COP24: What the outcomes were and whether they are sufficient

Last week, a much anticipated climate change conference concluded in Katowice, Poland. The conference is critical because 3 years after signing the Paris Agreement, there is finally a working program to operationalize the Agreement. Many people have been talking about the rigor (or the lack of it) of this rule-book, and what went down in […]

Graded Response Action Plan: How Delhi plans to combat severe air pollution

For the last three years, the months of October and November see extensive coverage of how bad the air in Delhi is. Winters in the capital are a time of excruciating discomfort and irritation in various forms; delayed flights, extreme traffic, low visibility, inability to breathe and irritation in all kinds of body parts. I’ve […]

India’s Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981

In light of recent alarming trends in air quality of India, I felt that it is a good idea to revisit one of the most important environmental legislation to have come into effect in India, and to see what the government had in mind when it came out with this Act. The Air (Prevention and […]

From Europe: Bee harming insecticide now banned!

In a widely popular decision among environmental groups and scientists, the EU voted last week to ban all outdoor use of one of the world’s most popular insecticide-“neonics” or neonicotinoids. These compounds have been suspected to have a very negative impact on the health of the honeybees and wild bees around the world, especially in […]

Politics threatening the Amazon rainforest of Brazil

The Amazon rainforest is one of the first major natural landmarks ever introduced to a child. The sheer vastness of it, the fact that it is considered the “lungs of the world” and produces close to 30% of the total oxygen production of the world is something no child forgets easily. The rainforest, though, is […]

Flex boards and the problem of “poison plastic”

You only need to step into any major market in the country to find yourself staring at huge, relentless suggestions and titles and images of all the shops vying for your attention. While the psychological impacts of banners and advertising are significant, that’s not what I’m covering today. It’s the very medium/material that is used […]

LULC: Land Use, Land Cover studies and it’s growing importance

Almost every accessible piece of land today is being utilized for some or the other purpose directly affecting human needs. Not only is the land being used intensively, but is also evolving and changing with time. What was agricultural land 10 years ago, is most likely to be urban land today. What was forest land […]

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 […]

Biological Diversity Act, 2002

India’s humongous and lavish spread of ecosystems such as forests, grasslands, wetlands, deserts, coastal and marine has been a subject of global admiration. India boasts of being one of the seventeen (17) most-biodiversity rich countries (technically known as the “mega diverse countries) in the world. So, how does this make India better than other countries? […] […]