Environmental Governance — UPSC Prelims Science & Environment previous year questions

NIRANTAR is a platform of institutions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. It works in three verticals.
Statement 1 is correct. Ecosystem Survey and Analysis is led by the Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata.
Statement 2 is wrong. Research and Management of Ecosystem Service is led by ICFRE, Dehradun. The Central Zoo Authority does not lead it.
Statement 3 is correct. Capacity Development Support is led by the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal.
So 1 and 3 only.
Remember: ICFRE stands for Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education.

Source: NIRANTAR portal, MoEFCC (nirantar.moef.gov.in)

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched the Nature Solutions Finance Hub for Asia and the Pacific.
The hub helps raise finance for projects that protect and restore nature in the region.
AIIB, the New Development Bank and the IBRD are other multilateral lenders. They did not launch this hub.
Remember: The ADB is headquartered in Manila.

Source: Asian Development Bank press release on the Nature Solutions Finance Hub for Asia and the Pacific

The European Union enacted the Nature Restoration Law. It came into force in August 2024.
The law sets binding targets to restore damaged ecosystems. It aims to cover at least 20 per cent of the EU's land and sea areas by 2030.
The World Bank, the OECD and the FAO do not make binding laws of this kind.
Remember: The law is part of the European Green Deal and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.

Source: European Union Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 on nature restoration

Statement 1 is incorrect. The World Toilet Organization is a non-profit group based in Singapore. It is not a UN agency.
Statement 2 is correct. It runs the World Toilet Summit, World Toilet Day (19 November) and the World Toilet College.
Statement 3 is incorrect. It works through advocacy, training and awareness. It does not mainly give grants.
So only statement 2 is correct.
Remember: World Toilet Day is observed on 19 November, and the UN recognised it officially in 2013.

Source: World Toilet Organization official website; UN-Water on World Toilet Day

Statement-I is correct. The European Parliament approved the Net-Zero Industry Act in April 2024.
Statement-II is incorrect. The EU aims for climate neutrality by 2050, not 2040. The Act sets a target for the EU to produce at least 40% of its annual clean technology needs by 2030. It does not aim to make all of it in the EU.
So only Statement-I is correct.
Remember: the EU's 2050 neutrality goal is set in the European Climate Law.

Source: European Union Net-Zero Industry Act (2024); European Climate Law (Regulation 2021/1119)

Statement 1 is incorrect. The India Sanitation Coalition is a business-led platform under FICCI. It is not funded by the Government of India and the WHO.
Statement 2 is incorrect. The National Institute of Urban Affairs is an independent research institute registered as a society. It works with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs but is not an apex body of the Ministry.
So neither statement is correct.

Source: India Sanitation Coalition (FICCI); National Institute of Urban Affairs, nuaindia.org

The Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) was constituted under Section 3(3) of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. It regulates and controls groundwater development.
The Central Water Commission is a technical body under the Ministry of Jal Shakti and was set up by executive order.
The Central Ground Water Board is a subordinate office of the Ministry, set up by executive decision.
The National Water Development Agency is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act.
Remember: CGWA was set up in 1997 on the Supreme Court's direction.

Source: Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, s. 3(3); Ministry of Jal Shakti

Statement 1 is incorrect. Wild animals are not the sole property of the government. The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 vests only certain categories, such as captured or hunted animals, in the government.
Statement 2 is correct. A protected animal enjoys protection inside and outside protected areas.
Statement 3 is incorrect. Under Section 11, killing or capture is allowed only when the Chief Wild Life Warden finds the animal dangerous and cannot be captured, tranquillised or translocated. Mere apprehension of danger is not enough.

Source: Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, ss. 11 and 39

Statement 1 is incorrect. Hyderabad was recognised as a 2020 Tree City of the World by the Arbor Day Foundation together with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The UNCDF was not involved.
Statement 2 is correct. The recognition was given for the year for its commitment to grow and maintain urban forests.
So Statement 1 is not correct but Statement 2 is correct.

Source: Arbor Day Foundation and FAO, Tree Cities of the World programme

Statement 1 is incorrect. The 36% figure does not match the Central Ground Water Board assessment of over-exploited and critical units. UPSC treated this statement as wrong.
Statement 2 is correct. The Central Ground Water Authority was constituted under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
Statement 3 is correct. India has the largest area under groundwater irrigation in the world and is the largest user of groundwater.
So 2 and 3 only are correct.

Source: Central Ground Water Board, Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment; Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

Schedule VI lists specified plants, such as the blue vanda and pitcher plant. Section 17A bans picking, uprooting, damaging or collecting them.
Section 17C allows cultivation only with a licence from the Chief Wild Life Warden or an authorised officer.
So a licence is required to cultivate such a plant.
Option (b) is wrong because cultivation is allowed under licence. Option (c) is wrong because the Schedule has no link with GM crops. Option (d) is wrong because it lists protected, not invasive, plants.

Source: Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, ss. 17A-17F and Schedule VI

The National Policy on Biofuels (2018) allows ethanol from sugar-containing materials such as sugar beet and sweet sorghum.
It also allows starch-containing materials such as cassava, and damaged food grains like wheat and broken rice. It covers rotten potatoes and other items unfit for human consumption.
Groundnut seeds and horse gram are edible oil or food seeds and are not listed for ethanol.
So 1, 2, 5 and 6 are correct.

Source: National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 (Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas)

Pyrolysis heats waste without oxygen and breaks it into gas, oil and char.
Plasma gasification uses a very hot plasma arc to turn waste into syngas.
Both are waste-to-energy technologies.
They are not used in rare earth extraction, natural gas extraction or hydrogen vehicles.
Remember: Syngas is a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen.

Source: Solid Waste Management Rules 2016, MoEFCC; MNRE waste-to-energy programme

Option a is wrong. Waste generators must segregate waste into three streams: biodegradable, non-biodegradable and domestic hazardous.
Option b is wrong. The Rules apply beyond urban areas. They cover urban agglomerations, census towns, notified areas, airports, railways and other bodies.
Option c is right. The Rules give detailed criteria for the siting of landfills and processing facilities.
Option d is wrong. The Rules do not bar movement of waste across districts.
Remember: Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 replaced the 2000 Rules.

Source: Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 (MoEFCC)

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Act does not contain any provision on public participation in environmental protection. Public hearing was brought in by the EIA Notification, 1994 and later versions.
Statement 2 is correct. Section 3 allows the Central Government to lay down standards for emission or discharge of pollutants.
So only statement 2 is correct.
Remember: The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 was passed after the Bhopal gas tragedy.

Source: Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, s. 3 and s. 6

Statement 1 is incorrect. The 2017 amendment to the Indian Forest Act removed bamboo grown on non-forest land from the definition of 'tree'. It gave forest dwellers no right to fell bamboo in forest areas.
Statement 2 is correct. The Forest Rights Act, 2006 defines minor forest produce to include bamboo.
Statement 3 is correct. The Act gives forest dwellers the right to own, collect, use and sell minor forest produce.
So statements 2 and 3 are correct.
Remember: Forest Rights Act, 2006 also recognises community forest resource rights.

Source: Forest Rights Act, 2006, s. 2(i) and s. 3(1)(c); Indian Forest (Amendment) Act, 2017

Statement 1 is correct. The CAF Act, 2016 sets up a National Authority and State Authorities to manage and use the funds.
Statement 2 is incorrect. The Act does not make people's participation mandatory in compensatory afforestation.
So only statement 1 is correct.
Remember: Compensatory afforestation money is collected from users who divert forest land for non-forest use.

Source: Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) makes the producer responsible for the collection and safe disposal of a product after its use.
In India, EPR was introduced as a key feature in the e-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011.
The Bio-medical Waste Rules, 1998 and the Recycled Plastics Rules, 1999 did not carry EPR. The Food Safety Regulations, 2011 deal with food standards.
Remember: EPR was later extended to plastics, batteries and tyres.

Source: e-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 (MoEFCC)

Assertion (A) is true. Sustainable development protects resources and quality of life for people now and later.
Reason (R) is true. It is the standard definition from the Brundtland Report (1987).
The definition explains why sustainable development matters for human well-being.
So (R) is the correct explanation of (A).

Source: Brundtland Commission, Our Common Future (1987)

Assertion A is accepted as true. Coastal Odisha faces frequent Bay of Bengal cyclones and is regarded as highly cyclone-prone.
Reason R is also true. Mangrove clearing in the Mahanadi delta has reduced the natural shield against storm surges.
But the cause of cyclones is the warm sea and the shape of the Bay of Bengal coast. Mangrove loss raises damage, not the occurrence of cyclones. So R does not explain A.
Remember: Mangroves act as bio-shields against storm surges.

Source: NDMA cyclone hazard profile; IMD