Forestland benefits

Under the Lok Vaniki scheme, a farmer can extract benefits from his land by selling its produce, including timber

Cleaning trees

Phytoremediation gets another shot in the arm as Japanese researchers transform conifer leaves to fantastic cleaning agents

Rings of evidence

Tree trunks tell a tale of post-war pollution in the uk

Metal maniacs

Genetically-modified trees could be soaking up poisonous metals from the ground in the near future or even mine for precious ones

Roundtable: Is Bamboo a Minor Forest Produce?

The MFP roundtable participants discuss what constitutes a minor forest produce and whether bamboo fits its definition.   Read Sunita …

Pollution and plants

Ecologists reveal that trees are precise indicators of environmental health, as they show specific symptoms with an increase in air pollution

African dryland trees store less carbon than believed earlier, finds study

Study by team including NASA scientists estimates carbon stocks of trees in semi-arid sub-Saharan Africa; calculates 840 million …

Alien plants growing together threatening tiger habitats: Study

Multiple alien species affected soil nutrients in Kanha Tiger Reserve, put pressure on native forage plants and drove away herbivores

Disappearing tree

An evergreen tree found only in Africa is on the verge of extinction because of large-scale stripping of its bark

Bamboo liberation day

According to former environment minister Jairam Ramesh, minor forest produce is a ownership right vested by Parliament under Forest Rights Act

Mutual interest

Farmers care for the hill slopes only when the hills provide livelihood -- a simple lesson that has been forgotten

Daily Court Digest: Major environment orders (July 12, 2023)

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

Old as the hills

Shifting agriculture on the hillsides has been going on for centuries. In recent times, it has been blamed for degrading the ecology. Agriculture …

The new Money plant

The seeds of a plant called jatropha yield oil that, after processing, makes biodiesel. It can reduce India's burgeoning oil import bill. And …

India becomes first country to adopt an agroforestry policy

Four-day world congress on agroforestry in Delhi pushes for accelerating growing trees on farms for sustainable agriculture and mitigating …

Experts slam trial for new Bt brinjal variety, cite regulatory lapses

The Event 142 variety of genetically modified brinjal was quietly approved for field trials without any data in the public domain, claim experts

Activists object to food safety draft issued by FSSAI for GM crops; demand amendments

FSSAI notification lacks tests for potential toxicity, allergenicity and checking for long-term effects

‘Our injunction won’t lead to the depletion of ground water’

Down To Earth speaks to KR Jaithran, chairman of the Kodungallur municipality, about its new injunction to plant two fruiting trees in the …

Book Excerpt: A guide to the Peninsula’s indigenous floral wealth

Many in southern India are unaware that the region hosted and still hosts unique botanical life

Old forests are critically important for slowing climate change and merit immediate protection from logging

A majority of national forest area that is mature and old growth is not protected from logging

Over 17,000 tree species face heightened risk of extinction due to global change

Scientists say current IUCN Red List status may be an underestimation of risks for many tree species  

Daily Court Digest: Major environment orders (February 21, 2024)

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

Invasive alien forest insects will kill 1.4 million urban trees in US by 2050: Study

Ash, maple and oak trees in the US will be most affected due to insect-cause mortality

Bihar bans tree-felling

Government cites increasing pollution and heatwave in the state as reason for the ban

Trees on hire