World Turtle Day
HEADLINES:
On World Turtle Day, Jal Shakti Minister gives clarion call to save aquatic animals
WHY IN NEWS:
“Biodiversity is an essential part of Indian Culture”: Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Conservation of Biodiversity
LEARNING:
For PRELIMS it is important to learn why we are celebrating such events . What are the new conservation policies ?
For MAINS go through the flaws in conservation policies and the mitigation part !
ISSUE:
LET US TALK ABOUT CONSERVATION :
KURMA MOBILE
MORE ABOUT KURMA MOBILE APP :
- This special turtle-tracking app will help in accurately identifying species and help in reporting turtle sightings, apart from enlisting the help of experts and local help centres.
- India has a rich turtle biodiversity.
- Only a few conservationists across the country work on turtle conservation, to make matters worse.
INVOLVING CITIZENS:
- A group of leading conservation agencies have come together to launch the citizen-science initiative, named the Indian Turtle Conservation Action Network (ITCAN).
- This provides a platform for the exchange of vital information on turtles, promises to engage the general public in ground data collection and provide assistance to enforcement agencies / forest departments.
- Thus, ITCAN can lead to potential conservation success stories through its tool, the Kurma app.
- ITCAN will also help in observing 2020 as the year of the turtle, celebrated across the world by conservation agencies and zoos interested in turtle conservation.
- The power of the internet and technology has to be realised as several people now have access to smart phones.
- “If somewhere a black softshell turtle is sold, someone can circulate this information in the app. This will help us in informing enforcement agencies,”
CONSERVATION IN TIMES OF COVID-19
- Volunteers and coordinators will be deputed for rescue and identification in each state.
- Forest departments need more eyes and ears; 17 out of 29 freshwater turtle and tortoise species were endangered.
- “The app, which is free, will contain a lot of valuable information.
- Freshwater turtles were gradually becoming neglected as marine turtles got more attention.
CHALLENGES :
- There was more work done on marine turtles than freshwater turtles across the world.
- “The app will help in understanding the distribution of various turtle species across the country,” .
- The idea was to involve more people as conservationists cannot just work with enforcement agencies.
IASbhai WINDUP:
“We need scientific information for management of different species. This is usually collected by biologists and conservationists on a limited scale. So, by involving citizens, we can add to the volume of information over both time and space”.
SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB/DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS for UPSC CSE Prelims & Mains
What others are reading : Important UN Articles for UPSC
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