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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
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				<item>
					<title>Decades of warming and shifting rains are reshaping India&#8217;s central forests</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/decades-of-warming-and-shifting-rains-are-reshaping-indias-central-forests/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/decades-of-warming-and-shifting-rains-are-reshaping-indias-central-forests/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Mar 2026 17:58:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Simrinsirur]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[biosphere reserves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[erratic weather]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heavy rainfall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rainfall]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/03/13160820/AP22341272160717-crop-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37270</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Deforestation, Forest Fires, Forests, Global Warming, Temperate Forests, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Over decades, the tropical deciduous forests of central India have weathered the impacts of a quietly changing climate. New research sheds light on the extent to which long-term changes in temperature and precipitation transformed a protected area in Madhya Pradesh, in addition to the anthropogenic pressures caused by tree felling, extraction, and grazing. The forests [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Over decades, the tropical deciduous forests of central India have weathered the impacts of a quietly changing climate. New research sheds light on the extent to which long-term changes in temperature and precipitation transformed a protected area in Madhya Pradesh, in addition to the anthropogenic pressures caused by tree felling, extraction, and grazing. The forests of central India occupy a vast landscape, stretching over an area of more than 40,837 square kilometres across Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh. Though famed for having a robust tiger population, this region is also home to some of the country’s largest contiguous forested tracts. The Panchmarhi Biosphere Reserve (PBR) sits at the heart of this landscape. Researchers from the Central University of Jharkhand and Banaras Hindu University analysed 50 years of climate data and examined its relationship with the PBR, which is also facing pressures from encroachments and extraction. Between 1972 and 2020, the PBR lost approximately 13% of its forest cover, amounting to 391 sq km. “We couldn’t find some of the areas that had been recorded as forest patches in 1972, because by 2020, they had either turned into scrub forests or been converted into other types of land use,” said Amit Kumar, professor at Banaras Hindu University and a co-author of the study. “We also realised that it wasn’t just the impacts of anthropogenic pressures that caused this shift.” Researchers analysed 50 years of climate data and examined its relationship with Panchmarhi Biosphere Reserve, which is also facing pressures from encroachments&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/decades-of-warming-and-shifting-rains-are-reshaping-indias-central-forests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/decades-of-warming-and-shifting-rains-are-reshaping-indias-central-forests/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>With more forest fires and an ongoing pandemic, forest dwellers feel the heat this year</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2021/05/with-more-forest-fires-and-an-ongoing-pandemic-forest-dwellers-feel-the-heat-this-year/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2021/05/with-more-forest-fires-and-an-ongoing-pandemic-forest-dwellers-feel-the-heat-this-year/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 May 2021 13:10:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fires]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest Fires]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forestry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[No categories Biosphere reserves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Temperate Forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tropical Forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2021/05/28122728/forest-fire-kaziranga-e1622187166115-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=14286</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, and Uttarakhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Fires, Forest Fires, Forestry, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Temperate Forests, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“I have never seen this kind of a forest fire before. This year, the fire entered our village, and I could see that it was just 100 meters away from my home. Those three days of fire were horrific for us,” Brind Prajapati, a forest dweller who hails from Bamera village of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“I have never seen this kind of a forest fire before. This year, the fire entered our village, and I could see that it was just 100 meters away from my home. Those three days of fire were horrific for us,” Brind Prajapati, a forest dweller who hails from Bamera village of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) in Madhya Pradesh, recounted the fire incident that took place in the forest area around a month ago.  Prajapati and his family usually go to the forest to collect minor forest produce (MFP), but the fire, which went on for some days, hampered their work which in turn impacted their earnings. “My village falls under Pataur range of the forest which was badly hit by the fire. Villagers could not collect Mahua flowers as expected and incurred huge losses,” said Prajapati. His family usually collects three quintals of Mahua flowers in this season, but this time they could not meet the target, he said.  This season was important for forest dwellers as their livelihood was already hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.  “Villagers usually migrate to cities in search of jobs, but due to the lockdown, that option is not available. Mahua flowers and other minor forest produce were our last hope after losing jobs due to lockdown,” added Prajapati.  States like Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Uttarakhand, and Odisha witnessed massive forest fires this year. Increasing fire trends can be seen in data as well with the Forest Survey of India (FSI)’s system sending fire alerts&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2021/05/with-more-forest-fires-and-an-ongoing-pandemic-forest-dwellers-feel-the-heat-this-year/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Green cover of many Indian states rises but carbon stock declines</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2020/01/green-cover-of-many-indian-states-rises-but-carbon-stock-declines/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2020/01/green-cover-of-many-indian-states-rises-but-carbon-stock-declines/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jan 2020 14:36:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kanchan Srivastava]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mayank Aggarwal]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2020/01/28210541/Banner-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=8410</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Sequestration, Deforestation, Forest Carbon, Forests, Plantations, Rainforests, Temperate Forests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In December 2019, the Indian government released its biennial state of forest report highlighting how the country’s forest and tree cover is rising. But a fact that got lost amidst the celebrations was that carbon stock of many states declined over the past two years although they reported a significant increase in their green cover.  [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In December 2019, the Indian government released its biennial state of forest report highlighting how the country’s forest and tree cover is rising. But a fact that got lost amidst the celebrations was that carbon stock of many states declined over the past two years although they reported a significant increase in their green cover.  A detailed analysis of the Indian State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2019 revealed that several states have reported an overall increase in green cover but their carbon stock has surprisingly dropped substantially over the past two years.  The report showed that states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand have lost a significant portion of crucial carbon stock within the last two years.  The biggest decline, when compared to the ISFR 2017 report, was registered in Karnataka (20 percent) followed by Madhya Pradesh which lost 15 percent carbon stock. Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat noted a 10 to 14 percent less carbon stock in their forests compared to what they had in 2017.  What is intriguing is that almost all of these states have reported a significant gain in green cover this time &#8211;  Karnataka (1,025 square kilometres), Andhra Pradesh (990 sq. km.), Kerala (823 sq. km.), Uttar Pradesh (127 sq. km.), Chhattisgarh (64 sq. km.), Madhya Pradesh (68 sq. km.) and Gujarat (100 sq. km.).  The states where carbon stock has gone up are Assam (53 percent), Himachal (43&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2020/01/green-cover-of-many-indian-states-rises-but-carbon-stock-declines/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Most forest fires in India on account of human activity</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2020/01/most-forest-fires-in-india-on-account-of-human-activity/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2020/01/most-forest-fires-in-india-on-account-of-human-activity/?noamp=mobile#comments</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Jan 2020 12:58:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kanchan Srivastava]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2020/01/21172630/forestfire1_UP-forest-dept-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=8335</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Flood and drought]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Fires, Forest Fires, Forests, Temperate Forests, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The fires raging across Australia from September 2019 and the ones in California in 2018 have brought global attention to wildfires in the recent years. Around 6.3 million hectares of forests in Australia and around 0.72 million hectares of forest and grass land in California were destroyed by fires. Miles away, in India, wildfires have [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The fires raging across Australia from September 2019 and the ones in California in 2018 have brought global attention to wildfires in the recent years. Around 6.3 million hectares of forests in Australia and around 0.72 million hectares of forest and grass land in California were destroyed by fires. Miles away, in India, wildfires have raged on in the past few years as well, causing extensive damage. In February 2018, it took five days and the mobilisation of huge resources including Indian Air Force choppers to douse the fire at Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka. An estimated 4,800 hectares of forests were lost in the incident. The very next month, in March 2018, a group of trekkers got caught in a fatal wildfire at Theni, Tamil Nadu. The state went on to impose a ban on trekking in forests between February 15 to April 15, considered as fire season. According to the India State of Forest Report 2019, over 30,000 incidents of forest fires were reported in India in 2019. Additionally, more than 36 percent of Indian forest cover (657,000 sq km area) is prone to frequent forest fires and of this, 10 percent are highly prone, according to a Forest Survey of India (FSI) report on fire prone forest areas. Around 21 percent of the total forest cover is highly to extremely fire prone, adds the latest forest survey. The dry deciduous forests, which receive low rainfall, face 5-6 dry months and have nutrient poor soil, such as those&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2020/01/most-forest-fires-in-india-on-account-of-human-activity/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Researchers initiate long-term monitoring of the Indian Himalayas to aid conservation</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2019/03/researchers-initiate-long-term-monitoring-of-the-indian-himalayas-to-aid-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2019/03/researchers-initiate-long-term-monitoring-of-the-indian-himalayas-to-aid-conservation/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Mar 2019 13:24:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sahana Ghosh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sahana]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Biodiversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2019/03/27172205/Tree-growth-measurement-in-LTEM-plots-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=4662</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[India's Iconic Landscapes]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Uttarakhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Forests, and Temperate Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Under the watchful gaze of Indian researchers, six one-hectare plots, earmarked deep inside the undisturbed forests of Uttarakhand in the western Himalayas, have set the ball rolling for long-term monitoring of the Himalayan forest ecosystem and its sensitivity to climate change. These geo-tagged permanent research plots spread across an elevation of 1000 to 3800 metres [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Under the watchful gaze of Indian researchers, six one-hectare plots, earmarked deep inside the undisturbed forests of Uttarakhand in the western Himalayas, have set the ball rolling for long-term monitoring of the Himalayan forest ecosystem and its sensitivity to climate change. These geo-tagged permanent research plots spread across an elevation of 1000 to 3800 metres in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand are being surveilled for climate change impacts to churn out long-term datasets that will aid conservation. Long Term Ecological Monitoring (LTEM) would help predict changes and map impacts about the environmental assets in the Indian Himalayas Region (IHR), said Vikram S. Negi of G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment and Sustainable Development, Uttarakhand. “For landscapes such as the Himalayas, long-term data sets are gold. Long-term data sets and documentation of ongoing consequences of environmental changes and ecosystem processes are scanty for IHR which makes conservation efforts difficult,” Negi said referring to the study documenting LTEM in Uttarakhand. This exercise comes under the &#8216;Forest Resources and Plant Biodiversity&#8217; theme of India’s National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) that is tasked to develop a robust database of flora and long-term monitoring in forest ecosystem of the IHR. “Potential response of Himalayan forests is still less explored and to know the likely changes in future due to climate change impacts we need to build baseline data and add on to it,” Negi told Mongabay-India. Researchers have set up permanent research sites in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand and developed a protocol&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2019/03/researchers-initiate-long-term-monitoring-of-the-indian-himalayas-to-aid-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Reports say forest cover decreasing, contrary to government claims</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2018/05/reports-say-forest-cover-decreasing-contrary-to-government-claims/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2018/05/reports-say-forest-cover-decreasing-contrary-to-government-claims/?noamp=mobile#comments</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2018 09:01:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[T. V. Padma]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[protected areas]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2018/05/14215649/Forests-Afforestation-initiatives-in-the-adjoining-waste-land-areas-of-forest-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=1113</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Eastern Ghats and Sikkim]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Deforestation, Forests, People, Reforestation, Temperate Forests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[­Natural forests across India are slowly disappearing, with some serious decline in core forest area and large protected forests, says recent research. These finding are contrary to the government’s claims of increasing forest cover. The scientific reports are based on a mix of satellite data, ground vegetation observations and historical maps. According to their findings, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[­Natural forests across India are slowly disappearing, with some serious decline in core forest area and large protected forests, says recent research. These finding are contrary to the government’s claims of increasing forest cover. The scientific reports are based on a mix of satellite data, ground vegetation observations and historical maps. According to their findings, the Eastern Ghats have lost 15.83% of its forest area over a span of almost 100 years, tropical montane forests continue to disappear in the Sikkim Himalayas, particularly at the lower heights and there is a noticeable decline across all forest types in India. This is at odds with the latest Forest Survey of India report that assesses India’s forest cover. The FSI estimates India’s forest cover at 7,08,273 square kilometres in 2017, compared to 7,01,673 square km in 2015. This apparent rise in forest cover has been debated, with some experts pointing out that the government estimates include plantations cover which are different from natural forests. At least three scientific reports over the past seven months – one in Applied Geography and two in Ecological Indicators – add weight to the critics’ arguments. The three studies “very rigorously and unambiguously establish that there is significant reduction in green cover in many natural forest and habitat types of India,” said Vishwesha Guttal, assistant professor at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. “Of course, many have long suspected this is the case but these studies put any such doubts to rest,” Guttal told&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2018/05/reports-say-forest-cover-decreasing-contrary-to-government-claims/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Is the worst over for Jammu and Kashmir’s forests?</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2018/05/is-the-worst-over-for-jammu-and-kashmirs-forests/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2018/05/is-the-worst-over-for-jammu-and-kashmirs-forests/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 May 2018 08:10:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Athar Parvaiz]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2018/05/01191709/Pic-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=987</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Himalayas and Jammu and Kashmir]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Forestry, Forests, Illegal logging, People, Reforestation, and Temperate Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When Kashmiris talk about the significance of forests, they instantly refer to one of the most popular sayings of the 15th Century Kashmiri saint and poet, Sheikh ul Alam: “Ann Poshi Teli Yeli Wan Poshi” (food will last as long as forests last). Kashmir’s evergreen coniferous forests and snow covered peaks have a direct bearing [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When Kashmiris talk about the significance of forests, they instantly refer to one of the most popular sayings of the 15th Century Kashmiri saint and poet, Sheikh ul Alam: “Ann Poshi Teli Yeli Wan Poshi” (food will last as long as forests last). Kashmir’s evergreen coniferous forests and snow covered peaks have a direct bearing on the region’s agriculture, energy and tourism industries as its beautiful lakes, rivers, agricultural plains and meadows owe their existence and economic production to the forests. Every year, Sheikh ul Alam’s saintly advice about these ecological assets reverberates across the region with speakers at thousands of schools, colleges and public gatherings referring to the importance of forests without missing out on quoting the famous saint on such occasions as World Water Day, Earth Day and World Environment Day. Yet, forests in Kashmir have suffered extensive damage in the recent decades. This is particularly because of a construction boom amidst the armed conflict and political turmoil prevailing in the region over the past three decades. A view of the Pirpanjal forest range. Photo by Athar Parvaiz. According to the Jammu and Kashmir State Forest Policy-2010, the “past few decades have witnessed exponential increase in human and livestock population, rapid industrialisation, and a spurt in developmental activities.” These developmental processes, says the document, have resulted in loss of forest area accompanied by an overall degradation of forest vegetation and forest soils. The effects of degradation of forests, the document says, are already visible in drying up of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2018/05/is-the-worst-over-for-jammu-and-kashmirs-forests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Will the current conservation measures help the hangul population to grow in J&#038;K?</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2018/03/will-the-current-conservation-measures-help-the-hangul-population-to-grow-in-jk/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2018/03/will-the-current-conservation-measures-help-the-hangul-population-to-grow-in-jk/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Mar 2018 10:09:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Athar Parvaiz]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2018/03/14200903/Pic-1-Kashmir-Stag-Hangul-in-Dachigam-National-Park-Photo-Credit-___-Khursheed-Ahmad-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=658</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Himalayas and Jammu and Kashmir]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Endangered species, Forests, Habitat Fragmentation, Habitat Loss, Mammals, National Parks, People, Temperate Forests, Wildlife, and Wildlife Protection Act]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On March 4, Jammu &#38; Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti tweeted the image of Kashmir’s iconic hangul (Cervus hanglu hanglu), also known as Kashmir red deer and Kashmir stag, and proclaimed through her tweet: “…today I renew our effort to protect the hangul and our natural heritage.” Before Mufti, other chief ministers have given similar [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[On March 4, Jammu &amp; Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti tweeted the image of Kashmir’s iconic hangul (Cervus hanglu hanglu), also known as Kashmir red deer and Kashmir stag, and proclaimed through her tweet: “…today I renew our effort to protect the hangul and our natural heritage.” Before Mufti, other chief ministers have given similar assurances about hangul as this flagship wildlife species from Kashmir has been at the centre of conservation efforts in the mountainous region. Yet, the massive decline in population of hangul remains a concern &#8212; to the extent that the IUCN Red List has classified it as Critically Endangered and it is similarly listed under the Species Recovery Programme of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the Environmental Information System (ENVIS) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). The hangul was once widely distributed in the mountains of Kashmir and parts of Chamba district of the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh. It is the state animal of Jammu &amp; Kashmir and is considered equally significant to the state as the tiger is to entire India. It is the only Asiatic survivor or sub-species of the European red deer. A hangul in the Dachigam National Park. Photo by Khursheed Ahmad. The hangul has fascinated many, from Jammu &amp; Kashmir’s last king, Hari Singh, to former prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi. The Maharaja had constructed a rest house at lower Dachigam for sighting the hangul. M. K. Ranjitsinh, India’s renowned wildlife conservationist, remembers in his&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2018/03/will-the-current-conservation-measures-help-the-hangul-population-to-grow-in-jk/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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