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Dear Friends,<\/p>\n
This post is a part of our current affairs series for the UPSC IAS Prelims 2022. In this post, we have covered the all Important Environmental initiatives in news<\/strong>. This post covers current affairs from Nov. 2021 to 31st March 2022. In the 2nd part, we will cover the rest of the current affairs from July 2021 to 31st April 2022.<\/p>\n News<\/strong>: Scientists have resumed the Project of tagging Olive Ridley turtles<\/u><\/a>\u00a0at Rushikulya rookery along the Odisha coast.<\/p>\n About the Project<\/strong><\/p>\n Launched:<\/b><\/strong> It is a collaborative project of the Zoological Survey of India<\/u><\/a>\u00a0in association with the Odisha Forest and Environment Department.<\/p>\n Nesting Sites Covered:<\/b><\/strong> The project of tagging the Olive Ridleys is being carried out at three mass nesting sites \u2014 Gahirmatha, Devi River mouth, and Rushikulya. The project is being undertaken after a span of about 25 years.<\/p>\n Purpose:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0The tagging of the turtles will help in finding the extent of travel and location of the turtles after congregation, nesting, etc for further research on turtle behaviour.<\/p>\n The tags on the turtles are also uniquely numbered, containing details<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0such as the name of the organisation, country code and email address. If researchers in other countries come across the tagged turtles, they will email their location in longitude and latitude.<\/p>\n Moreover, the metal tags attached to turtles are non-corrosive, <\/b><\/strong>and they do not harm their body. It can be removed later.<\/p>\n Note<\/b><\/strong>:<\/p>\n Rushikulya River:<\/b><\/strong> It is one of the major rivers in the state of Odisha. The River originates in the Daringbadi hills of the Eastern Ghats range. The place from where the river originates, Daringbadi is called the \u2018Kashmir of Odisha<\/b><\/strong>\u2018. The river meets the Bay of Bengal at Puruna Bandha in Ganjam.<\/p>\n Devi River: <\/b><\/strong>It is one of the principal distributaries of Mahanadi. It flows through Jagatsinghpur district and Puri district across Odisha state in India and joins the Bay of Bengal.<\/p>\n News<\/strong>: The Critically Endangered Gharial<\/u><\/a>\u00a0(Gavialis gangeticus) <\/i><\/em>has been successfully reintroduced in the Beas River of Punjab where it had become extinct half a century ago.<\/p>\n About Gharial Reintroduction in Beas River<\/strong><\/p>\n The Gharial reintroduction in the Beas Conservation Reserve is an ambitious programme of the Punjab government. The reptiles were commonly sighted in the Beas River till the 1960s, but later became extinct.<\/p>\n Now, as part of the programme, 94 gharials have been released in the reserve since 2017.<\/p>\n Reason behind their extinction in Beas River<\/strong><\/p>\n Gharials may have gone extinct due to a)<\/b><\/strong> change in the hydrology due to the construction of dams and barrages b)<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0significantly reduced water flow c)<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0rapid land-use change of floodplains and d)<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0rampant overfishing that slowly led to the extinction of the gharial from the Beas.<\/p>\n About Beas Conservation Reserve<\/strong><\/p>\n It is located in Punjab and spreads over a 185-km stretch of the Beas River. The reserve has been notified as a Ramsar Site in January 2020.<\/p>\n The reserve hosts the only known population in India of the endangered Indus River dolphin (Platanista gangetica minor). <\/i><\/em><\/p>\n Further, threatened species in the reserve include the endangered masheer\u00a0(Tor putitora)<\/i><\/em>\u00a0and hog deer (Axis porcinus)<\/i><\/em>\u00a0as well as the vulnerable smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata).<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n Operation Save Kurma: <\/b><\/strong>It focuses on the poaching, transportation and illegal trade of live turtles and tortoises.<\/p>\n Operation Turtshield:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0It was taken up to tackle the illegal trade of live turtles.<\/p>\n Operation Softgold:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0To tackle illegal trade in Shahtoosh shawls (made from Chiru wool).<\/p>\n Operation Lesknow<\/b><\/strong>: To bring the attention of the enforcement agencies within the country to the illegal wildlife trade in lesser-known species such as Deer, Wild Boar, Jackal, Mongoose, Monitor Lizard, Sea cucumber, and Pangolin.<\/p>\n Operation Clean Art:<\/b><\/strong> To drag the attention of enforcement agencies towards the illegal wildlife trade in Mongoose hairbrushes.<\/p>\n Operation Thunderbird: <\/b><\/strong>It concentrated mainly on illegal trade in species such as Tigers and other Asian big cats, Bears, Pangolins, Reptiles, Red Sanders, Sea-cucumber, and seahorses.<\/p>\n Operation Birbil:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0To curb illegal trade in wild cat and wild bird species.<\/p>\n Operation Wildnet:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0It was aimed to draw the attention of the enforcement agencies within the country to focus their attention on the ever-increasing illegal wildlife trade over the internet using social media platforms.<\/p>\n Operation Freefly:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0It was conducted to check the illegal trade of live birds.<\/p>\n Operation Wetmark<\/b><\/strong>: It was taken up to ensure the prohibition of the sale of meat of wild animals in wet markets across the country.<\/p>\n News<\/strong>: India co-chaired the Steering Leadership meeting of the Global Methane Initiative (GMI).<\/p>\n About the Global Methane Initiative (GMI)<\/strong><\/p>\n GMI is an international public-private initiative launched in 2004.<\/p>\n Aim:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0To achieve a global reduction in anthropogenic methane emission through a partnership among developed and developing countries having economies in transition.<\/p>\n Members: <\/b><\/strong>It is a voluntary Government and an informal international partnership having members from 45 countries including the United States and Canada. India has been one of the members since its inception.<\/p>\n Secretariat:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0It is currently hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.<\/p>\n Current Chairperson:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0Canada<\/p>\n Vice-Chairmanship:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0India has taken up Vice-Chairmanship for the first time in the Steering Leadership along with the USA.<\/p>\n News<\/strong>: Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has launched Project RE-HAB (Reducing Elephant-Human Attacks using Bees) in Assam.<\/p>\n About Project RE-HAB<\/strong><\/p>\n Under this Project, \u201cBee-fences\u201d are created by setting up bee boxes in the passageways of elephants to block their entrance to human territories.<\/p>\n The boxes are connected with a string so that when elephants attempt to pass through, a tug or pull causes the bees to swarm the elephant herds and dissuade them from progressing further.<\/p>\n It was earlier launched in Kodagu district of Karnataka in March 2021. In just 6 months, this project has reduced elephant attacks by over 70%.<\/p>\n It is a sub-mission of KVIC\u2019s\u00a0National Honey Mission. <\/u><\/a><\/p>\n Significance of this Project<\/strong><\/p>\n Firstly, <\/b><\/strong>this project is a cost-effective way of reducing human-wild conflicts without causing any harm to the animals.<\/p>\n Secondly, <\/b><\/strong>it is scientifically recorded that elephants are annoyed by the honey bees. Elephants also fear that the bee swarms can bite their sensitive inner side of the trunk and eyes. Hence, this project will force elephants to return and prevent Elephant \u2013 Human Conflicts.<\/p>\n News<\/strong>: The Kerala Bird Atlas (KBA) has been released recently.<\/p>\n About Kerala Bird Atlas (KBA)<\/strong><\/p>\n It is the first-of-its-kind state-level bird atlas<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0in India. The Atlas is arguably Asia\u2019s largest bird atlas<\/b><\/strong> in terms of geographical extent, sampling effort, and species coverage.<\/p>\n It was conducted as a citizen science-driven exercise <\/b><\/strong>with the participation of over 1000 volunteers of the bird watching community.<\/p>\n The atlas has created data about the distribution and abundance of various bird species<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0across all major habitats for futuristic studies.<\/p>\n News<\/strong>: The findings of the Asian Waterbird Census 2022 have been released.<\/p>\n About Asian Waterbird Census<\/strong><\/p>\n Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) was started in 1987. It is an annual exercise to count the waterbirds and monitor the wetlands for conservation of migratory birds and their habitats along the Central Asian Flyway<\/b><\/u><\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Conducted by<\/b><\/strong>: Wetlands International<\/p>\n In India, AWC is coordinated by the Wetlands International South Asia and the Bombay Natural History Society.<\/p>\n
\nTo Read Other Current Affairs Compilations<\/strong> for Prelims 2022<\/span>– Click here<\/a><\/h2>\n
\nMass tagging mission of Olive Ridley Turtles<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\nGharial Reintroduction in Beas River<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\nOperations conducted by WCCB against illegal wildlife trade<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\nGlobal Methane Initiative (GMI)<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\nProject RE-HAB<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\nKerala Bird Atlas (KBA)<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\nAsian Waterbird Census<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n