Atlas Agenda - 2.0 Ep - 5 ft. Gowtham A R | Places in News | UPSC | Shankar IAS Academy | #upsc

Hi, this is Loam. Welcome to the sixth episode of Agenda. For this episode, we'll be dealing with events which happened with reference to the second week of August. So we have four major issues and then one minor issue. So we're going to start with Arunachal Pradesh and uh regarding India's uh survey of India's new map. Second is regarding your Asan conservation reserve which was in news because it was a Ramsar site and Supreme Court has given an important ruling. The third one is regarding a 7.5 magnitude earthquake which struck the coast of Colombia. So we just want to understand why is Colombia highly prone to earthquakes. What are the plate margins which are surrounding Colombia? And the fourth is regarding the 101st Ramsa site in India which is Gali present in the state of Arnas Pradesh. And the last one is a small topic with reference to Saku Islands which is in news every 3 or 4 months which is a disputed territory between Japan, China and Taiwan. So with that let me formally start with the first news article. Here it is. India counters China formally names 27 places in Arunachal Pradesh. So we just want to understand a few questions. Uh why is this a major news article? At the end of the day when uh new locations uh are marked on the map, it is natural for survey of India to incorporate in the India map. So why is naming 27 places especially giving them official names uh important from the ctographic perspective? Well, primarily because where Arunasal Pradesh is located and how Arunas Pradesh is treated by China. So let me start with the location of Arnasal Pradesh. So as all of you know Arnasar Pradesh is a triangent state is it is present in the northeastern part of India bordering the states of Bhutan uh China and of course also bordering Myanmar or Burma and if you take the history that is a history of bilateral relationship between India and China uh even before uh the India China war of 1962 China had continued to claim that parts of the Arunachal Pradesh territory belongs to China because it is considered as part of southern Tibet. Uh this illegal uh claim has been you know going on for a long period of time and now and then China engages in a in a tussle called ctographic aggression. Now what is ctographic aggression? Well the places which are there in Arnas Pradesh, China releases a map stating that uh you know these are the names of places which are present in an Pradesh. So the point is by releasing maps of an Indian territory uh China wants to project to the world that uh those areas are actually part of China. So the most recent incident was in 2023. Uh and it's not only 2023. You had instances in 2021. You had instance in 2017. So what India has done is place its stamp on the locations in analra Pradesh stating again and again that the territory is an inalienable part of India. So if you look at the purpose of naming the main purpose is not just about accurate recognition of the places but it's also about creating greater amount of awareness to an area which is a inflection point between the two countries of India and China. Now from the exam perspective we just want to know are there any locations which are specifically mentioned uh you know as part of your press information bureau's article. So this is so we encounter this lich now and there right. So if you look at uh the major locations which are part of yeah discussion. So this is your survey of India map of the national pradesh territory where each district has different colors and we just want to go for this region. Okay right there in the northwestern part of our national Pradesh which is on the border with China. We do have a zoomed in version. So before that we want to know which are the major areas which are mentioned as part of the news articles. So these are the major port passes that is Zola, Rizala, Kukuran, Hagla which were important territories uh as part of your naming and if you look at where they located as I highlighted before that is in the northwestern part of Arash Pradesh like here is where you find your tagla. Just a second. Here it is. So, right there is where you find your tag in territories in the district of upper subsri. So, this is where you have uh zola. This is Rizala and this is Fukudla. So these are the major areas which are mentioned as part of news especially this particular location Tagla. Now apart from this do we have other places which can be asked as distance because here we just want to make sure that if there is a question on where exactly is this pass located uh if they ask and match the following questions we need to follow the states. Apart from these four passes which are mentioned the other important territories are Lju, Visa and Jamur. Jamur is a very important logistical corridor which is present on the Chankan district and after Jamur you have an important lake Sambusar over. So from the exam perspective this is relevant from the prelims dimension and the earlier discussion like why is the naming important that is that is important from your means perspective. It can be used for geography and also for your bilateral relations. So with that let me take you to the first question for today's discussion. So here we go. Consider the following passes. The Dihan passa pass and then the Changan pass. Which of the above passes connect Arunachas Pradesh with Myanmar? So I believe it's a relatively easy question. So pause the video for a few minutes few seconds and then try to answer this particular question. Right. So congratulations for those of you who got this correct. So with this particular question on passes connecting Arnasal Pradesh with Myanmar the correct answer is C 1 and three only. So that is towards the eastern side. So with this let me take you to the second news article. The second news article of course was regarding the uh Supreme ruling on your Ramsa site Azen conservation reserve which is present on Uttra. Now if you look at the location of Azan conservation reserve it is present in the district of Badam and the major issue is the rules which were provided by Supreme Court of India on the Azen conservation reserve which is a Ramsar site does it extend to other conservation reserves or not. So that is the primary ruling. So we first we look at the location of where exactly it is then we proceed. So the map which you have right now is your Utra physical map and the Asan conservation reserve is present on the western side uh close to right there western side close to the capital Siri era. So that is the location so it's present in the western corner of the state you can clearly see it is very close to the border of Himasal Pradesh that was the main reason why this issue came up. So the question was uh the instructions which were given by Supreme Court of India does it stay only with this particular Ramsa site that is the buffer zone which they said where mining is not allowed for close to 10 kilometers or does it extend to other Ramsa sites of India. So what makes Asen conservation reserve wetland conservation important is because of its location. Keep that in mind that from your prelims exam there may be questions whether the water body in use is either a natural water body or artificial water body. Assan is a tributary of river Yamuna and it was damned in the year 1967. So this reservoir which you have is artificially created by man and this reservoir supports close to 330 bird species including critically endangered ones like the redheaded vulture and white trump vulture. Also we have the Bay Pad. So these are critically endangered birds at the same time you have a major aquatic species the utu machine. So since you have important bird species the first three and an aquatic species the asen conservation reserve is considered as a major conservation site. Now let's go back to what the Supreme Court actually said. So in its 2024 order the Supreme Court has stated that if there is any mining activities which take place within the 10 km radius of this particular conservation reserve prior approval is actually needed. Now the question was simple is this is this condition of within 10 km radius applicable only to the conservation reserve or does it extend to all the other Rams sites? The court has actually said it extends extends to other Rams sites also. Now why is this important? This is important because of the present methodology which is actually there. Now if you go back through the national uh wetland conservation rules which was there in 2010 there was a list of uh activities which were considered prohibited that you're not able to take them up in the in the wetland areas which are considered as uh significant. Now after 2010 in the year 2017 from a centralized setup the protection went to a decentralized system meaning from the central level the different states were given authority on what activities they can allow or disallow when it comes to your arms or wetlands. So once this decentralized systems comes into picture you don't have a national standard for protection of wetlands. Now with the Supreme Court ruling of this 10 km radius principle that you need a prior approval now it automatically becomes an additional buffer for conservation of wedlands. So that is the primary reason why this is an important uh news article. At the same time keep this in mind for both your prelims and mains exam that neither the Rams are convention which is specifically on protection of wetlands and nor the wetland roots prescribes a statutory buffer. For example, the number is 10 km radius. This is a judicial order and that is why this is not directly mentioned in your rules. Keep this in mind. This could also be a case study of the tussle between whether this uh 10 km radius is judicial activism or whether it is judicial overreach. So that discussion uh or an example uh that I leave it to you whether you want to use it in your general studies paper too. Now let's look at this particular question. Consider the following conservation areas in Uttarakand Valley of Flowers National Park, Asen Conservation Reserve and Corp Tiger Reserve. Now this should be easy question to you. How many are Rams sites? So pause the video for a few seconds and then try to answer this particular question. Right? For those of you who got this question right, congratulations. The answer for this question is Bombay. That is true. only Asan conservation reserve is the only Ramsa site which is actually located the value of last national park is UNESCO world heritage site and copper tiger reserve is one of the oldest tiger reserves in India. So at the same time I want you to give your third question immediately. This is your 2014 UPSC previous year question and this is related to your answer site that is why. So look at the question and it's a pretty lengthy question. So what I'll do is you know I'll uh I think I'll stand here now. I think I'm not covering the question right now. So I'll take your time and then I'll read it for you. So if wetland of international importance is brought under the monetary record, what does it imply? That's the simplest of question. So feel free to pause the video and read through all the options diligently and try try addressing this question. Right? For those of you who got the question correct, congratulations. And now we'll try to find the answer for this question. The answer for this particular question is A. That is if something is brought under monetary accord it simply means that government has to take measures because it is facing challenges that is changes in the ecological character have occurred or occurring or likely to occur in the wetland as a result of human interventions. That's all. So if you look at option B it says the country in which the wetland is located should they enact a law to prohibit any human activity. These are very strong statements. Okay any within 5 kilometers. So there is no statutory buffer in Ram so like the previous slide which we discussed that nowhere in the conventions you have an immediate statutory buffer and look at C the survival of the wetland depends on cultural practices and traditions of certain communities living in its vicinity and therefore the cultural diversity they should not be destroyed mary record has absolutely no connection with culture and this is ridiculous just because you enter into Montre record doesn't mean that you'll become a world UNESCO world heritage site because that is recognized by United Nations based on a different set of criteria so point being any topic which you uh any topic which you find in news always try to mind questions from your previous year uh uh booklet so that it's much easier for you to connect with your current affairs. So now let me take you to the tragedy which struck Colombia. So this was this is the news article from BBC 11th of August at least 169 killed in Colombia's largest earthquake in several years. So the earthquake magnitude was 7.4 before uh even the previous week that is in August the 1st of August we looked at an earthquake uh which struck uh the southernmost island of Japan and this particular earthquake is 7.4 has struck Choco in Colombia. So Choco is in the northern part of Colombia right here the area where I'm shading. So that is your chokure where the impact was pretty strong in the northwestern part. So this is the country of Colombia which is present right there in light green color in the northwestern part of South America. So the point which we have to uh understand right now yeah just a second which you have to understand right now is uh why exactly do we have a serious problem in parts of western South America? It's primarily because of your fate margin once again. So if you look at the next slide uh roughly we have the map of the Nazca plate. So this is your Nazca plate. Okay. Just a second. So the Nazca bridge is an ocean bridge and the ocean plate is denser and hence it is subducting beneath the South American plate. So because of this provision you can clearly see the blue color pointed line which is present right there. This is an area of subduction where the plate is slipping through and anytime you have convergence as you would remember from your basics of plate tectonics it automatically becomes an area of high caspic activity because this is your vati benosone and uh as the plate is subducting into the aenosphere because of tremendous amount of heat fracture in any of these regions could actually trigger uh you know earthquakes. One interesting thing about this particular earthquake is the position of focus. Now usually when you study about focus that is the point of energy release. Uh it is a shallow focus earthquake usually because the shallow focus earthquake is a term which denotes earthquakes which arise within the first 70 kilometers from the surface of the earth 70 km. But this particular earthquake is what you call as an earthquake with intermediate focus. the depth was 110 kilometers and intermediate earthquakes have a depth between 70 to 300 km. So it simply means it's not present uh you know uh close to the surface but it's really really deep and uh based on preliminary research and tectonic summary we clearly know that it is a case of uh strike slip folding where uh tectonic plates slide past each other. So it is uh not only about subduction it's that within the subducting plate you had a strong strike lip fault. So with this let me take you to an additional information which we need to know regarding this particular region. Now we have spoken about the intermediate pocus earthquake that is between 70 to 300 km. The next thing which you want to know is regarding the presence of a micro plate here. So this discovery was made in the year 2017. So when uh you know uh scientists were looking at the movement of movement of plates, they were able to identify that there was a lot of mismatch in the data which they have and to properly match the data they had introduced the concept of new plates especially in the border uh you know between where your Nazca plate, Coco plate and salia South American plate is there and you can clearly see the pink color line marked out pink color line boundary. So that is your malo plates the one which is mentioned right here. So malflow plates just know that it's actually a micro plate which is newly identified just uh 8 n 8 n years back. It is on the northwestern part of South America. What is uh also important is the consequences which the United Nations have pointed out. I think most of you know you would know that Colombia is the largest producer of the illegal drug cocaine. So this is a country where you know a significant uh territory especially in the forest and mountainous areas uh are under armed gangs and you know uh gangs which involve in organized crime because drugs are a major source of money and from Colombia drugs are trafficked to many other parts of the world including United States and through the transit route it does reach Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean even reaching places like India. So when you have a serious earthquake and if your educational institutions especially schools which were largely damaged then naturally you create a situation where rebuilding the infrastructure becomes difficult. So, United Nations had uh you know stated an apprehension that this this disruption this disruption of education system and the demolishment you know and the loss of school infrastructure could actually be a problem because you already have the presence of organized crime in this particular country. So we'll have to wait and see how uh you know a disaster in disaster which is looked at in one dimension can actually have serious social consequences in this region. So that was the apprehension which was stated by the United Nations. So with this let's go to the short article the fourth one. So this is your 101st Rama site in India which is present in Arunachal Pradesh. So we just want to know certain basics regarding it. So the thing which we want to understand is that it's present in lower district of Arunas Pradesh and from the exam perspective we need to know the location of this tiger reserve because anytime uh you look at the questions which come in your prelims exam apart from the conventional ones okay which are larger tiger reserves or national parks the unconventional ones which they ask in prelims is mostly reported in news. So along with your garlic we want to know that Kamlan Tiger reserve is present in the state of Arnas Pradesh which could be a master bowling piston. The third thing which you want to know is that it's also home to the white belly heron which is uh an important species which is critically endangered and it was a news recently. At the same time the lake satisfies an important cultural and religious dimension where it is very close to the Mishmi community. So these are just preliminary things you want to know. So any water body comes up in use uh any conservation site comes up in use just like we prepared for asen conservation reserve the pre preliminaries are more than enough to tackle questions in your prelims and meetings. So with this let me just take you to the last discussion the tension escalation between China and Japan regarding your senkaku islands that's primarily because Tokyo has labeled Beijing as a greater strategic challenge. Now this is despite the fact that Japan and China has a lot of violated relationship there is an important point of contention and uh this group of islands which we're going to look at as a final one uh we just want to mention that this group of islands is uh in use constantly constantly meaning uh at a period periodically. So this is the location of uh Senako Islands right there the pointer. So if you look at the Sakato islands, these are uninhabited. You have five islands and then three large rocks. So at the first outset, it doesn't look very important. And currently who's administering it? Currently it is Japan. So if you recall the mapping from the previous uh week's class, we had mentioned that you have a group of islands called Rukyu. It's actually very close to Ruku Islands. Now, China has been laying claim to this island and not just China. So, you know, right there is where you find the island of Taiwan and Taiwan is also claiming this particular island. So, why are they all interested? Well, because in the year 1967, a United uh nations report actually stated that close to your island, you have large oil reserves surrounding the seabed and that is exactly the reason why they're concerned. So you have to know that even though they are presently administered by Japan both China and Taiwan you know try to voice wise out their concerns that this iron belongs to them primarily because of oil reserves. So from your exam perspective for your prelims keep this in mind the question will primarily be a match the following question or a question like sako islands are disputed between which two which two groups of countries that'll be the most viable question and you just have to know senkako islands between Japan and China that is more than enough so with this let me take you to the fourth and last question for today's discussion and the question is pretty simple so the following China North Korea South Korea and Japan which of the above countries Please border the Yellow Sea. There it is. So I would ask you to leave the answer for this particular question in the comments. So that's it for uh the discussion for August 2nd week and meet you with August 3rd week news updates pretty soon. This is Gautam signing off. Bye for now. >> [music]