Category: sustainability
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Compensatory Afforestation – Where is the Land?
Divya Mehra It is well established that India is an ‘under-construction’ country. As a developing economy, the country invests a significant amount of its budget in new development projects that are being proposed, planned, and implemented at the regional or local level. Very often the land for development projects is taken from the forest area…
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Green or Greenwashing?
Divya Mehra In my previous blog, titled ‘Responsible Consumerism Comes at a Cost’, I have highlighted the importance of being a responsible consumer, and how more and more people are choosing environmentally sustainable or simply green products to adopt a sustainable lifestyle. In doing so, increasingly, people are trying to choose products that are labelled…
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On Seeing City Water Bodies
Fizala Tayebulla Lakes and other water bodies have been an important part of civilisation all around the world. Freshwater sources have been the cardinal for settlements historically, as these settlements required a continuous and dependable source of fresh water for subsistence. Dense network of lake ecosystems were maintained by dedicated group of people and designated…
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Sustainability of Smart Cities
Vijaylakshmi Suman The popular imagination of monsoon is that of lush green surroundings and pleasant weather, but the monsoon scenario in Delhi is not always the same. Water-logging and floods are becoming an annual phenomenon. This year Delhi received 64.5-124.4 mm of rain, and according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) was classified as ‘heavy…
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A Brief on Control and Management of Invasive Phragmites for Wetland Restoration
Shiwani One of the important steps in wetland restoration is managing the invasive or weed species (SER Report, 2019). A common invasive plant that is a threat to the ecological health of wetland ecosystems is a family of grasses called phragmites (Phragmites karka). These are dominant wetland plants and are found all around the world,…
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Living Legacies
Fizala Tayebulla Heritage is a legacy of important tangible and intangible assets passed down through the generations. An individual, a family, a community, or even a city or country could inherit a heritage property. There are three forms of heritage recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): Cultural, Natural and Mixed.…
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WATER QUALITY OF THE YAMUNA RIVER DURING THE FIRST LOCKDOWN
Divya Mehra and Shiwani The Coronavirus pandemic which has affected almost every part of the world is considered to be the biggest economic and health crisis of the present time. To contain the spread of the Covid-19 disease, in the initial phases of the pandemic, many countries went into lockdown, resulting in the temporary suspension…
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Responsible Consumerism Comes at a Cost
Divya Mehra With growing environmental concerns around the globe, the adoption of a sustainable lifestyle has become one of the important measures to deal with environmental crises at the individual level. In simple terms, a sustainable lifestyle is an individual’s or society’s attempt to reduce its consumption of natural resources and minimize its environmental footprint.…
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Earth Day: Its Significance Amidst the Pandemic
Vijaylakshmi Suman The second wave of Covid-19 has crippled the world, and unfortunately, India has become one of the hotspots. It has been a year since the first wave of the pandemic hit the country but with the second wave, the situation seems grimmer and its effects devastating. All possible measures are being deployed in…
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Harvest of the Pandemic
Fizala Tayebulla The pandemic has brought in several structural and value changes in our lives. Some of the changes that have transcended us being physically constraint to our homes are the changes in our lifestyles and values of a ‘safe’ and healthy life (ushering in practices that have a fighting chance at beating Covid-19). We…
Centre for Urban Ecology and Sustainability 