High court direction on plea against tree-felling
The High Court has directed the Wild Life Warden, Parambikulam, to file a reply on a writ petition moved by 'Niyamavedi', seeking an order prohibiting fellling of trees in the Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary under the guise of 'thinning'.
Ruling halts timber sales again in U.S. Northwest
Environmentalists late last week hailed a judge's decision that could delay hundreds of federal timber sales in the Pacific Northwest, while outraged industry executives said the move would drive up prices and cost jobs. U.S. District Judge William Dwyer ruled on Monday that the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of …
Woodchips alone keep mills afloat
The sawmill industry in western Victoria (Australia) operated at a loss, with profitability propped up by export woodchips and extra trees taken from other regions, according to a Federal-State Government report. The comprehensive regional assessment report, prepared as part of the western regional forest agreement process, has renewed conservationists' claims …
State timber sales suffer as buyers rush for imported wood
However, the Forest Department , with the assistance of the Madhya Pradesh Government, is making all-out efforts to minimise the loss and also to take action against those selling these wood without paying Sales Tax. The signigicance of the effect can be assessed from the very fact that Madhya Pradesh …
Laser provides first 3-D view of mars' north pole
Measurements by a laser altimeter instrument orbiting aboard NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft are providing striking new views of the north pole of the red planet and the processes that have shaped it.
Acknowledging the need to keep forestry green
Prodded by environmental pressure groups and impelled by tougher legislation, forestry companies have made great strides in reducing the ecological impact of their activities during the past decade or so. Until quite recently, paper mills were serious polluters, spewing out contaminated water and noxious gases. Since the 1970s and 1980s …
Forestry gets a boost
MP pvt owners can sell produce directly : The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to implement an ambitious scheme aimed at enhancing the production of timber and non timber forest produce by allowing owners of private forests to sell-off their produce and encouraging farmers to take up forestry as a …
Indonesian haze rolls over neighbours
Peat bog and forest fires have left parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore wrapped in a haze once again this week, raising concern that millions of Asians could face health hazards for the second time since 1997 and disrupt transport in the region.
Call to sue Indonesia over forest fires
Sumatra residents wore masks to keep out a choking smong from forest fires on Friday, as environmental monitors called for Indonesia to face an international court over what is becoming an annual disaster. An official at an Indonesian environmental watchdog called on Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei to take Indonesia to …
Forest guidelines by next year
The Malaysia Criteria and Indicators (MCI), guidelines to certify the country's level of sustainable forest management, will be fully completed by next year. Forestry Department director-general Datuk Zul Mukhshar Md Shaari said a team, comprising senior officers, was now in the process of collecting and updating information on the guidelines. …
Seven police officers face suspension in forest scam
The Supreme Court on Monday ordered suspension of seven Madhya Pradesh police officials who were alleged to have mercilessly beaten up a group of environmentalists protesting against the "theft" of some important files pertaining to the forest scam case from the Damoh district forest office during the mid night of …
Orissa minister is accused of helping timber smugglers
Orissa environment minister Prasanna Das accused Forest minister Kishore Patel of providing covert support to timbger smuggling from Simlipal biosphere ereserve and held him responsible for the destruction of the forest. "Tree felling and timber smuggling have particulary increased in the last two years, which cannot happen without patronage from …
Forest products company goes sustainable
A large forest products company, Champion International, has opened 5.4 million acres of its forests in the United States to an independent, third-party review to determine if their practices are sustainable.The independent, third-party review will be conducted under the auspices of the industry-backed American Forest and Paper Association's Sustainable Forestry …
Insects threatening Chinese forest
A large number of insects have damaged about 99.6 million mu (100 mu is 6.7 hectares) of forests in China in the first half of this year.
Haze back in South-East Asia
Thick haze from forest fires in Sumatra covered large parts of South-East Asia today in scenes reminiscent of the health-threatening smog of 1997, and experts said it could go on for two to three months.They accused Indonesia of weak efforts to tackle the blazes, and said satellite images suggested the …
Farming and logging cut forests by third in 15 years
Vietnam's forest cover has shrunk by a third in the past 15 years due to illegal logging, slash-and-burn agriculture and the felling of trees to make way for plantation crops, according to forestry officials. Natural forest now covers 28 per cent of the country, falling from 14 million hectares in …
Mother of all plants is traced to a single green 'eve'
A five year effort to map the entire family tree for all plants-the most complete analysis yet of how the million species of plants in the world are related to one another-concludes that the many families of green plants living on land today descended from a single green "Eve," a …
The sky may not fall on your head, but trees will
Finally there is a simple solution to the growing problems of deforestation and the greenhouse effect: Just drop millions of trees out of aircraft. The Lockheed Martin Aerospace Company has adapted equipment installed in huge C-130 military transport planes used for laying carpets of landmines across combat zones to plant …
Punjab's shrinking forest cover
Punjab, the granary of the subcontinent, has surprisingly one of the least forest reserves in India with only 2.7 per cent of the total area of the state under forests. Although the state government records mention that 2889 sq km (5.7per cent) of the total area of 50,362 sq km …
