1)Ice Man of India and Artificial Glacier :-
- Chewang Norphel is an Indian civil engineer from Ladakh, who has built 12 artificial glaciers.He has earned the nickname Ice Man.
- Ladakh is known for its receding glaciers and the people in the region face hardships to obtain water , Norphel came up with an brilliant idea of artificial glacier to store the water longer there by extending the availability of water for longer period .
- Artificial Glaciers:-
- In 1996, Norphel joined the Leh Nutrition Project, a non-governmental organisation, as project manager for watershed development
- Norphel noticed a small stream had frozen solid under the shade of a group of poplar trees, though it flowed freely elsewhere in his yard. He realized the reason for this phenomenon: the flowing water was moving too quickly to freeze, while the sluggish trickle of water beneath the trees was slow enough to freeze. Based on this, he created artificial glaciers by diverting a river into a valley, slowing the stream by constructing checks. The artificial glaciers increase the ground-water recharge, rejuvenating the spring and providing water for irrigation. He constructed them at lower elevations, so that they melt earlier, expanding the growing season.
- The biggest artificial glacier, 1000 ft long and 150 ft wide, with an average depth of 4ft, is situated near the village of Phuktsey. Having cost $2,000, it now provides water for the village of 700 people.Cement water reservoirs of similar capacities typically cost $34,000.
- Documentary :- http://climateheroes.org/portfolio-item/chewang-norphel-ice-mans-dams-himalayas/
2) National Gas Grid and Expansion of Gas Pipeline Project :-
- At present, the country is having about 15,000 kms of natural gas pipeline infrastructure and an additional 15,000 kms of pipeline is required for completion of National Gas Grid.
- GAIL has been appointed as the “Sponsoring Authority” for development of Ranchi-Talcher-Paradip pipeline as a pilot project under PPP mode with Viability Gap Funding.
- Government has taken several steps which inter alia include the following:–
- Intensification of domestic Exploration & Production (E&P) activities through New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) rounds
- Shale Gas Policy framework
- Research and development of Gas Hydrate resources in the country
- Import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from various countries
- Transnational pipelines viz., Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline and Iran-Pakistan-India(IPI) pipeline
- Clearance for exploration and development of some NELP blocks where the same was held up by various agencies
- Exploration in the Mining Lease Area has been allowed with certain conditions
- Acquisition of Overseas Oil and Gas assets is being pursued in order to enhance energy security for the country
3)Bharat Stage Emission Standards :-
News:- Government advances roll out of BS-V and BS-VI norms for 4-wheelers .According to the roadmap earlier laid down by the Auto Fuel Policy, BS-V norms were to be implemented from April 1, 2022 and BS-VI from April 1, 2024.
What is Bharat Stage Emission Standard:-
Bharat stage emission standards are emission standards instituted by the Government of India to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicles. The standards and the timeline for implementation are set by the Central Pollution Control Board under the Ministry of Environment & Forests and climate change.
The standards, based on European regulations were first introduced in 2000. Progressively stringent norms have been rolled out since then. All new vehicles manufactured after the implementation of the norms have to be compliant with the regulations.Since October 2010, Bharat stage III norms have been enforced across the country. In 13 major cities, Bharat stage IV emission norms have been in place since April 2010.
The phasing out of 2 stroke engine for two wheelers, the stoppage of production of Maruti 800 & introduction of electronic controls have been due to the regulations related to vehicular emissions.
While the norms help in bringing down pollution levels, it invariably results in increased vehicle cost due to the improved technology & higher fuel prices. However, this increase in private cost is offset by savings in health costs for the public, as there is lesser amount of disease causing particulate matter and pollution in the air. Exposure to air pollution can lead to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, which is estimated to be the cause for 620,000 early deaths in 2010, and the health cost of air pollution in India has been assessed at 3 per cent of its GDP.
4)Injectable vaccine to prevent re-emergence of polio launched:
- An injectable vaccine to prevent re-emergence of polio was launched today by the government and it will be administered in addition to polio drops to double the protection from the deadly virus, which has chances of coming back.
- The Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) will be introduced in the routine immunization programme of the government to do away with the risk of re-introduction of the disease.
5) eBird: India lists 20 lakh sightings :-
- Bird enthusiasts of India are scripting a popular science record of sorts. Till last month, over 4,000 dedicated volunteer birders have uploaded over 20 lakh bird sightings from India, which has caught even the seasoned ornithologists pleasantly off guard. Birders of all hues and shades are flocking together with their bird sighting data on an electronic platform eBird (www.ebird.org) in a big way.
- According to the site, anyone taking a stroll or even peering from a window can contribute to the careful documentation of nature. eBird is a “platform for birdwatchers” to upload their data and keep track of their sightings.
6)A generation at Risk : The Diabetic Epidemic:-
The Risk:-
- Chronic conditions or non-communicable diseases are virtually lifelong diseases; they can be managed and controlled, but in most cases not cured fully. Examples are diseases of the heart and blood vessels, diabetes, lungs, chronic kidney disease, cancers and arthritis.
- Diabetes has now become a major public health concern especially in India because of several reasons
- Today, over 300 million people live with diabetes. A similar number is at high risk. India has often been referred to as the “diabetes capital of the world” but has now ceded this position to China. According to the International Diabetes Federation, over 66 million people in India live with this metabolic disease; an almost equal number has pre-diabetes which is an immediate precursor to diabetes. The belief is that diabetes is an urban and rich man’s disease but we now know that the annual increase in the numbers of those with diabetes is much higher in the rural areas, poor individuals and those less educated
- Generally, the rise in numbers has been attributed to chaotic urbanisation, an ageing population, reduced physical activity/deskbound lifestyle and a change in diet patterns which includes consuming junk food. Other factors include genetic susceptibility, under-nutrition during foetal and early life and environmental pollutants
- The rapidly changing lifestyle of children is equally important; they are now more sedentary than earlier generations. Most Indians also have abdominal obesity (“pot-belly”) which has a role in the development of diabetes.
- If this continues unchecked, an already overloaded and inefficient health system will run out of solutions. What is needed are prevention and management strategies
The Solution:-
- Public awareness and promotion of healthy diet and way of living is important
- Non-personal policy interventions also play an important role. These include taxation, enabling urban infrastructure development particularly in the new ‘Smart City’ plan, encouraging right agricultural practices and reducing sugar consumption, an increased and daily intake of fruits, vegetables and whole grain-based food and a promotion of physical activity. These are cost-effective and prventive strategies. For example, a 20 per cent increase in taxation on sweetened beverages helped reduce new cases of diabetes by 1.6 per cent over 2014-2023. This means that 400,000 type-2 cases of diabetes can be prevented during the same decade.
- Strengthening health systems at the primary care level is imperative and involves providing low-cost generic drugs, long-term management of the disease with health counselling and a robust surveillance mechanism to study changing trends and progress.
- Here, innovations include developing a cadre of physician assistants to schedule and manage diabetes care, yoga as a lifestyle [improvement] package, self-care apps and innovative use of gaming technologies to improve physical activity.
Questions of the Day
1)Find the incorrect match among the following:-
- Ice Man of India- Chewang Norphel- Ladakh
- Waterman of India – Rajendra Singh- Rajasthan
- Mountain man of India – Dashrath Manjhi – Bihar
- Forest Man of India – Jadav Payeng- Arunachal Pradesh
2)Check the photo and find out the following :-
- What is this Picture ?
- Which kingdom it was related to ?
- Why was it in the recent news ?
3)Find the wrong statement:-
- India has largest no of Diabetic patient in the world
- Diabetes is a lifestyle disease . It also has hereditary implication
- Type-2 Diabetics is most wide spread
- Healthy diet and regular exercise can prevent this disease.
Answers Given By BodhiSatva in Comment sections are correct.
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Recent Posts
- Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition, a collective of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway governments, came up with a $1 billion fund.
- LEAF is supported by transnational corporations (TNCs) like Unilever plc, Amazon.com, Inc, Nestle, Airbnb, Inc as well as Emergent, a US-based non-profit.
- The world lost more than 10 million hectares of primary tropical forest cover last year, an area roughly the size of Switzerland.
- Ending tropical and subtropical forest loss by 2030 is a crucial part of meeting global climate, biodiversity and sustainable development goals. Protecting tropical forests offers one of the biggest opportunities for climate action in the coming decade.
- Tropical forests are massive carbon sinks and by investing in their protection, public and private players are likely to stock up on their carbon credits.
- The LEAF coalition initiative is a step towards concretising the aims and objectives of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism.
- REDD+ was created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It monetised the value of carbon locked up in the tropical forests of most developing countries, thereby propelling these countries to help mitigate climate change.
- It is a unique initiative as it seeks to help developing countries in battling the double-edged sword of development versus ecological commitment.
- The initiative comes at a crucial time. The tropics have lost close to 12.2 million hectares (mha) of tree cover last year according to global estimates released by Global Forest Watch.
- Of this, a loss of 4.2 mha occurred within humid tropical primary forests alone. It should come as no surprise that most of these lost forests were located in the developing countries of Latin America, Africa and South Asia.
- Brazil has fared dismally on the parameter of ‘annual primary forest loss’ among all countries. It has lost 1.7 mha of primary forests that are rich storehouse of carbon. India’s estimated loss in 2020 stands at 20.8 kilo hectares.
- Between 2002-2020, Brazil’s total area of humid primary forest reduced by 7.7 per cent while India’s reduced by 3.4 per cent.
- Although the loss in India is not as drastic as in Brazil, its position is nevertheless precarious. For India, this loss is equivalent to 951 metric tonnes worth carbon dioxide emissions released in the atmosphere.
- It is important to draw comparisons between Brazil and India as both countries have adopted a rather lackadaisical attitude towards deforestation-induced climate change. The Brazilian government hardly did anything to control the massive fires that gutted the Amazon rainforest in 2019.
- It is mostly around May that forest fires peak in India. However, this year India, witnessed massive forest fires in early March in states like Odisha, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram among others.
- The European Union’s Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service claimed that 0.2 metric tonnes of carbon was emitted in the Uttarakhand forest fires.
- Implementation of the LEAF Coalition plan will help pump in fresh rigour among developing countries like India, that are reluctant to recognise the contributions of their forest dwelling populations in mitigating climate change.
- With the deadline for proposal submission fast approaching, India needs to act swiftly on a revised strategy.
- Although India has pledged to carry out its REDD+ commitments, it is impossible to do so without seeking knowledge from its forest dwelling population.
Context:-
At the recently concluded Leaders’ Summit on Climate in April 2021, Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition, a collective of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway governments, came up with a $1 billion fund plan that shall be offered to countries committed to arrest the decline of their tropical forests by 2030.
[wptelegram-join-channel link=”https://t.me/s/upsctree” text=”Join @upsctree on Telegram”]What is LEAF Coalition?
Why LEAF Coalition?
Brazil & India
According to the UN-REDD programme, after the energy sector, deforestation accounts for massive carbon emissions — close to 11 per cent — in the atmosphere. Rapid urbanisation and commercialisation of forest produce are the main causes behind rampant deforestation across tropical forests.
Tribes, Forests and Government
Disregarding climate change as a valid excuse for the fires, Indian government officials were quick to lay the blame for deforestation on activities of forest dwellers and even labelled them “mischievous elements” and “unwanted elements”.
Policy makers around the world have emphasised the role of indigenous tribes and local communities in checking deforestation. These communities depend on forests for their survival as well as livelihood. Hence, they understand the need to protect forests. However, by posing legitimate environmental concerns as obstacles to real development, governments of developing countries swiftly avoid protection of forests and rights of forest dwellers.
For instance, the Government of India has not been forthcoming in recognising the socio-economic, civil, political or even cultural rights of forest dwellers. According to data from the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs in December, 2020 over 55 per cent of this population has still not been granted either individual or community ownership of their lands.
To make matters worse, the government has undertaken systematic and sustained measures to render the landmark Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 ineffective in its implementation. The Act had sought to legitimise claims of forest dwellers on occupied forest land.
Various government decisions have seriously undermined the position of indigenous people within India. These include proposing amendments to the obsolete Indian Forest Act, 1927 that give forest officials the power to take away forest dwellers’ rights and to even use firearms with impunity.
There is also the Supreme Court’s order of February, 2019 directing state governments to evict illegal encroachers of forest land or millions of forest dwellers inhabiting forests since generations as a measure to conserve wildlife. Finally, there is the lack of data on novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) deaths among the forest dwelling population;
Tardy administration, insufficient supervision, apathetic attitude and a lack of political intent defeat the cause of forest dwelling populations in India, thereby directly affecting efforts at arresting deforestation.
Way Forward
Tuntiak Katan, a global indigenous leader from Ecuador and general coordinator of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, aptly indicated the next steps at the Climate Summit:
“The first step is recognition of land rights. The second step is the recognition of the contributions of local communities and indigenous communities, meaning the contributions of indigenous peoples.We also need recognition of traditional knowledge practices in order to fight climate change”
Perhaps India can begin by taking the first step.