Hunting on Equatorial Guinea’s Bioko Island threatens red colobus monkeys, which hover on the brink of extinction. It’s hard to ignore a red colobus monkey in the forests of Equatorial Guinea’s Bioko Island, off the coast of Cameroon. The shaggy,…
Category: Biodiversity
14 fire incidents at Chandpai of Sundarbans in 12 years
Bagerhat – The only Chandpai Range of the Sundarbans saw 14 incidents of fire in the last 12 years, raging through some 40 acres of forest and causing damage to its unique ecosystem, say officials.Forest Department data show that the…
Upscaling community seed banks, upholding farmers’ rights
The global seed market has grown considerably in the last decades into a multibillion-dollar industry, largely due to more farmers purchasing seeds. Despite the growth in the commercial seed sector, the majority of farmers in the developing world still depend…
Massive tree farms may be a really bad climate idea
World-wide tree plantations, soil modification or bioenergy crops could add to the planetary harm of global warming, scientist warns. A worker lays out biochar to dry in the sun before it is packed at the Eco Fuel Africa factory in…
Sundarbans fire extinguished
Dhaka – The fire that broke out on Sunday evening at Shikdar Bari Shila in Chandpai Range of the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, was doused on Monday afternoon. Station officer of Dhansagar in Chandpai Range, Sultan Mahmud, said…
Fire in Sundarbans Chandpai range now under control
Dhaka – A fire broke out at Shikdar Bari Shila in Chandpai Range of the Sundarbans on Sunday evening UNB news agency reported from Bagerhat. The Station officer of Dhansagar in Chandpai Range, Sultan Mahmud, said forest officials saw some…
Unesco team to meet officials Monday on Rampal plant
Dhaka – The three-member high-profile Unesco delegation that visited the Sundarbans to assess the possible impacts of the proposed coal-based Rampal power plant and vessel plying through the mangrove forest left Jessore for Dhaka on Saturday. The ‘Unesco Reactive Monitoring…
Plants adapt to climate change better than many thought
Plants respond a bit better to global warming than scientists had thought, according to a new study that suggests their potential contribution to worsening global warming is not likely as bad as researcher believed. When it gets hotter, plants breathe…
People’s movements in India, Bangladesh join to save Sunderbans
In yet another major initiative strengthening people-to-people cooperation between South Asian nations, people’s movements in India joined hands with their Bangladesh counterparts to save the Sunderbans. This was declared in Delhi by a delegation of 11 senior activists who took…
Vessel plying thu’ Shela River of the Sunderbans suspended
Dhaka – The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has suspended the plying of vessels through the Shela River following the capsize of a coal-laden cargo vessel in the river at Harintana of the Sundarbans under Mongla upazila. BIWTA Chairman…
Stop plying vessels thru’ the Sundarbans
Dhaka – National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads & Railways (NCPSRR) on Sunday urged the concerned authority to take necessary steps to stop plying of vessels through the Shela River in Sundarbans to keep it and its bio-diversity unhurt.
Coal-laden vessel sinks in Shela River of Sundarbans
Dhaka – A coal-laden cargo vessel sank in the Shela River in Harintana area of the Sundarbans in Mongla upazila on Saturday evening. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Sundarbans East Zone M Saidul Islam said Khulna-bound cargo vessel ‘Sea Horse’,…
For deforestation-free palm oil
The Palm Oil Innovation Group – a collective of companies and organisations which advocate for stronger industry standards on sustainable palm oil – has unveiled a new set of criteria to verify that the commodity is truly deforestation-free. The Palm…
Forest Deptt starts community patrol to protect Sundarbans
Bagerhat – Bangladesh Forest Department has introduced community patrolling involving locals to protect forest resources and check wildlife poaching in the Sundarbans, the lone natural habitat of Bengal tigers. “The Forest Department has gone for its first-ever community patrolling in…
WIPO: IGC still divided on genetic resources protection
Geneva (Mirza Alas) — The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) held its 29th session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore on 15 to 19 February at its headquarters in Geneva. The Committee…
Rampal power plant project cannot be stopped: Muhith
Finance Minister AMA Muhith said the Rampal power plant was here to stay but admitted that it would have an adverse effect on the Sundarbans, bdnewsnews24.com has reported. “That would make some impact, obviously,” he said. “So many vessels will…
Forest Deptt plans eco-restoration scheme in Northern Bangladesh
Dhaka – The Department of Social Forestry has planned a project with the prime objective of establishing plantation for biodiversity enhancement coupled with improving socio-economic condition in the country’s northwest zone. The scheme also intends to check desertification process through…
Long march towards Rampal, Orion power plants announced
Staff Reporter The National Committee on Protection of Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports will stage another long march to the Sundarbans in the next month, demanding scrapping of the construction of the coal-fired Rampal power plant and Orion…
Freshwater fish are at risk
A third of the world’s freshwater fish are at risk due to dams on three large rivers, researchers warn, calling for more rigorous construction planning to prevent biodiversity and socioeconomic losses.“The world’s most biodiverse river basins — the Amazon, Congo…
US freezes new coal mine
The US government announced Friday a freeze on issuing permits for new coal mines on government land, in a review of the environmental impact of federal coal policy.The move could amount to a fresh hit on struggling US coal producers…
Killer whales at risk of extinction
Killer whales are at risk of extinction off industrialized regions of Europe from poisonous chemicals banned decades ago that are still leaching into the seas, scientists said on Thursday.The study, which took samples from 1,000 killer whales, dolphins and porpoises,…
Human activity leading Earth into new geological epoch
Has rapid human activity driven Earth into a new geological epoch? According to an international group of geoscientists, the evidence for a new geological epoch which marks the impact of human activity on Earth is now overwhelming.The Anthropocene, which is…
Sustainable use of genetic diversity to protect livestock & wildlife
BAU CORRESPONDENT Indigenous livestock and wild relatives have been lost day by day in our country. Farmworkers are rearing livestock of developing varieties to get higher profits in a short period of time.
Climate change could cut power output
Climate change could lead to significant declines in electricity production in coming decades as water resources are disrupted, said a study published on Monday.Hydropower stations and thermoelectric plants, which depend on water to generate energy, together contribute about 98 percent…
Chemical free vegetables preservation project has launched
A new research project at a cost of Tk20 lakh has been launched in the district recently to boost preservation of vegetables without using any kind of chemicals.
500 billion investment needs to meet demand of eggs and chicken by 2021
STAFF REPORTER Speakers at a workshop yesterday said that Tk 50,000 crore investment will be required in the poultry sector by 2021 to meet the demand of eggs and chicken.
Firms punished in Indonesia over deadly forest fires
Indonesia is punishing more than 20 companies in an unprecedented move for starting deadly forest fires that killed 19 people, a government official said Tuesday.Three companies have been shut down permanently after having their licences revoked over their role in…
Venezuelan toads at risk of extinction
Venezuelan frogs and toads are in critical danger due to climate change as rising temperatures complicate reproduction and spread a deadly fungus, say scientists, who liken the species to canaries in a coalmine warning of imminent danger.Scientists studying global warming…
‘Coal plant threatens world’s largest mangrove forest, Bangladesh’s future’
Mowdud Rahman & Greig Aitken As COP21 has reached its endgame, there are plans to build 2,440 coal-fired power plants around the world, write Mowdud Rahman & Greig Aitken. Their completion would send global temperatures, and sea levels, soaring. Yet…
End of fossil fuel era nears
At the tail end of the hottest year on record, climate negotiators in Paris will aim on Saturday to seal a landmark accord that will transform the world’s fossil fuel-driven economy within decades and turn the tide on global warming.After…