[Mission 2022] QUIZ – 2022: INSIGHTS STATIC QUIZ, 27 May 2022 – Environment – INSIGHTSIAS

Solution: b)

The term megadiverse country refers to any one of a group of nations that harbor the majority of Earth’s species and high numbers of endemic species. Conservation International identified 17 megadiverse countries in 1998. Many of them are located in, or partially in, tropical or subtropical regions.

The main criterion for megadiverse countries is endemism at the level of species, genera and families. A megadiverse country must have at least 5,000 species of endemic plants and must border marine ecosystems.

The identified Megadiverse Countries are: United States of America, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Madagascar, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, China, and Australia.

Solution: a)

The concept of a biodiversity hotspot was put forward by Norman Myers in 1988.

The criteria which are necessary for a region to be categorized as a biodiversity hotspot include:

• Species endemism – it must contain at least 1500 species of vascular plants, which is more than 0.5 percent of the world’s total plant population, as endemic species.
• Degree of threat – it must have lost at least 70 percent of its original habitat due to human interventions.

Biodiversity hotspots in South Asia

• Eastern Himalaya 
• Indo-Burma and Myanmar
• Western Ghats and Sri Lanka

Solution: d)

The lion-tailed macaque is an Old World monkey endemic to the Western Ghats.

The sangai is an endemic and endangered subspecies of Eld’s deer found only in Manipur.

The Asiatic lion is surviving today only in India.

The Nilgiri tahr is an ungulate that is endemic to the Nilgiri Hills and the southern portion of the Western and Eastern Ghats in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Solution: c)

The sarus crane is a large nonmigratory crane found in parts of the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Sarus Crane is the world‘s tallest flying bird.

As per the Wildlife Trust of India it is also India‘s only resident breeding crane. It is omnivorous, feeding on fish and insects, as well as roots and plants.

It is also the official State bird of Uttar Pradesh.

Source

Solution: a)

Ministry of Environment & Forests had issued Notification on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of developmental projects, 1994 under the provisions of Environment (Protection) Act,1986.

The Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (informally called the Espoo Convention) is a United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) convention signed in Espoo, Finland, in 1991 that entered into force in 1997. The Convention sets out the obligations of Parties—that is States that have agreed to be bound by the Convention—to carry out an environmental impact assessment of certain activities at an early stage of planning.

India is not a signatory to the Espoo Convention.