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)
Water stewardship approach to minimizing risks for businesses
Water stewardship is an approach predicated on the concept that water is a shared resource and so water risks are also shared risks that everyone in a catchment will face Posted on 02 Dec, 2019 03:53 PM

Water, its use, availability, and impact on people has been on the public policy debate centerstage for the past several years. In India, a growing water crisis driven by climate change, inefficiency, and water pollution is slowly moving to a near-permanent state that will harm the country’s people, economy and environment.  

Picture credit: Romit Sen
Wind energy development and policy in India
A study highlights the barriers to harnessing India's potential for wind energy. Posted on 02 Dec, 2019 12:55 PM

Wind energy is a renewable, inexhaustible, non-polluting and popular alternative source of clean energy. India stands fourth in the world in wind energy conversion and utilization, with an installed capacity of about 34,605?MW as of September 2018.

Windmills in Karnataka, India. Picture credit: India Water Portal
CGWB signs MoU for participatory groundwater management
Policy matters this week Posted on 27 Nov, 2019 12:06 PM

MoU signed for groundwater management through community intervention

An irrigation well at Randullabad, Maharashtra (Source: India Water Portal on Flickr)
40 percent of rural households in India lack access to drinking water
News this week Posted on 27 Nov, 2019 04:37 AM

NSS finds only 58.2 percent of rural households have drinking water facilities within premises

Women in Bametara district of Chattisgarh line up to collect water. Photo credit: Makarand Purohit for India Water Portal
Shoddy impact assessments, mining and ruin in Goa
A study finds that weak environmental assessment reporting on the adverse impacts of mining has spelled doom for Goa’s environment. Posted on 22 Nov, 2019 03:40 PM

Development and its impact on the environment has long been a contentious issue in India, where lack of adequate monitoring and control mechanisms have led to severe degradation of land, water and forest resources. Mining activities in Goa have not only poisoned its land and water, but also affected livelihoods by negatively impacting agriculture, fisheries and forests.

A mining site in India (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
The poisoned landscapes of Punjab
Excessive and unregulated pesticide use has not only poisoned the soil, water and environment in villages in Punjab’s Malwa region – it has also increased health risks for the people. Posted on 21 Nov, 2019 12:18 PM

Punjab, riding high on pesticides

Farmer spraying pesticide (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Manual scavenging persists in India due to weak enforcement of laws
News this week Posted on 18 Nov, 2019 08:01 PM

Manual scavenging still prevails in India thanks to weak laws, says study

manual_scavengers
BWSSB’s workforce woefully inadequate, says Chairman Tushar Girinath
Bangalore's water utility is understaffed, under financed and unable to service the city's water needs. Posted on 18 Nov, 2019 02:49 PM

“It is a lack of (institutional) capacity which is leading to public woes on water. We are not in a position to give you quality services because of two things – one, manpower, and two, finances,” said BWSSB Chairman Tushar Girinath, speaking at a panel discussion on ‘Sustainable, Equitable Access to Water’.

Image credit: Citizen Matters
Climate change may reduce water available to cool power plants
A study finds that India may run out of water to cool power plants in the near future. Posted on 14 Nov, 2019 03:03 PM

Climate change and over-exploited river basins may leave developing countries in Asia, such as India and China, without enough water to cool power plants in the near future, according to a study.

Tuticorin power plant in Tamil Nadu (Image: Ram Kumar, Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA 2.0)
Cyclone Bulbul devastates West Bengal and Odisha
News this week Posted on 13 Nov, 2019 10:45 AM

Cyclone Bulbul causes devastation in West Bengal and Odisha

A cyclonic storm that hit India in 2016. (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
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