India’s Chipko Movement is a Model for Effective Activism
Prasanna N S, G. Ravikanth Nature | April 25, 2024 The 50-year-old Chipko movement shows the power of collective action and the potential of community-driven efforts to raise environmental awareness and bring about policy changes (S. Mundoli Nature 627, 730–732; 2024). Grass-roots movements empower communities, foster a sense of ownership and instil a sense of […]
How Can Small-scale Farmers Benefit From Trees on Farms?
Deepthi R Shastry, Milind Bunyan, G. Ravikanth The Hindu | April 18, 2024 The adoption of agroforestry at scale in India must include smallholders, who hold most of India’s agricultural land. Yet this is currently stymied by both ecological and socio-economic factors. Although secure land tenure is a prerequisite for agroforestry uptake, ensuring economic viability […]
Quest for the Himalayan Giant Honey Bee
Femi E Benny Round Galss Sustain | April 9, 2024
Climate Change and Insects: We Don’t Know Enough
Femi E Benny Antenna | April 8, 2024 As temperatures rise, weather patterns shift, and habitats are altered, insects are facing a myriad of challenges that threaten their survival. Climate change and its effect on insects are complex and multifaceted, and while we have some understanding of their causes and effects, there is still much […]
How to Fix India’s Urban Water Crisis, From Bengaluru to Chennai and Beyond
Sachin Tiwale The Indian Express | March 28, 2024 Bengaluru is experiencing its worst water crisis in decades. The weak monsoon last year has compounded an already difficult situation caused by unregulated urban growth and depleting groundwater resources. Chennai too has experienced shortages in recent years. Several other Indian cities are under similar stress, indicating […]
Reimagining the Ring Around the Neigbourhood Lakes
Vardhini Suresh, Namratha Murali, M Soubadra Devy Deccan Herald | March 28, 2024 In the early 90’s, during the IT boom, Bengaluru witnessed a seismic shift from a garden city to the Silicon Valley of India. The rapid urbanisation resulted in the depletion of green spaces within and around the city. The natural scrubby vegetation, […]
Why Scientists and Engineers Should Study Social Science
Sachin Tiwale Scroll | March 25, 2024 In fact, there are several social, economic, technical and ethical choices and considerations involved in the process of technological development. This process includes understanding the laws of nature, applying knowledge to a social problem that has been identified and designing a product to address the problem.
Mumbai’s Unquenchable Thirst: Overestimating Water Demand to Justify Dams
Sachin Tiwale Question Of Cities | March 22, 2024 Water to the city has been supplied from seven dams, constructed in the neighbouring rural and forested areas, at great socio-economic and environmental costs. More such capital-intensive projects are being planned. But does Mumbai really need these projects? The answer, surprising to many, is in the […]
Behind the Biodiversity in the Western Ghats
Seshadri K. S. Deccan Herald | March 19, 2024 The Western Ghats (WG), which run along the west coast of India, are one of 36 global biodiversity hotspots. Most life forms here are endemic to the region and found nowhere else on Earth. The Western Ghats sustain millions of people who are directly or indirectly […]
Renewable energy projects must do more to safeguard India’s natural ecosystems
Sanjana Nair, Abi T. Vanak Land and Climate Review | 13 March, 2024 In 2018, the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi was honoured with the United Nations’ Champions of the Earth Award for leadership on climate action and environmental protection. A key factor behind this decision was the Prime Minister’s ambition to decarbonise India’s […]
