-The Indian Express Hardline conservationists fail to see possibilities of people-wildlife coexistence The COVID-19 pandemic has driven migrant workers back to their villages, including many situated inside or on the fringes of forested areas, including sanctuaries and national parks. Even as they seek to remake livelihoods there, a new battle has emerged between the forest department (FD) and these local communities. It pertains to the declaration of a Critical Wildlife Habitat (CWH),...

-The Hindu The projects, including mining and a highway, were brought up during virtual conferences; but site inspections are ‘a crucial component’ of project evaluation, say scientists Dibang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh has a decidedly other-worldly feel. “Yeh kaunsi duniya hai,” my colleague exclaimed as we climbed the towering mountains — home to the endemic goat-antelope Mishmi takin, the ‘bright-eyed’ butterfly Callerebia dibangensis, and the Mishmi wren-babbler. I had read about the...

-Down to Earth Current industrial agriculture models drive habitat loss, create conditions for viruses to emerge and spread The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has exposed a crisis in the global food system, the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) — a panel of developmental economists, agronomists, nutritionists and sociologists from 18 countries — said in April 2020. The vulnerability of food systems to climate and disease-related disruptions was clear long...

-The Times of India DEHRADUN: An internal study of the Wildlife Institute of India reveals climate change will adversely affect around 150 native fish species of the Himalayan states, including Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh. Common snow trout, found in the Himalayas and much sought after as food, alone is likely to lose around 21% of its existing space of 16,251 square km. Scientists say “continuous stalking of...

-The Hindu Cutting down the Forests Right Act will only weaken the conservation regime and affect the rights of forest dwellers I have had the good fortune to work in, visit and learn about protected areas and Wildlife Habitats across India since 1980. Beginning in the late 1980s, I have written and spoken about the ecology and conservation of Indian wildlife to numerous and varied audiences. One question that is invariably asked...