1) Indian Black Honeybee: A new species of endemic honeybee has been discovered in the Western Ghats called Apis karinjodian. It is after a gap of more than 200 years that a new species of honeybee has been spotted in the Western Ghats.
- The last honeybee described from India was Apis indica in 1798 by Fabricius. However,it was not considered a valid species till now. The research team restored the status of Apis indica based on a new measure for species discrimination in honeybees termed ‘Radio-Medial Index (RMI)’.
- Apis karinjodian has evolved from Apis cerana morphotypes that got acclimatised to the hot and humid environment of the Western Ghats.
- The distribution of Apis karinjodian ranges covering the States of Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
2) Snow Leopard Population Assessment of India (SPAI): first ever snow leopard recorded in the Baltal-Zojila in Jammu and Kashmir. Snow leopard surveys have often focused in neighbouring areas of Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand
- Conducted by: Department of Wildlife Protection + NGOs under the SPAI project funded by MoEFCC. It has evolved from international effort to develop a global protocol for PAWS under the aegis of GSELP to help the snow leopard double its population.
- Under SPAI, a two-step process is undertaken to estimate the snow leopard population.
- First step– An occupation-based assessment of snow leopard distribution, which involves identifying the area where the study will be conducted ; Second step– Population sampling for regional density estimation by carrying out a thorough review of already sampled areas.
3) Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP): it is a high-level inter-governmental alliance of all the 12 snow leopard range countries namely, India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Mongolia, Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
- The snow leopard inhabits five states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. it contributes to about 5% of the global range.
- Snow leopards are categorized as ‘Vulnerable’ by IUCN and in the Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. They are listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS).
4) Andaman and Nicobar Tribes: In a first-of-its-kind bid to showcase the heritage of tribal communities, especially those of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), the Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) has recreated the huts of several communities at its different regional centres.
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands which have originally been the abode of six aboriginal tribes i.e., the Andamanese, Onges, Jarawas, Sentinelese, Nicobarese and Shompens.
- Except Nicobarese, the rest of the 05 tribes are Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups.
5) Malaria: caused by the Plasmodium parasite which can be spread to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes. There are many different types of plasmodium parasite, but only 5 types cause malaria in humans. The plasmodium parasite is spread by female Anopheles mosquitoes, which are known as “night-biting” mosquitoes because they most commonly bite between dusk and dawn. Vaccine: The RTS,S/AS01 (Mosquirix)
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