Forests

Featured Articles
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)
May 24, 2022
Droughts reduce India's GDP by 5 percent in twenty years
News this fortnight
India, vulnerable to droughts (Image: Pixabay; hbieser)
April 13, 2022
Forest fire incidences have increased ten times over the past two decades
Over 30% of Indian districts are prone to extreme forest fires, as per a CEEW study
More than 275 million people in India are exposed to extreme forest fire events. (Image: Naveen N Kadalaveni, Wikimedia Commons)
September 21, 2021
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.
The Western ghats forests, under threat (Image Source: India Water Portal)
April 28, 2021
Identification of drivers of deforestation in Meghalaya
There is a need to work on the development of protocols or models, enhancement of productivity and livelihood sustainability
Jhum cultivation in Nokrek biosphere reserve, Meghalaya (Image: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0)
December 11, 2019
NGT orders 100 percent treatment of sewage entering rivers
Policy matters this week
Polythene bags and solid waste left behind as water recedes in the Ganga river. (Source: India Water Portal on Flickr)
Invite to the conference on conservation science and sustainable development
ATREE invites for a two day international conference to celebrate 20 years of completion and call attention to current environmental challenges.
Posted on 07 Jan, 2017 10:34 PM

In order to celebrate 20 years of ATREE and to call attention to current challenges in biodiversity conservation, environment and development, ATREE has organized a two day international conference in January, 2017.
The sea mouths crisis
The opening of sea mouths in the Chilika is increasing the salinity of the lake, affecting the fish population and the livelihood of the fishing communities.
Makarand Purohit
Posted on 06 Jan, 2017 11:21 PM

Lingaraj Jena is a worried man. At 86, he is one of the older fishermen in Berhampura village, an island on the Chilika lake in Odisha. Though he no longer goes for fishing due to old age, he is worried about the opening of new sea mouths; he knows it is not good news for the fishing communities he is a part of that depend on the Chilika for their livelihood.
A view of the Chilika in the evening.
Saving the Ganga, one step at a time
A walk along the Ganga is all it takes to get a better perspective on the river and its deteriorating ecosystem. Here’s an attempt at it.
Makarand Purohit
Posted on 21 Dec, 2016 09:11 AM

An aerospace engineer from IIT, Kharagpur, Siddharth Agarwal could have been drawing a fancy salary like any other 25-year-old if he hadn’t followed his passion.
Siddharth Agarwal (Photo credit-Siddharth Agarwal)
Summer of discontent
A wetland which is one of the Ramsar sites in India, struggles to maintain its character due to lack of water.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 14 Dec, 2016 11:35 AM

On a 29 sq km tract of land in Bharatpur, Rajasthan lies the wildlife reserve, Keoladeo national park, locally known as Ghana. Birds enjoy the open water while wildlife roams freely in this montage of wetland, grassland and forest. The wetland, which is man-made, has a diversity of open water, trees and grasses.
An Indian cormorant dries its wings at Keoladeo national park, Bharatpur. (Source: Aastha Singh, Wikimedia Commons)
NGT cancels illegal salt pans in Sambhar Lake
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 13 Dec, 2016 07:19 AM

Good news for Sambhar Salt Lake
Sambhar Lake, India's largest salt lake. (Source: IWP's Flickr photos)
Breathing life into Baitarani
The river basin of Baitarani is facing many challenges in these changing times. Initiatives are on to protect it.
Makarand Purohit
Posted on 12 Dec, 2016 12:13 PM

Pranab Choudhury has been actively engaged with the causes of the poor and the environment for more than a decade.
Pranab Choudhury
No land for nomads
The lives of Dhangars in Maharashtra is a perfect example of the threats faced by pastoralists in India due to rapid urbanisation and hostile state policies.
Aarti Kelkar-Khambete
Posted on 24 Nov, 2016 10:38 PM

Dhangars, a semi-nomadic group in Maharashtra, are traditionally pastoralists.
Dhangars are pastoralists in Maharashtra. (Source: India Water Portal)
Should wildlife suffer in the name of water?
Ken-Betwa river-linking project, if realised, will wipe out a portion of the Panna Tiger Reserve with its flora and fauna. The government, however, is adamant about its plan.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 06 Nov, 2016 09:47 PM

Set in India-ka-dil, Madhya Pradesh, is the unending expanse of Panna.
Ken river flows through Panna tiger reserve. (Source: K Gagan, Wikimedia Commons)
Maha battle over water
The Mahanadi’s water is important for both the farmers and industries of Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Instead of squabbling over it, the states need to come up with a plan to use the water judiciously.
Makarand Purohit
Posted on 03 Nov, 2016 12:07 PM

It’s a battle that dates back to 1957. Two states of India--Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Odisha--have fought fiercely over the water of the Mahanadi they share. When Chhattisgarh was carved out of MP in 2000, it inherited both the Mahanadi and the conflict with Odisha over its water.
Mahanadi river
Yettinahole project clearance hits a roadblock
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 31 Oct, 2016 10:46 PM

Forest clearance to Yettinahole project gets challenged
River Nethravathi (Source: Parineeta Dandekar via SANDRP)
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