The top news stories of 2017 for sustainability
These are the top news stories of 2017 and the people who have most left a mark on a year that has been intense yet also rewarding from the point of view of social and environmental sustainability.
As climate change alters agriculture, forest food could be the answer. India’s indigenous Kondhs prove it
India’s indigenous Kondh community has relied on forest food for millennia. As climate change reduces agricultural yields, this source of nutrition could be crucial for food security.
From Bt cotton to GM mustard, two decades of corporate corruption and scientific fraud
The fraud and corruption witnessed in the illegal introduction of Bt cotton in India are now being repeated with GM mustard. Farmers and our biodiversity were sacrificed for Monsanto’s profits.
The fight against GM mustard in India is crucial for the global war on GMOs
Amidst the determined push by biotech lobbies to impose genetically modified (GM) mustard in India, civil society movements and farmers’ organisations are once again doing battle to oppose this new product of genetic engineering. If approved, this would become India’s first GM food crop, which poses grave health and environmental risks. The release of GM mustard would threaten farmers’
India, tribal women are leading the conversion to organic agriculture
The future scenario of the global food system is a matter of worry for experts and the scientific community because of the vulnerability of agriculture to the impacts of global warming. It is estimated that agricultural productivity will decline 15 to 30 per cent by 2080 in the developing regions most subject to climate change – Africa, South Asia and Central America. For some
India, conserving rainwater in subsurface soil to fight water scarcity
Indigenous communities in India’s Rayagada district mitigate the challenges of water scarcity by storing rainwater in subsurface soil. A cheap and concrete solution to a global problem.
7,000 railway stations in India will be powered by solar energy
Entro pochi anni in India il 98 per cento delle stazioni ferroviarie saranno alimentate con solare fotovoltaico
Asiatic cheetahs are desperately racing toward extinction
In Iran sopravvivono appena cento esemplari di ghepardo asiatico, specie minacciata dalla perdita di habitat, dalla riduzione delle prede e dal conflitto con i pastori.
11 of the most important indigenous victories
The Munduruku block the Tapajós dam, Brazil The hydroelectric São Luiz do Tapajós dam would have been one of Brazil’s largest. It was planned to alter the course of the Tapajós River, one of the Amazon River’s largest tributaries, inundating over 700 square kilometres, including of Munduruku land. But it won’t go ahead. Together with organisations such as Greenpeace and Survival International the
Yoga joins Unesco’s world heritage list
Yoga is based on unifying the mind with the body and soul. The benefits of this ancient Indian discipline have now been recognised by Unesco.