Current News for Prelims Environment,Geography & Climate Change

Three of India’s natural WHS face threat

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/pollution/Three-of-Indias-natural-world-heritage-sites-face-threat-from-harmful-activity-WWF/articleshow/51794852.cms

India’s three major natural World Heritage Sites – the Western Ghats, Sundarbans National Park and Manas Wildlife Sanctuary – are facing threats from harmful industrial activities like mining, according to a the survey ‘Protecting People Through Nature’ by World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

What’s affecting them?

While ecology of Western Ghats covering six states – Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala – is threatened by mining and oil and gas exploration, Manas Wild Life Sanctuary faces threat from dams and unsustainable water use.

• Sundarbans in West Bengal and neighbouring Bangladesh have been hit by various activities including unsustainable water use, dams, wood harvesting, over-fishing and shipping lanes.

Way ahead:

These iconic places face a range of threats, including climate change. Removing pressure from harmful industrial activity is therefore critical to increase the sites’ resilience.

Significance of world heritage sites:

• World Heritage sites are not just important environmentally, they also provide social and economic benefits.
• Two-thirds of natural sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List are crucial sources of water and about half help prevent natural disasters such as floods or landslides.
• WWF survey estimates that “11 million people – more than the population of Portugal – depend directly on World Heritage sites for food, water, shelter and medicine. Harmful industrial development poses a threat to these ecosystem services and communities that depend on them.”

UNESCO world heritage site:

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as of special cultural or physical significance.

• The list is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 UNESCO member states which are elected by the General Assembly.
• Each World Heritage Site remains part of the legal territory of the state wherein the site is located and UNESCO considers it in the interest of the international community to preserve each site.
• The List of recorded sites on the World Heritage now stands at 981 which include both cultural and natural wonders.
• Italy is home to the greatest number of World Heritage Sites with 50 sites.
  

Heat wave warning for Telangana

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/heat-wave-warning-for-telangana/article8468407.ece

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a heat wave warning for the next two days for Telangana.

• It has warned that heat wave conditions were likely to prevail over parts of Hyderabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Rangareddy, Khammam and Nalgonda districts.
• According to IMD, the State would have day temperatures hovering between 40 degree Celsius and 45 degree Celsius.

Heat Wave:

A heat wave is a combination of temperture and humidity for a prolonged period. It is an extended period of very high summer temperture with the potential to adversely affect communities.

• High temperture are often accompanied by high humidity, that the body cannot tolerate are defined as extreme heat. A heat wave is a very dangerous situation and major threat to lives.
• According to IMD, Heat Wave occurs when temperatures are greater than 4.5 degree Celsius above what’s usual for the region.

South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=138834

The Union Cabinet has given its nod for India adopting the statute of the South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN) which will help in checking cross border wildlife crimes.

• The approval allows the country to become a formal member of SAWEN in order to strengthen ties with the member countries in controlling the trans-boundary wildlife crime through communication, coordination, collaboration, capacity building and cooperation in the region.

What is SAWEN?

SAWEN is a regional network comprises eight countries in South Asia –Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

• It aims at working as a strong regional intergovernmental body for combating wildlife crimes by attempting common goals and approaches for combating illegal trade in the region.

Significance of SAWEN:

The South Asia region is very vulnerable to illegal traffic and wildlife crimes due to presence of precious biodiversity and large markets as well as traffic routes for wildlife products in the region. The collaboration in harmonising as well as enforcing the wildlife protection in the region is considered very important for effective conservation of biodiversity.

How will this statute benefit India?

Now, India along with other member countries will take initiatives to bring “harmonisation and standardisation” in laws and policies to conserve fauna and flora and will also document the trend of poaching, illegal trade and related threats to the natural biodiversity.

• This will also strengthen institutional responses to combat wildlife crime by promoting research and information sharing, training and capacity building, technical support, sharing experiences and outreach and to encourage member countries to prepare and implement their national action plans in curbing wildlife crime.

Cabinet approves changes in bill on afforestation

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/developmental-issues/Cabinet-approves-changes-in-bill-on-afforestation/articleshow/51910214.cms

Details:

• The legislation will ensure expeditious utilisation of accumulated unspent amounts available with the ad hoc Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), which is currently around `40,000 crore, and fresh accrual of compensatory levies and interest on accumulated unspent balance, which will be of the order of approximately `6,000 crore per annum, in an efficient and transparent manner.
• Apart from facilitating timely execution of appropriate measures to mitigate impact of diversion of forest land, utilisation of these amounts will also result in creation of productive assets and generation of huge employment opportunities in the rural areas, especially the backward tribal areas.
• The amendments include deleting some of environmental services for which credible model to assess their monetary value does not exist while it also provides for prior consultation with states for making a rule under it. The amendments provide for use of monies realised from the user agencies in lieu for forest land diverted in protected areas for voluntary relocation from protected areas.

About the Bill:

The CAMPA Bill is meant to promote afforestation and regeneration activities to compensate for forest land diverted to non-forest uses, by regulating and managing $5.3 billion (almost Rs.350 billion) collected over years.

• The union government in April 2015 approved the bill for introduction in parliament. However, it was rejected in theRajya Sabha, where the government is in minority.
• The bill basically envisages the establishment of a national Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) and state CAFs to credit amounts collected by state governments and Union territory administrations to compensate for the loss of forest land to non-forest projects.

NGT halts Tawang hydro-power project

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/bird-hit-ngt-halts-tawang-hydro-power-project/article8506412.ece

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has suspended the Union Environment Ministry’s clearance for the Rs. 6,400-crore hydro power project in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh. The clearance by the centre was granted in 2012.

Why?

This move was particularly aimed at protecting the vulnerable black-necked crane in the region.

Background:

The project was planned on the Nyamjang Chhu river and was the largest of 13 hydro power projects to be built in the Tawang basin.

About the species:

• Black-necked crane is a species that breeds on the Tibetan plateau and migrates to Tawang for the winter.
• The bird, most commonly found in China, is legally protected in Bhutan and Indiaand is considered sacred to certain Buddhist traditions.
• It is rated as ‘vulnerable’ in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list of endangered species.
• It is also listed in India’s Wildlife Act as a Schedule 1 species, which gives animals and birds the highest legal protection.

Other species that are found in the region include the red panda, the snow leopard and the Arunachal macaque Macaca munzala, a recently-described primate species in the area.

Primate species new to India discovered in Arunachal Pradesh.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/rare-primate-sighted-in-arunachal-pradesh/article8510529.ece

A new primate species in India has been discovered by a team of biologists and wildlife photographers during their bird watching trip to Arunachal Pradesh’s Anjaw district.

• With this, White Cheeked Macaque has become a new primate species in India.

Details:

• The White Cheeked Macaque, hitherto unknown in India, was actually spotted by the team last year, but it took almost a year to confirm.
• The White Cheeked Macaque differs considerably from all macaque species such as Raesus Macaque, Arunachal Macaque, Tibetan macaque and Assamese macaque.
• It has relatively hairless short tail, long and thick hair on its neck and chin-whiskers creating a white cheek, among other characteristics.
• White-cheeked macaques are threatened by illegal hunting and potential habitat loss.