Zero Hunger

• Vaid's ICS, Lucknow
• 07, Aug 2021

Why in News?

 According to a recent report by the United Nations, the goal of achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2 i.e. ‘Zero Hunger’ has been hit in the wake of the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

• The zero hunger goal works in tandem with many others: Poverty elimination (SDG1), good health and well-being (SDG3), and the need for clean drinking water (SDG6).

Relation with other SDGs:

SDG 2 and SDG 1:

• Food security does not only rely on food availability, but also on food access.
• If food security and poverty can be seen as part of the same battle, reduction of poverty should not only be sought through lower food prices but also through higher income.

SDG 2 and SDG 3:

• Nutrition is key to good health, so the relation between SDG 2 and SDG 3 is also synergetic.
• Environmental health through a more sustainable agriculture also establishes a link between SDG2 and SDG 3.
• Agricultural activities substantially contribute to global pollution: Biomass burning causes air pollution and land clearing contributes to fuel combustion emissions.
• Agriculture ammonia emissions also impact human health. They are behind several hundred thousand premature deaths per year globally.

Other SDGs: Similarly, education (SDG4), gender equality (SDG5), decent work and economic growth (SDG8), reduction of inequality (SDG10), sustainable cities and communities (SDG11), peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG16), and partnership for the goals (SDG17) also influence consumption patterns and healthy diet choice.

• Gender inequality makes several women food insecure: Female workers are a substantial share of the agricultural workforce, but face difficulties in accessing land, livestock, education, extension and financial services.
• Decent work and economic growth (SDG8) and reduction of inequality (SDG10) can also support better nutrition by going beyond SDG1 and bringing economic resources.

Facts  For Prelims

India’s First Earthquake Early Warning Mobile App

India’s first early warning mobile application which can alert users before an earthquake was recently launched in Uttarakhand.

• The application is called ‘Uttarakhand Bhookamp Alert’ and has been developed by IIT Roorkee.
• The project was sponsored by the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority.

Features

• The application uses an Earthquake Early Warning (EEW), a real-time earthquake information system that can detect the onset of the earthquake.
• It can issue warnings before significant tremors take hold of an area.
• The app can also help to tell the location of people trapped inside a structure following an earthquake.
• It disseminates information regarding the occurrence of an earthquake, as well as the expected time of arrival and intensity at the tremor location to prevent any loss of life.
• It is compatible with both Android and iOS platforms, and is available in two versions.

EEW exploits the Advantage of Varying Speeds of Seismic Waves

According to IIT-Roorkee experts, the physical basis for an earthquake early warning system is the speed of the seismic waves, which propagate after the release of stress from faults movement. The strong ground shaking is caused by shear waves which travel at about half the speed of the primary waves and much slower