A SHARMA

LIFE Karnataka’s Great Indian Bustard in Peril

<p>The sudden disappearance of the Great Indian Bustard, India’s critically endangered bird species, from Siruguppa Taluka in the Bellary district of Karnataka has raised the ire of wildlife conservationists. The construction of tall tower like structures in the name of anti-poaching measures by the wildlife department has also not gone down well.</p>

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DISASTER MANAGEMENT Forecasting Tropical Cyclones in the Indian Ocean: A HYCOM-HWRF Coupled System

Tropical storm forecast models conventionally use static sea surface temperature (SST), assuming its temporal changes are not significant in forecast. However, oceanic processes such as upwelling, currents and eddies, significantly modulate SST even at short time scales. Such changes have the potential to influence the planetary boundary layer. Eminent climate scientists, Morris A Bender and Issac Ginis have shown that inclusion of initial conditions with oceanic mesoscale features can improve hurricane/cyclone intensity forecasts. Scientific evidence thus supports better forecasts with coupled forecast systems and several forecast centres across the globe depend on such systems. In line with the international efforts, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and two of its institutes, ESSO-INCOIS and ESSO-IMD, established a state-of-the-art coupled forecasting system for cyclones arising in the Indian Ocean in collaboration with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of USA. In the present article, we explore the relevance of the system and its performance in achieving this goal.

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FORESTRY POLICY Forest Stewardship Council

The forest certification systems by the Forest Stewardship Council is reflective of an emergent need, intertwining business and ethics. Its guidelines have setup a benchmark against which the modus operandi of timber corporations and plantations can be examined.

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COASTAL RESEARCH Poisons in the Sea: Regulating Safe Levels

Poisonous chemicals let out into the sea are entering the food chain—interfering with the marine ecosystem. The resultant loss of biodiversity, coral bleaching, ocean acidification and harmful algal blooms needs to be assessed urgently. The setting of threshold levels for all hazardous heavy metals is imperative and the nation needs to update the existing regulatory guidelines and standards with sound scientific data.

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