-The United Nations   Indigenous foods which have been neglected by the food industry and urban consumers can be an important tool to alleviate hunger and malnutrition, a United Nations official said today. “The focus of research and crop improvement on a few widely consumed crops has helped meet the food needs of the rapidly growing world population, but it has narrowed dramatically the number of species upon which global food security and...

-PTI The National Green Tribunal has sought the reply of Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on a plea against grant of any clearance to any new project in ecologically sensitive Western Ghats. The Tribunal also issued notices to the state governments of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu seeking their replies on the plea for implementation of the report by Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) on the...

-The Telegraph Over 10 crore tribal people who earn their living by selling minor Forest produce can now look forward to a better deal. State governments and the Planning Commission have backed a proposal to fix a uniform minimum support price for 13 such items by an independent commission. The ministry of tribal affairs is likely to take up the proposal for setting up a National Minor Forest Produce Price Commission (NMFPPC) with...

-The Economic Times The government has removed roadblocks to coal mining by leading business houses and taken the first step to relax scrutiny of corporate expenditure on oil and gas fields, in a burst of action that has cheered investors and industrialists in the languishing energy sector. A group of ministers recommended to the cabinet on Wednesday that Reliance Power's Chhatrasal block, which is attached to the 4,000 mw Sasan Ultra Mega...

-FAO On the path to Rio+20, FAO calls for a future with both healthier people and healthier ecosystems Sustainable development cannot be realized unless hunger and malnutrition are eradicated, FAO said in a policy document prepared for the Rio+20 Summit to be held in June in Rio de Janeiro. "We cannot call development sustainable while this situation persists, while nearly one out of every seven men, women and children are left behind, victims...