Biodiversity

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Featured Articles
October 17, 2023
Waterways can disrupt riverine ecosystems 
How does barge trafficking/movement affect the ecology and biodiversity of riverine ecosystems? A study explains.
River Hooghly at Kolkata (Image Source: Yercaud-elango via Wikimedia Commons)
May 20, 2023
Seeing the ‘unseen’: a spotlight on lesser known inhabitants of freshwater ecosystems
Freshwater biologists Sameer Padhye and Avinash Vanjare talk about smaller and lesser known animals that live in freshwater ecosystems and the importance of studying them. 
Freshwater ecosystems, under threat (Image Source: Biologia Life Science LLP)
January 25, 2023
Heavy metals poison Veeranam lake in Tamil Nadu
This study found large deposits of heavy metals in the tissues and organs of water birds, crabs and fish inhabiting the lake indicating heavy metal contamination of the lake waters.
A view of the Veeranam lake in Tamil Nadu (Image Source: Giri9703 via Wikimedia Commons)
January 6, 2023
Greater Chennai Corporation to set up 'sponge parks' to prevent street flooding
News this fortnight
Natural spaces such as water bodies and vegetation in cities can act as sponges and absorb rain and prevent flooding (Image Source: IWP Flicker photos)
December 4, 2022
Small scale inland open water fisheries of India
What is the status of inland fisheries in India? Read these situational analysis reports to know about inland fisheries, the life of the fisherfolk, governance and tenure in inland fisheries and threats to the sustainability of inland fisheries.
Fishing in an irrigation canal in Kerala (Image Source: Martin Pilkinton via Wikimedia Commons)
August 2, 2022
Floods in Assam - a boon or a bane for fish diversity?
The frequency and intensity of floods is on the rise in Assam spelling doom for fish biodiversity.
Life during floods in Assam (Image Source: Kausika Bordoloi via Wikimedia Commons)
Green court slams centre over groundwater withdrawal in dry areas
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 23 Jul, 2020 09:24 AM

NGT slams centre over groundwater extraction in dry areas
A well in Rajasthan (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Environmentalists voice concerns against the draft EIA notification 2020
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 09 Jul, 2020 11:33 AM

Draft EIA notification 2020 attracts criticism from experts
Work in progress in coal mines in Jharsuguda (Image source: IWP Flickr album)
Water fleas can warn of water pollution!
Water fleas, tiny organisms found in water can help save rivers! Read this interview with freshwater biologist, Dr Sameer Padhye, to know how.
Aarti Kelkar Khambete
Posted on 02 Jul, 2020 07:29 PM

Water fleas are small crustaceans widely found in varied aquatic habitats. They are very sensitive to changes in the water quality of water bodies such as rivers and streams that they inhabit.
Water fleas can warn of water pollution (Image Source: Sameer Padhye)
Protecting mangroves, to deal with cyclones
Mangroves not only help India economically by protecting coastal assets during cyclones, but also help by protecting people in densely populated coastal areas.
Pelayo Menéndez et al
Posted on 23 Jun, 2020 04:36 PM

Coastal flooding is rising in India and recent evidence shows that as high as 36 million Indians will be at the risk of chronic flooding by 2050.
Mangroves of the Sundarbans. (Source: Nature Environment & Wildlife Society - NEWS)
Dams spell doom for freshwater fish
A global study finds that freshwater fish suffer more due to fragmentation and loss of connectivity of rivers due to building of dams.
Valerio Barbarossa et al
Posted on 19 Jun, 2020 08:27 AM

Dams threaten freshwater biodiversity
Dams can threaten biodiversity (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Life in water webinar on Freshwater invertebrates
This webinar aims at providing a glimpse of the wealth of diversity harboured by freshwater habitats.
Posted on 12 Jun, 2020 05:35 PM

THIS WEBINAR WILL COVER: 
Railway stations to be categorised based on wastewater generation
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 11 Jun, 2020 09:08 PM

Railway stations to be classified based on wastewater generation
A wastewater treatment plant in Bengaluru (Image source: Vishwanath Srikantaiah)
Fire in Assam to have catastrophic effect on ecozones: Experts
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 11 Jun, 2020 09:04 PM

Fire breaks at an oil well in Assam damaging ecozones around the site
Migratory birds flock Maguri Beel, which is 500 m away from the incident site (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Battling Covid-19 in Jharkhand
While tribals in Jharkhand continue to struggle with the impacts of Covid-19, WOTR has been on the frontlines helping them cope with poverty and hunger.
Sujaya Dangwar and Shyna Dudeja
Posted on 11 Jun, 2020 04:07 PM

Jharkhand is a state dominated by tribal communities located in eastern part of India. Agriculture, NTFP (Non-timber forest produce) collection and daily wage laborers are the prime source of income for rural Jharkhand.
Distribution of ration to cope with the impacts of the pandemic (Image Source: WOTR)
Northeast fights Covid-19
While Northeast appears to be better off than the rest of India in the number of Covid cases, how are migrants from the North East coping?
Christopher Rego
Posted on 09 Jun, 2020 11:34 PM

While Covid-19 has left many countries including India in the line of fire, the situation in India is now getting particularly alarming with the number of people infected by Covid-19 rising at a rapid pace.
Ration distribution to the migrants (Image Source: Sunbird Trust)
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