Daily Prelims Notes 30 May 2023

May 30, 2023
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

No Comments

Daily Prelims Notes

30 May 2023

Table Of Contents

1. Kerala’s water budget, a step towards effective water management

Subject: Geography

Section: Physical geography

Context:

Kerala floods and water imbalance across the regions gave rise to the concept of “water budget” and “water conservation” in Kerala state. On April 17, 2023, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan released the details of the first phase of the water budget.

Details:

The concepts of water budget and water conservation were floated by a few in 2018 and in 2019.
Kerala began recording the availability of water, its consumption, surplus and deficit in 94 gram panchayats of the state.

State of water availability in Kerala:

Unlike the northern states of India that get water from melting of snow, rainfall is the only source of water for Kerala.
The annual average rainfall in the state is around 3,000-3,200 mm from the two monsoon seasons and summer rains, but it exhibits significant variations depending on the geography.
The northern districts of Kerala receive very little rain after the south-west monsoon and hence require more long-term conservation methods than the southern districts which get both the returning monsoon and the summer rains.

Initiative taken:

Navakeralam Karma Padhathi (NKP) is an initiative to solve socio-economic challenges in the state.
Haritha Keralam Mission, which spearheads the water budget project, is a sub-mission under the NKP focusing on eco-friendy development initiatives in agriculture, water conservation and climate-resilient disaster management practices.

Water Budget:

A water budget is a hydrological tool used to quantify the flow of water in and out of a system.
In other words, it is an accounting of all water stored and exchanged on the land surface (rivers, lakes), subsurface (aquifer, groundwater), and atmosphere (precipitation, evaporation).
The concept behind a water budget is that the rate of change of water stored in an area is balanced by the quantity and rate at which water flows into and out of that area.
Hydrological engineers use this concept to form the basis of effective water-resource sustainability, management, and environmental planning.

The water budget can be expressed in several ways. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) defines the water budget for a small watershed as:

P + Qin = ET + ∆S + Qout

Where:

P = precipitation (rain, snow, etc.)

Qin = water flow into the watershed

ET = quantity of evapotranspiration from soils, surface water, plants, etc.

∆S = Change in water storage

Qout = sum of water flowing out of the watershed

Approach used in water budget:

While calculating availability, both surface water and ground water was taken into account in the water budget.
The scientific inputs for the calculation of the availability and requirement of water came from the scientific team at the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM).
The distribution of summer rain, south-west monsoon and north-east monsoon, variation in terrain, area under forest, landuse pattern, rainfall infiltration, groundwater recharge, water flowing into the panchayat and water made available outside the panchayat were all considered while calculating the supply and demand.
The consumption of water for domestic use, irrigation, business, tourism and industrial needs were factored in, while calculating the total demand.

Advantages of water budget:

The water budget is an excellent tool that will help the panchayats analyse water distribution, and bridge the gaps between demand and supply.
The water budget will aid gram panchayats to design interventions that will solve water shortages if any, plan their projects better, and also help to increase land under agriculture.

2. Small cats in big trouble: Why we need to save these elusive endangered species

Subject: Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

In Scotland, the population of the country’s wildcats (Felis silvestrissilvestris) has dwindled so much they’re now considered functionally extinct.

Details:

There are fewer than 30 Scottish wildcats, also known as the Highland tiger, left in the wild.
Conservationists are rushing to save the species through a reintroduction programme set to kick off later this year.
A combination of habitat loss, persecution and hybridisation with domestic cats drove the species to its current crisis point.
It can be seen as a possible indicator of looming ecosystem collapse: The United Kingdom is one of the most nature-depleted places on Earth.

Small cats:

Small cats range in size from South Asia’s diminutive rusty-spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus), which, at 0.8-1.6 kilograms (1.8-3.5 pounds), is the world’s smallest wild felid; to the far larger two species of clouded leopard (Neofelisdiardi and N. nebulosa). Weighing in at up to 23 kg (50 lbs), clouded leopards are often referred to as modern-day saber-toothed tigers and ambiguously classified as “big small cats” by some or “small big cats” by others.
Their habitats ranges from deserts and savanna grasslands to tropical and temperate forests, enlivening alpine heights and low coastal wetlands as well as human-dominated agricultural landscapes.
In south Aisa these small cants mostly prey on rodents, so maintaining “biological pest controllers” of this kind can enable farmers to reduce the use of harmful chemical pesticides and cut agricultural costs.
Threats include:
- habitat loss and fragmentation,
- persecution due to human-wildlife conflict,
- climate change,
- diseases spread by domestic animals,
- the risk of becoming road kill and
- pollution including plastics ingestion in some cases.
Conservation status:
Of the more than 30 small cat species, a dozenare currently considered threatened or endangered by the IUCN, including
- the African golden cat (Caracal aurata),
- Andean cat (Leopardusjacobita),
- Borneo bay cat (Catopumabadia),
- Black-footed cat (Felis negripes),
- Chinese mountain cat (F. bieti),
- fishing cat (P. viverrinus),
- Flat-headed cat (P. planiceps),
- Guiña (L. guigna),
- the northern and southern tiger cat (L. tigrinus and L. guttulus) and
- both species of clouded leopard.

About the Highland Cat (Felis silvestrissilvestris):

The European wildcat (Felis silvestris) is a small wildcat speciesnative to continental Europe, Scotland, Turkey and the Caucasus.
It inhabits forests from the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, Central and Eastern Europe to the Caucasus.
Its fur is brownish to grey with stripes on the forehead and on the sides and has a bushy tail with a black tip.
It reaches a head-to-body length of up to 65 cm (26 in) with a 34.5 cm (13.6 in) long tail, and weighs up to 7.5 kg (17 lb).
In France and Italy, the European wildcat is predominantly nocturnal, but also active in the daytime when undisturbed by human activities.
It preys foremost on small mammals such as lagomorphs and rodents, but also on ground-dwelling birds.

Role in the ecological system:

The Highland cat, along with small cats plays a key ecological role by controlling small mammal populations in their natural habitats.
Many cats, though maligned, also aid farmers by reducing rodents.
In Scotland, the cat’s return could also boost local economies through activities such as wildlife observation and ecotourism.

About Fishing cats

Scientific Name : (Prionailurus viverrinus)
Description : Fishing cats are almost twice the size of the house cat.
The fishing cat is an adept swimmer and enters water frequently to prey on fish as its name suggests.
The fishing cat is nocturnal and apart from fish also preys on frogs, crustaceans, snakes, birds, and scavenges on carcasses of larger animals.
Habitat :
- They occur in wetlands like marshlands, mangroves and flooded forests in major South and Southeast Asian River basins starting from Indus in Pakistan till Mekong in Vietnam and in the island nations of Sri Lanka and Java.
- In India, fishing cats are mainly found in the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, on the foothills of the Himalayas along the Ganga and Brahmaputra River valleys and in the Western Ghats.
Conservation Status: IUCN Red List :Endangered
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) lists the fishing cat on Appendix II part of Article IV of CITES, which governs international trade in this species.
In India, the fishing cat is included in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and thereby protected from hunting.

3. The hidden side of human-elephant conflicts: orphaned calves

Subject: Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

Negative interactions between elephants and humans have been reported from the Eastern Ghats region for many years now.

Details:

Between 2016 and 2023, unofficial records put elephant deaths by way of electrocution and gunshots in Hosur forest division in Tamil Nadu, at 14.
The Tamil Nadu government has come up with stricter measures to curb electrocution incidents of wildlife.

Human-elephant conflict:

Only 22 per cent of elephant habitat is found within our protected area network – the remaining elephant range lies outside, in places now overrun by people.
The estimated 28,000 wild elephants in India are distributed over about 3% of the country’s geographical area.
An average of 350 peoplehave been killed annually over the last five years (2006–10) in the conflict with elephants.
Elephants damaged an average of 330 sq km of crops annually for the last three years (2008–10).
The Central and State Governments together spend 10 to 15 crore rupees every year on controlling elephant depredation and paying ex-gratia to affected people.
40 – 50 elephants are killed annually while crop-raiding.
Elephant-human conflict is a result of habitat loss and fragmentation.
When the mother elephant dies, the herd or the clan may accept the calf. Families of elephants form a herd and multiple herds form a clan.
Calves younger than two years are heavily dependent on their mothers. They are breastfed 12-14 times a day which makes the separation equally painful for both the mother and the calf.

Action taken to prevent human-elephant conflict:

In March 2023, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC) released 14 guidelines for human-wildlife conflict mitigation to promote harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife with a section on managing orphaned/stray elephant calves-in-conflict, covering aspects such as the stress, immunity and hygiene of the calves.
The government is working on securing continuous migratory paths for elephants so that interactions with humans can be minimised.
Illegal tapping from the electricity board (EB) poles is a criminal act that warrants stringent action by the government.
In cases of separation from herds, the immediate response of the forest department is to find opportunities to unite the calf with its herd.
10 calves below the age of one were rescued since 1971 of which seven have survived and are lodged at Theppekadu elephant camp.

Financial arrangements:

The cost of taking care of these calves is borne by the forest department.
Care takers, calf rearing shed, medicines, milk replacers/ feed are the major expenses.
In the camps set up by the forest department, caretakers and sheds are already there.
So, the feeding cost and medicine are the extra expenses needed. This is also covered by existing regular medicine and feed funds. The only additional cost is for the milk replacer given to calves below two years.

4. Plastic-free planet: Negotiations on Global Plastics Treaty underway

Subject: Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

On May 29, 2023, members of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) gathered in Paris for the second meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on Plastic Pollution, also known as INC-2.

Details:

INC-2, a successor of INC-1, held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, last year, is the international community’s chance set the stage for negotiations on a global deal to end plastic pollution.

INC-1

The Uruguay round was the first formal meeting of the body tasked with preparing the future legal instrument on plastics.The meeting focused on the administration and organisation of the negotiating body,including the election of a bureau and adoption of the rules of Procedure(a document that sets forth the ‘rules’ on how the committee will operate and is critical to the long term success of the negotiations and the treaty.INC-1 ended without any resolution

INC-2

In the INC-2 meeting- apart from the plenary where member states make general statements, two parallel contact groups have been established. Contact group 1 will focus on the treaty’s objectives and core obligations, including control measures and voluntary actions. While contact group 2 will focus on the implementation measures and means of implementation.

Major stakeholders:

Apart from the member states, there are nine major groups and stakeholders: Non-profits, women, workers and trade unions, the scientific community, farmers, indigenous communities, children and youth, local authorities, businesses and industry.

Accredited organisations and their role in negotiations:
- Accredited organisations can also be observers in UNEP meetings.
- Observer status is a privilege granted to non-members to allow them to participate in the organisation’s activities.
- Observers are not allowed to make interventions during the process of the negotiations.
- However, the observers are seen as agencies that can influence the priorities and decisions taken by certain member states.
Open-ended working group (OEWG):
- In UNEA resolution 5/14, the assembly mandated an ad hoc open-ended working group (OEWG) to lay the groundwork for negotiations.
- One of the key tasks of the OEWG was establishing Rules of Procedure which govern INC.
- In the INC-2 meeting — apart from the plenary where member states make general statements, two parallel contact groups have been established.
  - Contact group 1 will focus on the treaty’s objectives and core obligations, including control measures and voluntary actions.
  - While contact group 2 will focus on the implementation measures and the means of implementation.

Go circular to end plastic pollution:

The report, tilted Turning off the Tap: How the world can end plastic pollution and create a circular economy, has been launched by the UNEP.
Global plastic pollution can reduce by 80 per cent by 2040 if countries and companies make deep policy and market shifts using existing technologies and shift to a circular economy.
Countries need to make three market shifts — reuse, recycle, and reorient & diversify.
Even with such measures, 100 million tonnes of plastics from single-use and short-lived products will still need to be safely dealt with annually by 2040 — together with a significant legacy of existing plastic pollution.

Suggestions of the report:

Setting and implementing design and safety standards for disposal of non-recyclable plastic waste, and making manufacturers responsible for products shedding microplastics, among others.
The report also highlighted that the highest costs in both a throwaway and circular economy are operational.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes can cover these operational costs of ensuring the system’s circularity through requiring producers to finance the collection, recycling and responsible end-of-life disposal of plastic product.
The report recommended a global fiscal framework could be part of international policies to enable recycled materials to compete on a level playing field with virgin materials, create an economy of scale for solutions, and establish monitoring systems and financing mechanisms.

Benefits of shifting to a circular economy:

It would result in $1.27 trillion in savings, considering costs and recycling revenues.
A further $3.25 trillion would be saved from avoided externalities such as health, climate, air pollution, marine ecosystem degradation, and litigation-related costs.
This shift could also result in a net increase of 700,000 jobs by 2040.
Investment costs for the recommended systemic change are significant, but below the spending without this systemic change: $65 billion per year as opposed to $113 billion per year.
Much of this can be mobilised by shifting planned investments for new production facilities or a levy on virgin plastic production into the necessary circular infrastructure.

5. Iron fortification: risks of excessive iron intake

Subject: Science and Technology

Section: Species in news

Context:

In India close to half the population of women and children suffer from iron deficiency, to address this government is mulling fortification of wheat, rice or salt with iron.

Why it won’t help much

The net benefit of Iron fortification on haemoglobin formation is likely to be lower than thought. Excess iron in fortified diet will remain unabsorbed. Only about 5-10 percent of the ingested iron is absorbed.

Associated risks

While women can excrete iron from the body through menstrual bleeding, men cannot. This makes men particularly vulnerable to excess iron intake. Unabsorbed iron can lead to inflammation in the gastrointestinal lining and disrupt the colonic microbiota. Excess iron has been closely linked to diabetes. Abnormal fat oxidation due to excess iron causes excessive accumulation of triglycerides in muscle and liver tissues. In very high amounts, iron can cause liver fibrosis, with subsequent progression to liver cirrhosis.

Way forward

It is imperative to develop individualised strategies and ensure thorough monitoring to detect any adverse events at the earliest. There is no doubt that some segments of the population do need extra iron in their diet but not all. Eventually, precision in public health is essential if we are to avoid the risk of iron overload and the potential for long-term chronic illnesses.

6. Problems in Cheetah reintroduction

Subject : Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

3 adult Cheetahs and 3 new born Cheetah cubs in Kuno Palpur have died in the last few months due infighting, disease etc.

Cause of deaths

20 cheetahs have been introduced in Kuno Palpur, which has a geographical area of 750 sqkm, bringing cheetah density to 3 per 100 sq km, while studies in Africa reveal that optimum cheetah density should be 1 per 100 sqkm. This has led to infighting for food and mate and resulted in death of a female. Moreover, females those have been brought up in wild fencing and lack experience of motherhood, that’s why cub mortality is also high. According to Cambridge study 66% deaths occur due to predation, 16% due to abandonment by Cheetah mothers.

Way forward

Even half of 20 cheetahs surviving first year can be a success, still due to high density of cheetahs, future batches of cheetahs should be located in other protected areas like Mukundra hills nearby to Kuno, and in India the model of fenced raising of Africa should be avoided as ,we follow a model of coexistence with species.

7. Mass mountaineering in Everest

Subject: Geography

Section: Physical geography

Context:

Recent influx of ‘novice mountaineers’, who may expect luxury packages and a guarantee of summiting, can have dangerous consequences. Sleeping in heated tents, not preparing their own food or helping to move equipment, does not test mental and physical fitness in such challenging environments. Pushing to the summit may put their own lives and the lives of other climbers and rescue team at risk. In 2019, 878 successful climbs happened while in 2023 till now 11 mountaineers have died which is the highest ever.

Challenges

Experienced mountaineers are responding to the challenges of overcrowding, pollution and socio-cultural impacts on mountain communities by advocating for more responsible and sustainable mountaineering practices. Stricter regulations and training is required to protected fragile ecosystem of mountains from unsustainable mountaineering

This will require many stakeholders like governments, mountaineering organisations, tourism operators and local communities.

Way forward

Finally, maybe it’s time to introduce minimum skill requirements for climbing the world’s highest peak. As we mark the 70th anniversary of the first ascent of Everest by Hillary and Norgay,we need to reflect on the changes that have taken place in mountaineering since.Meeting those challenges and solving the problems will be the best way to honour the extraordinary achievement of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

8. Gharial conservation in Odisha

Subject :Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

Forest officials have spotted around 35 hatchlings of the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), a crocodile species, at the Satkosia gorge in the Mahanadi river in Odisha’s Angul district. The species is unique to the Indian subcontinent and is critically endangered. This is the third consecutive year of successful breeding of these reptiles in natural habitat in the freshwater of the Mahanadi River.

Measures for successful breeding

Successful breeding of the gharial in the Satkosia gorge is attributed due to the strict prohibition on fishing up to 9 km downstream of the river., CCTVs and round the clock monitoring and spreading awareness among 300 villages in the area.

About Gharial

The gharial is listed in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife protection act,1972 and also described as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red list of Threatened Species.

Their habitat is threatened because of human encroachment, river pollution and fishing activities. Gharials caught accidentally in fishing nets are either hacked to death or have their snout chopped off by fisherman.