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)
Water conservation, sustainable agriculture, challenges for rural development in Maharashtra and possible solutions - Talk by Popatrao Pawar, Sarpanch, Hivre-Bazar
These four video films cover a talk by Shri Popatrao Pawar, Sarpanch of Hivre-Bazar (Ahmednagar), Maharashtra.
Observer Research Foundation
Posted on 09 Feb, 2012 04:49 PM

Shri Popatrao Pawar is an inspiring promoter of the 'Ideal Villages Movement' on "Integrated Agriculture and Rural Development for Tomorrow's Maharashtra" on the occasion of the inauguration of Observer Research Foundation's Maharashtra@50 Study Centre on 24th June 2010.
Lift irrigation - Methods and practices: A manual by Mihir Maitra (AFPRO)
This book was published by AFPRO in order to provide guidance to technical staff members of grassroots organisations working in rural development, particularly in the field of agriculture.
M K Maitra
Posted on 09 Feb, 2012 12:07 PM

Accordingly, the book is written as a technical manual that remains accessible to people seeking to gain necessary expertise in the planning, design, installation and maintenance of lift irrigation systems (LIS). Cover page of Lift irrigation: methods and practices

Governing the urban poor - Riverfront development, slum resettlement and the politics of inclusion in Ahmedabad - A paper published in EPW
This EPW paper by Renu Desai describes the case of the Sabarmati Riverfront Development (SRD) project in Ahmedabad.
Renu Desai
Posted on 08 Feb, 2012 11:58 AM

Sabarmati Riverfront Development (SRD) project, an urban mega-project in Ahmedabad has been proclaimed as a case based on “flexible governing” of the residents of the riverfront informal settlements.
Water quality monitoring of lakes in and around Bangalore city
This report by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) both in Kannada and English highlights the deteriorating condition of the lakes in and around Bangalore city.
Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB)
Posted on 07 Feb, 2012 03:05 PM

It describes the efforts undertaken by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board to launch a programme to monitor the water quality of some of the lakes in Bangalore so as to focus the attention of concerned governmental organisations to take up remedial measures to safe guard the water bodies of the "Garden City". 

The sources of pollution in lakes are mainly identified as:
Nutrient-based fertiliser subsidy: Will farmers adopt agricultural best management practices? An article in EPW
The new nutrient-based fertiliser subsidy policy provides implicit incentives to farmers to test soil samples regularly and get crop-wise recommended doses of nutrients.
Sacchidananda Mukherjee
Posted on 06 Feb, 2012 11:58 AM

It offers prospective benefits from the agro-environmental management point of view.
Towards good sense on Mullaperiyar - EPW - January (2007)
This article published in the Economic and Political Weekly briefly attempts to set forth the nature of the Mullaperiyar dispute.
Ramaswamy R Iyer
Posted on 06 Feb, 2012 07:59 AM

It makes some suggestions on the way in which it may be useful to proceed. The article argues that a new case has now been added to the existing list of river-water disputes and that the issue has turned very crucial as feelings are running high on the Mullapperiyar issue in both Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and that there is a risk that the dispute might become intractable. The article warns that wisdom is needed to avoid a serious deterioration of the relations between the two states.

Alternative National Water Policy: Ramaswamy Iyer's response to comments by Rahul Banerjee and Chetan Pandit in EPW
Ramaswamy Iyer responds to comments in EPW by Rahul Banerjee and Chetan Pandit on his alternative National Water Policy
Ramaswamy Iyer
Posted on 04 Feb, 2012 06:44 PM

Guest post: Ramaswamy R Iyer

This is in response to the comments made by Rahul Banerjee (“National Water Policy”, 13 August 2011) and Chetan Pandit (“Alternative National Water Policy: A Critique”, 10 September 2011) on my article “National Water Policy: An Alternative Draft for Consideration” (25 June 2011).

Epigrammatic Style
Mining poisons South Goa waters: The case of the Salaulim reservoir shown in a film
This film describes the impact of excessive mining on water resources in South Goa .
Video Volunteers
Posted on 04 Feb, 2012 05:05 PM

Content and Media Courtesy: Video Volunteers
River basin planning for Ganga : Lessons from Murray-Darling Basin Authority
A report by Amita on the round table meeting held at India International Centre, New Delhi on the topic of river basin planning for Ganga on February 1, 2012.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 02 Feb, 2012 09:15 PM

This interactive session with NGOs working on water and river issues was held in continuation of the “Living rivers, dying rivers” series at the request of AusAid. The meeting was chaired by Prof. Ramaswamy R. Iyer, Honorary Professor, Centre for Policy Research and an author of books and articles on water while the lead speaker Dr.
Community monitoring in water and sanitation projects - A facilitators manual by PRIA
This manual published by Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) aims at creating a basic understanding of the concept, principles and steps of community monitoring.
Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA)
Posted on 02 Feb, 2012 11:59 AM

This manual is based on the work that PRIA was involved in that included facilitating the process of social development and monitoring, and for guiding the process of developing models for community monitoring linked to community action, for child survival and development in six project sites in India.

This manual is divided into three key sections:
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