Biodiversity

Featured Articles
December 4, 2022 What is the status of inland fisheries in India? Read these situational analysis reports to know about inland fisheries, the life of the fisherfolk, governance and tenure in inland fisheries and threats to the sustainability of inland fisheries.
Fishing in an irrigation canal in Kerala (Image Source: Martin Pilkinton via Wikimedia Commons)
August 2, 2022 The frequency and intensity of floods is on the rise in Assam spelling doom for fish biodiversity.
Life during floods in Assam (Image Source: Kausika Bordoloi via Wikimedia Commons)
June 27, 2022 Heavy metal pollution is poisoning the East Kolkata wetlands, affecting fish and posing a threat to the health of humans who depend on this fish for their food. Urgent action is needed!
Fishermen use wastewater in Kolkata to rear fish (Image Source: India Water Portal)
June 15, 2022 The River Front Development project planned by the PMC is nothing but a cosmetic makeover for the already choked Mula Mutha river in Pune, argues Dr Gurudas Nulkar while speaking to the India Water Portal.
The highly polluted and encroached Mula Mutha river in Pune (Image: Alexey Komarov via Wikimedia Commons)
June 4, 2022 Freshwater ecosystems in India are in peril. We invite comments on this vision document by TNC-India, FES and Ooloi labs that highlights future actions needed to save them.
Freshwater ecosystems, in peril! (Image Source: The Nature Conservancy, India)
May 10, 2022 Freshwater ecosystems are not mere sources of water, they are treasure troves of biodiversity. Know more about the fascinating and diverse animal species that inhabit freshwater habitats in India.
Freshwater ecosystems, treasure troves of biodiversity (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Maharashtra Government puts its rivers in danger
Policy matters this week Posted on 27 Jan, 2015 12:29 PM

Mahashtra scraps state's River Regulation Zone policy

View of the river Mula in Pune, Maharashtra
Water news: A recap of 2014
Water made big news in 2014 with the formation of the new Water Ministry, initiation of the Swachh Bharat Mission, disasters due to erratic weather, and several scientific achievements. Posted on 05 Jan, 2015 09:58 PM

New Water Ministry, Clean Ganga Portal, Ganga Manthan: Goverment makes efforts towards rejuvenating the Ganga

Sunset at Gadmukhteshwar
Budget 2015-16 likely to have huge cuts in social sector
Policy matters this fortnight Posted on 16 Dec, 2014 12:27 PM

Social sector likely to get less funds in Union Budget 2015-16

MNREGA workers building check dam in Gujarat
Hydropower projects aggravated the Uttarakhand disaster
News this fortnight Posted on 16 Dec, 2014 12:08 PM

Government admits that hydropower projects aggravated the Uttarakhand disaster

House washed away in Uttarakhand floods
The Chalakudy river system wins
Latha Anantha was awarded the Bhagirath Prayas Samman for spearheading the campaign to save the Chalakudy river in Kerala, at the recently concluded India Rivers Week. Posted on 15 Dec, 2014 06:32 PM

Latha Anantha of the Chalakudy Puzha Samrakshana Samiti (Chalakudy River Protection Forum) was awarded the Bhagirath Prayas Samman at the recently concluded India Rivers Week for her commendable work on safeguarding the integrity of the Chalakudy river in Kerala.

Latha Anantha (Source: Latha)
To link or not to link: A debate
An open debate on interlinking of rivers moderated by Ramaswamy Iyer with Himanshu Thakkar and Brij Gopal as panelists was held as a part of the India Rivers Week at New Delhi. Posted on 15 Dec, 2014 02:48 PM

The essence of a river is its ebb and flow but won't taming of the fresh free-flowing rivers by building massive dams pose a threat to our rivers and the communities that live by them? 

Simen - a 'surplus' river in Brahmaputra basin
TSR Committee offers a frail framework to robust laws
The environmental regulation system will be more authoritative and bureaucratic, if the TSR Committee's suggestions are implemented, says Shripad Dharmadhikary in an interview with India Water Portal. Posted on 11 Dec, 2014 01:38 PM

More than three months ago, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) had constituted a High Level Committee, chaired by TSR Subramanian, former Cabinet Secretary, to review the key environment laws, viz. Environment (Protection) Act, Wildlife (Protection) Act, Forest (Conservation) Act, and Water and Air Pollution Prevention and Control Act.

Ufrenkhal forest that gives water to Gad Ganga
Are we heading towards ecological and social suicide?
Development at the cost of the environment and ecosystem-dependent communities can be an easy recipe for ecological and social disaster. Posted on 10 Dec, 2014 10:17 AM

In the article titled 'A hundred days closer to ecological and social suicide' published in the Economic and Political Weekly, the author argues that the recent changes in the government do not seem to have helped in changing the environmental policies of the country. Rather, they reflect regressive actions that could lead to a large-scale assault on rules, laws

The revived lake in Valni village, Nagpur
A beautiful, equitable water management system
Khonoma village, which fought the British four times, is today also known for how it protects its ecological heritage. Watch how its indigenous water management system works. Posted on 30 Nov, 2014 08:18 PM

Khonoma village resisted British rule in the region from 1830s to 1880 and is therefore considered as the last bastion of Naga warriors against the British. But today, the village is also known for upholding its rich indigenous erudition.

Women in Khonoma tying beads to make necklaces
Poachers turned protectors fight for their survival
Locals who protect the migratory birds that come to Chilka lake in Odisha struggle to make a living as the lake has shrunk, thereby shrinking their revenues from fishing. Posted on 23 Nov, 2014 01:46 PM

Nature and wildlife can be better conserved if local communities are duly educated and motivated. Nearly 70 km south of Bhubaneswar, the Mangalajodi village on the edge of Chilka lake, Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon, is a testimony to that argument.

Chilka lake, Odisha
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