Daily Current Capsules - 15^th May 2019

Defence
Sea phase of ADMM-Plus exercise concludes in Singapore
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about ADMM -Plus exercise)

What's the NEWS

• The sea phase of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM)-Plus Maritime Security Field Training Exercise concluded in Singapore,
• This is the fourth Maritime Security Field Training Exercise conducted under the ambit of the ADMM-Plus

• The ADMM-Plus Maritime Security Field Training Exercise, held from April 30 to May 13, is co-organized by Singapore and South Korea under their co-chairmanship of the ADMM-Plus Experts' Working Group on Maritime Security.
• The exercise commenced in Busan, South Korea and concludes in Singapore.
• During the exercise, participating navies conducted maritime security drills such as boarding operations and protection of key installations, practiced the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, shared information to track vessels-of-interest, and conducted helicopter cross-deck landings and replenishment at sea drills as they sailed.
• The ADMM-Plus comprises total 18 nation participants which include ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries and other 8 includes the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, Russia, China, and India.

• Almost all the world's countries have agreed on a deal aimed at restricting shipments of hard-to-recycle plastic waste to poorer countries, the United Nations announced in the recently concluded meeting
• Exporting countries - including the US - now will have to obtain consent from countries receiving contaminated, mixed or unrecyclable plastic waste. Currently, the US and other countries can send lower-quality plastic waste to private entities in developing countries without getting approval from their governments.

• After 12 days of negotiations under the patronage of United Nations (UN) around 180 governments agreed on a new UN accord to regulate the movement and export of plastic waste between their national borders.
• About 1,400 representatives from almost every country in world met for 12 days of discussions at a United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Except the United States, about 180 governments, agreed to the deal which essentially updates (or amended) the 1989 Basel Convention on the Control Of Hazardous Wastes, to include plastic waste in a legally-binding framework, in a move to quickly reduce amount of plastic being washed into world's oceans.
• The framework for reducing plastic waste signed is legally binding which means that countries will have to monitor and track thousands of types of plastic waste outside their borders.
• The legally binding framework emerged at the end of a two-week meeting of UN-backed conventions on plastic waste and toxic, hazardous chemicals that threaten the planet's seas and creatures. The pact comes in an amendment to the Basel convention. The US is not a party to that convention so it did not have a vote
• As per IPEN umbrella group (The International POPs Elimination Network, a global network of NGOs which seeks to eliminate hazardous and toxic chemicals and persistent organic pollutants) this new amendment to Basel Convention would empower developing countries to refuse plastic waste dumping.

Know! about Basel convention
       

• In 1989, the Conference of Plenipotentiaries (CoP) in Basel, Switzerland adopted The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal.
  
• It was adopted in response to large public outcry after it was discovered that large deposits of toxic wastes were being imported from abroad into developing world. The Basel Convention came into force in 1992

Science and Technology
CCMB scientists sequence Asiatic lion genome
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Asiatic lion genome sequencing ) + GS III ( science and technology)


What's the NEWS

• For the first time, the entire genome of Asiatic lion, an endangered species, has been sequenced by the scientists from Council of Scientific & Industrial Research's (CSIR) - Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad.

Know! more about the Key Highlights of Study

• De novo sequencing and annotation have resulted in a draft assembly of the entire genome of a male Asiatic lion.
• This information would help us to better understand the evolution of Asiatic lions and also make possible comparative analysis with other big cats

Comparative study

• With the complete genome of royal Bengal tiger, African Cheetah and Jaguar available, comparative studies of all these big cats would be possible.
• Until now only partial genomic information of the African lion was available now. Comparative genomics between African and Asiatic lions could be undertaken once the complete genome of the African lion is sequenced.
• The population of the endangered Asiatic lion is very low - only 523 animals are present in the Gir forests.
• The genome sequencing would enable scientists to develop specific markers to study population genetics (the differences at the gene level within a population) and get newer insights into its population status and subsequent management.
• Comparative analysis with other felids and mammalian genomes unravelled the evolutionary history of the Asiatic lion and its position among other felids.
• The study noted that the evaluation of genetic diversity placed the Asiatic lion in the lowest bracket of genomic diversity index highlighting the gravity of its conservation status.

Multi-pronged approach

• There is a need to adopt a multi-pronged approach and the study will enable better disease and population management of the endangered big cat by identifying characteristics which are specific to Asiatic lions.
• Candidate genes which are specific to Asiatic lion can be identified by comparing with other big cats.
• The final objective is to understand the species at DNA level and study if there are any specific problems with regard to adaptability to environment or behaviour vis-à-vis other big cats.
• It noted that evaluation of genetic diversity (i.e. the total number of genetic characteristics of a species which serves as a way for populations to adapt to changing environments) placed Asiatic lion in lowest bracket of genomic diversity index which highlights the gravity of its conservation status.

Know! about Asiatic Lion

• They are also known as Indian Lion, and Scientific Name is Panthera Leo Persica.
• IUCN Red List Status: Endangered
• They are also Listed in Schedule I of Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, in Appendix I of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
• At present the only home of Asiatic lion is Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat.

Prelims Practise Questions
Consider the following pair of Joint Exercise
1. Exercise MITRA SHAKTI - India-Sri Lanka.
2. Military Exercise Sampriti - India-Bangladesh.
3. Naval Exercise TROPEX - India-Japan-USA
4. ADMM Plus - India - ASEAN
Find correct pairs of Joint Military Exercises from the option given below
a. 1 and 2
b. 2 and 3
c. 1 and 3
d. All of the above

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