The National Biodiversity Authority has released a new set of rules to manage sharing of benefits generated through the use of biological resources. The Biological Diversity (Access to biological Resources and Knowledge Associated thereto and Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits) Regulation 2025 was approved by the Central government and …
WHILE cellular operating requirements in India vary greatly from state to state, one thing is certain - the demand for personal communications is increasing at a fantastic pace. India is currently witnessing a cellular frenzy which will boom in the next few years. What does the future hold for Indian …
CONSERVATIONISTs have for long emphasised the need for the participation of indigenous communities in biodiversity conservation efforts (Down To Earth, Vol 4, No 15). A us $83 million World Bank project aims to address this need in India. The ambitious programme envisages sustainable development of indigenous communities living in eight …
FOR Ganapathi Hedge, owner of a spice garden in Sirsee, Western India, each species is partner to the other. Human, animals and crops, all work together in creating a sustainable planet. He says, "When you plant many different crops together, you get fruits and food throughout the year. Coconut takes …
Foreign aid funds have often been suspect for many commentators, who see it as opportunities for pushing the donor's political and economic agenda on the recipient developing countries, whose elite often use it to retain power without sacrificing anything. There is a lot of truth in this critique, but few …
This publication focusses on the Aral Sea crisis - the result of economic processes set in motion by the planners of the erstwhile Soviet Union in the 1950s. It is one of the biggest ecological disasters, second only to Chernobyl, leading to a total collapse of the socio-economic life of …
This publication presents the proceedings of a debate on the state of the national parks and sanctuaries, and whether the people living in and around these protected areas should be involved in their management or not.
Ecologist N V C Polunin argues that protected areas are an extreme form of conservation, and that other forms of regulated area management may be more appropriate for the management needs of local development. In fact, future conservation could be based predominantly on those categories of proteced areas which accept …
There are several international systems for designating protected areas. The most widely used is that of International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) management categories. which include eight classes: (I) Scientific Reserve/Strict Nature Reserve; (II) National Park; (III) Natural Monument/Natural Landmark; (IV) Managed Nature Reserve/Wildlife Sanctuary; (V) Protected Landscape …
IT HAS to be done, but let others do it: that is the attitude of the wealthy, developed countries regarding conservation of global natural resources. The overall global balance has to be maintained, so they are pushing the Southern countries to adopt Otheir own model of policed conservation in "nature …
WITH problems mounting around the issue of conservation of national parks and sanctuaries, the present state of India's wildlife and protected areas (PA) is in Jeopardy. In most of the cases, the malady has been identified as the largely unscientific and anti-people approaches adopted in dealing with the management of …
• Produce a white paper on the status of wildlife in the country, which also evaluates the current conservation policies and their effectiveness. • Reassess the Wildlife Act, and bring in appropriate modifications which would allow people to be involved in the management of protected areas, as well as create …
FIVE years after the first human being received gene therapy to correct an inherited disease, the results are in. The Washington Post (October 21, 1995) reports that two seriously ill children who were given immune-system genes that they lacked from birth, are "healthy and thriving" now. Gene therapy is a …
GOOD deal of attention has ently been given to scientific - ideas and information in emational relations literae - some of which looks scientific knowledge as a rce of foreign policy and international cooperation. e book in review makes a for understandiDg the portance of scientific knowledge as a political …
THE new buzz word in environment circles is biodiversity which is the diversity of life in all its ramifications - the different communities that make up an ecosystem, the different species that make up communities, the variable individual organisms that belong to each species, and the genetic variation that we …
Filmmakers and artists are known for voicing social concerns in their work. But there are few musicians or vocalists who are sensitive to social issues. Sting, now on his own - having bro- ken away from The Police - has decided to bring a progressive element in his music. His …
WHAT is the role of metals in human health? Ten-year-old Salman had blood cancer. Physicians at the New Delhi-based All India Institute of Medical Sciences, gave him not more than three days. In desperation, his parents took to him to an ayurvedic physician, who administered a concoction containing mercury, arsenic …
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: …
Metals to medicines is an elaborate affair- For the medicines to be effective. it is important to get the right material. First one has to ascertain the typo and geographical source of the Pro, scribed minerals and herbs. For Instance, an iron are found'in Rajasthan may be more 'potent' than …
WHEN Meghnaad, brother of King Ravana of Lanka, grievously injured Lakshman, brother of Lord Rama, Hanuman was sent to Gandhamardan Parvat to fetch the Mritasanjeevani Sudha, a life-saving herb. Unable to identify the herb from among the thousands that greened that locale, Hanuman brought the entire hill to the war …
After having made a feature film in Malyalam, K P Sasi is back to making documentaries. This time around he is targeting pesticides. Says Sasi, "I have been researching the subject for some time now and would like to share what I have learnt." According to Sasi, his main focus …
