Forest

India joins Brazil-led forest fund as observer, calls for stronger ambition

India on Friday said global climate ambition remains inadequate even a decade after the Paris Agreement, as it joined Brazil's new global fund for tropical forests as an observer and called for developed nations to accelerate emission cuts and deliver promised climate finance. Delivering India's statement at the Leaders' Summit of COP30 in Belem, Brazil, Indian Ambassador to Brazil Dinesh Bhatia reaffirmed the country's commitment to multilateralism and the Paris Agreement, which marks its 10th anniversary this year. "India welcomes and supports Brazil's initiative in establishing the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), representing a significant step towards collective and sustained global action for the preservation of tropical forests. India is pleased to join the Facility as an observer," Bhatia said. Launched on Thursday, TFFF is a Brazil-led global fund to reward tropical countries for protecting and expanding forests. It aims to mobilise around USD 125 billion through .

Countries at COP30 endorse new fund to pay nations for preserving forests

World leaders gathered at the COP30 Leaders' Summit in Belm, Brazil, to launch the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, a landmark global initiative aimed at channelling large-scale finance into the protection of tropical forests. The Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) is designed to reward countries for keeping their forests standing rather than waiting for them to be cut down or degraded. According to the launch statement, it has been endorsed by 53 countries. The host country, Brazil, described the move on Thursday as a turning point in global environmental finance and one of the most important deliverables of this year's UN climate conference. It creates a system of regular, performance-based payments to tropical forest nations that successfully maintain their forest cover, verified through monitoring tools such as satellites. The goal is to shift the financial incentives in favour of conservation and to recognise the immense ecosystem services provided by tropical forests

India rises to 9th spot in forest area, ranks 3rd in forest gain: FAO

India has climbed to the ninth spot globally in total forest area and retained its third rank in annual forest area gain, according to a new report released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The Environment Ministry said this reflects the success of India's large-scale afforestation and community-led forest protection efforts under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said India's rise from the 10th to the ninth position marks a "major achievement" in sustainable forest management and ecological conservation. The minister said that growing public participation in tree plantation campaigns, particularly under the 'Ek Ped Ma Ke Naam' initiative, and large-scale state government drives have contributed to this progress. "Here is a reason to rejoice for all Indians. We have achieved 9th rank in terms of forest area at the global level as compared to 10th spot in the previous assessment. We have also maintained our 3rd ..

Govt to allow harvest, sale of sandalwood from pvt land: Kerala minister

Kerala Forest Minister A K Saseendran on Friday said the state government will enact legislation permitting the Forest Department to harvest and sell sandalwood trees grown on private land. He made the announcement while inaugurating the State-level Wildlife Week celebrations organised by the Forest and Wildlife Department at Sree Narayana Guru College, Chelannur. The minister said farmers will be able to generate additional income through sandalwood cultivation. As the first step, legislation will be enacted within a year to allow the Forest Department to harvest and sell sandalwood trees grown on private land, a government release said. Saseendran added that one crore sandalwood saplings would be planted across Kerala and that farmers would receive the full sale value of sandalwood trees. He said the government plans to move forward with a comprehensive forest policy. According to Saseendran, 100 colleges in the state will be designated as Knowledge Partner Institutions to ...

An indicator about the health of India's forests is increasingly worrying

The value of timber and non-timber products falls across states, even as carbon stocks rise

Amazon rainforest on Indigenous lands can prevent some diseases: Study

Every time humans cut into the Amazon rainforest or burn or destroy parts of it, they're making people sick. It's an idea Indigenous people have lived by for thousands of years. Now a new study in the journal Communications Earth & Environment adds to the scientific evidence supporting it, by finding that instances of several diseases were lowered in areas where forest was set aside for Indigenous peoples who maintained it well. With the United Nations climate summit set for Brazil in November, the study authors and outside experts said the work highlights the stakes for people around the world as negotiators try to address climate change. Belem, the city hosting the conference, is known as the gateway to the Amazon, and many who will be attending, from activists to delegates, think the role of Indigenous communities in climate action and conservation will be highlighted in a distinct way. The forest man' or man forest,' according to the Indigenous perspective, has always been ...

Forest dept not nodal agency for community forest resource management: Govt

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has clarified that Community Forest Resource Management Plans (CFRMPs) must be prepared by Gram Sabhas through their Community Forest Resource Management Committees (CFRMCs), in accordance with the Forest Rights Act and its rules, and not by the forest department or any other agency. In a letter dated August 14 to the chief secretary of Chhattisgarh, the ministry responded to recent communications from the state's forest department and tribal development department seeking guidance on CFR management. The ministry said that the guidelines issued on September 12, 2023, along with Rules 4(1)(e) and 4(1)(f) of the Forest Rights Rules, clearly state that the CFRMC, constituted by the Gram Sabha, is responsible for preparing the CFRMP on its behalf. The ministry's response comes amid controversy over a circular issued by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), Chhattisgarh, dated May 15, which stated that the forest department would manage communi

Put wire mesh on safari vehicles, urge tourists to act properly: Minister

Karnataka Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar B Khandre has said that he instructed biological parks officials to install mesh on the windows and photography holes of all safari vehicles. The minister issued the notification immediately after a leopard entered a safari vehicle at the Bannerghatta Biological Park (BNP) in Bengaluru on August 15. The leopard had scratched a 12-year-old boy before it could be chased out of the vehicle. BNP's leopard safari enclosure, launched last year, covers 20 hectares and is India's largest leopard safari featuring semi-wild leopards, mostly rescued from in and around Bengaluru. Khandre said he had instructed the officials to take all necessary precautionary measures during the safari and to give appropriate warnings to tourists and to print a warning message on the safari ticket itself.

Assam govt starts drive to clear encroachment on 3,600 acres of forest land

The Assam government on Tuesday began a massive eviction drive to clear alleged encroachment on over 3,600 acres of forest land in Golaghat district, officials said. The move by the state government will affect at least 1,500 families, they said. Several senior officials of the Golaghat district administration and the forest department told PTI that the eviction drive started in the morning to clear the alleged encroachment on almost 11,000 bighas (over 3,600 acres) of land of Rengma Reserve Forest in Uriamghat along the Assam-Nagaland border in Sarupathar sub-division. "The eviction drive started from the main market in the Bidyapur area. We will gradually proceed to residential areas and demolish the illegal housing structures," an official said. He claimed that around 10,500 bighas to 11,000 bighas of land were encroached upon by the people. "Around 2,000 families are living in those areas. Out of them, notices were served to about 1,500 families, who illegally settled here. Th

Environment ministry rejects FRA subversion charge, says facts twisted

The Environment Ministry has strongly rejected allegations by forest rights groups that it is attempting to "subvert" the Forest Rights Act (FRA), calling them a "gross misunderstanding of facts" and asserting that it remains committed to both environmental protection and the welfare of forest-dependent communities. In a recent letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, more than 90 forest rights organisations had accused the ministry of trying to undermine the FRA and demanded that Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav clarify his reported statement that the "FRA leads to forest degradation". The groups said the minister's remarks, published in a newspaper article on June 5, were "false, misleading, legally untenable and an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the FRA". Responding to the criticism, the ministry said in a statement: "The reference in social media to a letter alleging 'Subversion of the Forest Rights Act' reflects a gross misunderstanding of facts. MOEFCC remains ...

MoEF trying to 'subvert' FRA: Over 90 forest rights groups writes to PM

Over 90 forest rights groups have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that the Union environment ministry is attempting to "subvert" the Forest Rights Act (FRA) and demanding that Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav clarify his reported statement that the "FRA leads to forest degradation." PTI reached out to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for comment. A response is awaited. The groups, comprising Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan and Himdhara Environment Research and Action Collective of Himachal, among others, said in their June 28 letter, copies of which have been sent to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) and the ministries of Environment, Tribal Affairs and Social Justice, that Yadav, in a statement published in a newspaper on June 5, "cited titles granted under the FRA as a reason for forest degradation." They called the statement "false, misleading, legally untenable and an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the FRA." They

Forest areas encroached in 25 states, MP, Assam worst affected: Govt report

Over 13,000 sq km of forest area, more than the total geographical area of Delhi, Sikkim and Goa combined, is under encroachment in 25 states and Union Territories, according to data submitted by the Union Environment Ministry to the National Green Tribunal. Last year, the NGT took suo motu cognisance of a PTI report that cited government data showing that 7,50,648 hectares (or 7,506.48 sq km) of forest area -- more than five times the size of Delhi -- was under encroachment in India. In April last year, the NGT had directed the ministry to compile the details of encroachment of forest areas in all states and Union Territories in a prescribed format. In a report submitted to the NGT last week, the ministry said that as of March 2024, a total of 13,05,668.1 hectares (or 13,056 sq km) of forest area was under encroachment in 25 states and UTs that have provided data so far. These states and UTs are Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, ...

Watch: PM Modi inaugurates Vantara; high-fives lion, feeds leopard cubs

Vantara is one of the world's largest wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, and conservation centers

Over two years on, Kuno's cheetahs still play a losing Hunger Game

Vanishing prey and fierce competition from leopards keep cheetahs on edge

Green cover in India absorbed more carbon than it emitted annually: Study

The green cover in India has absorbed more carbon than it emitted annually in the last decade, but the rate of sequestration declines during extreme climate events such as drought, a study has revealed. The study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bhopal, also stressed the critical role of vegetation in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Green vegetation absorbs carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and releases it back into the air through respiration. "The overall balance between this uptake and release of CO2 is known as the net ecosystem exchange (NEE). When the NEE is positive, it means vegetation is releasing more carbon than it absorbs, and when it's negative, it indicates that the vegetation is effectively storing carbon," said Dhanyalekshmi Pillai, associate professor, head of the Max Planck Partner Group Germany, and of the Earth and Environmental Sciences, IISER Bhopal. "For the last decade,

'450 families evicted from Assam's forest to reduce man-elephant conflict'

Around 2,000 "illegal settlers" belonging to 450 families were evicted on Tuesday from 55-60 hectares of forest land in Goalpara district of Assam, an official said. Several government installations were also removed from that area during the eviction drive which will help prevent man-elephant conflict, he said. The exercise was carried out at Bandarmatha Reserve Forest, spread across 118 hectares, in Lakhipur Range in presence of a heavy posse of security personnel and civil and forest officials. "The eviction drive is being carried out as per a Gauhati High Court order directing that all reserve forest areas in Goalpara be cleared of encroachments. Man-elephant conflict is the highest in Goalpara in the entire country," Goalpara Divisional Forest Officer Tejas Mariswamy said. After clearing the area, an afforestation drive will be carried out and make it suitable for elephant habitation, he added. "We are clearing 55-60 hectares. Around 450 families consisting of about 2,000 peo

Govt defends Great Nicobar project amid criticism, cites national interest

The project could also effect a potential genocide of the Shompen tribe, Ramesh had alleged, echoing concerns of various activists over the past year

Tendu leaves' collection increases 20% this season in Chhattisgarh

The collection season in the state starts from the third week of April and continues till the second week of June

19 dead as forest fires approach densely populated areas of central Chile

Intense forest fires burning around a densely populated area of central Chile have left at least 19 people dead and destroyed about 1,100 homes, officials said on Saturday. Chile's Interior Minister Carolina Toha said there were currently 92 forest fires burning in the centre and south of the country, where temperatures have been unusually high this week. The deadliest of the fires were occurring in the region of Valparaiso, where authorities urged people not to leave their homes so firetrucks, ambulances and other emergency vehicles can transit with greater ease. Toha did not offer any details about the 19 people killed. She said that two fires near the towns of Quilpue and Villa Alemana had burnt through at least 8,000 hectares (19,770 acres) since Friday. One of the fires was threatening the coastal resort town of Vina del Mar. Three shelters have been set up in the Valparaiso region, and Toha said that rescue teams were still struggling to reach the most heavily affected ...

Delhi govt launches portal to empower citizens to protect forests, wildlife

Delhi Environment and Forest Minister Gopal Rai on Sunday launched a portal to enhance public awareness about the forest and wildlife sanctuary areas that need protection. By knowing which regions are designated for conservation, Delhi residents can contribute to the preservation of their surroundings, a statement quoted the minister as saying. The portal, evanlekh.eforest.delhi.gov.in, introduces several features that empower citizens and streamline information dissemination. It utilises a geographic information system (GIS) platform to visualize data effectively, aiming to enhance the ease of doing business and living in Delhi. Also, users can generate KML files on the portal. It currently provides information on various aspects, including protected forest areas, reserve forest areas, morphological details, wildlife sanctuaries, buffer areas of wildlife sanctuaries, and administrative boundaries of the Department of Forest and Wildlife. Looking ahead, the portal's future ...