Counter affidavit on behalf of Chief Municipal Engineer, Patna Nagar Nigam in the matter of Saurav Narayan Vs Bihar Pollution Control Board & Others dated May 20, 2025. The report said that the corporation has been diligently performing its statutory duties within the limitations of the available resources and infrastructure. …
Task force is involving forest-dwellers and farmers to protect biodiversity Ananth Hegde Ashisar, chairman of the Western Ghats Task Force, said on Monday that the task force was drawing farmers, forest-dwellers and students to join it in its drive to protect biodiversity in the Western Ghats. He was speaking after …
A team of scientists from the University of Kerala; Central University, Kasaragod; and Natural History Museum, London, have reported the discovery of a new species of caecilian (limbless) amphibian from the southern region of the Western Ghats in Kerala. Gegeneophis primus belongs to the Indotyphlidae family comprising African, Seychellean and …
The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday took the State government to task on its apathy in protecting the forest area in sensitive zones and ordered a stay on the construction of two mini hydel projects. During the hearing of a petition filed by Prashanth Yavagal and Western Ghats Environment …
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Tuesday barred all activity likely to disturb the Sawantwadi-Dodamarg wildlife corridor till the central and state governments take a final decision on the report of Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), headed by Madhav Gadgil. The report, which is yet to be publicized by …
India’s phenomenal economic growth over the last decade has been accompanied by a much-needed expansion and improvement in transport and other infrastructure networks. While there are legally mandated assessments of the potential ecological impacts of such infrastructure projects prior to implementation, rarely are there post-implementation assessments of their real ecological …
The Western Ghats is distinct for its inter-woven network of protected, reserved and community conserved forest areas comprising wildlife corridors spanning long distances, cutting across boundaries that segment it into states. The area has for long been, under constant pressure from unplanned and unrestrained "developmental activities" like mining, thermal power …
Biodiversity is a commonly used word to describe the variety of life on earth. It refers to the wide range of living organisms: microbes, plants, animals and their habitats. Biodiversity on organic farms accounts for efficient nutrient recycling and effective insect management. An organic farm is a balanced system where …
The idea of interlinking rivers is appealing because it is so grand, but this is also the reason it is nothing more than a distraction The Supreme Court recently issued a diktat to the central government about the scheme to interlink rivers. The directions are straightforward. The government shall set …
The World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will take a decision on including the Western Ghats as a World Heritage Site soon. The committee is expected to announce the decision at its session to be held at Saint Petersburg in Russia in June. …
Peat deposits unearthed from coastal wetlands in South Kerala are emerging as a powerful tool for scientists to track climate history and geological evolution back over thousands of years. Scientific analysis of the fossil woods found in the sub surface deposits has traced their existence to the Holocene period, 6,000 …
Use of threatened species in research – be it for taxonomy, biology or population studies, has always invoked much debate. As a result, the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) developed a set of guidelines entitled ‘IUCN Policy Statement on Research Involving Species at …
The High Court has directed the petitioners to file a report regarding the impact on wildlife, if one of the mini-hydel power projects is allowed to continue at Kenchankumari and Yedakkumari reserve forests of the Western Ghats. Hearing a petition by Prashanth Yavagal and Western Ghats Environmental Forum, the Division …
A task force, appointed by the steel ministry, is pitching for underground mining in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats by citing the example of Kiruna Mines in Sweden which boasts of the largest and most modern underground iron ore mine in the world. A task force working on the raw …
The entire Western Ghats must be considered as ecologically sensitive, especially to ensure the sustainability of the rivers of the Indian Peninsula, the Madhav Gadgil Committee report has said. Peninsular rivers such as the Krishna, Godavari and Cauvery that drain the Deccan Plateau and flow eastwards originate in the Western …
PANJIM: In a major set back to the mining industry, the Western Ghats Ecological Expert Panel (WGEEP) has recommended cancellation of 44 mining leases in and around the wildlife sanctuaries (WLS) in Goa. The panel headed by Prof Madhav Gadgil has exposed existence of 44 leases in and around the …
Eyebrows are being raised on why the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has been sitting on the Western Ghats ecology report for almost six months. The MoEF had appointed a Western Ghats Ecology Expert Committee (WGEEC) under the chairmanship of leading environmentalist Madhav Gadgil to prepare a roadmap for …
Initiatives and innovations promoted by Keystone Foundation have helped promote bee keeping amongst farmers and tribal communities around the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The impacts are visible in terms of better yields in coffee, mango and vegetable crops.
The impact of protection on the ecology and ecosystem services of a fragmented sacred grove of Karnataka in agricultural landscape was studied. Comparative assessment of two time scale data revealed positive influence of protection on vegetation in term of species richness, diversity, endemism and basal area. An increment in above …
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday asked the state government to disclose its stand on the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) report. The court had earlier said the report must be made public. The state government has been asked to file an affidavit by March 12. The WGEEP report …
This new report by South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People presents an analysis of the state of water sector in India. It says that climate change offers a unique opportunity to revisit water management & provides recommendations in this context. This report tries to capture the relevant issues …
