UPSC Prelims 2025 CSAT Paper II · Q31 of 78 Comprehension medium

Passage

Directions for the following 4 (four) items : Read the following two passages and answer the items that follow the passages. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only. Passage – 1 Maintaining an ecosystem just to conserve biodiversity will affect its commercial potential as well as the livelihoods dependent on the ecosystem. There is also a conflict between using an ecosystem only for livelihoods, for commercial exploitation, or strictly for conservation. Deforestation caused due to commercial exploitation will lead to indirect harm like floods, siltation problems and microclimatic instability, apart from adversely affecting livelihoods dependent on forests. These conflicts are particularly acute in developing countries where the dependence of people on the ecosystem is significant, and commercial exploitation has the potential to boost national income.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the critical message conveyed by the author of the passage ?

  1. (a) Conservation of biodiversity is not an issue to be worried about when some people depend on ecosystems for their livelihoods.
  2. (b) Commercial exploitation of forests goes against the fundamental rights of the people dependent on forests for food and shelter.
  3. (c) Sustenance of livelihood and degradation of ecosystem while being together exacerbate one another, leading to conflicts and imbalance. ✓ UPSC's answer
  4. (d) Commercial exploitation of ecosystems should be completely stopped.

Why the answer is (c)

• The passage highlights a three-way conflict between strict conservation, commercial exploitation, and livelihood dependence on ecosystems.

• It notes that deforestation for commercial gain causes indirect harms like floods and microclimatic instability, which in turn adversely affects the very livelihoods dependent on forests.

• This creates a cycle where the degradation of the ecosystem and the struggle for sustenance exacerbate each other, leading to acute conflicts, especially in developing countries.

• Option (c) accurately captures this mutual reinforcement of livelihood issues and ecosystem degradation, which is the central theme of the text.

• Therefore, the critical message is that these factors are interconnected and create a state of imbalance and conflict.

Why the other options are wrong

(a) Conservation of biodiversity is not an issue to be worried about when some people depend…
The passage does not dismiss biodiversity conservation as unimportant; rather, it states that maintaining it creates conflicts with commercial and livelihood interests.
(b) Commercial exploitation of forests goes against the fundamental rights of the people…
The text does not mention 'fundamental rights' or specifically limit the dependency to 'food and shelter', nor does it frame commercial exploitation as a violation of rights.
(d) Commercial exploitation of ecosystems should be completely stopped.
The passage does not advocate for completely stopping commercial exploitation; it acknowledges its potential to boost national income while highlighting the resulting conflicts and harms.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2025, held on 25 May 2025. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

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