UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 16-12-2020

Indian Bison

• An Indian Bison, or Gaur, in Pune’s urban landscape died due to human-animal conflict.
• It is mainly found in South and Southeast Asia.
• In India, the Gaur is mainly found in Western Ghats, the forests of central India and forest patches in the Northeast.
• It has been listed as ‘Vulnerable’ since 1986 on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• It is listed in Appendix I of the CITES.

TWG Meeting on Chabahar Port

• The first Trilateral Working Group Meeting between India, Iran and Uzbekistan on the joint use of Chabahar Port was held virtually.
• The participants discussed joint use of Chabahar Port for trade and transit purposes and enhanced regional connectivity.
• India has proposed to hold "Chabahar Day” on the sidelines of the International Maritime Summit to be hosted by India in January 2021.
• To know more about the Chabahar Port, click here.

Pink Phenomenon

• In Avalapandi, a village in Kerala, an aquatic plant forked fanwort has painted the water bodies pink, which led to the ‘pink phenomenon’.
• This plant comes from the family of Red Cabomba (Cabomba furcata).
• Cabomba is a submerged perennial aquatic plant that grows in stagnant to slow-flowing freshwater.
• It is an invasive species that belongs to Central and South America.
• It requires a huge amount of oxygen to grow and that could badly affect freshwater biodiversity.
• It has a high natural dispersal potential due to its ability to readily fragment and spread.

Invasive Species

• Invasive alien species are any biological species that are introduced outside their natural range.
• They would negatively impact the native biodiversity, ecosystem function, health and human welfare.
• They could reproduce rapidly and out-compete the native species for food, water and space.
• They are the second-biggest cause for biodiversity loss, next to habitat destruction.

Himalayan Griffon Vulture

• It is a migratory bird species native to Himalayas, has been spotted in Point Calimere wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.
• It is usually found in the high-altitude regions.
• Their originate from Himalayan Chain and Plateau of Tibet
• The IUCN status of the bird is Near threatened.
• It is listed in Appendix II of the CITES.

CSE Coal Analysis

• According to Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), coal will continue to be the mainstay of India’s power generation till at least 2030.
• But efforts must be made to ensure that it is used efficiently to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
• Improving fleet technology and efficiency, propagating biomass co-firing and investing in carbon capture and storage are among the measures, among others, that could help cut GHG emissions by 22%.

Biomass co-firing

• It is a globally accepted low-cost method for decarbonising a coal fleet.
• It is an option for efficiently and cleanly converting biomass to electricity by adding biomass as a partial substitute fuel in high-efficiency coal boilers.

Source: AIR, The Indian Express, Down To Earth, Times of India