What triggers desertification in India
A low down on the most important causes behind desertification in every state of the country. Addressing these will be critical to meet targets …
In defence of shifting agriculture
IT HAS taken almost two decades of consistent research into the northeastern tribal practice of shifting agriculture for P S Ramakrishna, …
Desertification control lacks efficiency
PERHAPS no environmental problem affects the poor of the world as much as desertification. The UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) says this has …
Climate is changing, and the Sundarban residents can feel it
The Sundarban delta region in the Bay of Bengal, with 10,000 square kilometres of estuarine mangrove forest and 102 islands, is the world's …
Private affairs
The invitation was innocuous. The Confederation of Indian Industry (cii) -- the grouping of the large and most powerful industries -- was …
Science under siege
Agricultural science has ossified in India. Despite a vast network of public research institutions and agriculture universities across the country,…
Make choices that will help end soil erosion, reduce effects of drought or dust storms
Every year, we make New Year resolutions about change. Why not include as one of those resolutions, a change of habit leading that will lead to a …
Curbing desertification as critical as mitigating climate change impact
Currently, some two billion people are affected by desertification and land degradation; 41 per cent of the landmass worldwide is prone to …
India: Making of a desert over the years
Over 25 per cent of India’s land area is undergoing desertification. Of the 30 states, 26 recorded an increase in the area under …
Desertification is one of the biggest challenges for Indian agriculture
Loss of soil cover, mainly due to rainfall and surface runoff, is one of the biggest reasons for desertification. It is responsible for 10.98% of …
UNCCD COP14: Reclaiming degraded land can help achieve SDGs
This restoration can potentially reduce poverty and inequality, the two significant goals set by the United Nations
More or less equal
God made all humans equal, but some are more equal than others when it comes to consuming the world's resources
One of the biggest threats to the environment - desertification, explained
At an ongoing global workshop on desertification, the Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan said desertification threatens 30% of India’s …
New Delhi Declaration dilutes role of international funding bodies, tenurial issues
Overall the Declaration has downplayed the role of global financial institutions, tenurial rights of people, and delinks UNCCD from other Rio …
UNCCD CoP 14: Report on Soil Organic Carbon released
Soil Organic Carbon, which is the plant and animal tissues at various states of decomposition in the soil, is a yardstick for sustainable land …
Research can play a crucial role in combating desertification: Experts
Synergy between scientists, government and farming communities can help reclaim degraded lands
Urbanisation to cause huge loss of prime farmland: UNCCD
Between 1.6 and 3.3 million hectares of such land could be lost by 2030, estimates the United Nations Convention to combat Desertification report
Lexical conundrum: Desertification does not allude to deserts
Today, desertification just means a reduction in the productivity of the land that is not reversible
Farmers in this Nepal district struggle to cope with crop raiding by wild animals
Almost all farmers in Aiddhungra, Budechaur and Bagargot villages have abandoned maize and millet farming due to increasing incursions by wild animals
A 2°C rise in temperature would make 25% of the world drier, affecting 1.5 bn people
In India, desertification is a fundamental threat to agriculture; out of India's total geographical area of 328.72 million hectares (MHA), 96.4 …
Losing land to desertification
Drought and desertification affect about 1.9 billion hectares of land and 1.5 billion people globally
Arid politics
Each year the world loses $42.3 billion because of desertification. But when its leaders meet to discuss the fast-spreading problem, all they can …
Watering down concern
GROUND WATER DEPLETION, LAND DEGRADATION AND IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE IN INDIA·B D Dhawan· Commonwealth Publishers· Pages 200&…
Creeping malady
The once-fertile state of Gujarat now faces a future plagued by extreme soil salinity and large-scale land degradation
World lost 87 per cent wetlands in 300 years
Rapid urban expansion one of the major reasons behind land degradation, says a global report