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Subject: Conservation & Mitigation

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

  • Highlights of the India State of Forest Report, 2021

    The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has released the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021.

    About India State of Forest Report

    • ISFR is an assessment of India’s forest and tree cover, published every two years by the Forest Survey of India under the MoEFCC.
    • The first survey was published in 1987, and ISFR 2021 is the 17th.
    • It compiles data computed through wall-to-wall mapping of India’s forest cover through remote sensing techniques.

    Why need ISFR?

    • It is used in planning and formulation of policies in forest management as well as forestry and agroforestry sectors.

    How are forests categorized?

    The Forest Survey of India has listed four categories of forests. They are:

    1. Very Dense Forest (with tree canopy density of 70 per cent or above)
    2. Moderately Dense Forest (tree canopy density of 40 per cent or above but less than 70 per cent)
    3. Open Forest (tree canopy density of 10 per cent or above but less than 40 per cent)
    4. Scrub (tree canopy density less than 10 per cent)

    Highlights of the ISFR, 2021

    [1] Forest cover is increasing

    • ISFR 2021 has found that the forest and tree cover in the country continues to increase with an additional cover of 1,540 square kilometres over the past two years.
    • India’s forest cover is now 7,13,789 square kilometres, 21.71% of the country’s geographical area, an increase from 21.67% in 2019.
    • Tree cover has increased by 721 sq km.
    • Bamboo forests have grown from 13,882 million culms (stems) in 2019 to 53,336 million culms in 2021.

    [2] State-wise gain/losses

    • The states that have shown the highest increase in forest cover are Telangana (3.07%), Andhra Pradesh (2.22%) and Odisha (1.04%).
    • The Northeast states account for 7.98% of total geographical area but 23.75% of total forest cover.
    • Five states in the Northeast – Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland have all shown loss in forest cover.
    • The report has attributed the decline in the NE states to a spate of natural calamities, particularly landslides and heavy rains, in the region as well as to anthropogenic activities.

    [3] Increase in Mangrove cover

    • Mangroves have shown an increase of 17 sq km. India’s total mangrove cover is now 4,992 sq km.

    [4] Increase in carbon stock

    • The total carbon stock in country’s forests is estimated at 7,204 million tonnes, an increase of 79.4 million tonnes since 2019.

    [5] Big cats population

    • ISFR 2021 has some new features. It has for the first time assessed forest cover in tiger reserves, tiger corridors and the Gir forest which houses the Asiatic lion.
    • The forest cover in tiger corridors has increased by 37.15 sq km (0.32%) between 2011-2021, but decreased by 22.6 sq km (0.04%) in tiger reserves.
    • Buxa, Anamalai and Indravati reserves have shown an increase in forest cover while the highest losses have been found in Kawal, Bhadra and the Sunderbans reserves.
    • Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh has the highest forest cover, at nearly 97%.

     [6] Impact of climate change

    • The report estimates that by 2030, 45-64% of forests in India will experience the effects of climate change and rising temperatures, and forests in all states will be highly vulnerable climate hot spots.
    • Ladakh (forest cover 0.1-0.2%) is likely to be the most affected.
    • India’s forests are already showing shifting trends of vegetation types, such as Sikkim which has shown a shift in its vegetation pattern for 124 endemic species.

    [7] Forest fires

    • The survey has found that 35.46 % of the forest cover is prone to forest fires.
    • Out of this, 2.81 % is extremely prone, 7.85% is very highly prone and 11.51 % is highly prone
    • The highest numbers of fires were detected in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

    Concerns with the declining trends

    • It is worrying that a 1,582 sq km decline was in moderately dense forests, or “natural forests”.
    • This decline shows a degradation of forests in the country, say experts, with natural forests degrading to less dense open forests.
    • Also, scrub area has increased by 5,320 sq km – indicating the complete degradation of forests in these areas.

     

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  • A planetary pressure-adjusted Human Development Index (HDI).

    Context

    Ever since the UNDP took up computation of the HDI in 1990, there have been adjustments such as inequality-adjusted HDI. The environment is one such issue now considered to be an essential component to be factored in to measure human development.

    Planetary pressure-adjusted Human Development Index

    • The purpose of the planetary pressure adjusted HDI, or PHDI, is to communicate to the larger society the risk involved in continuing with existing practices in our resource use and environmental management, and the retarding effect that environmental stress can perpetuate on development.
    • When planetary pressure is adjusted, the world average of HDI in 2019 came down from 0.737 to 0.683.
    • PHDI of India: In the case of India, the PHDI is 0.626 against an HDI of 0.645 with an average per capita CO2 emission (production) and material footprints of 2.0 tonnes and 4.6 tonnes, respectively.
    • India gained in global rankings by eight points (131st rank under HDI and 123rd rank under PHDI), and its per capita carbon emission (production) and material footprint are well below the global average.

    India’s twin challenge

    • India faces the twin challenges of poverty alleviation and environmental safeguarding.
    • India’s natural resource use is far from efficient, environmental problems are growing, and the onslaught on nature goes on unabated with little concern about its fallout.
    • At the same time, India has 27.9% people under the Multidimensional Poverty Index ranging from 1.10% in Kerala to 52.50% in Bihar, and a sizable section of them directly depend on natural resources for their sustenance.

    India’s performance on SDGs

    • The SDGs have acquired high priority in the context of the issue of climate change and its impact on society.
    • The Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of IPCC 2021 laid stress on limiting global temperature rise at the 1.5° C level and strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty.
    • ‘No poverty’ and ‘Zero hunger’ are the first and second SDGs.
    •  According to NITI Aayog (2020-21), out of 100 points set for the grade of Achiever, India scored 60 (Performer grade, score 50-64) for no poverty and 47 (Aspirant grade, score 0-49) for zero hunger, with wide State-level variations.
    • India’s score in the SDGs of 8, 9, and 12 (‘Decent work and economic growth’; ‘Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure’ and ‘Responsible Consumption and Production’, respectively) — considered for working out planetary pressure — are 61 (performer), 55 (performer) and 74 (front runner), respectively.

    Way forward

    • Nature-based solutions: It is now well established that there are interdependencies of earth system processes including social processes, and their relationships are non-linear and dialectic.
    • Therefore, the central challenge is to nest human development including social and economic systems into the ecosystem, and biosphere building on a systematic approach to nature-based solutions that put people at the core.
    • Integrated perspective and local level involvement: Social and environmental problems cannot be addressed in isolation anymore; an integrated perspective is necessary.
    • This can be conceived and addressed at the local level, for which India has constitutional provisions in the form of the 73rd and 74th Amendments.

    Conclusion

    An integrated perspective is necessary as social and environmental problems cannot be addressed in isolation anymore.

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  • National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)

    Delhi and most of the other non-attainment cities under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) have shown only a marginal improvement, said a new analysis released.

    About NCAP

    • The NCAP was implemented across India in 2019 to reduce particulate matter levels in 132 cities by 20-30% in 2024.
    • Cities are declared non-attainment if they consistently fail to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) over a five-year period.

    What are NAAQ standards?

    • The mandate provided to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act empowers it to set standards for the quality of air.
    • Hence the current National Ambient Air Quality Standards were notified in November 2009 by the CPCB.
    • Prior to this, India had set Air Quality standards in 1994, and this was later revised in 1998.
    • The 2009 standards further lowered the maximum permissible limits for pollutants and made the standards uniform across the nation.
    • Earlier, less stringent standards were prescribed for industrial zones as compared to residential areas.

    Pollutants covered:

    • Sulphur Dioxide (SO2)
    • Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2),
    • Particulate Matter (size less than 10 µm) or PM 10
    • Particulate Matter (size less than 2.5 µm) or PM2.5
    • Ozone (O3)
    • Carbon Monoxide (CO)
    • Ammonia (NH3)

    (Air Pollutants that most of us NEVER heard of:)

    • Lead
    • Benzene (C6H6)
    • Benzo(a)Pyrene (BaP)
    • Arsenic(As)
    • Nickel (Ni)

    Source: Arthpaedia

     

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  • Draft Regional Plan 2041 for NCR

    Many environment analysts and activists has offered objections to the Draft Regional Plan-2041 for National Capital Region (NCR).

    Draft Regional Plan 2041

    • The National Capital Region Planning Board had sought objections and suggestions to the Draft RP-2041 from public.
    • Under the NCRPB plan, Delhi, two districts of Rajasthan, eight districts of Uttar Pradesh and 14 districts of Haryana are covered. In all, it covers an area of around 55,083 square kilometres.
    • The plan paves the way for a future-ready and slum-free NCR comprising of facilities like air ambulance, high-speed connectivity by means of rail, road, Heli taxis, and inland waterways.

    Key provisions

    • This plan puts special impetus on 30-minute connectivity by means of super-fast trains within major cities of NCR.
    • It also proposes to explore feasibility of 30-minute Mass Transit Rail System (MTRS) from boundaries of NCR to Delhi.
    • The plan seeks to make NCR a smart connected region by improving connectivity using bullet trains, smart roads, and helitaxi services.
    • It will evolve the region into an economically prosperous region comprising of citizen centric harmonious infrastructure.
    • It laid emphasis on circular economy of water & air quality improvements, improving environment conservation.

    Need for the plan

    • There was a need to ease out traffic congestions and create more integrated, accessible, user-centric and affordable transportation system.

    Various objections with the Plan

     

    • The plan excludes the terms “Aravalli” and “forest areas” from the Natural Conservation Zone (NCZ).
    • The Aravallis were an integral part of the NCZ in the current Regional Plan-2021.
    • This has left Aravallis open to unlimited real estate construction.
    • Similarly, the phrase “forest areas” has been deleted from the NCZ also. This will drastically reduce the forest cover that is eligible for NCZ zoning protection.

    Why Aravallis matters?

     

    • The Aravallis are home to over 400 species of native trees, shrubs and herbs, more than 200 native and migratory bird species, and wildlife that includes leopards, jackals, hyenas, mongoose and civet cats.
    • They are crucial to groundwater recharge, which is significant given the water scarcity the region faces during harsh summer months.
    • The thick forest cover helps to naturally purify air in a region plagued by high levels of vehicular and industrial pollution through the year.

    Back2Basics:  Aravali Range

    • The Aravali is a mountain range in Northwestern India, running approximately 670 km in a southwest direction, starting near Delhi, passing through southern Haryana and Rajasthan, and ending in Gujarat.
    • The highest peak is Guru Shikhar at 1,722 meters.
    • The Aravalli Range, an eroded stub of ancient mountains, is the oldest range of fold mountains in India.
    • The natural history of the Aravalli Range dates back to times when the Indian Plate was separated from the Eurasian Plate by an ocean.
    • Three major rivers and their tributaries flow from the Aravalli, namely Banas and Sahibi rivers which are tributaries of Yamuna, as well as Luni River which flows into the Rann of Kutch.

     

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  • Places in news: Orang National Park

    The Assam government has recently issued a preliminary notification for adding 200.32 sq. km to the 78.82 sq. km Orang National Park, the State’s oldest reserve, about 110 km northeast of Guwahati.

    The government had in September 21 dropped the ‘Rajiv Gandhi’ prefix to Orang given by the government in 1992.

    Orang National Park

    • Orang NP is located on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra River in the Darrang and Sonitpur districts of Assam.
    • It was established as a sanctuary in 1985 and declared a national park in 1999.
    • It has a rich flora and fauna, including great Indian rhinoceros, pygmy hog, Asian elephant, wild water buffalo and Bengal tiger.
    • Orang, on the northern bank of the river, is strategic to the Kaziranga Orang Riverine Landscape.
    • Tigers and rhinos are known to use the islands in this riverine landscape, about 180 km long, to hop between Orang and Kaziranga.

    Why in news?

    • The Assam government is pursuing a policy for the reintroduction of the gharial that became locally extinct more than six decades ago.
    • With better protection, the stretch of the Kaziranga-Orang landscape is ideal for sustaining the gharials.

    Back2Basics: National Park

    • Even before the Indian independence, sanctuaries had been created in the form of shooting blocks, game reserves or hunting reserves by the provisional governments or by the native rulers in their respective areas.
    • In 1936, the first National Park in India was created and named as the Hailey National Park, now called the Corbett National Park, in Uttaranchal.
    • The Wildlife Protection Act 1972 provides for the declaration of five types of protected areas viz. National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Community Reserves, Conservation Reserves and Tiger Reserves.
    • A National Park is defined by state government via notification under the WPA.
    • The state government can fix and alter boundaries of the National Parks with prior consultation and approval with National Board of Wildlife.
    • There is no need to pass an act for alternation of boundaries of National Parks.
    • No human activities are permitted in a National Park.

     

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  • For carbon sequestration, India must revisit its policy framework

    Context

    India’s pledge to set a net-zero target by 2070, at the COP26 summit, Glasgow, has again highlighted the importance of forests to help mitigate the challenges of climate change.

    Need for sustainable management of forests

    • The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) framework (2013) of REDD+ for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation has highlighted the importance of forest along with the ‘sustainable management of forests for the conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks’.
    • Land-based sinks: In a study by Griscom (2017), land-based sinks (natural climate solutions which also include forests) can provide up to 37% of emission reduction and help in keeping the global temperature below 2° C.
    • Natural regeneration model: Recent research has favoured a natural regeneration model of restoration over the existing much-hyped mode of tree planting as such forests are said to secure nearly 32% carbon storage, as per one report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

    Degradation and deforestation in India

    •  As per the State of Forests Report (1989), the country had 2,57,409 sq.km (7.83% of its geographical area) under the open forest category, having a density of 10% to less than 40%.
    • However, in 30 years (2019) this has been increased to 3,04,499 sq. km (9.26%).
    • This means every year on average, nearly 1.57 lakh hectare of forests was degraded. 
    • Anthropogenic pressure: This degradation highlights the presence of anthropogenic pressures including encroachment, grazing, fire, which our forests are subjected to.

    Need for the participation of people to achieve target of carbon sequestration

    • The degradation warrants the participation of people as an essential and effective route to achieve the desired target of carbon sequestration through the restoration of forests.
    • As envisaged in National Forest Policy, 1988, India made its attempt, in 1990, to engage local communities in a partnership mode while protecting and managing forests and restoring wastelands with the concept of care and share. 
    • Later, the concept of forest development agencies was introduced to consolidate the efforts in an autonomous model.
    • Creation of joint forest management committees: The efforts to make this participatory approach operative resulted in the formation of nearly 1.18 lakh joint forest management committees managing over 25 million hectares of forest area.
    • Most of these became active and operative while implementing various projects financed by external agencies such as the World Bank, the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) Japan, the Department for International Development (DFID) United Kingdom and the European Union (EU).
    • A similar system of joint management in the case of national parks, sanctuaries and tiger reserves which existed in the name of eco-development committees initially proved effective.
    • However, the completion of the project period and lack of subsequent funding affected their functionality and also the protection of forests due to a lack of support from participating local communities including associated non-governmental organisations.
    • Customary participation: Except for the National Mission for Green India, in all other centrally sponsored programmes such as Project Tiger, fire management, Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (IDWH) including the Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), the lack of priority and policy support to ensure the participation of local communities via the institutions of joint forest management committees slowly made their participation customary.
    • This caused a gradual decline in their effectiveness.
    • Role change: The role of local institutions of gram panchayat or joint forest management committees is now restricted to be a consultative institution instead of being partners in planning and implementation.
    • Implications of role change: This indifference and alienation from the participatory planning and implementation of various schemes

    Way forward

    • Revisit legal and policy mechanism: To achieve net-zero targets there is a need to revisit our existing legal and policy mechanisms.
    • Incentivise local communities: We also need to incentivise the local communities appropriately and ensure fund flow for restoration interventions.
    • There is a need for duly providing for the adequate participation of local people in planning and implementation through local institutions.
    • Replicate Telangana model: Political priority and appropriate policy interventions as done recently in Telangana by amending the panchayat and municipal acts and creating a provision for Telangana Haritha Nidhi need replication in other States.
    • Financial and institutional support mechanisms: These should be supported by enabling financial and institutional support mechanisms and negotiations with stakeholders
    • Though India did not become a signatory of the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use, the considerations of land tenure and the forest rights of participatory communities with accelerated finances will help aid steps in the race toward net zero.

    Consider the question “India is witnessing enormous degradation of forests and deforestation. This warrants the participation of people as an essential and effective route to achieve the desired target of carbon sequestration. In context of this, elaborate the importance of people participation and suggest the way forward.”

    Conclusion

    This inclusive approach with political prioritisation will not only help reduce emissions but also help to conserve and increase ‘our forest cover’ to ‘a third of our total area’. It will also protect our once rich and precious biological diversity.

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  • Odisha radio-tags rescued Indian Pangolin

    The Odisha Forest and Environment Department has completed its first-ever radio-tagging of the Indian pangolin in an attempt to standardize the rehabilitation protocol for the animal in the State.

    Why radio-tagging?

    • The radio-tagging aims to know its ecology and develop an effective conservation plan for it.
    • The radio-tagging is part of a joint project by the department and non-profit, the Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT) that also involves the species’ monitoring apart from other activities.

    About Pangolin

    IUCN status: Endangered

    • India is home to two species of pangolin.
    • While the Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is found in northeastern India, the Indian Pangolin is distributed in other parts of the country as well as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
    • Both these species are protected and are listed under Schedule I Part I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
    • Commonly known as ‘scaly anteaters’, the toothless animals are unique, a result of millions of years of evolution.
    • Pangolins evolved scales as a means of protection. When threatened by big carnivores like lions or tigers they usually curl into a ball.
    • The scales defend them against dental attacks from predators.

    Pangolin in China

    • Pangolin meat is considered a delicacy in China and Vietnam.
    • Their scales which are made of keratin, the same protein present in human nails — are believed to improve lactation, promote blood circulation, and remove blood stasis.
    • These so-called health benefits are so far unproven.

    What makes pangolins the most trafficked animals in the world?

    • Their alleged health benefits in traditional Chinese medicines prompted a booming illicit export of scales from Africa over the past decade.
    • Officials quote the trafficking price of Pangolin and its scale anywhere between Rs 30,000 and Rs 1 crore for a single animal.
    • Conservation of pangolins received its first shot in the arm when the 2017 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) enforced an international trade ban.

     

     

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  • Gaps in draft regulations on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)

    Context

    In October, the Environment Ministry published draft regulations on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), set to come into effect by the end of this year. These regulations denote a backslide, particularly with respect to integration of the informal sector.

    What is EPR?

    • Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) requires the manufacturer of a product, or the party that introduces the product into the community, to take responsibility for its life cycle.
    • An FMCG company should not only account for the costs of making, packing and distributing a packet of chips, but also for the collection and recycling/reuse of the packet.

    Shortcomings in the guidelines

    The guidelines fall short in three areas: people, plastics and processing.

    [1] Integration of informal sector is lacking

    • By failing to mention waste pickers or outlining mechanisms for their incorporation under EPR, the guidelines are retrogressive.
    • For decades, waste pickers, working in dangerous and unsanitary conditions, have picked up what we throw away.
    • Besides, by diverting waste towards recycling and reuse, waste pickers also subsidise local governments responsible for solid waste management.
    • Further, they reduce the amount of waste accumulating in cities, water bodies and dumpsites and increase recycling and reuse, creating environmental and public health benefits.
    • Between 1.5 and 4 million waste pickers in India work without social security, health insurance, minimum wages or basic protective gear.
    • Suggestions:  An effective EPR framework should address the issue of plastics and plastic waste management in tandem with the existing machinery, minimise duplication and lead to a positive environmental impact, with monitoring mechanisms including penalties for non-compliance.
    • EPR funds could be deployed for mapping and registration of the informal sector actors, building their capacity, upgrading infrastructure, promoting technology transfer, and creating closed loop feedback and monitoring mechanisms.

    [2] The scope of plastic covered need to be altered

    • The EPR guidelines are limited to plastic packaging.
    • There are other multi-material plastic items like sanitary pads, chappals, and polyester that pose a huge waste management challenge today, but have been left out of the scope of EPR.
    • Three categories of plastic packaging: Plastic packaging can be roughly grouped into three categories: recyclable and effectively handled by the informal sector, technologically recyclable but not economically viable to recycle, technologically challenging to recycle (or non-recyclable).
    • [1] Rigid plastics like PET and HDPE are effectively recycled.
    • Suggestion: The government could support and strengthen the informal recycling chain by bridging gaps in adequate physical spaces, infrastructure, etc.
    • [2] Typically flexible plastics like LDPE and PP bags are recyclable, but due to their contamination with organic waste, lightweight, and high volume, the costs of recycling are prohibitively expensive relative to the market value of the output.
    • Suggestion: Market value for these plastics can be increased by increasing the demand for and use of recycled plastics in packaging, thus creating the value to accommodate the current costs of recycling.
    • [3] Multi-layered and multi-material plastics are low weight and voluminous, making them expensive to handle and transport.
    • Since they are primarily used in food packaging, they often attract rodents, making storage problematic.
    • Even if this plastic is picked, recycling is technologically challenging as it is heterogeneous material.
    • The Plastic Waste Management Rules mandated the phase-out of these plastics.
    • However, in 2018, this mandate was reversed.

    [3] Processing technologies need to be closely evaluated

    • Not all processing is recycling.
    • Processes like waste-to-energy, co-processing and incineration have been proven to release carbon dioxide, particulate matter, harmful dioxins and furans which have negative climate and health impacts.
    • While the environmental impact and desirability of these processes continues to be debated, the draft regulations legitimise them to justify the continued production of multi-layered plastics.
    • Technologies like chemical recycling and pyrolysis are capital-intensive, yielding low returns and running into frequent breakdowns and technological problems.
    • They also release carbon dioxide and other pollutants.
    • These end-of-life processes are economically, environmentally and operationally unsustainable.
    • A number of gasification, pyrolysis and other chemical recycling projects have figured in accidents such as fires, explosions and financial losses.

    Way forward

    • Address issues of the informal sector: The consultation process should involve informal workers.
    • Alter the scope of plastics covered: The scope of plastics covered by the guidelines could be altered to exclude those plastics which are already efficiently recycled and to include other plastic and multi-material items.
    • Processing technologies should be closely evaluated: And end-of-life processing technologies should be closely evaluated, based not only on their health and environmental impacts, but also on the implications for continued production of low-quality and multi-layered plastics.

    Consider the question ” The Environment Ministry published draft regulations on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). Examine the issues with the regulations and suggest the way forward” 

    Conclusion

    In conclusion, the government should redo the consultation process for the draft guidelines.

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  • Meendum Manjappai Scheme

    Tamil Nadu CM has launched the ‘Meendum Manjappai’ Scheme to promote the use of cloth bags by the public and discourage the use of plastic bags.

    Meendum Manjappai Scheme

    • This awareness campaign on using ‘yellow’ cloth bag or ‘manjapai’ as it is called in Tamil, is aimed at encouraging the people to return to the use of this eco-friendly bag and discard the plastic bags.
    • Manjal means turmeric in Tamil which has curative power. The manjapai was an integral part of daily life in the past.
    • Traditionally the manjapais were used for shopping, carrying books, ration and even cash.
    • The state government had enforced a ban on the production, use, storage, distribution, transportation or sale of 14 types of plastics with effect from January 1, 2019.

     

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  • Reintroduction of African Cheetahs in India

    Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh was all prepped to welcome the African cheetahs — a project that has been a decade in the making — this year. The project has now been postponed, as the new coronavirus variant of concern omicron prompted travel restrictions.

    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.

    About Asiatic Cheetah

    • Cheetah, the world’s fastest land animal was declared extinct in India in 1952.
    • The Asiatic cheetah is classified as a “critically endangered” species by the IUCN Red List, and is believed to survive only in Iran.
    • It was expected to be re-introduced into the country after the Supreme Court lifted curbs for its re-introduction.
    • From 400 in the 1990s, their numbers are estimated to have reached to 50-70 today, because of poaching, hunting of their main prey (gazelles) and encroachment on their habitat.

    Why reintroduce Cheetahs?

    • Reintroductions of large carnivores have increasingly been recognized as a strategy to conserve threatened species and restore ecosystem functions.
    • The cheetah is the only large carnivore that has been extirpated, mainly by over-hunting in India in historical times.
    • India now has the economic ability to consider restoring its lost natural heritage for ethical as well as ecological reasons.

    Why was the project halted?

    • The court was worried whether the African cheetahs would find the sanctuary a favorable climate as far as the abundance of prey is concerned.
    • Those who challenged the plan argued that the habitat of cheetahs needed to support a genetically viable population.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. Consider the following:

    1. Black necked crane

    2. Cheetah

    3. Flying squirrel

    4. Snow leopard

    Which of the above are naturally found in India?

    (a) 1, 2 and 3 only

    (c) 2 and 4 only

    (b) 1, 3 and 4 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

     

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

     

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