Daily Prelims Notes 7 August 2022
- August 7, 2022
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN
Daily Prelims Notes
7 August 2022
Table Of Contents
- Nadis
- Changpa Community
- Indian Virtual Herbarium, biggest database of country’s flora, is a global hit
- Creatures that crossed an ocean to find India
- Study of rock agama gives insights into urbanisation and conservation
- Why strengthening genomic surveillance is an imperative
- IMF Surveillance
- China Taiwan Issue: One China Policy
Subject: Geography
Section: Water Resources
Context: Rajasthan’s nadis, an insurance against a dry summer.
Concept:
Nadis or Talabs (ponds)
- These are shallow depressions strewn across the rural landscape in the arid regions of Jodhpur and Barmer districts.
- The water collected in these tanks will quench the thirst of cattle and human beings as well as wild animals during the dry months later in the year.
- The rural communities utilise these structures for storage of rain water with the application of traditional knowledge and locally available materials in view of the highly variable and scanty rainfall in the State.
- These will create micro-climates which will help improve local resilience against the vagaries of global warming and climate change.
- g., (i)The Ramrawas Kalan village, situated 49 km north-east of Jodhpur has two nadis. (ii)The two bigger structures called Deoli and Chan are in Orans (associated with local deities) or sacred forest groves 10 km away from the village.
Traditional Water Conservation Systems in India:
Jhalaras | Jhalaras are typically rectangular-shaped stepwells that have tiered steps on three or four sides in Rajasthan. |
Bawari | Bawaris are unique stepwells that were once a part of the ancient networks of water storage in the cities of Rajasthan. |
Taanka | Taanka is a traditional rainwater harvesting technique indigenous to the Thar desert region of Rajasthan. A Taanka is a cylindrical paved underground pit into which rainwater from rooftops, courtyards or artificially prepared catchments flows. |
Ahar Pynes | Ahar Pynes are traditional floodwater harvesting systems indigenous to South Bihar. Ahars are reservoirs with embankments on three sides that are built at the end of diversion channels like pynes. Pynes are artificial rivulets led off from rivers to collect water in the ahars for irrigation in the dry months. Paddy cultivation in this relatively low rainfall area depends mostly on aharpynes. |
PanamKeni | The Kuruma tribe (a native tribe of Wayanad, Kerala) uses a special type of well, called the panamkeni, to store water. Wooden cylinders are made by soaking the stems of toddy palms in water for a long time so that the core rots away until only the hard outer layer remains. These cylinders, four feet in diameter as well as depth, are then immersed in groundwater springs located in fields and forests. |
Kund | A kund is a saucer-shaped catchment area that gently slope towards the central circular underground well. Its main purpose is to harvest rainwater for drinking. Kunds dot the sandier tracts of western Rajasthan and Gujarat. |
Zing | Zings, found in Ladakh, are small tanks that collect melting glacier water. A network of guiding channels brings water from the glacier to the tank. |
Kuhls | Kuhls are surface water channels found in the mountainous regions of Himachal Pradesh. |
Zabo | The Zabo (meaning ‘impounding run-off’) system combines water conservation with forestry, agriculture and animal care. Practised in Nagaland, Zabo is also known as the Ruza system. Rainwater that falls on forested hilltops is collected by channels that deposit the run-off water in pond-like structures created on the terraced hillsides. |
Subject : Geography
Section: Human Geography
Context: The Changpas’ way of life is undergoing shocks and disruption
Concept:
Changthang plateau
- The cold desert of the Changthang plateau, situated between the Himalayan and Karakoram ranges and extending up and into Tibet, is a bio culturally unique region.
- The ecological conditions of the region including arid climate and sparse vegetation, support high-altitude nomadic pastoralism, and are not conducive to cultivation. It has a freezing temperatures at an altitude ranging from 4500 to 7000 msl.
- It comprises vast grasslands and sand deserts, high altitude lakes such as Tsokar, Tsomoriri, and Pangong, large marshy stretches, and rivers such as Hanle and Indus.
- It is the only known breeding site in India for black-necked crane and bar-headed goose, and home for snow leopard, Pallas’s cat, Tibetan grey wolf, wild ass (Kiang), Tibetan gazelle, argali, woolly hare, Tibetan lark, among many others.
Changpas
- The Changpa are a semi-nomadic people: they usually stay in one place for a few months in a row, near pastures where their sheep, yaks and Pashmina goats can graze
- They are mainly found in the Changtang, a high plateauthat stretches across the cold desert of Ladakh.
- The process of migration from plain areas to pastures on mountains during summers and again from mountain pastures to plain areas during winters is known as transhumance.
- The Pashmina goatis a breed of goat inhabiting the plateaus in Tibet, Nepal, parts of Burma and neighbouring areas of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, India.
- It is also known as ‘Changthangi’, ‘Changra”.
- They are raised for ultra-fine cashmere wool, also known as pashmina once woven.Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has published an Indian Standard for identification, marking and labelling of Pashmina products to certify its purity.
- The certification will help curb the adulteration of Pashminaand also protect the interests of local artisans and nomads who are the producers of Pashmina raw material. It will also assure the purity of Pashmina for customers.
- People do grow basic crops like barley and peas, but primarily for their own and their animals’ consumption and for religious ceremonies.
- The Changpas, have traditionally been primarily nomadic pastoralists, rearing yak, sheep, goat, horses, for their sustenance and livelihoods, including trade in products like wool.
System of rotational grazing:
- The Changpas practise an age-old system of rotational grazing that protects the pastures from being overgrazed, besides helping conserve fodder for lean winter months.
- A diversity of livestock leaves droppings that add manure to the pastures and sustains a variety of micro-fauna and flora.
- They move through 5-6 pastures in a yea Individual households do not decide pasture movements. It has to be a collective decision.
- The goba (village head) calls the yulpa (village assembly) for a collective meeting to reconfirm, or change, the seasonal movement
- Along with movement to pastures, the number of livestock and number of families per pasture is also fixed.
Impact of climate change:
- Climate change induced impacts include receding glaciers, dried up water springs, less dense marshes, and declining quality of pastures.
- The reduced diversity and changing composition of livestock, with an increasing focus on Pashmina goat, whose wool has high market value
- This has resulted in higher mortality during severe winters. They are not as resilient as sheep and yaks. People don’t keep yaks anymore whose manure is so essential for maintaining the pastures
3. Indian Virtual Herbarium, biggest database of country’s flora, is a global hit
Subject : Geography
Section: Human Geography
- With details of about one lakh plant specimens, Indian Virtual Herbarium, the biggest virtual database of flora in the country, is generating a lot of interest and turning out to be an eye-catching endeavour.
- While herbarium specimens are considered important tools for plant taxonomy, conservation, habitat loss and even climate change, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently described Indian Virtual Herbarium as an example of how digital tools can help us connect to our roots.
- Developed by scientists of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI),Kolkata.
- The herbarium provides information on plants in different categories such as Cryptogams (spore bearing plants). Phanerogams (seed bearing plants). Both the groups are again divided into two categories which includes genera; specimen and type specimens.
Botanical Survey of India
- It is the apex research organization under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEFCC) for carrying out taxonomic and floristic studies on wild plant resources of the country. It was established in 1890
- It has nine regional circles situated at different regions of the country. However the headquarter is located in Kolkata, West Bengal.
- Functions:
- Exploration, inventorying and documentation of phytodiversity in general and protected areas, hotspots and fragile ecosystems in particular.
- Publication of National, State and District Floras.
- Identification of threatened and red list species and species rich areas needing conservation.
- Ex-situ conservation of critically threatened species in botanical gardens.
- Survey and documentation of traditional knowledge (ethno-botany) associated with plants.
- Develop National database of Indian plants, including herbarium and live specimens, botanical paintings and illustrations, etc.
Botanical Survey of India- Key Initiatives
- BSI has Floristic surveys of many of the Indian state and Union territories.
- Floristic survey of 68 protected areas, 26 sacred groves, 01 Ramsar site, 12 fragile ecosystems and 23 Tiger Reserves have been completed.
- Towards fulfilling the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation target on ex-situ conservation, the department has 12 botanical gardens spread in different biogeographical zones of the country.
- BSI has also developed a digital platform ‘Indian Plant Diversity Information System (IPDIS)’.
4. Creatures that crossed an ocean to find India
Subject : Geography
Section: Physical Geography
Context: A species of bat and a primitive lemur(IUCN: Endangered) have been found in Gujarat’s Vastan lignite mine.
- Many life forms in Madagascar have affinities to lineages found in India (3,800 km away) rather than Africa (413 km). This posed a ‘difficult enigma’ to naturalists.
- Zoologist Philip Sclater was perplexed by the presence of lemurs, their relatives, and their fossils in Madagascar and India, but not in nearby Africa or the Middle East.
Continental drift
- In plate tectonics, the large rocky plates that we stand on float on molten subterranean rocks and move 2-15 cm per year relative to each other. A landmass called Gondwana, split into two 165 million years ago — one containing what is now Africa and South America, the other comprising India, Madagascar, Australia and Antarctica.
- Around 115 million years ago, Madagascar and India together broke free. Around 88 million years ago, India moved northward, dropping a few parcels of land along the way to form Seychelles. It joined the Eurasian mass 50 million years ago giving rise to the Himalayas and South Asia that we are familiar with.
- Around 115 million years ago, it was the dinosaurs that ruled. Many life forms had not even evolved. Supporting the Gondwana breakup, dinosaur fossils found in India and Madagascar are closely related, and do not resemble species found in Africa and Asia. Fragments of Laplatosaurusmadagascarensis have been found in both India and Madagascar.
Molecular clocks
- A powerful technique, the molecular clock, is used to estimate the time when two forms of life diverged from each other.
- It is based on the observation that evolutionary changes in the sequence of an RNA or a protein molecule occur at a fairly constant rate.
- The difference in the amino acids of, say the haemoglobin of two animals can tell you how long ago their lineages diverged. Molecular clocks corroborate well with other evidence, such as the fossil record.
India’s pivotal position
- India occupies a pivotal position in the distribution of life forms in Asia, Madagascar and Africa. Gondwana creatures moved out of India. Others crossed over to stay. For example, Asian freshwater crabs( Gecarcinucidae) are now found all over Southeast Asia but their most recent common ancestor evolved in India. The frog family, Sooglossidae, is found only in India and the Seychelles
- In India, we have the lorises, which are the closest extant relatives of the lemurs. These are shy, nocturnal forest dwellers, with large, appealing eyes. They are also believed to have survived oceanic rides from Africa.
- They are mostly found in the Northeastern States (slow loris)(IUCN: Endangered), and where Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu meet (slender loris)(IUCN: Endangered).
5. Study of rock agama gives insights into urbanisation and conservation
Subject : Geography
Section: Human Geography
- The Peninsular Rock Agama (Psammophilus dorsalis) which is a type of garden lizard has a strong presence in southern India.
- The IISc study, published in Frontiers in Conservation Science, examined several environmental factors that could affect the presence of the lizard and revealed that they are found mainly in rocky places and warm spots. Thus, the inference is that conservation efforts must point towards retaining rocky patches even while reviving landscapes by planting trees.
- These lizards eat insects and are in turn eaten by raptors, snakes and dogs, they cannot live in places where there are no insects.
- This lizard is a large animal, strikingly coloured in orange and black. They do not generate their own body heat, so they need to seek warmth from external sources like a warm rock or a sunny spot on the wall. They are important in ecology from different aspects — they can indicate which parts of the city are warming, and their numbers show how the food web is changing.
- Insects are critical components of a healthy ecosystem as they provide so many services, including pollination. So, while rock agamas are interesting in themselves, they are also a good model system to understand other aspects of the ecosystem.
Ectotherm
- Ectotherm, any so-called cold-blooded animal—that is, any animal whose regulation of body temperature depends on external sources, such as sunlight or a heated rock surface. The ectotherms include the fishes, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates.
6. Why strengthening genomic surveillance is an imperative
Subject :Science and Technology
Section: Biotechnology
Context:A recent study revealed that the rate of genetic changes in the monkeypox virus was higher than expected
- Ever since it was first reported in humans in 1970, monkeypox virus infections have been largely restricted to countries in Central and Eastern Africa until recently.
- Following a rapid rise in cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) on July 23, 2022 declared the 2022 monkeypox outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
Genome sequences
- The accelerated use of genomics as a tool to understand outbreaks in the last half decadehas left an indelible mark during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and has seen a wider deployment of sequencing infrastructure across the world. Genomic surveillance of pathogens could provide unique insights to understand the outbreak better, track the spread of pathogens and provide immense opportunities for public health decision-making as well as for epidemiology.
- Researchers from across the world have made available over 650 complete genome sequences of monkeypox isolates to date in public domain databases including GISAID and GenBank. This includes over 600 genomes which were sequenced this year alone from over 35 countries, including genomes of two isolates from India, collected from Kerala.
Accelerated evolution
- The monkeypox virus has a DNA genome of around 2,00,000 base pairs, roughly six times larger than that of SARS-CoV-2.
- Being a DNA virus, the monkeypox virus like other poxviruses was believed to have a small rate of accumulating genetic changes compared to viruses with an RNA genome like SARS-CoV-2, which have a much larger rate of mutations. For poxviruses, this rate is estimated to be as low as a couple of genetic changes every year. A recent study, however, revealed that the observed rate of genetic changes in the virus was higher than expected — average of around 50 genetic changes.
APOBEC3 protein
- The study also suggests that several mutations that have been identified in the new sequences of the monkeypox virus may have emerged due to interaction between the virus genome and an important family of proteins coded by the human genome known as the Apolipoprotein B Editing Complex (or APOBEC3). These proteins offer protection against certain viral infections by editing the genome sequence of the virus while it replicates in the cell.
- Monkeypox virus can infect a range of hosts, including non-human primates and rodents which could act as a natural reservoir. Infections in the reservoir could also enable continued transmission and accumulation of mutations before spilling over to cause human infections. Other studies have also suggested a continued evolution of the virus, including deletions involving genes as seen in a few genomes from the present outbreak, which could suggest newer ways in which the virus continues to evolve with sustained human-to-human transmission.
Monkeypox lineages
- Clusters of genomes having common and shared mutations and a common origin are referred to as a lineage or clade. In the early 2000s, two different clades of monkeypox virus were defined in Africa where several cases of the disease have been seen — the Central African (Congo Basin) clade and the West African clade, of which the Congo Basin clade has been shown to be more transmissible and cause more severe disease.
Subject :International Relations
Section: International organization
Context: IMF help to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
- Surveillance is one of three main activities of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), together with lending and technical assistance. Via surveillance, the IMF oversees the international monetary system and the policies of all of its member countries to promote global financial and economic stability. It does so at the country, regional, and global levels.
- At the country level, the IMF conducts bilateral surveillance through the ‘Article IV Consultation’, named after Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement. These consultations involve an annual IMF staff visit to each of its member countries, during which they discuss, with government officials and other stakeholders, the country’s overall economic condition, its fiscal and monetary policies, and any perceived economic risks. The IMF then compiles a staff report with an evaluation and recommendations,the views of the IMF Executive Board, a summary press release, and in some cases a summary from the Executive Director representing the country. Together, these materials are the Article IV report.
- Policy advice in Article IV reports is not binding, but it is mandatory for all 189 IMF member states to undergo bilateral surveillance.
Article IV Scanner
- The Article IV Scanner has therefore been designed to enable civil society, researchers, and officials to search for key words and phrases in over 2,000 IMF Article IV reports since 2000 all in one place. This allows the IMF’s bilateral surveillance to be more transparent, accessible, and open to civil society engagement.
8. China Taiwan Issue: One China Policy
Subject : International Relations
Section :(Bilateral relations)
CONTEXT:
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan, casting aside private warnings from the Biden administration about the risk that her high-profile diplomatic visit could stoke a new crisis in Asia and immediately prompting a sharp response from the Chinese government.
WHAT IS ONE CHINA POLICY?
- The One China policy is a key cornerstone of Sino-US relations. It is the diplomatic acknowledgement of China’s position that there is only one Chinese government.
- Under the policy, the US recognises and has formal ties with China rather than the island of Taiwan, which China sees as a breakaway province.
- China insists Taiwan is an inalienable part of one China. So, any country that wants diplomatic relations with mainland China must break official ties with Taipei.
- Since, the US established formal diplomatic ties with Beijing in 1979, it had to sever ties with Taiwan and closed its Taipei embassy. This has resulted in Taiwan’s diplomatic isolation from the international community.
China and Taiwan issue (Background):
- China and Taiwan separated amid civil war in 1949 and China considers Taiwan part of its territory to be taken control of by force if necessary.
- But Taiwan’s leaders say that Taiwan is a sovereign state.
- After decades of hostile intentions and angry rhetoric, relations between China and Taiwan started improving in the 1980s. China put forward a formula, known as “one country, two systems”,under which Taiwan would be given significant autonomy if it accepted Chinese reunification.
- In Taiwan, the offer was rejected, but the government did relax rules on visits to and investment in China.
- There were also limited talks between the two sides’ unofficial representatives, though Beijing’s insistence that Taiwan’s Republic of China (ROC) government is illegitimate prevented government-to-government contact.
- China’s implementation of a national security law in Hong Kong in 2020 was seen by many as yet another sign that Beijing was becoming significantly more assertive in the region.
- China’s Concerns:
- One China Policy Challenged:
- This means that countries seeking diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC, Mainland China) must break official relations with the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) and vice versa.
- The ROC, Taiwan has diplomatic relations with 15 countries and substantive ties with many others such as Australia, Canada, EU nations, Japan and New Zealand.
- Besides, Taiwan has full membership in 38 intergovernmental organizations and their subsidiary bodies, including the World Trade Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Asian Development Bank and Central American Bank for Economic Integration.
- Agreements/Exercises Countering China:
- Formation of AUKUS (Australia, UK, USA)to counter china.
- Malabar Exercise(US, Japan, India and Australia) is also a major step towards building a sustainable Indo-Pacific.
- Strategic and Defense Support to Taiwan by US:
- Taiwan has sought to improve its defenses with the purchase of US weapons, including upgraded F-16 fighter jets, armed drones, rocket systems and Harpoon missiles.
- India’s Stand on the Issue:
- Since 1949, India has accepted the “One China” policy that accepts Taiwan and Tibet as part of China.
- Even though India has stopped mentioning its adherence to One China policy in joint statements and official documents since 2010, its engagement with Taiwan is still restricted due to the framework of ties with China.
- India and Taiwan do not have formal diplomatic relations but since 1995, both sides have maintained representative offices in each other’s capitals that function as de facto embassies.