Questions
1.Consider the following statements regarding Great Nicobar Island
1.It is home to one of the most primitive tribes of India, the Shompens.
2.It harbours a wide spectrum of ecosystems from tropical wet evergreen forests, mountain ranges and coastal plains.
3.It includes Galathea National Park and the Campbell Bay National Park.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 only
c) 2 and 3 only
d) All of the above
2.Consider the following statements regarding C40 group
1.It is named so as it has 40 members.
2.It is committed to delivering on climate targets set under the Paris Agreement.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both
d) None
3.Consider the following organisations
1.Welt Hunger Hilfe
2.Concern Worldwide
3.FAO
Which of the above are responsible for releasing Global Hunger Index ?
a) 1 Only
b) 2 Only
c) 1 and 2 Only
d) 1 and 3 only
4.Consider the following statements regarding WAYU (Wind Augmentation PurifYing Unit)
1.It is equipment designed to purify air and curb pollution.
2.It removes particulate matter but is ineffective against other pollutants.
3.It has been developed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI).
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) All of the above
5.Consider the following regarding Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs)
1.The Bombay Natural History Society and Birdlife International have identified IBAs in India.
2.It has been recognized by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
3.In many regions, IBA inventories have been used to identify potential Ramsar sites.
Choose the correct option from the following given below
a) 1 and 2 Only
b) 2 and 3 Only
c) 1 and 3 Only
d) All of the Above
Explanations
1) D
The Great Nicobar Island of Andaman has an area of about 1044 sq. km.
According to the 2011 census, has a population of about 8,069.
The island is home to one of the most primitive tribes of India — the Shompens.
The island includes the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve (GNBR) comprising of the Galathea National Park and the Campbell Bay National Park.
The island harbours a wide spectrum of ecosystems from tropical wet evergreen forests, mountain ranges and coastal plains.
The island is also home to giant robber crabs, crab-eating macaques, the rare megapode as well as leatherback turtles.
2) B
The C40 group was started in 2005 by the then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and got its name in 2006, since it had 40 members that year.
It has 96 members at present, representing over 70 crore people, and one-quarter of the global economy.
The group is committed to delivering on climate targets set under the Paris Agreement, and sets the bar for cities to develop and implement local level plans that comply with those targets.
Over the past decade, C40 has convened six Mayors Summits, hosted by London (2005), New York (2007), Seoul (2009), São Paulo (2011), Johannesburg (2014) and Mexico City (2016).
Latest one being held from 9th-12th October 2019 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Cities, according to the C40 website, have the potential to deliver 40 per cent of the emissions reductions to meet the Paris targets.
Analysts believe that cities are better equipped to deal at climate negotiations than nations, since the former do not have to deal with issues such as borders and sovereignty.
3) C
In Global Hunger Index (GHI) Report-2019 released recently, India was ranked at 102nd position out of 117 countries.
The report is an annual publication.
It is jointly prepared by the Concern Worldwide (an Irish agency) and the Welt Hunger Hilfe (a German organization).
It is based on four GHI indicators namely, undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting, and child mortality.
4) C
An air pollution control device WAYU (Wind Augmentation PurifYing Unit) has been developed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) as a part of Technology Development Project being funded by Department of Science and Technology.
It has been indigenously developed and has the capacity to purify air in an area of 500 meter square.
The device works on two principles mainly Wind generation for dilution of air pollutants and Active Pollutants removal.
The device has filters for Particulate Matter removal and activated carbon (charcoal) and UV lamps for poisonous gases removal such as VOCs and Carbon Monoxide.
(So it is effective against both PM and other pollutant gases).
The device has one fan and filter for sucking and removing Particulate Matter.
There are two UV lamps and half kg of activated carbon charcoal coated with special chemical Titanium Dioxide.
5) B
Birds are excellent indicators of ecosystem health.
The IBA programme of Birdlife International aims to identify, monitor and protect a global network of IBAs for conservation of the world’s birds and associated biodiversity.
The IBAs serve as conservation areas for protection of birds at the global, regional or sub-regional level.
According to Birdlife International, designation of IBAs is based on standardized criteria, namely
- hold significant numbers of one or more globally threatened bird species,
- Be one of a set of sites that together hold a suite of restricted-range species or biome-restricted species and
III. Have exceptionally large numbers of migratory or congregatory birds.
The IBAs contain a range of habitats, such as wetlands, mudflats, microhabitats in biodiversity hotspots, grasslands and scrublands, making them excellent indicators of biodiversity richness (India’s 5th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity, 2014).
The Bombay Natural History Society and Birdlife International have identified 467 IBAs in India (Islam and Rahmani, 2004).
Forty percent of these IBAs fall outside the PA network and thus form an important tool for landscape-level conservation planning.
BNHS has also prepared a list of 96 new/potential sites which can be designated as IBAs in the future.
BirdLife’s IBA programme has produced the only global, site-based, spatially-explicit set of information on biodiversity, which has been recognised by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as the basis of a worldwide network of priority sites for conservation.
In many regions, IBA inventories have been used to identify potential Ramsar sites (wetlands of international importance).