About 62 million people in India suffer from dental, skeletal  or non-skeletal fluorosis. Most research on this subject is confined to monitoring fluoride levels in water rather than on mitigation of the disease. PSI presents the findings of water quality tests and health surveys in Sonebhadra district and describes an approach to community-based fluorosis mitigation planning.

An epidemiological study of the impact of air pollution on human health was conducted in Dehra Doon city in 2003. The results show that acute respiratory illnesses and eye diseases correlate strongly with air pollution caused by motor vehicular traffic. Chronic diseases have a lower correlation than acute illnesses.

A preliminary study to determine the impact of human activities in the protected Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR)  shows that the forests in the PTR have a threshold level of tolerance for human intervention. Upto this level forests can not only tolerate human interaction but also prosper. Beyond it there is a rapid decline in the forest quality.  Hence it is necessary to evolve an area specific knowledge-based approach that establishes the usufruct rights of the forest communities rather than follow an exclusionist approach to forest management.

Between September 2001 and April 2002 PSI monitored the leaching of mercury lying exposed and untended inside the abandoned Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, the scene of the greatest industrial disaster of the last century. PSI's results showed that mercury was not only leaching into the groundwater but was also diffusing through it.

This paper maps food insecurity at the district level in the state of Uttarakhand, using secondary data. Food insecurity is determined in terms of availability, access and absorption. The statistical analysis is supplemented with ground-truths from micro-studies.

Bioassays are relatively simple methods of assessing the toxicity and impact of industrial effluents on streams. PSI's analysis of the effluents from the Star Paper Mill in Saharanpur showed that they cause 50 to 85 per cent mortality in the fish species (sp. Barilius Bendelisis) tested. Water from the Hindon river, downstream of the SPM effluent channel, used for irrigating paddy nurseries causes a 50 per cent reduction in seed germination. The BOD, COD, TSS and mercury concentrations in the effluents exceeded the maximum permissible limits.

This review paper describes a variety of water harvesting structures and management systems found in the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. It presents an insightful analysis to argue that sanskar (precepts and rites), sanskriti (culture and customary practices) and niti (state policy and administration) were the bases of the traditions and their longevity. It identifies the causes for the decline of these traditions and practical steps to build on the surviving traditions.

National water supply policies and programmes are reviewed along with the domestic water supply programmes in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Official data are supplemented with observations and information from surveys and micro-studies. The paper analyses the data and makes recommendations for state policies and programmes.

Local farmers in Meerut district -- in the heart of India's green revolution belt -- routinely use several banned and restricted pesticides. Fifty samples of soil, groundwater and vegetables were collected from various locations and analyzed for pesticides contamination.  The results show that the pesticides tend to persist in the soil and surface water bodies.

The legal, policy and institutional provisions for the management of water and forest resources in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand are reviewed in a historical context and with a focus on how the laws actually operate on the ground. It highlights the constraining and facilitating factors on integrated water and forest management in the state, before making  recommendations for changes in the existing policy, legal and institutional frameworks.

Participatory hydrological studies were conducted with the local communities in two micro-catchments of Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh to promote incentive-based mechanisms (IBM) for watershed protection services and improved livelihoods. The suspended sediment yield for the Bhodi-Suan and Kuhan catchments is 6.5 tons/ha/yr and 11.9 tons/ha/yr respectively, below the national average of 16.4 t/ha/yr. The estimated silt yields from both the catchments, however, exceed the tolerable soil erosion level according to the local soil depth. The local communities have used the data to plan catchment area treatment measures for watershed protection and improved livelihoods.