‘Complexities of forest fires need to be understood and managed better’ Fires are sprouting in forest tracts, especially across southern India. As harried Forest Departments and Fire Services personnel douse flames, and photographs of wildlife and trees burnt to cinder make the rounds, a group of scientists is asking a …
‘Complexities of forest fires need to be understood and managed better’ Fires are sprouting in forest tracts, especially across southern India. As harried Forest Departments and Fire Services personnel douse flames, and photographs of wildlife and trees burnt to cinder make the rounds, a group of scientists is asking a …
Every public action and policy must be judged through the lens of transparency, equality, participatory democracy and its impact on those who are vulnerable, deprived and marginalised as well as on natural ecosystems, argues a new manifesto released by a group of environmental activists and NGOs. The manifesto, titled ‘People’s …
India has some of the largest roosting sites of this migratory species. Harrier birds, a migratory raptor species that regularly visits vast swathes of India, are declining. This may foretell lurking dangers to the country’s grasslands. The “poorly studied” species is the focus of a study by two researchers from …
This is the worst flooding in Mumbai since 2005 As parts of India’s financial capital went under after more than 200 mm rainfall–the equivalent of 11 days of average daily monsoon rainfall in 12 hours–on August 29, 2017, the deluge mirrored similar scenes in other cities this month, a consequence …
Environmentalists and forest rights experts from across the country have recently filed an appeal with the petitions committee of the Rajya Sabha to halt any expenditure from compensatory afforestation funds until rules on its implementation are notified. The rules should make "informed consent" from gram sabhas and indigenous people mandatory …
One third of what Bengaluru now is actually the catchment area of Vrishabhavathi river, which flows southwest for about 50 km before joining Arkavathi river. And the city empties about one third -- roughly five million litres daily --- of the waste water it generates into the waterbody, unmindful of …
Experts call for appropriate pricing of water in cities to prevent wastage A resolution to the Cauvery water-sharing row between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu must involve a radical change to attitudes towards water conservation, including recycling and appropriate pricing of the natural resource, observed a discussion organised by the Bangalore …
Muhamma grama panchayat to implement scheme through schools in November Muhamma grama panchayat in Alappuzha is all set to launch a novel project to make environment-friendly cloth bags in a bid to discard plastic carrybags. The panchayat is planning to collect old clothes from people and return bags made out …
KOCHI: Experts on wetland conservation have dubbed the Draft Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2016, brought in by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), as ineffective for being ambiguous and lacking in suggestions for wetland conservation. “The draft rules are inept and the process is Sisyphean. We fear …
PUNE: India ranks among the top ten species rich nations in the world and is known for its rich biological diversity and high endemism. Botanical Survey of India (BSI) and Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) under the ministry of environment carry out surveys and documentation of biological resources including threatened …
Experts and environmentalists have demanded that under government and common people must launch a joint effort for restoration of degraded lands. "Successful land reclamation or restoration of degraded lands largely depends upon the social and political will along with awareness and motivation of the people, coupled with strict institutional and …
Old, rusted or leaking water distribution pipelines lead to contamination of drinking water, putting health at risk, and municipal corporations must immediately address this problem, say researchers and water experts. Scientists studying contamination in urban water distribution networks want civic authorities to fix pipeline leaks and install online chlorine monitoring …
PUNE: People's proactive role in protection and conservation of lakes in cities like Pune (Katraj and Lakaki lakes), Kolhapur and Bengaluru among others places has drawn the Centre's attention to the need for public participation in saving water bodies. The government now wants the local residents to join hands to …
Allegation that boats seized are returned after a few days The indiscriminate mining of white clam shells from the Vembanad Lake and the alleged apathy of authorities concerned in preventing the practice are bound to affect the ecological balance of the region as well as the livelihood of several fishermen. …
BANGALORE: Male parenting may be recent in humankind. But male members taking care of their brood is not new to the animal kingdom. The members of a newly discovered frog species plaster the eggs with swamp mud to ensure they don't dry out. This after the females lays the eggs …
The road from General Post Office (GPO) towards the Balekundri Circle has a road divider with some big and beautiful trees. All the soil on the divider has been scraped off leaving the tree roots exposed so that they can topple down anytime. The trees will be cut soon when …
The Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bangalore, in collaboration with the University of Kashmir, Srinagar, recently started a scoping study supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the Dal Lake titled “Strategy and Action Plan for Strengthening the Ecological Integrity of the Dal …
‘Stakeholders, State Govts Should Together Protect All Ramser Sites’ Thiruvananthapuram: Various stakeholders and state governments should come together to protect all Ramser-recognized wetland sites in the country, Infosys CEO Shibulal said. He was speaking at the first national seminar on Ramsar sites and wetland conservation in Alappuzha. India has 26 …
The 2012 Global Go To Think Tank Rankings marks the sixth edition of the annual report. As in previous years, the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) at the University of Pennsylvania’s International Relations Program has relied on the indexing criteria and process developed by James G. McGann for …
Certain section of population seeks relaxation of ban on tourism; specialists are against any dilution of the scheme The Tamil Nadu Government’s latest notifications on demarcation of core and buffer zones of three tiger reserves in the State may still require a fine-tuning to strike a balance among ecology protection, …
