About Neanderthals:

• They were an extinct relative of modern humans once found across Europe, extending into Central and Southwest Asia.
• Species: Homo neanderthalensis
• The name Neanderthal (or Neandertal) derives from the Neander Valley in Germany, where the fossils were first found.
• They are the closest extinct relatives of modern humans (Homo sapiens).
• Scientific evidence suggests our two species shared a common ancestor.
• Neanderthals were closely related to another group of extinct, little-known human relatives called the Denisovans.
• Current evidence from both fossils and DNA suggests that Neanderthal and modern human lineages separated at least 500,000 years ago.
• The last populations of Neanderthals are thought to have died out roughly 40,000 years ago, several thousand years or so after a wave of modern humans migrated deeper into Europe.
• Although they are long extinct, their genes are still present in modern human DNA.
• Features:
  • Some defining features of their skulls include the large middle part of the face, angled cheek bones, and a huge nose for humidifying and warming cold, dry air.
  • Their bodies were shorter and stockier than modern humans, another adaptation to living in cold environments.
  • But their brains were just as large as modern humans and often larger-proportional to their brawnier bodies.
  • Their bones reveal that they were extremely muscular and strong, but led hard lives, suffering frequent injuries.
  • Unlike modern humans, Neanderthals didn’t have much of a chin.
  • Neanderthals made and used a diverse set of sophisticated tools, controlled fire, lived in shelters, made and wore clothing, were skilled hunters of large animals, ate plant foods, and occasionally made symbolic or ornamental objects.
  • Around 300,000 years ago Neanderthals developed an innovative stone technology known as the Levallois technique.
    • This involved making pre-shaped stone cores that could be finessed into a finished tool at a later time.
  • There is evidence that Neanderthals deliberately buried their dead and occasionally even marked their graves with offerings, such as flowers.
  • No other primates, and no earlier human species, had ever practiced this sophisticated and symbolic behavior.

About Intergenerational Equity:

• Intergenerational equity is a principle that emphasizes the moral obligation of the current generation to ensure that future generations have the same opportunities and resources available to them as the present generation.
• It refers to equity between generations, which includes the needs of the future generation in the design and implementation of current policies.
• Thus, intergenerational equity simply means a duty of the present generation towards future generations. the present generations of human beings are obliged to take care of the natural resources and ecology so that all future generations shall also have an equal chance to enjoy mother nature and the right to life.
• It is a recognized principle of International Environmental law which provides for the preservation of natural resources for the benefit of future generations.
• The principle is strongly embedded in the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change.
• Historically, it owes its recognition to the Brundtland Report, Our Common Future (1987), which popularized the principle of “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
• The Declaration of Rio on Environment and Development (1992) adds a rights-based perspective to the principle, suggesting that “the right to development must be fulfilled to equitably meet development and environmental needs of present and future generations.”

About Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary:

• It is located in the Nuapada district of Odisha, adjoining Chhattisgarh.
• It is spread over an area of 600 sq.km. It was declared a sanctuary in 1983.
• It adjoins the Sitanadi and Udanti sanctuaries of Chhattisgarh.
• The sanctuary harbors a great diversity of wildlife habitats, with a vast plateau, canyons, and 11 waterfalls.
• It also forms the catchment area of the Jonk River (tributary of the Mahanadi River), over which a dam has been constructed to facilitate irrigation.
• Vegetation: The important vegetation of this sanctuary comprises dry deciduous tropical forests.
• Flora: Bija, Teak, Sisoo, Asan, Dharua, Mahul, Char, Sandalwood, Sidha, etc.
• Fauna:
  • It is an ideal habitat for the Barasingha (swamp deer).
  • Other important animals found are tigers, Leopards, hyenas, Barking Deer, Chital, Gaur, Sambar, Sloth Bear, Hill Myna, etc.
  • It also works as a migration link for rare wild buffaloes between the states of Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

About Jaechanax kuranganiensis:

• It is a new species of water-penny beetle.
• It was discovered in the fast-flowing Kurangani stream of the Bodi hills, in the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu.
• It marks the first-ever record of its genus in Tamil Nadu. The genus was previously known only from three other species found in various Asian countries.
• The research team identified the new species by examining its distinctive larval form.
• Water-penny beetle larvae are famous for their flat, disc-like shape, which allows them to cling tightly to rocks in streams, resembling a tiny coin.
  • Water-penny beetles play a vital role in the stream ecosystem, serving as an important part of the food chain.
  • Researchers often use their presence and health as a bioindicator, a natural way to check the overall health and quality of the freshwater environment.
• The new species has been named kuranganiensis after the Kurangani stream where it was found.
• It is separated from its closest relatives by several key features on its larval body.
  • Most notably, it possesses a unique groove, or oblique sulcus, on the shield-like segment behind its head (the pronotum).
  • Furthermore, the researchers noted that the ninth and final abdominal segment of the larva is subrectangular and approximately 1.2 times wider than it is long, a crucial detail for distinguishing it from other known water-penny beetles.
  • This groove forms a specific triangular structure that is not found in other species of the Jaechanax genus.

About Ethiopia:

• It is a landlocked country in East Africa.
• It occupies an area of 1,104,300 sq.km.
• It is the largest and most populated country located in the Horn of Africa.
• With the 1993 secession of Eritrea, its former province along the Red Sea, Ethiopia became landlocked.
• It is bordered by six countries. These are Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan, and Sudan to the north, northeast, east, south, west, and northwest, respectively.
• The political system in Ethiopia is Democratic Republic.
• Capital: Addis Ababa
• Currency: Birr (ETB)
• Languages: Afar, Amharic, Oromo, Somali, and Tigrinya.
• The country has one of the most rugged and complex topographies on the continent.
• The five major topographic features of the country are the Rift Valley, Western and Eastern Highlands, and Western and Eastern Lowlands.
• The North Central massifs of the country host the highest point in the country, marked by the yellow upright triangle. It is the 4,533 m high Mount Ras Dejen.
• The three main rivers in Ethiopia are the Blue Nile, the Omo River, and the Awash River.
• Lake Tana, one of Africa's most unique wetland ecosystems and the source of 50% of Ethiopia's freshwater, is located in the northwest of the Ethiopian Highlands.
• Ethiopia was among the first independent nations to sign the Charter of the United Nations, and it gave moral and material support to the decolonization of Africa and to the growth of Pan-African cooperation.
• These efforts culminated in the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (since 2002, the African Union) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, both of which have their headquarters in Addis Ababa.

About Greater Flamingo Sanctuary:

• Location: It is located in Dhanushkodi in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu.
• It is nestled within the ecologically sensitive Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve.
• It is home to a variety of ecosystems, including mangroves, sand dunes, mudflats, and marshes.
• It is a critical stopover point along the Central Asian Flyway for thousands of migratory wetland birds.
• Fauna: This region supports 128 bird species, including Greater and Lesser Flamingos and provide habitats for marine life, including fish, crustaceans, molluscs, and nesting sea turtles.
• Flora: It features diverse ecosystems and mangrove forests like Avicennia and Rhizophora, which stabilise the coastline.

Key Facts about Greater Flamingo

• It is a large wading bird known for its distinctive pink feathers and unique feeding habits.
• Distribution: Its range spans Africa, western Asia, and southern Europe.
• Habitat: It is usually found in shallow, saline, alkaline wetlands, such as salt lakes, coastal lagoons, intertidal mudflats, and saltworks during the breeding season.
• Conservation Status
  • IUCN: Least concern
  • Wild Life Protection Act: Schedule-II.

About Climate Investment Fund:

• It was launched in 2008.
• It is a multilateral climate fund that enables climate action in over 70 low and middle income countries.
• Purpose: The purpose of CIF is to finance comprehensive measures for climate change mitigation and adaptation in developing and emerging economies.
  • CIF deploys highly concessional finance to empower transformations in clean technology, energy access, climate resilience, nature-based solutions, and other areas.
• CIF comprises two funds: the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and the Strategic Climate Fund (SCF).
• It is the only climate fund working exclusively through six AAA-rated multilateral development banks (MDBs) namely;
  • Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Islamic Development Bank International Finance Corporation and World Bank
• Governance: The Clean Technology Fund (CTF) Trust Fund Committee is the decision-making body responsible for determining and overseeing the operations and activities of the fund.
• In 2024, CIF became the first multilateral climate fund to list bonds on the capital markets, with the CIF Capital Markets Mechanism (CCMM).

Secretariat: The CIF Secretariat is hosted by the World Bank.

About Vietnam:

• Location: It is located in the eastern portion of mainland Southeast Asia.
• Bordering Countries: It is bordered by China to the north, and Cambodia and Laos to the
• Maritime Boundaries: It shares a border with the South China Sea (East and South), Gulf of Thailand (Southwest). 
• It is roughly S-shaped, running for a distance of about 1,650 km in the north-to-south
• Geographical Features of Vietnam:
  • It is a country of tropical lowlands, rolling green hills, and densely forested mountains.
  • Major Rivers: Red River and Mekong River both drains into the South China Sea.
  • Major Mountain: Vietnam’s principal physiographic features are the Annamese Cordillera which extends generally from northwest to southeast in central Vietnam.
  • Highest Point: Vietnam's highest point is Phan Xi Pang whose summit reaches 3,144 m
  • Climate: It is located in the tropical zone. Its climate is characterized by high temperature and humidity all year round.
  • Natural Resources: It is mainly abundant in antimony, phosphates, coal, manganese, rare earth elements, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits.
• Capital City: Hanoi.

About Neodymium:

• Neodymium is a chemical element with symbol Nd and atomic number 60.
• It belongs to the lanthanides group, part of the rare earth elements.
• It was discovered in Vienna in 1885 by Karl Auer.
• It is the second most abundant of the rare-earth elements (after cerium).
• Source: It is found in minerals that include all lanthanide minerals, such as monazite and bastnasite.
• Its deposits are mainly found in Brazil, China, USA, India, Sri Lanka and Australia.
• Properties of Neodymium
  • It is a ductile and malleable silvery white metal.
  • It oxidizes readily in air to form an oxide, Nd2O3, which easily spalls, exposing the metal to further oxidation.
  • The metal must be stored sealed in a plastic covering or kept in vacuum or in an inert atmosphere.
  • It reacts gradually with mineral acids—except hydrofluoric acid (HF), in which it forms a protective layer of trifluoride, NdF3. 
• Applications of Neodymium
  • It is a critical element in the global rare-earth magnet industry.
  • It plays a key role in electric vehicles, clean energy technologies, and defense systems.
  • It is suitable for use in optical devices and electrical applications.