The three-member Indian team has failed to rescue the Indian wild elephant, which was washed into Bangladesh with floodwater from Assam through Roumari border in Kurigram over a month ago.
Category: Biodiversity
Strengthening agriculture-biodiversity linkages for food security
Since 1993, the Trondheim Conferences on Biodiversity have provided a valuable forum for dialogue amongst stakeholders on key issues relating to implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Against the backdrop of the CBD’s Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020…
GMO wheat found in Washington state could affect US trade
Seattle (AP/UNB) — Genetically modified wheat not approved for sale or commercial production in the United States has been found growing in a field in Washington state, agriculture officials said Friday, posing a possible risk to trade with countries concerned…
Mangroves deserve a global day of celebration
Steve Williams Tuesday was International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem, or World Mangrove Day, and Sri Lanka’s prime minister celebrated by opening a museum dedicated to mangroves. But mangroves are important to the entire world, not just…
Bangladesh Biodiversity Bill, 2016 placed in JS
Environment and Forest Minister Anwar Hossain today placed the “Bangladesh Biodiversity Bill, 2016” aimed at strengthening the measures of biodiversity conservation in the country.He said the proposed bill would highlight biodiversity in the perspective of Bangladesh as the country is…
Biodiversity, GMOs, Gene Drives and the Militarised Mind
A recent report from the National Academy of Science of The United States, titled Gene Drives on the Horizon : Advancing Science, Navigating Uncertainty, and Aligning Research with Public Values”, warns:“One possible goal of release of a gene-drive modified organism…
Nat’l committee announces action prog against Rampal deal
National Committee to Protect Oil-Gas-Natural Resources and Power-Port on Saturday announced fresh action programmes, including demonstration towards Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on July 28, in protest against the signing of a contract for implementing the Rampal Power Plant project near…
A metaphor of life and renewal
Sudhirendar Sharma The B-2 Stealth Bomber built at a whopping cost of $2 billion apiece have taken inspiration from the flying-wing design of the Javan cucumber seeds. Accomplished artists may have painted hundreds of verses on a kernel but the…
50,000 petitioners urge UNESCO to protect the Sundarbans
Sundarbans, a World Heritage site in Bangladesh faces destruction if a proposed coal plant is built adjacent to it Petitioners ask that the Sundarbans are included by UNESCO in the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger Paris – A…
30 individuals, institutions to receive PM’s tree plantation award
The government has finalised the nomination of 30 individuals and institutions for the Prime Minister’s National Award for TreePlantation 2015. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will hand over the awards to 30 individuals and institutions at the end of July, said…
BD scientist’s discovery earns ‘Zootaxa’ recognition
Bangladeshi scientist Dr Belal Hossain’s discovery of a new amphipod species, named Victoriopisa bruneiensis, has earned the recognition of science journal ‘Zootaxa’. Dr Belal Hossain, an associate professor of Fisheries and Marine Science Department at Noakhali Science and Technology University…
Sunderbans robber gang ‘Master Bahini’ surrenders Tuesday
Dhaka – Sundarbans-based infamous forest robber gang ‘Master Bahini’ will formally surrender Tuesday in Bagerhat, Unb news agency reported.
Ban on fishing in Kaptai Lake from May 12
Rangamati Correspondent Rangamati district administration has imposed a ban on fishing for three months in the Kaptai Lake from May 12 midnight to ensure boosting fish population in the lake. The ban is enforced to protect mother fishes from the…
Alberta officials say oil sands city saved from fire’s worst
Alberta premier’s declared Canada’s oil sands city saved and said a plan will be put together within two weeks so 88,000 residents forced to evacuate can return to their homes. At least two neighborhoods in Fort McMurray were scenes of…
The case for burning ivory
Chris Alden and Ross Harvey Jo’burg – Kenya is about to destroy its entire stockpile of elephant ivory. More than 100 metric tons of “white gold” – both illegally harvested (confiscated from poachers or traders) and naturally accruing (from natural…
When breast tissue goes rogue
Scientists say they now have a near-perfect picture of the genetic events that cause breast cancer. The study, published in Nature, has been described as a “milestone” moment that could help unlock new ways of treating and preventing the disease.
11 sued over Apr 27 Sundarbans fire
Bangladesh Forest Department has filed a case against 11 suspects in connection with the fire that broke out in Tultala area of the Sundarbans under Chandpai Range in Sharankhola upazila on April 27 last. Station officer (Dhansagar station) of Chandpai…
Smoke still billowing at Chandpai of Sundarbans
Bagerhat – Three days into the forest fire that broke out in Tultala area of Chandpai range of the Sundarbans in Sarankhola upazila, smoke was still billowing around the burnt out area on Friday.
Celebrate Plant Something Day
Danielle Nierenberg Since 1950, the number of people residing in urban areas has increased from 746 million to 3.9 billion. By 2050, according to the United Nations, 66 percent of the world’s population will be living in cities. There are…
Special security measures at Sundarbans forests Chandpai Range
Bagerhat – The Forest Department has issued a special ‘alert’ in Chandpai range of the Sundarbans East Zone following the fourth fire incident there in four weeks, unb news agency reported. The Forest Department has put in place a number…
Royal visits put Kaziranga National Park on international media
By Nava Thakuria Sustainable increase of precious one-horned rhinoceros, recent royal visit by Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, concerns expressed by an international rights body over shooting of a number of unconfirmed poachers and many more news put Kaziranga National…
Enemy’ of wheat detected
A team of Bangladeshi and British scientists have detected the fungi responsible for the blast disease that afflicts wheat. The team, led by Prof Tofazzal Hossain of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, and Prof Sophien Kamoun of the UK,…
Forest Department suspends 3 employees over Sundarbans fire
Dhaka – The Forest Department has suspended its three employees for their negligence of duties in connection with the recent fire incidents in the Sundarbans in Sharankhola upazila, unb news agency has reported. The suspended employees are M Nasir Uddin,…
World must protect tropical forests: Researchers
US-based researchers have said the world must conserve its tropical forests and the people who live in them to buy time to switch away from climate-damaging fossil fuels.
Youth fined for grazing buffaloes on Sundarbans
Dhaka – A mobile court here on Wednesday fined a young man Tk 4,000 for grazing buffaloes on the protected Sundarbans, unb news agency reported.
Access to genetic data is “the big issue of our time”
By Edward Hammond Regulating access to genetic data is “the big issue of our time” in crop development, says Cornell University’s Edward Buckler. The maize geneticist contends that, at least for industrial agriculture, “Germplasm is becoming the information technology that…
Fire again in the Sundarbans, Chandpai range
Dhaka – Nearly two weeks into a fire incident that occured in the Sundabans, another fire erupted at Abdullah Shila in Chandpai range of the world’s largest mangrove forest in Sharankhola upazila on Wednesday morning, unb news agency has reported.
Green building’s LEED credit promotes sustainable forestry
The green building movement – from architects and builders to specifiers and planners – can now benefit from an expanded range of responsibly sourced timber and forest products eligible for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
Genetic control is no answer to Zika
Chennai, India – The arrival of Zika, seemingly out of nowhere, on the global health scene and hitting media headlines around the world almost daily, as well as the appearance of Yellow Fever virus for the first time in China…
Compostable plastic bags carry goods and hopes for the future
PresseBox – nova-Institute publishes the first comprehensive market study on the consumption of biodegradable and compostable plastic products in Europe: 100,000 tonnes in 2015, market demand could grow to beyond 300,000 tonnes in 2020. Compostable plastic bags dominate the market…