Environment & Biodiversity Current Affairs MCQs

Notes:
The pre-monsoon estimation of tigers and other animals has recently begun in the Pollachi and Tiruppur divisions of Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR). It is located in the Anamalai Hills at an altitude of 1400 metres in the Pollachi and Coimbatore districts of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the southern side of the South Western Ghat landscape. It is bordered by Parambikulam Tiger Reserve to the east and Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary and Eravikulam National Park to the southwest. It is also surrounded by Nenmara, Vazhachal, Malayattur, and Marayur reserved forests of Kerala. UNESCO has identified Kariyan Shola, Grass Hills, and Manjampatti within ATR as a World Heritage Site.

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Recently, illegal sand mining in the Chambal River region has become a serious issue across states, harming biodiversity and putting officials and journalists at risk. It threatens conservation in the National Chambal Sanctuary, which protects rare species like the Gharial and the Ganges dolphin. The Chambal River originates from Bhadakla Falls near Janapav Hills in Indore district, Madhya Pradesh, at an elevation of 843 metres. It flows about 1,024 kilometres before joining the Yamuna River in Jalaun district, Uttar Pradesh. The river passes through Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. Major right-bank tributaries include Banas, Kali Sindh, Parbati, and Shipra.

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A Brazilian surfer recently used the pororoca tidal wave on the Mearim River to spread awareness about climate change and ecological damage. The Mearim River is around 800 kilometres long and flows through Maranhão state in northern Brazil. The Mearim River is known for its pororoca, a strong tidal bore where ocean tides rush upstream into the river. The word “pororoca” comes from the Tupi Indigenous language and means “great roar”, due to the loud sound made when sea and river waters collide. A tidal bore forms when rising ocean tides push against the river’s flow, often during spring tides and supermoons.

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The State Government of Himachal Pradesh has notified the Tsarap Chu Conservation Reserve in the Spiti Valley as India’s largest conservation reserve. It is located at the confluence of the Unam River and Charap Nala. The reserve is bounded by the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh to the north, Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary to the east, Kabjima Nala to the south, and Chandratal Wildlife Sanctuary to the west. It is famous for the snow leopard, also called the ‘ghost of the mountains’.

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Recently, 52 Jenu Kuruba tribal families in Nagarahole Tiger Reserve (NTR) put up a board claiming land rights under the Forest Rights Act (FRA). It is located in Karnataka, specifically in the districts of Mysore and Kodagu. The reserve is an ecological meeting point of the Western and Eastern Ghats mountain ranges. It is named after the Nagarahole River, which flows inside the reserve and joins the Kabini River. Nagarahole is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is bordered by Bandipur Tiger Reserve and Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. The Kabini River is to the north and Moyar River to the south of the reserve.

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Recently, scientists unearthed large stromatolites dating back 600 million years in the pine-covered ridges of Chambaghat in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh. Stromatolites are organo-sedimentary structures formed by algae and cyanobacteria trapping calcium carbonate in shallow marine environments. These structures show thin layers that are flat, dome-shaped, or hummocky in form. They were especially common during the Precambrian period, which is over 542 million years ago. While most stromatolites formed in marine seas, some from the Proterozoic era, over 2.5 billion years ago, lived in intertidal zones and freshwater bodies.

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Recently, the Prime Minister of India celebrated World Environment Day by planting a Sindoor sapling at his official residence, 7 Lok Kalyan Marg, New Delhi. The Sindoor plant, scientifically known as Bixa orellana, is a small tropical shrub famous for its bright red seeds. It is commonly called ‘Annatto’ in English and Sindoor plant in Hindi. It is generally found in tropical regions of Central America. It grows well in most soils, preferring neutral to slightly alkaline types.

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Recently, nine men were rescued in a joint operation by police and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams after being trapped in the Tawi River due to a sudden rise in water level caused by heavy rains. The Tawi River is a major left-bank tributary of the Chenab River and is an important river in the Jammu region. It is considered sacred and is also known as “Surya Putri” in ancient texts.

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Recently, the Union Ministry of Environment approved funding for a pilot scheme called ‘Tigers Outside of Tiger Reserves’ to reduce human-tiger conflicts. The scheme aims to improve protection, monitoring, and conflict management in areas where tigers live outside protected tiger reserves. It is supported by the National Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), which gave in-principle approval for one year of pilot implementation. The scheme has a total budget of ₹88 crore until 2026–27. It is based on data showing that around 30% of India’s tiger population lives outside official reserves.

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Recently, 11 people died and several vehicles fell into the Mahisagar (Mahi) River after the Gambhira-Mujpur bridge collapsed in Padra taluka, Vadodara district, Gujarat. The Mahi River is one of the major west-flowing interstate rivers of India. It flows through Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat. The river is also known as “Mahisagar” due to its vast size. It originates from the northern slopes of the Vindhya Mountains in Madhya Pradesh at around 500 meters above sea level.