Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of R.D. Singh Bandral Vs Union of India & Others dated 17/04/2023. The matter related to protecting the flora and fauna of the Kailash Kund-Seoz Dhar region by declaring the same as protected area and not to allow construction of the …
LIVING in conjunction with nature and not in opposition to it, is what the people of Masvingo province in southern Zimbabwe are doing. They are using indigenous methods to manage the natural resources of the region. A grass roots organisation, the Association of Zimbabwean Traditional Environ- mental Conservationists (AZTREC), formed …
CONTRADICTIONs abound in the Thar, the Indian desert. Referred to as Maru pradesh or Marusthali (land of death) in the local dialect, the Thar's abiding features are the seemingly unending bouts of famines and droughts which afflict its inhabitants. In fact, the locals have an apt saying for the phenomenon: …
Genetic diversity refers to the variation of genes within a species.Each variety within a species contains unique genes, and the diversity of genes within a species increases its ability to adopt to pollution diseases and other environmental changes.When these varieties are destroyed, the genetic diversity within the species diminishes. The …
A NEW discovery has challenged the age- old belief that flowers came before bees. While the earliest angiosperms, or flowering plants, came into existence about 120 million years ago, the oldest known fossil of a bee is a specimen nearly 80 million years old, found trapped in amber from what …
BOTANISTS will now have easy access to information on Chinise flora. An English version of the Chinise Florae Republic Popularis Sinicae,documenting about 30,000 Chinise plant species, has been jointly published by the Science Press in Beijing and the Missouri Botanical Garden. It will also be available on floppies, tapes and …
RESEARCH at the Delhi-based Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) have developed an ecofriendly and biodegradable insecticide from marigold flowers. Scientists have found that 2 compounds present in the flower -- alphateriophene, or alpha-T, and erythrosin-B -- are effective against the larvae of the malaria-causing Anopheles mosquito as …
THE Sri Lankan economy is being threatened by the evils of privatisation, according to environmentalists. They maintain that this has resulted in large-scale deforestation in several tea and rubber estates in the country, especially in the Horton plains and Namunukula in the south. The wanton destruction not only threatens the …
THE Bellanwila-Attitdiaya marsh, near Colombo in Sri Lanka, is in deep trouble, reports Mallika Wanigasundara. Despite being declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1990, its survival is threatened by the dumping of wastes, water pollution caused by the discharge of industrial effluents from nearby factories, and the reckless exploitation of its …
MECHANICAL mining rights are being considered on the flood-prone Kalu Ganga south of Colombo for the South African gem trading company, Colombo Sapphire Ltd. According to Panos Features, this will increase the threat of floods as dredging by CSL might weaken the banks and cause them to collapse. Besides, siltation …
IRKSOME mosquitoes? Forget mosquito repellant mats, grow a geranium instead, and have the odour of citronella waft the annoying creatures away. An Australian company has developed a new plant -- Mozzie Buster -- a cross between an African geranium and citronella grass, which they say is an extremely effective mosquito …
BANGLADESH'S second largest waterbody, Beel Dakatia, once a 31,566-ha tract of flourishing agricultural land and balanced ecology, has been flooded with brackish water for the past decade. A dyke built to contain the 24-km-long and 16-km-wide waterbody, as part of an ambitious coastal embankment project, is to blame for choking …
THERE'S a maxim in Sanskrit that states peacocks in the forest are happy to see clouds in the sky. It's a pointer to the irrefutable fact of life that one cannot keep away from what is dear to one. Something similar happened to Madeleine Slade, popularly known as Mira Behn, …
ARTHUR Nonomura, an American scientist-turned-farmer, may usher in another green revolution with his discovery that methanol (or methyl alcohol), traditionally thought to be toxic to plants, can stimulate crop growth in hot and dry regions. "I think it's going to save the world," says Andrew Benson of Scripps Institution of …
UNCONTROLLED commercial exploitation is threatening the extinction of about 50 Indian orchid species, including such popular ones as jewel orchids and lady slipper orchids (Current Science, Vol 63, No 12). Though orchids have vast commercial potential, mass multiplication techniques have not been implemented in India. This has resulted in rapid …
THE SPLENDOUS of a tropical rain forest invariably make a profound impression at first sight. "Here I first saw a tropical forest in its sublime grandeur- nothing but the reality can give any idea how wonderful magnificent the scene is..." exulted Charles Darwin, whose theory of evolution significantly shaped modern …
SOME PLANTS produce two types of flowers - starninate (males) and bisexual. Scientists thought the role of starninate flowers was more to attract agents of pollination than to donate pollen. But new research shows that while larger floral displays attract more pollinators, staminate flowers are more effective in the dispersal …
THE FIRST all-India tiger census in 1972 was designed by then senior research officer Saroj Raj Choudhury and his trainees at the Forest Research Institute in Dehra Dun. The method used the hind pugs left by a tiger. No matter how the tiger walks, its hind pugs are usually clear. …
THE NEXT time you pluck a flower, take care: you could hurt it. And, if you are a plant-lover, stop talking to them and try touching them instead. Researchers say seemingly passive plants can feel and react to touch in their own special way (New Scientist, Vol 136 No 1843). …
LITERATURE, they say, is a reflection of the way a society perceives itself. Indians have, from time immemorial, celebrated the interdependence of human beings and nature. The modern era saw them grow apart. The greater the distance between them, the more romantic became the treatment of nature in literature. Indian …
A RECENT article in The Guardian of London on the role played by the Kew Royal Botanical Gardens in tropical botany has sparked a debate regarding its acquisition of tropical plants. The article pointed out proudly certain plants in Kew Gardens have facilitated the discovery and exploitation of many modern …
