Women act to make slums climate-resilient, one house at a time
Farida Sheikh remembers her house in the slums in Ahmedabad feeling like a furnace, where summer temperatures have reached up to 50 degrees Celsius. But for the last four years,…
Mongabay series: Environment and Her
From environment heroes to women-centric solutions for environmental problems, our stories in this series explore how the environment impacts women uniquely. What are these challenges and are women equipped to handle them?
Bringing freshwater turtles out of their shells and into the spotlight
For believers of Vastu Shastra and Feng Shui, the kachua (turtles or tortoises) attracts good fortune. Decorative items, rings and pendants depicting these creatures are common talismans and some homes…
Madhya Pradesh’s ‘fluoride warriors’ unleash citizen science to empower community
Pinky Alawa and Sapna Rawat cautiously approach a woman drawing water from a hand-pump in the hilly part of central India, in Alirajpur district in Madhya Pradesh. The pump is…
[Video] The barefoot ecologist who brought forests to life
For half a century, Tulasi Gowda’s life revolved around the saplings that she nurtured with much care and love at the Agasur nursery of the forest department as part of…
Pramila Bisoyi’s journey from protecting India’s national bird to the corridors of power
When newly-elected Member of Parliament from the east Indian state of Odisha, Pramila Bisoyi spoke in the House in her mother-tongue Odia, it was the subject of many jibes. The…
Building community networks to save a rare turtle from extinction
In May 2019, hundreds of fish turned up dead in a river in Kasaragod, northern Kerala, reportedly due to low oxygen levels. Among the mass fish graveyard, sightings of an…
Nature’s fury 2019: A year of extremes for India
Record extreme events exacted a heavy toll on human, animal lives and property in India as a high-impact mix of seven cyclones, the heaviest monsoon in 25 years, floods that…
The Lady of Rabindra Sarovar lake
In the bustling metropolis of Kolkata, in the east Indian state of West Bengal, Rabindra Sarovar, a lake of national importance, is the favourite haunt of over 10,000-morning walkers. Two…
How women adapt as climate comes unhinged
In Karnataka’s drought-prone Kolar, men started moving out of agriculture about a decade ago, to find jobs off-the-field. The area, once considered the world's second deepest gold mine with two…
After cyclone Fani, women in a migrant fishing community start resilience fund
The salty air in Penthakatha’s slum, a speck at the edge of the Bay of Bengal, stings mildly with the stench of dried fish. Streams of dirty brown water meander…
The 11-year-old who’s holding governments accountable for inaction on climate change
Along the Ganga, in the ancient city of Haridwar in Uttarakhand, a precocious 11-year-old girl is bristling with anger. Ridhima Pandey is tired of global leaders not paying enough attention…
[Interview] ‘India’s forest guards deserve far more recognition, respect’, says Green Oscar winner Ashwika Kapur
It’s all in a day’s work for these foresters- dodging poacher’s bullets in grasslands, navigating swampy mangroves with swimming tigers, lugging heavy equipment sliding down an icy Himalayan slope, turning…
How a community radio gives voice to the climate-vulnerable in Tamil Nadu
“What preparations should one make for children before a cyclone strikes?” asked Durga, a volunteer at a community radio station in the coastal village of Vizhuthamavadi, roughly 320 kilometres (km)…
An agroforestry scientist’s notes on Kodagu, coffee and climate change
As southwest India finally has a respite from the recent heavy rains, the discussions have now turned to what went wrong. In the district of Kodagu, nine days of non-stop…
How does plastic pollute the Ganga? An all-women scientists’ expedition is looking for answers
Under the scorching summer sun, a motley crew of women scientists, engineers and explorers armed with a range of scientific equipment, emerged from a boat and fanned out in different…
She guards Mumbai’s defence against climate change
Fifty-six-year-old Seema Adgaonkar glides through swampy mangroves in ankle-deep muck. The fragrance of Avicennia marina (the grey mangrove), the most widely-spread mangrove species in Mumbai, makes the trail pleasant despite…
A floral calendar for bee conservation
Researcher K Lakshmi Rao is habituated to bee stings. And in her quest across India, to understand what whets the appetite of the honeybee (Apis mellifera), she has been at…
Not fad but to feed: A millennial trains to spruce up farming skills, be a change agent
Twenty-seven-year-old progressive woman farmer Ranjana Kukreti is ecstatic with the fresh produce from her 1.5-acre farm and greenhouse in the Himalayan foothills in Uttarakhand. In the climate-controlled and meticulously monitored…
Women lead the way in disaster preparedness, recovery in Odisha’s Ganjam
High-speed winds had smacked into sturdy mango trees and shaken the fruits away. They were all over the ground. Extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani’s dread had barely passed. Rashmi Behera…
Punjab farmers’ widows respond to apathy by standing in elections
In the agrarian state of Punjab, an average of two farmers have committed suicide every day, over the last 18 years, an estimate based on multiple reports. These statistics should…
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
- Gig workers in India are exposed to highly polluted air and carcinogens, finds preliminary study
- [Explainer] Living with microplastics, is not fantastic
- Residents in Haryana point to stone crushing units for their respiratory troubles and drop in crop yield
- As heatwaves projected to worsen across India, do vulnerability assessments and heat action plans suffice?
Almost Famous Species
- Hybridisation, roadkills are major threats for the Indian desert cat population
- From abundance to endangerment to revival, Kachchh’s guggal comes a full circle
- [Commentary] Why are evolutionary scientists studying the crawlies?
- The silent trade of elusive small cats in Mizoram
Eco Hope
- Green pilgrimage model balances faith and conservation
- [Video] Restoring the perennial Thamirabarani river with people power
- [Interview] Conservation scientist Joli Rumi Borah on integrating traditional knowledge in research
- [Interview] Scientist Ruth DeFries on deforestation: There isn’t one driver, there’s a different context in different places
India's Iconic Landscapes
- Studies reveal impact of land use on species diversity in rock outcrops
- Improved tiger numbers come with hidden messages on invasives, habitat connectivity
- Gymnosperms that are critical for coniferous forest health may be steadily declining in response to climate change
- Experts call for coexistence, sustainable development as tiger population is close to saturation
Beyond Protected Areas
- [Commentary] India needs a scientific response to mitigate the population of free-ranging dogs
- Hybridisation, roadkills are major threats for the Indian desert cat population
- [Video] Farmers grow paddy for wild elephants in Assam to reduce conflicts
- Megaherbivores could be a potential solution to manage invasive plants, finds study
Conserving Agro-biodiversity
- Architect of India’s Green Revolution, agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan passes away
- Excavating farmlands for highways
- Increasing carbon dioxide is making our food less nutritious
- Ecosystem-based adaptation takes nature-based, people-centric approach to agriculture
Just Transitions
- With no primary data on impacts, government approves an oil extraction technique 500 m outside forests
- Climate action not on track to meet Paris Agreement goals, says Global Stocktake report
- [Interview] Suravee Nayak on why transformative justice for women, Dalits is key for a just transition
- Promised rehabilitation eludes residents living near one of India’s earliest coal mines
