Chennai water crisis once again exposes the city’s climate vulnerability
It is noon and the scorching heat of Chennai’s sun hits across S. Punitha’s face. She has just filled her first pot for the day from a hand pump in…
Articles by gopi
Plastic ban in J&K opens door for revival of wicker crafts
“People now prefer plastic for everything,” rued Ghulam Rasool Ganie, as he deftly worked on a wicker basket, at his residence in Sogman Lolab, some hundred kilometres north of Srinagar,…
[Commentary] Back to the Future: Lessons from Cyclone Fani
On May 3, the coastal state of Odisha in eastern India witnessed Fani, an ‘extremely severe cyclonic storm’ and the first major cyclone of the 2019 North Indian Ocean cyclone…
[Commentary] In Kerala there was nothing “golden” about this missed opportunity
The city of Chennai and the surrounding areas went through major floods in November-December 2015. The entire state of Kerala went through a similar event in August 2018. Both the…
Your environment this week: NDA 2.0 and the environment, rise in non-CO2 emissions and more
This week’s stories rolled into one. To receive a weekly email with a roundup of our stories, please sign-up to our newsletter. NDA 2.0: What it means for India’s environmental sector?…
[Commentary] Biodiversity heritage sites could turn out to be a lifeline for India’s conservation efforts
There are many varied spaces -- sacred groves, industrial complexes, national level institutes, village commons, universities, defence lands, temple premises, urban parks -- that have one thread in common. They…
When the grass was green: Todas of the Nilgiris long for their lost grasslands
Standing in the middle of a grassy hill, Thorthey Gooden looked around. The grass was short, just an inch long – like a lawn drying out in the summer. In…
[Commentary] Nearly a decade old, is the National Green Tribunal losing its bite?
The genesis of the National Green Tribunal (NGT, for short) is itself what makes it different from the other Tribunals in the country. It was established under the weight of…
The barking deer enigma
Most forests in India are home to the Indian muntjac, also called barking deer. Found across southern India, including the Western Ghats, in the dry forests of central India, the…
Nature and tribal welfare takes a back seat during the elections in the Nilgiris
One of the most biodiverse regions of the Western Ghats, the Nilgiris (the blue mountains) comprise a range of ecosystems including dry deciduous forests at its base, dense evergreen forests…
