04.10.17 Uttarakhand (UKPCS) Current Affairs

UTTARAKHAND   Now, an app for rainwater harvest queries   People interested in installing rainwater harvesting plants in their homes would soon be able to do so with a smart phone app. The Uttar Pradesh groundwater department will soon launch an Android-based mobile application which will enable people to easily install rainwater harvesting plants. The app will also … Read more

Human role in pollution control, Environment and human health; Effects of pollutants on animals and plants; urbanisation and industrial development.

Human role in pollution control The enhanced pace of developmental activities and rapid urbanization have resulted in stress on natural resources and quality of life. The trend of increasing pollution in various environmental media is evident from the deteriorating air and water quality, higher noise levels, increasing vehicular emission etc. Realising the urgent need for … Read more

Human and wild animal struggle

Man-animal conflicts are common in various parts of the country. Incidents of man-animal conflict are reported from States/Union Territories of the country. In India, wild elephants probably kill far more people than tiger, leopard or lion. But, surprisingly, human conflict involving leopard draws great amount of public attention compared to other animals. Other carnivores – tigers, … Read more

Development and environment

Environmental influences are important both at the prenatal and postnatal stages of human development. At the prenatal stage, when a fetus is in the mother’s womb,  internal or external harmful agents, such as certain legal or illegal drugs, alcohol, lead and pollutants can harm the unborn baby’s development. The mother’s nutrition, diseases and emotional stress … Read more

United Nations Environmental Conservation Programme (UNEP)

UNEP is the principal UN body in the field of the environment, assisting governments to address global,  regional  and  national  environmental  challenges.  Its  mandate  was  reinforced  at  the  United  Nations  Conference  on  Sustainable Development  (Rio+20)  and  through  the  Rio+20 outcome  document  “The  Future Want” . As a follow up to the Rio+20 Conference, UNEP has … Read more

The Forest Conservation Act (1980)

In order to check rapid deforestation due to forestlands being released by state governments for agriculture, industry and other development projects (allowed under the Indian Forest Act) the federal government enacted the Forest Conservation Act in 1980 with an amendment in 1988. The Act made the prior approval of the federal government necessary for de-reservation … Read more

Climate Change

Climate Change   It is the long term change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods of time Though it has been happening naturally for millions of years, in recent years it has accelerated due to anthropogenic causes and has been causing global warming. UNFCCC defines climate change as – “a change of … Read more

Biodiversity and its conservation, Hotspots and threats to Biodiversity.

Biodiversity is defined as the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part; this includes diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems. Basically biodiversity is the total number of genes, species and ecosystems of a region. It includes … Read more

Human Resource and Community Development  

  Human resource development includes development at various levels, including community. Community development requires HRD efforts, such as training and organization development. Community development is an alternative route to educating and training citizens of a community. Community settings, especially in developing countries, require that HRD practitioners take into account many factors, such as cultural variables, … Read more