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Subject: Geography

  • Cyclone Mandous makes landfall in Tamil Nadu

    mandous

    Cyclone Mandous crossed the north Tamil Nadu coast with fierce winds and heavy downpour.

    Cyclone Mandous

    • ‘Mandous’ was a name submitted by WMO member United Arab Emirates and is pronounced as ‘Man-Dous.’
    • It means ‘treasure box’ in Arabic.

    What are Tropical Cyclones?

    • A tropical cyclone is an intense circular storm that originates over warm tropical oceans and is characterized by low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and heavy rain.
    • Cyclones are formed over slightly warm ocean waters. The temperature of the top layer of the sea, up to a depth of about 60 meters, need to be at least 28°C to support the formation of a cyclone.
    • This explains why the April-May and October-December periods are conducive for cyclones.
    • Then, the low level of air above the waters needs to have an ‘anticlockwise’ rotation (in the northern hemisphere; clockwise in the southern hemisphere).
    • During these periods, there is an ITCZ in the Bay of Bengal whose southern boundary experiences winds from west to east, while the northern boundary has winds flowing east to west.
    • Once formed, cyclones in this area usually move northwest. As it travels over the sea, the cyclone gathers more moist air from the warm sea which adds to its heft.

    Requirements for a Cyclone to form

    There are six main requirements for tropical cyclogenesis:

    • Sufficiently warm sea surface temperatures
    • Atmospheric instability
    • High humidity in the lower to middle levels of the troposphere
    • Enough Coriolis force to develop a low-pressure centre
    • A pre-existing low-level focus or disturbance
    • Low vertical wind shear

    How are the cyclones named?

    • In 2000, a group of nations called WMO/ESCAP (World Meteorological Organisation/United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) decided to name cyclones.
    • It comprised Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand, decided to start naming cyclones in the region.
    • After each country sent in suggestions, the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones (PTC) finalized the list.
    • The WMO/ESCAP expanded to include five more countries in 2018 — Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

    Basics

    Cyclones

    • The atmospheric disturbances which involve a closed circulation of air around a low pressure at the center and high pressure at the periphery, rotating anti-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere (due to the Coriolis force) are called “cyclones”.

    Cyclones are broadly classified into two types based on the latitudes of their origin-

    • Tropical cyclones
    • Temperate/Extra-tropical cyclones

    Tropical Cyclones

    • Tropical cyclones develop in the region between the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer. These are violent storms that originate over oceans in tropical areas and move on to the coastal regions bringing large-scale destruction caused by violent winds, very heavy rainfall and storm surges. These cyclones are one of the most devastating natural calamities.
    • Tropical cyclones mostly move along with the direction of trade winds, so they travel from east to west and make landfall on the eastern coasts of the continents.
    • Tropical cyclones are known by different names depending on the regions of the world. They are known as Hurricanes in the Atlantic, Typhoons in the Western Pacific and South China Sea, Willy-willies in Western Australia and Cyclones in the Indian Ocean.

    Temperate Cyclones/Extra-Tropical Cyclones

    • It occurs between 30°-60° latitude in both hemispheres (in between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic circle in the northern hemisphere and in between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle in the southern hemisphere).
    • These cyclones move with the westerlies and are therefore oriented from west to east.

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  • Mauna Loa: Hawaii’s biggest Volcano set to erupt

    mauna

    Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano has erupted after 38 years, spewing ash and debris, and covering the sky of Hawaii’s Big Island.

    Where is Mauna Loa?

    mauna

    • Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that together make up the Big Island of Hawaii (biggest being the Mauna Kea).
    • It is the southernmost island in the Hawaiian archipelago.
    • It’s not the tallest (that title goes to) but it’s the largest and makes up about half of the island’s land mass.
    • It sits immediately north of Kilauea volcano, which is currently erupting from its summit crater.

    Do you know?

    Any volcano that has erupted within the Holocene period (in the last 11,650 years) is considered to be “active” by scientists. “Dormant” volcanoes are those active volcanoes which are not in the process of erupting currently, but have the potential to do so in the future.

    Why do volcanoes erupt?

    • The deeper one goes under the surface of the Earth towards its core, the hotter it gets.
    • The geothermal gradient, the amount that the Earth’s temperature increases with depth, indicates heat flowing from the Earth’s warm interior to its surface.
    • At a certain depth, the heat is such that it melts rocks and creates what geologists call ‘magma’.
    • Magma is lighter than solid rock and hence it rises, collecting in magma chambers.
    • Chambers that have the potential to cause volcanic eruptions are found at a relatively shallow depth, between six to ten km under the surface.
    • As magma builds up in these chambers, it forces its way up through cracks and fissures in Earth’s crust. This is what we call a volcanic eruption.
    • The magma that surfaces on the Earth’s crust is referred to as lava.

    Why is the eruption of Mauna Loa so explosive?

    • Eruptions vary in intensity and explosiveness, depending on the composition of the magma.
    • In simple terms, runny magma makes for less explosive volcanic eruptions that typically are less dangerous.
    • Since the magma is runny, gasses are able to escape, leading to a steady but relatively gentle flow of lava out of the mouth of the volcano.
    • The eruption at Mauna Loa is of this kind. Since the lava flows out at a slow pace, people typically have enough time to move out of the way
    • . Geologists are also able to predict the flow of the lava depending on the incline and exact consistency it has.

    How is vulcanism measured?

    • The Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) is a scale used to measure the explosivity of a volcano.
    • It has a range of 1 to 8 with a higher VEI indicating more explosivity.
    • While the VEI of the current eruption at Mauna Loa is not known yet, the previous eruption in 1984 was deemed to have a VEI of 0.

     

    Also read about the Pacific Ring of Fire.

     

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  • Places in news: Shiveluch Volcano

    shiveluch

    The Shiveluch volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East has increased its activity and is now in danger of erupting violently.

    About Shiveluch

    • Shiveluch is one of the largest and most active volcanoes in Kamchatka, having erupted at least 60 times in the past 10,000 years.
    • Kamchatka is home to 29 active volcanoes, part of a vast belt of Earth known as the “Ring of Fire” which circles the Pacific Ocean and is prone to eruptions and frequent earthquakes.
    • It has two main parts: Old Shiveluch, which tops 3,283 metres (10,771 ft), and Young Shiveluch – a smaller, 2,800-metre peak protruding from its side.
    • Young Shiveluch lies within an ancient caldera – a large crater-like basin that likely formed when the older part underwent a catastrophic eruption at least 10,000 years ago.
    • It is this part that has become extremely active; the lava dome continues to grow and that stronger “fumarole activity” has been observed.

     

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  • Places in news: Sahel Region

    sahel

    French President Emmanuel Macron announced the end of the decade-long Operation Barkhane in Africa’s Sahel Region.

    Note the nations falling in Sahel Region.

    Sahel Region

    • The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition in Africa between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south.
    • Having a semi-arid climate, it stretches across the south-central latitudes of Northern Africa between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea.
    • The name is derived from the Arabic term for “coast, shore”; this is explained as being used in a figurative sense in reference to the southern edge of the vast Sahara.
    • The Sahel part includes from west to east parts of northern Senegal, southern Mauritania, central Mali, northern Burkina Faso, the extreme south of Algeria, Niger, the extreme north of Nigeria, the extreme north of Cameroon and the Central African Republic, central Chad, central and southern Sudan, the extreme north of South Sudan, Eritrea and the extreme north of Ethiopia.

    What is Operation Barkhane?

    • France began its military operations in Sahel in January 2013.
    • Titled Operation Serval, it was limited to targeting Islamic extremists linked to al-Qaeda who took control of northern Mali.
    • However, in 2014, the mission was scaled up, renamed Operation Barkhane and was aimed at counter-terrorism.
    • The objective was to assist local armed forces to prevent the resurgence of non-state armed groups across the Sahel region.
    • Around 4,500 French personnel were deployed with the local joint counter-terrorism force.

     

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  • Groundwater Extraction Lowest in 18 years

    groundwater

    Groundwater extraction in India saw an 18-year decline, according to an assessment by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB).

    What is Groundwater?

    groundwater

    • Groundwater is the water found underground in the cracks and spaces in soil, sand and rock.
    • It is stored in and moves slowly through geologic formations of soil, sand and rocks called aquifers.
    • Aquifers are typically made up of gravel, sand, sandstone, or fractured rock, like limestone.
    • Water can move through these materials because they have large connected spaces that make them permeable.
    • Aquifers, hand-dug wells, and artesian wells are different types of sources of groundwater.

    Declining trend of groundwater extraction

    • The total annual groundwater recharge for the entire country is 437.6 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2022.
    • However the extraction for entire country is only 239.16 bcm, according to the 2022 CGWB report.
    • By comparison, an assessment in 2020 found that the annual groundwater recharge was 436 bcm and extraction 245 bcm.
    • The 2022 assessment suggests that groundwater extraction is the lowest since 2004, when it was 231 bcm.

    Implications of the CGWB report

    • A detailed analysis of the assessment indicates increase in ground water recharge.
    • This is mainly attributed to:
    1. Increase in recharge from canal seepage,
    2. Return flow of irrigation water and
    3. Recharges from water bodies/tanks & water conservation structures.

    Significance of groundwater

    • Groundwater supplies drinking water to a sizeable population in India and almost 99% of the rural population.
    • It helps grow our food. 64% of groundwater is used for irrigation to grow crops.
    • It is an important component in many industrial processes.
    • It is a source of recharge for lakes, rivers, and wetlands.

    Why discuss this?

    • Depletion: People face serious water shortages because groundwater is used faster than it is naturally replenished.
    • Contamination: In other areas groundwater is polluted by human activities.

    Reasons for Depletion

    • Increased demand for water for domestic, industrial and agricultural needs and limited surface water resources lead to the over-exploitation of groundwater resources.
    • Limited storage facilities owing to the hard rock terrain, along with the added disadvantage of lack of rainfall, especially in central Indian states.
    • Green Revolution enabled water-intensive crops to be grown in drought-prone/ water deficit regions, leading to over-extraction of groundwater.
    • Frequent pumping of water from the ground without waiting for its replenishment leads to quick depletion.
    • Subsidies on electricity and high MSP for water-intensive crops is also leading reasons for depletion.
    • Inadequate regulation of groundwater laws encourages the exhaustion of groundwater resources without any penalty.
    • Deforestation, unscientific methods of agriculture, chemical effluents from industries, and lack of sanitation also lead to pollution of groundwater, making it unusable.
    • Natural causes include uneven rainfall and climate change that are hindering the process of groundwater recharge.

    Impact of groundwater depletion

    • Lowering of the water table: Groundwater depletion may lower the water table leading to difficulty in extracting groundwater for usage.
    • Reduction of water in streams and lakes: A substantial amount of the water flowing in rivers comes from seepage of groundwater into the streambed. Depletion of groundwater levels may reduce water flow in such streams.
    • Subsidence of land: Groundwater often provides support to the soil. When this balance is altered by taking out the water, the soil collapses, compacts, and drops leading to subsidence of land.
    • Increased cost for water extraction: As the depleting groundwater levels lower the water table, the user has to delve deep to extract water. This will increase the cost of water extraction.

    Regulation of Groundwater in India

    (1) Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA)

    • It has the mandate of regulating ground water development and management in the country.
    • It is constituted under the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986.
    • CGWA issues advisories, public notices and grant No Objection Certificates (NOC) for ground water withdrawal.

    (2) National Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme (NAQUIM)

    • The NAQUIM is an initiative of the Ministry of Jal Shakti for mapping and managing the entire aquifer systems in the country.
    • It maintains the Hydrological Map of India.

    (3) Atal Bhujal Yojana 

    • It is a Central Sector Scheme, for sustainable management of groundwater resources with community participation in water-stressed blocks.

    Way Forward

    • Routine survey: There should be regular assessment of groundwater levels to ensure that adequate data is available for formulating policies and devising new techniques.
    • Assessment of land use pattern: Studies should be carried out to assess land use and the proportion of agricultural land falling under overt-exploited units.
    • Changes in farming methods: To improve the water table in those areas where it is being overused, on-farm water management techniques and improved irrigation methods should be adopted.
    • Reforms in power supply subsidies: The agricultural power-pricing structure needs to be revamped as the flat rate of electricity adversely affects the use of groundwater.
    • Monitoring extraction: There should be a policy in place to monitor the excessive exploitation of groundwater resources to ensure long-term sustainability.

     

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  • What is Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA)?

    pdna

    Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) is now being done simultaneously in Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha and Meghalaya.

    Why in news?

    • PDNA is now being used to evaluate the financial and social cost of local disasters in eight states in India.
    • These states all experienced severe flooding in the last few months.
    • The results of these assessments are likely to come out next month.

    What is PDNA?

    • PDNA is an internationally accepted methodology for determining the physical damages, economic losses, and costs of meeting recovery needs after a natural disaster through a government-led process.
    • It is an international framework for assessing losses and damages in the aftermath of a disaster.
    • The framework helps get recovery and reconstruction efforts right following a disaster.
    • Globally, of the 55 PDNAs conducted worldwide since 2008, only two droughts — one in Malawi and the other Marshall Islands in 2016 — were of slow-onset disasters.

    Components of PDNA

    • PDNA includes a calculation of the disaster’s impact on Gross Domestic Product, the balance of payment and fiscal budget.
    • Secondly, how this affects the flow of revenue to multiple sectors is evaluated.
    • For example, the number of farmers’ income affected per damaged acre of land and the livelihoods lost.
    • Overall, a quantitative assessment is additionally done on the social and environmental impact of the disaster.

    History of PDNA in India

    • This is not the first time PDNA has been conducted in India.
    • It was first adopted during the Kerala floods of 2018 and again during the cyclone in Odisha in 2019, both unprecedented disasters.
    • Until now, the assessment was only limited to massive disasters that required international funding from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the United Nations.

    15th Finance Commission provision

    • The 15th finance commission report of 2021, for the first time, made a provision for recovery and reconstruction in the national disaster management budget, which is at the core of the PDNA.
    • The states did not receive international funding to do the current ongoing PDNAs, as they are expected to take the money from the budget.

     

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  • What are Eclipses?

    eclipse

    India recently witnessed a partial solar eclipse. Let’s take a look over all dynamics of Eclipses.

    What are Eclipses?

    • An eclipse takes place when one heavenly body such as a moon or planet moves into the shadow of another heavenly body.
    • There are two types of eclipses on Earth: an eclipse of the Moon and an eclipse of the Sun.

    [I] A Lunar Eclipse

    eclipse

    • The moon moves in an orbit around Earth, and at the same time, Earth orbits the sun. Sometimes Earth moves between the sun and the moon.
    • When this happens, Earth blocks the sunlight that normally is reflected by the moon. (This sunlight is what causes the moon to shine.)
    • Instead of light hitting the moon’s surface, Earth’s shadow falls on it. This is an eclipse of the moon — a lunar eclipse.
    • A lunar eclipse can occur only when the moon is full. (But not every full moon is also a lunar eclipse. Can you guess why?)

    Observing a Lunar Eclipse

    • A lunar eclipse can be seen from Earth at night.
    • A lunar eclipse usually lasts for a few hours.
    • At least two partial lunar eclipses happen every year, but total lunar eclipses are rare.

    There are two types of lunar eclipses: total lunar eclipses and partial lunar eclipses.

    • A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon and the sun are on exact opposite sides of Earth. Although the moon is in Earth’s shadow, some sunlight reaches the moon.  The sunlight passes through Earth’s atmosphere, which causes Earth’s atmosphere to filter out most of the blue light. This makes the moon appear red to people on Earth.
    • A partial lunar eclipse happens when only a part of the moon enters Earth’s shadow. In a partial eclipse, Earth’s shadow appears very dark on the side of the moon facing Earth. What people see from Earth during a partial lunar eclipse depends on how the sun, Earth and moon are lined up.
    • In a penumbral lunar eclipse, only the more diffuse outer shadow of Earth – the penumbra – falls on the moon’s face. This third kind of lunar eclipse is much more subtle, and much more difficult to observe than either a total or partial eclipse of the moon.

    [II] A Solar Eclipse

    eclipse

    • Sometimes when the moon orbits Earth, it moves between the sun and Earth.
    • When this happens, the moon blocks the light of the sun from reaching Earth.
    • This causes an eclipse of the sun or solar eclipse.
    • During a solar eclipse, the moon casts a shadow onto Earth.

    There are three types of solar eclipses.

    The first is a Total Solar Eclipse

    • A total solar eclipse is only visible from a small area on Earth.
    • The people who see the total eclipse are in the centre of the moon’s shadow when it hits Earth.
    • The sky becomes very dark as if it were night. For a total eclipse to take place, the sun, moon and Earth must be in a direct line.

    The second type is a Partial Solar Eclipse

    • This happens when the sun, moon and Earth are not exactly lined up.
    • The sun appears to have a dark shadow on only a small part of its surface.

    The third type is an Annular Solar Eclipse

    • An annular eclipse happens when the moon is farthest from Earth. Because the moon is farther away from Earth, it seems smaller. It does not block the entire view of the sun. The moon in front of the sun looks like a dark disk on top of a larger sun-coloured disk. This creates what looks like a ring around the moon.
    • During a solar eclipse, the moon casts two shadows on Earth. The first shadow is called the Umbra. This shadow gets smaller as it reaches Earth. It is the dark centre of the moon’s shadow.
    • The second shadow is called the Penumbra. The penumbra gets larger as it reaches Earth. People standing in the penumbra will see a partial eclipse. People standing in the umbra will see a total eclipse.

    Observing a Solar Eclipse

    • Solar eclipses happen once every 18 months.
    • Unlike lunar eclipses, solar eclipses only last for a few minutes.

    Why don’t solar eclipses happen at every New Moon?

    • The reason is that the Moon’s orbit tilts 5° to Earth’s orbit around the Sun.
    • Astronomers call the two intersections of these paths nodes.
    • Eclipses only occur when the Sun lies at one node and the Moon is at its New (for solar eclipses) or Full (for lunar eclipses) phase.
    • During most (lunar) months, the Sun lies either above or below one of the nodes, and no eclipse happens.

    [III] Planet Transits

    • When a planet comes between Earth and the Sun, it is called a transit.
    • The only 2 planets that can be seen transiting the Sun from Earth are Venus and Mercury because they are the only planets that orbit inside Earth’s orbit.
    • From 2000–2199, there will be 14 transits of Mercury.
    • However, Venus transits are even rarer with only 2 this century, in 2004 and 2012.

     

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  • Urban Challenge, Problems and Solutions

    Context

    • After flooding of major metropolitan cities of Bengaluru, Gurgaon and Delhi following heavy rainfall, the Centre has pointed to two cities – Davanagere and Agartala – as successful examples of cities that have curbed urban flooding.

    Why cities are  so important in India?

    • Drivers of Growth: Urbanisation has played and will continue to play a critical role in India’s growth story in the 21st century.
    • Cities are seen as GDP multipliers: By some estimates, Indian cities already contribute up to 70% of the country’s GDP. Yet, depending on which official estimates you use, India is just 26% or 31% urban. But there is growing evidence that India is more urban than is officially recognized.
    • Cities have more productivity: Well-functioning and diverse cities allow for the sharing and cross-pollination of ideas, which in turn drive greater productivity.

    Urban

    What are the Urban challenges?

    • Lack of Planning: current urban planning policies and practice have led to suboptimal use of land in Indian cities. This has multiple consequences. There is not enough floor space for accommodating migrants in search of economic opportunities; they make space for themselves in informal settlements. There is also not enough land in the public domain for developing adequate open spaces or augmenting infrastructure capacities.
    • Lack of Housing:The pandemic revealed that the cities’ economies rely on migrant populations in the formal and informal sectors. Workers in both markets move from rural to urban and urban to urban areas as they find better opportunities; they are mobile and need adequate rental options. Today, in most Indian cities, this demand is not met and leads to unaffordable options, pushing the poorer sections out to slums and other informal settlements.
    • Lack of Transport: Indian cities are infamous for their road congestion; three of them rank in the 10 most congested in the world according to the 2020 TomTom Travel Index with Mumbai ranking second. The existing public transportation systems are already overcrowded and of poor quality.
    • Lack of Public health: Like other health crises, the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the need to ensure adequate healthcare services and sanitation infrastructure for a healthy population in cities. In the initial months of the outbreak, the focus of health services shifted entirely towards addressing the novel coronavirus, leaving other health issues unaddressed and shutting down routine care services.
    • Impact on Environment: The causes for low air quality are multiple; vehicular movement and on-road congestion are major contributors. A safe and clean environment is key to good public health.
    • Problems faced by vulnerable sections: The economic shock and work from home guidelines changed migration patterns; workers in cities returned to their home towns and villages. Slum dwellers, with limited access to adequate infrastructure, and migrant workers, disenfranchised from social protection systems or daily wagers, were more vulnerable to this shock. In the medium and long term, it is difficult to predict what the job market will be in cities.

    Urban

    What can be done to address the urban challenges?

    • Future planning is necessary: Manage the spatial growth of cities and allow them to build more planned road networks for future horizontal expansion and revoke faulty policies that constrain the use of floor space to build vertically.
    • Housing for all scheme is important: Focus on providing public housing for the poor; India can learn from successful models in Singapore or Hong Kong and understand the strategic challenges of other international examples such as Mexico. India can also work toenable efficient rental markets
    • Holistic transport should be focused: Integrate formal and informal modes of transportation into holistic transportation strategies to ensure seamless mobility, as well as first and last mile connectivity.
    • Increasing funds to Cities: Decentralise fiscal powers to the local level and train city authorities so that they can make more strategic decisions in health expenditures or public health infrastructure, as well as gain the capacity to raise their own resources.
    • Need of a healthy Environment: Increase the number of open spaces in the public domain, maintain them and monitor their use. Prepare for disasters with robust framework of physical infrastructures, road networks and large open spaces. Build adequate infrastructure to support the sustainable development of emerging Tier-2 and Tier 3 towns.
    • More attention to vulnerable: Develop more systematic identification mechanisms of the urban poor to ameliorate the delivery of public services and social protection. Collect accurate data on migrant population and capture their socio-economic diversity to better address their needs. Monitor access to services, housing and jobs of the vulnerable communities in real time.

    Urban

    Conclusion

    • Urban infrastructure is crumbling day by day. In the next 25 years, cities will have more population than rural areas. Indian cities need urgent reform in order to unlock their economic potential and transform quality of life.

    Mains Question

    Q.Discuss the urban infrastructure challenges? What are the governments scheme and actions to address the urbanization challenges?

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  • Stressed ecology of Bay of Bengal

    Bay of BengalContext

    • At the fourth BIMSTEC summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the opening of the Centre for Bay of Bengal Studies (CBS) at Nalanda University. The launch of the CBS has once again demonstrated India’s commitment to advancing constructive agendas by forging connections and setting up platforms for all those with an interest in the of Bay of Benagl.

    Bay of BengalWhy Bay of Bengal is so important?

    • Commerce hub: The Bay has long been a major commerce hub for the Indian Ocean. It created a conduit between the East and the West in terms for trade and culture.
    • Emerging arena of maritime warfare: An Indo-Pacific orientation and the realignment of global economic and military power towards Asia have had a considerable impact on the Bay region.
    • Communication and Energy: The key sea lanes of communication in this area are lifelines for global economic security and are crucial to the energy security that powers the economies of many countries in the region.Further, non-traditional dangers including terrorism and climate change have become more prevalent.
    • Under water resources: The Bay also provides an opportunity for greater regional cooperation in the environmentally friendly exploration of marine and energy resources. The Bay has a biodiverse marine environment.
    • Fresh water resources: It receives the water from some of the world’s largest rivers. It is a partially enclosed sea that has given rise to several geological characteristics.
    • Ecology: It is home to many rare and endangered marine species and mangroves, which are essential to the survival of the ecology and the fishing sector.

    Bay of BengalWhy ecology in the region is under threat?

    The region’s maritime environment has changed as are result of major powers expanding their economic and geopolitical influence.

    • Competition: Political and cultural engagement, together with economic competition, have taken on new dimensions. More crucially, the Bay’s ecosystem is going through an unprecedented crisis brought on by widespread environmental exploitation and geopolitical unrest.
    • Resource exploitation: Species extinction is a result of careless exploitation of the maritime environment, which has severe consequences on biodiversity. Problems such as population growth, altered land use, excessive resource exploitation, salinity, sea level rise, and climate change are exerting significant strain on the Bay’s environment.
    • Water pollution: Operational discharge from small and medium feeder ships, shipping collisions, unintentional oil spills, industrial waste, pollution, and the accumulation of non- biodegradable plastic litter are all contributing to the deterioration of the Bay.
    • Declining ecology: A dead-zone has formed, and the mangrove trees that protect the shore from the fury of nature are under more threat than ever.

    What could be the Solutions?

    For a better knowledge of challenges, and strategies to overcome them for the sustainable development of the region, more focused and inter-disciplinary study is required on these issues.

    • Centre for Bay of Bengal studies: By founding the CBS, Nalanda University has already started its journey and given the nation a unique interdisciplinary research centre devoted to Bay focused teaching, research, and capacity building. Additionally, scholars from many countries and academic streams are already participating in CBS’s first certificate programme on the Bay.
    • Inter-governmental cooperation: It is essential that nautical neighbours develop a partnership and cooperate because of the maritime domain’s interrelated and interdependent nature, transnational character, and cross-jurisdictional engagement of various governments and diverse organisations and enterprises.
    • Maritime connectivity: A few concerns that need immediate attention include expanding cooperation in maritime safety and security, enhancing cooperation on maritime connectivity and the ease of maritime transit, and boosting investment possibilities in the maritime connectivity sector.
    • Illegal activities: The latter subject involves addressing non-traditional threats and fostering group efforts to reduce illicit, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
    • Data sharing: Standardising and harmonising data reporting.
    • Balanced approach: Furthermore regional marine entities should strive to balance opportunities and goals on a national, regional, and international scale.
    • Investment in R&D: Littoral governments need to support and promote skill-building, research, and training.

    Conclusion

    • Countries in the Bay of Bengal need to mobilise investments, manage maritime affairs more effectively. Alternative lifestyle should be explored. The cooperation of all member states, for information gathering, sharing and result oriented actions is crucial in protecting the ecology of Bay of Bengal.

    Mains Question

    Q.Countries in the Indian subcontinent are developing rapidly, putting serious stress on the environment of the Bay of Bengal.Mention the challenges and suggest solutions.

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  • Transboundary Flood Disasters

    Transboundary Flood Disasters

    Context

    • Pakistan experiencing devastation, with a spread of diseases and severe shortage of potable water after intense flooding. In June this year Assam experienced one of its worst floods in which it affected over 30 districts. Assam and Bihar frequently suffer from transboundary flood disasters.

    What is transboundary flood?

    • Floods that are originate in upper riparian state crosses the international boundary and also affects the lower riparian state. For example, river Brahmaputra causes flood both in China and India simultaneously.

    Transboundary Flood DisastersHow the transboundary floods are difficult to manage than normal floods?

    • Flooding is still considered to be a natural phenomenon that cannot be entirely prevented. But it is compounded by the lack of transparency in the sharing of hydrological information and also information relating to activities (such as by one riparian state) that are transboundary in their effect (affecting other riparian states), thus serving as an obstacle in understanding the magnitude of flooding.

    Transboundary Flood DisastersWhat is a riparian state?

    • A riparian state is state (or country) located alongside a river.

    What are the International laws governing transboundary waters?

    There are at two international treaties that governs the transboundary water

    • UNWC:
    • United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Use of International Watercourses (UNWC) 1997.UNWC contains a direct reference to floods, which covers harmful conditions and the emergency situations.
    • Article 27 of the Convention says, Watercourse States shall individually and, where appropriate, jointly, take all appropriate measures to prevent or mitigate conditions that may be harmful to other watercourse States, whether resulting from natural causes or human conduct or desertification.
    • Environmental Impact Assessment:
    • The International Court of Justice (ICJ), in the Pulp Mills on the River Uruguay (Argentina vs Uruguay) case of 2010, upheld that conducting a transboundary environmental impact assessment (TEIA) of a planned measure or projects on the shared water course is part of customary international law.
    • In fact, the ICJ noted that the acting state must notify the affected party of the results of TEIA for assessment of its own damages that are likely to occur.
    • UNECE: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes 1992 (Water Convention).

    Transboundary Flood DisastersHow India manages transboundary flood?

    • Note:Neither India nor China are signatory to UNWC or UNCEC.
    • River Brahmaputra: India has signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China in 2013 with a view to sharing hydrological information during the flood season (June to September). The MoU does not allow India access to urbanisation and deforestation activities on the Chinese side of the river basin.
    • Rivers Gandak and kosi: Floods are also a recurrent problem in the Kosi and Gandak river basins that are shared by India and Nepal.
    • The India-Nepal Kosi agreement 1954: Agreement aimed at reducing devastating flooding in the river basin. The treaty-based joint bodies have also tried to refine the early warning systems for flood forecasting.

    What are the suggestions?

    • Signing the treaty: Expert suggests, India by becoming a party to either the UNWC and the Water Convention could lay the groundwork for a bilateral treaty on the Brahmaputra but subject to the reservation that it should not insist on the insertion of a dispute settlement mechanism provision.
    • Information exchange: In contravention of procedural customary international law obligation, India considers data on transboundary rivers as classified information, which is one of the key challenges in developing cross-border flood warning systems. India needs to share the hydrological and river information for its own sake.

    Conclusion

    • Climate change has accelerated the frequency and intensity of floods across the world. with Changing climate India should also change its strategy to protect its people, to preserve the soil and to save its resources from the scourge of floods.

    Mains Questions

    Q.Climate change has created a more difficult challenge in flood management. In this context, what measures can be taken to deal with frequent transboundary floods in India. Discuss.

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