Mongabay series: Environment And Health
A clean environment, and actions to protect the integrity of ecosystems matter to human health and well-being. Every time we mess around with the environment, we feel it. These negative impacts on human health are brought on by a suite of changes such as land-use change, unjust energy transitions, climate change and biodiversity loss that interfere with the benefits of natural ecosystems that make life possible for people (ecosystem services). For example, polluted air, a river in peril, local food systems in decline, rapacious mining and rampant deforestation, harm human health. Climate change through extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heatwaves, worsens the impacts. The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the urgency to protect, conserve and restore wildlife habitats and disappearing ecosystems. In Environment and Health, we probe these linkages and go beyond examining the impacts of the environment on human health to understand how we can shore up our actions to shape a healthier India and a resilient ecosystem.
Tracking sewage to surveil COVID-19
Rajasthan uncovers chinkara poaching racket
Fishers try to stay afloat amid lockdown
Staying indoors in heat-vulnerable, low-income neighbourhoods
[Commentary] In the post-COVID world, health security must be a matter of national security
No escape from environmental distress as migrants return home in pandemic lockdown
COVID-19 lockdown locks down farmers’ income
[Commentary] COVID-19 proves that health, biodiversity and climate action are tied goals
Where is the water to wash my hands?
Olive ridleys day-nest in Odisha after seven years, but no link to lockdown say experts
Deforestation and disease: How natural habitat destruction can fuel zoonotic diseases
Travel the great indoors for a glimpse of your city’s natural world
Slim pickings for strays and pets during COVID-19 lockdown
During lockdown foresters try to balance field work and prevention of disease spread
[Commentary] It is not COVID-19 alone, but also the environment and the economy
[Interview] “Must not target ethnic groups and create prejudice over COVID-19”
Uncertainty looms over climate change and biodiversity talks in 2020
[Commentary] A perilous bundling: global response for COVID-19 and climate action
Caught between floods, protests and a pandemic, ecotourism operators bat for resilience
Special series
Wetland Champions
- [Commentary] India establishes the largest network of Ramsar Sites in South Asia
- [Commentary] Wetland champions: Promise from the grassroots
- The story of Jakkur lake sets an example for inclusive rejuvenation projects
- Welcome to Tsomgo lake: Please don’t litter
Environment And Health
- Marine plastic pollution is not just a waste problem; reducing production is needed too
- Stitching sustainability amidst climate change challenges
- Gujarat bans exotic Conocarpus tree amid health and environment hazard
- Malaria-carrying mosquitoes shift homes from forests to rice fields
India's Iconic Landscapes
- Majuli’s shrinking wetlands and their fight for survival
- Saving India’s wild ‘unicorns’
- Indrella ampulla’s genetic tapestry unveils colour morphs isolated across the Palghat Gap
- [Commentary] Up close and personal with the fragility of the Himalayas
Beyond Protected Areas
- New rules spell giant troubles for jumbos
- Climate litigation has entered the room. But could great Indian bustards be inched out?
- The dietary habits of endangered vultures
- Waterbirds adapt to nest and roost in the urban oases of Udaipur
Conserving Agro-biodiversity
- Pricey guests: Urban invasive species cost the world billions every year
- [Commentary] GROW with agroforestry, a step towards sustainable land management
- Millet tradition loses flavour among Madhya Pradesh’s tribals
- A village nurtures traditional food systems in response to climate change
Just Transitions
- How unplanned coal mine closures in India are affecting dependent communities, especially women
- Green Credit Scheme’s ‘methodology’ doesn’t inspire confidence among experts
- Conflict over critical mineral prospecting in Odisha signals need for better community involvement
- Fuel leak in Manipur raises concerns over water contamination