Uttarakhand

• 06 Jun 2024

3rd Indian Analytical Congress (IAC) in Dehradun

Why in News?

Recently, the 3rd Indian Analytical Congress (IAC) was inaugurated at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP) in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

• It is a three-day International Conference cum Exhibition IAC-2024 being jointly organised by CSIR-IIP and the Indian Society of Analytical Scientists (ISAS-Delhi Chapter).

Key Points

• The theme of the conference is: "Role of Science and Technology in Green Transitions".
• The conference will provide a platform for industries, academia, scientists, and technologists in the Analytical Sciences to present the prevalent and upcoming solutions in this area.
  • The conference shall witness five technical sessions comprising invited talks by eminent speakers, presentations by researchers, and special and plenary sessions.

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

• About: CSIR is the largest research and development (R&D) organisation in India. CSIR has a pan-India presence and has a dynamic network of 37 national laboratories, 39 outreach centres, 3 Innovation Complexes and 5 units.
  • CSIR is funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology and it operates as an autonomous body through the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
  • CSIR covers a wide spectrum of streams – from radio and space physics, oceanography, geophysics, chemicals, drugs, genomics, biotechnology and nanotechnology to mining, aeronautics, instrumentation, environmental engineering and information technology.
    • It provides significant technological intervention in many areas with regard to societal efforts which include the environment, health, drinking water, food, housing, energy, and farm and non-farm sectors.
• Established: September 1942
• Headquarters: New Delhi

World Environment Day

Why in News?

World Environment Day is celebrated on 5^th June every year to encourage awareness and environmental protection.

Key Points

• Recently, in a remarkable initiative to combat deforestation two environmentalists, Jai Dhar Gupta and Vijay Dhasmana created India's first biosphere in a tiger reserve, called the Rajaji Raghati Biosphere (RRB) within the Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand.
• The biosphere is a 35-acre private forest initiative aimed at identifying and reviving rare and endangered species of native trees while protecting the area from poachers and mining.
  • The land earmarked for RRB was previously barren and in a state of degradation.
• They are also developing a second biosphere above the Koyna River in the buffer zone of the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve near Pune, Maharashtra, along the Western Ghats.

World Environment Day

• About:
  • The United Nations Assembly established World Environment Day in 1972, which was the first day of the Stockholm Conference on the human environment.
  • World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated every year with a specific theme and slogan that focuses on the major environmental issues of that time.
    • WED 2024 is hosted by Saudi Arabia.
    • India hosted the 45th celebration of World Environment Day in 2018 under the theme ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’.
  • WED celebration in 2021 kicked off the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) which is a global mission to revive billions of hectares, from forests to farmlands, from the top of mountains to the depth of the seas.
• The Theme for 2024:
  • Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience
  • Year 2024 also marks the 30^th anniversary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).