Sanctuary Asia
A Dove Tale
One day, eight years ago, a Spotted Dove got trapped in my house and was desperately trying to escape through a closed window. We finally managed to release it into the garden. The next day it came back with a partner for a look around. A day after that they came back again – this time to build a nest in the bathroom. They’ve lived with us ever since!
2 min |
March 2019
Down To Earth
Encroached Upon
Thirteen years aft er a historic law was formulated to give forest dwellers legal ownership of their traditi th onal land, their fate still hangs in the balance.A recent Supreme Court verdict, which almost made their eviction imminent, has brought the focus back on the tedious righhts recognition process under the Forest Rights Act, 2006.ISHAN KUKRETI reports from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarli and Delhi, with inputs from PRIYA RANJAN SAHU in Odisha
10+ min |
March 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Profitable Pods
Yongchak is a Manipuri legume used in salads, pickles and delicacies
3 min |
March 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Of Cacti And Algae
Even after 50 years, India's research on forage crops fails to avert fodder shortage but churns out some unconventional alternatives
3 min |
March 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Empanel A Jury...
...because solar panel waste is piling up
3 min |
March 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Cities Of Joy
Last year, the South African city of Cape Town was in the news for running out of water. It managed to avert Day Zero, but the threat has not disappeared. With changing climate, more cities across the world will face similar crises. But there are a few metropolises that have overcome water shortage despite heavy odds. Though these cities still need to keep adapting and innovating, they have done well so far. Here's how they did it
3 min |
March 16, 2019
Down To Earth
The Wise Debate
As the world debates the effectiveness of industrialised agriculture, the good-old small farmer emerges victorious.
2 min |
March 01, 2019
Down To Earth
The Order Of Change
To resolve environmental problems, we need a change in mindset, empirical studies, implementation, monitoring and follow-ups, says Justice Madan B Lokur. Excerpts from his speech at the Anil Agarwal Dialogue recently organised by the Centre for Science and Environment.
4 min |
March 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Rockstar Gourd
The humble gourd that sculpted the culture and traditions of rural India for ages is falling out of favour.
4 min |
March 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Robots Are Here, Almost
The use of industrial robots is growing at an unprecedented rate in India. Are blue-collar jobs under threat?
3 min |
March 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Rise Of The Fall
Fall Armyworm, a deadly but little understood crop pest, poses a threat to food security and livelihoods of millions as it ravages crops in Africa and now Asia. First detected in July 2018 in India, the pest has caused widespread damage to maize crops, raising the possibility that the country may have to import maize.
10+ min |
March 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Hidden Elixir
A one-stop medicine shop, amrakh can be the wow factor in homemade pickles and chutneys.
3 min |
March 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Drought Aggravates Poverty
Study shows during drought years in Rajasthan, the vulnerability of rural households to poverty increases.
3 min |
March 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Bedaquiline And India's Patent Law
Opposition to the new patent claims on the Johnson & Johnson drug is a test of how well the rules against evergreening are working.
2 min |
March 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Will Nudge Come To Shove?
It is crucial that nudge as a tool is used meticulously for political canvassing
4 min |
February 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Software Outsmarts Drug Research
Now, a programme can bypass patented drug pathways and create synthetically-produced medicines
2 min |
February 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Quick Fix Aid
A first after many years, farmers are at the centre of political attention. Ahead of the general elections, there is a rush of cash support schemes to woo them. This may bring some solace to farmers, but will the schemes have a lasting impact?
10+ min |
February 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Potato's Neglected Cousins
Tubers come in all shapes, sizes and colours, and pack quite a punch
3 min |
February 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Out Of The Legal Hole
There is no such thing as environmentally acceptable and safe rat-hole coal mining and hence this primitive practice must be discontinued
3 min |
February 16, 2019
Domus India
A New Beginning Atlas For The End Of The World
The critical nexus the Atlas for the End of the World addresses is the global tension between food production, urbanisation and biodiversity
5 min |
Febuary 2019
Down To Earth
Whose Waste Is It?
Producers are shifting their plastic recovery responsibility to other companies
3 min |
February 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Who Is Economically Secular?
The rich have the chance to get richer in an economic crisis, while the poor face the prospect of sinking deeper in poverty
2 min |
February 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Trial After Error
AGROCHEMICAL AND biotech giant Monsanto’s genetically modified cotton seed business is out of trouble in India; but only for the time being.
4 min |
February 01, 2019
Down To Earth
The Fast Track To Disaster
India's decision to start a patent prosecution highway for Japanese firms could open the tollgates to hasty approvals
2 min |
February 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Good Old Sap
Gums secreted by trees are a treasure trove of nutrition and have been used by communities in making seasonal delicacies
3 min |
February 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Conflict Of Diet
It's not just fragmented corridors that take elephants to farms. They get drawn towards crops that improve their state of mind and well-being
3 min |
February 01, 2019
Sanctuary Asia
Sulabha Chakravarty
August 15, 1963 – August 19, 2018)
4 min |
February 2019
Sanctuary Asia
Trapping To Protect
The Camera as a Conservation Tool.
4 min |
February 2019
Sanctuary Asia
The Sanctuary Interview - Meet Pankaj Sharma
It would be an understatement to say that Pankaj Sharma is a brave and unassuming man. Part of a crack defence team that quite literally entrusted their lives with each other, they hit back at rhino poachers who had taken to killing rhinos in Kaziranga, virtually unchallenged, in the late 1980s. Rhino deaths dropped dramatically and the Kaziranga we see today was in no small measure a result of their do-or-die determination.A stickler for the law, he was content to stay a Forest Ranger for decades, unwilling to trade forest life for a desk job in Guwahati. Still a field man, he is currently the Divisional Forest Officer in charge of the Nameri Tiger Reserve. Bittu Sahgal met him recently at Nameri and had to quite literally coerce this quiet, self-effacing man to speak about himself.
4 min |
February 2019
Sanctuary Asia
The Numbers Game
When a species begins to overwhelm its resource base, it is destined to go down. Having decided as a young woman of child-bearing age not to bring a child into this world, Purva Variyar asks whether Homo sapiens is headed down that road.
5 min |