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)
First digital flood inventory (IFI) in geospatial format created for India
News this fortnight
Swati Bansal
Posted on 22 Nov, 2021 06:56 PM

India’s first digital flood inventory (IFI) in modern geospatial format created
First digital flood inventory (IFI) in geospatial format created (Image source: IWP Flickr Photos). Image for representation only
Mangroves - Wetlands or forests?
Mangroves were treated and managed as forests in colonial times, although they are much similar to wetlands. This led to extensive degradation of mangrove ecosystems in India.
V. Selvam
Posted on 21 Nov, 2021 07:40 PM

Have you noticed short trees or bushes along coastlines with a dense tangle of roots hanging out that makes them look like they are standing on stilts? These are mangroves. Mangroves can be trees, shrubs, ferns and palms that occupy the boundary between the land and the sea.
Mangrove forest at Pichavaram, Tamil Nadu (Image Source: Shankaran Murugan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)
Sustainable solutions for urban areas
Interactive toolkit for urban ecosystem management
Aga Khan Agency for Habitat
Posted on 11 Nov, 2021 07:37 PM

Over the last five decades, rapid increase in urbanisation has led to the deterioration of ecosystem health.
Climate change and severe weather conditions are overwhelming most towns and cities (Image: Parminder Jassal, pxhere)
Four major rivers in Uttarakhand change course after heavy rains
News this fortnight
Swati Bansal
Posted on 02 Nov, 2021 02:06 PM

After heavy rains, four major rivers change course in Uttarakhand
A river in Uttarakhand (Image source: IWP Flickr photos)
Over 500 million people in India exposed to sand and dust storms
Storms worsen air quality and degrade vast farmland areas, as per a new UN study that analyses the impact of sand and dust storms on health, clean energy, transport, glaciers, cities and agriculture in Asia and the Pacific.
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)
Posted on 08 Oct, 2021 02:25 PM

According to a new UN report, more than 500 million people in India are exposed to medium and high levels of poor air quality due to sand and dust storms.
Storms worsen air quality and degrade vast farmland areas, disrupt commercial flight services, lower the efficiency of solar power generation, and accelerate the melting of glaciers. (Image: ESCAP)
Is climate action at scale a possibility?
Lessons from Meghalaya’s attempt to strengthen its frontline across the State
Manisha Shah
Posted on 28 Sep, 2021 09:07 PM

The recently released report on climate change by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has portrayed a devastating picture of the world that our

Stories of change from Meghalaya on moving towards “net-zero” emission commitments (Image: MBDA)
Youth climate leaders join hands with the UN in India to celebrate India's climate action
The United Nations in India launches its climate campaign, We The Change, to recognize and celebrate the green solutions pioneered by young people in India
We The Change
United Nations
Posted on 27 Sep, 2021 11:00 PM

The United Nations in India today announced the launch of its climate campaign, We The Change, which aims to showcase climate solutions pioneered by young Indians as a celebration of India's climate leadership.
There is a need for bolder climate action from people, communities and the national and state governments (Image: PxFuel)
Only a third of sewage generated per day in India treated, reports CPCB
News this fortnight
Swati Bansal
Posted on 23 Sep, 2021 01:30 PM

Only a third of sewage generated daily is treated in India, according to CPCB
A sewage treatment plant in Karnataka (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Shrinking forests, declining biodiversity - a ticking time bomb!
A fatal tick borne disease is on the rise in the Western Ghat states. Deforestation, declining biodiversity and increasing human animal conflicts are to blame.
Michael G. Walsh et al
Posted on 21 Sep, 2021 10:17 PM

The Western Ghats region of South India is one of the world's most important biodiversity hotspots, and the rainforests of this region are known to harbour 500 types of bird species, 225 reptile species, 219 amphibian species, and 133 mammal species.
The Western ghats forests, under threat (Image Source: India Water Portal)
India needs to wake up to severe air pollution
With each new report, the number of polluted cities in India is increasing
Gurinder Kaur
Posted on 10 Sep, 2021 10:32 AM

Two studies released on September 1, 2021, on the damage to human health due to increasing air pollution in India have revealed very worrying facts.
According to a Greenpeace India report released on January 21, 2020, 80 per cent of the country's cities are polluted by national standards (Image: Max Pixel, License CC0)
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