Poor implementation of polluter pays principle and conflicts with the environment ministry risks the National Green Tribunal's effectiveness
Swachh Bharat Mission: other name for coercion and deprivation
Plastics ban calls for deliberation, not draconian measures
Here comes the megacities
Swachh Bharat is not just about chasing toilets
Instead of being euphoric about fast pace of toilet construction in the country, the government should focus on the factors failing to trigger the communities to use toilets
Last few drops
Taps will run dry in the South African metropolis of Cape Town in two months. Hundreds of cities across the world are nearing a similar breakdown. Can they avoid a collapse?
India's climate quandary
The National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture, India's flagship programme that aims to make Indian villages climate-proof, is at crossroads due to a lack of strategy for expansion
The future is electric
The global automobile fleet is marching forward to wean away from fossil fuels. India has shown intent but lacks a clear policy and roadmap. What is the way out?
They cannot cast out women
Khap Panchayat's recent posturing against SC judgement on inter-caste marriage and threatening not to produce a girl child shows that time has come to dismantle these caste councils
The rise of the rurals
The Bharatiya Janata Party's famed "Gujarat Model" gets a rude jolt in the state's recent polls, especially from rural communities in the Saurashtra region
Climate change is triggering a migrant crisis in Vietnam
It looks as if climate change is forcing 24,000 people to leave the Mekong Delta every year
Forest governance 2.0
Forest dwelling communities have created a new economy courtesy a decade of the Forest Rights Act. Will the bureaucracy support the empowered communities?
The futility of CoP23
Although in its 25th year, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is still struggling to find a way out of this century's biggest developmental challenge: climate change
Did WTO MC 11 achieve anything?
Members failed to remove WTO constraints on countries’ ability to feed their hungry population and improve farmers’ livelihoods
Justice eludes
So many years later, the victims have to still struggle for medical support, rehabilitation, compensation and environmental remediation
Is permaculture a real solution to agricultural distress?
Permaculture farming, which spread across the West as part of the hippie movement, is fast gaining ground in India among subsistence farmers and those who want to grow their food
The green crusader
On the centenary of Indira Gandhi's birth, Down To Earth reveals her hitherto unknown role, that of an environmentalist
Himalayan glaciers are receding faster than before
To understand their changing behaviour in the wake of climate change, Indian scientists have for the first time set up a high-altitude glaciology research station in the lofty mountain range
Antibiotics could be contributing to rise of non-communicable diseases
Several NCDs are accompanied by increased susceptibility to infections, which are treated with antibiotics
Fast food MNCs indifferent towards eliminating antibiotic use in India; consumers unaware
None of the fast food companies that CSE surveyed has made any specific time-bound commitment to reduce or eliminate any kind of antibiotics
Five things that should happen at the Bonn climate talks but probably won’t
Parties could agree on certain rules in order to help the first stocktake of progress in implementing the agreement
The last coal power plant in India can be closed by 2050
With an aim to connect 40 million households to the grid by 2018, India is investing heavily in coal mines. But our analysis shows India is chasing a dream far removed from reality
To meet 2017 target, one million rural households need to be connected with piped water supply every day
Community involvement is missing and so is the interest towards maintaining sustainability of drinking water projects. What else hinders progress of rural drinking water scheme?