As summer sets in the next few weeks and many districts are staring at a severe drought, the slogan for World Wetlands Day this year -- Wetlands take care of water -- is a portent for the future.

Seeks Dilution Of EIA Norms

Thiruvananthapuram:Efforts are on to undermine Western Ghats Experts Ecology Panel (WGEEP) report suggestions in the state. TOI has learnt that the state government has told the Dr K Kasturirangan review committee that proposed mining regulations in the eco sensitive zones (ESZ) will impact mining activities and there is a need to dilute the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure “in view of the lesser scale and the extent of mining activity” in the state.

The increasing incidence of man-animal conflict in northern Kerala have prompted wildlife researchers to go to the root cause of the issue.

Besides the straying of tigers and leopards into human habitations in some districts, human-elephant conflicts were reported from Palakkad and Malappuram districts. The incidents were relatively new in these districts and the reasons needed to be probed thoroughly, said E.A. Jayson, Head of the Wildlife division of the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI), Peechi.

Says there is not enough water to generate the power claimed

Chairman of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) Madhav Gadgil said in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday that the Athirappilly hydel project was undesirable, not just on environmental, but on technical and economic grounds also. During an interaction with the media on the sidelines of an international conference on Conservation of Forests, Wildlife and Ecology, he said the WGEEP report had termed the project undesirable on the basis of inputs provided by the River Research Foundation.

Kerala will get 266 MW power from Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu when the power plant is commissioned to its full capacity of 2x1000 MW, according to Kerala Electricity Ministe

The Malampuzha Dam Protection Council has called upon the government to close down a hospital waste management plant run by Indian Medical Association Goes Eco-Friendly (IMAGE), an initiative of th

Wildlife biologists are looking into incidents of animals being run over on forest routes and its impacts on wildlife in Kerala.

The study, pioneered by P.S. Easa of the Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, will focus on the road between forest check-posts at Vazhachal and Malakapara and the stretch between the check-posts of Chinnar and Meladi. A good number of wild animals, including hare, amphibians, and reptiles, are killed by vehicles every year. However, these roadkill go unrecorded as focus has always been on large animals, said Mr. Easa.

Demands raised before committee appointed by Fisheries Department

Fish farmers have urged the government to provide quality fishlings and fish feed to promote aquaculture in agricultural fields. The farmers raised their demands at a meeting convened here on Thursday by a 12-member committee appointed by the Fisheries Department to formulate policies to promote sustainable aquaculture in pokkali and kole lands.

Rs.1,000 to be given for paddy cultivation in a hectare

High-tech farming will be introduced in all panchayats in the district, Agriculture Minister K.P. Mohanan has said. He was addressing a meeting here on Monday to review activities in the district’s agriculture and dairy sectors. “Precision and greenhouse farming will be introduced in panchayats. In the first phase of the project, demonstration units will be set up in the panchayats,” he said.