12th Meeting of the Council of Ministers of IORARC held in Gurgaon

Foreign ministers of Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation have met in Gurgaon to discuss various issues of mutual strategic importance. Maritime security, disaster risk reduction , trade, academics and tourism were top of the agenda. 

The Gurgaon Declaration noted that at the last meeting in Bangalore a year ago, the IOR-ARC identified six priority areas for cooperation: maritime security and piracy, disaster risk reduction, trade & investment facilitation, fisheries management, academic and S&T cooperation, and tourism and cultural exchanges. This helped bring greater focus on the Association’s work with several cooperation initiatives having been taken in each of these priority areas.

CCAMLR meet on Antarctica failed

CCAMLR (Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources) meet in Australia, to protect the waterways around the Antarctic failed to reach agreement. 

CCAMLR is made up of representatives from 24 governments and the European Union and it has been considering proposals for the establishment of marine reserves in two critical areas of the Southern Ocean.

Monsoon- An Overview

 

Monsoon is the seasonal reversal of wind system accompanied by seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation.Monsoons cause excessive rainfall in many parts of the world including Asia, Australia, North America, South America, and Africa. The primary mechanism behind monsoon is a shift in global wind patterns.

 

Nagoya Protocol- An overview

What is the Nagoya Protocol and what is its objective?

The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS) to the Convention on Biological Diversity is a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity. It provides a transparent legal framework for the effective implementation of one of the three objectives of the CBD: the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.

India pledges $50 million for biodiversity conservation

India will earmark a sum of $50 million to strengthen institutional mechanism for biodiversity conservation in India and other developing countries. This has been announced by the PM Manmohan Singh under the 'Hyderabad Pledge' while launching the high level segment of the UN Convention on Biodiversity meeting.The sum will be used to enhance the technical and human capabilities of Indian national and State mechanisms to attain CBD objectives.

 

'The Cities and Biodiversity Outlook' report 2012

"Cities and Biodiversity Outlook" (CBO) consists of a global assessment of the links between urbanization, biodiversity and ecosystem services. Combining science and policy, scientists from around the world analyze how urbanization and urban growth impacts biodiversity and ecosystems; deliver key messages on the conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources to decision-makers.

Lion-tailed macaque taken off ‘top 25’ endangered list

The lion-tailed macaque, one of India’s endangered mascot species, is no longer on ‘The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates’ list, after the international body compiling it determined that the State governments had acted positively to protect it.