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GS – 7 (Economy NCERTs + Environment Part 1) Answers and Explanations

1. Topic: Food Security Level: Moderate Type: Conceptual Ans. B Food Security Means Ensuring availability, accessibility and affordability of good grains to every one Anti-dumping measure is a protectionist measure that a domestic government imposes on foreign imports that it believes are priced below market value 2. Topic: Agriculture Level: Moderate Type: Conceptual Ans. A

Over the years, food grains production has increased in India and stood at 253 Million tonnes in 2015 – 16. This is due to the use of modern technologies in agriculture, Green revolution, HYV seeds government initiatives etc.

However, the per-capital availability of food grains has reduced over the years due to increase in the population, reduction in the area under agriculture and due to shift from food grains production to commercial crops production 3. Topic: Agriculture Level: Easy Type: Memory based Ans. A 4. Topic: Agriculture Level: Difficult Type: Memory based Ans. C M.S.P is announced by the government prior to the sowing season 5. Topic: Food Security Level: Moderate Type: Memory based Ans. C 6.

Topic: Poverty and unemployment Level: Moderate Type: Memory based Ans. B Parthasarthi Shome committee dealt with GAAR Alagh, C. Rangarajan and Tendulkar committees are associated with poverty estimation

7. Topic: Poverty and unemployment Level: Moderate Type: Memory based Ans. D Lorenzo curve and Gini-coefficient ration are used to estimate Relative poverty 8. Topic: Poverty and unemployment Level: Easy Type: Factual Ans. A


9. Topic: Poverty and unemployment Level: Easy Type: Memory based Ans. B National sample survey Organization [NSSO] conducts survey every 5 years once to estimate poverty in India 10. Topic: Level: Easy Type: Memory based Ans. A The Global Multidimensional poverty index [MPI] was developed in 2010 by the oxford Poverty & Human

development initiative [OPHI] and UNDP 11.

Topic: Food Security Level: Difficult Type: Factual Ans. D The Revamped public distribution system [RPDS] was introduced in 1992 12. Topic: Agriculture Level: Moderate Type: Conceptual Ans. A Capital formation means investing in fixed assets. Capital goods means fixed assets 13. Topic: GDP and national income Level: Easy Type: Memory based Ans. C 14. Topic: Financial System in India Level: Easy Type: Conceptual Ans. B

NDTL stands for net demand and time liabilities Commercial banks accept two types of deposits i.e. demand deposits and time deposits 15. Topic: Financial system in India Level: Moderate Type: Conceptual

Ans. A 16. Topic: Financial system in India Level: Easy Type: Conceptual Ans. D Demand instrument is a document that serves as a written order by a drawer to a drawee to pay a specified sum on its presentment 17. Topic: Financial system in India Level: Easy


Type: Conceptual Ans. C Term deposits are also called as fixed deposits or time deposits They have a fixed period of maturity demand instrument such as cheques and demand drafts can’t be used to withdraw money from term deposits 18. Topic: Agriculture Level: Moderate Type: Memory based Ans. B Norman Borlaug was American biologist who led initiatives world-wide that contributed to the increase in agricultural productivity world wide M.S. Swaminathan is considered father of Indian green revolution

19. Topic: Agriculture

Level: Moderate Type: Conceptual Ans. C 20. Topic: Growth and development Level: Easy Type: Memory based Ans. B P.C. Mahalanobis was a well-known statistician and the architect of planning in India 21. Topic: Bop and Exchange rate regimes Level: Easy Type: Conceptual Ans. C Due to the breakup of soviet Block India lost one of its most important trading partner and India’s exports reduced considerably The Iraq-Kuwait war led to sky rocketing of petroleum prices and also led to drastic decrease in the Remittances sent by Indians in the Middle Eastern region 22. Topic: Growth and development Level: Moderate

Type: Conceptual Ans. B The new economic policy of 1991 started the process of liberalization, privatization and Globalization of Indian Economy. Steps were taken to change the structure of Indian Economy which was faulty and less than effective 23

Topic: Trade policies & W.T.O Level: Moderate Type: Conceptual Ans. D There are two major types of barriers in international trade viz tariff barriers and non-tariff barriers. These barriers are used to reduce the flow of imports into a country 1. Tariff barriers are taxes imposed on goods imported Eg: Customs duty 2. Non-tariff barriers are other methods used to reduce imports Eg. Administrative barriers, Anti-dumping measures, import Quotas Etc 24. Topic: poverty and unemployment


level : easy type: memory based ans : b Garibi Hatao desh bachao (meaning "Abolish poverty rescue the country") was the theme and slogan of Indira Gandhi's 1971 election bid and later also used by her son Rajiv Gandhi. 25. Topic: poverty and unemployment level : difficult type : memory based ans: D

26. Topic: an introduction to economics level: moderate type: conceptual

ans: A Collective ownership of the means of production is the defining characteristic of socialism, where "collective ownership" can refer toownership by all of society or to cooperative ownership by an organization's members. 27. Topic: an introduction to economics level : easy type : conceptual ans; A French for 'leave alone', laissez-faire is an economic theory that became popular in the 18th century. The driving idea behind laissez-faire as a theory was that the less the government is involved in free market capitalism, the better off business will be, and then by extension society as a whole. 28. Topic: an introduction to economics level: easy type: memory based ans: B 29. Topic: GDP and national income

level: difficult type: conceptual ans: B 30. Topic: GDP and national income level : moderate

type: conceptual ans: D GDP is the total value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given year. Value of resale is not included because no new good is produced. Social transfers like pensions, scholarships are also not included because no new good or service is produced in lieu of these payments. Remittances are not included because it is earned in abroad and not within the country 31. Topic: GDP and national income level: moderate type: conceptual


ans: B GNP = GDP + net factor income from abroad 32. Topic: GDP and national income level: easy type: conceptual ans: A 33. Topic: GDP and national income level: easy type: conceptual

ans: B

India’s GDP is higher than India’s GNP because of negative net factor income from abroad. 34. Topic: GDP and national income level: easy type: factual ans: D The base year was changed from 2004-05 to 2011-12 in 2015. 35. Topic: GDP and national income level: moderate type: conceptual ans: A 36. Topic: GDP and national income level: easy type: conceptual ans: A GDP at current prices is called nominal GDP.

37. Topic: GDP and national income level : moderate type : conceptual ans: B 38. Topic: Taxation systems and India

level: moderate type: conceptual ans: C A tax haven is a country that offers foreign individuals and businesses a minimal tax liability in a politically and economically stable environment, with little or no financial information shared with foreign tax authorities. Tax havens do not require individuals to reside in or businesses to operate out of their countries to benefit from local tax policies 39. Topic: Taxation systems and India level: moderate type : conceptual


ans: B 40. Topic: GDP and national income level : difficult type: conceptual ans ; A The difference between GDP at market cost and GDP at factor cost is because GDP at market cost includes indirect taxes and excludes subsidies whereas GDP at factor cost excludes indirect taxes and includes subsidies. If there was no concept of indirect taxes and subsidies than both of them would be same.

41. Topic: budgeting and its significance level: easy type: memory based

ans: D 42. Topic: budgeting and its significance level: difficult type: conceptual ans : C 43. Topic: The financial system in India level: moderate type: conceptual ans: A 44. Topic: The financial system in India level : moderate type : memory based ans : A Bharathiya Mahila Bank has employees of both the gender 45. Topic: Taxation systems and India

level: easy type: memory based ans: D Since 1989, the FATF has led efforts to counter the abuse of the international financial system by criminals. Over the years, governments, intergovernmental and multi-lateral organisations, the private

sector and academics have made great progress in understanding the threats of money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) and the measures to be taken to make the abuse of the financial system for ML/TF purposes more difficult. 46. Topic: Taxation systems and India level : moderate type : memory based ans : A Capital account convertibility is a feature of a nation's financial regime that centres on the ability to conduct transactions of local financial assets into foreign financial assets freely or at country determined exchange rates


47. Topic: Bop and exchange rate regime level : moderate type : conceptual ans: C Managed float regime is the current international financial environment in which exchange rates fluctuate from day to day, but central banks attempt to influence their countries' exchange rates by buying and selling currencies. It is also known as a dirty float. 48. Topic: Budgeting

level: moderate type : conceptual

ans: D Grants in aids are revenue receipts and loans are capital receipts 49. Topic: Budgeting level : moderate type: conceptual ans: A Fiscal stimulus refers to increasing government expenditure or lowering taxes. 50. Topic: Topic: Budgeting level: difficult type: conceptual ans: C 51. Answer: A Topic: Organisms and Populations Difficulty: Easy Type: Factual

Explanation:

An organism is any contiguous living system, such as an animal, plant, fungus, archaeon, or bacterium.

A population is a group of organisms belonging to the same species that live in the same area and

interact with one another.

A community is all of the populations of different species that live in the same area and interact with

one another. A community is composed of all of the biotic factors of an area.

A biome, in simple terms, is a set of ecosystems sharing similar characteristics with their abiotic

factors adapted to their environments. 52. Answer: D Topic: Organisms and Populations Difficulty: Moderate Type: Factual Explanation:


53. Answer: A Topic: Organisms and Populations Difficulty: Moderate Type: Conceptual Explanation: As we travel from surface waters to deeper waters, the quantity of light changes; it decreases with depth. The quality of light also varies with depth. Sunlight contains all of the colours of our visible spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet). These colours combined together appear white. Red light has the longest wavelength and, therefore, the least amount of energy in the visible spectrum. As light wavelength decreases from red to blue light, so does the ability of light to penetrate water. Blue light penetrates best, green light is second, yellow light is third, followed by orange light and red light. Red light is quickly filtered from water as depth increases. Red algae are able to grow in depth of seas as compared to green algae because of the presence of more

quantity of pigment phycoerythrin in red algae growing at depth. Phycoerythrin can absorb blue- green wavelength of visible spectrum of light that can reach the maximum depth of water and help in photosynthesizing those red algae. 54. Answer- A

Topic: Organisms and Populations Difficulty: Moderate Type: Conceptual Explanation: Heat loss or heat gain is a function of surface area. Since small animals have a larger surface area relative to their volume, they tend to lose body heat very fast when it is cold outside; then they have to expend much energy to generate body heat through metabolism. This is the main reason why very small animals are rarely found in polar regions. 55. Answer: C


Topic: Organisms and Populations Difficulty: Difficult Type: Factual Explanation: Regulation: The mechanism by which organisms regulate their internal conditions in sync with the external conditions is called regulation Conform: An overwhelming majority (99 per cent) of animals and nearly all plants cannot maintain a constant internal environment. Their body temperature changes with the ambient temperature. In aquatic animals, the osmotic concentration of the body fluids changes with that of the ambient water osmotic concentration. These animals and plants are simply conformers.

Migrate: The organism can move away temporarily from the stressful habitat to a more hospitable area and return when stressful period is over.

Suspend: In bacteria, fungi and lower plants, various kinds of thick-walled spores are formed which help them to survive unfavourable conditions – these germinate on availability of suitable environment. 56.Answer: D Topic: Organisms and Populations Difficulty: Moderate Type: Conceptual Competition: Competition is when organisms compete for the same resources. This is a negative relationship because both organisms are harming each other. Predation: This is where one organism hunts and eats the other organism. The organism hunting is called the predator, while the organism being hunted is called the prey. Parasitism: Parasitism is a relationship in which one organism (the parasite) benefits while the other (the host) is harmed. This is a positive, negative relationship. Mutualism: Mutualism is when organisms benefit from each other. This is a positive relationship. Commensalism: Commensalism is a relationship in which one organism benefits from another organism that is not affected. This is a positive, neutral relationship. Amensalism: Amensalism is any relationship between organisms of different species in which one

organism is inhibited or destroyed while the other organism remains unaffected. Explanation: 57. Answer: C Topic: Ecosystem

Difficulty: Easy Type: Conceptual Explanation: An ecosystem can be visualised as a functional unit of nature, where living organisms interact among themselves and also with the surrounding physical environment. 58. Answer: D Topic: Ecosystem Difficulty Level: Difficult Type: Factual


Explanation: decomposers break down complex organic matter into inorganic substances like carbon dioxide, water and nutrients and the process is called decomposition. Dead plant remains such as leaves, bark, flowers and dead remains of animals, including fecal matter, constitute detritus, which is the raw material for decomposition. The important steps in the process of decomposition are fragmentation, leaching, catabolism, humification and mineralisation. 59.Answer: A Topic: Ecosystem Difficulty Level: Difficult Type: Factual 60. Answer: B

Topic: Ecosystem Difficulty Level: Moderate

Type: Conceptual 61. Answer: A Topic: Ecosystem Difficulty Level: Moderate Type: Factual 62.Answer: C Topic: Ecosystem Difficulty Level: Moderate Type: Conceptual Explanation: Each trophic level has a certain mass of living material at a particular time called as the standing crop. The standing crop is measured as the mass of living organisms (biomass) or the number in a unit area. The biomass of a species is expressed in terms of fresh or dry weight. Measurement of biomass in terms of dry weight is more accurate. 63. Answer: D Topic: Ecosystem Difficulty Level: Moderate

Type: Conceptual Explanation: Pyramid of energy is always upright, can never be inverted, because when energy flows from a particular trophic level to the next trophic level, some energy is always lost as heat at each step. 64. Answer: D

Topic: Ecosystem Difficulty Level: Moderate Type: Factual 65. Answer: A Topic: Ecosystem Difficulty Level: Easy Type: Conceptual 66. Answer: A


Topic: Ecosystem Difficulty Level: Moderate Type: Conceptual Explanation: As explained in Q63, pyramid of energy cannot be inverted. 67. Answer: A Topic: Ecosystem Difficulty Level: Difficult Type: Conceptual

Explanation:

In primary succession in water, the pioneers are the small phytoplanktons, they are replaced with time by rooted-submerged plants, rooted-floating angiosperms followed by free-floating plants, then reed-swamp, marsh-meadow, scrub and finally the trees. The climax again would be a forest. With time the water body

is converted into land. 68. Answer: A Topic: Ecosystem Difficulty Level: Moderate Type: Factual

Explanation: If we look at the total quantity of global carbon, we find that 71 per cent carbon is found dissolved in oceans. This oceanic reservoir regulates the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The atmosphere only contains about 1 per cent of total global carbon. 69.Answer: D Topic: Biodiversity and Conservation Difficulty Level: Difficult Type: Conceptual Explanation:

Speciation is generally a function of time, unlike temperate regions subjected to frequent glaciations

in the past, tropical latitudes have remained relatively undisturbed for millions of years and thus, had a long evolutionary time for species diversification.

Tropical environments, unlike temperate ones, are less seasonal, relatively more constant and

predictable. Such constant environments promote niche specialisation and lead to a greater species diversity.

There is more solar energy available in the tropics, which contributes to higher productivity; this in

turn might contribute indirectly to greater diversity. 70. Answer: A Topic: Biodiversity and Conservation Difficulty Level: Easy

Type: Conceptual Explanation: Endemism is the ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation, country or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. 71. Answer: C Topic: Biodiversity and Conservation Difficulty Level: Moderate Type: Factual


Explanation: Ex situ Conservation– In this approach, threatened animals and plants are taken out from their natural habitat and placed in special setting where they can be protected and given special care. Zoological parks, botanical gardens and wildlife safari parks serve this purpose. There are many animals that have become extinct in the wild but continue to be maintained in zoological parks. Conservation in National Parks is a way of in-situ conservation. 72. Answer: C Topic: Environmental Issues Difficulty Level: Moderate Type: Conceptual 73. Answer: C

Topic: Environmental Issues Difficulty Level: Moderate Type: Conceptual

74. Answer: C Topic: Environmental Issues Difficulty Level: Moderate Type: Conceptual Explanation: CFCs are responsible for ozone layer depletion, as they react with ozone, and are also greenhouse gases because they absorb the heat emitted from the earth. This responsibility is the only thing these two issues have in common – they are very different phenomena, based on different principles. The greenhouse effect and ozone layer depletion are two independent phenomena. They do not influence or affect one another. Ozone layer depletion does not cause the greenhouse effect. It allows more ultraviolet energy to reach the Earth’s surface, but it does not affect the absorption of heat inside the atmosphere. Ozone layer depletion cannot cause any increase in the Earth’s temperature. CO2, which is the main greenhouse gas, whose concentration in the atmosphere is increasing due to human activity, does not cause any depletion of the ozone layer. 75. Answer: B Topic: Environmental Issues Difficulty Level: Easy Type: Conceptual Explanation:

Ozone layer depletion cannot cause any increase in the Earth’s temperature. 76. Answer: B Topic: Environmental Issues Difficulty Level: Difficult Type: Conceptual

Explanation: High doses of UV-B causes snow-blindness. UV-C have short wavelength and are almost completely absorbed by the ozone layer and atmosphere. 77. Answer: B Topic: Environmental Issues Difficulty Level: Difficult Type: Conceptual


78. Answer : D Topic: Environmental Issues Difficulty Level: Difficult Type: Conceptual Explanation: Biochemical oxygen demand is the amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic biological organisms to break down organic material present in a given water sample at certain temperature over a specific time period. A high Biological Oxygen Demand indicates high level of microbial pollution. 79. Answer: D Topic: Environmental Issues

Difficulty Level: Easy Type: Factual

80. Answer: C Topic: Environmental Issues Difficulty Level: Difficult Type: Conceptual Explanation: Radiation induced mutations are alterations in the genome - either a change in chromosomes or individual genes. If they occur in gametic cells, then the mutation may be passed on to future generations. Importantly, radiation induced mutations increase the rates of hereditary diseases that occur naturally in the population. 81. Answer: B Topic: Ecosystem Difficulty Level: Moderate Type: Conceptual 82. Answer: B Topic: Ecosystem Difficulty Level: Easy Type: Conceptual

83. Answer: A Topic: Biodiversity and Conservation Difficulty Level: Difficult Type: Factual Explanation:

The broadly utilitarian argument says that biodiversity plays a major role in many ecosystem services that nature provides. The fast-dwindling Amazon forest is estimated to produce, through photosynthesis, 20 per cent of the total oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere. We cannot put an economic value on this service by nature. Pollination is another service, ecosystems provide through pollinators layer – bees, bumblebees, birds and bats. There are other intangible benefits – that we derive from nature–the aesthetic pleasures of walking through thick woods, watching spring flowers in full bloom or waking up to a bulbul’s song in the morning. Bioprospecting, that is, exploring molecular, genetic and species-level diversity for products of economic importance comes under Narrowly utilitarian argument. 84. Answer: B


Topic: Environmental Issues Difficulty Level: Easy Type: Factual Explanation: Lichens are widely used as environmental indicators or bio-indicators. If air is very badly polluted with sulphur dioxide there may be no lichens present, just green algae may be found. If the air is clean, shrubby, hairy and leafy lichens become abundant. A few lichen species can tolerate quite high levels of pollution and are commonly found on pavements, walls and tree bark in urban areas. The most sensitive lichens are shrubby and leafy while the most tolerant lichens are all crusty in appearance. Since industrialisation many of the shrubby and leafy lichens such as Ramalina, Usnea and Lobaria species have very limited ranges, often being confined to the parts of Britain with the purest air such as northern and western Scotland and Devon and Cornwall.

85. Answer: A Topic: Environmental Issues

Difficulty Level: Moderate Type: Facual Explanation: Dental fluorosis (also termed mottled enamel) is an extremely common disorder, characterized by hypomineralization of tooth enamel caused by ingestion of excessive fluoride during enamel formation. 86. Answer-c The Global Environment Facility (GEF) unites 183 countries in partnership with international institutions, civil society organizations (CSOs), and the private sector to address global environmental issues while supporting national sustainable development initiatives. It was established by the world bank and not the IMF. 87. Answer-a The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, particularly in Africa (UNCCD) is a Convention to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through national action programs that incorporate long-term strategies supported by international cooperation and partnership arrangements. 88. Answer-d the GIAHS Sites in India are the following: Koraput, Odisha-

Saffron Heritage of Kashmir, Grand Anicut (Kallanai) and associated farming system in Cauvery Delta Zone of Tamil Nadu Kuttanad Below Sea Level Farming System, India 89. Answer-d The 2 February each year is World Wetlands Day, marking the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971 and was established to raise awareness about the value of wetlands for

humanity and the planet. 90. Answer-a The CMS Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey (Raptors MOU) aims to promote internationally coordinated actions to achieve and maintain the favourable conservation status of migratory birds of prey throughout their range and to reverse their decline when and where appropriate. The CMS or Bonn Convention, under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), aims to conserve migratory species throughout their range. India had become a party to the CMS since 1st November 1983. 91. Answer-c i. Rotterdam convention – Pesticides and industrial chemicals


ii. Stockholm convention – production and use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) iii. Cartagena protocol – L.M.O iv. Vienna convention – Protection of the Ozone Layer 92. Answer-b The Montreux Record is a register of wetland sites on the List of Wetlands of International Importance where changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occur as a result of technological developments, pollution or other human interference. It is maintained as part of the Ramsar List. Currently, two wetlands of India are in Montreux record viz. Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan and Loktak Lake, Manipur. Further, Chilka lake was placed in the record but was later removed from it. 93. Answer: D

A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is under threat from humans. Norman Myers wrote about the concept.

To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot, a region must meet two strict criteria: it must contain at least 0.5% or 1,500 species of vascular plants as endemics, and it has to have lost at least 70% of its primary vegetation. 94. Answer: A To coincide with Earth Day, over 500 new city actions have been added to the Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action (NAZCA) portal, which was launched at the UN Climate Change Conference in Lima, Peru, in December 2014. NAZCA, a UNFCCC-hosted website, showcases actions of non-state actors, including municipalities, regions and investors, and aims to help build momentum for a global climate agreement in Paris in December 2015. Currently, 400 cities, 71 subnational regions and 264 companies are taking 1514 climate-related actions listed on the NAZCA portal. 95. Answer: A The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity, also known as the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) is a 2010 supplementary agreement to the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Its aim is the implementation of one of the three objectives of the CBD: the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, thereby contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. The Protocol was adopted on 29 October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, and entered into force on 12 October 2014. It has been ratified by 93 parties, which includes 92 UN member states and the European Union. It is the second Protocol to the CBD; the first is the 2000 Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.

96. Answer: D The Emissions Trading-mechanism allows parties to the Kyoto Protocol to buy 'Kyoto units'(emission permits for greenhouse gas) from other countries to help meet their domestic emission reduction targets. International Emission Trading provides the means for Annex B countries to sell "surplus" portions of their emissions allocations under the Protocol. Emissions trading is not a project-based mechanism, like JI and CDM. Moreover, International Emission Trading applies only to countries with emissions reduction obligations, since without an agreed-upon target, countries have nothing to trade. Through the Joint Implementation, any Annex I country can invest in emission reduction projects (referred to as "Joint Implementation Projects") in any other Annex I country as an alternative to reducing emissions domestically. Through the CDM, countries can meet their domestic emission reduction targets by buying


greenhouse gas reduction units from (projects in) non Annex I countries to the Kyoto protocol (mostly developing countries). Non-Annex I countries have no GHG emission restrictions, but have financial incentives to develop GHG emission reduction projects to receive Certified Emission Reductions that can then be sold to Annex I countries, encouraging sustainable development. 97. Answer: A The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty which extends the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits State Parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the premise that (a) global warming exists and (b) human-made CO2 emissions have caused it. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997 and entered into force on 16 February 2005. There are currently 192 parties (Canada withdrew effective December 2012 to the

Protocol. The Protocol's first commitment period started in 2008 and ended in 2012. A second commitment period

was agreed on in 2012, known as the Doha Amendment to the protocol, in which 37 countries have binding targets: Australia, the European Union (and its 28 member states), Belarus, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, and Ukraine. 98. Answer: B Durban COP Decision: Agrees to continue considering a general framework for cooperative sectoral approaches and sector-specific actions with a view to adopting a decision on this matter at COP 18; Requests considering issues relating to agriculture; and agrees to continue consideration of issues related to addressing emissions from international aviation and maritime transport. 99. Answer: A Although it took seven years to come to fruition, the Kigali agreement to amend the Montreal Protocol and substantially limit the emission of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) that contribute to global warming represents major progress. The important role played by this group of chemicals, used in refrigeration and air conditioning, is evident from the scientific estimate that without a mitigation plan, HFCs could warm the world by an additional half a degree Celsius by the end of the century. As with other such global compacts on environmental matters, India pressed for a more lenient deadline at the Rwanda negotiations. Ultimately, it agreed to start freezing HFC use in 2028, four years later than its peer club countries China, Brazil and those in Africa, and achieving maximum reduction by 2047, two years after they do. In welcome contrast, however, India has ordered the manufacturers of HFC 23 — a by- product of another

chemical used in refrigerant gas manufacture and with a staggeringly high contribution to global warming — to now capture and dispose of it at their own cost. The decision is of particular significance, considering the expansion of refrigeration and air conditioning in India with a rise in incomes, leading to higher levels of HFC release into the atmosphere. 100. Answer: D

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals. It was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The convention was opened for signature in 1973 and CITES entered into force on 1 July 1975. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species in the wild, and it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 35,000 species of animals and plants. Roughly 5,000 species of animals and 29,000 species of plants are protected by CITES against over-exploitation through international trade. Each protected species or population is


included in one of three lists, called Appendices. The Appendix that lists a species or population reflects the extent of the threat to it and the controls that apply to the trade. Appendix I, about 1200 species, are species that are threatened with extinction and are or may be affected by trade. Commercial trade in wild-caught specimens of these species is illegal (permitted only in exceptional licensed circumstances). Appendix II, about 21,000 species, are species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction, but may become so unless trade in specimens of such species is subject to strict regulation in order to avoid utilization incompatible with the survival of the species in the wild. In addition, Appendix II can include species similar in appearance to species already listed in the Appendices. International trade in specimens of Appendix II species may be authorized by the granting of an export permit or re-export certificate.

Appendix III, about 170 species, are species that are listed after one member country has asked other CITES Parties for assistance in controlling trade in a species. The species are not necessarily threatened

with extinction globally. In all member countries, trade in these species is only permitted with an appropriate export permit and a certificate of origin from the state of the member country who has listed the species. The Convention on Wetlands, called the Ramsar Convention, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the Convention was signed in 1971. India became a contracting party to the Ramsar Convention in 1981.

gs 7 (economy ncerts + environment part 1) answers · pdf filegs – 7 (economy ncerts +...

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