Current Affairs Question - 31 July 2020

Explanation :

• The Union government on July 28, 2020, launched the Green-Ag Project in Mizoram, to reduce emissions from agriculture and ensure sustainable agricultural practices.
• Other states where the project will be implemented include Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Uttarakhand.

About the Project

• It is funded by the Global Environment Facility, while the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation, and Farmers’ Welfare (DAC&FW) is the national executing agency.
• Other key players involved in its implementation are Food and Agricultre Organization (FAO) and the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
• The project seeks to integrate biodiversity, climate change and sustainable land management objectives and practices into Indian agriculture.
• The pilot project is supposed to end on March 31, 2026, in all states.

Targets to Achieve

• Achieve multiple global environmental benefits in at least 1.8 million hectares (ha) of land in five landscapes, with mixed land use systems.
• Bring at least 104,070 ha of farms under sustainable land and water management.
• Ensure 49 million Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq) sequestered or reduced through sustainable land use and agricultural practices.

Explanation :

• Located in the Amaravati district of Maharashtra,Melaghat Tiger Reserve is on the southern offshoot of the Satpura Hill Range in Central India, called Gavilgarh Hill.
• The Tapti Riverand the Gawilgadh ridge of the Satpura Range forms the boundaries of the reserve.
• Melghat means 'meeting of the ghats', which describes the area as a large tract of unending hills and ravines scarred by jagged cliffs and steep climbs.
• It was declared a tiger reserve in 1974. It was among the first nine tiger reserves notified in 1973-74 under Project Tiger.
• It was the first tiger reserve of Maharashtra.
• The forest is tropical dry deciduous in nature, dominated by teak (Tectonagrandis).
• The reserve is a catchment area for five major rivers: the Khandu, Khapra, Sipna, Gadga and Dolar. All these rivers are tributaries of river Tapti.
• The main fauna found here are Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, sloth bear, Ussuri dhole, Indian jackal, sambar, gaur, barking deer, nilgai, chital, chausingha, ratel, flying squirrel, wild boar, langur, rhesus monkey, porcupine, pangolin, mouse deer, python, otter, and blacknaped hare.