[Interview] India needs to tweak its policies to promote solar energy growth: Tim Buckley
As of March 31, 2014 India had a total installed solar capacity of 2631.93 MW. By the end of November this year, the number grew to 32527.55 MW, a jump…
Articles by Karthikeyan Hemalatha
The author is a freelance journalist based in Bangalore. He covers issues
relating to the environment, climate change, agriculture and marine ecology. He was selected as a fellow with the Dag Hammarskjöld Fund for Journalists in 2015 to cover the UN General Assembly and international politics.
New study sheds light on lack of research in snake antivenoms
Much like snakes themselves, India’s focus on research on snake antivenoms seems to have slithered past policy makers and scientific bodies. At least 46,000 people die of snake bites every…
Pepsico vs farmers: Plant varieties cannot be patented, emphasise legal experts
Food giant PepsiCo India, last week, formally withdrew cases it had filed against nine potato farmers in Gujarat. The multinational corporation was seeking Rs. 1.05 crores (Rs. 10.5 million) from…
Electric buses in India: To be or not to be?
Transport corporations in India are gradually junking rickety old buses that spew blankets of thick black smoke, to make an ambitious and direct leap to cleaner and sophisticated electric buses.…
India’s first attempt at regulating fishing trawlers underway
India will make its first serious attempt to regulate fishing vessels that go out to the sea - for which bureaucratic wheels have just begun to turn. A central government…
An app to fill data gaps on snake bites in India
Every hour, there are up to six people dying of snake bites in India. Despite being the biggest man-animal conflict in the country, there is very little information on these…
Can India’s solar revolution help meet its Paris Agreement emission goals?
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…
Pest responsible for food crisis in Africa reaches Karnataka
The fall armyworm, an exotic pest from the Americas, has been reported from India for the first time. Scientists are concerned that the pest could pose a serious threat to…
Death of an environment defender highlights rising violence against activists
The Kali river, just 184 kilometres long, in Karnataka, may not have the aura of the mighty Narmada or the political significance of Cauvery. But with six dams, a seventh…
Early warning system for flash floods can save thousands of lives at risk
Every time there is persistent and intense rainfall in Ladakh, the cold desert region of India's northern state Jammu and Kashmir, the locals begin to worry. It brings back images…
Hatchlings out and turtles in: A second mass nesting at Rushikulya this year
The Rushikulya beach on the eastern coast of India is seeing a lot of traffic, some of which is unusually two-way. Millions of baby turtles are emerging from their sandy…
Tourism in Ladakh worsens water availability in the cold desert
Reaching Pangong Lake feels like reaching the edge of the world. It is six hours from Leh, Ladakh’s district headquarters in Jammu and Kashmir, crossing the Changla Pass, the second…
Shortage and decreasing efficacy of ASVs: India faces a snakebite treatment double whammy
Mari, a middle-aged man belonging to the Irula tribe of Tamil Nadu, is equally comfortable in handling poisonous snakes and rattling off about their dangers in broken English to a…
Walking on the beach to a career in conservation
Walking along the beach for nearly 8 km and looking for nests of turtles, dead in the middle of the night, can be both fascinating and tiring. Watching an olive…
Ogling tourists disturb dolphin behaviour in Goa
With the beginning of the New Year, thousands of tourists from all over the country and the world are pouring into Goa. The party capital of India is on a…
Special series
Wetland Champions
- [Commentary] India establishes the largest network of Ramsar Sites in South Asia
- [Commentary] Wetland champions: Promise from the grassroots
- The story of Jakkur lake sets an example for inclusive rejuvenation projects
- Welcome to Tsomgo lake: Please don’t litter
Environment And Health
- [Commentary] Neglecting household biomedical waste management can lead to adverse environmental effects
- No magic bullets to deal with snakebites
- Six years on, cyclone Ockhi survivors battle lingering mental health impacts
- Gig workers in India are exposed to highly polluted air and carcinogens, finds preliminary study
Almost Famous Species
- Genetic insights of the Kempholey night frog offer better conservation strategies
- Saving India’s only ape, the hoolock gibbon
- [Interview] “Favourable conditions and diet important for ex-situ conservation of wild cats”
- A 100 camera traps to monitor rusty-spotted cats in Keoladeo National Park
Eco Hope
- How the loss of a natural dye-producing plant initiated the idea of a village sanctuary
- Green pilgrimage model balances faith and conservation
- [Video] Restoring the perennial Thamirabarani river with people power
- [Interview] Conservation scientist Joli Rumi Borah on integrating traditional knowledge in research
India's Iconic Landscapes
- [Commentary] Up close and personal with the fragility of the Himalayas
- Studies reveal impact of land use on species diversity in rock outcrops
- Improved tiger numbers come with hidden messages on invasives, habitat connectivity
- Gymnosperms that are critical for coniferous forest health may be steadily declining in response to climate change
Beyond Protected Areas
- Pythons return home, slowly but surely, finds a new study
- Grassland loss threatens endemic birds in Arunachal sanctuary
- Genetic insights of the Kempholey night frog offer better conservation strategies
- Loss of forest cover in Kashmir is pitting a protected animal against the world’s costliest spice
Conserving Agro-biodiversity
- [Commentary] Erratic weather, altered social dynamics disrupt mahua economy in eastern India
- Horseshoe crab decline sparks urgent conservation plea
- Production of rugra, a nutritious mushroom found in Jharkhand, impacted by weather changes
- [Commentary] Soil degradation in India spells doom for millions
Just Transitions
- [Video] Rooftop solar, an emerging solution to Bihar’s land shortage that’s stalling renewable progress
- India needs to face challenge of funding thermal power plant closure, says new report
- With no primary data on impacts, government approves an oil extraction technique 500 m outside forests
- Climate action not on track to meet Paris Agreement goals, says Global Stocktake report
