UPSC Quiz – 2024 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 20th July 2024

·       It is also known as the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes which was adopted in Helsinki in 1992 and entered into force in 1996.

·       It is a unique legally binding instrument promoting the sustainable management of shared water resources, the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, the prevention of conflicts, and the promotion of peace and regional integration.

History

·       It was originally negotiated as a regional framework for the pan-European region.

·       Following an amendment procedure, since March 2016 all UN Member States can accede to it.

·       Chad and Senegal have become the first African Parties in 2018.

·       Iraq acceded in March 2023 as the first country from the Middle East, Namibia in June 2023 as the first country from Southern Africa and Panama in July 2023 as the first country from Latin America.

·       It requires Parties to prevent, control and reduce transboundary impact, use transboundary waters in a reasonable and equitable way and ensure their sustainable management.

·       Parties bordering the same transboundary waters have to cooperate by entering into specific agreements and establishing joint bodies.

·       As a framework agreement, the Convention does not replace bilateral and multilateral agreements for specific basins or aquifers; instead, it fosters their establishment and implementation, as well as further development.

·       Significance: It is a powerful tool to promote and operationalize the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its SDGs.

·       The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), which services the UN Water Convention.

·       It aims to conduct 20 lakh assessments across the country throughout the FY 2024-25to identify talent through notified Talent Assessment Centres.

·       Its athlete-centric programme is conspicuous by its transparent selection methodology based on Information Technology. Data analytics based on Artificial Intelligence are being used to predict the sporting acumen of an aspiring athlete.

·       With its decentralized and pocket-based talent identification approach will help in achieving the twin objectives of the Khelo India Scheme i.e. excellence in sports, and mass participation in sports.

·       To hunt talent from every nook and corner of the country and

·       To use sports as a tool to curb addiction towards drugs and other gadgetry distractions.

·       KIRTI made a solid launch across 50 centres in India. Fifty thousand applicants are being assessed in the first phase across 10 sports, including athletics, boxing, wrestling, hockey, football and wrestling.

The members of the SEATO includes:

·       The United States

·       France

·       Great Britain

·       New Zealand

·       Australia

·       The Philippines

·       Thailand

·       Pakistan

Although called the “Southeast Asia Treaty Organization,” only two Southeast Asian countries became members.

·       The Philippines joined in part because of its close ties with the United States and in part out of concern over the nascent communist insurgency threatening its own government.

·       Thailand, similarly, joined after learning of a newly established “Thai Autonomous Region” in Yunnan Province in South China, expressing concern about the potential for Chinese communist subversion on its own soil.

·       The rest of the region was far less concerned about the threat of communism to internal stability.

·       Burma and Indonesia both preferred to maintain their neutrality rather than joining the organization.

·       It is a newly discovered plant species which belongs to the family ‘Acanthaceae’ and the ‘Phlogacanthus’ genus.

·       It was discovered from the Itanagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Papum Pare district, Arunachal Pradesh.

·       The species is named to honor Dr. Sudhansu Sekhar Dash, a scientist at the BSI, for his “significant contribution” to plant and ecological research in the Indian Himalayan region.

·       The genus ‘Phlogacanthus’ comprises 13 species in India and is spread over mainly the northeastern and eastern Himalayan states.

Key Facts about Itanagar Wildlife Sanctuary:

·       It is a protected area located in Naharlagun, near the capital city of Arunachal Pradesh.

·       It covers an area of 140.30 sq. km.

·       It shares borders with the Pam River in the east, Pachin in the south, Neorochi in the north-east and Chingke stream in the north.

·       Flora:

·       The forest is a heterogenous mixture of evergreen and semi-evergreen forest types.

·       Apart from valleys and foothills, the entire region is hilly, which has given way to pure patches of bamboo.

·       It is also popular for having different species of orchids.

·       Fauna:

·       It is home to a wide variety of wildlife species, including tigers, leopards, clouded leopards, elephants, barking deer, sambar, and various species of primates such as hoolock gibbons and macaques.

·       It is also home to avian species, including hornbills, eagles, and pheasants.