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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/list/villages/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Mon, 24 Aug 2026 14:17:51 +0000</lastBuildDate>
		<language>en-US</language>
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					<title>Genetic study of the Arunachali mithun flags declining breeding population</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/genetic-study-of-the-arunachali-mithun-flags-declining-breeding-population/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/genetic-study-of-the-arunachali-mithun-flags-declining-breeding-population/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Aug 2026 17:58:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Barasha Das]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/13142643/3.-Male-Nagami-Mithun-PC-Harshit-Kumar-scientist-at-the-ICAR-National-Research-Centre-on-Mithun-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40117</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arunachal Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecology, Himalayas, Mammals, Mountains, Natural Resources, Tribes, Villages, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Arunachal Pradesh, conversations in mithun-rearing communities often find their way to the animal. For outsiders, one question almost inevitably follows: &#8220;How many mithuns do you own?&#8221; When John Pei Cander was asked the same question, the enthusiasm with which he had been talking moments earlier suddenly faded. He paused before replying quietly, almost apologetically. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Arunachal Pradesh, conversations in mithun-rearing communities often find their way to the animal. For outsiders, one question almost inevitably follows: &#8220;How many mithuns do you own?&#8221; When John Pei Cander was asked the same question, the enthusiasm with which he had been talking moments earlier suddenly faded. He paused before replying quietly, almost apologetically. &#8220;Now, I have just four,&#8221; he said. &#8220;During my father&#8217;s time, our family had around 30.&#8221; John runs a successful business, owns agricultural land, and has built a concrete two-storied house, drives an SUV. His children are studying in private schools. Yet it was not these achievements that defined his pride. It was the shrinking number of mithuns his family owned. He is not alone. Many with government jobs, thriving farms or successful businesses hesitate before revealing a single-digit number when asked about their mithuns. Their responses carried a sense of shame. Owning fewer mithuns, several people suggested, is not merely an economic reality; it was a loss of status and inheritance. For generations, the mithun (Bos frontalis) has occupied a unique place amongst many Indigenous societies of northeast India. Neither fully domesticated nor truly wild, the semi-free-ranging bovine represents symbols of wealth, prestige and social standing, woven deeply into customary practices and family life. According to the 20th Livestock Census published in 2019, India is home to nearly 384,000 individuals. Arunachal Pradesh supports close to 70% of the country&#8217;s mithun population, making the state&#8217;s breeding practices central to the species&#8217; future. The remaining animals&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/genetic-study-of-the-arunachali-mithun-flags-declining-breeding-population/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/genetic-study-of-the-arunachali-mithun-flags-declining-breeding-population/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Free-ranging dogs, changing livelihoods reshape an agro-pastoral landscape</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/free-ranging-dogs-changing-livelihoods-reshape-an-agro-pastoral-landscape/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/free-ranging-dogs-changing-livelihoods-reshape-an-agro-pastoral-landscape/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Aug 2026 12:17:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Phalguni Ranjan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[feral dogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Free ranging dogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihoods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stray dogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urbanisation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/13102613/Image-3-garbage-dump-in-Kaza-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40090</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Himachal Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Cities and Towns, Conservation, Ecology, Encroachment, Environment, Grazing, Human Wildlife Conflict, Villages, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Free-ranging dogs are a growing threat to livestock in Himachal Pradesh’s Upper Spiti, with many herders now considering them a greater risk than traditional predators such as snow leopards and wolves, a new study finds. Communities in this region have long depended on a closely linked agro-pastoral system, where sheep, goats, cattle, yaks, and horses [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Free-ranging dogs are a growing threat to livestock in Himachal Pradesh’s Upper Spiti, with many herders now considering them a greater risk than traditional predators such as snow leopards and wolves, a new study finds. Communities in this region have long depended on a closely linked agro-pastoral system, where sheep, goats, cattle, yaks, and horses support livelihoods, while their manure nourishes farming in the cold desert landscape. However, over the past few decades, rapid socio-economic changes including tourism, market integration, government development schemes, and changing agricultural practices have transformed this traditional system, and subsequently, the landscape itself. More recently, the unexpected and growing rise of free-ranging domestic dogs is increasingly disrupting this delicate balance. The study examines how these interconnected changes have altered livestock populations, exploring what these shifts mean for agriculture, livelihoods, and the future of Spiti. It builds on an existing body of work that has documented socio-economic transitions in the region, notably, the role of changing human activities and the emerging influence exerted by dogs. Declining livestock numbers As part of the study, researchers conducted semi-structured interviews across 27 villages in eight panchayats in Upper Spiti in 2014-15, examining changes in livestock ownership, manure use, herding challenges, livestock losses, and future preferences. Around 72% of respondents reported a decline in livestock between 2003 and 2013, while only 10% reported an increase. Several villages had stopped rearing sheep and goats altogether, and in others, the number of households keeping them had fallen by 50-75%. Spiti’s traditional agro-pastoral system&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/free-ranging-dogs-changing-livelihoods-reshape-an-agro-pastoral-landscape/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/free-ranging-dogs-changing-livelihoods-reshape-an-agro-pastoral-landscape/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>India has a railway noise problem but its health impacts are poorly understood</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/india-has-a-railway-noise-problem-but-its-health-impacts-are-poorly-understood/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/india-has-a-railway-noise-problem-but-its-health-impacts-are-poorly-understood/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jul 2026 14:45:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rohan Singh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Indian Railway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[railways]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/29114606/Outer_area_of_Howrah_Junction_railway_station_India-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39704</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Environment, Health impacts, Human Rights, Pollution, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Every day, thousands of trains pass through India&#8217;s cities, towns, and densely populated settlements. For millions of Indians living alongside railway corridors, the sound of passing trains — often accompanied by ground vibrations — is part of daily life. Most days, it continues late into the night. Yet, railway noise remains a poorly understood environmental [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Every day, thousands of trains pass through India&#8217;s cities, towns, and densely populated settlements. For millions of Indians living alongside railway corridors, the sound of passing trains — often accompanied by ground vibrations — is part of daily life. Most days, it continues late into the night. Yet, railway noise remains a poorly understood environmental health risk. Recent studies have begun documenting elevated noise levels around railway tracks, with some communities experiencing exposures that exceed recommended residential limits. Yet, while researchers can increasingly measure railway noise, far less is known about what years of repeated exposure may mean for sleep, cardiovascular health, stress physiology, or quality of life. As evidence slowly emerges, researchers say India lacks a clear understanding of the cumulative human burden of railway-noise exposure, leaving important questions about health impacts unanswered. Measuring decibels, missing health evidence Studies in recent years are beginning to reveal what life near railway corridors may mean for communities around. A 2024 study led by Rajeev Kumar Mishra, an associate professor at the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering at Delhi Technological University (DTU), found that residents living near railway corridors reported physiological and psychological effects associated with repeated exposure to railway noise and vibration. The research team measured noise at 10 sites near railway stations in Delhi and found that the noise exceeded Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) limits. Sleep disturbance was one of the most frequently reported concerns among surveyed residents. However, Mishra emphasises that these findings primarily document exposure to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/india-has-a-railway-noise-problem-but-its-health-impacts-are-poorly-understood/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/india-has-a-railway-noise-problem-but-its-health-impacts-are-poorly-understood/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Low rainfall delays paddy farming signalling El Niño-induced drought</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/signs-of-el-nino-induced-drought-as-paddy-farming-delays/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/signs-of-el-nino-induced-drought-as-paddy-farming-delays/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 13:30:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Vishal Kumar Jain]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paddy]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/27104503/144-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39614</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Drought, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Food, Human Rights, Monsoons, Villages, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Barun Kumar Yadav from Jharkhand works in Bhilai city in the neighbouring state of Chhattisgarh as a carpenter. At the end of June he went to his village Pathalgada in Chatra district for the sowing season. This is when farmers sow paddy in Jharkhand. Rainfall is extremely crucial for this season. Yadav waited for weeks, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Barun Kumar Yadav from Jharkhand works in Bhilai city in the neighbouring state of Chhattisgarh as a carpenter. At the end of June he went to his village Pathalgada in Chatra district for the sowing season. This is when farmers sow paddy in Jharkhand. Rainfall is extremely crucial for this season. Yadav waited for weeks, but it did not rain sufficiently. Now, the 40-year-old has returned to Bhilai without sowing paddy. Basant Dangi, also from the same village in Jharkhand, managed to set up a paddy nursery using water from a community well. But with insufficient rain, the land has dried and cracks have appeared in his field. “If it doesn’t rain in a day or two, the nursery seedlings will start to wither. The wider the cracks become, the more irrigation will be required. Paddy transplantation can only take place once it rains,” he says. Similarly, in Andreas Topno&#8217;s field in the nearby village of Meral, paddy seedlings are ready to be transplanted from the nursery to the field, but the lack of rainfall has changed his plans too. Shankar Dangi, a farmer from Chautha village, waited for the rains and then decided not to sow paddy this year. “It is better to sow maize than to keep waiting for the rain. However, the maize yield will also be low because there has been a delay of 10 days (for the start of monsoon),” he says. In Jharkhand, where kharif sowing season is linked to the monsoon, sowing was&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/signs-of-el-nino-induced-drought-as-paddy-farming-delays/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/signs-of-el-nino-induced-drought-as-paddy-farming-delays/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>The hidden burden of rural air pollution</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/the-hidden-burden-of-rural-air-pollution/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/the-hidden-burden-of-rural-air-pollution/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Jul 2026 16:07:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Himanshu Praveen]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brick industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brick kiln]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rural India]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/17122910/A-commuter-rides-through-a-dense-low-lying-blanket-of-toxic-smog-at-sunset-a-common-winter-and-post-monsoon-reality-along-rural-Bihar_s-unmanaged-waste-dumping-tracks-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39390</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bihar]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Biofuels, Clean Energy, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Health impacts, Human Rights, Industry, Pollution, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the peak of summer, villages around Koilwar and Arrah in Bihar&#8217;s Bhojpur district are often hit by dust storms. By midday, strong winds sweep fine soil across agricultural fields, leaving crops and rooftops coated in dust. But the dust seen in summer is only the beginning. For local communities, air pollution typically worsens after [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the peak of summer, villages around Koilwar and Arrah in Bihar&#8217;s Bhojpur district are often hit by dust storms. By midday, strong winds sweep fine soil across agricultural fields, leaving crops and rooftops coated in dust. But the dust seen in summer is only the beginning. For local communities, air pollution typically worsens after the monsoon into the winter months when temperatures plunge, and ground-level wind speeds drop to near-stagnation. It prevents dust and emissions from industries and households from dispersing easily. As a result, pollutants accumulate near the ground, causing air quality to deteriorate. Vishwanath Pratap Singh, a local social activist based in Bhojpur, says, “During the summer, we somehow manage the heat and dust storms, which are challenging but still manageable. But the real disaster unfolds during the winter months when a strange heaviness grips the village air. &#8220;Persistent eye irritation and chronic throat infections have now become a daily reality for our children and the elderly,” he adds. Aamod Kumar, a resident of Koilwar, says the air becomes unbearable in winter. &#8220;Once the brick kilns start operating, the whole area fills with smoke, especially in the mornings. Ash settles on our crops, affecting the harvest. Stepping outside feels like breathing smoke instead of fresh air.&#8221; The concerns expressed by Aamod and Singh are not an isolated experience. It is supported by findings from a study conducted by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur. Under the project named the AMRIT (Ambient Air Quality Monitoring over Rural areas using&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/the-hidden-burden-of-rural-air-pollution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>The insect that syncs up with the football World Cup</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/the-insect-that-syncs-up-with-the-football-world-cup/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/the-insect-that-syncs-up-with-the-football-world-cup/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Jul 2026 14:12:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nabarun Guha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cicada]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[insects]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/14110800/World-Cup-cicada-insect_-scaled-e1784008437972-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39269</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Assam and Meghalaya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Ecology, Elephants, Forests, Insects, Plants, Reserved Forest, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As the football world cup began in the United States, Canada and Mexico this year, in one part of India, an insect emerged, as it does, every four years, in sync with the sporting event. However, this year, it was found beyond its typical home range. Aptly named the World Cup cicada, the insect, Chremistica [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As the football world cup began in the United States, Canada and Mexico this year, in one part of India, an insect emerged, as it does, every four years, in sync with the sporting event. However, this year, it was found beyond its typical home range. Aptly named the World Cup cicada, the insect, Chremistica ribhoi, has been recorded in Meghalaya in Northeast India. This year though it was spotted in the neighbouring state of Assam during a field assessment around the Rani Reserve Forest conducted by wildlife biologist Pulakeswar Basumatary, with Langtuk Terang, Assistant Professor, Pragjyotish College, Mann Kumar Thapa, a research scholar at Royal Global University, M.Sc. student Lakhinandan Dutta and butterfly researcher Rajat Joshi. Basumatary told Mongabay-India, “Until now, Chremistica ribhoi was known only from Saiden village and Lailad, near Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary in Meghalaya’s Ri-Bhoi district. The 2026 sighting across the Rani-Garbhanga-Basistha Reserve Forest is the first record of the species in Assam, and a real extension of its known range.” However, while it has been scientifically recorded now, the local communities always knew of the cicada in Assam. “The Rabha community of Satargaon, in the Rani area (of Assam), say they had been seeing this cicada before the year 2000. That&#8217;s earlier than the first scientific record from Meghalaya. The species was almost certainly always here, just undocumented,” said Basumatary. Periodical cicadas are among nature’s most precise timekeepers. Their mass emergence is triggered largely by soil temperature and humidity cues built up over years underground.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/the-insect-that-syncs-up-with-the-football-world-cup/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Watershed management improves livelihoods in drought-prone village</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/effective-watershed-management-improves-livelihoods-in-drought-prone-village/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/effective-watershed-management-improves-livelihoods-in-drought-prone-village/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Jul 2026 15:02:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Vinaya Kurtkoti]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihoods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[watershed]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/09143228/A-cement-naala-baandh-in-Kiraksal-constructed-around-2017-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39140</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Maharashtra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Community based conservation, Drought, Extreme Weather Events, Groundwater, Villages, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Amol Katkar was a college student in 2002 when Kiraksal experienced a terrible drought. “I remember children roaming from village to village on foot or on their cycles in search of drinking water. Cattle camps were set up and farmers were compelled to leave their homes to stay with their cattle in neighbouring villages,” shared [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Amol Katkar was a college student in 2002 when Kiraksal experienced a terrible drought. “I remember children roaming from village to village on foot or on their cycles in search of drinking water. Cattle camps were set up and farmers were compelled to leave their homes to stay with their cattle in neighbouring villages,” shared Katkar, sarpanch of Kiraksal from 2015 to 2018. Kiraksal is a village located approximately 75 km east of Satara headquarters in Maharashtra’s Maan taluka and covers about 18 sq km of the Deccan Plateau terrain. The semi-arid climate here, with low average annual rainfall (300-500 mm), and weathered basalt, known locally as “khadak”, makes it a challenging landscape for agriculture. History repeated itself in 2012, when Maan taluka was again declared drought-hit by the Maharashtra government. “There was a severe drought, and Maan, Atpadi, and Sangola talukas were among the worst affected,” recalls Avinash Pol, Chief Advisor at the Paani Foundation. As before, Maan taluka was heavily dependent on tankers and farmers were once again forced to leave their homes and settle in cattle camps. It was at this crucial time that Pol visited Kiraksal, conducted a gram sabha, and advised Katkar (who was a gram panchayat member at the time) and a few other villagers on watershed management. Kiraksal village in Satara, Maharashtra, with its semi-arid conditions and low rainfall, has experienced severe droughts. In the last decade or so, local government bodies and citizens have banded together to improve watershed management. Image by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/effective-watershed-management-improves-livelihoods-in-drought-prone-village/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/effective-watershed-management-improves-livelihoods-in-drought-prone-village/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Snake sightings rise even when snakebite deaths fall</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/snake-sightings-rise-even-when-snakebite-deaths-fall/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/snake-sightings-rise-even-when-snakebite-deaths-fall/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Jun 2026 13:59:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Arathi M.R.]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat impacts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat wave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[snakebites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Snakes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban areas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urbanisation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/22103156/3-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38767</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Biodiversity, Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Human Wildlife Conflict, Impacts of Climate Change, Reptiles, Villages, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Panic struck Kerala this year when eight snakebite deaths were reported from six districts across the state within a span of two months this summer. Six of the eight deaths were reported between April 20 and 26. A constant stream of fear-inducing reports in both the mainstream and social media intensified public anxiety around snakebites. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Panic struck Kerala this year when eight snakebite deaths were reported from six districts across the state within a span of two months this summer. Six of the eight deaths were reported between April 20 and 26. A constant stream of fear-inducing reports in both the mainstream and social media intensified public anxiety around snakebites. The heightened concern was reflected in the number of calls received by Team SARPA (Snake Awareness, Rescue, Protection App), a network of trained snake rescuers and forest officials. In August 2020, Kerala introduced guidelines for the rescue and release of snakes from human-dominated areas by certified snake rescuers, leading to the formation of the SARPA team and a mobile application. The platform allows residents to report snake sightings and alert nearby rescuers, enabling rapid responses to snake-related incidents, improving documentation, and promoting public awareness of snake safety and conservation. “There are around 3,500 active licensed snake rescuers in the state. But with the intense media attention this year, we started receiving more than 100 calls a day for volunteers, and most of them were panic calls,” says Sandeep Das, research associate at the University of Calicut and SARPA master trainer. “When media focus shifted to election coverage and political developments in the state, the number of calls gradually came down.” “A combination of factors such as the unusually high atmospheric temperatures triggered by the heatwave, the egg-hatching season of venomous snakes such as the Indian cobra, Russell’s viper, and saw-scaled viper led to more human-snake&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/snake-sightings-rise-even-when-snakebite-deaths-fall/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Both daytime and nighttime temperatures have risen: IMD chief [Interview]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/both-daytime-and-nighttime-temperatures-have-risen-imd-chief-interview/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/both-daytime-and-nighttime-temperatures-have-risen-imd-chief-interview/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 May 2026 13:20:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[erratic weather]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat wave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat waves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwaves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[India Meteorological Department’]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[temperature rise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Meteorological Organisation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/29112801/imd-collage-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38422</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Decoding Heat]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Climate Science, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Monsoons, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Heatwaves across the country continue to affect the daily life and test the resilience of people, infrastructure and public systems. Simultaneously, concerns about the potential El Niño conditions are also increasing, as India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts a below-normal monsoon rainfall this year. As climate change intensifies some weather events, making it difficult to predict, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Heatwaves across the country continue to affect the daily life and test the resilience of people, infrastructure and public systems. Simultaneously, concerns about the potential El Niño conditions are also increasing, as India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts a below-normal monsoon rainfall this year. As climate change intensifies some weather events, making it difficult to predict, forecasting systems are also undergoing a rapid transformation. In an interview with Mongabay-India, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, the director general of meteorology at IMD, discusses changing heatwave patterns, the growing role of humidity and warm nights, the evolution of impact-based forecasting, and the challenges climate change poses for weather prediction. Mongabay: In the recent years, what changes has IMD been observing in the nature of heatwaves? Mrutyunjay Mohapatra: Our data from 1970 to 2020 suggests a rise in the maximum (daytime), minimum (nighttime) and mean temperatures. As a result, the frequency, duration and intensity of heatwaves are increasing. With rising temperatures, humidity in the atmosphere also increases. For every 1° Celsius rise in temperature (of planet Earth), there is around a 7% increase in relative humidity (the air can hold 7% more moisture). As a result, even if the temperature on a particular day remains similar to what it was in the past, discomfort levels are higher in a changing climate. The ‘feels-like’ temperature increases due to humidity. There is a rise in both daytime and nighttime temperatures. If daytime temperatures exceed 40°C and nights remain warm, people do not get sufficient relief or proper sleep, which&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/both-daytime-and-nighttime-temperatures-have-risen-imd-chief-interview/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/both-daytime-and-nighttime-temperatures-have-risen-imd-chief-interview/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Local land-atmosphere processes influence heatwaves</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/local-land-atmosphere-processes-influence-heatwaves/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/local-land-atmosphere-processes-influence-heatwaves/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 May 2026 15:59:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[T. V. Padma]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat impacts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat wave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat waves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwaves]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/21135248/AP26141206399559-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38297</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Decoding Heat]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Climate Science, Extreme Weather Events, Impacts of Climate Change, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Not all heatwaves in the Indo-Gangetic Plain are caused by large-scale weather systems; many are driven by local land and atmospheric conditions, a new study from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, reports. Heat accumulates more because of local surface heating and air compression processes than because of warm air moving in from other [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Not all heatwaves in the Indo-Gangetic Plain are caused by large-scale weather systems; many are driven by local land and atmospheric conditions, a new study from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, reports. Heat accumulates more because of local surface heating and air compression processes than because of warm air moving in from other regions, the study says. Recognising these local precursors of extreme heat events is essential for improving early warning systems and helping communities prepare. The scientists examined the role of anticyclones — large-scale high-pressure systems in the atmosphere, often spanning hundreds of kilometres — in the formation of 10 major pre-monsoon heatwave episodes between 2010 and 2024. The anticyclones have previously been thought to transport warm air into the Indo-Gangetic Plains. The new study, however, shows that even under the same large-scale anticyclones, two very different types of heatwaves can form, depending on local factors. These two types of heatwaves are moist and dry heatwaves. Moist heatwaves develop in areas that received pre-monsoon showers, which wet the soil, Karthikeyan Lanka, Associate Professor at IIT Bombay’s Centre of Studies in Resources Engineering (CSRE), Centre for Climate Studies, and one of the study authors, says. When strong sunshine follows, the soil releases moisture into the air. At night, this moisture forms low clouds that act like a blanket, trapping the day&#8217;s heat close to the ground and preventing the land from cooling, Lanka explained to Mongabay-India. Over several days, heat steadily builds up and a heatwave sets in,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/local-land-atmosphere-processes-influence-heatwaves/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/local-land-atmosphere-processes-influence-heatwaves/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Vanishing mango landraces reflect the loss of shared landscapes [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/vanishing-mango-landraces-reflect-the-loss-of-shared-landscapes-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/vanishing-mango-landraces-reflect-the-loss-of-shared-landscapes-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 May 2026 18:17:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Femi E. Benny]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fruits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[garden]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[home gardens]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mango]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/20155047/18a5ec0f-6c7f-4af7-a416-aabc9536c200-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38274</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agroecology, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Food, Trees, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In many rural villages of Kerala, the Indigenous mango trees were once more than just a tree. These trees meant shade, season, memory, and public abundance. People named such trees — naattu manga (country mango). The term did not refer to a single botanical variety, but to local mango landraces, trees that had emerged, adapted, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In many rural villages of Kerala, the Indigenous mango trees were once more than just a tree. These trees meant shade, season, memory, and public abundance. People named such trees — naattu manga (country mango). The term did not refer to a single botanical variety, but to local mango landraces, trees that had emerged, adapted, and persisted within village landscapes over generations. They stood in homesteads, along roadsides, near paddy fields as well as in school grounds, but its fruits belonged to many. Their ownership was often legible on paper, but in practice their fruits moved across households and compounds. A naattu manga belonged, in a moral sense, to the village. Across Kerala, traditional agroecosystems have been steadily reshaped by land fragmentation, compound walls, real estate pressures, road expansion, and the shift from mixed homesteads to more enclosed forms of landholding. The loss is not only ecological; it is also cultural. When a large old mango tree is cut, a village does not merely lose fruit. It loses a seasonal meeting point, a taste archive, and a lineage of local adaptation that may never be properly named before it disappears. Scientifically, these trees belong to the species Mangifera indica, but socially they belonged to a wider commons. A 2015 biodiversity appraisal described mango as a keystone species of Kerala homestead gardens. Many of these local varieties under M. indica persist only as scattered trees in homesteads rather than as formal orchards. Therefore, to conserve these Indigenous mango varieties from across&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/vanishing-mango-landraces-reflect-the-loss-of-shared-landscapes-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/vanishing-mango-landraces-reflect-the-loss-of-shared-landscapes-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Assured paddy prices reshape farms</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/assured-paddy-prices-reshape-farms/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/assured-paddy-prices-reshape-farms/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 12:38:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ayushi Sharma]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paddy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[soil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[traditional grains]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/15114005/paddy-purchasing-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38193</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chhattisgarh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Environment, Environmental Politics, Food, Organic Farming, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Sukhdev Sahu, a farmer from Kurud block in Dhamtari district, Chhattisgarh, is standing on the edge of his field. Around him, paddy cultivation stretches as far as the eye can see. &#8220;In the past, we used to grow a variety of crops here, including kodo, kutki, ragi, pulses, and oilseeds. Now, there is nothing but [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Sukhdev Sahu, a farmer from Kurud block in Dhamtari district, Chhattisgarh, is standing on the edge of his field. Around him, paddy cultivation stretches as far as the eye can see. &#8220;In the past, we used to grow a variety of crops here, including kodo, kutki, ragi, pulses, and oilseeds. Now, there is nothing but paddy,&#8221; Sahu says. Now in his sixties, Sahu remembers a time when he practiced organic farming in the early 2000s. He used to make manure from cow dung on his farm and saved seeds for the next season. He then had 20 cattle. But things changed when paddy started getting better prices. Today, on his 11 acres of land, he grows only paddy. When asked for the reason, he answers, “It is because of the price of paddy. No matter the variety, the government buys it at ₹3,100 per quintal.” This trend is not unique to Sahu. Recent data highlights a broader transformation in agricultural practices across the state. Over the past five years, the certified area under organic cultivation in the state has shrunk sharply. The area under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) certification was around 23,209 hectares in 2020–21, but by 2024–25, it had fallen to just about 6,822 hectares. This represents a decline of nearly 70%. The area under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), another Indian government scheme launched in 2015-16 to promote sustainable, chemical-free organic farming, has increased from 25,000 ha to more than one lakh ha in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/assured-paddy-prices-reshape-farms/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>The fading climate shields</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-fading-climate-shields/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-fading-climate-shields/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 May 2026 13:38:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Amir Bin Rafi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[land use]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sacred groves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tradition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Traditional Knowledge]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/05124934/Temple-Chachogi-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38032</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Himachal Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community based conservation, Conservation, Forests, Himalayas, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Mountains, Tribes, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Himachal Pradesh, the influence of traditional beliefs, religion and cultural practices continues to shape the conservation of forest land. Dev Vans, or sacred groves, are forest patches revered as the domain of local deities (devtas). Village customs strictly prohibit tree-felling, leaf collection, and the entry of alcohol or meat within its boundaries. Known as [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Himachal Pradesh, the influence of traditional beliefs, religion and cultural practices continues to shape the conservation of forest land. Dev Vans, or sacred groves, are forest patches revered as the domain of local deities (devtas). Village customs strictly prohibit tree-felling, leaf collection, and the entry of alcohol or meat within its boundaries. Known as the “Land of Unknown Gods”, Himachal Pradesh spans 55,673 sq km and contains 514 documented sacred groves, often found across valleys and slopes, near settlements, temples and water sources. For generations, in Himachal Pradesh, it was faith, not legislation, that determined which forests would remain untouched. &#8220;Nobody wants to anger the god,&#8221; says Anurita Saxena, Principal at Rajkiya Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Shimla, who has spent decades researching the state&#8217;s cultural practices. &#8220;The customs allow certain forests to remain untouched, hence conserving nature.” The sacred groves continue to remain at the centre of community life, where rituals and festivals reinforce connections between people and nature, particularly in Himachal&#8217;s remote and elevated zones. Ceremonies unfold under their canopies, and community gatherings celebrate their presence tightening the bond between inhabitants and terrain. In numerous villages, sacred forests adjoin temples and fall under the watch of kardars or caretakers, governing access and rules. These belief-based practices have also helped preserve forest patches across generations, outside of formal conservation efforts. Sacred landscapes, not empty forests Cultural researcher Rahul Bhushan, who studies Himalayan communities, says sacred groves reflect an earlier worldview where forests were looked at as living, inhabited spaces rather than unclaimed&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-fading-climate-shields/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Better preparedness and warning systems needed to deal with ice-rock avalanches</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/five-years-after-the-chamoli-disaster-a-new-study-calls-for-better-preparedness-and-warning-systems/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/five-years-after-the-chamoli-disaster-a-new-study-calls-for-better-preparedness-and-warning-systems/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Apr 2026 13:56:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate disaster]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[disaster]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Disaster management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[flooding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[planning]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/04/27200317/AP21041342927537-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37905</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Uttarakhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Environment, Floods, Glacial Lake Outburst Flood, Glaciers, Himalayas, Impacts of Climate Change, Mountains, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Five years after the 2021 floods in Uttarakhand, known as the Chamoli disaster, that resulted in the death of more than 200 people, a new study investigates hazard preparedness in the Himalayas. It compares the 2021 Chamoli disaster with the 2025 Blatten avalanche in Switzerland, where a large ice-rock avalanche buried most of the village [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Five years after the 2021 floods in Uttarakhand, known as the Chamoli disaster, that resulted in the death of more than 200 people, a new study investigates hazard preparedness in the Himalayas. It compares the 2021 Chamoli disaster with the 2025 Blatten avalanche in Switzerland, where a large ice-rock avalanche buried most of the village and resulted in one fatality, after residents were evacuated in advance. It discusses how elements of the Swiss early-warning approach, especially integrated monitoring, communication, and community-linked response, can be adapted to Himalayan realities. The study notes that as glaciers retreat, permafrost thaws and extreme precipitation intensifies due to climate change, effective hazard mitigation is essential. Published in the journal Communications Earth &amp; Environment, the study situates Chamoli within a wider pattern of warming-related mountain hazards and discusses that such failures are not isolated and need clearer recognition in risk governance and preparedness frameworks. “Early warning systems must move beyond small pilot projects and become a core element of national disaster preparedness,” it states. Comparing disaster responses in Chamoli and Blatten According to India’s National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) detailed report on the Uttarakhand disaster, the event began at about 10:08 a.m. on February 7, 2021, when a huge rock mass along with a glacieret (small glacier) failed in the upper reaches of the Garhwal Himalaya, triggering an air blast and a massive debris flow through the Raunthi Gadhera, Rishiganga and Dhauliganga valleys. The disaster damaged the hydropower projects at Raini and Tapovan, along with roads&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/five-years-after-the-chamoli-disaster-a-new-study-calls-for-better-preparedness-and-warning-systems/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/five-years-after-the-chamoli-disaster-a-new-study-calls-for-better-preparedness-and-warning-systems/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>The flame of the forest is fading; can it return?</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/the-flame-of-the-forest-is-fading-can-it-return/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/the-flame-of-the-forest-is-fading-can-it-return/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Apr 2026 15:14:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashwini Kumar Shukla]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[flowers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihoods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Palamu Tiger Reserve]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[traditional farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Traditional Knowledge]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/04/24111039/IMG_0269-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37862</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Plantations, Plants, Trees, Tribes, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“If the flower of the palash is fully bloomed, that means it will be a good summer, and it will rain well that year,” says Sarita Devi, sitting under a tree in front of her home. “And if it does not bloom on time, the rains will not be good either.” Sarita, 40, is a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“If the flower of the palash is fully bloomed, that means it will be a good summer, and it will rain well that year,” says Sarita Devi, sitting under a tree in front of her home. “And if it does not bloom on time, the rains will not be good either.” Sarita, 40, is a resident of Kundri village in Palamu district, Jharkhand. She belongs to the Dalit community. For generations, people here have predicted the weather through the palash tree. Their livelihoods also depend on it. The palash tree is used to grow lac, a natural resin produced by the insect Kerria lacca (rangeeni), which farmers harvest and sell in the market. On the palash tree, lac is produced twice a year: once in the rainy season (harvested in October–November) and once in the summer (harvested in June–July). For years, Sarita worked at the Kundri lac farm, widely described by officials as Asia&#8217;s largest lac plantation. Every October, she tied lac-bearing twigs to palash branches. Over the next few months, the resin slowly builds up on the branches and is later harvested and processed. “We used to do all the lac work,” she says. “Putting it on the trees, taking it off, peeling it, collecting it. It gave us very good employment.” In a good season, she, her husband Satnarayan Bhuiyan, 45, and their son Deepak Bhuiyan, 18, would earn between ₹50,000 and ₹60,000. Sarita is a resident of Kundri village in Palamu district who once depended on lac&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/the-flame-of-the-forest-is-fading-can-it-return/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>A generation strives to revive traditional healing</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/a-generation-strives-to-revive-traditional-healing/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/a-generation-strives-to-revive-traditional-healing/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Apr 2026 13:26:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Leesha K. Nair]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[food systems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[medicinal plants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Traditional Knowledge]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/04/15105331/IMG_9850-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37703</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Knowledge]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Food, Health impacts, Indigenous Peoples, Islands, Plantations, Plants, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“It is not the way it used to be,” says Saw John Aung Thong as he crosses rows of tall areca nut trees towards a clearing where his plant nursery once stood. This patch of land, now sparse, once held dozens of medicinal saplings in neat rows, awaiting planting. For the 54-year-old, the empty space [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“It is not the way it used to be,” says Saw John Aung Thong as he crosses rows of tall areca nut trees towards a clearing where his plant nursery once stood. This patch of land, now sparse, once held dozens of medicinal saplings in neat rows, awaiting planting. For the 54-year-old, the empty space represents more than a failed gardening experiment. It represents a stalled attempt to revive an old knowledge system that had sustained his community for generations. Set deep within Middle Andaman in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is Webi village, where John runs a homestay named Koh Hee. Webi was also the first settlement for his community, the Karens, when they were brought to the islands from Burma (now Myanmar) by the British in 1925 as foresters and labourers in the timber industry. The Karens are a settler group brought to the archipelago by the British administration in the early 20th century to meet labour demands. Nearly a century later, while many communities in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have blended culturally, the Karens have largely retained their distinct traditions, language, and rituals. But in recent years, their medicinal knowledge is quietly slipping out of practice. Flowers in the home garden of a Karen community member. The Karens are a settler group brought to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands by the British in the early 20th century to meet labour demands. Image by Leesha K. Nair. “My main motivation to bring back these gardens was my&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/a-generation-strives-to-revive-traditional-healing/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Rodents boom when bamboo blooms with no solution in sight</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/rodents-boom-when-bamboo-blooms-with-no-solution-in-sight/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/rodents-boom-when-bamboo-blooms-with-no-solution-in-sight/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Mar 2026 15:46:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Barasha Das]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bamboo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[famine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pesticides]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rodent]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/03/19143217/A-farmer-works-in-his-jhum-field-in-Mamte-village-in-Lunglei-district-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37357</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Mizoram]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Himalayas, Indigenous Peoples, Tribes, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As the sun slips behind the Lushai Hills, groups of farmers in Maulcheng village in Lunglei, Mizoram, set out for their jhum fields carrying bundles of bamboo traps. They meticulously set them before darkness falls, returning a few hours later to find most of them holding a rat. After nearly five decades, the dreaded “Thingtam” [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As the sun slips behind the Lushai Hills, groups of farmers in Maulcheng village in Lunglei, Mizoram, set out for their jhum fields carrying bundles of bamboo traps. They meticulously set them before darkness falls, returning a few hours later to find most of them holding a rat. After nearly five decades, the dreaded “Thingtam” returned to Mizoram late last year. Thingtam is a period marked by an exploding rodent population that raids fields and granaries night after night. A farmer may lay over 30 traps in one hectare in a single evening. Within hours, most will spring shut, and the cycle is repeated twice, sometimes thrice, before dawn. C. Lalhriliana, one of the farmers, says that agriculture is the mainstay for 60 households in the village, which cultivate rice and ginger across about 1.5 sq. km. “The destruction wasn’t limited to surface crops; even root vegetables like yams and ginger were eaten. I lost almost ₹25,000. Now I must buy rice from the market to feed my family of seven, which will severely strain my household budget,” he adds. Jhum fields in Mamte village, Mizoram. Jhum cultivation is the major source of livelihood for families in the state, with nearly 90% of the 130 households in Mamte farming 20,000-30,000 square metre of jhum each. Image by Surajit Sharma. Almost every village across the state had the same nightly ritual which continues even today though the infestation has reduced in parts. Lalrautkima, vice president of the Mamte Village Council, informs&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/rodents-boom-when-bamboo-blooms-with-no-solution-in-sight/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>A 700 km-long foot march to save sacred groves from solar projects</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/villagers-set-on-a-700-km-long-foot-march-to-save-sacred-groves-from-solar-projects-in-rajasthan/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/villagers-set-on-a-700-km-long-foot-march-to-save-sacred-groves-from-solar-projects-in-rajasthan/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Mar 2026 11:41:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manu Moudgil]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cattle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livestock]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Orans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pasture land]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[protest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sacred groves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Solar Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[solar panel]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/03/19092221/1.-A-flock-of-sheep-at-Raghwa-village-in-Jaisalmer-district-where-a-2700-MW-solar-park-has-been-earmarked.Image-by-Manu-Moudgil-scaled-e1773892629160-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37346</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Rajasthan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Energy, Environment, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Renewable Energy, Tribes, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It was February 27. A herd of around 20 cows drank from the Biprasar pond, while a flock of sheep grazed nearby. Around 13 camels straddled in. “Every day, thousands of animals, birds, and humans come to quench their thirst here. And this water is two years old because there was not much rain last [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It was February 27. A herd of around 20 cows drank from the Biprasar pond, while a flock of sheep grazed nearby. Around 13 camels straddled in. “Every day, thousands of animals, birds, and humans come to quench their thirst here. And this water is two years old because there was not much rain last year. Even when the seasonal rainfall is low, the vast aagor (catchment) helps us collect it here,” said Lal Singh, spreading his arm to indicate the extent of the land before growing sombre. “There is a proposal to set up a 400 MW solar energy park in the catchment. Where will all these animals go? How will we survive without water?” Growing up in Ramgarh village of Jaisalmer district, Singh has imbibed the language of the desert ecosystem where people thrive on an average annual rainfall of around 100 mm spread over just eight days. This region has some of the lowest intensity of rainfall. For comparison, the average annual rainfall in India is around 1200 mm. People here use traditional wisdom to harvest this little water from ponds, shallow and deep wells, and khadeens, and to rear animals on desert grasses and shrubs in orans (sacred groves) and gochars (pastures). But a growing number of large solar power and mining projects in the region are now taking over these traditional community lands, threatening the traditional way of life and sparking conflicts that have grown into a broader movement in the last five years. Camels&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/villagers-set-on-a-700-km-long-foot-march-to-save-sacred-groves-from-solar-projects-in-rajasthan/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Artists trace the journey of food, environment and livelihoods</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/an-exhibition-traces-food-environment-and-livelihoods-through-art/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/an-exhibition-traces-food-environment-and-livelihoods-through-art/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Mar 2026 15:49:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shilpa Raina]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[art]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cattle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dairy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[land management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livestock]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[milk]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/03/10124129/Image-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37216</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Economics, Food, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Food that reaches our plates undertakes a journey increasingly shaped by environmental change. As populations grow, forests are converted into farmland, cities expand, land-use patterns shift, and accelerated human activity contributes to climate change, which leads to intensifying extreme weather events. These ecological transformations have been reshaping food systems across India, as they impact the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Food that reaches our plates undertakes a journey increasingly shaped by environmental change. As populations grow, forests are converted into farmland, cities expand, land-use patterns shift, and accelerated human activity contributes to climate change, which leads to intensifying extreme weather events. These ecological transformations have been reshaping food systems across India, as they impact the cycles of production, distribution and the livelihoods they sustain. These shifts form the basis of the exhibition Bitter Nectar, which placed food at its centre while tracing informal dairy economies in Uttar Pradesh, shifting horticultural rhythms in Ladakh, and changing land use patterns in Gujarat’s Gir landscape. Organised by Sustaina India, a collaborative initiative by the think-tank Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), with artist-duo Thukral and Tagra as curatorial leads, the showcase held last month in New Delhi, featured videos, a board-game puzzle and art installations to foreground the ecological and livelihood stress embedded in food production cycles. Artist-educator Mrugen Rathod’s installation from Gir, Gujarat, reflects on the booming Kesari mango economy and its ecological cost. The art exhibition ‘Bitter Nectar’ featured art inspired by food systems and environmental change in Uttar Pradesh, Ladakh, and Gujarat. It was organised by Sustaina India, an initiative by Council on Energy, Environment and Water. Image courtesy of Sustaina India. Invisible changes in the informal milk economy Central to dietary practices and known for its nutritional value and cultural significance, milk has a ubiquitous presence in Indian households. A robust network of corporations and informal milk traders&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/an-exhibition-traces-food-environment-and-livelihoods-through-art/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Study finds counterintuitive rise in elephant deaths after organised monitoring</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/study-finds-counterintuitive-rise-in-elephant-deaths-after-organised-monitoring/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/study-finds-counterintuitive-rise-in-elephant-deaths-after-organised-monitoring/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Mar 2026 14:26:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sandhya Sekar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Crop loss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human elephant conflict]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Infrastructure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tea estates]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tea gardens]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/03/03222211/A_herd_of_wild_elephants_in_a_Tea_Garden-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37132</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Assam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Elephants, Forests, Human Rights, Human Wildlife Conflict, Plantations, Villages, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new study analysing two decades of organised crop-guarding efforts to deter elephants from entering farms has found a counterintuitive outcome: villages with active monitoring recorded two to three times more elephant deaths. The elephant monitoring squads were set up in 2004 in Assam’s Sonitpur district where human-elephant conflict had led to high fatalities on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new study analysing two decades of organised crop-guarding efforts to deter elephants from entering farms has found a counterintuitive outcome: villages with active monitoring recorded two to three times more elephant deaths. The elephant monitoring squads were set up in 2004 in Assam’s Sonitpur district where human-elephant conflict had led to high fatalities on both sides. The aim behind setting up the squads was to keep elephants away from human habitation to reduce conflict and hence reduce deaths. The study set out to find whether this intervention was indeed effective in decreasing deaths, but found increased elephant mortality instead. The study findings however, need to be viewed with caution. While they show an association between an increased number of Antidepredation Squads (ADSs) and increased elephant deaths, they are not a direct proof of causation, notes WWF-India which helped set up these squads in Sonitpur. The data shows that there are more elephant deaths in areas where ADSs have been deployed. The reason for increased deaths, says study author Nitin Sekar, could be that ADSs result in more regular, organised, and effective driving of elephants than occurs in communities without ADSs.&#8221;It seems plausible that ADSs result in more regular, organised, and effective driving of elephants than occurs in communities without ADSs, and that elephants being chased in this way are less attentive to their surroundings (especially since drives often happen in the dark) and are more likely to run into an electric wire or fall into a trench,&#8221; Sekar said.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/study-finds-counterintuitive-rise-in-elephant-deaths-after-organised-monitoring/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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