Soon, Rs 1 cr fine for killing tiger
Chetan
Chauhan, Hindustan Times
Email Author
New Delhi ,
October 20, 2010
Email Author
Wildlife poachers can soon be
jailed for a minimum of seven years and fined at least Rs 30 lakh for killing
endangered species, and the country will have two bodies to regulate
international wildlife trade. The law ministry on Tuesday approved over 100
amendments in the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, bringing it in tune with
wildlife protection laws across the world by including regulation of species
not native to India ,
a requirement under a global convention on wildlife.
Environment minister Jairam
Ramesh said the bill, which strengthens the powers of forest and enforcement
agencies, will be introduced in the winter session of Parliament after getting
the cabinet's approval.One of the biggest changes in the law is constitution of
two bodies — scientific and management — to implement its provisions and
regulate trade.
The management authority will
be responsible for issuance of permits for trade of scheduled species on advice
of the scientific body.
The two bodies will also be
to enlist the exotic species found in India ………
by Lori
Brown
Published on October 21st, 2010
Published on October 21st, 2010
Indian Environment Minister
Jairam Ramesh announced the launch of a National Green Tribunal Tuesday, a step
toward toughening environmental laws in a country faced with growing
industrialization-related environmental issues.
The third country in the
world to implement such a tribunal, after Australia
and New Zealand , India ’s
creation of a separate judiciary system for environmental cases aims to
alleviate a backlogged court system, while holding polluters to a greater
financial liability.
Justice Lokeshwar Singh Panta
has been named Chairperson of the Tribunal, which “has been empowered to issue
directions for the compensation and restitution of damage caused from actions
of environmental negligence,” according to the Ministry ………………..
21 OCT, 2010, 01.53AM IST,
NIDHI SHARMA,ET BUREAU
Panel mulls co-op for forest produce
NEW DELHI: A high-level
committee appointed to examine introduction of minimum support price (MSP) for
non-timber forest produce is considering a national cooperative revolution
similar to Operation Flood to empower tribals collecting sal seeds, gum kariah
and other minor forest produce.
The committee, which was appointed in August under Mr T Haque, will be ready with its interim report next month and the final report by January. According to sources, the committee wants to introduce a competitive multi-pronged system to empower tribals who do not get even minimum wages for collecting minor forest produce (MFPs). The committee is considering a national-level mechanism similar to National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), which had triggered Operation Flood and revolutionised milk production inIndia .
The committee is considering three main mechanisms — a central mechanism to fix MSP , private players to train tribals in basic processing and tribal cooperatives. The national mechanism would identify a list ………
The committee, which was appointed in August under Mr T Haque, will be ready with its interim report next month and the final report by January. According to sources, the committee wants to introduce a competitive multi-pronged system to empower tribals who do not get even minimum wages for collecting minor forest produce (MFPs). The committee is considering a national-level mechanism similar to National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), which had triggered Operation Flood and revolutionised milk production in
The committee is considering three main mechanisms — a central mechanism to fix MSP , private players to train tribals in basic processing and tribal cooperatives. The national mechanism would identify a list ………
TEEB report puts world's natural assets on the global
political radar
Nagoya, Japan, 20 October
2010– The economic importance of the world's natural assets is now firmly on
the political radar as a result of an international assessment showcasing the
enormous economic value of forests, freshwater, soils and coral reefs, as well
as the social and economic costs of their loss, was the conclusion of The
Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) report launched today by TEEB
study leader, Pavan Sukhdev.
"TEEB has documented not
only the multi-trillion dollar importance to the global economy of the natural
world, but the kinds of policy-shifts and smart market mechanisms that can
embed fresh thinking in a world beset by a rising raft of multiple challenges.
The good news is that many communities and countries are already seeing the
potential of incorporating the value of nature into decision-making," said
Mr. Sukhdev, a banker who heads up the Green Economy Initiative of the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)…………..
Orissa asks Centre to allow work at the Posco project
site
Published: Thursday, Oct 21,
2010, 17:11 IST
Place:Bhubaneswar
| Agency: PTI
Place:
Claiming that it never
violated any law while implementing the Posco project, the Orissa government
today demanded the Centre to allow work at the plant site.
The appeal has been made in a
faxed response to a letter written by the Union environment and forests
minister Jairam Ramesh to chief minister Naveen Patnaik recently, chief
secretary BK Patnaik told reporters in Bhubaneshwar.
Referring to a report by the
three-member Posco panel, chaired by Meena Gupta, which alleged …………
Natural World Heritage list: Fate of W
Ghats to be decided next July
TNN, Oct 21, 2010, 01.33am
IST
PUNE: The two-member
technical team from the International
Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said here on Wednesday that
the decision on the Natural
World Heritage site recognition for Western
Ghats will be known only next July.
The IUCN, which is a technical arm of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), is in the last leg of its visit to the Western Ghats to evaluateIndia 's proposal to put the area on
the Natural World Heritage list. The team is evaluating if the proposed site
could actually be declared so.
Ecologist Wendy Strahm, who is part of the team, said, "We have visited three states…………………..
The IUCN, which is a technical arm of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), is in the last leg of its visit to the Western Ghats to evaluate
Ecologist Wendy Strahm, who is part of the team, said, "We have visited three states…………………..
Mr Jairam urges Maharashtra to review mining leases in
Sindhudurg
Wednesday, 20 Oct 2010
Times of India reported that Mr Jairam Ramesh minister of
environment and forest has asked Mr Ashok Chavan Chief Minister of Maharashtra to review the 49 mining leases given for
excavation of iron ore and bauxite in Sindhudurg region.
The move follows a TOI expose on the state government's decision to approve the leases in the eco sensitive district of Konkan Maharashtra.
Mr Ramesh's letter to the chief minister, which attached a series of news reports that appeared in TOI……
The move follows a TOI expose on the state government's decision to approve the leases in the eco sensitive district of Konkan Maharashtra.
Mr Ramesh's letter to the chief minister, which attached a series of news reports that appeared in TOI……
Raj violating forest Act: Centre
35 Mines Operating Without
Permission: Environment Ministry
Rachna Singh | TNN
Jaipur: The Aravalli hills in Rajasthan is crumbling to the pressure of illegal mining despite a Supreme Court order earlier this year putting a blanket ban on any kind of mining activity in the hills. If the present activities continue in the region, the oldest mountain range in the country may vanish after a few years, say sources.
Recently, the state government’s department of mines and geology received a letter from the Union ministry of environment & forests, about the violation ofForest (Conservation) Act 1980
while renewing the mining lease of M/s Harish Vyas in Niwai block, Tonk
district, who were mining silica sand. The mine has been illegally functioning
without adequate permission from the Centre for over a decade as the previously
granted lease expired in 1999.
“As things stand today, there are 30-35 mines operating without proper permission from the Union ministry of environment and forests. Most of these are in and aroundUdaipur .
This particular mine in Tonk was granted a mining lease for silica sand………...............
Jaipur: The Aravalli hills in Rajasthan is crumbling to the pressure of illegal mining despite a Supreme Court order earlier this year putting a blanket ban on any kind of mining activity in the hills. If the present activities continue in the region, the oldest mountain range in the country may vanish after a few years, say sources.
Recently, the state government’s department of mines and geology received a letter from the Union ministry of environment & forests, about the violation of
“As things stand today, there are 30-35 mines operating without proper permission from the Union ministry of environment and forests. Most of these are in and around
Vedanta Broke Forestry Rules in India
Expansion, Minister Says
October 20, 2010, 8:22 AM EDT
By Abhijit Roy Chowdhury and
Abhishek Shanker
Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) --
Vedanta Resources Plc’s $8.5 billion aluminum expansion plan in India is in
“serious” breach of forestry laws and a decision on the project may be taken as
early as tomorrow, the Environment Ministry said.
“There have been serious
violations,” Minister Jairam Ramesh said today in an interview at his New Delhi office. “There
have also been some procedural violations in its existing refinery,” he said,
referring to the 1 million metric ton facility at Lanjigarh in eastern Orissa
state.
Vedanta, controlled by
billionaire Anil Agarwal, won approval from the Orissa government in August to
implement a 375 billion rupee ($8.5 billion) expansion of its………….
IIC celebrates a festival of arts with a difference
HT
Correspondent
Email Author
New Delhi ,
October 21, 2010
Email Author
If you believe that the
forests in multiple ways have nurtured and sustained human, animal and organic
life on this planet, India International Centre (IIC) is the place to be from
Thursday till October 27. A Festival of the Arts based on the theme ‘The
Forest’ at the IIC will showcase different
aspects of the forest “not
just the rich Indian eco-system but also several other forest civilizations”
through exhibitions, performances, films and cuisine.
The elaborate programme
includes photo exhibitions, film festival, food festival and seminars. King of
Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck would inaugurate the festival on
Thursday.
“The film festival would have
a screening of 1971-made …………
Kerala forest minister opposes India 's stand against Endosulfan
ban
20 October 2010
Kerala forest minister Benoy
Viswom has criticised India 's
opposition to the global ban on Endosulfan pesticide at the sixth meeting of
Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee to the Stockholm Convention in Geneva last wee
Viswom told The Hindu newspaper
on Monday that India 's stand
was not right and India
should gone along with the general consensus at the meeting which favoured the
ban. He added India
should have come out in support of the ban.
Viswom said that the Indian ……………………………….