Norway became First Country to Ban Deforestation
- Norway became the first country to stop clear-cutting of trees on June 10, 2016. This step was taken to curb global deforestation.
- Any product that contributes to deforestation will not be used in the Scandinavian country. This was recommended by Norwegian Parliament’s Standing Committee on Energy and Environment as part of the Action Plan on Nature Diversity.
- Rainforest Foundation Norway was the main lobbying power behind this recommendation and has worked for years to bring the policy into existence. When forests are cleared and set in flames, the carbon in the trees is released as carbon dioxide which play as a main greenhouse gas contributing to climate change.
Researchers in Assam Developed Two Rice Variants for Submerged Areas
- The researchers at Assam Agricultural University developed two rice varieties, namely Ranjit Sub-1 and Bahadur Sub-1. These rice varieties were developed to get better yields under submerged conditions in state mainly Barak Valley.
- These are ideally suited for such submerged areas in the khariff season. These new rice variants are improved forms of the Ranjit and Bahadur varieties which the farmers of the State have been using for years.
- An additional gene has been incorporated in the new variants which ensure productivity even if the crops remain submerged during flash floods.
Arctic Regions becoming Greener due to Climate Change
- The new Landsat satellites of NASA in a study found that Due to changing climate, Arctic regions of North America are getting greener, with almost a third of the land cover looking more like landscapes found in warmer ecosystems.
- This is happening because temperatures are warming faster in the j Arctic than elsewhere, which has led to longer seasons for plants to grow in and changes to the soils.
- Scientists have observed grassy tundras changing to shrublands, and shrubs growing bigger and denser and changes that could have impacts on regional water, energy and carbon cycles.
- Landsat is a programme that provides the longest continuous space-based record of Earth’s land vegetation in existence. It also shows the climate impact on vegetation in the high latitudes.
