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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Tue, 10 Nov 2026 14:26:34 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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					<title>Unclear records leave villages in limbo over irrigation project displacement</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/10/polavarams-missing-map-leaves-villages-in-limbo/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/10/polavarams-missing-map-leaves-villages-in-limbo/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Oct 2026 12:04:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ayushi Sharma]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Clean Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[floods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rivers]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/10/01194159/Polavaram-2-768x425.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=41333</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy and Flood and drought]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Dams and Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Manglu Dorla’s house stands where the forest opens into the Sabari river in Konta, a village in the Sukma district of southern Chhattisgarh. Dorla&#8217;s family has farmed the land for generations. The forest supplies the fuel, fodder, and food. Now, he fears that he may be forced to abandon his home, along with other residents [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Manglu Dorla’s house stands where the forest opens into the Sabari river in Konta, a village in the Sukma district of southern Chhattisgarh. Dorla&#8217;s family has farmed the land for generations. The forest supplies the fuel, fodder, and food. Now, he fears that he may be forced to abandon his home, along with other residents of the village. This fear stems from a dam being built more than a hundred kilometres downstream on the Godavari river in Andhra Pradesh. Will that project affect his village? He and other residents of Konta are unsure. “None of us wants to leave our home,” Dorla said. The Polavaram Irrigation Project (PIP), is located on the Godavari river near Ramanayyapeta in Polavaram mandal, Andhra Pradesh. It is about 42 kilometres upstream of the Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage, where the river emerges from the Eastern Ghats and enters the coastal plains of Andhra Pradesh. The elevation of the structure is 45.72 metres or 150 feet. Sabari, a tributary of the Godavari river, originates in the Eastern Ghats in Odisha, forms part of the boundary between Odisha and Chhattisgarh, and later enters Andhra Pradesh before joining the Godavari. The Polavaram project The Polavaram Irrigation Project&#8217;s construction began in 2004, after decades of interstate negotiation stretching back to a 1980 agreement signed when today’s Chhattisgarh was still part of Madhya Pradesh. The project aims to create irrigation potential for 2.91 lakh hectares, generate 960 MW of hydropower, supply drinking water to 28.5 lakh people in 540 villages,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/10/polavarams-missing-map-leaves-villages-in-limbo/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Bauxite mining transforms living hills into emptiness [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/bauxite-mining-transforms-living-hills-into-emptiness-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/bauxite-mining-transforms-living-hills-into-emptiness-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Sep 2026 15:27:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Minati DashPatrik Oskarsson]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/07095452/site-of-workship-of-baphlibudhi-matriarch-in-a-cave-in-Baphlimali-hills-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40743</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh, Eastern Ghats, and Odisha]]>
						</locations>
					
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[‘‘In the mine lease area there is no natural water source cited … (In) the tree enumeration report, it is evident that we have hardly 2933 trees only.” An official from Vedanta (a multinational mining and metals company) said this when questioned about the potential environmental impacts of mining in the Sijimali Hills for a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[‘‘In the mine lease area there is no natural water source cited … (In) the tree enumeration report, it is evident that we have hardly 2933 trees only.” An official from Vedanta (a multinational mining and metals company) said this when questioned about the potential environmental impacts of mining in the Sijimali Hills for a documentary. The implication of the statement is that the mining project poses no ecological threat to the region since the region itself lacks forests and water sources. Such an approach to bauxite mining raises concerns of a possible repeat of long-standing conflicts over hilltop (bauxite) mining witnessed in Eastern India since the 1980s. In the neighbouring Baphlimali hills, where bauxite mining operations have been ongoing since 2013, communities recalled that officials of the mining company, UAIL (Utkal Alumina International Limited), described the area as a &#8216;terra nullius&#8217; [space without humans] — &#8220;only rugged terrain with small valleys where some ragi [millets] and grass grew.&#8221; Approaches to bauxite mining that ignore both the unique ecologies of the region and its people run through the contentious history of bauxite hill mining along the Eastern Ghats in places like Gandhamardhan, Niyamgiri, Araku and Jerrela. Even the 2013 landmark decision to protect Niyamgiri Hills from Vedanta’s bauxite mining doesn’t offer protection for other bauxite-bearing hills. Such definitions allow the project to be presented as risk-free, with the potential to even improve environmental outcomes. However, such an articulation rests on a series of omissions and blind spots that compel the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/bauxite-mining-transforms-living-hills-into-emptiness-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Solar-powered cold storage empowers smallholder farmers</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/solar-powered-cold-storage-empowers-smallholder-farmers/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/solar-powered-cold-storage-empowers-smallholder-farmers/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Nov 2025 13:29:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kavitha Yarlagadda]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cold storage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Decentralised renewable energy (DRE)]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[decentralised solar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farm waste]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmer producer organisations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[food loss]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/11/14121914/AP24094531116916-scaled-e1763104541964-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35570</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“When we used to take our vegetables to the market, we often had to sell whatever was left at throwaway prices to avoid spoilage,” says Routhu Bharathi, a farmer from Badangi village in Vizianagaram district, Andhra Pradesh. “But with the solar cold storage facility starting in 2021, we now have the confidence and assurance that [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“When we used to take our vegetables to the market, we often had to sell whatever was left at throwaway prices to avoid spoilage,” says Routhu Bharathi, a farmer from Badangi village in Vizianagaram district, Andhra Pradesh. “But with the solar cold storage facility starting in 2021, we now have the confidence and assurance that we don’t have to discard or undersell our produce.” Sambi Reddy, a 53-year-old farmer from Kollipara village in Guntur district, shares a similar experience. At dawn, he stacks bundles of pulses and chillis into a humming solar-powered cold storage unit. Just eight years ago, he would have had to race against the tropical heat. India has had a cold storage scheme since 2008. However, these farmers&#8217; experiences suggest that they received little help due to a lack of affordable and reliable infrastructure. This meant Reddy often lost nearly a third of his crop to spoilage. Now, he stores his produce and also buys from a group of organic farmers who are part of a Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO). He stores their crops and sells them later as by-products. The 10-tonne cold storage unit cost ₹12.5 lakhs (₹1.2 million), of which ₹9.37 lakhs (₹0.9 million) was subsidised by the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and paid directly to EcoFrost, the manufacturer and implementing company. The Shreshta Farmers Producer Organisation (the FPO, of which Sambi Reddy is a part) covered the remaining amount. “This is very convenient and useful&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/solar-powered-cold-storage-empowers-smallholder-farmers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>India’s nearshore fisheries overlap with shark and ray habitats</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/indias-nearshore-fisheries-overlap-with-shark-and-ray-habitats/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/indias-nearshore-fisheries-overlap-with-shark-and-ray-habitats/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Sep 2025 14:53:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rupsy Khurana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fisheries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fishermen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marine Fisheries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shark]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/09/18130724/A-variety-of-sharks-and-rays-are-caught-in-non-selective-gears-such-as-trawler.-Credit_Imran-Samad-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34675</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coast, Fish, Fishing, Oceans, Overfishing, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Along the sun-baked shores of India, where fishing boats dot the horizon and seafood fuels local economies and communities, small-scale fishing is more than a livelihood — it’s a way of life for millions of fishers. Globally, small-scale fisheries support 90% of the world’s fishing population and account for at least 40% of the global [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Along the sun-baked shores of India, where fishing boats dot the horizon and seafood fuels local economies and communities, small-scale fishing is more than a livelihood — it’s a way of life for millions of fishers. Globally, small-scale fisheries support 90% of the world’s fishing population and account for at least 40% of the global fish catch. Often overshadowed by industrial fleets, small-scale fishing is widely seen as more sustainable. Yet its scale tells a different story. Globally, more than 75% of coastal/elasmobranchs — sharks, rays and guitar fish — are threatened with extinction due to nearshore fisheries which are small-scale fishing activities that typically occur within a few kilometres from the shoreline. They overlap with critical habitats for sharks and rays, placing some of the ocean’s most vulnerable creatures at risk. Sharks are routinely caught as part of almost every type of marine fishery, from small traditional boats to large industrial trawlers. India, once the world’s second-largest shark-catching nation, now ranks third. But this drop reflects declining populations, not reduced fishing pressure. With late maturation, slow growth and reproduction, elasmobranchs are vulnerable to fishing pressures and can struggle to recover once depleted. A recent study from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, examined what drives nearshore elasmobranch catch at two major landing sites — Visakhapatnam on the east coast and Malvan on the west. They found that catch patterns are shaped by local factors such as species ecology, fishing gear diversity, number of fishing vessels, fishing frequency and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/indias-nearshore-fisheries-overlap-with-shark-and-ray-habitats/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>The search for the Jerdon’s courser needs to be deepened [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/the-search-for-the-jerdons-courser-needs-to-be-deepened-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/the-search-for-the-jerdons-courser-needs-to-be-deepened-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Sep 2025 13:19:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ronith Urs]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jerdon's courser]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/09/08132356/Painting_of_Jerdons_Courser_by_ZSI_artist-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34471</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh, Global, and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Birds, Grasslands, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Only a handful of people alive have ever seen one. And they’re all ageing, with waning hope of ever seeing one again. If you’re lucky enough to get them to open up about their once-in-a-lifetime encounter with this celebrity, they’d likely narrate it to you like it happened yesterday. In many respects, the Jerdon’s courser [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Only a handful of people alive have ever seen one. And they’re all ageing, with waning hope of ever seeing one again. If you’re lucky enough to get them to open up about their once-in-a-lifetime encounter with this celebrity, they’d likely narrate it to you like it happened yesterday. In many respects, the Jerdon’s courser is an oddity: nocturnal and secretive, bound to a very specific open scrub forest habitat, and with its closest relative, the three-banded courser that lives on a completely different continent. Scientist P. Jeganathan, who studied this bird for his Ph.D., describes how it takes off “vertically upwards, like a helicopter” when flushed or startled into flight. Only a few birds have captivated the minds of ornithologists, birdwatchers, and hobbyists like the Jerdon’s courser. Written off to the history books and brought back to life after its rediscovery in Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh in 1986, only to quietly slip back into the books after it was last seen in 2004. Two decades on, it refuses to fade from the public imagination, igniting news articles and debates around its existence to this day. You might be wondering how well the media buzz around this near-mythical enigma may have translated into field efforts to look for it. Unfortunately, since its last confirmed report, efforts to relocate the courser have been confined to a very small geographic area in and around Lankamalleswara, primarily through camera-trap surveys and a brief passive acoustic monitoring project focused on listening&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/the-search-for-the-jerdons-courser-needs-to-be-deepened-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Bridging the climate finance gap in emerging markets [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/bridging-the-climate-finance-gap-in-emerging-markets/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/bridging-the-climate-finance-gap-in-emerging-markets/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jul 2025 13:36:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shantanu SrivastavaSoni Tiwari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Clean Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clean energy finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate adaptation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate mitigation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Just Transition]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/07/23094243/1280px-Coal_Miners_2001-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=33730</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Finance]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh, Global, and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Finance, Climate Change Adaptation, and Climate Change Mitigation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The International Monetary Fund, in a 2024 report, estimates that Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs) in the Asia-Pacific region require at least $1.1 trillion annually for climate mitigation and adaptation. However, actual investments fall short by more than $800 billion every year. With fiscal space constrained by public debt accumulated during the global pandemic [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The International Monetary Fund, in a 2024 report, estimates that Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs) in the Asia-Pacific region require at least $1.1 trillion annually for climate mitigation and adaptation. However, actual investments fall short by more than $800 billion every year. With fiscal space constrained by public debt accumulated during the global pandemic and other geopolitical factors, mobilising private capital for climate action is critical to bridge the financing gap in emerging economies. At the same time, there is growing recognition that the energy transition must be rooted in principles of justice, equity, and fairness, underlining the importance of a just transition. While private investors are expected to fund “hard” or fixed assets such as clean energy infrastructure, which has a commercial return, managing the socio-economic impacts of the transition, such as job losses and community resilience, will primarily need to be addressed through public financing. A just energy transition in emerging markets will therefore require a “co-investment” approach that channels capital towards both physical infrastructure and social priorities. This capital must be mobilised from a diverse set of capital providers with varying mandates, capital structures, and risk-return expectations. It must include contributions from both public and private sources, including concessional and commercial, in order to reduce reliance on government budgets. Enabling investment Since the Paris Agreement in 2015, many EMDEs, such as South Africa, India, and Indonesia, have introduced supportive policies to move towards low-carbon pathways. In recent years, their energy and climate policies have increasingly prioritised&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/bridging-the-climate-finance-gap-in-emerging-markets/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>An arid Indian state’s water gains risk drying up under cash crop pressures</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/04/an-arid-indian-states-water-gains-risk-drying-up-under-cash-crop-pressures/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/04/an-arid-indian-states-water-gains-risk-drying-up-under-cash-crop-pressures/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2025 15:53:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anupama Chandrasekaran]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmlands]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[irrigation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[piped water]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water crisis]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/04/08133148/Pic-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=32126</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Groundwater, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Sivasankar Nakkala remembers the morning, years ago, his father asked him to leave home. After growing ragi and groundnut in drought-stricken Kadiri Pulakunta village in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, their farm had succumbed to erratic rains and plummeting groundwater. “There was no water, no work in my village, and we couldn’t grow [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Sivasankar Nakkala remembers the morning, years ago, his father asked him to leave home. After growing ragi and groundnut in drought-stricken Kadiri Pulakunta village in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, their farm had succumbed to erratic rains and plummeting groundwater. “There was no water, no work in my village, and we couldn’t grow anything,” Nakkala recalled. “So, I moved to Bengaluru, working in a job I didn’t like.” At 23, with a master’s degree in business, he reluctantly boarded a bus to Bengaluru, the capital of the neighbouring state of Karnataka. He traded the sun-scorched fields for the fluorescent hum of a warehouse. Work became a cycle of labelling packages and loading trucks. Each visit home revealed deepening despair — cracked earth, empty wells, and his parents’ weary faces. But a few years later, water returned to the village, almost overnight. Nakkala’s wells brimmed and the soil in his fields softened. Sivasankar Nakkala, the young farmer from Kadiri Pulakunta village in Andhra Pradesh, shifted from cultivating ragi to maize, seeking higher profits. Image by Anupama Chandrasekaran. Back from the brink In 2021, India, the world’s largest groundwater user, extracted 251 billion cubic metres (bcm) of groundwater — pumping more than the United States and China, the next largest users, combined. While this massive consumption persists, drought-prone states such as Andhra Pradesh have actively explored solutions to reduce groundwater depletion. Around 7.48 bcm of groundwater was extracted in Andhra Pradesh in 2023, which is half of what Tamil Nadu,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/04/an-arid-indian-states-water-gains-risk-drying-up-under-cash-crop-pressures/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Better catch pulls east coast fishers westwards</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/better-catch-pulls-east-coast-fishers-westwards/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/better-catch-pulls-east-coast-fishers-westwards/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Mar 2025 13:37:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ishita Chigilli Palli]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[artisanal fishing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fisheries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fishermen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[migration]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/03/14120805/Most-smaller-teppas-do-not-have-motors-and-have-to-be-rowed-with-paddles.-Fishers-find-it-challenging-to-overcome-the-strong-waves-especial-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=31841</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Hewing The Regulatory Tree]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coast, Fish, Fishing, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[At 3 p.m. on a Sunday, the beach adjoining the fishing village of Bandaruvanipeta is bustling with activity as fishermen prepare to head out to sea for the night. The beach is lined with teppas (fishing boats) and large bundles of fishing nets. Bandaruvanipeta is situated along the Bay of Bengal in the Srikakulam district [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[At 3 p.m. on a Sunday, the beach adjoining the fishing village of Bandaruvanipeta is bustling with activity as fishermen prepare to head out to sea for the night. The beach is lined with teppas (fishing boats) and large bundles of fishing nets. Bandaruvanipeta is situated along the Bay of Bengal in the Srikakulam district of northern Andhra Pradesh. G. Apparao and K. Dasu sit atop bundles of gillnets, their tiffins and bottles of water by their side, waiting for the rest of their crew members to arrive. Together they carry the nets onto their boat — each net weighing about 70 kg — and with help from other fishermen on the beach, they push their motorised fibreglass teppa towards the water. “Navigating our teppa through the forceful waves is quite challenging, especially when the sea is stormy. There are many rocks on this part of the coast, so we must be careful, especially during low tide,” says Apparao. “We leave in the evening around 4 p.m. and come back the next day at 7 a.m. We go fishing at night because that is when we catch the big fish. However, we can never tell how much we’ll catch. Occasionally, when the catch is good, we earn up to Rs. 90,000, which is divided among the five crew members as well as the boat owner, who keeps double the share. But on other days, we stay out all night and return with nothing,” adds Dasu. Apparao and Dasu have both&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/better-catch-pulls-east-coast-fishers-westwards/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Understanding India’s shark supply chains to make them sustainable</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/understanding-indias-shark-supply-chains-to-make-them-sustainable/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/understanding-indias-shark-supply-chains-to-make-them-sustainable/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Mar 2025 11:14:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Neha Jain]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fisheries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fishing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shark]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife crime]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife trade]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/03/03103712/Small-scale-gillnet-fishers-in-Goa-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=31679</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Hewing The Regulatory Tree]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh and Goa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coast, Fishing, Oceans, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new study investigates shark trade in two locations in India: Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh on the east coast and Goa on the west coast and finds that shark meat, rather than fins, was the main traded product at both sites. Shark harvest was driven predominantly by supply-side factors, suggesting fishing is driven more by [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new study investigates shark trade in two locations in India: Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh on the east coast and Goa on the west coast and finds that shark meat, rather than fins, was the main traded product at both sites. Shark harvest was driven predominantly by supply-side factors, suggesting fishing is driven more by what fishers catch and sell rather than consumer demand, although the study also uncovered rising local consumption. It also revealed that despite the national ban, shark fin export continues, especially in Kakinada. India, home to around 160 species of sharks — of which around 11% are threatened — is the third largest shark fishing nation globally. Shark fishing occurs in various states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala where diverse shark species are caught as targeted or bycatch in multi-species fisheries. Currently, twenty-six shark and ray species are protected under India’s Wildlife Protection Act; shark finning and fin exports are prohibited. Understanding market dynamics, which refers to whether the market is dominated by supply- or demand-driven processes, can guide where interventions for sustainability should be targeted, says the study. Most respondents in this interview-based study reported declining shark catch, consistent with national assessments reporting that shark and ray stocks were either ‘declining’ or ‘less abundant’ on India’s coast. While black-tip sharks are a productive species, population models suggest that harvest rates of juveniles in Goa are unsustainable. “Our work highlights the potentially unsustainable nature of shark fishing and trade in Goa and Kakinada&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/understanding-indias-shark-supply-chains-to-make-them-sustainable/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>[Book review] Ancient giants make for great stories</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/11/book-review-ancient-giants-make-for-great-stories/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/11/book-review-ancient-giants-make-for-great-stories/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Nov 2024 11:33:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Usha Rai]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Renuka Kulkarni]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Banyan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chinar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Giant Sequoia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mango]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trees]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/11/14102401/Ber-Baba-Budha-of-the-Golden-Temple-min-scaled-e1731560187585-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=30245</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh, India, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity and Mountains]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[S. Natesh’s book, Iconic Trees of India, is a highly readable book that introduces you to 75 special trees, spectacular in size, girth, beauty, ecological importance, and graceful aging. He graphically details not just the majesty and beauty of the trees but also their cultural and historical significance, folklore, and the myriad stories woven around [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[S. Natesh’s book, Iconic Trees of India, is a highly readable book that introduces you to 75 special trees, spectacular in size, girth, beauty, ecological importance, and graceful aging. He graphically details not just the majesty and beauty of the trees but also their cultural and historical significance, folklore, and the myriad stories woven around them. Like the Taj Mahal or the Qutub Minar, which showcase India’s architectural heritage, these trees are a testament to the country&#8217;s unique ecological lineage. Yet, they have not received the same importance or attention as the monuments. This makes the well-organised book by a botanist, who taught at Delhi University for a decade and worked with the central government’s Department of Biotechnology, invaluable. He has spent a decade travelling across the length and breadth of the country to research and document these living monuments or ‘talismans of nature’. Adding to the book&#8217;s allure are the excellent watercolour illustrations by Sagar Bhowmick. S. Natesh has taught at Delhi University for a decade and worked with the central government. His book is based on a decade spent travelling across India to document ancient trees. Images courtesy Roli Books. “The seasons come and go, rivers rise in floods, epidemics wipe out entire settlements and time passes by but trees generate more life and maintain immortality across multiple human generations. Their long life allows humans to imagine them as witnesses to ancestral events,” Natesh points out. He recounts the story of King Marthanda Varma (1706-1758) of Travancore, who,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/11/book-review-ancient-giants-make-for-great-stories/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Climate change, habitat loss drive elephants to look for newer pastures </title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/climate-change-habitat-loss-drive-elephants-to-look-for-newer-pastures/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/climate-change-habitat-loss-drive-elephants-to-look-for-newer-pastures/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Oct 2024 13:55:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Laasya Shekhar]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[habitat loss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Human-wildlife conflict]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mitigation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/10/27122434/Wild_elephants_by_N._A._Naseer-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=29865</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Forests, Habitat Loss, Human Wildlife Conflict, and Impacts of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district had eight elephants in 2012, which increased to 30 by 2017. By 2024, the number has risen to approximately 100, according to the country-wide Synchronised Elephant Population Estimation. These numbers don&#8217;t call for a celebration. They don&#8217;t indicate an increase in elephant population in the district, but point to a significant [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district had eight elephants in 2012, which increased to 30 by 2017. By 2024, the number has risen to approximately 100, according to the country-wide Synchronised Elephant Population Estimation. These numbers don&#8217;t call for a celebration. They don&#8217;t indicate an increase in elephant population in the district, but point to a significant change, a historically unusual one, in the movement of elephants from neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. For more than two decades, elephants from Cauvery North Wildlife Sanctuary (CNWS) in Tamil Nadu and Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) in Karnataka have been crossing the congested NH7 highway and the busy Rayakottai railway line — a distance of about 200 km — to enter human settlements in Chittoor. A perilous journey The Bannerghatta-Hosur landscape encompasses the Bannerghatta National Park in southern Karnataka, and Cauvery North Wildlife Sanctuary and Hosur scrublands in northern Tamil Nadu. It hosts close to 650 elephants, as per the 2017 data from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). Why are these elephants making a risky cross-border journey to Andhra Pradesh, which has no source population of elephants? For context, a source population refers to an established group of animals in a particular area that reproduces and sustains the population. Without such a population, the arrival of elephants in Andhra Pradesh suggests they are migrating from other regions possibly due to unfavourable conditions in their native habitat. “Due to habitat loss, anomalous movement is becoming more frequent, leading to the establishment of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/climate-change-habitat-loss-drive-elephants-to-look-for-newer-pastures/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>What’s on the menu? Understanding the diverse diet of fishing cats</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/05/whats-on-the-menu-understanding-the-diverse-diet-of-godavari-deltas-fishing-cats/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/05/whats-on-the-menu-understanding-the-diverse-diet-of-godavari-deltas-fishing-cats/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 May 2024 14:48:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fishing cat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Godavari delta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Godavari river]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/05/31141050/Fishing-cat-in-Coringa-Widllife-Sancutuary-Photo-Credit-Giridhar-Malla-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=28003</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cats and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the intricate ecosystems of India’s mangroves, swamps, wetlands, and riverine habitats roams a silent predator: the enigmatic fishing cat. Early research suggests its piscivorous nature, but few studies have delved into its dietary habits. The understanding of the cat&#8217;s diet is crucial for safeguarding the long-term survival of the species, classified as vulnerable on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the intricate ecosystems of India’s mangroves, swamps, wetlands, and riverine habitats roams a silent predator: the enigmatic fishing cat. Early research suggests its piscivorous nature, but few studies have delved into its dietary habits. The understanding of the cat&#8217;s diet is crucial for safeguarding the long-term survival of the species, classified as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List. Mangroves, which serve as nurseries and habitats for numerous fish species, offer a particularly rich food source for fishing cats. To bridge the gap in this understanding, a recent study looked at the feeding patterns of these felines in the Godavari Delta in Andhra Pradesh and shed light on the diverse dietary spectrum of this keystone species, emphasising the fishing cat&#8217;s significance in the delicate balance of these vital ecosystems. Fishing cat hunting in the creeks of Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh. Photo by Giridhar Malla. “These nocturnal predators consume a diverse range of prey. This dietary diversity positions them as primary predators within mangrove habitats, alongside other significant species such as the golden jackal and the smooth-coated otter,” says Giridhar Malla, founder of the Godavari Fishing Cat Project and member of the IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group, who is also the lead researcher of the study. Location matters The Godavari delta and the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh comprise the second-largest contiguous mangrove forests in India, after the Sundarbans in West Bengal. They also support a high density of fishing cats. Previous records&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/05/whats-on-the-menu-understanding-the-diverse-diet-of-godavari-deltas-fishing-cats/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Women-led initiative offers relief to women dairy farmers battling heat stress</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/05/women-led-initiative-offers-relief-to-dairy-farmers-battling-heat-stress/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/05/women-led-initiative-offers-relief-to-dairy-farmers-battling-heat-stress/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 May 2024 15:35:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Laasya Shekhar]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cow shelter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dairy sector]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat wave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Milk products]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/05/10102215/CHitrakoot-cows-banner-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=27752</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Innovations]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Climate Change Adaptation, and Environment]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On a hot day in late April, with the temperature reaching 43.2 degrees Celsius, M. Thayaramma, fetched pots of water from a nearby well. She washed her two cows in a shed just outside her home, located in the village of Atlavaripalli in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. The land near her house, where Thayaramma [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On a hot day in late April, with the temperature reaching 43.2 degrees Celsius, M. Thayaramma, fetched pots of water from a nearby well. She washed her two cows in a shed just outside her home, located in the village of Atlavaripalli in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. The land near her house, where Thayaramma grows grass for cattle fodder is parched and devoid of life. The air is stiflingly hot and the sky is clear, with no sign of rain-bearing clouds. Fifty-four-year-old Thayaramma has been a dairy farmer for over three decades and is well-versed in cattle care. But the unrelenting heat has become an increasing challenge, growing worse every year, she feels. The extreme temperatures cause a host of issues in livestock, from mastitis (inflammation of the udder) and dehydration, to fever and heat stroke, all of which reduce milk production. “Daily milk production has dropped by twenty percent in the past month,” she says, noting that she’s been washing her animals and providing them with water more frequently than usual to mitigate the effects of the heat. This reduction in yield typically happens in May and June. Thayaramma is among the lakhs of dairy farmers in the Chittoor district. These farmers face a critical battle against heat stress, compounded by the scarcity of green fodder and water, which will likely continue for the next three months. K. Ramanarao, a 50-year-old dairy farmer from Kannikapuram in Chittoor, has seen his daily milk yield from five cows drop from&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/05/women-led-initiative-offers-relief-to-dairy-farmers-battling-heat-stress/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Restaurants fuelling demand for shark meat in India, finds study</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/01/restaurants-fuelling-demand-for-shark-meat-in-india-finds-study/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/01/restaurants-fuelling-demand-for-shark-meat-in-india-finds-study/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jan 2024 15:41:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Simrinsirur]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fish]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[food]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/01/19140947/Spadenose_Shark_Scoliodon_laticaudus_04-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=26133</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, India, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coast, Fish, Fishing, and Food]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Certain species of elasmobranch, such as sharks, are among the most overfished species in the Indian seas. A new survey documenting their consumption in India suggests one group of stakeholders, in particular, could influence their consumption patterns in a big way: restaurants. In a study, researchers who are a part of InSeason Fish, a sustainable [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Certain species of elasmobranch, such as sharks, are among the most overfished species in the Indian seas. A new survey documenting their consumption in India suggests one group of stakeholders, in particular, could influence their consumption patterns in a big way: restaurants. In a study, researchers who are a part of InSeason Fish, a sustainable seafood initiative, conducted a survey among seafood eateries in 10 coastal states in the country and found that they “form an important component in domestic supply chains,” for shark meat. Shark meat is a part of local diets in several coastal states and is traditionally favoured by low-income groups for its low price and perceived health benefits. But the survey finds that demand for shark meat is now coming from a more diverse clientele, including tourists. “We wanted to see how people from the middle and upper classes were able to access shark meat, which was previously confined to this narrow coastal belt,” said Divya Karnad, Assistant Professor of environmental studies at Ashoka University and lead author of the study. “We cannot suddenly come in and tell fishing communities, who are eating what they catch, what to do, especially without offering a viable alternative. But if there are other customers who are eating at more upmarket restaurants and have the potential to make other choices with their money, but opt to eat shark meat instead, it can be a problem.” Worldwide, shark and ray populations have declined by more than 70% over the last 50&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/01/restaurants-fuelling-demand-for-shark-meat-in-india-finds-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Residents near one of India&#8217;s largest uranium mines suspect contamination affecting their fields and health</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/08/residents-near-one-of-indias-largest-uranium-mines-suspect-contamination-affecting-their-fields-and-health/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/08/residents-near-one-of-indias-largest-uranium-mines-suspect-contamination-affecting-their-fields-and-health/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Aug 2023 14:56:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Meena Menon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Department of Atomic Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uranium Corporation of India Limited]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uranium mining]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/08/10143410/1200px-Water_pump_set-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=24011</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Health impacts and Mining]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For a decade, the uranium tailings pond near Tummalapalle and other villages in the YSR Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh have led to protests by local communities affected due to the possible impacts of mining by the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL). Tailings refer to the waste material left over from ore extraction processes. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For a decade, the uranium tailings pond near Tummalapalle and other villages in the YSR Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh have led to protests by local communities affected due to the possible impacts of mining by the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL). Tailings refer to the waste material left over from ore extraction processes. The mine is located in Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy&#8217;s constituency, Pulivendula. When it was commissioned in 2012, Tummalapalle was said to contain the world&#8217;s largest uranium reserves and intended to boost the country&#8217;s nuclear programmes. The uranium reserves in YSR Kadapa district were initially estimated at 15,000 tonnes, but in 2011, UCIL revised the estimate to 1.5 lakh tonnes, a 10-fold increase. Aerial view of the agricultural fields and villages near the Tummalapalle uranium mine and tailings pond. Photo from Google Earth Pro. While commissioning the Rs. 1,106-crore uranium ore processing plant and mine at Tummalapalle in 2012, the Atomic Energy Commission chairperson at that time, the late Srikant Banerjee had allayed fears of environmental contamination, adding that all necessary precautions were in place. In addition, jobs were promised to the people living near the plant, apart from a Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) school and a multispeciality hospital, which are yet to be built. Tailings pond affects agriculture, say farmers  The villages near the mine include Mabbuchintalapalle (MC Palle), Rachakuntapalle, Kota and Bhumaiahgaripalle. The villages of KK Kottala, Kanampalle, Tummalapalle and MC Palle are the ones reported to be affected by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/08/residents-near-one-of-indias-largest-uranium-mines-suspect-contamination-affecting-their-fields-and-health/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/08/residents-near-one-of-indias-largest-uranium-mines-suspect-contamination-affecting-their-fields-and-health/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Community-based natural farming outshines other farming practices in Andhra Pradesh</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/07/community-based-natural-farming-outshines-other-farming-practices-in-andhra-pradesh-in-all-aspects/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/07/community-based-natural-farming-outshines-other-farming-practices-in-andhra-pradesh-in-all-aspects/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2023 13:25:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[agriculture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community-Managed Natural Farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farm income]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[National Mission on Natural Farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Natural Farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[TEEBAgriFood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for Agriculture and Food Systems]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/07/31114045/Agriculture-field-work-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=23846</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Conserving Agro-biodiversity]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Climate Change Adaptation, and Environmental Economics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh&#8217;s Community-Based Natural Farming (APCNF) defies the popular belief that chemical fertilisers guarantee better yields. According to a comparative study of prevalent farming practices in the state, conducted over two years in three districts of Andhra Pradesh, natural farming achieved remarkable results compared to other dominant farming systems in the region. On average, farmers [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh&#8217;s Community-Based Natural Farming (APCNF) defies the popular belief that chemical fertilisers guarantee better yields. According to a comparative study of prevalent farming practices in the state, conducted over two years in three districts of Andhra Pradesh, natural farming achieved remarkable results compared to other dominant farming systems in the region. On average, farmers practicing natural farming harvested four crops, with a 11% higher yield of prime crops such as paddy rice, maize, millet, finger millets and red gram. They saw a 49% net increase in their income. To encourage natural farming, the government of India, in March this year, formulated the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) with an initial budget of Rs. 4.59 billion for 2023-24. Though many governments, including India&#8217;s, express interest in natural farming techniques, there is limited scientific literature that compares APCNF&#8217;s costs and benefits with prevalent farming systems, says the study. The study, Natural Farming Through a Wide-Angle Lens: True Cost Accounting Study of Community Managed Natural Farming, aims to fill the gap by providing evidence-based evaluation of natural farming in Andhra Pradesh to encourage a broader global uptake. Study methodologies and findings Led by impact data and analytics provider, GIST Impact, and supported by the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, the study compared the effects of Community-Managed Natural Farming (CNF) with three other farming systems prevalent in the region— chemical farming in the Godavari delta region, rainfed farming in the semi-arid region and low-input tribal farming in the mountainous region.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/07/community-based-natural-farming-outshines-other-farming-practices-in-andhra-pradesh-in-all-aspects/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Concerns over increased whale shark stranding along Andhra Pradesh’s coast</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/07/concerns-over-increased-whale-shark-stranding-along-andhra-pradeshs-coast/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/07/concerns-over-increased-whale-shark-stranding-along-andhra-pradeshs-coast/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Jul 2022 14:39:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Almaas Masood]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sahana]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Animals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[coast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fishing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Oceans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shark]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/07/15142546/whale-shark-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=19134</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coast, Fish, and Fishing]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“One February evening in 2022, a fisherman alerted me of a massive sea creature trapped in their fishing net on Vizag’s shore,” narrates Srikanth Mannepuri, photographer and wildlife conservationist from Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. It was a stranded whale shark on Vizag’s shores. Mannepuri, having been involved in two rescue operations of stranded whale sharks, immediately [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“One February evening in 2022, a fisherman alerted me of a massive sea creature trapped in their fishing net on Vizag’s shore,” narrates Srikanth Mannepuri, photographer and wildlife conservationist from Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. It was a stranded whale shark on Vizag’s shores. Mannepuri, having been involved in two rescue operations of stranded whale sharks, immediately knew the challenge that lay ahead. The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is a shark species and not a whale. It can grow up to 50 feet in length. This largest shark species is listed as an ‘Endangered’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). India has fewer laws and regulations protecting sharks and rays than other Asian nation. Currently, Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, protects ten species of sharks. This includes the whale shark as well, making the act of capturing and/or killing it a crime. When Mannepuri received the news about the stranded whale shark, he immediately called Vizag’s District Forest Officer (DFO) Anant Shankar, who gave the required clearances and support to rescue and guide the stranded whale shark back to where it belonged. “As soon as we confirmed it was a whale shark, I called the DFO. His directive was simple; to guide the whale shark to safety, sparing no effort and expense,” said Mannepuri. The team consisting of 40 local fishermen, along with Mannepuri, managed to successfully push the whale shark to the sea after untangling it from the fishing net. The photographer said, “After quickly&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/07/concerns-over-increased-whale-shark-stranding-along-andhra-pradeshs-coast/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Unprecedented rainfall and pesticide usage lead to low mango yields in Andhra Pradesh districts</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/05/unprecedented-rainfall-and-pesticide-usage-lead-to-low-mango-yields-in-andhra-pradesh-districts/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/05/unprecedented-rainfall-and-pesticide-usage-lead-to-low-mango-yields-in-andhra-pradesh-districts/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 May 2022 11:37:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[G. Ram Mohan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[agriculture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[monsoon]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/05/13190514/IMG20220423174648-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=18293</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture and Monsoons]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Janardhan Reddy, a mango farmer with eight acres of land, is worried about the fall in the yield of his crops. The 50-year-old farmer, from the Madithativaripalli village of Nerabilu gram panchayat that falls in the Yerravaripalem mandal of Tirupati district in Andhra Pradesh, says that he would hardly get 10 tonnes of the crop [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Janardhan Reddy, a mango farmer with eight acres of land, is worried about the fall in the yield of his crops. The 50-year-old farmer, from the Madithativaripalli village of Nerabilu gram panchayat that falls in the Yerravaripalem mandal of Tirupati district in Andhra Pradesh, says that he would hardly get 10 tonnes of the crop this season. This is against the regular annual yield of 40 tonnes. Another farmer, B. Vasudeva Reddy, living 70 kilometres south of Madithativaripalli, at Abbireddivuru village in Poothalapattu mandal of Chittoor district, faces a similar challenge. He says that his 12-acre mango farm would fetch him 50 percent of the crop. Other farmers in his locality expect only 30 percent yield. The mango crop is spread over an area of 2.76 lakh (276,000) acres in the erstwhile Chittoor district (before the recent district separation by the Andhra Pradesh government, into Chittoor and Tirupati districts), according to the Chittoor Horticulture Department. Horticulture scientist D. Sreenivasulu Reddy, Citrus Research Station, Dr. YSR Horticulture University, connects the loss of yield with the unprecedented heavy rains that the drought-prone Rayalaseema region (where Chittoor and Tirupati lie) received between October 2021 and January 2022. The region receives more rains normally during the northeast monsoon between September and November. The Chittoor district however received a rainfall of 688 mm against a normal 395.4 mm, a deviation of 74 percent during the northeast monsoon in the months of October, November, and December 2021. Unprecedented rains in drought-prone Rayalaseema Rayalaseema is a region&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/05/unprecedented-rainfall-and-pesticide-usage-lead-to-low-mango-yields-in-andhra-pradesh-districts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Environment factors push people out of their homes on India&#8217;s east coast, leaving behind &#8216;ghost villages&#8217;</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/02/environment-factors-push-people-out-of-their-homes-on-indias-east-coast-leaving-behind-ghost-villages/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/02/environment-factors-push-people-out-of-their-homes-on-indias-east-coast-leaving-behind-ghost-villages/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Feb 2022 13:08:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Kumar]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mayank Aggarwal]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chinua]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate-induced migration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[coastal erosion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[migration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Odisha]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Puri]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ramayapatnam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Satabhaya]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sea erosion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Udayakani]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uppada]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/02/10231012/IMG_0129-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=17082</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Flood and drought]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh and Odisha]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Floods]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Uppada is a coastal village in the East Godavari district, around 18 kilometres north of the Kakinada port in Andhra Pradesh. The village has faced ingress of seawater over the past few years. Half of the shoreline of the village has hardly any sandy beach left. High tidal surges hit against the partially damaged houses at [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Uppada is a coastal village in the East Godavari district, around 18 kilometres north of the Kakinada port in Andhra Pradesh. The village has faced ingress of seawater over the past few years. Half of the shoreline of the village has hardly any sandy beach left. High tidal surges hit against the partially damaged houses at the edge of the village coast as the basement of these houses are slowly getting eroded into the sea. Villagers claim that there are more than 100 such &#8216;ghost&#8217; houses here, which were earlier inhabited but are now abandoned because of the damages. “Now, around 100 such houses lie in compromised situations and can break away into the sea any day. In the last two decades, hundreds of houses including a village market, school, temple and a bus stand have gone into the sea due to cyclones and sea erosion,” said 40-year-old S. Prasad, a resident of Uppada where, he said, the total population is around 20,000. N. Kishore, another resident of the village claimed that a large population of the village has resettled in other areas like Naikar colony, P. Lakshmi Colony, Vengageta colony. Extreme weather conditions, impacted livelihoods and triggered the displacement of people in the Uppada village where the majority of the households were engaged in the fishing trade. “The whole village has suffered huge losses. Anyone can still see how several houses are almost set to go into the sea any day in the village,” said Kishore. He explained that the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/02/environment-factors-push-people-out-of-their-homes-on-indias-east-coast-leaving-behind-ghost-villages/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Most famines in south India under British rule due to minor rainfall fluctuations, rather than extreme events</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2021/09/most-famines-in-south-india-under-british-rule-due-to-minor-rainfall-fluctuations-rather-than-extreme-events/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2021/09/most-famines-in-south-india-under-british-rule-due-to-minor-rainfall-fluctuations-rather-than-extreme-events/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Sep 2021 13:17:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sahana Ghosh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sahana]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[agriculture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme weather events]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2021/09/15095027/Runn_of_Katch_-_India-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=15533</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Flood and drought]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Environment, and Impacts of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Extreme rainfall deficiencies were not the only causes of famines in semi-arid regions of southern India in the 18th to 20th centuries, according to research that blends paleoclimate reconstruction and British administrative records for the area. A minor 13 to 17% deficit in rainfall, rather than extreme events, triggered famines in southern India&#8217;s semi-arid regions, [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[Extreme rainfall deficiencies were not the only causes of famines in semi-arid regions of southern India in the 18th to 20th centuries, according to research that blends paleoclimate reconstruction and British administrative records for the area. A minor 13 to 17% deficit in rainfall, rather than extreme events, triggered famines in southern India&#8217;s semi-arid regions, including the Great Famine of 1875–1878 and the Indian Famine of 1899–1900, which, according to the colonial records, were caused by &#8220;rain failure&#8221; killing millions. The findings underscore the need to consider the potential impacts of minor fluctuations in rainfall patterns in drought-prone semi-arid regions in climate change risk assessments. &#8220;We focus on understanding extreme events (such as floods due to extreme rainfall). And that is critical because our infrastructures and practices are not equipped to deal with these extremes, given that these extremes have become more frequent,&#8221; the study&#8217;s corresponding author Atreyee Bhattacharya told Mongabay-India. She cautions that &#8220;we are vulnerable even more than we think we are&#8221; because minor fluctuations are not given importance due to the assumption that one is resilient to these fluctuations, which are part of normal climate variability. &#8220;It appears that we are vulnerable to &#8216;normal&#8217; variations in climate, particularly rainfall, especially in rain-fed agricultural societies in our country and across the Indian Ocean region. Our practices and decisions do not even factor in normal variability in rainfall,&#8221; Bhattacharya of the University of Colorado-Boulder, the U.S., said. Co-author Gaurav Arora of the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT)-Delhi, emphasised&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2021/09/most-famines-in-south-india-under-british-rule-due-to-minor-rainfall-fluctuations-rather-than-extreme-events/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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