Environmental Protection

The majestic Royal Bengal Tiger in the Sundarbans

A Bengal tiger in the Sundarbans, which crosses India and Bangladesh. In describing the Sundarbans (beautiful forests), Amitav Ghosh, an internationally acclaimed writer wrote in his novel, The Hungry Tide: “A mangrove forest is utterly unlike other woodlands or jungles. There are no towering, vine-looped trees, no ferns, no wildflowers, no chattering monkeys or cockatoos. Mangrove leaves are tough and[Read More...]

A 12500 Sq Km Lie in Court to save an Illegal Building: Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority’s Kamikaze Act in 2003

The Government of India published the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification in 1991, approved the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) in 1996, and appointed the Kerala State Coastal Zone Management Authority (KCZMA) for implementing it in 1998. After two decades of its coming into being, the government says there are 26,000 buildings constructed in violation of the CRZ Rules in[Read More...]

A Tale of Two Fires

Two fires were on the headlines not long ago, though they were taking place at countries one-third of the world circumference apart (about 14,000kms) – Brazil and Australia. And one architect of those, who was given the Title of “Captain Chain-Saw” as the destroyer of the Amazon rainforest by the big media houses like Telegraph (of the UK) or Bloomberg[Read More...]

Adivasis and Indigenous People in India Condemn the Decision of Adani and Australian Governments on Mining and Displacement

We the following Adivasi organisations in India unanimously condemn the decision of the Queensland government to extinguish title of over 1385 hectares in Wangan and Jalingou country in Australia for the proposed Adani coal mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin. We are shocked to understand that such a decision affecting the indigenous people of Australia was made without even any public[Read More...]

Challenging the Flawed Premise Behind Pushing GMOs into Indian Agriculture

A common claim is that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are essential to agriculture if we are to feed an ever-growing global population. Supporters of genetically engineered (GE) crops argue that by increasing productivity and yields, this technology will also help boost farmers’ incomes and lift many out of poverty. Although in this article it will be argued that the performance[Read More...]

Gone Fishing? No Fish but Plenty of Pesticides and a Public Health Crisis

There is mounting evidence that a healthy soil microbiome protects plants from pests and diseases. One of the greatest natural assets that humankind has is soil. But when you drench it with proprietary synthetic chemicals or continuously monocrop as part of a corporate-controlled industrial farming system, you can kill essential microbes, upset soil balance and end up feeding soil a limited doughnut diet of unhealthy[Read More...]

Air pollution could kill 160,000 people in the next decade through strokes and heart attacks

Air pollution is a big killer. Air pollution has also been linked to an increased risk in depression and suicide. More than 160,000 people could die in the next decade from strokes and heart attacks caused by air pollution, a charity has warned. The British Heart Foundation (BHF) said there is an estimated 11,000 such deaths per year at the[Read More...]

Maradu Flat Demolition Fraught With Danger

DEMOLITION OF BUILDINGS VIOLATING COASTAL REGULATION ZONE (CRZ) NOTIFICATIONS IN KERALA, INDIA, 2020 Executive Summary The Kerala State is the biggest violator of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, which regulates construction activities in the sensitive coasts of the sea and the backwaters in India.  According one report, there are 1800 buildings, including star hotels, luxury apartment blocks, shopping malls[Read More...]

National Clean Air Programme requires teeth and grit to make a difference

Reports cite that India’s carbon emissions are growing at a faster rate than the United States of America or China. The World Air Quality Report 2018 prepared by Greenpeace revealed that of the 20 most polluted cities in the world, 18 are in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. In January 2019, the Government of India launched National Clean Air Programme (NCAP),[Read More...]