Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Why did woolly rhino, mammoth go extinct

News

• A pile of dung may irk many, but not these researchers who spend days analysing yak dung to understand the vegetation and climate of the past and the connections they have to extinct mega herbivores such as the woolly rhino and mammoth.

Findings

• The wild yak is an endangered species restricted to the higher Himalayas of Asia, the Tibetan plateau and parts of North Russia. It can tolerate temperatures as low as -40 degrees Celsius and is associated with the Himalayan tahr and White-bellied musk deer. The most non-invasive way to study its diet and the local vegetation is by examining its dung.
• During the summer of 2017, researchers set out to the hilly terrain which is about 25 km from the Dronagiri village in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand and collected the dung samples. This exercise was repeated in the winter season too.
• Once back in the laboratory, they carried out the macro- and micro-botanical analyses to decode its diet. A good diversity of pollen, spores and phytoliths (silica bodies found in plants) were seen. This meant that the yak preferred a variety of food simple grass to leaves and fruits of woody trees. This diversity was high during summer and the yak could walk up to 50 km in search of food.
• This also indicated that the yak was able to modify its diet according to the climatic change of the past.
• The end of the Pleistocene epoch (11,700 years ago) and the start of Holocene brought about a change in vegetation and also introduced humans.
• Giant mammoth and woolly rhino which used to live with the yak about 18,000-20,000 years ago were not able to adapt to these changes and thus went extinct. This is a classic example of ‘survival of the fittest’.
• The yak dung analysis also helped to map out the different plants and trees in that area, thus, generating modern botanical analogue for palaeo environmental studies in higher Himalayas.
• A comparison of the present results with the extinct ones can help understand more about ancestor climatic factors and other adaptation strategies of mega herbivores.

These animals mostly depend on the regional flora and studies can throw light on the past vegetation of an area.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

The Central Asian nodes in Belt and Road project

News

• Under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the ancient route towards the Irkeshtam pass will now provide the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) a critical node into Central Asia.
• The CPEC runs from the Arabian Sea coast at Gwadar towards Kashgar, passing through the extremely challenging terrain of Pakistan’s Balochistan province.

Beyond News

• Once the 250 km-road, being built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), is completed by 2021, the spanking new highway will connect Osh with Kazakhstan’s Almaty. Eventually, the $698-million project, bankrolled by China’s Exim Bank, will interlink Pakistan, China and Kyrgyzstan, with strategic nodes extending to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan.
• Focussing on Osh, China’s telecom giant, Huawei Technologies, has recently unveiled an ambitious plan. In partnership with China Telecom, it plans to transform Bishkek and Osh into “smart cities”, powered by fast Internet and cyber monitoring systems.
• Apart from highways and power projects, China is concentrating on railways in its bid to open up Central Asia and beyond as part of BRI. For instance, Osh sits along China’s West passage-3 railway project. After passing through Kashgar and Osh via the Irkeshtam pass, the railway spears towards Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Turkey, and beyond.
• Separately, West Passage 1 enters Kazakhstan through Alashankou in Xinjiang. From there it hooks up with Russia’s Trans-Siberian Railway and enters Belarus before reaching out to the European Union.
• Similarly, the exit point of West Passage 2 is Xinjiang’s Alashankou. Kazakhstan, in this case, becomes the gateway to Turkmenistan, setting the stage for a railway link-up with Iran, Turkey and possibly Europe. China is also working on East Passage 1. This route connects Erenhot in its Inner Mongolia province, with the Trans-Siberian railway on the way to Europe.
• All cross-border initiatives on infrastructure feed into China’s ‘go-global’ policy. This is a joint initiative of China’s central planners and provincial administrations to shift sections of Chinese capital and supply chains overseas.

Indian airlines to avoid Iranian airspace: DGCA

News

• Amid rising geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran, India’s aviation regulator DGCA said Indian airlines have decided to avoid the “affected part of the Iranian airspace” and re-route their flight “suitably”.

Beyond News

• The American aviation regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) prohibiting US-registered aircraft from operating “in the overwater area of the Tehran Flight Information Region until further notice, due to heightened military activities and increased political tensions.”
• All Indian operators in consultation with DGCA have decided to avoid the affected part of Iranian Airspace to ensure safe travel for the passengers. They will re-route flights suitably.
• Iran shot down a US military drone in its airspace, following which the FAA had warned that there is a possibility that commercial aircraft can be mistakenly targeted in Iranian airspace.
• Consequently, major airlines around the world have already rerouted their aircraft.

Over 36,000 cases registered under POCSO Act in 2016

News

• A total of 36,022 cases were registered in 2016 under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
• Minister of Women and Child Development said that the number of cases registered increased by 0.2% in 2015 over 2014, and by 4.4% in 2016 over 2015.

Beyond News

• The need for special courts needs to emphasised due to the fact that the disposal rate in POCSO cases has been low. For instance, the closure rate of POCSO cases was just 31% across States and Union Territories in 2016, a slight improvement since 2014, when only 22% of the cases were disposed of.
• According to the annexure given by Minister of Women and Child Development, Uttar Pradesh had the most number of cases registered in 2016, with 4,954 cases. Maharashtra came a close second with 4,815 cases, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 4,717 cases.
• Uttar Pradesh, though, has seen a drop in the number of cases in three years. In 2014, over 8,000 cases were reported. That number fell by almost 40% by the time 2016 ended. Maharashtra, on the other hand, has seen an increase, from 3,926 to 4,815 cases.
• When it comes to cases closed, Madhya Pradesh had the highest rate with over 50% of cases being closed, as opposed to West Bengal, where only 10% of cases were closed in 2016.
• In Manipur, although the number of cases registered were only 136, the number closed was only 11. Arunachal Pradesh too has dismal numbers when it comes to cases closed only one of 169 cases.
• National and State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights have been mandated to monitor the implementation of the POCSO Act, in addition to MHA advisories to State and Union Territory governments to implement the law vigorously.

India placed on ‘Tier 2’ in human trafficking report

News

• The U.S. State Department has released its 2019 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, highlighting the need for action against domestic trafficking.
• India continued to be placed in Tier 2 on the 1-3 country trafficking scale.

Beyond News

• The 2019 report highlights the national nature of trafficking: in 77% of the cases, victims are trafficked within their own countries of residence, rather than across borders.
• Victims of sex trafficking were more likely to be trafficked across borders while victims of forced labour were typically exploited within their own countries, the report says, citing International Labour Organisation (ILO) data.
• The report categorises countries into three groups based on the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), U.S. legislation enacted in 2000.
• The categorisation is based on efforts to meet minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking.
• India was placed (i.e., remained) in Tier 2, which comprises “countries whose governments do not fully meet the TVPA’s minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.”
• The recommendations for India include amending the definition of trafficking in Section 370 of the Penal Code to “include forced labour trafficking and ensure that force, fraud, or coercion are not required to prove a child sex trafficking offence,” and to establish Anti-Human Trafficking Units in all districts with funding and clear mandates.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Navy teams to board crude carriers

News

• Amid escalating tensions in the Gulf region, which is crucial for India’s energy security, the Indian Navy is considering deploying small teams on board large crude carriers passing through the region.
• The proposal is currently under discussion among various stakeholders.

Beyond News

• The proposal is to have small Navy teams comprising an officer and personnel on all energy-carrying platforms ultra large crude carriers and very large crude carriers to advise on protection measures.
• The teams will be deployed on transiting crude carriers depending on the necessity.
• After a series of attacks on ships transiting through the Persian Gulf, the Navy deployed two ships in the region, destroyer INS Chennai and offshore patrol vessel INS Sunayna, under Operation Sankalp to “re-assure Indian-flagged vessels operating/transiting through Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman”.
• This is in addition to the aerial surveillance in the area by Navy aircraft. The Information Fusion Centre (Indian Ocean Region), which was opened by the Navy in Gurugram last December, is keeping a close watch on the movement of ships in the Gulf region.
• Also, Director-General of Shipping issued advisories to all Indian-flagged vessels operating in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian/Arabian Gulf region to undertake “appropriate protection measures”.
• Tensions in the region have mounted following the spat between Iran and the U.S. and peaked after an advanced U.S. unmanned drone was shot down by Iran.
• Tehran alleged it violated its airspace. Much of India’s energy needs is sourced from the Gulf region and any potential disruption would have an adverse impact on the economy.

Among world’s worst polluters, ASEAN vows to tackle ocean waste

News

• Just five Asian countries China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand dump more than half of the eight million tonnes of plastic waste that end up in oceans every year, according to a 2017 Ocean Conservancy report.
• The region has come under fire for not doing enough to tackle its mounting trash troubles, with single-use plastic and sub-par waste management adding to the problem.

Beyond News

• Leaders at a weekend meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are expected to sign a “Bangkok Declaration” on fighting maritime waste a first of its kind which promises to “prevent and significantly reduce marine debris,” according to a draft.
• ASEAN summit host Thailand billed the forum as environmentally friendly, handing out recycled paper notebooks and tote bags and food containers made from reused plastic.
• In addition to spewing out billions of tonnes of trash, these nations are among the world’s top importers of trash from developed countries like the U.S. and Canada.
• Activists have urged countries to stop accepting rubbish, which can end up in landfills and waterways.
• Alarming images of polluted canals in the Philippines, plastic-laden Vietnamese beaches, or whales, turtles choking on plastic debris have grabbed global headlines.
• Some private firms in Thailand and Vietnam have started replacing plastic products with recyclable materials, but government policies have yet to catch up.

India reminds Pakistan it must act soon on curbing terror financing

News

• Reminding Pakistan that it had less than three months to show progress on curbing terror financing, India said it expected the Pakistani government to fully comply with the action plan set out by global body Financial Action Task Force (FATF) by September this year.

Beyond News

• FATF plenary session in Orlando, U.S., issued a stern statement at the end of its outcome document, telling Pakistan that it could face a blacklisting (next step) in its next session, if it did not follow a 27-point checklist on bringing stricter laws to curb the access of funds to terror groups inside the country, including IS, al-Qaeda, Lashar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.
• The FATF put off the blacklist during the current session, but stressed that Pakistan had missed two action plan deadlines already.
• India was not a sponsor of the original move to put Pakistan on a compliance ‘greylist’ last June, but has consistently supported the U.S., U.K., Germany and France in efforts to make Pakistan accountable for its actions on terror groups. Pakistan was put on the greylist in 2018, the second time it has been on the list since 2012-2015.
• Pakistan pointed out that the FATF had acknowledged some steps had been taken by Pakistan’s government. In the past few months, the Imran Khan government had changed laws and shut down several outfits run by the terror groups mentioned.

Odisha comes up with a flood atlas, aided by satellite imagery

News

• Odisha has come out with a unique flood hazard atlas on the basis of historic flood inundation captured through satellite imagery over the period from 2001 to 2018, which is expected to help the State manage floods more efficiently.

Beyond News

• The National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Hyderabad had taken the study on flood hazard zonation for Odisha.
• Vast areas of the State are inundated when there is flooding every year in major rivers, namely, the Mahanadi, Brahmani, Baitarani, Subarnarekha and Rushikulya. Some of the rivers like, the Vamsadhara and Budhabalanga, also cause flash floods due to instant run-off from their hilly catchments.
• According to Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA), damages due to floods are caused mainly by the Mahanadi, the Brahmani and the Baitarani, which have a common delta where floodwaters intermingle, and, when in spate simultaneously, wreak considerable havoc.
• The entire coastal belt is prone to storm surges, which is usually accompanied by heavy rainfall, thus making the estuary region vulnerable to both storm surges and river flooding.
• Few districts in the western and southern part of Odisha are prone to flash floods.
• The NRSC analysis says about 8.96% (13.96 lakh hectares) of land in Odisha was affected by floods during 2001-2018.
• Out of total flood-affected area (13.96 lakh hectares), about 2.81 lakh hectares of land falls under high (inundated seven-nine times) to very high (inundated 10-14 times) flood hazard categories.
• Eight out of 30 districts are more flood-affected districts. As high as 77% of Bhadrak and 70% of the Kendrapara district have been categorised as flood hazard.
• A large number of satellite images acquired over 18 years (2001-2018) were used. All satellite data sets were analysed and flood layers were extracted. All the flood layers corresponding to a year are combined as one inundation layer, so that this layer represents the maximum flooded area in one year.
• All such combined flood layers for 18 years were integrated into flood hazard layer representing the observed flood-inundated areas with different frequencies. This layer was integrated with the digital database layers of Odisha.
• The atlas would serve as a useful resource of information for policy makers, planners and civil society groups.

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