Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon (Environment) – June 20, 2020

Seabuckthorn (Hippophae spp. L.) is an ecologically and economically important plant of trans-Himalayan Ladakh.

• The plant is hard and it can withstand extreme temperatures from -43ºC to 40ºC and it is considered to be drought tolerant.
• Seabuckthorn berries are among the most nutritious of all fruits.
• Seabuckthorn grows naturally in Ladakh without much of human interference.
• After the transfer of a Seabuckthorn-based technology by Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR) to a private firm in year 2001, collection of berry has become an important income generating activity.
• Ladakh remains the major site for natural Seabuckthorn resource with over 70% of the total area (13,000 ha) under Seabuckthorn in the country.

Shannon-Wiener index of diversity (information index) a measure derived from information theories developed by Claude E. Shannon and Norbert Wiener and published in 1949 by Shannon and Warren Weaver, which is used by ecologists when a system contains too many individuals for each to be identified and examined.

The top five Species richness states are Arunachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir and Kerala.

Andaman & Nicobar Islands has highest per capita dependence on forests for Bamboo.

The Executive Body adopted the Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone in Gothenburg (Sweden) on 30 November 1999.

• The Protocol sets national emission ceilings for 2010 up to 2020 for four pollutants: sulphur (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and ammonia (NH3).
• These ceilings were negotiated on the basis of scientific assessments of pollution effects and abatement options.
• The Protocol also sets tight limit values for specific emission sources (e.g. combustion plant, electricity production, dry cleaning, cars and Lorries) and requires best available techniques to be used to keep emissions down.
• VOCs emissions from such products as paints or aerosols also have to be cut.
• Finally, farmers have to take specific measures to control ammonia emissions.

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.