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Subject: Conservation & Mitigation

1. Conservation Progs.
2. Worldwide initiatives
3. Mitigation Strategies
4. Conventions and Protocols

  • [pib] International Blue Flag hoisted at 8 beaches across the Country

    The Environment Minister has virtually hoisted the international blue flags in 8 beaches across the country.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. At one of the places in India, if you stand on the seashore and watch the sea, you will find that the seawater recedes from the shoreline a few kilometers and comes back to the shore, twice a day, and you can actually walk on the seafloor when the water recedes. This unique phenomenon is seen at:

    (a) Bhavnagar

    (b) Bheemunipatnam

    (c) Chandipur

    (d) Nagapattinam

    About Blue Flag Certification

    • This Certification is accorded by an international agency “Foundation for Environment Education, Denmark” based on 33 stringent criteria in four major heads i.e.
    1. Environmental Education and Information,
    2. Bathing Water Quality,
    3. Environment Management and Conservation and
    4. Safety and Services on the beaches.
    • 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.
    • Japan and South Korea are the only countries in South and southeastern Asia to have Blue Flag beaches.
    • Spain tops the list with 566 such beaches; Greece and France follow with 515 and 395, respectively.

    Which are the 8 beaches?

    The beaches where the International Blue Flags were hoisted are:

    1. Kappad (Kerala)
    2. Shivrajpur (Gujarat)
    3. Ghoghla (Diu)
    4. Kasarkod and
    5. Padubidri (Karnataka)
    6. Rushikonda (Andhra Pradesh)
    7. Golden (Odisha) and
    8. Radhanagar (Andaman & Nicobar Islands)

  • [pib] Tso Kar Wetland Complex

    India has added Tso Kar Wetland Complex in Ladakh as its 42nd Ramsar site, which is a second one in the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh. With this, India now has forty-two Ramsar sites.

    Try this PYQ:

    In which one among the following categories of protected areas in India are local people not allowed to collect and use the biomass?

    (a) Biosphere reserves

    (b) National parks

    (c) Wetlands declared under Ramsar convention

    (d) Wildlife sanctuaries

    Tso Kar Wetland Complex

    • It is a high-altitude wetland complex, consisting of two principal waterbodies, Startsapuk Tso, a freshwater lake of about 438 hectares to the south, and Tso Kar itself, a hypersaline lake of 1800 hectares to the north.
    • It is situated in the Changthang region of Ladakh.
    • It is called Tso Kar, meaning white lake, because of the white salt efflorescence found on the margins due to the evaporation of highly saline water.

    Ecological significance

    • Wetlands provide a wide range of important resources and ecosystem services such as food, water, fibre, groundwater recharge, water purification, flood moderation, erosion control and climate regulation.
    • They are, in fact, a major source of water and our main supply of freshwater comes from an array of wetlands which help soak rainfall and recharge groundwater.
    • The Tso Kar Basin is an A1 Category Important Bird Area (IBA) as per BirdLife International and a key staging site in the Central Asian Flyway.
    • The site is also one of the most important breeding areas of the Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) in India.

    Back2Basics: Wetlands

    • A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded by water, either permanently or seasonally, where oxygen-free processes prevail.
    • The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from other landforms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique hydric soil.
    • Wetlands provide a wide range of important resources and ecosystem services such as food, water, fibre, groundwater recharge, water purification, flood moderation, erosion control and climate regulation.

    What is the Ramsar Convention?

    • The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is a treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of such sites.
    • The convention, signed in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar, is one of the oldest inter-governmental accords for preserving the ecological character of wetlands.
    • Also known as the Convention on Wetlands, it aims to develop a global network of wetlands for the conservation of biological diversity and for sustaining human life.
    • Over 170 countries are party to the Ramsar Convention and over 2,000 designated sites covering over 20 crore hectares have been recognised under it.

  • Mapping: Caspian Sea

    The Caspian is actually a lake, the largest in the world and it is experiencing a devastating decline in its water level that is about to accelerate.

    Note the countries bordering the Caspian Sea: Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan. Or else remember the acronym ‘TARIK(h)’ (Hindi word for date).

    You can frame a mnemonic statement of your choice. Do similarly for major lakes and inland seas. But dont let it move over TARIK pe TARIK!

    Caspian Sea

    • The Caspian Sea is the world’s largest inland body of water, variously classed as the world’s largest lake or a full-fledged sea.
    • As an endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia.
    • An endorheic basin is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but converges instead into lakes or swamps, permanent or seasonal that equilibrates through evaporation
    • Its level is the product of how much water is flowing in from rivers, mostly the mighty Volga to the north, how much it rains and how much evaporates away.
    • At the end of the century, the Volga and other northern rivers will still be there.
    • However, a projected temperature rise of about 3℃ to 4℃ in the region will drive evaporation through the roof.

    Now try this PYQ:

    Q.Which of the following has/have shrunk immensely/ dried up in the recent past due to human activities?

    1. Aral Sea
    2. Black Sea
    3. Lake Baikal

    Select the correct option using the code given below:

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 2 only

    (d) 1 and 3 only

    Why in news?

    • By the end of the century, the Caspian Sea will be nine metres to 18 metres lower. That’s a depth considerably taller than most houses.
    • The Caspian’s surface is already dropping by 7 cm every year, a trend likely to increase.
    • It means the lake will lose at least 25 per cent of its former size, uncovering 93,000 sq km of dry land.
    • If that new land were a country, it would be the size of Portugal.

    Past strides in its level

    • The Caspian Sea has a history of violent rises and falls.
    • In Derbent, on the Caucasus coast of Russia, submerged ancient city walls testify to how low the sea was in medieval times.
    • Around 10,000 years ago, the Caspian was about 100 metres lower.
    • A few thousand years before that it was about 50 metres higher than today and even over spilt into the Black Sea.

  • Firefly Bird Diverters’ to save the Great Indian Bustard (GIB)

    The Environment Ministry along with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) India has come up with a unique initiative a “firefly bird diverter” for overhead power lines in areas where Great Indian Bustard (GIB) populations are found in the wild.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Which one of the following groups of animals belongs to the category of endangered species?

    (a) Great Indian Bustard, Musk Deer, Red Panda, Asiatic Wild Ass

    (b) Kashmir Stag, Cheetah, Blue Bull, Great Indian Bustard.

    (c) Snow Leopard, Swamp Deer, Rhesus Monkey, Saras (Crane)

    (d) Lion Tailed Macaque, Blue Bull, Hanuman Langur, Cheetah

    Great Indian Bustard

    • The GIB is one of the heaviest flying birds and can weigh up to 15 kg which grows up to one metre in height.
    • In July 2011, the bird was categorised as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
    • It is considered the flagship grassland species, representing the health of the grassland ecology.
    • For long, conservationists have been demanding to secure this population, warning that the bird might get extinct in the coming decades.
    • It would become the first mega species to disappear from India after Cheetah in recent times.
    • Till the 1980s, about 1,500-2,000 Great Indian Bustards were spread throughout the western half of India, spanning eleven states.
    • However, with rampant hunting and declining grasslands, their population dwindled.

    Bird Diverters

    • The diverters are called fireflies because they look like fireflies from a distance, shining on power lines in the night.
    • GIBs are one of the heaviest flying birds in India. Therefore, when they encounter these wires, they are unable to change the direction of their flight.
    • Death is most cases is due to impact with the wires and not due to electrocution.
    • The diverter will not only save GIB but other species of large birds, including migratory birds.

    Why such a move?

    • GIB is one of the most critically threatened species in India, with less than 150 birds left in the wild.
    • A report has pointed out that power lines, especially high-voltage transmission lines with multiple overhead wires, are the most important current threat for GIBs in the Thar region.
    • They are causing unsustainably high mortality in about 15% of their population.

  • [pib] Leopard Population in India

    The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has released the Status of Leopards Report.

    Confused over Leopard and Cheetah?

    The most common difference between these two animals is the patterns on their coat. At first glance, it may look like they both have spots, but in actual fact, a leopard has rosettes which are rose-like markings, and cheetahs have a solid round or oval spot shape.

    Indian Leopards

    • The Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) is a leopard subspecies widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent.
    • It is one of the big cats occurring on the Indian subcontinent, apart from the Asiatic lion, Bengal tiger, snow leopard and clouded leopard.
    • It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because populations have declined following habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching for the illegal trade of skins and body parts.

    Leopards in India

    • India now has 12,852 leopards as compared to the previous estimate of 7910 conducted 2014.
    • More than 60% increase in population has been recorded.
    • The States of Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra recorded the highest leopard estimates at 3,421, 1,783 and 1,690 respectively.
    • India’s world record tiger survey also estimated the population of leopards and the tiger range was found a home to 12,852 (12,172-13,535) leopards.

    Significance

    • The increase in Tiger, Lion & Leopards numbers over the last few years is a testimony to the conservation efforts and of the fledgeling wildlife & biodiversity of the country.

  • Converting waste to energy

    The new plant at Bidadi has several advantages but also some operational challenges.

    Practice Question: Discuss the various benefits of waste to energy plants and challenges in running them successfully.

    The prospectus of new plant

    • The new 5 MW waste-to-energy plant is going to set up near Bidadi, Karnataka.
    • This plant is expected to process 600 tonnes per day of inorganic waste.
    • The inorganic waste, which consists of bad quality plastics and used cloth pieces, can be processed as Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF). This material has a calorific value of more than 2,500 kJ/kg.
    • This can be used to generate steam energy, which can be converted into electric energy.

    A well-planned plant

    • The waste-to-energy plants usually accept the RDF material generated in organic composting plants.
    • They also segregate the wet and inorganic material near the plant, convert organic waste to compost, and inorganic waste to energy.
    • About 50 tonnes of RDF generate 1 MW of power, which indicates that the plant at Bidadi has been appropriately designed.

    A permanent solution

    • Handling inorganic waste that is not fit for recycling has always been a challenge.
    • At present, these high-calorific materials are landfilled or left unhandled in waste plants and cause fire accidents.
    • Attempts to send this material to cement kilns have not fructified.
    • The proposed plant can source 600 tonnes per day of this RDF and generate 11.5 MW of power equivalent to 2.4 lakh units of power per day.
    • This will reduce the dependence on unscientific landfills, reduce fire accidents, and provide a permanent solution to recover value from inorganic waste.

    Challenges

    • Needed a good demonstration model – Over the last decade, several Indian cities have been trying to set up such plants but a good demonstration model is yet to be established.
    • Nature of waste – Technology suppliers are international organizations who struggle with the change in quality and nature of waste generated in Indian cities. A few plants in India have stopped operations for this reason.
    • The plants require fine inorganic material with less than 5% moisture and less than 5% silt and soil contents, whereas the moisture and inert content in the mixed waste generated is more than 15%-20%.
    • The sticky silt and soil particles can also reduce the calorific value.
    • Economic cost per unit of electricity – The other big challenge for this plant is the power tariff which is around ₹7-8 KwH which is higher than the ₹3-4 per KwH generated through coal and other means.

    Way forward

    • For the successful running, the plant needs to ease the challenge of handling inorganic waste, the efficiency of organic waste processing/ composting plants.
    • With the increasing waste generation in the coming years, there is a need for more such plants which are environment friendly. 

    Back2Basics: Refuse-derived fuel (RDF)

    • Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) is a fuel produced from various types of waste such as municipal solid waste (MSW), industrial waste or commercial waste.
    • It is selected waste and by-products with recoverable calorific value can be used as fuels in a cement kiln, replacing a portion of conventional fossil fuels, like coal, if they meet strict specifications.
    • Sometimes they can only be used after pre-processing to provide ‘tailor-made’ fuels for the cement process.
    • RDF consists largely of combustible components of such waste, as non-recyclable plastics (not including PVC), paper cardboard, labels, and other corrugated materials.
    • These fractions are separated by different processing steps, such as screening, air classification, ballistic separation, separation of ferrous and non-ferrous materials, glass, stones and other foreign materials and shredding into a uniform grain size, or also pelletized.
    • This produces a homogeneous material which can be used as a substitute for fossil fuels in e.g. cement plants, lime plants, coal-fired power plants or as a reduction agent in steel furnaces.

  • Species in news: Indian bison (Gaur)

    A gaur (Indian bison) strayed into a residential area in Pune city and allegedly died while being captured. This has depicted another ugly face of the man-animal conflicts.

    Try this PYQ:                      

    Q.Which one of the following groups of animals belongs to the category of endangered species?

    (a) Great Indian Bustard, Musk Deer, Red Panda, Asiatic Wild Ass

    (b) Kashmir Stag, Cheetah, Blue Bull, Great Indian Bustard.

    (c) Snow Leopard, Swamp Deer, Rhesus Monkey, Saras (Crane)

    (d) Lion Tailed Macaque, Blue Bull, Hanuman Langur, Cheetah

    Gaur/ Indian Bison

    • The Indian bison are also known as Gaur, is native to South and Southeast Asia and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986.
    • The global population has been estimated at maximum 21,000 mature individuals by 2016.
    • It declined by more than 70% during the last three generations, and is extinct in Sri Lanka and probably also in Bangladesh.
    • Populations in well-protected areas are stable and increasing.
    • The Western Ghats and their outflanking hills in southern India constitute one of the most extensive extant strongholds of gaur, in particular in the Wayanad – Nagarhole – Mudumalai – Bandipur complex.

  • Species in news: Himalayan Serow

    A Himalayan Serow has been sighted for the first time in the Himalayan cold desert region.

    Try this MCQ:

    Q.In which one of the following State, the Rupi Bhaba Wildlife Sanctuary is located?

    (a) Himachal Pradesh

    (b) Manipur

    (c) Meghalaya

    (d) Uttarakhand

    Himalayan Serow

    • Himalayan Serow resembles a cross between a goat, a donkey, a cow, and a pig.
    • They are herbivores and are typically found at altitudes between 2,000 metres and 4,000 metres (6,500 to 13,000 feet).
    • They are known to be found in eastern, central, and western Himalayas, but not in the Trans Himalayan region.
    • They are a medium-sized mammal with a large head, thick neck, short limbs, long, mule-like ears, and a coat of dark hair.
    • There are several species of Serow s, and all of them are found in Asia.

    Its’ conservation status

    • According to the IUCN, Himalayan Serow s have experienced significant declines in population size, range size and habitat in the last decade, and this is expected to continue due to intensive human impact.
    • Previously assessed as ‘near threatened’, the Himalayan Serow is now been categorised as ‘vulnerable’ in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
    • It is listed under Schedule I of The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which provides absolute protection.

    What is so unusual this time?

    • The animal was spotted by locals and wildlife officials at a riverside rocky wall near Hurling village in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh.
    • This is the first recorded human sighting of the Serow in Himachal Pradesh.
    • Serow s are generally not found at this altitude, and never before has a Serow been seen in the Himalayan cold desert.
    • Wildlife officials believe this particular animal may have strayed into the Spiti valley from the Rupi Bhaba Wildlife Sanctuary in adjoining Kinnaur.

  • Hazardous ideas for the Himalayas

    By planning hydropower projects, India and China are placing the region at great risk.

    China’s new hydropower project

    • Recently China announced that it is planning to build a major hydropower project as a part of its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), on the YarlungZanbo River, in Mêdog County in Tibet.
    • The hydropower generation station is expected to provide 300 billion kWh of electricity annually.
    • The Chinese authorities say the project will help the country realize its goal of reaching a carbon emission peak before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060.

    Misadventures

    • Such ‘super’ dams projects are very unviable as they are being planned in an area that is geologically unstable.
    • There are two hydropower projects being built in Arunachal Pradesh on the tributaries of the Brahmaputra: the 600 MW Kameng project on the Bichom and Tenga Rivers and the 2,000 MW Subansiri Lower Hydroelectricity Project.
    • China has already completed 11 out of 55 projects that are planned for the Tibetan region. In this race, the two countries overestimate their economic potential and grossly underestimate the earthquake vulnerability of the region.
    • High seismic zones coincide with areas of high population concentration in the Himalayan region where landslides and glacial lake outburst floods are common.

    Practice Question:‘’Carbon neutrality should not be at the expense of the environment.” Elaborate with proper examples.

    Havocs created due to these earthquakes

    • About 15% of the great earthquakes of the 20th century (with a magnitude of more than 8) occurred in the Himalayan region.
    • The northeast Himalayan band has experienced several large earthquakes of magnitude 7 and above in the last 100 years, more than the share from other parts of the Himalayas.
    • The 1950 earthquake just south of the McMahon Line was of 6 magnitudes. It was the largest continental event ever recorded and devastated Tibet and Assam.
    • The earthquake killed thousands, and caused extensive landslides, widespread land level changes and gaping fissures. It resulted in water and mud oozing in the Himalayan ranges and the upper Assam valley.
    • The earthquake was felt over an extensive area comprising parts of India, Tibet, erstwhile East Pakistan and Myanmar.
    • The2015 Gorkha earthquake of magnitude 7.8 in central Nepal resulted in huge losses in the hydropower sector. Nepal lost about 20% of its hydropower capacity consequent to the earthquake.
    • About 30 projects with a capacity of 270 MW, mostly located along the steep river valleys, were damaged.

    What are the issues of high concern?

    • The main mechanisms that contributed to the vulnerability of hydropower projects were found to be landslides, which depend on the intensity of seismic ground shaking and slope gradients.
    • Heavy siltation from giant landslides expected in the project sites and headwater region from future earthquakes will severely reduce the water-holding capacity and life expectancy of such dams.
    • Even without earthquakes, the steep slopes made of soft rocks are bound to slide due to deforestation and road-building. These activities will get intensified as part of the dam-building initiatives.
    • Desilting of dams is not an economically viable proposition and is technologically challenging.

    A transnational asset under threat

    • The Himalayan range is a transnational mountain chain and is the chief driver of the Asian climate.
    • It is a source for numerous Asian river systems and glaciers which are now under the threat of degradation and retreat due to global warming; these river systems provide water for billions of people.
    • The ongoing low-level military confrontations between these two countries have led to demands for further infrastructural development on both sides, including all-weather roads, much to the peril of regional biodiversity and the livelihoods of the indigenous population.
    • The Himalayas have seen the highest rate of deforestation and land-use changes.

    Way Forward

    • There is a need for India and China to sit together to deliberate on the consequences of such misadventures in an area where massive earthquakes are bound to take place.
    • The upper Himalayas should be converted into a nature reserve by an international agreement.
    • The possibility of a Himalayan River Commission involving all the headwater and downstream countries needs to be explored.
    • There is a need to understand that – ‘’Carbon neutrality should not be at the expense of the environment’’.

  • Shola Sky Islands of the Western Ghats

    Tropical montane grasslands (TMG) in the Shola Sky Islands of the Western Ghats have suffered big losses due to invasions by exotic trees.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.In India, which type of forest among the following occupies the largest area?
    (a) Montane Wet Temperate Forest
    (b) Sub – tropical Dry Evergreen Forest
    (c) Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest
    (d) Tropical Wet Evergreen Forest

    Sky Islands

    • “Sky islands” are the tops of tall mountains that become environmentally isolated from each other even if they are close together, geographically speaking.
    • The Western Ghats are a mountain chain in southwest India home to spectacular and unique sky islands.
    • The peaks of the Western Ghats, ranging between 3,000 and 8,500 feet above sea level, host an almost unbelievable array of microclimates, looking like “patches of forests floating in a sea of grasslands.

    What are TMGs?

    • TMG are high elevation grasslands forming only 2% of all grasslands in the world.
    • Among their functions is regulating the global carbon cycle and serving as a source of water to downstream communities.
    • Researchers say grasslands do not benefit from conservation and restoration efforts afforded to tropical montane forests, possibly due to limited information.

    Treasures of Shola

    • One of the specific habitats unique to the sky islands of this area is a type of low-temperature, high-humidity tropical cloud forest full of stunted trees mixed with grasslands called the Shola.
    • The Shola forests of South derive their name from the Tamil word solai, which means a ‘tropical rain forest’.
    • Classified as ‘Southern Montane Wet Temperate Forest’ the Sholas are found in the upper reaches of the Nilgiris, Anamalais, Palni hills, Kalakadu, Mundanthurai and Kanyakumari in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
    • These forests are found sheltered in valleys with sufficient moisture and proper drainage, at an altitude of more than 1,500 metres.

    Various threats to them

    • Loss of grasslands due to invasive exotic trees is a “novel threat” through the establishment and expansion of exotic tree plantations.
    • These exotic trees include acacias, pines and eucalyptus, shrinking the range sizes of endemic species, including plants, birds, amphibians and mammals.
    • In the Western Ghats, 23% of montane grasslands were reportedly converted into invasive exotic tree cover over a period of 44 years.
    • Attempts to manage invasive exotic trees in montane grasslands incorporated approaches that include prevention and mechanical, chemical and biological control.
    • For invasive species such as Acacia mearnsii that grow rapidly and disperse seeds widely, removing mature trees is often ineffective.