One of the biggest threats to the environment - desertification, explained
At an ongoing global workshop on desertification, the Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan said desertification threatens 30% of India’s …
Here comes the megacities
By 2100, at least 10 cities are predicted to have population over 50 million. How can society keep pace?
Road to 2030: World, especially Africa, won’t achieve access to clean water, sanitation goal, says UN
Sub-Saharan Africa region lags most & will need 20-21 fold increase in current rates of progress
State of the Climate in Africa 2021: High water stress to displace up to 700 million Africans by 2030
Extreme weather and climate change are undermining human health and safety, food and water security and socio-economic development in Africa
Micro-irrigation: The way ahead for sustainable agriculture
In the age of climate change and water scarcity, micro-irrigation can help increase crop yield and decrease water, fertiliser and labour …
Swachh Bharat Mission: Haryana still defiant
The claim of an ODF-free Haryana flies in the face of cases of class division, dysfunctional toilets and administrative inaction
Awareness is key to rejuvenating River Ganga: experts at 105th Indian Science Congress
Besides biodiversity conservation and a forestation programme in Ganga river basin, the experts recommended installation of 113 real-time online …
Budget 2020-21: Will MGNREGA become an overarching rural development scheme
The upcoming budget will see many schemes being brought under the rural employment prtogramme; a direct cash transfer may be declared to top this up
Microplastics time-bomb: Why we should not reuse plastic water bottles
Whether microplastic particles cause long-term damage is uncertain but reducing our exposure to them will be wise.
Access to drinking water, sanitation improve across states, urban-rural divide remains: NFHS-5
Despite progress on sanitation front, several states reported every third or fourth person having no access to improved facilities
India’s sanitation economy to double by 2021
It would be worth $62 billion in three years and the credit would go to Swachh Bharat Mission, say speakers at 18th World Toilet Summit
How to fight water scarcity this monsoon
Though the monsoon is behaving erratically, drought-prone districts are still water rich
Book Excerpt: Listen to the land
India's rich, diverse landscapes are brought nearly to waste by misguided decisions in name of development. The cracks in the land hold valuable …
World Environment Day 2023: Springs need urgent revival for water security in the Indian Himalayas
The neglect of springs and aquifers in the context of rivers and watersheds has led to large gaps in developing a national response to spring …
Aquatic animals will grow larger, not shrink in size, in warming waters: Study
The findings contradict the theory that aquatic animals such as fish will shrink due to global warming
Guinea worm: A nasty parasite is nearly eradicated, but the push for zero cases will require patience
The final push to full eradication requires patience and faith on the part of institutions and governments supporting the effort; also, people …
The earliest humans swam 100,000 years ago, but swimming remains a privileged pastime
This year the OECD reported that only one in four people in low-income countries can swim
Resource wise: This panchayat head in Tamil Nadu uses tech to curtail water and power wastage
K Kanchana Kannaperumal installed sensors in eight villages of her panchayat; the move has benefitted 750-odd households
Gandhian Sanitation: How Kolhapur combined toilet design, biogas to treat faecal sludge
Almost 75 per cent of the district depends on properly designed septic tanks; around 25 per cent of it uses biogas-linked toilets at …
World Rivers Day: Does a river exist for us only when it floods?
It’s important to spread river education in its totality, before dams and canals take over ‘rivers’ in the perception battle
Tackling marine plastic pollution
According to a 2017 study, the Odisha coast has the lowest quantity, and Goa coast has the highest quantity of beach debris
Great change for Little Rann: Finance for solar panels and the road ahead
Salt farmers cannot apply for bank loans to buy pumps and subsidies promised are delayed
Study finds high level of pharma contaminants in Cauvery
Water quality and levels of pharmaceutical contaminants in the Cauvery influenced by the monsoon season, according to a study
In a first, 4 West African countries commit to cooperate on Senegalo-Mauritanian Aquifer Basin
The Senegalo-Mauritanian Aquifer Basin is the largest in West Africa; Four countries have now agreed to cooperate on sharing it peaceably, …
World water day: How a village in Maharastra turned a dying lake into a birding paradise
Seven years ago, Paraswada lake in Gondia was nothing more than a stinking swamp filled with weed species that were killing its biodiversity