A century-old bamboo is a 'new' species, say scientists
Although tribes in Arunachal Pradesh have used Stapletonia rigoense for almost a century, scientists have only recently discovered and …
Another Maharashtra village demands community forest rights
Tribal village Pachgaon to follow Mendha Lekha; to hold bamboo sale as protest to gain community forest rights
In the tax bracket again
The Orissa government has slapped a forest development tax on three minor forest produce items -- tendu leaf, timber and bamboo. Seen as a …
Melghat Malaise
This first of three Down To Earth analyses of tiger reserves finds Melghat in Maharashtra in a legal mess
At which road head?
Not the path of economic growth, but the trail leading back to the village is the answer
Jobs Jobs Jobs
The government is obsessed with economic growth. Employment is bound to follow, it claims. That's a delusion. The swelling numbers of unemployed …
Roundtable on Minor Forest Produce: Introduction
Sunita Narain, Director of the Centre for Science and Environment, discusses the confusion surrounding the Forest Rights Act and forest management.
A wonder bamboo from Tamil Nadu to mitigate climate change
The Beema Bamboo developed by a bio-tech company can grow fast and does not die for many years, according to its developers
Tribal farmers to harvest second bamboo crop after earning right to sell
Here’s the success story of people in 16 villages of Rajasthan who put up a fight against the district administration to be able to sell …
‘Modern buildings cannot breathe’
Kolkata-based architect Laurent Fournier tells how ceilings can float and why bamboo-reed-mud make more sense than brick-concrete-steel
Mendha Lekha gets record bamboo rate
Earns 2.5 times more than what the highest rate received by the forest department last year
Crossroad
nitin sethi visits Arunachal Pradesh and finds the Apatani grappling with stereotypes and change
Roundtable: Is Bamboo a Minor Forest Produce?
The MFP roundtable participants discuss what constitutes a minor forest produce and whether bamboo fits its definition. Read Sunita …
Daily Court Digest: Major environment orders (September 20, 2022)
Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal
International Women’s Day: How women lead climate adaptation in eastern India’s Adivasi areas
Wattle and daub houses maintained largely by women in tribal parts of Odisha and Bengal provide cool shelter to families when temperatures soar
Four decades later, bamboo rice shows up in Odisha
The rare variety, which was last harvested in Chandaka-Dampara Wildlife Sanctuary in 1979, grows twice or thrice in a century
10 good news we got in 2018
As this year nears its end, here’s a look at stories by Down To Earth that brought some relief to an otherwise climate change-ravaged period
Pan-India Transit Permit for bamboo soon
The environment ministry is planning to introduce a pan-India bamboo permit, which will eliminate the need for multiple permits
Mautak will flower
In 2006-2007, a bamboo species will flower over vast swathes of Mizoram, Tripura and Assam. When bamboo flowers, it dies; usually a famine follows.…
Forest titles only on paper
Officials deny tribal village its forest management rights
Dhinkia steel plant: Villagers block entry points with bamboo structures to oppose JSW project
The resistance came after police officials entered Dhinkia to arrest “anti-industry” villagers December 4
Kalahandi forest dwellers allege FRA violation by state forest department
Activists say that in 3 villages of Kalahand district, the Odisha forest department is imposing on the rights of forest …
100 gram sabhas in Odisha’s Kalahandi district to assert rights on bamboo, kendu
In Odisha, both these commodities are nationalised, thereby curtailing the rights of the people on them
Bamboo will soon be declassified as a tree to encourage use and supply
Currently, bamboo is considered a tree under the Indian Forest Act and a non-timber forest produce under the Forest Rights Act
Bamboo flowering
People in northeast India fear bamboo flowering. According to an ancient belief when bamboos flower, there is death and destruction.