Despite the inconsistencies in pollution data as well as measurement approaches in different Asian cities, there is now sufficient knowledge about the health risks of rampant and unchecked levels of motorisation, particularly in India's cities. A workshop for journalists at Indonesia sounded the warning bells again, writes Darryl D'Monte.

Fundamentally, the challenge of traffic and transport management in any of our large cities is not merely to create more road infrastructure. The more powerful way to tackle the problem is through analysis of road use patterns, and through the creation of transport services based on them, says Ashwin Mahesh.

With private car ownership in the large cities outpacing population growth, the central government is waking up to the need to introduce traffic restraint schemes in the metros, writes Darryl D'Monte.

In discussions of the travails of the airline industry that have been taking place recently, its detrimental effect on global warming has not come up, writes Sujatha Byravan.

A systems approach, which combines infrastructure, vehicles, operations, technologies and user education, has created a seamless implementation process for Ahmedabad's Janmarg, write Madhav Pai and Abhijit Lokre.

A massive agitation is brewing in Kerala against the proposed widening of Natonal Highways 47 and 17. It is spearheaded by the NH47- NH17 Joint Action Council. P N Venugopal examines their case.

As the most significant region yet to be urbanised, India presents a unique opportunity for capturing impacts of urbanisation on the spatial dimension, writes Madhav Pai.

Making Comprehensive Mobility Plans mandatory for cities has been beneficial, but a lot more is needed to ensure they are effective in achieving the goals of national transport policy, writes Madhav Pai.

The Supreme Court's order on the removal of tinted films from vehicles is being implemented across the country, amidst complaints from the public. Navya P K reports.

Compressed Natural Gas is by no means a clear cut winner in the race to find a clean burning fuel for our vehicles. The real solution is in promoting public transport, and better design of our cities, writes Madhav Pai.

Transfer-based bus networks can result in services that provide significantly higher quality and coverage. And many complaints that users have regarding transfers can actually be solved by moving to a more intensively transfer-based system itself, write Madhav Pai and Ashwin Prabhu.

While they represent an important technology option in an environmentally-challenged world, large scale adoption of electric vehicles aided by government policy might remain a pipe dream till cost structures become more competitive. Shiva Prasad Susarla explains.

Enterprises that seek to address socio-economic problems through focused business models could make significant impact with a little more support. Seema S Hegde discusses an example from Bangalore, and explains how the state and big business often fail to recognise that.

A PPP project, hailed as a milestone in logistic infrastructure development at the time of launch shows scant growth three years later, costing the Cochin Port trust dearly in the process. P N Venugopal throws light on all that has gone wrong with it.

From lumpen political elements to the courts, various parties have, in their own ways, come out against toll plazas along different highways in the country, but Darryl D’Monte makes a strong case for collection of charges from motorists.

The need for integrating land use with mobility has never been fully addressed within the profusion of plans for Bangalore. The revision of the Master Plan for 2031 may provide a good opportunity to develop a comprehensive mobility strategy, says Shrimoyee Bhattacharya and Sujaya Rathi.

Gil Penalosa is an indefatigable evangelist for public transport. In the first of a two-part report, Darryl D’Monte details his observations at a Mumbai presentation on streets as public space and the need to make them pedestrian-friendly.

In March this year, Gil Penalosa of the Toronto-based NGO 8-80 Cities spoke in Mumbai and Bangalore of his global vision for liveable cities. Concluding his coverage of Penalosa’s talk, Darryl D’Monte explains why, despite a few isolated efforts, India requires a giant leap in initiative and attitudes to realise that vision.

Is modernisation of transport the sole answer to air pollution problems in Delhi? In view of the NGT's proposed ban on older vehicles in Delhi, Sarath Guttikunda draws attention to several problems that need to be addressed for cleaner air in the NCR.

The ban on old diesel vehicles in Delhi and the NCR is a first step towards addressing the grave air toxicity in the region, but a well-designed BRTS could go a long way in achieving the real end. Darryl D’Monte compiles notes from a recent conference.

The government continues with its blind focus on highways and expressways when infrastructure for water supply, waste management and mass transit system is in desperate need of attention. Kannan Kasturi says there is more to public infrastructure than just highways and expressways.

Darryl D'Monte analyses why the proposed Bullet Train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad is not the need of the hour, nor worth the cost.

In a changing landscape for power production and transmission, Indian Railways and the Government will need to make new choices, says a new report from Brookings India.

Responses to the disappearances of the common house sparrow have been muted, although the change is clearly a sign of the extent to which our urban environments have been altered. Monitoring programs would protect the birds, and also better inform us about our environment. Vasudha V reports.

The ongoing vigorous debate between wildlife enthusiasts and tribal rights activists must be steered by a vital lesson from past conservation failures - that India's unparalleled riches of biodiversity can only be protected by working with, rather than against, the rural and tribal communities who live closest to them, writes Ramachandra Guha.

Although designated as the offical bird of Uttar Pradesh, the Sarus crane finds itself under threat. Despite a protective High Court order, the economic plans of the government threaten to disrupt the birds' habitat. Wildlife conservationists take their case to the Supreme Court. Kanchi Kohli reports.

The Jerdon's Courser is the latest endangered species to be caught in the path of unregulated development. Its habitat in wildlife sanctuaries in Andhra Pradesh is threatened by illegal construction activity within the protected lands, and environmental activists have taken the matter to court. Kanchi Kohli reports.

The people-versus-tiger conflict haunts every protected habitat of the beast, and unless relocated communities' needs are met, conservation efforts will remain uncertain. Rajasthan's plans to relocate villagers from Sariska's core zone will have a profound impact on all other tiger reserves, writes Sudhirendar Sharma.

A grim picture emerges out of a performance audit of the Arunachal Pradesh government's work on 12 protected areas. The Comptroller and Auditor General's recent report is a telling comment on the state's commitment to wildlife protection. Himanshu Upadhyaya has more.

Mindless disruption of human settlements in the name of wildlife protection, and the corresponding restrictions on the rights of people living within forests destroys the very wildlife for which it is being done. The story of the Asiatic lions of Gir bears witness to this, writes Nandini K Oza.

Two tigers have been relocated from Ranthambore to Sariska tiger reserve, but wildlife conservationists are not about to rejoice, given the extent of work pending at Sariska to reverse past wrongs. Malini Shankar digs deeper.

India’s forest staff operate in appalling conditions: open toed footwear, lack of simple facilities like torches, jeeps, wireless sets or guns. How is the fight against poaching to be won? Malini Shankar has more.

The tribal is invariably the crucial link in the poacher’s grisly chain in Indian forests. Their alienation has directly placed India’s precious wildlife and biodiversity under threat. Malini Shankar has more.

A recent clubbing to death of a leopard was a reminder of the creature's vulnerability and frailty of its habitat. According to one estimate, India has lost atleast 3189 leopards during 1994 to 2008. Malini Shankar has more.

The locking up of the notorious poacher and wildlife trader Sansar Chand was proof that India's police officers could make a difference. But stopping wildlife trade needs more, writes Malini Shankar.

The Wildlife Institute of India's census report estimated 1,411 tigers in India’s Protected Areas. The report is significant for thorough and precise documentation of habitat loss for the tiger, writes Malini Shankar.

Mintar Singh, leader of a gang of lion poachers, was finally nabbed last month in MP. 36 of his accomplices were already convicted two years back. Malini Shankar has more.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species governs living animals and plants, and also the tusks and skins of dead animals. India has two such items. Darryl D'Monte reports.

If all of India's tiger terrain was protected very well, including from cattle grazing conflicts from forest dwellers, it could potentially support 20,000 tigers, say some experts. Malini Shankar has more.

Both for vast array of species it shields and the sustainability of the ecosystems it inhabits, the tiger is the sentinel of the ecological destiny of the whole Indian subcontinent. Malini Shankar says tiger conservation is no longer a mere choice.

A filming crew's damage to the Kambalakonda wildlife sanctuary is brought before the courts. But how did it get this far in the first place? Kanchi Kohli reports.

Simultaneous protection of rights of both tigers and human tribes is a utopian dream; where co-existence is an inescapable reality, political will to reduce human imprint to a minimum and sensitisation of forest dwellers are critical to conservation, writes Malini Shankar

Abuse of animals by humans in various garbs is a sad reality across countries and communities. Deeply moved by an HBO documentary, Malini Shankar explains why the issue of animal rights and prevention of cruelty must be inextricably linked to conservation efforts.

Wildlife experts across India stress the need for more stronger cases backed by scientific evidence and administrative efficiency, speedy trials and effective prosecution of the guilty. Bosky Khanna reports.

A fragile grassland ecosystem combined with skewed thrust on conservation of forest lands vis-a-vis the arid dry grasslands paints a bleak future for the Great Indian Bustard, whose numbers are fast dwindling. Malini Shankar reports.

A CAG audit report finds that despite the revocation of clearance for forest land diverted to a public sector power company, the land continues to be used by them. Himanshu Upadhyaya details this and other findings, which show thegloomy picture of forest governance in West Bengal.

Rejuvenation of the Ganga has purportedly grabbed a big share of the new government’s focus, but would plans ignoring the upper Ganga basin really be effective? Shripad Dharmadhikary discusses the findings of an expert body that could be crucial to the agenda.

Even as India’s Wildlife Protection Act completes 42 years, certain recent moves of the government appear to undermine the law, in a bid to project an industry-friendly regime. T R Shankar Raman analyses the apparent direction in which the Act, and environmental laws in general, seem to be headed.

On 15 November, the Assam State Zoo opened its doors to three pygmy hogs, becoming the only zoo in the world to house this critically endangered species. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports on an ongoing project that’s trying to save the animal and its habitats in the face of all odds.

Ever since the report of the Subramanian Committee, set up to review and amend key environmental legislation, was leaked, several questions have been raised regarding its real implications for the environment. Darryl D’Monte explains some of the most critical concerns.