Bush proposes easing rules for small timber sales
The Bush administration last week unveiled a plan to quicken timber sales in small forests if the project prevents the spread of insects that can lead to further destruction or if removal does not adversely impact the environment. The U.S. Forest Service proposed reducing the amount of regulations necessary in …
The Promise of therapeutic cloning
Scientists wasted little time deploring the announcement by a religious sect that it has created the first human clone. It's not just because Clonaid, the company founded by the leader of the sect, the Ra
Tandons stress on rain water harvesting
Urban development and Housing Minister Lalji Tandon on Sunday said the rain water harvesting should be launched as a campaign throughout Uttar Pradesh state to check depletion of underground water level.
Siliguri trees on chopping block
The 122 trees on the traffic snarl plagued stretch of Sevoke Road lost by a huge margin to the votaries of widening, but the true winner was the referendum. A little more that 3,000 of the 20,000 voters in four wards that will be affected by the decision turned up …
Fire, fire burning bright
With the advent of the dry season in India news reports about forest fires will be a common feature in the media. Forest fires are the scourge of forests and wildlife worldwide. Reports from the Ministry of Environment and Forests state that forest fires affect about 37 million hectares annually. …
Pvt land owners can grow forests now
The Madhya Pradesh government has notified Lok Vaniki Rules facilitating scientific management of private forests in the State. Accordingly, private panchayats or gram sabhas can raise forests on the lands owned by them and can cut them as per the provisions of mangement plan under the Lok Vaniki Rules.
Kokrajhar forests along Sankosh encroached by Bengal migrants
Dwellers along the Sankoch river in Assam have urged the authorities concerned to check the unabated encroachment by migrants from West Bengal especially in the forest lands on the Assam side along the West Bengal boundary. The public here have asked the State Government to take up the issue with …
Over 81,000 hectares encroached upon, say Govt records
Can over 81,000 hectares (ha) of forest land be encroached upon within a span of five years ? If one goes by the Government records, it is possible. The statistics on forest encroachment given by Karnataka State Government has baffled environmentalists in the State, with a huge gap of over …
HC stays Forest Dept notification
The Karnataka High Court today stayed a notification issued by the Forest Department directing Kariganur Minerals and Mining Industries, Hospet in Bellary district, to pay Rs 33.57 lakh towards forest lease rent and supervision charges to the government. Justice H Rangavittalachar passed the interim order on a petition filed by …
Smuggling of forest products
The recent seizure of the truck-load of resin, which was being illegally transported by the smugglers of timber and forest products in Jammu by Forest Protection Force (FPF), is not an issue which should be dismissed casually. The FPF needs to gear itself up to check the activities of the …
Teak planted by ex-Maharaja for sale
Teak trees, planted between 1934 and 1940 by former Ramavarma Maharaja of Cochin and nurtured under his direct supervision at the Vellikulangara and Randukai forests, are for sale in Chalakudy, Kerala, through public auction.
'Cambodia must not expel green watchdog'
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday joined a chorus of protest over the Cambodian government's plans to expel an environmental watchdog group, saying the expulsion could endanger crucial reform efforts. The government's credibility in forestry reform hinges on presence of an international monitor "with unquestioned political independence," IMF Cambodia representative …
Timber smuggling on the rise in Birgunj
Hundreds of thousands of trees standing along the canals under Narayani Irrigation Development Project (NIDP) (Nepal)have been cut down and smuggled at an alarming rate. However, the concerned bodies have failed to take actions to check the smuggling.
Centre`s conditional nod to give patta to forest land holders
Government of India has given conditional permission to Madhya Pradesh state government to give patta of land to encroachers of forest land. Government of India maintained that after giving pattas status of forest land should remain the same, averred sources in Forest Department.
Plan grounded
A US proposal to send soyabean worth US $80 million to Pakistan as part of a reimbursement deal for the money it took to supply Islamabad with F-16 fighter aircraft in the late eighties has run into heavy weather. The aircraft could not be supplied after the US imposed economic …
Appeal backfires
Forests are no longer naturally renewable. Paper mills will, therefore, have to share the cost of regenerating them. Thus ruled the Supreme Court, dismissing an appeal filed by two Andhra paper mills against the state government's decision to raise the royalty on bamboo and hardwood. The government's decision was based …
India built canal threatens locals
Residents of Dodhara VDC of Kanchanpur district (Nepal) remain threatened by the Jogbudha River, which overflows its embankments due to the surplus water channelled into it from the Indian Sharada Canal during monsoons. As a direct consequence, the river washes away fertile soil from the VDC each year.
Rs 53 million to be spent on forest sector
An amount of Rs 53.500 million will be utilised for four new scheme in forest sector by planting salt resistant trees, rehabilitation of drought affected coastal mangroves and conducting feasibility study of designing for construction of Shah Bunder Jetty besides generating power from wind energy in Thatta and Badin districts. …
Officers must be armed against timber racketeers
The Green Movement of Sri Lanka wants the government to arm forest and wildlife officers adequately in the face of stepped-up attacks by gangs engaged in the lucrative illicit timber trade. The movement's spokesperson Suranjan Kodituwakku blames the government for ignoring the increasing number of attacks on officers and men.
