Current Affairs - Conservation

The Rajya Sabha on December 08, 2022 passed the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2022 which seeks to give effect to India's obligations under the Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ('CITES'), which requires countries to regulate trade of all listed specimens through permits.

Scientists working ex situ breeding of Great Indian Bustard (GIB) - a Critically Endangered birds species has discovered new trend of laying two eggs in Desert National Park (DNP) of Jaisalmer district.

• The GIBs showed this habit after consuming extra protein rich diet during the monsoon season.

India added 11 more wetlands to the list of Ramsar sites to make total 75 Ramsar sites in the country in the 75th year of Independence.

• The 11 new sites include: Four (4) sites in Tamil Nadu, Three (3) in Odisha, Two (2) in Jammu & Kashmir and One (1) each in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

On 3rd August 2022, the Union Environment Ministry announced the inclusion of 10 more wetlands, taking the total Ramsar sites to 64.

• The new sites include six wetlands from Tamil Nadu and one each from Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.