Mann threatens stir over river water issue
The hardline Sikh leader, Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, today addressed a public meeting at Chandigarh, and queered the pitch for the Badal government over Punjab's basic demands. He warned that if the state's river waters' issue was not settled by 20 November, the Badal government would face an agitation in …
Kaziranga unlikely to be opened for tourists
There is no possibility of opening the flood-ravaged Kaziranga National Park to tourists from November 1 since nearly 200 roads inside the park and 178 km of the main road have been severely damaged . Bsides, 25 bridges and 15 culverts have also been severely damaged. There have been heavy …
Half of our mammals facing extinction
By 2020, almost half of all mammals and a quarter of all birds in Peninsular Malaysia will face extinction. According to a report entitled Capacity Building and Strengthening of the Protected Areas System in Peninsular Malaysia -- A Masterplan, the number of threatened animals in the peninsula had tripled between …
Expert says Thailand turns into hub of child trafficking
The number of street children is likely to increase due to Southeast Asia's economic problems, said a child's rights activist yesterday. Prof Somphong Chitradub, director of Chulalongkorn University's Education Institute for Underprivileged Students, told the European Commission-organised seminar that the crisis had turned Thailand into a major centre for child …
Swamp deer population on the decline in Kaziranga
Perennial floods, tiger predation and human intervention in Kaziranga National Park have taken off their toll on the rare species of swamp deer, whose population in the recent years has shockingly declined.Alarmed environmentalists have called for special conservation projects to save the inhabitants of the park spread over eight blocks.The …
State put on ivory smuggling alert
Alarmed at the increasing poaching of elephants in Orissa, the Union ministry of environment and forests has asked the West Bengal forest department to intensify vigil and intercept smuggled ivory being carried through the state.
Innovations
Evidence is mounting that deadly bacteria and viruses carried by tourists and scientists are killing off Antarctica's wildlife. At a late-August meeting in Hobart, Tasmania, some 50 Antarctic scientists called for an international agreement on measures to keep the continent free of the dangerous microbes. In the past few years, …
Strategy ready to save elephants from poachers
The Government has worked out a new strategy to tackle the poaching of elephants in the Nilgiri Biosphere. The new strategy will yield results only if Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala get together at every level and work out a fool proof scheme of Nilgiri Biosphere comprises parts of the …
544 animals died in Kaziranga floods
As many as 544 animals, including 40 rhinos, of the Kaziranga national park in Assam have either been drowned in the floods between June and September or killed by poachers while seeking refuge in adjoining Karbi Anglog, according to a state government release issued here (Guwahati).
Aid plea by dolphin park in China
A conservation park for endangered white-flag dolphins in central Hubei province appealed for aid yesterday after floods severely damaged its facilities. Zhang Hong, in charge of the Beinianyuan reserve at Shishou city, said floods overflowed 41.5km of dykes surrounding the reserve on Tuesday.
UK college refuses to return fungi
British university has refused to return 200 strains of marine fungi on loan from a Thai research agency. Portsmouth University said the shipment was not recorded, the fungi cultures were part of its collection and it had the right to keep them. The Biothai network of environmental groups has accused …
Control room to protect tigers launched
Concerned about the decline in tiger population of the country, the ministry of environment and forests started a tiger control room in the capital. The control room is eqipped with Internet facility with a website on tigers and India's plans to save the species from extinction. Complaints can also be …
Do hydel units cause pollution?
The Centre's move to take out hydroelectric projects from the purview of the Water (prevention and control of pollution) Cess Act, 1977 has generated a debate whether or not hydel generation has an adverse impace on the environment . The Act provides for imposition of cess on water utilised by …
Kaziranga may remain closed this year
The Kaziranga National Park home to the one-horned rhino, may not be opened to all this year. The catastrophic flood, which turned the 433 sq km game park into the lake formation, destroying every single road, bridge, watchtower and camp within its premises, has left behind little possibility for its …
Grizzlies face grisly future - report
- The British Columbia government is being "irresponsible and reckless" in continuing to allow trophy hunting of grizzly bears, suggests a report that warns the province's grizzly population might be threatened if urgent action isn't taken. The report by the Environmental Investigation Agency says the provincial government should suspend the …
New 'probe' to nail rhino poachers
Scientists at the National Institute of Immunology (NII) in Delhi have developed a genetic probe which can detect rhino horn even after it has been crushed into powder and mixed with other substances by poachers trying to evade arrest.
BNHS joins hands with Birdlife Internaitonal
The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has just signed a letter of intent to become a partner -designate of Birdlife International. The latter is a global networkd of NGOs working to conserve birds and their habitats and through them the world's biodiversity.
Vehicular pollution in valley on rise
Vehicular emission has emerged as a prime source of air pollution in urban as well as some rural areas of Jammu and Kashmir. The vehicular transport contributes 99 per cent of carbondioxide and 46 per cent nitrogen discharge in the atmosphere which is hazardous for health, according to a State …
Poorer nations key to saving ozone layer
The fate of the world's protective ozone layer depends mainly on the actions of developing countries and Russia, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says in a report. These countries account for 80 per cent of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), the most prevalent ozone-eating chemical and 100 per cent of halon production, …
Indian bustard on verge of extinction in M P
the great Indian bustard is on the verge of extinction from the country's largest State Madhya Pradesh. Citing the main causes, Forest officials say that improper nesting facilities along with lack of trained manpower and absence of concrete plans for birds sanctuary have led to their near extinction.
