Day-746 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

Answer. A
Explanation:
Statement 1 is correct: When a country accedes to the Ramsar Convention, it must designate at least one wetland site as a Wetland of International Importance. According to Article 2.1 of the
Convention: ‘Each Contracting Party shall designate suitable wetlands within its territory for inclusion
in a List of Wetlands of International Importance, hereinafter referred to as “the List”[…] . The boundaries of each wetland shall be precisely described and also delimited on a map and they may incorporate riparian and coastal zones adjacent to the wetlands, and islands or bodies of marine water deeper than six metres at low tide lying within the wetlands […].’
The parties to Ramsar Convention become eligible for accessing financial aid through the Ramsar Convention’s own Small Grants Programme for funding small and medium sized projects aimed at conservation and wise use of wetlands.
Statement 2 is incorrect: The objective of the Ramsar Convention is to ensure sustainable and wise use of wetlands; therefore, the member states must ensure through appropriate national legislative
frameworks or policies that the tourism does not cause harm to the health of wetlands declared as
Ramsar Sites (Wetlands of International Importance). The member states, therefore, regulate the tourism in these Ramsar sites. Tourism is not prohibited/banned in the Ramsar sites, rather it is regulated by the government.
RAMSAR CONVENTION
The ‘Convention on Wetlands’ called the Ramsar Convention, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. The Convention defines wise use of wetlands as “the maintenance of their ecological character, achieved through the implementation of ecosystem approaches, within the context of sustainable development”.

● There are 172 contracting parties to the Ramsar Convention as of November 2023.
● India became a party to the Ramsar Convention on 1 February, 1982.
● Ahead of the 78th Independence Day, India has added three new Ramsar sites to its network, bringing the total to 85 Ramsar sites across the country. The total area under these sites now stands at an impressive 1,358,068 hectares.

Answer. C
Explanation:
Statement 1 is correct: The Wildlife (Protection) Act (WLPA), 1972, identified the elephant, along with the bullock, camel, donkey, horse, and mule, as a “vehicle”. Given the highest legal protection in 1977, the elephant is the only animal in WLPA’s Schedule-I that can still be owned legally — by means of inheritance or gift.
Statement 2 is incorrect but statement 3 is correct: The Wild life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022 has come into force since 1st April 2023. As per the Section 49 N of the Act, person engaged in breeding in captivity or artificially propagating any scheduled specimen listed in Appendix I of Schedule IV are required to make an application for a licence within a period of ninety days of the commencement of the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022. This implies that the artificial propagation of such scheduled specimens is permissible upon attainment of license from concerned authorities.
The amendment made to Section 43 of the WLPA permits elephants, a Schedule I animal, to be used for ‘religious or any other purpose’. As per the amended Act, transfer or transport of a captive elephant for a religious or any other purpose by a person having a valid certificate of ownership is allowed, subject to such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the Central Government.

Answer. C
Explanation:
Statement 1 is correct: The National board for Wildlife (NBWL) is a statutory body established in 2003 under the Ministry of Environment and Forests. As per the amendment of the Act in 2002, a provision was incorporated for the constitution of the National Board for Wildlife, replacing the Indian Board for Wildlife.
Statement 2 is incorrect: The National Board for Wildlife has 47 members with the Prime Minister in the Chair. The Minister in charge of the Ministry of Environment & Forests in the Central Government is the Vice-Chairperson. The Additional Director General of Forests (WL) & Director, Wildlife Preservation is the Member-Secretary to the Board. The Board is responsible for promotion of conservation and development of wildlife and forests.
Statements 3 and 4 are correct: The boundaries of the national parks in the country cannot be altered without approval from the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), as per the Wildlife (Protection) Act. This is how it strives to conserve nature and biodiversity.
Also, it is the function of the NBWL to approve or deny approval for projects concerning creation of infrastructure within a national park. The WLPA mandates that without the approval/recommendation of the NBWL, construction of tourist lodges, alteration of the boundaries of PAs, destruction or diversion of wildlife habitat and de-notification of Tiger Reserves, cannot be done.

Answer. D
Explanation:
Statement 1 is incorrect: As per the Environment (Protection) Act 1986, the central government is empowered to make rules and regulations governing noise pollution in the country. Using this power, the central government has framed and notified the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000. As per these rules:
● The State Government shall categorize the areas into industrial, commercial, residential or silence areas / zones for the purpose of implementation of noise standards for different areas.
● The State Government shall take measures for abatement of noise including noise emanating from vehicular movements and ensure that the existing noise levels do not exceed the ambient air quality standards specified under these rules.
● All development authorities, local bodies and other concerned authorities while planning developmental activity or carrying out functions relating to town and country planning shall take into consideration all aspects of noise pollution as a parameter of quality of life to avoid noise menace and to achieve the objective of maintaining the ambient air quality standards in respect of noise.
● An area comprising not less than 100 metres around hospitals, educational institutions and courts may be declared as a silence area / zone for the purpose of these rules.
Statement 2 is incorrect: At international level, the World Health organisation (WHO) has specified the standards for noise to regulate noise pollution. These standards are as follows (Note that the day–evening–night noise level or Lden is a 2002 European standard to express noise level over an entire day).

Answer. A
Explanation: Statement 1 is incorrect.
Economists devised carbon markets as a way to increase climate ambition and lower carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere by creating a financial incentive to curb emissions. The idea is, if one country pays for emissions to be cut or captured in a second country, for example by planting a forest or installing renewable energy facilities, it can count those reductions towards its own climate goals. The aim is that for every tonne of CO2 that is emitted somewhere, another tonne is captured elsewhere. Countries can trade credits, which each represent one tonne of CO2, with each other in a global marketplace.
● Establishing a global carbon market, however, has proven to be an enormous challenge. For almost 30 years, countries have tried, and largely failed, to draw up robust rules.
● The first global scheme dates back to the UN’s Kyoto Protocol on climate change, which was adopted in 1997. Known as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), this carbon market came into operation in 2006. Under the CDM, richer countries could reduce their emissions by paying for the development of carbon-lowering projects in poorer nations, and counting these reductions as part of their own targets.
● The Kyoto Protocol also established “cap and trade” schemes, which set a limit on the overall amount of emissions that are permitted from carbon-intensive sources, such as shipping and the energy industry, at regional, national and international levels.
● The European Union created the world’s first emissions trading system, which is based on the cap and trade principle, in 2005. According to a 2020 study, the system reduced carbon emissions by more than one billion tonnes between 2008 and 2016.
● The CDM, on the other hand, effectively collapsed due to widespread concerns over environmental efficacy, corruption and human rights violations.
● In 2015, 190 countries signed up to the Paris Agreement and set emissions reduction targets. Under Article 6 of the climate pact, they agreed to establish a voluntary global carbon market, intending to avoid the pitfalls that led to the collapse of the CDM.
● Carbon Price refers to the price signal on greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions: X$ per tCO2e.
● Carbon pricing is put into place to take into account [all of/part of] the cost of carbon pollution (social cost of carbon) in decisions (planning, investments, operations, etc.). It is recognized by most economists as the simplest, most straightforward and most cost-effective way to address GHG emissions.
● In case of a carbon trading scheme, the carbon price is determined by demand and supply, the forces driving the carbon market.