Smartphones to map invasive plants in Tamil Nadu
The Moyar-Bhavani landscape in Tamil Nadu is flanked by Karnataka in the north and Kerala in the west. The landscape represents a diverse habitat with dense forests, agricultural lands and…
Saving the hornbill with crowdsourced data
A citizen science project to monitor hornbill population in India, Hornbill Watch, is gaining momentum among the bird enthusiasts and researchers in the country. With the aim of assessing the…
Darjeeling Himalayas gets a people-centric early warning system for landslides
In landslide-prone Giddapahar, a small hamlet nestled in the Darjeeling Himalayas known for its fragrant black tea, Bikash Thapa has become his community’s very own rain man. Aided by his…
[Interview] The thrills and spills of trapping snow leopard pictures in the high Himalayas motivates Tashi Ghale
For trekkers on the Annapurna circuit trail, the village of Manang is where the road ends and the trails up to the high mountains begin. Far from the paths walked…
Innovative aerial survey project maps rooftop solar energy potential for Bengaluru
A recent series of aerial surveys of Bengaluru, using the Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology, could possibly be a pioneer project to assess the potential for rooftop solar photovoltaic…
Playing Cupid to conserve the remaining pygmy hogs in Assam
Smallest among wild pigs, the shy and secretive pygmy hogs (Porcula salvania) are found nowhere else in India except in Assam and number only a few hundred. To ensure their…
Will the pill work for the elephant and other wild animals?
Amidst rising human-wildlife conflicts in the country, India plans to roll out a pilot experimental research project in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand to test the most appropriate method to…
Researchers innovate to make money out of water hyacinth
Decades ago, water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) spread from its native ecosystem in Amazonia, Brazil, and became an invasive species in water bodies across the globe. It also reached India and…
Counting tigers on smartphones
India’s upcoming All India Tiger Estimation 2018 is all set to go hi-tech. The plan is to digitise data records with the help of an Android mobile application (app) and…
