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ECO TIP OF THE WEEK

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ANSWERS

IDENTIFY THESESPECIES

1 2

4 5

3

1. Gall wasp (Bassettia pallida)2. Northern goshawk3. Rockhopper penguin4. Tailed jay (Graphium Agamemnon)5. White bellbird

“The Earth is a fine place and worth fighting for.” Ernest Hemingway ENVIRONMENT02

1. If you have a fish tank, reuse the dirty water onyour houseplants. Plants will love it.

2. Use a washing line, drying rack or clotheshorseinstead of a tumble dryer.

3. Save water while brushingteeth by not turning the tap onuntil you rinse. And fix any

leaky taps. Aleaky tap canlose 20,000litres of waterin a year.

4. Laundry liq-uids and cleaning

products can oftenbe refilled from a health

food shop, making them cheaper than new ones.Or search online for refillable, eco-friendly deter-gent deliveries.

Got an idea to conserve the environment?Mail us at toinie175@gmail.com

Avoid outdoors activitieswhen the AQI is high.The best time to go outwould be in the after-noon if you want to goto the park. If you mustventure out, ensure towear a proper mask (N 55 or N 95).

Particulate matter containsmetal toxins. Try doing groundexercises (standing barefoot onearth, grass or sand) as it neu-tralises the toxins and metals inyour system. Consume fooditems that are rich in nutrients,are anti-inflammatory as theyhelp detoxify the body.

AVOID THE OUTDOORS

Avoid using agarbattis,mosquito sprays and cam-phor to keep your indoorenvironment as clean aspossible. Plants like aloevera, snake plant helpclear the air of dangerouscarcinogens includingbenzene and formalde-hyde. TNN

GET PLANTS

TRY GROUNDING EXERCISES

HOW TO SURVIVE AIR POLLUTION

TRENDING NEWS OF THE WEEK

Business is booming for Britain’s milkmenafter they virtually disappeared – and it couldall be down to Sir David Attenborough. Milkrounds dwindled after customers movedtowards shopping in supermarkets in the1990s and away from traditional dairy deliveryservices. But a recent surge in eco-awareness,inspired by powerful documentaries such asSir David’s ‘Blue Planet’ and the BBC’s ‘War onPlastic’, has led to more people choosing glassover plastic. DAILY MIRROR

2014-1523.3 lakh2018-19

27 lakh

2017-1825.5 lakh

2015-1617 lakh EXTENT

OF TREE-CUTTING

In the last five years, India cut every day on an average three times the number of trees felled in

Aarey Colony, according to the total number ofpermissions granted for felling of trees.

LOOKING FOR COVERIndia claims a quarter of its land is forested, with sixnorth-eastern states reporting 80% average forest cover.

Trees of BharatWhat are India’s most common trees? Within forests, sal and teak grow the most widely.

Punjab 6.9Rajasthan 7.3Uttar Pradesh 9.2Haryana 6.8Bihar 10.2Gujarat 11.6Jammu & Kashmir * 14.0Puducherry 16.5Andhra Pradesh 19.6Delhi 20.6Telangana 20.6West Bengal 21.4Karnataka 22.6Maharashtra 19.7Tamil Nadu 23.8Daman & Diu 27.5Chandigarh 27.7Madhya Pradesh 27.7Himachal Pradesh 28.6Jharkhand 33.2Odisha 35.5Assam 37.7Chhattisgarh 43.9Uttarakhand 46.9Sikkim 47.6Dadra & Nagar Haveli 48.3Kerala 59.9Goa 68.9Tripura 75.7Nagaland 77.6Manipur 78.7Meghalaya 79.4Arunachal Pradesh 80.9A&N Islands 82.2Mizoram 88.5Lakshadweep 97.0

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

624

530

470

741

625

674

739

860

792

513

885

951

809

1,390

1,160

1,750

1,890

1,320

Share of trees

Common nameSpecies name

8.9%

SALShorea robusta

7.7%

TEAKTectona grandis

3.6%

AXLEWOOD/DHAURA

Anogeissus latifolia

3.3%

LAURELTerminalia crenulata

2.4%

CHIR PINEPinus roxburghii

Outside forests, mangoes are among the most common tree

Share of trees

Common nameSpecies name

9.8%

BETEL PALMAreca catechu

8.2%

MANGOMangifera indica

6.4%

7,08,273

93,815

FOREST COVER

COCONUTCocos nucifera

5.4%

NEEMAzadirachta indica

2.9%

Share of forests and tree cover in each state (%)

SOURCE: MOS FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN LOK LABHA IN JULY 2019 STORY SOURCE: ET

FLAME OFTHE FOREST

Butea monospermaindica

Slowdown in the forestAmid the felling of lakhs of treeseach year, official data showsthere was only a miniscule growthin India’s forest and tree coverbetween 2015 and 2017.

18 years of lossGlobal Forest Watch claims India lost 16,700 sq km of treecover from 2000 to 2018, though Indian data disputes this.The platform run by World Resources Institute uses satel-lite imagery to gather data and differs from official Indianmethodology in defining tree cover.

Area(sq km)in 2017

0.97%TREE COVER

1.34%Change from 2015

Earlier this year the felling of trees in Aarey forest in Mumbai had rekindled a debate on India’s forest cover. And forthose who like to use data for their school reports, here is a comprehensive take on India’s forests

Thailand’s HELMETEDHORNBILL in DANGERTime is running out for Thai-

land’s dwindling population ofhelmeted hornbills thanks to

poaching of the exotic birds for theivory-like casques atop their big redand yellow beaks.

The species, known by the scien-tific name Rhinoplax vigil, is listed as‘critically endangered’ by the Inter-national Union for Conservation ofNature (Iucn).

“Currently, there are fewer than100 of the birds in Thailand’s forests,”says Dr Kaset Sutacha, chairman ofthe Bird Conservation Society of Thai-

land and head ofthe Exotic Pet

and Wildlife Clinic at Kasetsart Uni-versity’s Faculty of Veterinary Med-

icine in Bangkok.“Critically endangered: is just a

step away from ‘extinct in the wild’and two steps from becoming consid-ered ‘extinct.’

Demand from China is helpingdrive demand for their distinctivecasques, ‘helmets’ in French, whichmales deploy in battle. The materialis used to make rings, pendants andother decorative items.

Worries over the species' survivalintensified after the wildlife trademonitoring group TRAFFIC recentlyposted photos online of dozens ofskulls of the endangered avian forsale.

A campaign on the change.org on-line petition site is pressuring the gov-ernment to add the bird to Thailand'sWildlife Preservation List as soon aspossible. It now lists 19 other species.

The bird is already on Thailand'sofficial list of protected animals, butwould get much better protection ifit's included in the Wildlife Preserva-tion List, Kaset said.

“That means we can get money,officers and tools from the govern-ment, including a national conserva-tion plan designed just for thisspecies,” he said.

The population of the bird, foundin Indonesia, Malaysia and parts ofMyanmar and southern Thailand, isdwindling, the Iucn says.

Most types of hornbills have hol-low casques. The helmeted hornbills'are a hard, solid block that in the il-legal wildlife market is called ‘redivory.’ The London-based Environ-mental Investigation Agency saysblack market prices are up to fivetimes higher than for elephant tusks.

China appears to be the main mar-ket for helmeted hornbill parts andproducts, though there is also demandin Laos and Thailand, says ElizabethJohn, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia's sen-ior communications officer. TNN

Currently, there arefewer than 100 of the

birds in Thailand’s forests. Thebird is already on Thailand's offi-cial list of protected animals, butwould get much better protec-tion if it's included in the WildlifePreservation List...Dr Kaset Sutacha Chairman of the BirdConservation Society ofThailand

AIRPOCALYPSEdo’s and dont’s

Be aware of indoorpollution Using indoor plants that can pu-rify the air inside the home isalso advisable. Other than this,vaccinations are suggested tovulnerable patients, who haveasthma, COPD, cardiovasculardisease, cancer and those whohave the transplant done.

Use a maskDr Piyush Goel, a pulmonologist,said that everyone must use theright kind of pollution maskwhile going to work or otherplaces to survive the nationalcapital’s toxic air. Headded that the nor-mal cloth mask isnot so effective as itcan’t stop any pollu-tants. Special masksi n c l u d i n gN99 and N95m a s k s ,though ex-p e n s i v e ,are moreeffective.ANI

As the Environment Pollution (Preventionand Control) Authority has declared a pub-lic health emergency in the national capitalin view of the abysmal air quality index,the experts feel that people should takecertain precautions to protect their health.

Avoid outdoorsDr Randeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS, Delhirecommends against stepping out for morningwalks. “Bad air takes a toll on everyone, espe-cially on the heart patients, pregnant womenand kids. They should avoid going out duringmorning and evening hours. He added that inthe current situation, everyone should strict-ly avoid outdoor exercises as the ability to fil-ter out or detoxify environmental agents andpollution is becoming low.

Chinaappears to be themain market for

helmeted hornbill partsand products, though

there is also demand inLaos and Thailand

2016-1717 lakh

Environment ministry gavepermission for 1.09 croretrees to be cut in 5 years

for development worksbetween 2014-2019