Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of In Re: News Item titled "Nayar river is vanishing - a yatra reveals conservation goes beyond science and policy" appearing in ‘The Down To Earth’ dated 03.06.2025. The original application was registered suo-motu based on the news item titled "Nayar …
The wetlands of Bihar are home to a unique food crop - makhana (Euryale ferox), the popped seeds of which are a popular non-cereal meal eaten on some religious occasions. "Though the medicinal value of the seeds is documented, the plant has been ignored by scientists," complains Vidyanath Jha of …
Dwindling diversity India holds the distinction of being the world's second largest producer of fruits, both major and minor. But many of the fruits native to India are being less and less savoured Fruits come in all shapes and sizes. Neatly stacked in wooden crates and placed under bright lights, …
MANGO: Known as the king of fruits, India is blessed with mango diversity. Wild forms of Mangifera indica (mango) can be found in the peninsular tract, the evergreen forests in the Northeast and the terai regions. Wild forms of the allied species, M sylatica, are also found in the evergreen …
Besides diversity in minor fruits like aonla, ber, bael, custard apple, jamun, phalsa, tamarind and karonda, there are other tropical fruits that are yet to be exploited and their genetic base explored and enhanced. These include barhal (Artocarpus lakoocha), chironji (Buchanania lanzan), dillenia (Dillenia indica), makhana (Euryale ferox), manasari (Mimusops …
Conservation is a positive step towards preservation, maintenance, sustainable utilisation, restoration and enhancement of the natural environment with its diversity. However, conservation of fruits certainly needs more government attention than what it currently gets. Research institutes lack funds for establishment of gene banks or to carry out conservation programmes. "Through …
• The war of words, and weapons, aside, legend has it that during one of the better phases in Indo-Pak relation-ship, the fate Zia ul-Haq sent a crate of mangoes to the late Indira Gandhi. The taste caught Indira's fancy and she immediately sought information on the mango only to …
TACHILEK bustles with activity. A busy tourist market, its streets are thronged by buyers, who have travelled many miles to get here. In smuggling circuits, Tachilek is known for selling everything from US-made Marlboros to Chinese fabric. However, buyers flock to this town, not for American cigarettes or cheap Chinese …
ASIA'S once-abundant sea horse population has gone down drastically in recent years, owing to heavy demand for their use in traditional medicines, aphrodisiacs and aquariums, said conservationists. Destruction of their habitat is another major cause for their decline, they say. "We're dealing with a situation where we still have some …
Environmentalists have stoutly opposed the construction of the proposed Dharma port in Orissa. According to Banka Behari Das, an eminent environmentalist in the state, the government should not allow the construction of the port, unless it gets specific clearance from the Union ministry of environment and forests (MEF). Das has …
The Broken Arrows The relationships between plants and pollinators took thousands of years to develop. Human intervention has destroyed them in a very short period. Pollinator decline is also affecting the harvest. Therefore, it is vital to conserve them, but research in this field is lacking in India THERE are …
The orang-utan, one of human's closest relatives, may be extinct in the next 20 years if the uncontrolled destruction of Indonesia's forests continues in its present manner, according to a report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). The loss of forest habitat and poaching for bush meat are leading to …
The giant staghorn fern, one of the endangered plants in the Philippines can now be saved from extinction. Professors at the Central Mindanao University ( cmu ) in Musuan, Bukidnon, have developed a technique that can help save endangered species. The giant staghorn fern ( Platycerium grande ), endemic in …
The High Court has served a show-cause notice to the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K;) government on the issue of a total ban on the trade of shatoosh shawls. These shawls are made after killing the endangered Tibetan antelope. After hearing the petition filed by the Wildlife Protection Society of India, …
Porto Privamera Dam, which is under construction for the last 20 years, may soon be commissioned. The dam will have serious environmental and social implications as it is being commissioned without necessary environmental and social mitigation measures in place, say environmentalists. The total cost of project is expected to be …
Toshi, a little girl in Gangtok, wakes up everyday to see a montage of pictures of wild animals - the golden langur, red panda, blue sheep and others she cannot recognise - on the wall. Looking out of the window, she can see the mountain ranges with Kangchendzonga peak standing …
A major factor accounting for the decline in species in Sikkim is lack of study of the ecosystem and inadequate conservation. As A R K Sastry, director, Biodiversity 'Hotspots' Conservation Programme (bhcp) of the Worldwide Fund for Nature says: "Studies conducted on the biodiversity of Sikkim are not enough to …
The first patch of virgin forest was cleared in Sikkim at Nathula Pass, after the king invited the Indian Army to protect the kingdom in 1962. Remote areas were connected by roads to facilitate movement of the army. But development activity began in right earnest after 1975, when Sikkim merged …
