Daily Quiz #24 UPSC Prelims Marathon – September 28, 2019

Explanation: The Global Environment Outlook (GEO) is often referred to as UN Environment’s flagship environmental assessment. The first publication was in 1997 and was originally requested by Member States. It is a flagship report because it fulfills the core functions of the organization, which date back to the UN General Assembly resolution that established the UN Environment Programme in 1972. The Global Environment Outlook (GEO) is a consultative and participatory process to prepare an independent assessment of the state of the environment, the effectiveness of the policy response to address these environmental challenges and the possible pathways to be achieve various internationally agreed environmental goals. The process also builds capacity for conducting integrated environmental assessments and reporting on the state, trends and outlooks of the environment. The Global Environment Outlook (GEO) is also a series of products that informs environmental decision-making for not only governments but also various stakeholders such as the youth, businesses and local governments and aims to facilitate the interaction between science and policy.

Explanation: Indira Gandhi (Anamalai) National Park is a beautiful place, located in the Coimbatore district of the state of Tamil Nadu. Indira Gandhi (Anamalai) National Park is a part of Indira Gandhi (Anamalai) Wildlife Sanctuary. Anamalai derives its name (‘Anai’ meaning elephant and ‘Malai’ meaning hills) from the large number of wild elephants living in the area.
Anamalai Wildlife Sanctuary was established in the year of 1976. The Anamalai Wildlife Sanctuary was renamed as Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary in the year of 1987 (After former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who visited the Sanctuary). Total area of the Sanctuary is 841.49 Km2.

Explanation: The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized agency of the United Nations, was one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference.
The conference was organized by the United Nations in response to the food crises of the early 1970s, when global food shortages were causing widespread famine and malnutrition, primarily in the Sahelian countries of Africa. World leaders realized that food insecurity and famine were not so much failures in food production but structural problems relating to poverty. This was compounded by the fact that the majority of the developing world’s poor people lived in rural areas. In response to these complex challenges, it was decided that an “an International Fund for Development should be established immediately to finance agricultural development projects, primarily for food production in the developing countries … The Fund shall provide financing primarily for projects and programmes specifically designed to introduce, expand or improve food production systems and to strengthen related policies and institutions …”
Three years after the Rome conference, IFAD was set up as an international financial institution in 1977. Since then, IFAD-supported projects have reached millions of people.

Explanation: “The National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC) is a Central Sector Scheme which was set up in the year 2015-16. The overall aim of NAFCC is to support concrete adaptation activities which mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. The activities under this scheme are implemented in a project mode. The projects related to adaptation in sectors such as agriculture, animal husbandry, water, forestry, tourism etc. are eligible for funding under NAFCC. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is the National Implementing Entity (NIE). The States/UTs are required to prepare the project proposal in consultation with NIE i.e. NABARD. The project proposals are required to be approved by the State Steering Committee on Climate Change to be eligible for consideration under NAFCC. It is the discretion of the State Government to engage any organization to assist in project preparation, as per their requirement”.

Explanation: The United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2030 provides a global framework for action at all levels to sustainably manage all types of forests and trees outside forests, and to halt deforestation and forest degradation. The historic agreement on the Strategic Plan was forged at a special session of the United Nations Forum on Forests in January 2017, and subsequently adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in April 2017. At the heart of the Strategic Plan are six Global Forest Goals and 26 associated targets to be achieved by 2030. These goals and targets, set out in this concise publication, fully encompass and build on the solid foundation provided by the four Global Objectives on Forests included in the United Nations Forest Instrument. The Global Forest Goals and targets are voluntary and universal. They support the objectives of the international arrangement on forests and are aimed at contributing to progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and other international forest-related instruments, processes, commitments and goals.