Bhubaneswar: Forest and environment minister Debi Prasad Mishra on Tuesday said that a legislation on biodiversity is soon to be considered by the State Legislative Assembly. Addressing a workshop on ‘Biodiversity conservation in Odisha: Challenges and Opportunities’ organised by the Regional Plant Resource Centre (RPRC), Bhubaneswar to celebrate the International Day for Biological Diversity-2012, Mishra said that biodiversity is important for our survival. Maintaining the equilibrium of biodiversity should get priority.

It is a tiny piece of heaven on the Odisha coast. The Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary is where the world's largest living reptile, the estuarine crocodile, is thriving amidst sylvan surroundings after having been brought back from the brink. But now there is trouble with the reptile population booming, posing a threat to the natural balance.

From a strength of 96 crocodiles in 1976, the population now stands at 1,646. A boat ride in some areas can yield crocodile sightings as frequent as one croc a minute, according to a conservationist.

PANJIM: The sword hangs over 44 mines as the clock ticks on the report on buffer zone for wildlife sanctuaries and national park which is due to be submitted on May 31. Indications are that the government appointed committees, are likely to propose three to five kilometers as buffer zone for the sanctuaries.

Senior forest department official said that the committees, which were due to submit their report on May 12, have now sought extension till May 31.The department is expecting the report to be submitted before this deadline, the implementation, of which will be done from next mining season, beginning October.

With the mercury on a steady upward drive, officials of the forest department are back to solving the poser thrown up at them every summer: How to provide water to the animals and birds in the state’s forest areas and, more importantly, protect them from poachers and hunters. With 22 wildlife sanctuaries and four national parks covering 12,579.205 sq km, or 4.57 per cent of the state’s area, the work is not exactly child’s play.

Diphu: Various organizations and NGOs of the district in their press release on Wednesday demanded an immediate halt of illegal extraction and excavation of forest resources under Marat Longri Wildlife sanctuary area of Karbi Anglong district. In their joint meeting held at KSYC conference hall, the organizations after a meticulous discussion resolved to take action against illegal expeditions of extracting forest resources by some unscrupulous individuals.

PANJIM: The mining companies operating the leases in wildlife sanctuaries in the past will have to pay for restoration of the areas affected with the extraction and dumping of the ore.

Following a high court directive, the state forest department has decided to rigorously follow up the matter with the mining companies asking them to pay the cost of restoration.

The Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has sought a response from the Karnataka government to the demand for a CBI probe into the entire gamut of mining activities that took place in the State since 2002.

Following a petition filed by T J Abraham, a resident of Bangalore, the CEC has written to the Karnataka chief secretary seeking a reply to the petitioner’s allegations. Abraham had pleaded before the CEC that mining activities, including dereserving of forests and granting of permission for mining by past governments headed by former chief ministers S M Krishna, Dharam Singh and H D Kumaraswamy, should be probed.

After the arrival of Lesser Whistling Duck in the sanctuary last week, Whiskered Tern, popularly known as Ganga Cheel, was spotted in the Okhla Bird Sanctuary on Monday. The tern which is a coastal bird is likely to breed at the Okhla Bird Sanctuary this season. The whiskered tern is a bird of South and South East Asia and is also spotted in some parts of Africa. The tern is generally a coastal bird and moves to inlands, marshes and wetlands in the summer months during its breeding season. In India, it breeds in the lower level of Kashmir Valley, the Gangetic plains and parts of Assam.

The government has approved the Master Plan of the Haor Development Board and decided to protect the country's fish species by creating a fish sanctuary on 20 percent of jalmahals (water bodies) in haor areas.

The decision was taken at the third meeting of Bangladesh Haor and Water Body Development Board on Thursday with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki has said that there is an initiative to create a ‘Special Tiger Protection Force’ for enhancing the protective cover on the wild cats and other animals inhabiting in the Tiger Reserves in the State.

“The Force will see to it that no harm is caused to tigers and other animals in the Tiger Reserves in the State,” Tuki said while addressing a two-day orientation programme on ‘Strengthening Wildlife Law Enforcement and Conservation’ here yesterday.