UPSC Environment Ecology Prelims National Parks

2021-07-18 16:32:02 #Environment_Organisations

National Ganga River Basin Authority:

Constituted in 2009 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. It is a body for planning, coordinating and financing for both centre and state.

The main functions include:

Conservation and reduction of pollution in the Ganga River and using comprehensive planning and management.

Development of the river basin is the core approach for management. All the activities and measure are aimed at reducing pollution and relevant to river ecology.

Management of minimum ecology flow. Infrastructures like sewerage, catchment area and protection against flood.

Investigation and research project for improving the quality of water and creating public awareness to use water conservation practices.

Monitor and review of all the programmes and activities. Open / Comment

2021-07-18 15:30:10 CORAL BLEACHING

When corals face stress by changes in conditions such as temperature, light, or nutrients, they expel the symbiotic algae zooxanthellae living in their tissues, causing them to turn completely white. This phenomenon is called coral bleaching.

The pale white colour is of the translucent tissues of calcium carbonate which are visible due to the loss of pigment producing zooxanthellae.

Coral bleaching is known to be responsible for killing approximately 18% of the world’s coral reefs. Open / Comment

2021-07-17 16:32:02 #Tiger_Riserves_India

#Mangroves_forests

Sundarban Tiger Reserve

Covering a massive area of 2585 sq km, Sunderban is home to the much acclaimed Royal Bengal tiger. It also houses a large number of highly endangered species that include aquatic mammals and reptiles.

This tiger reserve has numerous creeks and tributaries that come from three rivers namely Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna.

A UNESCO world heritage site, this tiger reserve is located at the southern most tip of West Bengal, the place where the wetland meets the glorious sea.

Apart from being the largest tiger reserve and National Park in the Indian Subcontinent, it also has the largest mangrove forest and has an unique estuarine mangrove ecosystem that has amazed environmentalists to a great extent.

Unlike other National Park and Tiger Reserves in India where jeeps and roads serve for sightseeing purposes, Sunderbans uses boats for transportation and sightseeing. Open / Comment

2021-07-17 15:30:08 WHAT IS AN ECOREGION?

WWF defines an Ecoregion as a ‘large unit of land or water containing a geographically distinct assemblage of species, natural communities, and environmental conditions.’

Biodiversity is not spread evenly across the Earth, but follows complex patterns determined by climate, geology, and the evolutionary history of the planet.

These patterns are called ‘Ecoregions’. The boundaries of an Ecoregion are not fixed and sharp, but rather encompass an area within which important ecological, and evolutionary processes most strongly interact.

Developed by WWF scientists, in collaboration with regional experts around the world, the Global Ecoregions is a science-based global ranking of the Earth’s most biologically outstanding terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats. Open / Comment

2021-07-16 15:30:04 New life at Assam’s Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary

It has the highest concentration of one-horned rhinos in the world and is often called ‘Mini Kaziranga’ due to similar landscape and vegetation.

Pobitora is popularly known as ‘miniature Kaziranga’ for its highest density of one horned rhino in Assam.

It is situated in the flood plains of River Brahmaputra in the district of Morigaon and 45 kms from Guwahati.

Once the grazing reserve of erstwhile Nagaon district, Pobitora came into limelight during 1961-62 for the presence of one horned rhino (Rhinoceros Unicornis). Open / Comment

2021-07-15 15:30:09 Arctic Ocean-National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR)

What?-

An autonomous Research and Development Institution of the Ministry of Earth Sciences in 1998 to carry out research activities in the polar and Southern Ocean realms

Responsible for maintenance of the Indian stations in Antarctica (Maitri & Bharati) and Arctic (Himadri) Open / Comment

2021-07-14 15:30:02 #Geography #Environment

Illegal sand mining

Context : (NGT) has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to take remedial action- against illegal sand mining in a “submerged water area” in Hamirpur district

What is Sand mining?

Extraction of sand-mainly through an open pit -mined from beaches and inland dunes or dredged from ocean and river beds.

Beach sand may contain garnet, leucoxene, sillimanite, and monazite.Sand mining presents opportunities to extract rutile, ilmenite, and zircon.

Sand mining is the world’s largest mining endeavour, responsible for 85 percent of all mineral extraction.

Negative impact?

Disturbance of underwater and coastal sand
It can also destroy fisheries,
Can alter the river bed Open / Comment

2021-07-13 15:30:00 1. India needs to amplify public spending in Health care from 1% of GDP to 3% of GDP — as per ES2019-20 + same has also envisaged in National Health policy 2017

2. Why India needs to increase public health expenditure ?
Because WHO report says that India has high out-of-pocket expenditure on health as compared to global average.

3. Hence, to tackle the double challenge of increased public spending + maintaining fiscal prudence —> we need additional sources of financing.

4. Solution —> ECO TAX RATE

5. currently, India's approach is command & control towards tackling pollution but eco tax that is in commensuration with social cost arising from the negative externalities is better option.

6. in the end, we can take example from European countries, which shows that this additional tax has no impact on the GD. Open / Comment

2021-07-12 15:30:01 Great Hornbill

Hornbills are large & wide-ranging birds. India has nine hornbill species, of which four are found in the Western Ghats.

Great hornbills are found in the forests of India, Bhutan, Nepal, Mainland Southeast Asia, the Indonesian Island of Sumatra, and the Northeastern region of India.

Great Hornbills, among the largest birds in Asian tropical rainforests, depend on large trees for nesting and a diverse array of patchily distributed fruiting trees. The nesting cycle ranges from seven to eight nests varied between 114 and 130 days. For this purpose, it needs large trees for both food requirements and protection.

Great hornbill calls are loud and aggressive, especially to send an alarm to the flock when they spot birds of prey. It's a reflex behavior that has been nurtured in great hornbill species owing to their gregarious nature and protective parenting. Open / Comment

2021-07-11 15:30:06 CAMPOS

The Savanna grasslands of southern Brazil are known as Campos.

The Campos are characterized by grassland and woodland.

The trees are widely spaced.

These grasslands have park like appearance.

Fire is a frequent occurrence in these grasslands.

The Campos are rich in fauna and flora and they are increasingly brought under cultivation. Open / Comment