When the grass was green: Todas of the Nilgiris long for their lost grasslands
Standing in the middle of a grassy hill, Thorthey Gooden looked around. The grass was short, just an inch long – like a lawn drying out in the summer. In…
Marine plastic pollution has increased tenfold since 1980, says biodiversity report
Around one million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction, many within decades and more than ever before in human history, according to a recent report. The unsustainable…
March of industrialisation tramples Kutch’s coastal ecology
“Like fish trapped in a net,” Jam Ismael Ali smiled at the irony of the simile drawn to explain his own situation. One among the few remaining Pagadia fishermen in…
Nature and tribal welfare takes a back seat during the elections in the Nilgiris
One of the most biodiverse regions of the Western Ghats, the Nilgiris (the blue mountains) comprise a range of ecosystems including dry deciduous forests at its base, dense evergreen forests…
Environment gets voted into party manifestos
Who will win India’s parliamentary elections, will be known only on May 23 when the results are announced. But for now, there is a small win for the people of…
An environmental catastrophe is lurking in Wayanad
Despite a scorching summer that rendered normal life miserable across Kerala, there are endless vistas of hillocks that remain draped in a canopy of green in the state’s north-eastern district…
With forest rights in focus ahead of elections, proposed changes to Forest Act draw attention
Over 90 years after the enactment of the Indian Forest Act (IFA) 1927, a proposed amendment now plans to give more powers to the forest authorities, encourages large scale afforestation…
It is all about encroachment in the hills of Munnar
As communities in the Western Ghats prepare for the national elections, the Munnar-Devikulam region and its fragile ecology are turning hot subjects of political debate not only in Idukki constituency…
Political parties compete for vote of India’s tribal community
Just ahead of the election to India’s parliament, the Supreme Court of India, on February 13, asked the state governments to evict the tribal people and other forest-dwellers whose claims…
Making maps to protect fishing villages around Chennai
In a small fishing hamlet in Tamil Nadu, a community leader opens his smartphone and searches his contacts for “Map Saravanan” to make sure the number is saved correctly. Amused…
