The High Seas Treaty, or BBNJ Agreement, creates a global framework to conserve marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. It fills UNCLOS gaps through MPAs, fair sharing of marine genetic resources, EIAs, and capacity building, but its impact depends on ratification, funding, and strong international cooperation.
Click to View MoreSeagrass meadows, vital blue carbon sinks and ecosystem engineers, are declining globally by 7% annually. In India, pollution, destructive fishing, and climate change threaten them. Successful models like Palk Bay need scaling through stronger policy, restoration technology, community stewardship, and climate recognition.
Click to View MoreThe Himalayan cryosphere, Asia’s Third Pole, is melting rapidly due to global warming, threatening water security, increasing GLOFs, and disrupting food, energy, and stability. Despite initiatives like NMSHE, gaps remain. Strong monitoring, regional cooperation, resilient infrastructure, and deep emission cuts are essential.
Click to View MoreThe article argues that global and national climate policies remain overly focused on forests while neglecting grasslands, despite their critical role as stable carbon sinks, biodiversity reservoirs, and livelihood systems for indigenous and pastoral communities. It highlights how institutional silos between climate, biodiversity, and land-degradation frameworks have marginalised grasslands, using examples from Australia, Brazil’s Cerrado, and India. The piece calls for integrating grasslands into national climate plans and NDCs, recognising community land rights, and building coordination among UN bodies to ensure effective, science-based, and socially just climate action.
Click to View MoreIndia’s participation in the 2nd Global Summit on Blue Food Security highlights its commitment to sustainable fisheries, climate-resilient aquaculture, and the Blue Economy, while strengthening global cooperation to enhance nutrition, livelihoods, and marine governance.
Click to View MoreNIRANTAR is a MoEFCC platform that integrates environmental institutions through a whole-of-government approach. Using tools like GIS and four thematic verticals, it aims to overcome silos and align development with conservation, though coordination and implementation challenges remain.
Click to View MoreIndia, the world’s largest groundwater user, faces a deepening crisis due to unchecked extraction, weak regulation, and distorted subsidies. Despite CGWA and Atal Bhujal Yojana, depletion persists. Sustainable solutions need demand-side management, stronger laws, and community-led, decentralised groundwater governance.
Click to View MoreIndia faces a massive urban waste challenge, with 165 million tonnes projected by 2030. Through Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0, it is shifting to a circular economy via source segregation, dumpsite remediation, waste-to-energy, EPR for plastics, and recycling, aiming for garbage-free cities by 2026.
Click to View MoreEcuador has made history by granting legal rights to Amazonian stingless bees, the first insects to receive such protection. This move under the "Rights of Nature" shifts conservation from a human-centric utility model to an eco-centric legal framework. These bees are vital for Amazonian biodiversity and indigenous livelihoods.
Click to View MoreThe Supreme Court has stayed its earlier judgment that accepted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills based on height and cluster criteria. It took this step after concerns that the definition could reduce protection for large parts of the Aravalli range and encourage mining and construction. The Court has paused the grant or renewal of mining leases in the region without its permission and proposed setting up a high-powered expert committee to scientifically reassess the definition. The order emphasises the precautionary principle and underscores that the Aravallis must be protected as an integrated ecological system until a final decision is reached.
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Reducing methane emissions from paddy fields can generate additional income for farmers through carbon markets. By shifting from continuously flooded rice fields to practices such as Alternate Wetting and Drying, methane emissions can be significantly lowered without affecting yields while also saving water. The verified reductions are converted into carbon credits that companies purchase to offset their own emissions, enabling farmers to earn extra revenue. This approach links climate mitigation, water conservation and livelihood enhancement, though it also requires reliable measurement systems and fair benefit-sharing to ensure small farmers benefit equitably.
Click to View MoreThe Supreme Court has issued targeted directions to safeguard the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard, whose population has sharply declined due to habitat loss and collisions with power transmission lines in Rajasthan and Gujarat. The Court expanded priority conservation areas, created dedicated power-line corridors, ordered undergrounding and rerouting of high-risk lines, and restricted new wind and large solar projects in key habitats. It also directed state-specific conservation actions such as grassland restoration, predator management, captive breeding support, the “jump-start” technique in Gujarat, and greater community participation. These combined legal, ecological, and management measures aim to prevent the species’ extinction and ensure its long-term recovery.
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