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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/list/in-situ-conservation/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:13:48 +0000</lastBuildDate>
		<language>en-US</language>
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					<title>Snow leopards and their survival in changing times [Book Review]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/snow-leopards-and-their-survival-in-changing-times-book-review/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/snow-leopards-and-their-survival-in-changing-times-book-review/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Sep 2026 16:06:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Usha Rai]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Renuka Kulkarni]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[snow leopard]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/08142945/DSC_0942-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40779</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Himalayas and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Ecology, Endangered species, Environment, Himalayas, In-situ conservation, Mammals, Mountains, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[If you want to know all about snow leopards, their range, food, love life, fight for survival in the fast changing high mountain landscape, impact of climate change and the struggle of scientists to get accurate figures on their population and spread, Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi’s The Ghost of the Mountains is a must read. It is [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[If you want to know all about snow leopards, their range, food, love life, fight for survival in the fast changing high mountain landscape, impact of climate change and the struggle of scientists to get accurate figures on their population and spread, Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi’s The Ghost of the Mountains is a must read. It is a fascinating, extremely well written book that blends research with graphic description of the landscape and allows us to witness a creature few have been privileged to see. “A flagship species of Himalayan conservation, snow leopards are key to preserving an austere, delicate ecosystem,” the book says. It has taken Suryawanshi 20 years to study the ‘ghost of the mountains,’ distributed in mountainous terrain of 12 countries that straddle the Himalayas and Central Asia. Despite the fast changing pace of development, the story of the snow leopard is one of hope. Snow leopards “are shy and their silvery-brown and white coats, marked with dark rosettes, work like magic cloaks offering good camouflage that enable them to disappear like smoke. They have furry tails, the longest of any cats, which they wrap around their bodies like mufflers on cold nights. The tails also work like the balancing pole of a tight rope walker as they manoeuvre around exposed cliffs. Their thick, wide paws, lined with fur, act like snow shoes and their unusually large nostrils help them warm the cold air they breathe and their small rounded ears minimise heat loss”. The author, who travelled across&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/snow-leopards-and-their-survival-in-changing-times-book-review/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rare lynx photo puts spotlight on high-altitude rangelands</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/rare-lynx-photo-puts-spotlight-on-high-altitude-rangelands/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/rare-lynx-photo-puts-spotlight-on-high-altitude-rangelands/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Aug 2026 15:20:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[carnivores]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eastern himalayas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eurasian lynx]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sikkim Himalayas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[snow leopard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[snow leopards]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tibetan plateau]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wolf]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/04131014/Eurasian-lynx-1-Sikkim-Forest-Dept-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39845</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Sikkim]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Biodiversity, Camera traps, Cats, Conservation, Ecology, Endangered species, Himalayas, In-situ conservation, Mountains, Photos, Positive Environmental, Technology and Conservation, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A Eurasian lynx has been recorded in a camera-trap image from the Tso Lhamo plateau in Sikkim. This encounter marks the first confirmed photographic evidence of the species in the state. It is also the second such record from the Eastern Himalayas. The image, captured in January 2026 at an altitude of 5,250 metres in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A Eurasian lynx has been recorded in a camera-trap image from the Tso Lhamo plateau in Sikkim. This encounter marks the first confirmed photographic evidence of the species in the state. It is also the second such record from the Eastern Himalayas. The image, captured in January 2026 at an altitude of 5,250 metres in Mangan district, shows the animal moving across a rocky, sparsely vegetated high-altitude slope. The sighting comes from a long-term snow leopard and rangeland monitoring programme led by the Sikkim forest department and WWF-India. The initiative tracks snow leopards and associated wildlife while studying the ecological condition of the trans-Himalayan rangelands. The Sikkim record follows a 2025 photographic documentation of a Eurasian lynx in Arunachal Pradesh during a joint survey by WWF-India and the Arunachal Pradesh forest department. “It highlights the ecological significance of our high-altitude rangelands and reinforces our commitment to protecting these fragile ecosystems. The cooperation of the Lachen Dzumsa (traditional local self-governance body) in facilitating access to these remote areas has been important to this work,” Sikkim’s Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Udai Gurung, said in a press note. At the Tso Lhamo plateau in Sikkim, researchers captured camera-trap images of a Eurasian lynx, along with several other elusive species. High-altitude rangelands like this region have wrongly been dismissed as barren deserts of little ecological value. Image courtesy of Forest &amp; Environment Department, Sikkim, and WWF-India. The images are part of a long-term snow leopard and trans-Himalayan rangeland monitoring programme. Image courtesy of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/rare-lynx-photo-puts-spotlight-on-high-altitude-rangelands/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>India’s rare swamp deer establishes a second home</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/indias-rare-swamp-deer-establishes-a-second-home/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/indias-rare-swamp-deer-establishes-a-second-home/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Apr 2026 11:37:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[deer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tiger reserve]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tiger reserves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[translocation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife translocation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/04/27185347/Hard-ground-swamp-deer-are-growing-and-breeding-well-in-their-new-habitat-in-Satpura-Tiger-Reserve.-Photo-Credit-L-Krishnamoorthy-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37899</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Grasslands, In-situ conservation, Mammals, Protected Areas, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A population of hard-ground swamp deer translocated from Kanha Tiger Reserve to Satpura Tiger Reserve, both in Madhya Pradesh, is growing steadily and breeding successfully, according to a new study. The subspecies, once widespread across central India, now survives in just one region, making efforts to establish a second population critical in reducing extinction risk. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A population of hard-ground swamp deer translocated from Kanha Tiger Reserve to Satpura Tiger Reserve, both in Madhya Pradesh, is growing steadily and breeding successfully, according to a new study. The subspecies, once widespread across central India, now survives in just one region, making efforts to establish a second population critical in reducing extinction risk. The hard-ground swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelii branderi) was once found widely across India, but today survives naturally only in Kanha. According to the IUCN Red List, the hard-ground swamp deer is categorised as vulnerable and is listed under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The subspecies declined historically due to habitat alteration, fragmentation of grasslands and hunting. With a single population of roughly 1,100 animals, the species remains vulnerable to disease outbreaks or other threats. “Confining the entire subspecies to Kanha effectively created a single point of failure,” says Neha Awasthi, the study’s corresponding author, and member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission’s Deer Specialist Group. “Small isolated populations face intrinsic risks such as demographic stochasticity [fluctuations in mean growth rate], genetic drift and inbreeding, as well as external threats including disease outbreaks or large-scale environmental disturbances.” The study was conducted by researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India along with the Madhya Pradesh forest department. Kanha also has ecological limits with finite grassland habitat and carrying capacity. “Without opportunities for dispersal into new landscapes, density-dependent pressures could eventually limit population growth,” adds Awasthi. In recent&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/indias-rare-swamp-deer-establishes-a-second-home/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/indias-rare-swamp-deer-establishes-a-second-home/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Climate change could shrink habitat of Himalayan marsh orchid, study warns</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/climate-change-could-shrink-habitat-of-himalayan-marsh-orchid-study-warns/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/climate-change-could-shrink-habitat-of-himalayan-marsh-orchid-study-warns/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Feb 2026 10:11:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hirra Azmat]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alpine plants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[flowers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[native plants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[orchid]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/02/08190419/IMG_20200723_094714.jpg-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36783</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jammu and Kashmir]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Ecology, Ecosystem services, Himalayas, Impacts of Climate Change, In-situ conservation, Mountains, and Plants]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the alpine meadows of the Himalayas, Dactylorhiza hatagirea — commonly known as the marsh orchid — has long been prized for its medicinal uses, its distinctive purple blooms attracting collectors and traders for centuries. However, this high-value herb, already endangered due to overharvesting and trade, now faces a largely overlooked threat: climate change. A [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the alpine meadows of the Himalayas, Dactylorhiza hatagirea — commonly known as the marsh orchid — has long been prized for its medicinal uses, its distinctive purple blooms attracting collectors and traders for centuries. However, this high-value herb, already endangered due to overharvesting and trade, now faces a largely overlooked threat: climate change. A new study by researchers at the University of Kashmir warns that rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns could shrink the orchid’s already limited habitat over the next 50 years, increasing its risk of local extinction, even if projected habitat losses appear modest. Why orchids are vulnerable Climate change, habitat loss, and overexploitation are among the leading threats to global biodiversity, with mountain environments expected to be especially vulnerable. Orchids are a highly specialised and sensitive group of plants, making them particularly vulnerable to changes in habitat and broader environmental conditions. “This vulnerability stems from their narrow ecological niches, specific habitat preferences, and strong dependence on mutualistic associations with orchid mycorrhizal fungi, a fungi that lives in or around plant roots,” says Manzoor Shah, Professor of Ecology at the University of Kashmir. “They help plants absorb water and nutrients.” He adds that many orchids also exhibit a high degree of pollinator specificity. Climate change–driven shifts in phenology — annual calendar events such as leafouts, flowering, fruiting, fall for different types of plants — may cause mismatches between flowering times and pollinator availability. “Thus, the complex life cycle of orchids and their intricate interactions with fungi and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/climate-change-could-shrink-habitat-of-himalayan-marsh-orchid-study-warns/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>When women stand guard for the forest</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/04/when-women-stand-guard-for-the-forest/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/04/when-women-stand-guard-for-the-forest/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Apr 2025 09:39:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Arpita Das Choudhury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest Conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest guards]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kaziranga]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kaziranga National Park]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Northeast India]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[protection]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/04/10221719/BON-DURGA-KNP_1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=32170</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environment and Her, India's Iconic Landscapes, and The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Assam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Forests, In-situ conservation, and Protected Areas]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On a chilly autumn morning in October 2023, a grey dawn crept slowly across the sky. A sudden murmuring sound outside their camp awoke Priyanka Bharali from an already inadequate sleep. From a distance, she could hear the faint sounds of petrified langurs. She cautiously opened the door of their room, without interrupting the slumber [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On a chilly autumn morning in October 2023, a grey dawn crept slowly across the sky. A sudden murmuring sound outside their camp awoke Priyanka Bharali from an already inadequate sleep. From a distance, she could hear the faint sounds of petrified langurs. She cautiously opened the door of their room, without interrupting the slumber of her roommates who had all gone to bed very late and exhausted the previous night, after frantically attending a false call about a rhino poaching threat. Bharali then saw two tigers atop the highland adjacent to their camp in the faint morning light. They had probably spent the night sleeping there. “This is what living in a jungle looks like,” shares Bharali, 23, from Garbhaga, a village in the Sivsagar district of Assam. Bharali joined Kaziranga National Park (KNP) as one of the female frontline forest staff entrusted with the role of safeguarding the Park&#8217;s biodiversity. “The selection process was rigorous, but I was ready to face all the hurdles,” Mitali Boruah, 27, another forest guard tells Mongabay India. When Boruah saw the advertisement for women forest guards job, she jumped at the opportunity as she had always wanted to remain close to nature. Rashmi Borah, 27, says she never imagined that she would patrol in the jungle with a gun. “Initially it felt very heavy, and my hand trembled during shooting (practice); I was afraid of missing the target, but eventually I aced it,” shares Rashmi who got selected as a forest guard&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/04/when-women-stand-guard-for-the-forest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>[Commentary] Documenting the flora and fauna of Phalee to mitigate the impact of forest fires</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/11/commentary-documenting-the-flora-and-fauna-of-phalee-to-mitigate-the-impact-of-forest-fires/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/11/commentary-documenting-the-flora-and-fauna-of-phalee-to-mitigate-the-impact-of-forest-fires/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Nov 2022 12:56:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ng Ngashangva]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Biodiversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[community conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fauna]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[flora]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest Fires]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hotspot]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mountains]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trees]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/11/07093542/comme2.-e1667805864901-768x485.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=20492</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Nature-based Solutions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Manipur]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Citizen science, Community based conservation, Conservation, Deforestation, In-situ conservation, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“Our habitat was once a thick jungle in which trees such as Magnolia sp., Dipterocarpus sp., Pinus sp., Phoebe hainesiana, Quercus sp. and more, as large as three to four metres in circumference, were in abundance. These giant trees were cut with axes and carved for months to make traditional royal beds. Animals howling, insects singing [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“Our habitat was once a thick jungle in which trees such as Magnolia sp., Dipterocarpus sp., Pinus sp., Phoebe hainesiana, Quercus sp. and more, as large as three to four metres in circumference, were in abundance. These giant trees were cut with axes and carved for months to make traditional royal beds. Animals howling, insects singing and birdcalls once filled the air,” recalled 96-year-old Ng Yarkao. He is the oldest man in village Phalee, in the district of Ukhrul in Manipur. Hunting used to be another common activity at Phalee. “Deer, bear, bird, wild boar, monkey and wild cat for bushmeat were hunted and their skulls stored as a display of skill and a trophy,” said Yarteo. By the end of 1968, there was a tremendous increase in forest clearance for jhum cultivation in Ukhrul, he said. Yarteo, 78, is a teacher. A view of Phalee from Changrimai. Photo by Ng ngalengshim/Wikimedia Commons. The 2011 census reported that the village of Phalee has a total of 794 households with 3,742 people, of which 1,934 were males and 1,808 were females. Phalee occupies a total area of about 17 sq. km. and stands at an elevation of about 1,533 metres. Agriculture is the primary occupation, with more than 80% of the population involved in the activity. The common agricultural practices are wet paddy, dryland farming and rain-fed terracing, ideal for the red sandy soil. The commonly cultivated neglected and underutilised crop species (NUS) includes Amaranthus sp., Eleusine sp., Coix lacryma-jobi, Vigna umbellate, Sorghum bicolor, Setaria italica, Chenopodium album, Ipomoea&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/11/commentary-documenting-the-flora-and-fauna-of-phalee-to-mitigate-the-impact-of-forest-fires/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>[Commentary] The shrinking habitats of blackbucks in Chennai</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/05/commentary-the-shrinking-habitats-of-blackbucks-in-chennai/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/05/commentary-the-shrinking-habitats-of-blackbucks-in-chennai/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 May 2022 10:57:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anjana VencatesanR.J. Ranjit Daniels]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blackbucks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[endangered]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[invasive species]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/05/26092032/Adult-male-Blackbuck-in-IIT-M-scaled-e1653537609224-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
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											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Endangered species, and In-situ conservation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In April 2022, news organisations in Tamil Nadu reported a sudden decline in the blackbuck population within the Raj Bhavan campus in Chennai – a staggering 20 deaths in five months. These deaths have been attributed to starvation caused by the transformation of the grasslands into manicured lawns of Mexican grass closer to the buildings [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In April 2022, news organisations in Tamil Nadu reported a sudden decline in the blackbuck population within the Raj Bhavan campus in Chennai – a staggering 20 deaths in five months. These deaths have been attributed to starvation caused by the transformation of the grasslands into manicured lawns of Mexican grass closer to the buildings and elsewhere due to the invasion of trees. These deaths bring into spotlight, the complexities in the conservation of urban biodiversity. Urban ecologists flag that cities have, for years, served as a complex and diverse mosaic of unconventional habitats. Although rapid and unchecked urbanisation is a threat, cities harbour significant biodiversity and play a key ecological role with surrounding landscapes. The species that inhabit cities also adapt to their new surroundings. The first ever study on urban fishing cats of Colombo illustrates this, as the study author follows how the species is adapting in a changing city. Closer home in India, many large educational campuses across the country serve as a refuge for biodiversity. Blackbucks in Tamil Nadu Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) is the most widely distributed of antelopes in India, occurring in dry parts of the country. Estimates suggest that there could be around 40,000 blackbucks in the wild. It has been introduced into parts of the United States of America, where there is a large population thriving in Texas. A male and a female blackbuck in a habitat island in the IIT Madras campus (2013). Photo by B. Vinoth, Care Earth Trust. In Tamil&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/05/commentary-the-shrinking-habitats-of-blackbucks-in-chennai/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<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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						<item>
					<title>India&#8217;s policy flip flop on the lion and cheetah</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2018/10/indias-policy-flip-flop-on-the-lion-and-cheetah/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2018/10/indias-policy-flip-flop-on-the-lion-and-cheetah/?noamp=mobile#comments</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Oct 2018 14:50:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mayank Aggarwal]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mayank Aggarwal]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[endangered]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Human-wildlife conflict]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2018/10/16093116/Pic-2-b-by-Kalyan-Varma-e1539662537249-768x384.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=2797</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, In-situ conservation, and Mammals]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It is a tale of two large carnivores. While authorities have dragged their feet over finding another home for the lion to ensure its survival in case of unseen dangers, they have been making plans to reintroduce the cheetah, which was declared extinct from the country in the early 1950s. In April 2013, the Supreme [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It is a tale of two large carnivores. While authorities have dragged their feet over finding another home for the lion to ensure its survival in case of unseen dangers, they have been making plans to reintroduce the cheetah, which was declared extinct from the country in the early 1950s. In April 2013, the Supreme Court of India (SC) had directed the central government to establish a second home for the population of Asiatic lions in India but the latter failed to do so. Instead, the central government recently returned to the SC seeking permission for the reintroduction of cheetah even though the apex court rejected it earlier. The issue gains significance in light of the deaths of at least 23 lions during this month. Environmentalists feel that there is a need to weigh whether reintroduction of the cheetah should take precedence over recovery plans for critically endangered species such as the great Indian bustard (GIB), gharial, dugong and others. They also question the wisdom of introducing another predator species in view of the high human-animal conflict across the country. In April 2013, the SC had directed India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to take urgent steps for the re-introduction of the Asiatic lion from Gir forests to Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. The SC had asked the authorities to carry out the order in its “letter and spirit” within six months (by October 2013) and quashed the MoEFCC’s plan to reintroduce cheetah in India. “The&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2018/10/indias-policy-flip-flop-on-the-lion-and-cheetah/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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