Evolution: why it seems to have a direction and what to expect next

A dominant, intelligent species like humans will always be bad news for many of the other species on the planets where they evolve

Sounds of silence: a forest that survived 'development'

A trip to the Silent Valley National Park is a valuable lesson in the history of environmental movements and biodiversity conservation

South Africa to combat poaching by shifting Kruger rhinos

South Africa plans to move up to 500 rhinos from Kruger National park to counter a wave of poaching of the animals for their horns, highly prized …

Environmentalists petition Obama to impose sanctions on Mozambique

African country is facing allegations of colluding with poachers, resulting in killing of thousands of elephants and rhinos

The phoenix act

Indian vulture populations stabilise after six years of ban on diclofenac; scientists still wary

Swan song

THE SONG OF THE DODO: ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY IN AN AGE OF EXTINCTIONS·David Quammen· Frank Bros & Co·Rs 325

In Search of the Forgotten Rice Varieties

If the current trend towards genetic uniformity in rice varities continues, our food security will be severely imperilled

Flight into danger

While cranes are regularly hunted in parts of Pakistan, villagers in Rajasthan are doing their best to protect these endangered species

Toda traditions in peril

Can this tribal community in the Nilgiris survive the concrete trappings of civilisation? Tarun Chhabra on the eco-friendly Todas

Camel Yatra

Rajasthan's camel population has reduced dramatically during the last ten years. The Pali, Rajasthan-based non-governmental organisation Lokhit-…

The animals and plants that only exist in captivity — and why time is running out to restore them to the wild

Where return to the wild is a challenge, we must redouble efforts to find and mitigate threats in native habitat

Of 'man-eating tigers' and ‘tiger-eating men'

While reigniting debate on human-wildlife conflicts, Uttarakhand High Court’s order on man-eating big cats leaves many questions unanswered …

Hard time for honeybees

Entomologist May Berenbaum of University of Illinois in USA has inspired a character in TV series, X-Files. The winner of this year’s Tyler …

The wealth of tradition

Vietnam has taken a keen interest in tradional medicine since its independence in 1954. In the war against colonial France and later the …

Invasive alien species in focus at 10th plenary of IPBES

Report on invasive species & their control to be approved at the plenary was developed over four years by 86 leading experts from 49 countries

IPBES9 assessment reports: Conservation vs use vs sustainable use?

Global body grapples with the question of how biodiversity can be used sustainably and ensuring social justice  

Daily Court Digest: Major environment orders (August 26, 2020)

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

Jungle story

How the world's first human-made forest is being sustained by an indigenous community in Assam despite a range of threats

Curse of the horn

Soaring prices of rhino horns have led to a new spurt of poaching in the Kaziranga National Park, Assam. Once heralded as a conservation success …

Land use change major cause behind biodiversity loss, finds WWF report

Asia Pacific region lost 45% of its vertebrate population in four-and-half decades, while the global average was 68%

Report at migratory species CoP flags rapid decline in India’s raptor population

State of India’s birds evaluated status of 867 species, using data from birdwatchers  

Meet the Lazarus creatures: six species we thought were extinct, but aren't

It is extremely difficult to determine whether a species is extinct, or just absent from an area

Cheetah trade could drive the species to extinction

Smuggling that has endangered the subspecies in Horn of Africa is likely to also affect 40-100 last remaining Asiatic cheetahs in Iran

A pair too rare

Gaolao breed of cattle is cherished for its capacity to carry load and quality milk, but only 3,000 of them are left

Bacteria discovered in Chilika open door to new possibilities

Bio-products derived from these species could find uses in biotechnology sector and may help fishers find alternative source of living