"Bandipur Tiger Reserve becomes India’s first to demarcate eco-sensitive zone”-Roundup of the week's news (8-14 October, 2012)

Bandipur Tiger Reserve becomes India’s first to demarcate eco-sensitive zone
 Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka has become the first tiger reserve in the country to notify its Eco-sensitive Zone (ESZ). Eco-sensitive zones can serve as 'breathing spaces' for wildlife and are demarcated based on their ecological importance to rein in developmental activities inimical to wildlife and their habitats.
 
Andhra Pradesh government introduces new sand-mining policy
Andhra Pradesh government introduces new sand-mining policy wherein old system of auctions is replaced by a lottery system. Under the new guidelines, extraction will only be by manual means, and machinery will be allowed in only those sand-bearing areas where there is no impact on the groundwater table.

Earthworms found to eat up heavy metal waste
Three species of earthworm — Eudrilus eugeniae, Eisenia fetida and Perionyx excavates — have been found to eat heavy metals like cadmium and lead, from municipal solid waste. These crawlers eat organic matter along with soil that contains the heavy metals. The soil is passed out as excreta, while the heavy metals are absorbed, broken down by some enzymes and accumulated in the worms' body tissue. The earthworms have been successfully used to clean up heavy metal sludge and reclaim Muthia lake on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

Amritsar to become eco-friendly in five years
Amritsar has resolved to become clean and green in five years under an EcoAmritsar plan with a 6-point agenda. The initiative is being taken under EcoSikh, a movement launched in 2009 by the Sikh Council of Religion and Education (USA), Alliance of Religions and Conservation (Britain) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).