Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• The government enacted Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act 2016 to provide a proper institutional mechanism for compensatory afforestation matters. Related rules were notified in 2018.
• The Act established National Compensatory Afforestation Fund (NCAF) under the Public account of India and State Compensatory Afforestation Funds under public accounts of states.
• The National Fund will receive 10% of these funds, and the State Funds will receive the remaining 90%.
• The funds can be used for treatment of catchment areas, assisted natural generation, forest management, wildlife protection and management,relocation of villages from protected areas, managing human-wildlife conflicts, etc.
• Compensatory afforestation means that every time forest land is diverted for non-forest purposes such as mining or industry, the user agency pays for planting forests over an equal area of non-forest land, or when such land is not available, twice the area of degraded forest land.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• The spider which is endemic to India, belongs to the genus Poecilotheria and is commonly known as the Peacock Parachute Spider. It can be identified based on the banding patterns on the underside of the legs.
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has categorised it as Critically Endangered.
• The known habitat of this species is in the Eastern Ghats especially degraded forests near Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh.
• Tarantulas are considered as biological pest controllers.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• The first Conclave of Himalayan States was held in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand on 28^th July, 2019, to discuss priorities of Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) in 15th Finance Commission (XV FC).
• It was initiated by Uttarakhand Government Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI) as its knowledge partner.
• It had brought together Himalayan States, Central Government on single platform to deliberate on development challenges and potential of IHR and concluded with adoption of Mussoorie Resolution 2019.
• Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur, took part in the conclave.
• Himalayan states sought Green Bonus from Centre considering their contributions to environmental conservation and to compensate Himalayan states for their disadvantages.

Indian Himalayan Region (IHR)

• It consists of following states - Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura
• It accounts for 16% of land area of India and most of the area is covered by snow-clad peaks, glaciers of higher Himalaya, dense forest cover of mid-Himalaya.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• On 18^th August, 2019, the Odisha Government approved Integrated Management Plan of Chilika and Ansupa Lake which are under threat due to rising pollution and climate change.
• It will be executed for a period of five years starting from 2019.
• It aims at conserving the bio-diversity and provides livelihood support to two lakh fishermen of 151 villages around both the lake. It will also tackle the issue of weed management, soil and moisture conservation in both the wetlands.

Chilika Lake

• Chilika Lake, India’s largest largest salt-water lagoon,is spread over Khurda, Ganjam and Puri districts of Odisha.
• It is designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
• It is home to a diverse range of aquatic life, including 225 species of fish and the Irrawaddy dolphin (OrcaellaBrevirostris). The rare limbless lizard Barkudiainsularis is endemic to one of the lake's islands.

Ansupa Lake

• It is the largest fresh water lake of Odisha,situated in Banki, Cuttack. It was formed by Mahanadi River and got a shape like the hoof of a horse.
• It is surrounded by Saranda hills on the western side and Bishnupur hills on its northern side, both being a part of the Eastern Ghats.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• A lesser known plant- Eugenia mooniana, located in Andamans has showed potential to solve missing link between Andamans and Peninsular India. Detailed taxonomical studies carried out by the scientists established the species as Eugenia mooniana, a plant that is hitherto known to occur only in Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.
• According to the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI) there are 1,026 common species for the Andaman-Nicobar islands and the Western Ghats of peninsular India. The fragmented distribution of these floral species reveals the geological link of these widely- separated regions in the remote past.

Eugenia mooniana:

• It is a species of plant in the family Myrtaceae which is native to Western Ghats of India and Sri Lanka. Flowers are white colored. Fruit is a globose, glabrous, single-seeded berry. Flowering starts from October and ends in December. It is known as Pinibaru by Sinhalese people in Sri Lanka.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• India has submitted proposals regarding changes to the listing of various wildlife species in the CITES secretariat meeting, scheduled to be held from 17^th – 28^th August, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland.
• The proposals put forward are regarding changes in the listing of the smooth-coated otter, small-clawed otter, Indian star tortoise, Tokay gecko, wedgefish and Indian rosewood.
• For the Indian rosewood, the proposal is to eliminate the species from CITES Appendix II. The species covered by CITES are listed in three appendices on the degree of protection they require.
• India is among the parties proposing the re-listing of the star tortoise from CITES Appendix II to Appendix I. The two threats that the species face are: loss of habitat to agriculture and illegal harvesting for the pet trade.
• With regard to the two otter species, India, Nepal and the Philippines have proposed that the listing be moved from CITES Appendix II to Appendix I for the more endangered species.
• A similar proposal has been made to include the Tokay gecko in Appendix I.

CITES

• It is an international agreement to which States and regional economic integration organizations adhere voluntarily. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
• CITES was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of IUCN (The World Conservation Union).

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• The central government is planning to bring in Light Urban Rail Transit System named Metrolitewith lesser capacity at much less cost.
• The new system has been proposed for small cities and towns having lower projection of ridership will run at a restricted speed of 25 kmph with maximum operational speed of 60 kmph.
• The new system will also act as a feeder system to high capacity Metro.
• The new system will be provided with shelter platforms, with no platform screen doors, AFC gates, X-ray and baggage scanner.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

The invasive Kappaphycus alvarezii seaweed, which smothers and kills coral reefs, has spread its wings to coral reef areas in Valai Island in the Gulf of Mannar (GoM) and set to invade new coral colonies in the Marine National Park.

Explanation :

Explanation:

Statement 1: On 7^th July, 2019, the MoEFCC has launched project for undertaking immunocontraceptive project for population management of four species of wild animals viz.  Elephant, wild boar, monkey and blue bull (Nilgai) and not the Hog deer. So, the given statement is incorrect.

Statement 2: The project will be implemented first in Uttarakhand and not in Assam. So, the given statement is incorrect.

Statement 3: It will be implemented jointly by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the National Institute of Immunology (NII). So, the given statement is correct.

Statement 4: Immunocontraceptive is a technology that uses a female animal’s immune system to build a protein around the egg that prevents it from fertilising. So, the given statement is correct.

Explanation :

• Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients (but not energy) from trapping and consuming animals or protozoan, typically insects and other arthropods.
• Carnivorous plants generally grow in places having high light and where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen.