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Indian navy jeopardising pristine Nicobar island?
Tillanchong, an island in the Nicobar archipelago, is 14 kilometres long and no more than two and a half kilometres wide. While precipitous cliffs plummet into the sea along most of the coastline, there are picturesque white coral sand beaches untrampled by humans, for most of the year. Metallic green Nicobar #Indian Navy #Nicobar Island #ThatsJustWrong #Tillanchong
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When Hindutva replaces rational thought in our green movements
Many conservation organisations use religious symbolism to save species. Elephants, tigers, snakes, leopards, nilgai, cranes and the gharial are some examples. It doesn’t always work, but the accepted theory is the more revered a creature is, the more people will care about it. Or take the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project. Years #Hindutva #International Society for Krishna Consciousness #Sunderlal Bahuguna #Tehri dam #TheLongView #Vrindavan
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Climate Change: We need strong vision, more than negotiations
Climate change is the mother of all conservation battles. It has implications for species extinctions, changes in vegetation, migration patterns of insects and birds, and much more. It threatens us humans too. Many low-lying islands and coastal areas are in danger of being submerged, thus turning millions of people into #climate change #ConnectTheDots #Jairam Ramesh #Kyoto Protocol
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Posco verdict: Finally, environmental justice in India
So what if it was the largest-ever FDI in India? The law finally caught up with it on 30 March 2012, when the National Green Tribunal suspended POSCO’s environmental clearance and ordered a fresh review. We can celebrate the outcome in this day and cynical age: It is still possible, #A Raja #ConnectTheDots #Jairam Ramesh #POSCO
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Religion vs conservation: When will pilgrims stop polluting our forests?
It's festival time at a temple. Hordes of people in colourful clothes mill about, gaily lit shops sell souvenirs and articles for rituals, while itinerant vendors sell cheap plastic toys, religious posters, snacks, and assorted other merchandise. Discarded plastic bags, wrappers and shards of glass lie strewn underfoot. Nearby trees #Bhimashankar Temple #HowThisWorks #Jayashree Ratnam #Sabarimala
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Why relocating badly behaved wild elephants doesn’t work
About 25 wild elephants are slated to be transplanted from around Kattepura and Dodbetta Reserve Forests, Hassan District in Karnataka, to other as-yet-undetermined locations. This is punishment for a long string of complaints against them. Since 2007, 14 people have been killed and many more injured by these giants. Besides #Elephants #Hassan District #HowThisWorks #Human-Elephant Conflict #Karnataka Forest Department
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The Demwe project gives a damn about dolphins, or conservation
On Valentine’s Day, the Ministry of Environment and Forests uploaded on its website the wildlife clearance accorded to 1750 MW Lower Demwe Hydroelectric Project across the River Lohit in Arunachal Pradesh. Manmohan Singh and Pranab Mukherjee wanted it cleared and so did Nabam Tuki, the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. #Arunachal Pradesh #Environment #Lohit River #ThatsJustWrong
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Environmentalist-in-chief: Anna Hazare’s Ralegan formula
The first serious analysis of Anna Hazare’s worldview and environmentalism has emerged as a chapter in Mukul Sharma’s ‘Green and Saffron: Hindu nationalism and Indian environmental politics,’ recently published by Permanent Black. Ralegan Siddhi is located about 80 km northeast of Pune, in an arid area prone to frequent droughts. The #Anna Hazare #Environment #HowThisWorks #Ralegan Siddhi
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Should we ban human beings from our forests?
A new front in the turf battle for protected areas has opened up with a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a ban on tourism in tiger reserves. In 2006, when the Wildlife Protection Act was amended, it allowed the establishment of Critical Tiger Habitats that were to be kept “inviolate”. #Conservation #forest management #HowThisWorks #Supreme Court
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Why is the land of snakes, so inept at dealing with snake bites?
The number of people who died of snakebite in India was not known for decades. But there was no doubt thousands perished. This was, after all, the proverbial land of snakes. Finally, in April last year, a study estimated about a million people were bitten by snakes and approximately 46,000 #Antivenom #ConnectTheDots #rural india #Snakebite