People have to be placed at the centre if conservation has to make sense universally. What makes things even worse, is that these so-called protected zones allow commercial activities to go almost unchecked- Ravleen Kaur The earth is cracked and the horizon bare.The deathly silence is broken by the occasional whirring of crude-oil pumps.Women, going about their daily life in bright mirror-work lehangas, add a dash of colour to an otherwise arid background. This tough terrain has dominated 50-year-old Shantabhai Maganbhai Bamania's life since he was 10.

Farmers along the Gujarat coast should have been rejoicing at the prospect of a timely monsoon. Instead, they have suddenly become gloomy after unnaturally aggressive high tides have filled their fields and ponds with saline seawater. Many fear a drinking water crisis as their ponds, meant to store fresh rain water, are now brimming over with saline water. Farmers say they may not be able to cultivate anything for years together as their fields have become saline.

Memories of one of the worst cyclones in Gujarat's history that hit Kandla in 1998 have been revived for many in the region with sea water entering low-lying hutments for the fourth consecutive day on Friday during high tide. Residents, mainly labourers working with the Kandla Port Trust (KPT), said although it was common for water to enter hutments during high tides, the phenomenon never occurred four days in a row.

Kharaghoda, a large village located on the edge of the Little Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, has a population of 12,000. Here

The Wild Ass Sanctuary in Little Rann of Kutch has been selected by Centre for Biodiversity Conservation and Rural Livelihood Improvement project.

there is some relief in sight for fisherfolk from India and Pakistan who frequently get nabbed by the border security when they wander into the territorial waters of the other country. India and