1. With reference to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which of the following statements is/are correct?
   1. IUCN is an organ of the United Nations and CITES is an international agreement between governments
   2. IUCN runs thousands of field projects around the world to better manage natural environments.
   3. CITES is legally binding on the States that have joined it, but this Convention does not take the place of national laws.

Select the correct using the code given below.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

IUCN has an observer status at the United Nations. Elimination 1 we get option (b) as answer.

IUCN is the only international observer organization in the UN General Assembly with expertise in issues concerning the environment, specifically biodiversity, nature conservation and sustainable natural resource use.

2. With reference to ‘dugong’, a mammal found in India, which of the following statements is/are correct?
   1. It is a herbivorous marine animal.
   2. It is found along the entire coast of India
   3. It is given legal protection under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 only
(c) 1 and 3
(d) 3 only

Ref: http://bit.ly/1Rr6sgH

The article says they feed on seagrass and has been brought under Schedule 1. Only option with both statement 1 and 3 is (c).

3. Which one of the following is the national aquatic animal of India?

(a) Saltwater crocodile

(b) Olive ridley turtle

(c) Gangetic dolphin

(d) Gharial

Ref: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/river-dolphin-is-indias-national-aquatic-animal/article29391.ece

4. Which one of the following is associated with the issue of control and phasing out of the use of ozone-depleting substances?

(a) Bretton Woods Conference
(b) Montreal Protocol
(c) Kyoto Protocol
(d) Nagoya Protocol

Ref: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/india-embraces-hfc-phase-out-under-montreal-protocol/

5. What is Rio+20 Conference, often mentioned in the news?

(a) It is the United nations Conference on Sustainable Development
(b) It is a Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization
(c) It is a Conference of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change
(d) It is a Conference of the Member Countries of the Convention on Biological Diversity

“Rio+20” is the short name for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development which took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 2012 – twenty years after the landmark 1992 Earth Summit in Rio.

6. Which of the following statements regarding ‘Green Climate Fund’ is/are correct?
   1. It is intended to assist the developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter climate change.
   2. It is founded under the aegis of UNEP, OECD, Asian Development Bank and World Bank
      Select the correct answer using the code given below.

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a fund within the framework of the UNFCCC founded as a mechanism to redistribute money from the developed to the developing world, in order to assist the developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter climate change. The GCF is based in the new Songdo district of Incheon, South Korea.

7. ‘BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes’ is managed by the

(a) Asian Development Bank
(b) International Monetary Fund
(c) United Nations Environment Programme
(d) World Bank

The BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes seeks to promote reduced greenhouse gases from land sector, deforestation and forest degradation in development countries(REDD+) and from sustainable agriculture, as well as smarter land-use planning, policies and practices. It is a new multilateral facility, supported by donor governments and managed by the World Bank.

8. The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee is constituted under the

(a) Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006
(b) Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999
(c) Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
(d) Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) is the apex body constituted in the Ministry of Environment and Forests under ‘Rules for Manufacture, Use, Import, Export and Storage of Hazardous Microorganisms/Genetically Engineered Organisms or Cells 1989’, under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.

9. In a particular region in India, the local people train the roots of living tree into robust bridges across the streams. As the time passes these bridges become stronger. These unique ‘Living Root Bridges’ are found in

(a) Meghalaya

(b) Himachal Pradesh

(c )Jharkhand

(d) Tamil Nadu

The living root bridges of Cherrapunji, Laitkynsew, and Nongriat in Meghalayais a form of tree shaping, which creates these suspension bridges. The useful lifespan of the bridges, once complete, is thought to be 500–600 years. They are naturally self-renewing and self-strengthening as the component roots grow thicker.

10. With reference to ‘Forest Carbon Partnership Facility’, which of the following statements is/are correct?
    1. It is global partnership of governments, businesses, civil society and indigenous peoples
    2. It provides financial aid to universities, individual scientists and institutions involved in scientific forestry research to develop eco-friendly and climate adaptation technologies for sustainable forest management
    3. It assists the countries in their ‘REDD+ (Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation+)’ efforts by providing them with financial and technical assistance.

Select the correct answer using the code given below

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Ref: https://www.forestcarbonpartnership.org/about-fcpf-0

11. With reference to an organization known as ‘Birdlife International’ which of the following statements is/are correct?
    1. It is a Global Partnership of Conservation Organizations.
    2. The concept of ‘biodiversity hotspots’ originated from this organization.
    3. It identifies the sites known/referred to as ‘Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas’.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

The British biologist Norman Myers coined the term “biodiversity hotspot” in 1988 as a biogeographic region characterized both by exceptional levels of plant endemism and by serious levels of habitat loss.

BirdLife’s Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) Programme aims to identify, monitor and protect a global network of IBAs for the conservation of the world’s birds and other wildlife.

12. Which one of the following is the best description of the term “ecosystem”?

(a) A community of organisms interacting with one another

(b) That part of the Earth which is inhabited by living organisms

(c) A community of organisms together with the environment in which they live.

(d) The flora and fauna of a geographical area.

The term ‘Ecosystem’ was first used by A G Tansley in 1935 who defined ecosystem as ‘a particular category of physical systems, consisting of organisms and inorganic components in a relatively stable equilibrium, open and of various sizes and kinds’.

Thus ecosystem includes both the organisms as well the their environment.