pib releases 21-12-2020

PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU (PIB)

Paper	Topics	Subject
GS-III	Great Indian Bustard	Biodiversity & Environment
GS-III	Young Champions of the Earth	Biodiversity & Environment

GS-III : Biodiversity & Environment

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Great Indian Bustard

The Wildlife Institute of India proposed to put all power transmission lines passing through Great Indian Bustard (GIB) habitat underground. GIB, a bird native to India and Pakistan, is the State Bird of Rajasthan. The largest population is found in Rajasthan.

Quick FACTS

The GIB is one of the heaviest flying bird endemics to the Indian subcontinent.
They are primarily terrestrial birds.
The GIB lays one egg every 1-2 years and the success rate of these eggs is 60-70 per cent.
However, this rate has been reduced to 40-50 % due to predators like foxes and dogs.
Today less than 150 individuals are left in India.
They have a poor frontal vision.
Maximum numbers of GIBs are found in Jaisalmer and the Indian Army-controlled field firing range near Pokhran, Rajasthan.
Other areas where they are found in less than 10 in number are Kutch district in Gujarat, Nagpur and Solapur districts in Maharashtra, Bellary and Koppal districts in Karnataka and Kurnool district and Amravati in Andhra Pradesh.

The sanctuaries that shelter or conserve

1. Desert National Park, Rajasthan
2. Kutch Bustard Sanctuary, Gujarat
3. Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary or Jawaharlal Nehru Bustard Sanctuary, Maharashtra
4. Rollapadu Wildlife Sanctuary – Andhra Pradesh
5. Karera Wildlife Sanctuary– Madhya Pradesh

Protection status of GIB:

1. IUCN Status is Critically Endangered
2. Appendix I of CITES
3. Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection)Act, 1972

Threats include agriculture; energy production & mining; transportation; human intrusions, and invasive and other problematic species.

IUCN Red List

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has updated its Red List of Threatened Species.
Now, Ganga, Amazon, Indus, and Irrawaddy species of freshwater dolphins are “threatened with extinction” on the IUCN Red List.
Tucuxi species (Sotalia fluviatilis) of freshwater dolphins are moving from ‘data deficient to ‘endangered’.
IUCN also declared 31 species as extinct which include 15 freshwater fish species endemic to Lake Lanao and its outlet in the Philippines; three Central American frog species; Lost Shark.
Also, three Macadamia species of protea (a genus of South African flowering plants) family; 9 Asian oak species.
The European bison has moved from Vulnerable to Near Threatened.

IUCN

As per the latest information from the IUCN Red List 2019:

41% of the amphibians are threatened
33% fo the coral reefs are in the threatened category

A series of Regional Red Lists are produced by countries or organizations, which assess the risk of extinction to species within a political management unit. The IUCN Red List is based upon precise criteria to evaluate the rate of extinction of thousands of species and subspecies. These criteria are relevant to all species and all regions of the world.

The IUCN red list provides taxonomic data, conservation status, and distribution information on species that are facing a high risk of global extinction.

Objectives of IUCN

The International Union for Conservation of Nature works to achieve the following goals:

To provide scientific data on the status of species and subspecies at a global level.
To address the factors of concern and spread awareness regarding the species and biodiversity extinction.
To plan a layout for the conservation of biodiversity.

IUCN Red List Users

The IUCN Red List provides accurate data on the status of different species on the Earth. This information is used by various departments, institutes, and organizations.

The users of the IUCN Red List are given below:

Government agencies (National & International)
Wildlife organizations and departments
Conservation-related NGOs
Natural resource planners
Educational organizations
Zoos and aquariums
Media
Business communities

Purpose of the IUCN Red List Data

The information cited in the IUCN Red List is used by various organizations in the following ways:

International Agreements such as CITES, and Ramsar Convention use the Red List data to make important decisions in sync with the status of nature as and when required.
World Bank Group performance standard uses the IUCN Red List data to evaluate the risk of damage to biodiversity due to large-scale infrastructures and global projects.
Zoos and National parks use this information to upgrade important policies like park regulations from time to time.

Following are the 9 categories in the IUCN red list:

Extinct (EX) – No known individuals remaining.
Extinct in the wild (EW) – Known only to survive in captivity, or as a naturalized population outside its historic range.
Critically endangered (CR) – Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
Endangered (EN) – High risk of extinction in the wild.
Vulnerable (VU) – High risk of endangerment in the wild.
Near threatened (NT) – Likely to become endangered soon.
Least concern (LC) – Lowest risk. Does not qualify for a more at-risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.
Data deficient (DD) – Not enough data to assess its risk of extinction.
Not evaluated (NE) – Has not yet been evaluated against the criteria

List of critically endangered species in India as per IUCN Red List 2019

Critically Endangered Mammals

Pygmy Hog
Andaman White-toothed Shrew
Jenkin’s Andaman Spiny Shrew
Nicobar White-tailed Shrew
Kondana Rat
Large Rock Rat or Elvira Rat
Namdapha Flying Squirrel
Malabar Civet
Sumatran Rhinoceros
Javan Rhinoceros

Critically Endangered Birds

Aythya baeri
Forest Owlet
Great Indian Bustard
Bengal Florican
Siberian Crane
Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Sociable Lapwing
Jerdon’s Courser
White-backed Vulture
Red-headed Vulture
White-bellied Heron
Slender-billed Vulture
Indian Vulture
Pink-headed Duck
Himalayan Quail

Critically Endangered Reptiles

Gharial
Hawksbill Turtle
Leatherback Turtle
River Terrapin
Bengal Roof Turtle
Sispara day gecko

Critically Endangered Fishes

Pondicherry Shark
Ganges Shark
Knife-tooth Sawfish
Large-tooth Sawfish
Narrow-snout Sawfish

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Source: PIB

Biodiversity & Environment

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Young Champions of the Earth

An Indian entrepreneur is among the seven winners of the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) “Young Champions of the Earth” 2020 prize. This award is given to spot global change-makers between the ages of 18 and 30 and support their ideas to save the environment.

Seven champions are selected from each global region: Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, West Asia and two from Asia and the Pacific. This prize, launched by UNEP in 2017, is in similar lines to UNEP’s Champions of the Earth prize.

Past News:2018 for UPSC

The annual Champions of the Earth prize is the UN’s highest environmental honour.
It recognizes outstanding individuals and organizations from the public and private sectors and from civil society whose actions have had a transformative positive impact on the environment.
It was launched in 2005 by United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment).
Champions of the Earth recognizes laureates in the following 5 categories: (1) Lifetime Achievement, (2) Policy Leadership, (3) Action and Inspiration, (4) Entrepreneurial Vision and (5) Science and Innovation.

Winners of the 2018 Champions of the Earth Awards:

	Category	Laureate(s)
1	Entrepreneurial Vision	Cochin International Airport (awarded for its leadership in the use of sustainable energy)
2	Policy Leadership	Emmanuel Macron, President of France and Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India (awarded for their efforts regarding the International Solar Alliance)
3	Lifetime achievement award	Joan Carling
4	Science and Innovation	Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods
5	Inspiration and Action	China’s Zhejiang’s Green Rural Revival Programme

Young Champions of the Earth:

In 2017, on similar lines, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) launched Young Champions of the Earth, a new initiative to spot young, talented people between the ages of 18 and 30 and support their inspiring ideas to save the environment.
Under it, Seven Young Champions – selected from every global region – will receive $15,000 each in seed funding and intensive mentoring to help them implement their ideas.