This week’s environment and conservation news stories rolled into one.
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There’s bajra in my beer!
Craft breweries in India are mixing millets in their beer recipes, opening up new possibilities to popularise the climate-resilient and eco-friendly grains that were once a staple in much of India.
Kodagu coffee planters take on giant snail invasion
Arriving through trade routes, the invasive African Land Snails have turned into voracious eaters of coffee plants. In 2017, they wreaked havoc in 300 acres in 45 plantations in northern Kodagu.
More tigers recorded, but with habitats under threat will the uptick continue?
The latest estimate records an increase in India’s wild tiger population to 2,967 tigers while aother report released alongside shows that over half of India’s 50 tiger reserves are under threat.
Kerala’s monsoon trawling ban has become a bone of contention
The annual trawling ban in Kerala began in June. The demand by environmentalists for an extension, on the grounds that breeding season is not restricted to monsoon, has upset fishers.
Turning agro-waste into environment-friendly plastics
The use of agro-waste to churn out biodegradable plastics may address the crop residue burning in India.
Cloud seeding catches on in times of climate change
The Ministry of Earth Sciences plans to bring out a white paper to lay the scientific basis for cloud seeding, based on research by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune.
[Environment Explained] What is cloud seeding?
Read our explainer on the technology of cloud seeding and the possible applications. Governments are on the lookout for newer and better technologies to cool things down.
Water crisis: Green ministry proposes to regulate agriculture sector
Acting on an order of the National Green Tribunal, India’s environment ministry has suggested measures to regulate groundwater use in the agriculture sector.
Recycle & reuse: Indian government proposes a resource efficiency policy
India’s resource extraction rate is more than three times than the global average and the proposed policy aims to take forward an environment and development balance.
[Book review] A much-needed voice for the Nilgiris
Aathira Perinchery reviews the book Voice of a Sentient Highland by Godwin Vasanth Bosco and calls it a must-read for anyone interested in the Nilgiris landscape.
