Post Tagged with: "Environment"

Supremes Declare War on Wetlands

Supremes Declare War on Wetlands

The Supreme Court is effectively axing a major component of the Clean Water Act, rolling back 50 years of wetland protection in a declaration of war against nature by changing a word in the text of the Clean Water Act. Seldom, if ever, will repercussions of a Supreme Court decision be so far-reaching and detrimental to life for the planet.[Read More…]

by 29/05/2023 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Thoughts for World Environment Day – The global economy –  threat to life on the Planet

Thoughts for World Environment Day – The global economy –  threat to life on the Planet

World Environment Day is observed every 5th June, to encourage awareness and action for protecting the environment. It is a “global platform for inspiring positive change” [Ref.1], to address climate crisis caused by global warming (GW). Homo Sapiens population on Planet Earth was 0.3-billion in 1000, and under 2-billion in 1900. It is currently 8-billion-and-counting. It is only in the[Read More…]

by 18/05/2023 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Healthy, sleek wild horses in the Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area during a Bureau of Land Management roundup on July 19, 2022. (Photo credit: Ginger Fedak/In Defense of Animals)
https://www.idausa.org/

Most Americans Oppose Killing Horses for Food—Here’s How to End This Brutal Practice

Tens of thousands of American horses are slaughtered every year due to a loophole in federal policy. Horses have played a unique role in American history. They have helped us discover new lands, carried soldiers into battles, and plowed farmers’ fields. It’s no accident that so many monuments of Americans throughout history show them seated on a horse. To this[Read More…]

by 17/05/2023 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Wildlife Photography For Creating Conservation Awareness

Wildlife Photography For Creating Conservation Awareness

The most extraordinary feature of earth is the diversity of life on it. This variety of life is adversely affected by alterations of ecosystems by human activities. Humans have always been part of biodiversity and there are many more moral as well as scientific reasons to preserve it. Leopard from Jhalana leopard reserve, Jaipur ( Rajasthan) India is one of[Read More…]

by 17/05/2023 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Indiscriminate Introduction of Exotic Bees Likely to Prove Very Costly

Indiscriminate Introduction of Exotic Bees Likely to Prove Very Costly

Large scale death of exotic Italian bees has been reported recently in many apple orchards of Himachal Pradesh. This news has been highlighted in the local media mainly in the context of the economic loss suffered by orchard owners who had purchased boxes of these exotic bees to facilitate the pollination process in their orchards. The death of bees has[Read More…]

by 15/05/2023 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Businesses and environmental consciousness in contemporary times

Businesses and environmental consciousness in contemporary times

Environmental degradation is a significant issue caused by human activities like overconsumption[i], industrialization and deforestation[ii], leading to unsustainable economic growth. The negative consequences of environmental deterioration are widespread and include pollution, biodiversity loss, animal extinction, deforestation and desertification, global warming, and numerous additional issues [iii], and it is crucial to manage the ecosystem properly to prevent further damage. Environmental degradation[Read More…]

by 25/04/2023 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Abuse of science against victims of environmental crime – active role of APPCB

Abuse of science against victims of environmental crime – active role of APPCB

Dr Sameer Sharma Chairman,APPCB Sri B Sreedhar Member Secretary, APPCB Sub: Abuse of science against victims of environmental crime – active role of APPCB Sirs, We are deeply concerned about the abuse of science by Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) in environmental regulation to silence the victims. There are umpteen examples. We shall take the case of Uranium Corporation[Read More…]

by 16/04/2023 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Sankey Road, Bengaluru – Governments are hostile to peaceful protests

Sankey Road, Bengaluru – Governments are hostile to peaceful protests

Citizens protesting against felling of trees are pejoratively called “environmental activists”, “buddhijeevi-andolanjeevi”, and worse, by a certain section of politicians and people. Transcending political ideology, state and central governments, and powerful persons intoxicated with the promise of money flowing out of the current model of development, view all public protests with undisguised hostility. Bengaluru police demonstrated government-sanctioned hostility when it[Read More…]

by 07/04/2023 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
5 Surprising Things That Could Be Preventing Your Backyard From Serving as a Wildlife Sanctuary

5 Surprising Things That Could Be Preventing Your Backyard From Serving as a Wildlife Sanctuary

by Doug Tallamy, Daniel Klem, and Jim Cubie, J.D.  Prevent your backyard from being an “ecological trap” by taking these key actions to protect wildlife. Imagine a wildlife refuge that does not protect its wildlife. How could this be possible? It is not only possible, but it is also likely unless we take action to prevent it. Unfortunately, many advocates of[Read More…]

by 07/03/2023 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Fish Killing Mania: Australia’s War Against the Common Carp

Fish Killing Mania: Australia’s War Against the Common Carp

The scene is unforgettable and unforgivable: an elected official, the deputy prime minister of Australia, cutting loose about a fish species introduced into the country by his ancestors, and demanding their annihilation.  During the near-lunatic display by Barnaby Joyce, even his own colleagues betrayed embarrassment and alarm at the full-throated shrieks of “carp, carp”.  With crazed eyes and crimson face,[Read More…]

by 06/03/2023 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
How Bioenergy Causes Air Pollution: The Dark Side of Renewable Energy

How Bioenergy Causes Air Pollution: The Dark Side of Renewable Energy

Bioenergy is often seen as a more environmentally-friendly alternative to other forms of energy generation. But the truth is that it can actually be quite harmful to the environment. Bioenergy has a dark side: It contributes to air pollution. Biomass, or bioenergy, creates energy by burning living materials like plants and trees. The wood pellet industry uses trees to make[Read More…]

by 23/02/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Photo by Neil Tackaberry

Listening to the Forest

To start with a few words about myself, I am a conservationist serving the rainforests of the Western Ghats in India. It has been my lifelong inquiry to look at how a biome can recover from assault—from colonial-neocolonial-capitalistic-civilizational assault. I know, and the biome knows, that it can heal from most travesties and injuries, and that it will do its[Read More…]

by 17/02/2023 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Basic Changes Needed to Resolve Serious Environmental Problems Should Not Be Neglected

Basic Changes Needed to Resolve Serious Environmental Problems Should Not Be Neglected

There is increasing concern that the world is not on track to resolve climate change as well as about a dozen or so other serious, inter-related environmental problems that threaten to disrupt the life-nurturing conditions of our planet. Corrective actions should not be delayed much longer. Most environmental problems arise in the process of creating certain goods and services. In[Read More…]

by 17/02/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Forests Created by Village Communities Bring Happiness to Them and Hope to Birds

Forests Created by Village Communities Bring Happiness to Them and Hope to Birds

There was a new zeal and enthusiasm, and a strong sense of comradeship among the people of Markhera village as they assembled to plan the forests they were going to create near their temple. The temple site was chosen as the forest and the birds likely to find shelter in this were considered to be safer here. These villagers had[Read More…]

by 14/01/2023 Comments are Disabled India
Villagers who live near the tank/Photo by Kamlesh Kurmi 

De-silting of Tanks with Community Participation Brings Many-Sided Benefits

In Bundelkhand region of Central India water tanks have constituted a very important component of efforts of communities to meet the water needs of people over the centuries. In particular the period of Chandela and Bundela rulers from 9th to 18th century has been identified as a time when royal patronage was extended to communities for creation of several thousand[Read More…]

by 11/01/2023 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Attitude of Dominance Towards Nature Has Caused Huge Ecological Ruin

Attitude of Dominance Towards Nature Has Caused Huge Ecological Ruin

Relations of dominance among human beings have caused enormous distress. When the same attitude of dominance was directed towards nature, this resulted in large-scale ecological ruin. The tendency of looking upon nature as something to be dominated and conquered has been extremely counter-productive: it has inflicted huge destruction on environment and has greatly diminished the possibilities of humanity to benefit[Read More…]

by 09/12/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Half a rupee for the largest animal that walks the earth

Half a rupee for the largest animal that walks the earth

Dear friends, I am a baby elephant living in a camp made by human beings to rehabilitate orphaned ones like me, train and prepare me to be of use. I can see questions in your eyes about how I became an orphan. Though I do not claim to remember all the details there are moments I recollect walking close to[Read More…]

by 21/11/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Don’t kill the heritage forest in Greater Nicobar island

Don’t kill the heritage forest in Greater Nicobar island

Diversion of 130.75 sq km of heritage forest land in Greater Nicobar island for a Mega Infrastructure Project violates every conceivable environmental norm To Shri Bhupender Yadav Union Minister for Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC) Dear Shri Yadav, I refer to the Hindu news report (https://frontline.thehindu.com/environment/massive-infrastructure-project-proposed-by-central-government-threatens-great-nicobar-island/article65991977.ece) on an “in-principle” clearance accorded by the Forest Wing of your Ministry for[Read More…]

by 16/11/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Killing Sharks for Fin Soup

Killing Sharks for Fin Soup

Worldwide, eleven thousand (11,000) sharks will be killed within the next 60 minutes. That’s 180 sharks per minute; it’s a bloody affair. One hundred million (100,000,000) are killed per year, mostly for shark fin soup. In fact, the shark-fin trade is responsible for 75% of sharks killed each year even though more than 50 countries have some kind of shark[Read More…]

by 12/11/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Study on Grazing Highlights Need for People-Centered Conservation

Study on Grazing Highlights Need for People-Centered Conservation

While conservation and protection of environment should get very high priority in development planning, avoidable problems have been created whenever conservation has been pushed into a narrow path where it gets alienated from the concerns and needs of local people and communities. One aspect of this narrow approach, promoted by elites who frequently dominate conservation groups, relates to strong opposition[Read More…]

by 02/11/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Himalayan Region Needs Protective Policies

Himalayan Region Needs Protective Policies

The Indian Himalayas stretch majestically for nearly 2500 km across 13 states and union territories. Nearly 50 million people live here, but the number of people whose life is closely influenced by the Himalayas is many times more, with a heavy concentration in the densely populated Gangetic plains. For all their outward grandeur, the Himalayas are geologically young and fragile[Read More…]

by 06/10/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Will China Deplete the Oceans?

Will China Deplete the Oceans?

According to the Marine Stewardship Council, depletion of fish stocks is the most urgent threat to the world’s oceans. Ninety-three percent (93%) of the world’s major marine fish stocks are classified as fully exploited, overexploited, or significantly depleted. “Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated  (IUU) fishing is a pervasive, far-reaching security threat.” (Source: Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing, United States Coast Guard,[Read More…]

by 05/10/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
More Questions than Claims Regarding India’s Cheetah Project

More Questions than Claims Regarding India’s Cheetah Project

The release of eight cheetahs into the Kuno National Park ( Madhya Pradesh) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 17, although accompanied by a media blitz, has raised several questions. The animals were flown from Namibia to Gwalior and from there they were taken to the release site in a helicopter. Official sources have stated that this is the[Read More…]

by 19/09/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Mining Mafias Ruin Livelihoods of Farmers and Pastorals, Spread Terror

Mining Mafias Ruin Livelihoods of Farmers and Pastorals, Spread Terror

In Kolawalpur village of Banda District (state of Uttar Pradesh), many farmers complained bitterly that the miners of river sand had destroyed their farms and standing crops. What is more, threat of floods in the rainy season and the river drying up in the dry season had increased due to the excessive extraction of sand from the river using heavy[Read More…]

by 17/09/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
India Struggling To Have  Clean Air For Blue Skies

India Struggling To Have  Clean Air For Blue Skies

As we mark the United Nations International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies on September 7 and raise demands for better air pollution management, we also stare at the crop residue burning and approaching winter season when air quality levels in large parts of the country touch hazardous limits. Central and state governments spring into action with various measures as pollution[Read More…]

by 10/09/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
At last wild Orchids are being protected in India  

At last wild Orchids are being protected in India  

We lived in Shillong in Meghalaya for two years when my father was posted there with the Indian Air Force. That is where we learnt so much about India’s rare orchids which grew quite happily in the jungles around. In Fact there was a beautiful Orchidarian which was close to our home off Laitumkhrah in the busy downtown area. The[Read More…]

by 10/09/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Mumbai Activists protest building of Metro Car Shed in Aarey Colony

Mumbai Activists protest building of Metro Car Shed in Aarey Colony

A team of activists launched a demonstration on Sunday on September 4th, to oppose the construction of a Metro car shed in Mumbai’s Aarey Colony and raised slogans against the Maharashtra government’s decision to undertake the project.  Around 100 persons 100 comprising Students, Dalits, Adivasis and activists of many NGOs, Political Parties. and social organisations.,participated. Heartening to witness involvement of[Read More…]

by 07/09/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Punjab’s Growing Environment Activism is Welcome, Should Have Wider Horizon

Punjab’s Growing Environment Activism is Welcome, Should Have Wider Horizon

In recent months there have been growing signs of increasing assertiveness of environmental movements in Punjab. This should be widely welcomed and is much needed, given the rapid degradation of environment here at several levels in recent decades. There was an impressive and successful mobilization recently to save the Mattewara forest in Ludhiana from the onslaught of an ill-conceived industrial[Read More…]

by 31/08/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Protest in ‘Struggle To Save Aarey ‘ in Mumbai

Protest in ‘Struggle To Save Aarey ‘ in Mumbai

On 21st August, A protest demonstration was staged at Picnichen Spot, Opp Shaheed Birsa Munda Statue, Aarey forest, Mumbai. It opposed the present Maharashtra Government of Shinde-Fadnavis in installing Metro 3 depot at Aarey and to project the truth behind depot politics and land scam. More than 500 persons protested, from a broad strata of society.. Students,  Dalits,  Adivasis and[Read More…]

by 26/08/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Scientists Petition EPA to Take Bold Steps

Scientists Petition EPA to Take Bold Steps

Scientists are working on a plan to go beyond the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) recently signed by President Biden, which is supposed to tackle global warming, which, in turn, is tearing the planet apart, piece-by-piece. There’s more info on this very important petition filed by scientists to follow below, including a request for supporting signatures. Meanwhile, even though IRA is[Read More…]

by 20/08/2022 Comments are Disabled World
India’s tree lovers get together for a nation-wide tree festival

India’s tree lovers get together for a nation-wide tree festival

The  August Tree Festival will be held from 15th to 31st August, 2022 all over India. The participants of the festival will go outdoors and observe 166 common tree species. The festival has 2 challenges – to observe more than 200 trees and as many Ficus trees as possible during the 17 days of the festival. One school and one [Read More…]

by 17/08/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
UN General Assembly declares access to clean and healthy environment a universal human right

UN General Assembly declares access to clean and healthy environment a universal human right

With 161 votes in favour, and eight abstentions*, the UN General Assembly adopted a historic resolution on Thursday, declaring access to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, a universal human right. The resolution, based on a similar text adopted last year by the Human Rights Council, calls upon States, international organisations, and business enterprises to scale up efforts to ensure a healthy environment[Read More…]

by 29/07/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Will Egypt Drain the World’s Second Largest Wetlands?

Will Egypt Drain the World’s Second Largest Wetlands?

“With 35% loss globally since 1970, wetlands are our most threatened ecosystem, disappearing three times faster than forests. Wetlands’ services for climate mitigation, adaptation biodiversity, and human health outweigh all other terrestrial ecosystems.” (Source: Wetlands are Being Lost at Alarming Rates, Global Wetland Outlook, 2021) Sudd is Africa’s largest freshwater wetland at roughly 3,500 square miles in an otherwise dry[Read More…]

by 16/07/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Punjab Mobilizes to Save its Precious Forest of Mattewara

Punjab Mobilizes to Save its Precious Forest of Mattewara

Punjab has one of the lowest forest coverage in the country as only about 4 per cent of the land here is reported to be under forest. Hence, apart from making longer-term efforts to increase its forest cover,  it is extremely important to save its few remaining precious forests and it is in this context that the impressive mobilization that[Read More…]

by 12/07/2022 1 comment Environmental Protection
Support the fight to protect the Sinjajevina mountains and local communities living there

Support the fight to protect the Sinjajevina mountains and local communities living there

Interview : Milan Sekulović, President ‘ Save Sinjajevina’, Montenegro   Sinjajevina forests located in Montenegro in the Balkans are rich in bio diversity where pastoralists and other forest dwellers lived in complete harmony with nature. Growing militarisation is impacting not only our environment but also threatening to uproot communities who have lived in the forest for years and sustained it.[Read More…]

by 09/07/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Feeling Defeated by the Supreme Court’s EPA Ruling? There’s Still a Lot We Can Do

Feeling Defeated by the Supreme Court’s EPA Ruling? There’s Still a Lot We Can Do

America’s highest court has limited the EPA’s authority to regulate power plant emissions. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1970 with the intention of reducing and controlling air pollution nationwide, the Clean Air Act is the nation’s primary federal air quality law, giving the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to regulate air emissions from sources that are[Read More…]

by 08/07/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
The Major Questions Doctrine: The US Supreme Court Blunts the EPA

The Major Questions Doctrine: The US Supreme Court Blunts the EPA

The US Supreme Court has been frantically busy of late, striking down law and legislation with an almost crazed, ideological enthusiasm.  Gun laws have been invalidated; Roe v Wade and constitutional abortion rights, confined to history.  And now, the Environmental Protection Agency has been clipped of its powers in a 6-3 decision. The June 30 decision of West Virginia v[Read More…]

by 04/07/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Odisha: Police Prevents Visit of Prafulla Samantara to Kapand village

Odisha: Police Prevents Visit of Prafulla Samantara to Kapand village

Today I along with leaders of people’s Movements like Lingaraj convener of Paschim Odisha Krusak sangathan, Lingaraj Azad of Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti and Narendra Mohanty of Human Rights were going to Kapand of Banei Subdivision to attend a meeting of villagers who are protesting against a proposed polluting industry of Kai International Ltd which will destroy a village forest and[Read More…]

by 27/06/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Increasing Threats to Natural Water Sources in Himachal Pradesh

Increasing Threats to Natural Water Sources in Himachal Pradesh

While the pipeline network has been expanding in Himachal Pradesh as a result of the emphasis placed on speeding up drinking water supply, at the same time drinking water scarcity from an increasing number of places is being reported. One basic reason for this is that a significant number of natural water sources including rivers, streams and khuds are being[Read More…]

by 19/06/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Unforgettable: A wild fox started showing up on the author’s property every day at 4:15 p.m., and sat next to a lone forget-me-not. (Photo credit: Catherine Raven)

How I Found Myself Befriending a Wild Fox

A scientist went against the grain on her industry’s rule against anthropomorphizing nonhuman animals—here’s what she discovered. Editor’s note: At 15, Catherine Raven left home and headed west to work as a national park ranger. She later earned a PhD in biology and built an off-the-grid house on an isolated plot of land in Montana, making a living by remote teaching[Read More…]

by 15/06/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Environment and war today

Environment and war today

War environs environment. War destructs and demolishes life, all forms of environment. It’s war’s powerful approach to contradictions within and with environment surrounding life. Wars including the current Ukraine War bear this signature of destruction of and on environment and ecology. The first victim is life; and, then comes surroundings of life that help sustain life. Activities to secure, nourish[Read More…]

by 05/06/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Curses Ahead Of “World Environment Day” @ 50

Curses Ahead Of “World Environment Day” @ 50

Social Environment is also crucial for Natural Environment, ignoring which no pious wish, no sci-tech can cure Nature Several species have shown their ability to change natural environment to some degree, Humans showed what maximum destructive changes can be done (an in some limited small-scale cases the opposite was tried). But ‘humans’ do not mean just a sum of some[Read More…]

by 04/06/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Environment Matters: ‘Only One Earth!’

Environment Matters: ‘Only One Earth!’

Come 5 June, the world will once again be ‘celebrating’ ‘World Environment Day’! There will be the usual plethora of events, plenty of fanfare and with many competing for ‘photo-ops’ to show how much they are doing for the environment! There will be the ‘mad rush’ to plant saplings, for politicians to take to the broom, on streets which have[Read More…]

by 03/06/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
The Human Mania for Roadbuilding Is a Threat to the Great Apex Predator Species

The Human Mania for Roadbuilding Is a Threat to the Great Apex Predator Species

Tigers and leopards are among the 10 apex predators most threatened by the world’s roads. Designed for speed and efficiency, roadways across the globe are effectively killing wildlife whose futures are intrinsically linked to the future of the planet: apex predators, those species including big cats like tigers and leopards who sit at the top of the food chain and[Read More…]

by 25/05/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
We can live with the Tiger, not the forest department!

We can live with the Tiger, not the forest department!

A Fact-Finding Report on Forced Evictions, Rehabilitation Betrayals and Fortress Conservation in Nagarhole A joint fact-finding by: Fridays for Future Karnataka Philip Kujur, Adivasi Activists’ Forum for Indigenous Peoples, Jharkhand Subrat Sahu, Documentary Film Maker, New Delhi Sharanya Nayak, Rangmatipadar Commune, Odisha Abstract: This fact-finding report attempts to bring to light the struggles and challenges of the Adivasi people living[Read More…]

by 25/05/2022 Comments are Disabled India
Birds— Humanity is Rapidly Losing Its Most Endearing Friends

Birds— Humanity is Rapidly Losing Its Most Endearing Friends

Birds are the most endearing friends of humanity, so why is it that we are hearing less often the Good Morning call of sparrows and why is it is increasingly more difficult to see the enchanting spectacle of a dancing peacock? A recent study stated that over the last 5 decades the number of birds declined by about 3 billion,[Read More…]

by 13/05/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Unclear Federal Law Allows Logging, Farming and Mining to Threaten America’s Biodiverse Ecosystems

Unclear Federal Law Allows Logging, Farming and Mining to Threaten America’s Biodiverse Ecosystems

The recent decision by the Supreme Court to look into “limiting the scope” of “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS), which is an important part of the Clean Water Act of 1972, is likely to further threaten America’s biodiverse ecosystems. The Clean Water Act refers to WOTUS but does not clearly define it, leaving its definition up for interpretation by the government and the Environmental[Read More…]

by 20/04/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Environmental issues in Jammu and Kashmir need much more attention

Environmental issues in Jammu and Kashmir need much more attention

In areas that experience more political tensions including those relating to conflicts, environmental problems tend to be sidelined and neglected. This can lead to less remedial actions than in other comparable areas, while problems continue to increase. This can be seen in Jammu and Kashmir. While environmental problems have been widely discussed  in the context of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh,[Read More…]

by 15/04/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Thousands of Threatened Trees Near the Origin of Ganga River Must Be Saved

Thousands of Threatened Trees Near the Origin of Ganga River Must Be Saved

Protecting the Ganga river is a cause dear to the heart of all Indians.  Nowhere is the need for protection greater than near the origin of the Ganga river or Gangotri, in Uttarakhand Himalaya. So it is shocking to know that thousands of trees face the threat of being axed here in the near future. A strong national campaign is[Read More…]

by 13/04/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
3 million plus trees axed in India in a year for ‘development’ 

3 million plus trees axed in India in a year for ‘development’ 

Over 3 million trees are cut in a year to pave the way for public infrastructure projects, according to official estimates. While replying to a question in Parliament  in March the Environment Minster responded that nearly 31 lakh ( 3.1 million) trees were cut down for construction and development of public infrastructure projects across India in year 2020-21. He added[Read More…]

by 07/04/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Wood-Pellet Manufacturing in a Rainforest

Wood-Pellet Manufacturing in a Rainforest

The wood-pellet industry has full-scale operations smack dab in the heart of British Columbia’s Inland Temperate Rainforest, the last rainforest of its kind in the North. The fabled rainforest contains cedars of up to 12-15 feet in diameter and up to 2,000 years old. Its extraordinarily rich ecosystem is home to 2,400 plant species and numerous wildlife species.  It is[Read More…]

by 03/04/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Not in my home: A baby elephant with her mother. The Okavango Delta is home to Africa’s largest surviving population herd, but their migratory routes are threatened by seismic testing in the Kavango Basin. (Photo credit: Curious Ape)

Fossil Fuel Extraction Threatens Africa’s Remaining Elephants

by Tzeporah Berman and Ina-Maria Shikongo The growing global outcry against the destruction caused by the oil and gas industry has pushed leaders to address their actions to fight the resulting climate and ecological crisis. Yet, the divergence between the ‘climate champion’ rhetoric—which was on full display at last year’s COP26 conference—and leaders’ concrete climate commitments needs to be scrutinized and put to test. The[Read More…]

by 16/03/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Excessive Tree Felling in Ecologically Crucial Himalayan Region Causes Concern

Excessive Tree Felling in Ecologically Crucial Himalayan Region Causes Concern

Recently former legislator of Himachal Pradesh Bambar Thakur has made a strong indictment of indiscriminate and illegal tree felling at various places in Bilaspur District. He has pointed out very specific sites where such felling of trees has taken place. He has also alleged that when local persons have drawn attention to such felling no action has been taken and[Read More…]

by 15/03/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Bundelkhand—Farmers Worried by Revival of A Wasteful Project Harmful to Them

Bundelkhand—Farmers Worried by Revival of A Wasteful Project Harmful to Them

            Despite increasing budgets for water conservation and irrigation, real benefits are not reaching the villages of Bundelkhand region in Uttar Pradesh. Wrong priorities, poor planning, alienation from people and corruption have all combined to deny badly needed benefits of widely publicized government schemes to the long-suffering people of Bundelkhand. The recent revival of Kachnauda irrigation scheme in Lalitpur district[Read More…]

by 28/02/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
The Little Dendrophilics

The Little Dendrophilics

The 14 year old brother and 10 year old sister hurried with their mother across the crowded city to reach their grandmother’s shop by the road side . Most evenings they came here to help the grandmother pack up the containers and other materials, untie the long chain of masks that she sold ever since Covid phase and also drop[Read More…]

by 18/02/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 – Monetising that which sustains life

Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 – Monetising that which sustains life

  The first step in reviewing any new legislation or amendment to an existing legislation, is to understand the intent and purpose of what is proposed. In reviewing the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 as introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 9th, 2021, the intent and purpose are evident through the reading of the following: (i) Section 4 of[Read More…]

by 25/01/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
(Photo: Matt Zimmerman/flickr/cc)

Killing Nature Must Be Treated as a Crime on a Par with Genocide and War Crimes

Ecocide must be elevated into an international crime—on a par with genocide and war crimes—and fall within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. The first United Nations Scientific Conference on the Environment, also known as the First Earth Summit, was held in Stockholm, Sweden, from June 6-15, 1972. Ιt established a Declaration of Principles and adopted an action plan with recommendations for[Read More…]

by 30/12/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Why the Internet Itself Is a Major Environmental Problem

Why the Internet Itself Is a Major Environmental Problem

The paradox of combating climate change is that the extent of the emergency extends far beyond the actions taken by individuals to mitigate the climate crisis, yet collective action is what is most required to address this issue. There are so many examples of this dilemma—from recycling to how power is being generated, to what people should consume. In each case, broad-based action is required[Read More…]

by 15/12/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Africocypha varicolor_red_André Günther

Dragonflies threatened as wetlands around the world disappear says the IUCN

As children in Bangalore we always found dragonflies in the garden. Catching them by their papery wings we would cruelly tie strings to their tails. Seeing them sail about the garden with the strings trailing behind them, set us off into paroxysms of childish laughter. Those wonderful icons of our childhood which were found in abundance across the world are[Read More…]

by 13/12/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Killer Apes and Global Ecocide

Killer Apes and Global Ecocide

by Thomas Klikauer and Meg Young About four million years ago, we departed from our closest ancestors – the chimpanzees. This allowed us to become what we are today: human beings, the upright walking homo erectus and homo faber – the toolmaking hominids. Crucially, this also means that we are descendants of the chimpanzees and not of the neighbors next door – the bonobos, who were mistakenly also known as[Read More…]

by 26/11/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Several Serious  Environmental Problems Have to be Resolved Simultaneously For A Safe Future

Several Serious  Environmental Problems Have to be Resolved Simultaneously For A Safe Future

          There is widespread agreement that a number of very serious environmental problems together threaten the future of our planet. These problems inter-act with each other, are related to each other  and at a practical level, we and other species have to bear their combined burden at the same time. Despite this rather obvious reality the response to these problems[Read More…]

by 24/11/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Charlie Swaney scanning for animals from his hunting camp, East Fork of the Chandalar River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. (Photo: Subhankar Banerjee, August 2002).

Murder, Rape, and Torture: Fortress Conservation on Trial

On November 1, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres opened his remarks at the UN COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, with these words: “The six years, since the Paris Climate Agreement, have been the six hottest years on record. Our addiction to fossil fuels is pushing humanity to the brink. We face a stark choice: either we stop it, or[Read More…]

by 04/11/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Special Significance of Protecting Boral River  

Special Significance of Protecting Boral River  

If people in India are told that the Ganga and Jamuna meet in Bangladesh then they will not believe this easily as they know very well that the Ganga and the Yamuna/Jamuna meet at the famous sangam (confluence) near Prayagraj, or near the city of Allahabad, a very famous place of pilgrimage as well as tourist interest.  However the fact[Read More…]

by 19/10/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Beyond Science: Art and the Environment

Beyond Science: Art and the Environment

In 1871 photographer William Henry Jackson and painter Thomas Moran joined an expedition to the Yellowstone region of the United States, which they documented in a series of powerful and moving creative works. Soon after, Jackson’s and Moran’s images became the catalysts for Congress to designate the very first national park at Yellowstone. This little-known detail, that artists played a major[Read More…]

by 18/10/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Bridge the North-South divide for a UN Biodiversity Framework that is more just

Bridge the North-South divide for a UN Biodiversity Framework that is more just

This month, the leaders of nation states from around the world have been gathered in New York City to attend the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Covid, climate and biodiversity are among the topics they are expected to address. Indeed, on September 21, in his sobering yet passionate address to the assembly, UN Secretary-General António Guterres focused attention on all[Read More…]

by 24/09/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Machinery operating in the annex pit at the Cerrejon Coal Mine in Barrancas, La Guajira, Colombia. Nicolo Filippo Rosso/Bloomberg via Getty Images

They are murdered: They face violence: They are Defenders of Environment

Hundreds of environment defenders have been murdered in countries. Environment defenders face lethal attacks and violence. Global Witness in Last Line of Defence report said: In 2020, we recorded 227 lethal attacks – an average of more than four people a week – making it once again the most dangerous year on record for people defending their homes, land and[Read More…]

by 23/09/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Source Vishal Singh

Encroaching a wetland in the name of rejuvenation! Sukhatal Lake restoration project tells the story

Instead of restoring the degraded Sukhatal, developmental authorities are converting the alive wetland into a dead swimming pool, thereby killing its wetland status forever and creating deadly repercussions for the Nainital Town. A wetland restoration project is expected to repair a degraded wetland back to its original and healthy condition. For this, the wetland is modified without disrupting its original[Read More…]

by 22/09/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
DEAD BEES and BUTTERFLIES, FLOWES, TREE and the PLASTIC SEA

DEAD BEES and BUTTERFLIES, FLOWES, TREE and the PLASTIC SEA

Globally, bees and butterflies, the winged beauties of the insect-beasty world, are dying, vanishing from habitat and planet.  Bees and butterflies are pollinators.  Without them, there will be no flowers. But it does not stop there.  The agricultural food chain of humanity collapses.  A horrifying explosion of worldwide starvation then results.  What happens when people are chronically hungry?  What are[Read More…]

India’s northeastern states desertifying most rapidly

India’s northeastern states desertifying most rapidly

 Half of Nagaland is degraded, flags new report Six states in northeastern India were among the top 10 places in the country with the highest rates of desertification between 2003 and 2018, according to a recent report. These are Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya. Punjab, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand in northern India also witnessed some[Read More…]

by 10/09/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
The Kharasrota River Not for Sale

The Kharasrota River Not for Sale

The people of Kendrapada district of Odisha are fighting peacefully for last two years to save their river Kharasrota. This river is the lifeline of farmers, fishing communities and other communities living besides the river.  The Kharasrota river is the source of life and livelihoods for the people of Odisha in general and people of Kendrapada and Jajpur in particular.[Read More…]

by 03/09/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Policy of Spreading Monocultures Has Been Harmful for Himalayan Ecology

Policy of Spreading Monocultures Has Been Harmful for Himalayan Ecology

While any new large-scale deforestation immediately attracts attention, the more insidious change of species  often escapes attention and concern. However these changes can be very important. In particular if the share of broad-leaf species like the oak reduces significantly, then the soil and water conservation role as well as flood protection role of Himalayan and foothill forests will be lost[Read More…]

by 24/08/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Protecting Lake Erie

Protecting Lake Erie

My city sits on the western edge of a body of water that has figured large in the nation’s history, Lake Erie. My wife and I are fortunate to live in the part of Toledo where the lake is literally our front yard. Grade school history classes, consisting mostly of memorizing wars and generals, taught that in the first battle[Read More…]

by 23/08/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
The Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus) is classified as "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. (Photo: Alexas_Fotos/Pixabay)

4 Major Environmental Treaties the U.S. Never Ratified — But Should

In one of his first acts in the White House, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to have the United States rejoin the Paris climate agreement. It signaled an important step in the country recommitting to action to tackle climate change after the Trump administration withdrew the United States from the accord and worked to roll back environmental regulations nationwide. Biden’s[Read More…]

by 23/08/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
A Missed Opportunity: Rights of Nature Removed From New Draft of Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

A Missed Opportunity: Rights of Nature Removed From New Draft of Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

On July 12, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat released the first draft of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, deleting what is arguably the most important enabling condition: “to consider, where appropriate, the rights of nature,” replacing this language with “employing rights-based approaches.” This framework would have been the first international treaty to recognize Nature’s rights. It was undoubtedly noteworthy that[Read More…]

by 31/07/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Why Landslides Are Becoming More Frequent and Destructive

Why Landslides Are Becoming More Frequent and Destructive

Landslides are becoming increasingly frequent and destructive, and the last week of July 2021  has been particularly worrying in India in this context as within the span of a few days in  Maharashtra, Western Ghats and Himalayan region  landslides claimed  over a 100 human lives. This is part of a rising trend of landslides becoming more destructive in India as[Read More…]

by 26/07/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Stop Deep-Sea Mining

Stop Deep-Sea Mining

Marine Expert Statement Calling for a Pause to Deep-Sea Mining . Signed by 530 marine science & policy experts from over 44 countries The deep sea is home to a significant proportion of Earth’s biodiversity, with most species yet to be discovered. The richness and diversity of organisms in the deep sea supports ecosystem processes necessary for the Earth’s natural[Read More…]

by 23/07/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Some suggestions to enhance the credibility of Environment Impact Assessment

Some suggestions to enhance the credibility of Environment Impact Assessment

 To Shri Bhupender Yadav Minister Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC) Govt of India Dear Shri Yadav, Rarely do persons with such credible professional background as you have, especially in the highly specialised field of environmental jurisprudence, are asked to preside over the MEFCC. Let me welcome you to your new assignment, with the earnest hope and belief that you[Read More…]

by 20/07/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Green Initiatives of Punjab Are Welcome But Need Precautions to Maximize Benefits

Green Initiatives of Punjab Are Welcome But Need Precautions to Maximize Benefits

Recent new initiatives of the Punjab government to bring real greenery to the state need to be widely welcomed. This state really needs environment protection, particularly as what was falsely called green revolution in farming caused such immense ( and entirely avoidable)ecological ruin. The new measures announced show much promise of increasing the overall green cover, and if adequate precaution[Read More…]

by 17/07/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Mass death of hundreds of parrots focuses attention on a wider threat to birds and bees

Mass death of hundreds of parrots focuses attention on a wider threat to birds and bees

The National Green Tribunal has very recently given orders to the chief wildlife warden of Punjab and other related authorities to investigate the sudden mass death of about 400 parrots in Faridkot town of Punjab and take appropriate remedial action. However this mass death of parrots is not a one-time event. Bird-lovers and lawyers associated with them in Faridkot have[Read More…]

by 16/07/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Scrap the Bunder Diamond Mine Project

Scrap the Bunder Diamond Mine Project

NAPM strongly opposes the destruction of Buxwaha protected forest region in Madhya Pradesh,  for proposed Bunder diamond mining project. Government must immediately withdraw all projects which threaten the ecological and socio-cultural significance of Buxwaha 5th July, 2021: NAPM condemns the decision of the Government of Madhya Pradesh to carry out the proposed Bunder diamond block in the Buxwaha protected forests[Read More…]

by 05/07/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
The dubious record of the UN Champion of the Earth

The dubious record of the UN Champion of the Earth

On June 30 2021 Channel 4 broke the news of a senior Exxon Mobil lobbyist captured on camera explaining how US senators were roped into efforts to block climate change legislation. This should give us in India pause. Could such things be happening here too? In 2018, PM Narendra Modi was awarded the United Nations ‘Champion of the Earth’ award. Readers[Read More…]

by 02/07/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Don’t destroy bird habitat for Fintech Park: Citizens to Rajasthan govt

Don’t destroy bird habitat for Fintech Park: Citizens to Rajasthan govt

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot announced in the last budget that a Fintech Park would come up in state capital Jaipur, attracting investment of about Rs3,000 crore. Over four lakh sq metres of land near the airport, adjoining the B2 Bypass and Tonk Road, would be allotted for it. “Many chartered accountants and IT professionals belonging to the state are[Read More…]

by 24/06/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Let the River Live Again!

Let the River Live Again!

Why the demand for restoring river ecosystems by decommissioning highly disruptive  dams is picking up? The Snake river in the USA has been declared the most endangered river of the country this year by the organization American Rivers. The main  reason is that the various species of the wild salmon fish, the most critical species of the river system, have[Read More…]

by 24/06/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Photo by Jason Karn

Burgeoning plastic footprint: Who is responsible?

Today, the world is witnessing the Covid-19 pandemic, accompanied by other pandemics like the information pandemic (infodemic) and the Covid-19 waste pandemic. The burgeoning consumption and improper disposal practices of face masks by the community worldwide have given rise to a new environmental challenge. These materials are getting into waterways from where they reach the freshwater and marine environment, adding[Read More…]

by 23/06/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Mussoorie Bypass Tunnel is Expensive, but Its Ecological Costs Will Be Even Higher

Mussoorie Bypass Tunnel is Expensive, but Its Ecological Costs Will Be Even Higher

Many people cherish memories of visiting Mussoorie ( located near Dehradun, capital of Uttarakhand ), even called the Queen of Hill Stations in India. The famous hill resort houses the L.B.S. IAS Academy where the country’s future top civil servants are trained. The Mussorie hills divide the Ganga and Yamuna river systems which have their origin in Western Himalayan region[Read More…]

by 22/06/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Needed a scientific probe into the death of 18 wild Asiatic elephants on Bamunipahar

Needed a scientific probe into the death of 18 wild Asiatic elephants on Bamunipahar

Many questions still remain unanswered by Assam forest department over the mysterious deaths of 18 wild Asiatic elephants on Bamunipahar in Nagaon locality on 12 May (as the authority claimed) because the final report rested on the assumption (not scientific analysis) that the bulky animals died due to electrocution by a major thunderbolt. Analysing many loopholes in the investigation report,[Read More…]

by 11/06/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Fire damaged X-Press Pearl just before it sank (Credit: Sri Lankan Air Force)

Container ship fire produces ecological catastrophe in Sri Lanka

In the second major container ship accident in Sri Lankan waters in the past year, the X-Press Pearl, which was awaiting entry to Colombo port, caught fire on May 20 after a chemical leak. All attempts to douse the fire failed and the ship sank about 10 nautical miles off the west coast of Sri Lanka, creating major problems for[Read More…]

by 10/06/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Camorra’s Involvement in Poaching Date Mussels

Camorra’s Involvement in Poaching Date Mussels

Italian police has found out that there are criminal syndicates, mainly the Camorra, involved in illegally hunting of date mussels in Naples, which is tearing down the reefs of Naples, mainly along the Amalfi coast and around the island of Capri. After three year long probe including wire taps, surveillance, and nearly hundred suspects, the police eventually cracked down with[Read More…]

by 07/06/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Ecosystem Restoration – Eco day 2021

Ecosystem Restoration – Eco day 2021

To create global awareness about the importance of a healthy environment, world environment day is celebrated every year on June 5. Also known as, Eco day or simply Environment day, world environment day was established by UN General Assembly in 1972. Its celebrations are theme-based and each year a particular theme is declared by United Nations. The theme of first-world[Read More…]

by 05/06/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Will Ecosystems Restoration Actually Get A Real and  Much-Needed Boost With the Launch of A Decade Dedicated to This?

Will Ecosystems Restoration Actually Get A Real and  Much-Needed Boost With the Launch of A Decade Dedicated to This?

The special theme of the World Environment Day observed on June 5 relates this year to the restoration  of ecosystems, certainly a subject of very great importance in times of so much ecological ruin. It is even more encouraging, and of more durable value, that  the United Nations has declared 2021-30 to be the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration and[Read More…]

by 05/06/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Narmada Bachao Aandolan Took Forward A Holistic Vision of Protecting Nature and People

Narmada Bachao Aandolan Took Forward A Holistic Vision of Protecting Nature and People

At a time when there is perhaps more need than ever before in human history for re-establishing and reasserting the protective relationship between nature and people , the Narmada Bachao Aandolan (NBA—Save the Narmada River and Its People Movement) in Central-Western India sought to accomplish this in very meaningful ways with continuity extending over several decades. The peaceful movement  was[Read More…]

by 04/06/2021 1 comment India
Why  Environment Movement Should Have Much Closer Links With  Peace and Justice Movements

Why  Environment Movement Should Have Much Closer Links With  Peace and Justice Movements

There is an increasing realization that the mobilization of people on environmental issues will be increasingly important in the days and years to come. Left to themselves the world leadership will be unable to make some of the most important changes in time. So a considerable strengthening of environmental movement all over the world with a clearer vision and proper[Read More…]

by 04/06/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Urgent Need For Proper Priorities  in Regions of Water-Scarcity

Urgent Need For Proper Priorities  in Regions of Water-Scarcity

             Several regions of acute water-scarcity have emerged in India and during summer these expend to a much wider area. Droughts are also becoming more frequent and this has added to water scarcity, sometimes for very prolonged periods. While the creation of new sanitation facilities in villages is less than what is often claimed, still to the extent that these[Read More…]

by 01/06/2021 Comments are Disabled India
To Save Trees, Villages and Tiger Reserve, Consider Small-Scale , Low-Cost Solutions in Bundelkhand

To Save Trees, Villages and Tiger Reserve, Consider Small-Scale , Low-Cost Solutions in Bundelkhand

            The debate has intensified on whether nearly 2 million trees which are threatened by the Ken Betwa Link project in Bundelkhand region can be saved. In order to consider options, let us first remember that the Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court of India had presented a strong critique of several aspects of this very expensive project, now[Read More…]

by 31/05/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Excessive Market Pressure on Fragile Eco-Systems Can Ruin Them

Excessive Market Pressure on Fragile Eco-Systems Can Ruin Them

“ As long as river-sand was being used only for construction needs of village there was no problem at all in this use. Problems arose when  sand started being mined from here to meet the massive needs of big cities.” We were sitting in a group meeting under a tree in Bundelkhand region. The subject was to prepare a memorandum[Read More…]

by 31/05/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Stone Mining and Crushing Units Need Reforms For Protecting Workers and Environment

Stone Mining and Crushing Units Need Reforms For Protecting Workers and Environment

The most widespread mining in India relates to  mining and quarrying of various kinds of stone aimed at supplying stone to construction sector. Since this is widely scattered in the country and is frequently in the informal sector, complete and reliable records are difficult to obtain but clearly it is very widespread and despite some legal restrictions placed from time[Read More…]

by 30/05/2021 Comments are Disabled India
How India Can  Save Two Million Crore Rs. and Four Million Trees in Difficult Times

How India Can  Save Two Million Crore Rs. and Four Million Trees in Difficult Times

It is widely agreed that  any family should face the challenge of difficult times by  first of all curbing all wasteful expenditure. This also applies to nations, or at least all nations who choose to act wisely. India is currently passing through very difficult economic times. Hence, acting wisely, it is important to explore all possibilities of curbing all wasteful[Read More…]

by 30/05/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Massive Tree-Felling In Water-Scarce Bundelkhand Raises Serious Concerns

Massive Tree-Felling In Water-Scarce Bundelkhand Raises Serious Concerns

Bundelkhand region in Central India is spread over a vast area of 13 districts included in two states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. In recent decades this region has increasingly been in news during to serious drought situations and water scarcity. A study some years back by a leading voluntary organization  Vigyan Shiksha Kendra pointed out that it is[Read More…]

by 30/05/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Rivers Ravaged by Sand-Mining Mafias

Rivers Ravaged by Sand-Mining Mafias

Disturbing reports have been appearing from several parts of the country of rivers ravaged by sand-mining mafias to the extent that the very survival of some of the smaller rivers serious harmed in this way has been threatened. Much of this mining  is clearly illegal and controlled by powerful local mafias who do not hesitate to confront and even attack[Read More…]

by 26/05/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
The Best Homage to Sunderlal Bahuguna is to Strengthen People-Centered Protection of Environment and Forests

The Best Homage to Sunderlal Bahuguna is to Strengthen People-Centered Protection of Environment and Forests

Sunderlal Bahuguna is no more. The veteran environmentalist and chipko movement leader passed away today ( May 21) around noon at a hospital in Rishikesh, where he had been admitted about 2 weeks ago following Covid-type symptoms. Born in a village along the bank of the Ganges river in Tehri Garhwal ( presently a district of Uttarakhand) , as a[Read More…]

by 21/05/2021 1 comment Uncategorized
Himachal High Court Shows the Way Forward for Protecting Trees

Himachal High Court Shows the Way Forward for Protecting Trees

The strong action by the Himachal Pradesh High Court, particularly the Chief Justice L. Narayana Swamy and Justice Anoop Chitkara has raised expectations that at long last there will be better care of life-giving trees and the decisions taken by these judges will become a trend-setter for further judicial as well as government actions for giving much more attention to[Read More…]

by 21/05/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Hear Us, Please – A Fervent Voice of Reason

Hear Us, Please – A Fervent Voice of Reason

To the Kerala Government which assumed power on 20.05.2021 In 2018 when Kerala was struck by the worst ever flood of the century, beyond and above the tragedy and catastrophic consequences were raised many questions and suggestions about how this small State should be rebuilt. In 2021 a month ago before we queued up before the polling booths the same[Read More…]

by 21/05/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Poisoning the Planet’s Web of Life

Poisoning the Planet’s Web of Life

The Web of Life is under attack but almost nobody is aware because it’s happening mostly below surface. Scientists have identified a rampant worldwide Bugpocalypse that’s methodically killing the planet’s most significant and most crucial life support system, and it’s intentional! The victim is soil, which is the life source for 95% of the foods we cram down our throats[Read More…]

by 11/05/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Researchers found that the rate at which bumblebees are declining is "consistent with a mass extinction." (Photo: David A. Hofmann/flickr/cc)

Mette Frederiksen, Boris Johnson: Reject Industry PR, Ban Glyphosate, Protect Public Health!

On 9 April 2021, retired physician and health and environmental campaigner Dr Rosemary Mason wrote to the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (DEPA). She wanted to draw the agency’s attention to the findings that indicate the glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup causes high levels of mortality following contact exposure in bumblebees (glyphosate-formulated herbicides are the most widely used weedicides in agriculture across the[Read More…]

by 28/04/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Erratic Rainfall and Weather Increase Distress in Himalayan Region

Erratic Rainfall and Weather Increase Distress in Himalayan Region

Till mid-April an extended spell of dry weather was causing deep concern in Himachal Pradesh. The state government was making preparations to meet drought-like conditions in a big part of the state. At several places an unprecedented number of forest fires had been reported even before the onset of summer. Several villages and even urban settlements had already started suffering[Read More…]

by 28/04/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Pavagada solar plant shines, but at what cost?

Pavagada solar plant shines, but at what cost?

Last year, BJP and Congress quarrelled over who was responsible for establishing Asia’s largest Solar Plant at Pavagada Taluk in Tumkur district of Karnataka. BJP claimed the largest solar park was in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, which is now controlled by the party. Meanwhile, Congress said it was responsible for developing the largest solar park at Pavagada.  D K Shivakumar, Karnataka[Read More…]

by 20/04/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Villagers help leopard clamber out of well

Villagers help leopard clamber out of well

The people of Navalewadi village in Pune district awoke to the panic-stricken roars of a leopard on Tuesday morning. A healthy two-year-old female leopard had been splashing around in a 25-feet-deep well, and seemed exhausted. The villagers alerted the forest department. A team of four, comprising forest staff joined by members of NGO Wildlife SOS was dispatched to the spot.[Read More…]

by 14/04/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Drinking Water Needs of Wild Life Need  More Care

Drinking Water Needs of Wild Life Need  More Care

As the summer advances, there are increasing reports of acute drinking water shortages from many villages. A recent report from Himachal Pradesh, for example, says that over 400 drinking water schemes of Shimla and over 220 schemes of Mandi have been hit by a spell of dry  weather. This is the situation in early April and the situation is likely[Read More…]

by 13/04/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Indigenous  Land Grabbed For Solar Power Plant In Assam

Indigenous Land Grabbed For Solar Power Plant In Assam

Since March 2020, a struggle has been waged by Karbi and Adivasi farmers of Mikir Bamuni Grant village in Nagaon district of Assam against the forceful takeover of their lands for the purpose of constructing a solar power plant by Azure Power Forty Private Limited. In each formal statement Azure Power continues to parrot that they are not in violation[Read More…]

by 12/04/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Apple Orchards Should Stick to Sustainable Paths

Apple Orchards Should Stick to Sustainable Paths

Apple orchards have been highly prioritized in the development path adopted by several Himalayan regions. So it is important to emphasize that the apple orchards t should opt for more sustainable paths, instead of going  in for hurried  ways which may prove to be costly later and cause ecological ruin as well. The creation of apple orchards over large areas[Read More…]

by 12/04/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Saving Trees in Himalayas and Western Ghats—Chipko and Appiko Movements in India

Saving Trees in Himalayas and Western Ghats—Chipko and Appiko Movements in India

The first stories of Chipko ( hug the trees to save them from  felling) movement came from Chamoli district in Garhwal region where Gaura Devi and other hill women chased away workers who had come to fell trees. However by the late 1970s when as a young reporter I started writing on this movement, consciousness regarding this movement had spread[Read More…]

by 01/04/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
SCENE OF SQUAMISH NATION’S LEGENDARY ‘TWIN SISTER’ MOUNTAIN TOPS

A Dream-Vision For Canada’s North Shores

A BASIC UNANSWERED PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION An always basic, on-going, unanswered philosophical question is: Are human beings in the 21st century truly capable of learning how to live side-by-side one another in relative perpetual harmony with the natural world that surrounds them? From time to time over the years the historic Bowser Nature Trail, and its fragile greenbelt escarpment slope, located[Read More…]

by 31/03/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Thoughtless Destruction of Trees For Projects of Dubious Merit Should  Stop

Thoughtless Destruction of Trees For Projects of Dubious Merit Should  Stop

While it has always been important to protect trees, the urgency for this has increased further in recent times of climate change. Trees play  a very important role in soil and water conservation, apart from providing shelter and food to so many birds, animals and insects. Apart from their great environmental role whose value is increasing further, trees play a[Read More…]

by 28/03/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Proposed amendments to Forest Conservation Act imprudent

Proposed amendments to Forest Conservation Act imprudent

To Shri R P Gupta Secretary Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MEFCC) Govt of India Dear Shri Gupta, I understand from a Down to Earth news report (https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/forests/draft-amendment-to-forest-conservation-act-may-dilute-protection-to-forests-76145) that your Ministry is about to issue several crucial amendments to the Forest Conservation Act which exempt from its purview a wide range of projects (“strategic”, “linear” projects) and introduce[Read More…]

by 26/03/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
African savanna elephant, Tsavo, 2015 (6480) © Frank af Petersens

African elephant species now Endangered and Critically Endangered says IUCN

African Elephants are such magnificent animals that when the IUCN press-note popped up on my email, my heart plummeted to read that they are critically endangered and endangered. The note attributes the decline over several decades due to poaching for ivory and loss of habitat. The African forest elephant is now listed as Critically Endangered and the African savanna elephant[Read More…]

by 26/03/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Ken-Betwa Link–There is  no achievement in speeding up a dubious project which will destroy over 2 million trees in drought-prone areas

Ken-Betwa Link–There is  no achievement in speeding up a dubious project which will destroy over 2 million trees in drought-prone areas

On World Water Day March 22 the signing of an agreement between the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh for implementing the controversial Ken-Betwa Link project in drought-prone Bundelkhand region of Central India was presented as a matter of celebration, but questions are being raised asking what achievement, even less joy, there is in going ahead with a project[Read More…]

by 23/03/2021 1 comment India
Coal Pollution Puts The Lives Of Villagers Into Misery And Land Them In Jail For Protesting It

Coal Pollution Puts The Lives Of Villagers Into Misery And Land Them In Jail For Protesting It

On 19th March I along with Ananta , social activist, Advocate Pradosh Mohanty and Adv. Gaiendra Pradhan visited the villages like Kandadhuda, Beleimunda and Ratanpur in Hemagiri Block of Sundargarh District severally affected by acute pollution by MCL coal transport since 2012. We met with villagers including women who were ill treated, beaten by the police as well as school[Read More…]

by 21/03/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
World Forestry Day—March 21

World Forestry Day—March 21

Protecting Natural Forests, Regenerating, Mimicking Old Forests to Create New Ones Today March 21 is  UN International Day of Forests , also called World Forestry Day. While protection of natural forests has always been very important, at no other time was this more important than in present time with its unprecedented threat of climate change and survival crisis, many sided[Read More…]

by 21/03/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
World Sparrow Day—March 20

World Sparrow Day—March 20

We should be much more  cautious about the loss of such sweet friends We are aware of some losses and we take steps to prevent them. But some losses occur over a longer period of time and we realize only too late that we have lost something very precious. Such is the feeling that millions and millions of human being[Read More…]

by 20/03/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Post-facto CRZ clearance: Environmental Justice Goes For A Toss

Post-facto CRZ clearance: Environmental Justice Goes For A Toss

To Shri R P Gupta Secretary Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC) Govt of India Dear Shri Gupta, Please read this letter in continuation of my earlier letter dated 19-3-2021 on imprudence on the part of your Ministry allowing ex-post facto approvals for projects coming up in violation of the CRZ notification. I have had an opportunity to[Read More…]

by 20/03/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Post-facto CRZ clearance- Violates the principles of environmental justice

Post-facto CRZ clearance- Violates the principles of environmental justice

  To Shri R P Gupta Secretary Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC) Govt of India   Dear Shri Gupta, I have just come across a disturbing news report that your Ministry has issued orders permitting industrial projects to obtain post-facto CRZ clearances (https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2021/mar/18/centre-allows-projects-to-obtain-post-facto-coastal-regulation-zone-clearance-2278359.html). If this report is factually correct, I am afraid that, by issuing such a[Read More…]

by 19/03/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Increasing Cooperation  Among Countries is Good, but  Should Avoid High Hazard Projects

Increasing Cooperation  Among Countries is Good, but  Should Avoid High Hazard Projects

In the middle of several increasing problems, a good news that emerged recently is that tensions of India with several neighboring countries is reducing. In fact everything is to be gained by increasing cooperation among all countries of the region. However, while there are so many areas where increasing cooperation will give good results, there is one area which should[Read More…]

by 14/03/2021 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Humidifier Disinfectant Victim outside RB headquarters in Seoul demanding investigation against Gaurav Jain on November 26, 2020

CEOs and Poisoning

In 2016, when CEO Ata Safdar of Reckitt Benckiser, a UK-based firm, offered an apology to all those who had been affected by a toxic product that his firm sold in South Korea, an angry relative of one of the victims slapped him – an act caught on camera. RB’s toxic humidifier disinfectant had caused over 1,500 deaths, many of[Read More…]

by 12/03/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Earthworms, Humanity’s Friend

Earthworms, Humanity’s Friend

Why Has Humanity Been Most Cruel Towards These Creatures Who Have Served Most Selflessly? If there was a prize for guessing the name of the life form which has served humanity ( as well the overall life-nurturing conditions of our planet)in the most valuable way with the greatest continuity and most selflessly, then perhaps very few will venture to suggest[Read More…]

by 06/03/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
 Resource Grabs and Compensation for Those Devastated by the Pilfering

 Resource Grabs and Compensation for Those Devastated by the Pilfering

Those to whom we all owe substantial recompense are primarily people in the mid-south of the planet. This is because that is where the brunt of the desirable resources are and the people in the lands with these riches often barely make enough money to live. In fact they are often heavily exploited and we need to pay them back[Read More…]

by 06/03/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Caught in the crossfire: Young activists targeted for challenging a crony capitalist government

Caught in the crossfire: Young activists targeted for challenging a crony capitalist government

Sedition, said Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, was the “prince among the political sections of the Indian Penal Code designed to suppress the liberty of the citizen”. He said this in the context of the British colonial administration’s use of this section (124A) against many freedom fighters, including himself and Tilak. And while pleading guilty as charged, he said it was his[Read More…]

by 04/03/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Berta Cáceres outside the US military base of Palmerola in Honduras, where she spoke against the US-backed coup regime in Honduras and against the US military presence in her country.  July 4, 2011 photo by Roger D. Harris

From the Murder of Berta Cáceres to Dam Disaster in Uttarakhand

March 2, 2021 was the five year anniversary of the murder of Berta Cáceres, who opposed the Agua Zarca dam in Honduras.  That date was less than one month after the deaths of dozens of people from Dam disaster in Uttarakhand, India.  The two stories together tell us far more about consequences of the insatiable greed of capitalism for more[Read More…]

by 04/03/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
The Trend to Push  Harmful and Disruptive Projects as Eco-Protective Should Be Checked Before It Is Too Late

The Trend to Push  Harmful and Disruptive Projects as Eco-Protective Should Be Checked Before It Is Too Late

The seriousness of climate change and the wider ecological crisis cannot be denied any more and so there is increasing pressure on big business interests and those colluding with them for more restraint. Instead of responding by making efforts for genuine change some of these powerful interests have been trying to push their projects and even policy in a direction[Read More…]

by 03/03/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Stop Kulda Mines Expansion

Stop Kulda Mines Expansion

To, The Union Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Govt. of India, New Delhi   The Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, Govt. of India, New Delhi   The Chief Minister of Odisha, CMO, Bhubaneswar   Subject: Halt the Expansion of the Kulda Mines, Odisha; Safeguard the Land and Livelihoods of Adivasis and Ensure Compliance with Environmental Norms.   Sirs,[Read More…]

by 25/02/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Ecocide!

Ecocide!

Ecocide is the destruction of large areas of the natural environment as a consequence of human activity. That destruction of “large areas” has grown so conspicuously large, so threatening to all species, including human existence, that a group of international legal experts is working to submit a draft of a new law “Ecocide” to the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) at[Read More…]

by 20/02/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Review Socio – Environmental Costs of NIMZ Zaheerabad

Review Socio – Environmental Costs of NIMZ Zaheerabad

  NAPM condemns the state violence and the attempt to stifle the voices of farmers  expressing their concerns regarding NIMZ – Zaheerabad, Telangana.Review the process of massive land acquisition and flawed ‘public hearing’ for NIMZ – Zaheerabad: Address all concerns raised by farmers, affected people, scientists and activists NAPM is disturbed by the increasing number of instances of blatant police[Read More…]

by 18/02/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
True Cost

True Cost

A week back while I sat in the car waiting for my father, outside the branch of a commercial bank, I noticed a young man walking on the pavement. He was drinking soda from a green, plastic bottle that he thoughtlessly chucked at the corner of the pavement after chugging the soda in a hurry. I watched the urgency in[Read More…]

by 16/02/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Efforts to Protect  Endangered Rice Varieties  at Field Level, Although Small, Are Very Welcome

Efforts to Protect  Endangered Rice Varieties  at Field Level, Although Small, Are Very Welcome

            According to recent reports the Himachal Pradesh government has decided to initiate efforts to save  endangered indigenous traditional red rice varieties by growing it in government farms and then distributing seeds to farmers. These rice varieties are widely believed to have exceptional nutrition and even medicinal values and with growing realization of this are fetching a high price in[Read More…]

by 16/02/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Displacement of  rural communities , diversion of fertile land and forests likely to prove very costly

Displacement of  rural communities , diversion of fertile land and forests likely to prove very costly

Several countries including India have embarked on a development strategy which emphasizes very rapid and large-scale extraction of minerals, construction of large dams and super-highways, huge urbanization and industrial projects. This is equated to development and progress by ruling regimes and hence they do not give adequate and proper attention to the huge social and environmental costs of such development[Read More…]

by 07/02/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Changing Lives and Livelihoods of Challakere: First impressions of the Unscientific Science City

Changing Lives and Livelihoods of Challakere: First impressions of the Unscientific Science City

Villages in Challakere taluk, Chitradurga district of Karnataka have been impacted by the illegal and unscientific diversion of nearly 10,000 acres of pristine Amrit Mahal Kaval grasslands to create a Science City. Kavals are unique ecological landscapes that are dominated by grasses and are perhaps the gene banks of future staples. They support livelihoods that are carbon neutral. But unfortunately,[Read More…]

by 05/02/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Limitations of Several Approaches to Environment Protection

Limitations of Several Approaches to Environment Protection

When we see all around that so much  is being said and done in the name of environment protection, it seems very surprising that on the whole environment protection is not really progressing and environmental conditions are in fact deteriorating from the point of view of most indicators. This situation can be better understood if we see clearly the different[Read More…]

by 27/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Bidarakere, near Pavagada

Karnataka High Court Directs Revenue Secretary To Demonstrate Compliance In ESG Lakes PIL

For almost two years now, Chief Justice Mr. Abhay Oka of the High Court of Karnataka has systematically developed jurisprudence to protect lakes as our commons, and for posterity. This is being achieved by his orders in a PIL filed by Citizens Action Group (CAG) PIL (WP 38401/2014). The jurisprudence reaffirms a schema for protecting and rehabilitating lakes based on[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Adivasis under Kaimur Mukti Morcha protesting-Image for Representation Purpose

Kaimur’s Struggle For Jal Jangal And Zameen

Famous for its vast forest cover and mineral rich hills, Kaimur lies at the tri-junction of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. Part of the Kaimur plateau and surrounded by the Bhagelkhand Mountains and Chotanagpur Plateau, this westernmost district of Bihar has a population of around 1.6 million who are placed under 11 community development blocks. Of these, the block Adhoura,[Read More…]

by 09/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Towards Greener and Cleaner Cities, With Special Care For The Poor

Towards Greener and Cleaner Cities, With Special Care For The Poor

Sanitation has been perhaps the weakest link in the urban development effort of India. The path towards better cities involves above all a big breakthrough in decentralized sanitation solutions and linking these with increasing greenery. First and perhaps foremost, there should be waste segregation at source level, whether home or workplace, so that we have at least four categories –[Read More…]

by 06/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
The Promise and the Limitations of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration

The Promise and the Limitations of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration

It is certainly good news that the United Nations has declared 2021-30 to be the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration. At the outset as a justification for this it can be stated without risk of contradiction that the need for ecosystem restoration was never greater than in present times. There has been so much devastation, and taken together this has[Read More…]

by 01/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Engagement for environment

Engagement for environment

All aware citizens know the state of Bangladesh environment. Bangladesh courts of law regularly rule in favor of environment. Bangladesh media cover the area every day. Bangladesh environment activists regularly stand for environment. The commoners take care of environment and nature within their capacity, which is chained by capitals. And, some capitals regularly, everyday and all the time, exploit and[Read More…]

by 25/12/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Trickle Trick Tri….

Trickle Trick Tri….

The dying state of Indian rivers calls for serious actions by the public and the government at large During my recent conversation with Mr. Tapas Das, I was shocked to know the sorry state of the rivers in our country. While he mentioned that the water flow in Ganga reduced by as much as 57% in most parts between 1975[Read More…]

by 24/12/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Environmental Protection – Who needs to take responsibility?

Environmental Protection – Who needs to take responsibility?

Am I doing my part in protecting the environment? Am I entirely aware of how to do the required? Are the government’s policies in favour of the protection of the environment or corporate-driven? Is media bringing the relevant environmental issues in front of me? These are just a few questions, and there are many more which come in our mind[Read More…]

by 23/12/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Contradictions in Third World capitalist environment

Contradictions in Third World capitalist environment

Environment can’t escape contradictions. Exploitative economy with its antagonistic connections to environment creates antagonistic contradictions with and within environment; and, the antagonistic contradictions are inescapable in the economy. Capitalism intensifies the contradictions. Two revolutionaries, Marx and Engels find: “Our own age, the bourgeois age […] has simplified class antagonism. More and more, society is splitting into two great hostile camps,[Read More…]

by 16/12/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Have We Become Indifferent To Environment?

Have We Become Indifferent To Environment?

Have you ever noticed, what is your source of information? From where do you get the daily news? Is it social media, TV news or newspaper? Irrespective of the news, do you think you get all sort of information which is of monumental importance to you and the society? Well, I think, in the world where we have got ourselves[Read More…]

by 14/12/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Dying Dadi Canal Needs Attention

Dying Dadi Canal Needs Attention

“Dadi Canal is to the Dochnipora what Indus was to the Harrapan Civilization and Nile to the Egyptian Civilization” The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is situated in the subtropical and sub- temperate latitudes hence is characterized with great variations in terrain and altitudes. Consequently, it experiences the extremes in the mean monthly and annual range of temperatures. The[Read More…]

by 14/12/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Are regulations enough for environmental protection?

Are regulations enough for environmental protection?

In the land where people worship nature and treat plants, trees, animals, and rivers as Gods and Goddesses, India performs abysmally low on environmental indicators. India is the second most polluted country after China. Moreover, 21 out of 30 cities around the world with the worst air quality are in India (Regan, 2020). According to the IQAir quality index, Kolkata[Read More…]

by 14/12/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Development Vs Dispossession: Dhinkia Rejects IOCL Pipeline

Development Vs Dispossession: Dhinkia Rejects IOCL Pipeline

Just as it takes grit and perseverance to break the mighty mountains, standing up to the oppressor demands conviction, solidarity and sustained agitations. Dhinkia, a small village in the costal district Jagatsinghpur of the Odisha state is a living testimony to this. Famous for its sweetest paan (betel vines), the village (also a Gram Panchayat) for decades has seen the[Read More…]

by 23/11/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Linking Justice  to Environment Protection –  Meeting Basic Needs of All While Also Reducing GHG Emissions

Linking Justice  to Environment Protection –  Meeting Basic Needs of All While Also Reducing GHG Emissions

            While the very pressing need to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is very widely recognized at the scientific level, this can become an issue of mass mobilization only if this is also linked to justice based issues. When world level planning for reducing GHG emissions is linked to meeting the basic needs of all people, then this will be[Read More…]

by 05/11/2020 Comments are Disabled Counter Solutions
Need to update EIA norms for preserving biodiversity

Need to update EIA norms for preserving biodiversity

 To   Shri R P Gupta Secretary Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC) Government of India   Dear Shri Gupta, The National Environment Policy, 2006 (NEP) emphasises the need to conserve the rich biodiversity heritage of the country in the following statements. “Pay explicit attention to the potential impacts of development projects on biodiversity resources and natural heritage.[Read More…]

by 26/10/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Zoo in Corbett

Zoo in Corbett

Yeah! You!! What are you doing in my home? Let me introduce you to the tiger. He is not an object. He is not a spectacle. He does not exist for your pleasure or like all politicians, for photo ops. He is not living in your land; you are encroaching on his. The tiger (gender neutral term as it refers[Read More…]

by 09/10/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Where have all the bluebirds gone?

Where have all the bluebirds gone?

An eastern bluebird perches on a branch, watching the ground As the bleary summer days are coming to an end, lately I have been thinking a lot about birds and nature in general. Because of the ongoing pandemic due to the coronavirus when all normal activities have been rerouted, we are finding alternatives to live our day, and such thoughts[Read More…]

by 03/09/2020 1 comment Environmental Protection
 The Great Coastal Nightmare

 The Great Coastal Nightmare

How Mumbai’s new coastal road poses a threat not only to the environment and fishing communities but also to sites of historical, religious and cultural importance.  The Haji Ali dargah as work proceeds on the Coastal Road project. | Photo credit: Aaran Patel. Every city, every place on earth is defined by characteristics, landmarks, or certain quirks of nature which[Read More…]

by 31/08/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Diluted Indian Environmental  laws on platter  for Corporates

Diluted Indian Environmental  laws on platter  for Corporates

The draft environmental impact assessment (EIA) notification 2020 proposed by the Indian Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change dilutes further the current EIA Notification 2006. Proposed changes in the name of “ Ease of doing business”  relax further and totally overhaul the environmental clearance system to benefit  large corporations and  mining MNCs. Many of the proposed  clauses in the[Read More…]

by 30/08/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
A report on India’s state of environment

A report on India’s state of environment

A report said: “Siberia, the proverbial coldest place, […] is experiencing record warm temperatures, melting sea ice, and massive wildfires — changes to the environment that even the scientists most urgently tracking the climate crisis didn’t expect to see for another several decades.” (Bridget Read, “The Arctic is on fire, and we should all be terrified”, The Cut, July 6,[Read More…]

by 19/08/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Janta Parliament calls on urgent action for ecological security

Janta Parliament calls on urgent action for ecological security

Given the inability or unwillingness of the government to convene a monsoon session of parliament in time, people’s movements and groups are organizing an online Janta Parliament with 11 thematic sessions various public interest issues from 16-21st August. Today, in the Environment session of the Janta Parliament, about 30 speakers from various parts of India presented their views on the[Read More…]

by 19/08/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
EIA: Environment Impact Assessment

EIA: Environment Impact Assessment

E Urbanization and industrialization has taken over the world in the name of development , which lead to a rapid decline in our environmental treasure. In order to curtail this environmental depletion, the Government has introduced an assessment that controls the utilization, acquisition, and usage of natural resources by employing the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). This assessment is mandatory for[Read More…]

The Problematic Story of Draft EIA Notification 2020

The Problematic Story of Draft EIA Notification 2020

Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) is a regulatory process that aims to strike a balance between economic development and the environment. However, with the recent publication of Draft EIA Notification in March 2020, this balance has been disrupted. It allegedly strikes upon the foundations of the EIA process and emphasizes more on facilitating ease of doing business than the conservation of[Read More…]

by 02/08/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
EIA 2020: Why is it so perilous?

EIA 2020: Why is it so perilous?

Amidst the corona virus pandemic, the government of India (The Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change) unveiled the Environment Impact Assessment 2020 draft to the public in March 2020 seeking to replace the 2006 version of the law. The latest draft has already created a lot of hype amongst the concerned citizens, with many environmental activists and climate[Read More…]

by 31/07/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Chardham Highway project and the environmental destruction of the Himalayas

Chardham Highway project and the environmental destruction of the Himalayas

Co-Written by Surabhi Agarwal, Lubna Sarwath and Sandeep Pandey Disregarding Ravi Chopra’s Recommendations on the Chardham Project Will Destroy the Already Fragile and Threatened Ecology of the Himalayan Region The ecologically sensitive citizens had barely recovered from the excruciating death of Professor G.D. Agrawal aka Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand, who gave up his life after a 112 days of fasting[Read More…]

by 30/07/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Tiger by the tail

Tiger by the tail

There is a welcome awareness about the need to protect tigers in the wild and the wild places they live. Welcome even more because it comes now at a time when the tiger population in India (numbers are even more elusive and ephemeral than the tiger) has fallen from 100,000 in 1900’s to less than 3000 today. Frankly, one needs[Read More…]

by 30/07/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Raika pastoralists graze inside Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sactuary_@Meenal Tatpati

Protected Areas, Covid 19 and people’s rights

As India went into a lockdown to prevent the spread of the Covid 19, we witnessed a different kind of opening-up of our Protected Areas. As we worked from home, we were greeted with reports of several controversial projects being given a go-ahead in and around some of the most biodiverse regions, ironically by the Standing Committee of the very[Read More…]

by 24/07/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
A Plan for Social and Ecological Justice

A Plan for Social and Ecological Justice

The death of John Lewis is a reminder that power concedes nothing without a struggle and that social and ecological justice is a consequence of generational efforts. Building a fair, just, and prosperous ecological future, rooted in social and ecological justice means fundamental change of how we treat one another, how we govern, how we work, how we protect and[Read More…]

by 20/07/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
The Ravages of Lithium Extraction in Chile

The Ravages of Lithium Extraction in Chile

In Chile, the Covid-19 pandemic is raging with an unprecedented speed. There are more than 300,000 confirmed cases with one of the highest per capita infection rates of 13,000 cases for every 1 million people. The economy is severely experiencing the repercussions of Coronavirus-caused restrictions and the historically high national unemployment rate of 11.2% is an indicator of such damage. Chileans have took to the[Read More…]

by 14/07/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Introducing The African Cheetah In India: A Risk Worth Taking?

Introducing The African Cheetah In India: A Risk Worth Taking?

Background The conservation of endangered carnivores is critical to maintaining the structure and balance of diverse ecosystems. Today, drivers of ecosystem change such as climate change, overexploitation of habitats, and land-use change are pushing many vulnerable species towards extinction at alarming rates. The Asiatic cheetah is one such species that roamed the grasslands of India before it was declared extinct[Read More…]

by 09/07/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Industrial Peril- An ongoing phenomenon in India amidst COVID 19 pandemic

Industrial Peril- An ongoing phenomenon in India amidst COVID 19 pandemic

A long series of never-ending dystopias have generated during the COVID 19 pandemic.  The mega corporates from time immoral have quenched their thirst by exploiting and extracting resources from the earth without anticipating risks and harm. The dystopias of mishaps in various industrial units have led to corporate wrongdoing in our country. The saga of catastrophes from Chhattisgarh gas leak[Read More…]

by 08/07/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Lal koul : The lost treasure

Lal koul : The lost treasure

Co-Written by Aamir Altaf  &   Nisar Wani The earth , the air, the land and the water are not an inheritance from our forefathers but on loan from our children . so we have to handover to them at least as it was handed over to us.                                                                                                 (M.K. Gandhi) Lal Koul a canal flow from Bumhama through Drugmulla, shalpora,[Read More…]

by 08/07/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Wistful Memories: The dying Shitalakhya River

Wistful Memories: The dying Shitalakhya River

I’ve known rivers: I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers – Langston Hughes A bridge is always beautiful. This bridge is located in Ghorashal, Narshingdi, Bangladesh on Shitalakhya River Until the Harvard College admission acceptance letter came I did not see[Read More…]

by 08/07/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Reading Gandhi on the occasion of the World Environment Day 

Reading Gandhi on the occasion of the World Environment Day 

The World Environment Day (henceforth WED) was initially started by the UN General Assembly in 1972, on the first day of the Stockholm Conference. The objective of this conference was primarily based on, to connect the human with nature and promote the interactions, so that harmony between environment and human could be realized. The WED is being celebrated on 5th[Read More…]

by 06/06/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
World Environment Day – A Message

World Environment Day – A Message

              Every year, 5 June is celebrated as World Environment Day globally. Also called People’s day, this day is meant to encourage people to save and protect the environment. World Environment Day 2020 is spotlighting the importance of Biodiversity. According to the United Nations, the theme for this year is ‘Biodiversity’ with the slogan[Read More…]

by 04/06/2020 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
A Pygmy Hog in its natural habitat released by members of Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme and Durrel Wildlife Conservation Trust at Bornadi Wildlife Sanctuary.

Grassland Shrinkage Posing Threat To Endangered Pygmy Hog In Barnadi Wildlife Sanctuary Of Assam

TANGLA ,ASSAM December 7 – Rapid shrinkage and degradation of the grasslands of the Barnadi Widlife Sanctuary of Udalguri of Assam pose a serious threat to the long-term survival of the critically-endangered pygmy hog that was reintroduced to the sanctuary six months back that were captive breeded in state capital Guwahati. It is to be mentioned that the Durrell Wildlife[Read More…]

by 08/12/2016 1 comment Environmental Protection
Iran Inflicts  Environmental Catastrophe In Ahwaz Region

Iran Inflicts  Environmental Catastrophe In Ahwaz Region

  Ahwazi   environmental activists are reporting an acceleratingenvironmental catastrophe in the once verdant Hor al Azim marshlands in Ahwaz near the Iraqi border with Iran.  Thelatest reports reveal that Iranian authorities recently excavated large areas of land in the marshlands, covering these in thick plastic sheeting to use as open pits for the storage of millions of barrels of oil.[Read More…]

by 03/11/2016 2 comments Environmental Protection
Southern Birdwing female/ ​Photo credit ---​
 Haneesh KM

Southern Birdwing Will Flutter For Karnataka

The Southern Birdwing has a magnificent wing span. I have seen them in Goa and often wondered if it was a butterfly or a small bird! Karnataka plans to  announce the Southern Birdwing (Troides minos) as its state butterfly. It’s stunning beauty will leave one in no doubt as to why. Butterfly lover Haneesh KM says, ” Butterflies  symbolise freedom,[Read More…]

Photo by Public Domain Photos

Water As A Commons: Only Fundamental Change Can Save Us

Half the tropical forests in the world – the lungs of our ecosystems – are gone; by 2030, at the current rate of harvest, only 10 percent will be left standing. Ninety percent of the big fish in the sea are gone, victim to wanton predatory fishing practices. Says a prominent scientist studying their demise, “There is no blue frontier[Read More…]

by 24/08/2016 1 comment Environmental Protection
Photo by Phillie Casablanca

Mining As A Threat To The Commons: The Case Of South America

The latest cycle of mining expansion in South America dates from the mid-1990s. Since then, levels of investment in exploration and exploitation have generally held steady. Such investment has benefited from reforms in the laws governing mining in almost all countries, and the high demand for basic minerals for industrial use, especially in China and India, which have translated into high prices.[Read More…]

Vast swathes of forest in Arariboia have been destroyed by illegal loggers and by fires which the authorities have failed to contain.
© INPE

Amazon Fires Threaten To Wipe Out Uncontacted Indigenous People

Forest fires are raging in an indigenous territory on the edge of the Brazilian Amazon, threatening to wipe out uncontacted members of the Awá tribe. Small groups of neighboring Guajajara Indians were forced to spend days attempting to contain the blaze in the absence of government agents, until an Environment Ministry-led fire-fighting operation began last week. Forest fires started by[Read More…]

Mumbai Development Plan2034 On Whose Cost?

Mumbai Development Plan2034 On Whose Cost?

Like the Dharavi Belt protest the East Indians (natives of Mumbai) also protested at Azad Maidan on 18 July 2016. The East Indians of Mumbai are an ethnic group who fear the development plan will take away their ethnicity and cultural roots . In order to over come this fear they have submitted a signature campaign to the Chief minister[Read More…]

by 29/07/2016 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Residents of Dharavi Beth Island Resist Corporate Sponsored Development Plan

Residents of Dharavi Beth Island Resist Corporate Sponsored Development Plan

On 24th July 2016, the Dharavi Beth (island) comprising villages of Gorai, Manori, Uttan, Pali, Chowk, Dongri, and Tarodi on the outskirts of Mumbai came to a halt. Over ten thousand fisherfolk, farmers, the Catholic clergy i.e. priests and nuns, hotel owners, ferry and rickshaw drivers, shopkeepers just about everyone had gathered at a public meeting and rasta roko to[Read More…]

by 26/07/2016 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Release Piyush Sethia

Release Piyush Sethia

New Delhi, July 16 : National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) condemns this complete arbitrary arrest of environmental activist Piyush Sethia, who has been a crusader for several national level issues including Bhopal Gas Survivors, rights of adivasis and founder of Salem Citizen Forum. He has worked hard to change the face of the city Salem by organising citizens led[Read More…]

Vehicle Exhaust Emissions: Specious Arguments To Confuse And Mislead The Public

Vehicle Exhaust Emissions: Specious Arguments To Confuse And Mislead The Public

  Common experience Anybody going out in any city or metro, is assaulted by smoke and exhaust fumes of every sort of motor vehicle. In reducing size, we notice buses and trucks, SUVs, plush sedans, and “commoners’ small cars”, to use the elitist turn of phrase of Mr.Mukul Rohatgi representing government, when arguing against Supreme Court’s ban on large diesel[Read More…]

Red Alert: Bengaluru, India’s Technology Capital Headed For System Failure

Red Alert: Bengaluru, India’s Technology Capital Headed For System Failure

Recent research by IISc reveals startling numbers on Bangalore’s reckless urbanization and its consequences: during 1973–2016 (1005% concretization or increase of paved surface) has had a telling influence on the natural resources, such as decline in green spaces (88% decline in vegetation), wetlands (79% decline), higher air pollutants and a sharp decline in groundwater table.

Mining Threatens Papua New Guinea’s Mighty Sepik River With Utter Ruin

Mining Threatens Papua New Guinea’s Mighty Sepik River With Utter Ruin

Chinese government’s massive open-pit mine in the rainy Papua New Guinea highlands, with its tons of toxic tailings full of sulphides and heavy metals, is to be poised above the Sepik River and its primary rainforests, intact local cultures, and the South Pacific Ocean. Apparently Papua New Guinea’s urban elites have learned little from decades of foreign industrial mining (and logging) causing conflict and despair, environmental damage, and social and economic decline.

by 05/07/2016 2 comments Environmental Protection
Twenty Four Groups Write To The World Bank: No More Destructive Development!

Twenty Four Groups Write To The World Bank: No More Destructive Development!

Twenty four groups working on environmental, labor and human rights wrote to the Executive Directors of World Bank not to dilute the environmental and social safeguards as the President of the World Bank visits India to explore new financing opportunities. India has been the largest recipient of World Bank loans in the history of World Bank. This also meant that[Read More…]

Athirappalli Project: Development For Whom And At What Cost?

Athirappalli Project: Development For Whom And At What Cost?

For one and a half decades, the environmental activists in Kerala have been fighting fighting against the destruction of rain forests, displacement of Kadar Adivasis, damage on the elephant route, destruction of Vazhachal, climate change and many other threats from the proposed Athirappalli project. The lone battle gathered support of many groups during this historic process. Later, KSSP sided with[Read More…]

by 29/06/2016 1 comment Environmental Protection
Norway And The US Sign An Agreement In Violation Of The Rio Declaration

Norway And The US Sign An Agreement In Violation Of The Rio Declaration

  The United States and Norway this week announced (1) they would offset the greenhouse gas emissions from their aviation industry by buying voluntary emission reduction credits from reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in tropical forests. The plan would violate the Rio Declaration in two ways. The Declaration says that States have, in accordance with the Charter of[Read More…]

by 21/06/2016 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Letter To Justin Trudeau On Canada Re-joining UNCCD

Letter To Justin Trudeau On Canada Re-joining UNCCD

We, the CBD Alliance, the global platform of civil society and academic organisations working on the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), congratulate your government for the decision to re-join the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The three Rio conventions including the UNCCD are of great importance to developing countries and Indigenous Peoples. The Rio Declaration that is incorporated in the UNCCD gives States the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction. The same responsibility is contained in Article 3 and Article 14 (d) of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

by 19/06/2016 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Financing For Indigenous People, Land Reforms And Protection Of Forests And Other Natural Ecosystems

Financing For Indigenous People, Land Reforms And Protection Of Forests And Other Natural Ecosystems

One does not have to read Marx to understand how debt-based money in the form of credit to corporations, – chosen by banks on the basis of their ability to make profit, – leads to an accumulation of money in the hands of those few who create the money and are given the credit. Profiteering, in short, capitalism, is incompatible[Read More…]

by 18/06/2016 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Nainital Lake Faces An Evironmental Calamity

Nainital Lake Faces An Evironmental Calamity

“I’ll walk in the rain by your side; I’ll cling to the warmth of your hand. I’ll do anything to keep you satisfied, I’ll love you more than anybody can.” John Denver may have written this song for his baby, but for me my first love is my hometown, Nainital. I have grown up with the smell of the lake[Read More…]

by 17/06/2016 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection, India
Climate Criminal Coalition Government Lying Endangers Australia & Planet – Australians Must Vote 1 Green And Put The Coalition Last

Climate Criminal Coalition Government Lying Endangers Australia & Planet – Australians Must Vote 1 Green And Put The Coalition Last

  Rational risk management is crucial for societal safety and  successively  involves  (a) accurate information, (b) scientific analysis,  and (c) informed  systemic change to minimize risk. However the anti-science, anti-environment,  pro-fossil fuels  Australian Coalition Government has utterly perverted this process in relation to the worsening climate emergency through  spin, lying by commission,  lying by omission and censorship. Critically, Coalition Government[Read More…]

by 17/06/2016 Comments are Disabled Climate Change, Environmental Protection, Human Rights, World