Pollinators in the urban age Published: 7 January 2021 The beginning of the ‘urban age’ comes along with a worldwide decline of insects –due to human impact on the environment. Especially alarming is the loss of bees and other pollinators, because of their importance for agriculture and thus for our food security as well as for the stability of ecosystems. Considering the worsening conditions on farmland, growing urban areas might function as refuges for endangered bees. In this article, we describe the situation of wild giant honey bees in the rapidly developing megacity Bengaluru (also called Bangalore), the high-tech capital of the Indian state Karnataka. Naturally nesting in the open in big trees and at cliffs, these bees use high-rise buildings as nesting sites in the city. Excerpts from interviews with citizens of Bengaluru give insights into increasing conflicts between humans and bees, but also show possibilities of coexistence. By Sebastian Walter and Axel Brockmann
Environmental regulation and post-COVID-19 economic recovery Published: 24 November 2020 On 24 March 2020, the central government declared a nationwide lockdown to deal with the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which caused the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in India. The lockdown, implemented without the necessary social and economic support by the state, represented a harsh ‘tradeoff’ in favour of public health. The country’s already sluggish economy took a massive hit due to the global pandemic and the near complete closure of international and domestic trade of goods and commodities. However, when the government began its unlocking efforts, it relied on incentivising highly environmentally damaging extractive projects to stimulate the economy. This article analyses the environmental and mining sector reforms and the key legal amendments proposed by the government as part of its post-COVID-19 economic recovery plans. The process, timing and content of these legal changes show that the government used the COVID-19 lockdown as an opportunity to push through undemocratic legal changes that would result in more long term environmental and social costs to society. By Kanchi Kohli and Manju Menon
Powering ahead – footprints of large scale renewable energy projects on environmental and social grounds Published: 31 August 2020 The energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is a significant part of India’s climate response. In a COVID-19 ravaged world, when - countries worldwide are looking inwards, protectionism is the order of the day and new developments are delayed, does the renewable energy sector still hold it’s promises of the past? By Sadia Sohail
India’s climate conundrum Published: 10 June 2019 The world has just over a decade to prevent the climate from unravelling in catastrophic ways. While the primary onus for avoiding this looming calamity lies with the rich industrialised nations, India, which is now the world’s third biggest emitter, is committed to the Paris Agreement. However, whether it can muster the political will and the financial muscle to shift to a low-carbon economy while raising the living standard of its billion plus citizens is a trillion dollar question the answer to which will become clear only after 2030 when it begins to decouple its economic growth from its emissions. By Rakesh Kalshian
The answer is blowin’ in the wind… Published: 14 May 2019 Even as dirty air continues to mar and prematurely snuff out millions of lives in the country, the unsettling truth is that no one, neither political parties nor the voting masses, considers it grave enough to be aired loudly in the ongoing general elections. Oddly, however, it does find first-ever mention in the manifestos of the two principal political parties. But whether this would actually lead to cleaner air is anybody’s guess. By Rakesh Kalshian
Troubled waters Published: 23 April 2019 As the world’s biggest democracy goes into electoral frenzy, yet another hot and dry summer spell threatens to plunge the country into its worst water emergency. For long blithely callous to people’s water woes, any future government would choose to ignore the warning signs only at the risk of political suicide. By Rakesh Kalshian
For an alternative paradigm of development Published: 25 February 2019 Sustainable infrastructure is now an established buzzword in international policy making circles - involving governments, private corporations and think tanks. There is almost no room in this discourse for asking fundamental questions about how growth is defined and whether the nature of growth should itself be redirected. How would the future of infrastructure look if we approach it from the perspective of 'sustainability' as degrowth – which means redirecting the economy and society towards actual well-being of all, Sarvodaya, rather than perpetual economic growth in terms of gross domestic product (GDP). By Rajni Bakshi
REDD+: A lost decade for international forest conservation Published: 11 January 2019 REDD+ was praised as a tool that could quickly and cheaply reduce emissions. This prediction has not been fulfilled. Instead, global emissions and deforestation are increasing.
Great expectations, low execution: The Katowice climate change conference COP 24 Published: 8 January 2019 Assessement The Katowice climate package brings minor progress, but COP 24 failed to deliver on the most fundamental issues such as raising ambition of national contributions, implementing human rights, and ensuring support for developing countries.
Sowing the seeds of an equitable world Published: 27 October 2017 The reclamation of seed as a common good has begun. Following the concept of open source, new approaches evolve that result in the cultivation of a large number of species and varieties. By Barbara Unmüßig
