Q 1- Availability of water is decreasing day by day in World,Glaciers are melting, temperatures are increasing. What are the causes of these phenomenon. What measures needs to be adopted?
Worldwide, Ice is melting, and glaciers are shrinking rapidly.
- For Example, in Montana’s Glacier National Park, presently, the number of glaciers have declined to fewer than 30 from more than 150 in 1910.
- Melting ice leads to rising in global sea level. According to Scientists, global sea levels are rising 0.13 inches every year. The rise has been rapid in recent years threatening low lying islands and coastal cities.
- Melting Glaciers and vanishing ice has made survival of certain species difficult, pushing them towards extinction.
- Frequent and extreme weather events like bushfires, cyclones, droughts, and floods are being witnessed.
Causes of glacier melting
- larger anthropogenic modifications of the atmosphere – pollution
- disruption in weather patterns and precipitation due to global warming
- changes in Glacier volume
- Unplanned urbanization
Following necessary steps can be taken to contain the ice bodies’ loss:
- In order to stop the temperature from rising, the only solution is to cool the planet as advised by the scientists. For this, the world not only needs to slow down greenhouse gas emissions but also reverse them.
- There are around 1,98,000 glaciers in the world and India alone has about 9,000 of them. However, all of these glaciers are mostly unexplored. More detailed research is required to fully understand the state of glaciers and the risk their loss poses.
- Reduce black carbon emissions from – (1) cookstoves; (2) Diesel engines; (3) Open burning. It could significantly reduce radiative forcing
- Steps to be Taken by Regional Governments:
- Review the policies on water management
- Careful planning and use of hydropower to reflect changes in water flows and availability.
- Increasing the efficiency of brick kilns through proven technologies.
- Greater knowledge sharing in the region.
Initiatives taken by India
- International Solar Alliance (ISA): Initiated by India, it is an alliance of more than 121 countries, most of them being sunshine countries. The primary objective is to work for efficient exploitation of solar energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
- National Clean Air Program(NCAP): Under it, a long term and time-bound national level strategy were build up to tackle the increasing air pollution problems across the country in a comprehensive manner.
- India’s first National Air Quality Index (NAQI): Prime Minister Modi launched the index in 2015, to monitor the quality of air in major urban centers across the country on a real-time basis.
- Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan: A national campaign by the government to clean streets, roads and infrastructure of the country.
- Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana: It is a move to expand LPG connection among rural poor and thus cut household air pollution and protect health, particularly of women.
- Waste Management has remained a priority which gets reflected in the notification of six waste management rules.
- Namami Gange Program for cleaning and rejuvenating Ganga.
- Battery Cars: In order to reduce emissions and cut fuel imports, the government is buying 10,000 battery-powered cars from Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra to replace Petrol and Diesel cars.
- Steps were taken to reduce the use of single-use plastic.
- Steps were taken to progress towards implementing the 2030 SDG targets. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are ambitious global development goals that address key aspects of universal well being across different socio-economic, cultural, geographical divisions and integrate the economic, social and environmental dimensions of development.
——————————————————————————————————————
Q 2- Oceans are reservoirs of many things. But recently oceans are facing multiple difficulties. Which are those difficulties? what measures can be taken to tackle those?
- Marine resourcesare materials and attributes found in the ocean that are considered to have value. That value can be intrinsic, or monetary.
- They include a huge number of things: biological diversity, fish and seafood supplies, oil and gas, minerals, sand and gravel, renewable energy resources, tourism potential, and unique ecosystems like coral reefs.
- These resources can have great monetary value, and even when they don’t, the uniqueness and opportunity for education and human enrichment cannot be quantified.
- Nearly 40,000 species of molluscs, and 25,000 species of fishes are found in marine waters.
- Besides mineral resources, different types of vitamins and medicinal elements are also found.
- Generally, marine resources are divided into three categoriesg., biotic resources, abiotic (mineral and energy) resources and commercial resources (navigation, aviation, trade and transport etc.).
Marine Biological Resources:
(A) Food Resources:
- Animal resources, (Fishes, crabs, prawns, zoo planktons etc.).
- Plant resources, (phytoplanktons, sea grass etc.).
(B) Non-food Resources:
- Corals.
Marine mineral resources:
(i) Metallic minerals.
(ii) Fuel minerals (petroleum, natural gas).
(iii) Construction materials (gravels, sands etc.).
Energy resources:
(A) Conventional energy:(i) Petroleum.(ii) Natural gas.
(B) Non-conventional energy:(i) Tidal energy.(ii) Wave energy.(iii) Biomass energy.
Freshwater resources:
Manufactured water (transformation of saline seawater through the processes of desalinization into potable water)
Measures by India
- India is on track to achieve the biodiversity targets and have overachieved on many of its target as given by Sixth National Report (NR6) to CBD
- Stronger integration of gender, Indigenous peoples and local communitiesin conservation efforts
- g. India’s Wetland conservation rules 2017 advocated ‘wise use’ concept involving communities in conservation
- Included biodiversityin national accounting systems
- India BIS standard banned microplastic of less than 5mm diameter in personal care product
- Government of India has taken steps to protect its coral reefs under Coastal Ocean Monitoring and Prediction system (COMAPS), Coral Bleaching Alert System (CBAS)
- Coral Reef Recovery Project– is a joint venture of Wildlife Trust of India and the Gujarat Forest Department, supported by Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL)
- Maharashtra became the first coastal state to declare a state mangrove tree species as a symbol to enhance conservation of salt-tolerant vegetation
International alliances:
- International blue carbon initiative: mitigating climate change through the conservation and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystem
- ‘magical mangroves- join the movement’ highlights significance of mangroves conservation
- Blue Nature Alliance It is a global partnership with aim is to advance Ocean Conservation Areas
- The alliance is working on large-scale efforts in Fiji’s Lau Seascape, Antarctica’s Southern Ocean and the Tristan da Cunha island group to collectively secure protections over 4.8 million square kilometers of the ocean
- GloLitter Partnerships Project: aims to help the maritime transport and fishing sectors move towards a low-plastics future.
- London Convention (1972 Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping Wastes and Other Matter)
- The Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA)
- International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI)– preserve coral reefs and related ecosystems around the world.
Other measures:
- In Southeast Asia: “blue infrastructure development” and approaches such as “building with nature,” are being introduced as part of efforts to harmonize coastal protection and development with habitat and ecological protection
- Increasing our scientific knowledge base of the ocean: new feats of technology, namely sensors and autonomous observation platforms, are collecting more granular data on oceans, including in remote areas.
—————————————————————————————–
CURRENT AFFAIRS SECTION
Q Telecommunication Bill has its own advantages and disadvantages. Discuss
- The Indian Telecommunication Bill looks to repeal outdated legislations and “restructure the legal and regulatory framework” for the telecommunications sector.
Bill repeals following
- Indian Telegraph Act, 1885
- Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933
- Telegraph Wires (Unlawful) Possession Act, 1950
Provisions to benefit Telecom service providers
- Primary route for allocation of the spectrum is auction: when spectrum is to be allocated for certain functions of the government such as defense or transportation.
- TSP to exploit its spectrum resource fully: By enabling sharing, trading, leasing, surrendering or returning unutilised spectrum.
- Simplifies: The Bill also simplifies the process for restructuring, merging or demerging.
- Land owned by a public entity: It mandates that land owned by a public entity should be available expeditiously unless there is an express ground of refusal.
- Universal Service Obligation Fund: It allows this fund to be utilized for other purposes such as urban areas connectivity, research etc.
- OTT – Bill expands the definition of “telecommunication services” to include OTT communication services.OTT telecommunication services may be subject to the same licensing conditions as TSPs.
- Consumer protection measures– Regards identity of person and fine if details are wrong.
Consumer protection measures in the draft Bill:
- The identity of the person :It shall be available to the user receiving such communication.The name of the person would also be displayed along with phone no.
- To ensure that a user provides correct details: Penalizes providing wrong identification details with a ₹50,000 fine and suspending the operation of the specific mobile number or barring the person from using the telecom service for a certain duration.
- Consent of subscribers: Commercial communications which are advertising and promotional in nature should be made only with the prior consent of a subscriber.
How does the draft Bill impact the position of the TRAI?
- Recommendatory body: Reducing it from a regulatory to a recommendatory body.
- No recommendations for licenses: The government would no longer be required to seek recommendations from the TRAI before issuing licenses.
- Requisition of information:It removes the power of the TRAI to requisition from the government information or documents that are necessary to make such recommendations.
- Reconsideration:Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will no longer be required to refer back to TRAI the recommendations for reconsideration.
(1) Comment