Current Affairs Question - 23 June 2020

Explanation :

• Mount Merapi, Gunung Merapi (literally Fire Mountain in Indonesian and Javanese), is an active stratovolcano located on the border between Central Java and Special Region of Yogyakarta provinces, Indonesia.
• It is the most active volcano in Indonesia.
• It is situated at a subduction zone, where the Indo-Australian Plate is subducting under the Sunda Plate.
• It has been designated as one of the Decade Volcanoes.

Decade Volcanoes

• These are 16 volcanoes identified by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI) as being worthy of particular study in light of their history of large, destructive eruptions and proximity to populated areas.
• They are named Decade Volcanoes because the project was initiated in the 1990s as part of the United Nations–sponsored International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction.

Explanation :

• Gee's golden langur (Trachypithecus geei), also known as simply the golden langur, is an Old World monkey found in a small region of western Assam, India and in the neighboring foothills of the Black Mountains of Bhutan.
• It is one of the most endangered primate species of India.
• Their habitat is restricted to the region surrounded by four geographical landmarks: the foothills of Bhutan (North), Manas river (East), Sankosh river (West), and Brahmaputra river (South).
• They are highly dependent on trees, living in the upper canopy of forests. They are also known as leaf monkeys.

Conservation Status

• IUCN List of Threatened Species: Endangered
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora(CITES): Appendix I
• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 : Schedule I

Ecological Role

• Like most primates who eat fruits, golden langurs likely play a role in seed dispersal, seed predation, and pollination, all of which are critical for forest repopulation.