Last year, the Ministry of Environment and Forests attempted to dilute the hazardous waste management regulations. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court intervened and the tacky attempt appears to have stalled. Gopal Krishna digs deeper.

The European Union is determined that even as it makes plans to reduce its own carbon emissions, it must act to curb the polluting actions of other countries too. Developing countries, however, see this as an indirect trade restriction, devoid of justice. Darryl D'Monte reports.

A new book by authors based at the Thiruvananthapuram-based Centre for Development Studies (CDS) attempts to make the case that the rain-gods, farmers and public institutions were the culprits for Plachimada's water scarcity, and not the beverage major Coca Cola. P N Venugopal analyses the findings.

Biological matter drawn from animals and plants in India could be transforming into biofuels in the labs of foreign corporations. Kanchi Kohli reads between the lines.

The climate system is a global, inter-locking one, and its many facets cannot be considered in isolation. However, this is precisely what the National Action Plan on Climate Change has done, writes Sudhirendar Sharma.

Kerala’s Left-dominated 141-member legislative assembly adopted a resolution on 11 July urging New Delhi to withdraw the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification of 2006. The resolution says the notification is “against the interest of Kerala State, nature, environment and people.” M Suchitra reports.

Twenty-one families were relocated from the core area of Sariska Tiger Reserve to a newly built township last year. The signs are that this has gone off well both for the people and the forests, reports Malini Shankar.

As Indian companies look to resources in other countries, some of the issues that have become familiar at home are surfacing elsewhere too. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

The Delhi High Court has fined an environment regulator, and ordered the Ministry of Environment and Forests to act within weeks on directives that it has ignored for over three years. Kanchi Kohli reports.

From its promising beginning and grand proclamations at international fora, the nation's Biodiversity Plan has undergone a massive erosion, as MoEF has consistently put economic values above environmental ones. Kanchi Kohli reports.

Many of the institutions or departments who have sent in applications for IPR consideration to the NBA are also represented on the committee which evaluates the applications, reports Kanchi Kohli.

The NGT Bill, 2009 includes a number of flawed passages, which would need to be corrected before it is deemed fit for passage from Parliament, writes Gopal Krishna.

The Mundra multi-product SEZ project has been be exempted from holding a public hearing, according to the MoEF. But the official response to an RTI filing contends otherwise. Kanchi Kohli reports.

Kerala's biodiversity board has asked Chief Minister V S Achutanandan to reject single window clearance for the 'High Tech City' project at the exhilarating Valanthakad island in the backwaters outside Kochi. P N Venugopal reports.

Are glaciers in the Himalayas retreating? India depends greatly on these water sources, and we should therefore be more cautious in assessing this risk, writes Darryl D'Monte.

The spirit of a public hearing must be respected, says a recent verdict from the Delhi High Court, refusing to accept the literal interpretations of the rules which the environment appellate authority used. Kanchi Kohli reports.

It is plain for all to see that untreated mining waste is being discharged into the river around Khamaria, but it is equally plain that the government is doing nothing about it. Kanchi Kohli reports.

The contrast between the stand taken by India at Copenhagen and at the earlier UN Earth summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 couldn't have been starker, writes Darryl D'Monte.

Notwithstanding the IPCC's error about glacier melting, there is consensus among scientists that the earth is warming. Those who deny it should offer proof, to the same standard that they demand of others, writes Darryl D'Monte.

Want to build a power plant in an ecologically sensitive area? No problem. Just ask the ministry. Its permissions have become routine, and processes are merely paperwork to facilitate the outcome. Kanchi Kohli reports.

One of the great biodiversity hotspots of the country comes under threat from a proposed power plant, and environment regulators can't seem to make up their mind whether the area should be protected or not. Kanchi Kohli reports.

Many of the conditions under which the Narmada dams were erected remain unfulfilled, but this does not deter the government from pushing for further construction. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

Gold mining wreaks havoc on the environment and humans alike, but some precautionary measures and fair practices can help minimize the damage. Mahazareen Dastur concludes this two-part series.

Can Jairam Ramesh, who was the Minister of State for Power during his last tenure, suffer a change of heart suddenly and come down heavily on non-compliance by those power projects he once presided over? Himanshu Upadhyaya has more.

The Chair of the EAC should necessarily have an overarching environmental perspective, as s/he is supposed to ensure the environmental sustainability of projects that come to the committee. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

Eco-pioneer Mohammed Dilawar’s nest boxes, specially designed to bring back sparrows and other birds into urban areas, are a hit among bird-lovers in many Indian metros and of course, the target group – the birds – themselves, writes Savita Hiremath.

The IPCC's working must be streamlined, but to call for Dr Rajendra Pachauri's removal as its head is plainly a vicious personal attack at best, writes Darryl D'Monte.

It is one thing to decide in a court of law that the floodplain of the Yamuna does not extend to the site of the Commonwealth Games village. It is quite another thing to keep the river out. Kanchi Kohli reports.

The transformation from consumerism to sustainability depends critically on how we change our culture, scientists and philosophers at an annual forum meeting in Italy agreed. Darryl D'Monte reports.

With the formation of the Green Tribunal, its predecessor, the NEAA has ceased to exist. But the NGT is not fully ready to hear cases, and this has put the regulatory environment off-course. Kanchi Kohli reports.

The denouement at Cancun wasn't all that different from Copenhagen. India agreed to take on binding emission cuts, while industrial countries did no more than make sympathetic noises. Darryl D'Monte reports.

The National Environment Appellate Authority finds everything that ECPEL did in the Naupada swamp is ecologically harmful, but the project must go ahead anyway. Kanchi Kohli reports.

What happens if you decide to expand your industrial project without getting fresh environment clearances? In Jindal Steel's case, it appears, you get to go on scot free. Kanchi Kohli reports.

The new coastal zone regulation reads as a compendium of the myriad exceptions to the few rules - a move away from managing the coastal natural resources based on principles to one based on discretion. Kannan Kasturi reports.

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.

The OPG group's plans to build a massive thermal power plant on the ecologically sensitive coast have been dealt a setback by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. But a final decision is still to be made. Kanchi Kohli reports.

The government ignored many chances to protect people's lvelihoods in an ecologically sensitive area. But a hail of police firing on protestors forces a rethink. Kanchi Kohli reports.

The replacement of CFCs by more benign HCFCs and HFCs has removed the risks linked to ozone depletion, but these gases continue to contribute to global warming. Darryl D'Monte reports.

The people of Mundra coast face a constant struggle to protect their commons, rights and the very socio ecological character of the region from the massive land use changes around them. Kanchi Kohli reports.

Construction of a project that requires environmental, coastal zone and forest permissions cannot begin until all of these are secured. Or can it? Kanchi Kohli reports.

The first set of hearings winds its way through the newly established environment tribunal, against the backdrop of a government push to speed up industrialisation in forest areas. Kanchi Kohli reports.

Despite the number of times a court, tribunal or the Ministry has acted to stop construction of OPG's power plant in Bhadreswar, the project goes on uninterrupted. Kanchi Kohli reports.

A new study stirs up an old debate - whether the melting of the Himalayan glaciers is only evident at lower reaches, and the higher altitudes are in fact adding snow. Darryl D'Monte reports.

The National Green Tribunal's judgement in the POSCO case has implications for many other industrial development projects in the country. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

The UNDP is correct to observe that despite the different histories of developed and developing countries, we cannot ignore the fact that it is still one planet. Darryl D'Monte reports.

The sometimes nebulous connection between green and saffron, or Hindu chauvinism is the topic of a new book, with a major part covering Anna Hazare's work in Ralegan Siddhi. Darryl D'Monte connects the dots.

Were mobile towers primarily responsible for the dwindling number of house sparrows across India? Deepa Mohan studies the findings of a recent survey to explore the more likely reasons behind this wane of the species.

The BRAI Bill 2013 purports to uphold the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety but completely overlooks a critical sub-protocol that provides for liability and redress in case of damage to biodiversity. Shalini Bhutani explains why that defeats the very purpose of the Bill.

An expert committee set up by the MoEF to study the impact of hydropower projects in the Alaknanda-Bhagirathi basin raises hope, but can it break the mould of the past to bring about the measures so critically needed? Shripad Dharmadhikary explores.

A group of committed individuals in Alappuzha, Kerala are battling odds to revive cultivation of the unique Pokkali variety of paddy that had given way to the more lucrative business of shrimp farming. P N Venugopal reports.