Environmental Issues

In a five-year study, scientists of the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bengaluru have discovered secrets of a long evolutionary game through which butterflies come to warn, fool, and escape their predators using traits such as wing colour patterns and even flight behaviour. The study conducted by Ph.D. …

A lone Great White Pelican was spotted for a few fleeting moments at the Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary, located at the end of the Pulicat lake in Andhra Pradesh, on December 29. The sighting was documented by K.V.R.K. Thirunaranan, founder of The Nature Trust, and K. Hussainaiah, bird watcher and guide …

The State government has given administrative sanction for ₹52.83 crore towards the modernisation of the Tamil Nadu Forest Force for 2022-25. In the revised Budget Estimates (2021-22), the government had announced that special attention will be given to the forest force by providing it with modern equipment and technology, including …

The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday launched an initiative for the conservation of the Nilgiri Tahr, the State animal, at a cost of ₹25.14 crore. Under The Nilgiri Tahr project, the government plans to develop a better understanding of the Nilgiri Tahr population through surveys and radio telemetry studies; reintroduce …

The Union Cabinet’s decision to provide free grain to all beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) for one year may help Tamil Nadu save ₹1,650 crore in food subsidy. This figure is premised on the Centre retaining the existing grain allotment (essentially, rice in the context of Tamil …

The bar-headed goose, considered one the world’s highest flying birds, recently visited the Muttukadu backwaters. Nearly seven bar-headed geese made a temporary halt at Muttukadu on December 15, said K.V.R.K. Thirunaranan, founder, The Nature Trust. Bar-headed geese, native to Central Asia, are capable of flying through the passes of the …

The Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) not only provides a crucial habitat for a variety of endangered species of birds and mammals, but is also home to 175 species of butterflies, a survey conducted for the first time in the area has revealed. According to C. Vidhya, Deputy Director of MTR …

The number of polluted stretches in India’s rivers has fallen from 351 in 2018 to 311 in 2022, though the number of most polluted stretches is practically unchanged, according to a report from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in November but made public this week. The CPCB network monitors …

A small randomised, control trial with intermittent calorie-restricted diet carried out in people with type-2 diabetes was able to achieve remission in nearly 50% of the participants in the intervention group at the end of three months of follow-up after the trial. The trial lasted for three months. Even at …

Scientists working on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef have successfully trialled a new method for freezing and storing coral larvae they say could eventually help rewild reefs threatened by climate change. Scientists are scrambling to protect coral reefs as rising ocean temperatures destabilise delicate ecosystems. The Great Barrier Reef has suffered …

A unique 225-km yatra taken out through remote villages and hamlets in western Rajasthan, which culminated at the Jaisalmer district headquarters earlier this week, has put forth the demand of protection of orans or sacred groves, which face the threat of destruction with their land being allotted for renewable energy infrastructure and …

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the United Nations agreement to conserve and sustainably use earth’s biodiversity, got a boost at a conference held in Montreal recently, when 188 of 196 member governments agreed on a new framework to halt the sharp and steady loss of biological species. These governments, …

The Forest Department has accused the Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (IISWC) in Udhagamandalam of illegally allowing the felling of 370 trees on forest land. According to officials, a contractor had worked for around two weeks in September and removed eucalyptus, wattle and acacia trees, estimated to cost …

The Climate Change Performance Index 2023 report was released recently and India secured 8th position in the index which is 2 positions up from the last edition. Since no country was strong enough in all index categories to achieve an overall very high rating, thus the top three places i.e 1-3 …

The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was passed in Parliament on December 12, despite the Opposition’s demands to send it for scrutiny to a parliamentary committee. The Bill empowers the government to establish carbon markets in India and specify a carbon credit trading scheme.  What are carbon markets? Article six …

A month after the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) in Egypt, diplomatic retinue went into a contentious huddle again to save the planet — in Montreal, Canada, this time, and as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). While both these conferences …

After four years of fractious talks, nearly 200 countries, including India, approved a historic Paris-style deal on Monday to protect and reverse dangerous loss to global biodiversity, following an intense final session of negotiations at the UN COP-15 summit here in Canada. Amid applause, Chinese Environment Minister Huang Runqiu, the …

Waste management is now a hot topic and Chennai has a range of private companies that offer unique solutions for different categories. Launched in Chennai in August 2020 with 100 households, Bintix now caters to 2,000+ households and collects 8,500 kg every month, a number that is steadily rising. Bintix …

India has six large airsheds, some of them shared with Pakistan, between which air pollutants move. While existing measures by the government can reduce particulate matter, significant reduction is possible only if the territories spanning the airsheds implement coordinated policies, says a report by the World Bank made public on …

With air quality over the past few days being the worst so far this season, AIIMS director Randeep Guleria said that “Delhi’s air pollution level is now affecting even healthy individuals and is a cause for concern”. He said that while the worst-hit are children, the elderly, and those with …