Category 20 · Environment & Ecology

Protected Areas Lists and Recent Developments in Environment

25 micro topics in Environment & Ecology for UPSC Prelims, in book order: National Parks, Tiger Reserves and Elephant Reserves of India; MIKE (Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants) Sites in India; and 23 more.

20.1

National Parks, Tiger Reserves and Elephant Reserves of India

National parks, tiger reserves and elephant reserves are three kinds of protected habitat in India, each with a different legal basis. A national park is an area of high ecological, faunal, floral or geomorphological value declared…
20.2

MIKE (Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants) Sites in India

MIKE stands for Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants, an international programme under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) that measures levels and trends of illegal killing of…
20.3

Biosphere Reserves in India and in UNESCO's World Network

Biosphere reserves are areas of terrestrial and coastal ecosystems designated to promote solutions that reconcile the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use, under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, launched in 1971. In India,…
20.4

Ramsar Wetland Sites and Natural World Heritage Sites in India

Ramsar sites and Natural World Heritage Sites are two international designations that India uses to protect outstanding natural areas. A Ramsar site is a wetland of international importance listed under the Convention on Wetlands, signed at…
20.5

List of Sacred Groves and Mangrove Sites in India

Sacred groves are patches of forest or natural vegetation, from a few trees to many hectares, protected by local communities because of religious beliefs and customs, and found in many parts of India. Trees, animals and…
20.6

Key Activities and Associated Air Pollutants

Different human activities release different air pollutants, and linking each activity with its main pollutants is a standard way to understand air quality and design controls. Burning coal in thermal power plants releases sulphur dioxide (SO2),…
20.7

International Solar Alliance (ISA)

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is a treaty-based international organisation, co-founded by India and France, that promotes the use of solar energy, particularly in sunshine-rich countries. It was announced by the Prime Minister of India and…
20.8

Bonn Challenge and Climate Change Performance Index

The Bonn Challenge is a global effort, launched in 2011 by the German government and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) at a ministerial meeting in Bonn, to bring 150 million hectares of the…
20.9

Kyoto Protocol (Second Commitment Period, 2013–20) and COP Conferences

The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits industrialised countries, listed in Annex I, to legally binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions. It was adopted on…
20.10

India's Commitment to Eliminate HFCs by 2030 (Kigali Agreement)

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are man-made gases used in air conditioners, refrigerators, foams, aerosols and fire protection, introduced as substitutes for ozone-depleting chemicals such as CFCs and HCFCs. They do not damage the ozone layer, but many have…
20.11

Carbon Neutrality Concept and Negative Emissions

Carbon neutrality means that the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by an activity, organisation or country is balanced by an equal amount removed or offset, so that there is no net addition. It is often…
20.12

Geo-Engineering for Climate Change and Sequestering CO2

Geo-engineering, also called climate engineering, means deliberate large-scale intervention in the Earth's climate system to counter climate change. It is divided into two broad groups. Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) takes CO2 out of the atmosphere and…
20.13

Black Carbon and Its Climate Impact

Black carbon is a component of fine particulate matter formed by the incomplete burning of fossil fuels, biofuels and biomass, and is the dark, light-absorbing part of soot. Unlike carbon dioxide, which lasts for centuries, black…
20.14

Polluter Pays Principle

The Polluter Pays Principle (PPP) holds that the person or company that causes pollution should bear the cost of preventing, controlling and cleaning it up, including compensation to victims and restoration of the damaged environment, rather…
20.15

National Air Quality Index and Graded Response Action Plan for Air Pollution

The National Air Quality Index (AQI) was launched on 17 October 2014 under the Swachh Bharat campaign to present air quality in a simple number and colour that the public can understand. It was developed by…
20.16

Sand Mining Guidelines and Coastal Erosion Issues

Sand is the most widely used natural resource after water, mainly for construction, and in India it is a minor mineral under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, which means that states make…
20.17

Permaculture vs Monoculture

Monoculture is the practice of growing a single crop or variety over a large area, year after year, and it dominates modern commercial farming, from wheat and rice in the Green Revolution regions of Punjab and…
20.18

Melting of Himalayan and Antarctic Glaciers and Its Climate Impact

Glaciers are large masses of ice that form from compacted snow and flow slowly under their own weight. The Hindu Kush Himalaya, often called the Third Pole, holds the largest store of ice outside the polar…
20.19

Ganga and Yamuna Rivers Accorded Legal Personhood Status

On 20 March 2017, the Uttarakhand High Court at Nainital, in Mohd. Salim v. State of Uttarakhand, declared the Ganga and Yamuna rivers to be legal persons, or living entities, with the status of a legal…
20.20

River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order, 2016

The River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order, 2016 was issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on 7 October 2016 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, to give a stronger legal…
20.21

Smart Ganga City Scheme

The Smart Ganga City Scheme is an initiative of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) under Namami Gange, started in 2016 along with the Ministry of Urban Development, to develop selected cities and towns on…
20.22

National Capacity Building Project for Waste Management

Capacity building for waste management means training and equipping the people and institutions that run waste systems, such as urban local bodies, panchayats, sanitation workers, waste pickers and state agencies, so that the rules on paper…
20.23

NGT Restrictions and Bans on Single-Use Plastic

Single-use plastic (SUP) means plastic items meant to be used once or for a short time before being thrown away, such as carry bags, cutlery, straws, cups and packaging. India restricts them mainly through the Plastic…
20.24

Nalanda Model of Water Conservation

The Nalanda model of water conservation refers to community-based water harvesting and revival of traditional water structures in Nalanda district of Bihar, a region where the southern plains depend on rain-fed and river-fed irrigation and face…
20.25

'Wadi' Model and Re-Greening of Village Commons Projects

The Wadi model is a livelihood and land-restoration approach for tribal and other poor families, developed by the BAIF Development Research Foundation, a Gandhian organisation founded in 1967 by Manibhai Desai and based in Pune, and…

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Frequently asked questions

Which topics are in Protected Areas Lists and Recent Developments in Environment?

Protected Areas Lists and Recent Developments in Environment has 25 micro topics in Environment & Ecology: National Parks, Tiger Reserves and Elephant Reserves of India; MIKE (Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants) Sites in India; Biosphere Reserves in India and in UNESCO's World Network; Ramsar Wetland Sites and Natural World Heritage Sites in India; List of Sacred Groves and Mangrove Sites in India; Key Activities and Associated Air Pollutants; International Solar Alliance (ISA); Bonn Challenge and Climate Change Performance Index; Kyoto Protocol (Second Commitment Period, 2013–20) and COP Conferences; India's Commitment to Eliminate HFCs by 2030 (Kigali Agreement); Carbon Neutrality Concept and Negative Emissions; Geo-Engineering for Climate Change and Sequestering CO2; Black Carbon and Its Climate Impact; Polluter Pays Principle; National Air Quality Index and Graded Response Action Plan for Air Pollution; Sand Mining Guidelines and Coastal Erosion Issues; Permaculture vs Monoculture; Melting of Himalayan and Antarctic Glaciers and Its Climate Impact; Ganga and Yamuna Rivers Accorded Legal Personhood Status; River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order, 2016; Smart Ganga City Scheme; National Capacity Building Project for Waste Management; NGT Restrictions and Bans on Single-Use Plastic; Nalanda Model of Water Conservation; 'Wadi' Model and Re-Greening of Village Commons Projects.

Is Protected Areas Lists and Recent Developments in Environment important for UPSC Prelims?

Protected Areas Lists and Recent Developments in Environment is a part of the UPSC Prelims Environment & Ecology syllabus map on MaargX UPSC. Each of its 25 published topics has key terms, a Mains angle and practice questions.