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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/by/tarini-manchanda/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:58:52 +0000</lastBuildDate>
		<language>en-US</language>
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					<title>A strong El Niño demands planning, not panic [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-strong-el-nino-demands-planning-not-panic-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-strong-el-nino-demands-planning-not-panic-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jun 2026 17:27:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Madhavan Nair Rajeevan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[El Niño]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rainfall]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/03163434/AP25240537416263-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38495</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Climate Science, Drought, Extreme Weather Events, Monsoons, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Several global climate agencies have recently indicated the possible development of a very severe El Niño by the end of this year, along with concerns regarding its potential global impacts, including on the Indian monsoon. El Niño is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon characterised by sustained warming of sea surface temperatures over the central and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Several global climate agencies have recently indicated the possible development of a very severe El Niño by the end of this year, along with concerns regarding its potential global impacts, including on the Indian monsoon. El Niño is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon characterised by sustained warming of sea surface temperatures over the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean for several consecutive months. It represents the warm phase of the broader El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle, which also includes its opposite phase, La Niña, and a neutral phase. Variations in tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures associated with El Niño alter global atmospheric circulation patterns and influence rainfall, droughts, storms, agriculture, water resources, marine ecosystems, and economies across many regions of the world, including India. The intensity of El Niño is commonly monitored using sea surface temperature anomalies over the Niño 3.4 region of the equatorial central Pacific Ocean. An El Niño event is declared when the three-month running mean sea surface temperature anomaly in the Niño 3.4 region remains at least +0.5°C above normal for five consecutive overlapping three-month seasons. El Niño events are further classified based on the magnitude of these temperature anomalies. When the Niño 3.4 anomaly exceeds +2.0°C, the event is generally categorised as a very strong El Niño (informally a “super” El Niño). Since 1951, 28 El Niño events of varying intensity have occurred, most of them weak. The most recent El Niño developed in 2023. The current outlook Recent observations indicate rapid warming of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-strong-el-nino-demands-planning-not-panic-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>The whistling pack hunter</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/the-whistling-pack-hunter/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/the-whistling-pack-hunter/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jun 2026 15:34:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Team Mongabay-India]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Divya Kilikar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[carnivores]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dhole]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wild dog]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/03151857/dhole-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=38491</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Species File]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Mammals, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Species File: Exploring India&#8217;s biodiversity, one species at a time. Over the last few years, dholes are slowly returning to several landscapes from which they had virtually disappeared — most recently in Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Odisha. The dhole (Cuon alpinus) is one of India&#8217;s most adaptable apex predators — and one of its least known. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Species File: Exploring India&#8217;s biodiversity, one species at a time. Over the last few years, dholes are slowly returning to several landscapes from which they had virtually disappeared — most recently in Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Odisha. The dhole (Cuon alpinus) is one of India&#8217;s most adaptable apex predators — and one of its least known. Also called the Asiatic wild dog, this social canid is recognised by its reddish-brown coat, bushy black-tipped tail, and distinctive high-pitched whistles. Living in packs of two to 24 individuals, it hunts cooperatively, taking down prey such as sambar, chital, and gaur, all several times its own size. Once found in the alpine, temperate, tropical, and subtropical forests across Asia, the dhole, or Asiatic wild dog, has now disappeared from much of its former range. Currently, it is confined to central and eastern Asia, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, China, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. In India, key populations are found in the Western Ghats, Central India and Northeast India, with smaller populations in the Eastern Ghats and the Western Himalayas of Uttarakhand. With only an estimated 4,500-10,500 individuals remaining worldwide, the species is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. It is also a Schedule II species in the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which prohibits hunting or trade. As a predator that requires connected, healthy forested areas, the dhole faces significant pressure from fragmented and shrinking forests, prey depletion, conflict with humans and livestock, and the risk of disease transmission from domestic dogs.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/the-whistling-pack-hunter/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Why India&#8217;s tree-planting programmes are falling short</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/why-indias-tree-planting-programmes-are-falling-short/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/why-indias-tree-planting-programmes-are-falling-short/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jun 2026 15:06:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aisiri Amin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[agroforestry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tree plantation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/02181943/AP24202402198176-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38482</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agroecology, Forestry, Forests, Plantations, Plants, Reforestation, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For many countries, including India, increasing tree cover has become a core part of climate mitigation plans to improve biodiversity and ecosystems. ​From tree planting drives and festivals such as the annual Van Mahotsav, where India pledges to plant millions of tree saplings, to tree plantation programmes such as the Green India Mission (GIM), National [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For many countries, including India, increasing tree cover has become a core part of climate mitigation plans to improve biodiversity and ecosystems. ​From tree planting drives and festivals such as the annual Van Mahotsav, where India pledges to plant millions of tree saplings, to tree plantation programmes such as the Green India Mission (GIM), National Afforestation Programme (NAP), and Sub-Mission on Agroforestry (SMAF), afforestation is high on the priority list of solutions. However, a question that often arises is: how effective are these initiatives? A new study, published in the journal Environmental Research Communications, attempts to answer this question by examining eight major government policies and programmes and their impact on tree cover, focusing on trees outside forests (ToF). Many of these programmes operate with state funding, which means citizens’ tax money supports various initiatives. Therefore, it’s important to understand how this funding is actually being used, says Pooja Choksi, researcher and founder of Ficus Research Consulting, and co-author of the study. Moreover, India has one of the largest land and forestry-based Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) — a country&#8217;s plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “This creates enormous pressure: achieving these targets requires significant behavioural and land-use changes from citizens, because only limited land is government-owned, and primarily forests,” she explains. This also leads to a critical question. “How will we realistically meet these NDCs using current (tree planting) programmes, especially when new programmes are introduced every few years?&#8221; Choksi asks. A plant nursery nurtured by the Forest Department in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/why-indias-tree-planting-programmes-are-falling-short/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>After eight lions die from Babesia infection, treatment and isolation controls spread</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/after-eight-lions-die-from-babesia-infection-treatment-and-isolation-controls-spread/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/after-eight-lions-die-from-babesia-infection-treatment-and-isolation-controls-spread/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jun 2026 18:43:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wild Cats]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/02144922/Little_Lion_King-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?post_type=short-article&#038;p=38476</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Gujarat]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Health impacts, and Mammals]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Early last week, eight Asiatic lions, including cubs, died from a potential infection by the Babesia parasite, while 17 others thought to be exposed are being treated by the state forest and veterinary departments. The disease spreads through infected tick bites and causes weakness, anaemia, and lethargy. The deaths occurred within a 10-kilometre radius of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Early last week, eight Asiatic lions, including cubs, died from a potential infection by the Babesia parasite, while 17 others thought to be exposed are being treated by the state forest and veterinary departments. The disease spreads through infected tick bites and causes weakness, anaemia, and lethargy. The deaths occurred within a 10-kilometre radius of the affected areas in Gir Somnath and Amreli districts in Gujarat. On May 31, Gujarat’s Forest Minister, Arjun Modhwadia said, while speaking to the press, that no new lion deaths were reported after May 28 and that the 17 other lions were in isolation. So far, 500 lions have been dewormed and de-ticked to prevent further infection, the Minister said to the press. Blood samples of the affected lions are being tested at the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre. This isn&#8217;t the first outbreak in Gir. In 2018, a combination of Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) and Babesiosis — the disease resulting from an infection by the Babesia parasite — killed 11 lions. Babesia is a protozoan parasite that operates similar to Plasmodium parasite which causes malaria. The parasite enters the bloodstream and destroys red blood cells. The Babesia parasite is prevalent in both wild ungulates and domesticated livestock, such as cows and buffalos. Despite being carriers, the infection doesn’t necessarily produce symptoms or mortality in carriers. Lion cubs, however, are especially at risk of mortality. While officials have told the press that the situation is under control, the outbreak has renewed focus on the importance of diversifying&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/after-eight-lions-die-from-babesia-infection-treatment-and-isolation-controls-spread/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Decoding Heat</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/specials/2026/06/decoding-heat/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/specials/2026/06/decoding-heat/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jun 2026 17:05:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat impacts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat island]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat wave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat waves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwave]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/02155305/AP24180699138683-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?post_type=specials&#038;p=38475</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Science, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, and Impacts of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Hundreds of millions on the Indian subcontinent are living through record-breaking heatwaves that are increasingly testing our resilience. Many parts of northern and central India hit 45-50°C, while the south and coastal areas experienced rising wet bulb temperatures. Scientists and meteorologists are linking the unprecedented heat to human-caused climate change, as well as local land [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Hundreds of millions on the Indian subcontinent are living through record-breaking heatwaves that are increasingly testing our resilience. Many parts of northern and central India hit 45-50°C, while the south and coastal areas experienced rising wet bulb temperatures. Scientists and meteorologists are linking the unprecedented heat to human-caused climate change, as well as local land and atmospheric conditions. The Decoding Heat series explores shifts in broad and local weather systems; cascading patterns within ecosystems and urban areas; how India is forecasting and planning for its heatwaves, and more. Through our storytelling, we attempt to answer: what drives and is driven by a warming country?This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/specials/2026/06/decoding-heat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Artificial light at night alters foraging behaviour in kites</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/artificial-light-at-night-is-altering-foraging-behaviour-in-kites/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/artificial-light-at-night-is-altering-foraging-behaviour-in-kites/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jun 2026 13:30:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nikhil Sreekandan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fisheries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[light pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marine Fisheries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban biodiversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban birds]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/02115608/52735549020_6404c85225_4k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
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											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Biodiversity, Birds, Cities and Towns, Ecology, Environment, Fishing, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Polycarp Joseph has been making annual visits to the Shaktikulangara and Vaddy fishing harbours in Kerala’s Kollam district, since 2019, to track birds. On his visits, Joseph, who is a district head for the Kerala State Annual Heronry Survey, an annual citizen-science monitoring project by the Kerala Bird Monitoring Network (KBM), counts active nests of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Polycarp Joseph has been making annual visits to the Shaktikulangara and Vaddy fishing harbours in Kerala’s Kollam district, since 2019, to track birds. On his visits, Joseph, who is a district head for the Kerala State Annual Heronry Survey, an annual citizen-science monitoring project by the Kerala Bird Monitoring Network (KBM), counts active nests of the little egret (Egretta garzetta). As part of this monitoring effort, he has visited both harbours after dark to study the effects of nighttime light pollution on these birds. It was on one such visit that he came across a few brahminy kites (Haliastur indus), a “strictly” diurnal (active during the day) raptor with a distinctive bright white head and rump, scavenging late at night at the Vaddy fishing harbour in Kollam. If it were late evening hours, he might have assumed that the kites were returning home or making one last foraging attempt, said Joseph. “The harbour [at night] is like a floodlit stadium, with LED lights in the auction yard and on boats, which allows these kites to perceive prey availability,” he added. On February 5, 2024, from 11 PM until 12:30 AM, Joseph recorded three brahminy kites flying in short circles above the harbour, diving to scoop fish from boats, and snatching discards from fishers. On subsequent nights, too, he observed one or two kites scavenging between 9 and 11 PM. This observation was recorded in a recent paper by a research team, including Joseph. According to the authors, this is the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/artificial-light-at-night-is-altering-foraging-behaviour-in-kites/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>A bauxite mining project, contested consent and growing tensions</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-bauxite-mining-project-contested-consent-and-growing-tensions/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-bauxite-mining-project-contested-consent-and-growing-tensions/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jun 2026 17:40:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashwini Kumar Shukla]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bauxite]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest Right Act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gram sabha]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PESA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tribal communities]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/01131630/IMG_1202-scaled-e1780300022815-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38444</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Odisha]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Environmental Crime, Environmental Politics, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Industry, Mining, and Tribes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It was past 2:30 in the morning on April 7, 2026, when the banging on the doors began, locals of Kantamal village narrate. Kantamal is one of over 44 villages nestled in the foothills of Sijimali range in Odisha&#8217;s Rayagada and Kalahandi districts. More than 200 police personnel had encircled the village, say the residents. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It was past 2:30 in the morning on April 7, 2026, when the banging on the doors began, locals of Kantamal village narrate. Kantamal is one of over 44 villages nestled in the foothills of Sijimali range in Odisha&#8217;s Rayagada and Kalahandi districts. More than 200 police personnel had encircled the village, say the residents. The power was out. “We had no idea what was happening,” says Subash Singh Majhi, a 32-year-old who heads Maa Mati Mali Suraksha Manch, a collective of affected villagers opposing a proposed bauxite mine in the area. “Before we could understand anything, they (police) had dragged people out of their homes in the dark and begun beating them,” he alleges. Eighty-six-year-old Gaseb Dei Majhi remembers the night in fragments. “They fired tear gas. They beat us,” she says, holding up an empty shell, police fired that night. As per the locals, the immediate trigger was a protest against a 3-kilometre access road near Sagabari village, a road that, if completed, would connect state highway 44 to the Sijimali hilltop, and, which residents feared, would open the final path to the contested bauxite mine. Kantamal is one of over 44 villages nestled in the foothills of the Sijimali range in Odisha’s Rayagada and Kalahandi districts. In the early hours of April 7, 2026, residents narrate how police personnel raided their homes and attacked them. Image by Ashwini Kumar Shukla. Ram Chandra Naik, a resident of Kantamal, alleged that police stripped him naked and dragged him during the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-bauxite-mining-project-contested-consent-and-growing-tensions/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>How nomadic herders sustain forests [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-nomadic-herders-sustain-forests-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-nomadic-herders-sustain-forests-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jun 2026 12:38:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Najakat AliNeema P. BroomeNeha Negi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[buffalo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cattle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grazing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildfires]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/01112508/An-egret-walks-among-resting-Gojri-buffalo-reflecting-the-close-relationship-between-the-herds-and-other-species-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38446</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Uttarakhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Community based conservation, Ecology, Forest Rights Act, Grasslands, Indigenous Peoples, and Tribes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When you walk with the Van Gujjars in the forest, you realise quickly that conservation with them doesn’t look like warning boards or official patrols. It is in everyday things, in the way the nomadic pastoralist families move with their buffaloes, graze carefully, use medicinal plants, and lop trees in a way that they grow [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When you walk with the Van Gujjars in the forest, you realise quickly that conservation with them doesn’t look like warning boards or official patrols. It is in everyday things, in the way the nomadic pastoralist families move with their buffaloes, graze carefully, use medicinal plants, and lop trees in a way that they grow back again. For them, looking after the herd is just another way of looking after the forest. For generations, the Gojri buffalo has been at the centre of Van Gujjar life. Families migrate with them season after season, down to the plains in winter where fodder and water are easier to find, up to the alpine meadows in summer where grass grows thick and fresh. This movement is guided by elders&#8217; knowledge of rivers, pastures, and seasons. It is a way of living that has helped keep forests, grasslands, and people in balance. Ask a Maee (a traditional herder identified by each family for their buffaloes, and shares a mutually intimate relationship with their buffaloes), and they’ll explain it simply, “Our buffaloes eat from the top, not the root.” These small details make all the difference. Grass grows back quickly and is soft, and the forest regenerates. Within days, the same patch turns green again. In Kunau Chaur, a grassland and scrub forest in Uttarakhand, elders point to the trees that sprouted after buffaloes carried seeds across the ranges. In another landscape, Anjani Chaur, the elders said that the buffaloes do more than walk; they&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-nomadic-herders-sustain-forests-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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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 and Decoding Heat]]>
						</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>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<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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					<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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					<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>
														</item>
						<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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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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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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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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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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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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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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						<item>
					<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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