Biodiversity

Featured Articles
December 4, 2022
Small scale inland open water fisheries of India
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
Floods in Assam - a boon or a bane for fish diversity?
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
Poisoned wetlands, toxic fish
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
Damned by pollution, doomed by beautification
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
Conserving India’s freshwater ecosystems: A shared vision
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
India’s fantastic freshwater fauna and where to find them
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)
Interlinking of rivers project: A disquieting judgement - Ramaswamy Iyer's perspective in the EPW on the recent Supreme Court decision
The Supreme Court judgement of 27 February 2012 directed the executive government to implement the river inter-linking project through a special committee which will take precedence over all other administrative bodies. In this article, first published in the Economic and Political Weekly, Ramaswamy Iyer explains why this backing of a 'potentially disastrous' project is disturbing. The article then calls for a reconsideration of this judgement.
Ramaswamy Iyer
Posted on 20 Apr, 2012 10:52 PM

 

1. Introduction
Two writ petitions were filed in 2002 on the subject of interlinking. The judgement finally passed in 2012 directs the implementation of this project. This judgement is disturbing for the following reasons:
"Resources, tribes and the State" - A report on an international seminar, organized by the Arunachal Institute of Tribal Studies at Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, in February 2012
Arunachal Institute of Tribal Studies, an affiliate body of the Rajiv Gandhi University, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh organized a three day international seminar on Resources, Tribes and State from 13th to 15th February 2012. The seminar was sponsored by Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi and NER, Shillong, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies (MAKAIS), Kolkata, Anthropological Survey of India (ASI), Kolkata and Rajiv Gandhi University, Rono Hill, Doimukh.
Raju Mimi
Posted on 11 Apr, 2012 04:10 PM

Guest post by: Raju Mimi
The return of the earthworm: Association for India's Development's (AID-JHU) practicing organic farming in the Sunderbans
All the farmers and gardeners who have been part of AID and its partners Mukti & BTS’ agricultural work in the Sunderbans are practicing organic agriculture of both paddy and vegetables on a part of their land while some are doing it fully. A buzz has been created in the area about it. Many of these farmers have been trained by Saathi Revathy and many more have been trained by the trainer-farmers of the area.
Nishikant
Posted on 08 Apr, 2012 10:51 PM

Article and Video Courtesy : Association for India's Development - Johns Hopkins University

Author : Nishikant
Supreme Court order in February 27, 2012 on the interlinking of rivers project A statement and an appeal by concerned citizens to think of all the implications
A number of citizens have made a public statement, expressing serious concern about the Supreme Court’s Order of Feb 27, 2012 on the Interlinking of Rivers Project. The statement endorsed by more than sixty eminent persons has urged the Supreme Court to put this order on hold and reconsider the matter. The statement first states the concerns relating to the propriety of the apex court making this specific order, and then proceeds to state the concerns relating to the Project itself.
Ramaswamy R Iyer
Posted on 29 Mar, 2012 06:37 PM

The full statement is as follows -

We, the signatories to this statement, wish to record our utmost concern at the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s judgment of 27 February 2012 on the Inter-Linking of Rivers Project (ILR), on the following grounds:
National Conference on Environment and Biodiversity of India (EBI 2012), December 29 - 30, 2012, New Delhi
Posted on 20 Mar, 2012 08:17 PM

Organizer: IBSD, Imphal,
                       IITM, Pune,
                      Islamic University of Science and Technology, J&K
                      NECEER Team

ibsd iitm islamic university neceer

Description:
National Conference on Environment and Biodiversity of India, December 29-30, 2012, New Delhi.

Biodiversity Asia 2012, SCB-Asia, ATREE and IISc, August 7-10, 2012, IISc campus, Bangalore
Posted on 20 Mar, 2012 07:24 PM

Organisers: SCB-Asia, ATREE, IISc

Venue: JN Tata Auditorium,
             Indian Institute of Science Campus,
             Bengaluru

SCB- Asia atreeIISc

The conference is being co-organized by organizations such as Society for Conservation Biology-Asia Section, (SCB-Asia), Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), and several other institutions with the Secretariat housed at ATREE, Bengaluru, India. We will partner with other institutions in India and other countries in Asia to ensure broad participation. We expect 400-500 people to participate.

Basin-level impact assessment study of the Lohit river - A study by WAPCOS & Ministry of Environment and Forests (2011)
In view of the number of hydro-electricity projects being commissioned on the free-flowing Lohit river and its tributaries, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) recommended the development of a basin-level impact assessment. This work was awarded to M/s Wapcos Limited, and the cost shared by the various project developers.
Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)
WAPCOS
Posted on 19 Mar, 2012 11:29 AM


Area map of the Lohit Basin

Our water woes: Ecological imbalance is the culprit!
When we were solely dependent on hunting and/or gathering as tribes, we used to draw only as much natural resources as could be easily replenished by “Mother Nature” - which is the case even today with the most pristine environs of all the tribal societies, across the globe.
Madhuranthakam Prabhakar Rao
Posted on 12 Mar, 2012 12:01 PM

Author : Madhuranthakam Prabhakar Rao
Implementation of the interlinking of rivers project (ILRP): Bangladesh raises concerns
The Indian Supreme Court’s (SC) recent verdict to implement the Interlinking of Rivers Project (ILRP) has added an additional element to the list of unresolved issues between India and Bangladesh with regard to water resources management in shared rivers. The people of Bangladesh have expressed their disappointment in various news media over the proposed Tipaimukh dam, lack of Teesta water sharing treaty, and the failure to implement the Ganges Treaty over the last 15 years. This new development (or re-surfacing of the old concept from 2002) on Inter-linking of River Project (ILRP) in India is a matter of concern.
Md Khalequzzaman
Posted on 12 Mar, 2012 11:50 AM

Author : Md. Khalequzzaman, P.D.
Towards a progressive Indian and global climate politics - A CPR Climate Initiative Working Paper
This working paper by Centre for Policy Research discusses domestic politics around climate change in India as an entry point to understanding India’s role in global climate negotiations. The paper argues that there is broad agreement within India on three issues: India is being unfairly labelled a “major emitter”; India has a considerable ongoing development burden; and India is already moving in the right direction on climate mitigation.
Navroz K Dubash
Posted on 09 Mar, 2012 07:04 PM

However, on each of these issues, there is a healthy under-current of domestic debate. Moreover, broad agreement on this perspective does not translate to strategic unanimity. There are three divergent positions within India: growth-first stonewallers, progressive realists, and progressive internationalists.
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