Environment & Biodiversity MCQs

Notes:
The European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), was the first large greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme in the world. It was launched in the year 2005 to fight global warming.

Notes:
Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2018 is based on the recommendations of Shailesh Nayak committee. Defense and strategic projects are exempted from regulations. For CRZ-III (Rural) areas, two separate categories have now been stipulated, i.e., CRZ-IIIA & CRZ-IIIB.

Notes:
Biocapacity refers to capacity of an area to provide resources and absorb wastes at the same time. When an area’s ecological footprint exceeds its biocapacity it results into unsustainability.

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The trees of mangrove forest having
breathing roots, which are usually very large to stand in deep mud. The necessity of Mangrove having breathing roots is to obtain oxygen from the atmosphere, while the soil in which mangroves grow are poor in oxygen.

Notes:
An Air Quality Index (AQI) of 301-500 is considered as hazardous to human health. It denotes the severely polluted state of air. AQI values over 300 trigger health warnings of emergency conditions. The entire population is even more likely to be affected by serious health effects.

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Particulate matter (PM) is a complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets that get into the air. This complex mixture includes both organic and inorganic particles, such as dust, pollen, soot, smoke, and liquid droplets. Ozone is created in the atmosphere when the sun’s rays split oxygen molecules into single atoms. These atoms combine with nearby oxygen to form a three-oxygen molecule, called ozone.

Notes:
The most abundant organic compound in the terrestrial environment is cellulose. A type of carbohydrate, cellulose contains chains of glucose rings. Providing strength and rigidity, cellulose forms the cell walls of plants. Cellulose is the primary constituent of wood, making this organic compound the most abundant one on the surface of the Earth.

Notes:
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was designed to reduce the production and consumption of ozone depleting substances in order to reduce their abundance in the atmosphere, and thereby protect the earth’s fragile ozone Layer. The original Montreal Protocol was agreed on 16 September 1987 and entered into force on 1 January 1989. In 1995, the United Nations named September 16 the International Day for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, also known as World Ozone Day.

Notes:
Thalweg Doctrine is a part of international law that aims to resolve water boundary disputes. The doctrine states that the boundary between two states divided by a flowing body of water may be drawn along the thalweg, which is the line of the greatest depth of the channel. The boundary would follow the center of the principal navigable channel of the waterway.

The Thalweg Doctrine has been used in several disputes, including:

1. The Shatt al-Arab between Iraq and Iran
2. The Danube in central Europe (Croatia–Serbia border dispute)
3. The Kasikili/Sedudu Island dispute between Namibia and Botswana
4. The 2004 dispute settlement under the UN Law of the Sea

The Thalweg Doctrine has also been used in the Sir Creek dispute between India and Pakistan. The dispute is not settled yet due to a lack of trust.

Notes:
The Gondwana Rainforests, designated as a World Heritage Site, are located in southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales in Australia. They personify extraordinary instances of Earth’s evolutionary phases, with over 50 sheltered areas playing host to more than 200 rare or endangered species. These rainforests are remnants from the ancient supercontinent Gondwana, evident through tree lineages such as Red and Yellow Carabeen. Unfortunately, they are threatened by climate change and provide important habitats for scarce species like the Hastings River Mouse and Parma Wallaby. Drawing around 2 million tourists each year, these vast rainforests cover an impressive 366,500 hectares.