Why South India needs the Shola forests of the Nilgiris

The forests and grasslands act as water towers and influence the fortunes of farmers in the Cauvery delta

Urbanisation to cause huge loss of prime farmland: UNCCD

Between 1.6 and 3.3 million hectares of such land could be lost by 2030, estimates the United Nations Convention to combat Desertification report

Lexical conundrum: Desertification does not allude to deserts

Today, desertification just means a reduction in the productivity of the land that is not reversible

A 2°C rise in temperature would make 25% of the world drier, affecting 1.5 bn people

In India, desertification is a fundamental threat to agriculture; out of India's total geographical area of 328.72 million hectares (MHA), 96.4 …

Losing land to desertification

Drought and desertification affect about 1.9 billion hectares of land and 1.5 billion people globally

'We are marginalising those who depend on natural resources'

Down To Earth Editor Sunita Narain talks about how we are plundering our resources with our consumption patterns in her new book, Why I Should Be …

Arid politics

Each year the world loses $42.3 billion because of desertification. But when its leaders meet to discuss the fast-spreading problem, all they can …

Why reducing emissions from deforestation, forest degradation remains a challenge

Fund constraints and lack of clarity on implementation derails the progress of REDD+

Invest $1.7 trillion in nature-based solutions to adapt to climate change: UNCCD report

The investment would give four times the return on investment, it said  

Strong nexus between land use and drought: UNCCD report

It also called for the management of land and drought to be fundamentally linked

Mining in news on April 11

Today’s updates in the mining industry

Desertification has increased in 90 per cent of states in India

Increased drying of soil will further precipitate the agrarian crisis in the country

Cleaning up Mt Everest

Tax the rich and help the poor survive

Bleak future

Potassium in our soil is running low, threatening global food security – new study proposes a way out

A proposal for a resolution on potassium at a future United Nations environment assembly holds the key to intergovernmental action

Land, water resources are at breaking point: Report

Pressure on land and water systems compromising agricultural productivity, food security

Tribal communities suffer when evicted in the name of conservation

The tribal communities are paying a brutal price for governments' agenda to boost safari, create protected areas and attract tourism

The war on Tigray wiped out decades of environmental progress: How to start again

Damage needs to be repaired immediately so that universities, research organisations can continue contributing to the restoration of agriculture &…

Land the size of South America will be degraded if current trends continue: UN Report

We cannot afford to continue taking land, our most valuable asset, for granted, says UNCCD chief

Drought, land degradation affect 1.5 billion people: UN report

UNCCD’s global report on desertification, land degradation and drought explains the current scenario through figures

Sustainable soil management key to Africa's food security

The thrust is now on promotion of sustainable soil management as the approach for boosting healthy soils for a food-secure Africa

There will be a serious increase in lawsuits against fossil fuel companies in the coming years

So far, around 1,500 climate-related lawsuits have been brought before courts around the world

Scheme for promoting home gardens needed: Experts

It can ensure nutritional security of people living in areas where shifting cultivation is practiced

World lost 87 per cent wetlands in 300 years

Rapid urban expansion one of the major reasons behind land degradation, says a global report