-The Indian Express Hardline conservationists fail to see possibilities of people-wildlife coexistence The COVID-19 pandemic has driven migrant workers back to their villages, including many situated inside or on the fringes of forested areas, including sanctuaries and National Parks. Even as they seek to remake livelihoods there, a new battle has emerged between the forest department (FD) and these local communities. It pertains to the declaration of a Critical Wildlife Habitat (CWH),...

-Hindustan Times Handbook of Forest Conservation Act, 1980, now reads: “Prior recommendation of Standing Committee of NBWL under the provisions of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 shall be obtained, if required, for taking developmental activities in/over an area falling within eco sensitive zones.” Railway projects, small-scale development works involving construction over less than 20,000 square metres, and under-25 MW capacity hydropower plants will not require approval from the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL)...

-The Hindu Their interaction with outsiders is less as Nature gives them abundant nutritious food in the shape of leafy vegetables, roots, tuber as well as fungi. BHUBANESWAR: With many States resorting to lockdown measures to break the chain of infections in the wake of the spiralling COVID-19 positive cases, tribal communities in Odisha’s protected forests seem to be better placed to keep the virus at bay during the monsoon season. Most national...

-The Hindu Two rhinos drown in the Kaziranga National Park where water level has subsided Assam’s flood death count increased by seven on Wednesday to reach 66. The water level, however, improved across the State. Officials of the State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said three of the seven people who drowned on July 15 were from Morigaon district. Two were from Barpeta and one each from Sonitpur and Golaghat districts. Number of displaced people...

-Down to Earth Union govt was aware of high mortality even as PM Modi played up rise in count Ninety-two Asiatic lions have died in Gujarat’s Asiatic Lion Landscape (ALL) since January 2020, according to a Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) committee report. ALL includes Gir National Park and Sanctuary and covers eight districts of Gujarat, including Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Porbandar, Rajkot, Gir-Somnath, Botad and Jamnagar, according to the...