Forest policy for State on the anvil
A draft of a State Forest Policy is currently being circulated through the corridors of Fort St. George. If formally adopted, Tamil Nadu will become the first state to have its own full-fledged policy on forests.
States told to clear arrears on Sardar Sarovar Project
The Centre has asked all the participating states to immediately clear arrears of payment towards share cost of construction of Sardar Sarovar Project, the Prime Minister, Mr. A. B. Vajpayee, informed the Lok Sabha.
Rethink on logging over water fears
Community alarm about the impact of logging on water catchments has prompted the City of Geelong (Australia) to call for a moratorium on clearfelling in the Otway Ranges. Two years of water restrictions in Geelong and a year of restrictions in Melbourne's western outskirts have fuelled concern about the security …
Bumthang
preserving its pine forests : Bumthang's forestry sector is stepping up its efforts to preserve its blue pine forests from forest fires through a series of village based farmer trainings. Last year Bumthang faced three minor forest fires.
China launching reforestation project in western areas
A massive ecological project to return farmland to forest and grass will soon be carried out in China's vast western region, which covers 56 per cent of the country's territory. The Central Government will allocate financial compensation and ration grain reserves for farmers in the region who will sacrifice their …
Forestry policy reversal draws ire
A recent Nepal government decision has violated all the existing forest laws governing popular community forestry sector even as it deprives thousands of user groups across the country from enjoying their traditional rights over forest resources, representatives of community forest user groups said in Kathmandu.
Workshop of sustainable forest management
Some burning environment issues like immense pressure on country's forests by human population in a situation when India had only two per cent of world's land and 1.5 per cent of forests to support 16 per cent of the world's human population, would come up for discussions at a workshop …
NE's biggest timber scam to be hushed up ?
The biggest timber smuggling scam, which was detected by the Union Forest and Environment Ministry following a secret tip-off last month, may be hushed up by the Assam forest officials, as their alleged involvement becomes glaring by the day. Discrepancies that would nail these corrupt forest officials are already beginning …
World water conference next year
Water specialists from across the globe will converge at the Hague in Netherlands for a week-long conference dubbed as the "the most important international water meeting ever held" beginning March 27. The Ministerial-level meeting titled "From vision to action" will discuss ways to tackle the world's water crisis, especially in …
LDF rejects ordinance draft on forests, Greens aghast
By rejecting a draft of the planned Forest and Environment Ordinance, the executive of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala may have sabotaged an ambitious endeavour to protect the state's green assets. Titled 'The Kerala Forest (Vesting and Management of Ecologically Sensitive Areas-ESA) Ordinance 1999', the draft was …
Forest guard suspended
The illegal uprooting of Typha grass, the most important habitat for Swamp Deer, by the mafias continues unabetted in the Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary, despite all efforts by the Forest Department. However reacting to this Mr R P Bharti, the Divisional Forest Officer, has suspended a forest guard found responsible for …
Funding row over plans to stop tree clearing
A funding stalemate between the Federal and Queensland Governments could see the panic clearing of bushland in Queensland continue indefinitely at the rate of more than one million trees a week.The federal Environment Minister, Senator Robert Hill, yesterday ruled out meeting a deadline set for today by the Queensland Premier, …
