People go into the sea to swim, Rosalind Pereira observes. “Then they discard their clothes on the beach and get into new clothes.” For the co-founder of Project Aamhi, a community waste management effort that enables people in 17 coastal Maharashtra villages to keep their neighbourhoods and beaches clean, this peculiar swimming habit sparked an … Read more
What is a bird? Textbook definitions would say ‘warm-blooded vertebrates that have feathers, toothless, beaked jaws and lay hard-shelled eggs’. But there is much more to them — their lives have enough drama, adventure, danger and romance to put a movie script to shame. And when you start looking at them closely, you realise there … Read more
Heading into the hills of Kodaikanal in the middle of balmy April was already a treat. Then, to sit on the lush grounds of a boutique hotel with nearly 150 people, the cool air speckled with a light drizzle, listening to ‘Music from the Mountains to the Skies’, was simply magical. The unique concert held … Read more
Asian cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most important food crops in the world. Representative image. | Photo Credit: Sandy Ravaloniaina/Unsplash Scientists have assembled a first of its kind ‘pangenome’, a kind of reference genome, by stitching together key parts of genomes from 144 varieties of wild and cultivated varieties of rice … Read more
Climate-driven food shortage and undernourishment could affect the composition of the human gut microbiota, exacerbating the effects of climate change on human health, according to a new review article published in The Lancet Planetary Health. The article comes on the heels of a growing number of studies that highlight the key role food and nutrition … Read more
In 2016, when Juan Diego Ibáñez-Álamo at the University of Granada in Spain met Kaspar Delhey, an expert in bird coloration at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, a new collaboration was born. “He suggested we study whether urbanisation is associated with differences in bird coloration,” Delhey said. Many studies have investigated how urban … Read more
Deepavali celebrations in New Delhi. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu The Supreme Court on Tuesday (May 6, 2025) directed the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana to ensure a “scrupulous” ban on firecrackers in areas falling under the NCR region and warned any failure would attract contempt. A Bench of Justices Abhay S. … Read more
Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary, the biggest of the three sanctuaries in Goa. | Photo Credit: Paul Noronha Goa is often seen as a prime tourist destination rather than an ecological hotspot. A study, ‘Insights into the linkages of forest structure dynamics with ecosystem services’, published on May 4 in the journal Nature, however, evaluated the … Read more
Livestock farmers of 21 villages near Guwahati have opposed the Assam government’s move to transform a large chunk of grazing land adjoining an ecologically fragile wetland into a logistics park. On April 7, the Kamrup District Commissioner’s office issued a notification proposing the acquisition of 150 bighas, or 49.59 acres, of the Dorabeel grazing field … Read more
In many parts of the world, conservation laws and policies are becoming more exclusionary. They are disenfranchising local communities and indigenous people, disregarding their rights and role in conservation, and allowing the state as well as private interests to exploit resources. Conservation science and its legal frameworks are rooted in colonial ideas, and define nature … Read more
Coimbatore Tamil Nadu 16/10/2024: A Lion-tailed macaque with its infant at Valparai, which stood first in terms of richness of threatened fauna in the Western Ghats. Photo: Periasamy M/ The Hindu. | Photo Credit: PERIASAMY M In a new study, the Bengaluru-based Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS) has shed light on how the endangered and … Read more
Vasanthan Selvam, Chief Executive Officer, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, at the milky mushroom cultivation and incubation centre, a startup industry, at Horticulture College and Research Institute, Periyakulam. in Theni district. | Photo Credit: G. KARTHIKEYAN A recent LinkedIn post on Theni having more than 150 startups kicked up a flurry of comments on the … Read more
The cause of last week’s massive power outage in Spain and Portugal remains unclear but it has shone a spotlight on solar and wind energy, which critics accuse of straining electricity grids. The rise of renewables presents a challenge for power grids, which must evolve to adapt as countries move away from fossil fuels. Maintaining … Read more
Bassarona durga (Sikkim’s State butterfly) | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement A 10-year study to establish the Dzongu region as one of India’s richest butterfly habitats has become a “gift to the world” in celebration of Sikkim’s 50 years of Statehood. Sikkim transitioned from a protectorate to India’s 22nd State on May 16, 1975. Sonam Wangchuk Lepcha, … Read more
The Central government’s plans in the Nicobar Islands, especially land taken over for deforestation, will affect the native Shompen tribe, which needs forests for its livelihood. | Photo Credit: Public domain The famous tree crusader and tree lover Shri ‘Vanajeevi’ Ramaiah who passed away last month was a firm believer that trees are vital for … Read more
Farmer Ilapuram Anil Reddy and Agricultural Extension Officer Nagarajun at the former’s farm at Pedda Masanpally village of Thoguta Mandal in Siddipet district. SIDDIPET In a move aimed at encouraging sustainable farming, Agricultural Extension Officer (AEO) of Yellareddypet cluster in Siddipet district T. Nagarjun has introduced biocontrol agents and biofertilisers to promote eco-friendly pest and … Read more
Fishers venture out to fish in mechanised boats in Mandapam North Sea, June 16, 2023, after the end of the 61-day fishing ban. | Photo Credit: Balachandar L./The Hindu The total allowable catch (TAC) is a limit on the total quantity of fish that fishers can catch in a particular area. It’s usual for agencies … Read more
A woman harvesting wheat in a field on the outskirts of Lucknow. | Photo Credit: SANDEEP SAXENA The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in a study using its satellites has estimated that the total wheat production from eight major wheat growing States of India would be 122.724 million tonnes as on March 31, 2025. According … Read more
The chief of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), Pramod Boro, has asked forest officials to track down and punish the killers of three elephants in the Manas National Park on Friday (May 2, 2025). | Photo Credit: PTI The chief of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), Pramod Boro, has asked forest officials to track down … Read more
In 1981, German scientists Adolf Goetzberger and Armin Zastrow published a foundational paper arguing that dual land use for food and energy could bring significant benefits. They proposed elevating solar modules by about 2 m above the ground to allow crops to grow underneath, giving rise to the concept of agriphotovoltaics (APVs). APVs integrate solar … Read more
Rushikulya, discovered as a mass nesting site in 1994, has since become a focal point of olive ridley conservation in India. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement A new study has revealed that olive ridley sea turtles tend to select mates of similar size, indicating a pattern of size-assortative mating. The research, conducted jointly by scientists … Read more
The large 5,678-acre grasslands in Hesaraghatta are finally under protection from encroachment and development. The Government of Karnataka issued the final notification of the Greater Hesaraghatta Grassland Conservation Reserve recently while conservationists and those who have been crying hoarse to save the city’s remaining green areas heaved a sigh of relief. The grassland region in … Read more
These trees came as immigrants, made friends with the locals and now are upstanding inhabitants of Coimbatore providing priceless service to the city and its people. Architect, Jayashree Raman says trees offer a wealth of natural solutions to various design challenges. “They provide insights into structural strength, energy efficiency, and biomimicry, leading to more sustainable … Read more
European Red Admiral butterfly sighted near Dharamshala in the mountain range of Dhauladhar in Himachal Pradesh. Picture credits: Lovish Garlani In a remarkable first for India’s lepidopteran records, the European Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta), a widely distributed migratory butterfly species, has been sighted and documented in Himachal Pradesh. The species was observed near Dharamshala in the Dhauladhar … Read more
Participants experiencing the portable natural history museum by Wilded, a Nature education group, at a residential society in Visakhapatnam. | Photo Credit: K R DEEPAK At the edge of a garden in Visakhapatnam, a carpenter bee once drilled a perfect circular hole into an old log of wood. This tiny act of wild engineering caught … Read more
Puttur city municipality in Dakshina Kannada district uses Bio CNG generated from wet waste to operate its six vehicles since August 2024. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT In a rare initiative in Karnataka, Puttur city municipality in Dakshina Kannada is converting wet waste into Bio Compressed Natural Gas (BioCNG) through private partnership, for the past … Read more
Green Humour | Photo Credit: Rohan Chakravarty Green Humour | Photo Credit: Rohan Chakravarty Rohan Chakravarty is a cartoonist and illustrator from Nagpur. His series, ‘Green Humour’, consists of cartoons and comics on wildlife, nature conservation, environmental issues, sustainability, and all things green. Published – May 01, 2025 09:30 am IST
For a fleeting fortnight each year, the dense rainforests of the Anamalai in Tamil Nadu are transformed into a realm of bioluminescent magic. As the jungle darkens, it bursts into a silent symphony of light — millions of fireflies synchronising their flashes in one of the most enchanting natural phenomena one can witness. It is … Read more
Mango fruits dropped from trees owing to gusty wind accompanied by hailstorm and rain, in Wadagera taluk of Yadgir district in Karnataka. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT The recent unseasonal rains accompanied by gusty winds and hailstorm damaged the mango crop in Yadgir district of Karnataka, particularly in Wadagera taluk. Mango growers expected a good … Read more
The online workshop will be held between May 11 and June 8, 2025. | Photo Credit: Early Bird Early Bird, a not-for-profit initiative to bring children closer to birds and nature, is geared to launch the 6th edition of The Young Birders’ Workshop. This online workshop aims ‘to help children delve deeper into the world … Read more