Can good science help conservation?

In a world where technology plays an increasingly important role, and science is invoked almost as often as the Bible, few people understand what good science is. In principle, science is considered to be an objective knowledge system that proposes theories that can be supported or refuted by data. In fact, the very definition of science, as formulated by Karl Popper, is that it must be refutable.

Of electronic revolution and sustainability

While promoting computer literacy and Internet access in developing countries, multinational technology companies are inadvertently contributing to a public health crisis. Several initiatives backed with billions of dollars in new investments, are focused on getting the Internet to one billion new computers in remote villages without access to electricity.

Large dams not an answer to water shortage

It's that season again: when the prime minister, the Union and state ministers for agriculture and water resources, the Planning Commission, the World Bank and others busy themselves in finding a panacea for agriculture's ills. In fact, they do have a surefire solution: increase water storage capacities through large dams.

Making money through herbs in Himachal

Medicinal and aromatic plants are critical to Himachal Pradesh's rural economy. Twenty four of the 100 most important medicinal plant species traded in the country are found in the state. The state exports some 2,500 tonnes of medicinal plants and their parts. The legal annual trade in medicinal plants in the state is worth about Rs 10 crore at current market prices. The state government earns about Rs 40 lakh per annum from export permits for medicinal plants.

Not brewing right

TEA from the Darjeeling hills are among the most celebrated varieties in the country. Combination of geo-environmental and agro-climatic conditions in the region makes production favourable for the tea industry, which has been producing tea for over 150 years now. But the industry is fraught with problems, which are affecting the output adversely.

Heavy cotton

The first consultation of the National Commission on Farmers was on cotton, where we brought together the farmer and the user. Our aim was that everyone in the cotton sector should prosper. M S SwaminathanChairperson,National Commission on Farmers

Elegy to the cotton farmer

Being a cotton farmer is tough. The farmer is caught in a vortex of indebtedness accentuated by discriminatory international trade regimes, skewed tariffs and faulty extension services. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra have thus seen a spate of farmers' suicides.

Do space laws need to be modified?

In the first week of October 2006, Valencia in Spain will host the 57th meet of the International Astronautical Congress. On the meet's anvil will be legal issues related to space exploration, matters pertaining to international cooperation in remote sensing and the issue of government and private sector forays into outer space. Delegates to the congress will also discuss if the current space laws should be modified during times of armed conflict.

Watchdog needed to monitor government agencies

Environment governance is dead in India. The central agency created for safeguarding ecological security of the country, the Union Mministry of environment and forests (moef), has become a green rubber stamp for all kinds of destructive 'development' projects. The ministry has also systematically reduced ngo participation in all its committees and processes.

Draft rehabilitation policy charts no new courses

The national policy on resettlement and rehabilitation for Project Affected Families 2003, framed by the National Democratic Alliance government in February 2004, was a wasted effort. A two-decade long process that started in 1985 concluded with a whimper, until the United Progressive Alliance government's National Advisory Council (nac) came up with a fresh draft policy in December 2005.