UPSC Prelims 2024 · Question 76 of 97
UPSC Prelims 2024 question on Largest Tropical Peatland
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2024
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectEnvironment and Ecology
- TopicEcology and Ecosystem
- DifficultyMedium
- TypeDirect
One of the following regions has the world's largest tropical peatland, which holds about three years worth of global carbon emissions from fossil fuels; and the possible destruction of which can exert detrimental effect on the global climate. Which one of the following denotes that region?
Show answer
Answer: B. Congo Basin
Verdict
Correct answer: Congo Basin → Option (b).
Analysis
The Congo Basin is home to the world's largest tropical peatlands, along with Brazil and Indonesia. The peat swamp forest of the Congo Basin stores around 29 billion tons of carbon – approximately equivalent to three years' worth of global greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels. The Basin as a whole absorbs nearly 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year.
The Congo Basin is one of the world's last regions that absorbs more carbon than it emits. Possible destruction of these peatlands would exert a detrimental effect on the global climate.
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