Technology helps save Kashmir's Chinar trees
Chinar trees of Kashmir, renowned for their longevity and breathtaking views in autumn, take 150 years to reach full maturity and height. Once planted, a Chinar tree can last for generations, and can grow up to 30 meters tall, with a trunk circumference of 10-15 metres. Chinars are crucial for preventing soil erosion and their deep roots act as anchors, and they serve as vital carbon sinks. While most chinar trees are found in the Kashmir valley, they also grow in the Chenab and Pir Panjal regions of Jammu.
However, they are facing a severe decline due to illegal felling as well as climate change in recent years and their count has reduced from 42,000 in the 1970s to 17,000 and 34,000.
The J&K Forest Department however has decided to take an innovative step towards protecting these iconic trees in — by providing a unique aadhar identity for every Chinar tree in the Kashmir valley.
As part of the project, Chinar trees are being geotagged with scannable QR plates, and are being monitored and safeguarded using cutting edge tech. The health and risk level of each chinar can be assessed using ultrasonography, which helps in early detection of vulnerabilities and planning targeted interventions. The J&K Forest Department is also utilising a Geographical Information System (GIS) to create a comprehensive database of the trees (The Better India).
Pollution speeding up snowmelt in the Indian Himalayas: Study
Dwindling ice in the Himalayas is worrying as nearly two billion people rely on the water produced by Himalayan snowmelt, and glacier loss could lead to water shortages and an increase in extreme floods.
A new study has found that pollution is speeding up snow melt in the Indian Himalayas. Dust storms pick up black carbon from heavily-polluted areas and deposit it in the mountains. Black carbon darkens the ice and snow, causing it to melt faster.
There are two distinct types of storms. The first type originates in the deserts of western India and Pakistan and travels east at low elevations. It mixes with pollution from the heavily-populated Indo-Gangetic Plains before reaching the Himalayas. The second type of storm starts in the Saharan Desert and travels at higher altitudes. These storms pick up very little pollution.
Thus, storms with higher concentrations of pollutants melted more snow. While previous research on diminishing glaciers in the Himalayas has identified global warming as an important factors, this study finds a more local cause for glacial melt and highlights the need to look for regional environmental problems that might coexist with global ones (Phys.org).
Technology transforms wildlife conservation efforts in India
Technologies such as drones are transforming conservation efforts in addressing the growing human-wildlife interface outside protected areas in India. With their ability to cover vast areas and capture detailed imagery, drones are saving human efforts and also cutting fuel costs.
A recent report highlights the application of aerial drone technology in wildlife and environmental conservation across India by highlighting 15 case studies. Drones have been used in various landscapes and habitats across the country in these case studies highlighting their great potential in conserving biodiversity and promoting ecological well-being.
Drones present a number of advantages. They make research easier where the habitat is difficult to access and can be extremely useful in underwater species studies as well as aerial studies as they do not disturb animals living in their natural habitats.
They can go quite high up in the sky and observe details clearly that cannot be visible from the ground, and also offer advantages in terms of clarity of vision in conditions where water gets turbid while observing underwater species. However, scientists caution that they need to be used sensibly as they can be intrusive and the safety of the wildlife and the humans who are using it needs to be a priority (Mongabay, India).
A woman farmer from Tamil Nadu revives forgotten edibles from paddy fields
Sreedevi Lakshmikutty, a farmer in Tamil Nadu noticed that several women from neighbouring fields were collecting a wild plant that was abundant in her fields and grew in the middle of the planted pulses. They called it Pannai keerai (flamingo feather in Tamil). This was the beginning of her journey into reviving edible greens, often ignored in the fields.
She soon founded Bio Basics along with her other farmer friends, an organic brand that champions heritage grains and provides market access to several smallholder farmers,
In 2017, as part of the Save Our Rice campaign organised by Thanal, a non profit organsation in Kerala, Lakshmikutty also participated in a report on the evolution of paddy cultivation and issues surrounding pesticide use, mono-cropping and the loss of heritage varieties. A small chapter highlighting the importance of the fast disappearing uncultivated wild greens growing in the paddy fields that offered medicinal benefits to the indigenous communities of the region was also included in the report.
Lakshmikutty’s awareness campaign on saving uncultivated wild greens on social media platform under the initiative called Greens & Grains has greatly helped in raising awareness on the importance of uncultivated greens in paddy fields. She has also joined hands with Shruti Tharayil of the popular Instagram handle Forgotten Greens and educates people about the wild edibles found in urban landscapes, and shares recipes that combine foraged greens with heritage rice varieties.
Lakshmikutty and Tharayil continue to encourage people to think about the importance of wild foods and biodiversity of paddy lands (Mongabay, India).
Pesticides found to be major contributors to biodiversity crisis
A recent study assessing the impacts of pesticides across all types of species in land and water habitats by the UK Center for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) and the University of Sussex examined over 1,700 existing lab and field studies on the impacts of 471 different pesticide types namely insecticides, fungicides or herbicides—in agricultural, commercial or domestic use on animal species.
Over 800 species found on land and in water, were impacted in terms of their growth patterns, their reproductive success, their ability to catch prey, find plants to forage upon, move, or attract mates. Pesticides affected metabolism and damaged the cells of many of the animals.
The study concluded that while pesticides were necessary for global food production and farmers' livelihoods, there was a need to have policies and practices in place to reduce their use. This could include bottom-up initiatives led by farmers such as regenerative agriculture, as well as government policies that pay farmers to reduce insecticide use on crops (Phys.org).
This is a roundup of news updates from 1st February to 15th February 2025. Also read our policy updates here.