Book Review: Nature without Borders

-  Announcements, -  Miscellaneous, -  Resources Leave a Comment

NATURE WITHOUT BORDERS (Orient Blackswan)

Edited by Mahesh Rangarajan, M.D. Madhusudan and Ghazala Shahabuddin

When we think of wildlife, the mind usually leaps to Protected Areas (PAs) and charismatic megafauna. However, India’s 650+ National Parks and Sanctuaries collectively occupy just 5% of the country’s land area. So, what about the remaining 95%?  How important is it for conservation? The fact is, a surprising number of wildlife species live outside PAs, in our coastal waters, rivers, Reserve Forests, community lands and, … Read More

Book Review – Nature and Nation: Essays on Environmental History

-  Miscellaneous, -  Resources Leave a Comment

Thanks to Conservation India’s content sharing agreement with Livemint, we are able to bring some interesting conservation articles authored by Ananda Banerjee.

Nature and Nation – Mahesh Rangarajan / Permanent Black / Rs 795/-

Eminent scholar and historian, Mahesh Rangarajan’s new book ‘Nature And Nation’ transcends academia to reach out to readers with an interest in natural history. When books on nature are few and far between, this book is a good read for people who get inspired by nature … Read More

Book Review: Shifting Ground – People, Animals, and Mobility in India’s Environmental History

-  Announcements, -  Miscellaneous, -  Resources Leave a Comment

Shifting Ground – People, Animals, and Mobility in India’s Environmental History

Edited by Mahesh Rangarajan and K. Sivaramakrishnan, Oxford University Press

This weighty book, containing 10 essays by as many scholars – and a comprehensive introduction by its eminent editors – is clearly meant for consumption primarily by other scholars. To this reviewer, who can at best describe himself as a discerning reader, the adjective ‘esoteric’ often came to mind while thumbing through its 310 pages.

Given the extremely wide … Read More

Interview with Elephant Task Force head, Mahesh Rangarajan

-  News Leave a Comment

Mahesh Rangarajan, environment historian and head of the Elephant Task Force talks to The Hindu about the Elephant, the task force report and conservation issues. He talks about the effects of declaring the Elephant as a National Heritage Animal and about the problems foreseen in implementing the task force report. His conclusion is that it is crucial that science, culture and the citizen come together to minimize conflict and keep elephant habitats secure.… Read More

The Elephant Task Force Report — A Critique by Sanjay Gubbi

-  Articles Leave a Comment

With an estimated 26,000 elephants India is home to half the world’s population of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). These pachyderms are spread over a geographical area of about 110,000 sq km, sixty percent of which have been declared as 32 Elephant Reserves (ER).

A different concept from the conventional Protected Areas (PAs), ERs consist of a mixture of land categories. PAs (30%), Reserved Forests (40%) and private lands (30%) form the land tenure of ERs. Securing this landscape in pursuit … Read More