Environment and Ecology

January, 2015

1. Gorumara national Park ---Gorumara National Park, one of the smallest national park in India, has turned out to be a safe heaven for butterflies---The park located In the Jalpaiguri district of West bengal, covers an area of only 80 sq km, and has recorded at least four species of butterflies that never have been found in the State before----recent studies have proved that there are more than 330 butterflies in the park, when there are about 600 known species of butterflies in West Bengal and about 1500 in India----Gorumara alone accounts for more than half of the species found in the state and about one-fifth found in the country

----Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted for

protection of plants and animal species. This Act provides protection of wild animals, birds and animals; and for matters connected therewith or ancillary or incidental thereto.

It extends to the whole of India; except the State of Jammu and Kashmir which had its OWN wildlife Act

2. Increase in the Forest Cover of India ----According to the study of FSI points out the increase of 5,871 sq km forest cover in India----There has been an increase of 31 sq km of ‘very dense’ forest cover and ‘moderately dense’ forest has decreased while ‘open forests’ have increased, putting the overall increase at 5,871 sq km.-----In West Bengal’s forest cover has increased by 3,810 sq km, followed by Odisha where increase in forest cover has been 1,444 km and Kerala where the increase has been about 622 sq km.-----However in the NE states which accounts for one-fourth of the total forest cover of India there is a Net decrease in the forest of about 627 sq km

Reasons for the increase in Forest Cover in West Bengal/overall---

Active participation of people from different background/Coppice growth (dense growth of small tress)/Afforestation inside forests/Growth of commercial plantations and shade trees in tea gardens.

Reasons for the decrease of forest cover in NE states States from northeast like Nagaland, Arunanchal Pradesh, Tripura and Manipur,

whose forest cover comprises over 75 percent of the State’s area, have shown a decrease in forest cover—the main reason for

This is attributed to the biotic pressure and shifting cultivation. It has to be remembered that majority of the populations in the NE belongs to tribal and other scheduled lists.

3. Digitalization of Specimens -----The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) is aspiring for an ambitious project of digitisation of its millions of species; ZSI has identified 96,000 species in India, considered a mega-diversity country possessing seven to eight % species of the world-----ZSI pointed out that despite the identification of 96,000 species, only 10 per cent of the country’s biodiversity and 50% of the ecosystem has been explored

4. India Home to 18% of raptors/Birds of prey ----India is home to 106 species of raptors, popularly known as ‘birds of prey’. There are primarily two kinds: Diurnal (day flying) and nocturnal (night flying)----Out of the 333 species of diurnal birds of prey found in the world, 101 species can be found in the Indo-Malayan region----India’s bio-geographical regions support 69 species of kites, vultures, eagles, harriers, hawks, buzzards and falcons in different habitats

-The presence of raptors in the wild serves as: barometer for ecological health; important ecological role by keeping the balance and controls the population of rodents and other small mammals

----IUCN RED LIST Among these raptors, the Indian Whitebacked Vulture, the Long Billed Vulture, the Slender Billed Vulture, the Red headed Vulture and the Forest Owlet are in the ‘critically endangered’ category. The Egyptian Vulture and the Saker are in the ‘endangered’ list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) ‘Red List.

Consequences-----The sudden collapse of the natural animal disposal system in India has had obvious and multiple consequences-----Carcasses once eaten by vultures now rot in village fields, drinking water has become seriously contaminated

-----The disappearance of vultures has allowed other species, such as rats and wild dogs, to take their place.-----These newly abundant scavengers, however, are not as efficient as vultures-----A vulture’s metabolism is a true “dead-end” for pathogens, but dogs and rats become carriers of the pathogens and thus are directly or indirectly responsible for thousands of human deaths

5. Bangladeshi Islands are sinking due to embankments ----And some islands have sunk as much as 1.5 metres in the last 50 years----Reason for the sinking of Islands

Embankments were made in the 1960’s to 70’s to protect them against tidal storm and inundation

But these have been earthen embankments which while buffering them against floods have also prevented the deposition of silt, which provides a natural elevation in those areas

Deforestation in coastal areas----Impacts

More loss during disasters: the loss of elevation was felt during the 2009 cyclone Aila when large areas of land were left inundated for upto 2 years

Increased risk of flooding: these islands in the Ganges-Brahmaputra river delta are fast submerging, putting millions of inhabitants at the risk of flooding

The study therefore implicated that the direct human modification of the environment and not global sea-level rise as the most important agent of change in the Western Ganges Brahmaputra tidal delta plain

6. Forest Owlet--- ----Critically endangered species, have been sighted In Madhya Pradesh’s Betul district----Small bird of 23 cm length; ---ENDEMIC to Central Indian forests but and said to be Extinct in the Wild, but re-discovered in 1997---Distribution: Central Indian forests--- The species was first discovered in 1872 (Chhattisgarh), however it was not seen for 113 years and was believed that it has become extinct.--- It was rediscovered in 1997 in Toranmal Reserve Forest in the Satpura ranges and was once again sighted in 2004 in Toranmal of Nandurbar district of Maharashtra--- The most recent evidence of the bird happened in October 2014 in the Tansa wildlife sanctuary of Western Ghats

7. Black-Headed Squirrel Monkeys

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8. Rise in the Tiger populations ----At the average rate of 6% per annum from 2006; Largest rise recorded in the Western Ghats----India has now 70% of the tiger populations of the world; with the latest assessment estimating about 2226 Big Cats, up by 30% from 1706 in 2010----The largest increase in the tigers was recorded in the Western Ghats area: Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Tamil Nadu, with 776 tigers up from 402 in 2006----The Madumalai—Bandipur—nagarhole—Waynad complex holds the world’s single largest tiger population estimated at over 570 of them ----GOA has now persistent tiger presence with three to five animals----Uttarkhand with 340 tigers has become the second position only to Karnataka which holds the number of tigers recorded at 406

The Periyar Tiger reserve spread bagged the National Tiger Conservative Authority (NTCA) spread over 925 sq kms.; biennial award for encouraging local participation to maintain the population of the tigers

9. NEW Species found: Chlorophytum palghatense

10. Plant protection Code -----PPC is a set of guidelines for regulating the chemical inputs in TEA cultivation, was rolled put in January 1, 2015---Aim of the programme: is to make Indian tea a safe and healthy drink---The PPC is a comprehensive document; which deals with the safe usage of crop protection and methodologies that would be followed ot reduce pesticide residues in tea---the code encourages tea growers to critically review their plant protection formulations (PPF) which are a list of chemicals that are used in tea---the code is based on the Codex Alimentaris which is a set of International Food Standards and Guidelines

---PPF covers insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and bio-pesticides The PPF evolved by the Tea Board, has detailed the chemicals that can be used in

plantations making some exceptions for South India It is said that the chemical use should be restricted only in tea Estates; but also

near water bodies, wildlife habitats and human dwellings to check contamination Tea Board notifies that in spite of using PPFs, the tea industry loses nearly 30% of

its crop due to pests, weeds and diseases

11. . Chrysopelea taprobanica, the Sri Lankan flying snake, sighted in Seshachalam Biosphere Reserv

--- This was the first time that the snake was sighted outside the island nation. Previously it was considered that the snake is epidemic to the dry and intermediate zones of Sri Lanka--- This discovery also highlights that probably the species moved to India when the dry zones of peninsular India and Sri Lanka were connected, about 17000 years ago.

---About Seschalam Biosphere Reserve Seshachalam Hills the hilly ranges part of the Eastern Ghats in southern Andhra

Pradesh was designated as the 17th biosphere reserve by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests on 20 September 2010

Seshachalam Hill Ranges covers parts of Chittoor and Kadapa districts and contain seven peaks namely, Anjanadri, Garudadri, Narayanadri, Neeladri, Seshadri, Venkatadri and Vrishabhadri.

These hills were formed during the Precambrian era (3.8 billion to 540 million years ago) and are home to many endangered animals and are also rich in plant diversity.

A study suggests that the region is a home of an estimated minimum 1700 species of plants that belongs to 178 families of vascular plants.

178 species of birds have been identified in the region, like globally-threatened Yellow-throated Bulbul Pcynonotus Xantholaemus, Pompadour Green Pigeon Treron Pompadora (a bird generally found in the Himalayan region) and the large HawkCuckoo Hierococcyx Sparverioides.

Apart from this, the famous Asian Elephant maximus was discovered in the southern parts of Chittoor district in the year 1984.

Before its re-discovery, this species of elephants were not seen for nearly 300 years.

Other species of animals residing in the reason includes leopard, hyena, wild dog, golden jackal, Indian fox, jungle cat, sloth bear, spotted deer, mouse deer, four-horned antelope, Indian giant squirrel and small Indian civet

Reptiles of the region includes the Gliding Lizard (primarily inhabits evergreen biotopes in the Westren Ghats), the Golden Gecko Calodactylodes Aureus and others. The area also houses 63 species of butterflies belonging to five familia.

12. Bhagabatpur Crocodile Project in Sunderbans got a fresh start with expert assistance

--- It was in news because it got a fresh start with the help of renowned experts in herpetology who introduced global best practices in crocodile conservation.--- The project was started in mid-1970s with an aim to increase the number of saltwater crocodiles, a Schedule-I species under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.--- The project is situated next to the uninhabited Lothian Island, far from the mainland in the Sunderbans archipelago--- In past few years, the project did not see a significant increase in the number of salt-water crocodiles, and also the eggs:hatching ratio declined drastically.

--- The reason for the decline in eggs to hatching ratio was supported with increase in temperature caused by the global warming. This in turn created a challenge in maintaining sex ratio of crocodiles. Thus it called for expert assistance to give a fresh start to the project.--Expertise was needed thus to boost the project---Results:

The inputs and training provided by the experts helped in raising the eggs to hatching ratio, which is now over 70 from previous 40. Also in the last one year, nearly 75 sub-adult crocodiles in the Sunderbans have been released.

---Saltwater Crocodile The saltwater crocodile (scientific name Crocodylus porosus) is estuarine

crocodile has been kept under least concern category of IUCN. It is the largest of all living reptiles, as well as the largest terrestrial and riparian

predator in the world These crocodiles are found in India, Bangladesh, Australia, Brunei Darussalam,

Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Vanuatu and Vietnam

It is believed that the animal has possibly extinct from Thailand, while has regionally extinct in Singapore.

Dated: 17/02/2015

1. 16 New entries in the kaiga Bird Census : According to a report, 16 new birds have been spotted during the Kaiga Bird Marathon 2015 organized by the Kaiga Atomic Power Centre. Till last year, the bird census had recorded 229 species of birds. But, this year, the census report has registered 245 bird entries. The bird census is being conducted by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) since 2011 under an environmental awareness programme.The bird survey covers the areas surrounding Kaiga in Uttara Kannada district.The new entries are : Alpine swift, Malabar trogon, Booted warbler, White-bellied woodpecker, Oriental turtle dove, Indian pitta, Brown hawk eagle, White-spotted pintail, Indian blackbird, Lesser adjutant stork, Common wood stork, Greater painted-snipe, Paddyfield warbler, White cheeked pintail and Oriental white-eye

Dated: 18/02/2015 Canaries breathe easy, as gadgets enter mines With the advent of a range of portable electronic toxic gas detectors, the canaries are now set free and relieved from the dangerous job that they had been doing in the coalmines of the Kothagudem region of Singareni Collieries Company Ltd. With the company introducing state-of-the-art handheld gas detectors with sensors and alarm systems for deep excavation, the birds are no longer called in to play the role of an early-warning system for carbon monoxide and other toxic gases in the mines.Why Canaries were used?The rapid breathing rate, small size and high metabolism of the canaries make them die before miners do on inhaling toxic gases. The men can then be quickly evacuated. The canaries used to be carried in cages and miners had to look for distress signs in the birds.Controversy:Animal rights activists have been raising objections to the use of the birds. Canaries have become a fast dwindling species now.Sources: The Hindu.

Global Fertilizers use to surpass 200 million tonnes in 2018: FAO Report The world’s fertilizer consumption will grow over by 1.8% a year through 2018. This has been confirmed through the FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization) Report, World’s Fertilizers Trends and Outlook 2018, a press release. At the same time the global capacity of fertilizer products, intermediaries and raw materials will increase further, the report added.As the potential to produce fertilizer outpace their use, the Global Potential Balance, a technical term measuring the amount available over actual demand-will grow for nitrogen, phosphate and potash-three of he main soil fertilizers.

Dated: 20/02/.2015 Millions at risk from rapid sea rise in Sunderbans: It has led to a million

exodus out of climate refugees creating enormous challenges for both India and Bangladesh. Mud embankments build with crude hands are not enough for the purpose. Losing the 26,000 sq km area would take an environmental toll.Role in the environment: The freshwater swamps and the tangles of mangroves act as a natural buffer protecting India’s West Bengal and Bangladesh from cyclones. With rising temperature and increasing sea line seas have been rising globally at ana average rate of 3mm per year; which is further expected to speed up. The latest projection suggest that seas could rise at an average rate of about 1 meter or 3.3 feet this century

January Missing Events: Subramanium committee recommended single window system for

environment projects: High-level committee (HLC) headed by former Cabinet Secretary T S R Subramanium; appointed by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and Climate Change (CC) to review environmental laws.Recommendations of the Committee: suggested single window clearance mechanism for green nods. The committee submitted its reports with recommendations after studying six environment laws.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on 29 January 2015 announced to create India's first fenced elephant sanctuary at: Banerghatta National park

Dated: 27/02/20151. World’s first all-female patrol protecting rhino-poaching in Kruger’s

(South Africa): Poaching kills a rhino every seven hours in South Africa has

been brought under some control by employing an all-female patrol inside the Greater Kruger national park. They are named as The Black Mambas are unarmed and mainly consist of unemployed high school graduated from the adjoining locality. Their main role is to stop any group before they poach a rhino. The Mambas are the brain child of environmentalist and economist Mr Craig Spencer. Giraffes, lions and many other species apart from rhinos are thus protected from the target of poaching syndicates. The Mambas are the eyes and ears on the ground. The numbers suggest that their employment has worked good for the safety of the rhinos. As, no rhino has been reported to be poached in the past 10 months while the adjacent parks have reported 23.

Dated: 28/02/2015Antarctica’s retreating Ice may reshape the earth: Water is melting away from the icebergs of Antarctic, hitting the oceans, at the rate if 118 billion metric tonnes, for the past decade based on the studies conducted by NASA. In the worst case scenario, this melt could push over the ocean water levels to a height of around 10 feet worldwide in a century or two, curving heavily populated coastlines. Though 97% of Antarctic is still covered with ice, entire valleys are now free from it, ice is thinner elsewhere and glaciers have retreated.

March1. Ocean acts as Carbon Sin k

----Oceans are at present CO2 sinks, and represent the largest active carbon sink on Earth, absorbing more than a quarter of the carbon dioxide that humans put into the air. On longer timescales they may be both sources and sinks. A carbon sink is a natural or artificial reservoir that accumulates and stores some carbon-containing chemical compound for an indefinite period. The process by which carbon sinks remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere is known as carbon sequestration.---Mechanism of Ocean acting as Carbon Sinks

The atmospheric CO2 enters the ocean through steady exchange at surface. This is a physico-chemical process.

The difference in partial pressure of the CO2between seawater and air facilitate gaseous exchange. The diffusion takes place until the partial pressures across the air-water interface are equilibrated.

Microscopic photosynthetic phytoplankton utilizes CO2 during photosynthesis The biological pump transfers carbon dioxide from the surface of the ocean to the

deep sea CO2 reacts with seawater to form dissolved inorganic carbon, dissolved free

Carbon dioxide, carbonic acid, Bicarbonate and Carbonate The pH of seawater is regulated by the bicarbonate and carbonate concentrations Marine organisms combine calcium and carbonate ions in the calcification

process and manufacture calcareous materials. As the organisms die, their skeletal remains sinks and gets buried in sediments

Dated: 02/03/2015The FIRST country to submit its Climate Action plan: SWTZERLAND

@ the UNFCC. It also submits its Intended nationality Determined Contribution (INDC) ahead of the Paris Climate Talks committing to reduce the GHG emissions by 50%relative to 1990 levels by 2030. The rich European country promised that 30% of its emissions will be controlled in Switzerland itself and the remaining in the many countries abroad where it carries out its projects.

Dated: 03/03/20151. Google maps go Trekking in Amazon : Photos of the rainforests are now

visible at the Street View option of the app. This is done in collaboration with the Environment Protection group Amazonas Sustainable Foundation of the FAS, to explore a remote part of an Amazon rainforest. Since Google developed the Trekker camera in 2012, the devise has been used in other unusual journeys as well. The Trekker went scuba diving in the Galapagos Islands to take underwater photograph of the preserve, and travelled on a dog sled in the Canadian Arctic to photograph the Tundra.

2. Clean sector energy seeks more clarity : The renewable sector may find it difficult to realize the targets set for them without the clarity on the funding of various schemes announced in the budget, sector exports analyst said. The fund that prevailed till now was announced by then then Fin Min Mr Pranab Mukherjee when Coal Ind Ltd was supposed to pay Rs 50 for per tonne coal it raised as a cess (set up on the principle of polluter pays). It was put as a corpus for funding research and innovation in the renewable energy. Mr Jaitley raised this to Rs 200 in the recent budget.

Dated: 04/03/20151. Deforestation hits monsoon says reports: According to a new study

conducted by the researchers at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore,Widespread deforestation, especially in the northern high latitudes, has taken a toll on the monsoon across the northern hemisphere, with rains over India particularly badly affected.Details of the Study: The study says that

Till 1750s, only about 7% of the global land area had been cleared for agriculture and that proportion has since risen to around one-third.

Such deforestation has reduced rains in the monsoon regions of the Northern Hemisphere. India was affected the most with global deforestation producing 18% reduction in the summer monsoons.

Not only that the Northern hemisphere was affected, even countries in the Southern Hemisphere like South Africa, South America and Australia.

Reasons for the decrease in Rainfall in Northern high latitude regions: When forests in the northern high latitudes are removed, more sunlight is reflected back into space and this region gets cooled sharply. And hence, the rainfall is affected.

Sources: The Hindu.

Dated: 05/03/2015 1. India submits 46 entries to the UNESCO World Heritage Site List :

Revised tentative list for the monuments/sites of historical importance and this was discussed in the RS. The list was submitted to the UNESCO World heritage Site List in April 2015 as per the UNESCO guidelines Culture Minister Mahesh Verma said in a written reply. Ancient Buddhist Site (Sarnath, Varanasi) Chilka Lake, Dholavira; Mountain Railways of India (the extension). Baha’is’ House of Worship at New Delhi, Silk Route

Sites in India; Sri Harimandir Sahib and Mughal gardens in Kashmir are among the recommended sites among the 46 listed.

Dated: 09/03/20151. Sunderbans loosing green cover and land mass; says ISRO study :

According to a satellite analysis conducted by the Indian Space Research Organisation, the Indian Sunderbans has lost 3.71% of its mangrove and other forest cover, while losing 9,990 hectares of its landmass to erosion in one decade.The Eastern Zone Bench of the National Green Tribunal which is hearing case environmental violations in the Sunderbans directed holding the study.The study also says the following:

As much as 1,607 hectares of the eroded area had vegetation. During the 10 years, 216 hectares of landmass had been added, of which

121 hectares has green vegetation. About 95.14% of the green cover had not undergone any change;

while fresh vegetation has come up with 1.1% of the entire area. The depletion may be due to some natural and anthropogenic(human

intervention) process The 9,600 sq km of Indian Sunderbans is highly susceptible to coastal

erosion and coastal land dynamics. A recent World Bank report had also pointed out that the carrying

capacity of the landmass had exceeded with the population density of over 1,000 a sq.km .

Added Points: Sunderbans covers approximately 10,000 square kilometres (3,900 sq mi) of which 60% is in Bangladesh with the remainder in India. It is described as the UNESCO Heritage Site. This is the single largest block of tidal halophyte vegetation in the world.Mangroves in India account for about 3% of the world’s mangrove vegetation. Mangrove cover in India is 4,662 sq. km, which is 0.14% of the country’s total geographical area. Sunderbans in West Bengal accounts for almost half of the total area under mangroves in the country. Mangrove in India is famous for its rich variety of flora and fauna.Reasons for the depletion of the mangrove cover int eh country may be cited as follows:

Grazing and exploitation problems Neo tectonic movement of the river courses Abatement of fresh water discharges due to construction of dams and reservoirs. Rapid trend of the reclamation of mangrove forests for habitations Pollutant discharges from cities and industries etc.

Sources: the Hindu, GSI, FSI, Wiki. Dated: 11/03/2015

1. United Nations: natural Disasters will soon cost the world USD 314 billion annually : The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) in a report stated that the said amount will be spent every year to meet annual average losses from antural disasters like earthquake, tsunamis, tropical cyclones and river flooding.This report serves as an alarm as the UN convene the 3 rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk reduction that will replace the 10 year old HYOGO framework for Action adopted on the 2005 UN Conference in Kobe.

At Sendai . Countries are expected to announce their commitments on reducing the impact of disasters, which have claimed over 1.3 million lives and cost the global economy at least $2 trillion in the past 20 years.

2. Black Carbons’ Impact on ecosystem : Black Carbon and Snow Melt:

1. BC can accelerate ice melt when they accumulate on snow. The bright snow surfaces reflects high amount of solar energy back into space

2. BC absorbs substantial factors of this energy and re-emit it as heat. The Arctic and Himalayas are therefore vulnerable.

3. BC on glacial snow is a concern as it alters the melt cycle of the glaciers in regions that rely on glacial melt to compensate the water supply through seasons

4. These impacts are highly regional, and dependent on the local profile and the trend and transport of pollution

5. Considerable focus on the Arctic and alpine glacial regions and the Himalayan glaciers

Black Carbon and rains 1. Known to interfere int eh cloud formation and the rainfall pattern2. Also reduces sunlight that reaches the surface and reflects back into

space3. May change precipitation patterns and surface visibility. Scientists say

that plumes of emissions can suppress convections and stabilize the atmosphere in ways that obstruct normal precipitation patterns

4. It is also described as the dimming of the Earth’s surface that reduces patterns of evaporation that makes cloud. If BC heats up the layer that produces clouds, then they will evaporate instead of bringing in rains

5. They can no longer reflect sunlight back into space, and so the soot-laced clouds end up in warming the atmosphere.

6. But BC that hangs over low lying clouds have a different effect: it stabilizes the air on the top of the cloud, promoting their growth. These clouds act like shields, blocking th incoming sunlight.

7. As a result BC also ends up cooling the atmosphere Thus BC has both positive and negative impacts.

All particles necessarily do not warm. Some have a cooling effect as well. Among the various fractions of particles, mainly the Organic carbon and

Sulphate have a cooling effect, as they are light-reflecting. The share of heating and cooling particles decide the net temperature on the planet.

Scientists are still trying to figure out a threshold for this. The exact threshold from negative to positive forcing for the major sources is still an area of uncertainty, and a field of ongoing research.

.Share of cooling and warming particles decide the net positive and net negative impact on various sources.

Moreover, if the Global radiative forcing of particles of various sources since the Industrial revolution is tracked, it will be seen that while CO2, methane, BC had a warming effect; organic compounds and sulphate had a cooling effect on the planet. Thus all sources CANNOT be blamed for causing the warming of the atmosphere. For instance open burning and residential biomass/biomass based cook stoves have a much higher have much higher proportion of Organic Carbon that scatter sunlight, thus yielding a net cooling effect. Thus ironically, while CO2 emissions are tipping to the point, it is biomass energy of the poor which is playing the compensating role.

But, Black carbon emissions from transport which either uses diesel/brick kilns with inefficient combustion techniques have higher share of light absorbing combustion techniques and this warms the atmosphere.

Source: Insights:What do you mean by Black Carbon? What is its impact on ecosystem? (200 words)

Black Carbon is a fine particulate component (<2.5microns) which is either present in soil (makes soil fertile) or in atmosphere (short lived GHG effect.). It is emitted by incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, crops chaffs, brick kiln, bagasse burning, inefficient diesel engine or other anthropogenic factors.Impact on ecosystem(1.) When deposited in snow, ice or cloud they absorb sunlight which otherwise were reflected. Hence, it raises the temperature leading to faster melting of glaciers and ice. Sometimes they are trapped in snow and keep on absorbing sunlight.(2.) Black carbon like CFCs, HFCs, Methane’s and other short lived GHGs remains in atmosphere for 2 weeks to 1 year, but during this period they do good amount of damage.(3.) Right now, no country is observing the Black Carbon emission as it is not included in Kyoto Protocol list and only emitters are India and China in vast amount.(4.) Most vulnerable people are living in rural areas and working in Brick Kiln as they breathe the Black Carbon. Also village women who cook in wood, fossil fuels and saw dust are prone to pulmonary disease due to Black Carbon.(5.) One of the constituent in smog during winter season, it also affects health of people in traffic.Though it is not a long lived GHG and harms potently to environment. But measures to stop emission of Black Carbon should be taken seriously by Govt of developing nations.

Dated: 12/03/20151. Rare Snow Leopard spotted in China: In the Tianshan Mountains in NW

China Xinjiang province; after a gap of 10 years. They were captured in infra-red cameras three in number. Snow Leopards are one of China’s Category A endangered animals, are usually found in the Himalayan ranges in Central and South Asia. According to researchers, the pictures showed an increase in the number of the species within the area as well as balanced ecosystems

2. Jaisalmer’s breat-taking sand dunes fast losing their awe : And turning into garbage dumps as a result of unregulated tourist flow. Broken beer bottles, Unchecked footfall, movement of vehicles right up to the dunes and camel carts ferrying tourists are taking a heavy toll of the natural sand dunes which used to be about 55 to 60 metres in height about 30 years ago, and have now reduced to half, the locals claims. But, none seems to be complaining since tourism is the main source of livelihood for the local population in Jaisalmer district which is very close to the international border along Pakistan. Apart from these, plastic wrappers and all sorts of environmentally hazardous items are not only being left behind by the tourists but, more shockingly, buried under the sand by the camp operators.

3. Rhino numbers rise in West bengal : West Bengal is now home to the second highest population of the one-horned rhinoceros in the country after Assam, with the number growing to 250 in the State.

----A State Forest Department survey in January has revealed that the Jaldapara National Park in the State has nearly 200 of these endangered animals and the Gorumara National Park, 50.---- Jaldapara now has the second highest population of them after the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, which has over 2,000. The increase in number from 20 in 1990 to 250 now is a major feat. ----This is the result of conservation efforts and [work of] our local communities,One Horned Rhino: (Vulnerable species) One horned rhino is the highest population among all the other species of rhino. Once found across the entire Northern part of India, populations were severely depleted due to human interference like poaching, hunting for sport and used as agricultural pests. This pushed the species close to extinction by 1975 there were only 600 individuals surviving in the wild.

2012 : conservation efforts saw the population grow to over 3,000 in the Terai Arc Landscape of India and Nepal, and the grasslands of Assam and north Bengal in northeast India.

4. Oldest primitive animal fossil found in China: S cientists have discovered the “earliest and most credible” primitive animal fossil in 600-million-year-old rocks in southwest China. The research led by Chinese scientists described a well-preserved, rice grain-sized primitive sponge fossil in the Guizhou Province, The discovery will help remove doubts whether animals have emerged on earth 600 million years ago,Significance of the Discovery : The discovery will help remove doubts whether animals have emerged on earth 600 million years ago.Description of the species : The fossilized animal, slightly more than 1.2-mm wide and 1.1-mm tall, displays many characteristics of modern adult sponges, an analysis based on advanced imaging techniques found. The specimen is composed of hundreds of thousands of cells, and has a structure consisting of three adjacent hollow tubes sharing a common base, the researchers said.

5. Mars once had larger Sea than the Arctic Ocean : Ancient Mars was likely to have possessed a primitive ocean that held more water than the Earth’s Arctic Ocean, the US space agency NASA said. Perhaps about 4.3 billion years ago, Mars would have had enough water to cover the entire surface in a liquid layer about 450 feet (137 metres) deep. More likely, the water would have formed an ocean occupying almost half of Mars’ northern hemisphere, in some regions reaching depths greater than a mile (1.6 kilometres). In all, the red planet’s early ocean would have contained 20 million cubic kilometres of water, but since then, 87 per cent of that water has been lost to space.Comparisons: By comparing the ratio of “heavy” water containing deuterium, a heavier form of hydrogen, with regular water, scientists believed that Mars must have lost a volume of water 6.5 times larger than the amount trapped in the present polar caps.An early ocean on Mars containing the lost water would have covered 19 per cent of the planet’s surface, they said. By comparison, the Atlantic Ocean occupies 17 per cent of the Earth’s surface.

6. Sindhudurg comes alive with a ‘pristine’ coral collection : The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has found three new records of coral reef on the Sindhudurg coast near Malvan of Maharashtra during a recent survey. Efforts to protect the reef with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which has sanctioned Rs. 80 lakh towards capacity building of the local people.As per the coral species are concerned, the three new additions are: Goniatsrea sp, Porites sp and Turbinaria sp.----THREE new records of coral reefs have been found by the ZSI in the said region.

----Unlike the reefs found in other parts of the country — Gulf of Mannar, Gulf of Kutch, Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands — those in Malvan are still unbleached.

Coral reefs stand second only to rainforests in the biodiversity of species.Possible threats of Coral reefs:

Fragile ecosystems , partly because they are very sensitive to water temperature

They are under threat from climate change, oceanic acidification, blast fishing, cyanide fishing for aquarium fish, sunscreen use, overuse of reef resources, and harmful land-use practices, including urban and agricultural runoff and water pollution, which can harm reefs by encouraging excess algal growth.

Efforts to protect Coral Reefs in India----Efforts are on to protect the reef with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP), which has sanctioned Rs. 80 lakh towards capacity building of the local people.----The ZSI had earlier transplanted coral reef from the Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu to the Gulf of Kutch inGujarat over one square km with assistance from the World Bank.

Dated: 14/03/20151. Forest, ecology, environment clearances through a single portal now: In

order to bring more transparency in the process, The Ministry of environment, forests, and climate change (MoEF&CC)is rolling out a single portal to be up and running from March 15th. This is for the online submission for monitoring the ‘environmental, forests and wildlife clearances’ –integrating wildlife clearance with forest and environment. The Ministry also sent a circular to all States Forest Secretaries and Chief Wildlife wardens asking them to tell user agencies to submit their proposals online. This portal would facilitate monitoring of proposals of user agencies for seeking wildlife clearances along with other two clearances.

2. US Scientists questions Green nod to Indian Hydel projects : A top American researcher has questioned the scientific accuracy of EIA reports for India’s Hydel power projects criticizing the process behind environmental clearances as being “manipulative”. This is based on his research for over 20 years, focusing on public culture and environmental issues. The Subansiri and the Dihang projects in the NE India were among them. He is the author of the book: On the Banks of the Ganga: When Waste Water meets a Sacred river.

3. Goa beaches to be studied for carrying capacity : Goa will rope in the National institute of Oceanography (NIO) to study the carrying capacity of tis beaches in a bid to control pollution and proliferation of the beach shacks. The board has decided to Ask NIO for the study to know how many shacks will be required to put ideally on a stretch on beach. Goa based NIO is a Central govt

Agency that functions under the aegis of Council of Scientific and Industrial research. The shacks are licensed before every tourist season and have to be dismantled before the monsoon season. This will also look into the issues related to sewage management and solid waste management in beach shacks.

Dated: 18/03/20151. New butterfly species spotted In West Bengal: This is considered to be a

significant addition to the butterfly species. Wildlife enthusiasts have found the Malayan Green Banded Peacock (Papilio palinurus), a beautiful specimen found in South East Asia, for the first time in India. ----This was spotted in Chintamany Kar Wildlife Sanctuary in South 24 pgs district in Bengal. Referred to as the “flagship species,” butterflies are not only pollinators of flowering plants, but also useful in monitoring environmental changes. While there are about 600 known species of butterflies in West Bengal, India is home to about 1,500 species of butterflies.

This particular species of butterfly which has been discovered is also found in the Southern Myanmar and peninsular Thailand south-eastern into Borneo and the PhillipinesAdditional Information: West Bengal is probably the only State which is home to a wide variety of peacock butterflies such as the rare Krishna Peacock, Blue Peacock, the relatively common Paris Peacock, Common Peacock and Common Banded Peacock. The only other Peacock butterfly found in the country is Buddha Peacock or Malabar Banded Peacock, which is endemic to south India.

Source: the Hindu2. Impact of rising temperature on pests : The effects are claimed to be several

and complex. Climate change resulting in increased temperature could impact crop pest insect population in several complex ways. Increased temperature can potentially affect insect survival, development, geographic range and population size.Some of the possible impacts can be stated as follows:

Temperature can impact insect physiology and development directly or indirectly through the physiology or existence of hosts.

Depending on the development strategy of an insect species, temperature can exert different effects.

Reproductive biology of an insect may be affected both positively and negatively: (Climate, temperature and precipitation in particular);

Warmer temperatures in temperate climates will result in more types and higher populations of insects. Some insects like arctic moths take several years to complete one lifecycle.

Some crop pests are ‘stop’ and ‘go’ developers in relation to temperature —they develop more rapidly during periods of time with suitable temperatures. Increased temperatures will accelerate the development of these types of insects, possibly resulting in more generations per year.

Insects that spend important part of their life histories in the soil may be more gradually affected by temperature changes than those that are above ground simply because the soil provides an insulating medium that will tend to buffer temperature changes more than the air.

Rise in temperature in winter may help to continue the lifecycle of some pests. Lower winter mortality of insects due to warmer winter temperature could be important in increasing insect populations.

Insect species diversity for a particular area tends to decrease with higher latitude and altitude indicating that rising temperature could result in more insect species attacking more hosts in temperate climates.

Source: the Hindu

3. E-surveillance by drone will make an impetus on the preservation on tiger populations : Minister of Environment, Forests & Climate Change Shri Prakash Javadekar has said that India which was home to more than 60 % of the total global tiger population needed a systematic approach to preserve the wild life species. This initiative is taken to stop the poaching and several other illegal activities. Thus this initiative will be a strategic intervention for the preservation of the tiger population across the country. The Minster also released SOPs(Standard Operating Procedure) on issues related to Active Management towards rehabilitation of Tigers, Orphan Tiger cubs and Tiger depredation on livestock which gives various details of steps being taken in this regard.Additional information: PROJECT TIGER: The Government of India has taken a pioneering initiative for conserving its national animal, the tiger, by launching the ‘Project Tiger’ in 1973. From 9 tiger reserves since its formative years, the Project Tiger coverage has increased to 47 at present, spread out in 18 of our tiger range states. This amounts to around 2.08% of the geographical area of our country. The tiger reserves are constituted on a core/buffer strategy. The core areas have the legal status of a national park or a sanctuary, whereas the buffer or peripheral areas are a mix of forest and non-forest land, managed as a multiple use area. The Project Tiger aims to foster an exclusive tiger agenda in the core areas of tiger reserves, with an inclusive people oriented agenda in the buffer.

Source: The Hindu 4. National body to formulate standards for forest certification : After years

of disagreement the GOI and non-government stakeholders, the country is a step closer to having its own National Forest Certification system in place. Representatives of forest-based industries, non-profits, forest auditors and government forest departments launched a body called Network for Certification & Conservation of Forests (NCCF).  Aims of the Body : The body will now set standards for certifying India’s forests and their products, with an aim to ensure their sustainable management. Forest certification is a market-based mechanism which ensures that domestic forest produce commands better price in the global market, while encouraging sustainable harvesting of forests in the country. Certification leads to better management of forest resources by promoting responsible trade in forestry.Progress so far : India has however made little progress in this regard

Of the total 78.92 million ha forest and tree cover in the country, only 0.8 million ha of forests has been certified so far.

The total supply of certified wood in India is less than 10 per cent of the total demand.

The major reason for little progress has been the government’s reluctance to subject the forests managed by it to an independent and third party scrutiny (Like any private owned insitutions, like we have in most of the Latin American/European countries).  

Source: Down to Earth5. Climate change, migration burdening urban areas in Bay of Bengal:

Rising urban population following forced migration from rural areas is a result of climate change and poses a burden upon urban risk-reduction efforts, aver experts from Bay of Bengal countries. The forced migration as a result of climate impact is adding burden to manage urban risk reduction efforts.The experts adopted a 'Charter for Disaster Risk Reduction' with key policy recommendations for the ongoing World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) in Sendai, Japan.

The document also brought to the fore the need to localise disaster risk-reduction (DRR) approaches.The Charter was adopted in a workshop where majority of the BOB nations in SE Asia participated. Focus should be on: Urban centres must have the plan to address the issues for migrants to the

cities and develop a comprehensive strategy to promote resilience with necessary skills to address their vulnerabilities.

There is also the necessity to strengthen institutional instruments to support data management, habitat planning and capacity building. 

Weak resource management as well as faulty development design and initiatives have created several challenges in urban areas such as flood, health related problems.

Importance of inclusion of social parameters  Strengthening the linkages between science, policy and practice for a

comprehensive engagement finally resulting in policies and strategies that lead to benefits for the communities at risk. 

Source: The TOIDated: 20/03/2015

1. The differentiated impacts of climate change/Part 1: Different countries are acting different, given the muddling motives to change . Climate change is a global phenomenon caused by all of us in differing extents and affecting all of us in different ways.In Climate Change, the key players together constitute more than 50% of the world GDP, population and CO2 emissions. They are the US, China, the European Union and India. Let’s start with the US. The US is geographically and politically very

diverse. California and the US Southwest are and will be hit hardest by the changing climate. Much like India, they will become drier, so households and agriculture will be sorely beset. The rich and famous in Hollywood already spend crores of rupees a year in buying water. Forest fires, encouraged by increasing drought and heat, burned 9.2 million acres of forest in 2012 (roughly the size of Kerala) with rising risks to health and property. So it’s not surprising that Arnold Schwarzenegger, erstwhile Terminator and current governor of California, is a committed climate change fighter.

Moving to the East Coast : Hurricane Sandy that hit the US in 2012 left behind $60 billion in property damage and 150 deaths in its wake. The Northeast will be pounded by heavy rainfall and powerful storms as the climate warms leaving expensive infrastructure and the urban poor vulnerable to flooding and its aftermath.

The rest of the US will be affected by climate change but manageably so and many parts like the Midwest might even benefit with longer crop growing cycles and nicer weather.

The Great plains of America is home to oil companies and oil-derived wealth and the fracking (getting oil & gas from shale rock) revolution - they will not want to give that up easily to lessen climate change especially as they are not impacted too much.

CHINA : China is a powerful country with an average 1.3 billion mouths to feed and a third of its workforce in agriculture. Dust storms now bombard the capital, frequent droughts have begun to plague agriculture, floods and storms threaten the prosperous south-eastern cities and the air is thick with haze. Heat waves threaten the urban Chinese and incidence of dengue is set to increase. Many of China’s glaciers are predicted to disappear by 2050 further impacting agriculture, especially in the dryer north. China has

woken up to the dangers of climate change and in typical Chinese fashion, has started to act. From next to nothing, China has the largest installed wind power capacity today and is targeting 70 GW of solar installations by 2017. It is the world’s largest solar panel manufacturer. China has been building another great wall - one made of trees to prevent sandstorms over Beijing.

2. The differentiated impacts of climate change/Part 2: European lead is a positive step, but Indian consequences still dire. European countries look like the poster children of action on climate change. Emissions of greenhouse gases (the causative agents of global warming) are down since 1990 and; a further binding 40% reduction in greenhouse gases (from 1990 levels) is targeted by 2030.Credibility of Europe: Europe achieved its targets for three reasons: the 2009 financial crisis and the 2011 Euro crisis caused the European economy to falter (and lowered the amount of energy it used), the outsourcing of production of a substantial fraction of the “stuff” consumed by European customers (and the emissions associated with producing the stuff) and the pursuit of renewable power. How they perform in future will depend on what their “payoff” is.Air pollution (some of which exacerbates global warming) causes half a million deaths in Europe annually; Glacier melting and the flooding of rivers and rising sea levels threaten low lying countries like the Netherlands (where up to an eighth of the country lies below sea level). Intense water scarcity and increasing summer temperatures hurt agriculture and tourism income of Southern Europe. Many northern European countries benefit with lower heating costs, higher agricultural productivity and longer tourist seasons. There are winners and losers within Europe, but because Europe is developed, the losers can manage the changesBy this Europe can gain in the following way:

First, it might desire to gain prominence in the global podium, which at present is dominated by China and USA.

Second, a higher sense of social equity in European countries may be driving action through a social justice angle.

Third, European companies stand to gain from action on climate change. Some of the world’s leading wind energy manufacturers and LED lighting companies are European. 92% of responding Euro 300 companies report that climate regulation presents an opportunity to their business.

Indian Impact: India is and will be badly affected by the changing climate. We are a hot, dry and poor country - thus vulnerable to the heating and drying aspects of climate change (think floods, droughts, lost livelihoods and increased infection) and with limited financial space to adapt. We have abundant reserves of relatively inexpensive coal. We have a young country with a large poor and middle class hungry for iphones and commercial dreams. They will want the government to spend on education and jobs, not on carbon sequestration. We cannot take on binding unilateral targets of emission without ambitious binding emission reduction commitments and financial assistance from developed countries. Why? India cannot afford to cut its emissions aggressively - but even if it did, this would be futile if the rest of the world continued to emit for then, the world would still get warmerTaken together, India’s payoffs if status quo persists are very negative unless everyone cooperates; China’s is negative; US’s is very mixed; Europe, though the status quo payoff is not very negative, by credibly signalling that they will always cooperate, has made it more likely for others to cooperate . The depressing truth is that the differentiated “payoffs” from climate change makes substantive action unlikely in a consensus based forum like the UN. We

could try for better success by framing the issue on moral grounds like slavery and shame countries into complying by invoking reputational consequences. But that’s a long shot.

Miscellaneous:1. Mystery of strange mammals : Ever since Darwin first collected their fossils

about 180 years ago, scientists had been baffled about where these odd South American beasts that went extinct just 10,000 years ago fit on the mammal family tree. The mystery has now been solved. Biochemical analysis of bone collagen extracted from fossils of the two mammals, Toxodon and Macrauchenia, demonstrated that they were related to the group that includes horses, tapirs and rhinos. Some scientists previously thought the two herbivorous mammals, the last of a successful group called South American ungulates, were related to mammals of African origin like elephants and aardvarks or other South American mammals like armadillos and sloths. Infomration about the newly tabled species: Toxodon, about 9 feet long, possessed a body like a rhinoceros, head like a hippopotamus and ever-growing molars like a rodent. Macrauchenia, just as long but more lightly built, had long legs, an extended neck and apparently a small trunk.

2. Green solution for bio-waste : Away from the public gaze, South India’s first plant producing Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) from hotel and poultry farm waste has completed its first year of operations. The plant is supplying 600 kg of CNG to the city’s restaurants every day. Tucked away in Huskur village, the plant named Maltose Agri Products Private Limited (MAPPL) not merely takes away some amount of the city’s waste, but also turns it into energy and averts release of hazardous methane into the atmosphere. Currently operating with three waste digesters, it will have ten of them on completion of its expansion plans. Waste from poultry farms, hundreds of hotels and restaurants n cattle dung which are hand-picked abound the area are trucked into the farm. Dry waste is first crushed. Non-organic waste such as plastics or silica is removed and sent to a collector tank where slurry is prepared. It is then pumped into large digester chambers. Anaerobic digestion takes 21 days for production of methane at the start of the process. Methane is finally produced in the form of a continuous process and compressed under high pressure to be filled into CNG cylinders and supplied in restaurants in the area. Benefits: Plants like Maltose have several benefits. They can be a replacement for landfills. With low content of carbon in emission from them, the environmental dividends are huge. The residues from them can be used instead of organic fertilizers and the CNG is available at cheaper rates.

3. Street lights glow on electricity generated from vegetable waste : Corporation sets up bio-methanation plant in Pulianthope on a trial basis. is one of the first projects to be undertaken by the civic body to convert vegetable waste into electricity. Along with scientists from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, which provides technical support for the project, engineers of the civic body have been conducting trials at the transfer station. Separate bins have been provided to hotels and Amma canteen in the neighborhood to collect vegetable wastes, the main raw material used in the plant. On an average, for every two tons of vegetable waste, around 40 kilowatt of electricity can be generated. One kilowatt of electricity can illuminate four street lights in the neighborhood. In other words, around 40 KW of power can get 150-160 street lights to glow in the locality.

4. Sacred grooves of Kerala down to 1200: Rampant construction and human activities have spelt doom for Kerala’s sacred groves, a recent report tabled in the state Assembly said. Over the past six decades, Kerala

has witnessed a drastic reduction in the number of its groves. While the state boasted of more than 10,000 groves at the time of its formation in 1956, only around 1,200 exist now, and among these many are under threat, the report prepared by the State Assembly Committee on Forest and Sacred groves, also called Kavu in Malayalam language, are rich abodes of biodiversity. They are often seen on the premises of Hindu ancestral homes (tharavaadu) in the villages. It was a common practice among the people to assign a portion of the land on which they built house to serpent god Naga or goddess Durga. Felling of trees or even removing a twig from these lands were considered taboo. The groves were looked after and maintained by joint families. Establishment of sacred groves was also seen as traditional efforts by the villages to conserve biodiversity and water resources. These groves had perennial water supply and thus supported human habitation. They also served as places for worshipping nature.Biodiversity hot spots : According to the state forest department, sacred groves are as rich in biodiversity as the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats.

The size of a grove varies from 0.004 to 1 hectare. The vegetation in undisturbed groves is often luxuriant with multi-layered

canopies, shrubs, lianas and herbs. The ground laden with humus is full of ferns and undergrowth. A majority

of the groves occur in the northern region of the state. The groves are home to rare flora and fauna, including endangered

species---As many as 475 species of birds, 100 species of mammals, 156 species of reptiles, 91 species of amphibians, 196 species of fish and 150 varieties of butterflies abound in the groves.

Reasons for destruction: A major reason for the destruction of the groves is the

disappearance of the joint family and the emergence of the nuclear family.

Construction of new houses in place of old ancestral homes is contributing to the gradual destruction of the groves as the fragile ecological system is getting disturbed, the report says.

Indiscriminate grazing of cattle, felling of trees for firewood, encroachment by people and uprooting of old trees in natural calamities  have contributed to the destruction of sacred groves. 

The coastal district of Alappuzha has the highest number of groves while mountainous districts like Idukki and Wayanad have the lowest number. Iringorkavu, spread over a hectare in Perumbavur in Ernakulam district, is the largest grove in the state, the report says.

Way Ahead: Preservation of sacred groves is important in an era of dwindling forest

cover, water shortage and climate change Concerted efforts should be made by the forest department and the State

Biodiversity Board to maintain the groves. he government should encourage the grove owners to maintain them by

giving financial incentives and awards Programmes to make people aware about the importance of groves

should also be held.  Felling of trees and poaching of birds should be banned in the groves,  Rare species of trees should be preserved in seed banks to ensure their

availability.What has been done till now:

The state has spent about Rs 88 lakh since 2011-12 to promote the conservation of groves.

In a bid to involve students, 240 biodiversity clubs have been formed in various higher secondary schools and colleges.

The number of these clubs will be increased to 500 by the end of this year, The government is also trying to create new groves in different areas.

5. US federal agencies to cut greenhouse gases by 40% by 2025 : This move comes in wake of the US China deal and is expected to cut the overall emissions of the country by 26 million tonnes. This new sustainability plan for the next decade also directs federal agencies to increase their renewable energy target to 30 per cent by 2025. This is seen as a bold move on the part of the US to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while at the same time boosting clean energy which is expected to save tax payers up to $18 billion in energy costs. US is the world’s largest polluter historically and currently emits over 5,000 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. The country is faced with pressure from developing countries and environmental groups to drastically cut its emissions owing to its historical responsibility to address climate change. The new charter signed by Obama follows the US-China climate deal wherein the US pledged to cut its carbon emissions by 26-28 per cent by 2025 against 2005 levels.

6. Aral Sea turning Desert : In 1960, the Aral Sea was the world’s fourth largest inland water body, spread over 67,499 sq km—an area 65 times that of Delhi. Its basin was spread over seven Central Asia nations—Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Iran. Today, hardly 50 years later, it is a shadow of its former self. According to UK-based online environment paper Earth Times, 82 per cent of the sea has dried up into a desert, 

This should act as an eye opener for world leaders and institutions that favour economic growth at the cost of the environment. In October last year, the world saw the death of the Aral Sea—a lake that was so big that it was called a sea. This is among the biggest ecological disasters of modern times. In the Beginning: The Aral Sea is an endorheic lake, which means that although it has surface inflow, there is no surface outflow of water. The inflow into the sea is because of two rivers, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya.Reasons that lead to the disaster: The Sea started to shrink because of the ambitious economic plans of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. In 1929, he ordered collectivization of farms in Central Asia to achieve cotton independence. The lasting legacy of this social and economic transformation was destruction of traditional irrigation in the Aral Sea basin. In the 1940s, under Stalin’s Great Plan for the Transformation of Nature, construction of irrigation canals was started on a large scale. Many of the canals were poorly built, allowing water to leak or evaporate.In 1987, the sea separated into two water bodies—a small Aral Sea in the north and a large Aral Sea in the south. The Syr flows into the former, the Amu into the latter. In 1992, the local authorities constructed an earthen dike to block outflow to raise the level of the small sea. In August 2005, the dike was replaced by a dam (Kok-Aral) built by Kazakhstan. In the case of the small sea, the dike and dam raised and stabilised the water level, leading to greatly improved ecological conditions. But the large Aral Sea was not so fortunate. It continued to dry up and by the early 2000s had divided into a shallow eastern lobe and a deep western lobe connected by a channel.In October 2014, the eastern lobe dried up completely for the first time in modern times, according to NASA. The seabed that emerged is now known as the Aralkum desert.Factors responsible:

While experts hold the former Soviet Union’s economic policies responsible for the shrinking of the sea, they also blame the area’s geopolitics for the death of the water body.

The Aral Sea is located in a place which is still Russia’s backyard and where Russian influence reigns and competes with forces of Islamic extremism and Sinic and Western influence.

Soviet central government, by expanding irrigation in the basin beyond the point of environmental sustainability, dried up the sea.

n fact, 2014 saw a string of events in the region’s vicinity—Russian annexation of Crimea, unrest in Ukraine, soured Russian-West relations, global jihad and the continued rise of China.

All these events indirectly influence the future of the sea. Local governments in the catchment area have a lot of other things to do now. Saving the Aral Sea is not the primary task for them

Ecological and Human Impact: The vibrant commercial fishing industry that developed in the first half

of the 20th Century ended in the early 1980s as indigenous catch species disappeared owing to rising salinity and loss of shallow spawning and feeding areas.

The sea basin, which was once a habitat for more than 70 species of mammals and 319 of birds, has only 32 species of mammals and 160 of birds.

Navigation on the sea also ceased by the 1980s as efforts to keep the increasingly long channels open to the ports of Aralsk at the northern end in Kazakhstan and Muynak at the southern end in Karakalpakstan became too difficult and costly.

There has been continual desertification in the area. Salt has accumulated on the surface forming pans where practically nothing will grow.

Salt-tolerant plants and drought-tolerant plants have replaced endemic vegetation.

Strong winds, particularly in spring, blow salt and dust from the dried bottom of the sea on to surrounding land.

Owing to the sea’s shrinkage, climate has changed in a band up to 100 km wide along the former shoreline in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, 

As a result, maritime conditions have been replaced by desert-like regimes. Summers have warmed and winters cooled, spring frosts are later and fall frosts earlier, humidity is lower, and the growing season shorter,

The population around the sea suffers health problems. Bacterial contamination of drinking water is pervasive and has led to high rates of typhoid, viral hepatitis and dysentery. Tuberculosis is prevalent as is anaemia, particularly in pregnant woman. Liver and kidney ailments are endemic.

Future Implications: Uzbekistan government has finally announced a US $2 billion

package to revive the water body. The project will be funded through international loans that will be repaid by the Uzbek government and International Fund for Salvation of the Aral Sea, which includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Dated: 23/03/2015

1. Australian Blueprint for saving the Great Barrier Reef: A plan to save Australia’s Great Barrier Reef from destruction was announced as Prime Minister Tony Abbott sought to persuade the United Nations that the World Heritage site was not “in danger”. The reef has lost about 50 per cent of its coral in the past 30 years, due partly to ocean acidification caused by greenhouse gas emissions; the dumping of spoil from the dredging of sea channels; and pollution from agricultural chemicals. Plagues of venomous crown-of-thorns starfish, which eat coral, have also caused widespread damage. Australia’s 35-year plan envisages spending more than £1bn over the next decade to protect the reef. An initial sum of £52m will be used to cut the run-off of sediment, fertilisers and pesticides into the sea, which Steven Miles, the state of Queensland’s environment minister, said was the biggest medium-term threat. The reef contributed about £3bn a year to the economy.

2. Madhav Gadgil wins Tyler prize: Ecologist Madhav Gadgil has been chosen for the prestigious Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement for 2015.Achievements : Gadgil was the Chairman of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP). Dr. Gadgil’s report on the preservation of the unique ecosystem of the Western Ghats was specially cited as the reason for the honour, besides his contributions to the crafting of the National Biodiversity Act, 2002.Fellow winners : Gadgil will share the $200,000 cash prize with American marine ecologist Jane Lubchenco for their work in changing policy and especially for their leadership and engagement in the development of conservation and sustainability policies in the United States, India and internationally.About the Prize : Prize for Environmental Achievement is an award for environmental science, environmental health, and energy. Tyler Laureates receive a $200,000 annual prize and a gold medallion. The prize is administered by the University of Southern California and was established by John and Alice Tyler in 1973.

Source: The Hindu3. Scientists discover shape shifting frog in Ecuador cloud forests : Mutable

rain frog changes texture from smooth to shiny--- A frog in Ecuador’s Andean cloud forests can rapidly change skin texture in minutes, appearing to mimic the texture it sits on/ mutable rainfrog (Pristimantis mutabilis),/ nicknamed the amphibian the “punk rocker” frog for its thorn-like spines/

4. Nine new frog species found in the Western Ghats : In 2014, 41 new species of frogs have been found, all in the Western Ghats---- The new species belongs to genus Raorchestes. According to journal Nature, Western Ghats are one of the eight "hottest hotspots" for biodiversity in the world.

About the species: What is RaorchestesIt refers to a group of frog species found in south and Southeast Asia. Some of these bush frogs are small enough to fit on the tip of one's thumb, measuring anywhere between 15 to 45 mm. A part of the larger family of tree frogs, they are called bush frogs because they are found in lower parts of the forest canopy, usually in bushes, shrubs and small trees. Bush frogs are nocturnal creatures, very hard to spot, and most easily found by tracking their loud calls, especially in the dark or the middle of the night.

5. Indonesian frog species found to show unique reproductive behavior: Limnonectes larvaepartus is the only species of frog known to give birth to live tadpoles----- A species of frog found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi has been found to be giving birth to live tadpoles – a unique behavior among the world’s 6,000 frog species.  The Limnonectes family is known as fanged frogs because of twin projections on their lower jaws that are used in fighting.

6. Carbon Emissions from forests drop down by 25%---/ 2001-2015 / Better forests Management and deforestation contribute to emission reduction---Slowdown in global deforestation rates. Global emissions from deforestation dropped from 3.9 to 2.9 Gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year over the period of 2001-2015. Deforestation is defined as a land-use change, from forest to other land uses. Among the significant ones, include Brazil, Chile, China, Cape Verde, Costa Rica, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Turkey, Uruguay, and Viet NamFAO emphasized at the same time that despite the overall reduction in carbon emissions from forests linked to less deforestation, emissions from forest degradation have significantly increased between 1990 and 2015, from 0.4 to 1.0 Gt CO2 per yearForest degradation is a reduction in tree biomass density from human or natural causes such as logging, fire, wind throws and other events.FAO published these figures for the first time on the occasion of the International Day of Forests, celebrated on 21 March 2015.

Methodology adopted to this change— A more sustainable management of forests will result in a reduction in carbon

emissions from forests and has a vital role to play in addressing the impacts of climate change

Forests are critical to the Earth's carbon balance and hold about three-quarters as much carbon as is in the whole atmosphere. 

Sustainable agriculture is equally important to reduce the pressure on forestsImbalances between countries and regions---

The absorption of carbon by forests helps to counterbalance, although not entirely, overall emissions due to the conversion of forests to other types of land use

Forests absorb and store an additional two billion tonnes of CO2   per year (2011-2015), excluding emissions from deforestation.

Half of the forest carbon sink is related to growth in planted forests.  Developed countries continue to represent the bulk of the overall estimated

carbon sink, with a share of 60 percent (2011-2015). --- This share, however, has decreased from 65 percent (2001-2010), mainly due to a decrease in the establishment of new planted forests.

Developing countries account for the remaining 40 percent of the total carbon sink.

At the regional level , Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean all continued to release more carbon than they absorb, although emissions from Africa and Latin America decreased between 1990 and 2015.

Brazil alone represented more than 50 percent of the overall estimated reduction in carbon emissions between 2001and 2015.

The forests of Europe and North America functioned as net carbon sinks between 1990 and 2015 since they absorb more carbon than they release, whereas Oceania did not show a clear trend in forest emissions over the same period.

Dated: 27/03/2015

1. Policy niggles put India’s solar dream under a shadow---While the government wants to generate 100,000 Mw of solar power by 2022, it is yet to seriously implement steps to meet production and transmission targets---

2. Climate change costs —unpredictable weather may affect about 30% of the crops in India—India has been hit by unusual weather and much of the climate change has been endured with unseasonal rainfall and even hailstorms majorly affecting around 30% of the Rabi crops. Adverse implications will be on the food availability and even inflation. Wheat, mustard and gram, with many vegetables and fruit crops over 18 million hectares has been affected in the process. The loss in production is feared to hit wheat alone to Rs. 65,000 crore. Tracts in Vidarbha and Marathwada in Maharashtra had to be coped with the first drought and then excessive rains—both affecting badly the crops in those regions. Like the Sholapur region was mashed by hailstorms affecting crops in a similar way.

Dated: 30/03/20151. Pacific Ocean warms, indicated potential EL Nino --Recent warming of the

Pacific Ocean may signal an El Nino weather event is forming, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said on Tuesday. Also Climate models indicate the central tropical Pacific Ocean is likely to continue to warm, with El Nino thresholds to be reached or exceeded by mid-year. There is about 50% chances of the development of El Nino in the coming months, which is twice the threshold of likelihood. Because of the possibility of EL Nino various other related climatic changes can also follow-- the system would likely bring below-average winter and spring rainfall over eastern Australia and above-average daytime temperatures over the southern half of Australia.Impact--Such climatic conditions would prove a blow for Australian wheat production, which is reliant on rains in winter and spring.

Source: The Hindu2. Channeling of Green Climate Fund begins --The Green Climate Fund (GCF),

an international fund dedicated to achieving low-emission and climate resilient growth in developing countries, will soon begin allocating funds for projects. Its board has identified the first seven entities which will serve as channels for fund disbursement:The entitles accredited to board includes—

Asian Development Bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’ Centre de suivi écologique (CSE) in Senegal Fondo de Promoción de las Áreas Naturales Protegidas del Péru

(PROFONANPE) The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)

based in Samoa Acumen Fund, Inc. (Acumen)

This is the first time that the GCF Board reviewed applications for accreditation with the Fund. Of the US $10.2 billion pledged to GCF, only $104 million have been received so far. The GCF aims to accumulate $100 billion by 2020. In that sense, the pledged amount is only 10 per cent of the targeted amount.

3. River linking to climate change --The Pampa Parirakshana Samiti (PPS), an eco group, has urged the government to abandon the Pampa-Achencoil-Vaipar Link Project (PAVLP) aimed at diversion of water from the west-flowing Kerala rivers Pampa and Achencoil to the Vaipar river in Tamil Nadu, as it would lead to climate change over a period of time.  

The scientific community had alerted the government on the alarming environmental issues in the event of implementing the various river-linking projects proposed in the National River Linking Programme.

The environmental consequences of the reduced runoff from rivers targeted by the interlinking programme. Experts were of the view that the reduced runoff from the rivers could affect the monsoon rainfall.

More news on the Interlinking---

----Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation has constituted a ‘Task Force’ on Interlinking of Rivers to look into the issues relating to Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) in the country. The Task Force would be chaired by B.N. Navalawala. ---- B.N. Navalawala said the panel would work out a “mechanism” that will bring “benefits” to the surplus States when they shared waters with deficit regions.

Inter Basin transfer-------Intra-basin transfer of waters was equally important. The rainfall distribution in the country, even within a State, was uneven. ---- Therefore, while facilitating inter-linking of rivers, the task force would also look at intra-basin transfer. ---- To start with, the Ken-Betwa link between Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh would be taken up. That would be followed by the Daman Ganga-Pinjar Par-Tapi-Narmada links between Maharashtra and Gujarat.---- The newly constituted Central task force on interlinking of rivers will focus on delivery of relief and rehabilitation (R&R) measures even before the links are implemented. ---- For the remaining links, efforts would have to be made to win over Kerala, Odisha and Karnataka who were opposed to the programme.

The river linking project, which the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) calls inter-basin transfer of water, is designed to ease water shortages in western and southern India, while mitigating the impact of recurrent floods in the eastern parts of the Ganga basin

The plan proposed—

----Under the National Perspective Plan (NPP) prepared by the Ministry of Water Resources, the NWDA has identified 14 links under the Himalayan Component and 16 links under the Peninsular Rivers Component. ---- According to the NPP, the Himalayan Rivers Development Project envisages construction of storage reservoirs on the main Ganga and the Brahmaputra and their principal tributaries in India and Nepal, along with an inter-linking canal system to transfer surplus flow of the eastern tributaries of the Ganga to the West. It will also link the main Brahmaputra with the Ganga.---- The Peninsular Rivers Development Component is divided into four major parts: interlinking of Mahanadi-Godavari-Krishna-Cauvery rivers and building storages at potential sites in these basins, interlinking West-flowing rivers north of Mumbai and south of the Tapi, interlinking of Ken-Chambal, and diversion of other West-flowing rivers.

Issues with the Inter Linking Project—

----Environmentalists, hydrologists and economists around the world have expressed deep concerns at the irreversible damage that this sort of a mega project can do to the country’s environment and our water resources. ---- Massive civil works will be involved, lakhs of people will be uprooted and vast sums of money will be required. ---- The idea of inter-basin transfers is based on the assumption that certain surplus (flood-prone) and deficit (drought-prone) areas exist so that water is readily available without any objection to transfer from the former to the latter. ---- Any neat division between “deficit” and “surplus” areas becomes more of a problem in these times of climate change when erratic weather patterns are more frequently seen. So the basic conditions of problem-free transfer of water from the country's “surplus” to “deficit” areas simply do not exist. The tensions are likely to be much greater when inter-basin transfers also involve neighbouring countries. ---- Bio-Diversity flourishing in a particular river system will react when it is linked to another river.

1. Climate change has health and economic benefits: claims study — If countries limit global warming to 2°C, more jobs will be created and fewer pollution-related deaths will take place.

The report—Assessing the missed benefits of countries—analysed the emissions pledges made by countries before the Paris UN Climate Summit scheduled in December.

Europe, US and China to be benefitted— Europe has promised 40 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030. This will

create 70,000 full-time jobs, prevent around 6,000 premature pollution-related deaths and bring about a $ 35.56-billion cut in fossil fuel imports.

But if emissions were reduced by around 55 per cent, all these benefits would increase.

USA-- If the US is able to meet the 2°C target, it could prevent 20,000 premature deaths each year from air pollution. It would also create 180,000 full-time green jobs in the domestic renewable energy sector and save $ 160 billion each year from reduced oil imports. 

China--  would save over a million lives and create almost 2 million jobs. Switzerland was the first country to formally communicate its contribution

to the UN climate change deal by promising 50 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030

Effects of temperature rise-- Global temperatures have already risen by 0.85°C since 1880, according to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). However, if the temperature continues to rise, then the limits for human and environmental adaptation are likely to exceed in many parts of the world,  It has envisaged around half of the world’s current agricultural land becoming unusable, the sea level rising up to two metres and the extinction of about 40 per cent of species worldwide.

As climate changes, drier regions will become less habitable owing to increased drought and desertification

People would be expected to adapt to the new situation by shifting. However, this would result in a concentration of the human population,

agriculture and remaining biodiversity in a contracting land area, leading to an increasing competition for land and water,

Source: Down to earth

2. Year 2014: records in extreme climatic conditions —Saw record Ocean heat; High Land surface temperatures and devastating flooding--The year 2014 will be best remembered as the warmest year on record since modern measurements began in the mid-1800s. 

And this was despite an expected EL Nino condition, which is typically associated with elevated global temperatures, which failed to materialize.

Global average sea surface temperatures for 2014 were the warmest, Antarctic sea expanded to a record extent for the third year in a row,

The major events that occurred are depicted as follows —

3. Arctic Sea Ice hits a record low this winter— As the planet gets hotter, Arctic sea ice gets a record melting percentage even this winter. In the Unsettling new milestone, Arctic sea ice, made of frozen seawater floating in the ocean, usually expands in the cold winter months, reaching a "maximum" around February or March. But this year, the winter maximum appears to be the lowest on record: Satellite investigations began as earlier as 1979 when it was noted that Arctic ice declines at the extent of 3-4% per decade---The decline in sea ice has been especially pronounced during the summer months, where Arctic sea ice extent has declined roughly 40 percent over the past three decades, and the ice has lost significant volume,Once the sea ice hits its winter maximum, it will start melting over the spring and summer months. Back in August 2012, Arctic sea ice extent hit its lowest level ever recorded, but then rebounded a bit in the summers of 2013 and 2014. Scientists point out that the melt is driven by Global Warming, as well as by other pollutants humans put into the atmosphere. This vanishing sea ice has the following conseqiuences—1. Unlocking once frozen areas of oil and gas explorations 2. Potentially mucking with weather patterns in North America and Europe.

If this decline continues then we are likely to see a year when th Arctic will be potentially ice free in the summer months.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) simply says an ice-free Arctic in September is "likely" before 2050 under high global-warming scenarios.

Human Interference : responsibility towards the increased melt—In 2012, (the large storm in august that year also played a viable role to break apart the Arctic ice).one study confirmed that  between 70 and 95 percent of the Arctic melt since

1979 has been caused by human activity. Exact numbers aside, it's clear that human influence has played a big role in the Arctic.

Global warming has drastically heated up the region, with the Arctic warming about twice as fast as the rest of the world

Soot and other pollutants from factories and power plants in Europe and Asia travel up to the Arctic. When those dark particles settle onto snow and ice, they absorb sunlight and start sizzling. It all leads to less ice.

Melting Arctic ice won’t raise up Sea levels, but a melting Greenland might--Frozen seawater that's floating in the ocean can't raise sea levels when it melts, because that ice was already displacing its own weight--So melting Arctic sea ice won't, on its own, flood our coastal cities.

But, As the newly exposed Arctic Ocean waters start absorbing more sunlight, the broader region will keep heating up. And that's important when it comes to the vast ice sheet covering Greenland. Greenland's freshwater ice is sitting on land, so when it melts and flows into the ocean, that does raise sea levels.

Greenland's ice sheet is currently 1.9 miles thick a nd contains enough ice to raise global sea levels by about 25 feet in all. And that ice sheet is indeed shrinkng---which is now loosing ice at an accelerated rate of 243 gigatones per year.

This is partly due to raised Arctic air in the summer and partly due to rising ocean temperatures which chews away the outer edges of ice sheets.

Possibilities for the Arctic Melt- - It could, in theory, make it easier for oil and gas companies to explore polar regions that were once inaccessible. Back in 2012, for instance, Shell sent a drill ship to the Chukchi Sea off Alaska to prepare for oil exploration in the newly thawed region. Alternatively, the melting Arctic could also open up new shipping routes during the summer months.

There's also the possibility that a melting Arctic could lead to fresh tensions among the nations that border it — the United States, Russia, Canada, and so forth. In theory, there's an Arctic Council that's supposed to settle various -disputes that are likely to arise as the ocean opens up. 

Contrast to the studies of the Arctic Ice is the Antarctic Ice which for reasons unknown is growing.

There are two types if ice in the Antarctic—Sea Ice and Land Ice Of them the Sea ICe is that which covers vast tracts of   floating in the

ocean around the continent. For reasons that are still unclear, the extent of Antarctic sea ice has indeed been growing in recent years

There's also land ice. This is the snow and ice that sits on top of land in large ice sheets.

Land ice is more relevant to humans, since when that ice melts and drips into the ocean, it pushes up global sea levels. (There's enough ice in West Antarctica alone to raise the ocean 10 to 13 feet..and according to current estimates, Antarctica is loosing this land ice.

Thus although the Arctic and the Antarctic are behaving like their locations—poles apart, yet the global rise in temperature can do more harm than being useful.

3. Greenhouse gas hits records— The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a new record

high in 2013, propelled by a surge in levels of carbon dioxide, the   World Meteorological Organization reported Tuesday , raising the threat of increased global warming.

The scientists warn that the Earth's natural ability to store and mediate the gases through oceans, plants, and other means may be approaching a saturation point, which could exacerbate current warming. Not all scientists agree, however.

The World Meteorological Organization's annual report "shows that, far from falling, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere actually increased last year at the fastest rate for nearly 30 years,

This trend has to be reversed by cutting emissions of CO2 and other GHGs Carbon dioxide levels rose more between 2012 and 2013 than during any

other year since 1984. The report showed that between 1990 and 2013, the energy in the

atmosphere increased by 34 percent.  The surge was driven by a concentration of carbon dioxide that is 42

percent higher than the level in the pre-industrial era (prior to 1750). Methane and nitrous oxide were 153 percent and 21 percent higher,

respectively, than pre-industrial levels, although their overall numbers are much lower than carbon dioxide's.

Cautioning systems—1. Normally, about a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions into the

atmosphere are absorbed by plants, while another quarter dissolves into the ocean.

2. But the ability to plants and oceans to keep on absorbing excess greenhouse gases may be slowing as those systems approach what may be a saturation point,

3. The record high levels of CO2 gas was related to the r educed CO2 uptake by the earth's biosphere in addition to the steadily increasing CO2 emissions,

4. CO2 remains in the atmosphere for many hundreds of years and in the oceans for more longer. Thus it is also related to the increased acidity in the ocean waters

4. Ozone facts---- Ozone is a colorless gas. Chemically, ozone is very active; it reacts readily with a great many other substances.

Near the Earth’s surface, those reactions cause rubber to crack, hurt plant life, and damage people’s lung tissues.

But ozone also absorbs harmful components of sunlight, known as “ultraviolet B”, or “UV-B”.

High above the surface, above even the weather systems, a tenuous layer of ozone gas absorbs UV-B, protecting living things below.

Dobson Unit-- The Dobson Unit (DU) is the unit of measure for total ozone. If you were to take all the ozone in a column of air stretching from the surface of the earth to space, and bring all that ozone to standard temperature (0 °Celsius) and pressure (1013.25 millibars, or one atmosphere, or “atm”), the column would be about 0.3 centimeters thick. Thus, the total ozone would be 0.3 atm-cm. To make the units easier to work with, the “Dobson Unit” is defined to be 0.001 atm-cm. Our 0.3 atm-cm would be 300 DU.

Ozone Hole--- Each year for the past few decades during the Southern Hemisphere spring, chemical reactions involving chlorine and bromine cause ozone in the southern polar region to be destroyed rapidly and severely. This depleted region is known as the “ozone hole”.The area of the ozone hole is determined from a map of total column ozone. It is calculated from the area on the Earth that is enclosed by a line with a constant value of 220 Dobson Units. The value of 220 Dobson Units is chosen since total ozone values of less than 220 Dobson Units were not found in the historic observations over Antarctica prior to 1979. Also, from direct measurements over Antarctica, a column ozone level of less than 220 Dobson Units is a result of the ozone loss from chlorine and bromine compounds.

5. What is meant by Ecotourism---

Ecotourism is a new approach in tourism sector. Several terms relating to ecotourism such as, sustainable tourism, green tourism, rural tourism, community-based tourism, responsible tourism etc have been emerged over the last 20 years or so.

Eco tourism means preserving travel to natural areas to appreciate the cultural and natural history of the environment, taking care, not to disturb the integrity of the ecosystem, while creating economic opportunities that make conservation and protection of natural resources advantageous for local people. 

The potential of ecotourism as a strategy for sustainable development was recognized during the Earth Summit in 1992, when sustainable tourism was considered as an environment friendly economic activity.

It can provide vitally needed income to poor communities, giving them an economic stake in protecting the environment. It led to change in the tourist perceptions, increased environmental awareness and desire to explore natural environments. Eco tourism may foster cultural exchanges between people- leading to greater understanding.

India, the land of varied geography offers several tourist destinations that not just de-stress but also rejuvenate you. The few places like the Himalayan Region, Kerala, the northeast India, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and the Lakshdweep islands are some of the places where you can enjoy the treasured wealth of the Mother Nature. Thenmala in Kerala is the first planned ecotourism destination in Indiacreated to cater to the Eco-tourists and nature lovers. 

The India topography boasts an abundant source of flora & fauna. India has numerous rare and endangered species in its surroundings. The declaration of several wildlife sanctuaries and national parks has encouraged the growth of the wildlife resource. Currently, there are about 80 national parks and 441 sanctuaries in India, which works for the protection and conservation of wildlife resource in India. 

There are numerous Botanical and Zoological Gardens in India, which are working towards the enhancement of the Ecosystem. Poaching has been stopped to large extent. There are several animal & plant rights organisations, which fight for the rights of the animals and plants. Numerous organisations and NGOs are coming forward to provide environmental education to the common people at the grass root level. 

Community eco-tourism initiative:  Eco-tourism at the initiative of communities has been started in different states of India

like J&K, Nagaland, Kerala, Sikkim and West Bengal. In Ladakh, several villages have initiated home stay programmes for trekkers and other

tourists, with funds going back to conservation and village development. Khonoma village near Kohima is the site for ‘Green Village Project’ set up by the

Maharana Kumbha Common Interest Group, with nine villages from BPL families. The youths were trained in visitors’ management. The camp offers camel and horse riding, hiking, folk dances etc.

If ecotourism is not properly monitored it can be as damaging as the mass tourism with negative impacts on ecology, environment, social and economic life of host communities. With the increased footfalls of tourists, the deep need today is that tourism like other sector be planned and managed suitably. 

Negative consequence List:

commercialization, direct impact on environment, problem of garbage and pollution, impact on fauna and flora, encroachment on virgin land, heavy traffic in ecologically fragile areas, adverse effect on local people, trade of wild animals, threat to indigenous culture (Jarawa tribe)

The use of plastic cups, bags and bottles causes havoc in the natural system. Paper cups abandoned in and around biosphere reserves might cause large scale mortality of worker bees. It is reported that globally 70% of crop plants and 98% trees in tropical rain forests are pollinated by tiny insects like bees.

6. Reef fish and sex ratios: related to warming trend of oceans- - Using a multigenerational experiment research has shown for the first time that when reef fish parents develop from early life at elevated temperatures they can adjust their offspring's sex through non-genetic and non-behavioral means

Dated: 07/04/20151. Bengaluru shutterbag captures rare Partridge --A photographer recently

spotted the Chestnut-breasted Partridge (Arborophila mandellii), endemic to the Eastern Himalayas in Arunachal Pradesh.

About Chestnut-breasted Partridge— There are nearly 45 different species of partridges, of which the Chestnut-

breasted Partridge —is classified as a ‘hill partridge’ It gets its scientific name from an Italian naturalist IUCN estimates that about 2,500 Chestnut-breasted Partridges live in Arunachal

Pradesh, Bhutan and Lower Tibet along the Himalayas. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which

categorises the bird as vulnerable, has only a colourful painting — at least two decades old — as reference.

Source: the Hindu2. Green ultimatum to western ghats states — The Ministry of Environment and

Forests has set April 30 as the final deadline for the States along the Western Ghats for submission of reports on demarcation of the ecologically-sensitive areas as per the recommendations of the high-level working group

The committee is headed by Dr K Kasturirangan 37% of the ghats are to be declared sensitive (as opposed to the too

much economic friendly Gadgil Committee recommending 75% of the Western Ghats area as ecologically sensitive zone restricting development activities.)

According to the ultimatum, the states bordering the Western ghats must submit their area ‘They consider to be ecologically sensitive’ so that developmental activities can be planned by the GOI in other parts. If not, the GOI would demarcate the boundaries as per their own accord.

Kerala is the only State among six bordering on the Western Ghats that has promptly filed the submissions while other States have been dragging feet---Kerala   has submitted the cadastral maps of 123 ESA villages along with colour-coded maps, demarcating the residential areas, water bodies, sandy grounds, farmlands, plantations, forests and hilly areas in each village. And then according to the remaining area it can lead to exemption.

Madhav Gadgil report—2011 ---was an environmental research commission appointed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests of India. The commission submitted the report to the Government of India   on 31 August 2011. It was considered to be too environment friendly when it recommended banning of complete environment-hazardous activities in the whole of Western Ghats starting from Salher-Mulher to the BilgiriRanjan

hills.—this report was also considered by UNESCO, which added the 39 serial sites of the Western Ghats on the World Heritage List

Kasturi Report —it seeked to balance both the developmental front and the environmental front.  By watering down the environmental regulation regime proposed by the Western Ghats Ecology Experts Panel’s Gadgil report in 2012. The Kasturirangan report seeks to bring just 37% of the Western Ghats under the Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) zones — down from the 64% suggested by the Gadgil report.[8] Dr. V.S. Vijayan, member of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) said recommendations of the Kasturirangan report are undemocratic and anti-environmental.----A crucial report on Western Ghats prepared by K. Kasturirangan-led high-level working group (HLWG) has recommended prohibition on development activities in 60,000   km2ecologically sensitive areas spread over Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.---the 37 per cent of the total area defined as the boundary of the Western Ghats is ecologically sensitive. Over this area of some 60,000 km2, spread over the States of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu,-----The Kasturirangan group had recommended declaration of 56,825 sq km of the Western Ghat areas as ecologically sensitive, which is much less than the Gadgil committee suggesting delineation of 1.29 lakh sq km.

Also in the News --The ministry has already accepted the Kasturirangan group's report for demarcation of the ESA zones in the Western Ghats and it is now under pressure of the National Green Tribunal to declare the ESA zones at the earliest.

Source: HeraldOther important approach for the Western ghats—

Western Ghats have been added to the enviable list of UNESCO’s world heritage sites on July 1, 2012 at a meeting in the Russian city of St. Petersburg.

Thirty nine sites of the Ghats have been selected as heritage sites by the World Heritage Committee

Silent valley, one of the must see destinations in a man’s life also belongs to the Ghats.

The major seven clusters of Western Ghats are Agasthyamala, Periyar, Anamala, Nilagiri, Thalakkaveri, Kudhramukh and Sahyadri.

The topmost peak of Western Ghats is Anaimudi found in the Idukki District of Kerala.

The three major rivers that originate in the western ghats and flow to the east and transverse a great distances right across the peninsula are:-1) The Godavari2) The Krishna3) The Kaveri

The habitat and biological hotspot of 5000 flora, 16 never ever seen endemic birds, 179 omnivorous species and 191 pure water fishes:-140-Mammal species510-Bird species180-Amphibian species260-Reptile species

Major threats to the Ghats— The ecological imbalance and the regular rhythm of the nature is mainly

attributed to the unfettered axing of trees and thus paving the way for the desertification of the zone.

The Red Data Book published in 2012 signal that the fauna of the Ghats is increasingly depleted and decimated over the years.

Unscientific methods over fishing especially electro-fishing, dynamiting, industrial effluents, introduction of exotic species.

Illegal mining is found rampant especially in Goa and Karnataka. Mining activities badly necessitate enormous quantum of water which in turn causes siphoning off water into mining pits. Naturally, there is dearth of water for farming and drinking.

The large scale thermal plants such as cement, iron and steel in the states of the Ghats heighten the temperature of nearby regions by dissolving toxic chemicals from air.

Thermal power plants emit fly ash containing lead and mercury which is deposited in river and thereby turn detrimental to the reproductive cycle of fishes.

Steps taken by the GOI— The GOI followed the mandate of the  National Development Council,

promulgated the execution of the Western Ghats Development Programme in the Fifth FYP (1974-79)

9th 5YP onwards wherein watershed based development approach became the watchword:- in order to check the water erosion, optimize the use of natural resources

Major Committees Formed—1. Madhav Gadgil Committee (Specified):  Madhav Gadgil, famous ecologist, was

deputed to be the chairman of Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel. The main objective of the Committee is to study the ecological and environmental issues hovering around Western Ghats and give salutary recommendations:-He submitted Ecologically Sensitive Zones (ESZ) into three zones.Zone 1: Needs highest protection.Zone 2: Needs intermediate protection.Zone 3: Needs moderate protection

2. Kasturirangan Committee --The Kasturirangan panel was set up by GOI to study the Gadgil committee report on Western Ghats. The Committee’s report was brought to light on 18/04/2013. Some of the crucial recommendations are:-

There should be complete ban on mining activities in Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA).

Around 6,000sq km of Western Ghats, spread across six states, should be turned into a no-go area for commercial activities like mining, thermal power plants, polluting industries and large housing plans.

The ongoing mining activities should also be banned within 5 years or as and when mining lease is expired.

90% of the natural forests left in the Ghats to be conserved under the ESA provisions.

Also this 90% of the area adds up to .60,000 sq km and constituting about 37% of the entire hilly belt—be conserved under the Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) provisions of the green law.

The forests area falling within the ESA would also cover 4,156 villages across the six states. The villages falling under ESA will be involved in decision making on the future projects. All projects will require prior-informed consent and no-objection from the gram sabha (village council) of the village.

The Panel did not recommend an outright rejection of the Athirapalli

hydroelectric project in Karnataka and Gundiya Dam in Karnataka.

The forest area falling within the ESA covers 4156 villages and so the villagers should be involved in decision making on the future projects.

The township or construction over the size of 20,000 sqm in the ESA to be banned.

It has also recommended a ban on the Hydroelectric projects in the Zone, but put a regime of stricter clearances for dams and other projects.

The report suggests doing away with complete moratorium on industrial and mining activity in the two Maharashtra districts of Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri. It has suggested persisting with the ban only on the area of the two districts falling within the ESA and a strict regulation in the rest.

The report has steered clear from demanding  a strict ecological control over the Western Ghat complex requiring changes and regulations on agricultural practices the way Gadgil committee report had suggested.

Latest Updates on the Report—Kasturirangam Report to be implemented by year-end—---Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Prakash Javadekar recently said that the recommendations made by the Kasturirangan Committee report on eco-sensitive zones in the Western Ghats would be implemented by this year-end.---He said that the Union government had asked the state government to hold consultations with the local population and submit their comments.---While Kerala has submitted its comments, Karnataka is yet to do so. Tamil Nadu, Goa, Maharashtra, and Gujarat are expected to submit their reports shortly.

3. Leopard numbers across the country down by 80%-- Following the spates of recent Human-Leopard conflicts, which indicated that leopard numbers were on the rise. A study conducted by three wildlife scientists for over four years has found that the leopard population, on the contrary, has declined by a whopping 70-80 per cent over the past 100 years. The study was primarily based on genetic analysis The population estimation of leopard numbers has been done from different

parts of the country, but no cumulative data is available Molecular data from fecal samples of leopards were also collected In India leopard preservation is often clubbed with tigers because many

leopard are in Tiger reserves Because a reliable count of their numbers is not possible, not much has been

done for their systematic protection While Tigers have got protection under the Project tiger Programme initiated

by the GOI, leopard did not sustain such a major feat Infact poachers have now tried to replace tiger parts with that of

Leopards—around 4,000 body parts and bones of leopards were discovered from different parts of the country during the period of 1994-2013 as compared to only 1,000 of that of tigers

Rising conflicts of human and leopards are also dwindling their numbers. the severe depletion of habitat and prey is bringing leopards in direct conflict with human

Though leopards are territorial animals and solitary in nature, but the encroachment ont heir territory is bringing them in direct clash with human thus decreasing their numbers.

Dated: 13/04/3015

3. Lakshadweep has been facing a drastic decline in coral cover in recent years. Discuss various environmental and anthropogenic factors behind this phenomenon. How can El Nino be disastrous for the world’s coral reefs? Illustrate------

Lakshadweep is one of the best regions of India for coral formation and of late this has been facing a decline in coral formation. As reported in early 2010, the coral cover of the area was 27% which dropped till 11% because of the May 2010 bleaching. The effects were most pronounced in the Karavatti region of Lakshadweep.--this decline is producing serious threat to the marine community and the livelihood prospects of the local community.Some of the factors which contributed to these phenomena can be listed hence—

1. Environmental — Climate change-- the rise in sea surface temperature due to El-Nino

phenomenon during 1998 caused extensive coral reef bleaching impacting over 40 to 90% of live coral cover

Coastal erosion—serious problem faced by the islands every year leading to coral loss

Increased sedimentation and pollution of water also affects the delicate balance of coral and their survival need

El Nino—this is an anomaly and not well understood phenomena, and often cited as the major reason for coral bleaching according to scientists.

Further, it is well established that the last big El Niño in 1997/98 caused the worst coral bleaching in recorded history. In total, 16% of the world’s coral was los t and some countries like the Maldives lost up to 9 0% of their reef coverage

Corals are a symbiotic relationship between the microbe which provides its nutrients and it ends up making its shell, all happening at an Optimum temperature. Warming of the sea ends this relationship, and ends up destroying

them. Moreover, in that process corals do not get the required nutrients and hence get depleted.Thought they have the capacity to recover, but the enhanced global warming has pared this down.

2. Anthropogenic — Population Pressure— Changing demographic pattern and lifestyle, coupled

with resource harvest from the reefs have brought many reefs in the Lakshadweep to various degrees of stress.

Developmental Activities-- Overexploitation and mind less mining of coral reef colonies led to degrading of coral reef.

Coral Tourism-- Lakshadweep increasingly being promo ted as major tourist destination for sea sports like scuba diving. This results in environmental pollution particularly of sea water

Suggestions— Monitoring Limits to fishing and other water activities Snorkeling should also be limited as human activities and tourism cause coral to

get destroyed Mining should also be under control Cap of carbon emissions

Dated: 15/04/20151. The Great Indian Bustard, a critical analysis —Generally recognized as

Critically Vulnerable and Endangered; protected in the sanctuaries of Gujarat and Rajasthan needs special care and protection due to its rapid declining trend.Cause of Vulnerability— Degradation of Grassland Unprotected Lekking sites Overgrazing of grasslands Hunting Feral dogs Unprotected eggs

Integrated measures—(a) Improvisation of Grassland —Betterment of grassland with special care and

protection(b) Awareness - An integrated process of Public awareness contributed by the

naturalist and specialist can take special measures to protect nesting ground; lekking sites which can substantially raise the population of great Indian bustard.

(c) Government Efforts --Government effort like forming special task force for protecting bustard from hunting in conjugation with international efforts can really help keeping intact the population of great Indian bustard.

--In all the aforesaid way, government has been able to protect Narcondum hornbill and Amur Falcon ; in that way great Indian bustard also requires special protection. They are the jewel of nature and a combined process of NGOS ; government; naturalist and above all common people can save them.

Is water vapor more disastrous than Carbon di oxide : Global Warming Issue Water vapor, which accounts for 98 percent of the greenhouse effect. Doesn't this

inconvenient truth wholly discredit your little global-warming charade It's unassailably true that water vapor is the gas most responsible for the

greenhouse effect.

Greenhouse gases let shortwave solar radiation through the atmosphere, but impede the escape of long-wave radiation from the Earth's surface.

This process keeps the planet at a livable temperature: Without a suitably balanced mixture of water vapor, CO2, methane, and other gases in the atmosphere, the planet's average surface temperature would be somewhere between -9 and -34 degrees Fahrenheit, rather than the balmy 59 degrees it is today.

By mass and volume, water vapor is the most prevalent greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.

According to both the International Panel on Climate Change and manyglobal climate models, water vapor accounts for somewhere between 60 percent and 70 percent of the greenhouse effect.

The skeptical argument thus goes something like this: Since water vapor is the most potent greenhouse gas, and since this vapor is created through natural evaporation rather than human activity, the current warming trend is nothing to worry about—just the Earth going through a normal climatic cycle.

However for the gas to create GH warming, it must be aided by temperature—as we know The amount of water vapor the atmosphere can hold is almost purely a function of temperature—the warmer the air gets, the more vapor it's able to glean from the planet

We know, for example, that the atmospheric water content over the oceans has increased (PDF) by 0.41 kilograms per square meter every 10 years since 1988.

 Well, over that same time period, global emissions of carbon dioxide have soared. 

And unlike water vapor, which returns to Earth as precipitation within a week of entering the atmosphere, CO2 sticks around for between 50 and 200 years.

Carbon dioxide accounts for approximately 25 percent of the greenhouse effect, so it's pretty clear that the dramatic increase in atmospheric CO2 is playing a significant role in recent warming. (This warming might have been even greater if not for the ability of the planet's oceans to absorb heat.)

Thus the atmosphere is able to absorb more WV aided by CO2—which goes on creating procedural amplification.

-----So anthropogenic CO2 serves as the chief engine of global warming, with water vapor playing a crucial secondary role. Ex: According to the IPCC, if CO2 emissions were to double, water vapor would amplify the resulting temperature change by another 60 percent

Remaining updates1. Typhoon Haiyaan: Phllipines : Impacts--- In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan devastated

the Philippines, killing more than 6,000 people and destroying nearly $3 billion worth of property. Typically, when people think of flooding or sea level rise, they look at how it’s going to drown out villages and roads, but all these effects propagate underground where the aquifers are.

2. India proposes changes to International treaty on Ozone Layer ---Opening the door to using the Montreal Protocol to phase out climate-damaging Hydroflouro Carbons (HFCs), India has this week moved an amendment to the international treaty that seeks to protect the ozone layer.India's new position on expanding the protocol to cover HFCs indicates that the country has come around on an issue on which it had reservations for

long. 

3. Lion as National Animal --- The Narendra Modi government is considering a proposal to make lion India's national animal, pushing out the tiger that has had the coveted status since 1972--it naturally created a furore among environmentalists saying that it would deadlock the campaign to save tigers and pave the way for clearance of industrial projects near tiger sanctuaries. However several factors come into paly before considering Lion as the

national animal--- Tigers are found across 17 states in India, whereas lion is found in only one

In a recent countrywide assessment, it was found that India is home to more than 2,200 tigers, whereas the Asiatic lion population, estimated at 411, is confined to Gujarat's Gir.

Tiger was adopted as the national animal at a meeting of the Indian Board for Wildlife (now NBWL) in 1972 in view of its "worldwide importance, existence in the entire country and the need for its protection".

If you really want to make lion the national animal, you should first restore at least 10-15 natural habitats which are suitable for lions. Then the lions should be relocated there from Gir. Otherwise, as things stand now, lions are staring at a genetic bottleneck, which is common in populations concentrated in small pockets,

Due to inbreeding, the single population of lions at Gir is susceptible to genetic disorders. Also, an epidemic or a natural disaster would seal their fate, confined as they are to just 258sq km.

A relocation project was proposed in 2004, where some of the endangered big cats were to be shifted from Gir to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary to save them from extinction

4. Satpura Tiger Reserve -- Satpura Tiger Reserve has become a paradise for summer breeding birds, mainly due to reduction in water level in backwaters of Tawa reservoirs (tarns: fish eating birds). Black belly tern, an endangered species, was spotted breeding at Satpura, which is encouraging news for the sanctuaryPopulation of this species is on the decline, mainly due to increase in human pressure on river eco-system—thus the increase of these species in this area is encouraging news.

5. Ken Betwa River Linking/ Panna Tiger reserve --- Red flagging Ken-Betwa river-linking project, Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) authorities have submitted an adverse report saying it would hurt the prized tiger habitat—hence the implementation of this project cannot be recommended. More than 200 square km of PTR would be submerged if project is implemented.

 the project is embroiled in controversy over its environment impact assessment (EIA). The assessment report mentions presence of Sangai, an

endangered brow-antlered deer, which is only found in Manipur, at the Ken basin. The Sangai sighting clause has triggered an uproar with environmentalists

 The Rs 9,393-crore project involves 9,000 hectares, half of which is forest area. If the project is cleared, 10% of the tiger reserve will be taken away.

March Updates –1. After years of the world becoming “modern” as many as 2.67 billion people—over

40 per cent of the world’s people—still burn biomass in their inefficient and dirty cook stoves. This is another wicked problem. Efforts to provide clean energy for cooking began in the early 1980s, when the world was worried, not about the pollution from stoves, but about the prospect of losing forests because of firewood collection. This did not happen in a country like India. Even today rural and poor Indians, constituting 75 per cent of the population, use inefficient stoves and inhale toxins that are now understood to be the world’s number one killer –BLACK CARBON

2. Dark future of Coal— India is pushing for a more coal-based power generation but recent reports raise serious concerns overthe viability of coal-fired plants

India’s coal-based power plants have doubled in capacity over the past two Plan periods between 2002 and 2012 and currently stands at 160 gigawatt or GW (60 per cent of total).

We rank third in the world behind China and the US in terms of coal-based power generation.

Large reserves coupled with favorable economics have spurred capacity addition in coal power over the past decade.

In 2012, the Planning Commission (now replaced by NITI Aayog) had forecast that capacity addition will continue at this robust pace and almost double again by 2022.

In 2011, a study by Prayas Energy Group found that more than 200 GW of coal-based capacity had beenapproved by the Union environment ministry for the 12th Five Year Plan period (till 2017) alone againsta requirement of 70 GW. Another 500 GW was awaiting approval. The study noted that this combined capacity was three times the capacity additions required till 2032. This could result in locking up of significant financial resources and create stranded assets in generation and transmission.

According to a report by CoalSwarm and Sierra Club— Boom and Bust: Tracking the Global Coal Plant Pipeline —a large number of these projects have either been stalled or shelved.

Construction began on just 9 GW of the proposed 500 GW between up to mid-2014. Between 2010 and 2012, the ratio of completed to cancelled projects was about 2:1. Between 2012 and 2014, this increased to a shocking 6:1, highlighting the severity of problems in the sector.

Trigger for protests

Worsening air quality, displacement due to land acquisition, forest destruction, impacts of fly ashdisposal and conflicts over water use have triggered protests from local communities against setting upof plants. The Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE) Green Rating Project (GRP) notes that theenvironmental impacts of this expansion have been severe. In its recent publication, titled Heat on Power [4] , GRP observed that plants in critically polluted areas in India (as defined by Comprehensive Environmental Assessment of Industries or CEPI) contributed to more than a third of the total installed capacity.Even existing new plants are suffering from poor capacity utilisation (PLF). In 2013-14, PLF for thermalpower plants dipped to 65 per cent, which is the lowest level in 14 years and has stagnated at the samelevel in 2014-15 as well. This further questions the need for new plants when existing plants are notbeing utilised fully.“The focus for coal-based power sector should be efficient management, especially in the areas of PLF,efficiency improvement, pollution control, water consumption and ash utilisation. Whether there reallyis a need for more coal-based generation needs to be debated after taking into account the projectsalready in the pipeline and the aggressive expansion of renewables, mainly solar,” said Umesh Bapat,former vice-president (operations) of Tata Power Company Limited.

Who will fund them?

Global financial institutions like World Bank have also committed to not finance “dirty” coal projects -----This means project developers have to seek out domestic sources of funding. However, domesticFinancial institutions are already facing massive accumulation of non-performing assets (NPAs) on account of the power sector, and are unlikely to lend given the uncertainties involved. The impacts are already being felt by BHEL, India’s largest power generation equipment maker. Its profits slumped by 70 per cent consecutively in the second and third quarter of 2014-15 due to lack of orders.

Uncertain coal supply is an added constraint for plants. Coal India Limited (CIL) is notoriously inefficientin coal production and has a monopoly over coal supply in India. Its average productivity per-man-per10/shift is three times below the global average. Plans are afoot to double CIL’s production and captive coal blocks are being auctioned to ease supply. However, these measures are not likely to take effect till at least 2019.

Time to rethink strategyPrice of renewable energy is set to reach parity with coal-based generation and even surpass it.Combined with the government’s revised targets for renewable energy capacity of 100 GW by 2022, coal-based generation is likely to face strong headwinds. Now would be the right time for the government to re-think coal’s contribution to India’s energy mix

and formulate a strategy to use existing capacity effectively as well as prevent accumulation of non-performing assets in the future.

3. Countries in the Hindukush region should understand the potential of water resources for sustainable development---

The Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region heavily depends on water resources for irrigation, food, hydropower, sanitation, and industry, as well as for the functioning of many important ecosystem services. Water thus directly contributes to the national GDP and to livelihoods and income generation at the local level.Although water is the foundation of sustainable development, water management in the HKH region remains fragmented and uncoordinated, and does not take relevant regional issues into account.

Some of the important reasons for the aforesaid facts are cited as follows— Many big rivers like the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra originate from the snow

and glacier-covered high mountains, and have abundant seasonal and annual water supply.

Despite this, mountain people living on the ridges and hill slopes have limited access to water for drinking and agriculture.

Throughout the mountain region, springs are reported to be drying, and mountain agriculture has suffered from drought.

The shortage of water has placed an increasing burden on mountain communities, particularly on women.

Furthermore, the communities face loss of property and lives due to water-induced natural hazards.

Climate change has exacerbated the situation by creating uncertainty about the future water availability and water security.

Understanding the characteristics of water is crucial for sustainable water management.

Some of the complexities and challenges of water management in the HKH region ---

1. Water and energy ---Energy is one of the most important pillars of sustainable development; while hydropower is one of the sources of sustainable development in the HKH region having a potential estimated to be 500,000 MW. Thus the region has abundant opportunities for hydropower development. -----Energy security can open up opportunities for development and employment and contribute to the national GDP. ----Moreover, innovative solutions such as electric transportation and a clean source of domestic and industrial energy supply would significantly improve the deteriorating environmental condition of the region. -----However, many countries in the region have been able to tap only a small fraction of their available potential. ----Out of the 42,000 MW potential reported in Nepal, only about 2 per cent is harnessed so far, whereas Pakistan has harnessed 11 per cent of its total potential. Still, people in both these countries face many hours of scheduled power cuts.

2. Water and environment —Vital role for ecosystem services esp in riparian areas;Freshwater ecosystems in particular largely depend on the specific flow regime of rivers passing through them. ----However, due to intervention of infrastructure development, the flow regime changes in the downstream areas, where, in many cases, communities depend on water resources for livelihoods such as fishing.

----A major concern is how to make sure that a certain minimum flow is maintained so as to sustain freshwater supply and support dependent ecosystems. There is very weak monitoring of the minimum flow requirement in the region.

3. Water for Food -Both being essential ingredients for human survival and development. Agriculture is a major contributor to the GDP of countries in HKH. In Nepal, it contributes to 35 per cent of the national GDP. The Indus river system is a source of irrigation for about 144,900 hectares of land, whereas the Ganges basin provides irrigation for 156,300 hectares of agricultural land. Access to water resources for food production and their sustainable management is a concern from the local to national level. Amid rapid environmental and socio-economic changes, the growing population will require more water and food, and equitable access to vital resources has become a major question. Sustainable solutions to these problems require efficient use of water resources for agricultural use in which technological innovation plays a vital role

4. Water and disaster --Due to its physical setting, the HKH region is prone to various water-induced hazards (landslides, floods, glacial lake outburst floods, and droughts). Every year, during the monsoon season, floods wreak havoc on the mountains and the plains downstream. These floods are often trans-boundary. Globally, 10 per cent of all floods are trans-boundary, and they cause over 30 per cent of all flood casualties and account for close to 60 per cent of all those displaced by floods. The social and economic setting of the region makes its people more vulnerable to natural hazards. Lack of supportive policy and governance mechanisms at the local, national and regional levels, and the lack of carefully planned structural and non-structural measures of mitigation lead to increased vulnerability.

5. Regional Corporation --The examples above show that water has both beneficial and adverse traits, its management is complex, and often a regional approach is necessary. The hydropower potentials are primarily concentrated in the mountain regions but the major users of the energy are the urban areas and industries in the plains. Strong technical and political barriers separate those regions, which is one of the major reasons of slow progress in hydropower development. However, recent trends have shown some positive change. In the recent 18th SAARC summit in Kathmandu, the SAARC member countries signed a Framework Agreement on Energy Cooperation. This agreement has opened up the energy market in South Asia, and thereby possibilities for cooperation in the energy sector. However, it remains to be seen to what extent the collaboration would play a role in energy security.

Keeping in mind the aforesaid factors there is strong indication that the HKH region will undergo a climate change in recent years—with temperature rise along with rise of precipitation. And the impacts on the sustainable development of the region cannot be answered without the regional corporation.Hence some regional corporation efforst has to be promoted in the region widely like—

Effective flood management requires sharing data and information between the upstream and downstream areas, not only within the country, but also at the trans-boundary level

Technological innovations based on satellite information, in combination with ground-based data, can be transformed into information that can prove vital in saving lives and properties

Hence the way ahead— A balanced regional corporation among the neighboring countries will create

trust, which can be a basis for future cooperation for maximising benefits such as energy trade.

Countries of HKH region should recognise the potential of water resources for sustainable development.

These resources can help reduce poverty, improve livelihoods, conserve ecosystems and contribute to flood and drought management in the region.

This will not only help us face the present crisis, but also open up avenues to deal with issues of future water availability amid climate and socioeconomic changes.

Regional cooperation should be based on the three pillars of sustainability: economic vitality, environmental integrity and social equity, both at the national and local level.

4. Narendra Modi needs to do for Ganga— Background--

National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), which was set up in 2009—which Narendra Modi is all set to preside over. The NGBRA was set up as a apex body for the revival of the River Ganga following public protests. Agitattors complained that Ganga Action Plan (GAP) had failed to clean up the river. 

GAP—ganga Action Plan was launched by the then PM Rajiv Gandhi in order to cleaning the 2,500 km mighty river.

In August 2009, GAP was re-launched with a river basin authority in charge.   Objective of the NGBRA--is to ensure that there an effective pollution control

and there is conservation of the river; while its functions includes: planning and execution of the programmes to keep the river clean and flowing. In the last 30 years, GAP had failed to improve the quality of river water to acceptable standards (defined as bathing water quality standards).

Around Rs 950 crore were spent in the name of cleaning the river in two phases—and at one instance among the two India also got aid from the World Bank for the same.

But the situation remained grim—with a holistic action missing from the scene.

Main issues— Growing Pollution Load of the River—(July 2013): Around Rs 950 crore were spent

in the name of cleaning the river in two phases.  And in the upper stretches like in Rudraprayag and Devaprayag, they remain in appreciable amounts whatsoever. Thus an inadequate flow for dilution persists even in these upper stretches, which also are highly oxygenated. Thus in these higher stretches, water extraction for hydroprojects is endangering the overall health of the river

Middle course problems-- the amount of water extracted from the river increases to meet irrigation and drinking water needs. In this stretch of the river, from Rishikesh to Allahabad, there is almost no water during winter and summer months. In other words, the river stops flowing. But the waste water flow does not ebb. The river at these times receives only waste and turns into a sewer drain. BOD levels are high downstream of Haridwar, Kannauj and Kanpur and peak at Varanasi; and the pollution is getting worse day by day.

Overall, freshwater intake from the river is increasing. In this way, water is drawn for agriculture, industry and cities but what is returned is only waste.

Way ahead/ Possibilities of change — When the new government was formed under Modi, cleaning Ganga was one of the top-most prioritiesHowever, Modi’s dream of cleaning the holy river does not seem to be happening in the near future. -----This is in spite of the fact that an integrated Ganga Conservation Mission, Namami Ganga, was established.

In the latest budget presented in February, not much attention was focused on cleaning the river. The interim budget presented last year talked of over Rs 2,000 crore exclusively for cleaning Ganga. Till date, no implementation has been seen on ground. The only actions observed were arrangement of meetings for discussions, like the Ganga Manthan and Jal Manthan. 

The Supreme Court, which is dealing with a two decades-old PIL filed by environmentalist M C Mehta on the cleaning of the river and setting up sewage treatment plants alongside it since 1985, slammed the government several times for not putting words into action. The prime minister is said to have taken stock of the actions taken so far.

Meanwhile, the ministry presented two reports to the Lok Sabha—one was on the pollution hot spots and the other on Ganga River Basin Management Plan, prepared by a consortium of seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). 

One hopes the plan prepared by IITs does not focus only on things like setting up sewage treatment plants but also takes into consideration that most of the cities along the river have only 20-30 per cent sewered areas. The conveyance of waste must be re-conceptualised and implemented at the time of planning treatment plants.

5. Electricity from paddy straw/Power generation/India-- A 10-mw power plant based on rice straw, the first of its kind in the world, will'

become operational in Jal Kheri village in Patiala district of Punjab in November this year.

The plant will work on a very effective method of converting waste into electricity—for which it will be possible to produce about 1,000 mw of electricity from the rice straw and husk available in Punjab alone,

Thus project is jointly financed by the DNES and the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB), the plant will require 70,000 tonnes of rice straw a year. 

The project was originally conceived in 1986 ---five to six million tonnes of rice straw were going waste every year in Punjab, posing serious disposal problems for farmers.—as rice straw is seldom sued for fodder in Punjab and Haryana( more popular wheat straw and green fodder are available in plenty)

BHEL which is supposed to set up this plant has developed most of its equipment indigenously, except for the fuel feeding and firing system, which is being imported from Denmark.

The technology developed for harvesting, baling, storage and transport of rice straw has undoubtedly benefited the paper industry as well as other industries in the region. 6. Fishing Ban to come into force in Andhra Pradesh soon ---(from April

14th)---in the Bay of Bengal coast. The ban will be from April 15 in the State, despite the fact that the government has not been able convince all stakeholders of the need for implementation of the sixty-day ban.

While the government is for prolonging the ban period for conservation of marine fish species, the fisher folk are accusing the authorities of robbing them of their livelihood.

The government will release Rs. 2,000 package to each family, which is engaged in fishing activity, compensating their income on fishing and allied activities

Earlier, the package, including rice offered to each eligible family, was barely worth around Rs. 600.

A maximum of eight persons are eligible for the package for each mechanised boat, while it is six for each motorised boat, as they will directly loose employment during the ban period

7. Grey Hypocolitus sighted in Gujarat --- Two Mumbai-based professionals and keen amateur birders have recently sighted and photographed a rare bird, Grey Hypocolius, at the Narara Marine National Park near Jamnagar in Gujarat. Grey Hypocolitus is a rare migratory bird found in Northern Africa;

Afghanistan; Pakistan and Western India A slender, long tailed bird the size of Bulbul (about 19-21 cms), Grey Hypocolius is a migratory bird that comes from central Asian countries. It

is an interesting record since it has been photographed for the first time in Jamnagar

Mr. Munsiff said apart from a stray sighting near Tarkarkli in Konkan in 2011-12, the bird was spotted in Kihim in Alibag district near Mumbai in 1930 by Salim Ali.

8. GOI freezes Greenpeace accounts—Greenpeace India’s all SEVEN bank accounts have been freezed by the GOI with immediate effect.

Citing various grounds for the suspension of the FCRA registration of Greenpeace India and the freezing of its accounts, the Union Home Ministry on Thursday alleged the organisation did not inform the authorities concerned about transfer of foreign contributions received in the designated account to the FCRA utilisation account and then to five other accounts.

The seven accounts in IDBI Bank, ICICI Bank and Yes Bank have been frozen with immediate effect.

Listing the alleged violations, the order said the NGO under-reported and repeatedly mentioned incorrect amount of foreign contributions—which Greenpeace India had later admitted to be typographical error.

The MHA also charged the NGO with incurring over 50 per cent of foreign donations on administrative expenditure during 2011-12 and 2012-13 without prior approval; and willfully suppressing details on salary payment by Greenpeace International to “Greenpeace activist” Greg Muttitt, who worked on secondment with Greenpeace India for over five months in 2013-14

Economist interests hurt-- Stating that acceptance of foreign contributions by Greenpeace India has prejudicially affected the public and the economic interest of the country in violation of the Section 12 (4)(f)(iii) and Section 12(4)(f)(ii) of the FCRA, the government said the act also amounted to violation of the conditions of grant of registration certificate.

---- Accordingly, the Central government has suspended the registration of the organisation, including its branches and units, under the FCRA, for six months

The order comes against the backdrop of MHA reports raising concerns that the United Kingdom has been showing interest in the organisation's India operations

9. Ban on elephants in temples —On the 17th of April the apex court likely to decide on a PIL seeking he ban on elephants in religious functions, processions and other such events. ---the PIL is public interest petition filed by Bangalore-based Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre and other animal welfare organisations ----as some temples like the The famous Guruvayoor temple has 90 elephants,

---- pachyderms are subject to untold cruelty despite laws over half a century old like Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 1960, which makes it an offence to beat, torture, over-load, chaining or tethering with a heavy or short chain.---- little regard was paid to the Ministry of Environment and Forests’ guidelines of 2008, which bans captive elephants from being made to walk for more than 30 km a day and not more than three hours at a stretch.---- The petition pointed out that in States like Tamil Nadu, temple festivals happen in the hottest months of the year and it was common for elephant keepers to make their elephants walk on the hot, tarred city roads during peak summer days. This was in sheer violation of the Tamil Nadu Captive Elephants (Management and Maintenance) Rules, 2011.---- even ‘treats’ given to temple elephants by devotees add to their misery: This leads to obesity, indigestion, and occurrence of colic and e.coli salmonella infections (unwashed hands of devotees could be a major cause) in the elephants---- Laying emphasis on States like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, where decked-up elephants perceive to add to the grandeur of temple festivals, the petition brought to the court’s attention that 88 persons including 71 mahouts were killed in accidents relating to captive elephants in three years between 2007-10. The same period saw 215 elephants killed as a result of cruel treatment.----- The petition, filed a year after the Supreme Court said animals have the constitutional right to life and dignity under Article 21, wants the court to protect captive elephants from cruel treatment, sale and transfer under the guise of gift or donation and use for commercial and religious activities.----- It said the last government census of captive elephants was way back in 2000. It showed that over 3,600 were in chains, in the possession of private entities, including religious institutions and trusts.

10.Management practice for mango malformation—Which is now discovered to be a fungal disease.  It was reported for the first time from Darbhanga, Bihar.

The disease is more in northwest than in the northeast and South India. Malformation is one of the most important problems of mango and a serious

threat. This disorder is widespread in flowers and vegetative shoots. Broadly three distinct types of symptoms are there. These are vegetative

malformation and floral malformation. Later, these were grouped under two broad categories that is vegetative and floral malformation.

Commonly found- (a) vegetative malformation—which is found in the young seedlings; (b) Floral Malformation which s found in panicles/inflorescences.

Management1. Diseased plants should be destroyed. Use disease free planting material2. Scion sticks from infected trees should not be used.3. As soon as the disease appears, the affected terminals along with the basal 15-20 cm

healthy portion should be removed or pruned and burnt. If more than 25 per cent affected plants, de-blossoming at bud burst stage should be done to delay the flowering.

4. Spraying of Planofix (200 ppm) during the first week of October followed by deblossoming at bud burst stage is recommended.

5. A single foliar application of 1,000 ppm cobalt sulphate prior to flower bud differentiation successfully reduce the floral malformation.

11.Smart technologies for water management in CropsClimaAdapt---- Irrigation projects have always been part of the top agenda in any government policy. Each administration has always introduced something new for its part on the water

issue. Walamtari is a government organisation in Hyderabad serving farmers of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh States. Presently they are working on low cost sensors for water use efficiency, soil

moisture and environmental parameters, through a project called ClimaAdapt, supported by the Norwegian Government.

Today several smart technologies like sensors are available to monitor water resources distribution and utilisation. The cost of monitoring water usage with the aid of these technologies is more reliable and convenient as compared to human resources engaged for monitoring

 farmer needs to do is to buy and install one or two sensors in his field and irrigation outlets in the fields for measuring water flow, soil moisture, temperature and relative humidity in the atmosphere. Once every two to three hours information on the above is sent to the farmer’s mobile as a message.

After setting up the sensors in their fields, which are prices between rs. 2,000 to Rs. 3,000.---farmers can get  information every three hours on his mobile about the water flow, air temperature, soil moisture etc on his mobile phone.

Being a Government organisation, it does not market sensors commercially.  Though this is a new concept in an area that already faces several problems,

the need of the hour is for farmers across the country to become aware about this concept and try them personally.

12.India has 988 species on the IUCN Red List--- India has added 15 more species to the “Red List” of threatened species published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2014, but the country has climbed down a spot to the seventh position. By the year-end, India had 988 threatened species on the list, which lists

critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable species. In 2013, the number was 973. 

With 659 species in 2008, the increase over seven years is 50 per cent, in part due to better research identifying more threatened species and deforestation.

By adding 37 species, China seemed to have helped India improve its rank. Apart from habitat loss, it is research and surveys that add species to the ‘Red List’. Studies for some endemic species are yet to be conducted in India, to give a better picture of their status

This is definitely a concern … There is a tendency of decision-makers to focus on ‘charismatic’ mammals for conservation, while others are left out of programmes … A more holistic approach is needed to conservation in India.

A recent World Bank mapping of endangered mammals shows India as having the fourth largest number of threatened species in the world, 31 of them endemic to the region.

13.India and Bird Count---India has become the country with the second highest bird count in the wolrd—with 735 species; after Equador awith 784 species. Professional and amateur bird watchers use a variety of tools today, including online portals to keep counts of species. They update this frequently. Thus, when the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) was conducted in mid-February, India became the country recording the second highest bird count at 735 species, after Ecuador with 784 species.  birds are most active early in the morning. The best time to watch them is

between 6 and 9, with a peak in activity in between. Morning walkers spot many species in their backyard.

During the recent backyard bird count, participants in Uttarakhand came in first with 383 species, Tamil Nadu with 324, Karnataka with 322 and Kerala with 299. All these States have good bird diversity, and so do some others.

After the common crow, the other most frequently encountered species in India were common Myna, Rock Pigeon, Black Drongo, and Asian Koel, as per the GBBC.

Unlike agriculture, which is a monoculture, cities can be made biodiverse with several different types of trees. This actually makes them better placed to host a variety of birds than plain farms.

On the other hand, birds in cities are affected by the presence of free-roaming cats, large glass windows without glazing, a lot of lighting and steadily glowing red lamps.

14.Emission from the Biomass burning across the Himalayas---the organic acids present in the aerosols serve as a unique fingerprint in identifying the source of pollution.

Contrary to the general assumption that the southern slopes of the Himalayas act as a barrier and effectively block the transportation of pollutants from India and other parts of South Asia, a study published a couple of days ago in the Nature Group journal Scientific Reports finds sound evidence to prove otherwise.

---- Aerosols have been found to rise and cross the entire range of the Himalayas. So much so that studies conducted in the northern slope of the Himalayas at an elevation of 4,276 metres above MSL could find markers distinctive of pollution arising from India and other regions of South Asia.

The organic acids present in the aerosols serve as a unique fingerprint in identifying the source of pollution. In this case, the dicarboxylic acids served as a fingerprint.

Though dicarboxylic acids can be produced by biomass burning, vehicular exhausts and cooking (primary source), as well as atmospheric photooxidation (secondary source), the researchers were able to pinpoint the source as biomass burning.

Again, Levoglucosan is a specific marker of biomass burning — it is “produced through the pyrolysis of cellulose during the combustion process,

Another unique marker of biomass burning is the water-soluble potassium. Both the markers showed strong positive correlation with dicarboxylic acids thereby confirming biomass burning as the source of pollution.

Though the pollutants were found to reach the northern slopes of the Himalayas during all the seasons — pre-monsoon, monsoon, post-monsoon and winter seasons — the amount of aerosol found peaked during pre-monsoon. This, according to them is one more indicator of biomass burning as the source

Agricultural burning and forest fires along the southern Himalayan foothills and the Indo-Gangetic Plain reach a high during the pre-monsoon period. That probably is the reason why the amount of biomass burning marker found peaked during the pre-monsoon time.

While the local topographic relief of the Himalayas play an important role in allowing the pollutants to cross the mountains and reach the northern slopes.

The up-valley wind during daytime, being maximum in the afternoon, helps in pushing the pollutants to higher altitude. On the northern slopes, a down-valley wind is prevalent during the same time. The combination of the up-valley wind in the southern slopes and down-valley wind in the northern slopes allows the accumulation of aerosol on the glacier surfaces.

---- Acting as efficient channels of south-to-north air flow, the mountain valleys could allow the air pollutants to easily penetrate throughout the Himalayas,

Regardless of where the pollutants come from, the study has provided compelling evidence that they are due to biomass burning. We must step up the global effort to drastically cut down biomass burning as much as we can

15.Raining Troubles in the Recent past /Western India---The latest rainfall in the western part of the nation, which caused massive loss to the agricultural economy was basically attributed to the Western disturbances. However, the scientists have now found out a many other causes as well—

Western disturbances are low-pressure areas embedded in the Westerlies, the planetary winds that flow from west to east between 30°-60° latitude. They usually bring mild rain during January-February, which is beneficial to the rabi crop. But in the past few years western disturbances have been linked to disasters

Scientists agree that western disturbances are formed naturally. They originate in the Mediterranean region and travel over Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan to enter India loaded with moisture, where the Himalayas obstruct them, causing rain and snow in western Himalayas. The snow adds to the glaciers which provide water to India’s major perennial rivers

The cloud burst in Leh in 2010, the floods and landslide in Uttarakhand in 2013 and the excessive rain in Jammu and Kashmir in 2014 were all linked to these disturbances. 

This year, as per the India Meteorological Department (imd), the average rain received between March 1 and March 18 was 49.2 mm—197 per cent above normal. This caused severe damage to crops in several states of the country

crops in over 5 million hectares have been damaged. But despite the destruction the disturbances have been causing, there have been very few studies to understand them.

Easterly Wave--- the severe rain this year is the result of the confluence of western disturbance and easterly wave from the Bay of Bengal. Easterly wave, or Easterlies, blow throughout the year from east to west. The confluence of the two winds happens throughout the year, but the results vary. They generally bring rain only to the northern part of the country but this year states in central and south India also received rain, 

Pacific Decadal Oscilaltion--phenomenon called Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) contributed to the severity of this year’s rainfall. PDO is the name given to long-term fluctuations in the surface temperature of the Pacific Ocean. In areas above 20° north off the western coast of North America,

cooling is observed during the negative phase of PDO while warming is observed during the positive phase. This shift from one phase to another happens every 10 years or in multiples of 10 years and is yet to be understood properly. PDO influences the placement and intensity of ridges (high-pressure areas) and troughs (low-pressure areas) over the northern hemisphere. the wet winter seen this year and in 2013-14 was caused due to the impact of a “very strong positive PDO”. ---The warm waters in the west coast of North America led to a strong ridge over the Gulf of Alaska and western Canada.---Another ridge prevailed over the central Atlantic Ocean which allowed storm systems to move through Europe into southeast Europe and the Middle East--- A weakness between a couple of such ridges allowed storm systems to move into Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India over the past couple of winters/springs, he explains. 

Jet Streams---Widely used weather models, such as the Global Forecast System, are consistently showing the movement of new upper air troughs into India. Such troughs in the jet streams (narrow bands of strong winds flowing in the upper troposphere) could be affecting the western disturbances which, imd says, are present in the lower and middle troposphere. ------One such trough started forming in the upper troposphere over Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan on February 26 and intensified and moved towards north-western parts of India on February 28. ----his led to the formation of a low-pressure region in the lower troposphere over northwest India, causing an incursion of moisture from Arabian Sea, and produced heavy rains. ----he rainfall on March 14-16 was also caused by a similar upper air weather set-up. This shows how problematic the combination of western disturbances and upper air troughs can be for India, says Deoras.

Other latest phenomena to cause such disaster mau be cited as follows—1. Heating of the Tibetan plateau—Western distrurbances have been directly linked

to global warming in many studies. ----global warming is impacting air currents and causing freak weather events. Pronounced warming over the Tibetan plateau in recent decades has increased the instability of the Westerlies and this has increased the variability of the western disturbances. ----According to the study, the western Himalayan region has seen a significant rise in surface temperatures since the 1950s. Observations from the area show a significant increase in precipitation in recent decades. T----The researchers looked at a variety of climate data to understand the increasing frequency of heavy precipitation. They say temperatures have risen in the middle- and upper-tropospheric levels over the sub-tropics (area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn) and the middle latitudes. --Thus, human-induced climate change is the reason for the increased variability of western disturbance

2. Arctic Warming--heating up of the Arctic has weakened the jet streams in the northern hemisphere. The west to east flow of jet streams in the northern hemisphere is maintained by the “gradient of heat” between the cool Arctic and warmer areas near the equator. But the Arctic has been warming since the past 20 years due to which the jet streams have become weaker. Rather than circling in a relatively straight path, jet streams now meander. This is making the South colder and the North warmer. Francis says western disturbances could definitely be affected by these jet streams.

3. Regional factors---These can be mostly explained by natural short-term weather events. There is nothing too unusual or any sign of climate change, there is nothing extraordinary about the event and India has witnessed similar weather events.

Impacts—a) Rabi crop accounts for 51 per cent of the country’s grain output and

sustains India’s requirements till October till the kharif crop is harvested. Therefore, the winter crop has a significant bearing on food inflation. 

b) The fact that kharif yield in 2014 was below normal makes the situation even more grim

c) And the impact of crop damage has already started percolating to consumers. Vegetable prices increased by 30-40 per cent after rains in Delhi’s wholesale markets.

d) As states calculate crop loss, there are reports of farmer suicides in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. 

e) Maharashtra, which has been struggling with drought and is now faced with excessive rain and hailstorm, has announced a compensation package of Rs.7,000 crore.

f) However, compensation are pais only when the losses are more than 50%16.Sendai Resilience— Governments of 187 UN member states have adopted a 15-year plan with targets

to substantially reduce deaths and economic losses from disasters.  Called the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, it is the first major UN

agreement on the post-2015 development agenda consisting of four major aims and seven targets to be met by 2030.

The Sendai plan, adopted last week at the UN Conference on Disaster Risk Resduction, will replace the existing Hyogo Framework for Action (2005) that ends this year.

This first major UN agreement on the post-2015 development agenda will drive the future for a sustainable and disaster-resilient world along with the sustainable development goals and the Paris climate agreement to be decided in September and December respectively this year.

The main aim of this is to build up a NEW disaster Framework Till now Disaster Framework was based on--T he Hyogo Framework for Action   ,

which is even as the 10-year blueprint expires this year. Over these 10 years, disasters continued to take a heavy toll on lives and

property. Over 700,000 people lost their lives, over 1.4 million were injured and approximately 23 million were made homeless as a result of disasters. The total economic loss was more than $1.3 trillion. Besides, around 144 million people were displaced by disasters between 2008 and 2012.

And the world is still far from been prepared; Several gaps remain in addressing the underlying disaster risk factors to formulate goals and priorities for action and ensuring adequate resources for implementation.

The Sendai Framework also focusses on ---issues related to poverty reduction,

sustainable development, natural resource management, environment, urban development and adaptation to climate change

Warning --- The effects of disasters, some of which have increased in intensity and have been exacerbated by climate change, impede their [small island states’] progress towards sustainable development, the 10-year review conducted by UNISDR showed over 87 per cent of the disasters were related to climate change.

Connecting dots between new Sendai agreement, Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals and Paris climate agreement---as all these three agreemens share the same aim of making development sustainable

But disaster risk reduction planning must be integrated with broader global and national efforts to achieve sustainable development. And with targets without numbers and no substantial financial commitments from the rich nations, questions as to whether the disaster-risk conference fulfilled the expectations and the new Sendai agreement can ensure a disaster and climate-resilient future, remain unanswered.

Total Economic losses in the world is more concentrated to the Asia Pacific..

Dated: 20/04.20151. Uttarkhand New Tiger reserve --- Uttarakhand now has a second tiger

reserve,   besides the Corbett Tiger Reserve .

Uttarkhand is the state with the second highest Tiger population after Karnataka.

The Rajaji National park has now been notified as the Rajaji Tiger Reserve by the Centre.

Project Tiger _From the 9 tiger reserves since its formative years, the Project Tiger coverage has increased to 48 at present, spread out in 17 of our tiger range states. This amounts to around 2.08% of the geographical area of our country.--The tiger reserves are constituted on a core/buffer strategy. The core areas have the legal status of a national park or a sanctuary, whereas the buffer or peripheral areas are a mix of forest and non-forest land, managed as a multiple use area.--- The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 was amended in 2006 keeping in view the needs of the Project Tiger for providing enabling provisions for constitution of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau.

The functions of NTCA are as follows: Ensuring normative standards in tiger reserve management Preparation of reserve specific tiger conservation plan Laying down annual/ audit report before Parliament Instituting State level Steering Committees under the Chairmanship of Chief

Minister and establishment of Tiger Conservation Foundation. According approval for declaring new Tiger Reserves.

Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF): Creation of Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) was announced in 2008. A onetime grant of Rs. 50 Crore was provided to the National Tiger Conservation

Authority (NTCA) for raising, arming and deploying a Special Tiger Protection Force for 13 tiger reserves. The rest of the reserves were taken up later.

Added to the above— Lies in the Shivaliks; Second tiger reserve after Corbett Tiger Reserve The park is at the NW limit of distribution for both elephants and tiger in India,

and has a Largest population of the elephants in uttarkhand Uttarkhand is the state with the highest number of Tiger population after

Karnataka

National Green tribunal — National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 (NGT) is an Act of the Parliament of India which enables creation of a special tribunal to handle the expeditious disposal of the cases pertaining to environmental issues.[3] It was enacted under India's constitutional provision of Article 21 , which assures the citizens of India the right to a healthy environment. This is also related to the enforcements of any legal right relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources including enforcement of any legal right relating to environment and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property and for matters connected therewith or incidental theretoOn 18 October 2010, Justice Lokeshwar Singh Panta became its first Chairman

Origin –During the Rio de Janeiro   summit of   United Nations Conference on Environment and Development   in June 1992, India vowed the participating states to provide judicial and administrative remedies for the victims of the pollutants and other environmental damageThere lie many reasons behind the setting up of this tribunal. After India's move with Carbon credits, such tribunal may play a vital role in ensuring the control of emissions and maintaining the desired levelsThis court can rightly be called ‘special’ because India is the third country following Australia and New Zealand to have such a system.

---the Tribunal is competent to hear cases for several acts such as Forest (Conservation) Act, Biological Diversity Act, Environment (Protection) Act, Water & Air (Prevention & control of Pollution) Acts etc. and also have appellate jurisdiction related

to above acts after establishment of Tribunal within a period of 30 days of award or order received by aggrieved party.

Members of the NGT— The sanctioned strength of the Tribunal is currently 10 expert members and

10 judicial members although the act allows for up to 20 of each. The Chairman of the tribunal who is the administrative head of the tribunal also

serves as a judicial member. Every bench of the tribunal must consist of at least one expert member and one

judicial member. The Chairman of the tribunal is required to be a serving or retired Chief Justice

of a High Court or a judge of the Supreme Court of India. Members are chosen by a Select Committee of headed by a sitting judge of the

Supreme Court of India) that reviews their applications and conducts interviews. The Judicial members are chosen from applicants who are serving or retired

judges of High Courts.  Expert members are chosen from applicants who are either serving or retired

bureaucrats not below the rank of an Additional Secretary to the Government of India (not below the rank of Principal Secretary if serving under a state government) with a minimum administrative experience of five years in dealing with environmental matters.

Or the expert members must have a doctorate in a related field.

Notable orders of the tribunal-1. Yamuna Conservation Zone --On 25 April 2014, The NGT said that the health

of Yamuna will be affected by the proposed recreational facilities on the river. The NGT also recommended the Government to declare a 52 km stretch of the Yamuna in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh as a conservation zone

2. Coal Blocks in Chhattisgarh forest-- -3. Ban on decade old Deisel vehicles in Delhi NCR ---An attempt to minimize air

pollution at capital of India and NCR. PM 2.5 particles have reached alarming level. As per this order, 10 yrs old vehicles are not allowed to ply. However, as per Media report, central Government exploring to appeal against the order at Supreme Court, especially for personal vehicles.

4. Incinerator Technology for producing refuse Derived Fuels (RDF)--- National Green tribunal has permitted the states including Karnataka to use Incinerator Technology for producing RDF , commonly known as waste-to-energy

Incineration: this is a waste treatment process which involves the combustion of organic substances contained in waste materials.--- Incineration of waste materials converts the waste into ash, flue gas, and heat--- Heat generated by incineration can be used to generate electric power--- The gases, flue gases are first treated for eradication of pollutants before going in to atmosphere---Incinerators reduce the solid mass of the original waste by 95–96%.

Concerns against Incineration------ The highly toxic fly ash, dioxin and furan emissions may cause adverse health effect for local residents.--- Incinerators emit varying levels of heavy metals such asvanadium, manganese, chromium, nickel, arsenic, mercury, lead, and cadmium, which can be toxic at very minute levels--- The reusable, recyclable waste destroyed in this process which has adverse impact on communities which are involved in recycling industries.

NGT orders to minimize concerns—--- No waste could be directly put into the incinerators or for power generation, except the specifically permitted.--- Only those wastes that are found unrecyclable after segregation should be put into the incinerators--- The tribunal emphasized that it was not putting any absolute restriction on RDF being used as power generation fuel, but first effort should be made for composting of wet waste--- The States are free to use RDF for generating fuel with due care and caution by framing necessary guidelines--- The Central Pollution Control Board and the Ministry of Environment and Forests were directed to prescribe specific guidelines for emissions from incinerators.

Refuse Derived Fuel(RDF)------ Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) or solid recovered fuel/ specified recovered fuel (SRF) is a fuel produced by shredding and dehydrating solid waste (MSW) with a Waste converter technology. --- RDF consists largely of combustible components of municipal waste such as plastics and biodegradable waste---RDF is extracted from municipal solid waste using a mix of mechanical and/or biological treatment methods--- The production of RDF may involve the following steps:Bag splitting/Shredding Size screening Magnetic separation Coarse shredding Refining separation

Applications of RDF—---- Electricity production --- Used alongside traditional sources of fuel in coal power plants --- Cement kiln industry --- Can also be fed into plasma arc gasification modules, pyrolysis plants and where the RDF is capable of being combusted cleanly or in compliance with the Kyoto Protocol.

5. Fine for Harming Lakes—(08/05/2015)---Rs 140 crore has been the fine imposed by the NGT for Environmental violations, as according to the National green tribunal---National Green Tribunal (NGT) recently imposed a penalty of nearly Rs. 140 crore on two builders constructing a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on Bellandur wetlands in Karnataka.

6. Every household should pay Environmental Compensation-( Dated: 09 th of May ) -The National Green Tribunal recently, through an order, reminded denizens of Delhi of their fundamental duty towards protecting and cleaning environment as it announced that every household, including unauthorised, will have to pay a monthly environmental compensation for “Maily se Nirmal Yamuna”.---the NGT has also extended its order of a fine of Rs 5,000 on throwing waste in the Yamuna to the smallest act of throwing municipal solid waste in any drain .---The compensation will to be paid will be directly proportional to the property tax or water bill, whichever is higher, payable by a particular household as every house generates waste which finally reaches the Yamuna which has now been reduced to a stinking drain of effluents and sewage.

---Compensation—The NGT also said that where the household or person is not paying property tax and water bill or is living in unauthorised colonies, Rs 100 or Rs 500 per month would be levied as compensation.

--the environmental compensation will be added to electricity bills which the power suppliers will deposit with the Delhi government. The Department of Delhi Jal Board has said Rs 3,659 crore is required towards ensuring clean Yamuna.

1. First Environmental Democracy Index (EDI)- - India has ranked 24th out of 70 countries in the first Environmental Democracy Index (EDI) that is topped by Lithuania and evaluates nations’ progress in enacting laws to promote transparency, accountability and citizen engagement in environmental decision making.

----Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, the US, South Africa, the UK, Hungary, Bulgaria, Panama and Colombia are the top 10 nations in the list launched by Washington-based World Resources Institute (WRI) and Access Initiative.---A new Index that measures how well national laws protect environmental democracy rights has just been released by the World Resources Institute and the Access Initiative. It places India at the 24th position, in the category of ‘good’ performers, out of 70 countries. Lithunia scores the highest. ----EDI measures environmental democracy by looking at Three Citizens rights---access to information, degree of participation and access to justice. ** The Index does not cover countries in most of the: Western Europe; Middle East and North Africa***Assessment is also based on National level laws. 2. Asiatic lions in Gir goes up by 523, increases by 27 per cent since

2010---- The number of Asiatic lion in Gujarat’s Gir sanctuary has gone up to 523, an increase of 27 per cent since 2010, when the last census showed the count at 411.Releasing the numbers at Sasan Gir, Chief Minister Anandiben Patel attributed the increase to persistent conservation efforts of the State Forest Department hand in hand with wildlife enthusiasts and local population. Out of the 523, 109 are males, 201 females and 213 are cubs. The number of lions has grown steadily over the years from 180 recorded in the 1974 census, 359 in 2005, 411 in 2010 and 523 this year.

----- Forest officials acknowledge that this conservation success story would not have come about without support from the Maldharis, a nomadic tribe of cattle-rearers, and also farmers living in the vicinity of the Gir National Park. ---- Lion territory in Gujarat spans some 22,000 sq km across four districts — Junagadh, Bhavnagar, Amreli and Gir-Somnath. This covers 2,600 villages with an approximate population of 7,00,000. Lions now frequent more villages than in the past, with about 167 of them found roaming outside the protected forest area, creating hardly any conflict situations. --- The lions have actually helped control the population not only of nilgai, its principal source of food, but also of wild boars, which frequently destroy standing crops.--- Thus, they have benefited the local communities. These communities have reciprocated by protecting the animals from poachers, resisting retaliation when lions prey on cattle, and even building parapet walls around farm-wells to minimise the accidental death of lions that may fall into them.---the important rivers which flow through the Gir region are--Hiran, Shetrunji, Datardi, Shingoda, Machhundri, Godavari and Raval.

3. £52,000 to save the bustard --- Pramod Patil, a Pune-based ornithologist, has earmarked the £35,000 prize money he got with the Whitley Award (Green Oscar) for conserving the bird. While the £35,000 prize money he got with the Whitley Award for his work to save the critically endangered bird has gone 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. The money will be channelled through BirdLife International, an international non-governmental organisation involved in conserving birds and their habitats.

4. Neem coated urea--- 100% Neem coating may help to save Rs. 4500 Cr per year.

---the government has finally found a way to curb the illegal diversion of highly subsidized urea by deciding that 100% urea both imported and produced in the country will have to be Neem coated. ---Sources said that 100% Neem coating will at least save Rs 45,000 crore annually on two accounts—(a) reduced demand of nitrogen based fertilizers by checking illegal diversion (b)) decline in the use of Neem coated urea wrt the normal one. ---some mechanism will also be worked out since there is a chance of using imported fertilizer getting diverted for industrial use.Some guidelines can also be issued using Neem coating in the ports itself.GOI have already made it mandatory for using Neem coating for 75% of urea.----India normally used 31 million tonnes of urea among which about 8-9 tonnes are imported. And on an average the subsidy for each tonne of urea is about Rs 15, 000 crore.

----Moreover, shifting the usage of normal urea to Neem coated urea will also lessen the demand by 10%, which would elad to the savings of another Rs 1500 crore.Utilities of Neem coated urea: while Neem coated urea is unfit for the industrial use, while it is useful for the soil, crop and also beneficial to farmers. The wastage is also less and it works as a bio-pesticide. Even the extent of ground water pollution is less.

5. Biodiversity for Sustainable development ---In the International Day for Biological Diversity celebrated on the 22nd of May, minister has emphasized on the need of working together to conserve Biodiversity and ensure the future for the present generation as well as the coming generations.

---the International Day for Biodiversity is celebrated across the globe to recognize the pivotal role of biodiversity to life on earth and human well-being, as well as to increase awareness of the importance of biodiversity and the threats to it.--- It was on this day in 1992 that the text of the Convention of Biodiversity was adopted. This year’s theme is ‘Biodiversity for Sustainable Development--- During the preceding years, Biodiversity and Poverty Alleviation in 2003, Biodiversity: Food, Water and Health for All in 2004, Biodiversity: Life Insurance for our Changing World in 2005, Protect Biodiversity in Drylands in 2006 and Biodiversity and Agriculture in 2008, have been some of the other themes.----The International Day for Biological Diversity is being celebrated all over the country today. The main event is being held in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir.

6. Tighter norms proposed for polluting coal fired power plants--- In a bit to reduce pollution from coal fired power plants, Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&C) published a draft notification on Monday. It proposed to tighten air quality norms and lower the rate of water use by these plants. The proposed norms are a critical step to reduce the environmental impact of the coal based power sector which is one of the most polluting sectors of the Indian industry.

----of the total pollution from the industrial sector, the coal based power sector currently accounts for approx. 60% of the Particulate matter (PM); 45-50% of SO2 emissions; 30% of NOx emissions, and more than 80% of mercury emissions.----however there are currently no standards to curb the emissions of SO2, NOx and mercury.----the ONLY standard that exists is for the PM which is quite relaxed as according to global norms. --the proposed standards as released by MoEF&C bridges this gap.

Under the proposed norms, the existing plants would have to improve their pollution control techniques and all the new plants installed after January 2017 will have to follow the revised guidelines/according to Global Standards

The reduction in air pollution from the coal based power plants is critical for achieving significant reduction in overall pollution load from the industrial sector, which will go a long way in alleviating the health impacts from the coal based power sector which also has a disproportionate impact on the poor people.

Finally the norms would require he existing coolants tower plants to restrict water consumption to 3.5 m3/MWh. Plants set up after January 2017 will require to achieve the number to 2.5 m3/MWh.

Stringent norms---the proposed standards tighten the norms for PM, and also have a lot of norms set for NO2, SO2 and Hg standards. Compared to the existing standards, India would have to cut the Particulate emissions from the new plants to be installed after 2017 by 25%, SO2 emissions by 90%; NOx emissions by 70% and Hg emissions by 75%.

Compared to the present industry average the present cut in emissions is more than significant.

7. ACT NOW: Action on Climate Change No Delay---transition to a Low Carbon Economy: There are serious challenges around commercial, technological, political or behavioral issues. However, nothing suggests that it can’t be done. And it is easier and cheaper than adapting to a much hotter planet.

----

8. A new species of Fish has been discovered in the Western Ghats---- Ecologists found a new species of fish called Pethia striata in Tunga River in the

Kudremukh National Park, Karnataka The discovery of the new species was published in the journal of the American

Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists by researchers from Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)

The male of the species measures 3-4 cm in length and is red in colour, while the female is grey with a striking pattern of scales.

The species was distinct in several ways, but the most striking characteristics were the pattern of scales which form oblique bars and the black blotch just before the tail.

The fish from Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot, is currently known to be found only in the two streams of Mudba and Turad, a region populated by wet evergreen and semi-evergreen forests.

Pethia striata is found in small groups of 3-4 individuals in shallow pools and would be an addition to the largest family of fish, scientifically called Cyprinidae, which includes common carp, goldfish, and zebrafish.

Some of the recently discovered new species in the Western Ghats include a little jumping spider in the Southern Ghats, a new frog species in Central Ghats.

In 2014, 14 new dancing frog species were discovered in the forests of Western Ghats.

9. Developed Nations should present their Pre 2020 targets before Paris—and also in this regard, the pre 2020 actions would be an important signal for the world about the commitment of India. Hence India has launched an ambitious mission targeting 175 GW of renewable energy and it has received a tremendous impact from investors in the form of Lois worth more than 200GW of energy.

India has increased cess on coal to rs 200 per tonne and the fund generated is being used for Clean technologies.

India has also recently launched a scheme of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles with the aim of reducing dependency on fossil fuels

India has also incentivized afforestation ( providing $9 billion or $125 per hectare); through the 14th Finance Commission and have already presented a Bill on the same of more than $6 billion for specific projects of afforestation to create more carbon sites.

Enhanced  enhanced public and private investment in Railways and have plans for investing billions of dollars in Railways

 India has created architecture for 100 smart cities which will be essentially clean and green cities.

India has asked 3, 200 severely polluting industries to install 24X7 pollution monitoring devices for eflluents as well as emissions.

India is preparing ambitious plan of roooftop solar energy program and solar powered agriculture pumps. We are also planning to use irrigation canal tops and banks for generating solar energy.

Through a series of reform measures, LPG will be provided to millions of poor families thereby reducing carbon emissions.

---these actions of India are voluntary and hence should be seen ag against the backdrop that these actions are from a country which is not mandated under the UNFCCC, and therefore developed world must take ambitious pre-2020 action.--- India also demands that the Warsaw international mechanism for loss and damage should be operationalised by 2016. This mechanism should provide for specific commitments from developed country parties and Annex II parties to provide support for the financing and operationalization of this mechanism.

10.Monsoon setbacks in India—---- The recent forecast by India Meteorological Department (IMD) that monsoon will hit early this year might have come as a relief for many farmers in India. But what could be more important is if it will stay strong after hitting the Kerala coast around May 30.---- The advance of southwest monsoon over the Andaman Sea normally takes place around May 20 with a standard deviation of about one week. ----But what is worrisome is the earlier forecast that has predicted a “below normal” and “deficient rainfall”.---- If that stands true, this will be a second consecutive year of less rainfall in India. In 2014, India witnessed 12 per cent deficit in monsoon.--- The monsoon season or the months between June and September are crucial for the economy, especially the agriculture sector which has been grappling with droughts and other extreme weather events like unseasonal rains. Between March 1 and March 18 was 49.2 mm—197 per cent above normal and major cropped losses were reported from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. The losses had even triggered farmer suicides. ----El Nino predictions: Adding fuel to the fire there had been El Nino predictions from across the world. In its forecast released on May 14, US’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has declared a 90 per cent chance that the current El Niño will continue through the end of this year. Besides, Japan's Meteorological Agency and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology have stated that water in the Pacific Ocean is now warm enough and El Niño is back. Also, international rating agency Moody’s recently stated monsoon as an “additional risk” to India’s GDP growth in 2015. ---- Meanwhile, the Government of India has announced that it has put in place a contingency plan for 580 districts to tackle any situation arising out of below-normal monsoon.--- All the factors combined, could give way to inflation and add to distress of farmers who are gearing up for Kharif season while counting their losses from unseasonal rains of March.

11.Raining troubles-- Little-understood western disturbances have been blamed for most of the freak weather events in India in the past decade. With 50 per cent of its foodgrain production at risk, can India cannot afford to ignore the phenomena.

---Captured on Page 35.12.IMD forecasts below Normal SW Monsoon for 2015-- In its latest forecast, the

India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted 93 per cent seasonal rainfall for the southwest monsoon this year. According to Union minister Harsh Vardhan,

the weather agency is also carefully monitoring sea surface temperatures to assess the impact of El Nino.

Although IMD has forecast a 35 per cent probability of rainfall being below normal, the press release states an almost equal chance of rainfall being deficient.

Last year, the southwest monsoons were deficient by about 12 per cent. If this year’s forecast stands, it would be the second year in a row with deficient

rainfall. This is bad news for farmers who have already suffered huge crop losses due to

unseasonal rains in March this year. As a part of the Second Stage forecast, the department will now issue in June

2015. This is NOT a good news for the farmers, as they have already suffered till the

last time unseasonal monsoons hit th nation About 70-80% of the crops had been worst affected in hails and rainfall earlier

this year. There was no one from the government and the conditions have detoriate after

that.--Solutions:

We should start preparing contingency plans to suit different rainfall probabilities such as seed banks, rain water harvesting and efficient use procedures. 

What is important for farmers is the inter-spell duration in rains and coversion of generic information into location-specific advice

Agricultural universities, ICAR institutions and agriculture departments must jointly prepare a deficient monsoon management strategy with farm families.

Special attention must be given to feeding and saving the farm animals as their sale indicates the first sign of distress.

Also in case of a below Normal forecast, in a particular year, irrigation tanks and canals must be repaired so that farmers do not suffer due to lack of water

Also power supply should be made extensive—normally farmers get around six to seven hours of power daily. In case of poor rainfall, power should be made available for at least 12 to 14 hours so that farmers can work in the fields

--apart from the natural variability--- 60 year cycle -- this year and next year will receive rainfall more than 90% of long term average, Even from the IMD forecast it is normal -- now they divided normal below normal between 90 to 100%. Even according to Skymet, this year will be normal.

13.Effects of the Indian monsoon on the Indian Economy -The monsoon is such a season which inspires everyone starting from the farmer to the economist. The monsoon and the economy of such an agricultural driven Nation is dovetailed in several ways.. Monsoons can make all the difference between meeting basic economic needs, and

a plunge into poverty and destitution. With the Meteorology dept forecasting a deficient rainfall this July, the condition appears grim

Traditionally, the agricultural sector drove the Indian economy. The first blow of a poor monsoon fell on agricultural output bringing down the overall economic growth. More than two thirds of the nation’s agricultural land is rain fed. Even as India receives rainfall from both the SW monsoon winds and NE (winter) monsoons, the SW monsoon which starts early June and lasts till September accounts for nearly 80% of the total rainfall in the country.

----Key food crops like paddy, millets corn and commercial crops like cotton are cultivated during this time. A below normal monsoon can hit the crop output and this in turn can push up the price of food products. Also lower rainfall during the SW monsoon

means less water storage and hence less in reservoirs which can impact the sowing for rabi crops too. Deficient rainfall also impacts the hydro-power generation in the country. The second effect was to reduce the demand for non-agricultural products. A poor

harvest brought down the income of the farmers and hence the demand for many products including white goods, two-wheelers and even gold went down.

The third—and perhaps the most pervasive—effect was on agricultural prices. This led to inflationary tendencies not only through higher food prices, but also through higher prices for industrial inputs like cotton.

The fourth effect was on employment and poverty. Since the majority of the population was employed in agricultural or ancillary sectors, and a large number of them had very limited incomes, the failure of monsoons had significant effect on poverty.

Apart from these direct effects on the economy, a shortfall in rains affects both fiscal and monetary policy adversely.---- Since crop failures tend to push large sections of the population into poverty and distress, governments have to step in with increased expenditure on crisis management. To spend more on such policies, they usually cut back on public investments or other critical expenditures like those on education, bringing down long run growth rates. 

 Crop failures affect monetary policy as well. As we have seen in the past few years, food inflation can very easily ignite the fires of aggregate inflation. This happens partly due to the importance of food in our consumption baskets and partly due to what economists call “inflationary expectation”.

This catch-all term encapsulates the various ways in which the inflationary process feeds on itself, converting what is essentially a sectoral price rise into an aggregate inflationary process.

As a result, prospects of crop failure and food inflation lead to very nervous reactions from monetary authorities with the pushing up of interest rates and squeezing liquidity out of the money markets. 

------ Such tight monetary policies again hamper the long- run growth of the economy.

However, the effects of monsoons on Indian economy can be contradicted as per the following ways—

1. Firstly, compared to the 1970s and 1980s, there has been some improvement in irrigation facilities, at least in the northern and western parts of India.

2. Secondly, the rabi (winter) crop—that is far less susceptible to the vagaries of the monsoon— now provides more than half of the annual agricultural output. 

3. Thirdly, the agricultural sector now plays a much smaller role—compared to industry and services— in output and growth. All these changes have meant that poor monsoons have lost the kind of destabilising effect that they had on growth rates earlier.

Unfortunately, however, annual growth rates are not the only concern that a poor monsoon raises. The poor monsoon will definitely have an adverse effect on rural employment. Poverty and distress are likely to rise, not only due to the poor kharif crop, but also due to the high inflation rates that will ensue. And, any attempt by the monetary authorities to bring down the inflation by raising interest rates will also affect the economy’s long-run growth.One of the major weaknesses of the Indian growth story is that it is fairly lopsided—low and fragile growth in agriculture coexisting with robust growth in industry and services.

14.EL NINO almost certain this year ---

---according to few recent weather forecasts, the world is heading towards a El Nino event. There is a correlation between an El Nino and Indian monsoons. --- the tropical Pacific has continued to warm in the past week and the sea surface temperatures now exceed El Niño thresholds and trade winds have remained weaker than average for several weeksIf these patterns persist or strengthen, El Niño will become established---- The forecast also says that sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific are recording anomalies of more than one degree, a combination that has not previously been seen in weekly data going back to 1991.---- There is an approximately 70 per cent chance that El Niño will continue through the Northern Hemisphere summer 2015, and a greater than 60 per cent chance that it will last through autumn (according to NOAA—national Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)--- The scientists are surprised that the build-up of unusual warmth in the eastern Pacific compared with the west is happening so early in the year which is quite rare – this is an interesting one,

Deleterious effects of the EL Nino— In typical El Niño years, the usual easterly trade winds stall or even reverse in

winter or later, dragging rainfall eastwards away from Australia and also south-east Asia. Droughts tend to deepen and bushfires become common.  It generally has an adverse effect on the Indian monsoon.

El Nino/La Nina-Southern Oscillation or ENSO is an ocean-atmospheric phenomenon that occurs in a cycle. La Nina, which is one part of the cycle, is signified by a decrease of three to five degrees Celsius in sea surface temperature across the Equatorial Pacific Ocean and it is favourable for monsoons in India. El Niño, which is La Nina’s counter-phenomenon, is often accompanied by drought in India and heavy rainfall in the Pacific coast of Latin America.

Over the years, research has shown there is an association between El Nino and deficient rainfall in India. With the India Meteorological Department predicting a 35 per cent chance of “below normal” rainfall, this is certainly a cause of worry.

However, a latest report by the International Monetary Fund has said that El Nino might not have much effect in India. “Such an extreme weather condition can constrain the supply of rain-driven agricultural commodities; and reduce agricultural output, construction, and services activities,” says the report.    It also adds that the declining share of agricultural output in Indian GDP over time acts as a mitigating factor.

However, Europe may get colder than ever--- The ill effects of an expected El Nino are not limited to Asia. "If El Nino is strong in the middle of the Pacific it could mean colder weather in Europe than during recent winters, because it tends to lead to more frequent developments of high-pressure systems which allow Arctic air to extend further south," says researcher Georg Muller in a report published by Thomson Reuters. The melting of the Arctic ice cap is another reason that could add to the chill that will be experienced by Europeans this winter.

15.Meaning of EL NINO and Climatic predictions —El Nino — the warming of the Pacific Ocean leading to freakish weather all over the world — is once again in our midst after five years, according to Australia’s met department.

How the south-west monsoon responds to El Nino is a bit of a mystery. And the impact of a deficient or erratic monsoon on crop output cannot be accurately predicted. As a paper put out by the Reserve Bank of India observes, strong El Nino years such as 1997-98 passed us by, whereas weak El Nino years such as 2002 caused more damage

It appears that a lot depends on which part of the Pacific gets heated up — if it is the central region, we are affected, as in 2002, but less so if it is the eastern part of the ocean.

And if we are really lucky, a deficient monsoon year (El Nino or otherwise) may not cause a serious fall in output: for instance, the south-west monsoon was deficient by 22 per cent in 2009-10, but crop output declined only marginally. However, crop output declined significantly in 2000-01, despite a minor monsoon shortfall.

Diversification to allied activities such as livestock rearing and fishing will help deal with the caprices of nature

Unseasonal rain in February-March this year along with a deficient monsoon in 2014 are set to lower foodgrain output for 2014-15 by 14 million tonnes. 

The Centre should be prepared for weather extremes by being ready with short duration seeds, apart from contingency measures. However, with foodgrain stocks at above 50 million tonnes, inflationary expectations can be checked.

Add to this the possible impact of uneven rainfall this year on both protein and milk output, and prices could come under pressure. An increase of just three million tonnes in pulses output over the last decade points to endemic policy neglect. The farm schemes unveiled by this government deal essentially with irrigation; there is virtually no mention of pulses. A second ‘pulses mission’ is called for.

Agriculture accounts for 14 per cent of the GDP but supports half the population. Its role as a growth driver should not be overlooked. El Nino will then hold fewer fears.

16.Countries Carbon pledges not enough to keep temperature rise under 2*C---17.Emissions from Peat lands under DRY conditions may be less than

previously thought-- A new study shows that carbon emission from peatlands can be slowed down, reducing the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere

Background:Drying of peatlands, sometimes due to burning and droughts, speeds up global warming. This happens when carbon stored in peatlands gets oxidised and turns into CO2, a super greenhouse gas.---Environmentalists fear that the intensification of droughts can cause the stored carbon in peatlands to undergo oxidation and subsequently release CO2 and possibly methane into the atmosphere.

Ways to reduce the Carbon Emissions—this can be done in two ways (i) to plant trees and shrubs that slow down the drying process. And (ii) to introduce naturally-occurring plant-based decay-retarding compounds into peatlands.

Global Carbon reserves------ Globally, an estimated 400 million hectares of land are classified as peatlands which amounts to just three per cent of the Earth’s total land surface.--- Peatlands have been formed over thousands of years and hold about 30 per cent of soil carbon.--- They have been classified under four categories—tropical, sub-tropical, temperate and boreal according to their geographical location.

Peatlands are mainly found in the northern hemisphere in North America (43.54 per cent), Europe (24.02 per cent) and Asia (28.08 per cent).

Asia has the largest peat reserve. The global peat reserve amounts to about 250 gigatonnes in dry weight.

Natural Adaptive technique--Till now the scientists feared that the carbon emissions from peatlands can trigger global warming. But the study shows that peatland soils have a natural adaptive technique which can lessen the drying up process and curb oxidation.--- Carbon has been locked up in peatland soil for over thousands of years. Too much emission of carbon can have a tremendous impact on global temperature worldwide with peatlands turning into carbon sources rather than carbon sinks.

Scientists allay emission fears—

--this has been found during an experimentation of the bog peatlands in the North Carolina to describe a mechanism that can slow down peatland decay

--- the soil contained complex plant-derived compounds that helped the land to gradually adapt to droughts: these complex plant compounds in the soil regulate the accumulation of phenolics (a type of aromatic carbon compound) and protect the stored carbon by mitigating oxidation during short-term droughts.

---Scientists also found out that the vegetation cover on peatlands is responsible for the rate of oxidation. Vegetation with low phenolic content such as sphagnum moss, ferns and sedges are not that good in mitigating carbon emissions than certain types of shrubs and trees, which are better in retarding soil decomposition.--- The amount of phenolics is driven directly by the type of vegetation on peatlands. Many species are low in phenolic compounds (sphagnum moss, grasses, ferns) while many ericaceous shrubs and tree species in the Everglades have high phenolics which slow down decomposition

---when the sites of vegetation have been denudated especially native shrubs and trees, and left drained then the sites are invaded by ferns and grasses which have low phenolic compounds and produce new peat which is not very resistant to decay.

-- Human activity is also to be blamed for drying out of peatlands. In Indonesia large swathes of swamplands have been burnt to make way for palm plantations—this poses a threat as it can liberate stored carbon into the atmosphere by means of oxidation; “It is quite possible that tropical peatlands with high phenolics can resist further losses after fire, but a deep peat fire results in massive losses of carbon.

18.A look at some of the worlds most THREATENED forests — Unplanned and unrestrained activities for agriculture, industry and urbanisation are ruining our most important ally in nature—the forest

--- Forests are the Earth’s lungs. They help maintain the water cycle and prevent soil erosion. Forests sustain biodiversity. Apart from the fact they directly employ around 13 million people according to Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) State of the World’s Forests report, 2014. Informally, they provide livelihood to 41 million people worldwide.

---- But unplanned and excessive human activities are making forests disappear. According to WWF, we have lost about half of the world’s original forest cover in the last 50 years--- In addition to their role in the lives of communities, forests are needed to store global emissions as carbon sinks, making their protection imperative. A recent study says forests could also help eliminate global hunger.

A look at some of the world’s most important forests and the factors that threaten them: AMAZON rainforests, South America: Amazon, the world’s largest forest, is

spread over Brazil, Peru, Venezuela and Ecuador, among other countries. It is the site of the biggest projected loss.---- Reports say that more than one-quarter of the region will lose its forests in the next two decades. Cattle ranching and agriculture are among the dominant causes of deforestation of the Amazon. --- The Amazon rainforest is also threatened by oil spills in countries like Peru. A study shows that climate variability is causing the forest to lose its ability as a carbon sink.

Atlantic forests, South America— The Atlantic forest—covering parts of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina—is one of the richest rain forests in the world, boasting of even richer biodiversity per acre than the Amazon.---- However, the region houses 75 per cent of the Brazilian population which places a lot of pressure on the forests. Deforestation is mainly due to conversion of forest lands into croplands for pasture--- But the Atlantic forest continues to fight for survival against urbanisation, with large cities like Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo in Brazil expanding inward.

HEART OF BORNEO, Borneo island-- Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia share the Heart of Borneo. It is home to 6 per cent of global diversity--- over half of these forests have been lost, especially in the last three decades. Only 33 per cent of the lowland rainforest remain.--- Deforestation and degradation are driven by weak governance and a lack of stability. --- Deforestation will also make the forest vulnerable to extreme weather events. With fewer trees to control soil erosion, 14 of the island’s 20 rivers that begin from the Borneo forest have the potential to affect several villages downstream.---- Mining now threatens to further destroy this forest which is rich in coal, copper, gold, silver and diamonds.  

CERRADO, South America— Cerrado, the high-plateau region of Brazil, is the most biologically rich grassland,---- Forty-five per cent of all plant species found here are unique to the region. It is also home to 935 species of birds and almost 300 mammals.

--- But only two per cent of the Cerrado is protected by national parks and conservation areas.--- The grassland is under threat from cattle ranching and the conversion of forests to make way for soy plantations.Soy production has also degraded land and soil quality. --- If the current rate of loss continues, Cerrado’s savannah, woodland and forests will disappear by 2030.

CONGO Basin, Africa---- Congo Basin represents 20 per cent of the world’s tropical forests and has the highest biological diversity in Africa.----teemed with a variety of rivers, grasslands, swamps and flooded forests. This trans-boundary forest stretches into Cameroon, Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo, among other countries---- Many areas of the Congo Basin are provided on concession to logging and mining companies, leading to widespread deforestation,---- Palm oil plantations and commercial agriculture operations are also putting forests at risk.---- Political instability and armed conflict in the region have led to refugees depending on forests for fuelwood and charcoal, severely impacting this forest. Illegal wildlife trade and poaching have also increased to a great extent.

COASTAL Forests, East Africa-- spread over southern Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania. Apart from tropical dry forests, they also contain wetlands. The ecoregion is densely populated has put additional pressure on resources. Much of eastern Africa’s forests are overharvested for timber and fuelwood, illegally logged and converted for livestock and cash crops.----The coastal forests of Tanzania and Kenya have already been reduced to 10 per cent of their original area.

SUMATRA, Indonesia-- Sumatra forest is special because some of the rarest animals and plants are found here. It is also the only place in the wild where tigers, rhinos, orangutans and elephants co-exist.--- But Sumatra, especially Riau province, has become the centre of Indonesia’s palm oil production—the industry driving deforestation, even in protected forests and national parks.

19.Vast expanses of forests could be lost in TWO decades according to WWF--- A new report says that vast expanses of forests could be lost in the next 20 years in 11 global hotspots

---- Up to 170 million hectares of forest cover could be lost between 2010 and 2030 in these areas if current trends continue. This is equivalent to the disappearance of an entire forest stretching across Germany, France, Spain and Portugal.

The vulnerable areas---

The vulnerable areas are the Amazon, the Atlantic Forest and Gran Chaco (largest dry forest in South America), the Cerrado in South America, the Choco-Darien in Central America, the Congo Basin, East Africa, eastern Australia, the Greater Mekong in South East Asia, Borneo, New Guinea and Sumatra.-----These regions are home to indigenous communities that depend on them for their livelihoods and endangered species, such as orangutans and tigers, the WWF research says.

Agricultural Impact: taking a toll on the forests—

---Globally, forest stretches are giving way to expanding agriculture practices, including livestock farming, palm oil plantations and soy production---- Unsustainable logging and wood fuel collection are also causing forest degradation, besides mining, construction of hydroelectric dams and other development projects---More than 230 million hectares of forests could vanish by 2050 if no action is taken.

EUS contribution to global deforestation—

---- Humanity uses the Earth’s resources unsustainably, which affect the natural ecosystems. Globally, we use the resources of 1.5 planets. However, the ecological footprint of the EU is even higher as on an average, it needs 2.6 planets to maintain the current lifestyle.---- A European Commission-funded research shows that EU’s consumption led to the loss of 9 million hectares of forests globally during 1990-2008–an area the size of Portugal,

20.India’s forest cover has increased but outside demarcated forests —--- India’s green cover is increasing, but this increase is taking place mostly outside the traditional boundaries of the forests, (As per the State of Forests Report (SFR) 2013, released by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change )--- the total forest cover in the country has increased by 5,871 square kilometre (sq km) between 2011 and 2013. --- The highest increase has been registered in West Bengal (3,810 sq km) and Odisha (1,444 sq km), followed by Bihar, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu. Most of the north-eastern states and the states like Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka have shown considerable decrease in forest cover. ----The Forest Survey of India (FSI) conducts a biennial survey of the country's forests and compiles SFR every two years. This is the 13th edition of SFR. ---- As per the report, India now has 697,898 sq km of forest cover, which is over 21 per cent of the geographical area of the country. ---- However, of the total increased area, just over 2 per cent falls under the traditional boundaries of forests, these are marked as Green Wash areas in the topo sheets of Survey of India.

New Quality Parameters—FSI, for the first time, has also collected the information on various parameters of quality of forests such as intensity of regeneration, damage to crops, presence of weeds and grass, humus, incidents of fire and grazing. It has also come up with the data on contiguity of the forest patches. This, in future, would help the government to monitor the changes in the quality of forests along with their area and density.

21.Climate change impact on the ancient Tibetan Civilization -- The Tibetan plateau, often called the “roof of the world”, is one of the most hostile climatic regions in the world.’

----- covering some 250,000 sq km and at a mean elevation of over 4,000 metre Human settlement in this area far predates the Buddhist culture that it is now associated with. Today, barley is the most prevalent crop in the plateau. However, the earliest crops of the region were millets.

---A recent study shows that Global Cooling which began which began around the late 3rd millennium BC, created a situation in which cultivation of millet became impossible

for the people living in the eastern fringes of the Tibetan Plateau. This may have led to the abrupt collapse of this ancient civilisation around 2000 BC. 

apart from millet agriculture, the early inhabitants of this area reared pigs. They lived in small but permanent villages and used a characteristic form of pottery which is known in China as the Majiayao type.

--Archeobotanical evidence also suggest predominance of wheat and barley in and around the regions from around 1700 BC. An abundance of ancient wheat and barley seeds found at the sites suggested the crops rapidly replaced millet as the staple food source of the region during the second millennium BC,

--- The study says the ability of these crops to tolerate frost and their lower heat requirements helped them survive in the cooler temperatures that prevailed in this period. These crops became an important part of subsistence living and may have later spread to other parts of East Asia to become the staple crops of the region. 

--- Wheat and barley not just helped people adapt to these cooler conditions but probably also helped them spread to a wider area and to higher elevations.

Collapse or Adaptation—

---- We are not sure what happened to the people that occupied this region between 2000-1700 BC and this is something further research in the area needs to resolve. All we know now is that continuing with farm millet would have been challenging for them

--- collapse of the civilisation seems a distinct possibility because the material culture and settlement patterns of those who practised wheat and barley cultivation was very different from those who practised millet agriculture, which has led many archaeologists to believe that the people who grew wheat and barley may have migrated from elsewhere.

---It may also follow that people migrated to areas of lower altitude, or that they simply changed their strategies to include wheat, barley and pastoralism. 

--- However, the fact that people adapted to this cold, low-oxygen climate, undertook agriculture and made permanent settlements in the area is itself a testament to human fortitude and skill in the face of adversities.

FULL Circle—--- But now the Tibetan plateau is once again experiencing change in climate. There are some areas in the south-eastern plateau where temperatures are 6°C higher than they were 200 years ago.--- This increase in temperature is now making it difficult for the inhabitants of Tibet to grow cold weather crops and raise and breed yaks---- So now we have a complete reversal, and climate warming is having a big impact on the livelihood of smaller farmers on the Tibetan Plateau,

TIBETAN Landscape may soon disappear---

According to research carried on the landscape, there is an abrupt detoriation of the plateau, and many scientists hold China responsible for the same. The building of dams in Tibet and is collaborating with multinationals to extract shale oil and minerals to provide electricity and fuel to its urban centres and industries

--- when during the 1980s there had been no much activities, landscape being pristine with no mines, no dams, this landscape at a high altitude, with snow-capped mountains, grasslands and beautiful lakes, would be there for future generations to see. 

---- But the scenario is rapidly changing, especially after the train to Lhasa was started in 2006. I thWhen Chinese removed mountain tops to extract/mine minerals, or whole lakes changed, also changes the ecosystem within a matter of years.

Significance of Tibet for the whole of Asia—

If you look at the map of the Tibetan plateau, the highest plateau on Earth, there are 10 major rivers emerging from it. That puts Tibet in an unusual position.It is a provider of water to all of South Asia, East Asia, to about 10 different countries in the downstream Over 2 billion people depend on that waterIf somebody wants to divert that water, which is what China wants to do, it becomes a serious issue for the people living downstream.

Journalists do not have access to central parts of Tibet where most of the mining activity is taking place. They may get access to eastern Tibet---however, going as a tourist may provide access to those mining areas.

And also we don’t have a clear picture of what is happening in the country as lack of information in the public domain is also because there is no link between Tibetans living in Tibet and those staying outside—their communication lines are blocked. Also no social networking sites make Tibet does not get news from the outside world, and news from Tibet does not go out either. 

Chinese authorities do not reveal much of their plans. They will release information only after the plan is executed. But it is clear that they plan to construct mega dams on Tibet’s rivers and link the hydroelectricity generated to national grids. 

The developers have saturated the rivers in southeastern China with dams and are now looking towards western China. They are moving to higher grounds. They are adding cascades to the dams to ensure turbines run smoothly. They have built cascades in the lower Mekong and are now moving to its higher reaches in Chambo, which is in Tibet.’

Chinese are basically exporting power from Tibet, as with only 6 million population, Tibet does not have a vast demand for electricity. Also, a 500 MW dam is not needed at all.

The electricity generated from these dams will be transmitted to the well-populated regions of China Beijing and Shanghai, where there is demand for power, and to

factories in Chengdu and Chongqing in southwest China where most of the industries are planned

The other thing that is planned is water diversion from eastern Tibet to northeast and northwest China, where there is a huge demand. Northwest China has the Taklamakan desert where there are plans for mining, and you need large amounts of water for that. There is already mining going on for shale gas, tar sands, shale oil and oil sands, to name a few.

Also int eh NE China, they need hige amounts of water for the peopleand hence planning for diversions in rivers, Nobody seems to know how exactly these plans would be executed, but it will probably involve a huge amount of tunneling and a large number of dams.

The region is a major source of lithium, copper, gold and silver, which are desperately sought by China. Lithium is used in batteries for electric vehicles, among other things. In future, there will be a huge demand for lithium in China. It could come from Chile and Bolivia, too, but getting the mineral from Tibet will be a lot cheaper.

Impacts on Climate of Tibet—

China claims that environmental degradation that is happening in Tibet and elsewhere is because of climate change. But the fact is that China is driving the climate change

---- It has surpassed the United States. In 2013, 27 per cent of CO2 came from China. (US was at 15 per cent and India, 6 per cent). This is contributing to the glacial melting in the Himalayas. The rate of melting in Tibet is twice as fast as global melting of glaciers.

--- The other factor that is contributing to the glacial melt is the emission of black soot due to inefficient burning of fossil fuels. Black soot is essentially composed of tiny black specks. They accumulate on glaciers, turning them grey. This attracts more heat from the sun. The more the black soot accumulates on glaciers, the more rapid is the melting. This has been underestimated by some scientists but it possibly contributes to 50 per cent of the melting. We still do not know as we do not have exact data

Tibetans Breathe easily in higher altitudes with genes from extinct human species— Unusual gene variant prevents blood from clogging The high altitude and rarefied air in Tibet makes it an inhospitable terrain for

most people. People exposed to such low levels of oxygen would normally develop hypoxia as the body attempts to adjust by pumping out more red blood cells, which turns blood into thick sludge, which can be fatal.

But the Tibetan people have been living in the region for generations. It has been observed that Tibetans experience limited increase in haemoglobin concentration that prevents their blood viscosity from reaching dangerous levels. Their rate of breathing is higher and their lung capacity is greater than that of normal people from birth

Difference in their genetic make up was revealed in a study  that an unusual variant of the gene, EPAS1, involved in regulating the body's production of haemoglobin, allows Tibetans to adapt to high altitude conditions. 

Tibetans may have inherited the gene from the extinct human species, the Denisovans. 

The Denisovans were cousins of humans from the paleolithic age,  who inhabited Siberia and Southeast Asia. The discovery of  this species was made as recently

as 2008 when a fragment of bone belonging to a little Denisovan girl was discovered in a cave in Siberia.

Normally, in humans, the common variant of the EPAS1 gene promotes red blood cell production to dangerously high levels at high altitude.

The variant present in the Tibetan population, however, only promotes production only marginally, thereby preventing the side-effects that are  experienced by visitors

The effects  include nausea, insomnia, hypertension and an increased probability of heart attack due to the thickening of the blood. 

The prevalence of the gene variation--- It was attributed to natural selection and adaptation to the unusually low oxygen levels. 

Introgression probably occurred when modern humans inter-bred with the Denisovan population on their way to China from Africa, and have still retained a fraction of the Denisovan gene.

22.Joint Statement Climate Change India and China—NA

Science and Technology~~Vision IAS APRIl—

1. National Air Quality Index---the GOI has launched the National Air Quality index that will put out the real time data about the Level of pollutants in the air and inform people about the possible impacts on their health. Initially to be launched for 10 cities. The aim was to eventually deploy the index in all the cities and with a population of over one million.

----last year in the Environment preference Index, ranked India 174 out of 178 countries for air quality.----A WHO survey last year found that 13 out of the most polluted 20 cities in the world were in India.---

---characteristics— The AQI is a global standard. The central agencies have also taken into account eight pollutants: PM 2.5; PM

10; Nitrogen dioxides; sulfur di oxide; ozone, carbon monoxide; ammonia and lead.

It will also have One number one color and one description to inform the public about the air quality index and in an easily understandable format

The index, using continuous 24-hour average data, will be made available from vrious monitoring stations in those cities.

Analysis— Government has taken a good initiative to monitor the air pollution in real time It will help to take preventive measures citizens while going out—however this

step is not enough, we still have to take measures to bring down the peak pollution levels.

AQI also needs to be matched with actionable plans on how to bring the pollution levels down.

Like in many developed countries AQI data leads to certain actions to bring down the pollution

Like in Paris, when the AQI rose to more than permissible limits, the city made public transport free and removed almost 50% of the vehicles off the road.

2. Chestnut Breasted partridge —---this is one of its kind endemic to the eastern Himalayas north of the Brahmaputra

river, and is known as :

----this is also known from Bhutan, West bengal(Darjeeling Himalayas, which is also an extention of the Pamir Knot); Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh; NE India; Nepal Himalaya; and SE TibetThe Bird has been classified Vulnerable by IUCN----IUCN estimates about 2500 of this kind of bird live in Arunachal Pradesh, Bhutan and the Lower Himalayas.

Why in News: this is because ---The partridge was seen and viewed before but never photographed. This was the first time that this had been photographed.

3. 25 years of Hubble Space telescope— ---The Hubble Space Telescope is a joint venture of the NASA and the European Space Agency(ESA) was launched into its orbit on the 24th of April, 1990 in its orbit 552 kms above the Earth by the space shuttle Discovery---the Hubble Telescope has the capacity to see in multiple wavelengths—near infrared; visible light; and near ultraviolet---Determination of the Hubble Constant—the Universe’s initial rate of expansion was one of the most important discovery/key projects of the HT projects--Key projects of the Hubble Space telescope

The initial rate of expansion of the Universe This was also named after Edwin Hubble, the discoverer of the expansion of the

Universe Hubble also proved the existence of the Super massive black holes and also

found they are located at the centres of most of the Universes It also helped in pinpointing the age of the Universe at 13.8 billion years

old

4. Three New Tiger reserves — The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has given its nod regarding the

creation of reserves in the following places— Ratapani in Madhya Pradesh Sunabeda in Orissa Guru Ghasidas in Chattisgarh

The Odisha government claimed the number of tigers in the state is 60; while the NTCA put the figures to not more than 28. The state has thre Tiger reserves---Simlipal; Satakosia and Sunabeda

5. INDIA’s status in IUCN List--- India has added 15 more species to the list Till 2014 end, India has 988 threatened species on the list, ---which lists critically

endangered; endangered and vulnerable species India has climbed down to a spot of 7th position With 659 species in 2008, the increase over seven years is more than 50% Reason —better research identifying more threatened species and

deforestation. India has the fourth largest number of mammals in the world with 31 of them

endemic to the region

6. Oldenlandia Dineshi —---- A team of scientists from four research institutions in Kerala have reported the discovery of a rare species of plant from the Palakkad gap region of the Western Ghats. ---- It as a new species. Named Oldenlandia dineshi, the plant is a shrub with long linear tapering leaves and dark blue flowers. The flowering period is from July to September and fruiting from September to October. ---- The genus Oldenlandia comprises about 248 species of which 27 have been reported from India, mainly distributed in the southern parts of the Western Ghats and North and North-East India

---- Several species of the Oldenlandia family are widely used in Ayurveda for preparation of formulations such as Chyawanaprasam. ---- Based on IUCN criteria, the researchers have classified Oldenlandia dineshii as an endangered species

7. Telengana Crab Spider —---- Telangana now has a spider named after it — Telangana crab spider (Thomisus telanganensis). ----The spiders, named Thomisus telanganensis, also resemble crabs and are called "crab spiders". ---- The spiders of the Thomisidae family structurally resemble crabs and are hence called “crab spiders”. The Telangana variety has a tendency to walk sideways like crabs. They are also known as “flower spiders” as they lie in wait for prey on flowering plants. ---- Unlike traditional spiders, Telangana crab spiders do not weave webs. They attack prey all of a sudden and immobilise them with venom ---- They are important to the ecosystem as they act as bio-controlling agents to keep the insect population under control. They are usually found in plants, shrubs, grasses, flowering plants, leaf litter and sometimes under stones.

8. Silent Valley— ---- Lion-tailed macaques are reported to be found only in the Silent Valley area. But forest officers have records of their presence in the Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary in Kollam. ---- Silent Valley National Park is located in the Nilgiri Hills, Palakkad District in Kerala, South India. The area in this national park was historically explored in 1847 by the botanist Robert Wight, and is associated with Hindu legend. The Silent Valley is the largest national park in Kerala.

9. Red Sanders —----Pterocarpussantalinus, with the common names Red Sanders, is a species of Pterocarpus endemic to the southern Eastern Ghats mountain range of South India. ---- Red Sanders has a highly restrictive distribution in the South Eastern portion of Indian peninsula to which it is endemic. The Palakonda and Seshachalam hill ranges of Cuddapah-Chittoor districts of the State of Andhra Pradesh are its principal geographical range. ---- Red sanders has been classified as endangered in the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List and included in Appendix-II of Convention on International trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). ---- Used mainly to make aphrodisiac drugs and musical instruments and furniture. ---- Red-sanders or red sandal wood has lot of demand in International market including China, Japan and Gulf countries and there is large scale smuggling of this precious wood from AP.

10. India’s Earth hour Capital —--- An 11-member international jury has declared Thane the National Earth Hour Capital with the city emerging the winner from India in the Earth Hour City Challenge this year. Seoul declared the Global Earth Hour Capital, 2015. ---- Last year, Coimbatore was selected as the National Earth Hour Capital. ---- The year-long competition among cities is aimed at promoting renewable energy and preparing for climate change.

Notable changes taken by the Thane City administration about this matter—

----The mandatory use of solar water-heating systems for municipal buildings. Wind-solar hybrid systems and use of solar energy for lighting and air-conditioning. The city plans solar rooftop net metering-based power generation and regular energy audits. An energy service company (ESCO) project for energy-efficient street lighting. Commissioning of a bio-methanation plant to treat municipal solid waste and generate electricity Three cyclic switching units for optimal use of streetlights.

11. Genetic profiling of Indian Mackerel— --- The Indian Mackerel — Rastrelliger kanagurta — is an important food fish commonly consumed in South and Southeast Asian countries. ----The fish is commonly found in warm shallow waters along the coasts of the Indian and West Pacific oceans, and their surrounding seas. ---- The Indian Mackerel shares the same genetic profile except those caught from Andaman waters. ---- The fishes collected from Andaman waters were found to be genetically distinctive from those caught from the Indian mainland. However, there was little genetic differentiation between the fish caught from across India. ----- The genetic profiling was carried out by researchers of the Central Marine Fish Research Institute (CMFRI), Kochi and the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Research (NBFGR), Kochi regional centre. ---- The genetic profiling of the species is essential to assess the stock, evolve fisheries management methods including the preservation of genetic diversity and sustainability of the regional fisheries.

12. New Species of Gecko ----A new species of the day gecko, a type of lizard usually found in warm climates, has been spotted at the ruins of the World Heritage Site of Hampi in Karnataka. ----The gecko has been named Cnemaspisadii after a young herpetology researcher from Hyderabad --Aditya Srinivasulu. ---- The zoologists say Hampi and surrounding areas are potentially rich in biodiversity and not much research has been done to identify new species of smaller vertebrate and invertebrates.---- 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.

13.Sea Cucumbers —Sea cucumbers are marine animals of the class Holothuroidea. They are used in fresh or dried form in various cuisines. ----In some cultural contexts the sea cucumber is thought to have medicinal value. ---- Sea cucumbers, endangered species protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. ---- Sea cucumbers played a vital role in the marine ecological system, as they eat nutrients from the sea bed and bring it to the surface, thus helpingin availability of the nutrients to other organisms. ---- Nearly 200 species of sea cucumbers are found in the coral reef colonies in India, of which 20 species were found in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk B ay regions in the State. ---- Out of the 20, two were over-exploited and were exported in large number to Singapore from where they were distributed to Taiwan, China and Japan, where they

are considered delicacies. Normally, the sea cucumbers are found in inter-tidal regions of the coast, along the sea grass and coral reef colonies.

14. Emissions from Biomass Burning Cross the Himalayas— ----Contrary to the general assumption that the southern slopes of the Himalayas act as a barrier and effectively block the transportation of pollutants from India and other parts of South Asia, a study finds sound evidence to prove otherwise. ---- Aerosols have been found to rise and cross the entire range of the Himalayas. ---- Local meteorological conditions and regional atmospheric flow process have been the two major factors enabling the pollutants to cross over

The main reason responsible-------The organic acids present in the aerosols serve as a unique fingerprint in identifying the source of pollution. In this case, the dicarboxylic acids served as a fingerprint. ---- Though dicarboxylic acids can be produced by biomass burning, vehicular exhausts and cooking (primary source), as well as atmospheric photooxidation (secondary source), the researchers were able to pinpoint the source as biomass burning. ---- Levoglucosan is a specific marker of biomass burning — it is “produced through the pyrolysis of cellulose during the combustion process,”. Another unique marker of biomass burning is the water-soluble potassium. Both the markers showed strong positive correlation with dicarboxylic acids thereby confirming biomass burning as the source of pollution. ---- Though the pollutants were found to reach the northern slopes of the Himalayas during all the season — pre-monsoon, monsoon, post-monsoon and winter seasons — the amount of aerosol found peaked during pre-monsoon. This, according to them, is one more indicator of biomass burning as the source. ---- Agricultural burning and forest fires along the southern Himalayan foothills and the Indo-Gangetic Plain reach a high during the pre-monsoon period. That probably is the reason why the amount of biomass burning marker found peaked during the pre-monsoon time.

Regardless of where the pollutants come from, the study has provided compelling evidence that they are due to biomass burning. We must step up the global effort to drastically cut down biomass burning as much as we can.

15. Save the Bustard —In the news_--Pramod Patil, ornithologist, has planned to help conserve the Great Indian bustard ( Ardeotis nigriceps ) with £52,000 (about Rs. 50 lakh), which he got as the prize money with the Whitley Award for his work to save the critically endangered bird.---The bulk of the fund will also be devoted to Thar Desert, as it is one of the last refugees of this great bird.

About the Bustard---the Great Indian Bustard is currently listed under Critically Endangered species according to the in the 2013 ‘Threatened Bird’ list by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).---there are less than 250 bustards left in the country---It inhabits arid and semi-arid grasslands with scattered short scrub, bushes and low intensity cultivation in flat or gently undulating terrain. In India it is legally protected and there are severe penalties for killing an individual.---it occurs in the Indian subcontinent, with former strongholds in the Thar desert in the north-west and the Deccan tableland of the Peninsula.

--- It has been extirpated from 90% of its former range and is now principally confined to Rajasthan, with smaller populations in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh.

16. Indian vultures— ---Falls under Critically endangered category ---Three types: red-headed; Slender Billed; and White-Rumped---Globally significant populations of three species of critically endangered vultures still persist in northern and north-eastern Cambodia,---These species have undergone dramatic declines of 95-99% on the Indian subcontinent due to the poisoning by the livestock-drug Diclofenac ingested from animal carcasses. ---Though this drug appears not in use in Southeast Asia, populations have decreased there as well, most probably because of a decrease in food availability due to shrinking wild ungulate populations. ---Because of the absence of Diclofenac, Southeast Asian vulture populations are of critical importance to the global survival of these three species.

The Indian condition—Nine species of vultures could be found living in India---although today they have undergone more than 90% of extinction rates, the condition was not the same in the 1980’s when there were more than 80 million white rumped vultures Gyps bengalensis (esp in bengal)—when it was the most numerous species of raptor in the world.---The cause of the rapid decrease of Indian vultures has been attributed to a drug called Diclofenac, --- Diclofenac is a common anti-inflammatory drug administered to livestock. It is used to treat the symptoms of inflammations, fevers and/or pain associated with disease or wounds. It was widely used in India beginning in the 1990s.---The drug is fatal to vultures, however, and a vulture is exposed to a mortal dose of diclofenac if it eats from the carcass of an animal that has been treated recently--- A replacement drug was quickly developed and proposed after tests on vultures in captivity: meloxicam. Meloxicam affects cattle the same way as diclofenac, but is harmless for vultures---the rapid decline of the vultures has been the most significant one and the most rapid decline in history for such a large population

17.Butterflies --- Butterflies are not the only agents for pollination, but also important fro monitoring environmental changes.

---West bengal is probably the ONLY state in India which is home to a wide variety of Peacock butterflies such as –the rare Krishna peacock, Blue Peacock and so on---The only other Peacock butterfly found in the country is Buddha peacock which is found in the NE region.

18.Whale Shark ---Maharashtra is the only state to have a policy to protect the Whale Shark in the waters off its coast. Whale Shark is an endangered species categorized by the International union for the Conservation of Nature. (IUCN)

19.Bumblebees: most economically important insects —---India is home to 48 of the 250 known species of bumblebees, the only pollinators of vegetation in High altitude region---mostly characterized by Black, yellow and reddish body hair, and often stripped they are generally found on altitudes of 2,000-15,000 feet along with the entire Himalayas from J&K to Nagaland

---Like the honeybees, the bumblebees are social insects and live in colonies, the size of which depends on the species---the founder of the colony is the Queen which hibernated throughout winter. In spring, she will find a site for her new nest. ---Having mated the previous autumn, she will lay her eggs that will result in the first batch of workers

20.New species in Western Ghats —---A team of scientists from Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) and Natural History Museum, London, have reported the discovery of a new species of caecilian (limbless) amphibian   from the southern part of the Western Ghats. ---Name of the new species: Gegeneophis tejaswini.---It has been named after the Tejaswini river in north Kerala.--It is 12th Gegeneophis species discovered from the Western Ghats and the fourth from Kerala.--Out of the 204 caecilian species reported so far, some resemble snakes while others look like worms.--the species is nearly blind; with the eye covered by bone.---Measuring 135 mm to 224 mm in length, the specimens are pinkish in colour and easily mistaken for earthworms.--According to the authors, people usually fail to recognise caecilian amphibians because of their secretive underground life and superficial similarity to earthworms.---Given the G.tejaswini is known only from a small series of specimens from a single locality and that very little is known of its general ecology and nothing of its reproductive biology, the authors have proposed that the species be classified as Data Deficient under IUCB criteria.--Caecilians are limbless subterranean amphibians found in wet tropical and sub-tropical regions.

21. Mission mangroves in Sri Lanka —--- More than half the world’s mangroves have been lost over the last century, but all of those surviving in Sri Lanka, one of their most important havens, are now to be protected in an unprecedented operation.--Thus in an initiative to prevent any more loss of the forests in Sri Lanka as well as to boost the poorest of communities women will be offered small loans and training to start businesses.---In return for the microloans, the women will be expected to stop using the trees for firewood and to guard the forests near their homes.--Conservationists behind this scheme which is backed by the Sri Lankan government, believe the focus on women will bring huge benefits to living standards in coastal communities.

Importance of Mangroves-

---Important protection against Climate change and they sequester up to five times more carbon than other forests, area for area.---They also protect coastlines against flooding and  tsunamis, and provide a vital habitat for marine animals, especially crabs, shrimp and juvenile fish.

Mangroves in India—--- Mangroves in India account for about 3% of the world’s mangrove vegetation--- Mangrove cover in India is 4,662 sq. km, which is 0.14% of the country’s total geographical area. --- Sundarbans in West Bengal accounts for almost half of the total area under mangroves in the country. --- Mangrove in India is famous for its rich variety of flora and fauna.--- The forest survey report, 2013, notes down that the overall Mangrove cover in the county in 2013 has decreased compared to 2011.

The reasons for the decrease of mangrove cover may be accounted as follows- Grazing by domestic cattle and exploitation of mangrove woods for fuel and

timber. The Neo-tectonic movement of the river courses Abatement of the upstream freshwater discharges due to construction of

dams and reservoirs. Rapid trend of reclamation of mangrove forests for habitations. Pollutant discharges from cities and industries

Composition of Mangroves in India—The very dense mangrove comprises 1,403 sq. km (30.10% of the total mangrove cover), moderately dense mangrove is 1,658.12 sq. km (35.57 %) while open mangroves cover an area of 1,600.44 sq. km (33%).

Sunderbans The Sundarbans is a natural region in West Bengal and Bangladesh. It is the largest

single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world. The Sundarbans covers approximately 10,000 square kilometres (3,900 sq mi) of

which 60% is in Bangladesh with the remainder in India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

22. Camphor scented leaves from the Western Ghats— --- A new tree species that gives out strong smell of camphor when its leaves and stem are crushed has been reported from southern Western Ghats.

Details about the Discovery— The species named Cinnamomum agasthyamalayanum after the type

locality, Agasthyamala hills, from where it was reported. The species in Endemic to the  Ghats region of Kerala in Indi The find attributes significance as it considered to be the only species to

be endemic that gives out the smell of camphorUses of the species—

Camphor has a wide range of medicinal applications especially in Ayurveda. Camphor has a pain relieving effect It is an ingredient in a few externally applied oils to relieve muscle spasm. It also has got a mild mucolytic property and can reduce bronchospasm. It is also used in mild dosage in internal medicines.

Other Camphor Species—

Natural camphor is extracted by distilling the leaves and bark ofCinnamomum camphora , a native to China, Taiwan, southern parts of Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. It is also synthetically produced.

Though Cinnamom camphora would grow in Indian climatic conditions, it need not yield camphor at commercially viable levels.

23. Manipur’s Ngapang revealed to world as new catfish species --- Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have discovered a new species of catfish, Glyptothorax senapatiensis , in the Chindwin river drainage in Senapati district of Manipur.---It is a small but edible species of fish with high nutritional value and a lot of oil content.--the fish has thoracic adhesive apparatus that helps it cling on to the rocky riverbed in mountains against strong currents. All Glyptothorax-genus fish have this characteristic.---Manipur has the highest  diversity of aquatic fauna because of the two important river drainage systems. ---- The western half is fed by the Barak-Brahmaputra drainage and the eastern and central valleys are crisscrossed by the Chindwin river drainage, and these account for the variety in the aquatic fauna.

24.Niligiri Tahir ----Scientific Name: Nilgiritragus hylocrius---This is locally known as---Nilgiri ibex or simply ibex--Endemic to Niliris and the southern portion of the Western Ghats including Tamil nadu and Kerala--It is the state animal of Tamil Nadu-- Despite its local name, it is more closely related to the sheep of the Ovis genus than the Ibex and wild goats of the Capra genus.

Habitat— They predominate in the open montane grassland habitat of South-Western ghats

montane rain forests ecoregion Hunting and poaching in the 19th century however decreased their numbers

25.Arunachal Macaque —---this is the first species to be named after the place of its origin (in India).---Scientific name--Macaca munzala--Conservation status--Endangered

Description of the species— This is a relatively large brown  primate with a comparatively short tail, is

a macaque native toArunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. Its species name comes from munzala ("monkey of the deep forest") as it was called by theDirang Monpa tribe

Dicovered as a new Taxon in 1997 and then described as a new species in 2004, when a group of scientists from the Nature Conservation Foundation, India reported it

It was initially described as a Holotype, after which on the basis of variation with the Assamese macaque, it was described as a subspecies

The Arunachal macaque is compactly built and has a very dark face. It lives at high altitudes, between 2000 m and 3500 m above sea level, making it one of the highest-dwelling primates. 

It has physical resemblance with both the Assamese macaque and the Tibetan macaque

It has genetic resemblance with the bonnet macaque of South india ----This is probably the result of convergent evolution, where organisms

evolve similar physical features due to similar environmental selection pressure, while genetically they may have different origins.

26.Dust Storm in Rajasthan —--- A severe dust storm swept across North India recently injuring many and damaging several houses in Rajasthan.

The Nilgiri Tahir is the closest relative of Sheeps. ---Until 2005, they had been paced with Arabian Tahir and Himalayan tahir under the genus: Hemitragus---However, it has been recently transferred to the genus Nilgiritragus because it is genetically more similar to the members Ovus (sheep)---Males are larger than females with darker color, and both have curved horns--Adult males develop light grey area on their backs and hence are called “saddlebacks”---Conservation status—

As few as 100 Nilgiri tahirs were left in wild in the early 20th century

Since that time their populations has increased somewhat, however above 2000 individuals

EravKulam National Park is the home to the largest population of the species (894)

Other significant populations is in the Nilgiri hills with smaller populations in the Anamallai hills as well as Periyar National park; Palni hills and pockets of western ghats almost extending till the southern

--A Dust storm is a meterological phenomena  common in arid and semi-arid regions.--Dust Storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface---Particles are transported by saltation and suspension, a process that moves soil from one place and deposits it in another.

Why in Rajasthan— According to the Skymet Meteorology Division in India, a low level cyclonic

circulation over Pakistan and adjoining Rajasthan region along with high day temperatures had triggered the dust storm.

West Rajasthan becomes prone to such dust storms as it enters into the pre-monsoon season. This was the first widespread storm of the season covering a large area.

The winds are usually westerlies due to which the dust storms travel a long way.

Causes of the dust storm—---As the force of wind passing over loosely held particles increases, particles of sand first start to vibrate, then to saltate. As they repeatedly strike the ground, they loosen and break off smaller particles of dust which then begin to travel in suspension.--At wind speeds above that which causes the smallest to suspend, there will be a population of dust grains moving by a range of mechanisms: suspension, saltation and creep.--Particles become loosely held mainly due to drought or arid conditions, and varied wind causes.--In desert areas, dust storms are most commonly caused by either thunderstorm outflows, or by strong pressure gradients which cause an increase in wind velocity over a wide area. --the vertical extent of the  dust or sand that is raised is largely determined by the stability of the atmosphere above the ground as well as by the weight of the particulates.--Drought and wind contribute to the emergence of dust storms, as do poor farming and grazing practices by exposing the dust and sand to the wind.

27. Cultivation of Paddy and Sugarcane pose threat to HAMPI monuments

---UNESCO, in its “State of Conservation” report on the World Heritage Site, has said that cultivation of paddy and sugarcane pose a threat to the conservation of the historical Hampi group of monuments.---UNESCO has flagged irrigation of water-intensive agriculture, traffic close to the site and seasonal flooding of the Tungabhadra as challenges.

How the cultivation of these crops affects the sites The threat of agriculture is water-logging that weakens the foundation of minor

monuments situated on farm land. There have been incidents of monuments sinking or damage caused due to dampness and wetness.

HAMPI Hampi is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India located near Hospet

town in the Karnataka state.

It is located within the ruins of the city of Vijaynagara Kingdom the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire.

The emperor Ashoka’s minor rock edicts in Nittur & Udegolan (both in Bellary district, Karnataka) lead one to believe that this region was within the Ashokan kingdom during the 3rd century BCE.

A Brahmi inscription and a terracotta seal dating to the 2nd century CE were also discovered from the excavation site.

The first historical settlements in Hampi date back to 1 CE. Situated on the banks of the Tungabhadra river Hampi has got various notable Hindu temples with some vedanta mythology

inside the temples, some of which are still active places of worship.

28.Wroughton’s Free Tailed Bat —----Scientific name:  Otomops wroughtoni   ----this has been in the news recently, is a free-tailed bat formerly considered to be confined in the Western Ghats of India, though it is recently discovered from the NE part as well as from Cambodia----It was listed as Critically Endangered species due to habitat Loss and restricted ranges----In India the species is exclusively found in two locations: one on the South Indian state of Karnataka ( in the Barapede Caves, located between Krishnapur and Talewadi, in Belgaum district, adjacent to the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary near the state of Goa) and also in Meghalaya (recently discovered in a cave near Nongrai village, Shella confederacy)

29. Half of the mammals face habitat Loss ---THE ZSI has recently published a Book entitled “An Identification Manual for Scheduled Mammals of India”---provides detailed information regarding scheduled mammals, their status as per IUCN red List of threatened species---India is a home to 428 species of mammals out of which more than 60%— about 251 species — are under protected or scheduled categories of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.---428 species of mammals in India contribute to about 8% of the total mammal species found in the World.--About 50% of mammalian fauna of India have shrunk in their distributional range due to various anthropogenic pressures.--FOUR mammalian species:  Cheetah, Banteng, Sumatran Rhinoceros and Javan Rhinoceros — are extinct in India.--Out of the 251 Scheduled mammals species listed under the India Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, about 180 fall under the “lesser-known” category, and very little information is available about their habitat, behaviour, and population.---Around 78 species of mammals are included in Schedule I of Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, implying that highest priority is placed on the conservation of these animals in the country.---While the Schedule I mammals constitute well known species like tiger, elephant and Indian rhinoceros, “lesser known” species such as clouded leopard, snow leopard, gaur, desert cat, Niligiri tahr, swamp deer, sloth bear and Tibetan, sand fox are also included in the list.---The mammals that fall under the category of “Critically endangered” of the book are--pygmy hog, Malabar civet, large rock rat and kondana rat.--As per the IUCN,  status 29 mammals (such as, Chinese Pangolin, fishing cat, Gangetic dolphin, golden langur, hispid hare etc.) in the country come under the “endangered” category.

30. Nepal Snow Leopards gets a Radio Collar— Nepalese conservationists recently announced that they had successfully radio-collared a second snow leopard near Kanchenjunga, the world’s third highest mountain.

---Data received from the satellite collar will enable conservationists to identify critical habitats for the elusive species, including trans boundary links across India and China.---The collaring expedition was led by the government of Nepal in partnership with the WWF, the National Trust for Nature Conservation, the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Project and citizen scientists from the local Snow Leopard Conservation Committee.---The radio collaring was especially vital in helping identify snow leopard hotspots and managing local logistics.---There is an estimated 350 to 590 snow leopards in Nepal as per 2009 population data on the species.

Quick facts about the N Snow Leopard Status—ENDANGERED in the IUCN Red List They inhabit in the Alpine and the subalpine zones at elevations from 3,000 to

4,500 m (9,800 to 14,800 ft). In the northern range countries, they also occur at lower elevations.

The snow leopard is the National Heritage Animal of Pakistan. Their habitat extends through 12 countries--Afghanistan, Bhutan, China,

India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. China contains as much as 60% of all snow leopard habitat areas.

In India their geographical range encompasses a large part of the western Himalayas including the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern Himalayas.

The Snow Leopard like all big cats, is listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES), which makes trading of animal body parts (i.e., fur, bones and meat) illegal in signatory countries. It is also protected by several national laws in its range countries.

31. World Environment Day ---World Environment Day (WED) is the United Nations’ principal vehicle for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the environment. It is run by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).---Celebrated on the 5th of June, It was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 on the day that United Nations Conference on the Human Environment began.---Over the years, it has grown to be a broad, global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated by stakeholders in over 100 countries.---Theme for this year--Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care.”--ITALY will host as the WED 2015.

June

1. Centre eases processes to declare wildlife Vermin —---Union Ministry of Environment  forest and climate change (MoEFCC) has asked the States to send proposals to declare wild animals vermin for specified period in a given area.

---Aim of the Move: The increasing man-animal conflict that causes damage to crops and other human property ; also if they have become much diseased/---Implications of the Move:

Once declared a vermin, that particular species can be hunted or culled without restriction.

If implemented,  it will apply to wild animals listed in various Schedules of the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA) 1972, 

Exception would be for those wild animals listed in---Schedule I & Part II of Schedule II that lists most endangered and iconic species like tigers, leopards, and elephants.

--Problems associated with the Move— Officials and environmentalists fear that protected species could be hunted in the

name of eliminating vermin. They point out it is not easy for field staff to differentiate meat of chital from nilgai’s or wild boar.

---also to mitigate man-animal conflict outside the protected areas (PAs), the Centre has also sought proposals to grant aid to deal with conflict as part of the annual plan of operations under the centrally sponsored scheme (CSS) for Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (IDWH).

2. . Scientists discover Virgin births of endangered Sawfish in Florida— ----Scientists have documented in Florida a series of “virgin births,” reproduction without mating, in a critically endangered sawfish species pushed to the brink of extinction by over-fishing and habitat destruction.---Scientists also say that this is for the first time that the phenomenon called parthenogenesis has been seen in a vertebrate in the wild.---They also say that some females may be resorting to asexual reproduction because smalltooth sawfish numbers are so low that mating opportunities may not exist---Small-toothed Sawfish

Also known as the wide sawfish, it is a sawfish of the family Pristidae. This is found in shallow tropical and subtropical waters in coastal parts of the

Atlantic, including the Mediterranean. Smalltooth sawfish are born and live for about three years in southwest Florida

estuaries before moving into ocean coastal habitats. Status—Critically Endangered Description—They have a flattered shark-shaped body and a long, flat snout with

pairs of teeth on the side used to find, stun and kill prey. They grow up to 18 feet long.

Their population collapsed following habitat loss and unintentional over-fishing, being caught in nets targeting other species

They received US Federal endangered species protection in 2003.

3. DANDELI elephant Reserve notified—--- The Karnataka State government has officially notified the Dandeli Elephant Reserve, spread over 2,321.119 sq km — including 475.018 sq km as core and the remaining as buffer areas.---the notification follows the  Government of India approval for establishing the Dandeli Elephant Reserve under Project Elephant.---Project Elephant-

Project Elephant was launched in 1992 as a Central-sponsored scheme to protect elephant habitats, including its corridors, and resolve human-elephant conflicts rampant in many States.

The Project  is being implemented in 13 States / UTs, namely, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Under Project Elephant, States that have a free-ranging population of wild elephants are being given financial as well as technical and scientific assistance to ensure long-term survival of identified viable populations of elephants in their natural habitats.

4. Songbird Extinction —--- According to a study, Songbird in Europe and Asia is being hunted to near extinction because of Chinese eating habits.---The population of the yellow -breasted bunting has plunged by 90% since 1980, all but disappearing from eastern Europe, Japan and parts of Russia.---China in 1997 banned the hunting of the species, known there as the “rice bird“.---The study also says that the consumption of these birds has increased as a result of economic growth and prosperity in East Asia, with an estimate in 2001 claiming one million buntings were consumed in China’s Guangdong province alone.---About the Songbird—

A songbird belonging to the clade Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). This group forms some 4,000 species found all over the world, in which the vocal

organ typically is developed in such a way as to produce a diverse and elaborate bird song.

Songbirds form one of the two major lineages of extant perching birds, the other being the Tyranni which are most diverse in the Neotropics and absent from many parts of the world.

Songbirds are alike in having the vocal organ highly developed, though not all use it to melodious effect.

5. India richer by 349 NEW species --- According to the list of new discoveries by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) and the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), 349 new species of flora and fauna were discovered in the past one year — 173 species and genera of plants and 176 species of animals.---Of the new plants some of the significant findings include nine new taxa of wild Musa (bananas), four species of black plum (jamun), three species of wild gingibers and 10 species of orchids.

--Details about the new findings— Western Ghats accounted for 22% of the new discoveries, while the Eastern

Himalayas and the north-eastern States each accounted for 15% of the species found.

In Arunachal Pradesh ALONE, 25 species of seed plants were discovered. Among the 176 new species of animals added to the existing list in India, two

species of reptiles have been noted for the FIRST time, one in tamil nadu and the other in Madhya Pradesh

Insects outnumbered animals this year as well While most of the new species of amphibians were discovered from the Western

Ghats, majority of fish species were from north-east India. Apart form the NEW species, BSI has also added 105 new records and ZSI 61

‘new records.’ Animals and plants that are found elsewhere in the world but have been spotted in India for the first time are called ‘new records.’

In India 96,891 species of animals and 47,791 species of plants have been recorded so far.

Scientists have found that the Western Ghats and the northeast are biodiversity hotspots where most new species were found.

6. Statuettes open a window to ancient Peru ----Researchers in Peru have discovered a trio of statuettes they believe were created by the ancient Caral civilisation some 3,800 years ago.Details: The mud statuettes were found inside a reed basket in a building in the

ancient city of Vichama in northern Peru. Researchers say they were probably used in religious rituals performed before breaking ground on a new building.

Two of the figures, a naked man and woman painted in white, black and red, are believed to represent political authorities.

The third, a woman with 28 fingers and red dots on her white face, is believed to represent a priestess.

The research team also unearthed two mud figurines of women’s faces wrapped in cloth.

---Caral is one of the most ancient cities of the Americas, and a well-studied site of the Caral or Norte Chico civilization.--- It was a large settlement in the Supe Valley, near Supe, Barranca province, Peru, some 200 km north of Lima. It was inhabited between roughly 2600 BCE and 2000 BCE.---Peru lies on the Pacific coast of South America just south of the Equator.

7. India’s only Double coconut tree artificially pollinated --- Recently, scientists at the Indian Botanical Garden in West Bengal’s Howrah district have carried out artificial pollination of the only double coconut tree in India.---This bears the LARGEST SEED known to science---The artificial pollination is an outcome of decades of research coming out from the scientists of BSI

---About Double Coconut Tree ( Lodoicea maldivica ): It is one of the rare and globally threatened species of palm. The tree was planted

at the botanical garden in 1894. The tree almost took 100 years to mature. The double coconut not only bears the largest seed known to science —

weighing around 25 kg — but this unique species is also the longest surviving palm which can live for as long as 1,000 years.

The tree also bears the  largest leaf among palms and one leaf can thatch a small hut.

The species of the palm is diecious (where male and female flowers are borne on different plants).

The palm tree is located in the large palm house of the Botanical Garden which has the largest collection of palms in South East Asia with around 110 palm species.

This RARE tree can also be found in-- only two of the 115 Seychelles islands and is also called Coco de Mer (coconut of the sea).

8. J&K HC orders removal of Russian Poplar trees ---The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has recently issued another order asking for removal of Russian poplars across the Kashmir valley. ---the order which will take time to be implemented, have their pollen seeds said to cause respiratory disorders---It is common knowledge that pollen seeds of poplars of Russian species adversely affect health of general public, mostly of elderly people and children. The pollen seeds of these trees have given rise to chest disease in the Valley---During summers, populous deltoids—female poplar—sheds a cotton-like material carrying seeds that cause allergy and aggravate respiratory disorders. This cotton has become an irritant in the recent past for the locals as well as tourists.---Symptoms include: The irritation caused by the pollen results in running nose, red and watery eyes---The name “Russian poplar” is a misnomer and has nothing to do with Russia. The variety of poplar trees was introduced in Kashmir in 1982from the US. Locally called as Russi Frass, the species takes less time (10-15 years) to grow, as compared to the Kashmir poplar that takes 30-40 years. However, experts say that the Kashmiri Poplar is harmless.---Due to their high yield, poplars are intensively used inthe timber and construction industry. However, due to cotton-like seeds that the species produces, it has become a pressing problem for the Valley.

9. GOI has initiated the cultivation of Sea Buckthorns ---Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) is one of the important natural resources of the mountainous regions of China and Russia.---Grows naturally in sandy soil and higher altitudes, and also off late in temperate regions and lower altitudes like India---Recently cultivation of this species have been encouraged due to its capacity to prevent soil erosion and to serve as an economic resource for food and medicine products---The leaves are now used for making a beverage tea; they additional contain triterpenes---Flavonoids and oils are the specially extracted also being items of this species. Sometimes even a flavonoid-oil capsule is made to treat cardiovascular disease---Health applications: Cancer therapy; Cardiovascular diseases; Gastric ulcers; Liver cirrhosis; And Skin infections---Sea buckthorn has turned out to be useful because it withstands severe weather and grows huge root systems in poor soil (and fixes nitrogen in the soil). 

10. Songbird’s speciation ----Climate change in the valleys, gaps affects songbirds’ speciation----A new study by National Centre for Biological Sciences on high elevation songbirds of Western Ghats, has found that deep valleys have greater impact on speciation than shallow ones in this mountain chain.----The study was conducted to investigate genetic variation of all 23 species of songbirds that inhabit the Shola forests of the sky islands of Western Ghats.

----Details of the Study The study found that not all species are affected by the gaps. Out of the 23 species studied, 10 showed genetic divergences across the

deepest, widest valley, the Palghat gap, while three others diverged across the Shenkotta gap. 

Only one species diverged across the shallowest valley, the Chaliyar River valley.

While the Western Ghats were formed some 50 million years ago, the arrival of songbirds in the Western Ghats is only dated earliest to 34 million years ago.

Simulated studies suggested the species diverged at different times. It was also observed that it was not only the valleys and gaps in the mountain, but also the climate that affect to play an important role in these bird divergences.

----Study of the Songbird A Songbird is a bird belonging to the clade Passeri of the perching birds

(Passeriformes). This group contains some 4,000 species found all over the world, in which the

vocal organ typically is developed in such a way as to produce a diverse and elaborate bird song.

Songbirds form one of the two major lineages of extant perching birds, the other being the Tyranni which are most diverse in the Neotropics and absent from many parts of the world.

Songbirds  are alike in having the vocal organ highly developed, though not all use it to melodious effect.

China in 1997 banned these hunting of the species, known there as the “rice bird“.

Current Affairs on Environment from Mrunals

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