The traditional agricultural system of Koraput (Odisha) has been recognized by the FAO as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Site (GIAHS) at the recently concluded 99th Science Congress. This recognition is for outstanding contribution to promoting food security, biodiversity, indigenous knowledge and cultural diversity for sustainable and equitable development. Living Farms is a non profit working in the Koraput region of Odisha with the tribal communities practicing the traditional form of agriculture.
Date: Dec 2010
Top News is a compilation of important environmental news topics selected by environmental experts from the Asia-Pacific region as well as by international organisations and research institutes from twenty-one countries in the region.
By: Bharat Lal Seth
Securing water for people does not have to be at the cost of biodiversity
A website helps people observe and understand nature while gathering scientific data
by Sumana Narayanan
If there is a neem or jamun tree in your backyard, check it regularly and note down when they flower and fruit. You may soon realise you are collecting data for scientific research.
The National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), a research body in Bengaluru, plans to rope in people for creating an online database on the lifecycle of various plant species across the country and on the influence of climate change on them.
The steady disappearance of the world’s biodiversity had been recorded earlier, but the problem reached scary heights in the late 1980s. The loss during this decade was described by experts as “the most catastrophic” in the last 65 million years! It was also becoming quite obvious by then, that these resources were the fodder for a booming market...
Kerala celebrates silver jubilee of the Silent Valley project, but dismisses conservation measures
by M K Prasad, an environmentalist and educator, participated in the movement against the hydropower project in the Silent Valley