QUIZ – 2019: INSIGHTS STATIC QUIZ, 23 DECEMBER 2019 – Environment

Solution: d)

The species that invade a bare area are called pioneer species. In primary succession on rocks these are usually lichens which are able to secrete acids to dissolve rock, helping in weathering and soil formation.

All succession whether taking place in water or on land, proceeds to a similar climax community.

Solution: d)

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

1. It was signed on March 3, 1973 (Hence world wildlife day is celebrated on march 3).
2. It is administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
3. Secretariat— Geneva (Switzerland).
4. CITES is legally binding on state parties to the convention, which are obliged to adopt their own domestic legislation to implement its goals.

The species covered by CITES are listed in three Appendices, according to the degree of protection they need.

Appendix I includes species threatened with extinction. Trade in specimens of these species is permitted only in exceptional circumstances.

Appendix II includes species not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival.

Appendix III contains species that are protected in at least one country, which has asked other CITES Parties for assistance in controlling the trade.

Source

Solution: c)

The United Nations Environment Assembly was created in June 2012, when world leaders called for UN Environment to be strengthened and upgraded during the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, also referred to as RIO+20.

The United Nations Environment Assembly is the world’s highest-level decision-making body on the environment. It addresses the critical environmental challenges facing the world today. Understanding these challenges and preserving and rehabilitating our environment is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Environment Assembly meets biennially to set priorities for global environmental policies and develop international environmental law. Through its resolutions and calls to action, the Assembly provides leadership and catalyses intergovernmental action on the environment.

Source

Solution: d)

The cells of all organisms are made up primarily of six major elements that occur in similar proportions in all life-forms. These elements—hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur—form the core protoplasm of organisms, and the first four of these elements make up about 99 percent of the mass of most cells.

Solution: a)

Bio-ethanol can be derived from all the sources mentioned above.