-The Indian Express It took the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) six years, 18 drafts and a prod from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to finalise the Guidelines for Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) this August. Three months on, it is yet to notify the rules that would allow it to collect from domestic and foreign companies 0.1-1 per cent of their ex-factory gross sales of products using biological resources and traditional...

-The Indian Express Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): Infant deaths are still stalking tribal hamlets in Kerala's Attappadi region, where the community's population has been falling alarmingly due to various factors. The recurring incidents of infant deaths have cast a shadow over the survival of tribals in Attappadi. A study had found that tribals formed 90 per cent of population in Attappadi in 1951, but the same was down to 42 per cent in...

-The Times of India LONDON: Majority of the $3 billion spent by the world's leading philanthropic organization - the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on finding solutions around improved agricultural yield to benefit the world's poorest and hungry people, has been spent in the US, Britain and other rich developed nations. Grain, a research group based in Barcelona said on Tuesday that over 80% of the grants were given to organizations in...

-India Climate Dialogue A small village in Rajasthan sets an example by its model of environment governance which combines traditional and religious practices with scientific concepts to tackle problems brought on by climate change Lapodiya, a village of 200 households in Rajasthan, is a shining example of how environment governance at the grassroots level can save a village from natural disasters. Here, people have adopted innovative water conservation practices and a culture...

-Deccan Herald In accordance with a new agroecology initiative within the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, by using the agroecological methods, small farmers are key to feeding the world, Nafeez Ahmed notes. Modern industrial agricultural methods can no longer feed the world, due to the impacts of overlapping environmental and ecological crises linked to land, water and resource availability. The stark warning comes from the new United Nations Special Rapporteur on the...