Phosphorus is vital for life on Earth – and we’re running low
The fact that more than 70 per cent of the global phosphorus supply comes from a single location is problematic
Dams and sea deliver death blow to Nile delta
Sandwiched between an encroaching sea and dams that prevent silt from reaching it, the Nile delta seems doomed.
Homeless blues
THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S REFUGEES. A HUMANITARIAN AGENDA·UNHCR, Oxford University Press, UK·Rs 625
Is contract farming in India really worth it?
It is a novel idea; but in a country where the ruling class openly favours corporates, it could prove disastrous for farmers
Wheat production to be record high despite unseasonal rains: Officials
Back-to-back western disturbances have enriched the soil moisture in the past two weeks, say scientist
Desertification in India: Mining erodes soil, water table dips in Jharkhand
Water table in Barkitand village of Giridih district has fallen from 8 metre below the ground level in 2013 to about 10 m in 2017
Integrating trees in African agricultural landscapes
The challenge for policy makers is how to increase agricultural productivity without expanding into forestlands and with minimal use of external …
Industrial pollution in rural Raigarh: NGT appoints new head to oversight committee
New committee head will implement measures to check pollution and assess compensation payable by offenders
Earthworms are more important than pandas (if you want to save the planet)
We focus on large, charismatic animals at the expense of these crucial "lowly creatures"
Chennai’s soil, Delhi’s air most contaminated due to high PCB concentration: study
Informal recycling of e-waste, open burning of solid waste, combustion of coal and ship-breaking activities cause PCB contamination
Scientists find energy source of bacteria responsible for arsenic contamination
Till now, it was known that some bacteria were breaking down compounds in the soil, causing arsenic to be released in the process. But no one …
The new culprit of global warming
Though the world's attention is focussed on the degradation of tropical forests as a major contributor to global warming, the depletion of boreal …
Himalayan plunder
PEOPLE OF THE HIMALAYAS: ECOLOGY, CULTURE, DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE· Guest Editor: K C Mahanta·Kamla Raj Publishers and Printers, New …
Kodagu landslides not a natural disaster
Here’s an account of the situation in disaster-hit Kodagu in Karnataka by a geologist who volunteered for the relief work
Floods affect over 30,000 in Assam
Parts of Manas National Park, a world heritage site, have also been submerged by the flood water
North India Deluge 2023: Heavy rains in Nepal cause erosion downstream in Bihar; hundreds displaced
Soil erosion due to ascending water levels in the Koshi, Mahananda and Ganga has impacted hundreds in Bihar’s Supaul, Khagaria, Katihar, …
Invasive species flourish in non-native regions due to soil microbes and fungi: Study
A three-year study of the Canadian horseweed species revealed the changing behaviour of plant species in non-native regions, helping them to …
How microbes may help clean up oil spills in Iraq
The soil bacteria is fed with nutrients from manure and bulking agents like wood chips and water, to thrive in and then break down petroleum
E-waste contaminating Delhi’s groundwater and soil
Researchers have discovered an alarming amount of toxic heavy metals leaching into soil and groundwater in East Delhi's Krishna Vihar industrial area
NITI Aayog’s three-year action plan on agriculture raises hope as well as concerns
In a major digression from the current discourse on GM crops, the report claimed that the farmers in India have “enthusiastically embraced&…
The fire-fighting children of the Khasi Hills and the decline of traditional farming in north-east India
In North-east India, children of the Khasi Hills (Meghalaya) learn slash and burn cultivation, an intergenerational yet controversial indigenous …
Golf under attack
In response to ecologists up in arms against the golf courses mushrooming all over the world, designers are now coming up with eco-friendly courses.
God's own country
This is a true story of the beautiful state of Kerala, of its famed backwaters and wetlands, of its rain-swept Western Ghats. It also speaks of …
Plagued plantations
Farmers in the Peruvian highlands learn that all's not well with their produce, land and health
How Karnataka manages its faeces
Thirty years after banning manual scavenging under the Night Soil Carrying System Abolition Act, Karnataka is still a fair way away from flushing …