Environment and Ecology: April 2023 UPSC Current Affairs | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

SC Modifies Order on ESZ

• Context
  • The Supreme Court, modified its judgment to have mandatory eco-sensitive zones (ESZ) of a minimum one kilometre around protected forests, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries across the country.
• Details
  • The reasoned that ESZ cannot be uniform across the country and has to be “protected area-specific”.
• Background
  • On June 3, 2022, the court had ordered the one-km buffer zone for protected areas to act as a “shock absorber”.
  • However, the Centre and several States, including Kerala, had returned to the court seeking modification of the June 2022 judgment, saying the judicial direction affected hundreds of villages on the peripheries of forests.
• Highlights of the court’s decision
  • The purpose of declaring ESZs is not to hamper the day-to-day activities of the citizens.
  • The court said a stringent observance of the June 2022 judgment would cause more harm than good. For one, man-animal conflict would only increase rather than abate.
  • However, the court made it clear that “mining within the national park and wildlife sanctuary and within an area of one kilometre from the boundary of such national park and wildlife sanctuary shall not be permissible”.

Translocation of Elephants

Why in News?

• The Kerala government's appeal of the order of the Kerala High Court is rejected by the Supreme Court.
• The Kerala government's appeal against the Kerala High Court's directive to move Arikomban (Wild Elephant), the "rice tusker" of Munnar, to the Parambikulam tiger reserve was recently dismissed by the Supreme Court.

About translocation of elephant

• The act of transporting an elephant from its natural habitat to another location is referred to as translocation.
• This procedure is frequently used to address human-elephant conflict (HEC), in which elephants kill humans occasionally while damaging crops and destroying homes.
• The procedure of catching, restraining, and transporting elephants is frequently extremely stressful for them and can result in harm, misery, and even death.
• Elephant populations may also be significantly impacted, particularly if the translocated elephant is a matriarch or a breeding female.
• Additionally, research has shown that moving elephants may only shift the conflict's focal point rather than eliminate it entirely.
• Elephants frequently adjust to their new surroundings and continue to raid homes or fields, which causes more conflict.

Argument against

• A huge male elephant that had been relocated from the West Midnapore farmland in South Bengal to the Mahananda Sanctuary in the Darjeeling district was the subject of India's first radio-telemetry study of a translocated problem elephant in 2006.
• The elephant started destroying homes and raiding crops in communities and Army locations rapidly.
• In 2012, a team of biologists followed 12 male Asian elephants that had been relocated 16 times to various national parks in Sri Lanka as part of a study on translocated problem Asian elephants.
• The study concluded that translocation led to the spread and escalation of the conflict between humans and elephants as well as an increase in elephant mortality.
• In December 2018, Vinayaga, a bull known for raiding crops, was relocated from Coimbatore to the Mudumalai-Bandipur region.

Argument in favour

• The Kerala High Court emphasised that the presence of natural resources for food and water at the new location will discourage elephants from foraging near populated areas.
• The court also stressed that the elephant will be radio-collared and that forest/wildlife officials will be watching its activities, which will take away the element of surprise from any conflict situations.

Important relocations in the past

• Asiatic lions: Located from Gujarat's Gir National Park to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Tigers: From Ranthambore National Park to Sariska Tiger Reserve and from Kanha Tiger Reserve to Satpura Tiger Reserve.
• From Kaziranga to other protected locations like Manas National Park and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, one-horned rhinos may be found.
• Blackbuck: From the Tal Chhapar Sanctuary in Rajasthan to the Velavadar National Park in Gujarat.
• Dolphins from the Ganges that travel to the Yamuna and the Chambal are known as Gangetic Dolphins.

Data and facts

• India is home to the greatest population of wild Asian elephants, estimated at 29,964 as of the 2017 Project Elephant census.
• Approximately 60% of the species' total population is there.
• The most elephants are found in Karnataka, then Assam, and Kerala.
• India's Natural Heritage Animal is the elephant.
• Elephants are regarded as a "Keystone Species" because of their vital contribution to the balance and wellbeing of forest ecosystems.
• They are renowned for having the biggest brains of any land animal, which contributes to their extraordinary intelligence.
• Elephants are particularly essential grazers and browsers in the ecosystem, eating large amounts of grass each day and dispersing seeds as they go.
• The frequently dense foliage that covers the Asian environment is also shaped by them.

Conservative Initiatives

• India In order to protect elephants and their natural habitat in India, the Indian government launched Project Elephant in 1992.
• Additionally, 33 elephant reserves exist in India with the goal of conservation.
• The purpose of World Elephant Day, which is commemorated on August 12 every year, is to increase public awareness of the critical need to protect and conserve elephants.
• In order to raise awareness of the serious issues facing both Asian and African elephants, the day was launched in 2012.
• Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) Programme:
• In order to enhance global decision-making on the conservation of elephants in Asia and Africa, an international collaboration measures the levels, trends, and causes of elephant mortality.

Way ahead

• Plans for proper monitoring and management, such as steps to reduce possible conflicts and post-relocation monitoring, should also be in place.
• While moving difficult elephants may be considered as a strategy to reduce conflicts between people and elephants, it should be done so cautiously and on the basis of thorough management plans, community involvement, and sound scientific research in order to reduce potential risks and guarantee the welfare of both elephants and local communities.

India's Cheetah Translocation Project

Why in News?

• India's ambitious Cheetah Translocation Project is facing a new set of challenges as two cheetahs have died, bringing the number of cheetahs left in the project to 18 out of the initial 20.
• Uday, a six-year-old male cheetah, died on April 23, 2023, in Kuno National Park, and Sasha, a five-year-old female cheetah, died on March 27, 2023, in the same park.
• Therefore, the government is now considering alternative conservation models, such as the South African model of conserving cheetahs in fenced reserves.

Were these Deaths Expected?

• The project anticipated a high mortality rate, and its short-term goal was to achieve a 50% survival rate for the first year, which is 10 out of 20 cheetahs.
• However, experts pointed out that the project had overestimated Kuno National Park's carrying capacity for cheetahs, and this added pressure on the project staff to look for alternative sites.
• Causes of Death:
• A South African study found that predation was the biggest killer, accounting for 53.2% of cheetah mortality. Lions, leopards, hyenas, and jackals were primarily responsible.
• Cheetahs suffer very high cub mortality – up to 90% in protected areas – mainly due to predation.
• In Africa, the lion is the chief predator of cheetahs; in India, where lions are absent (except in Gujarat), leopards are likely to slip into that role in potential cheetah landscapes.
• Other causes of mortality can be holding camps, immobilization/transit, tracking devices, and other wildlife killing cheetah (cubs) including warthogs, baboons, snakes, elephants, crocodiles, vultures, zebras, and even ostriches.

What are the Options Available to the Project?

• The authorities are exploring the possibility of preparing Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in the Chambal River valley as the second home for cheetahs.
• Another option is to move a few cheetahs from Kuno to the safety of an 80-sq-km fenced area in Rajasthan's Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve.
• However, both options would mean shifting the project's goal from establishing the cheetah in an open landscape to managing the African imports as a few pocket populations in fenced-in or restricted areas.

Way Forward

• The success of the cheetah project should align with India's traditional conservation ethos. India's conservation approach emphasizes protecting naturally dispersing wildlife in viable non-fragmented habitats.
• The Cheetah Project can choose to cut the risk by settling for the South African model of retaining a few pocket populations in fenced-in reserves.
• However, keeping cheetahs in leopard-proof enclosures might not be a sustainable solution. Also, repeated sedate-and-recover interventions to restrict cheetahs to sanctuaries and national parks can harm the animals.

State of the Global Climate 2022 Report: WMO

In News

• The State of the Global Climate 2022 report has been released by the World Meteorological Organization.

About the Report

• It focuses on key climate indicators – greenhouse gases, temperatures, sea level rise, ocean heat and acidification, sea ice and glaciers. It also highlights the impacts of climate change and extreme weather.
• It shows the planetary scale changes on land, in the ocean and in the atmosphere caused by record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. 

Major Highlights of the Report

• Increase in Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) emissions: Global GHGs emissions continued to increase in 2022. Carbon dioxide is at 149% of pre-industrial levels, Methane is at 262% of pre-industrial levels, Nitrous oxide is at 124% of pre-industrial levels.
• The annual increase of methane was 18 ppb from 2020 to 2021. This is the largest increase on record.
• High Global Mean Temperature: In 2022, the planet was 1.15 ± 0.13 °C warmer than the pre-industrial (1850-1900) average, making the last 8 years the warmest on record.
• Despite cooling  La Niña conditions , 2022 was the 5th or 6th warmest year. 
• Above Normal Precipitation: In 2022, large areas with above normal precipitation included large parts of Asia and the south-west Pacific, areas of northern South America and the Caribbean, the eastern Sahel region, parts of southern Africa, Sudan, and eastern Europe.
• Meanwhile, regions with rainfall deficits included western and central Europe, northwest Africa, parts of the Middle East, Central Asia and the Himalayas, Eastern Africa and Madagascar, central and southern South America, and central and western North America.
• Ocean Heat Content: As GHGs accumulate in the atmosphere, temperatures warm on land and in the ocean.  It is expected that the ocean will continue to warm well into the future – a change which is irreversible on centennial to millennial time scales.
• In 2022, 58 percent of the ocean surface suffered at least one marine heatwave event and 25 per cent of the surface experienced at least one marine cold spell.
• Rise in Sea Level: In 2022, global mean sea level continued to rise. The sea has risen approximately 3.4 ± 0.3 mm per year over the past 30 years .
• Ocean Acidification: Global mean ocean pH has been steadily declining at rates not seen for at least the past 26,000 years.
• Sea Ice Extent: Arctic sea-ice extent was below the long-term average for most of the year. 
• Antarctic sea-ice extent dropped to the lowest level and almost 1 million km 2  below the long-term (1991-2020) mean. The total extent of Antarctic sea ice continued to be below average.
• The Greenland Ice Sheet ended with a negative total mass balance for the 26th year in a row. Summit Station, the highest point in Greenland, had its warmest September and experienced melting for the first time. Heavy rain fell on the ice sheet for the first time.
• Glacier Mass Balance: The glaciers have been losing mass nearly every year.
• Exceptional Melt in Swiss Alps: In Switzerland 6% of the glacier ice volume was lost between 2021 and 2022. 
• For the first time in history, no snow outlasted the summer season even at the very highest measurement sites and therefore no accumulation of fresh ice occurred.
• Extreme Events: Rising global temperatures have contributed to more frequent and severe extreme weather events around the world, including cold and heat waves, floods, droughts, wildfires and storms.

Socio-economic and Environmental Impacts

• Drought gripped East Africa: Rainfall has been below-average in five consecutive wet seasons, the longest such sequence in 40 years. As of January 2023, it was estimated that over 20 million people faced acute food insecurity across the region, under the effects of the drought and other shocks.
• Record breaking rain: In July and August led to extensive flooding in Pakistan. There were over 1 700 deaths, and 33 million people were affected, while almost 8 million people were displaced. Total damage and economic losses were assessed at US$ 30 billion.
• Record breaking heatwaves: It affected Europe during the summer. In some areas, extreme heat was coupled with exceptionally dry conditions. Excess deaths associated with the heat in Europe exceeded 15 000 in total across Spain, Germany, the UK, France, and Portugal.
• China had its most extensive and long-lasting heatwave since national records began resulting in the hottest summer on record by a margin of more than 0.5 °C. 
• Food insecurity: As of 2021, 2.3 billion people faced food insecurity, of which 924 million people faced severe food insecurity. Projections estimated 767.9 million people facing undernourishment in 2021, 9.8% of the global population. Half of these are in Asia and one third in Africa.
• Heatwaves in the 2022 pre-monsoon season in India and Pakistan caused a decline in crop yields. This, combined with the banning of wheat exports and restrictions on rice exports in India after the start of the conflict in Ukraine, threatened the availability, access, and stability of staple foods within international food markets and posed high risks to countries already affected by shortages of staple foods.
• Population Displacement: In Somalia, almost 1.2 million people became internally displaced by the catastrophic impacts of drought on pastoral and farming livelihoods and hunger during the year. Concurrently, Somalia was hosting almost 35 000 refugees and asylum seekers in drought-affected areas. A further 512 000 internal displacements associated with drought were recorded in Ethiopia.
• The flooding in Pakistan affected some 33 million people, including about 800 000 Afghan refugees hosted in affected districts around 8 million people have been internally displaced by the floods. 
• Environment: Climate change has important consequences for ecosystems and the environment. For example, a recent assessment focusing on the unique high-elevation area around the Tibetan Plateau, the largest storehouse of snow and ice outside the Arctic and Antarctic, found that global warming is causing the temperate zone to expand.
• Climate change is also affecting recurring events in nature, such as flowering of cherry blossoms in Japan has been documented since AD 801 and has shifted to earlier dates since the late nineteenth century. In 2021, the full flowering date was 26 March, the earliest recorded in over 1200 years. 
• Ecosystems: Ecosystems – including terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems – and the services they provide, are affected by the changing climate and some are more vulnerable than others.
• Ecosystems are degrading at an unprecedented rate, limiting their ability to support human well-being and harming their adaptive capacity to build resilience.

Suggestions as per the Report

• Adaptation: Early Warning Systems allow people to know hazardous weather is on its way, and informs how governments, communities and individuals can act to minimize the impending impacts.
• However, even if adaptation is improved, the climate will continue to change unless the underlying drivers are addressed.
• Without immediate and deep greenhouse gases emissions reductions across all sectors and regions, it will be impossible to keep warming below 1.5° C.

• Mitigation: It is urgent to mitigate, or reduce, greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels wherever possible. 
• Transitioning to renewable energy sources is a critically important part of reducing emissions.

New Butterfly Species Discovered in Kerala 

Why in News?

Recently, a butterfly subspecies (Caltoris bromus sadasiva) from the fringes of Akkulam and Vembanad lakes in Kerala has been discovered.

What are the Key Points Related to the Discovery?

• About: It belongs to the skipper butterfly family of Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies).
• It is the first documented subspecies of the Bromus swift ( Caltoris bromus) butterfly in the Western Ghats and Peninsular India.
• Number of Butterfly Species: The discovery of Caltoris bromus sadasiva brings the count of butterfly species in the Western Ghats to 336 and the count of skipper butterflies to 83, with the last skipper butterfly discovery being almost 75 years ago.
• Caltoris: Caltoris, an Indo-Australian genus has over 15 species distributed across south-east Asia. Caltoris bromus, one of them, has two other subspecies Caltoris bromus bromus and Caltoris bromus yanuca.

What are the Key Facts about Vembanad Lakes?

• This is the largest lake in Kerala and the longest Lake in India.
• Vembanad Lake is also known as Vembanad Kayal, Vembanad Kol, Punnamada Lake (in Kuttanad) and Kochi Lake (in Kochi).
• The lake has its source in four rivers, Meenachil, Achankovil, Pampa and Manimala.
• It is separated from the Arabian Sea by a narrow barrier island and is a popular backwater stretch in Kerala.
• In 2002, it was included in the list of wetlands of international importance, as defined by the Ramsar Convention.
• It is the second-largest Ramsar site in India only after the Sundarbans in West Bengal.

Tiger Census 2022

Why in News?

• The Prime Minister of India has released the figures of the 5th cycle of India’s Tiger Census 2022, revealing 6.7% in the increase in the past four years.
• The tiger census covered forested habitats in 20 states of India. Camera traps were set up at 32,588 locations and generated 47,081,881 photographs.
• The PM has released the Census while inaugurating the International Big Cat Alliance (IBC) in Karnataka’s Mysuru, organised to mark 50 years of Project Tiger.

What is the IBCA?

• IBCA is launched for conservation of seven big cats namely Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Leopard, Cheetah, Jaguar and Puma harbouring our planet.
• Its members include 97 countries that are home to these big cats and other interested parties.
• The IBCA will engage in advocacy, partnerships, capacity building, eco-tourism, and finance tapping.
• It will also disseminate information and create awareness among its members.

What are the Highlights of the Census?

• Population:
  • Population has grown by 200 from 2018 to 2022. The current tiger population in India is 3,167, up from 2,967 in 2018.
• Growth Rate:
  • The growth rate slowed to 6.7% in the four years from 2018 to 2022, from around 33% during 2014-2018.
• Increase:
  • There has been a significant increase in the tiger population in the Shivalik Hills and Gangetic Plains, while tiger occupancy in Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana showed a decline.
  • The North East Hills and Brahmaputra Plains had 194 tigers captured by camera traps, and the region's Nilgiri cluster is the largest tiger population in the world, contributing significantly to colonisation of tigers in neighbouring areas.
• Decline:
  • Tiger occupancy in the Western Ghats declined, the latest analysis showed. Significant declines were observed in the Wayanad landscape and in the Biligiriranga Hills.
• High Conservation Priority:
  • The genetically unique and small population of tigers in Simlipal is also highlighted as being of high conservation priority.
  • The report calls for ecologically viable economic development and trans-boundary tiger conservation strategies to sustain isolated populations.

What is the Need for Conserving Tigers?

• Biodiversity: Tigers are an apex predator and play a vital role in maintaining the ecological balance of their habitats. They help regulate prey populations, which in turn helps maintain the balance of other species in the ecosystem.
• Tourism: Tigers are a major tourist attraction in countries like India and help generate revenue through ecotourism. This revenue can support local communities and contribute to the economy.
• Cultural Significance: Tigers are an important cultural symbol in many cultures and religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism.
• Scientific Research: Tigers are an important subject of scientific research, as they are a keystone species, and their conservation can help protect other species in their ecosystem.
• Climate Change: Tigers are an indicator species, which means that their presence or absence can indicate the health of the ecosystem. Conserving tigers can help protect the ecosystem from the effects of climate change.

Idu Mishmi Tribe

Why in News?

The recent announcement by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) that the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary would soon be notified as a tiger reserve has caused disquiet among the area’s Idu Mishmi people.

About Idu Mishmi Tribe

• Who are they? The Idu Mishmi is a sub-tribe of the larger Mishmi group (the other two Mishmi groups are Digaru and Miju) in Arunachal Pradesh and neighbouring Tibet. 
• They primarily live in Mishmi Hills, bordering Tibet in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Their ancestral homelands are spread over the districts of Dibang Valley and Lower Dibang Valley, as well as parts of Upper Siang and Lohit. 
• They are known for their weaving and craftsmanship skills.
• They can be distinctively identified by their typical hairstyle, distinctive customs and artistic pattern embedded on their clothes.
• Population: The tribe is estimated to comprise around 12,000 people (as per the census 2011).
• Language: Their language, called ‘Idu Mishmi’, is considered endangered by UNESCO.
• Relation with nature:
• Traditionally animists, the tribe has strong ties with the region’s rich flora and fauna. 
• Tigers are especially important to the Idu Mishmis — according to Idu mythology, they were born to the same mother, and thus, tigers are their “elder brothers”.
• While hunting has traditionally been a way of life, the Idu Mishmis also follow a strict belief system of myths and taboos — ‘iyu-ena’ — that restrict them from hunting many animals, including a complete prohibition on killing tigers.

River Rejuvenation

Why in News?

• The 7.2 Km Kuttamperoor River in Alappuzha, Kerala has been rejuvenated after over a 6-year effort through public participation and government intervention.
• It was dead for more than a decade due to waste dumping, encroachments, and other human activities.
• It has been rejuvenated through deepening the channel, removing encroachments, constructing bunds on both sides. The revival of the Kuttamperoor river is expected to help control floods in the region.

What is River Rejuvenation and its Impact?

• About:
  • River rejuvenation is the process of reviving or restoring the natural flow and health of a river that has been damaged due to human activities such as waste dumping, encroachment, and pollution. The process involves removing pollutants, cleaning up riverbeds, and restoring the natural environment around the river.
• Impacts:
  • It can help to restore the natural habitats of plants and animals, promote biodiversity, and provide cleaner water for drinking and irrigation.
  • Reviving rivers can also boost tourism in the region and improve the livelihoods of people who depend on the river for their livelihoods.
  • Furthermore, river rejuvenation can help to control floods and reduce the damage caused by them. A healthy river can absorb excess water during heavy rains and prevent flooding in downstream areas. This can save lives and property and reduce the economic impact of floods.
• Initiatives:
  • In 2022, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change released Rs. 19,000–crore Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) on rejuvenation of 13 major rivers through forestry interventions.
  • These 13 rivers are Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, Yamuna, Brahmaputra, Narmada, Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna, Cauvery, and Luni.

What are the Other Examples of River Rejuvenation Project?

• Rhine River: The Rhine River in Europe was once highly polluted but has since undergone a massive clean-up effort that has transformed it into a vibrant and thriving ecosystem.
• Singapore River Clean-up: The Singapore River Clean-up is another successful example of a river rejuvenation project. The project involved cleaning up the highly polluted river and transforming it into a major tourist attraction and a hub of cultural and social activities.
• Thames River Restoration: The Thames River Restoration project in London, UK, has led to the revival of the river's ecology and the creation of new habitats for wildlife.
• Ganga Action Plan: In India, the Ganga Action Plan is an ongoing project aimed at cleaning up and rejuvenating the highly polluted Ganga River. The project involves a range of interventions, including the construction of sewage treatment plants, the creation of green belts along the riverbanks, and the promotion of eco-friendly activities.