Groundwater, which irrigates half of Indian agriculture and provides 85% of rural drinking consumption, is an increasingly scarce resource. There is a growing understanding that it must be approached as a common property resource for collective benefit. It is best understood and managed by those who live near them and use them rather than agencies who visit sporadically - that is the central premise of efforts around participatory groundwater management....

-The Hindu     Unorthodox models of conservation are needed to save this elusive and magnificent big bird "Have you seen the Big Five?" That's the question you will invariably be asked if you visit the East African states. The Big Five, Africa's largest, and thus most prominent, mammals - the lion, the rhino, the leopard, the buffalo and the elephant - have dominated camp fire stories, tourist expectations and the growth of conservation. Across...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Lessons have not been learnt from past disasters, it seems. Delhi Metro, which ferries over two million passengers a day, is on a high-risk earthquake and flood zone and may Lead to a huge loss of life in case of a disaster, says a recently released UN report on disaster risk reduction. The Global Assessment Report (GAR), released by the United Nations office on disaster risk...

-The Times of India CHENNAI: It isn't a record to be proud of: For the last 10 years, Tamil Nadu has topped the National Crime Record Bureau's charts for road accidents in the country. In 2003, the state recorded a little more than 51,000 accidents, the highest in the country. Ten years later, in 2012, close to 68,000 were registered, again the largest number in the country. Close to eight accidents occur every...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: The weather office may have jumped the gun in declaring last week's torrential rainfall in northern India as monsoon showers. Private forecasters say the devastating downpour was a freak pre-monsoon phenomenon that has been followed by dry weather. The India Meteorological Department insists that monsoon rains arrived two weeks early, but private forecaster Skymet says the claim is debatable. It says northern India will get the next...