Environment

Ghana’s government reversed what many environmentalists had called one of the most damaging pieces of legislation in the country’s history. The repeal of regulations that allowed mining inside forest reserves marked a rare victory for conservation, driven not by courts or corporations, but by sustained public pressure. The now-scrapped law, passed in 2022, had opened nearly 90 percent of Ghana’s forest reserves to mining activity, including areas of global ecological importance. These forests, spanning more than nine million hectares, play a critical role in water security, climate regulation and the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities. Law That Triggered an Unprecedented Backlash Ghana is Africa’s largest gold producer and among the world’s top contributors to mining-rela...

    India’s globally celebrated tiger conservation programme is entering a complex phase as rising tiger numbers begin to strain forest ecosystems and intensify human-wildlife conflict. Wildlife scientists and forest officials across tiger-rich states are now calling for a serious rethink of the concept of “carrying capacity”, a term that has long sparked discomfort among conservationists but is gaining renewed urgency. Several states with strong tiger populations, including Karnataka, have flagged the issue, arguing that while conservation measures have boosted numbers, forest landscapes themselves have not expanded. This growing imbalance is expected to be a key discussion point at the upcoming Global Big Cat Alliance summit to be held in Bandipur and Nagarhole Tiger R...