PRELIMS BOOSTER 2018
Rameshwaram ornamental tarantula (Rameshwaram parachute spider) and Andean Community (Comunidad Andina, CAN)
Rameshwaram ornamental tarantula (Rameshwaram parachute spider)
- Critically endangered — IUCN
- Once thought to be extinct. Discovered in 2004 by Andrew Smith from a sacred grove of the Hanumavilasum Temple in Rameshwaram
- Habitat
- found in plantations like tamarind, palm, coconut and casuarina
- endemic to the Ramanathapuram district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Recently it has been identified outside India in the Mannar District of Northern Sri Lanka
- Threats
- Loss of plantations due to developmental activities
- small population size
- persecution
- Spiders occur in private plantations only and are not subjected to any protection laws.
Andean Community (Comunidad Andina, CAN)
- customs union of the South American countries
- members
- Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru
- Venezuela joined the Pact in 1973 but withdrew in 2006 after Colombia and Peru signed Free Trade Agreements with USA
- formed : Cartagena Agreement in 1969
- headquarters : Lima, Peru
- Aim
- encourage industrial, agricultural, social, and trade cooperation among members
- promoting the independence and strength of the regional economy
- Institutions
- Andean Secretariat — Executive body
- Andean Development Corporation (CAF)
- Seat — Caracas, Venezuela
- source of external financing for the Andean Community members
- credit is given to regional integration projects and financing of international commerce of companies and banks and government projects.
- Andean Court of Justice
- Quito, Ecuador
- resolves disputes among member countries.
- Andean Parliament
- Bogota , Colombia
- policy advisory body
- Latin American Reserve Fund (FLAR)
- Bogota, Colombia
- common reserve fund that seeks the stability of member countries by improving their external position and strengthening regional support
- Besides the 4 CAN members, FLAR presently also has Costa Rica, Uruguay and Venezuela as its members.
- CAN and India
2003 — established a Political Dialogue and Cooperation Mechanism for the purpose of strengthening and diversifying their friendship, understanding and cooperation and developing mutual trade and investment relations and cultural and scientific exchanges
- CAN community deals with the following issues:
- Trade in Goods
- Trade in Services
- Customs Union
- Circulation of Persons
- Common Market
- Common Foreign Policy
- Border Development
- Social Agenda
- Sustainable Development
- Economic Policies
