Ranbaxy's fresh proposal to import 50 Beagles is pending with the environment ministry's Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA). The committee will also examine a report submitted by an NGO on the conditions in which the company keeps the dogs.

A few months ago, a huge storm was raised over the import of 50 such Beagles by the company. Animal activists protested against the import and Ranbaxy had to give up its plans to conduct experiments on these animals. The animals were given away for adoption by Friendicoes Seca, an animal welfare organisation.

Following this controversy, draft rules related to experiments on animals have been brought out by the committee. The draft rules, Breeding of and Experiments on Animals (Control and Supervision) Rules, 1998, were published last month. The draft rules apply to private research institutions and the industry. The ministry has received several representations from theindustry for making changes in the draft rules, though.

Green attitude survey

When times are grim economically, Americans are less willing to spend money on environmental solutions, a poll on environmental attitudes shows. The poll, conducted by Wirthlin Worldwide, shows that heightened pro-environmental sentiments are linked to high consumer confidence in a good economy.

``When consumer confidence reflects a good economy, public concern for social issues is heightened, and pro-environmental sentiments run high. But when the economy is bad, the environment tends to fall to the back-burner,'' according to the Wirthlin Report.

Consumer confidence is down after August's stock market crash and dwindling markets in Asia, Russia and Brazil. As a result, three key pro-environmental indicators have sunk to, or below, 1996 levels, the surveyors said.

First, while last year, 49 per cent wanted more government involvement and regulation to protect the environment, only 41 per cent feel that waynow.

Second, only 63 per cent today agree environmental ``requirements and standards cannot be too high and continuing improvements must be made regardless of cost'', down from a five-year high of 76 per cent last year.

Finally, just 19 per cent say they should sacrifice economic growth for the environment, down 6 points from a decade-high one year ago.

FSC certification mired in politics

Environmental groups and a forest products company are engaged in a bitter dispute over whether or not that company's logging operations should be certified as sustainable by an independent, international organisation.

Western Forest Products, a forest products company with logging operations in coastal British Columbia, Canada, has applied for certification under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Greenpeace and the Sierra Club have launched public relations campaigns to show that the company's operations do not meet the criteria and principles of sustainable forestry and, therefore, should not begranted certification. ``Over 90 per cent of their logging is in old growth forests, and the method they use is clear-cutting. The fact is that FSC has never certified clear-cut logging in old growth forest,'' says Merran Smith, a forest campaigner for the Sierra Club.

``Western Forest Products is light years away from meeting the stringent standards of the FSC,'' says Bill Barclay, Greenpeace International's delegate to the international body of the Forest Stewardship Council. As a catalyst to rally the environmental community against Western Forest Products, the environmental groups are using a checklist for the establishment of regional standards and it's being circulated to interested stakeholders in the certification process by SGS Qualifor of UK, an accredited FSC certifier.

Kashmir spring dries up

The famous Chashm-e-Shahi spring in Kashmir has dried up due to the recent diversion of its water to a tourism complex. The huts in the complex are usually occupied by top bureaucrats,politicians, police officers and judicial officials.

The `Royal Spring' is located at the centre of a garden, which was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in 1636. The Mughal Garden is now part of a high-security zone and access to the spring waters had been restricted to pass holders. Now, there is hardly a trickle of water in the two fish-shaped stone ducts surrounded by gun-wielding jawans of para-military forces. The first diversion was done to divert water to the nearby Raj Bhavan and Nehru Guest House, meant for VVIPs. In March this year, official permission was granted to once again divert the water to the new tourist complex, which has come up in the vicinity.