The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
Across the world there exists a large overlap of biodiversity hotspots with areas experiencing high levels of socio-political and ethnic conflicts, making the impacts of such activities a critical factor for long-term conservation of biodiversity in these regions. India is no exception with many forested areas, including protected areas, experiencing …
These are the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests on February 9, 2011 for States and Union territory governments to facilitate declaration of eco-sensitive zones around national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. In pursuance to the decision taken by the National Board for Wildlife, all the States/Union Territory, …
This paper examines the legal framework of Protected Areas (PAs) in Nepal - that includes several types and categories of PAs such as national parks, wildlife reserves, conservation areas and buffer zones. Laws concerning PAs are examined against the contexts of international agreements, conventions, and accepted standards as well as …
Maldivian atolls are known for their beautiful coral structures, fish abundance, white sandy beaches, coastal vegetation and mangroves. This paper provides an economic valuation of the recreational uses of atoll-based marine resources in the Republic of the Maldives.
In an unprecedented response to the rapid decline in wild tiger populations, the Heads of Government of the 13 tiger range countries endorsed the St. Petersburg Declaration in November 2010, pledging to double the wild tiger population. We conducted a landscape analysis of tiger habitat to determine if a recovery …
The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India (GOI) has been asked to identify ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs) along the Western Ghats, and to suggest how to manage them. The concept of ESAs has been extensively discussed in the literature. Several …
MADHYA Pradesh’s forest department seems to share a cosy relationship with resort owners and tour operators. On September 14, H S Pabla, chief wildlife warden of the state, wrote an e-mail: “A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a ban on tourism in core areas of Madhya Pradesh’s national tiger reserves …
The best way to manage national parks in the face of the effects of climate change is not to manage at the park level, but to work with landscapes. A new US initiative shows the way. (Editorial)
Mediterranean-type ecosystems constitute one of the rarest terrestrial biomes and yet they are extraordinarily biodiverse. Home to over 250 million people, the five regions where these ecosystems are found have climate and coastal conditions that make them highly desirable human habitats. The current conservation landscape does not reflect the mediterranean …
Plantation owners' strategy draws flak PALAKKAD: Four environmental organisations have demanded that the State government and the Forest Department take stern action against some plantation owners who were trying to destroy the fragile ecology and environment of the Nelliampathy forest area in Palakkad district. In a statement released at a …
DEHRA DUN: Moving swiftly on protests by local activists that the Forest Department was felling a large number of trees in the biodiversity rich Lachiwala reserve forests near here to establish a herbal garden under the Chief Minister's dream project of
Saying that the Western Ghats has been declared as one of the 18 biological hot spots of the world, Forest Minister Filipe Neri Rodrigues has said the Goa government has declared the entire Western Ghats corridor as protected area on account of the rich bio-diversity in the region.
Vinod Thomas and Kenneth Chomitz The U.N. Secretary-General has presented options for raising $100 billion a year to promote development while fighting climate change. This is timely, but for such funds to make a difference, we must get past a set of myths that prevent the efficient use of resources. …
This report by National Committee on Forest Rights Act (FRA) submitted by N C Saxena to Shri Kantilal Bhuria, Union Minister of tribal affairs says that with notable exceptions, the implementation of FRA has been poor & includes recommendations for implementing it effectively. The Ministry of Environment and Forests and …
Over the past decade, biologists working in Ecuador's Yasuni National Park and the adjoining Waorani Ethnic Reserve, a 17,000-kilometer section of the Amazon Basin that was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1989, have documented Yasuni's remarkable biodiversity, providing evidence that its forest has the highest number of species on …
If the plight of that neighbouring tree shedding its last leaves arrested your attention and bothered you, you can look forward to some empathy. In a bid to assess effectiveness of the tree plantation drive and the initiative of residents in protecting trees, the state government will now be carrying …
The Sikkim Biodiversity Conservation and Forest Management Project aims to strengthen biodiversity conservation activities and forest management capacity, and to improve the local people
This report summarises the experiences and lessons learnt from the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (2010 BIP), as well as providing details of 27 global indicators developed in support of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
