Antarctica's Ross Sea is now the world's largest marine protected area
A landmark international agreement to create the world’s largest
marine park in the Southern Ocean has been brokered in Australia, after
five years of compromises and failed negotiations.
More than 1.5m sq km of the Ross Sea around Antarctica will be protected under the deal brokered between 24 countries and the European Union.
It means 1.1m sq km of it – an area about the size of France and Spain
combined – will be set aside as a no-take “general protection zone”,
where no fishing will be allowed.
Significantly, the protections are set to expire in 35 years.
The agreement came on Friday at the conclusion of two weeks of
discussions between delegates from 24 countries and the EU in Hobart, at
the annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).
Evan Bloom from the US state department, the head of the US delegation to the meeting, told the Guardian he was “thrilled”.
“I think it’s a really significant moment,” he said. “We’ve been
working towards this for many years. It’s taken time to get consensus
but now we have established the world’s largest marine protected area.”
It is the first marine park created in international waters and will
set a precedent for further moves to help the world achieve the
International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s recommendation that
30% of the world’s oceans be protected.
The Antarctic protections had been urgently sought because of the
importance of the Southern Ocean to the world’s natural resources. For
example, scientists have estimated
that the Southern Ocean produces about three-quarters of the nutrients
that sustain life in the rest of the world’s oceans. The region is also
home to most of the world’s penguins and whales.
The Ross Sea is a deep bay in the Southern Ocean that many scientists
consider to be the last intact marine ecosystem on Earth – a living
laboratory ideally suited for investigating life in the Antarctic and
how climate change is affecting the planet.
Andrea Kavanagh, the director of Antarctic and Southern Ocean work
for the Pew Charitable Trusts, which has been working for years to
achieve today’s result, said: “Today, CCAMLR made history by declaring
the planet’s largest marine protected area in the Ross Sea.
“This landmark decision represents the first time that nations have
agreed to protect a huge area of the ocean that lies beyond the
jurisdiction of any individual country and shows that CCAMLR takes its
role as protector of Antarctic waters seriously.”
The protections will not decrease the total amount of fish that are
allowed to be caught in the Ross Sea, but it will move the industry away
from the most crucial habitats close to the continent itself.
Russia has an industry catching antarctic toothfish there and the
changes will push the fleet into waters where they will catch fewer
immature fish, and where they won’t compete with as many orcas, who also
rely on toothfish for food.
The agreement also establishes a large 322,000 sq km “krill research
zone” that will allow for reseach catching of krill, but prohibit
toothfish catching. Additionally, a 110,000 sq km “special research
zone” will be established on the outside of the no-take zone, allowing
catching of krill and toothfish only for research purposes.
“Today’s agreement is a turning point for the protection of Antarctica
and the Southern Ocean,” said Chris Johnson, WWF-Australia’s ocean
science manager. “This is important not just for the incredible
diversity of life that it will protect, but also for the contribution it
makes to building the resilience of the world’s ocean in the face of
climate change.”
But the expiry of the protections in 35 years was a significant
compromise. It came after five years of failed negotiations, with
opposition from China and Russia which have fishing industries in the
region.
The
World Conservation Union definition of a marine protected area requires
it to be permanent. “WWF has concerns that the Ross Sea agreement does
not meet this standard,” Johnson said.
“We are optimistic that after years of deadlock at the annual CCAMLR
meeting, today’s decision will spark renewed momentum for CCAMLR members
to achieve permanent protection for the Ross Sea in coming years and
also deliver marine protected areas in East Antarctica and the Weddell
Sea.”
The Guardian understands that a proposal for 50 years of protection had been tabled but Russia wouldn’t agree.
Bloom said while the US and other countries preferred permanent
protections, the compromise “was necessary in order for this to be
adopted”.
Kavanagh said: “It can’t be overstated how difficult these negotiations were.”
“It took five years of talking about this one proposal exclusively to
get it across the table. And if you look at other marine reserves that
are permanent, they’re in one exclusive economic zone – it’s only one
country that has to make the decision.
“And I’m positive that in 35 years, the conservation values that come
out of the Ross Sea, the protections will be renewed. The world will be
a different place in 35 years.”
The campaign group Avaaz had, with Leonardo DiCaprio, launched a
petition calling for CCAMLR to establish “the world’s largest network of
marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean, starting with the Ross
Sea and East Antarctica”. It received more than 2m signatures, Avaaz
said.
“There’s massive momentum in the world right now to protect our
oceans,” said Luis Morago, campaign director at Avaaz. “Governments have
just set the landmark target of protecting 30% of our oceans, and
millions of people all over the world are pushing for more protected
areas to achieve that goal. The Ross Sea is just the start.”
Exactly
one hundred years ago in June, 1916 a stylish Gujarati barrister mocked at a
new visitor in Kathiwari dress to Gujarat Club, Ahmedabad. The barrister kept
playing cards with his friends, even as the visitor delivered a lecture to a
tiny audience in the lawn. He knew that visitor was none else than Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi, who had set up his Satyagraha Ashram in Ahmedabad recently
after returning from South Africa. But the barrister, a successful criminal
lawyer, had no interest in Gandhi’s pursuits. But as Gandhi persisted with his
visits for talks, the barrister decided to attend once out of sheer curiosity.
The
talk sounded like a religious discourse rather than political speech. Yet
something changed permanently inside the 41-year old unemotional barrister.
Gandhi’s words kept haunting him for days till he became ‘reluctant recruit’ to
Satyagraha’s cause. But being a pragmatic individual to the core, he did not
openly join it until 1917. That year Gandhi was recognized as India’s political
messiah after Champaran Satyagraha. He then became a loyal disciple of Gandhi,
and subsequently became his most capable lieutenant. Whatever Gandhi
conceptualized, he organized; whatever were Gandhi’s plans, he implemented. He
burnt down his European suits and adopted dhoti-kurta made of Khadi. He
was Sardar Ballabhbhai Jhaveribhai Patel (1875-1950), the iron man of India.
Patel
was born on October 31, 1875 at Nandiad (dist Khera, Gujarat), around 200 kms
from Surat. He hailed from the community of Leva Patels, believed to have
descended from warrior caste, though traditionally engaged in cultivation. They
have a history of bravery and hard labour. Patel hailed from an agriculturist family,
and virtually grew up in the fields. He always introduced himself as a
farmer/agriculturist, even at the height of legal or political career. He had
three brothers and one sister. Out of them Vithalbhai Jhaveribhai Patel
(1873-1933), Bar-at-Law, became the first Indian President (Speaker) of the
Central Legislative Assembly.
Patel
showed his promise as a popular leader as an elected representative of
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (1917-1928). He was able to not only outsmart
the British officialdom, but took several constructive initiatives for the
townspeople. While being President of the Corporation (1924-1928) he once
presented a unique example of ‘Swachh Bharat’. Patel, along with
volunteers, cleaned the streets of Ahmedabad with brooms and dustcart,
beginning with Harijan Basti (Dalit quarters). As the Plague broke out
in Ahmedabad in 1917, he worked almost round the clock with his volunteers to
help the victims and their families. He worked at great personal risk of
infection as Lokmanya Tilak had done during Pune Plague, 1896. The strain broke
Patel’s robust health, but sealed his reputation as a mass leader. Around the
same time Khera Satyagraha (1918), a forerunner to epic Bardoli No-Tax Campaign
(1928), reinforced Patel’s leadership qualities. Though the tax settlements
demanded by the peasants at Kheda (Gujarat) were not fully met, it had two
important results. First it led to recognition of peasants as stakeholders in
determining land taxes, and it brought Gandhi and Patel together. A decade later
Gujarat was ravaged by floods after the torrential rains of July 23, 1927.
Patel mounted a Herculean mission to rescue and rehabilitate the flood victims,
which brought him to nationwide focus. The Bombay government (Gujarat was then
part of Bombay Presidency) recommended him for an award, which Patel politely
declined.
This
humility was the hallmark of Patel even after his great victory at Bardoli
(1928). He was reluctant to stand up at Calcutta Congress in December, 1928.
After repeated persuasion he stood up in the audience amongst delegates from
Gujarat, and had to be physically forced to come to the dais. Bardoli (Dist.
Surat) was Patel’s Kurukshetra. He gave extraordinary leadership to successful
tax resistance campaign that rolled on for three months. Only Tilak’s Famine
Relief Campaign in Maharashtra (1896) could be compared to it in organizational
brilliance. Patel organized the Satyagraha on military pattern though
completely non-violent. He himself was the Supreme Commander (Senapati) and
under him were Sector Commanders (Vibhag Patis), and under then volunteers
(Sainik). The battle field covered 92 villages and 87,000 peasants. He ran a thorough
information network involving horse mounted messengers, bhajan singers, paper
printers etc. His success at Bardoli, attracted the attention of the whole
British Empire. But the best recognition came from a farmer of Nanifalod, in
Bardoli Taluka. Kuverji Durlabh Patel said in an open meeting, “Patel you are
our Sardar’. Thereupon the title ‘Sardar’ attached to him permanently.
Patel’s
disciplinarian approach was legendary. Self-discipline was Gandhi’s mantra. But
Patel brought the organizational discipline and cohesion necessary for mass
movements. Patel arrived on the political scene exactly when Indian politics
hit mass-movement stage. John Gunther, the American journalist, who surveyed
Asian politics in 1930s found Patel ‘party boss par excellence’. He found Patel
a man of action, of practicality, the man who got things done.
Patel’s
organizational capacities were at test as independence approached. There was a
threat of India’s balkanization had the princely states, numbering around 565,
not joined Indian Union. Some like Travancore wanted to remain free, whereas
others like Bhopal and Hyderabad conspired to join Pakistan, though not
contagious to it. Partly by diplomacy and partly by coercion, Patel won over
the princely states to join the Indian union. Force had to be applied in the
case of Hyderabad, where Razakars had unleashed terror on subject population.
As
independent India’s first Home Minister, he dealt with onerous responsibilities
of resettling Hindu and Sikh refugees from Pakistan and organizing the civil
services etc. Philip Mason, ICS, said Patel was a natural administrator who did
not seem to need any prior experience. Kaka Kalekar, Gandhi’s close associate,
said Patel belonged to the illustrious class of Shivaji and Tilak though he was
an unquestioning follower of Gandhi. Patel completed 75 years in 1950, in a broken
health due to excessive strain. He passed away in Mumbai on December 15, 1950.
On the death bed he betrayed no anxiety about his family, but about the
condition of the country.
It is a pity that the legacy of Patel suffered
from neglect. The present government has done well to rectify the wrongs of
history, and highlight Patel as India’s master nation builder.
Assessment of State Implementation of Business Reforms 2016
The
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and
Industry, in partnership with the World Bank Group, is pleased to release the
results of the Assessment of State Implementation of Business Reforms 2015-16.
The Assessment studies the extent to which states have implemented DIPP’s
340-point Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) for States/UTs 2015-16, covering
the period July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016. The BRAP includes recommendations for
reforms on 58 regulatory processes, policies, practices or procedures spread
across 10 reform areas spanning the lifecycle of a typical business.
Data for this
assessment was collected from State Governments on the BRAP portal. The portal,
among the first of its kind globally, allowed State Governments to submit
evidence of implemented reforms. At least 32 State and UT Governments
submitted evidence of implementation of 7,124 reforms. These submissions
were reviewed by the World Bank team and validated by DIPP’s team to study
whether they met the objectives of the BRAP. The portal allowed for
collaborative dialogue between DIPP and the State Governments in finalizing the
evidence submitted. A total of 6,069 reforms were approved as implemented or
not applicable on the portal.
The results
of the assessment demonstrate that States have increasingly risen to addressing
the challenge of making it easier to do business. The national
implementation average stands at 48.93%, significantly higher than last
year’s national average of 32%. This demonstrates the great progress made by
States this year.
The final
rank of the States as of June 30, 2016 is shown in the table below.
The highlight
of the implemented reforms during this period is as follows:
• Single
Window Systems: Various States have created a dedicated body/bureau as a
one-stop system for State level regulatory and fiscal incentive approvals. The
online single window system has a provision for filing applications, payment,
status tracking, online scrutiny and approval of applications. The officials of
the Body/Bureau have also been given powers to grant approvals.
• Tax
reforms: States have made good progress in tax reforms. These include
mandating e-registration for Value Added Tax (VAT), Central Sales Tax (CST),
Professional Tax, Entry tax, etc, allowing online payment and return filing;
providing e-filing support through service centers and helpline and risk-based
tax compliance inspections.
o States
include: Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal
• Construction
permits: Many States have allowed applicants to apply online and upload
building plans for automated construction permit approval. In addition, several
states have developed AutoCAD-based systems that automatically scan building
plans and monitor compliance with the building bye-laws and building codes in
force.
o States include: Andhra
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttrakhand
• Environment
and labour reforms: States have also implemented advanced automated
solutions to deal with environmental and pollution related applications and
approvals. These solutions provides hassle free, 24 X 7 e-access to businesses
to apply online, track applications, file returns and statements and get online
permissions under various Acts and regulations.
o States include: Andhra
Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar
Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal
• Inspection
Reforms: A number of inspection reforms with regard to labour, tax and
environment related compliances have been introduced across the States to help
businesses comply with inspection requirements in a user-friendly manner. To
bring in transparency, the states have also published comprehensive procedures
and checklist for various inspections and have implemented online systems for
allocation of inspectors to increase efficiency and effectiveness of the procedure.
o States include: Andhra
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh,
Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Punjab, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand
• Commercial disputes and paper-less
courts: There has been significant progress this year in the area of
judicial reforms compared to last year, particularly due to the passage of the
Commercial Courts, Commercial Divisions and Commercial Appellate Divisions Act.
To address the concern of time and costs associated with various legal
processes, District Courts in various states have also made the provision of
making online payments, e-filing and e-summons. Few States have also filled up
vacancies in District Courts/commercial courts to ensure availability of
adequate capacity for dealing with various cases.
o States include: Andhra
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana
However, the
present evaluation also highlights the need to properly communicate, monitor
and evaluate these reforms to ensure that their impact is being felt on the
ground.
ICAR-IARI, New Delhi has developed extra early maturing (120 days),
semi-dwarf (95 cm to 120 cm tall), determinate, high yielding new plant
type genetic material viz., Pusa Arhar 16 which is semi-erect compact
plant type. This plant type allows dense plant population of 3,30,000
plants/ha when planted with Row X Row spacing of 30 cm and Plant X Plant
spacing of 10 cm. High density planting is important to realize higher
yield and mechanization. Traditional varieties do not allow high density
planting as their plant type is indeterminate and spreading type. Thus,
suitability to high population density of this line allows uniform
plant density and ultimately uniform plant stand and thereby reduces
losses in yield due to seedling mortality. In the form of Pusa Arhar 16
ICAR-IARI has tailored a new plant type arhar in line with semi-dwarf
rice and wheat. The NPT arhar requires a modified agronomy for
maximizing the productivity with reduced cost of cultivation, which has
been developed. All items of farm machinery used for wheat from sowing
to harvesting are fully utilizable for cultivation of NPT Arhar. Pusa
Arhar 16 allows effective spraying of insecticide even with Knapsack
sprayer for effective control of insects due to compactness and
dwarfness. This new plant type, with synchronous maturity, is also
suitable for combine harvesting and thus does not require manual
laborers for harvesting and threshing. Harvesting and threshing in
traditional varieties require more manpower and time thereby increasing
the cost of cultivation and chances of losses due to damage by untimely
rains. This extra early line also allows growing of mustard/potato/wheat
in rabi after harvest of pigeonpea successfully. Moreover, as this line
is extra early maturing (120 days) it allows flexibility of sowing from
onset of monsoon (5th June) to even up to 1st week of July.
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today inaugurated the
digital exhibition “Uniting India: Sardar Patel” at Pragati Maidan in
New Delhi.
The Prime Minister also launched the “Ek Bharat, Shreshtha
Bharat” initiative, to promote greater awareness among people of various
States about one another, hence promoting the spirit of Unity in
Diversity. 6 MoUs between two States each were also signed on the
occasion, under this initiative.
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister paid tribute to
Sardar Patel, for his great contributions to the nation, and said such
great individuals can never be forgotten.
Shri Narendra Modi spoke at length about Sardar Patel’s role in
integrating the nation, by convincing princely states to join the
Union.
The Prime Minister gave several illustrations to explain how
the “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” initiative can build bonds between the
people of various States of India.
NITI Aayog launches the first ever Agricultural Marketing & Farm Friendly Reforms Index. Maharashtra ranks first.
The low levels of productivity, growth and incomes ailing the farm
sector in India and causing immense agrarian distress is well known. Without
undertaking radical reform it is impossible to transform agriculture and double
farmers’ income. However, state governments have been extremely lax in
implementing much needed reforms to modernize agriculture and create a
favourable policy and market environment for farmers.
Addressing the
issue, NITI Aayog has identified three key areas for reform and is now persuading
states to undertake the reforms. The areas identified for immediate reforms
are:
·Agricultural market reforms
·Land lease reforms
·Reforms related to forestry on private land –
felling and transit of trees.
Today,
marketing is extremely crucial and almost every sector has embraced marketing
principles to ensure best possible outcomes. However, agricultural development
in India has entirely ignored the potential of marketing and has continued to
follow its old trajectory. Therefore, the benefits that can be accrued from
agriculture are largely untapped. Productivity is some states is regrettably
low and there is a vast disconnect between prices received by farmers and the
prices paid by consumers.
Moreover, private
capital and modernization have completely evaded agriculture, resulting in
barely any addition to the value chain.The poor state of reforms in the sector is also
the primary reason for the non-performance of agricultural food processing
industry in India. This, despite very favourable demand-side factors spread
across the country.Much of the potential that post-harvest value
addition can bring to agriculture has been ignored. Reforms in this area can bring
out an enormous increase in employment by create jobs in cleaning, processing
and marketing of grain directly by the farmer. This will also resolve
underemployment encountered in agriculture.
Three
crucial reforms pertaining to marketing in agriculture have been recommended by
NITI Aayog. First is the immediate need to amend existing regulations in order
to liberalize markets. Farmer to should be given the freedom to decide to whom,
where and how he wants to sell his produce. Seven indicators have been developed
by NITI in this regard. The reforms also suggest special treatment of fruits
and vegetables from other farm produce as they are perishable and produced in
small quantities. Importantly, the recommended reforms place importance on IT
in marketing for the creation of a ‘national market’ for agriculture, so that farmers
across the country may benefit from interconnected markets, through the use of
appropriate technology. This important reform has so far eluded the country due
to strong lobbies of middlemen and the reluctance of political class to take
favourable steps.
Taking note of
increasing incidents of leasing in and out of land and suboptimal use of land
with lesser number of cultivators, NITI has reformed the land leasing law to
recognize the tenant and safeguard interest of land owners. The reforms also
lay stress on the untapped scope of agro forestry in supplementing farmers’
income.
That apart, NITI Aayog has launched an index to rank States and UTs that is based on implementation of seven provisions proposed under
model APMC Act, joining eNAM initiative, special treatment to fruits and
vegetables for marketing and level of taxes in mandis. These indicators reveal
ease of doing agribusiness as well as opportunities for farmers to benefit from
modern trade and commerce and have wider option for sale of her/his produce.
These indicators also represent competitiveness, efficiency and transparency in
agri markets. The second area of reforms included in the index is relaxation in
restrictions related to lease in and lease out agricultural land and change in
law to recognise tenant and safeguard land owners liberalisation. The third
area included in the index represent freedom given to farmers for felling and
transit of trees grown on private land. This represent opportunity to diversify
farm business.
The Index is named as “Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly
Reforms Index” and it has a score which can have minimum value “0” implying
no reforms and maximum value “100” implying complete reforms in the selected
areas. States and UTs have been ranked in terms of the score of the index.
The state of Maharashtra achieved first rank in
implementation of various reforms. The state has implemented most of the
marketing reforms and it offers best environment for doing agribusiness among
all the states and UTs. Gujarat ranks second with a score of 71.5 out of 100,
closely followed by Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Almost two third states could
not reach even halfway mark of reforms score. Major states like U.P., Punjab,
West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and J&K are in this group.
States’ score in terms of Agri Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms
* Some states and UTs either did not adopt APMC Act or revoked it. They
include Bihar, Kerala, Manipur, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Andaman
and Nicobar. They are not included in the ranking.
