Protected Areas

"This law is a global first," said committee chair Pascal Canfin before the deal. "That's why there is concern that it could lead to a stress on food security."

The Left government in Kerala on Wednesday categorically made it clear that no action will be taken that would adversely impact the life and livelihood of people living near the protected forests. The government also cautioned against false propaganda by vested interests to create misunderstanding among local residents with regard to buffer zone issue. The strong stand of the state government is to exclude the inhabited areas from the buffer zone limit and it would go to any extent to protect the interest of local residents and farmers in this regard, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a press conference here. A final report would be submitted before the Supreme Court only after considering the opinions and suggestions of people in the designated areas and after including all buildings and structures in those regions, he said. Estimates of buildings and other constructions in the regions and evidence, substantiated with maps, specifying the inhabited areas shall be submitted .

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced here on Saturday that it has added another 16 protected areas to its Green List

Governments establish protected areas so that plants and animals can live without human pressures that might otherwise drive them towards extinction.