Science & Environment

Imphal Free Press analyses the multiple costs that the Loktak hydroelectric project in Manipur has extracted from the state. It reiterates the futility of hydel projects when more alternatives like solar are increasingly becoming more viable and sustainable.

DTE reported on the efforts of Indian researchers who were able to come up with a biopesticide to treat banana plants for a fungal disease called Panama disease, which has ravaged banana plantations across the world. After DTE's reportage, the Philippines government signed an agreement with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to use the biopesticide in their country.

Amid the pandemic, even as forest staff are diverted to COVID-19 duties, smugglers and timber mafia seem to have a field day in Kashmir's forests. Kashmir Observer brings you the story from the ground on the plunder of the Union Territory’s trees and forests, Kashmir’s ‘green gold’, even as there are allegations of collusion of the people from the Forest Department. The story highlights the collateral cost of the pandemic on the environment, especially in an ecologically fragile ecosystem as Kashmir.

The Covid-19 induced lockdowns may have had temporary benefits for the environment due to reduced human activity. The Bastion analyses emissions following past recessions to show that these benefits are likely to be short-lived while cash-strapped governments put climate change on the backburner. The analysis helps readers understand the impact of once-in-a-lifetime events like Covid-19 and the ramifications they are likely to have on climate change.

IndiaSpend reports on how people living in low-lying areas of states like West Bengal are migrating to urban centres like Bangalore in response to rising sea levels. IndiaSpend's story from December 2018 helped highlight how Indians are already being displaced from their homes as a result of climate change. The reporter, Disha Shetty, won the Press Institute of India and International Red Cross award for her series on climate change in October 2019.