Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon (Environment) – April 18, 2020

Statement 1 is correct: The Government of India has launched the ‘Project Tiger’ in 1973. From 9 tiger reserves since its formative years, the Project Tiger coverage has increased to 50 at present, spread out in 18 of our tiger range states.

Statement 2 is incorrect: The tiger reserves are constituted on a core/buffer strategy. The core areas have the legal status of a national park or a sanctuary.

Statement 3 is incorrect: The buffer or peripheral areas are a mix of forest and non-forest land, managed as a multiple use area. The Project Tiger aims to foster an exclusive tiger agenda in the core areas of tiger reserves, with an inclusive people oriented agenda in the buffer.

Both statements are correct.

Statement 1 is correct: In any arrangement or community, the “keystone” is considered one of the most vital parts. In a marine ecosystem, or any type of ecosystem, a keystone species is an organism that helps hold the system together.

Statement 2 is correct: There are three types of keystone species cited by many scientists: predators, ecosystem engineers, and mutualists.

• Predators help control the populations of prey species, which in turn affects the quantity of plants and animals further along the food web.
• An ecosystem engineer is an organism that creates, changes, or destroys a habitat.
• When two or more species in an ecosystem interact for each other’s benefit, they are called mutualists.

Lawalong Wildlife Sanctuary was set up in 1978 to the southwest of Hazaribagh in the Chhotanagpur plateau area. It covers an area of about 211 sq. kms. The terrain is undulating and dissected by rivers and streams. Located in the south-west part of Chatra district, Lawalong sanctuary has a rich wildlife, including tiger and bison. Different spices of birds and serpents are also found here. A variety of wildlife including Tiger, Panther, Hyena, Spotted Deer, Wild Boar, Nilgai are available in this sanctuary.

All three valleys are located in Arunachal Pradesh.

Rivers constitute an important part of the topography of the state. Arunachal Pradesh is divided into five major river valleys: 1. The Siang Valley 2. The Kameng Valley  3. The Subansiri Valley  4. The Lohit Valley  5. The Tirap Valley.

These valleys are named after the important rivers of the state. The major rivers and their tributaries traversing the state are Siang, Kameng, Subansiri, Subansiri, Lohit, Tirap etc. All these and other countless rivers and rivulets are fed by snow from the Himalayas. Therefore, mostly these small rivulets are perennial in nature.

Statement 1 is correct: The World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL) advances environmental law around the globe by providing specialized knowledge and assistance to strengthen the legal foundations of the conservation of nature and sustainable development through the conceptual advancement of environmental principles, norms, and laws, and by building the capacity of communities to benefit from the environmental rule of law.

Statement 2 is incorrect: WCEL functions as an integral part of the IUCN Environmental Law Programme (ELP) that includes close collaboration with the Environmental Law Centre (ELC).