IN NEWS

‘All wetlands in India poisoned with pesticides’

Express News Service

A STUDY conducted by the Salim Ali Foundation has found out that all wetlands in India are poisoned with pesticides, said Dr VS Vijayan, former chairman of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board.

Offering felicitations at the release of the book ‘Paristhithiyude Varthamanam,’ by G Nirmala, editorial board member of ‘the Samakalika Malayalam Weekly’, here on Saturday, Vijayan said  the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India functions as an autocratic body that controls the plight of the farmers.

The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI), without consulting the farmers, Department of Agriculture, Forest Department or …………………………

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/%E2%80%98all-wetlands-in-india-poisoned-with-pesticides%E2%80%99/208070.html

Cheetah scheme: Forest ministry talks on Friday

Vimal Bhatia | TNN
Jaisalmer: Officials of the ministry of forest and environment will meet on Friday to discuss the nitty-gritties of the cheetah reintroduction project. The meeting is likely to be chaired by Union minister for forest and environment Jairam Ramesh and will be attended by the chief wildlife wardens of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh besides officials of the NTCA and the WII.
The WII has identified the Kuno and the Nauradehi wildlife sanctuaries in Madhya Pradesh and the Shahgarh Bulge in Rajasthan as the probable areas for the reintroduction of cheetah. However, while the Madhya Pradesh government has given a written consent to the Centre's proposal, Rajasthan is yet to give its nod in black and white. …………

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIJ/2010/09/17&PageLabel=4&EntityId=Ar00401&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T

Bamboo for sustainability & growth

Pandurang Hegde

While we celebrate the International Bamboo Day, it is essential to recognize and propagate the multiple uses of Bamboo in providing livelihood security to poor, protecting land from degradation as well as in mitigating climate change

Bamboo is an important part of rural livelihood in many countries, especially in developing counties like India. Due to its versatile nature and multiple uses, it is also called ‘poor man’s timber’. Though it grows tall like a tree, it belongs to the grass family. It can withstand the drought as well as flood. During the annual floods in Kosi region in Bihar, it is the bamboo that helps the flood hit villagers. Even during Tsunami, bamboo came to the rescue of people rendered homeless to erect shelters at short notice.
There are more than 70 genera divided into about 1,450 species of bamboo all over the world. India is second only to China in terms of bamboo diversity having more than 130 bamboo species spread across 18 genera. The North Eastern states are the store house of bamboo diversity with 58 species belonging to 10 genera. Bamboo is grown on 9 million hectares in India, covering almost 13 per cent of the total forest area of the country. In addition, nearly 1.75 million hectares of bamboo area lies outside the natural forest area. The total production of bamboo is 5 million tons per year…………………

http://www.morungexpress.com/analysis/55210.html

Curse or blessing? Local elites in Joint Forest Management in India’s Shiwaliks

Kulbhushan Balooni, Jens Friis Lund, Chetan Kumar, Makoto Inoue

Abstract

This article suggests that local elites play an instrumental role – either with positive or negative consequences – in shaping struggles for power over processes and outcomes of participatory forest management interventions, when implemented in communities characterized by social hierarchies. We show how the contrasting outcomes of joint forest management in two case study villages cannot be attributed to institutional reform, but appear to be caused largely by differences in the role assumed by local elites. The evidence indicates that institutional reform itself does not guarantee changes in the actual management of natural resources. Rather, vested interests at the local level and among State actors may continue to shape events while working within or beyond the new institutional landscape. On the basis of the results of our case studies, the article poses the hypothesis that a network theory of social capital could be a useful way of analyzing such diverse outcomes of similar institutional reforms implemented in relatively similar communities. We conclude by arguing that attempts at institutional reform at the level of the community in hierarchical societies should proceed with modest expectations, and an eye for the incentives facing local elites and the implementing and facilitating State actors.

http://www.thecommonsjournal.org/index.php/ijc/article/viewArticle/217#

CWG: African descendants to cheer up Games ceremony

Near Sasan village of Gir Forest, where Asiatic Lions are found, a group of descendants of African origin toss up coconuts into the air and break them with their head. No, they are not trying any miracle but that’s one of their rigorous acts that they will showcase in the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Delhi. “You will see many such amazing acts of our Siddi community,” says Siddi Babu, president of Dhamaal Group, a team of 20-members which will perform for over 30 minutes in the Games ceremony. Recently, some of the young Siddi members have even acted with Amitabh Bachchan…………

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/features/the-sunday-et/backpage/CWG-African-descendants-to-cheer-up-Games-ceremony/articleshow/6582159.cms