Context:
Living Planet Report 2024 released recently.
Living Planet Report (LPR), 2024:
- Biennial report on wildlife threats.
- Released by – World Wide Fund (WWF)
- Highlights the need for significant collective effort to address climate and nature crises over the next 5 years.
Key Findings:
- 73% decline in average size of monitored wildlife populations from 1970-2020.
- Sharpest decline reported in Freshwater ecosystems at 85% followed by Terrestrial ecosystems (69%) and Marine ecosystems (56%).
- At regional level, fastest decline reported at Latin America and the Caribbean (95% decline), followed by Africa (76%) and Asia and the Pacific (60%).
- Declines have been less in Europe and Central Asia (35%).
- Warning signs indicate that several global tipping points are fast approaching
- Mass die-off ofCoral Reefs affecting fisheries and storm protection.
- Amazon Rainforest degradation causes potential carbon release and weather disruption.
- Disruption of ocean circulation impacting weather patterns.
- In the cryosphere (frozen parts of the planet), the melting of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets causes sea level rise.
- Permafrost Thawing triggering vast emissions of CO2 and methane.
- India-specific findings –
- White-rumped Vulture Population dropped by 67%, Indian vulture by 48%, and slender-billed vulture by 89% since 2002.
- Largest population of wild tigers with 3,682 estimated in 2022, up from 2,967 in 2018.
- Shortfall in Achieving Goals –
- Over half of the SDG targets for 2030 will be missed.
- National climate commitments are inadequate, potentially leading to a 3°C rise by century’s end.
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Question
Consider the following infrastructure sectors:
1. Affordable housing
2. Mass rapid transport
3. Health care
4. Renewable energy
On how many of the above does the UNOPS Sustainable Investments in Infrastructure and Innovation (S3i) initiative focus for its investments?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2023 Prelims]
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) Only three
(d) All four
Answer: (c)
