Orissa villagers protect forest, reap benefits

A hill in Orissa's Ganjam district used to be barren about 20 years ago. In 1985, the state forest department planted saplings, including Acacia and Eucalyptus, as part of its state-wide social forestry programme. Villagers of Sasan Ambagaon took it upon themselves to take care of the saplings and are now reaping benefits of a 'forest' there. The forest is spread over 32 hectares in the village.

A headmaster and his students save a forest

Pangulu Pahada owes a lot to Ramakanta Pradhan and his 60 students for its existence. The hill would have become a neglected barren mount if the headmaster and his flock from an upper primary school in remote Orissa had not decided to protect it, helping a 121-hectare forest on the hill spring back to life.

MoEF writes off Army dues for using forestland for training

shifting its earlier stand, the Union ministry of environment and forests (moef ) has decided to write off heavy dues from the Indian Army for using forestland for training. The decision to waive the Rs 14,414 crore came in May 2007 after the defence ministry informed moef of its inability to clear the cost.

News snippets

>> On April 16, the Anti-vivisection League, an animal rights group in Italy, asked Pope Benedict to stop wearing fur as a sign of respect for the "sacredness of all living species". The Pope wears a red velvet hat trimmed with white ermine fur, known as "camauro". They made the appeal ahead of a papal visit to Pavia, a northern town where Italy's fur-makers are based. >> Swedish search service company Picsearch is launching a carbon-free programme. It plans to plant 1,000 trees for every gigawatt-hour

Science must for UK firms advertising green credentials

Green Standards UK

Catchment Area Treatment Plan funds badly spent in Himachal

THE Himachal Pradesh government's attitude towards implementing the Catchment Area Treatment (cat) plan has been described as sluggish by environmentalists. The state government has also been accused of not utilising the cat plan funds on field. Sources reveal that funds are being diverted and a major part is being stored in the treasury.

IN COURT

Oil lease sale blocked: In a preliminary ruling, a US federal court has recently blocked the US administration's plan to allow oil companies, access to the sensitive wetlands near the vast Teshekpuk Lake in the Arctic Alaska. The ruling has come as the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) failed to properly consider the impact of oil development in areas near the National Petroleum Reserve on the state's North Slope region. "The lease sale was based on flawed environmental assumption," said the court in its judgment.

A new body to recover CAMPA funds

A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (cag ) has come down heavily on several states for not utilising, in fact diverting, funds meant for afforestation. In a May 5, 2006 verdict, the Supreme Court (sc) referred to the report and decided to requisition the funds from states.

Under the axe

Click here to view the factsheet (.pdf format)

Why states are against CAMPA

Should the business of forestry be centralised under the Union government once again or should states manage their forests better? The formation of the Supreme Court (sc) mandated Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (campa) has become a test case to settle this debate in government circles.