Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon (Environment) – October 10th,2020

Fresh community consists of an array of organisms depending on the physic-chemical and biological characteristics of the freshwater environment. Freshwater habitats are divided into two major categories:
•Lotic (lotus=washed, or running water): Lotic habitats are those existing in relatively fast running streams, springs, rivers and brooks.
•Lentic (lenis=calm, or standing water): Lentic habitats are represented by the lakes, ponds and swamps.
Source: NCERT

A carbon credit is a tradable permit or certificate that provides the holder of the credit the right to emit one ton of carbon dioxide or an equivalent of another greenhouse gas.
•The main goal for the creation of carbon credits is the reduction of emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from industrial activities to reduce the effects of global warming.
•Carbon credits are market mechanisms of the minimization of greenhouse gases emission.
•The introduction of carbon credit was ratified in the Kyoto Protocol.
•The Paris Agreement validates the application of carbon credits to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases and sets the provisions for the further facilitation of the carbon credits markets.
Types of Carbon Credits
There are two types of the carbon credits:
•Voluntary emissions reduction (VER): A carbon offset that is exchanged in the over-the-counter or voluntary market for credits.
•Certified emissions reduction (CER): Emission units (or Carbon credits) created through a regulatory framework with the purpose of offsetting a project’s emission. The main difference between the two is that there is a third party certifying body that regulates the CER as opposed to the VER.
Source: The Hindu

In India, 605 protected areas covering 5.2% of the total geographical area.
•Under this96 national parks, 509 wildlife sanctuaries, 3 conservation reserve.
•These are established under the wildlife (protection) Act.
In India, there are 4 important marine national parks
•Gulf of Kachchh National marine park (established in 1980; Okha to Jodia, Gujarat coast covering 42 islands; area 400 km2.
•Gulf of Mannar National marine park (established in 1986; Rameswarwm to Tuticorin, Tamilnadu; area 623ha)
•Wan door mahatma Gandhi marine park (established in 1983; area 281.50 km2, South Andaman)
•Rani Jhansi marine national park (established in 1996, area256.41 km2, Andaman)
Marine Sanctuaries:
•Bhitarakanika Gahiramatha sanctuaries (established in 1997: area 1,453 km2, Odisha.
•Malvan marine sanctuaries (established in 1987; area 29.12km2, Maharastra)
•Gulf of Kachchh (established in 1980, area 295.03 km2, Gujarat.
Source: ENVIS

: Apes Family of India: Unlike Africa in India we have only one species of Apes which even though is an ape yet is not one to be classified as one of the Great Apes (Chimpanzees & Gorillas).
It does has distinctive build of an ape-arms are longer than the legs and the body is tailless.
Hoolock Gibbon (Hylobates hoolock):
•It is the only ape to be found in India and is generally to seen in the forests of the North- East India and neighboring Bangladesh and Burma.
•The males have a black coat and the females can be distinguished by their lighter coat having grayish color.
•Hoolocks prefer to live in small groups in the hilly forests and feed on tender leaves, fruits, and insects including spiders.
•Their main source of water is from the dew which forms on the leaves.
•The young ones are normally born in the winter months between December and March.
•The average height of a Gibbon is 3 feet and the arms are normally double the length of its legs.
Source: The Hindu

The India State of Forest Report 2019 has been prepared by Forest Survey of India (FSI).
•The report is a biennial exercise.
•It assesses the forest and tree cover, bamboo resources, carbon stock and forest fires.
•The forest cover in the country has increased by 3,976 square kilometer in the last two years.
•The tree and forest cover together made up 25.56% of India’s area.
•In the last assessment it was 24.39%.
Source: The Hindu

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961, working in the field of wilderness preservation, and the reduction of human impact on the environment.
•It was formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States.
•WWF aims to “stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.”
•The Living Planet Report is published every two years by WWF since 1998; it is based on a Living Planet Index and ecological footprint calculation.
•In addition, WWF has launched several notable worldwide campaigns including Earth Hour and Debt-for-Nature Swap, and its current work is organized around these six areas: food, climate, freshwater, wildlife, forests, and oceans.
Source: The Hindu

In June 1992 representatives from 172 nations convened in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), commonly called the Earth Summit.
•Earth Summit 1992 produced the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the Statement of Forest Principles, and Agenda 21.
•The Earth Summit also led to the establishment of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
•The Convention on Biological Diversity is a binding treaty requiring nations to take inventories of their plants and wild animals and protect their endangered species.
•The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), or Global Warming Convention, is a binding treaty that requires nations to reduce their emission of carbon dioxide, methane, and other “greenhouse” gases thought to be responsible for global warming.
Source: The UNFCCC

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.
Source: UNEP

The Global Tiger Forum (GTF) is the only inter- governmental international body established with members from willing countries to embark on a global campaign to protect the Tiger.
•The GTF was formed in 1993 on recommendations from an international symposium on Tiger Conservation at New Delhi, India.
•The first meeting of the Tiger Range countries to setup the forum was held in 1994, in which India was elected to the Chair and was asked to form an interim secretariat.
•In 1997, the GTF became an independent organization.
•The GTF has a General Assembly meeting every 3 years and Standing committee meetings at least once a year.
•A Chairperson, usually a Minister from one of the Tiger Range countries heads GTF for a fixed tenure of 3 Years. The Secretariat of GTF is headed by a Secretary General and is located in New Delhi, India.
Source: The Hindu

Ozne constitutes only less than 0.002 percent of the volume of the atmosphere. However, it’s role is very critical as far as lives on the earth is concerned.
•It strongly absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Ultraviolet radiation is biologically destructive in many ways.
•It causes skin cancer and cataracts, suppresses the human immune system, dimimshes the yield of many crops, disrupts the acquatic food chain by killing micro-organisms on the ocean surface and many other negative effects which is still undiscovered.
•This is happening due to certain recent human activities which have injected certain chemicals in the stratosphere which consume ozone and reduce its concentration.
•Depletion is mainly caused by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, methyl chloroform and carbon tetrachlorides.
•These chemical substances are mainly either chlorine or bromine which can reach the stratosphere and catalytically break down ozone into oxygen. CFCs are odourless, non-flamable, non-corosive and nontoxic.
•For this reason, scientist originally believed CFCs could not possibly have any effect on the environment.
•That is why it is widely used in refrigeration and air conditioning, in foam and plastic manufacturing and in aerosol sprays.
•It needs certain actions both at individual as well as governmental level. Since the last two decades, certain actions have been initiated at global level.
•Among these Montreal Protocol of 1987 and London Conference of 1992 are important.
•In both these conferences it was decided that the developed countries would totally ban CFC production by 2000 and the developing countries by 2010AD.
Source: The Hindu