Global forest guardian gives up deforestation goal
The International Tropical Timber Organization has failed to meet its primary goal of having all tropical timber products traded internationally by its member states originate from sustainably managed forests by 2000, sources said Monday.The ITTO has also given up setting a new deadline to achieve the goal, triggering criticism from …
Equipment tested for artificial rain
Pakistan's meteorological department and army aviation on Monday successfully tested the equipment, developed indigenously, used for the artificial rainfall. Under an operation, Baran-i-Rehmat, cloud seeding was carried out over Islamabad and Rawalpindi and their outskirts on Saturday, resulting in the rainfall, according to an ISPR press release.
Cold northern forests face burning threat
Environmentalists wail as tropical rainforests go up in smoke, while largely ignoring another blazing ecosystem:the "boreal" forests of cold northern lands. The caribou-haunted forests of Canada, Alaska and the former Soviet Union including Siberia are apparently like never before, experts said at the American Geophysical Union Conference in San Francisco.
Indonesia, Japan in forestry project
Japan and Indonesia will launch in January a US$5 million joint project to promote reforestation through "carbon fixing" forest management over the next five years as part of a campaign to slow down the process of global warming.
Time to flower, time to change
Bamboo forests across Karnataka are steadily deteriorating, thanks to extraction-oriented management practices, particularly in Wildlife Reserves.
Minister claims rise in forest area
Speaking at the district level Vanamahotsava function at Behba Gagal in the Balh Valley of Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh Forest Minister Thakur Rup Singh claimed here that the area under forest in the state had increased by 561 square kilometres of which the maximum increase of 224 square km had …
Smoke grounds planes in Malaysia
Smoke from fires started by farmers clearing land on Borneo grounded some flights in East Malaysia's Sarawak state. Flights out of the northern Sarawak town of Miri were first canceled because of smoke blowing northward from the neighboring Indonesian region of Kalimantan, an environment official said.
Content of 2002 "Southern Hemisphere" influenza vaccine decided
The recommendation for the composition of the vaccine for the 2002 Southern Hemisphere influenza season has been decided and communicated to vaccine manufacturers by the World Health Organization (WHO), following agreement by international experts at a WHO meeting held in Cannes, France.
Ozone depletion will affect rice fields: UN panel member
The impact of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) will be greatly felt on India's rice fields, Dr. G. Kulandaivelu, a member of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Environmental Effects Panel constituted in accordance with the Montreal Protocol, said today.The pane, which met at least once a year, met for the …
Fire destroys 3,300 acres of forest in Brazil
A fire started by a fire-fighting team has destroyed 3,300 acres (1,340 hectares) of grassland and forest in Brazil's wildlife-rich Pantanal region, environmental agency Ibama said. The blaze on the land, which belongs to the U.S. environmental group Conservation International, started when fire fighters lit a fire for training which …
Good response to plantation scheme
'Harit Vahan Aap Ke Angan" scheme launched by the Madhya Pradesh Van Vikas Nigam on July 27 has proved to be a successful exercise and it has evoked positive response from the citizens. The scheme aims to promote greenery by providing technical help, saplings and plants at the residences of …
No ban on six species
In a historic verdict by the empowered committee constituted on the directives of Supreme Court, ban on felling and transportation of six species of trees on private land has been lifted. This is going to have pronounced effect on the modus vivendi of the people of Madhya Pradesh and would …
East Asia pledges action on illegal logging
Ministers from East Asian Nations and other regions at the East Asia Ministerial Conference on Forest Law Enforcement and Governance accepted by acclamation last week an unprecedented and historic declaration committing their countries to combat illegal logging, associated illegal trade, and other forest crimes.
Himachal to rehabilitate affected families
Minister of State of Revenue Rajan Sushant said that the Himachal Pradesh State Government had give assurance to suitably remunerate the interests and security of the affected families and ousters suffered by the 2051 MW Parwati Hydro Electric Project. In this regard, the State Government would make adequate arrangements for …
Zero-sum game
With its crops withering, Tamil Nadu is seeking its share of Cauvery waters from Karnataka. All previous attempts to resolve this dispute have proved futile. This is the unfortunate status of most inter-state water disputes, be it over the sharing of Sutlej waters between Punjab and Haryana or over the …
How to harvest water? UGC plans courses
Close on the heels of Delhi government's efforts to introduce water harvesting and water management measures in the city, University Grants Commission (UGC) is planning to introduce courses on the subject in universities. UGC, after a go ahead from commission members, plans to set up an expert committee to prepare …
Rodent-borne famine fear in Tripura
When a fear of 'moutam' grips Mizoram, the neighboring Tripura cannot remain far off. The Forest Department of Tripura is also afraid of a similar rat borne disaster which may mow down the bamboo forests of the State by 2007, and may be the harbinger of a famine.
