Carbon Credits

How carbon credits 'magically' transform the planet! From my GoComics page also available royalty free on CartoonStock.

Green Credits Programme

After earning a dubious reputation the world over, carbon credits are coming to India in the form of the Green Credits Programme. After decades of consistently failing to preserve wetlands, grasslands and scrublands, the MoEFCC and the Government of India refuse to even recognize these as crucial ecosystems. Cartoon from my column with The Hindu. 

The Indian Metropolis Growth Model

Growth, Indian metropolis style. Cartoon for The Hindu.

Two Governments and Chhattisgarh

Congress versus Hasdeo versus BJP versus Hasdeo. Cartoon for The Hindu Sunday Magazine. 

Theri Sand Dunes and the Madras Hedgehog

Tamil Nadu has its own dune, and the dune has its own Timothy Chalamet- the endemic Madras Hedgehog! Last year, I had the pleasure of venturing twice into the Theri dunes of Tirunelveli, with researcher Maria Antony and hedgehog biologist Brawin Kumar, but was never lucky enough to spot the animal. Hunted for various superstitious rituals and losing wild scrub habitat to development and urbanization, the Madras Hedgehog is now becoming increasingly rare.

To readers from Tamil Nadu who may take offence at the ‘Dune’ comparison when there is already a Tamil film called ‘Theri’ starring superstar Vijay, my due apologies! While I am indeed aware of the popularity of the film, I am not sure if it has anything to do with the red sand dunes, not having watched it yet (and if it makes up for anything, I have not watched Dune yet either!)

Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

Brutal Invasions of India

If you've had a chance to visit any major national park in India in the last few years, you might agree that the most brutal invasion of India is underway: that by Lantana and several other introduced invasives! Several factors have led to this unchecked proliferation of these weeds, including deforestation and climate change. While many methods to manage the issue (periodic manual removal, burning, rotation and promoting alternative uses of lantana by forest dwelling communities) are underway, it remains to be ascertained which of them will be viable.

Cartoon for The Hindu Sunday Magazine. 

Kashmir and Climate Change

Gulmarg’s ski businesses suffering from the lack of snow, is barely the surface of a larger crisis unfolding in Kashmir. A Himalayan Black Bear takes you through it, in my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

The Nicobar Pigeon and the Dodo

Did you know that the Dodo's closest living relative lives in India? And that its genome may soon be used in the efforts to bring the Dodo back from extinction? And that its own existence, like all of Nicobar's other wildlife, is imperiled by the upcoming Nicobar Transshipment Terminal?

Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine. 

Congo Cobalt and Climate Justice

How sustainable really is 'sustainable technology' when it is linked to human rights violations in Central Africa? Read how cobalt mining is at the heart of the 2023 Congolese conflict here. 

Cartoon from my column with The Hindu.

Environmentalists Under Threat

Reports indicate that environmental defenders were killed at the rate of one every day last year, with Colombia emerging the most unsafe nation in the world to be an environmentalist in! Catching up fast with Colombia are other nations in Lat Am, South-east Asia and India.

Green Humour for DW Environment.

Amazonian Droughts and Amazonian Dolphins

In more climate-change-induced panic this week, a heatwave records as well as hearts were shattered in Brazil’s Lake Tefe, with hundreds of Botos (Amazonian River Dolphins) reported dead. Carcasses also included those of the Tucuxi (Grey Dolphin) and thousands of fish. The deaths are estimated to have reduced the already endangered Boto population by 10% (report here).

Cartoon from my Gocomics page, also available royalty-free on my Cartoonstock gallery.

State of Indian Birds Report

An Indian Roller reads out the key findings of the recently published 'State of Indian Birds' report. Comic from my column in The Hindu Sunday Magazine. 

Natural Forests versus Miyawaki Plantations

Miyawaki plantations have been touted as the easy answer to unplanned urban development, with even India's MoEFCC promoting it as a quick fix for urban greening. The science though, is drastically different from the cosy picture Miyawaki paints. Ecologists and critics of the method say that there is no substitute for natural green spaces, that there is no 'quick fix' for deforestation.

Comic from my column with Roundglass Sustain, doubling up as a Hayao Miyazaki fan comic!

In their article 'How Mr. Miyawaki Broke my Heart' in The Wire Science, authors Fazal Rashid and Somil Daga aptly refer to the Miyawaki method as 'climax without foreplay'! Read here.

Elephant Trunk Muscles

150000 muscles in their trunks, and yet one muscle short! Happy World Elephant Day!

Cartoon from my column with Roundglass Sustain.

Big Bad Mines

Have you, as a human ever wondered?

(Turns out, there actually IS a children's book about mining that I didn't know about when I drew this cartoon: Nandita Da Cunha's 'Pedru and the Big Boom', about the ecological and social impacts of mining in Goa)

Cartoon from my column with Roundglass Sustain.

A Rare Media Interview with a Reintroduced Cheetah

A rare media interview with a reintroduced cheetah. From my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

Futala Lake in Nagpur

Futala Lake, among my hometown Nagpur's most famous landmarks, was once the wintering ground for migratory waterbirds and waders. Today it is marked by a concrete embankment, a musical fountain, and deforestation along its peripheries. Activists and environmentalists from the city have been campaigning against this transformation. 

Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

Sholas and the Sholakili

The Sholas, montane grassland-forests of the Western Ghats are an endangered ecosystem. The Sholakili tells you why. Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine. 

Andaman Day Gecko

Here's some #MondayMotivation from the Andaman Day Gecko, a rare example of an endemic species that has benefitted from anthropological disturbances. Cartoon from my column with Roundglass Sustain. 

The Ecuadorian Lasso on Rainforests

Rainforests in Ecuador could well go the Brazil way if the right-wing government of Guillermo Lasso is allowed to have its way, where Chinese oil extraction companies are being granted licenses for exploration, overlooking indigenous land rights. Cartoon from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.