A PACHYDERM'S DIET
Elephants need to eat a lot, but are selective

A study in northern West Bengal found elephants are selective with their diet, feeding on less than half the species of plants around them. This is contradictory to the prevalent view that elephants are generalist feeders. Nabarun Guha reports.

#Forests #Wildlife #WEST BENGAL
INDIAN GIANT SQUIRREL
IGS numbers decline as forests become less dense

The Indian Giant Squirrel is an indicator species. Its declining numbers tell us that conservation needs a holistic approach where the focus is as much on the habitat as on the animals themselves. 

#Forests #Wildlife
SUNDARBANS MANGROVES
Satellite images reveal impact of frequent cyclones

Scientists examining satellite images find that cyclone-induced damage slows the recovery of mangroves and changes the forest composition in comparison to other regions that didn't witness many cyclones. 

#Climate #Forests #WEST BENGAL
AFFORESTATION
Missing the forest for the CAMPA trees

Global commitments and domestsic laws are driving afforestation. But conservationists argue that large scale tree plantations can do more harm than good if we overlook the nuances, and that all that is green is not forest. 

#Climate #Forests
WIND FARMS
Lands, jobs and a new way of life

The numerous wind farms in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu have clearly changed the rhythms of life here. The benefits and drawbacks are inter-twined, and people have mixed feelings about them.

#Energy #TAMILNADU
TIGER SANCTUARY
Are tigers back at the Buxa reserve?

A camera trap sighting of a tiger suggests that ecosystem restoration in Buxa reserve is working. With it comes fresh concerns about the relocation of forest villages.

#Wildlife #WEST BENGAL
GENDER AND CLIMATE
The climate crisis is India's feminist moment

Women are disproportionately impacted by India's climate crisis, but effectively excluded from decision-making in response to it. Ambika Vishwanath speaks with Omair Ahmad.

#Climate #Interviews #Women
CARBON EMISSIONS
Net zero: Pledges are not enough

The so-called 'carbon neutrality' pledges many countries are making should include details and be given tight accounting norms. Additionally, high emitters should face stricter norms and earlier timelines.

#Climate #Energy #Economy
COASTAL ECONOMY
Seaweed farms promise livelihoods, biodiversity

With its potential to supplement incomes of fishermen and other communities along the nation's long coastline, seaweed cultivation is gaining momentum. Goa's first pilot farm is about to be launched.

#Biodiversity #Livelihoods #Economy #GOA
FINANCING SUSTAINABILITY
Green finance still in the slow lane
FINANCING SUSTAINABILITY : Green finance still in the slow lane

We need to unclog the channels for big- and small-sized finance to reach sustainable destinations. Neha Kumar points to the challenges, and the opportunities India must capitalise on.

#Climate #Interviews #Economy
HUMAN-ANIMAL CONFLICT
Odisha sees surge in elephant electrocutions

Habitats and corridors for wild elephants are shrinking due to other development priorities, and local communities are unwilling to tolerate the growing number of human-animal conflicts.

#Wildlife #ODISHA
POWER LINES
Already in decline, GIBs face a new threat

Apart from the loss of their habitat, migratory birds face a new threat from the growing number of renewable energy projects. The Great Indian Bustard has seen its numbers drop precipitously. 

#Biodiversity #Energy #Wildlife #GUJARAT #RAJASTHAN
HUMANS AND ANIMALS
Incentives for wildlife-friendly land use?

Many landowners around forests would set aside some lands in exchange for payments. Some see this as a promising conservation strategy, but others believe more nuance is needed.

#Biodiversity #Wildlife #KARNATAKA
TRAFFICKING ANIMALS
Pangolin poaching rises amidst pandemic

Repeated lockdowns and curfews have been a golden opportunity for wildlife traffickers targeting termite-eating pangolins in Simlipal National Park and adjacent districts.

#Wildlife #ODISHA
SMALL-SCALE FISHING
For Kerala's small-scale fishers, a stark choice

Erratic monsoon patterns and other disruptions by climate change are reducing the number of fishing days in coastal Kerala. Small-scale fishers are looking for other livelihood options instead.

#Climate #Fisheries #KERALA
ACCESS TO ENERGY
Rural electrification: An unfinished task

Power connections are now available across rural India. However, there is still a lot to be done before villagers reliably get uninterrupted electricity that can help them live and work better.

#Energy #Interviews #Panchayats
NATURAL RESOURCES
A landscape of degradation
NATURAL RESOURCES : A landscape of degradation

Poor governance of natural resources is undermining progress in curbing emissions. It is also weakening the resilience of vulnerable people who are affected by climate change.

#Adivasis #Environmental Regulation #Land #RAJASTHAN
RECYCLING
Multi-layer packaging, multiple hurdles

Waste collection and recycling management of flexible and multilayer packaging are particularly challenging. At different stages of the recycling chain, solutions must be found.

#Livelihoods #Urban Environment #Waste
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Decentralisation is better for developing economies

Urban waste continues to grow, and governments at different levels are responding with a range of approaches. There are several reasons to choose decentralisation.

#Livelihoods #Urban Environment #Urban Poor #Waste
MULTI-LAYERED PLASTICS
An inclusive EPR regime is possible
MULTI-LAYERED PLASTICS : An inclusive EPR regime is possible

Extended Producer Responsibility-based interventions can be designed to ensure that wastepickers and informal workers remain an integral part of the new regime too.

#Livelihoods #Urban Poor #Waste #MAHARASHTRA
CONSERVATION
Beyond wildlife-ism and ecosystem services-ism

Faced with a multiplicity of values, mainstream conservation has tended to retreat to biocentrism, pragmatism or scientism. A broad-based, democratic environmentalism would be more tenable.

#Biodiversity #Wildlife
URBAN RESILIENCE
Cities must look to nature for heat relief

Heat waves have not received as much attention as other climate risks, but more cities now confront their toll. New mechanisms for governance and financing will also be needed.

#Cities #Climate #Urban Environment
FOREST PROTECTION
Razing houses to stop razing the hills

The Aravali hills were used to nature's erosion, but the assault on them by those eyeing its rich resources was something else. Will the Supreme Court's recent intervention halt this?

#Forests #Mining #HARYANA

Podcasts from Takshashila Institution.
  • The climate threat in the Indian ocean
  • Fixing Mumbai's air pollution
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India Together has partnered with The Takshashila Institution to bring our readers all episodes of the policy chat podcast series, All Things Policy. The podcasts are tagged based on the taxonomy IT uses to archive its own content, so readers can find the various episodes in the respective Section and Topic pages.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
in each topic ...
ENERGY FISHERIES CLIMATE FORESTS ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS MINING WASTE WATER ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS ENVIRONMENT OPINIONS WILDLIFE BIODIVERSITY URBAN ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION