Day-538 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

Answer: D
Explanation:

Options 1, 2 and 3 are incorrectly matched:
1. Pallikaranai marshland Tamil Nadu
● The Pallikaranai Marsh is one of the last remaining
natural wetlands of Chennai city.
● Designated as Ramsar site in India.
● It is locally known by the generic Tamil name

‘kazhuveli’ which means a flood plain or water-
logged area.

● On its eastern periphery, the Marsh is flanked by the
Buckingham Canal.
● Pallikaranai Marsh is a part of the vast Bay of Bengal
Large Marine Ecosystem. It is one of the few natural coastal aquatic habitats that qualify as a
wetland in India. The seasonal dynamics in water volume, spread and chemistry, both
historical and current, have rendered the Pallikaranai Marsh a biodiversity-rich South Indian
wetland.
● The Site is threatened by invasive and non-native species, household sewage, urban
wastewater and droughts.

 Answer: B
Explanation:

Recently, COP28 President (from UAE) has urged the oil and gas industry to phase out methane
emissions by 2030. Methane is the second most abundant GHG after CO2. It is 86 times more
powerful than CO2 over a period of 20 years. Over a period of 100 years, the Global warming potential
of methane is about 25 times higher than that of CO2.
It is a short-lived climate pollutant that has a lifespan of about 12-13 years, after which it gets
decomposed to Carbon Dioxide.
Statement 1 is incorrect: The methane emissions from waste sector, energy sector and industrial
process/product use clubbed together amount to 26% of total methane emissions, while the
agricultural sector alone emits about 74% of methane into the atmosphere.

Natural Sources of Methane-
• Wetlands
• Microorganisms from water-logged soils
• Decaying organic matter, landfills
• Hydro dams and reservoirs
• Melting Arctic Sea and soil (source of methane gas hydrates)
• Wildfires
Anthropogenic sources-
• Burning of fossil fuels
• Waste
• Agriculture (paddy fields)
• Livestock (methanogens in digestive tract of ruminants)
Statement 2 is correct: Methane is a main precursor of tropospheric ozone which is a powerful GHG
and air pollutant that leads to formation of photochemical smog on warm sunny days. Oxidation of
methane contributes to the formation of bad ozone.

Answer: C
Explanation:

Statement 1 is incorrect: The Cancun (Mexico) Conference of UNFCCC (COP16 in 2010) led to
establishment of Green Climate Fund (not Adaptation Fund). The general concept for GCF was first
proposed at the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC in Copenhagen, Denmark (COP 15).

THE PT QUEST 2024 LUKMAAN IAS
● It is designed as an operating entity of the Convention’s financial mechanism and is
headquartered in Incheon, Republic of Korea.
● It is governed by a 24 Board member Board, representing countries, and receives guidance
from the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (COP).
● The Fund pays particular attention to the needs of societies that are highly vulnerable to the
effects of climate change, in particular Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island
Developing States (SIDS), and African States.
Adaptation Fund was established in 2001 to finance concrete adaptation projects and programmes
in developing country Parties to the Kyoto Protocol that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse
effects of climate change.
● The Adaptation Fund serves the Paris Agreement under the CMA with respect to all Paris
Agreement matters, effective 1 January 2019 and with this, it no longer serves as financing
mechanism for Kyoto Protocol now. The Parties had decided that once the share of proceeds
becomes available under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, the Adaptation Fund shall no longer
serve the Kyoto Protocol.
● The Adaptation Fund is supervised and managed by the Adaptation Fund Board (AFB). The
AFB is composed of 16 members and 16 alternates and meets at least twice a year.
Statement 2 is incorrect: Loss and Damage Fund was created at the 27th Conference of Parties
(COP27, Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC), focusing on particularly vulnerable countries hit hard by floods, droughts and other climate
disasters. For the first time, countries recognized the need for finance to respond to loss and damage
associated with the catastrophic effects of climate change and agreed to the establishing of a fund
and the necessary funding arrangements.
However, the decisions regarding its funding and operationalisation would be taken at the upcoming
UNFCCC COP28 (Dubai, UAE).

Answer: C
Explanation:

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) was set up under the International Convention for the
Regulation of Whaling which was signed in Washington D.C. on 2nd December 1946. The preamble to
the Convention states that its purpose is to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and
thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry.
• Statement 1 is correct: The IWC is responsible for setting catch limits for commercial whaling
(with the exceptions of Norway and Iceland, see below). The Commission receives advice on
sustainability from its Scientific Committee before deciding catch limits, which are then set
out in a document called the Schedule to the International Convention for the Regulation of
Whaling.
• An integral part of the Convention is its legally binding ‘Schedule.’ The Schedule sets out
specific measures that the IWC has collectively decided are necessary in order to regulate
whaling and conserve whale stocks.
• These measures include catch limits (which may be zero as it the case for commercial whaling)
by species and area, designating specified areas as whale sanctuaries, protection of calves
and females accompanied by calves, and restrictions on hunting methods.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: Special permit whaling (for scientific purposes) is not regulated by
the Commission but by national governments, although none currently undertake this type
of whaling.
• The legal framework of the IWC is the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling
which recognises three different types of whaling: commercial, aboriginal subsistence and

THE PT QUEST 2024 LUKMAAN IAS
special permit (also known as scientific) whaling. It regulates only commercial whaling and
aboriginal subsistence whaling.
• Following considerable debate, a commercial whaling moratorium was adopted in 1982 and
came into full force in 1986. The Commission continues to regulate Aboriginal Subsistence
Whaling, which is conducted by indigenous communities, often in remote parts of the world.

Answer: C
Explanation:

Fungi are eukaryotic organisms which include the yeasts, rusts, smuts, mildews, moulds, and
mushrooms. Historically, fungi were included in the plant kingdom; however, because fungi lack
chlorophyll and are distinguished by unique structural and physiological features (i.e., components of
the cell wall and cell membrane), they have been separated from plants.
• Statement 1 is correct: Lichen represent the symbiotic relationship between blue-green
algae (cyanobacteria) and fungi. The Lichen are a huge group of composite organisms.
(Composite organisms are simply organisms that are made up of two or more independent
organisms.)
• Lichens are made up of an alga or cyanobacterium partner (called the photobiont), and a
fungus partner (called the mycobiont). The mycobiont provides the lichen with minerals
(structure), water, and shelter, while the photobiont provides the lichen with nutrients
through photosynthesis.
• Statement 2 is correct: Mycoremediation is a method of bioremediation using fungi to
decontaminate contaminated areas. The white-rot fungi are much effective in degrading a
wide range of organic molecules due to their release of extra-cellular lignin-modifying
enzymes, with a low substrate-specificity, so they can act upon various molecules that are
broadly similar to lignin.
• The white-rot fungus ‘Phanerochaete chrysosporium’ is an ideal model for bioremediation by
fungi, since it is more efficient than other fungi or microorganisms in degrading toxic or
insoluble materials. It presents simultaneous oxidative and reductive mechanisms which
permit its use in many different situations, regarding the type of contamination, its degree,
and the nature of the site itself.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: There are some fungi such as mushroom which look like plants, but
they cannot carry out photosynthesis. Since fungi lack chlorophyll, they are not capable of
making their own food through photosynthesis. Also, they can not ingest food like animals
do. Instead, they feed by absorption of nutrients from the environment around them. They
possess hyphae which secrete digestive enzymes. These enzymes help in breaking down the
substrate, making it easier for the fungus to absorb nutrients which the substrate contains.
• Statement 4 is correct: Fungi are among the primary decomposers in many environments
such as forests. Most of the fungi are saprophytes, feeding on dead and decaying material.