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Don't Buy Trouble — is the latest word of caution to globetrotters expected to descend on the national capital during the 12-day Commonwealth Games. TRAFFIC India has released four brand new public service announcements (PSAs ) as part of its ongoing “Don’t Buy Trouble” campaign that advises tourists to be careful of what they buy as souvenirs during their travels to India. The message comes in the form of four eye-catching posters.

India will study the harmful impact of mobile phone towers on birds and bees, with the environment ministry constituting a committee that is also tasked with formulating guidelines on their installation. The 10-member committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) director Asad Rahmani and it will submit its report in six months. The committee will suggest measures to address the problem. “The expert group will access the level of possible impact of growth of mobile towers in urban, sub-urban and forest areas on the population of birds and bees,” a statement from the ministry said.

Closely associated with the religion and culture of the country, the elephant would soon be declared a national heritage animal as a step up measure for its protection, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said today. "We will soon declare elephant as a national heritage animal as they have been part of our heritage since ages. We need to give same degree of importance to elephant as is given to tiger in order to protect the big animal," Ramesh told reporters in New Delhi, according to Hindustan Times. Last October, the government had declared the river dolphin as the "national aquatic animal" which represents the health of the rivers, particularly the Ganga.

Notorious wildlife trader Sansar Chand was Wednesday sentenced to six years’ imprisonment - the maximum prison term mandated by the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act when Sansar was caught red-handed with a leopard skin in 1995. Apprehended by a Delhi Police team from Sadar Bazar on July 17, 1995, Sansar Chand was also fined Rs 50,000 by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (Special Acts) Dig Vinay Singh announcing the sentence at the Indian capital.

India's most infamous poacher Sansar Chand has been found guilty of violations of the Wildlife (Protection) Act by a Delhi court. The poacher had been caught red-handed with a leopard skin about 15 years ago. Sansar Chand is said to be the main person behind the devastation of the Sariska tiger reserve. The judgement was given by the court of the additional chief metropolitan magistrate (Special Acts) Digvinay Singh on Saturday and the sentence is scheduled to be announced on August 25. Sansar Chand who is currently serving a sentence in a Jaipur jail is likely to be sentenced again. The case pertains to the seizure of one leopard skin from Sansar’s possession in an operation carried out by a team from Police Station Sadar Bazar on July 17, 1995, in the Indian capital.

India and Nepal have signed an agreement to jointly protect wildlife in the Himalayan region along the border, an wildlife conservation society official said, according to Indo-Asian News Service (IANS). Besides jointly guarding forests, the two neighbours will coordinate the implementation of their national action plans to protect tigers, rhinos and elephants, said Samir Sinha, head of TRAFFIC India, which works for protecting tigers. The two countries agreed to strengthening the capacity of personnel involved in wildlife conservation, by intensifying the joint patrolling along the border, he said.

Eighteen cheetahs, brought from the Middle East, will be introduced in grasslands at three sites recommended by wildlife experts, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said Wednesday. The cheetah, which became extinct in India many years ago, will be reintroduced at three sites identified by wildlife experts - Kuno-Palpur wildlife sanctuary and Nauradehi wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh and Shahgarh landscape in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The three sites have been recommended by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).

The Union ministry of environment and forest is planning a Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill that intends to strengthen the existing provisions for criminal procedure and penalties, says a Times of India report. The draft Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill 2010 proposes higher penalties for offences, especially those involving unlawful trade in wildlife products; regulation of international trade in endangered species of animals and plants; ban on trade in peacock feathers and articles made from them; and prohibition of sale, manufacture and use of leg-hold traps, besides promotion of independent scientific research. Welcoming the proposed amendments, wildlife experts pointed out that they need to be implemented properly.