In News:

Madhya Pradesh has become the first state in India to implement an AI-based Real-Time Forest Alert System (RTFAS), marking a significant leap in leveraging technology for sustainable forest management.

Key Highlights

• The AI-based Real-Time Forest Alert System integrates satellite imagery, machine learning, and mobile app feedback for proactive forest monitoring.
• The system is currently being piloted in five forest divisions: Shivpuri, Guna, Vidisha, Burhanpur, and Khandwa—regions with high incidences of encroachment and deforestation.
• Developed using the Google Earth Engine, the system analyses multi-temporal satellite data to detect land use changes, such as:
  • Encroachment
  • Tree felling
  • Construction
  • Agricultural expansion

Features of the AI System (RTFAS)

• Custom AI Model: Detects forest degradation by comparing satellite images from three different dates.
• Real-Time Alerts: Sent to forest staff via a mobile application, enabling instant field verification with:
  • GPS-tagged photographs
  • Voice notes
  • Geo-fencing tools
• Interactive Dashboard: Displays live alerts categorized by beat and region with filters for area, density, and time.
• Data Enrichment: Includes indices such as:
  • NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index)
  • SAVI (Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index)
  • EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index)
  • SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar)

Forest Status in Madhya Pradesh & India

• Madhya Pradesh:
  • Has the largest forest cover in India: 85,724 sq. km (India State of Forest Report 2023)
  • Also reported the highest deforestation: 612.41 sq. km lost in 2023
• India:
  • Forest and tree cover: 25.17% of total geographical area
  • Below the 33% target set by the National Forest Policy, 1988

Role of Technology in Forest Conservation

Application                                      Technology Used

Forest Monitoring                       AI + Satellite imaging (e.g., RTFAS)

Forest Fires                                      AI cameras, thermal sensors, satellite constellations (e.g., FireSat), drones

Encroachment Detection     Satellite alerts with 2–3 day response time

Human-Wildlife Conflict      AI camera traps, GPS tracking, RFID tags, geofencing

Afforestation                                 Green bots for planting and monitoring tree growth

Biodiversity Monitoring        Acoustic AI (e.g., Rainforest Connection), Environmental DNA (eDNA)

India’s Initiatives for Sustainable Forest Management

Government Initiatives:

• Green India Mission: Increased forest cover by 0.56% (2017–2021)
• National Agroforestry Policy (2014): Promotes tree farming on private lands
• CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund): Reforestation of diverted forest lands
• Trees Outside Forests in India (TOFI): Involves private stakeholders in increasing green cover

Community & Corporate Involvement:

• CSR-driven plantations by auto, cement, and energy sectors
• Agroforestry: Integrates timber, fruit, and medicinal plants with crops
• Carbon Credit-linked Afforestation

In News:

The 10th edition of the Raisina Dialogue, India’s premier conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, is scheduled to be held in New Delhi from March 17–19, 2025.

About Raisina Dialogue:

• Launched: 2016
• Organisers: Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India
• Format: Multi-stakeholder, cross-sectoral conference bringing together global leaders in politics, business, media, academia, and civil society
• Modelled On: Munich Security Conference (Germany) and Shangri-La Dialogue (Singapore)
• Annual Venue: New Delhi
• 2025 Theme: Kalachakra: People. Peace. Planet.

Significance for India and the World:

• Provides a platform for dialogue on global strategic and security issues
• Enhances India’s image as a thought leader in international diplomacy
• Fosters multilateral cooperation on contemporary global challenges such as conflict resolution, climate change, technological disruption, and global governance
• Reflects India’s growing role as a bridge between the Global North and Global South

In News:

Manohar Lal, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, announced the Cities Coalition for Circularity (C-3), a multi-nation alliance for city-to-city collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and private sector partnerships.

• Platform: 12th Regional 3R and Circular Economy Forum in Asia and the Pacific
• Venue: Rajasthan International Centre, Jaipur, Rajasthan

What is C-3?

• The Cities Coalition for Circularity (C-3) is a multi-national alliance aimed at enhancing city-to-city collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and public-private partnerships.
• It focuses on promoting circular economy principles, resource efficiency, and low-carbon development.

Organizers and Supporters:

• Organized by: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (India), United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), and Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)
• Supported by: United Nations ESCAP, Ministry of Environment (Japan), and other global organizations

Key Announcements:

• Formation of a Working Group to finalize the coalition’s structure and operational framework
• Adoption of the Jaipur Declaration (2025–2034) – a nonpolitical, nonbinding declaration guiding the next decade of action for resource-efficient and sustainable urban growth

Highlights of the Forum:

• Theme: Realizing Circular Societies Towards Achieving SDGs and Carbon Neutrality in Asia-Pacific
• 3R India Pavilion: Inaugurated by Union Minister and Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal Sharma, showcasing 40+ Indian and Japanese start-ups in waste management and circular solutions

What is a Circular Economy?

A circular economy is a regenerative system where:

• Products, materials, and resources are maintained in use for as long as possible
• Waste is minimized through reuse, recycling, remanufacturing, composting, etc.
• It aims to decouple economic growth from resource consumption, addressing climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.

Why is it in the News?

Indian delegates have been visiting the International Seabed Authority (ISA), Jamaica to strengthen efforts to explore two deep sea regions in the Indian Ocean for mining, according to reports this week.

What is the Carlsberg Ridge?

• The Carlsberg Ridge is the northern section of the Central Indian Ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary between the African Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate, traversing the western regions of the Indian Ocean.
• The ridge of which the Carlsberg Ridge is a part extends northward from a triple point junction near the island of Rodrigues (the Rodrigues Triple Point) to a junction with the Owen Fracture Zone.
• The ridge started its northwards propagation in the late Maastrichtian and reached the incipient Arabian Sea in the Eocene.
  • Then it continued to accrete basalt but did not propagate for nearly 30 million years ago.
  • Then, in the early Miocene, it started to propagate westwards towards the Afar hot spot, opening the Gulf of Aden.
• The Carlsberg Ridge is seismically active, with a major earthquake being recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey at 7.6 on the moment magnitude scale in July 2003.
• The ridge was discovered by the Danish research vessel Dana during the Carlsberg Foundation's Oceanographic Expedition around the world (1928–1930), better known as the 2nd Dana Expedition, and named after the Carlsberg Foundation, which funded the entire expedition and subsequent analysis and publication of results.

About the Afanasy Nikitin Seamount (ANS) Seabed:

• The ANS is a major structural feature in the Indian Ocean, rising up above the sea bed but below the surface, and forming a seamount.
• It is 400 km long and 150 km wide, and is located in the Central Indian Basin — southeast of Sri Lanka, right below the equator, to the west of Singapore.
• It was formed about 80 million years ago, while dinosaurs still roamed the Earth.
• The Seamount is named after Afanasy Nikitin, a 15th-century Russian merchant who was one of the first to document his travels to India.
  • A black monolith is also erected in his honor at Revdanda, about 100 km away from Mumbai, where he is thought to have first set foot in the country.
• The ANS seamount is about 3,000 km from India’s coast and is rich in cobalt, copper, manganese, and nickel.

What are Seamounts?

• Seamounts are submarine mountains originating from volcanic eruptions beneath the ocean's surface, serving as critical habitats for diverse marine ecosystems.
• Similar to terrestrial volcanoes, seamounts can exhibit varying states of activity, including active, dormant, or extinct stages.
• They typically form near mid-ocean ridges, where tectonic plates separate, allowing magma to ascend and solidify on the seabed.
• Notably, seamounts also emerge near intraplate hotspots and oceanic island chains, such as island arcs, characterized by volcanic and seismic activity.
• These underwater formations hold significant scientific value, offering insights into mantle composition, plate tectonics, and oceanic circulation dynamics.
• Moreover, seamounts play a crucial role in nutrient cycling and marine life proliferation, fostering localized upwelling of nutrient-rich waters that support diverse biological communities.