DAY – 19 (InstaTest-19): Insta 75 Days Revision Plan-2022: Topic – Environment & Ecology, Subject-wise Test 15, Textbook based Test 19 and March 2022 CA

Solution: b)

Justification:  The Environment Protection Act, 1986 does not mention the word “Eco-sensitive Zones”.

The section 3(2)(v) of the Act, says that Central Government can restrict areas in which any industries, operations or processes shall not be carried out or shall be carried out subject to certain safeguards

Besides the section 5 (1) of this act says that central government can prohibit or restrict the location of industries and carrying on certain operations or processes on the basis of considerations like the biological diversity of an area, maximum allowable limits of concentration of pollutants for an area, environmentally compatible land use, and proximity to protected areas.

The above two clauses have been effectively used by the government to declare Eco-Sensitive Zones or Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFA). The same criteria have been used by the government to declare No Development Zones.

The Jammu and Kashmir UT will set up a 10-member committee that will declare Dal Lake, an Eco-sensitive Zone.

Criteria: The MoEF (Ministry of Environment & Forests) has approved a comprehensive set of guidelines laying down parameters and criteria for declaring ESAs. These include Species Based (Endemism, Rarity etc), Ecosystem Based (sacred groves, frontier forests etc) and Geomorphologic feature based (uninhabited islands, origins of rivers etc).

Q Source: Insights modules

Solution: a

Justification:  Central India is considered to be the heart of India’s wildlife. It is home to some of India’s largest forest tracts, rich wildlife as well as indigenous people who have been living in the forests since time immemorial.

Located to the south of the Vindhya hill range, Central India is well known for its sal (Shorearobusta) forests, in fact the region is the meeting point of sal (Shorearobusta) from the north and teak (Tectonagrandis) forests from the south.

WWF-India’s Central Indian Satpuda Maikal Landscape (SML) sprawls across 19 districts in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh covering a total area of 1,43,551km2. Of this, roughly 40,837km2 is under forest cover, with some of the country’s most famous tiger reserves and Protected Areas. This landscape supports approx. 16% of the total population of tigers found in India, with some of the largest contiguous forested tracks connected through wildlife corridors. Some of the tiger reserves critical from a conservation standpoint in this landscape are Kanha, Satpuda, Pench, Melghat, Tadoba and Achanakmar.

This landscape is amongst WWF’s global priority regions for conservation, especially for tigers. It is also recognized as a region with one of the best potentials for long-term tiger conservation by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, Government of India. Other than the tiger (Panthera tigris), the faunal diversity includes some of the most charismatic and endangered species such as the leopard (Panthera pardus), sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), gaur (Bos gaurus), hard ground swamp deer (Cervus duvacelli) as well as more than 300 species of birds.

WWF-India has been working here since 2003 with an aim of securing habitat connectivity within the landscape to ensure free movement of tigers and other wildlife, while reducing conflict with people.

WWF-India has identified six such corridors, Kanha-Achanakmar, Kanha-Pench, Pench-Satpuda, Pench-Tadoba, Kanha-Tadoba, Satpuda-Melghat, and is working in these corridors by managing human-wildlife conflict, monitoring tigers and wildlife movement, developing alternatives with local communities, and building political support for conservation. The goal is to have the Central Indian Satpuda Maikal Landscape fully connected via tiger reserves (core areas) and newly functional corridors, resulting in a 20 per cent increase in habitat and a 75 per cent increase in the tiger population by 2020.

Q Source: https://www.wwfindia.org/about_wwf/critical_regions/satpuda_maikal_landscape/about_satpura_maikal_landscape/

Solution: b

Justification:  Botanical Survey of India (BSI) is the apex research organization under Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Govt. of India for carrying out taxonomic and floristic studies on wild plant resources of the country. It does not conduct research on animal species, so S1 is wrong.

After independence the department was reorganized in 1954 by Government of India as a part of scientific development of the country.

During the successive plan periods, the functional base of BSI was further expanded to include various new areas such as inventorying of endemic, rare and threatened plant species; evolving conservation strategies; studies on fragile ecosystems and protected areas, like wildlife sanctuaries, national parks and biosphere reserves, multiplication and maintenance of endemic and threatened plant species, wild ornamentals, etc., in Botanic Gardens and Orchidaria; documentation of traditional knowledge associated with plants and development of National Database of herbarium specimens/live collection/ botanical paintings/ illustrations, plant distribution and nomenclature, plant uses, etc.

Q Source: Basics: Conservation efforts in India

Solution: a

Justification:  The Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) is an 810km stretch between the river Yamuna in the west and the river Bhagmati in the east, comprising the Shivalik hills, the adjoining bhabhar areas and the Terai flood plains.

It is spread across the Indian states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and the low lying hills of Nepal. The landscape boasts of some of India’s most well-known Tiger Reserves and Protected Areas such as Corbett Tiger Reserve, Rajaji National Park, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, Valmiki Tiger Reserve and Nepal’s Bardia Wildlife Sanctuary, Chitwan National Park, and Sukhla Phanta Wildlife Sanctuary. In total, the landscape has 13 Protected Areas, nine in India and four in Nepal, covering a total area of 49,500 km2, of which 30,000km2 lies in India.

These forests are home to three flagship species, the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris), the greater one horned rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) and the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus).

Q Source: https://www.wwfindia.org/about_wwf/critical_regions/terai_arc_landscape/about_terai_arc_landscape/

Solution: a

Justification:  The idea of ‘Biosphere Reserves’ was initiated by UNESCO in 1973-74 under its Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme.

The MAB, launched in 1970 by UNESCO, is a broad-based ecological programme aimed to develop within the natural and social sciences a basis for the rational use and conservation of the resources of the biosphere and for the improvement of the relationship between man and the environment, to predict the consequences of today’s actions on tomorrow’s world and thereby to increase man’s ability to manage efficiently the natural resources of the biosphere.

The Indian National Man and Biosphere (MAB) Committee identifies and recommends potential sites for designation as Biosphere Reserves, following the UNESCO’s guidelines and criteria. There are 18 designated Biosphere Reserves (BRs). Out of 18 Biosphere Reserves, 10 Biosphere Reserves have been included in the world Network of Biosphere Reserves of UNESCO. 

Implementing organizations are the concerned states/UT government, environment and forest departments/line departments. Lead institutes identified for the Biosphere Reserves conduct research activities on the sanctioned research projects and periodic review and progress reports are evaluated by experts and the evaluation of the completed report is done by the designated committee.

Q Source: Basics: Protected areas

Solution: C

All the species of organisms inhabiting a particular area (land or water) are together termed as BIODIVERSITY or Biological Diversity of that area. In other words, “Species-richness of a place is called as its biodiversity.”

According to the world Resource Institute, IUCN and UNEP (1992) – “Biodiversity is the totality of genes, species, and ecosystems in a region.”

Biodiversity is the term popularized by the sociobiologist Edward Wilson to describe the combined diversity at all the levels of biological organisation. The most important of them are–

(i) Genetic diversity: A single species might show high diversity at the genetic level over its distributional range. The genetic variation shown by the medicinal plant Rauwolfia vomitoria growing in different Himalayan ranges might be in terms of the potency and concentration of the active chemical (reserpine) that the plant produces. India has more than 50,000 genetically different strains of rice, and 1,000 varieties of mango.

(ii) Species diversity: The diversity at the species level, for example, the Western Ghats have a greater amphibian species diversity than the Eastern Ghats.

(iii) Ecological diversity: At the ecosystem level, India, for instance, with its deserts, rain forests, mangroves, coral reefs, wetlands, estuaries, and alpine meadows has a greater ecosystem diversity than a Scandinavian country like Norway.

Solution: D

Causes of biodiversity losses: The accelerated rates of species extinctions that the world is facing now are largely due to human activities. There are four major causes (‘The Evil Quartet’) is the sobriquet used to describe them).

(i) Habitat loss and fragmentation: This is the most important cause driving animals and plants to extinction. The most dramatic examples of habitat loss come from tropical rain forests. Once covering more than 14 per cent of the earth’s land surface, these rain forests now cover no more than 6 per cent. They are being destroyed fast.

(ii) Over-exploitation: Humans have always depended on nature for food and shelter, but when ‘need’ turns to ‘greed’, it leads to over-exploitation of natural resources. Many species extinctions in the last 500 years (Steller’s sea cow, passenger pigeon) were due to overexploitation by humans. Presently many marine fish populations around the world are over harvested, endangering the continued existence of some commercially important species.

(iii) Alien species invasions: When alien species are introduced unintentionally or deliberately for whatever purpose, some of them turn invasive, and cause decline or extinction of indigenous species.

(iv) Co-extinctions: When a species becomes extinct, the plant and animal species associated with it in an obligatory way also become extinct. When a host fish species becomes extinct, its unique assemblage of parasites also meets the same fate. Another example is the case of a coevolved plant-pollinator mutualism where extinction of one invariably leads to the extinction of the other.

Solution: B

Population

Population is a group of organisms usually of the same species, occupying a defined area during a specific time. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.

Population growth rate is the percentage variation between the number of individuals in a population at two different times. Therefore the population growth rate can be positive or negative.

Community

If we look around ourself, we will notice that population of plants and animals seldom occur by themselves. The reason for this is quite obvious. In order to survive, individuals of any one species depend on individuals of different species with which they actively interact in several ways.

For eg: Animals require plants for food and trees for shelter. Plants require animals for pollination, seed dispersal, and soil microorganism to facilitate nutrient supply. Communities in most instances are named after the dominant plant form (species).

Solution: D

Ecotone is a zone of junction between two or more diverse ecosystems. For e.g. the mangrove forests represent an ecotone between marine and terrestrial ecosystem. Other examples are – grassland, estuary and river bank

Characteristics of Ecotone

• It may be very narrow or quite wide.
• It has the conditions intermediate to the adjacent ecosystems. Hence it is a zone of tension.
• It is linear as it shows progressive increase in species composition of one in coming community and a simultaneous decrease in species of the other outgoing adjoining community.
• A well-developed ecotone contain some organisms which are entirely different from that of the adjoining communities.
• Sometimes the number of species and the population density of some of the species is much greater in this zone than either community. This is called edge effect.

The organisms which occur primarily or most abundantly in this zone are known as edge species. In the terrestrial ecosystems edge effect is especially applicable to birds. For example the density of birds is greater in the mixed habitat of the ecotone between the forest and the desert.

Solution: B

Biomagnification

• Biomagnification refers to the tendency of pollutants to concentrate as they move from one trophic level to the next.
• Thus in biomagnification there is an increase in concentration of a pollutant from one link in a food chain to another.

In order for biomagnification to occur, the pollutant must be: long-lived, mobile, soluble in fats, biologically active. If a pollutant is short-lived, it will be broken down before it can become dangerous. 

If it is not mobile, it will stay in one place and is unlikely to be taken up by organisms. If the pollutant is soluble in water, it will be excreted by the organism. Pollutants that dissolve in fats, however, may be retained for a long time. It is traditional to measure the amount of pollutants in fatty tissues of organisms such as fish. In mammals, we often test the milk produced by females, since the milk has a lot of fat in it are often more susceptible to damage from toxins (poisons). If a pollutant is not active biologically, it may biomagnify, but we really don’t worry about it much, since it probably won’t cause any problems Examples: DDT.

Solution: A

Dissolved oxygen:

• In aquatic ecosystems oxygen is dissolved in water, where its concentration varies constantly depending on factors that influence the input and output of oxygen in water.
• In fresh water the average concentration of dissolved oxygen is 0.0010 per cent (also expressed as 10 parts per million or 10 ppm) by weight, which is 150 times lower than the concentration of oxygen in an equivalent volume of air.
• Oxygen enters the aquatic ecosystem through the air water interface and by the photosynthetic activities of aquatic plants.
• Therefore, the quantity of dissolved oxygen present in an ecosystem depends on the rate at which the aforesaid two processes occur.
• Dissolved oxygen escapes the water body through airwater interface and through respiration of organisms (fish, decomposers, zooplanktons, etc).
• The amount of dissolved oxygen retained in water is also influenced by temperature. Oxygen is less soluble in warm water. Warm water also enhances decomposer activity. Therefore, increasing the temperature of a waterbody increases the rate at which oxygen is depleted from water. 
• When the dissolved oxygen level falls below 3-5 ppm, many aquatic organisms are likely to die.

Solution: D

“Biodiversity Heritage Sites” (BHS) are well defined areas that are unique, ecologically fragile ecosystems – terrestrial, coastal and inland waters and, marine  having rich biodiversity comprising of any one or more of the following components: richness of wild as well as domesticated species or intra-specific categories, high endemism, presence of rare and threatened species, keystone species, species of evolutionary significance, wild ancestors of domestic/ cultivated species or their varieties, past pre-eminence of biological components represented by fossil beds and having significant cultural, ethical or aesthetic values and are important for the maintenance of cultural diversity, with or without a long history of human association with them.

Solution: D

The term Forest Fire is also called as wildfire which refers to all uncontrolled fires that burn surface vegetation (grass, weeds, grain fields, brush, chaparral, tundra, and forest and woodland); often these fires also involve structures. In addition to the wildfires, several million acres of forest land are intentionally burnt each year under controlled conditions to accomplish some silvicultural or other land-use objective or for hazard reduction.

CAUSES OF FOREST FIRES

Forest fires may be caused by many different types of factors. These factors are mentioned below-

1. Natural causes- fires caused by lightning, and fires caused by volcanic eruption,
2. Accidental causes- fires caused by sparks from wheels of trains or certain locomotives, and other causes
3. Negligence – These causes include –

(i) Fires caused by cigarette stubs or matches- along roadways, – in rural areas, – in wooded areas, and along railway lines.

(ii) Fires caused by agricultural and forestry activities- for the clearing of uncultivated land, for the clearing of plant residue (forestry and agricultural processing), for the renewal of pastures, for the burning of stubble and for the clearing of road and railway embankments.

(iii) Fires caused by other forms of negligence- fires caused by recreational and tourist activities, – fires caused by the firing of fire-crackers and rockets, blasting of landmines or explosive,- fires caused by the use of motor, flame, electric or mechanical devices, – fires caused by military manoeuvres or shooting exercises, fires caused by the burning of waste in illegal dumps, fires caused by bad maintenance of electrical lines or by the breakage or falling of wires, and fires caused by negligence not otherwise defined.

1. Arson- These include-

(i) Fires caused in connection with profit seeking- Examples of these causes include – fires caused by the creation or renewal of pastures at the expense of forests; fires caused by the will to regain agricultural terrain at the expense of forests for cultivation or to activate funding from

European Union; Fires caused to obtain products deriving from fire passage; fires caused by organized crime.

(ii) Fires due to manifestations of protest, resentment or insensitivity toward forests- fires caused as revenge or retaliation against public administration; fires caused by terrorist acts, fires caused by dissatisfaction; social dissent, behavioral disturbances (pyromania and mythomania).

(iii) Fires due to dubious causes – fires caused by arson not otherwise defined. Common causes of forest fire include lightning, human carelessness, slash-and-burn farming, arson, volcano eruption, pyroclastic cloud from active volcano, and underground coal fire. Heat waves, droughts, and cyclical climate changes such as El Niño can also dramatically increase the risk of wildfires.

Solution: C

What are Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Birds are excellent indicators of ecosystem health. The IBA programme of Birdlife International aims to identify, monitor and protect a global network of IBAs for conservation of the world’s birds and associated biodiversity. The IBAs serve as conservation areas for protection of birds at the global, regional or sub-regional level. According to Birdlife International, designation of IBAs is based on standardized criteria, namely

(i) hold significant numbers of one or more globally threatened bird species,

(ii) be one of a set of sites that together hold a suite of restricted-range species or biome-restricted species and

(iii) have exceptionally large numbers of migratory or congregatory birds.

The IBAs contain a range of habitats, such as wetlands, mudflats, microhabitats in biodiversity hotspots, grasslands and scrublands, making them excellent indicators of biodiversity richness (India’s 5th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity, 2014). The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS; http://www.bnhs.org) and Birdlife International have identified 467 IBAs in India (Islam and Rahmani, 2004). Forty percent of these IBAs fall outside the PA network and thus form an important tool for landscape-level conservation planning. BNHS has also prepared a list of 96 new/potential sites which can be designated as IBAs in the future.

Solution: C

Andaman & Nicobar Islands Forest and Plantation Development Corporation Ltd.: Andaman & Nicobar Island Plantation Development Corporation Limited (ANIFPDCL), Port Blair is the only CPSE under the administrative control of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. It was created in 1977 with the broad objectives of development and management of forestry plantations on the Islands. The Corporation is loss making and as per the approved Cabinet Note, Ministry is implementing the closure plan of the Corporation

Solution : b

Solution: a

• Increasing girl’s access to schooling and higher education: Kanyashree Prakalpa scheme of the West Bengal government, a Conditional Cash Transfer scheme, aims to promote secondary education among females and to stop marriage of girls before the official age of 18.
• Ensuring safety and security of girls: Effective implementation of Immoral Traffic Prevention Act 1956 along with effective implementation of UJJAWALA scheme is called for prevention from immoral trafficking and rehabilitation of trafficked victims which also abets child marriages.

Solution : d

Solution: c

Pinaka is a multiple rocket launcher produced in India and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Army. The system has a maximum range of 40 km for Mark-I and 60 km for Mark-I enhanced version, and can fire a salvo of 12 HE rockets in 44 seconds. The system is mounted on a Tatra truck for mobility. Pinaka saw service during the Kargil War, where it was successful in neutralising enemy positions on the mountain tops.It has since been inducted into the Indian Army in large numbers.

Solution : d

• It is a global money laundering and terrorist financing Watchdog(NOT agency).
• It currently comprises 37 countries (including India) and 2 regional organisations.

Solution : b

Internal Debt and external debt combined together is also called Public Debt (of Govt. of India)

Solution : a

The monetary transmission mechanism is the process by which asset prices and general economic conditions are affected as a result of monetary policy decisions. Such decisions are intended to influence the aggregate demand, interest rates, and amounts of money and credit in order to affect overall economic performance.

The traditional monetary transmission mechanism occurs through interest rate channels, which affect interest rates, costs of borrowing, levels of physical investment, and aggregate demand. Additionally, aggregate demand can be affected through friction in the credit markets, known as the credit view. In short, the monetary transmission mechanism can be defined as the link between monetary policy and aggregate demand.

So lack of banking and post office savings hinders transmission

Solution : d

An Insolvency Resolution Process can be initiated by

• Financial creditor or
• Operational Creditor or
• Corporate itself.

Solution : a

A pre-pack is an agreement for the resolution of the debt of a distressed company through an agreement between secured creditors and investors instead of a public bidding process

Pre-pack envisages a consensual process – prior understanding among or approval by stakeholders about the course of action

The plan has to be approved by a minimum of 66 percent of unrelated financial creditors to the corporate is required before a plan is sent to NCLT.

Solution c

The IPAB stands abolished after the passage of Tribunal reforms (Rationalisation and condition service) ordinance 2021.

In India, a new product or process involving an inventive step and capable of industrial application is an invention under section 2(j) of the Patents Act, 1970 as amended in 2005. However, there are certain limitations imposed by Section 3 of the Indian Patents Act under 15 clauses that define what are not inventions.

Section 3 (j) of the Indian Patents Act as based on Article 27.3 (b) of the TRIPS agreement is one such limiting provision that states as follows: “[P]lants and animals in whole or any parts thereof other than micro-organisms but including seeds, varieties and species and essentially biological processes for production and propagation of plants and animals.

Solution : b

The pattern is as follow;

Solution : c

Given sequence may be represented as,

Solution : b

Given sequence, 4/12/95, 1/1/96, 29/1/96, 26/2/96. If we observe them, they are the calendar dates with 28 days gap between them. Since, 1996 is leap year, it has 29 days in February. Hence, next date would be March 25, 1996. So, option (b) is the correct answer.

Solution : d

By hit and trial method and using options;
For option (d), sum would be 8 + 18 + 28 + 83 + 81 = 218.
Hence, • = 8.

Solution : c

Explanation-

Statement 1 is not mentioned in the given paragraph. The passage states ‘diversity of natural assets’

Will be needed. ‘ Conservation of natural water sources’ is too particular and beyond the scope of the 

Paragraph. Accelerated breeding programs are needed to conserve wider gene pool, not just the

Conservation of gene pool.

Hence statement 2 doesn’t follow. From the second half of the paragraph, that is from- “Under a changing 

Climate, these ecosystems are………”, both statements 3 and 4 can be inferred clearly. Hence option 

(C) is the correct answer.