‘Never thought I’d see octopus change colour in front of me, at Juhu beach’

A journalist and editor, SEJAL MEHTA has for the last four years walked the shores across India looking for creatures in intertidal zones—spaces explorable upon the retrieval of high tides. By virtue of traversing the sea as well the shores, the life forms found in intertidal spaces are blessed with features that appear otherworldly. In an interview with PREETHA BANERJEE, Mehta talks about her walks and the sightings that resulted in her book Superpowers on the Shore. Excerpts:

OLD DIVIDE PERSISTS

The Bonn conference was important for laying the groundwork for global climate action. But it underscored progressive dilution of climate justice

Only a piglet in Russia's war on patents

Post-Ukraine, Russia has held back from appropriating intellectual property despite a law to punish unfriendly countries

Double trouble

The Union government's claim about being on track to double farmers' income sounds hollow as it has not even spent the allocated budget for agrarian schemes in three of the past five years

NOT JUST ANOTHER DELUGE

In a warming world, floods are no longer an annual affair in Assam, but a year-round crisis. As people struggle to cope with the new reality, some are already changing their cropping patterns and architecture

Sage advice

Plant clinics are emerging as parallel support system for farmers in resource-strapped countries

Forests in seconds

Miyawaki forests are springing up across Indian cities. Are they a way to restore urban biodiversity or just a quick-fix to achieve greenery?

Burden to bear

Living in the shadow of old state policies, vulnerable tribal groups demand their right to opt for family planning

An Indian epidemic

Increasing number of children and adolescents in the country are developing diabetes. This will have lethal consequences

World Environment Day Special : Democratise Thermal Comfort

45 In cities vulnerable to heat, thermal comfort is crucial to one's health, well-being and productivity. Building wisely can not only ensure it for all, but also decarbonise the built environment to help mitigate global warming. An analysis by Mitashi Singh, Sugeet Grover, Rajneesh Sareen And Anumita Roychowdhury

THE HUNT IN MUDUMALAI

The 2021 capture of a male tiger in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve was a high-stakes mission. The missteps made in this operation provide many lessons on wildlife management

Elephant whisperers

Chhattisgarh forest department has trained an army of people to spread awareness about elephant behaviour, avert conflicts with them

Trial by fire

E-scooter fires a wake-up call for India's electric vehicle strategy

POX RETURNS

Monkeypox spreads to new geographies as the world experiences its worst ever outbreak of the zoonotic disease

SPRINGS MAKE HIMALAYAS

Incentive-based approach can ensure conservation of Himalayan forest springs, a key source of water for downstream states

Charity after profiteering, the Big Pharma way

Pfizer to sell its medicines at no profit in world's poorest countries, and other big names to make cancer drugs more accessible

A SEED SPROUTS WINGS

The seeds of Indian elm are nutritious and have multiple uses in traditional medicine

A price rise nobody is talking about

Unprecedented fodder price rise is forcing farmers to quit dairy and abandon cattle

Why Tribal People Die Young?

Change in food intake and poor access to healthcare may be the reasons behind tribal populations' low life expectancy

How War Exposed The Flaws Of A Globalised Food Production System!

The Russia-Ukraine war has razed the global agriculture system that was once sold as the magic formula to provide food to all. It led to concentration of food production in a handful of countries, making others net importers, and has now fueled a historic rise in prices. It is time to re-invent sustainable food production

Fertile stubble

College students in Delhi develop "stubble pots" that help plants grow faster, bloom early and live longer

Airing grievances

THE OFTEN IGNORED ASPECTS OF AIR POLLUTION BROUGHT TO LIGHT BY ARTISTS FROM ACROSS THE WORLD DAKSHIANI PALICHA

Doublespeak

India plans a framework to rehabilitate communities around abandoned mines while also exploring the possibility of resuming mining in them

THE SUMMER LINGERS

That we still seek the Stockholm declaration’s ideals only shows how we need to up our game to prevent the planet’s environmental crisis

Oceans On Simmer

The world's oceans will witness marine heatwaves, sea ice-free Arctic, severe cyclones

Science For Just Solutions

If science-policy interfaces are to deliver just and effective solutions to climate change, they must involve indigenous peoples and local communities

Does India care about TRIPS waiver anymore?

As WTO talks begin on a compromise deal worked out with India's participation, New Delhi remains enigmatically silent

STOCKHOLM SYNDROME

The 50th anniversary celebration of the Stockholm conference should be about our common future, not the divisions of the past

MEASURING PROGRESS

Sustainability will command top priority when the world meets to review Stockholm; post-pandemic recovery must be inclusive

Bichhri still sees red

Compensation, land restoration and access to potable water remain a dream even 35 years after rogue industries poisoned Bichhri's aquifers