Mongabay-India

Your Environment This Week: Faith protects snakes, termite mound architecture, energy map for India

A single individual of the termite Odontotermes obesus. Photo by Nikhil More.

A single individual of the termite Odontotermes obesus. Photo by Nikhil More.

This week’s environment and conservation news stories rolled into one.

To receive a weekly email with a roundup of our stories, please sign-up for our newsletter.

A community in Nagaland strives to sustain wildlife protection amid fresh challenges

The Sendenyu Community Biodiversity and Wildlife Reserve is one of 407 CCAs in Nagaland, accounting for almost a third of the total number of villages in the state.

Gwasinlo Thong, chairperson of the reserve committee in front of the Nsonji Lake, Sendenyu Community Biodiversity Reserve. Photo from Sendenyu Community Biodiversity and Wildlife Reserve.

Arabian Sea needs to be closely monitored for future storms: Study

Scientists studying the 2017 cyclone Ockhi 2017 suggest close monitoring of the Arabian Sea for future storms. Forecast models need to consider ocean and atmospheric conditions.

cyclone Ockhi, the first very severe cyclone to form over the Lakshadweep Sea since 1925, resulting in a death toll of 844 in India and Sri Lanka. Photo from NOAA/Wikimedia Commons.

As India plans clean energy transition, questions remain about impact

The Prime Minister recently announced India’s target of 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030. However, discussion around the impact on communities and environment is missing.

Wind turbines in Rajasthan. Photo by Kandukuru Nagarjun/Flickr.

Architectural secrets of termite mounds

The secret behind a termite mound’s balance of solid strength with porosity lies in a two-layered architecture. A dense core provides strength and stability, while a porous shell surrounding the core allows ventilation.

A termite colony inside a mound. Photo by Nikhil More.

Cultural beliefs protect snakes in the dwindling sacred groves of southwestern India

Youths need to be educated on the ecological role of sacred groves and their biodiversity to cultivate appreciation and potentially turn them into custodians of the groves.

A sacred grove in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Photo by Sugeeth S.

Rajasthan’s phosphate mines deprive villagers of land, livelihood, health

Health officials note that there’s so much dust in the air that residents of villages nearby mines develop diseases such as tuberculosis and lung cancer.

The tailings from the processing of ore contributes to a number of diseases in the local population. Photo by Sohail Khan.

Discarded single-use plastic masks and gloves are choking ocean beds

With inadequate biomedical waste treatment plants and an ineffective waste disposal system, the litter is making its way to the ocean.

Heaps of masks were found along with other biomedical waste on Rushikonda beach seabed. Photo courtesy- Platypus Escapes, Visakhapatnam.

Remove oil storage facility in ecologically sensitive coastal area, says green tribunal

The oil storage facility, which was violating coastal zone rules, was given clearance by the central government’s environment ministry.

The oil storage facility in Chennai whose removal has been ordered by the NGT. Photo by G. Stanley Hebzon Singh.

Frog discovered in the Eastern Ghats also found in the Western Ghats

The team compared the morphological features of this slightly larger frog found in Karnataka with those of other similar-looking Fejervarya/ Minervarya frogs.

The Kalinga cricket frog from the Western Ghats. Photo by Amit Hegde.

Unique primate habitat in Indonesia under threat from palm oil plantations

Among the threats to Sulawesi’s primate habitat is deforestation for oil palm. The top importers of palm oil as of 2019 were India and China.

Crested black macaque. Image by Rhett A. Butler / Mongabay.

Exit mobile version