Nature

Monitored wildlife populations have declined by an average of 73 per cent in just 50 years from 1970 to 2020, primarily due to habitat loss, climate change, and pollution, according to a new report by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The 'Living Planet Report' 2024 also revealed sharp declines in three species of vultures in India, with populations dropping dramatically between 1992 and 2022. The white-rumped vulture population has declined by 67 per cent, the Indian vulture by 48 per cent, and the slender-billed vulture by 89 per cent. Globally, the steepest decline is reported in freshwater ecosystems (85 per cent), followed by terrestrial ecosystems (69 per cent) and marine ecosystems (56 per cent). Habitat loss and degradation, driven primarily by food systems, is the most commonly reported threat to wildlife populations worldwide, followed by overexploitation, invasive species, and disease, the report said. In India, some wildlife populations have stabilized and shown ..

The Alaska Triangle came into the limelight when two US politicians suddenly disappeared while travelling to Juneau from Anchorage in 1972. Here's all you need to know

The Supreme Court asked the Centre on Wednesday to consider whether mining activities could be prohibited in areas that have been declared conservation reserves and community reserves. A bench headed by Justice B R Gavai observed that the basic idea of providing community reserves and conservation reserves was to provide a corridor for free movement of wildlife from one national park or wildlife sanctuary to another. The bench, also comprising Justices P K Mishra and K V Viswanathan, said if conservation reserves and community reserves are to act as corridors, then mining activities in those areas may be detrimental to the movement of wildlife. "However, since the basic idea of providing community reserves and conservation reserves is to provide a corridor for the free movement of wildlife from one national park/wildlife sanctuary ... we request the Union to consider whether at least in the areas which are declared as conservation reserves and community reserves, the mining could be

India saw a massive 280 per cent increase in the number of projects recommended in wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in 2023-24 as compared to 2022-23, according to the data presented in Parliament on Monday. Union Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh also informed the Lok Sabha that a total of 957.25 square kilometers or 95,724.99 hectares of forest area has been diverted for non-forestry use under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 over five years starting from April 2019. The minister said that 71 project proposals were approved in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries across the country in 2019-20. The numbers stood at 85 in 2020-21, 154 in 2021-22, 150 in 2022-23, and surged to 421 in 2023-24. Singh also shared that 8,731 requests for forest land diversion were approved between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2023, amounting to a total of 95,724.99 hectares of forest area being set aside for non-forestry use. Madhya Pradesh saw the highe

European Union countries on Monday gave final approval to a major and long-awaited plan to better protect nature in the 27-nation bloc. After surviving a razor-thin vote by lawmakers last summer, the so-called Nature Restoration Plan faced opposition from several member states for months amid relentless farmers' protests that contributed to leave the bill in a deadlock. The law, which aims at restoring ecosystems, species and habitats in the EU, was finally adopted at a meeting of environment ministers at Luxembourg after rallying the required support from a qualified majority representing 15 of the 27 member states and 65 per cent of the EU population. This is the final step before this law can enter into force, said the Belgian presidency of the EU Council. The Nature Restoration plan is a part of the EU's European Green Deal that seeks to establish the world's most ambitious climate and biodiversity targets, and make the bloc the global point of reference on all climate ...

The destruction of tropical forests gets so much (justified) attention that we're at risk of missing how much progress we're making in cooler climates.

Low-income countries could lose up to 30 per cent of nutrients from seafood due to climate change, researchers say in a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. These findings about the loss of nutrients, including calcium, iron, protein and omega-3 fatty acids, were valid in a high emissions and low mitigation scenario, the researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada, said. The nutrient loss may be restricted to 10 per cent, however, should the world meet the Paris Agreement targets of limiting global warming to 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius, they said. "Low-income countries and the global south, where seafood is central to diets and has the potential to help address malnutrition, are the hardest hit by the effects of climate change," said first author William Cheung, professor and director of the UBC Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF). The researchers used predictive climate models on historical fisheries and seafood farming databases to ma

India will move ahead taking the fusion of progress, environment and culture forward, Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi said on Monday. Speaking on the sidelines of an event organised here by the Balipara Foundation of Assam and Conservation International, the minister of state for external affairs said there can be no culture without nature. "Protecting nature is our culture and that is what one needs to understand. India will move ahead taking the fusion of progress, environment and culture forward," she said. Lekhi said responsible consumption has to be linked to consumption patterns. "Simply talking about it will not help. It is also about responsible living, responsible consumption patterns, and that is where we will link it to life and sustain the environment and we will be able to fortify our actions," she said. The Great People's Forest of the Eastern Himalayas, one of the most significant conservation efforts in the history of South Asia, was launched at the event. The Grea

Protesters and legislators converged on the European Union parliament Tuesday as the bloc faces a major vote on protecting its threatened nature and shielding it from disruptive environmental change, in a test of the EU's global climate credentials. Spurred on by climate activist Greta Thunberg, hundreds of demonstrators were set to demand that the EU pushes through a bill to beef up the restoration of nature in the 27-nation bloc that was damaged during decades of industrial expansion. Inside the legislature in Strasbourg, France, parliamentarians were bracing ahead of Wednesday's vote for a brutal debate over whether to push the plan off the table. The legislature's environment committee last month was deadlocked at 44-44 on it. We urge them to not reject it but vote for the strongest law possible. To mitigate the climate crisis and halt biodiversity loss, we must #RestoreNature, Thunberg wrote on her Twitter feed. The bill is a key part of the EU's vaunted European Green Deal th

Climate change has made travelling by planes more turbulent today than it was four decades ago, according to a study. The researchers from the University of Reading in the UK found that clear-air turbulence, which is invisible and hazardous to aircraft, has increased in various regions around the world. The study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, found that at a typical point over the North Atlantic one of the world's busiest flight routes the total annual duration of severe turbulence increased by 55 per cent from 17.7 hours in 1979 to 27.4 hours in 2020. Moderate turbulence increased by 37 per cent from 70.0 to 96.1 hours, and light turbulence increased by 17 per cent from 466.5 to 546.8 hours, the researchers said. The team noted that the increases are consistent with the effects of climate change. Warmer air from carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is increasing windshear in the jet streams, strengthening clear-air turbulence in the North Atlantic and ...

Established by the United Nations in 1972, World Environment Day serves as a global platform to engage people and governments in environmental initiatives that promote sustainable development

The World Economic Forum launched the Giving to Amplify Earth Action to help unlock the $3 trn of financing needed each year to reach net-zero, reverse nature loss and restore biodiversity by 2050

The High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People has announced the formation of a new permanent Secretariat to be co-hosted by World Resources Institute and the Global Environment Facility

Biodiversity targets will be hard to achieve

The Kerala government on Tuesday said its intention was to try limiting buffer zones within forest regions and that it was also considering a field survey of affected areas to resolve concerns of the public on the issue. Speaking to reporters at Thiruvananthapuram after meeting major archbishop-catholicos of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, Baselios Cleemis, Kerala Transport Minister Antony Raju and state Water Minister Roshi Augustine said the Left government's intention was to try and limit buffer zones within the forests. The ministers, while downplaying the meeting with Cardinal Cleemis as casual, said the government was also considering carrying out field surveys of the areas where buffer zones have to be implemented in accordance with the Supreme Court directions. They met the Cardinal hours before the high level meeting, called by Vijayan on Monday, to be held in the afternoon. The high level meeting will be chaired by the CM and would comprise the state Ministers of ...

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) welcomed the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Agreement, committing the world to halting and reversing cby 2030

Canadian environmental groups have welcomed the Kunming-Montreal Agreement at COP15 in Montreal to halt and reverse global biodiversity loss by 2030 and applaud Canada's leadership

Montreal deal also aims to provide critical financing to developing world; draft calls for raising $200 billion by 2030 for biodiversity, with a plan that could provide another $500 billion

India has about 27 per cent of its area under conservation and can comfortably reach the target of protecting 30 per cent of land and water by 2030, according to a senior delegate negotiating for the country at the COP15 biodiversity conference here in Canada. J Justin Mohan, the Secretary of the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), noted that India is already a member of the High Ambition Coalition (HAC), a group of 113 countries that aims at bringing 30 per cent of the geographical area under conservation by 2030, also known as 30X30 target. With our protective area network comprising reserved forests, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, mangroves, Ramsar sites, eco-sensitive zones, and community reserves, India has already achieved about 27 per cent of the area under conservation, Mohan told PTI. We are now focusing on more areas to be brought under conservation through biodiversity heritage sites and Other Effective Conservation Measures (OECMS). India can comfortably achiev

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced here on Saturday that it has added another 16 protected areas to its Green List