ICSE Class 9 Syllabus 2027 Environmental Applications

ICSE YEAR 2027

INDIAN CERTIFICATE OF
SECONDARY EDUCATION
EXAMINATION

ENVIRONMENTAL
APPLICATIONS
(89)

February 2025
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ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATIONS (89)

Candidates offering Environmental Science (Group II) are not eligible to offer
Environmental Applications (Group III).

Aims:
1. To acquire knowledge of the origin and 7. To develop a sense of responsibility and concern
functioning of the natural system and its for welfare of the environment and all life forms
correlation with the living world. which share this planet.
2. To develop an understanding that human beings, 8. To develop a sound basis for further study,
plants and animals are part of a natural personal development and participation in local
phenomenon and are interdependent. and global environmental concerns.
3. To appreciate influence of human activity on the 9. Understand 'development' to intervene in the
natural processes. relationships between society and the natural
environment.
4. To develop awareness of the need and
responsibility to keep the natural system in a 10. To participate in local issues through carefully
condition that it sustains life. monitored projects.
5. To develop sensitivity in personal attitudes to 11. To create awareness about the role of local
environmental issues. communities in sustainable growth.
6. To develop a keen civic sense. 12. To develop an understanding of how local
environments, contribute to the global
environment.

CLASS IX
There will be one written paper of two hours duration Our main environmental problems:
carrying 100 marks and Internal Assessment of (i) Understanding ecosystems- threats and
100 marks. conservation measures.
Major causes of ecosystem destruction. The
THEORY – 100 Marks extent of forest cover left in India and the
1. Introduction world today. For instance, India is left with
about 4.6% protected forest cover. The rate of
Broad introduction to the current environmental destruction. Efforts being undertaken to save
problems. Magnitude of these problems and the forests. Names of some organisations
appreciation of the complexity of issues involved. which are involved and understanding of
This is to be done through- conservation measures. Examples of
• presenting facts and statistics. successful cases.
• inter-linking facts to generate a broad (ii) Resource depletion.
perspective. The consequences of major resources being
• understanding frameworks and systems that depleted. Use of local and international
contribute to the problem under study. examples. For example, petroleum products
are likely to last only a few more decades.

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(iii) Waste generation. (vii) Concept of species.
Issues of waste generation and disposal. A few To understand the sovereignty of species.
prominent examples like dumping of nuclear The importance of critical minimum size of
waste and other hazardous wastes in species population.
developing countries by developed countries.
Basel Convention.
(viii) Extinction of species.
(iv) Economic disparities.
Effects of extinction.
The extent of poverty in India and in the world.
The nature of poverty in developed countries (ix) Introduced species.
and developing countries - in rural and urban The impact of introduced species on
areas. Consequences and implications with indigenous species and ecosystems -
reference to the lifestyles and aspirations of competition, habitat destruction, diseases
communities and society. Developmental etc., e.g. Acacia, Subabul, Lantana.
paradigms and the politics of poverty.
(x) Endemic species.
(v) Land use.
Inter-relationship with other organisms,
Changing patterns of land use. Modern their evolution, the extreme adaptability to
agriculture. Issues related to water. local environments.
2. Basic Ecology (xi) Keystone species.
To give a clear understanding of ecological Understanding that while all species have a
concepts. The learning will be enhanced if live niche, some species play a more critical role
examples are used with as many outdoor classes as they are keystone species, e.g. crocodile,
as possible. sharks, fungi.
(i) Biotic and abiotic components of an (xii) Kinds of ecosystems.
ecosystem.
Study a range of ecosystems, the life that they
Classification. Understanding role. support, their uniqueness, etc.
(ii) Food chains, food web and trophic levels. Suggested Activities/Visits:
To understand the use of these tools as a • Visit a surviving ecosystem and do a rapid
means of understanding ecosystems. assessment.
(iii) Ecological niche, habitat and microhabitat. • Study natural communities of your
The criticality of the role of each species in an neighbourhood like bird, insect population,
ecosystem. The difference between habitat etc.
and microhabitat. 3. Conservation of Ecosystems
(iv) Succession. (i) Conservation strategies:
How forests regenerate. Kinds of succession
• Species approach including CITES.
- primary and secondary.
• Ecosystem approach including formation
(v) Ecotypes.
of National parks, sanctuaries and
The influence of external factors like climate Biosphere reserves.
and soil (micro habitat) on organisms.
• Wildlife management.
(vi) Flow of energy through an ecosystem.
What is the extent of forest cover left in the
Sun as the primary source of energy. Linear world? What are the threats faced by forests?
flow of energy versus cyclical flow of What are the different kinds of strategies that
nutrients. are being used to conserve forests? The above

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three are broad examples. Students should be (vi) Poverty
made aware of the scope and limitation of the Dynamics of urban and rural poverty,
above approaches. Study an example of each relationship to social structure - the
kind. dynamics of the decline of traditional
(ii) Value of bio-diversity. opportunities and occupations.
Study the value of bio-diversity from different Suggested Activities/Visits:
viewpoints - ecological, economic, health, • Visit a rehabilitation site.
food and aesthetic. • Visit NGOs working in the field of
Suggested Activities/Visits: development.
• Visit to a national park /any protected area. 5. Understanding Land use
• Interaction with a group involved in (i) Agriculture.
conservation. (a) Traditional farming methods.
4. Dynamics of Development and Resource Use Study a few traditional methods of
Understanding development farming - region specific and crop
(i) People as resources. specific. Management of commons.
Farming as an activity of the whole
To gain an understanding that most community.
development issues arise due to not
recognising people as valuable resources. (b) Traditional varieties and their
Importance of generating employment. adaptability to local environments.
(ii) Impact of scale and kind of technology on Study characteristics of a few sample
resources. crops drawn from different climatic
and soil conditions.
Understanding the model of modern
development and the impact of (c) The impact of green revolution
industrialising and automating on the practices.
economy, people and resources. Short- Study the impact of green revolution
term and long-term accounting. Depletion practices on soil, water, local crop
of resources. Resource scarcity and varieties, food production, economy,
economic consequences. small farmers and distribution using
(iii) Urbanisation and its impact. Punjab as an example; contribution to
food security.
Causes and consequences of rapid,
unplanned urbanisation - impact on (d) Food scarcity in the midst of plenty.
infrastructure, services and provision of To understand and analyse the
basic amenities. distribution system.
(iv) Ecological footprint of a city. Suggested Activities/Visits:
Study two sample cities to see the extent of • Visit to a modern chemical farm and
ecological impact on surroundings an organic farm.
and also the actual extent of resource supply • Visit the wholesale market.
to the city. Extent of waste generated in a
city in a day. Ratio of biodegradable and • Understand the flow of grain from
non-biodegradable matter. The need to sort farmer to the shop.
garbage. E.g. Chennai generates 3500 tons (ii) Towards a world without hunger
of garbage a day of which only 800 tons is (a) Introduction to new and old organic
non bio-degradable. Dumping of hazardous farming practices.
wastes particularly in developing countries.
The Basel convention. • Do nothing farming – Fukuoka.
(v) Population (questioning Malthus, carrying • Bio-dynamic farming - Rudolph
capacity). Steiner.
Self-explanatory. • Permaculture – Mollison.

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• Integrated farming practices. Development of the last few decades has brought
• Low Input Sustainable Agriculture about this situation.
(LISA). Studying this will help the student understand the
Study the different farming practices - reasons for the disappearance of turtles- the main
possibly through visits - if possible by reason being trawling and trawlers are not merely
growing crops on small patches of killing turtles. Trawling is ravaging ocean
land. ecosystems and creating under sea deserts. It will
also help understand the role of turtles in ocean
(b) Assessment of Biotechnology. ecosystems.
Is biotechnology the answer to the There is also much north- south politics around
various environmental issues around conservation like the Tuna dolphin issue and the
food production or is it yet another shrimp - turtle issue.
technological disaster waiting to
happen. (iii) Importance of green areas in a city.
(c) Global food security, food aid. (iv) Importance of mangroves.
How to achieve food security? Case Study
Is food aid the right answer? Study different kinds of existing ecosystems like the
Sundarbans, the Sholas, rainforests, scrub forests, etc.
Is sustainable agriculture and for the bio-diversity they contain and the pressures
subsistence farming the answer to the they face. (Preferably an ecosystem that is nearby.)
problem of food security - or is it
necessary to achieve a judicious Conservation of Ecosystems
balance of the above with Projects
monocropping for building a national (i) Zoos as places for conservation of species.
buffer of food grains.
(ii) Insects as keystone species.
Suggested Activities/Visits:
(iii) How can I conserve a piece of land in my
• Try farming in small plots using different neighbourhood?
practices.
(iv) Understand the conflict with the usage of CITES -
Dolphins and Tuna, Turtles and Shrimp, Norway,
INTERNAL ASSESSMENT- 100 Marks Japan and whales, culling elephants in Africa,
Students are recommended to complete two case etc.
studies and one project from the list given below. (v) Project Tiger, Project Elephant
Suggested list of Projects/Case studies for topics from (vi) The study of plight of Jarawas in the Andamans
the syllabus- [Tribals and their relationship to the
Basic Ecology environment].
Projects (vii) Protecting and conserving forests, rivers, oceans,
etc; strategies, difficulties.
(i) Where have all the sparrows gone?
(viii) Is there effective legislation for addressing the
Sparrows used to be one of the most common birds environmental concerns?
in India and are disappearing at a phenomenal rate
across the country as has been recorded by various Dynamics of Development and Resource use
groups. Why has this happened? What could be the Project
reason? They seemed pretty adaptive creatures and Conduct a study of a selected area.
have inhabited human dwellings for a long time.
Case Studies
A study will help understand the fragility of a
species’ existence on earth and the various (i) NGO /peoples groups working with impact of
conditions that could make it disappear. large projects and/or human rights issues.
(ii) Why conserve turtles? (ii) Assessing the impact of women's mobilisation
and empowerment.
Turtles have managed to survive for 200 million
years and are now on the brink of extinction. (iii) Child labour reports.

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(iv) Development in a tribal region. Mapping - What I can do
(v) Sourcing of livelihood in a traditional By the end of the year the students would have gained
community. exposure to various environmental issues. It is
(vi) Comparative studies. important for them to find personal solutions to many
of the problems as this will empower them to find
When a student finds it too difficult to understand creative solutions to larger issues and the learning can
a context very different from his own, it becomes be solution centred rather than problem centred. There
valuable to generate parameters by which one’s are many areas listed which fall within the students’
own context may be compared to that which one scope of intervention. The students can be invited to
is studying. Alternately, it is possible to choose choose the areas they would like to invest in.
two related / opposite / parallel contexts and
assess them through the same parameters. For (i) In my home.
example, if one is studying the usage of income a. Energy consumption -projects to minimise,
in different economic classes, it is possible to eliminate, use alternate sources.
compare expenditure on the basis of- b. Fossil fuel usage - minimise, use public
• primary requirements like food, shelter and transport, cycle.
clothing; c. Water consumption.
• entertainment; d. Sourcing food items - organic, farmer, small
• travel; retailer, large corporation and supermarket.
• buying of utility and luxury items; e. Sourcing clothes - handloom, mass produced
• health; machine loom goods, branded products,
imported clothing, and designer wear.
• educational facilities;
This is just a sample list to show possible personal
• services, etc. initiatives.
(vii) Consumer group reports. (ii) In my school.
Understanding Land Use a. Carrying out paper audits.
(a) Agriculture b. Minimising or avoiding plastic altogether.
Case Studies c. Making school a litter free zone or plastic free
(i) Public Distribution Systems (PDS). zone.
(ii) Alternatives to PDS like the targeted PDS. d. Planting and taking care of trees, herb
(iii) Starvation in Orissa & Andhra Pradesh. gardens, vegetable gardens.
(iv) Agricultural practices of a small and large e. Maintaining patches of land.
farmer. (iii) In my neighbourhood.
(b) Towards a world without hunger a. Help in teaching under-privileged children.
Project b. Work with preventive health care and basic
Is bio-technology the answer to the world’s food first aid.
problems? c. Sanitation- learning about and promoting low
Case Studies cost decentralised systems.
(i) The case of Bt Cotton. d. Rainwater harvesting- setting up pits.
(ii) Terminator and traitor technology. e. Separation of garbage - vermicomposting of
bio-degradable waste.
(iii) The case of golden rice.
f. Spread awareness of the four R’s -Reduce,
(iv) Bio-piracy. Reuse, Recycle, Refuse.
g. Care for neighbourhood animals - Rabies
shots, deworming, feeding, etc.

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