
Mongabay series: The India Water Story
Water is an integral part of India's growth story, whether it is for the country’s growing energy needs or for maintaining food security. However, India is a water-scarce country and the overexploitation of water resources could turn into a barrier for this growth story. With The India Water Story series, Mongabay-India aims to document the status of India’s water resources and examine the link between political/economic activities and water. In this series we will look at the varied forms of water and the impacts on them, including the monsoon, pollution, access to water, business of water, aquatic biodiversity, or its industrial, domestic, and agricultural use. The series will also look into complex facets including the impact of climate change on Himalayan glaciers to India’s monsoon, contamination of water to overexploitation of groundwater, droughts to floods, pollution of water bodies to sewage treatment plants, piped drinking water to sanitation, waterways to aquatic biodiversity, and ecological flow in rivers to hydropower projects. It will further analyse how the national and state governments are spending their budgets on water-related issues and the role of India's industry in innovating to address water-associated challenges.


How an equitable model of irrigation is changing this drought-prone Maharashtra region

Drought conditions force Marathwada farmers to migrate for work as sugarcane cutters

India aims to go big on sugarcane-based ethanol, but water intensity of the crop throws up concerns

[Podcast] Imprints: Lake and archive diving with Atreyee Bhattacharya

Who is extracting Goa’s groundwater?

Government claims every household in Goa has piped water; records, residents disagree

Illegal fish poisoning threatens traditional fishers in Odisha; authorities say no complaints since 2020

[Commentary] Pokkali, a GI-tagged rice variety, could be on the verge of extinction

Risk-informed planning essential to prevent floods in Kochi

Gangetic river dolphins in Assam decline in the wake of anthropogenic pressures

Authorities announce “clean up” of Loktak lake; locals fear loss of fishing commons

How Punjab’s civil society prevented an ecological disaster in already polluted Ludhiana

An upcoming port in Karnataka is shrinking space for olive ridley turtles

A road for a port cuts through the livelihoods of fisherwomen in Uttara Kannada

Karnataka’s port-development spree ignores coastal communities’ concerns

Dual threat of drought-like conditions and flash floods puts Kashmir Valley’s food security at risk

Industrial water pollution threatens residents in Haryana’s Kundli area

Lucknow, a case study for permanently disappearing aquifers in north India

Accelerating rate of groundwater depletion in Punjab, worries farmers and experts
Special series
Wetland Champions
- [Commentary] India establishes the largest network of Ramsar Sites in South Asia
- [Commentary] Wetland champions: Promise from the grassroots
- The story of Jakkur lake sets an example for inclusive rejuvenation projects
- Welcome to Tsomgo lake: Please don’t litter

Environment And Health
- [Commentary] As India faces an egg shortage, can insects be a potential solution for protein and nutrition?
- Brahmapuram fumes over waste
- Transgender activists highlight the impacts of climate change and environmental issues on the community
- Stubble burning is back, smothering north India with concerns for the upcoming winter

Almost Famous Species
- Ibisbill, the poorly understood Himalayan waterbird faces threats, finds study
- India garners international support to save two endangered freshwater turtles
- What protecting the slender loris could mean for forest communities in Tamil Nadu
- [Video] Hangul, the shy Kashmiri deer, is facing the threat of extinction as its habitat shrinks

India's Iconic Landscapes
- Ain’t no mountain high enough: alien invasive plants increasing in higher elevations
- Unplanned, faulty buildings tremble under weather events in the fragile Himalayan regions
- Nourishing soils of Kashmir’s karewas crumble under infrastructure
- Shielding hijol, a floodplain tree, from climate impacts

Beyond Protected Areas
- [Interview] Conservationist MK Ranjitsinh Jhala on the need for a grassland policy in India
- Women take the wheel for safer tourism in Satpura Tiger Reserve
- Habitat preservation in the Western Ghats can help enhance biodiversity in the hotspot
- Climate change and catfight in the Himalayas: tigers, leopards venture into snow leopard land

Conserving Agro-biodiversity
- Thirunelly’s seed festival celebrates traditional climate-resilient seeds and farm produce
- [Explainer] Why is 2023 the International Year of Millets? What do we achieve by celebrating such years?
- Nations adopt Global Biodiversity Framework amid concerns over watered-down targets
- [Commentary] A renewed CGIAR can better support South Asia to determine its food future

Just Transitions
- Incentives to boost demand, increase in e-buses in Tamil Nadu’s latest EV policy
- Electricity transition in India’s renewable-rich states needs to accelerate, says study
- [Interview] Ajay Kumar Rastogi on leading India’s first just transition task force
- Helping wildlife navigate road and railway infrastructure
