The Iberian Lynx is Back from the Brink of Extinction
Things are looking up for the Iberian lynx. Just over two decades ago, the pointy-eared wild cat was on the brink of extinction, but as now (June 2024) the International Union for Conservation of Nature says it's no longer an endangered species.
Successful conservation efforts mean that the animal, native to Spain and Portugal, is now barely a vulnerable species, according to the latest version of the IUCN Red List, released in 2024.
In 2001, there were only 62 mature Iberian lynx — medium-sized, mottled brown cats with characteristic pointed ears and a pair of beard-like tufts of facial hair — on the Iberian Peninsula.
More than two decades later, in 2022, nature reserves in southern Spain and Portugal contained 648 adult specimens. The latest census, from last year (2023), shows that there are more than 2,000 adults and juveniles.
Jun 17, 2024
India is World's Second Largest Emitter of Nitrous Oxide
The report said that atmospheric concentrations of N2O, the third most important greenhouse gas, are increasing faster than predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emission scenarios.
India is the world's second largest source of nitrous oxide (N2O), a greenhouse gas that heats up the atmosphere far more than carbon dioxide. Nearly 11% of such global man-made emissions in 2020 were from India, topped only by China at 16%. The major source of these emissions comes from fertiliser usage, according to a global assessment of N2O emissions published in the journal Earth System Science Data.
Jun 16, 2024
Artificial Islands to be Formed at Kavinadu Kanmoi Near Pudukottai
Work of forming artificial islands at Kavinadu Kanmoi, one of the biggest irrigation tanks in Pudukottai district in Tamil Nadu, has been taken up jointly by the Pudukottai district administration and Kadamadai Area Integrated Farmers Association (KAIFA).
As a first step towards formation of artificial islands, removal of seemai karuvelam (prosopis juliflora), an invasive species and weed, in the sprawling tank got under way with the work being inaugurated by Law Minister S. Regupathy and Environment Minister Siva V. Meyyanathan.
The silt would be removed before the formation of 10 artificial islands in the irrigation tank. The project was being executed with support from various stakeholders and local farmers.
Jun 15, 2024
World Bank Partners with Chennai for Zero Waste Goal
The World Bank will lend support to the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) to achieve sustainable waste management in the city.
At a meeting, the World Bank held discussions on solid waste management with officials of the State government and the GCC to stop waste dumping in Kodungaiyur by 2026-2027. In a bid to achieve sustainable waste management, the GCC intends to take initiatives to minimise the amount of solid waste that is disposed of on landfills or through incineration.
The World Bank intends to improve solid waste management in the city and various parts of the State over a period of 20 years. It will also conduct a study of the status of solid waste management in the city.
Jun 14, 2024
Three States Seek Shrinking of Eco-sensitive Areas in Western Ghats
Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa, three of the six states where the Centre proposed eco-sensitive areas (ESA) to protect the Western Ghats, have sought a reduction in the extent of these ESAs to allow development works.
The states flagged the need for rationalisation of these ESAs, spread over 56,825 sq km in the Ghats in their discussions with an expert panel appointed by the Centre to finalise a draft notification. The current draft is in the fifth iteration, with its first version issued in March 2014. And with a consensus elusive so far, the latest draft notification, published in July 2022, is set to expire, too.
An expert committee will submit its report to the Environment Ministry by September despite a June-end deadline. While the panel will consider the states' demands, it will stick to the principles of ecological protection and follow a uniform approach.
The panel, headed by Sanjay Kumar, former Director General of Forests, and comprising members from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, and the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, was appointed in July 2022.
It has since held multiple meetings with officials from the six Western Ghat states — Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu — besides seeking inputs from Geological Survey of India, National Institute of Hydrology, Forest Survey of India and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.
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