Environment & Biodiversity Current Affairs MCQs

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Scientists have raised concerns that Narpuh Wildlife Sanctuary is facing serious conservation challenges due to limestone mining and cement factory activities nearby. The sanctuary is located in the East Jaintia Hills district, near Jowai town, in Meghalaya. It was officially notified as a wildlife sanctuary in 2014, and it is the only protected area in the Jaintia Hills region. The sanctuary is surrounded by Reserve Forests on all sides except the south-west side, which shares a boundary with the Assam.

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The 40th Asian Waterbird Census and 60th International Waterbird Census (IWC) will record bird species in Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary and nearby wetlands. Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Andhra Pradesh within the Godavari estuary, where the Coringa River meets the Bay of Bengal. It contains India’s second-largest mangrove forest along with dry deciduous tropical forests. The Asian Waterbird Census is an annual citizen-science programme under the global IWC for wetland conservation. In India, it is conducted by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and Wildlife Institute of India (WII).

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The National Green Tribunal (NGT), Principal Bench, New Delhi, dismissed an appeal challenging the cancellation of environmental clearance for sand mining in the Dhasan River, Jhansi district. The Dhasan River is a right-bank tributary of the Betwa River, which is itself a tributary of the Yamuna River. It flows through the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The river originates in Madhya Pradesh and forms the southeastern boundary of Lalitpur District in Uttar Pradesh. Historically, the river was known as Dasharna.

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Researchers discovered three new meadow katydid species in Jammu and Kashmir named Conocephalus usmanii, Conocephalus nagariensis, and Conocephalus ganderbali. Katydids are mainly nocturnal insects found on all continents except Antarctica. More than 8,000 species exist, belonging to the family Tettigoniidae. They are orthopterans, meaning straight-winged insects, related closely to crickets. Katydids are also called long-horned grasshoppers or bush crickets. They have long thread-like antennae and leaf-like bodies for camouflage. Most are herbivores with a lifespan of about one year.

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Research at 27 test lakes in northeastern Germany showed an increase in the abundance of charophytes. Charophytes are a type of green algae found in freshwater ecosystems. Fossils of charophytes date back to the Silurian Period, about 443 million years ago. This period marked the shift of plants from water to land, and charophytes are the closest living relatives of land plants. They grow in silt, mud, peat, or sand and often colonize newly cleared areas first.

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The Miyawaki method is increasingly used in cities where green cover has declined over decades, and it is often seen in recent urban greening drives. It is an afforestation technique developed in the 1970s by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki. Trees and shrubs are planted very close together, also called the pot plantation method. Only native species are planted, creating a resilient and balanced ecosystem. Forests grow nearly 10 times faster and become very dense with high biodiversity. Recent municipal projects have used this method to convert polluted and barren urban land into green spaces, reducing pollution, improving soil, and enhancing ecological balance.

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A new hedgehog species, Brandt’s hedgehog, has been discovered for the first time in India in Jammu and Kashmir through Deoxyribonucleic Acid analysis and morphological studies. Brandt’s hedgehog is a desert hedgehog scientifically known as Paraechinus hypomelas. It is native to the Middle East and Central Asia, including Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan. The species lives in arid and semi-arid habitats such as rocky deserts, scrublands, and dry mountain slopes. It is listed as Least Concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.

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Two tourists from Kerala drowned recently after the frozen surface of Sela Lake in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang district cracked beneath them while they were on it. Sela Lake, also called Paradise Lake, is a glacial lake located near Sela Pass in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh. Sela Pass is an important mountain pass connecting the Tawang region with the rest of Arunachal Pradesh. Due to extremely cold temperatures below zero, the lake remains frozen throughout winter. The high altitude results in very limited vegetation around the lake.

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The red-eared slider turtle, spread through the pet trade, is threatening freshwater bodies in Coimbatore. It is among the world’s most widely introduced freshwater turtles, found on all continents except Antarctica. This predominantly aquatic species is identified by red stripes behind each ear. It is highly adaptable, survives harsh conditions, and thrives in non-native habitats. It lives 20–50 years in the wild and is listed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

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A new flowering plant species named Strobilanthes riteshii has been formally recorded from Arunachal Pradesh. It belongs to the Acanthaceae family. The plant grows on open hill slopes, often near small waterfalls and streams within evergreen forest patches. Based on current knowledge, it is provisionally assessed as Data Deficient under the IUCN Red List, indicating that more field data is needed to understand its population status and threats.