We often come across the term “human-wildlife conflict” in news stories covering animal damage of crops or attacks on livestock. The term has been widely used to broadly describe any…
Acres after acres of land, developed into fruit orchards of different kinds, break the wiry brown monotony of the Kutch landscape in Gujarat. This ‘transformation’ of the semi-arid land has…
It was around noon when I crossed the mud path and entered the little strip of forest that led to the stream, gingerly picking my way down through the vegetation.…
A citizen science project to monitor hornbill population in India, Hornbill Watch, is gaining momentum among the bird enthusiasts and researchers in the country. With the aim of assessing the…
Unlike fictional Gotham City’s Batman and Batgirl, this crew of researchers - some of whom describe themselves as “batman” - did not band up to deal out their brand of…
The Western Ghats have revealed two new genera of dragon lizards from the family Agamidae -- Monilesauras and Microauris. Using a combination of extensive field surveys, detailed taxonomic analyses and genetic…
Scientists warn that inhaled air pollutant particles (particulate matter) are moving from the lungs to placentas of pregnant women, highlighting an urgent need for stricter policies for cleaner air that…
Winter in north India is almost here and social media is already buzzing with pictures of crop residue burning in northern Indian states. Over the last few years, the national…
After being criticised by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for failing to finalise the ecologically sensitive area (ESA) in the Western Ghats region, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate…
In the stillness of the night the hoot of an owl, the howl of a wolf, a frog’s croak or an insect's tweet have both a thrill and an eeriness…
The coastline between Chavara and Alappad in Kollam district of Kerala, has a decades-long story of people’s battle for survival against mining companies. On a journey through this coastal belt,…
Being a coal-obsessed nation with tremendous aspirations for cars and fast bikes, India’s greenhouse gas emissions recorded an annual growth of 5.6 percent between 2005 and 2013 - among the…
Underpinned by the message of “good-over-evil”, Durga puja or the worship of goddess Durga, is one of the most important event in the religious calendar in east India. In contemporary times,…
Four and a half years ago when the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government came to power, several environmentalists felt a little reassured that Ganga river will no longer be ignored…
The primary source of agarwood and one of the world’s most expensive trees, the evergreen agar tree (Aquilaria malaccensis Lam.) is a step away from extinction in the wild. In…
Seventy-year-old Narayan Sahni reminiscences the days when he used to catch around 8-10 kilograms of fish from the Kanwar Lake in Bihar almost every day. The catch was enough to…
About 10 percent of the world’s land surface experienced drought in 2005. The number is set to skyrocket over the twenty-first century to about 40 percent, as the globe warms…
The frequency of extreme weather events is going up around the world, and droughts and heatwaves are no exception. When the globe warms by 3-4 degrees - a possibility during…
It is a tale of two large carnivores. While authorities have dragged their feet over finding another home for the lion to ensure its survival in case of unseen dangers,…
While on a trip to Palamu (Jharkhand) in October 2010, I visited a hamlet where a leopard had killed a cow the night before. When we reached the spot, there…