Even as we continue to observe World Environment Day year after year, mostly confining ourselves to ritualistic celebrations and doing lip service to the cause of Nature and wildlife, the state of our environment continues to deteriorate at an unprecedented level. Assam, together with the North-East, is among the global biodiversity hotspots, and we were lucky in being blessed with Nature's bounty in the form of luxuriant forests, gurgling rivers, rich wetlands and the wildlife they shelter. However, management of such an asset has been appalling, to say the least. The obvious pressures from an exploding population and the needs of so-called development apart, the nexus of greedy politicians, contractors and bureaucrats is wreaking havoc with the assets provided by Nature. Destruction of forests and wetlands besides poaching of wildlife has reached an all-time high, causing irreparable damage to the environment. And the worst thing is that all this has failed to arouse the conscience of our authorities and there is hardly any indication that the prevailing trend would slow down. The past couple of years has witnessed thousands of square kilometres of pristine forests being wiped out in the State. The loss of such vast expanses of dense forests cannot be measured in terms of money. The fallouts of this degradation of the environment are now manifesting in different forms, especially in the flood patterns. The severity of the floods has increased in recent times due to large-scale deforestation in catchment areas, while flash floods are also rising noticeably. The loss of green cover in the State has drastically reduced the habitat of diverse wildlife, with many species facing extinction. Another far-reaching fallout of habitat destruction has been the intensifying man-animal conflict throughout the State. The loser in this war is a foregone conclusion, and unless some immediate restoration work is initiated, the survival of many species is bleak. The Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary situated almost within the city limits exemplifies the indifference of the authorities towards conservation. All sorts of illegal activities, including encroachment, tree-felling and poaching have been rampant in this protected area with the Forest Department, the administration and the Government remaining mute spectators to this shocking vandalism. On Thursday, the Chief Minister was professing his