Counter affidavit by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in the matter of Pradeep Singh Shekhawat Vs State of Assam & Others dated 30/01/2025. The application complained about the illegal constructions, including the illegal construction of road to Bhuban Hill, within the Barak Bhuban Wildlife Sanctuary located …
Endangered species may just about find a safe haven in the Arabian desert. Regional governments in the oil-rich Gulf have poured in billions of dollars into the transformation of dry, dusty deserts to terraform them into natural sanctuaries. Among the recent success stories is Saudi Arabia's transformation of a vast …
This comprehensive manual presents a package of proven field techniques in wildlife management and research. Arising from a workshop in which wildlife ecologists, managers, and other scientists from South Asia interacted with selected specialists from the USA, the volume reviews developments in technical approaches towards wildlife research and management, and …
ENVIRONMENTAL activists and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have been shouting themselves hoarse for a more stringent conservation of the Delhi Ridge. Ironically, the Delhi Administration's favourable response to the issue has sparked off widespread resentment among villages in a section of the so-called lung of Delhi. Since the '90s, the inhabitants …
All's well that end well for the plump toddlers. France has finally decided to give up its 12-year effort to build a large Antarctic landing strip at the French base of Dumont d'Urville, on Terre-Adelie, near a penguin rookery and bird sanctuary. France had turned a deaf ear to the …
ENVIRONMENTAL groups in the country took resort to the law after the Union ministry of environment and forests (MEF) failed to prevent the Orissa government from going ahead with the controversial fishing jetty project at Talchua in the Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary. Recently, in response to a petition by the World …
EIGHT years ago, an odd battle was fought in the US: conservators debated whether the Californian condor should be rescued from the brink of extinction through captive breeding or left to "die with dignity". There were only 5 of these giant gallant birds left in the wild and the only …
Anthrax has claimed three elephants in Jaldapara wildlife sanctuary in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, sparking fears that the infectious disease could wipe out animal life in the reserve. The disease, which threatens domestic herbivores and even humans, may have been contracted from infected cattle in nearby villages. The sanctuary …
AFTER the reserved forests surrounding Bhimashankar, a pilgrim spot in Pune district, were converted in 1985 to what is now known as the Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary (BWS), the 3,000 tribals living around it have been victims of animal terror. Wild boars, attacking in herds of upto 25, damage more crop …
INDIA'S conservation laws have become the scourge of local communities in and around national parks and sanctuaries. The restrictions governing these protected areas curtail the indigenous peoples' access to natural resources to the extent their very survival becomes threatened. On the other hand, several cases have come to light of …
"What are we supposed to feel when a sarkari animal carries our children away? Are we still supposed to love the animal and the sarkar?" This plea by an activist working with poor people living in and around sanctuaries and national parks was countered by a conservationist who argued: "But …
RECENT press reports have cast aspersions on the Gujarat government's commitment to wildlife and biodiversity conservation. A notification issued by the state department of forests and environment on July 27, cancelled a 1981 notification, under which specified areas of Lakhpat taluka in Kutch were designated as the Narayan Sarovar sanctuary. …
Experts from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), the Indian Veterinary Institute and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) have jointly proposed the establishment of "wildlife health centres" in India's national parks and sanctuaries. Five such centres are sought to be established …
Depredating raids by wild elephants into human settlements have often been reported from Assam. But on August 13, the elephants became victims of a totally unprecedented retaliatory strike: Angry villagers poisoned three adult elephants in the vicinity of the Boronodi wildlife sanctuary in the Bodo-dominated Darrang district. Five other elephants …
WHICH wildlife sanctuary in India is the world's only floating sanctuary? And, did you know the giant clam lays one billion eggs at a time? These are some of the fascinating facts on natural life put together in multiple-choice, question-answer format in Deep Narayan Pandey's two books. One wonders why …
IT WAS a strange case of politicians taking out their venom on snakes. Angry CPM workers in Kerala vandalised and set fire to the Parassinikkadavu Snake Park in Kannur. The reason for the wanton destruction of what was one of the finest snake sanctuaries in Asia, was the defeat of …
Conservationists in Kerala want to ban an arrack shop located in the heart of the Chinnar wildlife sanctuary because it endangers the grizzled giant squirrel (Ratufa macroura dandolena). The Idukki district sanctuary is one of only two places in India where the giant squirrel exists. Wildlife lovers contend the land …
The West Bengal government has begun work on developing an elephant sanctuary in the contiguous forest areas of Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia. The state government's decision has been prompted by regular clashes between the local population and elephants, both of which are growing in number and need more space. Inhabitants …
THERE can be no sharper indictment of the government's attempts to protect the environment than this: After 20 years of spending money and effort, Project Tiger is in shambles. Experts say the fate of tigers in India may be worse than when this much-flaunted conservation bid was launched. Some even …
THE GRANT of fishing rights on Haleji Lake, Pakistan, to a contractor has stirred up a hornet's nest and a group of environmentalists gone to court wanting the award to be invalidated. The group says organised, large-scale fishing in the lake will disturb the large number of migratory water fowl …
A NOTED cetacean expert, Randall R Reeves, has pleaded for another dolphin sanctuary in Pakistan's Punjab province to protect the endangered blind river dolphin on the basis of a study on the likely impact of a hydroelectric station at the Tunsa barrage conducted in 1990. The power station, according to …
