Over a while, the activities of criminals have expanded due to advancements in information and communication technologies. In this background, police and intelligence agencies have been developing a robust crime database in order to anticipate, prevent and monitor criminal activities. Hence, wildlife crime databases become a vital information system that help enforcement officers to detect and prevent wildlife crimes and to pursue wildlife criminals. Therefore, an attempt has been made in this paper to shed light on the available wildlife crime databases in India. Further, an appeal has been made for the integration of wildlife crime data from various sources and make it available in the public domain. This article has also touched upon the importance of data analytics and crime analysts to handle wildlife crime data.

Keywords: Crime Data, Database, Forest, Police, NCRB, WCCB, Wildlife Crime, Crime Analysis

By Shankar Prakash Alagesan

This article deals with early ecological knowledge that can be gleaned from the ancient Indian scriptures. The early Indian religious texts such as the Vedas, Upanishads, Arayanyakas, Epics, Puranas and the entire classical Sanskrit literature are the basis of our understanding of the conservation, preservation and management of forests of ancient India. Ancient Indian texts like the Arthasastra, Sathapatha Bhramana, Manusmrti, Brhat-Samhita, Ramayana, Mahabharatam and Rajtarangini mirrored the ideas of forest ecology and conservation. Sacred gardens are associated with ancient traditions in several major cultures, as well as Hinduism. Sacred groves are patches of natural vegetation demarcated by ancient societies and guarded on the premise of non-secular practices and cultural traditions. Ancient Indian people knew the importance of resource conservation, protection of sacred groves, sacred trees, medicinal plant species, etc. At the time of Sanskrit literature, thick forests abounded in India.

Key words: Forest conservation; ecological knowledge; sacred groves, environment.

by M. Amirthalingam

Ornamental gardening is an aesthetic blend of art, nature and science. Gardens have existed throughout the world in most ancient civilisations. Rapid growth of public gardens with plant collections from several parts of the world began in the 17^th century. Scientific gardens were established with a number of introduced species of economic and aesthetic importance, as well as native species of conservation importance. These botanical gardens were centres of germplasm collection, nature education and economic activity. British gardens spread the passion for horticulture and were resources for seeds and other planting materials for the public. Parks as primary recreation spaces were established in the urban landscapes which become places for solitude and contemplation, festivities, social gatherings, study, leisure, painting, poetry, music and everyday activities. In this trend of urbanisation, parks being the green spaces and lungs of the cities are the need of the hour. Green space is one component of biodiversity management and the most obvious.

Keywords : Garden, Parks, green space, green cover, conservation

by Dr. P. Sudhakar