Published: Published Date – 11:45 PM, Sun – 6 March 22
Hyderabad: This article is in continuation to last week’s article https://telanganatoday.com/approach-to-current-affairs-for-tspsc-exams.
Environment
Environment as a subject is a branch of geography and is studied as a part of it. However, the prevailing conditions worldwide have contributed significantly to the evolution of environment as a separate discipline of study which includes –
1. Concepts related to environment – carbon footprint, bioreserve, global warming, carbon cycle and so on
2. Conventions on environment – multilateral agreements signed on various concerns on environment
3. Measures taken by the government for the conservation and protection of environment including laws, projects, schemes, programmes and so on
4. Discovery and extinction of species
5. Environmental studies – surveys, reports, census
With regard to the current updates in Environment, candidates must focus on the following:
Conventions and Summits:
1. Any new convention signed by India – the purpose of the Convention;
2. Venue of summit (previous, present and next meeting venues), important agreements signed or decisions taken at the summit; the year of commencement of the summit, the purpose of the summit and the organisation responsible for the implementation of the convention on which the summit was held as background information
3. Any country withdrawing or joining a convention; the reason for withdrawal
Example: The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), a multilateral treaty, has three main goals:
a. the conservation of biological diversity;
b. the sustainable use of its components;
c. the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources.
The convention was opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro on June 5, 1992 and entered into force on December 29, 1993. The United States is the only UN member state which has not ratified the convention. It has two supplementary agreements, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and Nagoya Protocol on Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilisation to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The meetings of the parties to the convention known as Conferences of the Parties (COP), with the first one (COP 1) held in Nassau, Bahamas, in 1994 and the most recent one (COP 15) held in Kunming, China in 2021; the second session of COP 15 will be held in April 2022. COP 11 was held in Hyderabad in 2012.
Which of the following protocol/s is/are related to the Convention on Biodiversity?
1. Nagoya Protocol
2. Montreal Protocol
3. Cartagena Protocol
Code:
A. 1 Only
B. 1 and 3
C. 2 and 3
D. 1, 2 and 3
Answer: B
The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion and is not part of CDB.
Species:
1. Newly discovered species – location where it is discovered and its importance
2. Species on the brink of extinction – reason for extinction; category it is placed in the IUCN list and the schedule it is placed under the Wildlife Protection Act; places where the species are found and their importance in the ecosystem
Question
Read the following statements regarding Monoceromyia flavoscutata
1. It is a new species recently discovered in India and is classified as new type Syrphid flies.
2. It was discovered in Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu
3. As these bees or flies help in pollination and their larvae control pest population, they are the best friends of farmers.
Which of the above statement(s) is/are true?
A. 1 and 2
B. 2 and 3
C. 1 and 3
D. 1, 2 and 3
Answer: D
Environment sites – such as Biosphere reserves, National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Tiger Reserves and Bird Sanctuaries that have been recently declared so – their location and physical features such as rivers flowing across the site, wildlife found there and so on
Question
Dihing Patkai and Raimona have been declared as National Parks in 2021. They are located in which of the following state/s?
A. Nagaland
B. Assam and Nagaland
C. Assam
D. Assam and Manipur
Answer: C
Terms – all important terms explaining the concepts in environment, in news
Question
Consider the following statements
Statement I – Eco bridges are links in habitat that connect two larger wildlife zones.
Statement II – Eco bridges are usually constructed in elephant corridors to help them cross the man-made barriers like road/railway construction.
Choose the correct code.
A. Statement I is true; Statement II is false
B. Statement I is false; Statement II is true
C. Both statements I and II are true
D. Both statements I and II are false
Answer: C
Census
Note: The Indian State of Forest Report 2021, an assessment of India’s forest and tree cover, published every two years by the Forest Survey of India under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change was recently released. The highlights of this report are extremely important for all the competitive examinations to be held this year. Special focus should be laid on the highlights related to Telangana State including the following details:
• Telangana is ranked second in the country in terms of increase in forest cover with 632 sq km.
• Forest area recorded in Telangana stands at 26,969 square kilometres, which is 24.05 per cent of the total geographical area of the State.
• Hyderabad topped the list of ‘Forest Covers in Major Mega Cities’ in terms of decadal increase. Hyderabad’s total forest cover went up from 33.15 sq km from 2011 to 81.81 sq km in 2021, a 147 per cent increase, and it was largely seen in the open forests, shrubs and moderate forest cover.
To be continued…
Now you can get handpicked stories from Telangana Today on Telegram everyday. Click the link to subscribe.
Click to follow Telangana Today Facebook page and Twitter .