Antarctic Biodiversity Crisis (Expanded)

Antarctica holds nearly 90% of the world’s land ice and influences global sea levels and climate systems. Yet it faces a rapid decline in sea ice, ice shelf collapses, warming oceans, and increasing human activity. In 2024, sea ice covered the lowest area ever recorded, signaling systemic collapse.

What's Driving the Crisis

• Climate-driven ice loss: Sea ice melts disrupt wildlife. Emperor and Adélie penguins rely on stable ice for breeding and molting. Studies show 98% of emperor penguin colonies could vanish by 2100 under current emissions trends.

• Krill overfishing: Krill underpin marine food webs feeding whales, seals, penguins, and seabirds. Industrial fishing reaches 500,000+ metric tons annually, heavily concentrated near penguin colonies.

• Ecological consequences: Krill also help sequester carbon, providing an estimated $15.2 billion in natural services each year far more than their commercial value.

Alarming Signals

• Humpback whales are dying in fishing nets, while others are distressed by industrial krill harvesting.

• Climate models predict a 40% krill population decline by the end of the century, threatening the entire Antarctic ecosystem.

  
  

  

  
  

Calls to Action

• A Marine Protected Area (MPA) for the Antarctic Peninsula has been proposed, but international negotiations remain gridlocked.

• Environmentalists, scientists, and public figures are calling for krill fishing bans in key Southern Ocean habitats.

• The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) will revisit the MPA and fisheries rules later this year. 2025 could be a turning point.

West Bengal’s Tree-Planting Drive (Expanded)

Under the Banmahotsav 2025 greening campaign, West Bengal planted over 400 million trees from July averaging two saplings per urban resident and five per rural resident.

Key Highlights

• Wide community engagement: Forest officials launched awareness drives with school campaigns and mobile sapling vans reaching even the smallest communities.

• Strategic planting: The focus is on survival and care of saplings, not just planting numbers.

• Historical roots: Banmahotsav was launched in 1950 to celebrate tree planting during the monsoon season a tradition that continues to grow.

  
  

How It Matters

• Carbon resilience: These trees will serve as carbon sinks, helping India progress toward its goal of 33% forest cover by 2030.

• Ecological recovery: Other regional efforts like South Bengal’s forest revival—featuring 15 million sal trees show how local greening supports wildlife and climate adaptation.

Article by Kiki

By Kiki

“Whether protecting polar ecosystems or planting trees at home, our planet’s future depends on concerted actions. From defending krill and penguin habitats to mobilizing communities with saplings, every initiative brings us closer to climate restoration. Let’s march together for every biome, every community.”