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)
How mining ruined lives and livelihoods
Illegal stone quarries have changed the face of Birbhum district where villagers are finding it difficult to survive due to contaminated water and pollution.
Gurvinder Singh
Posted on 03 Apr, 2019 10:13 AM

Koley Kisku, a primary school student at Ranipur village at Rampurhat block in Birbhum district of West Bengal suffers from a thyroid gland related ailment that has partially affected his ability to speak. His school mates say that the 11-year-old could speak normally till a few years ago but he began to lose his voice.
Labourers crush stones at illegal stone quarries. (Pic: Gurvinder Singh)
What’s forest governance without local hand
Multilayered governance and involvement of forest dwellers in the decision making processes can go a long way in managing our forests better.
Sharachchandra Lele
Posted on 02 Apr, 2019 11:42 AM

The recent news on the forced eviction of more than 1,000,000 tribal and other forest-dwelling households from 16 states by a Supreme Court order has again brought the long-debated issue of the role of the state and

Mangar Bani, a green patch between Faridabad and Gurgaon (Image: Pradip Krishen, Facebook)
Towards sustainable food production
The entire food chain is increasingly becoming the primary source of pesticide and antibiotic contamination putting the health and safety of people at risk.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 01 Apr, 2019 11:14 AM

The national conclave on food held on March 15, 2019 at New Delhi saw experts urge policy changes to promote sustainable food production especially organic farming as well as regulations to reduce misuse of antibiotics and pesticides.
Apart from pesticides, toxic colours and hormones like oxytocin are also being used indiscriminately to ripen vegetables and fruits. (Image: India Water Portal)
SC sets aside NGT order on Lower Subansiri hydel project
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 27 Mar, 2019 03:37 PM

Lower Subansiri hydel project: SC seeks review of NGT's order granting nod to the project
Subansiri river in Arunachal Pradesh (Source: Kakul baruah via Wikimedia Commons)
Bullet train project worries activists
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 27 Mar, 2019 03:15 PM

Activists seek President, PM intervention to protect mangrove trees in Maharashtra
A wetland in Mumbai (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Could the water towers of Asia be drying up soon?
As climate change and urbanisation threaten water security in the HKH region, there is an urgent need for good water governance.
Christopher A. Scott et al
Posted on 24 Mar, 2019 11:03 AM

The Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH) cover 3500 kms across eight countries namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan.
A view of the Himalayas. (Source: IWP Flickr photos--photo for representation purpose only)
Number crunching helps farmers manage water
Calculating water availability and crop budgeting can prevent over-extraction of groundwater and mounting farm debt.
Manu Moudgil
Posted on 23 Mar, 2019 11:45 PM

At 42 years, Bhagwat Ghagare seems young. But he is old enough to have seen his village prosper and decline many times. Farming had traditionally been small and distress migration rampant at Kumbharwadi in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.
The weather station at Randullabad that helps farmers plan their crops. (Photo by Manu Moudgil)
UN Environment Assembly adopts India's two resolutions
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 20 Mar, 2019 12:37 PM

UN Environment Assembly adopts resolutions on single-use plastics, nitorgen management piloted by India
Recycling of single-use plastic is a global challenge. (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Dumping waste effectively
Three environment-friendly ways of disposing of human waste have proven effective in various districts of Chhattisgarh.
Makarand Purohit
Posted on 16 Mar, 2019 03:51 PM

According to the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) website, access to toilets has improved in India and 28 out of 36 states and Union Territories are now open defecation free (ODF). While that’s good news, managing faecal sludge in ODF states in an eco-friendly way continues to be a big challenge. 
Evapotranspiration community toilet at Shankarnagar, Kumhari (Source: India Water Portal)
Smart farming changes farms, fortunes in Bengal
Farmers of West Bengal are resorting to rice transplanters and zero tiller machines to save water and labour cost and to increase productivity.
Gurvinder Singh
Posted on 14 Mar, 2019 03:55 PM

Gulam Mustafa owns around five acres of land at Digalhati Moynaguri village in Coochbehar district of West Bengal. The 34-year-old has switched to “smart farming” to minimise labour cost and water use.
Gulam Mustafa with the rice planter. (Photo by Gurvinder Singh)
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