Legislations/initiatives

Statement 1 is incorrect. The National Transit Pass System (NTPS) has been launched recently by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Statement 2 is correct. It is an online system for issuing transit permits for timber, bamboo and other forest produce. It aims to make the process of getting permits faster and without physically going to forest department offices and the passes will be issued thorough mobile applications.
The pilot project will be functional in Madhya Pradesh and Telangana for now and is to be rolled out nationally in few months.

The Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF) is a joint initiative of the United Kingdom and India to invest in renewable energy, clean transportation, water and waste management in India.
The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund of India partnered with the Department for International Development (DFID), an arm of the UK government to launch the Green Growth Equity Fund (“GGEF”). Both have committed GBP 120 million each into the Fund. EverSource Capital, an equal joint venture between Everstone Group and Lightsource BP was selected as the fund manager for GGEF.

The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 recognizes and vest forest rights in forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes (FDSTs), where they are scheduled, with respect to forest land and their habitat. Some of the rights are:
-living in the forest for habitation or for self-cultivation for livelihood;
-right of ownership, access to collect, use, and dispose of minor forest produce,
-rights of settlement and conversion of all forest villages, old habitation, un-surveyed villages and other villages in forests, whether recorded, notified or not into revenue villages;
-conversion of pattas or leases issued by any local authority or any state government on forest land to titles, and other traditional customary rights.
-customary rights exclude hunting, trapping or extracting body parts of any wild animal.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Indian Forest Act 1927 says “forest produce” is what is found in or brought from a forest. This originally included bamboo as trees.
The Parliament amendment the act in 2017 to exclude bamboo from the definition of tree under the Indian Forest Act, claiming it would improve the earnings of tribals and dwellers living around forests.
Statement 2 is correct. Bamboo pellets are considered reliable biomass energy sources in certain parts of the world. In terms of mass and energy density, pellets from bamboo have characteristics superior to other biomass products, such as woodchips and briquettes.
Such higher density allows for easy and cost-effective transportation and greater efficiency in energy generation with suitable properties for residential and industrial use.
# Minister of DONER at inauguration of Virtual Bamboo Exhibition stated that ‘Bamboo has great potential for its use as a clean source of energy and can also replace the single use plastic, thus promoting the environment and Climate cause in India’.

Statement 1 is incorrect. National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) is a statutory
body constituted under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The functions of the board are also
enumerated under the act.
The WLPA mandates that without the approval/recommendation of the NBWL, construction
of tourist lodges, alteration of the boundaries of PAs, destruction or diversion of wildlife
habitat and de-notification of Tiger Reserves, cannot be done.
Statement 2 is correct. The Prime minister is the chairperson of the board while Minister
of Environment, Forests & Climate Change is the Vice-Chairperson.
# Action Plan for Vulture Conservation 2020-2025 has been approved by the National Board
for Wildlife (NBWL) recently.

Statement 1 is correct. The Central Zoo Authority was established as a
statutory body under the Ministry of Environment & Forests by the Government of India in
the year 1992 by adding a separate chapter in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The
Authority consists of a Chairman, ten members and a Member Secretary.
Statement 2 is correct. Its functions include recognizing or derecognizing zoos and further
Section 38H(1) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 provides that ‘no zoo shall be operated
without being recognised by the CZA’

Any person seeking relief and compensation for environmental damage involving subjects in the legislations mentioned in Schedule I of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 may approach the Tribunal. The statutes in Schedule I are:

The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974;
The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977;
The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980;
The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981;
The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986;
The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991;
The Biological Diversity Act, 2002.’

Statement 1 is correct. The Animal Welfare Board of India is a statutory
advisory body on Animal Welfare Laws and promotes animal welfare in the country,
established in 1962 under Section 4 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
Statement 2 is incorrect. Section 11 of the act lists a series of offences, which vary from
abandoning an animal to kicking it, mutilating it or killing it, and prescribes the
punishment for all these offences.
Section 28 however states that ―nothing contained in this Act shall render it an offence to
kill any animal in a manner required by the religion of any community.

‘Namami Gange Programme’, is an Integrated Conservation Mission, a
‘Flagship Programme’ of the Union Government to accomplish the twin objectives of effective
abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga.
Main pillars of the Namami Gange Programme:
Sewerage Treatment Infrastructure, River-Front Development, River-Surface Cleaning, Bio-
Diversity, Afforestation, Public Awareness, Industrial Effluent Monitoring and Ganga Gram.
The implementation of the program is divided into entry-level activities (for immediate
visible impact), medium term activities (to be implemented within 5 years of time frame),
and, long-term activities (to be implemented within 10 years).
# Prime Minister recently inaugurated several development projects in Uttarakhand under the
Namami Gange Mission

Statement 1 is incorrect. To fast-track the carbon footprint reduction technology development, NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN) in partnership with EESL organises technology challenge named as Green Charcoal Hackathon.
Statement 2 is correct. The purpose of the event is to leverage the innovative Indian mind to bridge the technology gap, with the prime objective to clean the air by eliminating farm fire, producing renewable energy out of the agro residue, to promote local entrepreneurship, and to increase the income of the farmers.

Statement 1 is correct. The goal of the National Biofuel Policy (NBP) 2018 is to enable availability of biofuels in the market thereby increasing its blending percentage. An indicative target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol and 5% blending of biodiesel in diesel is proposed by 2030. This goal is to be achieved by:
-reinforcing ongoing ethanol/biodiesel supplies through increasing domestic production
-setting up Second Generation (2G) bio refineries
-development of new feedstock for biofuels
-creating suitable environment for biofuels and its integration with the main fuels.
Statement 2 is correct. A drop-in fuel is a synthetic and completely interchangeable substitute for conventional petroleum-derived hydrocarbons (gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel), meaning it does not require adaptation of the engine, fuel system or the fuel distribution network.
The NBP 2018 defines drop-in fuels as any liquid fuel produced from Biomass, agri-residues, wastes such as Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW), Plastic wastes, Industrial wastes etc. which meets the Indian standards for MS, HSD and Jet fuel, in pure or blended form, for its subsequent utilization in vehicles without any modifications in the engine systems and can utilize existing petroleum distribution system.

Wildlife Crime Control Bureau.
Statement 1 is incorrect: The Bureau was constituted by amendment to the Wild Life
(Protection) Act, 1972. It has been envisaged as a multi – disciplinary statutory body that
will have officials from forests, police, customs and other similar agencies. The constitution
is specified in Section 38 (Y) of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
Statement 2 is correct: The powers and functions of the Bureau are specified under
Section 38(Z) of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. It Advice the Government of India on
issues relating to wildlife crimes having national and international ramifications and
suggest changes required in relevant policy and laws time to time.

Asian Elephant: It is found in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and
Myanmar. IUCN status of Asian Elephant is Endangered. It is also listed in Appendix I of
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES) and Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Great Indian Bustard: It is one of the heaviest flying birds in the world. Its largest
populations are found in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is state bird of Rajasthan. It is
listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List. It is also listed in Appendix I of
CITES and Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Bengal Florican: In India it is found in Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. It
has been listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List. The bird is listed under
Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of India, 1972 and Appendix I of CITES.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen outlined the European
Green Deal on Wednesday, vowing to “leave no-one behind” in the race to achieve a climate
neutral economy by 2050. “This is Europe’s man on the moon moment,” she said in a video
statement. “Our goal is to reconcile the economy with our planet” and “to make it work for
our people,” she added, describing climate policy as Europe’s new growth strategy.
Here are the main points in the commission plan:
•‘Climate neutral’ Europe: This is the overarching objective of the European Green
Deal. The EU will aim to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, a goal
that will be enshrined in a ‘climate law’ to be presented in March 2020.
•Circular economy: A new circular economy action plan will be tabled in March
2020, as part of a broader EU industrial strategy. It will include a sustainable
product policy with “prescriptions on how we make things” in order to use less
materials, and ensure products can be reused and recycled.
•Building renovation: This is meant to be one of the flagship programmes of the
Green Deal. The key objective there is to “at least double or even triple” the
renovation rate of buildings, which currently stands at around 1%.
•Zero-pollution: Whether in air, soil or water, the objective is to reach a “pollutionfree
environment” by 2050. New initiatives there include a chemical strategy for a
“toxic-free environment”.
•Ecosystems & biodiversity: A new biodiversity strategy will be presented in March
2020, in the run-up to a UN biodiversity summit taking place in China in October.
“Europe wants to lead by example” with new measures to address the main drivers
of biodiversity loss. That includes measures to tackle soil and water pollution as well
as a new forest strategy.
•Farm to fork strategy: To be tabled in spring 2020, the new strategy will aim for a
“green and healthier agriculture” system. This includes plans to “significantly reduce
the use of chemical pesticides, fertilisers and antibiotics”.
•Transport: One year after the EU agreed new CO2 emission standards for cars, the
automotive sector is once again in the commission’s firing line. The current objective
is to reach 95gCO2/km by 2021.
•Money: To “leave no-one behind,” the commission proposes a ‘Just Transition
Mechanism’ to help regions most heavily dependent on fossil fuels. “We have the
ambition to mobilise €100 billion precisely targeted to the most vulnerable regions
and sectors”.

The India Cooling Action seeks to
•reduce cooling demand across sectors by 20% to 25% by 2037-38,
•reduce refrigerant demand by 25% to 30% by 2037-38,
•reduce cooling energy requirements by 25% to 40% by 2037-38,
•recognize “cooling and related areas” as a thrust area of research under national
S&T Programme,
•training and certification of 100,000 servicing sector technicians by 2022-23,
synergizing with Skill India Mission. These actions will have significant climate
benefits.
The following benefits would accrue to the society over and above the environmental
benefits:
•Thermal comfort for all – provision for cooling for EWS and LIG housing,
•Sustainable cooling – low GHG emissions related to cooling,
•Doubling Farmers Income – better cold chain infrastructure – better value of
produce to farmers, less wastage of produce,
•Skilled workforce for better livelihoods and environmental protection,
•Make in India – domestic manufacturing of air-conditioning and related cooling
equipment’s,
•Robust R&D on alternative cooling technologies – to provide push to innovation in
cooling sector.

Forest-PLUS 2.0.
Statement 1 is incorrect: US Agency for International Development (USAID) and India’s
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) have launched Forest-
PLUS 2.0.
Statement 2 is incorrect: Forest-PLUS 2.0 is a five-year programme initiated in
December 2018 that focuses on developing tools and techniques to bolster ecosystem
management and harnessing ecosystem services in forest landscape management.
•Forest-PLUS 2.0 comprises pilot project in three landscapes — Gaya in Bihar,
Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala and Medak in Telangana.
•The choice of these sites was driven by the contrast in their landscapes – Bihar is a
forest deficit area, Telangana is a relatively drier area where there is ample scope for
community livelihood enhancement and Kerala is rich in biodiversity.

Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority
(CAMPA) Act.
CAMPA Act:
•To compensate the loss of forest area and to maintain the sustainability, the
Government of India came up with a well-defined Act, known as CAMPA
(Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority).
•The law establishesthe National Compensatory Afforestation Fund under the
Public Account of India, and a State Compensatory Afforestation Fund under
the Public Account of each state.
•These Funds will receive payments for: (i) compensatory afforestation, (ii) net present
value of forest (NPV), and (iii) other project specific payments.
•The National Fund will receive 10% of these funds, and the State Funds will
receive the remaining 90%.
•According to the Act’s provision, a company diverting forest land must provide
alternative land to take up compensatory afforestation.
•For afforestation, the company should pay to plant new trees in the alternative land
provided to the state.
•The act also seeks to establish National and State Compensatory Afforestation Fund
Management and Planning Authorities to manage the funds.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority in collaboration with the
Wildlife Institute of India has published a document titled “Connecting Tiger
Populations for Long-term Conservation”, which has mapped out 32 major corridors
across the country, management interventions for which are operationalised through a
Tiger Conservation Plan, mandated under section 38V of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

In a first of its kind symbolic effort by India at the UN, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi inaugurated a 50KW ‘Gandhi Solar Park’, a gesture that highlights India’s
willingness to go beyond the talk on climate change
•At a contribution of about one million dollars, India has gifted solar panels that have
been installed on the roof of the UN Headquarters here, one panel each for every
193 UN Member State.
•Modi will remotely inaugurate the solar park at the UN Headquarters and the
‘Gandhi Peace Garden’ during a special commemorative event marking Gandhi’s
150th birth anniversary.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has proposed a draft policy for
the supply of round-the-clock power to distributors through a mix of renewable energy and
electricity generated in coal-based thermal power plants.
•Addressing issues of intermittency, limited hours of supply and low capacity
utilisation of transmission infrastructure, the draft power policy provides for
‘reverse bundling’—high-cost thermal power clubbed with cheaper renewable
energy.
•A power generating firm will have to supply electricity that consists of at least 51
percent of renewable energy and the rest drawn from thermal sources.
•The generator will supply renewable energy complemented with thermal power in
round-the-clock manner, keeping at least 80 percent availability on an annual basis,
the draft said.

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy launched the State Rooftop Solar
Attractiveness Index (SARAL).
•Karnataka has been given the first rank in the index, followed by Telangana,
Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
•SARAL has been designed by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
(MNRE) in association with Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (SSEF),
Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and
Ernst & Young (EY).
•The index captures five key aspects — robustness of policy framework,
implementation environment, investment climate, consumer experience and
business ecosystem.

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) is an independent, public interest organization (not-for-profit), which uses knowledge for activism.
• The Centre was started in 1980, by India’s top environmentalist, Anil Agarwal and continues to work to push, prod and argue for environmental management in the country. It believes it can and must make a difference.
• The India Environment Portal is initiated and managed by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) promoted by the National Knowledge Commission (NKC), Government of India.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has formed a Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) as per the Bio Diversity Act of 2002, which mandates the establishment of BMCs at the local body level across the country.
• The committee will work towards conservation and promotion of biological diversity.
• The primary responsibility of the committee includes documentation of biological diversity, preservation of natural habitats, conservation of landrace, local and regional breeds of animals and plants.
• One of the important functions of the committee would be to prepare or help prepare People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR), which will contain comprehensive information on local flora and fauna, traditional and scientific knowledge, and information associated with species.

Government of India in collaboration with the Norwegian Government has established a “Centre for Biodiversity Policy and Law (CEBPOL)” in the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), Chennai, to develop professional expertise in biodiversity policies and laws and develop capacity building.
• The Centre for Biodiversity Policy and Law (CEBPOL), a policy advocacy unit of the National Biodiversity Authority, came out with recommendations to increase India’s agro-biodiversity in 2019.
• These include a comprehensive policy on ‘ecological agriculture’ to enhance native pest and pollinator population providing ecosystem services for the agricultural landscape.
• It suggested promotion of the bio-village concept of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) for ecologically sensitive farming;
• conserving crop wild relatives of cereals, millets, oilseeds, fibres, forages, fruits and nuts, vegetables, spices etc. for crop genetic diversity healthier food;
• Providing incentives for farmers cultivating native landrace varieties and those conserving indigenous breeds of livestock and poultry varieties.

The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) was formed in the year 2001.
• The vision of the council is, “To enable a sustainable built environment for all and facilitate India to be one of the global leaders in the sustainable built environment by 2025”.

•The council offers a wide array of services which include developing new green building rating programmes, certification services and green building training programmes.
• The council also organizes Green Building Congress, its annual flagship event on green buildings.
• The council is committee-based, member-driven and consensus-focused.
• All the stakeholders of construction industry comprising of architects, developers, product manufacturers, corporate, Government, academia and nodal agencies participate in the council activities through local chapters.
• The council also closely works with several State Governments, Central Government, World Green Building Council, bilateral multi-lateral agencies in promoting green building concepts in the country.

The Central Government provides financial support to the States for supporting conservation of wildlife and biodiversity, through the following umbrella schemes:
1. Development of National Parks and Sanctuaries (DNPS);
2. Project Tiger (PT)
3. Project Elephant (PE)
4. Protection of Wildlife Outside Protected Areas (PWOPA).

The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) was created in February, 1992 under an Act of Parliament (Section 38A of Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 as amended in 1991) to control mushrooming of ill-conceived/ ill planned zoos.
• And to monitor and evaluate the existing zoos and to suggest ways and means for the improvement of zoos in the country.
• So that they can be transformed into potent centres for the ex-situ conservation of endangered wild fauna.
• The Central Zoo Authority regulates the exchange of animals of endangered category listed under Schedule I and II of Wildlife protection act, 1972.

As per the Biological Diversity Act 2002 and Rules 2004, it is necessary to constitute State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) and make them functional for documentation, conservation and sustainable utilization of Biodiversity.
Preparation of People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs) involving locals and BMCs and with guidance from SBBs and NBA is also stipulated in the Act and Rules.
The People’s Biodiversity Registers are the one way of documenting traditional knowledge and provide:
• information on availability of traditional knowledge of people relating to biological resources
• details of the access to biological resources and traditional knowledge granted,
• details of collection fee imposed and benefits derived, and
• Mode of sharing the benefits.

Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats’ (IDWH) is an on-going centrally Sponsored Scheme which has been made operational by adding more components and activities to the erstwhile centrally Sponsored Scheme – “Assistance for the Development of National Parks and Sanctuaries” during the 11th Plan Period.
Under IDWH, the financial assistance is provided to State/UT Governments for protection and conservation of wildlife and its habitats in Protected Areas (PAs) as well as outside PAs and also for the recovery programmes of the critically endangered species.
Components of the scheme:
• Support to Protected Areas (National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves).
• Protection of Wildlife outside Protected Areas.
• Recovery programmes for saving critically endangered species and habitats.

Dolphins are one of the oldest creatures in the world along with some species of turtles, crocodiles and sharks.
• The Ganges river dolphin was officially discovered in 1801.
• Ganges river dolphins once lived in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh.
• But the species is extinct from most of its early distribution ranges.
• The Ganges river dolphin can only live in freshwater and is essentially blind.
• They hunt by emitting ultrasonic sounds, which bounces off of fish and other prey, enabling them to “see” an image in their mind.
• They are frequently found alone or in small groups, and generally a mother and calf travel together.
• Calves are chocolate brown at birth and then have grey-brown smooth, hairless skin as adults.
• Females are larger than males and give birth once every two to three years to only one calf.
• The Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary (VGDS), from Sultanganj to Kahalganj on the Ganga in Bihar is the only dolphin sanctuary in the country.

Recent Measures: Restricting the speeds of vessels and blowing sirens and horns is how the Ministry of Shipping plans to safeguard the population of the Ganges River Dolphin, in the country’s one dolphin reserve through which National Waterway-1 connecting Haldia to Varanasi passes.

Prescribed burning is the process of planning and applying fire to a predetermined area, under specific environmental conditions, to achieve a desired outcome.
• Prescribed, controlled and planned burns are the same thing.
• Prescribed burning was experimentally introduced in the Eravikulam National Park (ENP) and Parambikulam Tiger Reserve (PKMTR) recently.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a process of evaluating the likely environmental impacts of a proposed project or development, taking into account inter-related socio-economic, cultural and human-health impacts, both beneficial and adverse.
• EIA is basically a tool used to assess the positive and negative environmental, economic and social impacts of a project. This is used to predict the environmental impacts of a project in the pre-planning stage itself so that decisions can be taken to reduce the adverse impacts.
• EIA started in India in 1976-77 when the Planning Commission directed the Department of Science & Technology to assess the river valley projects from the point of view of the environment.
• Then, in 1986, the government enacted the Environment (Protection) Act which made EIA statutory.
• The other main laws in this regard are the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972), the Water Act (1974), the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act (1981), and the Biological Diversity Act (2002).