Govt allows forest swap for mining
Companies barred from exploiting forest land because of the government ban on deforestation, now have a window of opportunity. The Union ministry of environment and forest has decided to accept successfully afforested land in lieu of forest lands to be used for industrial purposes. The exceptional move made to facilitate …
450 trees sacrificed for UP BSP rally
About 450 trees have been felled and chopped by the Uttar Pradesh State Government to clear the ground for the Bahujan Samaj Party's proposed "Dhikkar Maharally" on September 28. Deputy prime minister L K Advani will be the chief guest at the rally. The trees have been cut to allow …
Indonesia's (illegal) buzz
Indonesia's timber industry is booming, good news for a country suffering widespread unemployment and mired in economic stagnation. There is a dark side, however: Nearly all the sawmills operate without a license, and overall, according to government, figures, 80 percent of Indonesia's timber trade is illegal, which means that the …
Housing society probe is told that trees existed on site
As a controversy rages about whether the Pataliputra cooperative housing society felled several trees before it obtained building permission, a journalist has asserted to an inquiry officer appointed by the Lokayukta that trees did indeed exist on the Andheri West plot. It is alleged that the society which has as …
Sandalwood looted from strong room
In a sensational case, 1,425 kg of sandalwood, 582 kg of sandal oil and 55 kg of ivory, worth Rs two crores, were found stolen from the strong room of the Forest Department at the office complex of the Conservator of Forest, Olavakkode, Kerala.
IFS, others suspended on timber felling charge
The Madhya Pradesh state government has suspended two Forest Officers including an Indian Forest Service (IFS) official after finding them guilty of illegal felling of timber worth 1.25 crore. After the incident came to light, the Forest Department held preliminary inquiry and after finding the officers guilty action has been …
State likely to get Rs 900 cr WB aid for Vaniki
There is likelihood of getting formal permission for the second phase of the Rs 900 crore Vaniki Project proposed with help of World Bank by January 15 in Madhya Pradesh. World Bank had given financial assistance of Rs 225 crore in the first phase of the project.
DoF to take over Leasehold Forestry Programme
The Leasehold Forestry Programme one of the most effective poverty alleviation programmes in Nepal over the last eight years, will no longer remain as a project with the Department of Forest (DoF) deciding soon to institutionalise it under the department itself.
Ministers set dates to cut fuel sulphur
Low-sulphur petrol and diesel will be introduced across the European Union from 2005 and their use will become mandatory from 2009 under an agreement reached by EU environment ministers.
Indian capital breathes easy after pollution checks
Five years ago, the Indian capital was rated as one of the most polluted cities in the world, continually shrouded in an eye-stinging smog of foul gas and noxious fumes. No longer. Pollution levels in the wheezing metropolis of about 13 million people have come down significantly since the government …
2,400 trees to be axed to lay radial roads
As many as 2,400 trees, many of them decades old, are to be felled to make way for radial roads, leading from Natham, Alagarkoil, Anaiyur, Melakkal and Avaniapuram to Madurai, District Forest Officer (DFO) R K Bharathy has said.The DFO told The New Indian Express that the felling of so …
'Sikka Ko Arko Pato' screened
Martin Chautari, a local thinktank society, organised a screening of the documentary Sikka Ko Arko Pato (Another side of the Coin) at Babar Mahal, Kathmandu. The 45 minute documentary produced by Forest Actin and Sikau/Ban Adhikar Karyakram death with the history of community forestry, its successes and challenges facing the …
Affected owners, drivers to be rehabilitated
The Bangladesh government is resolute to go ahead with its decision to ban Dhaka city from September 1, launching a scheme to rehabilitate the affected owners and drivers of the vehicles. For relief of the passengers immediate plight arising out of sudden vacuum, 5000 new CNG-run four-stroke three wheelers would …
Study finds rainforest loss slower than thought
A European study has found that the world's tropical rainforests are disappearing more slowly than previously thought, though the rate of destruction is still alarming, a magazine reported. The study by a team at the European Union's Joint Research Centre found the area of rainforest destroyed between 1990 and 1997 …
SC for panel to save Doon valley
Anguished at the massive depletion of forests in the picturesque Dehra Dun and Mussoorie, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to set up a committee to monitor the steps taken by the Uttaranchal government for protecting the environment. A Bench comprising Chief Justice B N Kirpal, Justice K G Balakrishan …
Mussorie forests
The Supreme Court asked the Union government to constitute a high power committee to monitor the steps taken by the Uttaranchal government to protect the forests in Dehradun and Mussorie.
Illegal fuel food reaching city every day
Inspite of insufficient rainfall since many years and ban on the felling of trees in Madhya Pradesh state capital many quintals of fuel wood is reaching Bhopal station every day. People who are transporting the fuel wood in the trains are having contacts at such high level that Forest Department, …
AP may become first green State
Andhra Pradesh may soon bag the distinction of being the first green State in the country. Several municipalities and urban development authorities of major towns and cities in the State are proposing to promote greenery through parks and gardens at an estimated cost of about Rs 100 crore.
PFI being restructured : minister
Federal Minister for Environment of Pakistan Omar Asghar Khan said the government was taking concrete steps to increase forest area in the country. Presiding over a meeting on the issue of restructuring Pakistan Forest Institute (PFI), the minister said the PFI was being restructured so that it can play an …
