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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/list/bangladesh/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
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					<title>Tracking an elusive turtle with genetic clues from nature</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/12/tracking-an-elusive-turtle-with-genetic-clues-from-nature/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/12/tracking-an-elusive-turtle-with-genetic-clues-from-nature/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Dec 2024 15:56:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Laasya Shekhar]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sundarbans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turtle]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/12/27102321/1200px-Reptile_BATAGUR_BASKA-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=30674</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh, India, and Sundarbans]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Endangered species, Mangroves, Research, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Commonly called the northern river terrapin, Batagur baska is a terrapin uniquely adapted to mangroves. Once found in abundance in the mangrove-lined rivers and estuaries in Myanmar and in the Sundarbans across India and Bangladesh, the small turtle species is now listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Commonly called the northern river terrapin, Batagur baska is a terrapin uniquely adapted to mangroves. Once found in abundance in the mangrove-lined rivers and estuaries in Myanmar and in the Sundarbans across India and Bangladesh, the small turtle species is now listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and there are no records of adults in recent years. As these turtles are elusive and sensitive to human activities, the typical boat-based visual survey methodologies have not been sufficient to detect the presence of these turtles in their habitat. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) applied an environmental DNA (eDNA) protocol, where they study genetic material in an environment sample, to detect the presence of the turtle in parts of the Indian Sundarbans. In this particular protocol, they monitored and mapped the presence of the turtle genus in its habitat by analysing water samples for traces of its DNA found in mucus secretion, faecal matter or shedded scales. They successfully detected the DNA of the genus Batagur in the water samples, which offers hope for future conservation action for the Batagur baska species. The eDNA methodology, however, is difficult to carry out for species that are extremely rare, especially in vast habitats such as the Sundarbans. Large amounts of samples need to be collected and processed immediately, before the DNA degrades. “It&#8217;s like searching for a needle in a forest,” said Abhijit Das, a WII scientist who led the study. “But it’s the only viable&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/12/tracking-an-elusive-turtle-with-genetic-clues-from-nature/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/12/tracking-an-elusive-turtle-with-genetic-clues-from-nature/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Tagging crocodiles with satellite transmitters</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/05/tagging-crocodiles-with-satellite-transmitters/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/05/tagging-crocodiles-with-satellite-transmitters/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 May 2024 16:23:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rafiqul Islam]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crocodiles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[satellites]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/05/14140701/Saltwater-Crocodile-tagged-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=27782</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh, India, South Asia, and Sundarbans]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Research and Technology and Conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In a breakthrough in saltwater crocodile conservation in Bangladesh, the country has started using a satellite tagging system to monitor the species’ movements, habits, and life span in the Sundarbans mangroves in Bangladesh. This is perhaps the first time this has been done in Asia. On March 13, Bangladesh Forest Department attached satellite tags on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In a breakthrough in saltwater crocodile conservation in Bangladesh, the country has started using a satellite tagging system to monitor the species’ movements, habits, and life span in the Sundarbans mangroves in Bangladesh. This is perhaps the first time this has been done in Asia. On March 13, Bangladesh Forest Department attached satellite tags on two saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) and released them in the mangrove waters of the Sundarbans. A few days later, the same process was repeated on two more individuals. Two Australian crocodilian experts — Ruchira Somaweera, research scientist at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and an adjunct lecturer at Murdoch University, and Paul Beri, principal ranger of Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services — assisted in tagging the crocodiles and trained the forest officials in tagging and monitoring. The forest department team in Bangladesh and the experts from Australia stand next to a newly tagged crocodile before releasing it in the wild. Image by Md Mofizur Rahaman Chowdury. Bangladesh’s forest department and IUCN Bangladesh are jointly implementing the project with support from the Integrated Management of the Sundarbans Mangroves and the Marine Protected Area (MPA) Swatch of No Ground in Bangladesh (SoNG), initiated by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), on behalf of Germany’s economy and development ministry. Mihir Kumar Doe, Conservator of Forests (Khulna Circle), said there is a sizeable population of wild saltwater crocodiles in the Sundarbans currently as the forest department has released around 200 saltwater crocodiles to the mangroves since&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/05/tagging-crocodiles-with-satellite-transmitters/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>[Interview] Camelia Dewan on how ‘climate change’ is becoming a development buzzword to continue business as usual</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/02/interview-camelia-dewan-on-how-climate-change-is-becoming-a-development-buzzword-to-continue-business-as-usual/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/02/interview-camelia-dewan-on-how-climate-change-is-becoming-a-development-buzzword-to-continue-business-as-usual/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Feb 2024 13:48:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[COP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[COP28]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/02/26134001/c_1077334-l_1-k_camelia-bild-e1708935166432-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=26649</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh, Global, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Green Business, Greenwashing, Industry, Interviews, and People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In December last year, as the largest annual climate conference, the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28), was underway, researchers from a prominent global environmental think tank made a provocative argument: The demand for more climate finance from emerging economies to cope with the effects of climate change, would likely be at the cost of developmental [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In December last year, as the largest annual climate conference, the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28), was underway, researchers from a prominent global environmental think tank made a provocative argument: The demand for more climate finance from emerging economies to cope with the effects of climate change, would likely be at the cost of developmental aid. “The dirty secret of climate finance is that much of it is displacing traditional development aid,” wrote Vijaya Ramachandran, director of energy and development at the environmental research centre Breakthrough Institute, along with her colleague Alex Smith in an article published in Foreign Policy. “Calls for more climate finance are important, but if current practice is any guide, a large share of the funds will be taken from budgets that fund critical development priorities, such as health, education, women’s rights, infrastructure construction, and humanitarian aid,” the article went on to say. Camelia Dewan, an environmental anthropologist and assistant professor at Uppsala University in Sweden, studied what the rising global interest in funding climate action meant in a Global South country like Bangladesh, which shares many similarities with India. In her book Misreading the Bengal Delta: Climate Change, Development and Livelihoods in Coastal Bangladesh, Dewan found that “climate change” was commonly applied by fundraisers as a “masala”, or spice, to their project proposals for a better chance at securing funding – even if the projects themselves had little to do with mitigating climate impacts. In other cases, solutions being pushed to mitigate climate impacts had&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/02/interview-camelia-dewan-on-how-climate-change-is-becoming-a-development-buzzword-to-continue-business-as-usual/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/02/interview-camelia-dewan-on-how-climate-change-is-becoming-a-development-buzzword-to-continue-business-as-usual/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bangladesh&#8217;s tiger conservation efforts win with rise in population in the Sundarbans</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/10/bangladeshs-tiger-conservation-efforts-win-with-rise-in-population-in-sundarbans/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/10/bangladeshs-tiger-conservation-efforts-win-with-rise-in-population-in-sundarbans/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Oct 2023 16:44:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mohammad Al-Masum Molla]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Nandithachandraprakash]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tiger]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/10/25124616/Bengal_Tiger_in_rain_at_Sundarban-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=25027</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Connected Environments]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Mangroves, Tigers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Only five years ago, Bangladesh&#8217;s conservation community was deeply concerned about the tiger&#8217;s shrinking population in the Sundarban mangrove habitat. In a happy turn of events, however, the Sundarbans, which is shared between Bangladesh and India, is seeing positive signs of recovery for the species. The conservationists&#8217; concern was particularly stark when considering the success [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Only five years ago, Bangladesh&#8217;s conservation community was deeply concerned about the tiger&#8217;s shrinking population in the Sundarban mangrove habitat. In a happy turn of events, however, the Sundarbans, which is shared between Bangladesh and India, is seeing positive signs of recovery for the species. The conservationists&#8217; concern was particularly stark when considering the success stories of India and Nepal, where their close tiger cousins had managed to thrive and increase their populations. The decline in Bengal tigers in the Sundarbans cast a shadow of uncertainty over their future. However, a series of dedicated efforts spearheaded by the Bangladesh government and various stakeholders have yielded encouraging results, rekindling hope for the survival and growth of these big cats. The key strategies employed in this concerted conservation campaign have centred around preserving the tigers&#8217; natural habitat, tackling food scarcity issues and combating poaching through a collaborative community-based approach. These initiatives have not only benefited the tigers but also the entire ecosystem of the Sundarbans. Recent surveys conducted jointly by the government&#8217;s forest division, German Cooperation and the Swiss unit of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have unveiled two critical findings that paint an optimistic picture of Bengal tiger resurgence. First, the surveys have observed an encouraging increase in the population of prey animals such as spotted deer, wild boars and monkeys within the Sundarbans. This bountiful prey availability signals a positive turn for the tigers, ensuring they have a steady food supply to sustain themselves and their potential&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/10/bangladeshs-tiger-conservation-efforts-win-with-rise-in-population-in-sundarbans/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Loss of orchid species in Bangladesh is &#8220;alarming,&#8221; say researchers</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/09/loss-of-orchid-species-in-bangladesh-is-alarming-say-researchers/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/09/loss-of-orchid-species-in-bangladesh-is-alarming-say-researchers/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Sep 2023 13:05:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Farhana Parvin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Nandithachandraprakash]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[orchid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[research]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/08/30111233/orchid-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=24261</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Extinction, and Plants]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[There were once 188 orchid species known to science found in Bangladesh. In the last few decades, 32 of them went extinct, according to a 2020 study. Theocostele alata, Anoectochilus roxburghii, Habenaria viridifolia and Spathoglottis pubescens are some of those that disappeared from nature. The findings, which came from 23 years of research led by Chittagong University’s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[There were once 188 orchid species known to science found in Bangladesh. In the last few decades, 32 of them went extinct, according to a 2020 study. Theocostele alata, Anoectochilus roxburghii, Habenaria viridifolia and Spathoglottis pubescens are some of those that disappeared from nature. The findings, which came from 23 years of research led by Chittagong University’s botany professor Kamrul Huda, blamed habitat destruction and overharvesting as the causes behind their disappearance. However, the study could not determine the exact time frame in which the species disappeared but noted it likely happened within the last century based on available descriptions in different texts and photographs. Considering the unique position of orchids in the ecosystem and their herbal, horticultural and aesthetic value, researchers consider this loss alarming. “The existence of orchids in any forest means biodiversity is balanced. But unfortunately, Bangladesh still takes it as an ornamental object,” said professor Gazi Mosharof Hossain, department of botany, Jahangirnagar University. There are two types of orchids. Terrestrial orchids grow on land while epiphytic orchids grow on trees. This second type is not parasitic; they create food from the environment rather than from trees, which they use as shelter. In Bangladesh, cutting branches and destroying habitats of orchids is common. Meanwhile, Hossain said, authorities are still not taking orchids seriously as an important element of biodiversity. He added that authorities should declare a conservation area where orchids are found. The government also should do more research on orchids in the laboratory to help remove fears and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/09/loss-of-orchid-species-in-bangladesh-is-alarming-say-researchers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Fences could be a solution for Bangladesh&#8217;s human-tiger conflict in the Sundarbans</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/07/fences-could-be-a-solution-for-bangladeshs-human-tiger-conflict-in-the-sundarbans/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/07/fences-could-be-a-solution-for-bangladeshs-human-tiger-conflict-in-the-sundarbans/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jul 2023 16:27:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rafiqul Islam]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Nandithachandraprakash]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/07/28150553/sundarban-tiger-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=23834</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, South Asia, and Sundarbans]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Human Wildlife Conflict, Tigers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Authorities have thought of a new solution to tackle human-tiger conflicts in the Sundarbans: installing nylon fencing. With this, they aim to protect both the communities and the endangered big cats in the mangroves. The move is part of the Bangladesh Forest Department’s three-year Sundarbans Tiger Conservation Project, launched in March 2022, and is aimed [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Authorities have thought of a new solution to tackle human-tiger conflicts in the Sundarbans: installing nylon fencing. With this, they aim to protect both the communities and the endangered big cats in the mangroves. The move is part of the Bangladesh Forest Department’s three-year Sundarbans Tiger Conservation Project, launched in March 2022, and is aimed at keeping tigers and humans out of each other’s spaces. “Initially, we will erect polypropylene net fencing over 60 kilometers in the Sundarbans. And the installation work of net fencing will begin to form the next fiscal year [2023-2024],” project director Abu Naser Mohsin, who is also the divisional forest officer for Bangladesh’s western Sundarbans, told Mongabay. The Sundarbans, at the mouth of the Bay of Bengal, is the only mangrove habitat in the world where tigers (Panthera tigris) occur. But the ecosystem continues to be degraded due to human and natural causes. The human population in the area is growing, with communities largely dependent on the forest for their livelihoods. That makes overexploitation of natural resources, land reclamation, pollution, fishing and farming among the key drivers of the mangrove’s degradation. Large swaths of the Sundarbans are also drying up as the rivers and channels that feed into it fill up with sediment, allowing people to access parts of the mangrove forest they wouldn’t have been able to previously. Nylon net fencing in the Indian part of Sundarbans. Authorities in Bangladesh have decided to install nylon net fencing in the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/07/fences-could-be-a-solution-for-bangladeshs-human-tiger-conflict-in-the-sundarbans/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>With a Russell&#8217;s viper and snakebite resurgence, Bangladesh looks to developing antivenom</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/06/with-a-russells-viper-and-snakebite-resurgence-bangladesh-looks-to-developing-antivenom/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/06/with-a-russells-viper-and-snakebite-resurgence-bangladesh-looks-to-developing-antivenom/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Jun 2023 14:22:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Nandithachandraprakash]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/06/12141149/russells-viper-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=23144</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas and Connected Environments]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Human Wildlife Conflict, and Reptiles]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[One of the most venomous snakes in the Indian subcontinent is steadily increasing in population across Bangladesh. This begs the question about the country’s readiness to deal with venomous snakes in general. Russell&#8217;s viper (Daboia russelii) is responsible for nearly half of the snakebites in India, but in Bangladesh, where it’s known as chandra bora, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[One of the most venomous snakes in the Indian subcontinent is steadily increasing in population across Bangladesh. This begs the question about the country’s readiness to deal with venomous snakes in general. Russell&#8217;s viper (Daboia russelii) is responsible for nearly half of the snakebites in India, but in Bangladesh, where it’s known as chandra bora, it was thought to be a rare species for more than a century. That changed in 2013, however, when a flurry of snakebite cases, many of them fatal, began to be reported, from agricultural fields. A 2018 study recorded 20 deaths due to Russell’s viper bites between 2013 and 2016 and identified reports of bites from this species in 17 of Bangladesh’s 64 districts. It attributed the snake’s “booming” population to improvements in irrigation systems, which allowed farmers to cultivate crops on their fields throughout the year, instead of only for part of the year as previously. That means that rats, the viper’s prey of choice, are also present in the fields year-round, where they feed on the crops. This in turn allows the vipers more opportunities for reproduction and population growth, according to study co-author Md. Farid Ahsan, a professor at the University of Chittagong’s Department of Zoology. Russell’s viper (Daboia russelii) is responsible for nearly half of snakebites in India. Photo by Venom Research Centre, Bangladesh. Experts also point to altered land-use as another factor behind the resurgence of Russell’s vipers, especially in the snakebite hotspots of Rajshahi and Chapai Nawabganj districts. According&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/06/with-a-russells-viper-and-snakebite-resurgence-bangladesh-looks-to-developing-antivenom/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/06/with-a-russells-viper-and-snakebite-resurgence-bangladesh-looks-to-developing-antivenom/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Call to save rare snake habitat follows red coral kukri sightings in Bangladesh</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/05/call-to-save-rare-snake-habitat-follows-red-coral-kukri-sightings-in-bangladesh/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/05/call-to-save-rare-snake-habitat-follows-red-coral-kukri-sightings-in-bangladesh/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 May 2023 15:20:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rafiqul Islam]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Nandithachandraprakash]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/05/31135831/red-coral-kukri-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=22999</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas and Connected Environments]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Endangered species, Habitat Loss, and Reptiles]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In January, in Bangladesh&#8217;s northern district of Panchagarh, as a landlord was getting a bamboo bush cleared with an excavator to make space for a pond, two orange snakes came slithering out from the disturbed earth. The local residents assumed that bright snakes were venomous and killed them immediately. But these snakes, later identified as [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In January, in Bangladesh&#8217;s northern district of Panchagarh, as a landlord was getting a bamboo bush cleared with an excavator to make space for a pond, two orange snakes came slithering out from the disturbed earth. The local residents assumed that bright snakes were venomous and killed them immediately. But these snakes, later identified as red coral kukri, are harmless and non-venomous. This was a rare sighting of the species in Sardarpara area of Atwari Upazila, Panchagarh. Later, the excavator operator noticed more such snakes slithering out from underneath. The operator then asked the local residents to not kill those, instead called a local snake rescuer. Shahidul Islam, president of the Bangladesh Wildlife and Snake Rescue Team, rushed to the spot and rescued six coral kukri snakelets and their mother. Islam, who is locally known as &#8216;a friend of snakes&#8217;, released them into the wild. The rare snake was first spotted in the Lakhimpur Kheri area of Uttar Pradesh in 1936. Researchers described it with the scientific name Oligodon kheriensis. The word &#8216;kukri&#8217; in the snake&#8217;s common name comes from the kukri, or curved knife, of the Gorkhas, as its teeth are curved like the blade. But, in Bangladesh, the red coral kukri was first found less than only three years ago, on October 27, 2020, when the residents of Boda Upazila in Panchagarh were digging the soil at a bamboo patch. Since then, the species has often been spotted in Panchagarh and Thakurgaon districts, both close to the Himalayan&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/05/call-to-save-rare-snake-habitat-follows-red-coral-kukri-sightings-in-bangladesh/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/05/call-to-save-rare-snake-habitat-follows-red-coral-kukri-sightings-in-bangladesh/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>This year&#8217;s severe heatwave, a threat to the people and food supply in Bangladesh</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/05/this-years-severe-heatwave-a-threat-to-the-people-and-food-supply-in-bangladesh/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/05/this-years-severe-heatwave-a-threat-to-the-people-and-food-supply-in-bangladesh/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 May 2023 15:22:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mohammad Al-Masum Molla]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Nandithachandraprakash]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/05/08122959/bangladesh-heat-wave-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=22751</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Extreme Weather Events, Food, and Impacts of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The massive heat wave scorching large parts of Asia has swept up Bangladesh. The country is experiencing temperatures among the highest in six decades. Bangladesh&#8217;s capital city, Dhaka, saw the temperature reach 40.6° Celsius on April 16, the highest in 58 years, making people&#8217;s lives unbearable for more than a week with low humidity in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The massive heat wave scorching large parts of Asia has swept up Bangladesh. The country is experiencing temperatures among the highest in six decades. Bangladesh&#8217;s capital city, Dhaka, saw the temperature reach 40.6° Celsius on April 16, the highest in 58 years, making people&#8217;s lives unbearable for more than a week with low humidity in the air, according to Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) officials. “It is unusual. Almost the entire country was under cover of a heat wave. It is a new experience and also alarming at the same time,” Md. Bazlur Rashid, a meteorologist with the BMD, told Mongabay on April 20. Abdul Mannan, a retired meteorologist, said heat waves usually sweep over the western region of the country, but this year extended to the southwestern areas too. The BMD concurred that the extent of the affected area was something new. A 2021 report by the World Bank noted that average temperature rises in Bangladesh are broadly in line with the global average. It said Bangladesh regularly experiences some of the highest maximum temperatures in Asia, with an average monthly maximum of around 30°C and an average April maximum of 33°C. “Bangladesh will experience emerging hot and humid seasons, in which the Heat Index surpasses 35°C [95°F],” the report said. Temperatures across Bangladesh have hit record highs as the country swelters in the heatwave currently sweeping across much of Asia. Photo by Prabir Das. This year’s heatwave corroborates this projection. The average highest temperature in Bangladesh is 33.2°C, but&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/05/this-years-severe-heatwave-a-threat-to-the-people-and-food-supply-in-bangladesh/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>India, Bangladesh could economically benefit from better management of shared waterways</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/01/india-bangladesh-could-economically-benefit-from-better-management-of-shared-waterways/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/01/india-bangladesh-could-economically-benefit-from-better-management-of-shared-waterways/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Jan 2023 14:57:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Nandithachandraprakash]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/01/05115253/river-in-bangladesh-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=21227</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environomy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environmental Law and Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The river routes between India and Bangladesh carry tremendous economic and geostrategic significance for both countries. However, environmental management issues have rendered most of these routes useless. India and Bangladesh signed a protocol for using the waterways to carry goods in 1972. However, only three of the designated 11 routes are in regular use at [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The river routes between India and Bangladesh carry tremendous economic and geostrategic significance for both countries. However, environmental management issues have rendered most of these routes useless. India and Bangladesh signed a protocol for using the waterways to carry goods in 1972. However, only three of the designated 11 routes are in regular use at present, as most of the routes lack depth for the navigability of large vessels. Some are used irregularly, while others are not even used once a year. Bangladesh stands to gain a number of economic advantages if these routes are used regularly. It could potentially provide various services to Indian vessels during their voyage, which would facilitate growth in the service industry and expand logistics businesses. Bangladesh has also long been looking to increase exports to India&#8217;s northeastern states, which the 1972 protocol has the potential to facilitate. For India, the use of the waterways has geostrategic significance as well. Geographically, mainland India is separated from its northeastern states by Bangladesh and is only connected via the narrow Siliguri corridor. India’s primary interest in the protocol is to efficiently connect its northeast with the main hinterland by using the waterways. Poor navigability, however, stands in the way. Only about 5,995 km (3,725 mi) of Bangladesh’s waterways are navigable by mechanised vessels during the monsoon season and during the dry season, the number dwindles to 3,865 km (2,400 mi) — just a portion of the country’s 24,000 km (2,400 mi) of all waterways, according to the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/01/india-bangladesh-could-economically-benefit-from-better-management-of-shared-waterways/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Experts call for more effective water sharing agreements between India and Bangladesh</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/experts-call-for-more-effective-water-sharing-agreements-between-india-and-bangladesh/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/experts-call-for-more-effective-water-sharing-agreements-between-india-and-bangladesh/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Sep 2022 16:14:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Nandithachandraprakash]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/09/27125421/teesta-bangladesh-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=20025</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Connected Environments]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Politics, Rivers, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India and Bangladesh recently signed an agreement to share water from the Kushiara river, and water management experts have derided it as “a drop in the ocean.” There are 54 rivers that flow between the two countries, and Kushiara River is one of the minor waterways. In a recent visit to India, Bangladesh Prime Minister [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[India and Bangladesh recently signed an agreement to share water from the Kushiara river, and water management experts have derided it as “a drop in the ocean.” There are 54 rivers that flow between the two countries, and Kushiara River is one of the minor waterways. In a recent visit to India, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina signed a memorandum of understanding with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which both governments agreed to withdraw the equivalent of 4.3 cubic meters (153 cubic feet) per second of water from the Kushiara during the off-monsoon season from November to May. “Bangladesh will irrigate 5,000 hectares [12,400 acres] of arable land with this water,” said Malik Fida A. Khan, a member of the Joint Rivers Commission (JRC), a technical body that advises the Bangladesh government on the management of transboundary rivers and water. Transboundary water experts in Bangladesh, however, say the new agreement is a “drop in the ocean” and that India should consider the interests of downstream Bangladesh when it comes to sharing of water from the major rivers flowing from the Himalayas down to the Bay of Bengal. India and Bangladesh recently signed an agreement to share water from the Kushiara river. Photo by Abu Siddique/Mongabay. “I personally do not consider the MoU for Kushiara a special one,” said Ainun Nishat, a former technical member of the JRC and professor emeritus at Bangladesh’s BRAC University. “Both countries are already withdrawing water from the middle of the river — which is&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/experts-call-for-more-effective-water-sharing-agreements-between-india-and-bangladesh/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Demand for sand in Bangladesh escalates illegal activities, threatens environment</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/demand-for-sand-in-bangladesh-escalates-illegal-activities-threatens-environment/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/demand-for-sand-in-bangladesh-escalates-illegal-activities-threatens-environment/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Sep 2022 09:45:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Nandithachandraprakash]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/09/22001337/Bangladesh-sand-mining-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=19968</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas and Connected Environments]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environmental Law, Industry, Mining, and Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[There is an increasing demand for sand from Bangladesh’s construction industry that has led to an escalation in sand mining. An illegal industry has spread that now overshadows the legal one. The mining is also destroying ecosystems and exacerbating river erosion. As Bangladesh&#8217;s cities and towns grow on the back of solid economic growth over [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[There is an increasing demand for sand from Bangladesh’s construction industry that has led to an escalation in sand mining. An illegal industry has spread that now overshadows the legal one. The mining is also destroying ecosystems and exacerbating river erosion. As Bangladesh&#8217;s cities and towns grow on the back of solid economic growth over the past three decades, the construction industry has resorted to extracting sand from rivers nationwide. This sand flows into the country year-round through 57 transboundary rivers from India and Myanmar. In all, these waterways carry around 2.4 billion metric tons of sediment, including sand, clay and silt. A large part of the extracted sand is used as landfill to reclaim new land in a country where much of the area is part of a delta. These new lands, often created by filling in canals and drains, pose an obstacle to the flow of the monsoon runoff. The sand mining itself poses a threat to all kinds of physical infrastructure, including homes, agricultural lands, schools, bridges, and embankments in the river. It also destroys the adjoining groundwater system, according to a recent study. Hotspots of illegal sand mining include districts in the Ganges River Basin and the Meghna River Basin. The Bangladesh government has long been aware of the problem, and in 2010 passed the Quarry and Soil Management Act to control sand mining activities. But critics say the law is neither effective at discouraging sand mining, nor is it enforced seriously by the government. Two&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/demand-for-sand-in-bangladesh-escalates-illegal-activities-threatens-environment/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>As stronger storms hit, farmers in Bangladesh struggle to pay agricultural loans</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/as-stronger-storms-hit-farmers-in-bangladesh-struggle-to-pay-agricultural-loans/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/as-stronger-storms-hit-farmers-in-bangladesh-struggle-to-pay-agricultural-loans/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Sep 2022 12:30:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maksuda Aziz]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Nandithachandraprakash]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/09/08144803/coastal-communities-in-Satkhira-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=19817</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Connected Environments]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Environmental Economics, and Impacts of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When the super cyclone Amphan made landfall in Bangladesh in May 2020, 55,000 houses were destroyed in the country. Wasim Ali, 45, lived in one of them. The tidal surge that the storm whipped up swept away his house and razed his small one-acre farm in Protapnagar in Bangladesh’s southwestern Satkhira district. Tens of thousands [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When the super cyclone Amphan made landfall in Bangladesh in May 2020, 55,000 houses were destroyed in the country. Wasim Ali, 45, lived in one of them. The tidal surge that the storm whipped up swept away his house and razed his small one-acre farm in Protapnagar in Bangladesh’s southwestern Satkhira district. Tens of thousands of people were left destitute after this massive natural disaster. But misery runs deeper for Wasim. In addition to the loss of his home and farm, the disaster also left him with no way to pay back a debt of 42,000 takas ($440), an amount he’d borrowed from a bank as an agricultural loan. He’d pledged his farmland as collateral, and says he’s now afraid to face the bank’s officials. &#8220;I can barely support my family of five on the small piece of land I managed to squeeze out since the disaster. It is impossible to repay the loan against a piece of land that does not even exist anymore,” Wasim says. Collateral pledged for loan wiped out Nearly a third of Bangladesh’s total land mass lies in its coastal zone, spanning 47,201 square kilometers (18,224 square miles), according to a study. This zone is home to about 35 million people, or 29% of the country’s population. These communities are heavily dependent on agriculture, working on their small, fragmented lands. In a form of short-term assistance, the government makes available up to 50,000 takas (about $530) in agriculture loans to individual small farmers, disbursed through&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/as-stronger-storms-hit-farmers-in-bangladesh-struggle-to-pay-agricultural-loans/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>[Commentary] Scope for more nuanced reporting by media on the Brahmaputra river basin</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/08/commentary-scope-for-more-nuanced-reporting-by-media-on-the-brahmaputra-river-basin/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/08/commentary-scope-for-more-nuanced-reporting-by-media-on-the-brahmaputra-river-basin/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Aug 2022 15:12:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sumit Vij]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sahana]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme weather events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Northeast India]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[river]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/08/09150800/inu-etc-N5n9FDQkmGQ-unsplash-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=19375</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Commentary, Rivers, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Yarlung Tsangpo-Brahmaputra-Jamuna River Basin (BRB) embraces the unique geography of the Hindu Kush Himalayas, from high altitude Tibet Autonomous region to flood plains in Assam (India) and Bangladesh. The river has a massive hydropower potential, veneering strong social and cultural linkages with the basin communities in the four riparian countries (China, India, Bhutan, and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Yarlung Tsangpo-Brahmaputra-Jamuna River Basin (BRB) embraces the unique geography of the Hindu Kush Himalayas, from high altitude Tibet Autonomous region to flood plains in Assam (India) and Bangladesh. The river has a massive hydropower potential, veneering strong social and cultural linkages with the basin communities in the four riparian countries (China, India, Bhutan, and Bangladesh). Water conflicts and geopolitical disputes mar the Brahmaputra river basin, mainly due to historical border issues (China and India), unilateral decision-making (China and India) and varying development agendas (China, India, and Bangladesh) shaped and influenced by a multitude of state and non-state actors. Media is an essential actor, reporting and framing the narratives of conflict and cooperation in the BRB. Media reporting influences the public agenda and shapes public debates, particularly in BRB, as there is limited research at the basin level. Sometimes media reporting leads to myths and controversies, resulting in accusations among the riparian states and exhibiting chauvinistic assertiveness in protecting territorial sovereignty and water rights. Understanding what media reports on the BRB and the emerging trends and narratives that influence public debates are essential. Moreover, a systematic understanding of the role of media in shaping the narrative around the Brahmaputra river basin is missing. We analysed 2437 newspaper articles published between 2010 and 2020 to capture how media reports influence communities living and affected in the BRB. We used the criteria such as the percentage of readership, circulation, reputation, as well as quality of journalism to select ten newspapers: India (four),&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/08/commentary-scope-for-more-nuanced-reporting-by-media-on-the-brahmaputra-river-basin/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Extreme flooding from intense cyclones to affect more people in India, Bangladesh</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/07/extreme-flooding-from-intense-cyclones-to-affect-more-people-in-india-bangladesh/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/07/extreme-flooding-from-intense-cyclones-to-affect-more-people-in-india-bangladesh/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Jul 2022 12:51:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sahana Ghosh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change impact]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cyclone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[flooding]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2019/05/08105044/cyclone-fani-barricade-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=19228</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Coast, and Extreme Weather Events]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Exposure to flooding from cyclone storm surges, such as those brought on by cyclones the size of supercyclone Amphan, is “extremely likely to increase” in the future in South Asia if greenhouse gas emissions continue at the same scale, warns a study. The research was led by the University of Bristol and included scientists from [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Exposure to flooding from cyclone storm surges, such as those brought on by cyclones the size of supercyclone Amphan, is “extremely likely to increase” in the future in South Asia if greenhouse gas emissions continue at the same scale, warns a study. The research was led by the University of Bristol and included scientists from Bangladesh. They looked at how the population exposure to a storm surge of Amphan&#8217;s scale changes in future emission scenarios. Super cyclone Amphan, the costliest cyclone in the northern Indian Ocean, struck India and Bangladesh in 2020, heavily impacting lives and infrastructure and displacing millions. Intense cyclones like Amphan would likely expose more than two and half times the population in India (250%) to storm surge flooding of more than one metre by 2100, compared to the event in 2020, in both business-as-usual and high-emissions scenarios. Bangladesh, meanwhile, showed an increase in exposure of more than 80% of the population to low-level flooding (above 0.1 m) in both scenarios. A “strong, rapid and sustained greenhouse gas reduction” is essential to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and to reduce losses and damages of highly vulnerable countries like Bangladesh and India, says study co-author AKM Saiful Islam at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). Loss and damage may occur when the consequences of climate change overwhelm adaptation limits and where adaptation has not been optimally implemented. “The Loss and Damage mechanism in the [UN climate negotiations] is extremely important as increased population exposure&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/07/extreme-flooding-from-intense-cyclones-to-affect-more-people-in-india-bangladesh/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Bangladesh Sundarbans communities face hardships following a resource hunting ban</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/07/bangladesh-sundarbans-communities-face-hardships-following-a-resource-hunting-ban/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/07/bangladesh-sundarbans-communities-face-hardships-following-a-resource-hunting-ban/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Jul 2022 13:36:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Nandithachandraprakash]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mangroves]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/07/14104202/Bangladesh-resource-ban-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=19129</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas and Connected Environments]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environmental Law, Mangroves, People, Protected Areas, Tourism, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On June 1, Bangladesh implemented a total ban on entry into the Sundarbans mangrove forest for three months. The ban applies not only to tourists but also the communities that live around the forest and depend on it. The ban, which the Bangladeshi government plans to enforce every year for three months — June, July [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On June 1, Bangladesh implemented a total ban on entry into the Sundarbans mangrove forest for three months. The ban applies not only to tourists but also the communities that live around the forest and depend on it. The ban, which the Bangladeshi government plans to enforce every year for three months — June, July and August — is meant to ensure an undisturbed environment for wildlife during the breeding season, according to the government. The Sundarbans, the world’s largest contiguous mangrove forest, form a unique habitat for more than 450 wildlife species, including Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris), Ganges river dolphins (Platanista gangetica), Indian pythons (Python molurus), saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus), various monkey species, dozens of fish, and hundreds of birds. Three wildlife sanctuaries in Bangladesh — Sundarbans East, Sundarbans West and Sundarbans South — are enlisted as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. More than 330 species of trees, shrubs and epiphytes make up the landscape of these rich mangrove forests. The Sundarbans, the world’s largest contiguous mangrove forest, is a unique habitat for more than 450 wildlife species and 330 species of trees, shrubs and epiphytes. Photo by Khaled Monsoor/Flickr. The mangrove forests extend across more than 10,000 square kilometres in Bangladesh and India, occupying 4% of Bangladesh’s land area, or 6,017 square km, and accounts for 40% of the country’s forested land. The stretch of the Sundarbans mangroves in India is evaluated as endangered by the IUCN’s Red List of Ecosystems framework. The condition of the ecosystem in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/07/bangladesh-sundarbans-communities-face-hardships-following-a-resource-hunting-ban/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>[Interview] More research about relationship between flash floods and climate change needed</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/07/interview-more-research-about-relationship-between-flash-floods-and-climate-change-needed/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/07/interview-more-research-about-relationship-between-flash-floods-and-climate-change-needed/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Jul 2022 14:33:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Nandithachandraprakash]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/07/07120600/Bangladesh-floods-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=18992</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Connected Environments]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Extreme Weather Events, Floods, Impacts of Climate Change, Interviews, and Monsoons]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A large part of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Basin makes up the most of Bangladesh&#8217;s land. The northeastern part of the country, which the Meghna Basin covers, is currently experiencing highly destructive flash floods. Unusually heavy rains during the early monsoon have left around 4 million people stranded in the floodwaters. Human encroachment and development in the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[A large part of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Basin makes up the most of Bangladesh&#8217;s land. The northeastern part of the country, which the Meghna Basin covers, is currently experiencing highly destructive flash floods. Unusually heavy rains during the early monsoon have left around 4 million people stranded in the floodwaters. Human encroachment and development in the watershed has compounded the problem, blocking the quick runoff of excess water. M. Monirul Qader Mirza, a water management expert and adjunct professor at the University of Toronto, Scarborough, attributes the problem to a range of factors, from extreme rainfall to siltation of waterways as a result of mining. Mirza has written extensively on flood issues in his native Bangladesh and the wider South Asia region. His Ph.D. focused on modelling the effects of climate change on flooding in Bangladesh, and he has also contributed to several assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as an author. M. Monirul Qader Mirza is a water management expert and adjunct professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Photo courtesy of M. Monirul Qader Mirza. Mongabay’s Abu Siddique spoke with Mirza recently about how the monsoon patterns have changed over the years, why attempts to “control” the sheer volume of water in the three rivers are misguided, and to what extent climate change plays a role in all of this. The following interview has been lightly edited for clarity and style. Mongabay: Is the ongoing flood in northeastern Bangladesh different from other times? M. Monirul Qader&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/07/interview-more-research-about-relationship-between-flash-floods-and-climate-change-needed/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Recording mangrove damage from cyclones in the Sundarbans</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/06/recording-mangrove-damage-from-cyclones-in-the-sundarbans/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/06/recording-mangrove-damage-from-cyclones-in-the-sundarbans/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jun 2022 13:53:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sahana Ghosh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[coast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[coastal erosion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cyclones]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[data]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mangroves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[research]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/06/27072541/Sundarbans_beauty_02-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=18855</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh, India, and West Bengal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coastal erosion, Extreme Weather Events, Mangroves, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Satellite images of the Sundarbans mangroves along the Bay of Bengal, that capture changes before and after tropical cyclones, are helping make sense of mangrove damage from extreme weather events and create records of the impacts of cyclones on these ecosystems. Recent studies flag the importance of continuously monitoring these ecosystems that are at risk [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Satellite images of the Sundarbans mangroves along the Bay of Bengal, that capture changes before and after tropical cyclones, are helping make sense of mangrove damage from extreme weather events and create records of the impacts of cyclones on these ecosystems. Recent studies flag the importance of continuously monitoring these ecosystems that are at risk due to climate change, coupled with the legacy of historical shoreline changes from human activities. The Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem in India, for example, is classified as endangered in the IUCN&#8217;s Red List of Ecosystems framework. Historical threats came from clearing mangroves dating back to the 1800s and declining fish populations. Ongoing threats like climate change and reduced freshwater supply are heaping pressure on this ecosystem. New research shows that Sundarbans mangroves are beginning to erode faster under the combined assault. The Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem is classified as ‘endangered’ in the IUCN’s Red List of Ecosystems framework. Photo by Kartik Chandramouli/Mongabay. Using cyclone Amphan, that hit India and Bangladesh coasts in May 2020, as their case study, a team of scientists at the University of Delaware in the United States and the University of Goettingen, Germany, developed a rapid, remote sensing-based approach to gauge flooding of coastal lands and mangrove damage after the cyclone in near real-time. They used multiple satellite datasets to obtain information remotely. &#8220;Remote sensing can enable you to do time travelling. So, you can go back in time, 20 to 30 years and do it for every season and see if the changes&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/06/recording-mangrove-damage-from-cyclones-in-the-sundarbans/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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