Q.1 Which among the following species is/are the examples of the Waterfowl ?
1. Wood Sandpiper
2. Little cormorant
3. Painted Stork
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
A) 2 & 3
B) Only 3
C) 1 & 2
D) 1,2,3
Ans. D
The most common waterfowl are :
Gadwall, shoveler, common teal, cotton teal, tufted duck, knob-billed duck, little cormorant, great cormorant, Indian shag, ruff, painted stork, white spoonbill, Asian open-billed stork, oriental ibis, darter, common sandpiper, wood sandpiper and green sandpiper. The sarus crane, with its spectacular courtship dance, is also found here
Q.2 Which among the following are the migratory wetland species ?
1. White-bellied Heron
2. Siberian Crane
3. Red-headed Vulture
4. Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
A) 1 & 4
B) 2 & 3
C) 1 & 2
D) 2 & 4
Ans. D
Migratory wetland species: Baer’s Pochard, Siberian Crane and Spoon-billed Sandpiper.
Non-migratory wetland species: White-bellied Heron.
Grassland species:Bengal Florican, Great Indian Bustard, Jerdon’s Courser and Sociable Lapwing.
Forest species:Forest Owlet.
Scavengers: Indian Vulture, Red-headed Vulture, White-backed Vulture and Slender-billed Vulture. Himalayan Quail and Pink-headed Duck are now considered Extinct for all practical purposes.
Q.3 With reference to the CITES what are Appendix II species ?
A) species that are listed after one member country has asked other CITES Parties for assistance in controlling trade in a species
B) species that are threatened with extinction and are or may be affected by trade
C) species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction, but may become so unless trade in specimens of such species
D) Species that are preserved under the biosphere reserves to prevent their extinction
Ans. C
Appendix I : species that are threatened with extinction and are or may be affected by trade
Appendix II : species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction, but may become so unless trade in specimens of such species
Appendix III : species that are listed after one member country has asked other CITES Parties for assistance in controlling trade in a species
Q.4 Consider the following statements :
1. Deposition of iron-rich dust into ocean waters enhances carbon sequestration.
2. Biochar is added to a landfill or used as a soil improver to create terra preta
3. Harvesting of Seeweed is done to generate electricity or as a replacement for natural gas
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
A) 1 & 3
B) Only 2
C) 2 & 3
D) 1,2,3
Ans. D
Carbon Sequestration
Carbon sequestration is the process involved in carbon capture and the long-term storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide.[1]
Carbon sequestration involves long-term storage of carbon dioxide or other forms of carbon to mitigate or defer global warming.
It has been proposed as a way to slow the atmospheric and marine accumulation of greenhouse gases, which are released by burning fossil fuels
artificial capture and sequestration of industrially produced CO
2 using subsurface saline aquifers, reservoirs, ocean water, aging oil fields, or other carbon sinks.
Carbon dioxide may be captured as a pure by-product in processes related to petroleum refining or from flue gases from power generation.[5] CO
2 sequestration includes the storage part of carbon capture and storage, which refers to large-scale, artificial capture and sequestration of industrially produced CO
2 using subsurface saline aquifers, reservoirs, ocean water, aging oil fields, or other carbon sinks.
Biosequestration or carbon sequestration through biological processes affects the global carbon cycle.
Examples include major climatic fluctuations, such as the Azolla event, which created the current Arctic climate. Such processes created fossil fuels, as well as clathrate and limestone. By manipulating such processes, geoengineers seek to enhance sequestration.
Peat bogs are a very important carbon store.
Wetland soil is an important carbon sink; 14.5% of the world’s soil carbon is found in wetlands, while only 6% of the world’s land is composed of wetlands.
Ocean iron fertilization is an example of such a geoengineering technique.[23] Iron fertilization[24] attempts to encourage phytoplankton growth, which removes carbon from the atmosphere for at least a period of time.
Natural iron fertilisation events (e.g., deposition of iron-rich dust into ocean waters) can enhance carbon sequestration.
The iron rich feces causes phytoplankton to grow and take up more carbon from the atmosphere.
When the phytoplankton dies, some of it sinks to the deep ocean and takes the atmospheric carbon with it. By reducing the abundance of sperm whales in the Southern Ocean, whaling has resulted in an extra 200,000 tonnes of carbon remaining in the atmosphere each year’
Seaweed grows very fast and can theoretically be harvested and processed to generate biomethane, via Anaerobic Digestion to generate electricity, via Cogeneration/CHP or as a replacement for natural gas.
Ideal species for such farming and conversion include Laminaria digitata, Fucus serratus and Saccharina latissima
Bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)
‘BECCS refers to biomass in power stations and boilers that use carbon capture and storage
Biochar is charcoal created by pyrolysis of biomass waste.
The resulting material is added to a landfill or used as a soil improver to create terra preta.
Q.5 Which among the following is/are true with respect to the CITES ?
1. CITES is the conservation agreement with the largest membership with 183 Parties
2. It is legally binding on the Parties
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
A) Only 1
B) Only 2
C) Both are correct
D) Both are incorrect
Ans. C
CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
It was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of IUCN
It provides a framework to be respected by each Party, which has to adopt its own domestic legislation to ensure that CITES is implemented at the national level.
For many years CITES has been among the conservation agreements with the largest membership, with now 183 Parties.
CITES is legally binding on the Parties
Q.6 Consider the following statements :
1. Barail range is an eastern extension of the Himalayan Range System, in north eastern India
2. The Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills are part of Deccan Plateau, and not part of the Purvanchal range
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
A) Only 1
B) Only 2
C) Both are correct
D) Both are incorrect
Ans. C
Barail range :
The Purvanchal Mountains, or Eastern Mountains, are a sub-mountain range of the Himalayas in northeast India.
The Purvanchal Mountains cover the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram.
The range is an eastern extension of the Himalayan Range System, in north eastern India. It bends sharply to the south beyond the Dihang River gorge, and spreads along the eastern boundary of India with Myanmar.
The Purvanchal range includes the hill ranges of the Patkai, Barail range, Manipur, Mizoram Mizo[disambiguation needed], and Naga Hills.
The Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills are part of Deccan Plateau, and not part of the Purvanchal range.
Q.7 Which among the following protocols employed the principle of differential treatment in respect to climate change ?
1. Washington Naval Treaty
2. Cartagena Protocol
3. Part IV of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
A) 1 & 3
B) Only 2
C) 2 & 3
D) 1,2,3
Ans. A
Common but Differentiated responsibilities & respective capabilities :
Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) was formalized in United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) of Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, 1992.
It was the first international legal instrument to address climate change and the most comprehensive international attempt to address negative impacts to global environment.[3]
CBDR principle acknowledges all states have shared obligation to address environmental destruction but denies equal responsibility of all states with regard to environmental protection.
CBDR is based on relationship between industrialization and climate change
CBDR was not the first differential treatments of countries in international agreements.
There were other protocols, agreements that employed principle of differential treatment.
• Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone layer (Montreal Protocol)
•
• Washington Naval Treaty
• Part IV of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1979[9]
• principle 23 of Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment 1972
FRAMED FROM WIKIPEDIA : FROM OUR MOCK SERIES 2018 PRELIMS
Q.8 Recently a national park has been set up in the Sipahijola Wildlife Sanctuary where clouded leopards are kept in enclosures in a zoological park. Where
this wildlife sanctuary is located ?
A) Meghalaya
B) Tripura
C) Sikkim
D) Arunachal Pradesh
Ans. B
Q.9 Recently in the news there was a term Superbugs, What is this ?
A) These are the microorganism that are essential for the vital functions of the body
B) These are the enzymes that makes bacteria resistant to broad range of beta-lactam antibiotics
C) These are the bacteria that causes infection which is difficult to treat
D) These are the super weeds that are essential in the treatment of less fertile soils
Ans. C
New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) is an enzyme that makes bacteria resistant to a broad range of beta-lactam antibiotics.
These include the antibiotics of the carbapenem family, which are a mainstay for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. The gene for NDM-1 is one member of a large gene family that encodes beta-lactamase enzymes called carbapenemases.
Bacteria that produce carbapenemases are often referred to in the news media as “superbugs” because infections caused by them are difficult to treat. Such bacteria are usually susceptible only to polymyxins and tigecycline.
The most common bacteria that make this enzyme are gram-negative such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, but the gene for NDM-1 can spread from one strain of bacteria to another by horizontal gene transfer
Q.10 Terai Arc Landscape program aims to protect which among the following terrestrial flagship species ?
1. African elephant
2. Great Horned Rhinoceros
3. Asian Elephant
4. Golden Lion
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
A) 1 & 2
B) 2,3,4
C) Only 2 & 3
D) 1,2,4
Ans. C
Terai Arc Landscape Program:
The program aims to protect three of the five terrestrial flagship species, the tiger, the Asian elephant and the great
one-horned rhinoceros, by restoring corridors of forest to link 13 protected areas of Nepal and India, to enable wildlife
migration.
