Environment - Current Affairs for June, 2016

State government on 25th June said forest cover in Goa has been increased by 5 square km as per the 2015 forest survey report of India.

• Every two years, GoI conducts the survey to find out the forest cover.
• In the 2015 report, it was found that an increase in forest cover by 5 square km of which 4 square km have risen in Mangroves
• Recorded forest cover of the state which is in government control is over 33 percent and if private forest is considered, it touches 40 percent cover of the total area.
• If the plantation like cashew or coconut is considered, Goa currently has 60 percent tree cover.
• Total geographical area of the state is 3702 square km.
• In terms of tree cover in India, Goa is in the fifth position

State Action Plan of Climate Change/SAPCC was approved by the government of India and formally launched on 20th June with a workshop amidst stakeholders.

• Plan would require INR 8800 crore in two phases
• Of the 15 sectors under National Action Plan of Climate Change, four sectors-disaster, water, energy and forest will be dealt with first
• International agencies Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation will facilitate expert guidance and fund at global level while UNDP SDC will monitor its implementation
• Chief Secretary at the occasion, Shatrughan Sinha also confirmed a sectoral CC plan was needed for those departments playing an important role

After years of research on dolphin behavior and under pressure from animal rights groups, the National Aquarium in Baltimore has decided to move the marine mammals to a sanctuary, officials said on 15th June 2016.

• It will be the first sanctuary for dolphins in North America.
• The transfer from the aquarium in the Atlantic coast port city will not be done before 2020, they said.
• The venue for the dolphins will be a protected coastal habitat, where the animals will continue to live under human care.

May’s temperature broke international records again as the northern hemisphere completed its hottest spring on record, according to statistics released by NASA on June 14, 2016

• Arctic in particular saw abnormal heat, causing Arctic sea ice and Greenland ice sheet to start melting earlier according to NASA
• Alaska recorded the warmest spring on record by a wide margin
• In Finland, the average May temperature was between three and five degrees warmer than usual in most regions as per data from the Finnish Meteorological Institute
• David Carlson, Director of Geneva’s World Climate Research Program announced that the super El Nino is partly to blame
Strong El Nino temperatures caused more than 53 percent of Australia to experience the warmest autumn on record

Geologists have found footprints of Eubrontes Gleneronsensis Theropod dinosaurs in Jaisalmer district- these fossilised prints are 150 million years old. Dr. Suresh Chandra Mathur, a professor in the geological department of Jainarayan Vyas University comprehends that they can help scientists understand the reason behind the disappearance of dinosaurs.

• Around 66 million years ago, a mass extinction wiped out massive reptiles and reasons behind the extinction that were not known till now.
• In 2010, the international scientific panel reported support for the hypothesis that the extinction occurred when asteroid of 10 km width hurtled into the sea of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.
• This sends an extraordinary amount of ash into the atmosphere and lowered temperatures.
• It is unclear whether extinction happened following the impact or before it.
• Three years later, researchers from University of California, Berkeley dated the impact with more precision than before.

National Forest Skill Development Centre is being set up in Dehradun for equipping youths for jobs in the forest sector and help mitigate the problem of migration of people from the hills in search of work.

• It is one of a kind institution in the whole country where youth from all over India can converge and get skill development training.
• It will help them get employment in the forest sector and rein in large scale migration from the hills in search of livelihood
• Stopping migration from hills in search of livelihood has been a major problem for successive governments in Uttarakhand.
• Rajaji National park has been granted the status of a tiger reserve by the Centre to boost tourism. More people are getting jobs as a result of this
• Also the Govind Ballabh Pant National Himalayan Environment Institution is being upgraded into the National Centre for Himalayan Ecology.
• Centre has also given INR 24 crore to the state government for upgradation

Researchers have found that one third of stargazers cannot see the Milky Way at night on account of light pollution from the buildings, street lamps and other artificial lighting on earth according to a fresh study

• Night time glow of artificial lights affects astronomers as well as casual night sky observers
• The survey of night sky brightness was created more than a decade ago by Fabio Faichi and colleagues.
• Researchers from EU and the US and Israel helped Falchi to conduct the research
• The study has implications for the worldwide transition into LED technology and until careful consideration is given to LED colour and lighting levels, transition could lead to 2-3 fold increase in sky glow on clear nights.
• In addition to work of astronomers, bright nights affect ecosystems as well as nocturnal organisms

Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $120 million loan agreement to help improve irrigation and water management infrastructure in Odisha.

• The loan is the second tranche of a $157.5 million financing facility under the Orissa Integrated Irrigated Agriculture and Water Management Investment Program.
• The financing will be used for modernising seven irrigation subprojects resulting in improved irrigation in over 100,000 hectares, and strengthening of Water User Associations (WUAs) and the institutional capacity of Odisha’s Department of Water Resources.
• The selected areas for the investment program are the Baitarani, Brahmani, Budhabalanga, and Subernarekha river basins and part of the Mahanadi delta.

A tropical fish can tell one human face from another despite lacking a brain section that homo sapiens and other "smart" animals use for this task, scientists said on June 8, 2016

• The astonishing ability was demonstrated in experiments with eight archerfish, a tropical species best known for spitting pressurised water jets to shoot prey out of the air
• Instead of aiming at bugs, the sharpshooting fish were taught to spit at pictures of human faces displayed on a computer monitor suspended over their aquarium.
• The fish, which require excellent vision for hunting, were first introduced to two faces, and conditioned to spit at one of them in exchange for a food reward.
• The researchers then tested whether the fish would recognise, and spit at, the familiar face among 44 new ones.
• The fish got it right more than 80 percent of the time.
• Understanding fish intelligence may shed light on our own brain function- whether facial recognition is an innate or learned ability

Consumers will now have to shell out money for power, fuel and cars in few years as industries will pass technology upgrade burden into place for meeting environmental and emission norms

• The new environmental norms for coal-fired power plants, for example, are expected to push up electricity cost by 40-50 paise per unit. Motor fuels could become costlier by 70 paise or more per litre as the country moves to Bharat Stage-VI - akin to Euro-VI - grade fuels by April 2020.
• Similarly, carmakers say prices may rise by anywhere between Rs 1 lakh and Rs1.5 lakh.
• The new norms for coal-fired power stations, announced in December, for example, would impact 180,000 MW of generation capacity.
• The new norms cover the range of emissions from power station including particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury etc as well as limiting water usage.

On account of changing climate, Arctic regions of N.America are getting greener with a third of the total land cover looking more like landscapes found in warmer ecosystems, as per a new NASA study.

• Close to 87,000 images taken from Landsat satellites has converted into data reflecting the amount of healthy vegetation in the Arctic and boreal N. America
• Landsat is a programme providing continuous longest space based record of Earth’s land vegetation
• It showcases the climate impact on vegetation at higher latitudes as well
• Temperatures are warming faster in the Arctic than elsewhere which has led to longer seasons for plants to grow in and changes to the soils.
• Climate impact on vegetation in the high latitudes has been the result of temperatures warming faster in the Arctic than elsewhere

The climate change and biodiversity hotspot of Wayanad took its first step towards eco restoration and climate change mitigation with the rolling out of the state’s first carbon neutrality project on World Environment Day

• TM Thomas Isaaci unveiled the project to make Meenangadi the first carbon neutral panchayat in India.
• This initiative was taken during World Environment Day

On World Environment Day, the Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Mr Prakash Javadekar spoke of the need for urban forestry. The Union Minister is set to launch a massive tree plantation scheme called Urban Forestry Scheme in Pune. This year’s theme for World Environment Day is “Go Wild For Life.”

• Another initiative was the Tiger Trail Circuit Train from Delhi Safdarjung station which is to highlight the significance of environment in our lives. The tourist train will be operated by Indian Railway PSU IRCTC.

The GAJRAJ Corps in Assam’s Tezpur Area observed the World Environment Day on Sunday, June 5 lauching the Go Green initiative

• This initiative is an eco-friendly way of avoiding harmful chemicals for killing mosquitoes and controlling mosquito borne diseases.
• Lt Gen D. Anbu also launched the GREENATHON on this day

Arctic is on track to be free of ice this year for the first time in more than 100,000 years, scientists say. Provision data provided by the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre indicated there were over 11.1 million sq km of sea ice on June 1 this year, as against average for the past 30 years of nearly 12.7 million sq km. This difference of more than 1.5 million square kilometre is about the size of six UKs.

• Head of the Polar Ocean Physics Group, Cambridge University, Professor Peter Wadhams said that the latest figures bore out the controversial predictions made earlier.
• Professor Peter Wadhams has also predicted that Arctic ice may well disappear and have an area of less than one million sq km for September this year.
• Though the ice doesn’t completely disappear, that is, have an area of less than one million sq km for September of this year.
• Though the ice does not completely disappear, it is very likely this will be a record low year.
• It could go down to a million this year. Ice free means that the central part of the Arctic and North Pole is ice free.
• Remaining ice within the Arctic Circle would be trapped among myriad of islands along the north coast of Canada

An agreement for Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Grant of USD 9.20 Million with theWorld Bank for"Efficient and Sustainable City Bus Service Project” was signed on May 31

• The total program cost is USD 113.0 million, with USD 9.20 million as grant from the GEF and USD 103.07 million from Government of India and state & city governments for funding of buses and ancillary infrastructure.
• The project's development objective is to improve the efficiency and attractiveness of city bus transport and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the demonstration cities.
• It comprises: (i) a national capacity building component to be implemented by Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD); and (ii) city demonstration projects in the cities of Bhopal, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Mira Bhayandar.