The contemporary trend of global warming is aptly highlighted in the IPCC report 2007. There is a strong consensus amongst scientists and planners today that the earth's climate is entering a warm episode, nudged primarily by human activities of fossil fuel burning and land use changes that inject steadily increasing amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. It is also quite possible that the increased concentrations of atmospheric CO2 will also have a direct influence on productive systems of plant species in view of increasing rates of photosynthesis and improved water use efficiency.

Poor management of irrigation water and inadequate drainage system in plains have made vast tracts of agricultural land unproductive due to waterlogging and high moisture content. Integrated development of such waterlogged ecosystem has been taken up under NWDPRA (National Watershed Develpoment Project for Rainfed Areas) with the twin objectives of sustainable production of food, fruit, fuel and bio-mass and restoration of ecological balances with the watershed.

Joseph Wright and Helene Muller-Landau suggest that regeneration of tropical forests might lead to far less species loss than is feared by most tropical biologists (12 May, p 42). There is currently very little reason to think so.

Home-garden-system is an ecosystem of different kind and a common feature of most suburban landscape in many rice farming tropical countries. If these kinds of ecosystems are well maintained, well-developed and used most sustainably; they can contribute a lot to the conservation of biological diversity by lessening the destructive use of the few nature reserves and forest ecosystems remaining.

The Western Ghats and Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot, with its unique assemblages of plant and animal communities and endemic species, is globally important for conserving representative areas of the Earth

Freshwater basins are vulnerable to human-induced change for a number of reasons. The change detection study of Ansupa lake, Orissa was carried out by using multi-temporal satellite data clearly indicates the decrease in wetland area. Due to high anthropogenic pressure, the wetland is shrinking day-by-day.

Vindhyan region is very rich in plant biodiversity because of its variety of geology, land shapes like plateau, plane, valley and hill areas. There are variety of climate and altitudinal variations compiled with varied ecological habitants.

This report provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date scientific assessment of the impacts of climate change, the vulnerability of natural and human environments, and the potential for response through adaptation. It evaluates evidence that recent observed changes in climate have already affected a variety of physical and biological systems and concludes that these effects can be attributed to global warming.

This study presents information on fire in greater depth than was possible in FRA 2005, including its incidence, impact and management in different regions of the world. It recognizes that not all fires ware destructive and that fire management is an essential part of sustainable forest management. Indeed, some ecosystems require fire to induce regeneration and to maintain or enhance biodiversity, agricultural productivity and the carrying capacity of pastoral systems. The study also finds that people are the overwhelming cause of fires in every region, for a wide range of reasons.

A scoping study to assess exposure of financial institutions to biodiversity business risks and identifying options for business opportunities.

Pages