Swaminathan panel moots SAZ status for Kuttanad

 
The M.S. Swaminathan Commission, which has been touring the Kuttanad wetlands in Alappuzha district since March 11 to formulate a special action plan for the region, has mooted promotion of Kuttanad as a Special Agricultural Zone (SAZ) on the lines of the Special Economic Zone. The Commission,  said its case study of Kuttanad indicated the need for the Central Government to promote SAZs in areas where agriculture, both as a way of life and as a means to income, should be preserved, by blending traditional wisdom and modern technology. Kuttanad is an ideal candidate for such a zone since ``the conservation and enhancement'' of paddy farming systems in the area is in the interests of both the State and the country. The team had suggested that the State Government focus on a few `urgent tasks' before the onset of the southwest monsoon. These include repair and maintenance of the Thottapally spillway, deepening of the eastern and western side of the leading canal, strengthening the outer bund flanking the leading canal and repair and completion of the Alappuzha-Changanassery (AC) canal. ``The Commission has also suggested to organise rice festivals during the `Harithavarsham' being observed by the State Government. These will help restore the pride of the region in rice cultivation. Attention is also needed for sustainable fisheries in the rice-fish farming system and for establishment of fish sanctuaries, fish farms and cage-culturing units to arrest the rapidly declining diversity of the species,'' he said.
Farm tourism
The action plan calls for promotion of sustainable nature, health and farm tourism. Farm tourism, Dr. Swaminathan said, would be of significance in the coming days because Kuttanad was the only place in the world where paddy was cultivated below sea level. ``With several areas expected to go below the sea in another 100 years, there are a large number of lessons Kuttanad can offer to the world,'' he said. Formation of a Kuttanad Water Tourism Promotion Society for Health and Happiness and its members enforcing a code of conduct to prevent water pollution, promotion of fish integrated farming systems and coconut farming systemsare also part of the plan.

(The Hindu, 16th March , 2007)

New species of big cat

 
Discovery of a new species, The clouded leopard of Borneo, is the latest in a growing list of animals and plants unique to the South-East Asian country's rainforest and underscores the need to preserve the area.Genetic tests by researchers at the U.S. National Cancer Institute revealed that the clouded leopard of Borneo and Sumatra islands is a unique cat species and not the same one found in mainland South-East Asia as long believed, said a statement by WWF, the global conservation organisation. The secretive clouded leopards are the biggest predators on Borneo, growing sometimes to the size of a small panther. They have the longest canine teeth relative to body size of any cat. The Heart of Borneo, a mountainous region covered with equatorial rainforest, is the last great forest home of the Bornean Clouded Leopard.


(The Hindu, 16th March , 2007)

KFRI develops software for trees

 
The Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) at Peechi has developed a computer-assisted method that will enable the layman to identify various types of trees. Developed by N. Sasidharan, scientist, KFRI, the programme helps to identify a tree based on its vegetative characters like bark colour, surface features, latex, leaf type, arrangement and habitat.Pictures of 85 easily- observable identification characters of trees are provided in the programme. To identify a tree, a person only has to compare it with the pictures of characters listed in the programme. The CD enables a user to identify a tree based on its scientific name or local name. Trees belonging to a genus, family or those occurring in a particular habitat, altitude or locality can also be found out. The major advantage of the programme is that one need not understand the botanical terms essential for identifying plants in other methods. The programme includes 650 trees of Kerala which grow to a height of 5 m or above.
The Minister released another CD on the flowering plants of Kerala, which deals with 4,778 species. The scientific name of the species with author's name and literature, synonyms, local names and habitat are provided, along with flowering and fruiting period. The CD contains more than 4,750 photographs of 2,150 species listed as endemic, red- listed and common garden varieties. Species can be searched by name, synonym, local name, habit or habitat. The exotic species in the state and the number of species in each district can also be found out.

(The Hindu, 16th March , 2007)

Model coconut farm sector for panchayats

 
The Government would set up one model coconut farm in every panchayat. Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran told the Assembly on Monday. Each model coconut farm would have a group of 50 farmers and Agriculture Officers would be entrusted with the responsibility of running of the farm.As part of the initiatives to encourage organic farming in the State, 100 'organic villages' would be set up. Agriculture adalats would be organized in all Krishi Bhavans to address the problems faced by farmers. 'Harisree' programme is being worked out by the department to promote vegetable cultivation and to make the State self-sufficient in vegetables. Already, Idukki, Wayanad and Palakkad had been declared as "vegetable districts" and the programme would begin on April 14.

(The Hindu, 13th March,2007)

Award conferred on 7 scientists

 
Union Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal  conferred the National Bioscience Award for Career Development for 2006 on 7 scientists. The award winners include Ajaykumar Parida, Programme Director (Biotechnology), M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai, Kumaravel Somasundaram, Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and Dr.Pradeep Kumar, Scientist-F, RGCB Thiruvananthapuram.

The other winners are :Dr.Sanjeev Galande,Scientist D at the National Centre for Cell Science, Pune, Javed Agrewala, Scientist E I at the Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigrah, G.Taru Sharma, Senior Scientist at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, and Pramod P.Wangikar, Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay,Mumbai.

Each award carries a cash prize of Rs.1 lakh, a research grant of Rs.3 lakhs for three years and a citation. Subject to availability of sustainable candidates, up to 10 young scientists in both basic and applied research covering all areas of biosciences and biotechnology are given the award.

(The Hindu, 12th  March,2007)

Plan to set up thermal power plant in Konkan generates heat

 
Angry mango farmers and fisherfolk in Ratnagiri district are questioning the decision to locate a 1200MW coal-based power plant at the stunning Jaigad creek on the Konkan coast. They are convinced it will pollute the air and adversely affect the extensive horticulture in the region. They say that their land was acquired for a steel plant but is now going to be used for a thermal power plant. Many grampanchayats in the region have passed unanimous resolutions opposing the project.

JSW Energy limited, part of the O.P.Jindal group, the company setting up the plant, says that its annual coal requirement of 4.14 million tones will consist of imported low sulphur coal and that it will adhere to all environment norms. But the farmers are not convinced. The fisherfolk who depend in Jaigad creek for their livelihood are also worried that the proposed port and the power plant will end their business.


(The Hindu, 11th March,2007)

Space technology to be tapped for farm sector

 
The State Government is about to tap the potential of space technology in a big way during the 11th Five Year Plan for the development of the trouble-torn agricultural production sector in the state. According to sources, the State Planning Board has allocated Rs.25 crore for the setting up of basic infrastructure facilities in this regard during the plan period. Establishment of a fullfledged Geographical Information system(GIS) unit is being mooted at the State Planning Board as part of the proposal.

Automatic weather stations with crop weather information system, weather advisory services, and implementation if weather insurance is envisaged in the second phase. Additional services like soil testing services, natural resource advisory services, tele training are also envisaged as a continuation of the Village resources Centres. It is also proposed to collaborate with ISRO in areas such as drought monitoring, hazard zonation, utility mapping, and establishment of spatial data infrastructure etc. during the plan period. The plan outlay for the same during 2007-08 fiscal year is Rs.20 lakh. The Village Resource Centres will be linked with local body computerization. 

       
(The New Indian Express, 7th March, 2007)

Polar bears on climate change frontline

Not so long ago polar bears were a symbol of cold, but these days they are a symbol of warmth. In the past few weeks it has become difficult to open a newspaper or website without seeing pictures of the beautiful yellowy-white animals leaping, or lying on sea ice in the Arctic, the newly helpless emblem of climate change. The traditional threats to the polar bear — hunting, toxic waste, offshore drilling — have been overshadowed by a new one: the ice around them is melting, and we are to blame.

"The fate of the polar bear has been on our minds for several years," says Stefan Norris, head of conservation for the WWF International Arctic Programme. "The polar bear is at the very top of the food chain, and is easy to sell, and is an iconic species — but they are just an indication of what's happening to the entire Arctic ecosystem."

 

(The Hindu, 6^th   March,2007)

Rare gorilla birth recorded in Congo

Conservationists announced recently the birth of a rare mountain gorilla in eastern Congo, where rebels have been accused of killing and eating the endangered animals. The tiny, gorilla, named Ndeze, was born February 17 in Congo's Virunga National Park, home to some of world's last 700 mountain gorillas, said Samantha Newport of the conservation support group Wildlife Direct.

 

"It's incredibly positive. These gorillas have managed to survive a 10-year civil war",  Newport said. It is "an absolute miracle and testament to the work of the rangers, who worked throughout the war without receiving a salary, and to conservationists from all over the world".

 

 (The New Indian Express, 5^th   March,2007)

Promising bacteria

In a major breakthrough, Cuban scientists have developed bacteria that destroy the larvae of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the vector causing dengue, fever. Dr.Raul de Armas Fernandez, chief of the anti-Vector Struggle Unit of Camaguey province, said they had developed bacteria Thuringiensis israelen sis-SH-14 bacillus-by fermentation. It is deposited in water containers, and when mosquitoes ingest it in the first and third phases of breeding, it causes a fatal reaction in its digestive tract, he said. It does not affect humans.

 

(The Hindu, 4^th   March,2007)

An environmental wake-up call

An international panel of scientists has proposed that all countries cease building on coastal land that is less than a metre above the high tide level, so as to avoid some of the worst impacts of climate change. The recommendation was one of many from experts from 11 countries, working for the United Nations. They have spent two years devising a blueprint to allow countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change in the next century. They warned that tens of millions of people would become environmental refugees as sea levels rose and storm surges increased. Rich countries therefore had to allocate billions of dollars to research and develop cleaner energy sources.

The report says the U.N. and governments should be galvanised to respond, and countries should immediately agree to limit further global temperature rises this century to no more than 2 degrees C. It calls for more public transport and better fuels, and cities based on the highest energy efficiency standards.

 (The Hindu, 3^rd  March,2007)

Intensive vector control to be launched

The City Corporation council on Wednesday decided to take up an integrated mosquito control programme to contain vector- borne diseases. A resolution adopted by the council finalised an intensive campaign involving public participation.

Fogging

The programme focuses on prevention of waterlogging and fogging and spraying to destroy mosquito larvae. The scheme proposes a strong reporting system for vector-borne diseases. Monitoring committees would be set up for the programme. Tourists and migrant laborers would be regularly screened for vector-borne diseases. Drains and gutters will be flushed with seawater and fish will be released into canals to destroy larvae.

Legal action

Legal action would be initiated against institutions and individuals contributing to waterlogging. Private hospitals would be directed to report suspected cases of diseases. Door-to-door campaigns would be backed by media advertisements and school-level programmes. A dry day would be observed every week to highlight the need to prevent waterlogging.

 (The Hindu, 2^nd March,2007)

Twin railway bridges at Munroe Thuruthu in danger

The twin railway bridges across the Kallada rive at Munroe Thruthu in Kollam district are in a precarious condition following wanton sand mining in the river. People on either side of the river have brought the issue to the attention of the railway and revenue authorities several times, but no action seems to have been taken to curb the illegal activity. The bridges rest on four pillars in the river on its Malayilpuram course. At least eight lorry-loads of sands are mined and transported from the riverbed a day. In fact, sand mining is banned within 500 metres in either side of the bridges. But the illegal activity takes place within 100 metres of the bridges. Here, mining starts at 5 am and continues till sunset. Any opposition to the illegal activity is dealt with in typical mafia style.

(The Hindu, 2^nd March ,2007)

A river crying for urgent attention

Illegal sand-mining and skewed land use patterns are playing havoc with Vamanapuram river which provides drinking water to large areas in the district. The indiscriminate extraction of sand has depleted the water level in the river, well ahead of the summer. Removal of pebbles and large stones from the upstream areas of the river compounds the problem.

Sand-mining has led to the formation of deep pits in the river bed, posing a threat to people using the river. Large parts of the riverbanks are caving in and erosion threatens many other areas. Heavy sand-mining has been reported from the Kallar, Vithura and Nanniyode areas in the Nedumangad taluk and Vanchiyoor in Chirayinkeezh.

(The Hindu, 27^th February, 2007)

Antarctic\'s secrets revealed by melting ice

The seas around the Antarctic Peninsula are among the most mysterious places on earth.  The collapse of some of the ice sheets has given scientists a rare opportunity for access, and they revealed that they had found a thriving underwater world that is being transformed by climate change. As well as new species, the Census of Marine Antarctic Life (CMAL) project found more common ones that were able to survive in the Antarctic because the temperature of the sea is rising. Minke whales were discovered in large numbers. The scientists also spotted a rare beaked whale off the coast of Elephant Island — the famous refuge of Ernest Shackleton's 21-man crew after a doomed attempt to cross Antarctica in 1916. Parts of the sea here were uncovered for the first time in recorded history when the Larsen A and B ice shelves collapsed, 12 and five years ago respectively, due to the higher temperatures linked to human-induced climate change. Scientists said the new survey would help predict what would happen to biodiversity as the world warms up.

The Larsen shelf is a fringe of ice in the north-west of the Weddel Sea, extending along the east coast of the Antarctic peninsula. In 2002, scientists watched in shock as 3,250 sq km of 220-metre-thick ice — the Larsen B shelf — fell into the sea. It had been stable for at least 12,000 years.

Larsen A, a smaller ice sheet, had collapsed seven years earlier, but this was around 4,000 years old. Global warming was undoubtedly to blame.

Julian Gutt, a marine ecologist at Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, who led the expedition, said the area under the Larsen ice shelf was the least known ecosystem on earth. "So far, we did not have access to such areas, with the few exceptions of drill holes or cracks where people could deploy some remote video cameras."

The break-up of the Larsen ice shelves opened up a pristine area of sea floor the size of Jamaica. Researchers spent 10 weeks scouring the 10,000 sq km sea floor for animal life.

By probing as far as 850 metres under water, using a remote camera, they collected around 1,000 specimens, including 15 shrimp-like species, known as amphipods, thought to be new to science.

Star attraction

The star attraction is a 10-cm-long crustacean from the amphipod family Shackletonia. Professor Gutt said the new biodiversity information would be fundamental in understanding the functioning of the ecosystem. The scientists also found four new species of cnidarians, creatures that are related to coral, jellyfish, and sea anemones. One anemone-like creature was found living on the back of a snail, providing protection in return for transport.

In the relatively shallow waters of the Larsen zone, abundant numbers of deep-sea creatures that normally live at depths of 2,000 metres or so were found. These included deep sea lilies, sea cucumbers, and sea urchins. The scientists found dense patches of sea squirts and said they were probably able to colonise the Larsen B area only after ice shelf broke in 2002.  Stoddart, leader of the CAML project, said one consequence of the rising global temperatures was a fall in plankton such as algae that grow beneath sea ice, which would have knock-on effects to animals higher up the food chain, all the way up to whales.

Other finds in the CAML expedition included clusters of dead clamshells littering an area of the ocean floor near a suspected "cold seep."

The expedition team also investigated fish populations in the islands north and west of the Antarctic peninsula. The results of 85 hauls over 19 days show that the biomass of two Antarctic cod species has increased since a survey in 2003, while stocks of Blackfin and Mackerel Icefish have decreased.

(The Hindu, 27^th February, 2007)

Plea to grant clearance for Athirappilly project

Electricity Minister A.K. Balan has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene with the Ministry of Environment and Forests to get clearance for Kerala's long-pending proposal to set up a hydroelectric project at Athirappilly in Thrissur district.

Mr. Balan made this request in a fax message sent to the Prime Minister on Friday. In a press release, he said he had also sent fax messages to Union Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde; Minister for Environment and Forests A. Raja; and Defence Minister A.K. Antony; describing the significance of this 270-MW project to Kerala. The State been trying to set up this project for more than 10 years and "had even won all the necessary clearances."

However, media reports from New Delhi now suggest that an expert committee of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests had held back the environmental clearance, Mr. Balan said.

He said the State had got reputed agencies to do all the studies relating to the environmental and resettlement of people recommended by the courts and the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. These studies have all said that the project will have no adverse environmental or social impact, he said.

(The Hindu,24^th February, 2007)

Significant finds at Dwaraka

Ancient structural remains of some significance have been discovered at Dwaraka, under water and on land, by the Underwater Archaeology Wing(UAW) of the Archaeological Survey of India(ASI). Alok Tirupathu,Superintending Archaeologist,UAW, said the ancient underwater structures fund in the Arabian Sea were yet to be identified.

Thirty copper coins were found in the excavation area. The structures found on land belonged to the medieval period. Dwaraka is a coastal town in Jamnagar district of Gujarat. Traditionally, modern Dwaqraka is identified with Dwaraka or Dvaravati, mentioned in the Mahabharata as Krishna's city.

(The Hindu,23^rd February 2007)

Another Harappan site discovered

In saurashta, another Harappan site has been discovered. This, say experts, could be as big as  Lothal site and had existed around 4,500 years back. The site is at Pithad village in Jodia taluka of Jamnagar district.

The remains of the Harappan site have been excavated by the team from MSU. During annual excavation programme by MSU teachers and students, which began 40 days back, the team has earthed a huge wall, kilns to make clay utensils and ovens to melt metal.

(The New Indian Express, 22^nd February 2007)

State to frame comprehensive land-use policy

The Government is working out a comprehensive land-use policy for the State. The Revenue Department will soon release a draft in this regard for feedbacks from stakeholders and experts. According to department sources, the policy, when finalized, will set a broad out line for sustainable utilization of the State's divergent land resources, including paddy fields, forests, hill ranges, watersheds and coastal areas.

One of the major proposals is to declare non-river water reserves such as backwaters, freshwater lakes, ponds and marshy lands as protected areas. Encroachments, filling and sand-mining will be prohibited in such areas. Wetland information and management systems will be evolved for conservation and effective tapping of resources such as rivers, backwaters and other water bodies. In order to protect fast dwindling paddy fields in various agricultural zones in the state should be declared as 'paddy producing regions'. Conversion or filling of such areas should be totally banned, except for very unavoidable purposes like construction of own houses. Here also permission for filling should be given only for five cents of land, and that too only in the border areas of paddy fields. The draft policy suggests that sanction be given for other short-term crops and fish farming in paddy fields alternately. Only the government should have the power for filling paddy fields for public purposes and development activities. Clay mining will be strictly regulated I the paddy fields

(The Hindu,21^st February 2007)

Awards for science writers announced

The Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment has selected G.S. Unnikrishnan Nair for the `Best author of science book award,' under the children's literature category for his work titled Nunayaam Chocolate.

K. Anvar Sadath has been selected for the `Best author of science book award' under the popular science category for his book titled Nanotechnology. As no entry in the remaining two categories — `Best author of science book' and `Best science journalist' — was found worthy, the council decided to withhold the award in the categories.

These awards, which are for the year 2005, consist of a cash price of Rs.10,000 each, plaque and certificate

(The Hindu,21^st February 2007)