Ecology and Environment

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Featured Articles
June 9, 2024 India’s funding jumped from $225 million in 2018 to $1.5 billion in 2023, marking a compounded annual growth rate of 140%
Green startups: Powering a sustainable future (Image: Needpix)
June 7, 2024 Scientists question effectiveness of nature-based CO2 removal using the ocean
Ocean ecosystem (Image: PxHere, CC0 Public Domain)
May 19, 2024 The surprising connection between Wikipedia, beaches, and your water bottle.
A top down image of a lush green forest in a sacred grove in Meghalaya (Image created by: Sreechand Tavva)
May 11, 2024 Deforestation, expansion of agricultural land, encroachment into forested areas, and unplanned urbanisation alter landscape connectivity, fragment habitats, and increase fire ignition sources.
Uttarakhand's wildfire wake-up call (Image: Pickpic)
May 8, 2024 What is the ecosystem based approach to water management? How can it help in solving the water woes of states in the Deccan Plateau?
An ecosystem based approach to water management (Image Source: India Water Portal)
April 1, 2024 Decoding the problems and solutions related to stubble burning
Burning of rice residues after harvest, to quickly prepare the land for wheat planting, around Sangrur, Punjab (Image: 2011CIAT/NeilPalmer; CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED)
Election update: Its hills vs plains in Manipur
The land of gems will have a new government soon. We look at what leading political parties have to say about issues related to natural resources. Posted on 04 Mar, 2017 05:33 PM

The key issue in the Manipur Assembly election is the ongoing economic blockade in the state, which, in turn, is attributed to the present government’s decision to

A Manipuri family. (Source: Coffee Table Book, Government of Manipur)
When money grows on trees
Gauging the economic value of an ecosystem can save it from degradation. But proper yardsticks need to be used without getting carried away by numbers. Posted on 27 Feb, 2017 10:57 AM

Nature is the source of much value to us every day. Yet it mostly bypasses markets, escapes pricing and defies valuation. 

At the watershed level, the valuation of forests may help design user pay schemes.
Maharashtra goes Doha for water
How the Doha model of groundwater recharge saved the livelihoods of farmers in Maharashtra. Posted on 22 Feb, 2017 12:02 PM

There was a time when the farmers of Yavatmal district depended completely on rainfed agriculture. That was before the introduction of Doha, a water harvesting structure by NGO Dilasa Sansthan in 2014. Farming changed drastically after that, something which Sitaram Kove, a 40-year-old farmer of Rajini village in the district, will vouch for.

A Doha canal at Rajini village. (Source:Dilasa)
‘We have more hardy, nutritious grains than GM can offer’
Debal Deb has conserved 1,200 climate resilient rice varieties. He speaks on the need to conserve traditional seeds and why we don’t need genetically modified ones. Posted on 16 Feb, 2017 05:59 PM

Farming can’t be sustainable without the seeds which are best suited to the location, water availability, soil type and weather. According to records, there were 1.10 lakh varieties of rice in India till 1965. After that, the Green Revolution happened, which pushed for hybrid varieties.

At his farm in Odisha, Deb conserves 1,200 traditional varieties of rice.
A watered-down scheme
The new urban water supply scheme in Madhya Pradesh that encourages private sector participation is replete with lacunae, according to an NGO that studied the scheme. Posted on 16 Feb, 2017 12:25 PM

In November 2011, the government of Madhya Pradesh sanctioned Rs 493 crore to 37 Urban Local Bodies (ULB) for drinking water supply projects under the Chief Minister’s Urban Drinking Water Supply Scheme (CMUWSS) along the lines of the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT).

Source:India Water Portal
Telangana’s groundwater crisis
A study from Telangana finds faulty power subsidy policies of the state and the resultant increase in tube wells with electric pumps as reasons for depleting groundwater levels. Posted on 15 Feb, 2017 06:50 PM

According to the data released by the Food and Agricultural Organisation’s AQUASTAT in 2010, at 250 billion m³ per year, India is one of the countries that uses groundwater the most. As high as 80 percent of its water is used for irrigation of which 65 percent is groundwater.

Declining groundwater levels and the impending crisis. (Source: India Water Portal)
Public money wasted in the name of Ganga revival: NGT
Policy matters this week Posted on 13 Feb, 2017 09:47 PM

NGT blames Centre for wasting public money in the name of Ganga clean-up

Polythene bags and solid waste left behind the Ganga river in Allahabad. (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Budget for water ministry increased
Policy matters this week Posted on 06 Feb, 2017 08:19 PM

Budget up by 11 and 19 percent for water and environment ministries respectively

Budget 2017 (Source: Sourabh Phadke via IWP Flickr Photos)
Wetlands in Uttarakhand degraded: WWF
News this week Posted on 06 Feb, 2017 08:02 PM

Negligence behind the degradation of Uttarakhand wetlands: WWF

Renuka lake in Uttarakhand. (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Chennai coast chokes on oil
Lack of preparedness by government authorities in dealing with the massive oil spill on the Chennai coast has transformed it into one of the worst crises on the coast. Posted on 06 Feb, 2017 12:05 PM

Disaster struck two nautical miles off Ennore’s Kamarajar port just before dawn on January 28 when two cargo ships--LPG tanker BW Maple bearing the flag of the UK’s Isle of Man and MT Dawn Kanchipuram loaded to the brim with petroleum oil and lubricants--collided due to poor inter-vessel communicatio

Oil sludge being manually removed from the rocky coast. (Image courtesy: The Indian Express)
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