FOREST NEWS INDIA

IN NEWS

2010-08-02T22:41:00.000+05:30

India

to reintroduce cheetahs into grasslands

By NIRMALA GEORGE (AP) – 3 hours ago

NEW DELHI — The Indian government plans to import cheetahs from Africa and introduce them into the country's grasslands, six decades after the fleet-footed feline was hunted here until it disappeared, officials said Monday.

Two wildlife groups have already carried out a feasibility study on bringing the cats to three reserves that will total more than 4,500 square miles (about 12,000 square kilometers) in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan states, India's ministry of environment and forests said Monday.

The cheetah, the world's fastest land animal, roamed the wilds of central and western India until, in the face of relentless hunting by trophy-seekers and poachers, it vanished from here about 60 years ago.

The Asiatic cheetah — the sub-species that once lived in India — no longer exists in the wild, though some survive in zoos.

So scientists will import 18 wild cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa, said a ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media…………..

For remaining news, right click and open in new tab/window:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iV9IrmPPraclpRkZlb-K-7egVRHwD9HBBSC80

Maharashtra forest officer released after 83 days in captivity

PTI

Itanagar, Aug 02 (PTI) A senior IFS officer of Maharashtra cadre, who was held captive allegedly by Bodo militants for 83 days after his abduction from a forest in Arunachal Pradesh, has been released, police said here today.Vilas Bardekar, the Joint Director of Social Forestry in Maharastra, was released yesterday at Dhekiajuli in Assam and left immediately for Guwahati, the sources said.Bardekar, a 1984 batch IFS (Indian Forest Service) officer, was kidnapped on May 12 from a forest in Arunachal's West Kameng district while he was carrying out a study on butterfly species there.

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/maharashtra-forest-officer-released-after-83-days-in-captivity/193948.html

Forest officers transferred to Lokayukta
Bangalore:July 29, DHNS:
*With the Lokayukta intensifying its probe into the illegal transport of iron ore, the State Government on Wednesday deputed four forest officers for investigation*.

The Lokayukta had asked for Biswajeet Mishra, Deputy Forest Officer, (DCF), Wildlife Division, Chamarajnagar; TS Ranawat, Interim DCF, Dharwad; Vipin Singh, DCF, Bidar; and R Udaya Kumar, DCF (State Forest Service), Water Rejuvenation, Dharwad as the investigation officers. The team will be headed by Dr UV Singh, Chief Conservator of Forests, who had earlier led a probe into illegal mining. Gokul, Karwar DCF, will also be part of the team. ………………………

For remaining news, right click and open in new tab/window:

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/84800/forest-officers-transferred-lokayukta.html

Can we hear the roar again?

P. JEGANATHAN

The Hindu

The Asiatic Lion is classified as one of the most endangered mammals in India. There are just 360 of them left in the wild. A disturbing fact, indeed.

The minute you say that you are going to visit a forest area in

India

, almost everyone asks, “Do you get to see the Lion there?”But we need to realise that in India the Asiatic Lion lives only in the Gir National Park and Sanctuary, Gujarat.

The Asiatic Lion once roamed Asia from Palestine in the West to India in the East. Over the many years they were wiped out throughout their range mainly due to habitat alteration and hunting. In India they were found from Haryana in the north to Baroda in the south and Palamau in the east. However, big game hunting by several kings and British rulers resulted in the disappearance of this king of the beast from many parts of India during the mid 20{+t}{+h} century.

The British administrators and more importantly, the Nawab of Junagadh state realised that there was a need to protect this carnivore. In 1879, the sixth Nawab of Junagadh state, Mahbatkhanji II ordered strict protection of the lions in his state. After him Mahbatkhanji III and Nawab Rasulkhanji continued the protection by setting up exclusive reserve for lions. Due to their initiative and the protection by the Government of India since then, a single population now thrives in the Gir National Park and Sanctuary and in the surrounding areas in Gujarat. The Asiatic Lion is classified as one of the most endangered mammals in India since there are only about 360 individuals left in the wild……………………………………….

For remaining news, right click and open in new tab/window:

http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/kids/article547784.ece

Vedanta, Posco being probed over forest law violation

Mon, Aug 2 02:33 PM

Union Ministry of Environment and Forests is investigating alleged violation of forest laws by Vedanta Co and Korean steel maker Posco in Orissa, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday.

Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour, Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said a four-member expert group is currently in Orissa looking at all cases of alleged violation by Vedanta Co.

An iron ore mining project may comprise both forest and non-forest area and a company can initiate action in non-forest area only after it has received approval for mining in the forest area, he said.

Vedanta Co is being investigated by the ministry for alleged violation of this guideline, he said. "We will take a final call after report of the expert group is received."

Similarly, Posco was under investigation for alleged violation of forest act in acquisition of land for the mega project.

"Any violation of forest act will not be tolerated," he said…………………………….

For remaining news, right click and open in new tab/window:

http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20100802/804/tnl-vedanta-posco-being-probed-over-fore_1.html

Endangered vultures will be back: Minister

2010-08-02 14:20:00

As environmentalists raise concern over the near extinction of some species of vultures, Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh Monday assured a comeback of the bird, known for its scavanging qualities, soon as a result of a successful breeding programme.

'The breeding programme has been successful, soon we will see the come back of the vulture,' Ramesh said, replying supplementary questions in the Rajya Sabha.

As many as three species of vultures in India are endangered because of the use of painkiller diclofenac in cattle on whose carcass these birds feed.

Long-billed, slender-billed and oriental white-backed species of vultures have died in South Asia over the past several years after eating cattle carcasses laced with medicines which is given to sick animals.

Scientists announced the successful breeding of the long-billed vulture in captivity for the first time in June this year. The other two species have been bred earlier……………………………………………………………………………………..

For remaining news, right click and open in new tab/window:

http://sify.com/news/endangered-vultures-will-be-back-minister-news-national-kicoubfjibc.html

IN NEWS:

2010-07-31T23:07:00.000+05:30

India’s Forest Monitoring Satellite

« on: July 24, 2010, 10:53:45 AM »

India

plans to launch two earth observation satellites to monitor environmental changes in the country. One is to measure carbon emissions and is due for launch in 2012 and the second is to monitor forest cover.

The Indian forestry observations satellite will be launched by ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) in 2013, according to Jairam Ramesh, Environment and Forest Minister: "India will be one of the few countries in the world to launch a forestry satellite to monitor the green cover every day".

This announcement comes as the Green India Mission (GIM) plan is currently being discussed. The GIM is a 10-year long program to help green India, and is part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), with an objective to increase forest coverage by 10 million hectares (100,000 sq.kms) by 2020 and improve ecosystems.

India currently has nine earth observation satellites in orbit.

http://www.funonthenet.in/forums/index.php?topic=183533.0

Unravelling Nature's tangles

MEENA MENON

The HinduRuth Padel: Reaching out through prose and poetry. Photo: Vivek Bendre

In a free-wheeling chat, award-winning poet and scholar Ruth Padel talks about how her great great grandfather Charles Darwin influenced her outlook, her concern for tigers, her love for India and her first novel.

At 64, fame and age sit lightly on Ruth Padel, elected first woman Professor of Poetry at Oxford University in May 2009, a post from which she resigned later. Charles Darwin's great great granddaughter was in Mumbai recently at the invitation of Phiroza Godrej, the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and the PEN All India Centre to read from her first novel 'Where the Serpent Lives'. In an interview, Padel, a Greek tragedy scholar, award-winning poet, musician and excavator, talks about her love for India, Darwin and the relationship between humans and other animals…………………………………………………………..

For full report, right click and open in new tab/ window:

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/article541848.ece

Forest men plant snakes, extort money

Officials Used Method To Harass Tourists

Radha Venkatesan | TNN

Coimbatore: It was an “Operation Snake” by forest officials that targeted unsuspecting tourists with an intention of extorting money and the police smelled a rat. And now a forest official behind the slithery racket has landed in jail and an assistant conservator of forests is absconding

Over the last few years, two senior forest officials in western Tamil Nadu have been stealthily stashing red sand boa, an endangered species of snake, in the cars of tourists coming to Pollachi and Udumalpet near Coimbatore. They would then “trap” the tourists with the snakes and threaten them into paying up huge sums for letting them go. Smuggling and possession of the snake is an offence under the Wildlife Protection Act.

Several tourists are said to have quietly paid the money fearing harassment. But the lid was blown off the snake scam recently when a group of real estate agents from Wayanad in Kerala arrived in Pollachi to look up some property. Police said Abubakker, Sundaram and Mohandas came to Sirumugai on July 26 and met a real estate broker, KS Jose, at Sirumugai for buying land in Pollachi. Jose is said to have taken them around Pollachi in a car. When the car reached Sultanpet, G Sivakumar, a lecturer in the forest college at Vaigai Dam, who was in uniform and assistant conservator of forests R Nedunchezian arrived on the scene. They stopped the car for a “routine inspection” and found a snake in the trunk of the vehicle. Sivakumar then allegedly asked the real estate agents to part with Rs 5 lakh or face imprisonment. ……………………………

For full report, right click and open in new tab/ window:

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getFiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:LowLevelEntityToPrint_TOINEW&Type=text/html&Locale=english-skin-custom&Path=TOICH/2010/07/31&ID=Ar00600

IN NEWS

2010-07-30T23:13:00.000+05:30

Despite PM push, MoEF looks to block tribal rights in parks-India
Posted by Climate Himalaya under Biodiversity and Climate Change in Himalaya
Leave a Comment
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh might have talked of the importance of implementing the Forest Rights Act in its letter and spirit in the Naxal-effected tribal areas but the Union environment and forests ministry is instead trying to curtail the Act’s provisions. The MoEF has pitched for an amendment of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1976, that will, contrary to the provisions of FRA, ensure that the rights of forest dwellers and tribals are denied in the existing 661 national parks and sanctuaries.
The FRA provides for handing back the rights over forests to people who have traditionally lived or depended on them — mostly tribals. The legislation was passed by the UPA in its last tenure recognizing that successive governments since independence had usurped forest lands and turned them into forest department’s property without recognizing that people had been living in these forests. The Indian Forest Service largely remained opposed to the Act till the last possible moment and retired forest officials even tried to block the legislation in different courts across the country.......................................................
For full news, please go to:

http://chimalaya.org/2010/07/30/despite-pm-push-moef-looks-to-block-tribal-rights-in-parks-india/

Barker puts low carbon growth at the heart of UK-India relationship

Low carbon growth should be at the centre of the UK’s special partnership with

India

, Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said today as he addressed Indian and British companies.

Mr Barker was speaking in New Delhi as he accompanied Prime Minister David Cameron on his first official trip to the country.

Both countries have today agreed to work together to help the Indian economy grow in a more energy efficient way, cutting emissions and helping businesses reduce their reliance on energy. The energy intensity of India’s economy improved by a third between 1990 and 2007, making it more efficient than the US or China.

India

has pledged to further reduce the emissions intensity of its economy by 20-25% by 2020 and already boosts some of the world’s most energy efficient factories ………………………………….

For full news, please go to:

http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn10_87/pn10_87.aspx

Wildlife beyond boundaries: The clue lies in corridors

M D Madhusudan & Pavithra Sankaran, TNN, Jul 30, 2010, 08.51am IST

The elephants stood at the stream's edge. As the adults drank in measured trunkfuls, calves gambolled in the water. Just above them, on the slope, a large sambar stag emerged silently from the undergrowth. From a cluster of trees above came the scolding call of a giant squirrel, as a troop of Nilgiri langur foraged in the canopy.

Just as we were slipping into a reverie, imagining ourselves in pristine wilderness, a woman called loudly to her children playing nearby as she washed clothes outside a neat row of houses, a mere hundred metres upslope of the elephants.

This vignette, from the Anamalai Hills of southern

India

, is not all that unusual. Across large parts of our country, a wide range of species still occur outside the confines of wildlife reserves…………………………………………………..

For full report, please go to:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/wild-wacky/Wildlife-beyond-boundaries-The-clue-lies-in-corridors/articleshow/6235405.cms

Dhaka, Delhi join global move to save tigers

2010-07-30 15:00:00

Bangladesh

and India, home to the famous Royal Bengal tiger, will attend the 13-nation Tiger Conservation Summit in St. Petersburg in September to plan out urgent measures to save the species.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina may attend the meeting of the Tiger Range Countries (TRC) - Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India,Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam, The Daily Star reported Friday.

Currently, half of the entire Royal Bengal tiger population of over 2,000 is in 56 forest areas in India.

The tiger is treated as one of the most critically endangered animals fast disappearing from the world. If all the six sub-species are taken togther, there are estimated to be just about 3,200 tigers left…………………………………………..

For remaining news, please go to:

http://sify.com/news/dhaka-delhi-join-global-move-to-save-tigers-news-international-kh4padfhbfg.html

Sniffer dogs to curb wildlife crime

2010-07-30 16:20:00

Dogs, specially trained to sniff out illegal wildlife products like tiger skins and bones, joined the forest departments of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Jharkhand Friday.

The dogs and their 10 handlers have completed a nine-month training programme which culminated Friday at a passing out ceremony held in the Dog Training Centre at the Special Armed Forces Academy, Bhopal.

The dogs have been trained to detect hidden wildlife articles like bones and skins of tigers and leopards and bear bile. Their procurement and training was funded and facilitated by TRAFFIC India, a joint programme of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

This is the second phase of TRAFFIC India's sniffer dog training programme. Earlier, two dogs were deployed by the forest departments of Haryana and Uttarakhand.

'In order to curb the growing menace of wildlife crimes, it is necessary to deploy the best enforcement practices available including the use of sniffer dogs, which have a proven track record in detecting crime and serving as a long-term deterrent,' said Samir Sinha, head, TRAFFIC India here.

http://sify.com/news/sniffer-dogs-to-curb-wildlife-crime-news-national-kh4quegjdgf.html

IN NEWS

2010-07-29T23:41:00.000+05:30

India approves plans to reintroduce cheetah

Eighteen cheetahs to be imported from Iran, Namibia and South Africa more than 60 years after the species was hunted to extinction

Jason Burke

guardian.co.uk, Thursday 29 July 2010 16.40 BST

The cheetah is to return to India, more than 60 years after the last three were shot dead by hunters on the subcontinent.

Indian minister for the environment and forests, Jairam Ramesh, has picked three sites for the reintroduction of the animal within a year. Eighteen cheetahs are to be brought from Iran, Namibia and South Africa. A budget of over £500,000 has been made available to prepare the sites for their release.

"It is important to bring the cheetah back as it will help restore the grasslands of India," Ramesh said. "The way the tiger restores forest ecosystems, the snow leopard restores mountain ecosystems, and the Gangetic dolphin restores waters in the rivers, in the same way the cheetah will restore our grasslands."

India

's wildlife has struggled in recent decades. The country's world famous population of tigers has shrunk from more than 3,600 in 2002 to around 1,400 now. Successive government initiatives have foundered on corruption; conflicts between often extremely poor local communities and the animals; the power of organised criminal smuggling networks which supply tiger parts to east Asia, and simple administrative inertia. The population of snow leopards now numbers between 100 and 200, possibly less than a third of the total a decade ago. The Gangetic dolphin remains endangered, although the number of Asiatic lions has recently increased.

India

's last wild cheetahs are thought to have been shot by the Maharajah of Surguja in 1947………………………………………………………

For full news, please go to:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jul/29/india-cheetah

Tigress relocated to Sariska Tiger reserve to revive breeding

2010-07-29 17:40:00

A genetically compatible tigress from the Ranthambore Tiger reserve has been relocated to the Sariska Tiger reserve in Rajasthan, to revive hopes for tiger breeding.

The tigress, T-44, was freed in the reserve at around 11.30 a.m. after being brought by helicopter.

"The operation that we carried out today was planned in advance. We put her in the cage properly and a collar was fitted on her. We took samples and measurements in advance. The whole operation was conducted smoothly. The biggest advantage was that we saved a lot of time as earlier we planned to come by road but then we came by helicopter," said K. Shankar, a scientist of Wildlife Institute of India (WTI) in Dehradun.

The forest already has two males and two females that had been shifted there in the past two years. The two-and-a-half-year old tigress is the fifth in the forest………………………………….

For remaining news, please go to:

http://sify.com/news/tigress-relocated-to-sariska-tiger-reserve-to-revive-breeding-news-national-kh3rEghfjbj.html

29 July 2010 Last updated at 13:29 GMT

Indian police arrest man carrying horde of snakes

By Narayan BarethBBC News, Jaipur

Many of the snakes were reportedly ill-treated

A man has been arrested on suspicion of breaking wildlife laws after he was found with 43 snakes in his car, police in the Indian city of Jaipur have said.

Rajesh Kapoor was arrested with the snakes, including eight protected cobras, in a cotton bag, police said. Mr Kapoor has previously been linked with idol smuggling and antiques theft, superintendent of police Hawa Singh Ghumariya said.

A snake rescue team was looking after the snakes.The arrested man runs a fitness centre in Jaipur and told journalists that he hoped to sells the snakes on the international market………………………………………………

For full report, please go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10802480

Central team nails mass poaching in Simlipal

Tags:simlipal forest|national tiger conservation authority

BHUBANESWAR: The mass deaths of elephants reported inside Simlipal forest last month was the handiwork of poachers who used poison and guns to silence the animals, according to a Central government inquiry report. It added that forest staff tried to destroy the evidences in a bid to conceal the incidents and recommended stringent action against the erring staff.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had sent noted environmentalists, Belinda Wright and Biswajit Mohanty, to Simlipal in June in the wake of media reports about mass slaughter of elephants. The team made extensive tour of the 5,000 sq km biosphere area for about a week, discussed the situation with officials, villagers, local environment activists before submitting its report. …………….

For remaining report, please go to:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Central-team-nails-mass-poaching-in-Simlipal/articleshow/6230042.cms

Nepal-India ink pact to combat illegal trade in animal parts

Published: Thursday, Jul 29, 2010, 19:30 IST
Place: Kathmandu | Agency: PTI

Kathmandu:

Nepal

and India today inked a key pact to conserve biodiversity and combat illegal trade in wild animals coinciding with the first International Tiger Conservation Day.

"As Nepal and India are facing similar challenges in conserving the biodiversity, including the tiger, the signing of the joint resolutions gives us the responsibility to take the lead role in protecting tigers and showcasing to the world that together we can make a huge difference," said inister for forest Dipak Bohara, who was present at the function in the capital.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which aims to conserve biodiversity and strengthening ecological security in the trans-boundary region, was signed by Gopal Prasad Upadhyaya, director general, department of national parks and wildlife conservation, Nepal and SPYadav, DIG and joint director, national tiger conservation authority, ministry of environment and Forest, India.............................................

For full report, please go to:

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_nepal-india-ink-pact-to-combat-illegal-trade-in-animal-parts_1416324

Green tribunal to check forest offences mooted

Express News Service

First Published : 27 Jul 2010 09:14:12 AM IST

BHUBANESWAR: Minister for Higher Education Debiprasad Mishra today criticised the Centre for not releasing adequate funds for compensatory afforestation programme despite huge deposit with the Compensatory Afforestation Management Fund and Planning Authority (CAMPA).

Replying to the demand discussion on Forest and Environment Department on behalf of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the Higher Education Minister said that the State has a deposit of Rs 1,608 crore in CAMPA fund which has transferred only Rs 131 crore to the State CAMPA account.

Every year funds to the tune of Rs 400 crore is deposited with CAMPA from the State, but the Centre is not releasing adequate amount to the State for compensatory afforestation…………

For remaining news, please go to:

http://expressbuzz.com/states/orissa/green-tribunal-to-check-forest-offences-mooted/193285.html

Vedanta Resources: the world's most hated company?

Protesters descend on FTSE 100 mining group's AGM – but chief executive describes criticism as 'lies'

By Alistair Dawber

Thursday, 29 July 2010

Vedanta Resources' highly successful financial year, and its annual meeting, were overshadowed yesterday when more than 100 protesters, some dressed as characters from James Cameron's Avatar film, came to object to what they say is the company's shocking human rights and environmental record.

Police stopped protesters storming the meeting, as pressure groups and celebrities lined up to attack the mining group's record over its treatment of the Dongria Kondh tribe, which, they claim, will be devastated if Vedanta's planned bauxite mine in India's Orissa state goes ahead…………………………………….

For full report, please go to:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/vedanta-resources-the-worlds-most-hated-company-2037977.html

IN NEWS

2010-07-28T22:32:00.000+05:30

Posco must wait till tribal rehab is over: Jairam Ramesh

28 Jul 2010, 0439 hrs IST,ET Bureau

NEW DELHI: Final clearance for South Korean steelmaker Posco’s project at Jagatsinghpur, in Orissa, will have to wait till settlements rights under Forest Rights Act, 2006, is complete, environment minister Jairam Ramesh has said.

Consent under the Forest Dwellers Act is crucial as the project has been delayed on account of protests by the local people. Posco had indicated that it needs about 1,600 hectares for its project in the state, of which 1,173 hectares is forest.

Sources said that the ministry plans to send team too undertake due diligence on the issue of settlement of forest rights. Sources said there is cause to suspect the Jagatsinghpur collector’s report which said, “no claim for settlement of rights from tribals and traditional forest dwellers has been received.”

Villages such as Dinkhia have not allowed officials to step into their villages for the last five years, so it unlikely that the district collector would have been allowed to hold a public hearing. Further, two villages including Dinkhia held a gram sabha in the first week of February, where the Posco project was rejected.

In response to a written question in the RS, Mr Ramesh said on Tuesday: “Environmental clearance for setting up an integrated iron and steel plant along with a captive power plant near Paradip, Jagatsinghpur Orissa by Posco India-Orissa was accorded on July 19, 2007, subject to stipulation of environmental safeguards. One of the clearance conditions stipulated was obtaining of the forest clearance for diversion of forest land under the Forest Conservation Act prior to the commencement of construction at the work site.” ............................

For full news item, go to:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Posco-must-wait-till-tribal-rehab-is-over-Jairam-Ramesh/articleshow/6225628.cms

IN NEWS:

2010-07-27T23:01:00.000+05:30

Central team says land acquisition by Odisha govt for Posco 'illegal'

PTI, Jul 27, 2010, 04.53pm IST

PARADIP/BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government on Tuesday began land acquisition for the proposed Rs 51,000 crore Posco steel project in Jagathsinghpur district, even as a central team termed the process as "illegal" saying that the Forest Rights Act had been violated.

"We have begun acquiring government land in Gada Kujang Panchayat area after proper verification," Additional District Magistrate (Paradip), Saroj K Choudhury said.

Stating that the work was progressing smoothly, he said two persons, Rohit Behera and Basant Behera of Bhuyanpal village, were among first to receive cheques for Rs 1.15 lakh each for their land of over ten decimal area used for cultivation of betel vine.

The process started despite reservations expressed by the central committee of union ministries of Forest and Environment and Tribal Affairs which dubbed land acquisition without implementing the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 as illegal.

"It will be illegal to acquire land until the Forest Rights Act is implemented properly," Asish Kothari, one of the four members of the joint committee said. ……………………………………………….

For full news, log to:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Central-team-says-land-acquisition-by-Odisha-govt-for-Posco-illegal/articleshow/6223569.cms

Army veterans launch ecological operation in Kullu

2010-07-27 15:50:00

A group of ex-Army men have launched an operation to re-green the hills and are converting a large area of barren land along the Sutlej River in Kullu district into a dense forest.

The project will be executed in close coordination with and under the technical guidance of the state Forest Department and Ecological Task force.

"ETF's (Ecological Task Force) work is to plant saplings for environment conservation along with the forest department," said Pawnesh Kumar, Conservator in the state Forest Department.

The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) would provide the funds to the team for the task.

The task force not only does afforestation, but also educates villagers about the importance of rainwater harvesting…………………………………………………….....By Prem Thakur (ANI)

For remaining story, log to:

http://sify.com/news/army-veterans-launch-ecological-operation-in-kullu-news-national-kh1pOihcjhc.html

Van Mahotsav
CM: 123 cr to be spent on forestry-related activities
Lalit Mohan
Tribune News Service
Bankhandi (Dharamsala), July 26
The state government has planned a major investment in forestry-related activities. Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, while presiding over the 61st state-level Van Mahotsav function organised at Bankhandi, 40 km from here, said Rs 123 crore would be invested by the state government in forestry-related activities in the current financial year.
Data collected by The Tribune regarding the status of forests in the state has some concerns for the policy makers and environmentalists. In the recent past, the Government of India announced green bonus for the Himalayan states. The state got about Rs 100 crore as green bonus under the scheme, which was the lowest amount among all Himalayan states of the country.
Even states like Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand received more green bonus than the state. Jammu and Kashmir got Rs 160 crore under the scheme while Uttarakhand got about Rs 205 crore. The eastern Himalayan states got much more funds due to larger percentage of forest cover.
According to sources, the state received least green bonus due to lesser percentage of dense forest cover. The power projects have adversely affected the dense forest cover in the state. In the past two decades 9,000 hectares forest area has been diverted to power projects…………………………………………………………………………..
For remaining report, log to:
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100727/himachal.htm#1

IN NEWS

2010-07-26T23:27:00.000+05:30

'Chinese beliefs pose gravest threat to Indian tigers'

Salil Jose | 2010-07-26 17:38:40

Chennai:

China

might have banned the use of tiger body parts in traditional medicines. But the demand for the big cat’s bones and other parts has not come down because of the Chinese people’s belief in the healing and aphrodisiac qualities of tiger parts.

Reports say the sale of alcohol-based health tonics with tiger bones in them is thriving in that country. The Chinese believe that these tonics can treat rheumatism, reduce joint stiffness, and increase sexual vigour.

Have the tiger parts really got healing and aphrodisiac powers? Or is it just a myth?

“Tiger parts don’t have any such powers. It is only a superstition,” says well-known wildlife and conservation filmmaker Shekar Dattatri.

Shekar, who has spent over thirty years observing and filming tigers, says this Chinese ‘superstition’ poses the gravest threat to the tiger in

India

.

While interacting with the audience after the screening of his documentary ‘The Truth about Tigers’ at the Dakshinachitra in Chennai on Saturday, he said the Chinese demand for tiger parts is fueling poaching by organised criminal gangs.

These gangs, mainly members of highly-skilled hunting tribes like the Baheliya and Bawaria from central

India

, travel to wildlife reserves across the country on poaching expeditions. These gangs are paid Rs 2 to 3 lakh for every tiger they hunt down.

The lack of enforcement of wildlife laws helps the poachers. State forest departments have neither the resources nor the expertise to prevent poaching, he says. There are over 20,000 field staff vacancies in forest departments across the country because of ‘lack of funds’. But at the same time, there was no dearth of budgetary allocation for unnecessary and undesirable ‘civil works’ in the forests in the name of saving the tiger, he points out. ………………………..

For the full story please go to:

http://sify.com/news/chinese-beliefs-pose-gravest-threat-to-indian-tigers-news-national-kh0rCDiibaf.html

Forest Department will plant saplings on farmers land

Mon, Jul 26 05:23 PM

Chandigarh, Jul 26 (PTI) Haryana Forest Department will plant saplings on farmers land along national highways as tree strips along the highways have been cut to widen the roads and there is no space for fresh plantation. Forest Minister Ajay Singh Yadav said a sum of Rs eight crore had been earmarked for the scheme during the current financial year.

The Minister said the saplings would be planted in two rows with the concurrence of the farmers. The Forest Department would supervise the plantation for three years and thereafter it would be handed over to farmers, he said, adding that to increase forest cover in the state, agricultural forestry was being promoted.

Farmers were being provided saplings of various trees at subsidised rates so that they could increase their income by adopting agricultural forestry. The scheduled forest area in Haryana was 3.5 per cent of the total geographical area of the state, he said adding that income accrued from this plantation would be given to farmers.

The Forest Department had set a target to plant five crore tree saplings during this year so as to increase forest cover in the state.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/20/20100726/1416/tnl-forest-department-will-plant-sapling.html

NZ forest products get export boost

Editor | Jul 26, 2010 |

Higher demand for forest products in China, South Korea and India is benefiting log and lumber exporters in

New Zealand

. The value of exported forest products have increased over 54% in 2010, according to a report from Pressreleaspoint.com, citing Wood Resource Quarterly.

New Zealand

’s exports of pine logs and lumber increased substantially during the first months of 2010. Unfortunately for the manufacturing sector, log exports have increased much faster than the exports of manufactured products.

For the period January through May, the value of wood, pulp and paper products reached almost USD$1.2 billion (NZ$1.7 billion), up 54% from last year. The increase in shipments the past few years is due to continued strong demand for most forest products and wood raw-material in China.

The big story from New Zealand continues to be the expanding exports of Radiata pine logs to Asia. In 2009, China was, for the first time, the number one destination for Radiata logs. The volume reached 4.8 million m3 last year, up from 2.1 million in 2008 and from only 680,000 m3 five years ago. So far this year, exports to China are up an additional 38% from the earlier record set last year.

The total log shipments in 2009 reached 8.7 million m3 and could very well be over ten million m3 this year. India imported a record 810,000 m3 of Radiata pine in 2009, making it the third most important world market behind China and South Korea. During the first five months of 2010, shipments to India were up 54% as compared to the same period in 2009.

There is also some good news coming from the sawmilling industry in New Zealand, where both domestic and overseas markets are starting to show improvements. Lumber exports have increased for three consecutive years and were almost 1.9 million m3 in 2009. So far this year, shipments have gone up another 12% as compared to last year.

Slightly higher lumber prices have allowed sawmills to increase operating rates and pay marginally more for sawlogs in 2010. However, despite the improved market for lumber, some sawmills are concerned that they may not be able to compete for sawlogs if the log export market continues to strengthen. Domestic sawlog prices were at the highest level in eight years in the 2Q/10, as reported by the Wood Resource Quarterly. Under the current market conditions, it is not likely that log prices will decline in the near-term.

Global timber market reporting is included in the 50-page publication Wood Resource Quarterly. The report, established in 1988 and with readers in over 25 countries, tracks sawlog, pulpwood, lumber and pellet prices in key regions around the world and also includes regular updates of the latest developments in international timber, pulp, lumber markets.

http://nzexporter.co.nz/2010/07/nz-forest-products-get-export-boost/

IN NEWS:

2010-07-25T22:32:00.000+05:30

Dr Kalam kicks off environment campaign in Ahmedabad
Sunday, July 25, 2010 11:41 IST
Ahmedabad: India's missile man and former president DR APJ Abdul Kalam had the children and visitors mesemerised at the Centre for Environment Education (CEE) on Saturday.
The scientist's sense of humour, one liners and inspirational speech had the audience asking for more. Dr Kalam was in the city for the launch of the campaign 'Paryavaran Mitra', an initiative by ministry of environment and forest, Arcellor Mittal and CEE.
The campaign aims to spread awareness about environment protection and the effects of climate change. As many as 250 people, including students and teachers of 12 schools were present for the launch of the campaign."I am very much delighted to address the school children of this city," said Kalam as he began his speech.
Sudhir Sinha, country head CSR, Arcellor Mittal, Dr MS Swaminathan, agriculture scientist, classical dancer Dr Mrinalini Sarabhai, Dr SK Pandey, principal secretary of department of forest and Kartikeya Sarabhai, director of CEE were also present on the occasion.
Emphasising on the need to protect the environment, Kalam said, "Humanity plays a great role in preservation of environment. I want you all to take an oath to plant trees, become a responsible protector of environment, take part in water conservation and use biodegradable products to the extent possible."
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_dr-kalam-kicks-off-environment-campaign-in-ahmedabad_1414275
**********************************************************************

Relief for Posco opponents
KalingaTimes Correspondent
Jagatsinghpur, July 24: In a relief to displacement-weary villagers in the proposed posco areas in Orissa’s Jagatsinghpur district, a committee jointly constituted by union ministry of environment and forest and ministry of tribal welfare today gave three-month time-frame for settlers to press forth their claim over the occupied forestland.
The three-member committee comprising Ashis Kothari, R. Ravi and A.J.Saikia today extensively visited across Dhinkia, Patana, Gobindapur, Nuagaon and Gadakujang villages and heard grievances aired by the would-be-oustees.
It’s pertinent to note here that the union ministry of environment and forest on the basis of submitted reports by the state government had accorded conditional clearance to posco-India for use of forestland for non-forest purpose.
Inviting fresh applications for forest rights claims, the committee said any attempt to acquire forestland for Rs 51,000 crore steel project contravenes Forest rights act provisions. This is because acquisition is bereft of people’s consent, said the panel members.
The committee members had a patient hearing of the emotion-jerked settlers who ventilated their grievances and asserted their right over the forest land.
“We are of the view that process of diversion of forest land for non-forest purpose by posco-India is not complete in accordance with forest rights act, 2006.”, said panel member Ashis Kothari.
Taking into accounts the documents given to us by villagers, mandatory provision of villagers’ consent before diversion of forestland was not followed here in true letter and spirit. Thus villagers do have the legitimate right under FRA to reject the diversion proposal though palli sabha (village body) resolutions, said panel members much to the cheers of assembly of villagers.
Though there are no tribal settlers living in these villagers, we have found enough proof of traditional forest dwellers residing here for years together. Thus going by the act provisions, traditional forest dwellers are empowered with the right to reject forestland diversion proposal, said S Ravi another panel member.
Now the villagers have three months time left with them to raise objection to it by palli sabha. The palli sabha resolution should either be directly dispatched to the ministry or though the district collector, they said.
http://www.kalingatimes.com/odisha_news/news2010/20100724_Central_panel_relieves.htm

************************************************************************

Raika call for recognition of pastoralists' rights in India
On July 22nd in central Rajasthan, India, 1800 Raika herders delivered an appeal to the Forest Department to restore their traditional grazing rights in the surrounding forests. The Raika have been grazing their local breeds of sheep and camel in the forests for hundreds of years and have contributed to the conservation and sustainable use of the forest biodiversity. However, the Forest Department has imposed daily fines on the Raika's sheep and has restricted their access to the forest in contravention of the their rights under the national Forest Rights Act and under international law (particularly Articles 8(j) and 10(c) of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity). Last year, with the support of Natural Justice and local NGO Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan, the Raika developed a bio-cultural community protocol and have since shared their concerns and priorities at UN working group meetings and with other pastoralist communities in India and around the world. They will also present at the upcoming CBD Conference of Parties in Nagoya and will host a preparatory meeting in India from August 13-15, which Kabir Bavikatte (Natural Justice) plans to attend. More information about the Raika can be found in an article about the July 22nd appeal and on Natural Justice's website.
http://natural-justice.blogspot.com/2010/07/raika-call-for-recognition-of.html

IN NEWS July 24,2010

2010-07-24T22:47:00.000+05:30

The Saxena Committee on 'The Forest Rights Act' Implementation Public Consultation in Orissa Friday, July 23, 2010

By Kishore Kumar Patnaik, Bhubaneswar: The Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoEF) and Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) has constituted a committee under the Chairman of Dr NC Saxena, Retd. Secretary, Planning Commission called Saxena Committee to examine the implementation on the “The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 and Rules 2007” holding an open public consultation in Orissa on 22.07.2010.
The committee members Dr. Ravi Chellam, Wilidlife Conservation Society of India Programme, Bangalore; Dr. Arup Jyoti Saikia, IIT Guwahati; Mr Ashis Kothari, Kalpavriksh, Pune and Mr Achyuta Samanta, KIIT Group, Bhubaneswar were heard and received the written submissions from Adivasis, Adivasis belong to Primitive Tribal Group, Dalits and Other communities, civil society organizations, government departments, interested individuals and others from different places of Orissa.
The SCSTRTI, Government of Orissa, Bhubaneswar has circulated (Letter No. 1567, 17.07.2010) among the communities, Civil Society Organisations and also too other Government Departments etc on 17.07.2010. Dr A B Ota, IAS, Director of SCSTRTI, Bhubaneswar, Mr Vinod Kumar Special Secretary, Bhubaneswar, Civil Society Organisations and MSW students were cooperated in the public hearing process of committee.
Some of the important presented views are:-
1. The other than Adivasi claims forms are not accepted by the Sub-Divisional Level Committees and Government Officials in the Koraput district and other places of Orissa. The Government Officials straightaway refusing the claims of Non Adivasis.
2. The record of rights on forest land issued to the claimants basing on the Government Officials willingness not on the area of acres land claimed by the claimants.
3. The process of issuing recognition of pattas still continues not yet given in all the areas
4. The issue of community rights over forest land is progressing in slow process.
5. The family level or community level forms are not available to the persons living in the forest area few persons stated.
6. The forest rights committees do not know why for they have formed and they need rigorous training and awareness to involve in the implementation process of Forest Rights Act and Rules
7. The recognition of pattas not issued to all the claimants by the issuing authorities
8. Mr Shakti Deuri an Adivasi from Banobasa Sahi, Kopan Village, Matiyaguda GP, Jasipur Panchayat Samiti of Mayurbhanj District presented the community rights received over forest land in the consultation.
9. The Dongaria Kandhs from Niyamgiri hills of Rayagda District stated, “Some of us received the individual land rights over forest land and the remaining recognition of families pattas has to be issued immediately”. The community rights over forest land has not yet filed till today because of unavailability of community forms which we demand here to get the community rights following the procedural ways of Forest land laws as soon as possible.
10. Mr Rabi Behera, President of Samaj Badi Party has presented a memorandum to the committee demanding the purpose of Forest Righst Act introduction and its implementation is to be taken care for effective results as it depends on the livelihood of forest dwellers.
In the end of public consultation Mr Ashish Kothari, the committee member said we have received many more opinions, grievances, suggestions in written and vocal on the Forest Rights Act implementation form here. We take all these observations made by all of you and would prepare a report and will submit it to the Central Government of India very soon. On behalf of committee he has also requested all of you can send if any opinions or claims left out to the committee through SCSTRTI or Vasundhara organization or else directly also through emails or postal services.

The committee has formed with the following members:- ………………………….

For full story please go to: http://www.orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=20037

MoEF panel to visit Posco site today

BS Reporter / Kolkata/ Bhubaneswar July 24, 2010, 0:25 IST
The three-member National Forest Rights Act Committee of the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) led by its member Ashish Kothari is slated to visit the Posco site and interact with affected people on Saturday to do a reality check on the violation of Forest Rights Act.
The team would visit Dhinkia, Gobindpur,Nuagaon Gadkujang, Nolishai, Polang, Bayanalkanda, Bhiuyanpal, the villages in Jagatsinghpur district affected by the Posco project.

The team members today interacted with the officials of the Jagatsinghpur district administration to ascertain the Orissa government's claims of non-violation of Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006.

The district officials clarified that four tribal families of Polang village under Gadkujang panchayat are staying out of the boundaries of the Posco project site and hence there is no violation of the Act. Besides, no single tribal family is staying within the Posco project site, the officials reiterated.
Moreover, there is no single traditional forest dweller at the Posco site because no land document has been issued yet to anyone with a claim to be living in the forest land for the past three decades. The clarification was given by Jagatsinghpur district collector Narayan Jena; additional district magistrate of Paradip, Sarojkant Chaudhury; divisional forest officer of Rajnagar, Prasanna Behera,; district rehabilitation officer Surjeet Das and special land acquisition officer Nrusingh Swain………………………..
For full story please visit:
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/moef-panel-to-visit-posco-site-today/402310/

###################################################################

Forest dept flouts rules in catching Gurgaon leopard [Delhi]

Times of India, The, Jul 13, 2010 | by Sukanya, Sumi

GURGAON: A female leopard was illegally captured by forest officials near Gurgaon on Saturday night after it reportedly killed the pet dog of the owner of a farmhouse on the Gurgaon-Sohna Road.
Sources said the incident took place at farmhouse number F-14 near Tikli village. The Haryana government later ordered that action be taken against the forest officials and the farmhouse owner on charges of violating the Wildlife Act. "There are five-six more leopards in the area," said officials.
The leopard's partner and her cubs waited the entire night outside the cage in which the leopard was kept before she was taken to an undisclosed location by forest officials. Meanwhile, nearby villagers rose up in arms against the move, claiming the leopard was not a man-eater.
"It's the farmhouse owners and not the wild animals who are intruders in the protected forest area. Who gave them the right to capture the leopard in this manner?" asked Surajbhan, a resident of Tikli village. The area, adjacent to the Aravali hills, has over 200 farmhouses. Forest officials said that the abundance of prey makes the region attractive to big cats. ……………………………..
For full story please go to:
http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/times-of-india-the/mi_8012/is_20100713/forest-dept-flouts-rules-catching/ai_n54434304/
######################################################################

Bamboo Production in India

Climate, Degradation, Sustainability,

Posted On: 24-Jul-2010 04:10:54 AM By: Dr Gursharan singh kainth Font Size:

Bamboo is an enduring natural resource and provides income, food, and housing to over 2.2 billion people worldwide. There is need for improving the livelihood of forest dwellers and generating employment through the bamboo development programme. India has huge natural bamboo stocks that have been an integral part of Indian culture for many millennia.

Bamboo in many ways is the mainstay of the rural Indian economy, sparking considerable social and ecological spin-offs. In the early part of the century, large tracts of bamboo occurred in many parts of the country but were treated by forestry sector (which was then cast in a production forestry mode) as a weed of little economic value and were used mostly by the rural communities for crafts, making implements and as housing material. It was the discovery of bamboo as a source of long-fibre by the Forest Research Institute in Dehradun that started the process of using bamboo in a variety of industrial applications, so far unexplored, with several paper mills and rayon mills being set up. But in the absence of a clear policy of husbanding of the resource there was rapid degradation and decimation of the resource in much of the country.

Bamboo resources plummeted so alarmingly that at present the resource is limited to few pockets in the country. Two-thirds of the bamboo in the country is restricted to the seven states of North-Eastern Region (NER) while the remaining one-third is spread across the country. But there is hope for the resurgence of bamboo based on evidence of significant new and contemporary economic opportunities that have emerged over the past decade. A bamboo revolution that holds the potential of reversing economic downturns and ensuring profitability is very much possible.

Bamboo is an untapped avenue of economic growth and a burgeoning bamboo sector can rope in prosperity, profits, and sustainable livelihoods. The rapid increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, land degradation, increasing floods and droughts, deforestation, loss of biodiversity and productivity are leading to an ecological crisis affecting livelihood options for development, increasing poverty, pollution and unsustainable development………………………………………….

For full story please visit:

http://www.mynews.in/News/Bamboo_Production_in_India_N74015.html

##############################################################

IN NEWS: July 23,2010

2010-07-23T22:26:00.000+05:30

Restructure Forest Policy to Save Wildlife: Padel

MUMBAI | JUL 23, 2010

Ruth Padel, an award winning British poet and descendant of the evolutionary scientist Charles Darwin, has said that it was important for India to restructure the forest policy to save wildlife.

"Special wildlife facilities should be available and should be independent of typical forest so that the already endangered wildlife species as well those who will become endangered in the coming years due to such illegal activities inside the forests could be saved," Padel, nature lover and a keen conservationist told reporters yesterday.

India

has excellent conservationists and forest specialists and they should be given opportunities to save both forest and wildlife, she added.

Condemning the killing of RTI activist Amit Jethwa, Pedal said, "The killing of an activist clearly showed that there is a need for restructuring forest policy in relation to wildlife in

India

."……………………………………………

For full story please visit:

http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?688301

************************************************************

TATA tries to silence critics, takes Greenpeace to court

2010-07-23 16:10:00

Claiming defamation and trademark infringement, TATA Sons has filed a lawsuit against Greenpeace in the Delhi High Court, asking for Rs. 10 crore in damages. The case is listed for hearing on July 27.

In a press release, Greenpeace said it has been an outspoken critic of the Dhamra Port Project, being co-developed by TATA Steel, on account of the threat it poses to nearby protected areas and endangered species, including the olive ridley turtle.

The lawsuit filed by TATA is an act to silence its critics. "TATA's threat of legal action is a desperate attempt to stifle the growing criticism over their port project, and divert attention from the real issue of the impact it will have on a biodiversity rich area. Public opinion is on the side of the turtles - over 150,000 Indians, leading scientists and turtle biologists(1), politicians and national NGOs(2) have come out against the port. By first ignoring and now trying to silence these voices, TATA is showing that it cares only about its bottom line, and not the environment," said Ashish Fernandes, Oceans Campaigner, Greenpeace India.

The Dhamra port has been opposed by researchers and wildlife groups since it was first proposed in the 1990s, on account of its proximity to the Bhitarkanika and Gahirmatha protected areas. Bhitarkanika is India's second largest mangrove forest and the last stronghold of the saltwater crocodile, while Gahirmatha is one of the world's largest nesting grounds for the endangered olive ridley sea turtle……………………………..

For full story please visit:

http://sify.com/news/tata-tries-to-silence-critics-takes-greenpeace-to-court-news-national-khxqkhgbgjb.html

*********************************************************************************************

Mayawati’s park project at cost of trees: Apex court told

July 23rd, 2010

New Delhi, July 23 (IANS) The Supreme Court was told Friday that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati’s ambitious NOIDA park project dedicated to BSP and Dalit icons was being set up on land that was a “deemed forest” and large number of trees were being felled for the purpose.

“This was not a natural forest but a deemed forest that had a dense collection of variety of trees planted about 35 years ago,” senior counsel Jayant Bhushan told the green bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice Aftab Alam and Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan.

The senior counsel said this following a query by Chief Justice Kapadia asking, “What is the basis of your submission that it is a forest land? What is the status of the said land in the revenue records?”

The counsel told the court that in revenue records the NOIDA park land was shown as agricultural land. He said the park was being set up by cutting large number of trees and denuding the entire area.

At this Justice Radhakrishnan wanted to know if all the trees were cut and what was their age. Jayant Bhushan told the court that the trees were planted when NOIDA was being set up in the mid 70s. He said the trees were more than 30 years old.

Jayant Bhushan said there were three issues that needed to be addressed by the court. One is whether NOIDA park was being set up on forest land. Secondly, whether the state government had taken the Ministry of Environment and Forests approval under the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification (EIAN) of 2006, and finally, its impact on the Okhala Bird Sanctuary that is in not far from the park.

In the meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government in its affidavit before the Supreme Court has accused the MoEF of deliberately creating bottlenecks to delay the project.

The state government has taken exception to the centre’s affidavit seeking more time to undertake an “integrated and holistic” environmental impact assessment of the project.

http://www.dailytimesindia.com/2010/07/145108.htm

********************************************************************

Marginal worker force and forest cover change in India: An analysis

Document Information:
Title:	Marginal worker force and forest cover change in India: An analysis
Author(s):	K.S. Murali, (Department of Ecology, French Institute, Pondicherry, India)
Citation:	K.S. Murali, (2004) "Marginal worker force and forest cover change in India: An analysis", Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, Vol. 15 Iss: 4, pp.443 - 449
Keywords:	Economic planning, Economic resources, Forestry, India, Land, Regeneration
Article type:	Case study
DOI:	10.1108/14777830410540171 (Permanent URL)
Publisher:	Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Abstract:	Data were gathered on demographic, forest-related and geographic parameters to understand the pattern of forest cover change in the Indian subcontinent and discern any underlying factors contributing to forest cover change. Observations indicated that the marginal worker force in many states influences the forest cover change. The states with a lower percentage of forest cover to their geographical area undertook large-scale plantation activity to enhance the forest cover in the state. Incidentally, these states also had a higher proportion of marginal worker population to their total population. However, the states with high proportion of forest area had a lower proportion of marginal worker population, indicating there is a relation between the proportion of marginal workers in the population to the proportion of forest cover in the state. Thus, a proportion of population that is mostly dependent on the forest for its livelihood in some part of the year becomes unemployed if forests are denuded. Concludes that the forest in a given locality enhances employment opportunity for the local people for their livelihood sustenance. Therefore the policy initiatives should look into employment generation opportunity, apart from enhancing forest cover and regeneration of these forests.

**********************************************************************

Bio-diesel park at Bijapur

2010-07-21T22:53:00.000+05:30

BS Reporter / Chennai/ Bijapur July 19, 2010, 0:38 IST

Minister for large and medium industries Murugesh Nirani inaugurated the bio-diesel park which has been set up at the the Karnataka State Women's University campus in Bijapur.

The unit was set up by the Karnataka State Bio-Diesel Task Force and forest department. Nearly 30 acres of land has been identified for planting the saplings. The barren land in the district will covered with greenery by establishing this park in this region. The government sanctioned a grant of Rs 10 lakh for the park.

This unit will work as a bio-diesel production and information centre where research activities will be conducted in the future. The varsity aims to conduct research on bio-diesel production and utilisation issues at this unit. This centre will help varsity students to conduct higher research in this field, said Bali.

The unit will also work as bio-diesel production incubator to help farmers who wish to take part in such activities, with proper information. The waste matter of this bio-diesel unit will be utilised as wormy compost and organic farming. Bijapur has been one of the four parks which will be established at various places of the state.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=401770

India: Green schemes are the order of the day

2010-07-21T22:51:00.000+05:30

India’s green building footprint has grown considerably over the last six years. Occupiers and developers as well as state and central governments have been responsible for this progress.
India currently has two major rating systems: LEED India, run by the Indian Green Building Council; and Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA), a system developed by TERI and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. The GRIHA rating system is slowly strengthening its impact alongside LEED India.
India’s LEED certified green building footprint in office, residential, retail, hotel, educational, hospital and airport buildings has increased significantly:
• 20,000 sq ft in 2004
• 15 milllion sq ft in 2008
• 23 million sq ft in 2009

This upward trend is expected to continue as 45 million sq ft of additional green building space is projected to be completed by 2012. Currently there are only two GRIHA rated completed projects and about 40 registered projects. ..................................

for full article, go to.....

http://www.joneslanglasalle.com/Pages/Global-property-sustainability-perspective-india-sustainable-development.aspx

Green India Mission may exceed estimate

2010-07-21T22:22:00.000+05:30

The mission could offset about 10.5% of projected national GHG emissions compared with the ministry of environment and forests’ earlier estimate of 6.4%, according to Greening India Mission: A critical review by the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

New Delhi: India’s mammoth afforestation scheme, the Green India Mission, may have more greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction potential than previously estimated, according to a yet-to-be published study in Current Science.

The mission could offset about 10.5% of projected national GHG emissions compared with the ministry of environment and forests’ earlier estimate of 6.4%, according to Greening India Mission: A critical review by the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. The study has been submitted for review.

If the new estimates are true, it will make easier India’s task of reducing carbon intensity— effectively the amount of GHG emitted per unit of energy consumed—by 20-25% by 2020 (with 2005 as the base year). India made the commitment ahead of a UN climate conference in Copenhagen in December 2009.

The 10.5% estimate includes the total mitigation potential of ongoing afforestation schemes in India (around 1.2-1.3 million ha annually).

The GHG removal by India’s forests in 2020 is projected at 4.87% of total emissions then, without the Green Mission.

“The government’s estimate does not include soil carbon, which implies the lower estimate. There are two ways forests store carbon, one as wood and biomass (above ground and root biomass) carbon and the other as soil carbon. The official estimate includes only above ground biomass,” said the paper’s author, who did not want to be identified before its publication.

Environment minister Jairam Ramesh, who had announced the mission, did not respond to calls or text messages.

According to the study, the official number is estimated by simply multiplying global default biomass growth rate values by area, whereas the study uses the internationally accepted comprehensive mitigation assessment process model.

The author said both the estimations have one limitation. “Neither of the numbers include extraction of fuelwood or timber from these forests over the years, which could reduce it a bit. There is no way to estimate how much people will extract,” said the author.

The mission, which plans on restoring and afforesting around 10 million ha between 2010 and 2020, is a part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change. The mission draft is still under public consultation, after which it will be finalized. The draft estimates that the mission will cost approximately Rs44,000 crore.

India

is also negotiating on the global climate change platform for funds to maintain forest cover as well as afforestation.

At present, global negotiations are more focused on funds for reducing deforestation, which releases carbon dioxide.

Jagdish Kishwan, director general, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, questioned the argument that measuring carbon sequestration by afforestation is tough.

“It is not so difficult, (it’s) very much possible, but depends on what accuracy you want,” he said. “Earlier, no one thought we could measure forest cover.”

The study says the biggest barriers to the mission are finance, and knowledge and experience in forest management.

“India has a gigantic afforestation programme, next only to China. But no biodiversity or social benefits have accrued,” said the author. “Little science, and research and development is involved in sustainable silviculture practices or species choice. And very little in enhancing carbon stock. Hardly anything has happened in the last 30 years. Hopefully this will provide a momentum.”

padmaparna.g@livemint.com

http://www.livemint.com/2010/07/20231807/Green-India-Mission-may-exceed.html

NASA satellites produce first map of global forest heights

2010-07-21T22:09:00.000+05:30

Washington, July 21 (ANI): For the first time, NASA scientists have produced a map of the height of the world’s forests by combining data from three satellites.

The map will help scientists build an inventory of how much carbon the world’s forests store and how fast those carbon cycles through ecosystems and back into the atmosphere.

Michael Lefsky, a remote-sensing specialist from Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, produced the final product – the first to spans the entire globe using one uniform method.

It shows the world’s tallest forests are clustered in NorthAmerica’s Pacific Northwest and portions of Southeast Asia, and that the shorter ones are found in broad swaths across northern Canada and Eurasia.

Lefsky used a laser technology called lidar on the ICESat that can capture vertical slices of forest canopy height by shooting pulses of light at the ground and observing how much longer it takes for light to bounce back from the surface than from the top of the forest canopy.

The new results show that temperate conifer forests have the tallest canopies (above 131 feet), boreal forests typically less than 66 feet and tropical rain forests were about 82 feet tall.

Humans release about 7 billion tons of carbon annually, mostly in the form of carbon dioxide. Of that, 3 billion tons end up in the atmosphere and 2 billion tons in the ocean.

Now, the map can help scientists understand where the remaining 2 billion tons of carbon go.

The results will be published in Geophysical Research Letters. (ANI)

Posted in World

http://www.dailytimesindia.com/2010/07/144009.htm

Studies on hydropower projects' impact on 2 Ganga tributaries commissioned TNN, Jul 21, 2010, 02.14am IST

2010-07-21T22:05:00.000+05:30

NEW DELHI: The Union environment and forests ministry has moved fast to commission two studies on the cumulative impacts of all the hydroelectric projects planned on Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers -- two key tributaries of the Ganga in Uttarakhand.

IIT Roorkee and the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, will carry out the comprehensive studies.

The institutes have been asked to determine the requirement of minimum flow from the proposed and already commissioned hydroelectric projects on these rivers in their entire stretch.

IIT Roorkee would address the issues of hydrology.

Its study will determine whether the acceptable limits of geomorphologic stability or of environmental sustainability, particularly of environmental flows, are likely to exceed at any small or large hydropower project sites. The IIT team will also assess if the construction of dams could reduce the water available to the people for irrigation and drinking purposes. The report will, most crucially, determine if restrictions should be placed on the development of hydropower in the Ganga basin.

The ministry also decided after a meeting in end June to study thoroughly the cumulative impact of the dams on the flora and fauna in the region. WII will carry out work on this. It has been asked to make a detailed investigation into the consequences of various hydroelectric projects on the riverine ecosystem, in general, and terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity, in particular, along with a review of the effectiveness of the mitigative measures and compliance of the stipulated conditions on which various projects have earlier been cleared.

While IIT will finalise its study in six months, WII will submit its report in two months.

The move comes after the ministry's Forest Advisory Committee refused to clear any new projects on the Ganga basin upwards of Haridwar until a cumulative assessment is conducted.

The ministry itself had got into a serious tangle with the power ministry after it decided to stop two key projects on Bhagirathi. It had to finally relent, after finance minister Pranab Mukherjee mediated, to allow the under-construction Loharinag Pala dam.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Studies-on-hydropower-projects-impact-on-2-Ganga-tributaries-commissioned/articleshow/6192803.cms

FORESTRY IN NEWS INDIA February 15-21, 2010

2010-02-22T22:47:00.000+05:30

http://www.asianage.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3148:top-court-stop-rape-of-aravalli&catid=35:india&Itemid=60

Top court: Stop ‘rape’ of Aravalli

Saturday, 20 February 2010 02:51

New Delhi, Feb. 19: Concerned over the continued "rape" of the fragile Aravalli hills close to national capital, the Supreme Court on Friday banned mining activities by 157 miners in a huge tracks in Rajasthan, while directing the preparation of satellite images of the entire Aravalli ranges spread over 50,000 sq km in the state.

A forest bench, headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and comprising Justices S.H. Kapadia and Aftab Alam, directed the Rajasthan government to fully cooperate with the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) in carrying out the survey of entire area with the help of Forest Survey of India (FSI).

The Forest Survey of India would prepare the satellite images of Aravalli rages, mainly falling in Rajasthan where reckless mining is going on, the top court said.

It further directed the National Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority to provide Rs 5 crores for the satellite imaging of the area.

The court banned the mining by the 157 miners.

Age Correspondent

http://netindian.in/news/2010/02/11/0005300/panel-set-study-implementation-forest-rights-act

Panel set up to study implementation of Forest Rights Act

NetIndian News Network

New Delhi, February 11, 2010

The Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs have jointly set up a high-level committee of experts to study and assess the impact of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 with regard to the sustainable management of forest resources.

The committee will be chaired by Dr Devendra Pandey, former Director General of the Forest Survey of India. It has been asked to submit its report within three months.

According to an official press release, the committee will look at the issues of implementation, sustainable forest management and the protection/settlement of the rights of forest dwellers in detail.

Other members of the committee include the Director General of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun, Mr H S Pabla, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Madhya Pradesh, the Inspector General of Forests (Externally-Aided Projects), Dr A K Jha, Commissioner, Tribal Research & Training Institute, Pune, and Mr A K Srivastava, Director, Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

The committee also includes Mr Ashish Kothari, Director, Kalpavrikash, Ms. Harini Nagendra, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Bangalore, the Deputy Inspector General of Forests (Forest Policy), Ministry of Environment and Forests, and Mr R K Dogra, Additional Director General, ICFRE, who will be the Member-Secretary.

The release said the terms of reference of the committee were as follows:

1. The Committee shall study in detail the implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 and its impact on Forest Management.

2. The Committee shall recommend necessary policy changes in the future management of the forestry sector in India which may be necessary as a consequence of implementation of Forest Rights Act.

3. The Committee shall identify the role of stake holders and beneficiaries in the conservation, restoration and regeneration of forests. It shall also prescribe measures and guidelines to involve these stake holders in forest restoration and regeneration.

4. The Committee shall identify opportunities for and recommend measures to ensure convergence of various beneficiary oriented programmes for the forest rights holders taken up by various line departments in the states.

5. The Committee shall define a new role for the Forest Department vis-à-vis the Gram Panchayat for forest conservation and regeneration.

6. Any other matter which the Committee feels is ancillary or incidental to the purposes of its establishment.

The Committee shall have the power to co-opt any specialists that it may feel necessary and in furtherance of the purposes of its establishment.

NNN

http://www.downtoearth.org.in/full6.asp?foldername=20100228&filename=croc&sec_id=10&sid=1

Don’t just count the trees

Quality of forests is as important as tree cover

Recently, there has been considerable satisfaction and pride in official circles over the fact that the country has added to its green cover. Officials seem to believe that the rate of deforestation has been arrested. On the face of it, it certainly seems to be a matter of joy. But a deeper understanding of the situation is needed before we congratulate ourselves. In this context it is important to examine the difference between increase in tree cover and improvement in the quality of forests.

Plantations can increase tree cover.

But they cannot replace natural forests—especially their biodiversity. Natural forests in sound health provide ecosystem services to a region. Improving the quality of natural forests is far more complex than increasing tree density. For example, replacing moist evergreen forests of the Northeast and the Western Ghats with fast growing eucalyptus, poplar, or even palm oil plantations, can increase tree cover. But that might alter the ecology of the region and degrade biodiversity.

Biodiversity is not a mere assemblage of a number of genera and species. It is location-specific and provides a template for essential ecosystem functions like stream flow, nutrient recycling, pollination mechanism, fertilizing mechanism and micro-climate. In any ecoysystem there are interactions among species and their physical and chemical environment; there is always interdependence between different living organisms.

There is also competition for space, nutrients and reproduction. Many small species die and others are born. Ecologist D W Schindler once wrote, “Destabilizing forces are important in maintaining productivity and biogeochemical cycles and even when these features are perturbed, they recover rather rapidly.” Plantations hamper such interaction.

Replacing natural forests with plantations may alter the ecology of a region and degrade biodiversity

Some ecological services derive from the structure and terrain of an eco-zone, others are not directly dependant on structure. For example, while water supply, soil formation, food production, raw materials, forest recreation and cultural importance derive from a particular structure of the ecosystem, carbon dioxide sequestration and climate regulation do not depend on the structure of an eco-zone.

The tree cover in the country has indeed increased but the quality of dense forests or even moderately dense forests is declining in almost every state. The recently published Forest Survey of India reports note as much.

All this must also be seen in light of the fact that Indian forests account for 2 per cent of the world’s forests. This 2 per cent area supports 17 per cent of the world’s population. This is one of the lowest per capita forests area in the world. The legal area under forests does not guarantee you the required ecological stability and ecosystem service unless the health of the natural forests is in sound condition.

Forest administrators often harp that 33 per cent of the country’s geographical area should have tree cover. The figure is mentioned at almost every forum, including among decision makers. It will certainly be very good to have a high tree cover but grasping the ecological service of the forests and trees are of much more value than providing forest produce for commercial purposes.

Of course, forest produce is important in a country where a large number of people live below the poverty line and are directly or indirectly dependent on natural resources. But it is seldom realized that forest produce can be transferred from one part of the country to another, not ecological resources.

There is no escape from land husbandry to arrest the deteriorating natural resource base. An anonymous writer aptly wrote in an Indian Forester article in September 1889: “Deprived of the aid and resources derived from forests, agriculture languishes and becomes barren and unfruitful.”

B K P Sinha is former principal conservator of forests of Uttar Pradesh

http://business.rediff.com/report/2010/feb/15/budget-2010-environment-ministry-seeks-rs-2200-cr.htm

Environment ministry seeks Rs 2,200 cr

February 15, 2010 11:30 IST

The ministry of environment and forests has sought an outlay of Rs 2,200 crore (Rs 22 billion), a 17 per cent hike from Rs 1,880 crore (Rs 18.8 billion) in 2009-10, in the forthcoming Budget.

The increased outlay, the ministry says, will be used for river and lake cleaning and pollution control.

"We will be happy if we get around Rs 2,200 crore (Rs 22 billion), though we don't expect much from this budget," environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh [ Images ] told Business Standard.

"Though the allocation was good this year, our existing budget had been cut by Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) to around Rs 1,600 crore because of poor financial position."

The actual plan expenditure of the ministry amounted to Rs 1,349.73 crore (Rs 13.49 billion) in 2007-08 and Rs 1,490.39 crore (Rs 14.9 billion) in 2008-09, against approved outlays of Rs 1,351 crore (Rs 13.51 billion) and Rs 1500 crore (Rs 15 billion) respectively.

He said that the ministry would focus on conventional environment areas, where they were under invested, like lake and river cleaning and effluent control.

The ministry expects a twofold increase at Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) for its flagship programme on cleaning the Ganga. Also, the World Bank will give $1 billion to the government for the same.

The estimated cost of stopping all discharge of untreated sewage and industrial effluent into the Ganga by 2020 is $4 billion.

For lake cleaning, the ministry plans to increase its expenditure almost five times to Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in 2010-11. During the Eleventh Plan period (2007-12), the expenditure on restoration of lakes was Rs 440 crore (Rs 4.4 billion), compared to Rs 164.49 crore (Rs 1.64 billion) in the Tenth Plan period and Rs 11.38 crore (Rs 113.8 million)in the Ninth Five Year Plan.

In the last Budget, the allocation under National River and Lake Conservation Plans was Rs 562 crore (Rs 5.62 billion), against Rs 335 crore (Rs 3.35 billion) in 2008-09.

Effluent treatment is another area of focus for the ministry, where it seeks an outlay of Rs 20 crore (Rs 200 million) per sewage treatment plant, up from Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million) in the previous budget.

In the last Budget, the government had launched eight national missions as per the National Action Plan on Climate Change, besides setting up the National Ganga River Basin Authority.

There was also a special one-time grant of Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) for Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Dehradun.

Also, Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million) each was allocated to Botanical Survey of India [ Images ], Zoological Survey of India and the Geological Survey of India.

Though forests were 'underfunded' in previous years, the ministry does not seek increased allocation for forest conservation.

The total expenditure on forests was almost doubled to Rs 8,300 crore (Rs 83 billion) in 2009-10 from Rs 3,700 crore (Rs 37 billion) in 2008-09.

"There has been an unprecedented increase in funds for forest conservation and such an increase has not taken place in any sector," said Ramesh.

Emphasising that there is unspent money in forest conservation, Ramesh said the challenge was to improve the adaptive and managerial capacities.

"We must bother about the absorptive capacity, as the state governments have not made any new recruitments. To be on the radar screen, there needs to be a critical level of funding and now, we have to make sure that the absorptive capacity is there."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/TNN11roadtim290cleared/raj/111209/articleshow/5594607.cms

Green guard ring for Rajgir hills

Sanjeev Kumar Verma, TNN, Feb 20, 2010, 04.30am IST

PATNA: Probably in a first of its kind project in India, Bihar government would undertake the fencing work of five hills of Rajgir for protecting the flora spread over 3,484 hectares. Barbed wires would be used for fencing the periphery of Ratnagiri, Veohargiri, Sonagiri, Vipulgiri and Udaygiri hills of Rajgir which are major tourist attractions.

The fencing work would be followed by plantation of saplings in the foothills and aerial seeding on top of the hills for regenerating the lost green cover. These hills suffered a lot in the past due to stone mining. Though such activities have been effectively checked in the last few years, excessive pressure of human and cattle population has not allowed the flora to grow at the desired pace, which, in turn, has also affected the wild animals, including bears and porcupines.

“We are preparing a plan to undertake the fencing work and also to restore the lost flora. We would soon submit a proposal in this regard to the headquarters,” Nalanda divisional forest officer (DFO) Rakesh Kumar told TOI. Funds to the tune of over Rs 50 crore would be required to undertake this Herculean task, he added.

During his vist to Rajgir in December last year, chief minister Nitish Kumar had directed forest officials to come up with a plan to protect the green cover of these hills.

DFO Kumar said that the project would be completed within two to three years. He added that efforts are on to complete the fencing work by the end of this year or latest by the end of the first half of next year. “Everything depends on early sanction of funds,” he added.

The Nalanda DFO said that he wants to start the aerial seeding work from the coming rainy season so that the upper tracts of these hills are able to regain some of the lost flora even before the fencing work is completed. “We would continue the aerial seeding work for two years,” he added. The forest department would also undertake plantation of 15 lakh saplings in the foothills.

The completion of fencing work would not only put an effective check on unbridled intrusion of human and cattle in the forests covering these hills, but would also allow the forest department to regulate the tourist flow.

“There would be a limited number of entry points to the hills once the fencing work is completed. All the entry points would be manned by our personnel to regulate the flow of tourists,” Kumar said.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Jairam-GM-voice-finds-no-echo-in-PM-panel/582152

Jairam GM voice finds no echo in PM panel

Ravish Tiwari

His colleagues in the Government, Ministers Sharad Pawar, Prithviraj Chavan and Kapil Sibal disagreed with him and called for science, not ideology, to dictate Government policy on genetically modified (GM) foods. Now the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) has joined in — it has taken a stand more nuanced than that of Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh.

Ramesh made a distinction between food and non-food and public and “private” research to justify his indefinite “moratorium” on Bt Brinjal. The PMEAC doesn’t see it in such black and white terms.

“After the success of Bt Cotton and the benefits it has brought to the farmers in Gujarat and Maharashtra, it is imperative that the government must have a clear policy on Genetically Modified (GM) crops. The regulatory framework should clearly assess performance in the field and the impact on environmental and food safety issues and bring the results into the public domain at the shortest possible time,” the PMEAC said in its Review of the Economy (2009-10) presented today.

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&subsection=India&month=February2010&file=World_News2010022053742.xml

Central govt envoys to assess Munnar encroachments

Web posted at: 2/20/2010 5:37:42

Source ::: The Peninsula

By John Mary

Thiruvananthapuram: Even as partners of the ruling Left coalition in Kerala are wrangling among themselves over protection and conservation efforts in the picturesque hill town of Munnar, the Federal government has decided to send a three-member team to assess the situation.

Federal Minister of State for Forest and Environment Jairam Ramesh said the technical team from his ministry, led by Additional Director-General of Forests P B Gangopadhyay, would be in Munnar within the next three weeks to review the extent of ecological damage on account of unabated encroachments on the hills over the years.

Declaring Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve in Palakkad district, bordering Tamil Nadu, Ramesh said the team would also look at violations of forest and wildlife laws.

But he made it clear that the Federal government would not be weighed down by petty political considerations in Munnar.

“Encroachers would be evicted and stringent action taken, no matter what their political affiliations are,” he said.

Dwelling on the larger picture, the minister said the country’s forest cover was fast depleting. “We cannot afford to lose any more forest,” he said.

The Federal Government’s intervention in Munnar comes in the backdrop of the aborted eviction drive launched by Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan in 2007 and the controversial resumption of the drive one month ago, in the face of stiff resistance offered by the local leaders of parties, cutting across the political divide.

Federal intervention

With Ramesh announcing the Federal intervention in Munnar, the State government would have to act fast, though carefully and resolutely, lest it should be seen as being merely strong on rhetoric and weak in action.

On a related issue of environment concern, Ramesh iterated the government’s commitment to protect the Athirapally forest areas in Thrissur district by denying permission for a power project, on the basis of reports filed by the Biodiversity Board and the Forest Department. He compared Athirapally to Silent Valley, one of the few pristine bio hotspots in the world.

“We gave the approval to Kerala State Electricity Board in July 2007 to set up a 163MW hydro-electric project at the famous Athirapally waterfalls but it led to all-round protests. Environmentalists accused us of sounding the death-knell to a unique biodiversity stretch”, he said.

Ruling out any political compulsion in the decision to revoke the Federal permission for Athirapally, he said it was based purely on scientific opinion. He was referring to Achuthanandan’s allegation of a conspiracy behind the withdrawal of approval to the power project. The Athirapally proposal had passed through many ups and downs ever since it was mooted as an alternative to the Silent Valley hydro-electric project.

The Federal Ministry of Environment and Forests cleared Athirapally in 1998 but it led to a spate of court cases. In 2005, it received the environmental clearance following an environment impact assessment done by Water and Power Consultancy Services (India) Ltd.

But the Kerala High Court revoked the Federal clearance and directed the Electricity Board to obtain a fresh environment impact assessment. The project was cleared for a third time by the Federal government recently, but after Ramesh took over he ordered a re-look at the project, leading to the Federal government’s final “No” to the long-pending proposal.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/32/20100220/1054/tnl-haryana-minister-fined-for-encroachi.html

Haryana minister fined for encroaching on forest land

Sat, Feb 20 01:20 PM

Gurgaon, Feb. 20 -- The Special Environment Court, Faridabad has slapped a penalty of Rs.17,700 on Haryana Minister of State Gopal Kanda for encroaching upon a protected forest strip and constructing a cemented driveway just outside his house, located on Laal Sadak in Civil Lines Colony. The minister, who also owns a private airlines firm, deposited the amount after the same court issued non-bailable warrants against him for not appearing on hearing dates in the case.

Kothi No. 436/16 owned by Gopal Kanda, who holds the portfolio of home, sports and youth affairs and industries & commerce in the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government, was one of the 32 properties in the locality which were challaned by the forest department in May 2008 for violating the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) 1980 and the Indian Forest Act (IFA) 1927.

The house has a cemented driveway and a garden that has been fenced on a protected forest strip. Both activities are tantamount to violation of forest laws, a senior official from the forest department.

Kanda told Hindustan Times he was innocent and that although he had deposited the penalty amount, he had not received any summons related to the case against him. "I did not have any idea of the summons from the Special Environment Court on the issue of the forest strip.

May be these summons were handed over to workers engaged in the construction work at my house in 2008," said Kanda. "I did not know that Civil Lines is the only locality in Gurgaon that has a protected forest strip where constructing a cemented driveway is prohibited," he added.

A forest official who did not want to be identified said, "Kanda probably remained unaware that his property faced trail in the Faridabad Court and did not appear for the hearing dates following which the court issued non-bailable warrants against him," the forest official said. In a related development, DK Sinha, Conservator of Forests, Gurgaon Range told HT, "The case related to violation of forest conservation by Gopal Kanda has been compounded after Kanda paid the compensation as well as the penalty.

Hindustan Times

http://news.oneindia.in/2010/02/19/indiansto-decide-use-of-gm-crops-jairamramesh.html

Indians to decide use of GM crops: Jairam Ramesh

Friday, February 19, 2010,7:01 [IST]

Coimbatore, Feb 19 (ANI): Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said here on Thursday that BT brinjal needs to be accepted by Indian scientists, farmers and political leaders before it is adopted in the country.

He said this in his inaugural address at the two-day 'Workshop of Tree Cultivation for Dryland Farming'.

"Of late, newspapers have been accusing me of being anti-science. But I am not against science, in fact, I am its strong supporter," said Ramesh.

"I have done what I had to do. As the Minister of Environment and Forests, I have taken a decision based on the information that was available to me. I have consulted state governments; I had seven public consultations involving about 8000 people in different parts of the country. I have talked to about 60 scientists, both in India and abroad. I have on my website 1000 pages that I have made public both for Bt brinjal and against Bt brinjal. So I have been very fair to everybody," noted Jairam Ramesh.

Ramesh also announced that cloned eucalyptus and casherina trees, which are used as fuel wood, would be planted in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Earlier this month, Ramesh blocked the release of Bt Brinjal, saying that until more research is done to remove doubts surrounding the consumption of GM foods, there was not enough public trust to support the introduction of such crops.

Talking about the diminishing tiger population in India, Ramesh observed that poaching is not the only threat to tigers, numbers are dwindling due a lack of balance between India's burgeoning population and development and much needed conservation efforts.

"Let me tell you, they are under extreme threat and there is a crime syndicate operating in India, there is a real estate syndicate operating in India, there's a mining syndicate operating in India, which wants to finish off all the tigers," Ramesh added. (ANI)

http://sify.com/news/Mining-banned-in-157-of-261-Aravali-mines-news-National-kctuucchcca.html

Mining banned in 157 of 261 Aravali mines

2010-02-19 20:20:00

In a significant order aimed at halting further devastation of the Aravali range due to rampant mining, the Supreme Court Friday banned mining in 157 out of 261 mines in the region and ordered comprehensive satellite photography of the mining-ravaged region.

'All these years, as far as possible, we have been trying to balance developmental works with forest and environmental conservation. But when we have reached in 2009, we have seen total mining leases,' said a bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, while halting mining in 157 mines, spread over 15,000 square km in 15 districts of Rajasthan.

'It has led to a fatal impact on macro-level. There is total devastation of the forest,' observed the bench, which also included Justice S.H. Kapadia and Justice Aftab Alam.

While ordering satellite imagery of the Aravali hills, the bench said the project would be jointly executed by the Forest Survey of India and the Rajasthan government in consultation and coordination with the apex court-appointed Central Empowered Committee mandated with the rask of assisting the apex court in preserving the flora and fauna of the country and save it from degradation.

The bench said the project would be Funded by Compensatory Afforestation Fund Managemnat and Planning Authority, created by corpus collected for diversion of forestland for non-forest uses.

It said the state would spend Rs 5 crore out of Rs 50 crore that had been given to it from the CAMPA fund as per an apex court order on August 14, 2009.

The bench ordered suspension of mining in those mines by those who had applied for renewal of their licenses and their plea was pending with the state government. The bench, however, allowed the remaining 104 out of total 261 mines whose licenses had been renewed by the state government.

The bench ordered halting of mining in 157 mines after casting aside diverse interpretations of its earlier order, dated Dec 16, 2002, by various parties, including the state government and the miners.

The order laid down certain stipulations for renewing the licenses and allowing the continued mining. The state government contended that the 2002 order merely restrained it from granting new licenses for mining and not from renewing them.

Senior counsel Harish Salve, appointed by the court to assist it in adjudication of the green issues, contended that the 2002 order was a blanket ban on both renewal and grant of new licenses.

n Indo-Asian news Service

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Let+scientists+decide+what+is+good+for+us&artid=9ooPsNqzcKI=&SectionID=vBlkz7JCFvA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=EL7znOtxBM3qzgMyXZKtxw==&SEO=

'Let scientists decide what is good for us'

Express News Service

First Published : 19 Feb 2010 02:45:00 AM IST

Last Updated : 19 Feb 2010 07:58:15 AM IST

COIMBATORE: “I am a strong supporter of science. But just because somebody says Bt brinjal is good, we need not run after it. Let our own scientists, farmers and political leaders decide what is good for our country,” said Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh, here on Thursday.

He released eight new cloned varieties of eucalyptus and casuarina, developed by the Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB) here. This was the first time in India that new cloned varieties of tree crops have been developed systematically.

“Of late, newspapers have been accusing me of being anti-science. But I am not against science, in fact, I am its strong supporter,” said Ramesh.

On forestry, Ramesh said his ministry was bringing modern science into forestry.

From this year onwards, every year, the ministry would conduct an Indian Forestry Congress and the first one would be held in Dehradun in December, he said and added: “The second one will be held in Coimbatore.” The minister also urged the farmers to move into agro-forestry. But in order for this to happen, scientists have to develop crop varieties that would grow fast.

Releasing the cloned varieties, Ramesh said these new varieties would be used initially in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The parents of the new clones were from Australia.

Talking of cloning, Ramesh, in a lighter vein, said that the students from India were going to Australia and getting bashed up.

“But we have brought the Australian parents (tree varieties) and produced Indian children (cloned varieties),” he said jocularly.

feedback@expressbuzz.com

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Patents,+weapon+of+biopirates+of+the+West&artid=oJGDJWU/N3w=&SectionID=lifojHIWDUU=&MainSectionID=lifojHIWDUU=&SEO=&SectionName=rSY%7C6QYp3kQ=

Patents, weapon of biopirates of the West

Gokul Chandrasekar

First Published : 18 Feb 2010 04:44:00 AM IST

Last Updated : 18 Feb 2010 06:29:41 AM IST

CHENNAI: Biodiversity is in the air: 2010 is being observed as its international year and an international biodiversity summit will be held in Nagoya in October.

A rising concern among activists is biopiracy: situations where corporations from the developed world claim ownership of or take unfair advantage of the genetic resources and traditional knowledge of developing countries.

This issue was addressed by Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh here on Thursday, when, speaking at a conference of environmental scientists, he indicated that India would demand a legally binding protocol on biodiversity at the October summit. “Developing countries want a legally binding protocol on biodiversity to check biopiracy which is not entertained by developed nations,” he said.

Explaining the extent of the problem, he said, “Around 2,000 patents are granted in the US and UK for inventions based on traditional Indian medicines every year.” To curb biopiracy and preserve its biodiversity, India has taken several steps. Rs 10 crore has been spent over the last seven years to set up a traditional knowledge digital library. This database has documented the use of 308 plants and 1,200 medical formulations to date. These are available in patent offices in the US and UK to prevent biopiracy. The government is also planning to strengthen its people’s biodiversity register, which documents the use of bio-resources by locals, Ramesh said. A forest plant genetics centre in Dehradun with an initial fund of Rs 20 crore will also be set up, he said.

Highlighting the access and benefit- sharing contract between the National Biodiversity Authority and Pepsi in the Gulf of Mannar, he said seaweeds worth Rs 37 lakh were traded, with money going to the local community. “Sustainable utilisation of bio-resources will improve social equity,” he said.

http://indiatribals.blogspot.com/2010/02/fighting-for-forest.html

Fighting for the forest

India’s forest cover accounts for a little over 20% of total land and is home to more than 8% of tribal population. More than 90% of them live below the poverty line, struggling for their basic survival. Read the testimonial by Ditabhai, a tribal living in the reserved forests of India on his life and struggle with rights.

Dithabai and his family has lived in the forest for generations. He's been active in the forest rights movement for 30 years. Photo: Summit Dayal.

Winding paths through dense vegetation and three hillocks leads to the village of Morchucha, in the Jharol bloc of district Udaipur. All the villages in this bloc are entirely under the reserved forestland marked by the State. In the distance peacocks roam freely and the goats chomp on fresh new leaves.

In the past, the tribals colloquially referred to Adivasis have faced large-scale displacement from their ancestral land by an exclusionist policy of conservation followed by the state. But with the historic Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Right (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 things are fast changing.

Dithabai has been associated with the Forest Land People’s Movement for over a decade now. The Movement launched in 1995 by Astha Sansthan, DanChurchAid’s partner in Rajasthan, has its work spread extensively in three blocs in Southern Rajasthan.

Ditabhai’s testimonial

“Two generations of my family have lived here on these hills. I have 15 bighas (five bighas is two hectare) of land and we grow crops on it; different kinds of lentils but mainly corn. We can often afford to sell some parts of the produce, but not without ‘cutting in our stomachs’. I have eight people to feed in my family. What I grow is never enough though, so I have to travel far away to work on other people’s land.

In the past forest officials used to dictate terms to us. They would beat us up, abuse us and harass us. They would demand money or a chicken to leave us alone. But all that has changed now. Now nobody comes any more.

I know of the new forest law. I learnt of it in a camp organized by Astha. I think a lot of people will get their rights with this new forest law. Most of us were completely ignorant in the past not knowing how to demand what is rightfully ours. But now I know about the Forest Right Act and how to fill in claims for land.

This is our forest and for long, we have faced a lot of harassment for living here. Our livelihood is dependent on this forest. Why should we harm it? There are no animals here, but I do believe that man and animals can stay amicably without any conflict.

Under the banner of the Forest Land and People Movement (Jungle Zameen Jan Andolan) started by Astha Sansthan, we struggled for our rights, for what is rightfully ours. For long we have been exploited by those in power. They used to oppress us and put us down, but not anymore. You see, one individual cannot fight alone. When we are a collective we can achieve so much.

Photo: Summit Dayal

I have been involved with the Jungle Zameen Jan Andolan for 30 years now. I have been all over for rallies and public meetings: in Kotda, Jaipur and Delhi. Even my wife went to the Delhi meeting in 2006. I think the biggest benefit of this struggle is that our land is with us. We can go into the forest and collect minor forest products. Our cattle can graze on pasture land. I am also part of the Van Adhikar Samiti (Forest Rights Committee) of my village. This committee is meant to help people access traditional forest land and help them access legal claim for common and individual land. We have, till now sent 120 forms for claims, out of which 28 have already been cleared and reached the office of the District Magistrate.

I believe it is important for people to take ownership over their lives and I think this Act provides us with a scope for working for our development. It is now up to us. We must grab this opportunity with both hands.”

By Priyanka Mukherjee, Documentation Officer, DanChurchAid, New Delhi, India

http://www.igovernment.in/site/india-set-forest-genetics-bureau-36930

India to set up Forest Genetics Bureau

It will protect the forest genetic reserves of the country

Published on 02/18/2010 - 10:14:56 AM

Chennai: India is focussing on sustainable use of its bio-resources and the government will establish the National Bureau for Forest Genetics in Dehradun to protect the country's forest genetic reserves.

"This is an effort to protect the forest genetic reserves of the country. It will be set up by Indian Council for Forestry Research and Education," Minister of State for Environment and Forest Jairam Ramesh said here.

He was here to address the International Conference on Bio Diversity in Relation to Food and Human Security in a Warming Market organised by the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF).

He said India was focussing on sharing the benefits of bio-diversity resources with the local populace and cited the agreement entered by the National Biodiversity Authority (NBDA) with PepsiCo that exports seaweed to Singapore, Malaysia and other countries from the Gulf of Mannar.

"As per the agreement PepsiCo has deposited Rs 37 lakhs with NBDA and the amount will be distributed to the people in the Gulf of Mannar region. There are 80 more such agreements in the pipeline," he added, reports IANS.

According to him climate change and protection of bio-diversity should converge as both are interconnected.

He said developing countries want a legally binding climate control measures but are against such a measure with regard to biological resources. On the other hand the developing countries are not for legally binding climate control measures but want legal protection for biological resources.

According to him India will put forth concrete proposals at the ensuing biodiversity summit in Nagoya in Japan.

"India is going into biodiversity summit with a position of strength," Ramesh said citing the legal measures taken in the country for the management, conservation of biological resources.

According to him the central government along with the governments of Kerala, Karnataka and West Bengal are in the process of developing a People's Biodiversity Register documenting the traditional knowledge in the medicinal value of plants.

http://www.indiatalkies.com/2010/02/india-focusing-sustainable-bioresources.html

India focusing on sustainable use of bio-resources

Chennai, Feb 17 – India is focussing on sustainable use of its bio-resources and the government will establish the National Bureau for Forest Genetics in Dehradun to protect the country’s forest genetic reserves.

‘This is an effort to protect the forest genetic reserves of the country. It will be set up by Indian Council for Forestry Research and Education,’ Minister of State for Environment and Forest Jairam Ramesh said here Wednesday.

He was here to address the International Conference on Bio Diversity in Relation to Food and Human Security in a Warming Market organised by the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF).

‘As per the agreement PepsiCo has deposited Rs.37 lakhs ($80,000) with NBDA and the amount will be distributed to the people in the Gulf of Mannar region. There are 80 more such agreements in the pipeline,’ he added.

According to him climate change and protection of bio-diversity should converge as both are interconnected.

According to him India will put forth concrete proposals at the ensuing biodiversity summit in Nagoya in Japan.

‘India is going into biodiversity summit with a position of strength,’ Ramesh said citing the legal measures taken in the country for the management, conservation of biological resources.

According to him the central government along with the governments of Kerala, Karnataka and West Bengal are in the process of developing a People’s Biodiversity Register documenting the traditional knowledge in the medicinal value of plants.

IANS

http://steelguru.com/news/index/MTMzMDcx/Coal_projects_in_India_to_be_cleared_in_150_days.html

Coal projects in India to be cleared in 150 days

Tuesday, 16 Feb 2010

It is reported that the Indian government is exploring speeding up environment and forestry clearance for coal mining projects in a bid to enhance production and narrow the widening demand-supply gap.

The Prime Minister Energy Coordination Committee the apex policymaking body for the energy sector is giving shape to a proposal that envisages forestry clearance for new coal mining projects within 150 days and for renewals in 120 days. In addition, environment clearance for coal mining projects would be given within 60 days while the project that has already received forestry clearance would be eligible for automatic environmental clearance.

At present forestry clearance for coal mining projects take anywhere between 3 and 6 years and environmental clearance between 3 and 8 months delaying projects and resulting in loss of production. The coal demand and supply gap has already widened to about 70 million tonne annually and is expected to cross 80 million tonne mark by 2011-12.

A coal ministry official who wished not to be identified said the fast tracking of clearances would help enhance in a big way coal production and also meet the growing need of the industry, particularly the power sector. The Prime Minister’s Office has also pushed for giving time-bound forestry and environment clearance for coal projects on a priority basis to ensure adequate supply to domestic user industries.

The government is also likely to allow the ministry of environment to give automatic clearance to mining projects that have complied with mandatory afforestation clause and have made payment towards net present value of mining area. Companies would be given freedom to carry out extensive survey of mining area by drilling more boreholes without having to secure forestry clearance.

At present, only 2 boreholes per square kilometer are allowed, which mining companies feel is too less to ascertain the true potential of a mine. As against the projected demand of about 604 million tonne per annum, the total coal availability during the current financial year is about 534 million tonnes per annum.

The production gap of 70 million tonnes per annum is likely to go up to 81 million tonnes per annum by 2012 fiscal. A large part of this shortfall would be met through imports. The imported coal is priced about 50% more than the domestic coal and therefore puts sectors relying on this route at disadvantage.

(Sourced from Economic Times)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8516931.stm

Big business leaves big forest footprints

VIEWPOINT

Andrew Mitchell

Consumers around the globe are not aware that they are "eating" rainforests, says Andrew Mitchell. In this week's Green Room, he explains how many every-day purchases are driving the destruction of the vital tropical ecosystems.

Burning tropical forests drives global warming faster than the world's entire transport sector; there will be no solution to climate change without stopping deforestation

When was the last time you had a "rainforest picnic"? Or even, perhaps, an "all-day Amazon breakfast"?

Next time you are in a supermarket picking up a chicken sandwich for lunch, or fancy tucking in to a hearty breakfast of eggs, sausage and bacon before setting off for work, spare a thought for the Amazon.

A new report by Forest Footprint Disclosure reveals for the first time how global business is driving rainforests to destruction in order to provide things for you and me to eat.

But it does also reveal what companies are doing to try to lighten their forest footprint. Sadly, however, the answer is: not much, at least not yet.

Consumers "eat" rainforests each day - in the form of beef-burgers, bacon and beauty products - but without knowing it.

The delivery mechanism is a global supply chain with its feet in the forests and its hands in the till.

Because of growing demand for beef, soy and palm oil, which are in much of what we consume, as well as timber and biofuels, rainforests are worth more cut down than standing up.

Supermarket sweep

Governments, which claim to own 70% of them, create prosperity for their nations through this process, but poor forest communities need their forests for energy and food.

The report shows that the EU is the largest importer of soy in the world, much of it coming from Brazil.

It also shows that after China, the EU is the biggest importer of palm oil in the world.

Soy provides cheap food to fatten our pigs and chickens, while palm oil is in everything from cakes and cookies, to that fine moisturiser you gently rubbed into your cheeks this morning.

I have become a bit of a bore in supermarkets, challenging my kids to hunt for soy lecithin or palm oil (often disguised as vegetable oil) on product labels. You should try it! The stuff is everywhere.

The gargantuan farms of Brazil's Mato Grosso State can boast 50 combines abreast at harvest time, marching across monoculture prairies where once the most diverse ecosystem on Earth stood, albeit in some cases many years ago.

Further north, thousands of square miles of rainforest natural capital is going up in smoke each year, often illegally, to provide pastureland for just one cow per hectare to supply beef hungry Brazilians or more prosperous mouths in China and India.

Many of the hides from these cattle then go into the designer trainers, handbags or luxury car upholstery that wealthy markets have such an appetite for.

Few Europeans know that their fine steak au poivre or choice after dinner mints might have an added expense on the other side of the world that unknown to them, is altering life on Earth.

None of this would matter but for three things. Firstly, evolution is being changed forever. Most of us, sadly, can live with that.

Secondly, burning tropical forests drives global warming faster than the world's entire transport sector; there will be no solution to climate change without stopping deforestation.

Finally, losing forests may undermine food, energy and climate security. Yet saving them could, according to UN special adviser Pavan Sukhdev's forthcoming review on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), reduce environmental costs by $3-5 trillion per year.

Oh yes, let us not forget the 1.4bn people, many of them the world's poorest, who depend on these forests for their survival and who cannot afford to lose them, even if we can.

Full disclosure?

So what can be done? The first thing is to encourage business to mind its "forest footprint".

The impact global business has on deforestation will be a key factor in halting deforestation in the future. No amount of hand-wringing in the UN climate talks will alter action on the ground unless the drivers of global deforestation are also tackled.

Whilst poverty is possibly the largest of these drivers, so is the way in which business drives the conversion of cheap forest land to feed their global commodity supply chains - all the way to you and me.

This is why we launched the Forest Footprint Disclosure project last year: to invite companies to first recognise their impact on forests and then disclose what they were doing about it.

Such a request might be ignored by giant businesses if it were not for the fact that investment managers, with at least $3.5 trillion of assets, also wanted to know and backed our disclosure request with their names.

Why? Because it is their money that may be at risk if the companies do not clean up their act.

In 2009, Amigos da Terra's report Time to Pay the Bill, and Greenpeace's Slaughtering the Amazon highlighted the cattle industry as a driver of climate change responsible for the bulk of Brazil's greenhouse gases through deforestation and methane emissions from 180 million cows.

This resulted in the withdrawal of a $60m loan from the World Bank's International Finance Corporation to Bertin, Brazil's largest exporter of beef.

In June 2009, Brazil's major supermarkets - Pao de Acucar, Wal-mart, and Carrefour - all announced they would no longer accept beef from ranches involved in deforestation.

In July, sportswear manufacturer Nike said it would not accept leather in its products from Brazil if it came from deforested areas.

And in October, JBS Friboi, Bertin, Mafrig and Minerva - the largest players in Brazil's cattle industry - all agreed to similar action.

Daniel Azeredo, a Federal Public Prosecutor in Para State, has recently filed legal actions totalling $1bn against 22 ranches and 13 meat-packing plants for non-compliance with federal laws governing deforestation.

'Extraordinary time'

The effects are rippling all the way up the supply chain - well, to you and me again.

Consumers and businesses can play their part by demanding that their suppliers know where their "Forest Risk Commodities" come from. But will they?

Evidence from certification schemes shows that consumers care but not enough to get their wallets out.

If business cannot secure a premium for the extra costs of producing the good stuff, why should they bother?

I believe, however, that we are at an extraordinary time in human history when all that could be about to change.

What all this is evidence of is a quickening step in a remarkable journey that will result in nothing less than the transformation of the 21st Century economy.

Curbing emissions from deforestation, which was the outsider in the UN negotiations just two years ago, has moved to become the front-runner. It is now widely recognised that forests offer the quickest, most cost-effective and largest means of curbing global emissions between now and 2030.

So, are we at a tipping point in history where this could actually happen?

Conservation will never out-compete commerce with a global population rising toward nine billion.

Feeding and fuelling our growing world is one of the greatest opportunities of the 21st century, but sending natural capital up in smoke and squandering ecosystems that support wealth creation in the process will, ultimately, be counterproductive.

Businesses that understand this will be the rising stars of the future. Our report provides some of the first insights into who the potential winners and losers may be, and which business are setting the pace today.

Investors will want to spot them.

Andrew Mitchell is Chairman of the Forest Footprint Disclosure project and Executive Director of the Global Canopy Programme

The Green Room is a series of opinion articles on environmental topics running weekly on the BBC News website

Brinda leads walkout over delay in Forest Act rules

2007-12-02T20:24:00.000+05:30

Special Correspondent

“Government should come clean on the issue”
Rules not notified even after vetting by Law Ministry
“This is subversion of Parliament’s will”

NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha once again witnessed noisy scenes and a subsequent walkout by Communist Party of India (Marxist) members led by Brinda Karat over the delay in notifying rules for the Forest Rights Act. The law was passed by Parliament more than a year ago.

Reacting sharply to Minister of State for Environment and Forests S. Regupathy’s reply on the issue of protecting the rights of forest-dwellers, Ms. Karat pointed out that his Ministry was not competent to give a reply in the matter, which pertained to the Tribal Affairs Ministry. “How can the government implement an Act without notification of the rules,” she asked........................
full news at:
http://www.hindu.com/2007/11/30/stories/2007113055491500.htm

Forest Act won't come into force before Jan

2007-12-02T20:21:00.000+05:30

30 Nov 2007, 0225 hrs IST,Nitin Sethi,TNN

NEW DELHI: The intervention of 10 Janpath in the roll-out of the Forest Rights Act will see the law come into force not before January 2008.

The window till then will be utilised to notify tiger reserves as "critical wildlife habitats" so that they not only remain protected zones, but also allow fairly rapid relocation of forest dwellers.

The solution arrived at aims at ensuring that relocation from tiger reserves proceeds under the existing laws — the habitats will also be notified under the Wildlife Protection Act — and not under the more rigorous Forest Rights Act. This would make it ...............................................
full news at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Forest_Act_wont_come_into_force_before_Jan/articleshow/2583343.cms

Supreme Court bars British company from mining sacred hills

2007-12-02T20:17:00.000+05:30

29 November 2007

UK company Vedanta Resources Plc has been banned from mining bauxite in the Niyamgiri hills, India

India’s Supreme Court has surprised and delighted the Dongria Kond tribe by barring the UK company Vedanta Resources Plc from mining bauxite in the sacred Niyamgiri hills in Orissa, eastern India.

The decision, announced on 23 November, offered the tribe a temporary reprieve, ordering the company’s Indian unit, Sterlite Industries, to come back with a new proposal for the project. For the time being the Dongria Kond’s sacred hills are safe from.......................................
full news at: http://www.survival-international.org/news/2696

CONSERVATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS AND TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE

2007-12-02T20:14:00.000+05:30

17:39 IST

RAJYA SABHA

The steps that have been taken to prepare community knowledge registers under the National Programme for promoting conservation of medicinal plants and traditional knowledge are as follows:

(i) A standard format for Community Knowledge Register has been prepared.

(ii) The facilitating agencies have been oriented towards the role of the Community Knowledge Register in protecting community knowledge of medicinal plants as per the provisions of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

(iii) The Community Knowledge Register is prepared through the involvement and participation of the local healers and with their prior informed consent.

(iv) The Community Knowledge Register thus prepared is maintained by the local community, and is not given to the facilitating agency.

Under the National Programme for promoting conservation of medicinal plants and traditional knowledge, the facilitating agencies at the local level involved in preparation and updating such a register include:

(i) Swami Ramananda Tirtha Regional Institute, Hyderabad, Andhra

Pradesh

(ii) Rural Communes, Mumbai, Maharashtra

(iii) SAMBANDH, Bhubaneswar, Orissa

(iv) Jagran Jan Vikas Samithi, Udaipur, Rajasthan

(v) Tagore Society for Rural Development, Kolkata, West Bengal

Preparation of registers on traditional knowledge of local people is a measure towards protection of their knowledge from its unauthorized use without sharing of benefits arising from such use. The Biological Diversity Act provides for sharing of benefits arising out of the use of such knowledge with the holders of the knowledge.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Shri Namo Narayan Meena in a written reply to question in the Rajya Sabha today.

http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=33463

Forest rights - and why the new law needs to be implemented

2007-12-02T20:11:00.000+05:30

Posted : Sun, 02 Dec 2007 04:10:04 GMT
Author : Shankar Gopalakrishnan
Category : India (World)

Like a bad penny that never stops coming back, the issue of forest rights is in the news again. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, has returned to the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Opponents slam it as the 'most dangerous act of any Indian government since 1947', handing out 'forest for votes' and 'privatizing a national resource.'A handful of conservationists issue dire warnings to the government, politicians and reporters about the terrible disaster that will ensue from implementing this law. Meanwhile, this Act has become the first legislation in India's history to be attacked through a TV ad campaign.In all this sound and fury, the real issues around this Act have mostly been lost. For, in reality, this Act has nothing to do with 'handing out' land to anyone, nor is it a 'welfare scheme' for tribals. It is a law intended to deal with one very basic problem: what are called 'forests' in Indian law, presumed by many to be vast stretches of 'pristine wilderness,' are nothing of the kind. Literally, millions of people live inside the areas described in law as forest. The reason why is a story in itself.India's forest and wildlife laws are built around a model of excluding people. Created to ease timber extraction, the Colonial Forest Act (later changed to Indian Forest Act) aimed to bring all forests under the centralised control of the forest department and to take over the lands and rights of people who live there. This was initially justified as necessary for 'scientific management' for higher timber yields; then, post-Independence, for the nation's industrial requirements; and finally for conservation. Whatever the justification, the policy has remained the same.Thus, in law, at the time of declaring a 'forest', a settlement officer is supposed to survey and 'settle' the rights of people.................................................................
full story at:
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/151645.html

Gujarat opposes move to send Gir lions to MP

2007-12-02T20:08:00.000+05:30

1 Dec 2007, 0349 hrs IST,Dhananjay Mahapatra,TNN

NEW DELHI: The Centre's grand plan to relocate some of the Asiatic lions from their only home at Gir forest in Gujarat to the forests of Madhya Pradesh has run into serious opposition from the Narendra Modi government.

The plan, to save the lions from a disaster that could wipe them out in one go, involved relocating five of them from Gir to a 300 sqkm forest at Kunopalpur in Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh.

As many as 30 villages falling within the identified area were relocated in 2003, but the plan mooted by the Wildlife Institute of India and accepted by the Centre is still hanging fire. A petition filed by Bio-diversity Conservation Trust of India through counsel Ritwick Datta alleged that the main reason for the stalling of the plan was the U-turn by.......................................
full news at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Gujarat_opposes_move_to_send_Gir_lions_to_MP/articleshow/2586606.cms

Tigers' fate is still uncertain

2007-12-02T20:02:00.000+05:30

By Laura Bly, USA TODAY

NEW DELHI — One of the most riveting images in the office of award-winning photographer and lifelong tiger advocate Belinda Wright isn't of the charismatic feline itself, but of its aftermath. Tibetan men are draped in the gleaming pelts — worth nearly $10,000 each on the black market — of a creature wildlife experts worry may be on its last legs.

The good news, notes Wright, director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India, is that sales and display of tiger skins among Tibetans have dropped in response to a public awareness campaign by the Dalai Lama, the World Wildlife Fund and others. At the same time, however, an illegal demand for tiger bones and other body parts used in traditional Chinese medicine has prompted an expansion of tiger farming in China, where there's commercial lobbying to lift a domestic trade ban on tiger parts..........................................................................................................
full story at:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2007-11-29-tiger-side_N.htm

Carbon trading: Money from (clean) air

2007-11-26T21:46:00.000+05:30

C. Rajalakshmi

‘Clean money for dirty air’. That’s the premise of an emerging trade in carbon credits, which is gaining more impetus with increase in the number of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project ideas approved by the National Clean Development Mechanism Authority.

The value of the carbon trading market was around $30 billion in 2006 as per the estimates of the International Emissions Trading Association.

Since 2002, a cumulative 920 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents have been transacted through CDM project activities. European buyers dominate the market, with 86 per cent market share as of 2006. On the selling side, India leads the race with 288 CDM projects registered followed by China with 129 projects as of November 2007..............................
full news at:
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/iw/2007/11/18/stories/2007111851591500.htm

Uttarakhand forests valued at $2.4 billion

2007-11-26T21:43:00.000+05:30

Our Bureau
New Delhi, Nov 25 The forests in Uttarakhand region have been valued at $2.4 billion (approximately Rs 10,700 crore) per year in terms of the services they provide. This needs to be recognised and compensated, according to a study released here on Saturday.

Globally, it is estimated that the current economic value of the services provided by the earth’s ecosystems is at least $33 trillion per year.

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2003, has defined Ecosystem Services (ESs) as a wide range of conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems, and species that make them up, sustain and fulfil human life.

Ecosystem Services

Thirty-two such services, including carbon sequestration, climate management, hydrological regulation, timber, firewood, soil conservation, pollination and other non-timber forest produces (NTFPs) have been identified so far, the study said.

In the forests of Uttarakhand, the average value of about $1,150 per hectare per year for the services provided needs to be reflected in our economic planning and compensated for, said the recent study, ‘Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Forest Governance, in Uttarakhand, as a scoping study’.

Uttarakhand has nearly 70 per cent forest cover, of which 40 per cent is ‘good forest’. While the entire Himalayas are hailed as the water towers of the world.................................
full news at:
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/11/26/stories/2007112651020200.htm