Humans are testing the limits of most species’ survival, with their planet-wide changes. As urbanisation, deforestation, loss of wildlife, and human-wildlife conflicts continue to spiral up, there is a need…
Thai Sacbrood, a viral disease affecting honey bee colonies, has resurfaced in southern India. The disease, which has been dormant in the southern states for some years, is back and…
Sand, a natural resource that seems abundant and often ignored is the second most extracted one, just after water. Sand extracted from rivers, lakes, coastlines, deltas is one of the…
What is entomophagy? Entomophagy is the practice of eating insects. Humans have harvested insects, as components of their food, for thousands of years. This practice was previously considered ‘ancient’ and…
How much menstrual waste does India generate? A 2018 report by WaterAid India and Menstrual Hygiene Alliance India (MHAI) states that there are 336 million menstruating women in India, out of which…
What are dung beetles? Dung beetles use the dung of warm-blooded herbivores for… everything. They are attracted to fresh dung via volatiles (meaning, the smell). Adults feed on the soup…
Just as forests are called as the ‘lungs of the earth’, wetlands are the 'kidneys' that regulate water and filter waste from the landscape. The kidney comparison aside, wetlands are…
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…
What do you do with your e-waste? The answers would possibly range across a wide spectrum – from ‘what is e-waste’, ‘office IT vendor’ and ‘collection boxes’ to ‘we just…
Continuing its push for ensuring a smoother path for industries in securing environment clearances, the Indian government's environment ministry is in the process of changing the environment impact assessment (EIA)…
Alongside a global pandemic, India prepares to fight yet another battle for food security. Unlike the micron-sized virus, however, the new threat is millimeters in size but millions in number:…
What is a forest? At present, in India, there is no clear nationally-accepted definition of ‘forest’. States are responsible for determining their definition of forests. In its meeting in September…
What is a COP? The Conference of Parties, or CoP, is the annual meeting of the representatives from the countries that are members of the United Nations Framework Convention on…
Dreaming of a perfect blue-sky and rain-free wedding day? A luxury travel company promises to do just that for a price with the help of cloud seeding, a commonly used…
When do plants get invasive? Plants that do not occur naturally in a region but proliferate in the area they have been introduced into, and cause several negative impacts (such…
The evolution of insects About 500 million years ago (MYA), the Earth experienced a remarkable evolutionary event. Called the Cambrian explosion, it resulted in the emergence of a plethora of…
What is seagrass? Seagrasses are marine flowering plants, found on all continents except Antarctica. They have roots, stems and leaves and produce flowers and fruits. They are closely related to…
