Protecting the critical Chambal landscape, one of last viable habitats for red-crowned roofed turtle
The Chambal landscape is an important habitat for freshwater turtles. There are eight species of turtles found here of which the red-crowned roofed turtle is critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The Chambal turtles use the sandy riverbank for nesting. Illegal sand mining is one of the major threats for them. A programme by the Turtle Survival Alliance-India (TSA) protects vulnerable nests from inundation during the monsoon season by removing these to hatcheries.
Recently, the organisation has introduced a spatial monitoring and reporting tool for turtle monitoring and conservation in the landscape. In the 15 years of turtle conservation in the Chambal landscape, eighteen major turtle habitats have been identified along the river and 5,000 Batagur nests protected by TSA.
Etalin hydel: Experts warn of biodiversity loss in Dibang Valley in letter to forest advisory panel: Arunachal Pradesh
Wildlife scientists and conservationists in Arunachal Pradesh flagged threats to local biodiversity from the proposed Etalin hydroelectric project in a letter to the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
FAC formed committees and ordered concerned bodies to submit reports on the impact of forest land diversion required for the project in the northeastern state’s Dibang Valley. Based on these report, it will consider approving the project.
The 3,097-megawatt hydroelectric project will require diversion of 1,165.66 hectares of forest land and felling of more than 2,80,000 trees in the area.
The scientists further pointed out that India is a signatory to the Convention of Biological Diversity and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Animals, along with being a founding member of Global Tiger Initiative. Destruction of habitat of the various migratory bird species and tigers in the area will undermine India’s commitment to the conventions.
👉 DTE
India’s forests, soil can store additional 7 billion tonnes of carbon: Study
India’s forests and soil can potentially store an additional 7 billion tonnes of carbon, a new study has estimated. This puts India among the top 10 countries with additional carbon storage capacity, the analysis published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealed.
Land-based carbon storage is a part of nature-based solutions to climate crisis, one of the focus areas at the 26th Conference of Parties (CoP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. These measures can cut total greenhouse gas emissions by about a third, according to experts.
👉 DTE
Mizoram to declare swine fever outbreak as state disaster; disease killed over 37,000 pigs so far
The Mizoram government will be declaring the outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) as a state disaster soon. The disease has so far killed more than 37,000 pigs.
At least 14,174 pigs have also been culled during the same period to prevent the outbreak from further spreading, the data said. Animal Husbandry and Veterinary department said that at least 3,890 pigs have died and 3,264 culled due to ASF since February this year.
Chief Minister Zoramthanga has already given his consent to declare the outbreak as a state disaster.
👉 Mint
Ganga committee headed by DM declares all construction in Yamuna illegal
In a first, the District Ganga Committee headed by district magistrate Suhas LY declared all farmhouses and other large-scale constructions on the floodplains of the Yamuna and Hindon rivers illegal, ordered their demolition and banned further construction, officials said on Monday.
The committee also banned the sale or purchase of buildings near the floodplains without sanctioned maps to “avoid illegal construction and damage to the ecological integrity of the area”, they added.
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