New plan for Nilgiri tahr conservation

K. S. Sudhi KOCHI,   TheHindu, September 27, 2014  A landscape-based conservation programme to extend the conservation of Nilgiri tahr outside the Eravikulam National Park is being formulated in the State for the long-term survival of the species. Traditionally, tahr conservation has been centred around the Eravikulam...

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Eco-sensitive areas: NGT puts ball in MoEF court

Meena Menon NEW DELHI,  The Hindu, September 25, 2014  The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday put the onus of deciding eco-sensitive areas (ESA) in the Western Ghats on the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and said it would pass judgment in the case on Thursday. Justice Swatanter Kumar of the NGT pointed out that the latest affidavit filed by the MoEF on Monday had opened up the issue...

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Multiple-use approach to conservation in Western Ghats

T. Nandakumar Thiruvananthapuram,   The Hindu, September 24, 2014  As many as 34 panchayats in the Western Ghats region in Kerala are set to become the crucible of an experimental project seeking to minimise the impact of commercial and livelihood activities on fragile ecosystems. Funded by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the India High Range Mountain Landscape Project involves a participatory, multiple-...

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അപൂര്‍വ്വ ഇനത്തില്‍പ്പെട്ട കീടഭോജി സസ്യത്തെ കനകമലയില്‍ കണ്ടെത്തി

മാള: അപൂര്‍വ്വ ഇനത്തില്‍പ്പെട്ട കീടഭോജിസസ്യമായ 'കൊശുവെട്ടി' യെ ചാലക്കുടിക്കടുത്ത് കനകമലയില്‍ കണ്ടെത്തി. പ്രകൃതി ഫോേട്ടാഗ്രാഫറും കമ്പ്യൂട്ടര്‍ അധ്യാപകനുമായ അഷ്ടമിച്ചിറ കാലടി വീട്ടില്‍ വിനോദാണ് ഈ ചെടിയെ കണ്ടെത്തിയത്. വനത്തിലെ പൂക്കളുടെ ഫോട്ടോയെടുക്കുന്നതിനിടെയാണ് ഈ ചെടിയും പൂവും വിനോദിന്റെ ശ്രദ്ധയില്‍പ്പെടുന്നത്. കണ്ണൂരിലെ മാടായിപ്പാറയിലും വാഗമണ്ണിലെ ക്യാട് ടോപ്പിലും നീലഗിരി മലകളിലും മാത്രമാണ് ഈ സസ്യത്തെ മുമ്പ് കണ്ടിട്ടുള്ളത്. ആടുകണ്ണി,...

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Invasive plants a threat to wildlife

E. M. Manoj KALPETTA,   The Hindu, September 22, 2014  The wild growth of invasive alien plants such as Senna spectabilis (calceolaria shower), Lantana, Eupatorium and Parthenium is posing a threat to wildlife and indigenous plants in the forest areas of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, including the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS), a major habitat of Asiatic elephants in the country. “The spread of Senna...

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Neelakurinji adds colour to Munnar hills

Giji K. Raman KATTAPPANA,   The Hindu, September 17, 2014  The purple-blue neelakurinji is in bloom again in parts of the hilly grasslands of Munnar. The flower-covered hills are drawing scores of tourists, especially to Mattupetty and Gundumalai. Though neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana) flowers only once in 12...

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Fine-tuning of ESA maps to be over by month end

T. Nandakumar Thiruvananthapuram,   The Hindu, September 18, 2014  Following up on the massive ground truthing exercise to demarcate the Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs) in the State, the Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) has embarked on a project to fine-tune the cadastral- level ESA maps of the 123 villages...

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Spotlight on Adavi and Gavi

Radhakrishnan Kuttoor PATHANAMTHITTA,   The Hindu, September 18, 2014  The State government has taken steps to include Konni in the tourism circuit of the Central Tourism Department by promoting the ecotourism initiatives taken up in the forest reaches of Adavi and Gavi in a big way. The Departments of Forest and Tourism...

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Punarjani rejuvenates arid Chinnar region

Radhakrishnan Kuttoor PATHANAMTHITTA,   The Hindu, September 17, 2014  Water is the most needed natural resource in the rain shadow region of Chinnar on the Western Ghats. The Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary gets rain only by the cyclonic disturbances over the Bay of Bengal during the withdrawal of the southwest monsoon. The...

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Periyar trout facing extinction

Giji K. Raman KATTAPPANA, The Hindu,September 17, 2014  Brahmanakendai (Lepidopygopsis typus), a freshwater fish species in the family of cyprinidae, endemic to the Mullayar tributaries in the Western Ghats, is under threat of extinction due to habitat disturbance and introduction of hybrid varieties such as tilapia and common...

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Mangroves vanishing in Kerala

T. Nandakumar  Thiruvananthapuram,   The Hindu, September 17, 2014 Mangroves forests that once covered 70,000 hectares of the State’s coastal area have come down to just 17 sq km, largely due to human encroachment. According to a book titled ‘Kandal- Kerala’s Vanishing Asset’ released here on Tuesday, the popular misconception that mangrove forests are of no use has added to the slow death and near total disappearance...

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Travancore frog back from the brink?

Giji K. Raman KATTAPPANA,   The Hindu, September 13, 2014  Travancore Bush Frog (Raorchestes travancoricus), classified as extinct by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board and on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), was found last month by Mumbai-based researchers David V. Raju and...

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Freshwater crustaceans in Western Ghats face extinction

T. Nandakumar Thiruvananthapuram,  The Hindu, September 12, 2014  Several species of freshwater shrimps and crabs in the Western Ghats could be hurtling towards extinction, as taxonomic uncertainties and escalating human activities in their habitat pose major challenges to their conservation, scientists say. A recent...

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Western Ghats: Ecologically Sensitive Areas maps to be digitised

T. Nandakumar Thiruvananthapuram,   The Hindu, August 31, 2014  With the Central government informing the National Green Tribunal of its intention to implement the report of the K. Kasturirangan committee on the Western Ghats, the Kerala government is gearing up for the final phase of the exercise to demarcate Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs) in the State. The Kerala State Remote Sensing and Environment...

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