Environment:

Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund

• Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) is a global program that provides funding and technical assistance to non-governmental organizations and other private sector partners to protect critical ecosystems. They focus on biodiversity hotspots, the Earth’s biologically richest yet most endangered areas.

World Wide Fund for Nature

• The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961, working in the field of the wilderness preservation, and the reduction of humanity’s footprint on the environment. It was formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States.
• It is the world’s largest conservation organization.
• Currently, much of its work focuses on the conservation of three biomes that contain most of the world’s biodiversity: oceans and coasts, forests, and freshwater ecosystems. Among other issues, it is also concerned with endangered species, sustainable production of commodities and climate change.
• WWF publishes the Living Planet Index in collaboration with the Zoological Society of London. Along with ecological footprint calculations, the Index is used to produce a bi-yearly Living Planet Report giving an overview of the impact of human activity on the world.
• The organization also regularly publishes reports, fact sheets and other documents on issues related to its work, in order to raise awareness and provide information to policy and decision makers.
• Earth Hour is a worldwide movement for the planet organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). 
• Earth Hour 2016 was on Saturday, March 19, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. during participants’ local time.

BirdLife International

• BirdLife International (formerly the International Committee for Bird Protection) is a global partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources. 
• It is the world’s largest partnership of conservation organisations, with over 120 partner organisations.
• BirdLife International was founded in 1922 as the International Committee for Bird Protection.
• BirdLife International is the official Red List authority for birds, for the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Alliance for Zero Ext:inction

• Formed in 2000 and launched globally in 2005, the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) comprises 100 non-governmental biodiversity conservation organizations working to prevent species extinctions by identifying and safeguarding sites where species evaluated to be Endangered or Critically Endangered under International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) criteria only exist at one location on earth.
• AZE members work to rebuild populations of endangered and critically endangered species through efforts to eliminate human threats such as commercial exploitation, disease and the introduction of invasive species. 
• AZE provides expertise on biodiversity goals for the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and assists party nations in integrating protection of AZE sites and species into National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAP). 
• Country-based initiatives, or national Alliances for Zero Extinction, have begun to take shape recently representing partnerships of government agencies and non-government organizations to accelerate the protection of AZE sites in compliance with national commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Ecological Succession:

Ecological succession is the gradual process by which ecosystems change and develop over time. Nothing remains the same and habitats are constantly changing.

This succession can be initiated by the formation of new habitat which was unoccupied or from disturbance of an existing community. Each species in the ecosystem has set of environmental conditions under which these species grow and reproduce. As long as these conditions remain constant, the species that are adapted to these conditions flourish in the environment. Succession is caused by a change in the ecosystem and its impact on the species and their own environment. The first environment may be optimal for the first species and it the altered conditions can be optimal for other species of organism. Under the altered conditions the first species may fail to flourish and the second species may flourish.  

Types

There are two different types of succession 

• Primary succession and 
• Secondary succession. 

Primary ecological succession occurs in the lifeless areas like in the regions which are incapable of sustaining life as result of lava flows, sand dunes newly formed; left over rocks from the retreating glacier. It is the beginning of a new habitat in a uninfluenced area without any pre-existing communities.  

Secondary ecological succession occurs in areas where a community has been removed from a previously existing area. This succession may be triggered by smaller-scale disturbances and they do not eliminate all the life and nutrients from the pre-existing environment. Secondary succession occurs after the disruption of a pre-existing community.

Stages

There are three fundamental stages involved in the order of ecological succession. They are as follows: 

• Primary Succession
• Secondary Succession and
• Climax Community. 

The order of ecological succession can be altered depending upon the location of the region and its climatic conditions. Although there are stages in which succession occurs. 

The order is as follows: 

1. Pioneer species,
2. Grasses,
3. Shrubs, 
4. Trees, 
5. Eventually a climax community stage is reached where the succession process is stabilized until the land is forced to turn into a barren land once again. 

Primary succession happens simultaneously with the growth of the pioneer species. During the primary succession, a barren land is transformed from a lifeless environment into a environment which supports life.

Secondary succession is the process where one community is changed into another. It occurs in the place where life is already present. 

Climax community is where succession leads to a single stage which is stead and terminal known as the climax stage.  

Climax Community

Climax concept is a classical theory concerned with ecology; it states that succession stops at a stage where the biotic and the physical environment have arrived at an equilibrium stage or a steady state. This succession will persist indefinitely, facing the major disturbance and this end point of succession is known as climax. 

the characteristics of the climax community are:

• The vegetation of this region is tolerant to the environmental conditions. 
• The species diversity is large and the food chains of these species are complex and with spatial structure. 
• It is a balanced ecosystem. 
• In the climax ecosystem there is a balance between the primary production, total respiration and also the energy being used from sunlight and also the energy being released by the process of decomposition.
• There is also a equilibrium between the nutrients taken in from the soil and the return of the nutrients to the soil by litter fall. 
• The individual organisms in the climax ecosystem are replaced by other organisms of the same kind. Thus maintaining species equilibrium. 
• The life and growth here indicates the climatic types of an area. 

Examples

Some of the observable examples of ecological succession include:

Example 1 – Harwood tress like oak grow within the red pine plantations. The consequences for the growth of this hardwood is the increase in shading and the mortality of the sun loving red pine trees and by the hardwood seedlings which are tolerant to shade. The forest floor is shaded by the pines and thus prohibiting the growth of the sun-loving pine seedling and promoting the growth of the shade loving hardwood trees. The hardwood trees are grown on the consequence on the decline and senescence of the pine forest.

Example 2 – Another simple of ecological succession would be formation of islands from the activity from a volcano in the ocean. The first organisms to appear on the island would be pioneer species like bacteria, fungi and moss and it followed by grasses, shrubs and trees.

Causes

Three main causes of ecological succession are identified for the process of succession. 

• Initiating causes – The initiating causes include biotic and climatic factors which destroy the existing populations of the area. The climatic factors include wind, fire, natural disasters, erosion, etc. The activities of other organisms constitute the biotic factors. 
• Continuing causes – The continuing causes of the succession is also known as ecesis. These processes are continuous like aggregation, competition and migration etc. These continuous causes result in a series of changes in the soil structure of the area. The common changes here include changes in soil nutrients, accumulation of organic matter and changes in soil pH etc. 
• Stabilizing causes – The stabilizing causes include climatic factors that result in the stabilization of a community.

Autogenic and Allogenic Succession

• When succession is brought about by living inhabitants of that community itself, the process is called autogenic succession, while change brought about by outside forces is known as allogenic

Autotrophic and Heterotrophic succession

• Succession in which, initially the green plants are much greater in quantity is known as autotrophic succession;
• and the ones in which the heterotrophs are greater in quantity is known as heterotrophic succession.
• Succession would occur faster in area existing in the middle of the large continent. This  is because, here all prop gules or seeds of plants belonging to the different seres would reach much faster, establish and ultimately result in climax community(imp for short ans type  question)

Indian Polity:

Supreme Court in India:

Appointment of Supreme Court Judge in India

• The Supreme court Judges in India are appointed by the President on the advice of his Council of Ministers and in consultation with such persons as he deems fit. In the appointment of the Chief Justice, the President consults such judges of the Supreme Court and High courts as he thinks necessary.

Qualification for appointment as a Supreme Court Judge

• (a) a citizen of India,
• (b) has been a judge of any High Court for at least 5 years, or
• (c) has been an advocate in a High Court for 10 years or is in the opinion of the President a distinguished jurist.

Vacancy of Post of Judge of Supreme Court inIndia

• (a) retirement on completion of 65th year of age,
• (b) resignation and
• (c) removal through impeachment.

Removal of  Supreme Court Judge  in India

• The framers of the constitution took great pains to ensure the independence of the Supreme Court judges. There is independence of Judiciary in India. Thus a judge may be removed only through impeachment. This is the only way for the removal of a judge. A judge may be impeached only on grounds of proved misbehavior and incapacity.
• The salaries and allowances of a judge cannot be varied to his disadvantage except during a financial emergency under Article 360. The administrative expenses of the Supreme Court are changed on the revenues of India. Finally a judge may not engage in legal practice after retirement.

Powers and Functions of Supreme Court in India

• The role and position of the Supreme Court is vital in the judicial and political system of India. The primary duty of the Supreme Court is to ascertain whether the laws are executed and obeyed properly and to see to it that no person is deprived of justice in any court of law.
• With this purpose in view, the Supreme Court occupies the highest place in our unitary judicial system. Attempt has been made, as far as possible, to ensure its independence and achieve the goal of ensuring justice.
• The Supreme Court has been equipped with enormous powers. By virtue of its place at the apex of the judicial pyramid, the Supreme Court acts as a great unifying force. We have seen that its decisions and verdicts are binding on any court in India. As a result, there is a good possibility of integration, consistency and cohesion in the entire judicial system of the country.

Role and Functions

• As a Federal Court: Supreme Court is the Federal Court of India, India being a federation; powers are divided between the Union and State governments. The Supreme Court of India is the final authority to see to it that the division of powers as specified in the constitution is obeyed by both the Union and the State governments. So, Article 131 of the Indian Constitution vests the Supreme Court with original and exclusive jurisdiction to determine the justiciable disputes between the Union and the States or between the States.
• Interpreter of the Constitution and Law: The responsibility of interpreting the constitution rests on the Supreme Court. The interpretation of the constitution which the Supreme Court shall make must be accepted by all. It interprets the constitution and preserves it. Where a case involves a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the constitution either certified by the High Court or being satisfied by the Supreme Court itself, an appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court for interpretation of the question of law raised.
• As a Court of Appeal: The Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal from all courts in the territory of India. Appeal lies to the Supreme Court of the cases involving interpretation of the constitution. Appeals in respect of civil and criminal cases also lie to the Supreme Court irrespective of any constitutional question.
• Advisory Role: The Supreme Court has an advisory jurisdiction in offering its opinion an any question of law or fact of public importance as may be referred to it for consideration by the President.
• Guardian of the Constitution: The Supreme Court of India is the guardian of the constitution. There are two points of significance of the Supreme Court’s rule as the protector and guardian of the constitution.

• First, as the highest Federal Court, it is within the power and authority of the Supreme Court to settle any dispute regarding division of powers between the Union and the States.
• Secondly, it is in the Supreme Court’s authority to safeguard the fundamental rights of the citizens.
• In order to discharge these two functions it is sometimes necessary for the Supreme Court to examine or review the legality of the laws enacted by both the Union and the State Governments. This is known as the power of Judicial Review. Indian Supreme Court enjoys limited power of Judicial Review.
• Writ Jurisdictions: Under Article 32 of the constitution of Supreme Court can issue Writs for the enforcement of fundamental rights. These writs are in the nature of Habeas Corpus, Mandamas, Prohibition, and Quo-warranto Certiorari.
• Power of Judicial Review and Supreme Court: The power of the Judiciary to examine the validity of such law is called Judicial Review. The Supreme Court of India enjoys limited power of Judicial Review. Judicial Review empowers the courts to invalidate laws passed by the legislature. Supreme Court of India also enjoys the power of Judicial Review. If it occurs to the Supreme Court that any law enacted by Parliament or by a State Legislature curbs or threatens to curb the citizen’s fundamental rights, the Supreme Court may declare that law as unlawful or unconstitutional. If any law is inconsistent with the spirit or letter of the constitution and if the government oversteps the legal bounds, it is for the Supreme Court to see to it.

Jurisdiction of Supreme Court of India

• Original Jurisdiction,
• Appellate Jurisdiction,
• Writ Jurisdiction and
• Advisory Jurisdiction.

1. Original Jurisdiction:

2. Appellate Jurisdiction:

• The Supreme Court is the highest Appellate Court in India and as such it has an appellate jurisdiction over the State High Courts.
• It hears appeals in constitutional, civil and criminal cases.

Constitutional:

• The powers relating to Constitutional matters are important power of Supreme Court.
• In constitutional matters, the Supreme Court hears appeals from a State High Court, when the High Court certifies that the case involves a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution.

Civil Jurisdiction:

Criminal Jurisdiction:

1. Has on appeal reversed an order of acquittal of an accused person and sentenced him to death or
2. Certifies that the case is a fit one for appeal to the Supreme Court.

3. Writ Jurisdiction

• Under the Constitution of India, a person has the right to move the Supreme Court for the protection of his fundamental rights. And the Supreme Court may issue writs in the nature of mandamus, habeas copus, prohibition and quo­-warranto for the enforcement of the fundamental rights of citizens conferred by Part III of the Constitution

Advisory Jurisdiction:

• The President of India has the power to refer important questions of law or fact to the Supreme Court for its opinion. And the Supreme Court may report to the President its opinion thereon.