https://news.mongabay.com/list/india/ Environmental science and conservation news Mon, 09 Oct 2023 08:43:01 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3 https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png https://news.mongabay.com/list/india/ 32 32 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/video-rice-as-a-peace-offering-in-indias-human-elephant-conflict-capital/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/video-rice-as-a-peace-offering-in-indias-human-elephant-conflict-capital/#respond 27 Sep 2023 04:27:20 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273605 - Conservationists from Hati Bondhu, a nonprofit organization, are working with farmers in Assam’s Golaghat district to pursue a more peaceful human-elephant coexistence.
- Their first experimental project, which was to grow rice in some fields dedicated to elephants so farmers could harvest separately elsewhere, was a success.
- They’re now planning solutions to overcome the limitations of this short-term project, involving more villages and planting more species outside of farmlands in large-scale projects.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/video-rice-as-a-peace-offering-in-indias-human-elephant-conflict-capital/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/sustainability-is-a-continuous-journey-qa-with-rspos-joseph-dcruz/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/sustainability-is-a-continuous-journey-qa-with-rspos-joseph-dcruz/#respond 08 Aug 2023 04:33:26 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=271925 - Today, the organization is headed by veteran development professional Joseph D’Cruz, a self-professed newcomer to the industry who says he wants the RSPO to be less reactive and more proactive.
- In a wide-ranging interview with Mongabay, D’Cruz discusses why sustainability should be seen as an unending journey rather than an end goal, how the gap between sustainable and “conventional” palm oil is closing, and what role governments must play in driving greater sustainability.
- “When you watch the progress of platforms like the RSPO, sometimes on the outside it might seem frustratingly slow,” he says. “But that’s because you got to bring everybody along and that’s a very tricky challenge sometimes.”
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/sustainability-is-a-continuous-journey-qa-with-rspos-joseph-dcruz/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/when-wildlife-surveillance-tech-watches-people/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/when-wildlife-surveillance-tech-watches-people/#respond 31 Jul 2023 16:26:49 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=271589 - However, researchers and communities say these technologies are also increasingly playing a role in human surveillance, infringing on privacy, exasperating human conflicts with conservation, and posing serious social and ethical implications through their use.
- As conservation technologies increasingly monitor people much the same way CCTV cameras do, their use must be subjected to similar ethical guidelines of other public surveillance tech — which they lack, say researchers.
- Some researchers have drawn up checklists of best practices, such as getting consent from nearby communities, being transparent about how the technology will be used, not using human images opportunistically, and using tech only when there’s no alternative, less-intrusive way of collecting data.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/when-wildlife-surveillance-tech-watches-people/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/as-tourism-booms-in-indias-western-ghats-habitat-loss-pushes-endangered-frogs-to-the-edge/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/as-tourism-booms-in-indias-western-ghats-habitat-loss-pushes-endangered-frogs-to-the-edge/#respond 22 May 2023 23:15:40 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=268810 - Deforestation due to infrastructure and plantation expansion in the southern Western Ghats threaten the region’s amphibian species, many of which have highly restricted habitats.
- Adding to their woes is an increased risk of landslides in parts of Kerala due to erratic, heavy monsoon rains and erosion due to loss of forest.
- To save them, experts are calling for a systematic taxonomic survey of amphibians in the region and for legal protection of endangered species.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/as-tourism-booms-in-indias-western-ghats-habitat-loss-pushes-endangered-frogs-to-the-edge/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/nepalis-love-of-momos-threatens-endangered-wild-water-buffaloes/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/nepalis-love-of-momos-threatens-endangered-wild-water-buffaloes/#respond 06 Feb 2023 08:32:49 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=265247 - Crossbreeding dometic and endangered wild buffaloes is illegal and can threaten the wild population, but people do it because of the high demand for the meat as well as a belief that crossbred females produce more milk.
- Authorities in the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve are challenged with controlling the mixing of wild and domestic animals inside the reserve.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/nepalis-love-of-momos-threatens-endangered-wild-water-buffaloes/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/blue-jeans-an-iconic-fashion-item-thats-costing-the-planet-dearly/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/blue-jeans-an-iconic-fashion-item-thats-costing-the-planet-dearly/#respond 17 Nov 2022 15:04:27 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=262672 - The making of jeans is water intensive, yet much of the world’s cotton crop is grown in semiarid regions requiring irrigation and pesticide use. As climate change intensifies, irrigation-dependent cotton cultivation and ecological catastrophe are on a collision course, with the Aral Sea’s ecological death a prime example and warning.
- While some major fashion companies have made sustainability pledges, and taken some steps to produce greener blue jeans, the industry has yet to make significant strides toward sustainability, with organic cotton, for example, still only 1% of the business.
- A few fashion companies are changing their operations to be more sustainable and investing in technology to reduce the socioenvironmental impacts of jeans production. But much more remains to be done.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/blue-jeans-an-iconic-fashion-item-thats-costing-the-planet-dearly/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/wild-cats-threatened-by-underrecognized-risk-of-spillover-disease/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/wild-cats-threatened-by-underrecognized-risk-of-spillover-disease/#respond 13 Oct 2022 14:54:48 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=261459 - Tracking the spillover and spread of diseases from humans and domestic animals to wildlife is extremely challenging, particularly among wild felid species, which tend to be secretive and solitary, making ongoing observation difficult.
- Possible cases of disease spillover have been documented in wild cats in India, Malaysian Borneo, Thailand, Brazil, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Russia and Nepal. These are likely the tip of the iceberg, say scientists, who believe much disease among wild species is going undetected, with case numbers and outbreaks unknown.
- Scientists stress the need for greater health monitoring of wildlife to reduce this “invisible threat.” But funding for health testing is often scant, and treatment difficult. One researcher sees disease transmission from domestic animals to wildlife as perhaps the most “underrecognized conservation threat today.”
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/wild-cats-threatened-by-underrecognized-risk-of-spillover-disease/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/better-management-of-shared-waterways-could-benefit-economy-in-bangladesh-india/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/better-management-of-shared-waterways-could-benefit-economy-in-bangladesh-india/#respond 30 Sep 2022 07:15:04 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=260955 - A 2016 World Bank study showed that the cost to carry goods via the waterways is cheaper compared to good transportation via railways and roads. However, only about a quarter of Bangladesh’s waterways are navigable by mechanized vessels during the monsoon season and during the dry season, the navigable distance shrinks even further.
- The Bangladeshi government recently awarded a $71 million contract to a Chinese company to dredge rivers as part of a World Bank-financed project to boost transport routes between mainland India and its northeastern states via Bangladesh.
- Experts suggest that, besides taking on extensive dredging work, the rivers need proper management like maintenance of channels and embankment protection, otherwise silt will close the channels in a short time.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/better-management-of-shared-waterways-could-benefit-economy-in-bangladesh-india/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/humans-are-dosing-earths-waterways-with-medicines-it-isnt-healthy/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/humans-are-dosing-earths-waterways-with-medicines-it-isnt-healthy/#respond 22 Sep 2022 21:14:09 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=260565 - A study published in June analyzed samples from 1,000 sites along waterways in more than 100 nations, looking for 61 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Their results suggest that concentrations of at least one API breached safe levels for aquatic life at nearly 40% of sites tested globally.
- Some pharmaceuticals are endocrine disruptors (EDCs), which mimic hormones and interfere harmfully with the endocrine system in various organisms, while other drugs are linked to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), considered one of the biggest threats to human health and well-being today.
- Despite growing awareness among scientists, there is no systematic reporting of waterway pollution by medicines, or impacts on ecological health. Currently, many human-excreted pharmaceuticals enter directly into waterways, or pass through existing wastewater treatment facilities. Fixing the problem will be very expensive.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/humans-are-dosing-earths-waterways-with-medicines-it-isnt-healthy/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/latest-water-sharing-deal-between-bangladesh-india-is-drop-in-the-ocean/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/latest-water-sharing-deal-between-bangladesh-india-is-drop-in-the-ocean/#respond 14 Sep 2022 09:42:02 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=260273 - Managing the flow of water both upstream and down is crucial for agriculture, navigation, inland fisheries, and keeping saltwater intrusion at bay in Bangladesh, but is undermined by a lack of water-sharing agreements.
- The Bangladeshi and Indian prime ministers recently signed an agreement on sharing water from the Kushiara River for irrigation, but experts say this is nothing special in the grand scheme of things.
- They’ve called on the governments of both countries to push for securing long-term treaties on water sharing from major rivers like the Ganges and the Teesta, which in the latter case has been hobbled by local politics in India.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/latest-water-sharing-deal-between-bangladesh-india-is-drop-in-the-ocean/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/farmer-to-farmer-agroecology-qa-with-chukki-nanjundaswamy-of-amrita-bhoomi-learning-centre/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/farmer-to-farmer-agroecology-qa-with-chukki-nanjundaswamy-of-amrita-bhoomi-learning-centre/#respond 03 Aug 2022 16:17:40 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=258847 - In a wide-ranging interview with Mongabay, the center’s Chukki Nanjundaswamy discusses their model of agriculture, its Gandhian roots, and how it grew out of the rejection of Green Revolution farming techniques that rely on chemical inputs and expensive hybrid seeds.
- Nanjundaswamy shares some of their innovative approaches to growing food without inputs, plus clever techniques to thwart notorious pests like fall armyworm, which is also prevalent in Africa.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/farmer-to-farmer-agroecology-qa-with-chukki-nanjundaswamy-of-amrita-bhoomi-learning-centre/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/07/conflict-brews-between-authorities-and-yobin-communities-as-deforestation-spikes-in-indian-national-park/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/07/conflict-brews-between-authorities-and-yobin-communities-as-deforestation-spikes-in-indian-national-park/#respond 15 Jul 2022 18:54:40 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=258300 - Satellite data show deforestation has increased in the park over the last two decades.
- Members of an Indigenous group called the Yobin have been living in portions of the park for generations, but park authorities consider Yobin settlements to be “encroachments” and the main driver of deforestation and poaching in Namdapha National Park
- In the last few months, authorities have destroyed at least eight Yobin settlements inside the park.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/07/conflict-brews-between-authorities-and-yobin-communities-as-deforestation-spikes-in-indian-national-park/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/asias-troubled-trees-need-better-conservation-to-reach-restoration-goals-study/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/asias-troubled-trees-need-better-conservation-to-reach-restoration-goals-study/#respond 26 Apr 2022 02:55:46 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=255155 - However, roughly three-quarters of the land deemed most important to protect regional tree diversity lies outside of protected areas, according to a new study that evaluates the distribution and threats facing 63 native tree species.
- The findings question whether countries will be able to fulfill their ambitious forest restoration targets; in particular, the researchers are concerned that crucial seed resources that could support reforestation efforts are being lost.
- The researchers recommend a more coordinated approach to conservation planning within the region, including improved cross-border collaboration and a holistic, landscape approach that integrates trees into production systems outside of protected areas.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/asias-troubled-trees-need-better-conservation-to-reach-restoration-goals-study/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/shining-a-light-on-sri-lankas-little-studied-pangolins-qa-with-priyan-perera/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/shining-a-light-on-sri-lankas-little-studied-pangolins-qa-with-priyan-perera/#respond 24 Apr 2022 19:58:45 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=255094 - Efforts to protect the species here have failed to take off as a result of poor general awareness about the animal, persistent myths about eating its flesh, and a dearth of scientific studies into Sri Lanka’s pangolins.
- Priyan Perera, a globally recognized expert on the species, says he hopes to change that, starting by first filling in the knowledge gaps about the pangolins and their behavior, while also raising awareness in communities and schools to discourage hunting.
- In an interview with Mongabay, Perera talks about the importance of better understanding Sri Lanka’s Indian pangolins, incidents pointing to the nascent trafficking trend, and how to care for seized or injured pangolins.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/shining-a-light-on-sri-lankas-little-studied-pangolins-qa-with-priyan-perera/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/study-farmland-birds-in-nepal-india-in-dire-need-of-conservation-action/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/study-farmland-birds-in-nepal-india-in-dire-need-of-conservation-action/#respond 22 Apr 2022 10:02:34 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=255036 - The researchers also found that different agriculture practices influenced the abundance of birds: sugarcane fields attracted the greatest diversity of species, while rice fields had the highest number of individual birds.
- The study provides a baseline for tracking farmland birds and informing policies for their conservation, given that they’re found outside of formally protected areas.
- The findings also highlight the differences between the characteristics and threats faced by farmland bird populations in Nepal (and neighboring India), and those in countries where agriculture is more industrialized and mechanized.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/study-farmland-birds-in-nepal-india-in-dire-need-of-conservation-action/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/sloth-giant-armadillo-and-fishing-cat-conservationists-win-future-for-nature-award-2022/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/sloth-giant-armadillo-and-fishing-cat-conservationists-win-future-for-nature-award-2022/#respond 18 Mar 2022 00:43:58 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=253890 - Tiasa Adhya of India, Gabriel Massocato from Brazil, and Rebecca Cliffe in Costa Rica each earn a cash prize they will use to advance their work with these endangered animals and ecosystems.
- One will use the funding to acquire a dog specially trained to detect the presence of sloths, a cryptic species whose populations are challenging to estimate.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/sloth-giant-armadillo-and-fishing-cat-conservationists-win-future-for-nature-award-2022/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/record-seizures-mark-sri-lankas-rise-as-a-smuggling-hub-for-star-tortoises/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/record-seizures-mark-sri-lankas-rise-as-a-smuggling-hub-for-star-tortoises/#respond 13 Mar 2022 16:46:36 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=253699 - While India continues to be the main country of origin for wild-caught star tortoises, Sri Lanka has in recent years become both a prominent source country and transit hub for trafficking networks that move the animals to East and Southeast Asia.
- Experts have called for better collaboration between law enforcement authorities in the source countries, particularly India and Sri Lanka, to curb the smuggling, which studies say has thrived due to weak enforcement and corruption.
- Herpetologists also say releasing seized star tortoises from both India and Sri Lanka inside Sri Lankan national parks threatens to wipe out the unique characteristics of the latter population, making them genetically indistinct from their subcontinental cousins.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/record-seizures-mark-sri-lankas-rise-as-a-smuggling-hub-for-star-tortoises/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/researches-puzzle-over-sea-crossing-migration-of-crimson-rose-butterflies/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/researches-puzzle-over-sea-crossing-migration-of-crimson-rose-butterflies/#respond 01 Mar 2022 17:21:25 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=253229 - Unlike the better-known migration of the monarch butterfly in North America, the movements of the crimson rose are meandering and dispersed, often triggered by the start of rains following a long dry spell.
- Researchers have called for more studies to be done to better understand the phenomenon, including through contributions from citizen scientists in both Sri Lanka and India.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/researches-puzzle-over-sea-crossing-migration-of-crimson-rose-butterflies/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/bringing-back-large-mammals-boosts-restoration-of-entire-ecosystems-study/ https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/bringing-back-large-mammals-boosts-restoration-of-entire-ecosystems-study/#respond 17 Feb 2022 10:58:58 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=252799 - A new study that looks at global opportunities for the restoration, reintroduction and rewilding of large mammals across the world’s terrestrial ecoregions found that just 15% of the world’s land area supports intact large mammal assemblages.
- The study suggests that returning just 20 large mammal species to their historic habitats could restore intact large mammal communities across almost one-quarter of the Earth’s land area.
- The scientists behind the study recommend large mammal rewilding be incorporated into area-based conservation targets being considered under the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework and into restoration efforts under the U.N.’s Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/bringing-back-large-mammals-boosts-restoration-of-entire-ecosystems-study/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/top-15-species-discoveries-from-2021-photos/ https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/top-15-species-discoveries-from-2021-photos/#respond 21 Dec 2021 18:29:54 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=250851 - This year, Mongabay reported on newly described species from nearly every continent, including an Ecuadoran ant whose name broke the gender binary, an acrobatic North American skunk, an Australian “killer tobacco,” a fuzzy orange bat from West Africa, tiny screech owls from Brazil, and more.
- Though a species may be new to science, that doesn’t mean it has not yet been found and given a name by local and Indigenous communities.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/top-15-species-discoveries-from-2021-photos/feed/ 0