PRELIMS BOOSTER 2018
Asiatic lion (Panthera leo or Indian lion and Persian lion) and Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants
Asiatic lion (Panthera leo or Indian lion and Persian lion)
- Endangered — IUCN
- CITES Appendix I
- Gir Forest National Park
- only wild habitats supporting the Asiatic lion
- Gir is dry deciduous forest dominated by teak, the predominance of which is partially due to the silvicultural practices of the Gujarat State Forest Department, which permits logging and replants clear-cut areas with teak
- one of five pantherine cats inhabiting India
- historical range included eastern Turkey, Iran, Mesopotamia, and from east of the Indus River to Bengal and Narmada River in Central India.
- Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project— to find an alternative habitat for reintroducing Asiatic lions
- Threats
- currently exists as a single subpopulation, and is thus vulnerable to extinction from unpredictable events, such as an epidemic or large forest fire.
- Poaching
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants
- Aim — to eliminate or restrict the production and use of persistent organic pollutants
- United Nations treaty
- Signed — 2001
- Effective – 2004
- The POPs are classified into Annexure A, Annexure B, Annexure C
- persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
- POPs are chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods, become widely distributed geographically, accumulate in the fatty tissue of living organisms and are toxic to humans and wildlife
- POP can lead to serious health effects including certain cancers, birth defects, dysfunctional immune and reproductive systems, greater susceptibility to disease and damages to the central and peripheral nervous systems.
- Given their long range transport, no one government acting alone can protect its citizens or its environment from POPs
- Global Environmental Facility (GEF)is the designated interim financial mechanism for the Stockholm Convention.
