Rebels gun down 20 for felling trees
Bodo militants gunned down 20 people in the Bathani area of Panijani forest, 22km southeast of Gossaigaon town in Lower Assam's Kokrajhar district. All the victims belonged to the minority community. Assam chief secretary P.K. Bora told the victims were timber smugglers. "Such incidents had taken place earlier also. I …
Demand for community forests increasing
The demand for community forest has been increasing to such an extent in Dolakha district of Nepal that the demand is far more than the target of the district forest office. The target for the current fiscal year is also to hand over 20 community forests, which is far less …
Australian Timber firm wants to grow profit from living trees
State Forests of New South Wales, a state government-owned plantation concern, plans to make its trees more profitable alive than dead. The company is working with the Sydney Futures Exchange to launch the world's first carbon credits trading market. The future for the timber industry lies in getting business to …
No more forst land for distribution to State
Regular pattas to the encroachers and Tribals was an election promise of the Congress during the last Assembly elections. The party's government would now find it difficult to fulfill the promise. However, no one but the laxity of the State Government is responsible for the situation. The Union Environment and …
Govt plans more trial runs of buses running on CNG
Dissatisfied with the previous government's approach on introduction of eco-friendly buses, the Congress-led Delhi government which has just taken over, plans to consult more bus manufacturers for holding trial runs of buses running on compressed natural gas on city roads. CNG run buses are believed to be both noise and …
Forests in a state of decline worldwide
The health of the forests all over the world has been facing a decline, although there has been attempts at reforestration in some of the developed countries, according to the report of the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development (WCFSD), released recently.
Rain clears haze, eases fears
Heavy rainfall has washed the thick smoke from the skies over the eastern Sumatran city of Pekanbaru, easing fears that Indonesian forest and bush fires would again shroud the region in a smoky haze, officials said today.
Forest dept disputes ISRO's satellite picture analysis
The Forest Department today disputed the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) interpretation, based on satellite pictres, that about 25,000 acres of forest area in the Nagarhole National Park had been affected by forest fires in March and April this year.
Weather 'eclipses' UK
At exactly 11:11 am, on the August 11, Britain witnessed its last total solar eclipse of this millnnium. The countdown to it had begun months in advance. A 100 per cent eclipse was promised in Cornwall. The RAF Hercules plane relayed pictures of the entire eclipse which the thousands gathered …
Fires again creep across Indonesia
As the annual dry season sucks the moisture from tropical forests and scrubland in Indonesia, satellite photographs show clearly the ominous spread of fire, which two years ago caused an environmental and economic disaster in Southeast Asia. Yet critics say that far from acting on the lessons that should have …
Tarar calls for making plantation campaign successful
Pakistan President Mohammad Rafiq Tarar on Tuesday launched the monsoon tree plantation campaign by planting a sapling 'Araucaria excelsa' at the lawn of Aiwan-i-Sadr. Addressing a gathering before planting a sapling, the president called for integrated efforts were required to meet the growing demands of forest. The president expressed the …
ASEAN plans meet on haze
South-east Asian countries anxious to prevent another haze disaster plan to meet in Singapore this month as new fires in Indonesian burn out of control, an environmental official said today."Indonesian authorities have given their pledge to disallow opening burning to clear land, said the Environmental Minister, Mr. Lee Yock Suan.
Forest products from Third World tree farms
Tree plantations run by locals in Asia and Africa are one new way for pulp and paper companies to reap fresh timber supply without felling remote virgin forests, a development official todl Reuters. The Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) said projects in Asia and Africa, showed plantations run in partnership with …
Bamboo export ban to be lifted
The government is considering lifting the ban on primary bamboo export for a temporary period, Union environment and forest minister Suresh P Prabhu said on Monday.
Habibie demands acton over forest fires
Indonesia President B.J. Habibie on Monday caled for action to halt Indonesia's forest fires, even though wind and rain eased the new haze crisis over Sumatra and Borneo.The private Indonesian Foret Watch has called on the govenment to revoke the licences of plantation companies guilty of slash-and-burn practices, the Antara …
Indian forest cover inadequate; may shrink further, says study
India's forest cover is already inadequate and is going to be worse in 25 years due to pressure of population, a non-governmental think tank has warned in Washington on Monday. According to the Population Action International (PAI), by global standards low forest cover countries are defined as having less than …
Govt likely to lift ban on primary bamboo exports
The Government is considering to lift the ban on export of primary bamboo for a temporary period, Union environment and forests minister Suresh P Prabhu said here on Monday.The environment ministry has recommended for the removal of primary bamboo from the negative list for a temporary period so that bamboo, …
Ground water in Lucknow areas highly polluted
The ground water in the catchment areas of the Gomti river here has been found to be "highly contaminated" with cadmium, nitrite and lead concentrations, claims a report. Water samples collected from the community hand pump installed in Khadra, Deen dayal Nagar and Patanala areas in old city showed high …
Mathura Refinery diesel to have less sulphur
The Rs 307-crore diesel hydrodesulphurisation (DHDS) unit in Mathura Refinery will soon start manufacturing diesel with lesser content of sulphur, a DHDS release said. The refinery started the supply of unleaded petrol to Delhi in March 1995 and three years later a continuous catalytic reforming unit (CCRU) was installed.
Salim Khan scripts green plan
Scriptwriter Salim Khan submitted his three-point plan for environmental protection to the Bombay High Court. Khan promises to plant 500 trees in the forest surrounding Panvel to involve film personalities in this venture. Moreover, he will also invite school children to participate in this project.
