Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• Community reserves in India are terms denoting protected areas of India which typically act as buffer zones to or connectors and migration corridors between established national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserved and protected forests of India.
• Such areas are designated as conservation areas if they are uninhabited and completely owned by the Government of India but used for subsistence by communities and community areas if part of the lands is privately owned.
• These protected area categories were first introduced in the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act of 2002 − the amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
• These categories were added because of reduced protection in and around existing or proposed protected areas due to private ownership of land, and land use.
• These categories roughly correspond to IUCN Category V (conservation reserves) and VI (community reserves) protected areas.
• Keshopur Chamb, Gurdaspur (Punjab) is India's first community reserve.

Explanation :

• The Malabar large-spotted civet (Viverra civettina), also known as the Malabar civet, is a viverrid endemic to the Western Ghats of India.
• It has a dark mark on the cheek, large transverse dark marks on the back and sides, and two obliquely transverse dark lines on the neck.
• These dark marks are more pronounced than in the large Indian civet.

Distribution

• In the 19th century, the Malabar civet occurred throughout the Malabar coast from the latitude of Honnavar to Kanyakumari.
• It inhabited the forests and richly wooded lowland, and was occasionally found on elevated forest tracts.
• It was considered abundant in Travancore.

Threats

• Until a few decades ago, local merchants in Kerala reared Malabar civets to obtain civetone, an extract from the scent gland, which was used in medicine, and as an aromatic.

Conservation Status

• IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered.
• Wildlife (Protection) Act,1972: Schedule I
• CITES: Appendix III

Explanation :

• The Sundarbans National Park is a national park, tiger reserve, and biosphere reserve in West Bengal, India.
• It is part of the Sundarbans on the Ganges Delta, and adjacent to the Sundarban Reserve Forest in Bangladesh.
• The present Sundarban National Park was declared as the core area of Sundarban Tiger Reserve in 1973 and a wildlife sanctuary in 1977.
• On 4 May 1984 it was declared a national park.
• It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1987, and it has been designated as a Ramsar site since 2019.
• It is considered as a World Network of Biosphere Reserve (Man and Biosphere Reserve) from 1989.
• Sundarban has achieved its name from the Sundari tree.
• The endangered species that lives within the Sundarbans are royal Bengal tiger, saltwater crocodile, olive ridley turtle, hawksbill turtle and mangrove horseshoe crab.
• It is also home to a large number of “rare and globally threatened species, such as the critically endangered northern river terrapin (Batagur baska), the endangered Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), and the vulnerable fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus).
• Two of the world’s four horseshoe crab species and eight of India’s 12 species of kingfisher are also found here.

Explanation :

• The red panda (Ailurusfulgens) is the only living member of the genus Ailurus and the family Ailuridae. It is also called the lesser panda, the red bear-cat, and the red cat-bear.
• It is arboreal and feeds mainly on bamboo, but also eats eggs, birds, and insects. It is a solitary animal, mainly active from dusk to dawn, and is largely sedentary during the day.
• It is endemic to the temperate forests of the Himalayas, and ranges from the foothills of western Nepal to China in the east.
• In India, it is found in Sikkim, western Arunachal Pradesh, Darjeeling district of West Bengal and parts of Meghalaya.
• It is also the state animal of Sikkim.
• Listed as Endangered in the IUCN red list of Threatened Species and under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the red panda has the highest legal protection at par with other threatened species.

Explanation :

• The Punjab and Haryana High Court has declared Sukhna Lake(Chandigarh) as a living entity.
• The court invoked its parenspatriae jurisdiction to declare the lake as a ‘legal entity’ for its survival, preservation and conservation having a distinct persona with corresponding rights, duties and liabilities of a living person.

About Sukhna Lake

• It is a rain-fed lake, located within Chandigarh and its catchment area falls both in Punjab and Haryana.
• The lake was constructed in 1958 and is spread over 3 sq km.
• An area of 2 km to 2.75 km around the lake has been declared as an eco-sensitive zone by the Chandigarh Administration.
• All activities in this area fall under provisions of the Environment Protection Act.

Explanation :

• Three Indian species –the mainland Asian elephant, Great Indian Bustard and the Bengal Florican were selected for priority bio-diversity conservation at the United Nations summit for conservation of migratory species of wild animals.
• All the three animals were included in the ‘Appendix I’ of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of wild animals (CMS). The announcement was made at the 13th Conference of Parties (COP) of the CMS being hosted by India, in Gandhinagar, Gujarat from February 17-22, 2020.

Significance

• Inclusion in the 'Appendix I’ is for ‘migratory species threatened with extinction’ would lead to push for greater habitat protection, prohibition against poaching and facilitation of their movement in the regions and countries that are part of these species ranges.

Explanation :

• Pangolins or scaly anteaters are mammals of the order Pholidota (from the Greek word- horny scale). Thesehave large, protective keratin scales covering their skin; they are the only known mammals with this feature
• Pangolins eat ants, termites and larvae and are often known as "the scaly anteater." Because they have no teeth, pangolins pick up food with their sticky tongues, which can sometimes reach lengths greater than the animal’s body.
• There are eight species of pangolins. Four are found is Asia—Chinese, Sunda, Indian, and Philippine pangolins—and they're listed by the IUCN as critically endangered.
• The four African species—the ground pangolin, giant pangolin, white-bellied, and black-bellied—are listed as vulnerable.

Ecological Significance

• Pangolins are known as the guardians of the forest because they protect forests from termite destruction, maintaining a balanced ecosystem.

Explanation :

• Recently, Kerala government made announced to impose a ban on the sale of compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) and incandescent (filament) bulbs starting November, 2020.
• The announcement is in line with the government project of ‘Filament-free Kerala’ envisaged in 2018 as part of the state’s Urja Kerala mission.
• The project is also part of the long-term sustainable energy policy of the government to reduce the dependence on conventional energy sources and instead maximise potential on renewable sources like solar and hydel power.

Reason

• LED bulbs are energy-efficient than filament or CFL bulbs and will, therefore, generate less waste. Also, filament bulbs contain the mercury element which, when broken, is polluting in nature.

Explanation :

• The Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) is smaller and paler than the African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus). It has more fur everywhere on the body, espeically on the back of the neck and the belly, a smaller head and longer neck, the Asian species usually have red eyes and they have a more cat-like appearance, while on the other hand the African cheetah looks like a panther.
• The Asiatic cheetah is constantly said to be a different animal and sub-species than the African cheetah in genetic composition.
• The Asiatic cheetah is listed as critically endangered species while the African Cheetah is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.
• In the 2015 update of the IUCN Red List, the Asiatic cheetah is considered regionally extinct in Iraq, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. At present however, the Asiatic cheetah is believed only to survive in isolated parts of Iran.

Explanation :

• Mineral Accretion Technology, also known as Biorock Technology, is a method that applies safe, low voltage electrical currents through seawater, causing dissolved minerals to crystallize on structures, growing into a white limestone similar to that which naturally makes up coral reefs and tropical white sand beaches.
• Mineral accretion devices utilize a well-known process called electrolysis, which is also used for other applications such as plating metals, removing rust, creating hydrogen batteries, and more.
• The advantages corals gain from mineral accretion are cancelled if they no longer receive current, at which point weeds will overgrow the corals. If the current is maintained, coral reefs can often be restored even in areas where water quality would prevent their recovery by any other method.

Advantage

• This technique has been shown to greatly increase the settlement, healing, growth and survival of corals and to enable resistance in corals, intertidal salt marsh grasses and coral forming marine organisms to stresses such as extreme high temperatures, sedimentation, and eutrophication.