-The Hindu MoEF issues fresh guidelines to accelerate environmental appraisal of projects The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) wants to expedite the environment appraisal of industrial projects. These appraisals, as per norms, are conducted by independent panels of experts that have representatives from the government as well as from outside, trained in matters of ecology, wildlife and habitat preservation. The Expert Appraisal Committees (EACs) opine on whether a proposed project beyond a...

-Down to Earth The largest losses, mostly in Forests, occurred in the Sundaland, Indo-Burma and Mesoamerica hotspots, all in developing countries Top biodiversity hotspots of the world lost 148 million hectares (mha) of land to agriculture and urbanisation between 1992 and 2015, a global analysis released October 30, 2020, by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, said. Most of the land lost — nearly 40 per cent, or 54 mha — was...

-Down to Earth The time to put off the inevitable question about human relationship to nature is long past. Our assumption that we can control and modify nature without repercussions is a fallacy Lofty mountains that touch the azure skies, gentle hills clothed in dense tropical Forests and evergreen valleys — the Western Ghats nurture a variety of ecosystems not found in any other part of the world. Spread over 164,280 square kilometres,...

-Down to Earth The committee has to meet regularly to come up with suggestions on the way forward regarding the implementation problems of FRA The Union government September 10, 2020, created an inter-ministerial committee comprising officials from the environment and tribal affairs ministries , to look into the issues plaguing the Schedule Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 or FRA. The officials of both ministries blamed the poor...

-Down to Earth Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs should create a COVID-19 response cell to monitor issues and provide support, it said The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis has hit the forest dwellers in India hard: The pandemic has led to a loss of livelihood and employment, caused food insecurity and socio-economic distress for the marginalised forest-dwelling communities, according to a new report. Atrocities and injustices faced by these communities due to forest,...