Nature News Vol. 4, Issue No 7 (July 2015)

BIRDS

The Hindustan Times 10 July 2015 
Recent showers bring back rare species to Okhla Bird Sanctuary: Resident species of birds such as the Purple Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Little Cormorant as well as the threatened ones like the rare Oriental Darter are back to the Okhla Bird Sanctuary after the monsoon showers and are nesting in large numbers. Read more

CLIMATE CHANGE

The Times of India 31 July 2015
Changing the climate, together: World leaders unite to accelerate the clean energy revolution : More than 20 countries from six continents met recently at the sixth Clean Energy Ministerial, or CEM, in Mérida, Mexico and discussed a path forward to accelerate a global clean energy revolution that is already underway. Read more

ENVIRONMENT

The Pioneer 9 July 2015 
Govt takes steps to increase green cover:  A number of innovative measures are in the offing to increase the green cover in the country. These include GIS monitoring of forest and its activities, Urban Forestry, School Nursery Programme and protection of endangered species amongst others. The Sixth meeting of National CAMPA Advisory Council (NCAC) under Read more
 
The Times of India 21 July 2015 
Plantation drive in Delhi begins in earnest, target is 5L: With the first few showers already moistening Delhi's otherwise arid landscape, the forest department has started its annual plantation drive. The target is to plant at least five lakh saplings. Hopes exist of better participation from residents this year. Accompanied by 3-4 MLAs in each of the three zones Read more

FOREST & BIODIVERSITY

The Hindustan Times 8 July 2015 
Eco-sensitive Western Ghats next on govt’s development map: The government’s decision on demarcating an eco-sensitive zone in the Western Ghats will balance the needs of the environment and development by banning excessive mining and polluting industries in the zone, environment minister Prakash Javadekar said on Tuesday. Read more
 
The Deccan Herald 14 July 2015
 Saving forests: A new strategy: A recent article published in the Science Advances journal has raised the spectacle of apocalypse with the undeniable findings of the researchers and scientists that the earth has entered sixth mass extinction phase. What with vertebrae vanishing at 114 times faster than normal, humans could Read more

ANIMAL – HUMAN CONFLICTS

Deccan Herald 16 July 2015 
Wildlife Conflicts: A facebook post by the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama said: Because past environmental destruction was the result of ignorance, we can easily forgive it. Today, we are better informed. Therefore, it’s essential that we make an ethical examination of what we have inherited, what we are responsible for, and what we will pass on to coming generations. Read more 

WETLANDS, RIVERS & WATER

The Deccan Herald 13 July 2015 
First unified survey of Ganga dolphin soon: India will soon launch the first unified survey to enumerate the endangered Ganga dolphins, the National Aquatic Animal, whose count is an important indicator of the health of the holy river.  The survey would be simultaneously conducted in Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal from October this year and  Read more
 
The Hindu 15 July 2014 
River linking crucial for water security: The Union Government has said that the river inter-linking programme was crucial for water and food security, and sought the cooperation of the States in implementing it. The Ken-Bewta link between Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh will be the first project. Read more
 
The Deccan Herald 20 July 2015 
Change in mindset can save Yamuna: Water conservationist Rajendra Singh is pained by the decay in the Yamuna, the city’s lifeline, and wants better commitment from the Delhi government and affection from people for reviving the river. The Ramon Magsaysay Award winner, credited with bringing to life seven rivers in the catchment area of Yamuna, said Read more

WILDLIFE & ENDANGERED SPECIES 

The Hindustan Times 1 July 2015 
Green light for broad gauge line in elephant corridor:  The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) - the apex body chaired by the Prime Minister - gave the final nod to the Sevoke Rongpo new broad-gauge railway line earlier this month.  Wildlife experts condemned the order, claiming the new line was bound to increase deaths of North Bengal elephants that are regularly mowed down by speeding trains along the existing NJP-Sevoke route. Read more
 
The Hindustan Times 7 July 2015 
Elephant poaching haunts Kerala: The Centre asks State Forest Department to explain the steps taken for the protection of elephants. Pulling up the State Forest Department for lack of “adequate protection measures in the Edamalayar forest range” where poachers gunned down five elephants, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has sought an explanation from the department on the incidents. Read more

The Times of India 9 July 2015 
Govt sanctions Rs 20cr to save five endangered animals:  Waking up to the dwindling number of certain endangered species, the Centre has decided to step up efforts to protect five of them -Dugong (sea cow), Gangetic dolphin, Great Indian Bustard, Manipur brow antler deer (Sangai) and wild water buffalo ­ for now and take up others in due course.
Read more
 
The Times of India 10 July 2015
 India too in global effort to save snow leopard habitat:  Thanks to camera trap imagery, Uttarakhand has been able to capture images of snow leopards in the higher reaches of Nanda Devi Biosphere, Gangotri National Park and, recently, in Bagheshwar Forest Division. Now, the state is set to be part of an international effort, Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Programme (GSLEP) Read more
 
The Hindu 10 July 2015 
T-24, the tiger in the news: Conservation enters a brave new phase, as members of the public unite into a vocal and opinionated band that pitches its voice against the wildlife experts.  An unprecedented drama has just been played out in the forests of the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan over the fate of tiger T-24, also known as Ustad. T-24 reportedly killed Rampal Saini Read more
 
The Hindu 18 July 2015 
Butterfly species found: The 15 mm tiny insect has an interesting life cycle. Scientists have discovered a tiny butterfly in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh. It is 15 mm in size and has been named Banded Tit Hypolycaena narada.  Kurshnamegh Kunte of the National Centre of Biological Sciences, Bengaluru, who discovered the species, said Read more
 
The Pioneer 19 July 2015 
India joins snow leopard global plan : India is now a part of the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Programme (GSLEP), an international initiative of 12 countries set up to conserve the habitat of these elusive big cats. Five States in the country including Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim are known to have  Read more
 
The Pioneer 27 July 2015 
Rajasthan, MP in soup ahead of International Tiger Day: Controversy has erupted in two tiger range States of the country, just ahead of the International Tiger Day on July 29. In Rajasthan, the State forest department is under the scanner of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for secretly shifting a tiger from Ranthambore to a zoo in Udaipur Read more
 
The Hindustan Times 28 July 2015 
After tree census, govt now planning a wildlife count: After the proposal for a tree census in the Capital, Delhi's forest department is planning to conduct a wildlife census after the monsoon to keep a tab on the fauna in the green zones here. Reports keep coming of animals being sighted, but there needs to be a database Read more