Rural vehicles emit more pollutants than urban ones
On top of looming tougher pollution rules for vehicles, an environmental engineer at Washington Univesity in St. Louis now has devised a new measurement that could make both car owners and manufacturers nervous. It's called ppvm(pollutant per vehicle mile). It is a measurement of the total particulate matter emissions a …
Cambodian leader faces arrest
A Cambodian provincial governor and a score of other senior officials involved in illegal logging are to be arrested and prosecuted, Hun Sen, the prime minister, said. This will be first time legal action will be taken against anyone in the army of officials said to be conniving in the …
'Sacred groves' play a key role in conservation of forests
It took a unique workshop-cum-exhibition on "sacred groves" organised by the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sanghralaya (National Museum of Man) in Bhopal to bring out the sheer diversity and timelessness of the practice and their seminal role in conservation of forests and environment protection.
Indonesia's Forests are vanishing faster than ever
Indonesia's forests are disappearing even faster than studies a few years ago indicated. Despite the proclamations of previous Indonesian governments of a permanent forest estate, with 49 million hectares in protected status and another 63 million managed for sustainable production, deforestation has continued unchecked. Indeed, it has accelerated. Neither the …
Boost to forest mafia
The forest mafia has started grinding its axe following the decision of the Himachal Pradesh government to lift the ban on cutting of green trees. Although the government has laid the condition that the green felling will be done strictly according to the forest working plan, but the Forest Department …
'Greening project' fraught with problems
As the Chennai Corporation's plans to increase the city's green cover gather momentum, critics point to the haphazard planning that may ultimately defeat the very purpose of the project. The civic body proposes to plant around five lakh saplings within the next five years. This may be doubled if the …
City to host meet on hazardous waste management
A three-day conference to address technologicl developments and the socio-economic aspects in managing hazardous waste will be held in Chennai from January 27. The conference is being jointly organised by the Centre for Environmental Studies, Anna University, and German Technical Co-operation for disseminating the state-of-the-art informaiton on hazardous waste management …
LPG as auto fuel on trial basis
Dispelling the ambiguity over using liquefied petroleum gas(LPG) as auto fuel, the Union governemnt has agreed to the suggestion of the commissioner of transport, Andhra Pradesh, to conduct 'trials' on the same in the state.
Precious tree species vanishing from N.India
Some important tree species of northern India, such as sal, sheesam and Khair are gradually disappearing due to the natural and man-made reasons. This grim fact, according to some forest scientists, has been discussed during several workshops and seminars at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) in Dehra Dun in recent …
HP tree-fellling makes greens see red
The decision of the Himachal Pradesh government to lift the 16-year-old moratorium on fellling of green trees in the hills has raised a controvery of sorts with the environmentalists expressing fear that the imprudent moves would hasten the process of ecological degradation in the hill State.
Scientist disputes missing fossil link theory
A fossil, hailed as an important find for the theory that birds evolved from dinosaurs, is really a composite of fossils from different creatures, a Chinese scientist says.Xu Xing, an eminent paleontologist in Beijing, said he had found fossils to prove that the fossilized turkey-sized creature unveiled last year might …
Govt lifts ban on green felling
In a controversial move, Himachal Pradesh government has decided to lift the 16-year-old ban on green felling in dense forests. The government is expected to earn an additional revenue of Rs 40 crore from this. The decision - taken by the state cabinet last month - was so far kept …
Law to promote growing of trees on the anvil
The Karnataka Agriculture Minister, Mr. T.B. Jayachandra, today said a legislation would be drafted to promote agro-horticulture with a mandate for growing trees to preserve the environment and augment the income of the agriculturists.
Forest dept. identifies priority conservation areas
Parts of Colaba, Vikhroli and Mumbra are three of the seven and coastal areas that Maharashtra forest department has identified for priority conservation. The department is in the process of studying the locales more closely to decide the extent and mechanism of protection.
Deforestation by Bhutanese refugees rampant
Bhutanese refugees living at Pathari Shanischare in Morang district resorted to massive deforestation having failed to receive kerosene. The Morang District Forest Office has not initiated any action against them despite that refugees have encroached on the dense forests in the vicinityof Pathari Sanischare camp in Morang district.
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The construction of afflux dam in south Laxmanpur barrage across the Rapti river by India has once again raised doubts about the India's "attitude" towards Nepal. True, the dam has been constructed on the Indian side of the border but prior consultations and agreement are necessary for any such construction …
UP being denuded of trees worth lakhs
Frequent poaching and rampant felling of trees have become order of the day in Uttar Pradesh. After major cases of poaching, which surfaced in the past few months, the annual monitoring of trees felled illegally in a year, has revealed illicit felling of trees worth lakhs of rupees in the …
HP's go-ahead for felling
Plagued with perennial financial crisis, the fund starved Himachal government has finally given the go-ahead for felling of green trees. The decision is likely to double the state's forest revenue from the next financial year. The decision to lift the 16-year old moratorium on felling of green trees was taken …
Ban on deforestation
The Satpura Development and Workers Welfare Committee and the Tribal Development Council have expressed concern over the ban ordered by the Supreme Court on the illegal felling of trees in the forests in Betul (Madhya Pradesh). According to the merchants, due to this ban lakhs of tribals were facing starvation …
