-Fire destroys forests
The recent spate of forest fire in the vicinity of Thimphu town has destroyed hundreds of acres of forests, according to the Forestry division. The fires first began at Sangayang, near the Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) tower on February 5, and raged in the forest areas around Luntenphug and Samarzingkha …
- Indonesian forest fires may cause haze
Renewed forest fires in Indonesia's East Kalimantan province could bring last year's choking haze back to Malaysia and Singapore, meteorological experts and environmentalist warned on Friday.
-Paper units' plan on reforestation
The Indian Paper makers Association has offered to work jointly with the government to reforest the rapidly dwindling forest cover in the country.According to a statement released by the organisation on Friday, the country's forest cover has shrunk by 5,500 sq km.
Renewed Indonesia fires worry Southeast Asia
With the Indonesian government short of money and preoccupied with an economic crisis that threatens to lead to serious social unrest, concern is growing in Singapore and Malaysia that the region will again be smothered in smoke pollution from uncontrolled forest fires in Indonesia.
- BJP govt will not take 15-yr-old vehicles off the roads
Former Delhi Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana has said that under no circumstances would 15-year-old commercial vehicles be taken off the roads. He also promised that when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comes to power at the centre, permits for vehicles would be issued only for a period, of five …
- Massive loss of forest cover in 5 NE states
In an alarming development, all the North Eastern States including Assam and barring Mizoram and Tripura, have recorded massive loss of forest cover. The massive depredation of forest has taken a severe toll in Assam as compared to rest of the worst-affected States of the region. The revealations are part …
- Hidden horror of Saddam's germ arsenal
The list of chemical and biological weapons detected and destroyed by United Nations inspectors in Iraq makes horrifying reading: 480,000 litres of live chemical agents; 1.8m litres of chemical ingredients; 30 chemical warheads for missiles; 19,000 litres of botulinum toxin; and 8,400 litres of anthrax.
UN offer to Iraq
Iraq is unlikely to accept Secretary General Kofi Annan's proposal to allow it to sell oil worth $ 5.2 billion every six months to finance import of food, medicines, and other essential commodities.
- Seminar on rubberwood industry from today
The Indian Rubberwood Task Force (IRTF), along with the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO), Japan, is organising a three-day international seminar here on the potential and problems of Indian rubberwood industry from Thursday.
- Eco groups petition ministry on felling infected sal trees
The World Wide Fund-India and a number of eminent environment conservationists have taken exception to the environment and forests ministry's decision to allow felling of certain categories of the Borer pest infected sal trees in Madhya Pradesh.Fund secretary general Samar Singh has taken up the matter with environment and forests …
Waste paper industry remains untapped
The use of waste paper has been growing by leaps and bounds globally. In India, it contributes 40 per cent of the national production of paper. In other words, every percentage increase of collection gives about 28,000 tonnes of raw materials.
- Discrepancies in forest report
That the forest resources of the country have always been under threat is nothing new. So when the Union Minister for Environment and Forests expressed concern about this precious resource touching a critical low while releasing the State of Forest Report -1997 recently, it did not come as a surprise.But …
- BHEL develops new power-saving device
The public sector Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has indigenously developed a state-of-the-art device for installation in the country's highest rating transmission systems of 400 KV lines to protect the series capacitors of the system from sudden rises in voltage.With the development of this vital equipment, called 'spark-gap' the country …
- Seeing woods and trees too
The significance of the order passed by the three-judge Banch of the Supreme Court on January 15 is to be seen not only in the immediate context of the plywood industry in the North-East being enabled to resume regular production after a gap of 15 months but also in the …
India's forest cover pegged at 19.27 per cent, says report
India's forest cover officially pegged at 23 per cent is actually "national" as it includes rocky out-crop and scrub which supports a certain variety of wildlife.The biennial State Forest Report (SFR) 1997 released by Union Environment Minister Saifuddin Soz on Friday provides a critical assessment of the country's "green cap". …
- Panel on long term mineral policy
The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) will evolve a long term policy for mineral exploration by mining industries in the forest rich areas of the country,
- Trees and the law
The use and abuse of the environment is a complex matter, especially in the vast but fragile Amazon rainforest. Logging, mining and large scale agriculture have been important sources of jobs and profits in Brazil for centuries. There is growing national, as well as international, pressure to stop the plunder …
Forest cover shrinks by 5,500 sq km, MP & AP worst hit
The country has lost 5,500 square kilometres of forest cover since the last assesment in 1995, according to the State of Forest Report 1997. Madhya Pradesh and Andhra pradesh have been the worst losers, while Maharashtra added a whopping 2,300 square kilometres.
Armymen called upon to think 'green'
If reversing the trend of environmental drgradation requires action on a war-footing, then who is better equipped to lead the fight than the Army? That question was both asked and answered by Major-General Eustace D'Souza (retd.) here today.Using the term to include all wings of the armed forces, he called …
