The clock is ticking on koala conservation

30/04/2013 0 Comments read Environment & Development

Koalas at the Wild Life Sydney Zoo at Darling Harbour. Photo Credit: © Neena Bhandari

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 30.04.2013 (IPS and The Guardian): Australia’s iconic marsupial is under threat. Formerly hunted almost to extinction for their woolly coats, koalas are now struggling to survive as habitat destruction caused by droughts and bushfires, land clearing for agriculture and logging, and mining and urban development conspire against this cuddly creature.

In the past 20 years, the koala population has significantly declined, dropping by 40 percent in the state of Queensland and by a third in New South Wales (NSW). The Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) estimates that there are between 45,000 and 90,000 koalas left in the wild.

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Aboriginal town misses out on the mining boom

11/03/2012 0 Comments read Business and Trade, Indigenous

Allery Sandy at the Yinjaa-Barni Art Aboriginal Corporation in Roebourne, Western Australia. Photo Credit: © Neena Bhandari

By Neena Bhandari

Roebourne (Western Australia), 11.03.2012 (IDN): Allery Sandy, 55, is humming and painting the story of the Pilbara landscape, one of the most resource rich regions in Australia. Her canvas is resplendent with colour depicting rivers, flowers, blue gum and open scrub land dotted with Spinifex grass and iron-ore.

“Art, like story telling, in our Aboriginal culture is an important means of expressing feelings close to our heart. It gives us peace and joy. For the young, art distracts them away from alcohol and drugs that are destroying our community”, says Sandy, who is painting with three generations of women, some men and boys, at the Yinjaa-Barni (staying together) Art Aboriginal Corporation in a heritage-listed cottage on the main street of Roebourne.

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Adani seeks nod for Australian coal export project

18/11/2011 0 Comments read Business and Trade

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 18.11.2011 (Business Standard): Adani Mining Pvt Ltd has applied for regulatory approval for a new coal terminal at Abbot Point in the state of Queensland, which would potentially raise total coal export from the port by 70 per cent.

Adani said the project would create jobs and stimulate the local economy, while the mined coal would be exported to India for the power sector.

“Adani Mining is planning a large coal mining project with allied infrastructure, the Carmichael coal mine and rail project, with a planned 60-mtpa (million tonner per annum) peak production in 2022. For evacuation of our coal volume, we are exploring various port options, including a greenfield (new) terminal at Dudgeon Point and also the possibility of expansion of the Abbot Point Coal Terminal,” said Harsh V Mishra, president, corporate planning, for the Ahmedabad-headquarterd Adani Group.

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