Bhairab Saini took up paddy farming when he was old enough to tell the grain from the chaff. A farmer in Panchal village in Bankura district of West Bengal, Saini…
India's agricultural sector stands at a crucial crossroads today, grappling with numerous challenges that threaten the livelihoods of millions of farmers and the sustainability of the planet. In recent times,…
When 1000 kilometres of mangrove tidal wetland vegetation, along the shoreline of Australia’s remote Gulf of Carpentaria, died en masse in a short span of time between late 2015 and…
The memory came alive as I sat down to transcribe the recordings from the field. All I could hear was “pach-pach” and “sha-sha” behind my own heavy breathing from walking.…
Devsharan Patel, 53, a farmer in Dhatura, a village in Madhya Pradesh’s Satna district, is on his way to his field. He carries a battery-operated pesticide sprayer on his shoulder.…
For the first time in the history of the Conference of Parties (CoP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) the cover decision text – increasingly seen…
The implementation of nature-based solutions, or NbS — a hotly debated concept that has gained traction in recent years — is seen by many policymakers as a potential means for…
Large grass-eating mammals such as yak and ibex play a crucial role in stabilising the pool of soil carbon in grazing ecosystems that are a big part of the Earth’s…
One among the many critical biodiversity-rich landscapes spread across the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region, the far eastern Himalayas, is home to several species of rare, endemic, and threatened flora…
A 700 to 800 metres stretch of mangroves to the west of Pakhiraloy ferry ghat on an island in the Indian Sundarbans, part of a plantation project in 2020, was…
Kalpana Sethi, 30, exuberantly shows around her two-acre land, which was once a wasteland but now aids in her children’s education. Situated on a moderate slope, in the Bisoi village…
Biochar, charcoal produced from plant material and stored underground for a long time, can emerge as a nature-based solution that could help in climate mitigation and address sustainable development goals,…
Narayan Gaikwad, 74, never thought he would have to rethink farming — an occupation he has been practicing for over six decades. But, the rise in the price of chemical…
Climate mitigation, by creating additional carbon sinks through forest restoration and agroforestry, would meet less than a quarter of India's Paris Agreement 2015 goals in the land-use, land-use change and…
While the world as we know it has changed, following the coronavirus pandemic, what hasn’t changed is starting the new year with hope and optimism. Even as we approach 2022…
Getting things right with mangroves, ecosystems that feature on the global climate agenda for their carbon storage capacity, could set the stage for effective climate action and biodiversity protection in…
Traditional healer Janakiamma (60) belongs to the Kurumba community. An indigenous community in south India, Kurumba is listed by the government of India as one of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal…
Only a smidge of Punjab’s geographical area is forested, a state in north India’s wheat-producing belt. Nurtured by people’s beliefs in these small forest patches are sacred groves –forest fragments…
More than two decades since he began unraveling secrets of the tropical savannahs – open grasslands with scattered trees – field ecologist Mahesh Sankaran continues to be fascinated with these…
Protection, restoration and better management of ecosystems through Nature-based Solutions (NbS) feature in many national commitments, including India's, but there is scope for much more in climate change mitigation and…