Assessing awareness to aid action: Stakeholders’ perception of invasive alien species in a metropolis from the Global South
We assessed awareness of invasive alien species (IAS) among ornamental plant buyers and sellers across 44 nurseries in Bengaluru, using the Knowledge-Attitudes-Practices framework. Fewer than 30% of buyers and only 5% of sellers were familiar with IAS concepts, and over 75% of respondents did not know where the plants they bought or sold came from. […]
How do common pool natural resources relate to rural income, poverty and inequality? A multi-country assessment
Who gets to eat wild fish and meat? A socially disaggregated analysis of wild animal consumption across diverse rural environments in five countries of the Global South
Wild fish and meat (WFM) are vital provisioning ecosystem services in tropical regions, supporting food security, livelihoods, and cultural identity. Yet their use increasingly intersects with conservation and nutrition challenges amid rapid social and ecological change. Actors engaged in WFM span a wide spectrum, from rural subsistence consumers to commercial harvesters and urban consumers for […]
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Inlet-focused Interventions on the Water Quality and Ecosystem Services of Urban Lakes in the Tropics
Wastewater treatment infrastructure has not kept pace with rapid urbanization in many large cities across the tropics. This has resulted in severe organic pollution affecting urban lakes and reservoirs, with lakeside communities demanding action to protect and restore the water resources. This study compares two restoration interventions aimed at addressing the quality and quantity of […]
Back to the roots
Gram sabhas demonstrate that everyday knowledge of the forest yields better outcomes than top-down ideas driven by a government-knows-best attitude.
Distribution and niche dynamics of invasive
Invasive species pose the greatest threat to biodiversity, having a significant impact on the native biota and ecosystems. With the added challenge of climate change, it remains uncertain how these invasive mammals will spread globally in the future. Using species distribution modelling, we assessed the potential distribution of 64 invasive mammals and identified hotspots of […]
Online plant trade in India: species inventory and invasion risk assessment
The study compiled an inventory of plants sold on India’s major online nursery platforms and assessed their invasion risk. Of 1,856 species recorded, alien species (1,371) far outnumbered native ones (480). We found that 327 species invasive elsewhere in the world, and 57 already invasive within India, are freely available for purchase online. The findings […]
New species of Elaphropoda Lieftinck, 1966 and Habropoda Smith, 1854 (Hymenoptera, Apidae) from Arunachal Pradesh, India
A team of scientists from the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bengaluru, has discovered two new species of rare solitary bees in Arunachal Pradesh. Discovered during the recent Siang Expedition, the findings—published in the European Journal of Taxonomy—not only expand India’s documented biodiversity but also highlight the pressing need to […]
A New Species of the Trapdoor Spider Genus Tigidia Simon, 1892 (Araneae: Barychelidae) From the Deccan Plateau, India
A new species of trapdoor spider, Tigidia singhal sp. nov., is described from the semi-arid grasslands of the Deccan Plateau in Maharashtra, India. Detailed morphological descriptions, measurements, and illustrations of the holotype female are provided. This discovery marks the first record of the genus Tigidia from a semi-arid, open natural ecosystem, significantly expanding its known […]
Land Control and Marginalisation Under Fortress Conservation: Insights from the Amrabad Tiger Reserve, India
This study examines how fortress conservation can reinforce existing social inequalities. Drawing on evidence from India’s Amrabad Tiger Reserve, it explores the ways in which conservation interventions intersect with agrarian structures and caste relations to shape differentiated experiences of marginalisation. The findings underscore the importance of recognising how conservation policies may have uneven impacts across […]
