Bamboo project to fight erosion in Majuli
The Mission for Bamboo Application, New Delhi, has taken up a pilot project in Majuli in Assam to prevent erosion in the island. The project was prepared by the Rain Forest Research Institute. Two scientists of the institute visited the island on August 21-22. The first phase, which is likely …
River Linking Plans
It is gratifying that Mr Suresh Prabhu, chairman of the Task Force on Interlinking of Rivers, should be concerned about what the plan to link up the major rivers of the country will do to a State like Assam. During an interaction with editors of some Guwahati-based newspapers, Mr Suresh, …
NE states miss aforestation targets
In a poor reflection of endeavour of the North-eastern states, all the states in the region including Assam have missed targets of compensatory aforestation, even as questions have been raised about the manner in which the Supreme Court's direction has been interpreted. For all the tall promises made by these …
Forest encroachment: SC order under the scanner
The Supreme Court order, on eviction of those who encroached into forest land, came under the scanner in Karnataka State Legislative Council on Friday. Members belonging to all political parties unanimously urged the state government to apprise the apex court about the State Government to apprise the apex court about …
Fires pose danger to world forests
The Food and Agriculture Organisation has warned that fires are increasingly damaging the world's forests, destroying millions of hectares of valuable timber and other forest produce every year.
Clean chit to Pepsi, Coke challenged in Rajasthan
The battle for pesti-free colas in Rajasthan has taken a new turn, with a public interest litigation (PIL) petitioner expressing doubts over the test results of the samples submitted in high court showing zero microbial contents. The case is to come up for hearing on September 19. Taking advantage of …
Two forest projects cleared, says Baalu
The Centre has approved two forest projects in Karnataka which were pending since 1970. The projects are the diversion of 881 hectares of forest land due to the 400 KW Kaiga Nuclear Power Transmission and settlement of 154 tribal families of Mysore involving diversion of 200 hectares of forest land. …
Forest cover up in country
"Good news", says director-general (forests) M K Sharma.The country's forest cover is up by 0.50 per cent from the 1999 figure of 63.73 million hectares or 19.39 per cent of the land area.This marginal increase is still under 20 per cent, way below the ideal target set of 33 per …
Dam on Vaitarna will spell death for 10000 trees
About 800 hectares of land in Beed district will be taken up for aforestaton by the Maharashtra government to compensate for the loss of 600 hectares of green cover in Thane district due to the proposed construction of another dam on the Vaitarna lake. The dam will be constructed by …
Shalimar Bagh? Say it again
About 150 eucalyptus trees in two parks of Shalimar Bagh have been cut from their trunks and about 150 more are going to be axed by the Horticulture Department. Authorities say the residents had asked for
Milky Way eating up neighbour
Astronomers have mapped the Sagittarius galaxy to show in detail how its debris wrap around and pass through the Milky Way, which contains the Earth. On its way to oblivion, the dwarf Sagittarius, which is about 10,000 times the mass of the Milky Way, is getting stretched, torn apart and …
5,000 saw mills lying idle in Rajasthan
The All Rajasthan Timber and Saw Mill Association has said over 5,000 saw mills are lying idle, rendering thousands of people jobless in Rajasthan following the forest department's order on a Supreme Court directive that only licensed saw mills should run. "Over 2.5 million people, who get direct and indirect …
Green signal to Rs 300 cr Alchi project in Ladakh
The central government has given its technical sanction for setting up of a Rs 300 crore Alchi hydroelectric project in Leh district of the Ladakh frontier region in Jammu and Kashmir, Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma said.
The Sunderbans in trouble
The Sunderbans are silting up, the forests are half the size they once were, thanks to human intrusion and problems no guards can resolve, driving people to destroy the forests to earn a meagre living. The guardhouse to the Sunderbans world heritage park in southern Bangladesh sits on one of …
ITC takes up social forestry programme in AP
The Indian Leaf Tobacco Development Division (ILTD) of ITC Ltd has taken up a major social forestry programme to create sustainable livelihood for poor tribals in about eight mandals of Khammam district. The project involves the development of 5,500 acres of wasteland. The plan is to take this up to …
Canadian town wins respite from huge wildfire
Crews battling a massive forest fire in Canada's Okanagan Valley have made enough progress to allow thousands of residents to return home, but officials warned that the war against the flames that have destroyed 248 houses was far from over. An estimated 16,000 people remain evacuated from the Kelowna area, …
