Daily Current Affairs (MCQ's) | 03-12-2022

Q1. The leatherback sea turtles, saltwater crocodiles and the Shompen tribal population can be found in

1. Nicobar Islands
2. Lakshadweep Islands
3. Kerala
4. West Bengal

Answer (c)

Explanation:

• A major infrastructure and tourism project planned in Great Nicobar island has received the green signal from the Union EnvironmentMinistry’s Expert Appraisal Committee.
• The Committee has mandated certain conditions and mitigation measures while doing so.
• Maps and satellite data provide an insight into the scale of the topographical changes in the offing. The island is set for irreversible ecological change if the project is implemented.

Conditions imposed:

The EAC has imposed specific conditions for wildlife conservation and tribal welfare, mainly plans to do with leatherback sea turtles, Nicobar megapodes, saltwater crocodiles and several other species, as well as mangrove restoration, coral translocation and welfare of the local Shompen and Nicobari tribal population. Three independent monitoring committees are to be constituted to oversee aspects related to environmental management.

The committee noted that three new wildlife sanctuaries had been identified at Little Nicobar (14 square kilometers for protecting leatherback turtles), Menchal (1.3 square kilometres, for megapodes) and Meroe Islands (2.8 square kilometres, for corals).

Over 95 percent of the 911-square-kilometre Great Nicobar island is made up of national parks, protected forests and tribal reserve areas, said official documents. The Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve covers much of the largely unspoilt island. UNESCO said that the site, which is part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, covers “unique and threatened tropical evergreen forest ecosystems. It is home to very rich ecosystems, including 650 species of angiosperms, ferns, gymnosperms, and bryophytes, among others. In terms of fauna, there are over 1800 species, some of which are endemic to this area.”

The reserve encompasses two national parks. One of them is the Campbell Bay National Park, and the other is Galathea National Park.

Q2. Kumo National Park is situated in the state of

1. Madhya Pradesh
2. Assam
3. Sikkim
4. Bihar

Answer (a)

Explanation:

Kuno National Park is a national park in Madhya Pradesh, India, established in 1981 as a wildlife sanctuary with an initial area of 344.686 km2 (133.084 sq mi) in the Sheopur and Morena districts. In 2018, it was given the status of a national park. It is part of the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion.

Q3. Consider the following statements about Cheetah re-introduced in India

1. The cheetahs introduced in India are the Asiatic subspecies
2. Predators like leopards may pose a threat to cheetahs

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1. 1 only
   2. 2 only
   3. Both 1 and 2
   4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer (b)

Explanation:

• Kuno Palpur National Park (KNP) in central India hosts cheetahs from Africa as part of India’s cheetah introduction plan.
• The cheetahs introduced in India are not the Asiatic subspecies (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) that went extinct but the African subspecies (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus). Experts raise concerns about the genetic challenges for the subspecies.
• Initially, predators like leopards may pose a threat to cheetahs.

Q4. Which of the following island countries are situated in the Indian Ocean?

1. Agalega
2. Assumption
3. Diego garcia
4. Mauritius

Select the correct answer from the codes given below

1. 1, 2 and 3
2. 2, 3 and 4
3. 1, 2 and 4
4. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer (d)

Explanation:

Militarised islands in the Indian Ocean:

Q5. Similipal Biosphere Reserve is situated in the state of

1. Odisha
2. Chattisgarh
3. Maharashtra
4. Madhya Pradesh

Answer (a)

Explanation:

1. The switch to chemical-based farming and other faulty agricultural practices have imperilled Odisha’s Similipal biosphere reserve.
2. The Green-Ag project has identified five landscapes in India, including the Similipal biosphere reserve, to ensure sustainable agricultural practices and reduced emissions.
3. Organic farming and agrobiodiversity conservation are among a portfolio of nature-based solutions (NbS) proposed in the Green-Ag project.
4. While nature-based solutions (NbS) are at the forefront of the sustainability discourse stepping into the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, they are underused in agricultural landscapes, according to a paper by the World Agroforestry.

1. NbS in the agricultural sector is proposed as “the use of natural processes or elements to improve ecosystem functions of environments and landscapes affected by agricultural practices, and to enhance livelihoods and other social and cultural functions, over various temporal and spatial scales. ”