Peatlands

• Peatlands are terrestrial wetland ecosystems in which waterlogged conditions prevent plant material from fully decomposing.
• Consequently, the production of organic matter exceeds its decomposition, which results in a net accumulation of peat.
• In cool climates, peatland vegetation is mostly made up of Sphagnum mosses, sedges and shrubs and are the primary builder of peat.
• In warmer climates graminoids and woody vegetation provide most of the organic matter.
• Peatlands occur in every climatic zone and continent.
• Due to the process of peat accumulation, peatlands are carbon rich ecosystems that store and sequester more carbon than any other type of terrestrial ecosystem.
• When peatlands are drained, the carbon from organic matter contained in peat dries and oxidizes gradually to CO2, and is permanently lost from the system.
• In India, peatlands have been recorded in Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and north Sikkim.
• Some parts of the Western Ghats have peat too.
• A lot of the deltas and mangroves have the propensity to develop into peat.

• Brazzaville Declaration - It aims to implement coordination and cooperation between different government sectors to protect the benefits provided by peatland ecosystems.
• The agreement is the beginning of a deep collaboration between Indonesia, covered by vast expanses of peatlands, and the Congo Basin.

Colour Revolutions

• Colour revolutions refer to a series of uprisings that first began in former communist nations in Eastern Europe in the early 2000s, but are also used in reference to popular movements in the Middle East and Asia.
• Most have involved large-scale mobilisation on the streets, with demands for free elections or regime change, and calls for removal of authoritarian leaders.
• Protesters often wear a specific colour, such as in Ukraine’s Orange Revolution, but the term has also been used to describe movements named after flowers like the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia.
• In 2019, Beijing had said the protests in Hong Kong had taken on “colour revolution characteristics”.
• Orange Revolution: It refers to a series of protests that occurred in Ukraine between November 2004 and January 2005.
• The movement was in response to reports from international and domestic observers that claimed that the country’s 2004 Presidential election.
• Tulip Revolution: Also called the First Kyrgyz Revolution, the movement led to the ouster of Kyrgyzstan’s President Askar Akayev in early 2005.
• These protests were in response to the parliamentary elections in February, in which Akayev’s allies and family members won.
• Jasmine Revolution: The popular uprising that occurred between December 2010 to January 2011 in Tunisia was in response to the underlying corruption, unemployment, inflation and lack of political freedoms in the country.
• Purple Revolution: It was the name given to the coming of democracy to Iraq following the 2005 Iraqi legislative elections.
• Rose Revolution: The Revolution triggered new presidential and parliamentary elections in Georgia, which established the United National Movement as the dominant ruling party.

SC quota for Dalit Muslims and Christians

• The Centre is likely to soon decide on setting up a national commission to study the social, economic and educational status of Dalits who converted to religions other than Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism.
• Dalits who convert to Christianity and Islam do not get quota benefits.
• The original rationale behind giving reservation to Scheduled Castes was that these sections had suffered from the social evil of untouchability, which was practised among Hindus.
• Under Article 341 of the Constitution, the President may “specify the castes, races or tribes or parts of or groups within castes, races or tribes which shall be deemed to be Scheduled Castes”.
• The first order under this provision was issued in 1950, and covered only Hindus.
• Following demands from the Sikh community, an order was issued in 1956, including Sikhs of Dalit origin among the beneficiaries of the SC quota.
• In 1990, the government acceded to a similar demand from Buddhists of Dalit origin.
• The order was revised to state: “No person who professes a religion different from the Hindu, the Sikh or the Buddhist religion shall be deemed to be a member of Scheduled Caste.”
• In other words, only Dalits belonging to Hinduism, Sikhism and the Buddhism will be considered to be a member of the Scheduled Caste (SC).

Does this religion-based bar apply to converted STs and OBCs as well?

• It does not.
• The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) states, “The rights of a person belonging to a Scheduled Tribe are independent of his/her religious faith.”
• Following the implementation of the Mandal Commission report, several Christian and Muslim communities have found place in the Central and state lists of OBCs.

UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC)

• A learning city promotes lifelong learning for all.
• Lifelong learning lays the foundation for sustainable, social, economic, and environmental development.
• UNESCO defines learning city as a city that
  • Effectively mobilises its resources in every sector to promote inclusive learning basic to higher education.
  • Revitalises learning in families and communities.
  • Facilitates learning for and in the workplace.
  • Extends the use of modern learning technologies.
  • Enhances quality and excellence in learning.
  • Fosters a culture of learning throughout life.
• The UNESCO GNLC is an international network consisting of cities that successfully promote lifelong learning across their communities.
• It has 294 cities in 76 countries that share inspiration, know-how and best practice among each other.
• Nilambur, the land of teak, and Thrissur, the cultural capital of Kerala, have become the first Indian towns to attain the UNESCO recognition, along with Warangal in Telangana.
• The three Indian towns were among the 77 new members from 44 countries to join the GNLC this year.
• The UNESCO learning city status would ensure education for everyone in the chosen cities.
• Cities with a population of five lakh and above were usually considered by the UNESCO for GNLC status.
• Nilambur has been the first town to be included in the GNLC with less than one lakh population.

I-Familia

• The International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) has launched a new global database named “I-Familia”.
• I-Familia is a global database for identifying missing persons based on international DNA kinship matching.
• A Kinship DNA test can be performed to determine if a biological relationship exists between individuals, such as a grandparent, brother or sister, aunt or uncle, etc.
• DNA kinship matching is used mostly in cases where a direct sample of the missing person is not available.
• I-Familia has three components:
  1. A dedicated global database to host the DNA profiles provided by relatives, held separately from any criminal data.
  2. DNA matching software called Bonaparte, developed by Dutch company Smart Research.
  3. Interpretation guidelines developed by Interpol.
• Family members must give their consent for their data to be used for international searching.
• India is a member of the Interpol.