Environment Questions & Answers for UPSC

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greeds,” – Mahatma Gandhiji. Environment has become one of the focal points in discussions and debate across the globe. The significance of ‘Environment’ as a UPSC topic is also relatively bigger as questions surrounding climate change, ecology, biodiversity are seeing an upward trend in the civil services exam question papers.

This segment covers all your queries w.r.t environment, ecology, biodiversity, climate change and more. Not only will you find answers to a wide range of questions; you would also be able to align your UPSC preparation with these questions.

Benefits of Environment Questions for IAS Exam

The IAS Exam aspirants can get the following benefits while going through the below-mentioned environment questions:

  • It fits all – Questions from a minor issue to an issue that has a global relevance are covered.
  • Doesn’t Discriminate – None of the doubts of the aspirants have been neglected. All doubts that are related to the UPSC examination or are related to the basic knowledge of environment have been answered by UPSC experts.
  • Helps in Prelims, Mains GS 3 and even essay papers – These answers would solve various doubts w.r.t environment-related topics. Hence, these will come handy in all stages of examination.
  • Apart from IAS Exam, these questions can be useful for other government exams as well.
The Arabian Oryx has held symbolic value for the people of the Middle East for centuries. It is thought that the mythical unicorn creature was...
Ex situ conservation is conservation of selected rare plants/animals in places outside their natural homes. It includes botanical gardens or...
The main objective of the Forest Act 1927 was to consolidate and reserve the areas having forest cover, or significant wildlife, to regulate...
The first Forest Act in India was passed in 1865. It would be successively amended in the coming years.  The Indian Forest Act of 1927 would...
The Indian Forest Act of 1865 declared forests as state property. The act of 1865 empowered the British government to declare any land covered...
Oilzapper is used to get rid of oil from a surface. Oil Zapping is a bio-remediation technique involving the use of ‘oil zapping’...
Oil zapper was developed by Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) in a project supported by the Department of Bio-Technology. Oilzapper is...
There are about 981 protected areas in India. It consists of 104 national parks, 566 wildlife sanctuaries, 97 conservation reserves and 214...
The first protected area in India was the Jim Corbett National Park established in Uttarakhand in 1936.  Jim Corbett National Park is a...
Phosphate attaches to sediments. When dissolved oxygen concentration is low in the water (anoxic), sediments release phosphate into the water...
Carbon credits primarily help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. A carbon credit equals one ton of hydrocarbon fuel as...
Harmful algal blooms will remain as long as there are favourable conditions, including warmth, sunlight and low flow rates. Blooms can last from...
About 99% of the four billion species that have evolved on Earth have become extinct. In the last 5000 years about 900 species have gone extinct....
Tropical rainforests are mainly located between the latitudes of 23.5°N (the Tropic of Cancer) and 23.5°S (the Tropic of...
The 7 levels of classification for for endangered species is as follows: Data Deficient (DD)  Least Concern (LC)  Near Threatened (NT)...
The following are the characteristics of a tropical rainforest: High annual rainfall (2000 mm) Daily temperature of about 28°C. It does...
In-situ conservation is the method of conserving plant and animal species within their natural environment. This method of conservation is...
Home to about 30 million people and one in ten known species on Earth, the Amazon is the world’s biggest rainforest. The Amazon rainforest,...
The following species of trees are found in the rainforest: Ceiba Rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) Cecropia Kapok Banana tree Strangler Fig...
Rainforests are a natural climate solution; they also cool and regulate local micro-climates which in turn stabilizes ocean currents, wind, and...