VS seeks action against `forest plunder`
The Leader of the Opposition, V.S.Achuthanandan, has demanded urgent action by the Government on reports of tree felling on a massive scale in the Kakkivani area of the Silent valley under the Mannarkad Forest Division.
Over 10m saplings to be planted
Over 10 million saplings will be planted during the next spring tree plantation campaign in the Punjab(Pakistan). This was stated during a meeting which was presided over by Chief Secretary Hafeez Akhtar Randhawa. The meeting was informed that the forest department was regularly holding festivals at district level to create …
Centre okays Rs 2.4 crore for forest project
The Central government has announced three forest development agency projects worth almost Rs 2.39 for Goa. This was announced by Union Minister for Environment and Forest T R Baalu at the inaugural function of the Centre for conservation Education, at Goa State Museum in Panjim.
Tip of the Iceberg
The recent eviction of a large number of encroachers from the reserve forests of Darrang district by the Forest Department and the recovery of sawn timber valued at around Rs 120,000 will be hailed by one and all in a State where connivance with both encroachers of forest land and …
Cabinet to form taluk panels to monitor
The Cabinet decided to constitute taluk level committees to identify whether farmers in various parts of Karnataka state including Chikmagalur, had actually encroached upon forest land.
Ecuador maps 20-year plan to slow deforestation
Ecuador, which lost more of its forest cover than any other nation in South America in the 1990s, is developing a 20-year plan to work with the private sector to plant new trees and protect old forest. Environment Minister Cesar Narvaez said he expected the $800 million program would reduce …
GM pitches hydrogen cars in oil-thirsty China
China, guzzling petrol at a furious pace amid breakneck economic growth and car buying, should wean itself off oil by promoting vehicles powered by hydrogen, General Motors executives said. Executives from the U.S. auto maker will show off their latest concept cars to Chinese officials including Zeng Peiyan, minister of …
We cannot rely on SC to save our forests
It's conflict played out in forests all over the country, from Mumbai's Sanjay Gandhi National Park to Kerala's Periyar sanctuary Communities which live in and around forests tap their resources for food and fuel, but in doing so, may deplete the natural habitats. The deep divide among conservationists on the …
Retain adequate forest cover
When forests disappear, nations lose much more than just timber. "Deforestation results in dramatic changes in climate, erosion, floods, droughts, habitat and watershed losses; these have rippling effect on the environment, food production and food supply management', warns a report released recently by the World Wide Institute, Washington, entitled: "Taking …
Aaranyak workshop on wetland conservation
Aaranyak, a society for biodiversity conservation recently organised a group of graduate and post-graduate students, NGOs working for wetland conservation, other interested individuals and educationists of Assam for a training workshop on wetland management and sustainable utilisation of its resources at Assam State Zoo. The participants were made familiar with …
Faridabad, Lucknow, Kanpur, Hyderabad in CNG network soon
Compressed natural gas, a luxury of Delhi and Mumbai, will now be available in other cities as well. Aptly code-named 'Operation Blue Sky' by the Gas Authority of India (GAIL), the proposed national gas grid will initially make CNG available to four more cities - Kanpur, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Faridabad. The …
35 acres in Silent Valley forests destroyed
The world-renowned Silent Valley is facing an ecological threat as 35 acres of its corridor at Kakkivani Malavaram, under the Mannarkkad Forest Division, in Kerala, were cleared for plantain cultivation, allegedly, by a former village officer with the connivance of some Forest officials. The area that is the core of …
Timber mafia cheats govt
The timber mafia here has managed to convince officials of the forest department (Pakistan) to levy a nominal fine of Rs300 per cubic feet (cft) on the nearly 3 million cft timber illegally exploited from the forests of Kohistan district to transport it to the markets of Sindh and Punjab, …
Govt committed to rehab of Tehri oustees
Chief Minister ND Tiwari has said that the Uttaranchal State Government is committed to the rehabilitation of the Tehri Dam oustees and will also provide adequate facilities in the affected areas. Speaking to a delegation from the Tehri Dam affdected areas of Pratapnagar and Jakhnidhar blocks led by MLA Phool …
MP fells trees for construction
With various civic agencies in the Capital adept at shifting blame to each other and a member of Parliament bent on adding a new structure to his official residence, it's doom time for trees.
NGO operations
The ongoing controversy between Assam Forest Department officials and Nature's Beckon reveal the good, the bad and the ugly aspects of Non-Government Organisations as well as the Government departments. The genesis of the controversy lay in the claim of Nature's Beckon that it had discovered a contiguous stretch of rainforest …
Smugglers, encroachers at large as forest disappears near towns
Apart from damages caused by Jammu and Kashmir State Forest Corporation (SFC), timber smuggling, with in the Doda district, has also played havoc with the forests of this mountain locked district. The illegal trade, despite tall claims by the authorities to check the menace, continues without any breakthrough. It has …
Rs 547-cr project to re-model old water supply schemes
As a result of measures initiated by the presented government, the potable water supply to Jammu city and adjoining areas has been raised from 51.5 million gallons last year to 53.8 million gallons daily at present. This was revealed in a meeting of PHE and Irrigation departments conveyed to review …
Treaty to protect ozone layer threatened
Strawberries and tomatoes were at the heart of an international disagreement threatening the global treaty aimed at protecting the ozone layer. Californian strawberry farmers left a meeting in Nairobi of parties to the Montreal Protocol saying they would be pressing Congress to approve legislation flouting parts of the environmental treaty.
