In 2019, the illegal wildlife trade reached staggering levels. Pangolin scales and ivory were being trafficked in massive quantities from Africa to Asia, exposing a network of crime syndicates operating at an industrial scale. The sheer volume of these shipments marked a disturbing milestone, one that revealed the global reach …
This week Belgium took a symbolic stand for elephants by crushing its entire stockpile of confiscated ivory in a move that condemns poaching and the illegal trade in wildlife. The event was hosted by Belgian Vice Prime Minister Laurette Onkelinx, who was joined by members of the International Fund for …
Mushrooming of illegal saw mills in East Siang district has become a big threat to the environment. The Forest Department, more or less, has failed to curb the illegal timber operation which is going on unabated at Mebo, Ruksin, Nari and other parts of the district despite ban on tree …
The state’s special investigating team (SIT) probing the illegal sand mining held its meeting here today. The three-member SIT headed by Patiala Inspector-General (IG) Nirmal Singh Dhillon recorded the statements of a few people also. Dhillon, Inder Mohan Singh Bhatti, Commandant, 4th CDO Bn, SAS Nagar, and Mining Department Joint …
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday declared that he would invest 90 percent of the iron ore e-auction revenue for the welfare of mining dependents and wipe off their debts. Government is expecting around Rs 600 crore through e-auction of illegal ore stacked at various places. Speaking to media persons, …
In recent years, timber smuggling has alarmingly increased in the Deukhuri, Dang. The smugglers have been found adopting new strategy for timber smuggling. The smugglers have targeted the border side of the district, where the administration and security bodies gives less concern. They are found deforesting the forest area that …
The ban on sale of "gutka" goes up in smoke in the city with shopkeepers selling it after displaying the packets in front of their shops and the authorities remaining a mute spectator. Even after the ban, the shopkeepers are seen selling "gutka" in the city, but at higher prices …
The proposal of the State Forest Department to dehorn the translocated and stray rhinos has been met with opposition even from the people of the State-origin living in foreign countries. Over 15000 people under the banner of the Bhaxa Xahityo Xonmiloni, Axom, a non-profit organisation of Assamese people from all …
Katlabodi tigress and her three sub-adult cubs seem to be under severe threat from brick kilns on the edge of reserve forest areas in Kalmeshwar range, 35km from Nagpur. The Katlabodi tigress was rescued by forest officials from a well in Bandhara, 40km from Nagpur, on February 7, 2011 and …
Panaji: Mining belt in North Goa, which was once buzzing with activity, seems impervious to the high-octane election campaign steered by BJP and Congress as people are more concerned about resumption of mining which was their major source of livelihood. The long stretches of tarred roads in the mining belt …
The controversy surrounding the alleged illegal sand mining at Gurugarh village near Machhiwara refuses to die down. Villagers say it has been nearly three months since the Punjab and Haryana High Court issued an order directing the Khanna police to take appropriate action, but nothing had been done so far. …
Sri Lanka Customs yesterday set a record by busting a huge international Rosewood smuggling operation. They detected 420 MT of the rare timber meant for transshipment. The detection is said to be the largest ever made by any border agency against international Rosewood smuggling. Director General of Customs Jagath Wijeweera …
Elephant ivory poaching is no longer solely a conservation issue. As poaching reaches levels that threaten to render African elephants near-totally extinct within the next ten years, it also funds a wide range of destabilizing actors across Africa, with significant implications for human conflict. A single elephant yields 10kg of …
The Supreme Court constituted monitoring committee has said Goa can sustain extraction of iron ore to the tune 27.5 million tonnes annually, but has recommended 20 million tonnes as the permissible limit. The committee, which analysed various existing data from different sources and studied the relevant literature, has said that …
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today virtually questioned the special investigating team on its intention to expose the illegal mining mafia. The High Court also questioned the Punjab Government on the delay in filing a reply in the matter. The High Court, on the previous date of hearing, had …
Over a dozen illegal stone quarries are operational at Manjhphat and Baskharka, the north VDCs of Parbat. Private land, public playground and forest area has been used to operate illegal quarries at Banskharaka wards no. 1 and 8 and Majhphat-9. Such illegal operation of quarries has caused a risk of …
Kaziranga national park lost its third rhino in a span of five days as poachers continued to bleed the one-horned pachyderm at the Unesco world heritage site. The latest carcass was recovered on Sunday from Gograi area under Kohora forest range of the park. The poachers chopped off the horn …
Unscientific mining and lack of mining policy based on scientific data was creating a situation for natural disasters in Himachal Pradesh. The situation was such that on the one hand, the debris being created from infrastructure projects such as power and road constructions was being dumped in rivers, thereby raising …
Though the Supreme Court has given directions to the state government to check illegal mining along riverbeds, large-scale illegal mining of sand from the Beas is going on unchecked from Jalogi to Thalot. Hundreds of JCBs and tractors have been engaged by local contractors to extract sand from the Beas …
Rampant quarrying for laterite stones is being carried out in flagrant violation of rules in and around the buffer zone of Selaulim dam in Undorna, Molcornem. The national green tribunal had recently issued an order that no quarrying for laterite stones and sand mining is allowed, unless the leaseholders and …
Mineral-rich states should ensure there is adequate staff in departments concerned to curb illegal mining which causes huge revenue losses, the Centre has said. The development comes in the wake of the Centre noting the "woefully poor" conditions in Jharkhand with regard to measures being taken to limit illegal mining, …
