Study on disappearance of Sandwich Tern from the estuary begins

The disappearance of Sandwich Tern, one of the unique migrant bird species found in the Kadalundi Vallikkunnu Community Reserve, from the Kadalundi estuary over the past couple of years has raised concerns about the changes taking place to the ecology of the sanctuary.

The census shows that Kerala has a literacy rate of 94 per cent. The child population in Kerala has shown a declining trend.

Restoration of lost land to tribes remains a mirage, says NGO study

Despite epochal laws and Supreme Court orders, restoration of tribal land remains a mirage, a study has said.
In Attappady alone, over 10,796.19 acres had been alienated from tribespeople between 1960 and 80, reportedly the highest in the State, a study on the topic by L.K. Ananthakrishna Iyer International Centre for Anthropological Studies (AICAS), a non-governmental organisation, published recently, said.

Most translocation efforts by Forest Department have been successful

The Forest Department has embarked upon a challenging task of mitigating animal-human conflicts in the periphery of forest areas by capture and translocation of wildlife responsible for such conflicts. Translocation is the transport and release of wild animals from one location of a forest area to another with emphasis on nuisance- and conflict-control.

CAG sees weak political will, highlights failure of scheme

A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report has charged the State with a lack of political will in providing land to landless tribal people in the State.
The Audit Report (General and Social Sector) of the CAG for the financial year 2011-12 accuses the government of tardy implementation of a Rs. 175-crore scheme for the resettlement of landless tribal people launched in 2001.

At a time when malnutrition deaths among tribal children in Attappady have raised questions on the food and nutritional security of tribal populations in the state, Edavakagramapanchayath in Wayana

Since quarrying resumed after a ban, prices go up by 40%

Public protest is mounting against the sky-rocketing price of granite products and the increase in granite quarrying activities in Wayanad district. Though the district administration had banned the functioning of quarries on revenue land for nearly seven months following a Supreme Court directive, quarrying was resumed nearly a fortnight ago with the State government intervening in the issue on the ground that the ban had adversely affected the construction sector in the district.

Tiger Reserve status accorded for the 1.40 lakh hectares of Sathyamangalam with 90,000 hectares as core zone is a shot in the arm for conservation of rare flora and fauna besides combating the pressures of poaching as the Sathyamangalam valley is on the State border.

Welcoming the decision of the Union Government, president of Osai (an NGO involved in conservation) K. Kalidasan said that the status will go a long way in getting the required funds and undivided attention. Mr. Kalidasan pointed out that during 2007, eight to 12 tigers were found in the area. Organisations such as World Wide Fund for Nature, World Wildlife Fund and Wildlife Trust of India confirmed the tiger existence through various studies

Tiger Reserve status accorded for the 1.40 lakh hectares of Sathyamangalam with 90,000 hectares as core zone is a shot in the arm for conservation of rare flora and fauna besides combating the pressures of poaching as the Sathyamangalam valley is on the State border.

Welcoming the decision of the Union Government, president of Osai (an NGO involved in conservation) K. Kalidasan said that the status will go a long way in getting the required funds and undivided attention.

A standard operating procedure (SOP) to deal with the emergency arising due to the straying of tigers in human-dominated areas has been issued by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), s