Smugglers may target sandalwood in private land

Giji K. Raman KATTAPPANA,  The Hindu, July 21, 2014  Sandalwood trees grown in private land are now more prone to be stolen after the Forest Department stepped up protection of the trees in the Marayur Forest Division by devising various plans such as annual census, intensified monitoring, and heavy fencing around...

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Portal for forest clearance proposals

NEW DELHI,   The Hindu, July 16, 2014 After launching online environmental clearances a month ago, Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday launched a web portal for online submission and monitoring of forest clearance proposals. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Javadekar said that grant of “a general approval” for setting up strategic and other installations within...

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Giving wings to bird conservation

K. Santhosh THRISSUR,   The Hindu, July 16, 2014  Bird conservation should not be the concern of forest officials, environmentalists and ornithological societies alone. It should draw the attention and participation of the common man. A workshop on ‘Bird Monitoring in Kerala — a citizen science initiative’, held at the Centre for Wildlife Studies of Kerala Agricultural University’s College of Forestry recently,...

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Boundaries of Thattekad Bird Sanctuary to be redrawn

K. S. Sudhi KOCHI,   The Hindu, July 12, 2014  The contours of Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, Thattekad, will be redrawn by excluding the human habitation from its limits. The Kerala Forest Department is actively considering a proposal to add 10.17 sq. km from the Neriyamangalam Forest areas to the sanctuary in lieu of the...

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Peacocks all set to welcome their generation next

Ignatius Pereira KOLLAM,   The Hindu, July 12, 2014  In the forest areas of the State, hundreds of well-camouflaged peahens are brooding their eggs. With the breeding season under way, a new generation of our national bird will emerge from the forests in the next few weeks. Forests in Kollam district are a major habitat...

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KSBB opposes cage culture of Nile Tilapia

T. Nandakumar Thiruvananthapuram,   The Hindu, July 10, 2014  The Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) has expressed strong reservations about a proposal mooted by the Fisheries Department to promote cage culture of Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) in waterbodies in the State. At a meeting held here last week, experts from the KSBB, the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, and the...

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Tree turmeric on the last leg

K. S. Sudhi KOCHI,   The Hindu July 10, 2014  Tree turmeric, a rare medicinal plant, is clinging for dear life through a few mature plants in the Western Ghats. A recent survey along the habitats of the species, known as Mara Manjal in local parlance, could record only 33 mature plants. The survey by the Kerala Forest...

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Integrating ecology and economy

T. R. Shankar Raman The Hindu, July 3, 2014 “One of the hardest things in politics,” U.S. President Barack Obama said in a recent interview, “is getting a democracy to deal with something now where the pay-off is long term or the price of inaction is decades away.” Obama’s words are pertinent not only to the U.S.; they are also...

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Garbage choking marine life: study

K.S. Sudhi KOCHI,  The Hindu, July 3, 2014  Litter is choking the marine ecosystem, besides defacing the beaches, in southern India. An assessment carried out by the Centre for Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Kochi, across 150 beaches in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh has brought to shore disturbing results of marine pollution. The study also covered some beaches in Maharashtra. Incidentally, ...

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