Savannah Grassland Conservation in Maharashtra For People, Climate, & Biodiversity
This policy brief focuses on the need for grassland conservation in Maharashtra. Tropical grasslands and savannahs are important for millions of people whose pastoralist livelihoods depend on this natural ecosystem. It is home to diverse forms of wildlife including the blackbuck and the Great Indian Bustard. Savannah grasslands are also key to addressing climate change […]
Why Massive Tree Plantation Drives Are a Disaster for Desert Ecosystems
Chetan Misher & Abi T Vanak Scroll | June 17, 2022 On World Environment Day on June 5, a record 1.5 lakh saplings were planted in Chushul, a remote village in Ladakh, ostensibly to preserve and protect this high-altitude ecosystem. A similar plantation drive was undertaken in 2018 when 4,000 saplings were planted in the Leh region […]
The Great Vanishing
Mihir Godbole, Abi Tamim Vanak, Iravatee Majgaonkar & Nikita Sabnis Sanctuary Nature Foundation | June 6, 2022 “Grasslands are the ‘common’ lands of the community and while there have been robust traditional institutions ensuring their sustainable management in the past, today, due to take-over by government or breakdown of traditional institutions, they are the responsibility […]
Why Planting More Trees is a Lazy Solution to the Crisis of Climate Change
Karishma Shelar & Anuja Malhotra Scroll | June 5, 2022 The United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in its sixth assessment report released in August, reiterated its analysis of the role played by human-induced activities in contributing to catastrophic heatwaves, droughts and cyclones. It noted that in 2019, the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere was […]
Tree Planting in Open Ecosystems Has Few Benefits
Iravatee Majgaonkar Hindustan Time | June 5, 2022 The idea of restoration and protection of the earth’s environment instantly elicits mental images of tree planting. The greener the environment, the healthier it must be. This is also in line with the commitment by the ministry of environment, forests and climate change of the Indian government, […]
India’s Missing Wolves
Abi T. Vanak, Mihir Godbole The Hindu | May 24, 2022 ‘Wolf! Wolf!’ The driver in the vehicle facing us silently mouthed, and pointed to his right. Within seconds, a pack of three magnificent Indian grey wolves appeared in the savanna grasslands, less than 100 metres from us. A large male, followed by what appeared […]
How India’s Unguided Quest for Solar Energy is Bringing About Ecological and Cultural Erasure
M.D. Madhusudan, Abi T. Vanak The Hindu | January 1, 2022 At the recently concluded COP26 in Glasgow, India proclaimed on the global stage that by 2030, it would elevate its renewable power capacity to 500 GW from 150 GW today, and that it would meet 50% of its energy requirements from renewable energy. Even […]
