Environment Conservation/GSIII
India has the largest network of Ramsar Sites in South Asia

What's the NEWS

• The Prime Minister has expressed happiness over inclusion of two more wetlands, Khijadiya Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat and Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary in UP in the Ramsar site list.

Two more wetlands of International Importance takes Ramsar sites numbers to 49 in India

World Wetlands Day 2022

• The Union Environment Minister participated in the national level celebration of World Wetlands day 2022 held at Sultanpur National Park, a Ramsar site of Haryana.
• Two new Ramsar sites (Wetlands of International Importance), Khijadia Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat and Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary in U.P were also announced
• India now has a network of 49 Ramsar sites covering an area of 10,93,636 hectares, the highest in South Asia.
• Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary in UP provides a safe wintering and staging ground for a large number of species of the Central Asian Flyway while Khijadia Wildlife Sanctuary is a coastal wetland with rich avifaunal diversity providing a safe habitat to endangered and vulnerable species.
• On the occasion, "National Wetland Decadal Change Atlas" prepared by the Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad was also released highlighting the changes which have happened in Wetlands across the country in the past decade.
• The original Atlas was released by SAC in 2011 and has over the years been used extensively by all the State Governments also in their planning processes.
• World Wetlands Day is observed every year globally on 2nd February aiming to raise awareness about the vital role the wetlands play for people and the planet.
• February 2nd also marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar.
• The theme of 'World Wetlands Day' this year is 'Wetlands Action for People and Nature', which is a call to take action for preservation of wetlands.
• Ramsar sites are wetlands of international importance as per UNESCO's 1971 Convention on Wetlands held in Ramsar, Iran. It came into force in 1975.
• The certification brings visibility to ecologically sensitive wetlands and helps in conservation.
• Any wetland site which has been listed under the Ramsar Convention that aims to conserve it and promote sustainable use of its natural resources is called a Ramsar Site.
• Last year (2nd February 2021) marked the 50th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention, the day which is also celebrated as World Wetlands Day.
• India on this occasion established the Centre for Wetland Conservation & Management which is the first in the country.
• It is set up under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), at the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) in Chennai.

• Haiderpur Wetland in Uttar Pradesh has been added as the 47th Ramsar Site in December 2021. It is a human-made wetland formed in 1984 and is located within the boundaries of Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Four new sites have been added to the list of Ramsar Sites in India in August 2021. These are:

1. Sultanpur National Park - Gurugram, Haryana
2. Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary - Jhajjar, Haryana
3. Thol Lake Wildlife Sanctuary - Near Ahmedabad, Gujarat
4. Wadhvana Wetland - Vadodara, Gujarat

• The Aravalli Biodiversity Park, located at Delhi-Gurgaon border, has been declared as India's first other effective area-based conservation measures' (OECM) site.
• The proposal to declare Aravalli Biodiversity Park as an OECM site was by the National Biodiversity Authority to IUCN in December 2020.
• The tag designates the area as a biodiversity hot spot on the global map.

• The National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY), a central sector scheme launched on 21^st January, 2015 and was implemented in 12 cities of Ajmer (Rajasthan), Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh), Amritsar (Punjab), Badami (Karnataka), Dwarka (Gujarat), Gaya (Bihar), Kancheepuram and Velankanni (Tamil Nadu), Mathuraand Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Puri (Odisha), and Warangal (Telangana).
• The mission has ended on 31^st March, 2019 and no new projects/cities were taken up after 31^st March, 2019.
• Under the HRIDAY Scheme, funds were not allocated to the cities year wise but for the entire Mission period and directly released to the cities.

• Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 2.0 (AMRUT 2.0) scheme, which has been launched on 01 October, 2021 for the period of 05 years i.e. from the financial year 2021-22 to the financial year 2025-26, is designed to provide universal coverage of water supply through functional taps to all households in all the statutory towns in the country and coverage of sewerage/septage management in 500 cities covered in first phase of the AMRUT scheme.
• AMRUT 2.0 will promote circular economy of water through development of City Water Balance Plan (CWBP) for each city focusing on recycle/reuse of treated sewage, rejuvenation of water bodies and water conservation.
• It will help cities to identify scope for projects focusing on universal coverage of functional water tap connections, water source conservation, rejuvenation of water bodies and wells, recycle/reuse of treated used water, and rainwater harvesting.
• Based on the projects identified in CWBP, Mission envisages to make cities ‘water secure' through circular economy of water.
• Mission also has a reform agenda on ease of living of citizens through reduction of non-revenue water, recycle of treated used water, rejuvenation of water bodies, augmenting double entryaccounting system, urban planning, strengthening urban finance etc.

• The River Cities Alliance (RCA) has been launched with the objective to provide the member cities with a platform to discuss and exchange information on aspects that are vital for sustainable management of urban rivers, sharing best practices and supporting innovation.
• The alliance has been launched initially with 30 cities namely Dehradun, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Srinagar, Varanasi, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Farrukhabad, Mirzapur, Mathura, Bijnor, Ayodhya, Patna, Bhagalpur, Begusarai, Munger, Sahibganj, Rajmahal, Howrah, Jangipur, Hugli-Chinsurah, Behrampore, Maheshtala, Aurangabad, Chennai, Bhubaneshwar, Hyderabad, Pune, Udaipur and Vijaywada
• The Alliance is open to all river cities of India. Any river city can join the Alliance at any time.
• State Governments are implementing Action Plans for restoration of water quality of the identified polluted river stretches.
• The implementation is being monitored regularly at State level by Chief Secretary of the respective State/UT and at Central level by the Central Monitoring Committee under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• In addition, under Namami Gange Programme, the progress and activities are reviewed regularly by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), State Governments and District Ganga Committees.
• RCA is envisaged as a facilitatory platform for initiating river-sensitive planning and development.
• Namami Gange through its integrated and comprehensive framework has been working towards rejuvenating Ganga river basin.
• As cities start to implement the river-sensitive development agenda, the River Cities Alliance will support them to learn from each other and inspire others to take up progressive action on this front.

• For adjudication of disputes relating to waters of inter-State rivers and river valley thereof, the Parliament has enacted the Inter-State River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act, 1956.
• When any request under the said Act is received from any State Government in respect of any water dispute on the inter-State rivers and the Central Government is of the opinion that the water dispute cannot be settled by negotiations, the Central Government constitutes a Water Disputes Tribunal for the adjudication of the said water dispute.

• States concerned - Karnataka, Telengana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra

• States concerned - Odisha and Chhattisgarh

• States concerned - Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra

• States concerned - Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan

• States concerned -Andhra Pradesh &Odisha
• In addition, Inter State Water disputes has been raised by Government of Bihar in respect of Tilaiya-Dhadhar Diversion scheme concerning States of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal and by Government of Tamil Nadu (TN) in respect of use, distribution and control of Pennaiyar river and its tributaries concerning States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and UT of Puducherry.

• Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences said that the Government of India's Vision of New India by 2030 enunciated in February 2019 highlighted the Blue Economy as the sixth dimension of its vision.
• He said, Rs. 150 Cr has been provisioned during 2021-22 under Deep Ocean Mission.
• A Draft Policy document on Blue Economy has been prepared by MoES taking into consideration the reports of the expert working groups which emphasizes holistic development and growth of India's Blue Economy.

• Government launched the scheme of "National Initiative for Design Innovation (NIDI)" in March, 2014.
• Scheme envisaged establishment of 20 Design Innovation Centres (DIC), One Open Design School (ODS) and One National Design Innovation Network (NDIN) across the country for promoting the culture of innovation, design and creative problem-solving.
• Presently, 20 DICs have been established on Hub-Spoke Model with 64 Spokes.
• DIC Hubs include 10 Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), 9 Central/State Government Universities and a School of Planning and Architecture.
• ODS and NDIN have been established in IIT, Bombay and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore respectively.
• The NIDI scheme does not provide the allocation of funds to any specific district.
• DICs are established by co-locating them in existing publicly funded institutes of national reputes, like IIT's, NIT's, Central and State universities, to facilitate optimal utilization of the existing resources including faculty and infrastructure with a funding of Rs.10.00 Cr. for each DIC.
• Institutes are selected for setting up of DICs on the basis of the thematic areas to be worked upon, innovative ideas/products to be developed under the scheme, discipline of institute.
• The objective of the scheme is to promote a culture of innovation and creative problem-solving.
• It is envisaged that these DICs would not only focus on the spread of design education but also propel the R&D activities in design that become the catalyst for devising innovative solutions to societal challenges suiting Indian conditions.
• DICs have been developing the culture of design innovation in the country and continuously creating an atmosphere where students and community come together to make a difference in human life.
• Under the scheme, More than 50 start-ups have been initiated/supported, around 2000 innovative products initiated/delivered and approximately 250 patents are filed.

• The fifth submarine of Project 75, Yard 11879, Indian Navy's Kalvari class commenced her sea trials on 01 Feb 22.
• The submarine was launched in Nov 2020 from the Kanhoji Angre Wet Basin of Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL). The submarine would be named Vagir, after commissioning.
• MDL has ‘Delivered' two submarines of the Project - 75 in the year 2021 and the commencement of sea trials of the fifth submarine is a significant milestone.
• The submarine will now undergo intense trials of all its systems at sea, including propulsion systems, weapons and sensors.
• The submarine is scheduled for delivery to the Indian Navy in the year 2022 after completion of these trials.
• In November last year, the Indian Navy commissioned INS Vela, the fourth of the six submarines it is to induct under the Kalvari-class submarine programme Project 75.
• The other submarines built and already commissioned under the project are INS Kalvari, INS Khanderi and INS Karanj.
  
  

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