Prelim Bits 06-02-2024 | UPSC Daily Current Affairs

Hindu Kush Himalaya

ICIMOD experts call for urgent finance to prevent collapse of nature in High Mountain Asia in a recent meeting at Kathmandu.

High Mountain Asia comprises of mountain ranges such as the Tian Shan, Kunlun Shan, Pamir, Karakoram, Hindu Kush, the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. Mountains cover 22% of Earth’s land surface but hold 50% of the world’s global biodiversity hotspots.

• Geography – It stretches 3,500 kms and spans 8 countries, is home to most of the snow and ice on Earth outside the poles.
• It is located in Kathmandu (capital of Nepal).
• Importance – It comprises 4 biodiversity hotspots out of the world’s 36 global biodiversity hotspots, 2 of the global 200 eco regions, 575 Protected Areas, 335 important bird areas.
• Still 85% of mountain communities remain dependent on this biodiversity, for food, water, flood control and cultural identity.

Water Tower of Asia – Hindu Kush Himalayas

It provides clean water for a third of the world’s population. At least 12 rivers fan out across the Asian continent from it.

• Biodiversity on the brink – 70% of the original biodiversity has been lost over the last century.
• It is estimated to be warming at nearly 2 times the average rate of warming in the Northern Hemisphere.
• 241 million people live in the HKH region, of whom 31% are food-insecure and 50% of whom face some form of malnutrition.

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), a regional intergovernmental organization established in 1983 to make Hindu Kush Himalaya region greener, more inclusive and climate resilient.

Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), an independent intergovernmental body established in 2012 for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. UNEP provides secretariat services to it.

References

1. Down To Earth| Hindu Kush Himalayas is Deteriorating
2. ICIMOD| Hindu Kush Himalayas

Conservation Reserve

The Telangana Forest Department moots conservation reserve in Tadoba-Kawal tiger corridor.

The proposed conservation reserve comprises areas of tiger corridor between the Tadoba-Andhrari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra and the Kawal Tiger Reserve in Mancherial district of Telangana State.

• Conservation Reserve – A protected area that act as buffer zones to or connectors and migration corridors between established national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserved forests.
• Aim – To protect landscapes, seascapes, flora and fauna and their habitat.
• Legality – Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act of 2002, the amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
• It is designated by the state government after discussing it with nearby communities.
• Criteria for designation – Uninhabited and completely owned areas of the Government.
• Managed by – Conservation Reserve Management Committee.
  • 1 from each village panchayat.
  • 3 from NGOs and 1 each from the departments of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry.
  • A member-secretary who will be the representative from the Forest or Wildlife wing.
• Coverage – There are 115 existing Conservation Reserves in India covering an area of 5548.75 km2, which is 0.17% of the geographical area of India as of 2023.

The 1^st conservation reserve of India is located near Tiruppadaimarathur in Tamil Nadu.

• Rajasthan has highest number of conservation reserves (36) followed by Jammu and Kashmir as on July, 2023.

Community reserves are protected areas which includes those areas owned by government but part of the lands are also privately owned.

References

1. The Hindu| Conservation Reserve in Tadoba-Kawal tiger corridor
2. ENVIS| Conservation Reserves in India

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Biodiversity Standard

An updated transparency standard to report a global response to the biodiversity crisis has been formed.

• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) – An international independent standards organisation.
• Objective – To assists businesses, governments and other entities in assessing & reporting impacts, driving action and accountability on issues related to climate change, human rights and corruption.
• GRI Secretariat – Amsterdam, the Netherlands and have a network of 7 regional offices.
• Previous standard – GRI 304: Biodiversity 2016.
• GRI 101: Biodiversity 2024 – It updates, expands, and replaces GRI 304: Biodiversity 2016, effect from January 2026.
• Aim – To enable companies to meet the demands of stakeholders for information on biodiversity impacts and to understand the impacts of supply chain and operations.

Over 1 million plant and animal species being pushed towards extinction.

• Document design by – Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), a group of consultants from representative organisations.
• Standards – It mentions location-specific impacts, direct drivers of biodiversity loss, and impacts on communities and Indigenous Peoples among others.
• Significance – It improves transparency on biodiversity impacts.

References

1. Down To Earth| New GRI Biodiversity Standard
2. Global Reporting| GRI

Nagoya Protocol

Recently, Cameroon has adopted the Nagoya Protocol.

Cameroon is a biodiversity hotspot, with an estimated 11,000 plant, animal, and microorganism species. Prunus Africana, a plant endemic to Cameroon, is used to make drugs for prostate cancer.

• Nagoya Protocol – A supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) that came in 1993.
• Adopted in – 2010, in Nagoya, Japan and came into force in 2014.
• Objective – To ensure access of genetic resources and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization, thereby contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
• Coverage – It applies to genetic resources, associated benefits and traditional knowledge (TK) that are covered by the CBD.
• 3 core obligations – On access, benefit sharing and on compliance.
• Importance – It will create greater legal certainty and transparency for both providers and users of genetic resources.
• Both genetic resources and traditional knowledge are valuable for Bioprospecting.

Bioprospecting is the exploration of biological material for new sources of drugs, food or other products which can also help to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity.

• It also helps to protect the rights of indigenous and local communities and promote biodiversity-based innovation and development.

References

1. Down To Earth| Cameroon adopts Nagoya Protocol
2. CBD| Nagoya Protocol

Magnetic Anomaly under Lake Rotorua

Recently, scientists have unveiled a hidden hydrothermal system and a magnetic anomaly beneath the waters of Lake Rotorua.

• Mapping Lake Rotorua's floor, showed a series of eruption craters, traces of an ancient river, and a significant magnetic anomaly in the southern part of the lake.
• Magnetic anomaly – Typically, volcanic rocks exhibit strong positive magnetic responses due to the presence of magnetite.
• But in Lake Rotorua, the hydrothermal fluids have altered the magnetite into pyrite, or fool's gold.
• This results in a reduced magnetic signal.

• Significance of discovery – It confirm for the 1^st time that the hydrothermal activity on the mainland extends into the submerged realm of Lake Rotorua.
• It helps to deepen our understanding of the complex interplay between land, water, and the forces beneath the Earth's crust.

Reference

India Today| Magnetic Anomaly under Lake Rotorua