Grasslands (areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses rather than large shrubs or trees) are an extremely vital ecosystem for us. They are essential to supply fodder for cattle, as well as to provide the diversity from which wild crops can continue to be domesticated into agriculturally suitable crops. Grasslands occupy about one quarter of the Earth's land area, and grazing and roaming animals occur in abundance here. But, alarmingly, some of the most threatened species of wildlife also exist in the grasslands. Therefore, it would not be an exaggeration to say that grasslands are extremely important ecosystems and we need to conserve the flora and fauna of these ecologically-fragile habitats.

Our cover story emphasizes the fragility of grassland ecosystems since they are also an attractive target for human development.  This attraction has disturbing consequences. Grasslands face a high degree of vulnerability due to anthropogenic pressures, rampant landfills, grazing pressures, habitat fragmentation, proliferation of invasive species, and impact of climate change on grasslands. In India, the grassland management has not been scientifically planned, despite the fact that India has one of the largest livestock populations in the world. Efforts in India for pasture management have been confined either to improvement of existing grasslands or introduction of suitable exotic species. However, the benefits from the interventions are now declining, and there is a strong need for a sound management plan for the development of pasture land and protection of existing patches of grasslands, some of which are unique and harbour rich fauna. We also need to fully document the value of these grasslands in terms of their biological diversity.  Our cover story also highlights the fact that the need for a policy for grasslands was first underlined in the Report of the Task Force on Grasslands and Deserts submitted in 2006 to the Planning Commission of India as part of the preparation for the XIth Five-Year Plan (2007–12). This report was significant since it was taken up at the planning stage itself. The report highlighted that despite the importance of grasslands and deserts for biodiversity conservation, livestock dependency, and for poverty alleviation, we still do not have Grassland Development and Grazing Policy in place.

The special report this month raises the important issue regarding the usage of mobile phones. The rapid growth, globally, has raised concerns about the adverse effects of electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation, emanating out of mobile phones, on the health of humans and other animals, and especially on children and young adults, who are the most vulnerable to this radiation. Published research studies show that there is impact of mobile radiation on human beings, animals, and plants, and inspite of stringent rules laid down by the Department of Telecom (DoT), Government of India, there are cases which show effect of radiation. Further research on this subject needs to be carried out to further study the impact of mobile radiations on living beings.