Environment in the news.

Zones of worry

The seventh draft notification on the Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Area covers about 9,994 sq km across 131 villages in Kerala. The State wants the area limited to forests, about 8,591 sq km across 98 villages, keeping homes, farms and plantations out. Every notification since 2014 has remained a draft.

Use in Prelims

ESA and ESZ are different. An ESA covers a whole landscape such as the Western Ghats; an ESZ is the buffer around a national park or sanctuary. Both are notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and they regulate activities rather than ban all of them. UPSC asked this in 2014. Also: Gadgil panel (2011), Kasturirangan panel (2013), Western Ghats a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2012.

Rules for the Planet →Wild Places →

Use in Mains

A live example for conservation versus livelihood: twelve years of draft notifications show that a protection plan fails when the people living in the landscape do not accept it. Use it for questions on the Gadgil and Kasturirangan reports and on Centre–State friction in environmental regulation.

Development, EIA & Dams →Conventions & Governance →Biodiversity →

Use in Essay

Shows the hard middle of the forests essay: protecting a mountain range that is also home to farmers.

Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow them →We may brave human laws but cannot resist natural laws →

Indian-born cheetah gives birth to four cubs at Kuno

A cheetah born in India gave birth to four cubs at Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh, taking the number of cheetahs in the country to 56. The news came a day after Project Cheetah completed four years.

Use in Prelims

Cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952. Project Cheetah began on 17 September 2022: 8 cheetahs from Namibia (2022), 12 from South Africa (2023). Second site: Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary. The International Big Cat Alliance covers seven big cats; India has five of them (not puma and jaguar). Cheetahs cannot roar, which UPSC used in 2024.

Species Watch →Wild Places →

Use in Mains

An example for species reintroduction: breeding in the wild is a sign of success, but earlier cub deaths and dependence on one main site show the limits. Use it to argue for more than one habitat and for grassland protection.

Forests & Wildlife →Biodiversity →

Deep-sea discovery, environmental responsibility

An opinion piece argues that being able to mine the deep sea does not mean India should. India holds three exploration contracts from the International Seabed Authority, while surveys of seamounts have found many deep-sea organisms, some new to science. The author asks for a high ecological bar before any commercial mining.

Use in Prelims

Under UNCLOS (1982) the seabed beyond national limits is "the Area", the common heritage of mankind, managed by the International Seabed Authority (Kingston, Jamaica). Polymetallic nodules hold nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese. Deep Ocean Mission (2021, Ministry of Earth Sciences) includes the MATSYA-6000 submersible. UPSC asked about deep-sea licences in 2021.

Rules for the Planet →

Use in Mains

A fresh case for the precautionary principle: damage to the seabed may be permanent, so the burden lies on showing that mining is needed. Also supports answers on critical minerals, recycling and the circular economy.

Development, EIA & Dams →Conventions & Governance →Pollution →

Use in Essay

Technology gives the power to mine; natural limits decide whether it is wise. Fits essays on technology and restraint.

We may brave human laws but cannot resist natural laws →Alternative technologies for a climate-change-resilient India →

Hog in the limelight

An editorial on the pygmy hog, the world’s smallest wild pig, found in the tall grasslands of Assam. Captive breeding has raised its numbers many times over in three decades, but its survival depends on healthy floodplain grasslands around Manas and other reserves.

Use in Prelims

Pygmy hog: only living species of the genus Porcula; last wild population in Manas National Park, Assam; an indicator of grassland health. Shares its habitat with the Bengal florican, hispid hare, hog deer and the one-horned rhino. UPSC listed it among Indian species in 2013.

Species Watch →Wild Places →

Use in Mains

Shows that saving a species means saving its ecosystem: breeding centres work only if grasslands are protected from farms, tea, embankments, invasive plants and fire. A good example of an indicator species and of grasslands as a neglected habitat.

Biodiversity →Forests & Wildlife →Ecology & Ecological Balance →

Use in Essay

A small animal as the measure of a whole landscape: useful for any essay on how societies value what is not useful to them.

Nature is the symbol of the spirit →Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow them →

Rapid Himalayan erosion triggers hidden source of CO2: study

A study of the upper Indus by Indian institutes found that fast erosion in steep mountains can release carbon dioxide. When pyrite in the rock meets air and water it forms sulphuric acid, which reacts with carbonate rocks and gives off CO2. In these headwaters this release was larger than the CO2 taken up by silicate weathering.

Use in Prelims

Silicate weathering removes CO2 from the air over long periods and is a natural sink. Pyrite ("fool’s gold") oxidation makes sulphuric acid, which releases CO2 from carbonate rocks. Steep mountains can be a net source; flat floodplains act as sinks. UPSC asked about weathering and CO2 in 2024.

Nature’s Machinery →Warming World →

Use in Mains

Adds depth to carbon-cycle answers: natural sinks are not fixed, and the same mountain range can absorb or release carbon depending on rock type and erosion rate. Use it when a question asks about feedbacks or the limits of counting on natural sinks.

Climate Change →Ecology & Ecological Balance →