Page 5 - Environment

Atmanirbhar Bharat will be complete if we care about environment: WB Guv

West Bengal Governor Dr C V Ananda Bose on Friday said the concept of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (self reliant India) will be complete only if we care about the environment and address climate change. Bose was addressing an event at Raj Bhavan here to launch three books of his Goa counterpart P S Sreedharan Pillai. "Atmanirbhar Bharat will be complete only if we care about the environment and trees and address climate change," Bose said. He referred to one of the books launched titled 'Heritage Trees of Goa' and said it would resolve the "grave issue of climate catastrophe that has enveloped the world". He hailed Pillai for successfully handling all his assignments in life, including being a lawyer, writer, politician and governor. Speaking on the occasion, Pillai said, "Our culture is not only human-centric as is the case of Western society. We don't view nature as something to be exploited. Our philosophy is acentric and embraces all living organisms." Pillai's two other books, 'When

Jairam Ramesh criticises Modi govt for hastily changing the Forest status

Former environment minister Jairam Ramesh on Thursday took a swipe at the Centre after the Odisha government reportedly withdrew its controversial "deemed forest" order, saying that in its hurry to do away with 'deemed' forests, the Modi government has actually "doomed forests". Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh shared on X a media report which said that the Odisha government has withdrawn a controversial order issued on August 11, which told district officials that 'deemed forests' as a category would cease to exist under the recently amended Forest Act. "After Parliament passed the dangerous amendments to the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 last week, which many, including me, had warned against, the Odisha government was quick to pass orders that 'deemed' forests would no longer be considered as forests," Ramesh said. "Now the Union Ministry says the state's order is withdrawn. Confusion galore. In its hurry to do away with 'deemed' forests, the Modi government has actually

Environmentalists in bulk quit Twitter after Musk takeover, research finds

Nearly half the environmentalists active on Twitter, now X, left the platform in the 6-months following Musk's takeover, researchers found and say this could have serious implications for public discourse surrounding issues such as biodiversity, climate change, and natural disaster recovery. The researchers studied a group of 3,80,000 "environmentally-oriented users" on Twitter, that included people from the conservation community active in pro-environmental discussions on topics like climate change and biodiversity. Only 52.5 per cent of these environmental users were found to be actively using Twitter in the 6-month period after Musk took over the microblogging platform. Users were considered "active" if they posted on the platform at least once within a 15-day period. Twitter, purchased by Elon Musk in October 2022, had previously served as the leading social media platform for environmental discourse. "Twitter has been the dominant social media platform for diverse environmenta

Parliament passes amendment Bill to decriminalise biodiversity offences

Parliament on Tuesday passed the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which entails provisions for sharing benefits of biodiversity commerce with locals and also decriminalises biodiversity offences. The bill, which amends the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, was passed in Rajya Sabha with a voice vote. The Lok Sabha had cleared the legislation on July 25. Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav said the bill is aimed at providing benefits to tribal and local communities by simplifying processes. "We also want to promote Ayush and Ayurved and for that purpose we brought this amendment," he said. "With the legislation the government is simplifying the compliance burden while encouraging a conducive environment for research and investment," Yadav said. The bill would also help in simplifying the patent application process, he added. "The main objective is to widen the scope of access benefit sharing with local communities, which is the main t

Need to maintain balance between development and environment, says SC

The Supreme Court has emphasised the need for maintaining a balance between development and environment, and said it would hear a matter relating to the Shimla Development Plan on August 11. The Himachal Pradesh government notified the draft Shimla Development Plan last month to regulate construction activities there. A plea pertaining to the issue came up for hearing before a bench of Justices B R Gavai and J B Pardiwala on Friday. The bench said it would examine the plan, keeping in view that a balance needs to be maintained between development and environment. It listed the matter for hearing on August 11. The top court was hearing a plea arising out of a November 2017 order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which had passed a slew of directions while noting that unplanned and indiscriminate development in the core, non-core, green and rural areas within the Shimla planning area had given rise to serious environmental and ecological concerns. The plan was approved by the .

G20 ministers reach agreement on most climate issues: Bhupendar Yadav

Environment Minister Bhupendar Yadav on Friday said the G20 climate ministers' meeting in Chennai on Friday wrapped up with success, with the countries agreeing on 64 out of 68 issues. However, the chair's summary of the meeting highlighted the lack of unity among nations on key issues crucial for limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius such as phasing down unabated fossil fuels, increasing renewable energy, and providing low-cost financing for developing countries. The meeting comes after the bloc, responsible for 85 per cent of the world's GDP and 80 per cent of the emissions, failed to reach a consensus on tripling renewable energy capacity to 11,000 gigawatts by 2030, phasing down the unabated use of fossil fuels and plans to finance the transition during the Energy Ministerial Meeting held in Goa last week. According to the chair's summary, which spells out the issues that lacked agreement, the bloc discussed accelerating the scaling up of renewable energy, tripling of .

Environmental conservation key concern for 21st century: President Murmu

Threats of environmental degradation, depletion in forest cover, global warming and climate change are at the centre stage in the global discourse and partnerships making environmental conservation a key concern for the 21st century, President Droupadi Murmu said on Monday. Addressing the probationers of Indian Forest Service (2022 batch) and officers and officer trainees of Indian Defence Estates Service (2018 and 2022 batch) at Rashtrapati Bhavan, she said their journey as civil servants has begun at a time when India is acquiring a leadership role at global level. "India attracts global attention for its cultural prosperity as well as its technological advancements. India has shown to the world that technology and traditions can go hand in hand," she said. Addressing the probationers of Indian Forest Service (IFS), the President said India's climate and topography is closely connected to its forest distribution. "Forests and the wildlife that they support are invaluable resource

PNB launches 'Project PNB PALAASH' for environmental sustainability

Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Monday announced the launch of its environmental initiative 'PNB Palaash', an eight-month period campaign to embrace sustainability. The campaign would lead to cost savings and operational efficiencies through measures such as energy and resource conservation, paper reduction, waste management and streamlined digital processes, PNB said in a statement. Acknowledging the need for integrating sustainability into every aspect of lives, PNB managing director Atul Kumar Goel said, "As a leading bank in the industry, undertaking environment-friendly initiatives not only aligns with our corporate social responsibility but also presents significant opportunities for business growth." The primary objective of this project is to actively contribute to conservation endeavours, foster the adoption of sustainable practices, and promote active employee engagement, he said. Under this initiative, it said, one lakh plus employees of PNB will plant minimum two saplings

IFSCA, Climate Policy Initiative sign pact on sustainable finance

Offshore financial transaction regulator IFSCA on Tuesday said it has signed an agreement with think tank Climate Policy Initiative for cooperation to increase mobilisation of global sustainable capital flows into India. Sustainable development is a key priority of G20 working groups. Mobilisation of sustainable finance is critical to achieving transition to green and resilient economies. IFSCA (International Financial Services Centres Authority) has taken significant steps to accelerate global sustainable capital flows by creating a conducive regulatory environment, based on international best practices, focused especially on the needs of India and developing countries, the regulator said in a statement. With deep expertise in finance and policy, Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) is an analysis and advisory organisation that works to improve the most important energy and land use practices around the world, it said. CPI's mission is to help governments, businesses, and financial ...

Parliament expected to take up forest bill in Monsoon Session's first week

Parliament is expected to take up the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill in the Monsoon Session's first week as a joint committee of parliamentarians examining the proposed law's provisions adopted its report on Tuesday amid dissents by some opposition members. The committee's chairperson Rajendra Agarwal said its report has been adopted and it will now be tabled in Parliament in the upcoming session. He, however, declined to give details of the report. The bill was introduced by Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav in the Budget Session this year. It seeks to exempt certain categories of lands from the purview of the Forest Conservation Act to fast-track strategic and security-related projects of national importance. Some rights groups and opposition parties have criticised its provisions, asserting that these will compromise safeguards for the country's forests. Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi, a member of the committee, said he has given a dissent note against several provisions

EU faces cliffhanger vote on conserving nature, fighting climate change

Protesters and legislators converged on the European Union parliament on Tuesday as the bloc prepared a cliffhanger 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, a few hundred demonstrators demanded 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. A counter-demonstration of farmers demanded a slower approach that would lessen the impact on their income. Inside the legislature in Strasbourg, France, parliamentarians put in last-minute efforts to sway Wednesday's vote, which could push a key part of the EU's biodiversity protection plans off the table. The legislature's environment committee last month was deadlocked at 44-44 on it. The bill is a key part of the EU's vaunted European Green Deal that seeks to establish the world's most ...

EU faces cliffhanger vote on major bill that is fighting climate change

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

Sariska tigers relocation success story started before 2014: Jairam Ramesh

Former environment minister Jairam Ramesh on Monday said that 15 years ago, the tiger population in the Sariska Tiger Reserve had been reduced to zero, but the relocation of the big cats from Ranthambore and elsewhere to that reserve proved to be a "remarkable success story that started much before 2014". His remarks came over a media report that said the tiger population at Sariska hit its highest mark in three decades at 30, with the birth of two cubs. According to the report, the cubs were born to ST-19 and the trio was captured on camera in the buffer zone of the park near Alwar on July 6. Tagging the report, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Just 15 years ago the tiger population in the sprawling Sariska Tiger Reserve had been completely wiped out. It had reduced to precisely ZERO." Relocation was then considered to revive Sariska but it faced great opposition including from some tiger experts, he said. "However, relocation from Ranthambore and elsewhere began an

Climate change: It's all about money

Down to earth

India has devised unique biodiversity conservation model: Bhupender Yadav

The Minister stressed the need for ecological conservation of critical ecosystems through conserving the food chain of the ecosystem and ensuring the well-being of the topmost predator

Govt set to declare India manual scavenging free by August: Official

As the government's deadline to declare India manual scavenging free nears, about 246 districts of the country are yet to declare themselves free from the inhuman practice, according to officials. The matter was discussed at the eighth meeting of the central monitoring committee chaired by Social Justice Minister Virendra Kumar. According to data shared in the meeting, out of 766 districts, as many as 520 districts have declared themselves manual scavenging free, while 246 districts are yet to submit the report. "I would request the states concerned to submit a report to us as we are committed to our vision of declaring India manual scavenging free by August 2023," a senior official with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment said. He said the defaulting states are required to either declare all their districts free from manual scavenging or upload existing insanitary latrines and manual scavengers, if any, associated with them so that requisite rehabilitation benefits can

Monday was the hottest day ever as global temperatures rise, shows data

The average worldwide temperature was 17C (63F), just above the previous record of 16.9C reached in August 2016, according to data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction

India mulls bilateral deals for green hydrogen-linked carbon credits

Indian companies such as Reliance Industries, Indian Oil and Adani Enterprises have big plans for green hydrogen, a fuel generated using renewable energy

After Joshimath, wide cracks in Uttarkashi's Mastari village cause panic

Wide cracks have appeared in the roads and walls of several homes in Mastari village here, nearly 300 km from Joshimath, which caught national attention earlier this year when thousands of people had to be evacuated to safer locations due to land subsidence. The quick response team of the disaster management authority rushed to the village to inspect the cracks and asked people there to be alert. While land subsidence is an old problem in the village, rains last Saturday led to the widening of cracks at people's homes, with water beginning to stream out of the crevices, causing panic among the villagers, Satyanarayan Semwal, the head of Mastari, said. "Landslides are happening continuously in the village but the authorities are not paying as much attention to Mastari as it deserves," Semwal said. The problem of land subsidence began in Mastari village after the earthquake of 1991, locals say. In 1997, geologists conducted a survey in the village and suggested that the villagers be

Centre's help needed for projects to check sea erosion: Karnataka minister

The Union government should provide assistance to the state in taking up permanent projects to check sea erosion at different places along the 320-km coastal line of Karnataka, state Minister for Fisheries, Ports and Inland Water Transport Mankala S Vaidya has said. Talking to reporters after visiting the Kodi Kanyana fisheries port in Udupi district on Sunday, he said the state government is doing its best by taking temporary measures to prevent sea erosion. However, a permanent should be found by taking up projects in a phased manner with the support of the Union government, Vaidya said. He said the problems being faced by fishermen in Bengre, Kodi Kanyana and Hangarakatte will be solved jointly by the Fisheries and Port departments. The jetty project at Kodi Kanyana will be taken up soon. Former minister Jayaprakash Hegde and leaders of fishermen groups accompanied Vaidya during the visit.