Nature News, Vol. 5, Issue No.4 (April 2016)
BIRDS
The Times of India 10 April 2016Chirpy greetings: Baya weaver nests spotted in concretised Dwarka: Just outside Dwarka Sector 10 Metro station, on a small patch of greenery, visitors are greeted by the sight of over 50 nests of the baya weaver bird hanging from branches of babool trees. Environmentalists are ecstatic about these signature nests in a heavily concretised corner of the Read more
The Hindu 11 April 2016
Good news for bird watchers: Winter migratory birds might have left the Okhla Bird Sanctuary, but much to the delight of bird watchers many rare species are still being sighted despite the rising temperature. Bird watchers and environmentalists made a beeline for the sanctuary on Sunday after news of crested serpent eagles Read more
The Hindu 26 April 2016
Over 350 species of birds migrate to India, says Govt: More than 350 species of bird migrate to India even as there has been a decline in the number of some of these migratory avians due to various reasons, including pollution of wetland by domestic sewage, Rajya Sabha was told on Monday. Read more
CLIMATE CHANGE
The Pioneer 19 April 2016Preparing for climate change: As India turns into a furnace, the rich believe they are insured from the worst effects of climate change while the poor are unaware of how the phenomenon threatens their lives. Meanwhile, politicians are too busy with competitive prohibition to make long-term plans Read more
ENVIRONMENT
The Times of India 8 April 2016Earth Care Awards for green firms : After decades of talks, 195 nations adopted an ambitious deal in Paris last December to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and strive to prevent dangerous impacts of climate change. The deal cannot be met without action by businesses. The JSW-The Times of India Earth Care Awards (ECA) seek to identify businesses that have kept climate change mitigation high up on their agenda.After decades of talks, 195 nations adopted an ambitious deal in Paris last December to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and strive to prevent dangerous impacts of climate change. The deal cannot be met without action by businesses. The JSW-The Times of India Earth Care Awards (ECA) Earth Care Awards for green firmsEarth Care Awards for green firms Read more
FORESTS & BIODIVERSITY
The Hindu 7 April 2016Making a hollow in the Forest Rights Act: Forging gram sabha resolutions clears the path to lucrative mining. Such fictions manufacture on file the legal requirement of villagers’ participation and consent. Over 12,000 villages across Odisha conserve their community forests, says a 2013 Odisha Jungle Manch study. Read more
HUMAN-ANIMAL CONFLICT
The Pioneer 26 April 2016800 people lost lives in animal-human conflict in last three years: Since 2012-13 to 2014-15, more than 800 people lost their lives in animal-human conflicts. Elephant-human conflicts claimed 769 casualties while 72 persons lost their lives in tiger-human conflicts. This was stated by Environment Minister Read more
The Times of India 28 April 2016
2 tigers vs 15 lakh people: Conflict holds up project : A six-member National Board of Wildlife (NBWL) panel will this week recommend the way forward for the proposed interlinking of Ken and Betwa rivers in Madhya Pradesh, a project wildlife experts claim will prove detrimental to the Panna Tiger Reserve. Read more
WETLANDS, RIVERS & WATER
Hindustan Times 8 April 2016This cannot be watered down: On March 13, NTPC’s 2,100 MW Farakka Super Thermal Power Station in West Bengal had to stop generation, given a declining availability of cooling water from the Farakka feeder canal. This hit power supply in five states, affecting 38,000 households, while leaving the town of Farakka without potable water. Read more
The Mint 11 April 2016
Government’s draft wetland rules draw flak from environmentalists: Environmentalists have raised concerns over proposed rules on wetland conservation that avoid mention of a national regulator and do not list specific activities prohibited in these ecologically sensitive areas. The Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules 2010 had clearly prohibited Read more
The Hindu 21 April 2016
Hotter, longer, deadlier summers: As climate change gathers pace, policy intervention is required across three sectors health, water and power. India’s romance with seasons has been well known since the times of Kalidasa’s Ritusamhara. But it is now under strain because of global climate change. Climate change is expected to cause an Read more
The Indian Express 27 April 2016
Make The Link Inter-linking of rivers holds the key to addressing water scarcity: Climate change, coupled with the El Nino weather event, has resulted in an unusually harsh summer with many parts of the country reeling under heat wave conditions. Vast tracts of Maharashtra, Telangana and Bundelkhand (UP) are facing drought. Many of the minor water Read more
WILDLIFE & ENDANGERED SPECIES
The Hindu 5 April 2016Why Ustad must be in captivity: Had misplaced sentiment resulted in the man-eater being allowed to roam free, local people would have taken the law into their own hands, killing not just him but many other tigers. In dismissing a special leave petition that questioned the incarceration of a man-eating tiger in a zoo, the Supreme Court Read more
The Hindustan Times 7 April 2016
Rhino protection a poll issue in Assam but only symbolically: Park rangers feared for the safety of Assam’s signature one-horned rhinoceros in its most famous home along the Brahmaputra as gunshots pierced the evening calm, three days before the state voted in the assembly polls first leg on April 4. Read more
The Economic Times 14 April 2016
Third Asian Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation ends: The Third Asian Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation concluded in New Delhi today with the adoption of the New Delhi Resolution on Tiger Conservation which focuses on Restoration, Reintroduction and Rehabilitation of tigers in low density zones. Read more
The Hindu 16 April 2016
Big cat population up by 690: The number of wild tigers has gone up to 3,890, from the earlier 2010 estimate of 3200, according to the World Wildlife Fund and the Global Tiger Forum. There is good news for wildlife enthusiasts ahead of the 3rd Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation that takes off tomorrow in New Delhi. The number of Read more
The Pioneer 18 April 2016
Madhya Pradesh for Ratapani as separate wildlife division: Even as Madhya Pradesh is vying for “Tiger State” tag in the country, more than two dozen big cats in its Ratapani Sanctuary face the risk due to poaching and man-animal conflicts. In 2008, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) granted in Read more
The Indian Express 19 April 2016
A mockery of both science and sensibility: What’s wrong with the tiger numbers? : On April 11, a day before ministers of 13 tiger range countries assembled in New Delhi to pledge support for the big cat, a statement by the WWF-International and Global Tiger Forum claimed that the global tiger count was on the rise for the first time in a century. The global Read more
The Hindustan Times 29 April 2016
In four months this year, more tigers poached than all of 2015: More tigers have been poached in the first four months of 2016 than in entire 2015, hinting at a spurt in demand for their body parts and a revival in poachers’ network. Poaching has been reported in some of the country’s most protected forest areas from Corbett National Park in Read more
