(October 08, 2020) By Aristo Mendis Illegal wildlife trade (IWT) has been around for a while. Considered as one of the top five illegal transnational trades, alongside drugs and arms, IWT is a threat to biodiversity and the environment. But dialogue concerning IWT became a global talking point only after it emerged as a human health hazard with the outbreak of COVID-19, that is speculated to have linkages of spreading from a wet market in Wuhan city, China. The same market has also reportedly been documented ...

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(April 20, 2020) After our reportage on the Kerala Forest Department’s efforts to support interior forest communities during the lockdown, the state Forest Department has released a video documenting its efforts.Meanwhile, we received multiple responses from other state forest departments carrying out similar initiatives.  We spoke to Satovisha Samajder, Divisional First Officer, Balod, Chattisgarh, who is spearheading a Door-to-Door collection system during these unprecedented times.“Normall...

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(December 13, 2019) Traversing across south of Brahmaputra valley in Assam couple of decades ago, you could have easily caught sight of a short-tailed, shaggy haired, bald-faced Indian primate – shaking branches, showing teeth and screaming at you! However, today, Stump-tailed macaques (STM), once, one of the most widespread primates of these forests, are at the brink of extinction. Same goes for Pig-tailed macaques, Hoolock gibbons and other primates of this region. On the occasion of World Monkey Day (Decem...

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