the ninth meeting of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity concluded on May 30 in Bonn, Germany, with measures to protect ecosystems. The Conference of Parties (cop), the governing body of the convention, agreed on regulating the international biofuel sector. It also passed a moratorium on ocean fertilization

In a reversal of its earlier plan, the Bush administration now wants to keep Alaska's potentially oil-rich wetlands off-limits to oil and gas drilling. The Bureau of Land Management has

ON the World Environment Day on Thursday, green activists in Nilgiris demanded the conservation of Nilgiri Hills to save it from destruction. Nilgiris is the first biosphere reserve in the country and is the district where the forest coverage is around 55 percent.

In an effort to conserve and preserve rare and endangered species of flora and fauna in the Papikondalu wildlife sanctuary, forest authorities will establish a bio-diversity lab and develop the sanctuary at a cost of Rs 36 lakh under a centrally-sponsored scheme in East Godavari shortly.

A day-long awareness program on biodiversity and its conservation was held at Swahid Akshyendra High School premises recently. The program was sponsored by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, as a part of National Enviroment Awareness campaign and organized by Survival, an NGO in association with Assam Science Society. The program began with art and slogan writing competition among the students.

The global scenario on preserving biological diversity remains dismal. The latest findings of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) show that nations, including India, all signatories to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), are unlikely to achieve the target set for them by 2010 to protect their biodiversity.