UPSC Prelims Previous Year Questions 2023: Environment | Environment for UPSC CSE PDF Download

Ans: (c)

• Once the Centre notifies an area as a community reserve, as per Section 33 of the WLPA Act, the Chief Wildlife Warden of the state becomes the governing authority of the forest, whose consent is required for all decisions pertaining to the area. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• After a forest has been made into a community reserve:
  • People are allowed to hunt there. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • People can collect non-timber forest produce. Hence, statement 3 is correct. 
  • People are not allowed to use it for agricultural practices such as jhum cultivation. Hence, statement 4 is not correct.

Ans: (c)

• Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia, characterised by premature birth and continued development of the newborn while attached to the nipples on the mother’s lower belly.
• They are known as pouched mammals, because the adult females have a marsupium, or pouch.
  • Young marsupials (called joeys) do most of their early development outside of their mother's body, in a pouch.
• Marsupials are not naturally found in India. There are over 330 species of marsupials. Around two-thirds of them live in Australia. The other third live mostly in South America, where some interesting ones include the flipper-wearing yapok, bare-tailed woolly opossum. Hence, statement-I is correct.
• However, marsupials can thrive in various habitats, not only in montane grasslands with no predators. They can live in any part of the forest habitat.
  • For example, some marsupials live in rainforests, deserts, woodlands, and savannas. Hence, statement-II is NOT correct.

Therefore, option (c) is correct.

Ans: (a)

• The Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) is a global network of scientific and policy experts on invasive species, organized under the auspices of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Hence, option (a) is correct.
• It was established in 1994.
• The ISSG manages the Global Invasive Species Database (GISD), which provides information on invasive alien species worldwide. The ISSG also maintains other online resources such as the Aliens-L listserv, the Invasive Species Compendium, the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species, and the Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa.

Ans: (b)

• The lion-tailed macaque is not a nocturnal animal. It is an arboreal and diurnal creature, they sleep at night in trees (typically, high in the canopy of rainforest). These macaques are territorial and very communicative animals. Hence, 1 is not correct.
• Malabar civet is primarily nocturnal. It is a small, carnivorous mammal that is native to the Western Ghats region of India.
  • It has a solitary and secretive nature, making it challenging to observe in the wild. Its nocturnal behavior helps it avoid predators and increases its chances of finding prey in the darkness. Hence, 2 is correct.
• Sambar deer are nocturnal. They more commonly communicate by scent marking and foot stamping. They prefer the dense cover of deciduous shrubs and grass. Hence, 3 is correct.

Hence, option (b) is correct.

Ans: (c)

• Honeybees perform waggle dance to communicate the location of food sources or new nest sites to their colony mates. Hence, option (c) is correct.
• The dance consists of a straight run followed by a loop to one side and then another straight run followed by a loop to the other side, forming a figure-eight pattern. The angle of the straight run relative to gravity indicates the direction of the food source relative to the sun, and the duration of the straight run indicates the distance of the food source from the hive.
• Young bees that were isolated from older foragers could perform waggle dance spontaneously, but they made more errors in encoding distance information than bees that had older role models.
  • This suggests that honeybees learn from observing and practising with experienced dancers before they become proficient foragers themselves. Therefore, honeybees’ waggle dance is both innate and learned, like human language or songbird communication.

Ans: (d)

• Mushrooms act as antibacterial, immune system enhancer and cholesterol lowering agents; additionally, they are important sources of bioactive compounds. As a result of these properties, some mushroom extracts are used to promote human health and are found as dietary supplements. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Magic mushrooms (psychoactive fungi) that grow in the United States, Mexico, South America, and many other parts of the world, contain psilocybin and psilocin, which are hallucinogens and are Class I controlled substances. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Fungi are living things, just like insects are, capable of evolving and adapting. Many synthetic pesticides have lost efficacy over the years because the target insects have just evolved and built-up tolerance to them. But like any other relationship between parasite and host, predator and prey, the fungus-based biopesticides have the ability to evolve right along with any adaptation the insects might come up with to hinder them. They are also nontoxic to humans and other wildlife. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
• A mushroom documentation project in the forests of Northeast India has revealed not only 600 varieties of fungi, but also led to a new discovery: a bioluminescent — or light emitting — variety of mushroom. Hence, statement 4 is correct.

Ans: (a)

• The Indian Squirrel nests at the top of the trees. Hence, statement 1 is NOT correct. Indian squirrels store food in their nest (Ground squirrels set aside areas within their underground burrows to store their food.) Hence, statement 2 is NOT correct.
• Indian squirrels are omnivores. They feed mainly on nuts and fruits but will also eat seeds, insects, small mammals and reptiles, eggs, and even sometimes chicks of birds. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Ans: (b)
Researchers have spotted orangutans using sticks to extract seeds from fruit and scrape insects using a stick from a hole in a tree in the wild. Hence, option (b) is correct.

Ans: (c)
HFCs are entirely man-made. They are primarily produced for use in refrigeration, air- conditioning, insulating foams and aerosol propellants, with minor uses as solvents and for fire protection. Hence, option (c) is correct.

Ans: (c)
S3i has signed a landmark shareholders’ agreement to invest in a 250-megawatt solar power plant located in Rajasthan. Collaborating with strategic and institutional investors, S3i aims to invest in large-scale infrastructure projects in developing countries focusing on its mandated areas of affordable housing, renewable energy and health. Hence, option c is the correct answer.

Ans: (c)

• Carbon sequestration is both a natural and artificial process by which carbon dioxide is removed from the Earth’s atmosphere and then stored in liquid or solid form.
• Ground basalt has been used as mineral fertiliser since the early thirties. Ground basalt captures CO₂ from the atmosphere and the soil pore space, raises the soil pH and reduces ocean acidification. One tonne of basalt captures 0.153–0.165 tonne CO₂, depending on infiltration rate.
  • Ground basalt added to agricultural fertiliser captures atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂), raises the soil pH, reduces ocean acidification and supplies important nutrients such as magnesium, potassium, calcium, iron and phosphorus. Hence, 1 is correct.
• Oceans absorb about 25% of the carbon dioxide emitted through human activities each year.
  • As such, the polar regions absorb more carbon dioxide and by 2100, most of the global oceans are expected to be made up of carbon dioxide, potentially altering the chemistry of the ocean, making it more acidic.
  • Since carbon makes ocean acidic, increasing alkalinity of oceans would help in carbon sequestration. Hence, 2 is correct.
• In carbon capture and storage (CCS) processes, carbon dioxide is first separated from other gases contained in industrial emissions.
  • It is then compressed and transported to a location that is isolated from the atmosphere for long-term storage.
  • Suitable storage locations might include geologic formations such as deep saline formations (sedimentary rocks whose pore spaces are saturated with water containing high concentrations of dissolved salts), depleted oil and gas reservoirs, or the deep ocean. Hence, 3 is correct.

Ans: (a)

• Carbon Fibre: Carbon fiber is composed of carbon atoms bonded together to form a long chain. The fibers are extremely stiff, strong, and light, and are used in many processes to create excellent building materials.
  Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Carbon fibre is environmentally friendly and exhibits a longer life cycle. However, carbon fibre consumes almost 14 times more energy in its creation compared with steel. This significant energy intensiveness has led to huge emissions of greenhouse gases.
• Therefore, the recycling process could be one of the best ways to reduce this environmental impact while meeting global demand for this material in industrial applications.
• Currently, carbon fibre waste or other fibre composites can be recycled using four types of technologies. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
  

Ans: (c)

• Gold mining can have devastating effects on nearby water resources. Toxic mine waste contains as many as three dozen dangerous chemicals including:
  • Arsenic Lead Mercury
  • Petroleum byproducts Acids
  • Cyanide
• Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Most mercury pollution is produced by coal fired thermal power plants and other industrial processes. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• The contribution of coal fired thermal power plants for mercury emissions works out to 70.7 % of total emission from coal combustion.
• Acute or chronic mercury exposure can cause adverse effects during any period of
• development. Mercury is a highly toxic element; there is no known safe level of exposure. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Ans: (c)

• Biodiversity Governance in India: India’s Biological Diversity Act 2002 (BD Act), is in close synergy with the Nagoya Protocol and aims to implement provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
• The Nagoya Protocol sought to ensure commercial and research utilisation of genetic resources led to sharing its benefits with the government and the community that conserved such resources.
• Under Section 41(1) of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, every local body in the State shall constitute a Biodiversity Management Committee within its area of jurisdiction. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The main function of the BMC is to prepare People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR) in consultation with local people. The BMC shall be responsible for ensuring the protection of the knowledge recorded in PBR, especially to regulate its access to outside persons and agencies.
• In addition to preparation of the People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR), the BMCs in their respective jurisdiction shall also be responsible for the following:
  • Conservation, sustainable use and access and benefit sharing of biological resources.
  • Regulation of access to the biological resources and/ or associated Traditional Knowledge, for commercial and research purposes.
  • The BMC shall also maintain a Register giving information about the details of the access to biological resources and traditional knowledge granted, details of the collection fee imposed and details of the benefits derived and the mode of their sharing from area within its jurisdiction.
  • The BMC may levy charges by way of collection fees from any person for accessing or collecting any biological resource for commercial purposes from areas falling within its territorial jurisdiction. Hence, statement 2 is correct.