Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon (Environment) – September 26, 2020

In the Constitution of India it is clearly stated that it is the duty of the state to ‘protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country’ (Article 48A – added through 42^nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976).

• It imposes a duty on every citizen ‘to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife’.
• Reference to the environment has also been made in the Directive Principles of State Policy as well as the Fundamental Rights.
• The Department of Environment was established in India in 1980 to ensure a healthy environment for the country.
• This later became the Ministry of Environment and Forests in 1985.

1882 – The Easement Act allows private rights to use a resource that is, groundwater, by viewing it as an attachment to the land. It also states that all surface water belongs to the state and is a state property.

• 1970 – The Merchant Shipping Act aims to deal with waste arising from ships along the coastal areas within a specified radius.
• 1982 – The Atomic Energy Act deals with the radioactive waste.
• 1991 – The Public Liability Insurance Act and Rules and Amendment, 1992 was drawn up to provide for public liability insurance for the purpose of providing immediate relief to the persons affected by accident while handling any hazardous substance.

A study of fruits and vegetables grown in the Nilgiris has found that some of the produce might be harbouring high levels of pesticide, beyond what is considered advisable.

• While the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) prescribes a maximum residual level (MRL) for some of the organophosphate pesticides used, it does not prescribe it for some other pesticides used in the cultivation of fruit and vegetables.
• It is known that organophosphate pesticides such as acephate, malathion, profenofos, chlorpyrifos and quinalphos are used in the cultivation of fruits and vegetables.
• The study measured the levels of these pesticides in 659 samples of fresh fruit and vegetables collected during the agricultural season of 2018-2019.
• Samples of 18 varieties of fruit and vegetable were collected from four cities of the Nilgiris – Ooty, Gudalur, Kothagiri and Coonoor.
• Of these, the researchers did not detect pesticides in approximately 57% of the samples.
• Close to 34% had pesticides used below the MRLs and the remainder — about 8% — showed usage of pesticides above the MRLs.
• Among the varieties of vegetables and fruits studied, potato and carrot had the highest usage of these pesticides.

The Nalabana bird sanctuary is located on Nalabana Island in the Chilika lagoon area in Odisha.

• The Nalabana Bird Sanctuary is the core area of Chilika.
• The large Nalabana Island (Forest of Reeds) covering about 16 sq km was declared a bird sanctuary in 1987.
• Chilika Lake gets heavy inflow of water from rivers Bhargavi and Daya.
• Chilika Lake is Asia’s largest and world’s second-largest lagoon after the New Caledonian barrier reef in New Caledonia.

Threatened by untamed dogs and stray cattle, the blackbuck, Punjab’s State animal, is fighting for survival at the Abohar Wildlife Sanctuary in the Fazilka district.

• Abohar is an open wildlife sanctuary, spreading across private land in 13 villages.
• The blackbuck was notified as State animal of Punjab in 1989, and its presence in the State is confined only to the Abohar Wildlife Sanctuary, with its unique habitat of semi-arid plains featuring agricultural fields, intermittent fallow-barren land, scattered sand dunes and mounds, and ridges.
• In the sanctuary, where land in mainly owned by the local Bishnoi community, there were 3,273 blackbucks, according to the 2017 census conducted jointly by the Punjab Biodiversity Board (PBB) and the Forest and Wildlife Department, against 3,500 in 2011.

According to the “Environment Protection Act, 1986”, “Environmental pollutant” means any solid,liquid or gaseous substance present in such concentration as may be, or tend to be, injurious to environment;

The VIMSAR, a major public healthcare center for western Odisha and parts of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, has many deaths cases of farmers, since September 2017.

• The reason behind these deaths is the consumption of Paraquat — a herbicide used in agricultural fields.
• Paraquat is a toxic chemical that is widely used as an herbicide (plant killer), primarily for weed and grass control.

Wetlands International is the global not-for-profit organization dedicated to the conservation and restoration of wetlands.

• Wetlands are the source of water that supports all forms of life.
• Despite our efforts to promote their importance, loss and damage to wetlands and their biodiversity continues.
• Our vision is a world where wetlands are treasured and nurtured for their beauty, the life they support and the resources they provide.
• The Wetlands International Luc Hoffmann Medal for Wetland Science and Conservation is awarded every triennium to honor Dr Luc Hoffmann, one of the inspirational and far-sighted founders of Wetlands International.

Adorning the northeastern corner of West Bengal, bordering Bhutan and Assam, Buxa Tiger Reserve was set up at on 16th February 1983 and was then, the 15th tiger reserve of the country.

• The forest constituting the Buxa Tiger Reserve is the largest in the Dooars – the alluvial floodplains of Northeast India.
• Spanning over a whopping 759 sq. km., this tiger reserve is irrigated by several rivers and their tributaries. It boasts of a diverse and breathtaking landscape.
• This reserve is home to 67 species of mammals, 36 species of reptiles and 230 species of unidentified avifauna and encompasses more than eight types of forests.
• The great diversity of mammals in this reserve makes it the second highest among all tiger reserves in India.

“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”.