NatureNews
NatureNews - A WWF digest of environment news on the Internet
NatureNews for the week ending April 17, 2008. To subscribe to NatureNews, please write to Library.
Environment - General
India's coal reserves overestimated: WWF
The country's over dependence on coal will dampen its economic growth as India's coal reserves have been overestimated, says the WWF in its latest report. "India's coal reserves, which have shaped its energy policies, have been grossly overestimated," the WWF report titled "Rethinking Coal's Rule in India" said. "India faces a potential energy crisis and the blame rests largely with its over dependence on coal," it said. It said besides shortage of domestic coal, there are severe social and environmental impacts that are inherent to India's coal sector, like the mounting problem of climate change. For more: http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1313269/
Climate Change & Energy
Arctic Melting May Lead To Expanded Oil Drillin
More than half of the Arctic Ocean was covered in year-round ice in the mid-1980s. Today, the ice cap is much smaller. Alarming evidence of this warming trend was released when the U.S. (NASA) released satellite evidence that perennial Arctic ice cover, as of February, rests on less than 30 percent of the ocean. "The rate of sea-ice loss we're observing is much worse than even the most pessimistic projections led us to believe," says Carroll Muffett, deputy campaigns director with Greenpeace USA. For the first time in recorded history, this past summer the entire Northwest Passage between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans was ice-free, according to scientists. For more: http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/33669
Climate change to hit top holiday spots: UN
Some of the best and most desired destinations by travellers will feel the consequences of climate change within the next few decades, a United Nations report has warned. The destinations to bear the brunt of the changing weather include hotspots in Caribbean, Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, Australia and New Zealand. In fact, this report has declared that countries, like the Maldives are the most vulnerable to such changes in many aspects as they have "poor" information about the implications of climate change due to their high dependency on tourism. This report authored by Dr Murray Simpson from Oxford University's Centre for the Environment, has also warned that the tourism sector will face increased operating costs with the probable higher frequency of extreme weather events and the cost of clearing up after them. "Tourism is both a victim and a contributor to climate change. For more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Climate_change_to_hit_top_holiday_spots/
articleshow/2932916.cms
Climate change will impact human health in South East Asia: WHO
Climate change will have a “serious and damaging” impact on human health in South East Asia, including India, as air quality will suffer and respiratory diseases will be exacerbated, according to the WHO. At a press conference to mark the World Health Day, Samlee Plianbangchang, Regional Director, WHO South East Asia, said the six diseases that would adversely impact human health are respiratory diseases, vector-borne diseases (malaria and dengue), water-borne diseases (diarrohea and cholera), malnutrition, injuries and psychosocial stress. Urgent action was needed to strengthen the existing health systems to deal with the potential increase in health risks due to climate change, he said. For more: http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/08/stories/2008040851170900.htm
EU power companies paid for polluting: WWF
Power companies in just five EU nations could reap windfall profits of up to 71 billion euros over five years thanks to Europe's emissions trading scheme, the green group WWF claimed. The environmental group, which released the findings of a sector study, said the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) gives no incentive to move away from the most polluting coal-fired power stations and warned that Poland and other eastern European members were lobbying against a planned overhaul of the system after 2012. At the root of WWF's gripe is the free distribution of polluting permits to the 27 EU nations. These can be sold on to other companies who need more than their allocation of carbon dioxide emissions. "The way in which the national allocation plans are set up is a disaster," said Sanjeev Kumar, Emissions Trading Scheme Coordinator at WWF. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Planet_SOS/Pollution/EU_power_
companies_paid_for_polluting_WWF/articleshow/2932200.cms
IIM-Lucknow to set up climate change centre
A centre for climate change dedicated to providing information to industries will come up at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM). IIM-Lucknow director Devi Singh said the decision follows a two-day seminar on climate change held at the institute. Singh has entrusted the responsibility of setting up the centre to the institute's Agriculture Management Centre chief Sushil Kumar. "We will begin with an awareness campaign on the impact of global warming and then undertake courses to spread awareness about the need for industries to realise the importance of carbon credits," Kumar said. "With widespread melting of glaciers, rising global mean sea level and, above all, the general rise in average air, sea and ocean temperatures, global warming is an undisputed reality. It is time that we woke up to it in India," he said. For more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/IIM-L_to_set_up_climate_change_centre/articleshow/2925801.cms
Hunters, anglers worry about global warming loss of wildlife
Global warming could force elk and mule deer from much of the western United States. Wild trout could disappear in lower Appalachian streams. Two-thirds of America's ducks may disappear. A new US assessment of the threat to fish and wildlife habitat has hunters and anglers calling for action. Groups representing nine major hunting and fishing organisations planned to meet with the House committee chairman who hopes to write legislation to curtail greenhouse gases linked to global warming. "These are the branches of the conservation movement from which I come," Democratic Representative John Dingell said. Dingell said the groups' concerns are very important in helping with a measure to address the problem. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Hunters_anglers_
worry_about_global_warming_loss_of_wildlife/articleshow/2942171.cms
Nations agree on agenda for 2009 global warming pact
Climate negotiators agreed on an ambitious agenda for talks they hope will lead to a global warming pact, overcoming a heated dispute between Japan and developing countries on how to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The schedule came after five days of talks in Bangkok and requires negotiators to settle contentions issues, including how countries will cut their emissions and how rich nations will help the poor adapt to climate change. "Not only do we have the certainty that critical issues will be addressed this year, we now have the bite-sized chunks which will allow us to negotiate in an effective manner," UN climate chief Yvo de Boer said. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ET_Cetera/Nations_agree_on_agenda_
for_2009_global_warming_pact/articleshow/2927527.cms
Improving carbon control
The U.N. climate change conference that concluded recently in Bangkok has made it clear that market-oriented arrangements such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and emission trading ushered in by Kyoto protocol will continue beyond 2012. The announcement comes at a time when some scientists have challenged the effectiveness of these measures and the emission estimates that have been put forth. The point of contention is that U.N. policies have overlooked the supply side of energy in developing countries, especially India and China. It is argued that developed countries like the United States (not a Kyoto protocol signatory) have done a lot to cut energy intensity (ratio between a unit of production and the amount of energy used to produce it) while China and India have not done enough and they must be brought on board and their emission limits capped. Alongside, demands are made for a policy that will increase investment in R&D, impose penalties such as carbon tax, and delink poverty reduction from the issue of controlling carbon emissions. For more: http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/14/stories/2008041454851000.htm
Forest & Biodiversity
Asia must reverse massive deforestation: U.N.
Parts of Asia are losing more than 28,000 square kilometers (10,800 square miles) of forest every year, a trend that must to be reversed immediately to fight climate change, a United Nations report said. Deforestation accounts for about 20 percent of global greenhouse gases -- trees soak up carbon dioxide when they grow and release it when they rot or are burnt. A U.N. climate conference in Bali last year agreed to launch pilot projects to grant poor countries credits for slowing deforestation under a new long-term climate pact beyond 2012. For more: http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/33657
Logging road seen threatening Indonesian forest
Forests and rare tigers are under threat from a new logging road in Indonesia's Sumatra, green groups said, linking firms connected to paper giant Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) as being behind the project. A spokeswoman for APP said it was looking into the report issued by Eyes of the Forest, a coalition of local NGOs, but said it applied stringent rules on its wood suppliers. "We are still investigating the report about the road. APP doesn't have anything to do with illegal activities and we are checking the legality of our wood supplies," Aida Greenbury, director of sustainability at APP, said. For more: http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSJAK27972020080326?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews
HC backs BMC on pvt forest land
The Bombay high court dismissed some leading developers' petitions challenging the stop-work notice issued to them by the BMC for constructing flats on private forest land in blatant violation of the Forest Conservation Act. The immediate impact of the court order will be felt by an estimated 1 lakh flat owners and people who have paid for approximately 75,000 flats under construction on private forest land in the Bhandup-Mulund-Thane and Borivli-Kandivli belts. The stringent Forest Conservation Act bans non-forest activity on private forest land. "The fate of people who own these flats or have bought under-construction flats now hangs in the balance. The only option they now have is to approach the Supreme Court. For more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/HC_backs_BMC_on_pvt_forest_
land/articleshow/2896550.cms
Apex Court notice to Centre on Forest Rights Act
The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Union Government and the states on a bunch of petitions challenging the Constitutional validity of the Forest Rights Act which permits allotment of forest lands to tribals. Responding to the contention of two petitioners, who claimed that ‘land’ is a state subject and the Parliament cannot distribute land, the apex court issued notices to Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Cabinet Secretary, among others. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, seeks to recognise and gives forest rights, including forest land, to Scheduled Tribes and traditional forest dwellers. It was notified this January after a protracted battle between the wildlife experts and tribal activists. For more: http://www.indianexpress.com/story/289824.html
Forest cover-up
Plantations, tree canopy included in definition. How much land in India is under forest cover? No one has a clue though the Government of India has been bringing out state of the forest reports every two years for two decades. The latest report says the forest cover is around 20 per cent of the land in the country, 3 per cent less than the area under the forest departments. But the fine print shows that the report does not make a distinction between tree cover, commercial plantations and natural forest cover. To qualify as “forest cover”, the Forest Survey of India considers 10 per cent tree canopy area and one hectare. So, if a householder has, say, a hectare of coconut palm, his land would qualify as forest cover. The Forest Survey of India admits there is a problem. “There is an absence of boundaries for forest areas, so it is difficult to tell a forest from a plantation. What can we do if the state forest departments don’t give us the forest boundaries?” said Saibal Sengupta, joint director of the Forest Survey of India. For more: http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.php?leftnm=10&bKeyFlag=BO&autono=320002
Rubber Trees For Tyre Industry Shrink China Rainforests
Rubber plantations have supplanted nearly all the low-lying forest in the prefecture of Xishuangbanna and are now starting to encroach on the highlands. Scientists are worried that the expansion of rubber plantations to feed China's voracious tyre industry, the world's largest, will destroy the ecosystem of Xishuangbanna. The province is home to China's richest variety of flora and fauna. For more: http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/47833/story.htm
Chinese dams threaten Cambodia's forests, farmers
Along the Chay Areng valley in Cambodia's remote Cardamom mountains, children still scamper barefoot through one of mainland southeast Asia's last remaining tracts of virgin jungle. If they take the same paths in a few years, they will probably have to be swimming. Faced with a rapidly growing but power-starved economy, Prime Minister Hun Sen has decided the rivers flowing from one of the few elevated spots in a relentlessly flat country should become its battery pack. With this in mind, in the last two years he has agreed to at least four Chinese-funded hydropower projects as part of a $3 billion scheme to boost output from a measly 300 MW today to 1,000 MW in a decade, enough to power a small city. The indigenous communities who have lived off the forests in the Cardamoms since the dawn of time appear to be the ones who will be paying the biggest price. "We have been living here without a dam for many generations. We don't want to see our ancestral lands stolen," said 78-year-old Sok Nuon, lighting a fire inside her wooden hut nestled in among the trees near the Chay Areng river. For more: http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/33562
Marine & Oceans
“Halt Dhamra port work to save turtles”
Environmentalists have appealed to the Tatas to reconsider their Dhamra Deepwater Port project in Orissa, citing the threat it posed to endangered sea turtles. Talking to reporters, representatives of the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), the Wildlife Society of Orissa and Greenpeace India said the port was coming up less than 5 km from the Bhitarkanika sanctuary and less than 15 km from Gahirmatha’s beaches, one of the largest mass nesting sites for the Olive Ridley turtle in the world. Belinda Wright, executive director of WPSI, said the turtle was a species that enjoyed the same legal protection as the tiger. Yet, despite its ecological significance, the Dhamra area was purposely excluded from the Bhitarkanika and Gahirmatha sanctuaries to facilitate the project. For more: http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/06/stories/2008040655651200.htm
Conserving 'Fighting Tigerfish' in Corbett Park
Residents living in the periphery of Jim Corbett national park in Uttar Pradesh are trying to salvage the rare 'Fighting Tigerfish', locally known as Mahaseer. The project, which aims to tap the potential of eco-tourism in the buffer area of Corbett national park, has involved people of nearby villages who are employed to patrol the area and stop illegal activities. With the aim of enhancing the prospects of tourism, residents from several villages have been working to conserve Mahaseer in the River Ramganga and other streams in the region. Locals were taught about the importance of conserving the Mahaseer species and it was only after this that this species has increased in number. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Conserving_Fighting_
Tigerfish_in_Corbett_Park/articleshow/2938052.cms
Wildlife & Endangered Species
Exclusive corridors for elephants in TN
Elephants will have their way in Tamil Nadu - quite literally, with the state government planning Elephant Corridors in different parts of the state to give them a safe transit route and prevent the pachyderm from straying into human habitat. Forest Minister N Selvaraj told the State Assembly that 315 acres of land was being acquired for this purpose, the funds for which had been allotted last year. "Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had allotted Rs 2.68 crore for this purpose. The main focus will be to ensure there are no encroachments on the transit route of elephants, for they travel on a particular pattern," he said without naming the areas coming under the Elephant Corridor. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Exclusive_corridors_
for_elephants_in_TN/articleshow/2937564.cms
NGO demands tiger area enlargement
An NGO has demanded more area for the Ranthambore Tiger Project by connecting the sanctuary areas of Ramgarh, Dara and Shergarh with it, to enable animal to have much large area for their free movement. The Peoples for Animals (PFA) in a memorandum, submitted to the Kota District Collector Abhay Kumar, has urged that the matter be taken up with the state government because the limited space available to tigers for their movement in the Ranthambore area was leading to inbreeding amongst Tigers with the result that new born cubs were now much weaker. Meanwhile, the forest department of Bundi has started revamping the Ramgarh Vishdhari sanctuary which is spread over an area of 307 square kilometres. The road leading to the Ramgarh palace is also being strengthened. The palace has been renovated and repaired and the department has taken over the responsibility of its maintenance. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/NGO_demands_
tiger_area_enlargement/articleshow/2919909.cms
Four rhinos to be translocated from Pobitora to Manas National Park
Manas National Park, which has been carrying a “World Heritage Site in Danger” tag for the past 16 years, is all set to get four wild rhinos through translocation from the Pobitora wildlife sanctuary, with the Assam forest authorities making every effort to carry out the process as smoothly as possible. The four rhinos, two males and two females, will be captured and shifted to Manas, where they will be released into the wild, sources in the state forest department said. Manas, till the late 1980s, had over 100 rhinos, but the population had come down to zero during the subsequent years following rampant poaching after the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) militants ransacked the Park during the peak of Bodo militancy in the state. For more: http://www.indianexpress.com/story/295290.html
Wetlands, Rivers & Water
Canadian firm, ADB to help clean Ganges in Bihar
A Canadian company and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will help to clean up drains that empty into the Ganges in the Bihar capital. "Enviroway, a Canadian company in collaboration with ADB, will clean the drains, the main source of pollution in the river Ganges in Patna," Urban Development Minister Ashwani Choubey said. "The state government was in constant touch with them after they showed keen interest to launch measures to help clean the river and keep it pollution-free," he said. The river is highly polluted despite being held sacred by Hindus. About 30 large drains here discharge about 190 million litres of untreated sewage and garbage into the Ganges every day. Enviroway will introduce biochemical treatment methods to clean the drains that will be cost effective and eco-friendly. Choubey claimed that ADB expressed its willingness to tackle increasing pollution in the river after a high-powered team visited Bihar in February this year as well as last year. For more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Planet_SOS/Canadian_firm_ADB_to_help_
clean_Ganges_in_Bihar/rssarticleshow/2929140.cms
Birds
Asian waterbirds stage a remarkable comeback
The populations of seven species of rare water birds have recovered significantly in Cambodia's Tonle Sap lake due to a program that employs former hunters as park rangers, conservationists said. A report by the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society found the populations have increased by as much as 20 times for some of the species since 2001, when the program started. The findings mark a "success story" in efforts to protect the bird colonies from poachers, said Noeu Bonheur, the Cambodian Environment Ministry's deputy director of the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve. "It is definitely exciting news that we should be proud of," he said. His office and the WCS have worked together for several years on a conservation project at Prek Toal, a flooded region on the northwestern edge of the Tonle Sap. For more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Planet_SOS/Asian_waterbirds_stage_a_
remarkable_comeback/rssarticleshow/2922977.cms
Maharashtra to protect flamingos
Concerned over the increase in number of flamingo poaching cases in Maharashtra, the state government said it will take preventive measures to save the migratory birds. Forest Minister Babanrao Pachpute informed the Legislative Council during question hour that every June, the department holds a meeting and identifies the locations of the flamingos and a guard is assigned for 24 hours to the place to report about poaching. He assured the House that action will be taken in cases of poaching and also ask the House members to report the cases. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Maharashtra_to_
protect_flamingos/articleshow/2905074.cms
Reptiles & Amphibians
Whitaker’s research project cleared by Forest Department
The Principal Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden has permitted noted herpetologist Romulus Whitaker and his team to carry out telemetric tracking studies on rat snakes and king cobras. They have also been allowed documentation through photography or videography up to February 28, 2009, in the protected areas and reserve forests at Agumbe in Shimoga district, Someshwara in Udupi and Sringeri and Koppa in Chikmagalur district. This will be subject to certain terms and conditions. For more: http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/03/stories/2008040360601000.htm
Frog without lungs discovered in Indonesia
A frog has been found in a remote part of Indonesia that has no lungs and breathes through its skin, a discovery that researchers said, could provide insight into what drives evolution in certain species. The aquatic frog Barbourula kalimantanensis was found in a remote part of Indonesia's Kalimantan province on Borneo island during an expedition in August 2007, said David Bickford, an evolutionary biologist at the National University of Singapore. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Frog_without_
lungs_discovered_in_Indonesia/articleshow/2942300.cms
EVENTS
International GEF Workshop On Evaluating Climate Change And Development: Results, Methods And Capacities; 10 - 13 May 2008; Alexandria, Egypt; http://www.esdevaluation.org
Biodiversity On The Edge – International Youth Conference For The Protection Of Biological Diversity; 13 - 19 May 2008; Bonn, Germany; http://eurotope.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=1114637%3ABlogPost%3A4042
28th Sessions Of The UNFCC Subsidiary Bodies; 2 - 13 June 2008; Bonn, Germany; http://unfccc.int/meetings/unfccc_calendar/items/2655.php?year=2008
High-Level Conference On World Food Security And The Challenges Of Climate Change And Bioenergy; 3 - 5 June 2008; Rome, Italy; http://www.fao.org/foodclimate/home.html?no_cache=1&L=7
Global Conference on Global Warming; 6 - 10 July 2008; Istanbul, Turkey; http://www.gcgw.org
Third Regional Symposium on Environment and Natural Resources; 5 - 6 August 2008; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; http://www.ukm.my/rsenr3
IUCN 4th World Conservation Congress; 5 - 14 October 2008; Barcelona, Spain; http://www.iucn.org/congress/2008/
India's coal reserves overestimated: WWF
The country's over dependence on coal will dampen its economic growth as India's coal reserves have been overestimated, says the WWF in its latest report. "India's coal reserves, which have shaped its energy policies, have been grossly overestimated," the WWF report titled "Rethinking Coal's Rule in India" said. "India faces a potential energy crisis and the blame rests largely with its over dependence on coal," it said. It said besides shortage of domestic coal, there are severe social and environmental impacts that are inherent to India's coal sector, like the mounting problem of climate change. For more: http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1313269/
Climate Change & Energy
Arctic Melting May Lead To Expanded Oil Drillin
More than half of the Arctic Ocean was covered in year-round ice in the mid-1980s. Today, the ice cap is much smaller. Alarming evidence of this warming trend was released when the U.S. (NASA) released satellite evidence that perennial Arctic ice cover, as of February, rests on less than 30 percent of the ocean. "The rate of sea-ice loss we're observing is much worse than even the most pessimistic projections led us to believe," says Carroll Muffett, deputy campaigns director with Greenpeace USA. For the first time in recorded history, this past summer the entire Northwest Passage between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans was ice-free, according to scientists. For more: http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/33669
Climate change to hit top holiday spots: UN
Some of the best and most desired destinations by travellers will feel the consequences of climate change within the next few decades, a United Nations report has warned. The destinations to bear the brunt of the changing weather include hotspots in Caribbean, Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, Australia and New Zealand. In fact, this report has declared that countries, like the Maldives are the most vulnerable to such changes in many aspects as they have "poor" information about the implications of climate change due to their high dependency on tourism. This report authored by Dr Murray Simpson from Oxford University's Centre for the Environment, has also warned that the tourism sector will face increased operating costs with the probable higher frequency of extreme weather events and the cost of clearing up after them. "Tourism is both a victim and a contributor to climate change. For more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Climate_change_to_hit_top_holiday_spots/
articleshow/2932916.cms
Climate change will impact human health in South East Asia: WHO
Climate change will have a “serious and damaging” impact on human health in South East Asia, including India, as air quality will suffer and respiratory diseases will be exacerbated, according to the WHO. At a press conference to mark the World Health Day, Samlee Plianbangchang, Regional Director, WHO South East Asia, said the six diseases that would adversely impact human health are respiratory diseases, vector-borne diseases (malaria and dengue), water-borne diseases (diarrohea and cholera), malnutrition, injuries and psychosocial stress. Urgent action was needed to strengthen the existing health systems to deal with the potential increase in health risks due to climate change, he said. For more: http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/08/stories/2008040851170900.htm
EU power companies paid for polluting: WWF
Power companies in just five EU nations could reap windfall profits of up to 71 billion euros over five years thanks to Europe's emissions trading scheme, the green group WWF claimed. The environmental group, which released the findings of a sector study, said the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) gives no incentive to move away from the most polluting coal-fired power stations and warned that Poland and other eastern European members were lobbying against a planned overhaul of the system after 2012. At the root of WWF's gripe is the free distribution of polluting permits to the 27 EU nations. These can be sold on to other companies who need more than their allocation of carbon dioxide emissions. "The way in which the national allocation plans are set up is a disaster," said Sanjeev Kumar, Emissions Trading Scheme Coordinator at WWF. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Planet_SOS/Pollution/EU_power_
companies_paid_for_polluting_WWF/articleshow/2932200.cms
IIM-Lucknow to set up climate change centre
A centre for climate change dedicated to providing information to industries will come up at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM). IIM-Lucknow director Devi Singh said the decision follows a two-day seminar on climate change held at the institute. Singh has entrusted the responsibility of setting up the centre to the institute's Agriculture Management Centre chief Sushil Kumar. "We will begin with an awareness campaign on the impact of global warming and then undertake courses to spread awareness about the need for industries to realise the importance of carbon credits," Kumar said. "With widespread melting of glaciers, rising global mean sea level and, above all, the general rise in average air, sea and ocean temperatures, global warming is an undisputed reality. It is time that we woke up to it in India," he said. For more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/IIM-L_to_set_up_climate_change_centre/articleshow/2925801.cms
Hunters, anglers worry about global warming loss of wildlife
Global warming could force elk and mule deer from much of the western United States. Wild trout could disappear in lower Appalachian streams. Two-thirds of America's ducks may disappear. A new US assessment of the threat to fish and wildlife habitat has hunters and anglers calling for action. Groups representing nine major hunting and fishing organisations planned to meet with the House committee chairman who hopes to write legislation to curtail greenhouse gases linked to global warming. "These are the branches of the conservation movement from which I come," Democratic Representative John Dingell said. Dingell said the groups' concerns are very important in helping with a measure to address the problem. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Hunters_anglers_
worry_about_global_warming_loss_of_wildlife/articleshow/2942171.cms
Nations agree on agenda for 2009 global warming pact
Climate negotiators agreed on an ambitious agenda for talks they hope will lead to a global warming pact, overcoming a heated dispute between Japan and developing countries on how to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The schedule came after five days of talks in Bangkok and requires negotiators to settle contentions issues, including how countries will cut their emissions and how rich nations will help the poor adapt to climate change. "Not only do we have the certainty that critical issues will be addressed this year, we now have the bite-sized chunks which will allow us to negotiate in an effective manner," UN climate chief Yvo de Boer said. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ET_Cetera/Nations_agree_on_agenda_
for_2009_global_warming_pact/articleshow/2927527.cms
Improving carbon control
The U.N. climate change conference that concluded recently in Bangkok has made it clear that market-oriented arrangements such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and emission trading ushered in by Kyoto protocol will continue beyond 2012. The announcement comes at a time when some scientists have challenged the effectiveness of these measures and the emission estimates that have been put forth. The point of contention is that U.N. policies have overlooked the supply side of energy in developing countries, especially India and China. It is argued that developed countries like the United States (not a Kyoto protocol signatory) have done a lot to cut energy intensity (ratio between a unit of production and the amount of energy used to produce it) while China and India have not done enough and they must be brought on board and their emission limits capped. Alongside, demands are made for a policy that will increase investment in R&D, impose penalties such as carbon tax, and delink poverty reduction from the issue of controlling carbon emissions. For more: http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/14/stories/2008041454851000.htm
Forest & Biodiversity
Asia must reverse massive deforestation: U.N.
Parts of Asia are losing more than 28,000 square kilometers (10,800 square miles) of forest every year, a trend that must to be reversed immediately to fight climate change, a United Nations report said. Deforestation accounts for about 20 percent of global greenhouse gases -- trees soak up carbon dioxide when they grow and release it when they rot or are burnt. A U.N. climate conference in Bali last year agreed to launch pilot projects to grant poor countries credits for slowing deforestation under a new long-term climate pact beyond 2012. For more: http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/33657
Logging road seen threatening Indonesian forest
Forests and rare tigers are under threat from a new logging road in Indonesia's Sumatra, green groups said, linking firms connected to paper giant Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) as being behind the project. A spokeswoman for APP said it was looking into the report issued by Eyes of the Forest, a coalition of local NGOs, but said it applied stringent rules on its wood suppliers. "We are still investigating the report about the road. APP doesn't have anything to do with illegal activities and we are checking the legality of our wood supplies," Aida Greenbury, director of sustainability at APP, said. For more: http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSJAK27972020080326?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews
HC backs BMC on pvt forest land
The Bombay high court dismissed some leading developers' petitions challenging the stop-work notice issued to them by the BMC for constructing flats on private forest land in blatant violation of the Forest Conservation Act. The immediate impact of the court order will be felt by an estimated 1 lakh flat owners and people who have paid for approximately 75,000 flats under construction on private forest land in the Bhandup-Mulund-Thane and Borivli-Kandivli belts. The stringent Forest Conservation Act bans non-forest activity on private forest land. "The fate of people who own these flats or have bought under-construction flats now hangs in the balance. The only option they now have is to approach the Supreme Court. For more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/HC_backs_BMC_on_pvt_forest_
land/articleshow/2896550.cms
Apex Court notice to Centre on Forest Rights Act
The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Union Government and the states on a bunch of petitions challenging the Constitutional validity of the Forest Rights Act which permits allotment of forest lands to tribals. Responding to the contention of two petitioners, who claimed that ‘land’ is a state subject and the Parliament cannot distribute land, the apex court issued notices to Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Cabinet Secretary, among others. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, seeks to recognise and gives forest rights, including forest land, to Scheduled Tribes and traditional forest dwellers. It was notified this January after a protracted battle between the wildlife experts and tribal activists. For more: http://www.indianexpress.com/story/289824.html
Forest cover-up
Plantations, tree canopy included in definition. How much land in India is under forest cover? No one has a clue though the Government of India has been bringing out state of the forest reports every two years for two decades. The latest report says the forest cover is around 20 per cent of the land in the country, 3 per cent less than the area under the forest departments. But the fine print shows that the report does not make a distinction between tree cover, commercial plantations and natural forest cover. To qualify as “forest cover”, the Forest Survey of India considers 10 per cent tree canopy area and one hectare. So, if a householder has, say, a hectare of coconut palm, his land would qualify as forest cover. The Forest Survey of India admits there is a problem. “There is an absence of boundaries for forest areas, so it is difficult to tell a forest from a plantation. What can we do if the state forest departments don’t give us the forest boundaries?” said Saibal Sengupta, joint director of the Forest Survey of India. For more: http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.php?leftnm=10&bKeyFlag=BO&autono=320002
Rubber Trees For Tyre Industry Shrink China Rainforests
Rubber plantations have supplanted nearly all the low-lying forest in the prefecture of Xishuangbanna and are now starting to encroach on the highlands. Scientists are worried that the expansion of rubber plantations to feed China's voracious tyre industry, the world's largest, will destroy the ecosystem of Xishuangbanna. The province is home to China's richest variety of flora and fauna. For more: http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/47833/story.htm
Chinese dams threaten Cambodia's forests, farmers
Along the Chay Areng valley in Cambodia's remote Cardamom mountains, children still scamper barefoot through one of mainland southeast Asia's last remaining tracts of virgin jungle. If they take the same paths in a few years, they will probably have to be swimming. Faced with a rapidly growing but power-starved economy, Prime Minister Hun Sen has decided the rivers flowing from one of the few elevated spots in a relentlessly flat country should become its battery pack. With this in mind, in the last two years he has agreed to at least four Chinese-funded hydropower projects as part of a $3 billion scheme to boost output from a measly 300 MW today to 1,000 MW in a decade, enough to power a small city. The indigenous communities who have lived off the forests in the Cardamoms since the dawn of time appear to be the ones who will be paying the biggest price. "We have been living here without a dam for many generations. We don't want to see our ancestral lands stolen," said 78-year-old Sok Nuon, lighting a fire inside her wooden hut nestled in among the trees near the Chay Areng river. For more: http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/33562
Marine & Oceans
“Halt Dhamra port work to save turtles”
Environmentalists have appealed to the Tatas to reconsider their Dhamra Deepwater Port project in Orissa, citing the threat it posed to endangered sea turtles. Talking to reporters, representatives of the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), the Wildlife Society of Orissa and Greenpeace India said the port was coming up less than 5 km from the Bhitarkanika sanctuary and less than 15 km from Gahirmatha’s beaches, one of the largest mass nesting sites for the Olive Ridley turtle in the world. Belinda Wright, executive director of WPSI, said the turtle was a species that enjoyed the same legal protection as the tiger. Yet, despite its ecological significance, the Dhamra area was purposely excluded from the Bhitarkanika and Gahirmatha sanctuaries to facilitate the project. For more: http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/06/stories/2008040655651200.htm
Conserving 'Fighting Tigerfish' in Corbett Park
Residents living in the periphery of Jim Corbett national park in Uttar Pradesh are trying to salvage the rare 'Fighting Tigerfish', locally known as Mahaseer. The project, which aims to tap the potential of eco-tourism in the buffer area of Corbett national park, has involved people of nearby villages who are employed to patrol the area and stop illegal activities. With the aim of enhancing the prospects of tourism, residents from several villages have been working to conserve Mahaseer in the River Ramganga and other streams in the region. Locals were taught about the importance of conserving the Mahaseer species and it was only after this that this species has increased in number. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Conserving_Fighting_
Tigerfish_in_Corbett_Park/articleshow/2938052.cms
Wildlife & Endangered Species
Exclusive corridors for elephants in TN
Elephants will have their way in Tamil Nadu - quite literally, with the state government planning Elephant Corridors in different parts of the state to give them a safe transit route and prevent the pachyderm from straying into human habitat. Forest Minister N Selvaraj told the State Assembly that 315 acres of land was being acquired for this purpose, the funds for which had been allotted last year. "Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had allotted Rs 2.68 crore for this purpose. The main focus will be to ensure there are no encroachments on the transit route of elephants, for they travel on a particular pattern," he said without naming the areas coming under the Elephant Corridor. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Exclusive_corridors_
for_elephants_in_TN/articleshow/2937564.cms
NGO demands tiger area enlargement
An NGO has demanded more area for the Ranthambore Tiger Project by connecting the sanctuary areas of Ramgarh, Dara and Shergarh with it, to enable animal to have much large area for their free movement. The Peoples for Animals (PFA) in a memorandum, submitted to the Kota District Collector Abhay Kumar, has urged that the matter be taken up with the state government because the limited space available to tigers for their movement in the Ranthambore area was leading to inbreeding amongst Tigers with the result that new born cubs were now much weaker. Meanwhile, the forest department of Bundi has started revamping the Ramgarh Vishdhari sanctuary which is spread over an area of 307 square kilometres. The road leading to the Ramgarh palace is also being strengthened. The palace has been renovated and repaired and the department has taken over the responsibility of its maintenance. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/NGO_demands_
tiger_area_enlargement/articleshow/2919909.cms
Four rhinos to be translocated from Pobitora to Manas National Park
Manas National Park, which has been carrying a “World Heritage Site in Danger” tag for the past 16 years, is all set to get four wild rhinos through translocation from the Pobitora wildlife sanctuary, with the Assam forest authorities making every effort to carry out the process as smoothly as possible. The four rhinos, two males and two females, will be captured and shifted to Manas, where they will be released into the wild, sources in the state forest department said. Manas, till the late 1980s, had over 100 rhinos, but the population had come down to zero during the subsequent years following rampant poaching after the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) militants ransacked the Park during the peak of Bodo militancy in the state. For more: http://www.indianexpress.com/story/295290.html
Wetlands, Rivers & Water
Canadian firm, ADB to help clean Ganges in Bihar
A Canadian company and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will help to clean up drains that empty into the Ganges in the Bihar capital. "Enviroway, a Canadian company in collaboration with ADB, will clean the drains, the main source of pollution in the river Ganges in Patna," Urban Development Minister Ashwani Choubey said. "The state government was in constant touch with them after they showed keen interest to launch measures to help clean the river and keep it pollution-free," he said. The river is highly polluted despite being held sacred by Hindus. About 30 large drains here discharge about 190 million litres of untreated sewage and garbage into the Ganges every day. Enviroway will introduce biochemical treatment methods to clean the drains that will be cost effective and eco-friendly. Choubey claimed that ADB expressed its willingness to tackle increasing pollution in the river after a high-powered team visited Bihar in February this year as well as last year. For more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Planet_SOS/Canadian_firm_ADB_to_help_
clean_Ganges_in_Bihar/rssarticleshow/2929140.cms
Birds
Asian waterbirds stage a remarkable comeback
The populations of seven species of rare water birds have recovered significantly in Cambodia's Tonle Sap lake due to a program that employs former hunters as park rangers, conservationists said. A report by the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society found the populations have increased by as much as 20 times for some of the species since 2001, when the program started. The findings mark a "success story" in efforts to protect the bird colonies from poachers, said Noeu Bonheur, the Cambodian Environment Ministry's deputy director of the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve. "It is definitely exciting news that we should be proud of," he said. His office and the WCS have worked together for several years on a conservation project at Prek Toal, a flooded region on the northwestern edge of the Tonle Sap. For more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Planet_SOS/Asian_waterbirds_stage_a_
remarkable_comeback/rssarticleshow/2922977.cms
Maharashtra to protect flamingos
Concerned over the increase in number of flamingo poaching cases in Maharashtra, the state government said it will take preventive measures to save the migratory birds. Forest Minister Babanrao Pachpute informed the Legislative Council during question hour that every June, the department holds a meeting and identifies the locations of the flamingos and a guard is assigned for 24 hours to the place to report about poaching. He assured the House that action will be taken in cases of poaching and also ask the House members to report the cases. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Maharashtra_to_
protect_flamingos/articleshow/2905074.cms
Reptiles & Amphibians
Whitaker’s research project cleared by Forest Department
The Principal Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden has permitted noted herpetologist Romulus Whitaker and his team to carry out telemetric tracking studies on rat snakes and king cobras. They have also been allowed documentation through photography or videography up to February 28, 2009, in the protected areas and reserve forests at Agumbe in Shimoga district, Someshwara in Udupi and Sringeri and Koppa in Chikmagalur district. This will be subject to certain terms and conditions. For more: http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/03/stories/2008040360601000.htm
Frog without lungs discovered in Indonesia
A frog has been found in a remote part of Indonesia that has no lungs and breathes through its skin, a discovery that researchers said, could provide insight into what drives evolution in certain species. The aquatic frog Barbourula kalimantanensis was found in a remote part of Indonesia's Kalimantan province on Borneo island during an expedition in August 2007, said David Bickford, an evolutionary biologist at the National University of Singapore. For more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Frog_without_
lungs_discovered_in_Indonesia/articleshow/2942300.cms
EVENTS
International GEF Workshop On Evaluating Climate Change And Development: Results, Methods And Capacities; 10 - 13 May 2008; Alexandria, Egypt; http://www.esdevaluation.org
Biodiversity On The Edge – International Youth Conference For The Protection Of Biological Diversity; 13 - 19 May 2008; Bonn, Germany; http://eurotope.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=1114637%3ABlogPost%3A4042
28th Sessions Of The UNFCC Subsidiary Bodies; 2 - 13 June 2008; Bonn, Germany; http://unfccc.int/meetings/unfccc_calendar/items/2655.php?year=2008
High-Level Conference On World Food Security And The Challenges Of Climate Change And Bioenergy; 3 - 5 June 2008; Rome, Italy; http://www.fao.org/foodclimate/home.html?no_cache=1&L=7
Global Conference on Global Warming; 6 - 10 July 2008; Istanbul, Turkey; http://www.gcgw.org
Third Regional Symposium on Environment and Natural Resources; 5 - 6 August 2008; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; http://www.ukm.my/rsenr3
IUCN 4th World Conservation Congress; 5 - 14 October 2008; Barcelona, Spain; http://www.iucn.org/congress/2008/
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