Environment and Ecology Mixed Practice — MCQs with Answers (Set 9)

The correct answer is West Africa. The oil palm began there. Indonesia and Malaysia now grow most of the world’s palm oil. Memory hook: African tree, Asian plantations.

The correct answer is 2 and 3 only. Statement 1 is false because the oil palm is native to West Africa. Palm oil is used in cosmetics and can be made into biodiesel. Memory hook: palm began in Africa.

India was not among the signatories when the New York Declaration on Forests was first endorsed in 2014.

The New York Declaration on Forests is not legally binding. It functions as a voluntary political commitment, not a treaty.

The Declaration was endorsed at the 2014 UN Climate Summit, sets a deforestation timeline, and is backed by governments, companies, and indigenous communities. It is not legally binding, and India was not a signatory at its 2014 inception.

Lemongrass is scientifically known as Cymbopogon citratus, a tropical grass grown widely across South and Southeast Asia, including commercially in India.

Lemongrass oil is closely related to citronella oil, both widely used in insect-repellent candles and sprays.

Lemongrass is used to prepare natural mosquito repellents. Its oil contains citronellal and citral, compounds mosquitoes avoid. Congress grass, elephant grass, and nut grass are not used for this purpose.

R2 originated in the United States as a voluntary standard, but electronics recyclers and refurbishers worldwide, including some in India, now use it.

R2 certification requires an independent third-party audit of a facility’s environmental, data-security, and worker-safety processes, not just self-reporting.

The R2 (Responsible Recycling) Code of Practices is a voluntary certification standard promoting environmentally responsible practices in the electronics recycling industry.

CGWA cannot directly price groundwater drawn through private wells. Instead it issues guidelines and notifies over-exploited areas. Many industrial, mining and infrastructure users need a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to extract groundwater. Small farm and household use is largely exempt.

India has the largest groundwater-irrigated area of any country. Groundwater irrigates well over half of India’s irrigated land. This is the claim UPSC accepted as true in 2020.

CGWA was constituted in 1997 under Section 3(3) of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. India still has no single standalone central groundwater law.

Zero tillage lets farmers sow the next crop without burning residue, cutting one of the major contributors to North India’s winter smog.

All three are genuine advantages of zero tillage — no-burn wheat sowing, direct paddy seeding, and soil carbon sequestration.

Cold mix asphalt is produced at lower temperatures than hot mix asphalt, reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions during production.

Copper slag is a byproduct of copper smelting, and can replace natural sand or aggregate in road construction.

Copper slag, cold mix asphalt, and geotextiles all reduce carbon footprint and resource use. Hot mix asphalt and Portland cement are both energy-intensive to produce.

A Community Reserve can include private or community land, which a National Park cannot — part of why local management, not the Chief Wildlife Warden, governs it.

Community Reserves and Conservation Reserves were both added to the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 by the 2002 amendment, which took effect in 2003. Conservation Reserves are declared on government land (Section 36A). Community Reserves are declared on private or community land (Section 36C).

Only statements 2 and 3 are correct. The question says the Central Government notifies the reserve, but under Section 36C of the Wild Life (Protection) Act the State Government declares it. A Community Reserve Management Committee runs the reserve, not the Chief Wildlife Warden. Traditional agriculture is not automatically allowed.

Ant-fungus agriculture is estimated to be tens of millions of years old, far predating human agriculture, which began roughly 12,000 years ago.

Leafcutter ants use leaves as fertilizer for their fungus, not as direct food — the ants feed on the fungus itself in return.

Leafcutter ants actively cultivate fungus as a food source, a genuine mutualistic relationship. Cockroaches, crabs, and spiders do not farm fungus.