A “do or die” agitation against coal pollution in Odisha
For over a decade, the villages near the Kulda opencast mine in Odisha’s Hemgiri block in the Sundargarh district have been fighting coal pollution without respite. In a desperate bid…
Articles by Meena Menon
Independent journalist and author of Riots and After in Mumbai, Reporting
Pakistan and co-author of A Frayed History - The Journey of Cotton in India.
Former Bureau chief, The Hindu, Mumbai.
[Interview] Nicolas Salazar Sutil: placing trees and indigenous knowledge at the centre of future healing
If trees on our earth could mobilise, fighting for life would be the way forward, says Nicolas Salazar Sutil, the founder and director of Forest Guardians, an independent organisation that…
Coloured cotton from India on the cusp of commercial release in 2021
After over three decades of research, an Indian variety of coloured cotton may be commercially released by 2021. A decision will be taken once the last phase of the agronomy…
As water level of Gujarat’s Sardar Sarovar dam rises, villages in Madhya Pradesh drown
On the morning of September 5, 2019, as water submerged Khaparkheda village (Dhar district, Madhya Pradesh), government officials were trying to move people to makeshift tin sheds in the adjacent…
As cloud seeding catches on in times of climate change, more research holds the key
An aircraft poised to enter dark clouds – and spray chemicals to produce rain. Sounds magical -- that’s the image often associated with cloud seeding. In reality, it is much…
[Commentary] Why the drought did not matter in Marathwada during polls
Two months ago, when the rest of the country was preparing for the Lok Sabha elections, 22-year-old Kanchan Kalyan Dongre’s life was about to take a turn for the worse.…
No country for regulation – of genetically engineered crops
India’s seed market hides a sea of illegality, which keeps rearing its ugly head every once in a while. The discovery of genetically modified (GM) brinjal in a Haryana farmer’s…
Marathwada parched as watershed conservation remains neglected
Every few years, the recurring drought in Marathwada region of Maharashtra is attributed to poor rains. Stop-gap arrangements for tanker water, fodder camps or jobs under the Employment Guarantee Scheme…
In Marathwada the queues are for collecting water during this election season
The irony is unmistakable. In the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, which is in the grip of arguably the worst drought since 1972, what stands out is hectic road construction. En…
No place for political campaigning as Vemulaghat’s ongoing protest stands strong
This is the second article in a two-part series on the role of environment in the upcoming elections in Telangana. Part One examines the scarcity of water in the state despite…
In spite of mega projects water is scarce in rural Telangana
This is the first article in a two-part series on the role of environment in the upcoming elections in Telangana. Part Two highlights the pre-election situation in villages where the ongoing…
A lost desi cotton heritage
In a region where Bt cotton rules the roost, Kamal Kishore Dhiran, a farmer in Balodi, 50 km from Yavatmal (in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra) is an outlier. He has…
The pink bollworm menace adds to Maharashtra cotton farmers’ distress
On August 10, when Sanjay Rathod walked to his lush cotton field in Lasina village in Yavatmal, Maharashtra, he noticed some closed yellow flowers. Opening them, he found to his…
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
- Stubble burning is back, smothering north India with concerns for the upcoming winter
- Humans are contaminating Earth’s waterways with medicines, pharmaceutical ingredients
- Inhaling particulate matter is increasing the prevalence of anaemia among women of reproductive age
- Health effects of heat stress will intensify disproportionately without ambitious efforts
Almost Famous Species
- India garners international support to save two endangered freshwater turtles
- What protecting the slender loris could mean for forest communities in Tamil Nadu
- [Video] Hangul, the shy Kashmiri deer, is facing the threat of extinction as its habitat shrinks
- Identifying individual mugger crocodiles using drone technology to minimise conflicts
India's Iconic Landscapes
- Unplanned, faulty buildings tremble under weather events in the fragile Himalayan regions
- Nourishing soils of Kashmir’s karewas crumble under infrastructure
- Shielding hijol, a floodplain tree, from climate impacts
- [Explainer] Mass flowering and why some plants bloom and die together
Beyond Protected Areas
- [Commentary] A story of two mothers from a human-elephant conflict zone in Assam
- Assam loco pilots on the need for effective communication to prevent elephant-rail collision
- [Podcast] Imprints: Digging up bones with Advait Jukar
- Helping wildlife navigate road and railway infrastructure
Conserving Agro-biodiversity
- Nations adopt Global Biodiversity Framework amid concerns over watered-down targets
- [Commentary] A renewed CGIAR can better support South Asia to determine its food future
- Equitable benefit sharing of digitised genetic information to span across discussions at COP15
- Making sense of rainfall changes in Karnataka’s coffee estates through old records
Just Transitions
- Helping wildlife navigate road and railway infrastructure
- Energy transition offers a ray of hope to farmers struggling in chilly winter
- With a new policy, Odisha aims at 10 GW of renewable energy by 2030
- [Commentary] The missing caste from commons: A reflection from a Telangana village
