Jairam Ramesh admits deviating from India's stance
First Published: 11:47
IST(9/12/2010) Last Updated: 12:32 IST(9/12/2010)
Environment minister Jairam
Ramesh made a bold statement in Cancun climate summit stating India is willing to accept binding commitments
under an appropriate legal form, considered as a deviation from India's stand.
In conversation with Chetan Chauhan, Jairam Ramesh gives reasons ………………
Green tech sharing mechanism finalized
Nitin Sethi, TNN, Dec 9,
2010, 04.49am IST
CANCUN: Amidst the grim mood
at Cancun,
there is one good news, or at least partial good news: the over-arching
architecture of a global green technology sharing and development mechanism has
been finalized. India played
a crucial role in hammering out the deal on the technology framework though it
could all get held up if negotiators are unable to come to similar level of
consensus on other key issues forming part of a global long-term deal, namely
mitigation targets, international scrutiny protocols, financing climate change
action, forestry and the future of Kyoto Protocol. Regardless, this is one
partial victory environment minister Jairam Ramesh would
be able to go back home. The technology sharing and development mechanism
will have a Technology Executive Committee ………………………..
Gir lions lose all central funds to tigers this year
Published: Thursday, Dec 9,
2010, 13:17 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA
The tigers have got the
lion’s share of central government funds this financial year - literally.
Absolutely no funds have been allocated for the conservation of the Asiatic
Lions in Gir in the financial year 2010-11. This, according to the Union
minister of state, finance, Namo Narain Meena, is because of the paucity of
funds under the centrally-sponsored ‘Integrated Development of Wildlife
Habitats’ (IDWH) scheme. Significantly, the Gujarat
government has sought Rs262.36 crore for a plethora of conservation initiatives
in the past two years. ..................................
Bengal tigers shrinking in numbers and size
Agence France-Presse
Kolkata, December 09, 2010
First Published: 14:53 IST(9/12/2010) Last Updated: 16:06 IST(9/12/2010)
Endangered Bengal
tigers are dwindling not only in numbers, but also in stature, according to a
recent survey that suggests the famed big cats are getting physically smaller.
Experts say the Bengal tigers are losing
weight because of "stress" associated with environmental changes
impacting their natural habitat in the Sunderban mangrove swamps on the
India-Bangladesh border. A survey conducted by Indian wildlife officials showed
that tigers in the Sunderbans were lighter and their body parts smaller
compared to a decade ago. "We were surprised that animals, which otherwise
look healthy, weighed only 98 kilos (215 pounds)," Subrata Mukherjee,
director of the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve, told AFP on Thursday. "The average
weight of an adult tiger should not be less than 140 kilos," he added. As
well as human encroachment, experts point to rising sea levels which are
increasing the salinity of the ……………………
Chanda loses 28 tigers in two years
Mazhar Ali, TNN, Dec 8, 2010,
09.52pm IST
CHANDRAPUR: While Chandrapur
boasts of being the tiger capital of Central India,
little is talked about the loss of 28 tigers from the jungles here in a span of
last two years. While 21 tigers have been either poached, killed in
accidents, died natural death or have 'disappeared', seven have been moved from
the wild and put into zoos after being rescued since November 2008. The death
of two tigers within the span of a week has again raised a question
mark over the measures ……………………………..
Get ready for night safaris at Bannerghatta park
Published: Thursday, Dec 9,
2010, 8:36 IST
By Srikanth Hunasavadi | Place: Bangalore
| Agency: DNA
After much dilly-dallying,
the Bannerghatta night safari proposal is fnally set to take-off. Tourists may
soon be able to enjoy night rides in the Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) as
tourism minister G Janardhana Reddy has succeeded in having his way in pushing
the Rs180 crore Night Safari project at the BBP in Bannerghatta National Park,
overruling reservations from forest minister CH Vijayashankar. Minister Reddy
on Wednesday announced that Vijayashankar had been convinced on the night
safari project. “We have no differences on that …………………
Protection and Conservation of Asiatic Lions in Gir Forest
17:53 IST
The Gir forest in
Gujarat is the only home for Asiatic Lions in India. The Ministry provides
financial and technical assistance to the State Government of Gujarat for
protection and conservation of Asiatic Lions in Gir forest. The
details of financial assistance provided during last three years and the
current year to the Government of Gujarat under Centrally Sponsored Scheme
‘Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats’ for protection and conservation
of Lions are as follows:
|
Sl. No.
|
Financial Year
|
Amount (Rs in Lakhs)
provided to Gir National Park, Gujarat
|
|
1
|
2007-08
|
40.00
|
|
2
|
2008-09
|
32.00
|
|
3
|
2009-10
|
78.46
|
|
4
|
2010-11(till date)
|
NIL
|
The Government of Gujarat has
submitted a proposal for consolidating long term conservation of Asiatic Lions
at the total cost of Rs.262.36 crores for a period of five years,
which has been approved ‘in principle’ by the Planning Commission. However, the
Planning Commission has suggested that financial assistance under the project
may be met out of the ongoing scheme of ‘Integrated Development of Wildlife
Habitats’. Due to paucity of funds in the scheme for the current financial
year, no amount has been released so far.
This information was given by
the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo NarainMeena who is holding the
charge of the Ministry of environment and Forests in a written reply to a
question by Shrimati Jayshreeben Patel in Lok Sabha today.
Chandigarh to conduct
its first-ever wildlife census
2010-12-08 18:20:00
Chandigarh, Dec 8 (IANS) This union territory, one of the
greenest cities of India,
has now turned its attention on its fauna as the first-ever census of wildlife
here will begin Thursday. The Chandigarh forest department will conduct the
first wildlife census at Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary, which is spread over an
area of 25.42 sq km, in ……………
Ritual alienates calf from herd
Elephant rejected after
villagers worship it as ‘ganesh’
PULLOCK DUTTA
Guwahati, Dec. 7: An
elephant calf was rejected by its herd after it was smeared with vermilion and
mustard oil by villagers in an apparent attempt to worship “Ganesh Baba” after
it was found near a village under Hojai forest division in Nagaon district
yesterday. Forest department personnel tried
twice to reunite the calf with the herd but the latter refused to accept it
because of the alien odours emanating from its body. The nearly three-month-old
calf had to be shifted to the Centre for Wildlife …………………….
Villagers form alliance to conserve red panda
Five villages in Arunachal
constitute group with support from Sir Dorabji Tata Trust
ROOPAK GOSWAMI
Guwahati, Dec. 7: Villagers
in the high-altitude areas of Arunachal Pradesh have joined hands to form a red
panda conservation alliance — claiming to be the first community initiative of
its kind in the world. “The constitution of the alliance will not only help in
conservation of red pandas in a scientific manner but will also help in
strengthening the ongoing community-based tourism being promoted in the area as
conservation incentives for the villagers. This is reported to be the first
community initiative of its kind in the world,” Pijush Kumar Dutta, the
landscape co-ordinator of Western Arunachal Pradesh Landscape Conservation
Programme WWF-India, told The Telegraph. Dutta said since the area has a
good population of red pandas (Ailurus fulgens), which is listed in Schedule I
of Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, Appendix I of CITES and as endangered
species in IUCN Red List ………………………
Spotlight on forest shifts, trade and land use
[2010-12-08]
An increasing number of
developing countries are outsourcing deforestation to help protect and restore
their local forests, according to a new study. The research was funded in part
by the REDD-ALERT ('Reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation
through alternative land uses in rainforests of the Tropics') project, which
clinched EUR 3.49 million under the Environment Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework
Programme (FP7). The results, published in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences (PNAS), could affect measures currently being taken to
ensure the sustainability of the world's remaining forests. Researchers
from Stanford University
and Rutgers University
in the US and the Université
Catholique de Louvain (UCL) in Belgium
said our planet's forests are disappearing at a rate of more than 32 million
acres each year - an area that is about the size of England. 'Reducing
deforestation is an international priority, given its impacts on carbon
emissions and biodiversity,' explained …..……………………………..
Coal Projects Pending
At present there are 113
proposals that are awaiting Stage-I clearance and 55 are awaiting Stage-II
clearance in respect of the project of Coal India Limited (CIL) from forestry
angle. This will impact coal production to the extent of 160 million
tonnes. This information was given by the Minister of State for Coal
(Independent Charge) ShriSriprakash Jaiswal, in a written reply to a
question the Lok Sabha today. The Minister further said that
Regular meetings are being held with concerned State and Central
authorities. This is a continuous process. The Ministry of Coal has
not declared any “Go and No-Go” zones. However, an exercise has been taken up
jointly by Ministry of Coal and Ministry of Environment & Forests to
superimpose maps of coal bearing areas on maps of forest cover in case of nine
coalfields with a view to identify category “A” and category “B” forest areas
for coal mining.
Following
steps are being taken by CIL to increase coal production: …………….
