Environment & Biodiversity MCQs

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After the Stockholm Conference which was held in Stockholm. Constitutional sanction was given to environmental concerns through the 42nd Amendment 1976, which incorporated them into the Directive Principles of State Policy and Fundamental Rights and Duties.

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The Article 48A of the Indian Constitution states that “The State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country”.

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The Amendment of 1988 to the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 empowered SPCB and CPCB to close a defaulting industrial plant. The Act prohibits the use of any stream or well for disposal of polluting matter.

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Reunion cuckooshrike is a passerine bird in the cuckooshrike family which is endemic to and found only in the mountain forest areas of the Reunion Island, an overseas region of France in the Indian Ocean. According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, it is a “critically endangered” bird species.

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Permaculture is a method of developing ecologically harmonious, efficient, and sustainable means of farming. The Agroforestry and mixed farming uses a land management system in which trees or shrubs or crops and livestock are raised together. Hence all three are elements of sustainable agriculture.

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The Convention on Wetlands, called the Ramsar Convention, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. It is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the Convention was signed in 1971.

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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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National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has developed a series of interactive maps and graphs to describe the global climate and how it has changed over time. They focus on 5 key climate indicators:
• carbon dioxide concentration
• global surface temperature
• Arctic sea ice
• land ice
• sea level

Notes:
Forests are home to a large number of plants and animals. They are the “green lungs” and serve as water purifying systems of nature. In a forest, there are various types of interactions that occur between the living and the non-living components. The oxygen released during photosynthesis is used by the animals for respiration. In this way, plants and animals help in maintaining the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Therefore, forests can be considered as a dynamic living entity.

Notes:
Macquarie Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a subantarctic island 1,500 km southeast of Tasmania. It is a unique geological wonder, composed of oceanic crust and mantle rocks exposed above sea level. The island is home to 28 native vertebrates, including the royal penguin and Macquarie Island shag, with over 750,000 royal penguin pairs breeding annually. The island is also known for its megaherbs and endemic plants like the cushion plant Azorella macquariensis. It has no permanent human population but hosts a research station since 1948. The island’s ecosystem has been impacted by introduced species like rabbits and cats, leading to conservation efforts. Macquarie Island is subject to fierce winds and is an important site for seabirds and seals, with 3.5 million seabirds and 80,000 elephant seals arriving each year to breed and molt.