[Video] India’s wildlife knows no boundaries
When we think of wildlife, we might picture tigers moving among tall sal trees, crocodiles swimming in rivers, elephants gathered around waterholes. We often only think of pristine forests; we…
The tigers that live in a thermal power plant
Tigers are known for living in dense forest areas, away from human settlements -- unlike the other big cats, leopards, that are quite comfortable living in human-dominated habitats and in…
Resettlement is a voluntary option for families in Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary
Radhika would have been about four when she left her home in Kurichyad, a settlement deep inside Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS), Kerala to live with her relatives in Chethalyam, a…
Uttarakhand’s draft ecotourism policy could threaten biodiversity
About 65 percent of India’s hill state of Uttarakhand is forested. Now, a latest proposed ecotourism policy suggests using vast stretches of these forests for ecotourism activities. While the policy…
Can elephants be ‘restricted’ to forests?
Two days before the World Elephant Day, India’s Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar released a document outlining best practices of human-elephant conflict management in India but the booklet has come under…
[Commentary] Tigers, tourists and pilgrims: The ecological impact of pilgrimage sites in protected areas
When one visits a national park or tiger reserve in India, be it as a safari tourist or as a scientific researcher, one pays entrance fees and applies for permissions.…
States propose minimal eco-sensitive zones around protected areas
India has a countrywide network of protected areas (PAs) including wildlife sanctuaries, national parks and tiger reserves. Owing to the pressures of human habitation and infrastructure development projects the eco-sensitive…
Conserve both large intact and small degraded habitats to maintain biodiversity
Scientists are undivided on the need to conserve natural habitats to maintain biodiversity, but divided on which ones to prioritise: intact wild habitats, or fragmented, degraded lands that are becoming…
Gharials swimming across India-Nepal border an opportunity for enhanced co-operation
School teacher Goutam Tantia recalls being shocked at seeing people put a price on glimpsing a gharial in a village in eastern Bihar, abutting Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal. …
[Commentary] Landscape connectivity for better sustainability
Landscape connectivity is characterised by the likelihood of having a connected habitat cluster spanning the countryside. Landscape integration is an intuitive and practical approach for combating habitat loss and the…
