Researchers claim India is losing its forests more rapidly than Brazil and Malaysia. They question the findings of the latest State of the Forest Report 2011 which highlights that forest cover has increased by nearly five per cent between 1997 and 2007 and is presently covering nearly 24 per cent of India’s geographical area.

Researchers, including Jean-Philippe Puyravaud and Priya Davidar of Pondicherry University and William Lawrence of James Cook University assert that what the Forest Survey of India describe as forests, often consists of tree cover and poplar eucalyptus plantations.

The ministry of environment and the state government of Assam have been rapped on their knuckles by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for their failure to stop the stone crushing units operating around the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve and in the Karbi-Anglong Elephant Reserve.

The NGT had asked both the state government and the ministry to respond to this unregulated quarrying taking place in the crucial “No Development Zone” (NDZ) especially since wildlife specialists had warned that this activity was adversely affecting the wildlife in the reserve.

Following meetings with both minister for aviation Ajit Singh and environment minister Jayanti Natarajan on the controversial carbon emissions levy that EU has introduced, Connie Hedegaard, European Union climate action commissioner, claimed the tax is inevitable “as aviation is increasing and emissions from aviation are also increasing.”

India, along with the international community, led by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICOU), has fiercely opposed the tax introduced from January 1 with airlines accusing the EU of having taken an extra territorial decision.

The latest data put together by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) trashes the automobile industry contention that personal cars account for only 0.6 per cent of India’s diesel consumption.

Estimates recently released by the Society for Indian Automobile Manufactures (SIAM) and the 12th Planning Working Group on Petroleum Sector (WGP) had highlighted that personal cars, SUVs and taxis jointly accounted for five per cent of total diesel use in the country.

The Rajasthan state government’s determination to construct a canal which will slice through the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (RTR) is going to take a heavy toll on the tiger population of this high-p

The setting up of 63 thermal power plants along the coast line of Andhra Pradesh will place this state in the category of one of the biggest carbon emitters in the world.

The biggest amongst these power stations is the Krishnapatnam power station which claims it will provide electricity to 7 million homes. Dr Babu Rao, a retired chemical engineer formerly with the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, pointed out,

In a bid to ensure greater accountability, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has decided to conduct an annual tiger census from 2012 in all 39 tiger reserves of the country.

Environmentalists have come out in strong support of minister for petroleum and natural gas S. Jaipal Reddy’s proposal to impose a 15 per cent duty on all diesel-run passenger vehicles.

The proposal has been sent to the ministry of finance for finalisation. The Kirit Parikh committee had earlier recommended a one-time additional excise tax of `80,000 on diesel cars.

Punjab is set to become the first state to opt for unique indigenously developed ultra sound tracking technology device called “silent observer” (SIOB) which will keep a tab on illegal sex determin

The tiger has traversed 300 km from the Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) to reach this island covered by tall grasses and with plenty of neelgai and wild pigs for prey.
The matter of concern for the state government, as it is for the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), is that this majestic animal should not stray into a heavily populated village where there is a strong likelihood of the animal coming to harm.