Introduction

•    India is one of the mega-biodiversity countries in the world with unique biogeographical locations, diversified climatic conditions and wide array of ecosystems from deep sea to high mountain ranges at Himalayas.
•    According to world biogeographic categorization, India represents two of the major realms, the Palearctic and Indo-Malayan, and three biomes viz. Tropical Humid Forest, Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests, and Warm Deserts/Semi-Deserts. And, the Indian landmass has been classified into the 10 Biogeographic Zones.
•    In order to safeguard biodiversity, 990 Protected Areas extending across 5.27% of the country’s geographical area have been established, of which faunal communities have been thoroughly listed among 120 Protected Areas by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).
•    ZSI was founded in 1916 and is a part of the Ministry of Forests, Environment, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
•    It has an inventory of the faunal resources.
•    With its headquarters located in Kolkata, India, it has 16 regional centres.

Coastal and Marine Biodiversity:

•    India has a total length of 7516.6 km of coastline, including the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, and the mainland.
•    The different types of coast include bays, covers, gulfs, estuaries, and peninsulas.
•    Diverse ecosystems, including mangrove swamps, coral reefs, seagrass beds, beaches, dunes, salt marshes, and mud flats, can be found along Indian shores.
•    Its 2.37 million square kilometre Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) makes it the 18th largest EEZ in the world.
•    With 20,444 species, India has one of the highest marine biodiversities in the Indian Ocean region.
•    In addition, 9,457 freshwater species, 3,939 estuarine species, and 5,747 species from mangrove environments have been identified in the nation.

State Fauna

•    Since the past 107 years, ZSI has investigated several species of fauna.
•    28 states and Union Territories' faunal diversity has been revealed.
•    The rate of new species discovered by ZSI researchers is from 125 to 175 per year.

ZSI status survey results:

•    ZSI has made considerable strides in its monitoring of the status of rare/endangered animal species.
•    ZSI recently launched a major operation to tag Olive ridley turtles along the coast of Odisha and Leatherback turtles on Great Nicobar Island in order to study their migratory patterns in the Indian Ocean.
•    From the molecular level to the monitoring of fauna, ZSI also started a number of unique programmes.
•    By using non-invasive genetic analysis techniques, at least 37 species of mammals from Himalayan regions have been genetically identified.
•    Similar research has been done by ZSI experts on the population genetics of the Chinese Pangolin, Muntiacus muntjak, the Arunachal Macaque (Macaca munzala), and the Arunachal Barking Deer (Muntiacus muntjak).

Forensic Study

•    ZSI has been approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs as a forensic laboratory for use in resolving wildlife case materials and assisting the MoEF&CC.

Mapping of fauna

•    In partnership with the State Forest Department, ZSI has implemented a variety of geospatial modelling studies, such as the mapping of biological corridors, landscape change analysis, and climate change risk modelling, for the  number of studies of the Himalayan region as well as other locations.
•    The geospatial library of the fauna of India is being developed by ZSI based on the National Zoological Collections.
•    A total of 5.7 million specimens, representing around 40,000 animal species, have been recognised and geo-tagged to 4.2 different places.
•    To give detailed information on various animals in India's protected areas, mobile applications and web-based geographic information systems (GIS) have been developed in partnership with the National Remote Sensing Center, ISRO.
•    In order to comprehend the diversity and richness of wildlife species in the Himalayan region, a geospatial database for the threatened vertebrates of the Indian Himalayan Region has been developed.
•    There have been plans for studies on pollinators, foreign and invasive species, and climate change in relation to faunal diversity and preservation.
•    Moreover, research has been done to identify areas that are likely to catch fire and to comprehend the effects of forest fires in Northeast India.

Long-Term Fauna Monitoring in India:

•    The Long-Term Ecological Observatories (LTEO) programme was introduced by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change as a component activity of the nation's Climate Change Action Programme.
•    A multi-institutional effort called India - Long Term Ecological Observatories (India - LTEO) intends to establish long-term ecological monitoring for various species in six diverse landscapes throughout India.
•    Forests, grasslands, soil, herpetofauna, marine ecosystems, arthropods, freshwater fish, birds, and movement ecology are among the nine categories covered by India's LTEO.
•    The Western Ghats, Western and Eastern Himalayas, Central India, the North West Arid Zone, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are among the LTEO landscapes.

Reef restoration:

•    A degraded reef area of about 1050 square metres has been repaired.

Other Components

•    ZSI is researching and developing a model to forecast areas that are more likely to experience forest fires in North-East India.
•    Its research is published in scientific publications, documents, etc.
•    It has helped to influence the modification of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
•    It provides advice to a number of ministries, including the Ministries of Agriculture, Commerce, Jal Shakti, and Science and Technology, regarding the preservation of species and biodiversity in India.

Introduction

•    The leading geoscience organisation engaged in mineral exploration in India since its founding in 1851 is the Geological Survey of India (GSI). The GSI's baseline geoscience data collection serves as the foundation for further mineral exploration, which results in mineral discoveries.
•    The development of the mining sector is closely related to the country's mineral endowment, which is established via repeated efforts in resource augmentation and mineral exploration through discoveries.
•    The GSI's baseline geoscience data collection serves as the foundation for further mineral exploration, which results in mineral discoveries.

Working area of GSI

•    The primary mandate of GSI at the time of its founding was to conduct out:  a geological survey of the nation and exploration in particular regions of the nation with a focus on finding mineral resources.

Recent Area of Focus

Mission-I Baseline Geoscience Data Generation: 

•    The collecting and dissemination of pre-competitive baseline geoscience data of the highest calibre are stressed in the National Mineral Exploration Policy (NMEP), 2016 edition.
•    To advance mineral exploration in the nation, it is essential to explore deep-seated or hidden mineral reserves.
•    As a result, 99.15% of the country's mappable area has been geologically mapped by GSI.
•    At the moment, GSI is working on pan-India mapping projects with the main goal of identifying new target areas for natural resource forecasting and to solve both fundamental geological difficulties and geo-societal concerns.
•    With its cutting-edge research vessel, R V Samudra Ratnakar, and other coastal vessels, GSI has made significant contributions to the study of marine geology through seabed mapping across an area of 20.5 lakh sq km and reconnaissance of mineral resource estimation.
 

Mission-II Natural Resource Assessment:

•    GSI is increasing natural mineral and coal resources to increase the contribution of the mining sector to India's GDP.
•    Under Project "Uncover India," a partnership with Geoscience Australia, emphasis has been placed on the discovery of key and vital minerals like tungsten, molybdenum, nickel, lithium, cobalt, rock phosphate, and potash as well as the investigation of buried and hidden reserves.

Mission-III Geoinformatics

•    To fulfil its obligation to openly communicate geoscientific information on a variety of topics for everyone's use, GSI has created the Online Core Business Integrated System (OCBIS) portal.
•    It achieves this via "Bhukosh," the company's main geospatial portal. Anyone can use this information for mineral forecasting and to do research to produce new knowledge.
•    In order to house exploration-related geoscientific data gathered by all stakeholders, GSI is also assuming the lead in the establishment of the National Geoscience Data Repository (NGDR).
•    For the purpose of implementing NGDR, GSI and Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-Informatics (BISAG-N) have signed the  MoU.

Mission-IV Multidisciplinary and Fundamental Geosciences and Special Studies:

•    Since many years, GSI has been engaged in fundamental geoscience research that aids in understanding earth surface dynamics.
•    Since 2004, GSI has been the country's central organisation for landslide hazard studies.
•    From 2017, GSI has been working with the British Geological Survey (BGS) on the LANDSLIP project to create an experimental regional Landslide Early Warning System (LEWS) based on rainfall thresholds.
•    Beginning with the monsoon of 2020, GSI began sending district administrations in two pilot locations daily landslide forecast bulletins during the monsoon (Darjeeling district, West Bengal and the Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu).

Activities Besides

•    Since 1974, GSI has been keeping a close eye on a number of glaciers in the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, as well as in Sikkim.
•    Ongoing research is being done in the Himalayan glaciers to understand how climate change is affecting the cryogenic environment and how it affects the water balance of the Himalayan River systems that feed the fertile Indo Gangetic Plain.
•    In order to comprehend the global ecosystem more fully, GSI has also been undertaking research in the Arctic and Antarctica's Polar Regions to understand how the frozen continent's climate is changing and how that impact is affecting the rest of the world.

Introduction

•    The majority of our current and future energy needs are derived from the oceans.
•    Around 96.5 percent of the water on Earth is contained in the seas, which cover about two-thirds of the planet's surface.
•    Millions of cells, the fundamental biological unit of both plants and humans, contain roughly 70% water in their protoplasm.

Different Zones In The Ocean

•    The sunshine or Epipelagic Zone, which is 200 metres below the ocean's surface, is permeable to sunlight.
•    The area is known as the twilight zone, midwater zone, or Mesopelagic Zone because there is a feeble sunlight that permeates it between 200 and 1000 metres deep. Here, darkness rules, and the organisms use bioluminescence, which is akin to the fireflies that can be found on land, to dispel it.
•    The midnight or Bathypelagic Zone, which is the depth between 1000 and 4000 metres below the midwater zone, is the bottom depth of the ocean. Bioluminescence, which is present here, illuminates the creatures. In this area, there is a lot of water pressure. However, despite these difficulties, a great number of species can be found here.
•    The portion of the sea between 4000 and 6000 metres deep is known as the "abyssal zone" or "ocean womb." The temperature is quite low, and it is pitch black here (almost equal to the freezing point). Only a few number of animals, usually invertebrates like squids, can be found at this depth.

Organism in Mariana Trench

•    Organisms The Mariana Trench in Japan contains the deepest point in the world, which is situated at a depth of almost 11,000 metres below sea level. Here, the water is always above the freezing point, and the pressure is unimaginable.
•    Snailfish, amphipods, and telescope octopus are just a few of the invertebrates that live here despite the hard and unfavourable environment.

RV Sindhu Sadhana Scientific Research:

•     by the Goa-based National Institute of Oceanography, an organisation that specialised in studying the Indian Ocean.
•    To comprehend the process taking place at the molecular level, the expedition team studied the proteins and DNA found in marine animals.
•    Proteins serve as catalysts and indicators in biological events that take place in organisms that can endure various ocean environments.
•    Proteomics refers to the area of biology that focuses on protein research.
•    Understanding the effects of stress, pollution, and climate change on organisms is made easier by this.
•    The effects of trace metals on marine creatures, such as manganese, cobalt, iron, and nickel, were also investigated during expeditions.

Deep Ocean Mission:

•    To investigate the understudied marine variety in our nation, the Deep Ocean Mission was established. 
•    The Ministry of Earth Sciences oversees this initiative. (MoES).  
•    The government hopes to perform undersea exploration with this expedition along the same lines as ISRO does for space. 
•    The Samudrayaan Mission
•    The mission, which intends to send people into the deep sea aboard a submersible vehicle for deep-ocean exploration and mining of rare minerals, is India's first ever unique manned ocean mission.
•    For deep underwater studies, it will send three people in the MATSYA 6000 manned submersible to a depth of 6000 metres in the water.
•    A Deep Ocean Mission component, it.
•    With the completion of this Mission, India joined an exclusive group of countries that include the US, Russia, France, Japan, and China that possess specialised equipment and vehicles for subsea operations.

Conclusion:

•    Dead zones in the oceans are being caused by factors such as rising human population, tourism, industrial chemical and fertiliser discharges into the water, and other physical interventions in coastal areas. In order to preserve the oceans and their ecosystems, these practises must be stopped because in the future, the oceans will be the main stewards of human existence.

Introduction

•    836 islands, islets, and rocky outcrops make up the 800 km long Andaman and Nicobar archipelago. Approximately 100 million years ago, during the Upper Mesozoic Period, geological upheaval caused these Islands to become isolated from the Asian landmass.
•    These islands' chains, which span an area of 8,249 km2, are actually the camelbacks of underwater mountain ranges that extend north to south between 6° 45° and 13° 30° N latitudes and 90° 20' and 93° 56° E longitudes.
•    The ten-degree channel divides the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Mount Thullier on Great Nicobar Island and Saddle Peak in North Andaman have the greatest elevations.

A&N Island's Representative Fauna

•    Conch Crab The largest terrestrial arthropod in the world, the coconut crab is linked to hermit crabs and lobsters.
•    Long-tailed Macaque: Found on Great, Katchal, and Little Nicobar Islands in the Nicobar Islands. Coastal forests and mangroves are their favoured habitats. According to Schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the long-tailed Macaque is an endangered primate in India.
•    There are nine species of Indian hornbills, four of which are native to India, and one of which is found on Narcondam Island. The Narcondam Hornbill is one of these nine species. This species is thought to be in danger.
•    Nicobar Megapode: The Megapodiidae family of megapodes includes the Nicobar Megapode. These species have a vulnerable status according to the IUCN. Only in the Nicobar Islands you  can find this species.

Efforts at Conservation

•    The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which are in the equatorial zone, feature a rich variety of vegetation and animals. 87 percent of the land has been designated as a protected area to preserve the environment.
•    There are 105 protected places, including 9 National Parks and 96 Wildlife Sanctuaries.
•    In addition, the Great Nicobar has been designated as a Biosphere Reserve to save the indigenous wildlife on these islands.

Introduction

•    Gujarat is fortunate to have a diverse ecosystem that supports a large number of wildlife species. The State is home to numerous migrating birds, unique and endangered species of flora and animals, and many ecological hotspots. 
•    The presence of 7,500 species of flora and fauna, of which 2,550 are angiosperms and 1,366 are vertebrate species, demonstrates Gujarat's biodiversity's richness. (of which the 574 are bird species and the rest  are the mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, etc.). 
•    The state of Gujarat is home to various biodiversity hotspots, including the Northern Western Ghat in South Gujarat, the Little Rann of Kutch, the Greater Rann of Kutch, Jamnagar's Marine National Park, the marshes and woods of Porbandar's Barda Sanctuary, and the Velavadar, Thol Lake, and Nalsarovar grasslands.
•    The last remaining population of Asiatic lions in the world resides in the Gir National Forest.
•    Gujarat includes four Ramsar sites, including the Wadhvana wetland near Vadodara, the Khijadia Sanctuary near Jamnagar, and the Nalsarovar and Thol Bird Sanctuaries close to Ahmedabad.

Gujarat Ecological Research and Education (GEER)

•    A Natural History Museum opened in Gandhinagar in 1977. Later, this was incorporated into the June 1982-founded Gujarat Ecological Education and Research (GEER) Foundation.
•    Given the knowledge of the GEER Foundation, the Long Term Ecological Observatories (LTEO) Project which was given under the Climate Change Action Program. 
•    In Paris in December 2015, during the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP) of the UNFCC, this LTEO project was unveiled.
•    This project's primary goal is to understand the biophysical and human-caused drivers of ecosystems in a few different biomes, as well as how they affect social-ecological responses.
•    Additionally, the GEER Foundation contributed to the development of the "Cactus Garden" near the Kevadia "Statue of Unity." It is described as a "Grand Architectural Greenhouse" with 450 kinds of cacti and succulents from 17 different nations, including India.

Conclusion:

•    The balance between technological advancement and nature is more important than ever because industrialization has ruined ecosystems all over the world, which has an effect on humanity. Any intentional or unheard-of imbalance in biodiversity disrupts its surrounds, causing an ecosystem to become unbalanced, which consequently affects food chains and the food web. Several governments have deliberated and developed policies to safeguard the biodiversity of their respective areas after realising the sensitivity of the overall impacts.

Introduction

Gujarat has historically been a state with limited water resources. Its evolution from a water-scarce to a water-secure condition is a tale in and of itself.

The Transformation:

Because of numerous droughts in Gujarat's western and northern districts, a significant number of people have migrated there.
Every development project in those areas is centred on water management, according to the state and local administration.
 When creating climate-resilient water infrastructure, a drought-proofing element was implemented.
The existing canal system was improved, and plans were for creating a grid that would offer pure tap water free from bacterial and chemical contaminants.
Water was transferred between basins; the most significant of these is the Sujalam Sufalam canal.

Improving agricultural water use efficiency

Farms were encouraged to employ participatory irrigation management (PIM) to maximise water use.
The idea of "per drop more crops" became well-known.
To ensure the success of the rainwater harvesting programme "Catch the Rain Where It Falls," farmers are provided with both financial and technical help.
It was decided to implement the Saurashtra Narmada Avataran Irrigation (SAUNI) Yojana to transfer extra water from Narmada reservoirs to the Saurashtra region.

Jal Jeevan Mission–Har Ghar Jal

By 2024, every rural family in the nation would have access to tap water, according to the Prime Minister's Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
This objective, which was created in collaboration with the States, was intended to go beyond simply building infrastructure and ensure the supply of long-term assured water services.

Way Ahead:

The efficient use of water resources is crucial for socioeconomic development and economic progress, particularly in desert and drought-prone areas.
The restoration and maintenance of the ecosystem, including flora and fauna, is a fundamental function of water, a scarce resource, particularly in arid and semi-arid environments. Its importance for lowering the toll of sickness, enhancing the health, welfare, and productivity of human populations, and maintaining the possibility of other life forms on Earth cannot be understated or overlooked.

Introduction

•    With the introduction of 5G technology, it is anticipated that the number of towers, small cells, and BTS (or equivalent electronics) would significantly increase, which will accelerate GHG and carbon emissions and have a knock-on effect on global warming.
•    In order to lessen the telecom industry's negative impact on the ecosystem as a whole and to combat the effects of global warming, steps must be taken to reduce energy consumption and move towards renewable energy sources. Telecom towers account for 65-70% of the energy used by telecom networks.

India Telecom Market

•    India's telecom market is the second-largest in the world in terms of subscriptions, and it is known for having some of the lowest broadband prices worldwide. 
•    According to the most recent TRAI report, as of May 31, 2022, India has 1.15 billion mobile subscriptions and about 800 million broadband connections, the majority of which were made using small cells and telecom towers and were used by mobile devices.

Problem with Telecom Towers:

•    More than 7 lakh telecom towers are dispersed across the country, and they are all powered by diesel generator sets, which produce greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. This issue is particularly serious in remote and hilly areas, where DG sets are more common.
•    On the two key fronts, action must be made right away to lessen the telecom sector's negative impact on the ecosystem as a whole: 
•    With the general goal of reducing power requirements, reducing the energy consumption of electronics, creating eco-friendly electronics, buildings, consumables, and effective network planning are all being implemented. In addition, a shift to renewable energy sources is being made in order to combat the consequences of global warming.

Reducing the Energy Consumption:

•    Use of 5G Technologies: Using 5G instead of all current networks will save energy because it uses network energy more effectively than 4G and 3G networks. 
•    In order to reduce energy waste, new strategies are required for traditional networks, which only employ 15-20% of their total energy for data delivery.

Usage of end-to-end intelligent power systems:

•     Telecom service providers may be able to transition to fully intelligent power systems by combining cloud infrastructure with AI in mobile networks.
•    Move towards renewable energy sources
•    65-70% of the energy used by telecom networks is used by telecom towers.
•    India's installed capacity for renewable energy was fourth in the world as of 2020, followed by solar power in fifth place and wind power in fourth.

Solar Power:

•    A growing number of industries are using solar power.
•    Today, a hybrid of solar panels and DG sets combination is becoming more and more popular throughout India, especially in plane surfaces. The DG sets can be substituted with solar energy driven battery backup system.
•    Wind energy is fairly expensive, although new research has allowed it to lower its costs. It is common in mountainous and coastal places.
•    A hybrid energy source using both solar and wind power is gaining popularity.

Geothermal Power

•    This method can be used to power towers in remote and hilly areas since the heat from below the soil is used to heat the water and operate the turbine to produce electricity.

Energy Cells

•    Currently expensive, it uses hydrogen and oxygen to generate heat and power. Once hydrogen production becomes economical, fuel cell utilisation will be more cost-effective.

Extra Sources

•    Others that can be exploited as renewable energy sources include tidal, waves, and ocean currents.
•    Obstacles to the Use of Renewable Energy
•    The cost of using renewable energy is higher than that of using traditional energy.
•    Its installation comes with a larger initial capital expense.
•    Consumer knowledge of the importance of renewable energy sources is low.
•    India's markets must be developed and financial, legal, regulatory, and organisational obstacles must be removed before renewable energy technology may be used there.

Conclusion

•    In India, telecom towers will significantly increase as a result of the 5G revolution. India must make the telecom towers green as soon as possible if it is to combat climate change.

Introduction

•    We have a long tradition of conserving water.
•    A prime example of that is the Ahar-Pyre system.
•    Indians' role in water conservation during British rule is examined in three groups.
•    These are "Water Services," "Water Structures," and "Jal Satyagraha."

Jal Satyagraha

•    Unjustified and unsustainable tariffs on water consumption led to discontent and a desire among Indians, particularly tribals, to defend "JalJungle-Jameen."
•     The Koya Rebellion (1862) began in opposition to the "Muttadars" (zamindars), a network of rent collectors appointed by the colonial lords.
•    Under the leadership of Tammanna Dora, the tribals fought the government in 1879. In 1922–1924, this movement synced with the Non Cooperation and Civil Disobedience Movement led by Alluri Sitharama Raju in the West Godavari district.
•    The Gond revolutionary Komaram Bheem (1901–1940), of Hyderabad State, is credited with coining the phrase Jal, Jangal, Jameen (literally, "Water, Forest, Land"), which expressed opposition to encroachment and exploitation.

Water Services:

•    From 1860 to 1920, the Sood community implemented a number of piped-water supply schemes in the Muhin, Garli, and Garh villages in the Kangra Area and surrounding areas of undivided Punjab. These schemes were similar to the modern water supply system.
•    Specifically in the southwest, in Multan and Derajat, Maharaja Ranjit Singh dug numerous canals that drew their water from the Sutlej, Chenab, and Indus rivers.
•    One of the first Indian explorers to explore the Himalayan region in the 19th century was Nain Singh Rawat (1830–82). His achievements include discovering the Brahmaputra River's source and pinpointing Lhasa on a map. Er Ganga Ram, a distinguished graduate of Thomson College of Engineering, Roorkee, transformed 20,000 hectares of dry, unirrigated land in Montgomery District into cheerful fields, irrigated by water raised by a hydroelectric plant and flowing through 1,000 miles of irrigation channels, all built at his own expense.
•    Nizam hired Sir M. Visvesvaraya to create the blueprints for the Khadakwasala Dam on the Mutha River near Pune and its associated reservoir, which is known as Khadakwasla Lake.
•    Surveys and studies for the Bhakra Dam Project were done by Er Ajudhiya Nath Khosla.
•    Er Kunwar Sain Gupta, also referred to as the father of the Indira Gandhi Canal (IGC), had the idea to construct this canal in 1940.
•    The Ganga Canal Grid Plan was created in 1924 by Raja Jwala Prasad, a renowned Thomson College alumni.

Water  Structures

•    The rulers of the Princely States constructed numerous systems for collecting water and conserving it.
•    Southern India was the principal location for the construction of artificial lakes and tanks.
•    Before liberation, a lot of "multi-purpose reservoir" projects were developed.