Search

In recent years, global climate change has had significant biological, temporal, and spatial effects on many terrestrial habitats. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of climate change on the geographic distribution of Juniperus excelsa and prioritize its habitats for protection against these effects until 2070. The study was conducted using the MaxEnt species distribution model and two data series GFDL-CM3 and MRI-CGCM3 under scenarios RCP2.6 and RCP4.5 of the 5th IPCC report. Our results revealed that elevation, minimum temperature of coldest month, precipitation of coldest quarter, annual mean temperature, and slope aspect, in that order, have the greatest effects on the species’ distribution in the study area. Under optimistic scenario RCP2.6, both models predicted that the species’ presence area will grow, but under RCP4.5, models predicted that by 2070, some parts of its habitat in western and central heights will be lost because of change in climate parameters like minimum temperature of coldest month and precipitation of coldest quarter. Under the latter scenario, the northeastern parts of the study area showed no changes in terms of climatic parameters and climatic niche. The results of both climate data series indicated that the Juniperus excelsa will slowly migrate to higher elevations to cope with the changing climate. Assessment of the results through field studies showed that outputs of GFDL-CM3 are closer to the reality.

Abstract The new-age India has been characterized by the participation of a higher number of women in the labour force. Unfortunately, the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace has also risen. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act of 2013 is a significant piece of legislation aimed at preventing gender-based discrimination in the workplace. Following the enactment of this law, the University Grants Commission (UGC) issued the UGC (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment of Women Employees and Students in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations of 2015. This paper aims to study the existing legal framework for addressing the issue of sexual harassment in India. It analyses the state of implementation of UGC regulations at legal education institutions in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The study involves a combination of primary and secondary data sourced via the UGC’s online portal and a survey conducted among students at one law school in Ahmedabad. The results show poor compliance with the regulations, and, finally, this paper advocates for a more inclusive and independent grievance redressal mechanism.