Nature News, Vol. 5, Issue No.2 (February 2016)
BIRDS
The Times of India 4 Feb 2016Drug ban gives vultures wings, improves diversity: They are natural scavengers once abundantly found across Tamil Nadu but in the past three decades the introduction of an anti-inflammatory drug for cattle proved fatal for them. Now with the ban on the drug, the population of vultures is steadily on the rise Read more
The Times of India 5 Feb. 2016
Dry spell forces flamingoes to abandon thousands of eggs: Thousands of flamingo eggs have been found abandoned in one of the six breeding colonies in the Little Rann of Kutch (LRK). Every year lakhs of flamingos arrive in search of food and for breeding at LRK. Bird watchers and experts Read more
The Times of India 8 Feb.2016
Sandpiper gets birders talking at Okhla: Habitat Loss Due To Construction & Pollution Have Affected Sightings, Say Enthusiasts. Among the brown cattails and grasses in the wetlands of Okhla Bird Sanctuary, it's absolutely impossible to spot the camouflaging purple herons unless you have a birder's eye. Read more
The Pioneer 23 Feb.2016
Okhla Bird Sanctuary no more popular with winged guests: Population of local and migratory birds has declined in Okhla Bird Sanctuary as human interference in Eco Sensitive Zone (ESZ) area is disturbing the natural habitat. The popular wetland witnessed only 46 different bird species this year. Read more
The Hindu 29 Feb.2016
An eye to spot the paradise flycatcher: You can hail a taxi with an app in the blink of an eye. But spotting a tiger or that majestic Asian paradise flycatcher in a forest using an app needs a different level of innovation. Manjunath M. Gowda, an entrepreneur from Bengaluru, Read more
CLIMATE CHANGE
The Times of India 24 Feb. 2016Stand on climate justice has global support Stand on climate justice has global support: President Pranab Mukherjee in his opening Parliament address on Tuesday said the Centre firmly believed that "economic development and environmental protection can co-exist". He flagged how India's position on climate Read more
ENVIRONMENT
The Indian Express 10 Feb. 2016Environment ministry action plan: Plan to bar mining in wildlife corridors: A NEW action plan for wildlife conservation in the country seeks to put all protected areas and wildlife corridors out of bounds for all mining activities and big irrigation projects. The action plan, prepared by a committee appointed by the Environment Ministry in 2014 Read more
MAN – ANIMAL CONFLICTS
The Pioneer 3 Feb. 2016Drones to soon curb man-tiger conflicts: Monitoring of man tiger conflict in the five reserves of the country may soon become a reality through unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or drones, subject to approval of the Ministry of Defense. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has recently signed a MoU with Wildlife Institute of India (WII) Read more
The Pioneer 10 Feb.2016
MoEF chalks out plan to curb man-animal conflict: The Environment Ministry has drawn up a draft wildlife conservation plan to reduce man-animal conflicts. It has suggested identification and documentation of wildlife species that stray regularly into human habitats, causing conflicts. Read more
The Indian Express 24 Feb.2016
Sunderbans study: For widows of tiger victims, scars and stigma linger, study finds: Forced into a life of unending social stigma, frequently the victims of physical and sexual abuse and living a life of abject penury, nearly half of Sunderban’s “tiger widows” were found suffering from a designated mental illness in a recent study. Read more
WETLANDS, RIVERS & WATER
The Times of India 2 Feb.2016Govt ropes in 8 ministries for better coordination to clean up Ganga : Seeking to use different arms of the government in pursuing the gigantic task of Ganga cleaning, the Union water resources ministry has signed a joint memorandum of understanding (MoU) with seven ministries to carry forward multi-sectoral activities for minimum three years to rejuvenate the river. Read more
The Pioneer 8 Feb.2016
Disturbances to blame for whales’ suicide: Recurring incidents of stranding and death of whales along the various coastlines of the country have baffled marine biologists and experts. Losing their way from their deep sea migratory paths due to natural or manmade ocean disturbances is believed to be among the probable causes of their beaching. Read more
WILDLIFE & ENDANGERED SPECIES
The Times of India 5 Feb. 2016Wildlife study to find focus spots : A study by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) will soon point out "potential" wildlife areas in the Aravalis in Haryana that require special conservation measures and protection from urbanisation. The Haryana forest department had commissioned WII to carry out a survey to identify vulnerable areas that needed government intervention. Read more
The Times of India 9 Feb.2016
Species count down 15%, sets alarm bells ringing : The results of Big Bird Day 2016 have left many worried as the total number of species in NCR seems to have come down significantly since 2005. Read more
The Pioneer 15 Feb.2016
Five tiger reserves to get drones soon: In a bid to step up protection for the growing number of tiger population in the country, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) under the Ministry of Environment is planning to hold a security audit of all 48 tiger reserves. The proposed aerial surveillance of select tiger reserves through unmanned drones has Read more
The Pioneer 22 Feb 2016
MP for cameras in forests to boost tiger tourism: In a novel initiative to promote tiger tourism and help sighting of big cats, Madhya Pradesh has proposed to Environment Ministry for installation of cameras in tiger dens. One of the major tiger States of the country, Madhya Pradesh has about 257 big cats spread over its six reserves. Read more
The Pioneer 24 Feb.2016
PM to unveil conference on tiger conservation on April 12: The three-day Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 12. This is the third such conference on tiger conservation. In a prelude to this high Read more
The Times of India 24 Feb.2016
India to host Asia meet to save tigers: India, home to nearly 70% of the world's tiger population, will host the next Asia Ministerial Conference on tiger conservation. The three-day conference will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 12.
All tiger range countries (TRCs) will participate in the conference where their representatives Read more
