The evolving story of India’s forests
From covering 640,819 square kilometres (19.49 percent) of India’s total land area in 1987 to covering 712,249 sq. km. (21.67 percent) of the country’s geographical area in 2019, India’s forest…
All forest fires may not be bad fires
It’s the forest fire season and the officials at the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka have stepped up the ante on fire preparedness. With fire watchers assigned to look out…
[Commentary] Alternate perspectives on forest fires in India
A recent article in Mongabay-India about how to deal with forest fires in India argues that fire suppression should be replaced by fire prevention with the help of local communities.…
Most forest fires in India on account of human activity
The fires raging across Australia from September 2019 and the ones in California in 2018 have brought global attention to wildfires in the recent years. Around 6.3 million hectares of…
India’s forest cover is rising but northeast and tribal areas lose
Nearly 25 percent (one fourth) of India’s total land area is now under forest and tree cover. However, there is still a long way to go - more than a…
[Photos] Forest fires in Indonesia, fuelled by global palm oil demand
Aerial images taken last month in the southern part of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island show wildfires burning through peat forests and producing clouds of toxic smoke. The fires are deliberately set…
Mother Earth’s wrath went easy on human lives in 2016, compared to previous years
In 2016, the year when a heatwave in India took over a hundred lives, fatalities caused by heat/sun stroke were the second highest cause of “accidental deaths due to forces…
Your environment this week: Dealing with Fani, India’s solar sector waste challenge
This week's stories rolled into one. To receive a weekly email with a roundup of our stories, please sign-up to our newsletter. Upping the ante for disaster management in cyclone-prone…
Increasing dry season fires in Kerala spotlight debate around man-made fires
When summer strengthens, it brings with it dry spells and the season of forest fires. Since January 2019, a number of fire incidents have been reported from Kerala. In the…
Forest fires impact typical Himalayan trees
The western Indian Himalayas, spread across Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, have always been known for their pines, cedars and oaks. These trees are so typical to the…
