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CHENNAI: Two more wetlands from Tamil Nadu have been added to the Ramsar list taking the total tally to 16, which is the highest in India. The State government has sent proposals seeking Ramsar recognition for Longwood and Karaivetti, which were accepted by the Union environment ministry and Ramsar Secretariat. Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav …

The Jackanarai panchayat of Kotagiri has passed a resolution against a proposal by the Forest department to establish an International Conservation Center and a watch tower in the Longwood shola forest in Kotagiri. The Forest department in 2022 had sanctioned ₹5.2 crores to construct a conservation center, purportedly for students to explore and experience the goals of ensuring the conservations …

Forest

Protests against construction in Longwood Shola reserve forest intensify in the Nilgiris

Concrete structures, including cement beds to grow native tree saplings and a building within the ecologically-sensitive Longwood Shola reserve forest in Kotagiri have been strongly opposed by conservationists and local residents of Kotagiri in the Nilgiris district. Following the announcement, the forest department began the construction of plant beds made out of concrete as well as what the forest department …

Longwood Shola forest in Nilgiris gets Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy accreditation

The United Kingdom’s Cabinet Minister for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, Therese Coffey, handed over the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy accreditation for The Longwood Shola, in Kotagiri, in the Nilgiris, to the government of Tamil Nadu on Saturday. The Longwood Shola, a 116-hectare forest tract, plays a vital role in Nilgiris’ microclimate, attracting and regulating rainfall. Post the G20 Environment and …

Local residents from Kotagiri and surrounding villages staged a protest at the Longwood Shola in Kotagiri alleging that the Forest Department had cut down Shola trees inside the forest to establish a concrete structure. In a statement, Dilip Srinivas from The Heritage Foundation – Kotagiri, said residents learned that many Shola trees were cut down by the Forest Department. The …

Preserving Longwood, the Nilgiris’ only urban Shola forest

The Nilgiris’ only “urban Shola forest” — the Longwood Shola in Kotagiri — may become one of the most important wild spaces in the State, as the Tamil Nadu government and the Forest Department plan an eco-tourism initiative to spread awareness of the importance of the Nilgiris’ Shola forests to the public at the site. According to studies conducted by …

Forests