Recently, The 26th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-26) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was held at Nairobi, Kenya.

Subsidiary Body on Scientific Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA):

• It  is an  open-ended intergovernmental scientific advisory body providing  the Conference of the Parties (COP) and its other subsidiary bodies, with timely advice relating to the implementation of the Convention.
• Establishment: It is formed by the Article 25 of the Convention on Biological Diversity
• Functions: To provide assessments of the status of biological diversity; providing assessments of the types of measures taken in accordance with the provisions of the Convention; and responding to questions that the COP may put to the body.
• The body recommended full implementation of the The Biodiversity Plan, which was  adopted at Montreal in December 2022.
• The recommendations would be discussed upon further at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP16).
• COP16 will be held in the Colombian city of Cali from October 21-November 1, 2024. 
• CBD’s Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI): The delegates of the scientific Body will also become a part of the meeting of the  CBD’s Subsidiary Body on Implementation.
• Main Focus: Review of implementation, including updating of national biodiversity strategies and action plans; resource mobilization and financial mechanism; capacity building and development, technical and scientific cooperation, and knowledge management; cooperation with other conventions and international organizations.
• An expert group was also created to inform on the risks of living, modified fish.

Issues Discussed at the Meeting:

• Scientific and technical needs to support the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
• Monitoring framework for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework: The work on monitoring Framework was advanced which would be used to track national, regional and global progress against the targets for 2030.
• Detection and identification of living modified organisms: The need for vigilance in detecting and identifying living modified organisms was re-emphasised with concerns being flagged about GM insect
• Risk assessment and risk management : New voluntary guidelines are recommended in the field of biosafety and biotechnology for risk assessment regarding engineered gene drives to strengthen transparency and scientific rigor of the process.
• Synthetic biology: Parties agreed on the need for capacity-building, technology transfer and knowledge-sharing to address the issue of equity in developing countries’ participation in the field of Synthetic Biology, where traits are deliberately introduced in the genetic material of organisms.
• Ecologically or biologically significant marine areas (EBSA): Setting the stage for a potential agreement to define EBSA and Conservation & sustainable use of marine and coastal biodiversity
• The decision is likely to be reached at COP16.
• Biodiversity and Health: It includes an updated version of the draft global action plan to mainstream biodiversity and health linkages into national policies.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)

Convention on Biological Diversity

• Adoption: It was adopted during the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) 2022.
• Aim: The Framework sets an ambitious pathway to reach the global vision of a world living in harmony with nature by 2050 with key elements being the 4 goals for 2050 and 23 targets for 2030.
• This Framework supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and builds on the Convention’s previous Strategic Plans.
• Mechanism for Implementation: The Plan will include a monitoring framework for the GBF,  an enhanced mechanism for planning, monitoring, reporting and reviewing implementation, the necessary financial resources for implementation, strategic frameworks for capacity development and technical and scientific cooperation, as well as an agreement on digital sequence information on genetic resources.
• Global Stocktake: At the COP16, There will be a global stocktake of the targets and commitments that have been set.

Recently, the FSSAI has published a comprehensive guidance document titled “Artificial Ripening of Fruits- Ethylene gas a safe fruit ripener”.

• FSSAI Warns Against Use of Calcium Carbide for Ripening Action against Violators: FSSAI is also advising Food Safety Departments of States /UTs to remain vigilant and take serious action and deal stringently against person(s) indulging in such unlawful practices as per the provisions of FSS Act, 2006 and Rules/Regulations made thereunder.
• Further, the Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee (CIB & RC) has approved Ethephon 39% SL for the uniform ripening of mangoes and other fruits.

Calcium Carbide:

• Manufacturing: It is produced by heating lime and carbon mixture to 2000-2100°C in an electric arc furnace.
• Use: It is commonly used for ripening fruits like mangoes.
• Concern: It releases acetylene gas which contains harmful traces of arsenic and phosphorus.
• These harmful substances, also known as ‘Masala’, can cause serious health issues such as dizziness, frequent thirst, irritation, weakness, difficulty in swallowing, vomiting and skin ulcers, etc.
• Acetylene gas is also equally hazardous to those handling it. There are chances that calcium carbide may come in direct contact with fruits during application and leave residues of arsenic and phosphorus on fruits.

About Above Mentioned Gases:

• Ethylene: It is a naturally occurring hormone in fruits, regulates the ripening process by initiating and controlling a series of chemical and biochemical activities.
• The treatment of unripe fruits with ethylene gas triggers the natural ripening process until the fruit itself starts producing ethylene in substantial quantities.
• Ethephon: It is a plant growth regulator used to promote fruit ripening, abscission, flower induction, and other responses.
• Acetylene: It is also called ethyne. It is a colorless gas which is used as a chemical building block widely and also as a fuel.

Regulations by the FSSAI:

• Ban: Due to these dangers, the use of calcium carbide for ripening fruits has been banned under Regulation 2.3.5 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011.
• Permitted Safety Limits: Considering the issue of rampant use of banned calcium carbide, FSSAI has permitted the use of ethylene gas as a safer alternative for fruit ripening in India.
• Ethylene gas can be used at concentrations up to 100 ppm (100 μl/L), depending upon the crop, variety and maturity.

Central Insecticides Board & Registration Committee:

• Establishment: It was set up by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in 1970 to regulate the import, manufacture, sale, transport, distribution and use of insecticides.
• The insecticides are regulated under Insecticides Act, 1968 and Insecticides Rules, 1971.
• Mandate: The Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee is responsible to advise the Central and State governments on technical matters related to insecticides.

The Philippines recently challenged China to open Scarborough Shoal to international scrutiny after it accused Beijing of destroying the shoal''s marine environment.

Scarborough Shoal:

• The Scarborough Shoal (also known in English as the Scarborough Reef) is a series of small rocks and islands which are formed into a triangle shape in the South China Sea, located some 220 kilometers from the Philippines.
• The largest island features a lagoon and is around sixty square miles in area, while many of the rocks are so small they protrude only a metre or so from the sea at low tide and are completely submerged when the tide is high.
• The deep waters around the shoal make it a productive fishing area, rich in marine life, and the lagoon also contains many commercially valuable shellfish and sea cucumbers.
• The shoal is the source of an ongoing and, so far, unresolved dispute between the People’s Republic of Chinaand the Philippines, with both countries claiming that the shoal lies within their territory and saying they have exclusive rights to access its waters.
• There are no structures built on Scarborough Shoal, but the feature is effectively controlled by China, which has maintained a constant coast guard presence at the feature since 2012.
• China, which now refers to the shoal as Huangyan Island, makes a historical claim to the area, stating that they can trace their ownership of the area back to the Yuan Dynasty of the 1200s.
• The Philippines claim the area on the basis of geography, as it is much closer to the Philippines’ main island of Luzon, which contains the capital, Manila, but lies over 500 miles from China.

Airbus Helicopters and the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for financing the purchase of Airbus’ helicopters in India.

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI):

• It was set up on 2nd April, 1990, under an Act of the Indian Parliament.
• Purpose: To act as the principal financial institution for promotion, financing, and development of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector, as well as for the co-ordination of functions of institutions engaged in similar activities.
• It is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, GoI.
• It was incorporated in initially as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI).
• Currently the shares of SIDBI are held by the Government of India (GoI) and 22 other institutions/PSBs/insurance companies owned or controlled by the Central Government.
• Headquarters: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
• SIDBI helps MSMEs in acquiring the funds they require to grow, market, develop, and commercialize their technologies and innovative products.
• The bank provides several schemes and also offers financial services and products to meet individual requirements of various businesses.
• Financial support to MSMEs is provided by way of
• Indirect/refinance to banks/Financial Institutions for onward lending to MSMEs
• Direct finance in niche are as like risk capital, sustainable finance, receivable financing, service sector financing, etc.
• SIDBI was made responsible for administering the Small Industries Development Fund and the National Equity Fund that were administered by IDBI before.
• In order to promote and develop the MSME sector, SIDBI adopts a ‘Credit Plus’ approach, under which, besides credit, SIDBI supports enterprise development, skill upgradation, marketing support, cluster development, technology modernization, etc.