Aim4nature Initiative
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Earth Day (22nd April) launched Accelerating Innovative Monitoring for Nature Restoration (AIM4NatuRe).
About AIM4NatuRe Initiative
- AIM4NatuRe is an acronym of Accelerating Innovative Monitoring for Nature Restoration.
- Aim: To improve monitoring and reporting of global ecosystem restoration efforts.
- Initiative leverage cutting-edge technology, standardized data frameworks, and capacity development to restore at least 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030, as outlined in Target 2 of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
- It is part of FAO’s AIM4Forests Programme, expanding the scope beyond forests to provide a holistic approach to nature restoration monitoring.
- Tags :
- FAO
- Nature Restoration
- Aim4nature
- AIM4Forests
Vulture Conservation And Breeding Centre (VCBC)
34 critically endangered vultures were transferred from the Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre (VCBC) in Pinjore (Haryana), to Maharashtra.
About VCBC, Pinjore
- Genesis: Established in 2001 with the UK Government’s ‘Darwin Initiative for the Survival of Species’ fund.
- Partners: Haryana Forest Department and the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).
- Aim: To save three species of vultures, the White-backed, Long-billed and Slender-billed.
- Location: Edge of the Bir Shikargaha Wildlife Sanctuary, Haryana.
- Achievement: Confirmed that diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, was the main cause of vulture mortality.
- Tags :
- Vulture
- VCBC
- VCBC, Pinjore
Small Hive Beetle (SHB)
Alien or non-native beetle, Small Hive Beetle (Aethinatumida), was recorded for the first time in India in West Bengal.
About SHB
- Native: Sub-Saharan Africa.
- It seldom causes harm to Africa but creates havoc across other regions.
- Characteristics: Oval-shaped, reddish-brown, and 5-7 mm long, its life cycle goes through different stages: eggs, larva, pupa and adult.
- Damage: Females of SHB enter the beehives through cracks and crevices to lay eggs, which on hatching feed voraciously on the stored pollen, honey, and honeybee eggs and defecate in the honeycombs making it unfit for human consumption.
- Tags :
- Small Hive Beetle (SHB)
Aral Sea
Research indicates signs of geological changes (elevation of the dried land of the basin) since the water disappeared on Aral Sea.
About Aral Sea
- About: Was once a large saltwater lake of Central Asia.
- Location: Boundary between Kazakhstan (North) and Uzbekistan (South).
- It was fed by Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers.
- Cause of Disappearance: Diversion of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers during the Soviet era.
- The dried-up Aral Sea became the hazardous Aralkum Desert, which ranks as a major global dust source.
- Tags :
- Aral Sea
- Amu Darya
- Syr Darya