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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/list/tamil-nadu/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Fri, 11 Sep 2026 09:34:00 +0000</lastBuildDate>
		<language>en-US</language>
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				<item>
					<title>Disappearing grasslands impact bird populations, study finds</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/disappearing-grasslands-impact-bird-populations-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/disappearing-grasslands-impact-bird-populations-study-finds/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Aug 2026 16:37:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grassland ecology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nilgiri pipit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nilgiris]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/14123726/Nilgiri_Pipit_Anthus_nilghiriensis_from_Anaimalai_hills_IMG_2145-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40133</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biosphere reserves, Birds, Conservation, Ecology, Encroachment, Endangered species, Endemic species, Forests, Grasslands, Habitat Loss, Shola-grasslands, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Up in the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, the gradual disappearance of the region’s shola grasslands has changed how birds navigate the landscape, highlighting the importance of habitat connectivity in preserving endemic biodiversity. The shola sky islands are unique montane forests separated by rolling grasslands. They’re biologically significant because they host a large number species whose global [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Up in the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, the gradual disappearance of the region’s shola grasslands has changed how birds navigate the landscape, highlighting the importance of habitat connectivity in preserving endemic biodiversity. The shola sky islands are unique montane forests separated by rolling grasslands. They’re biologically significant because they host a large number species whose global distributions are concentrated here. But changes in land use dynamics have caused a steady decline in the populations of certain birds in the region. Colonial-era plantations of exotic tree species like Acacia, Eucalyptus and Pinus, which are not native to this region, have invaded several parts of the sky islands. Between 1973 and 2017, the islands lost 516 sq km of grasslands and 63 sq km of forests. These diminished habitats have also exposed the limits of adaptability for birds. “Highlighting how land-use change shapes species’ connectivity provides a window into how species specialised to high-elevation grassland habitat types respond to habitat alterations,” said Chiti Arvind, Postdoctoral Fellow, IISER Tirupati and a co-author of a research paper studying the impacts of land use change in the shola sky islands on bird movements. Shola forests and grasslands in the Nilgiris. Image by Davidvraju via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Gains and losses The study covered approximately 2,900 sq km across the two largest sky islands — in the Nilgiris and Palani-Anamalais — at elevations higher than 1400 metres above sea level. The objective was to observe how habitat fragmentation impacted the movements of the seven most&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/disappearing-grasslands-impact-bird-populations-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/disappearing-grasslands-impact-bird-populations-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Fishers, naturalists worry about the impacts of turning a coastal wetland into a reservoir</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/a-coastal-wetland-could-soon-become-a-reservoir-to-meet-a-citys-water-demand/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/a-coastal-wetland-could-soon-become-a-reservoir-to-meet-a-citys-water-demand/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Jul 2026 17:18:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Smitha T.K.]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban wetlands]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wetlands]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/13161843/4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39239</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birds, Coast, Ecology, Ecosystem services, Environment, Fishing, Floods, Habitat Loss, Lakes, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Narayanan R. stood on the muddy bund of the Great Salt Lake, watching a group of flamingoes pick their way across the shallows. He remembered standing in the same spot as a 10-year-old, knee-deep in water — the day his father showed him how to fish. &#8220;The flamingoes may not come next season,” he said. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Narayanan R. stood on the muddy bund of the Great Salt Lake, watching a group of flamingoes pick their way across the shallows. He remembered standing in the same spot as a 10-year-old, knee-deep in water — the day his father showed him how to fish. &#8220;The flamingoes may not come next season,” he said. “These pools will dry soon. A few hundred metres away, Gowriamma waded through the shallow waters of the lake, her fingers sifting through the mud for shrimp. “Everything depends on these small pools. We know this water through the mud and the thorns.&#8221; Located between Nemmeli and Kovalam in Chennai, the Great Salt Lake also known as Kovalam-Nemmeli backwaters, is a coastal wetland that spans 5,000 acres. The Tamil Nadu government plans to convert this coastal wetland into Chennai’s sixth drinking water reservoir: the Mamallan reservoir. Chennai currently supplies between 700 and 800 million litres per day (MLD) of water. The demand already exceeds 1,100 MLD and is projected to cross 2,500 MLD by 2035, according to the project&#8217;s environmental impact assessment (EIA). The Mamallan reservoir aims to supply 170 MLD for the city’s needs. The reservoir is designed to store 1.65 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) in a single filling and an annual storage of 2.25 TMC. However, for Narayanan, Gowriamma and many fishing families in the area, losing the Great Salt Lake means losing the only world they have ever known. “Who are we to change the contours drawn by nature?” Narayanan asks.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/a-coastal-wetland-could-soon-become-a-reservoir-to-meet-a-citys-water-demand/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/a-coastal-wetland-could-soon-become-a-reservoir-to-meet-a-citys-water-demand/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Major mugger habitats lie outside protected areas</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/study-finds-major-mugger-habitats-lie-outside-protected-areas/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/study-finds-major-mugger-habitats-lie-outside-protected-areas/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jul 2026 13:11:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[critical habitat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crocodiles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[habitat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[habitat loss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[muggers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban areas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban wetlands]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urbanisation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/06111444/A-local-fisherman-and-a-mugger_-the-Kollidam-River_-Jason-Dominic-Gerar-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39004</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Dams, Habitat Loss, Reptiles, Rivers, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[From the rocky gorges of Hogenakkal to the coastal marshes of Muthupet, the mugger crocodile has long inhabited the rivers, reservoirs and wetlands of the Kaveri river basin in southern India. A new study estimated that while there are about 2,209 square kilometres of potentially suitable mugger habitat in the river basin, only about 38% [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[From the rocky gorges of Hogenakkal to the coastal marshes of Muthupet, the mugger crocodile has long inhabited the rivers, reservoirs and wetlands of the Kaveri river basin in southern India. A new study estimated that while there are about 2,209 square kilometres of potentially suitable mugger habitat in the river basin, only about 38% falls within the existing protected area network, leaving much of the species&#8217; habitat exposed to human pressures. The study, published in the journal Ecological Applications, assesses mugger habitat across the entire Kaveri (Cauvery) river basin which stretches across parts of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and covers about 81,155 sq. km. in southern India. &#8220;The number that stays with me is 38%. Only 38% of the habitat our model identified as potentially suitable for muggers falls within the existing protected area network. That means roughly six in every ten hectares of meaningful mugger habitat is outside any formal protection, unmanaged, unmonitored, and subject to the full range of human pressures,&#8221; says co-author Nikhil Whitaker, the Research Director at Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Centre for Herpetology. Building a basin-wide picture The mugger is one of India&#8217;s three native crocodilian species and is found in rivers, lakes, reservoirs and marshes across much of the subcontinent. Although populations have been studied in river systems such as the Moyar, Kabini and Amaravati, researchers say conservation planning has lacked a basin-wide understanding of where suitable habitat occurs and what factors shape its distribution. “The CRB (Cauvery River Basin) has&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/study-finds-major-mugger-habitats-lie-outside-protected-areas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/study-finds-major-mugger-habitats-lie-outside-protected-areas/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Biomedical waste crosses borders, polluting farmlands</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/biomedical-waste-crosses-borders-polluting-farmlands/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/biomedical-waste-crosses-borders-polluting-farmlands/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 May 2026 17:23:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Prasanth Shanmugasundaram]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[biomedical waste]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environment and health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[waste]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/28131114/Kerala-Bio-medical-waste-dumped-near-Tirunelveli-Source-Thinakaran-Rajamani-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38407</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala and Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Cities and Towns, Environmental Politics, Health impacts, Human Rights, Industry, and Waste management]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Reports of Kerala’s biomedical waste being dumped along the Tamil Nadu border, along with incidents of meat waste and plastic waste being buried in pits across Tamil Nadu’s rural landscapes, have, over the years, become a disturbing routine in news reports. What once appeared as isolated violations has evolved into a pattern. In the last [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Reports of Kerala’s biomedical waste being dumped along the Tamil Nadu border, along with incidents of meat waste and plastic waste being buried in pits across Tamil Nadu’s rural landscapes, have, over the years, become a disturbing routine in news reports. What once appeared as isolated violations has evolved into a pattern. In the last decade, environmentalists estimate that hundreds of mixed waste dumping incidents along the state borders have been recorded, with many more likely unreported. Some of this waste being dumped includes biomedical waste. In certain instances, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken suo motu cognisance, initiating proceedings against the Kerala government. In one such case, biomedical waste from a cancer centre in Kerala that had been dumped in Tamil Nadu was ordered to be collected and transported back to Kerala. Yet a critical question remains: why does Kerala’s biomedical waste continue to cross into Tamil Nadu? Kerala’s biomedical waste is being dumped along the Tamil Nadu border. Hundreds of mixed waste dumping incidents have been recorded in the last decade, with many more likely unreported, and that a subset of them contain biomedical waste. Image by Thinakaran Rajamani. Biomedical waste, including syringes and plastic materials, found dumped in Tirunelveli district. Image by Thinakaran Rajamani. In conversations with farmers and residents in affected areas along Tamil Nadu’s border as well as a visit to Kerala’s primary biomedical waste treatment facility, IMAGE, in Palakkad, Mongabay-India found out that the issue is rooted in structural gaps, and not only&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/biomedical-waste-crosses-borders-polluting-farmlands/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/biomedical-waste-crosses-borders-polluting-farmlands/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Land acquired for strengthening elephant corridors, pressurises farmer livelihoods [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/land-acquired-for-strengthening-elephant-corridors-pressurises-farmer-livelihoods-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/land-acquired-for-strengthening-elephant-corridors-pressurises-farmer-livelihoods-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Feb 2026 11:41:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ananda Siddhartha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[elephant corridors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmlands]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livestock]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife corridors]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/02/16000504/1.-A-board-erected-on-land-purchased-to-strengthen-an-elephant-corridor-adjoining-the-Biligiri-Rangaswamy-Wildlife-Sanctuary-and-Tiger-Reserve-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36899</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Karnataka and Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Conservation, Elephants, Human Wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Protected Areas, Villages, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Acquiring agricultural land has been one of the strategies to strengthen elephant corridors in India, framed as a way to enable elephant movement between protected areas and reduce human-elephant conflict, among other reasons. Yet, this strategy approach plays out in complex and fragile rural landscapes with complicated tenurial arrangements, an aspect that has received little [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Acquiring agricultural land has been one of the strategies to strengthen elephant corridors in India, framed as a way to enable elephant movement between protected areas and reduce human-elephant conflict, among other reasons. Yet, this strategy approach plays out in complex and fragile rural landscapes with complicated tenurial arrangements, an aspect that has received little attention. “First, they said that the forest was for the tiger. Now, they are saying this land is for the elephant. There has been no change after they bought the land. Elephants are still destroying crops,” said a farmer whose neighbour’s land was acquired to strengthen an elephant corridor connecting the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve in Karnataka with the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu. Forest officials inspect crops damaged by elephants near Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Wildlife Sanctuary. Acquiring agricultural land has been one of the strategies to strengthen elephant corridors in rural India, a strategy that leaves farmers facing multiple pressures. Image by Ananda Siddhartha. A corridor links separated habitats, enabling animals to move between them, safely. A push for elephant corridors in India gathered momentum in 2005 with the publication of a report titled Right of Passage: Elephant Corridors of India, that identified 88 corridors across the country. The report was the outcome of a collaboration between conservation NGOs, researchers, state forest departments and Project Elephant, a national government initiative to protect the elephant. Since then, the list of corridors has steadily grown. An updated version in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/land-acquired-for-strengthening-elephant-corridors-pressurises-farmer-livelihoods-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/land-acquired-for-strengthening-elephant-corridors-pressurises-farmer-livelihoods-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Urban penalty leaves mother sparrows working more, raising less</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/urban-penalty-leaves-mother-sparrows-working-more-raising-less/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/urban-penalty-leaves-mother-sparrows-working-more-raising-less/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Feb 2026 15:03:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Arathi Menon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/02/13133421/Female-with-Nest-material-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36890</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Birds and Cities and Towns]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the city, she lives on the edge. Beyond the standard expectation of motherhood, she must scout prime real estate for a home, provide warmth and care, and find optimum nutrition for the perpetually open offspring mouths. Her partner, meanwhile, sticks to his brief: mostly standing guard and looking alert. In the bird universe, this [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the city, she lives on the edge. Beyond the standard expectation of motherhood, she must scout prime real estate for a home, provide warmth and care, and find optimum nutrition for the perpetually open offspring mouths. Her partner, meanwhile, sticks to his brief: mostly standing guard and looking alert. In the bird universe, this is not bare minimum. This is “progressive” since the evolutionary role of most male birds does not go beyond mating. And since the house sparrow male does more than that, his “involvement” in parenting is lauded as participatory. In a newly released paper, the researchers look at the difference in parental care between urban and rural house sparrows as well as between their sexes. They monitored 183 nest boxes set up by local NGOs at 17 locations in Tamil Nadu — urban Chennai and rural/urban sites around Arani in Tiruvannamalai district — for three years between in 2021 and 2024. They collected behavioural data on nest construction, incubation, guarding and food provisioning and looked at the reproductive success in terms of both hatching and fledging. The researchers also looked at how the risk of predation affected reproductive success. A male house sparrow stands guard while his mate exits a nest. Researchers monitored 183 house sparrow nest boxes set up across Tamil Nadu to understand differences in parental care. Males were primarily invested in guarding behaviour, while females took care of incubation. Image by Agnes Francila. A female house sparrow carries food for her young. In&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/urban-penalty-leaves-mother-sparrows-working-more-raising-less/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Traditional fishers turn rescuers in a win for declining marine wildlife [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/traditional-fishers-turn-rescuers-in-a-win-for-declining-marine-wildlife-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/traditional-fishers-turn-rescuers-in-a-win-for-declining-marine-wildlife-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jan 2026 14:38:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[I. SanthanamariM. Fathima HannaM. Soubadra DevyMaria Antony P.Teresa Scholastica ThomasVinod M. Kumar]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Divya Kilikar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bycatch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dolphins]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marine Fisheries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marine wildlife]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turtles]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://india.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36616</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coast, Conservation, Fish, Fishing, Human Wildlife Conflict, Hunting, Oceans, Overfishing, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“Neither turtles nor dolphins harm us when we rescue them. Many people from our village have saved them before. They cooperate with us and do not cause any trouble,” says Sheenik Abdullah, a 23-year-old fisher-rescuer from Valinokkam in Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu. Fishers along the Gulf of Mannar coast in southern Tamil Nadu once caught [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“Neither turtles nor dolphins harm us when we rescue them. Many people from our village have saved them before. They cooperate with us and do not cause any trouble,” says Sheenik Abdullah, a 23-year-old fisher-rescuer from Valinokkam in Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu. Fishers along the Gulf of Mannar coast in southern Tamil Nadu once caught marine animals, including the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis), hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), green turtle (Chelonia mydas), olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), and dugong (Dugong dugon). Today, many of them are recognised for protecting the very species they once pursued. This shift reflects a gradual reworking of human-marine relations, shaped by experiential learning at sea, locally grounded ecological knowledge, and state-led conservation incentives. In villages such as Keelamundal, Valinokam, and Mel Mundal, conservation is enacted through everyday decisions made on the shore and during fishing trips. A changing tide The waves crash loudly against the shore of Keelamundal as seagulls, known locally as kadal kaka, hover low above the surf. Fishing nets lie spread across the sand, mended by men and women who do not pause their work even as rain falls. Boats returning from the morning’s fishing trip are pulled ashore using tractors, while ice-filled storage boxes are opened to sort the catch ahead of evening sales. Fishers sort through the day’s catch in Keelamundal. The catch is carefully removed from the nets and collected into baskets and crates. Image by Vinod Kumar. For generations, the hunting of marine animals&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/traditional-fishers-turn-rescuers-in-a-win-for-declining-marine-wildlife-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/traditional-fishers-turn-rescuers-in-a-win-for-declining-marine-wildlife-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Unsafe drinking water can influence antimicrobial resistance</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/unsafe-drinking-water-drives-antimicrobial-resistance-in-tribes/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/unsafe-drinking-water-drives-antimicrobial-resistance-in-tribes/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Jan 2026 12:44:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Debdutta Paul]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[onehealth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public health]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/03235835/Irulas-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36333</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Ecology, Environment, Health impacts, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Industry, Rivers, Tribes, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When harmful microbes develop resistance to medicines meant to kill them, antimicrobial resistance develops. But scientists are discovering that even environmental and lifestyle factors, and not just medicine overuse, can contribute to this resistance. Scientists examining the gut bacteria of three tribal groups in South India have found that even the source of drinking water [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When harmful microbes develop resistance to medicines meant to kill them, antimicrobial resistance develops. But scientists are discovering that even environmental and lifestyle factors, and not just medicine overuse, can contribute to this resistance. Scientists examining the gut bacteria of three tribal groups in South India have found that even the source of drinking water plays a significant role in shaping the types of antimicrobial resistance the gut bacteria develop. The research group examined tribal groups in the states of Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. The team found that people drinking water from untreated streams had more resistance genes related to metals and multiple chemicals, while those using tubewell water had more antibiotic resistance. The study, published in the journal Total Environment Microbiology, shows that even in remote populations with limited exposure to antibiotics, environmental factors, such as water quality, strongly influence antibiotic resistance. Environment and lifestyle influence resistance to microbes The Jenu Kuruba community of Karnataka, the Kurumba community of Kerala, and the Irula community of Tamil Nadu are more vulnerable than other tribal communities with respect to health. Having pre-agricultural practices, they face economic hardships and are geographically isolated from urban facilities, including healthcare systems. They often rely on untreated rivers and streams for drinking water and other domestic activities. Despite these vulnerabilities, they have minimal exposure to antibiotic medicines and are relatively unaffected by antibiotic resistance. This made their gut bacteria a valuable subject of study as the researchers could figure out the other sources of antimicrobial&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/unsafe-drinking-water-drives-antimicrobial-resistance-in-tribes/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>The Irulas mourn a fading river</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/the-irulas-mourn-a-fading-river/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/the-irulas-mourn-a-fading-river/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Nov 2025 14:27:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[B. Vijayarani]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[habitat degradation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Millets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tourism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urbanisation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wild foods]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/11/26112041/Vijayrani_11-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35766</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Knowledge]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Environment, Food, Forests, Human Wildlife Conflict, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Non-Timber Forest Produce, Tribes, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Sikkole River, a lifeline for various Indigenous communities in the Sigur Plateau in Tamil Nadu, has undergone dramatic transformations over the past five decades, fundamentally altering the lives of Indigenous residents and the ecosystem they depend upon. The Sigur Plateau, a part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, is a significant wildlife habitat and ecological [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Sikkole River, a lifeline for various Indigenous communities in the Sigur Plateau in Tamil Nadu, has undergone dramatic transformations over the past five decades, fundamentally altering the lives of Indigenous residents and the ecosystem they depend upon. The Sigur Plateau, a part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, is a significant wildlife habitat and ecological corridor in the Nilgiris district. It serves as an important migration route for elephants and other wildlife. The plateau&#8217;s dry deciduous forests support a unique mix of flora and fauna, including elephants, deer, vultures, and numerous endangered species. The plateau has also been home to the Indigenous communities of Irula, Jenukurumba and the Soliga, among others. In this piece, B. Vijayarani (42), a resident of Chokkanalli village, writes a first-person account recalling a time when poverty and hunger were strangers to her community. The author Vijayarani, an Irula woman from Chokkanalli village, stands in front of the Sikkole River (also called Chokkanalli River). The river is a lifeline for Irulas and other Indigenous communities living along its banks, and for biodiversity. Image courtesy of Keystone Foundation. Until I was 20 years old, the Sikkole River, also called the Chokkanalli River, provided everything: grains from traditional farmland, honey, greens, fruits and tubers from the forests, and abundant fish from the waters. We didn’t have the facilities we have now, but we never went hungry. Our stomachs were filled to the brim. In the Irula language, rivers are called kere and small streams are konjiri. The Sikkole&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/the-irulas-mourn-a-fading-river/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Scientists correct a century-old misidentified scorpion and describe a new species</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/scientists-correct-a-century-old-misidentified-scorpion-and-describe-a-new-species/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/scientists-correct-a-century-old-misidentified-scorpion-and-describe-a-new-species/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Nov 2025 12:28:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Vandana K.]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[arachnids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scorpions]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/11/17105040/live-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35589</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Endangered species, Environment, Evolution, and New species]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 1915, when India was under British colonial rule, English arachnologist Stanley Hirst described a new scorpion species from Coimbatore — Charmus indicus. It was based on a single immature specimen he had found. The yellowing pages of a report by the British Museum in 1916 also include a notable mention of this species under [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 1915, when India was under British colonial rule, English arachnologist Stanley Hirst described a new scorpion species from Coimbatore — Charmus indicus. It was based on a single immature specimen he had found. The yellowing pages of a report by the British Museum in 1916 also include a notable mention of this species under the section Arachnida, which was presented to the museum, alongside parasitic mites from Calcutta and Colombo. For over a century, scientists assumed C. indicus is widespread across peninsular India, said Shauri Sulakhe, a naturalist who heads the Scorpion Systematics Laboratory (SSL) at InSearch Environmental Society in Pune. But through fieldwork and DNA analysis, Indian researchers have now revealed that C. indicus was a case of mistaken identity — it is actually the same species as Charmus laneus, first described from Sri Lanka in 1879 by German arachnologist Ferdinand Karsch. The researchers were able to establish this based on the lack of physical differences in the appearances and low genetic divergence between the two species. This finding is part of a research paper published in the journal Diversity in May 2025. The researchers include Shauri Sulakhe, Deshabushan Bastawade, a senior retired scientist from Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Shubhankar Deshpande and eight others. The research was a result of collaboration between SSL, the Natural History Museum of Geneva in Switzerland and Charles University in the Czech Republic. Both India and Sri Lanka are major biodiversity hotspots but many of their endemic species are poorly studied. The&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/scientists-correct-a-century-old-misidentified-scorpion-and-describe-a-new-species/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Hydrocarbon exploration sparks protest over livelihood and environmental concerns</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/hydrocarbon-exploration-sparks-protest-over-livelihood-and-environmental-concerns/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/hydrocarbon-exploration-sparks-protest-over-livelihood-and-environmental-concerns/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Oct 2025 17:19:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[K.A. Shaji]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fisheries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fishermen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[freshwater]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oil exploration]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/10/24110039/affected-agri-land-at-Keelasiruputhu-near-Ramanathapuram-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35197</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Carbon emissions, Energy, Fish, Fishing, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Industry, Oil, and Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When the early morning sun glinted off the nets drying along Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram coast in late September, it illuminated a sight both familiar and defiant in the state’s environmental history: fishers and farmers standing shoulder to shoulder, holding placards against the latest attempt to drill beneath their land and sea. They were protesting against [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When the early morning sun glinted off the nets drying along Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram coast in late September, it illuminated a sight both familiar and defiant in the state’s environmental history: fishers and farmers standing shoulder to shoulder, holding placards against the latest attempt to drill beneath their land and sea. They were protesting against an environmental clearance issued by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), which authorised the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to drill 20 exploratory wells in an offshore block, a designated area in the water, near Ramanathapuram district. In the wake of the protests, the state government has asked the SEIAA to withdraw the clearance and the next course of action is awaited. The clearance to ONGC was issued in March. As per usual practice, the project documents are supposed to be accessible to the public on platforms such as the Parivesh portal which displays environmental clearances for projects. But the documents for this project were not accessible say local activists and environmentalists. A few months later, in August, SEIAA formally posted the approval online which then drew immediate attention, leading to mass protests across Ramanathapuram and surrounding areas. For the government, it was a technical approval. For the people of Ramanathapuram, it was a move against their soil, water, and survival as their livelihoods depend on the landscape. From Keezhakarai in the east to Mudukulathur in the west, fishers, farmers, priests, and students gathered in small but resolute assemblies. “Oil-free Tamil Nadu is our&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/hydrocarbon-exploration-sparks-protest-over-livelihood-and-environmental-concerns/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Giving forests and rivers the right to live [Book Review]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/giving-forests-and-rivers-the-right-to-live-book-review/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/giving-forests-and-rivers-the-right-to-live-book-review/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Oct 2025 13:47:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Usha Rai]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book review]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/10/22120606/Kotturpuram_Bridge_Adyar_River_Chennai_Jul18_DSC05376-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35136</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[India's Iconic Landscapes]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, People, Rivers, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[British writer Robert Macfarlane’s latest book, Is a River Alive? is poetic in its description of forests, rivers, the natural world and the efforts of indigenous people and others to keep them and the myriad lives they sustain, alive. It unfolds across three landscapes — an Ecuadorian cloud-forest named Los Cedros; the wounded creeks, lagoons [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[British writer Robert Macfarlane’s latest book, Is a River Alive? is poetic in its description of forests, rivers, the natural world and the efforts of indigenous people and others to keep them and the myriad lives they sustain, alive. It unfolds across three landscapes — an Ecuadorian cloud-forest named Los Cedros; the wounded creeks, lagoons and estuaries of Chennai in India; and the wild interiors of Nitassinan, homeland of the Innu people, in Canada. Each of the landscapes has become a focus for revolutionary thinking of the relationship between humans and the environment. In all three places, rivers are understood to be “alive” in some fundamental way, and in each of these places the survival of the rivers is under severe threat — in Ecuador from gold mining, in India from pollution and in Nitassinan from dams. The book explores an ancient belief that rivers are not just for human use, but are living beings who (not which) should be recognised as such in imagination and in law. The journey has not only graphic and lyrical descriptions, but “is lit by many other minds and voices that should open hearts, spark debates and challenge perspectives” on rivers, forests and the role of big corporates in these landscapes. Central to the book is the belief that the fate of humans flows with that of the rivers. The book explores the Rights of Nature movement, which, over the past twenty years, energised by ecological emergency, has been inspiring environmentalists and local communities&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/giving-forests-and-rivers-the-right-to-live-book-review/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Heavy metal bioaccumulation weighs down dugongs</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/heavy-metal-bioaccumulation-weighs-down-dugongs/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/heavy-metal-bioaccumulation-weighs-down-dugongs/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Oct 2025 14:27:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Phalguni Ranjan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Renuka Kulkarni]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dugong]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fisheries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fishermen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gulf of Mannar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heavy metals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marine ecosystem]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marine wildlife]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/10/14133457/Luna-surfacing-Neil-scaled-e1760430132112-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35030</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coast, Environment, Fish, Industry, Mammals, Oceans, Pollution, Protected Areas, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The shallow, seagrass meadows of Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar off Tamil Nadu are home to one of the ocean’s gentlest grazers, the dugong (Dugong dugon). Often called ‘sea cows’ for their habit of grazing on these underwater meadows, dugongs are the only surviving species of the family Dugongidae. Dugongs range across 37 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The shallow, seagrass meadows of Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar off Tamil Nadu are home to one of the ocean’s gentlest grazers, the dugong (Dugong dugon). Often called ‘sea cows’ for their habit of grazing on these underwater meadows, dugongs are the only surviving species of the family Dugongidae. Dugongs range across 37 Indo-Pacific countries but have disappeared from many parts of their former range. In India, despite Schedule I protection under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, their numbers have fallen to barely 250 individuals (IUCN: vulnerable). Dugongs are now mostly found within and near Marine Protected Areas like the Dugong Conservation Reserve and Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park (MNP) in Tamil Nadu, Rani Jhansi MNP and Mahatma Gandhi MNP in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Gulf of Kutch MNP in Gujarat. Classified as an Important Marine Mammal Area, India’s first Dugong Conservation Reserve in northern Palk Bay (448 sq km) with the Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve — the first one in South and Southeast Asia — harbour the country’s largest dugong population. But these ecosystems face growing threats from coastal development and pollution, affecting seagrass health and dugong survival. Globally, dugongs face pressures from hunting, fishing net entanglement, boat strikes, and habitat degradation, with a recent study revealing yet another concern: heavy metal bioaccumulation. Fishing boats along the coastline of Tamil Nadu. The resources offered by coastal waters are shared among marine fauna and local fisher communities, making coastal pollution a multi-level problem. Image&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/heavy-metal-bioaccumulation-weighs-down-dugongs/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>A village on a river bank shows how community-led river restoration works [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/a-village-on-a-river-bank-shows-how-community-led-river-restoration-works-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/a-village-on-a-river-bank-shows-how-community-led-river-restoration-works-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Oct 2025 13:43:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[I. SanthanamariM. MathivananM. Soubadra DevySanmadi K.R.Teresa Scholastica Thomas]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[freshwater]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[otter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Otters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[restoration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wastewater]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water conservation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/10/13105301/Banner-Image-Otters-are-seen-painted-in-the-raja-gopuram-of-the-Thirupudaimaruthur-Temple%E2%80%94photo-by--768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35012</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Birds, Conservation, Environment, Industry, Mammals, Pollution, Rivers, Water, Water Pollution, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the temple village of Thirupudaimaruthur, in Tirunelveli district, nestled on the banks of the river Thamirabarani, the raja gopurams (main towers) of the 14th century Narambunathar Swamy temple, hold more than religious significance. The intricate murals, carved and painted on these towers, depict the region’s once vibrant riparian landscape. Among these, one can find [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the temple village of Thirupudaimaruthur, in Tirunelveli district, nestled on the banks of the river Thamirabarani, the raja gopurams (main towers) of the 14th century Narambunathar Swamy temple, hold more than religious significance. The intricate murals, carved and painted on these towers, depict the region’s once vibrant riparian landscape. Among these, one can find paintings and wood carvings of otters, which serve as the earliest records of otter presence in the region. The Thamirabarani  river, spans approximately 125 kilometres in length and originates from the Pothigai Hills in the southern Western Ghats. Flowing eastward, it traverses a basin area of about 11,125 square kilometres, crossing diverse ecological zones, from wet evergreen forests to arid rainshadow regions, across the Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts of Tamil Nadu, before draining into the Bay of Bengal. However, concerns about the quality of river water have plagued the basin area in recent times. Along its banks, several temples are located, and the waste from rituals, such as clothes, flowers and other offerings, are frequently discarded into the river. This practice, prevalent at certain temple sites, has been gradually spreading to other riverbank shrines. Agricultural runoff from intensively cultivated fields further elevates the nutrient and pesticide load in the water, and untreated domestic sewage continues to enter the river at several points. Although the Tamil Nadu government has installed decentralised wastewater treatment systems (DEWATS) at multiple locations, their capacity and maintenance remain insufficient. Moreover, the growing footprint of urban and peri-urban settlements along the river&#8217;s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/a-village-on-a-river-bank-shows-how-community-led-river-restoration-works-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Dugongs recovering, need cross-border efforts in conservation</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/dugongs-recovering-need-cross-border-efforts-in-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/dugongs-recovering-need-cross-border-efforts-in-conservation/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Sep 2025 13:32:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bharath Umapathy]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dugong]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fisheries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marine ecosystem]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sea]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/09/16000556/Dugong-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34628</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Fishing, Mammals, Oceans, Protected Areas, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A thriving population of more than 200 dugongs, a regionally endangered marine mammals, has made the Dugong Conservation Reserve in Palk Bay and the neighbouring Gulf of Mannar (together known as the PB-GoM region) their habitat, according to a 2023–24 drone survey by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). This recovery of the dugong population, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A thriving population of more than 200 dugongs, a regionally endangered marine mammals, has made the Dugong Conservation Reserve in Palk Bay and the neighbouring Gulf of Mannar (together known as the PB-GoM region) their habitat, according to a 2023–24 drone survey by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). This recovery of the dugong population, according to WII, has been enabled through a multipronged conservation approach, including awareness programmes for fishers, habitat restoration, community outreach, and an upgraded reward system for rescue and release. “WII is yet to release the latest survey report at Palk Bay carried out in 2024, but the estimation points to a thriving number of more than 200 healthy, adult dugongs in Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar region, which are contiguous habitats for the dugong, a semi-migratory animal,” says J. Antony Johnson, the chief scientist at the National Dugong Recovery Programme, WII. K. Sivakumar, professor at Pondicherry University and a former WII scientist, however, estimates close to 300 dugongs in the PB-GoM region. In 2022, the Tamil Nadu government declared about 500 square kilometres of Palk Bay as India’s first Dugong Conservation Reserve, strengthening ground-level protection. “Bottom trawlers can operate only five nautical miles from shore. Purse seine and shore seine nets were banned in 2020. Regulation measures, including daily passes and speed limits for mechanised boats, are enforced,” says Mani Venkatesh, Forest Range Officer in Pudukkottai district. Gulf of Mannar (top) and Palk Bay (bottom) separated by a narrow strip of land between&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/dugongs-recovering-need-cross-border-efforts-in-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Old maps and dead birds reveal the story of grassland and bird decline in the Nilgiris</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/old-maps-and-dead-birds-reveal-the-story-of-grassland-and-bird-decline-in-the-nilgiris/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/old-maps-and-dead-birds-reveal-the-story-of-grassland-and-bird-decline-in-the-nilgiris/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Aug 2025 16:00:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kartik Chandramouli]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nilgiris]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/08/19130928/yellow-browed-bulbul-banner-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34200</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species and India's Iconic Landscapes]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birds, Grasslands, Shola-grasslands, and Western Ghats]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In a library in London, researchers carefully unfolded a fragile 177-year-old Indian map across the floor like a giant jigsaw puzzle. In another museum on the outskirts of London, researchers scanned through rows of century-old Indian bird specimens with handwritten labels neatly arranged in drawers. Together, these fragments helped the team tell a modern story: [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In a library in London, researchers carefully unfolded a fragile 177-year-old Indian map across the floor like a giant jigsaw puzzle. In another museum on the outskirts of London, researchers scanned through rows of century-old Indian bird specimens with handwritten labels neatly arranged in drawers. Together, these fragments helped the team tell a modern story: how British colonial-era policies triggered the collapse of the Nilgiris’ grasslands and the birds that once thrived there. High in the southern Western Ghats, the Nilgiri hills, home to hill stations like Ooty and Coonoor, and a backdrop for Bollywood films, once hosted an expansive, striking mosaic of evergreen forests called sholas and rolling grasslands. These montane shola-grasslands, about 20,000 years old, support threatened biodiversity, channel water into rivers, and sustain local cultures. But in less than two centuries, much of this landscape has been erased. The grassy expanses that once stretched for kilometres are now carpeted by tea, eucalyptus, pine, wattle, and others, plants introduced by the British settlers in the 1800s. Earlier satellite-based studies estimated that montane grasslands across the Western Ghats have declined by about 66% in just four decades due to exotic trees and their invasion. But by revisiting colonial records, a July 2025 study by an international team of 10 institutions reveals a longer arc. Since 1848, the Nilgiris have lost nearly 80% of their iconic grasslands, and almost 90% of grassland-dependent birds have declined too. The digitised 1848 Nilgiri hills map. Researchers found the pieces of the map in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/old-maps-and-dead-birds-reveal-the-story-of-grassland-and-bird-decline-in-the-nilgiris/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Tubers and tribals face the climate test</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/tubers-and-tribals-face-the-climate-test/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/tubers-and-tribals-face-the-climate-test/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Aug 2025 15:53:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeyanthi R.]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Food security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[traditional farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Traditional Knowledge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wild foods]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/08/13125347/Tuber3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34099</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Knowledge]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Food, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, and Western Ghats]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous communities have long been at the frontline of the climate crisis. This is evident in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu which is home to six tribal groups in the state. Climate uncertainties are compounding pressures on their forest-based livelihoods, though intergenerational knowledge of food and medicine continues to sustain their resilience through environmental [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous communities have long been at the frontline of the climate crisis. This is evident in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu which is home to six tribal groups in the state. Climate uncertainties are compounding pressures on their forest-based livelihoods, though intergenerational knowledge of food and medicine continues to sustain their resilience through environmental shifts. Among uncultivated edibles, tubers stand out for their resilience to climate variability. Recognised for their climate resilience, tubers remain vital to indigenous and local food systems. As broader agricultural cycles grow unpredictable, the Irulas continue to forage and propagate tubers through traditional methods, making them one of the few reliable staples in an increasingly unstable food basket. The Irula experiences in Semmanarai village offer insights into how communities are adapting to climate change, by negotiating shifts in forest dependence and food systems, while actively safeguarding traditional ecological knowledge and wild food practices. A visit to Semmanarai, a village in the Kotagiri block of the Nilgiris district, helps understand contemporary shifts in Irula forest dependence and food systems. Flanked by two Alu Kurumba hamlets, Semmanarai village is predominantly an Irula settlement. The village community of nearly 750 people, is divided into 16 Irula hamlets, apart from the two Alu Kurumba hamlets. The Irula community, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) recognised as a sub-category under the Scheduled Tribe (ST) classification, faces growing ecological and cultural disruptions despite protections for their traditional habitats. Surrounded by dense forests, the residents of Semmanarai depend on minor forest produce&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/tubers-and-tribals-face-the-climate-test/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>A new analysis in a warming state links land use change to increasing heat</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/a-new-analysis-in-a-warming-state-links-land-use-change-to-increasing-heat/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/a-new-analysis-in-a-warming-state-links-land-use-change-to-increasing-heat/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Aug 2025 15:37:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Simrinsirur]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/08/05145518/pexels-abhishek-goel-153437-1362909-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=33949</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For at least two years, a section of Tamil Nadu’s state machinery has been diligently studying extreme heat – how it manifests, what worsens it, and how it can be alleviated. The stakes are high for Tamil Nadu, where already 74% of the population is exposed to uncomfortable levels of heat. The effort has resulted [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For at least two years, a section of Tamil Nadu’s state machinery has been diligently studying extreme heat – how it manifests, what worsens it, and how it can be alleviated. The stakes are high for Tamil Nadu, where already 74% of the population is exposed to uncomfortable levels of heat. The effort has resulted in the country’s most granular, state-wide analysis of how land use change is making the state hotter – to the detriment of its people and the environment. The study – released in July – not only documents where urban sprawl has caused hotter climes in Tamil Nadu, but also makes recommendations that challenge conventional forms of development. It recognises that “urban growth in Tamil Nadu is not just a demographic or economic phenomenon, but a key driver of regional climate shifts.” Understanding the linkages between heat and lived environments is the first step to taking concerted action, said Sudha Ramen, member secretary of the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission, who played a key role in putting the report together. “You can&#8217;t avoid heat, but you can plan your way around it,&#8221; she said. How heat transformed the state The State Commission&#8217;s decadal analysis examined how built up areas affected heat exposure at the block level. “Heat is often understood as temperature, but temperature alone doesn’t accurately capture thermal comfort levels or the full extent of exposure,” said Ramen. Heat is a complex phenomenon – when high temperatures are combined with high levels of humidity, the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/a-new-analysis-in-a-warming-state-links-land-use-change-to-increasing-heat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>The rise of India’s moringa economy</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/the-rise-of-indias-moringa-economy/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/the-rise-of-indias-moringa-economy/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Jul 2025 13:58:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aditya Ansh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Food security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Food system]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[native plants]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/07/07125539/Moringa_oleifera_Lam._33904747248-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=33500</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture and Food]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A staple in South Indian kitchens, drumsticks or moringa (Moringa oleifera), has gained international acclaim, often toured as a “superfood”. Tamil Nadu, where it is locally known as murungai, leads moringa production and area in India. Moringa, native to India, has long been valued in various traditional practices for its versatility. Different parts of the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A staple in South Indian kitchens, drumsticks or moringa (Moringa oleifera), has gained international acclaim, often toured as a “superfood”. Tamil Nadu, where it is locally known as murungai, leads moringa production and area in India. Moringa, native to India, has long been valued in various traditional practices for its versatility. Different parts of the plant, from seeds to roots, are used in food and folk remedies. It is said to be a source of vitamins, antioxidants, amino acids, and minerals. &#8220;According to research, it contains seven times more Vitamin C than oranges, and 17 times more calcium than milk. These properties have sparked global interests especially in the wellness and natural health industries.&#8221; India stands as the world&#8217;s largest producer of moringa. The Moringa Export Zone and Special Export Facilitation Centre in Madurai has its focus on enhancing moringa export potential from Tamil Nadu. Out of 19,867 hectares under moringa cultivation, 93% falls under MEZ districts which covers nine key districts of Tamil Nadu. A moringa farm. India is the largest producer of moringa. However, challenge in its cultivation persist. For example, farmers report that getting it to the market in good condition is difficult because the leaves lose nutrition very quickly if not processed immediately after harvesting. Image by Devika Bajaj. Farmers trying to revive moringa amid market challenges   &#8220;Growing up, my parents primarily cultivated traditional crops such as rice,” said Rajendran, a farmer from Dindigul district. “With erratic rainfall and increasing water scarcity in the region,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/the-rise-of-indias-moringa-economy/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>The railway journey to net zero began a century ago, but coal slows it down</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/the-railway-journey-to-net-zero-began-a-century-ago-but-coal-slows-it-down/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/the-railway-journey-to-net-zero-began-a-century-ago-but-coal-slows-it-down/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jun 2025 14:27:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Esha Lohia]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Clean Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[coal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[energy transition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Indian Railway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[railways]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/06/06095429/1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=32978</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A century ago, when terms like “climate goals” and “net zero” were unheard of, the railway tracks of Bombay (now Mumbai), witnessed a technological turning point and a precursor to today&#8217;s clean energy movement. On February 3, 1925, the then-Governor of Bombay, Sir Leslie Wilson, flagged off India&#8217;s first electric train at Victoria Terminus — now [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A century ago, when terms like “climate goals” and “net zero” were unheard of, the railway tracks of Bombay (now Mumbai), witnessed a technological turning point and a precursor to today&#8217;s clean energy movement. On February 3, 1925, the then-Governor of Bombay, Sir Leslie Wilson, flagged off India&#8217;s first electric train at Victoria Terminus — now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT). As crowds cheered at the historic journey, India’s railways entered the electric age, a step what would, a century later, become an important part of the country’s green transition. India has committed to making its railways a net zero emitter by 2030. Electrification of the railways and shifting away from diesel engines, is part of India&#8217;s larger strategy towards net zero. The inaugural journey of India’s first electric train — four coaches on the Harbour Line designed to navigate Mumbai’s steep gradients — marked the beginning of a transformed rail network. Today, 98.83% of India’s broad-gauge network is electrified, up from just 388 route kilometres (RKM) before independence to 68,701 RKM as of March 2025. Electrification of railways has accelerated in recent years. Between 1947 and 2014, India electrified 21,801 route kilometres (RKM, a unit to measure a railway tracks). Since then, 46,900 RKM have been added by March 2025. Only five states — Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa, and Assam — are yet to have all their railway lines turned electric. All other states have achieved full coverage. The environmental benefits of electrical railway, compared to other modes of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/the-railway-journey-to-net-zero-began-a-century-ago-but-coal-slows-it-down/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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