CURRENT AFFAIRS FROM DOWNTOEARTH

River Kothari
 March 22, 2023
Recently, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB)
to recover environmental compensation from Bhilwara municipal council for its failure to take action to
remedy the pollution of River Kothari.
About River Kothari:
•The Kothari River raises from the Aravalli hills near Devgarh in the Rajsamand district of
•This river joins the river Banas at Nandrai in Kotri tehsil.
•The Meja dam on the Kothari river provides drinking water to the Bhilwara district.
•The most open wells in villages near the Kothari river, which flows along the industrial belt, had chromium, lead, iron, zinc and
sodium above the norms set by the Bureau of Indian Standards, Poisoned Water.

Key facts about the National Green Tribunal (NGT)

•The National Green Tribunal has been established under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010.
•New Delhi is the Principal Place of Sitting of the Tribunal and Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai shall be the other four places
of sitting of the Tribunal.
•NGT is mandated to make disposal of applications or appeals finally within 6 months of the filing of the same.

What is the composition of NGT?

•The Tribunal comprises the Chairperson, the Judicial Members, and Expert Members.
•They shall hold office for a term of 5 yearsand are not eligible for reappointment.
•The Chairperson is appointed by the Central Government in consultation with the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
•A Selection Committee shall be formed by the central government to appoint the Judicial Members and Expert Members.
•There are to be at least 10 and a maximum of 20 full-time Judicial members and Expert Members in the tribunal.
THE GREAT RIFT: AFRICA’S SPLITTING PLATES COULD GIVE
BIRTH TO A NEW OCEAN, BUT WITH CONSEQUENCES
WHY DO RORQUAL WHALES NEED TO BE
ENORMOUS? ANSWER HELPS IDENTIFY SPECIES
THREATENED BY CLIMATE CHANGE
 •No country is responsible for the management and
protection of resources on the high seas.

•The high seas account for more than 60% of the world’s

ocean area and cover about half of the Earth’s
surface, which makes them a hub of marine life.

High Seas Treaty:

• The activities concerning marine genetic resources of areas on high seas will be in the interests
of all States and for the benefit of humanity.
• Signatories will have to conduct environmental impact assessments before the exploitation of
marine resources.
• No State can claim its right over marine genetic resources of areas beyond national jurisdiction.
• Marine resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction that are held by indigenous people and local
communities can only be accessed with their “free, prior and informed consent or approval and
involvement”.
• A special fund will be established as part of the pact which will be fixed by the conference of parties
(COP). 
• The treaty is yet to be formally adopted as members are yet to ratify it. Once adopted, the treaty will
be legally binding.
The Jerdon’s narrow-mouthed frog (Uperodon montanus) could once be spotted leaping over slippery pebbles or
peeping from behind rocks in the shallows of streams in the upper reaches of the Western Ghats.

The frogs have a longish snout, which gives it its name, and shiny brown skin with darker
brown, red and golden spots on the back and head. They are found in rock pools or tree holes
filled with rainwater.
This frog is considered a montane species and is restricted to higher altitude ranges of 800-
1,700 metres, according to the report published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa.
They are distributed from near Wayanad south across the Palghat and the Shencottah gaps to
the Agasthyamalai hills, it added.
It is classified as ‘Near Threatened’ in the International Union for Conservation of
Nature Red List of Threatened Species.
Its tadpoles are free-swimming and exotrophic, which means they feed on other species.
• Scientists have excavated a new secret from the Earth’s inner world. The researchers, in a new study, have
confirmed the existence of a fifth new layer.
• The four known layers of the Earth include the crust, mantle, outer liquid and inner solid core. The fifth layer — 
the innermost inner core — lies at the Earth’s centre, within the inner core.
• The fifth layer is made of iron and nickel, the same materials that comprise the rest of the inner core.
• The difference between the two parts of the inner core could stem from how iron atoms are arranged to form a
solid. Alternatively, the iron in the innermost inner core could have solidified and grown in a different direction
than the rest of the inner core.
• The inner core as a whole was liquid in the early years of the Earth’s existence, turning into a solid as the Earth
cooled.
About 20,000 tonnes of Red Sanders were smuggled from India between
2016 and 2020: Report

Red Sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus), also called Red Sandalwood, is a species found in the
southern tropical dry deciduous forest of Andhra Pradesh (AP). The tree reaches an average
height of 10 to 15 metres.

The species is listed as ‘Endangered’ in the International Union for Conservation of Nature and
falls in Appendix II of CITES. In India, it has been enlisted under Schedule IV of the Wildlife
(Protection) Act, 1972. 
The heartwood of Red Sanders is in demand in the domestic and international markets for
making furniture, handicrafts and musical instruments in China and Japan. The red dye obtained
from the wood is used as a colouring agent in the textiles, medicine and food industries.
 Oder river ecological disaster that killed hundreds of tonnes of fish in 2022 was human-
made: Report

It is almost certain that a substantial toxic algal bloom, supported by human

activity, caused the ecological destruction

Last summer, the banks of the River Oder in Poland was a picture of
doomsday — hundreds of dead fish washed up every day, making headlines in
the regional media.

Other contributing factors were the drought and resulting low water levels
reducing dilution and flow and also hydromorphological modifications to
the river. High nutrient concentrations, especially phosphorus and
nitrogen, are also key in promoting such blooms.

It originates in the Czech Republic, flows through western Poland,

forms the border between Poland and Germany, then drains north to the
Szczecin Lagoon near Szczecin.
Over 1,200 pangolins trafficked in India in 5 years: Report

Pangolins are nocturnal, toothless mammals that dig burrows and feed on ants and
termites. Of the two species found in India, the Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) is
recognised as ‘Endangered’ and the Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) as
‘Critically Endangered’ in the International Union for Conservation of Nature List of
Threatened Species. 

They play a vital role in the ecosystem management, mostly in aerating and adding
moisture to the soil as well as succession of plant communities through burrowing.
They also keep in check the population of certain insects they prey on. 
Global Kelp forests declining at 1.8% annually; indigenous knowledge can help, say experts

Kelps are increasingly threatened by climate change, eutrophication and shoreline

development, among other human-induced stressors
Kelps cover 25 per cent of the world’s coastlines and provide food and shelter for fish,
invertebrates and marine mammal species. They also offer crucial services such as carbon
sequestration and erosion control, according to scientists.

One such threat is from bryozoa, moss animals that grow as mats on kelps. They drive
the seaweed to sink into the seafloor and disintegrate.
The outbreak can be linked to high temperatures. For example, in 2015, researchers
observed an expansive outbreak of bryozoa. These observations coincided with ‘the
blob’, a marine heat wave that emerged across the northeast Pacific Ocean