AIR Discussions (May 4th Week)

26th May, 2023

SPOTLIGHT| INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY- FROM AGREEMENT TO ACTION TO BUILD BACK BIODIVERSITY

Context

  • International Day for Biological Diversity is observed in Nepal.

Details:

  • The International Day for Biological Diversity is being marked across Nepal today under the theme of 'From agreement to action: Build back biodiversity'. 
  • May 22 is marked under the auspices of the United Nations to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues of ecological balance, environment conservation and sustainable development.
  • According to the Convention on Biological Diversity, this year’s theme promotes action in support of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
  • The UN General Assembly in December 2000 had adopted 22 May as the International Day for Biological Diversity to commemorate the adoption of the text of the Convention on 22 May 1992 by the Nairobi Final Act of the Conference for the Adoption of the Agreed Text of the Convention on Biological Diversity. 
  • In Nepal, the Department of Forest, the Department of Botany and different other agencies are organising various awareness-raising events including rallies, seminars, interactions and hiking.

About Biological diversity:

  • Biological diversity, or simply biodiversity, encapsulates all the different kinds of life on Earth. From tiny organisms to whole ecosystems, it takes into account the evolutionary, ecological and cultural processes that help to sustain life.
  • All forms of life, from plants to humans, live in their own ecosystems, such as forests for plants and cities for humans, and their interaction too is part of the concept of biodiversity.
  • Professor David Macdonald from Oxford University explained to The Guardian that “without biodiversity, there is no future for humanity”.
  • In order to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity, the United Nations celebrates the International Day for Biological Diversity on May 22.
This year’s theme, ‘From Agreement to Action: Build Back Biodiversity’, aims to focus on implementing effective action to support biodiversity.

Background of International Day of Biodiversity:

  • Biological diversity is often understood in terms of the wide variety of plants, animals and microorganisms, but it also includes genetic differences within each species — for example, between varieties of crops and breeds of livestock — and the variety of ecosystems (lakes, forest, deserts, agricultural landscapes) that host multiple kind of interactions among their members (humans, plants, animals).
  • Biological diversity resources are the pillars upon which we build civilizations. Fish provide 20 per cent of animal protein to about 3 billion people. Over 80 per cent of the human diet is provided by plants.
  • As many as 80 per cent of people living in rural areas in developing countries rely on traditional plant‐based medicines for basic healthcare.
  • But loss of biodiversity threatens all, including our health. It has been proven that biodiversity loss could expand zoonoses - diseases transmitted from animals to humans- while, on the other hand, if we keep biodiversity intact, it offers excellent tools to fight against pandemics like those caused by coronaviruses.
  • While there is a growing recognition that biological diversity is a global asset of tremendous value to future generations, the number of species is being significantly reduced by certain human activities. Given the importance of public education and awareness about this issue, the UN decided to celebrate the International Day for Biological Diversity annually.

Importance of Biodiversity

  • Biodiversity is essential for the processes that support all life on Earth, including humans. Without a wide range of animals, plants and microorganisms, we cannot have the healthy ecosystems that we rely on to provide us with the air we breathe and the food we eat. And people also value nature of itself.
  • Our fate is inextricably linked to that of the rest of nature.
  • The latest WWF’s Living Planet Report warned that global wildlife populations declined by 69% on average from 1970 to 2018.
  • The accelerating loss of nature has already impacted human well-being and economies. Healthy ecosystems also play indispensable roles in tackling climate change, and the loss of biodiversity weakens our resilience to that change.
  • Some aspects of biodiversity are instinctively widely valued by people but the more we study biodiversity the more we see that all of it is important – even bugs and bacteria that we can’t see or may not like the look of.
  • There are lots of ways that humans depend upon biodiversity and it is vital for us to conserve it.
  • Pollinators such as birds, bees and other insects are estimated to be responsible for a third of the world’s crop production. Without pollinators we would not have apples, cherries, blueberries, almonds and many other foods we eat.
  • Agriculture is also reliant upon invertebrates – they help to maintain the health of the soil crops grow in.  Soil is teeming with microbes that are vital for liberating nutrients that plants need to grow, which are then also passed to us when we eat them. Life from the oceans provides the main source of animal protein for many people.

What does biodiversity influence?

Climate change

  • Climate is also a vital part of ecosystems and human health. For instance, marine biodiversity is negatively impacted by higher levels of carbon in the atmosphere as it makes the ocean more acidic.
  • Climate instability such as extreme events like floods or droughts, affects the health of all ecosystems and consequently the amount of goods available to humans.
    • Significant changes in climate can completely destroy ecosystems, resulting in the adaptation of plants, animals and even humans.
  • The global surface temperature was measured for the first time in 1880 and, according to studies, over the last century, the average surface temperature has increased by about 1°C, which makes a huge difference overall.

Nutrition

  • Biological diversity ensures the possibility of nutrition in the world’s food production, as it involves the fertility of soils and genetic resources for all crops, livestock and marine species.
  • The World Health Organisation wrote that enhanced and modified food production with the aid of irrigation, fertilisers and pesticides all affect biodiversity and will consequently impact global health and nutrition.

Traditional medicine and infectious diseases

  • More than 60% of the world’s population uses traditional medicine, and it is important to note a large number of plants form the basis of the majority of traditional and complementary medicine.
    • Many communities rely on completely natural products that are collected from ecosystems for use in medical and cultural purposes.
  • This means that, even if synthetic lab-made medicines are available and can cover a wide spectrum of purposes, the global need for natural products is still very strong.
    • Natural remedies can be very useful to understand human physiology and treat human diseases.
  • On the subject of human diseases, the disturbances caused by humans to existing functioning ecosystems are altering biodiversity. This is leading to the decline of certain organisms and growth in others, but is also changing how organisms interact with one another and with the surrounding environment. Infectious diseases are particularly sensitive to these changes.

How much investment goes into biodiversity?

  • From a public domestic finance point of view – meaning finance in a country by national and sub-national governments and public institutions – 2020 biodiversity investments averaged between $78–92bn per year and included contributions from 81 countries.
  • In 2022, there had been some movement in the biodiversity financial department. Almost 190 countries signed a landmark United Nations biodiversity agreement called Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
    • The treaty sees a set of targets to achieve by 2030, such as cutting global food waste by half and ensuring the effective conservation of 30% of the world’s lands, waters, oceans and coasts.
  • The Framework also includes funding conditions to increase investment in biodiversity, which barely covers 0.1% of the global GDP. There currently is a financing gap of $700bn per year, according to BIOFIN, a biodiversity finance initiative, and thinktank the Paulson Institute.
  • In order to reduce the gap, the agreement seeks to make available at least $200bn per year in biodiversity-related funding from both private and public sources, as well as creating more investment in developing countries to reach around $30bn per year by 2030.
  • During COP15 in Montreal last year, the international donor community decided to invest billions of dollars to ensure the preservation of biodiversity and the restoration of ecosystems.
    • All parties agreed to significantly increase their investments by 2025, balancing on both private and public sources.
  • According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), nature-positive policiescould eventually drive more than $10tn per year in business value and create almost 400m jobs by 2030. Internationally, there is an estimated public expenditure on biodiversity of between $3.9–$9.3bn per year, with an average of $6.1bn.

READ: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/biodiversity-goals

Significance of Biodiversity:

  • Biosphere is a life supporting system to the human race. Each species in the biosphere has its own significance.
  • It is the combination of different organisms that enables the biosphere to sustain human race.
  • Biodiversity is vital for a healthy biosphere. Biodiversity is must for the stability and proper functioning of the biosphere.
  • Besides this biodiversity is so important due to having consumptive use values, productive use values, social values, ethical values and aesthetic values.

Challenges in Biodiversity:

The decline:

  • The 2019 IPBES Global Assessment Report estimated that 75% of the terrestrial environment and 40% of the marine environment show “significant signs of degradation.”
  • As a result, 25% of the species belonging to the animal and plant groups assessed are currently endangered, i.e., around 1 million species are threatened with extinction. Unfortunately, these figures are only increasing.

The culprit: Human activity

  • To understand the origin of the decline, the IPBES has identified five major human-induced pressures that contribute to it: land and sea use change (e.g., deforestation, seabed degradation, etc.), direct exploitation of organisms (e.g., overfishing), climate change, pollution (e.g., neonicotinoids), and invasive species.
  • Ranked by decreasing impact, neither climate change nor pollution are currently the main factors in the collapse of biodiversity.
  • On a global scale, the destruction of habitats and the exploitation of species and ecosystems are the main factors causing the decline in biodiversity.

Dependencies

  • Nature provides a wide range of ecosystem services that make human life possible by providing food and water, regulating disease and climate, contributing to pollination and soil formation, and providing recreational, cultural and wellbeing benefits.

Overpopulation

  • It is one of the crucial current environment problems.
  • Population explosion in less developed and developing countries is draining the already scarce resources.
  • Recent analysis have revealed that even if the destruction of natural resources ends now, it would take 5-7 mn years for the natural world to recover.

READ: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/biodiversity-in-areas-beyond-national-jurisdiction

Mitigation measures:

  • The complexity of biodiversity means that despite the lack of standard tools and methods, both private and public actors have a role to play.
  • Both must reduce their impact on nature and decrease their dependence on ecosystem services, especially those services most likely to be deteriorated over time.
  • Beyond this urgent mitigation, it is important to consider the means of adapting to and anticipating the risks linked to the erosion of biodiversity.
  • To this end, initiatives and frameworks are emerging to guide both private and public organisations in considering the biodiversity dimension of their activities. Most of these initiatives are based on climate reference frameworks.
  • Building on the work of the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) on climate change, the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) has developed a step-by-step guide to setting science-based targets for nature. Inspired by the TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures), the TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures) is a global initiative.
  • Its mission is to develop and provide a framework for managing and reporting on nature-related risks in order to influence their evolution.

Global Biodiversity Framework

  • It is the global guiding force to protect nature and to retain its essential services for humans from 2020 to 2030.
  • The new frameworks have four goals to achieve by 2050.

First goal:

  • To halt the extinction and decline of biodiversity with “the rate of extinctions has been reduced at least tenfold and the risk of species extinctions across all taxonomic and functional groups is halved.
  • Genetic diversity of wild and domesticated species is safeguarded, with at least 90 per cent of genetic diversity within all species maintained.

Second goal

  • To enhance and retain nature’s services to humans by conserving.

Third goal

  • To ensure fair and equitable benefits to all from use of genetic resources.

Fourth goal

  • To close “the gap between available financial and other means of implementation and those necessary to achieve the 2050 Vision”.
  • The framework’s demand for more financial support to developing countries, the worst victims of biodiversity losses.
  • Adequate financial resources to implement the framework are available and deployed, progressively closing the financing gap up to at least $700 billion per year by 2030.
  • Urgent policy action globally, regionally and nationally is required to transform economic, social and financial models so that the trends that have exacerbated biodiversity loss will stabilise by 2030and allow for the recovery of natural ecosystems in the following 20 years, with net improvements by 2050.
  • It aims to ensure the right capacity building of the communities /governments to take up conservation measures to meet the goals.
  • These include the contentious technology transfer to countries that don’t have it currently and also a wide scientific cooperation among countries.

READ: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/global-biodiversity-framework

Road Ahead

  • There is much to be done and action is urgently needed to avoid the catastrophic impacts of both biodiversity loss and climate change.
  • Progress is being made to help all actors to continue their climate mitigation efforts by reducing their contributions to pressures on biodiversity. Biodiversity needs to be considered as an equally important issue as the climate change.
  • The decline in biodiversity is not just an environmental issue but also an economic, security, moral and ethical issue. The biggest challenge and opportunity lies in changing approach towards development.
  • People need to shift to clean technologies for protecting the nature. Ultimately, the world needs to come together to make a global deal to save nature.

https://newsonair.gov.in/News?title=International-Day-for-Biological-Diversity-is-being-observed-in-Nepal-today&id=461294

NEWS IN SHORT

RUPEE CLOSES AT 82.82 AGAINST THE US DOLLAR

Context

  • In the forex market, the rupee today closed at 82 rupees and 82 paise against the US dollar.

Details:

  • The dollar index, which indicates the US currency's strength against a basket of six other leading currencies, was at 103.07 in intra-day trade. The depreciation in WPI is in line with the decline of retail inflation in April.
  • Retail inflation, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), eased to an 18-month low of 4.7 percent in April.

How Rupee depreciate?

  • The value of Indian currency or any other currency depends on its demand.
  • If demand for any currency increases, its value also goes up (it is termed appreciation).
  • And if the demand for a currency declines, its value also goes down (depreciation).
  • The demand for Indian currency goes up when more and more foreign investors make investments in India.
  • That is because when foreign investors or companies invest in India or buy any products from India, they first convert their currency into rupees as they can invest only in rupees in Indian markets.
  • As a result, demand for the Indian currency increases, and its value strengthens against the US dollar and other currencies.

Impact of rupee depreciation

  • The weakening of the rupee against the dollar is going to impact the Indian economy and ordinary citizens. The falling of the rupee signifies the depreciation of its value against the US dollar, which broadly means the government, companies and citizens are forced to pay increasing amounts of money.
  • The depreciation of money is a direct indication of inflation.
  • As the price of the rupee falls, importing goods and raw materials becomes increasingly expensive, which then pushes up the prices in the domestic market.
  • India is the world's third-largest consumer of oil and imports over 80 percent of it from other countries to meet its needs. A weakening rupee puts pressure on the already high import prices of crude and raw materials, resulting in higher imported inflation.
  • With the increase in fuel prices, the prices of almost all the other goods and products sold in India also increase.

Way forward

  • The appropriate response is to allow the exchange rate to adjust, while using monetary policy to keep inflation close to its target.
  • The higher price of imported goods will help bring about the necessary adjustment to the fundamental shocks as it reduces imports, which in turn helps with reducing the build-up of external debt.
  • In this fragile environment, it is prudent to enhance resilience. Although emerging market central banks have stockpiled dollar reserves in recent years, reflecting lessons learned from earlier crises, these buffers are limited and should be used prudently.
  • Countries must preserve vital foreign reserves to deal with potentially worse outflows and turmoil in the future.

READ: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/falling-rupee-8

https://newsonair.gov.in/News?title=Rupee-closes-at-82.82-against-the-US-dollar&id=461301

THE 32ND ARAB LEAGUE SUMMIT

Context

  • The 32nd Arab League Summit recently concluded in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with the adoption of the Jeddah Declaration. This declaration, focuses on fostering Arab unity and addressing various regional challenges.

 

Details:

  • An important highlight of the summit was the unanimous decision to readmit Syria to the Arab League, which was met with enthusiasm from the participating leaders.
  • The declaration emphasizes the need for increased pan-Arab efforts to assist Syria in resolving its ongoing crisis, demonstrating a collective commitment to supporting stability and peace in the country.
  • The Jeddah Declaration also reaffirms the Arab League's commitment to the Arab Peace Initiative, which seeks to find a comprehensive and fair resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
  • Leaders reiterated their dedication to addressing Palestinian issues, recognizing it as a crucial concern for the Arab world.
  • In addition, the declaration called for de-escalation of tensions in Sudan and urged all parties involved to engage in dialogue to resolve the armed clashes. 

Objective of Arab League:

  • It expressed deep concern for the Sudanese crisis and stressed the importance of alleviating the suffering of the Sudanese people. The ongoing meetings in Jeddah between Sudanese groups were recognized as a significant step towards resolving the crisis and restoring stability in Sudan.

Purpose of Jeddah Declaration:

  • The Jeddah Declaration underscores the importance of strengthening joint Arab action based on shared foundations, values, interests, and a sense of common destiny.
  • It emphasizes unity, solidarity, and cooperation as essential elements for maintaining security and stability in the region.
  • The declaration emphasizes the protection of Arab countries' sovereignty, preservation of their achievements, and the need to address contemporary challenges in order to fulfill the aspirations and goals of the Arab world.

Significance:

  • Addressing the challenges faced by Lebanon, the Jeddah Declaration called for the election of a new Lebanese President and the implementation of necessary reforms to overcome the country's crisis.
  • It underscored the importance of regional stability and cooperation in this regard.
  • The Arab League also expressed support for initiatives promoting security and stability in Yemen, aligning with the aspirations of the Yemeni people.
  • Furthermore, the declaration firmly rejected foreign interference in the internal affairs of Arab nations and any support for armed groups or militias operating outside the purview of state institutions.
  • It emphasized the need to protect the sovereignty of Arab countries and maintain the cohesion of their institutions, highlighting unity, solidarity, and cooperation as crucial for regional security and stability.

https://newsonair.gov.in/News?title=Arab-League-Summit-in-Jeddah-Adopts-Jeddah-Declaration%2c-Emphasizes-Unity-and-Addressing-Regional-Challenges&id=461210

SMART CITIES MISSION

Context

  • Union Housing and Urban Affair Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has described 100 Smart Cities as real incubators of the new urban India.

Detail

  • The country's urban future will draw heavily from the innovations being nurtured in these smart cities.
  • The Minister stated this while attending the meeting of the Parliamentary consultative committee of his ministry about the progress of Smart Cities Mission.
  • He said the building smart cities is a journey and not a destination. Mr. Puri added that the implementation of the Mission at city level is done by a Special Purpose Vehicle which plays an instrumental role in monitoring the projects to utilize the full potential of this path-breaking mission.  

About Smart cities Mission:

  • The Smart Cities Mission launched in 2015 is aimed at providing core infrastructure, clean and sustainable environment and a decent quality of life to their citizens through the application of smart solutions.

Purpose:

  • With an increase on urban population and rapid expansion of areas, government is looking at smarter ways to manage complexities, increase efficiencies and improve quality of life.
  • This has created a need for cities that monitor and integrate infrastructure to better optimise resources and maximise services to citizens.

Objective

  • The objective of the smart city initiative is to promote sustainable and inclusive cities that provide core infrastructure to give a decent quality of life, a clean and sustainable environment through application of some smart solutions such as data-driven traffic management, intelligent lighting systems, etc.

Core infrastructure elements

  • Adequate water supply
  • Assured electricity supply
  • Sanitation including solid waste management
  • Efficient urban mobility and public transport
  • Affordable housing, especially for the poor
  • Robust IT connectivity and digitalisation
  • Good governance, especially e-governance and citizen participation
  • Sustainable environment
  • Safety and security of citizens, particularly women, children and the elderly
  • Health and education

Coverage

  • The mission will cover 100 cities that have been distributed among the States /Union Territories (UT) on the basis of an equitable criteria. The formula gives equal weightage (50:50) to urban population of the State/UT and the number of statutory towns (a town with a municipality, corporation, cantonment board or notified town area committee) in the State/UT.
  • Based on this formula, each State/UT will, therefore, have a certain number of potential Smart Cities, with each State/UT having at least one.

https://newsonair.gov.in/News?title=100-Smart-Cities-as-real-incubators-of-new-urban-India%3a-Union-Minister-Hardeep-Singh-Puri&id=461360

G20'S TOURISM WORKING GROUP

Context

  • G20's Tourism Working Group endorses five priority points including Green Tourism, Digitalization and Destination management at Srinagar meeting.

Key Details:

  • The 3rd G20 Tourism Working Group meeting was formally inaugurated in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.
  • Union Minister for Tourism and Culture, G. Kishen Reddy said the Government is working with all the G20 countries and other stakeholders to promote sustainable growth of the tourism sector.
  • The first major international event in Jammu and Kashmir since the state’s special status under Article 370 of the Constitution was revoked in August 2019 will be the G20 meeting in Srinagar.
  • Aside from G20 individuals, the occasion will see support of agents from visitor nations and a few worldwide associations.
  • A major event will also be held on the side-lines of the event to highlight film tourism, which the UT administration has been heavily promoting over the past few years.
  • The purpose of the film tourism event is to highlight single-window clearance and other facilities for foreign crews for film shoots to visiting delegates.
  • In the meantime, in advance of the meeting in Srinagar, officials stated that adequate security measures have been taken and that the city is being prepared to accommodate the delegates.

About G-20:

  • The G20or Group of Twenty is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation, and sustainable development.
  • The G20 is composed of most of the world's largest economies, including both industrialized and developing nations; it accounts for around 80% of gross world product (GWP), 59–77% of international trade, two-thirds of the global population, and 60% of the world's land area.
  • The G20 was founded in 1999 in response to several world economic crises. Since 2008, it has convened at least once a year, with summits involving each member's head of government or state, finance minister, or foreign minister, and other high-ranking officials.

https://newsonair.gov.in/News?title=G20%26%2339%3bs-Tourism-Working-Group-endorses-five-priority-points-including-Green-Tourism%2c-Digitalization-and-Destination-management-at-Srinagar-meeting&id=461337

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