Environment & Biodiversity Current Affairs MCQs

Notes:
Delhi Forest and Wildlife Department recently organized six days of daily bird walks at Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary for Wildlife Week 2025. Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the South Delhi Ridge of the Aravalli hill range, on the Delhi-Haryana border. It forms part of the Southern Ridge and connects with the Indo-Gangetic Plain, making it rich in biodiversity. The sanctuary is a key segment of the North Aravalli Leopard Wildlife Corridor, which begins at Sariska National Park in Rajasthan, passes through Haryana districts, and reaches the Delhi Ridge.

Notes:
Researchers recently discovered a new fungus species named Bridgeoporus kanadii in the forests of Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India. It has exceptionally large fruiting bodies, some measuring over three meters in radius, strong enough to hold a person’s weight. The species is named after Indian mycologist Kanad Das for his work on Indian macrofungi. The only other known species, Bridgeoporus nobilissimus, found in North America, has fruiting bodies up to 1.5 meters, making B. kanadii nearly twice as large. It grows mainly on dead fir trees and helps in forest regeneration by decomposing dead wood. It is inedible and has no direct economic value.

Notes:
At the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025 held in Abu Dhabi, Union Minister of State for Environment launched India’s National Red List Roadmap and Vision 2025–2030. The roadmap is a national initiative to create an integrated Red List assessment system for identifying, classifying, and conserving India’s threatened species. It aligns with International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) global standards. The initiative is implemented by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and Botanical Survey of India (BSI), in collaboration with IUCN-India and the Centre for Species Survival (CSS), India.

Notes:
Kashmir’s first Chrysanthemum garden has recently been opened for tourists. Chrysanthemum is a genus of about 30 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It is native to Asia and northeastern Europe and blooms in autumn. The plant grows 50–150 cm tall with deeply lobed leaves and large flowerheads in white, yellow, or pink. It thrives in subtropical and temperate areas with tropical and subtropical climate.

Notes:
The Union Government has restored and conserved about 22,560 hectares of mangroves in the last two years under the Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI) scheme. MISHTI aims to increase mangrove cover along coastlines and salt pan lands. It was launched in 2023 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change. The initiative followed India’s joining of the Mangrove Alliance for Climate at COP27 (Conference of Parties 27) to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) in 2022. It focuses mainly on the Sundarbans delta, Hooghly Estuary, and other coastal regions.

Notes:
The Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas), the world’s largest moth, was recently spotted in Guddehalli, Karwar, in Davangere district, Karnataka. It is native to tropical and subtropical rainforests of Southeast Asia. The species is found in countries like Nepal, northeastern India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Taiwan. It is known for its massive wingspan that can reach up to 25–30 cm. The moth produces a type of silk called “fagara,” which is coarse and woolly. Its presence indicates a healthy rainforest ecosystem.

Notes:
A forest department team recently arrested four people for illegally cutting khair trees in Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh. Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Meerut district, Uttar Pradesh. It stretches along the northern banks of the River Ganga and covers parts of Muzaffarnagar and Bijnor districts. It lies near the ancient town of Hastinapur, known for its cultural and mythological significance.

Notes:
Madhya Pradesh will establish Nauradehi Sanctuary as the third home for cheetahs, after Kuno National Park and Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary. Cheetahs will be brought from Namibia (Africa) and released into Nauradehi to expand conservation efforts. The state is actively working on wildlife conservation, including releasing six crocodiles (four females, two males) into the Indira Sagar Dam on the Narmada River. A gharial conservation campaign is ongoing, and some gharials will be sent to Assam on request. Plans are underway for a new Omkareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, covering 61,407 hectares across Khandwa and Dewas districts.

Notes:
India has extended support to Afghanistan to build a dam on the Kunar River, shared between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The move comes amid tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan over water sharing. The Kunar River, also called the Kama River, is about 480 km long. It flows through eastern Afghanistan and northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The river originates in the Hindu Kush mountains, fed by melting glaciers and snow. In Pakistan, it is known as the Chitral River. It is a tributary of the Kabul River, which later joins the Indus River, forming part of the Indus watershed.

Notes:
Continuous floods at the Prakasam Barrage on the Krishna River have forced the closure of Bhavani Island and suspension of boat services, affecting tourism revenue. Bhavani Island, located near Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, is one of India’s largest river islands. The Krishna River, 1,400 km long, originates near Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra and flows through Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh before entering the Bay of Bengal. Its basin covers about 2.59 lakh sq. km, the second largest in peninsular India after the Godavari.