Lives of others

Wildlife is more of an academic concern except when the charismatic tiger is wiped out from a protected forest or our favourite fish vanishes …

Living in style in Ladakh

The Ladakh Ecological Development Group is working to make the harsh life of Ladakhis easier through improved housing and easier methods of …

New study sheds light on genetic affinities of Gujjars and Ladakhis

The study is the first comprehensive attempt to determine the genetic relatedness of the Gujjars and Ladakhis to populations within India and …

Future in the past

FUTURE OF PROGRESS: REFLECTIONS ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT Edited by Vandana Shiva, Helena Norberg-Hodge, Edward Goldsmith and Martin Khor …

Natural elements keep homes comfortable

A new architectural technique uses the sun and other natural elements to regulate temperature, thereby helping to conserve non-renewable energy …

Left to die

The double-humped Yarkandi camels in Ladakh are on the route to extinction after the closure of the 'silk route'

China and India’s deadly Himalayan clash is a big test for Modi. And a big concern for the world

Such confrontations are usually defused by talks between commanders on the ground, leading to choreographed disengagements. In this case, it …

Sonam Wangchuk wins the Magsaysay

The Ladakhi engineer, environmentalist and innovator has been awarded ‘Asia’s Nobel’ for ‘harnessing nature, culture and …

Drying wetlands

Ladakh's high altitude wetlands are under severe stress from the livestock population as well as tourist influx

Sonam Wangchuk is right. All is not well with Ladakh’s glaciers

In October 2021, 31 glacial lakes and water bodies showed an increase in area by 20%, found CSE & DTE’s State of India’s …

Fixing old houses on Himalaya

German architect Andre Alexander has been restoring old buildings in the Tibetan capital Lhasa for 15 years now. Over the past few years he has …

Change carbon-intensive lifestyles to save Ladakh, Sonam Wangchuk appeals to people

Might consider hunger strike if Ladakh is not protected under the Constitution’ Sixth Schedule, the innovator tells Down To Earth 

Daily Court Digest: Major environment orders (April 11, 2023)

Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal

International Snow Leopard Day: Of snow leopards and domestic dogs

‘Man’s best friend’ has become a big threat for the charismatic cat in Ladakh, as this account shows

Energy security: China has its capital but India can focus on partnerships

Rather than putting an end to what China is doing, India should try to come closer to reaching some degree of parity, says Michael Kugelman  

Free-ranging dogs: Official population control programme is failing in Ladakh (and rest of India); here is why

There is no baseline estimate of the dog population, inadequate sterilisation coverage and real world challenges which have not been taken into …

India needs to secure Pallas’s cats in its Trans-Himalayas

The unknown status and handful of records in India about this small felid are an opportunity to reveal facts about it through systematic …

Waterworks India: Chewang Norphell

Global warming is taking its toll on the trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh. Mountains that were completely decked with snow are now barren. …

'Farmers in Ladakh are among biggest victims of climate change'

After inventing the first artificial glacier in 1987, Chewang Norphel came to be known as “Ice Man of India”. He talks about how …

"Subsidy culture has killed local agriculture"

Thupstan Chhewang, Chief Executive Councillor and chairperson of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) speaks to Down To Earth.

Ladakh on the move

Ladakh is the one region in India where sustainable development is the only way ahead. Dry toilets, water efficient crops, cooperative farming, a …

Series of cloudbursts cause flash floods in western Himalayas, across India and Pakistan

Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh in India and Islamabad and Rawalpindi in Pakistan have been affected due to flash floods July 28, 2021

How J&K reduced snow leopard attacks on livestock

Herders in villages on the outskirts of Ladakh's Hemis National Park were involved in initiatives that helped reduce attacks on livestock and …

‘Freak incident’: ONGC, ISOR downplay geothermal fluid discharge into Ladakh’s Puga nullah

Both agencies also said the water discharged from the borehole after a blowout August 16 was benign

New analysis says Ladakh’s Puga has highest geothermal potential

Study looks at potential quantity of energy that could be extracted from a particular geothermal reservoir