Forestry programme
States still following old guidelines: Though the Ministry of Environment & forest (MoEF) took a decade to revise guidelines on Joint Forest Management (JFM) as part of its review of the forest conservation programme earlier this year, several States across the country are still grouping with the old guidelines having …
We will rehabilitate MP oustees
Patel: Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel has said his government is ready to rehabilitate the oustees from Madhya Pradesh in the state to pave the way for raising the height of the multi-purpose Sardar Sarovar dam across Narmada river at Kevadiya village in south Gujarat.
Plan panel for 20% duty on timber and pulp
Planning Commission has suggested to the finance ministry's levy of at least 20 per cent import duty on timber and pulp, saying the income earned from such a move could be used for creating the Environment Protection Fund(EPF).
Workshop on forest management starts tomorrow
To reassess the success, pitfalls and constraints in the Joint Forest Management(JFM) programme, which has completed a decade of existence, and also to give a thrust to it as a national programme, an international workshop will be held here on June 19-20.
Minister accused of helping timber mafia
Madhya Pradesh Forests Minister Ratnesh Soloman has been accused of colluding with the timber mafia in the illegal felling of trees in Damoh district of Bundelkhand region over the past several years. The National Committee for Protection of Natural Resources (NCPNR) a national network of more than 50 NGOs from …
Cockroaches have sixth sense, say US researchers
Cockroaches have a sixth sense, that helps them avoid predators, including rolled newspapers and fly swatters, researchers said in a study in Thursday's edition of Nature. The researchers found that cockroaches have an extra organ on their backside, which is covered with tiny hair that sense movements in the air …
Move to regenerate mangroves fails in Orissa
Despite claims by the state forest department, regeneration of mangroves in denuded patches has apparently failed. Even as afforestation plans are afoot by the social forestry wing of the Rajnagar mangrove protection division from time to time, unscientific planning by concerned authorities has put the mangrove tracts in the estuaries …
1,300 acres of hilly land afforestated
Chittagong Hill Tracts South Forest Division (CHTSFD) has raised plantation on 1,3000 acres of hilly land at its different forest ranges involving over 1,200 tribal families during the current year.
Massive green drive in July
In a clear departure from the past, the Delhi Government has decided to take up massive drive for greening Delhi by actively associating social organisations, resident welfare associations and studuents of public schools and colleges.
Logging threatens Gabon's forests
Gabon's forests are being threatened by a handful of logging companies which export primarily one species of trees to only a few countries around the world, according to the first report to present up-to-date and peer-reviewed information on the logging industry in the country."Gabon has vast forest resources but the …
Colorado Fires Destroy Dozens of Homes and Threaten Others
Dry and windy conditions kept two wildfires in Colorado burning out of control today and at least 700 people from returning to see if their homes had survived overnight. Dozens of houses were destroyed. Flames raced through the crisp ground and across the tops of pine trees in the foothills …
World panel weighs report
The World Commission on Dams has reminded the Assembly of thePoor that its report on the Pak Moon dam which has been cited by dam protesters is only a draft and has not been accepted as a final version. In a letter dated June 9 and addressed to Prasittiporn Kan-onsri, …
State to formulate new forest policy
Madhya Pradesh is going to formulate a new forest policy for conservation and augmentation of forest wealth and its regulation. The policy will aim at ensuring sustainable socio-economic development of forest dwellers along with the conservation and protection of forests, informed an official press release issued at Bhopal on Tuesday.
River Betwa on the verge of extinction
The life giving river Betwa which begins from Bhojpur of Raisen district facilitates about one-fourth part of the State with water. It also serves water to neighbouring state Uttar Pradesh. The river has just reduced to a narrow channel, due to the lack of maintenance and pollution. It remians full …
Forest dream swept away
Wang Xiu, 58, started planting trees in his dirt-poor village in Inner Mongolia in 1974, in response to Mao Zedong's call to make a better country for his descendants. He spent his life planting and tending the trees, to protect his village, Ulansu, from the desert .Now Mr Wang is …
Timber mafia takes Railways for a ride
As the first ray of sunlight flitters into a now depleting forest in the Western Ghats, it illuminates a group-of tribals with bundles of wood on their heads, charing towards a train that has halted at a station for a few moments. These semi-clad persons are o ordinary passengers but …
Investors offered stake in balanced forestry project
Futuro Forestal, a Germano-Panamian company is seeking to prove wood can be grown for profit while preserving, even restoring, the natural environment. Under its CO2OL Invest scheme, the company plants six types of trees, all but one - teak - indigenous, usually on cheap land that has been exhausted by …
MP minister role in timber trading racket alleged
The illegal felling of teak trees and mining activities are continuing in Damoh district--the home district of the Madhya pradesh Higher Education Minister, Mr Ratnesh Solomon-- in blatant violatio of the Supreme Court orders, alleged a noted environmental organisation, the National Committee for Protection of natural Resouirces at Bhopal today.
Sal seed collection starts in MP
With the tendu leaf collection season tapering off, collection of Sal seed has started in Madhya Pradesh. This year three lakh quintal Sal seed is expected to be collected in the state, according to an official release in Bhopal. The Madhya Pradesh government has enhanced collection rate of Sal seed …
