Environment

Question 1

Kyhytysuka schicarum

Answer 1

marine reptile.. discovered found from fossils in central Colombia. it is an extinct species.

Question 2

Lesser Florican

Answer 2

smallest Bustard. Endemic to Indian sub-continent where it is found in tall grassland. Critically Endangered (CE). Schedule I of WPA, 1972

Question 3

Great Indian Bustard (GIB)

Answer 3

one of the heaviest flying birds. State bird of Rajasthan. Usually found in dry grasslands and scrublands of Indian subcontinent. CE. Schedule I of WPA, 1972.

Question 4

Houbara Bustard

Answer 4

lives in arid climates. comes in 2 different species: one residing in North Africa and other in Asia. Asian Houbara is native to Central Asia and comes to Indian subcontinent during winters. Vulnerable

Question 5

Bengal Florican

Answer 5

2 distinct populations : one in south east asia, and other in Indian subcontinent. it inhabits lowland dry , or seasonally inundated natural or semi-natural grasslands interspersed with scattered scrub or open forest. CE. Schedule I of WPA, 1972

Question 6

Bryde’s whale

Answer 6

Recently, the carcass of endangered Bryde’s whale (one male and the other female) washed ashore near the border of Puri and Ganjam districts of Odisha.
Bryde’s whales are members of the baleen whale family.
• These whales are found in warm, temperate oceans including the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean.

Question 7

Gharial

Answer 7

The Gharial is a fish-eating crocodile is native to the Indian subcontinent.
• The population of Gharials are a crucial indicator of clean river water.
• Found in Chambal River (Primary habitat), Girwa River, Ken River, Son River, Mahanadi River, Ramganga River.
• Listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List and Schedule I under the Indian wildlife protection act, 1972
The country’s first gharial breeding center was built in Nandankanan Zoological Park.
• Kurail Gharial breeding center project was established in 1978 by the Uttar Pradesh Forest department.
• Other breading centre- National Chambal Sanctuary (Gharial Eco Park, Madhya Pradesh)

Question 8

Indian desert cat or e Asiatic Wildcat or the Asian Steppe Wildcat

Answer 8

spotted in MP’s Panna Tiger Reserve.
The toes of the species have cushion-like hair which helps it balance the fluctuating desert temperatures.
• The species has sandy-brown fur and small, round spots covering the upper part of its body.
• The animal is in the Least Concern category of the IUCN Red List and Schedule-I in the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.

Question 9

Albino Indian Flapshell Turtle

Answer 9

It was sighted by mountaineers in Sirnapalli forest of Nizamabad, Telangana.
• It is a fresh water turtle commonly found in South Asian countries.
➢ Indian flapshell turtles are usually only 9 to 14 inches long, and prefer to eat frogs, mollusks and aquatic vegetation.
• Listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List and Schedule I under the Indian wildlife protection act, 1972.
• The varying coloration of turtles may be due to albinism

Question 10

Haiderpur wetland

Answer 10

47th Ramsar site and 10th in Uttar Pradesh.

Man-made lake; located within the boundaries of Hastinapur WS.

Question 11

Earth’s black box

Answer 11

It will record earth’s warming weather patterns. being built in Tasmania. the data will be collected on a giant, solar powered hard drive with capacity to collect data for 50 years.
on one hand, it will collect climate-change-related data like land and sea temperature measurements, species extinction, energy consumption, human population, ocean acidification, and atmospheric CO2 levels.

✓ On the other, it will collect contextual data, like newspaper headlines and trending stories, key news
stories and social media posts

Question 12

Flex Fuel Vehicles

Answer 12

FFV are called “dual-fuel vehicle”. They have engines that can run on flexible fuel — a combination of petrol and ethanol, which can include up to 100% ethanol.
✓ FFVs are capable to run on a combination of 100% petrol or 100% bio-ethanol and their blends.

Question 13

Climate Equity Monitor

Answer 13

It is an online dashboard for assessing, at the international level, equity in climate action, inequalities in
emissions, energy and resource consumption.
 CEM is aimed at monitoring the performance of Annex-I Parties under the UNFCCC (developed
countries) based on the foundational principles of the Climate Convention.
 It also gives an insight about disparity between the emissions of developed and developing countries.

Question 14

Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS)

Answer 14

India along with UK launched IRIS.
The IRIS is a part of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
 Under this, ISRO will build a special data window for Small Island Developing States (SIDS). With this, SIDS
will continue to get timely information about cyclones, coral-reef monitoring, coast-line monitoring etc
through satellite.

Question 15

Clydebank Declaration

Answer 15

Under the declaration, the signatories agreed to work together to establish zero emission maritime routes.
These routes are called green shipping corridors. This declaration has not been yet adopted by India.
signatory countries will support the establishment of at least six green shipping corridors by 2050.
• Signatory countries ➔ Around 19 countries have signed the declaration.

Question 16

Global Resilience Index Initiative (GRII)

Answer 16

 GRII will be a open-source resource offering high-level metrics across the built environment, infrastructure, agriculture and societal exposures.
 It will be using cross-sector risk modelling experience, including public-private partnerships between governments, academia, insurance and engineering.

Question 17

milu deer

Answer 17

Milu deer (Elaphurus davidianus) is a rare and endangered species.
• Also known as Pere David’s deer, these animals were on the verge of disappearing towards the end of the 19th century.
• Habitat ➔ Milu deer is native and endemic to the river valleys of China.
• They live in natural, open-range habitats, especially in the wetlands. They forage on grass and water plants.
• They particularly love rolling about in the mud, especially during the mating season, which makes the land easier for farmers to cultivate.
• IUCN ➔ Extinct in the Wild.

Question 18

coalition for disaster resilient infrastructure (CDRI)

Answer 18

CDRI is India’s second international climate initiative by India in 2019; the first was the International Solar Alliance, launched in 2015.
• CDRI was launched as a global partnership to promote resilient climate-proof critical infrastructure in member countries.
o 26 countries, including US, Germany, UK, Australia, Brazil, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka are already part of the coalition.
• The coalition will not create any new infrastructure - rather, it will serve as a ‘knowledge centre’ for member countries to share and learn best practices with respect to disaster-proofing of infra.
• It will work towards making existing and upcoming infrastructure in member countries more robust and resilient against climate disasters such as floods, heat, cyclones, forest fires, and rain.
• The aim of CDRI is to minimise the damage and disruptions

Question 19

global methane pledge

Answer 19

This pledge is an effort led jointly by the US and the European Union.
• Purpose ➔ It is essentially an agreement to stop deforestation and cut down global methane emissions by up to 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.
• Signatories ➔ Besides the EU and the US, more than 103 countries have signed up so far, including major methane emitters like Nigeria and Pakistan.
o Among the signatories is Brazil - one of the five biggest emitters of methane.
o China, Russia and India have not signed up, while Australia has said it will not back the pledge.

Question 20

Indian flapshell turtle

Answer 20

Indian flapshell turtle is a freshwater species of turtle and is found in many states.
• Distribution ➔
o They are found in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh (Indus and Ganges drainages), and Myanmar (Irrawaddy and Salween Rivers).
o They live in the shallow, quiet, often stagnant waters of rivers, streams, marshes, ponds, lakes and irrigation canals, and tanks.
o These turtles prefer waters with sand or mud bottoms because of their tendency to burrow.
• Conservation Status ➔
o IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
o CITES: Appendix II
o Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I

Question 21

KURMA App

Answer 21

It has a built-in digital field guide covering 29 species of freshwater turtles and tortoises of India.
o It was developed by the Indian Turtle Conservation Action Network (ITCAN) in collaboration with the Turtle Survival Alliance-India and Wildlife Conservation Society-India.

Question 22

Race to Zero campaign

Answer 22

Race to Zero is the UN-backed global campaign rallying non-state actors – including companies, cities, regions, financial and educational institutions – to take rigorous and immediate action to halve global emissions by 2030.

Question 23

Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero(GFANZ)

Answer 23

Launched in ➔ April 2021.
• Launched by ➔ UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance and UK Prime Minister’s Finance Adviser for COP26 in partnership with the Race to Zero campaign.
• Purpose ➔ To provide a forum for leading financial institutions to accelerate the transition to a net-zero global economy.
• Members ➔ Its members currently include over 450 financial firms across 45 countries responsible for assets of over $130 trillion.
Annual Reporting ➔ The financial firms have pledged to report annually on the carbon emissions linked to the projects they lend to.

Question 24

NGFS [Network for Greening the Financial System] declaration

Answer 24

It is a group of central banks and supervisors willing to share best practices and contribute to the development of environment and climate risk management in the financial sector.
• Creation ➔ It was created at the Paris One Planet Summit in December 2017.
• Secretariat ➔ hosted by the Banque de France.
• It also seeks to mobilise mainstream finance to support the transition towards a sustainable economy.
• Members ➔ It includes central banks and financial supervisors

Question 25

Climate Change Performance Index

Answer 25

Released by ➔ Germanwatch, the New Climate Institute, and the Climate Action Network.
• It is an independent monitoring tool for tracking the climate protection performance of 60 countries and the EU – covering 92% of the Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Aim ➔ To enhance transparency in international climate politics and enable comparison of climate protection efforts and progress made by individual countries.
• Categories ➔ CCPI assesses each country’s performance in four categories: GHG Emissions (40% of the overall ranking), Renewable Energy (20%), Energy Use (20%) and Climate Policy (20%

Question 26

Zero-Emission Vehicle Transition Council(ZEVTC)

Answer 26

It is a global forum on enhancing political cooperation on the transition to zero-emission vehicles.
• Formation ➔ formed in November 2020.
• Purpose ➔ The Council brings together ministers and representatives of some of the world’s largest automobile markets to collectively address key challenges in the transition to ZEVs to enable a faster, cheaper and easier transition to EVs for all

Question 27

e-AMRIT (Accelerated e-Mobility Revolution for India’s Transportation)

Answer 27

e-AMRIT (Accelerated e-Mobility Revolution for India’s Transportation) is a web portal for creating awareness about electric mobility in India.
• Developed by ➔ It is a joint initiative between NITI Aayog and the UK Government.
• Purpose ➔ To serve as a ‘one-stop site’ to provide all the information related to the adoption of electric vehicles in India.

Question 28

International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO)

Answer 28

Launched by ➔ UN Environment Programme (UNEP) with support from the European Union
• Objective ➔ The observatory aims to provide credible data to track countries progress on meeting methane reduction pledges and to promote best practice.
o It will initially focus on methane emissions from the fossil fuel sector and then expand to other major emitting sectors like agriculture and waste.
o It will also monitor commitments made by countries in the Global Methane Pledge, a US- and EU-led effort to slash methane emissions by 30% by 2030.

Question 29

SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecast and Research)

Answer 29

The system is indigenously developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune and is operationalized by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

It is an integral part of India’s first Air Quality Early Warning System operational in Delhi.
• It has a giant true color LED display that gives out real-time air quality index on a 24×7 basis with color-coding (along with 72 hours advance forecast).
• It monitors all weather parameters like temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind speed, and wind direction, UV radiation, and solar radiation.
• Pollutants Monitored ➔ PM2.5, PM10, Ozone, Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Benzene, Toluene, Xylene, and Mercury.