/topics/ecology-and-environment
Ecology and Environment
Minimising bycatch
Posted on 09 Aug, 2017 01:46 PMFishing trawlers symbolise industrial-scale fishing which is lucrative in the present day market. These machines that catch fish in huge numbers are said to be a boon to the sector’s economy but a closer look at the figures show that these modes of mass fishing may not be as efficient as they may seem to appear.
![Shrimp bycatch (Image source:Wikipedia)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/1200px-shrimp_bycatch_heist.jpg?itok=x1gd6I9G)
Bad times at Baddi
Posted on 09 Aug, 2017 05:59 AMWhen Satya Devi was a child, the open well near her house in the village of Malku Majra was the water source for the household. She reminisces, “The water was clean and soft. The well would never go dry.
![The state pollution control board insists that none of the factories in the area allow any pollutants to be discharged into the environment. The state of the surface water bodies, however, belies this statement.](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/35804022181_77d90015e4_z.jpg?itok=Kq97ip38)
What happens to your e-waste?
Posted on 05 Aug, 2017 05:44 PMTake a walk through the maze of lanes at Seelampur in north-east Delhi, you could see small children rummaging through electronic waste that has made its way here from all over north India. They segregate end-of-life electrical and electronic products, prise them apart, put them through acid wash and also burn circuit boards in the hope of extracting precious metals.
![Boys sort discarded computer parts as sparks fly from a grinding machine. (Image: Greenpeace, Flickr Commons; CC BY-ND 2.0)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/greenpeace_1.jpg?itok=YclhfSvl)
To some, floods can be good news
Posted on 02 Aug, 2017 05:52 AMFloods are generally considered destructive but in some cases, overflowing rivers have the potential to create wetlands. These wetlands can serve as agreeable landscapes that turn resourceful due to the multiple functions it can host. The Kanwar Lake in Bihar is a striking example of this shared, altering landscapes.
![Red-naped Ibis at the Kanwar Lake (Source: Wikipedia)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/640px-red-naped_ibis_at_kanwar_lake.jpg?itok=UKrsV8Xk)
World Culture Festival: New panel contradicts report
Posted on 01 Aug, 2017 02:19 PMNo compaction of soil on the World Culture Festival site: New panel to NGT
![Front view of the giant stage under construction for the World Culture Festival. (Source: Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/lead_4_0_0_0.jpg?itok=p4ONBFcN)
Maharashtra wetlands face threat
Posted on 01 Aug, 2017 01:49 PMIllegal slums on Maharashtra mudflats cause loss to state
![Sewri mudflts in Mumbai (Source: IWP Flickr photos)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/33456608801_60dfe81e82_z_1.jpg?itok=98kMpFgJ)
Playing the soil health card
Posted on 01 Aug, 2017 11:49 AMDecades of skating over environmental concerns have clearly cost us dear. The folly of pursuing better crop yields using chemical fertilisers in an indiscriminate manner has been surfacing lately. “Decades of agricultural abuse using fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides have taken its toll on us.
![The electrical conductivity of a diluted soil sample is being tested as a measure of soil salinity. (Image:CSIRO, Wikimedia Commons; CC Attribution 3.0 Unported)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/csiro_scienceimage_1740_testing_soil_salinity.jpg?itok=ZsdGRNj9)
How a poor labourer became a rich farmer
Posted on 27 Jul, 2017 07:59 PMVasant Baburao Parkale, a 52-year-old farmer, has become a role model for many farmers in the drought-prone Marathwada region. His determination and the will to excel in life have helped him to transform his dreams into reality.
![Vasantrao Parkale (Source: India Water Portal)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/vasant_parkale_tp.jpg?itok=Voo-3kJd)
Only a few large dams have disaster plans: CAG report
Posted on 25 Jul, 2017 04:07 PMOut of 4,862 large dams in the country, only 349 have disaster plans in place: CAG report
![Floodwaters unsettle Muzaffarpur. (Source: IWP FLickr photos)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/2246719146_1b717bbdcf_z_1.jpg?itok=VFASvadh)
Wild species get extinct in Keoladeo
Posted on 20 Jul, 2017 08:23 PMOver a span of five decades, eight mammal species have become locally extinct in Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur, a study has revealed.
![Habitat keeps changing in the park leading to local extinction of wild species. (Source: IWP Flickr photos)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/keoladeo.jpg?itok=iQ7HBn8O)