Tag: the environment and us

Questions Related to the environment and us

Air pollution is caused by:

  1. human.

  2. nature.

  3. both nature and man.

  4. forestation.


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

Air pollution could be both due to natural or man-made causes. The major factors affecting composition of air are: area of forests in the region (potential cause of forest fires), industries present in the area, density of population, urbanization, etc.

Which of the following are the air pollutants?

  1. Soot

  2. Smog

  3. CFCs

  4. All of the above


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

Soot, Smog, CFCs are all air pollutants.

Select the incorrectly matched pair.

  1. UNESCO = United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

  2. CITES = Convention in International Trade in Elite Species.

  3. IUCN = International Union of Conservation for Nature and Natural Resources.

  4. WWF = World Wilde Fund for Nature.


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals.

So, the correct option is 'CITES = Convention in International Trade in Elite Species.'

Sacred groves are found in Khasi and Jaintia hills of (i), Aravalli hills of (ii), Western Ghat religions of (iii).

  1. (i) - Meghalaya; (ii) - Rajasthan; (iii) - Karanataka and Maharashtra

  2. (i) - Meghalaya and Maharashtra; (ii) - Rajasthan; (iii) - Madhya Pradesh

  3. (i) - Madhya Pradesh; (ii) - Rajasthan; (iii) - Meghalaya

  4. (i) - Rajasthan; (ii) - Meghalaya; (iii) - Karanataka and Maharashtra


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

(i) In Meghalaya sacred groves represent a long tradition of environmental conservation based on indigenous knowledge by the tribal communities. They are among the few least disturbed forest patches which are serving as the natural treasure house of biodiversity and a refuge for a large number of endemic, endangered and rare taxa. The general term for sacred groves in the Khasi Hills is 'Khlaw Kyntang' or 'Law Kyntang' or 'Law Lyngdoh' while in the Jaintia Hills it is called 'Khloo Blai'. The sacred groves in the Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills District are fundamentally based on the traditional religious belief of the tribals i.e., Khasis and Pnars, which is called Seng Khasi and Niam Tre respectively.

(ii) Sacred Groves are found from the western part of Rajasthan to the east of the Aravalli range. These groves are known under various names in Rajasthan as sacred groves (deora, malvan, deorai, rakhat bani, oran, etc.), sacred corridors (deo ghats), temple forests (mandir van) and sacred gardens (baugh). Brandis, as early as 1887, gave initial information on sacred groves of Aravallis. He wrote, 'though very few papers have been published on sacred groves, this does not mean that such areas do not abound in India'. 
(iii) Western Ghats also known as Sahyadri (Benevolent Mountains) is a mountain range that runs parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula. Forest clearance was inevitable for farming and yet, there was an overwhelming belief in the sacredness of the woods.  They were important tracts of pre-colonial forest conservation in the Western Ghats. Myriad relics of such groves, exist even today all over the Western Ghats. They may be called Devrai in Maharashtra, Devarkadu in Kodagu and Kavu in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, these forests in pre-colonial landscape, served many functions like the conservation of biodiversity and watershed, moderation of climate and promoted varied wildlife.
So the correct option is ' (i) Meghalaya, (ii) Rajasthan (iii) Karnataka and Maharashtra'.

Which of these organisms are protected by people of 'Bishnoi' community of Rajasthan?

  1. Prosopis cineraria

  2. Black buck

  3. Bhojpatra

  4. Both (a) and (b)


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

  • The Bishnois are a community in India living mostly in the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

  • They are renowned for adapting to the harsh conditions of the Thar Desert. This is the example for showing that the biodiversity of Rajasthan’s arid desert can be preserved not by isolating people, but through their active participation.

  • Jambheshwar announced a set of 29 tenets. These were contained in a document called Shabadwani, written in the Nagari script, which consists of 120 shabads. 

  • Of his 29 tenets, ten are directed towards personal hygiene and maintaining good basic health, seven for healthy social behavior, and four tenets to the worship of God.

So the correct option is 'both (a) and (b)'.

What do you mean by wildlife conservation?

  1. Plant a rain garden

  2. Plant windbreaks

  3. Protection of wild plants and animal

  4. Plant buffer strips along stream banks


Correct Option: C

MAB stands for

  1. Man and biosphere programme

  2. Man, antibiotics and bacteria

  3. Man and biotic community

  4. Mayer, Anderson and Bishby


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

UNESCO MAB i.e., man and biosphere is an intergovernmental scientific program which was launched in order to improve the relation between people and their environment. It provides opportunities for education to improve human livelihood, it promotes the innovative approaches to economic development that are environmentally sustainable. It also includes the preservation of plants and animals under biosphere reserves with the help of human efforts. Thus, the correct answer is option A.

Animals species should be preserved mainly because

  1. They are lovely creatures.

  2. They are useful to mankind.

  3. Man cannot recreate a species of animals if it be destroyed.

  4. Zoologists want to study them.


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

There are many reasons to conserve biodiversity, but all equally important. They can be grouped into three categories: narrowly utilitarian (economic benefit), broadly utilitarian (importance in natural ecological balance), and ethical (moral reasons). 

All the animals are a part of biodiversity, hence need to be conserved. 
Man makes special efforts to conserve the animals which are likely to become extinct without special efforts of man. In fact man makes an effort to conserve biodiversity and animals are a part of biodiversity. 
Once a species becomes extinct the entire gene pool is lost for ever. This is also called as genetic erosion.

In ecology, the word conservation means

  1. Management and protection of natural resources

  2. Management and protection of plants

  3. Management and protection of animals

  4. Management and protection of endangered plants


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

In ecology, the word conservation means management and protection of natural resources. Conservation ecology is concerned with the preservation and management of biodiversity and natural resources. 

Thus, the correct answer is 'Management and protection of natural resources.'

Which of the following will help most in conservation of wildlife?

  1. Making stringent laws

  2. Making numerous zoos

  3. Making numerous sanctuaries

  4. All of the above


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

A naturally occurring sanctuary, such as an island, which protects species from getting hunted, predated or poached is called as a wildlife refuge. It is also known as a wildlife sanctuary. Being a protected area, it is a geographic territory within which wildlife is protected. Private operations are limited in such areas. Thus, making numerous wildlife sanctuaries will be most helpful.

So, the correct answer is 'Making numerous sanctuaries'.