Nature News, Vol. 5, Issue No.3 (March 2016)

BIRDS

The Hindu 2 Mar.2016 
Hopes on habitat revive as vultures feed at ‘restaurant’: The habitat of the long billed vulture now has 24 adults and 6 chicks in 2 roosting points and 10 nests. For vulture conservationists, there is no sight more beautiful than the highly decimated-in-number scavenger birds feeding on a carcass offered at a “vulture restaurant”. Read more
 
The Hindu 7 Mar.2016
A ray of hope for nature enthusiasts: The banks of the Tungabhadra in Karnataka’s Sirguppa taluk have provided a ray of hope for the revival of the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard (GIB). On Sunday, a group of nature enthusiasts and avid birdwatchers sighted three GIBs. Two adults and a chick in interior Sirguppa taluk. Read more

The Pioneer 18 Mar.2016 
Nests installed in Noida to conserve sparrows: Noida residents along with the Forest and Environment department have geared up to protect sparrows in urban areas, whose number has fast dwindled in recent years. Women from Noida Sector-14-A, Officer Colony on Thursday installed 100 artificial sparrow nests in the parks in a bid to conserve sparrows.  Read more

ENVIRONMENT

The Times of India 28 Mar.2016 
Environment sees erosion in this budget:  Seeking to impose a serious and effective deterrent to prevent violation of environmental laws, the Centre plans to introduce an amendment bill proposing to scale up the fine to a minimum of Rs 5 crore up from Rs 1 lakh and imprisonment up to seven years for causing 'substantial' environmental damage. The bill will be introduced during the second half of the budget session between April 25 and May 13. Read more 

FORESTS & BIODIVERSITY

The Hindu 14 Mar. 2016
Action plan to tackle forest fires on Tirumala hills: The Tirupati wildlife division has chalked out an action plan to tackle forest fires by deploying over 200 staff at hilltops and base camps in the Sri Venkateswara National Park spread over 353 sq. km, in Chittoor and Kadapa districts. Read more
 

WETLANDS, RIVERS & WATER

Pioneer 8 Mar.2016 
Thousands of dead fish set off pollution alarm in B’luru lake: Thousands of dead fish were found floating on Bengaluru’s famous Ulsoor Lake on Monday morning, setting alarm bells ringing over growing pollution level in the lake. According to V Purushottam, the president of Ulsoor Welfare Society, the rising level of pollution in the lake was responsible  Read more

The Indian Express 23 Mar.2016 
Cities at crossroads: Where water is safe to drink: Safe drinking water is critical for the safety of our health and that of our children. Even food security does not translate into nutrition security in the absence of safe water. While it is extremely important to build awareness about what needs to be done at the household level to ensure water safety Read more

WILDLIFE & ENDANGERED SPECIES 

The Times of India 2 Mar. 2016 
Budget 2016-17: Coal to fire 80% fund hike for Project TigerBudget 2016-17:  In the biggest budgetary boost for the tiger in recent years, the Centre has hiked its allocation for Project Tiger by nearly 80% for the coming fiscal year, utilising funds collected from the cess on coal, lignite and peat. The Union Budget has approved an allocation Read more

The Times of India 3 Mar. 2016 
To save wildlife, U'khand officials bar large groups from Beatles ashram: Forest officials in Uttarakhand have denied permission for a mega yoga gathering that would likely have seen over 1,000 participants from 70 nations converge on Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Chaurasi Kutiya, more famous as the 'Beatles ashram', over concerns about possible disturbance  Read more

The Pioneer 14 Mar.2016 
500 man-made water bodies for Asiatic lions during summer in Gujarat: With the beginning of summer season, the Gujarat State forest department has decided to make arrangement of 500 man-made water bodies for the wild animals including Asiatic Lions in and around Gir Forest, situated on the western part of the State. Already most of the water   Read more

The Pioneer 14 Mar.2016
India, Nepal gear up to save the tiger: Senior forestry officials from India and Nepal are meeting in New Delhi from Monday to chalk out a joint strategy to save the tiger population along the trans-boundary corridor after 14 of the felines were killed during the last one year. The two-day meeting will focus on saving tigers on both sides of the international border, Read more

The Hindu 21 Mar.2016
UNESCO updates protected biosphere reserves list: The United Nation’s cultural body UNESCO has added 20 new sites to its network of protected biosphere nature reserves, including two in Canada and two in Portugal. The status was conferred during a two-day meeting in Lima that ended on Saturday, which brought the total number of biosphere
Read more

The Times of India 22 Mar.2016
Big cats need more space: StudyBig cats need more space - Study: Tigers need much more space than our protected areas or tiger reserves provide for currently. While that's true for all wildlife, a recent study published this month in Biological Conservation journal has highlighted how lack of space could be linked to a fast disappearance of  Read more

The Indian Express 29 Mar.2016 
Threatened Species: Kaziranga’s rhinoceros mounts election plank against poachers: Bolu Sabar, 24, lives in Rajabari, a village on the fringes of Kaziranga National Park, and makes a living selling miniature rhinos. A hard-working artisan, he carves wooden replicas of the one-horned rhinoceros that he sells to tourists. Read more

The Times of India 30 Mar.2016 
Ranthambore 'man-eater' sentenced to life in zoo: Extending the principle of crime and punishment to the animal world, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said Ranthambore tiger T-24 aka 'Ustad' deserved no leniency and had been rightly 'jailed' in a zoo after experts opined it was a man-eater. Extending the principle of crime and punishment to the animal world, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said Ranthambore tiger T-24 aka 'Ustad' deserved no leniency and had been rightly 'jailed' in a zoo after experts opined it was a man-eater. Tiger conservationist Ajay Dubey, through senior advocate Indira Jaising Read more