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Subject: Environment

  • [pib] Central Asian Flyway

    The two-day meeting of 30 range countries of Central Asian Flyway has begun.

    What is Central Asian Flyway?

    • Central Asian Flyway (CAF) is a flyway covering a large continental area of Eurasia between the Arctic Ocean and the Indian Ocean and the associated island chains.
    • It comprises several important migration routes of waterbirds, most of which extend from the northernmost breeding grounds in Siberia to the southernmost non-breeding wintering grounds in West Asia, India, the Maldives and the British Indian Ocean Territory.
    • The CAF range is essentially centred on one of the three major wintering areas of waterfowl in the Old World, namely the Indian subcontinent, the other two being Africa.
    • There are also the African-Eurasian Flyway (AEWA) to the west, and south-east Asia in the East Asian – Australasian Flyway (EAAF) to the east.
    • These wintering areas are geographically separate, and present entirely different ecological, historical and cultural situations.

    Range countries

    • The flyway covers 30 countries of North, Central and South Asia and Trans-Caucasus.
    • India is the core country of the CAF and supports 257 species of water birds.

    Major migratory birds

    • Critically Endangered – northern bald ibis, white-bellied heron, Baer’s pochard
    • Endangered – greater adjutant
    • Vulnerable – black-necked crane, Indian skimmer, lesser adjutant, masked finfoot, Socotra cormorant, wood snipe
    • Near Threatened – black-headed ibis, lesser flamingo, pygmy cormorant, white-eyed gull

    Why designate such flyways?

    • Approximately one in five of the world’s 11,000 bird species11,000 bird species migrate, some covering enormous distances.
    • Conserving migratory birds requires cooperation and coordination along the entire flyway between countries and across national boundaries.

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  • First Nobel for Climate Science

    Three scientists received the Nobel Prize in Physics for work that is essential to understanding how the Earth’s climate is changing, pinpointing the effect of human behaviour on those changes and ultimately predicting the impact of global warming.

    Who are the laureates?

    • The winners were Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann of Germany, and Giorgio Parisi from Italy.
    • In 2015, at a UK-based climate-focused online publication sought to identify the three most influential climate change research papers ever published.
    • The paper that received the most votes was one by Syukuro Manabe and Richard Wetherald way back in 1967.
    • These reports for the first time, had described the impact of carbon dioxide and water vapour on global warming.

    Citation for their Climate Model

    • Manabe is a senior meteorologist and climatologist at Princeton University.
    • In the 1960s, he led ground-breaking research into how increased levels of carbon dioxide lead to higher temperatures on the surface of the Earth.
    • This laid the foundation for the development of current climate models.
    • Hasselmann is a German physicist and oceanographer who greatly advanced public understanding of climate change through the creation of a model that links climate and chaotic weather systems.
    • Parisi has focused on quantum field theory and complex systems.

    Why it is significant feat?

    • This is the first-time climate scientists have been awarded the Physics Nobel.
    • The IPCC had won the Peace Nobel in 2007, an acknowledgement of its efforts in creating awareness for the fight against climate change.
    • A Chemistry Nobel was also awarded to Paul Crutzen in 1995, for his work on the ozone layer, is considered the only other time someone from atmospheric sciences has won this honour.
    • The recognition of Manabe and Hasselmann, therefore, is being seen as an acknowledgement of the importance that climate science holds in today’s world.

     

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  • Taproots to help restore India’s fading green cover

    This op-ed tries to establish a fair link between forest cover and population dependency on it.

    A decline in Forest Cover

    • The State of the World’s Forests report 2020, says that since 1990, around 420 million hectares of forest have been lost through deforestation, conversion and land degradation.
    • Nearly 178 million hectares have decreased globally due to deforestation (1990-2020).
    • India lost 4.69 MHA of its forests for various land uses between 1951 to 1995.

    Various reasons

    • Despite various international conventions and national policies in place to improve green cover, there is a decline in global forest cover.
    • Dependence on forests by nearly 18% of the global human population has put immense pressure on ecosystems; in India, this has resulted in the degradation of 41% of its forests.

    Why conserve forests?

    • Covering nearly 30% land surface of the earth, forests around the globe provide a wide variety of ecosystem services and support countless and diverse species.
    • They also stabilise the climate, sequester carbon and regulate the water regime.

    Need for restoration

    • Restoration in laymen’s terms is bringing back the degraded or deforested landscape to its original state by various interventions to enable them to deliver all the benefits.
    • Building and maintaining activities help to improve ecological functions, productivity and create resilient forests with multifarious capabilities.
    • India’s varied edaphic, climatic and topographic conditions are spread over 10 bio-geographical regions and four biodiversity hotspots, sheltering 8% of the world’s known flora and fauna.

    India’s dependency on forest resources

    • Out of its 21.9% population living under the poverty line, nearly 275 million people including local tribals depend on the forest for subsistence.
    • The intricate link between poverty and environmental degradation was first highlighted by India at the first UN global conference on the human environment in Stockholm.
    • Though India’s increasing economic growth is helping to eliminate poverty, there is continued degradation and a growing scarcity of natural resources.
    • Further, encroachment of nearly 1.48 MHA of forest and grazing in nearly 75% of forest area is also linked to the livelihood of local communities.
    • The participation of local communities with finances for incentives and rewards is essential to redress this complex riddle.

    Strategies adopted by India

    Ans. Bonn Challenge

    • To combat this, India joined the Bonn Challenge with a pledge to restore 21 MHA of degraded and deforested land which was later revised to 26 MHA to be restored by 2030.
    • The first-ever country progress report under the Bonn Challenge submitted by India by bringing 9.8 million hectares since 2011 under restoration is an achievement.
    • However, continued degradation and deforestation need to be tackled effectively to achieve the remaining target of restoration by addressing various challenges.

    Key challenges

    • Local ecology with a research base: forest restoration and tree planting are leading strategies to fight global warming by way of carbon sequestration.
    • However, planting without considering the local ecology can result in more damage.
    • Similarly, planting a forest in the wrong places such as savannah grasslands could be disastrous for local biodiversity.

    Best strategy: Natural Forest Restoration

    • Luckily recent research has shown that naturally regenerated forests tend to have more secure carbon storage.
    • Being less tech-sensitive, cost-effective and conserving more biodiversity, natural forest restoration is becoming more widely accepted.

    Limitations to India

    • Nearly 5.03% of Indian forests are under protection area (PA) management needing specific restoration strategies.
    • The remaining areas witness a range of disturbances including grazing, encroachment, fire, and climate change impacts that need area-specific considerations.
    • Further, much of the research done so far on restoration is not fully compatible with India’s diverse ecological habitats hence warranting due consideration of local factors.
    • The involvement of multiple stakeholders in forest restoration is bound to cause a conflict of interests among different stakeholders; along with low priority and insufficient funding, it becomes even more challenging.

    Policy measures

    • There have been remarkable initiatives to involve local people in the protection and development of forests by forming joint forest management committees (JFMC).
    • However, a review of their functionality and performance is essential to make them more dynamic and effective to scale up their involvement.
    • Therefore, negotiations with a wide range of stakeholders including these committees for resolving conflicts and fulfilling restoration objectives are a must and a challenging feat to reach a suitable trade-off.

    Way forward

    • Adequate financing is one of the major concerns for the success of any interventions including restoration.
    • The active approach of restoration which includes tree planting and the involvement of communities seeks incentives and rewards and make the whole affair quite cost-intensive.
    • The contribution of corporates in restoration efforts so far has been limited to 2% of the total achievement.
    • Hence, alternate ways of financing such as involving corporates and dovetailing restoration activities with ongoing land-based programmes of various departments can help to make it easy for operation.
    • Apart from these specific challenges, the common barriers to restoration as identified globally also need critical review before placing the required methodologies and area-specific strategies in place.

    Conclusion

    • Active engagement of stakeholders including non-governmental organizations, awareness and capacity building of stakeholders with enabling policy interventions and finance can help a lot to achieve restoration objectives for India.
    • The need of the hour is an inclusive approach encompassing these concerns with the required wherewithal.

     

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  • Govt moots easy clearance for Forest Land use

    The government has proposed absolving agencies involved in national security projects and border infrastructure projects from obtaining prior forest clearance from the Centre as part of amendments to the existing Forest Conservation Act (FCA).

    About Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980

    • The FCA is the principal legislation that regulates deforestation in the country.
    • It prohibits the felling of forests for any “non-forestry” use without prior clearance by the central government.
    • The clearance process includes seeking consent from local forest rights-holders and from wildlife authorities.
    • The Centre is empowered to reject such requests or allow it with legally binding conditions.
    • In a landmark decision in 1996, the Supreme Court had expanded the coverage of FCA to all areas that satisfied the dictionary definition of a forest; earlier, only lands specifically notified as forests were protected by the enforcement of the FCA.

    What is the proposed amendment?

    • The proposed amendment is part of a larger rationalizing of existing forest laws for infrastructure projects.
    • The act was regressively interpreted over the right of way of railways, highways.
    • As of today a landholding agency (Rail, NHAI, PWD, etc) is required to take approval under the Act as well as pay stipulated compensatory levies.
    • They are required to pay Net Present Value (NPV), Compensatory Afforestation (CA), etc. for use of such land which was originally been acquired for non-forest purposes.

    Other proposals

    • The Environment Ministry has proposed provisions for penal compensation to make good for the damages already done to trees in forest land.
    • The document also proposes removing zoos, safaris, Forest Training infrastructures from the definition of “non-forestry” activities.
    • The current definition restricts the way money collected as part of compensatory cess can be spent towards forest conservation purposes.

    Previous attempts made

    • Previous attempts to amend acts linked to forest laws have been controversial.
    • There was a plan to amend the Indian Forest Act, 1927, that deals with the rights of forest dwellers, in an attempt to address contemporary challenges to the country’s forests.
    • The draft law had been sent to key forest officers in the States for soliciting comments and objections.
    • It drew flak from activists as well as tribal welfare organizations.
    • The government withdrew the draft and has said that a newer updated version was on the anvil.

     

    Try answering this PYQ

    Consider the following statements:

    1. As per recent amendment to the Indian Forest Act, 1927, forest dwellers have the right to fell the bamboos grown on forest areas.
    2. As per the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, bamboo is a minor forest produce.
    3. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 allows ownership of minor forest produce to forest dwellers.

    Which of the statements given above is / are correct?

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”mirdxqw0g4″ question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

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  • Species in news: Adi Cascade

    Making of check dams on streams and removal of boulders may wipe out the local population of Adi cascade frogs (Amolops adicola), a recently discovered species in Arunachal Pradesh, scientists claimed.

    About Adi cascade

    • The species was discovered while revisiting a century-old Adi expedition in 2018 and named after the land of the Adi tribe where the frogs dwell, particularly post-monsoon.
    • The call of the frog is quite unique with continuous notes almost like a cricket.
    • They are delivered at very short intervals, not long call groups — giving an impression of being continuous: A typical call lasts 485.2 milliseconds.
    • The species is predominantly found in open riverine landscapes and human-inhabited rural areas.
    • Males were mostly observed on tree saplings, fern fronds, and banana plants in and around the cultivated land.
    • Locally known as Juri (stream) Tatik (frog) — is considered a local delicacy.

    What are Cascade Frogs?

    • The nomenclature ‘cascade frogs’ draws on their preference for small waterfalls.
    • Cascade frogs, in general, depend on the flow of water.
    • Both adults and tadpoles of Adi cascade frogs, the species in question, are particularly adapted to fast flowing sections of stream.

    Rich biodiversity of Arunachal

    • Arunachal, a biodiversity hotspot, is home to many endemics, endangered and threatened species as well as to indigenous people who depend on its biological resources.
    • The Forest Survey of India in 2019 estimated that Arunachal had 66,688 sq km of forests — 79.6 per cent of the state’s area.
    • Global Forest Watch, however, estimated the forests cover at 74 per cent of its total land area.

     

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  • Various terms related to Indian Monsoon

    The monsoon is likely to begin withdrawing from the mainland from October 6, said the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

    Let us learn all terminologies related to Monsoon.

    What is Monsoon?

    • Indian monsoon, the most prominent of the world’s monsoon systems, which primarily affects India and its surrounding water bodies.
    • It blows from the northeast during cooler months and reverses direction to blow from the southwest during the warmest months of the year.

    Onset of Monsoon

    • This process brings large amounts of rainfall to the region during June and July.
    • As the high-sun season (that is, the Northern Hemisphere summer) moves northward during April, India becomes particularly prone to rapid heating because the highlands to the north protect it from any incursions of cold air.
    • There are three distinct areas of relative upper tropospheric warmth—namely, (1) above the southern Bay of Bengal, (2) above the Plateau of Tibet, and (3) across the trunks of the various peninsulas that are relatively dry during this time.
    • These three areas combine to form a vast heat-source region.
    • In contrast, a heat sink appears over the southern Indian Ocean as the relatively cloud-free air cools by emitting long-wavelength radiation.
    • Monsoon winds at the surface blow from heat sink to heat source.

    Peak period

    • The position of the easterly jet controls the location of monsoonal rains, which occur ahead and to the left of the strongest winds and also behind them and to the right.
    • The surface flow, however, is a strong, south-westerly, humid, and unstable wind that brings humidifies of more than 80 percent and heavy squally showers that are the “burst” of the monsoon.
    • The overall pattern of the advance follows a frontal alignment, but local episodes may differ considerably.

    Key areas

    • Most spectacular clouds and rain occur against the Western Ghats in India, where the early monsoonal airstream piles up against the steep slopes, then recedes, and piles up again to a greater height.
    • Each time it pushes thicker clouds upward until wind and clouds roll over the barrier and, after a few brief spells of absorption by the dry inland air, cascade toward the interior.
    • Various factors, especially topography, combine to make up a complex regional pattern.

    Break in Monsoon

    • During the south-west monsoon period after having rains for a few days, if rain fails to occur for one or more weeks, it is known as break in the monsoon.
    • These dry spells are quite common during the rainy season.
    • In northern India rains are likely to fail if the rain-bearing storms are not very frequent along the monsoon trough or the ITCZ over this region.
    • Over the west coast the dry spells are associated with days when winds blow parallel to the coast.

    Withdrawal of Monsoon

    • By August the intensity and duration of sunshine have decreased, temperatures begin to fall, and the surge of south-westerly air diminishes spasmodically almost to a standstill in the northwest.
    • In September, dry, cool, northerly air begins to circle the west side of the highlands and spread over north-western India.
    • The easterly jet weakens, and the upper tropospheric easterlies move much farther south.
    • Because the moist southwesterlies at lower levels are much weaker and variable, they are soon pushed back.
    • The rainfall becomes extremely variable over most of the region, but showers are still frequent in the south-eastern areas and over the Bay of Bengal.
    • By early October, variable winds are very frequent everywhere.

    Winter rains

    • At the end of the month, the entire Indian region is covered by northerly air and the winter monsoon takes shape.
    • The surface flow is deflected by the Coriolis force and becomes a north-easterly flow.
    • Tropical depressions and cyclones are important contributing factors.
    • Most of India thus begins a sunny, dry, and dusty season.
    • Conversely, the western slopes of the Karakoram Range and Himalayas are then reached by the midlatitude frontal depressions that come from the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
    • The winter rains they receive, moderate as they are, place them clearly outside the monsoonal realm.

     

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  • Places in news: Weddell Sea

    India has extended support for protecting the Antarctic environment and for co-sponsoring the proposal of the European Union for designating East Antarctica and the Weddell Sea as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

    About Weddell Sea

    • The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre.
    • Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula.
    • Much of the southern part of the sea is covered by a permanent, massive ice shelf field, the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf.
    • The sea is contained within the two overlapping Antarctic territorial claims of Argentine Antarctica, the British Antarctic Territory, and also resides partially within the Antarctic Chilean Territory.

    Major ice shelves

    • Various ice shelves, including the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, fringe the Weddell sea.
    • Some of the ice shelves on the east side of the Antarctic Peninsula, which formerly covered roughly 10,000 square kilometres of the Weddell Sea, had completely disappeared by 2002.
    • The Weddell Sea has been deemed by scientists to have the clearest water of any sea.

    India’s support for the Antarctic

    • India supports sustainability in protecting the Antarctic environment.
    • The proposed MPAs are essential to regulate illegal unreported and unregulated fishing.
    • India had urged the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) member countries to ensure Antarctic conservation.
    • India remains associated with the formulation, adaptation and implementation mechanisms of these MPAs in future.

    What is CCAMLR?

    • CCAMLR is an international treaty to manage Antarctic fisheries to preserve species diversity and stability of the entire Antarctic marine ecosystem.
    • CCAMLR came into force in April 1982.
    • India has been a permanent member of the CCAMLR since 1986.
    • Work pertaining to the CCAMLR is coordinated in India by the Ministry of Earth Sciences through its attached office, the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE) in Kochi, Kerala.

    Back2Basics: Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

    • An MPA is a marine protected area that provides protection for all or part of its natural resources.
    • Certain activities within an MPA are limited or prohibited to meet specific conservation, habitat protection, ecosystem monitoring, or fisheries management objectives.
    • MPAs can be conserved for a number of reasons including economic resources, biodiversity conservation, and species protection.
    • They are created by delineating zones with permitted and non-permitted uses within that zone.

     

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  • Probe shows use of toxic material in firecrackers: Supreme Court

    The Supreme Court has said a preliminary enquiry by the CBI into the firecracker industry, including in Tamil Nadu, revealed rampant violation of its ban on use of toxic ingredients like Barium and its salts.

    Air Pollution created by firecrackers

    • Firing crackers increase the concentration of dust and pollutants in the air.
    • After firing, the fine dust particles get settled on the surrounding surfaces which are packed with chemicals like copper, zinc, sodium, lead, magnesium, cadmium and pollutants like oxides of sulphur and nitrogen.
    • These invisible yet harmful particles affect the environment and in turn, put our health at stake.

    Harmful elements used

    • Copper: Irritates the respiratory tract.
    • Cadmium: Leads to anemia by reducing the capacity of blood to carry oxygen.
    • Zinc: Can cause metal fume fever and induces vomiting.
    • Lead: Harms the nervous system.
    • Magnesium: Metal fume fever is caused by Magnesium fumes.
    • Sodium: It is a highly reactive element and caused burns when it is combined with moisture.

    Why is the issue in news now?

    Ans. Barium content

    • A chemical analysis of the samples of finished and semi-finished firecrackers and raw materials taken from the manufacturers showed Barium content.
    • The court stated that loose quantities of Barium were purchased from the market.
    • Also, firecracker covers did not show the manufacture or expiry dates.

    Issues with Barium

    • Barium nitrate, which emits green flames when a cracker is lit, is a metal oxide that increases both air and noise pollution.
    • There is is no clarity on whether barium nitrate can actually be used or not.

    Alternatives: Green Crackers

    • The new CSIR-NEERI formulation for green crackers has NO barium nitrate — one of the key ingredients of traditional firecrackers.
    • These crackers have been named “safe water releaser (SWAS)”, “safe minimal aluminium (SAFAL)” and “safe thermite cracker (STAR)”.
    • The three crackers release water vapour or air as a dust suppressant and diluent for gaseous emissions.
    • These products can only be manufactured by those who have signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with CSIR-NEERI.
    • The green crackers are sold with a unique logo on the box, and will also have a QR code with production and emission details.

     

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  • Cyclone Gulab

    As a very rare occasion during monsoons, Cyclone Gulab has been developed in the Bay of Bengal and later made landfall close in Andhra Pradesh.

    Tauktae, Amphan, Fani, Titli, Bulbul, Gaja… And now Gulab. As and when cyclones with intriguing names approach the Indian coasts, a common question comes to our minds: Who names these storms?

     

    This time it is Pakistan, not India, who proposed this name Gulaab!

    About Tropical Cyclones

    • A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure centre, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rains.
    • Depending on its location and strength, a tropical cyclone is referred to by different names, including hurricane, typhoon, tropical storm, cyclonic storm, tropical depression, or simply cyclone.
    • A hurricane is a tropical cyclone that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean and the northeastern Pacific Ocean, and a typhoon occurs in the north-western Pacific Ocean.
    • In the south Pacific or the Indian Ocean, comparable storms are referred to simply as “tropical cyclones” or “severe cyclonic storms”.

    Cyclone Gulab

    • Three factors —in-sync phase of Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO), warm sea surface temperatures over the Bay of Bengal, and the formation of a low-pressure system.
    • The system’s intensification phases between low pressure – well-marked low pressure – depression – deep depression and to finally becoming Cyclone Gulab was rather rapid, even as the system moved closer to the south Odisha – north Andhra Pradesh coast, where it also made landfall.

    What makes Gulab special?

    • India has a bi-annual cyclone season that occurs between March to May and October to December. But on rare occasions, cyclones do occur in June and September months.
    • Cyclones are less common during the June to September monsoon season, as there are limited or almost no favourable conditions for cyclogenesis due to strong monsoon currents.
    • This is also the period when the wind shear — that is, the difference between wind speeds at lower and upper atmospheric levels — is very high.
    • As a result, clouds do not grow vertically and monsoon depressions often fail to intensify into cyclones.
    • So it can be stated that this year, the cyclone season commenced earlier than usual. The last time a cyclone developed in the Bay of Bengal in September was Cyclone Day in 2018.

    Also read

    [Burning Issue] Tropical Cyclones and India

     

     

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  • Arctic ice is disappearing: How clouds interact with sea ice change

    Temperatures in the Arctic, for example, have been rising much faster than the rest of the planet. Experts, for the longest time, have attributed the crisis to how clouds interact with sea ice, essentially frozen seawater.

    Role of Polynya

    • Decades of research have pointed that the losses in Arctic Sea ice cover allow for the formation of more clouds near the ocean’s surface.
    • New research by NASA has now shown that more heat and moisture is released through a large hole in sea ice called a polynya, which fuels the formation of more clouds.
    • This traps heat in the atmosphere and hinders the refreezing of new sea ice.

    What is Polynya?

    • A polynya is an area of open water surrounded by sea ice.
    • It is now used as a geographical term for an area of unfrozen seawater within otherwise contiguous pack ice or fast ice.
    • It refers to a natural ice hole and was adopted in the 19th century by polar explorers to describe navigable portions of the sea.
    • There are two main types of polynyas:
    1. Coastal polynyas, which can be found year-round near the Antarctic and Arctic coasts and are mainly created by strong winds pushing the ice away from the coast, and
    2. Mid-sea or open-ocean polynyas, which may be found more sporadically in the middle of an ice pack in certain locations, especially around Antarctica.

    What is the new research about?

    • The research stated that low clouds over the polynya emitted more energy or heat than clouds in adjacent areas covered by sea ice.
    • The polynya did refreeze, but only after the increased cloud cover and heat under the clouds persisted for about a week.
    • The extra clouds and increased cloud radiative effect to the surface remained for some time after the polynya froze.
    • The sea ice acts like a cap or a barrier between the relatively warm ocean surface and the cold and dry atmosphere above, so more heat and moisture from the ocean into the atmosphere.
    • This warming slows down the growth of the sea ice.

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