The Indian government recently came out with the India State of Forest Report (ISFR 2021), the biennial national forest cover report, claiming a marginal increase of 2,261 square kilometres in…
In the run-up to the 2022 state elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pramod Sawant-led state government has made a slew of announcements towards resuming iron ore mining in…
On Monday, the Indian government referred the Biological Diversity Act Amendment Bill (2021) to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). The Bill was developed to amend certain provisions of the Biological…
In Puthiravali, a village in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, villagers are hopeful that Haldia Petrochemical Ltd.'s takeover of Nagarjuna Oil Corporation Ltd.’s (NOCL) dysfunctional oil refinery will result in…
From fighting for the protection of migratory birds in northeast India to the protection of the rights of mango farmers in western India, the duo of Ritwick Dutta and Rahul…
"Pristine wilderness" — a natural zone free of people — as a conservation idea is an erroneous construct, a new study says. It fails to reflect the reality of how…
The shortage of coal and the possibility of large-scale power outages has been the core of intense discussions in India in recent weeks, even as the government has denied a…
In September, the leaders of nation states from around the world gathered in New York City to attend the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. COVID-19, climate and…
Bengaluru, the fourth most populous metropolitan city in India, is a favoured market for real estate developers. This has, consequently, led to concerns about the city's environmental health. Several studies…
On the outskirts of a bustling New Delhi, the quiet village of Mangar in Haryana has long held a secret in its caves: ancient paintings. Growing up grazing livestock in…
The Indian government has proposed a new set of rules “Draft Electricity (promoting renewable energy through Green Energy Open Access) Rules, 2021” for purchase and consumption of green energy, including…
Punjab’s former princely state, Faridkot has over a thousand jamun and mango trees that are very old and produce fruits every summer that are a feast for birds. But birds…
Biological invasions are a major global challenge for the conservation of biodiversity, maintenance of ecosystem health and sustainable livelihoods. India is not new to the concept and consequences of invasive…
For the past two decades, the catch and trade of seahorses has been banned in India. However, a new study reveals that 13 million seahorses are estimated to have been…
One of the key announcements by the newly-formed cabinet, led by Himanta Biswa Sarma, in Assam, was of two new national parks in the state - Raimona in Kokrajhar and…
Zebra loach a popular aquarium species is being “unsustainably fished” out of Western Ghats’ waters to grace fish tanks across the world, says a new study underscoring the execution of…
“This is just the tip of the iceberg. The nexus between builders and government officials runs deep," said Ghazala Abdullah, an environment activist based in McLeodganj, near Dharamshala in the…
India is a mega-biodiverse nation. It is home to 7-8% of the recorded species of the world. Its marine ecosystems are equally biodiverse: of the 32 animal phyla known to…
Institutionalised conservation efforts in India started with the enactment of the Wildlife Protection Act in 1972 and the launch of the Project Tiger - to conserve the apex predator and…
In the middle of the first decade of the 21st century, I was working with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), in its global headquarters at…