• India has 41 wetlands, the highest in South Asia, with two more added to the list of recognised sites of international importance under the treaty of Ramsar Convention.
• The Lonar lake in Maharashtra, the only crater lake of Country, and Sur Sarovar, also known as Keetham lake, in Agra, Uttar Pradesh have been added to the list of recognised Ramsar sites.

Ramsar Convention

• The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is a treaty for conservation and sustainable use of such sites.
• It is named after Ramsar, the Iranian city where the treaty was signed in 1971, and places chosen for conservation under it are given the tag ‘Ramsar site.’
• The convention is one of the oldest inter-governmental accord for preserving the ecological character of wetlands.
• Also known as the Convention on Wetlands, it aims to develop a global network of wetlands for conservation of biological diversity and for sustaining human life.
• Wetlands provide a wide range of important resources and ecosystem services such as food, water, fibre, groundwater recharge, water purification, flood moderation, erosion control and climate regulation.

• Peru’s congress has elected a new interim president after nearly 24 hours without a head of state as the country reels from an intense week of pro-democracy protests marked by accusations of police brutality.
• Francisco Sagasti, an industrial engineer and member of the only political party that voted against the ousting of popular former president Martin Vizcarra a week ago, will be Peru’s caretaker president presiding over elections in April 2021.
• The move is expected to ease tension on the streets after the impeachment of Vizcarra recently unleashed nationwide protests and what analysts have called Peru’s worst political crisis in more than a decade.

• Indian Prime Minister has recently unveiled the ‘Statue of Peace’ in Rajasthan’s Pali to mark the 151st Jayanti celebrations of Jainacharya Shree Vijay Vallabh Surishwer Ji Maharaj, via video conferencing.
• The 151-inch tall statue has been made from Ashtadhatu- 8 metals, with Copper being the major constituent, and is being installed at Vijay Vallabh Sadhana Kendra, Jetpura, in Pali, Rajasthan.
• Shree Vijay Vallabh Surishwer Ji Maharaj (1870-1954)
• He led an austere life as a Jain Saint working selflessly and dedicatedly to spread the message of Lord Mahavira.
• He also worked relentlessly for the welfare of masses, the spread of education, eradication of social evils, wrote inspiring literature (poetry, essays, devotional hymns and Stavans) and gave active support to the freedom movement and the cause of Swadeshi.

Tristan da Cunha

• It is an island with 245 permanent residents is creating a marine protection zone to safeguard endangered rockhopper penguins, yellow-nosed albatross and other wildlife in an area of the South Atlantic three times the size of the United Kingdom.
• The government of the British overseas territory, which calls itself the most remote inhabited island on Earth, said that fishing and other “extractive activities” will be banned from ocean around Tristan da Cunha and the archipelago’s three other major islands.
• The sanctuary will be the biggest “no-take zone” in the Atlantic Ocean and the fourth biggest anywhere in the world, protecting fish that live in the waters and tens of millions of seabirds that feed on them.
• The isolated area, roughly equidistant between South Africa and Argentina, supports 85% of the endangered northern rockhopper penguins, 11 species of whales and dolphins, and most of world’s sub-Antarctic fur seals, according to the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy Project.

UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize

• In 1995, to mark the UN Year for Tolerance and the 125th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, UNESCO created a prize for the promotion of tolerance and non-violence.
• The UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence rewards significant activities in the scientific, artistic, and cultural or communication fields aimed at the promotion of a spirit of tolerance and non-violence.
• The prize is awarded every two years on the International Day for Tolerance, 16 November (The Day recognizes the universal human rights and fundamental freedoms of others)
• The Prize may be awarded to institutions, organizations or persons, who have contributed in a particularly meritorious and effective manner to tolerance and non-violence.