General Awareness

ENVIRONMENT - December 2018

Dec 2018

Aug 05, 2019

Goa govt to push for eco-sensitive zones

The Goa government will write to the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEF&CC) to designate low-lying coastal lands and mudflats ,known as "khazans," as ecosensitive zones, under the Coastal Zone Management Plan.
All khazans, aquaculture ponds and salt pans should be demarcated and categorised as eco-sensitive zones.
The Coastal Zone Management Plan is a mandatory requirement under the CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) notification with areas within 200 metres from the point of the highest water level during the yearly spring tide designated as eco-sensitive and earmarked as "no development" zones.
Lands falling with 500 metres of the high tide line are earmarked as "regulated."

In plantation campaign, govt aims at 3 lakh plants in a day

The Delhi government will conduct its mega plantation drive for this year on August 9, 2019 and has aimed to plant over 300,000 tree saplings and shrubs across the national capital.
Scarcity of land has forced the forest department to reduce the overall plantation target of 2019 to 2.4 million from 2018's 3.2 million.
Isapur village near southwest Delhi's Najafgarh has been identified as the main site for the mass drive to be launched by environment minister Kailash Gahlot.

Aug 04, 2019

Tigers in India face lurking threat from virus

A potential virus — Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) — that can be transmitted from CDV-infected dogs living in and around wildlife sanctuaries has started to raise concern among wildlife biologists.
Canine distemper is a contagious and serious disease caused by a virus that attacks the respiratory, gastrointestinal and nervous systems of puppies and dogs.

Aug 03, 2019

First Action Plan to Curb Noise Pollution

The Delhi government came up with its first action plan to curb noise pollution in the city.
The plan comprises various measures such as identifying noise pollution hotspots in the city, procuring hand-held devices for the police as well as civic agencies to better monitor sound pollution, and installing noise mufflers and noise curtains at various industrial and construction sites, among others.
The responsibilities of various government agencies, such as the Delhi Police, civic agencies, Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (DSIIDC) and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) were fixed. All the agencies have been given deadlines by when they have to accomplish their tasks.
According to the plan, all civic agencies would have to identify noise hotspots within their jurisdiction by September 2019. The Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000 would be strictly implemented in these areas, along with the silence zones. An area of 100 metres around schools, hospitals, courts and government offices has been designated as silence zone.

Jul 30, 2019

Iceland to Mark First Glacier Lost

On October 18, 2019, Iceland will issue a plaque that will mark an unusual event, the passing of a glacier lost to climate change. It will be the first monument of its kind.
On this day, a plaque will be unveiled to Okjokull -- which translates to 'OK glacier' -- in the west of Iceland.
This will be the first monument to a glacier lost to climate change anywhere in the world.

Jul 28, 2019

Deep Ocean Mission

A five-year, Rs. 8,000-crore plan to explore the deepest recesses of the ocean has finally got the green signal from the government.
The 'Deep Ocean Mission (DOM)' to be led by the Union Earth Sciences Ministry would commence from October 31. Now, expenditure plans would be drawn and circulated [to various institutions affiliated to the Ministry] for executing programmes and we hope to launch by October 31.
The mission proposes to explore the deep ocean similar to the space exploration started by ISRO about 35 years ago.
A major thrust of the mission would be looking for metals and minerals.
India has been allotted a site of 75,000 sq. km. in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) by the UN International Sea Bed Authority for exploitation of polymetallic nodules (PMN).

Faridabad Badkal Lake to be Revived

At the peripheries of Gurugram and Faridabad, nestled in the foothills of the Aravallis, lie Damdama, Surajkund and Badkal lakes, which served as important public spaces in the not-so-distant past. People of a certain age still recall fond memories of these lakes, which are tightly woven into the cultural identity of South Haryana and the National Capital Region.
The Haryana government is now making an effort to revive these water bodies which — due to the influence of urbanisation, illegal groundwater extraction and mining in the Aravallis — have been worn to a shadow of their former selves, ecologically and culturally. With the state polls scheduled for October, officials say such projects would be cleared for approval and announced in coming months.
On July 13, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar revealed at an event pertaining to Jal Shakti Abhiyan, in Gurugram, that new lakes would be created in Kasan and Kukdaula and older ones in the region will be restored for tourism purposes.
The first of these projects to be implemented is the restoration of Badkal, which emerged as a popular tourist spot in the late 1960s. Now, the lake bed has been bonedry for over a decade.

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