Encroachment in forest areas endangering Habitats of the Wild Life

Lok Sabha

It is not a fact that very large area of the forest under encroachment.  Only 17,94,879 hectare of forest land is reported to the under encroachment which constitutes only 2.32% of the total forest area of the country.  The details of the forest area encroached are given in Annexure.

            Protection and management of forest areas is primarily the responsibility of concerned State/UT Governments. The Ministry of Environment & Forests provides funds to the State Governments for infrastructure development like development of Forests Chowkis and other miscellaneous works related to eviction operations. Also, Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) has issued guidelines to State/UT Governments to get the encroached land evicted from ineligible encroachers.  The MoEF vide letter dated 21.12.2004 had requested the State/UT Governments to exclude tribals/forest dwellers, other than ineligible encroachers, from eviction drives till the claims are settled.  With the coming into force of the Schedule Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 and Rules thereof, State/UT Governments have to implement the provisions of the said Act.  Accordingly such encroachment cases have to be examined as per the said Act.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Environment and Forests (independent charge) Shri Jairam Ramesh in a written reply to a question by Shri.  Prabodh Panda   in Lok  Sabha today.

KP/

Annexure

Encroachment in Forest Areas.

S.No.	States	Area Under Encroachment (in Hectare)
1.	Andhra Pradesh	268853(1/1/08)
2.	Bihar	2634(5/9/07)
3.	Chhattisgarh	157092(1/1/08)
4.	Gujarat	22534(1/1/08)
5.	Goa	4882(24/3/08)
6.	Haryana	1463(25/4/08)
7.	Himachal Pradesh	2229(28/2/08)
8	Jammu & Kashmir	14374 (1/1/08)
9	Jharkhand	16524 (25/2/08)
10	Karnataka	108405(1/1/08)
11	Kerala	12474(1/1/08)
12	Madhya Pradesh	184740 (1/1/08)
13	Maharashtra	177840(1/1/08)
14	Orissa	53820 (1/9/08)
15	Punjab	8114(1/1/08)
16	Rajasthan	29692 (30/6/08)
17	Tamil Nadu	15214(1/1/08)
18	Uttar Pradesh	27281 (28/2/08)
19	Uttarakhand	8757 (1/1/08)
20	West Bengal	13086(1/1/08)
21	Arunachal Pradesh	89062(1/1/08)
22	Assam	485674(30/10/08)
23	Manipur	5244(25/2/08)
24	Meghalaya	9375(1/1/08)
25	Mizoram	19127(1/1/08)
26	Nagaland	1403(16/5/08)
27	Sikkim	3614(23/8/08)
28	Tripura	47758(25/2/08)
29	Andaman & Nicobar Island	3326(4/12/09)
30	Chandigarh	Nil (1/1/08)
31	Dadar & Nagar Haveli	Nil (6/11/08)
32	Daman & Diu	88(1/1/08)
33	Delhi	200 (15/3/07)
34	Lakshdweep	There is no forest area in this UT
35	Puducherry	Nil (1/1/08)
	Total	17,94,879

Note: Area under encroachments in various States/UTs are as on the dates indicated in the brackets.

Storage-based compression and de-duplication overview

Managing storage is always a challenge, so anything to simplify it is worth a look. Rick Vanover shares notes on storage-based compression and de-duplication.

At the recent Gestalt IT Field Day, Silicon Valley companies allowed attendees to visit and see technologies in use.
One of the stops during the event was Ocarina Networks. Ocarina specializes in online storage optimization to reduce disk consumption. The main point of the visit was to obtain a clearer understanding of compression and de-duplication for data management.
For compression, there are a few standard ways to approach it.
Compression
There are two techniques to compression. The first is a dictionary-based technique implemented by mainstream products such as ZIP. This algorithm doesn't help much with rich content, such as multimedia, due to its lack of repetitive patterns.
Today, with faster processors, statistical compression techniques can now be used. A statistical approach for compression can be used to make predictive assignments for the content of data. This is especially relevant for predicting pixels in images.
Compressors can utilize powerful processors to use complex algorithms for different data types. There are countless compressors available for various data sets. In Ocarina's case, more than 120 compressors for various file types are used. Then, the right compressor for an application's data is used to obtain the most efficiency.
De-duplication
De-duplication simply gains efficiency by not consuming storage by many of the same types of content; there are a few ways this can be realized. One method is whole-file single instancing de-duplication. This looks to find the same exact file, including different file names. While quite simple, this scenario is not that frequent in real practice.
De-duplication can work with multiple files, looking for sections that are the same within different files. Each file can be represented to a series of chunks. When these chunks appear in other files, a de-duplication efficiency can be made. An example of this type of de-duplication can be a Word document with a graphic object of a logo. The de-duplication algorithm will reference one instance of the chunk in what's called a sliding window, fixed size chunk.
Considerations for daily use of compression and de-duplication
While it is beneficial to realize de-duplication and compression benefits, there are some considerations that go into what it means for day-to-day usage. One example is where a file that has been compressed and de-duplicated on disk is emailed. Once it is removed from the de-duplicated storage, it is restored to its uncompressed size.
The other consideration is the decompression engine for the compressed data. There can be overhead for compression, and there can be an incredible amount of math involved. For complex compressors, there may be CPU latency to decompress the data. It truly depends--decompression can be immeasurable for certain compressors but can be noticeable for larger applications.

December Microsoft Patch Contains Critical IE Fix

s expected, the last Microsoft Security Update of 2009 will include six security bulletins -- three dubbed "critical" and three labeled "important."
By normal workload standards, things aren't that heavy in this month's slate, which contains fixes for 12 vulnerabilities, according to Wolfgang Kandek, chief technology officer at Qualys. Still, when you add it all up over the year, patch management professionals have been kept busy.
"Microsoft closes 2009 with its last regular patch release adding six bulletins bringing the year's total to 74," Kandek said.
As usual, remote code execution considerations dominate this month's rollout, plus there's one denial-of-service bug to patch.
Critical Patches
The first critical item on the slate is said to fix two bugs, affecting all versions of Windows. Left unpatched, Redmond said the bugs could allow remote code execution if messages "received by the Internet Authentication Service server are copied incorrectly into memory when handling PEAP authentication attempts."
PEAP, or Protected Extensible Authorization Protocol, is a wireless protocol that verifies 802.1X security authentication. The vulnerability could derive from third-party software installed on client systems, according to Jason Miller, data and security team leader at Shavlik Technologies.
"Interesting enough, client systems do not have the vulnerable files on the system as they are not part of the base operating system, but Microsoft is providing a patch for Windows client system," Miller explained. "However, third-party products can be installed on client systems that can be vulnerable."
The second critical item fixes a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Project. According to Redmond, the bug could "allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Project file." This patch touches Microsoft Project 2000, 2002 and 2003.
Critical item No. 3 is where IT pros should be most focused, security experts say. It resolves four privately reported vulnerabilities and one publicly disclosed vulnerability in Internet Explorer. Once again, the focus of this IE fix is Microsoft's Active Template Library (ATL).
"IE cumulative updates are generally run-of-the-mill," said Sheldon Malm, senior director of security strategy at Rapid7. "But this month's is the big one with five separate vulnerabilities including ATL. Who knows how long Microsoft has been wrestling with this one…particularly since the CVE reference for ATL clearly precedes the other IE vulnerabilities."
Along with the patch for IE, IT pros will face other high-priority items to patch this month, according to Paul Zimski, vice president of market strategy at Lumension.
"Although there are several critical patches that need to be addressed this month, the big deal for Microsoft patches centers on the ubiquitous [IE patch] affecting all versions of Internet Explorer and carrying Microsoft's highest exploitability rating," Zimski said. "This, combined with subsequent updates issued in Apple's Java for OS X, Adobe's Flash Player and AIR make this month particularly important to shore-up patches and protect against Web-borne malware threats."
Important Patches
The No. 1 important patch on the slate is also the lone security bulletin with denial-of-service implications. The fix resolves a vulnerability that could lock users or administrators out of a Windows system if a remote attacker sends "a specially crafted ISAKMP message to the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS)" on an affected system.
Under such an attack, the LSASS service can use up all Windows system resources, forcing users to reboot their systems to gain back those resources and make the system responsive once again. This item affects Windows 2000, XP and Windows Server 2003.
The second important item in the December rollout affects Windows Server 2003 and 2008. It addresses a vulnerability in which specially crafted HTTP requests can get sent to a Web server enabled by Active Directory Federation Services.
The third important item addresses a privately reported vulnerability in Windows 2000, XP and Windows Server 2003 associated with Microsoft WordPad and Microsoft Office text converters. Microsoft explained that the bug is triggered when "a specially crafted Word 97 file is opened in WordPad or Microsoft Office Word."
All patches may require a restart.
Those looking for nonsecurity updates via Windows Server Update Services, Windows Update and Microsoft Update can find information in this KnowledgeBase article.

Cost and graphics concerns delay a VDI project

Virtual desktops are a serious paradigm shift and Scott Lowe is taking it in a slow and measured way. In this article, he provides an update on ongoing VDI efforts at Westminster College.

I've written previously about my efforts at Westminster College to displace the current desktop replacement cycle in favor of a solution that costs less, is more efficient and provides mobility to both the workforce and the student body.
In an ideal world, while I doubt we'll eliminate our physical computer lab spaces in the near future, I'd love to augment these limited access (16 hours per day, on campus only) spaces with an always-available service accessible from wherever our students, faculty and staff happen to find themselves.
We are moving very slowly on moving forward with anything beyond a lab implementation while we continue to work on making sure that whatever we implement ends up being well-accepted by our audience. Specifically, any virtual desktop project needs to mimic as closely as possible the service and performance provided by a regular client.
We're not expecting to implement VDI for services that require major graphics processing, but do need the VDI solution to reasonably replicate performance for normal office duties and Web browsing habits, to include relatively significant use of Flash video and audio. The Flash audio side of the equation is pretty good, but video leaves a whole lot to be desired. As time has been available in the past few months--and there hasn't been a lot--I've tested different solutions to the Flash issue which I think is really the only remaining hurdle to a more general pilot test.
I've been doing Flash testing with Wyse's V10L line of pretty inexpensive terminals--to no avail. To be fair, I've been fortunate to work with some Wyse engineers who have been extremely helpful and have shared beta versions of their TCX extensions. All that said, I came to a realization--without some semblance of reasonable graphics processing capability at the thin client, there is simply no hope of replicating the desktop experience. This probably should have been evident from the beginning, but hit me one day while I was doing testing.
While I was at a conference a couple of weeks ago, I was able to spend some quality time with VMware View people and Wyse people who recommended that, rather than the V10L terminal I'd been using, I might be better off with a C-class terminal, which I have yet to test, but do have sitting in my office waiting for an opportunity. The C-class clients include a separate graphics accelerator for much enhanced video performance.
I'm relatively confident that the C-class terminals will perform better than the V10L, but there is one serious catch: cost. The units can cost upwards of US$400 each. Frankly, I can buy a full PC for that price. Of course, the VDI solution does help to meet other desires, such as enhanced mobility.
Ideally, the VDI solution will have an initial cost that doesn't significantly exceed that of a traditional solution. I realize that the cost breakdown for VDI will break down much differently than it does for traditional desktops, with a strong likelihood that initial costs will be somewhat higher but ongoing costs coming in lower. The lower costs will be due to lower energy usage and a longer replacement cycle for the thin clients themselves.
Even though ongoing costs will be lower, that initial investment is a tough pill to swallow, so I'm continuing to look at alternatives. While roaming around Best Buy a while back, I set my sights on a US$199 full PC from Acer, called the Acer Aspire Revo. With a 1.6 GHz Atom processor, 1GB RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and a wide variety of ports--including USB, eSATA, HDMI and memory card slots--the Revo just might be a viable alternative to the usual thin client.
The Revo ships with Windows XP Home and is upgradable to up to 4GB of RAM and can be outfitted with an 802.11n wireless adapter. Further, the Revo includes an Nvidia ION LE graphics adapter. Although it's a shared memory graphics solution, as a terminal, that shared memory aspect shouldn't be a major hindrance. Adding an additional 1GB of RAM is very easy and very cheap and the Revo is supposed to be upgradable to Windows 7, a claim that I’m working on testing.
As I get further into testing the Wyse C-class and the Revo, I'll report back with results.
Now, on to Windows 7. Windows 7 includes a significantly enhanced version of RDP that is designed to improve a number of features that make it easier to deploy virtual desktops, including support for real bidirectional audio, multiple monitor support and enhancements related to the display of multimedia. Reviews of RDP 7 on its own have been favorable with regard to overall performance, so I look forward to testing it for myself.
Further, with the release of VMware View 4, VMware has integrated Teradici's PC-over-IP (PCoIP) service into the product. PCoIP is a remote graphics protocol that VMware has turned into a software service capable of server-based complex graphics rendering that is sent down to a client. PCoIP tunes itself to provide the best experience possible given inherent restrictions, such as bandwidth availability. On the flip side, as a server-based service, I can't see how PCoIP can actually work without reducing the clients-per-server ratio.
After all that extra processing power has to come from somewhere. Fewer clients per server means that more servers will be needed to support the virtual desktop infrastructure. That could break the cost model, but servers aren't really all that expensive anymore, so it's still worth investigating.
I should note that Wyse has also announced that they will support PCoIP in many of their thin clients, so it might be time to retest that V10L to see how (and if) it operates with PCoIP. Wyse has released a new client--the P20--solely for the purpose of using PCoIP and the P20 contains hardware specific to PCoIP. However, the price of the P20 far exceeds that of even the C-class that I mentioned earlier, so it may not be a good fit from a cost perspective.
I'm continuing to research, test and learn about all of the ins and outs of VDI, and want to make sure that, if we go down this road, we do so with the right information and that we know exactly what we're getting into from a user experience perspective. I remain confident that VDI can and will save money over time and that, given enough time, we'll be able to solve the user experience issues.