Kole Birders: Learning habitat conservation from the birds
As the birds returned to their roosts on a warm evening, a motley group of young people gather for a meeting in the Thekinkkad Maidan in Thrissur city of central…
Articles by gopi
[Commentary] CBD: Can the cure kill?
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) celebrated 25 years of coming into force this year. "Celebrating 25 years of action for biodiversity" was the theme for the International Day of…
[Commentary] CBD obstructs biological research that needs international collaboration
“There is no national science, just as there is no national multiplication table; what is national is no longer science.” - Anton Chekhov A leading taxonomist from one of India’s…
Vidarbha simmers over man-tiger conflicts this summer
The memorial in the middle of the farm reads: ‘Chetan Dadarao Khobragade. Birth: 8/8/1995. Death: 13/5/2018’. It wasn’t an age to die. It wasn’t a way to die. Death probably…
[Book review] Living days and nights in the forest
I will never forget the two chaotic nights I spent with the wildlife biologist Rauf Ali in the jungles of Mundanthurai, a hilly tract in southernmost Tamil Nadu. In spite…
[Commentary] Why are women neglected as conservers of biodiversity?
Despite international conventions emphasising the importance of gender in achieving conservation objectives, research suggests that the recognition is superficial and particularly, in the case of the Third World development discourse,…
Nipah infection in Kerala: Don’t blame the bats alone; improve public health
The Nipah virus (NiV) infection has claimed 14 lives, from Kozhikode and Malappuram districts of Kerala in the month of May. Siblings Mohammed Sadik (26) and Mohammed Salih (28), died on May…
[Commentary] The coasts need science-based policy action
The coasts are in turmoil again. It is neither storms nor monsoonal winds that are affecting the coast at present. The turbulence is because the Ministry of Environment, Forest and…
Is the worst over for Jammu and Kashmir’s forests?
When Kashmiris talk about the significance of forests, they instantly refer to one of the most popular sayings of the 15th Century Kashmiri saint and poet, Sheikh ul Alam: “Ann…
[Interview] Imagining an alternative future
Ashish Kothari, activist from Kalpavriksh in Pune, has co-edited with K.J. Joy a large and impressive tome called Alternative Futures: India Unshackled (Authors Upfront, 2017). They boldly attempt to predict…
