India is the seventh largest country in the world and Asia's second largest nation with an area of 3,287,263 square km. The Indian mainland stretches from 8 4' to 37 6' N latitude and from 68 7' to 97 25' E longitude Figure 1. It has a land frontier of some 15,200 kilometers and a coastline of 7,516 km (Government of India, 1985). India's northern frontiers are with Xizang (Tibet) in the Peoples Republic of China, Nepal and Bhutan. In the north-west, India borders on Pakistan; in the north-ea...
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Water is no pipe dream here

Konkodi Bhat's simple pipe system at his home in Dakshina Kannada allows the family to use rainwater for half the year and lets the excess recharge the open well for usage in the remaining months. His easily replicable technique can successfully reduce groundwater usage in heavy rainfall areas, reports Shree Padre.
23 July 2008 - Konkodi Thirumaleshwara Bhat lives with his family in Idkidu village near Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district. They have an open well and ...
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A great variety of endangered wildlife species end up feeding the illegal market for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) thanks to poor enforcement in stopping the trade, say experts and activists.

"The Chinese market is like a 'black hole' sucking in wildlife products from neighbouring countries," said Peter Pueschel, head of global Wildlife Trade Programme at the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), in an e-mail interview with IPS.

India, China's neighbour to the south, is most at r...
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