Anand's Priorities..
This blog is to screen some of the most common incidents,facts,opinions,discoveries etc that are related to nature,humanity and other social elements..just with a view to bring these social issues into -at least some of- your notice and concern.. AnanD
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
The DEEPSEA CHALLENGE Expedition..
Inflation seen to moderate
Sunday, August 7, 2011
ClouD ForesT..
Importance of cloud forests
Watershed function. Because of the cloud stripping strategy the effective rainfall can be doubled in dry seasons and increase the wet season rainfall by about 10 percent.
Vegetation. Tropical montane cloud forests are not as species-rich as tropical lowland forests but they provide the habitats for many species that are found nowhere else.
Fauna. The endemism in animals is also very high. One of the best known cloud forest mammal is the Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla b. beringei).
Current situation
In 1970, the original extent of cloud forests was around 50 million hectares. Population growth, poverty and uncontrolled land use have contributed to the loss of cloud forests. The 1990 Global Forest Survey found that 1.1% of tropical mountain and highland forests were lost each year, which was higher than in any other tropical forests.In Colombia, one of the countries with the largest area of cloud forests, only 10-20% of the initial cloud forest cover remains.Significant areas have been converted to plantations, or for use in agriculture and pasture. Important crops in montane forest zones are tea and coffee, but also logging special species such as Podocarpus causes changes to forest structure.Currently, one third of all cloud forests are protected.
Monday, June 13, 2011
The Great Indian Bustard, a bird species once found in abundance across the grasslands of India, is facing the risk of extinction.
The 2011 Red List of birds, released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has enlisted the bird in the Critically Endangered category, the highest level of threat. The population of the species is estimated to be just 250.
The Bustard species has been classified as critically endangered “as it has undergone an extremely rapid decline owing to a multitude of threats, including habitat loss and degradation and disturbance. It now requires an urgent acceleration in targeted conservation actions in order to prevent it from becoming functionally extinct.”
The list has classified 189 species worldwide as critically endangered, 381 as endangered with very high risk of extinction and 683 as vulnerable with high risk of extinction. It has also listed 843 species as near-threatened. A total of 2,096 species were treated as global conservation priorities. The threat status of 62 species could not be properly assessed following deficiency of data.