Paradise under fire

The beautiful Valley of Flowers, known for its almost miraculous flower diversity and fecundity, is caught in a strange controversy. The point of contention: is the conservation attempt proving to be the problem rather than the solution? In 1982, the valley was notified as a national park, and livestock grazing was banned in the area. For the past two decades, though, there have been a number of reports about weeds choking the plant diversity of the region.

Forest row

a team comprising secretaries of the forest and revenue departments has been set up to file a detailed report on the rampant land-grabbing in the forests of the Mathikettan region in Kerala. The Union ministry of environment and forests has also taken stock of the situation. Earlier, the state government had shifted more than 100 revenue department officials, including district collector K J Mathew, out of Idukki district.

Origin of beauty

Tanzania

God's Garden

Risk analysis mooted

there is a looming threat from foreign fruits flooding Indian markets as they bring pests with them, say agriculture experts who are urging the government to conduct a risk analysis before allowing free imports. These experts have flayed the double standards of the exporting countries who, while banning the import of Indian products, are selling their fruits in India.

Nepal's poor carry it off

The poor in Nepal appear to possess the Midas touch. Wherever the government has handed over control of degraded forestland to them under the leasehold forestry programme, the Himalayan country's ecology has staged a magical turnaround. In the process, the below poverty line (bpl) households have unfolded economic miracles also.

Adrift and Isolated

THE residents of 122 villages straddling Chilika lake in Orissa have been fishing in troubled waters for the past two decades. Ironically, the draft Bill - cleared by the state cabinet in December 2001 - to provide succour to them has sent their hackles rising. The legislation, when enacted, will seek to restore the ecology of Asia's largest brackish-water lake by imposing a blanket ban on scientific prawn culture inside it. The protesting fishing community feels that the proposed law is not

Growing fences

A river tells its story through its geological history and the life that it supports. Much can be revealed to the discerning observer, as in the case of the Indravati river, which traverses the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh.

Melting to extinction

current forecasts of climate change for 2050 suggest a significant adverse effect on flora and fauna species and habitats in the uk. This was the finding of an extensive study that used computer modelling and observation for assessing impacts of climate change on 50 species of the country.

Chemical protectors

a new research could offer vital clues in combating attacks by herbivorous insects. According to a research done by chemical ecologists at the New York-based Cornell University, the chemical compounds of flowers not only guide pollinating insects but also prevent herbivorous insects from eating the reproductive parts of plants.