Climate change is impacting the world. It is the poorest who suffer the most. Yet often rural Indians are leading the way in sustainable advances and trialling schemes that – if rolled out on a macro scale – can create real change in the environment.
Environment
Black cardamom loses flavour among Kalimpong farmers
Farmers who considered black cardamom a golden crop are now shifting to other crops due to losses caused by plant diseases and their own reluctance to adopt modern farming practices.
And with fury flows the Teesta
The River Teesta bears the brunt of ill-planned development with dams and tunnels in the disaster-prone area, leading to many rafting and car accidents.
Conserving endemic small mammals
A Tamil researcher’s love for little mammals – from cute hedgehogs to despised rats – has got him on a mission to get villagers, especially children, to put away their catapults and help protect these small mammals.
India’s Earth Day heroes
From the farmers who turn barren land into lush forests to those who breed new, sustainable varieties of fruits (with fewer seeds to boot!) - India’s villages are bursting with eco-warriors who are investing in our planet. Join us as we salute them on Earth Day 2022.
Using puppet power to spread messages
Thol paavai koothu, the long but fading tradition of leather puppetry in Tamil Nadu, is reinventing itself by bringing awareness about the declining number of small animals and the importance of conservation.
Tracking endangered northern river terrapins
Released and tracked - endangered northern river terrapins, bred in captivity, are closely monitored after being released into their natural mangrove habitat in the Sundarbans - thanks to India’s first-ever GPS tagging and tracking programme.
“All my effort over the years will be wasted”
The Kurichiya tribal farmer hailed as “India's living paddy gene bank,” Cheruvayal Raman, is desperate to find a home for his seed collection, so that indigenous varieties can be preserved and propagated.
Srinagar’s Lake Khushal Sar springs back to life
Thanks to a team of nature-lovers, decades of garbage is cleared from Lake Khushal Sar, spurring on more restoration of Srinagar's famous lakes and buoying the revival of lake-based livelihoods.
Azolla “water weed” becomes cattle superfood
With the cost of maintaining livestock a constant burden for most poor farmers, azolla goes from being a pesky water weed to a sustainable and cost-effective superfood for cattle.