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)
Call for Entries for the 'Quotes from the Earth' Environmental Film Festival 2014, Toxics Link & India International Centre, New Delhi
This is the call of the entries for the films/documentaries/animations on the broader theme of environment like Earth, Water, Wildlife, Climate Change, Mining, Forest, Environmental Justice.
Posted on 11 Apr, 2014 04:09 PM

Get more information on 'Quotes from the Earth'.

Know more about Toxics Link and India International Centre. 
Water works: Keystone’s interventions in the Nilgiris
Keystone Foundation is best known for its work on issues of indigenous people in the Nilgiris. This article details its projects on water over the last two decades, from a water data perspective.
Balachander T
Posted on 07 Apr, 2014 12:50 PM

A village of nine families bounded by a river on one side and thick forests on the other, lived here in Kilcoupe, an Irula hamlet in the Nilgiris. The women went out into the forest in search of water, a risky activity, as there was quite a large chance that they would encounter either a gaur or an elephant, sometimes even a leopard.
A stream flowing through a settlement and farms.
Water for friends- for free!
At a time when Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), is much talked about, two villages in Nagaland show that helping one's neighbour doesn't always have to be for a cost.
Usha Dewani
Posted on 05 Apr, 2014 03:17 PM

“Water flows humbly to the lowest level. Nothing is weaker than water, yet for overcoming what is hard and strong, nothing surpasses it.”– Lao Tzu
Water reservoir at Mima village
Alternative farming method in Karnal
No-till agriculture, an alternative farming method, which helps prevent soil depletion as well as uses water efficiently, is being used successfully by farmers in Haryana.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 05 Apr, 2014 01:24 PM

Kalwaheri is a village of over thousand households comprising mostly of small farmers and landless people tucked away in Karnal, Haryana. The district, once the birth place of the Green Revolution, is now far from green.
Seed-fertilizer drill in use at Kalwaheri village
Coexistence possible—farms and forests, man and nature
Khonoma village near Kohima upholds a sustainable form of jhum cultivation, which doesn't fell but only prunes trees. This video narrates how farms and forests can co-exist.
Manu Moudgil
Posted on 01 Apr, 2014 11:43 PM

Nagaland holds many secrets of evolution and sustainable living within its green frontiers. Khonoma village near Kohima is one such plae. It is known not only for being the last frontier the British could never conquer but also for its environmental conscious community and distinct farming practices. 
Alder trees are great nitrogen fixators
Water buckets of the Western Ghats
Exploitation of groundwater in Panchgani, Maharashtra, led to acute water shortage but the people of Akhegani decided to do something about it. Watch how they built spring boxes to revive springs.
Hamsa Iyer
Posted on 01 Apr, 2014 04:51 PM

The Western Ghats, known for its biodiversity, is one of India's most sought after ecological hotspots. One of its stark features is the basalt rocks, often referred to as water buckets indicating the water retention capacity of the rock, found there.
Basalt rocks characterize the Deccan Plateau
Abolish manual scavenging: SC
Policy matters this month: SC directs all states to abolish manual scavenging; MoEF reduces ESA in its new draft notification on Western Ghats; Maharashtra all set to clean its rivers.
Swati Bansal
Posted on 31 Mar, 2014 11:14 PM

Abolish manual scavenging: SC
A manual scavenger in Chennai (Namathu Blogspot)
A better, bluer Bangalore
The Green Bazaar, which brought together local communities and businesses as well as water experts, provided a fitting end to India Water Portal's celebrations of World Water Day 2014.
Prateek Sharma
Posted on 31 Mar, 2014 10:26 PM

In honour of World Water Day 2014, the theme at the Green Bazaar, a community event run by The Alternative, was water. India Water Portal collaborated to add some 'blue' to the 'green'.
Green Bazaar in Bangalore
The importance of transparency and data management
World Water Day was celebrated in Raipur by bringing together many speakers who talked on the importance of sharing and disseminating information to truly serve society well.
Makarand Purohit
Posted on 31 Mar, 2014 10:17 PM

On 22nd March 2014, Raipur celebrated World Water Day with senior government officials and officials from NGOs and other organisations presenting on the importance of NGOs in disseminating information to the people. They also highlighted the discrepancies in data collected between organisations and the need to improve on this if they were to make a difference to society. 
World Water Day at Raipur
Deepor beel: Entangled in a net of dangers
Banning fishing in the beel has not only affected the sustenance of the Keot fishing community in Guwahati but it is also threatening the beel's very existence.
Usha Dewani
Posted on 25 Mar, 2014 08:52 PM

“Posua botah”, he said. “The wind is blowing from the west now so we cannot take you to the beel to show you how we catch fish. This wind cleans the water and we won’t get fish. 'Bhatial botah', when the wind blows from the east, the water turns muddy and the fish come up to the surface to breathe. That’s the best time to fish”, he explained.
Deepor Beel awaits a fresh gush of life
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