Current Issue - Volume 19 Issue 1 (April 2026)

India's wildlife tourism is booming, but its current trajectory risks undermining the very ecosystems it depends on. Rising demand, rigid safaricentric models, unchecked resort development, and an obsession with tiger sightings have led to crowding, diluted experiences, and mounting ecological stress. While regulations such as carrying capacity norms are essential, the deeper challenge lies in misaligned expectations and flawed product design. The article calls for a realignment through diversified, lowimpact experiences, stronger bufferzone management, community integration, educationdriven tourism, and tighter accommodation norms. By shifting measures of success from numbers and sightings to learning, ecological health, and community wellbeing, wildlife tourism can grow without eroding the wild. Read the full article by Manav Khanduja.

read more

In this article, Mutaharra Abida Waheed Deva examines how circular economy principles and climate-resilient building design can address water stress and infrastructure vulnerability. It explores global best practices, emerging research trends and policy frameworks while highlighting the relevance of these approaches in the Indian context and climate-sensitive regions such as Kashmir. The article argues that integrating circular resource management, water-sensitive urban design and resilience planning can significantly enhance sustainability outcomes while reducing systemic risk.

read more

In this article, M S M S Kumar argues that India's oil palm sector stands at a strategic inflection point, where expanding cultivation under NMEO‑OP must now give way to deeper value creation. Moving beyond a linear, oil-centric model, it makes a strong case for circular value integration-leveraging by-products, downstream processing, bioactive recovery, and biorefinery concepts to enhance economic, industrial, and environmental outcomes. The piece highlights opportunities in oleochemicals, nutraceuticals, renewable energy, and carbon markets, supported by policy realignment and cluster-based development. Reframing oil palm as a holistic resource system, the article positions circularity as essential to sustainability, resilience, and long-term competitiveness.

read more

The 21st century has brought humanity face to face with some of its greatest challenges—climate change, environmental degradation, rising fuel costs, and growing concerns over energy security. Nations across the world are investing heavily in renewable energy (RE) technologies and searching for sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels. Yet, decades before RE became a global movement, Dr Ram Bux Singh had already envisioned a future rooted in clean, decentralized, and sustainable energy systems. Keep reading to learn more... read more

BiofuelCircle is a pioneering digital platform dedicated to creating sustainable biomass supply chains by connecting farmers, rural entrepreneurs, and bioenergy producers. The company's platform enables the efficient collection, aggregation, and utilization of agricultural waste, contributing to India's transition to renewable energy and fostering rural economic growth through its innovative, participatory business model. Here, we are in an exclusive email conversation with Suhas Baxi, Co-founder and Group CEO, BiofuelCircle who's building "Biomass Bank" clusters that convert agricultural waste into industrial-grade fuel within a 10-km radius. It is not stubble-burning mitigation but it's a scalable, capital-light model creating self-sustaining economic hubs with direct district-level GDP impact. read more

Nestled within the serene pine forests of Uttarakhand, India, Sensorium Park is a contemplative blend of historical preservation and ecological sensitivity. The site, once a neglected and overgrown British-era cemetery dating back to the mid-1850s, has been thoughtfully transformed by Compartment S4 into a meaningful public space for reflection and sensory discovery. Envisioned by the Uttarakhand Government as an accessible public site, the project was approached by the design team with a more nuanced perspective-one that honours the land's layered and often undocumented history while safeguarding its fragile ecosystem. Rather than imposing itself on the landscape, Sensorium Park embraces poetic restraint, allowing history, nature, and human presence to coexist gently and harmoniously. More than a restoration project, Sensorium Park stands as a reminder that reclaiming the past can also create opportunities for dialogue, introspection, and renewed meaning for the future. Keep reading to learn more... read more

The US–Israel war on Iran is triggering a cascading global crisis that extends far beyond geopolitics, eroding climate action at a critical moment. Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz have destabilized oil and LNG markets, driven up emissions, and slowed the clean energy transition. The conflict is generating massive carbon emissions through military operations and damaged infrastructure, while pollution, oil spills, and ecological harm threaten fragile regions. For climate-vulnerable areas such as South Asia, the war intensifies energy insecurity, accelerates glacier loss, and further shrinks the rapidly vanishing global carbon budget, says Shamim Haque Mondal in this article.

read more