1

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015 ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY CURRENT AFFAIRS (2014 – 2015)

1. What is the difference between a national framework of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme park, protected area, sanctuary and biosphere of the UNESCO and are not formed according to the reserve? guidelines of the Wildlife (protection) Act, 1972 and may have one or more national parks or wildlife sanctuaries in it. Under the MAB programme there is a World Network of Due to enormous pressure of the exploding human population, Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) and within this network, the area of the forests is shrinking and many of the flora exchange of information, experience and personnel is allowed. and fauna are on the verge of extinction. Accordingly, efficient in-situ conservation strategy has been organized to conserve ecologically important areas by regulating human intervention 2. Sri Lankan flying snake sighted for the first time and thus efforts have established a protected area network. outside in Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve, A.P. National park is an area with enough ecological, geomorphological and natural significance with rich fauna  Flying snake or Chrysopelea taprobanica and flora, which is designed to protect and to develop wildlife  Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve, A.P. or its environment. The rights of the people living inside this  Evidence of continental drift theory Category 2 type of protected areas are tightly regulated and activities like grazing, hunting, forestry or cultivation, Sri Lankan flying snake or Chrysopelea taprobanica, encroachment, destruction of habitats and other activities considered endemic to the dry and intermediate zones of the are strictly prohibited. But most national parks provide island nation, has been sighted in Andhra Pradesh’s outdoor recreation, camping opportunities and are designed Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve. to educate the public on the importance of conservation activities. This significantly expands the known area of presence of this

species, indicating its probable movement between the dry Protected areas are at the core of efforts towards biodiversity conservation, providing habitat and protection from hunting zones of peninsular and Sri Lanka, which remained for threatened and endangered species and are key to connected around 17,000 years ago. buffering unpredictable impacts of impeding climate change. Thus, protected areas are geographical space, recognized, 3. gets ‘State ’ - dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective Blue Mormon butterfly means, to achieve the long term conservation of nature and cultural values. In protected areas human occupation and  Maharashtra has become the first State in the country exploitation of resources is limited. to have a ‘State butterfly.’

Wildlife Sanctuaries or wildlife refuges are home to various Maharashtra government has declared the Blue Mormon endangered species of wild and these animals are safe ( polymnestor) as the State butterfly. from hunting, predation or competition and safeguarded from extinction in their natural habitat. The Blue Mormon is a large, found primarily in Sri Lanka and India, mainly restricted to the Wildlife sanctuaries and national parks attract millions of of Maharashtra, and coastal belts. tourists and nature lovers. In Wildlife sanctuaries harvesting It may occasionally be spotted in the Maharashtrian mainland timbers, cultivation, and collection of forest between Vidarbha and Western Maharashtra. products are allowed with permission. • It is reportedly the second largest butterfly found in India, Biosphere Reserves are areas of terrestrial and coastal just smaller than the southern birdwing. ecosystems which are internationally recognized within the

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 2

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

“No State in India has ever declared a State butterfly and the species has been one of the most neglected.” Easily identifiable, the Blue Mormon boasts exquisite velvet- like black wings with bright blue spots.

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 3

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

4. Raiganj Wildlife Sanctuary of has found in southern Myanmar and peninsular Thailand south- eastward into Borneo and the Philippines. the most Asian open- billed storks in the country It was spotted in Chintamani Kar Bird Sanctuary in West The Raiganj Wildlife Sanctuary in West Bengal’s Uttar Bengal’s South 24 Parganas on a few occasions but it was Dinajpur district has the most Asian open-billed storks in the unable to confirm because it could not be photographed. country. Referred to as the “flagship species,” are not Other important habitats of open-billed storks includes - only pollinators of flowering plants, but also useful in  Danapur Military Cantonment in Bihar, monitoring environmental changes.  Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh and  Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary in While there are about 600 known species of butterflies in West Bengal, India is home to about (But their number was not as high as it is in 1,500 species of butterflies. Raiganj) With this new find, there has been an addition to different 5. Gorumara National Park, West Bengal, one peacock butterflies which are characterised by their powdery of the smallest national parks in India green pigments.

Gorumara National Park has turned out to be a safe haven  West Bengal is probably the only State which is home for butterflies as evident by recent studies that have recorded to a wide variety of peacock butterflies such as the more than 330 species of butterflies in the park. rare Krishna Peacock, Blue Peacock, the relatively common Paris Peacock, Common Peacock and  The Bicolour Cupid and Malayan Nawab species are Common Banded Peacock. The only other Peacock among the most threatened. butterfly found in the country is Buddha Peacock or Malabar Banded Peacock, which is endemic to south The Bicolour Cupid and Malayan Nawab are placed in Schedule India. I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and the Witch and the Branded Young Fly are in Schedule II of the Act. 7. India home to 48 species of bumblebees

 Animals and who are most threatened are slotted India is home to 48 of the 250 known species of in Schedule I of the Act. bumblebees, the only pollinators of vegetation in high- altitude regions. “Apart from being home to animals like elephants, rhinoceros, gaur, leopard and different kinds of deer, the Mostly characterised by black, yellow and reddish body hair, National Park has a huge collection of lesser known but and often striped, bumblebees are generally found on interesting species of butterflies.” altitudes of 2,000- 15,000 feet along the entire , from Jammu & Kashmir to Nagaland. 6. New butterfly species spotted in West Bumblebees are important to the ecosystem, as without Bengal Chintamani Kar Bird Sanctuary - them seed setting and fruiting will not take place in many Malayan Green-banded Peacock. plants. They pollinate vegetables, fruit trees, cash crops and even ornamental and medicinal plants high in the Himalayas In a significant addition to the butterfly species in India, wildlife enthusiasts have found the Malayan Green Like the honeybees, bumblebees are social insects and live in Banded Peacock (Papilio palinurus), a beautiful specimen colonies — the size of which depends on the species. found in South East Asia, for the first time in India. Aluminium: new factor in decline of bees? The butterfly with a dusty green base having a bluish green band spread over both wings in the shape of an arc is Very high amounts of aluminium have been found in bees,

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 4

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

raising the question of whether aluminium-induced The census, conducted by Assam’s forest department in cognitive dysfunction is playing a role in the decline of association with several wildlife NGOs, counted 2,401 rhinos, bumblebee populations. which indicated increase of 71 rhinos in the park in the past two years. More than half the people in some developing countries could become newly at risk for malnutrition if crop- The census is conducted every three years. Although the last pollinating animals continue to decline, according to a new census was carried out in 2012, the State government study. conducted a special census of the rhinos in 2013 after a large number of rhinos had been poached in the park. 8. Rhino numbers rise in West Bengal – Jaldapara National Park and Gorumara National Park While the 2012 census confirmed 2,290 rhinos in the park, the special census next in 2013 confirmed that there West Bengal is now home to the second highest population of were 2,329 rhinos in the park. the one-horned rhinoceros in the country after Assam, with the number growing to 250 in the State. 10. NGT adds armour for protection of rhinos in Assam’s Kaziranga A State Forest Department survey has revealed that the Jaldapara National Park in the State has nearly 200 of these The National Green Tribunal has issued notices to 71 hotels, endangered animals and the Gorumara National Park, 50. dhabas and resorts for encroaching into the national park after CAG's damning report. Jaldapara now has the second highest population of them after the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, which has over After shocking revelations of the Comptroller and Auditor 2,000. General of India about the dire state of management of Kaziranga National Park, home to one-horned rhinoceros, Jaldapara recorded 186 in the previous survey in 2013 and the National Green Tribunal has issued notices to Gorumara 46 in 2014. The State had just 20 of these animals in 71 hotels, resorts and dhabas which have encroached into the 1990. eco-sensitive zone of the Park.

Admitting to incidents of poaching, the West Bengal The CAG report titled “Performance audit of Kaziranga government had set up a new body involving personnel of National Park – Issues and Challenges” revealed how 71 forces such as the Border Security Force and the Shashatra resorts, hotels, dhabas and other commercial ventures such as Seema Bal. (Since the rhino habitat is on India’s borders with eco-camps and even residential houses have come up within Nepal and Bhutan) one to three kilometers of the boundary of the KNP thereby endangering wildlife, which is already at risk of unchecked Reports showed at least five incidents of poaching in north poaching. Bengal in the past year. The State Wildlife Board has suggested that forest guards be issued shoot-at-sight orders, but the The report points at rampant construction and parking on vast government has so far not agreed to it. stretches of contentious National Highway 37 passing through KNP which figures on the world heritage list and harbours Experts point out that the rhino population has a skewed male- world's largest population of one-horned Rhinoceros. female ratio — 2:1.4 in Gorumara. Rationalising the ratio is the next step to ensure a sustainable population. Interestingly, the Park authorities seem unaware of these illegal commercial ventures on the highland used by animals 9. Number of rhinos up in Kaziranga National for shelter during floods. Park, Assam: Census “Non declaration of the ESZ for such a long period of time had The number of world famous one-horned rhinos in Assam’s a direct bearing on such activities detrimental to the well Kaziranga National Park has increased to over 2,400, being of animals. The dangerous trend, if not checked according to a latest census. immediately and permanently could lead to an irreversible impact on conservation and protection of wildlife with the

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 5

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015 potential threat that in case of a major flood, majority of the mining had contributed to blocking majority of stretch of NH internationally acclaimed species – one horned rhinos would 37 including designated corridors...” be wiped out forever,” the CAG report said. “There is a complete inaction by the State of Assam so far The Bench also noted that the Assam government had failed to as protection of rhinos is concerned. The CAG report should utilize funds released towards Kaziranga tiger reserve and have been a wakeup call for the government to take directed it to release the same in two weeks. urgent action, however the same apathy continues and government seems to be happy with increase in rhino The audit report highlighted that “From the results of physical population without considering the warning signs of the verification, interactions with wildlife authorities/ villagers and impending doom,” says Ritwick Dutta, a noted Environmental scrutiny of various correspondences, it would appear that Lawyer. uncontrolled and ever increasing construction/human settlements with urbanisation at places, commercial activities/

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 6

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

11. Elusive partridge photographed for the first time by Bengaluru shutterbug 13. New spider takes new State’s name Chestnut- breasted Partridge (Telangana crab spider)

The Wikipedia page shows only a sketch for an image. The Telangana now has a spider named after it — International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which Telangana crab spider (Thomisus telanganensis). categorises the bird as vulnerable, has only a colourful painting — at least two decades old — as reference. Two wildlife and researchers from the Zoology Department of Osmania University chanced upon a female of The Chestnut-breasted Partridge (Arborophila mandellii), the species while they were on an expedition at Nagnur in endemic to the Eastern Himalayas, had eluded shutterbugs, Karimnagar district. until immense patience and a stroke of luck granted Bengaluru-based wildlife photographer Gururaj Moorching a The results of the discovery have been published in the two-minute encounter with the rare bird. recent issue of the Journal of Threatened Taxa, an International Journal of Conservation and Taxonomy. There are nearly 45 different species of partridges, of which the Chestnut-breasted Partridge — which gets its scientific name  The spiders of the Thomisidae family from an Italian naturalist — is classified as a ‘hill partridge’. structurally resemble crabs and are hence called “crab spiders”.  IUCN estimates that about 2,500 Chestnut- breasted Partridges live in Arunachal Pradesh, Bhutan and Lower  The Telangana variety has a tendency to walk sideways Tibet along the Himalayas. like crabs. They are also known as “flower spiders” as they lie in wait for prey on flowering plants, the 12. Grey Hypocolius sighted in Narara Marine researchers said. National Park, The expedition was routine until they stumbled upon the (Finding to be published by Bombay Natural History spider. The species closely resembles Thomisus labefactus, Society) well known in Japan. They want to dedicate this species to the scores of students and the public who had sacrificed their Two -based professionals and keen amateur birders lives for the cause of Telangana. have recently sighted and photographed a rare bird, Grey Hypocolius, at the Narara Marine National Park near Jamnagar Unlike traditional spiders, Telangana crab spiders do not in Gujarat. weave webs. They attack prey all of a sudden and immobilize them with venom. The two amateur birders spotted three specimens perched on the bushes of Pilu trees at the Narara Marine National Park. Eats insects

 “A slender, long tailed bird the size of Bulbul (about 19- “They are important to the ecosystem as they act as bio- 21 cms), Grey Hypocolius is a migratory bird found in controlling agents to keep the population under northern Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and western India control. They are between 3 mm and 23 mm in size with their (central Asian countries).” colour varying from bright and colourful to dull. They are usually found in plants, shrubs, grasses, flowering plants, leaf The bird was spotted in Kihim in Alibag district near litter and sometimes under stones.” umbai in 1930 by Salim Ali.

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 7

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

The researchers said the spider had been found only at The macaque was found comfortably perched on the canopy Nagnur so far. The study was supported by grants from the of a huge peepal tree. The animal attracted a curious crowd Science and Engineering Research Board, Union Department on Monday and several people photographed it. of Science and Technology, and the University Grants Commission. Though the lion-tailed macaque is protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, the Forest Department 14. New species of gecko found - World appears to have ignored the entry of the endangered monkey Heritage Site of Hampi in Karnataka into human habitat, which it normally avoids.

People who saw the macaque said it appeared to be used to A new species of the day gecko, a type of lizard human presence. usually found in warm climates, has been spotted at the ruins of the World Heritage Site of Hampi in Karnataka. Found only in Silent Valley

The gecko has been named Cnemaspis adii after a young  Lion-tailed macaques are reported to be found only herpetology researcher from Hyderabad, Aditya Srinivasulu. in the Silent Valley area.

 This is the first time that day geckos have been But forest officers have records of their presence in the found in the central regions of peninsular India. Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary in . In December last, a pair was spotted near the Thenmala dam site. The discovery of the gecko and its name were published in the journal Zootaxa this month by researchers Chelmala But it remains a mystery how the lion-tailed macaque Srinivasulu, G. Chethan Kumar and Bhargavi Srinivasulu from could reach Kottiyam more than 70 km away from the the zoology wing of Osmania University in Hyderabad. Shendurney sanctuary skipping the gaze of people through thickly populated areas. There are rumours that the The lizard belongs to the family of day geckos characterized animal could have been secretly kept as a pet by by round pupils unlike regular geckos which have vertical someone not far away from where it was spotted. pupils. A couple of years ago, a spotted deer was seen on a rubber The zoologists say Hampi and surrounding areas are estate near Chathannur, which is close to Kottiyam. potentially rich in biodiversity and not much research has been done to identify new species of smaller vertebrate and  Forests south of the Periyar river are not natural invertebrates. habitats for the spotted deer

“The discovery is significant because other species of day geckos have been, so far, reported only from the Western Ghats and southern Eastern Ghats in peninsular India. This is the first time that day geckos have been found in the central regions of peninsular India between Eastern and Western Ghats.”

15. Lion-tailed macaque sighted near Kottiyam - Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary

Mystery shrouds the sighting of an adult lion tailed macaque on the Thazhuthala Maha Ganapathy Temple premises, near Kottiyam, on the outskirts of Kollam city.

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 8

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

16. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, Native to Indonesia

1960 - Two baby orangutans rescued in A.P. Orangutans, native to Indonesia, have not been bred in India. “We do not have orangutan breeding centres in Andhra Pradesh police nabbed three persons for India. The species do not have a record of breeding in Indian allegedly transporting two caged baby orangutans in a car. conditions,” G. Ramalingam, curator of the Visakhapatnam zoo, said. The car with the animals entered Andhra Pradesh through the Odisha border and passed through a toll gate near Recent incidents indicate that an international wildlife Visakhapatnam. The car is registered in the name of smuggling gang is based in Kolkata. Last year, Customs Mohammed Abdul Gaffar of Hyderabad. personnel in that city arrested a gang of 55 smugglers with several chimpanzees, marmosets, capuchin monkeys and The police, who have since sent detectives to Kolkata to many exotic birds. make more arrests, are investigating the possibility that an international wildlife trafficking racket is spreading its wings  Kolkata has been identified as a major hub for in the southern States via Kolkata and Odisha. The two wildlife trafficking, says the Wildlife Crime Control animals rescued are believed to have been smuggled across Bureau of the Union Environment, Forests and international borders. Climate Change Ministry.  West Bengal’s porous borders with Nepal, Bhutan and

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 9

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

 Bangladesh are said to be aiding wildlife smuggling. 18. Uttarakhand spring festival beckons birdwatchers  Animals are mostly transported by road in private Migratory water birds at Asan Barrage in vehicles to South Indian States, the bureau says. Uttarakhand.

 Import, trading and possession of exotic species To promote Uttarakhand as a birdwatching are illegal under the Indian Customs Act, 1960, and destination, the second spring bird festival will be organised the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. in the State in February 2015.  Sumatran and Bornean orangutan falls under Schedule 1 of the Convention on International Trade Forest Department data say the State has an amazing bird in Endangered Species. diversity with 687 species representing more than half the avifaunal diversity of India. The State government organized 17. Migratory birds visiting Rajasthan the first festival at the Asan Conservation Reserve this decling - Lesser Flamingos year.

The number of Lesser Flamingos visiting the Sambhar Lake and The 2015 venue is the Pawalgarh Conservation Reserve, adjoining water bodies in Rajasthan has declined. in the Ramnagar Forest Division of Kumaon, with over 350 species. The bird has already been declared an endangered species and put on the IUCN-Red List, the most comprehensive inventory Great slaty woodpecker, great hornbill, rufous bellied eagle, of the global conservation status of biological species. white-bellied erpornis, little pied flycatcher, bluebearded bee-eater and Nepal wren-babbler are among the The Asian Waterbird Census (AWC), conducted at the Sambhar attractions. Lake and adjoining Water bodies shown an increase in the diversity of migratory birds and a jump in the population of 19. Migratory Birds visit Chilka Lake, Odhisha other waterbirds. A flock of flamingos take flight at the Chilka lake in  Sambhar is the largest inland saline lake in the country Odisha’s Khorda district. More than 7 lakh migratory birds of and the largest Ramsar site in Rajasthan. different species visited the lake this season.

 A similar survey was conducted at the 20. Forest owlet sighted in M.P. Keoladeo Ghana National Park. Wildlife Research and Conservation Society (WRCS), The threatened species spotted include Lesser Flamingo, reported that the forest owlet (Athene blewitti), a ‘critically Eurasian Curlew and Black-tailed Godwit. Among the major endangered species’, has been sighted in ’s migratory species with larger populations are Bar-headed Betul district. Geese, Graylag Geese, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Coot, Gadwal and Common Teal, and among the resident  The owlet, endemic to Central Indian forests was said to species with a large population are Lesser Whistling be extinct in the wild when it was recently rediscovered Duck and Indian Moorhen. in 1997.

While the other migratory species found are Bar- headed Survey carried out in winter may have been the reason for the Geese, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Coot, Northern Pintail, successful sighting. Pied Avocet, Common Teal, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Gadwal and Tuff. While it has been seen mainly at the Melghat Tiger Reserve in Amravati district, the bird was also previously Other concerns: Kite flying in Rajastan killing rock pigeons, spotted in 2004 in Toranmal in Maharashtra’s Nandurbar rose-ringed parakeets, spotted owlets and barn owls. district.

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 10

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

 The owlet, endemic to Central Indian forests was said to Though the area is known as the Desert National be extinct in the wild when it was recently rediscovered Park (DNP), legally it is only a sanctuary. in 1997. The GIBs have been vanishing over the years due to Survey carried out in winter may have been the reason for the shrinking habitat. successful sighting. While changing lifestyle in the desert, and unregulated While it has been seen mainly at the Melghat Tiger human activities have endangered the species, thousands Reserve in Amravati district, the bird was also previously of windmills around the park are posing a serious threat to spotted in 2004 in Toranmal in Maharashtra’s Nandurbar the GIB which has been categorised as “critically district. endangered”.

21. Windmills spell doom for Great Indian The status of the remaining area of the DNP (notified Bustard – Desert National Park sanctuary) is still revenue land and not yet mutated in the name of Forest Department. The number of Great Indian Bustards, the State Bird of Rajasthan, is down to less than 50 according to the last There are 73 villages and 300 dhanis (hamlets) living within official census conducted in the DNP who are living without any basic amenities like 2014. water, electricity, communication lines and schools despite relaxation granted by the Supreme Court in allowing these The world population of GIB, or Gudavan as it is locally known facilities inside the protected area. as, is said to be 150 with India, particularly Rajasthan, and comprising 70 per cent of this species. Shortage of forest guards is also another issue plaguing the DNP. A couple of birds have been spotted in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh. At some point, and Bihar (In the male-dominated society of Rajasthan, where sex also had Bustards but have now lost them all. selective abortions, female infanticide and child marriages are common in rural areas, Sukhpali and her husband stand In a survey conducted by the State Forest out. Department last year, there were approximately 103 Bustards (plus-minus 69) as compared to 83 in the winter She is the only woman forest guard in the State working on the field. She guards a portion of the Desert National Park of 2013 and 34 in the summer which is the breeding season. Similarly, the year before that 94 were sighted in winter and (DNP) in the Thar Desert. She belonged to the second batch 60 in summer. of women guards hired by the Forest Department in 2013)

The desert landscape was divided into 18 grids of According to anecdotal estimates, the largest population of this bird was in Rajasthan, while it was also found in Gujarat 12x12 sq kilomteres and the bird count undertaken, including the Desert National Park spread across and Karnataka. Jaisalmer and Barmer districts. £52,000 to save the bustard  Over 90,000 Chinkaras (State animal) and 8,000 Desert Fox were also counted in the Pramod Patil, a citybased ornithologist, plans to help census. conserve the great Indian bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) with  Thar Desert is the only landscape in the world that £52,000 (about Rs. 50 lakh). provides viable breeding population to GIBs, and it was with this in mind that over 3,100 sq km of While the £35,000 prize money he got with the Whitley Award areas was notified as Protected Area and declared for his work to save the critically endangered bird has gone a sanctuary in the 1980s. into the corpus, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds of the U.K. has promised him £17,000 for his conservation efforts in the Thar desert. Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 11

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

magnification) The money will be channeled through BirdLife International, an international non-governmental organization involved in Sukhna lake, conserving birds and their habitats. 1. Avian Flu (H5N1) Echoing the urgency to protect the rapidly declining numbers of the species, Dr. Patil proposes to spend much of the money in the desert, which hosts the largest surviving population of the bird. 23. DHANAURI, PARASAUL MAY BE DECLARED WETLANDS Thar desert projects The National Green Tribunal directed Uttar “The bulk of the funds will have to be devoted to Pradesh to consider declaring Dhanauri and Parasaul in projects in the Thar desert as it is one of the last refuges of Greater Noida as wetlands. The areas are breeding grounds this great bird. But other areas that serve as a habitat for for State bird sarus crane. the bustard will certainly be covered, if and when that need arises,” says Dr. Patil, whose experience while visiting The State government has also been directed to discharge its London to receive the Green Oscar (as the Whitley Awards responsibilities under the Wetland Rules, 2010, to identify are popularly known) confirmed his views of landscape-level and submit the inventory of wetlands in U.P. within 90 days. conservation. Till the process is completed, status quo has to be ensured by Ruing the fact that the great Indian bustard, once abundantly the State government on Dhanauri and Parasaul. The State found in grasslands across the Indian subcontinent, had been had in 2009 wanted all wetlands to be listed, but nothing driven out of its habitat, Dr. Patil said poor planning and materialized. failure to involve the local community sounded the death knell for the bustard, which has been disappearing from These two places are very important for birding and nesting several protected areas. of sarus crane, the tallest flying bird in the world. Environmentalists are also fighting to save the wetlands in Solution view of Dadri facing destruction by encroachers and builders. “The focus is on decentralization as a solution to conservation, disbursing funds and decision- making at the local-level instead of merely vesting authority with the 24. Trees felled in Surajpur wetland government,” he said. The wetlands in Uttar Pradesh continue to be in a An optimistic sign, though only slightly so, on the horizon was deplorable state. After the Dadri wetland, which has the recent sighting of three birds at the Great Indian Bustard become a victim of encroachment, trees in the Surajpur Sanctuary, Nannaj, in the semi-arid district of Solapur of wetland are purportedly being felled and sold off as timber. Maharashtra. Despite being an important haunt of bustards, the sanctuary Surajpur wetland has the protection status of a reserved has seen a decline in numbers of the bird. forest area. Falling under the jurisdiction of the Greater Noida Development Authority, it is an urban wetland. Surajpur is not only a wetland but also a reserved forest area. Any activity 22. In news: inside a reserved forest area requires permission from the Centre.

Sultanpur National Park, 25. zoo renamed after the last

1. Bird flu killing coots (seed eating birds) Nawab

2. Probably seeds sprayed with pesticides (bio- In a “historic” decision, the Samajwadi Party

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 12

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

government has renamed the Lucknow Prani Udyan, Biodiversity hotspots popularly known as Lucknow zoo, as “Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Prani Udyan, Lucknow,” making it the first official According to scientists of the BSI, the Western Ghats move-since Independence - to name a monument after a accounted for 22 per cent of the new discoveries, while the Nawab of Oudh, or Avadh (roughly corresponding with Eastern Himalayas and the north-eastern States each Central Uttar Pradesh ). accounted for 15 per cent of the species found. In Arunachal Pradesh alone, 25 species of seed plants were Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was the last Nawab of Oudh before the discovered. province was annexed by the British under the policy of Doctrine of Lapse in 1856. He was banished to Matia Burj in At the ZSI, 176 new species were added to the list of animals Bengal. of India. These include 93 species of insects, seven species of collembolans, 12 species each of arachnidan and Another first was the decision to rename the Nawabganj Bird crustacean and one species of mollusca. Sanctuary in Unnao district after revolutionary freedom fighter Chandra Shekhar Azad. Reptiles too Interestingly, two species of reptiles have also been The bird sanctuary will now be known as “Shaheed located for the first time in the country Chandra Shekhar Azad Pakshi Vihar, Nawabganj.” Though — one in and another in Madhya Chandra Shekhar Azad was born in Alirajpur district in Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh (July 23, 1906), his father, Sitaram Tiwari, belonged to Badarka “As in the previous year, insects outnumbered other animal village in Unnao district. It was on account of his parental groups this year also. But surprisingly, a large number of ties with Unnao district that the bird sanctuary has been amphibians and fish made it to the list with 24 and 23 new named after him. species respectively.” While most of the new species of amphibians were  The Lucknow Zoo was established in 1921 and was discovered from the Western Ghats, majority of fish species named after England’s Prince of Wales as “Prince of were from north-east India. Wales Zoological Gardens.” It was renamed as Lucknow Prani Udyan on June 4, Scientists of both BSI and ZSI agree that the Western Ghats 2001. and the northeast are biodiversity hotspots where most new 26. India richer by 349 new species species were found. Apart from the new species, the BSI has also added 105 new records and ZSI 61 ‘new records.’ Animals and plants that are found elsewhere in the world  Bananas, jamun and orchids among new discoveries but have been spotted in India for the first time are called ‘new records.’ Scientists and taxonomists of the country have discovered 349 new species of flora and fauna in the Last year, 614 new species of plants and animals — 366 past one year — 173 species and genera of plants and 176 plants and 248 animals — were discovered. “It is natural that species of animals. with every passing year, the number of new discoveries will decrease.” The list of new discoveries by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) and the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), were released In India, 96,891 species of animals and 47,791 species of plants on the World Environment Day on June 5. have been recorded so far.

“Of the new plants, some of the significant findings 27. Capturing the life forces of Western include nine new taxa of wild Musa (bananas), four species of Ghats black plum (jamun), three species of wild gingibers and 10 species of orchids.” Another film-maker from Chennai bagging an award at the 62nd national film awards has gone unnoticed.

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 13

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

For engagingly revealing the rare and incredible biodiversity  KFD is caused by the Kyasanur Forest Disease Virus of the Western Ghats, Nalla Muthu Subbiah has bagged (KFDV). The virus was identified in 1957 when it was the Rajat Kamal award for the best exploratory film. Quite isolated from a sick monkey from the Kyasanur Forest in fittingly, the film is titled ‘Life Force – India’s Western Ghats’. Karnataka (formerly Mysore State). Interestingly, Mr. Subbiah began his career as a highspeed cameraman filming rockets in the Indian Space Research Since then, between 400-500 humans cases per year have Organisation (ISRO) in the been reported. Hard ticks (Hemaphysalis spinigera) are the 1980s. reservoir of the KFD virus and once infected, remain so for life. “We used to film the flights of flamingos and pelicans in slow motion. The inputs were used in rocket design,” he recalls.  Rodents, shrews, and monkeys are common hosts for KFDV after being bitten by an infected tick, KFDV can That is when he began blending his love for birds, science and cause epizootics with high fatality in primates. technology. Soon, he started working in the Indian Films Division, but quit at the height of television boom to make Transmission to humans may occur after a tick bite or contact the series ‘Living on the edge’ for Doordarshan. with an infected animal, most importantly a sick or recently dead monkey. No person-to-person transmission has been Soon, he started his own production company and went into described. the wild, growing fond of filming tigers. For Life Force, his team filmed extensively in the Western Ghats, covering 10  Disease as of now was stated to be endangered species like Lion-tailed Macaque, Great transmitted through monkeys. Indian Hornbill, Slender Loris and Purple Frog. Large animals such as goats, cows, and sheep may become “Slender Loris, an elusive primate, is an astonishing species. infected with KFD but play a limited role in the transmission We have shot how they carry baby cubs,” says Mr. Nalla of the disease. Muthu, still captivated by the images from the nightvision cameras he used to capture this nocturnal species. There is no evidence of disease transmission via the unpasteurised milk of any of these animals. The team camped in makeshift machaans and hid itself on trees at 200-feet height to capture the Great Indian Hornbill. They waited for 40 days in the Silent Valley for the chick to 29. Florida panther who helped ensure come out and fly for the first time. Mr. Subbiah has earlier species’ survival dies bagged the national award for best cinematography and best environment film for his wildlife documentary A Florida panther whose birth 16 years ago helped ensure ‘Tiger Dynasty’, which followed the life of a tigress the survival of her species has died. translocated from Ranthambore to . The body of the big cat known as Panther 191 was found in Now, he is following the life of world famous tigress the Big Cypress National Preserve in Southwest Florida, where Machili of Ranthamhore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. she lived .

28. NCDC team in to study Kyasanur 30. Robin soars as Britain’s choice of Forest Disease national bird A team from the National Centre for Disease Control Robin, ‘the pious bird with the scarlet breast’ (NCDC), Delhi, is presently in Goa carrying out detailed investigation of the outbreak Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) Chosen we know not how and why, but most countries have and also give expertise in prevention and control measures an avian representative that becomes a cultural symbol. in the affected areas. Already four persons have died of the Britain woke up to the idea rather late, and all thanks to disease in north Goa’s in Valpoi taluk. ornithologist, television presenter and blogger David Lindo.

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 14

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

dilemma”, scientists said. The red-chested avian, the bird “whom Man loves best”, was initially part of a group of 10 common British birds selected The surprising study, reported by online US journal mBio, from a list of 60 in a preliminary vote. examined 45 giant pandas over the course of a year and found that the animals appeared to have a digestive system The robin soared above other contenders taking 34 per “entirely differentiated from other herbivores”. cent of the vote, followed by the barn owl and blackbird at 12 and 11 per cent. Robins sing at all times of the day and nearly Instead, the pandas still retained the gut bacteria of the all year round, and “despite their cute appearance ... are omnivorous bears they evolved from, the report’s summary aggressively territorial and are quick to drive away said. intruders,” says the entry in the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. “Unlike other herbivores that have successfully evolved anatomically specialized digestive systems to efficiently In the social media wave created by this bird’s election deconstruct fibrous plant matter, the giant panda still retains a however can be heard the grumbles of those who think the gastrointestinal tract typical of carnivores“. This, the report choice of an aggressive bully who looks good and speaks well said, “may adversely influence the coevolutionary fitness of sends the wrong message about Britain. this herbivore”.

Mr Lindo’s next task is to get the government to formally  Giant pandas spend up to 14 hours a day eating 12.5 recognise the little winner as the national bird. kg (27.5 pounds) of bamboo, but can digest only about 17 per cent of what they consume. 31. Songbird may be eaten to extinction “This result is unexpected and quite interesting, because it A once abundant bird in Europe and Asia is being implies the giant panda’s gut microbiota may not have hunted to near extinction because of Chinese eating habits, well adapted to its unique diet, and places pandas at an according to a study. evolutionary dilemma,” said study co-author Xiaoyan Pang from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, according to China’s The population of the yellow- breasted bunting has state-run Xinhua news agency. plunged by 90 percent since 1980, all but disappearing from Eastern Europe, Japan and parts of Russia, said the study,  Pandas, whose natural habitat lies in published in the Conservation Biology journal. mountainous southwestern China, have a notoriously low reproductive rate and are under pressure from factors Following initial population declines, China in 1997 banned such as habitat loss the hunting of the species, known there as the “rice bird”. However, millions of these songbirds were still being killed for 33. Leopard Census food and sold on the black market as late as 2013, said the study. After a delay of seven years, the Uttarakhand forest It said consumption of these birds has increased as a result of department, in collaboration with the Dehradun based Wildlife Institute of India (WII), will conduct a fresh census economic growth and prosperity in East Asia, with an of leopards in the State this year. estimate in 2001 claiming one million buntings were consumed in China's Guangdong province alone A. Leopard deaths in accidents are increasing : 32. Giant Pandas: Waynad Wildlife Sanctuary

‘Giant pandas have not evolved to eat bamboo’ Despite A five-year-old leopard was run over and killed by an two million years of munching almost exclusively on unidentified vehicle on the Kozhikode- Mysore National bamboo, the giant panda’s gut has not adapted to eating Highway 212 inside the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) the plant — putting the creatures in an “evolutionary at Muthanga on the - Karnataka border.

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 15

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

extends up to Sariska National Park. A male spotted deer was killed in another road accident on the NH-212 at Arupathinalu near Moolamkavu under the The Aravalli area, which has a good leopard habitat and is WWS. rich in floral and faunal diversity, is also exploited by human greed, mainly because of its proximity to Delhi. A wild boar and a spotted deer were killed in similar accidents a few weeks ago in the vicinity. C. Need to minimise human interference

B. Leopard cub dies in road accident : Aravalli “As many as four roads, including two highways, pass forest through the bifurcating the natural habitat of the leopard. And two more roads — Kundli-- An eight-month-old female leopard was found dead Expressway and Dedicated Freight Corridor — passing on Gurgaon- road near the toll plaza. through the mountain range are in the pipeline. Neither the departments concerned have provided safe passages to the One of the big reasons for the leopards to come on the animals to cross these roads nor have signages been put for roads is the encroachments in the Aravalli forest. A large the motorists to drive slow in this area. Ideally, barricades number of farmhouses have come up in the den of wild should be put on both sides of roads at those points where the animals, proving to be a security threat for them. These possibility of these wild animals crossing the roads is more,” animals also come on the main road in search of water. said a source in the forest department.

Though States such as Gujarat and Rajasthan have declared  The Aravalli Range, the natural habitat of these big national parks in the Aravalli Range to protect the wildlife, cats, is the oldest fold mountains in India. wildlife activists’ demand for a sanctuary in has long been overlooked. The northern end of the range continues as isolated hills and rocky ridges into Haryana, ending in Delhi. The Wildlife activists believe that certain measures can certainly be undulating hills of Aravalli not only provide unbelievable taken to prevent and reduce future face-offs between humans natural ambience, but also act as lungs for the whole and wildlife. Shortage of staff is one of the most important National Capital Region. factors affecting the wildlife wing in . In fact, some districts have no staff to protect the wildlife. Beside support to human population, the range also supports the important and already exhausted faunal diversity (as established by wildlife census report 2012 which “Besides recruiting more staff, there is a need to minimise found seven carnivores species on Aravalli Range). human interference in the range. Hilly and adjacent areas of Aravallis, rich in fauna, can be closed to any human According to wildlife observers, leopards are very shy and are interference. Delineation of such an area is a time-consuming the most adaptable of the large cats and typify wildlife that exercise and can be completed with the active help of lives outside forests. some non-government organization of repute and expert institutes. Further, the delineated area should be Leopards have always lived outside forests, be it tea gardens, acquired and declared as Protected Area. Wildlife fringes of forests, in croplands and they have been reported conservation was not possible without the active involvement even from urban areas. of the local population.

“Four-five people from such selected villages, which are close A ban on mining by the Supreme Court a few years ago in the to Aravalli, should be hired and trained to deal wildlife Aravalli area led to an improved habitat which is the primary emergencies so that the situation can be dealt with promptly factor for leopard survival. and timely. They are also to be provided with some basic material needed for such operations.” The importance of this area is also increased by the fact that it is surrounded by Asolla Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary on Delhi “A rescue team with a veterinary doctor, two wildlife trained side and a continuous Aravalli chain in Rajasthan which people and a driver and a helper should be provided at each

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 16

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015 district headquarter.” Points to remember 34. Lions’ roar grows louder in Gir - Gir wildlife 1. India has 70% of tiger population in the world

sanctuary 2. 2010-2014 = 30% increase (1706 --> 2226)

3. Largest increase = Western Ghats Landscape Complex There is more good news for wildlife enthusiasts in India. After a tiger census earlier this year found a jump in (Mudumalai, Bandipur, Nagarhole and Wayanad) the numbers of the big cat, the population of Asiatic lions too 4. 18 states & 47 tiger reserves has been found to have increased considerably in the Gir 5. Sunderbans = no increase; Odisha = fall in number; wildlife sanctuary — from 411 during the last census in 2010 Karnataka = highest population (absolute number) to 523 in 2015. 6. Project Tiger, 1973 Gujarat government is taking all measures to conserve the forests in Gir and ensure that the habitat of the pride of Other issues Gujarat is undisturbed. 1. National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)  The Gir forest is the only place in the whole of 2. Double sampling; use of camera traps = Asia where the Asiatic lion is now found. to estimate the assessment & distribution of tigers 3. Demand for Indian tigers in Laos & The lion census, conducted by over 100 enumerators over Cambodia five days. The enumerators found 109 adult males 109, 4. ANTI-POACHING 201adult females, and 213 cubs and sub-adults distributed across four A. PERIYAR TIGER RESERVE WINS NTCA AWARD districts — Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Amreli, and Bhavanagar.  Camera traps are set up by the Wildlife Institute of Pat for Maldharis India (WII) and the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, India (WWF) Members of the Maldhari community living next to the Simlipal Tiger Reserve - Mayurbanj, Odisha forest area had been of great assistance to the Forest Department in their conservation efforts. Under a Satpura, Pachmari, Panna Tiger Res, & Kanha government programme, some 300 Vanya prani saathis National Park/Tiger Reserve - MP (friends of the forest animals) had been recruited to ensure that lions were not attacked if they strayed into any nearby 4 Tiger Reserves of TN - Anamalai Tiger Reserve Kallakad - villages. Mundanturai Tiger Res. Sathyamangalam Tiger Res. Madhumalai Tiger Res. In order to avoid the danger of overestimation, new methods were adopted. The enumerators were GPS enabled and only Fully grown tigress was reportedly found dead with its recorded lions when they saw them physically and not through tooth and nails missing in the buffer zone of the pugmarks or any other signs like hearing a roar, the results Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh’s Umeria are accurate. district.

Recently, Member of Parliament Parimal Nathwani had raised Solutions- the question whether the lion would replace the tiger as the 1. Effective tackling of poaching national animal. 2. Positive attitude of wildlife services 3. For long term survival, movement of tigers are essential (corridors between forests + landscape scale management) 35. Tiger Census "Status of Tigers in India"  Tiger population increased (Recent tiger census, 2014 - Census once in 4yrs) published by MoE&F

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 17

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

Periyar Tiger Res., Kerala won NTCA biennial award tarred roads and relocation of eight villages from the core area of the reserve. The relocation has been due since 1984. Once For encouraging local pub participation in managing reserve that is done, an inviolate area of 300 sq.km will be Tribal people dependent on eco- development programmes available for breeding, the study noted. Community based eco-tourism activities + night scouting programmes CCMB Director Ch. Mohan Rao says reproductive studies in Tourism was supplemented by pepper growing & marketing endangered species are immensely useful in developing SHGs were involved in honey processing breeding protocols and creating stress-free habitats for tigers & other income-generating activities and other wild animals.

B. Sariska Tiger Res in Rajasthan: Stress takes a C. NGT on illegal mining/quarrying in toll on tigers in Sariska Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve

High stress levels in tigers, caused by human activity, Over three dozen illegal quarries on the fringes of the have affected their breeding in the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR), which for years have Rajasthan, a study says. been the source of polluting stone dust and constant din, will have to now close down operations. Tigers were reintroduced in the Sariska and Panna tiger reserves after poaching, habitat loss and prey depletion made The National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) Southern Bench has them extinct in those protected areas. As part a species ordered the closure of 39 quarries operating in recovery programme, tigers were reintroduced between within the “no development zone” (10-km radius) of the 2008 and 2010 in Sariska and 2009 and 2013 in Panna. tiger reserve – the largest in the State.

While the reintroduced tigers have given birth at regular D. SC refuses to lift night ban - Bandipur intervals in Panna, it is not so in Sariska, though the tigers have been mating. This led to a study by scientists from the Tiger Reserve Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES) of the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular The Supreme Court refused to lift the night ban on Biology (CCMB); the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), vehicles plying through Bandipur Tiger Reserve, which links Dehradun; and the Endocrine Research Laboratory, Mysuru to parts of Kerala. National highways 212 and 67 Department of Anatomy and Physiology, University of (both passing through ) will remain Pretoria, South Africa. closed in the night.

Govindhaswamy Umapathy from LaCONES, in collaboration Evoking its 2013 ban on tourists taking the Andaman Nicobar with Kalyanasundaram Sankar of the WII, studied the stress Trunk Road that passes through Jarawa tribe habitats, the responses of the reintroduced tigers in relation to human court had then stopped commercial and tourism activities disturbance. within 5 km of the tribal reserve in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. They used a non-invasive approach to study stress by monitoring faecal glucocorticoid (fGCM) metabolite A study by the Wildlife Conservation Foundation had pointed concentrations in the tigers over 18 months and collected out that 65 per cent of wildlife road- kills were recorded in 120 samples. It was found that 80 per cent of the 881-sq.km the night. Sariska reserve had some kind of disturbance, such as livestock movement, woodcutting and human and vehicular E. NH 7 – Pench and Kanha Tiger movement, elevating fGCM concentrations in the monitored Reserve tigers. National Highway 7 slices crucial corridor forests between Dr. Umapathy says prolonged stress might have affected Pench and Kanha Tiger Reserves in Central India. reproduction. The study recommended regulation of vehicular traffic, shifting of artificial waterholes away from In mountains, roads may lead to severe forest destruction, Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 18

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015 landslides, and erosion, as seen everyday during road elephants died while desperately trying to save their calves construction in many parts of the Himalayas and the Western from a railway line in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri; other Ghats. herd members, in attempting to save each other, also died.

Power lines also kill unknown numbers of wildlife everyday. In the case of NH 7, an alternative already exists in the form Poachers draw live wires to kill animals such as rhino and deer, of NH 69. Passing through Chhindwara and Nagpur, this while accidental electrocution kills many species from birds highway can be upgraded and lengthened to roughly 70 such as Sarus cranes and flamingos to elephants and bison. kilometres more. Railways, too, take their toll, gaining attention only when large Under its recent compilation of milestones, the MoEF lists animals such as elephants are killed along the tracks. The daily clearing projects, including construction and widening of NH death of wildlife shows that linear projects are undertaken 31 (in West Bengal) and NH 13 (Maharashtra) as with scant attention to conservation needs. achievements.

Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh: the playground for F. Three new havens for tigers - Ratapani in Rudyard Kipling’s man-cub Mowgli, the site for one of India’s Madhya Pradesh, Sunabeda in Odisha and most impressive tiger landscapes in India, and the location for the proposed expansion of a newer, wider, National Highway Guru Ghasidas in Chhattisgarh (NH).  Centre is set to form three new tiger reserves. In-principle The National Highways Authority of India wants to widen NH 7 into a four lane highway in areas where it passes through approval has been accorded by the the Pench Tiger Reserve, and in the living corridor between the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for Pench and Kanha Tiger Reserves. With sal forest cover creation of reserves in Ratapani in Madhya Pradesh, packed with tigers and their prey, this dense and enigmatic Sunabeda in Odisha and Guru Ghasidas in Chhattisgarh, Union forest complex is one of the most well known in the country. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar informed the Taking suo moto note of the poor condition of the road, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court ordered tree-felling Odisha is among the States where the tiger population has for expanding and widening (not just repairing) the highway, dwindled. The NTCA also accorded final approval to a for which many trees have been cut. And this was done proposal to declare National Park in Karnataka without even requisite clearances. and Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand as tiger reserves.

Roads also bring with them ancillary threats such as more Seeking to provide more protected spaces for the endangered cars, and light and air pollution. Last month, a rare animal, a species, State governments have been asked to send black leopard, was found dead on NH 4 in Khindwadi in Satara conservation proposals for the following areas: Suhelwa in district of Maharashtra. Uttar Pradesh, Mhadei in Goa, Srivilliputtur Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary/ Meghamalai Wildlife Sanctuary/ Before this, in Jim Corbett National Park, barely seen animals Varushanadu Valley in Tamil Nadu, Dibang in Arunachal such as leopard cats were found dead on major roads. Pradesh and Cauvery-MM Hills in Karnataka.

For all their agility and velocity, cats are not good at averting G. ‘Ustad’ (man eating Tiger) escapes cage by a road collisions. Tigers freeze when light falls on them. Even in whisker – Ranthambore Tiger Reserve daylight most animals are unable to estimate the speed and the size of a car hurtling down the road. As a result, thousands of animals die on the roads each year. ‘Ustad’ or ‘T-24’, the ‘man-eating’ tiger of Ranthambore, escaped a caged life in a zoo by a whisker when the Supreme Court decided that he would continue to stay in the Sajjangarh Animals move in herds and have deep bonds; they suffer Biological Park (Rescue Centre) at Udaipur in Rajasthan for distress beyond just the death of a herd or family member. now. For instance, in a recent case in Assam, elephants blocked a highway after a young one was run over. Earlier, mother Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 19

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

‘Ustad’ was branded a ‘man-eater’ after he mauled to lot of oil content.” death a forest guard. Within days of the incident, he was drugged and translocated 530 km from Ranthambore to the The fish has a thoracic adhesive apparatus that helps it Udaipur park, considered a rescue centre. cling on to the rocky riverbed in mountains against strong currents. All Glyptothorax-genus fish have this characteristic. But for the tiger, now caught in transit between his natural habitat and a zoo, a return to the Ranthambore forest, to his Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, an international female companion and her cubs, is still a long way off. journal published from Germany, recorded the new species in March, with Mr. Kosygin, Nongthombam Prema nanda and 36. Bhagabatpur Crocodile Project, mid- Bano Saidullah authoring the paper. 1970s Scientists say the Northeast has a rich aquatic biodiversity,  Bhagabatpur, next to uninhabited Lothian with 361 of the 816 fish species found in India present there. Island, Sunderbans archipelago

Several important species of catfish, a diverse group of ray  Project is aimed at increasing the no. of salt water finned fish with prominent barbells resembling cat whiskers, crocodiles with the help of renowned experts in are found there. HERPETOLOGY

Manipur has a high diversity of aquatic fauna because of the  Salt Water Crocodiles, a Schedule I species under the two important river drainage systems. “The western half is Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 fed by the Barak- Brahmaputra drainage and the eastern

and central valleys are crisscrossed by the Chindwin river Concerns- drainage, and these account for the variety in the aquatic 1. Eggs to hatching ratio declined fauna.” 2. Habitat loss, habitat shrinkage 3. Over-exploitation of their prey base (mainly fish) 4. Global warming - increase of temp affecting hatching of eggs 39. Sperm whale washed ashore & sex ratio of crocodiles The carcass of a 50-feet long sperm whale was washed 37. Endangered tortoises prefer invasive plants ashore at Uyyali Kuppam village near Kalpakkam, Kancheepuram district. This is the third whale to be washed Introduced plants make up roughly half the diet of two ashore near the city in two days. subspecies of endangered Galapagos tortoise. They seem to prefer non- native to native plants, which may nourish them in Similarly, a dead dolphin (slender Spinner Dolphin) was dry season. found at Semmancherry Kuppam. Environmentalists attribute the death of the creatures to various reasons, 38. Manipur’s Ngapang revealed to world as new including being hit by vessels on the . catfish species 40. Online tool to protect blue whales  The fish has a thoracic adhesive apparatus that helps Satellite data from NASA will be used in a new online tool it cling on to the rocky riverbed in mountains against to protect endangered blue whales. strong currents.

The WhaleWatch tool, set to be released later this year by the Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will discovered a new species of catfish, Glyptothorax help decrease whale mortality due to collisions with senapatiensis, in the Chindwin river drainage in Senapati shipping and fishing gear. district of Manipur. The people of the region have been having the six-cm- long freshwater fish as food for long, calling it Ngapang. About a fourth of the roughly 12,000 blue whales in the world “It is a small but edible fish with high nutritional value and a today live in the Pacific Ocean. The tool will be used to address

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 20

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015 conflicts between humans and whales based on tagging data suggested. of four whale species and satellite observations from NASA and other agencies. Elephant squads should not be used as wildlife squads to attend to free-ranging animals as it required separate skills. “The real way to reduce the risk of a whale getting hit is to reduce the overlap (of whales and vessels),” said Monica 43. Critically endangered Vaquita DeAngelis, marine mammal scientist at NOAA. Marina, the world’s smallest porpoise

41. SC to decide on plea to ban elephants in Mexico is planning to use drones to patrol the upper Sea of temples - Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, Cortez to combat illegal fishing and save the critically 1960 endangered vaquita marina, the world’s smallest porpoise.

The petitioners are seeking a ban on the use of elephants at Vaquita’s habitat - Gulf of California, it is the only place religious functions, processions and other events. vaquitas are found.

The vaquita is threatened by illegal gillnet fishing for totoaba,  Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, which a large fish whose swim bladder is prized by chefs in China. makes it an offence to beat, torture, overload, chain or tether with a heavy or short chain.

It said scant regard was paid to the Environment and Forest 44. Back from the brink of extinction - Ministry’s guidelines of 2008, which bans captive elephants Corroboree frogs (Kosciuszko national park, from being made to walk for more than 30 km a day and Australia) not more than three hours at a stretch.

There were only four Corroboree frogs in the world at one The petition pointed out that in States like Tamil Nadu, point of time temple festivals happen in the hottest months of the year Just four frogs — two male, two female — in Kosciuszko and it was common for elephant keepers to make their national park in the southern part of New South Wales elephants walk on the hot, tarred city roads during peak summer days. This was in sheer violation of the Tamil Nadu If you’re planning on scouring a vast Australian mountain Captive Elephants (Management and range looking for what is probably the rarest frog in the world, Maintenance) Rules, 2011. scientists suggest a rudimentary approach works best.

The petition drew the court's attention to how even  Endangered southern Corroboree frog measures 'treats' given to temple elephants by devotees add to just 3.5cm in length their misery. The frogs — the females are largest and pear- shaped when 42. New drugs sought for tranquillising carrying eggs — are coloured by flashes of bright yellow as a elephants warning to predators of the toxins developed from the gobbling up of ants. But the frogs aren’t fully visible unless you Elephant darting experts have suggested the introduction of stoop down for a close look. new tranquillisers and involvement of a host of officials in mob-control measures while restive animals are being darted. Chytrid fungus has spread across six continents and has been blamed for causing the decline or extinction of around The association said though several new drugs were used 200 frog species since the 1970s. In Australia, six frog species worldwide for tranquillising wild animals, including elephants, are thought to have been wiped out by the fungus, which is many of them were still not used or available in India. New carried in water and by other and safe drugs should be used. They should be purchased The fungus causes a disease called chytridiomycosis on the and distributed by the Directorate of Animal Husbandry, it skin that fatally impairs frogs’ ability to maintain electrolyte,

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 21

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015 water and oxygen levels. “This large-scale exploitation, along with minimal information about their population status, poaching and smuggling 45. Critically endangered Pangolins trends, places the future of these lesser-known species in jeopardy,” he said. Pangolins (8 species in world; 4 in Asia) - Critically endangered - Scaly Anteaters found in Vietnam 47. Saving the shoreline of Puducherry - World's most trafficked mammals on earth - poaching is high (for eating, jewellery & medicine The beautiful beaches and shoreline of Puducherry - Chinese mkt) are facing threats of erosion owing to natural disasters, - Anteaters = prehistoric looking mammals pollution, exploitation and anthropogenic activities.

46. Outreach on social media against illegal To check such threats, the establishment of artificial reef trade of lesser-known species structure in the seawater is under the active consideration of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences and the territorial administration. (Pangolins, monitor lizards, tokay gecko, turtles and tortoises, lorises, birds, corals, sea cucumbers are some of the The Puducherry government has been taking several endangered species) efforts to restore the beach. The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) submitted a status report on ‘Management A digital media campaign on illegal trade in lesser-known of Coastal Erosion along Puducherry Coast’ to the and non-charismatic wildlife species — including Puducherry and Tamil Nadu governments. The Marine pangolins, owls and mongooses — claims to have Biology Regional Centre, Chennai, also submitted a reached out to nearly 1.4 million people on Facebook, proposal to the Department of Forests and Wildlife, Twitter and Google. Puducherry, for the establishment of artificial reef structures. The campaign, “Preserving the Future: Stop Illegal Wildlife Trade” was jointly run by TRAFFIC, WWF- India and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), a nodal agency for 48. Great Barrier Reef: Australia curbing wildlife crime in India. The Australian Greens party and 350.org and other “The growing demand for wildlife from India that threatens organisations have called for an immediate moratorium on the the existence of the tiger, elephant, rhino and various Adani Group’s proposal to dredge the Great Barrier Reef for a other flagship species has been well publicised. However, controversial coal port expansion at Abbot Point in illegal trade in non- charismatic or lesser known species like Queensland, Australia. pangolins, monitor lizards, tokay gecko, turtles and tortoises, lorises, birds, corals, sea cucumbers and others has Adani Enterprises bought the Abbot Point terminal for about $2 remained largely unreported,” said a release issued by billion in May 2011. TRAFFIC (India), which is a wildlife trade monitoring network. Great Barrier Reefs faces threat

The campaign was launched in New Delhi on the social media - Corals are eating small plastic debris in the ocean platforms of TRAFFIC’s India Office and WWF-India, and as Google Adverts in February 2015,” noted TRAFFIC - Great Barrier Reef is a World- Heritage Site

India head Shekhar Kumar Niraj. - Plastic, CC, poor water quality from land based run-offs,

Dr. Niraj added that hundreds of pangolins, lizards and coastal developments & fishing tortoises are poached each year in India; nearly 7,00,000 birds illegally trapped, and several tonnes of sea cucumbers Solution caught, yet the levels of exploitation of these species are A new technique involves injecting gas into the stratosphere, rarely reported. forming microscopic particles which reflect some of the sun's energy and so help limit rising sea surface temperatures, Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 22

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015 saving corals.  The Adelie penguin is one of the most easily 49. Australia lobbying to stop Great identifiable penguin species with its blue black back and Barrier Reef making ‘in danger’ list white chest and belly. It is the smallest penguin found in the Southern Ocean. Australia has embarked on a “whole of government” During winter, the birds migrate north only to return in diplomatic and ministerial lobbying campaign to correct summer months, Dr. Balan said. “misinformation” and prevent the Great Barrier Reef from being placed on the UNESCO world heritage committee’s “in The CMLRE had earlier surveyed the ice-free areas of the danger” list, a Senate committee has been told. Indian Ocean sector of the Ocean during the austral ummer of 2004. Researchers had then identified Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis), fin whales (B. physalus), sei A total of 21 countries provide representatives to UNESCO’s whales (B. borealis) and blue whales (B. musculus). World Heritage committee, and the group is set to gather in Bonn in June to decide, among other things, whether the Adelies are a highly migratory species. After breeding, they do reef should be put on the endangered list. not return to their colonies until the next spring. They feed on krill and fish. Little is known about the non-breeding The 21 countries include India, Jamaica, Japan, Portugal and distribution of this species. Records on the migration of Germany. Adelies, commonly sighted in the Antarctic coast, into the Southern Ocean almost 5 degree North are significant, said M. 50. Chile: forest fire threatens historic port city Sudhakar, director CMLRE, who led the first Indian expedition to SO in 2004. Chile declared a state of emergency and ordered the evacuation of up to 16,000 people as a raging forest fire led The Southern Ocean accounts for about 10 per cent of the to at least one death and threatened the historic port city of world’s oceans and supports more than 50 per cent of the Valparaiso. world’s marine mammal biomass, including six species of pinnipeds, eight species of baleen whales, and at least The fire started in an area of grassland and pine forest near a seven species of odontocete whales. major thoroughfare connecting Valparaiso — a UNESCO world heritage site once dubbed “the jewel of the Pacific” The seas around Antarctica are home to a rich and diverse — with several villages. group of species that have evolved some unique ways of coping with the cold and hence represent a unique polar 51. Migratory spotting throws up an marine ecosystem. Adelie surprise

Explorations in the Southern Ocean (SO) have yielded a pleasant surprise to marine scientists. A young marine scientist from the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE), Kochi, has sighted Adelie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) nearly 500 km away from Les Kerguelen Island in the Southern Ocean, on their its migratory route.

Anoop Balan, the scientist who studied the marine mammals of the Southern Ocean, spotted juveniles and adult swimming and feeding during the expedition.

International experts have communicated that there are very few pelagic records of the birds in this region, this far north. Observations were made on board Ocean Research Vessel Sagar Nidhi, he said. Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 23

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 24

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

3. Camphor-scented leaves found in PLANTS Western Ghats

1. Neela Kurinji found in W.Ghats A new tree species that gives out strong smell of camphor when its leaves and stem are crushed has been Plant Harmones/florigens reported from southern Western Ghats. Gibberellins IAA The species, which is endemic to the Ghats region of Kerala, Cytokinins was named as Cinnamomum agasthyamalayanum after the Ethylene type locality, Agasthyamala hills, from where it was reported.

 Neela Kurinji in W.Ghats blooms once in 12yrs (certain The find attains significance as this is considered the only Bamboos bloom once in hundred years) endemic species that gives out the smell of camphor. Now, the challenge is to find out whether camphor can be (The period between each flowering season is called the distilled from the plant at commercially viable level. While Oscillatory period) natural camphor is extracted by distilling the leaves and bark of Cinnamomum camphora, a native to China, Taiwan, Neela Kurinji is found in Shola forests, W.Ghats & Nilgiri Hills, southern parts of Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, it is also S.India synthetically produced.

Gregarious flowering plants = dies immediately after producing Camphor oil is extracted by steam from the chipped seeds. wood, root stumps and branches of the camphor tree. It is then rectified under vacuum and filter pressed, explained Phytochromes (receptors present in leaves) scientists.

2. New species highlight ’s Camphor has a wide range of medicinal applications especially in Ayurveda. Camphor has pain-relieving effect. It plant diversity is an ingredient in a few externally applied oils to relieve muscle spasm. It also has mild mucolitic property and can A team of scientists from four research institutions in Kerala reduce bronchospasm. It is also used in mild dosage in has reported the discovery of a rare species of plant from the internal medicines. Palakkad gap region of the Western Ghats, highlighting the floral diversity in the region and triggering the demand for Cinnamomum agasthyamalayanum was found distributed strict curbs on quarrying in biodiversity pockets. between Attayar and Chemungi of Agasthyamala in . Isolated populations were also The team came across the plant in a quarry during an recorded from Rosemala in of Kerala. The exploration of the Nenmara region south of Palakkad in the finding was recently published in the International Journal of valley of the Nelliyampathy hills. Advanced Research. Though Cinnamomum camphora would grow in Indian climatic conditions, it need not yield Detailed studies established it as a new species. Named camphor at commercially viable levels. Oldenlandia dineshi, the plant is a shrub with long linear tapering leaves and dark blue flowers. The new species can grow up to 8 metres in the dense wet evergreen forests of the Ghats at an altitude between 500m The flowering period is from July to September and fruiting and 1400m, said scientists. It was found “distributed in the from September to October. windward evergreen forests of Agasthyamalai

phytogeographical region of southern Western Ghats. The Based on IUCN criteria, the researchers have classified population was found to be very low in all regions which were Oldenlandia dineshii as an endangered species. surveyed.

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 25

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

4. Plant genus named after Sir David chlorophyll so their stems are usually white or yellow. They Attenborough either lack leaves or have rudimentary leaves. Examples include dodder and Rafflesia. Grasshoppers, shrimps, spiders and other creatures have all been named after Sir David Attenborough, but now a whole 6. Light pollution shown to affect plant growth genus of endangered plants will bear the naturalist’s name. Artificial night time light from sources such as street lamps affects the growth and flowering of Identified by a team of researchers in Gabon, a renowned plants and even the number of insects that depend on those botanical hot spot, the Sirdavidia flowering plants are believed plants for food, a study confirms. to be the first plant genus named after the broadcaster (“Life on Earth”). Wetlands & Mangroves

5. How do non-green coloured leaves in a plant 1. Haryana to mark 500-metre buffer zone for photosynthesise? Mangar Bani: sacred grove We all know that most plants are green. This green colour is caused by the presence of green chlorophyll pigments After nearly seven years of debate, the Mangar Bani found in the leaves which are involved in photosynthesis. forest area of Faridabad has finally got the protection it rightly deserves. The National Capital Region Planning Board These pigments capture light energy from the sun which is (NCRPB) approved a buffer zone of 500 metres around the used to fuel photosynthesis. Plants need photosynthesis to sacred grove against the earlier proposed restriction of just make energy in the form of sugars. Even the green leaves 60 metres. often contain non- green pigments, such as carotenoids and xamthophylls, in addition to green chlorophylls in the plastids Environmentalists called it “a major decision towards of their cells. There are many plants with non-green leaves in preserving the last virgin forest”, but at the same time which anthocyanins the purple cytoplasmic pigments that are remained wary of the concept of “urbanisable areas” which present in such large amount which can mask the green colour they fear is “blanket exclusion” for defining Natural of the chlorophyll and make the plant appear purple. But the Conservation Zones (NCZs). photosynthesis is still happening underneath. This is because of the presence of chlorophyll pigments. Haryana Chief Minister decided to stick to the 500 metre “No Construction Zone” after he did a three-hour long aerial Even in chlorophyll there are different kinds based on inspection in his chopper. molecular structure and wavelength absorption. Only those plants which have Chlorophyll-a (Ch-a) can do photosynthesis After looking at the dense green cover from Mangar Bani to as only Ch-a in the reaction centre of photo-system is the Western Ridge of the Aravalis, he acknowledged the dense involved in the transfer of light energy into chemical energy, forests in the entire stretch. the essential process of light reaction of photosynthesis. Carotenoids and xanthophylls have only accessory and 2. Drying Okhla wetlands protective functions: they help harvest the light energy and pass it to Chlorophyll-a, they help dissipate the excess Environmentalists have cautioned against the drying up of light and they quench reactive oxygen species and hence they wetlands at the Okhla Bird Sanctuary. Ecologists warn have antioxidant, protective function. that Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department's bid to replace Okhla Barrage sluice gate is harming the natural habitat of the This is the case found in non-green algae which synthesis birds. their food by doing photosynthesis. In addition to the principle pigments, the non-green algae contain Chlorophyll- “The authorities move to replace the sluice gates of Okhla as in their chromatophores. Barrage is drying up the wetlands which is causing habitat destruction and forcing migratory birds as well resident birds There are a few hundred parasitic plant species that lack to leave.”

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 26

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

The temporary marshland attracted few wader species like the As much as 1,607 hectares of the eroded area had vegetation, pied avocet, marsh sandpiper, blackt tailed godwit and says the study comparing satellite data from February of 2003 ruff. Mixed flocks of winter migratory ducks like northern and 2014. shoveler, common pochard, Eurasian wigeon, black-headed gull, garganey, common teal, ruddy shelduck, bar- headed During the 10 years, 216 hectares of landmass had been geese and greater flamingo which usually stay till end of March added, of which 121 hectares has green vegetation. or mid April have already left. Environmentalists say that from April onward breeding season The Eastern Zone Bench of the National Green Tribunal, which starts for the resident water birds (spot billed duck, is hearing a case of environmental violations in the purple swamp hen, little grebe, purple heron, common Sunderbans, directed holding the study. moorhen, white-breasted water hen, black-crowned night heron, oriental darter, black-winged stilts) as well few Indian The study shows that about 95.14 per cent of the green cover migratory birds (lesser whistling duck, streaked weaver) has not undergone gone any change, while fresh vegetation in the sanctuary. has come up in 1.1 per cent of the entire area.

“This drying process will completely disturb them and also The satellite mapping, which has not gone into the details of force these birds to abandon the sanctuary skipping their the reason for loss of green cover, says the depletion may be annual breeding,” Mr. Roy said. He added that similar due to natural and anthropogenic (human intervention) disturbance happened earlier during winter migratory season processes. of 2010. The 9,600-sq.km Indian Sunderbans is highly susceptible to coastal erosion and coastal land dynamics. A recent World 3. Sunderbans facing population Bank report pointed out that the carrying capacity of the pressure: report landmass had exceeded with the population density of over 1,000 a sq.km. The ISRO study once again The carrying capacity of the Indian Sunderbans has highlighted that the Sunderbans was a very fragile and been exceeded, and the increased population is exerting dynamic landscape. pressure on the fragile and richest ecosystem of the world, a World Bank report has said. 5. Millions at risk from sea rise in

Report name - “Building resilience for sustainable Sundarbans evelopment of the Sunderbans” Seas are rising more than twice as fast as the global average Sunderbans Concerns in the Sundarbans, where some 13 million Indians and 1. Encroachment of forestland & unauthorised Bangladeshis live. Much of the Sundarbans could be constructions underwater in 15-25 years. 2. Violations of the Coastal Regulation Zone 3. Conversion of mangrove forestland for fisheries & other Satellite images reveal ocean acidification unauthorised structures The use of satellites orbiting the Earth some 700 km above to 4. 15 depts are in charge of Sunderbans but there is no monitor ocean acidification is set to revolutionize the way coordination among them Solution NGT directed Govt of West that marine biologists and climate scientists study the ocean. Bengal to constitute a committee to oversee the issue 6. Impact of climate change to be 4. Sunderbans losing green cover and land examined in Sunderbans mass, says ISRO study The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has proposed to The Indian Sunderbans has lost 3.71 per cent of its mangrove set up long-term permanent monitoring plots in Sunderbans, and other forest cover, while losing 9,990 hectares of its a world heritage site, having maximum mangrove cover in landmass to erosion in one decade, according to a satellite the world to study the impacts of climate change on its analysis conducted by the Indian Space Research Organisation. flora and fauna.

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 27

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

“The purpose of setting up the long-term permanent While the forest cover has decreased by 176 sq km in Madhya monitoring plots in Sunderbans is to come up with a Pradesh and 53 km in Chhattishgarh, it has increased by 496 strategic action plan for Sunderban Mangroves, along sq km in and 446 sq km in Bihar. with finding out ways to mitigate the effect of climate change.” There has been an increase of 31 sq km of ‘very dense’ forest cover ‘moderately dense’ forest has decreased by 1,991 sq The ZSI has set up a similar long-term permanent monitoring km while ‘open forests’ have increased by 7,891 sq km, system in Andaman Nicobar islands along with Malvan putting the overall increase at 5,871 sq km. coast in Maharashtra to study the impacts of climate change of coral reefs. Naming of Cyclones (water/wind or lightening, flowers/birds/precious stones) 7. Phenology 1. First cyclone was named in 2004 The ZSI is collaborating with the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) to study phenology (periodic life cycle events of 2. The system of naming cyclones was formalised in 2000 by plants influenced by variations of climate) of the flora of the WMO & ESCAP Sunderbans. 3. Aila, 2009 - Maldives (fire); Phailin, 2013 - Thailand Scientists at the ZSI said that research is in tune with the (Saphire); Hud Hud, 2014 - Oman (Bird); policies of the Government of India. Recently the Ministry of Nilofar - Pakistan (Water lily/lotus) Environment of Forest has changed its name to Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change with a mandate to study the climate change and mitigate its effects. 9. Mission Mangroves in Sri Lanka

8. India’s forest cover up by 5,871 sq km More than half the world’s mangroves have been lost over the last century, but all of those surviving in Sri Of the 5,871 sq km increase in the forest cover of Lanka, one of their most important havens, are now to be protected in an unprecedented operation. The organizer of India, West Bengal accounts for nearly 64 per cent of this the project, the biggest of its kind, sees the role of women as rise, reveals the latest report of Forest Survey of India. the key to its success.

A study conducted by the Forest Survey of India  Mangroves are an important protection against climate change as they sequester up to five times more West Bengal’s forest cover has increased by 3,810 sq km, carbon than other forests, area for area. which is followed by Odisha where increase in forest cover has been 1,444 km and Kerala where the increase has They protect coastlines against flooding and tsunamis, and been about 622 sq km. provide a vital habitat for marine animals, especially crabs, shrimp and juvenile fish. West Bengal, a state with high population density, has only 18.93 percent forest cover. States from northeast like In an initiative designed to prevent any more being cut Nagaland, Arunanchal Pradesh, Tripura and Manipur, whose down in Sri Lanka and to boost some of the poorest forest cover comprises over 75 percent of the State’s communities in the world, women will be offered small loans area, have shown a decrease in forest cover. The main reason and training to start businesses. In return for the for this is attributed to the biotic pressure and shifting microloans, the cultivation in the region 15,000 women, including thousands of widows from the civil war, will be expected to stop using the trees for firewood In Andhra Pradesh, a State with 16.77 percent of its area and to guard the forests near their homes. covered by forest, there has been a decrease of 273 km of forest area. Conservationists behind the scheme, which is backed by the Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 28

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

Sri Lankan government, believe the focus on women will systems and involves women from bring huge benefits to living standards in coastal 1,500 communities. Women involved in the communities. scheme will protect mangroves by ensuring no one in their communities, or from outside, cuts down the trees. The £2.2-m initiative announced is designed to save mangroves covering 21,782 acres (8,815 ha) in 48 lagoon

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 29

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

 The seven enactments specified in Schedule 1 to the NGT & RIVER CLEANING NGT Act are – The Water Act, The Water Cess Act,

The Forest (Conservation) Act, The Air (Prevention and 1. NGT plan for Maili se Nirmal Control of Pollution Act) and The Environment Protection Act. It also lists The Public Liability Insurance Revitalisation Plan (by 2017) Act and The Biological Diversity Act.

Quick Bits: 3. NGT bans decade-old diesel vehicles in Delhi,

1. Spot fine of 5000rs (for dumping religious & NCR other wastes) Also cracks the whip on rampant unchecked construction in 2. fine of 50,000rs for dumping industrial/construction wastes Noida Extension and Gurgaon, tells dust adds to pollution on basis of polluter pay principle Stop construction if green norms not in place: NGT

3. Flood Plain monitoring for every 25yrs (Globally Builders asked to pay “compensation” of Rs. 50,000 Aggrieved over the rise in air pollution due the dust 100years) emanating from constructing and mining work, the National

Green Tribunal cracked the whip on construction companies/ 4. All industrial units must have effluent treatment plant + builders/owners asking them to pay a “compensation” of decentralised Sewage Treatment Plants Rs. 50,000 for not following environmental norms.

5. Role of Yamuna jiye Abhiyan NGO This fine will be levied on construction companies under the “Polluter Pays” principle. Also, the violator would be liable to Even though the National Green Tribunal wanted the pay Rs. 5,000 for each violation during transportation of Yamuna cleaned by 2017 through its Maile se Nirmal construction material, debris by trucks or other vehicles. It Yamuna Revitalisation Project, also directed the Delhi government to enhance the capacity 2017, government agencies involved in the work seem to be of its plant for reutilisation and recycling of construction doing nothing at the ground level. waste.

It also made clear that the responsibility of implementing the 4. Green clearances ignored for Patel statue NGT order rests not only with the Delhi Government, but also project: activists (Sardar Patel Statue on with the Centre. Sadhu Bet island on the Narmada)

2. NGT can’t settle issues on climate change, says A group of environmental activists from Gujarat has MoEF filed a petition with National Green Tribunal seeking a stay on the construction of the proposed 182 metre Sardar Patel The Ministry of Environment & Forests has said Statue on Sadhu Bet island on the Narmada. the National Green Tribunal cannot settle the issue or any application on climate change as it is a subject of The activists said the project had not obtained the international conventions and protocols. mandatory permissions required under the Environment Impact Assessment Notification and also Social Impact Section 14 of the NGT Act deals with the jurisdiction and Assessment. Moreover, the site was on an active tectonic powers of the Tribunal to settle disputes. It grants the plate in a fault line area. They said the statue was just one Tribunal the jurisdiction over all civil cases where a part of a big tourism project for which environmental and substantial question relating to environment is involved. wetland laws and safety and disaster-management norms had been given the go-by. Such questions arise out of implementation of enactments specified in Schedule 1 of the Act. The project would require extensive construction work on

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 30

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015 the active riverbed of the perennial Narmada and was STPs are developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research likely to fall within a critical wetlands area to be notified Centre (BARC) and the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010. 7. Clean Ganga project seeks corporate, NRI participation 5. ‘NGT restrictions have hit tourism in Himachal’ The Rs. 20,000 crore Namami Gange project is spread over five years and covers 41 tributaries of Ganga. The Himachal Pradesh government blamed the National Green Tribunal for imposing heavy restrictions and  The National Mission for Clean Ganga that has been environment cess on tourist taxis plying to Manali, saying the assigned the task of cleaning the river, is focussed on State is facing revenue loss despite record tourist flow after abatement of pollution and has designed its the Nepal earthquake. interventions around this.

The State government told a vacation Bench led by Justice However, it is seeking partnerships and is tailoring its A.K. Sikri that tourists for Nepal are now eying to come to projects so that state governments, local municipalities and Manali for summer, but in vain. panchayats have a stake and take ownership of the projects for sustainability.  A order from the tribunal effectively clamped down on tourism by introducing stringent curbs as a means to To speed up the process of cleaning the river, the Mission prevent further pollution to the ecologically fragile has sought the participation of institutions, donors, and the Himalayan ranges. overseas Indians, business and corporate houses to donate their might and money for projects or sponsoring projects to The restrictions include payment of an environmental cess clean up the river . Already pilot projects have been launched at the rate of Rs1,000 for petrol vehicles per visit. For in eight cities. diesel vehicles, the cess is Rs 2,500. The urgent need is to bring down lean season BOD levels in The NGT order further permits only 1000 vehicles to enter the river to 10 mg/ litre/day, the Total Suspended Solid levels the Rohtang Pass a day on a first-come first- serve basis. to 10 mg/ litre/day and Total Faecal Coliform to 100 Of this, 600 can be petrol vehicles and the remaining 400 mg/litre/ day. Stopping pollutants from coming into the diesel. Ganga are a priority,’’ say senior officials of the Mission.

Donors and philanthropist agencies can take their pick in 6. Namami Ganga tackling surface pollution and can contribute, say, for river surface cleaning equipment which range from Rs. 60,000 to The Centre has proposed the setting up and Rs. 12 crores. They can sponsor improved electric or wood- maintenance of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) in all the based crematoriums. 118 cities and towns located along the Ganga in a time- bound manner to check pollution of the river. To be built and 8. Rajendra Singh, Magsaysay award winner maintained through a special purpose vehicle, these STPs - member of NGRBA will be paid for by the Centre and help plug the gaps in the - credited with rejuvenating numerous lakes & rivers across system and prevent untreated effluents from flowing into the Rajasthan Rajendra Singh expressed displeasure regarding Ganga. 'Saving Ganga'

The proposal was mooted at a review meeting on Namami Concerns Ganga. All the six States (along the Ganga) would be 1. Saving Ganga remains merely a slogan without any consulted and taken on board before going ahead with action plan or new thought setting up of the STPs. 2. River front development (like that of Sabarmati river) will slowly kill the river

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 31

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

3. Revival of river through river inter- linking projects known as endophytic — meaning they are microscopic in was a dangerous sign size and found living inside macroscopic seaweeds. (Inter-linking two rivers will kill both rivers eventually) Belonging to the species, Ulvella leptochaete, they are Commenting on the Centre’s ambitious project to interlink believed to confer ecological advantage to the host such as rivers, he says it is not a good idea. disease resistance.

Mr. Rajendra Singh has started a “Jal Jan Jodo” campaign to The discovery in the Indian Ocean gains significance spread the message of water literacy and efficiency now. because these algae may very well be an important source of anticancer compounds such as Taxol and this discovery may Role and Uses of Algae contribute in anticancer drug development.

 Taxol, or Paclitaxel, is a well known anti cancer 1. Beneficial algal species discovered drug currently in use for many cancers including ovarian cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer and pancreatic cancer. Two new bloom-forming algal species were discovered recently off the west coast of India. These two Most of the marine endophytes produce taxol, although no species have excellent carbon capture properties — ability confirmation exists for the Ulvella leptochaete. to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and reduce global warming — and are also promising candidates for use 3. Value-addition in production of ethanol from as bio fuels. macro algae

Currently, a number of research groups are working on using algae as a potential candidate for carbon sequestration As the quest for alternate sources of energy in the face of because they grow at very high rates and can absorb global warming due to fossil- fuel usage gains momentum, the atmospheric CO2. focus has turned to macro algae (sea weeds) as a source of bio-fuel. Both of the newly discovered species are endemic and bloom-forming. As they are endemic, their cultivation is A new study now demonstrates how macro algal bio mass not going to cause any environmental harm; had it been a from Gelidiella acerosa and Gracilaria dura collected from species of Atlantic or Mediterranean origin, it might Adri and Veraval on west coast of India respectively and overgrow local flora and might wreak havoc on the local Gelidium pusillum collected from Valinokam on southeast habitats — the so called bio invasion. coast of India could be used in a bio-refinery process.

Besides producing a substantial amount of bio- ethanol  Bloom forming indicates spontaneous growth. There is no (fuel), it also produces valuable byproducts such as agar, need for fertilizers/pesticides or any expensive cultivation pigments, lipids and fertilizer. systems such as photo bioreactors for their cultivation. These can grow sporadically at shorelines and can sequester A ton of fresh biomass supplies several valuable extracts like CO2. pigments —R-phycoerythrin (R-PE), R- phycocyanin (R-PC) — lipids (1-5 kg), agar or polysaccharide (28-94 kg) and fertilizer The algae species named Ulva paschima Bast, and Cladophora (over 3 kilolitres). goensis Bast were discovered by Dr. Felix Bast.

The cellulose produced, which can be as high as 2. Endophytic algae found in Indian 41.9 kg, can yield up to 17 kg of ethanol through enzymatic Ocean hydrolysis and fermentation.

A species of algae previously reported to inhabit the seas A highlight of the process is sequential extraction of the around the British Isles and the East China Sea has now been derivatives leading to full utilisation of the feedstock. found thriving in the Indian Ocean. The algae belong to a type

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 32

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

The process, developed by Dr. Biofuel production alone from seaweed resources is not cost effective if other components The study revealed that DNA sequence of this species from remain unutilized. Kerala and that from Austria had very little differences — and they evolve slowly, which suggests that the alga got Till date, the seaweed processing technologies allow introduced from Europe not very long ago. extraction of one or the maximum of two products. “The research confirmed the likelihood that the To meet the bioethanol targets, a vast sea front has to be introduction happened through clouds over ocean farmed with seaweeds for producing several hundred — a phenomenon of intercontinental species million tons of biomass for feeding biorefineries. dispersal previously reported for bacteria and fungi, but first time for alga” said the lead author, Dr. Felix Bast who  Seaweed farming is manpower intensive and thus works at the Central University of Punjab. creates new additional employment and sustainable income sources. The large scale farming of macroalgae Clouds over ocean dispersal is analogous to the creates ocean-based industry. intercontinental flights that we take; spores of this alga from Europe get transported to India via clouds that drift across  It mitigates coastal eutrophication minimising the the Arabian Sea. But if the spores travelled across the formation of macroalgal blooms and also mitigates the Arabian Sea all the way to Kerala and Sri Lanka, why did the global warming and climate change effects arising from phenomenon not occur in intermediate regions like green house gas emissions by burning of fossil Gujarat, MP? – is still a mystery. fuels, in addition to freeing the dependency on terrestrial resources for food, feed, water, chemicals and 5. Real-time identification of algal blooms a energy. reality 4. Blood Rain in India – Is it due to divine spell? Or Alien involvement? Or Algae? Algal bloom caused by Noctiluca scintillans in the Arabian Sea can be tracked. A recent study by Indian and Austrian scientists has led to the discovery of the cause of the ‘Blood Rain’ Without venturing into the sea and through in-situ phenomenon to be dispersal of spores of micro algae. observations, ocean researchers can now quickly understand how parts of North Arabian Sea turn deep green Since 1896, reports have been coming in of sporadic instances and straw yellow at times. of red coloured rain over parts of Kerala and Sri Lanka. The latest one was in 2013 over Kerala. The real-time assessment and species identification of algal The rain colours red even laundry left in the open to dry and blooms, which add colour to the oceanic waters, has been reminds one of human blood. Many reasons were attributed to made possible by using a satellite-based remote sensing this mysterious phenomenon — some irrational — like a divine technique. Researchers have also developed an algorithm for spell, and alien involvement. the process.

The recent study, published in the journal Phylogenetics and A group of ocean scientists from the Centre for Marine Living Evolutionary Biology, confirmed that the red colour in the rain Resources (CMLRE), Kochi, of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, was caused by the presence of spores of a European who had been tracking the algal blooms in many water species of green microalgae, Trentepohlia annulata that was bodies, claimed to have perfected the algorithm for reported previously only from Austria —a Central European identification of Noctiluca scintillans, the algal bloom and a country. diatom, which gives dark green colour to the oceanic waters.

The study confirmed that the blood rain is nothing but a The team led by R. Dwivedi of CMLRE consisted of researchers mechanism employed by this alga to disperse its spores from CMLRE, the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean (similar to plant seeds) to a very large area at once, so that Research, Goa, and Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad, algae can quickly colonize a large area. has described the “approach for detection of bloom-forming

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 33

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015 algae N. scintillans and its discrimination from diatoms using warming over this country moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer in a mixed species oceanic environment.” How aerosols affect tropical rainfall?

The research paper was recently published in the journal The inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ), a belt of Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. precipitation (caused by northeast and southeast trade winds coming together) has been shifting southwards in Central The algorithm could be applied for real-time identification of America since 1900, when the industrial revolution the algal bloom anywhere in Indian waters, said Dr.K.B. and associated atmospheric pollution began in real earnest, Padmakumar of CMLRE. notes a paper published recently in the journal Nature Geoscience. Efforts on The reason for this shift, according to the study, is the cooling The new approach will help ocean researchers in quickly effect of aerosols that were produced in large quantities due identifying algal blooms without venturing into the water. to industrialisation. Efforts are on for identification and discrimination of more algal blooms and associated diatoms, he said. Cooling of the atmosphere results in less rainfall and dry conditions while warming leads to evaporation, convection The present “analysis has been carried out by utilizing species- and rainfall. The study found that since 1900 there has specific response of phytoplankton from remote sensing been a steady increase in rainfall in the southern tropics, in reflectance spectra obtained with a Satlantic underwater contrast to a steady decrease in the northern tropics. profiling radiometer.”

The capability of “species identification in near real time can help in planning field campaigns for guiding the ship to an appropriate location for in situ measurements”, the research paper said.

The bloom, also known as green tide, occurs during the winter–spring (mid February– end March) and spreads to the entire northern half of the basin. Researchers had been regularly monitoring the bloom since 2009. During their cruises, researchers had found the colour of water was remarkably dark green in ocean depths exceeding 2,000 metre.

 Though not toxic, it is classified as harmful algal bloom as its spread can lead to depletion of dissolved oxygen in the bloom region. The decay of the high biomass can lead to the release of ammonia and steep reduction in dissolved oxygen, which may force other marine organisms to move to safe regions, he said.

POLLUTION RELATED 1. Impact of Aerosols

High levels of fine particles in the atmosphere (known as aerosols), which reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the ground, may be partly responsible for a slower rate of

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 34

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

The researchers analysed a stalagmite found in a cave in Belize The stalagmite portions were dated by measuring uranium- (a Central American nation) to construct a record of rainfall thorium isotope ratios over the past centuries. patterns in the region over the past 450 years. This site is near the northernmost extent of the ITCZ, a remarkably sensitive “A key factor in the method is that uranium is soluble in location for reconstructing even minor variations in ITCZ water while the daughter products are non-soluble. This means position. The team measured Carbon-13 isotope levels over that uranium is present in water which seeps into limestone this period in the various layers of the stalagmite. Carbon caves and is incorporated into stalagmites but its non-soluble isotope serves as a good proxy for rainfall as recorded in the daughter products (thorium) are not. Daughter isotopes stalagmite over the thousands of years of its formation. present in the sample increase through time as the uranium Stalagmites grow incrementally as drops of water seep decays and the ratio of the uranium to the thorium is through the overlying rock. measured to provide an age estimate,” Dr. Harriet E. Ridley from the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Durham, The growth of the stalagmite is therefore linked to the amount U.K., and the first author clarified in an email to this of water reaching it, which is in part controlled by rainfall. correspondent. Furthermore, every drop of water reaching the cave has a unique chemical signature which is controlled by the The authors point to increased aerosol concentrations in the prevailing climate, most often temperature and rainfall northern tropics of Central America as the likely cause. amount. There have been drying events even before 1900, but these coincided with northern hemisphere volcanic This chemical signature is then incorporated into the eruptions which sent aerosols into the atmosphere causing stalagmite layers as it grows. cooling and therefore, dry conditions. By ‘chemical signature’ in this case, is meant oxygen and carbon isotopes. One can see how rainfall has 2. Urban Heat Island changed over the years by measuring the change in Carbon- 13 isotope value through time.

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 35

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

Urban areas were affected by the warming occurring as a interventions - a Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) in each city, or result of climate change as well as the ‘urban heat island’ a senior person to work in municipal government usually effect whereby built-up places trapped heat more than with mayors to work across the sectors and silos and engage surrounding rural areas with private sector and all stakeholders (Central, State Govts, Civil societies etc) to promote and coordinate on the resilience Thane named India’s Earth Hour Capital agenda.

The city represented India in the Global Earth Hour Helps cities put together a resilience strategy and to put Capital Competition of 16 countries in Seoul. The host city was together a risk analysis to understand what the city is doing, is declared the winner and acknowledged as the Global Earth it doing it well enough, what are the key objectives for Hour Capital building resilience and initiatives to support that. 2015. The project focusses on urbanisation, globalisation and climate The year-long competition among cities is aimed at change and how they affect cities. promoting renewable energy and pre-paring for climate change. Focuses on infrastructure, access to a platform of resources, information on everything from big data analytics, Last year, Coimbtore was selected as the National infrastructure, databases, economic risk analysis and steps to Earth Hour Capital. mitigate them, handling natural disasters, cyber security and so on. 3. Making eco-friendly toilets

While thousands of toilets prop up across the country, there has been little attention given to an environmentally- friendly set up. The low- cost toilets being built rely entirely on a refuse- collection pit — a design that ends up leaching nitrates into the groundwater below.

Researchers at the Centre for Sustainable Technologies at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, have developed a permeable reactive barrier (PRB) toilet which uses a mixture of sand and bentonite clay. The clay regulates the flow of leachates by swelling when in contact with water.

4. ‘100 Resilient Cities’ - Chennai, Bengaluru and Surat figure in that list In its centenary year in 2013, the Rockefeller Foundation announced the 100 Resilient Cities project with a $100 million commitment to build urban resilience 5. Environmentalists warn against worldwide. concretisation in cities, towns

In its centenary year in 2013, the Rockefeller Foundation There is an urgent need to stop encroachment on drains and announced the 100 Resilient Cities project with a $100 million prevent them from being used as dumping grounds ‘Ground commitment to build urban resilience worldwide. Concretisation — inducing Climate Change, Water Scarcity and Loss of Lives’ Civic, development and construction agencies It has already selected 67 cities and from India, Chennai, across the country are mindlessly turning permeable soil Bengaluru and Surat figure in that list. Provides four ground surfaces into impervious covers that nearly eliminate

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 36

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015 the possibility of natural groundwater recharge while critically safe usage of crop protection products and methodologies upsetting the entire ecology.” that would be followed to reduce pesticide residues in tea.

Increasing concretization of soil with concrete and cemented The code is based on the Codex Alimentarius, which is a set of slabs in our towns and cities augment climate change, as soil is international food standards and guidelines. the biggest carbon sink after forests and oceans, noted the letter. Recently Greenpeace had released a report alleging presence of pesticide residues in Indian tea. It said that Environmentalists have warned that the situation has turned chemical use should be restricted not only in tea estates, but so critical that there are virtually no soil areas left in cities also near water bodies, wildlife habitats and human dwelling and towns for rainwater to percolate and recharge the to check contamination. groundwater aquifers. In India food safety standards are stipulated by the 6. The menace of plastic waste Food Safety & Standards Authority of India.

If there is one type of municipal solid waste that has 8. Is your food safe enough? become ubiquitous in India and most developing countries, and largely seen along the shores and waterways of many World Health Day on April 7 marks the founding of developed countries, it is plastic waste. Much of it is not the World Health Organization, with a theme for each year. recycled, and ends up in landfills or as litter on land, in This year it is ‘Food Safety’, to ensure that everyone has the waterways and the ocean. answers to a few questions: What is in your meal and where did the ingredients come from? Were they properly, and Eight million tones of plastic being dumped into the oceans safely, handled at every stage, from farm to plate ? by 192 coastal countries in 2010 WHO is asking for action to understand and streamline the At twelfth position, India is one of the worst performers. It supply chain and ask stakeholders to promote food safety. has dumped up to 0.24 million tonnes of plastic into the Funding requirement challenges for cold chains to cut wastage ocean every year; the amount of mismanaged plastic waste figured in recent debates on foreign direct investment in per year is multi-brand retail. With increasing pressure on groundwater 0.6 million tonnes. In the case of China, the No. 1 resources and other factors, farm markets have moved polluter, the coastal population sends up to 3.53 million towards 'chemically managed’ crops. The deterioration in the tonnes of plastic waste into the oceans each year. quality of topsoil is an issue. There is a growing awareness of the need to grow food awareness or the need to grow food Alarmingly, an unknown quantity of degraded plastic in the that is ‘natural’ and toxin-free. The organic food industry has form of particles enters the food chain. Besides affecting spawned a new health awareness. Considering modern marine life, plastic that gets into the food chain has serious lifestyles that promote automation and restrict opportunities health implications for humans. to do things manually, the stress on right eating has grown.

7. Plant Protection Code - Codex India has stringent food safety standards set in the Food Safety Alimentarius and Standards Act of 2006 and the Food Safety and Standards Rules and Regulations, 2011. Yet, the quality of Plant Protection Code rolls out to make tea a safer food remains a concern. Fitness and good health beverage Plant Protection Code (PPC), a set of guidelines for have more to do with dietary choices than regulating the chemical inputs in tea cultivation, was rolled number exercise regimes. On World Health Day, let's pledge to out on January eat healthy, beat obesity, and stay fit. 1, 2015. The aim is to make Indian tea a safe and healthy drink.

The PPC is a comprehensive document, which deals with

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 37

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 38

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

9. Maharashtra tops in solid waste: e- waste shipments, China, India, Malaysia and Pakistan are report the main destinations, says the report. In Africa, Ghana and Nigeria are the biggest recipients of e-waste. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has indicted Maharashtra for generating the highest amount of Destination India solid waste in the country. Illegal trade is driven by the relatively low costs of shipment and the high costs of treatment in the developed 10. India fifth biggest generator of e- waste in countries. Quoting an U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2014: U.N. report study, the UNEP report says that exporting e-waste to Asia worked out 10 times cheaper than processing it in within India is the fifth biggest producer of e- waste in the these countries. world, discarding 1.7 million tones (Mt) of electronic and electrical equipment in The Indian subcontinent has turned into an important 2014, a UN report has warned that the volume of global e- destination for European waste. This goes beyond ewaste to waste is likely to rise by 21 per cent in next three years. include household waste, metals, textiles and tires — which are exported to India and Pakistan, says the report “Waste The ‘Global E-Waste Monitor 2014’, compiled by U.N.’s think Crimes, Waste Risks: Gaps and Challenges in the Waste tank United Nations University (UNU), said at 32 per cent, the Sector.” U.S. and China produced the most e-waste overall in 2014. India is behind the U.S., China, Japan and Germany. “There is a significant trade in compressors to Pakistan. These should be depolluted prior to export, but waste operators Most e-waste in the world in 2014 was generated in Asia at 16 seeking to avoid expense often omit this step,” the report Mt or 3.7 kg per inhabitant. The top three Asian nations with notes. the highest e-waste generation in absolute quantities are China (6.0 ‘Toxic time bomb’ Mt), Japan (2.2 Mt) and India (1.7 Mt). The vast majority of illegal e-waste ends up in The top per capita producers by far are the wealthy landfills, incinerators, and in ill-equipped recycling facilities. nations of northern and western Europe, the top five being Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Denmark, and the U.K. “The waste is dumped in areas where local residents and workers disassemble the units and collect whatever is of The lowest amount of e--waste per inhabitant was generated value... What is not reusable is simply dumped as waste, in Africa (1.7 kg/inhabitant). The continent generated 1.9 Mt of creating immense problems and leading to what has been e-waste in total. described as a ‘toxic time bomb’.”

11. India, a victim of e-waste crime While Europe and North America are by far the largest producers of e-waste, Asia’s cities are fast catching up as Exporting e-waste to Asia works out 10 times cheaper consumers of electronic goods and as generators of e-waste. In China, for instance, 73.9 million computers, 0.25 Much of the 40 million tonnes of electronic waste billion mobile phones, and 56.6 million televisions were produced around the world — old smartphones, TVs, sold in 2011, the report says. laptops and obsolete kitchen appliances — finds its way illegally to Asia and Africa every year, says a report by the Forecasts say that in just two years, the total quantum of e- United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). waste generated around the world will be 50 million tonnes.

Close to 90 per cent of the world’s electronic waste — 12. Thousands of tonnes of fake food and drink worth nearly $19 billion — is illegally traded or dumped each seized year, to destinations half way across the world. While the European Union the U.S. and Japan are the primary origins of Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 39

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

Global police crackdown on counterfeit produce has netted Amid growing concerns over deteriorating air quality in thousands of tonnes of fake food and drink, including imitation India’s major cities, the government launched the National caviar, Interpol. Air Quality Index (AQI) that will put out real time data about the level of pollutants in the air and inform people about the Operation Opson 4 was run by Interpol and Europol. possible impacts on health.

The haul included 20,000 litres of fake whisky in Thailand, false The new index will initially cover 10 cities — each of which malt in Uganda and fake beer in Rwanda. would have monitoring stations with AQI display boards. The aim was to eventually deploy the index in all cities with a Interpol Headquarters: Lyon-based, France population of over one million.

The government has been under immense pressure to take a strong stand on air pollution after a World Health Organization study of 1,600 cities released last year showed that Delhi was the world’s most polluted capital.

India’s poor air quality reduces the lifespan of the average citizen by 3.2 years.

“The Air Quality Index may prove to be a major impetus to improving air quality in urban areas, as it will improve public awareness in cities to take steps for air pollution mitigation.”

 The AQI is a global standard.

It takes multiple data on pollution already available with the country’s Central Pollution Control Board and presents them as a colour- coded scale with six levels.

Dark green, the first level, indicates good air quality while maroon at the other end indicates severe pollution.

For each category, the index identifies associated health impacts. For example, when the scale touches maroon, the advisory reads: “May cause respiratory impact even on

healthy people, and serious health impacts on people with lung/heart disease. The health impacts may be experienced 13. New app to check air quality even during light physical activity.”

In a bid to enhance awareness of the hazards of air 14. Nationwide Survey Report pollution, India’s first ‘air quality’ Mobile App, SAFARAir, was launched on Tuesday at the Indian Institute of Tropical "Breathe Blue'15” Meteorology in PUNE 1. 35% of children failed in Lung Health Screening Study by WHO had ranked Delhi as most-affected capital Test 2. Delhi - - Mumbai - Kolkata Index to provide data on level of pollutants in 10 cities across India

15. Gulf storm haze triggers pollution fears

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 40

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

Parts of Maharashtra continue to suffer low visibility due to No preventives the after-effects of major sandstorm in the Gulf region. However, in stark contrast with other countries that have air The effects of the ‘haboob’ (Arabic for intense dust storm) quality warning systems, India does not yet have a mechanism was felt in the State. “The haze seen over Mumbai, Pune and or measures in place to bring down peak pollution levels. Nashik is the residual element of the Gulf sandstorm which has now crossed the Arabian Sea.” Beijing for instance, puts in motion a slew of operations when the warning signal for severe pollution is issued. On such days Dr. Beig, project director of the System of Air Quality and kindergarten, primary and middle schools close, there is a cap Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), said that the on the number of cars allowed on the roads and polluting particulate matter in the air was likely to increase. factories either cut down emissions or shut down completely. Similarly, when the air quality index rose in Paris recently, the Air quality is monitored by measuring the presence of city made public transport free and removed almost 50 per particulate matter (PM) in air. PM10 refers to particles that cent of the vehicles off the road. are 10 micrometres (less than the width of a human hair) in diameter or less. It is feared that the PM10 levels in the air The quality of data from some cities remains weak, over Maharashtra may shoot up to 200 micrograms per monitoring stations are not fully equipped and the standards cubic metre of air. set for pollutants fall short of World Health Organization recommendations. In the case of Particulate Matter 16. CPCB officials stress need for uniform air measuring less than quality data 2.5 micrometers in diameter — among the more hazardous pollutants — the WHO has a recommended average level of 10 micrograms per cubic metre, and an interim target of Besides Delhi, 12 Indian cities were among the WHO list 40mcg/m3. of the world’s worst 20 for air quality.

Poor air quality is linked to specific areas of activity — a The new National Air Quality Index gives current as well as sharp rise in motorisation, particularly involving the use of 24-hour average data on particulate matter – PM 2.5 or very diesel as fuel, coal burning, and construction work, to name fine particles smaller than a few. As the global experience shows, escalating 2.5 micrometres in diameter, and PM 10 which are less than pollution levels accompany heightened economic activity, but 10 micrometers in diameter – as well as other pollutants an informed policy response reduces the progression. That is including nitrogen dioxide, ozone the challenge before the Indian Government: to make wealthy polluters pay, and expand green alternatives for all PM 2.5 levels are commonly used as the best indicator of severe air pollution, while PM 10 particles are also a cause through attractive incentives. of public health concern, but less lethal. In Delhi, rated by some surveys as having the world’s worst air quality, the Metro rail network is growing, but so is the use of India now grades air quality along a colour-coded chart based on pollutant levels. personal cars. Yet, the government is not disincentivising their use through congestion charging, which would also generate much needed funds for the growth of modern bus and rail 17. Delhi the worst systems; the existence of a National Urban Transport Policy has not made a difference either. In 2014, the World Health Organisation compiled average annual PM 2.5 numbers for over The National Green Tribunal has ordered that diesel vehicles 1600 cities across the world, including 124 from over 10 years old not ply on Delhi roads. This is a positive India. Delhi had the worst air quality in the world by that measure, but those affected should get a reasonable estimate, but 12 other Indian cities were among the world’s opportunity to make alternative arrangements. The worst 20 – Patna, Gwalior, Raipur, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, government has also failed to grasp the potential of bicycles Firozabad, , Amritsar, Ludhiana, Allahabad, Agra and as a clean mobility solution, and cities are hostile to their Khanna. users. Coal burning for power generation can be reduced if

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 41

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015 rooftop solar power is promoted through a national scheme. long way in safeguarding public health and environment, say U.S. cities are leasing out to homes solar panels. It is such CSE experts. smart solutions that can dramatically improve the air in urban India, without affecting the high quality of life that citizens 19. Green Rating Project was done to evaluate aspire for. environmental performance of the plants

Solutions to Air Pollution Indian coal-based thermal power plants are some of the most inefficient in the world, noted a two year- long research study NGT rulings by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). 1. to scrap 10yrs old diesel and 15yrs old petrol vehicles 2. capping the no. of vehicles on road Conducted under CSE’s Green Rating Project (GRP), the 3. hike in parking charges study is the first of its kind done for this industrial sector by 4. incentives for car pooling evaluating its environmental performance and compliance.

Explaining the study released by M.S. Swaminathan, the 18. CSE welcomes proposed changes in ‘father’ of India’s Green Revolution, here on Saturday, CSE emission norms director general Sunita Narain said: “The objective of the study was to give a clear picture of the environmental performance India currently has no standards for SO2, NOx and mercury of the sector.”

Emissions

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has welcomed 20. GROSS MISMANAGEMENT of the step taken by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to tighten the pollution CFL waste containing mercury norms for coal-based power plants in the country. Massive amount of CFL waste get accumulated in and around The MoEF&CC had published a draft notification to tighten cities, and those are mismanaged thus emitting poisonous norms for emissions of particulate matter (PM), SO2 NOx and mercury, says the latest report of Toxics Link, titled “The mercury and cut water use by coal-based thermal power Dark End-CFL Need Better Management”. The study states plants. in 2014, the household CFL waste in Delhi accounted for  India currently has no standards for SO2, NOx and 14.93 million pieces of CFL releasing 74.65 kg of mercury. mercury emissions from this sector. Mercury enters the body through skin or inhalation, and can Earlier this year, CSE had released its environmental rating of lead to recurrent coughs, sore throat, shortness of breath, the coal-based thermal power sector, under its Green Rating chest pain, nausea, increased blood pressure and headache. Project. According to the WHO, inhalation of mercury vapour leads to Forty seven plants — adding up to 55 per cent of the nation’s adverse effects on nervous, digestive and immune systems. capacity — were rated: the sector ranked poorly on all the Once into the environment it can turn into a deadlier form parametres. Of the total pollution from the sector, the coal- called methyl mercury, which is extremely harmful to humans based power sector currently accounts for approximately and wildlife. For human consumption, Food Safety and 60 per cent of particulate emissions, 45-50 per cent of Standards (Contaminations, Toxins and Residues) SO2 emissions, 30 per cent of NOx emissions and more than Regulations, 2011, have set the limit of 0.5 ppm mercury 80 per cent of mercury emissions. content in fish and 1 ppm mercury content in other foods. The survey, which was released here on Tuesday, was carried  There are currently no standards to curb emissions out in Delhi and Bhopal with the objective of conducting of SO2, NOx and mercury. field-level investigation into the management practices of CFLs that contain mercury. It used both qualitative and The ministry’s proposed changes, if implemented, may go a qualitative approach and surveyed two important

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 42

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 43

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015 stakeholders — consumers and recyclers - comprising There is no doubt that the Western Ghats have to be household consumers, bulkconsumers, kabadiwala, and protected for various reasons. At the same time, the recyclers who are important constituents in the Central sentiments of local residents too have to be considered, while Pollution Control Board (CPCB) guidelines for management of taking up development activities. As soon as the Union mercury- laded CFLs. government receives comments from all the States, a meeting of Chief Ministers would be convened, Environment Minister said. Madhav Gadgil wins Tyler Prize

At a time when the Union government has junked his crucial report on the conservation of the 21. Why and how do oceans absorb Western Ghats, ecologist Madhav Gadgil has been chosen carbondioxide? for the prestigious Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement for 2015. Ocean is the largest carbon sink on earth. It occupies nearly 70% of the earth’s surface. As such, the The prize, instituted in 1973, is awarded by the Tyler Prize atmosphere comes into contact with the vast extent of ocean’s Executive Committee with the administrative support of the surface. University of Southern California. The atmospheric CO2 enters the ocean through steady Dr. Gadgil, who was chairman of the Western Ghats exchange at surface. This is a physico- chemical process. Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), will share the $200,000 cash prize with American marine ecologist Jane Lubchenco The difference in partial pressure of the CO2 between for their work in changing policy and especially for their seawater and air facilitate gaseous exchange. The diffusion “leadership and engagement in the development of takes place until the partial pressures across the air-water conservation and sustainability policies in the United States, interface are equilibrated. The following two processes ensure India and internationally,” said a release issued by Tyler the continuous exchange at the air-sea interface, though Prize for Environmental Achievement Executive Committee. occasional supersaturation at the surface film is not ruled out.

Dr. Gadgil’s report on the preservation of the unique The seawater contains millions of tiny, ecosystem of the Western Ghats was specially cited as the microscopic photosynthetic phytoplankton which utilizes reason for the honour, besides his contributions to the CO2 during photosynthesis. They convert the CO2 into crafting of the National Biodiversity Act, 2002. sugars and other carbon compounds which ultimately enters the food web. The biological pump transfers carbon dioxide from the surface of the ocean to the deep sea. Kasturirangan report to be implemented by year-end Unlike other gases, CO2 reacts with seawater to form dissolved inorganic carbon, ionic and non- ionic species like Government of India announced that the recommendations dissolved free Carbon dioxide (CO2), Carbonic Acid (H2CO3), made by the Kasturirangan Committee report on eco- Bicarbonate (HCO3- sensitive zones in the Western Ghats would be ) and Carbonate (CO32-). The carbonate system is the unique implemented by this year-end. phenomenon of marine ecosystem. The pH of seawater is regulated by the bicarbonate and carbonate Union government had asked the State concentrations. Marine organisms combine calcium and governments concerned to hold consultation with the local carbonate ions in the calcification process and manufacture population and submit their comments. While Kerala has calcareous material. As the organisms die, the skeletal submitted its comments, Karnataka is yet to do so. material sinks and buried in sediments. Tamil Nadu, Goa, Maharashtra, and Gujarat are expected to submit their reports. (W.Ghats StatesPT Exclusive)

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 44

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

22. Taj Mahal, a case of monumental gligence to build roads and other infrastructure. Agra lies in a semi-arid zone, and experiences very hot The Taj Protection Mission remains a nonstarter summers when the temperature touches 49 degrees Celsius. despite environmental scientists repeatedly warning about Mineral impurities present in the marble get oxidised and the discolouration of the monument by pollutants. create brown stains. Rain also has a weathering effect on the marble and can cause chipping and cracking. The iron The Taj Mahal, which generated Rs. 20.67 crore in revenue dowels used to fix the marble slabs on the building get rusted during the financial year 2014-15, according to the and the rust flows down with rain, getting deposited on the Archaeological Survey of India, has been allocated only Rs. 2 marble. lakh so far for its preservation under the Central Plan. Hot dusty winds have an abrasive effect on the marble. The mission was set up as a joint venture between the Uttar Increasing green cover and water bodies is one way of curbing Pradesh government and the Centre in dust pollution. 1996, based on a Supreme Court order. Taj Heritage Corridor, the riverfront project, comprising food Increasing pollution has taken a toll on the Taj, a symbol of plazas and malls, planned between the Agra Fort and the Taj national pride and heritage. — was shelved on the Supreme Court’s orders as it could have been a threat to the monument. Discolouration was mainly caused equally by deposition of dust particles and carbonaceous particles, such as black and Sand accumulated in the reclaimed river bed can erode the brown carbon. marble surface during sand storms, says the ASI. The site is yet to be turned into a green belt as directed by the court. The primary sources of these pollutants were biomass burning, vehicular pollution and burning of trash in and National Electric Mobility Mission Plan around Agra and crematorium located nearby on the banks of (NEMMP) the Yamuna is also contributing to pollution. - aims at promoting electric vehicle sales (esp. in eco-sensitive zones) The Taj Mahal is losing its sheen due to unchecked vehicular pollution, tourism and several other reasons, noted a release Taj Mahal Corridor gets 1st set of electric vans (to make it issued by the Centre for Science and Environment. pollution free zone)

Criticising the Agra administration for mulling removal of all the makers of petha, the local sweet made from ash gourd — 23. IISc: Chennai highest per capita emitter holding them responsible for the state of the Taj, she said: of greenhouse gases “The petha makers have been asked to either switch from using coal to LPG or shut shop. The move has left many people At nearly 39 million tones of carbon dioxide equivalent, Delhi jobless.” has the highest greenhouse gases footprint in the

country. Greater Mumbai and Chennai follow Delhi with 23 Recent studies have once again suggested that the scourge of million tonnes and 22 million tonnes respectively. Ahmedabad pollution continues to adversely affect the white marble of the accounts for the least (9 million tonnes) GHS footprint among Taj. This time, it is not sulphur dioxide (which was the seven Indian cities studied by a team of researchers at IISc. suspected in the 1980s of turning the gleaming façade yellow). The villain today Despite the total GHS footprint being 17 million tones lesser is black and organic carbon particles that are emitted from than Delhi, Chennai has the highest per capita emission of vehicles and other polluting units. carbon dioxide equivalent — 4.79 tonnes. Kolkata follows Chennai with 3.29 tonnes of The biggest threat to the Taj is the unregulated number of carbon dioxide equivalent. Chennai also emits the highest visitors, which on some days is over carbon dioxide equivalent per GDP — 2.55 tonnes carbon 50,000. Constant treading wears down the marble floors. A dioxide equivalent per lakh rupees. large number of trees have been felled in Agra in recent years Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 45

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

A sector-wise analysis revealed that transportation turned energy research but there is no new proposal from the out to be biggest source of emission in cities where rail ministry to increase the cess further. transportation was either absent or was just being put in place. Of the seven cities studied, Delhi turned out to be the The National Adaptation Fund has Rs. 100 crore but this is highest emitter of greenhouse gases from the transportation way short of what is needed for adaptation programmes. sector. Vehicles in Delhi emitted over 12 million tonnes of While the government has embarked on ambitious adaptation greenhouse gases during the study period. plans, funds are an issue as was the case of the National Agriculture Mission which had to incorporate itself into The paper has looked into all sources of greenhouse gas existing government programmes with a vastly scaled down emissions — transportation, domestic sector, electricity budget. consumption, industry, agriculture and livestock, and solid and liquid waste. According to the Mission document in 2010, the implementation of the NMSA from 2011-2012 to the end of the 12th Five-year Plan would require an additional budgetary CLIMATE CHANGE RELATED TOPICS support of Rs.1,08,000 crore.

1. National Mission for Sustainable 3. States’ climate action plans to be approved soon and Agriculture (NMSA) an additional Rs.150 crore has been sought in this budget for the National Adaptation Fund. The NMSA was one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan for Climate Change launched in 2008 The Centre does not propose to fund any of these State action which was aimed “at transforming Indian agriculture into a plans. These will be linked to national climate change missions climate resilient production system through suitable on adaptation and funds could also come from the Green adaptation and mitigation measures in the domain of crops and Climate Fund. It’s more a wish list of the States’ intentions. animal husbandry.” There has been criticism that the country’s adaptation plans New programmes under NMSA are not adequately funded or coordinated. The Centre is also looking at fine- tuning coordination of the various national  National Mission on Food Security missions on climate adaptation and setting up a mechanism for that purpose.  National Horticulture Mission

 organic farming and bio-fertilisers;  soil-analysis based nutrient application Eight missions  micro-irrigation After a review by the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Innovative solutions Change, it was decided to scale up actions in adaptation and SRI (System of Rice Intensification) uses mitigation nationwide. less water Climate Resilient crop varieties by ICAR Crop diversification There are eight missions under the National Action Plan for Tackling livestock Climate Change launched in 2008, but most of the missions got off the ground only in 2014 due to financial issues. It will be a while before there is 2. National Adaptation Fund some visible impact, the officials said.

MoEF seeks enhanced budget for National Puducherry has, however, submitted its State action plan for Adaptation Fund In 2014, the government allocated Rs. 100 funding to the World Bank. crore to set up the Fund. Ministry had sought concessions for pollution abatement, climate-related instrumentation and The government is considering dovetailing the State action reduction in the cost of pollution measuring equipment. plans with some of the national missions and some funds can be given to the States from the National The government had doubled the coal cess to finance clean

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 46

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

AdaptationFund. The fund is in the process of being approved industry. by the Ministry of Finance and after that the States can apply for finance for climate action. Besides seeking priority sector lending status, the industry was

4. National Clean Energy Fund expecting government announcements with regard to access of low cost funds and various other avenues such as ECBs India 2010-11 budget introduced a cess of Rs.50 per tonne of (external commercial borrowings). But no announcement was both domestically produced & imported coal. (Now doubled = made on finance side. Rs100) • But this cess was less to curb carbon emissions but more The government has set an ambitious target of generating to raise revenues for the National Clean Energy Fund 175,000 MW of energy through renewable energy sources by • National Clean Energy Fund= supports carbon mitigation 2022. In this, solar is expected to contribute 100,000 MW, initiatives followed by wind (60,000 MW), biomass (10,000 MW) and • But Finance Ministers are using this fund to mitigate fiscal small hydro (5000 MW). deficit rather than to mitigate carbon As of December 2014, India’s total renewable energy installed 5. Budget fails to cheer clean energy sector capacity stood at 33,792 MW. However, it would require about Rs. 250,000 crore of investments to reach this target,

according to industry estimates. Though budget reiterated government’s ambitious capacity addition plans in renewable energy sector, it failed to talk However, the proposal to increase the clean energy about funds towards development of clean energy, feels the Cess Rs. 100 to Rs. 200 will benefit the industry as it

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 47

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015 would significantly boost the National Clean Energy On April 22, India will be among the group of countries Fund to finance clean energy and related initiatives. discussing the phase-down of hydro fluorocarbons at the 6. Nod for climate change action plan 35th Session of the Open- Ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Bangkok.

Armed with a stimulus from the Centre, Kerala is all set to In a proposal submitted on April 17, India has discussed the launch a long-term programme to develop resilience to climate modalities of the phase-down to be undertaken, which change. The Ministry of Forest, Environment, and Climate includes financial assistance for industry to switch to Change (MoEFCC) has approved the Kerala State Action Plan alternative green technologies, if the agreement comes on Climate Change (SAPCC), strengthening the hands of the through. According to a March 2015 research paper State in taking up a slew of climate change mitigation and brought out by the Institute of Governance and Sustainable adaptation projects. Development, authors Durwood Zaelke, Nathan Borgford- Parnell and Stephen O. Andersen note that fast action under The five-year package envisages a budget requirement of the Montreal Protocol can limit the growth of HFCs, prevent Rs.1,170 crore for projects in eight key sectors, namely 100 to 200 billion tonnes of CO2 – equivalent agriculture and animal husbandry, fisheries and coastal emissions by 2050, and avoid up to 0.5°C of warming by 2100. ecosystem, forest and biodiversity, water resources, health, energy, urban front, and transport and tourism. Professor V. Ramanathan, Distinguished Professor of Climate Sciences at the University of California at San Diego, told The State plan identifies , Palakkad, Wayanad, and that it was way back in 1975 that he had discovered the Idukki districts as climate change hotspots in Kerala, with a dangerous impact of halocarbons, the class of chemical high degree of vulnerability to natural hazards such as flood compounds, including chlorofluorocarbons and HFCs. and drought and impact on biodiversity and human life. Under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, According to the projected climate change scenario, the there was an agreement to reimburse full incremental cost of atmospheric temperature across Kerala would rise by 2 any project/scheme to developing countries switching to degrees Celsius by 2050. It estimates that if the sea level greener technologies. But under the Montreal Protocol, rises by one metre, whether that would be the case is yet to be seen. Although, 169 sq km of the coastal region surrounding Kochi would be Mr. Bledsoe pointed out that countries bound by its inundated. agreement could access the Montreal Protocol Fund for their transition needs. The report estimates that paddy production in the State would drop by six per cent with each degree rise in temperature. Crops such as cardamom, coffee, tea, and black 8. Geneva Climate Change talks pepper were also likely to be affected by higher temperature and changing rainfall pattern. Countries agreed on a negotiating text for the 2015 agreement “Climate Action Network in Geneva” 7. Crucial meet today on climate action It was important to scale up financial support and ensure a On Earth Day, India will be among the countries high level meeting for loss and damage. The important thing is discussing the phase-down of hydro fluorocarbons. that there are enough good options in the text including a call to end fossil fuel emissions For a long time, climate action has been associated with cutting Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. And while the A number of countries have to ratify a second number one global greenhouse gas continues to retain its commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol. The pre-2020 top spot, the evolving consensus is that cutting short-term ambitions also needed to be enhanced. pollutants such as hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs) and black carbon, is equally, if not less crucial. Keeping up the trend in global climate talks by industrialized nations to deny historical responsibilities, the

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 48

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

U.S. had sprung a new term “bifurcation” and ending the two 4. Polluters pay principle different categories of developed and developing countries at 5. Tech transfer & IPR issue the ongoing talks in Geneva. Lima, Peru Talks

An Indian official here said even if the U.S. uses different 1. India volunteered to reduce energy intensity of its GDP by words, India would stick to its stand of common but 20-25% by 2020 (base year 2005) differentiated responsibilities. 2. UK's separate allocation of funds (Development aid for climate actions) The agreement is set to be reached in Paris at the end of 3. Develop cleaner tech + promote renewable energy (eg- 2015 and will come into effect in 2020. Investment in solar energy & PV by Europe)

The Lima Draft has now been transformed into the 9. G7 leaders discuss Greece; agree to phase negotiating text and enjoys the full ownership of all countries out fossil fuels Formal work and negotiations on the text will continue at the Climate Change Group of Seven (G7) leaders agreed to wean their economies Conference in Bonn in June off carbon fuels and supported a global goal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but they stopped short of Geneva CC Talks agreeing their own immediate binding targets.

Concerns- In a communiqué issued after their two-day summit in Finance - Developing countries are Bavaria, the G7 leaders said they backed reducing global demanding finance to deal with CC from greenhouse gas emissions at the upper end of a range of 40 Industrialised countries to 70 per cent by GCF (Green Climate Fund) = has only crossed $10 billion (for 2050, using 2010 as a basis. The range was $100 billion) recommended by the IPCC, the United Nations’ climate change panel. They also backed a global target for limiting India's & Developing countries’ position the rise in average global temperatures to two degrees 1. Underscore the historical Celsius (3.6 responsibilities of developing countries Fahrenheit) compared with pre-industrial levels. 2. Call for CBDR (more responsibility by developed nations) However, they stopped short of agreeing any such US's stand (and EU) –Developed Countries immediate binding targets for their economies. 1. Proposed a BIFURCATION APPROACH - to do away with differences b/w developed and developing countries 10. Green Apollo Programme by UK 2. Countries should be rated based on WB data  green energy plan to find ways (within 3. All countries should aim at cutting emissions & not just 10yrs) to make green energy clean and developed world cheaper to produce 4. CBDR cannot be looked upon as the single principle to  reduce coal-based energy, gas and oil produce solutions 5. Developing countries like China are now the largest  Plan envisages the countries to commit public emitters in the world & the question of CBDR should be spending on R&D in their own countries (at least 0.02% revitalized of GDP every year) i.e, for 10yrs

UNFCC & IPCC Concerns Concerns 1. India and China -> largest user of coal- 1. Finance or Tech Transfer based energy 2. GCF (Green Climate Fund) has reached just over 2. India has 13/25 most polluted cities while China 1/50 $10 billion (far short of what developing countries need) Conclusion-Therefore it is imp for India to be central to this 3. CBDR (Developed v/s Developing) green energy plan

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 49

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

11. Totten Glacier: Largest Glacier in could not, however, make calculations based on how much Antartica developed countries needed to do or pay. The largest glacier in East Antarctica (Totten Glacier) containing ice equivalent to a six- metre (20-foot) rise in However, it could be a reference point for country- global sea levels is melting due to warm ocean water until level calculations and was a flexible tool, said Ritu Mathur, recently, the East Antarctica ice sheet had been thought of as from The Energy and Resources Institute. Eleven countries, being surrounded by cold waters and therefore very stable. including India, were using this tool and nine more were preparing their own versions. But the voyage found that waters around the glacier were some 1.5degree Celsius warmer than other areas visited on CLEAN/GREEN ENERGY the same trip during the southern hemisphere summer.

The fact that warm water can reach this glacier is a sign that 1. 343 companies commit to green energy East Antarctica is potentially more vulnerable to changes in As many as 343 companies, including the ocean driven by climate change than we used to think. global firms, have committed to building green energy capacity of 2.7-lakh MW in five years as India gives thrust to 12. India to deploy global calculator to renewable energy production to ensure universal energy access for the poor. study climate impact

SunEdison Energy India Pvt. Ltd. tops the list with a Nearly 20 nations, including India, will deploy a global commitment of 15,200 MW — 10,000-MW solar and 5,200- calculator, similar to those launched in London and Beijing, to MW wind energy. calculate climate impact scenarios in their territories. The Chennai-based company is a subsidiary of Showcasing the calculator at the Delhi Sustainable U.S.- based SunEdison Inc. Development Summit on Wednesday, Laura Aylett of the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said it was Other companies which made commitments in excess of a free, open-source interactive tool to help assess climate 10,000 MW are: Axis Energy Group, Essel Infraprojects Ltd., change scenarios over a period and make changes in lifestyle. Renew Power, Welspun Renewables Energy Pvt. Ltd., Azure Power, Raasi Solar Energy Pvt. Ltd. And Hindustan Clean The calculator could illustrate climate impacts based on Energy Ltd. Adani Power Ltd. and Reliance Power have different choices and was linked to the latest committed to creating 6,000 MW each of solar energy Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change generation capacity. Private sector companies pledged to (IPCC) reports. generate 2,51,511 MW — 1,55,597 MW from solar energy, 47,865 MW from India was among the first countries to develop its own tool to wind energy and 4,185 MW from other green energy and so assess energy security under the aegis of the former Planning on — and 24 government-run firms Commission, which was launched last year. 18,819 MW.

New version for India promised to generate 18,819 MW of green energy capacity in A newer version of the Indian Energy five years include NTPC Ltd., Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd., Coal Security Scenarios (IESS) would be out soon. India Ltd., National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd. and The tool was an improved version, which looked at all options SAIL (India) Ltd. in India, including emissions while calculating scenarios.

Colombia had developed a country calculator to present its 2. Mega Solar Project (Ind_US) Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) later this year before the climate change talks at Paris. The 1. SunEdison Inc., US and India's Adani group to invest $4 calculator allowed for the use of temperature as a factor, but billion

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 50

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

lack of time-of-day pricing for bulk procurement of power 2. to set up one of the world's largest solar photovoltaic (PV) 2. No reasonable reverse margin(20%), there is shortfall in grid mfg facility in Mundra, Gujarat (5%) 3. Load shedding 3. Sardar Sarovar Nigam Ltd. Solar 4. no sufficient support & incentive Project IV. Solutions 1. 4 prolonged solution = variable & 1. 10MW Solar Power Project dynamic pricing; distributed generation; storage tech and

smart grids 2. solar panels on top of Vadodara branch canal - economy of 2. support & incentive mechanisms, grid land use, no evaporation loss and renewable energy mgt 3. skills & innovation GOALS: 4. dialogue among all stakeholders (C-S + Discoms) 5. proper accounting, understanding of grid implications & Renewable Energy (1,00,000 MW by 2022 + improving scalability hydropower generation + Clean ganga project) 5. Solar power picks up steam in more India's ambitious vision- to build 100 GW solar power by 2020 (exactly same as China's vision) States

Though Gujarat and Rajasthan are at the forefront of 4. RE and issues solar power development in the country, other states are also making rapid progress in harnessing energy from sun. I. India's Green Energy Aims - Energy Surplus by 2019 Presently, Gujarat and Rajasthan account for over 1. 100GW of solar power 50 per cent of India’s grid-connected solar energy 2. 60GW of wind power capacity additions. However, states such as Madhya Pradesh 3. 10GW of bio-gass and Maharashtra are also catching up fast, supported by 4. 5GW of small hydropower their solar programmes.

II. Concerns with RE As of February this year, total installed capacity of solar power 1. 3 prolonged challenges - was 3,383 MW, constituting 10 per cent of total installed intermittency/variability; location-specific potential (away from renewable power capacity in the country. grid/consumers); higher cost 2. Implications of grid system (handling capacity, load- Gujarat contributed 949 MW and Rajasthan’s installed shedding, weak & unstable) capacity was 902 MW. Madhya Pradesh has added 500 MW, 3. Economically nonviable + retail tariffs while Maharashtra’s commissioned solar power capacity was (least profitable consumers) 334 MW. Other states, that have added more than 100 MW in 4. Citizens mindset (price-sensitive) solar, include Andhra Pradesh (237 MW), Punjab (120) and Tamil Nadu (112 MW). Solar Energy -- poor storage tech & expensive (high imports) The country has achieved more than its targets in grid solar Wind Energy -- affected by seasonality and off-grid solar under the Phase-1 (2010-2013) of Solar Hydropower - land, social & environmental challenges Mission. Against the target of (stored vs released) 1100 MW of grid solar power, 1686 MW of projects Natural Gas - supply constraints (including large plants, rooftops and distribution grid plants) were commissioned. III. Why Intermittency/Variabilty? 1. Weak & unstable grid - lack of ancillary services, The Indian government has set an ambitious target of

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 51

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015 adding 100,000 MW by 2022. The plan would include large scale deployment of rooftop projects under both net metering and feed in metering to achieve 40,000 MW of capacity till 2022.

Secondly, the Government would lay emphasis on grid connected projects to achieve 40,000 MW by 2022. For this, Solar parks have been set up in Gujarat and Rajasthan, and others have been planned in over 15 states.

Thirdly, the Centre would focus on large scale projects (100 MW minimum) to generate the remaining 20,000 MW capacity. Slender-billed Vulture (Gyps tenuirostris) Critically endangered VULTURES

Of the 9 species found in India, 4 have been listed as critically endangered

Red-headed Vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) Critically endangered

Indian White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis) Critically endangered

Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) Indian Vulture (Gyps indicus) Critically endangered Endangered

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 52

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus) Least concern Himalayan Vulture (Gyps himalayensis) Least concern

Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus) Near Threatened

Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) Least concern

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 53

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

Vulture conservation included on gram sabha than 300 times by the Pathankote Wildlife Division, which has agenda provided medically tested safe carcass.”

The Vulture Restaurant at Dhar Kalan is indirectly helping in To sensitise cattle owners to refrain from using diclofenac increasing the vulture population in neighbouring States of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. To sensitise cattle owners in rural areas to the need for refraining from using diclofenac, a banned drug for Population of White- Rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis) veterinary use, the district administration has declined rapidly between 2000 and included vulture conservation in the agenda for the gram 2007. sabha meetings. “The decline took place because vultures fed on carcasses of White-Rumped Vultures found in Moyar valley in the domestic animals, which had been administered anti- Nilgiris. inflammatory toxic veterinary drug Diclofenac.”

After repeated representations, Drug Controller General of The bird’s population has stabilised as South Asia’s Vultures the Government of India on May 11, 2006 banned from Extinction (SAVE) — a consortium of regional and diclofenac for veterinary use. international organisations to save threatened vultures in South Asia in collaboration with Bombay Natural History Further to save the vulture from becoming extinct, Action Society — has been running captive breeding centres. Plan for Vulture Conservation in India and Regional Declaration on Conservation of South Asia’s Critically Endangered Vulture species was prepared by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change with technical inputs from Saving Asia’s Vulture from Extinction (SAVE).

The ban has helped a bit as vultures are reappearing in the Nilgiris and Sathyamangalam forests.

Menu cards for vultures, clean environment on the table The population of White-Rumped Vultures declined rapidly between 2000 and 2007.

Conservationists stand by “Vulture Restaurants”, a new concept that aims to augment the population of the scavenging birds, which help keep the environment clean by feeding on carrion.

According to noted conservationist T.K. Roy, the vultures are provided safe supplementary food.

“Though this concept has not been efficacious at two places in Northern India, it has been successfully running in a small place in Punjab. This concept has attracted four vulture species, including the Griffon Vulture and the Himalayan Vulture, in large numbers at Dhar Kalan in Punjab. These vultures have been sighted more

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 54

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 55

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

Ecosystem services  mitigate climate change  absorb and store CO2  protect water channels and shores from erosion The principal framework for expressing the “usefulness” of  regulate disease-carrying organisms biodiversity is through the concept of ecosystem services. They  provide ingredients for pharmaceutical, biochemical illustrate the link between, on the one hand, the interactions and industrial products are a source of energy and of species with each other and with the physical environment; biomass fuels and on the other, the well-being of people, whether in terms  decompose waste and detoxify pollution of wealth, nutrition or security.  generate, maintain and renew soil fertility (nutrient cycling) The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, published in 2005,  pollinate crops and plants, and disperse seeds divided ecosystem services into four categories:  control agricultural pests and diseases  produce food (crops, wild foods and spices, seafood, • provisioning services, or the supply of goods of direct etc.) benefit to people, and often with a clear monetary value, such  produce wood and fibre as timber from forests, medicinal plants, and fish from the  produce oxygen, purify air and water oceans, rivers and lakes;  give cultural, intellectual, artistic and spiritual inspiration • regulating services, the range of functions carried out by  allow recreation (ex. ecotourism) ecosystems which are often of great value but generally not  hold the answers to scientific questions and given a monetary value in conventional markets. They include  hold the cures to diseases. regulation of climate through the storing of carbon and control of local rainfall, the removal of pollutants by filtering the air National Tiger Conservation Authority and water, and protection from disasters such as landslides The Govt. of India had launched “Project Tiger” on 1st April and coastal storms; 1973 to promote conservation of the tiger. Project Tiger has been the largest species conservation initiative of its kind in • cultural services, not providing direct material benefits, but the world. While the field implementation of the project, contributing to wider needs and desires of society, and protection and management in the designated reserves is therefore to people’s willingness to pay for conservation. They done by the project States, who also provide the matching include the spiritual value attached to particular ecosystems grant to recurring items of expenditure, deploy field such as sacred groves, and the aesthetic beauty of landscapes staff/officers, and give their salaries, the Project Tiger or coastal formations that attract tourists; and Directorate of the Ministry of Environment and Forests was • supporting services, not of direct benefit to people but mandated with the task of providing technical guidance and essential to the functioning of ecosystems and therefore funding support. indirectly responsible for all other services. Examples are the formation of soils and the processes of plant growth. The implementation of Project Tiger over the years has highlighted the need for a statutory authority with legal Biodiversity is not regarded as an ecosystem service itself, but backing to ensure tiger conservation. On the basis of the rather as a pre-requisite underpinning each of them. The recommendations of National Board for Wild Life chaired by precise link between the fact of diversity and the capacity of the Hon’ble Prime Minister, a Task Force was set up to look an ecosystem to provide services is a complex one, and an into the problems of tiger conservation in the country. The area in which science is still developing. recommendations of the said Task Force, interalia include strengthening of Project Tiger by giving it statutory and Fast Facts administrative powers, apart from creating the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau. It has also recommended that an annual Ecosystem services do the following: report should be submitted to the Central Government for laying in Parliament, so that commitment to Project Tiger is  moderate weather extremes and their impacts (ex. reviewed from time to time, in addition to addressing the drought, floods, etc.) concerns of local people. Broadly the urgent recommendations

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 56

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015 of the said Task Force are as below: continents, seven regional programmes in 25 countries and territories, with ongoing research and activities in several 1. Reinvigorating the constitution of governance. others. 2. Strengthening efforts towards protection of tiger, checking poaching, convicting wildlife criminals and Since its founding, TRAFFIC has grown to become the world's breaking the international trade network in wildlife largest wildlife trade monitoring programme, and a global body parts and derivatives. expert on wildlife trade issues. TRAFFIC actively monitors and 3. Expanding the undisturbed areas for tiger by reducing investigates wildlife trade and provides its information to a human pressure. diverse audience world-wide, as a basis for effective 4. Repair the relationship with local people who share conservation policies and programmes. It has a considerable the tigers habitat by fielding strategies for international reputation for helping to identify and address coexistence. conservation challenges linked to wildlife trade. 5. Regenerate the forest habitats in the fringes of the tigers protective enclaves by investing in forest, water This non-governmental organization undertakes its activities in and grassland economies of the people. close collaboration with governments and the Convention on Considering the urgency of the situation, Project Tiger has International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and been converted into a statutory authority (NTCA) by providing Flora (CITES) Secretariat. enabling provisions in the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 through an amendment, viz. Wild Life (Protection) TRAFFIC’s goal is to ensure that trade in wild plants and Amendment Act, 2006. This forms one of the urgent animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature. recommendations of the Tiger Task Force appointed by the Prime Minister. The NTCA addresses the ecological as well as TRAFFIC's vision is of a world in which trade in wild animals administrative concerns for conserving tigers, by providing a and plants will be managed at sustainable levels without statutory basis for protection of tiger reserves, apart from damaging the integrity of ecological systems and in such a providing strengthened institutional mechanisms for the manner that it makes a significant contribution to human protection of ecologically sensitive areas and endangered needs, supports local and national economies and helps to species. The Authority also ensures enforcing of guidelines for motivate commitments to the conservation of wild species and tiger conservation and monitoring compliance of the same, their habitats. apart from placement of motivated and trained officers having good track record as Field Directors of tiger reserves. It also TRAFFIC came to India in 1991, operating as a division of facilitates capacity building of officers and staff posted in tiger WWF-India. It has since worked closely with the National and reserves, apart from a time bound staff development plan. the State Governments and various agencies to help study monitor and influence action to curb illegal wildlife trade. After The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2006 has come a brief hiatus since 2002, it has resumed work once again in into force with effect from the 4th of September, 2006, and December 2006. the NTCA has also been constituted on the same date. TRAFFIC India carries out research and provides analysis, TRAFFIC support and encouragement to efforts aimed to ensure that wildlife trade is not a threat to the conservation of nature in India. It is committed to work together with government TRAFFIC is a joint conservation programme of WWF, the global agencies, NGOs, and all like-minded individuals and conservation organization and IUCN, the International Union organisations to curb illegal wildlife trade that has become a for Conservation of Nature. It was established in 1976 by the growing threat to our natural treasures. Species Survival Commission of IUCN, principally as a response to the entry into force during the previous year of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). 2006

TRAFFIC is an international network, consisting of TRAFFIC The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2006 (No. 39 of International, based in Cambridge, UK with offices on five 2006) has come into force on 4 September 2006. The Act

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 57

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015 provides for creating the National Tiger Conservation Authority Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, and the Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Chairperson, National Commission for the Scheduled Tribes, Bureau (Wildlife Crime Control Bureau). Chairperson National Commission for the Scheduled Castes, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Director, Wildlife The implementation over the years has highlighted the need Preservation, Ministry of Environment and Forests and six for a statutory authority with legal backing to ensure tiger Chief Wildlife Wardens (in rotation from Tiger Reserve States) conservation. On the basis of the recommendations of (Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil National Board for Wild Life, a Task Force was set up to look Nadu and Uttaranchal). Three Members of Parliament would into the problems of tiger conservation in the country. The be nominated by the Parliament. The Ministry of Law and recommendations of the Task Force, inter alia include Justice would also be nominating an officer. The Ministry of strengthening of Project Tiger by giving it statutory and Environment and Forests is in the process of selecting the administrative powers, apart from creating the Wildlife Crime eight non-official experts or professionals having prescribed Control Bureau. It has also recommended that an annual qualifications and experience, of which at least two shall be report should be submitted to the Central Government for from the field of tribal development. The Inspector General of laying in Parliament, so that commitment to Project Tiger is Forests in charge of Project Tiger shall be the Member reviewed from time to time, in addition to addressing the Secretary of the Authority. concerns of local people. The Ministry is in the process of creating the Wildlife Crime The National Tiger Conservation Authority would facilitate Control Bureau, invoking the provisions created after the MoU with States within our federal set up for tiger recent amendment. The Bureau would collate intelligence conservation. It will provide for an oversight by Parliament as relating to wildlife crime, ensure coordination with State well. Further, it will address livelihood interests of local people Governments and other Authorities through its set up, apart in areas surrounding Tiger Reserves, apart from ensuring that from developing infrastructure and capacity building for the rights of Scheduled Tribes and such other people living scientific and professional investigation into wildlife crimes nearby are not interfered or adversely affected. The core and assist the State Governments in successful prosecution of (critical) and buffer (peripheral) areas have been defined, such crimes. while safeguarding the interests of Scheduled Tribes and such other forest dwellers. The penalty for an offence relating to the core area of a tiger reserve or hunting in the reserve has been increased. The first The functions and powers of the Authority, inter alia include : conviction in such offence shall be punishable with approval of Tiger Conservation Plan prepared by States, laying imprisonment not less than three years but may extend to down normative standards for tiger conservation, providing seven years, and also with fine not less than fifty thousand information on several aspects which include protection, tiger rupees but may extend to two lakh rupees. The second or estimation, patrolling, etc., ensuring measures for addressing subsequent conviction would lead to imprisonment not less man-wild animal conflicts and fostering co-existence with local than seven years, and also with fine not less than five lakh people, preparing annual report for laying before Parliament, rupees, which may extend to fifty lakh rupees. constitution of Steering Committee by States, preparation of tiger protection and conservation plans by States, ensuring Three new havens for tigers agricultural, livelihood interests of people living in and around In a move that comes soon after the tiger census in January Tiger Reserves, establishing the tiger conservation foundation showed an overall rise in numbers of the big cat, the Centre is by States for supporting their development. set to form three new tiger reserves.

The Notification of the National Tiger Conservation Authority In-principle approval has been accorded by the National Tiger has been issued on 4 September 2006, for a period of three Conservation Authority (NTCA) for creation of reserves in years, with the Minister for Environment and Forests as its Ratapani in Madhya Pradesh, Sunabeda in Odisha and Guru Chairperson and the Minister of State for Environment and Ghasidas in Chhattisgarh, Union Environment Minister Prakash Forests as the Vice-chairperson. The official members include Javadekar informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Director

General of Forests and Special Secretary, Ministry of Odisha is among the States where the tiger population has Environment and Forests, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs,

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 58

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015 dwindled. The NTCA also accorded final approval to a proposal to declare Kudremukh National Park in Karnataka and Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand as tiger reserves. Seeking to provide more protected spaces for the endangered species, State governments have been asked to send conservation proposals for the following areas: Suhelwa in Uttar Pradesh, Mhadei in Goa, Srivilliputtur Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary/ Meghamalai Wildlife Sanctuary/ Varushanadu Valley in Tamil Nadu, Dibang in Arunachal Pradesh and Cauvery-MM Hills in Karnataka.

Punishments for violation of tiger reserve rules and hunting or altering the boundaries of tiger reserves have been enhanced. As per the Ministry’s country-level assessment, India hosted an estimated 2226 tigers in 2014.

Diverted for mining However, in reply to another question, Mr. Javadekar revealed that over one lakh hectares of forest land has been diverted for mining projects. Chhattisgarh witnessed the largest such diversion.

REDD+ Deforestation and forest degradation, through agricultural expansion, conversion to pastureland, infrastructure development, destructive logging, fires etc., account for nearly 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than the entire global transportation sector and second only to the energy sector. It is now clear that in order to constrain the impacts of climate change within limits that society will reasonably be able to tolerate, the global average temperatures must be stabilized within two degrees Celsius. This will be practically impossible to achieve without reducing emissions from the forest sector, in addition to other mitigation actions.

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) is an effort to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forests, offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development. "REDD+" goes beyond deforestation and forest degradation, and includes the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.

What is the difference between REDD+ and the UN-REDD Programme? REDD+ is a climate change mitigation solution that many initiatives, including the UN-REDD Programme, are currently Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 59

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015 developing and supporting. Other multilateral REDD+ of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate initiatives include the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility Change, countries will be able to assess the amount of carbon (FCPF) and Forest Investment Program (FIP), hosted by The stored in their forests as well as other benefits from REDD. World Bank. The UN-REDD Programme is supporting countries to develop cost-effective, robust and compatible systems for MRV. These What is "REDD+ readiness"? systems are designed to use field inventory data combined REDD+ readiness relates to the efforts a country is with satellite data and available technology to produce green undertaking, with the support of multilateral or bilateral house gases inventories and establish reference emission initiatives, to build its capacity to be ready for a REDD+ levels. The Programme is liaising with international experts mechanism. such as NASA, Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and the US Geological Survey to provide partner What are the proposed phases towards REDD+ countries with planning tools and advice to help strengthen implementation? their technical and institutional capacity for effective national Phase 1: Developing a REDD+ strategy supported by grants MRV systems. Phase 2: Implementing a REDD+ strategy, supported by (a) grants or other financial support for capability building, and Why is there so much interest in forestry, deforestation and enabling policies and measures and (b) payments for emission carbon at present? Is it a case of making money versus reductions measured by proxies. conserving the planet? Phase 3: Continued implementation of REDD+ strategy in the REDD+ is seen as one of the most cost-effective ways of context of low-carbon development, payments for verified stabilizing the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gas emission reductions and removals. (GHG) emissions to avoid a temperature rise of two degrees Celsius. But standing forests also conserve carbon while What is the role of forests in the developing world? supporting the livelihoods of a large number of Indigenous More than three quarters of the world’s accessible freshwater Peoples and forest-dependent communities as well providing comes from forested catchments. Water quality declines with essential ecosystem services such as habitat for biodiversity decreases in forest condition and cover, and natural hazards and provisioning clean water supplies. such as floods, landslides, and soil erosion have larger impacts (MEA, 2005). Further, it’s about making the private sector part of the solution by providing the kinds of market signals, mechanisms Forests annually provide over 3.3 billion cubic meters of wood and incentives to encourage investments that manage and (including 1.8 billion cubic meters of fuelwood and charcoal), conserve the world’s nature-based resources rather than as well as numerous non-wood forest products that play a mining them. So it is about making money and conserving the significant role in the economic life of hundreds of millions of planet too and if REDD can be structured right, the money will people. The combined economic value of ‘‘nonmarket’’ (social be made not just by carbon traders, but also by developing and ecological) forest services may exceed the recorded countries and communities for providing the forest-based market value of timber, but these values are rarely taken into carbon storage service. account in forest management decisions (MEA, 2005). Indeed it is predicted that financial flows from North to South The rural poor are particularly dependent on forest resources. for GHG reductions from REDD could reach up to US$30 As many as 300 million people, most of them very poor, billion a year—funds that can be invested in renewable depend substantially on forest ecosystems for their energy projects to assist the two billion people without access subsistence and survival. The 60 million indigenous people to electricity or hospitals or new schools. who live in forest areas are especially dependent on forest resources and the health of forest ecosystems (MEA, 2005). In addition to receiving carbon offsets through a REDD+ mechanism, what are the other possible benefits that How will countries reliably assess and "prove" how much developing countries and local communities can experience carbon is stored in their forests? from reducing deforestation and protecting forests? By implementing Measuring and Monitoring Systems In addition to their carbon storage role, forests provide many compliant with the Measuring, Reporting and Verification other ecosystem services to society. The nature of these (MRV) concept agreed upon by the Conference of the Parties services varies from place to place, and includes water

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 60

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015 regulation, soil protection, non-timber forest products Mr. Jaitley. including food and fibre, climate regulation and biodiversity. As most tropical forests deliver a wide range of these “To support the Gujarat Government in this initiative to erect essential services, there are many ways in which REDD+ can the Statue of Unity, I propose to set aside a sum of Rs.200 provide ecosystem and social benefits to countries and forest crore,” he said. communities. The UN-REDD Programme continues to work in this area, examining and understanding the likely multiple The 182 metres (597 feet) tall monument is planned to come benefits and risks associated with REDD+ initiatives before up at Sadhu Bet, directly facing the Sardar Sarovar dam — they are implemented. also named after Sardar Patel — on the Narmada river (Sadhubaet island), near Bharuch in Gujarat. Doesn’t REDD+ just give developed countries the excuse not to reduce their own emissions? Mr. Modi had announced the construction of the monument, REDD+ is part of the climate change solution but REDD+ alone expected to cost about Rs.2500 crore, in October last year. cannot adequately mitigate or abate climate change. The implementation of REDD+ must co-exist with significant The project is also expected to contribute to livelihood emission reductions in both developed and developing generation, tribal development and environment protection countries if we hope to curb climate change. among other things.

Countries with UN-REDD National Programmes: Argentina, The Statue of Unity is touted to be double the height of the Bangladesh, Plurinational State of Bolivia, Cambodia, Statue of Liberty in the USA and five times taller than Brazilian Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo attraction Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. (DRC), Ecuador, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nigeria, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, the Philippines, the Congo, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, the United Republic of Tanzania, Viet Nam National Board for Wildlife and Zambia. Due to the rapid decline in wildlife population, the Government of India during 1952 had constituted an advisory Other partner countries: Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, body designated as the Indian Board for Wildlife (IBWL). The Cameroon, Central African Republic (the), Chad, Chile, Costa Indian Board for Wildlife was chaired by the Prime Minister. Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Since its inception, twenty-one meetings have been convened Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea Bissau, and several important decisions relating to conservation of Guyana, Honduras, Kenya, Lao Peoples’ Democratic Republic wildlife has been taken by the Board. (the), Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Peru, South Sudan, During the 1970’s the Government of India appointed a Sudan (the), Suriname, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Vanuatu and committee for recommending legislative measures and Zimbabwe. administrative machinery for ensuring environmental protection. Accordingly, a comprehensive central legislation was enacted in 1972 called the Wildlife (Protection) Act for Statue of Unity gets Rs. 200 crore providing special legal protection to our wildlife and to the In another step towards realising Prime Minister Narendra endangered species of fauna in particular. The Wildlife Modi’s dream project, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley (Protection) Act, 1972 has been amended, the latest being in proposed, setting aside Rs.200 crore for the erection of the 2006. As per the amendment of the Act in 2002, a provision Statue of Unity in Gujarat. was incorporated for the constitution of the National Board for Wildlife, replacing the Indian Board for Wildlife. The larger than life image of “Iron Man” Sardar Vallabh Bhai National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) is a statutory Board Patel, Statue of Unity is touted to be the world’s tallest constituted on 22nd September 2003 under Section 5 of the structure when it’s completed. Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. The NBWL is chaired by the Hon’ble Prime Minister. The NBWL has 47 members including “Government of Gujarat has embarked upon the mission to the Chairman. Amongst these, 19 members are ex-officio build the largest statue of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. Sardar members. Patel stands as the symbol of the unity of the country,” said

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 61

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015

National Board for Wildlife reconstituted legal provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act which The Ministry of Environment and Forests has filed an affidavit prescribes 10 non-official members and five independent in the Supreme Court last week reconstituting the National NGOs and representatives from 10 States or Union Territories. Board for Wildlife (NBWL) after the apex court had earlier stayed all the decisions of the standing Committee. The Supreme Court on August 25 had in response to a petition put on hold the over 100 proposals approved by a In the affidavit the government has retained the Gujarat truncated standing committee of the Board notified on July 22 Ecological Education and Research (GEER) Foundation and which had only two non-official members and one added four NGOs — World Wildlife Fund for Nature-India, government organisation on board, apart from a New Delhi, Aranyak, Guwahati, Nature Conservation Society, representative only from Andhra Pradesh. The government Jharkhand and the Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, did not constitute a full fledged Board. Maharashtra. The apex court while staying the August 12 decisions of the The ten eminent conservationists are apart from Prof. R. standing committee, said they were not in consonance with Sukumar, who was on the standing committee of the Board section 5 A the Wildlife Act, 1972. The Bench directed that appointed in July, as also H.S. Singh, a retired Gujarat forest none of the orders passed by the standing committee would officer, V.B. Sawarkar, former head of the Wildlife Institute of be given effect to until the next date of hearing after two India (WII) , S.S. Bisht, a retired IFS officer from Bengal and weeks from August 25. The order came in response to a former director, Project elephant, Dr. P.S. Esa, a veterinarian petition filed by Pune resident Chandra Bhal Singh. with the Department of Wildlife, Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI), P.R. Sinha, who recently retired as Director of ECO-SENSITIVE ZONES WII, Dr. R.J. Rao, Rector of Jiwaji University, Gwalior, and The National Wild Life Action Plan (2002-2016) provided for previously with WII, — he did his PhD on the ecology of declaring identified areas around Protected Areas and aquatic animals in the Chambal River, Dr. Madan Mohan Pant, corridors as ecologically fragile under the Environment a retired IFS officer (U.P. Cadre) and a natural resources (Protection) Act, 1986, wherever necessary. The Indian Board economist, in which he holds a doctorate, Rajendra P. Kerkar, for Wild Life on 21st January, 2002 considered Wild Life environmentalist from Goa — he focuses on water Conservation Strategy, 2002 and recommended that lands purification and protection of the Western Ghats and Lav falling within 10 km of the boundaries of National Parks and Kumar Khachar from the royal family of Jasan in Saurashtra, Sanctuaries should be notified as eco-fragile zones under Gujarat, where he is involved with nature education camps in Section 3(v) of the Environment (Protection) Act and Rule 5 the Hingolgadh Nature Education Sanctuary. A well-known Sub-Rule 5(viii) & (x) of Environment (Protection) Rules. conservationist he has spent his life spreading awareness The National Board for Wild Life reviewed the matter on about nature, especially on ornithology and Gir Forest. He is a 17th March, 2005 and recommended that delineation of eco- member of the Gujarat State Wildlife Board. sensitive zones would have to be site specific, and relate to regulation, rather than prohibition, of specific activities. The A former Board member said that all wildlife experts who following criteria, as proposed by the Ministry were agreed by spent decades of their life for saving wildlife have been kept the National Board for Wildlife for declaration of Eco- away from the Board. Only retired forest officers and some Sensitive Zones around National Parks and Sanctuaries: from Gujarat have found a place. i. Complete protection to endemic species in its entire range; Govt. to reconstitute wildlife board ii. Development processes not to reduce, damage The government has decided to reconstitute the National or destroy the habitat of critically endangered or any other Board for Wildlife (NBWL) after the Supreme Court stayed threatened species; decisions of its newly constituted standing committee in iii. Protection to biological corridors; August for violating provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act. iv. Protection to highly complex and diversified ecosystems susceptible to irreversible damage, like coral Official sources on Thursday confirmed that the Board was reefs, mangroves, etc.; being reconstituted and a notification would be issued on v. Sites associated with reproductive, breeding or Thursday. While names of the nominees were not divulged, it nurturing behaviour of rare and threatened species; is understood that the new committee is in keeping with the vi. Existence of pristine forests; Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 62

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015 vii. Steep slopes ( more than 60º) the Act, implementation of the international Conventions, capacity building for scientific and professional investigation, Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 gives assistance to authorities in other countries for a coordinated power to the Central Government i.e. the Union Min•istry of universal action towards control of Wild Life crime and to Environment and Forests to take all measures that it feels are advise the government on various policy and legal necessary for protecting and improving the quality of the requirements. environment and to prevent and control environmental pollution. Eco-Sensitive Zones are notified and regulated Central Zoo Authority accordingly under Section 3(2)(v) of the Environment The Central Zoo Authority was created by the Central (Protection) Act, 1986. Government through an amendment of the Wild Life Ministry has been in engagement with the States/UTs (Protection) Act in the year 1992. The main objective was to on submission of ESZ proposals around the PAs. Meetings enforce certain minimum standards and norms for upkeep were held with representatives of States/UTs in January, and health care of animals in Zoos and to restrain February and April 2014 and in February, March, April and mushrooming of unplanned and ill-conceived Zoos that were May 2015. cropping up as adjuncts to public parks, industrial complex Process adopted in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and and highways. Climate Change for notification of Eco-Sensitive Zones: · Proposal received are scrutinized in consultation with National Zoological Park the Wildlife Institute of India. The National Zoological Park was set up on 1st November · After finalizing the draft notification, the same is got 1959 as per the decision taken in the 1st Meeting of the vetted legally after approval of competent authority and Indian Board for Wild Life in 1952. It is being directly managed thereafter, published in Government Gazette and also by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of placed in public domain for 60 days in accordance with the India. Rule 5 of the Environment (Protection) Rules, seeking views of Wildlife Institute of India public. Wildlife Institute of India was established in 1982 as an · The views/comments/activities recommended are attached office of the Ministry of Environment and Forests. compiled and considered by the Expert Committee for Subsequently, it was granted autonomous status in 1986. The finalizing the final notification to be issued under the institute is mandated by Government of India to carry out Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. research on various aspects on Wild Life conservation, · The Expert Committee is a multi-disciplinary Committee conduct training programmes for capacity building of Wild comprising of subject expert institutions for examining the Life managers, build up repository of knowledge of Wild Life comments and finalizing the draft final notification based on and provide technical and advisory services to the State and the draft notification and the comments received thereon. Central Governments in the country. · The draft final notification thus prepared is again got vetted legally after approval of competent authority before it is finally published in the Government Gazette. Illegal trade wiping out lesser-known As per the Gazette Notification No. G.S.R. 513 (E) species dated 28th June 2012, final notifications for eco-sensitive Speaking up for lesser-known species, which are being zones are to be issued within a period of 545 days, for those relentlessly hunted and traded, conservationists, wildlife proposals for which comments have been received from the experts, policy makers, scientists, research scholars, and public, after the publication of preliminary notification. senior officials from the State Forest Departments, Ministry of Environment and Forests, enforcement agencies, Wildlife Wildlife Crime Control Bureau Institute of India (WII), and non-government organisations got The Wild Life Crime Control Bureau has been created under together earlier this week to deliberate on how security Section 38Y of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. The measures can be put in place to protect the future of these mandate has been specified under Section 38(z) which species. includes collection, collation of intelligence and its dissemination, establishment of a centralized Wild Life crime Wildlife species like pangolins, birds, tortoises and sharks, databank , coordination of the actions of various enforcement were discussed during the meeting on ‘Consultation on Illegal authorities towards the implementation of the provisions of Trade in Lesser Known Species’. The meet was jointly Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com 63

Aspire IASThe name associated with excellence Current Environment PT-2015 organised by the TRAFFIC, the WWF-India, the Wildlife Crime  Full coverage of geography with writing Control Bureau (WCCB) and the Wildlife Protection Society of skill development India (WPSI).  Last year when the average score was 140 Every year in India, hundreds of pangolins, lizards and in Geo our students scored 200+ (Isha tortoises are poached, an estimated 700,000 birds are illegally Dhuna, Nitin Agarwal and Aditya uppal) trapped, and about 70,000 tonnes of sharks are caught, yet  This year when average score is 230 our the levels of exploitation on these species are rarely reported. students scored 280-300 (Aditya uppal TRAFFIC, India head, Dr. Shekhar Kumar Niraj said: “While the RANK-19 309 marks) threat posed by illegal wildlife trade to some of India’s most  Starts from 3rd Sep 2015 morning session. iconic wild animals, such as the tiger and Indian rhinoceros are well publicised, many of India’s less well-known species are also rapidly vanishing because of poaching, yet their fate 2. Our best and SUCCESS GRADE course remains largely under the radar.’’ Newspaper analysis and writing skill programme. ** Our TM and most successful programme starts “Pangolins are highly threatened because they are subject to rd a colossal illegal trade internationally, yet their plight is barely from 3 sep with the coverage of last 3 years publicised in conservation or media circles. Others, like the issues highly helpful in P-2&3 monitor lizard, mongoose, star tortoises, spiny-tailed lizards, (Seats are limited) freshwater and mariner turtles also need immediate attention,” he added. 3. Writing skill development, enhancement and Monitor lizards, especially the Bengal Monitor, were once management programme. commonly seen across the country but appear to have  Newly developed programme to enhance declined markedly. the writing skills on individual level

 Other speakers at the meeting included Ravi Singh from the Yield a fantastic result this year RANK-50 WWF-India, Kamal Dutta from the WCCB, Belinda Wright from (Kartihk) and others…. the WPSI.  30 tests till dec 2015 with same day ASPIRE IAS UPCOMING discussion, feedback and evaluation of the copies. EXCLUSIVE sessions FOR MAINS-2015 All the Best to all my students… 1. Geography OPTIONAL RRVAP (Rapid round Hope this material will help you. value addition programme) God bless…  For the last 4 years favourite programme Jai Hind among students.

 Where you are lacking we are working upon like, Paper-2 in contemporary and geographical manner, Mapping and its

application, special emphasis on Thoughts-

Regional planning and biogeography.

Aspire IAS 10/70 ORN 8010068998 www.aspireias.com