It is increasingly clear today that the economic prosperity of the world has come at a huge cost to its natural capital. The consequences of unsustainable resource use and environmental…
A mapping exercise for snakes in Uttarakhand, including a component on king cobras, is underway in the Himalayan-foothill state to enable a safer snake-human co-existence. The Uttarakhand forest department is…
Imagine sighting a wild carnivore as you go about your daily chores near your house. Your reactions may range from joy to awe, apprehension, or fear. Or even anger: maybe…
A preliminary study of Pangong lake’s bacterial community structure along the contested India-China Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh has shed light on the influence of increased human actions…
While Kerala's contentious Athirapilly dam may be temporarily on hold due to peoples' resistance, a smaller 7.5 megawatt hydropower project in the vicinity has got both environmentalists and indigenous communities…
Climate change in peninsular India may have pushed a pastoralist community, most likely the Todas, and their buffalo herds, to the highest elevations of the Nilgiris in the Western Ghats,…
The mountainous Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu is now witnessing an ecosystem collapse mainly due to extreme weather events. Floods that are happening almost every year are causing major landslides…
When it comes to taking crucial decisions, J. Innocent Divya, an administrative officer of the mountainous Nilgiris district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, goes by the mantra…
Some 126 years after British police officer Fred Fawcett’s chance discovery of the famous Edakkal Caves and their ancient rock carvings in Wayanad district of Kerala, the mountain which houses…
Alpine meadows, also known as bugyals, are a valuable part of the Himalayan ecosystem. These meadows start appearing at the height of 3000 meters above sea level, where the treeline…
For the people of Kodagu, August could well be the cruelest month of the year. In the last three consecutive years, incessant rains in the first two weeks of August…
P. Mayilswami and his brother Ganeshan, members of an Eco-Development Committee (EDC) in Kerala, had reasons to feel elated in June this year. The brothers were engaged in the conservation…
“We thought otters were cats who came from the jungle and ate fish. We did not know much about otters,” recalls K. B. Rai, a homestay owner in East Sikkim,…
Summer-monsoonal snowfall plays an important role in maintaining glacier mass in the western Himalayas. If this snowfall is more frequent and strong in the years ahead, the health of glaciers…
The temperature was touching -15 °C as the sun set in Tsaba valley in Ladakh. We were bunched inside a tiny bunker, all seven of us. Making the most of…
In India’s Himachal Pradesh, in the western Himalayas, Anuradha is doubled down into the soils of her farmland in Sudher village, donning a dhattu—the term used in the hills to…
Mysore city (or Mysuru) in Karnataka sure knows its birds. A lesser-known secret of the city that wears a royal cape is its thriving birding scene. On any given day,…
The rush of water ripped through the valley like an excavator. On August 6, 2019, unusually heavy monsoon rain drenched the mountainside above the Punatsangchhu river in Bhutan, causing an…
A pristine valley located hardly 26 km away from the famous hill station Udhagamandalam (Ooty), Avalanche got its name from a massive landslide that took place here more than 150…
The flight has been delayed by a few years but the runway is now ready for the work of Maharashtra’s Navi Mumbai airport to finally take off. Once it gathers…