Green Holidays: Concepts of Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism

In this article, Heemal Handoo Bhat dwells into the concept of green holidays or ecotourism. Green holiday chiefly involves holidaying in destinations where birds, animals, and cultural legacy are the chief attractions. Ecotourism strives to provide tourists a deeper knowledge about the impression of human beings on their surroundings and to facilitate a genuine acknowledgement of the natural habitats

Evolving Animals of the Pyro Age

Animals have been evolving since a long time in order to fit the challenges posed by climatic conditions. Jnyanam Bordoloi is absolutely right when he says species evolve over time, in order to survive and eventually thrive, in some of the most difficult environments created by climate change. When we know which species are leading the race for survival, we can work for the conservation of the ones who are at risk, and the fragile ecosystem they hold

Health Hazards Posed by Sanitary Pads

In this article, Dr Rina Mukherji discusses revelations made by a recent study on menstrual products. Undertaken by Toxics Link, this study reveals the rampant use of plastics and plasticizers in sanitary pads – the most popular menstrual product used by Indian women

Protecting Our Agro-ecosystems: The EbA Way

The repercussions of climate change are becoming increasingly real and frightening with each passing day. While global warming has had a significant impact on modern agriculture, interestingly, the sector is also one of the contributors to climate change. Indiscriminate use of chemicals and exploitation of natural resources is making the agri-sector increasingly unsustainable. However, we can overcome this challenge by nurturing and restoring our agroecosystems. This can address multiple issues—ranging from food security and livelihoods, to the general well-being

The Role of Water Quality in Early Child Nutrition: A Case Study in Uttarakhand

Water is an essential component of healthy growth and development, and ensuring access to clean water, adequate sanitation, and good hygiene is crucial for early childhood nutrition. In this article, Kanhaiya Lal and Vidhu Gupta highlight that as part of the nutrition security study, their team examined and collected scientific evidence on water quality in Mukteshwar, Uttarakhand, India. This was investigated through on-site testing of drinking water samples and in-person consultations with medical experts. Keep reading to know more…

The Villages of India: Through an Indian Perspective

In this article, Himanshu Kumar and Vivek Kumar say that a new tradition of scholarship must evolve to understand the village systems at the conceptual and theoretical levels. The way rural and village has been historically interpreted and understood needs refinement as the colonial imprint has distorted the existing fabric of the rural social systems. Agriculture, peasantry, land use, social systems and infrastructure, and indigenous technical knowledge systems need a more profound understanding of structural-functional and comparative analysis approaches

5 Ways India Can Ensure The G20 Supports Business To Deliver A Cleaner And Sustainable Future

In this thoughtful article, Rasmus Valanko and Gitika Mohta say that we are in the decisive decade for climate action. Global emissions must be cut in half by 2030, to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. With India's presidency of the G20, India has a unique opportunity to chart a healthier, safer, more sustainable future not just for its own citizens but also for others on our shared planet.

Achieving Sustainable Development through a Cohesive Response

In 2016, Dr Ash Pachauri founded the POP (Protect Our Planet) Movement alongside Dr R K Pachauri. With a key focus on climate action and sustainable development, the POP Movement mobilizes and mentors young people around the world, inspiring them with knowledge to undertake projects and implement actions in their schools, colleges, communities, and homes. In this interview, Dr Ash Pachauri reflects on the foundational idea behind the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the need to move away from silo-ed approaches towards collaborative and coordinated action, especially with the active leadership of business and industry among other stakeholders, promoting community engagement, and the unique opportunity for India to represent the Global South in the G20.

Enhancement of Conscious Consumerism By Integration of Sustainable Natural Pigments in Textiles

In this article, Mehak Kaur and Mayurika Goel highlight that the Natural Products Group at the Sustainable Agriculture Programme of TERI is working on red pigment production by naturally occurring coloured microbes for application in the textile industry. Creation of colours through fermentation of non-pathogenic fungi on agricultural waste-based media can be used to produce pigments with bioactivities such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer and others in a sustainable way.

Need for Nations to 'Mainstream' Sustainable Development With Inclusive Policymaking, Societal Participation, Innovation

Dr Rajiv Chhibber is Vice President, External Affairs at Sahajanand Medical Technologies, a leading developer and manufacturer of minimally invasive coronary stent and vascular systems. In this interview, he reminisces launching the first-of-its-kind Heat Action Plan for the city of Ahmedabad, which is now a role model for many states who have embarked upon the same. It was also the first city in South Asia to create a comprehensive early warning system and preparedness plan for extreme heat events fuelled by climate change. Keep reading to know more...

Tourism in India through the Lens of Sustainability

In this thought-provoking article, Swati Sharma and Palak Khanna say that tourism in India contributes significantly to the economic sector and it has high growth potential as well. Therefore, sustainability in tourism has become imperative in today's scenario. Promotion of sustainable tourism can enable mindful utilization of existing resources and sensitization of tourists with behavioural nudges.

Plastic Waste Management in India Importance of Data

In India, plastic waste management has long been a challenge and is considered an issue mainly due to the lack of infrastructure, efficient systems for collecting and processing plastic. In this analytical article, Mandavi Singh has considered estimates of all plastics for the reporting year 2018-19 to understand the plastic production, consumption and end-of-life data along with the recycling from available data sources. This is to develop a clear comprehension about the plastic scenario in India and to develop a quantitative understanding of the size and nature of major commodity plastic production, consumption, and waste flows in India.

Enhancing Livelihood of Farmers and Forest-dependent Communities Through Carbon Financing Mechanism in India

Carbon financing is a result-based mechanism that allows companies wishing to offset their GHG emissions to buy carbon credits generated from their projects. In this crisp article, Aniruddh Soni tells us that TERI is developing several Carbon Finance projects via Voluntary Carbon Markets in the AFOLU sector. The beneficiaries involved in the carbon finance project developed under ARR are small-scale farmers, who are practising sustainable agroforestry practices within their private farmlands. On the other hand, REDD+ projects aim at benefiting the forest-dependent communities along with the forest department.

Mainstreaming Sustainable Development through Climate-Smart Agriculture By Promoting Evidence-Based Research

The Resilience project supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Norway) has tested and validated selected integrated climate smart agriculture (CSA) technologies in Odisha and Assam states in India over the last four years. Farmer-led demonstration trials were conducted with the active support of project partners and multi-stakeholders. In this article, Udaya Sekhar Nagothu, Mehreteab Tesfai, and Amaresh Kumar Nayak present two good practices of CSA and their key research results.

Climate Change, Migration and Vulnerability to Trafficking Exploring the Extent and Impact

In this incisive article, Daljeet Kaur and Ritu Bharadwaj present empirical evidence on the links between climate change, migration, and trafficking and explore the extent and impact of climate change on distress migration and human trafficking in two diverse areas affected by slow-onset and rapid-onset climatic events. The research conducted by International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and supported by Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) unpacks the underlying drivers that policymakers should target to deal with this nexus.

Ensuring Reservoir Sustainability under Changing Climate A Case Study on the Salaulim Reservoir, Goa

In this succinct article, Dr Ashwini Pai Panandiker says that very few studies have addressed the climate change impact on multi-purpose reservoir performance and deriving adaptive policies for possible future scenarios. Considering that the political and technical measures to adapt to climate change take place at a local level, site-specific studies are urgently needed. To address this, a case study on the Salaulim reservoir in Goa was undertaken. Read on to know more...

Indo-German Climate and Environment Cooperation Adds a New Highlight on Forests

Preserving India's precious wetlands and fighting the global threat of marine litter, protecting the beauty and importance of the Himalayan regions, ending landfills of waste and creating green jobsIndo-German Climate and Environment Cooperation addresses a wide range of topics. Both countries have been working together since more than 60 years bilaterally as well as internationally. Further, India has been a priority country in particular for the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Government from its start in 2008 support climate action and biodiversity conservation. Read on to know more...

Hariyali Gram Empowering Rural India to Lead the LIFE Movement

In this succinct article, Charu Lata and Akanksha Golchha highlight the transformative Hariyali Gram initiative in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra states in India. Hariyali Gram is a women-led initiative with an emphasis on policy implementation and scalable business solutions for the adoption of climate-friendly solutions at the village level.

Pioneering Climate Finance in India TCCL Helping India to Realize its Climate Goals

Climate Finance has always been viewed as a public sector initiative. India's ambitious plans were constrained by the inadequate capacity of such institutions to meet the agility, innovation, and deep understanding required to finance dynamic cleantech sector. TCCL has played an important role in mainstreaming of emerging sectors such as solar rooftop, energy efficiency, electric mobility, and water treatment. TCCL has been able to do this by developing a profound understanding of the rapidly evolving sector including technical, commercial, regulatory, contractual, and E&S expertise. In this succinct article, Manish Chourasia says about challenges to crowd-in capital from global north and role of TCCL in channelizing these funds.

India's G20 Presidency Delineating Economic and Emissions Growth and Promoting Energy Transition

G20 presidency serves as a big opportunity for India, to raise this challenge that emerging markets face, around delinking economic and emissions growth and promoting energy transition, and garnering suitable solutions from the global community in terms of finance and technology. Towards this, it may focus on scaling up risk mitigation mechanisms, financing mechanisms, Just Transition, integrating a risk-return-impact lens, and creating an enabling ecosystem. This insightful article by Namita Vikas looks further into each of these areas.

India's Leadership at the G20 - All Nations to Benefit from India's Stewardship

In this stimulating article, Aarti Khosla highlights that the G20 mantle allows India the opportunity to influence the energy track discussions, while emphasizing the need for energy security and demonstrating rapid investment in clean energy goals.

International Year Of Millets - Renewed Focus On Nutrition Storehouse

The United Nations General Assembly at its 75th session in March 2021 declared 2023 the International Year of Millets (IYM 2023). In this article, Livleen K Kahlon says that with the UNGA declaring 2023 as the International Year of Millets, there's a renewed focus on these nutritious grains. This move will serve best in the interest of developing countries, where almost 97 per cent of global millet production happens. But, it is going to take a lot of effort to change the mindset and lifestyles of consumers towards a millet-positive diet.

Banyan Tree - Enjoy the Majesty and Mystery of this Tree of Life

Banyan trees are one of the most iconic and well-known tree species in the world. In fact, January 17 is celebrated as Banyan Tree Day. In this article, Dr Elsa Lycias Joel says cities need more banyan trees since they recharge the depleting groundwater table. Let's forget the inherent challenges that come with managing an unseen resource such as groundwater and start conserving and nurturing banyan trees.

Mangrove and its People - Observing through the Sustainability Lens

In this article, Rangeet Mitra says mangroves are the only natural remedy for the people of Sundarbans in West Bengal state in India. Restoring mangroves will save the people and environment of Sundarbans.

Look Who's Been Found! Some New Species Found in 2022

Amidst the disheartening news all around, 2022 brought forth some sightings to cheer. Benita Sen hopes 2023 will bring us more to be happy about.

LM Wind Power Produces 50,000th Wind Turbine Blade in India

LM Wind Power, a GE Renewable Energy business, has completed the production of the 50,000th wind turbine blade in India. The blade was built at LM Wind Power's manufacturing site in Vadodara, Gujarat.

Tigers for a Healthy Tomorrow - Securing Safer Havens for Wild Tigers

India is home to the magnificent big cat-tiger. WWF-India began tiger conservation in the early 1970s by providing support to Project Tiger by the Govt. of India-the first-ever tiger conservation programme in the world.

First-Ever Domestication of Cats With Invention of Agriculture

Cat genes reveal how invention of agriculture bonded cats with people in ancient Mesopotamia, leading to worldwide feline migration with humans.

Pomegranate Genome Sequence - Application and Usage

With the aim of generating genomic wealth to support accelerated pomegranate improvement programme, the genome sequencing programme was initiated at ICAR-NRCP in 2015-16. The ICARNRCP has assembled a reference-quality genome (346.08 Mb) of pomegranate variety Bhagawa consisting of only 342 scaffolds with an average N50 value of 16.12 Mb. Read on to know more about this pioneering study...

Producing 'Green' Hydrogen Through Seawater Split

Researchers have successfully split seawater without pre-treatment to produce green hydrogen. \"We used seawater as a feedstock without the need for any pre-treatment processes like reverse osmosis desolation, purification, or alkalization,\" said Associate Professor Zheng. The team published their research in the journal Nature Energy.