Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
What is the value of our forests? Right now, as per the net present value (npv), a hectare (ha) of forestland costs anything between Rs 5.8 and 9.2 lakh. The amount represents more than just timber. It is actually a one-time payment that a user has to make for diverting …
A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (cag ) has come down heavily on several states for not utilising, in fact diverting, funds meant for afforestation. In a May 5, 2006 verdict, the Supreme Court (sc) referred to the report and decided to requisition the funds from states. The …
while Nepal's major political parties are trying to negotiate with the Maoist rebels in New Delhi for a common minimum programme and overthrow the government of king Gyanendra, in Nepal, the community forest right activists are trying to convince the democratic leaders to include community rights in the negotiation. The …
Public or private? The meet was called the National Conference on Forestry. Its venue was the luxury Maurya Sheraton hotel in Delhi. It was organised by cii in association with the Union ministry of environment and forests (moef) in February 2006. The announcement said Indian industry was organising the event …
Following the urging of at least 200 Mog tribal families of south Tripura to save the Takka Tulshi reserve forest from smugglers, the state forest officials organised a forest fair, recently. "The fair aimed educating people about the need to protect forest and green land. We also tried to teach …
the forest managers of Tripura might not have done anything to settle the rights of tribals dispalced from their land, but they've started paying their casual labourers better. About 30 years after its creation, the Tripura Forest Development and Plantation Corporation (tfdpc) earned its highest-ever profit in 2005 (see graph …
on march 20, 2005, the Institute of Economic Growth (ieg) organised a seminar to gain an insight of issues pertaining to calculation of Net Present Value (npv) of forests. The matter has been debated ever since the Supreme Court (sc) called for a system on September 26, 2005, to evaluate …
Everybody knows one hand of the government does not know what the other is up to. But it does make a difference when a proposed programme of the government contradicts and, perhaps, even fatally undermines a flagship initiative. This is the case with the proposed programme of the Union ministry …
Environmentalists and the Brazilian government are lobbying hard for a new draft law on the management of public forests. The draft would allow concession of public areas to private enterprises, ngos and local communities for sustainable production for up to 40 years. The Chamber of Deputies has already approved the …
jharkhand seems to be poised for a large-scale confrontation in response to 42 memorandums of understanding worth some Rs 1,70,000 crore signed by the state government with various iron and steel companies, including big names like the Mittals, Jindals and Essar. But this time around there is a twist to …
Should the business of forestry be centralised under the Union government once again or should states manage their forests better? The formation of the Supreme Court (sc) mandated Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (campa) has become a test case to settle this debate in government circles. The prime minister's …
Forest resources assessment 2005 examines current status and recent trends for about 40 variables, covering the extent, condition, uses and values of forests and other wooded land, with the aim of assessing all benefits from forest resources. In the main section of this report, results are presented according to six …
FRA 2005 examines current status and recent trends for about 40 variables, covering the extent, condition, uses and values of forests and other wooded land, with the aim of assessing all benefits from forest resources. In the main section of this report, results are presented according to six themes representing …
Mangroves, although have unique ecological characteristics and multifarious uses are in a very much degraded state. In Orissa, except Bhitarkanika, the small patches of mangroves which are available along the coastal track are considered as the relics of a glorious past when thousands hectare of land was covered with mangroves. …
function map() { var popurl="image/20051215/too_close.pdf" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=675,height=450,scrollbars=yes") } Tourism is flourishing in Ranthambore, with hotels mushrooming around the tiger in its reserve. Till the mid-1990s, there were just over 10 hotels in and around the forests of the reserve and in the town of Sawai Madhopur some 12 kilometres (km) from …
The Argentine province of Salta decided on November 15, 2005, to cancel the sale of a part of the Pizarro nature reserve to agribusinesses. Indigenous people living off the reserve have been campaigning since February 2004 against the provincial government stripping the reserve of its protected status and auctioning it …
Brazilian police recently arrested a gang of 35 people who forged thousands of logging permits and sold them to transport millions of dollars worth of hardwood timber in the Amazon. This operation is the fifth such operation since 2003. Brazil's government claims that checks on illegal logging and tighter law …
The government of Orissa lifted a 1992 ban on felling of trees in 11 of its 50 forest divisions in September this year. "The move was not based on any scientific assessment. The forest department (fd) has not analysed the impact of the ban,' says B B Pandey of the …
