A variety of birds flock the recovered stream within 48 hours

For the past couple of weeks Rakesh Kumar with his borrowed binoculars and relentless patience has been busy tracking and keeping record of the varieties and number of birds that have begun to flock to a small water body inside a park in Dwarka's Pochanpur village. The water body that has become home to the winged visitors has been revived in a park maintained by the Delhi Development Authority.

Protection of five river valley basins tops its agenda

The Western Ghats Task Force has submitted a proposal to recruit 1,000 forest personnel required to protect the natural forests of the Western Ghats. This was announced by Ananth Hegde Ashisara, chairperson of the Task Force, at a meeting on the protection of environment, forests and bio-diversity and pollution control at the Deputy Commissioner’s office in the city on Wednesday.

To offset the effects of climatic change and global warming in the country, the Pakistan Forests Institute (PFI), Peshawar has completed a comprehensive study to determine the climatic change scenarios in Pakistan’s various ecological zones and its impact on forests resources.

Task force is involving forest-dwellers and farmers to protect biodiversity

Ananth Hegde Ashisar, chairman of the Western Ghats Task Force, said on Monday that the task force was drawing farmers, forest-dwellers and students to join it in its drive to protect biodiversity in the Western Ghats.

Exotic plant species, unsustainable constructions among challenges: survey. Introduction of exotic species, reckless harvesting of plant resources, and ecologically unsustainable methods of construction are threatening the fragile ecosystem and rich biodiversity in Idamalakkudy, the only tribal panchayat in Kerala, located in Idukki district.

A week-long biodiversity assessment programme conducted by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board revealed that the community, spread over 28 settlements in Idamalakkudy, was facing a threat to its sustainable method of living from external factors.

Help of local self-government institutions to be sought

The Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) is preparing to launch a campaign highlighting the need to prevent the destruction of plants during sanitation drives taken up by local self-government institutions.Board chairman R.V. Varma told The Hindu that directions would be communicated to local bodies to sensitise workers engaged for projects taken up under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) .

An AIIMS study has found that dhaniya or coriander plays a significant therapeutic role in managing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The study, published in the latest issue of the Indian Journal of Medical Research, evaluated the anti-arthritic activity of the herb among rats. Dhaniya or Coriandrum sativum was found to inhibit joint swelling and prevent progression of the disease among adult albino rats.