Many countries do their best to preserve the diversity of their flora and fauna. However, the Maldives have gone even further.

Thiruvananthapuram: The report released by the expert committee, constituted by the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) to formulate parameters for inviolate areas around forests, wetlands, catchment areas and perennial rivers, overlooks areas that may have lesser bio-diversity but still possess large ecological significance.

Apart from obvious damaging consequences for already fragile environments, this lacuna could become a loophole to sanction mining and other commercial activities around these areas. Incidentally, the expert committee was constituted in September 2011 to identify areas where mining and other commercial activities would be completely banned.

The industries in the Bhairahawa-Lumbini road, the area along the highway between Bhairahawa and Lumbini in Rupandehi district, have a major impact on water, soil, air, flora and fauna, health and

Karnataka, With 41 Eco-Conscious Constructions, Is No. 4 In The Country

Karnataka is home to 41 green buildings, the fourth largest figure for any state in the country. Of them, 39 are in Bangalore. Green buildings are fast catching the imagination of the people. Though the penetration level is just around 5%, the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) is happy the residential sector is coming up with such buildings. Going by industry prediction, the residential sector — both independent houses and residential apartments — are set to outnumber commercial buildings by 2030 in India.

Security mechanisms in Sindhupalchok, Ramechhap and Dolakha districts have been mobilised along the Gaurishankar Conservation Area to control rising cases of wildlife and vegetation smuggling.

Thousands of acres of uncultivable forested hills in Haryana, Gurgaon and Faridabad face the same prospect

Two decades ago when Sunil’s parents sold off 25 acres of their family’s share of land in the Mangar forests of Faridabad, they and other villagers thought the buyers were fools to buy it up because they were assured that they could continue to use it for grazing cattle and firewood. Today, 25-year-old polio-stricken Sunil has dropped all his other dreams and moves with lightning speed on his crutch, across the forest, in government offices and with fellow activists “to save the forests from a determined State government that wants to open it for colonisation.”

ALARMING decrease in water flow down the rivers have caused high salinity in both water and soil of the Sundarbans causing a massive change in floral and faunal composition of the world's largest m

Prospective Sites Include Ghats, Sanctuaries, Falls

Lucknow: For wildlife enthusiasts and nature lovers planning to explore eco-tourism sites of Uttar Pradesh, there is help at hand. Working on ways to promote eco-tourism in the state and to attract people to exotic locales, UP Forest Corporation (UPFC) will go public with its initiative this week. The corporation will begin with selected tourist sites, including Katarniaghat. Other sites will be taken up over a period of time.