Just mention the large brown-and-white bird and the residents of Mardi village in Solapur burst out in anger. The district in Maharashtra is one of the few refuges for the rare Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps), endemic to the grasslands of India and Pakistan. Of the 30-35 birds remaining in Maharashtra, Solapur’s grasslands support the largest population—25. But residents are not keen to protect the bird, called maldhok locally, because they perceive the Great Indian Bustard sanctuary as the stumbling block to the region’s development.

Restoration of species-rich grasslands on ex-arable land can help the conservation of biodiversity but faces three big challenges: absence of target plant propagules, high residual soil fertility and restoration of soil communities. Seed additions and top soil removal can solve some of these constraints, but restoring beneficial biotic soil conditions remains a challenge.

Counting the cost of decades of breakneck development, Chinese scientists and policy-makers outlined the daunting challenges they face in trying to halt the country's environmental degradation.

The study reports the impact of migratory livestock in the buffer area of Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary. The cumulative impacts of livestock grazing, fuel wood extraction and other anthropogenic pressures on forest cover in and around camping sites have been analyzed using satellite data and field observations.