The mighty Himalayas is home to many species. Besides providing ecological and economic services, the largest mountain range in the world has numerous unique ecosystems hidden within, which have rich biodiversity. The Himalayan high altitude areas located above the forests – the alpine meadows and the cold deserts […]
The concept of High Conservation Value Areas (HCVAs) is not very widely documented or known. General knowledge is never bad, so I went ahead and complied a list of questions that I think will give you a cursory knowledge of what these areas are and why they are […]
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 […]
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? […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
After establishing the need for conservation (see here), 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 United Nations came together in 1992 to formulate […]
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 […]
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 […]
