-Tehelka Close to 30 percent of forests have been converted to Chir Pine monocultures displacing grazing rights of several communities like the Gaddis and Gujjars. There is no quantitative assessement of the impact of loss on people's lives The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Act, or Recognition of Forest Rights Act - commonly known as the Forest Rights Act (FRA) was passed by Parliament in 2006 to address historical injustices...

-The Hindu Dehra Dun: The Uttarakhand Government would request the Centre to review the notification on eco-sensitive zone between Gomukh and Uttarkashi as its implementation would adversely affect all development activity and economic progress of the region. Briefing newspersons after a high-level meeting at the Secretariat here on Thursday, Chief Secretary Alok Kumar Jain said it had been decided to seek a review by the Centre after discussing the legal aspects, adverse...

-The Hindu     It is endemic in 10 of 11 WHO member-states in the region About 1.3 billion people in South-East Asia continue to be at risk of malaria, even though substantial progress has been made in controlling the disease. The region bears 15 per cent of the global burden, second only to Africa. Malaria is endemic in 10 of the 11 WHO member-states in South-East Asia. Maldives has been malaria-free since 1984. The...

-Live Mint Government rejects coal price pooling, moves closer to allowing projects assured fuel linkages by CIL to import coal The government rejected a proposal to pool coal prices and instead moved a step closer to allowing power projects that had been awarded through competitive bidding and assured fuel linkages by state-owned miner Coal India Ltd (CIL) to import the fuel and pass on the incremental costs as higher electricity tariffs. Price pooling...

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) has been the target of criticism from industry groups to the Prime Minister for allegedly holding up infrastructure and industrial development through its system of green clearances. But a recent analysis of 5 years of decision-making put out by an environmental group suggests why these attacks might be misplaced, given the ease with which every single of 262 proposed hydropower and irrigation projects...