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Subject: Conservation & Mitigation

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

  • Places in news: Tristan da Cunha

    The isolated UK Overseas Territory of Tristan da Cunha, the world’s most remote human settlement, has been declared the largest fully protected marine reserves in the Atlantic Ocean at 687,000 square kilometres.

    Note the location of Tristan da Cunha Islands in the Atlantic.

    Tristan da Cunha

    • Tristan da Cunha, which is inhabited by less than 300 humans is a small chain of islands over 6,000 miles from London in the South Atlantic and the water around the islands are considered to be the richest in the world.
    • The mountainous archipelago is home to tens of millions of seabirds and several unique land birds that are comparable to the Galapagos island finches.
    • The island group is also home to the World Heritage Site of Gough and Inaccessible Islands, which is one of the most important seabird islands in the world.

    Significance of protection

    • After joining the UK’s Blue Belt Programme, it will become the largest no-take zone in the Atlantic and the fourth largest on the planet.
    • This will close over 90 per cent of their waters to harmful activities such as bottom-trawling fishing, sand extraction and deep-sea mining.
    • The almost 700,000 square kilometres of the Marine Protection Zone (MPZ) is almost three times the size of the UK and will safeguard the future of sevengill sharks, Yellow-nosed albatrosses and rockhopper penguins.
    • MPZs involve the management of certain natural areas for biodiversity conservation or species protection and are created by delineating zones with permitted and non-permitted areas within that zone.

  • The cost of cleaning air

    The article deals with the issue of allocation of funds to tackle air pollution and issues with it.

    Allocation in the budget

    • A â‚č4,400 crore package was announced in last budget for 2020-21 to tackle air pollution in 102 of India’s most polluted cities.
    • The funds would be used to reduce particulate matter by 20%-30% from 2017 levels by 2024 under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).

    Issues with estimating the scale of the problem

    • It is unclear if this amount is adequate because the scale of the problem is unknown.
    • Delhi government spent money on the measurement of pollution for in Delhi that far exceeds s allocations that find mention in the Centre and State government’s budgeting books.
    • The funds allocated don’t account for the trained manpower and the support system necessary to effectively maintain the systems and these costs are likely to be significant.
    • Historically, cites have used manual machines to measure specified pollutants and their use has been inadequate.
    • An analysis by research agencies Carbon Copy and Respirer Living Sciences recently found that only 59 out of 122 cities had PM 2.5 data available.
    • Only three States, had all their installed monitors providing readings from 2016 to 2018.
    • Prior to 2016, making comparisons of reduction strictly incomparable.
    • Now manual machines are being replaced by automatic ones and India is still largely reliant on imported machines.
    • In the case of the National Capital Region, at least â‚č600 crore was spent by the Ministry of Agriculture over two years to provide subsidised equipment to farmers in Punjab and Haryana and dissuade them from burning paddy straw.
    • Yet this year, there have been more farm fires than the previous year and their contribution to Delhi’s winter air woes remain unchanged.
    • This indicates that money alone doesn’t work.

    Conclusion

    A clear day continues to remain largely at the mercy of favourable meteorology. While funds are critical, proper enforcement, adequate staff and stemming the sources of pollution on the ground are vital to the NCAP meeting its target.

  • Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) and its flaws

    A special instrument for access to crop genetic resources, i.e. Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) system, is fraught with challenges.

    What is ABS?

    • The Nagoya Protocol sought to ensure commercial and research utilization of genetic resources led to sharing its benefits with the government and the community that conserved such resources.
    • The Nagoya Protocol deals with Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
    • It is a 2010 supplementary agreement to the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
    • It sets out obligations for its contracting parties to take measures in relation to access to genetic resources, benefit-sharing and compliance.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Which one the following is associated with the issue of control and phasing out of the use of ozone-depleting substances?

    (a) Bretton Woods Conference

    (b) Montreal Protocol

    (c) Kyoto Protocol

    (d) Nagoya Protocol

    A deviation from its purpose

    • The CBD was created with wild biodiversity in mind, especially medicinal plants where the source of a particular genetic resource and associated traditional knowledge can often be established easily.
    • The situation is different with respect to genetic resources for food and agriculture, including crops and livestock.
    • Humans have modified these in an incremental manner and in many different geographical locations far from where they were originally domesticated.

    India at loss

    • India was a victim of misappropriation or bio-piracy of our genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, which were patented in other countries.
    • Well-known examples of this include neem and turmeric. It was expected that the Nagoya Protocol on ABS, a key missing pillar of the CBD, would address this concern.

    Threats to livestocks

    • Animal genetic resources composed of breeds and strains of domesticated animals that humans have developed out of 40 wild species in the past 10,000 years were placed under the purview of the Nagoya Protocol.
    • India is a key repository of genetic resources related to animals and holds a rich diversity of distinct livestock breeds. It is, therefore, essential that these breeds are protected.
    • The impending and on-going implementation of the Nagoya Protocol at national levels, therefore, creates some urgency for the animal genetic resource sector to engage with these questions.

  • Pusa Bio-Decomposer

    Delhi CM has said that the “Pusa bio-decomposer” is a success in Delhi and he will inform the Supreme Court that it is an effective way to prevent stubble burning.

    Pusa Bio-decomposer provides a unique alternative against the stubble burning practices.

    Pusa Bio-decomposer

    • It is a solution developed by the scientists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, which can turn crop residue into manure in 15 to 20 days and therefore, can prevent stubble burning.
    • It involves making a liquid formulation using Pusa decomposer capsules and readily available inputs, fermenting it over 8-10 days, and then spraying the mixture on fields.
    • It is a mix of seven fungi that produce enzymes to digest cellulose, lignin and pectin in paddy straw.
    • The fungi thrive at 30-32 degree Celsius, which is the temperature prevailing when paddy is harvested and wheat is sown.

    Back2Basics: Decomposition

    • Decomposition refers to a biological process of breaking down organic material into smaller constituent parts.
    • The decomposition of organic substances is ecologically significant. It plays a part in the nutrient cycle. It is an essential process of recycling matter in the biosphere.
    • A decomposer is an organism whose ecological function involves the recycling of nutrients by performing the natural process of decomposition as it feeds on decaying organisms.
    • Examples of decomposers are fungi and bacteria that obtain their nutrients from a dead plant or animal material.
    • They break down cells of dead plants and animals into simpler substances, which become organic nutrients available to the ecosystem.

  • WWF Water Risk Filter

    Nearly a third of the 100 cities in the world susceptible to ‘water risk’ — defined as losses from battling droughts to flooding — are in India, according to the WWF Water Risk Filter.

    Try this question for mains:

    Q.For Indian cities to break away from the vicious loop of flooding and water scarcity, nature-based solutions like restoration of urban watersheds and wetlands could offer an alternative. Examine.

    What is Water Risk Filter?

    • This is an online tool, co-developed by the Worldwide Fund for Nature that helps evaluate the severity of risk places faced by graphically illustrating various factors that can contribute to water risk.
    • Launched in 2012, it is a practical online tool that helps companies and investors assess and respond to water-related risks facing their operations and investments across the globe.
    • After a major upgrade in 2018, the Water Risk Filter 5.0 enables companies and investors to Explore, Assess, Value and Respond to water risks.
    • Lately, the Water Risk Filter provides scenarios of water risks for 2030 and 2050, integrating climate and socio-economic changes in different pathways.

    Highlights of the recent analysis

    • It reported 30 Indian cities that would face a ‘grave water risk’ by 2050 due to a dramatic increase in their population percentage to 51 per cent by 2050, from 17 per cent in 2020.
    • Jaipur topped the list, followed by Indore and Thane. Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi also featured on the list.
    • The global list includes cities such as Beijing, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Mecca and Rio de Janeiro. China accounts for almost half the cities.

    Major recommendations

    • The future of India’s environment lies in its cities. As India rapidly urbanizes, cities will be at the forefront both for India’s growth and for sustainability.
    • For cities to break away from the current vicious loop of flooding and water scarcity, nature-based solutions like restoration of urban watersheds and wetlands could offer solutions.
    • Urban watersheds and wetlands are critical for maintaining the water balance of a city, flood cushioning, micro-climate regulation and protecting its biodiversity, the report notes.

  • [pib] Mansar Lake

    Mansar Lake Development Plan is getting fulfilled after a long wait of 70 years.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.With reference to a conservation organization called Wetlands International, which of the following statements is/are correct?

    1. It is an intergovernmental organization formed by the countries which are signatories to Ramsar Convention.
    2. It works at the field level to develop and mobilize knowledge, and use the practical experience to advocate for better policies.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

    About Mansar Lake

    • Situated at about 37 km from Jammu, Mansar is a lake fringed by forest-covered hills, over a mile in length by half-a-mile in width.
    • Surinsar-Mansar Lakes are designated as Ramsar Convention in November 2005.
    • With all religions belief and heritage behind the Mansar Lake is also picking up its fame among the tourists with all its flora & fauna.
    • The lake has cemented path all around with required illumination, with projected view decks to enjoy flickering of seasonal birds, tortoise and fishes of different species.
    • There is a wildlife Sanctuary housing jungle life like Spotted Deer, Nilgai etc. besides other water birds such as Cranes, Ducks etc.

    Back2Basics: Ramsar Convention

    • The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (better known as the Ramsar Convention) is an international agreement promoting the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
    • It is the only global treaty to focus on a single ecosystem.
    • The convention was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975.
    • Traditionally viewed as a wasteland or breeding ground of disease, wetlands actually provide freshwater and food and serve as nature’s shock absorber.
    • Wetlands, critical for biodiversity, are disappearing rapidly, with recent estimates showing that 64% or more of the world’s wetlands have vanished since 1900.
    • Major changes in land use for agriculture and grazing, water diversion for dams and canals and infrastructure development are considered to be some of the main causes of loss and degradation of wetlands.

  • Need for Sponge cities Mission in India

    Issue of flood in the cities

    • Over 50 peple died in the wake of torrential rains in the third week of October in Hyderabad.
    • This experience is not unique to the city of Hyderabad, five years ago Chennai saw a massive flood costing much damage and lives.
    • Gurugram over the past few years comes to a complete standstill during the monsoon months.
    • And for Mumbai, the monsoon has become synonymous with flooding and enormous damages.

    Causes of frequent urban floods:

    Natural:

    • Meteorological Factors: Heavy rainfall, cyclonic storms and thunderstorms causes water to flow quickly through paved urban areas and impound in low lying areas.
    • Hydrological Factors: Overbank flow channel networks, occurrence of high tides impeding the drainage in coastal cities.
    • Climate Change: Climate change due to various anthropogenic events has led to extreme weather events.

    Anthropological:

    • Unplanned Urbanization: Unplanned Urbanization is the key cause of urban flooding. A major concern is blocking of natural drainage pathways through construction activity and encroachment on catchment areas, riverbeds and lakebeds.
    • Destruction of lakes: A major issue in India cities. Lakes can store the excess water and regulate the flow of water. However, pollution of natural urban water bodies and converting them for development purposes has increased risk of floods.
    • Unauthorised colonies and excess construction: Reduced infiltration due paving of surfaces which decreases ground absorption and increases the speed and amount of surface flow
    • Poor Solid Waste Management System: Improper waste management system and clogging of storm-water drains because of silting, accumulation of non-biodegradable wastes and construction debris.
    • Drainage System: Old and ill maintained drainage system is another factor making cities in India vulnerable to flooding.
    • Irresponsible steps: Lack of attention to natural hydrological system and lack of flood control measures.

    Impact of the devastation due to floods:

    • On economy: Damage to infrastructure, roads and settlements, industrial production, basic supplies, post disaster rehabilitation difficulties etc.
    • On human population and wildlife: Trauma, loss of life, injuries and disease outbreak, contamination of water etc.
    • On environment: Loss of habitat, tree and forest cover, biodiversity loss and large scale greenery recovery failure.
    • On transport and communication: Increased traffic congestion, disruption in rail services, disruption in communication- on telephone, internet cables causing massive public inconvenience.

    What is to be done

    1) Management of wetlands

    • We neglect the issues of incremental land use change, particularly of those commons which provide us with necessary ecological support — wetlands.
    •  We need to start paying attention to the management of our wetlands by involving local communities.
    • The risk is going to increase year after year with changing rainfall patterns and a problem of urban terrain which is incapable of absorbing, holding and discharging water.

    2) Implementing the idea of sponge cities

    • The idea of a sponge city is to make cities more permeable so as to hold and use the water which falls upon it.
    • Sponge cities absorb the rain water, which is then naturally filtered by the soil and allowed to reach urban aquifers.
    • This allows for the extraction of water from the ground through urban or peri-urban wells.
    • This water can be treated easily and used for city water supply.
    • In built form, this implies contiguous open green spaces, interconnected waterways, and channels and ponds across neighbourhoods that can naturally detain and filter water.
    • It implies support for urban ecosystems, bio-diversity and newer cultural and recreational opportunities,
    • These can all be delivered effectively through an urban mission along the lines of the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) and Smart Cities Mission.

    On a top priority, such a mission should address the following.

    • 1) Wetland policy: In most of our lakes, the shallow ends, which often lie beyond the full tank level, have disappeared.
    • These shallow ends are best characterised as wetlands.
    • Regardless of ownership, land use on even this small scale needs to be regulated by development control.
    • 2) Watershed management and emergency drainage plan is next.
    • This should be clearly enunciated in policy and law.
    • 3) Ban against terrain alteration is third.
    • Lasting irreversible damage has been done to the city by builders, property owners, and public agencies by flattening terrain and altering drainage routes.
    • 4) Use of porus material: Our cities are becoming increasingly impervious to water, not just because of increasing built up but also because of the nature of materials used.
    • To improve the city’s capacity to absorb water, new porous materials and technologies must be encouraged or mandated across scales.
    • Examples of these technologies are bioswales and retention systems, permeable material for roads and pavement, drainage systems which allow storm water to trickle into the ground, green roofs and harvesting systems in buildings.

    Conclusion

    We can learn to live with nature, we can regulate human conduct through the state and we can strategically design where we build. We need to urgently rebuild our cities such that they have the sponginess to absorb and release water without causing so much misery and so much damage to the most vulnerable of our citizens, as we have seen.

  • What is Yellow Dust?

    North Korean authorities have urged citizens to remain indoors to avoid contact with a mysterious cloud of ‘yellow dust’ blowing in from China, which they have warned could bring Covid-19 with it.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Consider the following

    1. Birds
    2. Dustblowing
    3. Rain
    4. Windblowing

    Which of the above spread plant diseases?

    (a) 1 and 3 only

    (b) 3 and 4 only

    (c) 1, 2 and 4 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

    What is yellow dust?

    • Yellow dust is actually sand from deserts in China and Mongolia that high-speed surface winds carry into both North and South Korea during specific periods every year.
    • The sand particles tend to mix with other toxic substances such as industrial pollutants, as a result of which the ‘yellow dust’ is known to cause a number of respiratory ailments.
    • Usually, when the dust reaches unhealthy levels in the atmosphere, authorities urge people to remain indoors and limit physical activity, particularly heavy exercise and sport.
    • Sometimes, when the concentration of yellow dust in the atmosphere crosses around 800 micrograms/cubic meter, schools are shut and outdoor events cancelled in the affected areas.

  • Species in news: Himalayan Brown Bear

    A recent study has predicted massive habitat decline for the Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus) by 2050 due to climate change.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. The Himalayan Range is very rich in species diversity. Which one among the following is the most appropriate reason for this phenomenon?

    (a) It has a high rainfall that supports luxuriant vegetative growth.

    (b) It is a confluence of different bio-geographical zones.

    (c) Exotic and invasive species have not been invasive species have not been introduced in this region.

    (d) It has less human interference.

    Himalayan Brown Bear

    • The Himalayan brown bear is one of the largest carnivores in the highlands of Himalayas.
    • It occupies the higher reaches of the Himalayas in remote, mountainous areas of Pakistan and India, in small and isolated populations, and is extremely rare in many of its ranges.
    • While the brown bear as a species is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, this subspecies is highly endangered and populations are dwindling.
    • It is ‘Endangered’ in the Himalayas and Critically Endangered in the Hindu Kush.

    What did the study say?

    • The study carried out in the western Himalayas by scientists of Zoological Survey of India, predicted a massive decline of about 73% of the bear’s habitat by the year 2050.
    • These losses in habitat will also result in loss of habitat from 13 protected areas (PAs), and eight of them will become completely uninhabitable by the year 2050, followed by loss of connectivity in the majority of PAs.
    • The study highlights for the need to adopt preemptive spatial planning of PAs in the Himalayan region for the long-term viability of the species.

  • Action Plan for Vulture Conservation 2020-2025

    Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will get a vulture conservation and breeding centre each, according to the Action Plan for Vulture Conservation 2020-2025.

    Action Plan for Vulture Conservation

    • The action plan was approved by the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) October 5, 2020. An earlier one was formulated in 2006 for three years.
    • The new plan has laid out strategies and actions to stem the decline in vulture population, especially of the three Gyps species:
    1. Oriental white-backed vulture (Gyps bengalensis)
    2. Slender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris)
    3. Long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus)

    Note: These three vulture species were listed by  IUCN, in 2000 as ‘Critically  Endangered’,  which is the highest category of endangerment.

    • This would be done through both ex-situ and in-situ conservation.
    • The plan has also suggested that new veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) be tested on vultures before their commercial release. NSAIDS often poisons cattle whose carcasses the birds pray on.

    Highlights of the new plan

    • A system to automatically remove a drug from veterinary use if it is found to be toxic to vultures, with the help of the Drugs Controller General of India.
    • Conservation breeding of red-Headed vultures and Egyptian vultures and the establishment at least one vulture-safe zone in each state for the conservation of the remnant populations in that state.
    • Coordinated nation-wide vulture counting, involving forest departments, the Bombay Natural History Society, research institutes, non-profits and members of the public.
    • A database on emerging threats to vulture conservation, including collision and electrocution, unintentional poisoning, etc.

    Why protect vultures?

    • Vultures are often overlooked and perceived as lowly scavengers, but they play a crucial role in the environments in which they live.
    • The scavenging lifestyle that gives them a bad reputation is, in fact, that makes them so important for the environment, nature and society.
    • Vultures, also known as nature’s cleanup crew, do the dirty work of cleaning up after death, helping to keep ecosystems healthy as they act as natural carcass recyclers.