Protecting Hesaraghatta
Mahesh Bhat and Seshadri K.S. Sanctuary Asia | may 01, 2025 On October 7, 2024, the State Board for Wildlife of Karnataka made a historic decision to protect over 5,000 acres of land, a sprawling expanse of green and blue just north of Bengaluru. We remember the excitement that spread when we learned that this […]
What lessons should we learn from the water tanker strike in Mumbai?
Sachin Tiwale Loksatta | April 28, 2025 Mumbai’s heavy dependence on water tankers and groundwater was highlighted once again during a recent tanker strike. The article argues for the inclusion of groundwater in the city’s urban water planning, which has been ignored for decades by planners and engineers. The proposed bureaucratic regulation of groundwater—limited to […]
Towards Sustainable Lakes: Lessons From Restoration Efforts
Priyanka Jamwal Bangalore Mirror | April 23, 2025 Bengaluru, once called as the ‘City of Lakes’, is now confronted by multiple environmental challenges, with environmental degradation as one of the pressing concerns. Rapid urbanization and inadequate wastewater treatment infrastructure have resulted in rapid degradation of urban lakes. Approximately 50% of the water entering the lakes […]
We Need to Lose Our Elitist Perspective on Forest Rights
Anuja Date, Gautam Aredath The Wire | April 18, 2025 One of the great misfortunes in India’s effort towards socially just forest conservation is the false dichotomy between conservation and the forest dwellers’ rights created by some hardline conservationists.
Biodiverse Gardens Amidst Rice Monocultures Foster Nutrition Security in India
Nivedita Arumugasamy, Madhu R. Kolkar and Shivalingappa S. Ghanti Rooted in Agroecology and Food Sovereignty | April 14, 2025 Since the late 1980s, a remarkable change has reaffirmed the potential of agroecology even amidst monocultures. Together with families, our organisations have implemented biodiverse gardens – small backyard spaces of about 40 square meters that were […]
On harvesting and gathering bioresources: Why unjust and misguided conservation vigilantism must end
Rajkamal Goswami Arunachal Times | April 12, 2025 Compared to aloo, tamatar, baingan vendors, local bioresource vendors, who are mostly women from indigenous tribal communities, always attract a lot of footfalls – because they all sell ‘local organic sobji’ as is known in common parlance.
Carbon credit Plans Must Factor in Water Security
Hindustan Times | April 7, 2025 Anuja Malhotra, Abi Tamim Vanak Despite 29 years of climate crisis talks, finance remains the key bot-tleneck for large-scale action, as multilateral treaties fail to institu-tionalise funding support. India has maintained the principle of a “com-mon, but differentiated responsibil-ity”, allowing developing countries more carbon emission leeway to meet their […]
Eucalyptus is a False Promise That Threatens India’s Grasslands
Sachin Pernacca Sashidhar Down To Earth | March 22, 2025 Eucalyptus trees are a familiar sight across Karnataka, their silvery leaves lining Bengaluru’s streets and their oils often providing relief during colds and illnesses. Introduced from Australia, they were once celebrated as a source of timber and economic promise. Yet beneath this appealing facade lies […]
At Sundown, a Sea of Turtles
Seshadri K. S. Deccan Herald | March 15, 2025 Around this time every year, tens of thousands of millions of Olive Ridleys gather near the shore. On a particular day, as if on cue, they scramble on to the beach and lay ping pong ball-sized eggs. Ecologist Seshadri K S returns with a fascinating account […]
India’s Forest Surveys Conceal a Deep Institutional Failure
Sharachchandra Lele Frontline | January 21, 2025 Forest cover monitoring in India seems to be stuck in a time loop. Every two years, the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) produced by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) is released with much fanfare by the government, each time showing an infinitesimal increase in the country’s […]
