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A pond recently dug by the government in Palamu. When Mongabay-India visited in late July, the pond held little water. Image by Ashwini Kumar Shukla.

After decades of drought-proofing, farms still depend on rain

Ashwini Kumar Shukla 6 Aug 2026
Cracks appear in Basant Dangi's field in Pathalgada village, where he normally grows a paddy nursery. Image by Vishal Kumar Jain.

Low rainfall delays paddy farming signalling El Niño-induced drought

Vishal Kumar Jain 27 Jul 2026
Flowers bloom on a palash tree. For generations, Dalit communities in Palamu have gauged the weather by the palash blooms. Image by Ashwini Kumar Shukla.

The flame of the forest is fading; can it return?

Ashwini Kumar Shukla 24 Apr 2026
Labourers arrange steel buckets at a manufacturing factory. Representative image. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

New report flags sulphur dioxide emissions from Bokaro Steel Plant

Simrin Sirur 4 Mar 2026
Bamboo crafts in the works in village courtyards. Image by Kulesh Bhandari.

Climate stress, market gap weaken traditional bamboo craft [Commentary]

Kulesh Bhandari 26 Feb 2026
A pear farm. Image by Ashwini Kumar Shukla.

Local solution to farming woes? Grow a pear!

Ashwini Kumar Shukla 18 Dec 2025
Sushma Devi (in green), a paryavaran sakhi, demonstrates the use of an air quality monitor to women in Mahuda village, Dhanbad. Image courtesy of Deshaj Abhikram.

Grassroots women map air pollution hotspots, spur a coal company to curb dust

Vandana K. 11 Dec 2025
A woman collects firewood in Rajasthan. Representative image by Engineering for Change via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0).

LPG adoption correlates with higher green cover, finds study

Simrin Sirur 5 Dec 2025
Part of the bike rally taken out by fishers dependent on the Panchet dam on September 7. Image courtesy of Rajen Tudu.

Floating solar projects test India’s just transition promise

Snigdhendu Bhattacharya 9 Oct 2025
The construction of the Mandal dam began in the 1970s, and was left unfinished. It is now being revived, and met with protests from local communities who are being denied the jobs, land titles and compensation promised. Image by Ashwini Kumar Shukla/Mongabay.

A dam that drowned dreams but never delivered water

Ashwini Kumar Shukla 1 Aug 2025
The aim of BHGY is to increase the income of marginal farmers. The scheme is linked to carbon finance so that farmers can take proper care of their orchards. Image by TRIF.

Carbon markets fund plantations and livelihoods

Vishal Kumar Jain 8 Jul 2025
Jaigir lies in the core of the Palamu Tiger Reserve. Image by Ashwini Kumar Shukla/Mongabay.

Making way for tigers, moving human settlements

Ashwini Kumar Shukla 27 Jun 2025
Aerial view of sand mining. The Supreme Court’s verdict striking down the 2017 and 2021 amnesties for environmental violations has significant legal and commercial implications for companies and infrastructure projects. Image by Saiphani02 via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-4.0).

Upholding the law, Supreme Court halts amnesties for EIA violators, jolts industry

Akshay Deshmane 10 Jun 2025
Kanhai Prasad, a farmer in Charai village, secures a mesh netting to protect his crops. "All night you can hear tractors roaring from the forest edge, blasting loud music and crushing stone,” he said. Image by Ashwini Kumar Shukla/Mongabay.

Stone crushers drive nilgai into fields, damaging crops

Ashwini Kumar Shukla 29 May 2025

Farmers demand separate minimum support price for natural farming products

Vishal Kumar Jain 21 May 2025
A representative image of tree felling in West Bengal. The Supreme Court of India is hearing a petition challenging a government-issued procedure for handling environmental violations. Image by Biswarup Ganguly via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0).

Industry pushes for reinstatement of amnesty for environmental violations

Akshay Deshmane 25 Apr 2025

Indigenous traditions shape wolf survival

Sneha Mahale 16 Apr 2025
Manisha Oraon, co-founder of The Open Field, interacts with women at her restaurant. Besides serving local cuisine, her team is documenting Jharkhand’s tribal food traditions. Image courtesy of Manisha Oraon

Tribal entrepreneurs bring indigenous cuisine to the urban mainstream

Kundan Pandey 12 Mar 2025
Residents of Pulwama in Jharkhand say that while the Rajhara North coal mine’s reopening might offer temporary benefits, it risks repeating a cycle of displacement and environmental damage. Bindu Devi says that she will fight for the right compensation (R). The government has allocated mining blocks to Fairmine Carbons which has begun production (L). Images by Ashwini Kumar Shukla for Mongabay.

A coal mine reopens, sparking hope and fear

Ashwini Kumar Shukla 11 Mar 2025
Saplings of Semialta

The Semialata plant is a game changer for lac farming in Jharkhand amid climate and migration challenges

Vineeta Parmar 24 Feb 2025