Environment Current Affairs Jan 2018 to Dec 2018 ( PGP Notes)

national park and tiger reserve located

in the Alwar district of the state of Rajasthan

home to numerous carnivores including Leopard,

Wild Dog, Jungle Cat, Hyena, Jackal, and Tiger

well known for its large population of Rhesus Monkeys

ü It is the first tiger reserve in the world to have successfully relocated tigers(from Ranthambore).

ü Nearly 90% of the area in the sanctuary is covered with dhok trees accommodating various wildlife

species.

ü  location of several sites of historical importance such as the 16th-centuryKankwadi fort, originally built  by Jai Singh II, located near the centre of the park

Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have discovered a new species of water strider from

Nagaland. The species, named Ptilomera nagalanda Jehamalar and Chandra, was found in the river Intanki, Peren district.

ü an indicator of water quality.

ü The attraction between water molecules creates tension and

a very delicate membrane. Water striders walk on this membrane.

ü Water striders eat insects and larvae on the surface of water, such as mosquitoes and fallen dragonflies.

ü  three pairs of legs.

ü The striders possess needle-like mouth parts that are used for sucking the juice of prey.

More about the New Species

ü The species has been named as Ptilomera nagalanda Jehamalar and Chandra.

ü It was found in the river Intanki, Peren district.

ü They are only found in rocky, fast flowing streams and rivers that are not exposed to a lot of sunlight.

ü Ptilomera has hair on the middle legs that help the insects resist the strong current of streams.

ü Orange with black stripes on the dorsal side and a pale yellowish brown ventral part of the body, are

some of the features.

ü This particular species has long slender legs and measures about 11.79 mm.

ü Bamboos – group of woody perennial evergreen plants which

belongs to a true grass family

ü distributed in tropical and subtropical to mild temperate regions.

ü Most bamboos flower and produce seeds only once in their life

time and that too after 12–120 years’ growth.

ü Mizoram is known as Bamboo state of India. Around 57% of the geographical area of Mizoram is under Bamboo cover.

üan ordinance to exempt bamboo grown in non-forest areas from definition of tree, thereby dispensing with the requirement of permit for its economic use

ü  nature’s substitute for the endangered rainforest hardwoods because its rate of biomass generation is unsurpassed by any other

plants (some of its species can grow as much as 30 cm per day.).

ü expands faster mainly through their roots and/or rhizomes,

ü  used as an effective erosion control plant and natural control barrier due to its widespread root system.

ü minimizes CO2 gases (sequesters up to 12 tons of CO2 from the air per hectare) and generates up to 35% more oxygen then equivalent stand of trees.

ü Bamboo can be utilized for manufacture of furniture, handicrafts, house construction and several other

diverse industrial applications.

ü helps to reduce water pollution as it devours high amount of Nitrogen.

ü Bamboo can grow in arid regions where other crops fail due to droughts.

ü In the 2018-19 Budget, Finance Minister termed bamboo as Green Gold and announced a re-structured National Bamboo Mission.

 in Odisha has emerged as the single largest habitat of Irrawaddy dolphins in the world with the spotting of 155 such animals

ü The dolphins are now seen in different sectors of the lake where they were not seen before due to removal of obstruction for their migration.

ü The monitoring also revealed that the lake houses around 0.9 million birds

Every year March 3 : World Wildlife Day to raise awareness about the world’s flora and fauna

2018 theme “Big cats: predators under threat“

 68th session, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) decided to

proclaim 3rd March as World wildlife day.

ü(March 3) – day of the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973, which plays an important role in ensuring that international trade does not threaten the species’ survival

of World Wildlife Day

ü The expanded definition of big cats is being used (in theme), which includes not only lion, tiger, leopard and jaguar — the 4 largest wild cats that can roar – but also cheetah, snow leopard, puma, clouded

leopard, etc.

ü Big cat species are found in Africa, Asia, and North, Central and South America, representing a virtually global distribution.

The number of water bird species has declined by half in most habitats across the East Godavari River

Estuarine Ecosystem (EGREE) region

during a census conducted in the region, including the Coringa Wildlife

Sanctuary and parts of Mada forest and Papikondalu regions.

ü The census was conducted on February 20 and 21 in accordance with Asian Waterbird Census

guidelines.

ü It was found that the number of waterbird species has come down to half compared with the Asian

Waterbird Census 2017

ü However, uncommon bird species such as Eurasian spoonbill or common spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia), Oyster catcher (Haematopus ostralegus) and Yellow bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis) were

recorded during the census

ü  (in Andhra Pradesh) encompassing the Godavari

mangroves (321 km2) is the second largest area of mangroves along the east coast of India (after Sundarbans).

ü  rich in floral and faunal diversity, and generates significant ecological and economic benefits such as shoreline protection, sustaining livelihoods and carbon sink services.

ü important nesting sites for migratory turtle species, notably the endangered Olive Ridley turtle

üserves as spawning grounds and as a sanctuary for the growth and development of numerous fin and shell fish.

ü  Important Bird Area with a recorded population of 119 bird species, of which 50 are migratory.

ü a part of the EGREE area is gazette as Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary (CWLS)

ü The Government of India and UNDP-GEF, in partnership with the Government of Andhra Pradesh aims to mainstream biodiversity conservation into the production sectors of EGREE

Asian Waterbird Census

ü citizen science programme to count waterbirds in Asian region.

ü every January, thousands of volunteers across Asia and Australasia visit wetlands in their country and count waterbirds.

üan integral part of the global waterbird monitoring programme, the International Waterbird Census (IWC), coordinated by Wetlands International.

ü It runs in parallel with other regional programmes of the International Waterbird Census in Africa, Europe, West Asia, the Neotropics and the Caribbean.

ü  initiated in 1987 in the Indian subcontinent and since has grown rapidly to cover major region of Asia.

ü an aquatic plant that grows in or near water and is either emergent, submergent, or floating, and includes helophytes (a plant that grows in marsh, partly submerged in water, so that it regrows from buds below the water surface).

üprovide cover for fish and substrate for aquatic invertebrates, produce oxygen, and act as food for some fish and wildlife.

ü  indicate water quality problems and changes in the ecological status of the water body: the result of excessive turbidity, herbicides, or salinization.

ü Conversely, overly high nutrient levels may create an overabundance of macrophytes, which may in turn interfere with lake processing

Ecosystem Functions of Macrophytes

üuptake of dissolve nutrients (N and P) from water.

ü Beside direct nutrient uptake, macrophytes indirectly influence nutrient cycling, especially N cycling

through influencing the denitrifying bacterial functional groups that are inhabiting on roots and shoots

of macrophytes.

ü promote the sedimentation of suspended solids by reducing the current velocities, impede erosion by stabilising soil surfaces.

ü They also provide spatial heterogeneity in otherwise unstructured water column.

ü Habitat complexity provided by macrophytes tend to increase the richness of taxonomy and density

A study, in the peer-reviewed Environmental Health, indicated evidence for glyphosate in the urine

samples of several pregnant women in Central Indiana

üsubstances that contain active ingredient in a definite concentration along with other materials which increases performance and enhance safety of crops.

ü broadly classified into five types:

a. Insecticides: Insecticides provide protection to the crops from the insects by either killing them or by preventing their attack. They can be further classified based on their mode of action. Contact

insecticides kill insects on direct contact and leave no residual activity, hence causing minimal environmental damage. Systemic insecticides are absorbed by the plant tissues and destroy insects

when they feed on the plant; usually associated with long term residual activity.

b. Fungicides: Fungi are the most widespread causes of crop loss across the world. Fungicides protect the crops from the attack of fungi and  two types – protectants and eradicates. Protectants

prevent or inhibit fungal growth and eradicates kill the pests on application.

c. Herbicides: Herbicides also called as weedicides are used to kill undesirable plants. They can be of

two types – selective and non-selective. Selective herbicides kill specific plants, leaving the desired

crop unharmed, while non-selective herbicides are used for widespread clearance of ground and are used to control weeds before crop planting

d. Bio-pesticides: Bio-pesticides are new age crop protection products manufactured from natural substances like plants, animals, bacteria and certain minerals.

e. Others: Fumigants and rodenticides are the chemicals which protect the crops from pest attacks during crop storage. Plant growth regulators help in controlling or modifying the plant growth

process and are usually used in cotton, rice and fruits

Union Minister for Science & Technology mentioned about different solar technology-led innovations

ü The government targets to cover 100,000 homes with “Suryajyoti” by the year 2019.

ü It is argued to be the world’s first hybrid solar lighting device.

ü  one among the 4 solar products developed by NB Institute

of Rural Technology with the Department of Science and

Technology Funding for indigenous solar technology innovations.

ü It’s a day & night lighting single device unique in its features.

o It captures day light and concentrate the same inside a

dark room, particularly in urban slum or rural areas which lack electricity supply.

o The Micro Solar Dome (MSD) features a transparent semi-spherical upper dome which captures the sunlight and the light passes

through a sun-tube having a thin layer of highly reflective coating on the inner wall of the passage.

o contains a lower dome which can be closed, if light is not required in the daytime.

o leak proof and works throughout the day and 4 hours continuously after sunset.

set up at an investment of Rs 16,500 crore at Pavagada in Karnataka’s

Tumakuru district

ü The 2,000 MW Park, named as ‘Shakti Sthala’, spans across

13,000 acres spread over five villages.

Power Development Corp. Ltd (KSPDCL), an entity formed in

March 2015 as a joint venture between Karnataka Renewable

Energy Development Ltd (KREDL) and Solar Energy Corp. of India

(SECI).

ü executed within a record time of two years,with zero land acquisition.

ü  Rs 21,000 per acre being offered as rental, an amount which has the scope to grow by five per cent every two years.

ü beneficiaries :2,300 Pavagada farmers.

ü create employment and act as an incentive for natives and farmers to explore new opportunities of socio-economic growth in the region.

“Give Up to Give Back” campaign by switching off all non-essential lights

between 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm.

üan annual campaign -towards the climate change effects.

üby the World Wildlife Fund

ü Earth Hour started in 2007 when first Earth Hour was held on March 31 in Sydney, Australia at 7:30 pm, local time.

üworldwide phenomenon – the last Saturday of March.

Give Up to Give Back

üaims to inspire organisations, institutions and individuals to make the choice to curb habits, practices and lifestyles which may badly affect both our lives and the environment.

 to choose alternatives to Connect to Earth.

üchoice to consume smart and ensure that the things we own don’t own us.

ü launched by WWF-India

observed on 22nd of March.

theme : ‘Nature for Water’ – exploring nature-based solutions to the

water challenges we face in the 21st century.

25th Water Day

ü 8th World Water Forum is also organized as part of water day in Brasilia.

World Water Forum and World Water Council

ü World Water Council,an international organization founded in 1996

with its permanent headquarters in the French city of Marseille to

promote awareness, build political commitment and trigger action on

critical water issues at all levels.

ü The World Water Forum is the world’s biggest water-related event and is organized by the World Water Council (WWC).

ü The World Water Council organizes the Forum every three years together with the respective host country and city.

ü To date, there have been eighth editions of the World Water Forum, in different countries, on four different continents.

ü In 2018, Brazil hosted the 8th edition of the World Water Forum. It is the first time the event is held in the Southern Hemisphere

Why in news?

The Central Pollution Control Board will this year begin random checks on mobile phones, laptops and other

electronic goods to check whether their constituent metals exceed safety norms.

ü Under this, officials will buy phones, disassemble them and, through chemical tests, check whether the levels of lead, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, mercury and polybrominated diphenyl ethers exceed prescribed norms.

What are Hazardous Substances?

ü any such substance that has one or more of the following hazardous properties

– Explosiveness, Flammability, Ability to oxidise, Human toxicity, Corrosiveness, Eco-toxicity.

Hazardous Substances Management Division (HSMD)

ü nodal point within the Ministry for management of chemical emergencies and hazardous substances.

ü main objective of the Division: to promote safe management and use of hazardous substances including hazardous chemicals and hazardous wastes, in order to avoid damage to health and environment

Why in news?

India has been ranked at 78th, lower than its emerging market peers like Brazil and China, among 114

countries on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) energy

transition index

ü title “Fostering Effective Energy Transition” has been brought down by World Economic Forum (WEF).

ü India has been ranked at 78th, lower than its emerging market peers like Brazil and China, among 114 countries that were ranked.

ü topped by Sweden, followed by Norway at the 2nd position and Switzerland at the 3rd rank.

ü According to report, India has taken bold measures to improve energy access, energy efficiency and to improve deployment of renewable sources of energy

Niti Aayog has released three reports drafted by its Task Forces on

Biomass Management, Clean Fuel and Clean Transport under the CII-NITI Aayog Cleaner Air-Better

Life initiative. The report on Clean Industry is expected soon.

than dealing with the National Capital Territory of Delhi as a separate geographical entity. The rationale

behind this is that the entire plain witnesses high air pollution levels every winter.

ü In addition to sector-specific recommendations, the reports lay down a specific implementation

timeline for prescribed recommendations and also identify authorities that would be responsible for

timely execution of each activity

SAVE programme are trying to conserve the vultures in Assam

ü SAVE partners:

o Bombay Natural History Society,

o Bird Conservation Nepal,

o RSPB (UK),

o National Trust for Nature Conservation (Nepal),

o International Centre for Birds of Prey (UK) and

o Zoological Society of London

ü  established in 2011.

ü  like-minded, regional and international organizations

ü Main objective: save three critically important species from extinction through a single programme.

üto conserve mainly Critically Endangered oriental white-backed (Gyps bengalensis), longbilled (G. indicus) and slender-billed vulture (G.tenuirostris)

ü breeding residents in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan, and Cambodia, and also have non-breeding or marginal status in Afghanistan, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

recently published

World Happiness Report

publication of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network

UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network

ü an independent global network of research centers, universities and technical institutions

aiming to mobilize scientific and technical expertise for problem-solving in relation to sustainable development.

ü launched in 2012 as part of the UN’s response to the outcome of the UN Conference onmSustainable Development (UNCSD, Rio+20).

ü located in Paris, France, and New York, USA

üworks under control of UN secretary general.

ü an advisory body to facilitate the two-way flow of information and activities between SDSN members and the Secretariat/Leadership Council of the SDSN

 headquarter has been shifted from Chennai to

Ballabhgarh in Faridabad District of Haryana

with the Board direct.

ü The headquarters of the AWBI has been shifted to Haryana, after consultation with the board, for better coordination between the ministry and the AWBI for carrying out the animal welfare activities.

Expressing concern over the increase in the import of ornamental fishes to the country, which is posing

a threat to India’s native fish populations, the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has urged the

government to come up with quarantine facilities at major seaports and airports.

ü The Government of India (GoI) has only approved the import of 92 species of ornamental fish but the

number of ornamental fish species being imported and in trade is somewhere between 200-300.

ü The huge market for Invasive Alien Species (IAS) is turning out to be major threat to India’s aquatic biodiversity.

ü Several studies have disclosed the occurrence of exotic ornamental fish in many inland aquatic systems, including biodiversity-sensitive areas such as the Western Ghats.

ü Under the Centre for Biodiversity and Policy and Law (CEBPOL), the NBA is trying to bring out a

national list of IAS.

About NBA

ü established by the Central Government in 2003 to implement India’s Biological Diversity Act,2002

ü Statutory Body

 it performs facilitative, regulatory

and advisory functions for the Government of India on issues of conservation, sustainable use of biological resources and fair and

equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of biological resources.

ü  its headquarters in Chennai, Tamil Nadu,

ü The local level Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) are responsible for promoting conservation

found that only 13 percent of tiger conservation areas meet global standards.

Highlights of Survey

ü the first and largest rapid assessment of site-based tiger conservation across Asia.

ü Of the 112 global sites surveyed, only 12.5 per cent was currently able to meet the full CA|TS criteria.

home to approximately 70 per cent of the world’s wild tigers

ü an accreditation scheme that encourages tiger conservation areas to meet a set of standards and criteria, created by an international group of experts and protected area managers, that assures effective and long term tiger conservation.

üpartnership between governments, NGOs and tiger conservation areas.

ü developed in response to the need for stringent conservation procedures that is essential to delivering on the goal of doubling the number of wild tigers by 2022 agreed to in declaration adopted at the St Petersburg Tiger Summit in 2010.

üprovides an opportunity for individual tiger conservation areas or networks of areas to demonstrate their commitment to, and success in, protecting tigers.

üto secure safe havens for wild tigers

ü Only three sites — Lansdowne Forest Division in Uttarakhand, India, Chitwan National Park in Nepal and Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve in Russia — have been awarded CA|TS Approved status.

übased on a set of seven pillars with 17 minimum standards and associated criteria for effective management.

In the wake of declining numbers of vultures, several vulture conservation initiatives assume

Significance

ü The Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre, Pinjore (JCBC), is world’s largest facility within Bir Shikargah Wildlife Sanctuary for the breeding and conservation of Indian vultures in Haryana.

ü A Vulture Safe Zone (VSZ):  a geographical area, the natural habitat of wild vultures, of at least 100Km radius made free of the presence of the drug diclofenac in animal carcasses, the major food of

vultures. Usually, state government declare VSZs.

ü SAVE: Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction was established in 2011 as a consortium to co-ordinate

and drive forward the ambitious long-term international vulture conservation effort. SAVE is a

collaboration between a large and growing number of conservation and research groups.

Why in news?

The President of India planted a Baobab sapling in the gardens of

Rashtrapati Bhavan which was gifted by the University of Madagascar

ü nine species – Six species live in the drier parts of Madagascar, two in mainland Africa, one in Australia and three in India.

ü the national tree of Madagascar.

Benefits of Baobab

ü store large volumes of water in their trunks –elephants, eland and other animals chew the bark during dry seasons.

ü important as nest sites for birds.

ü cork-like bark and huge stem are fire resistant and are used for

making cloth and rope.

ü The fruit, called “monkey bread”, is edible, and full of vitamin C.

a tradition practiced commonly in Tamil Nadu for enhancing soil fertility naturally

ü important part of Organic Farming.

ü Faecal matter and urine of the sheep are left in the field.

ü This would be incorporated to a shallow depth by working blade harrow or cultivator or cultivator.

Nagaland loses an average 30.62 metric tonnes of soil area per hectare annually due to ‘jhum’, shifting cultivation.

ü the process of clearing forest cover on land and burning it before onset of monsoon and cropping on it thereafter.

üknown as the slash and burn agriculture.

üburnt soil contains potash:increases the nutrient content of the soil

üAfter harvest, this land is left fallow and vegetative regeneration is allowed on it till the plot becomes reusable for same purpose in a cycle.

üThe prime reasons why this traditional system is failing are pressure on land because of increase in population and reduction in ‘jhum’ cycle from 20-30 years to about five years now

üThis is also causing higher water runoff and higher soil erosion and loss in biodiversity

Ameenpur Lake becomes the first Biodiversity Heritage Site in the country.

ü an ancient man-made lake located in Hyderabad.

ü The Lake dates back to the time of Ibrahim Qutb Shah, who ruled the kingdom of Golconda between 1550 and 1580

ü According to one account, the tank was excavated to irrigate a large public garden

Jordan, a water-poor country that is 90% desert, has launched a project to turn its sand dunes into farming

land to produce food using sun and sea water

ü funded by Norway and the European Union.

ü use solar panels to provide power and include outdoor

planting space, two saltwater-cooled greenhouses, a water

desalination unit and salt ponds for salt production

ü Jordan is a sovereign Arab state in western Asia.

ü It is located on the East Bank of the Jordan River.

ü Jordan is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south, Iraq to

the north-east, Syria to the north, Israel and Palestine

to the west.

ü The Dead Sea lies on its western borders and the country

also open to the Red Sea in its south-west.

ü Jordan is home to the ancient city of Petra. Known as “The

Rose City” it is famous for its unique architecture carved directly into the rock face. It is also a UNESCO

World Heritage Site

Global Footprint Network

ü an independent think tank originally based in the United States, Belgium and Switzerland.

ü to help end ecological overshoot by making ecological limits central to decision-making.

ü It releases National footprint Accounts every year

ü Earth Overshoot Day (EOD) is the day when human consumption ex ceeds the earth’s capacity in

that particular year to regenerate natural resources.

ü Earth Overshoot Day is calculated by dividing the world bio capacity by the world ecological footprint

and multiplying by 365, the number of days in one calendar year:

ü Ecological footprint is the humanity’s consumption of Earth’s natural resources for that year.

ü It is calculated by Global Footprint Network.

ü August 2, 2017 was the Earth Overshoot Day of the year 2017.

Why in news?

One of the common Migratory Birds in Vedanthangal and Karikilli is Paradise flycatcher which comes from

higher elevation of peninsular hills and central India

ü It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

ü It is the state bird of Madhya Pradesh.

ü It is native to the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia and Myanmar.

ü Indian paradise flycatchers are insectivorous

Why in news?

South Asian Climate Outlook Forum predicts normal monsoon

More about the Forum

Organization (WMO).

ü It was established as a platform where meteorologists from South Asian Association of Regional

Cooperation (SAARC) member countries along with Myanmar, could discuss some of the common weather

and climate-related matters.

ü All these South Asian countries — except for Afghanistan, which is located in extreme northwest —

experience common weather and climatological characteristics, like Southwest monsoon

Why in news?

On Earth Day, the Prime Minister reiterated about India’s commitment in making the world a better place

to live in for the future generations

ü Theme of Earth Day 2018 was “End Plastic Pollution”.

ü The aim of the day is to bring attention to environmental issues to spark changes that will result in a

healthy, sustainable environment.

ü This includes addressing climate change and finding ways to protect the planet for future generations.

Other Lakes in Ladakh

Tso Kor

ü It is a fluctuating salt lake situated in the Rupshu Plateau and valley in the southern part of Ladakh.

Tso Moriri

ü It is a lake in the Ladakhi part of the Changthang Plateau in Jammu and Kashmir in Northern India.

ü The lake and surrounding area are protected as the Tso Moriri Wetland Conservation Reserve

4,350 m in the Himalayas.

ü It is 134 km long and extends from India to China.

ü It is in disputed territory and the Sino-India Line of Actual

Control passes through the lake.

ü It is not a part of Indus river basin area and geographically a

separate land locked river basin

ü One-third of water body, its 45 km stretch, is in Indian control

while the rest of the 90 km is under Chinese control.

Why in news?

It is a term used to denote the giant lumps of floating waste produced due to leftover cooking oils and

grease washed down the sink mix with solids in the sewers

sanitary napkins, cotton buds, needles, as well as food waste washed down sinks.

ü Fat blocked in a sewer can react with the lining of the pipe and undergo saponification (process of

producing soap), converting the oil into a solid, and soap like substance.

ü Fatbergs have been considered as a source of fuel, specifically biogas.

ü The masses are heated to separate the oils and fats from the solid waste.

ü The extracted oil is then treated with a few chemicals to yield an industry-standard biodiesel that can

be used for a string of purposes.

Why in news?

The Earth Bio Genome Project (EBP), as envisaged in the paper titled “Earth Bio Genome Project:

Sequencing life for the future of life”, proposes a detailed genome-sequence draft of every eukaryote

species.

ü Earth Bio Genome project is a project to analyse and

catalogue the DNA of every documented eukaryotic

species.

ü The project will help to reveal unexpected, evolutionary

connections among the genus, orders and families that make

up the so-called Tree of Life.

ü It will help us to understand the evolution and organization

of life on our planet by sequencing and functionally

annotating the genomes of 1.5 million known species of

eukaryotes.

ü The Project also plans to capitalize on the “citizen scientist”

movement to collect specimens

Why in news?

In the highland plateaus of the Western Ghats parts of Goa, scientists have identified a new species of frog

called Fejervarya goemchi.

ü They sit next to water bodies making calls to attract females for mating

and breeding.

ü It has been named after state of Goa where the species is discovered.

ü It was identified using combination of morphology, geographic

distribution range and molecular methods to distinguish from other

Fejervarya species found in South and South-East Asia

Why in news?

Union environment minister released the study of Economics of Desertification, Land Degradation and

Drought (EDLDD) conducted by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI

mitigate the effects of drought through national action programs.

ü UNCCD was adopted in 1994 and entered into force 1996.

ü It is the only legally binding international agreement to address problem of desertification and other

land issues.

ü The Convention has its genesis in Earth Summit in 1992 held in Rio De Janerio, Brazil.

ü The Convention addresses desertification and land issues specifically arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid

areas, known as dry lands.

ü India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is the nodal Ministry for this

Convention

ü It was first isolated in Japan in 1949

ü It remains one of the last-resort antibiotics for multidrug-resistant cases.

ü The gene, mcr-1, could be transferred within and between species of bacteria

ü Rampant use of the drug in livestock farming has been cited as the most likely way mcr-1 was spread.

ü The World Health Organisation has called for the use of such antibiotics, which it calls “critically

important to human medicines”, to be restricted in animals and banned as growth promoters

Why in news?

India is tying up with the United States and Finland to develop a pollution-forecast system that will help

anticipate particulate matter (PM) levels at least two days in advance.

ü It was developed by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune along with India Meteorological Department (IMD) and National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF).

ü It was introduced for greater metropolitan cities of India to provide location specific information on air quality in near real time.

ü The main objective of SAFAR project is to increase awareness among general public regarding the air quality.

Why in news?

Swachhathon 1.0 receives massive response from young innovators of the country.

ü Swachhathon 1.0 is the first Swachh Bharat Hackathon organized by the Ministry of Drinking Water

and Sanitation.

ü It was organised to crowd source solutions to some of the Sanitation and Hygiene challenges faced in

various parts of the country.

ü It invited innovators from schools and colleges, institutions, start-ups and others to come up with

solutions for the following 6 challenges

o Monitoring usage of toilets

o Triggering behaviour change

o Toilet Technologies in Difficult terrains

o Working solutions for maintenance and operations of school toilets.

o Technological solutions for safe disposal of menstrual waste

o Solution for early decomposition of faecal matter

Why in news?

India signs Global Environment Facility (GEF) Grant Agreement with the World Bank for USD 24.64

Million for “Ecosystems Service Improvement Project”.

ü The project was launched to enhance forest ecosystem services and improve the livelihoods of

forest dependent communities in Central Indian Highlands.

ü The Project will be implemented in the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh under the National

Mission for Green India.

ü The project will be entirely financed by the World Bank from its GEF Trust Fund.

ü The duration of the project will be 5 years.

ü For this India signed Global Environment Facility (GEF) Grant Agreement with the World Bank

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency launched a green building code.

About the code

ü  a building code for architects, builders, designers and other stakeholders that prescribes the

energy performance levels for new commercial buildings

ü The ECBC (Energy Conservation Building Code) : to synchronise minimum levels of energy efficiency

in buildings with advances in technologies and building materials.

ü Day lighting and natural ventilation are highlights of the passive strategies of compliant buildings.

ü aims to optimise energy savings and prefers life-cycle cost effectiveness to achieve energy

neutrality in commercial buildings.

ü Additional improvements will enable new buildings to achieve higher grades like ECBC+ or Super ECBC, leading to further energy savings of 35 per cent and 50 per cent, respectively.

ü The BEE maintains a robust monitoring, verification and enforcement framework to ensure adherence

to its standards and labelling programmes.

ü A central aspect of this framework is suo moto testing of samples to ensure product models meet

performance claims.

ü A third-party NABL-accredited laboratory determines whether the test results conform to the relevant

schedule, standard or regulation and information on the label.

ü The permit-holder and relevant state designated agencies are informed if the sample fails in repeat tests,

and the permit-holder is asked to correct the label display, withdraw all stocks from the market and

change all promotional and advertising material.

ü The national plan proposes setting up of an apex committee under environment minister, a steering

committee under the secretary (environment) and a monitoring committee under a joint secretary

Why in news?

To further spread its green initiatives, Indian Railways had entered into partnership with the Confederation

of Indian Industry (CII) for GreenCo Ratings

What is Life Cycle Approach?

ü A life cycle approach implies that everyone in the whole chain of a product’s life cycle has a

responsibility and a role to play

ü This would be done by taking into account all the relevant impacts on the economy, the environment

and the society.

ü It starts from – Product design, then to further stages like Materials used, procurement, vendor

management, logistics, packaging, manufacturing, distribution, product use and works till disposal and

recycling.

Rating Parameters

ü The Green Company Rating System advocates a performance based approach.

ü The rating system evaluates green features of companies against the following performance parameters:

ü They are certified on the basis of the rating as Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Level 1 etc.

Why in news?

The Environment Ministry will launch an environment awareness initiative, under which an online

environmental quiz competition named “Prakriti Khoj”

National Green Corps

ü NGC was initiated by Environment Ministry for creating environmental awareness among children by

formulating “Eco-clubs” in schools across the country.

ü The initiative was launched in 2001-02.

ü Here students are involved in various kind of activities such as cleanliness drives, carrying out waste

segregation, composting using bio-degradable wastes, subsisting the concept of three R’s, viz, Reduce,

Reuse and Recycle.

ü It is an environment awareness initiative by the Union Ministry of Environment.

ü Under the initiative, an online environmental quiz competition will be conducted at the national level

on the occasion of Teachers’ Day.

ü The objective of the quiz is to generate interest among school children about the science related to

environment, interactions within it and the problems therein.

ü It will trigger their sensitivity towards nature appreciation and conservation, leading to positive

environmental actions at different levels.

ü Schools under the National Green Corps (NGC) programme will get an opportunity to participate in the

first phase of this environmental quiz

Why in news?

The latest addition to India’s frog fauna has been found in a small industrial region in coastal Karnataka.

ü Microhyla kodial or Mangaluru narrow-mouthed frog is a new

frog species found in the small industrial region in coastal

Karnataka.

ü The frog is seen only in a small industrial region here which

was a former timber dumping yard surrounded by seaport,

petrochemical, chemical and refinery industries.

ü It is small in size measuring just 2 cm long.

ü A thick olive-green band on its head, less-prominent dark

green bands on the rest of its body are some of the distinct

features of this frog.

ü However the most distinct feature is its very distinct loud,

long calls.

ü The Policy categorises biofuels as

o “Basic Biofuels” viz. First Generation (1G) bioethanol & biodiesel

o “Advanced Biofuels” – Second Generation (2G) ethanol, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) to drop-in fuels, Third Generation (3G) biofuels, bio-CNG etc

üexpands the scope of raw material for ethanol production by allowing use of Sugarcane Juice, Sugar Beet, Sweet Sorghum, Corn, Cassava, wheat, broken rice, Rotten Potatoes, unfit for human

consumption for ethanol production.

üallows use of surplus food grains for production of ethanol for blending with petrol

üprovides for a viability gap funding scheme of Rs.5000 crore in six years for second generation (more advanced) ethanol bio-refineries in addition to tax incentives and a higher purchase price as compared to first generation biofuels.

Why in news?

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change has said that the GSDP aims to get 80, 000

people imparted green skills.

environment conservation field.

ü Aim of the programme is to train over 5.5 lakh workers in environment and forest sectors in the

country through 30 courses by 2021.

ü MoEF&CC is utilizing the vast network and expertise of Environmental Information System (ENVIS)

hubs and Resource Partners (RPs) for the programme.

ü It will help in the attainment of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs), National Biodiversity Targets (NBTs), as well as Waste Management Rules

(2016).

ü Most of the courses under GSDP are open for admission to 10th and 12th dropouts

Why in news?

The critically endangered Bengal florican – a grassland bird more

threatened than the tiger – use not just protected grasslands but

agricultural fields, too, find scientists.

species.

ü It is native to the Indian subcontinent, Cambodia and Vietnam.

ü The Bengal florican female is larger than the male.

ü They inhabit open tall grassland habitats with scattered bushes.

ü They are omnivorous and feed on seeds, berries, plant matter,

insects, other invertebrates and small vertebrates.

ü According to IUCN red list the bird is listed as critically

endangered.

ü The major threats to conservation of these florican species are

habitat loss through modification of grasslands, agriculture and

plantation activities, overgrazing, and inappropriate cutting,

burning of grasslands, heavy flooding and dam construction

Why in news?

May 12 is observed as the World Migratory Bird Day, which reinforces education and awareness-raising

about the need to protect migratory birds and their habitats

ü World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) is an annual awareness-raising campaign highlighting the need for

the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats.

ü The theme of this year is Unifying our Voices for Bird Conservation.

ü This year’s World Migratory Bird Day is dedicated to the world’s major bird flyways—the flight paths

of migratory birds that span continents and oceans.

ü The program focuses on the need for people celebrating the day to communicate and learn from each

other, across borders, within and between the world’s flyways.

ü WMBD 2018 is unifying the planet’s major migratory bird corridors: the African-Eurasian flyway, the

East Asian-Australasian flyway, and the Americas flyways

About Wild Ass Sanctuary

ü Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary is located in the Little Rann of Kutch in Gujarat.

ü It is the largest wildlife sanctuary in India by area.

ü The sanctuary was established in 1972.

ü It was established to protect Indian Wild Ass.

ü It spans the districts of Surendranagar, Rajkot, Patan, Banaskantha and Kutch.

ü Several other species like chinkara, desert fox, jackals, nilgais, Indian

wolves, blackbucks, and striped hyenas are also found here

ü The Indian Wild Ass or Khur is a subspecies of the Asiatic Wild Ass, the

Onager.

ü It is arguably the fastest Indian animal, and can attain a top speed of 70-

80 kmph.

ü According to IUCN, khur is listed as Near Threatened (NT).

ü It is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, India.

ü It is also included on Appendix I of the Convention on International

Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), making international trade in

this species illegal.

ü Its habitat includes saline deserts (rann), arid grasslands and shrub

lands.

Why in news?

Australia unveiled a US$34-million plan to help bring its koala population back from the brink, following a

rapid decline in their number

ü They are mostly nocturnal.

ü They are asocial animals, and bonding exists only between mothers and dependent offspring.

ü Young koalas are known as joey.

ü The koala feeds very selectively on the leaves of certain eucalyptus trees.

ü It was listed as Least Concern (LC) in 2008, the Koala was up listed to Vulnerable (VU) in 2016.

ü Current threats include habitat loss and modification, bushfires,

disease, and drought

Why in news?

For the conservation of Indus dolphins – one of the world’s rarest

mammals – the Punjab government along with WWF-India are

conducting the first organised census on their population.

ü The Indus river dolphin is a subspecies of freshwater river dolphin

currently only found in the Indus river of India and Pakistan.

ü They are believed to have originated in the ancient Tethys Sea.

ü When the sea dried up approximately 50 million years ago, the

dolphins were forced to adapt to its only remaining habitat—rivers.

ü The first organised census will be conducted over period of five

days in 185 km stretch between Talwara and Harike Barrage in

Beas River in Punjab were riverine fresh water Indus Dolphins are

confined.

ü Dolphins are a key indicator of river health– if a river is healthy

the dolphins will be there.

ü The Indus river dolphin is listed by the IUCN as endangered on

their Red List of Threatened Species

ü Most dolphins are confined to a small stretch of the river and is

divided into isolated populations by barrages.

ü They have adapted to life in the muddy river and are functionally

blind.

ü They rely on echolocation to navigate, communicate and hunt prey

including prawns, catfish and carp.

Why in news?

The Talanoa Dialogue of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will facilitate the parties to take

stock of progress post-Paris.

agreement parties.

ü Talanoa is a traditional word used in Fiji and the Pacific to reflect a process of inclusive, participatory

and transparent dialogue.

ü The Dialogue is a mandated process requested by Parties to take stock of collective efforts to reduce

emissions and build greater resilience, in line with the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement and to

prepare updated or new NDCs by 2020

ü Ultimately, the goal is to help Parties achieve maximum ambition in implementing and improving

their NDCs.

ü The Talanoa Dialogue was launched at COP23 in Bonn

Why in news?

The Director General of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) inspected the Asita- Yamuna River

Front Development (RFD) project being implemented by Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

ü Yamuna RFD project aims to restore, revive and rejuvenate the river’s floodplains and make them

accessible to the people of Delhi.

ü The project is given the name “Asita” which is another name of river Yamuna.

ü River Front “walks”, a major component of the project, will enable people to develop a relationship with

river Yamuna.

ü The project envisages creating a green buffer area approx. 300mts wide along the river edge with species

of riverine ecology.

ü A wide belt of 150mts along the peripheral roads will be developed as greenways for public amenities

that will include a continuous trail of pathways and cycle tracks.

ü Wetlands will be created to store the flood waters and also to improve the groundwater recharge.

ü This would also help to revive the ecosystem of the floodplains, which will eventually result in flourishing

of biodiversity in the floodplains

Why in news?

Every year May 22 is observed as The International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) to increase awareness

on various biodiversity issues such as habitat destruction, marine pollution and climate change.

ü The International Day for Biological Diversity is

a United Nations–sanctioned international

day for the promotion of biodiversity issues.

ü It is currently observed on May 22.

ü It was first observed in 1993 by the Second

Committee of the UN General Assembly.

ü In 2000, May 22 was chosen as the International Day for Biological Diversity to commemorate the

Adoption of the Agreed Text of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

ü The theme for 2018 is “Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity.”

Why in news?

Australia has pledged more than 500 million Australian dollars ($379 million) to help preserve the Great

Barrier Reef, in an attempt to help better protect the world heritage site from the effects of climate change.

It is also home to a number of endangered species, including the large green turtle and the dugong.

ü The green sea turtle is a large sea turtle.

ü It is also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific

green turtle.

ü Its range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas

around the world.

ü They are distinguished from other sea turtles because they have

a single pair of prefrontal scales (scales in front of its eyes),

rather than two pairs as found on other sea turtles.

ü Mainly stay near the coastline and around islands and live in bays and protected shores, especially in

areas with sea grass beds

ü According to IUCN Red list they are listed as threatened.

ü The greatest threat is from the commercial harvest for eggs and food.

ü Other green turtle parts are used for leather and small turtles are sometimes stuffed for curios.

ü Incidental catch in commercial shrimp trawling is an increasing source of mortality.

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES ( IPBES)

Why in news?

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services has recently

identified pressing biodiversity issues for the Asia and the Pacific region.

ü It is an independent intergovernmental body established to strengthen the science-policy interface

for biodiversity and ecosystem services.

ü This would help the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, long-term human well-being and

sustainable development.

ü It provides policymakers with objective scientific assessments about the state of knowledge regarding

the planet’s biodiversity, ecosystems and the benefits they provide to people, as well as the tools and

methods to protect and sustainably use these vital natural assets.

ü IPBES is placed under the auspices of four United Nations entities: UNEP, UNESCO, FAO and UNDP.

ü It is administered by UNEP.

ü Its headquarters is in Bonn, Germany.

ü IPBES does for biodiversity what the IPCC does for climate change.

ü IPBES currently has 128 member States.

ü India is also a member of the IPBES.

ü The work of IPBES can be broadly grouped into four complementary areas:

o Assessments

o Policy Support

o Building Capacity & Knowledge

o Communications & Outreach

Why in news?

Great Barrier Reef is also home to a number of endangered species,

including the large green turtle and the dugong.

ü Dugong is a medium-sized marine mammal.

ü The dugong is the only strictly marine herbivorous mammal.

ü Dugongs are cousins of manatees and share a similar plump

appearance, but have a dolphin fluke-like tail.

ü Dugongs graze on underwater grasses day and night, rooting

for them with their bristled, sensitive snouts and chomping

them with their rough lips.

ü They are commonly known as “sea cows”.

ü They are listed vulnerable according to IUCN red list.

ü The major causes of the Dugong’s decline are as follows: gill

netting, subsistence hunting, and habitat loss from extreme

weather events that are likely to be exacerbated by climate

change, human settlement and agricultural pollution

Why in news?

One of the world’s rarest species of shark has turned up in a fish market in Mumbai – after not being seen

since 2006.

About the Shark

ü Ganges Shark is a shark species which

inhabits the River Hooghly in West

Bengal, as well as the rivers Ganges,

Brahmaputra, Mahanadi in the states of

Bihar, Assam and Orissa.

ü While some of the other river sharks are

also known to inhabit saltwater, the

Ganges shark is only found in rivers and

possibly estuaries, with no confirmed records from oceans or seas.

ü This particular species can be identified by the first few lower front teeth, which have cutting edges along

entire cusp, giving the cusps a claw-like shape.

ü It is amongst the 20 most threatened shark species.

ü It is listed as a Critically Endangered species in the IUCN Red list.

ü Its population has been steadily decreasing due to over fishing, habitat degradation, increasing river

utilisation, and building of dams.

ü Its fin and jaws are in high demand in the international trade, and is also fished by locals for its meat

and oil.

ü Recognising the dangers faced by this species, it is protected under Schedule I, Part II A of the Wildlife

(Protection) Act of India, 1972

Why in news?

Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation inaugurated a workshop

on “Ganga and its Biodiversity: Developing a roadmap for habitat and Species Conservation”.

ü Ganga Praharis are self-motivated and trained volunteers from among the local communities working

for biodiversity conservation and cleanliness of the Ganga River.

ü The aim of this initiative is to establish a motivated cadre to support the local level institutions and

monitor the quality of the natural resources of the river by mobilizing local communities at the grassroots level.

ü They have been identified through a series of site level consultative meetings and workshops held in select

villages, located on the bank of the Ganga River.

ü So far, 427 Ganga Praharis across five main stem Ganga basin states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh,

Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal have been involved in this project

Why in news?

The founder of Sulabh International, Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, has been honoured with the Nikkei Asia Prize

in Japan for his contribution to Asia’s development.

ü The Nikkei Asia Prize is an award which recognizes the achievements of people and organizations

that have improved the lives of people throughout Asia.

The awards are given to people in Asia who have made significant contributions in one of the three areas:

Economic and Business Innovation; Science, Technology and Environment and Culture and Community.

ü The prize was launched in 1996.

Sulabh International

ü It is an NGO that works to promote human rights, environmental sanitation among other social

services.

ü Dr Pathak founded the Sulabh International in 1970.

ü The foundation has built Sulabh flush composting toilets throughout India, contributing to bettersanitation, safety for rural women and freedom from the manual labour of removing human waste.

ü He has been awarded for his effort in tackling two of his country’s biggest challenges — poor hygiene and discrimination.

Why in news?

Swachh Survekshan Survey was conducted to evaluate the progress of cleanliness in urban areas.

ü The surveying was conducted among 4,203 cities from January 4 to March 10, 2018 by Ministry for

Housing and Urban Affairs.

ü As per Swachh Survekshan 2018 results, Indore was the cleanest city in India with Bhopal grabbing

the second position.

ü Jharkhand has been declared the best performing state, followed by Maharashtra, in this year’s

Swachh Survekshan.

ü Mysuru has been ranked the cleanest medium-sized city in the country.

ü Cleanest State Capital: Greater Mumbai

India’s Cleanest City Zone-Wise –

ü North: Bhalso, Punjab

ü East: Bundu, Jharkhand

ü North-East: Kakching, Manipur

ü South: Siddipet, Telangana

ü West: Panchgani, Maharashtra

Why in news?

Prime Minister of Netherlands, who is in India on a two-day visit, launched the ‘Clean Air India Initiative’ in

the national capital

Indian cities

ü This would be done by promoting partnerships between Indian start-ups and Dutch companies and

which would build a network of entrepreneurs who would work on business solutions for cleaner air.

ü It is a collaborative project between Get in the Ring, a platform for start-ups, the government of the

Netherlands, Start-up India, and INDUS Forum, an online matchmaking platform of Indian and Dutch

businesses.

ü Potential for sale of equipment (such as sensors), data, and solutions concerning air quality monitoring

(AQM) has been highlighted as a major business opportunity for Dutch firms.

ü three primate species of genus Hoolock in the gibbon family.

ü native to eastern Bangladesh, Northeast India.

ü possibly occur in China.

üthe only ape found in India

üMajor threats are habitat loss, fragmentation, human interference

and hunting.

ü listed on CITES Appendix I prohibiting trade in this species.

ü They are listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) and as an endangered as per the red list of IUCN.

ü Enhancing protection for the species, the Government of Assam upgraded the status of the Hoollongapar Reserve Forest in the Jorhat District of Assam to a Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary in 1997, making this the first Protected Area ever named after a primate species

Why in news?

Belize Reef, an underwater natural wonder, may be removed from UNESCO’s list of threatened World

Heritage Sites due to its effective recovery

ü inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996 and is comprised of seven protected areas.

ü the largest reef complex in the Atlantic-Caribbean region and the second largest reef system in the world.

ü one of the most pristine reef ecosystems in the Western Hemisphere and was referred to ‘as the most remarkable reef in the West Indies’ by Charles Darwin.

ü However because of Belize’s plans to allow oil exploration nearby the reef system was placed on endangered status in 2009

Scientists rediscovered after 150 years a rare species of spider, which was believed have become extinct,

from Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) located in the Western Ghats region of Kerala

ü found from Sri Lanka, India to Bhutan.

ü belonged to the family of jumping spiders (Salticidae).

ü first discovered by renowned arachnologist Ferdinand Anton France

Karsch of Berlin Zoological Museum from Pariej Lake in Gujarat in 1868

ü A species that is not seen for more than 100 years is considered extinct

The world’s oldest Sumatran orangutan named Puan, which had 11 children and 54 descendants spread across the globe, has died aged 62

Critically Endangered in IUCN list.

ü Sumatran Orangutans are also listed on CITES Appendix I

ü found only in the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra

ü rarer than the Bornean orangutan but more common than

the recently identified Tapanuli orangutan, also of Sumatra.

ü inhabit moist lowland forest, montane forest and peat swamps.

ü diurnal and almost exclusively arboreal; females virtually never travel on the ground and adult males do so only rarely.

ü tends to be frugivorous and insectivorous.

ü Preferred fruits include figs and jackfruits. It will also eat bird eggs and small vertebrates

ü  seriously threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation

Why in news?

School children from rural Maharashtra are studying about wildlife as part of the unique E-mammal Citizen Science Project

ü This cyber-tool is designed to be useful to scientists and also to the citizen scientists who aid scientists in photo collection.

ü aimed at grassroots conservation through collection of scientific information by children.

ü implemented by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), along with the Sahyadri Nisarga Mitra (SNM).

ü It started in 2015, with three schools joining their contemporaries in Mexico and the U.S.

ü In its second phase in 2017, the project included 2,000 children in Class VIII and IX in 20 schools in

Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Kolhapur and Satara districts.

ü Each school was given three camera traps.

Why in news?

The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has come up with the idea of animal hostels in smart cities and

has taken up the issue with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (HUA).

üestablished in 1962 under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960

ü humanitarian Rukmini Devi Arundale was instrumental in setting up the board

ü The Board consists of 28 Members including 6 MPs (4 from Lok Sabhas and 2 from Rajya Sabha).

ü term : a period of 3 years.

ü The Board ensures implementation of the animal welfare laws in the country in a very diligent manner

and provides grants to Animal Welfare Organizations and advice the Centre, States and UTs on animal welfare issues.

ü The Board was initially within the jurisdiction of the Government of India’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture later transferred to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate change

ü It is headquartered at Ballabhgarh in Haryana state

Vallarta mud turtle (Kinosternon vogti)

ü  formerly considered conspecific with the Jalisco mud turtle.

ü However further studies indicated that it was a separate species.

ü endemic to Mexican state of Jalisco.

ü  only known from a few human-created or human-affected

habitats (such as small streams and ponds) found around Puerto

Vallarta.

found near Najagarh jheel at Dhankot

village in Haryana and rescued

ü mainly found in wetlands across south and south-east Asia,

and in Australia.

ü  Carnivores and mainly eat fish, smaller aquatic animals and water

birds, and insects.

ü  listed as near threatened under IUCN redlist

ü included in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act

ü  also listed under appendix I of CITES

ü also called Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFAs).

ü The purpose-to create some kind of “shock absorbers” to the protected areas by regulating and managing the activities around such areas.

ü also act as a transition zone from areas of high protection to areas involving lesser protection.

ü The MoEF (Ministry of Environment & Forests) has approved a comprehensive set of guidelines laying down parameters and criteria for declaring ESAs

ü basic aim is to regulate certain activities around National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries so as to minimise the negative impacts of such activities on the fragile ecosystem encompassing the protected

areas.

ü The guidelines include a broad list of activities that could be allowed, promoted, regulated or promoted.

ü The activities like commercial mining, setting of saw mills and industries causing pollution, commercial

use of firewood and major hydro-power projects, are prohibited in such areas.

Karaivetti Bird Sanctuary

ü  a protected area located in the Ariyalur District of Tamil Nadu.

ü It was established on April 5, 1999.

ü It is one of the largest freshwater lakes in southern Tamil Nadu.

ü fed by the Pullambadi canal which gets water from Mettur dam.

ü The water birds arrive at the tank from September after water is released from the Mettur dam.

ü  home to a variety of migratory birds that visit the sanctuary during the November.

ü Important birds here are long migrants including the high flying bar-headed goose, white stork, woollynecked stork, rosy pelican, spoonbill, open bill stork, and grey heron, night heron, Pond heron, purple heron, egrets and glossy ibis.

The World Bank has approved funding for Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY), a Rs.6000 crore Central Sector Scheme

ü  objective of scheme -to recharge ground water and create sufficient water storage for agricultural purposes.

ü focuses on revival of surface water bodies so that ground water level can be increased, especially in the rural areas.

ü The scheme will also facilitate convergence of on-going Government schemes in the states by incentivizing their focussed implementation in identified priority areas.

ü Funds under the scheme will be made available to the participating states as Grants.

Implementation Period

ü The scheme is to be implemented over a period of five years from 2018-19 to 2022-23, with World Bank assistance.

ü The scheme will be running with the help of community participation.

Community Participation

Why in news?

IRCTC introduced bagasse based food packaging to commemorate World Environment Day 2018.

ü burned as fuel in the sugarcane mill or used as a source of cellulose for manufacturing animal feeds.

ü Paper is produced from bagasse in several countries.

ü the essential ingredient for the production of pressed building board, acoustical tile, and other construction materials and can be made into a number of biodegradable plastics

ü  easily available as a waste product with a high sugar content and has potential as an environmentally friendly alternative to corn as a source of the biofuel ethanol

Why in news?

“Methanol Economy”: NITI Aayog working on road map for India on World Environment Day, 2018

CO2 Sequestration

ü One of the reasons why Methanol has the potential to be an enduring solution to human energy needs

is because the emitting out C02 (greenhouse gas emission) both from using Methanol and while

producing Methanol can be tapped back to produce Methanol.

ü C02 from steel plants, Thermal Power plants, Cement Plants etc. can be tapped in large quantities to

produce Methanol.

ü also known as methyl alcohol or wood alcohol.

ü It acquired the name wood alcohol because it was once produced chiefly by the destructive distillation of wood.

ü used in the manufacture of formaldehyde and acetic acid, in chemical synthesis, antifreeze, and as a solvent.

ü a clean burning drop in fuel which can replace both petrol & diesel in transportation & LPG, Wood, Kerosene in cooking fuel.

ü Now it is produced from a variety of feedstock like Natural Gas, Coal (Indian High Ash Coal), Biomass,

Municipal Solid waste and most importantly from CO2.

Why Methanol?

ü burns efficiently in all internal combustion engines, produces no particulate matter, no soot, almost nil SOX and NOX emissions

ü near zero pollution.

ü  gaseous version of Methanol : DME(Dimethyl Ether)

ü The DME can be blended with LPG and can be excellent substitute for diesel in large buses and trucks.

ü Methanol 15 % blend (M15) in petrol will reduce pollution by 33% & diesel replacement by methanol will reduce by more than 80%.

Why in news?

Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has embarked upon a programme for Blue flag certification of one Blue Flag beach in each of the

13 coastal States /UTs under the World Bank-assisted Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project

(ICZMP)

ü This concept was borne in 1992 during the Earth Summit of Rio de Janeiro.

ü The policy regarding ICZM is set out in the proceedings of the summit within Agenda 21.

ü covers the full cycle of information collection, planning (in its broadest sense), decision making, management and monitoring of implementation.

ü uses the informed participation and cooperation of all stakeholders to assess the societal goals in a given coastal area, and to take actions towards meeting these objectives.

ü Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP) was started by Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) based on the recommendations of the expert committee report of the Prof M. S.

Swaminathan.

ü project was started with the assistance of the World Bank.

ü The overall objective – to support the Government in developing and implementing an improved strategic management approach for India’s coastal zones to preserve the long-term productivity

of region for continued sustainable development and economic growth.

ü The MoEF launched this Project by establishing a Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM)

Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM)

ü  under the aegis of Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate change, Government of India to support implementation of Integrated

Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) activities in India.

ü Under the project, SICOM would be implementing the four components, namely,

o National Coastal Management Programme;

o ICZM-West Bengal;

o ICZM-Orissa;

o ICZM-Gujarat.

ü National component includes

o Demarcation of hazard line for mapping the entire coastline of the mainland of the country;

o A National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) has been established within

the campus of Anna University, Chennai with its regional centres in each of the coastal

States/Union territories to promote research and development in the area of coastal management

including addressing issues of coastal communities.

Why in news?

The Chandrabhaga beach on the Konark coast of Odisha will be the first in Asia to get the Blue Flag

certification.

ü issued by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE)

ü include standards for water quality, safety, environmental education and information, the provision of services and general environmental management criteria

ü The Award is given to beaches, marinas and sustainable boating tourism operators as an indication of their high environmental and quality standards

ü  issued on an annual basis to FEE member countries

ü  announced yearly on 5 June for Europe, Canada, Morocco, Tunisia and other countries in a similar geographic location, and on 1 November for the Caribbean, New Zealand, South Africa and

other countries in the southern hemisphere.

ü The standards were established in the year 1985.

ü FEE has member organisations in 73 countries worldwide.

ü It was established in 198.

ü It’s headquartered in Copenhagen

ü  one stop, web enabled and comprehensive portal which

provides information on environment and related subject areas to researchers, academicians, policy planners, environmentalists, scientists, engineers and the general public

ü established by the Government of India, in December, 1982.

ü ENVIS due to its comprehensive network has been designed as the National Focal Point (NFP) for INFOTERRA, a global environmental information network of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

ü In order to strengthen the information activities of the NFP, ENVIS was designated as the Regional Service Centre (RSC) of INFOTERRA of UNEP in 1985 for the South Asia Sub-Region countries

ü The species primarily eats bony fishes, but its diet also contains smaller amounts of crustaceans, such as shrimp and crabs and cephalopods.

ü Blacktip Shark meat is primarily consumed locally and fins are dried and shipped to the Far East where they are used in preparing shark-fin soup.

ü The shark’s preference for in-shore waters makes it particularly vulnerable to coastal development,

which eliminates critical habitat such as nursery sites

ü The commercial fishing, which is widespread in the southeastern United States, Mexico, and India is another important threat.

ü According to IUCN red list it is listed as near threatened

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has launched the Centre for Climate

Change for accelerating concerted climate action by various stakeholders in government, private, financial

and non -government actors

ü The new institution will also extend professional support to stakeholders for designing climate related

projects and take up collaborative studies and action research projects in the area.

ü It will also support capacity building and project preparation effort in developing countries in the

region as also in Africa.

ü aims for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to

o Environmental protection

o Conservation of forests and other natural resources including enforcement of any legal right.

ü specialized body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environmental disputes involving multi-disciplinary issues.

ü New Delhi is the Principal Place of Sitting of the Tribunal and Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai shall be the other four place of sitting of the Tribunal.

ü The tribunal shall consist of a full time chairperson ( Judge of Supreme Court or Chief Justice of High Court), judicial members and expert members with total members ranging between 10-20

By

National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)

five main stem Ganga

basin states – Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

ü Respective State Forest Departments are the nodal agencies for the smooth and effective execution of the campaign.

ü Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), Ganga Vichar Manch (GVM), NGOs and educational institutions, District Ganga Committees, of which District Magistrates are the Chairpersons, are involved

in the programme.

ü Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs) have been designated as the district level Nodal Officers and Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) at the State level for organizing the events.

Rangila , the sloth bearwhich was smuggled into Nepal in December 2017 for use as a ‘dancing bear’, is

being sent back to India

ü historical distribution includes a large portion of India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka,as well as the southern lowlands of Nepal and Bhutan.

ü primarily eat termites and ants, and unlike other bear species, they routinely carry their cubs on their backs.

ü listed in Appendix I of CITES and are completely protected under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.

ü Its IUCN red list status is Vulnerable.

(Schedule I) by the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972.

ü It is listed as endangered in IUCN red list

ü Males are larger than the females, and have a darker colour

when mature.

ü  state animal of Tamil Nadu

ü Principal threats are habitat loss (mainly from domestic livestock and spread of invasive plants) and poaching

Destruction of mangrove cover in the Bandar Reserve Forest (BRF) is forcing the golden jackal (Canis aureus)out of its habitat, triggering a conflict with the local communities.

as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and listed on Appendix III

of CITES.

the Golden Jackal can live in a wide variety of habitats.

ü These range from the Sahel Desert to the evergreen forests of

Myanmar and Thailand.

ü  a very vocal species, using a variety of barking, growling, cackling and whining calls.

ü The most distinctive is the high-pitched, wailing howl, often given

in chorus at dawn and dusk, and thought to reinforce family bonds

or advertise territory ownership.

Haryana state launched the ‘Paudhagiri’ campaign.

Every student will get a sapling from the forest department and they can also name the plant as per their wish. They have to take care of it for the next three years

ü In every six months, the student will be required to upload a selfie with their plant on Paudhagiri App.

ü  given an incentive of Rs 50 in every six months from the government for next three years.

ü Thus, the student will get Rs 300 in the next three years for looking after the sapling planted by them.

Harrier birds, a migratory raptor species that regularly visits vast swathes of India, are declining. This may foretell lurking dangers to the country’s grasslands

ü  nest in marshes or in tall grass and lay four to six dull whitish or bluish eggs

ü India has one of the largest roosting sites in the world for Pallid Harriers and Montagu’s Harriers.

ü Out of the 16 harrier species, only two are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, even though most of them are declining

ü The gravest concern is the loss of grasslands, either to urbanisation or to agriculture.

ü Excessive use of pesticides in farms in crops such as cotton kills grasshoppers, the harriers’ primary prey, and could lead to mortality of the birds themselves as they are on the top of the food chain.

The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has been selected for the Champion of Earth Prize-2018.

ü  recognizes visionary people and organizations all over the world that exemplify leadership and advocate action on sustainable development, climate change and a life of dignity for all.

ü The United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) established Champions of the Earth in 2005.

About UNEP

ü  an agency of United Nations.

ü  sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system, and

serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment.

ü founded by Maurice Strong, its first director, as a result of the

United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm Conference) in June 1972.

ü It has overall responsibility for environmental problems among United Nations agencies.

ü works with governments, the private sector, civil society and with other UN entities and international organizations

across the world.

ü It is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.

ü Their work is categorized into seven broad thematic areas:

1. climate change

2. disasters and conflicts

3. ecosystem management

4. environmental governance

5. chemicals and waste

6. resource efficiency

7. environment under review

ü India was the global host of 2018 World Environment Day on June 5, 2018.

All new constructions in CPWD are being undertaken with minimum three star GRIHA rating

ü It evaluates the environmental performance of a building holistically over its entire life cycle,

thereby providing a definitive standard for what constitutes a ‘green building’.

ü This rating tool helps people assesses the performance of their building against certain nationally acceptable benchmarks.

Criteria and their weightage

ü  a performance-oriented system where points are earned for meeting the design and performance intent of the criteria.

ü Different levels of certification (one star to five stars) are awarded based on the number of points earned.

ü Different Rating criteria are used for large buildings, existing buildings and so on

Why in News?

UNESCO’s (MAB) Programme has added  during its meeting in Indonesia’ Palembang recently including Khangchendzonga, the

11th Biosphere Reserve from India

ü sites established and nominated by countries and

recognized under UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Program

ü Launched in 1971, UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is an Intergovernmental Scientific Programme that aims to establish a scientific basis for the improvement of relationships between people and their environments.

ü MAB is a World Network of Biosphere Reserves currently counts 686 sites in 122 countries all over the world, including 20 transboundary sites.

ü Protection is to  flora+ fauna of the protected region + the human

communities who inhabit these regions, and their ways of life

The National Tiger Conservation Authority

ü a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change constituted under provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

ü Environment Minister : the Chairman of the NTCA.

ü Below chairman are eight experts or professionals having qualifications and experience in wildlife conservation and welfare of people including tribals, apart from three Members of Parliament (1 Rajya Sabha, 2 Lok Sabha).

Objectives of NTCA are

ü Providing statutory authority to Project Tiger so that compliance of its directives become legal.

ü Fostering accountability of Center-State in management of Tiger Reserves, by providing a basis for MoU with States within our federal structure.

Global Tiger Forum (GTF)

ü only inter- governmental international body established with

members from willing countries to embark on a global campaign to protect the Tiger.

ü formed in 1993 on recommendations from an international symposium on Tiger Conservation at New Delhi, India.

ü The first meeting of the Tiger Range countries to setup the forum was held in 1994

ü The GTF has a General Assembly meeting every 3 years and Standing committee meetings at least once a year.

ü objective :to stop soil erosion on river banks and recharge the groundwater reserve.

ü Volunteers will plant fruit-bearing trees like mango, jackfruit and jamun within one km radius of the river

ü implemented jointly by the departments of Forest, Horticulture and Watershed Development

ü The MoEFCC, in consultation with Wildlife Institute of India and other scientific institutions/organizations, identified various species with the objective of saving critically endangered species/ecosystems that to ensure their protection outside Protected Areas, across the wider landscape/seascape.

ü Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats is the new name of the scheme by MoEFCC “Assistance for the Development of National Parks and Sanctuaries”.

ü IDWH is meant for providing support to protected areas, protection of wildlife outside protected areas and recovery programmes for saving critically endangered species and habitats.

ü The 17 species already listed are Asian Wild Buffalo Asiatic Lion Brow-Antlered Deer or Sangai Dugong Edible Nest Swiftlet Gangetic River Dolphin Great Indian Bustard Hangul Indian Rhino or Great Onehorned Rhinoceros Jerdon’s Courser Malabar Civet Marine Turtles

Nicobar Megapode Nilgiri Tahr Snow Leopard Swamp Deer Vultures

.

ü The koalas are generally found in coastal areas of the mainland’s eastern and southern regions,

inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia

ü  mostly nocturnal, asocial animals, and bonding exists

only between mothers and dependent offspring.

ü Young koalas are known as joey.

ü inhabit open eucalyptus woodlands, and the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet

ü  listed as Least Concern (LC) in 2008, the Koala was uplisted to Vulnerable (VU) in 2016.

ü Current threats include habitat loss and modification, bushfires,

disease, and drought

Why in News?

This year’s Earth overshoot day fell on August 1st.

Ecological Deficit

ü If a population’s demand for ecological assets exceeds the supply, that region runs an ecological deficit- meets demand by importing, liquidating its own ecological assets (such as overfishing), and/or emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

ü At the global level, ecological deficit and overshoot are the same, since there is no net import of resources to the planet.

ü  hosted and calculated by an international thinktank Global Footprint Network (GFN).

ü The concept was first conceived by Andrew Simms of the UK think tank New Economics Foundation.

ü The first global Earth Overshoot Day campaign was launched in 2006. WWF has participated in Earth Overshoot Day since 2007.

Planet’s Bio Capacity?

ü The amount of ecological resources Earth is able to generate that year.

ü Likewise Bio capacity of a city or state or nation can also be determined.

ü A city, state, or nation’s bio capacity represents its biologically productive land and sea area, including

forest lands, grazing lands, cropland, fishing grounds, and built-up land.

What is Ecological Footprint?

ü It is the humanity’s demand for resources for the concerned year.

ü Both measures are expressed in global hectares—globally comparable, standardized hectares with

world average productivity. A hectare is equivalent to 10,000 square meters or 2.47 acres.

A cluster of Portuguese man-of-war, washed ashore on the Baga beach in north Goa

ü Inot a single organism, but a siphonophore, a colonial animal made up of tiny specialised animals called polyps, which are all connected to each other and function like the organs and tissues of single multicellular organisms.

ü A gas-filled bladder allows it to float on the surface, propelled by currents, tides, and by a sail at the top of the bladder

ü A single long tentacle of venomous cnidocytes, hanging below the float, provides the animal with a means of capturing prey.

ü composed of four separate colonies of polyps and medusoids. The colony consists of a gas-filled polyp that keeps it afloat, and three other polyp types which help in capture and digestion of prey and reproduction.

ü two major species of Portuguese man-of-war- the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific.

The Indian bull frog, a recent arrival from the mainland, is steadily occupying the Webi village of Andamans’ ecosystem and threatening the local economy, where it is now a widespread invasive species

ü solitary and is usually nocturnal.

ü The diet of an Indian Bullfrog consists of insects, small mammals and small birds.

ü The Indian Bullfrog is the largest Indian frog.

ü The bullfrog is protected under Schedule IV of the Indian Wildlife Act 1972.

India got its first scientific and most modern national wildlife genetic resource bank.

About LaCONES

ü It is India’s only research facility engaged in conservation and preservation of wildlife and its resources.

ü Effective conservation measures include both in situ habitat preservation, species protection and ex situ conservation.

ü Project LaCONES was established in 1998 with the help of

o Dept. of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt. of India

o Central Zoo Authority of India (CZA), New Delhi

o Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi

o Government of Andhra Pradesh

Mahadayi water tribunal (MWT) gave its award allowing Karnataka to divert water.

ü The MWT allowed Goa 24 tmcft and Maharashtra to use 1.33 tmcft for drinking and irrigation.

ü Karnataka has been allowed to divert 2.18 tmcft of water at the proposed Bhandura dam and 1.72tmcft at the Kalasa Dam.

ü It was allowed an additional 1.5 tmcft for ‘in-basin consumptive use’ but was cautioned against the Kotni Hydro Project.

ü Water sharing to be overseen by Central government agencies or a Mahadayi water management Authority on lines of Cauvery management board

ü The tribunal recommendations ought to be adhered to until August 2048

Why in news?

The Government of India has treated the Kerala flood situation as a disaster of serious nature and has

categorized the same as a Level – L3 Disaster under National Disaster Management Guidelines.

ü Level-L1:

o  managed within the capabilities and resources at the District

level.

o However, the state authorities will remain in readiness to provide assistance if needed.

ü Level-L2:

o This signifies the disaster situations that require assistance and active mobilization of resources at the state level and deployment of state level agencies for disaster management.

o The central agencies must remain vigilant for immediate deployment if required by the state.

ü Level-L3:

ü corresponds to a nearly catastrophic situation or a very large-scale disaster that overwhelms the State and District authorities

Funding

ü The NDRF is funded through a National Calamity Contingent Duty levied on pan masala, chewingtobacco and cigarettes, and with budgetary provisions as and when needed.

ü The SDRF corpus is contributed by the Union government and the respective State governments in a

75:25 ratio for general category States and 90:10 for Special Category States.

ü The allocation of the SDRF for each State is done by the Finance Commission

ü Only for a “calamity of severe nature”, additional assistance will be provided from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).

ü There is, however, no provision in the law or rules for the government to designate a disaster a

“national calamity”.

ü The cheetah is the fastest land animal.

ü The country’s last spotted feline died in Chhattisgarh in 1947.

ü It was declared extinct in India in 1952.

ü Nauradehi was found to be the most suitable area for the cheetahs as its forests are not very dense to restrict the fast movement of the spotted cat.

ü According to the earlier action plan, around 20 cheetahs were to be translocated to Nauradehi from Namibia in Africa.

About Cheetah

ü The cheetah is a large cat of the subfamily Felinae.

ü The species is IUCN Red Listed as vulnerable

ü Cheetah is not naturally found in India.

ü In India Cheetah are extinct in the wild or regionally extinct.

ü Cheetahs are particularly vulnerable to habitat loss and fragmentation of their habitat.

ü One reason for their extirpation across most of their Asian range is thought to have been the live capture

of cheetahs, which were then trained to hunt deer and gazelle as sport for the aristocracy.

ü Other key causes of the disappearance of Cheetah from the region are likely to have been depletion of

wild prey, especially gazelles, the direct killing of Cheetahs

Why in News?

The report titled ‘The Urban Commute and How it Contributes to Pollution and Energy’, compiled by the

Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), was released

ü Lowest overall emissions recorded in Bhopal.

ü Kolkata as the top-performing megacity.

ü Chennai was the first city to adopt a non-motorised transport (NMT) policy in 2004 that aims to

arrest the decline of walking or cycling by creating a network of footpaths, bicycle tracks and greenways.

About Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)

ü The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) is a public interest research and advocacy

organisation based in New Delhi.

ü CSE researches into, lobbies for and communicates the urgency of development that is both sustainable

and equitable.

ü Established in 1980, CSE uses knowledge-based activism to create awareness about problems and

propose sustainable solutions

ü in Odisha is Asia’s biggest internal salt water pond studded with few tiny islands.

ü It is located at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal.

ü Nalabana Bird Sanctuary

ü  Chilika Lake was designated the first Indian wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention in 1981.

ü Migratory birds fly across continents from Caspian Sea, Baikal Lake and remote parts of Russia,

Mongolia and Siberia and flock to the marshy lands of the Nalabana Bird Sanctuary inside the Chilika Lake.

ü Apart from residents and migratory birds, Chilika Wildlife Sanctuary is also home to Blackbuck, Spotted

Deer, Golden Jackal and Hyenas.

ü It has rich aquatic wildlife also: Chilika Lake sanctuary also houses Prawn, Dolphin, Crab, Crustaceans

and Limbless Lizard.

ü REDD+ is a voluntary climate change mitigation approach that has been developed by Parties to the UNFCCC.

ü  aims to incentivize developing countries to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, conserve forest carbon stocks, sustainably manage forests and enhance forest carbon stocks.

Why in news?

Indian scientist-academician, N Raghuram, has been elected Chair of the International Nitrogen Initiative

(INI), a global policy making initiative

ü set up in 2003 under sponsorship of the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) and from the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP).

ü The key aims of the INI are to:

o Optimize nitrogen’s beneficial role in sustainable food production

o Minimize nitrogen’s negative effects on human health and the environment resulting from food and energy production.

ü The program is currently a sustained partner of Future Earth

Why in News?

Assam’s Environment and Forest Department issued a notification saying the KNP had been split into two

divisions.

üThe river Brahmaputra separates the two divisions. KNP (Kaziranga National Park), Assam

ühosts two-thirds of the world’s great one-horned rhinoceroses.

ü estimated 2,413 rhinos.

ü57% of the world’s wild water buffalo population, one of the largest groups of Asian elephants

and 21 Royal Bengal tigers per 100 sq.km –the highest

striped cat density.

ü 1968: State government designated Kaziranga a national park.

ü It is accorded official status in 1974.

ü It is a World Heritage Site since 1985.

ü It is declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006 (now the highest tiger density is in Orang National Park, Assam,

earlier it was KNP)

ü It houses elephants, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer.

ü It is also an important Bird Area by BirdLife International.

ü It is located on the edge of the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot

Why in news?

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for flood hit southern state of Kerala

1. Green (All is well): No advisory is issued.

2. Yellow (Be aware): Severely bad weather is possible over the next few days, possible travel delays

3. Amber /orange (Be prepared):

ü Increased likelihood of extremely bad weather, travel delays, road and rail closures, and interruption of power supply.

ü Amber means people need to be prepared to change plans and protect themselves.

4. Red (Take action)

ü Extremely bad weather is expected

ü Aerosols interact both directly and indirectly with the Earth’s radiation budget and climate.

ü As a direct effect, the aerosols scatter sunlight directly back into space.

ü As an indirect effect, aerosols in the lower atmosphere can modify the size of cloud particles, changing

how the clouds reflect and absorb sunlight, thereby affecting the Earth’s energy budget.

 act as sites for chemical reactions to take place (heterogeneous chemistry). lead to the destruction of stratospheric ozone.

How it is measured?

ü Earth-observing satellites use the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to measure the aerosol optical thickness from hundreds of kilometers above the Earth.

ü These measurements are based on the fact that aerosols change the reflection and absorption of visible

and infrared light in the atmosphere.

About Birdlife International

ü Bird Life International (formerly the International Council for Bird Preservation) is a global partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity.

üworks with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources.

ü the world’s largest partnership of conservation organisations, with over 120 partner organisations.

ü founded in the year 1922 and it’s headquarter is at Cambridge.

ü Bird Life International publishes a quarterly magazine, World Birdwatch, which contains recent news and authoritative articles about birds, their habitats, and their conservation around the world.

ü Bird Life International is the official Red List authority for birds, for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

About Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs)

ü aims to identify, monitor and protect a global network

of IBAs for conservation of the world’s birds and associated biodiversity.

ü serve as conservation areas for protection of birds at the global, regional or sub-regional level.

ü According to Birdlife International, designation of IBAs is based on standardized criteria, namely:

1. hold significant numbers of one or more globally threatened bird species,

2. be one of a set of sites that together hold a suite of restricted-range species or biome-restricted species and

3. Have exceptionally large numbers of migratory or congregator birds.

ü The IBAs contain a range of habitats, such as wetlands, mudflats, microhabitats in biodiversity hotspots, grasslands and scrublands, making them excellent indicators of biodiversity richness.

Why in news?

Union Women and Child Development Minister and animal welfare activist Maneka Gandhi accused the

Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) of not enforcing rules with respect to depiction of animals in

films and television programmes

cruelty to animals act, 1960

üan advisory body on animal welfare laws and promotes animal

welfare in the country.

üprovides grants as well as recognition to Animal Welfare

Organisations

üalso advises the government of India on animal welfare issues.

ü The board has 28 members, each with a tenure of three years.

ü  headquartered at Ballabhgarh in Haryana

ü  under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate change

Why in News?

The number of polluted stretches of the country’s rivers has increased from two years ago, according to an

assessment by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

üa statutory organization under the Ministry of

Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).

ü It was constituted in 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.

ü the apex organisation in country in the field of pollution control.

ü Head office is in Delhi

ü headed by a chairman followed by the member secretary.

ü National Air Quality Monitoring Program is executed by CPCB.

ü Principal Functions of the CPCB

o To promote cleanliness of streams and wells in different areas of the States by prevention, control

and abatement of water pollution.

o To improve the quality of air and to prevent, control or abate air pollution in the country.

ü  formed on 16 October 1945, in Quebec, Canada

ü  Headquarters is in Rome, Italy

ü  parent organisation is UN Economic and Social Council

ü  motto ‘Fiat Panis’ is Latin and means ‘let there be bread’.

ü  a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.

ü acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate arguments and debate policy.

ü a source of knowledge and information, and helps developing

countries in transition to modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices, ensuring good nutrition and food security for all.

ü 197 member states, including the European Union (a “member organization”), Niue and The Cook Islands (States in free-association with New Zealand), and the Faroe Islands and Tokelau,

which are associate members.

Why in news?

Government of India has partnered with Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, to launch an

agricultural project, with a grant from Global Environment Facility

ü a funding mechanism for five major international environmental conventions:

o The Minamata Convention on Mercury,

o The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs),

o The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity(UNCBD),

o The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and

o The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

ü It is an international partnership of 183 countries, international institutions, civil society

organizations and the private sector that addresses global environmental issues.

ü GEF funds are available to developing countries and countries with economies in transition to meet

the objectives of the international environmental conventions and agreements.

ü The World Bank serves as the GEF Trustee, administering the GEF Trust Fund

A report titled ‘Black Spotted Turtle Trade in Asia II: A Seizure Analysis’ by TRAFFIC, an international

network monitoring trade in wildlife states that India accounts for 29% of black spotted turtles seizure

ü  founded in 1976 as a strategic alliance of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

ü to ‘ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature.’

ü promotes sustainable wildlife trade (the green stream work) and combats wildlife crime and trafficking (the red stream work).

ü headquarter :Cambridge, United Kingdom.

o They are species that are threatened with extinction and are or may be affected by trade.

o Commercial trade in wild-caught specimens of these species is illegal (permitted only in

exceptional licensed circumstances).

ü Appendix II

o They are species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction, but may become so

unless trade in specimens of such species is subject to strict regulation in order to avoid

utilization incompatible with the survival of the species in the wild.

o International trade in specimens of Appendix II species may be authorized by the granting of

an export permit or re-export certificate.

o No import permit is necessary for these species under CITES.

ü Appendix III

o They are species that are listed after one member country has asked other CITES Parties for

assistance in controlling trade in a species.

o The species are not necessarily threatened with extinction globally

Why in News?

The Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU) has set up a flightless bird research

centre, a first in the State, on the university campus at Pookode in Wayanad district, Kerala

ü The center envisages to carry out research on adaptation and comparative physiological studies of flightless birds and artificial incubation of their eggs.

ü  includes birds such as the ostrich, rhea, and emu.

ü The ostrich produces the largest egg, weighing 1.5 kg.

ü Ostriches are the oldest birds on the earth that have existed for 120 million years and were even seen in India.

ü The varsity also plans to bring as many as 10 rhea birds to the center from the Thiruvananthapuram zoo in two weeks.

ü The above said three States account for 117 of the 351 polluted river stretches.

ü The most significant stretches of pollution highlighted by the CPCB assessment include the

o The Mithi River from Powai to Dharavi, Maharashtra with a BOD of 250 mg/l is the most polluted

river.

o The Godavari from Someshwar to Rahed with a BOD of 5.0-80 mg/l.

o The Sabarmati from Kheroj to Vautha with a BOD of 4.0-147 mg/l.

o The Hindon from Saharanpur to Ghaziabad with a BOD of 48-120 mg/l.

ü The Ganga, with a BOD range of 3.5-8.8 mg/l is indicated as a ‘priority 4’ river.

Minister of State Kiren Rijiju & Amitabh Kant, CEO NITI Aayog flagged off MOVE Cyclathon, a cycle rally

to promote cleaner, accessible modes of transport. The cyclathon was held in the run up to the MOVE:

Global Mobility Summit on September 7, 8 in New Delhi.

About MOVE: Global Mobility Summit

ü NITI Aayog, in collaboration with various ministries and industry partners organized ‘MOVE: Global

Mobility Summit’ in New Delhi on 7th and 8th September, 2018.

ü This is against the backdrop of steeply falling technology costs and business–model innovations which

are driving the world’s transition to renewable energy and electric vehicles.

ü The Summit will constitute three designated components – The Conclave, Digital Exhibition, and Featured Events.

ü The first of its kind summit is expecting over 1,200 participants from across the world including

leaders from the government, industry, research organizations, academia, think tanks and civil society

to develop a public interest framework by engaging with key stakeholders.

ü The issues will be discussed based on 5 thematic papers during the parallel sessions to evolve a shared, connected, zero emission and inclusive mobility agenda for the future

Why in news?

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has

approved continuation of the Centrally Sponsored Umbrella Scheme of Integrated Development of

Wildlife Habitats (CSS-IDWH) beyond the 12thPlan period from 2017-18 to 2019-20

ü The Government of India provides financial and technical assistance to the State/UT Governments for activities aimed at wildlife conservation through the Centrally Sponsored Scheme viz. ‘Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitat

Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Project Tiger (CSS-PT), Development of Wildlife Habitats (CSS-DWH) and Project Elephant (CSS-PE).

ü The scheme will be implemented through states in designated Tiger Reserves, Protected Areas and Elephant Reserves.

ü Major activities include

o Staff development and capacity building,

o Wildlife research and evaluation,

o Anti-poaching activities,

o Wildlife veterinary care,

o Addressing man-animal conflicts and

o Promoting eco-tourism

ü States will also be given financial assistance for relocation of communities

A citizen science initiative of documenting Indian hornbills is providing valuable inputs for the

conservation of the unique bird

About Hornbill

ü unique birds.

ü They get their name from the horn-like projection called a

casque on top of their beak.

ü omnivorous, feeding on fruit and small animals.

ü Hornbills are the ‘farmers of the forest’ as they disperse the

seeds of many tropical trees and keep the forest alive.

ü nine hornbill species in India.

ü This includes Great Hornbill, Rufous-necked Hornbill, Wreathed Hornbill, Narcondam Hornbill,Malabar Pied Hornbill, Oriental Pied Hornbill, White-throated Brown Hornbill, Malabar Grey Hornbill and the Indian Grey Hornbill.

ü The Rufous-necked Hornbill is listed as ‘Vulnerable’ by the IUCN.

The convention, adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar nearly a half-century ago issued its first-ever global

report on the state of the world’s wetlands

ü Wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests.

ü Directly or indirectly, Wetlands provide almost all of the world’s consumption of freshwater and morethan 40% of all species live and breed in wetlands.

üa global treaty ratified by 170 countries to protect wetlands and promote their wise use.

ü the only international convention on wetlands.

ü named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the Convention was signed in 1971.

ü Every three years, representatives of the Contracting Parties meet as the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP), the policy-making organ of the Convention which adopts decisions to

administer the work of the Convention and improve the way in which the Parties are able to implement its objectives.

ü The Parties to the Ramsar Convention have committed to the conservation and wise use of all wetlands.

ü The Parties have designated more than 2,300 sites of international importance so far, making the

Ramsar List one of the world’s largest networks of protected areas.

ü The most recent COP12 was held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in 2015.

ü COP13 will take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in October 2018.

ü The 2nd of February each year is World Wetlands Day, marking the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971

Nepal released 12 satellite-tagged white-rumped vultures which signifies a huge step for the vulture breeding and recovery programme in not just Nepal but the entire subcontinent

ü collaboration between a large and growing number of conservation and research groups.

ü established in 2011to co-ordinate and drive forward the ambitious long-term international conservation effort to save three formerly abundant species of vulture endemic to Asia from extinction.

üRapid removal of diclofenac and other drugs toxic to vultures from their food supply in key areas defined as Vulture Safe Zones (VSZs) where vulture populations remain is one of its key action.

.

Why in news?

Government of India has partnered with Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, to launch an

agricultural project, with a grant from Global Environment Facility

üaims to transform agricultural production to generate global environmental benefits by addressing

biodiversity conservation, land degradation, climate change mitigation and sustainable forest management

Funding and Implementation

ü The project is being funded by the GEF.

ü It will be implemented by the agriculture and environment ministries of the government of India and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

ü As an attempt to harmonize conservation and development efforts of the country, it will be

implemented in Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand

A study published in the journal Nature Geoscience found that Ozone layer depletion may have contributed

to the largest mass extinction in the history of Earth

What is the latest finding?

ü The lithospheric studies of Siberian flood basalts revealed that before the volcanic eruption the Siberian lithosphere was heavily loaded with chlorine, bromine, and iodine, all chemical elements from the halogen group.

ü These elements seem to have disappeared after the volcanic eruption.

ü The study infers that the large reservoir of halogens that was stored in the Siberian lithosphere was sent into the Earth’s atmosphere during the volcanic explosion, effectively destroying the ozone layer at the time and contributing to the mass extinction

ü Dubbed as the End-Permian Extinction or the Great Permian Extinction, The Permian-Triassic extinction event wiped almost 96% of marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species from the

face of Earth.

ü  occurred about 252 million years ago.

ü  only known mass extinction of insects.

ü The recovery took up to 10 million years because of such high scale biodiversity loss.

ü believed to have caused by

o one or more large meteor impact events,

o massive volcanism such as that of the Siberian Traps, and the ensuing coal or gas fires and explosions,

o and a runaway greenhouse effect triggered by sudden release of methane from the sea floor

ü Possible contributing gradual changes include

o sea-level change,

o increasing anoxia,

o increasing aridity, and

o A shift in ocean circulation driven by climate change.

September 16 every year :the international day for the preservation of the Ozone layer

About Ozone layer

ü absorbs about 98% of the Ultraviolet radiations and maintain the ozone – oxygen cycle.

ü mainly found in the lower portion of the stratosphere, from approximately 20 to 30 kilometers above Earth.

ügenerally thinner near the equator and thicker near the poles.

ü The majority of ozone is produced over the tropics and is transported towards the poles by stratospheric wind patterns, known as the Brewer-Dobson circulation.

ü Dobson unit :a unit which is used to measure the ozone in the atmosphere at a standard temperature and pressure.

ü designed to reduce the production and consumption of ozone depleting substances in order to reduce their abundance in the atmosphere, and thereby protect the earth’s fragile ozone Layer.

ü legally enforces the phase-out of the production and use of

ozone depleting substances – chemicals often used in

refrigeration, air-conditioning, foam manufacturing, aerosol

production, and fire extinguishing.

ü Protocol stipulates that the production and consumption of

compounds that deplete ozone in the stratosphere chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, carbon tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform– are to be phased out by 2000 (2005 for methyl chloroform).

ü A Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol:

ü Multilateral Fund was established by a decision of the Second Meeting of the Parties to the

Montreal Protocol (London, June 1990) and began its operation in 1991.

ü  main objective of the Fund – to assist developing country parties to the Montreal Protocol whose annual level of consumption of the ozone depleting substances (ODS) chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons is less than 0.3 kilograms per capita to comply with the control measures of the

Protocol.

ü Since 2010, the agenda of the Protocol has focused on the phase-out of hydro chlorofluorocarbons(HCFCs), an ozone-depleting substance mainly used in cooling and refrigeration applications, and in the manufacture of foam products.

ü a legally binding agreement between the signatory parties with non-compliance measures.

ü It will come into effect from 1st January 2019 provided it is ratified by at least 20 member parties by then.

ü  considerable flexibility in approach while setting phase-down targets for different economies

ü divided the signatory parties into three groupso

The first group : rich and developed economies like USA, UK and EU countries who will start to phase down HFCs by 2019 and reduce it to 15% of 2012 levels by 2036

o The second group :emerging economies like China, Brazil as well as some African countries who will start phase down by 2024 and reduce it to 20% of 2021 levels by 2045

o The third group :developing economies and some of the hottest climatic countries like India, Pakistan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia who will start phasing down HFCs by 2028 and reduce

it to 15% of 2024-2026 levels till 2047

ü a provision for a multilateral fund for developing countries for adaptation and mitigation.

ü The Technology and Energy Assessment Panel (TEAP) will take a periodic review of the alternative technologies and products for their energy efficiency and safety standards.

Sangai | Brow Antlered Deer | Dancing Deer

üan endemic, rare and endangered subspecies of brow-antlered deer.

ü also state animal of Manipur.

ü The Sangai is now restricted to the Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP) in the Southeastern fringe of Loktak Lake in Manipur.

ü Phumdis, floating vegetation occupy about two-third of the surface area of the lake. They feed, live and breed on this 9km area of Phumdis.

ü classified as “Endangered” by the IUCN.

Why in news?

It is reported that Majuli is shrinking through the years.

ü It is a river island in the Brahmaputra River, Assam.

ü  claimed as the largest riverine island in the world, it became the first island to be made a district in India.

ü formed by the Brahmaputra River in the south and the Kherkutia Xuti, an anabranch of the Brahmaputra, joined by the Subansiri River in the north.

ü Mājuli is the abode of the Assamese neo-Vaishnavite culture and is considered to be the cultural capital of Assam.

ü Majuli Island sits right in the middle of the Brahmaputra River. Each year the river levels rise higher and causes major flooding which consumes a massive part of the island.

ü  inhabited by the Mishing tribes

DNA Meta barcoding reveals herb-specific diet of pikas.

Faeces of Royle’spika, a small rabbit-like mammal found in India’s Himalaya reveal that these animals

survive almost entirely on specific plants that grow only in cold, wet conditions

ü  small mammal, with short limbs, very round body,rounded ears, and no external tail.

ü belongs to the rabbit and hare family (Lagomorpha).

ü  native to cold climates and live in the mountains or in

temperate regions.

ü herbivores animals.

ü a keystone species and ecosystem engineers.

ü do not hibernate unlike other mammalian species inhabiting

such cold climates.

Researchers recently spotted ‘Pondicherry shark’ in the East Godavari River Estuarine Ecosystem

region.

ü  on the verge of extinction.

ü The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the Pondicherry shark as Critically Endangered.

ü The shark is among the 25 “most wanted lost” species that are the focus of Global Wildlife

Conservation’s “Search for Lost Species” initiative.

ü It is locally known as ‘Pala Sura’.

ü With its polka dot skin and prominently patterned shell, the black pond turtle has an incredibly striking appearance.

ü  recognisable by the small orange, cream or yellow wedge-shaped marks on the top of its shell

ü a short tail and webbed toes that aid with swimming and moving around in its swampy habitat.

ü The black pond turtle is a relatively rare species, found only in the Indus and Ganges river drainages

in Pakistan, northern India, Bangladesh and Nepal.

ü  IUCN red list : Vulnerable.

ü  Appendix 1 of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

ü The species is threatened by smuggling, once for its meat and is now sought after as an exotic pet.

ü live in compact colonies of many identical individual polyps.

üinclude the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.

ü reproduce both sexually and asexually.

ü able to feed on small fish and planktons using their stinging cells on their tentacles, called cnidoblast.

üBut majority of their nutrition come from zooxanthelle with which it has a symbiotic relationship.

üZooxanthelle are photosynthetic unicellular dinoflagellates.

ürequire sunlight and grow in clear, shallow water, typically at depths less than 60 metres.

ü major contributors to the physical structure of the coral reefs that develop in tropical and subtropical waters.

üconsidered to be among the most dynamic ecosystems,

providing shelter, and physical and ecological support to marine flora and fauna.

the first known omnivorous shark species

ü  a small shark species but Adult female can grow up to five feet in length.

ü Lacking the kind of teeth best suited for mastication, the shark may rely on strong stomach acids to weaken the plants’ cells so the enzymes can have their digestive effects

ü Rajasthan’s first lion safari has been inaugurated at Nahargarh Biological Park

ü provide new habitat to lions + add tourism venue to the Pink City.

ü Lions in this park were brought from Gujarat

India develops a Cooling Action Plan

It gives thrust towards looking for synergies in actions for securing both environmental and socioeconomic

benefits.

o Reduce refrigerant demand by 25% to 30% by year2037-38.

o Reduce cooling demand across sectors by 20% to 25% by year 2037-38.

o Reduce cooling energy requirements by 25% to 40%by year 2037-38.

o Train and certify 100,000 servicing sector technicians by 2022-23, in synergy with Skill India

Mission.

o Recognize cooling and related areas as thrust area of research under national science and technology

programme to support development of technological solutions and encourage innovation challenges

The Indian Railways has come up with an initiative called “Plan Bee” to prevent speeding trains from

hitting elephants crossing tracks

ü launched in November 2017 to stop elephants from being hit by speeding trains in the Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR), and has been a great success as the number of casualties has gone down

drastically.

ü The buzz sound is audible to elephants 600 meters away and thus helps them in keeping away from the tracks.

Installation of Kurma idol near the Lota Devi temple pond in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district has helped

the Indian roofed turtle species to revive

ü It can be distinguished by the distinct “roof” at the topmost part of the shell.

ü It is found in the major rivers of South Asia.

ü It is a common pet in the Indian Subcontinent.

ü The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) recently notified the new

Solid Waste Management Rules (SWM), 2016. These will replace the Municipal Solid Wastes(Management and Handling) Rules, 2000

Limitations of the revised Solid waste management rules:

üfail to incentivize and impose a strict penalty in case of poor implementation.

ü not pushed for decentralized management of waste but have encouraged centralized treatment such as waste to energy, the present state of which is not good in the country.

üinformal sector has been considerably neglected in the new rules.

ünot clear about the fine amount to be imposed on plastic manufacturers or how the monitoring system would be carried out

ü need is for behavioral change on part of people when it comes to domestic waste generation and on part of authorities when it comes to implementing the rules framed is not adequately focused

Why in news?

A rare-sighting of a snow leopard was reported from in Lippa-Asra wildlife sanctuary in Kinnaur district

of Himachal Pradesh

üa large cat native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia– including Himalayas, and Russia’s remote Altai mountains.

üinhabits alpine and subalpine zones at elevations from 3,000 to 4,500 m, ranging from eastern Afghanistan to Mongolia and western China.

ü In the northern range countries, it also occurs at lower elevations.

ü Its nutrition is dependent on wild animals and occasionally livestock. It’s able to kill a prey three times its own weight and usually hunts during dawn and dusk.

ü Their spotted coats change with the seasons – from a thick, white fur to keep them warm and camouflaged in winter, to a fine yellow-grey coat in summer.

ü found in states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.

ü threatened by poaching for their fur, habitat destruction by infrastructure developments and climate change.

ü However, Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, now known as Keoladeo National Park is considered the largest in Asia.

ü The migratory species : open-bill storks, egrets, night herons and cormorants.

ü The resident birds : kites, flycatchers, owls, kingfishers, woodpeckers, drongoes, etc

Why in News?

The Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU) has set up a flightless bird research

centre, a first in the State, on the university campus at Pookode in Wayanad district, Kerala

ü includes the well-known ratites (ostrich, emu, cassowary, rhea and kiwi) and penguins.

ü The smallest flightless bird is the Inaccessible Island rail.

ü The largest (both heaviest and tallest) flightless bird, which is also the largest living bird, is the ostrich (2.7 m, 156 kg).

Ratite

üany of a diverse group of large, flightless birds of Gondwanan origin, most of them now extinct.

üUnlike other flightless birds, the ratites have no keel on their sternum.- keel provides an anchor to which a bird’s wing muscles attach, thereby providing adequate leverage for flight.

ü Without this to anchor their wing muscles they could not fly even if they were to develop suitable wings.

ü ‘World’s largest bird’ title is conferred on Vorombe titan, an extinct Madagascan species: three metres tall and weighed up to 800 kg. Elephant birds were the biggest of Madagascar’s mega fauna

seeds through defecation.

to promote Compressed Bio-Gas as an alternative, green transport fuel.

 It invited Expression of Interest (EoI) from potential entrepreneurs to set up Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) production plants and make available CBG in the market for use in automotive fuels

üCompressed Bio-Gas plants are proposed to be set up

ü CBG produced at these plants will be transported through

cascades of cylinders to the fuel station networks of OMCs for

marketing as a green transport fuel alternative.

Basics on bio-gas

ü produced naturally through a process of anaerobic decomposition from waste / bio-mass sources: include agriculture residue, cattle dung, sugarcane press mud, municipal solid waste, sewage treatment plant waste, etc.

ü After purification, it is compressed and called CBG, which

has pure methane content of over 95%.

ü Compressed Bio-Gas is exactly similar to the commercially available natural gas in its composition and energy potential.

ü Ghost nets are classified under Abandoned, Lost or otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG), which

includes lines, traps, hooks, dredges and buoys.

ü Ghost nets can kill marine wildlife, including vulnerable species, and destroy the benthic ecosystems that exist at the lowest level of a body of water

ü High quality synthetic nets can last in the oceans for centuries, and lead to micro-plastic ingestion

by aquatic life.

Initiatives to contain ghost fishing

ü ‘Dive against Debris’: TRF organises ‘Dive against Debris’ sessions, where certified divers volunteer

for underwater clean-ups.

About the Grizzled Giant Squirrel

ü large tree squirrel – Sri Lanka and in southern States of

Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu

ügot name from the white flecks of hair over its greyish body

üseen in pairs or as a family party of three individuals only during the breeding season.

ü Chinnar population is troubled by the increased predator pressure and the extremely low regeneration of its preferred food plant species due to heavy grazing by cattle.

üIUCN near threatened due to habitat loss and hunting.

Why in news?

‘Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C’ by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

says India faces the threat of deadly heat waves

Health Impacts of Heat Waves

ü involve dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and/or

heat stroke. The signs and symptoms are as follows:

o Heat Cramps: Ederna (swelling) and Syncope (Fainting) generally accompanied by fever below 39ºC.

o Heat Exhaustion: Fatigue, weakness, dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps and sweating.

o Heat Stoke: Body temperatures of 40ºC or more along with delirium, seizures or coma. This is a potential fatal condition

üa period of abnormally high temperatures, more than the normal maximum temperature that occurs during the summer season.

typically occur between March and June, and in some rare cases even extend till July

ü The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has given the following criteria for Heat Waves:

The first Kiwi of the Netherlands was hatched in the Avifauna bird park

originally only occurred in New Zealand.

estimated 60 thousand of these birds left in the wild.

status on the IUCN upgraded to ‘vulnerable’ from ‘endangered’.

Unique adaptations

ü large eggs relative to their own body size.

ü short and stout legs.

ü use their nostrils at the end of their long beak to detect prey before they ever see it.

UN has released a report titled ‘Economic Losses, Poverty and Disasters 1998-2017’ which was put

together by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

highlights the impact of extreme weather events on the global economy.

greatest economic losses have been experienced by the US, followed by China, Japan, India and Puerto Rico.

Climate-related disasters dominate the picture, accounting for 91 per cent of all major recorded events between 1998 and 2017.

Floods and storms are the two most frequently occurring disasters.’

The report concludes that climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events

About UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)

ü an organisational unit of UN Secretariat and is led by the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction (SRSG).

ü  established in 1999 as dedicated secretariat to facilitate implementation of International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR).

ü  headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

ü Mandate: To serve as focal point in United Nations system for coordination of disaster reduction and to ensure synergies among disaster reduction activities of United Nations system and regional organizations and activities in socio‐economic and humanitarian fields.

Why in news?

Researchers from Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) found that Windmills

pose a threat to wildlife in forests through collisions and noise.

ü Researchers found birds avoiding windmill sites. The avoidance is seen among mammals too.

Herbivores moved away, with predators following them.

Other impacts of Wind Power Generation

ü The generation of electricity from wind energy using large numbers of wind turbines can disrupt both landscapes and habitats.

ü Installation can cause severe environmental damage.

ü Shadow Flicker and Reflectance

o Shadow flicker is caused by intermittent chopping of the sunlight behind the rotating blades- casts a shadow that appears to flick ON and OFF as the wind turbine blades rotate. It

can be a nuisance to nearby humans.

o Reflectance, also known as blade glint, is the opposite of shadow flicker in that the sunlight is reflected of the blades surface. On a bright sunny day, it has the potential to annoy people.

ü It was a public-NGO partnership between the MoEFCC, and the Bombay

Natural History Society (BNHS).

ü Its headquarters are at Anaikatti, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

ü SACON’s mission is “To help conserve India’s biodiversity and its sustainable use

through research, education and peoples’ participation, with birds at the centre

stage

The Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) has initiated a study on the farming practices of garlic to

promote the hill garlic variety that is on the verge of extinction

known for its unique flavour, pungency, taste, medicinal properties and longer shelf life.

ü But the variety has a long crop duration. This has led the tribal farmers of the area cultivate hybrid varieties.

ü The steps to obtain geographical indication (GI) status for the Kanthalloor garlic has been initiated.(It currently does not have GI tag

India is trying to forge alliances and compel developed countries to make good on promises to provide enough

finance and technology to stem runaway global warming ahead of the December 2018 climate talks in

Katowice, Poland.

ü The ‘Like Minded Developing Countries’ (India, China, Venezuela and Iran) and BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India, China) are networks that are formed to lend weight to developing country concerns.

About Conference of Parties

ü the supreme decision-making body of the United Nations Climate Change Convention.

ü All States that are Parties to the Convention are represented at the COP.

ü A key task for the COP is to review the national communications and emission inventories submitted by Parties.

ü meets every year

ü first COP : held in Berlin, Germany in March, 1995.

ü The COP meets in Bonn, the seat of the secretariat

ü Just as the COP Presidency rotates among the five recognized UN regions – that is, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe and Western Europe and Others – there is a tendency for the venue of the COP to also shift among these groups.

Green Climate fund approves $1 billion for green projects in poor countries.

ü only stand-alone multilateral financing entity whose sole mandate is to serve the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

ü  accountable to the United Nations and it is guided by the principles and provisions of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

ü  governed by a Board of 24 members, comprising an equal number of members from developing and developed countries.

ü aims to deliver equal amounts of funding to mitigation and adaptation.

ü  headquartered in Incheon City, Republic of Korea.