Environment & Biodiversity MCQs

Notes:
In situ conservation means the conservation of ecosystems and natural habitats and the maintenance and recovery of viable populations of species in their natural surroundings and, in the case of domesticated or cultivated species, in the surroundings where they have developed their distinctive properties.
Ex situ conservation means the conservation of components of biological diversity outside their natural habitats.
Examples of In situ Conservation: National Parks, Wild Life sanctuaries, Biosphere Reserves, Gene Sanctuaries
Examples of Ex situ Conservation: Captive Breeding, Gene Banks, Seed Banks, Zoos, Aquaria, In vitro fertilization, Cryopreservation, Tissue Culture

Notes:
The Equator Prize, is confered by the Equator Initiative within the United Nations Development Programme. It is awarded biennially to recognize outstanding community efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was founded in the year 1965.

Notes:
The White Tiger, a pigmentation variant of the Royal Bengal Tiger, is peculiar to a few Indian regions such as Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Odisha, and specifically West Bengal in the Sunderbans region, their primary habitat. This species is famous for their unique coloration, lending them a ghost-like aura. Notably, Madhya Pradesh houses the world’s first ‘White Tiger Safari’. Though white tigers are found in a few other areas as well, West Bengal is particularly recognized for these majestic big cats.

Notes:
The United Nation Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre is an executive agency of UN Environment Programme, which is based in Cambridge (UK). It was previously managed by IUCN, UN Environment Programme and WWF.

Notes:
The ozone layer lies in the region of Earth’s stratosphere. It absorbs most of the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation (97 to 99 % of the Sun’s medium-frequency). The layer contains less than 10 parts per million of ozone. Chlorofluorocarbon is mainly responsible for the depletion of ozone layer.

Notes:
On the recommendations of Santhanam Committee Central Vigilance Commission was set up in 1964 to address governmental corruption.

Notes:
The Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary is located in the state of Assam. It is an isolated protected area of evergreen forest. It was officially constituted in 1997. It is home to only ape in India, the hoolock gibbon.

Notes:
Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur, Rajasthan is a famous avifauna sanctuary that plays host to thousands of birds especially during the winter season.
It is also a declared World Heritage Site. The Sanctuary is one of the richest bird areas in the world. It is known for nesting of its resident birds and visiting migratory birds including water birds. The rare Siberian cranes visit the place in winter season.

Notes:
Due to the sensitivity of Lichens to sulphur dioxide, it is very useful as a biological indicator of Sulphur-dioxide pollution. The efficient absorption systems of Lichens result in rapid accumulation of sulphur during high levels of sulphur dioxide pollution.

Notes:
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity was adopted on 29 January 2000 as a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity and entered into force on 11 September 2003. It is an international treaty governing the movements of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology from one country to another.