Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
Our ability to manage gene flow within traditional agroecosystems and their repercussions requires understanding the biology of crops, including farming practices' role in crop ecology. That these practices' effects on crop population genetics have not been quantified bespeaks lack of an appropriate analytical framework. We use a model that construes …
The country’s north eastern region is rich in medicinal plants, but indiscriminate and unscientific collection is forcing many of the species into the verge of extinction, according to experts. This matter was raised in a recent seminar organised by the apex funding institution of the region, the North Eastern Development …
Independent India inherited a structure of landholdings characterised by heavy concentration of cultivable areas in the hands of relatively large absentee landowners, the excessive fragmentation of small landholdings, growing number of landless agricultural workers, and the lack of any generalised system of documentary evidence of landownership or tenancy.
A mango that resembles an apple or smells like grapefruit. A mango that shrinks, but does not rot. But for the conservation initiative of a farmer in Karnataka’s Mandya district, such fruits would have been part of folklore. “These trees bear Tipu Sultan’s mangoes,” says Syed Ghani Khan of Kirgaval …
A recent article in Current Science for a unified academy of sciences in India begins with a reference to the uproar caused by the inter-academy report on genetically modified (GM) crops. While the case for a unified academy is most welcome, increased participation of scientists would be of help in …
KOLKATA: Several trees of the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Botanical Gardens, the oldest in the country, were reduced to cinders in a fire that lasted over two hours here on Saturday. While officials of the gardens claimed that not more than half-a-dozen trees, none of which was
Steven Morris Conservationists have warned that mistletoe, favourite plant both of pagans and stealers of Christmas kisses, could vanish from the U.K.'s halls and doorways within 20 years. The National Trust fears that the decline of traditional apple orchards, where mistletoe thrives, may lead to the parasitic plant disappearing
Due to frequent newspaper reports about violence in Bastar region due to conflicts between leftist extremists and state agencies, there was a palpable fear in the air. Some of the older shodhyatris were deterred by the incidents which happened only a few days before the commencement of the yatra. But …
Plant genetic resources (PGR) scientists now recognize the importance of shifting from a singular focus on conservation to a focus on both conservation and utilization of germplasm in order to meet future challenges. This paper analyzes the patterns of distribution of pearl millet, six small millets, chickpea and pigeonpea germplasm …
MOST flowering plants, equipped with both male and female sex organs, shun the path of self-fertilisation and wait for insects and birds or even a whiff of wind for pollination. This is because the rate of extinction is higher among species who opt for self-fertilisation compared to those who rely …
Biodiversity is rapidly declining, and this may negatively affect ecosystem processes, including economically important ecosystem services. Previous studies have shown that biodiversity has positive effects on organisms and processes4 across trophic levels. However, only a few studies have so far incorporated an explicit food-web perspective. In an eight-year biodiversity experiment, …
The project is being implemented in three Indian States, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh and Chhatisgarh. This brochure contains project profile of Uttarakhand. The project aims to mainstream the long-term conservation, sustainable and equitable use of medicinal plant diversity into forest management policy and practice at the national, state and local level. …
Regulating access to genetic resources and equitable sharing of commercial benefits of biodiversity are among the most contentious issues under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The tenth Conference of Parties, scheduled October 18-29 in Japan, is expected to evolve an international regime on access and benefit sharing, also called …
This first Asian Plant Conservation Report by IUCN examines recent conservation progress in Asia and offers suggestions on how to achieve plant conservation targets under the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) framework. A new report from IUCN suggests that combining conservation, using plant diversity sustainably with a focus on …
One in five of the world's 380,000 plant species is threatened with extinction and human activity is doing most of the damage, according to a global study published on Wednesday. Scientists from Britain's Botanic Gardens at Kew, London's Natural History Museum and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature …
Plants are more threatened than birds (10,027 species), as threatened as mammals (5,490 species) and less threatened than amphibians (6,285 species) One in five plant species are facing the threat of extinction, a global analysis conducted by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, with the Natural History Museum, London, and the …
Hongadahalla (Hassan dist), Sept 16, DH News Service: A study made by Energy and Wetland Research Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc) on - 'Biodiversity, Ecology and Socio-Economic aspects of Gundia River Basin in the context of proposed mega hydro electric power project' re-affirms that Gundia …
