Conservation by eliminating human presence is a flawed construct: study
"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…
India’s ‘coal shortage’ could set stage for overhaul of laws
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…
Protecting a forest on a hill in Imphal
In early 2002, Moirangthem Loiya Ngamba from the Meitei community in Manipur, began growing plants on the Maru Langol hill range nestled in the northern part of the Imphal valley.…
[Commentary] Mapping the potential of Community Forest Resource Rights in central India
The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006, commonly known as the FRA, is a landmark legislation in the history of independent India, as…
[Commentary] Bridge the North-South divide for a more just UN Biodiversity Framework
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…
Why tiger conservation efforts need genetic data
Tigers once roamed the lands from Turkey in the west to the Amur river basin in the east, across south and southeast Asia all the way to the island of…
The absence of captive elephants in Madhya Pradesh is impacting tiger conservation
In January 2021, a tiger entered Keljhiri, a forest village in Harda district of Madhya Pradesh. Over three days, there were three instances reported of the tiger attacking people, with…
Yes, No or Maybe: Fate of Hasdeo Arand forest back in limbo
To mine or not to mine – that’s the question that seems to be looming over Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo Arand forests. While the forests being pristine, rich in biodiversity and ecologically…
Will Odisha notify 14 proposed elephant corridors?
Prashant Kumar Chatar is an intermediate student from Dhanurjaypur panchayat, which is on the periphery of the Hadgarh Wildlife Sanctuary where an elephant corridor was identified by the Odisha government.…
Odisha’s decision to auction virgin mines raises environmental concerns
On August 9, 2021, as the World's Indigenous People Day was being celebrated, hundreds of people from villages inside and on the periphery of the picturesque Karlapat Wildlife sanctuary in…
Mizoram’s balancing act with palm oil’s ecological impact and economic benefits
Vanlaldika, a temporary forest guard in Dampa Tiger Reserve, one of the last remaining tiger habitats in Mizoram, has been cultivating oil palm for the past seven years. Vanlaldika, hails…
Lower species richness in deforested landscapes tied to high Kyasanur forest disease risk: study
As outbreaks of Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) or ‘monkey fever’ rapidly expand across the Western Ghats, a study finds that in landscapes undergoing forest loss, a lower number of mammalian…
Mangar, on the outskirts of New Delhi, looks to its past to protect its future
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…
[Interview] The glass ceiling has been shattered, says ZSI’s first woman director
Senior Zoological Survey of India scientist Dhriti Banerjee has straddled two different worlds of research — physiology of drug abuse and working on the use of insects in forensic investigations…
[Commentary] Forests, ecosystem services and humans
It was the month of November, last year. One could feel the chill in the air. Dal Bahadur, a beekeeper from Turuk, Sikkim was harvesting honey from his traditional hive.…
Soil in Kerala’s monoculture plantations less healthy, productive than natural forests: study
If depleting groundwater resources was one of the reasons why the Madurai bench of the Madras high court passed a landmark judgement in 2014 to remove all eucalyptus and wattle…
Iron ore mining in Chhattisgarh drives deforestation
Chhattisgarh is home to some of India’s most precious forests but it is also an area rich in minerals such as iron ore. The race for extraction of these resources,…
Maharashtra’s first endemic tree rediscovered after 180 years at Harishchandragad hill
While working on a project to document Maharashtra’s endemic species, researchers from the Naoroji Godrej Centre for Plant Research (NGCPR) came across a unique tree that they had never seen…
To escape floodwaters, Kaziranga’s large herbivores risk moving through human-dominated spaces: study
Mega herbivores undertake vast migrations across large landscapes in several parts of the world. Wildebeests migrate in the millions through the Serengeti-Maasai Mara ecosystem of East Africa — the largest…
Durg forest division plans reforestation over 2,500 acres
The Durg forest division of Chhattisgarh has launched a large-scale reforestation programme, which aims to cover 2,500 acres of land, on the periphery of a limestone mining area owned by…
Special series
Wetland Champions
- [Commentary] India establishes the largest network of Ramsar Sites in South Asia
- [Commentary] Wetland champions: Promise from the grassroots
- The story of Jakkur lake sets an example for inclusive rejuvenation projects
- Welcome to Tsomgo lake: Please don’t litter
Environment And Health
- Human disturbance alters parasite communities, increases infectious disease: study
- Lower species richness in deforested landscapes tied to high Kyasanur forest disease risk: study
- Soils from city parks are important hotspots of microbial diversity: study
- India’s dietary guidelines have a relatively lower carbon footprint: study
India's Iconic Landscapes
- Tracking rivers, the highways of plastic waste
- Snug in Kashmir’s meadows, ox-eye daisy worries scientists
- Assam to destroy nearly 2500 seized rhino horns in anti-poaching message
- Rethinking tourism could save Udaipur from its pressures
Beyond Protected Areas
- Human disturbance alters parasite communities, increases infectious disease: study
- Unpacking how cyclones impact mangroves’ ability to soak up carbon dioxide
- When conservation efforts collide with tribal rights in Maharashtra
- Worshipping Waghoba: Faith meets conservation in Maharashtra where humans and leopards share space
Conserving Agro-biodiversity
- Sweet pineapples and a variety of trees nurture each other in this patchwork plantation
- How climate change is taking a toll on livelihoods of small-scale fishers in Kerala
- Plant Man Miguel Braganza on how Konkan Fruit Fest preserves food biodiversity
- Building up carbon sinks in northeast India’s shifting cultivation landscape
Just Transitions
- [Interview] Renewable energy goals can’t be met by excluding people or making them hostile, say founders of LIFE
- Telangana’s public transport system steadily moving to clean power
- A primitive tribe and rare fossils threatened by stone mining in Jharkhand
- India’s ‘coal shortage’ could set stage for overhaul of laws
