Copycats in nature

Bringing nature to your doorstep—I often use this cliche in my popular writings. A few days ago nature, literally, visited our doorstep. Anchal, my wife, called out to me to come to the front door.

Food security bill forgoes nutrition security

Amidst the cacophony around the Lokpal Bill, the National Food Security Bill (NFSB) 2011 has been tabled in the Lok Sabha. Whatever the Government of India has fleshed out in the Bill is actually in pursuance of its Constitutional obligations (Article 47) and obligations under various international conventions.

Farms in cities

India is perhaps among the few developing countries where urban agriculture is not a priority. The FAO’s final report on urban and peri-urban agriculture does not even mention India. Urban planners tend to exclude agriculture from their sights. But in many cities across the world, especially those in Asia and Latin America, agricultural use of land is accepted and formalised.

Spoilt for choice

A German supermarket is a consumer’s delight. Numerous varieties of fruits and vegetables greet the eye. There are native and exotic fruits, piles of lettuce, kohlrabi, onions and potatoes—all for a few cents. The milk products section has countless varieties of dairy products. The sheer mass of cheap milk products makes selection difficult. The consumer also has choices galore in the sausage and meat section.

FDI in retail: some unanswered questions

Over the past few weeks, Indian newspapers have been consistently giving prominent display to stories concerning FDI in retail. Naysayers and others were both quick to voice their opinions on the issue. Proponents of FDI in retail have backed down for now, giving in to popular sentiment.

Don’t just cash in on tigers

Eco-tourism, as the world understands it, means impact of tourism on wild habitats and wildlife is deliberately kept low. It also means that local conservation contexts are acknowledged and efforts are made to improve the economic lot of communities living around a sanctuary or national park. Eco-tourism must make tourists more aware of the need for, and challenges to, wildlife conservation. But all this requires that the people who run the show themselves are responsible; it precludes outright capitalism as motive for entering the tourism business.

An urge to act

Animal rights and wrongs. They somehow knock at the door of our conscious mind (and conscience) ever so often—trucks overcrowded with slaughter animals with dumb fear in eyes; latest medical research on hundreds of captive animals—the list is endless. Having gained ascendancy over fellow creatures, humans get away with using animals for economic, social and personal interests ranging from urgent to trivial. But where should human interests cede and animal rights begin?

How effective are environmental PILs

In most cases of environmental litigation, the parties affected by pollution are, typically, large, diffused and unidentified groups of people. Since nature and inanimate objects cannot represent themselves in judicial proceedings, the Supreme Court, since the late 1970s, has allowed any member of the public, having sufficient interest, to initiate a legal process to ensure the protection and improvement of the environment. This has come to be called Public Interest Litigation (PIL).

Staying legal, staying reasonable

“How many of you listen to music?” All 20 hands in the room went up. “How many of you share music?” Again, the 20 hands went up. “And how many of you know that sharing music is a violation of the copyright law?” All hands stayed up. “Then, why do you still do it?” Many reasons followed, topped by: “Music is like nature.

No free lunch for water projects

Freshwater has been the main fuel for human civilisations and economies. But unscientific overuse of rivers, lakes and groundwater aquifers has led to degradation of water bodies to such an extent that their ecosystem services are increasingly failing. The term “environmental flows” has come into circulation as a result of searches to reverse the situation.