Police Officers for Child Welfare to be Appointed

• According to the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) advice, the Ministry of Home Affairs has requested that each state and union territory appoint a Child Welfare Police Officer (CWPO) to deal exclusively with children, whether they are the victims of crimes or the perpetrators of them.
• The warning comes amid a rise in crimes against children, including homicides and violations of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, 2012.

What does the NCPCR's advisory say?

• According to the requirements of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2015, every police station must have at least one officer designated as CWPO who is not below the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector.
• Every district and city shall establish a Special Juvenile Police Unit under the command of a policeman with at least the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.
• To coordinate all police activities relating to children, the unit would be made up of CWPOs and two social workers with experience working in the field of child welfare, one of whom must be a woman.
• All police stations should include a sign with the CWPOs' contact information so that the public can get in touch with them.

What is India's situation with regard to crimes against children?

• Data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) show that:
• 1,28,531 crimes against minors were committed in 2020; 1,49,404 were committed in 2021.
• With 19,173 cases, Madhya Pradesh led the nation. Uttar Pradesh came in second with 16,838 cases.
• 1,402 kids were killed in total across the nation.
• In 2021, there were 1,18,549 reported occurrences of kidnapping and abduction involving kidnapped children.
• In these instances, the top three states were Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh.

Describe NCPCR.

• In accordance with the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act of 2005, the NCPCR was established as a legislative organization in March 2007.
• The Ministry of Women & Child Development has administrative jurisdiction over it.
• The Commission's job is to make sure that all laws, policies, programmes, and administrative procedures adhere to the view of children's rights that is reflected in both the Indian Constitution and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• In accordance with the Right to Education Act of 2009, it investigates complaints about a child's right to free and mandatory education.
• It keeps an eye on the 2012 POCSO Act's implementation.

About The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2015:

• It took the place of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children Act) 2000 and the Juvenile Delinquency Law.

• The Act included provisions that would allow minors between the ages of 16 and 18 who were found to have broken the law, particularly for grave offences, to be tried as adults.
• The Act included provisions for adoption as well. The Act substituted a more openly applicable adoption statute for the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (1956) and the Guardians of the Ward Act (1890).
• The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) became the statutory body for adoption-related issues, enabling the seamless operation of adoption procedures for orphans, surrendered, and abandoned children.

About Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO) 2012:

• It was created with the goal of defending children's interests and well-being against crimes involving sexual assault, sexual harassment, and pornography.
• In order to ensure the kid's healthy physical, emotional, intellectual, and social development, it defines a child as any individual under the age of eighteen. It also prioritizes the child's welfare at every stage.
• Assaults that are penetrative and non-penetrative, sexual harassment, and pornography are all defined as kinds of sexual abuse.
• Under certain conditions, such as when the victim is mentally ill or when the abuse is carried out by someone in a position of trust or authority, such as a family member, police officer, teacher, or doctor, the law considers a sexual assault to be "aggravated."
• Additionally, it portrays the police as guardians of children while conducting an investigation.
• According to the Act, cases of child sexual abuse must be resolved within a year of the incident being reported.
• In August 2019, it was changed to include harsher penalties for sexual offences against children, including the death penalty.

Steps to Take.

• Comprehensive Framework: The report urges prioritizing anti-abuse prevention efforts, developing child-safe online environments, and urging everyone with a responsibility to safeguard children to collaborate in order to significantly enhance the response.
• A multi-stakeholder approach is being developed to involve parents, schools, communities, NGO partners, local governments, as well as police and attorneys, to better assure the execution of the legal system, policies, and national strategies and standards

Adaptation Gap Report 2022

• According to the United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) Adaptation Gap Report, 2022, global efforts in adaptation planning, financing, and implementation are insufficient to prepare vulnerable communities around the world to adapt to the rising risks of climate change's impacts.
• The report discovered some progress on adaptation plans from national governments, but they are not financially supported.

What are the Report's Findings?

• A third of the 197 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have included quantified and time-bound adaptation targets. And 90% of them have thought about gender and underserved groups.
• International adaptation finance flows are 5-10 times lower than needed, and the gap is widening. Finance for adaptation increased by 4% in 2020, reaching USD 29 billion.
• This is when developing countries' annual adaptation needs are estimated to be between USD 160 and USD 340 billion by 2030, and between USD 315 and USD 565 billion by 2050

What are the Report's Recommendations?

An Ecological Approach:

• The report emphasised that the best way to achieve co-benefits was to link mitigation and adaptation actions in terms of planning, financing, and implementation.
• Nature-based solutions are one example of this.

Climate Adaptation:

• Beginning with COP27, countries must back up the strong words in the Glasgow Climate Pact with strong action to increase adaptation investments and outcomes.
• Other Approaches: Four critical steps must be taken to close the adaptation gap:
• Increase Adaptation Financing: Developed countries must provide a clear roadmap for their promise to double adaptation finance to USD 40 billion, as agreed at COP 26 in Glasgow.
• A New Business Model: Because there is a mismatch between what governments propose and what financiers consider investable, the world urgently requires a new business model for converting adaptation priorities into investable projects.
• Data Implementation is required: The availability of climate risk data and information, which is a problem for many developing countries' adaptation planning.
• Modified Warning Systems: The development and implementation of early warning systems for extreme weather events and slow-onset changes like sea level rise.

What are India's Climate Finance Initiatives?

NAFCC (National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change):

• It was established in 2015 to cover the costs of climate change adaptation for Indian states and union territories that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.

The National Clean Energy Fund:

• It was established to promote clean energy and was initially funded by a carbon tax on industries that use coal.
• It is governed by an Inter-Ministerial Group, which is chaired by the Finance Secretary.
• Its mission is to fund innovative clean energy research and development in both the fossil and non-fossil fuel sectors.

Fund for National Adaptation:

• The fund was established in 2014 with a corpus of Rs. 100 crores to bridge the gap between need and available funds.
• The Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change manages the fund (MoEF&CC).

About the United Nations Environment Programme

• The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is a leading global environmental authority that was founded on June 5, 1972.
• Functions: It establishes the global environmental agenda, promotes sustainable development within the UN system, and acts as an authoritative advocate for global environmental protection.
• Emission Gap Report, Global Environment Outlook, Frontiers, and Invest in a Healthy Planet are the major reports.
• Beat Pollution, UN75, World Environment Day, and Wild for Life are major campaigns.
• Nairobi, Kenya is the headquarters.

About the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

• The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was signed in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, also known as the Earth Summit, the Rio Summit, or the Rio Conference.
• India is one of only a few countries to have hosted the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification).
• The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change entered into force in 1994 and has been ratified by 197 countries.
• It is the parent treaty of the Paris Agreement of 2015. It is also the parent treaty of the Kyoto Protocol of 1997.
• The UNFCCC secretariat (UN Climate Change) is the United Nations entity in charge of assisting with the global response to the threat of climate change. Its headquarters are in Bonn, Germany.
• Its goal is to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous consequences within a reasonable time frame, allowing ecosystems to adapt naturally and enabling sustainable development.

Portal on National Mission on Natural Farming

The Union Agriculture Minister recently launched a portal on the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) for the benefit of farmers.

Important Points about The NMNF website:

• The Agriculture Ministry is in charge of its development.
• It was launched here at the National Natural Farming Mission's first steering committee meeting.
• The portal contains all of the mission's information, implementation outline, resources, implementation progress, farmer registration, blog, and other useful information for farmers.

Authorities working together:

• The officers are responsible for coordinating with state governments and central departments in order to facilitate market linkage and make it easier for farmers to sell their products.

Ministry of Jal Shakti:

• It has developed a road map to promote natural farming and has identified 75 Sahakar Ganga villages in the first phase by signing an MoU with Sahkar Bharti, and farmers have received training.
• More than 4.78 lakh hectares of additional land have been brought under natural farming in 17 states beginning in December 2021.
• Natural farming has been initiated by 7.33 lakh farmers.
• Training: Approximately 23,000 programmes for farmer sanitation and training have been organised.
• Natural farming is being practised on 1.48 lakh hectares of land along the Ganga's banks in four states.

Organic farming:

• Masanobu Fukuoka, a Japanese farmer and philosopher, popularised this farming method in his 1975 book The One-Straw Revolution.

About:

• It is a farming method that avoids or limits the use of synthetically compounded fertilisers, pesticides, growth regulators, genetically modified organisms, and livestock food additives.
• Crop rotations, crop residues, animal manures, legumes, and green manures are all used in this system.

Features:

• Chemical Free: Natural farming is a type of agriculture that avoids the use of chemicals such as pesticides, fertilisers, growth regulators, food additives, and genetically modified organisms.
• Utilization of Alternative Systems: Natural farming employs methods such as crop rotation, the use of green manures and compost, biological pest control, and mechanical cultivation in place of chemical-based inputs.
• Additional Practices: To increase yields in a field, natural farming systems can be supplemented with practises such as crop rotation (planting different crops sequentially), mulching (see inset), intercropping (planting different crops simultaneously in a field), and seed soaking with liquid manure.

Significance:

• Reduced reliance: The mission will aid in the promotion of natural farming in the country. Natural farming will reduce reliance on purchased inputs and help to relieve credit burdens on smallholder farmers.
• Crop Yield: Natural farming is more productive than chemical farming.
• Cost Savings: Because the inputs are produced on the farm itself, the costs would be significantly reduced.
• Income and livelihood: This approach not only reduces cultivation costs (because inputs are produced on-site), but it also results in a higher price for the produce.
• Soil Health: Unlike conventional chemical-based practises, natural farming promotes soil health by not depleting macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium), micronutrients (iron, manganese, zinc, and copper), organic carbon, and the rhizosphere microbiome.
• Environment: Natural farming reduces carbon emissions while also promoting carbon sequestration. It also promotes soil respiration, the growth of beneficial organisms such as earthworms and soil enzymes, and the increase of microbial biomass.
• Water-use efficiency: Using natural farming methods results in more efficient use of soil moisture, which leads to an increase in water table levels, prevents over-extraction of groundwater, and promotes aquifer recharge.
• Food Quality: It promotes the growth of nutrient content and improves the physical characteristics of vegetables such as tomato, cabbage, and cowpea, resulting in higher market prices.

Natural Farming's Difficulties

• Yields are declining: Sikkim, India's first organic state, has seen a decline in yields over the last few years.
• Policymakers' Conviction: At the moment, policymakers are concerned about the nation's food security and are unwilling to commit to major changes in the agriculture sector.
• Chemical inputs-based industry opposition: Chemical-based farming has strong support from the multibillion-dollar agro-chemical industry, which has fought tooth and nail to keep the use of chemicals in agriculture.
• There is a lack of agreement among scientists: While scientists agree on the health and environmental benefits of natural agriculture, they disagree on the impact on crop yields.

Way Forward

• With everyone's help, the country's mission of natural farming can be realised.
• India must continue on the path of natural farming while also capitalising on emerging global opportunities.
• The villages of India have demonstrated that villages can not only bring about change, but also lead it.

Read Also: Portal on National Mission on Natural Farming

Mauna Loa Volcano

• The world's biggest active volcano, Mauna Loa, might explode at any moment.

Where is Mauna Loa?

• Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that make up Hawaii's Big Island.
• It is the most southern of the Hawaiian islands.
• It is not the tallest (that honor belongs to Mauna Kea), but it is the largest and accounts for roughly half of the island's land mass.
• It is located directly north of the Kilauea volcano, which is currently erupting from its summit crater.
• Kilauea is best known for its 2018 eruption, which destroyed 700 homes and sent lava rivers across farms and into the ocean.
• Mauna Loa's last eruption occurred 38 years ago.

What about the rest of the volcanoes?

Recently Erupted:

• Sangay Volcano: Ecuador
• Taal Volcano: Philippines
• Mt. Sinabung, Merapi volcano, Semeru volcano (Indonesia)

Volcanoes in India:

• Barren Island, Andaman Islands (India's only active volcano)
• Narcondam, Andaman Islands
• Baratang, Andaman Islands
• Deccan Traps, Maharashtra
• Dhinodhar Hills, Gujarat
• Dhosi Hill, Haryana

What is the global distribution of volcanoes?

• Volcanoes are found all over the world, mostly along the edges of tectonic plates, though intra-plate volcanoes form from mantle Hotspots (e.g., Hawaii).
• Some volcanic regions, such as Iceland, are located near both a hotspot and a plate boundary.

Volcano World Distribution:

Belt of the Pacific or The Pacific "Ring of Fire":

• It is a chain of volcanoes and sites located around the Pacific Ocean's edges on most of the Earth's subduction zones with high seismic activity.
• There are 452 volcanoes in the Pacific Ring of Fire.
• The majority of its active volcanoes are found on its western edge, from Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula to the Japanese and Southeast Asian islands.

Mid-Continental Belt:

• This volcanic belt runs through Europe, North America, Asia Minor, Caucasia, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan to the Himalayan Mountain system, which includes Tibet, the Pamir, Tien-Shan, and the mountains of China, Myammar, and eastern Siberia.
• This belt includes the volcanoes of the Alps, the Mediterranean Sea (Stromboli, Vesuvius, Etna, and so on), the Aegean Sea, Mt. Ararat (Turkey), Elburz, the Hindukush, and the Himalayas.

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge

• It divides the North and South American Plates from the Eurasian and African Plates.
• Like a long, thin undersea volcano, magma rises through the cracks and leaks out onto the ocean floor. When magma meets water, it cools and solidifies, adding to the edges of the plates moving sideways.
• This process along the divergent boundary has produced the world's longest topographic feature in the form of Mid oceanic ridges beneath the oceans.

Volcanoes within a plate:

• Intraplate, or "hot-spot," volcanoes are the 5% of known volcanoes in the world that are not closely related to plate margins.
• A hot spot is thought to be caused by the rise of a deep-mantle plume, which is caused by the very slow convection of highly viscous material in the Earth's mantle.
• It can be represented by a single oceanic volcano or by chains of volcanoes like the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chains.

Read Also: World Heritage Glaciers in Danger: UNESCO