QUIZ – 2020: INSIGHTS STATIC , 21 April 2021 – Environment

Solution: c)

National Board for Wildlife:

• It is a “Statutory Organization” constituted under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
• Its roles is “advisory” in nature and advises the Central Government on framing policies and measures for conservation of wildlife in the country.
• Primary function of the Board is to promote the conservation and development of wildlife and forests.
• It has power to review all wildlife-related matters and approve projects in and around national parks and sanctuaries.
• No alternation of boundaries in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries can be done without approval of the NBWL.
• Composition: The NBWL is chaired by the Prime Minister.

Solution: d)

The Environment Minister emphasized that the CAMPA funds cannot be used for payment of salary, travelling allowances, medical expenses, etc.

“Important activities on which the fund will be utilised will be for the Compensatory Afforestation, Catchment Area Treatment, Wildlife Management, Assisted Natural Regeneration, Forest Fire Prevention and Control Operations, Soil and Moisture Conservation Works in the forest, Improvement of Wildlife Habitat, Management of Biological Diversity and Biological Resources, Research in Forestry and Monitoring of CAMPA works etc”.

Solution: a)

Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) has been constituted under Section 3(3) of the ‘Environment (Protection) Act, 1986’ for the purpose of regulation and control of ground water development and management in the Country.

Solution: c)

States and Union Territories with more than 75 per cent of their land under forest cover can undertake compensatory afforestation in other states. Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya and Nagaland fall in this category.

According to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, each time forest land is diverted, the project proponent has to pay the state to undertake plantation and for the ecosystem services lost due to diverting forest land, called Net Present Value (NPV).

Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Rajasthan — states with the most degraded land.

Solution: a)

Preservation of forest areas in India under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 has been continuously monitored by the Supreme Court since the Godavarman case judgment in 1996.

While the concept of deemed forests has not been clearly defined in any law including the Forest Conservation Act of 1980.

Deemed forests, which comprise about 1% of India’s forest land, are a controversial subject as they refer to land tracts that appear to be a “forest”, but have not been notified so by the government or in historical records.