•Government
launches BS-IV grade fuels
across
India:
üSupreme
Court banned sale and registration of BS-III vehicles from April 1, 2017.
üBS-I,
BS-II and BS-III stages were launched in 2000, 2005 and 2010 respectively.
Higher
the Bharat Stage- it emits less amount of pollutants like Carbon Monoxide, NOx, Sox etc.
compared to
BS
III vehicles.
•Cabinet
approves ratification of the Second Commitment Period (Doha Amendment) of
Kyoto Protocol
üThe
first commitment
period under the Kyoto Protocol
was from 2008-2012.
was from 2008-2012.
üAndorra,
üPalestine,
üSouth
Sudan,
üThe
United States
and
Canada
•Union Environment Ministry Launched
Prakriti Khoj:
üObjective
of generating interest about the science among school children.
Online environmental quiz competition- at
the
national level with the related to
environment.
•National Green Tribunal (NGT) declares
No Development Zone in close
vicinity
of Ganga:
ü100 meters from
the edge
of the Ganga river.
üIt
has also
banned dumping of waste within 500 meters from
the edge of Ganga river.
üIt
draws inspiration from the India's constitutional provision of Article 21, which
assures the citizens of India the right to a healthy environment.
üPrincipal
Bench of the NGT- New Delhi.
Present
Chairperson
of NGT:
Swatanter Kumar (Retd.
Justice)
•Government
launches Gaj Yatra campaign
to
protect elephants:
üUnion Ministry of Environment and Forest.
ü
15
months campaign-
led by the
Wildlife Trust of India (WTI)
Mascot- ‘Gaju’
•Kanha
Tiger Reserve becomes first in India to
get
official mascot.
•Named
Bhoorsingh the Barasingha (swamp
deer).
•Roads
clear for Ken-Betwa
river linking project:
üThe
project will provide irrigation facilities in Madhya Pradesh (Panna,
Chhattarpur,
Tikamgarh
districts), and Uttar Pradesh (Banda,
Mahoba
and Jhansi districts).
•Scientists
discover lost continent Zealandia
submerged in Pacific Ocean.
•Supreme
Court stayed Uttarakhand
High
Court order:
üGranting
Human Status to Ganga & Yamuna rivers.
In
March
2017, New Zealand
Parliament passed
a bill declaring Whanganui
River as
‘legal person’
(making it first River in the world to get this status).
•Majuli Island
to be First Carbon Neutral District
of India by the year 2020.
•India
has ranked 75th in
environmental impact survey.
•India's
first 2nd
generation ethanol bio-refinery will
be set up by Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) at Bhatinda.
•Lakshadweep
island Parali-I
vanishes
•Snow
leopard no longer endangered:
ü‘endangered’ to ‘vulnerable’
üFirst
listed
as endangered by the IUCN in 1972.
•United States withdraws
from Paris Climate Agreement.
•Goa declares
‘COCONUT’ palm as
State Tree.