Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon – March 28, 2020

An area, whether within a sanctuary or not, can be notified by the state government to be constituted as a National Park, by reason of its ecological, faunal, floral, geomorphologic, or zoological association or importance, needed to for the purpose of protecting & propagating or developing wildlife therein or its environment. No human activity is permitted inside the national park except for the ones permitted by the Chief Wildlife Warden of the state under the conditions given in CHAPTER IV, Wildlife Protection Act 1972. There are 104 existing national parks in India covering an area of 40501.13 km2, which is 1.23% of the geographical area of the country (National Wildlife Database, May 2019).

Nameri National Park covers an area of 200 Sq. Kms. With river Jia Bhoroli bi-furcating the park, it is the most scenic of all the national parks of Assam. It’s in the eastern border of Assam in the valley and mountainous Arunachal Pradesh. It was set up as a sanctuary in 1985 with an area of 137 sq. km. In 1998 it was officially established as a National Park. Nameri is home to some of the endangered species like white winged wood duck, Sloth Bear, Tiger Leopard, Clouded Leopard, Sambar, Gaur, Indian Wild Dog, four varieties of Hornbill and many other winged species. The other reason Nameri is famous for, is the herds of elephants. The park have a high density of elephant population and due to lessening of forest cover, they sometimes invade human inhabited villages, which have attracted the attention of wildlife conservationists worldwide.

Sambar deer is one of the largest members of the deer family. There are 7 subspecies of sambar deer that originate from southern and southeastern parts of Asia (Sri Lanka, Nepal, China, Cambodia and Thailand). They can be found all over Australia, New Zealand and North America today. Sambar deer inhabit tropical rainforests, evergreen and mixed forests. They live in habitats that provide enough water. Sambar deer are often on a target of hunters because of their beautiful antlers and meat. Also, different parts of their body are used in traditional Asian medicine. Habitat loss (as a result of deforestation) additionally decreases number of sambar deer in the wild. These animals are listed as vulnerable (may become endangered in the near future).

The Western Ghats cover only 5% of India’s land surface but are home to more than about 4,000 of the country’s plant species of which 1800 are endemic. The monsoon forests occur both on the western margins of the ghats and on the eastern side where there is less rainfall. This zone displays diversity of forests from evergreen to dry deciduous. The Nilgiri langur, lion tailed macaque, Nilgiri tahr, Malabar grey hornbill and most amphibian species are endemic to the Western Ghats.

The Climate Change Performance Index published by Germanwatch, CAN International and the NewClimate Institute evaluates and compares the climate protection performance of 56 countries and the EU. The Climate Change Performance Index is an independent monitoring tool of countries’ climate protection performance. It aims to enhance transparency in international climate politics and enables the comparability of climate protection efforts and progress made by individual countries. On the basis of standardised criteria, the index evaluates and compares the climate protection performance of 56 countries and the EU that are, together, responsible for nearly 90 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.