Promote insect-eating to benefit indigenous peoples
Ethnic communities are traditional custodians of entomophagy. They must not be sidelined as policymakers and industry ready plans to promote …
Hopes in bloom
Sikkim’s tryst with floriculture marks a new beginning for small growers, but poor market access and a flush of imported breeds may mar its …
Climate crisis in North East India: Why Nagaland’s Liphi, Runchan villages saw floods never seen before
Nagaland’s Wokha district experienced at least 3 heavy-to-very heavy rainfall events in 2018
India’s agrarian distress: How dissent has been on the rise
At least 50 major protests were reported across 20 Indian states in 9 months between January and September 2020
A shift in tradition
THE HOE AND THE AXE: AN ETHNOHISTORY OF SHIFTING CULTIVATION IN EASTERN INDIA· A Pratap·Oxford· New Delhi·2000·…
Safe as houses
Earthquakes don't kill; badly built houses do. A look into houses in India that have withstood several earthquakes
Two for tangle
Development takes backseat in Northeast as two Central agencies try to outcompete each other
Indigenous people in India and the web of indifference
On the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, we bring together the stories of exclusion, oppression, and at times, recognition
‘African swine fever may have come to Arunachal Pradesh, Assam from Tibet’
Swaraj Rajkhowa, acting director of ICAR-National Research Centre on Pig, Guwahati, speaks to DTE on African swine fever and pork meat ban …
Mautak will flower
In 2006-2007, a bamboo species will flower over vast swathes of Mizoram, Tripura and Assam. When bamboo flowers, it dies; usually a famine follows.…
Muted response
Hepatitis C is a growing problem in India, but government has no programme to manage the disease
Land of discord
Origin of the relentless strife in Bodoland lies in a series of blunders, right from colonial times
Shifting blame
Avian diversity in the Northeast is better off with shifting cultivation than selective logging and monoculture forests
Dangerous deal
To promote development in hilly states, a committee recommends dilution of forest clearance rules, reward for setting up projects
Mutual interest
Farmers care for the hill slopes only when the hills provide livelihood -- a simple lesson that has been forgotten
Bamboo flowering
People in northeast India fear bamboo flowering. According to an ancient belief when bamboos flower, there is death and destruction.
Old as the hills
Shifting agriculture on the hillsides has been going on for centuries. In recent times, it has been blamed for degrading the ecology. Agriculture …
High risk
Problem: Tall buildings risky in high seismic zones; Status: Hill-stations are getting concretised and growing vertically; Challenge: Use local …
What goes down
Problem: Lack of space for garbage disposal; inadequate sewerage; Status: Garbage disposed on hill slopes ends in streams/rivers; Challenge: …
Defying gravity
Problem: Terrain forbids water supply systems that work in plains; Status: Water crisis in peak season every year; Challenge: Develop …
Local travails
Problem: Tourist influx too large; earnings flow downhill; Status: Residents forced to share meagre facilities with tourists; Challenge: Regulate …
Lafarge’s fait accompli
SC allows French giant to mine in forest; asks Centre to set up a green regulator for projects
Why environmental racism needs to have its moment
Tribal groups comprise 40-50% of the displaced population in India, and face the brunt of environment racism
Boom
Problem: Terrain forbids sprawl as in cities in the plains; Status: Alarming population density (people per sq km); Challenge: Policy question is:…
Boiling Siberia shows temperature swings may be increasing: Experts
The warming of the Arctic, as seen by the Siberian heatwave, may also impact western disturbances in India