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)
The Karnataka State Water Policy 2019
The Karnataka Jnana Aayoga (KJA) set up a Task Group to draft a new water policy for Karnataka in December 2017 and the report is now in public domain. What are the suggestions that the report makes?
Aarti Kelkar Khambete
Posted on 20 Jan, 2020 11:42 AM

The water crisis in Karnataka has not only led to severe agrarian distress in the eastern plains region but also created an acute shortage of domestic water, in both rural and urban areas. The 21st century has seen significant changes in demography, economy and agriculture, increasing the demand for water in the state.
Groundwater depletion, a growing challenge (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Can ruin of quality forests be made up by plantations?
There is a gain in forest cover outside forest land as per the 'State of forest report 2019'. But, can reforestation replace natural forests and its essential ecosystem?
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 18 Jan, 2020 04:49 PM

The recently released biennial State of India’s Forest Report 2019 (SFR) indicates an improvement in forest cover since 2017 but dense forests continue to turn into non-forests.
Chir pine trees felled by forest fires in Uttarakhand, 2016 (Image: Ramwik, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)
Water-related crime doubles in India: Report
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 16 Jan, 2020 08:28 AM

Number of water-related crimes double in India: Report
Water-related crime doubles in India (Image Source: Sourabh Phadke)
Whose forests, whose rights?
While forest bureaucracy has been trying to undermine reforms in forest governance in India, the need for community level forest governance is more urgent than ever.
Sharachchandra Lele
Posted on 15 Jan, 2020 02:58 PM

India’s forest sector, at crossroads
Mangar Bani, a green patch between Faridabad and Gurgaon (Image: Pradip Krishen, Facebook)
Groundwater variability: The tale of two states
Gujarat shows good groundwater storage while Rajasthan shows severe groundwater depletion, inspite of both states in western India receiving good rainfall. Why is this so?
Rakesh Meghwal
Deep Shah
Vimal Mishra
Posted on 12 Jan, 2020 09:28 AM

India, a groundwater stressed country
Groundwater decline in India (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Water policy for rainfed areas
The new national water policy should take up a comprehensive and integrated view of water resources development with a focus on rainfed areas.
Revitalising Rainfed Agriculture Network
Posted on 10 Jan, 2020 12:12 PM

A committee has been constituted to draft a new National Water Policy (NWP) and make key changes in the water governance structure and regulatory framework. It is chaired by Mihir Shah, who is a former Planning Commission member and a water expert. The committee is expected to produce a report within six months.
Public investments on water in rainfed areas have much higher social rate of returns (Image: Kannan, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
2019 was the seventh warmest year on record since 1901: IMD
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 10 Jan, 2020 10:55 AM

2019 was the seventh warmest year on record in 118 years: IMD
2019 was the seventh warmest year on record in 118 years (Photo: IWP Flickr photos)
If she built a country: A film review
The film looks at corporate grab of forest and private lands in the Scheduled Areas of Chhattisgarh.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 04 Jan, 2020 10:49 AM

Maheen Mirza’s film ‘Agar wo desh banati/ If she built a country’ looks at the widespread displacement on an unprecedented scale for mines and industries in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh.
The documentary brings attention to how development interventions changed gender relations (Image courtesy: People's Film Collective)
Centre approves Atal Bhujal Yojana to improve groundwater management
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 02 Jan, 2020 11:04 AM

Centre approves Atal Bhujal Yojana, worth Rs 6,000 crore
An irrigation well at Randullabad, Maharashtra. (Image source: India Water Portal on Flickr)
India's composite score improves in SDG index with major success in water and sanitation
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 02 Jan, 2020 10:46 AM

Sustainable development goals index 2019-20: India's composite score improves
Sustainable Development Goals adopted in 2015 as a part of the 2030 agenda. (Source: Wikipedia Commons)
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