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)
Creating community leaders to tackle disaster
Under UNICEF’s initiative to mitigate disaster risk, community leaders are created to make villages disaster ready. Posted on 25 Jun, 2018 05:01 PM

Tired from the Baidyanath dhamyatra (pilgrimage) in the nearby town of Deoghar, Nunlal Kamath is stealing a quick nap on a charpoy outside his house. His house is right on the western bank of Kosi, north Bihar’s river of sorrow, in a particularly flood-prone area where there are no high grounds or flood platforms nearby.  

Village disaster management committee has built sand and boulder spurs to deflect floods at spots where bank erosion takes place. (Pic courtesy: GEAG)
Public hearing for green clearance a sham
There seems to be a rush to approve hydropower projects in Uttarakhand. In the absence of safeguards, this is likely to have adverse effect on the Himalayan ecology and the people. Posted on 21 Jun, 2018 04:36 PM

Supin, a tributary of river Tons and a part of river Yamuna gushes through the hilly tracts of Uttarkashi district. Like all rivers meandering through the lush terrains and forests of Uttarakhand, Supin too is being aggressively tapped for hydropower generation by the government.

Public hearing for Jakhol Sankri hydropower project did not take consent of affected communities on a sensitive issue that impacts their lives. (Picture courtesy: Vimal Bhai)
Teesta: Stuck between conflict and cooperation
The ongoing conflict between India and Bangladesh over the Teesta is political with little to do with the river itself. Is there any hope for the river? Posted on 20 Jun, 2018 10:25 AM

River Teesta originates at Tso Lamo, Sikkim, flows through West Bengal and then enters the Rangpur division in Bangladesh.

The Teesta, upstream of the Gajaldoba barrage in West Bengal. (Image Source: Gauri Noolkar-Oak)
Punjab farmers offered monetary benefit to save water
Policy matters this week Posted on 19 Jun, 2018 11:10 AM

Punjab introduces “Paani Bacho, Paise Kamao” scheme to motivate farmers to pump less

Farmers in Punjab to be compensated monetarily for drawing less water from tubewells. (Picture courtesy: Wikimedia Commons)
Niti Aayog lauds Gujarat's water management
News this week Posted on 19 Jun, 2018 10:49 AM

Gujarat tops Niti Aayog's composite water management index

Waterbody in Bhuj, Gujarat (Picture courtesy: IWP Flickr)
Pink city turns heat island
A new phenomenon, urban heat islands in Jaipur indicates that the city has begun to witness the worst of climate change. Posted on 18 Jun, 2018 09:37 AM

This summer, Jaipur’s temperatures are soaring upwards of 40 degree Celsius. Jaipur witnessed its hottest day on April 26 when a temperature of 43.2 degree Celsius was recorded.

A man sits under the scorching heat of the sun in front of Amer fort in Jaipur. The city landscape is now dominated by heat trapping materials that prevent its cooling through evapotranspiration. (Picture courtesy: Prabhu B Doss, Flickr Commons: CC-By-NC-ND-2.0)
Indore retains its cleanest city tag
Indore became the cleanest city in India for the second time in a row, thanks to the untiring efforts of its municipal corporation and residents. A video tells the success story. Posted on 17 Jun, 2018 06:26 PM

Indore has retained its cleanest city tag in the clean India survey 2018. Before it was praised for its cleanliness drive in 2017, the city was just like any other urban city in India dealing with its mounting garbage problem.

Clean road near Pardesipura, Indore. (Source: India Water Portal)
Atal Bhujal Yojana approved by World Bank
Policy matters this week Posted on 12 Jun, 2018 01:29 PM

World Bank approves Atal Bhujal Yojana to improve groundwater management

Groundwater is being exploited beyond measure in many blocks across India. (Picture courtesy: IWP Flickr)
Wetland turns treasure trove of herbs
Medicinal herbs, edible greens and fruits thrive in and around Chennai’s Sembakkam lake, reveals a study. Posted on 11 Jun, 2018 11:31 AM

The districts of Tiruvallur, Chennai and Kanchipuram once boasted of a landscape densely dotted with wetlands and a lifestyle that was closely linked to the survival of these water bodies.

Sembakkam lake currently spans across a 100 acres in South Chennai. (Picture courtesy: Care Earth Trust)
Alwar homes, farms and factories fight for water
Water conflict in Rajasthan’s Alwar district is not just between upstream and downstream users; it is also between users with domestic, agricultural and industrial needs. Posted on 07 Jun, 2018 11:46 AM

Lewari, a village located around 17 km from Alwar in Rajasthan, is the site of a water conflict these days. “The production of Jayanti jaljeera, haazme ka lalantop drink (a digestive drink) has left our village parched,” says Nanak Singh, a resident.

Operation of sluice outlet of Siliserh lake is marked by chaos and conflict among various interest groups.
×