Highlights from the issue

Highlights from the issue

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Sunita Narain's Desk: We need life for life

Illustration: Yogendra Anand
Illustration: Yogendra Anand

We need ways to monitor the biological health of soil so that we do not discount the wealth beneath our feet

Cover story: Power bank for transition 2.0

India’s energy transition is no longer just about adding renewable capacity at a record pace. It now hinges on storage—the ability to capture intermittent renewable power and dispatch it when needed. How prepared is India for this next phase?

Special report: Yet more fault lines

The highway connecting Tamlu with Mon and other parts of Longleng districts destroyed by a landslide.
The highway connecting Tamlu with Mon and other parts of Longleng districts destroyed by a landslide.Sandipan Talukdar

Widespread landslides in Longleng and Mon districts on the same day have revived fears that parts of Nagaland could face prolonged ground instability

Appraisal: Drought deadlock

Members of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities caucuses protest outside the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, demanding inclusion in decision-making processes during the meeting
Members of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities caucuses protest outside the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, demanding inclusion in decision-making processes during the meeting IISD/ENB | Anastasia Rodopoulou

Decisions on a global drought framework remain stalled even as impacts of the disaster on land and communities rise

Special report: Perpetual shortage

Farmers in Sidpur village of Devbhumi Dwarka district say check dams have proved ineffective in improving the water table as the wells in their fields have run dry
Farmers in Sidpur village of Devbhumi Dwarka district say check dams have proved ineffective in improving the water table as the wells in their fields have run dry Raju Sajwan / DTE

Acute water shortage in dry and arid districts of Gujarat raises questions about the functionality of water harvesting structures built over the years

Special report: Raid on saffron farms

Residents of Patalbagh village in Pampore tehsil observe the landfill that has sprung near their saffron farms since 2022
Residents of Patalbagh village in Pampore tehsil observe the landfill that has sprung near their saffron farms since 2022Bhagirath / DTE

Rodents introduced by a landfill are forcing saffron farmers in Pulwama’s Pampore tehsil to give up growing the prized crop

First take: Small, but significant

Yogendra Anand / CSE

Regenerative agriculture seems to be a win-win opportunity for smallholder farmers in the context of climate emergency and a declining farm sector

Special report: Flickering lights 

Odisha says all revenue villages electrified, but Nunaresh’s failed DRE shows how energy poverty persists beyond official coverage
A hamlet of 11 houses in lower Nunaresh.Photo: Puja Das/CSE

A remote Odisha village’s tryst with decentralised renewable energy systems shows installation of infrastructure may not translate into energy access

Patently absurd: The new open-source software revolution

Yogendra Anand / DTE

Europe, like Africa and other regions, is turning its back on Windows and seeking data sovereignty as distrust of the US grows

Civil lines: Species of our making 

Yogendra Anand / DTE

The speed of AI development raises serious concerns on consciousness and whether machines can ever gain it

Initiative: Pond prosperity

Dewas' former district collector Umakant Umrao (extreme left) with the farmers of Kharda village
Dewas' former district collector Umakant Umrao (extreme left) with the farmers of Kharda village(Photographs: Sunil Rakhecha Sure)

While construction of rainwater harvesting ponds on farmlands has boosted agrarian incomes in Dewas, benefits remain out of reach for those without land

Life and nature: Desert yarns 

Kabbu Devi of Aati village in Rajasthan’s Barmer district has been honoured by the state government for weaving a muffler made from bhambhuriya, a type of silk obtained from the aak  plant
Kabbu Devi of Aati village in Rajasthan’s Barmer district has been honoured by the state government for weaving a muffler made from bhambhuriya, a type of silk obtained from the aak plant(Photographs: Sunil Rakhecha)

Weaving aak fibre is an indigenous tradition struggling to survive, but can be a major source of livelihood for desert communities

Opinion: Caught off guard

Illustration: Yogendra Anand /CSE

Rapidly changing floods outpace early warning systems in Hindu Kush Himalayas. Incorporating indigenous knowledge can narrow the gap

Opinion: Plug the leak

Illustration: Yogendra Anand /CSE

India’s leachate problem needs modern, integrated treatment solutions that
cover its whole life cycle

Book review: Continuity with change

Exploring continuity and change in India’s forests
The Prince of Wales, the future Edward VIII, after his first tiger hunt in India in 1921.Photo: iStock

Based on archival and field research in the realm of environmental humanities, the book India’s Forests points to the continuities in the ways forests have been used, governed and preserved over time

Down To Earth
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