The government’s plan of ushering in a green revolution in eastern states doesn’t seem to have taken off in the country’s biggest paddy (de-husked) rice producing state of West Bengal. Till January 20, only 50 per cent of the total funds allocated for the state were released by the Centre.

Officials said a reason for the low funds was the lack of fresh proposals from the state.

In this new report UNEP argues that the ecological health and economic productivity of marine and coastal ecosystems can be boosted by shifting to a more sustainable economic paradigm that taps their natural potential - from generating renewable energy and promoting eco-tourism, to sustainable fisheries and transport.

Bangladesh - An overview of key environmental issues.

Bangladesh is located between 20 º 34 to 26º 38 north latitude and 88.01 º to 92.42 º east longitude, with an area of 147,570 sq km). With a population of 164.000 million, Bangladesh is one of the world's most densely populated countries. Geologically, Bangladesh is a part of the Bengal Basin, one of the largest geosynclinals in the world.

Mangroves are unique salt tolerant plant community, found in the coastal regions. As a result of unprecedented human exploitable activities and population pressure, the day of mangroves decreases day to day. Agricultural expansion rather than shrimp farming is the major factor responsible for the destruction of tropical mangrove forests in Asia.

The FAO-ILO Good practice guide for addressing child labour in fisheries and aquaculture: policy and practice aims at improving the understanding of the nature and scope, causes and contributing factors, and consequences of child labour in fisheries and aquaculture by providing information and an analysis of current issues.

ITANAGAR: Arunachal Pradesh is mulling to prepare a master plan soon to streamline the activities of agriculture and allied sectors, Agriculture Minister Setong Sena said today.

The master plan will help the farmers of the State in a manifold way to sustain their economy, the minister said after inaugurating the two-day Fish festival cum Kishan Mela, a technology outreach programme being organized by Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) at Balijan, near here on Thursday.

Shillong: Additional Chief Secretary PBO Warjri has said that the only way Fisheries cooperatives can come up in Meghalaya is by educating the fisheries farmers on the need to harmoniously co-exist with one another.

“The major factor which prevents the Fisheries Societies from coming up in a big way is that the individual farmer works with his own agenda,” Warjri said, while speaking during a workshop on ‘Strengthening of Fisheries Society in the State’ here on Wednesday.

Home to pristine reefs, rare sharks and vast numbers of exotic fish, the Coral Sea is a unique haven of biodiversity off the northeastern coast of Australia. If a proposal by the Australian government goes ahead, the region will also become the world’s largest marine protected area, with restrictions or bans on fishing, mining and aquaculture.

The purpose of this report, Oceans at Rio+20: How Well Are We Doing in Meeting Global Commitments on Oceans, Coasts, and Islands from the 1992 Earth Summit and the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development? is to contribute to discussions and preparations related to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 4-6, 2012, and to support governments in the development of a significant ocean outcome at Rio+20.

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