Conducted over the course of a year in 2017-18, the All Kerala Tiger Monitoring Programme identified a total of 176 individuals, 75 of them within the confines of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) alone, based on camera-trap images. Kerala’s forest cover may be extremely fragmented and prone to recurrent human-animal …
Petitioner seeks debt relief for farmers A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court issued notice to the Centre and State governments on a public interest writ petition seeking a directive to take steps to save the farmers in Wayanad from debt-trap and to prevent them from committing suicide. The …
Kerala government is in a fix with the National Human Rights Commission issuing notice to the State government for non-payment of adequate compensation to victims of pesticide endosulfan in Kasaragod district. The Commission had recommended, in its order in December last, payment of Rs. 5 lakh as compensation to the …
The wild elephant population in the Kerala forests has remained stable and healthy between 2007 and 2010, according the 2010 wild elephant census results received by the Forest Department this week. The 2010 census, according to what is called ‘block count method’ of enumeration, puts the number of wild elephants …
The Forest Department of Kerala has just completed the first-ever ornithological survey for the Malabar region recording 341 species of birds. The survey is one of a kind notable for its sheer depth and span, more comprehensive than all such surveys undertaken so far in India. Hopefully, the five-member team …
The Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary authorities are getting ready to launch new eco tourism projects to conserve the sanctuary effectively. The projects include a six-hour trek inside the sanctuary, purchase of nine buses for wild safari, and maintenance of the eco tourism huts inside the sanctuary, A.P. Sunilkumar, Wildlife Warden, told …
Campaign launched to bridge gap in coverage of immunisation programme Health Minister Adoor Prakash said here on Tuesday that an expert committee had been appointed to study the proposal for use of pentavalent vaccine under the immunisation programme of the Health Department. Replying to questions at a press conference, the …
Use of chemical pesticides in plantations in the Western Ghats might have wiped out a few endemic odonate species including damselflies and dragonflies, fear experts. While assessing the conservation status of odonates in the Ghats region by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), data regarding 46 species have …
KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Monday expressed dissatisfaction over the delay on the part of the state government in acquiring the 14 acres of land in Krishnagiri, Wayanad, which is under the possession of M V Sreyamskumar MLA. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice J Chelameswar and Justice P …
Up and coming development projects, increasing pressure from tourism and pilgrimage, increasing number of hotels and conflicts with local communities are the major threats faced by the three tiger reserves in the State. The weaknesses include inadequate trained and competent staff in the tiger reserves, disturbance due to human settlements …
Slight increase in infant mortality rate A Keralite, on an average, has the life span of a U.S. citizen as the State ranks high in all health indicators compared to other States in the country. But the declining child sex ratio shows the State in bad light despite the fairly …
Bombay Natural History Society has conducted the survey in wildlife sanctuaries in and around the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve A field survey on the vulture population in the wildlife sanctuaries in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and adjacent sanctuaries, conducted by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), has found that the number …
KALPETTA: A wildlife census in the Wayanad Wild Life Sanctuary (WWLS) and the two forest divisions of Wayanad district began on Wednesday. The census is being held as part of a State-wide exercise. The three-day census is being organised by the Forest and Wildlife Department in association with the Periyar …
The joint committee set up by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to enquire into the implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of the Forest Rights) Act, 2006, came out with its final report in December 2010. The report …
KALPETTA: The eco-tourism centre at Tholpetty near Mananthavady, a growing tourism destination under the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, will be reopened for tourists on Wednesday. The centre had been closed for tourists since June 7, 2010 on an order of the Chief Wildlife Warden. An eco-development committee meeting at Tholpetty on …
Many pesticides banned by developed countries Curbs on pesticides reduced suicides in Sri Lanka KOCHI: The Kerala government's plan to ban the use of a series of pesticides is likely to have a major positive spin-off: a substantial fall in the number of suicides in the State which has one …
Conference convened by Agriculture Minister Red category pesticides on ban list, Order likely to be issued in a day or two Thiruvananthapuram A high-level conference of officials and researchers, convened by Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran here on Wednesday, decided to ban several red category pesticides and introduce restrictions on the …
Survey of wetlands in six north Kerala districts reveals threat to bird diversity KALPETTA: Habitat loss is posing a severe threat to the avian population in the major wetlands in northern Kerala. Malabar Ornithological Survey 2011, an ongoing survey on the avian population in the northern Kerala, being organised by …
Centre weighed down by plant-protection cost Package for victims may be more costly THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Centre government is ruling out a national ban on Endosulfan or support for the cause at the Stockholm Convention on the ground that no cheap alternatives to Endosulfan are available to farmers. But the Centre …
The Forest Department will develop tree parks at six places on the outskirts of Bangalore in an effort to increase the green cover around the State capital, Forest Minister C H Vijayashankar said on Friday. Tree parks are planned off Bannerghatta, Mahantalingapura off Whitefield Road, Challahalligudda near Devanahalli, Bhootanahalli off …
KOCHI: Raging wildfires have destroyed large tracts of forests and grasslands in Kerala. According to available information, over 200 hectares of forest area have been destroyed since January and it is mostly grasslands that are lost to the flames. The State Forest Department has raised concern over the rising incidents …
