Call to shift rail tracks from Walayar forests

PALAKKAD: The Wildlife Protection Society of India (South India) has urged Southern Railway to shift one the railway tracks from the Walayar forests to save wild animals from getting hit by trains.

In a letter to the General Manager, Southern Railway, here on Monday, S. Guruvayurappan, project officer and coordinator of the organisation, said the ‘B' line should be shifted parallel to National Highway no. 47. Steps such as electric fencing and digging of trenches had failed to keep away the animals from the tracks.

The society, in letters to the Chief Conservators of Forests of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, also opposed the move to fire bullet-less noise guns and use of smoke to scare away animals from entering human settlements in Palakkad district.

“The smoking method to keep away elephants uses a combination of elephant dung, red chilly and tobacco leaves tied in paddy straw. It can burn five to eight hours. It will be burnt at different locations to keep away elephants. The irritating sensation from the smoke will keep away the elephants. It also keeps away other wildlife, including birds and smaller mammals. Thus, no animal will come near this smoke. But the effectiveness of this method varies from place to place. But the method is an unethical practice as it keeps away wildlife from forest area. This cannot be justified,” the letter said.

Smoke and noise guns were used in Assam and in some African countries to scare away animals. These methods not only irritated the animals and birds but also made elephants run amuck. They would thus cause more damage to human life and property. Such methods were in violation of many Acts and rules, such as the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, the letter said.

Source:The Hindu,31-8-2010

Plastic waste despoils park on Kollam beach

KOLLAM: Huge crowds thronged the well-laid-out Mahatma Gandhi Park on Kollam beach during the Onam festival period.

But post-Onam, this green lung in the city resembled a garbage dump.

The park, recently renovated at a cost of Rs.1.86 crore, was inaugurated by Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan on August 4. However, visitors failed to ensure that the park remained spick and span.

Plastic bottles and cups were dumped without a thought into the blue-rimmed artificial canal and swept to its either end by winds blowing in from the sea.

Even other parts of the park were not spared.

Some visitors said lack of waste bins in the park could have forced people to dump the plastic waste into the canal.

When contacted, Prasanna Earnest, Health standing committee chairperson of the city Corporation, said the canal would be cleaned up on Monday. She said waste bins would be placed inside the park.

The park would also be declared a plastic-free zone.

Source:The Hindu,30-8-2010

Green turtle gets satellite telemetry tagging

CHENNAI: The satellite telemetry tagging of a juvenile green turtle was carried out here on Sunday morning. The turtle, belonging to a rare species, was found entangled in a net in a fishing village in Chennai four months ago.

Now, she goes back to the seas with technology accompanying her.

The procedure conducted by volunteers of the Sea Turtle Protection Force and TREE Foundation lasted close to five hours. The process started around 10 a.m. when the ‘Greenie' was deposited in a cardboard box. Held in place by a set of volunteers, a few kept a wet cloth over her head to keep her calm. The major process involved cleaning the carapace (the hard upper shell) using acetone, cementing a GPS transmitter onto the turtle's back and colouring the module. It was a long time before the special adhesive dried, after which the turtle was released at the rock formations near Marakkanam around 4 p.m.

Each time the ‘Greenie' surfaces for air, the satellite transmitter would send a signal which would help determine its location in the ocean. The internationally recognisable paint applied on the turtle would enable scientists across the world to monitor its movement and behaviour. Most turtle deaths occur due to entanglement in gill nets. Since the trawl boats drag them for a long time, they suffocate and die, and many a time face major injuries, said Supraja Dharini, Chairperson of TREE Foundation. “As many as 100 turtles are found dead every year along Chennai's coastline alone,” she says.

The outcome of the study will be shared with the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Department of Fisheries.

Only one out of every 1,000 turtle eggs survives to become an adult and an adult nests till she is 60, says Dr. Dharini. No conservation mechanism will succeed unless the death rate of adult turtles is checked, according to her. The ‘Greenie' can be tracked at the website http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/?project_id=477

K. Venkataraman, a scientist at the Marine Biology Regional centre, Zoological Survey of India, said that the feeding and breeding patterns of turtles were dependent on ocean currents.
“If the current is favourable, the telemetry can bring useful results,” he said.

Source: The Hindu,30-8-2010

Union Ministry moves apex court

KOCHI: Challenging the Kerala High Court's interim order on the Pappinissery mangrove theme park, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has filed a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court.

The High Court had on August 19 stayed a closure notice served by the Ministry on the theme park, owned by the Pappinissery Eco Tourism Society, on July 14. The park has now been reopened.

The petition urged the apex court to vacate the stay order contending that the High Court had not considered the special powers given to the Ministry under the Environmental Protection Act, 1986. The High Court, while ordering the stay on the Ministry's closure order, had not considered the fact that the Coastal Zone Management Plan of the State government had categorised the area under CRZ-1. The petition pointed out that though the High Court order was interim in nature, it had, in effect, granted a permanent stay to the Pappinissery Eco Tourism Society, controlled by the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

The Ministry had, on complaints by Congress leader K. Sudhakaran and several environmental activists, ordered stoppage of all activities in the mangrove park as it was found that the park came under the Coastal Regulation Zone category 1 (CRZ-1). CRZ-1 — which regulates coastal areas with highly sensitive ecology — allows no development or construction activities except certain strategically critical ones.

Verification

The SLP listed a series of steps taken by the Ministry to verify the violations in the CRZ-1 area before it ordered closure of the park. It said officials sent out by the Ministry had found several CRZ violations as well as breaking of the rules of the Environmental Protection Act. The park authorities had made modifications to the landscape; erected mud platforms; widened roads and paths; built a children's play area, observer towers, meeting halls, a walkway and an information centre. The closure order was based on the report of the regional chief conservator of forests, Bangalore.

The closure was ordered under Section 5 of the EPA which gave the Ministry the powers to order the closure of an entity that was found to have violated the EPA provisions. “Therefore, the High Court was in error when it issued an order staying the directions passed by the MoEF stopping all activities in the areas which was in violation of CRZ notification. The High Court was also in error when it glossed over the provisions of the Environment Protection Act 1986, particularly Section 5 which gives the power to the Central Government to issue directions to stop activities which are in breach of any laws,” the SLP stated.

Source:The Hindu,28-8-2010

Don't buy painted Ganesh idols, State tells people

BANGALORE: The State Government has appealed to the people to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi in an eco-friendly way by opting for unpainted idols.

Fisheries, Ports and Inland Water Transport Minister J. Krishna Palemar, addressing presspersons here on Friday after meeting with the Bangalore Water Sanitary and Sewage Board, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and Lake Development Authority officials here, said idols should be immersed in designated spots in the larger interests of the environment and to prevent water contamination.

The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board has framed guidelines which will be distributed to the public. They include avoiding sale and worship of idols coloured with metal-based paints, providing impermeable lining for immersion tanks and spreading awareness through mass media, Kanwar Pal, Secretary, Department of Environment and Ecology, told The Hindu. The meeting discussed measures to stem increasing contamination of lakes, wells and groundwater such as demarcation and fencing of lake beds, intercepting and diverting sewage away from lakes, setting up sewage treatment plants, greening the lakes' periphery and so on.

Polluted

Of 135 lakes under the BBMP's purview and 35 under the BDA, 40 were polluted. The KSPCB had issued closure notices to 46 industrial units that did not comply with the environmental law, including the Water Act. It has filed 18 criminal cases against apartment owners also, besides filing criminal cases against the BWSBB, city municipal councils and town municipal councils for discharging untreated sewage into water bodies, Mr. Palemar said.

The Lake Development Authority has developed 16 lakes in the State, including Amani tank in Tumkur, Hombalamma and Gowramma tanks in Magadi and Kundawala Lake in Davangere district, he said.

Source:The Hindu,28-8-2010

Children's environmental conference tomorrow

KOLLAM: ‘Bhoomigeetham 2010', a children's environmental conference series organised by the SNDP Yogam Vanitha Sangham will be inaugurated by Minister for Forests Benoy Viswom at a function to be held at the SN College auditorium here on August 29.

Sangham central committee president Sherly P. Anand said the inaugural function would be presided over by Yogam general secretary Vellapally Natesan and the lamp would be lit by SN Trust board member Preethi Natesan.

Kollam MP N. Peethambara Kurup would inaugurate the distribution of saplings and G. Sathyan, organiser of the Sangham, will deliver the keynote address.The valedictory function would be inaugurated by State Human Rights Commission former acting chairman S. Balaraman.

A logo for the event, created by S. Shyamala, was released on Thursday. The conference series would be held in five regional centres in the State.

More than 1,000 children are expected to participate in each conference, according to the organisation.

Source:The Hindu,28-8-2010

Global warming shrank carnivores 55 million years ago

WASHINGTON: Extinct carnivorous mammals shrank in size during a global warming event that occurred 55 million years ago, according to a new University of Florida study.

The study describes a new species that evolved to half the size of its ancestors during this period of global warming.

The hyena-like animal, Palaeonictis wingi, evolved from the size of a bear to the size of a coyote during a 200,000-year period when Earth's average temperature increased about 15 degrees Fahrenheit.

Following this global warming event, Earth's temperature cooled and the animal evolved to a larger size.

"We know that plant-eating mammals got smaller during the earliest Eocene when global warming occurred, possibly associated with elevated levels of carbon dioxide," said lead author Stephen Chester, a Yale University doctoral student who began the research at UF with Jonathan Bloch, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

"Surprisingly, this study shows that the same thing happened in some carnivores, suggesting that other factors may have played a critical role in their evolution."

Researchers discovered a nearly complete jaw from the animal in Wyoming's Big Horn Basin in 2006 during a fossil-collecting expedition, led by Bloch, a co-author on the study.

Bloch said the new findings could help scientists better understand the impact of current global warming.

"Documenting the impact of global climate change in the past is one of the only real experiments that can inform us about what the effects global warming might have on mammals in the near future," said Bloch, who has studied this climate change event for nearly a decade.

Scientists think the Earth experienced increased levels of carbon dioxide and a drier environment during the warmer time period, but they do not completely understand what caused mammals to shrink.

One theory is that carbon dioxide levels reduced plant nutrients, causing herbivorous mammals to shrink. The newly described species primarily consumed meat, meaning plant nutrients couldn't have been the only factor, Bloch said.

Mammals in warmer climates today tend to be smaller than mammals in colder climates, Chester said. For example, brown bears in Montana are generally smaller than those found in Alaska.

The study's other authors are Ross Secord, assistant professor at the University of Nebraska, and Doug Boyer, assistant professor at Brooklyn College.

The study is scheduled to appear in the December print edition of the Journal of Mammalian Evolution.

Source:Times Of India,26-8-2010

Sea level likely to rise up to 70 cm by 2100: Study

LONDON: Ocean levels could significantly rise up to 70 cm by 2100 due to climate change and even the most extreme geoengineering approaches would not be able to stop sea levels from rising, according to a new study.

The study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ( PNAS) proposes that as many as 150 million people could be affected as ocean levels could rise by 30 cm to 70 cm.

Scientists led by John Moore from Beijing Normal University, China, said that to combat global warming, people need to concentrate on sharply curbing greenhouse gas emissions and not rely too much on proposed geoengineering methods.

"Substituting geoengineering for greenhouse emission control would be to burden future generations with enormous risk," said Svetlana Jevrejeva of the UK's National Oceanography Centre, a co-author of the study.

Jevrejeva and colleagues from China, Finland and Denmark wanted to see how five geoengineering solutions will affect sea levels.

Geoengineering falls into two main types: limiting the effect of the sun's rays, or changing the carbon cycle in some way. The former doesn't change atmospheric CO2 levels in any way, whereas the latter does.

The team used a well-established model to look at the effect of firing a large amount of sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere, putting mirrors in space, planting huge numbers of trees, biochar (turning plants into a type of charcoal in soil where they boost crop productivity) and switching to bio-energy.

They investigated how these methods would affect climate change under different CO2 emissions scenarios.

They found that using bio-energy for power while capturing the emitted CO2 and storing it deep underground is likely to be the least risky and the most publicly acceptable solution to tackle climate change. This would also lead to fewer fossil fuels being burnt for energy. But this solution wouldn't be as effective as using aerosols or giant mirrors in space at slowing sea level rise.

Source:Times Of India,26-8-2010

Ranthambore National Park: Turf war

Technically, there was always a crowd. But guided by a traditional respect for one another's domain, the occasional overlap of territory at the Ranthambore National Park was a given for the parties concerned - the tiger, the forester, the villager and the conservation brigade.

Years later, a new equation is fast emerging. The tiger, now under extreme care, has multiplied like never before, pushing the park to its seams by spreading out to peripheral areas. The forester, under global pressure, is attempting to lay down the law firmly. The villagers, pushed to the brink of the forest, are making a last-ditch bid to hold on to their land. And for conservation NGOs, grabbing the global limelight has never been easier.

The thin line of divide is fast fading, giving way to increasing instances of man-animal conflict. And tempers are running thin. Barely days after a tranquillizing bid went horribly wrong in the Bhuri Pahadi village in Khandar, with a tiger attacking a ranger amid shouts and alleged stone pelting by villagers, Ranthambore park director Raghubir Singh Shekhawat lost his cool on Wednesday as a herd of buffaloes made their way to the neighbouring sanctuary for grazing.

For years, he might have looked the other way at stray instances of grazing but not now, given the success story Ranthambore has to safeguard. The herd had moved into Sawai Madhopur sanctuary that is being developed as a satellite sanctuary to house spillover tigers. The herd and the grazer were shooed away.

Minutes after Shekhawat reached the outpost of Bodal, villagers, who are on the verge of relocation by next year, came forth with their petition. ''Most of us now have just two or three buffaloes, so what is wrong if we graze them there? Where else will we go?'' appealed 63-year-old Bajrang Lal.

After half an hour of haggling, an agreement was reached. Herders were given a little extra area to graze. ''Any further and I will fine Rs 10,000 per buffalo,'' warned Shekhawat.

The nuances of law-enforcing are not lost here. Besides helping forest authorities with eco-development work along the periphery, villagers will be required to cooperate with the voluntary relocation process that is on for securing the tiger habitat. For the villagers, bereft of grazing space, every inch negotiated is an inch won.

"The grazing land owned by the panchayat, which was once on the outskirts of the forest have been all occupied by musclemen either for mining or for cultivation, '' says Ranglal Choudhary, assistant conservator of forest at Sawai Mansingh sanctuary. "And once herders go into the forest, it is a matter of chance whether or not a tiger attacks.''

''Ranthambore had its fill way back in 2005 when the pugmark census revealed a count of 26. Now there are about 37 tigers," says Rajpal Singh, member of the state wildlife board. "Each male needs its separate territory and while the dominant ones take pride of place in the core area, the young ones look to the periphery for carving out a space for themselves. And it is when they roam here that most conflicts take place."

Records suggest in the last five years, while four people have died in tiger attacks, at least six were left injured. On the other hand, in Khandahar area alone, at least five tigers were killed in the past five years — the latest being March 7 at Talra, when two cubs strayed into a village and fell prey to a poisoned goat set up as a bait.

The concrete wall planned around the reserve is being seen as imperative to define forest and non-forest areas. ''The wall would not only prevent the villagers from getting inside the forest but also prevent tigers from straying out. We have already built 15.5km of a targeted 87km for last year and this year.,'' said Shekhawat.

That along with relocation of villages from the critical tiger habitat (CTH) area as well as the periphery of the reserve is being seen as the solution to the conflict. But of 73 villages in the CTH and 90 in the periphery, only two villages — Indala and Manchaki — have been moved out of the CTH. Relocation of five is in process in Sawai Madhopur. Until the space equation changes, and that is a long way away if at all, the line of divide is a live wire.

Source:Times Of India,27-8-2010

Global warming and role of trees

Source: Mathrubhumi 21 August 2010

Moon is shrinking

Source:Mathrubhumi 21 August 2010

Snake bird censeus

Source:Mathrubhumi 21 August 2010

Rare Butterfly

Source :Malayala Manorama 21 August 2010

Imported e-waste seized by customs officials

CHENNAI: More than 120 tonnes of e-waste imported from various countries by different companies in violation of Customs Act and hazardous waste management rules have been seized at the port.
The e-waste shipped here in eight containers were seized by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence officials.
Of the total five consignments, one was from Australia, one from Canada, two from Korea and one from Brunei, a DRI release said.
The subsequent examination of the goods revealed that all the computer monitors, CPUs, processors were very old, used and appeared to be in unusable condition.
A large proportion of the computer monitors were found to be more than ten years old and clearly meant for recycling.
In one of the consignment imported from Brunei by a company it was found to contain 166 used old computer monitors, 89 control panels, electrical motor parts, printers and keyboards.
Cases have been registered against the importers for violations of provisions of the Customs Act 1962 read with hazardous waste (management, handling and transboundary movement) rules 2008.
These goods need to be re-exported back to the country of origin after due process of adjudication.

Source:Times of India 21 August 2010

Tamil Nadu bans incandescent bulbs to save power

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Friday banned use of old-style, energy intensive incandescent bulbs in offices across the state and ordered the use of compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) to save power.
According to the order, the ban was applicable to state government undertakings, government boards, cooperative societies, local bodies and organisations getting governmental assistance.
Comparing the energy consumption of four crore 60 watts incandescent bulbs and 14 watts CFL for an hour, the government said the use of CFL results in a whopping saving of 1,840 MW.
While the four crore 60W incandescent bulbs burning for an hour would consume 2,400 MW, a similar number of 14W CFLs would consume only 560 MW, it said.

Source:Times of India

Steps for conservation of Pampa

The Minister was inaugurating the work on the viewers' gallery at the finishing point of the Uthrittathi boat race near Sathram Kadavu on the banks of the Pampa at Aranmula.

He said the Pampa should be free of pollution and organisations like the Palliyoda Seva Sanghom should take a lead role in checking flow of waste generated at kitchens into the river, especially during the annual Vallasadya season.

Mr. Premachandran said the Pampa River Basin Authority meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram recently had drawn up several projects aimed at conservation and rejuvenation of the river.

He said two modern sewage treatment plants would be set up at Pampa and Sannidhanam at an estimate cost of Rs.29.65 crore. Steps had been taken to complete the second phase of the Pampa Action Plan and to avail of the Euro Consultancy Service of the European Union for its implementation, he pointed out.

Being a pilgrim tourism centre, Aranmula should have better basic facilities and the government was spending Rs.28 lakh for the smooth conduct of the annual snakeboat regatta on the Uthrittathi day during Onam festival, the Minister said.

He said a permanent solution would be found to clear the mud banks in the race course between Parappuzha Kadavu and Sathram Kadavu and the irrigation wing of the Water Resources Department would prepare a project for the same soon.

UN aid

Mr. Premachandran said steps would be taken to construct the sewage treatment plant on the banks of the Pampa at Aranmula with financial assistance from the United Nations Development Programme before the next Onam season. He said State government would also make financial contributions, if needed, for its completion in a time-bound manner.

The viewers' gallery would be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs.28 lakh to accommodate 1,500 people.

K.C.Rajagopalan, MLA, presided over the function. K. Sivadasan Nair, MLA;and Palliyoda Seva Sanghom president S. Ramachandrn Pillai were among those who spoke.

Source: The Hindu, 20-8-2010

Rise in Sea level

Source:Malayala Manorama

Mangrove park can function for now

Kochi: A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Thursday kept in abeyance, until further orders and subject to certain conditions, an order of the Additional Director, Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, directing the Pappinissery Eco Tourism Society in Kannur to close down its mangrove theme park.

The Bench of Chief Justice J. Chelameswar and Justice P.N. Ravindran said the interim order was subject to the following conditions: that the petitioner (society) shall not carry out any further construction activities or any commercial activities in the park, shall not in any way alienate the property or any part of it, or create any encumbrance on it.

The interim order was passed on a writ petition filed by N. Unnikannan, president of the society. He said the order was illegal as it had been issued in gross violation of the principles of natural justice. The Additional Director had no power to issue such an order.

Besides, no notice was issued to the petitioner and no opportunity was given for hearing before issuing the order as contemplated under Section 4 of the Environment (Protection) Rules.

The petitioner submitted that the land owned and occupied by the society had not been demarcated as Coastal Regulation Zone-I (CRZ-I) area in the Local Level Coastal Zone Management Plan. Nor had it been declared by any authority as CRZ-I sensitive area.

‘No need for permit'

According to the petitioner, the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority had the power to inquire into alleged violations of the Environment (Protection) Act and the Coastal Zone Regulations. No other authority or government had been empowered to deal with such matters.The petitioner pointed out that there was no need for a permit from any authority to protect and study the mangroves in the land of the petitioner.

He alleged that the order was politically motivated. The property of the society was not in an ecologically sensitive area as it did not come under the CRZ-I category. Besides, the petitioner had not destroyed any mangrove standing in the property. Nor was any land reclamation disturbing the natural course of sea water undertaken. In fact, a Coastal Zone Management Plan had not been prepared by the Pappinissery grama panchayat or any of the local bodies in the State. So, the restrictions could not be implemented, the petitioner said.

Source: The Hindu, 20-8-2010

Garbage makes abandoned Taj corridor an eyesore

AGRA: With the blatant dumping of civic garbage and carcasses, the land once earmarked for the controversial 80-acre Taj Corridor has now been reduced to an eyesore even as different government agencies blame one another for the mess.

Perched between two World Heritage monuments of the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort, it now contains stinking carcasses, graves of children and mounds of rubble that invite mosquitoes, dogs, snakes, crows and vultures - an eyesore that refuses to go away even though Agra is expected to draw a host of Commonwealth Games tourists.

The development of the ambitious corridor development was abandoned in 2003 following protests that it would affect the 17th century Taj Mahal. The matter now lies with the Supreme Court, which has banned any new construction at the site.

There have been numerous petitions and demands submitted to various authorities to clean up the mess.

"They all pass the buck, from the municipal corporation to the Agra Development Authority to the Uttar Pradesh tourism department to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which ends up expressing its helplessness citing court orders," said Surendra Sharma, president of the Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society.

He said the authorities should at least try to clean up the area before the Games in Delhi in October. "This is the period when Agra will get a lot more tourists than the daily average of 7,500," he said.

Agra Mayor Anjula Singh Mahaur said it was the duty of central government agencies to ensure cleanliness and prevent people from dirtying the corridor till the Supreme Court takes a final decision on the matter.

The ASI asked for funds to remove the debris. The funds never came. It was later suggested that the Uttar Pradesh forest department should take up greening work, but the proposal did not move forward due to want of resources.

"More than 80 acres of the land have turned into a vast graveyard of animals and a dump yard of construction, road building waste and municipal refuse, polluting the river Yamuna," said Rakesh Chauhan, president of the Agra Hotels and Restaurants Association. "Such insensitivity and nonchalance are indeed condemnable," he said.

Green activist Ravi Singh said: "Right from Delhi to Agra, government agencies and private players have been playing with the land on the flood plains of the river, posing a grave ecological crisis. What the state and central pollution control boards are doing needs investigation."

Talking to IANS, B.B. Awasthi, regional officer of the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, said: "Removing dead bodies and dirt is the work of the Agra Municipal Corporation. We can only issue notices. It is not our job to keep the area clean." The land earmarked for the controversial corridor stinks and there is a real danger of diseases spreading from the area in the heart of a tourist hub, says social activist Sisir Bhagat.

The ambitious 2002-03 Taj Heritage corridor project was aimed to house a shopping mall close to the Taj Mahal, but the project was abandoned amid allegations of large-scale corruption and after a hue and cry that it would endanger the monument.

The Rs. 175-crore project that brought down the Mayawati government in 2003 was meant to link the Taj Mahal with four important monuments -- the Agra Fort, Itmad-ud-Daula, Chini-ka-Roja and Rambagh in Agra district.

Now each day scores of foreign tourists visit the site of the controversial project to shoot pictures of the Taj and the Fort from the land earmarked for the corridor. "The dead bodies of animals and the dirt mounds provide an ugly contrast, juxtaposed against the beautiful Taj," says photographer Vishal.

Source: Indian Express,18-8-2010

Cargo ship runs aground near Kavaratti

KOCHI: Efforts are on to remove a cargo ship that ran aground off the coral reef off Kavaratti Island in Lakshadweep on Sunday evening when the sea turned rough.

Lakshadweep authorities hoped the 2,000-tonne cargo ship would come off the sea bottom when the weather improves in a day or two.

They said the ship did not seem to have suffered much damage and that the cargo of cement and steel bars was safe.

The 12-member crew was still onboard and was safe, they added.

The private ship ‘Nanda-Aparajitha' — which was carrying cargo from Beypore near Kozhikode to Lakshadweep — ran aground around 7.30 p.m. in the unusually foul weather.

Sunday evening's rough sea — accompanied by ‘water spouts,' dark clouds and tall waves — caused damage along the Kerala coast, especially off Kollam. Five mechanised fishing canoes turned over and one person died.

Fishermen reported witnessing darkness at sea in the afternoon and huge water spouts.

Authorities said the ‘Nanda-Aparajitha' would most likely come off the ground when the sea stabilised. However, they said some of the cargo would be offloaded if necessary to help the vessel come off.

‘Source:The Hindu:18-8-2010

New plant to treat waste water at MCH

Kozhikode: A garbage water purifying plant set up at the Kozhikode Medical College will be inaugurated on Monday by Health Minister P.K. Sreemathi.The plant is expected to put an end to the environmental problems faced by Mayanad and surroundings.

The project was initially intended to collect garbage water produced at the Medical College Hospital, hostels and quarters, purify it using advanced technology and divert the treated water to Connolly Canal.

Protests

However, the Water Authority could not complete the work of the pipeline to carry water to the canal owing to protests from local people, through whose land the pipeline was proposed to pass.

After many debates, it was decided that only a few institutions on the hospital premises be connected to the plant and the purified water be used for gardening on an experimental basis, as a measure to create awareness among local people. Once the work of the pipeline is completed, all buildings in the hospital will be connected to the plant and the water remaining after reuse in the hostels will be diverted to the canal.

The plant, with a capacity of 20 lakh litres, and the pipeline that connects the hospitals with it, were built by Hindustan Pre-fab Ltd, under the Central Department of Urban Development. Around Rs.6.4 crore was spent for its construction. The pipeline from the plant to Connolly Canal is built by Kerala Water Authority, and is expected to cost around Rs.2.24 crore.

New ward

A girls' hostel for the Dental College and a new ward for the Department of Mental Health will also be inaugurated on the occasion. MLA P.M.A.Salam will preside over the function.

Source: The Hindu,16-8-2010

State coastal zone authority lacks teeth, says its chairman

KOCHI: The Kerala State Coastal Zone Management Authority (KSCMA) has been unsuccessful in curbing the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) violations as it lacks the implementation mechanism, said C.T.S. Nair, chairman of the Authority. Hence it could not adopt a pro-active stand towards CRZ issues in the State.

Talking to The Hindu, Dr. Nair, who is also executive vice-president of the Kerala State Council for Science Technology and Environment, said the activities of the Kerala authority were mostly confined to “acting on requests for (CRZ) clearances” on applications that came before it.

Dr. Nair had recently submitted a report to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests on Coastal Regulation Zone violations and destruction of mangrove at Mangrove Park,Pappinissery, Kannur, following instructions of the ministry.

“What has come out is just the tip of the iceberg. Many violations that are taking place in many other areas even go unreported,” Mr. Nair said.

The authority could not do follow-up in cases where permissions for constructions were issued.
The agency also lacked the mechanism to check the violations. Under the present system, it is through the District Collectors that the authority seeks the implementation of its orders. If they too fail, the authority is left with no option to implement its decisions, he said.Most often, the real culprits in instances of CRZ violation were government agencies, he said.

Mangroves were destroyed for the LNG terminal and the proposed oceanarium projects at Puthu Vypeen, Kochi.

The local bodies, which were bound to check the CRZ guidelines while issuing building permits, were ignoring the aspect, he said.

Meanwhile, some of the authority members pointed out that the construction of a luxury hotel was progressing at Maradu despite the stop memo issued by the authority.In another case, a huge apartment complex was being constructed on the banks of the Kochi backwaters and that too by reclaiming the water body.

This case did not even come up before the authority for the mandatory clearance, a member said.

Mr. Nair said that the Authority was looking into some instances of violations in the State. He hoped that the proposed CRZ legislation by the MoEF would give more teeth to the authority to act.

Source: The Hindu,16-8-2010

'Migratory birds may start skipping Bangalore'

BANGALORE: Five years from now, migratory birds might stop coming to Bangalore due to disturbance in water bodies here, a decade long study claims.

Ornithologist and scientist Harish R Bhatt, lead author of the study, said they had been noticing a drastic decrease in the number of migratory birds since 2000.

"Over the years, loss of habitat, food and shelter have only accelerated the process," he added. The study points out that of around 120 bird species, 2025 per cent have stopped coming to Bangalore due to aforesaid reasons. Bhatt and four other scientists worked on the project that started in 2000.

Bhatt said not all birds depended on fish for food. He said some birds depended on floating plants its loss stopped them from coming back.

He said alteration of lake boundaries and disturbance accounted for a decline of 25 per cent in the number of the migratory birds.

He said in 2003, Nagavara lake had seen around 8,000 migratory birds of seven species in the winter. He said due to loss of the lake, now the migratory birds had stopped coming. He said the migratory birds now went to Hesarghatta lake, which is outside the city.

The decadelong study points out that even as the scientists were observing decrease in the number of the birds over a decade, the concerned authorities did not take any preventive action. Bhatt said now in the name of cleaning lakes, the authorities were destroying them.

"Water birds nest on floating plants. When the shoreline is disturbed, desilted without proper gradation, it looks like a tank or a swimming pool devoid of life," he said. The study will be presented at the lake symposium at Indian Institute of Science during December 22-24 this year.

Source:Indian Express,16-8-2010

Attingal municipality to experiment with eco-friendly ‘container composting'

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Three months after bringing on line its fourth solid waste treatment plant, the Attingal municipality is gearing up to try out a new form of waste processing which will require less space and will be more eco-friendly.

As per the ‘container composting' method, solid waste will be collected in one large vessel, similar to the containers used for shipping goods. Air and moisture will be passed into the vessel at a regular interval for 30 days, at the end of which the waste will be converted into manure.

K. Mohankumar, secretary of the Kasaragod Social Service Society — the non-governmental organisation setting up the new facility — told The Hindu that the main advantage of container composting is that it requires only a fraction of space taken up by the existing ‘windrow' composting plants at Attingal. The existing method requires 80 sq m of area to process one tonne of waste. Two containers which will be installed on a trial basis in October 2010, each of which can process 15 tonnes, will occupy only 16 sq m.

“Since the containers are completely airtight, there will be no odour around them. A problem common to solid waste treatment facilities is the leakage of leachate. Here, the leachate will come out only through a designated pipeline. Moreover, there will be no piling up of garbage at the site as the entire process will take place inside the container,” Mr. Mohankumar explained.

Attingal generates close to 17 tonnes of garbage a day, 18 to 20 per cent of this is non-biodegradable. The municipality collects about 13 tonnes of garbage, which is then taken to its four treatment plants, the latest of which was commissioned in April 2010. The non-biodegradable component of the waste will be used for engineering a landfill spread over one acre. The landfill has been designed to accommodate waste generated over the next 25 years. The machine which will shred plastic waste before it goes into the landfill will become operational by the end of September.

The municipality has drawn up plans to set up biogas plants and vermin-composting facilities in houses and other institutions so that it can eventually cap the amount of garbage reaching its treatment plants, two of which use the vermin-composting method to process waste. As the municipality expands these centralised and localised facilities, these may enable it to process nearly all its solid waste.

The treatment plants at Attingal now produce more than 3 tonnes of fertilizer a day which costs the municipality Rs.4 a kg.

Source:The Hindu,13-8-2010

Reserves of endangered mangroves in Kannur

KOLLAM: A mangrove survey being organised by the Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) in the State has discovered large reserves of the critically endangered Aegiceras corniculatum species of mangroves all over the mangrove belts of Kannur district.

The survey, to prepare a database of surviving mangrove forests in the State, is being conducted on a district-wise basis. It began with Kollam district in July and Kannur was the second district covered. The survey was conducted there for three days from August 8.

Former National Institute of Oceanography director U.K. Gopalan, who led the survey, told The Hindu that one important outcome of the survey is the suspicion whether the healthy growth of mangroves in Kannur district triggers the evolution of new mangrove species in the area. Others in the team include former Kerala State Biodiversity Board chairman V.S.Vijayan, Kannur University's Environment Department director Khaleel Chowa, KSSP State convener V.R.Reghunandan, KSSP environment committee chairman T.Gangadharan and KSSP expert committee member V.K. Madhusudhanan.

Dr. Gopalan says besides over 500 hectares of undisturbed mangrove forests, Kannur is home to giant-sized mangroves from the Avicennia officianalis species. Many of the trees should be about 150 years old and some of them have a girth of over two metres. Also, the Kandelia candel species of mangrove facing extinction in other parts of the State is found in a healthy condition in Kannur.

He says that several projects are on the anvil in Kannur in total disregard for the mangrove ecosystem there. The survey team points out that the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation has acquired 184 acres of land within the mangrove belt for the Irinav power project in the Valapattanam estuary.

Source:The Hindu, 13-8-2010

Impact on mangrove landscape: panel

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In establishing a mangrove theme park on the bank of the Valapattanam river in Kannur district, the Pappinisserri Eco Tourism Society has made significant changes in the landscape, says a report of the Kerala State Coastal Zone Management Authority.

The authority submitted this report to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests on Wednesday. The report is based on a study conducted by a five-member team of experts constituted by the authority on directions from the Ministry.

The society had made “a number of interventions … including clearance of mangrove vegetation and erection of various structures, both temporary and permanent,” the report says. High- impact modifications are centred on an area of about 5,180 square metres.

The total area covered by different constructions is estimated to be about 6,580 sq. m.The report puts the damage at the specific location of the theme park in the context of large-scale disappearance of scarce and invaluable mangrove vegetation elsewhere along the State's coast from manmade alterations of the nature of the land for commercial purposes. The trend is quickening.

The report reiterates the observation of scientists deputed earlier by the Ministry that the park has violated the stipulations of the Coastal Regulation Zone notification.

“In assessing the impact of the activities undertaken in the Mangrove Theme Park, it is also important to consider the larger picture of destruction of the mangrove ecosystem in the vicinity of the park and beyond, in the district and the State …The Kannur district, accounting for about 85 per cent of the State's mangrove forests, is the last frontier of mangrove destruction. Visit to the area surrounding the Mangrove Theme Park indicates that what has happened in the theme park is the tip of the iceberg of mangrove destruction … real estate development, roads and other infrastructure, industrial development, shrimp farms and ill-conceived ecotourism initiatives are having a severe impact on the mangrove ecosystem,” the report notes.

“It was pointed out that, within three months of its operation, over 1,00,000 people visited the park, with an average daily visitor rate of over 1,000.”

Source:The Hindu, 13-8-2010

Pak floods, Russia wildfires and China landslides due to global warming

LONDON: Climate change experts are of the view that global warming predictions are correct and the world weather crisis that is causing floods in Pakistan, wildfires in Russia and landslides in China is evidence.

The torrential rains have affected almost 14 million people in Pakistan, making it a more serious humanitarian disaster than the South Asian tsunami and recent earthquakes in Jammu and Kashmir andHaiticombined.

The disaster was driven by a 'supercharged jet stream' that has also caused floods in China and a prolonged heat wave in Russia, The Telegraph reports.

Experts from the United Nations (UN) and universities around the world said the recent "extreme weather events" prove global warming is already happening.

Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, vice-president of the body set up by the UN to monitor global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said the 'dramatic' weather patterns are consistent with changes in the climate caused by mankind.

"These are events which reproduce and intensify in a climate disturbed by greenhouse gas pollution. Extreme events are one of the ways in which climatic changes become dramatically visible," he said.

The UN has rated the floods in Pakistan as the greatest humanitarian crisis in recent history, with 13.8 million people affected and 1,600 dead.

Flooding in China has killed more than 1,100 people this year and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage across 28 provinces and regions.

In Russia the morgues are overflowing in Moscow and wildfires are raging in the countryside after the worst heat wave in 130 years, The Telegraph reports.

Dr Peter Stott, head of climate monitoring and attribution at the Met Office, said it was impossible to attribute any one of these particular weather events to global warming alone.

But he said there is "clear evidence" of an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events because of climate change.

Source:TIMES Of India,11-8-2010

Rising temperatures threaten Greenland ice sheet

The entire ice mass of Greenland will disappear from the world map if temperatures rise by as little as 2°C, with severe consequences for the rest of the world, a panel of scientists told the U.S. Congress on Tuesday.

Greenland shed its largest chunk of ice in nearly half a century last week, and faces an even grimmer future, according to Richard Alley, a geosciences professor at Pennsylvania State University. “Sometime in the next decade we may pass that tipping point which would put us warmer than temperatures that Greenland can survive,” Professor Alley told a briefing in Congress, adding that a rise in the range of 2°C to 7°C would mean the obliteration of Greenland's ice sheet.

The fall-out would be felt thousands of kilometres away from the Arctic, unleashing a global sea level rise of seven metres, Professor Alley warned. Low-lying cities such as New Orleans would vanish.

“What is going on in the Arctic now is the biggest and fastest thing that nature has ever done,” he said.

Speaking by phone, Professor Alley was addressing a briefing held by the House of Representatives committee on energy independence and global warming.Greenland is losing ice mass at an increasing rate, dumping more icebergs into the ocean because of warming temperatures, he said.

The stark warning was underlined by the momentous break-up of one of Greenland's largest glaciers last week, which set a 260 sq.km. chunk of ice drifting into the North Strait between Greenland and Canada.

The briefing also noted that the last six months had set new temperature records.Robert Bindschadler, a research scientist at the University of Maryland, told the briefing: “While we don't believe it is possible to lose an ice sheet within a decade, we do believe it is possible to reach a tipping point in a few decades in which we would lose the ice sheet in a century.”

The ice loss from the Petermann Glacier was the largest such event in nearly 50 years, although there have been regular and smaller “calvings”.Petermann spawned two smaller breakaways: one of 88 sq.km. in 2001 and another of 26 sq.km. in 2008.

Andreas Muenchow, professor of ocean science at the University of Delaware, who has been studying the Petermann Glacier for several years, said he had been expecting such a break, although he did not anticipate its size.

He also argued that much remains unknown about the interaction between Arctic sea ice, sea level, and temperature rise.

Professor Muenchow told the briefing that over the last seven years he had only received funding to measure ocean temperatures near the Petermann Glacier for a total of three days.He was also reduced, because of a lack of funding, to paying his own airfare and that of his students to they could join up with a Canadian icebreaker on a joint research project in the Arctic.

Source:The Hindu,12-8-2010

Mangroves take the hit

Mumbai: Mangroves near the Elephanta Island in the Mumbai harbour and those near Vashi in Navi Mumbai were found to be affected on Wednesday, after merchant vessel MSC Chitra collided with MV Khalijia-III, leading to a massive oil spill in the Arabian Sea off Mumbai. There is, however, no estimate of the scale of the damage.

“We have not estimated that [extent of damage] yet. We are yet to receive a confirmation,” Valsa Nair, Environment Secretary, told The Hindu.

“The oil slick has been sighted on shore from Nariman Point to Cuffe Parade in Mumbai, Vashi and Airoli in Thane district, Uran, Mandovi and Elephanta in Raigad district. Elephanta and Navi Mumbai or BARC [Bhabha Atomic Research Centre] are reportedly the only sites where mangroves have been indicated to be affected. The Pollution Control Board has constituted four survey teams with assistance of the Coast Guard and the district or local administration, one each for Mumbai, Mumbai suburban, Thane and Raigad districts,” a press note of the Directorate General (DG) of Shipping said.

The agency said while there was no more seepage of oil from the ship since Monday, “minor leakage [was] observed from port midship with black or brown coloured trail extending up to approx 0.2 nautical miles [370 metres].”

Work on securing falling containers from the ship is under way with the help of a barge provided by M/s. SMIT International Singapore. “So far 10-15 containers have been secured.”The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) has reserved an area for the ship's containers.Owing to a rough sea, “attempt to stabilise the ship and pumping of fuel oil has not started yet,” the note stated.

Director-General (Lighthouse and Lightships) will procure buoys to mark the containers.Floating containers will be removed from the navigation channel with the help of strong “mooring buoys.”

“The Navy survey ship INS Yamuna undertook a survey of the entire channel. So far, only three numbers of sunken containers have been identified. [Survey data] will help the port authorities to examine the possibilities of restricted navigation,” the note said.According to DG Shipping, the ship owner has indicated that 200 of the 512 containers placed on the deck were empty.

No contamination from hazardous chemicals was found after analysis of water samples.Fish, on the other hand, were found to be polluted. “The Commissioner, Mumbai Municipal Corporation, has informed that about 500 kg of fish samples at Sasson Dock, Sewree and Bhaucha Dhakka were prima facie found to be contaminated. There was a need for stepping up sample testing. Further sample testing is being undertaken to ascertain the quality of the fish catch. The State Fisheries Department has also been directed by the State government to do random sampling of fish landing at a specified location like Sasoon Dock,” the DG Shipping said.

Source:The Hindu,12-8-2010

Environmental tribunal

Source:Mathrubhumi 11 August 2010

State ideal habitat for bird

KATTAPPANA: An increasing presence of Lesser whistling teal or Indian whistling teal (Dendrocygna Javanica) has been reported from the State recently, thanks to the favourable breeding conditions. A common Indian bird, the Lesser whistling teal, was identified by Dr. Salim Ali way back in 1931.

Shrinkage of favourable breeding conditions, habitat loss and human interference had led to a decrease in its number. R. Sugathan, ornithologist at the Thattekkad bird sanctuary and a disciple of Dr. Salim Ali, told The Hindu on Tuesday that some favourable factors in the State had led to a steady increase in its number over the past few years. He said that paddy fields, which had been remaining fallow for a few years, offered an ideal breeding spot for the bird. It often nests on palm or coconut trees, near to undisturbed paddy fields. Up to eight newborns will be there in a family and under favourable conditions, more birds will survive.

He said that recently over 2,000 Lesser whistling teal were identified in the Thattekkad sanctuary alone giving hope for its effective conservation in the region. This has also ruled out the misconception that the presence of Lesser Whistling Teal was confined to Palakkad area alone.

According to Mr. Sugathan, the teal is different from the duck species in terms of breeding, food-taking and behaviour. The Blue wing teal, a migratory species from Siberia, is quite different from the Lesser whistling teal and the former never nests in the country. Moreover, the Blue Wing Teal often damage paddy cultivation.

A pair of Lesser whistling teal with newborns, rescued from Kothakuthy, near Thodupuzha, by the members of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, led by president M.N. Jayachandran, and forest officials, were handed over to the Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary authorities recently. The birds were released to the sanctuary after a few days of care.

Source: The Hindu,11-8-2010

Clean-up of Rayarom river completed

KANNUR: The clean-up of Rayarom River at Alakkode by Navy and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel to remove the large quantities of discarded pesticides dumped into it was completed on Tuesday. The scientist from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) who tested the quality of water reported that there was no toxicity in the river water.

The last phase of the search for the remaining pesticide bottles and packets was completed on Tuesday afternoon. The potency of the pesticides materials removed from the river has been defused.

District Collector V.K. Balakrishnan told reporters here on Tuesday that A.K. Gupta, scientist at the Gwalior-based nuclear, biologicaland chemical emergency wing of the DRDO who had collected water samples from different spots in the river and examined them, hadreported that there was no toxicity in the river water. On the basis of the report, instructions have been given to resume pumping of water from the river for drinking water supply, the Collector said.

The Navy and NDRF personnel had searched for pesticides in the river along a 15-km stretch downstream, he said.

The Collector said the pesticides removed from the river during the past few days would be incinerated at Hindustan Insecticides Ltd. at Udyogamandal in Aluva. The proposal to offer financial aid to eight local youth who had to undergo medical treatment for health problems after their efforts to remove the pesticides a day after they were dumped into the river on August 1 has been submitted to the government on the basis of the recommendations of people's representatives.

The Collector said that all political party leaders and people's representatives had expressed satisfaction at the timely intervention of the district administration to address the situation and respond to it. The meeting of the crisis management group and the district disaster management group also equipped the administration to coordinate the efforts by all departments concerned, he said. The Collector also recalled the intervention of Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran to send the Navy divers and the DRDO scientist and the NDRF personnel to Alakkode. Fire and Rescue Service personnel and the police also did a commendable job at Alakkode, he said.

Announcing that there would be strong action against all those who were involved in dumping the pesticides into the river, Mr. Balakrishnan said the Principal Agricultural Officer had been directed to check for expiry date-ended pesticides kept in pesticide stores and depots in the district. He said a district-level campaign for protection of rivers would be launched in the Alakkode panchayat in the coming days.

Source: The Hindu,11-8-2010

Lobsters, shrimps most vulnerable

Mumbai: Four days after the oil spill from MSC Chitra, an exact assessment of the impact on marine life cannot be done for lack of systematic data on the biodiversity off the Mumbai coast. Monsoon adds to the existing woes.

“One thing is sure, the spill will have an amplified impact on the sedentary marine animals like shells, lobsters, crabs, oysters, shrimps and mudskippers,” said Deepak Apte, Assistant Director, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). Considering that they form the base of the marine food pyramid, this will have a larger impact on life forms outside the sea as well, including shore birds. “When oil settles on the rocks, in the rock cracks, on the sand or on mudflats, it will create a sheath, thus asphyxiating all life forms under it.”

The impact on fish will be known only in the fair season between December and March. “It will not be clear right now how many larvae or eggs have been affected in the current season. Also, there are some species which breed only once in six years. We have no way of measuring the impact on them till we see them out in the sea,” said Mr. Apte. The impact could be measured on the basis of available ‘natural recruitment data' (the pattern of natural reproduction).

Mangroves will also be affected as this is their peak fruiting season. The mangroves in Vashi have already turned black due to an accumulated oil slick. “But it will not be much of a problem if oil accumulates on the barks of the mangroves,” Mr. Apte said. “The real problem is when the oil settles on aerial roots [also known as pnematophores] or affects their seeds.”

Places on the Mumbai-Raigad coastline like Mandwa and Sasawne have a thick oil deposit on the shore. “They will take a very long time to recover. At other places, depending on the seepage, the recovery may take anything from five months to five years,” said Mr. Apte, who has surveyed all affected sites on the Mumbai-Raigad coast.

Some environmentalists have suggested that fishermen be engaged in clearing the slick and assessing the impact. “They have huge manpower. They know the sea like no one else does. They can be very effective controllers,” Mr. Apte said. The fishermen could be involved in assessing the damage as well. “They know the places where they usually get a good catch.”

Seepage in slums

Colaba and Sewri, where substantial oil leakage was spotted on Monday, were found comparatively clean on Tuesday. But the slum-dwellers near these coasts complained of oil seepage in their homes during the high tide.

“Everything is ridden with oil in the house now. The rice sack was lying on the floor. Oil entered the house during high tide. How are we supposed to clean this now,” asked Vijayabai from the Geeta Nagar slums at Colaba.

Reports say a fresh oil leak has started near the Gharapuri and Pirwadi beaches here. Fortunately, there is still time for migratory birds to arrive. Flamingos will start coming in two months. If the contamination is not contained by then, the ill-effects will spread to wider life cycles, warn experts.

The environmentalists have anyway repeatedly said the most important concern is the long-term implication which can be gauged only after a systematic study.“There is no need to get panicky. The destruction is hazardous, for sure. But we also need to understand the dynamics of nature. We have to keep watching how our shores behave over the next few months. This story cannot be forgotten after the heat of the breaking news is over,” Mr. Apte said.

Source: The Hindu,11-8-2010

Panel proposes enhanced penalty for flouting environment rules

NEW DELHI: Enhanced penalty and speedy trial to nail green offenders and monitoring of coastal rules violations through satellites are some of the steps the government is mulling to ensure better implementation of environmental regulations in the country.

A draft paper envisaging such stringent rules by seeking an amendment in Environment (Protection) Act 1986 is being prepared by a panel set up to examine the issues relating to monitoring compliance of environmental clearance conditions and will soon be available for public opinion.

It deals with the existing regulatory regime and the present system of monitoring, its limitations and the proposed new approach to monitoring which envisages amendment in the EP Act which in present form has failed to deter companies from blatantly violating the norms.

"The new proposed approach envisages involvement of specialised agencies or institutions in the monitoring of compliance of EC/CRZ conditions depending on their respective areas of specialisation," a senior environment ministry official said.

He said that panel pointed to various deficiencies of the EP Act, noting that in its present form it does not have enough deterrent and punitive provisions.

"The existing process of imposing penalty and punishment under the EP Act is quite time consuming, sometime taking years before the case reaches to its conclusive end."

"Hence based on the presentation made and discussions held, it was felt that action will be taken to amend the Act to provide for enhancement of penalty for non-compliance and to modify the procedure so as to decide the penalty and punishment under the Act expeditiously," the official said.

However, he did not divulge the exact penalty or punishment the draft proposes.

Moreover, it was also recognised that for monitoring of air and water quality and compliance with the emission and discharge standards involvement of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and State PCBs would be very useful.

"It will synergise the available resources and will help in validation of data generated by other monitoring agencies, noted the panel," said the official.

Use of IT and satellite technology for putting the information in the public domain and for inter-agency coordination was also highlighted as recommended by the Swaminathan Committee in its report related to coastal zones.

The issue relating to involvement of CPCB and SPCBs in compliance monitoring will be taken up as an agenda during the forthcoming meeting with SPCBs, the official said.

The monitoring committee whose tenure is upto September 30 will seek comments on the draft approach paper from all the stakeholders before finalising it.

Source:Deccan Herald,10-8-2010

Environment film fest from tomorrow

HYDERABAD: Forty award-winning films with the theme of ‘environment and wildlife' will be screened at the three-day film festival and forum ‘Hyderabad CMS Vatavaran 2010' to be held here from August 11.

Being conducted for the fourth time nation-wide and third time here, the biennial travelling film festival will visit the cities of Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, Patna, Port Blair, Shillong, Shimla and Thiruvananthapuram this year.

On the spectrum will be prize-winning films from the national-level festival held at Delhi last year. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan at Basheerbagh will be the main venue, with a parallel venue at the University of Hyderabad.

Though open for all, special focus of the festival will be on children who will get a special time slot from 10.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. each day.

Nearly 20 films will be screened in this slot exclusively for them, Narendra Yadav, Communications Manager of the Centre for Media Studies, informed at a media conference here on Monday. For general audience, the hours of screening will be from 1.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m., followed by a panorama of feature films each day. Besides, there will be workshops, seminars, open forums and panel discussions on contemporary environmental issues.

Felicitations

A group of conservationists, including film-makers Shekar Dattatri and Girish Girija Joshi, environmentalists Vijaya Rama Kumar and K. Purushottam Reddy, civil society activist Rao Chelikani, and urban planner B.N.Reddy will be felicitated as ‘Green Heroes' on the occasion. The festival will be inaugurated by Assembly Speaker N. Kiran Kumar Reddy at 10.30 a.m. on the said day. ‘Zor Laga Ke Haiya', a film by Girsh Girija Joshi has been chosen for the NGC Sadhana CMS award carrying a cash prize of Rs.25,000, said W. G. Prasanna Kumar, Director of AP National Green Corps, which is the main organising partner.

He said invitations have been dispatched to 500 schools in the city and Ranga Reddy district and hoped that at least 100 schools would participate.

He also shared details about the ‘Low Carbon Fair' promoted by the Organising Committee of Common Wealth Games 2010 and conducted here by CMS and APNGC. The campaign is on since August 4.

Source: The Hindu,10-8-2010

Artificial reef promises to boost tourism potential

KOVALAM: The multipurpose artificial reef installed off the beach here has emerged as an innovative form of coastal protection, helping to improve the tourist potential of the State.The reef has demonstrated its potential to protect the severely eroding coast from the waves unleashed by the monsoon. Resort owners and hoteliers are excited at the prospect of an extended tourist season.

Installed between the lighthouse and the Edakkal rocks off the beach, the reef has been able to protect the beach by mimicking natural reef structures and working in concert with nature.Being off-shore and submerged, there is no visual impact. Within months, the reef has been able to stabilise the famed beach and make it wider on the lighthouse side by cushioning the impact of the waves.

Erosion

“The resorts here have been active only for the first six months of the year till now. During the remaining half, the beaches face severe erosion. We hope that the soft reef will attract tourists throughout the year. Initially, the reef is found to have positive impact. The full extent of its impact will be known only in the next few months,” G. Sudhiesh Kumar, a hotelier, says.

The project, funded under the Centre's tsunami rehabilitation programme, was executed by the New-Zealand-based Artificial Surfing Reef Ltd., under the supervision of the Harbour Engineering Department for Kerala Tourism.

Giant 28 geo-textile bags with a life of over 40 years and filled with sand are the building blocks of the reef. The crest of the 100-metre-long reef has been placed just below the low tide line. It has been placed at a depth of 2 metres to 4 metres so that the reef will block breakers more than one-metre high, leaving only small waves to wash ashore. Fish life blossoms as the reef provides a firm substrate on the sea-bed for colonization by marine species. But, the fisherfolk and the hoteliers are eagerly awaiting the catch to know the impact of the reef.

Fears allayed

Project officials say they have been able to overcome the apprehension of the local people, the hoteliers and the fisherfolk. The detachment of a periphery scour bag that is 20 metres long caused panic among the people. But, officials say, it has not affected the reef in any way.

Nearly 30 per cent of the country's population lives on 5,500 km of its mainland coastline, which currently experiences severe coastal erosion problems owing to a number of environmental and other factors. Kerala has severe erosion problems even after constructing rock seawalls on more than 400 km of its 590-km coastline.

Developing new and improved forms of coastal protection is an extremely important requirement for the protection of the coasts and beaches.

Best solution

Experts say that if the predicted greenhouse sea level rises of one metre by 2100 affect the country, millions will be devastated; the offshore reefs are the best solution to stop the waves.

Source:The Hindu,10-8-2010

Spill may trigger long-term environmental problems

Mumbai: The oil leak from MSC Chitra could not have happened at a worse time. This is the breeding season for marine animals, and environmentalists fear that the spill may impact not only the breeding cycle, but also much more in the future if the oil contaminates the sediments and the sea bed. The spill is set to disturb the entire marine ecosystem, including the mangroves, in turn affecting the livelihood of the coastal population.

Environmentalists have called for a systematic study of the incident.

An ongoing survey by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has revealed that a six-eight inch oil sediment has already reached the shore of four villages on the Mumbai-Raigad coastline.

“Around 20 km coastline of Revas, Mandwa, Sasawne and Kihim has been contaminated,” Deepak Apte, scientist and head of the BNHS team, told The Hindu on phone. “A little contamination has also been found at Alibaug, but it may not necessarily be the oil spill from the leaking ship,” he said. Some oil-coated biscuit packets have also been spotted at the Gateway of India in Mumbai.

The exact impact assessment cannot be done as no one has the accurate information about the contents of the ship. But according to experts, India does not have the technology, the money, or the protocol to clear the slick once it reaches the beach. “The beaches where the oil has reached are virtually permanently damaged now,” Bittu Sahgal, editor of Sanctuary Asia, told The Hindu on phone.

Shyam Asolekar, Professor at the Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Instituteof Technology (IIT), Mumbai, told The Hindu, “The marine ecology consists of all the small and big living organisms in the sea, the particulate matter and the sediments. There are other living forms like the sea gulls that are dependent on the marine life for survival. Even they are a part of the ecosystem and may stand the risk of being affected.”

He said the crude oil contained various sizes of particles that affected the ecology in different ways. “Some float and form a thin layer on the water. These are the particles that are generally cleared. Some get dissolved and absorbed in water. Though their proportion is not much, they are detrimental to the marine ecosystem. Others are volatilised particles that evaporate. They cause toxicity to birds and other living forms outside the marine ecosystem.” Because the nature and extent of the spill has not yet been completely revealed, it is difficult to assess the impact.

Many environmentalists are upset by the poor risk assessment. Mr. Sahgal said the real issue was not the oil leak, but that no one had been told what was in the containers. “First, we have to establish the content of every container to ensure that there is no life-threatening risk when the dry chemicals mix with water,” he said.

“What if there is radioactive material in some of the containers? What is the big secret that the Coast Guard does not want to reveal,” asked one of the agitated environmentalists who did not wish to be named.

Debi Goenka, executive trustee of the Conservation Action Trust, blamed the Coast Guard for taking slow action. “It is the nodal agency. It should have swung into action immediately and set up containment booms that very day,” he said. (Oil booms are floating tubes which act as barricades and absorb oil from the surface of the sea.)

“Considering the location of the leak, it would have been easier to contain the spill if immediate action had been taken. The spill happened in the sheltered water in the creek,” he said.

“Remove containers”

Ashish Fernandes, Oceans Campaigner for Greenpeace, said the spill had to be contained as soon as possible by removing the existing containers on the ship. It was crucial to know what the cargo contained in terms of hazardous substances. Organophosphates were toxic and could enter the food chain of aquatic life and cause havoc.

It was important to retrieve the floating containers and get them to safe storage. Lube was the most serious of all the oil on the ship. If the oil had already reached the shores of Mumbai, especially near the mangroves, there would have to be physical mopping operation, he said.

The monsoon, high tides, wind currents and internal currents aggravate the impact of the spill and can hinder the containment operation. R.K. Patil, chairperson of the Maharashtra Macchhimar Kruti Samiti said: “Because of new moon, the tide would be maximum for the next few days. This will take the oil slick to the otherwise inaccessible coastline as well.”

He said the slick would have a major impact on the livelihood of the fishermen community. “Around 10 lakh people will get affected. This includes the fishermen and their families. Fishing is our only source of survival,” he said. Mr. Patil blamed the pilots of the ships for the accident and urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene by setting up an inquiry commission. “Oil spill keeps happening on the Mumbai coast. No adequate action is taken. We fishermen have brought so much of oil slick and tar balls to the notice of the Coast Guard, but to no avail,” he said.

Source: The Hindu,10-8-2010

Stir against transfer of land at Irinavu

KANNUR: Environmental groups and activists are preparing to launch an agitation against the transfer of 66.45 hectares of land at Irinavu by the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) to a Noida-based private company to start a thermal power project and cement factory.

A local action committee — Irinavu-Pappinissery Samrakshana Samithi — will take out a mass march at Irinavu on August 15 demanding that the lease agreement of transfer of land to the company be revoked.

The samithi leaders said the agitation would express the protest by the people of Irinavu and nearby areas against the proposed projects, which they feared would ruin the environment and affect their livelihood.

The protest comes in the wake of the disclosure that 66.45 ha of land at Irinavu taken over by Kinfra 13 years ago to set up the Kannur Power Project (KPP) by Kannur Power Project Ltd. (KPPL), promoted by K.P.P. Nambiar, has been handed over to the Noida-based Jayaprakash Power Venture Ltd. on lease for 90 years at a sum of Rs.14 crore for starting a coal-based thermal power plant and a cement factory. Kinfra had entered into the agreement with the KPPL in 1997 for allotment of land to set up a 513-MW combined cycle thermal project jointly with the Enron Corporation of the U.S.

The project announced with much fanfare then, however, did not come up due to various reasons.

The disclosure of transfer of the land by Kinfra to the Noida-based company has also raised concern that the land has been handed over on lease at a paltry amount.

Samithi chairman D. Surendranath said the leasing of the land for 90 years at a ‘throwaway' price of Rs.14 crore raised public concern about a possible murky land deal and land utilisation for projects that would harm the environment of the largely agricultural area.

The samithi's demand was that the land be kept under the possession of the government and utilised for agriculture-related projects.

A march and pledge against the project on Independence Day would mark the beginning of the agitation, Dr. Surendranath said.

The Payyannur-based Society for Environmental Education Kerala (SEEK), which is among the organisations supporting the samithi's agitation, viewed the transfer and the proposed projects as harmful to the ecologically fragile environment and the livelihood of the people.

SEEK Director T.P. Padmanabhan said Irinavu comes under the Coastal Regulation Zone-I where no construction activities are allowed.

The land deal involved in the transfer of land to the Noida-based company would lead to land utilisation that would endanger the livelihood of people who depended on agricultural activities, he observed.

Source:The Hindu,10-8-2010

Biggest-ever disaster: Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: What was till today described as the worst floods in Pakistan's history has now been termed as the biggest disaster ever to strike the country. Briefing mediapersons on Friday even as a fresh spell of monsoons spelt further misery, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) chairman Nadeem Ahmed said this was the biggest disaster in Pakistan's history with 1,32,000 sq km affected in just two provinces.

Comparing the floods to the 2005 earthquake which killed thousands, Lt. Gen. (retired) Ahmed said as against 30,000 sq km affected then, 1,32,000 sq km had been affected in just the two provinces of Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province) and Punjab. While these two provinces are the worst affected, the floods have left a trail of destruction in Balochistan and Sindh which is the latest worry with the Indus overflowing.

As a fresh spell of rainfall lashed the country on Friday, relief work in many a place was stalled because helicopters were grounded.

While the United Nations “situation report'' pegged the flood-affected figures at over four million, the NDMA chairman said 12 million people had been affected in Khyber-Pukhtoonkhwa and Punjab alone and over two lakh houses damaged/destroyed across the country.The entry of the “flood wave'' into Sindh put 11 districts of the province at risk of flooding and an estimated five lakh people were relocated to safer places. UNESCO has expressed concern over the fate of the ruins of the Indus Valley Civilisation in Mohenjo-Daro in Sindh.

And, the worst does not seem to be over as the Meteorological Department predicted torrential rains. With no early respite from the floods in sight, Prime Minister Yusuf Syed Raza Gilani addressed the nation to seek the support of all Pakistanis living within the country and overseas to help deal with this natural calamity.

He also announced the decision of the Cabinet to donate a month's salary to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund and listed salary cuts to be undertaken by the armed forces and government personnel. He urged the corporate sector in particular to chip in.

Meanwhile, international aid has been coming in but government sources claimed that this was nothing in comparison to what was received after the earthquake and for the relief and rehabilitation of the Internally Displaced Persons last year.In fact, the United Nations in its last ‘situation report' said “overall, the humanitarian needs still outweigh the response''.

Source: The Hindu 7-8-2010

Pak alleges India has released flood waters

Over a dozen villages in Punjab province were inundated in the border areas of Sialkot district and the Pakistani officials blamed it on India, saying authorities across the frontier had released excess flood water.

The villages in Bajwat area of Sialkot district were submerged following a fresh spate in the Chenab river after the release of waters by India, Pakistani officials alleged.

Besides the Chenab, the water level in Tawi river too has increased. As a result, several villages in Bajwat area have been cut off from Sialkot, they said.Officials said the situation was under control and no loss of life or damage to property had been reported.

According to a forecast by the Flood Forecasting Division, high floods ranging from 270,000 cusecs to 350,000 cusecs is expected in the Chenab at Khanki today.The FFD said high floods in the river might lead to inundation of low-lying areas around the river bed in Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Hafizabad and Mandi Bahauddin districts.

Source: Deccan Herald, 7-8-2010

Wildlife sanctuary inauguration on Sunday

Kozhikode: Forest Minister Benoy Viswom will inaugurate the Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary on Sunday.

The sanctuary is spread across 74 sq. km in three villages under Koyilandy taluk in Kozhikode district. It is the 16 {+t} {+h} wildlife sanctuary coming up in the State with a mission to protect the rare species of flora and fauna.

Speaking to presspersons here on Friday, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest S.P. Singh said the sanctuary headquartered at Peruvannamuzhi would be a centre of attraction for its rich biodiversity and natural resources.

“The zone consists of 680 types of plants, 39 grass varieties, 148 species of butterflies, 52 varieties of fishes, 38 types of amphibians and 32 types of reptiles. The presence of around 180 species of birds is a unique speciality of the sanctuary,” he said.According to officials, the rare varieties of butterflies include Papilo Liomedon, Papilo Paris, Papilo Dravidarum and Prioneris Sita.

The fish varieties include Barilius Bakeri, Tor Khudree, Mystus Vittatus and Puntus Denisonii.

Among the rarest amphibians, the frog variety Philatus Oschlandrae is seen only here, they said.

K.V. Subrahmaniyan, Conservator of Forest, said the department would release a special booklet titled ‘‘Richness and Reality'' on Saturday to highlight the specialities of the sanctuary. A special portal www.malabarsanctuary.org would be launched by Industries Minister Elamaram Karim on the occasion, he said.

The officials made it clear that tourists would be encouraged to visit the permitted areas inside the sanctuary without hampering the peaceful ambience there. The process of rehabilitating some of the families residing within the boundary of the sanctuary would be completed soon, they said.

Source: The Hindu 7-8-2010

Brahmapuram fuel plant opened

KOCHI: The Kochi Corporation has succeeded in converting waste into wealth through the waste management programmes introduced in the city, said S. Sarma, Minister for Fisheries.

He was speaking after inaugurating the Refuse Derived Fuel plant at a function held at the Kochi Corporation council hall on Thursday. There was a time when the city was full of garbage heaps. But the civic authorities succeeded in overcoming the crisis through the establishment of the waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram, he said.

The Minister also inaugurated the distribution of the bio-manure produced at the plant. Members of Kudumbasree units and agriculturalists received the bio-manure packets from the Minister.

Source: The Hindu 7-8-2010

School gets award for best eco-club

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ramakrishna Mission School, Kozhikode, has won the award instituted by the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment for the best performing eco-club in the State. The award was presented at a two-day State-level workshop on National Green Corps which concluded here on Friday. The award comprises a cash prize of Rs.1 lakh and a certificate.

The school was selected for the award for its novel programme of cultivating paddy from a single seed, preparation of resource material for personality development by observing the behaviour of trees, setting up an ‘eco-friendly square' within a radius of 2 km with the participation of 384 houses, campaign on energy conservation and finding a solution for the plastic menace.

The activities were taken up by students in the 2009-10 academic year.

The district-level awards carrying a purse of Rs.50,000 each went to Government UPS, Ayilam, Thiruvananthapuram, Jawahar Navodaya, Kottarakkara , Kollam, St. Joseph's HSS for Girls, Alappuzha, SVGVHSS, Kidanganoor, Pathanamthitta, St. Mary's Girls HS, Athirampuzha, Kottayam, St. Antony's HS, Vandanmedu, Idukki, Government Boys VHSS, Thripunithura, Ernakulam, KAVHS, Vellanikkara, Thrissur, PKHS Mannapra, Palakkad, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Pukot, Wayanad, Govt. HSS, Karuvarakundu, Malappuram, Government Welfare HSS, Cherukunnu, Kannur and Government UPS Pullur, Kasaragod.

C.T.S. Nair, Executive Vice President, KSCSTE distributed the awards. K.G. Nair, Director, Centre for Science in Society, CUSAT presided. T. Radhakrishna, Director in-charge, Centre for Earth Science Studies, Kamalakshan Kokkal, Joint Director, KSCSTE and P. Harinarayanan addressed the award function.

Source: The Hindu 7-8-2010

Stop indiscriminate use of pesticides

Tobacco Board in association with M/s ITC-ABD ILimited, Mysore have jointly undertaken a massive campaign appealing to farmers against indiscriminate usage of pesticides on tobacco crop quality due to pesticide residues.

According to a press release here, the aim of this campaign was to educate the farmers on the various types of Non-Tobacco Related Matter (NTRM) including plastic noticed in the product, sources of NTRM, critical control points identified in leaf value chain and measures to be undertaken to keep away the NTRM. Thrust is also given to educate the farmers on the adverse effect of indiscriminate use of pesticide.

The campaign was launched recently and will continue till all the clusters in Mysore and Hassan districts are covered in entire tobacco belt. Till today, as many as 5,500 farmers have attended this awareness campaign from more than 80 villages spread over entire belt. It is expected that such a programme will help in improving the overall hygiene of the product and sustain the existing export demand.Nearly, 80 per cent of cigarette tobacco valued at ` 1,275 crore, produced from these two districts are exported annually mainly because of its neutral filler quality. However, of late, manufacturers and export customers are showing more concern about the hygiene of the produce.

They are encountering two major constraints-presence of plastic in the product and pesticide residues. There is a fear that export demand may suffer, if these twin issues are not addressed on a war footing which can impact the only means of livelihood of over 2 lakh farm families dependent on tobacco cultivation. During the programme, the farmers are informed about the possible means of NTRM entering tobacco value chain such as various plastic pieces, paper bits, sand, stone, feathers, jute. Particularly at post harvest product management series such as leaf tying, curing, bulking and storing, grading and baling.

They were advised to maintain hygiene and cleanliness during these activities. Plastic being the main component of NTRM, farmers were advised to ban the use of any kind of plastic and to use only good quality tarpaulins at various stages of post harvest product management.Equally important subject covered during the programme is regarding possible pesticide residues in tobacco exceeding Guidance Residue Level (GRL) due to indiscriminate use of both recommended and non-recommended pesticides without giving importance to right chemical at right dosage at right time with right method of application. The existing faulty practices and the recommended correct practices are highlighted by stressing on do’s and don’ts to convince the farmers about the importance of NTRM elimination.

Source: The Hindu 4-8-2010