🔆What is PBAT?

✅Kamalpur Nagar Panchayat in Tripura has introduced compostable bags made from PBAT as a sustainable alternative to single-use plastic (SUP).

📍What is PBAT?

✅PBAT (Polybutylene Adipate Terephthalate) is a biodegradable thermoplastic polymer used as an eco-friendly substitute for traditional plastics.
✅It is a copolymer of adipic acid, 1,4-butanediol, and terephthalic acid and can be processed using conventional plastic manufacturing methods.
✅PBAT is often blended with other biopolymers to enhance its mechanical and barrier properties

📍Properties of PBAT
✅100% compostable – breaks down into water, CO₂, and biomass under industrial composting conditions within 180 days.
✅Flexible and tough, making it ideal for bags, films, and packaging.
✅It is moisture-resistant, chemically inert, and offers good barrier properties.

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✅ Rangipo Desert
• Located in New Zealand
• A high-altitude volcanic desert near Mount Ruapehu
• Known for its volcanic ash and sparse vegetation

🔆 Glaciers and Their Associated Rivers
1. Batura – Hunza
2. Hispar – Hispar
3. Biafo – Braldu
4. Kedar Bamak – Mandakini
5. Godwin Austen – Tributary of Baltoro Glacier
6. Siachen – Nubra
7. Baltoro – Braldu
8. Bandarpunch – Hanuman Ganga
9. Gangotri – Bhagirathi
10. Yamunotri – Yamuna
11. Satopanth – Alaknanda
12. Milam – Saryu
13. Pindari – Pindar (tributary of Alaknanda)
14. Zemu – Lanchen (tributary of Teesta)
15. Kunchenjunga – Kanchen (very small river)

🔆 Important Gulfs/Bays

📍 Bay of Biscay
✅ Surrounding Countries: France, Spain
✅ Adjacent Water Body: Atlantic Ocean

📍 Gulf of Bothnia
✅ Surrounding Countries: Sweden, Finland
✅ Adjacent Water Body: Baltic Sea

📍 Gulf of Finland
✅ Surrounding Countries: Finland, Estonia, Russia
✅ Adjacent Water Body: Baltic Sea

📍 Gulf of Lion
✅ Surrounding Country: France
✅ Adjacent Water Body: Mediterranean Sea

🔆One Nation, One Mission: End Plastic Pollution

✅The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change today launched a nationwide mass mobilisation campaign ‘One Nation, One Mission: End Plastic Pollution’, in the run up to World Environment Day 2025.

✅This campaign highlights India’s unwavering commitment to environmental protection and sustainability, aligned with India’s flagship initiative—Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment).

📍The Key thrust areas of the Campaign:
✅Awareness and Advocacy regarding Plastic pollution
✅Reduced Use and Generation of Plastic waste including Single Use Plastic
✅Manage Plastic Waste including Single Use Plastic through Segregation, Collection, Disposal and Recycling of Plastic waste.
✅Promoting development of sustainable alternatives to single use plastic.

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🔆Overfishing: The Threat To Ocean Wealth, Livelihoods

✅India’s marine fisheries sector has reached its maximum potential yield, however it needs to take decisive steps to ensure sustainable fishing practices, balancing economic growth with marine conservation.

✅India’s Fisheries Sector
India is the second largest fish producing country with around 8% share in global fish production. 

📍Ecological Damage Through Bycatch and Trawling
🔰Trawling Bycatch Crisis: In trawling, for every 1 kg of shrimp, over 10 kg of bycatch is discarded.
🔰Biodiversity Loss: Bycatch includes juveniles and non-target species, often dead or dying.
🔰Habitat Destruction: Shrimp trawling damages marine biodiversity, reefs, and food webs.

✅Juvenile Fishing and Mesh Size Issues :Mesh sizes <25 mm allow sub-legal fish into nets, reducing spawning stock biomass.

✅New Zealand’s Quota Management System (QMS) uses science-based total allowable catches.

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🔆 Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh – A Historical Gem

📍 🏛 Historical Significance
✅ Historians are working to restore Srikakulam’s ancient prominence.
✅ Formerly known as Chicacole during British colonial rule.
✅ Part of the Kalinga Dynasty, later under the Gajapati Kingdom.

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