When it comes to Karnataka's forest cover, even a brigand like Veerappan had his uses. His dreaded presence in the jungles in advertantly served to preserve the state's green cover, even though the bandit himself was an unrepentant poacher of elephants. "He kept encroachers at bay," admits ^ ornithologist and bird specialist H M.B.
Refugees clash For the first time in 16 years, a violent confrontation took place in the third week of February between Bhutanese refugees and villagers in Pathari, 600 km east of Nepal's
Ugandan forest authorities have said that forest encroachers in the country's Kiboga, Mityana and Mubende districts should vacate the government-owned Luwunga Forest Reserve by the middle of July.
1805: Nilambur Kovilgam, a ruler of a Kerala province, annexes 40,500 ha of Gudalur 1845: Kovilagam's successors (jenmies) start leasing out land to plantation companies. They also employ
Mangroves, although have unique ecological characteristics and multifarious uses are in a very much degraded state. In Orissa, except Bhitarkanika, the small patches of mangroves which are available along the coastal track are considered as the relics of a glorious past when thousands hectare of land was covered with mangroves.
Sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) is one of the most widely distributed large mammals in India. At the same time, the sloth bear has suffered as much as other large mammals from human impacts on forested areas. The North Bilaspur Forest Division, Chhattisgarh, which is an un-protected area, harbours a large number of sloth bears.
Human population increases and development in Northeast India have reduced and fragmented wildlife habitat, which has resulted in human-wildlife conflicts. Although species such as tigers (Panthera tigris) and rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) cause conflict, elephants (Elephas maximus) have become the focal point for conflict and conservation issues.
