Coming of a desert

A rich country hit by the socio-economics of desertification winemakers in Spain could soon find themselves scrambling for juicy red grapes. People may also find olives and cheese missing from their salad plates.

Pastures gone

But Changpas have survived here with their flocks of sheep, goats, yaks and horses in a delicate balance with nature, forever careful of its scarce resource pastures. Over centuries they have evolved an indigenous and effective rangeland management system that involves reserving certain pastures for winters when snow covers higher grazing areas and regulating communities' movement according to the pasture's condition. Today this system is under strain.

Villagers veto sale of grazing land to Mundra SEZ

Until a month ago the Adani Group, the proponent of Mundra sez in Kutch district of Gujarat, had been on a roll, buying land at dirt-cheap rates, though some in the political circle and real-estate market smelled a scam in it. Then something unprecedented happened. The people of Zarapara village near Mundra port revolted.

Maharashtra, pollution board differ on Dow plant

On March 28, following a high-powered state committee's report clearing the project, Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh gave Dow Chemical International Pvt Ltd's proposed research and development (r&d) centre in Shendi village near Pune the go-ahead to begin construction.

Novel land grab

with protests against land acquisition spreading across the country, state governments have realized that they cannot do without a dialogue with farmers--it's another matter that on most times there is less dialogue and more browbeating. But why does the state acquire land, ostensibly for public good, and then hand it over for private profits. Why cannot the industry directly negotiate with the villagers? Because that is an expensive proposition. So let the government wield its authority and use archaic laws to make way for a convenient entry.

Pune protests Dow research facility

the Maharashtra government has given away about 40 hectares (ha) of grazing land to Dow Chemicals for a research and development facility in Shendi village, 30 km from Pune. Villagers say they were kept in the dark about the Rs 400-crore facility and their dairy business suffered huge losses. Activists say there is no environmental impact assessment report for the project.

Should villages in Desert National Park be relocated?

there is debate over whether villages, within the Desert National Park in Rajasthan, should be relocated. Park officials stress on relocation, politicians are against it and scientists say while people are required, development should not affect ecology. To resolve the

A village that took on miners

Sua Nath is usually an amiable farmer. But ask him about mining in his village, Bagjana, and he flares up. Nath is among those who have taken it upon themselves to protect this village in Rajasthan's Bhilwara district from mining. The anti-mining movement has, in fact, struck roots in many villages in the district. "We will not allow anything to be taken from our land, be it rocks or gold," asserts Sua, while recollecting an incident when

Ladakh's nomads could lose lifeline to sanctuary

The decision by Jammu and Kashmir's Leh district to declare the Changthang region a highaltitude wildlife sanctuary has put Ladakh's Changpa nomads in a fix. The nomads have, for long, been using the land for grazing their livestock including their famous pashm goats. They say the decision will hem them in, though they have, for centuries, been living in harmony with Changthang's ecosystem. The administration's decision has threatened

Ban on grazing hits Raikas community hard

This monsoon, the Raikas, traditional camel breeders in the Kumbalgarh Wild Life Sanctuary in Rajasthan's Pali district, will face an existential crisis again. It will be the third successive season that the pastoral community will have been banned from grazing their camels in Kumbalgarh.