REGULATION
Lights, camera, destruction!
A filming crew's damage to the Kambalakonda wildlife sanctuary is brought before the courts. But how did it get this far in the first place?
Environment regulation | Andhra Pradesh
April 2011

WILDLIFE PROTECTION
Inviolate space for conservation is not negotiable
Man-animal conflict in India is taking a heavy toll on habitat and thereby the survival of wildlife. Malini Shankar writes that there is no option but to relocate forest-dwellers out of protected areas.
February 2011

CONFLICT IN THE WILD
Was this tigress a man-eater or threatened?
A tigress recently attacked and killed a man inside the Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Karnataka. Malini Shankar digs deeper to find answers for the inevitable question.
Karnataka
June 2010

KAZIRANGA PARK
Linking conservation to livelihoods
A livelihoods programme for villages on the fringes of Kaziranga National Park makes big gains in the fight against poaching, and also recognises the importance of locals as stakeholders in wildlife conservation.
Assam
June 2010

OPINION
India's tiger reserves are maternity wards
The tiger is the sentinel of the ecological destiny of the whole Indian subcontinent. Tiger conservation is no longer merely a choice.
Guest column
December 2009

TIGER CONSERVATION
Indian forests can support 20,000 tigers: experts
If all of India's tiger terrain was protected very well, including from cattle grazing conflicts from forest dwellers, it could potentially support 20,000 tigers, say some experts.
September 2009

WILDLIFE CRIME
Lion poacher nabbed, awaits trial
Mintar Singh, leader of a gang of lion poachers, was finally nabbed last month in MP. 36 of his accomplices were convicted two years ago.
Law enforcement | Gujarat
June 2009

WILDLIFE TRADE
By the skin of their teeth
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species governs living animals and plants, and also the tusks and skins of dead animals. India has two such items.
June 2009

WILDLIFE HABITAT
Coal mining threatens tigers in Maharashtra
Proposals for mining in the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve are awaiting clearance from New Delhi. Conservationists have warned against proceeding, while the state's politicians are for the project.
Maharashtra
March 2009

GANGETIC DOLPHIN
River dolphin numbers rise
Recent conservation efforts, linked to the development of alternate livelihood options for local communities along the Brahmaputra, have led to new hope for Assam's state aquatic animal.
Assam
March 2009

TIGER CHRONICLES
Revisiting the arrest of Sansar Chand
The locking up of the notorious poacher and wildlife trader Sansar Chand was proof that India's police officers could make a difference. But stopping wildlife trade needs more.
Law enforcement
February 2009

COMMUNITIES AND POACHING
Leopards face sustained threat
The recent clubbing to death of a leopard was a reminder of the creature's vulnerability and the frailty of its habitat. According to one estimate, India has lost at least 3189 leopards during 1994-2008.
Rajasthan
January 2009

COMMUNITIES AND POACHING
A notorious coexistence gone wrong
The tribal is invariably the crucial link in the poacher's grisly chain in Indian forests. Malini Shankar connects the dots.
Adivasis
December 2008

PROTECTING WILDLIFE
Winning the battle against poaching
India's forest staff operate in appalling conditions: open-toed footwear, lack of facilities like torches, jeeps and wireless sets. How is the fight against poaching to be won?
Forests
November 2008

HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT
Tiger terror in Chandrapur
The forest regions in Brahmapuri and Chandrapur regions in Maharashtra are the scene of a spurt in tiger attacks for the last two years.
Maharashtra
August 2008

REVERSING THE DAMAGE
Relocation of tigers to Sariska proceeds, amidst caution
Two tigers have been relocated from Ranthambore to Sariska tiger reserve, but wildlife conservationists are not about to rejoice too soon.
Rajasthan
August 2008

PROTECTING BIG CATS
How not to protect the Gir lions
Mindless disruption of human settlements, and the corresponding restrictions on the rights of people living within forests destroys the very wildlife for which it is being done.
Gujarat
April 2008

AUDIT REPORT
Arunachal wildlife protection: fence eats crop
A grim picture emerges out of a performance audit of the Arunachal Pradesh government's work on 12 protected areas.
Forests
April 2007

PROJECT TIGER
Conservation in core zones
Rajasthan's plans to relocate villagers from Sariska's core zone will have a profound impact on all other tiger reserves.
Rajasthan
December 2006

RACE TO EXTINCTION
Vanishing vultures: is there hope?
With the sub-continent losing 95% of its vulture population in just 15 years, scientists and conservationists have been scrambling to understand why.
Public health
April 2006

JERDON'S COURSER
Illegal construction threatens Courser
The Jerdon's Courser is the latest endangered species to be caught in the path of unregulated development. Environmental activists have taken the matter to court.
Andhra Pradesh
March 2006

PROTECTING THE SARUS CRANE
State bird in a perilous state
Although designated as the offical bird of Uttar Pradesh, the Sarus crane finds itself under threat. Despite a protective High Court order, the economic plans of the government threaten to disrupt the birds' habitat. Wildlife conservationists take their case to the Supreme Court. Kanchi Kohli reports.
Uttar Pradesh
January 2006

CONSERVATION VS. TRIBAL RIGHTS
Ecology for the people
The ongoing vigorous debate between wildlife enthusiasts and tribal rights activists must be steered by a vital lesson from past conservation failures - that India's unparalleled riches of biodiversity can only be protected by working with, rather than against, the rural and tribal communities who live closest to them, writes Ramachandra Guha.
Ramachandra Guha | Forests | Adivasis
November 2005

PROTECTING THE TIBETAN ANTELOPE
Chiru: A protected species in decline
Despite the highest legal protections, the population of the chiru continues to decline, raising doubts over enforcement standards for the protection of endangered species. Kanchi Kohli looks ahead to the hearing in the Supreme Court, and hopes the court will affirm the basic premises behind conservation efforts.
November 2005