The world’s food security could be threatened by the failure to conserve the wild plant species that are genetically related to the crops grown by mankind for food, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a new report released today. In the 350-page report, FAO warns that the loss of biodiversity will have a major impact on the ability of humankind to feed itself in the future, with...

Women have rarely held posts of political authority in Kerala. There are, though, processes at play that could alter some things, a sense that big changes are under way. They will account for over 50 per cent of all 21, 682 wards in the 1,209 local bodies going to the polls. A single issue dogs all candidates in the local polls in Guruvayoor municipality of Kerala's Thrissur district. Any of the...

Comprehensive review of resettlement sites vital: Medha Patkar Calling for a review of resettlement sites for the people affected by the Sardar Sarovar dam and of the irrigation project itself, Medha Patkar, leader of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) said, there were as many as 40,000 families still in the submergence area, waiting to be resettled. “Initially, the [Narmada Water Disputes] Tribunal, which gave the award, estimated the number of families affected...

The struggle had asserted the right of the people to their land, water and forests “In the Narmada valley/The fight is still on” – thus sang the people of Bhadal in Madhya Pradesh, where Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar was heading a prayer meeting as part of the activities marking the completion of 25 years of the people's movement. Rallies, meetings, folk songs and dances formed part of the struggle...

Delhi farmers on Sunday demanded that there should be a provision for a judicial review of cases in which government acquired land for public purposes but later sold them at the market price to private firms. Representatives from different villages of rural Delhi made this demand at a mahapanchayat held in Mahipalpur, one of the capital's oldest villages. The farmers had gathered to protest against the "archaic" Land Acquisition and...