Summary ENVIRONMENT GEOGRAPHY AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT

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Classroom Study Material
ENVIRONMENT GEOGRAPHY AND
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
November 2015 – August 2016

Note: September and October material will be updated in November 1 st week.




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, Contents
1. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION ________________________________________________________ 6
1.1. AIR POLLUTION _______________________________________________________________________ 6
1.1.1. Air Pollution in India: Status _________________________________________________________________ 6
1.1.2. Indoor Air Pollution _______________________________________________________________________ 7
1.1.3. New Rules for Management of Construction and Demolition Waste _________________________________ 7
1.1.4. Bharat Stage VI Norms by 2020 ______________________________________________________________ 8
1.1.5. Categorization of Polluting Industries _________________________________________________________ 9
1.1.6. National Green Highways Mission ____________________________________________________________ 9
1.2. WATER POLLUTION___________________________________________________________________ 10
1.2.1. Initiatives Under Namami Gange Programme __________________________________________________ 10
1.2.2. Fly Ash ________________________________________________________________________________ 11
1.2.3. Yamuna Floodplains ______________________________________________________________________ 12
1.2.4. Polluter-Pay Principle _____________________________________________________________________ 12
1.3. SOLID WASTE________________________________________________________________________ 13
1.3.1. Swachh Bharat Mission: Rural-Urban Disparity _________________________________________________ 13
1.3.2. New Plastic Waste Management Rules _______________________________________________________ 13
1.3.3. Sanitation Problem in Urban India ___________________________________________________________ 14
1.4. E-WASTE ___________________________________________________________________________ 15
1.4.1. New E-Waste Management Rules ___________________________________________________________ 15

2. CONSERVATION MEASURES _________________________________________________________ 18
2.1. FOREST CONSERVATION_______________________________________________________________ 18
2.1.1. Review of The National Forest Policy _________________________________________________________ 18
2.1.2. The Inviolate Forest Policy _________________________________________________________________ 18
2.1.3. Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2015 ___________________________________________________ 19
2.1.4. Protecting Sacred Groves __________________________________________________________________ 20
2.2. WATER CONSERVATION _______________________________________________________________ 21
2.2.1. Wetland Management in India _____________________________________________________________ 21
2.2.2. Programmes for Water Conservation ________________________________________________________ 23
2.2.3. Groundwater Management ________________________________________________________________ 24
2.2.4. Project Green Port _______________________________________________________________________ 25
2.3. WILDLIFE/BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION_________________________________________________ 25
2.3.1. Culling of Animals ________________________________________________________________________ 25
2.3.2. Increasing Man-Animal Conflict _____________________________________________________________ 26
2.3.3. Environmental Crime inIndia _______________________________________________________________ 26
2.3.4. Consultation on Biodiversity Finance Initiative Begins ___________________________________________ 27
2.3.5. Environment Awareness Activities by MOEF ___________________________________________________ 27
2.4. TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE ___________________________________________________________ 28
2.4.1. Carbfix Project __________________________________________________________________________ 28
2.4.2. Climate Engineering Solutions ______________________________________________________________ 28
2.4.3. Space Collaboration to Tackle Climate Change _________________________________________________ 28
2.4.4. Efficient and Sustainable City Bus Service Project _______________________________________________ 29
2.4.5. Carbon Tax _____________________________________________________________________________ 29
2.4.6. Climate Violence ________________________________________________________________________ 30
2.4.7. Stranded Carbon ________________________________________________________________________ 30
2.4.8. CoP 21: Paris Agreement __________________________________________________________________ 31
2.4.9. From CBDR to INDC ______________________________________________________________________ 32
2.4.10. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC): Montreal Protocol ________________________________________________ 34
2.5. CLEAN ENERGY ______________________________________________________________________ 34
2.5.1. Clean Energy in India _____________________________________________________________________ 34
2.5.2. International Solar Alliance (ISA) ____________________________________________________________ 35
2.5.3. Draft Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy _____________________________________________________________ 36
2.5.4. Policy on Promotion of City Compost ________________________________________________________ 36

,3. DISASTER MANAGEMENT ___________________________________________________________ 39
3.1. DISASTER PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT ________________________________________________ 39
3.1.1. Disaster Risk Index of The World ____________________________________________________________ 39
3.1.2. India and Sendai Agreement for Disaster Reduction _____________________________________________ 39
3.1.3. National Disaster Management Plan _________________________________________________________ 40
3.1.4. Impact of Natural Disasters on Elderly People __________________________________________________ 41
3.1.5. Flood Management ______________________________________________________________________ 42
3.2. NEWS RELATED TO DISASTERS__________________________________________________________ 44
3.2.1. Drought Prevention and Management _______________________________________________________ 44
3.2.2. Urban Floods ___________________________________________________________________________ 45
3.2.3. Cyclone Roanu __________________________________________________________________________ 46

4. AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT ___________________________________________________ 49
4.1. GM CROPS __________________________________________________________________________ 49
4.1.1. Alternative to Bt Cotton ___________________________________________________________________ 49
4.1.2. GM Mustard ____________________________________________________________________________ 49
4.2. CLIMATE CHANGE & ENVIRONMENT_____________________________________________________ 50
4.2.1. Climate Smart Agriculture _________________________________________________________________ 50
4.2.2. Organic Farming _________________________________________________________________________ 51
4.2.3. Climate Change Vulnerability of Indian Agriculture ______________________________________________ 52

5. GEOGRAPHY ______________________________________________________________________ 54
5.1. INDIAN GEOGRAPHY__________________________________________________________________ 54
5.1.1. Poplar Trees in Kashmir ___________________________________________________________________ 54
5.1.2. Palaeochannel __________________________________________________________________________ 54
5.1.3. Interlinking of Rivers: Data _________________________________________________________________ 55
5.1.4. Impact of Thermal Stress on Corals in India ____________________________________________________ 56
5.1.5. Forest Fire _____________________________________________________________________________ 56
5.2. WORLD GEOGRAPHY _________________________________________________________________ 57
5.2.1. New Model to Study Urban Heat Island_______________________________________________________ 57
5.2.2. El Nino and Warm Winter _________________________________________________________________ 58
5.2.3. Indian Ocean Warming and its Consequences__________________________________________________ 58
5.2.4. Changes at the Poles _____________________________________________________________________ 59

6. ENVIRONMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT ________________________________________________ 62
6.1. Draft Notification to Amend EIA Process _________________________________________________ 62
6.2. Coastal Regulation Zone: Shailesh Nayak Committee Report _________________________________ 62
7. MISCELLANEOUS __________________________________________________________________ 65
7.1. ILED The Way Campaign _______________________________________________________________ 65
7.2. Delhi's Odd Even Policy _______________________________________________________________ 65
7.3. SAMAR _____________________________________________________________________________ 66
7.4. Snowflake Coral _____________________________________________________________________ 66
7.5. Oceans to have more Plastic than Fish by 2050 ____________________________________________ 67
7.6. The Aware Project____________________________________________________________________ 67
7.7. Nasa’s Coral Experiment_______________________________________________________________ 68
7.8. Declining Pollinators: UN Report ________________________________________________________ 68
7.9. GYPS Vulture Reintroduction Programme ________________________________________________ 69
7.10. Transboundary Manas Conservation Area (TraMCA) ______________________________________ 69


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, 7.11. Oil Degrading Bacteria to Undergo Field Trials____________________________________________ 70
7.12. Green Corridor Project _______________________________________________________________ 72
7.13. Udaypur Declaration: BRICS ___________________________________________________________ 72
7.14. Ecological Experimental Zones_________________________________________________________ 73
7.15. Global Warming Impact on Ocean Currents ______________________________________________ 73
7.16. Steps Taken for Protection of Endangered Species: MOEF __________________________________ 73
7.17. Clouds, Pollution and Monsoon ________________________________________________________ 74
7.17.1. Impact of Deforestation on Rainfall _________________________________________________________ 74
7.18. Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis is Moving Northwards________________________________________ 75
7.19. Global Green Award _________________________________________________________________ 75
7.20. Country's First Tiger Repository________________________________________________________ 76
8. PAST YEAR QUESTIONS FOR REFERENCE _______________________________________________ 77
2015___________________________________________________________________________________ 77
2014___________________________________________________________________________________ 77
2013___________________________________________________________________________________ 77




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