Nilgiri pipit seeks better status as habitat shrinks
If there's one avian resident of the Western Ghats that has captured the imagination of both birders and researchers alike, it's the Nilgiri pipit. Not for its flamboyant plumage, mind…
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Your Environment This Week: Disappearing grasslands, Wildlife corridors, Elephants walk free
This week’s environment and conservation news stories rolled into one. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch the latest high quality, original video stories from nature’s frontline in India. To…
Pricey guests: Urban invasive species cost the world billions every year
New research shows that invasive species taking over urban areas resulted in a total cost of US$ 326.7 billion, at the very least, in the past five and half decades.…
Unlocking sustainable ways to manufacture locks
On a typical Monday morning, 47-year-old Sajid Ali, a third-generation artisan from Aligarh, meticulously feeds steel sheets into a roller, which flattens them further getting them ready for the subsequent…
India will go to vote amid sweltering heat; experts call for public awareness to mitigate impacts
India is gearing up for its six-week general election, scheduled to begin later in April. But it must also brace for an especially hot summer, the India Meteorological Department (IMD)…
With a new discovery, lizard studies get an edge
In a stroke of serendipity, a team of researchers stumbled upon a new-to-science species of lizard while conducting a survey of the landscape for the habitat of another new discovery,…
[Video] Complexities of siting a windfarm in the Western Ghats
Every monsoon, Deoji Vaman Medge’s rice field gets flooded with rainwater that brings along debris and rocks from the adjoining hill, damaging the crop. A resident of Kharpud village in…
More than 15 years on, implementation of Forest Right Act is lagging, new report finds
The implementation of the Forest Rights Act has largely overlooked claims for community forest rights and is fraught with exclusionary practices due to misconceptions about its applicability, according to a…
Walls come down to make way for elephants
In a landmark moment for environmental activism in India, on March 17, Numaligarh Refinery Ltd. (NRL) began demolishing its 2.2-kilometre boundary wall in its township that had been restricting the…
Banni’s edible local grasses threatened by the spread of Prosopis
In the Banni grasslands of Kachchh in Gujarat, Rasool bhai remembers the time his grandparents would narrate stories of how they would forage for local species of edible grass. The…
[Interview] Ecologist and policy expert S. Faizi advocates for putting ‘justice’ at the heart of conservation
Eminent Indian ecologist and international environment policy expert S. Faizi is among the six recipients of the Alliance World of Scientists (AWS) 2024 Planet Earth Awards. A staunch supporter of…
Converting pine needles from a fire risk into a livelihood opportunity
As the first rays of the spring sun touch the tall chir pine trees (Pinus roxburgii) in the dense forests of Sunderbani in Jammu, residents living near the jungle, also…
[Explainer] What are wildlife corridors?
Wildlife corridors are strips of habitats that connect larger landscapes or ecosystems which may be fragmented by human settlements, infrastructure and other forms of disturbances. These corridors allow for the…
Your Environment This Week: Saving India’s wild ‘unicorns’, Beetle pollinators, Safeguarding salt production
This week’s environment and conservation news stories rolled into one. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch the latest high quality, original video stories from nature’s frontline in India. To…
Major players driving India’s green growth story spent millions in funding for political parties
In the years since it came to power in 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government has positioned itself as an advocate of green growth locally and globally. But…
[Commentary] GROW with agroforestry, a step towards sustainable land management
Agroforestry, the amalgamation of agriculture and forestry within the same land area, may seem straightforward, yet its intricacies often require significant scientific intervention to optimise outcomes. Traditional methods for evaluating,…
Uncertain weather makes that pinch of salt dearer
Ashadi Beej, the Kutchi new year, marks the beginning of monsoon in the Kachchh region of Gujarat. The festival, which falls at the end of June, also signals a break…
Forest laws complicate access to safe drinking water for tribal groups
Residents of over 15 villages in the West Singhbum district of Jharkhand have been consuming poor quality drinking water from traditional chuas or shallow pits. These pits, about five feet deep,…
Saving India’s wild ‘unicorns’
A review of India’s 15-year rhino reintroduction programme in Assam finds that rhinos that were translocated in the state were able to adapt effectively to their new environment. It highlights…
Meet the beetles, the tiny titans of pollination
Pollination often brings to mind bees and butterflies and long-beaked sunbirds buzzing about fragrant flowers, hungry for nectar. But a largely unrecognised fact is the role of lesser glamorous beetles…
