-Down to Earth A total of seven Great Indian Bustards have died in 2022 due to electrocution A Supreme Court (SC) bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud asked the Union government December 1, 2022, if a ‘Project Bustard’ could be launched on the lines of ‘Project Tiger’. The bench was hearing petitions throwing light on the critical situation of Great Indian Bustards (GIB) and their deaths due to electrocution from...

-The Telegraph Study reveals higher genetic diversity in the estimated 100 to 140 bustards in the state Wildlife scientists have discovered unique versions of genes in the last surviving great Indian bustards outside Rajasthan and recommended their introduction into the bustard breeding programme aimed at pulling back the iconic bird from imminent extinction. The unique gene sequences would enrich the gene pool available for India’s conservation breeding efforts underway in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, and...

-Down to Earth The United Nations declared 2021-2030 the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration In this Anthropocene era, human interference can be seen in every component of Earth’s ecosystem. Due to such human-mediated changes, the loss of freshwater habitats such as lakes, ponds and wetlands, as well as their aquatic biodiversity and water quality are becoming a major concern.  Freshwater ecosystems are of enormous ecological importance and human need (such as drinking water and...

-The Telegraph Jail and racetrack on beach bully list New Delhi: An audit has identified dozens of public and private projects that have breached India’s coastal regulations — beach resorts, ports, roads, a racetrack, and even a jail near an Olive Ridley turtle nesting site. The exercise by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has flagged deficiencies in the Union environment ministry’s project approval mechanisms and lapses by state coastal regulatory authorities that...

-The Hindu * What are the Forest Conservation Rules and how will it affect forest dwellers and tribals? What is the government’s position on the updated rules? The story so far: The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sparred earlier this week on the latest version of the Forest Conservation Rules. Congress spokesperson, Jairam Ramesh, alleged that the latest version of the rules, updated last month, allowed forest land to be...