Page 87 - Environment
Bangladesh tiger population rises after poaching crackdown
The number of wild tigers in Bangladesh's Sundarbans area has increased for the first time in 15 years after a major crackdown against poachers in the world's largest mangrove forest, officials said Wednesday. A tiger census report released by the forestry department showed that the number of the famed big cats in the Bangladeshi parts of the mangroves has increased to 114 from 106 four years ago. Alarm bells were raised in 2015 when a census found that only 106 tigers were living in the forest, less than a quarter of the 440-strong population in 2004. "It marks an eight-percent increase in tiger population. It is a great success," the minister for forestry Shahab Uddin said as he revealed the census report. "The (tiger) population trend is positive, which indicates our current conservation strategies and programmes are effectively working," chief forest conservation official Shafiul Alam told reporters. The authorities conducted the census on 1,656 square kilometres (640 square ...
Dependence on few crops impacts food security: Vice President
Vice President M.Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday said that the dependence on few crops affects food security and loss in diversity can also lead to lifestyle diseases.
Experts stress on biodiversity conservation to keep Ganga clean
National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature jointly organised a one day workshop on the occasion of "The International Day for Biological Diversity" here.The aim of the workshop was to develop a road map for expanding and upscaling sustainable agriculture in the Ganga basin in order to amplify the impact of several other initiatives of NMCG on the health of the holy river.While highlighting the impact of pesticides that flow into the Ganga, U.P Singh, the Secretary in Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation said, "One of the reasons for the pollution in river Ganga is also because of the large scale use of chemical fertiliser, pesticide, etc. We have already taken up a programme with the Ministry of Agriculture and Ayush to have a kind of organic farming."The Namami Gange programme, which is an integrated Ganga conservation mission, is working towards realising the vision of Aviral and Nirmal Ganga. The ..
Fears rise China could weaponise rare earths in US tech war
The US has hit China where it hurts by going after its telecom champion Huawei, but Beijing's control of the global supply of rare earths used in smartphones and electric cars gives it a powerful weapon in their escalating tech war. A seemingly routine visit by President Xi Jinping to a Chinese rare earths company this week is being widely read as an obvious threat that Beijing is standing ready for action. "We should firmly grasp the strategic basis of technological innovation, master more key core technologies and seize the commanding heights of industry development," Xi said during the visit, the official Xinhua news agency reported Wednesday. "Rare earth is not only an important strategic resource, but also a non-renewable resource," he added, in comments likely to further fuel speculation. However, analysts say China appears apprehensive to target the minerals just yet, possibly fearful of shooting itself in the foot by hastening a global search for alternative supplies of the ...
Mathura man's mission to save Yamuna
An innovative green crusader from Mathura, Pradeep Bansal, is out to save Yamuna from environmental degradation. The businessman has drawn attention of environmentalists and eco-activists who now want his experiment replicated in other towns along the banks of the river.
No encroachment shall be allowed on forest land in Southern Ridge: Delhi govt tells NGT
The Delhi government Wednesday told the National Green Tribunal that no encroachment shall be allowed on forest land in Southern Ridge. The Forest Department told a bench comprising Justice Raghuvendra S Rathore and expert member Satyawan Singh Garbyal that fencing work on the land is going on and shall be completed soon. "No encroachment, whatsoever, shall be allowed to be made on the land in question, including the one which has already been allotted," it said. The tribunal has summoned the district magistrate, tehsildar and patwari of the area concerned to appear in person and explain the queries in the matter. The NGT has now posted the matter for hearing on June 26. Earlier, the green panel had rapped the Delhi government over improper depiction of encroachments on forest land in Southern Ridge and sought a proper map giving complete detail. The tribunal said the map, prepared by the Revenue Department, which has been shown to it, has neither been signed by the official of the ...
Germany relaxes rules on wolf culls
The German government on Wednesday relaxed rules on culling wolves, as the population of the predator has grown since its return to the country two decades ago. After a emotional debate pitting environmental against farming concerns, the government decided that wolves can now be shot if they cause "serious damage" to livestock farmers. In cases of repeated attacks against sheep flocks or cattle herds, individuals can be hunted down even if it is unclear which animal in a pack was responsible. Previously, wolves could only be culled if they were deemed to spell a real threat to human lives. A ban has also been imposed on feeding wolves, so as not to encourage the wild animal from shifting closer to human habitations for food. The environment ministry estimates that there are currently 400 wolves in Germany, while the German Hunters' Association believes the population is more than 1,000 strong. There have been no confirmed wolf attacks on humans since the animals returned to Germany ..
PaK, Russia vow to prevent outer space from becoming arena for military confrontation
Pakistan and Russia Wednesday voiced concern over the weaponisation of the outer space and vowed to prevent it from becoming an arena for military confrontation, nearly two months after India shot down one of its satellites in space with an anti-satellite missile. Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov signed a joint statement on 'No First Placement of Weapons in Outer Space' on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Foreign Ministers' meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The joint statement said that the outer space should be used in compliance with international law for the benefit of all nations, regardless of the level of their economic, scientific or technological development. Pakistan's Foreign Office (FO) in statement said that the two countries share a common position on the prevention of arms race in outer space and work collectively in various international fora towards that goal. "The signing of the ..
Over 9000 stubble-burning cases in Punjab, Amritsar tops list
Even after prohibitory orders, farmers in Punjab continue to burn stubble with 9,784 incident being recorded in the state from April 15 to May 21.As per the data compiled by the Punjab Remote Sensing Department in Ludhiana, Amritsar has recorded the maximum number of stubble-burning incidents (908) followed by Sangrur at 774. Mohali recorded the lowest with 89 cases.The maximum number of wheat-straw burning incidents were reported on May 12 and 20 this year.Dr Anil Sood, head of Agro-ecosystems and Crop Modeling (ACM) division at Punjab Remote Sensing Centre said that fewer cases were recorded in the state this year, as compared to last two years."We detect fire incidents with the help of the satellites. This year, harvesting got delayed due to the untimely rains in the state. This year, so far 9,784 cases have been reported. Though in 2018 it was 10,095 and in 2017 it was around 14,000 fire incidents."When asked as to why no stringent action is taken against defaulting farmers, the ..
VP Naidu calls for equitable, people-centred sustainable development
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday called for achieving equitable and people-centred sustainable development and stressed the need for efficient and frugal use of natural resources.Inaugurating the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) celebrations, in Chennai, the Vice President said that biodiversity is fundamental to the survival of the human race and underlined that man should re-establish the link with nature.Observing that sustainable development mandates the efficient and frugal use of available natural resources including biodiversity, Naidu said, "a grave challenge we face today is the destruction of forests and the loss of species."Expressing his concern over the loss of trees at an unbelievable pace due to deforestation, urbanisation, industrialisation and pollution, Naidu said that India's forest cover stands at 21 per cent against the global standard of 33.3 per cent."India has lost over 1.6 million hectares of tree cover between 2001 and 2018, ...
India launches a new earth watching satellite, can penetrate clouds
India on Wednesday successfully put into orbit an earth observation satellite that can see through thick clouds and enhance the country's surveillance capabilities in military and civilian sectors to keep an eye also on terror camps across the border in Pakistan. Dubbed as a 'spy' satellite, RISAT-2B (Radar Imaging Satellite-2B) will replace its predecessor RISAT-2 which has been actively used by India to monitor activities in terror camps across the border in Pakistan to thwart infiltration bids by terrorists. RISAT was successfully launched in 2009. The RISAT-2B is equipped with a synthetic aperture radar that can take pictures of the earth during day and night, and also under cloudy conditions, said an official of the Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO). With a mission life of five years, the satellite will also be used for military surveillance, the official said. As the 25-hour countdown which began Tuesday concluded, ISRO's trusted workhorse, the Polar Satellite Launch ...
Swaraj urges SCO members to back UN Security Council reforms
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Wednesday urged members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to support efforts for the comprehensive reforms of the UN Security Council to make it more representative and effective. India has been calling for the reform of the UN Security Council (UNSC) along with Brazil, Germany and Japan for long, emphasising that it rightly deserves a place at the UN high table as a permanent member. The G4 nations support each other's bids for permanent seats on the UNSC. Addressing the meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers here in the Kyrgyz capital, Swaraj said India firmly believes in the efficacy of multilateralism and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter. Swaraj also said India was committed to the goal of combating climate change and welcomes the agreement reached at the Katowice Climate Change Conference in Poland in 2018. "India firmly believes in the efficacy of multilateralism and .
FAW outbreak: Rs 20 cr maize crop damaged in Mizoram
The fall armyworm (FAW), an insect indigenous to the Americas, has caused an estimated loss of Rs 20 crore to maize cultivation in over 130 villages in Mizoram, officials said on Wednesday.
Jeff Bezos finally gets '.amazon' domain: Report
After seven years of trying, Jeff Bezos led e-commerce giant Amazon has finally bagged the '.amazon' domain name from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
Mining giant BHP says coal outlook 'challenged'
BHP, the world's biggest miner, said Wednesday the outlook for coal was "challenged" and there was "no appetite for growth" as it sought to capitalise on opportunities in electric transport and renewables. The miner outlined its long-term strategy months after other major global commodities giants -- including Glencore and Rio Tinto -- said they were limiting or moving away from coal production. "Thermal coal should remain a large market -- but over time we expect it to plateau and then decline as headwinds strengthen," BHP's chief financial officer Peter Beaven said in a briefing. In a slide presentation, Beaven highlighted BHP's outlook that energy coal assets were challenged and could be phased out -- potentially sooner than expected -- as there was "no appetite for growth" in energy coal regardless of asset attractiveness. The Anglo-Australian firm said two key trends -- the electrification of transport and the move away from fossil-fuel based power plants -- meant there would be .
ISRO successfully puts earth observation satellite into orbit
In yet another major feat, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday put earth observation satellite RISAT-2B into orbit to help boost the country's surveillance capabilities, among others.Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C46) lifted off at 05:30 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here and injected RISAT-2B into an orbit of 556 km, about 15 minutes and 25 seconds after the launch, an ISRO statement said.After the automatic deployment of the solar arrays of RISAT-2B, ISRO's Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Bengaluru assumed control of the satellite. In the coming days, the satellite will be brought to its final operational configuration.This was the 72nd launch vehicle mission from the Sriharikota Range, the statement said."RISAT-2B is a radar imaging earth observation satellite weighing about 615 kg. The satellite is intended to provide services in the field of agriculture, forestry and disaster management," it said.ISRO officials said RISAT-2B ..
India puts RISAT-2B satellite into orbit (2nd Lead)
India on Wednesday successfully placed into orbit radar imaging earth observation satellite RISAT-2B, the third in the RISAT series -- after RISAT-2 and RISAT-1.
Formation of Moon brought water to Earth: Study
A cosmic body that hit the Earth and led to the formation of the Moon about 4.4 billion years ago may have also delivered large quantities of water to our home planet, making it habitable, scientists have found. The Earth is the only terrestrial planet with a large amount of water and a relatively large moon, which stabilises the Earth's axis. Both were essential for Earth to develop life. The Moon was formed when Earth was hit by a body about the size of Mars, also called Theia. Until now, scientists had assumed that Theia originated in the inner solar system near the Earth. The study, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, showed that Theia comes from the outer solar system, and it delivered large quantities of water to Earth. "Our approach is unique because, for the first time, it allows us to associate the origin of water on Earth with the formation of the Moon. To put it simply, without the Moon there probably would be no life on Earth," said Thorsten Kleine, Professor of ...
Send your name to fly aboard next Mars rover
Although it will be years before the first humans set foot on Mars, the US space agency has invited public to submit their names to fly abroad the next rover to Red Planet in 2020.
World nations failing the poorest on energy goals: study
More than 150 million people are gaining access to electricity every year, reducing the ranks of those who live without power, but this is not enough to meet global development goals, according to a report released Wednesday. Furthermore, efforts to cut pollution from cooking food and promote renewable power for heat and transportation are likewise far behind the goals that world nations set in 2015, according to the report produced by the World Bank and other international bodies. Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, which jointly produced the report, said the findings were a call to action. "I am particularly concerned by the dramatic lack of access to reliable, modern and sustainable energy in certain parts of the world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, a region where we need to really concentrate our efforts," Birol said in a statement. In 2015, all United Nations member states adopted 17 goals for sustainable development by 2030 in areas such as ...