Dhole

• Overlapping prey availability or habitat suitability could dictate a positive association between dholes and tigers, facilitating co-existence or even cooperative behaviours between the two species of carnivores, a new study has found.
• The paper titled ‘Do dholes segregate themselves from their sympatrids? Habitat use and carnivore co‑existence in the tropical forest’ was published in the latest issue of Mammalian Biology.

ABOUT DHOLE

• The dhole or Asiatic wild dog (Cuon alpinus) is the only endangered wild pack-living canid in the tropical Indian forests and is considered at high risk of extinction.
• Operate in packs of 5-10 individuals however larger groups of more than 30 were observed in 2004.
• Dholes were once widespread across southern and eastern Asia.
• Factors such as habitat loss, declining prey availability, persecution, disease, and interspecific competition have contributed to the ongoing fragmentation of its populations.
• The global population of adult dholes is estimated to be between 949 and 2,215 individuals, scattered in localised areas of India and Thailand.
• Manas National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the adjoining Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan form one of the largest areas of conservation significance in South Asia, representing the full range of habitats from the subtropical plains to the alpine zone.
• IUCN red list status- Endangered

REPORTS AND INDICES

2.   Sustainable Finance: Bridging The Gap In Asia And The Pacific Report

• The Sustainable Finance: Bridging the Gap in Asia and the Pacific report was released recently by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
• The new report by the has put forward 10 principles for action for policymakers, regulators and private finance for mobilising and deploying financing for key UN-mandated Sustainable Development Goals, particularly around climate action.
• The principles put forward are-
  • Developing new climate finance partnerships
  • Developing effective NDC financing strategies
  • Developing policy coherence and capacities across key government ministries
  • Taking decisive regulatory action to shift capital in Asia and the Pacific towards the Net Zero transition
  • Driving investment in the capacities of financial personnel
  • Driving investment in much-needed sectoral and project-based financial data is undertaken
  • Committing to Net Zero pledges for 2050 with credible transition pathways and including 2030 goals
  • Increasing local-currency financing of energy transition projects as well as green technologies and other net-zero investments
  • Expanding and accelerating concessional financing and risk-sharing by multilateral development banks, bilateral development financial institutions, and public development banks
  • Increasing investment of time and effort with partners in project preparation.

OTHER FINDINGS

• Only 17 of the 51 Asia-Pacific countries party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change have assessed and reported their financial needs to meet their Nationally Determined Contributions
• Only seven have broken down financial needs between adaptation and mitigation.
• Furthermore, average economic losses in the region from disaster-related and other natural hazards are expected to rise to $1.1 trillion in a moderate climate-change scenario and $1.4 trillion in a worst-case scenario.
• India may face higher climate change-related losses, reaching 35% of its GDP by 2100, a notable difference from developing Asia’s 24%.
• There is sufficient capital and liquidity to close the global financing gap in sustainable finance.
  • However, deploying capital for climate action faces a number of challenges.

ABOUT UNESCAP

• The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is the most inclusive intergovernmental platform in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Established in 1947 as Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE)
• Headquarters- Bangkok, Thailand
• The Commission promotes cooperation among its 53 member States and 9 associate members in pursuit of solutions to sustainable development challenges.
• ESCAP is one of the five regional commissions of the United Nations (other belongs to Africa, Europe, Western, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean).