BUSTARD IN GLOBAL CONSERVATION LIST
India will be moving to include the Asian Elephant and the Great Indian Bustard in the list of species that merit heightened conservation measures. The list will be debated at the 13th Conference of Parties (COP) of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), India is home to several migratory […]
PERUMBAKKAM LAKE
The black-tailed godwit, a near-threatened bird species had arrived at the lake The Great Trigonometrical Survey, a Survey of India initiative to survey the whole land mass of India was started from the measurement of a small section of plain land with Perumbakkam Hill on the southern end by Major Lambton in 1802 CE.
MADRAS HIGH COURT DISMISSES GI TAG FOR BASMATI RICE PLEA
Focus: GS-III Environment and Ecology Why in news? A 2016 case challenging the exclusion of 13 districts in the State from a map submitted by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) seeking Geographical Indication tag for basmati rice grown in the Indo Gangetic Plain was dismissed by Madras High Court. Details […]
SPECIES IN NEWS: SWAMP WALLABY
Focus: GS-III Environment and Ecology Why in news? The swamp wallaby is likely the only mammal pregnant and lactating all life long, researchers have said. How is it possible? Female wallabies and kangaroos have two uteri and two separate ovaries. At the end of a pregnancy in one uterus, a new embryo develops in […]
BLACK CARBON LEVELS SPIKE AT HIMALAYAN GLACIERS
Focus: GS-III Environment and Ecology, Prelims Why in news? Black carbon concentrations near the Gangotri glacier rose 400 times in summer due to forest fires and stubble burning from agricultural waste, and triggered glacial melt, says a study by scientists at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG). Details The team of scientists from WIHG- […]
EURASIAN OTTER FOUND IN CHILIKA LAKE
Focus: GS-III Environment and Ecology, Prelims Why in news? Researchers conducting a study in Odisha’s Chilika Lake have found the presence of a viable, breeding population of a fishing cat in the brackish water lagoon. It is a globally endangered species that is elusive and found in very few places in south and southeast Asia. […]
LIONESS GAVE FOSTER CARE TO LEOPARD CUB IN GIR NATIONAL PARK
Focus: GS-III Environment and Ecology Why is news? A lioness in Gujarat’s Gir National Park gave foster care to a leopard cub for more than a month. A study has noted their short-lived bonding as a rare case of foster care between two competing feline species. Elephant seals and sea lions are known to adopt […]
WATER CRISIS LOOMS LARGE IN HIMALAYAN REGIONS
Focus: GS-III Environment and Ecology Why in news? Eight towns in the Himalayan region of Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Pakistan were nearly 20%-70% deficient in their water supply, says a survey. Unplanned urbanisation and climate change are the key factors responsible for the state of affairs. Dependence on Springs The places surveyed are extremely dependent […]
INDIA IS HOST TO 457 MIGRATORY FAUNA- CONSERVATION OF MIGRATORY SPECIES (CMS)LIST
Focus: GS-III Environment and Ecology, Prelims Why in news? With new additions to the wildlife list put out by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS), scientists say that the total number of migratory fauna from India comes to 457 species. Birds comprise 83% (380 species) of these 457 species. Details The Zoological […]
EXPLAINED: WHY SNOW IN ANTARCTICA IS TURNING BLOOD-RED
Focus: GS-III Environment and Ecology Why in news? Snow around Ukraine’s Vernadsky Research Base, located off the coast of Antarctica’s northernmost peninsula, has started to take on a red tinge, courtesy of an algae that thrives in freezing weather. Because of the red tinge, the snow is often dubbed “watermelon snow”. Why is the snow […]