River restoration is not just an ecological act

Despite decades of restoration efforts by a rich ensemble of state-development actors, cultural heritage votaries and rights activists, the …

'Poor nations need Codex education'

Sanjay Dave, director of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), was recently elected chairperson of …

Ramsar is not a strong, strict and rigid convention

India has listed 16 wetlands under the Ramsar sites, but with no policies, knowledge or interest shown by the authorities, proper management is …

'NGT must have suo motu powers'

Justice Swatanter Kumar has been chairing the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for nearly two years now. In an interview to Down To Earth, he speaks …

‘Manipulate market, lower drug prices’

In times of rising costs of healthcare compounded by shortage of funds, UNITAID, a UN organisation, was set up in 2006 to improve access to life-…

‘Ganga basin temperatures to rise by 1-2°C by 2050’

Eddy Moors, who heads the Earth System Sciences and Climate Change group at Alterra Wageningen University and Research Center in the Netherlands, …

Toxic Alert

In large doses, cadmium is carcinogenic. A study now shows that even chronic exposure to the heavy metal in low doses causes breast cancer. …

A decentralised system will lead to sustainable water use

S Vishwanath, a Bangalore-based engineer and planner, started the Rainwater Club to help people manage rainwater efficiently. He spoke to Binayak …

Health care should be cheaper and more accessible

N H ANTIA Director of the Foundation for Research in Community Health, Pune, Maharashtra is striving to promote the concept of better health care …

Alternative fuels can reduce air and noise pollution levels

Vialle, a company based in the Netherlands, manufactures customised cars using alternative fuels like compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied …

Energy transition is now a must

Marie-Hélène Aubert, adviser to the French president for international negotiations on climate and environment, was recently in New …

'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 …

Affected people can even approach the criminal court

JUSTICE N VENKATACHALA former judge of the Supreme Court, is currently chairperson of the National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA). Set …

'Clean environment has to be a fundamental right'

For more than four years now, Narayan Belbase, an environmental public interest lawyer, has been working towards facilitating and mainstreaming …

‘Let farmers decide the price’

Mani Chinnaswamy’s contract farming model has prompted IIM graduates to study his Appachi formula. After all, it gives farmers the right to …

'Regional climate models must for managing water'

Subimal Ghosh, faculty member of IIT-Bombay, has been working on localised climate change models. He speaks to Dinsa Sachan about extreme …

‘Energy conservation is a moving target’

A decade has passed since the Energy Conservation Act was enacted in 2001. Most provisions of the law are yet to be implemented properly. Ajay …

Vehicular emissions are a cause for concern

Praful B Desai, professor emeritus and former director of the Tata Memorial Cancer Research Institute, Mumbai, spoke to Leena Chakrabarti on …

'They asked me to withdraw my court case'

P PARDHA SARADHI is tenacious. This mild-mannered professor at the Department of Environmental Studies at the University of Delhi (DU) has …

'Adopt decentralised, low-energy approach'

Manu Bhatnagar, an urban environmental planner, has been heading the natural heritage division of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural …

'Breakthroughs in material sciences key to sustainable economy'

Peter Littlewood is the associate laboratory director for physical sciences and engineering at the Argonne National Laboratory in the USA. He …

A civilisational loss

For more than two decades, Huta Ram Baidya has led the Save Bagmati River campaign. An affable, octogenarian activist and Nepal’s first …

We plan to involve panchayats in monitoring pollution levels

Sheila Rani Chunkat has recently been appointed chairperson of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB). She spoke to Binayak Das on how …

Farmers can only teach traditional knowledge

P S Ramakrishnan , former director of G B Pant University in Nainital, Uttar Pradesh and currently professor at the School of Environmental …

My report is not an industry report: T S R Subramanian

The High Level Committee (HLC), constituted by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) three months ago to …