India's tiger habitat declines by 41 per cent, says IUCN

The report warns that a similar decline could be expected over the next 20-30 years if conservation effort are not scaled up

Fluorosis-hit villages caught in red tape

While more villages in UP's Unnao district are gripped by fluorosis each year, the state's ground water board remains entangled in bureaucratic …

Smoke laws first enacted in city of joy

Because of its political importance in the British empire, Calcutta was one of the first cities to regulate smoke emissions. But legislation …

Sundarbans has been slipping in rank despite an increased tiger count; here’s why

Lack of adequate manpower is its main challenge, a member of the evaluation team points out

The road ahead

India with its deplorable rural roads can learn a lesson from Madagascar, which has successfully implemented a decentralised system of …

Words of wisdom

The traditional knowledge of indigenous communities was for a long time viewed with scepticism. Now, the world acknowledges its significance

Riots for water

Faced with a severe drought, the Gujarat government decided to reserve water from a dam for the town of Jamnagar. Rural folk of Saurashtra …

Secret lives of cougars: Pumas might be ‘gardening’ to attract prey to hunting hotspots

Study suggests prey carcasses fertilise the soil to grow nutrient-rich plants that attract large hooved mammals to hunting areas

Bird flu deaths on the rise, environment ministry issues guidelines

As many as 250 crows in Rajasthan, 1,700 migratory birds in Himachal Pradesh have died since December 2020 

Avoiding tragic elephant deaths through policy intervention

The wildlife conservation agenda in India is largely driven by an elitist mindset that is insensitive and disregardful of the real sufferings of …

Why cities are focal areas to address climate change

Cities play a crucial source of innovation, solutions and opportunities to improve the lives of people  

Bihar makes an attempt to boost gharial population

Population of the reptiles in India has declined by up to 94 per cent in past few years due to rampant hunting and killing for their skin

Bee sure to yield fruit

It is established that bee-keeping increases fruit productivity, but can the practice become successful in urban India?

Why Asian cities should be made ‘smart cities’

Kolkata and Mumbai are among the most flood-prone Asian megacities in the world and must invest in water-smart planning and development, says new …

Fighting for survival

Shrinking habitat due to deforestation has forced elephants to enter human territory in Orissa's Keonjhar district

Who is monitoring Lavasa?

Lavasa Corporation is rushing to complete its township in Western Ghats. No one knows if the promoter is complying with conditions on which it …

Critical Wildlife Habitat guidelines issued; NTCA order superseded  

Forest rights activists criticise Ministry of Tribal Affairs' decision to accept the guidelines without making any revisions or inviting comments …

US, epicentre of unequal wealth

As the US completes 50 years of its "war on poverty", the country does not have much to celebrate, thinks JOEL BERG, an expert on …

Dam of defiance

The Chikkapaclasolagi barrage, on the River Krishna in Karnataka, is said to be the country's first "people's dam". But having built …

Spare change

Resources devoted to health care systems are neither divided equitably nor in proportion to the distribution of health problems

Forest governance 2.0

Forest dwelling communities have created a new economy courtesy a decade of the Forest Rights Act. Will the bureaucracy support the empowered …

Industries eye forest land for plantations

Wood-based firms want to convert forest areas to their own use for raw material. In doing so, they ignore the fate of millions of rural poor, who …

False predictions

For years, energy experts and foresters have believed that the poor will eat away the forests of the developing world like locusts in order to …

Poaching, habitat loss push Africa’s elephants to the brink

IUCN declares African forest and savanna elephants as ‘critically endangered’ and ‘endangered’ based on latest population …

Garbage gets attention

India is revising the way it manages solid waste. A manual for this, prepared by the urban development ministry, proposes providing legal …