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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/list/jharkhand/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Tue, 11 Aug 2026 10:45:25 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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					<title>After decades of drought-proofing, farms still depend on rain</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/after-decades-of-drought-proofing-farms-still-depend-on-rain/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/after-decades-of-drought-proofing-farms-still-depend-on-rain/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Aug 2026 13:55:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashwini Kumar Shukla]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[agricultural drought]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[El Niño]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[irrigation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/06123710/IMG_2166-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39920</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Dams, Drought, Extreme Weather Events, and Monsoons]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“This is all barren land now, but here we used to farm,” says Koushal Kishore Vishvakarma, a resident of Darudih village in Palamu district, Jharkhand, pointing to a long stretch of dry land spreading across the region. “It’s covered in grass because of the fresh monsoon rain, but it’s nothing more than grazing land now,” [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“This is all barren land now, but here we used to farm,” says Koushal Kishore Vishvakarma, a resident of Darudih village in Palamu district, Jharkhand, pointing to a long stretch of dry land spreading across the region. “It’s covered in grass because of the fresh monsoon rain, but it’s nothing more than grazing land now,” adds the 52-year-old farmer. Twenty years ago, this was not the case in his village or the villages around it. “Can you see that river there?” he says, standing at least a kilometre and a half away from a small perennial tributary. “From there, water used to come all the way here.” Lift irrigation, once a lifeline His village is one of many where a lift irrigation system once watered upland fields that gravity alone could not reach. These systems use pumps to draw water from rivers or reservoirs and carry it uphill. “Ten surrounding villages benefited from it. Even in summer, people used to grow crops and vegetables,” he recalls. On his own 10 acres, he says, one year of farming used to produce enough food for two years, with more than 50 quintals left over to sell every year. The system ran for just five years. Then a pipe was damaged, villagers say, and it was never repaired. An abandoned lift irrigation system in Palamu that once irrigated nearby fields, now remains dry. Image by Ashwini Kumar Shukla. “Now we grow crops only in the rainy season, and only in the lowland paddy&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/after-decades-of-drought-proofing-farms-still-depend-on-rain/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Low rainfall delays paddy farming signalling El Niño-induced drought</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/signs-of-el-nino-induced-drought-as-paddy-farming-delays/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/signs-of-el-nino-induced-drought-as-paddy-farming-delays/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 13:30:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Vishal Kumar Jain]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paddy]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/27104503/144-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39614</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Drought, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Food, Human Rights, Monsoons, Villages, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Barun Kumar Yadav from Jharkhand works in Bhilai city in the neighbouring state of Chhattisgarh as a carpenter. At the end of June he went to his village Pathalgada in Chatra district for the sowing season. This is when farmers sow paddy in Jharkhand. Rainfall is extremely crucial for this season. Yadav waited for weeks, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Barun Kumar Yadav from Jharkhand works in Bhilai city in the neighbouring state of Chhattisgarh as a carpenter. At the end of June he went to his village Pathalgada in Chatra district for the sowing season. This is when farmers sow paddy in Jharkhand. Rainfall is extremely crucial for this season. Yadav waited for weeks, but it did not rain sufficiently. Now, the 40-year-old has returned to Bhilai without sowing paddy. Basant Dangi, also from the same village in Jharkhand, managed to set up a paddy nursery using water from a community well. But with insufficient rain, the land has dried and cracks have appeared in his field. “If it doesn’t rain in a day or two, the nursery seedlings will start to wither. The wider the cracks become, the more irrigation will be required. Paddy transplantation can only take place once it rains,” he says. Similarly, in Andreas Topno&#8217;s field in the nearby village of Meral, paddy seedlings are ready to be transplanted from the nursery to the field, but the lack of rainfall has changed his plans too. Shankar Dangi, a farmer from Chautha village, waited for the rains and then decided not to sow paddy this year. “It is better to sow maize than to keep waiting for the rain. However, the maize yield will also be low because there has been a delay of 10 days (for the start of monsoon),” he says. In Jharkhand, where kharif sowing season is linked to the monsoon, sowing was&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/signs-of-el-nino-induced-drought-as-paddy-farming-delays/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/signs-of-el-nino-induced-drought-as-paddy-farming-delays/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>The flame of the forest is fading; can it return?</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/the-flame-of-the-forest-is-fading-can-it-return/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/the-flame-of-the-forest-is-fading-can-it-return/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Apr 2026 15:14:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashwini Kumar Shukla]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[flowers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihoods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Palamu Tiger Reserve]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[traditional farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Traditional Knowledge]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/04/24111039/IMG_0269-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37862</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Plantations, Plants, Trees, Tribes, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“If the flower of the palash is fully bloomed, that means it will be a good summer, and it will rain well that year,” says Sarita Devi, sitting under a tree in front of her home. “And if it does not bloom on time, the rains will not be good either.” Sarita, 40, is a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“If the flower of the palash is fully bloomed, that means it will be a good summer, and it will rain well that year,” says Sarita Devi, sitting under a tree in front of her home. “And if it does not bloom on time, the rains will not be good either.” Sarita, 40, is a resident of Kundri village in Palamu district, Jharkhand. She belongs to the Dalit community. For generations, people here have predicted the weather through the palash tree. Their livelihoods also depend on it. The palash tree is used to grow lac, a natural resin produced by the insect Kerria lacca (rangeeni), which farmers harvest and sell in the market. On the palash tree, lac is produced twice a year: once in the rainy season (harvested in October–November) and once in the summer (harvested in June–July). For years, Sarita worked at the Kundri lac farm, widely described by officials as Asia&#8217;s largest lac plantation. Every October, she tied lac-bearing twigs to palash branches. Over the next few months, the resin slowly builds up on the branches and is later harvested and processed. “We used to do all the lac work,” she says. “Putting it on the trees, taking it off, peeling it, collecting it. It gave us very good employment.” In a good season, she, her husband Satnarayan Bhuiyan, 45, and their son Deepak Bhuiyan, 18, would earn between ₹50,000 and ₹60,000. Sarita is a resident of Kundri village in Palamu district who once depended on lac&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/the-flame-of-the-forest-is-fading-can-it-return/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/the-flame-of-the-forest-is-fading-can-it-return/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>New report flags sulphur dioxide emissions from Bokaro Steel Plant</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/new-report-flags-sulphur-dioxide-emissions-from-bokaro-steel-plant/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/new-report-flags-sulphur-dioxide-emissions-from-bokaro-steel-plant/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Mar 2026 16:33:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steel Industry]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/03/04143355/AP842492653352-scaled-e1772615137987-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37138</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Carbon emissions, Coal, Energy, Environment, Health impacts, Industry, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Decarbonising the steel industry — one of the largest coal consuming industries in India — focuses primarily on reducing carbon dioxide emissions to prevent the greenhouse gas effect. However, industrial processes in steel-making also cause air pollution, releasing sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter, all of which adversely impact public health. A new analysis [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Decarbonising the steel industry — one of the largest coal consuming industries in India — focuses primarily on reducing carbon dioxide emissions to prevent the greenhouse gas effect. However, industrial processes in steel-making also cause air pollution, releasing sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter, all of which adversely impact public health. A new analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) tracked air pollution emissions disclosures from the Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) in Jharkhand. It found that even though BSL met existing regulatory limits, pollution from the plant led to around 273 low birthweight births, and 284 preterm births each year. India’s installed crude steel capacity is projected to reach between 260 million and 280 million metric tons by 2035, keeping up pace with growing demand from the automotive, renewables, and defence sectors. It currently accounts for 10-12% of India’s carbon emissions, making it a key sector for decarbonisation on the way to net-zero emissions. The use of blast furnaces and basic oxygen furnaces in additional steel capacity could lock in a carbon-intensive process. Until innovations on how to replace coal in steel-making become viable, investing in better air monitoring and filtration could help reduce the impacts of air pollution caused by the same process, the CREA report suggests. “The emissions by the industry are self-reported or reported by a third party hired by the industry. The reported emissions for compliance are always below the standard, whether it is BSL, Bhillai Steel Plant, IISCO [Indian&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/new-report-flags-sulphur-dioxide-emissions-from-bokaro-steel-plant/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Climate stress, market gap weaken traditional bamboo craft [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/climate-stress-market-gap-weaken-traditional-bamboo-craft-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/climate-stress-market-gap-weaken-traditional-bamboo-craft-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Feb 2026 12:28:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kulesh Bhandari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[artisans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bamboo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[indigenous knowledge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihoods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[traditional crafts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Traditional Knowledge]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/02/26110228/Bhandari_JharkhandBamboo_03.-Edited-e1772084373594-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37048</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Knowledge]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Ecology, Environment, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[At sunrise, the courtyards of Mohuli village, an artisan hamlet in Dumka district of Jharkhand, resonate with the rhythmic rasping of dry bamboo being sliced. Buddhan Mohuli (65) sits cross-legged on a fraying jute sack, his toes gripping a curved blade. With each steady pull of his hand, a bamboo strip thins into fine, uniform [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[At sunrise, the courtyards of Mohuli village, an artisan hamlet in Dumka district of Jharkhand, resonate with the rhythmic rasping of dry bamboo being sliced. Buddhan Mohuli (65) sits cross-legged on a fraying jute sack, his toes gripping a curved blade. With each steady pull of his hand, a bamboo strip thins into fine, uniform threads. The village is known for a traditional bamboo slicing method using feet. “We start around 4 am,” he says, eyes fixed on the strip. “By afternoon, the fingers stop listening.” A full day’s work earns him ₹100–₹200. Similar scenes play out across other villages such as Kathikund, Ramgarh and Thengi More in Jharkhand. Senior artisans Gultan Mohuli and Khoda Mohuli  say that the foot-based slicing technique wastes almost nothing. The bamboo splits clean, yielding fine, flexible slivers that bend without breaking. Artisans learn to control these movements over the years, shaping the rhythm of the craft with their bodies before their hands fully master it. “This kind of work can only be understood with the feet,” Arjun Mohuli, a senior artisan from Thengi More, explains. The artisans make diverse bamboo products: large winnowing trays for sorting grains; flat trays to dry mahua flowers; big baskets to store vegetables; thick-rimmed baskets to carry heavy loads; and curved mats line kitchen shelves. Each object reveals deep traditional knowledge shaped over time. Women sell tokris and soops (bamboo crafts) at a weekly haat in Godda district. Artisans in Mohuli village, Dumka district, Jharkhand, make diverse bamboo products&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/climate-stress-market-gap-weaken-traditional-bamboo-craft-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Local solution to farming woes? Grow a pear!</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/local-solution-to-farming-woes-grow-a-pear/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/local-solution-to-farming-woes-grow-a-pear/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Dec 2025 16:41:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashwini Kumar Shukla]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmlands]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fruits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihoods]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/12/18155751/62AAC9B5-144B-4867-896F-60EF73CA15A8_1_105_c-e1766054607353-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36140</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Knowledge]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bihar and Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture and Food]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Netarhat, often referred to as the queen of the Chotanagpur Plateau, is known for its green meadows and pear orchards. For visitors to this part of Jharkhand, these orchards are a symbol of natural beauty. For the Indigenous communities here, however, they are the backbone of a quiet rural transformation. Pear cultivation began under the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Netarhat, often referred to as the queen of the Chotanagpur Plateau, is known for its green meadows and pear orchards. For visitors to this part of Jharkhand, these orchards are a symbol of natural beauty. For the Indigenous communities here, however, they are the backbone of a quiet rural transformation. Pear cultivation began under the British in the early 1900s. In the 1960s, when Jharkhand was still part of Bihar, the Bihar government expanded the plantation. “Dankan Farm is a government-owned, Naspati pear farm located in Netarhat. Begun as a 25 ha farm it has now expanded to over 45 ha, mainly Naspati and Nakh varieties of pears, generating over ₹50 lakh in annual government revenue,” says Vivek Mishra, Soil Conservation Officer at the Dankan Naspati Farm, Department of Horticulture. Over time, pear cultivation became a lifeline for families from native tribal communities, including Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups such as the Asur, who once relied on forest produce or daily wage work for a living. “We have been growing paddy since the beginning, but the profit was never fixed. If the crop failed, our money and effort were gone,” Motsaya Asur, 55, remembers the uncertainty of the earlier years before pear farming. A decade ago, he took a risk and planted pear saplings on one acre. “You have to take care of it for three to four years; after that, it will take care of you,” he says. Compared to paddy or maize, pear orchards offer higher returns, need less&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/local-solution-to-farming-woes-grow-a-pear/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Grassroots women map air pollution hotspots, spur a coal company to curb dust</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/grassroots-women-map-air-pollution-hotspots-spur-a-coal-company-to-curb-dust/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/grassroots-women-map-air-pollution-hotspots-spur-a-coal-company-to-curb-dust/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Dec 2025 13:50:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Vandana K.]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[air quality index]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AQI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Coal Mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[construction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rural India]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban areas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urbanisation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[women]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/12/11120029/A-meeting-with-rural-women-in-Mahuda-Dhanbad-e1765443339580-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36002</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Carbon emissions, Cities and Towns, Citizen science, Environment, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Mining, Pollution, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As coal mine workers begin their day in the village of Jarangdih, the first sound they hear is the whirring of heavy machines. Soon, trucks loaded with coal from the local mines rumble down the roads. “By afternoon, the air gets bad. Courtyards swept clean in the morning are covered in dust again,” said Rekha [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As coal mine workers begin their day in the village of Jarangdih, the first sound they hear is the whirring of heavy machines. Soon, trucks loaded with coal from the local mines rumble down the roads. “By afternoon, the air gets bad. Courtyards swept clean in the morning are covered in dust again,” said Rekha Devi, a resident of the village in Jharkhand’s Bokaro district. “And it gets worse in the winter.” Devi is a paryavaran sakhi (a friend of the environment) and one of the grassroots women leaders, who co-led a recent community-participatory research study published in the Canadian Journal of Action Research in March 2025. The study throws light on the impact of air pollution on public health in rural neighbourhoods in Dhanbad and Bokaro, Jharkhand&#8217;s two prominent coal mining districts. The research was jointly conducted by Neha Saigal and Saumya Shrivastava, who lead the gender and climate change programme at Asar Social Impact Advisors and ten paryavaran sakhis, who work with Deshaj Abhikram, a local community organisation. Paryavaran sakhi is a model where the women lead environmental efforts in their areas. The women, trained in air quality mapping, monitored 69 sites for air quality in rural Dhanbad and Bokaro, out of which they identified 26 as air pollution hotspots. Apart from air quality monitoring, the study involved 200 participants in a survey, focus group discussions and health system mapping, with data collected over nine months in 2022 and 2023. Today, many states in India are exposed to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/grassroots-women-map-air-pollution-hotspots-spur-a-coal-company-to-curb-dust/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/grassroots-women-map-air-pollution-hotspots-spur-a-coal-company-to-curb-dust/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>LPG adoption correlates with higher green cover, finds study</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/lpg-adoption-correlates-with-higher-green-cover-finds-study/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/lpg-adoption-correlates-with-higher-green-cover-finds-study/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Dec 2025 17:24:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Simrinsirur]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[firewood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[liquefied natural gas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LPG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rural India]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/12/05170937/Rajasthan_carrying_firewood-e1764934835586-768x476.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35916</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Conservation, Ecology, Energy, Environment, Forest Fires, Forests, and Green Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the forested state of Jharkhand, switching to liquified petroleum gas (LPG) could have inadvertently driven a trend of greening across the state, a new study based on satellite data, and ground surveys says. LPG has long been touted as a tool to prevent deforestation by reducing dependence on firewood for fuel. The study from [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the forested state of Jharkhand, switching to liquified petroleum gas (LPG) could have inadvertently driven a trend of greening across the state, a new study based on satellite data, and ground surveys says. LPG has long been touted as a tool to prevent deforestation by reducing dependence on firewood for fuel. The study from Jharkhand presents a state-wide snapshot of this potential benefit, showing that green cover rose significantly with the proliferation of LPG, despite environmental drivers remaining stable. The study, published by researchers from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, suggests the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) government scheme had a “noticeable effect at the provincial scale, emphasizing that such beneficial schemes are not only helpful to people but also promote responsible ecosystem stewardship.” The scheme provides free LPG connections and subsidised refill cylinders for rural households below the poverty line. Published in the peer-reviewed journal Trees, Forests and People in September, the study builds on other research that has found LPG use to decrease firewood dependence. Correlations in green cover and LPG use Jharkhand was chosen as the study site because of three main reasons: Most of its population lives in rural areas, it has a high percentage of forest cover (approximately 30%, according to the Forest Survey of India), and its rural population has low LPG use compared to other states. “I’ve been in touch with the Jharkhand forest department since 2015, and what sparked my interest in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/lpg-adoption-correlates-with-higher-green-cover-finds-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/lpg-adoption-correlates-with-higher-green-cover-finds-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Floating solar projects test India’s just transition promise</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/floating-solar-projects-test-indias-just-transition-promise/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/floating-solar-projects-test-indias-just-transition-promise/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2025 15:10:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Snigdhendu Bhattacharya]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Canal top solar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Clean Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[floating solar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[floating solar plant]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Just Transition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Renewable Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[solar]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/10/09093842/WhatsApp-Image-2025-10-07-at-17.44.36_8e981ca5-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34976</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy and Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand and West Bengal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative energy, Energy, Green Energy, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On September 7, a few hundred fishers, mostly tribal people, participated in a bike rally to protest a proposed floating solar power project on the Panchet dam. It is a 66-year-old multipurpose project located across the river Damodar, along the border of the eastern states of West Bengal and Jharkhand. The rally started from Maheshnadi [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On September 7, a few hundred fishers, mostly tribal people, participated in a bike rally to protest a proposed floating solar power project on the Panchet dam. It is a 66-year-old multipurpose project located across the river Damodar, along the border of the eastern states of West Bengal and Jharkhand. The rally started from Maheshnadi checkpost in Neturia block of Purulia district, West Bengal, and travelled a five-km stretch to Panchet Zero Point in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad district. The fishers staged a demonstration, shouting slogans like “DVC Murdabaad” (down with DVC), “DVC hosiayar” (beware), and “solar project bandh karo” (scrap the solar project). DVC refers to the Damodar Valley Corporation, a public sector utility that owns and operates the Panchet dam, where floating solar power projects of 105 MW capacity have already been awarded for development. A similar or higher capacity is awaiting the tender process. Fishers who have been relying on the dam&#8217;s waters for their livelihoods allege that nearly 1,500 families would not only lose their livelihoods but also their primary source of affordable nutrition, solely due to the first phase of the project. They have called for a public gathering at Panchet on October 15, calling for the scrapping of the project. “About 1,500 families of three panchayats in Nituria block—Sarabari, Raibandh, and Guniara—earn their living by fishing from the reservoir. The solar power project will make fishing impossible,” said Rajen Tudu, convenor of the southern West Bengal chapter of Prakriti Bachao O Adibasi Bachao Mancha (platform to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/floating-solar-projects-test-indias-just-transition-promise/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/floating-solar-projects-test-indias-just-transition-promise/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>A dam that drowned dreams but never delivered water</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/a-dam-that-drowned-dreams-but-never-delivered-water/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/a-dam-that-drowned-dreams-but-never-delivered-water/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Aug 2025 15:57:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashwini Kumar Shukla]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elephant]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environmental Clearance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[flood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[irrigation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mandal dam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Palamu Tiger Reserve]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/08/01105746/20250703_112006-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=33896</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Environomy, and Flood and drought]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Clean Energy, and Human Wildlife Conflict]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“It was 3 a.m. Everyone was asleep after dinner, full and tired,” narrates Mekhail Kerketta, recalling a terrifying August night in 1997. “Suddenly, the water surged. There hadn’t even been that much rain. Whenever it did rain heavily before, the water would drain away.” He pauses. “But not that day. The water just kept rising, and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“It was 3 a.m. Everyone was asleep after dinner, full and tired,” narrates Mekhail Kerketta, recalling a terrifying August night in 1997. “Suddenly, the water surged. There hadn’t even been that much rain. Whenever it did rain heavily before, the water would drain away.” He pauses. “But not that day. The water just kept rising, and before we knew it, the whole village was underwater.” Now, even at 67 years old, Mekhail, who lives in Kutku village in Jharkhand’s Garhwa district, recalls the devastation vividly. “It destroyed dozens of homes, and every animal tied to posts drowned,” he says with a heavy voice. The 1997 flood submerged approximately 32 villages within the Mandal dam&#8217;s reservoir area in Latehar and Garhwa districts of Jharkhand.  About 21 lives were lost, and hundreds of cattle swept away or drowned. At the time of the floods, while major construction of the dam, in the gorge of the North Koel river, a tributary of the Son river, was done, it was not yet operational. The authorities blamed the floods on “debris jamming the dam gates,” causing an uncontrolled rise in the water level. But many villagers who witnessed the horror alleged that the gates were deliberately shut. “It wasn’t an accident,” states Mangru Singh of Saneya, one of the villages in the submergence area. “It was a conspiracy.” Human rights organisations claim that since the local residents opposed the dam, the dam engineer Bajnath Mishra shut the temporary gates as a way to silence the protests,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/a-dam-that-drowned-dreams-but-never-delivered-water/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Carbon markets fund plantations and livelihoods</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/carbon-markets-fund-plantations-and-livelihoods/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/carbon-markets-fund-plantations-and-livelihoods/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Jul 2025 14:23:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Vishal Kumar Jain]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Carbon Market]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Carbon offsets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fruits]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/07/08123916/%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%8C%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF-TRIF-2-1200x800-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=33517</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Finance]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Carbon emissions, Carbon Finance, Carbon Trading, Plantations, Plants, Timber, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Last year, while countries and organisations from across the world gathered in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku for COP29 and discussed carbon trading rules, about 3,800 km away, farmers living in Jharkhand were excited on learning that they would receive carbon finance funds in a few months. Farmers in Childari village in Bedo block of Ranchi, famous [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Last year, while countries and organisations from across the world gathered in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku for COP29 and discussed carbon trading rules, about 3,800 km away, farmers living in Jharkhand were excited on learning that they would receive carbon finance funds in a few months. Farmers in Childari village in Bedo block of Ranchi, famous for peas and other vegetables, have chosen to avail the benefits of carbon finance — financial resources like loans, investments and subsidies given to acquire greenhouse gas emission allowances. Carbon financing will be done through growing fruit-bearing trees under the Birsa Harit Gram Yojana (BHGY) — a state government scheme that aims to conserve barren land and make it cultivable to amplify livelihoods. According to the Economic Survey of Jharkhand (2023-24), the BHGY scheme has been running since 2016-17 under MNREGA with an aim to increase employment opportunities in the state. Under this scheme, 135,122 farmers have planted mango and other fruit-bearing trees in 1,16,637 acres. Eligible farmers with a maximum of one acre of land are provided with financial help as well as assistance for five years. It is estimated that thanks to the scheme, each family has managed to earn profits of more than ₹50,000 annually. There, however, was a catch. It wasn’t clear how marginal farmers would continue maintaining their plantations after five years. To overcome this problem, the BHGY scheme has been linked to the carbon finance scheme, which will provide additional income to the beneficiaries for the next 20 years.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/carbon-markets-fund-plantations-and-livelihoods/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Making way for tigers, moving human settlements</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/making-way-for-tigers-moving-human-settlements/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/making-way-for-tigers-moving-human-settlements/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jun 2025 12:07:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashwini Kumar Shukla]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community Forest Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest Rights]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/06/26193445/Jaigir-lies-in-the-core-of-the-Palamu-Tiger-Reserve-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=33345</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Human Wildlife Conflict]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“Look how beautiful our village is,” says Dhanu Lohara as we arrive in Jaigir, deep in the sal forests of Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Jharkhand. The 56-year-old, dressed in a coloured T-shirt and dhoti soaked in sweat from the long uphill walk, is visibly tired but no less excited to be back. The village [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“Look how beautiful our village is,” says Dhanu Lohara as we arrive in Jaigir, deep in the sal forests of Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Jharkhand. The 56-year-old, dressed in a coloured T-shirt and dhoti soaked in sweat from the long uphill walk, is visibly tired but no less excited to be back. The village sits among green hills, quiet and scattered. A few mud houses still stand, while others lie broken or levelled by construction and demolition machines. Some village residents are still around, but many have already left, taking their livestock and belongings down the narrow forest trail. The village lies in the Garu block of the Latehar district in Jharkhand. To reach this village is not an easy task; the people must trek 15 km, climbing uphill for three hours, passing trails through dense forests home to wild animals, before reaching this village. For generations, the wild and humans have coexisted in Jaigir, but now the residents are being relocated to a new place as the forest department is trying to remove human habitation from the core areas so that wildlife can thrive. PTR is home to keystone species, including mammals, birds, medicinal herbs, and more. “Keeping this zone free of settlements is essential if we want these species to breed, range, and recover undisturbed,” says Kumar Ashish, Deputy Director of reserve. After years of effort and communication between the village residents and the forest department, 22 families from Jaigir, belonging to the Biroh, Lohara, and Oraon&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/making-way-for-tigers-moving-human-settlements/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Upholding the law, Supreme Court halts amnesties for EIA violators, jolts industry</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/upholding-rule-of-law-supreme-court-halts-amnesties-for-eia-violators-jolts-industry/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/upholding-rule-of-law-supreme-court-halts-amnesties-for-eia-violators-jolts-industry/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jun 2025 12:06:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Akshay Deshmane]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Amnesty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[EIA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environmental impact assessment (EIA)]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[real estate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Supreme Court of India]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/06/10091828/Aerial_view_of_sand_mining_in_Gundlakamma_river-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=33026</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Connected Environments]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India, Jharkhand, and Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environmental Crime]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On May 16, a Supreme Court judgment struck down two amnesties issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&#38;CC) for violators of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification. One amnesty was notified in 2017 and another in 2021, both drafted by the environment ministry to regularise projects that had started without [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On May 16, a Supreme Court judgment struck down two amnesties issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&amp;CC) for violators of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification. One amnesty was notified in 2017 and another in 2021, both drafted by the environment ministry to regularise projects that had started without prior environmental clearance (EC) or had extended beyond approved clearances. The court criticised the 2017 notification and the 2021 Office Memorandum (OM), declaring them illegal as they allowed authorities to grant ex-post facto environmental clearances — an action the court found contrary to law and harmful to the environment. Commenting on the 2021 OM, the two-judge bench of Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan observed, “The 2021 OM talks about the concept of development. Can there be development at the cost of environment? Conservation of environment and its improvement is an essential part of the concept of development. Therefore, going out of the way by issuing such OMs to protect those who have caused harm to the environment has to be deprecated by the courts, which are under a constitutional and statutory mandate to uphold the fundamental right under Article 21 and to protect the environment. In fact, the courts should come down heavily on such attempts.” The court was equally critical of the 2017 amnesty, stating, “&#8230;what was sought to be done was to protect the project proponents who committed gross illegality by commencing construction or commencing operation or process without obtaining prior&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/upholding-rule-of-law-supreme-court-halts-amnesties-for-eia-violators-jolts-industry/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Stone crushers drive nilgai into fields, damaging crops</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/05/stone-crushers-drive-nilgai-into-fields-damaging-crops/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/05/stone-crushers-drive-nilgai-into-fields-damaging-crops/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 May 2025 15:14:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashwini Kumar Shukla]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Crop loss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nilgai]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/05/29101954/20250506_141358-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=32830</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Human Wildlife Conflict, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Sirajoodeen Ansari, a sixty-five-year-old farmer, has watched season after season of hard labour go to waste. “First, I cultivated paddy, but it was completely ruined. Then I planted maize. Again, it was completely destroyed. And when the rabi season arrived, and I sowed wheat, not a single grain was spared by the nilgai,” says the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Sirajoodeen Ansari, a sixty-five-year-old farmer, has watched season after season of hard labour go to waste. “First, I cultivated paddy, but it was completely ruined. Then I planted maize. Again, it was completely destroyed. And when the rabi season arrived, and I sowed wheat, not a single grain was spared by the nilgai,” says the farmer from Murumdag village in Chhatarpur block, Palamu district of Jharkhand. Ansari is not alone. In this arid patch of Palamu, where water is scarce and the soil unforgiving — farmers wage a nightly vigil over their fields. For two and a half months, they lie awake, patrolling the wheat under the moonlight, yet any momentary lapse, “even the blink of an eye,” as one farmer puts it, is enough to miss the speedy descent of the nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) that strips the crop bare. Protected under Schedule III of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, these animals move with impunity. Mahfooz Alam, another resident of Murumdag, describes their makeshift defence mechanisms, “I would take four dogs into the fields and tie them at the foot of my charpoys [rope cots] so that if any nilgai comes, the dogs would bark, and it would wake me.” Despite such precautions, Alam lost his entire harvest this year to destruction by the nilgai, sustaining a loss of ₹1 lakh. Just ten years ago, such devastation was unheard of. “Back then, the land yielded so much lentil that after saving enough for our own needs, we used to sell&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/05/stone-crushers-drive-nilgai-into-fields-damaging-crops/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Farmers demand separate minimum support price for natural farming products</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/05/farmers-demand-separate-minimum-support-price-for-natural-farming-products/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/05/farmers-demand-separate-minimum-support-price-for-natural-farming-products/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 May 2025 13:25:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Vishal Kumar Jain]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chemical fertiliser]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Natural Farming]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/05/20195305/2-e1747751246499-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=32693</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Conserving Agro-biodiversity]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agroecology, Food, and Organic Farming]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Devlal Munda, who lives in Kaudi village of Ramgarh district in Jharkhand, was doing chemical farming on his 1.5-acre ancestral land till 2023. Due to the extensive use of chemical fertilisers and the vagaries of climate change, the quality of soil started deteriorating. Farm-friendly insects had also started disappearing from his farm. The yield was [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Devlal Munda, who lives in Kaudi village of Ramgarh district in Jharkhand, was doing chemical farming on his 1.5-acre ancestral land till 2023. Due to the extensive use of chemical fertilisers and the vagaries of climate change, the quality of soil started deteriorating. Farm-friendly insects had also started disappearing from his farm. The yield was good, but the expenditure on fertilisers was increasing year after year, which started bothering him. In the same year, he came to know about the agroecology-based programme, JIVA, launched by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to promote natural farming. It was being promoted by the Gramin Seva Sangh and the Patratu Tribal Project Development Committee, with the help of NABARD. Six villages — Lem, Bicha, Armadag, Jobo, Kodi and Lowadih — from Saki, Baridih and Bicha panchayats in Patratu block — were selected for the implementation of this scheme. “In this project, which was started with the help of ₹30 lakh from NABARD, farmers were trained to adopt natural farming. They were taught how to make cow dung manure and seeds were provided to them for free,” Vilas Sathe, Gramin Seva Sangh secretary, told Mongabay India. Munda decided to take advantage of this scheme. However, he had to face many difficulties. Devlal Munda in his paddy field in Kaudi village, Ramgarh district, Jharkhand. In 2023, Munda switched to natural farming, with the support of an agroecology-based scheme launched by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. Image by Vishal Kumar&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/05/farmers-demand-separate-minimum-support-price-for-natural-farming-products/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Industry pushes for reinstatement of amnesty for environmental violations</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/04/industry-giants-intervene-as-supreme-court-weighs-rule-on-environmental-violations/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/04/industry-giants-intervene-as-supreme-court-weighs-rule-on-environmental-violations/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Apr 2025 13:33:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Akshay Deshmane]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environmental impact assessment (EIA)]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environmental regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Standard Operating Procedure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Supreme Court of India]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/04/25100552/Deforestation-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=32345</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Hewing The Regulatory Tree]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environmental Law]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In early April, the Supreme Court of India concluded hearings in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that challenges a government-issued procedure for handling environmental violations. Experts say the case could significantly impact the country’s environmental rule of law. “Submissions are heard. Judgment is reserved,” said the order, passed on April 2 by Justice Abhay S. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In early April, the Supreme Court of India concluded hearings in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that challenges a government-issued procedure for handling environmental violations. Experts say the case could significantly impact the country’s environmental rule of law. “Submissions are heard. Judgment is reserved,” said the order, passed on April 2 by Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan. This order brought a more than year-long legal battle closer to the finishing line. It began in December 2023 when Vanashakti, a Mumbai-based non-governmental organisation, filed a PIL in the Supreme Court. Its key request was that a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEF&amp;CC) on July 7, 2021, be quashed as it is arbitrary and illegal. The SOP came for identification and handling of violation cases under Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification 2006. The petition claimed the procedure was issued beyond the legal powers available to the ministry under the Environment Protection Act 1986. Stalin D., a director with Vanashakti, explained that the SOP “alarmed and dismayed” them. “Massive projects that have zero concern for the environment would get the green flag, and there would be irreparable damage to the environment,” he said in an interview with Mongabay India. In an interim order on January 2, 2024, the Supreme Court stayed the SOP until further orders. Since then, many prominent companies and influential real estate players have intervened in the case, requesting that the SOP be reinstated by undoing the stay&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/04/industry-giants-intervene-as-supreme-court-weighs-rule-on-environmental-violations/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Indigenous traditions shape wolf survival</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/04/indigenous-traditions-shape-wolf-survival/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/04/indigenous-traditions-shape-wolf-survival/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Apr 2025 14:27:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[biology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grey wolf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sal forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wolves]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/04/16122201/Identifying-suitable-den-sites-is-crucial-therefore-for-pup-survival-and-overall-population-stability.-Photo-Credit-Shiv_s-fotografia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=32231</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Forests, Mammals, and Protected Areas]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Indian grey wolves play a crucial role as apex predators in India’s ecosystems, yet their survival is increasingly at risk due to habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict. Their long-term existence now depends on their ability to coexist with humans. A new study explores how the wolves in Mahuadanr Wolf Sanctuary (MWS), Jharkhand, choose their denning [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Indian grey wolves play a crucial role as apex predators in India’s ecosystems, yet their survival is increasingly at risk due to habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict. Their long-term existence now depends on their ability to coexist with humans. A new study explores how the wolves in Mahuadanr Wolf Sanctuary (MWS), Jharkhand, choose their denning sites and how local cultural practices influence their breeding success. “Wolves are highly sensitive to disturbances, especially during the breeding season. Our study highlights how traditional land-use practices unintentionally contribute to their denning security,” says Shahzada Iqbal, research biologist at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and lead author of the study. Under study MWS, India’s only designated wolf sanctuary, is located within the Palamau Tiger Reserve in Jharkhand, and is characterised by hills, valleys, and the Burha river. Between 2022 and 2024, researchers analysed a 64-square-kilometre area within MWS to study the den site selection of Indian grey wolves. They used a statistical framework called Generalized Linear Model (GLM) to determine key factors influencing den selection, and the statistical analyses were conducted using R software. A camera trap image of an Indian grey wolf in Mahuadanr Wolf Sanctuary, Jharkhand, captured during surveys that were part of a new study on how the predators choose their denning sites. Image by Shahzada Iqbal. Wolf dens were identified through local knowledge, forest department records, and field surveys. A den was classified as active if direct observations or camera trap footage confirmed pup presence. Additional indicators, such as&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/04/indigenous-traditions-shape-wolf-survival/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Tribal entrepreneurs bring indigenous cuisine to the urban mainstream</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/tribal-entrepreneurs-bring-indigenous-cuisine-to-the-urban-mainstream/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/tribal-entrepreneurs-bring-indigenous-cuisine-to-the-urban-mainstream/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Mar 2025 14:06:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest produce]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nutrition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tribal community]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/03/12102704/7-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=31811</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Eco Hope]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community based conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It was the first week of March in Ranchi, Jharkhand&#8217;s capital, and summer had already set in. Gaurav Marandi, 25, and his mother, Rut Kachhap, arrived on a bike, their faces covered to shield themselves from the scorching sun. They entered a restaurant and ordered chilka roti, a traditional bread, with some local saag (leafy [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It was the first week of March in Ranchi, Jharkhand&#8217;s capital, and summer had already set in. Gaurav Marandi, 25, and his mother, Rut Kachhap, arrived on a bike, their faces covered to shield themselves from the scorching sun. They entered a restaurant and ordered chilka roti, a traditional bread, with some local saag (leafy vegetable dish) and fish curry. Marandi, who is from Hazaribagh district in the state and now living in Ranchi, visits this restaurant, Ajam Emba, at least three times a month. Tucked away from the bustling Kanke road, it sits in a quiet residential area. At first glance, it resembles a half-built house with a kutcha (temporary) roof, but stepping inside reveals a courtyard full of greenery and walls adorned with paintings that narrate stories of tribal life. At the doorstep, a staff member gently requests visitors to remove their shoes before entering. A whiteboard at the entrance welcomes guests with johar,  a traditional greeting in Jharkhand. It introduces the restaurant as the “Taste of Jharkhand” and lists menu categories, starting with dishes made from seasonal leafy vegetables and flowers. On this particular day, the options include chakod jhor (a soup of Cassia tora), kudrum flower or roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) chutney, beng (Centella asiatica) chutney, Jirhul flower (Indigofera cassioides) pakoda, red rice, and several other traditional dishes. The menu also features a section for chilka roti (bread made with rice batter on a pan) and pitha (a sort of steamed dumpling made rice flour dough and stuffed&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/tribal-entrepreneurs-bring-indigenous-cuisine-to-the-urban-mainstream/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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														</item>
						<item>
					<title>A coal mine reopens, sparking hope and fear</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/a-coal-mine-reopens-sparking-hope-and-fear/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/a-coal-mine-reopens-sparking-hope-and-fear/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Mar 2025 16:15:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashwini Kumar Shukla]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[coal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Coal India Limited]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Coal Mines]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Coal Mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Just Transition]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/03/11164008/coal-mine-banner-new-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=31786</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coal, Energy, and Mining]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Rajhara North coal mine in Jharkhand, which was non-operational for a decade, has now been reopened under private ownership.  While its revival is celebrated as a much-needed boost for local employment, it has also revived deep-seated concerns over environmental degradation and its long-term impact on the local community. Commercial production at the Rajhara North [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Rajhara North coal mine in Jharkhand, which was non-operational for a decade, has now been reopened under private ownership.  While its revival is celebrated as a much-needed boost for local employment, it has also revived deep-seated concerns over environmental degradation and its long-term impact on the local community. Commercial production at the Rajhara North (Central and Eastern) coal block in Padwa village, in Jharkhand&#8217;s drought-prone Palamu district, restarted in February this year. The government had allocated this block to Fairmine Carbons Private Limited in 2021. The project covers over 116 hectares, costs Rs. 1.26 billion and is expected to mine over 15 million tonnes of coal over 22 years. The Rajhara North coal mine, one of the oldest in India, was established in the pre-independence era and nationalised in 1973. Initially a thriving underground mine, it later became an open-cast operation to extract high-quality coal. It continued operating until 2010 when it closed over safety concerns and issues related to environmental clearances. “Whether you call the region Jharkhand or United Bihar-Jharkhand, Rajhara is the very first mine discovered by the British during their rule,&#8221; says Nitish Priyadarshi, an assistant professor in the Department of Geology at Ranchi University and author of A Handbook of Geology of Chotanagpur and Squeezing Earth to Death: Premises and Effects. &#8220;The coal here is of excellent quality — whether anthracite or bituminous. In the past, mining was done underground where the coal seam was inclined. Now, when the seam is horizontal, we use open&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/a-coal-mine-reopens-sparking-hope-and-fear/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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														</item>
						<item>
					<title>The Semialata plant is a game changer for lac farming in Jharkhand amid climate and migration challenges</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/02/the-semialata-plant-is-a-game-changer-for-lac-farming-in-jharkhand-amid-climate-and-migration-challenges/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/02/the-semialata-plant-is-a-game-changer-for-lac-farming-in-jharkhand-amid-climate-and-migration-challenges/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Feb 2025 16:51:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Vineeta Parmar]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/02/24131612/BANNER-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=31606</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Conserving Agro-biodiversity]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, and Industry]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the Manika block of Latehar distrcit, Jharkhand, Sheela Oraon is removing and loosening the soil around small Semialata plants in her field. Nearby, her daughter Reena is shapes the soil around another plant, into a circle. Sheela describes the Semialata plant as the one with leaves smaller than the banana plant but slightly longer [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the Manika block of Latehar distrcit, Jharkhand, Sheela Oraon is removing and loosening the soil around small Semialata plants in her field. Nearby, her daughter Reena is shapes the soil around another plant, into a circle. Sheela describes the Semialata plant as the one with leaves smaller than the banana plant but slightly longer than the leaves of the kelva flower plant. Semialata (Flemingia semialata) is emerging as a good source of income for the farmers in many districts of the state because lac insects (of the family Kerriidae) growing on these plants produce a good quantity of lac, a waxy resin that is harvested and commercially used in many types of industries. It is used to make shellac, wooden sticks, polishing furniture, colouring toys and even for filling gaps in gold and silver jewellery. It is also used in the production of nail polish, boot polish, hair dye, perfume, medicine, electrical goods and many other items such as perfumes and medicinal pill coating. Lac insects typically grow on wild trees such as safflower, palash (Butea monosperma) and ber (Ziziphus mauritiana), but in the past few years, these trees have been impacted by changing weather. It is also difficult to maintain them as they grow really tall. India’s lac production India leads the world in lac production with about 20,000 tonnes produced every year. About 65% of the lac produced is exported to other countries. Among the lac-growing states in India, Jharkhand ranks first (54.60%), followed by Chhattisgarh (18.37%),&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/02/the-semialata-plant-is-a-game-changer-for-lac-farming-in-jharkhand-amid-climate-and-migration-challenges/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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