Current Affairs Oct 2018 - Environment

1 - 59 Indian Plant Species Under Threat

Based on criteria used by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), scientists have identified 59 Indian plant species under threat.

Highlights

About 2,700 plant species in India are at risk but very few have been assessed by the IUCN.

To pull the attention and bridge the gap, Scientists from Lucknow and from several other institutes prioritized 59 plant species that face risk of “elimination” – rescue program is incumbent for them.

For example, the palm Bentinckia nicobarica is presently listed as endangered.

This study also reported that about 38 species have never been assessed by the IUCN.

2 - VII Sustainable Mountain Development Summit

The Sustainable Mountain Development Summit VII was held from October 3 to 5. Integrated Mountain Initiative in New Delhi and Himachal Pradesh Council for Science, Technology and Environment in Shimla have joined hands with Shoolini University of Solan to organise the summit. More than 150 delegates from across India participated in the summit.

The purpose of the summit is to integrate viable recommendations for policies that enable sustainable agricultural development. Representatives of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development and the Swiss Development Cooperation discussed the socio-ecological and economic development of Himalayan farmers.

P.K. Khosla, the Vice-Chancellor of Shoolini University said −

"The overall objective of the conclave is to provide a platform for the mountainous states to come together to discuss issues related to the themes, and find ways to influence national and state policies on the same."

3 - Vaccination of Gir lions against deadly Canine Distemper Virus (CDV)

Gujarat Forest Department started vaccinating the lions of Gir Forest National Park in order to protect them from deadly Canine Distemper Virus (CDV).

Asiatic lions are an endangered species; therefore, they are vaccinated under intensive veterinary care complying with standard protocol. However, over the recent past, about 23 lions have been died in the Gir sanctuary (in less than a month). Most of them died because of Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) and protozoa infections.

CDV is a dangerous virus, which has destroyed about 30% of the African lions in East African forests. The virus is largely found in wild dogs, jackals, and wolves. Lions get infected, when they prey on infected animals.

4 - Moths Are Key Pollinators In Himalayan Ecosystem

The scientists of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has declared that Moths (Lepidoptera), widely considered as pests, are potential pollinators to a number of flowering plants in the Himalayan ecosystem.

For the research purpose, the scientists collected moth samples from the Himalayan regions (states including Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and West Bengal). The analysis of proboscis, a long and thread-like organ used to suck flower sap, of a dozen moth species’ exposed the presence of pollen grains. Therefore, based on this research, researchers have confirmed that almost two-thirds of common large moth species have declined over the last 40 years in some parts of the world and the major reasons for the decline is light pollution.