-Down to Earth Local food crops should be preferred over GM crops to address deficiencies, say experts at Bhubaneswar food sovereignty meet. A recent study has found that Gandhari saag, a leafy wild plant found in Odisha, can be a much better source of Vitamin A than golden rice, a genetically modified variety, which was being looked at as a revolutionary solution to check the vitamin deficiency. “Gandhari saag has 9 per cent...

-Down to EarthAll four districts of the northeastern state are resilient to drought, but that?s not the case with any of the districts in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, says a studyIf a drought strikes Rajasthan or Chhattisgarh, the states would witness large-scale devastation as their water and ecological systems are ill-prepared to deal with such conditions. On the other hand, Sikkim is very well-prepared to deal with drought conditions. A recent...

-The Times of India BENGALURU: Reiterating that the city is becoming an urban jungle, experts on Saturday estimated that nearly 95% of the city will be just concrete if the unchecked urbanisation was allowed to continue. Experts debated a host of issues, ranging from depleting green cover and poor solid waste management to inability of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Act in solving problems. At least 500 people representing various residents'...

-The Hindu Business Line Mangaluru: An expert from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has said agro-biodiversity conservation approach has not received the attention from the stakeholders concerned in the country. Speaking at the inauguration of the national workshop on ‘Agro-biodiversity conservation for sustainable socio-ecological development’ at Mangalore University on Monday, KG Saxena, Professor, School of Environmental Sciences, JNU, New Delhi, said agriculture has remained the focus area for many. Long-term approach Following this, agro-biodiversity conservation...

-Livemint.com Ecologist Madhav Gadgil, whose report on Western Ghats was rejected by the Kerala government, on what caused the Kerala floods and how the rebuilding process should be carried out Ernakulam (Kerala): Submitted seven years ago on 31 August 2011, ecologist Madhav Gadgil’s report on the biodiverse Western Ghats—a portion of which falls in Kerala—had warned that the combination of massive ecological destruction and extreme weather events trigger disaster. His words proved...