Current Affair 1:

A Landmark report on extinction in Amazon

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More than 10,000 species of plants and animals are at high risk of extinction due to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest – 35% of which has already been deforested or degraded, according to the draft of a landmark scientific report published recently.

Few important points of report:

• According to the report, the soil and vegetation of the Amazon hold about 200 billion tonnes of carbon, more than five times the whole world’s annual CO2 emissions.
• Furthermore, the continued destruction caused by human interference in the Amazon puts more than 8,000 endemic plants and 2,300 animals at high risk of extinction.
• Of its original size, 18% of the Amazon basin has already been deforested, according to the report – mostly for agriculture and illegal timber. Another 17% has been degraded.

About Amazon:

This picture is very important.

 

Much of the Amazon could be on the verge of losing its distinct nature and switching from a closed canopy rainforest to an open savannah with far fewer trees due to the chronic stresses of deforestation and climate change.

 

Why they are saying Savannah?

A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. See Savannah biome below:

Current Affair 2:

National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)

National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) was registered as a society on 12th August 2011 under the Societies Registration Act 1860. It acted as implementation arm of National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) which was constituted under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act (EPA),1986.

But, NGRBA has since been dissolved, consequent to constitution of National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga (referred as National Ganga Council).

So, from now,

National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga = National Ganga Council).  NO CONFUSION.

So, now we will study National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga. We go through all provisions of the River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order, 2016.  See below. Everything will be clear.

Function of Empowered Committee: The Empowered Task Force on River Ganga shall co-ordinate and advise on matters relating to rejuvenation, protection and management of River Ganga and its tributaries.

There are also provisions of State Ganga Committees and District Ganga Committees in every specified district.

Current Affair 3:

Climate change could spark floods in world’s largest desert lake

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The report was released by UNEP.

The report found that over the next 20 years, climate change could likely lead to heavier rains over Lake Turkana’s River inflows, which would raise water levels in the lake itself and increase the likelihood of severe flooding.

The study urged officials in Kenya and Ethiopia, which both border Lake Turkana, to prepare for a future in which once-rare floods, such as those that hit the region in 2019 and 2020, are regular occurrences.

Lake Turkana, the world’s largest desert lake, is part of the Omo-Turkana basin, which stretches into four countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda. The basin is home to many rare plants and animals.   Since 1988, Ethiopia has built a series of hydroelectric dams on its main tributary, the Omo River, leading to predictions of Lake Turkana’s demise.

Current Affair 4:

Permanent Court of Arbitration

 

The PCA was established by the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, concluded at The Hague in 1899 during the first Hague Peace Conference. The Conference had been convened at the initiative of Czar Nicolas II of Russia “with the object of seeking the most objective means of ensuring to all peoples the benefits of a real and lasting peace, and above all, of limiting the progressive development of existing armaments.”

It is an intergovernmental organization providing a variety of dispute resolution services to the international community.

The PCA provides administrative support in international arbitrations involving various combinations of states, state entities, international organizations and private parties. The PCA has experience in administering international arbitrations concerning disputes arising out of treaties, including bilateral investment treaties and multilateral treaties, and other instruments. The PCA also plays an important role under the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Rules.

Current Affair 5:

Rainforests Explained

 

Found on every continent except Antarctica, rainforests are ecosystems filled with mostly evergreen trees that typically receive high amounts of rainfall. Tropical rainforests are found near the equator, with high average temperatures and humidity, while temperate rainforests lie mostly in coastal, mountainous areas within the mid-latitudes.

A rainforest is typically made up of four key layers: emergent, upper canopy, understory, and forest floor. In the top emergent layer, trees as tall as 200 feet (60 meters) grow far apart and tall, their branches reaching above the canopy. The upper canopy, a deep layer of vegetation roughly 20 feet (6 meters) thick, houses most of the rainforest's animal species and forms a roof that blocks most light from reaching below.   Below the canopy, the understory is a low-light layer dominated by shorter plants with broad leaves, such as palms and philodendrons. On the dark forest floor, few plants are able to grow and decaying matter from the upper layers is prevalent, feeding the roots of the trees.

 

Rainforests are often partly self-watering. Plants release water into the atmosphere through a process called transpiration. The moisture helps create the thick cloud cover that hangs over most rainforests. Even when it's not raining, these clouds keep the rainforest humid and warm.

Rainforest benefits

When we lose rainforests, we lose an important natural resource. Tropical rainforests are centers of biodiversity, holding an estimated half of the world’s plants and animals, many of which have yet to be catalogued (some scientists estimate that it’s two-thirds of the world's plants). Rainforests produce, store, and filter water, protecting against soil erosion, floods, and drought.

Many of the plants found in rainforests are being used to make medicine, including anti-cancer drugs, along with beauty products and foods. One drug under development for treating HIV, Calanolide A, is derived from a tree discovered on Malaysian Borneo.

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