The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
Goats give good returns only as long as fodder is free. Unlike cattle that are fed crop and crop residue, goats and sheep graze in wasteland, common grazing land and forests. In western Rajasthan, where degrading farm land and feed shortage forced people to abandon farming and cattle and turn …
Jamshedpur, Nov. 18: Dhalbhum divisional forest officer A.T. Mishra has been selected for the prestigious Indira Priyadarshini Vriksha Mitra (IPVM) award, the highest honour in the field of environment in India, for 2010. Union minister for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh will present the award to Mishra, a 1994 batch …
A forest ecosystem was developed on barren sodic land at Banthra Research Station of National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow, during 1960s. About 74 species belonging to 34 families were recorded in this new forest, which was characterized as mixed dry sub-tropical forest with deciduous and evergreen species.
India has about 55.27 million hectares (m ha) of wasteland. These are not suitable for any purpose and are exposed to the vagaries of nature like weathering, gully erosion, etc. The Department of Land Resources of the Ministry of Rural Development has been implementing three area development programmes since 1995, …
Mass planting of jatropha as a biofuel crop could benefit poor areas as well as combating global warming, but only if a number of scientific and production issues are properly addressed, a review has warned.
In India, seabuckthorn is widely distributed at high altitude, cold arid Trans Himalayan regions of Ladakh, Lahul-Spiti, parts of Chamba and upper Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. It plays an important role in soil erosion control, slope stabilization, reclamation of degraded and wastelands.
ON MAY 25, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) released the draft Green India Mission. It aims to reduce carbon emissions by doubling the area taken up for afforestation in the next one decade as a part of the Centre’s climate change action plan. The ministry said the …
Farmer Ramanaika of Aladahalli in Birur hobli and his family have converted their four acre wasteland into greenland. Ramanaika, who wanted to contribute to the preservation of environment, did not use chemical fertilisers to make his land green growing sandalwood and Indian gooseberry. He adopted organic farming and used sprinklers …
Prosopis juliflora, a native of South to Central America, was introduced in India (Rajasthan) to combat desertification of Thar during early 20th century. Presently, this species is a most vigorously spreading plant species in the arid zone covering neutral alkaline and saline soil and has invaded most part of the …
Given the importance of a credible monitoring and evaluation (M&E;) of NREGS for qualitative improvements, timely redressal of grievances and mid course corrections in implementation, a third party monitoring and evaluation team was set up in June 2009 by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of Uttar Pradesh. The government …
This publication presents a compilation of information on key practical issues affecting jatropha for pro-poor development. It provides a brief overview of biofuels, their growth drivers and their potential impacts on poor societies. It also summarizes the most recent data on the cultivation, seed harvesting, processing, uses and genetic improvement …
Nanjido, an island in Republic of South Korea, at the end of the Han River was made a landfill site in 1978. Fifteen years later, the site had to be closed due to the extensive damage caused by the pollution of soil, air, surface and underground water. In 1996, the …
Goa and Kerala have jointly won the Indira Priyadarshini Vriksha Mitra (IPVM) Award 2008 for small States with a geographical area below 80,000 sq km for absolute and percentage increase in Forest & tree Cover respectively. Each of the States will be given Rs 2.50 lakh along with a scroll …
By gaining critical control over seeds rural women have recovered traditional landraces and biodiversity in agriculture. Initiatives such as Alternative PDS and Food Sovereignty Trust by Deccan Development Society have not only ensured heightened access to food and nutrition but have also empowered women by strengthening their leadership abilities.
A cooperative of landless women in Gujarat are making a successful living through collective farming. By converting their village into an eco tourism centre, they are conserving and promoting local cultures and cuisine.
This article focuses on the use of plantations to produce biomass energy products. This integration of trees with (potential) intercropping in the agricultural system is called agro-forestry. However, if the demand for renewable energy from biomass sources is to be met, large plots of agricultural land will have to be …
Senna (Cassia angustifolia) a native of Saudi Arabia is now cultivated extensively in Western Rajasthan. The main advantage of the crop is that it does not require the application of any fertilizers and it is not devoured by insects, animals or birds. Also the plant is eco-friendly as it can …
Contaminated lands, blighted by fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, could be cleaned up in a clever way: by growing biofuels. Belarus, the country affected by much of the fallout, is planning to use the crops to suck up the radioactive strontium and caesium and make the soil fit to …
