SUBSIDISED KILLING
They may survive the drought. But they cannot survive government policies. When people have to abandon their livestock, they are reduced to misery,…
Guiding growth
When nothing seemed to stop the desertification of the Banni grasslands, a government institution stepped in and showed the people how they …
‘There are less than 8 Great Indian Bustards in Maharashtra’
We, a team of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) scientists, reached this sobering conclusion recently after conducting a complex and statistically-…
Famine in the rainforest
The idea of a desert in the middle of the Western Ghats sounds unbelievable, but it may be on the cards
The litter-collecting monk on the Tibetan plateau
A Buddhist lama and his local volunteers search for a solution to the growing piles of rubbish on the remote grasslands at the source of Asia&…
Forest fires - a trailblazer
Controlled burning of woodlands can be an effective tool for enriching the land and ecology. Dipanjan Ghosh looks at the possibilities
The long shadow of colonial forestry is a threat to savannas and grasslands
Savanna and grassland store up to a third of the world’s carbon in its soils. They keep streams flowing, recharge groundwater, and provide …
Why South India needs the Shola forests of the Nilgiris
The forests and grasslands act as water towers and influence the fortunes of farmers in the Cauvery delta
Babri demolition: participatory efforts can douse the flames
Even 24 years after the demolition, courts and law makers have not been able to resolve the issue. Perhaps we can borrow the approach of …
Flourishing juliflora a drain on Ethiopia’s water resources
The invasive plant species consumes 3.1 to 3.3 billion cubic metres of water per year in the Afar region
'Urbanisation biggest culprit for decline in India's bird population'
Rajah Jayapal, senior principal scientist at the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology, Coimbatore talks about the State of India's Birds 2020
Climate change in India: Gujarat faces problem of plenty
Regular rains in the state's arid Banni grassland force Maldharis to take up farming, an internal feud erupts
How important are migratory birds in an era of climate change
As many as 1,349 species of birds have been recorded as of 2019, of which 78 are endemic to the country and 212 species are …
Desertification: Planet’s tree-covered areas fell by 35,204 sq km in 15 years
Countries party to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification meet to review the first global land degradation assessment
Refuge pockets critical for persistence of Blackbuck in human-dominated landscapes: Study
The study examines how blackbuck use habitats characterised by seasonally changing resources, threats of predators, intensive human pressures in …
Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve to get more grassland cover
Increasing grassland will mean a rise in tigers’ prey base, leading to better chances of survival
Global environmental change alters grasslands
Grasslands store 30 per cent of the world's carbon making them crucial in combating climate change
Banni Maldharis approach NGT with reneged community forest rights claims
Banni Breeder Association, an organisation of pastoralists, want the titles recognising the community's claimed rights
Gujarat government backtracks on granting CFR rights to Maldharis
Despite granting 47 Community Forest Rights in 2015, the government, through a notification dated September 27, has asked for surveying the land, …
How to save Banni grasslands from invasive species? Here’s what a new study suggests
A mosaic of restored grasslands and patches of Prosopis juliflora may be key to sustainability. Until other pieces of the puzzle are figured out
NGT upholds rights of pastoralists in Banni grasslands, wants encroachments removed
The court highlighted the lack of coordination between revenue and forest departments for the problem
Hunters turn protectors
Traditional hunters Phase Pardhis are part of an initiative to save critically endangered lesser floricans
Endgame for bustards
Great Indian Bustard has been pushed to extinction in its biggest sanctuary; breeding stops
Humans may have transformed the Sahara from lush paradise to barren desert
The world's biggest desert used to be green, lush and full of hippos. A new theory suggests humans could have tipped the environment over the edge
Keep on the grass
Alpine pastures are thriving despite policies to encourage grazing. But Himalayan pastures languish despite strong conservationist policies
