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Subject: Environment

  • Agreement  on Cities combating plastic entering the marine environment

    Recently, India and Germany signed Cities combating plastic entering the marine environment’.


    The agreement was signed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the respective ministry of Germany.

    Key Points:

    • The project envisaged under the contours of the Joint Declaration of Intent regarding cooperation in the field of ‘Prevention of Marine Litter’ signed between Republic of India and Federal Republic of Germany in 2019.
    • It aims to prevent plastic entering the marine environment.
    • Focus will be on three cities namely Kanpur, Kochi and Port Blair.
    • Total time for the project is  3.5 years.

    About Marine Litter:

    According to UN Environment, marine litter is any persistent, manufactured or processed solid material discarded, disposed of or abandoned in the marine and coastal environment.

    Sources:

    • Items that have been made or used by people and deliberately discarded into the sea or rivers or on beaches.
    • indirectly brought to the sea by rivers, sewage, storm water or winds.
    • accidentally lost, including material lost at sea in bad weather (fishing gear, cargo)
    • deliberately left by people on beaches and shores.

    Impacts:

    • Marine litter threatens ecosystems and adversely affects fishery and tourism industries around the globe.
    • Affects  public health with increased concerns about micro-plastic and risk of particles entering the food chain.

    Suggestions

    • Port reception facilities
    • Creating a garbage management system
    • Sewage treatment plants designed to capture plastic litter.
    • Strict enforcement of norms preventing human led plastic waste discharge into aquatic and marine environments.

  • MoEFCC clears rail track in Western Ghats despite red flags

    The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has cleared a rail project in the Western Ghats spread across Goa and Karnataka, which can endanger its wildlife.

    About the project:

    • The project is the doubling the track of Hospet-Hubballi-Londa-Vasco Da Gama railway line by the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL).
    • It involves doubling of the 353-kilometre-long railway track in Karnataka and Goa passing through the Western Ghats.

    Western Ghats:

    • The Western Ghats mountain range runs along the western side of India.
    • The Ghats are older than the Himalayas.
      • The range is known as Sahyadri in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
    • It runs, about 1600 km, North to South, along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau.
    • It originates near the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra, and runs through the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, finally ending at Kanyakumari.
    • These hills form the catchment area for complex riverine drainage systems that drain almost 40% of India.
    • Height:
      • The average elevation is about 1,200 m.
      • Anaimudi (2695 m), is the highest peak of the Western Ghats, situated in Eravikulam National Park, Kerala.
    • Rocks found:
      • Basalt is the predominant rock found in the hills reaching a thickness of 3 km.
      • Other rocks: Granite gneiss, metamorphic gneisses with detached occurrences of crystalline limestone, iron ore, dolerites and anorthosites.
    • Major gaps in the range:
      • Goa Gap between the Maharashtra and Karnataka sections.
      • Palghat Gap on the Tamil Nadu and Kerala border between Nilgiri Hills and Anaimalai Hills.
    • Recognitions:
      • It is one of the eight hottest hotspots of biological diversity in the world.
      • In 2012, thirty-nine places in the Western Ghats region have been declared as World Heritage Sites by the UNESCO.
    • Flora and Fauna:
      • There are at least 139 mammal species.
      • It includes the critically endangered Malabar large-spotted civet and the endangered lion-tailed macaque.

  • Proposal to amend animal cruelty Act: strict measures suggested

    India’s antiquated animal cruelty law may finally get some teeth after around sixty years after its enactment.

    What are the amendments?

    • The Centre’s Animal Husbandry department has suggested adding to the 1960 legislation a stringent new section that addresses the killing of animals and “gruesome cruelty” towards them.
    • This section calls for imprisonment of up to five years and steep penalties that may go up to Rs 75,000.
    • The department has also proposed amending the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act to hike the penalty for first-time offenders from the paltry “minimum of Rs 10 to maximum of Rs 50” to “not less than Rs 750 extended up to Rs 3,750 per animal”.
    • The Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying set the ball rolling for the amendment of the legislation with Joint Commissioner (AH) Dr S K Dutta inviting suggestions from stakeholders at a webinar.

    Its proposed new section, meanwhile, has the following provisions—

    • 11 (A): Gruesome cruelty or life-threatening cruelty against animals, for which the penalty is Rs 50,000 per animal or the cost of the animal as determined by a jurisdictional veterinarian. This carries imprisonment of one year which may extend to three years or both.
    • 11 (B): Killing of an animal for which the penalty is Rs 75,000 per animal or three times the cost of the animal as determined by the jurisdictional veterinarian, whichever is more, with imprisonment of three years which may extend to five years or both.
    • 11 (C): Exceptions (exemption to section 11 (B) killing of an animal): i) accident ii) in defence of self or property (iii) by an act of god or war (iv) any other unforeseen circumstance outside the control of any person in general.

    Steps taken for welfare of animals in India:

    • The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 recognises that animals can suffer physically and mentally, and is applicable to ‘all living creatures’.
    • The Constitution also enshrines the principle of ahimsa and mandates to all citizens of India to ‘have compassion for living creatures’.
    • The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) is the central body responsible for animal welfare in the country.
    • The National Institute for Animal Welfare created in 1999, has the broad mandate to improve animal welfare through research, education and public outreach.

  • Meghalaya records India’s first bat with sticky disks

    About the species

    • A team of scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and a few European natural history museums stumbled upon very specialised small bat with “disk-like pads in the thumb and bright orange colouration”.
    • The flattened skull and sticky pads enabled the bats to roost inside cramped spaces, clinging to smooth surfaces such as bamboo internodes.
    • The disk-footed bat was also found to be genetically very different from all other known bats bearing disk-like pads.

    Significance

    • Meghalaya has yielded India’s first bamboo-dwelling bat with sticky disks, taking the species count of the flying mammal in the country to 130.
    • The disk-footed bat has raised Meghalaya’s bat count to 66, the most for any State in India.
    • It has also helped add a genus and species to the bat fauna of India.
    • There are a couple of other bamboo-dwelling bats in India.
    • But the extent of adaptation for bamboo habitat in this species is not seen in the others.

  • Take remedial action against WTE plants: NGT

    National Green Tribunal has directed Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to take remedial action against the three waste-to-energy plants in Ghazipur, Okhla and Narela-Bawana.

    Waste to Energy:

    • Waste to Energy or Waste to Power is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity and heat from the primary treatment of waste.

    Methods for waste to Power generation:

    1. Thermal technologies:

    • Incineration:
      • It is the most common and popular method for waste to energy generation.
      • The organics from the waste collected are burnt at high temperatures.
    • Gasification: Produces combustible gas, hydrogen, synthetic fuels
    • Thermal depolymerization: Produces synthetic crude oil, which can be further refined
    • Pyrolysis: Produces combustible tar/bio-oil and chars
    • Plasma arc gasification or plasma gasification process (PGP): Produces rich syngas including hydrogen and carbon monoxide usable for fuel cells or generating electricity to drive the plasma arch.

    2. Non-thermal technologies:

    • Anaerobic digestion: Biogas rich in methane
    • Fermentation production: Examples are ethanol, lactic acid, hydrogen
    • Mechanical biological treatment: Combines a sorting facility with a form of biological treatment such as composting.

    Advantages of WTE plants:

    • Decreases quantity of waste
    • Efficient waste management
    • Production of heat and power
    • Reduction of pollution
    • Incinerators have filters for trapping pollutants
    • Saves on transportation of waste
    • Provides better control over odour and noise
    • Prevents the production of methane gas

    Challenges for India:

    • Lack of general awareness on waste management
    • Unsegregated waste
    • High moisture content
    • Unorganized sector
    • High wear and tear of equipment due to foreign materials
    • Only electricity demand
    • Cycle Efficiency is low
    • Lack of enforcement of rules / regulations
    • Lack of Transparency in plant management
    • Lack of adequate waste disposal cost
    • Lack of customization of plant and machinery to suit Indian condition

  • Bustard Poaching in Pakistan

    The recent shooting of two Great Indian Bustards (GIBs) in Pakistan’s Cholistan desert has left wildlife activists in Rajasthan shocked and outraged.

    Great Indian Bustards

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

    Why in news?

    • The GIB, which is the state bird of Rajasthan, is considered India’s most critically endangered bird.
    • It is one of the most critically threatened species in India, with less than 150 birds left in the wild.

    Try this PYQ:

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

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

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

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

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

  • La Soufriere volcanic eruption

    Sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions from La Soufriere volcano eruption in the Caribbean have reached all the way to India.

    Why in news?

    • Its eruption has sparked fear of increased pollution levels in the northern parts of India and acid rain.
    • Volcanic plumes can cause aviation and air quality hazards.

    La Soufriere

    • It is an active stratovolcano on the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
    • It is the highest peak in Saint Vincent and has had five recorded explosive eruptions since 1718.

    Impact of such eruptions

    • Volcanic emissions reaching the stratosphere can have a cooling effect on global temperatures.
    • The most significant climate impacts from volcanic injections into the stratosphere come from the conversion of sulphur dioxide to sulphuric acid, which condenses rapidly in the stratosphere to form fine sulphate aerosols.
    • The aerosols increase the reflection of radiation from the Sun back into space, cooling the Earth’s lower atmosphere or troposphere.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Which of the following adds/add carbon dioxide to the carbon cycle on the planet Earth?

    1. Volcanic action
    2. Respiration
    3. Photosynthesis
    4. Decay of organic matter

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 and 3 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 1, 2 and 4 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

  • Indian Rhino Vision 2020

    The ambitious Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (IRV 2020) came to a close with the release of two rhinos — an adult male and a female — in Assam’s Manas National Park transported from Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary about 185 km east.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Recently there was a proposal to translocate some of the lions from their natural habitat in Gujarat to which one of the following sites?

    (a) Corbett National Park

    (b) Kuno Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary

    (c) Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary

    (d) Sariska National Park

    What is IRV 2020?

    • In 2005, conservationists, alongside the Bodoland Territorial Council and the Government of Assam, came together to develop a long-term strategy to manage the species.
    • Their vision was ambitious; to build a 3,000-strong wild population of Greater one-horned rhinos by 2020, spread across seven sites in the state of Assam.
    • Thus the “Indian Rhino Vision 2020” (IRV2020) was born.

    Success of the IRV

    • Designed in 2005, the IRV2020 is believed to have achieved its target of attaining a population of 3,000 rhinos in Assam.
    • But the plan to spread the Rhinoceros unicornis across four protected areas beyond Kaziranga National Park, Orang National Park and Pobitora could not materialise.
    • Assam had at least five rhino-bearing areas till the 1980s.
    • Manas, in focus for the near-extinction of the pygmy hog, lost the World Heritage Site tag it received in 1985 along with Kaziranga from the UNESCO.
    • The translocated rhinos helped Manas National Park get back its World Heritage Site status in 2011.

  • Places in news: Thwaites Glacier

    The melting of Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier – also called the “Doomsday Glacier”– has long been a cause of concern because of its high potential of speeding up the global sea-level rise happening due to climate change.

    Thwaites Glacier

    • Called the Thwaites Glacier, it is 120 km wide at its broadest, fast-moving, and melting fast over the years.
    • Because of its size (1.9 lakh square km), it contains enough water to raise the world sea level by more than half a meter.
    • Studies have found the amount of ice flowing out of it has nearly doubled over the past 30 years.
    • Thwaites’s melting already contributes 4% to global sea-level rise each year. It is estimated that it would collapse into the sea in 200-900 years.
    • Thwaites is important for Antarctica as it slows the ice behind it from freely flowing into the ocean. Because of the risk it faces — and poses — Thwaites is often called the Doomsday Glacier.

    What have previous studies said?

    • A 2019 study by New York University had discovered a fast-growing cavity in the glacier. Then last year, researchers detected warm water at a vital point below the glacier.
    • The study reported water at just two degrees above freezing point at Thwaites’s “grounding zone” or “grounding line”.
    • The grounding line is the place below a glacier at which the ice transitions between resting fully on bedrock and floating on the ocean as an ice shelf.
    • The location of the line is a pointer to the rate of retreat of a glacier.
    • When glaciers melt and lose weight, they float off the land where they used to be situated. When this happens, the grounding line retreats.
    • That exposes more of a glacier’s underside to seawater, increasing the melting rate resulting in the glacier speeding up, stretching out, and thinning, causing the grounding line to retreat ever further.

    What has the new study revealed?

    • The recent Gothenburg study used an uncrewed submarine to go under the Thwaites glacier front to make observations.
    • The submersible called “Ran” measured among other things the strength, temperature, salinity and oxygen content of the ocean currents that go under the glacier.
    • There is a deep connection to the east through which deepwater flows from Pine Island Bay, a connection that was previously thought to be blocked by an underwater ridge.

    Why this is a cause of worry?

    • The warm water is approaching the pinning points of the glacier from all sides, impacting these locations where the ice is connected to the seabed and where the ice sheet finds stability.
    • This has the potential to make things worse for Thwaites, whose ice shelf is already retreating.

  • Indus and Ganges river dolphins are two different species

    Detailed analysis of South Asian river dolphins has revealed that the Indus and Ganges River dolphins are not one, but two separate species.

    About Gangetic Dolphin

    • The Gangetic river system is home to a vast variety of aquatic life, including the Gangetic dolphin (Platanista gangetica).
    • It is one of five species of river dolphin found around the world.
    • It is found mainly in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems.
    • An adult dolphin could weigh between 70 kg and 90 kg. The breeding season of the Gangetic dolphin extends from January to June.
    • They feed on several species of fishes, invertebrates etc.

    Indus Dolphin is the divergent specie

    • Currently, they are classified as two subspecies under Platanista gangetica. The study estimates that Indus and Ganges river dolphins may have diverged around 550,000 years ago.
    • The international team studied body growth, skull morphology, tooth counts, colouration and genetic makeup and published the findings last month in Marine Mammal Science.

    Conservation status

    • The Indus and Ganges River dolphins are both classified as ‘Endangered’ species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
    • It is the national aquatic animal and had been granted non-human personhood status by the government in 2017.
    • It is also protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972).
    • Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary (VGDS) in Bihar is India’s only sanctuary for the Gangetic dolphin.
    • It has been categorised as endangered on the Red List of Threatened Species by the IUCN
    • Physical barriers such as dams and barrages created across the river, the declining river flows reduced the gene flow to a great extent making the species vulnerable.