Conservation of Ecological Heritage and Sacred Sites of India

by  Anusha Krishnan Synthetic textiles, non-woven bags, polyester fibres in soft toys, cigarette butts, chewing gum, tea bags and even religious offerings are some of the unexpected places where some form of plastic shows up. Lack of understanding of waste segregation practices and recycling processes prevail even as consumers express concern about plastic pollution. Corporate social responsibility is one way of tackling the pollution that poor disposal of plastic waste causes. Companies packaging their products in plastics must also move towards alternative options or take up responsibility for tackling the pollution that their continued use of plastic packaging produces. Plastics are the Anthropocene era’s ultimate convenience. The more mundane uses of plastics in our lives range from kitchenware, storage containers, and packaging materials to toys and small tools that make everyday chores a little easier. But plastic is so pervasive that there are many unexpected places where it...

  by  Rashi Goel   The Marwar region in western Rajasthan has been prone to desertification, groundwater salinity and soil nutrient loss. A project on a plot of land near Jodhpur is experimenting with the Japanese Miyawaki planting technique to revive native trees. Not all forests need to look lush and green. A desert ecosystem is dry, comprising of trees with brown leaves that they shed, thorny bushes and tall grasses. To choose the right species for the desert habitat, the researchers consulted the local community, studied the Orans or sacred groves of Rajasthan, read local literature and analysed the ancient paintings from the old forts in the area. Jungle tree expert, Gaurav Gurjar grew up in Jodhpur. Little did he know that when he left home for further studies and work, he would return home over a decade later to rewild parts of the country. As a forest expert with Afforest, he helps organisations and individuals grow native forests around factories, in their backya...

CPREECENVIS - RESOURCE PARTNER, Designed and developed a poster on World Wetlands day 2020.

  by  Mohan Chandra Pargaien   a Senior IFS Officer in Telangana. In the UN decade on Ecosystem Restoration, afforestation that does not consider local factors and faulty planting in landscapes like savannahs which causes loss to local biodiversity, are being replaced with better forest restoration techniques. Identification and availability of area, lack of research with suitable strategies, conflict of interest among stakeholders, poverty and financing are some of the challenges in forest restoration for India, but there also exist opportunities to meet many global targets. Forest-dependent communities, as the most important and influential stakeholders, must be included in decision-making. Their concerns must be addressed, and incentives must be offered. The views in this commentary are that of the author. Forest restoration is the act of bringing back a forest or landscape which has been degraded or damaged by anthropogenic exploitation or natural factors, to its orig...