-The Telegraph Amplifying the capacity of mangroves as bio-shields against extreme events possibly helped Bengal tap into MGNREGA funds Within weeks of the Indian Ocean tsunami on December 26, 2004, I was watching video clips of the event at the Choto Mollakhali market in the Gosaba block of South 24 Parganas. One message that came through these video clips was that fewer lives were lost where there was coastal vegetation. This positively...
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'Villain' shrub may yield drought-resistant rice -Ekatha Ann John
-The Times of India Chennai: For long, they were dubbed as the villain among vegetation, sucking all the water from ground, spreading rapidly along the coast and degrading the environment. More than a century after Prosopis juliflora, a shrub, was introduced in Indian soil by the British, scientists are now trying to use its genes to engineer rice varieties that can withstand water scarcity. After coming up with rice grains that are...
More »Kutch's 'Swimming Camels' recognized as separate breed
-The Times of India AHMEDABAD: Kutch's unique breed of camels that can swim in seawater - identified as Kharai due to its habitat and eating habits - has been recognized as a separate camel breed by the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) located in Karnal, Haryana. Kharai has now become the ninth breed of camels found in India. Now, Kutch has two identified breeds native to the region - the...
More »350-tonne oil spill by Bangladeshi ship threatens Sunderbans -Krishnendu Mukherjee & Rakhi Chakrabarty
-The Times of India KOLKATA: The fragile Sundarbans region stared at an ecological nightmare after a vessel carrying 350 tonnes of oil crashed, spilling the toxic liquid over an 80-sq-km area along the Sela river in Bangladesh and threatening a sanctuary of rare Irrawaddy and Ganges dolphins. The site, near Mongla port, is about 100km from the Kolkata port and Indian officials are on alert over the possibility of the oil slick...
More »UN agency launches first-ever database on global land use
-The United Nations The United Nations agricultural agency today launched a new database which gathers under one roof previously scattered information about land cover - how much land is covered by croplands, trees, forests, or bare soils - crucial to establishing a good global understanding of the physical characteristics of the Earth's surface. "A strong understanding of our planet's land cover is essential to promoting sustainable land resources management - including agricultural...
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