Rethinking Conservation In Northeast India

If the Northeast manages the latter, it won’t just protect its wildlife. It’ll protect a way of life that still remembers what coexistence feels like, writes the author

Turning Plastic Waste into Forest Wealth: A Vital Mission for the Eastern Himalayan Region

पूर्वी हिमालय में जलवायु-प्रेरित दबाव, संरक्षण और जल सुरक्षा

Assam Forest School, Balipara Foundation launch plantation drive to restore vulture habitats

AI for Ancestral Forests: Data meets tradition in the Eastern Himalayas

Rooted Resilience: How Bamboo is Rebuilding Assam’s landscape and Livelihoods

Unlocking Human Potential in the Eastern Himalayas: A Sustainable Path to Growth

Fighting Floods with Forests: How Assam Communities Are Leading Way

The silent disaster: How floods are rewriting North-East India’s ecological and agriculture future

IIT Guwahati partners with Balipara Foundation for Eastern Himalayan Naturenomics Forum 2025

Assam Forest School and Balipara Foundation organise ‘Hands-on Geospatial Training’ for Forest Frontline Staff

“Conservation Needs Communities At Its Heart As Nature And People Are One”

Bangladesh Post : Great People’s Forest Initiative in South Asia

The Great People’s Forest initiative has been launched recently in New Delhi with an aim of planting one billion trees and restoring one million hectares of forest land in the South Asia.

Budget 2024 corporate reactions LIVE updates: 11.1% capex increase to power railway, roads, logistics, says expert

Budget 2024 Corporate Reactions Live Updates: An interim budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 was presented by India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman ..

ANI : Action for planet: Massive reforestation initiative taken up to protect biodiversity-rich Eastern Himalayas

By 2030, this initiative will seek to plant 1 billion trees and restore and protect 1 million hectares of land across the Eastern Himalayas, …

ANI : ‘Great People’s Forest – Reforestation drive to plant 1 billion trees in Eastern Himalayas

Speaking on the sidelines of an event organised here by the Balipara Foundation of Assam and Conservation International, the minister of state for external affairs said there can be no culture without nature | (Photo: PTI)

Business Standard : India will move ahead taking fusion of progress, environment forward: Lekhi

Speaking on the sidelines of an event organised here by the Balipara Foundation of Assam and Conservation International, the minister of state for external affairs said there can be no culture without nature | (Photo: PTI)

India Post : ‘Great People’s Forest’ – Reforestation drive to plant 1 billions trees in Eastern Himalayas.

NEW DELHI: In a bid to restore 1 million hectare of land in the Eastern Himalayas, a massive forestation drive has been launched with an aim to plant over 1 billion trees.

India Today NE : Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma commends Great People’s Forest initiative to plant 1 billion trees.

Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma on September 5 lauded the initiative of Balipara Foundation of Assam to plant 1 billion trees in the North-East part of India and in Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal.

Kuensel Online : Bhutan joins mega regional conservation project

A project that will plant one billion trees and restore one million hectares of land, the Great People’s Forest of Eastern Himalayas, was launched on September 2.

Natural Capital in the Eastern Himalayas: A Lifeline for Communities

Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023: Balancing innovation, conservation and community rights

It has led to a debate concerning biodiversity protection and India’s responsibilities as a signatory to the Kunming-Montreal framework between various stakeholders

Restore forests of Northeast by Ranjit Barthakur

The future of the region – from its people to its ecosystems – hinges on our collective commitment to preserving its precious forests.

Indigenous Knowledge At The Intersection of Culture and Conservation

Rivers at Risk: Climate-Induced Pressure, Conservation and Water Security in the Eastern Himalaya

Sustainable farming & rural livelihoods. Women-led farming cooperatives: Empowering communities through agriculture

TERI, ICIMOD, Balipara Foundation, and Guwahati University Sign MoU to Strengthen Biodiversity Conservation, Cultural Preservation, and Ecosystem Valuation

Naturenomics™: The Stepping Stone to an Ecological Neutral Future

Naturenomics™: The Stepping Stone to an Ecological Neutral Future – Aira News Network

Naturenomics™: The Stepping Stone to an Ecological Neutral Future – The Meghlaya Guardian

Naturenomics™: The Stepping Stone to an Ecological Neutral Future – The Northeast Times

The Environment : Global leadership needs to take rapid steps to combat ongoing climate crisis: Opinion

The climate crisis is critical in 2022, worse than scientists and environmentalists could have envisioned.

The Week : Budget 2023: A rural push could be this budget’s signature

A thrust on major spending on the rural economy could well be the hallmark of this year’s union budget.

DNA : Why Rural Economies are the Future of India

The Global Climate Risk 2020 index ranks India the fifth most affected country in the world due to the climate crisis,

The Times of India : Understanding Naturenomics: The Interdependence between Nature and Economics

In the last couple of decades, India has witnessed rapid changes in weather conditions across its length and breadth

The Environment : How world is looking at India in combating Climate Change: Opinion

Earlier this year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report which dubbed India one of the most climate vulnerable nations globally.

Asli Bharat : जलवायु परिवर्तन: वर्तमान संकेतों में भावी संकट की आहट

अमेरिकी स्पेस एजेंसी नासा की सैटेलाइट एक्वा ने हाल ही में कुछ तस्वीरें कैप्चर की हैं, जो काफी डरावनी हैं।

The Environment : Building resilience and managing climate risks key factors to fight extreme weather events: Opinion

In the last couple of decades, India has witnessed rapid changes in weather conditions across its length and breadth,

YourStory Hindi : जानिए एग्रिटेक स्टार्टअप्स क्या चाहते हैं इस बार बजट से, कैसे कृषि प्रधान भारत कर सकता है ग्रो

भारत के लिए एग्रीकल्चर सेक्टर सबसे अहम है, क्योंकि देश की बड़ी आबादी आज भी खेती से होने वाली आय पर ही निर्भर करती है. आइए जानते हैं एग्रिटेक स्टार्टअप्स की इस बजट से क्या उम्मीदें हैं.

Live Mint : Great People’s Forest initiative to raise $1 bn for reforestation in Eastern Himalayas

The Balipara Foundation, in collaboration with Conservation International, has unveiled a project titled ‘The Great People’s Forest of the Eastern Himalayas’.

Youth Ki Awaaz : How Balipara Foundation Is Empowering Communities And Biodiversity

The Eastern Himalayas, known for their biodiversity and culturally rich heritage,, are now facing significant threats due to rampant deforestation and ecological degradation.

Times of India : Building resilience and managing climate risks: Extreme weather events

The world is rapidly approaching irreversible levels of global heating. The synthesis report on the sixth climate assessment, released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change…

The Environment : Transforming the narrative of Climate Change in 2023: Opinion

By 2050, the region is expected to lose over 20% of its GDP to climate change, unless urgent action is taken to change the trajectory

Outlook India : New Initiative Aims to Raise $1 Billion To Plant Trees Across Eastern Himalayas

The Great People’s Forest of the Eastern Himalayas initiative has been launched in keeping with the G20 theme of ‘One Earth, One family, One future’

Swachh India NDTV : Time to Act: Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi Calls For Immediate Action on Climate Change

Minister of State for Culture, Meenakshi Lekhi’s remarks come at a time when India stresses on the need for developed nations to step forward in helping tackle climate change

The Print : ‘Great People’s Forest’ – Reforestation Drive to Plant 1 Billions Trees in Eastern Himalayas

New Delhi [India], September 5 (ANI): In a bid to restore 1 million hectare of land in the Eastern Himalayas, a massive forestation drive has been launched with an aim to plant over 1 billion trees.

The Statesman: Great People’s Forest initiative to protect Eastern Himalayas launched in Delhi

The Great People’s Forest of the Eastern Himalayas’, an initiative by the Balipara Foundation in partnership with Conservation International to…

The Times of India : ‘Great People’s Forest’ – Reforestation drive to plant 1 billion trees in Eastern Himalayas

An ambitious reforestation and conservation initiative called the ‘Great People’s Forest’ has been launched in the Eastern Himalayas.

The Times of India : Meenakshi Lekhi: India Aims for Carbon Neutrality by 2070, Exceeding Renewable Targets Early

Addressing India’s commitment to combat climate change, Union Minister Meenakashi Lekhi announced on September 4th that they have set their sights on achieving carbon neutrality by 2070.

The Hindu Business Line : How villagers in North-East are rewriting the Forest Bill

Communities are driving change, walking the fine line between economic growth and protecting the forests that keep their soil and water systems healthy

NavBharat Times : How can Technology Increase the Income of the Farmers in India:

इंटरनेट का असर! टेक्नोलॉजी से बढ़ रही किसानों की आमदनी, पढ़ें रिपोर्टटेक्नोलॉजी आज के वक्त में किसानों के हालात बदल रही है। मतलब उनकी आमदनी में इजाफा कर रही है। साथ ही पर्यावरण दोहन को भी टेक्नोलॉजी की मदद से रोका जा सकता है।

The Economic Times : Budget 2023 | Entity DigiLocker to cut costs, enable seamless finance access to underserved population: industry

Launched in 2015, DigiLocker is a secure cloud based platform for storage

किसानों की आय बढ़ाने में मददगार एग्रो-फॉरेस्‍ट्री का ‘खाद्य वन’ मॉडल

पूर्वोत्‍तर भारत में ‘खाद्य वन’ विकसित कर किसानों की आय बढ़ाने की अनूठी पहल

The Quint: Can Natural Climate Solutions Help in Carbon Capture?

The Glasgow Climate Pact was the first to recognise the role that forests play in isolating carbon.

Times of India: Green friends with benefits are helping restore north

The loss of old-growth forests is tough to recover but one NGO in Assam is trying to marry the needs of biodiversity and livelihood.

Deccan Herald: India and Bangladesh’s cross-border water diplomacy an opportunity

In April 2022, in a bid to increase connectivity between the two countries, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina offered the use of the Chittagong seaport to India.

101 Reporters: Interview with Saurav Malhotra: Bringing back forests, one village at a time

The brains behind the ‘Rural Futures’ programme in the Northeast shares the motivations and goals behind the Balipara Foundation’s habitat restoration initiative …

CXO Outlook: Ecologically Positive Adaptation and Mitigation

Ranjit Barthakur is a social entrepreneur, committed to pursuing social change through innovative cutting edge concepts, ecological neutrality and impactful action.

Prittle Prattle News: Valuing nature for social inclusion

India is sweltering under a heatwave, in a summer that is the hottest on record in over a century.

Financial Express – Eliminating cross-border smuggling and destruction of natural assets

One challenge is to identify which seeds will be able to survive for an extended period in the seed bank while keeping all the intrinsic traits intact.

The Quint: Why Have Floods in Assam Become an Annual Scourge?

The unrelenting flood situation has now affected more than 24.9 lakh people across the state.

DNA: India-Bangladesh relations: Cross-border diplomacy crucial for water management

The sharing of Chittagong Port must be the start of a new cooperative diplomatic approach that recognizes our mutual challenge of climate insecurity.

GW Prime: Geospatial World – Indigenous Community Knowledge to Create Sustainable Alternatives in Eastern Himalayas: Ranjit Barthakur

A study carried out in 2020 by the scientists of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) predicted a massive decline of about 73% of the bear’s habitat by the year 2050.

News 18 – Better Land Productivity, Better Earnings: Agroforestry Can Unlock Jobs for India’s Rural Youth

Since the budget 2022-23 sheds light on delivering policy incentives for organic farming, agroforestry, and private forestry for farmers and indigenous communities across the country, Balipara Foundation will leave no stone unturned to contribute their bit in achieving these goals.

New Internationalist – Old School Adaptation

One challenge is to identify which seeds will be able to survive for an extended period in the seed bank while keeping all the intrinsic traits intact.

Global Voices – How Assamese Villages use traditional wisdom to guide climate preparedness

When it comes to predicting the ways of rivers, rains and floods, observations of elders based on their traditional experiences and folk beliefs are still considered credible early warning systems in many villages, even when most villagers today have access to smartphones and weather applications.

Rice Today: Old school adaptation

What is happening in Assam emphasizes how indigenous people’s farming methods, using organic and traditional techniques, alongside native seed conservation, can help poor farmers better deal with climate uncertainties; and improve biodiversity and food security.

Business Line – How agroforestry produce, sustainable bamboo can generate huge rural earnings

India’s commitment to net-zero by 2070 at COP26 has reignited a global debate on the tension between economic development and ecologically compliant growth.

Geospatial World – Building Circular Economy: Towards Holistic Ecology?

Clock is ticking on the future of this planet. The old economic model of rapid growth is now recognized to be the fundamental cause behind the depletion of our natural resources.

East Mojo – What COP26 means for indigenous communities of Eastern Himalayas

Climate change is already here in North East India. Governments in the region must invest heavily in creating climate resilient, nature-regenerative economies by rewilding its forests and nurturing the transition to climate-resilient practices like agroforestry.

The Wire Science – Assam: Biodiversity Loss Pushing Elephants Into Villages in Search of Food

Elephants enter villages because their traditional corridors have been blocked or lost to habitat degradation or because there is no food left in their natural range.

The Bastion – Seeking Rural Futures in the Northeast by Rethinking ‘Development vs Forests’

If incomes are linked directly to the restoration and preservation of nature, the perverse economic incentives that drive habitat destruction can be weakened, if not eliminated.

Sikkim Express – Oil palm in the Northeast: Can we do it better?

The National Mission on Edible Oils–Oil Palm was introduced on 18 August by the Cabinet, aiming to reduce overall national dependence on oil palm imports by increasing local cultivation.

Sunday Guardian Live – Oil palm in the Northeast: Can we do it better?

The National Mission on Edible Oils–Oil Palm was introduced on 18 August by the Cabinet, aiming to reduce overall national dependence on oil palm imports by increasing local cultivation.

The Arunachal Times – Oil palm in the Northeast: Can we do it better?

The next 5-15 years are make or break for the NER’s climate longevity. Long-term earning and jobs through sustainable agriculture must take centre stage to build the resilience of local markets through bamboo, rattan and sustainable timber

The Morung Express – Oil palm in the Northeast: Can we do it better?

Farmers across India report incurring losses of up to Rs 7 lakhs while waiting for oil palm to mature.

East Mojo – Oil palm in the Northeast: Can we do it better?

India has been facing a silent rural employment crisis for years. Farms are increasingly financially unlucrative, leading the rural youth to migrate in search of jobs.

Agrovoltaics for holistic rural development

Agroforestry has evolved from being just a major interest in developing nations into a tangible source of revenue generation for the country.

Boosting Rural Employment with Green Entrepreneurship Models

India has been facing a silent rural employment crisis for years. Farms are increasingly financially unlucrative, leading the rural youth to migrate in search of jobs.

This Assam social startup is easing the agrarian crisis with agroforestry

Agroforestry has evolved from being just a major interest in developing nations into a tangible source of revenue generation for the country.

Efforts to increase Mushroom cultivation in North East

Balipara Foundation currently is implementing mushroom cultivation in Assam, aims to scale up approximately 10 mushroom units across the Balipara Reserve Forest area next year.

Agroforestry for Ecosystem Resilience and Rural Livelihoods

Rural youth are increasingly moving out of farming, looking for employment in non-farm sectors.

Mushrooms: An Alternative to Agricultural Livelihoods in the North East

This model is helping us earn revenue by selling in the market and the village, Mushrooms, however, are slowly opening up an alternative livelihood opportunity for struggling farmers.

Agroforestry Comes to the Rescue of a Pandemic-hit Tribal Community in Assam

This model is helping us earn revenue by selling in the market and the village,

Guardians of Earth

Celebrating the warriors who are fighting to limit the destruction mankind has wrought on our planet and salvage something for the coming generations

‘RRR’, The three keys that can unlock a cleaner, greener and better tomorrow!

Keeping the ‘Reimagine. Recreate. Restore’ theme in mind, let’s try to find out ways to be eco-friendly while celebrating World Environment Day

Boosting Rural Employment With Green Entrepreneurship Models

India is not at all equipped to deal with the emerging climate and environmental threats.

Easing the agrarian crisis with agroforestry

Designed in 1981, Agrovoltaics is a sustainable technique where the same patch of land is used for both farming as well as production of electricity from solar panels.

The renewable energy-land conflict

Designed in 1981, Agrovoltaics is a sustainable technique where the same patch of land is used for both farming as well as production of electricity from solar panels.

Reducing deforestation will reduce pandemic risks

31% of emerging zoonotic diseases are linked directly to deforestation. 25% loss of intact forest in tropical areas increases contact between people and wildlife, exponentially increasing risks of transmission.

Boost sustainable investments

With a growing global appetite for sustainable investment in energy and sustainable land and ocean use, India is rife with opportunities that must be leveraged effectively.

A community-led vision for India’s rural future

The socioeconomic mobility of forest-fringe communities is key to the survival of forests and wildlife.

Time to accept that ecology is the new economy

The ongoing Covid-19 crisis has exposed the damage ecological degradation will wreak in the future–not just future virulent pandemics (WEF 2019), but droughts (Pearce, 2018), water and food insecurity (FAO, 2019) and the increasing desertification of once fertile soil (CSE, 2017).

Eclectic NorthEast October 2019

As the northeast faces a growing environmental crisis, we need to move beyond treating conservation and development as needs in opposition towards integrated models, such as rural futures.

BF presents ‘Rural Futures for Ecological Civilization in the Eastern Himalayas’ in the Royal

The protection of the Eastern Himalayas relies not on the competition between communities and the natural world, but by their co-operation. The Balipara Foundation’s Saurav Malhotra,Joanna Dawson and Ranjit Barthakur explain how

Ecology is Economy

We usually think of livelihoods and lives separately, however, it is now time to imagine a more integrated approach.In essence, ecology is economy.

Prevention Not Cures – What Forests Can Do in a Time of Global Pandemics

Forests manage natural processes, but they are also frontline buffers against disease outbreaks. on international day of forests, the need to rethink how we study and manage our forests has never been greater.

COVID-19 warriors: How Assam’s Mishings brought agroforestry back into practice

A village in Assam escapes unemployment and food scarcity by reviving an ancient food forestry practice.What came to the community’s rescue is the revival of an ancient food-forest practice just a few months before the pandemic’s outbreak.

Role Of Startups In Ecological & Financial Growth In A Pandemic-Hit World

The future belongs to the nations that take forward their financial growth while working with nature. We already have seen the existential threat brought by one virus on the entire mankind.

Triple Bottom Line In Business: People, Planet, Profit

Sustainable development goals can only be realized when the ground reality unfolds in tandem to the utopian policies deployed by subject matter experts.In today’s day and age, there is a dire need for business to transition into a nature-positive future.

The Indianaut Chronicles #2 A Conversation With Ranjit Barthakur (Founder, Balipara Foundation)

Ranjit Barthakur is the founder of the Balipara Foundation, which drives community-based conservation and livelihoods in the Eastern Himalayas through cutting edge proprietary concepts such as ‘Naturenomics™’ and ‘Rural Futures’ for sustainable social change and thriving habitats.

How this organisation is using Naturenomics to uplift livelihoods in the eastern Himalayas

Founded by Prabir Banerjea and Ranjit Barthakur in 2007, Balipara Foundation is preserving the natural habitats in the eastern Himalayas by engaging local communities in activities like afforestation and agroforestry.

Mysterious new bioluminescent mushroom glows in the forests of Meghalaya

A new species of bioluminescent fungus from the bamboo forests of Meghalaya has been described based on morphological and molecular data. It is the first distributional record of the genus Roridomyces in India.

World Environment Day: Amid mining, dam issues in Northeast, conservation group banks on ‘rural futures’

The Assam-based Balipara Foundation said the way to go forward in the Eastern Himalayas was synergising nature conservation and development with a focus on upward socio-economic mobility through habitat restoration and other ecosystem services in forest-fringe communities.

Save Our Lungs, Save Our Heart – Save Dehingpatkai (Sikkim Express)

The first quarter of 2020 ushered in an economic crisis second only to the Great Depression. This is no ordinary crisis, but an ecological crisis of deforestation and wildlife-human virus transmission that has spiraled out of control into an economic crisis.

How floods and migration in Assam link to human trafficking

Natural calamities are a lesser explored aspect in human trafficking that lead to loss of livelihood and migration. On several occasions climate change and the increasing risk of natural disasters have been linked to human trafficking.

Save our lungs, save our heart – save Dehing Patkai (The Arunachal Times)

The first quarter of 2020 ushered in an economic crisis second only to the Great Depression. This is no ordinary crisis, but an ecological crisis of deforestation and wildlife-human virus transmission that has spiralled out of control into an economic crisis.

Foot Soldiers of the Forest | Boom Towns

Change Metre: A conservation effort started in 2005 has transformed a swathe of almost barren land into a biodiversity hotspot in the eastern Himalayas, providing jobs to fringe forest communities and raising environmental awareness.

Balipara Foundation raises voice against Environment Impact Assessment

Balipara Foundation has said that the EIA (Environment Impact Assessment) 2020 has gone against the sole motive and basic principle of the Environment Protection Act, 1986.

Environmental Impact Assessment: A boon or bane?

The presence of the current draft EIA 2020, is one such anomaly whose implementation would lead to wiping out of the lungs of the Eastern Himalayan landscape. The draft EIA needs to have a stronghold to safeguard our forests and ensure a more prosperous sustainable future.

Balipara residents plant three lakh saplings in 30 minutes

The residents of Balipara in Sonitpur district on Thursday planted around three lakh saplings in just 30 minutes in 78 villages in the area. The saplings were planted as part of Project Communitree launched coinciding with Van Mahotsav Week 2019.