Pilgrims discounted
Uttarakhand is still vulnerable to a disaster like last year's because of unregulated tourism
Ready for only tourists
Uttarakhand government has carried out rehabilitation projects only in tourist circles and ignored other areas that were hit by floods last year
Tourism to be prohibited in Jarawa reserve
Cabinet approves regulation declaring five km reserved area inhabited by the aboriginal tribe as buffer zone
Twice Unlucky
In 1962, it was the Indo-Chinese war. Now it is the creation of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve. Once again, the Bhotiyas, who inhabit the …
Drying wetlands
Ladakh's high altitude wetlands are under severe stress from the livestock population as well as tourist influx
Supreme Court to hear plea over survey of Himalayan states
Sustainability potential, carrying capacity of the 13 states in Himalayan region has not been studied, alleges plea; warns of more ecological …
CAG flags community centre under FRA actually MP govt tourist lodge in Pench
CAG slams action as being tantamount to misuse of powers by forest department and against spirit of Forest (Conservation) Act
Should ivory trade be legalised?
International ban on ivory trade has neither reduced elephant poaching nor the volume of the illegal trade. Is it time the trade is legalised? …
Redemption from litter
Uttarakhand non-profits have taken responsibility for clearing tourists’ plastic waste
Joshimath crisis: Tourist influx in Himalayan states adding to ecological burden
Tourism infrastructure in Hindu Kush Himalayan region poorly planned, 2019 ICIMOD report found
Legal protection for wildlife corridors, soon: Jayanthi Natarajan
Several elephant habitats and forest corridors used by wildlife fall outside sanctuaries and parks
Paradise in peril
Galpagos, an archipelago straddling the equator 1,000 km west of Ecuador, is probably the world's best-known biodiversity zone. But alien species …
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 …
31 iconic sites at risk from climate change, warns UNESCO report
The report gives a miss to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Sundarbans in India
Virgin islands In peril
Tourism planned in Sri Lanka’s islands threatens their fragile ecosystem and the lives of people there
Two sides of the same coin: Shrinking water bodies and urban floods
Water bodies have become even more critical in current times when cities are facing the challenge of rapid, unplanned urbanisation
India bans use of dolphins for commercial entertainment
Environment ministry says dolphins are ‘non-human persons’; morally unacceptable to capture them for entertainment
Trespassers allowed
Unregulated tourism around the Corbett Tiger Reserve has restricted animal movement
COVID-19 lockdown was a breather for Rajasthan’s lakes, rivers: Report
Low human intervention, stalled tourism helped improve quality of water bodies in the state
Forest officials kept eyes tightly shut
When it was found there were no tigers in the Panna Tiger Reserve, P K Sen was called to join the government special investigation team. …
Man-made reasons for Uttarakhand disaster
Expansion of hydel projects, roads and tourism is making the Himalaya in Uttarakhand crumble
Proactive planning
It's not about fighting the problem later, it's about pre-empting the problem. Measures against air pollution and plastics are all about taking …
Three avenues, one goal
The focus is on development of hydropower, industries and food production: how sustainably can the targets be achieved?
High risk
Problem: Tall buildings risky in high seismic zones; Status: Hill-stations are getting concretised and growing vertically; Challenge: Use local …
What goes down
Problem: Lack of space for garbage disposal; inadequate sewerage; Status: Garbage disposed on hill slopes ends in streams/rivers; Challenge: …