Stay updated with the latest protected-area news, articles, and insights from trusted sources. Explore in-depth coverage and expert analysis on protected-area topics.
New Delhi, Apr 9 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear next week an application which raised the issue of a forest guard being killed in Madhya Pradesh after being run over by a tractor-trolley allegedly run by sand miners. The matter was mentioned before a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, which is hearing a suo motu case titled 'In Re: Illegal sand mining in the National Chambal Sanctuary and threat to endangered aquatic wildlife'. The counsel, who mentioned the m ...Read More >
New Delhi, Apr 8 (PTI) The Delhi government is preparing a standard operating procedure (SOP) to ensure prompt regularisation of 1,521 unauthorised colonies in the national capital through district-wise cells headed by additional district magistrates (ADMs), officials said on Wednesday. The Centre on Tuesday announced a new policy to regularise properties based on "as is where is" eligibility criteria in the unauthorised colonies with approvals from Delhi government agencies. The entire proces ...Read More >
The tiger reserve consists of the Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary and the Anshi National Park, which are contiguous to each other and form a single tract of protected area in the biologically sensitive Western Ghats.The Union environment ministry has issued a draft notification declaring 663.32 square kilometres around the Kali Tiger Reserve in Karnataka as an Eco-Sensitive Zone. Eco-Sensitive Zones, or ESZ, are areas notified by the government around protected areas, national parks and wildlife san ...Read More >
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has stayed an Assam government order directing the deployment of around 1,600 personnel of the Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF) for election duties, observing that the move raises serious environmental concerns. Invoking the precautionary principle, the tribunal directed the State government to "desist from violating the provisions" of environmental laws and ordered that "operation of the impugned order... is stayed till further orders". In its April 2 ord ...Read More >
Assam elections: The state government had ordered the mobilisation of the forest force personnel to assist the Assam Police for the upcoming polls. Guwahati: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) stayed an order seeking the deployment of around 1,600 Assam Forest Protection Force personnel for the April 9 Assembly polls in Assam. The state government had ordered the mobilisation of the forest force personnel to assist the Assam Police for the upcoming polls. The NGT's eastern zonal bench in Kolka ...Read More >
Guwahati: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) stayed an order seeking the deployment of around 1,600 Assam Forest Protection Force personnel for the April 9 Assembly polls in Assam. The state government had ordered the mobilisation of the forest force personnel to assist the Assam Police for the upcoming polls. The NGT's eastern zonal bench in Kolkata, comprising judicial member Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member Ishwar Singh, heard the plea filed by advocate Gaurav Bansal had claimed that by di ...Read More >
Guwahati: National Green Tribunal (NGT), in an interim order issued on Saturday, stayed the Assam govt's directive to divert 1,600 Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF) personnel to assist the police during the upcoming assembly elections.The govt order, issued by the special chief secretary, had instructed AFPF staff to report to the additional director general of police by April 3.A two-member NGT Eastern Zone bench, comprising judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member Ishwar S ...Read More >
Guwahati: Even as the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has put an immediate stay on the Assam government's decision to deploy over 1,600 Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF) personnel for election duty, the state's forest department appears to be preparing for a legal pushback instead of compliance -- raising serious questions over intent and priorities. A two-member bench of the NGT's Eastern Zone, comprising Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and Expert Member Ishwar Singh, on Thursday stayed the March 19 ...Read More >
Senior advocate Nikhil Goel pointed out that some of the villages in the area were entirely dependent on sand mining. File The Supreme Court of India on Thursday (April 2, 2026) said the sand mining mafia, who carry "better weapons than the police" and kill those who come in their way with impunity, were the "modern dacoits" of Chambal. The oral observation from a Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was in response to an oft-repeated submission from the Madhya Pradesh government th ...Read More >
Guwahati: A group of 40 retired civil servants has urged the Assam government to withdraw its decision to deploy personnel of the Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF) for election duties, citing violation of established norms and concerns over wildlife protection. In an open letter to Chief Secretary Ravi Kota, the Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG) -- a non-partisan body comprising former IAS, IPS, IFS and other Central Services officers -- expressed "serious concern" over the reported move to ...Read More >
RANCHI: Tiger pugmarks found on the very first day of the tiger census have lent significant weight to forest officials' claims about the presence of big cats in the Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR). The census began across Jharkhand on December 15. According to officials, it is being carried out across 31 territorial forest divisions and five protected wildlife divisions in the state, including major conservation areas such as the Palamu Tiger Reserve and the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary. The exercise ...Read More >
Chennai: State environment department has denied reports on violation of Ramsar Site rules in granting environmental clearance or building plan approval within Pallikaranai Reserve Forest. "The survey numbers mentioned in media reports refer to private patta lands, not to the notified reserve forest," it said, adding that survey-based verification of boundaries and land parcels, other than the reserve forest, is not yet complete. The Ramsar site's limits will come into effect after boundary deli ...Read More >
Chennai: State environment department has denied reports on violation of Ramsar Site rules in granting environmental clearance or building plan approval within Pallikaranai Reserve Forest. "The survey numbers mentioned in media reports refer to private patta lands, not to the notified reserve forest," it said, adding that survey-based verification of boundaries and land parcels, other than the reserve forest, is not yet complete. The Ramsar site's limits will come into effect after boundary deli ...Read More >
CHENNAI: Two years after the state government issued an order to set up the Turtle Conservation and Rehabilitation Centre in Guindy Park in Chennai, Tamil Nadu Coastal Restoration Mission has floated a tender for the construction of the centre at Rs 6.30 Crore. The centre will be constructed with the fund of Tamil Nadu: Strengthening Coastal Resilience and the Economy Project (TN-SHORE), which is a World Bank-aided project. Under the new centre, a rescue and treatment centre will be set up to ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], October 16 (ANI): Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh on Thursday sounded an alarm over the declining elephant population in India, stressing that protecting and preserving an animal deeply embedded in the country's religious, cultural, and ecological fabric is a national responsibility. "The elephant faces a crisis, perhaps not of extinction but of attrition. The threats come from changing land use, loss of traditional habitats, fragmentation of elephant movemen ...Read More >
The Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) has been evaluated as a distinct entity by the IUCN, potentially elevating its conservation status. With an estimated 3,093 individuals remaining, primarily in India, the species faces significant threats from habitat loss and human conflict, necessitating urgent conservation action. In a landmark step for wildlife taxonomy, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has for the first time evaluated the Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) as ...Read More >
Mumbai: Activists, in their objections to the BMC, said the draft Zonal Master Plan (ZMP) for the Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) of Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) lacks scientifically defined buffer zones crucial for managing transitions between protected areas and human activity. They stressed the need for expert input from ecologists, wildlife biologists, and hydrologists to map corridors, setbacks, boundaries, and assess cumulative impacts. BMC Invites Public Suggestions The BMC's civic deve ...Read More >
Chennai, Aug 14 (UNI) In a move to address the grievances of conservancy workers of the Greater Chennai Corporation, who were on protests mode for the last 14 days since August 14, opposing privatisation and demanding job regularisation, the Tamil Nadu Cabinet today announced six new schemes for their welfare and appealed to them to call off their stir, while stating that the doors of the government were always open to them for talks. About 600 conservancy workers representing two Zones in the ...Read More >
Majuli (Assam) [India], August 12 (ANI): World Elephant Day is observed annually on August 12 to promote the conservation and protection of elephants while addressing the growing issue of human-elephant conflict. The day aims to ensure that elephants can thrive without clashes with human populations. With an increasing human population, elephant habitats are shrinking, forcing these majestic animals to venture into human settlements in search of food. In Majuli, a herd of about 150 elephants ha ...Read More >
Majuli (Assam) [India], August 12 (ANI): World Elephant Day is observed annually on August 12 to promote the conservation and protection of elephants while addressing the growing issue of human-elephant conflict. The day aims to ensure that elephants can thrive without clashes with human populations. With an increasing human population, elephant habitats are shrinking, forcing these majestic animals to venture into human settlements in search of food. In Majuli, a herd of about 150 elephants ha ...Read More >
Bengaluru: Exploring scientific solutions to reduce human-elephant conflict across Karnataka, the forest department Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for landscape-level conservation of Asian elephants. Renowned ecologist and elephant expert from IISc, Prof Raman Sukumar, and Karnataka chief wildlife warden Prabhash Chandra Ray signed the commencement of the Rs 4.7-crore project, fully funded by the forest department.Admitting an incre ...Read More >
Bengaluru, Jul 15 (PTI) Karnataka Minister Eshwar Khandre on Tuesday said the state government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to use modern technology for conserving elephant corridors and habitats, aiming to reduce rising human-elephant conflict and protect crops of farmers living near forest fringes. The Forest Department, in collaboration with the IISC, is set to implement a five-year collaborative project titled "Landscape-Level Manage ...Read More >
Mandsaur (Madhya Pradesh): The adult male Caracal was spotted in the camera surveillance system of Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, within the Bhanpura-Garot assembly constituency area, along the Chambal River, on Thursday night. This records as the first confirmed sighting of the species in a protected area of the state in several years. Caracals, known locally by the same name, are extremely shy, nocturnal carnivores, renowned for their exceptional agility and speed. Weighing between 7-18 k ...Read More >
Navi Mumbai: Raigad police beefed up security along the coastline after the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Delhi informed the ICG at Murud in Raigad district that a suspicious 'Pakistani' fishing boat has been spotted in the Arabian Sea about 3 nautical miles near Korlai Fort in Murud taluka on Sunday around 9pm. However, after a police probe, it was learnt that it was not a boat but a fishing net buoy or floater, which is attached to a fishing boat to keep the net afloat. The buoy had accidentally de ...Read More >
New Delhi: The national capital may soon witness a second thriving habitat for leopards, signalling a remarkable ecological revival. However, to make this possible, it is crucial to gain the trust of local communities, who remain wary of the leopard's return due to unpleasant experiences in the past.Asola Wildlife Sanctuary, nestled within the Aravali ecosystem, has long supported a sustainable population of wild leopards. Recently, these apex predators have also been spotted in the Yamuna flood ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 5 (PTI) The Tribal Affairs Ministry has asked the Environment Ministry to provide scientific evidence to support the claim that granting land rights under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, has led to forest degradation, warning that such statements may "reinforce stereotypes" and "undermine" the law. In an office memorandum dated July 2, addressed to the secretary of the Environment Ministry, the Tribal Affairs Ministry said, "The India State of Forest Report (IFSR) 2023 indicat ...Read More >
Kolkata, June 28: A political slugfest has erupted in West Bengal after a woman accused Padma Shree awardee monk Kartik Maharaj, who is posted with the Murshidabad unit of Bharat Sevashram Sangha, of allegedly raping her 12 times for six months in 2013. As per the police complaint lodged by the woman, Kartik Maharaj raped her multiple times 12 years ago promising her a job at a local school. The ruling Trinamool Congress is highlighting the issue in a major way and accusing the BJP of being si ...Read More >
Srinagar, June 28: The Jammu & Kashmir Forest Department has achieved a remarkably high score of 92.97% for Dachigam National Park in Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) exercise, conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change. Minister for Forest, Ecology & Environment, Javed Ahmed Rana, has praised the officers of the Wildlife Department for this outstanding achievement in conservation of protected areas in ecologicall ...Read More >
Srinagar: Tucked in the Zabarwan hills just outside Srinagar, Dachigam National Park has emerged as India's top-performing protected area in the latest national conservation rankings. The park has earned praise for its meticulous ecological management and its critical role in preserving the Kashmir stag, or Hangul. Dachigam received the highest score of 92.97 per cent out of 438 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries evaluated nationwide in the recently published Management Effectiveness Evalu ...Read More >
Srinagar, Jun 28 (PTI) Dachigam National Park in Jammu and Kashmir has secured the highest management effectiveness evaluation (MEE) score in the country in the latest cycle conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India, a wildlife department spokesperson said on Saturday. "Dachigam topped the list of 438 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries assessed across the country, scoring a remarkable 92.97 percent, a testimony to the park's outstanding conservation standards, adaptive management, and e ...Read More >
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