CONTENTS
- Rhino population up by 200 in Kaziranga
- Sariska Tiger Reserve
- India seeks closer BIMSTEC partnership
Rhino population up by 200 in Kaziranga
Focus: GS-III, Environment
Context
The population of the greater one-horned or Indian rhinoceros in the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve has increased by 200 (from 2413 in 2018) in four years, the latest census of the flagship animal has revealed.
About Indian Rhino
- The Indian rhinoceros also called the greater one-horned rhinoceros and great Indian rhinoceros is a rhinoceros native to the Indian subcontinent.
- It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and Schedule I animal in the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
- It once ranged across the entire northern part of the Indian Subcontinent, along the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra River basins, from Pakistan to the Indian-Myanmar border.
- Poaching for rhinoceros horn became the single most important reason for the decline of the Indian rhino.
Why are Rhinos poached for horns?
- Ground rhino horn is used in traditional Chinese medicine to cure a range of ailments, from cancer to hangovers, and also as an aphrodisiac.
- In Vietnam, possessing a rhino horn is considered a status symbol.
- Due to demand in these countries, poaching pressure on rhinos is ever persistent against which one cannot let the guard down.
Source – The Hindu
Sariska Tiger Reserve
Focus – GS-III, Environment
Context
Massive fire has broken out in the Sariska Tiger Reserve and Air Force helicopters equipped with water sprays are battling to bring it under control.
Sariska Tiger Reserve
- Sariska Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve in Alwar district, Rajasthan.
- It stretches over an area of 881 sq km comprising scrub-thorn arid forests, dry deciduous forests, grasslands, and rocky hills.
- This area was a hunting preserve of the Alwar state and was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1958.
- It was given the status of a tiger reserve making it a part of India’s Project Tiger in 1978.
- It is the first reserve in the world with successfully relocated tigers.
- It is a part of the Aravalli Range and the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests eco-region.
Threats
- It is rich in mineral resources, such as copper.
- In spite of the Supreme Court’s 1991 ban on mining in the area, marble mining continues to threaten the environment.
Source – The Hindu
India seeks closer BIMSTEC partnership
Focus – GS-II, International Relations
Context
Addressing the ministerial of the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi–Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation), EAM S. Jaishankar urged closer cooperation and connectivity among the members.
What is BIMSTEC?
- The BIMSTEC formed in 1997 is an international organisation of seven South Asian and Southeast Asian nations, housing 1.73 billion people and having a combined gross domestic product of $3.8 trillion (2021).
- The BIMSTEC member states – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand – are among the countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal.
- Leadership is rotated in alphabetical order of country names. The permanent secretariat is in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
- A BIMSTEC free trade agreement is under negotiation (c. 2018), also referred to as the mini SAARC.
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