The Sundarbans: frontlines of climate change for tigers and people
The Indian part of the Sundarbans, the vast mangrove forest in the Bay of Bengal, consists of 102 islands, about half of them inhabited. That may not be the case…
A dose of eco-optimism: Stories of hope and inspiration in 2019
Don't lose hope. This is probably not the cliché you want to hear after what the past year has been like. Extreme weather events, wildfires, water crises, rampant deforestation, record…
Editor’s pick 2019: Elections, climate change and extreme weather events
The national elections dominated the happenings of 2019. So did a string of floods, drought and cyclones. In our second year of publication, we at Mongabay-India extensively covered how environmental…
Peatlands are crucial carbon sinks but they are not on the map
Imagine semi-decayed plant material accumulating for thousands of years under water-logged conditions. This thick and condensed layer of soil that packs a large amount of organic carbon is called peat.…
[Commentary] Cyclone Bulbul in the Indian Sundarbans: Another lesson on deltaic vulnerability and resilience
Bulbul, one of the most recent tropical cyclonic storms, wreaked havoc in southern West Bengal along with parts of Odisha on 8th and 9th November 2019. The storm is said to…
Sky-bound Navi Mumbai airport leaves project-affected behind
The flight has been delayed by a few years but the runway is now ready for the work of Maharashtra’s Navi Mumbai airport to finally take off. Once it gathers…
NGT comes to the aid of Kharai camels and mangroves in Kachchh
For the indigenous “swimming camels” of Kachchh and their mangrove habitat, a decision by India’s green court has come as the saving grace from threats to the ecosystem and the…
She guards Mumbai’s defence against climate change
Fifty-six-year-old Seema Adgaonkar glides through swampy mangroves in ankle-deep muck. The fragrance of Avicennia marina (the grey mangrove), the most widely-spread mangrove species in Mumbai, makes the trail pleasant despite…
[Commentary] Surviving in the fragile Sundarbans delta: Will the new government respond?
With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) making a landslide victory in the 2019 general elections of India, one cannot relegate apprehensions about the ways in which…
Why the city that never stops comes to a standstill when it rains
When the rain poured down on Mumbai last week, drowning the city in what now seems like an annual affair, it once again brought up the question – why is…
