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)
Protectors of the lost ponds of Darbhanga
Talab Bachao Abhiyan', a group that is working on pond conservation in Bihar, suggests measures to the government and hopes to involve local youth to further the cause of these dying ponds.
Sabita Kaushal
Posted on 12 Mar, 2014 12:20 PM

In 1989, Bihar's Darbhanga town boasted 213 ponds. Today nearly 25% of them have been drained, leveled to the ground, filled up and built over. Hotels, houses and highrise buildings have bulldozed their way onto these water bodies. Do we not need these ponds any longer? Are they better of as bedrocks of development in these land-starved times? 

Once upon a time
Rally to protect ponds
Shifting cultivation for a changing climate
The 'Jhum' farming system has been criticized as an environmentally unsustainable practice but do the strengths of the system offer a better chance in the wake of a changing climate?
Usha Dewani
Posted on 12 Mar, 2014 10:07 AM

Shifting cultivation, locally called 'Jhum', is a widely practiced system of crop cultivation among the indigenous communities of Northeast India. While it is generally contested as a destructive method of farming, it is also argued that the system lends itself as much more than just a farming practice.
Jhum farmer sifting rice
Invite to the talk on 'Climate & Ecological Crisis: Why Capitalism cannot solve the problem?' by Pablo Solon, Centre for Marxist Studies (CMS), New Delhi
CMS invites you to the talk by Pablo Solon on 'Climate & Ecological Crisis: Why Capitalism cannot solve the problem?', at USO House in New Delhi.
Posted on 11 Mar, 2014 12:30 PM

Venue: USO House, USO Road, Jeet Singh Marg, New Delhi - 110067
Ph : 26561103/26857276/26525146
http://www.uso-usi-india.org/
Climate & Ecological Crisis
Invite to the course on 'Spring Protection', Grampari, Panchgani, Maharashtra
The goal of the course is to build awareness and capacity within the Western Ghats to protect spring ecosystems and ensure safe, sustainable drinking water.
Posted on 11 Mar, 2014 11:14 AM

Get more information on the course 'Spring Protection'.

Know more about Grampari.

Download the invite to the spring protection course from below.
Kerala's seas are rich in sand: GSI
News this week: Kerala's offshore areas are rich in marine sand, says GSI; JP group sells its hydro projects in HP without settling the tribals' issues; Illegal sand mining kills Chambal's ghariyals.
Swati Bansal
Posted on 10 Mar, 2014 07:54 AM

Kerala seas's rich in sand, says GSI
Ponnani Sea Shore in Kerala (Source: Wikipedia)
MoEF accepts Kerala's recommendations on Western Ghats
Policy matters this week: MoEF approves Kerala's demands on Western Ghats; Committee finds Singrauli pollution a matter of serious concern; Panels set up to manage those displaced by Alamatti dam.
Swati Bansal
Posted on 09 Mar, 2014 05:17 PM

MoEF accepts Kerala's recommendations on Western Ghats
A view of Western Ghats (Source: Wikipedia)
People's institutions managing natural resources in the context of a watershed strategy - A paper by MYRADA
This paper presents concerns and issues in the context of watershed projects promoted by government and NGOs and the role envisaged for Panchayat Raj Institutions in Hariyali guidelines.
Aloysius P. Fernandez
Posted on 08 Mar, 2014 02:18 PM

This paper attempts to analyse the impact of several government guidelines related to watershed management on the People's institutions that have emerged in watershed programmes where NGOs have a role. 
People's institutions managing natural resources
Integrated Farm Development: A user guide
This user manual on Integrated Farm Development by MYRADA is based on experiences at their farms. It will help extended functionaries, NGOs and farming communities adopt this practice effectively.
Seetha Gopalakrishnan
Posted on 08 Mar, 2014 10:29 AM

Integrated Farm Development (IFD) is an innovative concept in farming where various resources (farm waste) are integrated and utilised in order to reap maximum benefits. 
Integrated farm development: A user guide (Source: Seetha Gopalakrishnan, IWP)
Identity theft in Northeast India
Development and modernisation come at a cost to Indigenous people who have historically struggled to assert their rights. For sustainable growth, their identity must be respected and embraced.
Usha Dewani
Posted on 07 Mar, 2014 12:26 PM

If you try to map where indigenous people live and where abundant biodiversity exists, you will notice a big overlap. It might seem like coincidence, but it isn't. Indigenous people have long shared and declared a strong connection to their traditional landscapes. They have had methods to protect, preserve and live harmoniously with nature.
Indigenous communities remain marginalised
Princely' private ponds
The 'Apna Talab Abhiyaan' programme promotes the building of private talabs on peoples' lands to help improve groundwater recharge in Bundelkhand.
Amita Bhaduri
Prabhat Jha
Posted on 07 Mar, 2014 10:14 AM

Charkhari, a princely state of India in the colonial period was once a beautiful settlement founded by Saurabh Singh Bundela, a Rajput King. Acceded to India post-Independence, the town is now located in Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh. The place was home to intricate water management systems in the past.
A talab in the fort city of Charkhari
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