<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" >

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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
		<atom:link href="https://india.mongabay.com/feed/?topic=wildlife-protection-act&#038;type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/list/wildlife-protection-act/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Wed, 12 Aug 2026 13:57:33 +0000</lastBuildDate>
		<language>en-US</language>
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				<item>
					<title>As herders quit, the skills that helped human-tiger coexistence, disappear [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-herders-quit-the-skills-that-helped-human-tiger-coexistence-disappear-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-herders-quit-the-skills-that-helped-human-tiger-coexistence-disappear-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Aug 2026 13:23:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Varun Sharma]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cattle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grazing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[herders]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihoods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livestock]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/09231610/6_Thakre-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39995</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Camera traps, Cats, Ecology, Forests, Human Rights, Human Wildlife Conflict, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Mammals, National Parks, Protected Areas, Tigers, Wildlife, Wildlife Protection Act, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Open forests, interspersed with farmlands and village commons, connect the tiger reserves of Kanha and Pench in the state of Madhya Pradesh. This is the Kanha-Pench Corridor, spread across about 5,900 square kilometres, making up 2% of the area of the state. It offers both refuge and mobility to wildlife. It is also densely populated, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Open forests, interspersed with farmlands and village commons, connect the tiger reserves of Kanha and Pench in the state of Madhya Pradesh. This is the Kanha-Pench Corridor, spread across about 5,900 square kilometres, making up 2% of the area of the state. It offers both refuge and mobility to wildlife. It is also densely populated, with over 400 villages located across the region. Though 97 tigers were recorded in this corridor, human-animal coexistence has become a renewed challenge. According to a news report published last August, more than 14,000 cattle were killed by tigers and leopards across the state in 2024–2025. In such situations, it is easy to overlook the role played by herders. They possess specialised knowledge that helps people coexist with tigers. They serve to locate livestock killed by predators and navigate government compensation systems. Cattle deaths can easily escalate tensions between forest-dwelling cattle holders and the forest department, the main agency dispensing the compensation. Herders don’t just address human-wildlife conflict, they mediate such difficult relations in the best interests of coexistence. One would most likely presume that in such times of peak conflict, the herder should be more indispensable than ever. Instead, herders are quitting their occupation due to economic, ecological, and social pressures. As herding and its associated knowledge disappears, it may undermine forms of coexistence that conservation programmes rarely account for. Cattle signs and compensation To understand what happens to tiger conservation when the practice of herding is a disappearing, it is important to begin&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-herders-quit-the-skills-that-helped-human-tiger-coexistence-disappear-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-herders-quit-the-skills-that-helped-human-tiger-coexistence-disappear-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Supreme court upholds centre&#8217;s power to notify post-facto clearance</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/supreme-court-upholds-centres-power-to-notify-post-facto-clearance/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/supreme-court-upholds-centres-power-to-notify-post-facto-clearance/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Aug 2026 16:28:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[construction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environment clearance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environmental Clearance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest clearance]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/07135307/AP22207426732440-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39949</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environomy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Crime, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Forests, Industry, Land Rights, Law Enforcement, National Parks, Natural Resources, Protected Areas, Sustainability, and Wildlife Protection Act]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Supreme Court has struck down the centre&#8217;s 2021 Office Memorandum (OM) that created a mechanism for granting post facto environmental clearances to projects that violated prior environmental clearance norms. At the same time, it stated that the central government has the power to frame statutory amnesty schemes for specified categories of such violations under [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Supreme Court has struck down the centre&#8217;s 2021 Office Memorandum (OM) that created a mechanism for granting post facto environmental clearances to projects that violated prior environmental clearance norms. At the same time, it stated that the central government has the power to frame statutory amnesty schemes for specified categories of such violations under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. On July 29, the Supreme Court decided three connected writ petitions questioning the centre&#8217;s two amnesty schemes introduced in 2017 and 2021 to regularise projects that had started construction or operations without obtaining prior environmental clearance. The first scheme came through a notification issued in 2017, which gave projects that had violated prior environmental clearance requirements a one-time six-month window to seek clearance. In 2021, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued an OM prescribing a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for granting post facto environmental clearances to such projects. Delivering the judgment, the three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi said, “…the OM does not satisfy the test of proportionality and reasonableness and is violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution”. The Court quashed the OM, although the ruling will operate only prospectively, the judgement said. However, the bench also stated that the central government could exercise its powers under Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, to issue statutory notifications framing amnesty schemes for specified categories of non-compliant projects. Environmental experts said this leaves open&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/supreme-court-upholds-centres-power-to-notify-post-facto-clearance/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>As elephants venture to higher altitudes researchers track possibilities of conflict</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/as-elephants-venture-to-higher-altitudes-researchers-track-possibilities-of-conflict/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/as-elephants-venture-to-higher-altitudes-researchers-track-possibilities-of-conflict/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jul 2026 15:55:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[elephant corridors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elephant Movement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human elephant conflict]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife corridors]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/03141812/Picture2_Camera-trap-capture-of-an-elephant-herd-above-3200-m-the-highest-known-altitude-of-elephant-presence.-C-WWF-IndiaArunachal-Pradesh-Forest-Department-e1783069319919-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38962</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arunachal Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animal Behaviour, Biodiversity, Camera traps, Conservation, Elephants, Habitat Fragmentation, Habitat Loss, Human Wildlife Conflict, Land Rights, Mammals, Wildlife, Wildlife Protection Act, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Elephants in Arunachal Pradesh may be present at higher elevations than previously thought. According to the new action plan on managing human-elephant conflict in the state, elephant tracks as well as a camera trap image of a juvenile elephant were observed at an altitude of 3,266 metres in the state’s Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, possibly the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Elephants in Arunachal Pradesh may be present at higher elevations than previously thought. According to the new action plan on managing human-elephant conflict in the state, elephant tracks as well as a camera trap image of a juvenile elephant were observed at an altitude of 3,266 metres in the state’s Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, possibly the highest recorded presence of Asian elephants in the world. The highest known record of an elephant (African elephant) is at around 4,000 metres, on Mount Kenya. Elephants in Arunachal Pradesh were previously known to be present primarily in the lower reaches and Himalayan foothills occasionally moving up to an altitude of 2,000 meters. However, this assessment found their presence at altitudes going up to 3,266 metres. The new action plan, released in May 2026, was jointly developed by the Arunachal Pradesh Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and WWF-India, to address human-elephant conflict in the state, threats to habitats and analyse whether elephant corridors are well-protected. Data was collected between December 2024 and March 2026. Officials examined elephant habitats where conflict was reported, and where crop or property damage had occurred. Why the altitude record matters According to Aritra Kshettry, who works with WWF-India’s Elephant Conservation Programme (ECP), elephants are not typically found at such high altitudes. The records of elephants at these altitudes gives clues about their movement outside of protected areas which helps predict potential interactions between elephants and humans. According to the action plan, elephant presence and crop damage have been&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/as-elephants-venture-to-higher-altitudes-researchers-track-possibilities-of-conflict/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>New camera-trap record confirms caracal presence in Kuno</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/new-camera-trap-record-confirms-caracal-presence-in-kuno/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/new-camera-trap-record-confirms-caracal-presence-in-kuno/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jul 2026 14:55:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Biodiversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[caracal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kuno]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/30114032/IMG_0186-e1782883923178-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38850</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Animals, Camera traps, Cats, Conservation, Endangered species, Forests, Grasslands, Wildlife, Wildlife Protection Act, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Deep inside Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, two camera traps captured a lean wildcat at night. It had long legs, a tawny coat and black ear tufts. This wildcat was a caracal, one of India’s least-seen wild cats. Notably, this caracal was recorded from the same forest landscape where India’s cheetah reintroduction project is underway. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Deep inside Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, two camera traps captured a lean wildcat at night. It had long legs, a tawny coat and black ear tufts. This wildcat was a caracal, one of India’s least-seen wild cats. Notably, this caracal was recorded from the same forest landscape where India’s cheetah reintroduction project is underway. Kuno National Park’s field director Uttam Kumar Sharma noted that in the four years that he has been in the Park, this was the first record of the cat. The forest department is now going through older records to check if caracals had been recorded earlier in Kuno or adjoining areas. Sharma noted that this record may indicate the possibility of local presence. However, more monitoring is needed before drawing a conclusion, he added. Presence, not proof of population Shekhar Kolipaka, who has studied caracal distribution and suitable habitats in India, and is Senior Landscape Developer at Commonland Foundation said the Kuno record should be interpreted carefully. “A single camera-trap photograph confirms the presence of a caracal, but does not indicate the existence of a resident population,” Kolipaka said in a written response to Mongabay-India. However, he added that the record, most likely a dispersing male, is still significant. Continued monitoring, he said, will help determine whether more individuals occur in the landscape and whether the photographed animal establishes residency or continues dispersing. “Like most wild cats, young adults naturally disperse from their birth areas to establish their own territories. Males, in particular, often travel&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/new-camera-trap-record-confirms-caracal-presence-in-kuno/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>A community leads protection of the pangolin in a critical illegal trade corridor</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/a-community-leads-protection-of-the-pangolin-in-a-critical-illegal-trade-corridor/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/a-community-leads-protection-of-the-pangolin-in-a-critical-illegal-trade-corridor/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 May 2026 15:19:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kasturi Das]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pangolin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife trafficking]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/07120441/Chinese-pangolin-rescue-and-released-by-WTI-in-Arunachal-Pradesh-_-Panjit-Basumatary-_-IMG_8627-1-copy-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38060</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Nagaland]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community based conservation, Conservation, Endangered species, Hunting, Indigenous Peoples, Mammals, Tribes, Wildlife, Wildlife Protection Act, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Nagaland’s Kiphire district, along the porous Indo-Myanmar border, pangolins have been hunted for decades — once due to cultural beliefs, and increasingly for trade, in a region identified as a key wildlife trafficking route. “Our forefathers would say that if a pangolin enters a house, it was considered a bad omen or curse,” says [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Nagaland’s Kiphire district, along the porous Indo-Myanmar border, pangolins have been hunted for decades — once due to cultural beliefs, and increasingly for trade, in a region identified as a key wildlife trafficking route. “Our forefathers would say that if a pangolin enters a house, it was considered a bad omen or curse,” says L. Kipitong Sangtam, 61, a resident of Amahator village in Kiphire district. “In the past, if someone encountered a pangolin, they would try to catch and kill it, sometimes by digging it out of its burrow.” Now, conservationists in Nagaland are turning to village councils and customary courts, to protect the elusive mammal. Though pangolin hunting is banned under India’s Wildlife Protection Act, enforcement remains difficult. So, conservationists are working with local tribal bodies, that have a greater influence in the state, to push for a local ban and safeguard the species. Earlier this year, the United Sangtam Likhum Pumji (USLP), the apex tribal body of the Sangtam Naga community, passed a resolution for a community-led ban on pangolin hunting in 42 villages of Kiphire district. The Sangtam Naga community is a major ethnic group in Nagaland, primarily inhabiting the Kiphire and Tuensang districts. The move comes amid growing concerns over trafficking of the critically endangered Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) along the Indo-Myanmar border, as well as pangolins hunted for local consumption. &nbsp; The Sangtam Naga community is a major ethnic group in Nagaland, primarily inhabiting Tuensang and Kiphire districts next to the Indo-Myanmar border.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/a-community-leads-protection-of-the-pangolin-in-a-critical-illegal-trade-corridor/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Fear may deter wild animals from damaging crops, study suggests</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/fear-may-deter-wild-animals-from-damaging-crops-study-suggests/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/fear-may-deter-wild-animals-from-damaging-crops-study-suggests/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Mar 2026 13:09:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Arathi Menon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crop]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Crop loss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[deer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[herbivores]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wild boar]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/03/27123141/Sambar_deer_Bordharan_Dam_Wardha_2-scaled-e1774594944522-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37502</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Maharashtra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Conservation, Forests, Human Wildlife Conflict, Wildlife, and Wildlife Protection Act]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Crop damage caused by wild animals, especially smaller species such as spotted deer and wild pig, is a growing but underreported driver of negative human-wildlife interactions in Maharashtra. An estimation of net agricultural losses from human-wildlife conflict, in the western Indian state, computed by the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics in Pune, pegs the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Crop damage caused by wild animals, especially smaller species such as spotted deer and wild pig, is a growing but underreported driver of negative human-wildlife interactions in Maharashtra. An estimation of net agricultural losses from human-wildlife conflict, in the western Indian state, computed by the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics in Pune, pegs the loss between ₹100 billion (₹10,000 crore) and ₹400 billion (₹40,000 crore) per year. One of the authors of the report and independent researcher, Milind Watve, says that crop damage from wildlife is a much larger issue than livestock depredation. “Human attacks are qualitatively different, of course, but media attention is largely focused on carnivore conflict. In reality, herbivore-related crop damage is far more significant in economic terms,” he tells Mongabay-India. In a new paper titled Why wild herbivores raid crops: Alternative hypotheses and their differential implications for the mitigation of human–wildlife conflict, Watve, along with another independent researcher, Sonal Prabhulkar, examines the root causes of crop raiding by wild herbivores. The paper critiques the lack of causal analysis in prior studies and lists alternative hypotheses from diverse sources, evaluating their logic against data and anecdotes. Four main hypotheses (not mutually exclusive) are analysed in the paper: habitat loss from various causes such as fragmentation, forest degradation and invasive species, acting as push factors; increasing herbivore populations due to conservation success; better nutrition from crop foraging as a pull factor; and a waning fear of humans. A sugarcane field in Satara, which neighbours Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/fear-may-deter-wild-animals-from-damaging-crops-study-suggests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Madhav Gadgil – a scientist, mentor and an institution builder [Obituary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/madhav-gadgil-a-scientist-mentor-and-an-institution-builder-obituary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/madhav-gadgil-a-scientist-mentor-and-an-institution-builder-obituary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Jan 2026 18:11:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Divya Kilikar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Traditional Knowledge]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/08094040/Prof._Madhav_Gadgil_Thematic_Edit-a-thon_Yashawantrao_Chavan_Institute_of_Science_Satara_2017_1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36401</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Western Ghats]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Ecology, Environment, Forests, Obituary, People, Western Ghats, Wildlife, and Wildlife Protection Act]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India’s eminent ecologist Madhav Gadgil died on January 7. He was 83. His son Siddhartha Gadgil announced the death through a message to all those who had known and worked with Gadgil. His wife, Sulochana Gadgil, had predeceased him in July 2025. Gadgil died in his home city Pune in Maharashtra. He had done his [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India’s eminent ecologist Madhav Gadgil died on January 7. He was 83. His son Siddhartha Gadgil announced the death through a message to all those who had known and worked with Gadgil. His wife, Sulochana Gadgil, had predeceased him in July 2025. Gadgil died in his home city Pune in Maharashtra. He had done his Bachelor&#8217;s from Fergusson College in Pune and Master&#8217;s from Mumbai University. He went to Harvard for his Ph.D. on mathematical ecology and fish behaviour. However, Gadgil did not restrict himself to being a purist academic, but also wanted to learn from the field and use his knowledge for the benefit of people and communities. His initial work involved the studying of sacred groves in the Western Ghats, after which he moved to studying forest and environment policies. In more recent years, he had become widely known for chairing a panel on the conservation of the Western Ghats. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), former environment minister Jairam Ramesh described Gadgil as a “top-notch academic scientist, a tireless field researcher, a pioneering institution builder, a great communicator, a firm believer in people’s networks and movements, and a friend, philosopher and guide to many for over five decades.” Historian Ramachandra Guha, who had co-authored two books with Gadgil, summarises his unique qualities as a deep knowledge of his land and its people; profound intellectual originality; courage to oppose intellectual fashion; the ability to unite intellectual and practical agendas; strong democratic instincts; and an absence of cynicism.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/madhav-gadgil-a-scientist-mentor-and-an-institution-builder-obituary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Forest ecology cannot be reduced to arithmetic, says M.I. Varghese [Interview]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/forest-ecology-cannot-be-reduced-to-arithmetic-says-m-i-varghese-interview/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/forest-ecology-cannot-be-reduced-to-arithmetic-says-m-i-varghese-interview/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Dec 2025 14:42:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[K.A. Shaji]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest Conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural resource management]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/12/15134129/varghese-e1765787109633-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36059</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Western Ghats]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Forests, Natural Resources, Protected Areas, Wildlife, Wildlife Protection Act, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[From the Himalayas to the Western Ghats, India’s forest and wildlife protection laws that prevented forest diversion, have been relaxed over the years for roads, mines, hydropower, defence infrastructure, and industrial corridors. Highways now run through elephant corridors and mining trucks move across tiger habitats. Encroachment by private lobbies, resort groups, and plantation operators, is [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[From the Himalayas to the Western Ghats, India’s forest and wildlife protection laws that prevented forest diversion, have been relaxed over the years for roads, mines, hydropower, defence infrastructure, and industrial corridors. Highways now run through elephant corridors and mining trucks move across tiger habitats. Encroachment by private lobbies, resort groups, and plantation operators, is often protected by political influence. This scenario is commonly seen in the south Indian coastal state of Kerala. The state has introduced amendments to the Kerala Forest Act, 1961, and the Kerala Private Forests (Vesting and Assignment) Act, 1971. While officials say these amendments are meant to curb encroachment and protect farmers, environmentalists warn they may primarily assist powerful landholding interests seeking to legalise occupation in forest regions. The Kerala Legislative Assembly has also passed the Kerala Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2025, awaiting presidential assent. The Bill devolves powers to district collectors and junior forest officers to authorise lethal action during human-wildlife conflict. Conservationists fear this could normalise killing, undermine scientific wildlife management, and violate constitutional and international biodiversity commitments. To understand these legislative shifts, Mongabay-India spoke to M.I. Varghese, a retired Indian Forest Service officer, legal scholar, and author of A Treatise on Forest Laws in Kerala. Varghese served across forest divisions in Kerala and spent decades interpreting environmental law. He reflects on the erosion of legal safeguards and the dangers ahead. Varghese reminds us that forests cannot speak for themselves and that the law must be their voice. If that voice grows faint,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/forest-ecology-cannot-be-reduced-to-arithmetic-says-m-i-varghese-interview/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>The case for a new legal framework to protect India’s wildlife and livelihoods [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-case-for-a-new-legal-framework-to-protect-indias-wildlife-and-livelihoods-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-case-for-a-new-legal-framework-to-protect-indias-wildlife-and-livelihoods-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Dec 2025 13:00:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mathen Rajeev Mathew]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural resource management]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/12/02175234/Panthera_leo_persicaAsiatic_Lion_Gir-e1764680933605-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35861</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Human Wildlife Conflict, Indigenous Rights, Protected Areas, Wildlife, and Wildlife Protection Act]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India ushered in an era of protectionist conservation with the Wild Life (Protection) Act (WLPA) in 1972. At that time, the Act was sought to safeguard the nation’s rich yet dwindling wildlife and biodiversity. Wild animals were granted protection under one unified central Act, leading to a significant decline in legal hunting across the country, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India ushered in an era of protectionist conservation with the Wild Life (Protection) Act (WLPA) in 1972. At that time, the Act was sought to safeguard the nation’s rich yet dwindling wildlife and biodiversity. Wild animals were granted protection under one unified central Act, leading to a significant decline in legal hunting across the country, while poaching was never addressed until much later. This was facilitated by the political climate prevalent at that time, with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi enjoying widespread patronage and influence with most states under Congress Party rule. The WLPA was promulgated 25 years after India’s independence from British rule. It was a tumultuous period, after independence, when the big game hunters unilaterally imposed a moratorium on tiger hunting for a span of five years beginning in 1968 to improve numbers which they felt were dwindling. They did not realise at that time that two systems inimical to tigers and other carnivorous animals, that is poaching and killing carnivores for cattle and livestock protection, were the reasons for their dwindling numbers. This gave the government, led by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi a window of opportunity and purpose to ban all hunting. The WLPA was conceived as a central law under the concurrent list therefore not necessarily superseding state wildlife legislations that had until then governed hunting and protection. For a period, however, both central and state laws worked in tandem, which allowed for a federal participation in its application of the law. Some states continued to permit&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/the-case-for-a-new-legal-framework-to-protect-indias-wildlife-and-livelihoods-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>CITES withdraws recommendation to suspend trade of endangered species to India</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/cites-withdraws-recommendation-to-suspend-trade-of-endangered-species-to-india/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/cites-withdraws-recommendation-to-suspend-trade-of-endangered-species-to-india/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Nov 2025 17:11:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[captive animals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CITES]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IUCN]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife crime]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/11/25152050/Orangutan_Pongo_pygmeus_pygmeus-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35755</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Environmental Crime, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Wildlife, Wildlife Protection Act, Wildlife Sanctuary, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) withdrew its earlier recommendation to suspend the trade of endangered species to India, after it failed to garner adequate support by Parties at the ongoing CITES meeting in Uzbekistan. Earlier this month, the CITES Secretariat recommended India halt [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) withdrew its earlier recommendation to suspend the trade of endangered species to India, after it failed to garner adequate support by Parties at the ongoing CITES meeting in Uzbekistan. Earlier this month, the CITES Secretariat recommended India halt the import of species threatened with extinction (listed under Appendix I) until it revised its due diligence mechanisms. The recommendation was made after the Secretariat observed inconsistencies in India’s animal imports during a site visit in September. Without doing so, India ran the risk of importing animals which may have been sourced from the wild and traded as captive-bred, the Secretariat said. Over 40,000 imported animals – including endangered species like cheetahs, chimpanzees, and orangutans – were acquired by Vantara, a private zoo and rescue and rehabilitation centre founded by Anant Ambani of Reliance Industries. The Secretariat’s visit to India was made on the request of several Party members who had raised concerns about the volume and origin of animals being sent to Vantara. When the issue came up for discussion at the CITES meeting on November 23, however, most Parties in the Standing Committee hesitated to support the recommendation for temporary trade suspension to India, leading to its withdrawal. Observers at the meeting said the proceedings were unexpected. “We’re surprised by the amount of support India has received,” said Daniela Freyer, co-founder of the German conservation NGO ProWildlife, who was present during the meeting.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/cites-withdraws-recommendation-to-suspend-trade-of-endangered-species-to-india/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>India defends animal imports, calls wildlife governance ‘unmatched’</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/india-defends-animal-imports-calls-wildlife-governance-unmatched/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/india-defends-animal-imports-calls-wildlife-governance-unmatched/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Nov 2025 16:16:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CITES]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Supreme Court of India]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/11/14141822/Pan_paniscus_female-e1763116234859-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35579</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Environmental Crime, Environmental Law, Wildlife, Wildlife Protection Act, Wildlife Sanctuary, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India responded to an investigation of its animal imports by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) this week, arguing that any recommendations for a moratorium on wildlife trade are “premature and disproportionate.” The CITES Secretariat had found lapses in India’s due diligence of wildlife imports, in a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India responded to an investigation of its animal imports by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) this week, arguing that any recommendations for a moratorium on wildlife trade are “premature and disproportionate.” The CITES Secretariat had found lapses in India’s due diligence of wildlife imports, in a report published earlier this month. Over 40,000 animals imported by India were headed to Vantara, a private animal rescue and rehabilitation centre founded by Anant Ambani of Reliance Industries. The report expressed concern that the imports may have allowed wild-caught animals to be traded as captive-bred, despite the validity of permits. The Secretariat gave India 90 days to respond to the findings and provide evidence of its revised due diligence mechanisms, recommending the trade of species threatened with extinction be paused till then. In response, India defended the animal imports, calling the scale of its wildlife governance systems “unmatched,” and arguing that “a five-day verification visit by a small mission team can, at best, provide an interim snapshot.” India further urged the Secretariat not to take punitive measures “in the absence of verified violation.” It also cited a recent Supreme Court judgement which declared all animal imports into Vantara were legally carried out. “India’s voluntary invitation to the verification mission and full disclosure of all records exemplify the good-faith cooperation that the Standing Committee has historically encouraged and rewarded,” India’s statement said, adding that it “urges all Parties to preserve this trust-based system rather than&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/india-defends-animal-imports-calls-wildlife-governance-unmatched/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Looking at human-wildlife conflict through a data-first lens</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/looking-at-human-wildlife-conflict-through-a-data-first-lens/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/looking-at-human-wildlife-conflict-through-a-data-first-lens/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2025 12:23:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nikhil Sreekandan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human elephant conflict]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/10/07104949/27707281806_1e04933a95_o-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34939</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Elephants, Human Wildlife Conflict, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Protected Areas, Wildlife, and Wildlife Protection Act]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the last 15 years, there have been 1,527 human deaths from wildlife encounters in Kerala, according to the data from the state forest department. While snake bites accounted for 75 percent of the casualties, elephants claimed 276 lives, wild pigs were responsible for 63 lives and conflict with tigers and gaurs resulted in the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the last 15 years, there have been 1,527 human deaths from wildlife encounters in Kerala, according to the data from the state forest department. While snake bites accounted for 75 percent of the casualties, elephants claimed 276 lives, wild pigs were responsible for 63 lives and conflict with tigers and gaurs resulted in the loss of 11 and 10 lives, respectively. The case count has been steadily rising; between 2021 and 2025, human interaction with elephants claimed 103 lives, wild pigs claimed 35 lives, and tigers claimed four lives. It is fair to say that Kerala, one of the most densely populated states in the country, has been in the eye of the storm, with cases of human-wildlife conflict — crop damage, livestock depredation and human casualties — being reported almost every day. Epicentre of human-elephant conflict in Kerala The Wayanad district, which recorded 450 human-wildlife conflict incidents in the last year alone, is one of the most conflict-prone regions in the state. The north-east district shares borders with both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and forms part of the Brahmagiri-Nilgiri-Eastern Ghats elephant landscape, which boasts the highest density of elephants in Asia, with an estimated population of 6,000 to 8,000 individuals. The Wayanad plateau, with its network of wetlands and perennial streams, has always been a valuable refuge for elephants in the dry season. However, with an expanding human population and a pronounced change in land use over the years, the region has become a hotspot for human-elephant conflict.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/looking-at-human-wildlife-conflict-through-a-data-first-lens/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Evolving hunting practices pose an increasing threat to wildlife</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/evolving-hunting-practices-pose-an-increasing-threat-to-wildlife/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/evolving-hunting-practices-pose-an-increasing-threat-to-wildlife/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Aug 2025 16:32:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Barasha Das]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hunting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tribal communities]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/08/25161232/Blythes-tragopan_Khelia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34294</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Nagaland]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environmental Law, Human Wildlife Conflict, Hunting, Protected Areas, Wildlife, and Wildlife Protection Act]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Nagaland, hunting has deep cultural roots among the indigenous Naga tribes, and is traditionally practiced for subsistence and as part of customary life. However, this age-old practice is rapidly changing, and posing an increasing threat to wildlife. A recent study conducted across two ecologically rich forest areas in Nagaland &#8212;  Khelia Community Forest and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Nagaland, hunting has deep cultural roots among the indigenous Naga tribes, and is traditionally practiced for subsistence and as part of customary life. However, this age-old practice is rapidly changing, and posing an increasing threat to wildlife. A recent study conducted across two ecologically rich forest areas in Nagaland &#8212;  Khelia Community Forest and Intangki National Park, reveals the troubling extent of wildlife hunting and trade in the region. Camera traps in both forests, which are part of the ecologically critical Indo-Myanmar biodiversity hotspot, captured 31 species of wild animals, all of which are being hunted or consumed. This raises urgent questions about conservation, community roles, and the future of biodiversity in this area. Satem Longchar, a conservation ecologist and lead author of the study, recalls one of her first encounters with illegal wildlife trade. “In 2012–13, while conducting fieldwork near Nagaland’s only national park &#8211; Intangki, I met a young hunter, around 20 years old. I was showing him photos of various wild cats when he excitedly claimed to own a tiger skin. What he brought out was the pelt of a clouded leopard. He cautiously tried to sell it to me…likely because it had already been rejected by buyers for being too small to pass as a tiger’s.” That was Longchar&#8217;s first direct encounter with both the presence of clouded leopards and the illegal wildlife trade in Nagaland. “It made clear that a market for wild cat parts exists, even if most people cannot distinguish between species.”&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/evolving-hunting-practices-pose-an-increasing-threat-to-wildlife/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Tribal resettlement near the forest a wild idea, say environmentalists</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/tribal-resettlement-near-the-forest-a-wild-idea-say-environmentalists/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/tribal-resettlement-near-the-forest-a-wild-idea-say-environmentalists/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jul 2025 13:58:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Arathi Menon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[relocation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tribal communities]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/07/30125709/IMG-20250730-WA0030-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=33849</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Karnataka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Human Wildlife Conflict, Protected Areas, Tigers, Tribes, and Wildlife Protection Act]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[If the Karnataka government has its way, 20 acres of pristine land adjacent to the Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary in Kodagu district will soon be converted into a large tribal colony to house more than 500 people — a decision that has wildlife activists and locals in a bind. The land in question lies in Survey [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[If the Karnataka government has its way, 20 acres of pristine land adjacent to the Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary in Kodagu district will soon be converted into a large tribal colony to house more than 500 people — a decision that has wildlife activists and locals in a bind. The land in question lies in Survey No. 147/2 at Theralu village in Virajpet taluk. This parcel of the revenue land borders the Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, where the Barapole river originates. It has been handed over to the Karmika Kalyana Ilake, or the Labour Welfare Department. The decision to allocate the land was taken in 2017 by the then Deputy Commissioner, B.C. Satish, to resettle 100 landless tribal families belonging to the Kuruba and Yerava communities, most of whom were evicted from the Diddahalli forest in 2016. The process has gained momentum following a recent push from Kodagu MLA A.S. Ponnanna. Forest officials stationed near the site informed Mongabay India that they stopped a group of people from initiating land conversion work in June. The Karnataka government plans to convert 20 acres of pristine land adjacent to the Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary in Kodagu into a large tribal colony to house more than 500 people. Image by Dilan Mandanna. Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, notified in 1974 under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, covers 181.29 square kilometres in southern Kodagu district, Karnataka. Located in the core of the Western Ghats, the sanctuary features rugged terrain and receives high annual rainfall ranging from 2,500 to 6,000&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/tribal-resettlement-near-the-forest-a-wild-idea-say-environmentalists/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/tribal-resettlement-near-the-forest-a-wild-idea-say-environmentalists/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Government eyes recognising non-protected conservation areas to meet biodiversity goals</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/government-eyes-recognising-non-protected-conservation-areas-to-meet-biodiversity-goals/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/government-eyes-recognising-non-protected-conservation-areas-to-meet-biodiversity-goals/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jan 2025 13:49:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Simrinsirur]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[landscape]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oecm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[protected areas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wasteland]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/01/06130354/8491789890_2194b99abe_o-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=30949</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Protected Areas, and Wildlife Protection Act]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The National Biodiversity Authority, which regulates and conserves India&#8217;s biological resources, is looking to expand Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) – geographic areas that are not legally protected but that also host biodiversity – as a strategy to meet its newly updated biodiversity goals. In October 2024, India officially committed to the “effective” conservation [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The National Biodiversity Authority, which regulates and conserves India&#8217;s biological resources, is looking to expand Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) – geographic areas that are not legally protected but that also host biodiversity – as a strategy to meet its newly updated biodiversity goals. In October 2024, India officially committed to the “effective” conservation of 30% of the country’s terrestrial, inland water, coastal and marine areas by 2030, when it submitted its updated Biodiversity Plan and targets to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD). India is hoping to make progress on this goal by recognising more OECMs across the country, said C. Achalender Reddy, chairman of the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA). “These are areas that are not bound by wildlife and forest laws. The management of these areas has to be evolved differently. Recognising them as OECMs is how we can expand these conservation areas,” Reddy told Mongabay India. In 2022, India collaborated with the United Nations Development Programme to create a compendium of 14 OECMs in India. Achieving the “30 by 30” goal, as it has been dubbed, will mean not only identifying more OECMs, but also better defining what the qualities of OECMs are, said Reddy. “The compendium was a good start, but it’s not enough. We have identified a few of these OECMs, but state governments also need to be taken into confidence so they too recognise them administratively,” Reddy said. The NBA has constituted a 22-member committee to devise a more comprehensive approach&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/government-eyes-recognising-non-protected-conservation-areas-to-meet-biodiversity-goals/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>With more than 700 snow leopards, next step in conservation is long term monitoring, say experts</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/02/with-more-than-700-snow-leopards-next-step-in-conservation-is-long-term-monitoring-say-experts/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/02/with-more-than-700-snow-leopards-next-step-in-conservation-is-long-term-monitoring-say-experts/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Feb 2024 14:59:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[snow leopards]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife protection act]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/02/16135113/P8A1242-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=26514</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species and Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Himalayas and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Cats, Conservation, and Wildlife Protection Act]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India has 718 snow leopards according to a report released earlier this month, by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, which estimated, for the first time, the number of snow leopards inhabiting the high-altitude Himalayan regions in India. This baseline figure can help propel conservation efforts for the charismatic species that must grapple [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India has 718 snow leopards according to a report released earlier this month, by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, which estimated, for the first time, the number of snow leopards inhabiting the high-altitude Himalayan regions in India. This baseline figure can help propel conservation efforts for the charismatic species that must grapple with the challenges of climate change and an infrastructure boom in the Himalayas. Conducted from 2019 to 2022 across six Himalayan states and regions, the population assessment provides more detailed insights into the breadth of the snow leopard’s range, experts told Mongabay-India. The survey found that the highest number of snow leopards are found in Ladakh with around 477 individuals, followed by Uttarakhand (124), Himachal Pradesh (51), Arunachal Pradesh (36), Sikkim (21) and Jammu and Kashmir (9). “Numbers aside, the occupancy surveys give us an idea of which blocks have better snow leopard occurrences, especially in states like Arunachal Pradesh where there was almost no information at this level,” said Yash Veer Bhatnagar, country representative at the IUCN and a contributor to the report. The last “guesstimate” of snow leopards in India, done in the 1980s by researchers from International Snow Leopard Trust, suggested India hosted between 400 and 700 snow leopards. “There was an urgent need to make a revised estimate of snow leopard abundance using improved methodology, especially since reliable density estimates are now possible,” says the report. The last estimate of snow leopards in India, done in the 1980s, suggested it hosted&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/02/with-more-than-700-snow-leopards-next-step-in-conservation-is-long-term-monitoring-say-experts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/02/with-more-than-700-snow-leopards-next-step-in-conservation-is-long-term-monitoring-say-experts/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>Tiger poaching network, that spread from west to east India, busted</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/09/tiger-poaching-network-that-spread-from-west-to-east-india-busted/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/09/tiger-poaching-network-that-spread-from-west-to-east-india-busted/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Sep 2023 14:21:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nabarun Guha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tigers]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/09/11131301/Tigress_Chori_in_Tadoba_Andhari_Tiger_Reserve-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=24409</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Assam, India, and Maharashtra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environmental Crime, Environmental Law, Poaching, Tigers, and Wildlife Protection Act]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In a major breakthrough, a poaching syndicate that extended from Gadchiroli, Maharashtra to Guwahati, Assam was recently busted. This was achieved by a joint effort by the forest departments of Maharashtra and Assam, along with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB). According to the latest census, India’s tiger population is currently 3,682, forming 75% of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In a major breakthrough, a poaching syndicate that extended from Gadchiroli, Maharashtra to Guwahati, Assam was recently busted. This was achieved by a joint effort by the forest departments of Maharashtra and Assam, along with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB). According to the latest census, India’s tiger population is currently 3,682, forming 75% of the global population. However, there are a number of threats looming over this apex predator in India, a major one being organised poaching rackets operating throughout the country. The operation began on the outskirts of Guwahati when five individuals were arrested by the Azara police for possessing a tiger skin and claws. Soon after, WCCB issued a red alert to all tiger reserves and tiger bearing areas to intensify patrolling. Further investigation led officials to Chandrapur district in Maharashtra where a tiger was suspected to have been killed in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR). On June 28, four people were arrested in Dharapur, Azara, following a police raid that found a tiger skin and other body parts including bones and claws. The case was handed over to the forest department. A 2016 image of a tigress and cubs in the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra. Photo by Ajinkya Vishwekar/Wikimedia Commons. Rohini Saikia, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Kamrup East, Assam, who took over the case, told Mongabay-India that the arrested were not the suppliers, but were transporting the consignment. “We first checked the tiger skin and found it to be real because on many occasions, smugglers&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/09/tiger-poaching-network-that-spread-from-west-to-east-india-busted/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/09/tiger-poaching-network-that-spread-from-west-to-east-india-busted/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>The return of wild boars in Kashmir threatens the hangul habitat and crops</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/05/the-return-of-wild-boars-in-kashmir-threatens-the-hangul-habitat-and-crops/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/05/the-return-of-wild-boars-in-kashmir-threatens-the-hangul-habitat-and-crops/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 May 2023 13:29:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mudassir Kuloo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hangul]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kashmir]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[national parks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wild boar]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/05/11093428/Wild-boar-in-Dachigam-National-Park-3_credit-Aakib-Hussain-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=22798</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Jammu and Kashmir]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Wildlife and Wildlife Protection Act]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Wild boars resurfaced in Kashmir after 30 years, in 2013, and their number has been growing ever since, causing concern among the local residents and wildlife experts. Although an official census is yet to be taken, forest officials estimate about 200 wildboars (Indian boar, Sus scrofa cristatus) in Kashmir. The fast-breeding boars have been sighted [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Wild boars resurfaced in Kashmir after 30 years, in 2013, and their number has been growing ever since, causing concern among the local residents and wildlife experts. Although an official census is yet to be taken, forest officials estimate about 200 wildboars (Indian boar, Sus scrofa cristatus) in Kashmir. The fast-breeding boars have been sighted in North Kashmir’s Uri, Limber, Lachipora, and Balwar. They have also been sighted in Dachigam National Park in central Kashmir, which, according to wildlife experts, could disturb the ecology of the critically endangered hangul, as both animals share the same habitat. Wild boars are not native to Kashmir and were first introduced in the region during the time of Maharaja Gulab Singh (1846-1857), the erstwhile ruler of Jammu and Kashmir. Intesar Suhail, a senior officer with the Jammu and Kashmir&#8217;s Wildlife Department, who has co-authored a 2017 study on wild boars, explained that wild boars were introduced by the Maharaja for hunting purposes. “The animal flourished for some time. Then in 1980, it vanished completely. It was not a native animal,” he said. The wild pig was then recognised as an invasive species in Kashmir and thus, no steps were taken to conserve it, according to the study. The species was then considered locally extinct and was not sighted anywhere in Kashmir between 1984 and 2013. In 2013, Suhail came across a dead pig in the Limber and Lacchipora wildlife sanctuaries of the Kajinag range in North Kashmir. “This was the first (recorded) sighting of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/05/the-return-of-wild-boars-in-kashmir-threatens-the-hangul-habitat-and-crops/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>[Interview] Conservationist MK Ranjitsinh Jhala on the need for a grassland policy in India</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/03/interview-conservationist-mk-ranjitsinh-jhala-on-the-need-for-a-grassland-policy-in-india/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/03/interview-conservationist-mk-ranjitsinh-jhala-on-the-need-for-a-grassland-policy-in-india/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Mar 2023 17:51:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kartik ChandramouliSahana Ghosh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grasslands]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/03/24163306/MK-Ranjitsinh-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=22204</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Birds, Conservation, Environmental Law, Grasslands, Mammals, Wildlife, and Wildlife Protection Act]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Cautioning against the “weakening” of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, India’s first and foremost legislation to protect the country’s wildlife, MK Ranjitsinh Jhala, one of the architects of the legislation, called for shifting conservation focus to neglected grassland species such as the caracal and the desert cat. “The Wildlife Protection Act should be strengthened and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Cautioning against the “weakening” of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, India’s first and foremost legislation to protect the country’s wildlife, MK Ranjitsinh Jhala, one of the architects of the legislation, called for shifting conservation focus to neglected grassland species such as the caracal and the desert cat. “The Wildlife Protection Act should be strengthened and not weakened. Period. The conversion of the emphasis from conservation in the wild to conservation in captivity (not as a complement to conservation in wild but as an end in itself) to divert attention is happening now. I believe in in-situ conservation; and ex-situ conservation should be subservient to in-situ conservation, not the other way around,” Ranjitsinh told Mongabay-India at the Central India Landscape Symposium. Mongabay-India caught up with Ranjitsinh at the symposium in Kanha National Park’s buffer just days before his 85th birthday. At home in the region, where he helped save the central Indian Barasingha (swamp deer) from extinction in the 1960s-1970s, Ranjitsinh adds that one of his regrets with the legislation is the inclusion of the word ‘vermin’. Ranjitsinh, a former bureaucrat, said that the term is now being ‘misused.’ “Vermin was used in those days for certain species that needed to be controlled,&#8221; he explained. &#8216;Shift the focus to species dependent on grasslands&#8217; With Project Tiger in its 50th year in 2023, Ranjitsinh, responsible for the identification of the first tiger reserves in India as the Member Secretary of the Task Force for formulating Project Tiger, emphasised that he “always regarded&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/03/interview-conservationist-mk-ranjitsinh-jhala-on-the-need-for-a-grassland-policy-in-india/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>[Commentary] India’s wildlife conservation journey has had great strides and many hurdles</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/commentary-indias-wildlife-conservation-journey-has-had-great-strides-and-many-hurdles/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/commentary-indias-wildlife-conservation-journey-has-had-great-strides-and-many-hurdles/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Sep 2022 14:43:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Usha Rai]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wildlife conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife protection act]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/09/28130101/9.-Barasingha_stags_rutting_51103117449-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=20041</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species, Beyond Protected Areas, and India's Iconic Landscapes]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Environmental Economics, Environmental Heroes, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Poaching, Wildlife, Wildlife Protection Act, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Fifty years after the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 came into existence, raising hope that human-animal conflicts would reduce and poachers who were decimating our forest and rivers of their animal wealth, would be checkmated, the question of whether India can really save its wildlife, forests and ecosystems remains. Through personal, ‘lived’ stories of their journey [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Fifty years after the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 came into existence, raising hope that human-animal conflicts would reduce and poachers who were decimating our forest and rivers of their animal wealth, would be checkmated, the question of whether India can really save its wildlife, forests and ecosystems remains. Through personal, ‘lived’ stories of their journey in wildlife conservation, 34 foresters, researchers, activists and journalists recount the roller coaster ride of India’s wildlife over these years in a book by Rupa Publications, Wildlife India @ 50, edited by Manoj Kumar Misra, a former Indian Forest Service Officer. India’s wildlife history At the beginning of the last century, India was a country teeming with birds and wildlife. It was rich not only in its mineral wealth but abundant in flora and fauna. Invaders into the subcontinent took to hunting in a big way and the country&#8217;s princely states too delighted in shikar (hunting). They killed the majestic tigers and leopards and the impact was clear. The lithe and majestic Indian cheetah was officially declared extinct in 1952. The Madras Elephant Protection Act of 1873 and the Wild Birds Protection Act of 1887, revised in 1912 as Wild Birds and Animal Protection Act, could not stop the rampage as well. In 1935, amendments were made to the 1912 Act which led to the creation of national parks and sanctuaries where hunting was prohibited. India’s ability to bounce back from all that wildlife loss has been phenomenal. The voice of concerned citizens, activists and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/commentary-indias-wildlife-conservation-journey-has-had-great-strides-and-many-hurdles/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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