Ecology and Environment

Featured Articles
December 16, 2022 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 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 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 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 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 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)
Aerosols and droughts: Is there a connection?
A study finds that high levels of aerosols in the atmosphere further worsen the impacts of El Nino on the rainfall leading to increased frequency of droughts in India. Posted on 29 Dec, 2019 04:19 PM

Droughts are becoming common in India

The role of aerosols in triggering droughts (Image Source: IWP flickr photos)
Watershed Management Compendium
This compendium by Dr Mihir Kumar Maitra answers all questions that will be of great use to practitioners engaged in both engineering and management aspects of watershed management in the field. Posted on 27 Dec, 2019 06:32 PM

This compendium by Mihir Kumar Maitra is a valuable resource for all practitioners engaged in watershed management activities in the field.

Watershed management in India (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Hydroponics may provide better agriculture solutions
Hydroponics offers opportunities to young farmers for startup business for the production of nutrient-rich spices, herbal and high value crops which has huge demand in the urban market. Posted on 26 Dec, 2019 07:45 PM

New Delhi, December 20 (India Science Wire): With rise in the population size the demand for food is also increasing and expected to increase up to 59 percent to 98 percent by 2050. Looking at this emerging demand hydroponics may be seen as a better technique of agriculture.

Hydroponics is the technique of growing plants without soil. Image source: India Science Wire
India has most pollution-related deaths in the world
News this week Posted on 26 Dec, 2019 02:07 PM

India leads the world in pollution-linked deaths: Study

Delhi-NCR shrouded under toxic haze (Source: India Water Portal)
Only one out of five river basins in the country resilient to climate change: Study
News this week Posted on 19 Dec, 2019 10:31 AM

Study finds, only one out of five river basins in the country can cope with climate change

Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Trading in virtual water
A study highlights the need to scale down the export of rice, maize, buffalo meat and other items to conserve groundwater in India. Posted on 13 Dec, 2019 09:12 AM

The recent trade war between the United States and China was, among other things, about virtual water - the hidden water in products. Producing anything, whether it is soyabean or clothes, uses water, and has a water footprint.

A farmer uses a hosepipe to irrigate crops at her farm in Nilgiris mountains, Tamil Nadu (Image: Hamish John Appleby for IWMI, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
NGT orders 100 percent treatment of sewage entering rivers
Policy matters this week Posted on 11 Dec, 2019 12:05 PM

Ensure 100 percent treatment of sewage entering rivers: NGT to authorities

Polythene bags and solid waste left behind as water recedes in the Ganga river. (Source: India Water Portal on Flickr)
Holistic approach needed to clean the Ganga
A report by the India Rivers Forum highlights the need to focus further than the main stem of the Ganga river. Posted on 06 Dec, 2019 10:39 AM

The National Mission for Cleaning Ganga was set up in 2014 and the Namami Gange programme was launched the year after, with a budget outlay of Rs. 20,000 crore. The implementation of the flagship programme was followed by the framing of a draft National River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Bill, 2019 to be introduced in the winter session of Parliament.

Distant snow clad mountains, the smaller hills and the Ganga river (Image: Srimoyee Banerjee, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
In wake of climate change, prioritise and invest in water security and clean drinking water
To adapt well & build resilience, climate change strategies need to factor in efforts towards water security, writes Vanita Suneja, Regional Advocacy Manager (South Asia), WaterAid. Posted on 04 Dec, 2019 05:33 PM

While climate activists and world leaders were gathering in Paris in the first week of December 2015 to discuss the impact of climate change, the metropolis Chennai in the southern corner of India was inundated with floods.

Image credit: WaterAid/Prashanth Vishwanathan
Looking back into history to understand droughts
The 2015­-2018 drought, the longest, but less severe of droughts experienced by India raises alarm on the negative effects of future droughts on water security in the country. Posted on 04 Dec, 2019 02:53 PM

Droughts in India: types, causes and effects

Droughts are greatly feared in India, impacting food production, the economy and the livelihoods of millions of farmers. 60% of India’s population is engaged in agriculture.

India will see more droughts in the future. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
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