UPSC Prelims Previous Year Questions 2019: Environment

Ans: (d)

• The Valley of Flowers national park located in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand and is known for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and the variety of flora.Situated approximately 3255m above sea level, this splendid park is spread across 87.5 sq km of land.
• The valley has three sub-alpine between 3,200m and 3,500m which is the limit for trees, lower alpine between 3,500m and 3,700m, and higher alpine above 3,700m.
• The rich diversity of species reflects the valley's location within a transition zone between the Zanskar and Great Himalayas ranges to the north and south, respectively, and between the Eastern Himalaya and Western Himalaya flora.

Ans: (a)
"New World" means the Americas which were discovered by European Powers such as Spain, Portuguese and French; Tobacco, Cocoa and Rubber were native crops of Americas and were introduced in the Old World (Asia).

Ans: (a)
Asiatic lions that once ranged from Persia (Iran) to Palamau in Eastern India were almost driven to extinction by indiscriminate hunting and habitat loss. A single population of less than 50 lions persisted in the Gir forests of Gujarat by late 1890's. With timely and stringent protection offered by the State Government and the Center Government, Asiatic lions have increased to the current population of over 500 numbers. Hence, statement 1 is correct. The double-hump camel is a native of Gobi desert, and is found on a vast expanse of cold-desert areas across Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and parts of Afghanistan. Hence, statement 2 is NOT correct. The populations of one horned rhinoceros have increased to around 3,500 rhinos in northeastern India and the Terai grasslands of Nepal. Hence, statement 3 is NOT correct.

Ans: (d)
Geo-engineering approach to reversing global warming - 'The intentional reduction of the coverage and optical thickness of high-level cirrus cloud could potentially reduce global warming by modifying the longwave radiative effect of cirrus clouds.'

Ans: (d)
In developing Three-Year Action Agenda (2017-18 to 2019-20), the Niti Aayog has drawn a broader framework for addressing the issue of municipal solid waste (MSW). The solution being suggested by the Action Agenda is twin-fold: waste-to-energy incinerators for bigger municipalities and composting method of waste disposal for small towns and semi- urban areas. While proposing incineration as a solution, the Niti Aayog has also assessed the benefit-cost ratio of thermal pyrolysis and plasma gasification technologies.

Ans: (a)
The agasthyamalai biosphere is located in the Western Ghats in the south of the country. Consisting mostly of tropical forest, the site is home to 2,254 species of higher plants including about 400 that are endemic. It is also a unique genetic reservoir of cultivated plants, in particular cardamom, jamune, nutmeg, pepper and plantain. Three wildlife sanctuaries, Shendurney, Peppara and Neyyar, are located in the site, as well as the Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger reserve.

Ans: (d)
Green sea turtles eat seagrasses and algae, though juveniles snack on crabs, sponges, and jellyfish. Parrotfish are algae eaters. They obtain the algae by ripping small chunks of coral from a reef. The fish's grinding teeth, located in its throat, pulverize the coral. The teeth allow the fish to extract the algae from the center of the polyp inside.Manatees, sometimes called sea cows, are large mammals that live in warm sea waters. They live in shallow coastal areas and feed on sea vegetation. Snakes that are viviparous nourish their developing young through a placenta and yolk sac, something that is highly unusual among reptiles.

Ans: (c)
The Western Ghats region is famous for freshwater biodiversity. Mahseer, belonging to the genus Tor, is considered a prized sports fish of great cultural value.In the Cauvery the Mahseer community comprises two varieties-a "blue-finned" fish and an "orange-finned, hump-backed" one. Hence, pair 1 is correctly matched. Irrawaddy dolphins are distributed in shallow, near-shore tropical and subtropical marine waters. They are primarily found in estuaries and semi-enclosed water bodies such as bays and sounds, usually close to mangrove forests. Hence, pair 2 is NOT correctly matched. Forests of the Eastern Ghats are home to some endangered and lesser-known mammal species like the Fishing Cat, Rusty Spotted Cat, Indian Pangolin etc. Hence, pair 3 is correctly matched.

Ans: (a)
Microbeads are small, solid, manufactured plastic particles that are less than 5mm and don't degrade or dissolve in water. They may be added to a range of products, including rinse-off cosmetics, personal care and cleaning products. They are considered harmful to marine and aquatic ecosystem.

Ans: (d)
Himalayan nettle(Girardinia diversifolia) is found to be a sustainable source of textile fiber. The fabric and the things made from it. For the Himalayan Indian Nettle, Government of india has granted approval for a project titled Development of products from Himalayan Indian nettle to Department of Jute and Fibre Technology, Institute of Jute Technology, University of Kolkata.

Ans: (d)

• Statement 1 is correct - Methane escaping from disturbed undersea hydrates may be an ecological threat. Even if a small portion of these methane hydrate deposits decompose through natural processes, large quantities of methane will be released to exacerbate global warming.
• Statement 2 is correct - Methane hydrates tend to form along the lower margins of continental slopes, where the seabed drops from the relatively shallow shelf, usually to about 150 metres below the sea surface. The susceptibility of gas hydrates to warming climate depends on the duration of the warming event, their depth beneath the seafloor or tundra surface, and the amount of warming required to heat sediments to the point of dissociating gas hydrates.
• Statement 3 is correct - The problem with methane is that it does not vanish without a trace, even though it remains in the atmosphere relatively briefly - 10 years on an average. In the presence of free oxygen, a methane molecules single atom of carbon disengages from its four hydrogen atoms to become carbon dioxide.

Ans: (d)

• Burning of crop residues emits traces of carbon dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, sulphur dioxide and particulates which affect human health.
• Punjab and Haryana are both responsible for causing air pollution due to burning. These two states contribute to 48 per cent of the total emission due to paddy burning across India.

Note: The majority of tropospheric ozone formation occurs when nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as xylene, react in the atmosphere in the presence of sunlight.

Ans: (a)
Carbofuran, Phorate and Triazophos are pesticides used in agriculture. To promote organic farming in Kerala, the state agriculture department had ordered a ban on the use of pesticides on May 7. Kerala Agriculture University was asked to provide alternatives to the banned pesticides, which include carbofuran, phorate, methyl parathion, monocrotophos, methyl demethon, prophenophos and triazophos. The university suggested less hazardous pesticides, like acephate, carbaryl, dimethoate and flubendiamide. Hence option A is correct.

Ans: (b)

• Statement 1 is Not correct- Under Ramsar Convention it is mandatory on the part of government of India to protect only Ramsar Sites and not all the wetlands in India.
• Statement 3 is Correct- Under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management Rules), 2010, Wetland" means an area or of marsh, fen, peatland or water; natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water, the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres and includes all inland waters such as lakes, reservoir, tanks, backwaters, lagoon, creeks, estuaries and man made wetland and the zone of direct influence on wetlands that is to say the drainage area or catchment region of the wetlands as determined by the authority but does not include main river channels, paddy fields and the coastal wetland.
• Due to confusion on veracity of statement 2, we are yet to arrive at definite a conclusion.

Ans: (d)

• Statement 1 is correct: Agricultural soils contributed to over 70% of N2O emissions from India in 2010, followed by waste water (12%) and residential and commercial activities (6%).
• Statement 2 is correct: Cattle account for 80% of the ammonia production and India is globally the biggest source of ammonia emission, nearly double that of NOx emissions.
• Statement 3 is correct: The poultry industry, with an annual growth rate of 6%, recorded an excretion of reactive nitrogen compounds of 0.415 tonnes in 2016.

Ans: (b)

• Hydrogen-Enriched CNG (H-CNG) is a blend of hydrogen and CNG, the ideal hydrogen concentration being 18%. Hence, Statement 3 is correct.
• Compared to conventional CNG, use of H-CNG can reduce emission of carbon monoxide up to 70%,not complete emission. Hence, statement 1 is not correct. It also reduces carbondioxide and hydrocarbon emissions. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• H-CNG also enables up to 5% savings in fuel efficiency. H- CNG also reduces the engines unburned hydrocarbon emissions and speed up the process of combustion.

Ans: (c)
Statement 2 is correct: The Environment Protection Act 1986, empowers the government of India to lay down standards for emission or discharge of environmental pollutants from various sources whatsoever, provided that different standards for emission or discharge may be laid down under this clause from different sources having regard to the quality or composition of the emission or discharge of environmental pollutants from such sources.

Ans: (c)

• Under the Solid Waste Management, Rules 2016, waste processing facilities will have to be set up by all local bodies having 1 million or more population within two years. In case of census towns below 1 million population, setting up common, or stand-alone sanitary landfills by, or for all local bodies having 0.5 million or more population and for setting up common, or regional sanitary landfills by all local bodies and census towns under 0.5 million population will have to be completed in three years. Hence, rules provide for exact and elaborate criteria for identification of landfill sites and waste processing facilities. Hence option C is correct.
• Waste generators would now have to now segregate waste into three streams- Biodegradables, Dry (Plastic, Paper, metal, Wood, etc.) and Domestic Hazardous waste (diapers, napkins, mosquito repellants, cleaning agents etc.) before handing it over to the collector. Hence, option a is incorrect.

Ans: (b)

• For the first time, scientists have found fossils from an extinct ancient human lineage known as the Denisovans outside of Siberia.
• Denisovans were an extinct group of hominins that were close relatives of Neanderthals. They are known primarily from a handful of fossil fragments found at Denisova Cave in Siberia, and from genetic clues that linger in the DNA of people across Asia.