Madhya Pradesh notifies PESA Rules on the occasion of Janjatiya Gaurav Divas (GS Paper 2, Governance)
Why in news?
- Recently, Madhya Pradesh has notified its PESA Rules on the occasion of Janjatiya Gaurav Divas on 15th November, 2022.
- At the State Level Janjatiya Gaurav Divas Sammelan at Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh, Governor of Madhya Pradesh handed over the first copy of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA Act) Manual to the President of India.
Why it matters?
- The PESA Act, now under implementation in Madhya Pradesh, will empower the Gram Sabhas to take decision on the rules and regulations with regard to all natural resources in the forest areas.
- The PESA Act will give more constitutional rights to the tribal people to reap the benefits of natural resources from the forest areas where they live.
Implementation of PESA:
- With the objective of effective implementation of PESA, Ministry of Panchayati Raj circulated Draft Model PESA Rules in 2009.
- Based on continuous advocacy and persuasion by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj eight States namely; Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana have notified their State PESA Rules under their respective State Panchayati Raj Acts.
- Recently, State of Chhattisgarh has notified their PESA Rules on 8th August, 2022. In the States of Jharkhand and Odisha the process of inter-Departmental consultation is still in progress.
- Nine PESA States, except Rajasthan, have incorporated the provisions of PESA 1996 in their respective State Panchayati Raj Acts. The tenth State, Rajasthan, has notified “The Rajasthan Panchayat Raj (Modification of Provisions in their Application to the Scheduled Areas) Act 1999”.
- Presently, 10 States viz. Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana, have Fifth Schedule Areas in their respective States.
About PESA:
- To bring the people residing in Fifth Schedule Areas in the mainstream, the Parliament, in terms of Article 243M(4)(b) of the Constitution, has enacted “the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996” (PESA) to extend Part IX of the Constitution, relating to Panchayats, to the Fifth Schedule areas, with certain modifications and exceptions. States, having Fifth Schedule Areas, have been empowered to make Panchayat Laws for these areas.
- Under “The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas), Act 1996” (PESA), State Legislatures have been empowered to frame all laws concerning the extension of the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution relating to the Panchayats in Fifth Scheduled Areas, subject to such exceptions and modifications as are provided in section 4 of the Act.
- PESA is an Act to provide for the extension of the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution relating to the Panchayats to the Scheduled Areas.
- In terms of section 2 of this Act, “Scheduled Areas” means the Scheduled Areas as referred to in clause (1) of article 244 of the Constitution.
- Out of the ten PESA States, eight States namely; Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana have framed and notified their State PESA Rules under their respective State Panchayati Raj Acts.
CITES COP19: Indias freshwater turtle in danger of extinction
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Why in news?
- India has put forward a proposal to better protect a species of freshwater reptile called the red-crowned roofed turtle (Batagurkachuga) under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
- The turtle, native to India and Bangladesh, is at a high risk of extinction.
CITES:
- CITES is an agreement regulating the movement across international borders of certain wild animal and plant species.
- The 19th Conference of the Parties to CITESis being held in Panama.
Three appendices:
- It has three appendices and the first one is for species currently threatened with extinction.
- The second appendix is for species not necessarily threatened with extinction but demands intervention to keep a check on trade and avoid its utilisation that may threaten their survival.
- The third is used when a specific country wants to regulate trade in a given species.
CITES COP19 agenda:
- The summit would have a series of proposals to protect threatened and vulnerable wild animals.
- In the CITES COP19 agenda, countries have proposals to amend the appendices for wild animals, which include transferring hippopotamus, straw-headed bulbul, red-crowned roofed turtle and African elephant to Appendix I.
- It also proposes to include requiem and hammerhead sharks in Appendix II.
Threats to Red-crowned roofed turtle (Batagurkachuga):
- The red-crowned roofed turtle is already classified as critically endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.
- The list cites threats like habitat loss due to pollution and hydrological projects specific in the Ganga lowlands of northern India and Bangladesh.
- Overharvesting the animal for illegal consumption and illegal international trade are other reasons for its extinction threat.
Illegal trade:
- Over 11,000 tortoises and freshwater turtles have been seized in India from 2009-2019, found a study by TRAFFIC, a global NGO working on trade in wild animals and plants and their conservation.The poached animals were illegally traded year after year and identification were absent in 51.5 per cent of the cases.
Hippopotamus:
- The common hippopotamus is threatened with extinction, as per another proposal made by Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Gabon, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. The species was listed as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2006.
- The primary threats and reasons mentioned are the illegal and unregulated hunting of the species for meat and ivory. The other reasons noted are the residential and commercial development along with human interventions such as agriculture, aquaculture, hunting and trapping.
- The animal-human conflict is also responsible for the decline in population.
Straw-headed bulbul:
- Malaysia, Singapore and the United States have also raised concerns about the declining population of straw-headed bulbul (Pycnonotuszeylanicus) from Southeast Asia.
- Highly popular for its distinctive calls, the species was listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2018. It is estimated to be a mere 600 to 1,700 mature population now.
- The proponents fear that the species has been rooted out from countries like Thailand, Java and Sumatra islands in Indonesia and Myanmar.
Elephant:
- Meanwhile, countries like Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Mali and Senegal have demanded the African elephant be considered for Appendix I because of the ongoing threat of increasing ivory trade demand.
- There has been a steady decline in the elephant population in various parts of Africa.
- The wild animal population declined by 62 per cent in the Congo basin range, amounting to a loss of 100,000 elephants in three years. The declining population trend was also termed irreversible by the African Elephant Database (AED) and other data sources.
- The elephant population is spread across 37 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Road to G20, Delhi 2023
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
Context:
- The G20 summit in Bali marked the end of Indonesia’s presidency of the grouping.
- India’s turn at the rotating presidency will begin officially on December 1.
G20 agenda:
- The Group of 20 is a non-treaty based organisation of 19 countries and the EU that traces its origins to the Asian financial crisis of 1997-99, when the G7 convened a meeting of finance ministers of a select group of countries and central bank governors from around the world to find ways to arrest the meltdown threatening to engulf the world.
- The broad objective of this grouping was to shore up the world’s economic and financial stability.
- The 2008 financial crisis saw the group elevated to the summit level for the first time, and by consensus, play an important role in dealing with that turning point for the global economy.
- Since then, the agenda of G20 described as representing 85 per cent of the global GDP, 75 per cent of global trade and 2/3rd of the world’s population has expanded in scope to include dealing with humanitarian crises brought about by conflict and natural disasters, climate change, health, gender issues, and the transition to digitisation.
- The G20 has also established the Financial Stability Board to coordinate and monitor efforts in strengthening financial regulation.
Recent G20 presidencies & themes:
- In 2020, during Saudi Arabia’s presidency, Covid took centre stage, with two summits that year. It was preferred over WHO as the forum to deal with the outbreak. Member countries spearheaded the Debt Service Suspension Initiative by IMF and other development banks, and also launched other financial assistance for most vulnerable countries.
- In 2021, the Italian presidency outlined economic recovery, swift response to the health crisis still gripping the world, with equitable access to vaccines and diagnostics, plus building resilience against similar shocks, and building a prosperous future through growth, innovation and digitisation. Italy’s theme was People, Planet and Prosperity.
- In 2022, Indonesia’s theme was ‘Recover Together, Recover Stronger’, with the focus on global health, sustainable energy transition and environment, and digital transformation.
India’s theme:
- India theme for its presidency, unveiled earlier along with the official symbol of the lotus, is “One Earth, One Family, One Future”, but more specifics are awaited when it takes over the presidency on December 1.
- India will continue with the agenda of the last three presidencies. The approach will be one of continuity with change, or continuity with novelty. Broadly, Indonesia’s agenda; health security, energy and environment, and digital governance are close to India’s heart.
Representing global South:
- In recent months, India has repeatedly spoken about the global South, positioning itself as the voice of the developing world.
- Presenting India’s statement at the United Nations General Assembly in September, External Affairs Minister foreshadowed Indian Prime Minister’s remarks at Bali, when he said the global South was the most impacted by the “sharp deterioration in the international landscape”.
- During a visit to Russia, he told his counterpart that the global South was “in acute pain” due to the war, as he advocated dialogue and diplomacy.
- The G20, many in India’s strategic community are suggesting, is India’s opportunity to take on the role of peace-maker on behalf of the South. Modi’s remarks at the Bali summit suggest that India might use its presidency in that direction.
- India is also readying to push for global consensus on maintaining stable supply chains for food and fertilisers to build food security globally, and for stable supplies of energy.
G20 Secretariat:
- G20’s rotating presidency does not have a permanent secretariat. The president country every year sets up a temporary secretariat. The secretariat in Delhi is housed at the Sushma Swaraj Bhavan in Chanakyapuri. It came up earlier in 2022, and is headed by former foreign secretary Harsh V Shringla.
- The planning is done by the Troika, which comprises the past, present, and future presidents — in this case, Indonesia, India, and Brazil. The OECD also plays an advisory role.
Tracks & G20 meetings:
- Over the next eight months, India will host more than 200 official G20 meetings and a similar number of meetings of “engagement groups” comprising think tanks, private sector, and civil society.
- The meetings are organised along two tracks, the “Finance Track” and the “Sherpa Track”.The first deals with economic issues through meetings of finance ministers and central bank governors.
- It has eight workstreams: Global Macroeconomic Policies, Infrastructure Financing, International Financial Architecture, Sustainable Finance, Financial Inclusion, Health Finance, International Taxation, and Financial Sector Reforms.
- Each country has a sherpa, who co-ordinates other official meetings and working groups. Amitabh Kant, former CEO of Niti Aayog, is India’s sherpa.
- This track has 12 workstreams: anti-corruption, agriculture, culture, development, digital economy, employment, environment and climate, education, energy transition, health, trade and investment, and tourism.
Engagement Groups:
- Then there are the Engagement Groups — 20 each from business, civil society, labour, parliament, science, supreme audit institutions, think tanks, urban development groups, women and youth. The two most important from the point of view of policies are the Think 20 and the Business 20.
- The meetings will be held in every Indian state, to give delegates a “full experience of India’s amazing diversity, inclusive traditions, and cultural richness”.
- In addition to the 20 members, it is the G20 president’s prerogative to invite other countries. Officials have indicated participation of 20-25 other countries.
