Understanding frog diversity with the highs and lows of the Teesta river valley
As the Teesta gurgles down its way from its snow-fed origin in North Sikkim (5200 metres) to the plains in the south (300 metres), the river and its swiftly flowing…
Beekeeping empowers women, brings in honey and lush kitchen gardens
Parulben Pawar has to walk through the forest of Dharampur, in Gujarat, to reach her bee boxes. A path of four kilometers crossing a forest of teak (Tectona grandis), tamarind…
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…
A budding botanist’s quest for plant-indigenous community relations
In 2019, budding ethnobotanist Momang Taram and her friend Ojar Taku were scouting the Siang river valley in Arunachal Pradesh for flowering plants belonging to a specific family. “Then suddenly…
[Commentary] Biodiversity talks also need to develop nationally determined commitments
The President of United Nations General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, is convening the United Nations Summit on Biodiversity on September 30, 2020. This is being held on the margins of the…
Nilgiris district collector says, environment before development
When it comes to taking crucial decisions, J. Innocent Divya, an administrative officer of the mountainous Nilgiris district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, goes by the mantra…
Mega renewable energy park in Kutch could have potentially adverse environmental impact
Recently, a news report highlighted that the Gujarat government has plans to develop a 41,500-megawatt (MW) hybrid renewable energy park in Kutch. The state government has cleared the revenue department’s…
One of the world’s most trafficked animals needs focus outside India’s protected areas
“I have been working in this area for 14 years as a snake rescuer. I never received calls for pangolins the way I received them in the last five months…
Sundarbans endangered as per IUCN’s Red List of Ecosystems framework, cautious optimism advised
The Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem in India is evaluated as ‘endangered’ by a global team of researchers using the IUCN's Red List of Ecosystems framework. The clearing of mangroves dating back…
Nature in peril as biodiversity losses mount alarmingly, states the Living Planet Report
Global biodiversity is in steep decline, the WWF has warned in its flagship Living Planet Report 2020. The numbers of mammals, birds, fish, plants and insects have fallen an average…
