Forests

Featured Articles
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)
April 13, 2022 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 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 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 Policy matters this week
Polythene bags and solid waste left behind as water recedes in the Ganga river. (Source: India Water Portal on Flickr)
Environment Minister Moily takes controversial decisions
Policy Matters this week: Moily takes controversial decisions on the Western Ghats, UP declares eco-sensitive zone around sanctuaries and the UN appreciates Odisha's disaster management efforts. Posted on 29 Dec, 2013 06:54 PM

New Environment Minister brings in new polices

Environment Minister Moily (Source: Livenewz)
Drinking water quality worst in Kerala: Report
News this week: NSSO says drinking water quality worst in Kerala, migratory birds desert flooded wetland and villagers protest against hydel project in Uttarakhand. Posted on 29 Dec, 2013 04:50 PM

Kerala scores worst in access to potable water: NSSO

House wells not safe? (Source: Wikimedia)
Where are the toilets?
Policy matters this week: Ministry sets up committee to investigate discrepancy in toilet data and India and Asian Development Bank fund embankments in Nepal and Assam. Posted on 15 Dec, 2013 09:23 PM

Committee to investigate discrepancy in data on toilets

Open defecation due to lack of toilets
Climate change hits Northeast bamboo crop
News this week: Climate change hits bamboo crop in the Northeast, people in Himachal reject EIA report on dams on the Satluj and marine pollution results in economic losses. Posted on 15 Dec, 2013 09:18 PM

Climate change affects bamboo production in the Northeast

Bamboo hit by climate change Source: Wikimedia
Troubled waters of the Northeast
Modern development models for the remote hills of the Northeast are replacing age-old conventions thereby creating inequity in the distribution of water. Posted on 15 Dec, 2013 09:12 PM

On a train journey from Nagaland, a friend and I began talking on the subject of water. He said to me, "You have so much water in the Brahmaputra Valley and your lands are always flooded but we have to struggle for a drop of water in the hills".

Hills of Northeast India Source: Wikipedia
Drilling the hills to devastation
Thirty hydroelectric projects have been planned in Kinnaur district, Himachal Pradesh. There is an immense cost to the environment and to the residents but the government isn't letting up. Posted on 08 Dec, 2013 10:50 PM

Clear blue skies, natural springs and glacial peaks-tranquility. Falling stones, landslides and debris-chaos! Kinnaur, located on  the northeastern side of Himachal Pradesh, lets you experience both. It falls in seismic zones IV and V, which means it runs the the risk of damaging and destructive earthquakes.

100 MW Tidong-I project, Kinnaur HP
Are there greener pastures for pastoralists?
With grazing lands being utilised for development projects, more and more livestock-dependent communities are being impacted and the huge diversity of grazing practices is disappearing. Posted on 01 Dec, 2013 08:34 PM

Pastoralist communities are those that depend primarily on livestock (domesticated animals in an agricultural setting) for their living. India has the world’s highest livestock population with 440 million livestock heads distributed over 100 million households (1) but in recent years, pastoralists have been facing threats to their way of life.

Goat rearing in Udaipur
Development or displacement?
The MP government is proposing a nuclear project in Mandala district. Villagers are wary about promises to rehabilitate since similar promises are yet unfulfilled to the Bargi dam oustees since 1990. Posted on 01 Dec, 2013 08:30 PM

Sukal Singh is 50 years old and is the only earning person of his five-member family. Suresh Barman works as a labourer supporting a 13-member family. Bhagirat and Gorelal Bhavedi are rickshaw-pullers supporting a 7-member family each.

Bargi dam affected Patha village, MP
Think like a forest
Deforestation and climate change are only two of the issues that confront Himalayan forests today. What are the others and are there solutions to protect these forests? Posted on 01 Dec, 2013 08:28 PM

Himalayan forests span a two-and-a-half thousand kilometer stretch and have a wide range of climates; they are beset by problems that need innovative solutions. Rajesh Thadani discussed these problems and possible solutions at  the Sustainable Mountain Development Summit organised in Kohima, September 2013. 

Forest cover is declining

Quality of a forest matters as much as quantity
Climate talks end in dispute
Policy matters this week: Climate change talks at Warsaw end up in dispute, a new division for the Himalayas and NHRC issues notice to the government on pollution in the Ganga. Posted on 01 Dec, 2013 03:30 PM

Money deals mar climate talks in Warsaw

Unfriendly climate at Warsaw Source: Wikipedia
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