KAZA Summit 2024: Delegates renew calls to leave CITES

Delegates from Zambia reaffirmed their call for member nations to leave CITES in order to obtain permission to sell their abundant ivory and wildlife items at the KAZA 2024 Summit in Livingstone.

What is Kavango-Zambezi Trans-Frontier Conservation Area (KAZA-TFCA)?

• 520,000 square kilometers make up the Kavango-Zambezi Trans-Frontier Conservation Area (KAZA-TFCA). It encompasses portions of five countries in southern Africa. Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are these countries.
• The Okavango and Zambezi river basins serve as the area’s focal points. With an estimated 450,000 elephants, the combined population of these countries accounts for more than two-thirds of all elephants in Africa.
• With 132,000 elephants, Botswana has the highest elephant population in the region. Zimbabwe has 100,000 elephants after that.

Key Objectives of KAZA 2024 Summit :

• Conservation: Encourage the five member governments of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to manage and conserve their species in a sustainable manner.
• Economic Benefit: To investigate methods of making money off of the plentiful animal resources, especially elephants, in order to support conservation initiatives and boost regional economies.

Dominant Issues:

• In 2022, the KAZA states, along with five other southern African nations, pushed for the opening of trade in ivory and elephant products during the 19th CITES conference held in Panama.
• Some claim that the enormous populations of elephants in Southern Africa, especially those in the KAZA region, are a contributing factor to habitat loss and conflict between humans and wildlife.
• The plan was turned down by CITES delegates in spite of repeated requests, which infuriated the African nations.
• Ten nations filed a challenge with CITES, including the KAZA states and others including Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, and Tanzania. They attacked CITES for abandoning science-based conservation techniques in favor of ideologies and for deviating from its original goals.

How does biodiversity vary in India? How is the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 helpful in the conservation of flora and fauna? (2018)

40 Years since Operation Blue Star

June 1st, the day Punjab casts its votes in the final round of the Lok Sabha election, also marks the anniversary of “Operation Blue Star,” which has had a significant impact on the state’s politics and recent past.

Operation Blue Star

• In June 1984, the Indian Army conducted Operation Blue Star, a military operation aimed at eliminating militants affiliated with the Khalistani organization who were holed up within the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar, Punjab.
• Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s militants had fortified the temple complex and were pushing for Khalistan, an independent Sikh state.
• The goal of the operation was to drive the militants out of the Golden Temple complex and bring peace back to the area.
• But the holy sanctuary was damaged, and there were many casualties.
• Commencing on June 1, 1984, the procedure lasted for ten days.
• Sikhs both in India and beyond were deeply outraged by the highly contentious operation.
• It also had political repercussions, including the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her bodyguards later that year, which sparked anti-Sikh riots across India.

What is the Khalistan movement?

• The goal of the Sikh separatist movement known as Khalistan (Land of the Khalsa) is to create a sovereign state in the Punjab region of both India and Pakistan.

Factors Affecting the Rise of Khalistan:

• Partition of India (1947): Sikhs felt dispersed and marginalized as a result of the split of Punjab and the loss of Sikh holy places in Pakistan.
• Linguistic Reorganization of States (1966): The establishment of Punjab, a Sikh-majority state with a smaller land area and less economic potential, stoked the demand for more autonomy and cultural rights.
• Anandpur Sahib Resolution (1973): Tensions intensified as a result of the central government viewing Punjab’s demand for more autonomy and cultural rights as a threat to independence.
• External Support: The involvement of external forces, such as Pakistan, which have supported and funded some Khalistani groups for their strategic interests, has also played a significant role in the movement’s persistence.

Agnibaan Sub Orbital Technology Demonstrator (SOrTeD)

Agnikul Cosmos Private Limited, a space start-up based in Chennai, created history when it launched the Agnibaan Sub Orbital Technology Demonstrator (SOrTeD), a single-piece 3D-printed rocket, from Sriharikota.

What is a Suborbital Tech Demonstrator, or Agnibaan SOrTeD?

• Agnikul’s proprietary Agnilet semi-cryogenic engine powers the Agnibaan SOrTeD single-stage launch vehicle.
• Agnibaan SOrTeD’s vertical takeoff and accurate trajectory allow for coordinated maneuvers during flight, which sets it apart from conventional sounding rockets.

TROPICAL CYCLONES

Under the influence of Cyclone Remal, at least 36 persons lost their lives on Tuesday, May 28, in landslides and torrential rains in four northeastern states.

Context:

• In tropical oceans with sea temperatures of at least 27 °C and latitudes between 5 and 30 °N and south of the equator, tropical cyclones form. They play a crucial role in the movement of heat and energy between the equator and the poles on Earth.

About TROPICAL CYCLONES :

• The area between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn is where tropical cyclones originate.
• These are broad-based weather systems that combine to produce surface wind circulation over tropical or subtropical oceans.
• Tropical cyclones are among the most catastrophic natural disasters that occur worldwide.

Favourable Conditions for the Formation of Tropical Cyclone

• a substantial region of the water’s surface that is warmer than 27° C
• A cyclonic vortex can arise due to the strength of the Coriolis force.
• The vertical wind speed varies very little.As a result, the storm clouds are able to ascend vertically to great heights.
• There is already a low-level cyclonic circulation or a weak low-pressure area.

Above the sea level system, there should be a higher divergence.

Origin of Tropical Cyclones

• Tropical cyclones have a thermal genesis and form over tropical oceans in late summer, often from August to mid-November.
• The strong local convectional currents at these locations take on a whirling motion due to the Coriolis effect.

GOLDEN RICE

Biosafety permits for the commercial multiplication of genetically modified golden rice and Bt eggplant were recently withdrawn by a Philippine court.

Background:

• The ruling has gained international attention due to the arguments made by proponents of genetically modified crops who disregard the safety violations the court found and suggest the decision could have catastrophic effects on youngsters who lack vitamin A.

About Golden Rice

• Beta carotene, a plant pigment that the body may convert into vitamin A when needed, is present in a novel kind of rice called “Golden Rice.” This combination gives this grain its name and gives it a yellow-orange or golden tint.
• Genetic engineering is utilized to create Golden Rice. Although beta carotene is produced by regular rice, the grain does not contain it. In order to add the component to the grain—a little change that increased the grain’s nutritional value—scientists employed genetic engineering.
• Thanks to the addition of two new enzymes, Golden Rice now contains beta-carotene that is exactly the same as that found in orange-colored fruit, green leafy vegetables, yellow-colored veggies, and even in many dietary ingredients and vitamin supplements.
• Like regular rice, golden rice typically has the same yield and agronomic performance and doesn’t require any additional cultivation techniques.
• Although food products and supplements contain vitamin A, addressing the issue of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is challenging due to issues with its pricing, accessibility, and availability.
• Since rice is a staple food in many Asian communities that are vitamin A deficient, once Golden Rice is made available for public consumption, it can play a major role in helping to improve the vitamin A status of these populations.