Environment & Biodiversity Current Affairs MCQs

Notes:
The Giant African Snail (Lissachatina fulica) is spreading rapidly in Tirunavaya panchayat, Kerala, including school campuses. It is considered one of the world’s worst invasive species. It is native to East Africa but has spread globally through the pet trade, food use, and accidental introduction. It thrives in warm, humid tropical climates. It is found in agricultural fields, wetlands, forests, scrublands, coastal areas, and urban regions.

Notes:
The National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA) organised a workshop on “Satellite and Drone-based Survey for Watershed Planning & Monitoring” in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The workshop was held under the World Bank-assisted REWARD Programme. REWARD stands for Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agricultural Resilience through Innovative Development. It is a watershed development programme assisted by World Bank. It aims to strengthen watershed management practices, enhance farmers’ resilience, and support value chains in selected watersheds.

Notes:
A team of odonatologists has discovered a new species of spreadwing damselfly, Lestes paloti, from the Western Ghats in Kerala. It is the first new species of the genus Lestes described from India since Lestes garoensis (1987). It inhabits scrub vegetation around homesteads and laterite hillocks, often away from open water bodies. It changes colour from brown in the dry season to bluish during the monsoon. Damselflies are predatory aerial insects belonging to the order Odonata. They are mainly found near shallow freshwater habitats and are smaller and more delicate than dragonflies.

Notes:
Manasbal Lake was recently in the news due to signs of ecological recovery with the return of migratory birds. It is located in Ganderbal district, Jammu & Kashmir, in the Jhelum Valley. It is regarded as the deepest freshwater lake in India, with a depth of about 13 metres. The lake is mainly fed by precipitation and over 1,200 springs, with its outflow regulated into the Jhelum River. Its name is derived from Lake Manasarovar.

Notes:
Scientists have discovered a new species of porcelain crab named Pachycheles ravichandrani. It was discovered in the shallow coral reefs of the Lakshadweep Islands, specifically Agatti Island. Although they resemble true crabs, porcelain crabs are more closely related to squat lobsters. The species was found hiding among rock boulders covered with coralline algae at depths of less than one metre. The discovery enriches India’s known marine biodiversity, particularly in the ecologically important coral reef ecosystems of Lakshadweep.

Notes:
Recently, botanists discovered a new flowering plant species, Disporum yobinorum, in Arunachal Pradesh. It was found in the forests of Vijaynagar in Changlang district, near the India–Myanmar border. Vijaynagar is one of India’s least disturbed forest landscapes and forms part of a biodiversity-rich transboundary region with Myanmar’s Kachin State and China’s Yunnan. The species is named after the Yobin community for supporting scientific exploration. The Yobin (Lisu) are among Arunachal Pradesh’s smallest indigenous tribes. The plant grows in moist, shaded evergreen forests.

Notes:
Recently, camera-trap evidence confirmed the return of the Dhole (Asiatic wild dog) to Bornadi Wildlife Sanctuary. Bornadi Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Udalguri and Baksa districts of Assam. It lies in the eastern Himalayan foothills and shares the India–Bhutan international border. The sanctuary is named after the Bornadi River, which forms its western boundary. The Nalapara River, originating in Bhutan, flows along the sanctuary’s eastern boundary.

Notes:
Farmers in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, have adopted a sustainable method to cultivate Picrorhiza kurroa (Kutki) by harvesting stolons (side branches) instead of uprooting the entire plant. Kutki is a perennial medicinal herb found in the high-altitude Himalayas. It has creeping rhizomes, toothed leaves, and pale purplish-blue flowers. It is also known as Katuka or Katukarohini in Sanskrit. It grows on moist, rocky slopes at an altitude of 2,700–4,500 metres.It is found in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Tibetan Plateau. Its roots contain Kutkin, a bitter compound with liver-protective, anti-asthmatic, and stomachic medicinal properties.

Notes:
Himachal Pradesh is developing its first island tourism project at Gobind Sagar Lake in Bilaspur district. Gobind Sagar Lake is located in Himachal Pradesh. It is a man-made reservoir formed by the Bhakra Dam on the Sutlej River. The lake is named after Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru. It is one of the deepest man-made lakes in the world and the third-largest reservoir in India by water storage.

Notes:
A 29-year-old man was found dead inside Raimona National Park in Kokrajhar district, Assam, with his family alleging that he was shot by forest guards. Raimona National Park is located in the Himalayan foothills of Assam. It was declared a National Park in 2021 and was earlier proposed as part of the Ripu–Chirang Wildlife Sanctuary. The park is an important habitat for Asian elephants, gaur (Indian bison), and the endangered golden langur. It is bounded by the Sankosh River (west), Saralbhanga River (north & east), and Ripu Reserve Forest (south).