Current Affairs July 12, 2023: Nagorno-Karabakh Region (Artsakh), India and Caucasus, Law Commission, Atlantic Menhaden, Halophytes, Osprey

{GS2 – IR – India-Caucasus – 2023/07/12} Nagorno-Karabakh Region (Artsakh)

• Context (TH | WION): Azerbaijan has temporarily shut the only road which links its breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region with Armenia, accusing the Armenian branch of the Red Cross of smuggling.

• Nagorno-Karabakh is a disputed territory between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus mountainous region.

• Historically, the majority population of this region has been ethnically Armenian (Christian-majority).
• In 1991, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence from Azerbaijan (Muslim-majority).
• No country, not even Armenia, has so far recognised the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh.
• Turkey and Pakistan openly support Azerbaijan. Russia has military bases in Armenia.

India’s Stand

• India has adopted a balanced and neutral stance and had called for respecting each others territorial integrity and inviolability of existing borders.
• Azerbaijan has shown scant regard for India’s territorial integrity violated by Pakistan in J&K.
• However, India can not support Armenia or endorse Nagorno-Karabakh’s right to self-determination, given the possible repercussions, such as India’s adversaries re-igniting secessionist movements in certain parts of India (J&K and North East).

India and Caucasus

• India has no specific policy for the Caucasus region, unlike ‘Neighbourhood First’, ‘Act East’ or ‘Central Asia Connect’ policies.
• Armenia is the only country in the region with which India has a Friendship and Cooperation Treaty (1995), which would prohibit India from providing military or any other assistance to Azerbaijan.

{GS2 – Polity – Bodies – Non-Statutory – 2023/07/12} Law Commission of India

• Context (TH): The Law Commission has sought views from the public on the UCC.
• Law Commission is a non-statutory body constituted by a notification of the Ministry of Law & Justice (MoL&J). It is composed of legal experts and is headed by a retired judge.
• It was initially constituted in 1955 and is re-constituted occasionally for a fixed tenure.
• Twenty two Commissions have been established since Independence.

Functions

• It works as an advisory body to the Ministry of Law and Justice.
• It’s function is to research and advise the Government of India on legal reform.

22^nd Law Commission

• The 22^nd law panel was constituted for a period of three years on February 21, 2020.
• The Commission’s three-year term ended on Feb. 20, 2023.
• The term of the panel has been extended by one-and-a-half years.

{GS3 – Envi – Adaptation – 2023/07/12} Halophytes

• Context (IE | TOI): A new species of saltwort (halophytic, seed-bearing shrubs) called Salsola Oppositifolia Desfontania, a perennial shrub that grows in saline, arid to semi-arid environments, has been discovered in the Khadir Bet, Kutch.
• A halophyte is a plant adapted to thrive in high-salt environments (e.g. mangroves), such as salt marshes, coastal areas, and saline soils. It can grow in both soil and waters of high salinity.
• Halophytes have developed unique physiological and morphological adaptations to thrive in high salinity. Some common adaptations include:
  • Specialised Root System: To overcome the respiration problem in saline conditions, some halophytes send arching prop roots and stilt roots down into the water (e.g. Rhizophora). While other species send vertical Pneumatophores (air roots/blind roots) up from the mud (e.g. Avicennia).
  • Mode of reproduction: Halophytes rely on viviparity, where seeds germinate in the tree itself to overcome the problem of germination in saline water (e.g. Rhizophora and Avicennia).
  • Cellular sequestration: They can sequester toxic ions and salts within the cell wall or vacuoles.
  • Tissue partitioning: Some of them can concentrate salts in particular leaves, which then drop off.
  • Root level exclusion: They are structured to exclude salt at the root level.
  • Salt excretion: Certain parts of the plant (e.g. leaves) may contain salt glands that actively eliminate salt.
  • Altered flowering schedule: Halophytes may flower at rainy seasons to minimize salt exposure.

{GS3 – Envi – Degradation – 2023/07/12} Anthropocene Epoch Began in 1950s

• Context (IE | TH | TG | FP): Sediments at Crawford Lake in Canada’s Ontario, a golden spike site, have provided evidence that the Anthropocene epoch began in the 1950s.

• The sediment at the lake bottom is laced with microplastics, fly ash (spread by burning oil and coal), and plutonium (due to the detonation of nuclear weapons).

What is the Anthropocene Epoch?

• Anthropocene epoch is the proposed epoch that denotes the present geological time interval, which is greatly influenced by human/anthropogenic activity and started to have a significant detrimental impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems.
• The Anthropocene epoch coincides with the onset of the Industrial Revolution.
• It is associated with global warming, sea-level rise, ocean acidification, mass-scale soil erosion, the advent of deadly heat waves, deterioration of the biosphere, and other detrimental changes.
• The proposed Anthropocene epoch marks the end of the Holocene epoch, which started about 11,700 years ago at the end of an ice age.
• It also started a new age called the Crawfordian age (named after the lake) which ended the Meghalayan Age that started 4,200 years ago.

Geologic Time Scale > PMF IAS Physical Geography 1^st Edition > Page 25-29

{GS3 – S&T – Space – 2023/07/12} Most Reflective Planet

• Context (HT | NDTV | WION): European Space Agency’s exoplanet-probing Cheops space telescope has discovered the most reflective planet exoplanet (reflects 80% of the light from its host star).
• This scorching hot exoplanet called LTT9779b is more than 260 light years from Earth.
• It is surviving in a region called Neptune desert has metal clouds with rain drops of titanium.
• The planet’s metallic clouds act like a mirror and prevent the atmosphere from being blown away.

What are Exoplanets (Extrasolar Planets)?

• Exoplanets are planets beyond our solar system.
• These planets usually orbit other stars, but some are free-floating and orbit the galaxy’s centre.
• The first confirmed detection of exoplanets occurred in 1992. According to NASA, more than 5,000 exoplanets have been detected to date.
• The closest exoplanet to Earth is Proxima Centauri b (which is orbiting a red dwarf star and is about 4.25 light-years away from Earth).
• Exoplanets can be gas giants bigger than Jupiter or as small and rocky as Earth.

Why do we Study Exoplanets?

• Studying exoplanets broadens our understanding of other solar systems.
• By studying the distance between an exoplanet and its host star, scientists determine whether a discovered world is habitable.
  • If an exoplanet is too close to the star, it might be too hot to sustain liquid water.
  • If it’s too far, it might only have frozen water.
  • When a planet is at the right distance that enables it to have liquid water, it is said to be in the “Goldilocks zone”.

{Prelims – Envi – Species – 2023/07/12} Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea)

• Context (BBC | TG | TH): Arctic tern chicks have died in Britain’s island due to an outbreak of bird flu.
• Arctic tern, a seabird, is the longest migratory animal in the world. It flies from its Arctic breeding grounds to the Antarctic and returns back again each year.
• Distribution: Arctic, Antarctica, and cool temperate parts of North America and Eurasia.
• Habitat: Grasslands, inland wetlands and coastal regions.
• Threats: Hunting, habitat loss, diseases and alien species.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Least Concern
  • CMS: Appendix II

{Prelims – Envi – Species – 2023/07/12} Atlantic Menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus)

Context (IE): Overfishing of the tiny Atlantic menhaden is at the root of the declining reproductive rates of ospreys. It is degrading the overall Atlantic ecosystem.

• Atlantic menhaden is a North American tiny fish species of the herring family.

• Distribution: North Atlantic Ocean from Nova Scotia south to northern Florida.
• Habitat: coastal and estuarine waters.
• Significance: It feeds bigger fish, marine mammals, and birds and is important for the fishing industry.
• IUCN Red List: Least Concern
• Threats: Overfishing.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

• Osprey (sea hawk, fish eating eagle) is a diurnal bird of prey.
• Distribution: It is found on all continents except Antarctica.
• Habitat: Forests, inland wetlands, and coastal areas.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Least Concern
  • Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I
  • CMS: Appendix II
• Threats: Habitat loss, hunting, loss of prey and pollution.