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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/author/mayank/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 07:29:19 +0000</lastBuildDate>
		<language>en-US</language>
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					<title>As tigers spill beyond reserves, India rethinks conservation</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-tigers-spill-beyond-reserves-india-rethinks-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-tigers-spill-beyond-reserves-india-rethinks-conservation/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Sep 2026 12:04:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Arathi Menon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[big cats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tiger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wild Cats]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/18110753/Copy-of-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
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											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Ecology, Environment, Forests, Grazing, Human Wildlife Conflict, Mammals, National Parks, People, Protected Areas, Tigers, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Forty-five-year-old Mahadeva Gowda was tending to his cotton farm in the village of Badagalapura in the southern Indian state of Karnataka when a tiger lunged at him from behind. He was caught unaware: He says he wasn’t aware that the forest department was trying to capture a tiger roaming through the areas. Before he realised [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Forty-five-year-old Mahadeva Gowda was tending to his cotton farm in the village of Badagalapura in the southern Indian state of Karnataka when a tiger lunged at him from behind. He was caught unaware: He says he wasn’t aware that the forest department was trying to capture a tiger roaming through the areas. Before he realised what was happening, the tiger swiped at his face, severely injuring his eyes and part of his face. After multiple reconstructive surgeries, Gowda has been left to live the rest of his life blinded, without eyes, his mouth only able to open partially, and his speech slurred. His wife, Indrani, says survival is extremely difficult for the family; Gowda was the household’s breadwinner, and now, he can’t work. He’s now become fully dependent on his wife for even his most basic needs. The incident occurred in mid-October 2025. Two weeks later, another farmer, 55-year-old Rajashekarappa, was grazing his cattle in a field when he encountered a tiger. It was fatal. Badagalapura and other villages that regularly report tiger encounters sit on the edge of the forest, placing them within what the forest department considers a “tiger landscape.” “Tigers have been present in this landscape for centuries and they constantly move here,” says S. Prabhakaran, who served as conservator of forests and oversaw operations at Karnataka’s Bandipur Tiger Reserve until earlier this year. The 1,456-square-kilometre park is home to between 154 and 175 tigers, according to a 2024 estimate by India’s National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-tigers-spill-beyond-reserves-india-rethinks-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indus Waters Treaty needs modernisation, experts say amid deadlock</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/indus-water-treaty-needs-modernisation-experts-say-amid-deadlock/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/indus-water-treaty-needs-modernisation-experts-say-amid-deadlock/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Sep 2026 17:45:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hydroelectric Power]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Water conflict]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water crisis]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/17161710/AP6804011606-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40983</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Dams, Environmental Politics, Politics, Rivers, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On August 31, the Permanent Court of Arbitration — an intergovernmental body headquartered in The Hague — passed an order that said India could not unilaterally retreat from or cast aside the Indus Waters Treaty, a 66-year-old pact governing water sharing between India and Pakistan. India rejected the court’s decision shortly after, prolonging the deadlock [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On August 31, the Permanent Court of Arbitration — an intergovernmental body headquartered in The Hague — passed an order that said India could not unilaterally retreat from or cast aside the Indus Waters Treaty, a 66-year-old pact governing water sharing between India and Pakistan. India rejected the court’s decision shortly after, prolonging the deadlock between both countries and throwing the Treaty’s future into a state of flux. The PCA’s order was issued more than a year after India placed the agreement in “abeyance” following attacks by militants that India said were linked to Pakistan-based groups. “India&#8217;s position on the Indus Waters Treaty is consistent. The IWT stands in abeyance in response to Pakistan&#8217;s continued sponsorship of cross-border terrorism. Pakistan must credibly and irrevocably abjure its support for cross-border terrorism,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told the press in July. The PCA said it contemplated the meaning of India’s decision, since the word “abeyance” finds no recognition in the Treaty. It concluded that none of the grounds publicly cited by India “could justify suspension or termination of the Treaty,” and that it “remains fully in force, and India must observe its obligations.” Though famously having remained intact through three wars, the ongoing suspension has reinforced the need to modernise the agreement, experts say, so it can account for geopolitical differences, climate impacts, and changing water consumption habits. “If rights under an agreement cannot be exercised within a period of time without uncertainty, then it means that process isn’t&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/indus-water-treaty-needs-modernisation-experts-say-amid-deadlock/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>High-altitude bird hotspots remain outside protected areas</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/high-altitude-bird-hotspots-remain-outside-protected-areas/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/high-altitude-bird-hotspots-remain-outside-protected-areas/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Sep 2026 14:15:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kasturi Das]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[protected areas]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/17130909/RCNX0076-e1789630907282-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40967</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Himachal Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Biodiversity, Birds, Cats, Conservation, Ecology, Environment, Himalayas, Mountains, Protected Areas, Wildlife, and Wildlife Protection Act]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the high-altitude landscapes of Himachal Pradesh, conservation efforts have long revolved around the charismatic snow leopard (Panthera uncia). But a new study suggests this focus may be leaving a host of other ecologically vital species outside the conservation umbrella. The study, led by scientists from the Nature Conservation Foundation and partner institutions, mapped the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the high-altitude landscapes of Himachal Pradesh, conservation efforts have long revolved around the charismatic snow leopard (Panthera uncia). But a new study suggests this focus may be leaving a host of other ecologically vital species outside the conservation umbrella. The study, led by scientists from the Nature Conservation Foundation and partner institutions, mapped the distribution of Galliformes — a group of heavy-bodied, ground-dwelling birds that includes pheasants and partridges — across 26,000 square kilometres. It found that only 12.5% of areas with high Galliformes species richness and 8.8% of areas with high concentrations of endemic species fall within existing protected areas (PA), designated zones for conservation of wildlife and habitats. The findings indicate that important bird habitats lie outside the designated protected areas. They point to the need for conservation planning that considers multiple species and the landscapes they share, rather than focusing mainly on flagship species such as the snow leopard. Snow leopard cameras reveal bird conservation gap The study, however, did not begin with birds at all. It grew out of a snow leopard survey conducted between 2016 and 2019. “We deployed close to 300 camera traps to estimate snow leopard populations,” said Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi, a scientist with the Nature Conservation Foundation, and senior author of the paper. “We completed that work and published those results. That is when we realised that while studying these charismatic species, our camera traps had detected many other animals.” Suryawanshi and his team revisited the data to identify species that warranted&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/high-altitude-bird-hotspots-remain-outside-protected-areas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>People and the politics of contest, construction and compensation</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/people-and-the-politics-of-contest-construction-and-compensation/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/people-and-the-politics-of-contest-construction-and-compensation/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Sep 2026 16:34:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Satish Bhartiya]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ken-betwa river linking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[River Interlinking]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/16154553/%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%8C%E0%A4%A7%E0%A4%A8-%E0%A4%97%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%B5-%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%A1%E0%A4%BC%E0%A4%BE-%E0%A4%97%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE-%E0%A4%8F%E0%A4%95-%E0%A4%98%E0%A4%B0-1200x800-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
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											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Rivers, Tribes, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The banks of the Barana river, where those affected by the Ken-Betwa project led the Panchtatva Satyagraha in July, now lie quiet. Although water levels have risen to cover much of the protest site, traces of the chita (pyre) and phansi (noose) used for demonstrations are still visible. The din of machinery can constantly be heard [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The banks of the Barana river, where those affected by the Ken-Betwa project led the Panchtatva Satyagraha in July, now lie quiet. Although water levels have risen to cover much of the protest site, traces of the chita (pyre) and phansi (noose) used for demonstrations are still visible. The din of machinery can constantly be heard from beneath the nearby bridge. A large number of slippers lie scattered near the bridge, left behind during police interventions on July 19. Bhagwati Saur, 60, who lives 30 km away in Mainari village in Chhatarpur district in Madhya Pradesh, arrived on July 4 at the protest site in Kupi village and returned home after the police cleared the site. She lives with her husband and six children in a five-room house. The family owns approximately five acres of agricultural land, where they grow mango, mahua and guava trees. She says that despite being affected by the project, she has, so far, received neither compensation for the house and land nor any related notice. “We pleaded for fair compensation, taking our appeal from Chhatarpur to Bhopal. When we were not heard, we had to raise our voices through the protest,” says Bhagwati. She is not the only one. In the affected villages, some families have been written off the compensation list, while others are awaiting payment. Many families are questioning the compensation rates and survey process. The April and July protests prompted the administration to order a reassessment of the families that had been left&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/people-and-the-politics-of-contest-construction-and-compensation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>The crane that loves a duet</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/the-crane-that-loves-a-duet/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/the-crane-that-loves-a-duet/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Sep 2026 15:52:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Team Mongabay-India]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/16140900/sarus-crane-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=40944</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Species File]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Ecology, Endangered species, Environment, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The female sarus crane typically initiates the duet, which has a three-part structure: an introduction, trill and main segment. ]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Species File: Exploring India&#8217;s biodiversity, one species at a time. A new study of sarus cranes across the agricultural landscapes of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat found that the birds follow a three-part structure in their duets, loud, coordinated calls produced by mating pairs. The female typically initiates the duet, which has an introduction, trill and main segment. While the acoustic details vary between populations and pairs, the researchers found no distinct regional “dialects”. The sarus crane (Antigone antigone) is the world’s tallest flying bird, standing up to 1.8 meters with a wingspan of 2.4 meters. The birds are recognisable through their grey bodies with a bright red neck and head. Unlike songbirds, sarus cranes have a more primitive vocal system called the pharynx and a limited number of vocalisations. While males and females are visually difficult to distinguish, researchers have found a way to tell them apart through the notes in their calls. The state bird of Uttar Pradesh, sarus cranes are mostly found in wetlands, grasslands and agricultural landscape. Its numbers are rising particularly in Uttar Pradesh’s Rohilkhand region. A total of 1,942 sarus cranes have been recorded in the region and forest department officials say the increase reflects ongoing conservation efforts, especially in wetlands and marshy areas, and is a boost for ecological balance. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Species categorises the sarus crane as vulnerable, which means it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild. In India, it&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/the-crane-that-loves-a-duet/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>The itchy spread of Parthenium</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/the-itchy-spread-of-parthenium/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/the-itchy-spread-of-parthenium/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Sep 2026 15:32:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Barasha Das]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Renuka Kulkarni]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[invasive plants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[invasive species]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/15133254/1.-Vegetable-vendor-using-Parthenium-to-line-vegetable-baskets.-PC-Barasha-Das-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
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											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Assam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Health impacts, and Plants]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On a June morning in 2025, 24-year-old Niharika Deka of Kaliabor in Nagaon district, Assam, took the family’s cattle out to graze, filling in for her mother. By evening, an intense itch had developed around her eyelids and lips. Her mother had similar allergic reactions on her hands. Several doctors’ consultations and treatments followed. Doctors [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On a June morning in 2025, 24-year-old Niharika Deka of Kaliabor in Nagaon district, Assam, took the family’s cattle out to graze, filling in for her mother. By evening, an intense itch had developed around her eyelids and lips. Her mother had similar allergic reactions on her hands. Several doctors’ consultations and treatments followed. Doctors initially suspected a cosmetic trigger. “The symptoms eased with medication, but the itch would flare up the moment I stepped into the fields or sometimes even outside the house. We kept shuttling between doctors,” Deka said. The picture became clearer when other villagers and students began reporting similar rashes and allergic episodes on exposed skin. Suspicion narrowed to a small, white-flowering wild plant that had recently begun proliferating across the locality. When its conspicuous flowering subsided after August, the allergies eased too. When the flowers returned in the summer of 2026, so did the itching. Deka said the repeated flare-ups have left dark patches around her eyelids and mouth, with similar discolouration on her mother’s hands. “It looks awful, and we don’t know if it’ll fade. I&#8217;m of marriageable age, and my parents are worried,” she said. About 150 km away, in Raja Mayong in Morigaon district, farmer Mahesh Nath is grappling with the same weed on his one-acre plot, where he grows vegetables and grains for a living. “It outpaces everything else,” he said. Around 2021, parthenium covered nearly 70% of his plot. During floods, Nath and his wife uprooted the plants when the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/the-itchy-spread-of-parthenium/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>BRICS declaration calls for climate action while recognising fossil fuel role</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/brics-declaration-calls-for-climate-action-while-recognising-fossil-fuel-role/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/brics-declaration-calls-for-climate-action-while-recognising-fossil-fuel-role/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Sep 2026 10:54:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/15102527/AP20240245078748-e1789448382957-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
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											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi, Global, and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon emissions, Carbon Finance, Carbon Offset, Carbon Trading, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Change Mitigation, Coal, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Natural Resources]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Amid increasing climate impacts and a fractured geopolitical order, the BRICS Summit in India underlined the importance of climate resilience in the New Delhi Declaration, along with energy security as a crucial foundation for social and economic development, national security and the welfare of all nations. The New Delhi Declaration, a consensus document adopted on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Amid increasing climate impacts and a fractured geopolitical order, the BRICS Summit in India underlined the importance of climate resilience in the New Delhi Declaration, along with energy security as a crucial foundation for social and economic development, national security and the welfare of all nations. The New Delhi Declaration, a consensus document adopted on September 12 by countries in the BRICS bloc, underlined the role of fossil fuels in the world’s energy mix, particularly for emerging markets and developing economies. The expanded BRICS grouping comprises 21 countries, including 11 members and 10 partner countries. India assumed the BRICS Chairship in January, and the 18th BRICS Leaders&#8217; Summit took place on September 12 and 13 in New Delhi. The declaration recognises the importance of the energy transition and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but also emphasises the principles of technological neutrality and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC). The declaration also outlines areas for practical cooperation, including carbon markets, climate research and community-based adaptation. It calls for greater collaboration on smart grids, energy storage, hydrogen, critical minerals and efforts to decarbonise transport. Recognising the disproportionate burden climate change imposes across countries, the declaration expresses resolve to remain united in pursuit of the purpose, principles and objectives of the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement. It also calls on all countries to uphold their existing commitments and scale up their efforts to combat climate change. It describes protectionist measures such as carbon border adjustment mechanisms as punitive and discriminatory, and notes&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/brics-declaration-calls-for-climate-action-while-recognising-fossil-fuel-role/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/brics-declaration-calls-for-climate-action-while-recognising-fossil-fuel-role/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>Nepal&#8217;s flood claim tests whether a nascent climate fund can deliver</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-claim-tests-whether-a-young-climate-fund-can-deliver/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-claim-tests-whether-a-young-climate-fund-can-deliver/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Sep 2026 15:25:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate action]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hindu Kush Himalaya]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Loss and damage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Loss and damage fund]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/14125738/AP26251387871560-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40892</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Finance]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Nepal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Extreme Weather Events, Floods, Glacial Lake Outburst Flood, and Impacts of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[More than 1,386 people have died and over 5,130 more missing, as of September 12, following the August 26 floods in Nepal. In the wreckage along the Bhote Koshi river lie two unresolved questions: Is climate change linked to the disaster? And, can a nascent global fund, built to help vulnerable countries in such crises, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[More than 1,386 people have died and over 5,130 more missing, as of September 12, following the August 26 floods in Nepal. In the wreckage along the Bhote Koshi river lie two unresolved questions: Is climate change linked to the disaster? And, can a nascent global fund, built to help vulnerable countries in such crises, actually deliver? Soon after the floods, the Government of Nepal wrote a letter to the Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), a financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established in 2022 to help vulnerable countries cope with climate disasters. In the letter signed by the country’s Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle and Minister for Agriculture, Forest and Environment Gita Chaudhary, Nepal requested the board to take a special decision to respond rapidly, directly and effectively. Signed on August 31, the letter emphasised that a prompt response would “demonstrate that the Fund can translate international solidarity into timely support for vulnerable countries and communities when it is most urgently needed.” Nepal contributes roughly 0.027% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The mountainous country is in the &#8216;least developed country&#8217; category designated by the UN and is a highly climate-vulnerable country that &#8220;continues to bear disproportionate and escalating climate impacts,&#8221; the letter states. It argues that the Bhote Koshi disaster demonstrates how extreme events in the cryosphere can rapidly cascade and compound from high mountains to densely populated downstream areas, affecting water, food, energy, health, infrastructure and ecosystems. Though&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-claim-tests-whether-a-young-climate-fund-can-deliver/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Researchers rediscover an endemic plant after 180 years</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/researchers-rediscover-an-endemic-plant-in-assam-after-180-years/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/researchers-rediscover-an-endemic-plant-in-assam-after-180-years/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Sep 2026 12:51:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nabarun Guha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[endemic species]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plant]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/14103922/rungia-mastersii-pic-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40895</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Assam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecology, Endemic species, Environment, New species, Plants, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[An endemic plant species Rungia mastersii was rediscovered in Assam, 180 years after its first discovery. The plant was not seen anywhere during this period. Kangkan Kumar Das, a doctoral researcher, and professor Debjyoti Bhattacharyya from the Department of Life Science and Bioinformatics at Assam University, Silchar, identified the species from Jatinga Hills in the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[An endemic plant species Rungia mastersii was rediscovered in Assam, 180 years after its first discovery. The plant was not seen anywhere during this period. Kangkan Kumar Das, a doctoral researcher, and professor Debjyoti Bhattacharyya from the Department of Life Science and Bioinformatics at Assam University, Silchar, identified the species from Jatinga Hills in the Dima Hasao district of Assam. In 1845, British botanist J.W. Masters first discovered the plant from an unidentified location along Assam&#8217;s Sundar river and the plant was named after Masters. Speaking to Mongabay-India, Das said, “I was pursuing my doctoral research on the Acanthaceae family of plants and was travelling through Assam for my research. In Jatinga hills in Dima Hasao, I found this plant Rungia mastersii which is also a member of the family Acanthaceae. After I discovered this plant, I consulted with the renowned Chinese botanist Prof. Yunfei Deng from South China Botanical Garden who confirmed it.” He informed that for almost two centuries, there was no trace of this plant anywhere in the world. “Only one herbarium sheet has been kept at Central National Herbarium (CNH), Howrah,” he said. The endemic plant species Rungia mastersii was rediscovered in Assam after 180 years in Jatinga Hills, Dima Hasao district. Image by Kangkan Kumar Das. Characteristics of the plant The study published by Das and Bhattacharyya in July, 2026 describes Rungia mastersii as 60 to 110 cm tall, thriving in moist forests at elevations of 900 to 1,250 metres, and featuring pale green to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/researchers-rediscover-an-endemic-plant-in-assam-after-180-years/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Bengaluru’s Hebbal tunnel raises concerns about groundwater and flooding</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/bengalurus-hebbal-tunnel-raises-concerns-about-groundwater-and-flooding/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/bengalurus-hebbal-tunnel-raises-concerns-about-groundwater-and-flooding/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Sep 2026 15:04:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sohel Sarkar]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bengaluru]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/11125937/Construction-underway-for-Hebbal-short-tunnel-Oppostite-Veterinary-College-Campus-1_Photo-hy-author-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40874</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Karnataka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Environment, Floods, Lakes, Roads, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The proposed three-lane, bidirectional tunnel road in north Bengaluru, intended to ease congestion at Hebbal Junction — a major interchange connecting the airport with the rest of the city — has run into rough weather. At an estimated ₹1,385 crores (₹13.85 billion), the tunnel will cost about ₹622 crore (₹6.22 billion) per kilometre. The tunnel’s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The proposed three-lane, bidirectional tunnel road in north Bengaluru, intended to ease congestion at Hebbal Junction — a major interchange connecting the airport with the rest of the city — has run into rough weather. At an estimated ₹1,385 crores (₹13.85 billion), the tunnel will cost about ₹622 crore (₹6.22 billion) per kilometre. The tunnel’s long-term benefits in terms of easing traffic congestion are, however, unclear. A recent analysis by the Sustainable Transportation Lab of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc ) points out that the tunnel is a “highly localised improvement” that “merely shifts the congestion point”, leaving bottlenecks at its entry and exit. The detailed project report or DPR shows that by 2047, the tunnel will operate at or beyond capacity in all scenarios modelled. According to urban mobility expert Satya Arikutharam, apart from creating more chaos at these bottlenecks, the tunnel “will also worsen the local traffic, the very problem it intends to solve. Faster arrival rate at these local road intersections due to the new short  tunnel capacity means quicker accumulation of traffic, queuing pile-ups and traffic jams,” he says. Groundwater and flooding concerns A bigger concern the citizens and environmental experts are raising is about the risks it could pose to groundwater and flooding. The little over two-kilometre tunnel will run from the Hebbal flyover junction in north Bengaluru — about 30 km by road from Kempegowda International Airport — to the Veterinary College. The DPR describes the proposed alignment as connecting the Hebbal flyover&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/bengalurus-hebbal-tunnel-raises-concerns-about-groundwater-and-flooding/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Centre tightens grip over mineral taxation, states cry foul</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/centre-tightens-grip-over-mineral-taxation-states-cry-foul/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/centre-tightens-grip-over-mineral-taxation-states-cry-foul/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Sep 2026 12:49:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Vishal Kumar Jain]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[minerals]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/11112041/Alok-Putul-Hasdeo-coal-block-4-1200x800-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40861</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Deforestation, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, and Mining]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Among the 12 bills passed during the Monsoon Session of Parliament concluded in August, the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 (MMDR Amendment Bill) has drawn the most opposition. The bill — which has far-reaching implications for Centre-State relations and the federal structure — was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Among the 12 bills passed during the Monsoon Session of Parliament concluded in August, the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 (MMDR Amendment Bill) has drawn the most opposition. The bill — which has far-reaching implications for Centre-State relations and the federal structure — was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 10 and passed by a voice vote within two minutes on August 12. The statement of objects and reasons accompanying the Bill states that centre has assumed control over the regulation of mines and the development of minerals under Section 2 of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, “in view of the larger public interest.” These amendments significantly alter the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, shifting authority over mineral-bearing land from states to the Union Government. States can no longer impose any tax, cess or levy on such land, whether based on mineral quantity, prices, royalty or any other basis, other than the terms or restrictions prescribed by the Centre. States had won this right to levy taxes following a 2024 Supreme Court ruling, which also ordered them to recover outstanding dues in 12 installments starting April 1, 2025. However, states will not be required to return the amounts already collected. Opposition parties allege that mining-rich states will suffer a revenue loss following the amendment to the MMDR Act. A bauxite yard in Lohardaga, Jharkhand. Image by Vishal Kumar Jain/Mongabay. The Ministry of Mines maintains that the amendment will&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/centre-tightens-grip-over-mineral-taxation-states-cry-foul/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>How a village in Bastar is stopping forest fires</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/video/2026/09/how-a-village-in-bastar-is-stopping-forest-fires/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/video/2026/09/how-a-village-in-bastar-is-stopping-forest-fires/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Sep 2026 18:15:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Prakhar DobhalSwara Garge]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kartik Chandramouli]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Chhattisgarh]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community Forest Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest fire]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/10123046/fireline-banner-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?post_type=videos&#038;p=40832</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Eco Hope]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chhattisgarh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change Adaptation, Forest Fires, and Forest Rights Act]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Every summer, the forests around Tiriya village in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, face the threat of fire. But before flames can spread, the residents are already on the move. Members of Tiriya’s gram sabha patrol the forest on bicycles, looking for fresh smoke or flames. They work in shifts, maintain firelines and coordinate with the Forest Department [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Every summer, the forests around Tiriya village in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, face the threat of fire. But before flames can spread, the residents are already on the move. Members of Tiriya’s gram sabha patrol the forest on bicycles, looking for fresh smoke or flames. They work in shifts, maintain firelines and coordinate with the Forest Department when fires are detected. The patrols are part of a larger change in how the community manages its forests. After receiving Community Forest Resource rights in 2022-23, Tiriya’s gram sabha took responsibility for more than 3,000 hectares of forest. Villagers say this changed how they viewed and managed the forest. “Now, the villagers have reduced burning and monitor planned fires closely,” says Loknath Nag, who is part of the village’s Community Forest Resource Management Committee. For the Dhurwa community, mahua and sal are important to food, livelihoods and traditions, while forest produce such as mushrooms depends on the leaf litter that fires can destroy. The community’s efforts appear to be paying off. Recorded fires in Tiriya fell from 19 to three between 2022 and 2025, with one recorded by May 2026, according to the gram sabha and forest department. Watch Before The Fire to see how Tiriya’s community-led forest patrols work and what it takes to keep a fire from becoming a forest fire. &nbsp; This film was produced under Mongabay-India and ALT EFF’s Video Reporting Opportunity programme.This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/video/2026/09/how-a-village-in-bastar-is-stopping-forest-fires/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Krishna AchutaRao, climate scientist who pioneered attribution research in India, dies at 62 [Obituary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/krishna-achutarao-climate-scientist-who-pioneered-attribution-research-in-india-dies-at-62/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/krishna-achutarao-climate-scientist-who-pioneered-attribution-research-in-india-dies-at-62/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Sep 2026 16:21:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Climate disaster]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/10155254/krishna-achutarao-collage-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=40852</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Science, Environment, Environmental Heroes, Global Warming, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Obituary, and People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Krishna AchutaRao, the renowned climate scientist and a professor at IIT Delhi’s Centre for Atmospheric Sciences (CAS), died on September 4, aged 62. AchutaRao’s research helped strengthen the science of climate attribution, distinguishing climate change related events from ordinary ones. His sustained focus on the influence of anthropogenic forces over climate systems has helped put [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Krishna AchutaRao, the renowned climate scientist and a professor at IIT Delhi’s Centre for Atmospheric Sciences (CAS), died on September 4, aged 62. AchutaRao’s research helped strengthen the science of climate attribution, distinguishing climate change related events from ordinary ones. His sustained focus on the influence of anthropogenic forces over climate systems has helped put their regional impacts into focus. AchutaRao has been associated with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change since 2001, rising to become a contributing author to the seminal reports in its fifth and sixth editions. He also helped set up IIT’s Centre of Excellence for Climate Change Adaptation, which developed an expertise in climate risk assessments and adaptation planning for heat extremes, monsoon variability, and other hazards affecting vulnerable communities in India. But apart from his scientific contributions, AchutaRao was also an advocate of raising awareness about climate change. He engaged with the media often to explain the importance of limiting global heating, and spoke of how its uneven impacts on the developing world could affect people, institutions, and countries. “This is a very critical time in our history, because we are a developing country poised to take off. Most of our development is yet to happen, in spite of what you might see,” he said in an interview to an IIT student in 2020. “So in that development, how are we going to make sure we don’t make the same high emission mistakes the rest of the developed world has made? There is a role&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/krishna-achutarao-climate-scientist-who-pioneered-attribution-research-in-india-dies-at-62/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Nepal’s flood disaster puts its hydropower-first strategy, exports to the test</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-disaster-puts-its-hydropower-first-strategy-exports-to-the-test/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-disaster-puts-its-hydropower-first-strategy-exports-to-the-test/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Sep 2026 15:00:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rudra Pangeni]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Flash flood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nepal]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/10141820/nepal-flood-2026-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40837</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, Himalayas, and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Dams, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Floods, Glacial Lake Outburst Flood, Glaciers, Global Warming, Himalayas, Hydroelectric power, Impacts of Climate Change, Mountains, Natural Resources, Renewable Energy, and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Nepal’s long-held policy of harnessing hydroelectricity and using it for economic growth has met new challenges: potential catastrophic floods in the snow-fed rivers amid rising global temperatures. The August 26 floods that originated on the Nepal-China border, and that knocked out around 10% of installed power from the national grid, has prompted a debate on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Nepal’s long-held policy of harnessing hydroelectricity and using it for economic growth has met new challenges: potential catastrophic floods in the snow-fed rivers amid rising global temperatures. The August 26 floods that originated on the Nepal-China border, and that knocked out around 10% of installed power from the national grid, has prompted a debate on whether Nepal should rethink its overall hydropower strategy or just adopt better-engineered plants. Amid this, the flood could jeopardise the country’s clean energy targets and push it to adopt more solar power. Immediate impacts The recent flash flood crippled a combined installed generation capacity of 281 megawatts, including a solar power plant, and damaged four other under-construction projects, totaling a capacity of 700 MW. One of the oldest hydroelectric plants, the 14.1-MW Devighat Hydroelectric Plant, commissioned 42 years ago, was wiped out. Further downstream, the flood badly damaged a 25-MW solar power plant, according to data compiled by Mongabay from official sources. Similarly, with a hub of a transmission line washed away on the Trishuli river’s banks, another 150 MW of power from different power plants is cut off from the national grid system. Transmission lines, including a substation on the Trishuli riverbank, were also destroyed. While officials are assessing the damage, estimates put losses at hundreds of billions of Nepali rupees, according to media reports. They say they can’t yet provide timelines for when the affected projects will resume generation. Around 983 engineers and workers are feared trapped inside the tunnels or power houses&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-disaster-puts-its-hydropower-first-strategy-exports-to-the-test/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-disaster-puts-its-hydropower-first-strategy-exports-to-the-test/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>Your exotic pet could be putting your health at risk</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/your-exotic-pet-could-be-putting-your-health-at-risk/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/your-exotic-pet-could-be-putting-your-health-at-risk/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Sep 2026 12:56:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Arathi Menon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[exotic species]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zoonoses]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zoonotic disease]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/10105159/AP18210287107497-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40817</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environmental Crime, Health impacts, Law Enforcement, Pandemics, Pet Trade, Wildlife, Wildlife Protection Act, Wildlife Trade, Wildlife Trafficking, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This is Part 1 of a series on exotic pet trade. The series looks at the health impacts, legal challenges and the ecological consequences of keeping exotic wild animals as pets. Mumbai-based veterinarian Dr. Rina Dev was hospitalised for four days recently with a lung infection. “I hope it’s not something from the parrots I [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This is Part 1 of a series on exotic pet trade. The series looks at the health impacts, legal challenges and the ecological consequences of keeping exotic wild animals as pets. Mumbai-based veterinarian Dr. Rina Dev was hospitalised for four days recently with a lung infection. “I hope it’s not something from the parrots I was treating,” she told Mongabay-India after being discharged from the hospital. Dr. Dev is an avian and exotic animal veterinarian who works closely with the forest department to treat imported and seized exotic animals involved in the wildlife trade. Her concerns are valid. Avian chlamydiosis, or psittacosis, is caused by the bacterium Chlamydia psittaci and is a common infection among people who handle birds, earning it the nickname “bird handler’s disease”. A 2024 case from India describes a man contracting the infection after exposure to his pet parrot. In 1994, customs officers in Belgium contracted chlamydiosis after being exposed to infected parakeets. Multiple such documented cases link wildlife trade to human infection. A comprehensive review of psittacosis by the ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute in 2021 describes avian chlamydiosis as a “neglected disease” with “critical zoonotic potential”. Pet trade link to zoonosis Zoonoses, or zoonotic diseases, entered the ordinary Indian’s wellness lexicon when the COVID-19 pandemic exposed how pathogens can jump from animals to humans, causing serious medical consequences and, in some cases, a pandemic that can literally bring the world to a standstill. The wildlife pet trade, especially the trade in exotic animals imported or&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/your-exotic-pet-could-be-putting-your-health-at-risk/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/your-exotic-pet-could-be-putting-your-health-at-risk/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>Red-naped ibises carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria, study finds</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/red-naped-ibises-carry-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/red-naped-ibises-carry-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-study-finds/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Sep 2026 15:47:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban biodiversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban lakes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[waterbirds]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/09132118/The-red-naped-ibis-Vijay-Kumar-Koli-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40801</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Rajasthan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birds, Cities and Towns, Conservation, Ecology, Environment, Marshlands, Research, Waste management, Water Pollution, Wetlands, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Antibiotic resistance is not confined to people alone. Wildlife can also encounter and carry resistant bacteria, with birds picking them up from contaminated water, food, waste and other human-associated environments. As they move between habitats, they may spread these bacteria through their faeces, making them useful candidates in tracking the movement of antibiotic resistance in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Antibiotic resistance is not confined to people alone. Wildlife can also encounter and carry resistant bacteria, with birds picking them up from contaminated water, food, waste and other human-associated environments. As they move between habitats, they may spread these bacteria through their faeces, making them useful candidates in tracking the movement of antibiotic resistance in the environment. A new study of red-naped ibises in Udaipur, Rajasthan, has now found diverse bacteria in their faeces, including multidrug-resistant strains. The red-naped ibis is a common, resident, non-migratory wading bird that occurs across a range of habitats in and around Udaipur. It is also an opportunistic omnivore, consuming insects, amphibians, reptiles, small fish, livestock carcasses and occasionally plant material. The ibises have also been observed foraging at garbage disposal sites and on carrion. “It was not simply a matter of choosing a common and easily observable bird,” elaborates Vijay Kumar Koli, an assistant professor and in-charge head of the Wildlife Research Laboratory at Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur, and a co-author of the study. “Its year-round presence, broad habitat use, feeding behaviour and frequent contact with human-influenced environments make it a useful species for investigating how environmental bacteria and antibiotic resistance may circulate at the wildlife-human-environment interface.” Nesting trees of the red-naped ibis in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The bird is a common non-migratory wader that is found across the city. Image by Kanishka Mehta. Sampling the ibises The researchers collected 45 faecal samples between July 2022 and June 2023, with 15 samples collected during each&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/red-naped-ibises-carry-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/red-naped-ibises-carry-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>The cliff-climbing goat</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/the-cliff-climbing-goat/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/the-cliff-climbing-goat/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Sep 2026 15:14:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Team Mongabay-India]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/09102418/tahr-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=40589</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Species File]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Species File: Exploring India&#8217;s biodiversity, one species at a time. A 2026 survey counted 1,364 Nilgiri tahr in Tamil Nadu, nearly 5% more than the last year. Southern India&#8217;s only mountain ungulate, the Nilgiri tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius), is Tamil Nadu&#8217;s state animal. Endemic to the Nilgiris, it is locally known as varayaadu, or cliff goat. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Species File: Exploring India&#8217;s biodiversity, one species at a time. A 2026 survey counted 1,364 Nilgiri tahr in Tamil Nadu, nearly 5% more than the last year. Southern India&#8217;s only mountain ungulate, the Nilgiri tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius), is Tamil Nadu&#8217;s state animal. Endemic to the Nilgiris, it is locally known as varayaadu, or cliff goat. A stout animal with curved horns and strong hooves with rubber-like soles, it scales sheer vertical cliffs with ease — a skill that helps it evade predators and access nooks which larger herbivores cannot. Tahrs graze on grass and shrubs, spreading seeds and fertilising the soil with their excreta as they go. The Nilgiri tahr lives in the high-altitude grasslands and rocky cliffs in the southern Western Ghats. Eravikulam National Park in Kerala holds the largest population. In Tamil Nadu, the two largest contiguous habitats are in Grass Hills National Park in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve and Mukurthi National Park in the Nilgiris. It is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List and in  India, it has the highest legal protection under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, offering it the strongest protection against hunting, poaching, and trading. But its range has shrunk to a fraction of what it once was, largely due to agricultural plantations, hydroelectric and infrastructure projects, and invasive plants that have eaten into its grassland habitat. Studies show that a warming climate could render much of the Nilgiri tahr&#8217;s remaining habitat unsuitable in the coming years. Isolated populations face&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/the-cliff-climbing-goat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Snow leopards and their survival in changing times [Book Review]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/snow-leopards-and-their-survival-in-changing-times-book-review/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/snow-leopards-and-their-survival-in-changing-times-book-review/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Sep 2026 16:06:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Usha Rai]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Renuka Kulkarni]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[snow leopard]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/08142945/DSC_0942-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40779</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Himalayas and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Ecology, Endangered species, Environment, Himalayas, In-situ conservation, Mammals, Mountains, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[If you want to know all about snow leopards, their range, food, love life, fight for survival in the fast changing high mountain landscape, impact of climate change and the struggle of scientists to get accurate figures on their population and spread, Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi’s The Ghost of the Mountains is a must read. It is [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[If you want to know all about snow leopards, their range, food, love life, fight for survival in the fast changing high mountain landscape, impact of climate change and the struggle of scientists to get accurate figures on their population and spread, Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi’s The Ghost of the Mountains is a must read. It is a fascinating, extremely well written book that blends research with graphic description of the landscape and allows us to witness a creature few have been privileged to see. “A flagship species of Himalayan conservation, snow leopards are key to preserving an austere, delicate ecosystem,” the book says. It has taken Suryawanshi 20 years to study the ‘ghost of the mountains,’ distributed in mountainous terrain of 12 countries that straddle the Himalayas and Central Asia. Despite the fast changing pace of development, the story of the snow leopard is one of hope. Snow leopards “are shy and their silvery-brown and white coats, marked with dark rosettes, work like magic cloaks offering good camouflage that enable them to disappear like smoke. They have furry tails, the longest of any cats, which they wrap around their bodies like mufflers on cold nights. The tails also work like the balancing pole of a tight rope walker as they manoeuvre around exposed cliffs. Their thick, wide paws, lined with fur, act like snow shoes and their unusually large nostrils help them warm the cold air they breathe and their small rounded ears minimise heat loss”. The author, who travelled across&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/snow-leopards-and-their-survival-in-changing-times-book-review/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Why is disaster risk increasing in the Himalayas? [Explainer]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/why-is-disaster-risk-increasing-in-the-himalayas-explainer/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/why-is-disaster-risk-increasing-in-the-himalayas-explainer/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Sep 2026 13:49:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Max Martin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate disaster]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[disaster]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hindu Kush Himalaya]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural disaster]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/08111108/AP26250291785391-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40769</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Himalayas]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Climate Science, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Floods, Glacial Lake Outburst Flood, Glaciers, Himalayas, Human Rights, Impacts of Climate Change, and Mountains]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In a warming world, rising temperatures in high mountain regions are driving glacier retreat and melting, contributing to an increase in the number and area of glacial lakes. As glaciers retreat, they can create new lakes or expand old ones, sometimes contained by natural dams made of ice or moraines — ridges of rock, sediment [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In a warming world, rising temperatures in high mountain regions are driving glacier retreat and melting, contributing to an increase in the number and area of glacial lakes. As glaciers retreat, they can create new lakes or expand old ones, sometimes contained by natural dams made of ice or moraines — ridges of rock, sediment and debris left behind by glaciers. If these dams fail, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) can release huge volumes of water and debris, severely flooding downstream communities and infrastructure. In some cases, GLOFs involve rockfalls or the collapse of entire mountain slopes with cascading impacts. Or there can be avalanches — massive, rapid downhill flows of rocks, ice and snow. Scientists have improved glacier and lake monitoring in the Himalayan region, but large gaps remain in data collection, sharing and processing. This affects real-time early warning for river systems that run across international borders. In the aftermath of the recent Nepal flood disaster, this explainer looks at the relevance of these issues. What caused the August 2026 disaster in Nepal? Initial reports suggested that a massive mountain slope failure involving glacier ice in Nepal’s Langtang National Park, close to the Chinese border. The mass of debris and flood waters travelled nearly 100 kilometres, gathering more water and rock as it gushed downhill, swelling and overflowing streams and rivers. In Nepal, scientists at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and their partners investigated whether the event was a high-altitude ice-rock avalanche. Rock-snow-ice avalanches —&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/why-is-disaster-risk-increasing-in-the-himalayas-explainer/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>The tiger reserve with abundant prey but no resident tigers</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/the-tiger-reserve-with-abundant-prey-but-no-resident-tigers/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/the-tiger-reserve-with-abundant-prey-but-no-resident-tigers/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Sep 2026 11:23:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nivedhika Krishnan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/07063530/Tara_in_Tadoba_Tiger_Reserve_AJTJ_P1090339-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40721</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Telangana]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Human Rights, Human Wildlife Conflict, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Mammals, National Parks, Protected Areas, Tigers, Villages, Wildlife, Wildlife Protection Act, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Deep in northern Telangana, Kawal Tiger Reserve covers a thick forest of teak and bamboo near the Godavari river. Geographically, it sits in an ideal location, connecting major tiger landscapes. It links Tadoba-Andhari in Maharashtra to the west and Indravati in Chhattisgarh to the east. Kawal supports large populations of spotted deer, sambar, nilgai, and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Deep in northern Telangana, Kawal Tiger Reserve covers a thick forest of teak and bamboo near the Godavari river. Geographically, it sits in an ideal location, connecting major tiger landscapes. It links Tadoba-Andhari in Maharashtra to the west and Indravati in Chhattisgarh to the east. Kawal supports large populations of spotted deer, sambar, nilgai, and wild pigs, alongside leopards and wild dogs. On paper, the tiger reserve checks the boxes of sufficient prey and habitat. But the reserve has no resident tigers. A 12-year study conducted between 2010 and 2022 confirmed that no tigers live permanently in Kawal. Using systematically placed line transects to monitor prey numbers, researchers found that spotted deer populations grew over the decade, while sambar, nilgai, and chousingha populations remained stable. Despite this rich prey base, researchers recorded only 15 transient tigers entering Kawal from Maharashtra since 2015. Crucially, only two of these visiting tigers were female. While neighbouring corridors outside the reserve have breeding tigers with cubs, Kawal itself remains empty. According to lead researcher Imran Siddiqui, this absence comes down to a fundamental difference in how male and female tigers disperse, &#8220;Tigers disperse very differently based on sex. Male tigers are bolder risk-takers — they grow faster, leave their mothers earlier, and travel long distances through unfamiliar, human-dominated landscapes to claim territory. Female tigers are conservative — they stay close to their birthplace and require quiet, undisturbed habitat to raise cubs. Crossing busy highways, railways, and mines poses a massive perceived threat to females.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/the-tiger-reserve-with-abundant-prey-but-no-resident-tigers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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