UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

In many developing regions, poor households rely directly on common forests, grazing lands and water bodies for fuel, fodder and livelihoods. When these resources are degraded through overuse or external pressures, the poor lose crucial support systems. This can trap them in a vicious circle where poverty drives resource overuse, and degradation further entrenches poverty. Therefore, the statement linking heavy dependence with vulnerability to environmental degradation accurately describes the poverty–environment nexus.

Option A:
Option A is correct because it recognises the two-way relationship: poverty can force people to exploit resources unsustainably, and the resulting degradation can push them deeper into deprivation. This understanding underlies many community-based and sustainable livelihood programmes.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect since poor households do use natural resources extensively, often with limited alternatives. Ignoring their role misrepresents both their dependence and their potential contribution to conservation when given secure rights.

Option C:
Option C is incorrect because environmental damage is not caused only by rich households. While high consumption by the wealthy has large footprints, the survival needs of the poor also shape land use and resource conditions.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect as numerous studies show that poverty and environment are closely linked in developing contexts. Policies often try to address both together through integrated rural development and natural resource management.

Statements B, C and D are correct because they show how environmental management and rural development are linked. Watershed projects support conservation and productivity, agroforestry offers multiple benefits while protecting resources and ignoring sustainability can degrade land and water in the long run. Statement A is incorrect as watershed programmes are not confined to infrastructure building but emphasise conservation and resource management. Hence, the combination containing B, C and D only is the correct answer.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect because it includes only B and C and omits D, even though D is a true statement about the risks of environmentally insensitive rural development strategies. Leaving out a correct statement results in an incomplete representation of the topic.

Option B:
Option B is correct because it captures all the true statements—B, C and D—and excludes the false claim in A. It acknowledges conservation benefits, agroforestry’s role and the need for sustainability in rural development planning, which together reflect the integrated approach promoted in the syllabus.

Option C:
Option C is incorrect because it includes statement A, which mischaracterises the objectives of watershed development. While B and C are correct, adding A means the option no longer represents only correct statements.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect since it asserts that all four statements are correct. Accepting A as correct would imply that watershed development is restricted to roads and markets, which contradicts its actual conservation focus. Therefore, the entire combination cannot be chosen.

Watershed management treats the entire drainage area as a unit and uses measures like contour bunds, check dams and afforestation to slow runoff. This increases infiltration, improves groundwater recharge and reduces soil erosion, helping to stabilise water availability and protect land productivity.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect because good watershed practices aim to decrease surface runoff and erosion, not increase them; high runoff tends to wash away fertile topsoil.

Option B:
Option B is correct as it highlights the twin environmental benefits of better groundwater recharge and reduced soil loss, which are core objectives of watershed programmes.

Option C:
Option C is incorrect since urban road construction is not the main focus of watershed management and can actually increase impervious surfaces and runoff if poorly planned.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect because replacing vegetation with concrete would undermine infiltration, increase runoff and worsen land degradation—the opposite of watershed goals.

Watershed management focuses on the holistic development of a drainage basin by coordinating land use,water conservation and vegetation cover. Its objectives include reducing soil erosion,improving water availability and supporting livelihoods. The stem clearly describes this integrated management within a defined drainage area. Therefore watershed management is the correct term.

Option A:
Watershed management treats the entire catchment as a single ecological and socio economic unit. By aligning interventions across land,water and vegetation,it enhances long term productivity. This matches precisely the integrated approach mentioned in the question.

Option B:
Monoculture farming is the practice of growing only one crop species over a large area. It can degrade soils and reduce resilience if not managed carefully. It is not an integrated land water vegetation management strategy in a drainage basin.

Option C:
Overgrazing occurs when livestock consume vegetation faster than it can regenerate. It is a cause of land degradation rather than a positive management approach. Hence it does not correspond to the sustainable planning described in the stem.

Option D:
Strip mining is a surface mining technique that removes soil and rock in strips to access minerals. It often causes severe environmental damage,which is the opposite of the conservation oriented idea in the question.