Forests and tribals

Sujatha Padmanabhan

One of the biggest controversies over who owns natural resources has to do with the competing rights of tribal communities to their forest homelands and the need to protect the animals within those forests. Add to this the insatiable appetite for forest wealth to fuel industrial growth, and you have an explosive situation. This article discusses the history of forest rights activism and the way in which the state has dealt with these rights.

Ecological footprints on the beach

Naveen Namboothri

Oceans play an important role in controlling the Earth’s climate by interacting with the land and the atmosphere. Global warming is affecting these interactions leading to largescale shifts in weather patterns. There is much more to know about the ocean than what we already know. What we do know is that survival and sustenance of our oceans is under risk from the influences of humans at both local and global scales. It is critical that we understand and acknowledge the severity of the problem. This article talks about our coatal and marine wealth.

Reviving water bodies

R Rajamani

There is a dire need to create awareness about conserving water bodies and not waste water. Children should set examples at home and in schools by using small quantities of water to wash, brush teeth, bathe, etc. The slogan should be to ‘save water bodies and save ourselves’.

Exploring waste management

R Rajamani

The best way to manage waste is to treat it as a resource or material that can be used or modified to suit our daily requirements and without generating more waste. Since our survival itself is threatened by waste, its management with a view to eliminate or reduce it is crucial for our welfare.

Food, farming and hunger

Sagari R Ramdas

What does it mean to be poor, and what is needed to stave off hunger? This article provides a background to the issue, allowing us to understand why hunger has become such a widespread problem in rural and urban India today.

The edible garden classroom

Sunita Rao

A food garden, at whatever scale, is a whole universe unto itself. It offers not just an open classroom resource for young and old, but a way of learning and being that far surpasses many other teaching tools that we use. It is also something that one can do all one’s life and continue to learn from.

What is biodiversity?

Geetha Iyer

Biodiversity is a broad term encompassing several diversities associated with life on earth. Many in the scientific world believe that it is nothing but an alternative term to ecology. However it serves the purpose of awakening the people’s conscience to the need for conservation. This article looks at the current scenario on biological diversity.

The calendar of nature

Suhel Quader

This article talks about Season Watch — a project that engages children completely in Nature through a constructive school- based activity.

Back to Nature

Dr. Pranav Trivedi

Children in all schools need to be provided with opportunities to interact with Nature. This article shares the experiences and learning of an attempt to reconnect children with nature. It is about nature education camps that were conducted for school children in the Ladakh region.

Envisioning the future of the city

Sujata Patel

The future of cities depends on how we can rethink the problem of sustainability of our world in terms of three themes: work, housing and sustainability for all, tolerances to differences between and within caste, ethnic, and/or religious groups and a life of dignity for all individuals irrespective of gender and age.