Fading foliage
With the Chennai city fast losing its green canopy, the recent efforts of the Government to save existing avenue trees in urban areas and the setting up of an Urban Forestry Wing in the Chennai corporation are welcome conservation measures.
Shishu trees dying due to disease in Pabna
Large number of Shishu trees and samplings is dying in greater Pabha region (Bangladesh) due to the outbreak of an unknown disease, creating concern among the tree planters. Forest Department source said shishu trees worth about Tk 20 crore on vast land in Pabha and Sirajganj districts died in last …
Not cricket: Kashmir`s weeping willows
Kashmir's famous willow wood from which internationally acclaimed cricket bats are made for the World Cups never faced any crisis even at the height of militancy until recently. Some kind of fungus like patches have severely affected the plantation on an epidemic scale in the northern part of the region. …
Vanishing woods
The data contained in the latest report on the state of forest prepared by the Forests Survey of India on the depletion of dense woods in three districts of Karnataka add up to a very grim picture. What really lends a grave dimension to the dismal scenario is that the …
Road to Melkote temple set to claim sacred Dhanushkoti rock
While Dhanushkoti on the Tamil Nadu coast vanished from the landscape sometime ago, a sacred spot by the same name in the famous temple town of Melkote in Mandya district of Karnataka may meet a similar fate if contractors have their way. The site is tucked inside forests at a …
Bordoloi stresses on joint forest management to save forests
The Minister of State, Department of Environment and Forests, Assam, Mr Pradyut Bordoloi paid a visit to Rain Forest Research Institute, Deovan, situated 10 km towards Sivasagar from Jorhat on June 27. Dr K G Prasad, Director of the Institute presented detailed activities of the Institute and future plan of …
Forest of weeds: Gando baval props up green cover
Officially, Gujarat's forest cover stands at 9.8%. This is what satellite imagery has revealed and there is even the claim that despite drought and poor rainfall over the last few years, forest c over has increased considerably. But there is a catch. Most of this growth in green cover has …
Vented dam at Kateel collapses within 2-yrs!
The vented dam constructed across Nandini River near Kateel Sri Durgaparameshwari Temple, Mangalore, collapsed in just two years. This amply proves that the work carried out at a cost of Rs 16 lakh was sub-standard. The vented dam was constructed by the minor irrigation department under the guidance of an …
Case history
1990: Essar Oil Limited decides to set up oil refinery in Gujarat. Pipeline to pass through Marine National Park and Marine Sanctuary 1993: Gujarat Pollution Control Board gives no-objection certificate 1994: National Institute of Oceanography submits environmental impact assessment report 1995: Gujarat government gives
The perfect truth
"The study relates to tree biomass rather than forests. Moreover, it is because of a change in legal status that land under forests has increased
Tennessee farmer punished for storing GM seeds
In perhaps the first case of its kind, a US farmer has been handed out a prison sentence for saving transgenic cotton seeds sold by Monsanto Company. The company prohibits growers using its products from employing the age-old practice of saving seeds from one crop to plant the next. A …
Dense forests in Malnad denuded
Biodiversity conservation has become the mantra of the day. A good number of legislation is there to conserve endangered species. There is no dearth of brain-storming sessions in star hotels to suggest ways to conserve forest resources. Amidst all this hype, the stark reality is depletion of dense forest cover …
8000 sq km of state forest land encroached
Revealing that over 8,000 sq km of Assam State's forest areas were under encroachment, Forest and Environment Minister Pradyut Bordoloi while attributing rising unemployment, illegal infiltration and insurgency to be the root causes behind the disturbing trend, urged scientists of the Rain Forest Research Institute here at Sotai Deovam to …
Assam most biologically diverse area in South Asia
Notwithstanding the onslaught by encroachers and poachers, who are out to degrade the forestry in Assam, the State still enjoys the privilege of being the most biologically diverse area in the whole of South Asia. The State of Assam presents the transitional zone between the Indian, Indo-Malayan and Indo Chinese …
Concern over depletion of forest cover
Depleting forest cover is the reason behind floods, drought, falling underground water table adn rising temperatures in the atmosphere. This was stated by Uttar Pradesh Forest Minister Thakur Jaivir Singh. He said that because of the reducing green cover, the crops in the fields were getting infested with diseases and …
Forest dept to aid NGOs
In order to promote afforestation, tree planting and eco-development activities on government, public and private land, the Uttar Pradesh state forest department has decided to provide financial assistance to NGOs and voluntary agencies. The state government has invited applications for financial assistance from July 1 to August 31 next from …
Green lobby forces cuts in draft
Bowing to pressure from environmentalists and legal experts, the West Bengal state government has decided to shelve the proposed West Bengal Trees Act 2003 and send it to a review committee to "scrap several portions" from the draft before it is tabled in the Assembly.
