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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/by/nikita-vashisth/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Fri, 29 May 2026 10:56:25 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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					<title>India releases report on access-benefit sharing from biological resources</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/india-releases-report-on-access-benefit-sharing-from-biological-resources/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/india-releases-report-on-access-benefit-sharing-from-biological-resources/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 May 2026 16:26:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[access benefit sharing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rural economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Traditional Knowledge]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/29161655/Tendu_leaf_drying-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=38438</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Green Business, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Industry, and Non-Timber Forest Produce]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India has released its first ever report on the Nagoya Protocol earlier this year, a mechanism that tracks the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of traditional knowledge and biological resources. India submitted the report on February 27, to the Convention on Biological Diversity which governs the Nagoya Protocol where India [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India has released its first ever report on the Nagoya Protocol earlier this year, a mechanism that tracks the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of traditional knowledge and biological resources. India submitted the report on February 27, to the Convention on Biological Diversity which governs the Nagoya Protocol where India has been a signatory since 1992. The Nagoya Protocol makes it mandatory for member states to create legal frameworks for access and benefit sharing (ABS) from biological resources, which are shared with provider countries and local communities after use. India’s ABS framework has been in place since 2014, and was revised in 2025. Between 2017 and 2025, 12,830 approvals were granted under the ABS framework, the report says. The National Biodiversity Authority granted 5,913 approvals for activities such as research, bio survey and bio-utilisation, commercial utilisation, transfer of research results, intellectual property rights (IPR), and third party transfers. An additional 6,917 approvals were granted by state and union territory biodiversity boards for commercial utilisation by Indian entities. Commercial users — like pharmaceutical companies and research establishments — are obligated to pay a share of revenue or turnover towards meeting ABS obligations. Through ABS, the National Biodiversity Authority collected a total of ₹216.31 crores, of which ₹139.69 crores were disbursed to benefit claimers. The report also illustrates examples of ABS in India, calling itself “a global front-runner in turning the idea of Access and Benefit Sharing into practical reality.” For example, in Dapur a village in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/india-releases-report-on-access-benefit-sharing-from-biological-resources/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/india-releases-report-on-access-benefit-sharing-from-biological-resources/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Tuskers form all-male groups in the wild, finds study</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/tuskers-form-all-male-groups-in-the-wild-finds-study/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/tuskers-form-all-male-groups-in-the-wild-finds-study/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 May 2026 13:56:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elephant]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elephant Movement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wild elephants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife monitoring]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/29120104/Males-are-regularly-seen-forming-groups-and-where-and-when-they-do-this-is-not-random.-Photo-Credit-Abhimanyu-Madhusudanan-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38430</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Uttarakhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecology, Elephants, Mammals, Protected Areas, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Male Asian elephants are often described as solitary. But the results of a 2026 study conducted in Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand suggests that the picture may be more complex. Researchers found that males regularly form groups, and these associations are far from random. Patterns of grouping shift with age, reproductive state and habitat. Many [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Male Asian elephants are often described as solitary. But the results of a 2026 study conducted in Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand suggests that the picture may be more complex. Researchers found that males regularly form groups, and these associations are far from random. Patterns of grouping shift with age, reproductive state and habitat. Many of these interactions unfold in open, human-used landscapes — the same spaces where negative interactions between people and elephants are often reported. “Elephant responses to threats are context-based and vary across regions and populations. By understanding how individuals associate with one another, we can develop more targeted conflict-mitigation strategies,” says Abhimanyu Madhusudanan, a wildlife biologist at the Wildlife Institute of India and the corresponding author of the study. Elephant group dynamics The study recorded 706 elephants (excluding calves), of which 219 were males. Each sighting was logged to build individual histories. Researchers also recorded whether males were alone, in all-male groups or part of mixed herds, along with their age and reproductive state. The team then analysed the data using spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR), a method that estimates population size by tracking how often individual animals are detected and where those sightings occur. From these sightings, SECR modelling estimated around 40 adult males in the study area. Males were most often seen in mixed herds, accounting for about half the sightings (50.8%), followed by solitary bulls at 29.8% and all-male groups at 19.4%. Overall, researchers found roughly two adult females for every adult male. Male&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/tuskers-form-all-male-groups-in-the-wild-finds-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Both daytime and nighttime temperatures have risen: IMD chief [Interview]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/both-daytime-and-nighttime-temperatures-have-risen-imd-chief-interview/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/both-daytime-and-nighttime-temperatures-have-risen-imd-chief-interview/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 May 2026 13:20:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[erratic weather]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat wave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat waves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwaves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[India Meteorological Department’]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[temperature rise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Meteorological Organisation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/29112801/imd-collage-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38422</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Climate Science, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Monsoons, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Heatwaves across the country continue to affect the daily life and test the resilience of people, infrastructure and public systems. Simultaneously, concerns about the potential El Niño conditions are also increasing, as India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts a below-normal monsoon rainfall this year. As climate change intensifies some weather events, making it difficult to predict, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Heatwaves across the country continue to affect the daily life and test the resilience of people, infrastructure and public systems. Simultaneously, concerns about the potential El Niño conditions are also increasing, as India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts a below-normal monsoon rainfall this year. As climate change intensifies some weather events, making it difficult to predict, forecasting systems are also undergoing a rapid transformation. In an interview with Mongabay-India, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, the director general of meteorology at IMD, discusses changing heatwave patterns, the growing role of humidity and warm nights, the evolution of impact-based forecasting, and the challenges climate change poses for weather prediction. Mongabay: In the recent years, what changes has IMD been observing in the nature of heatwaves? Mrutyunjay Mohapatra: Our data from 1970 to 2020 suggests a rise in the maximum (daytime), minimum (nighttime) and mean temperatures. As a result, the frequency, duration and intensity of heatwaves are increasing. With rising temperatures, humidity in the atmosphere also increases. For every 1° Celsius rise in temperature (of planet Earth), there is around a 7% increase in relative humidity (the air can hold 7% more moisture). As a result, even if the temperature on a particular day remains similar to what it was in the past, discomfort levels are higher in a changing climate. The ‘feels-like’ temperature increases due to humidity. There is a rise in both daytime and nighttime temperatures. If daytime temperatures exceed 40°C and nights remain warm, people do not get sufficient relief or proper sleep, which&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/both-daytime-and-nighttime-temperatures-have-risen-imd-chief-interview/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/both-daytime-and-nighttime-temperatures-have-risen-imd-chief-interview/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Biomedical waste crosses borders, polluting farmlands</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/biomedical-waste-crosses-borders-polluting-farmlands/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/biomedical-waste-crosses-borders-polluting-farmlands/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 May 2026 17:23:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Prasanth Shanmugasundaram]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[biomedical waste]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environment and health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[waste]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/28131114/Kerala-Bio-medical-waste-dumped-near-Tirunelveli-Source-Thinakaran-Rajamani-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38407</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala and Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Cities and Towns, Environmental Politics, Health impacts, Human Rights, Industry, and Waste management]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Reports of Kerala’s biomedical waste being dumped along the Tamil Nadu border, along with incidents of meat waste and plastic waste being buried in pits across Tamil Nadu’s rural landscapes, have, over the years, become a disturbing routine in news reports. What once appeared as isolated violations has evolved into a pattern. In the last [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Reports of Kerala’s biomedical waste being dumped along the Tamil Nadu border, along with incidents of meat waste and plastic waste being buried in pits across Tamil Nadu’s rural landscapes, have, over the years, become a disturbing routine in news reports. What once appeared as isolated violations has evolved into a pattern. In the last decade, environmentalists estimate that hundreds of mixed waste dumping incidents along the state borders have been recorded, with many more likely unreported. Some of this waste being dumped includes biomedical waste. In certain instances, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken suo motu cognisance, initiating proceedings against the Kerala government. In one such case, biomedical waste from a cancer centre in Kerala that had been dumped in Tamil Nadu was ordered to be collected and transported back to Kerala. Yet a critical question remains: why does Kerala’s biomedical waste continue to cross into Tamil Nadu? Kerala’s biomedical waste is being dumped along the Tamil Nadu border. Hundreds of mixed waste dumping incidents have been recorded in the last decade, with many more likely unreported, and that a subset of them contain biomedical waste. Image by Thinakaran Rajamani. Biomedical waste, including syringes and plastic materials, found dumped in Tirunelveli district. Image by Thinakaran Rajamani. In conversations with farmers and residents in affected areas along Tamil Nadu’s border as well as a visit to Kerala’s primary biomedical waste treatment facility, IMAGE, in Palakkad, Mongabay-India found out that the issue is rooted in structural gaps, and not only&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/biomedical-waste-crosses-borders-polluting-farmlands/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Western Ghats has high odonate endemism, reveals survey</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/western-ghats-has-high-odonate-endemism-reveals-survey/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/western-ghats-has-high-odonate-endemism-reveals-survey/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 May 2026 12:49:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Arathi Menon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Divya Kilikar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[damselflies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dragonflies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New species]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/28111634/Long-legged-Marsh-Glider-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=38405</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Western Ghats]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecology, Endemic species, Insects, Mountains, Western Ghats, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The results of an extensive, systematic survey of dragonflies and damselflies across the Western Ghats shows the region as having high endemism with nearly 222 odonate species out of around 504 in India occurring there. About 95 species are endemic to the region. Conducted between 2021 and 2023, the study aimed to assess the diversity, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The results of an extensive, systematic survey of dragonflies and damselflies across the Western Ghats shows the region as having high endemism with nearly 222 odonate species out of around 504 in India occurring there. About 95 species are endemic to the region. Conducted between 2021 and 2023, the study aimed to assess the diversity, distribution, endemism and conservation status of odonates across one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots. The researchers surveyed 144 sites across Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala, covering a wide range of freshwater habitats mostly during pre- and post-monsoon periods, when odonates are most active. The survey documented 143 odonate species belonging to 71 genera and 11 families, including 76 dragonfly species and 67 damselfly species. This represents nearly 65% of all odonate species known from the Western Ghats and about 28% of India’s total odonate diversity. One of the main findings of the study is the exceptionally high level of endemism in the Western Ghats. Kerala emerged as the most important region for endemic odonates, with 33 endemic species recorded from the state. Maharashtra recorded 12 endemic species, Karnataka six and Goa four, while none were recorded from the Gujarat survey sites. In an interview to Mongabay-India, the lead author of the study Pankaj Korapade reveals that of the 500+ odonate species in India, which accounts for 8% of the world’s odonata fauna, roughly 200 species are endemic to the Western Ghats. “There are also evolutionary reasons for this endemism, with the Ghats&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/western-ghats-has-high-odonate-endemism-reveals-survey/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>A scientist’s search for dragons and damsels [Interview]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/a-scientists-search-for-dragons-and-damsels-interview/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/a-scientists-search-for-dragons-and-damsels-interview/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 May 2026 12:49:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nikhil Sreekandan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[damselflies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dragonflies]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/28000548/Crimson-Marsh-Glider-banner-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38393</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Western Ghats]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Citizen science, Conservation, Ecology, Insects, Interviews, People, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“One third of India’s dragonflies likely extinct”, “Scientists sound alarm”, “35% drop in populations”. These were some of the headlines in the media over the last month, following the publication of the first-ever comprehensive study on odonates in the Western Ghats. Odonates are a group of predatory flying insects that includes dragonflies and damselflies. A [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“One third of India’s dragonflies likely extinct”, “Scientists sound alarm”, “35% drop in populations”. These were some of the headlines in the media over the last month, following the publication of the first-ever comprehensive study on odonates in the Western Ghats. Odonates are a group of predatory flying insects that includes dragonflies and damselflies. A taxon that otherwise rarely gets any press coverage was suddenly speculated to be going extinct. Pankaj Koparde, who leads the Chatur Ullu Lab in Pune, Maharashtra, which — as the name suggests — works on dragonflies (chatur in Marathi) and owls (ullu in Hindi), is the lead author of the paper. He is also an assistant professor at the MIT World Peace University in Pune. Mongabay-India met the researcher, who has extensively worked on this lesser-known taxon over the last decade and a half, to learn more about odonates and their conservation status in the subcontinent. In this interview, edited for clarity and length, Koparde introduces us to the fascinating world of dragonflies and damselflies, the growing citizen-science movement behind these tiny hunters, and what lies ahead for this understudied taxon. Pankaj Koparde leads the Chatur Ullu Lab in Pune and is an assistant professor at the MIT World Peace University. He has extensively studied Odonates, a group of predatory flying insects that includes dragonflies and damselflies, and their conservation status. Image courtesy of Chatur Ullu Lab. The Chatur Ullu Lab team, which studies dragonflies and owls in Pune. Image courtesy of Chatur Ullu Lab.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/a-scientists-search-for-dragons-and-damsels-interview/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>A low flyer of the grasslands</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/a-low-flyer-of-the-grasslands/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/a-low-flyer-of-the-grasslands/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 May 2026 15:17:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Team Mongabay-India]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[captive breeding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[critical habitat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GIB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Great Indian Bustard]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/27141803/GIB-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=38375</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Species File]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Extinction, Grasslands, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Species File: Exploring India&#8217;s biodiversity, one species at a time. This bird was once a contender to be India&#8217;s national bird. Considered among the heaviest flying birds in the world, the great Indian bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) is endemic to India. It inhabits dry, arid, and semi-arid grasslands and adjacent agricultural lands. Today, fewer than 150 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Species File: Exploring India&#8217;s biodiversity, one species at a time. This bird was once a contender to be India&#8217;s national bird. Considered among the heaviest flying birds in the world, the great Indian bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) is endemic to India. It inhabits dry, arid, and semi-arid grasslands and adjacent agricultural lands. Today, fewer than 150 remain in the wild — mostly in Rajasthan and Gujarat, with smaller groups in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the GIB is critically endangered. It receives the highest level of legal protection in India under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. As grasslands shrink to make way for renewable energy projects and mines, the GIB has no place to go. The large-bodied birds also tend to fly low, leading to fatal collisions with electricity lines and wind turbines. Slow breeding rates, occasional poaching for meat and stray dog attacks compound these threats. A Bustard Recovery Programme was launched in 2016. There are now 73 birds in conservation breeding centres, with five new chicks born this season. The long-term goal is wild release, but survival remains uncertain in the absence of safe habitat. In the Abdasa grasslands of Kutch, a rare milestone unfolded on March 26, 2026 — the birth of a great Indian bustard (GIB) chick, the first in Gujarat in over a decade. Transported for over 700 kilometres, the egg was brought from a GIB breeding centre in neighbouring Rajasthan. Though 50&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/a-low-flyer-of-the-grasslands/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>The importance and exploitation of Indian forests down the ages [Book Review]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-importance-and-exploitation-of-indian-forests-down-the-ages-book-review/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-importance-and-exploitation-of-indian-forests-down-the-ages-book-review/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 May 2026 15:02:44 +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[environmental history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural resource management]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/27135518/AP22340443783720-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38381</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Deforestation, Ecology, Environment, and Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For those concerned about the state of our forests, their deterioration from dense jungles, with forest communities living in harmony with nature, to being exploited and decimated for economic gains as India moved into the industrial era, the book India’s Forests: Revisiting Nature and History, edited by Arupjyoti Saikia and Mahesh Rangarajan, is a must [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For those concerned about the state of our forests, their deterioration from dense jungles, with forest communities living in harmony with nature, to being exploited and decimated for economic gains as India moved into the industrial era, the book India’s Forests: Revisiting Nature and History, edited by Arupjyoti Saikia and Mahesh Rangarajan, is a must read. The eleven scholars who have contributed to the book are professors, authors and field experts who provide insights into various aspects of India’s forests across different regions, including two who have based their essays on archaeological findings and what the Arthashastra had to say. There are studies of the western Himalayan foothills and central Indian highlands, Rajasthan and Jharkhand as well as the Deccan and Western Ghats. This book takes further the discussions on colonial and post-colonial forestry portrayed by Ramchandra Guha’s The Unquiet Woods, published in 1989, as well as Mahesh Rangarajan and K. Sivaramakrishnan&#8217;s books Fencing the Forest: Conservation and Ecological Change in India’s Central Provinces 1860-1914 and Modern Forests: Statemaking and Environmental Change in Colonial Eastern India. Shekhar Pathak, historian and author of the book The Chipko Movement, in his foreword sets the tone for the book, considering “forests as green glaciers and diverse lands”. “Oxygen, water and food are essential for the survival of life forms and forests are connected with both directly and indirectly. India’s deities as well as characters from our myths, our ancestors and community memories dwell in our forests,” he states. The Himalayan forests determine the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-importance-and-exploitation-of-indian-forests-down-the-ages-book-review/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Predator-prey relationships and habitat quality shape a tiger reserve</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/predator-prey-relationships-and-habitat-quality-shape-a-tiger-reserve/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/predator-prey-relationships-and-habitat-quality-shape-a-tiger-reserve/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 May 2026 13:05:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[camera traps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[central India]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife monitoring]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/26174318/Predators-appear-closely-tied-to-prey-distribution-rather-than-acting-alone-as-regulators.-Photo-Credit-Supratim-Dutta-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38374</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecology, Mammals, Protected Areas, Tigers, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2009, Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh lost all its tigers to poaching. They were reintroduced a few years later and have since re-established populations. While carnivore reintroduction has been considered as an important strategy to restore ecological balance, a recent study highlights that prey abundance and habitat quality also play an essential role. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2009, Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh lost all its tigers to poaching. They were reintroduced a few years later and have since re-established populations. While carnivore reintroduction has been considered as an important strategy to restore ecological balance, a recent study highlights that prey abundance and habitat quality also play an essential role. “Focusing exclusively on the apex predator (for ecosystem recovery) tells only a fraction of the story. The answer lies in the broader mammalian community that supports them,” says Supratim Dutta, research scholar at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and one of the authors of the study. “The real question is not whether tigers came back, but what made that recovery possible.” A landscape built on extremes Panna Tiger Reserve spans 1,574 square kilometres across Madhya Pradesh, with 542 sq km of core and a larger buffer zone. The terrain is rugged, cut through by the Ken River, the only perennial water source. Summers can touch 45°C, and winters drop to around 5°C. Vegetation is largely a tropical dry deciduous forest. The reserve supports a dense mammal community. Tigers and leopards are apex predators. Below them in the chain are wolves, jackals and hyenas. Prey includes chital, sambar, nilgai and wild pig. Around 30,000 people live in settlements in the buffer zone. The Ken River functions as the ecological backbone of the entire mammalian community of Panna, along with around 30,000 people living in the buffer zone. Image by Supratim Dutta. To understand how the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/predator-prey-relationships-and-habitat-quality-shape-a-tiger-reserve/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>How are degraded coral reefs restored in India? [Explainer]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-are-degraded-coral-reefs-restored-in-india-explainer/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-are-degraded-coral-reefs-restored-in-india-explainer/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 May 2026 14:57:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Neha Jain]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Artificial reefs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[corals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reefs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[restoration]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/25140628/Coral-Garden-nursery-tables-at-Mithapur-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38349</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Indian Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coast, Conservation, Coral Reefs, Oceans, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Coral reefs, often called the rainforests of the sea, are among the most productive and vibrant ecosystems on earth. Despite occupying less than 1% of the sea floor, they harbour over 25% of all marine species, including fish, lobsters, clams, seahorses, sponges and sea turtles. Reefs form over thousands of years as coral polyps, the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Coral reefs, often called the rainforests of the sea, are among the most productive and vibrant ecosystems on earth. Despite occupying less than 1% of the sea floor, they harbour over 25% of all marine species, including fish, lobsters, clams, seahorses, sponges and sea turtles. Reefs form over thousands of years as coral polyps, the tiny marine animals that make up hard or stony corals that attach to hard surfaces such as submerged rocks and secrete calcium carbonate (limestone), creating rigid, protective skeletons. Since the 1950s, the world&#8217;s living corals and their capacity to provide ecosystem services have declined by half. Climate change, which has led to rising ocean temperatures and acidification is one of the major threats to corals. Local, human-driven causes impacting coral reefs include pollution from land, unsustainable and destructive fishing practices, coastal development and sedimentation, unsustainable tourism and boating, as well as environmental threats such as disease and predator outbreaks. Coral restoration, introduced in the 1970s, is an active, human-led process aimed at rebuilding and accelerating the recovery of damaged or degraded reefs. This is achieved by growing corals underwater or in land-based nurseries, then transplanting them back into the seabed using adhesives such as cement. The goals of coral restoration are to enhance reef resilience to future stresses, restore biodiversity, protect coral genetic diversity, and sustain ecosystem services such as coastal protection and tourism. The Mithapur Coral Reef Recovery Project has installed 2,310 artificial reefs, supported by 57 coral garden nurseries, where corals are nurtured&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-are-degraded-coral-reefs-restored-in-india-explainer/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Urban Challenge Fund’s promise rests on implementation capacity [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/urban-challenge-funds-promise-rests-on-implementation-capacity-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/urban-challenge-funds-promise-rests-on-implementation-capacity-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 May 2026 13:22:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ravikant Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[city planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban areas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urbanisation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/26112432/AP20255498403521-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38357</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Environment, Governance, and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The much-awaited and delayed operational guidelines for Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) were finally released by the government of India on April 15. The scheme was needed as the Smart Cities Mission ended in 2024, and as the UCF scheme announced in the 2025 budget did not get off to a start. As a result, investment [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The much-awaited and delayed operational guidelines for Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) were finally released by the government of India on April 15. The scheme was needed as the Smart Cities Mission ended in 2024, and as the UCF scheme announced in the 2025 budget did not get off to a start. As a result, investment in urban areas suffered, as evidenced by reductions in budgetary allocations and, more importantly, in actual releases to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). Learning from the past shortcomings, UCF has tried to chart different ways, like expanding the range of agencies involved in implementing the scheme, encouraging market-based financing and various reforms to improve the financial sustainability of ULBs/other agencies, emphasising transformative projects, flexibility to reallocate funds to performing cities/states from the cities and states that may not be able to use UCF funds, etc. While welcoming UCF, which is studded with new features, it is necessary to examine the challenges it may encounter during implementation to ensure its success. Decoding the scheme’s design The scheme has a total outlay of ₹1 trillion for catalytic Central Assistance (CA) during the 2025–2030 period, extendable for another three years. Of this, ₹900 billion has been earmarked for project funding, ₹50 billion for project preparation and capacity building, and another ₹50 billion for the Credit Repayment Guarantee Scheme, which will be available to all tier-2 and tier-3 cities. The list of eligible projects spans three broad themes: Cities as Growth Hubs, Creative Redevelopment of Cities, and Water and Sanitation.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/urban-challenge-funds-promise-rests-on-implementation-capacity-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Indian students win The Earth Prize for microplastics solution</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/indian-students-win-the-earth-prize-for-microplastics-solution/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/indian-students-win-the-earth-prize-for-microplastics-solution/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 May 2026 16:48:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Arathi Menon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[innovation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[microplastics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nature-based solutions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plastic pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[solution]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/25135304/Team-Plas-Stick-and-solution-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=38339</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environmental Heroes, Nature-based Climate Solutions, People, Plastic, Sustainability, and Waste management]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Three students from India have won The Earth Prize 2026 for developing an innovative solution to tackle microplastics in water. Sixteen-year-olds Avyana Mehta, Vivaan Chhawchharia and Ariana Agarwal created Plas-Stick, a powder made from waste tamarind seeds that attracts microplastics, causing them to clump together so they can be removed using a handheld magnet. Designed [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Three students from India have won The Earth Prize 2026 for developing an innovative solution to tackle microplastics in water. Sixteen-year-olds Avyana Mehta, Vivaan Chhawchharia and Ariana Agarwal created Plas-Stick, a powder made from waste tamarind seeds that attracts microplastics, causing them to clump together so they can be removed using a handheld magnet. Designed for use in shared water containers, the solution offers a simple, low-cost alternative to complex filtration systems. The idea took shape by the team&#8217;s studies in environmental science and a visit to a rural community where they observed that drinking water is often stored in shared containers without access to advanced filtration systems. “Microplastics stood out to us because they are invisible, but the risk is very real. In many rural communities, people drink water without knowing what may be present in it,” the team told Mongabay-India via email. Determined to create a solution that was both effective and accessible, the students developed a system that required no electricity or complex infrastructure. “We came up with the solution by first being very clear about the problem we wanted to solve. Once that was clear, we started looking for materials that were already available around us. Tamarind seeds stood out because they are often treated as waste, but they have natural binding properties. We tested whether they could help bring microplastic particles together, and developed the solution further,” they said. Already deployed, Plas-Stick has so far reached more than 8,000 students and teachers, and the team&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/indian-students-win-the-earth-prize-for-microplastics-solution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>A bird call that signals rains [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/a-bird-call-that-signals-rains-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/a-bird-call-that-signals-rains-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 May 2026 12:36:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aditya Pradhan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eastern himalayas]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/25095719/Blythipicus_pyrrhotis_545764671-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38332</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[West Bengal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birds, Community based conservation, Conservation, Himalayas, Indigenous Peoples, Mountains, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the mist-draped forests of rural Darjeeling, stories travel from one generation to the next as softly and steadily as mountain rain. Among these stories is one that almost every elder in deep forest villages knows: there is a bird whose call brings the rain. Long before weather apps and satellite forecasts, people listened to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the mist-draped forests of rural Darjeeling, stories travel from one generation to the next as softly and steadily as mountain rain. Among these stories is one that almost every elder in deep forest villages knows: there is a bird whose call brings the rain. Long before weather apps and satellite forecasts, people listened to the forests, and the forests, in their own ways, signalled back. In Sirikhola-Gurdum near the Singalila National Park in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, this signal came from a bird whose call was said to predict rain within hours. The call was a distinctive, descending series that often resembled maniacal, falling laughter, carrying through the thick canopy. Everyone recognised the call, yet very few had ever seen the bird itself. A village legend meets field science I first heard this story from Mingma Tamang, an experienced field technician working at ATREE. He later worked with me during my Ph.D. research. Years before we trudged through the forests of Darjeeling together, he had listened to this call as a child. He remembered how his father and village elders would stop suddenly when a rhythmic, tumbling sound rang through the valley — a call that began rapidly and then slowed and faded, dropping in pitch as it carried through the forest like falling laughter. “The bird has called,” they would say. “Rain will come.” Thick temperate oak-dominated forests near Singalila National Park in Rimbick, Darjeeling district, West Bengal. Image by Aditya Pradhan. The call was familiar,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/a-bird-call-that-signals-rains-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>How NGOs are bringing India&#8217;s informal waste collectors into the system</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-ngos-are-bringing-indias-informal-waste-collectors-into-the-system/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-ngos-are-bringing-indias-informal-waste-collectors-into-the-system/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 May 2026 16:49:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shoma Abhyankar]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Simrinsirur]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dry waste]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[e-waste]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ewaste]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Extended Producers Responsibility]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihoods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[metal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[minerals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Recycling]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/22151555/Formal-segregation-being-done-at-the-Karo-Sambhav-facility-in-Gurugram-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38324</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Environment, Industry, Sustainability, and Waste management]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Shambhu Yadav travelled far from his home in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, to Pune, Maharashtra, in search of work. With no formal training to speak of, he was left with an option that employs millions of the country’s population: waste collection. Yadav works for a kabadiwala — an informal scrap dealer — collecting all kinds of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Shambhu Yadav travelled far from his home in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, to Pune, Maharashtra, in search of work. With no formal training to speak of, he was left with an option that employs millions of the country’s population: waste collection. Yadav works for a kabadiwala — an informal scrap dealer — collecting all kinds of trash which is segregated and ultimately sold to bigger dealers. Even though he earns just ₹100-500 a day, Yadav is part of a lucrative industry valued at approximately ₹1.3 trillion. Since the early 2000s, electronic waste has entered the very same stream in hordes — landing in the laps of informal waste collectors who dismantle devices at grave personal risk. Around 845 km away from where Yadav is, in Padarayanpura in Bengaluru, Karnataka, another waste collector Sharvan, held up copper shards he had manually stripped from discarded wires. “This is like gold to us. The copper sells for ₹1,000-1,200 per kilogram,” he said. Despite playing an outsized role in India’s waste management, workers like Yadav and Sharvan lie outside the country’s formal recycling governance framework. A big reason why e-waste collection and processing stays with the informal sector is because formal facilities lack the capacity to process the sheer volume of e-waste generated in the country. Shambhu Yadav works for a kabadiwala (informal scrap dealer) in Pune, Maharashtra, collecting all kinds of trash which is segregated and ultimately sold to bigger dealers. He earns just ₹100-500 a day, being part of an industry that is&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-ngos-are-bringing-indias-informal-waste-collectors-into-the-system/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-ngos-are-bringing-indias-informal-waste-collectors-into-the-system/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>Coal for cooking during LPG crisis raises questions over health risks</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/bihars-coal-distribution-scheme-raises-questions-over-health-risks/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/bihars-coal-distribution-scheme-raises-questions-over-health-risks/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 May 2026 15:35:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Umesh Kumar Ray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cooking fuel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[energy crisis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[firewood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LPG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural gas]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/22110652/AP26099341726805-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38305</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bihar]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon emissions, Coal, Energy, Food, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As the LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) crisis deepens due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia, the Bihar government has taken an unusual decision: to provide coal for cooking to families holding ration cards. Under guidelines issued by the food and consumer protection department, families in Bihar covered by the National Food Security Act &#8211; [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As the LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) crisis deepens due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia, the Bihar government has taken an unusual decision: to provide coal for cooking to families holding ration cards. Under guidelines issued by the food and consumer protection department, families in Bihar covered by the National Food Security Act &#8211; currently around 17.9 million households &#8211; would receive 100 kg of coal every month through more than 50,000 fair price shops in Bihar. In effect, Bihar will burn 1.79 million tonnes of coal for cooking every month. There is no specified end date of this plan. Following the disruption of critical corridors for LPG supply to India, many parts of the country have faced an LPG shortage. The Bihar government formed a high-level Crisis Management Group to address this and at a March 30 meeting, the group decided to distribute coal for cooking. The Bihar State Mining Corporation Limited (BSMCL) has been designated as the authorised agency for the purpose and has invited applications from wholesalers for coal distribution. Each vendor will be allocated up to 10,000 metric tonnes of coal annually. In guidelines issued on April 21, the food and consumer protection department classified the LPG shortage as an “anthropogenic disaster.” A tea stall in Patna, Bihar, uses coal for cooking. To combat the LPG crisis, the Bihar government has decided to provide coal for cooking to families holding ration cards. Gamilies covered by the National Food Security Act would receive 100 kg of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/bihars-coal-distribution-scheme-raises-questions-over-health-risks/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/bihars-coal-distribution-scheme-raises-questions-over-health-risks/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>The slow exit of foraging in urban blue spaces</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-slow-exit-of-foraging-in-urban-blue-spaces/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-slow-exit-of-foraging-in-urban-blue-spaces/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 May 2026 14:27:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jyotsnika Tiwari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[foraging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fruits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[greens]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban biodiversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Urban forest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban lakes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wild foods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wild greens]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/22122945/East-Kolkata-Wetlands-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38313</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Nature-based Solutions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Cities and Towns, Ecosystem services, Food, Plants, Trees, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It is 4 a.m. at the East Kolkata Wetlands. The city has not yet woken up, but a woman has already arrived at the lake&#8217;s edge. She wades in and starts collecting crabs, mussels, and fish, moving with the ease of someone who has done this many times. Once it is done, she changes into [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It is 4 a.m. at the East Kolkata Wetlands. The city has not yet woken up, but a woman has already arrived at the lake&#8217;s edge. She wades in and starts collecting crabs, mussels, and fish, moving with the ease of someone who has done this many times. Once it is done, she changes into dry clothes and is off to work as a domestic help in one of the new lake-view apartment buildings nearby. Before her shift begins, she will sell some of what she has collected, and cook the rest in the evening, with the women in her neighbourhood. Sukanya Basu, researcher and faculty at Azim Premji University, saw this woman and others like her across lakes and rivers in Kolkata, Kochi, Bengaluru and Mumbai during months of fieldwork for her study, Widespread Practices and Sustainability Benefits of Foraging in Urban Blue Spaces of India, published in Nature Cities journal, conducted with colleagues Brenda Maria Zoderer, Harini Nagendra, Peter H. Verburg and Tobias Plieninger. The study surveyed over 1,200 people (799 women and 391 men) who used these urban water bodies or blue spaces from March to September in 2023 and found that more than half of them frequently collected edibles from lakes, rivers and wetlands for personal consumption, selling, sharing and collective cooking. And yet, this practice is almost entirely absent from policy, planning and public imagination. Urban water bodies are valued as recreational amenities, ecological assets and for flood management, but never as food systems, which&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-slow-exit-of-foraging-in-urban-blue-spaces/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-slow-exit-of-foraging-in-urban-blue-spaces/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Local land-atmosphere processes influence heatwaves</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/local-land-atmosphere-processes-influence-heatwaves/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/local-land-atmosphere-processes-influence-heatwaves/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 May 2026 15:59:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[T. V. Padma]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat impacts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat wave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat waves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwaves]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/21135248/AP26141206399559-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38297</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Climate Science, Extreme Weather Events, Impacts of Climate Change, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Not all heatwaves in the Indo-Gangetic Plain are caused by large-scale weather systems; many are driven by local land and atmospheric conditions, a new study from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, reports. Heat accumulates more because of local surface heating and air compression processes than because of warm air moving in from other [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Not all heatwaves in the Indo-Gangetic Plain are caused by large-scale weather systems; many are driven by local land and atmospheric conditions, a new study from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, reports. Heat accumulates more because of local surface heating and air compression processes than because of warm air moving in from other regions, the study says. Recognising these local precursors of extreme heat events is essential for improving early warning systems and helping communities prepare. The scientists examined the role of anticyclones — large-scale high-pressure systems in the atmosphere, often spanning hundreds of kilometres — in the formation of 10 major pre-monsoon heatwave episodes between 2010 and 2024. The anticyclones have previously been thought to transport warm air into the Indo-Gangetic Plains. The new study, however, shows that even under the same large-scale anticyclones, two very different types of heatwaves can form, depending on local factors. These two types of heatwaves are moist and dry heatwaves. Moist heatwaves develop in areas that received pre-monsoon showers, which wet the soil, Karthikeyan Lanka, Associate Professor at IIT Bombay’s Centre of Studies in Resources Engineering (CSRE), Centre for Climate Studies, and one of the study authors, says. When strong sunshine follows, the soil releases moisture into the air. At night, this moisture forms low clouds that act like a blanket, trapping the day&#8217;s heat close to the ground and preventing the land from cooling, Lanka explained to Mongabay-India. Over several days, heat steadily builds up and a heatwave sets in,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/local-land-atmosphere-processes-influence-heatwaves/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Project Cheetah takes new turns as young males explore the wild</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/project-cheetah-takes-new-turns-as-young-males-explore-the-wild/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/project-cheetah-takes-new-turns-as-young-males-explore-the-wild/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 May 2026 14:36:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Arathi Menon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cheetah]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cheetahs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kuno]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kuno National Park]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[project cheetah]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rewilding]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/21101434/AP12051219541-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38288</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Mammals, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Project Cheetah is entering unchartered territories. And quite literally so. Early this April, a young male cheetah, KP-2, travelled over 150 km from Kuno National Park into Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in neighbouring Rajasthan, leaving a trail of suspense in its wake. Though it was not the first time that KP-2 had undertaken long-range travel, the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Project Cheetah is entering unchartered territories. And quite literally so. Early this April, a young male cheetah, KP-2, travelled over 150 km from Kuno National Park into Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in neighbouring Rajasthan, leaving a trail of suspense in its wake. Though it was not the first time that KP-2 had undertaken long-range travel, the latest dispersal brought the young cheetah deep into the tourist zones of Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. It also led to a rare “triple sighting” for tourists in the landscape where three big cats — a tiger, a leopard and a cheetah — were seen within the same area. KP-2 wandered around Ranthambore for over a month, trying to establish its territory. According to the latest reports, it was eventually caught and brought back to Kuno a few days before Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s visit to the national park earlier this month. KP-2 and its three siblings, all males, are sub-adults in their exploratory stage. Its sibling, KP-3, had also left Kuno recently and moved to the Dholpur area of Rajasthan, according to press reports. India’s ambitious wildlife programme, Project Cheetah, introduced African cheetahs into the country decades after the extinction of the Asiatic cheetah in India. Officially launched in September 2022, the goal of the project is to establish a free-ranging cheetah population in India while also using the species as a flagship for restoring and conserving open natural ecosystems such as grasslands, scrublands and savanna-like habitats. In April, a young male cheetah travelled over 150 km from Kuno&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/project-cheetah-takes-new-turns-as-young-males-explore-the-wild/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/project-cheetah-takes-new-turns-as-young-males-explore-the-wild/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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						<item>
					<title>The search for climate resilient coffee in a warming world</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-search-for-climate-resilient-coffee-in-a-warming-world/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-search-for-climate-resilient-coffee-in-a-warming-world/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 May 2026 10:25:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Meena Menon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate resilience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate resilience agriculture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[coffee]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farm produce]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farming]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/20232612/DSCF6417-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38279</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Western Ghats]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Food, Plantations, Plants, Sustainability, and Western Ghats]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Blending coffee and music comes naturally to Carnatic musician and coffee roaster Akshay Vaidyanathan. In 2019, he founded Kapikottai, a coffee brand he describes as a fun entrepreneurial experiment. A year later, he launched a new specialty coffee roast using Excelsa coffee beans, a less popular species of coffee.  While he introduced it as a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Blending coffee and music comes naturally to Carnatic musician and coffee roaster Akshay Vaidyanathan. In 2019, he founded Kapikottai, a coffee brand he describes as a fun entrepreneurial experiment. A year later, he launched a new specialty coffee roast using Excelsa coffee beans, a less popular species of coffee.  While he introduced it as a small, experimental batch, Vaidyanathan says, “It’s been an institution since then, and sells out fast. A lot of people don’t realise it is another species. They feel it’s just good coffee.”   That distinction may soon matter more than ever.  Both Arabica and Robusta, the two species that dominate global coffee production, face mounting stress from rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns. Temperatures above 30°C reduce yields, affect bean quality and increase plant stress, particularly for Arabica coffee, which is more heat-sensitive than Robusta. India grows both varieties, though primarily Robusta, largely across the Western Ghats. With changing climate conditions, researchers and farmers are turning to alternative and lesser-known coffee species. Among them is Excelsa. An overlooked species gains new relevance Excelsa (C. dewevrei), native to parts of Tropical and West Africa as well as Southeast Asia, has long existed on the margins of India’s coffee landscape. The trees, often planted as boundary markers or for shade, can be found in South and Northeast India. However, they were never widely commercialised for coffee production.    As erratic weather patterns threaten coffee production, researchers and farmers are turning to more climate resilient coffee species like Excelsa (Coffea dewevrei).&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-search-for-climate-resilient-coffee-in-a-warming-world/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Vanishing mango landraces reflect the loss of shared landscapes [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/vanishing-mango-landraces-reflect-the-loss-of-shared-landscapes-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/vanishing-mango-landraces-reflect-the-loss-of-shared-landscapes-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 May 2026 18:17:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Femi E. Benny]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fruits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[garden]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[home gardens]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mango]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/20155047/18a5ec0f-6c7f-4af7-a416-aabc9536c200-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38274</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agroecology, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Food, Trees, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In many rural villages of Kerala, the Indigenous mango trees were once more than just a tree. These trees meant shade, season, memory, and public abundance. People named such trees — naattu manga (country mango). The term did not refer to a single botanical variety, but to local mango landraces, trees that had emerged, adapted, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In many rural villages of Kerala, the Indigenous mango trees were once more than just a tree. These trees meant shade, season, memory, and public abundance. People named such trees — naattu manga (country mango). The term did not refer to a single botanical variety, but to local mango landraces, trees that had emerged, adapted, and persisted within village landscapes over generations. They stood in homesteads, along roadsides, near paddy fields as well as in school grounds, but its fruits belonged to many. Their ownership was often legible on paper, but in practice their fruits moved across households and compounds. A naattu manga belonged, in a moral sense, to the village. Across Kerala, traditional agroecosystems have been steadily reshaped by land fragmentation, compound walls, real estate pressures, road expansion, and the shift from mixed homesteads to more enclosed forms of landholding. The loss is not only ecological; it is also cultural. When a large old mango tree is cut, a village does not merely lose fruit. It loses a seasonal meeting point, a taste archive, and a lineage of local adaptation that may never be properly named before it disappears. Scientifically, these trees belong to the species Mangifera indica, but socially they belonged to a wider commons. A 2015 biodiversity appraisal described mango as a keystone species of Kerala homestead gardens. Many of these local varieties under M. indica persist only as scattered trees in homesteads rather than as formal orchards. Therefore, to conserve these Indigenous mango varieties from across&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/vanishing-mango-landraces-reflect-the-loss-of-shared-landscapes-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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