tissues. Particulates penetrate lungs causing respiratory and cardiovascular problems and coat leaves reducing photosynthesis.

Measures: install scrubbers and filters, adhere to emission standards, regular monitoring, buffer zones, and health surveillance of workers and residents; encourage cleaner production technologies.

Answers: Risks: release of lead, mercury, cadmium contaminating soil and water, and worker exposure causing neurological and organ damage. Open burning releases toxic fumes.

Programmes: formal e-waste collection and certified recycling facilities, producer responsibility schemes where manufacturers take back products, and training plus protective equipment for workers and public awareness campaigns.

Answers: Variability disrupts water availability, increases soil erosion, reduces yields, and can shift pest and disease patterns. Floods damage topsoil and infrastructure while droughts stress water resources and crops.

Adaptation: diversify crops and sowing dates, adopt water-saving techniques (mulching, drip irrigation), build small water-harvesting structures, and improve early warning and insurance schemes.

Answers: Steps: baseline survey, awareness sessions, set up segregation bins, engage students in demonstrations, involve parents and local bodies, and monitor progress with targets.

Benefits: reduces waste sent to landfill, produces nutrient-rich compost for school gardens, teaches sustainable habits, and reduces pollution locally.

Answers: Negative effects include habitat disturbance, wildlife stress, littering, invasive species introduction, and infrastructure causing fragmentation. Trail erosion and pollution degrade ecosystems.

Strategies: implement visitor limits, promote guided ecotourism, provide adequate waste facilities and designated trails, enforce rules, and use tourism revenue for conservation and community benefits.

Answers: Priority actions: year 1 — participatory resource mapping, start watershed measures (check dams, recharge pits), launch tree planting and soil conservation; year 2 — promote water-efficient agriculture, set up composting/NTFP value chains and capacity building for locals.

Monitoring: set indicators (groundwater level, vegetation cover, crop yields), involve community committees for regular reporting, adaptively manage projects, secure linkages to government schemes, and reinvest part of income in maintenance for long-term sustainability.