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)
How Kakaddara village won water cup
The video tells us the success story of Kakaddara village that won the Satyamev Jayate Water Cup-2017 by efficiently managing its water. Posted on 19 Feb, 2018 06:33 AM

Every year, thousands of villages in Maharashtra get affected by droughts. Experts say that the reasons for recurrent droughts include a lack of policy framework, technical knowledge and community participation as well as poor implementation of government programmes.

A farm pond in Kakaddara.
Dam of consequences
Despite controversies around the Pancheshwar dam proposal and the panic it is creating among the villages around, the project is progressing fast. Posted on 14 Feb, 2018 05:27 AM

River Mahakali snakes its way through the hills and valleys of Nepal and Uttaranchal, collecting its water from the numerous streams it receives on the way. Also known as Sharda in India, the river forms the international boundary between India and Nepal.

The project is expected to submerge 11,600 hectares of mountain area.
Delhi to take Haryana to court over Yamuna pollution
News this week Posted on 13 Feb, 2018 12:50 PM

Delhi to take Haryana to court over increased ammonia levels in Yamuna

Frothing Yamuna (Picture courtesy: The Indian Express)
New policy to manage landfills in Delhi on the cards
Policy matters this week Posted on 13 Feb, 2018 12:23 PM

Union environment ministry to come up with policy to manage landfill sites in Delhi

A mountain of refuse. (Picture courtesy: India Today)
Water issues: Take account of socio-cultural question
Prof. Frederic Landy, director, French Institute of Pondicherry speaks to India Water Portal on water and socio-environmental challenges. Posted on 13 Feb, 2018 08:30 AM

As part of Bonjour India 2017-2018, the four-months-long, ongoing Indo-French journey celebrating the Indo-French partnership, water-related issues are being highlighted through research, art and debates in cities like Jaipur, Bengaluru, New Delhi, Pondicherry and Kolkata.

A small canal in Chanaute, Birendranagar, Nepal. (Photo: Janak Poudel (CC BY 4.0 SA)
Floating filth mars market on water
Kolkata’s floating market that opened to much fanfare paints a picture of neglect within days of its inauguration. Posted on 08 Feb, 2018 02:49 PM

The beautiful city of Kolkata had another first to its credit when the much anticipated floating market was inaugurated on January 24 by the chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee.

A fruit stall at the market. (Pictures courtesy: Gurvinder Singh)
What budget has for farm and rural sectors
There is a sharp rise in allocations for rural and agriculture sector in this budget. Posted on 07 Feb, 2018 04:31 PM

This year’s budget was expected to be extensively farmer- and rural-sector oriented. And that is exactly what it turned out to be. The distress in the agrarian sector has intensified and its political implications were rife this year considering the Lok Sabha elections are scheduled next year.

The budget has a slew of initiatives to revive the farm sector. (Image: Azhar Feder, Wikimedia Commons-CC-BY-SA-3.0)
Rs 10,000 crore boost for fisheries
Policy matters this week Posted on 06 Feb, 2018 01:08 PM

Rs 10,000 crore set aside to boost fisheries, aquaculture and animal husbandry: Budget 2018-19

Fishing livelihoods (Picture courtesy: Conservation India)
Government announces new river revival strategy
Policy matters this week Posted on 30 Jan, 2018 08:54 PM

Environment ministry announces new strategy to revive major river water systems

River Cauvery at Hogenakal, Karnataka (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Slow death of a river
River Mutha, which was once the lifeline of Pune, is in dire straits. Concerted and systematic efforts involving citizens, experts and administrators need to be made urgently to save the river. Posted on 30 Jan, 2018 02:46 PM

River Mutha, the pride of Pune, lovingly called 'Muthai' or 'mother Mutha', is dying a slow death, thanks to the rapidly urbanising city which is depositing huge amounts of untreated sewage and dirt in its waters.

River Mutha, as it flows through Pune city. (Source: India Water Portal)
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