As the commons come under increasing assault, academics, practitioners and policymakers come together to devise ways to protect shared resources On a cold January night in Hyderabad, a fortnight ago, Jairam Ramesh, Minister for Environment and Forests, was led to an open-air dinner by folk drummers and body-painted tiger dancers as an appreciative audience of international academics and grassroots workers cheered and milled around him. Ramesh had become the toast of...

The face of agriculture in India is changing fast. It needs to become not only sustainable but also profitable for farmers especially the young to stay on the land and cultivate it. The farmers must understand how markets respond to agricultural produce. He should not stop by spending all his life's energy and resources on creating the agricultural produce, but should know how to get good returns for his efforts. This is...

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has done what his counterparts in other states failed to do. He convinced the Centre that its policy on disbursement of funds for implementing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) was flawed and needed correction. At a meeting with Plan Panel deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Kumar pointed out the anomaly, which the government acknowledged and was quick to react. This resulted in...

Next time you help yourself to some sea food, you could be helping save the planet. Agricultural experts believe that in the wake of rising sea level and shrinking cultivable land in the country due to climate change, sea could be the key to ensuring food security. "The rising sea has eaten away lands, especially farmlands. In fact, large tracts of farmlands in the coastal belt of the state, especially...

No major investment in dam projects before land acquisition, relief and rehabilitation sorted out Project should be cleared only after distribution network is provided For years, it has been felt that engineers of the Irrigation and Water Resources Departments are far removed from human considerations while planning and executing a project. This is why concerns at displacement and rehabilitation of project-affected people and farmers for whom the water is meant are not...