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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/list/environmental-heroes/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
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					<title>Protests for Indigenous land rights turn deadly</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/protests-for-indigenous-land-rights-turn-deadly/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/protests-for-indigenous-land-rights-turn-deadly/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Oct 2025 16:41:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water crisis]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/10/02162324/AP23046393149125-edited-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34889</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Ladakh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Environment, Environmental Heroes, Environmental Politics, Glaciers, Himalayas, Nature-based Climate Solutions, People, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Liaquat Ali, 27, never expected his hometown to descend into violence and turmoil over the span of a year. Last year, Ali was one of dozens who walked over 800 kilometres on foot from Ladakh to New Delhi to bring greater attention to demands for statehood and other constitutional safeguards in Ladakh. The peace march [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Liaquat Ali, 27, never expected his hometown to descend into violence and turmoil over the span of a year. Last year, Ali was one of dozens who walked over 800 kilometres on foot from Ladakh to New Delhi to bring greater attention to demands for statehood and other constitutional safeguards in Ladakh. The peace march was led by environmentalist and scientist Sonam Wangchuk – a vocal advocate for the application of the sixth schedule in Ladakh, which empowers majority tribal constituencies to formulate their own laws on land use, customs, and development. Ending the march on Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary was a deliberate choice. Today, Wangchuk is jailed under one of India’s most stringent anti-terror laws after a hunger strike he led turned violent, and the license to receive foreign funding to his organisation was abruptly cancelled shortly thereafter. Wangchuk had acted in ways that were “prejudicial to the State and detrimental to the maintenance of peace,” the Ladakh administration alleged in a press release. Police opened fire and killed four protestors after a group of unidentified people set the BJP’s office in Leh ablaze on September 24. Wangchuk called off his strike and appealed for peace. “It’s depressing to think that this is what it’s come to,” said Ali, speaking to Mongabay India from Kargil district. “Yes, some protestors acted out of frustration, but the police’s response was inhumane,” he said. The incident on September 24 is the first violent turn the years-long protests for statehood have taken in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/protests-for-indigenous-land-rights-turn-deadly/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Stories no longer lost in translation</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/05/stories-no-longer-lost-in-translation/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/05/stories-no-longer-lost-in-translation/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 May 2025 11:06:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Saumitra Shinde]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environment news]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gender]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[journalism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[language]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/03/17233200/IMG_9973-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=32580</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Environment and Her]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Maharashtra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Environment, and Environmental Heroes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2024, Mongabay India joined hands with BaiManus, a Marathi digital media platform that promotes people-oriented journalism, to tell stories from Maharashtra in both English and Marathi. BaiManus focuses on stories from the rural and remote regions of Maharashtra — especially those of Dalits, Adivasis, nomadic communities, farmers, and agricultural labourers. The collaboration with Mongabay [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2024, Mongabay India joined hands with BaiManus, a Marathi digital media platform that promotes people-oriented journalism, to tell stories from Maharashtra in both English and Marathi. BaiManus focuses on stories from the rural and remote regions of Maharashtra — especially those of Dalits, Adivasis, nomadic communities, farmers, and agricultural labourers. The collaboration with Mongabay India particularly looked at the impact of climate change and environmental distress on women. Here&#8217;s what their team had to say about the collaboration with Mongabay India. &#8220;Our partnership with Mongabay India has amplified the lived experiences of marginalised communities in Maharashtra—farmers, tribal women, and youth—on a national platform. It’s helped legitimize regional journalism as a serious contributor to climate discourse, bridging the gap between grassroots realities and policy narratives through credible, in-depth storytelling.&#8221; &#8211; Prashant Pawar, Director &amp; Editor, BaiManus Media Research Foundation Jamuns collected from Syzygium cumini trees in Bahadoli, a village in Thane district, Maharashtra, which is also popularly known as Jambhulgaon or the village of jamun. Image by Rushikesh More. &#8220;Translating complex climate issues into accessible, regional language without diluting their meaning is a constant challenge. There’s also a lack of reliable local data and limited media interest in rural climate impacts. Yet, regional storytelling remains vital to spark local dialogue and ensure community participation in climate solutions.&#8221; &#8211; Suraj Patke, Project Manager, BaiManus This partnership was made possible through Asar &#8211; a social impact group. The joint initiative, Project Dharitri, aims to promote climate change reporting at the grassroots level.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/05/stories-no-longer-lost-in-translation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>[Obituary] Kallur Balan: The man who planted a forest</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/02/obituary-kallur-balan-the-man-who-planted-a-forest/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/02/obituary-kallur-balan-the-man-who-planted-a-forest/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Feb 2025 22:42:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/02/11223410/Kallur_Balan-header-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=31467</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environment, Environmental Heroes, Forests, Nature-based Climate Solutions, Obituary, People, Positive Environmental, and Reforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Kallur Balan did not seek recognition. He did not write books, nor command the podium at international climate summits. His work was quieter, the slow and unglamorous toil of one man against the arid land. But when he died in early February, aged 75, the forests he left behind spoke for him. The plots in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Kallur Balan did not seek recognition. He did not write books, nor command the podium at international climate summits. His work was quieter, the slow and unglamorous toil of one man against the arid land. But when he died in early February, aged 75, the forests he left behind spoke for him. The plots in which he worked in the hills of Palakkad, Thrissur, and Malappuram districts in Kerala, once barren and dry, now teem with life—palm and bamboo, tamarind and neem, birds, monkeys, and the occasional wild pig. The green tide spread by his hands, one sapling at a time, stretched over 100 acres of what was once wasteland. Over his lifetime, he planted some 2.5 million trees, turning desolation into forest. The task took decades. The tools were rudimentary: a bamboo staff, a green lungi, and a lifetime of stubborn devotion. Balan had not been born to such work. The son of a toddy tapper, he spent his early years following his father’s trade. His future might have been much the same, had he not encountered the teachings of Sree Narayana Guru, whose words convinced him to renounce liquor and look elsewhere for purpose. He found it in the trees. What began as a simple habit—planting saplings wherever he could—soon became an obsession. He planted by roadsides, in public spaces, across the hills. He did not merely plant but nurtured, returning to tend each tree like a child. And when he saw that wildlife suffered, he took to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/02/obituary-kallur-balan-the-man-who-planted-a-forest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>[Interview] Joyeeta Gupta: The Indian voice for environmental justice at global platforms</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/07/interview-joyeeta-gupta-the-indian-voice-for-environmental-justice-at-global-platforms/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/07/interview-joyeeta-gupta-the-indian-voice-for-environmental-justice-at-global-platforms/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2023 12:20:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Arathi Menon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adaptation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate justice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environmental justice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[justice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mitigation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/07/27100349/52634728996_5a6723c6a5_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=23811</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Earth Science, Environment, Environmental Heroes, and Environmental Law]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When the Earth Commission released its third paper on earth system boundaries in 2023, one element stood out as distinct — the introduction of “justice” into the definition of planetary boundaries. The efforts of professor of environment and development in the Global South at the University of Amsterdam, Joyeeta Gupta, who spearheaded the move, were [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When the Earth Commission released its third paper on earth system boundaries in 2023, one element stood out as distinct — the introduction of “justice” into the definition of planetary boundaries. The efforts of professor of environment and development in the Global South at the University of Amsterdam, Joyeeta Gupta, who spearheaded the move, were widely appreciated. Gupta has been a voice for social and environmental justice in various global platforms including the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007 which subsequently shared the Nobel Prize for Peace with Al Gore. She is also co-chair of the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Global Environment Outlook-6 and a member of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, apart from being the co-chair of the Earth Commission. In June 2023, the Netherlands Scientific Organization awarded her with the Spinoza prize (€1.5 million), considered the highest distinction in the Netherlands, for science. Gupta’s tryst with social justice began as an employee at the Consumer Education and Research Centre in Ahmedabad while being a student in law and economics. Later, as an Inlaks scholar at Harvard, she pursued her masters in law. Her work on the dumping of hazardous waste in the Global South at the International Organization of Consumers Unions in The Hague took her to the Netherlands where she met her partner. Having not studied Dutch law, her decision to stay in the Netherlands to be with her husband challenged her to reinvent herself. She pursued her PhD at the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/07/interview-joyeeta-gupta-the-indian-voice-for-environmental-justice-at-global-platforms/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>[Commentary] India’s wildlife conservation journey has had great strides and many hurdles</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/commentary-indias-wildlife-conservation-journey-has-had-great-strides-and-many-hurdles/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/commentary-indias-wildlife-conservation-journey-has-had-great-strides-and-many-hurdles/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Sep 2022 14:43:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Usha Rai]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wildlife conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife protection act]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/09/28130101/9.-Barasingha_stags_rutting_51103117449-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=20041</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species, Beyond Protected Areas, and India's Iconic Landscapes]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Environmental Economics, Environmental Heroes, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Poaching, Wildlife, Wildlife Protection Act, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Fifty years after the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 came into existence, raising hope that human-animal conflicts would reduce and poachers who were decimating our forest and rivers of their animal wealth, would be checkmated, the question of whether India can really save its wildlife, forests and ecosystems remains. Through personal, ‘lived’ stories of their journey [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Fifty years after the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 came into existence, raising hope that human-animal conflicts would reduce and poachers who were decimating our forest and rivers of their animal wealth, would be checkmated, the question of whether India can really save its wildlife, forests and ecosystems remains. Through personal, ‘lived’ stories of their journey in wildlife conservation, 34 foresters, researchers, activists and journalists recount the roller coaster ride of India’s wildlife over these years in a book by Rupa Publications, Wildlife India @ 50, edited by Manoj Kumar Misra, a former Indian Forest Service Officer. India’s wildlife history At the beginning of the last century, India was a country teeming with birds and wildlife. It was rich not only in its mineral wealth but abundant in flora and fauna. Invaders into the subcontinent took to hunting in a big way and the country&#8217;s princely states too delighted in shikar (hunting). They killed the majestic tigers and leopards and the impact was clear. The lithe and majestic Indian cheetah was officially declared extinct in 1952. The Madras Elephant Protection Act of 1873 and the Wild Birds Protection Act of 1887, revised in 1912 as Wild Birds and Animal Protection Act, could not stop the rampage as well. In 1935, amendments were made to the 1912 Act which led to the creation of national parks and sanctuaries where hunting was prohibited. India’s ability to bounce back from all that wildlife loss has been phenomenal. The voice of concerned citizens, activists and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/commentary-indias-wildlife-conservation-journey-has-had-great-strides-and-many-hurdles/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>[Obituary] Sunderlal Bahuguna: End of an era for Indian environmentalism</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2021/05/obituary-sunderlal-bahuguna-end-of-an-era-for-indian-environmentalism/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2021/05/obituary-sunderlal-bahuguna-end-of-an-era-for-indian-environmentalism/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 May 2021 12:55:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hridayesh Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mayank Aggarwal]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2021/05/27121341/Sunderlal-Bahuguna-Obituary-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=14264</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Heroes, and Environmental Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Kya hain jangal ke upkaar Mitti paani aur bayaar Mitti paani aur bayaar Zinda Rahne ke Aadhar (What are the blessings of forests on us. They provide us healthy soil, clean water and air which make life possible for us.) This legendry slogan coined by journalist and poet Kunwar Prasun has echoed in the Himalayan [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Kya hain jangal ke upkaar Mitti paani aur bayaar Mitti paani aur bayaar Zinda Rahne ke Aadhar (What are the blessings of forests on us. They provide us healthy soil, clean water and air which make life possible for us.) This legendry slogan coined by journalist and poet Kunwar Prasun has echoed in the Himalayan valleys since the 1970s and galvanised an entire generation of environmentalists in the region. It was popularised by Sunderlal Bahuguna, leader of the famous Chipko forest conservation movement, that had men and women of Uttarakhand villages hug trees to protect them from the axe. The 94-year-old environmentalist succumbed to Covid-19 on May 21, 2021, at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. With his demise, India has lost one of the finest environmentalists and social workers who had also been part of India’s freedom movement. Sunderlal Bahuguna was born on January 9, 1927, in Maruda village in the Tehri district, a hilly region of Uttarakhand, while India’s freedom struggle was in full swing. It was a time when people of his region were unhappy with the oppressive rule of the king of Tehri and had rebelled against him. On May 30, 1930, the king ordered the soldiers to open fire on unarmed protestors. Many died and their bodies were thrown in the river. Bahuguna was then just three-year-old. Ten years later, he commenced his public life at the age of 13 by participating in the rebellion against the same principality of Tehri.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2021/05/obituary-sunderlal-bahuguna-end-of-an-era-for-indian-environmentalism/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>World Wetlands Day: Celebrating the champions who protect our wetlands</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2021/01/world-wetlands-day-celebrating-the-champions-who-protect-our-wetlands/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2021/01/world-wetlands-day-celebrating-the-champions-who-protect-our-wetlands/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jan 2021 13:31:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2021/01/28195552/jal-saheli-wetland-champions-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=13063</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Eco Hope and Wetland Champions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bihar, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, India, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environmental Heroes and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Ramveer Tanwar, a 26-year-old engineer, gave up a cushy job to work on reviving wetlands in Greater Noida. As urbanisation and modern structures have taken over the region, there’s shrinking space for nature. Wetlands, in particular, are being encroached upon and deteriorating. Tanwar has revived at least 20 ponds and lakes in Noida and Greater [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Ramveer Tanwar, a 26-year-old engineer, gave up a cushy job to work on reviving wetlands in Greater Noida. As urbanisation and modern structures have taken over the region, there’s shrinking space for nature. Wetlands, in particular, are being encroached upon and deteriorating. Tanwar has revived at least 20 ponds and lakes in Noida and Greater Noida region. Miles away in a nondescript village in Mandya district of Karnataka, Kalmane Kaamegowda, is digging ponds for birds and wild animals over the past four decades. Kaamegowda, around 70 years of age, has dug around 16 ponds at the base of the hill in his village so the rainwater that runs down can be collected in them. Wild animals like bears, leopards, deer, foxes and more on the hill that come for the water in these ponds. While their paths would probably never cross, the young Tanwar in urban north India and the septuagenarian Kaamegowda in rural south have an unlikely connection – both are driven by their passion to conserve wetlands. Incidentally, this passion was ignited growing up around water bodies as young boys, albeit decades apart. Over the past six months, we at Mongabay-India, have been introduced to many such people across the country – protectors of lakes, rivers, mangroves, ponds and other water bodies in the country. We’ve been documenting their inspiring stories as part of our series on Wetland Champions. What does a wetland mean to you?  A wetland occurs where water meets land. It could be the lake&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2021/01/world-wetlands-day-celebrating-the-champions-who-protect-our-wetlands/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>[Book review] Indian environmental history for young adults</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2021/01/book-review-indian-environmental-history-for-young-adults/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2021/01/book-review-indian-environmental-history-for-young-adults/?noamp=mobile#comments</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Jan 2021 11:37:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2021/01/18183719/2021-01-18-4-768x408.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=12962</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Community based conservation, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Heroes, Hydroelectric power, In-situ conservation, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 1949, George Orwell published his dystopian view of what the world would be in 1984 in his novel by the same name. For India, 1984 was a disturbing year, with a tragic milestone in the country&#8217;s environmental history. Less than two months after a political assassination and subsequent communal killings, the central Indian city [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 1949, George Orwell published his dystopian view of what the world would be in 1984 in his novel by the same name. For India, 1984 was a disturbing year, with a tragic milestone in the country&#8217;s environmental history. Less than two months after a political assassination and subsequent communal killings, the central Indian city of Bhopal was victim to one of the world&#8217;s worst industrial and environmental disasters.  On the night of December 2 and 3, 1984, methyl isocyanide gas from the pesticide plant of Union Carbide leaked, and caused a wave of death, permanent disability (including inter-generational disabilities) and injury. Approximately 8,000 people died within the days of the leak, and many among those who survived many suffered debilitating health impacts throughout their lives.  In the same year, a young lawyer M.C. Mehta was disconcerted by the yellowing of Taj Mahal walls because of acid rain in Agra and filed a case in the Supreme Court. A dozen years later &#8211; in 1996 &#8211; the Supreme Court set aside the Taj Trapezium Zone, an area of 10,400 sq.km., inside which the industries were asked to shift from coal to natural gas as fuel. Those units which could not move to natural gas had to either close or move out of this area. Unearthed: An environmental history of independent India written by Meghaa Gupta and published by Puffin Books, is a collection of such events that constitutes what we know as the modern Indian environmental history. It is a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2021/01/book-review-indian-environmental-history-for-young-adults/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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					<title>[Obituary] Poet Sugathakumari: She gave voice to the Silent Valley</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2021/01/obituary-poet-sugathakumari-she-gave-voice-to-the-silent-valley/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2021/01/obituary-poet-sugathakumari-she-gave-voice-to-the-silent-valley/?noamp=mobile#comments</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Jan 2021 10:35:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[K.A. Shaji]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2020/12/04100934/silentvalley-722-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=12780</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Environment, Environmental Heroes, Forests, Hydroelectric power, and Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When Malayalam’s celebrated poet Sugathakumari, a pioneer of environmental activism in Kerala, reached the state’s tribal heartland Attappadi during the early months of 1980, the region looked like a barren land with very few trees and no vegetation. The tribal community told her, and fellow poet-activist N.V. Krishna Warrier, that indiscriminate tree felling, involving timber [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When Malayalam’s celebrated poet Sugathakumari, a pioneer of environmental activism in Kerala, reached the state’s tribal heartland Attappadi during the early months of 1980, the region looked like a barren land with very few trees and no vegetation. The tribal community told her, and fellow poet-activist N.V. Krishna Warrier, that indiscriminate tree felling, involving timber mafias from outside the region, was responsible for the loss of the green cover. Other than appealing to the Kerala Forest Department to initiate rectifying measures in the region where tribal livelihood and sustenance were badly affected by deforestation, she decided to initiate afforestation in at least a small portion of land there in her way as an experiment. She approached the department with the request to temporarily handover a 100-acre hillock at Bommiapadi village to reconvert it as a natural forest. Using financial assistance worth Rs 7.5 lakh from the Council for the Advancement of People’s Action of Rural Technology (CAPART), she and her team soon started developing the forest which has now turned into a successful model to be emulated elsewhere. The outcome of the will and determination of her team, the Bommiapadi forest is now known as Krishnavanam and is home to animals such as elephants, gaurs, deers, peacocks, wild boars, tigers, and the lion-tailed macaques. Developed and maintained with the active involvement of local tribals, Krishnavanam has a variety of trees including bamboo, kanjiram (Strychnine), neem, and venga (Indian kino tree). There are also a large variety of medicinal plants which&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2021/01/obituary-poet-sugathakumari-she-gave-voice-to-the-silent-valley/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Editor’s review of 2020: Virus, controversies, wildlife, transitions and wetlands</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2020/12/2020-review-packs-virus-controversies-wildlife-transitions-and-wetland-championss/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2020/12/2020-review-packs-virus-controversies-wildlife-transitions-and-wetland-championss/?noamp=mobile#comments</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Dec 2020 14:29:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2020/12/29113750/editorial-2020-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=12736</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Endangered species, Environment, Environmental Economics, Environmental Heroes, Environmental Politics, Human Wildlife Conflict, Hydroelectric power, Mining, New species, Protected Areas, Renewable Energy, Wetlands, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The first case of COVID-19 infection was officially reported in India in January 2020 from Thrissur in Kerala. In December 2020, a 90-year-old Britisher became the world’s first person to be vaccinated against the infection. The year 2020 stretched in between, packed with uncertainty, apprehension, masks and sanitisers. It was also a year of controversies, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The first case of COVID-19 infection was officially reported in India in January 2020 from Thrissur in Kerala. In December 2020, a 90-year-old Britisher became the world’s first person to be vaccinated against the infection. The year 2020 stretched in between, packed with uncertainty, apprehension, masks and sanitisers. It was also a year of controversies, transitions, human-wildlife conflicts and environmental heroes. Like the other parts of the world, the impacts were severe in India, and still continues to be felt even as we are at the threshold of 2021. And like other publications across the world, the COVID-19 coverage was a significant part of Mongabay-India’s coverage in 2020. This year we extended our coverage into Hindi, reaching deeper into the Hindi-speaking states. Even while the Hindi edition carries some stories from the English edition, we are also reporting new stories that are of special interest for a Hindi readership. On COVID-19 our initial focus was on zoonosis, or the transmission of diseases from animals to humans, since it was clear that COVID-19 had an animal transition, though the how, when and from what were not conclusively proved. We looked at the wet markets, one health approach to zoonoses and railed against targeting ethnic communities. Further, we examined the linkage between deforestation and zoonosis, biodiversity health and disease spread, livestock and bats vis-a-vis the pandemic, and the importance of a robust wildlife veterinary system. When the nation-wide lockdown was announced in March, the adverse impact of the economic and policy implications&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2020/12/2020-review-packs-virus-controversies-wildlife-transitions-and-wetland-championss/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>[Video] In conversation with Rahul Ram: Exploring the confluence of music and environment</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2020/10/video-in-conversation-with-rahul-ram-exploring-the-confluence-of-music-and-environment/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2020/10/video-in-conversation-with-rahul-ram-exploring-the-confluence-of-music-and-environment/?noamp=mobile#comments</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Oct 2020 12:07:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2020/10/16110559/rahul-ram-banner-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=11864</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Science, Dams, Environment, Environmental Heroes, Environmental Politics, Impacts of Climate Change, Indigenous Peoples, and Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 1991, the year when India launched its economic reforms, I travelled to the Narmada valley. The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) – the anti-Sardar Sarovar dam movement – had organised a meeting in which I was representing the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). I stayed on in the valley for a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[In 1991, the year when India launched its economic reforms, I travelled to the Narmada valley. The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) – the anti-Sardar Sarovar dam movement – had organised a meeting in which I was representing the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). I stayed on in the valley for a few days. There were activists of my age at the meeting. We used to go to the river together in groups for there were crocodiles in the water and the banks. There used to be one person, with long hair and beard, who sang full-throated, like a Baul, as the moist wind from the river hit our faces. I knew this activist was from Delhi and used to also play and sing with a nascent band. His band gained popularity and picked up a near-cult status by the end of the 1990s. I saw him again in 2011, on YouTube, and when I heard his voice peak at the upper notes of “Arrey ruk ja re bandeh”, I recognised Rahul Ram of the Indian Ocean band as the Baul-like singer from the Narmada valley. Mongabay-India caught up with Rahul Ram recently for our new series where we will be interviewing achievers in art, policy, industry and other sectors who have strong roots in the environment. Rahul Ram is a vocalist, guitarist, composer and member of the Indian Ocean band, and more recently a sit-down artist with Aisi Taisi Democracy. The Indian Ocean band was a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2020/10/video-in-conversation-with-rahul-ram-exploring-the-confluence-of-music-and-environment/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>[Interview] Green economics is robust enough for policy makers to assess impact of their decisions: Pavan Sukhdev</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2020/02/interview-green-economics-is-robust-enough-for-policy-makers-to-assess-impact-of-their-decisions-pavan-sukhdev/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2020/02/interview-green-economics-is-robust-enough-for-policy-makers-to-assess-impact-of-their-decisions-pavan-sukhdev/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Feb 2020 12:05:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2020/02/03200425/Pavan-Sukhdev-6-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=8503</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environomy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Environment, Environmental Economics, and Environmental Heroes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On January 27, the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement announced the two winners for 2020. Gretchen C. Daily and Pavan Sukhdev were selected for their work on the global impact of their work on environmental economics. Sukhdev is an Indian who was selected for the award for launching and leading The Economics of Ecosystems and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[On January 27, the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement announced the two winners for 2020. Gretchen C. Daily and Pavan Sukhdev were selected for their work on the global impact of their work on environmental economics. Sukhdev is an Indian who was selected for the award for launching and leading The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) process. Initiated by the United Nations in 2007, the TEEB is a process to give an economic value to nature’s resources such as biodiversity and ecosystem services, so that it is easy for policy makers and corporations to take decisions that help in conservation. It “is a global initiative focused on making nature’s values visible. Its principal objective is to mainstream the values of biodiversity and ecosystem services into decision-making at all levels.” Sukhdev becomes the fourth Indian to receive the award, which is also known as the “Nobel Prize for the environment.” Agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan in 1991, ecologist Madhav Gadgil in 2015 and environmental economist Partha S. Dasgupta in 2016 are the earlier winners from India. Sukhdev is the founder and chief executive officer of GIST Advisory, an organisation that develops platforms for corporates and governments to measure economic impact of their decisions. He is also the president of the World Wide Fund for Nature International (WWF), the international conservation organisation. Sukhdev will receive his Prize on May 1. In a wide-ranging telephonic interview to Mongabay-India, Sukhdev talked about the global impact the TEEB reports have had since its inception, India’s&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2020/02/interview-green-economics-is-robust-enough-for-policy-makers-to-assess-impact-of-their-decisions-pavan-sukhdev/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>A dose of eco-optimism: Stories of hope and inspiration in 2019</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2019/12/stories-of-hope-and-inspiration-in-2019-good-news-environment/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2019/12/stories-of-hope-and-inspiration-in-2019-good-news-environment/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Dec 2019 12:12:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2019/12/31011509/cloud-silver-lining-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=8066</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Climate Change, Community based conservation, Environment, Environmental Heroes, Mammals, Mangroves, Positive Environmental, Primates, Technology and Conservation, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Don&#8217;t lose hope. This is probably not the cliché you want to hear after what the past year has been like. Extreme weather events, wildfires, water crises, rampant deforestation, record levels of air pollution, thousands of species heading to extinction and most recently, the failed climate conference – 2019 has seen it all. However, over [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Don&#8217;t lose hope. This is probably not the cliché you want to hear after what the past year has been like. Extreme weather events, wildfires, water crises, rampant deforestation, record levels of air pollution, thousands of species heading to extinction and most recently, the failed climate conference – 2019 has seen it all. However, over the 500 plus stories we’ve done in 2019, we’ve found that there still remains a reason to stay positive. All across the country, there are groups and individuals, working in their own small and big ways, towards conservation and environmental protection. Their stories are proof that there is still hope for our planet, its people and the myriad species we share it with. The past year saw the rise of youth making a strong case for protecting the planet. With Greta Thunberg becoming the face of youth activism for climate action, the involvement of young people in the global climate narrative became more pronounced. The youngest member of our team, Kartik Chandramouli, headed to the UN climate conference in Madrid where he found that youth participation has witnessed a rise and young people world over are demanding further inclusion in decision-making. Back in India, we interviewed 11-year-old Ridhima Pandey on her efforts to hold governments accountable for inaction on climate change. We met with a young woman farmer in Uttarakhand who’s experimenting with agricultural technology to become a change agent. Despite the cynicism towards the government, in many cases, state and local administrations stepped up with actions&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2019/12/stories-of-hope-and-inspiration-in-2019-good-news-environment/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>[Obituary] India loses its pioneering environment journalist</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2019/03/obituary-india-loses-its-pioneering-environment-journalist/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2019/03/obituary-india-loses-its-pioneering-environment-journalist/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Mar 2019 10:29:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2019/03/18160419/IMG-20190317-WA0007-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=4513</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Environmental Heroes, Environmental Politics, and People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Darryl D’Monte, India’s pioneering environment journalist and editor died in Mumbai on March 16. He was 75. Earlier in his career, he was resident editor of the Indian Express and Times of India in Mumbai. He also headed professional environment journalism bodies as the chairman emeritus of the Forum of Environmental Journalists in India and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Darryl D’Monte, India’s pioneering environment journalist and editor died in Mumbai on March 16. He was 75. Earlier in his career, he was resident editor of the Indian Express and Times of India in Mumbai. He also headed professional environment journalism bodies as the chairman emeritus of the Forum of Environmental Journalists in India and the former president of the International Federation of Environmental Journalists. Darryl continued to be a practising environment journalist till his last months, and also wrote stories for Mongabay-India. Darryl D&#8217;Monte. Photo by Neeraj Khera. In the mid 1980s, when I was studying biology, literature and journalism and aspiring to become an environment journalist, there was no genre as today called environment journalism in India. Darryl carried the torch, clearing the pathway for environment journalism through the undergrowth of all kinds of general reporting. I started my career reading Darryl’s writings. He was not an activist, neither was he a diehard conservationist, but he looked at environment from the critical perspective of journalism. In 1985, Darryl wrote about three environmental controversies in a book published by the Centre for Science and Environment, called Temples or tombs? Industry versus environment: three controversies. One of the three controversies that he covered in his book was about the Silent Valley hydroelectric project in the late 1970s-1980s. Darryl’s writing was my primary reference material when I was researching on the milestone controversy for my story in Mongabay-India.   Mentor and trainer However, Darryl’s professional and personal impact on many environment&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2019/03/obituary-india-loses-its-pioneering-environment-journalist/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Mumbai sighting of Olive Ridley hatchlings may not be as rare as imagined</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2018/03/mumbai-sighting-of-olive-ridley-hatchlings-may-not-be-as-rare-as-imagined/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2018/03/mumbai-sighting-of-olive-ridley-hatchlings-may-not-be-as-rare-as-imagined/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Mar 2018 11:17:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Darryl D'Monte]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2018/03/26093247/Pic-25-768x363.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=721</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arabian Sea and Maharashtra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Cities and Towns, Citizen science, Coast, Conservation, Environmental Heroes, Oceans, Positive Environmental, and Reptiles]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The citizens of Mumbai are overjoyed at the birth of 80 Olive Ridley hatchlings on Versova beach in the northwest suburbs after some 20 long years. These hatchlings were given birth to by a single female in the hitherto highly polluted beach and lay undetected till they began to crawl out on Thursday morning. “The [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The citizens of Mumbai are overjoyed at the birth of 80 Olive Ridley hatchlings on Versova beach in the northwest suburbs after some 20 long years. These hatchlings were given birth to by a single female in the hitherto highly polluted beach and lay undetected till they began to crawl out on Thursday morning. “The mother turtle visited the site two months ago to lay her eggs,” Afroz Shah, a young lawyer who has been single-handedly responsible for the clean-up of Versova beach, said to be the biggest such campaign in the world, told Mongabay-India. “People who grow methi (fenugreek) on the beach sighted it there and we were keeping a watch. I kept this news to myself because once everybody came to know, they would pose a danger to the hatchlings.&#8221; “At 9 am on March 22., one of our clean-up volunteers reported that hatchlings were crawling out. They helped create a passage for the young ones to head to the sea. I was so overwhelmed that I cried. We have worked hard for such a happy occurrence to happen,&#8221; said Shah. Baby turtles going into the sea at Versova. Credit: Afroz Shah. “A single turtle lays a hundred eggs at a time. No one knew about this nest, over which methi had been planted. The growers had dug another square pit next to it and it was from there that the hatchlings emerged,” he added. Amazingly, under normal circumstances, females return to the very same beach from where&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2018/03/mumbai-sighting-of-olive-ridley-hatchlings-may-not-be-as-rare-as-imagined/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Silent Valley: A controversy that focused global attention on a rainforest 40 years ago</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2018/02/silent-valley-a-controversy-that-focused-global-attention-on-a-rainforest-40-years-ago/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2018/02/silent-valley-a-controversy-that-focused-global-attention-on-a-rainforest-40-years-ago/?noamp=mobile#comments</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Feb 2018 08:51:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2018/01/29172725/Pic-11-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=411</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala and Western Ghats]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Drought, Endangered species, Environment, Environmental Heroes, Environmental Politics, Forests, Habitat Loss, Hydroelectric power, National Parks, Primates, Rainforests, Rivers, and Tigers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
											<grant>
							<![CDATA[KFD2017]]>
						</grant>
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Citizens of Kerala, the state that welcomes the southwest monsoon into the Indian peninsula, are not as confident in the recent years of the water flow in their rivers. Their memories of unreliable rainfall are fresh from 2016, when both the southwest and northeast monsoon failed, resulting in a severely dry 2017 summer. It was [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Citizens of Kerala, the state that welcomes the southwest monsoon into the Indian peninsula, are not as confident in the recent years of the water flow in their rivers. Their memories of unreliable rainfall are fresh from 2016, when both the southwest and northeast monsoon failed, resulting in a severely dry 2017 summer. It was then that Bharatapuzha – the river that drains the Palghat Gap in the Western Ghats – was bone dry. Flowing close by to Bharatapuzha is Thootha river, also known as Kunthi river, which never dried completely even in this worst period. Closer to the delta, Kunthi joins Bharatapuzha, giving the river some flow in its final stretch. There are two reasons why the Kunthi river flows all through the year, even during the worst summers. One, it emerges from one of the richest and most biologically diverse tropical rain forests of the Silent Valley. Two, it has no dam obstructing its pathway. The Kunthi river as it flows through the valley. Photo by S. Gopikrishna Warrier. There was to have been a dam that would have submerged and fragmented the rainforests of the Silent Valley. Forty years ago, in 1978, Prime Minister Morarji Desai, had given conditional clearance for the construction of a dam. Strong people’s movement, supported with science, could succeed in getting the subsequent national government to conserve the forest. Silent Valley was declared as a national park in 1984 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and inaugurated in 1985 by Prime Minister Rajiv&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2018/02/silent-valley-a-controversy-that-focused-global-attention-on-a-rainforest-40-years-ago/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
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