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deforestation

Land degradation a continuing crisis

In spite of assurances from the Prime Minister, India’s issue with land degradation seems to only continue to worsen. According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), land degradation affects approximately 29.7 percent of the country’s total geographical area. During the 2018-19 period, an estimated 97.85 million hectares of India’s land underwent degradation per the …

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Endangered species: Preserving wildlife a public health need

At first glance, the crises of endangered species and pandemics may seem separate. But they are, in fact, interrelated as a recent Foreign Policy analysis outlines.  According to the piece, authored by Lindsey Kennedy and Nathan Paul Southern, “the trade of illegal wildlife products is everywhere, but the pandemic offered a brief opportunity to crack …

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Zoonoses: Preserving biodiversity is the key

This week marked an importance observance which went overlooked by large swathes of the media, including this publication. World Zoonoses Day took place on July 6th, coinciding with the anniversary of the first rabies vaccine administered by French biologist Dr Louis Pasteur in 1885.  Zoonoses, as explained by the World Health Organization (WHO), refer to …

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The Chipko movement, Sunderlal Bahuguna, and the continued deforestation crisis

Katherine Goldsmith once dubbed environmental activist Sunderlal Bahuguna ‘a gentle warrior’, in an exploration of his decades-long quest for environmental justice — perhaps most notably via the Chipko movement. Recently, Sunderlal Bahuguna passed away aged 94 after contracting COVID-19 — but his legacy endures, as does the Chipko movement he was such an integral part of. Chipko — or, “to hug”, …

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Land diversion laws driving an environmental crisis?

India’s forests and their inhabitants are under threat. Land diversion laws may be driving the crisis, as an analysis by IndiaSpend reported on Friday. Deforestation in India is a considerable environmental and public health threat. Earlier this year, I quoted in a report for Health Issues India the words of a 1982 paper by B. …

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Deforestation: An environmental catastrophe

“The emerging trends indicate that the rate of deforestation is likely to increase over the coming years. Major policy changes needed to reverse this trend are identified. They include increased commitment towards forest production and intensive agroforestry programmes.”  Those words appeared in a 1982 paper by B. Bowonder published in the International Journal of Environmental …

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Could deforestation leave India exposed to disease?

Deforestation is a well known driver of climate change — reducing green spaces in the world and often replacing it with towns or land for agriculture to accommodate or feed an ever-growing population. Could it also be the case that deforestation is leaving the population more exposed to disease? The two phenomena seem unlinked on …

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