Numerous species of Indian birds are critically endangered. Only strict conservation laws can help them survive. Experts fear that many will be wiped off as the environment deteriorates. Unless we have emergency measures, it will be too late says Ramesh Menon.

Have you ever wondered how forensic scientists help bring poachers to trial? Or how it feels to walk in forest land for three hours amidst torrential rain? From theory to practice, the exhilarating experience of wildlife conservation comes alive in a course for enthusiasts. Deepa Mohan recounts her experience.

A new bio-fertilisation solution offers protection for the long-term health of soils, as well as a cheaper alternative to traditional chemical treatment. Rasika Dhavse reports.

Farmers in Andhra Pradesh's Warangal district are doing the math, and learning that the chemistry that kills their pests is taking its toll on them as well. Ramesh Menon reports.

Large numbers of farmers have opted for a way of cultivation that does away with chemical pesticides, and most importantly, uses less water in a water-starved state. The dramatic results are nowhere more visible than in Rajasthan's Shekhawati belt, reports Deepa A.

Since 1980, organic tea consumption has grown by leaps and bounds. India too has joined this new green revolution with many farmers already growing organic tea or converting their plantations to do so. However many barriers have to be overcome before this sector realises its full potential. K V Prayukth reports.

For a number of reasons including frustration with chemical agriculture, improved economic prospects and concern for nature, some farmers in Punjab are growing organic. Kavitha Kuruganti travelled around parts of the state to meet a number of farmers and dealers of organic products last month.

In operation now for more than two years, Gorus has a network of about 50 committed families as consumers and 25 farmers as suppliers, and growing steadily. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

Revival of millet cultivation in Medak of Andhra shows how a variety of millets can fight hunger even during drought, keep farmers debt-free, and provide the much-needed nutrition without using pesticides, reports Ramesh Menon.

Italian farmer group Coldiretti is ushering in a new paradigm in farming, and has emerged as a powerful lobby for the interests of the small farmer. Keya Acharya reports on the campaign and wonders if Indian agriculture can emulate the same.

Overcoming our ignorance of the richness of traditional food options, and imbibing the culinary cultures of those who live in harmony with nature could signify a giant step towards food and nutritional security, says Devinder Sharma after his visit to a tribal food fest.

In 25 villages across Rayagada district of Odisha, tribal village women have reclaimed the denuded commons and achieved a remarkable turnaround in food security and livelihoods through eco-friendly alternatives to shifting cultivation. Abhijit Mohanty highlights a few successes of the project.

The thrust on chemical-free cultivation of vegetables that started as an experiment in the 90s has now evolved into a culture in Kerala’s Kanjikkuzhi Gram Panchayat. P N Venugopal traces the growth and success of this initiative so far.

The European Patent Office at Munich recently ran into opposition to a broad spectrum patent granted on all GM soyabean varieties to a Monsanto owned company.

Venu Govindu reviews Globalization and its Discontents, by Joseph Stiglitz, the winner of the 2001 Nobel prize for economics.

Devinder Sharma

The focus for developing countries at the upcoming Cancun WTO Ministerial must be on food and agriculture, says Suman Sahai.

The World Bank, IMF and WTO want 'coherent' operations, but poor nations worry that behind this vague objective is a determined effort to hijack their aspirations.

The anger against the multilateral trade regime is pushing developed countries on the defensive before the forthcoming WTO Ministerial, says Devinder Sharma.

With the world's economic powers poised to strike at the food security of the developing world once again, Devinder Sharma looks back at the devastation wrought by WTO arrangements on agriculture so far, and urges the Third World to take a more resilient line.

Bilateral deals will be harder to resist;; India must strengthen the home front as well as regional partnerships, says Suman Sahai.

The Cancun fiasco shows that the industrialised countries have failed to bring in meaningful trade reforms in agriculture, says Devinder Sharma.

A proposed new charity for intellectual property will simply legitimize the biopiracy of developing nations' traditional knowledge, says Devinder Sharma.

New Delhi's policy-makers are busy bartering the millions of jobs in agriculture for the far fewer ones with outsourcing firms in the cities, says Devinder Sharma.

Swati Narayan surveys the landscape of thought and action behind free trade, even as the WTO faces imminent collapse in the aftermath of Cancún.

Varupi Jain concludes a two part series on the country's messy Geographical Indications regulatory system through the eyes of MP's Chanderi fabric, one of first serious applicants for a GI.

When water intensive commercial crops are grown in water scarce areas and the produce exported, it amounts to a virtual export of water, even as water availability becomes scarcer. The virtual water concept must be considered seriously in India, asserts Shama Perveen.

Can something be 'novel' if it is already well known? Patent offices in some countries require only that the patented bits be novel in their own country, and completely ignored the knowledge of other nations. Countries like India that are rich in biodiversity and traditional knowledge are seeking to end this biopiracy. Kasturi Das looks at the issues involved.

The registration of Geographical Indications in the country has been slow to get off the ground. At a time when spurious rip-offs are abundant, the government isn't paying adequate attention to ensure speedier registration that would help tap the potential markets for India's rich bioversity. Varupi Jain reports.

A new study confirms that traditional production in small communities faces grave threats from globalisation. The security of employment linked to local consumption is eroded, and traditional knowledge too is being lost. This has particularly harsh consequences for women, N P Chekkutty finds.

More than a year after the application for recognising Basmati as a GI was filed, there is still no way to be certain if the grain on our plates is the real thing. As a result, a lot of the rice packed and sold in Haryana is called basmati, and traders in other countries too freely use the name. Varupi Jain reports.

A new sop came into effect for net-foreign exchange earning businesses in designated export zones from February 10 -- a 15-year income tax holiday. But are the costs of the revenues foregone worth the claimed benefits of more investment and jobs? M Suchitra examines the reality and does not find a rosy picture.

Last year, Reliance Industries Ltd. had filed a geographical indications (GI) application for its Krishna-Godavari gas and Jamnagar petroleum products, despite the fact that the products are not characteristically attributable to geography. Varupi Jain finds that if RIL is granted the GI, it will gain exclusive benefits that it has no rightful claim over.

With the World Trade talks in limbo, the focus remains on aggressively pushing on the bilateral front. What could not be achieved through a multilateral trade regime, is now being pursued by the US through bilateral and regional deals. Devinder Sharma connects the dots.

The central government launched the Handloom Mark scheme in June 2006. The idea is to popularise handloom products in domestic as well as international markets and provide a guarantee for the buyer that the product is genuine. But will it work? D Narasimha Reddy looks at the challenges.

When technological change has the potential to put the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people at risk, it must be regulated differently from other products in a free market. Blindly promoting innovation, as is now being done with genetically engineered crops, is self-defeating, writes Suman Sahai.

The government's recent traditional knowledge digital library will send data to patent offices abroad, so that indigenous knowledge that India abundantly has is not patented overseas. Following India's example, other nations too are showing interest in similarly protecting their interests. Ramesh Menon reports.

While single-minded pursuit of exports has helped China touch record growth figures, millions have been left behind, besides incurring huge environmental costs. And without even the limited dose of welfare that China offers its poor farmers, India must wary of copying China's SEZ-approach, writes Bhaskar Goswami.

At a two-day international seminar on "Saving Doha and delivering on development" that concluded at New Delhi on 13 March, India's Commerce Minister Kamal Nath provided ample evidence of India's willingness to go along with the rich and industrialised countries. The writing is on the wall, says Devinder Sharma.

It is widely accepted that agricultural subsidies in developed nations are distorting global agriculture trade. And yet, Purdue University and the World Bank are cleverly using economic models and simulated 'welfare gains' to push for market access in developing nations. Therein lies a danger, says Devinder Sharma.

Claiming highest quality standards in the world when it comes to its own agricultural imports, the United States has no qualms in exporting sub-standard wheat to India. US participation in India's wheat procurement cannot be at the cost of India softening quarantine standards, says Devinder Sharma.

A range of criticisms raised at a recent seminar in Mumbai are a sufficient indication of the extent to which SEZs are being pushed as a government policy without any public consultation on their pros and cons. The seminar, on SEZs and their implications for urban planning, was held at the Rachana Sansad School of Architecture. Darryl D'Monte reports.

To great fanfare, the G20 announced a US $1.1 trillion global package, which will actually deliver less than half that amount in new or guaranteed resources. Meanwhile issues of fundamental economic reform were left off the agenda.

The country's latest Geographical Indication certificate offers some new hope - of putting the sheen and colour back in a vital piece of Indian heritage, and livelihoods linked to it. Puja Awasthi reports.

Three and half decades after a scientist demonstrated the idea, chappals made with areca leaf sheaths have hit the market from Kerala. Shrikrishna D writes about the early success and challenges.

In search of new funds to keep the growth story alive, the Centre opens the doors to foreign investment a little further.

Whether foreign direct invesmtent in retail in India is good or bad should be judged by a reasoned debate based on facts, not hyperbole and exaggeration. Jacob John reports.

It is far from clear if capital exports out of India are good for India. What is apparent, from their enthusiasm, is that Indian companies believe it is good for them. Kannan Kasturi reports.

India's current account deficit reached alarming levels in the year 2012-13. Kannan Kasturi provides a historical context and lucid explanation of the phenomenon and rues the government's shocking lack of action.

The drying up of the dollar and the resultant plummet of the rupee reflects on the government's flawed economic strategy. Shyam Sekhar draws upon the famous business fable Who Moved My Cheese? to show the kind of behaviour and actions that could resolve the crisis now.