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Contents page
Nov 15-30, 1993
Cover Story
Sandalwood smuggling, epitomised by Veerappan, has become a collective phenomenon involving entire villages, which even the ban on sandalwood exports has been unable to curb. Deregulation of the sandal-tree, currently under state control, is now being debated as a measure to end the clandestine destruction.
News
Restrictions on use of natural resources in protected areas are driving the local communities dependent on forest produce for their survival to a state of deprivation. Conservation strategies can be sustainable only when it involves indigenous people in the management of forest resources.
Local people dependent for their survival on forests, now part of protected areas, are beginning to organise themselves to fight for their rights to forest produce.
Dismayed at the state of the forests in tiger reserves, foresters are beginning to realise the need to review the country's conservation strategy.
Interview
K R DATYE has been associated for years with grassroots organisations such as the Pani Panchayat and the Mukti Sangharsh, which has spearheaded struggles for equal water distrib...
Science & Technology
The electronics industry is poised for a quantum jump as a group of Indian scientists claim to have developed a silicon-based, light-emitting diode.
Scientists at the National Chemical Laboratory are working on rice biotechnology in order to develop more nutritious varieties of the cereal.
Recent findings suggest the Akkadian empire, which once flourished on the banks of the Euphrates, collapsed because of a sudden dearth of water.
With aerospace technologies set to revolutionise engine and body design, today's cars could become as obsolete as dinosaurs.
How animals treat themselves with various plants provide medicinal leads to scientists.
Jute fibre, which could provide a solution to the increasing crisis in procuring wood pulp, could be science's gift to the paper industry.
Analysis
Industrialists in Agra and Firozabad are in a tizzy about the Supreme Court's order to close down more than 200 polluting industrial units near the Taj Mahal.
Sandalwood smuggling, epitomised by Veerappan, has become a collective phenomenon involving entire villages, which even the ban on sandalwood exports has been unable to curb. Deregulation of the sandal-tree, currently under state control, is now being debated as a measure to end the clandestine destruction.
Villagers engaging in illegal cutting and smuggling of sandalwood have evolved ingenious methods to avoid detection.
Starting out as a sandalwood smuggler, Veerappan is today wanted for murder, too.
Special Report
Although the recently held world population summit emphasised population control in the developing countries as the main block in the path to development, some delegates held the consumption patterns of the developed countries responsible for the problems.
The main points of the statement of the Population Summit of the World's Scientific Academies:
The Fortnight
In response to ecologists up in arms against the golf courses mushrooming all over the world, designers are now coming up with eco-friendly courses.
Spending heavily on medicines does not necessarily result in better health, indicate recent studies.
Eco-labelling of timber products is around the corner with the launch of the Forest Stewardship Council, which brings together businesspersons, environmentalists and human rights groups.
A recent meeting on biological diversity failed to establish ground rules for implementation, as the participating nations were totally unwilling to yield.
Crosscurrent
Ravaged by ethnic strife, environmental disaster and crushing poverty, Ethiopians anticipate an uncertain future.
A continual tug of war between various agencies helped the Forest Conservation Act to evolve to its present form.
Lack of a scientific approach towards wildlife management is telling on Indian flora and fauna.
Review
Grassroots
The Gloria Land farm in Pondicherry and another run by a couple in Karnataka, show natural inputs can effectively replace factory produced fertilisers and pesticides.
