New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday stayed any further felling of trees in the national capital, saying there is no other way to mitigate the ecological and environmental degradation in the city. Justice Nazmi Waziri, who was hearing a contempt case concerning the preservation of trees, noted that over 29,000 trees were cut down in the past three years in the city and questioned if Delhi has the luxury to bear such numbers. We have stopped felling of trees... Till the next date, no felling of trees, the judge said as the case was listed for further hearing on June 2. A total of 29,946 trees were allowed to be cut in the past three years, which on computation comes to 27 trees per day i.e. 1.13 per hour, the judge noted. The court stated that there is no record with respect to the girth and the age of the trees that were allowed to be cut down or the status of the corresponding transplantation of trees and emphasised that large scale denudation of fully grown trees worsens the ecology. It would therefore in the fitness of things in the public interest as well as for the sake of the environment for present and future generations that tree felling in Delhi is not permitted till the next date so as to ensure that felling is done only when it is fully assured by the applicant that the trees would at least be transplanted. Surely there is no other way to mitigate the ecological and environmental degradation in the city, the court ordered. Ex facie it is evident that large scale denudation of fully grown trees only worsens the ecological balance of the city. Air pollution needs to be mitigated on an urgent basis. Trees are a great source for mitigation, the court added. The status report filed by the Deputy Conservator of Forests for the central zone informed that in total, 13,490 trees were permitted to be cut and 16,456 trees were directed to be transplanted in the years 2019, 2020, and 2021. The contempt plea being heard by the court was filed by Neeraj Sharma, represented by advocate Aditya N Prasad, and pertains to the trees in the Vikas Marg area in East Delhi.Last month, the court had expressed its concern over the cutting down of fully grown trees and said that it would be logical and prudent to transplant such trees instead of cutting them down and the self-defeating exercise by the Forest Department of the Delhi government needs to be arrested at the earliest. The court had then noted the petitioner's claim that a tree is cut down every hour in Delhi under official sanction and thus sought information from the Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) on the number of trees that were permitted to be cut down in the last three year. The court had emphasised the importance of even a solitary tree in any neighbourhood and stated that compensatory afforestation which is geographically distant and nascent compensatory plantation can hardly be of any respite or actual compensation and that it would be appropriate that the Tree Officers give due consideration to transplantation of each tree which is sought to be cut before granting any further permissions.—PTI

The Delhi High Court on Thursday stayed any further felling of trees in the national capital, saying there is no other way to mitigate the ecological and environmental degradation in the city.

Tree felling in Delhi not permitted: HC

Vienna (The Hawk): A side-event on ‘Achieving functional biodiversity in the Danube-Carpathian Region by mainstreaming ecological connectivity – how to make it happen’ will be held on 18 October from 10:00-11:00 (CET) within the framework of the 11th EUSDR Annual Forum. The event will highlight the importance of ecological connectivity and that safeguarding it requires the cooperation of many sectors such as nature conservation, water management, transport and energy. We will hear the perspective of policy makers on how to rise to this exceptional challenge. The event will be held online and registration is open to all interested participants.
Over the past decades, economic development in the Danube Carpathian region has taken a heavy toll on nature. Construction of transport infrastructure, settlements and industrial sites, and intensive agricultural, forestry and water management practices have fragmented the landscape and natural habitats, curtailing the ability of wildlife to move, feed, seek shelter and reproduce on land and in water. Yet this trajectory is not set in stone: with a more integrated way of planning and the political will, people and nature can thrive side-by-side.
This is why key regional actors, the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) ‘Water Quality’ Priority Area (PA) 4, ‘Environmental Risks’ PA 5, ‘Biodiversity, Landscapes, Quality of Air and Soils’ PA 6, the Carpathian Convention, and the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) endorsed the Joint Declaration ‘Achieving functional biodiversity in the Danube-Carpathian Region by mainstreaming ecological connectivity’ of July 2022, thereby committing themselves to action. However, without the support of higher-level policy and decision-makers, positive change is not possible.
At the event on 18. October, leaders of the Carpathian Convention and the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River, EUSDR National Coordinators and environmental EUSDR Priority Areas will provide their perspectives on why ecological connectivity is so important for both nature and people, how it can be safeguarded in the Danube-Carpathian context and how this links to EU policies. The discussion will then be opened to the audience.

A side-event on ‘Achieving functional biodiversity in the Danube-Carpathian Region by mainstreaming ecological connectivity – how to make it happen’ will be held on 18 October from 10:00-11:00 (CET) within the framework of the 11th EUSDR Annual Forum.

Side-Event On Ecological Connectivity At EUSDR Annual Forum

New Delhi (The Hawk): On Wednesday, the city of Delhi will open a specialised 'Mahila Mohalla Clinic' to give free gynaecological treatment to women in the area.
It's good news for Delhi's female citizens. Today, a brand new programme will launch in Delhi's already excellent healthcare system. In a tweet on Wednesday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that the government will be opening a special "Mahila Mohalla Clinic" for women, where they would be able to receive free gynaecological care, tests, and medications.
The Kejriwal government's Mohalla clinics system is a high-profile effort to improve the quality of primary care in the nation's capital.
These centres will offer free gynaecological exams, Pap smears, and birth control to all female patients.
(Inputs from Agencies)

On Wednesday, the city of Delhi will open a specialised 'Mahila Mohalla Clinic' to give free gynaecological treatment to women in the area.

Delhi government will open the "Mahila Mohalla Clinic" for women's specialized care

Washington: The history of life on Earth has been punctuated by several mass extinctions, the greatest of these being the Permian-Triassic extinction event, also known as the 'Great Dying', which occurred 252 million years ago.
While scientists generally agree on its causes, exactly how this mass extinction unfolded--and the ecological collapse that followed--remains a mystery. In a study published today in Current Biology, researchers analyzed marine ecosystems before, during, and after the Great Dying to better understand the series of events that led to ecological destabilization. In doing so, the international study team--composed of researchers from the California Academy of Sciences, the China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), and the University of Bristol--revealed that biodiversity loss may be the harbinger of a more devastating ecological collapse, a concerning finding given that the rate of species loss today outpaces that during the "Great Dying."
"The Permian-Triassic extinction serves as a model for studying biodiversity loss on our planet today," says Academy Curator of Geology Peter Roopnarine, PhD. "In this study, we determined that species loss and ecological collapse occurred in two distinct phases, with the latter taking place about 60,000 years after the initial biodiversity crash."
The event itself wiped out 95% of life on Earth, or about 19 out of every 20 species. Likely triggered by increased volcanic activity and a subsequent spike in atmospheric carbon dioxide, it caused climatic conditions similar to the human-driven environmental challenges seen today, namely global warming, ocean acidification, and marine deoxygenation.
To conduct the study, researchers examined fossils from South China--a shallow sea during the Permian-Triassic transition--to recreate the ancient marine environment. By sorting species into guilds, or groups of species that exploit resources in similar ways, the team was able to analyze prey-predator relationships and determine the functions ancient species performed. These simulated food webs provided plausible representations of the ecosystem before, during, and after the extinction event.
"The fossil sites in China are perfect for this kind of study because we need abundant fossils to reconstruct food webs," says Professor Michael Benton from the University of Bristol. "The rock sequences can also be dated very precisely, so we can follow a step-by-step timeline to track the extinction process and eventual recovery."
"Despite the loss of over half of Earth's species in the first phase of the extinction, ecosystems remained relatively stable," says Academy researcher Yuangeng Huang, PhD, now at the China University of Geosciences. Interactions between species decreased only slightly in the first phase of the extinction but dropped significantly in the second phase, causing ecosystems to destabilize. "Ecosystems were pushed to a tipping point from which they could not recover," Huang continues.
An ecosystem as a whole is more resistant to environmental change when there are multiple species that perform similar functions. If one species goes extinct, another can fill that niche and the ecosystem remains intact. This can be compared to an economy where several companies or corporations provide the same service. The demise of one corporation still leaves the service and economy intact, but the opposite will occur if the service is monopolized by a single entity.
"We found that the biodiversity loss in the first phase of the extinction was primarily a loss in this functional redundancy, leaving a sufficient number of species to perform essential functions," Roopnarine says. "But when environmental disturbances like global warming or ocean acidification occurred later on, ecosystems were missing that reinforced resistance, which led to abrupt ecological collapse."
For the study team, their findings stress the importance of considering functional redundancy when assessing modern conservation strategies and remind them of the urgent need for action to address today's human-driven biodiversity crisis.
"We are currently losing species at a faster rate than in any of Earth's past extinction events. It is probable that we are in the first phase of another, more severe mass extinction," Huang says. "We cannot predict the tipping point that will send ecosystems into total collapse, but it is an inevitable outcome if we do not reverse biodiversity loss." —ANI

The history of life on Earth has been punctuated by several mass extinctions, the greatest of these being the Permian-Triassic extinction event, also known as the 'Great Dying', which occurred 252 million years ago.

Biodiversity Loss Drove Ecological Collapse After The 'Great Dying': Study 

Gopeshwar: Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar on Monday said infrastructure projects should not be launched without properly assessing their ecological impact as she extended support to the Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti.
Arriving in the subsidence-hit Uttarakhand town on Monday, Patkar apologised for visiting late.
“The Joshimath crisis is a warning bell. The authorities must wake up to the damage caused by mega development projects to the fragile Himalayan ecology,” she said. Infrastructure projects should not be launched without properly assessing their impact on the ecology, Patkar added.
She also addressed a meeting organised by the Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti on the tehsil premises and said she stood with the affected people.
The Samiti’s 11-point list of demands includes the permanent scrapping of the NTPC’s Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel power and the Helang-Marwadi bypass road projects that, it feels, are responsible for the subsidence crisis in Joshimath. It has also demanded that the entire town be declared disaster-hit. Meanwhile, protesting against Patkar’s visit, scores of BJP workers reached the venue and raised slogans against her.
Rishi Prasad Sati, Joshimath’s former municipal president who was among the protesting BJP workers, said the state government is dealing with the problem well.
Calling the agitation unnecessary, Sati said it has ruined the local economy and alleged that the agitators have nothing to do with Joshimath.
Patkar later told reporters that she has been associated with mass movements in different places across the country and added she has nothing to do with any political party.
“Joshimath is actually a warning from the Himalayas. Similarly, the Western Ghats is giving a warning to Kerala. Satpura is also giving warnings, every river is getting wasted due to which a cycle of drought and flood is being created and even people living near riverbanks are yearning for water,” she said. —PTI&nbsp;

Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar on Monday said infrastructure projects should not be launched

Projects Should Not Be Launched Without Assessing Ecological Impact, Says Medha Patkar In Joshimath

Chennai: The Pallikaranai marshland which has been recognised as a Ramsar site in 2022 is in the league of losing the status due to pollution in the marshland.
The wetland is polluted with sewage discharge and dumping of garbage from the nearby Perungudi garbage dump yard. If the government and the concerned environment and forest department of Tamil Nadu does not act, the site may lead to Pallikaranai entering the International black list,
Montreux Record.&nbsp;
The Ramsar Convention can act on its own to blacklist Pallikaranai if the garbage dumping and sewage discharge cannot be controlled.
Notably, Pallikaranai marshland was spread across 5500 hectares in 1965 and is now at a meagre 500 hectares or rather the marshland has shrunk to his situation at present.
The Perungudi dumpyard has taken up a large area of the Pallikaranai marshland in addition to the encroachments by government bodies like
National Institute of Ocean Technology and Centre for Wind Energy Technology.
Several Private parks and residential complexes have also eaten up the area of the marshland.
Leachate from Perungudi dumpyard enters the marshland leading to its pollution. It may be noted that IIT Madras had in 2021, set up a pilot
system to treat the leachate before it enters the marshland however funding for the project was stopped by the government and hence the project is
stalled now.
Environmentalists and social activists have called for setting up Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) to treat the water that enters the marshland
from lakes.
According to reports, water from the lakes of Pallavaram, Velachery, Nanmangalam, Sithalapakkam, Perumbakkam, Agaramthen and
Okkiyampakkam enters the Pallikaranai marshland. It is to be noted that in many places sewage is let into freshwater drains which leads to lakes and polluting marshland.
C. Rajeev, Director, Centre for Policy and Development Studies, a think tank based out of Chennai while speaking to IANS said, “ The Underground
sewage infrastructure must be tracked at a fast pace and every drop of water must be treated in STP before it enters the marshland.”
Meanwhile, sources in the Tamil Nadu State Wetland Authority (TNSWA) said that the department has conducted a study using drones to mark the inner land use of marshland but the study reports have not yet been made public.
It is to be noted that there are 190 species of birds in Pallikaranai marshland of which 72 are migratory.&nbsp;
—IANS

The Pallikaranai marshland which has been recognised as a Ramsar site in 2022 is in the league of losing the status due to pollution in the marshland.

Sewage discharge, garbage dumping: Pallikarani wetland likely to lose Ramsar status

Dehradun (Uttarakhand): The first-ever Orchid Diversity Survey at Corbett Tiger Reserve revealed a rich treasure house of colourful orchids. The survey was conducted by the Research Wing of the Uttarakhand Forest in Corbett Tiger Reserve from 2020 to August 2023. This project was approved by the Research Advisory Committee (RAC), headed by HoFF, Uttarakhand in 2020.  Chief Conservator of Forests (Research), Sanjiv Chaturvedi said, "Survey has revealed that Corbett Tiger Reserve has a rich orchid diversity. It has shown existence of 31 orchid species, representing 23 genera within the Orchidaceae family. Among these species, 11 are terrestrial, two are saprophytic, and 18 are epiphytic”. 
Orchid species hold a unique and vital place in the world of plants, captivating both scientists and enthusiasts alike. Their importance extends far beyond their aesthetic beauty, as these remarkable plants play a crucial role in various ecological, economic, and cultural aspects. They are very valuable and highly threatened and therefore, protected under schedules of Wildlife Protection Act 1972 as well as under CITES. The study has revealed the existence of important threatened species, like Phaius tankervilleae, also known as Red Cane Orchid or Nun’s Orchid, and Pecteilis gigantean, known as the Butterfly Orchid. Both these species have already been declared as a threatened species by the State Biodiversity Board. Furthermore, the research has identified Eulophia flava (Yellow Eulophia), Eulophia explanata (Flattened Eulophia), Cymbidium macrorhizon (Large Root Cymbidium) and Epipogium roseum (Rosy Ghost Orchid), as rare species documented during the study. The finding of Eulophia explanata is a significant event, which is discovered after 36 36-year gap in Uttarakhand state. The study's findings underscore the significance of Sal (Shorea robusta) as the foremost favoured host plant among epiphytic orchid species within the reserve area. Another significant species was Checkered Vanda which is a very significant medicinal orchid used in ‘Ayurvedic shamans’ and in the Tantric cult. 
Sanjiv Chaturvedi further said, "The Study's findings would be invaluable for shaping a conservation strategy dedicated to orchid species. These orchids may turn out to be a major tourist attraction also in future." The survey team consisted of four young JRF of the Research Wing- Manoj Singh, Jyoti Prakash Joshi, Kiran Bisht and Tanuja Pandey.&nbsp;

The first-ever Orchid Diversity Survey at Corbett Tiger Reserve revealed a rich treasure house of colourful orchids. The survey was conducted

First ever Orchid Diversity Survey at Corbett Tiger Reserve reveals rich treasure house of colourful orchids

Shri Chandra Prakash Goyal*
New Delhi (The Hawk): India boasts diverse ecosystems, teeming with unique and invaluable flora and fauna. Yet, this rich biodiversity confronts an escalating menace in the form of invasive species, spanning both terrestrial and aquatic environments. These intruders, frequently introduced unintentionally via trade or human activities, wage resource competition against indigenous species, disrupt delicate ecological equilibriums, and present substantial economic and environmental threats. While the Indian government has proactively initiated measures to tackle invasive species, numerous hurdles still impede their effective management. These hurdles encompass the absence of an all-encompassing legislative framework, insufficient coordination and public awareness, and a dearth of comprehensive research and risk assessments. A holistic approach to invasive species management stands as the need of the hour to surmount these challenges and shield India's natural legacy. This approach must encompass the following pivotal facets: Legislation and Policy: A comprehensive legal structure is imperative to provide a lucid and unified strategy for invasive species management. This framework should encompass every facet of the issue, ranging from prevention and control to restoration and public awareness. Prevention: Augmenting early detection and swift response (EDRR) mechanisms is crucial to avert the establishment and propagation of invasive species. Stringent quarantine measures and inspection protocols at ports and borders are indispensable to forestall the ingress of novel invaders. Control: Once invasive species gain a foothold, efficacious control measures are imperative to curtail their populations and mitigate their impacts. These measures may encompass physical eradication, chemical treatments, or biological control methods. Restoration: Following the successful control of invasive species, concerted efforts must be exerted to reinstate the affected ecosystems. This may involve the reestablishment of indigenous flora, reintroduction of native species, and enhancements in habitat quality. Public Awareness and Education: Communities must be sensitized to the perils posed by invasive species and the significance of preventive and control measures. Achieving this requires public awareness campaigns, educational initiatives in schools, and other outreach programs. International Cooperation: Recognizing the transboundary nature of invasive species, international collaboration holds paramount importance. India actively participates in global collaborations and agreements, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and best practices and the development of regional and global solutions. Examples of Laws and Policies in India for Invasive Species Management: Biological Diversity Act, 2002 Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 Environment Protection Act, 1986 Destructive Insects and Pests Act, 1914 (and amendments) Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) Order, 2003 Livestock Importation Act, 1898 (and the Livestock Importation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2001) National Policy on Mariculture These laws and regulations encompass diverse aspects of invasive species control and management, including prevention of introduction and spread, control of established invasive species, ecosystem restoration, and public awareness campaigns. Nevertheless, there remains an imperative need for a more encompassing legal framework exclusively dedicated to invasive species management. Such a framework would offer a coherent and unified strategy addressing all facets of the issue, from prevention and control to restoration and public education. By embracing a holistic approach that encompasses terrestrial and aquatic invasive species and acknowledges the human dimension of the problem, while fortifying its legal and policy framework, India can safeguard its natural heritage. In doing so, it can effectively mitigate the ecological and economic perils entailed by invasive species.
*Director General of Forests &amp; Special Secretary

India boasts diverse ecosystems, teeming with unique and invaluable flora and fauna. Yet, this rich biodiversity confronts an escalating menace

The Hawk

Tag : Ecological

Tree felling in Delhi not permitted: HC

Pushkar Raj Kapoor

Tag : Ecological

Tree felling in Delhi not permitted: HC

Pushkar Raj Kapoor

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