Environment & Biodiversity Current Affairs MCQs

Notes:
The Uttarakhand Chief Minister laid the foundation stone of the Sharda River Corridor at Tanakpur in Champawat district. The Sharda River is a transboundary river flowing through northern India and western Nepal. It originates as the Kali River in far northern Uttarakhand in the Great Himalayas. The river rises on the eastern slopes of the Nanda Devi massif. Its major tributaries include the Dhauliganga, Goriganga, and Sarju rivers.

Notes:
A new ant species named Polyrhachis garbhangaensis was discovered in Garbhanga Reserve Forest near Guwahati, Assam. It is named after its place of discovery and is proposed to be called the “Assamese Spiny Ant.” The species belongs to the rare mucronata group of spiny ants. It is only the third species of this group ever recorded in India. Unlike related species that are black, it has a bright yellow-orange abdomen. The ant has distinctive curved spines on its body. These spines likely help protect it from predators and aid survival in the wild.

Notes:
A recent study warns that climate change may restrict the habitat of the Nilgiri Wood Pigeon to a few isolated pockets in the Western Ghats by the end of the century. It is an endemic pigeon species of the Western Ghats in India. It is large, dark in colour, with a distinctive checkerboard pattern on its nape. It lives in high-elevation wet evergreen, moist evergreen, semi-evergreen forests and shola forests. It is mainly found in the Nilgiris and Anamalai Hills, with isolated populations in Biligirirangan Hills, Nandi Hills and northern Maharashtra.

Notes:
Over the past 200 years, the Kosi River has shifted its course westward by over 100 km. Kosi is a transboundary river flowing through China, Nepal, and India, and is a major tributary of the Ganges. It is called the “Sorrow of Bihar” due to frequent and severe flooding in Bihar. Formed by the confluence of Sun Kosi, Arun Kosi, and Tamur Kosi, originating in the Himalayan region of Nepal and Tibet. About 48 km north of the India-Nepal border, it gathers tributaries and flows south through the Siwalik Hills at Chatra Gorge.

Notes:
Residents of Mudh village in Ladakh have protected the Ruddy Shelduck for over 20 years by safely escorting fledglings to the Indus River during breeding season. Ruddy Shelduck, also called Brahminy duck, is a large migratory water bird found in Europe, Central Asia and Africa, and winters in South Asia. In India, Ladakh is its only breeding site, nesting in high altitude wetlands from June to August. It lives in rivers, lakes, marshes, ponds and reservoirs from sea level up to 4,800 metres. It is listed as Least Concern by International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Notes:
The Supreme Court of India recently took suo motu cognisance of reports about illegal sand mining threatening the ecology and aquatic life of the National Chambal Sanctuary. The sanctuary lies at the tri-junction of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan along the Chambal River. It is also called National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, a tri-state protected riverine sanctuary with deep ravines. It mainly protects Gharial, Red‑crowned roof turtle, and Ganges river dolphin.

Notes:
The Hudsonian godwit population has declined by 95% in the last four decades due to environmental changes. It is a large migratory shorebird belonging to the sandpiper family Scolopacidae. It breeds in sub-Arctic and Boreal wetland habitats like sedge meadows and muskeg. It is found mainly in North America and South America. It feeds on insects and crustaceans in shallow water. It migrates annually from the Arctic to Patagonia for the southern summer. Major threats include habitat loss and climate change. It is classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.

Notes:
National Biodiversity Authority launched a short-term internship programme (up to 3 months) for graduate and postgraduate students. NBA is a statutory body under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, established in 2003. Its headquarters is in Chennai. It performs facilitative, regulatory, and advisory roles for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. It ensures fair and equitable sharing of benefits from biological resources.

Notes:
Navegaon Nagzira Tiger Reserve took control of its notified buffer area, strengthening conservation management. It is located in Maharashtra and forms part of the Central Indian Tiger Landscape, which supports nearly one-sixth of India’s tiger population. The reserve was declared in 2013 and is the fifth tiger reserve in Maharashtra. It comprises multiple protected areas, including Nawegaon National Park, Nawegaon Wildlife Sanctuary, Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary, New Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary, and Koka Wildlife Sanctuary.

Notes:
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has designated the Bhavasagara Referral Centre as a National Repository for Deep-Sea Fauna under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. The centre is located at the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology in Kochi and functions under the Ministry of Earth Sciences. It will act as a national facility for preserving, studying, and documenting India’s deep-sea biodiversity. The initiative strengthens India’s focus on the blue economy and marine biodiversity conservation.