General Awareness

ENVIRONMENT - July 2018

Jul 2018

Feb 03, 2020

Somalia Declares Emergency over Locust Swarms

Somalia declared a national emergency as large swarms of locusts spread across east Africa.
The country's Ministry of Agriculture said that the insects, which consume large amounts of vegetation, posed a major threat to Somalia's fragile food security situation.
There are fears that the situation may not be brought under control before the harvest begins in April.
As per the UN, the swarms are the largest in Somalia and Ethiopia in 25 years.
Meanwhile, neighbouring Kenya has not seen a locust threat as severe in 70 years.
However, Somalia is the first country in the region to declare an emergency over the infestation.

Tiruvallur Shows the Way

At a juncture when the Greater Chennai Corporation is trying to find a solution for its garbage disposal issues, the neighbouring Tiruvallur district administration has started testing garbage decomposition equipment to burn its waste and convert it into ash.
The ECOMAC Municipal Solid Waste Management Machine was installed on the Gummidipoondi SIPCOT premises, and its operation was inspected by Tiruvallur Collector Maheswari Ravikumar.
The equipment runs on magnetic heat technology and uses electricity for the chimney.
It can destroy metal cans, scrap, building debris and other forms of garbage. In a day, this machine can handle three tonnes and its residual waste is 10 kg ceramic ash. This can be used for house painting and road asphalting.

Feb 02, 2020

Bill Proposes Ban on Plastic Waste Exports

Exporting polluting plastic waste to developing countries will be banned or restricted under a new law.
The rule presented to the UK Parliament is aimed at protecting poorer nations against becoming the dumping ground for unwanted rubbish.
The latest trade data shows that some 356,233 tonnes of plastic waste was sent for recycling from the UK to developing countries in 2018.
The plastic often ends up dumped in waterways.
This has resulted in many developing countries sending back waste to rich nations.
The revised Environment Bill also rules that firms producing packaging must take more responsibility for products and materials they put on the market.

Jan 31, 2020

Rare Glass Frogs Reappear in Bolivia

A rare species of frog native to the eastern slopes of the Bolivian Andes was spotted in the South American country for the first time in 18 years.
The Bolivian Cochran frog is notable for its transparent belly, leading to its nickname, the "glass frog".
The rediscovery of this species fills with a ray of hope for the future of the glass frogs - one of the most charismatic amphibians in the world.
The team came across the frogs earlier this month during a mission to rescue reptiles and amphibians threatened by a hydroelectric project in the Carrasco National Park to the east of Cochabamba, the fourth largest city in Bolivia.

Jan 30, 2020

More Wetlands in India Declared as Ramsar Sites

Ramsar declared 10 more wetlands from India as sites of international importance. While Maharashtra got its first Ramsar site —Nandur Madhameshwar, Punjab which already had three added three more Keshopur-Miani, Beas Conservation Reserve, Nangal, according to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, calling it a major recognition towards Government of India's effort towards conservation, restoration and rejuvenation of its wetlands.
With this, the number of Ramsar sites in India is now 37 and the surface area covered by these sites is now 1,067,939 hectares. Uttar Pradesh with one Ramsar site has added six more—Nawabganj, Parvati Agra, Saman, Samaspur, Sandi and SarsaiNawar.

Jan 29, 2020

Endangered Cheetahs can Return to Indian Forests

India's top court said cheetahs can be reintroduced in the country, 70 years after they were wiped out.
Responding to a plea by the government, the Supreme Court said African cheetahs could be introduced to the wild in a "carefully chosen location".
Cheetahs are an endangered species, according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).
Only 7,100 cheetahs are left in the wild, almost all of them in Africa.
The Asiatic cheetah, which once roamed parts of India, is now only found in Iran, where there are thought to be about 50 left.

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