Butterfly survey spots 206 species in Munnar

Radhakrishnan Kuttoor,  PATHANAMTHITTA The Hindu,  September 30, 2015 The first ever comprehensive butterfly survey held in the Munnar wildlife division has spotted as many as 206 new species. The three-day survey, conducted by the Kerala Forest Department in association with the Travancore Natural History Society (TNHS)...

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Counting Munnar’s winged beauties

Radhakrishnan Kuttoor Pathanamthitta,  The Hindu, September 23, 2015 The Kerala Forest and Wildlife Department is to launch the first-ever comprehensive and scientific survey of butterflies in the Munnar landscape soon. The three-day survey will commence on Thursday, according to G. Prasad, wildlife warden at Munnar. Mr. Prasad...

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Greens see red as State relaxes norms for quarries

The Hindu, September 17, 2015 In a decision that is bound to have far-reaching consequences, the State Cabinet has exempted quarries up to one hectare from the need to secure environmental clearance. Talking to the media after a meeting of the Cabinet on Wednesday, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the decision was taken in the light...

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Rare gull sighted at Puthuvype

KOTTAYAM,   The Hindu, September 10, 2015 A rare breed of gulls has been sighted at Puthuvype in Ernakulam district by a birdwatcher from Kottayam. According P.J. George, birdwatcher and English teacher at St. Dominic’s College, Kanjirappally, a pair of the rare Arctic-breeding Taimyr gulls were sighted on January 22. “This is...

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Ghats plant found to have anti-diabetic traits

T. Nandakumar, Thiruvananthapuram The Hindu, September 8, 2015 Scientists from the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI) have completed pre-clinical studies establishing the anti-diabetic properties of a plant found in the Western Ghats. The five-year-long study was based on the knowledge shared by T.M. Shahul Hamid, a traditional healer hailing from Karunagapally. “The trials have...

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Alien plants strangle local ones

E.M. Manoj, KALPETTA,   The Hindu, September 7, 2015 The rampant growth of invasive alien plants is a concern for the wildlife managers in the district. “The spread of invasive plants, especially Senna spectabilis , is posing a major threat to the forest areas of the district, due to its quick growth and coppicing character,”...

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Evict encroachers from forestland: HC

The Hindu, September 5, 2015  KOCHI, A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Friday directed the State government to initiate proceedings under the Kerala Land Conservancy Act and Kerala Forest Act to evict those who had encroached upon forestland after June 1, 1977 and complete the eviction in six months after the completion of the proceedings. The Bench comprising Chief Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice A.M....

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ESA in Kerala may be 9,839 sq km

T. Nandakumar,  Thiruvananthapuram,   The Hindu, September 5, 2015 A four-member delegation led by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy met Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi on Friday to clarify the demarcation of ESAs (Ecologically Sensitive Areas) in Kerala. The delegation, which included Environment Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, Principal Secretary, Environment,...

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Nilgiri tahr population in new pockets

K.S. Sudhi, KOCHI,   The Hindu, September 4, 2015 Nilgiri tahr populations have been recorded from 17 hitherto unrecorded pockets across Kerala and Tamil Nadu, according to a non-governmental organisation. This is the only species of mountain ungulates that exists in southern India. It was during a four-year-long survey, organised by the WWF and forest officials, that its presence in new and small pockets was identified....

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ESA demarcation: State to bank on population density argument

T. Nandakumar, Thiruvananthapuram,   The Hindu, September 3, 2015 he State government went into a huddle on Wednesday following the clarifications sought by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on the demarcation of ESAs (Ecologically Sensitive Areas) in Kerala. Ministers and senior officials participated in a series of meetings convened through the day to prepare the State’s response...

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New hope for Wayanad’s vultures

E.M. Manoj, Kalpetta The Hindu, September 1, 2015 Wayanad’s majestic vultures may yet live on. Vulture conservationists in the State are upbeat over the curbs on Diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory drug acknowledged to have caused the decimation of vultures in the Indian subcontinent. It had cast its pall over Wayanad too. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had recently restricted human formulations of injectable...

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