Environment & Biodiversity Current Affairs MCQs

Notes:
Indonesia’s Mount Marapi, an active volcano in western Sumatra, recently erupted, sending ash 1.5 km (4,900 ft) into the sky. It is a stratovolcano, made of hardened lava, ash, and rocks from earlier eruptions. Marapi lies within the Ring of Fire, a seismically active zone around the Pacific Ocean. Standing at 2,891 meters (9,485 feet), it is the tallest volcano in the Padang Highlands. Its summit has the Bancah Caldera, with overlapping craters. A deadly lahar in 1979 killed 60 people. It is often confused with Mount Merapi, a different volcano in Java.

Notes:
A rare long-snouted vine snake called Ahaetulla longirostris was recently rediscovered during a rhino release at Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh. This is the first sighting in Uttar Pradesh and only the second in India, with the first being in Valmiki Tiger Reserve, Bihar. The snake’s usual habitat is in Southeast Asia, and it was also spotted earlier in parts of Odisha. It belongs to the Colubridae family, mostly made up of non-venomous snakes, and has a long green or brown slender body for camouflage. Dudhwa Tiger Reserve lies on the Indo-Nepal border in Lakhimpur Kheri district, Uttar Pradesh, and includes Dudhwa National Park, Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary, Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, and nearby forest areas.

Notes:
Citizens and environmentalists launched the ‘Save Bandipur’ protest in Karnataka after reports that the government may lift the night traffic ban on National Highway 766 (NH-766), which passes through Bandipur National Park. Bandipur National Park is a protected forest and tiger reserve located in Chamarajanagar district, Karnataka. It was first set up in 1931 as Venugopala Wildlife Park by the Maharaja of Mysore, covering 90 square kilometers. It became a Tiger Reserve in 1973 under Project Tiger and joined the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in 1986 due to its rich biodiversity and ecological importance.

Notes:
The International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) has officially signed an agreement with the Government of India to set up its headquarters and secretariat in India. IBCA was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2023 during the 50th anniversary of Project Tiger. It was formally approved by the Union Cabinet in February 2024. IBCA is implemented by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). The alliance aims to protect seven major big cat species: Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Puma, Jaguar, and Cheetah.

Notes:
Researchers from the Centre for Peninsular Aquatic Genetic Resources, Kochi, under the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR), discovered two new freshwater fish species from the Western Ghats. These species are named Labeo uru and Labeo chekida, and they help resolve a 150-year-old confusion over the identity of Labeo nigrescens, first described in 1870. Labeo uru, named after the traditional wooden dhow because of its sail-like fins, was found in the Chandragiri river. Labeo chekida, locally called kaka chekida for its dark body, was discovered in the Chalakudy river. The study confirmed Labeo nigrescens as a separate species, noted for its kinked lateral line and unique scale patterns. These findings highlight the Western Ghats as a major biodiversity hotspot, with rivers possibly hosting many undiscovered species.

Notes:
The Supreme Court recently dismissed a plea alleging illegal mining in Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh, calling it a frivolous abuse of law and imposed a ₹1 lakh penalty on the petitioner. Bandhavgarh National Park is located in the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh. It lies across the Vindhya hills, known for their forested terrain and wildlife. It was declared a national park in 1968 and became a Tiger Reserve in 1993 under Project Tiger. The park is famous for its Royal Bengal Tigers.

Notes:
Rajasthan has joined India’s first inter-state cheetah conservation corridor with Madhya Pradesh. This wildlife corridor is designed to connect protected areas in both states, allowing reintroduced cheetahs to roam safely across a vast ecosystem. The corridor covers 17,000 square kilometers, with 10,500 square kilometers in Madhya Pradesh and 6,500 square kilometers in Rajasthan. Key locations include Palpur Kuno National Park and Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, which will serve as cheetah habitats. Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, along with several districts like Kota and Sawai Madhopur, has been identified as a cheetah habitat.

Notes:
Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh has recently been renamed as Veerangana Rani Durgavati Tiger Reserve. It will become the third home of cheetahs in India under the cheetah reintroduction project. This follows the earlier relocation of eight cheetahs from Namibia to Kuno National Park in September 2022. Later, twelve more cheetahs were brought from South Africa, making Kuno the first cheetah home in India. The move to expand the habitat aims to support cheetah conservation and reduce pressure on existing reserves. This development highlights India’s growing efforts in wildlife restoration and biodiversity protection.

Notes:
A new species of cave-dwelling fish named Schistura densiclava was discovered by Gauhati University’s Department of Zoology in Meghalaya. It was found in Krem Mawjymbuina, a limestone cave near Mawjymbuin village in East Khasi Hills district. The cave is deep, seasonally accessible, surrounded by dense forest, and untouched by tourism, keeping it pristine. This discovery raises the number of known cave-associated fish in Meghalaya to six. Unlike typical cave fish, Schistura densiclava has working eyes and bright body colours, showing it is a troglophile, meaning it can live inside and outside caves. It belongs to the loach family called Nemacheilidae and thrives in cool, low-light cave streams.

Notes:
The Central Government recently declared an Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) around Tral Wildlife Sanctuary in Jammu and Kashmir. Tral Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Pulwama District and plays a key role as a wildlife movement corridor. It is one of the rare places outside Dachigam National Park where the critically endangered Hangul deer is still found. The sanctuary has typical Himalayan moist temperate, sub-alpine, and alpine forest types.