23 April 2024

• Environment: 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the Chipko Movement of 1973, born in Chamoli, Uttarakhand.
• Climate: The Ross Ice Shelf is losing ice seven times faster than in the 1990s, according to data released by researchers.
• Governance: The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) has again deferred India's NHRC re-accreditation.
• International Governance: The UN General Assembly's Summit of the Future is scheduled for September 2024 to reform global governance.
• India-Australia: Australia designates India a "top-tier" security partner, one of only a few countries in that category.

GS area: Environment, History (post-Independence), Society

The Chipko Movement was born in 1973 in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. The 2024 anniversary coincides with ongoing debates about forest governance.

Key facts:

• Origin: In March 1973, villagers of Mandal village (Chamoli, then Uttar Pradesh) hugged trees to prevent them from being felled by a sports goods company. Women played a central leadership role.
• Gaura Devi: Led 27 women who prevented contractors from felling trees in Reni village in 1974, one of the most cited incidents of the movement.
• Sundarlal Bahuguna: An environmentalist and Gandhian, Bahuguna gave the movement national and international visibility. He coined the slogan "Ecology is the permanent economy."
• Chandi Prasad Bhatt: Co-founder, won the Ramon Magsaysay Award (1982) and the Gandhi Peace Prize.
• Policy outcome: The movement contributed directly to the ban on commercial tree felling in the Himalayan forests of Uttar Pradesh in 1980.
• Methodology: Non-violent (Gandhian) resistance. Villagers embraced trees (the word "Chipko" means "to hug" in Garhwali).
• Legacy: Inspired the Appiko Movement in Karnataka (1983) and the broader Indian environmental movement.

Static linkage: environment, social movements, governance.

GS area: Environment, Physical Geography

Researchers reported that the Ross Ice Shelf, the world's largest ice shelf, is losing ice seven times faster than in the 1990s.

Key facts:

• Ross Ice Shelf: An ice shelf attached to West Antarctica, approximately the size of France. Feeds into the Ross Sea. It acts as a buttress for glaciers behind it; if it collapses, land-based glaciers would accelerate into the ocean.
• Ice shelf vs glacier: An ice shelf is a floating platform of ice that has flowed from a glacier. Ice shelves do not directly raise sea levels (they are already floating). However, their loss removes the buttressing effect, causing land glaciers behind them to accelerate and add water to the ocean.
• Basal melting: The accelerated loss in the Ross Ice Shelf comes from warm ocean water (Circumpolar Deep Water) penetrating beneath the shelf and melting it from below.
• Thwaites Glacier ("Doomsday Glacier"): A separate glacier in West Antarctica that is also retreating rapidly. Its complete loss could raise global sea levels by over 60 cm.
• IPCC projections: Sea level rise could reach 0.28-1.01 m by 2100 under various scenarios. The collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is a low- probability but high-impact tipping point.

Static linkage: environment, climate change, polar science.

GS area: Governance (Human Rights), International

The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) deferred its re-accreditation review of India's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

Key facts:

• GANHRI: The international body that accredits national human rights institutions under the Paris Principles (adopted by the UN in 1993). It grants "A status" (fully compliant) or "B status" (partially compliant).
• India's NHRC: Established in 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. Currently holds "A status."
• Concerns raised: Civil society groups flagged that NHRC's leadership does not include individuals from minority communities, that the Commission has not adequately addressed religious minority rights, and that its independence from the executive is questionable given appointment processes.
• Paris Principles (1993): Guidelines adopted by the UN for national human rights institutions, requiring independence, broad mandate, adequate resources, and plural composition.
• Deferral process: GANHRI referred India's case to its Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) for further review. This is the second consecutive deferral.
• India's rank in international HR indices: India's ranking on freedom and human rights indices from Freedom House and similar organisations has declined in recent years.

Static linkage: governance, human rights, international organisations.

GS area: International Relations, International Governance

The United Nations General Assembly's Summit of the Future is scheduled for September 2024 in New York, aiming to agree on a "Pact for the Future."

Key facts:

• Purpose: Reform global governance to address 21st-century challenges: climate change, digital technology, pandemic preparedness, and nuclear risks.
• Pact for the Future: The proposed outcome document covering five action areas: sustainable development, peace and security, digital cooperation, global governance, and youth engagement.
• Global Digital Compact: A separate track within the Summit covering AI governance, digital divide, and data protection.
• UN reform debate: India and other G4 nations (Brazil, Germany, Japan) seek permanent seats on the UN Security Council. India argues its population, economic size, and peacekeeping contributions justify a permanent seat.
• India's UN peacekeeping: India is among the largest troop-contributing countries historically. Over 1 lakh Indian military and police personnel have served in UN peacekeeping missions since 1948.

Static linkage: international relations, UN reform, governance.

GS area: International Relations

Australia elevated India to its "top-tier" security partner category in April 2024, placing India alongside the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Japan in this highest partnership tier.

Key facts:

• Background: India-Australia relations have deepened since the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership signed in 2020.
• Defence cooperation: India-Australia conduct Exercise AUSINDEX (naval), Exercise Malabar (Quad), and the AUSTRAHIND joint army exercise.
• ECTA (Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement): Signed in April 2022, it was a provisional trade deal. Negotiations toward a formal Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) continue.
• Quad: India, Australia, the US, and Japan. The Quad is not a military alliance but focuses on a free and open Indo-Pacific, critical technology, infrastructure, and health security.
• Five Eyes: The intelligence-sharing alliance comprising the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. India is not a member.

Static linkage: India's foreign policy, Quad, Indo-Pacific.

• Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) Phase 2: The government announced that over 10 crore LPG connections have been released under PMUY Phases 1 and 2. Phase 2 targets migrant workers and those who missed out in Phase 1.
• Saiga antelope comeback: The IUCN Red List reclassified the Saiga antelope from "Critically Endangered" to "Near Threatened" following a remarkable population recovery in Kazakhstan (from 48,000 in 2018 to over 1.9 million in 2023), credited to anti-poaching enforcement and disease management.
• National Panchayati Raj Day (24 April): National Panchayati Raj Day is observed on 24 April each year, marking the day the 73rd Constitutional Amendment came into force in 1993. Advance coverage noted in April 23 analysis.