Ecology and Environment

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Featured Articles
September 2, 2024 The strategic objectives and challenges of India's BioE3 Policy
The transition to a bio-based economy could affect various stakeholders (Image: GetArchive; CC0 1.0)
August 30, 2024 This article traces the evolution of the legislative framework for water pollution in India and its implications for wastewater treatment standards in the country. 
Open drains in Alwar (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos)
August 2, 2024 There is a need for a multi-faceted approach to disaster management, combining advanced monitoring, early warning systems, community preparedness, and sustainable land use practices to mitigate future risks.
Aftermath of a 2022 landslide on Nedumpoil ghat road (Image: Vinayaraj, Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA 4.0)
July 10, 2024 Millions of trees are fast disappearing from India's farmlands. What are its implications for agriculture and the environment?
Disappearing trees over Indian farmlands (Image Source: WOTR)
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)
‘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)
Election update: Small state, big promises
Assembly elections will be conducted in Goa on February 4. What do the contesting parties say about managing its waters? Posted on 02 Feb, 2017 09:17 PM

Two hundred and fifty candidates are contesting 40 seats in the elections for Goa's legislative assembly scheduled for February 4, 2017.

The Mandovi that flows through the state.
They said it!
During a dismal year that spelt doom for the conservation of the country’s natural resources, some politicians made headlines with their bizarre ideas and statements. Here’s a roundup. Posted on 01 Feb, 2017 10:00 AM

The year 2016 was an abysmal year in terms of environmental policy and conservation in India.

Ken river that flows through Panna Tiger Reserve. (Source: K Gagan, Wikimedia Commons)
All eyes on agriculture
With the budget 2017-18 round the corner, we look at the needs of the agriculture sector in the country and what the budget can offer to support its growth. Posted on 31 Jan, 2017 07:28 PM

The agriculture sector in India’s drought-ravaged regions is in a state of crisis. Millions of farmers are pushed out of their farms and into the cities for jobs.

Farmers thresh paddy during harvest at Sangrur, Punjab. (Source: Neil Palmer, CIAT, 2011, Wikimedia Commons)
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