International Big Cat Alliance

• To commemorate 50 years of Project Tiger, the Prime

Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched the International
Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) for conservation of seven big cats
namely Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Cheetah, Jaguar
and Puma harbouring our planet.
• The alliance aims to reach out to 97 range countries covering
the natural habitats.
• IBCA would further strengthen global cooperation and
efforts to conserve the wild denizens, especially the big cats.

• His Excellency from Cambodia, was enthusiastic in getting

tigers from India and rehabilitating them in in their
Cardamom Hills and in their Sripok Wildlife Sanctuary.
Management Effectiveness Evaluation
(MEE) of Tiger Reserves
• IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA)
provides a framework for assessing the management
effectiveness of protected areas through six elements i.e.
context, planning, input, process, output and outcomes.

• Fifth cycle of assessment covers 51 Tiger Reserves.

Newly declared Tiger Reserves (Ramgarh Visdhari and
Ranipur) have not been included.
Management Effectiveness Evaluation
(MEE) of Tiger Reserves
• Periyar in Kerala (MEE score 94.38%),
• Satpura in Madhya Pradesh and Bandipur in Karnataka
(MEE score 93.18%), and
• Nagarhole in Karnataka (MEE score 92.42%) reported
top three MEE score in 2022 cycle.
Management Effectiveness Evaluation
(MEE) of Tiger Reserves
• The fifth cycle of assessment in 2022 has reported an overall
increase of 8% in mean MEE Score (77.92%) in comparison to
fourth cycle of MEE TR assessment 2018 (70%).
• Twelve TRs have secured the MEE score of 90% and above and
have been included in "Excellent" category.
• There is no Tiger Reserve rated in the "Poor" category in the 5th
cycle of MEE TR assessment.
• Tiger Reserves like Panna and Sariska that had lost all their tigers
earlier, are now performing well.
• There were five Tiger Reserves - Udanti-Sitanadi, Indravati,
Palamau, Similipal and Nagarjunasagar - Srisailam, which were
categorised in the 'Red Corridor' due to extremist issues, are now
performing well.
All India Tiger Estimation 2022
• The tiger population in India grew by 200
from 2018 to 2022, according to the fifth
cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation
(2022) released April 9, 2023.
• The number of tigers in India was 3,167 in
2022, up from 2,967 in 2018, the report
showed.
• The growth, however, slowed to 6.7 per
cent in these four years from around 33
per cent during 2014-2018, analysis of the
latest data showed.
Bandipur TR
• It was established in 1973 under Project Tiger.
• In 1985, by including adjacent areas from Venugopala
Wildlife Park, it was enlarged and named as Bandipur
National Park.
• The park is located between the Kabini river in the north
and the Moyar river in the south.
• The Kabini Reservoir separates the Bandipur and
Nagarahole Tiger Reserve on the North-west.
• The Nugu river runs through the park.
• The highest point in the park is on a hill called Himavad
Gopalaswamy Betta.
• Major concern in the Tiger Reserve is the loss of bamboo
and large extent invasion by Lantana.
Mudumalai National Park
• Mudumalai National Park is a national park in
the Nilgiri Mountains in Tamil Nadu, south India.
• The national park has been part of Nilgiri Biosphere
Reserve since 1986 and was declared a tiger
reserve together with a buffer zone of
367.59 km2 (141.93 sq mi) in 2007.
• It is drained by the Moyar River and several tributaries.
• Vayals - seasonally water logged grasslands of
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.
• The Elephant whisperer’s documentary shot here.
Theppakadu Elephant camp
• Theppakadu Elephant camp is the oldest elephant camp
in Asia.
• This elephant camp was established 100 years before.
• In this elephant camp elephants are mainly used in
Human- Wild animal conflicts, Forest Monsoon
patrolling, eco-tourism, elephant conservation,
Education, etc.
• The Elephant camp is located on the bank of the river
Moyar.
Madhav National Park
• Recently, a 4 year old male from Satpura Tiger Reserve and a
three and half year old tigress from Bandhavgarh Tiger
Reserves, into the specially created soft release enclosures in
Madhav National Park, Madhya Pradesh.
• Madhav National Park, one of the oldest National Park of
Madhya Pradesh notified in 1956, had sizeable tiger
population in the past.
• Over the years, the national park had sporadic presence of
tiger and the last reported tiger presence was in 2012.
• Spread over an area of 354.61 sq km, the location of the park
assumes conservation significance as it has the potential to
connect Panna Tiger Reserve of Madhya Pradesh with
Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan.
Cheetah Capital of World
• Dubbed the cheetah capital of the
world, Ojiwarongo in Namibia is home
to 1,400 wild cheetahs and the only
cheetah genetics laboratory in Africa.
• It is run by the Cheetah Conservation
Fund (CCF) and it says it holds the
world’s largest wild cheetah database of
biological material along with blood,
tissue, semen and egg samples collected
from over a thousand cheetahs.
Lion@47
• The Government of India has prepared ‘Lion@47: Vision
for Amrutkal’ as a part of Project Lion for the
conservation of Asiatic Lions in Gir, Gujarat.
• The objective of the document is to
1) secure & restore lion habitats for managing its growing
population,
2) scale up livelihood generation and participation of local
communities,
3) become a global hub of knowledge on big cat disease
diagnostics and treatment, and
4) create inclusive biodiversity conservation through Project
Lion initiative.
First Synchronized Survey of Vultures
• There are 246 vultures spread across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and
Kerala, according to the first-ever synchronised census on the bird
carried out in February 2023.
• The survey was carried out in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) and
the adjoining landscape consisting of Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve
(STR) in Tamil Nadu, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) in
Kerala, Bandipur Tiger Reserve (BTR) and Nagerhole Tiger Reserve
(NTR) in Karnataka.
• A total of 98 vultures were seen in MTR, two in STR, 52 in WWS, 73 in
BTR, and 23 in NTR.
• Volunteers sighted White-rumped vultures (183), Long-billed vultures
(30), Red-headed vultures (28), Egyptian vultures (3), Himalayan
Griffon (1), and Cinereous vultures (1).
Vulture Census
• The vulture census was conducted in 2022.
• The last such census was carried out in 2015.
• The census would be conducted by scientists at the
Bombay Natural History Society (a conservation
NGO), along with teams from the 13 states and the
MoEFCC.
• Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha,
Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and
Meghalaya.
Drugs Toxic to Vulture
• Diclofenac has long been established as the prime
reason for wiping out 99 percent of the vulture
population in India in the 90s.
• Later two more veterinary drugs, aceclofenac and
ketoprofen, were found to be toxic for vultures.
• As per the new study, nimesulide appears to act similar
to diclofenac in exerting toxic effects on vultures.
• Flunixin
• Carprofen
Safe Drugs for Vultures
• Meloxicam
• Tolfenamic acid
Green Bond
• A Green Bond is a type of debt security created
for funding or re-funding projects contributing
positively to the climate and/or ecosystem.
• The only significant difference between Green
Bonds and ordinary bonds is that the funds raised
from investors are only used to support initiatives
that have a good influence on the environment,
such as green construction and renewable energy
and these have a huge contribution to the planet
and sustainability.
• Since 2007, a market for bonds specifically self-
labelled or designated as ‘green’ has emerged.
Sovereign Green Bond
• A sovereign green bond is a debt instrument issued by
the central or state government to borrow money from
investors with the commitment that the mobilised fund
will be spent on climate or ecosystem-related activities.
• Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs recently
approved the final Sovereign Green Bonds framework
of India.
• The framework defines the ‘green’ sector and the
process to ensure that investments will be directed to it.
Excluded Projects
• Projects involving new or existing extraction,
production and distribution of fossil fuels, including
improvements and upgrades; or where the core energy
source is fossil-fuel based
• Nuclear power generation
• Direct waste incineration
• Alcohol, weapons, tobacco, gaming, or palm oil
industries
• Renewable energy projects generating energy from
biomass using feedstock originating from protected
areas
• Landfill projects
• Hydropower plants larger than 25 MW
Other Types of Bonds
• Blue bonds - Related to water management and marine
sector
• Yellow bonds – Related to solar energy
• Transition bonds - If you consider hard-to-abate industries
such as shipping and aviation, chemicals, steel, and cement,
decarbonisation is a complex process, and transformation
happens in a series of phases. Such brown industries require
major investments to achieve any significant reduction in
emissions.
• To add to this, traditional forms of sustainable finance
usually do not classify investments in these business
activities as “green.” And this is where transition bonds
come in.
Other Types of Bonds
• Transition bond is a class of debt instruments
that maintain the transparency and rigour that
characterize green bonds but are designed to be
more inclusive in their standards.
• Unlike green bonds that are earmarked to raise
money for climate and environmental projects,
transition bonds can be issued by firms aspiring
to reduce their GHG emissions.
• In other words, these bonds enable entities that
would otherwise not qualify to issue green bonds
to obtain sustainability-related financing.
Rhino Bond
• The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development, IBRD) has issued the Wildlife
Conservation Bond (WCB) to support of South Africa’s
efforts to conserve endangered species of Black Rhino.
• Wildlife Conservation Bond (WCB) is also known as
“Rhino Bond”.
• It is a five-year $150 million Sustainable Development
Bond.
• It includes a potential performance payment from the
Global Environment Facility (GEF).
African Rhinoceros (2 horns)
• Black Rhino(Hook lipped)
• Black rhinos are the smaller of the two African rhino species.
• Critically endangered.
• White Rhino (Square lipped)
• White rhinos are the second-largest land mammal after the
elephant.
• Near Threatened.
• Northern White Rhino - Critically Endangered
• Southern White Rhino - Near Threatened
• As of March 2018, there are only two rhinos of the northern
white rhino left, both of which are female.
• Researchers have created an embryo of the northern white
rhino by using In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) process.
Amrit Dharohar scheme
• The features of Amrit Dharohar scheme encompass
promoting the unique conservation values of wetlands
including their optimal use for enhancing biodiversity,
carbon stock, ecotourism opportunities and income
generation for local communities.
• The objectives inter-alia are integrated management of
such wetlands for green growth, developing nature and
culture-based tourism at the sites, community
stewardship for wetland based livelihood, heritage, and
culture, building convergence with different Ministries
and departments, State Governments, Research and
academic institutions and Industrial Sector, over the
next three years across the country.
Mission Sahbhagita
• MOEFCC has launched Mission Sahbhagita, on the
occasion of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, which is an
important step towards participatory conservation and
wise use of wetlands to enable a society ownership
approach with communities leading at the forefront.
Wetlands of India Portal
• Wetlands of India Portal (indianwetlands.in), a publicly
available information and knowledge platform, in order
to facilitate knowledge sharing, information
dissemination, host capacity building material, and
provide a single-point access data repository with the
features of Management Information System (MIS)
login for each and every state/UT for uploading of
information from time to time.
World Wetlands Day 2023
• World Wetlands Day, celebrated each year on 2
February, marks the date of the adoption of
the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention) on 2
February 1971 in Ramsar, Iran.
• The theme is “It’s Time for Wetlands Restoration”.
• India has largest network of Ramsar Sites in Asia.

•
MISHTI Scheme
• Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible
Incomes (MISHTI) envisage to comprehensively explore
the possible area for development of Mangroves
covering approximately 540 Sq. Kms. spreading across
11 States and 2 Union Territories during five years
commencing FY 2023-24 onwards.
• The sharing of best practices on plantation techniques,
conservation measures, management practices and
resources mobilization through Public Private
Partnership are objectives of the MISHTI scheme.
National Clean Air Programme
• The government (MoEFCC) launched National Clean Air
Programme, a time-bound national level strategy to tackle
increasing air pollution.
• The NCAP will be a mid-term, five-year action plan with
2019 as the first year.
• The main aim of the programme would be 40% reduction
of PM2.5 and PM10 concentration by 2026.
• It is to be implemented in 131 non-attainment cities.
• These cities are chosen on the basis of Ambient Air
Quality India (2011-2015) and WHO report 2014/2018.
• The programme would take 2017 as the base year for the
comparison of concentration.
131 Non-attainment Cities
• It includes -
• 123 Non-Attainment Cities (NAC) which exceed the
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for 5
consecutive years and
• 42 Million Plus Population Cities/Urban
Agglomerations.
• 34 cities are common in both categories.
National Clean Air Programme
• Airshed approach to deal with air pollution:
• Under this, policymakers will plan actions keeping in
view geographical, meteorological and other factors which
pollute air within the airshed instead of making policies
guided by states' boundaries.
• Currently, the airshed approach is being implemented for
"Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas".
• The World Bank defines an airshed as a common
geographic area where pollutants get trapped, creating
similar air quality for everyone.

• The PRANA (Portal for Regulation of Air-Pollution in

Non-Attainment Cities) portal will track the physical and
financial status of city air action plan implementation for
132 cities.
Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan
• MOEFCC is going to launch Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan
that promotes the ranking of 131 cities in the country for
implementing City Action Plans prepared as part of the
National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) for reducing air
pollution up to 40% by 2025-26.
• 131 cities are categorized into three groups based on
population.
• 47 cities are in the first group having population more than 10
lakh.
• 44 cities are in the second group having population between 3
to 10 lakh.
• Third group consists of 40 cities having population less than 3
lakh.
Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan
• Cities are required to do the self-assessment as per the framework provided on
PRANA online portal.
• This assessment is carried out annually.
• Cities have to report implementation of activities and measures taken in
respect of solid waste management, road dust management, management of
construction and demolition waste, control of vehicular emissions and
industrial pollution.
• Based on the self-assessment and third party assessment, 3 best-performing
cities in each group will be given cash award in the spirit of competitive
federalism.
• It is not based on the measurement of the air quality parameters to rank the
cities. It is based on the actions taken by the cities to improve the air quality in
different domains.
Swachh Vayu Diwas
• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
organized 3rd International Day of Clean Air for blue skies
as Swachh Vayu Diwas (“Swachh Vayu Neel Gagan”) to
raise awareness and facilitate actions to improve air quality
under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
• United Nations General Assembly has designated 7th
September as the “International Day of Clean Air for blue
skies” with an aim to raise awareness and to promote actions
to improve air quality.
• In 2022, it raises awareness on the urgency of strengthening
national action and regional collaboration to improve air
quality, with the global theme of "The Air We Share”.
Graded Response Action Plan
•A Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for control
of air pollution in Delhi and National Capital
Region (NCR) has been notified by the Ministry.
•It is based on a plan that was submitted by
the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in
November 2016.
•The GRAP was first notified in January 2017 by
the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate
Change.
Graded Response Action Plan
•Various stages:
•Stage 1 of GRAP is activated when the AQI is in the
‘poor’ category (201 to 300).
•The second, third and fourth stages will be
activated three days ahead of the AQI reaching the
‘very poor’ category (301 to 400), ‘severe’
category (401 to 450) and ‘severe +’ category (above
450)
•For this, the CAQM is relying on air quality and
meteorological forecasts by the Indian Institute of
Tropical Meteorology (IITM) and the India
Meteorological Department (IMD).
Graded Response Action Plan
• How is it different this year
• Implementing agency: From 2021 onwards, the GRAP is
being implemented by the
• The orders and directions of the CAQM will prevail in
case of any conflict between directions issued by the
State governments and the CAQM.
• Measures under the different categories of the plan are
to be enforced by the pollution control boards of the
NCR states and the concerned departments and
agencies, including the traffic police, the Transport
Department and road-owning and construction
agencies.
Graded Response Action Plan
• Pre-emptive measures: In the version of the GRAP 2017,
measures kicked in after pollution concentrations reached
a certain level.
• This year, measures are pre-emptive and will kick in
based on forecasts in an attempt to prevent the AQI
from deteriorating further.
• Wider pollutants range: The older version of the GRAP
was enforced based only on the concentration of PM2.5
and PM10.
• This year, GRAP is being enforced based on the
AQI, which takes other pollutants also into accounts,
such as ozone, sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen.
World Health Organisation Air
Pollution Standards
• Since 1987, WHO has periodically issued health-based
air quality guidelines (AQG) to assist governments and
civil society to reduce human exposure to air pollution.
• The WHO air quality guidelines were last published in
2006: Air quality guidelines – global update 2005.
• Since then, there has been a marked increase in evidence
of the adverse health effects of air pollution, built on
advances in air pollution measurement and exposure
assessment.
• The WHO Air quality guidelines recommend levels and
interim targets for common air pollutants: PM, O3, NO2,
and SO2.
World Health Organisation Air
Pollution Standards
Bharat Stage TREM IV
• It is for the manufacturers of combine harvesters, power
tillers and tractors with an engine capacity higher than
50 horsepower (HP).
• The Centre had earlier decided to make Bharat Stage
TREM IV emission regulations, which are equivalent to
Euro Stage IV norms, applicable from October 1, 2022.
• At present, TREM III A emission norms are applicable
for tractors across various HP categories and were
implemented in April 2010/2011.
Biomass Cofiring
• Biomass co-firing is the practise of substituting a part of the fuel
with biomass at coal thermal plants.
• In boilers that were originally intended for the combustion of
coal, biomass can be burned along with the coal.
• In order to accomplish this goal, the existing coal power plant will
need to undergo some retrofitting and partial reconstruction.

• The main difference between briquettes and pellets is their

size. Briquettes usually weigh 1-2 kilos, while pellets are bullet-
sized.
Biomass Cofiring
• Co-firing is an alternative that can be used to convert biomass to
electricity in an effective and environmentally friendly manner,
as well as to limit the emissions of greenhouse gases produced by
the power plant.
• Co-firing of biomass and coal is a strategy that is widely
recognised as being both cost-effective and efficient for reducing
carbon emissions from coal fleets.
• In India, biomass is typically burned in the field, which reflects
apathy towards resolving the issue of clean coal by utilising a
very easy solution that is readily available.
• There is a very simple method that can make clean coal more
readily available.
Magnetite Pollution
• Magnetite pollution refers to the presence of a magnetic
mineral called Magnetite (Fe3O4) in the environment, as
a result of human activities such as mining, steel
production and industrial processes.
• Anthropogenic magnetite nanoparticles have been
identified to be present in the human brain and
circulatory system, which are potentially linked with the
incidence of neurodegenerative and cardiovascular
diseases.
• Specifically, magnetite nanoparticles originating from
exhaust emissions and brake wear are an important
hazardous species in particulate matter.
Light Pollution
• Presence of excessive, misdirected, or obtrusive artificial
(usually outdoor) light.
• Components of light pollution
• Glare – excessive brightness that causes visual discomfort.
• Skyglow – brightening of the night sky over inhabited areas.
• Light trespass – light falling where it is not intended or
needed.
• Clutter – bright, confusing and excessive groupings of light
sources.
Light Pollution
• In 2022, the district administration of Ladakh in India
created the Hanle Dark Sky Reserve (HDSR) which is
the first International Dark Sky Reserve in India.
• The HDSR comprises six hamlets within
the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary.
• The reserve thus had a responsibility to keep the skies
dark, particularly for the astronomical observatories
located in the area.