TR Shankar Raman, a member of the Nature Conservation Foundation has been asked to draft a policy guideline to minimize the adverse impacts of man made intrusions, such as roads, powerlines and railway tracks, on wildlife habitats. Shankar Raman, has already presented a background paper on the subject in meeting held on Jan 24th by the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife. Shankar Raman has identified the issues of fragmentation, spread of alien species, dessication, windthrow and animal … Read More
Jairam Ramesh announces plans to setup Western Ghats Ecology Authority
Union Minster of State for Environment and Forests, Mr. Jairam Ramesh, announced that a Western Ghats Ecology Authority (WGEA) will be setup shortly. After being notified, the body is expected to identify places to be declared “no development areas” in the 51 districts of six states that form a part of the Western Ghats. Nine such authorities have been setup under the Environment Protection Act (EPA). He disagreed with suggestions that the previous authorities were toothless. Mr. Jairam Ramesh was … Read More
Private airlines used for smuggling of animal parts
An RTI query filed with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) by Governance Now, has revealed that Jet Airways and Kingfisher airlines have been used in the past to smuggle wildlife body parts to the North-eastern states. The issue has come up in a meeting of the special coordination committee on Wildlife Crime and Union Minister of Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh has asked the WCCB officials to take up the issue systematically. The airlines have denied the charge and … Read More
OPG Power’s plans for huge thermal plant on the Gujarat coast under scrutiny by MoEF
A massive thermal power plant planned on the Kutch coast in Gujarat continues to face pressures from the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF). OPG Power Gujarat Private Limited is behind the project, which threatens the sensitive coastal environment of Bhadreshwar. There are accusations that OPG Power did not carry out its obligations to hold public hearings, as well as violations of state government directives to not begin any activity until environmental clearance was obtained. There are also accusations that … Read More
India launches major new study for valuation of its natural capital and ecosystem services
The MoEF has initiated a major new programme to value the immense wealth of natural resources and biodiversity in India. Collaborating with The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study, the Ministry has begun the process of valuating its natural capital and ecosystem services in terms of economic value.
TEEB is a major international initiative to draw attention to the global economic benefits of biodiversity, to highlight the growing costs of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, and to draw together … Read More
Jairam Wants Karnataka Chief Minister To Declare Kudremukh Park A Tiger Reserve
Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh has asked Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to declare the Kudremukh National Park (KNP) as a tiger reserve saying that such a move would strengthen tiger landscapes and, thereby, forestry conservation.… Read More
Cabinet approves decentralization and strengthening of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)
The Union Cabinet today approved the creation of four posts in the rank of Inspector General of Forests for the three Regional Offices and Headquarters of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). This decision, in conjunction with the recent decision to set up 3 regional offices of the NTCA in Nagpur, Guwahati and Bengaluru is expected to give a major boost to India’s tiger conservation efforts.
Welcoming the decision, the Minister of State (I/C), Shri Jairam Ramesh said: “This is … Read More
Guidance Document for Non-forestry Activities in Wildlife Habitats
The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court make it mandatory for following certain procedures for taking up any non-forestry activities in wildlife habitats. Now it is mandatory that all non-forestry activities in wildlife habitats (within PAs and 10 km from PA boundaries), need approval from State and National Board for Wildlife (Standing Committee). In order to facilitate and guide people on the various steps to be followed for taking up non-forestry activities in wildlife habitats, … Read More
MOEF Guidelines for Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) around Protected Areas
The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has come out with new guidelines to create eco-sensitive zones (ESZs) around Protected Areas to prevent ecological damage caused due to developmental activities around National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
The new ESZ guidelines, declared by the ministry on February 9, 2011 would also ensure that these areas act as “shock absorbers” to the protected areas by regulating and managing the activities around such areas. The guidelines were updated on the ministry website today. … Read More
Resettlement project approved for trapped farming communities in Wayanad
The Ministry of Environment and Forests has approved the resettlement of farming communities inside Wayanad Wilidlife Sanctuary and has set aside a sum of Rs 5.5 crores to aid in implementing the first phase of relocation. The resettlement comes under the Voluntary Relocation of Settlements project. The communities in Wayanad have been fighting a three decade long battle asking for relocation. Phase 1 will affect 1388 people living in 880 families across 14 settlements and is expected to cost Rs. … Read More
Seven elephants die after speeding train hits herd
Incident once again raises questions over movement of trains along the elephant corridor.
Seven elephants of a herd died after being hit by a goods train in the Banarhat area of Jalpaiguri district (West Bengal) on Wednesday night.
While four were killed on the spot, the rest died on Thursday. The dead include a sub-adult and two juvenile elephants, Divisional Forest Officer (Wild Life II) Sumita Ghatak told The Hindu over telephone.
The incident has once again raised questions over … Read More
The Elephant Task Force Report — A Critique by Sanjay Gubbi
With an estimated 26,000 elephants India is home to half the world’s population of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). These pachyderms are spread over a geographical area of about 110,000 sq km, sixty percent of which have been declared as 32 Elephant Reserves (ER).
A different concept from the conventional Protected Areas (PAs), ERs consist of a mixture of land categories. PAs (30%), Reserved Forests (40%) and private lands (30%) form the land tenure of ERs. Securing this landscape in pursuit … Read More
Another elephant electrocuted in Orissa
Notwithstanding the “elephantine” efforts proposed by the Project Elephant in its elaborate report ‘Gajah’ to secure the future of jumbos in the country, “elephanticides” continue in Odisha. In the latest incident, two elephants died in the State — one due to electrocution and the other shot dead by suspected poachers — in the wee hours on Monday.
Official sources in the State forest department confirmed the killing of two tuskers, of which one had been electrocuted at Hindol in Dhenkanal … Read More
Tiger skin seized, three arrested in Nepal; Nepal to sign MOU with India
KATHMANDU, July 28: A tiger skin, 8 feet 7 inches by 7 feet 7 inches, was seized in Bhaktapur on Wednesday.
Police arrested three individuals — Rahul Shahi, 18, and Raju Shahi, 26, who are residents of Golmathe, Ward no 7, Bhaktapur district, and Manoj Kapali, 30, of Panauti , Kavre district — along with the tiger skin.
The investigation team involved in the seizure was led by Wildlife Conservation Nepal (WCN) and supported by Bhaktapur district police.
WCN said … Read More
Few see that India’s future depends on its ecological sustainability
Thirty years ago, a department of environment was set up in the Central government; 25 years ago, this was upgraded into a full-fledged ministry of environment and forests. As we mark these anniversaries, it must be said that the ministers in charge of this ministry have generally been incompetent, or malign, or both. Some might make an exception for Maneka Gandhi, who was minister of state for the environment between 1989 and 1991. However, she was an animal rights activist … Read More
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