16 July 2024

MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS

Q1. Analyze the causes of the catastrophic decline in biodiversity that has been occurring recently. What possible effects might the loss of biodiversity have on people’s health?

GS III – Environmental Conservation

Introduction:

• The range of life on Earth, from genes to ecosystems, is referred to as biodiversity. This includes the ecological, evolutionary, and cultural processes that keep life viable. According to the Worldwide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) Living Planet Report, there has been a 69% global loss in the numbers of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish over the past 50 years. Scientists have labelled this phenomenon as “biological annihilation” and believe that Earth is currently experiencing its sixth mass extinction event.

The following are the primary causes of the worrying rate of biodiversity loss in recent years:

• Changes in Land Use: One of the main drivers of biodiversity loss, particularly in the tropics, is the degradation and conversion of forests to alternate land uses like agriculture. By 2050, there will likely be 9.8 billion people on the planet, which means more land will be needed for agriculture. One of the biggest risks to the remaining biologically varied habitats is the changes in land use.
• Habitat loss and fragmentation are being caused by a number of factors, including the advancement of agricultural practices, the depletion of resources including food, water, and air quality, mining, pollution, and urbanization-related activities.
• Nutrient loading: In freshwater, coastal, and terrestrial ecosystems, nutrient loading has become one of the most significant drivers of ecosystem change during the past 40 years. Freshwater environments are becoming more eutrophic due to the increased use of fertilisers containing phosphorus and nitrogen, while coastal marine ecosystems are experiencing hypoxia.
• The role of invasive species: Particularly on islands and in freshwater ecosystems, invasive alien species have been a key factor in the extinction of species. For example, alien species incursions have put 80% of South Africa’s threatened species at jeopardy.
• Natural disasters: The loss of biodiversity is also a result of natural disasters including volcanoes, wildfires, floods, hurricanes, droughts, diseases, and tsunamis.
• Climate change: With each degree of warming, there is a greater chance of species extinction. Rising ocean temperatures raise the possibility of marine and coastal ecosystems disappearing permanently. Take the virtually halving of corals during the previous 150 years, for example.
• Overuse of resources: Many species and populations continue to face a major threat from overuse. Trees, meat-hunting animals, marine fish and invertebrates, and other species are among the most frequently overexploited species or groups of species.

How a decline in biodiversity may affect human health:

• Medicines that are desperately required are based on biodiversity: many of our medications are made from natural substances that are present in plants, frogs, and many other species. For instance, the Pacific yew tree’s bark is the source of the medication paclitaxel, which is used to treat cancer. Approximately 70% of cancer drugs have natural sources, according to the UN’s Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
• Traditional treatments are made possible by biodiversity: an estimated 4 billion people still predominantly cure themselves with natural therapies, such as the use of neem oil in India for skin conditions or the latex from fig trees in the Amazon to treat intestinal parasites. Systems of traditional medicine may be impacted by biodiversity loss.
• Impact of biodiversity on nutrition: There are numerous connections between biodiversity and nutrition. Nonetheless, the introduction of crop types and cropping practices that have an influence on biodiversity may have an effect on human health and the state of nutrition worldwide.
• Effect on future drug development: The extinction of a species may result in the loss of compounds that are still the subject of unfinished research, which could have a further negative effect on drug discovery.
• An increase in infectious diseases: Human activity is changing native biodiversity and upsetting ecosystems’ structural and functional aspects. Infectious illness patterns are susceptible to these perturbations.
• Because there is a close relationship between human health and the health of the earth, it is our duty to protect it and take important action to stop the loss of biodiversity. To preserve biodiversity, the major objectives set forth at COP 15 as well as SDG goals 14 and 15 must be carried out.

Q2. India should make use of its many advantages since entering the First Space Age to fully realise the enormous potential of the Second Space Age. Discuss.

GS III – Science and Technology related issues

Introduction:

• In the 1960s, India entered the First Space Age. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was established in 1969 following the establishment of the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) in 1962. In 1963, India launched its inaugural sounding rocket from Thumba, Kerala. Since then, India’s space exploration and technology have advanced significantly, positioning it as a global leader.

India’s primary accomplishments during the First Space Age prior to the 1990s:

• India’s first satellite launch: Aryabhata, the country’s first satellite, was launched in 1975 by a Russian rocket. It gave India the foundation for studying and designing satellite technology.
• Satellite as a tool for mass communication: ISRO and NASA worked together to create a way to transmit TV utilising a satellite communications system. As a result, the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) initiative was born.
• Launch of the Indian National Satellite System (INSAT): ISRO launched the INSAT, a constellation of multifunctional geostationary satellites, to support broadcasting, telecommunications, meteorology, and search and rescue activities.
• The evolution of remote sensing capabilities: the use of satellite imaging for weather forecasting, mapping forest resources, assessing agricultural yields, groundwater, and watersheds, and eventually extending to fisheries and urban management. This strategy expanded with the launch of the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite series, which came after the Indian Remote Sensing programme.

Since the 1990s, the following First Space Age accomplishments have aided in realising the potential of the Second Space Age:

• Function of the Internet: The Internet is responsible for the Second Space Age’s beginnings. When direct-to-home broadcasts and cable TV started to appear in the 1990s, along with private TV channels, the process started to pick up speed. The need for ground-based services and satellite transponders skyrocketed.
• With the Oceansat and Cartosat series, the Indian Remote Sensing programme was improved. This aided in utilising the ocean’s abundant resources and the mapping sector.
• Creation of a satellite launch vehicle: In 1994, ISRO created the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). Since then, with more than 50 successful launches, it has emerged as ISRO’s workhorse. Additionally, ISRO has completed the Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstration (RLV-TD) landing experiment with success.
• GPS-enabled navigation: Originally developed as a way to supplement GPS coverage, Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) is a regional navigation satellite system.
• Space potential in relation to new technologies: Significant changes have occurred over the past 15 years. The era of mobile phones, mobile broadband, OTT platforms, smartphones, and now 5G is expected to drive double-digit yearly growth in the need for satellite-based services.
• Private sector’s expanding role: In response to the demands of the Second Space Age, India’s private sector is expanding. Five years ago, there were only a few dozen space start-ups; today, there are over 100. To take Antrix’s position, NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) was established. The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) was established to act as a regulatory agency to mediate Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects in the space sector and to provide a single point of clearance for the private sector.
• India’s economic contribution to the $469 billion global space economy, including both upstream and downstream sectors, is 2.6%. With India’s space startups growing rapidly, this share is increasing. According to recent data, Indian space entrepreneurs are receiving 61.5% more funding.
• Increasing the commercialization of space technology: NSIL will find ISRO-developed technologies that could be commercialised and will then transfer them to other organisations in the public and private sectors, academia, and state and federal government agencies.
• A space activity act that would offer the required legislative framework and an enabling environment is required to assist the space start-up business in India. After guiding India through the First Space Age, ISRO must make the most use of its available resources, including highly skilled labour and research, for the Second Space Age.