Daily Court Digest: Major environment orders (February 21, 2024)

Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in Supreme Court, high courts and National Green Tribunal  

‘Our injunction won’t lead to the depletion of ground water’

Down To Earth speaks to KR Jaithran, chairman of the Kodungallur municipality, about its new injunction to plant two fruiting trees in the …

Missing the woods: 18% of India’s 2,603 tree species threatened with extinction

Globally, nearly 30 per cent of trees are threatened due to a number of factors, according to the State of the World’s Trees report

How Auroville can teach us all a thing or two about offsetting carbon

The Government of India can enact a legilslation emulating Auroville, which plants trees to offset carbon emissions from transport

Trees, crops endemic to India can help combat air pollution: Study

Peepal, mango, neem, maize, safflower & pigeon pea are found to be most suitable for areas with higher levels of air pollution

The science of planting (and nurturing) trees

Why monsoon plantation programs can benefit from a more nuanced, evidence-based approach

Ghana plants 5 million trees in one day

The government plans to make Green Ghana Day an annual event, with the target expanded to 100 million by 2024

The ecological cost of highway to my village

How construction of a road led to economical, cultural shift in my village in Jaunpur 

Why everyone should develop a home garden

The joy of seeing plants flowering for the first time or birds building their nests in plants cannot be described in mere words

The earth likely holds more than 9,000 undiscovered tree species; and they are in danger

Undiscovered tree species are more likely to be present in in tropical and subtropical dry forests, which are threatened by development projects

Tree-planting campaigns can reduce, not improve biodiversity, shows study

Tree plantations can contradict the real purpose of planting trees, according to the study

Silent saviour: This man is trying to save Kashmir’s majestic chinars, all on his own

For most of the last decade, Abdul Ahad Khan’s initiative has added much to the Band Wadar forest in Kupwara

Mission Hariyali: This man distributes free saplings to bring back fruit trees to the nearly barren villages of Nalanda 

Now, there are at least 4,000-5,000 plants in the villages of Noorsarai block; residents do not just eat the fruits but also sell them for income

Why India should enact a special law for conserving its sacred groves

India’s sacred groves are being gradually altered due to ever-expanding human populations, pollution and removal of biomass; effective …

How understanding genes can help scientists adapt trees to climate change

Climate change can transform the time when trees sprout leaves; understanding plant’s genes can help tide over the problem 

A wildfire recovery guide for California

Many good-intentioned people take wrong steps after a fire because of ignorance. The California Native Plant Society has released a guide for …

Removing alien plants can save water: We measured how much

Positive effect of clearing alien trees higher in dry years compared to wet years, study predicts

Climate change may wipe out Eswatini’s 2 major savanna tree species: Study

While marula will move towards cooler sites from warmer ones, Knobthorn will be unable to expand beyond its core range

Harness silvopasture systems for local climate resilience

Silvopasture systems buffer against temperature and wind extremes, providing a favourable living environment for livestock

Kenya’s decision to lift 6-year ban on logging can be disastrous, say environmentalists

Illegal loggers and charcoal burners will take advantage of the directive to ruin forests, say experts

Green action: Four arrested in Bihar for cutting down dozens of trees near major hospital

Trees were being felled and sold to timber traders for many months near Muzaffarpur’s SKMCH hospital, according to reports

Earth Day 2021: Why we need to pledge to save our forests

The last few years have seen us sabotage our own future by degrading our forests. It’s time we learn from our lessons and treat Mother …

Sea level rise is killing trees along the Atlantic coast, creating ‘ghost forests’ that are visible from space

Huge swaths of contiguous forest are dying. They’re now known in the scientific community as ‘ghost forests’

Jammu’s Chipko moment: Green activists protest plan to chop 38,000 trees in Raika

The activists highlighted how the proposal was rushed through government departments for permissions  

The mysterious existence of a leafless kauri stump, kept alive by its forest neighbours

Whatever happens on their journey from feeding themselves to being fed happens out of sight — likely below ground