Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary

➕ In News:
● Assam Govt recommended forest clearance for Vedanta’s oil and gas exploration project in the eco-sensitive zone of the Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary

➕ About Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary:
● Location: Jorhat, Assam
● Established: 1997
● Flora:
- Upper canopy: hollong trees
- Middle canopy: nahar trees
● Fauna:
Home to India’s only ape, the hoolock gibbons and Northeastern India’s only nocturnal primate, Bengal slow loris.

➕Hoolock Gibbon
● Population: ~ 12,000,Northeast India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Southern China.
● Gibbon Species in India:
Two distinct species in India’s northeast:
- Eastern Hoolock Gibbon (Hoolock leuconedys)
- Western Hoolock Gibbon (Hoolock hoolock).
● Conservation Status:
IUCN Red List:
- Western Hoolock Gibbon: Endangered
- Eastern Hoolock Gibbon: Vulnerable
Listed: Schedule 1 of the Indian (Wildlife) Protection Act 1972 (Both Species)

International Court of Justice (ICJ)

➕ Type: Principal judicial organ of the UN.

➕ Purpose: Resolves legal disputes between states and provides advisory opinions.

➕ Headquarters: Peace Palace, The Hague, Netherlands.

➕ Established: 1945, operational since 1946.

➕ Composition:
- Judges: 15 judges, elected for nine-year terms.
- Regional Representation: 3 from Africa, 2 from Latin America/Caribbean, 3 from Asia, 5 from Western Europe/others, 2 from Eastern Europe.
- President: Elected every three years from among the judges.

➕ Functions:
- Dispute Resolution: Includes territorial, maritime, diplomatic, and treaty issues.
- Advisory Opinions: For UN bodies.

➕ Indian Judges at ICJ:
- Dalveer Bhandari: Since 2012
- R.S. Pathak: 1989-1991
- Nagendra Singh: 1973-1988
- Sir Benegal Rau: 1952-1953