There's more to trees than timber
New thinking on forestry management calls for reducing the emphasis on sustainable timber production and concentrating instead on the protection …
Wisdom from an obscure archipelago
In Down To Earth's first Country Report, ANIL AGARWAL and SUNITA NARAIN look at Papua New Guinea, its short but volatile transition to the market …
Fights for space
Once harmonious, the human-elephant relationship has taken an ugly turn. Faulty forest policies and nationwide destruction of elephant habitats …
Eaten hollow
The sal heartwood borer is all set to destroy sal forests in Madhya Pradesh. But this would not have been possible without the assistance of an …
How development loses meaning
The abstract noun 'development' is firmly a part of the public relations language governments use today. But after a recent ordinance passed by …
Stark facts: Forest destruction
“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another”- M K …
Chopping down the future
About 90 per cent of Arunachal Pradesh's revenue is generated by its forests. Yet these very forests are under heavy pressure, thanks to …
Wild & fragile
The Western Ghats in the south of India have forests which are, for some plant species, their exclusive home on this earth. No wonder then, that …
Stemming the root ?
While there are many who welcome the Supreme Court's ban on non-forest activities within forests because of its obvious advantages for the …
The Method Behind The Madness
When the official system learns to loot the official treasury, it also targets the natural estate, the biggest property of the modern state. Good …
Figuring out natural costs
Many economists now argue that nature cannot be the provider of a perpetual free lunch. It's time to account for natural resource degradation …
Project disaster
A natural gas pipeline which is expected to wind its way through a forest area in western Thailand could jeopardise 14 protected areas and the …
Caught in a crossfire
A proposed power generation project in Laos has become the target of environmentalists' ire
Disappearing with the forest
Survival is not easy for an endangered species of gibbons when its habitat is being destroyed, says Kashmira Kakati
Unhearthed
Human encroachment has created imbalance in the avian ecology. Better management practices are needed for the conservation of species diversity
Africa: Atlas of Our Changing Environment
Don't bite that apple!
The government's plans for boosting horticulture to earn foreign exchange do not take into account the hidden costs of deforestation, fertiliser …
Sri Lanka's Tree Frogs
Frogs are falling silent
The decline of the frog population is an early warning that something is seriously wrong with living conditions on Earth
Paper question
Proposed pulp and paper plant revives debate on private access to degraded forestland
Chipko: an unfinished mission
In 20 years, Chipko has acquired many facets, primarily as a conservation endeavour by the poor, a struggle for local control of natural …
Hornbills in peril
Hornbills, also known as avian farmers for their unique role in disseminating seeds and regenerating forest trees, are threatened by changing …
Pine pressure
Pine culture has altered the Himalayan landscape with disastrous effect on its fragile ecology