The world needs to act quickly to counter the erosion of species. The task is particularly important for India, one of the 12 mega-biodiversity centres.  May 22 marked the International Day for Biological Diversity. It commemorates the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) that day in 1992. As of December 2009, exactly 192 countries and the European Commission were signatories to it. This year has been declared the...

Like coal, the iron ore mining sector in the country too will soon have ‘go’ and ‘no go’ areas where green clearance will be given depending on their ecological sensitivity, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has said. He was speaking at a national workshop on “Reforms in Environmental Regulation” on Tuesday where he underlined the need to ensure developmental activities while protecting ecological concerns. “We would soon extend the exercise of...

Thirty years ago, a department of environment was set up in the Central government; 25 years ago, this was upgraded into a full-fledged Ministry of Environment and Forests. As we mark these anniversaries, it must be said that the ministers in charge of this ministry have generally been incompetent, or malign, or both. Some might make an exception for Maneka Gandhi, who was minister of state for the environment between...

Maoists capitalise on mistrust between JFMCs and tribals Move intended to counter Maoist influence over local tribals Panchayats in tribal areas will soon be controlling forest management at the ground level, replacing the control of the Forest Department. At a meeting held earlier this week between Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh and Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj C.P. Joshi, it was decided to remove Joint...

Less than a week after Vedanta University's environmental clearance was put on hold, the Centre has suspended the environmental clearance issued to another Vedanta group company for an iron ore mine in North Goa. The Pirna iron ore mine project, to be established by Sesa Goa at Pirna and Nadora villages, received clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests on June 9, 2009. However, following a May 10, 2010 order of...