National Bamboo Mission (Analysis)

The National Workshop of Bamboo Sector Development was conducted under the National Bamboo Mission (NBM) in New Delhi on 10th March 2023.

National Bamboo Mission:

✅It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme started in the year 2006-07 and was subsumed under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), for the years 2014-15 and 2015-16.

✅MIDH is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented from 2014-15 for the holistic development of horticulture in the country, covering fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, coconut, cashew and cocoa.

✅The aim of the National Bamboo Mission will focus on the development of bamboo in limited States where it has social, commercial and economical advantages. 

✅Nodal Ministry: Department of Agriculture & Cooperation (DAC) under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.

✅Bamboo is majorly grown in North Eastern region and States including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra etc.

Benefits of the Mission:

✅The initiative would assist farmers, local craftspeople, and other persons involved in the bamboo industry, including allied sectors, both directly and indirectly.

✅The initiative aims to reduce the import of bamboo goods while also increasing farmer income.

It establishes a full value chain for the expansion of the bamboo sector.

One Ocean Summit (Overview)

France hosted the 'One Planet' Summit dedicated to the Ocean, called the One Ocean Summit.  

 

▪️Aims/ Goal: 

✅ to mobilize the international community and take concrete action to reduce adverse effects on the ocean, raising its level of ambition on maritime issues.  

✅ to raise the collective level of ambition of the international community on marine issues and to translate shared responsibility to the ocean into tangible commitments. 

✅ It focused on the protection of marine ecosystems and sustainable fisheries, the fight against pollution (especially plastic), climate change, and ocean governance. 

✅It was held in the context of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, with the support of the United Nations. 

✅ It brought together determined group of Heads of State and Government, leaders of multilateral institutions, business leaders and civil society policymakers to take ambitious commitments. 

✅Initiatives taken for: marine ecosystem protection and sustainable fisheries, fight plastic pollution, climate change, improved governance of the oceans.

 

▪️Why ocean matters? 

✅Ocean covers more than 70% of the surface of our planet, yet often remains on the sidelines of international events. 

✅Environmental role: Ocean is a regulator of major environmental balances and climate, provider of resources, an important enabler of trade, and an essential link between countries and human communities.  

✅ Threats to ocean: climate change, pollution or the overexploitation of marine resources.

 

▪️Key outcomes 

✅ UNESCO: It has announced that at least 80% of the seabed will be mapped by 2030, compared to 20% currently, in collaboration with other UN bodies and the private sector. UNESCO is the UN agency in charge of ocean sciences. 

✅Coalition on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ): This initiative underlines the EU's role as the leading actor on global marine conservation. 

✅ Zero-tolerance towards illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is EU's ambitious policy for sustainable management of marine resources. 

✅For addressing plastic pollution: The EU has adopted two main priorities: decreasing plastic pollution and accelerating the transition to a circular economy. 

✅Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030”: It aims to ensure that the ocean plays a central role in meeting the 2030 targets of the European Green Deal. It is aimed at developing and testing solutions in support of protecting 30% of the EU's sea area, restoring marine and waterway ecosystems, reducing plastic litter at sea, nutrient losses and use of chemical pesticides by 50%, and making the blue economy climate-neutral and circular.  

✅European Digital Twin Ocean: digital ocean platform to place the EU as a digital champion for the ocean. 

✅EU4Ocean coalition: to enhance ocean literacy by education and investing in research.

Earth Hour (Analysis)

✅It is a global grassroots movement uniting people to take action on environmental issues and protect the planet.
It is organized by World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

✅It was started by WWF and partners as a symbolic lights-out event in Sydney in 2007.

✅It takes place on the last Saturday of March every year.
“Earth Hour” encourages people to switch off all lights for an hour, from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm local time to promote awareness of climate change challenges and energy conservation.

✅Governments and companies also participate by turning off non-essential lights in their buildings, monuments, and landmarks to raise awareness about the impact of energy consumption on our planet.

✅This symbolic act, known as the ‘lights off’ moment, unites people worldwide in a show of support for the planet and serves as a reminder of the environmental issues facing us.

📍What is the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)?

✅It is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 1961 in Morges, Switzerland, to protect endangered species of wildlife and preserve natural habitats.

✅Mission: To stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.

✅WWF works with a broad spectrum of partners, including governments, industry, and local communities, to find solutions to the challenges that face our natural world.