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GS Paper: GS3-18.Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

  • Probe shows use of toxic material in firecrackers: Supreme Court

    The Supreme Court has said a preliminary enquiry by the CBI into the firecracker industry, including in Tamil Nadu, revealed rampant violation of its ban on use of toxic ingredients like Barium and its salts.

    Air Pollution created by firecrackers

    • Firing crackers increase the concentration of dust and pollutants in the air.
    • After firing, the fine dust particles get settled on the surrounding surfaces which are packed with chemicals like copper, zinc, sodium, lead, magnesium, cadmium and pollutants like oxides of sulphur and nitrogen.
    • These invisible yet harmful particles affect the environment and in turn, put our health at stake.

    Harmful elements used

    • Copper: Irritates the respiratory tract.
    • Cadmium: Leads to anemia by reducing the capacity of blood to carry oxygen.
    • Zinc: Can cause metal fume fever and induces vomiting.
    • Lead: Harms the nervous system.
    • Magnesium: Metal fume fever is caused by Magnesium fumes.
    • Sodium: It is a highly reactive element and caused burns when it is combined with moisture.

    Why is the issue in news now?

    Ans. Barium content

    • A chemical analysis of the samples of finished and semi-finished firecrackers and raw materials taken from the manufacturers showed Barium content.
    • The court stated that loose quantities of Barium were purchased from the market.
    • Also, firecracker covers did not show the manufacture or expiry dates.

    Issues with Barium

    • Barium nitrate, which emits green flames when a cracker is lit, is a metal oxide that increases both air and noise pollution.
    • There is is no clarity on whether barium nitrate can actually be used or not.

    Alternatives: Green Crackers

    • The new CSIR-NEERI formulation for green crackers has NO barium nitrate — one of the key ingredients of traditional firecrackers.
    • These crackers have been named “safe water releaser (SWAS)”, “safe minimal aluminium (SAFAL)” and “safe thermite cracker (STAR)”.
    • The three crackers release water vapour or air as a dust suppressant and diluent for gaseous emissions.
    • These products can only be manufactured by those who have signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with CSIR-NEERI.
    • The green crackers are sold with a unique logo on the box, and will also have a QR code with production and emission details.

     

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  • Wastewater Treatment in India

    Sewage treatment plants (STPs) in India are able to treat a little more than a third of the sewage generated per day, according to the latest report of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

    What is Wastewater?

    Wastewater is used water from any combination of domestic, industrial, commercial or agricultural activities, surface runoff/ stormwater, and any sewer inflow or sewer infiltration.

    In everyday usage, wastewater is commonly a synonym for:

    • Sewage also called domestic wastewater or municipal wastewater which is wastewater that is produced by a community of people.
    • Industrial wastewater, water-borne waste generated from a variety of industrial processes, such as manufacturing operations, mineral extraction, power generation, or water and wastewater treatment.
    • Cooling water, released with potential thermal pollution after use to condense steam or reduce machinery temperatures by conduction or evaporation
    • Leachate, precipitation containing pollutants dissolved while percolating through ores, raw materials, products, or solid waste
    • Return flow, carrying suspended soil, pesticide residues, or dissolved minerals and nutrients from irrigated cropland
    • Surface runoff, the flow of water occurring on the ground surface when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate in the soil.
    • Urban runoff, including water used for outdoor cleaning activity and landscape irrigation in densely populated areas created by urbanization
    • Agricultural wastewater, generated from confined animal operations

    Wastewater in India

    • India generated 72,368 MLD (million litres per day) whereas the installed capacity of STPs was 31,841 MLD (43.9 per cent), according to the report.

    Treatment facilities available

    • Of this installed capacity, developed and operationalized capacity was 26,869 MLD (84 per cent).
    • Of the total operationalised capacity, 20,235 MLD (75 per cent) was the actual utilised capacity.
    • In other words, out of total 72,368 MLD sewage generated every day, only 20,235 MLD is treated.

    Skewed distribution

    • Five states and Union Territories (UT) — Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Karnataka — account for 60 per cent of the total installed treatment capacity of the country.
    • These, along with five other states and UTs — Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan — alone constitute 86 per cent of the total installed capacity.
    • Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Manipur, Meghalaya and Nagaland have not installed sewage treatment plants.
    • There are states like Bihar which do have a small installed capacity of STPs. But on the operational front, they score a zero.
    • Chandigarh ranks first in terms of total sewage generated to what is actually treated. It generates 188 MLD of sewage and has an operational capacity to treat 271 MLD.

    Major issue: Reuse of sewage

    • The reuse of treated sewage is an issue which hasn’t assumed much importance in the policy planning of many state governments.
    • Treated sewage water can be reused for horticulture, irrigation, washing activities (road, vehicles and trains), fire-fighting, industrial cooling, toilet flushing and gardening.
    • The proportion of the reuse of treated sewage is maximum in Haryana (80 per cent) followed by Puducherry (55 per cent), Delhi (50 per cent), Chandigarh (35 per cent), Tamil Nadu (25 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (20 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh (5 per cent).

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  • WHO tightens Global Air Quality norms

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) in its first-ever update since 2005 has tightened global air pollution standards.

    Global Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs) 2021

    • WHO announces limits for six pollutant categories —particulate matter (PM) 2.5 and 10, ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) sulphur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO).

    Air quality standards in India

    • India aligns with the WHO guidelines only in the case of ozone and carbon monoxide, as these have not changed. But both NO2 and SO2 guidelines are tighter than the current Indian standard.
    • The move doesn’t immediately impact India as the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) don’t meet the WHO’s existing standards.
    • The government has a dedicated National Clean Air Programme that aims for a 20% to 30% reduction in particulate matter concentrations by 2024 in 122 cities, keeping 2017 as the base year.

    Significance of WHO’s AQG

    Ans. It sets the stage for eventual shifts in policy

    • WHO move sets the stage for eventual shifts in policy in the government towards evolving newer stricter standards.
    • This will soon become part of policy discussions — much like climate targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions keep getting stricter over time.
    • Once cities and States are set targets for meeting pollution emission standards, it could lead to overall changes in national standards.

    Challenges for India

    • The current challenge in India is to meet its national ambient air quality standards in all the regions.
    • The hard lockdown phases during the pandemic have demonstrated the dramatic reduction that is possible when local pollution and regional influences can be minimised.
    • This has shown that if local action is strengthened and scaled up at speed across the region, significant reduction to meet a much tighter target is possible.
    • The influence of geo-climatic attributes is quite pronounced in all regions of India, which further aggravates the local build-up of pollution.
    • This is further worsened due to the rapid proliferation of pollution sources and weak air quality management systems.
    • India may require a more nuanced regional approach to maximise benefits and sustain air quality gains.

    Conclusion

    • Air pollution is a threat to health in all countries, but it hits people in low- and middle-income countries the hardest.
    • WHO’s new Air Quality Guidelines are an evidence-based and practical tool for improving the quality of the air on which all life depends.

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  • Rhino Horn Reverification Exercises

    Assam will mark World Rhino Day — September 22 — with a special ceremony by burning a stockpile of nearly 2,500 horns of the one-horned rhinoceros.

    Rhino Horn Reverification

    • The public ceremony — scheduled at Bokakhat in Kaziranga National Park (KNP) has been publicized as a “milestone towards rhino conservation” aimed at “busting myths about rhino horns”.
    • It’s a loud and clear message to the poachers and smugglers that such items have no value.
    • Thus the case for the destruction of horns — a process that is in compliance with Section 39(3)(c) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972.

    Why are Rhinos poached for horns?

    • Ground rhino horn is used in traditional Chinese medicine to cure a range of ailments, from cancer to hangovers, and also as an aphrodisiac.
    • In Vietnam, possessing a rhino horn is considered a status symbol.
    • Due to demand in these countries, poaching pressure on rhinos is ever persistent against which one cannot let the guard down.

    Try this PYQ:

    Consider the following statements:

    1. Asiatic lion is naturally found in India only.
    2. Double-humped camel is naturally found in India only.
    3. One-horned rhinoceros is naturally found in India only.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”smpw6l0h7x” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

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    Back2Basics: Indian Rhino

    • The Indian rhinoceros also called the greater one-horned rhinoceros and great Indian rhinoceros is a rhinoceros native to the Indian subcontinent.
    • It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and Schedule I animal in the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
    • It once ranged across the entire northern part of the Indian Subcontinent, along the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra River basins, from Pakistan to the Indian-Myanmar border.
    • Poaching for rhinoceros horn became the single most important reason for the decline of the Indian rhino.

  • [pib] Kovalam & Eden Beaches gets Blue Fag Certification

     

    The international eco-label “Blue Flag”, has accorded the Blue Flag Certification for 2 new beaches this year –Kovalam in Tamil Nadu and Eden in Puducherry beaches.

    With this India now has 10 International Blue Flag beaches.

    Which are the other 8 beaches?

    1. Shivrajpur (Dwarka-Gujarat)
    2. Ghoghla (Diu)
    3. Kasarkod (Karnataka) [NOT Kasargod which is in Kerala] and
    4. Padubidri (Karnataka)
    5. Kappad (Kerala)
    6. Rushikonda (AP)
    7. Golden Beach (Odisha) and
    8. Radhanagar (A&N Islands)

    Blue Flag Beaches

    • The ‘Blue Flag’ beach is an ‘eco-tourism model’ and marks out beaches as providing tourists and beachgoers clean and hygienic bathing water, facilities/amenities, a safe and healthy environment, and sustainable development of the area.
    • The certification is accorded by the Denmark-based Foundation for Environment Education.
    • It started in France in 1985 and has been implemented in Europe since 1987, and in areas outside Europe since 2001 when South Africa joined.
    • It has 33 stringent criteria under four major heads for the beaches, that is, (i) Environmental Education and Information (ii) Bathing Water Quality (iii) Environment Management and Conservation and (iv) Safety and Services.

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  • Species in news: Sea Cucumber

    In a swift operation, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) at Mandapam, Tamil Nadu seized two tonnes of sea cucumber, a banned marine species.

    Sea Cucumbers

    • Sea cucumbers are part of a larger animal group called echinoderms, which also contains starfish and sea urchins.
    • Their body shape is similar to a cucumber, but they have small tentacle-like tube feet that are used for locomotion and feeding.
    • One way that sea cucumbers can confuse or harm predators is by propelling their own toxic internal organs from their bodies in the direction of an attacker.
    • The organs grow back, and it may save them from being eaten.
    • They are found in virtually all marine environments throughout the world, from shallow to deep-sea environments.
    • They are benthic, meaning they live on the ocean floor. However, their larvae are planktonic, meaning they float in the ocean with the currents.

    Conservation status

    • Sea cucumber in India is treated as an endangered species listed under schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
    • It is primarily smuggled from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka in fishing vessels from Ramanathapuram and Tuticorin districts.

    (IUCN status is not available for this species)

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  • IISc finds alternative for single-use plastics

    Researchers from the Department of Material Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru (IISc) have found a way to make a substitute for single-use plastic that can, in principle help mitigate the problem of accumulating plastic waste in the environment.

    What is the new material?

    • IISc has developed polymers using non-edible oil and cellulose extracted from agricultural stubble.
    • These polymers can be moulded into sheets having properties suitable for making bags, cutlery or containers.
    • The material so made is bio-degradable, leak-proof and non-toxic.

    Key features

    • In order to obtain sheets with properties like flexibility suitable for making different articles, the researchers played with the proportions of cellulose to non-edible oil.
    • The more cellulose they added, and less non-edible oil, the stiffer was the material, so that it was more suitable to making tumblers and cutlery.
    • The greater the proportion of oil, the more flexible was the material and it could be moulded into sheets for making bags.

    Why needed?

    Ans. Plastic waste menace in India

    • According to a report by Central Pollution Control Board of India, for the year 2018-2019, 3.3 million metric tonnes of plastic waste are generated by Indians.
    • The bad news is that this may well be an under-estimation of the problem.
    • Another alarming statistic is that of all the plastic waste produced in the world, 79% enters the environment.
    • Only 9% of all plastic waste is recycled.
    • Accumulation of plastic waste is detrimental to the environment and when this waste finds its way into the sea, there can be major harm to aquatic ecosystems, too.

    Agricultural stubble

    • While plastic waste causes one type of pollution, agricultural stubble burning is responsible for air pollution in several States.
    • In Delhi, for example, the air quality index dips to indicate “severe” or “hazardous” level of pollution every winter, and this is due in part to the burning of agricultural stubble in the surrounding regions.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2020:

    Which of the following statements are correct regarding the general difference between plant and animal cells?

    1. Plant cells have cellulose cell walls whilst animal cells do not.
    2. Plant cells do not have plasma membranes unlike animal cells which do.
    3. Mature plant cell has one large vacuole whilst animal cell has many small vacuoles.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”yl9mtpfmnq” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

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  • How are Humboldts different from other penguins?

    Last week, Mumbai’s Byculla Zoo announced the addition of two new Humboldt penguin chicks this year.

    Humboldt Penguins

    • Humboldt penguins are medium-sized species among at least 17 species.
    • The exact number of distinct species is debated, but it is generally agreed that there are between 17 and 19 species.
    • The largest, the Emperor penguin, stands at over 4 ft tall while the Little penguin has a maximum height of 1 ft. Humboldt penguins have an average height of just over 2 ft.
    • The Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus Humboldt) belongs to a genus that is commonly known as the ‘banded’ group.’

    Relation with the Humboldt Oceanic Current

    • Humboldt penguins are endemic to the Pacific coasts of Chile and Peru.
    • They are so named because their habitat is located near the Humboldt Current, a large oceanic upwelling characterized by cold waters.

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  • Pseudo-melanism in Tigers of Simlipal

    A team of scientists has resolved the genetic mystery of Simlipal’s so-called black tigers.

    What are Black Tigers?

    • Tigers have a distinctive dark stripe pattern on a light background of white or golden.
    • A rare pattern variant, distinguished by stripes that are broadened and fused together, is also observed in both wild and captive populations.
    • This is known as pseudo-melanism, which is different from true melanism, a condition characterized by unusually high deposition of melanin, a dark pigment.
    • This pseudo-melanism is linked to a single mutation in Transmembrane Aminopeptidase Q (Taqpep), a gene responsible for similar traits in other cat species.

    Where are they mostly found?

    • While truly melanistic tigers are yet to be recorded, pseudo-melanistic ones have been camera-trapped repeatedly, and only, in Simlipal, a 2,750-km tiger reserve in Odisha, since 2007.
    • Launched in 2017, the study was the first attempt to investigate the genetic basis for this unusual phenotype (appearance).

    Why they are rare?

    • Mutants are genetic variations which may occur spontaneously, but not frequently, in nature.
    • A cub gets two copies of each gene from both parents, and a recessive gene can show up only in the absence of the dominant one.
    • So, two normal-pattern tigers carrying the recessive pseudo-melanism gene will have to breed together for a one-in-four probability of giving birth to a black cub.
    • But recessive genes are rare and it is unlikely that two unrelated tigers will carry the same one and pass it on together to a cub.

    Connection with Simlipal TR

    • In an ideal tiger world, where far-ranging individuals are never short of choices for partners, that makes succession of black tigers a rarity.
    • Under exceptional circumstances, a black tiger may succeed as part of a very small population that is forced to inbreed in isolation for generations.
    • As it turned out, that is what happened at Simlipal.
    • Pseudo-melanistic tigers are also present in three zoos in India — Nandankanan (Bhubaneswar), Arignar Anna Zoological Park (Chennai) and Bhagwan Birsa Biological Park (Ranchi) — where they were born in captivity.
    • All of them have ancestral links to one individual from Simlipal.

    What about natural selection?

    • Natural selection eliminates the weakest from a gene pool, and the traits of the more successful get passed on.
    • Niche modelling, the study said, shows higher frequency of melanistic leopards in darker tropical and subtropical forests than in drier open habitats.
    • Likewise, darker coats may confer a selective advantage in both hunting and avoiding hunters in Simlipal’s tropical moist deciduous and semi-evergreen closed-canopy forest, with a relatively darker understory.

    Try this PYQ:

    Two important rivers – one with its source in Jharkhand (and known by a different name in Odisha), and another, with its source in Odisha – merge at a place only a short distance from the coast of Bay of Bengal before flowing into the sea. This is an important site of wildlife and biodiversity and a protected area.

     

    Which one of the following could be this?
    (a) Bhitarkanika
    (b) Chandipur-on-sea
    (c) Gopalpur-on-sea
    (d) Simlipal

     

    Post your answers here.[wpdiscuz-feedback id=”plpfw4ge94″ question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″][/wpdiscuz-feedback]

    Back2Basics: Project Tiger

    • Project Tiger is a tiger conservation program launched in April 1973 during PM Indira Gandhi’s tenure.
    • In 1970 India had only 1800 tigers and Project Tiger was launched in Jim Corbett National Park.
    • The project is administrated by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
    • It aims at ensuring a viable population of Bengal tigers in their natural habitats, protecting them from extinction etc.
    • Under this project the govt. has set up a Tiger Protection Force to combat poachers and funded relocation of villagers to minimize human-tiger conflicts.

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  • Mura-Drava-Danube (MDD) Biosphere Reserve

    UNESCO has designated Mura-Drava-Danube (MDD) as the world’s first ‘five-country biosphere reserve’.

    About Mura-Drava-Danube BR

    • The biosphere reserve covers 700 kilometres of the Mura, Drava and Danube rivers and stretches across Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Serbia.
    • The total area of the reserve — a million hectares — in the so-called ‘Amazon of Europe’, makes it the largest riverine protected area on the continent.
    • The reserve is home to floodplain forests, gravel and sand banks, river islands, oxbows and meadows.
    • It is home to continental Europe’s highest density of breeding white-tailed eagle (more than 150 pairs), as well as endangered species such as the little tern, black stork, otters, beavers and sturgeons.
    • It is also an important annual resting and feeding place for more than 250,000 migratory birds, according to WWF.
    • Almost 900,000 people live in the biosphere reserve. (UPSC may ask if it is uninhabited.)

    Significance of this BR

    • The new reserve represented an important contribution to the European Green Deal and contributes to the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy in the Mura-Drava-Danube region.
    • The strategy’s aim is to revitalize 25,000 km of rivers and protect 30 per cent of the European Union’s land area by 2030.
    • The declaration as BR puts river revitalization, sustainable business practices enhancing cross-border cooperation into focus.

    Ignore at your own risk! Its better to correct it here itself.

    Such PYQs are ought to repeat any number of times in UPSC CSE.

    Q. Consider the following statements:

    1. The boundaries of a National Park are defined by legislation.
    2. A Biosphere Reserve is declared to conserve a few specific species of flora and fauna.
    3. In a Wildlife Sanctuary, limited biotic interference is permitted.

    Which of the above statements is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”crefywlmtc” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

    Back2Basics: UNESCO Biosphere Reserves

    • Biosphere reserves are ‘learning places for sustainable development’.
    • They are nominated by national governments and remain under the sovereign jurisdiction of the states where they are located.
    • They are designated under the intergovernmental MAB Programme by the Director-General of UNESCO following the decisions of the MAB International Coordinating Council (MAB ICC).
    • Their status is internationally recognized. Member States can submit sites through the designation process.
    • Biosphere reserves include terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystems.

    They integrate three main “functions”:

    1. Conservation of biodiversity and cultural diversity
    2. Economic development that is socio-culturally and environmentally sustainable
    3. Logistic support, underpinning development through research, monitoring, education and training

    (a) Core Areas

    It comprises a strictly protected zone that contributes to the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and genetic variation

    (b) Buffer Zones

    It surrounds or adjoins the core area(s), and is used for activities compatible with sound ecological practices that can reinforce scientific research, monitoring, training and education.

    (c) Transition Area

    The transition area is where communities foster socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable economic and human activities.

    UNESCO recognized BRs in India

    Year of

    recognition

    Name

    States
    2000 Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve Tamil Nadu
    2001 Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Tamil Nadu
    2001 Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve West Bengal
    2004 Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve Uttarakhand
    2009 Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve Madhya Pradesh
    2009 Nokrek Biosphere Reserve Meghalaya
    2009 Simlipal Biosphere Reserve Odisha
    2012 Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve Chhattisgarh
    2013 Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve Great Nicobar
    2016 Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve Kerala and Tamil Nadu
    2018 Kanchenjunga Biosphere Reserve Part of North and West Sikkim districts
    2020 Panna Biosphere Reserve Madhya Pradesh

     

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