Subject: Conservation & Mitigation

• Recognizable by the color of their fur, which gives them their name.
• Fur color changes with the seasons.
• Young langurs are almost pure white.

• Found in Assam, India, and neighboring Bhutan year-round.
• Inhabits an area bordered by the foothills of Bhutan (north), Manas river (east), Sankosh river (west), and Brahmaputra river (south).

• Occupies moist evergreen and tropical deciduous forests, along with some riverine areas and savannahs in Assam and Bhutan.
• Prefers living in the upper canopy of sub-tropical forests in the south and temperate forests in the north.

• IUCN: Endangered
• CITES: Appendix I
• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I

• Ripu Reserve Forest and Chakrashila WLS serve as vital habitats.
• Fragmented habitats face instability and threats.

PYQ:

[2012] Which one of the following groups of animals belongs to the category of endangered species?

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

(b) Kashmir Stag, Cheetal, Blue Bull and Great Indian Bustard

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

(d) Lion-tailed Macaque, Blue Bull, Hanuman Langur and Cheetal

How is Arun River making the Everest taller?

The Arun River is contributing to the rise of Mount Everest through a process called isostatic rebound. Here’s how it works:

1. River Incision:

• The Arun River, which flows about 75 km from Mount Everest, is eroding large amounts of rock and soil from the surrounding landscape.
• This process of erosion reduces the weight on the Earth’s crust in the Arun River basin.
• A study by UCL suggests that the Arun River’s ability to carve out large amounts of rock and other materials may be due to it capturing another river or water system in Tibet.
• This process is known as River Incision, where the river cuts downward into its bed, deepening its channel.
• The erosion began to accelerate around 89,000 years ago when the Arun River merged with the Kosi River, removing large amounts of landmass and further reducing the weight on the region’s crust.

2. Isostatic Rebound:

• When the weight of the land (due to rocks, soil, or even ice) decreases, the Earth’s crust rises to balance the change.
• This is similar to how a boat rises in water when heavy cargo is removed.
• The removal of landmass in the Arun River basin allows the crust underneath Mount Everest to rise.

PYQ:

[2017] With reference to river Teesta, consider the following statements:

1. The source of river Teesta is the same as that of Brahmaputra but it flows through Sikkim.

2. River Rangeet originates in Sikkim and it is a tributary of river Teesta.

3. River Teesta falls into Bay of Bengal at the border of India and Bangladesh.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 3 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

• Dhanauri village near Dankaur, Uttar Pradesh;
• Floodplains of Yamuna.

Ramsar Wetlands

• The Ramsar Convention, also known as the ‘Convention on Wetlands,’ is an intergovernmental environmental treaty founded by UNESCO in 1971.
• It derives its name from the city of Ramsar in Iran, where it was initially signed.
• Ramsar sites are wetlands of global significance recognized under this treaty.
• The Montreux Record is a register of wetland sites on the brink of ecological changes and in need of close monitoring under the Ramsar Convention.

Ramsar Site Designation Criteria:

Ramsar site designation hinges on several factors:

1. Representing rare or unique natural wetland types.
2. Supporting endangered species or threatened ecological communities.
3. Maintaining biodiversity in specific biogeographic regions.
4. Offering refuge during adverse conditions.
5. Regularly accommodating 20,000 or more waterbirds.
6. Sustaining 1% of a population of a single water-bird species.
7. Serving as a critical source of food, spawning grounds, nurseries, and migration paths for fish.
8. Regularly supporting 1% of a population of non-avian wetland-dependent animal species.

Proposals by Azerbaijan:

Azerbaijan has included key proposals in the COP29 Action Agenda, such as:

• Increasing global energy storage capacity by six times by 2030.
• Promoting a global market for green hydrogen.
• Ensuring the carbon footprint from digitisation and data centres is kept to a minimum.

What did Paris Agreement of 2015 said on Climate Finance?

• Under the Paris Agreement (2015), developed countries are obligated to raise at least $100 billion annually to aid developing nations in their fight against climate change.
  • This amount is expected to increase after 2025.
• Negotiations have been slow, and countries are still debating the quantum of finance that industrialised nations should provide.

PYQ:

[2016] With reference to the Agreement at the UNFCCC Meeting in Paris in 2015, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. The Agreement was signed by all the member countries of the UN, and it will go into effect in 2017.
2. It aims to limit the greenhouse gas emissions so that the rise in average global temperature by the end of this century does not exceed 2ºC or even 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels.
3. Developed countries acknowledged their historical responsibility in global warming and committed to donate $1000 billion a year from 2020 to help developing countries to cope with climate change.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3