DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: Nov. 3, 2024

Markhor, the largest wild goat in the world,is battling for survival in Jammu and Kashmir

Tags: Environment

Markhor, the largest wild goat in the world

Why in news?

• Markhor, the largest wild goat in the world,is battling for survival in Jammu and Kashmir and measures must be taken to protect its habitat to increase its population.

What is Markhor?

• The markhor is a wild goat species indigenous to the mountainous regions of Central and South Asia.
• It is found in the moist to semi-arid mountain tracts of Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.
• In J&K, Markhor’s population is found in Shopian, Banihal pass to Shamsbari area of the Kazinag Uri and Pir Panjal range in Poonch.

Important features of Markhor:

• It is known for its thick fur, flowing beard and corkscrew horns.
• It is considered to be an apt flagship species for catalysing conservation in these mountain tracks. 
• It is adapted to mountainous terrain, between 600 and 3,600 m elevation, with open woodlands, scrublands and light forests.
• It is a diurnal animal and is mainly active in the early morning and late afternoon. 

Conservation status

• IUCN : ‘Near Threatened’
• Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 : Schedule I
• CITES:Appendix I 

Threats: Its population has been affected mostly by unabated human intervention and biotic factors.

India launched the updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) at COP 16 to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), in Colombia.

Tags: Environment

COP 16 on Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

Why in news?

• India launched the updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) at COP 16 to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), in Colombia.

Important point:

• Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh, released India’s updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), at the 16th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 16) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
•  The document was released during a special event called ‘Roadmap for achieving the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) targets and release of India’s updated NBSAP’, on 30th October 2024, in Cali, Colombia.
• India adopted ‘Whole-of-Government’ and ‘Whole-of-Society’ approach in updating its NBSAP, outlining strategies to address environmental challenges through ecosystem restoration, species recovery program, and community-driven conservation efforts.

What is COP on  CBD?

• COP stands for Conference of the Parties, which is the governing body of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
• The first COP (Conference of the Parties) for the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was held in Nassau, Bahamas in 1994.
• The CBD is an international treaty that aims to conserve biodiversity and use it sustainably. COP meetings are held every two years to review progress, set priorities, and commit to future plans. 
• 
  

Global TB Report-2024

Tags: Reports

Global TB Report-2024

Why in news?

•  Recently Global TB report published by the  world Health Organization(WHO) and Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Lauds India’s Progress in the Fight Against Tuberculosis.

Important points of the report:

• It shows 8.2 million people were newly diagnosed with TB in 2023, a figure that represents the highest number of TB cases recorded by the WHO since it began global TB monitoring in 1995.
• It also marks a significant increase from the 7.5 million new TB cases reported in 2022.
• Although the estimated number of 1.25 million TB deaths in 2023 is down from the 1.32 million recorded in 2022 and continues a declining trend from the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, that number still far surpasses the 320,000 COVID deaths officially reported to the WHO last year.
• The data show that 30 mostly low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) bear 87% of the global TB burden, with five countries—India (26%), Indonesia (10%),China (6.8%), the Philippines (6.8%), and Pakistan (6.3%)—combining for 56% of the burden. 
• 55 percent of people who developed TB were men, 33 percent were women, and 12 percent were children and young adolescents.
• According to the report, a significant number of new TB cases are driven by five major risk factors: undernutrition, HIV infection, alcohol use disorders, smoking, and diabetes.

India's condition:

• In 2023, India was estimated to have had 27 lakh TB cases, of which 25.1 lakh persons were diagnosed and put on treatment. 
• This has buoyed India's treatment coverage to 89 percent in 2023 from 72 percent in 2015, thereby bridging the gap of missing cases.
• It acknowledged a drop in India's TB incidence - from 237 per lakh population in 2015, to 195 per lakh population in 2023, accounting for a 17.7 percent decline.

Scientists have discovered a “black hole triple” in space for the first time.

Tags: Science and Technology

 “Black Hole Triple” System

 Why in news:

• A new study says scientists have discovered a “black hole triple” in space for the first time.

 What is “black hole triple”

• The system comprises a black hole at its centre, currently in the process of consuming a small star spiraling very close to it.
• There is also a second star, which appears to be circling the black hole but is actually far away.

Important points:

• The discovery of the system, located about 8,000 light years away from Earth has raised questions about how black holes are formed.
•  black holes discovered until now have been part of binary systems, consisting of a black hole and a secondary object (such as a star or another black hole).
• But the black hole triple not only has one star which orbits the black hole about every 6.5 days, but also a more far-off star which orbits it every 70,000 years.
• It is situated in the constellation of Cygnus, the system features one of the oldest known black holes, the V404 Cygni, which is nine times as big as the Sun in our solar system.
• V404 Cygni has two stars around it as the black hole did not arise from a supernova, which typically kicks away outer stars in the explosion.
• Instead, it was formed through another process called “direct collapse”, where the star caves in after expending all its fuel, but does not explode.
•