India's forest cover has declined by 367 sq km between 2007 and 2009. While the figure may not seem alarming, it runs counter to the impression that afforestation and conservation programmes are yielding results. The largest dip in forest cover was in the northeast which lost 550 sq km. This loss was very partially made up elsewhere, even as there was an overall negative growth in green cover. There was better...

-The Times of India Over 70% of India's population, or 100.41 crore face the risk of malaria infection. Around 31 crore, however, face the "highest risk" of getting infected by the vector-borne disease. According to the World Malaria report 2011, released by the World Health Organization (WHO), India has over 10 crore suspected malaria cases, but only 15.9 lakh could be confirmed last year. Of the confirmed cases, 8.3 lakh people were infected by...

-The Telegraph   The world’s nations negotiating for years on strategies to combat climate change have agreed for the first time to work towards a new pact that would force all big polluters, including emerging economies such as India and China, to curb their greenhouse gas emission. A UN climate change conference in Durban concluded this morning after negotiators from more than 190 countries agreed to consider a new document that would carry...

-IANS   An impassioned speech by Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan capped the finale of the UN climate summit that ended here early Sunday with a Durban Package, after she warned that India 'will never be intimidated by any threat or pressure'.   Natarajan's speech ensured that India's main concern - the inclusion of the concept of equity in the fight against climate change - became part of the package.   The package said all countries would...

-The Telegraph   The main points agreed upon in the Durban talks: Kyoto protocol extension After the failure of Copenhagen in 2009 to come up with a new, internationally-binding deal and only incremental progress a year later in Cancun, a partial legal vacuum had loomed as drafting a new UN treaty is extremely time-consuming. Sunday’s deal extends Kyoto, whose first phase of emissions cuts run from 2008 to the end of 2012. The second commitment...