#Environment_Basic #PT2020

CITES Convention

- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

- It is as an international agreement aimed at ensuring that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

- Its text was agreed in Washington, DC, in 1973 (So it is also referred to as Washington Convention) and entered into force in 1975.

- Parties - 183
- It is legally binding on Parties i.e. they are committed to implementing it.
- It is administered through United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

- Secretariat - Geneva, Switzerland.

CITES Appendix:

- It classifies plants and animals according to three categories, or appendices, based on level of threats faced by them.
- CITES also restricts trade in items made from such plants and animals, such as food, medicine, clothing, and souvenirs etc.

Appendix I: It includes species threatened with extinction. completely bans commercial trade in specimens of these species. But permitted only in exceptional circumstances.

Appendix II: species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction, but may become so unless protected.

Appendix III: It contains species that are protected in at least one country, which has asked other CITES Parties for assistance in controlling the trade.

#Environment_Current #PT2020

Okjokull glacier

- Location - Iceland
- It is 1st Icelandic glacier to lose its status as glacier.
- The glacier was officially declared dead by Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO)
- Scientists warn that hundreds of other ice sheets on subarctic island risk the same fate.

- Iceland loses about 11 billion tonnes of ice/year. Scientists fear that all of island country’s 400-plus glaciers will be gone by 2200.

#Environment_Current #PT2020 #2MinRead

Conference of Parties(CoP)- 13 - Bonn Convention 

- Held in India in March 2020. 
- Theme - “Migratory species connect the planet, and We welcome them home”.
- Mascot - Great Indian Bustard
- Logo: Kolam Art form of Southern India

Highlights

- A draft resolution was presented by the European Union: EUROBATS Agreement- focuses on insect decline.

- The ‘State of India’s Birds Report 2020’ was released - 79% of Indian species of birds declined in population.

- 3 Migratory Mammals Targeted
1. Gobi Bear
- found in Gobi-desert of Mongolia
- Critically Endangered, IUCN Red List

2. Persian Leopards
- found in Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia
- Endangered, IUCN Red List

3. Urials (Wild sheeps)
- Found in Kazakhstan, Pakistan and India
- Vulnerable, IUCN Red List

@Digicate

#Environment_Basic

Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) 

- also called as Bonn Convention
- It is an international agreement that aims to conserve migratory species within their migratory ranges. 

- signed in 1979 under the United Nations Environment Programme  
- Parties - 129 States
- Location - Bonn, Germany 

- It is the only global intergovernmental organization established exclusively for the conservation and management of terrestrial, aquatic and avian migratory species.

- India has been a Party to the CMS since the year 1983.

Appendix I
Under this convention, migratory species which are threatened with extinction are listed on 

Appendix II
Migratory species which need or would significantly benefit from international co-operation are listed on. 

@Digicate

#PT2020 #IR_OrgInNews

Feed Our Future Campaign

Recently United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has launched it against hunger and malnutrition in India. 

- Its cinema ad campaign

- It highlights potential loss to the world when children’s voices are silenced due to hunger

#PT2020 #IR_OrgInNews

World Food Programme (WFP)

- It is the food-assistance branch of United Nations.
- It is a member of UN Development Group (UNDG) and part of its Executive Committee. 

- It was established in 1961 after Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Conference 1960.
- It is headquartered in Rome, Italy. 

- IIt is the world’s largest humanitarian organization promoting food security and addressing hunger. 

- It provides food assistance to around approx. 80 million people in 75 countries each year.

- It works to help people who cannot obtain enough food or produce enough food for themselves and their families.

🎲 Quiz 'PT 25 QUIZ - 1st July'
Practice MCQs for PT2020
🖊 25 questions · ⏱ 1 min

#Geography_Current #PT2020 #2MinRead

Zealandia 

- It is also called as New Zealand continent or Tasmantis - It is 8th Continent, 
- Its existence was confirmed as 8th continent in 2017.
- 94% of Zealandia’s 2 million square miles are underwater,

- It is an almost entirely submerged mass of continental crust that subsided after breaking away from Gondwanaland 83–79 million years ago.

- The name and concept for Zealandia was proposed by Bruce Luyendyk in 1995

NEWS 
Researchers from GNS Science in New Zealand have announced that they mapped the shape and size of the Zealandia continent.

#Facts_Prelims #PT2020 #History_Static

Political Organizations before Congress formation 

1. Landholders Society(Zamindari Association)
Founded - 1836 - Calcutta
By: Dwarkanath Tagore

2. British India Society
Founded - 1839 - London
By: William Adam

3. Bengal British India Society
Founded - 1843 - Calcutta 
By - George Thompson

4. British India Association
Founded - 1852 - Calcutta 
By - Dwarkanath Tagore

5. Madras Native Association
Founded - 1852 - Madras
By: Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty

6. Bombay Association
Founded - 1852 - Bombay
By - Jagannath Shankar Seth

7. East India Association
Founded - 1866 - London
By - Dadabhai Naoroji

8. National Indian Association
Founded - 1867 - London
By - Mary Carpenter

9. Poona Sarvajanik Sabha
Founded - 1876 - Pune
By: Mahadev Govind Ranade, Ganesh Vasudeo Joshi, S. H. Chiplunkar 

10. Indian Society
Founded - 1872 - London
By -  Anand Mohan Bose

11. Indian Association
Founded - 1876 - Calcutta 
By: Surendranath Banerjee and Ananda Mohan Bose

12. Madras Mahajan Sabha
Founded - 1884 - Madras
By -  M. Veeraraghavachariar, G. Subramania Iyer and P. Anandacharlu

13. Bombay Presidency Association
Founded - 1885 - Bombay
By -  Phirozshah Mehta, K.T Telang and Badruddin Tyabji

@Digicate

#Facts_Prelims #PT2020

Socio-Religious Organisations during Freedom Movement - (Part 1/3)

1. Arya Samaj - Swami Dayanand Sarswati
2. Brahmo samaj - Raja Ram Mohan Roy
3. Ramakrishna mission - Swami Vivekanand
4. Prarthana samaj - RG Bhandarkar & MG Ranade
5. Gadar party - Lala Hardayal
6. Atmiya sabha - Raja Ram Mohan Roy
7. Tattvabodhini sabha - Debendra Nath Tagore
8. Satyashodhak samaj - Jyotirao Phule
9. Harijan sevak sangh - Mahatma Gandhi
10. Missionaries of Charity - Mother Teresa
11. Bahiskrit Hitkarni Sabha - Dr BR Ambedkar
12. Dev Samaj - Swami Satyanand Agnihotri
13. Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh - Dr Baliram Hedgewar

@Digicate

#IR_OrgInNews #PT2020

Caribbean Community (CARICOM)

- It was formed in 1973.
- Members - 15
Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad & Tobago.

- Chairmanship of the Community is rotated every six months among the member countries.

- The CARICOM is a Single Market and Economy are intended to benefit the people of the region by
- providing more and better opportunities to produce
- sell goods and services and
- attracting investments.

#SnT_Currents #PT2020 #2MinRead

James Webb Space Telescope

- successor to the ‘Hubble Telescope’
- scheduled to launch into space in March 2021.
- Funded by NASA in conjunction with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA)

- Has ability to observe distant objects.
- will explore the cosmos, planets and moons within our solar system.
- It will also explore the most ancient and distant galaxies using infrared light.

- It will also have the power to analyse the atmospheres of many new planets, for the potential for life.

@Digicate

#Facts_Prelims #PT2020

Socio-Religious Organizations during Freedom Movement- (Part 2/3)

1. Servants of People Society - Lala Lajpat Rai, 
2. Gyan Prasarak Mandali  - Dadabai Nouroji
3. Vishwa Bharti (Kolkata) - Rabindranath Tagore
4. Vedanta College – Raja Ram Mohan Ray
5. Ved Samaj - Acharya Keshava Chandra Sen
6. Sharada Sadan – Rama Bai
7. Scientific Society - Sir Sayyed Ahmad Khan
8. Poona Sarvajanik Sabha – S. H. Chiplunkar, Ganesh Vasudeo Joshi, Mahadev Govind Ranade

9. Paramhansa Sabha - Durgaram Mehtaji, Dadoba Pandurang
10. Mumbai Presidency Association - Feroze Shah Mehta

@Digicate

#SnT_Currents #PT2020

G4 Virus

- G4 EA H1N1 is a swine influenza virus strain discovered in China swine farms. 

- The virus is a variant genotype 4 (G4) Eurasian avian-like (EA) H1N1 virus that mainly affects pigs.

- Recent studies have noted that G4 EA H1N1 viruses possess all the essential hallmarks of being highly adapted to infect humans and create a pandemic. 

- Virus can efficiently infect ferrets via aerosol transmission, causing severe clinical symptoms in them like sneezing, wheezing, coughing

#Facts_Prelims #PT2020

Socio-Religious Organizations during Freedom Movement - Part 3/3

1. Belur Mutt - Swami Vivekanand
2. Hindu Mahasabha - Madan Mohan Malviya
3. Women Indian Association - Lady Sadashiva Ayyar
4. Asiatic Society - William Jones
5. Social Service League - Narayan Malhar Joshi
6. Banaras Hindu University – Madan Mohan Malviya
7. Swatantra Shramik Party – DR. B.R. Ambedakar
8. Hindustan Socialist Republic Association - Ram Prasad Bismil

#Govt_Initiative #PT2020 #2MinRead

Accelerate Vigyan Scheme

- Recently, launched by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB)

- Objective - encouraging high-end scientific research and preparing scientific manpower

Components

1. ABHYAAS Programme
- to boost research and development by grooming potential PG/PhD students through the development of research skills.

2. SAMMOHAN: It has been sub-divided into SAYONJIKA and SANGOSHTI.

A) SAYONJIKA is an open-ended program to catalogue the capacity building activities in science and technology supported by all government funding agencies. 

B) SANGOSHTI is a pre-existing program of SERB for the organisation of workshops.

#PT2020

Science and Engineering Research Board

- It is a statutory body under the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology 
- Established in 2009.

- It is chaired by the Secretary, in the Department of Science and Technology.
Members includes senior government officials and eminent scientists as members.

- It was set up for promoting basic research in science and engineering and to provide financial assistance to scientists, academic institutions, Research and Development laboratories, industrial concerns and other agencies for such research.

#Environment_Basics #PT2020 #2MinRead

Lion-tailed Macaque

- Also called as wanderoo
- endemic to the Rainforests of the Western Ghats

- Found in 3-States - Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. 
- Population about 3,500 individuals, fragmented into 49 sub-populations. 

- IUCN Red List Status - Endangered 

- They only eat fruit and insects. 
- They have a unimale-multifemale social system. 

Threats - Illegal hunting,  accidents due to electrocution and run over by vehicles 

@Digicate

#Facts_Prelims #PT2020

Revolutionary Organisations during Freedom Movement 

1. Vyayam Mandal - by Chapekar Brothers, in Pune (1896)
2. Mitra Mela by Savarkar Brothers , Nasik(1901)
(It is transformed into Abhinav Bharat Society/Young India Society in 1903) 
3. Anushilan Samiti - by Satish Chandra Basu and Pramathanath Mitra, at Calcutta (1902)
4. Swadesh Bandhab Samiti - Ashwini Kumar Dutta (1905)
5. Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) - by Sachindra Nath Sanyal, Narendra Mohan Sen, Pratul Ganguly at Kanpur (1924)

6. Bharat Naujawan Sabha - by Bhagat Singh, at Lahore (1926)
7. Hindustan Socialist Republican Association Army (HSRA)    by Chandrasekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar, at New Delhi  (1928)
8. Indian Home Rule Society - by Shyamji Krishna Varma, London    (1905)
9. Indian Independence League    Taraknath Das , California (USA)    1907
10. Gadar Party, Lala Hardayal, USA & Canada (1913)

@Digicate

#Geography_Basics #Facts_Prelims #PT2020

Major Lakes of the World

#IR_InNews #PT2020

Central Asian Flyway (CAF)

- It covers a large continental area of Eurasia between the Arctic and Indian Oceans and the associated island chains.

- The flyway comprises several important migration routes of waterbirds, which extend from the breeding grounds in the Russian Federation (Siberia) to the southernmost non-breeding (wintering) grounds in west and south Asia, the Maldives

- India provides a critical stopover as well as a wintering habitat to more than 370 species of migratory birds.