Environment

The headquarters of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is at Gland, Switzerland. IUCN was founded in 1948.

World AIDS Day is observed every year on 1 December to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and remember those affected by the epidemic.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The ICRC was founded in 1863.

Heavy rainfall can cause leaching and soil erosion, removing soluble nutrients and reducing soil fertility. In strongly leached regions, basic nutrients are also depleted.

The term ecology was coined by German biologist Ernst Haeckel in 1866 for the study of relationships between organisms and their environment.

Wildlife extinction is driven by several pressures, especially habitat loss, hunting and poaching. Thus the combined option captures the major direct causes listed.

Sustainable development means meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This definition comes from the Brundtland Report, 1987.

Tropical deciduous forests are the most widespread forest type in India. They shed leaves during the dry season to conserve moisture.

Jim Corbett National Park, established in 1936 as Hailey National Park, is generally regarded as India’s first national park.

The Elephant Festival is associated with Kaziranga National Park and highlights Assam’s elephant conservation and cultural heritage.

Keibul Lamjao National Park in Manipur is the world’s only floating national park. It is located on Loktak Lake and protects the endangered Sangai deer.

Black soil is especially suitable for cotton because of its high clay content, moisture-retention capacity and mineral composition.

The Golai and Bogapani elephant corridors are associated with Dehing Patkai landscape, an important elephant habitat of Upper Assam.

Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve was the first biosphere reserve established in India in 1986. It spans parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.

Jim Corbett National Park is in Uttarakhand. Established in 1936, it was originally called Hailey National Park.

The North-East or retreating monsoon gives Tamil Nadu much of its important winter rainfall, especially during October–December.

The Victoria Memorial in Kolkata is not a UNESCO World Heritage Site, unlike Ajanta Caves, the Red Fort and Kaziranga National Park.

Lichens are sensitive to atmospheric pollutants, especially sulphur dioxide, and are therefore widely used as biological indicators of air quality.

The troposphere is the lowest atmospheric layer and contains most atmospheric water vapour and almost all weather phenomena.

Satpura Tiger Reserve is in Madhya Pradesh. It lies in the Satpura landscape and forms part of a major central Indian tiger habitat.