Should conservation be privatised?

Since the late 1960s, many African countries, including Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa, have adopted a new approach to conservation.…

'CBD has lost its track'

Bolivia is one of the few countries that has consistently been opposing treating biodiversity as a commodity at the ongoing Conference of Parties …

'Biodiversity authority needs autonomy'

Balakrishna Pisupati was the first biodiversity expert to head India's National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and had more than six months to go …

‘Forest department is the encroacher’

When V Kishore Chandra Deo became the Union Minister for Panchayati Raj and Tribal Affairs three months ago, both the ministries were in inertia.…

Wealth of forests withheld

Forest departments across the country owe millions of rupees to communities. For 20 years communities toiled under the Joint Forest Management …

Treasure in troubled land

International aid has supported the economy of Afghanistan for 12 years. With aid flow gradually declining, the war-torn country will now have to …

'Building and retaining capacity is the toughest challenge'

Balakrishna Pisupati is in the hot seat as chairperson of the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), where he has to deal with regulatory and …

'Most countries don’t want to recognise indigenous people as people'

Mohammed Taghi Farvar, former director of Avicenna University in Iran, is a well-known ecologist and social scientist. At present, he is the …

Bamboo rising

Five years after it was implemented, the Forest Rights Act finally takes root. Communities across the country rush to claim rights over forests …

The hunt for benefits

India is hailed as a pioneer in implementing the third objective of the Convention on Biological Diversity—fair and equitable sharing of …

When sharing is so hard

Ayush companies claim the laws on biodiversity require only foreign entities to share benefits of commercialisation

Can Montreal help communities: Here’s a look at access and benefit-sharing around the world

Communities managing and providing biodiversity resources do not get benefits, while users evade regulations

Lateral Thoughts: Will benefits from genetic resources ever reach communities? 

Consensus on access and benefit sharing on genetic resources continues to be elusive   

Elected democracy: democratic enough?

Global trends reveal that people are no longer finding this popular governance mechanism effective

Road to COP15 Montreal: Kenya’s local communities have had limited benefits from their natural resources; here is why

Many communities are vulnerable to manipulation, rendering the whole principle of fair and equitable sharing of benefits impractical

New Mineral Policy gets Cabinet approval

Citing limited exploration of mineral reserves, Modi government opens up reconnaissance permits to private companies

Future is in our hands

We can make or break it, depending on whether we stand up and are counted or let markets drive democracies

Here’s a good news conservation story: farmers are helping endangered ecosystems

There’s been a variety of market-based programs for conservation on farmland in Australia, but we don’t know what the total …

70% of ministry’s budget released, claims tribal affairs minister

Jual Oram claimed that about 16.78 lakh individual titles have been granted over an area of 55.43 lakh acres of forest land

Road to COP15 Montreal: Indigenous groups in South Africa benefit from rooibos tea industry; here is how

Rooibos comes loaded with antioxidants that can boost immunity, reduce risks of heart diseases, protect from viral infection and has anti-…

Honey, they shrunk our livelihoods!

Honey collectors gamble with their lives to eke out a livelihood in the Sundarbans, but are forced to sell it to the forest department for a pittance

Economy that nurtures

Book>> The great disruption, how the climate crisis will transform the global economy • by Paul Gilding • Bloomsbury • Rs 599

UN body can face litigation if seabed mining is approved before developing regulations: Paper

Council of the International Seabed Authority needs to discuss appropriate means for equitable sharing of benefits, among other things

Road to COP15 Montreal: Namibia’s unique scheme ensures implementation of Nagoya Protocol

Namibia allows the creation of community forests so indigenous groups can manage their own natural resources

Natural embrace

Are we ecological serial killers or benevolent conservationists? Muriel Kakani narrates some refreshing perspectives of camel herders in Rajasthan