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Development Alternatives
Where Water Begins: Rethinking Resilience Through Nature
Water has never existed in isolation. It travels through forests, flows into rivers, seeps into healthy soils to replenish aquifers, and moves across landscapes that manage floods, droughts, and the livelihoods of people. For centuries, India recognised these natural connections. Ponds, streams, wetlands, forests, and rivers were not seen as …
40 Years On: The Green Transition Has Always Been About People
In 1982, when Development Alternatives was founded, the vocabulary that governs India’s recent development ambitions did not yet exist. Sustainable development had no official definition. That would come five years later, in the Brundtland Commission’s landmark report – Our Common Future. Green jobs, circular economy, sustainability itself: none of these …
Making the Village Work: Integrated Development in Practice
For years, rural India has seen significant development through various schemes aimed at improving infrastructure and providing funding. The scale is undeniable—and so are the results. Since 2019, the Jal Jeevan Mission has provided tap water connections to more than 140 million rural households, boosting national rural coverage from about …
Trans-boundary Air Pollution – The Untold Story
In 2024*, around 8.1 million people died globally due to air pollution. After cardiovascular disease, exposure to toxic air is the second leading cause of death across all age groups. It acts as a silent killer, contributing to heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) …
The Mighty Himalayas: Mountain, People, Nature, and Climate
The Himalayas, also known as the third pole, is integral to the region’s climate, people, and nature nexus, influencing the lives of millions living here and downstream. However, with the passage of time, climate change is disrupting this intricate balance—impacting glaciers, altering water availability, threatening agriculture and biodiversity, and eroding …