Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of In Re: News Item titled "Nayar river is vanishing - a yatra reveals conservation goes beyond science and policy" appearing in ‘The Down To Earth’ dated 03.06.2025. The original application was registered suo-motu based on the news item titled "Nayar …
The National Biodiversity Action Plan approved in November 2008 to augment natural resource base and its sustainable utilisation. The Plan draws from the principles of National Environment Policy,incorporates suggestions made by a consultative committee and proposes to design actions based on the assessment of current and future needs of conservation …
Global warming confronts policymakers with two significant and serious challenges to wildlife and ecosystem conservation and the web of life on which we all depend. The first, reducing levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions, has at last begun to receive significant and much-needed attention from the public and in the …
Tamil Nadu to undo plantations to save Olive Ridley turtles THE Tamil Nadu revenue department has sanctioned money to uproot casuarinas planted with World Bank fund along the coast because they were affecting the nesting of the endangered Olive Ridley Turtles. In January, Chennai-based Students
Nitrogen (N) is essential to the survival of all life forms and often limits productivity, decomposition and the long-term accumulation of carbon in terrestrial ecosystems. Soil and vegetation are the respective primary and secondary sinks for N in terrestrial ecosystems. Litter production determines the amount and quality of N returned …
A dispute about non-native algae has broken out in India between beverage giant PepsiCo and the Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI), which is based in Bhavnagar, Gujarat. Institute researchers originally imported the alga Kappaphycus alvarezii for research; in 2001 PepsiCo began cultivating it for the food thickener …
Kappaphycus alvarezii (Doty) Doty (Rhodophyta: Solieriaceae) is a Philippine-derived macroalga introduced into the Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve, South India for mariculture in 2000. Here we report its bioinvasion on branching corals (Acropora sp.) in the Kurusadai Island. Qualitative data collected using underwater photography clearly indicated its invasion and …
Many countries are currently looking at growing high-yielding crops for the production of biofuels as alternatives to traditional fuels (petrol and diesel) to address imminent energy shortages and reduce impacts of climate change. This usually involves the importation of foreign (i.e., alien) species of plants that are known for their …
A payments for ecosystem services (PES) system came about in South Africa with the establishment of the government-funded Working for Water (WfW) programme that clears mountain catchments and riparian zones of invasive alien plants to restore natural fire regimes, the productive potential of land, biodiversity, and hydrological functioning. The success …
cargo ships sailing from coast to coast often transport unwanted freight. Marine plants, animals and microbes regularly hitch rides to distant shores in these ships' ballast water, seawater stored in narrow tanks in a ship's hull to stabilize it when it doesn't have cargo. This water is pumped out when …
A sea of threats: Climate change abets them Oceans are highly dynamic, structured and complex systems; crucial for life on the planet. The vast resources in the oceans are not distributed evenly or randomly. For example, the largest share of marine biodiversity is found in the sea bed. Environmental conditions …
A species of cattail grass, Typha australis, is taking over river banks and farmlands in the wetlands of Nigeria's Jigawa state, disrupting farming and fishing activities, said the state environment commissioner Yusuf Mato while releasing a feasibility study on the control strategy of the weed. "Fishermen cannot fish in the …
scientists seem to have come to a conclusion on what could have killed more than 100 gharials in Chambal waters recently. Tilapia, an invasive fish could have caused the deaths along the Uttar Pradesh-Madhya Pradesh border, says a new report. Circumstantial evidences suggest that the critically endangered reptiles could have …
Anthropogenic fires in Indian forests probably date back to the arrival of the first people on the Indian subcontinent. Fires were used to clear areas for habitation, and quite likely, to facilitate hunting. People continue to use fires today for several reasons. Very frequent fires can result in soil degradation. …
>> South Australian authorities have found a cane toad in the capital city, Adelaide. They say the toad is a stray case and not an indication that cane toads have migrated to the state. They are carrying out intensive night-time surveillance and trapping programme to determine if other cane toads …
This report, developed by the UN Environment Programme's (UNEP FI) Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services Work stream, argues that the business case for biodiversity and ecosystem services is not just about conserving endangered species, but rather that the benefits provided by biodiversity are valued and accounted for within traditional business risk …
