Nature News, Vol. 5, Issue No.8-9 (Aug. & Sep. 2016)
BIRDS
The Hindustan Times 8 Aug.2016Greater Flamingos skip Okhla, find new haven in Najafgarh: The Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) has found a new open home in the Capital, the Najafgarh Jheel and marshlands. The tall, attractive, rosy-white pink billed coastal birds have given their traditional habitats in Okhla and Sultanpur sanctuary a miss in the last three years, birdwatchers claimed Read more
The Hindu 30 Aug.2016
Monsoon brings black-headed ibis to Delhi-NCR for breeding: The birds have built their nests on date palm groves an unusual habitat. Heavy rain in Delhi-NCR this monsoon may have spelt chaos for residents, but it has brought rare joy to birdwatchers as a large flock of the black-headed ibis, a threatened species, has flown to Surajpur Wetland of Greater Noida for breeding. Read more
The Hindustan Times 14 sept.2016
Good rain brings winter migratory birds early to Delhi’s Okhla bird sanctuary: A good rain this year has ensured early arrival of winter migratory birds at Okhla Bird Sanctuary, claim birders. The birdwatchers claim to have spotted migratory water birds such as Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Common Teal, Common Redshank, Wood Sandpiper, Western Marsh Harrier and Pied Avocet. Read more
The Pioneer 26 Sept.2016
Coffee, rubber plantation helps conserve 204 bird species: In one of world’s largest field-based research on bird species carried out in 187 plantations covering an area of 30,000 km in Western Ghats, researchers have found coffee, rubber and areca agro forests in the region support 204 bird species, of which 13 are endemic. Read more
CLIMATE CHANGE
The Hindu 5 Sept.2016Realising energy sector targets: A reasonable aim of 1,500 MT of coal production by 2022 and a calibrated renewable energy push should enable reaching ambitious targets.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s style is to set ambitious targets with impossible-looking deadlines. Perhaps he is inspired by a Gujarati poet who said, Nishaan chuk maaf, nahi neechu nishaan Read more
FORESTS & BIODIVERSITY
The Hindustan Times 12 Aug.2016Biodiversity law crippled at the grassroots: Fourteen years have passed since India enacted a law to preserve biological diversity, but a basic requirement for its enforcement is yet to be initiated, an RTI enquiry has revealed. Less than 3% of local bodies spread in 15 states have prepared the people’s biodiversity registers (PBRs) Read more
HUMAN-ANIMAL CONFLICT
The Hindustan Times 23 Aug.2016Declaring a tiger as a man-eater has to be guided by Wildlife Act: While teams from the Uttar Pradesh forest department and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) are tracking the rogue tiger(s) in Lakhimpur Kheri that has reportedly killed seven persons in six months, the process of declaring the big cat as a man-eater is quite technical. Usually, it is the state’s chief wildlife conservator who declares a tiger as man-eater Read more
The Hindustan Times 24 Aug.2016
Tiger numbers up, but they are living in cramped spaces: India's success in saving the tiger from extinction has put the big cats in a different kind of peril: overcrowding in habitats.
Latest data released by Wildlife Institute of India (WII) shows that top 12 tiger reserves reporting highest tiger population in 2014 were becoming cramped homes for the big cats, Read more
WETLANDS, RIVERS & WATER
The Times of India 12 Aug.2016Complete one river interlinking project, study its impact before going for others: Anil Madhav Dave, who took over as the country's environment minister last month, has long been a practicing environmentalist and river conservationist. A big supporter of use of public transport and bicycle, Dave invariably uses Delhi Metro to reach airport even after becoming a central minister Anil Madhav Dave, who took over as the country's environment minister last month, has long been a practicing environmentalist and river conservationist. A big supporter of use of public transport and bicycle, Dave invariably uses Delhi Metro to reach airport even after becoming a central ministerComplete one river interlinking project, study its impact before going for others: Environment ministerComplete one river interlinking project, study its impact before going for others: Environment ministerComplete one river interlinking project, study its impact before going for others: Environment minister Read more
The Hindu 19 Aug.2016
Time for a National Water Commission: Mihir Shah on the importance of an integrated policy for groundwater and surface water. Mihir Shah, water policy expert, member of the erstwhile Planning Commission and in recent month’s head of several committees tasked with reforming India’s water laws, says existing institutions are inadequate to address our water needs. Read more
The Times of India 29 Aug.2016
It’s a slow start for clean Ganga mission
It’s a slow start for clean Ganga mission: The Centre has been focused on its ambitious Ganga rejuvenation plan but it has so far only launched entry-level activities, including modernisation/construction of 'ghats' (riverfronts), crematoria and surface cleaning. The Centre has been focused on its ambitious Ganga rejuvenation plan but it has so far only launched entry-level activities, including modernisation/construction of 'Ghats' (riverfronts), crematoria and surface cleaning. Work on medium-term projects like municipal sewage and industrial effluent management through sewage treatment plants Read more
The Hindu 1 Sept. 2016
It is pollution that made Gangetic dolphins ‘blind’, says Uma Bharti : Nothing, not even Darwinian evolution, can challenge Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti’s stance that pollution has blinded the Gangetic river dolphin. On August 4, in the Lok Sabha, Ms. Bharti stated that pollution for over 125 years in the Ganga had caused the dolphin to stop Read more
The Pioneer 1 Sept.2016
The challenge of water insecurity: The impending water crisis is already evident in various parts of the country. This, combined with effects of climate change can worsen the quality of life. The time is ripe for the Government to bring radical changes in its water policies
Water insecurity is fast emerging as a daunting challenge with some 1.1 billion people having Read more
WILDLIFE & ENDANGERED SPECIES
The Pioneer 1 Aug.2016Iconic and charismatic wildlife species under threat of extinction : Many of our iconic and charismatic wild life species are now threatened with extinction. As per a latest study, nearly 59 per cent of the world’s biggest mammalian carnivore animals and 60 per cent of the largest herbivores are now listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. Read more
The Hindustan Times 3 Aug.2016
People offer to adopt rhino calves orphaned in Assam floods: The Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) near central Assam’s Kaziranga National Park on Wednesday said people have offered to adopt rhino calves orphaned during the flood, the most devastating since 2004.CWRC, India’s only wildlife field hospital run by Wildlife Trust of India Read more
The Hindu 4 Aug.2016
Dwindling prey bad news for big cats, wolves, says study: The world’s top land carnivores such as tigers, lions and jaguars are coming under threat as their prey dwindles in number, according to the first global study of feeding patterns. There are only 17 four-legged predators big cats, wolves and wild dogs that weigh more than 15 kilos and whose diet is at least 70 per cent meat Read more
The Hindu 8 Aug.2016
Despite growth in numbers, big cats may not be out of the woods: Despite the growth in population of tigers in the country and elsewhere, a global report has warned that the big cats are still not out of the woods due to shrinking forest land, which are converted into motorways and other infrastructure that cut through their habitat. Read more
The Hindustan Times 12 Aug. 2016
Corbett a cramped home for tigers: Experts The Corbett Tiger Reserve is fast turning into a cramped home for tigers, forcing many to move out into buffer zones and villages. All India Tiger Estimation 2014 says the 1,288 sqkm-large CTR has 215 tigers, and in mid-2015, state forest minister Dinesh Aggarwal announced that the number had increased to 240. Read more
The Indian Express 17 Aug.2016
Loss of lions hurts Uttar Pradesh government’s pride: Amid the failures hurting the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh, this one has pride involved, literally. Mulayam Singh Yadav brought it up in Parliament last week, demanding a probe into the death of two lions brought from Gujarat for his dream project, the Etawah Lion Safari. “My lions have died. Read more
The Hindu 23 Aug. 2016
Death of a wild tigress: The icon, Machhli, might have been domesticated but the myth of the wild is allowed to perpetuate because the show must go on. Machhli, the most famous tigress we have known, passed away on August 18 in the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Sawai Madhopur district in Rajasthan. News of her death was reported widely, her popularity especially evident on social media Read more
The Times of India 26 Sept.2016
Zoological Survey of India has discovered more than 4,500 fauna species in 100 years: Developing countries hold more than 70% of the world's biodiversity and India is no exception. Established in 1916, the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has been exploring, surveying and studying animals across the country. Here's a look at how many species it has discovered over the years. Developing countries hold more than 70% of the world's biodiversity and India is no exception. Established in 1916, the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has been exploring, surveying and studying animals across the country. Here's a look at how many species it has discovered over the years. Read more
