Environment and Energy

Background  Forest-dwelling communities share a deep relationship with nature, but more than that, they bear witness to history and provide insight into the management of forests. According to the State of Forests Report of 2019, approximately 300 million people are dependent on forests in India (PIB Delhi, 2023). The romanticisation of indigenous, forest-dwelling communities often […]

Rising global temperatures are intensifying climate hazards at an unprecedented rate. In 2025, the global annual average temperature increase reached 1.44 ± 0.09 °C (2.60 ± 0.17 °F) above the pre-industrial period, making it the third warmest year on record (Berkeley Earth, 2026). India, among the most climate vulnerable countries, experienced extreme weather events on 99 […]

Abstract  The Yamuna River, spanning 1,376 kilometres from its source at Yamunotri to its confluence with the Ganga, faces a severe pollution crisis, particularly in its 22-kilometre Delhi stretch, which accounts for 79% of the river’s total pollution despite representing only 2% of its catchment area. Despite substantial budgetary allocations totalling ₹9,178 crores under the […]

Introduction The Yamuna’s pollution is largely contributed to by untreated sewage. It has been largely reported that the Najafgarh and the Shahdara drain contribute significantly to the pollution of the river along its Delhi stretch. The Najafgarh drain, which runs across the southwest part of the city, ultimately meets the river at Wazirabad. The Najafgarh […]

Introduction Urban waste management is one of the most urgent challenges confronting India’s fast-growing metropolises, and Delhi represents the depth of this crisis. According to a recent life‑cycle assessment of Delhi’s solid waste management system, the city collects around 11,352 tonnes per day of domestic and commercial garbage, which in the absence of adequate segregation and […]

Abstract Over the past decade, efforts to rejuvenate the Yamuna river have been marked by ambitious plans, significant public expenditure, and highly visible interventions along the floodplains. This paper argues that the persistent gaps in the efforts stem from a fragmented and largely cosmetic approach. Drawing on the data from the forestry interventions and the […]

Introduction For many decades, in the quiet grasslands of western India, the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) has been disappearing. The GIB is a large bird of the bustard family, also known as one of the heaviest flying birds in the world.  The GIBs are tall omnivorous birds with long legs and distinctively long necks that […]

Introduction In 2025, India experienced extreme weather events on 99% of the days from January to September, resulting in over 4,000 deaths, with heavy rains, floods and landslides accounting for the majority of these fatalities (Down to Earth, 2025). The recent floods in Punjab have affected nearly 20 lakh people with more than 3 lakh […]

The Conference of the Parties under the United Nations Climate Change Conference met for the annual meeting in Belem between November 10 to November 22, 2025. In a time of climate uncertainty and a rapid call for urgency to recognize the urgency of climate change, the COP30 brings an opportunity for global collaboration and a […]

Introduction The history of artificial intelligence is longer than the history of most modern democracies. Yet it was introduced to the public much later in the twentieth century. In 1950, the term Artificial Intelligence (AI) was discussed by an English mathematician and computer science pioneer, Alan Turing, in his paper on computer machinery and intelligence […]