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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/list/south-asia/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
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					<title>Adaptation is key as India stares at GDP loss due to climate change</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/11/adaptation-is-key-as-india-stares-at-gdp-loss-due-to-climate-change/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/11/adaptation-is-key-as-india-stares-at-gdp-loss-due-to-climate-change/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Nov 2024 12:21:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Arathi Menon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adaptation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate mitigation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[finance]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/11/18110148/White_guard_volunteer_in_Chooralmala_wayanad_landslides_2024-e1731907954191-768x378.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=30312</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Change Mitigation, and Impacts of Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region has made limited progress in reducing emissions, despite significant efforts, and remains a major emitter, responsible for 45.9% of global emissions. The newly released Asia-Pacific Climate Report 2024 from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) highlights that, as a result, the region is unlikely to meet the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target, that [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region has made limited progress in reducing emissions, despite significant efforts, and remains a major emitter, responsible for 45.9% of global emissions. The newly released Asia-Pacific Climate Report 2024 from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) highlights that, as a result, the region is unlikely to meet the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target, that aims to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. The report forecasts around 3°C of warming by the end of the century, with some mitigation efforts potentially reducing this to 2.4°C. This, despite many APAC countries, including India, have ratified the Paris Agreement and set net-zero targets, clearly indicating that current policies and actions are insufficient. In the near term, the report predicts that warming in the region could lead to more severe climate impacts than the global average, along with a potential GDP loss of 17% in the region, by 2070, under a high-emissions scenario. For India, this could mean a staggering GDP loss of 24.7% by 2070. The 135-page Asia-Pacific Climate Report 2024 &#8211; Catalyzing Finance and Policy Solutions from the Asian Development Bank, aims to guide the APAC region in addressing climate change through necessary policy reforms. The report includes several projections for the next 50-70 years, offering stark warnings about the future climate scenario in the region. These projections include more frequent and extreme hot days exceeding 35°C; stronger and more frequent storms and floods, with annual flood damages potentially&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/11/adaptation-is-key-as-india-stares-at-gdp-loss-due-to-climate-change/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/11/adaptation-is-key-as-india-stares-at-gdp-loss-due-to-climate-change/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Melting ice: Need to freeze on an action plan quickly</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/11/melting-ice-need-to-freeze-on-an-action-plan-quickly/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/11/melting-ice-need-to-freeze-on-an-action-plan-quickly/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Nov 2024 10:18:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Soumya Sarkar]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[COP29]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Glacial Lake Outburst Flood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[glacier]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Glaciers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ice]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/11/14225507/25557636460_03dd2574ce_o-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=30262</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Glacial Lake Outburst Flood, Glaciers, and Global Warming]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[At around the midnight of October 4, 2023, people in Chungthang, a small town in northern Sikkim in the Indian Himalayas, woke up to a frightening rumble amid torrential rainfall. Within minutes, a massive onrush of water, mud and boulders swept through the town, washing away homes and destroying a dam on the Teesta river. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[At around the midnight of October 4, 2023, people in Chungthang, a small town in northern Sikkim in the Indian Himalayas, woke up to a frightening rumble amid torrential rainfall. Within minutes, a massive onrush of water, mud and boulders swept through the town, washing away homes and destroying a dam on the Teesta river. The flash flood was caused when a lake fed by the Lhonak glacier burst its banks after a cloudburst on October 3-4. Water levels downstream in the Teesta rose by as much as 15-20 feet, causing havoc in Sikkim and neighbouring West Bengal, and inundating hundreds of villages in Bangladesh. More than 100 people died in India and property damage was counted in millions of dollars. Such extreme weather events, known as glacial lake outburst floods, have become increasingly common as global warming causes glaciers to retreat, releasing huge amounts of meltwater in a matter of years. Just a year earlier, torrential monsoon rains and melting glaciers after severe heatwaves in Pakistan killed nearly 2,000 people and caused economic damages worth $15.2 billion between June and October 2022, according to an assessment by the World Bank. Rescue efforts in the aftermath of the glacial lake outburst flood in Sikkim on October 4. Image by Press Information Bureau, Gangtok. Scientists have been for years sounding the alarm on such disasters due to human-induced climate change. The accelerating losses in the planet’s snow and ice regions, known as the cryosphere, will result in vastly higher impacts on&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/11/melting-ice-need-to-freeze-on-an-action-plan-quickly/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Saving South Asia’s butterflies from the threat of extinction</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/11/saving-south-asias-butterflies-from-the-threat-of-extinction/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/11/saving-south-asias-butterflies-from-the-threat-of-extinction/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Nov 2024 11:07:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hailey Smalley]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[butterflies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pollinators]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/10/21215501/Tailed_Jay_Graphium_agamemnon_by_Dr._Raju_Kasambe_DSCN3957_15-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=29975</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the dark undergrowth of mangrove forests, an anthology of color stirs. Flickers of turquoise rise like exhales from the brackish marshlands, and flashes of sunset orange spark alive in the shadows. The Sundarbans mangrove forest in Bangladesh and India is largely known as one of the last remaining habitats for the Bengal tiger (Panthera [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the dark undergrowth of mangrove forests, an anthology of color stirs. Flickers of turquoise rise like exhales from the brackish marshlands, and flashes of sunset orange spark alive in the shadows. The Sundarbans mangrove forest in Bangladesh and India is largely known as one of the last remaining habitats for the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), but the coastal groves also thrum with a wealth of smaller animals, including 37 known species of butterfly. The small stature of these butterflies belies their importance; they pollinate flowering plants and nourish the birds that flit through the canopy, ultimately supporting the health of the entire forest ecosystem. But butterflies in the Sundarbans and throughout South Asia are at increasing risk of extinction, mimicking a global trend that some experts have nicknamed “the insect apocalypse.” By some estimates, 250,000-500,000 insect species have gone extinct in the past 150 years, and many more are now on the brink of survival. Climate change and urban development form the largest risks, along with the minimal legal protections and large-scale conservation initiatives focused on butterflies and other insects. A common Jezebel (Delias eucharis). Image by Venu Gopal via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). “If my government is not aware, [butterfly species] will be lost. It will be coming in probably 10 years because climate change is thriving,” said Monwar Hossain, a professor and lepidopterist at Jahangirnagar University in Bangladesh. The unique beauty and vibrancy of Bangladesh’s butterflies first attracted Hossain’s attention nearly three decades ago. Over his career, Hossain has observed the climate&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/11/saving-south-asias-butterflies-from-the-threat-of-extinction/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Cat calls and pugmarks: Two researchers navigate the quiet world of small wild felids </title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/cat-calls-and-pugmarks-two-researchers-navigate-the-quiet-world-of-small-wild-felids/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/cat-calls-and-pugmarks-two-researchers-navigate-the-quiet-world-of-small-wild-felids/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Oct 2024 12:24:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Arathi Menon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small cats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[small wildcats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildcats]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/10/22102040/Coringa_Pranav-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=29970</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats and Cats]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Long before many realised that India was home to cats bigger than the average house cat but smaller than the charismatic cats in the wild, Shomita Mukherjee was tailing them. A lot of what we know of the small wild cat species in the country can be attributed to her relentless work to understand their [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Long before many realised that India was home to cats bigger than the average house cat but smaller than the charismatic cats in the wild, Shomita Mukherjee was tailing them. A lot of what we know of the small wild cat species in the country can be attributed to her relentless work to understand their diets, distribution, phylogeography and more. “I was always fascinated and passionately fond of cats (all cats) ever since I could remember. I also love nature and this was an easy choice,” Mukherjee, who works as the senior principal scientist at Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) shares about how she got into small wild cat studies at a time the species were not even heard of. Serendipity intervened at the right time. In 1988, when she had just graduated, a Master’s programme on wildlife studies kicked off at the Wildlife Institute of India. Mukherjee embarked on the journey with her Master’s dissertation in Keoladeo Ghana National Park, Bharatpur during the summer and monsoon of 1989 where she investigated habitat use and diet in jungle cats, fishing cats and golden jackals. Nobody was studying small wild cats in India at that time, says Mukherjee, a member of the IUCN/SSC Cat Specialists Group who is currently leading global assessments of fishing cats and jungle cats. Her family, friends and teachers became her mentors, instilling in her the nuances of human interactions with the wild, tolerance, patience, communication and so on, which are essential to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/cat-calls-and-pugmarks-two-researchers-navigate-the-quiet-world-of-small-wild-felids/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>[Explainer] What is teal carbon?</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/explainer-what-is-teal-carbon/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/explainer-what-is-teal-carbon/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Oct 2024 18:03:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aisiri Amin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[carbon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[carbon emissions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wetlands]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/10/21173852/Kole_Wetlands_IMG_20170629_125854_38-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=29959</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environment Explained and Nature-based Solutions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon emissions, Water, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Teal carbon, which refers to carbon stored in freshwater wetlands, is a lesser-known concept in carbon-related terminology. Most discussions about carbon storage focus on &#8220;blue carbon&#8221; which is carbon stored in coastal and marine ecosystems like mangroves, seagrasses, and salt marshes or “green carbon” which is carbon stored in land, primarily grasslands, croplands, and forests. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Teal carbon, which refers to carbon stored in freshwater wetlands, is a lesser-known concept in carbon-related terminology. Most discussions about carbon storage focus on &#8220;blue carbon&#8221; which is carbon stored in coastal and marine ecosystems like mangroves, seagrasses, and salt marshes or “green carbon” which is carbon stored in land, primarily grasslands, croplands, and forests. Other colours are also used to describe properties of carbon sinks. Teal carbon, in particular, highlights the importance of inland, non-tidal freshwater ecosystems in capturing and storing atmospheric carbon. Priya Ranganathan, wetland ecologist and researcher, came across the term, teal carbon, in a pre-print on the potential of teal carbon to mitigate climate change. “Wetlands are a mix of land and water — green and blue spaces — so using ‘teal’ is an interesting approach,” says Ranganathan, who is pursuing her doctoral degree at Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE). This research was led by Laxmi Kant Sharma of Central University of Rajasthan (CURAJ) and brings to focus inland wetlands and their significance in climate mitigation. Conducted at Keoladeo National Park (KNP) in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district, the preliminary findings emphasise the need to develop nature-based solutions to enhance teal carbon ecosystems’ efficiency in carbon sequestration and tap into their potential as carbon sinks. For a long time, teal carbon was considered as part of blue carbon and not as a separate component. In a 2016 research paper published in Nature, researchers Amanda Nahlik and Professor Siobhan Fennessy highlighted the term. “They&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/explainer-what-is-teal-carbon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>A football tournament kicks off conversations about sports and climate</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/a-football-tournament-kicks-off-conversations-about-sports-and-climate/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/a-football-tournament-kicks-off-conversations-about-sports-and-climate/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Oct 2024 11:18:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Priyanka ShankarSaumitra Shinde]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change impact]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ladakh]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sports]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/10/14100250/MG_6266-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=29859</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Environment And Health]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India, Ladakh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Extreme Weather Events, Impacts of Climate Change, and People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Over 11,000 feet above sea level and enveloped by mountains, six teams competed in the second edition of Climate Cup, a football tournament in Ladakh that aims to increase awareness about the environment and impacts of climate change on lives, livelihoods, and on sports. “Sports is the one thing that unites all people. That is [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Over 11,000 feet above sea level and enveloped by mountains, six teams competed in the second edition of Climate Cup, a football tournament in Ladakh that aims to increase awareness about the environment and impacts of climate change on lives, livelihoods, and on sports. “Sports is the one thing that unites all people. That is why we decided to raise awareness about the environment and climate change through a football tournament,” says Tsering Angmo, general secretary of Ladakh Football Association, who also co-founded 1 Ladakh Football Club, a Leh-based professional football club. The tournament, organised by the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) and the Ladakh Football Association, was held in September at the Spituk stadium. Apart from the local team 1 Ladakh FC, J&amp;K Bank FC from Kashmir, Gokulam Kerala FC from Kerala and NorthEast United FC from Assam, were some of the other professional football teams that participated, most from states that also face climate impacts such as erratic rainfall, heat waves and sea level rise. With increasing temperatures and extreme weather events becoming more frequent and intense, sporting events and sportspersons are facing challenges such as event cancellations or delays, damage to infrastructure, risks of accidents, and health risks such as heat stroke or erythema. Sporting organisations around the world are tackling these challenges by altering the sports schedules. Some marathons are being scheduled at night and in the early morning hours when it is cooler to protect the health of runners. The recent Paris Olympic Games&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/a-football-tournament-kicks-off-conversations-about-sports-and-climate/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Mongabay India honoured with Greenaccord International Media Award</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/mongabay-india-honoured-with-greenaccord-international-media-award/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/mongabay-india-honoured-with-greenaccord-international-media-award/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Oct 2024 23:21:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[award]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/10/12231439/signal-2024-10-12-225415_003-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=29834</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation and Environment]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay India was presented the Greenaccord International Media Award on October 12, 2024, at the XVI Greenaccord International Forum for Information on Safeguard of Nature in Frascati, Italy. The award recognises &#8220;the news organisation that has demonstrated the greatest originality and consistency in covering environmental topics throughout the year&#8221;. It is dedicated to a different [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay India was presented the Greenaccord International Media Award on October 12, 2024, at the XVI Greenaccord International Forum for Information on Safeguard of Nature in Frascati, Italy. The award recognises &#8220;the news organisation that has demonstrated the greatest originality and consistency in covering environmental topics throughout the year&#8221;. It is dedicated to a different continent every year and this year the award is being given to two media outlets from Asia. S. Gopikrishna Warrier, Mongabay India&#8217;s Managing Editor, received the award at the ceremony in Italy. &#8220;This award is a recognition for the unique editorial position that Mongabay India has come to occupy in the Indian environmental media space since the time we started publishing in January 2018. Building on the reporting heritage of Mongabay, the Indian sub-domain could fine-tune into the needs of its readers and become a respected and credible source of environmental information and opinion,&#8221; he said. &#8220;This award is a recognition for the work of the Mongabay India team,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Even more so because it comes at a time when India, and the other countries of South Asia, have already started facing the consequences of climate change. At this juncture, the award highlights the importance of unbiased, research-supported and evidence-based journalism to strengthen positive climate action.&#8221; The award celebrates the media&#8217;s commitment to raising public awareness of the most urgent ecological problems of our time and promoting a more sustainable future, notes the organisation. Mongabay India is an environment and conservation platform that brings&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/mongabay-india-honoured-with-greenaccord-international-media-award/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Sonam Wangchuk and climate marchers stopped, detained, and then released by Delhi Police</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/sonam-wangchuk-and-climate-marchers-stopped-detained-and-then-released-by-delhi-police/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/sonam-wangchuk-and-climate-marchers-stopped-detained-and-then-released-by-delhi-police/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Oct 2024 13:56:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Himalayas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sixth schedule]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sonam Wangchuk]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/10/04132324/IMG20241002215331-1-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=29787</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India, Ladakh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Climate Change, Glaciers, Governance, Himalayas, and Indigenous Peoples]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Environmentalist and engineer Sonam Wangchuk was released by the Delhi Police late on October 2, more than 36 hours after he and 150 others were held in police custody in the national capital. The group was on a peaceful march from Leh to the capital Delhi to highlight the impacts of climate change in Ladakh, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Environmentalist and engineer Sonam Wangchuk was released by the Delhi Police late on October 2, more than 36 hours after he and 150 others were held in police custody in the national capital. The group was on a peaceful march from Leh to the capital Delhi to highlight the impacts of climate change in Ladakh, and to demand the application of the sixth schedule and statehood over the region. Hundreds had gathered to welcome Wangchuk and the pad yatris (foot travellers) at the Rajghat memorial on Gandhi Jayanti, but the crowd was thinned by a heavy police presence that swelled through the day. “It’s disheartening that we were welcomed in Delhi with a detention, and now we are being escorted and not allowed to move freely. We were divided and sent to multiple police stations. It feels like they don’t want our voices to be heard,” Gilmet Dorjey, a pad yatri in his 50s, told Mongabay India. At the memorial, Wangchuk presented a memorandum reiterating demands for the sixth schedule and statehood, as well as for the protection of the Himalayas. “The Home Ministry has assured us that our wish for a meeting with either the Prime Minister, Home Minister, or President will be granted in the coming days. We end our march in the trust that the government will honour its assurance,” he said while presenting the memorandum to Prashant Sitaram Lokhande, a joint secretary from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Despite being released around 4:30 pm from&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/sonam-wangchuk-and-climate-marchers-stopped-detained-and-then-released-by-delhi-police/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/sonam-wangchuk-and-climate-marchers-stopped-detained-and-then-released-by-delhi-police/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
					<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/10/04133401/VID20241002182140-3.mp4" length="3131484" type="video/mp4" />
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					<title>[Explainer] What is recycling? How does it work in India?</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/explainer-what-is-recycling-how-does-it-work-in-india/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/explainer-what-is-recycling-how-does-it-work-in-india/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Oct 2024 14:50:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Phalguni Ranjan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[data]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[data viz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dry waste]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ewaste]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[explainer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plastic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Plastics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[solid waste]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[upcycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[waste]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[waste management]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/10/01144256/On_the_way_to_the_recycling_plant-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=29754</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environment Explained and Everyday Solutions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Energy, Environment, Plastic, Pollution, and Waste management]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India’s plastic waste generation is estimated at nearly 3.5 million tonnes annually. Municipal authorities and state governments implement collection and recycling programmes, sometimes in collaboration with NGOs and private sector partners. However, an April 2023 report revealed that less than 10% of plastic waste generated in 2019 was successfully recycled, with majority ending up in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India’s plastic waste generation is estimated at nearly 3.5 million tonnes annually. Municipal authorities and state governments implement collection and recycling programmes, sometimes in collaboration with NGOs and private sector partners. However, an April 2023 report revealed that less than 10% of plastic waste generated in 2019 was successfully recycled, with majority ending up in landfills. Not everything can be recycled, especially materials that have already undergone the process, meaning that all waste eventually goes to landfills. However, streamlining recycling processes can reduce the overwhelming amount of waste that needs to be dealt with. Hundreds of private companies also operate facilities that process large volumes of recyclables. Their technology aids in efficiently sorting and processing materials such as lithium batteries, metals, electronic waste, grey water, and glass. The informal waste management sector in India, much like other high population density countries, relies on several stakeholders and practices, including recycling. In cities like Mumbai, a vital part of recycling is carried out by informal waste pickers who collect, sort, and sell recyclable materials such as cardboard and paper, to local traders or recycling units. In India, at least four million informal waste pickers collect these materials from bins, households, streets and landfill sites. Sorting waste paper for recycling in Tamil Nadu. Image by Parvathisri via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0). What is recycling? Recycling is the process of converting some waste materials into new products to help reduce consumption of raw materials and energy usage. The process of recycling begins at&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/explainer-what-is-recycling-how-does-it-work-in-india/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Pollution dips, but fine particulate matter remains top public health threat: AQLI report</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/09/pollution-dips-but-fine-particulate-matter-remains-top-public-health-threat-aqli-report/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/09/pollution-dips-but-fine-particulate-matter-remains-top-public-health-threat-aqli-report/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Sep 2024 13:40:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Vinaya Kurtkoti]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Air Pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WHO]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/09/18103415/2048px-thumbnail-1-1200x800-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=29584</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Environment And Health]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Health impacts, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) has released its annual Air Quality Life Index 2024 report. The report reveals that people in the most polluted regions on Earth are breathing air six times more polluted than the least polluted areas, reducing life expectancy by about 2.7 years in these regions. There is [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) has released its annual Air Quality Life Index 2024 report. The report reveals that people in the most polluted regions on Earth are breathing air six times more polluted than the least polluted areas, reducing life expectancy by about 2.7 years in these regions. There is good news from South Asia: pollution declined by 18% in one year in the region. India’s particulate pollution, too, has declined from 51.3 in 2021 to 41.4 μg/m³ in 2022, which has added one year to the country’s average life expectancy. In districts home to cities covered by India’s National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), PM2.5 concentrations declined by 19% on average, and in the districts not covered by the programme this stood at 16%. With the decline in particulate pollution India has added one year to its average life expectancy. Image by Ninara via Flickr (CC BY 2.0). The report notes that the most significant reductions in particulate pollution in 2022 occurred in the Purulia and Bankura districts of West Bengal and the Dhanbad district of Jharkhand, with pollution levels dropping by over 20 μg/m³ in each of these areas. Kalpana Balakrishnan, Dean (Research) at the Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, shared that the increase in life expectancy reflects the cumulative healthy years gained from reducing PM2.5 levels. “It’s not just one number; it accounts for fewer years spent suffering from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, child growth deficits, and pneumonia — all&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/09/pollution-dips-but-fine-particulate-matter-remains-top-public-health-threat-aqli-report/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>A new remote sensing study spotlights Indian savannas</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/09/a-new-remote-sensing-study-spotlights-indian-savannas/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/09/a-new-remote-sensing-study-spotlights-indian-savannas/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Sep 2024 12:34:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nikhil Sreekandan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[afforestation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grasslands]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[savanna]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/09/12014704/Blackbuck_in_Velavadar_National_Park_Gujarat_India-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=29451</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[India's Iconic Landscapes]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Grasslands, Remote Sensing, Research, Satellite Imagery, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[New research from the University of Oxford and the University of Exeter examines savanna biome distribution and drivers through the lens of tree cover across India. Using remote sensing (the process of monitoring the physical characteristics of an area by measuring its radiation, typically from a satellite), the study analyses tree cover across forests and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[New research from the University of Oxford and the University of Exeter examines savanna biome distribution and drivers through the lens of tree cover across India. Using remote sensing (the process of monitoring the physical characteristics of an area by measuring its radiation, typically from a satellite), the study analyses tree cover across forests and savannas in the country. Tree cover is commonly used to differentiate between closed canopy forests and open canopy savannas, as seen in Africa, South America, and Australia. A similar pattern has also been studied in Southeast Asia. However, this is the first study to test the hypothesis India-wide, in an effort to try and achieve a broader understanding of the Indian savanna biome. What little we know about savannas has been derived from other continents, specifically Africa. For many people, the word ‘savanna’ conjures up an image of the Serengeti in Africa, vast grasslands dotted with trees and teeming with herds of zebras and antelopes. Unfortunately, this has also meant that the established concepts and theories about savannas come with little insight from Asian ecosystems. This critical knowledge gap is what the paper aims to fill, according to Trisha Gopalakrishna, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Exeter, and the lead author of the study. “There is so much research [on savannas] and we know all this theory, but it is all from different continents, there is not much from South and Southeast Asia,” begins Gopalakrishna. The study leverages the capabilities of satellite imagery&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/09/a-new-remote-sensing-study-spotlights-indian-savannas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>[Explainer] What is micro irrigation?</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/09/explainer-what-is-micro-irrigation/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/09/explainer-what-is-micro-irrigation/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Sep 2024 18:16:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Vandana K.]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[agriculture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change impact]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[irrigation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/09/09001315/irrigation-7262563_1920-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=29410</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections, Conserving Agro-biodiversity, and Environment Explained]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India is one of the largest users of freshwater in the world and the majority of this water (90.4%) is used for agriculture. A good monsoon means a bountiful harvest for India’s farmers. In addition to rainwater, India’s farmers also depend on water from rivers, canals, reservoirs, springs and wells for irrigating their crops. To [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India is one of the largest users of freshwater in the world and the majority of this water (90.4%) is used for agriculture. A good monsoon means a bountiful harvest for India’s farmers. In addition to rainwater, India’s farmers also depend on water from rivers, canals, reservoirs, springs and wells for irrigating their crops. To prevent the overuse of water for agriculture, the Indian government has been promoting micro irrigation for years. What is micro irrigation? Micro irrigation is a method where plants are slowly watered from above or below the soil through drops, tiny streams, spray or mist, either continuously or at intervals. This is done over a long period of time. In this method, water is released at a low pressure and a low flow rate which ensures that only the required amount of water is given to a field, preventing overwatering. Although micro irrigation is a modern farming technology that was developed in the U.S., Europe and Israel, it has also been practised historically in India. The indigenous communities in Meghalaya have been using a bamboo drip irrigation system for over 200 years. In this method, hollow bamboo trunks and smaller bamboo shoots are joined with twine to form a zig-zag pipeline structure that connects a water source uphill, such as a steam or spring, to a terraced field downhill. Holes are made in the shoots so that water can reach crops drop by drop. This irrigation system is used for growing rice, betel leaf and pepper&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/09/explainer-what-is-micro-irrigation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>To save the vulnerable fishing cat, protect its threatened wetland habitat</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/06/to-save-the-vulnerable-fishing-cat-protect-its-threatened-wetland-habitat/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/06/to-save-the-vulnerable-fishing-cat-protect-its-threatened-wetland-habitat/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Jun 2024 14:52:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fishing cat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wetlands]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/06/20141324/fishing-cat-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=28212</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, India, South Asia, and Sundarbans]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Cats, Mangroves, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The fishing cat is not your regular feline: it loves the mud and water of wetland habitats, unlike others. The mysterious species roams the wetlands of South and Southeast Asia, where it has uniquely adapted — so much so that its call resembles the quack of a duck. Little known and under-researched, it faces an [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The fishing cat is not your regular feline: it loves the mud and water of wetland habitats, unlike others. The mysterious species roams the wetlands of South and Southeast Asia, where it has uniquely adapted — so much so that its call resembles the quack of a duck. Little known and under-researched, it faces an uphill battle against multiple threats, including loss of its wetland habitat to humanity’s incursions, and escalating climate change, as extreme drought and rising coastal waters disrupt aquatic ecosystems. Though in peril, the fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) has many champions fighting for its survival. Numerous projects dedicated to protecting the species have sprung up across the cat’s range countries, from India to Pakistan and Bangladesh, Cambodia to Thailand. Each year, conservationists celebrate Fishing Cat February, shining a light on this once-neglected felid. Tiasa Adhya, co-founder of the Fishing Cat Project in India, a conservation and research program dedicated to the species, began her journey to researching P. viverrinus on a tiger survey in the West Bengal&#8217;s Sundarbans in 2010. “There was this miniature pugmark — [a footprint] like that of a small tiger — that the forest department ranger pointed me to,” she recounts. “They said it belonged to the fishing cat. It was the state animal of West Bengal. But I had no idea what a fishing cat was, and that was true for most people [living] in my state.” Adhya went on to co-found the Fishing Cat Project that same year. Over time, the group’s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/06/to-save-the-vulnerable-fishing-cat-protect-its-threatened-wetland-habitat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<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>]]>
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					<title>[Commentary] From poll booths to weather stations, the heat is on</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/05/commentary-from-poll-booths-to-weather-stations-the-heat-is-on/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/05/commentary-from-poll-booths-to-weather-stations-the-heat-is-on/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 May 2024 12:25:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[elections]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marine heatwave]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/05/03111302/signal-2024-05-03-111202-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=27660</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Global Warming, and Governance]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“April is the cruellest month,” wrote T.S. Eliot in poem The Waste Land. For the 30 million residents of Kerala this April was particularly cruel, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) declaring the first ever recorded heatwave in the state. The heatwave also came at a time when Kerala, along with other parts of the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[“April is the cruellest month,” wrote T.S. Eliot in poem The Waste Land. For the 30 million residents of Kerala this April was particularly cruel, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) declaring the first ever recorded heatwave in the state. The heatwave also came at a time when Kerala, along with other parts of the country, is part of the national elections process, with campaigning, public meetings and voting happening under high temperatures. The ambient heat is expected to continue in the coming days too, while the political heat is likely to continue till June 4, and beyond. Every year, summer comes early in Kerala, when compared to the other parts of the country. It starts in February, when the rest of the country is hesitantly shaking away the winter cold. Located at the southwestern edge of the Indian peninsula, Kerala has to pilot in the southwest monsoon. For that to happen the state has to be hotter earlier than the other parts of the country. By May, when the rest of the country sizzles with summer heat, Kerala usually receives a few pre-monsoon showers and would be relatively cooler. In the years of the decades past, when the southwest monsoon used to come with regularity, June 1 was considered the date for its onset. Kerala is experiencing its first ever recorded heatwave. As India goes to polls, parts of the country are facing a heatwave. Photo by Hans A. Rosbach/Wikimedia Commons. It is not the summer that surprised the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/05/commentary-from-poll-booths-to-weather-stations-the-heat-is-on/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<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>
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							<![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>
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					<title>Newly identified shorebird species in Sri Lanka named after Hanuman</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/01/newly-identified-shorebird-species-in-sri-lanka-named-after-hanuman/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/01/newly-identified-shorebird-species-in-sri-lanka-named-after-hanuman/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jan 2024 13:52:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malaka Rodrigo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Island]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/01/31114157/5.-Male-Hanuman-Plover-in-Vankalei-1200x800-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=26273</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Birds, Coast, and New species]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The mighty ape god Hanuman marshalled an army to build a bridge linking northern Sri Lanka’s Mannar region with Tamil Nadu’s Rameswaram, according to the ancient Sanskrit epic Ramayana. Centuries later, a small bird species, new to science, which lives and was found in the vicinity of the mythical bridge is named as the Hanuman [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The mighty ape god Hanuman marshalled an army to build a bridge linking northern Sri Lanka’s Mannar region with Tamil Nadu’s Rameswaram, according to the ancient Sanskrit epic Ramayana. Centuries later, a small bird species, new to science, which lives and was found in the vicinity of the mythical bridge is named as the Hanuman plover. It’s the first specimen to help distinguish the plover from other shorebirds. “We selected Hanuman plover as the bird’s common name to celebrate the mythology linked to the native land of this plover,” says Sampath Seneviratne, a professor in zoology attached to the University of Colombo who conceptualised the study. The bird is scientifically categorised as Charadrius seebohmi honouring Henry Seebohm, the British ornithologist who, as far back as 1887, first suggested the Sri Lankan breeding population could be a possible distinct species, Seneviratne told Mongabay. The Hanuman plover was initially thought to be a subspecies of the Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus), hence scientifically categorised as Charadrius alexandrinus seebohmi, in 1848. The Kentish plover is a common shorebird found in Eurasia and North Africa, and those that breed north of 40° latitude are the winter migrants. Kentish plovers migrate to Sri Lanka in large numbers and fly back to breeding grounds after the migratory season — except one population that chooses to remain in the Indian Ocean island throughout the year. Some migratory birds, known as the “loiterers,” do not go back for a season or two, but this Sri Lankan and South Indian&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/01/newly-identified-shorebird-species-in-sri-lanka-named-after-hanuman/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>India one of the nine countries to sign global pact to protect endangered river dolphins</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/01/india-one-of-the-nine-countries-to-sign-global-pact-to-protect-endangered-river-dolphins/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/01/india-one-of-the-nine-countries-to-sign-global-pact-to-protect-endangered-river-dolphins/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jan 2024 16:13:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Astrid Arellano]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dolphins]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rivers]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/01/23145028/river-dolphins-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=26173</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Endangered species, Mammals, Rivers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Last September, in the middle of an intense drought, 154 endangered Amazon river dolphins were found dead in Brazilian Amazon&#8217;s Lake Tefé. This was a grim reminder to conservationists about the urgent action needed for the protection of threatened freshwater cetaceans. “For us, this is a crisis. In one month, more than 10% of the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Last September, in the middle of an intense drought, 154 endangered Amazon river dolphins were found dead in Brazilian Amazon&#8217;s Lake Tefé. This was a grim reminder to conservationists about the urgent action needed for the protection of threatened freshwater cetaceans. “For us, this is a crisis. In one month, more than 10% of the populations of the two dolphin species that inhabit Lake Tefé died,” says Daphne Willems, global leader of river dolphin research at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). “We’ve never seen this before. It’s climate change. The water was significantly reduced and temperatures rose to 40° Celsius (104° Fahrenheit). Dolphins are not generally sensitive to temperatures; it doesn’t bother them much. But this was like cooking them.” More than 100 river dolphins, including endangered Amazon river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis), were found dead in Lake Tefé in Brazil. Photo by André Zumak/Mamirauá Institute. The mass death occurred just a few weeks before International River Dolphin Day on Oct. 24. To commemorate this day, key actors for the species gathered at a meeting in Bogotá, Colombia. During the meeting, participants discussed the political context surrounding dolphins, success stories and a continental work session. The main objective of the meeting was to encourage nations to sign the Global Declaration for River Dolphins, promoted by the Colombian government, along with WWF, the Omacha Foundation, the World Bank and specialists from the South American River Dolphin Initiative (SARDI). The declaration commits 14 of the animals’ range countries (Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, China,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/01/india-one-of-the-nine-countries-to-sign-global-pact-to-protect-endangered-river-dolphins/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Has solar energy been deployed to the point of no return? Some researchers think so</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/01/has-solar-energy-been-deployed-to-the-point-of-no-return-some-researchers-think-so/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/01/has-solar-energy-been-deployed-to-the-point-of-no-return-some-researchers-think-so/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Jan 2024 14:10:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Solar Energy]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/01/11114613/Installation_6330196178-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=26030</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy and Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, India, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative energy, Clean Energy, Energy, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Scientists warn that the earth will cross multiple tipping points and cause irreversible changes to the climate system if global temperatures continue to rise at current rates. Amid the din of projections that say fossil fuel use is still too high in our energy systems, a new study suggests the world may have already crossed [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Scientists warn that the earth will cross multiple tipping points and cause irreversible changes to the climate system if global temperatures continue to rise at current rates. Amid the din of projections that say fossil fuel use is still too high in our energy systems, a new study suggests the world may have already crossed another crucial tipping point – one that offers more hope in the face of climate change. The tipping point in question is the proliferation of solar energy, which the study says may now see widespread adoption even without additional policies supporting renewable energy. According to the latest World Energy Outlook by the International Energy Agency (IEA), investments in clean energy have risen by 40% since 2020 and more than $1 billion per day is being spent on solar deployment. With this, the installed capacity of solar photovoltaic (PV) is poised to surpass coal by 2027 and become the largest installed capacity of energy in the world. Researchers from the U.K., Sweden and the U.S. have used additional metrics to take these projections even further, estimating solar, along with wind, could “irreversibly become the dominant electricity technologies within 1-2 decades, as their costs and rate of growth far undercut all alternatives.” More traditional modelling studies have failed to adequately capture the reach and progress of solar because they don’t, in part, capture changes in innovation, according to the study. “Our analysis establishes quantitative empirical evidence, from current and historical data trends, that a solar energy tipping&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/01/has-solar-energy-been-deployed-to-the-point-of-no-return-some-researchers-think-so/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Nepal&#8217;s traditional healers push for recognition and licensing of their age-old practices</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/01/nepals-traditional-healers-push-for-recognition-and-licensing-of-their-age-old-practices/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/01/nepals-traditional-healers-push-for-recognition-and-licensing-of-their-age-old-practices/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jan 2024 10:28:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sonam Lama Hyolmo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Traditional Knowledge]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/01/02173614/Lo-Manthang-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=25914</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Knowledge]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Himalayas, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Community based conservation, Conservation, Himalayas, and Indigenous Peoples]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Along Tibet&#8217;s border in Nepal, where tall ancient structures stand in the arid landscape, is the isolated kingdom of Lo Manthang where tourists have been allowed only since the late 1990s. Here, 65-year-old Gyatso Bista is trying preserve the ancient Tibetan medicinal system of Sowa Rigpa. He lives in a small settlement of Loba Buddhists [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Along Tibet&#8217;s border in Nepal, where tall ancient structures stand in the arid landscape, is the isolated kingdom of Lo Manthang where tourists have been allowed only since the late 1990s. Here, 65-year-old Gyatso Bista is trying preserve the ancient Tibetan medicinal system of Sowa Rigpa. He lives in a small settlement of Loba Buddhists whose children have now migrated out, practicing the ancient science of healing. This traditional knowledge and practice, relying on both scholarly and religious texts, has been used in highland Asian communities for more than 2,500 years. Throughout the millennia, healers gathered, observed and tested a vast array of local endemic species, varieties of plants, fungi and lichens and dozens of minerals, working them into formulas with the hope, and satisfaction, that they could treat certain physical and mental illnesses. The right quantity of herb ingredients is the key to the medicinal formula, Bista says. Myrobalan (Terminalia chebula), baheda (Terminalia bellirica) and amala (Phyllanthus emblica), which all have a sour taste, are considered the king of herbs and are common ingredients used among hundreds. Plant and pharmacognosy studies also attest to their healing, therapeutic and cardioprotective benefits, as well as the herbal properties of other plants, fungi and minerals that healers have documented in their pharmaceutical system. “Healers are trained to not only recognise herb potency and healing benefits but also to put together the required quantity of ingredients to develop a medicine,” Bista says. Although this knowledge dates back to before the first millenium, it&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/01/nepals-traditional-healers-push-for-recognition-and-licensing-of-their-age-old-practices/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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