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M.I. Varghese, a retired Indian Forest Service officer, legal scholar, and author of A Treatise on Forest Laws in Kerala. Image by K.A. Shaji.

Forest ecology cannot be reduced to arithmetic, says M.I. Varghese [Interview]

K.A. Shaji 15 Dec 2025
An Asiatic lion in Gir National Park. While the WLPA has created a legal framework for protectionist conservation, its effectiveness in ensuring species recovery beyond the iconic mega-fauna like the tiger, lion, leopard and elephant has been limited. Image by Tanmay Haldar via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The case for a new legal framework to protect India’s wildlife and livelihoods [Commentary]

Mathen Rajeev Mathew 3 Dec 2025
Ulsoor lake in Bengaluru. Image by Ramesh NG via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Environmentalists concerned over size-based buffer zones for water bodies

Aisiri Amin 2 Dec 2025

What really happened to rural Bihar’s solar plans

Nisha Kumari, Puja Bhattacharjee 27 Nov 2025
An orangutan with offspring in Betung Kerihun National Park, Indonesia. Representative image by Sabar Minsyah via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

CITES withdraws recommendation to suspend trade of endangered species to India

Simrin Sirur 25 Nov 2025
The single forest road that connects Cholanaikkans with the outside world. Image by Unnnikrishnan Avala.

Asia’s last cave dwellers vanishing in the shadows of change

K.A. Shaji 25 Nov 2025
Indian delegates at the closing plenary on November 22. Image © UN Climate Change – Kiara Worth via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

Soaring expectations met with sinking outcomes at climate summit

Soumya Sarkar 24 Nov 2025
An iron ore mining operation. India's environment ministry granted post-facto clearance to over 100 projects and issued terms of reference for more, including coal and iron mines, factories, and other large projects. Representative image by CDE Global via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

Supreme Court rolls back order banning post-facto environmental clearance

Simrin Sirur 20 Nov 2025
An artwork curated as part of Time as a Mother by Damian Christinger and Ravi Agarwal for Serendipity Arts Festival 2023. Ravi's curatorial approach explores the intersections of art, ecology, and climate change. Image by Philippe Calia and Sunil Thakkar/Serendipity Arts Festival. 

Artists reimagine climate change through public art and performances

Shilpa Raina 12 Nov 2025
The Chenani-Nashri tunnel road. Representative image by Sidheeq via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The environmental cost of a tunnel road

Nikhil Sreekandan 30 Oct 2025
Workers assemble a car at an electric vehicle plant in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu. (AP Photo/ Rafiq Maqbool)

China challenges India’s domestic manufacturing incentives, alleging unfair trade practices

Kundan Pandey 29 Oct 2025
Sonam Wangchuk addresses a gathering at a protest demanding statehood and other democratic rights for Ladakh in New Delhi on February 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Protests for Indigenous land rights turn deadly

Simrin Sirur 2 Oct 2025
A farmer shows his soybean crops damaged by the heavy rains. About 1.75 million (17.5 lakh) hectares of farmland across Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Beed, Latur, Parbhani, Dharashiv and Hingoli districts, has been damaged, according to the government data. Image by Yash Pawar.

Intense rains inundate farms in region known for droughts

Suraj Patke 2 Oct 2025
An artisan weaves a hand-tufted carpet in Bhadohi. Image by Aslam Mahboob.

U.S. tariffs set to threaten India’s traditional craft revival

Shweta Thakur Nanda 26 Sep 2025
Workers install metal mesh sheets on the banks of Bellundur Lake to prevent industrial pollution from spilling on to the road in Bangalore. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

External auditors to ‘supplement’ monitoring efforts of pollution authorities

Simrin Sirur 17 Sep 2025
Mithuns in Roing in Lower Dibang Valley, Arunachal Pradesh. Image by Divya Kilikar/Mongabay.

Conflicted over attacks on mithuns, experts gun for hunting ban

Kasturi Das 9 Sep 2025

Court submission challenges ‘confidential’ report on the Great Nicobar Island plan

Simrin Sirur 27 Aug 2025
In the 2000s, the Bandra-Worli Sea Link was opened to the public. In the 2010s, a 29.2 kilometre long coastal road was conceptualised along the western side of Mumbai. Image by Wirestock/Envato.

Can a native forest rewrite the story of Mumbai’s coastline? [Commentary]

Manan Shah, Namrata Dewanjee 1 Aug 2025
Women of the Mannan tribe in Kerala fishing. The tribal affairs ministry requires all states and union territories to map potential forest lands that fall within the purview of the Forest Rights Act. Image by Nebu George via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

What encroachment into forest lands means [Commentary]

C. R. Bijoy 26 May 2025
An aerial view of villages in Bihar affected by floods in August 2008. Swain says that developing countries are most affected by climate change, but a lack of resource allocation towards climate adaptation persists, with militarisation being prioritised. Image by Press Information Bureau, Government of India.

Including military in climate action incentivises cooperation over conflict, says water expert [Interview]

Simrin Sirur 14 May 2025