GS Paper: GS3

Global Coral Bleaching Events (GCBE)

A GCBE means significant coral bleaching has been confirmed in all the ocean regions where warm-water corals live: the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

• Previous Events: Mass coral bleaching recorded in 1998, 2010, and 2014-2017.
• Current Event (GCBE4): Began early 2023, with over 70.7% of the world’s coral reefs impacted by bleaching-level heat stress as of May 23, 2024.

Back2Basics: Corals

• Corals are made up of genetically identical organisms called polyps.
• These polyps have microscopic algae called zooxanthellae living within their tissues in a mutualistic relationship.
• The coral provides the zooxanthellae with the compounds necessary for photosynthesis.
• In return, the zooxanthellae supply the coral with organic products of photosynthesis, like carbohydrates, which are utilized by the coral polyps for the synthesis of their calcium carbonate skeletons.
• Corals are marine invertebrates or animals which do not possess a spine.
• They are the largest living structures on the planet.
• Each coral is called a polyp and thousands of such polyps live together to form a colony, which grows when polyps multiply to make copies of themselves.
• Coral reefs are also called the “rainforests of the seas”.

Types of Coral

Corals are of two types — hard corals and soft corals:

1. Hard corals extract calcium carbonate from seawater to build hard, white coral exoskeletons. Hard corals are in a way the engineers of reef ecosystems and measuring the extent of hard coral is a widely-accepted metric for measuring the condition of coral reefs.
2. Soft corals attach themselves to such skeletons and older skeletons built by their ancestors. Soft corals also add their own skeletons to the hard structure over the years. These growing multiplying structures gradually form coral reefs.

Conditions Needed for Corals to Flourish

• Extensive submarine platforms for the formation of colonies by the coral polyps (not more than 90m below sea level).
• High mean annual temperature ranging 20-21 degrees Celsius.
• Clean sediment-free water because muddy water or turbid water clogs the mouths of coral polyps resulting into their death.
• Oceanic salinity ranging between 27-30 ppt.
• Ocean currents and waves, as they bring food supply for the polyps.

PYQ:

2014: Which of the following have coral reefs?

1. Andaman and Nicobar Islands
2. Gulf of Kachchh
3. Gulf of Mannar
4. Sunderbans

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1, 2 and 3 only

(b) 2 and 4 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

About the Farmers’ Conflict Resolution Committee

• The Committee includes representatives from the Departments of Forest, Revenue, Agriculture, and Horticulture, along with scientific experts and wildlife enthusiasts.
• Objective: The committee was formed to study the impact of raids by elephants and wild pigs on agricultural crops.
• Implementation Protocol:
  • Approval Process: The culling will require approval from a local three-member checking body.
  • Composition of the Checking Body: The body will include a forester or forest guard, the Village Administrative Officer, and the ward member.
  • Supervision: Culling operations must be conducted in the presence of these three members.

• Matriarchal ‘sounders’ led by an elder female;
• Solitary adult males or loose bachelor groups;
• Active during evening and night;
• Territorial fights with predators.

• Omnivorous: excreta, tubers, roots, leaves, fruit, vegetables, standing crops, carrion, small animals, baby deer;
• Prefers marshy areas and roots in swampy places

• Breeding year-round, peak seasons vary by region;
• Gestation: around four months; Litter size: multiple piglets

• Seed dispersal aiding plant propagation;
• Important prey species maintaining predator-prey balance in the ecosystem

• IUCN Red List: Least Concern
• Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule III

Proposed reclassification to Schedule V (vermin) due to agricultural damage.

Back2Basics: Schedule III of WPA, 1972

• Protection Level: Lesser degree of protection compared to Schedule I and II.
• Prohibition: Hunting of these species is prohibited except under special circumstances defined by the Act.
• Penalties: Violations related to these species attract penalties, though they are less stringent than those for higher schedules.

Species Listed in Schedule III: As per the latest available data, the following are examples of species listed under Schedule III of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972:

1. Chinkara (Gazella bennettii): Also known as the Indian Gazelle, found in various parts of India.
2. Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra): A species of antelope native to India.
3. Blue Bull (Boselaphus tragocamelus): Also known as the Nilgai, the largest Asian antelope.
4. Indian Wild Boar (Sus scrofa cristatus): A subspecies of the wild boar native to the Indian subcontinent.
5. Sambar (Rusa unicolor): A large deer native to the Indian subcontinent.

Legal Provisions:

• Hunting Prohibition: Hunting any animal listed under Schedule III is prohibited except for purposes like scientific research, education, and when permitted by the authorities under specific conditions.
• Penalties: The penalties for offenses involving Schedule III animals include imprisonment up to three years, or a fine up to Rs. 25,000, or both.

PYQ:

[2017] In India, if a species of tortoise is declared protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, what does it imply?

(a) It enjoys the same level of protection as the tiger.

(b) It no longer exists in the wild, a few individuals are under captive protection; and now it is impossible to prevent its extinction.

(c) It is endemic to a particular region of India.

(d) Both B and C stated above are correct in this context.