Thiruvananthapuram: As part of conservation of endangered animal species especially amphibians, the National Biodiversity Congress has sought a ban on using animals covered under the Wildlife Protection Act for study and experimental purposes.
Many species of amphibians, listed as protected in the Wildlife Act, are facing extinction on the global scale due to man-made causes, NBC's consolidated recommendations' report said.
"Use of frogs as tools to understand basic concepts in Biology and Pharmacology has been going unabated, in spite of the warnings from Ministry of Environment and Forest and UGC," said the report drawn up recently based on the first National Biodiversity Congress held here in November last.
"There is an urgent need to sensitise the teachers against this practice and help conservation of the frog species, by approaching the issue from curricular, pedagogical, ecological, legal and ethical perspectives, and encourage use of digital and simulation alternatives for understanding of the respective academics," the report said....
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11:09 AM, Jun 17, 2013
Hyderabad: India will earmark a sum of $50 million to strengthen institutional mechanism for biodiversity conservation in the country, when it holds presidency of the Conference of Parties (CoP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Announcing this while inaugurating a high-level segment meeting at the ongoing CoP-11 at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre in Hyderabad on Tuesday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the funds would be utilised to enhance technical...
01:07 AM, Oct 17, 2012
New Delhi: Security has been tightened across Hyderabad as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits the city later in the day. The PM is expected to inaugurate a session at the ongoing UN Biodiversity Summit in the city. However, pro-Telangana activists are expected to hold protests against the Centre's delay on the issue of separate statehood. Sources said that the activists were planning to release black balloons upon Manmohan Singh's arrival....
07:44 AM, Oct 16, 2012
Hyderabad: Can the impact of global warming be lessened by deploying sun-shields in space and by injecting sulphates in the upper atmosphere to reduce the amount of solar energy reaching the earth? Environmental scientists and other experts are currently grappling with the proposed geoengineering technologies and are studying the impact they could have on biodiversity. Geoengineering is the deliberate intervention in the earth's climate system to moderate global warming. The...
11:12 AM, Oct 15, 2012
Thiruvananthapuram: The first ever National Biodiversity Congress will be hosted by the Kerala capital in December, K P Laladhas, member secretary of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB), the main organiser of the event, said on Wednesday. This is an event that will henceforth be conducted annually, and it is expected to be the most important meeting of academics and field activists working on issues of biodiversity, Laladhas said. "The...
12:21 PM, Oct 10, 2012
Hyderabad: The UN biodiversity meeting that began here on Monday would discuss the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-20, its 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the status of biodiversity in world's oceans among others. The eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 11) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to be held from Monday, October 8 to October 19, would review issues like the progress...
02:06 PM, Oct 08, 2012
Hyderabad: Hyderabad will be hosting India's first United Nations Conference on Biodiversity on Monday. Tight security arrangements are in place for the summit as it comes a day after the Telangana march that took a violent turn on Sunday with protesters going on a rampage, destroying media vans and public transport vehicles. Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anurag Sharma assured that there will be no compromise on the security to the 19-day...
08:24 AM, Oct 01, 2012
Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government is going out of its way to make the India debut of the International Biodiversity Summit a success. The summit begins on October 1 and despite protests planned by the Telangana supporters a day before, the government has said that the event will be smooth. The Nizams' city will woo over 8000 delegates from 193 countries at the summit. The Telangana Joint Action Committee's (TJAC)...
02:23 PM, Sep 25, 2012
Thiruvananthapuram: Tucked away inside a heavily forested area, Kerala's only Scheduled Tribes (ST) panchayat Idamalakkudy is home to some of the world's most endangered plant species but the rich biodiversity is fast dwindling as is the tribals' unique way of life, say worried researchers. Spread over 106 sq km area in Idukki district, about 270 km from here, Idamalakkudy has a population of 2,236 -- comprising 1,196 men and 1,040...
04:24 PM, Apr 18, 2012
Jaipur: Terming the genetically modified crops as the "next revolution" in farming, a panel of experts on Thursday batted strongly for employing modern techniques and methods to boost farm productivity. Discussing the importance of technology in agriculture sector at a panel discussion, one of the panelist Swapan Datta said that the biotechnology can improve biodiversity and help in improving farm productivity as well. "There is no relation between biotechnology and...
05:26 AM, Apr 13, 2012
HYDERABAD: The AP Biodiversity Board (APBB) has come up with a plan to set up an international level biodiversity museum and park in Hyderabad within the next five months. Confirming the move, APBB Chairman Dr R Hampaiah said it was being planned as part of the arrangements for the Conference of Parties (CoP-11) slated to be held in the city in October. The APBB had recently sent a report on...
08:13 AM, Apr 02, 2012
New Delhi: Today the Yamuna Biodiversity Park in Delhi with wetland is home to nearly 200 different species of birds and over 900 species of plants, but it has become synonymous to a filthy dead drain. However, a team of scientists is trying to restore the river's original ecosystem. This green wonder has been created by field biologist Faiyaz Khudsar and his team of scientists who have painstakingly restored the...
08:43 AM, Jan 24, 2012
Pune: After openly backing the contentious Lavasa project, the government has now given the green signal for the construction on the hills in and around Pune, land that was originally meant to be part of a biodiversity park. Lush green hills spanning over 1600 hectares in and around Pune but citizens fear this natural treasure will be lost soon. Activists have strongly opposed the state government's decision to allow 4...
06:39 AM, Nov 19, 2011
Watch how people protect India's pristine biodiversity on the special show 'Citizens for Earth'. ...
09:28 AM, Jan 03, 2011
Ranchi: India ranks fourth in Asia and tenth in the world in plant diversity, the Birsa Agricultural University (BAU) Vice Chancellor, NN Singh, has said. "India boasts of 45,000 plants and 91,000 animal species," Singh said delivering a special lecture on Agro-biodiversity and farmers' rights at BAU on Saturday. "India is the centre of 30,000 to 50,000 varieties of rice, pigeon pea, mango, turmeric, ginger, pepper, banana, bitter gourd, okra,...
08:43 PM, Dec 12, 2010
Lahore: The Pakistan Cricket Board has informed its Sri Lankan counterparts that all players signed up to play in the inaugural Sri Lankan Premier League next month have been given clearance to skip the training camp for the Australian tour to play in the league. A board official, however, said that players picked in the Pakistan team for the Australian series would not be given permission to play in any ...
02:38 AM, Jun 09, 2008
Johannesburg: Royal Challengers Bangalore coach Ray Jennings has heaped praise on South Africa's new limited overs captain AB de Villiers for his commitment on the field, saying he has been a "pillar of strength" in the IPL side's runners-up finishing campaign in the Twenty20 league. Jennings, also former South Africa national team coach, said that de Villiers deserved to captain South Africa as he has a "sharp cricket brain" and...
12:45 PM, Feb 02, 2008
The world's fish and seafood population will collapse by 2048 if current trends in habitat destruction continue. ...
11:34 AM, Nov 03, 2006
