DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS – DECEMBER 30, 2021

Q.) Which organization has launched the State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for
Food and Agriculture report?

[a] Fondo Internacional de Desarrollo Agrícola

[b] CGIAR

[c] International Food Policy Research Institute

[d] Food and Agriculture Organization

[e] International Institute of Agriculture

 SOLAW Report

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has released the State of the ANS - D

World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture (SOLAW)
report.
• The report has a sub-heading of Systems at Breaking Point.
• The soil, land, and water resources have worsened to the extent of
becoming insufficient to feed the global population, which is
expected to reach up to 9.7 billion by 2050.
 SOLAW Report
Facts from the report:
ANS - D
• Grassland and shrub-covered areas (sources of fodder) have declined by
191 million hectares over two decades, to 3,196 million ha in 2019.
• Grassland and shrub-covered areas have been converted to cropland. The
cropland increased by 4% (63 million hectares) between 2000 and 2019.
• Population increases have meant agricultural land available per capita for
crops and animal husbandry declined by 20% between 2000 and 2017 to
0.19 ha /capita in 2017.
• Although cropland covers only 13% of the global land cover (11,477 million
ha), degraded cropland accounts for 29% of all degraded areas.
 SOLAW Report
• Almost a third of rain-fed cropland and nearly a half of irrigated land
ANS - D
are subject to human-induced land degradation.
• The number of undernourished people has risen to 768 million in 2020
from 604 million in 2014.
• By 2050, agriculture will need to produce almost 50% more food,
livestock fodder and biofuel than in 2012 to satisfy global demand and
keep on track to achieve “zero hunger” by 2030.
Q.) Recently, NASA's Juno spacecraft has captured electromagnetic waves from Ganymede,
Jupiter’s moon. Which of the following quality makes Ganymede distinct from the other
moons in the solar system?

[a] Presence of water

[b] High presence of nickel

[c] Presence of heavy ice sheets

[d] Magnetic field

[e] Presence of Sulphur

 NASA’s Juno Mission
NASA's Juno spacecraft has captured electromagnetic waves from ANS - D
Ganymede, Jupiter’s moon. NASA has converted these waves into
sounds.
• Ganymede is the largest moon in our solar system. It is bigger than
Mercury, a full-fledged planet.
• Ganymede also has its own magnetic field, which other moons in
the solar system don’t have.
• Scientists believe that Ganymede has oceans below ice on its
surface, which can sustain life.
 NASA’s Juno Mission
About the Juno Mission:
ANS - D
• NASA’s Juno Mission will improve the understanding of the solar
system's beginnings by revealing the origin and evolution of Jupiter.
• Timeline – 2011 to 2021. Extended till 2025 or till the end of the
spacecraft’s life.
• Currently, it is studying the planet, its three Galilean moons -
Ganymede, Europa, and Io, and Jupiter’s rings.
Q.) Which of the following space agency is sponsoring the MicroAge Experiment?

[a] European Space Agency

[b] NASA

[c] Roscosmos

[d] UK Space Agency

[e] JAXA
 MicroAge Experiment
UK Space Agency is sponsoring the MicroAge Experiment, to be
ANS - D
sent to International Space Station via SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from
Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, US.
• Human cells in small 3D holders will be sent to ISS to observe the
reaction of cells and tissues to the environment of the space.
• After reaching, the cells will be electrically stimulated to induce
contractions in the muscle tissue.
 MicroAge Experiment

• Need for the experiment – Astronauts at ISS are losing muscles ANS - D

rapidly, even after exercising for 2.5 hours daily. This is caused by the
atmosphere of the space. Astronauts are becoming fragile so much
so that they find walking on Earth, for a while, difficult after their
return.
o Thus, this experiment helps the researchers from the University of
Liverpool to understand this ageing phenomenon.
Q.) Which state has announced to launch the ‘happiness curriculum’ in the primary schools
from the next session 2022-23?

[a] Uttar Pradesh

[b] Madhya Pradesh

[c] Telangana

[d] Odisha

[e] Tamil Nadu

 Happiness Curriculum

Uttar Pradesh has announced to launch the ‘happiness curriculum’ in ANS - A

the primary schools from the next session.

• The happiness curriculum will be introduced to the students of
classes 1 to 8.
• Uttar Pradesh will be the third state after Chhattisgarh and Delhi to
implement the curriculum.
Q.) How many districts are present in Nagaland?

[a] 15

[b] 21

[c] 10

[d] 12

[e] 14
 Nagaland Districts
Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio has announced the creation of three new ANS - A
districts, namely Tseminyu, Niuland and Chumoukedima.
• Nagaland will now have 15 districts.
WELCOME TO GK FACTORY!!!
 Bioaccumulation – It is the process of
accumulation of pollutant in one trophic
level of the food chain.

To control the bioaccumulation, Stockholm

Convention Stockholm Convention on
Persistent Organic Pollutants was adopted
in 2004. The Convention aims to eliminate
the use of POPs like PCBs-manmade
industrial chemical, DDT insecticide etc.
 Biomagnification – It is the process of
accumulation and increase of pollutant in
living organisms across the trophic levels
of the food chain.

To control the bioaccumulation and

biomagnification, Stockholm Convention
Stockholm Convention on Persistent
Organic Pollutants was adopted in 2004.
The Convention aims to eliminate the use
of POPs like PCBs (polychlorinated
biphenyls) manmade industrial chemical,
DDT insecticide etc.
 Land Degradation
Land Desertification
Degradation is the process of
Desertification is a type of land
deterioration of soil or loss of fertility of
degradation in drylands in which
soil. It can be defined as the
biological productivity is lost due to
deterioration or loss of the productive
natural processes or induced by human
capacity of the soils for present and
activities whereby fertile areas become
future.
increasingly arid.
Land Degradation is the precursor of
Land Desertification.
Causes – climate change and
overexploitation of soil by humans.
Causes – natural hazards like soil
erosion on steep slopes and
anthropogenic causes.
UN Convention to Combat Desertification, Land Restoration Commitments by World
1994 and India

It is the sole legally binding international Countries have committed to restoring up

agreement linking environment and to 1 billion hectares of land by 2030 as the
development to sustainable land UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-
management. 2030 kicks in.

The new UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic India’s Land Restoration Targets – 26 million
Framework is the most comprehensive hectares of degraded land by 2030.
global commitment to achieve Land
Degradation Neutrality (LDN) in order to
restore the productivity of vast expanses of
degraded land.
Evapotranspiration –
Evaporation and Transpiration

It is the sum of water

evaporation and transpiration
from a surface area to the
atmosphere.

Evapotranspiration is the index

of thermal efficiency of an
area.

It represents the amount of

transfer of moisture to the
atmosphere by soil and plants.
T
H
A
N
K

Y
O
U