Feature Article

Conservation and wise use of wetlands has been given priority world over. India harbours diverse types of wetlands. This study highlights the findings of the national-level inventory and assessment of wetlands carried out using RESOURCESAT-1 LISS-III data of 2006–07 at 1 : 50,000 scale. A hierarchical system comprising 19 classes based on Ramsar definition has been used to classify the wetlands of India. The extent of wetlands has been estimated to be 15.26 m ha. Inland wetlands account for 69.22% (10.564 m ha), whereas the coastal wetlands account for 27.13% (4.14 m ha).

Cinnamon bug or seed bug, Ochrophora (= Udonga) montana (Distant) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is a serious pest of bamboo, feeds on developing seeds and is able to destroy all available seeds during massive outbreaks. Nevertheless, its outbreaks are occasional and were recently (2011) witnessed in Karanataka. Interestingly, periodic outbreaks of O. montana are known from the northeastern region (NER) of India, and largely corresponded with mass flowering of bamboos in Mizoram.
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A megawatt scale grid-connected photovoltaic power plant was commissioned on 27 December 2009 in Yalesandra in Kolar district in Karnataka. The Yalesandra plant is one among more than 20 such Megawatt size solar power plants in India during the past few years. The performance of this plant during its first year of operation has been discussed. The total electrical energy generated by the Yelasandra plant during 2010 was 3.34 million kWh. Although the performance of photovoltaic modules was good, there were problems associated with the inverters which led to reduction in energy generation.

Use of threatened species in research – be it for taxonomy, biology or population studies, has always invoked much debate. As a result, the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) developed a set of guidelines entitled ‘IUCN Policy Statement on Research Involving Species at Risk of Extinction’ with special reference to scientific collecting of threatened species.

The Nilgiri North Forest Division is located at the centre of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, with Mudumalai Tiger Reserve on the western side and Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary on the eastern side. The Segur plateau and adjoining Moyar valley, which extend over an area of 500 sq. km with open scrub forest, provide an ideal breeding ground for four species of vultures, viz. Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus), Redheaded Vulture (Sarcogyps calvus), White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis) and Long-billed Vulture (Gyps indicus). (Correspondence)

Claims that environmental regulations will worsen unemployment are false. When the economy is struggling, the opposite is true, says economist Josh Bivens.

Engineering schemes could lead to one of the world's largest wetlands running dry every four years.

As the seas rise, so will the costs associated with them. The impact of climate change on oceans alone could cost $2 trillion by the end of the century, according to a report by the Stockholm Environment Institute in Sweden.

The quantity of water in a river is as important as the quality, something the government fails to understand. (Editorial)