Daily Prelims Notes 29 August 2023

Daily Prelims Notes

29 August 2023

Table Of Contents

1. Chandrayaan missions: Who names sites on the Moon?
2. Moon mission gained from crash analysis: LPSC chief
3. Lagrangian points
4. Sebi modifies the ‘fit and proper’ criteria for market infrastructure institutions (MIIs)
5. Short Selling in Adani shares led to substantial gains for select FPIs
6. Crossing the tipping point of electric car adoption
7. The problems with the Prime Minister’s economic claims
8. 514 researchers to get ICSSR funding to study the impact of Centrally sponsored schemes
9. RBI governor-headed FSDC-SC resolves to remain vigilant against external vulnerabilities
10. Three-North Shelterbelt Program (TNSP)
11. Biodiversity management is in transition
12. Over 50 African countries agree to work on minimising impact of mineral mining
13. Kampala Declaration on climate change, human mobility now has 48 African countries as members
14. They sense electric fields, tolerate snow and have ‘mating trains’: 4 reasons echidnas really are remarkable
15. OECMs: A new paradigm for area-based conservation
16. How scientists found that LK-99 is probably not a superconductor?

1. Chandrayaan missions: Who names sites on the Moon?

Subject: Science and technology

Section: Space technology

Context

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the naming of the Chandrayaan-3 landing site as “Shiv Shakti.”
• The Chandrayaan-2 crash site from 2019 has been named “Tiranga.”
• ISRO chief K Somnath stated that many Indian names are already on the Moon, like the Sarabhai crater..

Why no one can own the Moon?

• In 1966, the Outer Space Treaty by the UN declared that celestial bodies, including the Moon, can’t be claimed by any nation.
• The treaty aimed to promote cooperation in space exploration.
• The Treaty doesn’t discuss naming sites on the Moon.

Who names landing sites on the Moon, then?

• The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is responsible for planetary nomenclature.
• The IAU has been determining names since its establishment in 1919.
• Informal naming practices often start at mission sites.
• Images of the far side of the Moon led to informal names which later gained official status through the IAU.
• India is a member of IAU.

How does IAU consider names for planetary objects?

• IAU’s Working Groups handle the naming process.
• Themes for naming are selected based on initial images of planets/satellites.
• Higher-resolution images may prompt the naming of additional features.
• Suggestions for names can come from anyone but don’t guarantee acceptance.
• Approved names are submitted to the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN).
• Upon WGPSN’s review and vote, names become official IAU nomenclature.

Are there any norms for naming Space objects?

• IAU suggests names should be “simple, clear, and unambiguous“.
• Names should not have political, military, or religious significance.
• Commemoration of persons should have a specific purpose.
• Deceased individuals must be deceased for at least three years before a proposal.
• Earlier, satellite names drew from Greco-Roman mythology.

Has India ever named any other site on the Moon?

• After the 2008 Chandrayaan-1 mission, the crash site was named “Jawahar Sthal” after Jawaharlal Nehru.
• Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam suggested this to commemorate India’s Moon achievement and was accepted by the IAU.

Important moon sites:

• Shiv Shakti – Chandrayaan-3 landing site.
• Tiranga – Chandrayaan-2 crash site (2019).
• Sarabhai crater – Named after Vikram Sarabhai.
• StatioTianchuan – Chang’e 5 landing site (China’s mission).
• Statio Tranquillitatis – Apollo 11 landing site (NASA).
• Jawahar Sthal – Chandrayaan-1 probe crash site, named after Jawaharlal Nehru.

International Astronomical Union

• The International Astronomical Union (IAU) was founded in 1919, headquartered in Paris, France.
• Its mission is to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects, including research, communication, education, and development, through international cooperation.
• It is the global authority for naming planetary features in the solar system.

2. Moon mission gained from crash analysis: LPSC chief

Subject: Science and technology

Section: Space technology

Context:

• The August 23 moon ‘landing scored by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with its Chandrayaan-3 mission is also the story of how an efficient performance analysis helped the space agency bounce back in style from a setback.

Why did Chandrayaan-2 fail to achieve soft-landing?

1. It had five engines which were used to give the reduction of the velocity, which is called the r These engines developed higher thrust than what was expected. 
   • The extra thrust led to the accumulation of errors, which, in turn, compromised the stability of the lander during the “camera coasting phase’’ for the soft landing.
2. The craft had to make very fast turns. When it started to turn very fast, its ability to turn was limited by the software, thus unable to turn as required.
3. The lander, despite being close to the surface, increased its velocity as the landing site was quite far away.
   • It was decelerating, but not fast enough to slow down to a speed of 2 metres/second (7.2 km/hr) that was required for a safe landing.

Committee and its recommendations:

• Dr. V. Narayanan, who has headed the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) since January 2018, had chaired the national-level expert committee which analyzed the reasons for the 2019 Chandrayaan-2 lander crash and recommended improvements that were incorporated in Chandrayaan-3.
  • The Chandrayaan-2 mission, launched in July 2019 from Sriharikota, had performed normally until contact with its Vikram lander was lost at an altitude of 2.1 km amid its descent to the landing site.
• The committee suggested improvements to:
  • The software packages,
  • The navigation,
  • Guidance control systems,
  • The propulsion mechanism,
  • The powered descent scheme, and
  • The Vikram lander system, among other things.
• Its recommendations included:
  • Enhancing the propellant margin in the spacecraft, and
  • Strengthening the lander legs.
• The entire software system was verified, validated and strengthened, because once the powered descent (to the lunar surface) starts, everything is autonomous and has to work with precision.

Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC):

• LPSC is the lead Centre for development and realization of earth-to-orbit advanced propulsion stages for Launch Vehicles and also the in-space propulsion systems for Spacecrafts.
• The LPSC contributed four propulsion systems:
  • The L110 core liquid stage and the C25 cryogenic upper stage for the LVM3 launch vehicle,
  • One for the Propulsion Module and
  • One for the Vikram lander which touched down on the lunar surface.

For details of Chandrayaan-3 mission: https://optimizeias.com/isro-releases-images-of-the-far-side-area-of-the-moon/

3. Lagrangian points

Subject: Science and technology

Section: Space technology

Context: Aditya L1 mission will be launched by the ISRO on September 2 at 11:50 am from Sriharikota.

What are Lagrangian points:

• These are specific locations in space where the gravitational forces of two large bodies, such as the Earth and the Moon or the Earth and the Sun, balance the centrifugal force experienced by a smaller object, such as a satellite.
• Lagrange points are named in honor of Italian-French mathematician Josephy-Louis Lagrange.
• There are five Lagrangian points, labelled L1 through L5, in the three-dimensional space surrounding two large bodies in orbit around each other.
• L1, L2, and L3 are located on a line that connects the two large bodies and are unstable equilibrium points, meaning an object placed there will not stay in that position without continuous propulsion.
• L4 and L5, on the other hand, are located at the third corners of a tetrahedron formed by the two large bodies and their barycenter, and are stable equilibrium points, meaning an object placed there will remain in that position without propulsion.
• The L1 point of the Earth-Sun system affords an uninterrupted view of the sun and is currently home to the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Satellite (SOHO)
• The L2 point in the Earth-Sun system is a strategic location for spacecraft like WMAP, Planck, and the James Webb Space Telescope. It offers advantages for astronomy, as it allows for easy communication with Earth, provides uninterrupted solar power, and offers a clear view of deep space.
• The L1 and L2 points are unstable on a time scale of approximately 23 days, which requires satellites orbiting these positions to undergo regular course and attitude corrections.
• Stable orbits at L4 and L5 Lagrange points require a mass ratio greater than 24.96, seen in Earth-Sun and Earth-Moon systems, as well as elsewhere in the solar system.
• Objects found orbiting at the L4 and L5 points are often called Trojans after the three large asteroids Agamemnon, Achilles and Hector that orbit in the L4 and L5 points of the Jupiter-Sun system.

4. Sebi modifies the ‘fit and proper’ criteria for market infrastructure institutions (MIIs)

Subject :Economy

Section: Capital market

Context:: SEBI has tweaked the framework regarding the ‘fit and proper’ criteria after the original law faced objections from market participants.

Key Points:

• SEBI has tweaked the framework regarding the ‘fit and proper’ criteria for stock exchanges and other market infrastructure institutions (MII) whereby any adverse direction against them will not affect their operations.
• In its original form the law barred the intermediary if any key position holder if any charge sheet filed against them, and it did not cover stock exchanges and was only applicable on brokers and other intermediaries.
• Brokers had challenged the constitutionality of 2021 amendments to the intermediaries regulation that redefined fit and proper criteria for market intermediaries.
•  The present change is focused on separating the role of an individual from the institution. The regulator has amended Securities Contracts rules as well as depositories participants rules.
• What is the ‘fit and proper’ criteria?
  • An applicant has to meet certain criteria to be fit and proper. Those requirements include financial integrity, good reputation, honesty; no conviction in any court for any offence, or any other order like that by Sebi.
  • SEBI altered the criteria to determine ‘fit and proper person’. It is principle-based and/or rule-based.
    • The principle-based criteria include integrity, honesty, ethical behaviour, reputation, fairness, and character, according to the notification. Further, the rule-based norms determine the “fit and proper” status of the person based on the disqualifications stated by SEBI
• Who will it apply to?
  • SEBI said that ‘fit and proper person’ criteria will apply to the applicant, stock exchange, clearing corporation, depository, their shareholders, directors and key management personnel at all times.
  • Further, such Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs) will have to ensure that all its shareholders, directors and key management personnel are fit and proper persons at all times.
• If the criteria is not fulfilled?
  • If any director or key management personnel of a MII is not deemed to be fit and proper, such entities will have to replace such a person within 30 days from the date of such disqualification, failing which the fit and proper person criteria may be invoked against the MII
  • Further any disqualification of a MII will not have any bearing on the fit and proper status of the directors or key management personnel. (separation of individual from the institution)

5. Short Selling in Adani shares led to substantial gains for select FPIs

Subject :Economy

Section: Capital Market

Context::ED investigation report finds huge gains made by 12 FPIs engaged in short-selling Adani stock during the Hindenburg controversy.

Key Points:

• The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has concluded, after a preliminary investigation into the Hindenburg Research report and the subsequent market crash, that 12 companies including foreign portfolio investors and foreign institutional investors (FPIs/ FIIs) based in tax havens were the “top beneficiaries” of short selling in shares of Adani Group companies.
• The short sellers allegedly took positions just 2-3 days before the Hindenburg Research report was published.
• The FPIs have made profit in thousands of crores. None of the FPIs/ FIIs have disclosed their ownership structures to Income Tax authorities.
• Transactions and income tax data throw up the possibility of the FPIs and FIIs not being the “end beneficiaries” of the gains made from short selling, but actually acting as brokers for bigger players located overseas.
• What is short selling?
  • Short sellers are investors who believe and bet share prices will fall; they borrow shares to sell and buy them back later at a lower price, thus making a profit in the transaction.
  • Domestic investors as well as FPIs/ FIIs registered with SEBI are allowed to trade in derivatives — instruments that allow investors to hedge the market risks by taking short positions.
  • SEBI allows regulated short selling and believes that restrictions may distort efficient price discovery, provide promoters unfettered freedom to manipulate prices and on the contrary, favour manipulators.

6. Crossing the tipping point of electric car adoption

Subject :Economy

Section: Infrastructure

Context::: The critical EV tipping point is at 5 per cent of new car sales. This threshold signals the start of mass adoption, when technological preferences rapidly flip.

Key Points:

• Why 5 per cent is so important ?
  • Most successful new technologies like televisions, mobile phones, LED lightbulbs follow an S-shaped adoption curve. Sales move at a crawl in the early-adopter phase, then quickly once things go mainstream.
  • In the case of fully electric vehicles, 5 per cent seems to be the inflection point.
  • The time it takes to get to that level varies widely by country, but once the universal challenges of car costs, charger availability and driver skepticism are solved for the few, the masses soon follow.
• Countries that cross the tipping point have seen rapid rates of adoption, with a median sales growth of 55 per cent last quarter compared to the same period a year ago.
• The EV tipping point for the world was passed in 2021. 19 countries have passed the critical EV tipping point.
• In case of India EVs made up 3 per cent of new car sales in the country last quarter, after doubling in just six months.
• As with any new technology, growth rates will eventually slow as a market nears saturation — the top of the adoption S curve. There will always be holdouts. In Norway, the world’s EV pioneer, growth appears to be slowing after reaching 80 per cent of new vehicles.
• So is mass adoption now guaranteed ?
  • Even the most careful outlooks can be knocked off course by supply-chain disruptions, economic shifts, politics, bankruptcies and popular culture. So, it is likely but can always fail due to such reasons.

The advantage of the tipping-points approach is that it reveals a range of adoption curves that are at least known to be possible because they’ve already occurred.

7. The problems with the Prime Minister’s economic claims

Subject :Economy

Section: National Income

Context:

PM Modi’s aim for a $5 trillion economy by 2025 is disrupted by COVID-19. Challenges remain in evaluating India’s economic claims and global ranking amidst recovery and political goals.

Key Problems

• Use of Nominal GDP:
  • The Prime Minister uses nominal GDP to compare India’s economy with other nations, but this can be misleading.
  • Nominal GDP does not consider price changes, so economic growth in nominal terms can be influenced by inflation rather than actual output changes.
• Exchange Rate Complications:
  • Comparing GDP using market-based exchange rates can be problematic due to the volatility of exchange rates and the presence of nontradable commodities in national outputs.
• Socioeconomic Implications:
  • Focusing solely on the total size of the economy (GDP) disregards per capita income and output, which are more relevant indicators of a country’s standard of living. India’s per capita income remains low, and it ranks lowest in the G20 countries in this regard.
• Per Capita Income Disparity:
  • India’s per capita income distribution is highly skewed.
  • A significant portion of the national income goes to the top 1% of the population, while the bottom 50% receives a disproportionately small share.
• Resource Mobilization and Investments:
  • To achieve meaningful economic growth and catch up with countries like China and the U.S., India needs to focus on resource mobilization and substantial investments in both physical and human capital.

Definitions of Key Terms:

• GDP (Gross Domestic Product): The total value of all goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a specific time period. It can be measured in nominal terms (current prices) or real terms (adjusted for inflation).
  • Nominal GDP: The GDP calculated at current market prices without accounting for inflation.
  • Real GDP: The GDP adjusted for inflation, providing a more accurate representation of a country’s economic growth by measuring changes in output while holding prices constant.
• GNP (Gross National Product): The total value of all goods and services produced by a country’s residents, regardless of their location, in a specific time period.
• Gross National Income (GNI): A broader measure than GNP, including net income from abroad (e.g., remittances, investments).

• GDP per capita: The GDP divided by the population, providing an average income level per person.
• GDP at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP): GDP adjusted to account for differences in price levels between countries. It reflects the relative purchasing power of currencies and offers a more accurate comparison of economic size.
• Exchange Rates: The value of one country’s currency in terms of another’s, affecting the conversion of economic values between countries.
• Per Capita Income: Average income per person in a country, calculated by dividing the total income by the population.
• Income Disparity: The uneven distribution of income among different segments of a population, often resulting in significant gaps between the wealthy and the less affluent.

Key data tables:

8. 514 researchers to get ICSSR funding to study the impact of Centrally sponsored schemes

Subject :Schemes

Introduction:

• ICSSR (Indian Council of Social Science Research) selects 514 projects out of 3801 to examine the impact of Centrally sponsored schemes.
• The chosen studies encompass collaborative and individual research, with ₹30 lakh for collaboration and ₹6 lakh for individual projects.
• Approximately 20 projects in both categories are centered on the Prime Minister’s Ujjwala (Ujjwala Yojana) scheme.
• Notably, nearly 40% of the selected researchers are women scholars or researchers.

The chosen research projects cover an array of schemes including:

• The social impact of Prime Minister’s Ujjwala Yojana on women in the Bundelkhand region.
• Evaluating the influence of Ujjwala Yojana in promoting clean cooking fuels and improving women’s health in the Kalyan-Karnataka Region.
• National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) and its effects on rural poverty and women empowerment.
• Impact assessment of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana (DAY) on the well-being of tribal women from Odisha.
• PM Krishi Sinchai Yojana’s impact in the Rayalseemaregion of Andhra Pradesh.
• Performance evaluation of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana in Meghalaya and Karnataka.
• Influence of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi on farmers in Raebareli and Unnao.
• Impact of the Millet year 2023 Campaign on millet consumption awareness among urban women in Telangana.

Differences between Centrally Sponsored Schemes and Central Sector Schemes

Restructuring of Centrally Sponsored Schemes:

• Scheme Classification:

1. Core of the Core: Highly important schemes.
2. Core: Important schemes.
3. Optional: Less critical schemes.

• Core of the Core Schemes:

1. MGNREGA: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
2. National Social Assistance Program: Provides assistance to senior citizens, widows, etc.
3. Umbrella Scheme for SC: Encompasses all schemes for Scheduled Castes.
4. Umbrella Scheme for ST: Encompasses all schemes for Scheduled Tribes.
5. Umbrella Scheme for OBC: Encompasses all schemes for Other Backward Classes.
6. Umbrella Scheme for Minorities: Encompasses all schemes for minority communities.

9. RBI governor-headed FSDC-SC resolves to remain vigilant against external vulnerabilities

Subject :Economy

Section: Monetary Policy

Context:

Under RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das’s leadership, the FSDC-SC resolved to stay watchful against vulnerabilities in the financial system and broader economy amidst global uncertainty.

Key Highlights:

• Review of Developments: The Sub-Committee reviewed global and domestic macroeconomic and financial developments.
• Inter-Regulatory Coordination: Discussions focused on enhancing coordination among technical groups in India’s financial sector.
• SLCC Assessment: The functioning of State Level Coordination Committees was assessed across various states and Union Territories.
• Vigilance for Vulnerabilities: The FSDC-SC emphasized vigilance against vulnerabilities in the financial system and broader economy, considering global uncertainties.
• Financial System Stability: The Sub-Committee’s main resolution is to ensure financial system stability for sustainable and inclusive growth.

Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC)

• The Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) is a non-statutory apex council situated under the Ministry of Finance.
• Established in 2010 through an Executive Order. (based on Raghuram Rajan Committee (2008) on financial sector reforms )
• It operates as an autonomous body responsible for overseeing macroprudential and financial regulations within India’s entire financial sector.

Composition of FSDC:

• Chairperson: The Union Finance Minister of India.
• Members: Heads of Financial Sector Regulators, including RBI, IRDA, SEBI, and PFRDA.
• Other Members: Finance Secretary, Secretary of Department of Financial Services (DFS), Chief Economic Adviser.
• Additional Members: Minister of State responsible for the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Secretary of the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Chairperson of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), and the Revenue Secretary.
• Experts: Experts can be invited to participate in meetings as required.

Aims and Objectives:

• Financial Stability: Strengthen and institutionalize mechanisms to maintain financial and macroeconomic stability.
• Coordination: Enhance inter-regulatory coordination among various financial sector entities.
• Sector Development: Promote the development of the financial sector, including financial literacy and inclusion.
• International Engagement: Coordinate India’s engagement with international financial sector bodies like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB).

FSDC Sub-Committee (FSDC-SC):

• Chaired by the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• Comprises all FSDC members except the FSDC Chair and the Minister of State (Finance).
• Includes all Deputy Governors of RBI and the Secretary of FSDC.

Financial Stability Report (FSR):

• A biannual report released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
• Serves as a communication tool, identifying and conveying key risks and vulnerabilities to policymakers, financial markets, and the public.
• Reflects the collective assessment of the FSDC-SC regarding financial stability and the resilience of the financial system.

Working Groups/Technical Groups:

• Inter-Regulatory Technical Group: Established for inter-regulatory coordination among financial sector regulators.
• Technical Group on Financial Inclusion and Financial Literacy: Set up to promote inclusive finance and financial literacy.
• Inter Regulatory Forum for Monitoring Financial Conglomerates (IRF-FC): Modeled around the ‘lead regulator’ principle.
• Early Warning Group: Constituted by the FSDC Sub-Committee to identify potential risks early on.

10. Three-North Shelterbelt Program (TNSP)

Subject :Environment

Section: Ecosystem

Three-North Shelterbelt Program (TNSP)

In order to improve the ecological environment and increase the forest coverage in northwest, north and northeast China, the Chinese government launched the Three-North Shelterbelt Program (TNSP), which covers 13 provinces (autonomous regions or municipalities) across northern China with a total area of 4.069 million km2. A 72-year development plan has been formulated for the TNSP, in which the Program was divided into three stages, aiming at increasing the forest cover from 5.05% to 14.95% in the area. This effort has been organically incorporated with and contributed to China’s overall strive for the achievement of the related SDGs.

Concept:

• The Great Green Wall for Sahel and Sahara Initiative recently received 14 billion USD funds at the recent One Planet Summit for Biodiversity. The funding is to be used to restore degraded land, strengthen resilience, create green jobs and protect biodiversity. Among the financiers, the World Bank has committed 5 billion USD, African Development Bank committed 6.5 billion USD and Government of France committed 14 billion USD.
• The Great Green Wall (GGW) Project to address desertification, land degradation and climate change in the Sahel region of Africa has hit a new low due to funds crunch.
• The Great Green Wall project is conceived by 11 countries located along the southern border of the Sahara and their international partners, is aimed at limiting the desertification of the Sahel zone.
• Led by the African Union, the initiative aims to transform the lives of millions of people by creating a mosaic of green and productive landscapes across North Africa.
• The initial idea of the GGW was to develop a line of trees from east to the west bordering the Saharan Desert.

Need for such project:

• The project is a response to the combined effect of natural resources degradation and drought in rural areas.
• It is a partnership that supports communities working towards sustainable management and use of forests, rangelands and other natural resources.
• It seeks to help communities mitigate and adapt to climate change, as well as improve food security.
• The GGW offers multiple (environmental, social and economic) benefits on an epic scale, touching on 15 of the 17 United Nations-mandated Sustainable Development Goals.
• The project aims to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land by 2030; only four million hectares had been restored between 2007 and 2019.
• By 2030, the GGW aims to sequester 250 million tonnes of carbon, restore 100 million hectares of currently degraded land and create 10 million jobs for the world’s poorest people.
• Its vision has evolved into that of a mosaic of interventions addressing the challenges facing the people in the Sahel and the Sahara.
• The African initiative is still only 15% complete.
• Once fully completed, the Wall will be the largest living structure on the planet – an 8,000 km natural wonder of the world stretching across the entire width of the continent.
• African countries during the UNCCCD COP14 sought global support in terms of finance to make the Wall a reality in the continent’s Sahel region by 2030.
• Sahel is a semiarid region of western and north-central Africa extending from Senegal eastward to Sudan.
• It forms a transitional zone between the arid Sahara (desert) to the north and the belt of humid savannas to the south.

11. Biodiversity management is in transition

Subject :Environment

Section: Biodiversity

Context:

• The recently concluded Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly has made it clear that meeting the targets and goals set down by the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework for biodiversity conservation is possible only by changing strategy.

Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF):

• The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) was ratified.
• This is the first time that a separate fund has been created under GEF.
• GEF8 has a total of $1.4 billion available for action on three major environmental issues: Climate, biodiversity and pollution till 2026.
• Biodiversity is set to receive the maximum amount — 47 per cent — of GEF8 funds.
• Key features of this fund:
  • This fund can accept donations from all sources — private, philanthropy and governments — unlike GEF, which could avail only Official Development Assistance.
  • The decision has been taken to provide funds directly to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) in the implementation of GBF.
    • As much as 20 percent of the funds with the GBFF would be made available for activities carried out by IPLCs.
    • IPLCs manage at least 43.5 million square kilometre (32 per cent of global land) in 87 countries but less than 1 percent of funding for climate and biodiversity protection actually reaches them.
    • IPLCs occupy the very land that countries are trying to protect.
    • These protection measures are known as Other Effective Conservation Measures and these would be used to protect indigenous and traditional territories along with private land.
  • Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries would also receive special treatment under the GBFF and they will receive more than a third of the fund’s resources.

Role of the Indigenous People In Conservation:

• Conserving Natural Flora: The magico-religious belief of plants’ tribal communities as a god and goddess habitat leads to their conservation in their natural habitat.
  • Further, a wide variety of plants such as crop plants, wild fruits, seeds, bulb, roots and tubers are conserved by the ethnic and indigenous people as they have to depend on these sources for edible purposes.
• Application of Traditional Knowledge: Indigenous people and biodiversity complement each other.
  • Over time, the rural communities have gathered a pool of indigenous knowledge for the cultivation of the medicinal plants and their propagation.
  • These plants conserved are antidotes to snake bites and scorpion bites or even for broken bones or orthopaedic treatments.
• Conserving the Sacred Groves: India’s ethnic people have played a vital role in preserving the biodiversity of several virgin forests and have conserved flora and fauna in sacred groves of tribals. Otherwise, these flora and fauna might have disappeared from the natural ecosystem.

For details of Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework: https://optimizeias.com/cop15-kunming-montreal-global-biodiversity-framework-adopted/

12. Over 50 African countries agree to work on minimising impact of mineral mining

Subject :Environment

Section: Biodiversity

Context:

• Environment ministers of the African continent have agreed to institute national and regional strategies to minimise environmental impacts in the extraction and processing of critical mineral resources.
• The continent is facing several challenges as countries, especially China, rush to Africa for its mineral resources.

Addis Ababa Declaration of 2023:

• The 19th African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) 2023 held from August 14 to 18, 2023 at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
• The theme for AMCEN 2023 was “Seizing Opportunities and Enhancing Collaboration to Address Environmental Challenges in Africa”
• Participation: 54 countries of Africa participated
• Key outcome:
  • Addis Ababa declaration (18 August 2023)
  • FirstAfrica UN Science-Policy-Business Forum launched by UNEP Deputy Executive Director Elizabeth Mrema.
• Stated goal of the declaration: To increase the global finance flow to at least $100 billion per year.
• Key environmental challenges faced by the continent was acknowledged in the declaration:
  • Land degradation
  • Desertification and
  • Drought
• The declaration prioritizes urgent, wide-ranging action on environmental challenges related to climate change, plastics pollution, marine protection, biodiversity conservation and natural capital.
• These actions would minimize environmental impacts and contribute to the global goals of mitigating climate change, protecting ecosystems and promoting sustainable development.
• The countries also committed to take appropriate measures to implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
• They will work towards closing the biodiversity finance gap of $700 billion per year.
• Countries agreed to work on a priority to implement the Africa Blue Economy Strategy of the African Union.

Africa Blue Economy Strategy of the African Union:

• Strategy by: African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR)
• The objective of the BE Strategy is to guide the development of an inclusive and sustainable blue economy that becomes a significant contributor to continental transformation and growth, through advancing knowledge on marine and aquatic biotechnology, environmental sustainability, the growth of an Africa-wide shipping industry, the development of sea, river and lake transport, the management of fishing activities on these aquatic spaces, and the exploitation and beneficiation of deep sea mineral and other resources.

13. Kampala Declaration on climate change, human mobility now has 48 African countries as members

Subject :Environment

Section: International conventions

Context:

• A total of 48 African countries have now agreed to adopt the Kampala Ministerial Declaration on Migration, Environment and Climate Change (KDMECC) to address the nexus of human mobility and climate change in the continent.

About Kampala Ministerial Declaration on Migration, Environment and Climate Change (KDMECC):

• A three-day Conference of States was held on 23 august 2023, co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya and Uganda with support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• The continental expansion of the Kampala Ministerial Declaration on Migration, Environment and Climate Change (KDMECC) was discussed.
• KDMECC was originally signed and agreed upon by 15 African states in Kampala, Uganda in July 2022.
• The KDMECC-AFRICA is expected to be signed by Member States during the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi on September 4, 2023.
• The Declaration is the first comprehensive, action-oriented framework led by Member States to address climate-induced mobility in a practical and effective manner.

Internal displacement in African continent:

• Climate change has a direct impact on migration in Africa.
• There were over 7.5 million new internal disaster displacements last year alone, according to a 2023 report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.
• If nothing is done, as many as 105 million people could become internal migrants within the African continent.

International Organisation for Migration (IOM):

• Established in 1951
• IOM (a UN agency) is the leading intergovernmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners.
• With 175 member states, a further 8 states holding observer status and offices in over 100 countries, IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants.
• IOM works to help ensure the orderly and humane management of migration to promote international cooperation on migration issues, to assist in the search for practical solutions to migration problems and to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, including refugees and internally displaced people.
• The IOM Constitution recognizes the link between migration and economic, social and cultural development, as well as to the right of freedom of movement.
• IOM works in the four broad areas of migration management:
  • Migration and development
  • Facilitating migration
  • Regulating migration
  • Forced migration.
• IOM activities that cut across these areas include the promotion of international migration law, policy debate and guidance, protection of migrants’ rights, migration health and the gender dimension of migration.

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC):

• The IDMC is an International non-governmental organization established in 1998 by the Norwegian Refugee Council in Geneva.
• It is focused on monitoring and providing information and analysis on the world’s internally displaced persons (IDPs).
• Work:
  • The IDMC contributes to improving national and international capacities to protect the assist of the millions of people around the globe who have been displaced within their own country. IDMC also develops statistics and analysis on internal displacement, including analysis commissioned for use by the United Nations.
• Funded by:
  • IDMC is funded by:
    • US Agency for International Development,
    • Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
    • Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency,
    • Australian Department of Foreign Affairs,
    • Liechtenstein Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
    • the European Commission,
    • the International Organization for Migration,
    • the UK Department for International Development,
    • the German Federal Foreign Office,
    • UNISDR, UNHCR and
    • Charities Aid Foundation.

14. They sense electric fields, tolerate snow and have ‘mating trains’: 4 reasons echidnas really are remarkable

Subject :Environment

Section: Species in news

Echidnas:

• They look like a quirky blend of hedgehog and anteater. But they’re not related to these creatures at all.
• Australia has just one species, the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), which roams virtually the entire continent.
• It has five subspecies.
• Tasmanian echidnas are much hairier and Kangaroo Island echidnas join long mating trains.

Four things that make echidnas remarkable:

1. They’re ancient egg-laying mammals
   • First Nations groups knew the echidna by many other names, such as bigibila (Gamilaraay) and yinarlingi (Warlpiri).
   • Short-beaked echidnas are one of just five species of monotreme surviving in the world, alongside the platypus.
   • Three worm-eating long-beaked echidna species found on the island of New Guinea.
   • These ancient mammals lay eggs through their cloacas(monotreme means one opening) and incubate them in a pouch-like skin fold, nurturing their tiny, jellybean-sized young after hatching.
   • Scientists believe echidnas began as platypuses who left the water and evolved spines. That’s because platypus fossils go back about 60 million years and echidnas only a quarter of that.
   • The echidna still has rudimentary electroreception. While platypus relies on its ability to sense electric fields when it’s hunting at the bottom of dark rivers, given electric fields spread more easily through water. Echidnas use this ability to sense ants and termites moving through moist soil.

2. From deserts to snow, echidnas are remarkably adaptable
   • They can tolerate a broad climate ranges.
   • They are being found on northern tropical savannah amid intense humidity, on coastal heaths and forests, in arid deserts and even on snowy mountains.
   • The five subspecies of short-beaked echidna have distinct geographic regions.
     • Tachyglossus aculeatus aculeatus, widespread across Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.
     • Kangaroo Island’s T aculeatus multiaculeatus
     • Tasmania’s T aculeatus setosus,
     • The Northern Territory and Western Australia’s T aculeatus acanthion and
     • The tropical subspecies T aculeatus lawesii found in Northern Queensland and Papua New Guinea.
   • Kangaroo Island echidnas have longer, thinner and paler spines — and more of them, compared to the mainland species.
   • Tasmanian echidnas are well adapted to the cold, boasting a lushness of extra hair.

3. Mating trains and hibernation games
   • Pregnancy usually lasts about three weeks after mating for Kangaroo Island echidnas, followed by a long lactation period of 30 weeks for the baby puggle.
   • Tasmanian echidnas have a shorter lactation period, of only 21 weeks.

4. What do marsupials and monotremes have in common?
   • Monotremes branched off from other mammals early on, between 160 and 217 million years ago. Marsupials branched off later, at around 143–178 million years ago.
   • Yet despite millions of years of evolutionary pressure and change, these very different animals still hit a key embryo milestone at the same time. This striking parallel suggests the intricate process has been conserved for over 184 million years.

15. OECMs: A new paradigm for area-based conservation

Subject :Environment

Section: International conventions

Context:

• Area-based conservation, including protected area management and ‘other effective area-based conservation measures’ (OECMs), is a crucial and often debated component of the Global Biodiversity framework.

What is an OECM?

• The term ‘other effective area-based conservation measure’ describes a geographic site, which is not within a protected area, that delivers long-term biodiversity conservation under equitable governance and management.
• OECMs can be governed by a variety of rights holders and actors including Indigenous peoples and local communities, government agencies, as well as sectoral actors, private organizations, and individuals.

Origin of the concept of OECMs:

• The term first appeared in 2010 within the Aichi Biodiversity Targets—global conservation goals established by the CBD as part of a strategic plan to conserve biodiversity.
• In 2018, an official definition was adopted.
• OECMs can be found referenced alongside protected areas as a key approach to biodiversity conservation in the draft of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.

Difference between OECMs and protected areas:

What type of lands are included under OECMs?

• OECMs may occur in public, individual private lands, community lands, and Indigenous territories.
• Examples of OECMs include set-asides within agricultural systems, conserved water catchments, locally managed marine areas, and other high conservation value areas.
• The process of identifying OECMs across different situations may differ in practice.
• The OECM framework considers that the identification of OECMs in areas within the territories of Indigenous peoples and local communities should be on the basis of self-identification and with their free, prior, and informed consent.
• Recognition of and support for the sites should better acknowledge their significant contribution to conservation and customary sustainable use of biodiversity in terrestrial, freshwater and coastal ecosystems.
• Indigenous rights, knowledge, and institutions must always be respected.

16. How scientists found that LK-99 is probably not a superconductor?

Subject: Science and technology

Section :Msc

Context:

• A substantial amount of electricity generated is lost while being transmitted between power plants and our factories and households as heat.
• Tiny wires inside computers and cellphones dissipate heat, draining the batteries in the process. So it is natural that scientists are looking for materials that can conduct electricity without resistance.

An elusive material:

• Many metals become superconducting – i.e. allow current to flow with zero resistance – if cooled to below -250º C.
• Superconductors aren’t just materials with zero resistance, they have a new quantum state in which the electrons in the material work together.
• Several properties of superconductors brought new technologies including advancedmedical imaging, ‘maglev’ trains, and quantum computers.
• However, superconductivity also remained an extremely-low temperature-phenomenon for a long time.
• In the mid-1980s scientists discovered copper-oxide superconductors, whose transition temperature was higher than -200º C.
• But to this day, scientists haven’t discovered a material that acts as a superconductor at ambient conditions (room temperature).
• One of the highest transition temperatures has been found in a sulphide compound, but it needs to be placed under extreme pressures – like that found at the centre of the earth.

Surprise and skepticism:

• In July 2023, a group of scientists in South Korea claimed that a lead apatite material was an ambient condition superconductor.
  • Apatites are materials that have a regular arrangement of tetrahedrally shaped phosphate ions (i.e. one phosphorus atom and four oxygen atoms).
  • When lead ions sit in between these phosphate motifs, it is lead apatite.
• The novelty of the South Korean group’s work was to replace 10% of the lead ions in lead apatite with copper, to produce the room-temperature superconductor named LK-99.

What made the South Korean team think of LK-99 a superconductor?

• While measuring a material’s electric resistance, the resistance drops below a certain temperature.
  • The resistive state was restored if a sufficiently large amount of current was passed through the sample.
• The low resistance state vanished when a sufficiently strong magnetic field was applied.
• LK-99 was partially levitating over a magnet– a famous test for superconductivity.

Why are scientists denying superconductivity of LK-99?

• The group missed several crucial tests, including some to confirm the quantum nature of the microscopic state of the system.
• The Indian group, from the CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, was one of the first to report that it didn’t find any signs of superconductivity in LK-99.
• Scientists across the world noticed:
  • No drop of resistance
  • LK-99 shows properties of the insulator and it shows ferromagnetism.
• Superconductors cannot have this property.

Why did LK-99 show some properties of ambient conditions superconductors?

• The copper sulphide (a by-product in LK-99), caused the drop in resistance.
• Researchers pointed out that the levitation was also due to the impurities present in LK-99, as some impurities are diamagnetic.
  • Diamagnetic materials can also partially levitate above magnets as a result.
• The current evidence suggests that LK-99 is not a superconductor.
• Scientists found that if copper atoms replaced a certain set of lead atoms in LK-99, the material would act like a flat-band system.
  • Electrons in flat-bands can interact strongly with each other and are predicted to form superconducting phases, but only at very low temperatures.

For details of LK-99 and Room temperature superconductors: https://optimizeias.com/room-temperature-superconductivity/