Environment

Vulture population in India

Recently, as many as 246 vultures were spotted in the firstever synchronised survey conducted along the borders of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.

The estimation was carried out in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) and the adjoining landscape consisting of the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) in Tamil Nadu, the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) in Kerala, the Bandipur Tiger Reserve (BTR) and the Nager hole Tiger Reserve (NTR) in Karnataka.
A total of 98 vultures were seen in MTR, two in STR, 52 in WWS, 73 in BTR, and 23 in NTR.

About Vultures

Varieties of vultures found in India:

India is home to 9 species of Vulture namely

Vultures	IUCN Status
Oriental white-backed Vulture	Critically endangered
Long-billed Vulture	Critically endangered
Slender-billed Vulture	Critically endangered
Himalayan griffon vulture	Nearly threatened
Red-headed Vulture	Critically endangered
Egyptian vulture	Endangered
Bearded vulture	Nearly threatened
Cinereous vulture	Nearly threatened
Eurasian Griffon	Least concerned

ECOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE

• They act an important function as nature’s garbage collectors and help to keep the environment clean of waste.

• Vultures also play a valuable role in keeping wildlife diseases in check.

THREAT

• Diclofenac is a common anti-inflammatory drug administered to livestock and is used to treat the symptoms of inflammation, fevers and/or pain associated with disease or wounds. • Diclofenac leads to renal failure in vultures damaging their excretory system (direct inhibition of uric acid secretion in vultures).

CONSERVATION: The Ministry for Environment, Forests and Climate Change launched a Vulture Action Plan 2020- 25 for the conservation of vultures in the country. To upscaling conservation four rescue centres will be opened like Pinjore in the north, Bhopal in central India, Guwahati in Northeast and Hyderabad in South India.

Pumped Storage Projects

Presently, Pumped Storage Projects (PSP) and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are the major feasible options to store Renewable Energy. Recently, the Ministry of Power has issued draft guidelines to promote the development of Pump Storage Projects (PSP) in the country.

Under the draft guidelines, the ministry has asked the states to:

Consider exempting stamp duty and registration fees for the land for PSP projects.
Give government land at concessional rates for such projects.
Avoid double taxation, and provide relief in the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST).

Pumped Storage Projects (PSP):

Pumped storage projects (PSPs), often called ‘giant batteries,’ is a type of hydroelectric energy storage system. The internationally accepted technology is conventionally used to stabilise the grid and maintain peak power.
These projects store appreciable amounts of energy and release it when required. The present installed capacity of PSPs in the country is 4745 MW and another 1500 MW capacity is under active construction.
Some of the operational PSP plants exist in Telangana (Nagarjuna Sagar, Srisailam), Tamil Nadu (Kadamparai), Maharashtra (Bhira, Ghatgar), and Purulia in West Bengal.

Mechanism:

The PSPs comprise two water reservoirs connected through a tunnel or underground pipe at different heights.
When there is more electricity production and less demand, these projects pump water from the downward reservoir to the upward reservoir.
When more energy is needed, water is pushed from the uphill to the downhill via a turbine to produce the required power instantly.

Advantages:

PSPs are clean, megawatt-scale, domestically available, time-tested, and internationally accepted.
PSPs are clean, green, safe, and non-explosive as they do not produce any poisonous/ harmful by-products or pose disposal problems.

Concerns:

Several issues have halted the growth of PSPs in India including, higher upfront costs, the high tariff of power used to pump water uphill, and the long gestation period of such projects due to several approvals like environmental clearance and other formalities.

PSPs vs BESS:

Currently, the price of batteries is rising and stands around Rs. 8-10 per unit (1 kilowatt-hour), and their price is dynamic depending on changing geopolitics and other reasons. Although the upfront cost of PSPs is higher, its operational cost per KwH is lower than that of battery storage systems.
PSPs lose around 20-30% of the energy in their storage process but have a longer duration supply than battery systems. While the lead acid batteries can work up to 2-6 hours, PSPs can supply energy ranging from six to 20 hours.
PSPs have a long gestation period, and their capacity is dependent on location, however, they have a longer life. BESS have a short gestation period, and are non-dependent on location (mobile) but limited by the availability of minerals and technology.

Way Forward:

To improve the uptake of PSPs in the grid, differential pricing should be explored (instead of a flat energy charge) that will increase PSP profitability, and generation-based incentives should be provided.
The government could consider allowing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for PSPs as they are available for other renewable projects.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is meeting in Switzerland this week to finalise the last report of its sixth assessment cycle, which is expected to set up the tempo for a string of climate change-focused discussions over the next fortnight.

About Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

It was set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
It has a secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, hosted by the WMO, and is governed by 195 member states.
Its main activity is to prepare Assessment Reports, special reports, and methodology reports assessing the state of knowledge of climate change.
It is a scientific body whose periodic assessments of climate science form the basis of global climate action, is set to finalise what is known as the Synthesis Report, incorporating the findings of the five reports that it has released in the sixth assessment cycle since 2018.
However, the IPCC does not itself engage in scientific research.
Instead, it asks scientists from around the world to go through all the relevant scientific literature related to climate change and draw up the logical conclusions.

About Assessment Reports

The IPCC’s Assessment Reports (ARs), form the basis for government policies to tackle climate change, and provide the scientific foundation for the international climate change negotiations.
Six Assessment Reports have been published so far, the sixth report (AR6) coming in three parts — the first in August 2021, the second in February 2022, and the third to be finished in March 2023.

About Synthesis Report

It is the last of the Sixth Assessment reports.
It is supposed to be a relatively non-technical summary of the previous reports, aimed largely at policymakers around the world.
It is meant to address a wide range of policy-relevant scientific questions related to climate change, but, like all IPCC reports, in a non-prescriptive manner.

What previous reports have said

The first Assessment Report (1990) formed the basis for the negotiation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992, known as the Rio Summit.
The second Assessment Report (1995) -AR2 was the scientific underpinning for the Kyoto Protocol of 1997.
The third Assessment Report (2001) presented new and stronger evidence to show global warming was mostly attributable to human activities.
The fourth Assessment Report (2007) won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for IPCC. It was the scientific input for the 2009 Copenhagen climate meeting.
The fifth Assessment Report (2014) -AR5 formed the scientific basis for negotiations of the Paris Agreement in 2015.