The Weekend Leader - We Report News & Stories that Matter
Butterfly chase

Research has helped identify new species of butterflies in India and one of them is ‘Nilgiri Grass Yellow’, says Smetacek, who has brought out a book ‘Butterflies: On the Roof Of the World’

Pond of fondness

A pond in Lakholaav in Rajasthan not just provides clean water to villagers throughout the year but also binds the local community. Manu Moudgil traces its past and finds its relevance today

Wild management

Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala was adjudged the best managed protected area in India. Tiasa Adhya finds out from the sanctuary’s deputy director, Sanjayan Kumar, how they earned the accolade

Winged visitors

Heralding the arrival of winter, migratory birds have started arriving in the wetlands of the Kashmir valley from Siberia, eastern Europe, China and the Philippines, says Sheikh Qayoom

A joint triumph

In Rajasthan, you may not expect a forest. But what is more surprising is that it is protected by the local community, whose members enjoy the fruits of conservation. Manu Moudgil explains

Women in farm

That women are at the vanguard of food security for villages is evident from a visit to the tribal district of Koraput in Odisha, says Sarada Lahangir, giving examples of hard working farmers

 
Killed for horns

The Indian rhinoceroses are facing the threat of extinction as poachers are targeting the animal for its horn, which is in great demand in east and southeast Asia, says Sanjeeb Baruah

Clean, naturally

She makes natural sense of cosmetics through an array of products that can be picked up at her ‘Skinsense’ outlet in Chennai. Though Rashmi Prithviraj is not into real business, her discerning clientele is growing slowly, says Radhika Giri

Forest rules

Conservation has helped women lessen their work load at a village in Uttarakand’s Almora district. Prem Chadha and Taarika Chugh explain how a ‘van panchayat’ diktat has come to people’s aid

Spot of trouble

A new study has revealed alarming information on rampant poaching of leopards in India. According to the report, at least four leopards were killed in India every week in the last ten years

Ancient wisdom

In Uttarakhand many still adopt a traditional farming practice of cultivating twelve grains on the same piece of land, which Jyotika Sood finds to her dismay may soon make way for mono farming

Safety for flamingos

Maharashtra to bid for UN recognition for six of its major wetlands - one of them Sewri in Mumbai, a favourite haunt of pink flamingos in winter - in order to get funds for their conservation

 
Green house

Kolkata-based architect Laurent Fournier’s green flat in Kolkata has bunk beds, and handcrafted false ceiling made of bamboo mesh, smudged with a paste of lime and rice husk, says Sayantan Bera

Hill conservation

Tourism in Yuksom in Skikkim threatened to wreak havoc on locals. Shailendra Yashwant reports on how Khangchendzonga Conservation Committee has stepped in to save the hill from disaster

Tribal wisdom

Garnering the ethnic knowledge of Kani tribes, an institute in Kerala is formulating medicines, besides identifying hitherto unknown plants and herbs that are used as food, says K R Ranjith

Milky Mist Cheese