[Video] Bihar’s makhana and the wetlands they grow in
A popular snack in India, makhana, is the seed of a water lily species, Euryale ferox, found in south and east Asia. When harvested, it is actually a tough blackish…
In the name of development, Bihar is slowly losing its dense forests
Last year, on May 31, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, through his social media handle appealed to the citizens of the state to take steps towards protecting their environment. He…
Converging heat action plans, climate goals and environmental health for healthier communities
With heatwaves setting in early, stretching on longer and with more intensity, heat action plans now need to account for the changing heat risks and differing vulnerability of exposed population…
Farm to Fashion: How national institutions are integrating sustainability in curriculum
When Binaya Bhusan Jena, a professor at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar city, first looked around campus, all he could spot were concrete academic buildings.…
Bihar’s organic farming model fails to impress as farmers struggle with low yield and high input cost
The Union Budget of 2022 emphasised the need to encourage organic farming in India, especially along the river Ganga. The 2,525 km- long river originates from the Gangotri glacier of…
Can carbon-positive villages pave the way for climate resilience?
Every time Mahesh, a farmer in Karnataka, interacts with others over a suite of water and soil conservation technologies that mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and enhance agricultural yields, the most…
Mahananda river survey records 190 dolphins, warns of fishing threats to Red List species
In a population estimate of the Ganges river dolphin in the Mahananda river in Bihar and West Bengal, a total of 190 individuals were counted by two teams of scientists…
Bihar farmers await PM-KUSUM rollout
Jagdev Prasad is a farmer based in Baghar village in Barachatti block of Gaya district in Bihar. He owns 3.5 acres of agricultural land in the village and often grows…
Solar power station at Bihar’s ‘first solar village’ is now a makeshift cattle shed
In August 2014, Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar visited Dharnai village in Jehanabad district of Bihar to inaugurate a 100 kilowatt solar mini-grid in the village that would supply electricity.…
To boost its slow progress on clean energy, Bihar looks at floating and rooftop solar alternatives
Gehlaur, a village next to rocky hills, in the Muhra Block of Gaya district in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, caught national attention in 2015, when a Hindi movie…
Inadequate data a challenge as Bihar revisits framing state climate action plan
Bihar's progress towards a state Climate Change Action Plan is slow because of dearth of localised data. The state government had earlier framed a Climate Change Action Plan but it…
Limitations in Bihar’s flood relief likely due to budget constraints
More than 1.6 million (16.61 lakh) people in 11 districts of Bihar have been affected by the floods this year that started in June. Of these, 110,000 (1.10 lakh) people…
India’s dietary guidelines have a relatively lower carbon footprint: study
Growing conversations on climate change in the context of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have sparked more meaningful conversations on dietary diversity, ethical consumption and planetary health in recent years…
Bihar highly vulnerable to climate change, says study, but lacks action plan
Fourteen out of 50 districts most vulnerable to climate change in India, are in Bihar, according to a latest study, Climate Vulnerability Assessment for Adaptation Planning in India Using a…
Farmers, near Bagmati river in Bihar, pick fertility of land over safety from floods
The Bihar government has been facing opposition, from locals, to the embankment project on River Bagmati. People of Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga district have been protesting against the project since 2012.…
Measures beyond recycling needed in tandem with plastic waste rules
Bihar’s capital Patna will soon get a plastic waste processing plant, according to the recommendations of the Fifteenth Finance Commission. Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Varanasi are the other cities selected for…
Bihar farmers take up makhana farming to cope with weather uncertainties
In recent years, farming of traditionally grown crops like corn and rice in Bihar, has been hit by weather uncertainties and recurring floods. Some farmers, however, have turned the crisis…
Floods, cyclones caused maximum deaths by extreme weather events in past 50 years
An analysis of deaths from extreme weather events (EWE) in India in the past 50 years has revealed that though tropical cyclones were the least frequent event, they caused 28.6…
Will a smog tower help tackle air pollution in one of the world’s most polluted cities?
Soon after being inducted as Environment Minister in the Bihar government earlier this month, Niraj Kumar Singh held a meeting with Principal Secretary, Forest, Environment and Climate Change department Dipak…
World Wetlands Day: Celebrating the champions who protect our wetlands
Ramveer Tanwar, a 26-year-old engineer, gave up a cushy job to work on reviving wetlands in Greater Noida. As urbanisation and modern structures have taken over the region, there’s shrinking…
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
- Gig workers in India are exposed to highly polluted air and carcinogens, finds preliminary study
- [Explainer] Living with microplastics, is not fantastic
- Residents in Haryana point to stone crushing units for their respiratory troubles and drop in crop yield
- As heatwaves projected to worsen across India, do vulnerability assessments and heat action plans suffice?
Almost Famous Species
- Hybridisation, roadkills are major threats for the Indian desert cat population
- From abundance to endangerment to revival, Kachchh’s guggal comes a full circle
- [Commentary] Why are evolutionary scientists studying the crawlies?
- The silent trade of elusive small cats in Mizoram
Eco Hope
- 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
- [Interview] Scientist Ruth DeFries on deforestation: There isn’t one driver, there’s a different context in different places
India's Iconic Landscapes
- 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
- Experts call for coexistence, sustainable development as tiger population is close to saturation
Beyond Protected Areas
- Hybridisation, roadkills are major threats for the Indian desert cat population
- [Video] Farmers grow paddy for wild elephants in Assam to reduce conflicts
- Megaherbivores could be a potential solution to manage invasive plants, finds study
- Darkness-loving bats are being nudged out of the shadows
Conserving Agro-biodiversity
- Excavating farmlands for highways
- Increasing carbon dioxide is making our food less nutritious
- Ecosystem-based adaptation takes nature-based, people-centric approach to agriculture
- [Commentary] How grassroots-led natural farming at the landscape scale can support communities and heal the planet
Just Transitions
- 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
- [Interview] Suravee Nayak on why transformative justice for women, Dalits is key for a just transition
- Promised rehabilitation eludes residents living near one of India’s earliest coal mines
