Large dams that cause environmental degradation and large-scale displacement, among other things, have been opposed in India by civil society organisations (CSOs), such as Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), National Alliance of People's Movement (NAPM) and People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). A recently published study by the United Nations University's Canada-based Institute for Water, Environment and Health along with other partner organisations reveals that tens of thousands of existing large...

-CaravanMagazine.in For over a month, lakhs of farmers from Punjab and Haryana have been camped on Delhi’s borders in one of the largest agrarian protests in India’s history, while talks with the government on withdrawing three farm laws that deregulate the sector persist. At the other end of the country, over the past six years, the agrarian system in Telangana has seen major systemic shifts, after the formation of the state...

-The Hindu MoEF issues fresh guidelines to accelerate environmental appraisal of projects The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) wants to expedite the environment appraisal of industrial projects. These appraisals, as per norms, are conducted by independent panels of experts that have representatives from the government as well as from outside, trained in matters of ecology, wildlife and habitat preservation. The Expert Appraisal Committees (EACs) opine on whether a proposed project beyond a...

A report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), which was released on July 6th (observed as World Zoonoses Day by research institutions and non-governmental organisations across the globe) this year, says that around 60 percent of known infectious diseases in humans are estimated to have an animal origin. Likewise, almost three-fourth of all new and emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic i.e. these diseases...

-Down to Earth The EAC recommended that the coal mine be expanded to 1.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) from 1 MTPA through opencast method A central expert appraisal committee (EAC) has okayed the expansion of a Chhattisgarh coal mine, which is in violation of a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order. Gare Palma IV-4 can produce 1.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), up from 1 MTPA, through the open-cast method, recommended the EAC...