APSC Prelims and Mains Notes, APSC Test Series
Farming, grazing of livestock, mining, and drilling combined account for more than half of all deforestation. Forestry practices, wildfires and, in small part, urbanization account for the rest. In Malaysia and Indonesia, forests are cut down to make way for producing palm oil, which can be found in everything from shampoo to saltines. In the … Read more
The management of these energy sources involves slightly different perspectives than other resources. Coal and petroleum were formed from the degradation of bio-mass millions of years ago and hence these are resources that will be exhausted in the future no matter how carefully we use them. And then we would need to look for alternative … Read more
After four decades, CITES remains one of the cornerstones of international conservation. There are 183 member Parties and trade is regulated in more than 35,000 species. Representatives of CITES nations meet every two to three years at a Conference of the Parties to review progress and adjust the lists of protected species, which is grouped … Read more
The hydraulic filling method is suitable for granular fill. Generally, this method is used when filling is carried out from an offshore source, either from a rehandling pit, as explained earlier, or from a trailer suction hopper dredger. In the case of pumping from a cutter suction hopper dredger, the fill material is dredged from … Read more
There are three interrelated hierarchical levels of biodiversity namely, genetic diversity, species diversity and community or ecosystem diversity. Genetic diversity It describes the variation in the number and types of genes as well as chromosomes present in different species. The magnitude of variation in genes of a species increases with increase in size and environmental … Read more
Secondary treatment is a biological treatment process used to stabilize the dissolved solids. Microorganisms (e.g., bacteria) feed on the organic solids (food) in the wastewater and convert the organics into a cellular or biological mass that can later be removed. These biological processes are aerobic processes. Oxygen must be provided for these aerobic organisms to … Read more
Chipko movement, also called Chipko andolan, nonviolent social and ecological movement by rural villagers, particularly women, in India in the 1970s, aimed at protecting trees and forests slated for government-backed logging. The movement originated in the Himalayan region of Uttar Pradesh (later Uttarakhand) in 1973 and quickly spread throughout the Indian Himalayas. The Hindi word … Read more
The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), with its headquarters in Kolkata and 16 regional stations is responsible for surveying the faunal resources of India. Possessing a tremendous diversity of climate and physical conditions, India has great variety of fauna, numbering 89,451 species, which include protista, mollusca, anthropoda, amphibia, mammalia, reptilia, members of protochordata, pisces, aves … Read more
Increasing Forest Area and Restoring Ecological Balance Moisture conservation: trees take water from the lower soil strata and bring it to the upper layers through long tap root system and, also, trees check evaporation of water; Soil conservation: trees help in checking erosion by wind and water; Natural habitat conservation:Trees provide habitat to many birds … Read more
India is geographically the second-largest country not to have multiple time-zones- the People’s Republic of China being the other. Adopting two time zones for India is something that the Government ought to consider and look to implement. Far too many people in India operate in a time zone that is not an appropriate diurnal cycle … Read more