TIME World tanzania

Correction appended, June 23

Fifteen years after the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention gathered for the first time with a signed treaty in Mozambique, its leaders met again Monday to asses the progress that has been made. In the past 15 years, 161 countries have signed on. The meeting, which will last through Friday, will evaluate the advancements that have been made banning the use of land mine weapons, helping land mine victims, and clearing minefields.

In the bordering country of Tanzania, Giant African Pouched Rat rats are being used to identify and sniff out land mines. These enormous rodents are bred and trained by a Belgian NGO called APOPO, which has its headquarters based in Tanzania. Once the rats have undergone the six-step training process to become experts at sniffing out TNT and detecting mines they are known as HeroRATs. These photo show what the training process is like for these life-saving rodents.

Correction: The original version of this story misstated when the meeting of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention will end and when members first met as signatories to the treaty.

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Rats Sniff Out Danger: 15 Years of Land Mine Progress

Hyderabad: Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) on Tuesday began demolishing illegal structures built on prime land in Madhapur area near Hitec City.

At least 21 structures including high-rise buildings and a school that were built on the land were set to be demolished, officials said. Some of them belong to Ayyappa society.

Ten teams from GHMC, armed with bulldozers and other heavy equipment, protected by police, launched the clearing operation on Tuesday morning, from survey No. 11 to 37, to reclaim 620 acres of land.

The land originally belonged to Gurukul Trust but was illegally encroached on by reportedly influential people, including politicians and bureaucrats.

The operation to clear the illegal structures was launched a day after Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao held a review meeting with officials including the GHMC Commissioner Somesh Kumar, director-general of police Anurag Sharma and some ministers.

An angry Chief Minister wanted to know from the officials how water and electricity connections were provided to the illegal structures in the area.

As many of the properties belong to people and companies from the Seemandhra region, some people tried to give it a political color. But leaders of Raos Telangana Rashtra Samitri party said they had promised during the election campaign to clear encroachments on all lands including that of Gurukul Trust, Bhoodan lands and Waqf lands.

Back in September 2012 a division bench of Andhra Pradesh High Court had declared Gurukul Trust the absolute owner of the 625 acres of land in the area and asked the encroachers to compensate the trust.

A recent government survey also revealed that in Ranga Reddy district alone 17,513 acres of government land was encroached upon. The value of the land was estimated at whopping Rs3 trillion (Dh183 billion).

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Demolition drive launched to clear encroached land in Hyderabad

SINGAPORES OFFER OF HAZE ASSISTANCE PACKAGES TO INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA

Singapore has offered assistance to Indonesia and Malaysia to combat possible land and forest fires in the run-up to the traditional dry season, to prevent another episode of severe transboundary haze from affecting the region.

2 Transboundary smoke haze from land and forest fires during the traditional dry season from June to October has been a perennial problem in the southern ASEAN region in the past decades. Illegal land clearing and slash and burn agricultural practices in Indonesia, particularly Sumatra and Kalimantan, have been identified as the main cause of the fire that results in transboundary haze pollution in the region. Singapore saw its worst haze episode in 2013 when the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hit an unprecedented high of 246 on 20 June 2013, far exceeding the levels in 1997 (138) and 2006 (128). Given that there is a possibility of the El Nino weather phenomenon affecting our region this year, smoke haze pollution in the region could reach worse levels this year if fires are not promptly stemmed at source.

Assistance to Indonesia

3 In past years, Singapore has consistently offered assistance packages to Indonesia to help suppress fires. In the run up to the upcoming dry season, the Singapore Government has offered the Indonesian Government assistance to help combat possible land and forest fires. We hope this will help to prevent another episode of severe haze in the region.

4 The assistance package offered by Singapore this year is same as that offered in previous years, and comprises:

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:: 10, Jun 2014 :: SINGAPORES OFFER OF HAZE ASSISTANCE PACKAGES TO INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA

david land clearing 12 6 14 023
Fishermen before a storm, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.

By: tomwatersguatemala

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david land clearing 12 6 14 023 - Video

By Nicole HashamJune 20, 2014, 12:15 a.m.

Environmental laws that protect threatened species and limit how farmers clear native bush will be rewritten, prompting fears from conservationists that vulnerable plants and animals are under attack.

Environmental laws that protect threatened species and limit how farmers clear native bush will be rewritten, prompting fears from conservationists that vulnerable plants and animals are under attack.

Environment Minister Rob Stokes has appointed an independent panel to shake up biodiversity laws governing threatened species, native vegetation and national parks, saying many regulations are more than 40 years old.

It follows a push by the Nationals and Shooters and Fishers Party for greater landowner rights when it comes to bush clearing.

The review will consider ways to ensure economic and social factors, as well as environmental values, form part of decision making a so-called "triple bottom line" approach.

It aims to cut unnecessary "red tape", encourage sustainable development and explore "options for self regulation" while conserving biodiversity.

The laws under review determine how landholders clear their properties and promote the conservation of threatened or endangered animals such as koalas, spotted tree frogs, yellow-bellied gliders and some black cockatoos. They also cover threatened native plants, some of which survive only on private land.

Nature Conservation Council of NSW chief executive Pepe Clarke said weakening the laws would be an environmental "disaster", potentially removing the requirement for landholders to improve or maintain soil, salinity, water pollution and native vegetation cover.

"Ten years ago, NSW had the unenviable reputation of being one of the world's worst land clearers," he said. "The last thing the state needs is a return to those days."

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Fears proposed land clearing changes put threatened species at risk

Published: Thursday, June 19, 2014 at 10:48 a.m. Last Modified: Thursday, June 19, 2014 at 10:48 a.m.

People driving along N.C. 211 near St. James in Brunswick County have probably noticed land being cleared and smoke billowing from debris piles, but the work doesn't mean development is imminent.

Owner Malcolm Jones is clearing the land to mine dirt to be used for the Long Beach Road Extension project, according to Pete Frandano, a Southport real estate consultant.

Jones is a Florida-based home builder who specializes in estate housing. There are no permits to build on the land, and permits aren't needed to burn debris, according to Brunswick County spokeswoman Amanda Hutcheson.

The Long Beach Road Extension, a connector under construction to relieve congestion between Southport and Oak Island, needs the dirt for an embankment along the new road, according to Anthony Law, an N.C. Department of Transportation district engineer. A borrow pit is located at the back of the land.

Once the connector is completed, the new road will branch off from Long Beach Road near the Surf Cinemas movie theater, cross N.C. 211 west of the existing intersection and then continue to N.C. 87 near the N.C. 87/133 split.

The total cost of the project is estimated to be about $22 million, and its estimated completion date is May 2016.

The intersection of N.C. 133 and U.S. 87 at the Sunny Point Military Ocean Terminal entrance was realigned as part of the project.

Jason Gonzales: 343-2075

On Twitter: @StarNews_Jason

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Land near St. James being cleared for Long Beach Road project

CH Property Service - land clearing/fire mitigation
Log removal with Cat 262c skid steer with grapple bucket.

By: chproperty

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CH Property Service - land clearing/fire mitigation - Video

Tremson Land Clearing

By: Tremson Corp

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Tremson Land Clearing - Video

SINGAPORE: Fires in Sumatra and the yearly haze problem can be drastically reduced in five years or less.

Global Forest Watch, an organisation that monitors forest activity, tells Channel NewsAsia this is possible through concerted efforts on the ground -- involving palm oil companies and law enforcement.

And all stakeholders -- from financial institutions to even consumers -- can do more to get the US$21b industry in Indonesia to adopt sustainable sourcing practices.

But it would seem palm oil markets in the region are not as committed to sustainability, perhaps put off by the associated costs.

The dry season begins in June and runs until October.

About 250km from Singapore, farmers on Sumatra island are getting ready to clear land traditionally -- by burning vegetation.

That could be the spark needed to ignite and spread fires onto adjacent plantations.

The winds that occur during the Southwest Monsoon could fan the smoke and its unhealthy particulates right towards Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia, as it had done for years, as seen during Singapore's worst bout of haze in June 2013.

Increasingly, the pressure is on large palm oil and pulp companies to put an end to such practices.

Nigel Sizer, director of Global Forest Watch (Forests Programme) at World Resources Institute, said: "About half of these fires are burning on land that's in the concessions of palm oil and pulp wood companies in Riau and across Sumatra.

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Clearing the air on haze - its root cause and challenges

Published: Monday, June 16, 2014 at 10:00 AM.

A settlement has been reached in a longstanding legal battle that is expected to put nearly 300 acres of undeveloped coastal property to public use as state park land.

As part of the settlement, an appeal before the N.C. Supreme Court has been dismissed, clearing the way for the state to take ownership of the Hammocks property in Swansboro for the expansion of Hammocks Beach State Park.

Carol Tingley, acting director of the state Division of Parks and Recreation, said there are still issues to be resolved regarding the title to the property, but with the settlement the lawsuit ends and the state agrees to pay approximately $10 million for the land.

While there are still additional actions to take and funds to raise, Tingley called the settlement a milestone in efforts to acquire the property.

It will still be a while before it happens but this is a big step and were thrilled to have this opportunity, and were looking forward to incorporating the property into Hammocks Beach State Park for the benefit of the public, she said.

The 289 acres sits along Queens Creek adjacent to Hammocks Beach State Park.

The history of the land dates back to the early 1900s, when Dr. William Sharpe, a neurosurgeon from New York, came to Onslow County and acquired The Hammocks, Bear Island and all the marshlands in between.

Sharpe made John Hurst, the son of a slave, and Hursts wife, Gertrude, caretakers of the hunting and fishing grounds.

A friendship developed between the Sharpe and Hurst families as well as a shared goal of keeping the land in trust for recreational and educational purposes by the N.C. Teachers Association and others. At the time, the organization was an association for black teachers and the property was to be used as a beach resort for its members.

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Settlement reached in expansion of Hammocks Beach State Park