- Expert paints gloomy picture of pollution
Airpollution and health hazards caused by transport vehicles have reached alarming proportions. According to a study by the Central Pollution Control Board, the daily emission by vehicles in Delhi is 872 tonnes and in Mumbai and Calcutta,548 and 283 tonnes, respectively. Environment specilaists say around 30 to 60 per cent …
Whales to get a little help from above
Whale saving has reached the final frontier. A one-time cosmologist and now professor at Chiba Institute of Technology has received the go ahead to use satellites to trace the migration of whales. The plan will be implemented by the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA).
Govt urged not to evict tribals from park
The Vrikshalaksha Andolana, an environmental organisation, has urged the Government not to evict the tribals residing within the Anashi National Park at Dandeli in Uttara Kannada district.
Whale protection
President Clinton has instructed United States representatives to the International Maritime Organization to push for strong measures to protect the northern right whale, one of the world's most endangered marine mammals. The 300 or so that survive spend much of the year in waters off Cape Cod and off the …
New bird found
The song, a prolonged repetition of short notes, was unlike anything the three ornithologists had heard before. And when they set up nets last year to capture the bird, they found out why. The song came from a species unkonwn to science. Marcos Bornschein, Bianca Reinhert and Mauro Pichorim, researchers …
Breeding rare fox
Chinese scientists have successfully applied artificial fertilisation for breeding a precious genus of fox - frosty-blue fox. So far, more than 1,000 Chinese female blue foxes with artificially fertilised sperm from super silver foxes imported from Finland, official sources said.
- World Bank offers funds to clean up cities' air
The World Bank is keen to fund Government-backed efforts to clean up the air in the Capital and in other urban centres as part of the Bank's focus on urban air pollution in Asia. World Bank environmental engineer(Asia environment) Jitendra Shah, recently in the Capital, said some proposals are under …
- Tribals, rangers play hide and seek
The Simlipal sanctuary in Orissa's Mayurbhanj district is witnessing an intriguing game of hide and seek between wildlife auhtorities and local tribal hunters. The authorities are on high alert with the tribals out to break the security ring around the huge 2,750 sq km sanctuary to perform their annual ritual …
Zoo contributes mite to preserve
With several of our wild animal species getting on the verge of extinction, the Arignar Anna Zoological Park is indeed contributing its little mite to preservation of endangered species. Says AAZP director S. Ramanathan, "There are 41 such endangered species being preserved for captive breeding in our park out of …
Killers on the loose
In northern India, the creatures of the wild are under siege. The results are sometimes tragic : a report.
Vasundhararaje bemoans collapse of Wildlife set-up
Wildlife is definitely not an issue that should figure on the agenda of the External Affairs ministry. But the Minister of State Foreign Affairs, Ms Vasundhararaje Scindia, who happens to be a wildlife enthusiast, has nevertheless expressed anguish over the total collapse of wildlife management in Uttar Pradesh. Reacting to …
Changes in Delhi delay IBRD-aided eco-project
The fluid situation at the Centre and the transitory nature of successive Governments has delayed the $67-million World Bank aided eco-development project by almost one year. Even after the Gujral Government had cleared the project late last year, four of the seven beneficiary States were yet to receive the core …
New device for cleaner water
Researchers have devised a new method to purify water using extracts of herbal plants. The new method has been developed by researchers at the Visvesvarya College of Engineering, Nagpur, using extracts of tulsi, wheat and neem leaves.
- First global workshop on wildlife in Dehra Dun
Delegates from institutes involved in training wildlife and forestry officials from all over the world have gathered in the Doon Valley for a four day meet on "Networking for curricula and training materials development in protected area management".
Joint action to resolve people-environment conflict
Government must take into confidence action groups and NGOs working at the grassroots level before formulation or amendment of policies that have a bearing on natural resource management, a recent workshop near Sariska, Rajasthan, has said. The three-day meeting last week of wildlife conservationists, government officials, villagers, social activists, lawyers, …
Call to observe Lab Animal Day
'Ahimsa', an organisation committed to abolition of animal experiments, has urged people all over the country to observe a one-minute silence as a mark of protest against torture of animals in laboratories at midday on the occasion of Lab Animal Day which falls on April 24. Lab Animal Day, recognised …
National water policy no solution to disputes
Mr. Durai Murugan, Minister for PWD, today criticised the AIADMK leadership for having settled for the BJP's national water policy which he said could never bring a solution to the Cauvery waters dispute. Instead of urging the Centre to notify the draft scheme prepared at the instance of the Supreme …
In Borneo's fading jungles, a grim tale of wildlife
As fires and drought over the last year have destroyed large swaths of jungle on Borneo, thousands of rare animals, including orangutans, hornbills and sun bears, are being driven from their homes. And saving the animals and reintroducing them into the wild is sometimes impossible.
- A new threat to the tiger-depleting prey base
Mercifully, poaching of tigers for manufacture of Chinese medicines has declined because of the international ban on sale of such medicines, says Tom Mathew of WWF-International. But now a more insidious threat is becoming apparent-depletion of the prey base of the tigers. A marked fall in the population of swamp …
llegally dumped toxic waste gives off bad smell
Sattahip authorities are investigating two garbage disposal sites where a large quantity of toxic products has been dumped without permission. The Sattahip Tambon Administration Organisation has acted on complaints of air pollution emitted from the sites - one near Khao Phet area in Tambon Sattahip, and the other at Khao …
