In a first, a study by researchers at the Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, has reported that microplastics have been found in the sediments of the Vembanad Lake, a wetland ecosystem recognised internationally by the Ramsar Convention.
Despite successful bans on the veterinary drug diclofenac in Nepal and parts of India, a decade-long undercover investigation reveals that toxic alternatives like flunixin and nimesulide are rapidly replacing it, posing a renewed existential threat to the region’s critically endangered vulture populations.
