Fresh eruption prompted more evacuation in the area near Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung as authority warns volcanic activity remains high.

Two days ago a powerful eruption occurred at Mount Sinabung. A researcher at the volcano observation station said the volcano remains very active.

Mount Sinabung is one of nearly 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which stands along the “Ring of Fire” volcanic belt around the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

The volcano has become increasingly active in recent years. No casualties were reported from Saturday’s eruption.

Mumbai: In line with the vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi for a cleaner and greener India, YES BANK, through its YES COMMUNITY platform, is planting 1,00,000 trees in partnership with local communities, government institutions and civil society organizations across the country. With an objective to sensitizing communities on environmental protection by planting saplings and caring for trees in their neighbourhoods, this collective action saw voluntary participation of different age groups from all walks of life.

Mr. Rana Kapoor, Managing Director and CEO, YES BANK said “The YES-COMMUNITY program is our pivotal social engagement program through which YES BANK endeavours to make a meaningful contribution to the needs of the local community that we are a part of. These span diverse areas such as Education, Women Empowerment, Health & Wellness and Senior Citizen welfare as well as social financial stability & literacy programmes. The YES-COMMUNITY program also promotes a sense of responsibility and awareness amongst over 10,000 YES BANK employees. These engagements under YES-COMMUNITY have helped YES BANK build relationships with its immediate communities that go beyond transactional banker-customer relations to engender trust.”

Highlighting the importance of the initiative, Ms. Namita Vikas, Senior President & Chief Sustainability Officer, YES BANK Ltd said, “Environmental sustainability is one of the key focus areas for YES BANK under its Responsible banking ethos. In its quest towards promoting a national environment conservation agenda that involves all citizens, YES BANK is conducting a “One Lakh Trees” plantation drive. Though a very basic act, planting even a single tree can positively impact our climate change resilience and promote environment-friendly habits among citizens. On this World Environment Day, we are sensitizing and engaging with forest departments, educational institutions, corporate and local citizens towards creating a more climate resilient future.”

YES BANK, through its pan-India branch banking network of over 630 branches across all 29 states and 7 Union Territories of India, reaches out to local communities through positive social and environmental interventions every month. In the last financial year, YES COMMUNITY achieved significant success and impacted 5.06 lakh lives through 5827 activities across India on diverse issues such as Education, Women Empowerment, Health & Wellness, Senior Citizen welfare and Financial Literacy.

Source : Lokesh Shastri

Water – everyone knows that our drinking water is not as good as it was during our forefather’s time! Due to climatic changes, drought, alarming levels of salinity, industrial wastes, sources like river, catchments and reservoir systems are under dire stress which deteriorates the water quality day by day. Further, one does not get sufficient water from rivers and has to resort to underground water, which generally is contaminated with dangerous dissolved impurities like Arsenic, Fluorides, heavy metals etc. that can cause life threatening medical conditions.

By the time water (municipal or ground water) reaches your tap, it may get contaminated on way which leads to common water problems. Although, water treatment plants meet ‘The Safe Drinking Water Standards’, but still water pollutants may be present in your tap water.

Dissolved Impurities in our Drinking Water

Findings on the issue by parliamentary committee appointed were recently presented in Lok Sabha highlighting occurrence of high arsenic content in ground water. As per reports, in India, around 80% of the rural population and about 50% of the urban population use ground water for domestic purposes. Water quality issues like arsenic, salinity, nitrate iron, fluoride and heavy metals in water due to geogenic and anthropogenic reasons have been reported from various parts of the country. High Arsenic content in ground water affects the human, animal, soil and plant systems. Over one lakh deaths and 2 to 3 lakhs of confirmed cases of illness have reportedly been caused by groundwater arsenic. The report further says as many as 98 districts in 13 States have been affected by high arsenic contamination in ground water. 70.4 million people in 35 districts alone have been exposed to groundwater arsenic.

Two-thirds of sewage in flow into rivers untreated

Another parliamentary panel recently has expressed its concern at the massive problem of discharge of ‘untreated’ filth into rivers which requires a huge amount of money (Rs. 1,10,000 crore to 1,80,000 crore) for setting up additional sewage treatment plants (STPs) to save these critical water bodies across the country.

The panel gave its report to the Parliament during the budget session. It has noted that nearly two-thirds of the sewage generated in urban areas across the country goes into rivers untreated, leaving water bodies severely polluted. Incidentally, more than two-thirds of the sewage generated in 118 towns, located in the Ganga river basin, also get discharged into the river untreated. A recent government report has noted that these towns collectively generate over 3,636 million litres per day (MLD) of sewage as against the treatment capacity of approximately 1,027 MLD of the existing 55 STPs in these towns spread over five states.

Against this backdrop, in last decade RO technology based water purifiers have emerged as an answer to all these serious problems. Through this path breaking technology one can remove dangerous dissolved impurities like Arsenic, Fluoride and Pesticides, besides removing bacteria and viruses. Over the years, some companies have evolved RO technology further and have taken the technology to next level.

For example, earlier Conventional RO purifiers were used as stand alone systems for removing bacteria, viruses & dissolved impurities. But while removing dissolved impurities these systems would end-up removing essential minerals too, which are so important for our health.

To arrest these problems smart companies have now come up with double purification technology of RO + UF / UV with TDS Controller which removes dissolved impurities like Arsenic, Fluoride and Pesticides, besides removing bacteria and viruses but retains essential natural minerals in purified water.

RO Purifiers therefore have contributed tremendously towards putting a lid on water-borne diseases and potentially saved millions of people who would otherwise have suffered from serious, even life-threatening diseases.

However, the problem of RO Systems still has been their limitation of wasting significant water during purification.

Why Water is Wasted in RO Purifiers

The RO Purifier’s process is based on removing pure water from stream of water. Hence after removing pure water, rejected water comes out which contain dissolved impurities. It is like washing impure water with water. Some of the RO manufactures do not advise consumers on how this water can be utilized and therefore it is drained out by most people. However, consumers can collect this water in the bucket and use it for moping the house or gardening etc. to save water.

In fact, one of the reputed manufacturers have come out with a RO purifier in which besides pure water tank there is an additional storage tank for waste water. Consumers can use this water for household chores hence there is no wastage of water in this water purifier.

Responsible RO purifier manufacturing companies in India have been trying to continually evolve & perfect RO technology, and seeking to come up with innovations to face marketing challenges. Not surprisingly, few have succeeded in this endeavour by developing a much-awaited RO purifier that wastes absolutely no water at all!

Air – In past few months media has reported how we’ve been gripped, like many others, with a sense of acute panic due to air pollution. It’s like being told one is living next to an active volcano that might erupt at any moment.

The statistics are certainly grim. For example, Bangalore’s air on any given day is as toxic as the smoke from six cigarettes a day while inhaling Delhi air is equivalent to puffing 20 in a day, according to a study by the United Nations Environment Program.

Last year, as reported by the media 13 of the 20 most-polluted cities in the world were in India – with Delhi considered the worst.

The national capital has the highest concentration of PM2.5 – particulate matters less than 2.5 microns- form of air pollution, which is considered most serious and can cause respiratory diseases and other health problems.

The situation is so bad in Delhi that its air has PM2.5 concentrations of 153 micrograms and PM10 concentrations of 286 micrograms – much more than the permissible limits, as reported in the media.

Thankfully, India has begun monitoring air quality very closely in an effort to fight some of the world’s worst urban pollution.

Many Factors Contribute to Increase of Air Pollution

Including reliance on fossil fuels such as coal-fired power plants, dependence on private transport motor vehicles, inefficient use of energy in buildings, and the use of biomass for cooking and heating.

Air purifier can help to trap particulate matter present in the air and therefore they reduce PM 2.5 level which help consumer to breath better.

An air purifier is a small portable machine that removes bacteria, virus and particulate matter that can be inhaled. For the same amount of power a ceiling fan uses, it strips the air of major pollutants including dust, pollen, mould, dander and tobacco smoke using various filtration techniques.

In the early 1990s, most Indians living in urban areas switched from tap water to purified water. Today, the water purifier market in India is estimated to be worth Rs 3,500 crore according to sources. Could air purifiers become the next RO? It could, depending on how effective these gadgets actually prove to be going forward.

Water purifier companies and media together have to educate consumer on how to use rejected water from RO purifiers for their domestic use like moping floor to gardening

New Delhi: Discovery Channel presents INDIA’S WANDERING LIONS, a special one hour programme that uncovers a mesmerizing story of Asiatic lions which were once on the brink of extinction. The increased numbers of Asiatic lions have forced the big predators to spill over the borders of the Gir Forest National Park & Wildlife Sanctuary and find a way to become an integral part of the farming community in Gujarat.

India’s Wandering Lions will premiere on Monday, July 6 at 9 pm on Discovery Channel.

Discovery Channel cameras get special access in and around the Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary to uncover the story of these lions as they adapt their savannah hunting instincts to work alongside humans in starlit fields and orchards. The programme offers unbelievable testimonies of villagers and people from the farming community about their camaraderie with the big cats who have become an integral part of their lives and their co-existence with minimal conflict.

Rahul Johri, Executive Vice President and General Manager – South Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, commented, ”Discovery Channel is always committed to present unmatched stories about India to viewers around the world. India’s Wandering Lions is a fascinating story about the survival of Asiatic Lions amongst human beings and will force the audience to rethink their views about these dangerous predators.”

Tracking lions over three years, Discovery Channel’s enthralling programme captures the extremely rare occurrences of lion’s daily living and opens the door to Indian wildlife of the Gir Forest National Park & Wildlife Sanctuary like never before. The cameras also capture incredible animal species like hyenas, jungle cats, leopards, jackals, nilgai’s, wild boars, porcupines, deer among others roaming unhindered right next to villages, in orchards and fields with people totally unaware of their presence. Viewers will get up and close with the wildlife as the deployment of special thermal, starlight, infrared and hidden cameras capture striking images.

India’s Wandering Lions has been produced by Kosmik Global Media in association with Discovery Channel.

Selangor, Malaysia :  According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Asian elephant is now an endangered species. Today, there are only 40,000 elephants left in Asia’s mainland and about 1,200-1,700 in peninsular Malaysia. Habitat loss and forest fragmentation are considered the biggest threats to their survival. Much of their habitat has been converted into plantations, housing estates, highways and other human “development schemes”.

In a recent paper published in the Pertanika Journal of Science and Technology, Suhaida Aini and colleagues used a geographic information system (GIS) to analyse the home range and habitat preference of Asian elephants in peninsular Malaysia. In their study, they tracked two elephants in Northern Johor and Terengganu National Park using satellite tracking technology.

The study found that both elephants spent most of their time in the secondary or “logged-over forest”. This was due to the abundance of ground grass as a food source within the forest area. Former logging roads in the secondary forest also provided good access for the elephants to move. On average, more than 50% of both elephants’ home range occurred in this forest type.

However, the elephant in Northern Johor tended to travel more often than the one in Terengganu National Park since much of the logged-over forest habitat in Northern Johor has been converted to oil palm plantations.

Another habitat parameter that the study analysed is water source. Both elephants spent 75% of their time travelling in an area of less than 1.5 km away from their water source. The researchers also found a negative correlation between water source and elephant distribution. As the distance from the water source increases, the distribution of the elephant decreases.

These findings demonstrate the capability of GIS to provide accurate and reliable data for analysing the habitat preferences of Asian elephants. The study suggests that the conservation of these animals requires good management practices within and outside protected areas.

Sunday’s downpour in Delhi didn’t stop a flash mob from making an appearance in Connaught Place. RateGain, one of the world’s largest travel technology companies, performed a number of dance routines to promote ‘Swachh Bharat’, the campaign to bring about a clean India. The performers where cheered on by a large crowd who enjoyed every minute of the short performance.

Swachh Bharat is India’s biggest cleanliness drive and RateGain is proud to have contributed to this initiative as part of its CSR activities. The dance performance was followed by sharing a few simple practices that people can adopt to keep our country clean. A simple measure for instance is to keep a bin in one’s car. RateGain employees decided to express their message of keeping our nation clean in a way that is engaging, fun and motivational. Bhanu Chopra, CEO RateGain ,said “ Rather than talk about adopting cleanliness, a flash mob has the capability to deliver a powerful and memorable message that people will feel motivated to adopt as well as inculcate a sense of pride and responsibility towards the nation”

Southwest monsoon has been vigorous over Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and active over Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha and Gujarat.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall has occurred at isolated places over these regions in the past 24 hours. Met department has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places over Gujarat region.

Heavy rain would also occur at a few places over Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

Indian Meteorological Department has issued warnings of Heavy to Very Heavy rainfall in various parts of the country for over next two days.

According to an official release, areas where such rainfall is expected to occur are West Madhya Pradesh, East and West Rajasthan, Gujarat, Saurastra and Kutch region.

Heavy to Very Heavy rainfall is also expected to occur in Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal in the next three days.

Cyclonic storm ‘Komen’ makes landfall in neighbouring Bangladesh; State Administration in West Bengal and Odisha brace up for any situation arising out of the cyclone.

The deep depression over northeastern Bay of Bengal has intensified into cyclonic storm ‘Komen’ which is set to trigger heavy to very heavy rain coupled with squally surface wind in several areas of Odisha and West Bengal.

Met department has also forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated places over the north-eastern states of Mizoram, Tripura and south Assam till Saturday

West Bengal witnessed rainfall in many parts as the cyclonic storm ‘Komen’ intensified.According to the Met department coastal areas are likely to experience heavy rainfall due to the cyclone.

Squally wind speed reaching 50-60 kmph gusting to 70 kmph would prevail along Odisha coast during next 48 hours. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea.Many rivers in the state are already flowing above the danger mark.Incessant rains in upper catchment areas has triggered floods in Budhabalang, Baitarani and Subarnarekha rivers.Many villages have been inundated and road transport has been severaly hit.

Cyclone Komen has made landfall in Bangladesh and will move west-north-westwards and weaken gradually.

Meanwhile, Monsoon unleashed mayhem in Gujarat.Water released from Dharoi dam on the Sabarmati river has flooded many low lying areas.Army and NDRF teams are carrying out rescue operation in affected areas.

Heavy rainfall has disrupted normal life in Rajasthan too. Jaipur and Jalore witnessed heavy rainfalls.NDRF teams have been pressed into action in affected area.

Incessant rainfall in mountain areas has resulted in the increase of water level of Ganga river rapidly. Many rivers have crossed danger mark in the state.In Varanasi, too ganga is flowing above the danger mark.

Torrential monsoon downpours has caused mayhem across the country hitting normal life.

In Bangladesh, the disaster management and relief mechanisms are working in full swing to handle the effects and damage of cyclone Komen.

Disaster response teams have been deployed in 13 coastal districts lying on the path of the cyclone. The army has been put on alert.

Over 3 lakh people have been evacuated to cyclone shelters which have been stocked with food and other essential supplies.

Since high over-normal tides are expected in low-lying areas of the affected coastal regions, loud-speakers are warning other people in risky areas to shift to safer areas.

All river traffic remains suspended.

Selangor, Malaysia : – Levels of economic development, population, investment, openness and education can all impact the total amount of human misery and economic devastation caused by floods, according to a study published in the Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities.

The study, by researchers in Malaysia, set out to determine which factors can help to reduce flood fatalities and damages, based on data from 79 countries.

According to the authors, almost 7,000 natural disasters occurred around the world from 1978 to 2008. Floods and storms accounted for 67 percent of these events, while earthquakes, landslides, droughts, extreme temperatures, wildfires and volcano eruptions accounted for the remainder. In 2009 alone, floods in Asia caused more than 3,000 deaths and affected 57.7 million people, with economic damages reaching US$8 billion.

Floods not only have immediate effects but also gradual or long-lasting impacts following an event. For example, floods can affect human health by causing death, physical injury, disease transmission, malnutrition and loss of morale. Similarly, floods can affect the agricultural sector by destroying crops and livelihoods, homes and infrastructure.

Despite this, the study suggests that enhancing economic development can help to reduce the impact of floods on human fatalities, total people affected and economic losses. “Countries with higher income are more prepared to face future devastation due to floods,” report the authors. Public investment in flood relief centres, flood preparation programs, early warning systems, enforcement of building regulations in flood prone areas, etc., can all lessen the impact of floods on human health and damage to infrastructure.

Among other policy implications, the authors recommend that governments allocate budgetary resources on “mitigating factors and facilities such as retainable walls or establishing adequate forest reserves to act as cushions to prevent or minimize [flood] damages.”

The researchers are now in the process of updating their study using flood data as recent as 2014, as well as investigating the impact of other types of natural disasters. The team is also looking into how natural disasters affect fertility around the world.

More than half of India has received normal rainfall while some regions in central and southern parts have got deficient rains so far.

According to the India Meteorological Department data, of the 36 sub-divisions across the country, 20 have received normal monsoon.

The data shows that 58 per cent of the country has received normal rainfall, 29 per cent witnessed deficient and 13 per cent excess. Overall, a deficiency of nine per cent was recorded in the whole country.

Among the four divisions, northwest received the most rains with only two per cent lesser than the normal levels followed by a deficit of six per cent in the east and north east, 11 per cent in central India and 20 per cent in southern peninsula. In a positive sign, no sub-division has recorded “scanty” or “no-rain” precipitation.

Gurgaon: Canon, a world leader in digital imaging, continues with its efforts to bring eco-friendly and sustainable changes in the community we live, with a tree plantation drive at Aravalli Bio-Diversity Park yesterday. Taking a step closer to the environment, Mr. Kazutada Kobayashi, President  & CEO, Canon India along with Canon employees delightfully planted 150 saplings in the park.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Kazutada Kobayashi, President and CEO, Canon India, said, “As a globally recognized brand, Canon India takes pride in leading by example. Our philosophy drives in all our initiatives, be it professional or social, to give back to the communities we work in. It is not just our initiatives, even the products that we design and manufacture manifests our commitment towards sustainability. Our endeavour today is to create a better tomorrow which will surely contribute towards the larger objective of a sustainable planet.”

Aligning with its corporate philosophy ‘Kyosei’ which means living and working together for the common good, Canon India has undertaken various sustainable CSR initiatives for the welfare of the society. In November 2012, its flagship project “Adopt a Village” was initiated with the adoption of Ferozepur Namak Village in Haryana and subsequently, the company adopted two more villages namely; Maharaja Katte Village in Karnataka and Karanjyoti Village in Maharashtra. Canon India is constantly working around ‘3E’s – Education, Environment and Eye Care, to strengthen its vision and reinforce its commitment to furthering long term and sustainable development in every village it adopts.

Canon India has organised numerous campaigns to pledge its commitment towards conserving nature and reducing the carbon footprint. On World Environment Day, Canon India launched ‘Yes, I pledge!’ Campaign wherein employees were encouraged to pledge and share their commitment towards making earth a healthier planet to live in. Canon India also celebrated Van Mahotsav (Festival of Trees) with #PhotoChallenge Campaign where viewers were invited to click a photo of rich flora and fauna around them and share it on Canon India Facebook page. On World Nature Conservation Day, Canon India launched Go Green Campaign where Canon employees planted saplings at their adopted villages in Haryana and Bangalore to support the company’s objective of a clean and green planet.

Being a socially responsible corporate, Canon India has time and again showcased its concern and duty towards the society as it launched awareness programs on child labour and abuse on World Day against Child Labor. Campaigns like “Each One Teach One” where Canon employees taught children in the adopted villages and “Walk in my Shoes” where Canon employees participated in the shoe donation drive were also organised to make the young ones confident and ready to take bigger leaps in future.

The culture of being socially responsible is inculcated in the DNA of every Canon employee so that together, a greener and healthier environment can be built for the generations to come.

The Earth’s first mass extinction event 540 million years ago was caused not by a meteorite impact or volcanic super-eruption but by the rise of early animals that dramatically changed the prehistoric environment, a new study has found.

“People have been slow to recognise that biological organisms can also drive mass extinction,” said Simon Darroch, assistant professor at Vanderbilt University in US.

“But our comparative study of several communities of Ediacarans, the world’s first multicellular organisms, strongly supports the hypothesis that it was the appearance of complex animals capable of altering their environments, which we define as ‘ecosystem engineers,’ that resulted in the Ediacaran’s disappearance,” Darroch said.

The earliest life on Earth consisted of single-celled microorganisms. They ruled the Earth for more than 3 billion years.

Some of these microorganisms evolved to capture the energy in sunlight. The photosynthetic process that they developed produced oxygen as a toxic byproduct.

Oxygen was poisonous to most microbes that had evolved in an oxygen-free environment, making it the world’s first pollutant.

However, for the microorganisms that developed methods for protecting themselves, oxygen gave them the added energy they needed to adopt multicellular forms.

Thus, the Ediacarans arose about 600 million years ago during a warm period following a long interval of extensive glaciation. Ediacarans spread throughout the planet.

They were a largely immobile form of marine life shaped like discs and tubes, fronds and quilted mattresses.

They remained attached in one spot for their entire lives, feeding by absorbing chemicals from the water through their outer membranes, rather than actively gathering nutrients.

After 60 million years, evolution gave birth to animals. During the 25-million-year period of Cambrian explosion, most of the modern animal families – vertebrates, molluscs, arthropods, annelids, sponges and jellyfish – came into being.

“These new species were ‘ecological engineers’ who changed the environment in ways that made it more and more difficult for the Ediacarans to survive,” said Darroch.

The researchers analysed the youngest known Ediacaran community exposed in Namibia, in a site called Farm Swartpunt, which is dated at 545 million years ago.

“We found that the diversity of species at this site was much lower, and there was evidence of greater ecological stress, than at comparable sites that are 10 million to 15 million years older,” Darroch said.

Rocks of this age also preserve an increasing diversity of burrows and tracks made by the earliest complex animals, presenting a plausible link between their evolution and extinction of the Ediacarans.

The researchers concluded that evolutionary innovation, ecosystem engineering and biological interactions may have ultimately caused the first mass extinction of complex life.

In Assam, with one more death reported from Sipajhar area, the death toll in floods from June this year has gone up to 62.

However, the overall flood situation in the State recorded slight improvement with the Brahmaputra not showing a rising trend. The Brahmaputra is still flowing above the danger levels in Neamatighat, Goalpara and Dhubri, but is falling in Guwahati and maintaining a steady trend in Dibrugarh and Tezpur.

The daily flood report issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority said that 14 lakh and 42 thousand people in 19 districts of the State are still reeling under floods.

Meanwhile, asserting that the Assam Government had enough funds at its disposal to tide over the present flood crisis, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday said that a high-level team from will visit the State very soon to assess the havoc caused by floods and erosion.

The Centre had released 1,655 crore rupees for the State in April this year.

New Delhi: A team of brave heart female forest guards are on a mission to preserve the endangered species of the Asiatic lions. These courageous women risk their lives every day to rescue vulnerable lions, heal defenseless cubs, reduce human-animal conflict and assist villagers who face accidental animal attacks.  Discovery Channel’s THE LION QUEENS OF INDIA highlights these women forest guard’s unwavering commitment to preserve the lions and its habitat and offers an ode to their spirit and dedication.

The four-part series brings alive some of the most daring wildlife action sequences on television for the first time. From rescuing a lion stuck in an open well, healing a badly injured lioness with three little cubs in the middle of the night, retrieving a wayward leopard from a farmer’s house or catching and releasing a deadly Russell’s viper are all part of their daily job!

Premiering on September 28 at 9 PM, THE LION QUEENS OF INDIA showcases the amazing achievements of these women who are committed to saving the lions. The programme promises to awe and inspire the viewers with the strength and finesse showcased by these forest guards.

Commenting on the series, Rahul Johri, EVP & GM – South Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific said, “Discovery Channel recognises Indian women forest guards who are holding one of most dangerous and impactful professions. THE LION QUEENS OF INDIA captures an inspirational journey of skilled women team in the wild and highlights riveting real-life challenges they face during the course of their duty. ”

 The rescue team is headed by Mrs. Raj Sandeep, Deputy Conservator of Forests (Junagadh Forest Division); assisted by Ms. Trupti A. Joshi, In-charge Range Officer and Ms. Rasila P. Vadher, In-Charge Rescue Team.  An exceptional 28 year old forest guard, Rasila Vadher, along with many other gallant women have carried out over 600 rescue missions last year – perhaps amongst the highest number in any wildlife park in the world.

Get ready to witness the legendary act of the lion-hearted women of Gir National Park as they save, serve and protect the lions and other wildlife on September 28 and October 5 at 9 pm on Discovery Channel.

New Delhi: We are just one of around 400 species of primate in the world. We have hundreds of bizarre and colourful relatives who live fascinating lives in exotic locations – yet most of us know almost nothing about them.

From India to Madagascar, Borneo to Peru, Animal Planet’s new series MONKEYS REVEALED travels the world meeting apes, monkeys and lemurs of all shapes and sizes, showcasing these animals’ amazing behaviours and revealing just what makes our animal family so special.

MONKEYS REVEALED will air Monday to Friday at 8 pm on Animal Planet, starting November 23rd.

A highly developed brain is the first of three key similarities shared by all primates. Secondly, we share a similar face, with eyes that face forwards. This gives us 3D vision, the ability to judge distances perfectly. And thirdly, the most defining characteristic of any primate are its remarkable hands with an opposable thumb each. This blueprint, intelligence, forward facing eyes and a grasping hand is the key to the success of our entire animal family.

Getting up close and interacting with these engaging creatures, MONKEYS REVEALED demonstrates that we humans are not quite as unique as we like to think! From the orangutan who washes every morning to the bonobo babies who just want to have fun and the rhesus macaques who have mastered the art of city life, these primates show us how similar we are to our animal cousins.

A visually stunning and definitive, the series is also open, accessible and surprising, featuring a contemporary soundtrack and light-hearted style.

Meet some of them:

RHESUS MACAQUES are Asian, Old World monkeys. Their natural range includes Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Southeast Asia, and China.   Found most commonly in India, these intelligent animals can adapt to many habitats, and some can even become accustomed to living in human communities.

The PYGMY MARMOSET is a small New World monkey native to rainforests of the western Amazon Basin in South America. It is notable for being the smallest monkey and one of the smallest primates in the world at just over 100 grams.  They are known as the Pocket Monkey, Little Lion, and the Dwarf Monkey.

The JAPANESE MACAQUE is a terrestrial Old World monkey species native to Japan. They are also sometimes known as the snow monkey because they live in areas where snow covers the ground for months each year – no other non-human primate is more northern-living, nor lives in a colder climate. Individuals have brown-grey fur, red faces, and short tails.

SIFAKAS are a genus of lemur from the family Indriidae within the order Primates. Their name of the family is an onomatopoeia of their characteristic “shi-fak” alarm call. Like all lemurs, they are found only on the island of Madagascar.

The EMPEROR TAMARIN is a small species of monkey found in the forests of South America. The Emperor tamarin was named because of it’s elegant white moustache, which is thought to resemble that of German emperor Wilhelm II.

The SILVERY LUTUNG, also known as the silvered leaf monkey or the silvery langur, is an Old World monkey. It is arboreal, living in coastal, mangrove, and riverine forests in Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo. It is a medium-sized monkey with a long, non-prehensile tail.

The VERVET is a small, black-faced monkey, native to Africa. They have been noted for having human-like characteristics, such as hypertension, anxiety, and social behaviour.

One of the biggest gatherings of world leaders out of United Nations General Assembly is set to begin in Paris to reach a deal to reduce global temperatures.

With participation from 190 countries in all, the summit will be attended by 40,000 delegates, journalists, observers and exhibitors.

As negotiators continue to be divided on cutting emissions and assisting poor nations all eyes are on the outcome of Paris talks.

World leaders pledging for immediate action, calls that time is running out, International bodies urging nations to wake up and act and summits over summits, nothing has really turned out to be effective at least that’s what the data says.

World Meteorological Organisation’s conclusion that Greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere reached a record high for the 30th year in a row, clearly shows ineffectiveness of the measures taken over the decades.

The Paris Climate Summit – Conference of Parties 21, comes close on the heels of United Nations warning that 2015 is set to be the warmest year.

The summit faces an uphill task of reaching a binding and universal agreement on climate.

We want an agreement to be reached, but not any agreement, one that is ambitious and binding, an agreement which can be reviewed so as to reach our aim to limit global warming below 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

Negotiators remain deeply divided, with rich and developing nations arguing about who must do what to curb carbon emissions, and who must pay.

Unwillingness of developed countries to do more for cutting emissions and the dilly dallying towards contributions for funds they pledged in 2009′s Copenhagen summit to help developing nations is key to the trust deficit.

Developing countries are demanding a robust agreement that expands economic opportunities, not one that erodes their interests even as climate risks grow.

A region being close to coast, riverbeds or under the radar of regular or irregular monsoons is sure to receive Poseidon’s wrath anytime. This brings our attention towards the importance of having a strong drainage management system along with sturdy structures in the regions so as to avoid any form of damage or bringing the region to a standstill. The recent Chennai floods have come out as an eye-opener for several realty regions such as NCR, MMR, etc. as they sit along several rivers and face irregular and untimely rains throughout the year. As the global warming is catching pace on the planet Earth, nature’s forces must be taken seriously for a better future of all. Thus, we now look into how well Indian realty is prepared from the developers’ perspective or infrastructure facilities currently available in the regions.

“History has been a witness to how regions have been completely whitewashed due to floods arising out of nonstop rains and proves infrastructure’s weakness to cope up with nature’s forces. In such cases, a strong regional drainage management disposal system along with structural strength of properties gets tested to the core. In India, these are still weak spots with private companies trying to offer solution based housing projects to tackle such problems”, explains Mr. Rupesh Gupta, Director, JM Housing.

Researches prove that higher amount of floods dampens the ground which gradually weaken the tectonic plates below. This in turn damages it thereby drastically increasing the chances of earthquakes in future. Hence, having strong structures allows to neutralise this effect to a certain extent. “For instance, as Delhi/NCR sits on seismic zone IV along with the presence of Ganga, Yamuna and Hindon rivers, chances of floods and quakes are almost doubled. Thus, we make sure that projects stand ready equipped with structural soundness to stand against strong quakes and features like rainwater harvesting, water storage and drainage systems to avoid water accumulation of any sort”, shares Mr. Vikas Bhasin, MD, Saya Group.

To answer how developers are imbibing features and facilities to allow residents to live peacefully during situations of catastrophe, Mr. Sushant Muttreja, CMD, Cosmic Group avers “Whenever a project is planned, proper monitoring of habitat and environment is done so as to understand the extent of damage it may put on the structures in event of worst case scenario. Thus, all of our projects are planned keeping in mind stability of the structure and added facilities with sufficient trained manpower that allows such disasters to be managed with utmost care”.

Speaking about the lack of supportive infrastructure in the regions, Mr. Mukesh Khurana, MD, Rudra Buildwell says “The reason why rains get converted into floods is because of the problems persisting with the sewerage and drainage management systems. Also, disaster management teams in our country aren’t efficient enough as we see that final solution is provided by Army personnel. In such cases, local civic authorities need to make sure that infrastructural facilities never come out as the loopholes for the region, as it is the residents who end up suffering. We as developers can also offer facilities in the projects to a certain extent, to avoid level 1 problem but post that, things have to be looked into by the authorities only”. Adding to his fact, Mr. Rakesh Yadav, Chairman, Antriksh India states “Modern day realty development is working closely on safety and security needs of its residents. From water harvesting and drainage system to bunker sites, RCC framed structures for earthquake resistance to professional in-house disaster management teams, and so much more. Developers are charging nothing extra to offer such facilities as these are the basic rights of every resident of a project. Thus, it’s a joint effort that private and public bodies must undertake to secure the residents of any given region”.

“Recent floods at Kashmir, Chennai and Mumbai, damages resulting from earthquakes in the North East and parts of NCR are a reflection of our continuous failure to provide sound infrastructure to the country. It is very important to take lessons from these events and come out with precautionary measures for the residents so as to negate this damage effect. Thus, work at both, public and private level needs to be taken up very seriously where the private players are already doing a lot by providing several disaster management facilities whereas, public sector still requires a major revamp especially for Tier 1 regions”, concludes Mr. Kushagr Ansal, Director, Ansal Housing.

Denmark :  Grundfos wins the prestigious United Nations’ Momentum for Change Lighthouse Activity Award in the ICT category. The award is given for the Lifelink water solution that provides reliable and sustainable water supply in developing countries.

During the Paris Climate Conference, Grundfos was highlighted as an innovative company that helps to alleviate the challenges caused by climate change. Together with 15 other initiatives, Grundfos’ sustainable Lifelink water supply solution won the United Nation’s Momentum for Change Lighthouse Activity Award.

Grundfos won one of the six awards in the ‘Information and Communication Technologies’ category for employing technology in its approach to sustainable water supply solutions in Kenya and Uganda.

Reliable water supply

CEO Mads Nipper, Grundfos, appreciates the recognition.

“The award clearly demonstrates that it makes good sense to design smart, sustainable, reliable and durable solutions that can improve the quality of life for people in the developing world by providing them with clean and affordable water. I expect that the UN award means that Grundfos will be in an even stronger position with politicians, investors and water utilities in our efforts to provide more people with easier access to clean drinking water,” says Mads Nipper.

Sustainable water supply solutions powered by solar energy make up a growing share of Grundfos’ activities, and, most recently, the pump manufacturer has started to manufacture two new products in the Lifelink category in India: AQtap that supplies water against payment and enables the water utility to control the price and ensure that the water system is maintained, and AQpure that quickly and efficiently treats surface water and river water to drinking water quality.

Mumbai: Yesteryear actress and unargualbly one of the most graceful stars of all time, Waheeda Rehman will now be seen in a new avatar. Recently appointed as the brand ambassador of Neem Foundation, the yesteryear beauty will take up the promotion of neem.

 “I was most awestruck by the potential of the neem tree. Not only on its ability to reverse pollution, but also play an important role in protecting and sustaining the environment,” says the septuagenarian actress.

Neem Foundation is a twenty three year old not-for-profit voluntary organisation that has been conducting research and inquiries on the benefits of neem. Established with the primary objective of promoting the Neem Tree as a sustainable solution for global ecological and health concerns, the foundation runs a state of the art research and technology development centre in Maharashtra and has been holding world neem conferences across the globe.

“It is now beyond argument that neem is a wonder tree. While its role as an organic fertilizer is universally acknowledged, the tree itself is a natural air purifier that can withstand high temperatures. Experts say that on a blistering hot day, the temperature under a neem tree can be up to 10 degrees lower than the surrounding area. Most experts also believe that the Neem tree is a sustainable solution to global ecological and health concerns,” says Ms. Pramila Thakkar, Managing Trustee, Neem Foundation.

“With Waheedaji as ambassador of Neem Foundation, our resolve of establishing the Neem tree as the sustainable way forward, ecologically and medically, has further strengthened. We thank her for joining us in this noble cause and agreeing to further entrench the foundation’s efforts at promoting Neem,” she adds.

“The Neem Foundation had been advocating the need for neem coated urea for quite some time and had been approaching all competent Government authorities to consider making it mandatory. The foundation had presented white papers at various levels that established the decision of producing 100 per cent neem coated urea would prove to work in favour of the Government as well as farmers. Eventually the Government realised the importance of taking this route and made it mandatory for fertilizer firms to do so. The decision will lead to subsidy savings of Rs. 6,500 crore annually. The move will help farmers boost their income and benefit the environment too,” says Ms. Thakkar. “We are positive that with a person of Waheedaji’s stature backing us, the Foundation will get the right kind of impetus to carry on its work with more fervour than ever.”

“In addition to being a wonder tree, Neem has its genetic base in India. It is a revered symbol of the Great Indian Civilization like the Ganga, Peacock, Tiger, Mango, Lotus, Himalayas and the Vedas. The Neem tree’s commercial, agricultural and therapeutic uses in India date back to the Vedic times. The various uses of this wonder tree are representative of traditional Indian knowledge and customary practices,” concludes Waheeda Rehman.

Source : Lokesh Shastri

New Delhi : The eternal conflict between predator and prey plays out on a series of diverse backdrops around the world and often the changing nature of the environment can tip the odds in favour of either the hunter or the hunted. Airing every night at 10 PM in February-March, Animal Planet’s new programming line-up RANN BHOOMI spans the globe in search of exciting stories illustrating the dramatic effect environmental surroundings can have on this battle between predator and prey. The series takes a look at the unforgiving battles for survival that take place in the natural world all around the globe every single day.

In the animal kingdom, it’s kill or be killed on a daily basis, as creatures struggle to survive. Animal Planet’s RANN BHOOMI chronicles the different yet lethal techniques used in this dance of death, from animals that work in well-organized gangs to craft loners that capture prey using camouflage and the element of surprise.

The series heads to Alaska’s frozen rivers where a titanic struggle between migrating salmon and opportunistic grizzly bears takes place yearly, while in the Amazon River the piranha hunts its prey. Meanwhile, in Arctic seas, determined polar bears hunt the ringed seal, penguins fall prey to leopard seals, and starving arctic foxes pick off vulnerable seabirds. In every habitat there are predators and their prey, inevitably leading to a series of unrelenting animal battlegrounds or the ‘RANN BHOOMI’.

 Viewers will watch how ice and snow influence the outcome of the battles fought in the frozen seas of the Arctic and the Antarctic; animal duels in grasslands include cheetahs vs. gazelles in East Africa’s savanna; anteaters vs. termites in South America’s pampas; wolves vs. bison in the Canadian prairies; foxes vs. rabbits in Wiltshire, England.  An examination of wetland environments includes Africa, where flamingos play into the hands of hungry baboons,  archerfish shoot down prey from trees above them; alligators manipulate their environment to trap fish; black egrets create shadows to catch fish. Some other environments or battlefields include deserts, air, rivers, wetlands and plains of Serengeti.

The episode line-up includes Pride in the Battle that follows the Xakanaxa pride of lions as they struggle for survival against combative prey and unforgiving surroundings through one of the Okavango’s harshest summers.  Gangland Killers trails a mongoose gang in the Okavango Delta in Botswana that works as a team to protect their new litter of pups from the very real danger of determined predators.  Cheetah – Price of Speed chases a young family of cheetahs on the harsh, exposed plains of the southern Serengeti.