/topics/ecology-and-environment
Ecology and Environment
Open water data for integrated water science
Posted on 23 Jan, 2018 03:30 PMUnderstanding water in all its forms in every part of the water cycle is vital to ensuring its sustainable and equitable management. Whether there is a scarcity of water or an excess of it, knowing precisely the quantum of water, whether underground in aquifers, embedded in the soil as soil moisture or in numerous lakes, reservoirs and rivers is vital.
![Image courtesy NASA](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/gpm_accumulation_1080p.00336_print.jpg?itok=3aY_HYy-)
Profiting from sustainable farming
Posted on 23 Jan, 2018 01:48 PMPitidri is a nondescript village that dots the rainshadow area of Purulia district in West Bengal. Droughts are common here even when the area is endowed with above average rainfall of over 1300 mm a year. Until some time ago, Urmila Mahato, a 42-year-old farmer from Pitidri had been struggling to ensure her family’s food security.
![Urmila Mahato at her farm.](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/urmila_mahato_01.jpg?itok=NWtWgOIM)
Book Release and Discussion on ‘Alternative Futures: India Unshackled’, a book edited by Ashish Kothari and K. J. Joy
Posted on 22 Jan, 2018 10:40 AMAlternative Futures: India Unshackled is a riveting new book that brings together scenarios of an India that is politically and socially egalitarian, radically democratic, economically sustainable and equitable, and socio-culturally diverse and harmonious.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/cover_image.png?itok=yFJK8SWK)
Alternative Futures: India Unshackled
Posted on 22 Jan, 2018 10:39 AMAlternative Futures: India Unshackled is a book that brings together scenarios of an India that is politically and socially egalitarian, radically democratic, economically sustainable and equitable, and socio-culturally diverse and harmonious.
![Alternative Futures: India Unshackled](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/cover_image_0.png?itok=7RK-oBj-)
Coughing out coal
Posted on 22 Jan, 2018 10:08 AMThe coal mining sector is all set to receive a boost in India as the government plans to open up the sector to commercial players by 2018.
![A villager looks at the changing landscape due to coal mines at Kosampalli village in Raigarh (Image source: IWP photo by Makarand Purohit)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/coal_mining_chhatissgarh.jpg?itok=yZmnZ9V5)
Waste away, Ambikapur shows way
Posted on 19 Jan, 2018 11:37 AMAmbikapur has become a role model for all the urban local bodies (ULBs) in Chhattisgarh for its successful solid liquid resource management (SLRM). Thanks to Ritu Sen, former collector of Ambikapur and her team for taking the initiative to clean the city and for bringing the women's self-help groups (SHGs) together for this noble cause.
![A worker carries household waste to the SLRM centres at Ambikapur.](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/24777072857_f0051e8b46_o.jpg?itok=84SLa6ZZ)
Temples of conservation
Posted on 12 Jan, 2018 11:54 AMRivers hold a special place in Indian civilisation and culture. They are treated divine and temples are located along the course of rivers. Rivers, with a variety of mesohabitats in it, support rich and diverse native fauna and act as natural reserve of fish germplasm.
![A temple in the Mahanadi at Sonepur in Odisha.](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/a_temple_inside_river_mahanadi_at_sonepur.jpg?itok=6eaniGLS)
Paralegals for Environmental Justice (Version 2.0)
Posted on 11 Jan, 2018 03:18 PM"Large parts of the world, irrespective of their level of economic development, are at the cusp of severe environmental crises. In these regions, the operations of extractive projects such as large scale plantations, mining and industrial development have negated or worsened the economic, social and physical wellbeing of communities in their neighbourhoods and beyond.
![New practice guide by the CPR-Namati environmental justice program.](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/image_15.jpg?itok=fZS0U6bA)
Solar power solves water supply issue
Posted on 10 Jan, 2018 09:28 AMThe Makhala village is located in the Amravati district in the southwestern Satpura mountain ranges. Situated at 959 m above mean sea level, this Maharashtra village has 352 households with a population of 1045. Although accessible by road in all seasons, the village is isolated and surrounded by forests. The nearest village is Semadoh at a distance of 12 km.
![Makhala village in Amravati district](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/38175014604_d6e0a57579_z.jpg?itok=4XiBBOWN)
Protest in Chennai to save the Ennore Creek
Posted on 09 Jan, 2018 08:59 AMSaving the Ennore Creek: Chennai fisherfolk stage Jal Satyagraha
![The Ennore creek smothered on all sides by thermal power plants. (Source: IWP Flickr photos)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/31283510824_3a389abcff.jpg?itok=BPdjFSc1)