Environment

Points 

• NAPCC (National Action Plan on Climate Change) comprises, inter alia, of eight National Missions in specific areas of Solar Energy, Enhanced Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Habitat, Water, Sustaining the Himalayan Eco-system, Green India, Sustainable Agriculture and Strategic knowledge for Climate Change
• The Indian Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy Database (IREEED), will disseminate renewable energy and energy efficiency policies, regulations, and incentive programs for the benefit of project developers, businesses, and consumers.
  
  GREEN INDIA SCHEME
• The National Mission for Green India is a new initiative by the Ministry of Environment and Forests under the National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC) which is implemented throughout the country.
• The mission aims to increase forest & tree cover on 5 million ha area, improve quality of forest cover on another 5 million ha area, ameliorate forest based livelihood of local communities and also to improve ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, biodiversity & hydrological services.

WetLands

• World Wetlands Day (WWD) was observed sporadically across India on February 2.
• Wetlands are nature’s water storage and water purification zones, they are also a paradise for wildlife, fishing, angling and bird-watching, water sports, relaxation and rejuvenation. 
• However, with booming population and burgeoning urbanisation, these self-sustaining water bodies have become increasingly filthy and unfit for human utilisation.
• Wetlands such as mangroves, bogs, freshwater swamps are home to a wealth of biodiversity. Wetlands fulfil vital roles in carbon storage, pollution control and protection from natural hazards such as floods and storms.
• The National Wetland Atlas, prepared by Space Applications Centre (SAC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has classified 67,429 wetlands in India occupying 60 million hectares, including paddy cultivation
• Chilika Lake in Odisha is about to become the first lake from Asia to adopt the “Ecosystem Health Report Card” — an effective means of tracking and reporting the health of a wetland. The Chilika will join the elite club of iconic wetlands like Chesapeake Bay (U.S.A) and the Great Barrier Reef (Australia).

Eco Sensitive Zone

• The need for creation of eco fragile zones was proposed at the 21^st meeting of Indian Board for Wildlife in 2002 when “Wildlife Conservation Strategy 2002” was adopted. It was proposed that land falling within 10 kms of the boundaries of National Parks and Sanctuaries should be notified as eco-fragile zones.
•  The purpose is to create some kind of “Shock Absorber” for the protected areas which would also functions as a transition zone from highly protected areas to areas involving lesser protection
•  The activities in the eco-sensitive zones would be of a regulatory nature rather than prohibitive nature, unless and otherwise so required.
• The range can be go beyond 10km
• A fragile ecosystem area where the conservation or preservation of the natural environment is sustained by state controls and/or grants.
• The MoEF had said that if the States did not submit site-specific proposals by February 15, it would declare 10-km area around wildlife sanctuaries and national parks of a State as eco-sensitive zones.
• As per the MoEF guidelines, commercial mining; setting up of industries causing pollution; commercial use of firewood; use or production of any hazardous substance; establishment of hydroelectric projects; and discharge of effluents and solid waste in natural water bodies or terrestrial area are prohibited. Moreover, activities such as wood felling; setting up of sawmills, hotels or resorts; and night traffic in the zone would be restricted.

Canopy

• In biology, the canopy is the aboveground portion of a plant community or crop, formed by plant crowns.
• For forests, canopy also refers to the upper layer or habitat zone, formed by mature tree crowns.
• Shade trees normally have a dense canopy that blocks light from lower growing plants.

Photo Voltaic System

• Photovoltaic systems (PV system) use solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity. A system is made up of one or more photovoltaic (PV) panels, a DC/AC power converter (also known as an inverter), a racking system that holds the solar panels, electrical interconnections, and mounting for other components.

Transgenic Plants

• A transgenic crop plant contains a gene or genes which have been artificially inserted instead of the plant acquiring them through pollination. 
• The inserted gene sequence (known as the transgene) may come from another unrelated plant, or from a completely different species: transgenic Bt corn, for example, which produces its own insecticide, contains a gene from a bacterium.
•  Plants containing transgenes are often called genetically modified or GM crops, although in reality all crops have been genetically modified from their original wild state by domestication, selection and controlled breeding over long periods of time.

Stem Cells

• Stem cells are biological cells found in all multicellular organisms, that can divide (through mitosis) and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells
• In mammals, there are two broad types of stem cells: embryonic stem cells, which are isolated from the inner cell mass of blastocysts, and adult stem cells, which are found in various tissues.
• Highly plastic adult stem cells are routinely used in medical therapies, for example in bone marrow transplantation use to cure leukemia.
• One concern of treatment is the risk that transplanted stem cells could form tumors and become cancerous if cell division continues uncontrollably.