World Wetlands Day 2026: Promoting Chilika red rice can help enhance food and livelihood security around India's first Ramsar Site

India, Feb. 2 -- The Chilika red rice grows in the wetlands around the Chilika Lake in Odisha. Locally known as bankia or bankei, the rice is flood-tolerant and helps marginalised local farmers eke a ... Read More

World Wetlands Day 2026: How a walk along a water body in Karnataka revealed a veritable food basket

India, Feb. 2 -- A walk along an unnamed wetland (longitude 75.142860, latitude 15.082130) along Tadas Road in Adavisomapur village of Karnataka's Haveri district revealed more than 20 edible and medi... Read More

Natabar Sarangi's legacy of indigenous rice varieties would be remembered by farmers and consumers alike

India, Jan. 22 -- In October 2025, I met Natabar Sarangi, a retired schoolteacher in Niali village in Cuttak district of Odisha. He was over 90 years of age and extremely frail but had big plans about... Read More

In Memoriam: Palpu Pushpangadan was a pushy seller of ideas

India, Dec. 19 -- The first time I met Palpu Pushpangadan was when he was the director of the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) in Lucknow. It was in the early 2000s, and he was full of ene... Read More

Access and Benefit Sharing talks in Lima end; biodiversity-rich countries get a reprieve

India, Nov. 30 -- Talks on the enhancement of the Multilateral Mechanism for the functioning of access and benefit sharing failed at the 11th meeting of the Governing Body (GB11) of the International ... Read More