Bina Agarwal , director and professor of economics, Institute of Economic Growth, has written a pioneering new book, Gender and Green Governance, that explores a central question: If women had adequate representation in forestry institutions, would it make a difference to them, their communities and forests as a national resource? Pamela Philipose spoke to Agarwal: Why has access to forests been such a conflict-ridden issue? This is not surprising. Forests constitute not...

An Environment ministry committee has confirmed that the Forest Rights Act was violated during acquisition of land for South Korean steelmaker Posco's project in Orissa. The Forest Advisory Committee, which in December 2009 had given approval for the $12 billion project, did not recommend scrapping the approval given. In August 2010, the ministry had stopped the acquisition work on the basis of a report submitted by the NC Saxena Committee, constituted to...

After 10 days of back and forth discussion, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) plans to recommend withdrawal of the clearance granted to the South Korean giant Posco for its Rs.54,000-crore integrated steel plant in Orissa. “It was a conditional clearance that specifically mentioned the need to meet the FRA [Forest Rights Act] requirements,” said an FAC member, who did not wish to be named. “We have agreed that they have not...

A solar device turning waste heat into electricity in rural China and an Ugandan business manufacturing stationery from agricultural waste are among the dozens of winners of a United Nations-backed sustainable development award, it was announced today. The Supporting Entrepreneurs for Environment and Development (SEED) Award recognizes promising new locally-driven enterprises that work to improve livelihoods, tackle poverty and manage the sustainable development of natural resources in developing countries. The SEED initiative...

The deck's being stacked against Posco. In the biggest blow yet to the South Korean giant's Rs 54,000-crore project in Orissa, a key committee of the Environment ministry has recommended the withdrawal of forest clearance to the multinational's plan to build an integrated steel plant. If accepted by Environment minister Jairam Ramesh, the recommendation of the forest advisory committee (FAC) could sound the death-knell for the country's biggest FDI project....