The Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) has drawn up a project for protection and conservation of plant bio-diversity in the Western Ghats areas where mono-culture over the years has severely af

Central government’s affidavit before Supreme Court on endosulfan

Environmentalists in Kerala’s Idukki district see a grand design in the Central government’s affidavit before the Supreme Court that seeks to allow the sale of endosulfan in the country except in Kerala and Karnataka. The ban in Kerala, they aver, will not be effective if the pesticide is freely available in neighbouring Tamil Nadu. They point out that in the border district of Idukki, where cardamom is grown in large scales, highly toxic (red-labelled) pesticides are widely used even after their ban.

Shrinking of core forest area, lack of awareness too are factors

The rising number of man-animal conflicts are caused by commercial cultivation of soft crops in the border areas and human habitation in forest areas, blocking the path taken by wild animals, especially elephants, said Forest Department sources.