HP wants money for not felling trees
Himachal Pradesh wants the Centre to compensate the state for huge financial losses it has suffered due to a blanket ban imposed on tree felling by the Supreme Court. Making a case before the Planning Commission of India, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said Himachal's losses due to the ban so …
Banks come to the rescue of threatened forests
A recent pledge by 10 of the world's biggest banks not to lend money for projects that tries is good news for forests and other fragile ecosystems. Among those agreeing to follow the new
Smoking banned in HP village
High on the mountains about 35 km from Reckong Peo, headquarters fo the Kinnaur district, a small village beaten by high-velocity winds is a non-smoking area. In an age where people don't smoke for health reasons, the villagers here quote fire as the reason. The threat of fire engulfing the …
Encroachments cleared from forest land
A state of Gujarat that does not have too much forest cover, in the first place, can not afford to lose any more of its dense greenery. It is this simple logic that has driven the Vadodara circle to reclaim much of the leand it had lost to encroachment by …
Chakrashila sanctuary turning barren, Govt silent
Nature's Beckon, an environmental activist group in the North-east has expressed serious concern over the massive illegal felling of trees inside Chakrashila wildlife sanctuary, a Nature's Beckon press release said. "A team of Nature's Beckon visited the area and found large-scale felling of trees has taken place and there were …
Genetic engineering for green cover!
The Forest cover in Uttar Pradesh is in for local make over. And to the surprise of many, this time round the Forest has moved on from eco conservation and biodiversity management to genetic engineering and molecular biology to usher in a green revolution! Science and technology is the buzzworld …
Public awareness a must to conserve water: Mayor
Public awareness and active participation was necessary to conserve water and control the falling level of underground water table, said Mayor S C Rai on the second day of the National Seminar on "Urban Governance in India: Challenges and Prospects" organised by the Regional Centre for Urban and Environmental Studies, …
Desilting of 800 ponds to be taken up: Mandrekar
The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Dayanand Mandrekar disclosed that the government will take up desilting work of about 800 traditional ponds and lakes in Goa state. He informed that the disilting work of about 60 ponds and lakes have been already started through organisations of farmers known as Users Group. …
CSIR, UK body ink pact to protect 750 Indian plants
In a bid to protect over 750 threatened plant species in India and ensure their sustainable economic use and protection of IPR, CSIR entered into an agreement with Botanic Gardens Conservation International, UK, a body set up by the UN.
Forest fires put out
Several incidents of fire were reported in three famous national parks of Uttaranchal but they were put out and no harm was done to wild animals, officials said. There was no cause for concern as the fires reported in Jim Corbett, Rajaji and Nanda Devi National Parks were put out, …
Orissa MLAs urge CM to curb timber mafia
Alarmed by the rapid disappearance of the State's green cover as many as 17 MLAs have urged Chief Minister, Navin Patnaik to invoke the provisions of National Security Act (NSA) to check the menace of timber smuggling. In a letter to Patnaik, the legislators alleged that every day timber worth …
Groundwater: UNEP thirsts for better management
Over-exploited aquifers, falling water tables and seawater contamination are threatening the world's natural underground reservoirs upon which two billion people depend for drinking water and irrigation, a new United Nations report says. The report by the U.N. Environment Programme urges action to better manage the globe's groundwater as growing and …
Delhi 15th among states in tree cover
Even as Delhi has registered an increase in the forest cover as compared to the last year, the capital city sitll ranks 15th among all the states and Union Territories in respect of percentage of geographical area under tree cover. According to a report of the Forest Survey of India, …
Officials booked for `aiding` encroachment in forest area
The Enforcement Department has registered a case under the prevention of Corruption Act against officers of the forest, revenue, irrigation and public health, state electricity board and the telecommunication department for helping Anant Ram Negi, a resident of Hallailla, to construct a house in a demarcated protected forest (DPF) of …
A ray of hope
The setting up of the central empowered committee by the Supreme Court would aid groups battling to save India's vanishing biodiversity.
A cocktail of chemicals
The magnitude of pesticide abuse in India is alarming. Around 97,000 tonnes of pesticides are produced in the country every year. Pesticides that have been long banned by the developed world.
Delhi`s forest cover increases
Latest available figures show that the greening of Delhi is paying off, with the total forest cover reaching an impressive 10.15 per cent. India's capital city Delhi is turning over a new leaf, literally.
22 villages in Ludhiana to take up afforestation drive
It is unique scheme mooted by the Divisional Forest Department, which would prove to be a refreshing change from the frequent complaints of encroachment of forest land and villagers clashing with forest officials over the land. The scheme has already made an auspicious beginning with 22 villages coming forward to …
Drinking water heavy with metal bears down on humans
The water we drink is not all that pure and we'll be better advised to think before guzzling down the cool liquid. Heavy metal particles in drinking water and in water used for irrigation are slowly affecting our health, warns scientist Bhajan Singh Lark who retired from the Chemistry Department …
Our trees are not countless, the census is proof
They're census officials too, with the same relentless door-knocking and number crunching to do. Only, they count trees, not heads. Also, they're only one census old. In 1999, the civic Tree Authority actually conducted the city's first ever tree census, with volunteers combing the city-12km at the widest and 40 …
