Just deserts

International law is heading rapidly towards protecting the environment; it will gradually replace the initiative taken by national governments to base such laws on national public opinion. Between 1946, when the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling was first adopted, and 1994, when the International Convention to Combat Desertification was signed, 48 regional and global legal instruments have come into operation, about half of them in the past decade.

Animal passion

" Four legs good! Two legs bad!" -Animal Farm FOR a certain section of society the world over, George Orwell's satirical statement is a maxim to live by and defend, by fair means or foul. When the Prince of Wales recently found a rat trap baited with razor blades and an insulting message in his mail, Scotland Yard traced the culprit down to an animal rights extremist group which calls itself, with telling irony, the 'Justice Department'.

Victims of progress

What is wrong with progress and development? Can they be the culprits in a process that has wrought gradual marginalisation of the tribal people? Suresh Sharma asserts that the modern world with science and technology as its strong supporters has dealt most cruelly with a race that took nature as its sole guide and inspiration. Today, he rightly fears, tribals race extinction. Sharma's avowed aim is to alter some basic perceptions about tribal life. He sets much store by the poetry and music, the "grandeur and aesthetic vigour" of these children of nature.

Educative entertainment

The New Science Journalists is packed with the kind of science reporting that is intelligent, well-written, entertaining and educative. The editors of the book, like the participants of the Blinding with Science conference, feel that the general public lacks understand- ing and appreciation ofscience. A few people have suggested that the scientists' lack of communication skills might have something to do with the common misconceptions about science among the general public.

No more

Marcel Sony Labou Tansi. a novelist known for his satire and criticism of colonist Africa and the dictators who followed independence. died of complications due to AIDS. He was 48. His wife Pierrette Tansi, a nurse, died 4 days earlier, also from AIDS. Tansi's novels have made a strong impact on the francophone countries.

Rustic dealings

Rural organisations need good marketing tips to promote their productions in a market-oriented era. Organising Rural Business: Policy, Planning and Management provides a management approach to the marketing of rural products. an activity which has so far been restricted to the unorganised sector.

No kidding

THIS is a development report based on a major study with intensive field work carried out mainly in the neighbouring Nepal's Sindhuli district - the culmination of 2 years' work. The report draws also In many on similar work labour conducted Gambia. In add - tion, the report, which was presented at a special symposium organised in London in March 1995 coinciding with the fifth anniversary year of the World Summit for Children, puts forward many rich experiences and findings of the work with children undertaken in Kenya, Uganda, Ecuador, Peru and nearer home in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Fair fables

Fairy tales should be free of bias, believes James Finn Garner. And so he has written a book: Politically Correct Bedtime Stories. He has attempted to rewrite the classics in a form that is totally free from bias and the influences of a flawed cultural past, even if this effort leads to new interpretations and recasting in language that is finicky in its effort not to displease either humans or animals.

Rightful ownership

Tribal leader B D Sharma explains the adverse consequences of the new economic policy on the tribal people in Globalisation: The Tribal Encounter. It vividly brings out their reaction to the emerging situation and their views on the Bodhghat ownership and, endorses forcefully their right to part ownership of industry set up in the area.

Ecoprinciples

Environment 1995 Version describes succinctly and lucidly how the ecosystem work, how matter and energy move through the ecosystem, and how the population dynamics affects and is, in turn, affected by the ecosystems. This interdisciplinary approach is conducive to a clear understanding of the concepts that underlie the problems.