Forests sustain and protect us in a myriad of ways. They absorb carbon dioxide and provide us with oxygen, they harbour more than three quarters of terrestrial biodiversity, and they support the livelihoods
The us federal district court of northern California upheld the
Forest commission fails to innovate
Issues in which the economic interests of industrialised countries coincide with their ecological interests are acceptable in the UN; the rest is usually a sham
The Supreme Court has sug gested that the forested states, which lose revenue because of the ban on felling of trees should be compensated for keeping their forests intact. Protection of the
It has been a year since Anil Agarwal, the founder editor of Down To Earth, passed away. We remember him every moment. We work as his proxies. We work his dreams; they have become ours, too. His
Bhopal, Feb 17: Thanks to the importance given to forests and wildlife, a congenial atmosphere has been generated in the state for forest conservation. Several historic decisions have been taken during the last four years in this regard. Special attention has been given to control over crime, safety and security of wildlife. Forest crime management has been modernised and all the forest ranges have been connected with computers and Internet.
Since 1980, different pieces of legislation have been enacted for environmental conservation. These include the Forest (Conservation) Act (FCA), 1980, the Environmental Protection Act (EPA), 1986 and the Biological Diversity Act (BDA), 2002. These have the potential to strengthen the conservation agenda. But they are at best being used to
Notwithstanding tall claims by the north-eastern States, the region has recorded huge losses of forest cover, with the Forest Commission calling for an end to nexus between politician, bureaucrat and contractor in Assam and three other States. If the nexus between politician, bureaucrat and contractor goes on developing, as is the case in Assam, Uttaranchal, Himachal and Kashmir, then any attempt of development will be diminished and then the exploited tribal people will try to take revenge, the Commission warned.
Bokakhat
Following the initiative by two banks to increase forest cover in Titwala, two companies have now offered to contribute in a similar manner in Kausa near Mumbra and in Kalwa. Mahindra Life Space Developer Limited of the Mahindra Group and Sandoz Pvt Lt have approached the Forest department in Thane requesting it to lease out a 250-hectare plot in Kausa and a 5-hectare plot in Kalwa respectively in order to turn the patches green. Forest land can be leased out for a period of time for such purposes. According to a Forest official, the two banks have leased out 25 acres each on the banks of Kalu River in Titwala and work is in progress. Deputy Conservator of Forest (Thane) Bhaskarao Walimbe said that the proposal is pending with the Forest department and the agreement should be signed between the two parties in a couple of months' time so that the work can start in the monsoon. However, the task for the companies on both the plots will be daunting because of rocky terrain and encroachment. "In case of Kausa, the plot which is to be handed over to Mahindra Life Space Developer Limited, was an encroached plot,' said Walimbe. The Forest department with help from the police and TMC officials had cleared off the encroachment a few days ago
