Great Indian Bustard: The bird that “almost” became our national bird

When India was a newly formed country, just free from the clutches of the British Raj, decisions had to be made about what animals would be the symbol of our country. The Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) was a strong contender for being claimed as the National Bird of India. But, considering a possible national embarrassment […]

India’s Wildlife Protection Act, 1972- An overview

Soon after the Stockholm convention on Environment, the Indian government responded positively by passing an act for the protection of India’s wildlife (both terrestrial and aquatic) and their habitats. Ever visited a Wildlife Sanctuary or a National Park? Taken a safari to enjoy the animals in the wild? Well, all that was possible only after […]

The ground reality of conservation in India: An interview with Dr. George Schaller

Conservation for the sake of conservation is a romantic notion. But in reality, it’s far from it. Conservation today requires the cooperation of many stakeholders, including the locals, different levels of government, corporations and even the potential economic benefit of the area in question. Unfortunately, the last factor seems to be held in highest regard in […]

Mitigation Hierarchy: Levels of mitigation in Environmental Impact Assessment

Mitigation is vital to the process of EIA, because it ensures that the adverse environmental impacts of a developmental project are minimized or completely avoided. Mitigation comes with a variety of levels, and this is commonly called as “mitigation hierarchy” in EIA literature. In this post, I’ll be talking in detail about this hierarchy, and […]

Genes matter: The story of genetics and its role in conservation

Do you know why you look the way you look? People must have said you resemble someone in your family. You could have your dad’s jaw, your mom’s eyes and your grandma’s nose. However, you are never their replica. You have your own characteristics, your own features and quirks that make you uniquely you. All […]

World Conservation Strategy: What is it and why is it important?

Now that we have established why conservation is as important as restoration (if you haven’t read that, read Conservation vs Restoration: The key differences), let’s delve deeper into the steps the world has taken towards conservation of biodiversity. After recognizing that the world’s biodiversity is under threat, the countries of the world under the banner of […]

Conservation vs Restoration: The key differences

When we talk about remediation of impacts of human activities, it will always have two aspects: recovering what is lost and preventing what is left from permanent loss. Recovering what is lost comes under the banner of restoration ecology. Prevention of loss, on the other hand, is the work of a field called conservation biology. […]

Rangeland restoration: Combating heavy overgrazing

Rangelands are grasslands heavily used for the purpose of meeting animal farm requirements. Therefore, it is not surprising that it is these lands that are heavily affected by overgrazing. I’ve written extensively about the role overgrazing plays in land degradation. Let’s now look at what we can do to bring these heavily degraded rangelands back […]

Why should we conserve and restore the natural world?

This entire blog seeks to answer this question. In this post, I would like to distill this down to 3 key reasons as to why we have to, yes have to, conserve and restore nature and all it’s ecosystems.

Effective communication can be as important as conservation and restoration efforts

At the moment, I’m at a Toastmasters International semi-annual conference. This is an organization that strives to help people all over the world improve their communication and leadership skills. I’m a member, a passionate one, and I believe that the skills of communication and leadership are vitare in any given field; particularly in the field […]