[Book review] Indian environmental history for young adults
In 1949, George Orwell published his dystopian view of what the world would be in 1984 in his novel by the same name. For India, 1984 was a disturbing year,…
A birder involves community and authorities to protect Haiderpur wetland
Scores of people have travelled past the Madhya Ganga barrage at Bijnour in western Uttar Pradesh over the last three decades, casually appreciating the birds and the Ganga river. But…
Returning to traditional practices to save Vidarbha’s ‘Lake District’
During his college days, Manish Rajankar was an avid birder. Ably guided by one of his professors, he further developed an interest in conservation and his home ground proved a…
Invoking tradition and science to revive Meghalaya’s ponds
Thirty-year-old Born Lang Blah from Mawphlang village has vivid memories of his childhood, when men, women, and children would walk downhill to Um Khlaw, the pond to collect water. The…
Conservation is the buzzword in Tamenglong district in Manipur
In February this year, an attempt to kill a critically endangered Chinese pangolin in Tamenglong district of Manipur in northeast India, left the animal injured. The injured pangolin was rescued…
Govt, NGO, citizens join hands in Maharashtra to conserve heritage trees
In an effort to save century-old trees that have been dying in Maharashtra, the state forest department has announced that they will prepare a database of heritage trees. The officials…
Lost and found: The story of a plant and how a village is trying to protect it
In a village called Lathedi in Kutch, amid the semi-arid landscape, a small patch of land has been fenced with thorny branches by the local community. The aim, they said,…
COVID-19 cripples long-term ecological monitoring research in India
Coral reefs feature prominently in today's climate change discourse. Studies have shown how warming oceans worldwide cause corals to bleach: they lose the algae that give them their colours, become…
A community in Nagaland strives to sustain wildlife protection amid fresh challenges
"When there was a famine in the area, people headed to Sendenyu to obtain grains," Gwasinlo Thong recounts an old saying of the Rengma people. This indigenous community inhabits Nagaland's…
Cultural beliefs protect snakes in the dwindling sacred groves of southwestern India
Underlying cultural and religious beliefs in serpent deities has played a role in protecting iconic animals such as snakes and other species dwelling inside the Western Ghats’ sacred groves. But…
