Local govts must be empowered to act against desertification: Developing nations

Lack of power devolution between state and local governments exacerbates the problem of degradation, say experts

Cold desert regions need special attention: Experts

The expanse of deserts in these regions appears to be growing because of progressive melting of glaciers due to climate change

‘Only plantation cannot restore degraded land’

Down To Earth speaks to Ravindra Adusumilli of the Revitalising Rainfed Agriculture (RRA) Network, India about government policy on tackling …

9 DRC communities fight a century-old land conflict with a palm oil firm

They filed a complaint with German Development Bank accusing them of funding a palm oil plantation company in spite of being aware of a …

Govt needs to address policy ambiguities affecting shifting cultivation: NITI Aayog

The NITI Aayog report recommends doing away with the practice of having divergent approaches towards shifting cultivation

Cautionary tales

Jean Dreze argues that we should not leave the making of an equitable society to experts alone

Strawberry fields aren't forever

Vertical farms, the successful marriage of agriculture with industry, are the farms of the future

Genocide uncovered

Deeply embedded in the battle for land and pastoral hegemony, the first genocide of the 20th century—Namibia's Herero and Nama tribes by …

Microplastics on agricultural lands may threaten farm productivity: study

Between 110,000 and 730,000 tonnes of microplastics are transferred to agricultural soils in Europe and North America every year

African Drought Conference: leaders focus on risk mitigation measures

African countries were urged to move away from crisis management approach to risk management

Refuge pockets critical for persistence of Blackbuck in human-dominated landscapes: Study

The study examines how blackbuck use habitats characterised by seasonally changing resources, threats of predators, intensive human pressures in …

Historic litigant

How was land for Rashtrapati Bhavan and the parliament building acquired? Who were its original inhabitants?

Possessed by land

Landholding can affect marital prospects. It can also affect sex ratios and lead to polyandry. A village in Alwar provides a snapshot

A river hard done by

Documentary>> Making the sewer...A river again: Why Mumbai must reclaim its Mithi • Observer Research Foundation

No to afforestation

Furious at losing their traditional rights over land, residents of a south Delhi village say...

Drainage plan helps reclaim land

Scientists have evolved a subsurface drainage system that makes saline soils arable within three years

Whose land is it, anyway?

The Mabo judgement, which recognises Australian aboriginal claims to land, has led to protests from business circles and could have an impact as …

Dupont decried

After the Thapar-Dupont plant was driven out of Goa, and it found a refuge in Tamil Nadu, a ho,n,t's nest has again been stirred up

Bay watch!

COASTAL WATERS OF THE WORLD: TRENDS, THREATS, AND STRATEGIES·Don Hinrichsen· Island Press, Washington, 1997· 276 pages

In defence of shifting agriculture

IT HAS taken almost two decades of consistent research into the northeastern tribal practice of shifting agriculture for P S Ramakrishna, …

Desertification control lacks efficiency

PERHAPS no environmental problem affects the poor of the world as much as desertification. The UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) says this has …

If only cities can see wetlands

It is time we realised that a water body is not an ornamental luxury or a wasted land

Acquisition made easy

Promises and lies

Supreme Court stays government's sham deal of promising land to tribals

SEZs get a social face