Category Archives: Nature

“India should invest more in green sector”

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Science & Technology, World Opinion
Vice president of MCC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Arun Kumar Saraf welcomes Baroness Sandip Verma, U.K. Minister, at an interactive session in Kolkata on Saturday. Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh looks on. / The Hindu
Vice president of MCC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Arun Kumar Saraf welcomes Baroness Sandip Verma, U.K. Minister, at an interactive session in Kolkata on Saturday. Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh looks on. / The Hindu

It has a great potential for using its renewable energy resources: U.K. Minister

Stating that India has a huge potential in tapping its renewable energy, U.K. Minister of Department of Energy and Climate Change Baroness Sandip Verma said that India should invest more in green sector.

“Unlike in the U.K., India has a great potential for using its renewable energy resources. While in the U.K., we are still relying on nuclear and coal for our power resources, we are trying to do away with coal. India and the U.K. share a lot of similarities and I think India should consider options of investing in green sector,” Ms. Verma said.

She was participating in an interactive session on ‘India-UK initiatives on climate change’. Vice president of MCC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Arun Kumar Saraf was present.

Observing that India should learn from Bhutan in using clean energy, Amar Singh, Rajya Sabha MP, said there are a lot of untapped clean energy sources in Arunachal Pradesh.

Stressing on the need to uniform rule in banning constructions near river banks, Mr. Singh said after the flash floods in Uttarakhand [June 2013], there was a sweeping ban on constructions along river banks in the State so that future disasters could be avoided. “Why wasn’t there a similar ban in States like Himanchal Pradesh?” Mr. Singh asked.

“There is a huge scope in India and the U.K. to use low-carbon approaches not only to fight climate change but to deliver energy security, economic growth, and inclusive development. Although on a per capita basis, India’s carbon emissions remain a small fraction of those of developed countries, the country’s rapid economic growth has brought with it higher emissions,” Mr. Saraf said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kolkata / by Staff Reporter / Kolkata – July 06th, 2014

Snow leopard, red panda get new conservation centre in Darjeeling

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Travel

SUMMARY
At present, the zoo has 14 snow leopards and 17 red pandas. It is the first Asian Zoo to have started captive breeding of snow leopards.
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To reintroduce captive-bred endangered animals like red panda and snow leopard into the wild, the Darjeeling zoo has now started a new breeding conservation centre for wildlife.

Built in an area of five hectares inside the zoo, the centre hosts three pairs of snow leopards and two pairs of red panda, the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park director, A K Jha, said.

“As per the guidelines of the Central Zoo Authority, our main objective would be to ensure a safe and healthy transition of captive-bred animals from the zoo to the wild. This new centre with all the required facilities will help us achieve that,” he said.

In the years 2003 and 2004, they had released four red pandas, born under captivity, into the wild. Two of them, however, died later on for not being able to take the pressure of jungle.
“Our resources were limited that time, but now we have guidelines from IUCN and CZA. We are also doing our own feasibility study before we restart the process. We are very cautious this time,” the zoo director said.

Although snow leopards have been born under captivity here since 1989, yet none have been released into the wild so far. The official said they should be able to release red pandas into the wild in the next 1-2 years, but the snow leopards would take around 4-5 years.

Two female cubs were recently born to a snow leopard brought from Czech Republic.

“Releasing them into the wild will take time. We will have to train them to be able to hunt food in a forest,” Jha said, adding that they would also have to find a proper habitat which the species can adopt as their new home.

At present, the zoo has 14 snow leopards and 17 red pandas. It is the first Asian Zoo to have started captive breeding of snow leopards.

An endangered species, snow leopards are found in higher altitudes of the Himalayas and are hunted for their valuable fur.
A joint initiative of both the state and central government, the Darjeeling zoo is also conducting conservation programmes for other endangered Himalayan species like Tibetan wolf, Himalayan salamander, etc.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Cities> Kolkata / by Press Trust of India / Kolkata – June 27th, 2014