TN move on herbal plants in forest areas
The Tamil Nadu Forest Department has sent a Rs 3-crore proposal to the Union Government for cultivating commercial medicinal plants om degraded forest areas in Tamil Nadu, according to the State Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Mr. K.K. Somasundaram.
Report defends forest industry
Canada should counter international boycott campaigns that are hurting the vital forestry industry, a House of Commons committee report concludes. The Commons standing committee on natural resources issued a report yesterday on forest management practices in Canada that urged the government to gather and publish accurate information on the state …
Free the tree from concrete pavements
A group of city-based environmentalists say that the tree cover on the sides of Delhi's roads is facing a danger. This time the enemy is not pollution but the concrete pavements, which barely allow water to seep into the ground.
Action plan for biodiversity
An action plan has been set in motion for biodiversity conservation by identifying the various roles to be played by key individuals implementing the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan Project (NBSAP).
Clash over unprotected acreage
It took years of haggling and $480 million to create the U.S.'s newest wilderness sanctuary Headwaters Forest Reserve, a forest so serene that the sound of a hummingbird can startle the occasional hiker. That silence could be shattered by huge Chinook helicopters hauling away Douglas firs and redwoods if the …
Getting your CNG mathematics right
Even though the popularity of CNG has barely gathered momentum among automobile users in Delhi, Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL)-- the sole supplier of CNG in the Capital-- is already contemplating a hike in the retail price of the gas.
Need to manage water resources
The Union Minister for Water Resources, Mr. Arjun Charan Sethi, has stressed the need for building up a suitable legislative and institutional framework for ensuring proper water management in the country. A series of measures were required for water management in the States like Rajasthan to overcome the present scarcity …
Rampant felling of trees by Rlys
At a time when environment protection has become the crying need of the hour, thousands of green trees have been felled by the Railways in Hardwar.
Orissa minor forest policy to be amended
The Orissa chief minister today said the newly-introduced Minor Forest Produce Policy Resolution would be amended to bring tree-borne oil-seeds under gram panchayat's control. The decision was taken following suggestions by a group of voluntary organisations, Mr Naveen Patnaik said at a seminar on the 'Government's New Policy on Non-Timber …
Villagers, foresters join hands in UP
"AAMWALA', a village in the foothills of the Himalayas, has set an example in conservation. So dedicated are the villagers to their forests that anyone found felling trees is heavily fined by the village forest committee(VFC) that has joined the joint forest management(JFM) programme, initiated by the government nearly a …
India seeks Japanese funds for forestry
India has sought funding from Japn for three new forestry projects - Aravalli, Rajasthan forestry development and phase-2 of the Gujarat integrated forestry development projects.
They cling to the tree of life
No one dares to cut trees at Sia Kempty in Mussoorie. Villagers protect the forest. Everyone uses non-timber forest products according to their needs.The village is one where the World Bank aided Joint Forest Management(JFM) scheme is running successfully.
Centre asks states to make amends for loss of forest land
The Union environment ministry seems to have found a way to persuade states to make amends for encroachment of forest lands over three decades, beginning 1950. At the ministry's parliamentary consultative committee meeting on Tuesday, the ministry said it plans to regularise forest lands which were encroached upon before the …
Deforestation rate high in Pakistan
Forests occupy only five per cent of the total land area of Pakistan and are being "depleted increasingly". According to a World Bank report, Pakistan is facing one of the "highest rate of deforestation" in the world. The total forest area of the country, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and …
Orissa may lift curbs on saw mills
Faced with embarrassment over its failure to complete the houses for the cyclone-affected people under the Indira Awas Yojna(IAY) before the monsoon due to shortage of building materials including the timber, the State government is likely to lift the restrictions imposed on the operation of saw mills in these areas …
Non-wood forest produce holds huge potential
Non-wood forest produce (NEFP) holds immense potential for income generation among communities in and around forests, environment and forests minister T R Baalu said on Monday.
Few answers but plenty of facts from forest council
The press conference organised by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education(ICFRE) at Indian International Centre on the completion of a decade of its Joint Forest Management Programme in the country was a fine example of how government agencies believe in avoiding trickly questions.
Rs. 2.34 cr. spent under afforestation project
The Forest Department had spent Rs 2.34 crores for planting seedlings, constructing check dams, percolation pnds, bore wells and taking up drainage works, during 1999-2000, under the Tamil Nadu Afforestation Project (TAP), according to the District Collector, Mr. M. Saikumar.
