Nature News Vol. 6, Issue No 7 & 8 (July & August 2017)

BIRDS 

The Hindu 2 July 2017
Nine more bird, biodiversity areas in Kerala: IBAs are places of international significance for the conservation of birds and other biodiversity. The bird and biodiversity-rich areas in Kerala are drawing global attention with nine more locations being identified as Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs). The newly identified IBAs of Kerala are Read more

CLIMATE CHANGE

The Hindu 3 July 2017
Climate-proofed and inclusive: Projects to help people adapt to climate change should not inadvertently worsen living conditions of the poor. How will future climate change affect the poor and how does one address both poverty and climate change? This is a conundrum faced by policymakers in India and other developing countries. Moreover, climate-proofing sustainable development efforts is important; that is to say, current efforts Read more

The Pioneer 11 Aug. 2017
A grain of truth about climate change:  Climate change has proved to be both a boon and a bane for agriculture in India. Though it has led to a decline in cultivation of crops like sorghum (chara), pearl-millet (bajara) and groundnut, there has been an increase in sowing of soyabean, wheat, and cotton in the country. There will be 10-20 per cent growth in the yields of rice, wheat, legumes   and oilseeds with increase in Read more

The Pioneer 24 Aug. 2017
Nanotechnology, Climate Change and Pollution: Nano-material is the future technology for countries around the world that is equipped to tackle the toughest of environmental challenges that the mankind face today, but it needs to be harnessed quickly and made mainstream. The world today faces environmental problems and challenges of staggering proportions. With every passing year, threats to ecological Read more

ENVIRONMENT

The Indian Express 26 July 2017
Back to waste basics: The challenge of solid waste management in Indian cities is now receiving belated but welcome attention and about time too. Rising incomes and changing lifestyles are generating more waste and of a different kind, but we are yet to set up systems to deal with the build-up. Swachh Bharat Mission provides an opening, but much more needs to be done on the ground. Read more

The Pioneer 31 July 2017 
Promoting Eco-Tourism as Revenue Generator: Change is the law of nature and is inevitable as we need to use the scenic beauty of our landscape. Let a new form of tourism lead our economic progress and environmental conservation simultaneously. The issues of creation of durable employment and conservation of environment in the country are critical for sustainable development and March towards becoming a developed nation.  Read more

The Pioneer 11 Aug. 2017
Protecting and Conserving Life below Water: The impacts of our actions and threats across the globe, as a result of rising levels of reckless consumption, are a stark reminder that human society needs to urgently change course, if we wish to preserve ecosystems
An important conference was organised in June by the United Nations to focus on the state of the oceans. Read more

The Pioneer 10 Aug. 2017
When recycling becomes a taxing affairs : The Government must review Goods and Services Tax levied on scraps, especially plastic, paper, cardboard and glass. The imposition of a steep tax of 18 per cent on all kinds of scrap material is flummoxing and difficult to comprehend for both customers and waste generators. India generates more than 1,00,000 metric tonne of solid waste every day and large Read more

FOREST & BIODIVERSITY

The Hindu 6 July 2017
Of plant species few and far between:  Team from Botanical Survey of India gathers research evidence on rare, threatened plants in the Southern Western Ghats. Scientists have recorded a major section of Rare Endemic and Threatened plants and trees in the Western Ghats, some of which have not been assessed by international conservation bodies for nearly two decades. Read more

The Times of India 8 Aug 2017
Centre issues guidelines for diverting forest land: The economic viability of any development project that involves diversion of forest land may now reduce with the environment ministry coming up with new cost benefit analysis guidelines. The new guidelines submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) by the ministry comprise  Read more

WETLANDS, RIVERS & WATER

The Pioneer 26 July 2017
Activists Draft Water Rights Security: Protection of water bodies like rivers, lakes, ponds and streams from encroachment, pollution and exploitation, a system for separate flow of river and sewage and balancing of recharge and discharge while exploiting surface aquifers are some of the key features of the Water Rights Security Act that has been drafted by water activists like Rajendra Singh Read more

The Hindu 2 Aug. 2017
Water conservation scheme a big success: No tankers with drinking water had to be sent to as many as 94 villages in Rajasthan. The Rajasthan government's flagship water conservation programme   Jal Swavalamban Abhiyan (JSA)  has turned out to be a success in Pratapgarh district, where the groundwater table has increased, green agricultural fields have expanded and no tankers with drinking water  Read more

The Pioneer 11 Aug. 2017
Protecting and conserving life below water: The impacts of our actions and threats across the globe, as a result of rising levels of reckless consumption, are a stark reminder that human society needs to urgently change course, if we wish to preserve ecosystems. An important conference was organized   in June by the United Nations to focus on the state of the oceans. Calls for protecting the oceans  Read more

The Indian Express 17 Aug. 2017
Problem in protecting India’s wetlands: Technically, there aren’t any to protect: Last week, during the hearing of the case against Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living (AoL) Foundation at the National Green Tribunal (NGT), counsel for AoL brought up the concept of wetlands in India. The report repeatedly uses the expression ‘wetlands’, the said to a Bench headed by NGT Chairperson  Read more

WILDLIFE & ENDANGERED SPECIES

The Hindu 19 July 2017
We are slow to adopt science for conservation: India’s leading tiger conservationist says the government should get out of the business of surveys and leave it to scientists and researchers. K. Ullas Karanth, an expert on tigers, is the director of the Wildlife Conservation Society-India Programme. In the early 1990s, Mr. Karanth pioneered the technique of using camera Read more

The Times of India 27 July 2017
Big jump in tiger count in Uttarakhand :  India aims to double tiger count by 2022 India aims to double tiger count by 2022 India aims to double tiger count by 2022Tiger numbers have swelled in reserves of Uttarakhand with both Corbett Tiger Reserve and Rajaji Tiger Reserve registering an increase in the population of the animal in the latest census, results of which were announced by chief minister  Read more

The Hindu 18 July 2017
Eco-bridges for the movement of tigers: In a first of its kind, Telangana State will have eco-friendly bridges over a canal cutting across the tiger corridor linking the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra with the forests in Telangana's Kumram Bheem Asifabad district. The intervention requires the laying of fertile soil to grow grass and plants over the structure, so that fragmentation of the Read more

The Hindu 23 Aug. 2017
Bad news for Telangana’s big cats: Fewer eco-bridges in the Bejjur forest range will hamper movement of tigers. The Telangana State Forest Department’s stand vis-a-vis construction of eco-friendly bridges across the proposed Pranahita canal, especially in Bejjur forests in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district, is intriguing. Fewer eco-bridges in the Bejjur forest range will hamper movement of tigers. Read more

The Hindu 23 Aug. 2017
Shaping wilderness: One of the most significant trends visible in wildlife conservation and management today is the increased use of technology. Camera traps, for instance, have provided new evidence of tiger presence in the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary in Goa and of the Asiatic wildcat in Bandhavgarh, Madhya Pradesh; radio collars have  Read more

The Hindu 17 Aug. 2017
India home to 27, 312 elephants: Census: While numbers are lower than in 2012, previous counts were not synchronised & may have had duplication. Preliminary results from the first-ever synchronized all-India Elephant Population Estimation pegs India’s Asian elephant population at 27,312. The estimate, derived from the sighting-based direct count method alone, will be confirmed with estimates from the indirect Read more

The Indian Express 14 Aug.2017
The Sundarbans Way: Disquiet has given way to clamour in the fields around Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Uttar Pradesh. At the heart of this clamour is an unfolding tragedy, as one or more tigers continue to claim human lives. Fifteen people have lost their lives since last November. Villagers have blocked highways and traded charges with forest managers. Read more

The Indian Express 10 Aug. 2017
How not to share space with tigers: With tigers killing two people in the farmland of Pilibhit’s Amaria tehsil this week, the toll in the areas around the Pilibhit tiger reserve in Uttar Pradesh has risen to six in the three months since May 8. This is a new high even for this notorious conflict zone where wild animals killed 11 people in the seven months preceding this period. Data from the Ministry of Environment show tigers and  Read more