Indian Forest & Wood Certification Scheme

Indian Forest & Wood Certification Scheme was recently launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change that aims to promote sustainable forest management and agroforestry.

• Indian Forest & Wood Certification scheme offers voluntary third-party certification designed to promote sustainable forest management and agroforestry in the country.
• The scheme includes forest management certification, tree outside forest management certification and chain of custody certification.
• It can provide market incentives to various entities that adhere to responsible forest management and agroforestry practices in their operations.
• This includes state forest departments, individual farmers, or Farmer Producer Organizations engaged in agroforestry and farm forestry, as well as other wood-based industries in the value chain.
• It is an initiative of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
• It will be overseen by the Indian Forest and Wood Certification Council, which will act as a multi-stakeholder advisory body.
• The Council is represented by members from eminent institutions that includes
  • Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education,
  • Forest Survey of India and Quality Council of India,
  • Indian Institute of Forest Management,
  • State Forest Departments and Forest Development Corporations and
  • Representatives from wood-based industries.
• Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal will act as the scheme operating agency and will be responsible for overall management of the Indian Forest and Wood Certification Scheme.
• The National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies under the Quality Council of India will accredit the certification bodies.
• The certification bodies will carry out independent audits and assess adherence of various entities on the standards prescribed under the scheme.
• The Forest Management certification is based on the Indian Forest Management Standard.
• The Indian Forest Management Standard consists of 8 criteria, 69 indicators and 254 verifiers, which is an integral part of the National Working Plan Code 2023.

Global River Cities Alliance (GRCA)

Global River Cities Alliance, an India led initiative was recently launched at the COP 28.

• Global River Cities Alliance (GRCA) is a nine-nation alliance led by India which was launched at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai.
• The 9 nations includes India, Denmark, Cambodia, Japan, Bhutan, Australia, Netherlands, Egypt and Ghana.
• The alliance calls for new river planning, that emphasise the need to mainstream rivers in urban planning without a regulatory mind-set.
• The GRCA was inspired by India's River Cities Alliance (RCA).
• River Cities Alliance is an initiative of Namami Gange programme.
• The National Mission for Clean Ganga and Urban Affairs ministry’s National Institute for Urban Affairs (NIUA), will take on the role of the Secretariat of the GRCA.
• Multi-lateral funding agencies such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank have also pledged their support for the GRCA initiative.

Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA)

The text on the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) was recently introduced by the COP28 Presidency.

• Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) is meant to serve as a unifying framework that can drive political action and finance for adaptation on the same scale as mitigation.
• It was proposed by the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) in 2013 and established in 2015 under Paris agreement.
• An effective GGA framework should define a clear set of targets and indicators to guide national efforts on adaptation and resilience, with a focus on strengthening and tracking adaptation action and support.
• At COP28, negotiators will work to finalize and implement the GGA, a task which was originally delegated to the Adaptation Committee (AC) and the Least Developed Countries Expert Group (LEG) in 2015.
• The GlaSS programme is expected to conclude at COP28 with an annual report.
• The new paragraphs in the text of GGA in COP 28 includes:
  1. A commitment to close the adaptation gap.
  2. Removal of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC).

Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformation

The Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformation was recently launched at the COP 28 to transform food systems to deliver better outcomes for people, nature and the climate.

• Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformation is a coalition of vanguard countries united by a shared ambition to transform food systems to deliver better outcomes for people, nature and the climate.
• The 5 alliance member countries includes Brazil, Cambodia, Norway, Sierra Leone and Rwanda.
• India is not part of Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformation.
• Brazil, Norway and Sierra Leone will jointly Co-Chair the Alliance.
• The alliance members must agree to update their NDCs and national climate adaptation and biodiversity strategies to integrate these food system efforts by 2025.
• The alliance countries should report annually on progress towards their goals.
• It focuses on delivering universal access to affordable, nutritious and sustainable diets.
• It is independent from formal multilateral processes, but will work in support of the COP28 Presidency objectives around food systems transformation.
• The Alliance members are committed to driving systemic change, taking a ‘whole of government’ approach and inspiring others to go further, faster to deliver better outcomes for people, nature and climate.

Taiga Flycatchers

Taiga Flycatchers, migratory bird was recently for the first spotted at Ernakulam, Kerala.

• The taiga flycatcher or red-throated flycatcher (Ficedula albicilla ) is a migratory bird in the family Muscicapidae.
• Taiga Flycatchers hail from the region between eastern Russia (Eastern Europe) and eastern Siberia (Kamchatka province).
• They are migratory birds which cannot be found in large numbers unlike other migratory birds.
• They are rarely spotted in northern parts of India.
• They are also found in southern Nepal, northeast India, Bangladesh, Southeast Asia and southeast China during the winter.
• Its natural habitat is taiga forest and it is a rare vagrant to Western Europe.