Category: Environment
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Why is wildlife trade a matter of concern?
Species loss Wildlife trafficking threatens the survival of some of the Earth’s most iconic species. For instance, between 2014 and 2017, more than 1,00,000 African elephants were killed for ivory. In 2011, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declared the Western black rhinoceros extinct and cited poaching as the primary reason. According…
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What is wildlife trade?
Wildlife trade is a big business, run by international networks. Animals and birds are trafficked across the globe for meat, skin, bone, fur and other body parts. In addition, many species are sold as pets. Experts at TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, estimate that the illegal wildlife commerce runs into billions of dollars. Not…
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What is wildlife crime?
In the wake of the corona virus epidemic, China has temporarily banned the sale of wildlife in markets, restaurants and over e-commerce as part of efforts to contain the outbreak. While welcoming the move, conservationists are calling for a permanent ban as it will contribute to the recovery of wildlife populations worldwide, besides saving human…
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What is AQI?
The air quality is measured by the Air Quality Index. Air quality indices have been created in different countries for the measurement of air quality. These indices measure the air quality in the country and indicate whether the amount of nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide in the air exceeds the criteria set by…
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Which are the common things harming the environment?
By now, it is common knowledge that human activities have a significant impact on the world’s ecosystem. Human beings have deeply altered the environment. They have directly or indirectly contributed to pollution, global warming, climate change and the destruction of biodiversity. It is high time we took measures to save the planet from further degradation.…
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How birds are affected by habitat loss?
There are birds like the piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) that lay their eggs directly on the sand of a beach in a shallow depression. When sea-levels rise, beaches are washed away. When temperatures rise, and wetlands dry out, ducks that live and lay eggs on them will have nowhere to go. Same is the fate…
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What should we do to protect birds from climate change?
[1] Stop climate change. Even if we end releasing greenhouse gases now, there will be continued warming by the gases released earlier. Birds will have to face a warmer planet in the coming years. [2] Preserve bird habitats. Restore them where they have been lost. Build artificial nesting sites (simple cages for sparrows to bring…
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How do global warming and climate change affect birds?
A good example is the study of great tits (Parus major) in Europe. These birds reproduce when caterpillars come out in spring when the buds burst out. The caterpillars gorge on the new leaves, great tits pick up the caterpillars to feed the nestlings. This maintains the bird’s survival rates. Bird reproduction takes place just…
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How Africa struggle locust invasion?
Billions of locusts have been swarming through East Africa, particularly Kenya, which saw the worst outbreak in 70 years. They spread from Ethiopia and Somalia. The massive swarms entered Kenya in December and tore through pastureland in the north and centre of the country. Left unchecked, locust numbers could increase 500 times by this June,…
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How India ward off locust invasion?
The current attack began in January 2019. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, which monitors and manages locust invasions, between February and June, widespread breeding in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Iran caused the formation of large numbers of locust swarms. (These areas reported heavy rains in January.) Control operations…