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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/list/coast/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Wed, 07 Oct 2026 12:26:28 +0000</lastBuildDate>
		<language>en-US</language>
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					<title>El Niño, the monsoon, and the confusion of Kerala&#8217;s fishers [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/el-nino-the-monsoon-and-the-confusion-of-keralas-fishers-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/el-nino-the-monsoon-and-the-confusion-of-keralas-fishers-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Sep 2026 13:00:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Kurien]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[arabian sea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fisheries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fishermen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sea]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/24232735/Kochi_Fishing_Fishermen_Kerala_India-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=41191</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Science, Coast, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Fish, Fishing, Monsoons, Oceans, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The phone call came on a humid July afternoon. It was a fisherman from Marianad, a village in Thiruvananthapuram district where I first began my work with fishers in 1973. He was calling to share what he was seeing at sea. The sea had been rough, he said. Fishers were still going out, despite the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The phone call came on a humid July afternoon. It was a fisherman from Marianad, a village in Thiruvananthapuram district where I first began my work with fishers in 1973. He was calling to share what he was seeing at sea. The sea had been rough, he said. Fishers were still going out, despite the risk, because there were plenty of fish in the deeper waters. The turbid water was working in their favour too — fish were getting caught in the nets more easily. Supply on the shore was short, so prices were high. Earnings were good. But something puzzled him. The sea felt cooler now than he remembered it in earlier Julys. That was not what he expected. It was not what I expected either. The name that came from fishers To make sense of it, it helps to start with a story from the other side of the world. Off the coast of Peru and Ecuador, fishers noticed that every few years, around Christmas, the ocean would turn unusually warm, and the fish they depended on would vanish. They named the phenomenon after the season it arrived in — El Niño or &#8220;the little boy,&#8221; referring to &#8220;the Christ Child&#8221;. A name given by fishers has since become the scientific term for one of the most powerful climate patterns on Earth. El Niño is not a local event. When the surface of the tropical Pacific warms, the effects ripple outward across the planet — shifting rainfall belts,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/el-nino-the-monsoon-and-the-confusion-of-keralas-fishers-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/el-nino-the-monsoon-and-the-confusion-of-keralas-fishers-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Community-based mangrove monitoring should compliment satellite data [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/community-based-mangrove-monitoring-should-compliment-satellite-data-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/community-based-mangrove-monitoring-should-compliment-satellite-data-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Sep 2026 10:56:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Utchimahali Mariappan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate resilience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[restoration]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/22101938/02_Kudikadu_UM-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=41118</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coast, Commentary, Community based conservation, Conservation, Ecology, Ecosystem services, Environment, Forests, Mangroves, Nature-based Climate Solutions, Plantations, Plants, Positive Environmental, Reforestation, Satellite Imagery, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Early one morning at Kudikadu, a small fishing hamlet on the Uppanar river in Cuddalore district, a forester and their team members walked the mangrove nursery before the tide turned. They carried no satellite receiver or drones; only notebooks and pencils. They counted saplings, noted which ones survived the last spring tide and which did [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Early one morning at Kudikadu, a small fishing hamlet on the Uppanar river in Cuddalore district, a forester and their team members walked the mangrove nursery before the tide turned. They carried no satellite receiver or drones; only notebooks and pencils. They counted saplings, noted which ones survived the last spring tide and which did not. By now, hundreds of villagers are enrolled in Tamil Nadu&#8217;s Village Mangrove Councils, walking their own stretches of coast on their own schedules to observe the mangroves. The result? Something remote sensing alone cannot give you: ground truth, gathered frequently, at fine scale, with enough sampling points across enough seasons to mean something. This matters because Tamil Nadu&#8217;s mangrove restoration story is still being told mainly through area figures. A recent assessment by the Centre for Climate Change and Disaster Management (CCCDM) at Anna University, part of its &#8216;Blue Carbon Monitoring for Mangroves of Tamil Nadu&#8217; report, found that the state&#8217;s mangrove area roughly doubled, from about 4,500 ha to 9,039 ha, between 2021 and 2024, an increase linked to plantation drives and protection measures carried out over the same period. New plantations account for 40.1% (3,625 ha) of this total, with existing mangrove forests making up the remaining 59.9% (5,414 ha). Area-based estimates alone cannot tell us whether new mangrove cover is surviving, diverse, and functioning, or whether it is a thin, even-aged stand, a bad monsoon away from dying back. The stakes are high because Tamil Nadu is now one of India&#8217;s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/community-based-mangrove-monitoring-should-compliment-satellite-data-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>A world of bristles beneath the waves</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/a-world-of-bristles-beneath-the-waves/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/a-world-of-bristles-beneath-the-waves/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Sep 2026 17:06:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nikhil Sreekandan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Renuka Kulkarni]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fisheries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marine ecosystem]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marine Fisheries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marine wildlife]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shrimp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shrimp farming]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/01143225/Amphinomids-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40603</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Indian Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coast, Conservation, Ecology, Ecosystem services, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Oceans, Overfishing, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Polychaete worms are among the most diverse groups of marine invertebrates on Earth. According to the World Register of Marine Species, approximately 13,148 valid polychaete species are currently recognised. Some researchers even estimate that this number could rise to 16,700 by the end of the century. “They (polychaete worms) occur in almost all marine habitats, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Polychaete worms are among the most diverse groups of marine invertebrates on Earth. According to the World Register of Marine Species, approximately 13,148 valid polychaete species are currently recognised. Some researchers even estimate that this number could rise to 16,700 by the end of the century. “They (polychaete worms) occur in almost all marine habitats, from estuaries, mangroves, sandy shores, coral reefs, and seagrass beds to the continental shelf and deeper waters,” said Sanitha Sivadas, a marine benthic ecology expert and Scientist E at the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), Visakhapatnam. “A small percentage of polychaete species have even adapted to low-salinity and inland water environments,” Sivadas added. Polychaeta, Greek for “having much hair”, refers to the bristles on the fleshy, leg-like protrusions on their body, which also lends them their other name, bristle worms. These worms range in size from a few millimetres to more than a metre long and come in colours ranging from dull brown to neon yellow and orange-red. In India, despite their vast diversity, polychaete worms remain understudied. Mongabay-India spoke to polychaete experts and taxonomists to learn more about the bright, bristly worms of our seas. India’s underexplored diversity With its extensive coastline and diverse coastal and marine habitats, India is home to a huge diversity of polychaete worms, said Sivadas. “[But] the current recorded [polychaete] diversity represents only a part of the actual diversity in Indian waters,” she added. Pierre Fauvel laid the foundation for documenting India’s polychaete fauna. The well-known French polychaetologist’s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/a-world-of-bristles-beneath-the-waves/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Groundwater study flags localised heavy metal concerns in a coastal district</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/groundwater-study-flags-localised-heavy-metal-concerns-in-a-coastal-district/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/groundwater-study-flags-localised-heavy-metal-concerns-in-a-coastal-district/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Aug 2026 16:37:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anjana V.]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heavy metals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[saline water]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water consumption]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water crisis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water scarcity]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/31142205/bad-water-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40567</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Coast, Groundwater, Health impacts, Human Rights, Pollution, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On the seafront, roughly 50 metres from Thottappally Harbour at Purakkad in Kerala’s Alappuzha district, 58-year-old Sainabha Zakkir relies on the shallow well beside her kitchen for her water needs. A recurring plumbing issue has recently cut the piped water supply to six panchayats including her household, forcing her family back to the 32-year-old household [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On the seafront, roughly 50 metres from Thottappally Harbour at Purakkad in Kerala’s Alappuzha district, 58-year-old Sainabha Zakkir relies on the shallow well beside her kitchen for her water needs. A recurring plumbing issue has recently cut the piped water supply to six panchayats including her household, forcing her family back to the 32-year-old household well. While there is substantial tap-water coverage in her village, many households remain outside the network and still rely on groundwater sources like wells. Although Zakkir’s well is close to the Arabian Sea, its water has fortunately not become saline like many others in the neighbourhood, making it a community lifeline. &#8220;This well supports all my neighbours too,&#8221; Zakkir explains as she fills vessels. &#8220;Many old wells in this area have become unusable. During water shortages, people come here.&#8221; But salinity is not the only issue with the groundwater in the area. A new study published in Scientific Reports examined groundwater quality in Alappuzha&#8217;s coastal aquifers, focusing on heavy metal concentrations before and after the monsoon. It found that 32% of pre-monsoon and 34% of post-monsoon samples exhibited medium to high pollution levels with the critical hotspots at Ambalapuzha, Anandheswaram, and Thottapally for arsenic; Alappuzha, Kanjikuzhi and Paravoor for aluminium; and Paravoor, Alappuzha, Chennakari, and Ambalapuzha for iron. Sainabha Zakkir, a resident near Thottapally Harbour, Alappuzha, operates a 35-year-old well that provides salinity-free water despite the proximity to the sea. However, groundwater samples in the region may be containing heavy metal pollutants, finds a new&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/groundwater-study-flags-localised-heavy-metal-concerns-in-a-coastal-district/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/groundwater-study-flags-localised-heavy-metal-concerns-in-a-coastal-district/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Why do changes in the Indian Ocean matter? [Explainer]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/why-do-changes-in-the-indian-ocean-matter-explainer/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/why-do-changes-in-the-indian-ocean-matter-explainer/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Aug 2026 12:33:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bharti Dharapuram]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environmental history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[geology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/20110746/pexels-batagov-29813525-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40293</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections, Environment Explained, and Making Waves]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Science, Coast, Ecology, Ecosystem services, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Fishing, Global Warming, Monsoons, Oceans, Overfishing, and Sea Level Rise]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the dynamic Indian Ocean, change is perpetual, as currents, environment, climate and biodiversity interact across multiple scales, even as global warming reshapes these interactions. The Indian Ocean is geologically the youngest of the world’s major oceans, sharing its origin with the Himalayas and is the third largest ocean in the world. Its dynamic nature, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the dynamic Indian Ocean, change is perpetual, as currents, environment, climate and biodiversity interact across multiple scales, even as global warming reshapes these interactions. The Indian Ocean is geologically the youngest of the world’s major oceans, sharing its origin with the Himalayas and is the third largest ocean in the world. Its dynamic nature, with its environment changing in space and time at various scales, impacts the region’s climate, headlined by the monsoon, and its rich biodiversity. The ocean is also the fastest warming tropical oceans in the world, threatening an increase in extreme climatic events and the decline of marine ecosystems that would impact a third of the global human population dependent on it for lives and livelihoods. How did the Indian Ocean take shape? The Indian Ocean originated from the ancient Tethys Sea, once a seaway linking the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean of today. This seaway closed gradually when a drifting Indian plate collided with the Asian landmass giving rise to the Himalayas, and the African and the Arabian plates closed the gap with Europe. Once a biodiversity hotspot teeming with marine species, particularly in its shallow tropical waters, the closure of this ancient sea led to widespread extinctions, shifting the centre of marine diversity eastwards to Southeast Asia. The closure also had a significant impact on land animals. One of the earliest known whale fossils, Himalayacetus (over 52 million years old), comes from oyster-rich deposits of the Tethys Sea in the foothills of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/why-do-changes-in-the-indian-ocean-matter-explainer/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Scientists identify new deep-sea shark species from India’s southwest coast</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/scientists-identify-new-deep-sea-shark-species-from-indias-southwest-coast/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/scientists-identify-new-deep-sea-shark-species-from-indias-southwest-coast/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Aug 2026 12:15:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ananya Singh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bycatch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[deep seas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fisheries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shark]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trawling]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/04130134/A_drona_holotype_image_male-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39826</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species and Making Waves]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coast, Conservation, Ecology, Fish, Fishing, New species, Oceans, Overfishing, Positive Environmental, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A deep-sea catshark caught off Kerala’s coast has now been identified as a new species, highlighting the need for better understanding of deep-sea biodiversity. In 2022, a team of scientists sifting through the bycatch of deep-sea shrimp trawlers came across a black, slender-bodied fish with an angular, pointed snout and striking white eyes. This fish [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A deep-sea catshark caught off Kerala’s coast has now been identified as a new species, highlighting the need for better understanding of deep-sea biodiversity. In 2022, a team of scientists sifting through the bycatch of deep-sea shrimp trawlers came across a black, slender-bodied fish with an angular, pointed snout and striking white eyes. This fish had been caught at a depth of 400-650 metres at Kollam slope, a continental slope in the southeastern Arabian Sea off Kerala’s coast, designated as an Important Shark and Ray Area. The team confirmed that it belonged to the genus Apristurus — a group of deepwater catsharks — and brought it back to the lab for further examination. Two years later, the researchers collected three additional specimens at Sakthikulangara Fisheries Harbour, Kollam, during monitoring surveys. Through morphological and molecular analyses of the four specimens, the team found that this species was distinct from others within the genus and described it as a new species of deepwater catshark (Apristurus drona) in their paper published earlier this year in Zootaxa. The objective of the study, part of a larger project under the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ Deep Ocean Mission, was to explore the diversity of deep-sea chondrichthyans which are cartilaginous fish such as sharks (Selachimorpha), rays and skates (Batoidea) and chimaeras (Holocephali) and resolve some of the taxonomic confusion around them. “From biodiversity inventory surveys, we have realised that our understanding of deep-sea biodiversity is limited,” said Bineesh K.K., the study’s corresponding author and a scientist at&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/scientists-identify-new-deep-sea-shark-species-from-indias-southwest-coast/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>West coast fishers confront ‘ghost gear’ problem</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/west-coast-fishers-confront-ghost-gear-problem/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/west-coast-fishers-confront-ghost-gear-problem/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jul 2026 10:47:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Robert Bociaga]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fisheries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fishermen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ghost nets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marine Fisheries]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/23095213/IMG_5513-2048x1536-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39539</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coast, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Oceans, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the early light at Thoppumpady fishing harbour in the city of Kochi, coils of blue and green nylon nets lay heaped on the concrete docks, stiff with salt after a long night at sea. Many had been patched and repatched so often that they were barely holding together. Nets too damaged to mend are [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the early light at Thoppumpady fishing harbour in the city of Kochi, coils of blue and green nylon nets lay heaped on the concrete docks, stiff with salt after a long night at sea. Many had been patched and repatched so often that they were barely holding together. Nets too damaged to mend are often cut loose offshore. Once they sink, few are ever recovered. Across India’s west coast, lost fishing gear known as “ghost gear” has become a significant source of marine pollution. Nets vanish whole or in fragments, slipping into the waters of the Arabian Sea where they continue trapping fish, turtles and other marine life long after fishers abandon them. India operates one of the world’s largest marine fishing sectors, supporting an estimated 14.5 million livelihoods along more than 7,500 kilometres of coastline. While national estimates are scarce, a 2022 study in the southwestern state of Kerala, where Kochi is located, found that fishers lost, abandoned or discarded about 21% of their fishing gear annually. That’s more than 10 times the global average of 1.82% estimated by another study, which highlights the scale of material entering India’s marine environment. Despite growing concern among researchers and conservationists, India lacks a systematic way to track, retrieve or recycle lost fishing gear, as well as accessible mechanisms to collect and safely dispose of end-of-life nets and other equipment before they are discarded at sea. The government regulates fisheries tightly in many respects — from mesh sizes and seasonal bans&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/west-coast-fishers-confront-ghost-gear-problem/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/west-coast-fishers-confront-ghost-gear-problem/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Dolphins tread the waters between tourist boats and fishing nets</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/dolphins-tread-the-waters-between-tourist-boats-and-fishing-nets/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/dolphins-tread-the-waters-between-tourist-boats-and-fishing-nets/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Jul 2026 16:03:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dolphins]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/21145702/Researchers-found-that-dolphins-were-more-likely-to-avoid-tourist-boats-as-they-approached-more-closely-or-surrounded-them-in-larger-numbers.-Photo-Credit-Imran-Samad-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39516</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas and Making Waves]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Goa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Biodiversity, Coast, Conservation, Fish, Fishing, Mammals, Oceans, and Tourism]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For Indian Ocean humpback dolphins off Goa&#8217;s coast, fishing nets may offer feeding opportunities, while tourist boats often bring disturbance. A recent study, published in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series, examined how the endangered species balances these competing responses when tourism and fisheries overlap in the same waters. “Tourism and fisheries are among the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For Indian Ocean humpback dolphins off Goa&#8217;s coast, fishing nets may offer feeding opportunities, while tourist boats often bring disturbance. A recent study, published in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series, examined how the endangered species balances these competing responses when tourism and fisheries overlap in the same waters. “Tourism and fisheries are among the most common human activities in the habitats used by these dolphins. We were interested in how dolphins respond when they have to balance disturbance from boats with the opportunity to access food resources,” says Imran Samad, corresponding author of the study and a scholar at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science. Watching dolphins from above The study was carried out in north Goa between October 2023 and April 2024. The region supports relatively high densities of Indian Ocean humpback dolphins and also experiences intensive fishing and dolphin-watching tourism activity. Researchers monitored dolphin groups from elevated coastal vantage points. Once dolphins were sighted, they followed the animals using a drone, flown at a height of 60-100 metres above sea level. “Traditionally, dolphin behaviour is studied either from the shore using theodolites (monoculars used to estimate dolphin positions) or from boats. We used drones, which allowed us to observe animals from above and follow individuals and groups without directly disturbing them,&#8221; says Samad. Over six months, the team conducted 90 focal follows of dolphin groups and recorded 19 hours of dolphin footage. The footage was then analysed using machine-learning tools that tracked dolphin movements&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/dolphins-tread-the-waters-between-tourist-boats-and-fishing-nets/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/dolphins-tread-the-waters-between-tourist-boats-and-fishing-nets/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Finless porpoises are disappearing before they are counted</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/finless-porpoises-are-disappearing-before-they-are-counted/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/finless-porpoises-are-disappearing-before-they-are-counted/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jul 2026 11:20:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mansab Sayyad]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dolphins]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/15233911/Image-4-Imran-Samad-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39334</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Goa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coast, Conservation, Ecology, Environment, Extinction, Oceans, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Arabian Sea was listless as we headed out one morning to spot Indian Ocean humpback dolphins, famously extroverted and known for their acrobatics. A needlefish darted across the surface, pirouetting over the chop as the sun beat down on the deck, turning the railings hot to the touch. When you stare at the ocean [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Arabian Sea was listless as we headed out one morning to spot Indian Ocean humpback dolphins, famously extroverted and known for their acrobatics. A needlefish darted across the surface, pirouetting over the chop as the sun beat down on the deck, turning the railings hot to the touch. When you stare at the ocean long enough, your mind starts to play tricks: every shifting shadow looks like a flipper, every cresting wave, a dorsal fin. Then a shape appeared. To my untrained eye, it looked like a dolphin. But Imran Samad, a Ph.D. researcher at the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science, whose work focuses on marine megafauna bycatch in India’s multi-gear fisheries, leaned forward over the roar of the outboard engine and said, “It&#8217;s a porpoise.” It was a blink-and-you-miss-it moment. The animal surfaced for barely a second before vanishing back into the brown water. And that, as Samad would explain over the course of the morning, is precisely the problem — not just for researchers trying to spot them, but for the conservation of a species that most of India does not know exists in these waters. An animal built for invisibility The Indo-Pacific finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) is one of the smallest cetaceans in Indian waters, measuring just 1.5 to 1.9 metres in length and weighing 30 to 45 kilograms. It belongs to the family Phocoenidae — an entirely different lineage from dolphins — and the differences run deeper than the obvious&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/finless-porpoises-are-disappearing-before-they-are-counted/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Government proposes increasing clearance validity for ports and harbours</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/government-proposes-increasing-clearance-validity-for-ports-and-harbours/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/government-proposes-increasing-clearance-validity-for-ports-and-harbours/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Jul 2026 15:44:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environment clearance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environmental Clearance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[port]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ship]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/15125227/AP25160345655791-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39305</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coast, Environment, Environmental Politics, Industry, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Union Environment Ministry has proposed “rationalising” the validity of environmental clearances for port and harbour projects in India, increasing it from the current 10 year period to a 15 year period. In addition to increasing the validity of the environmental clearance, the draft notification also proposes increasing the renewal period upon the completion of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Union Environment Ministry has proposed “rationalising” the validity of environmental clearances for port and harbour projects in India, increasing it from the current 10 year period to a 15 year period. In addition to increasing the validity of the environmental clearance, the draft notification also proposes increasing the renewal period upon the completion of the clearance’s tenure, from one year to five years. The proposal was made in a draft notification issued on May 20. According to the draft notification, the reason for increasing the clearance validity is because of the “high gestation period due to various issues, which are often beyond the control of the project proponent.” Ports and harbours can take over a decade from construction to commercial or full-scale operation. India has 12 major ports and 217 non-major ports. In the 2025-2026 financial year, India’s ports collectively handled 915 million tonnes of cargo, according to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. “Often long gestation is symptomatic of unaddressed local grievances. Instead of addressing the problem by letting the locals air their grievances, and letting the project owners offer satisfactory solutions, the ministry of proposing a blanket extension,” said Meenakshi Kapoor, an independent researcher who tracks changes to India’s environmental clearance process. A 2010 report on major and non major ports along India’s coastline found that out of 181 notified non major ports at the time, at least 41 (23%) had reported environmental concerns and 32 (18%) reported protests on social grounds. “A reapplication for EC&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/government-proposes-increasing-clearance-validity-for-ports-and-harbours/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/government-proposes-increasing-clearance-validity-for-ports-and-harbours/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<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>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>How are degraded coral reefs restored in India? [Explainer]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-are-degraded-coral-reefs-restored-in-india-explainer/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-are-degraded-coral-reefs-restored-in-india-explainer/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 May 2026 14:57:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Neha Jain]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Artificial reefs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[corals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reefs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[restoration]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/25140628/Coral-Garden-nursery-tables-at-Mithapur-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38349</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas, Climate Connections, and Environment Explained]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Indian Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coast, Conservation, Coral Reefs, Oceans, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Coral reefs, often called the rainforests of the sea, are among the most productive and vibrant ecosystems on earth. Despite occupying less than 1% of the sea floor, they harbour over 25% of all marine species, including fish, lobsters, clams, seahorses, sponges and sea turtles. Reefs form over thousands of years as coral polyps, the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Coral reefs, often called the rainforests of the sea, are among the most productive and vibrant ecosystems on earth. Despite occupying less than 1% of the sea floor, they harbour over 25% of all marine species, including fish, lobsters, clams, seahorses, sponges and sea turtles. Reefs form over thousands of years as coral polyps, the tiny marine animals that make up hard or stony corals that attach to hard surfaces such as submerged rocks and secrete calcium carbonate (limestone), creating rigid, protective skeletons. Since the 1950s, the world&#8217;s living corals and their capacity to provide ecosystem services have declined by half. Climate change, which has led to rising ocean temperatures and acidification is one of the major threats to corals. Local, human-driven causes impacting coral reefs include pollution from land, unsustainable and destructive fishing practices, coastal development and sedimentation, unsustainable tourism and boating, as well as environmental threats such as disease and predator outbreaks. Coral restoration, introduced in the 1970s, is an active, human-led process aimed at rebuilding and accelerating the recovery of damaged or degraded reefs. This is achieved by growing corals underwater or in land-based nurseries, then transplanting them back into the seabed using adhesives such as cement. The goals of coral restoration are to enhance reef resilience to future stresses, restore biodiversity, protect coral genetic diversity, and sustain ecosystem services such as coastal protection and tourism. The Mithapur Coral Reef Recovery Project has installed 2,310 artificial reefs, supported by 57 coral garden nurseries, where corals are nurtured&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-are-degraded-coral-reefs-restored-in-india-explainer/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>What a coastal zoning map leaves out, explained in visuals</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/what-a-coastal-zoning-map-leaves-out-explained-through-maps/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/what-a-coastal-zoning-map-leaves-out-explained-through-maps/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 May 2026 19:10:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/19184251/map-viz-banner-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38253</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Hewing The Regulatory Tree]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Puducherry]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coast, Conservation, and Environmental Law]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[From above, the fish drying centre in Arikampettai, Karaikkal, in Puducherry district is barely visible — a thin strip of concrete with bamboo huts and blue tarpaulin sheets. But on the ground, this small patch sustains entire fishing communities. Women from the villages of Akkampettai, Kilinjalmedu and Karaikalmedu depend on spaces like these to dry [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[From above, the fish drying centre in Arikampettai, Karaikkal, in Puducherry district is barely visible — a thin strip of concrete with bamboo huts and blue tarpaulin sheets. But on the ground, this small patch sustains entire fishing communities. Women from the villages of Akkampettai, Kilinjalmedu and Karaikalmedu depend on spaces like these to dry the fish, which they sell later. Fishermen use the area to park boats, mend nets and repair engines. Children play here in the evenings. The Coastal Regulation Zone notification, aimed at protecting fragile coastal ecosystems, categorises land up to 500 metres from the high tide line into zones, with each zone receiving different kinds of protection. A key part of this zoning exercise is drafting the Coastal Zone Management Plans (CZMP). The CRZ notification mandates that states and union territories draft these plans and seek public consultation before seeking approval from the central environment ministry. Yet when these coastal maps are drawn at a scale where a single grid spans nearly 196 square kilometres, these shared coastal commons almost disappear, making it difficult for communities to meaningfully contest or shape plans that govern their coastline. Shreya Raman is a resident fellow at the Climate Change Media Hub, Asian College of Journalism. &nbsp; Banner image: A map of a fishing village in Karaikal made by the community to oppose the exclusion of their villages in the government-released CZM maps. Across Puducherry, villages made their own maps, geotagged them, and used them to create evidence of the omission of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/what-a-coastal-zoning-map-leaves-out-explained-through-maps/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>How map scales impact coastal communities</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-map-scales-impact-coastal-communities/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-map-scales-impact-coastal-communities/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 May 2026 19:08:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[coastal maps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[maps]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/19114232/Fishing-in-Chinna-Veerampattinam-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38090</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Hewing The Regulatory Tree]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Puducherry]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coast, Conservation, and Environmental Law]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Everyday, 75-year-old Kannachiamma wakes up at 1 a.m. and travels eight kilometres to the Karaikal harbour in the union territory Puducherry, to buy fish. By 4 a.m., she returns to a fish-drying centre near her village and starts meticulously cleaning and salting each fish before laying them on the concrete floor of a drying centre. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Everyday, 75-year-old Kannachiamma wakes up at 1 a.m. and travels eight kilometres to the Karaikal harbour in the union territory Puducherry, to buy fish. By 4 a.m., she returns to a fish-drying centre near her village and starts meticulously cleaning and salting each fish before laying them on the concrete floor of a drying centre. The fish takes around three to four days to dry and once dried, she packs them up in a sack and sells them at the same harbour. “There is no profit really but on a good day I might earn ₹1,000. And that is how I survive,” said Kannachiamma. The fish drying centre, she said, is what her life depends on. The drying centre is only a 300 square metre-concretised patch on both sides of Mandapathur road in Karaikkal with small storage huts made of bamboo and tarpaulin sheets at the edges. For almost half of the women in the fishing villages of Akkampettai, Kilinjalmedu and Karaikalmedu in Puducherry, drying and selling fish is the primary source of livelihood, which is dependent on being able to access centres like these. However, India’s coastal regulation policy falls short in ensuring communities’ rights over commons like these drying centres. The Coastal Regulation Zone notification aimed at protecting fragile coastal ecosystems, categorises land up to 500 metres from the high tide line into zones, with each zone receiving different kinds of protection. A key part of this zoning exercise is the drafting of the Coastal Zone Management Plans&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-map-scales-impact-coastal-communities/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Scientists report plastic-rock formation from India’s western coast</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/scientists-report-plastic-rock-formation-from-indias-western-coast/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/scientists-report-plastic-rock-formation-from-indias-western-coast/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 May 2026 16:50:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ananya Singh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beaches]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[geology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plastic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plastic pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rocks]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/13122036/Plastiglomerate_Museon-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38144</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Maharashtra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coast, Environment, Oceans, Plastic, Pollution, Waste management, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In May 2024, a research group set out along the shores of Diveagar beach in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, in search of unusual rock formations. As they walked, they collected samples by carefully chiselling out pieces of rocky outcrops where plastic waste had been trapped, later transporting these to the lab for analysis. One of these [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In May 2024, a research group set out along the shores of Diveagar beach in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, in search of unusual rock formations. As they walked, they collected samples by carefully chiselling out pieces of rocky outcrops where plastic waste had been trapped, later transporting these to the lab for analysis. One of these samples had a green plastic net embedded within the rock, which  the team recently reported as the first evidence of &#8216;plastistone&#8217; — a plastic-rock formation — from India’s western coast. Plastic-rock structures have been documented globally, including from the shores of Andaman and Nicobar islands and Tamil Nadu. Earlier formations found in India were largely plastiglomerates and pyroplastics that are formed by human-induced burning of plastic. In contrast, researchers suggest that plastistone has formed through natural processes, where the bonding of plastic debris with sediments and biological components was brought about by UV exposure, high temperatures and waves. The study, published in Discover Oceans, also found that the plastic filament protruding from the rock was polyamide in nature, suggesting that it originated from a discarded nylon fishing net. Plastistone is likely a “novel form of sedimentary rock”, said Punyasloke Bhadury, professor at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Kolkata and the study’s corresponding author, who added that that this is the first plastistone formation to be reported from the Indian subcontinent. A 2024 study found that India emits an estimated 9.3 millions tonnes of plastic pollution each year, equivalent to nearly one-fifth&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/scientists-report-plastic-rock-formation-from-indias-western-coast/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Dung beetles find an unlikely refuge on an urbanising barrier island system</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/dung-beetles-find-an-unlikely-refuge-on-an-urbanising-barrier-island-system/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/dung-beetles-find-an-unlikely-refuge-on-an-urbanising-barrier-island-system/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 May 2026 13:36:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beetles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dung beetle]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/01131820/width_1118-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37985</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coast, Insects, Islands, Oceans, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Barrier islands are narrow strips of land between the sea and the mainland, shaped and reshaped by tides and wind. They shield coastlines from storm surges, support unique biological communities and play an important role in nutrient cycling. A new study focuses on one such barrier island system in Kerala to examine dung beetles, insects [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Barrier islands are narrow strips of land between the sea and the mainland, shaped and reshaped by tides and wind. They shield coastlines from storm surges, support unique biological communities and play an important role in nutrient cycling. A new study focuses on one such barrier island system in Kerala to examine dung beetles, insects that play a critical role in keeping ecosystems functioning. Dung beetles break down and bury dung, contribute to soil nutrient cycling, improve soil aeration and hydrology, aid seed dispersal, and reduce parasite and disease loads. This study, at the Vypin-Kadamakkudy Barrier Island System (VKBIS), breaks new ground as it systematically studies dung beetles in a tropical barrier island. It is also the first such initial documentation of dung beetles in Kerala and the first study of the dung beetle subfamily Scarabaeinae in this barrier island system. “While designing the study, we expected clear differences in species composition, including the possibility of new records, given the island setting. We also anticipated lower species richness and abundance because the area is densely populated and rapidly urbanising,&#8221; says Chitra Rajagopal from the Department of Zoology, Nirmala College (Autonomous), Kerala, and the study’s corresponding author. &#8220;However, the VKBIS emerged as a surprisingly strong habitat for dung beetles, with species richness comparable to, or even higher than, many other natural ecosystems.” An urbanising island system The Vypin-Kadamakkudy Barrier Island System lies along the western coast of Kochi in Kerala. For the study, researchers sampled two subsystems: Vypin Island, the barrier&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/dung-beetles-find-an-unlikely-refuge-on-an-urbanising-barrier-island-system/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Plastic litter and ghost nets threaten olive ridley hatchlings</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/plastic-litter-and-ghost-nets-threaten-olive-ridley-hatchlings/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/plastic-litter-and-ghost-nets-threaten-olive-ridley-hatchlings/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Apr 2026 12:26:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Phalguni Ranjan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Renuka Kulkarni]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[breeding grounds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[genetics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ghost nets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marine debris]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marine ecosystem]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[olive ridleys]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plastic pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turtle]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/04/27101831/Image-3_Riddle_of_Ridleys-scaled-e1777265683766-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37874</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Odisha]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Coast, Coastal erosion, Conservation, Environment, Fishing, Oceans, Plastic, Pollution, Sea Level Rise, Waste management, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Rushikulya rookery in Odisha’s Ganjam district is among the most important turtle rookeries in the world. Every year, hundreds of thousands of olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) converge here to lay eggs in a synchronous mass nesting event or arribada, with almost 700,000 olive ridleys coming ashore to lay eggs in February 2025 alone. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Rushikulya rookery in Odisha’s Ganjam district is among the most important turtle rookeries in the world. Every year, hundreds of thousands of olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) converge here to lay eggs in a synchronous mass nesting event or arribada, with almost 700,000 olive ridleys coming ashore to lay eggs in February 2025 alone. However, plastic pollution and its associated problems plague this important 10-km stretch along India’s eastern coastline. A recent study by the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa, reports significant presence of plastic waste and discarded fishing nets across four nesting beaches at Rushikulya, reflecting a global crisis of ever-increasing marine plastic pollution. Nesting among plastics Surveys across four nesting beaches — New Podampetta, Purunabandha, Siddhantnagar, and Prayagi — during the peak 2025 nesting season recorded more than 1,100 litter items, over 85% of which were plastic. The presence of plastic bottles, wrappers, and bags indicated both land-based runoff and direct human activity as key sources. Fisheries-related debris, including discarded nets, thermocol, and nylon rope fragments — collectively termed as ‘ghost gear’ or abandoned, lost, and otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) — made up 41% of all recorded litter across all sites. Fishing nets alone made up around 32% of the recorded litter at New Podampetta, while thermocol too contributed a little over 31% at Siddhantnagar. Olive ridley turtles being released to the sea at Visakhapatnam. Representative image by Drashokk via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Concerningly, standardised environmental quality indices like the Plastic Abundance Index&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/plastic-litter-and-ghost-nets-threaten-olive-ridley-hatchlings/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Humid heat rises on the coasts of India impacting health</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/humid-heat-rises-on-the-coasts-of-india-impacting-health/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/humid-heat-rises-on-the-coasts-of-india-impacting-health/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Apr 2026 12:11:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Job RajayyanMax Martin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fisheries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fishermen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat impacts]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/04/02102320/AP23103051151525-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37565</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Decoding Heat]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Coast, Environment, Fish, Impacts of Climate Change, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Before the sun shines on the Arabian Sea, fisherman Mariyani Miyelpillai, 73, is already turning his kattamaram raft homeward. He must escape another summer morning turning too hot and dense to bear. Fishing solo off the seam where Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari districts meet, his work days have turned into a test of endurance. His raft [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Before the sun shines on the Arabian Sea, fisherman Mariyani Miyelpillai, 73, is already turning his kattamaram raft homeward. He must escape another summer morning turning too hot and dense to bear. Fishing solo off the seam where Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari districts meet, his work days have turned into a test of endurance. His raft must be propelled by sheer muscle power, adding to the already challenging heat. “I go for fishing at 5 am, but come back by 8 am, whether I get enough fish or not,” he told Mongabay-India. “I cannot manage this heat.” As the sun moves past the Tropic of Cancer, ushering in summer, a certain heaviness settles on skin and breath for veteran fishers like Miyelpillai. So does Tarsila Thresya, 54, a fisherwoman. “I go early to sell fish by the roadside. I’m back by 5:30 pm or 6 pm. Earlier it was okay, but now the heat is increasing a lot. Sometimes I put a towel on my head, but it does not help.” Humid heat intensifies Amidst more frequent and intense heatwaves, the southwestern coast is facing another quieter, insidious shift — rising humid heat. Air so soaked with moisture that sweat no longer cools. On tropical coasts, especially before the monsoon, this is getting closer to dangerous levels as studies show — the human body struggles to cool itself, touching the limits of adaptation. Closer to home, heat stress along India’s coasts has intensified significantly since 1981, driven by the combined rise&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/humid-heat-rises-on-the-coasts-of-india-impacting-health/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Marine litter traps thousands of hermit crabs</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/marine-litter-traps-thousands-of-hermit-crabs/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/marine-litter-traps-thousands-of-hermit-crabs/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Mar 2026 12:37:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Vandana K.]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crabs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marine plastic debris]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plastic pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[solid waste]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/03/10101339/7_Hermit-Crab_Little-Andaman_Vandana-K-scaled-e1773118507251-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37206</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coast, Ecology, Human Wildlife Conflict, Islands, Oceans, Plastic, Pollution, Waste management, Water Pollution, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[If you stand on the soft silver sand on the aquamarine beaches of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, you can often see plastic waste washed ashore. When you bend down and look closely, you might find a tiny crab trapped inside a bottle. You might try to rescue the crab by shaking it loose, but [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[If you stand on the soft silver sand on the aquamarine beaches of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, you can often see plastic waste washed ashore. When you bend down and look closely, you might find a tiny crab trapped inside a bottle. You might try to rescue the crab by shaking it loose, but chances are that it has already died. This is not an isolated incident. Researchers recorded 4,783 instances from January to July 2024 where hermit crabs were entrapped in marine litter across 28 beaches in the Nicobar Islands, according to a new study published in January 2026. The study was conducted by Mayur Fulmali and Nehru Prabakaran from the Wildlife Institute of India. The researchers surveyed beaches across two island subgroups – Nancowry and Great Nicobar. &#8220;These small crabs are very important for the coastal ecosystem and in most marine litter studies, they are neglected,” said Fulmali. A plastic bottle with a hermit crab trapped inside, spotted on Trinket Island. The bottle orientation makes it possible for the hermit crabs to enter easily but exit becomes impossible due to the slippery inner surface and incline. Image by Mayur Fulmali. Approximately 4-12 million metric tonnes of plastic waste enters oceans annually, causing widespread harm. The study notes that Nicobar Islands are particularly vulnerable to marine debris because they are located near the Malacca Strait, one of the world&#8217;s busiest shipping routes. Various ocean currents transport enormous quantities of plastic waste from neighbouring countries and deposit it on&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/marine-litter-traps-thousands-of-hermit-crabs/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Prioritise turtle conservation over tourism say experts after budget announcement</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/prioritise-turtle-conservation-over-tourism-say-experts-after-budget-announcement/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/prioritise-turtle-conservation-over-tourism-say-experts-after-budget-announcement/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Feb 2026 14:30:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[K.A. Shaji]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[olive ridleys]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turtle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turtles]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/02/18120501/5-e1771401420372-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36951</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coast, Conservation, Ecology, Environmental Politics, Habitat Loss, Oceans, Reptiles, Tourism, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On a humid morning at Kolavipalam beach in Kozhikode, at one of Kerala’s earliest community-led turtle conservation sites, volunteer Abdul Rahman walks slowly along the fenced hatchery enclosure, scanning the sand for any sign of disturbance. Two decades ago, he recalls, this stretch of the coast regularly recorded dozens of olive ridley nests each season, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On a humid morning at Kolavipalam beach in Kozhikode, at one of Kerala’s earliest community-led turtle conservation sites, volunteer Abdul Rahman walks slowly along the fenced hatchery enclosure, scanning the sand for any sign of disturbance. Two decades ago, he recalls, this stretch of the coast regularly recorded dozens of olive ridley nests each season, attracting conservationists, students, and eco-tourists eager to witness hatchlings returning to the sea. Today, months can pass without a single nesting sighting. Just two days before this, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced, in her budget speech, a proposed “turtle trail” tourism initiative along the coasts of Kerala, Karnataka, and Odisha. “The minister talks about turtle tourism,” says Rahman, looking toward the rock-armoured shoreline. “But first, we need turtles. Almost every night, we patrol the beach and find nothing.” Kolavipalam once symbolised the success of community-driven marine conservation in Kerala, where local fishers maintained day-and-night vigilance against sand mining that could destroy hatcheries. Fishers here have long used turtle-excluding devices in fishing nets, and hatchery maintenance continues, but nesting numbers have declined sharply. Why sea turtles matter Sea turtles play a crucial ecological role in maintaining the health of marine and coastal ecosystems. By grazing on seagrass beds and controlling jellyfish populations, they help sustain marine biodiversity and support fish populations that coastal communities depend on for livelihoods. Nesting activity also contributes to nutrient cycling on beaches, enriching coastal vegetation and stabilising dune ecosystems that protect shorelines from erosion. Globally, all species of sea&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/prioritise-turtle-conservation-over-tourism-say-experts-after-budget-announcement/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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