Ecology and Environment

Featured Articles
December 16, 2022
Healthy soil critical to human health and for achieving SDGs
Soil research must focus both on technology development and implementation
The ability of soils to support soil functions or services is decreasing (Image: Katrin Park/International Food Policy Research Institute)
November 25, 2022
Categorising watersheds for freshwater ecosystem conservation in India
These maps at the watershed scales have been made to not only ensure inclusion of different freshwater ecosystems, their connectivity and hydrological processes, but can also provide a spatial context for conservation decisions.
A stream at Anini, Arunachal Pradesh (Image Source: Roshni Arora)
November 16, 2022
Improving community resilience in ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction in India
Adoption of hybrid solutions - grey and green structures appropriate for resilience building
Healthy wetland ecosystems help in reducing disaster risks and managing climate risks (Image: Pxhere)
October 30, 2022
Slow disaster: Political ecology of hazards and everyday life in the Brahmaputra valley, Assam
This book by Dr. Mitul Baruah presents a fascinating, ethnographic account of the challenges faced by communities living in Majuli, India, one of the largest river islands in the world, which has experienced immense socio-environmental transformations over the years, processes that are emblematic of the Brahmaputra Valley as a whole. This is an excerpt from the book.
Floods are recurrent phenomena in Assam (Image: Mitul Baruah)
October 6, 2022
Deteriorating landscapes and threatened ecosystems of Jammu and Kashmir
Rapid urbanisation and faulty land use policies are rapidly destroying forests, grasslands and wetlands in Jammu and Kashmir, India and the ecosystem value services they provide. Can these valuable ecosystems be saved?
Deteriorating ecosystems of Jammu and Kashmir, India (Image Source: tkohli at Flickr via Wikimedia Commons)
July 14, 2022
Ichamati: River of poetry is dying a slow death
The river is faced with the dual problem of flood plain encroachment and growing levels of water pollution
Illegal transverse check dams (Badhals) built on Ichamati near a village in Basirhat (Image: Prithviraj Nath @ TheWaterChronicles)
Healthy soil critical to human health and for achieving SDGs
Soil research must focus both on technology development and implementation
Bhabani S. Das
Suhas P Wani
Dinesh K Benbi
Sekhar Muddu
Tapas Bhattacharyya
Biswapati Mandal
Priyabrata Santra
Debashis Chakraborty
Ranjan Bhattacharyya
Nirmalendu Basak
Nagarjuna N Reddy
Posted on 16 Dec, 2022 11:46 AM

Although India attained self-sufficiency in food production, realising zero hunger, good health, and no poverty remains a challenge.
The ability of soils to support soil functions or services is decreasing (Image: Katrin Park/International Food Policy Research Institute)
Assessing the health of river Ganga
How are dams affecting the river Ganga? What are phytoplankton and how can they help assess health of rivers? What is the connection between dams, barrages, river flows and phytoplankton growth? Read this recent study to know more.
Aarti Kelkar Khambete
Posted on 08 Dec, 2022 07:07 PM

Dams can bind and gag rivers 

Structures such as locks, dams, barrages, and weirs are known to drastically reduce the longitudinal connectivity of rivers, impact downstream flow, and alter riverine ecosystems.
The polluted Ganges (Image Source: Lane Rasberry via Wikimedia Commons)
Categorising watersheds for freshwater ecosystem conservation in India
These maps at the watershed scales have been made to not only ensure inclusion of different freshwater ecosystems, their connectivity and hydrological processes, but can also provide a spatial context for conservation decisions.
Roshni Arora
Mike Heiner
Balachander T
Ranjan Panda
Deepti Gupṭa
Ishan Agarwal
Posted on 25 Nov, 2022 04:20 PM

We invite your feedback and contributions to this article. Please view the maps by clicking the link at the end of the article.
A stream at Anini, Arunachal Pradesh (Image Source: Roshni Arora)
Green nod granted to Centre’s ambitious Rs 72,000 crore project in Greater Nicobar Island
Policy matters this fortnight
Swati Bansal
Posted on 17 Nov, 2022 06:02 PM

MoEF grants green clearance to multi-development projects in Greater Nicobar Island
Havelock, Andaman Island. Photo for representation only (Source: Vikramjit Kakati from Pixabay)
India joins Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC) at COP27
News this fortnight
Swati Bansal
Posted on 17 Nov, 2022 01:34 PM

India joins the newly formed Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC)
Mangroves in Sunderbans (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Improving community resilience in ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction in India
Adoption of hybrid solutions - grey and green structures appropriate for resilience building
UNEP
Posted on 16 Nov, 2022 10:40 PM

Since 2019, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in-collaboration with Partners for Resilience (PfR) have developed and implemented scalable Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR) models, working a
Healthy wetland ecosystems help in reducing disaster risks and managing climate risks (Image: Pxhere)
Children demand ecological rights ahead of COP-27
Children say ‘Nothing about us children without us children’
PRATYeK
Posted on 06 Nov, 2022 02:38 PM

Ahead of the Conference on Climate Change COP 27 at Egypt, PRATYeK, a registered organization with UN ECOSOC status, known for its national child led-advocacy initiative NINEISMINE, hosted an online event NO COP OUT on November 4 and 5, along with coalition partner
Millions of children face the brunt of climate change in their day to day lives. There Is No Planet B (Image: Blaine O'Neill; Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC 2.0)
Slow disaster: Political ecology of hazards and everyday life in the Brahmaputra valley, Assam
This book by Dr. Mitul Baruah presents a fascinating, ethnographic account of the challenges faced by communities living in Majuli, India, one of the largest river islands in the world, which has experienced immense socio-environmental transformations over the years, processes that are emblematic of the Brahmaputra Valley as a whole. This is an excerpt from the book.
Mitul Baruah
Posted on 30 Oct, 2022 07:19 PM

The accumulation of capital and misery go hand in hand, concentrated in space.

― David Harvey, The Limits to Capital, 2006 [1982]: 418

Floods are recurrent phenomena in Assam (Image: Mitul Baruah)
Young woman's work is impacting Odisha villages
Urmila, a young woman's earnestness has brought a major shift in the mindset of a remote village in Odisha. She is bringing about a change in the way communities approach their shared natural resources, one village at a time.
Mukti Masih
Dron Kumar
Posted on 28 Oct, 2022 09:06 AM

The sound of a specific cycle bell deep inside the jungles of Kashinathpur village in Angul (Odisha) brings vibes of joy. Everybody recognises that bell because it belongs to 24-year-old Urmila Bahera who sometimes cycles to villages as far as 15 kilometres, braving bumpy roads, streams and elephants.
Urmila engaging children on local bird diversity (Image: FES)
Valuing mountain ecosystems
Mountain ecosystems in Ladakh provide a range of vital ecosystem services such as freshwater, food, fodder and fuel to people living in the region. Valuing these ecosystem services is crucial for their conservation.
Sabir Hussain
Sheenu Sharma
Anand Narain Singh
Posted on 11 Oct, 2022 03:36 PM

Ecosystems, crucial for human survival
Landscapes of Ladakh (Image Source: Reflectionsbyprajakta via Wikimedia Commons)
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