DAY – 20 (InstaTest-20): Insta 75 Days Revision Plan-2022: Topic – Environment & Ecology, Subject-wise Test 26, Textbook based Test 20 and November 2021 CA – INSIGHTSIAS

Solution: A

International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO): India is a founder member of ITTO which aims for conserving tropical forest and assisting countries to develop economically in the field of forestry. ITTO has 74 members divided into two categories: Producer countries (36 members including India) and Consumer countries (38 members).

The highest authority of the ITTO is the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC), which governs the performance of all functions necessary to carry out the provisions of the International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA), 2006. An ITTO Task Force has also been created in SU Division under the Chairmanship of IGF(SU) to deal with all matters related to ITTO and to work on issues of sustainable Forest Development, Forest Certification and Timber Trade etc.

Solution: D

The major reef formations in India are restricted to the Gulf of Mannar, Palk bay, Gulf of Kutch, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Lakshadweep islands. While the Lakshadweep reefs are atolls, the others are all fringing reefs. Patchy coral is present in the inter-tidal areas of the central west coast of the country. Coral reefs in India are being damaged and destroyed at an increasing rate. They face serious problems of stress from anthropogenic pressures and interference. However, we cannot be precise about how much and where, because of special difficulties of monitoring underwater. The Reef condition is generally poor and declining in near shore waters and areas of high population density. Relatively pristine reefs are located around uninhabited islands or barrier type reefs located away from population centers. Sedimentation, dredging and coral mining are damaging near shore reefs, while the use of explosives and bottom nets in fishing are damaging offshore reefs in specific sites. Although institutions and laws are sufficient in theory to manage and protect the reefs in India, authorities in the field have taken little effective action in implementing these laws.

Solution: B

 Eco-Development Forces Scheme was established in 1980s as a scheme implemented through Ministry of Defence for ecological restoration of terrains, rendered difficult either due to severe degradation or remote location or difficult law and order situation.

The scheme of Eco-Development Forces is based on twin objectives of ecological regeneration in difficult areas, and promotion of meaningful employment to ex-servicemen. Under this scheme, the establishment and operational expenditure on the Eco Force (ETF) Battalions raised by Ministry of Defence is reimbursed by Ministry of Environment and Forests while the inputs like sapling, fencing, etc. and also the professional and managerial guidance is provided by the State Forest Departments. In ETF battalions, the Ministry of Defence deploys its ex-servicemen, preferably from within the area of operation, whereas the nuclear core of the force is constituted of regular servicemen. Some of the ETF Battalions have undertaken successful eco-restoration of highly degraded sites, for example the limestone mining areas in the Mussoorie Hills.

Solution: A

Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks

Nestled high in West Himalaya, India’s Valley of Flowers National Park is renowned for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and outstanding natural beauty. This richly diverse area is also home to rare and endangered animals, including the Asiatic black bear, snow leopard, brown bear and blue sheep. The gentle landscape of the Valley of Flowers National Park complements the rugged mountain wilderness of Nanda Devi National Park. Together they encompass a unique transition zone between the mountain ranges of the Zanskar and Great Himalaya, praised by mountaineers and botanists for over a century and in Hindu mythology for much longer.

The Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks are exceptionally beautiful high-altitude West Himalayan landscapes with outstanding biodiversity. One of the most spectacular wilderness areas in the Himalayas, Nanda Devi National Park is dominated by the 7,817 m peak of Nanda Devi, India’s second highest mountain which is approached through the Rishi Ganga gorge, one of the deepest in the world. The Valley of Flowers National Park, with its gentler landscape, breath-taking beautiful meadows of alpine flowers and ease of access, complements the rugged, inaccessible, high mountain wilderness of Nanda Devi. Apart from some community-based ecotourism to small portions of these parks, there has been no anthropogenic pressure in this area since 1983. This property therefore acts as a control site for the maintenance of natural processes, and is of high significance for long-term ecological monitoring in the Himalayas.

Solution: A

Distribution Map of Brown-Antlered Deer of Sangai

The Manipur brow-antlered deer, (Cervus eldi eldi McClelland 1842), popularly called ‘Sangai’ is a unique animal found only in Manipur in the whole world. The Sangai or the Manipur race of the Elds deer is the only deer which has adapted itself to the swampy habitat. The Sangai population dwindled rapidly in the beginning of 20 century under heavy hunting pressure and the continuous habitat destruction. In fact, the deer was considered almost extinct during 1950s.

Brow-antlered deer

Key Facts

Sangai, Brow antlered deer, Dancing Deer

Rucervus eldii

About 200

115-130cm (Males), 90-100cm (females)

90-125kg (Male), 60-80 kg (Female)

State animal of Manipur, Schedule-1 of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, Endangered on IUCN Red List.

Solution: A

Vultures Species of India

http://wiienvis.nic.in/Database/SRP_8555.aspx

Solution: D

Distribution Map of Great Indian Bustard

The Bustards are an extremely endangered group of birds dependent on grassland ecosystems. Once upon a time, they used to occur in the arid, semi-arid and moist grasslands across the country. There are four species of Bustards in India Great Indian Bustard, Lesser Florican, Bengal Florican and Houbara Bustard. They are among the most threatened of the 22 Bustards found in the world. The Great Indian Bustard is now locally extinct from almost 90 per cent of its former range. The present population is estimated to be less than 1000 only. Similarly, perhaps, only less than 2500 Lesser Floricans survive in the whole world. The total global population of Bengal Florican could be between 400 to 500 individuals. The status of Houbara Bustard is also no more encouraging. These species have depleted, mainly due to the degradation of grasslands.

Solution: C

The Convention on Wetlands is the oldest of the modern global intergovernmental environmental agreements. The treaty was negotiated through the 1960s by countries and non – governmental organizations concerned about the increasing loss and degradation of wetland habitat for migratory waterbirds. It was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975. 

The Convention’s mission is “the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world”.

Wetlands are among the most diverse and productive ecosystems. They provide essential services and supply all our fresh water. However they continue to be degraded and converted to other uses.

The Convention uses a broad definition of wetlands. It includes all lakes and rivers, underground aquifers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands, peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, mangroves and other coastal areas, coral reefs, and all human-made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs and salt pans.

Under the “three pillars” of the Convention, the Contracting Parties commit to:

• work towards the wise use of all their wetlands;

• designate suitable wetlands for the list of Wetlands of International Importance (the “Ramsar List”) and ensure their effective management;

• cooperate internationally on transboundary wetlands, shared wetland systems and shared species.

The convention entered into force in India on 1 February 1982.

India currently has 41 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), with a surface area of 1,071,861 hectares.

Solution: D

The International Organization Partners of Ramsar Convention

The Convention works very closely with six global non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which, in Resolution VII.3 (1999), were confirmed in the formal status of International Organization Partners of the Convention. Birdlife International, IUCN – International Union for Conservation of Nature, Wetlands International and WWF have all been associated with the Convention since its beginnings.

In Resolution IX.16 (2005), the Parties endorsed the addition of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) as the fifth International Organization Partner of the Convention, and in Resolution XII.3 (2015) they approved the status for the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT).

The IOPs provide invaluable support for the work of the Convention, by providing expert technical advice, field level implementation assistance, and financial support, both from their headquarters units and from their national and regional offices and affiliates and from their expert networks.

In addition, they embody the philosophy of the Convention and its wise use concept and support the use of the Convention guidelines in their own work around the world. The IOPs also participate regularly as observers in all meetings of the Conference of the Parties, the Standing Committee, and the Scientific and Technical Review Panel.

Solution: C

Chabahar Port is a seaport in Chabahar located in southeastern Iran, on the Gulf of Oman. It serves as Iran’s only oceanic port, and consists of two separate ports named Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti, each of which has five berths.

Solution : A

About the Kesavananda Bharati Case

• The case dealt with a petition against the Kerala Government challenging the compulsory acquisition of his land by the government under the Kerala Land Reforms Act 1963, as a violation of Fundamental Rights (FRs), as enshrined in – Articles 25, 26 and 31 of the Constitution of India.
• The case was heard by a Bench of 13 judges — the largest formed in the Supreme Court (SC).
• As hearing proceeded, the scope of the case was expanded to address the following-

o interpretation of Golaknath case (SC had held that- Article 368 merely laid down the amending procedure but did not confer upon Parliament the power to amend the Constitution).

o interpretation of the Article 368 (Power of Parliament to amend the Constitution)

o the validity of the 24th Constitutional Amendment Act, Section 2 and 3 of the 25th Constitutional

Amendment Act and 29th Constitutional Amendment Act.

Solution: B

Solution: D

• Clean source of energy: It can decarbonize a range of sectors including iron and steel, chemicals, and transportation and help India in achieving its emission goals under the Paris Agreement.
• Potential to transform transportation: Hydrogen can be used for both fuel cell and internal combustion engines and is being seen as a direct replacement of fossil fuels.
• Channelizing renewable energy: Renewable energy that cannot be stored or used by the grid can be channelled to produce hydrogen. Hydrogen can act as an energy storage option, which would be essential to meet intermittencies (of renewable energy) in the future.
• As of now it is not a cheap source of energy.

Solution :  C

These schemes aim at controlling Inflation.

Solution : B

• RBI uses CPI to determine policy rates.

Solution: d)

Learning: CDKN is run by an alliance of organisations, headed by PricewaterhouseCoopers and including the Overseas Development Institute, a think tank on development and humanitarian issues.

It links developing countries with experts on climate change. Funded by the UK’s Department for International Development and the Directorate-General for International Cooperation, its aim is to help developing nations adapt to the consequences of climate change and build capacity for a low-carbon economy.

CDKN does this by combining research, advisory services and knowledge management in support of locally owned and managed policy processes.

Q Source: https://cdkn.org/?loclang=en_gb

Solution: d)

Justification: High concentrations of fluoride in ground water are common in some of the semi-arid areas of Rajasthan, southern Punjab, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and southern Haryana. Groundwater in at least 387 districts has high nitrate levels.

As for other pollutants, Arsenic pollution of ground water in West Bengal was first reported in the early eighties. The occurrence of arsenic is mainly due to two reasons:  natural and anthropogenic.

Q Source: Revision: Unit 14: 11^th Chemistry NCERT

Solution: d)

Background: Introduced in the year 2000, the Bharat norms are emission control standards put in place by the government to keep a check on air pollution. Based on the European regulations (Euro norms), these standards set specifications/limits for the release of air pollutants from equipment using internal combustion engines, including vehicles. Typically, the higher the stage, the more stringent the norms.

The particulate matter emission in BS-V and BS-VI is same for diesel cars though it is 80% less than BS IV.

• The nitrogen oxide (NOx) level is, however, 55% less in BS-VI over BS-V which in itself is 28% lower than BS IV.
• The sulphur content in fuel norms for diesel and petrol under both BS-V and -VI standards does not change at 10 ppm, though it is substantially less than 50 mandated for both the fuels under BS-IV

Q Source: Pollution related issues

Solution: c)

Justification: JPSS-I is first multi-day weather forecasts satellite in NOAA’s series of four, next-generation operational environmental satellites representing major advancements in observations used for severe weather prediction and environmental monitoring. It is designed to monitor weather around world and help improve forecasts.

JPSS-I is a joint venture between NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of USA.

It is highly advanced polar-orbiting satellite that will orbit Earth 14 times each day from one pole to other at 824 kms above planet, providing scientists full global coverage twice a day.

JPSS-I carries a suite of advanced instruments designed to take global measurements off atmospheric, land and sea conditions from sea surface temperatures, volcanic ash, hurricane intensity and many more.

Q Source: Climate related initiatives

Solution: c)

Learning: The mechanism known as “joint implementation,” defined in Article 6 of the Kyoto Protocol, allows a country with an emission reduction or limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol (Annex B Party) to earn emission reduction units (ERUs) from an emission-reduction or emission removal project in another Annex B Party, each equivalent to one tonne of CO2, which can be counted towards meeting its Kyoto target.

Joint implementation offers Parties a flexible and cost-efficient means of fulfilling a part of their Kyoto commitments, while the host Party benefits from foreign investment and technology transfer.

A JI project must provide a reduction in emissions by sources, or an enhancement of removals by sinks, that is additional to what would otherwise have occurred.  Projects must have approval of the host Party and participants have to be authorized to participate by a Party involved in the project.

ANswer A

What is facial recognition?

Facial recognition is a biometric technology that uses distinctive features on the face to identify and distinguish an individual.

AFRS works by maintaining a large database with photos and videos of peoples’ faces. Then, a new image of an unidentified person — often taken from CCTV footage — is compared to the existing database to find a match and identify the person.

The artificial intelligence technology used for pattern-finding and matching is called “neural networks”.

 Benefits of facial recognition:

Improves outcomes in the area of Criminal identification and verification.

Easy identification amongst crowds.

Boosts the police department’s crime investigation capabilities.

Helps civilian verification when needed. No one will be able to get away with a fake ID.

Answer D

For saffron cultivation, we need an explicit climatological summer and winter with temperatures ranging from no more than 35oC or 40oC in summer to about –15 oC or –20 oC in winter.

That’s why saffron can be cultivated in dry, moderate and continental climate types but not in tropical or polar climate types.

thrives best in calcareous, humus-rich and well-drained soil with a pH between 6 and 8

Answer B

NECTAR is an autonomous society, set up under Department of Science & Technology, Government of India with its headquarter at Shillong, Meghalaya. The Centre will look at harnessing and leveraging niche frontier technologies available with central scientific departments and institutions.

 In order to assist the northeastern region, NECTAR will be ensuring applications of appropriate technologies for development in the areas of biodiversity concerns, watershed management, telemedicine, horticulture, infrastructure planning & development, planning and monitoring, and tele-schooling using cutting-edge MESHNET solutions, employment generation etc. through utilization of local products/resources and associated skill development.

North East Centre for Technology Application and Reach (NECTAR) under Saffron Bowl project has identified few locations in Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya for saffron cultivation. In Arunachal Pradesh, there is a good growth of organic saffron with flowers. In Meghalaya, sample plantations were grown at Cherrapunji, Mawsmai and Lalingtop sites.

Answer A

Features and benefits of the 5G technology:

Operate in the millimeter wave spectrum (30-300 GHz) which have the advantage of sending large amounts of data at very high speeds.

Operate in 3 bands, namely low, mid and high frequency spectrum.

Reduced latency will support new applications that leverage the power of 5G, the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence.

Increased capacity on 5G networks can minimize the impact of load spikes, like those that take place during sporting events and news events.

Lower band has lower speed but higher coverage as band increases coverage decreases ,penetration capacity decreases and speed increases

Answer A

Solid-state batteries, the new kid on the battery block, have drawn a lot of interest from all corners of the energy industry. Having no flammable liquid electrolyte (hence “solid-state”), they skip many of the safety issues that traditional lithium-ion batteries have, without sacrificing power.

 Without the need for a liquid, solid-state batteries in theory can be much denser and compact, translating in more range, and are less prone to fire risk.

solid-state batteries are used in devices such as pacemakers and smart watches.

Mass market production of these batteries for EVs is three to five years away,

They can hold more energy than liquid li-ion batteries, helping speed up a switch from gasoline vehicles to EVs because drivers would not need to stop as often to charge their cars.

Correct Option: D

Clearly, the narrator starts from A, moves towards north-east a distance of 10 m up to B, turns left (90 degree anti-clockwise) and moves 7.5 m up to C. Clearly, C lies to the north of A. Also , ΔABC is right-angled at B. So,

AC2 = AB2 + BC2 = (10)2 + (7.5)2

= 100 + 56.25 = 156.25

AC  = (156.25) m = 12.5m

Thus the narrator is 12.5 m to the north of his initial position.

Hence, option D is correct.

Correct Option: B

Clearly, Ravi starts from home at A, moves 10 km south wards up to B, turns right and moves and 5 km up to C, turns right again and moves 10 km up to D and finally turns left and moves 10 km up to E.

Thus his distance from initial position A = AE + DE = BC + DE = (5 + 10) km = 15 km

Hence, option B is correct.

Correct Option: D

Clearly, Kunal moves from A 10 km north-wards up to B, then moves 6 km southwards up to C, turns towards East and walks 3 km up to D. Then, AC = (AB – BC) = (10 – 6) = 4 km. So, Kunal’s distance from the starting point A.

(AD)2 =  (AC2 + CD2)  =  (4)2 + (3)2 = 5 km.

Also, D is to the North-east of A.

Hence, option D is correct

Correct Option: d

Clearly, the narrator starts from A, moves towards north-east a distance of 10 m up to B, turns left (90 degree anti-clockwise) and moves 7.5 m up to C. Clearly, C lies to the north of A. Also , ΔABC is right-angled at B. So,

AC2 = AB2 + BC2 = (10)2 + (7.5)2

= 100 + 56.25 = 156.25

AC  = (156.25) m = 12.5m

Thus the narrator is 12.5 m to the north of his initial position.

Hence, option D is correct.

Correct : B

Clearly, Ravi starts from home at A, moves 10 km south wards up to B, turns right and moves and 5 km up to C, turns right again and moves 10 km up to D and finally turns left and moves 10 km up to E.

Thus his distance from initial position A = AE + DE = BC + DE = (5 + 10) km = 15 km

Hence, option B is correct.