Prelims Focus – 12th February 2024
1.Kalasa-Bhanduri Project
In News: The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) deferred the decision on diverting forest land from the Kali and Sahyadri tiger reserves for the construction of a part of the Kalasa-Bhanduri Project.
- The project entails the development of dams and a canal system to divert water from the Mahadayi River, positioned in Goa, to the Malaprabha River (a tributary of the Krishna River) basin in Karnataka.
- The essential intention of the project is to meet the drinking water needs of the districts of Belagavi, Dharwad, Bagalkot, and Gadag in Karnataka.
- Though the assignment was first proposed inthe early Eighties, it has remained on paper owing to a dispute between Karnataka, Goa, and Maharashtra.
- As per plans, barrages are to be constructed towards Kalasa and Bhanduri river— tributaries of Mahadayi — and water diverted towards Karnataka’s parched districts.
2.Thames River
In News: Police in the United Kingdom said that the man who is wanted for the chemical attack likely jumped into the Thames River and drowned.
- It is a 346-km river that flows thru southern England.
- The Thames Basin covers an area of about 16,130 sq.
- Its supply is at Thames Head, close to Kemble inside the Cotswold Hills, Gloucestershire County.
- It flows into the North Seavia the Thames Estuary.
- The Nore is the sandbank that marks the mouth of the Thames Estuary and the confluence factor of the Thames and the North Sea.
- The river passes several popular towns along its way, which include London, Reading, Henley-on-Thomas, Windsor and Oxford, wherein it’s also known as the Isis River.
- It provides two-thirds of London’s drinking water.
- It has been a critical transportation direction seeing that ancient instances, facilitating alternate and trade among London and different parts of England.
- Main Tributaries: Lea, Leach, Churn, Coln, Windrush, Kennet, Evenlode, Ock, and Loddon.
3.Kalasa-Banduri Project
Recent news: The National Board for Wildlife has postponed its decision on using forest land from the Kali and Sahyadri tiger reserves for the Kalasa-Banduri Project in Karnataka.
Details:
- The project aims to build dams and canals to transfer water from the Mahadayi River in Goa to the Malaprabha River basin in Karnataka.
- Its main objective is to provide drinking water to several districts in Karnataka. Despite being proposed in the 1980s, the project has not been implemented due to a disagreement between Karnataka, Goa, and Maharashtra.
- The plan involves constructing barrages on the Kalasa and Banduri streams, diverting water to the drought-affected districts in Karnataka.
4.IUCN Red List of Ecosystems (RLE)
Recent news: A study examined how the Red List of Ecosystems supports the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Details:
- The IUCN RLE is a tool that assesses and monitors the status of ecosystems.
- Its aim is to evaluate the health and threats faced by each ecosystem and find effective management strategies to reduce biodiversity loss.
- It covers terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems at different scales.
- The assessment process involves defining the target ecosystem, describing it, gathering and validating data, and conducting a risk assessment.
- The status of an ecosystem is determined by the identified risks and the overall risk of collapse.
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