1. GLACIAL LAKE OUTBRUST

A Glacial Lake Outburst (GLO) occurs when a glacial lake, formed by melting ice and snow, suddenly releases a large volume of water. This can happen due to the failure of natural ice or moraine dams holding the lake, often ltriggered by factors like heavy rainfall, earthquakes, or the melting of surrounding ice. The sudden release of water can lead to devastating floods downstream, causing significant damage to communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems.

Reasons for Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs):

Geological: Earthquakes, breaches of moraine dams.
Morphological: Mass movements into glacial lakes, water seepage through glacial structures.
Physical: Excessive precipitation, cryoseism (non-tectonic seismic events in the glacial cryosphere).
Anthropogenic: Climate change and global warming.

Mounting GLOF Risks in the Himalayas:

Glacial Retreat: Rising temperatures lead to accelerated glacial melt, creating glacial lakes. The increased volume of water in these lakes raises the risk of GLOFs, threatening downstream communities.
Glacial Lake Dynamics: The formation of moraine-dammed lakes, often unstable, poses a significant risk. When the moraine dam weakens or breaches due to factors like earthquakes or increased meltwater pressure, it can trigger a GLOF.

India’s Vulnerability to GLOFs:

ISRO’s Atlas: Identified over 28,000 glacial lakes in the Himalayan basins.
Sikkim: 733 glacial lakes identified; 10 classified as vulnerable.
Uttarakhand: 13 out of 486 glacial lakes are vulnerable.
Jammu and Kashmir: Highest number of vulnerable lakes, with significant threats also in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

Urgent Call for heightened awareness and proactive measures:

Preventing Catastrophic Floods: GLO events can unleash massive floods downstream, causing loss of life, extensive damage to infrastructure, and economic devastation.
1. For instance, the 1994 GLO in the Bhutanese Himalayas resulted in a catastrophic flood disaster.
Safeguarding Vulnerable Communities: Many communities reside in downstream areas of glacial lakes, making them highly vulnerable to GLO events.
1. Effective awareness measures are essential to protect these communities from harm.
Threat to Livelihoods: Many communities in the Himalayan region depend on agriculture and livestock farming. GLOFs can damage agricultural fields, threaten livestock, and disrupt livelihoods, leading to food insecurity.
Preserving environmental integrity: GLO events disrupt ecosystems downstream, leading to long-term environmental damage.
1. Mitigation efforts aim to minimize such ecological impacts and maintain environmental balance.
Infrastructure Resilience: Designing infrastructure with resilience against GLOFs, such as building protective barriers and establishing safe evacuation routes, is essential to minimize the impact on vulnerable communities.
Community Engagement: Raising awareness and involving local communities in disaster preparedness and response strategies is pivotal. Communities need to be equipped with the knowledge and tools to protect themselves during GLOF events.

NDMA guidelines in mitigating the risks associated with GLOFs:

Guideline	Details
1. Identifying Potentially Dangerous Lakes	Use field observations, historical data, geomorphologic and geotechnical analysis.
2. Use of Technology	Promote synthetic-aperture radar imagery for detecting changes in water bodies and develop remote monitoring methods.
3. Channelling Potential Floods	Implement controlled breaching, pumping, siphoning, or creating tunnels through barriers.
4. Uniform Codes for Construction Activity	Develop frameworks for construction and land use planning in vulnerable zones.
5. Enhancing Early Warning Systems (EWS)	Increase the number of operational GLOF EWS; currently, only a few exist in the Himalayas.
6. Training Local Manpower	Train locals for search and rescue, shelter planning, and relief distribution.
7. Comprehensive Alarm Systems	Combine acoustic alarms with modern communication technologies like smartphones.

Measures to Mitigate GLOF Disasters:

Monitoring: Intensify meteorological monitoring and real-time data collection at glacier lakes and downstream rivers.
Technology: Use satellites and drones for regular monitoring of glacier lakes.
Safety Standards: Revise and enforce strict safety standards for infrastructure in mountainous areas.
Construction Regulation: Apply stringent quality control and regulations for construction near rivers.
Scientific Research: Expand research on glacier behaviour and climate change impacts in the Himalayas.

2.BIOFUELS

Every year on August 10, World Biofuel Day is observed to underline the significance of biofuels as a sustainable source of energy.

Background:

In recent years, biofuels have garnered significant attention due to growing concerns about climate change and the health impacts of air pollution from fossil fuels, which are not only costly but also finite in supply.

Understanding Biofuels

Biofuels are renewable fuels derived from the biomass of plants or animal waste. Common sources include corn, sugarcane, and animal waste like cow dung. Unlike fossil fuels, biofuels are sustainable energy sources.
The two most common types are ethanol and biodiesel.
- Ethanol: Produced by fermenting crop residues such as corn and sugarcane. It is often blended with petroleum to reduce emissions, with Ethanol-10 (E10) being a common blend containing 10% ethanol.
- Biodiesel: Made from used cooking oil, yellow grease, or animal fats, biodiesel is produced by burning these materials with alcohol in the presence of a catalyst.

Importance of Biofuels

Environmental Benefits: Biofuels can mitigate the negative environmental impacts of fossil fuels, such as greenhouse gas emissions and resource depletion, while also improving waste management.
Energy Security: As the world’s third-largest consumer of crude oil, India’s reliance on imports for over 85% of its needs poses energy security challenges. Biofuels offer a way to reduce this dependency.
Economic Benefits: Increased biofuel use can decrease reliance on imported oil, lower import bills, and boost farm income by creating demand for crops like corn and sugarcane.

Government Initiatives and Policies on Biofuels

National Policy on Biofuels (2018): Aimed at reducing import dependency and promoting fuel blending, this policy supports ethanol, biodiesel, and bio-CNG production. In 2022, the policy was amended to advance the 20% ethanol blending target from 2030 to 2025-26.
Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA): Launched in 2022, this multi-stakeholder alliance, including governments and international organizations, promotes global cooperation and sustainable biofuel use. Additionally, it aims to facilitate global biofuel trade and provide technical support for national biofuel programs.
Reduced GST on Ethanol: The government lowered the GST on ethanol for blending from 18% to 5% under the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme.
Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana: This initiative supports Second Generation (2G) ethanol production from cellulosic and lignocellulosic materials, offering financial incentives.

Challenges Related to Biofuels

Food vs. Fuel Dilemma: The competition between food security and energy security arises depending on the choice of feedstock and production processes.

Environmental Concerns: Biofuel production can strain land and water resources and contribute to air and groundwater pollution. It may also alter cropping patterns, affecting agricultural balance.

3.LAKE TURKANA

Findings of the first comprehensive survey of Lake Turkana in 50 years was released recently.

Background:

Lying in a hot, arid, and remote region, Lake Turkana provides resources for communities on the lakeshore and surrounding areas. However, its semi-saline waters, driven by high evaporation rates and fluctuating lake levels of up to 8 meters per decade, have historically hindered sustainable development initiatives.

Location: Lake Turkana is located in the Great Rift Valley in northern Kenya, extending into southern Ethiopia.
Size and Rank:
- Lake Turkana is Africa’s 4th largest lake.
- It is the world’s largest permanent desert lake and the largest alkaline lake.
Geographical Features:
- The lake is surrounded by volcanic rock and desert.
- It is fed by three main rivers: the Omo, Turkwel, and Kerio.
- The lake has no outlet, which contributes to its high salinity and alkalinity.
Biodiversity:
- Lake Turkana is home to diverse wildlife, including Nile crocodiles, hippos, and various fish species.
- It is also a critical habitat for migratory birds and other endemic species.
Cultural Significance:
- The region around Lake Turkana is known as the “Cradle of Mankind” due to the discovery of some of the oldest human fossils.
- It is inhabited by indigenous communities, including the Turkana, El Molo, and Dassanach people, who rely on the lake for fishing and livestock.
Environmental Concerns:
- The lake faces environmental challenges, including declining water levels due to dam construction on the Omo River in Ethiopia.
- Climate change and overexploitation of resources are also significant threats to the lake’s ecosystem.
UNESCO World Heritage Site: Lake Turkana is part of the Lake Turkana National Parks, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, recognized for its ecological and archaeological importance.
Economic Importance:
- The lake supports local economies through fishing, tourism, and livestock grazing.
- It also holds potential for hydroelectric power generation, though this has led to environmental debates.

4.Minimum Support Price

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA has approved Minimum Support Prices for copra for 2023 season

The MSP for fair average quality of milling copra has been fixed at 10 thousand 860 rupees per quintal.
MSP for ball copra has been fixed at 11 thousand 750 rupees per quintal.
This is an increase of 270 rupees per quintal for milling copra and 750 rupees per quintal for ball copra over the previous season.

Minimum Support Prices (MSP)

The MSP is the rate at which the government purchases crops from farmers, and is based on a calculation of at least one-and-a-half times the cost of production incurred by the farmers.
The Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP) recommends MSPs for 22 mandated crops and fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane.
- CACP is an attached office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
The mandated crops include 14 crops of the kharif season, 6 rabi crops and 2 other commercial crops.
In addition, the MSPs of toria and de-husked coconut are fixed on the basis of the MSPs of rapeseed/mustard and copra, respectively.
Support prices generally affect farmers’ decisions indirectly, regarding land allocation to crops, quantity of the crops to be produced etc
MSP assures farmers agricultural income besides providing a clear price signal to the market
The major objectives are to support the farmers from distress sales and to procure food grains for public distribution.
The government declares MSPs for crops, but there’s no law mandating their implementation
MSP is devoid of any legal backing. Access to MSP isn’t an entitlement for farmers. They cannot demand it as a matter of right.
The Centre currently fixes MSPs for 23 farm commodities based on the CACP’s recommendations —
- 7 cereals – paddy, wheat, maize, bajra, jowar, ragi and barley
- 5 pulses – chana, arhar/tur, urad, moong and masur
- 7 oilseeds – rapeseed-mustard, groundnut, soyabean, sunflower, sesamum, safflower and nigerseed
- 4 commercial crops – cotton, sugarcane, copra and raw jute

Factors for Recommending the MSP:

The CACP considers various factors while recommending the msp for a commodity:

Parity between prices paid and prices received by the farmers

Cost of production

Changes in input prices

Input-output price parity

Trends in market prices

Demand and supply

Inter-crop price parity

Effect on industrial cost structure

Effect on cost of living

Effect on general price level

International price situation

5.ARCENUT

A Lok Sabha member from Shivamogga district in Karnataka, urged the Centre to levy a hefty import duty on arecanut to check falling prices in the domestic market.

In September 2022, the central government allowed the import of 17,000 tonnes of green (fresh) arecanut from Bhutan without minimum import price (MIP).
Crop loss – About 35-40 per cent of the crop has been affected in 2022 – highest crop loss since 2013

About

The cultivation of arecanut is mostly confined to 28º north and south of the equator.
It grows well within the temperature range of 14ºC and 36ºC and is adversely affected by temperatures below 10ºC and above 40ºC.
Arecanut is capable of growing in a variety of soils
June – December is found to be the optimum.

Its production:

Karnataka produces around 80 per cent of the country’s arecanut,
Arecanut is considered a horticulture crop in Karnataka, a commercial crop at the national level and a dry fruit at an international level.

Average yield of different varieties of arecanut vary between 10-20 quintals per acre (0.4 hectare).
MIP on arecanut was first introduced in 2012 to restrict unabated import and prevent entry of inferior quality arecanut into the Indian market, thereby destabilising the domestic prices.
In the last three years, import of arecanut has taken place mostly from Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
However, this time 17,000 tonnes is being allowed to be imported from Bhutan alone.

Threats:

Large areas under the crop have been damaged by yellow leaf disease, blast disease and fruit rot disease, especially in Shivamogga, Dakshina Kannada and Chikkamagaluru districts.

Minimum Import Price (MIP):