The milk that ate the grass

India may be the largest producer of milk in the world, but at an incredible cost. In achieving this distinction, the country's vast cattle …

The goat gamble

It has been a slow and steady shift over decades. Forced by declining returns from farming in ecologically fragile areas, small farmers have been …

MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION

Knowledge without power, and power bereft of knowledge. This, in sum, is the story of mismanagement of wildlife and protected forests in India. …

Keeping the desert at day

The extent of desertification of grazingland in North China has reached crisis proportions. Effective governmental policy is needed to maintain …

The common root

The ancient tradition that sanctified groves for the common good awaits a voyage of rediscovery.

Environmental scapegoats

Are goats responsible for increasing desertification? No, say many environmentalists and researchers. In fact, this hardy animal …

Vanishing green

Participants at a recent conference conference on man, animal and environment discuss ways to solve the problem of overgrazing

Uneasy truce

Stand-off ends between forest officials and villagers in Ranthambhore, but roots of the conflict remain

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

Return of pastoralism: How villagers fought a long battle to regenerate grazing lands, assist herders

With help from civil society organisations, India’s rural population managed to increase their profits from raising cattle

Got Fodder?

Manju and Mukesh Gupta have had to reduce their milk intake because the two rupee per litre milk price hike has become too much of an expense. …

Grazing animals play key role in maintaining soil carbon health: Study

Grazing by mammalian herbivores can be a climate mitigation strategy

'Open forests for livestock grazing'

Otaram Dewasi, Rajasthan's Minister of Dairy, Devasthan and Gaupalan department and India’s first cow minister, tells Down To Earth how the …

Paradise in peril

Galpagos, an archipelago straddling the equator 1,000 km west of Ecuador, is probably the world's best-known biodiversity zone. But alien species …

Killing blue bulls: are there alternatives?

Unless conservation area declared for protection has enough grazing field for herbivores and enough prey for predatory carnivores, straying will …

Deserted by policy

Rajasthan's livestock is facing a threat as grazing lands disappear and laws paralyse traditional economic incentives for keepers

High cost of fodder led milk price hike

First pulses, now milk. The common household is compelled to give up on its easy sources of protein. RAVLEEN KAUR found rise in fodder prices, …

Kathua incident reveals threats to pastoral nomads of Jammu & Kashmir

The gruesome Kathua rape was a reminder of the institutional denial of forest and land rights of Jammu and Kashmir's nomadic communities

These methods can help in sustainable pasture management

Forming a pasture land development committee at the local level is necessary for the development, protection and maintenance of pastures

How 40 villages in Odisha came together to address water crisis

Charmalik has recorded a 2-2.5 ft increase in the surface and sub-surface water level since 2010

Drought in Kenya forces herders to invade wildlife habitats

Over the past few weeks, about 10,000 nomadic herders have systematically targeted private game lodges, ranches and smallholdings

TRAMPLED DESTINIES

What happens if conservation is based on half-baked knowledge? Ask a person rendered homeless by wildlife managers "No conservation strategy …

WORKING IN ISOLATION

A mutual lack of trust and understanding between forest officials and wildlife scientists may be responsible for the mismanagement of India's …

CONSERVATION TO DEATH

Misguided conservation efforts are leading to depletion of biodiversity and exploitation of poor people

Greenhouse gas emissions from man-managed grasslands similar to global croplands

Study highlight need to use sustainable management to preserve and enhance soil carbon storage of grasslands