Note: First few volume of target shots are bigger because we are covering news in detail with static linkages considering fresher's preparation also. Next coming volumes will be more concise. JOIN Us : https://targetupsc.in/ 8830115524 Environment. North East Cane and Bamboo Development Council (NECBDC) ● NECBDC was incorporated with the objective of organizing the hitherto untapped bamboo sector of North East India. ● Formerly known as ‘Cane and Bamboo Development Council’ (CBDC) ● Why in news? : The Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir will set up three Bamboo Clusters #Target_shots Addition National Bamboo Mission (NBM): ● Launched in April 2018. ● Aims to-increase area under bamboo cultivation and also adopting region based strategies to promote bamboo products. ● The NBM envisages promoting holistic growth of bamboo sector by adopting area-based, regionally differentiated strategy and to increase the area under bamboo cultivation and marketing. ● The NBM will be a sub-scheme of National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) under the umbrella scheme Krishonnati Yojana. Bamboo Flowering ● The ‘gregarious flowering of bamboo’ inside the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) may pose a threat to wildlife in the Nilgiri biosphere. ● The bamboo groves in the Wayanad forest are the mainstay of herbivores in the Nilgiri biosphere during summer. ● The gregarious flowering may adversely affect migration of lower herbivores owing to the mass destruction of bamboo groves after the flowering. ● The farmers living near the sanctuary fear that the destruction of bamboo groves may worsen the increasing man-animal conflict. ● The bamboo flowering is considered a bad omen in several northeastern states of India, especially when accompanied by an increase in rodent population. Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) ● It is contiguous to the protected areas of Nagarhole and Bandipur of Karnataka on the northeast and Mudumalai of Tamil Nadu on the southeast. ● It is an integral part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. ● It was declared as a Sanctuary in 1973. ● The highest peak of WWS is Karottimala. ● The forest types include South Indian Moist Deciduous forests, West coast semi-evergreen forests and plantations of teak, eucalyptus and Grewelia. JOIN Us : https://targetupsc.in/ 8830115524 ● Kuruma, Paniya, Kattunaicka, Urali, Kurichiar and Adiyar are some of the tribal communities that inhabit this area. Snow leopard ● Habitat: The snow leopard inhabits the higher Himalayan and trans-Himalayan landscape in the five states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. ● Protection: ○ IUCN Status: Vulnerable ○ Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972: Schedule I ○ CITES : Appendix I Snow Leopard conservation in India: ● India has been conserving snow leopard and its habitat through the Project Snow Leopard (PSL). ● India is also party to the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection (GSLEP) Programme since 2013. ● For conservation, India has identified three large landscapes, namely, Hemis-Spiti across Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh; Nanda Devi – Gangotri in Uttarakhand; and Khangchendzonga – Tawang across Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. ● Project Snow Leopard (PSL) was launched in 2009 to promote an inclusive and participatory approach to conserve snow leopards and their habitat. ● Snow Leopard is in the list of 21 critically endangered species for the recovery programme of the Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change. ● SECURE Himalaya: Global Environment Facility (GEF)-United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) funded the project on conservation of high-altitude biodiversity and reducing the dependency of local communities on the natural ecosystem. This project is now operational in four snow leopard range states, namely, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Sikkim. Jal Shakti Abhiyan ‘catch the rain’ ● To be initiated by the Jal Shakti Ministry. ● It will be a 100-day campaign for the sake of cleaning up the water sources around us and conserving rainwater. Catch the Rain Campaign ● Catch the Rain is a Jan Andolan campaign. ● It aims to take water conservation at the grass-root level through people’s participation. ● The campaign intends to accelerate water conservation across the country. JOIN Us : https://targetupsc.in/ 8830115524 ● Aim : To encourage all stakeholders to create rainwater harvesting structures (RWHS). These structures will ensure the proper storage of rainwater. ● Tag line: Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls. ● Implementation: The campaign will be implemented by the National Water Mission(NWM), Ministry of Jal Shakti. ● Coverage: The campaign will be undertaken across the country, in both rural and urban areas. It will be implemented from March 22 to November 30 (the pre-monsoon and monsoon period) in the country. ● The Catch the Rain Campaign will include certain key activities like, ○ Removal of encroachments and desilting of tanks. ○ Repairs to traditional Water Harvesting Systems (WHS) like step-wells. ○ States have been requested to open Rain Centers in each district. These Rain Centres will act as a technical guidance centre in RWHS. Water Quality Information Management System (WQMIS) ● The Ministry (as part of the Jal Jeevan Mission) has launched WQMIS in addition to the framework and guidelines for testing, monitoring and surveillance of drinking water quality. ● WQMIS is an online portal that provides detailed information about laboratories for this purpose. It also allows people to access data about water quality. ● The guide details the tasks to be surveillanced and monitored at the state, district, block/street, and village level. ● The guidelines were developed in consultation with the Indian Council of Medical Research. Amynthas alexandri ● An exotic and highly invasive earthworm Amynthas alexandri has been collected and reported for the first time from Karnataka. ● They are medium-to-large-sized, fast-moving worm, which has practically inhabited all the districts of Kerala. ● Their original home is Southeast Asia. Earlier, their distribution was in China, ● Myanmar etc ● Earlier, it was recorded in 15 States/Union Territories in India Hirakud Dam Project ● Establishment: It is a multipurpose scheme conceived by Er. M. Visveswaraya in 1937, after recurrence of devastating floods in Mahanadi river. Its first hydro power was commissioned in 1956. ● Location: Sambalpur town in the state of Odisha. Objectives: JOIN Us : https://targetupsc.in/ 8830115524 ● Irrigation: The project provides 1,55,635 hectares of Kharif and 1,08,385 ha of Rabi irrigation in the districts of Sambalpur, Bargarh, Bolangir and Subarnapur. ● Power Generation: The installed capacity for power generation is 347.5 MW through its two power houses at Burla, at the right bank and Chiplima, at 22 km downstream of the dam. ● Flood Control: The project provides flood protection to Mahanadi basin including 9500 sq. km of delta area in districts of Cuttack and Puri. #Target_shots Addition Mahanadi River ● The Mahanadi River system is the third largest of peninsular India after Godavari and Krishna, and the largest river of Odisha state. ● The catchment area of the river extends to Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. ● Its basin is bounded by the Central India hills on the north, by the Eastern Ghats on the south and east and by the Maikala range on the west. ● Source: It rises from a place near Sihawa in Bastar hills in the state of Chhattisgarh to the south of Amarkantak. ● Major Tributaries of the Mahanadi river ○ Seonath River, Hasdeo River, Mand River, Ib River, Jonking River, Tel River ● Mahanadi River Dispute: The Central Government constituted Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal in 2018. Purple Revolution (Under Aroma Mission) ● About: First-time farmers were given free lavender saplings and those who have cultivated lavender before were charged Rs. 5-6 per sapling. ● Aim: To support domestic aromatic crop based agro economy by moving from imported aromatic oils to homegrown varieties. ● Products: ○ Main product is Lavender oil which sells for at least Rs. 10,000 per litre ○ Lavender water, which separates from lavender oil, is used to make incense sticks. ○ Hydrosol, which is formed after distillation from the flowers, is used to make soaps and room fresheners. #Target_shots Addition Aroma Mission: ● CSIR’s Aroma Mission aims to increase the income of the farmers through cultivation of high value and high demand aromatic crops by about Rs. 30,000 to 60,000/ha/year. ● It includes rosemary, lavender and lemon grass. ● Under the mission the crops are to be promoted in unproductive and waste lands. JOIN Us : https://targetupsc.in/ 8830115524 ● It also includes lands that are affected by drought, salinity, water scarcity and floods. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research: ● CSIR is an autonomous body and the largest research and development (R&D) organisation in India. ● Established in 1942. ● Funded by Ministry of Science and Technology. ● It is an autonomous body registered under Societies Registration Act, 1860. ● Chairman: Prime Minister of India. ● CSIR’s R&D activities include aerospace engineering, ocean sciences, structural engineering, metallurgy, life sciences, chemicals, mining, food, petroleum, leather, and environment. Black-Browed Babbler Rediscovered ● In the 1840s, a mystery bird was caught on an expedition to the East Indies. It was named as black-browed babbler. ● The species was never seen in the wild again, and a stuffed specimen