Geological sites

Context:

• Govt sends names of 10 geological sites to ASI for inclusion in world heritage list
• There are about 100 geo-heritage sites, out of which 32 have been recognised as National Geological Monuments

News:

• Names of 10 geological sites, sent to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for inclusion in the list of world heritage sites, are under scrutiny, the government has said.

More on the news:

• There are about 100 geo-heritage sites, out of which 32 have been recognised as National Geological Monuments.
• Unlike archaeological sites, there is no legislation to protect geo-heritage sites.
• But the Geo Heritage Sites and Geo-relics Bill, 2022, which aims to protect India’s geological heritage, is under process.
• There are about 1,200 world heritage sites in the world, out of which 42 are in India and none of these are geological sites.
• India has excellent geo-heritage sites like Lunar crater in Maharashtra, Bhedaghat in Madhya Pradesh, and Gandikota gorge in Andhra Pradesh.
• But these are known mostly as tourism sites and people are not aware of their geological importance.
• There is another global designation known as International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) sites and some of the sites have been recognised in Sikkim.
• All these recognitions should lead to benefits for common people and Indian officials requested UNESCO to provide support in getting recognition to some of the Indian sites as UNESCO Global Geopark.

UNESCO Global Geopark:

• The UNESCO Global Geopark is the most recent UNESCO site designation that recognises sites that showcase not only the earth’s geological past, but celebrate cultural connections to the land, becoming hubs of pride and economic growth for the people who call them home.
• Adopted under the International Geopark Programme (IGGP) in 2015, UNESCO Global Geoparks recognise and preserve geological heritage of international significance, promoting sustainable development and enhancing local community engagement through geo-tourism and education.
• At present, there are 213 UNESCO Global Geoparks in 48 countries.

Craters of Moon

Context:

• Chandrayaan-3 landed on possibly oldest craters of Moon, say researchers
• Chandrayaan-3 was found to have landed within a crater – about 160 km in diameter and detected in the images as a nearly semi-circular structure

News:

• India’s lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 possibly landed in one of the oldest craters of the Moon, according to scientists who analysed images from the mission and satellites.
• The crater was formed during the Nectarian period, which dates back to 3.85 billion years and is one of the oldest time periods in the Moon’s history.

More on the news:

• Chandrayaan-3 landing site is a unique geological setting where no other missions have gone.
• The images from the mission’s Pragyan rover are the first on-site ones of the Moon at this latitude.
• They reveal how the Moon evolved over time.
• A crater is formed when an asteroid crashes into the surface of a larger body like a planet or a Moon, and the displaced material is called ‘ejecta’.
• Revealing how the Moon evolved over time, the images showed that one-half of the crater was buried under material thrown out or ‘ejecta’ from the South Pole-Aitken basin – the largest and most known impact basin on the Moon, the researchers said.
• Forming of ejecta is “similar to when you throw a ball on sand and some of it gets displaced or thrown outwards into a small pile.
• An impact basin is a large, complex crater with diameter over 300 km, while a crater measures less than 300 km in diameter.
• When an impact basin is forming, surface material will be thrown out.
• If the diameter of the impact basin is larger, sub-surface materials from greater depths will be excavated.
• In this case, Chandrayaan-3 was found to have landed within a crater – about 160 km in diameter and detected in the images as a nearly semi-circular structure.
• The researchers said this likely indicated one half of the crater, the other half of which was ‘degraded’ by getting buried under ejecta from the South Pole-Aitken basin.
• Further, near the landing site, ejecta or material ‘thrown out’ from another impact crater further away was observed – images captured by the Pragyan rover revealed that material of the same nature was present at the landing site.
• The Pragyan rover was deployed on the lunar surface by the Vikram lander, on-board the Chandrayaan-3.
• Together, the images from the mission and satellites showed that the Chandrayaan-3 landing site consists of material deposited from different regions of the Moon.
• The mission, launched by ISRO, made a soft landing near the Moon’s South Pole on August 23, 2023.
• The landing site was christened the Shiv Shakti Point on August 26, 2023.
• To validate their results, the researchers also observed other craters formed during the Nectarian period and found that most of them were severely degraded and modified – a finding that “substantiates discovery of a buried crater.”
• The finding is also an indication of the weathering effects due to exposure to space, or ‘space weathering,’ researchers said.

India must put the lid on colossal food loss and waste

Context:

• The current scale of food waste is unacceptable as it translates into substantial economic loss and hampers the creation of a sustainable agrifood system

Introduction:

• Food loss and waste represent one of the most pressing challenges to sustainable global food systems.
• According to the estimates of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), 13% of food produced globally is lost before it reaches the retail stage, while an additional 19% is wasted at the retail, food service, and household levels.
• This results in 32% of global food production being discarded.
• In a world where more than 700 million people suffer from hunger, this scale of waste is unacceptable.

Indian case:

• In India, the situation is concerning.
• As per the 2022 study of NABARD Consultancy Services (NABCONS), there are significant production losses across all food categories: fruits (8.1%); vegetables (7.27%), and plantation crops (7.18%) suffer the highest percentage of food losses.
• Food loss as a percentage of production by category in India is as follows: livestock produce 1.29%; cereals 4.44%; oilseeds 5.66%; eggs 6.03%; pulses 6.36%; plantation crops 7.18%; vegetables 7.27% and fruits 8.1% (Source: NABCONS (2022))
• Food loss in India not only undermines national food security but also translates into substantial economic loss.
• The total monetary value of food lost is close to ₹1.52 lakh crore ($18.41 billion), which is about 3.7% of the gross value added to the agricultural sector in the country.
• These estimates are likely conservative since they do not account for the deterioration in food quality, and other studies suggest even higher proportions of food loss.
• On the International Day for Food Loss and Waste 2024 – it is observed on September 29 – the FAO calls for increased financing to strengthen efforts to reduce food loss and waste to build sustainable food systems and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Wasted food equals wasted resources:

• The consequences of food loss go beyond food itself.
• Wasted food means wasted resources as land, water, energy, and labour.
• Agriculture consumes nearly 70% of the world’s freshwater, and when food is lost, so are critical water resources.
• Similarly, energy inputs are required at every stage of the food supply chain, from mechanised farming to transport, processing and storage, and every instance of food wastage squanders this energy.
• Food systems contribute approximately 26% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
• Food loss alone accounts for 6% of global emissions.
• When food waste decomposes in landfills, it produces methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide.
• Reducing food loss and waste is thus not only a matter of food security but a critical measure in combating climate change.

Reducing food loss to mitigate climate change:

• As concerns over climate change intensify, the need to curb food loss and waste becomes more urgent.
• Achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets 12.3.1 (halving food loss) and 12.3.2 (halving food waste) is now a global imperative.
• The Government of India has taken commendable steps to improve logistics and cold chain infrastructure in recent years through various initiatives under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) which provides subsidies for the transportation/storage of eligible crops.
• Under the PMKSY, the government is providing financial incentives to various stakeholders such as the private sector, self-help groups, farmer producer organisations, local bodies, and cooperatives to build modern cold chains and warehouses.
• Furthermore, the government’s Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure scheme promotes cold chain facilities without any break from the farm gate to the consumer.
• The Rural Godown Scheme specifically focuses on improvement in storage infrastructure in rural and remote areas to reduce storage losses.
• However, more needs to be done to promote efficient storage, grading and transport of agricultural produce.
• Public-private partnerships, fostering start-ups and innovative financing solutions are crucial in scaling interventions and ensuring sustainable outcomes.
• Identifying and addressing key stages of the food supply chain where losses are acute are most important.
• The FAO is currently preparing a project to be funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to target reduction in food loss and retail waste in India together with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).
• As part of the project, the FAO in collaboration with the National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM), is undertaking a study to enhance India’s agrifood resilience by addressing the climate impact of food loss and retail waste in post-harvest operations.
• The focus is on identifying points of loss within the food supply chain, quantifying the losses, and evaluating the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from food loss.
• The study will provide a range of tailored solutions for different commodities and help design targeted interventions under the GCF project by the public and private sectors, which will not only make processing value chains more efficient but also lead to a significant reduction in GHG emissions.

A critical issue:

• Reducing food loss and waste is vital to building sustainable food systems and addressing climate change.
• The environmental impacts of food loss and waste, particularly in terms of GHG emissions and resource depletion, make it a critical issue for governments, businesses and individuals alike.
• By reducing food loss and waste, we can make significant strides toward India’s climate goals, enhance food security, and improve the lives of millions of people worldwide.

Asian elephants

Context:

• New study reveals five genetically-distinct population of Asian elephants in India

Introduction:

• The existence of five genetically-distinct populations of Asian elephants in India, more than previously thought, has been revealed in a recent study published in Current Biology.
• Divergence and serial colonisation shape genetic variation and define conservation units in Asian elephants.

60% of global population:

• India is home to 60% of the global population of Asian elephants, found across South and Southeast Asia.
• Today, Asian elephant habitats in India are fragmented, surrounded by farmland, human settlements, commercial plantations, and linear transport infrastructure.
• This has resulted in widespread and often severe human-elephant conflicts.
• Despite their ecological and cultural significance, studies on the population genetic structure, diversity, and demographic history of these elephants-critical for identifying conservation and management units have been limited.
• The study, which analysed whole genome sequences from captive and wild elephant blood samples collected across diverse landscapes, offers new hope for the species’ future by identifying key populations that need tailored conservation strategies.
• The research identified five elephant populations spread across Northern, Central, and Southern India.
• Two populations in the north and three in the south.
• Historically, elephants migrated from the north to the south, but with each migration, their genetic diversity declined.
• This reduced genetic variation could be the result of a serial founder effect, where fewer individuals from each starting population migrate to establish new populations.
• As these populations become smaller, the risk of inbreeding depression increases – a phenomenon where harmful genetic variants are more likely to be inherited due to breeding among related individuals.
• The results also align with previous research, showing that the Northwest and Northeast Indian populations, nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, are genetically distinct from other Indian populations.
• The Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers are potential barriers to gene flow in these regions.

Lowest genetic diversity:

• The release further added that the southernmost population, located south of the Shencottah Gap, has the lowest genetic diversity and is particularly vulnerable.
• With fewer than 50 elephants remaining, this population has a higher chance of extinction.
• The researchers suspect that recent development along a railway line, a highway, and other transportation infrastructure may have further reduced gene flow between northern and southern populations.
• The researchers advocate carefully considering any translocation of animals across the gap.
• The identification of these five genetically-distinct populations underscores the need for region-specific conservation efforts.
• The research team also plans to develop a genetic toolkit based on DNA extracted from elephant faeces.
• This toolkit will help monitor populations more accurately and identify individual elephants in the wild, providing invaluable data for conservationists.