Mongabay India

In Bihar’s West Champaran, nearly 22 villages inside the Valmiki Tiger Reserve received solar-powered electricity in 2019. After the contract expired in 2024, 40,000 village residents were plunged back into the darkness, receiving only one-two hours of electricity every day. Installed under the national Saubhagya Yojana and maintained by Larsen & Toubro (L&T), the off-grid system was meant for forest villages far from grid electrification. Since the contract was completed, the batteries’ performance has declined, and the panels have started breaking. While the village residents say the power supplied never fully met their needs, the return to darkness compounds the existing issues — their livelihood, children’s education, safety, and connectivity as mobile phones can no longer be charged. The responsibility for the defunct system now lies with the power department. Learn more about this project in this video reported by NISHA KUMARI and scripted by Puja Bhattacharjee. #solar #cleanenergy #renewableenergy #forest

Reporting from COP30 means listening, learning, and amplifying the voices that matter. Here’s a little behind-the-scenes of our Assistant Editor Manish Chandra Mishra capturing important stories. Follow us to keep up with the latest updates from COP30. Read our stories here: https://lnkd.in/dFZhSYeE #COP30 #journalism #climatechange

Stone quarries expand near Western Ghats in Kerala. A new study has found that after the 2016 ban on river sand mining in Kerala, stone quarries have expanded near protected areas in the Western Ghats to extract stone for M-sand production. The researchers found that some quarries expanded five to tenfold or more during 2011 to 2021. About 17% of this increase took place in 2016. Explore the full map here: https://lnkd.in/dmC-9bD8 Report by Max Martin Produced by Kartik Chandramouli | Cartography by Andrés A. | Copy edits by Divya K. 

The end of the first week of #COP30 saw a protest organized by social and environmental movements, bringing together Indigenous groups, youth, NGOs, and activists demanding climate justice, an end to fossil fuels, and real participation in negotiations. Protesters demanded land rights, agrarian reform, agroecology support and climate reparations, while opposing fossil fuels, agribusiness expansion, and oil exploration. The demonstrations presented a counter-narrative to formal COP30 negotiations, stressing that frontline communities who protect forests, rivers and farmlands must be central to any just climate transition. Manish Chandra Mishra reports from Belém.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s draft zonal master plan for the Eco-Sensitive Zone of Sanjay Gandhi National Park has raised concerns among citizens, environmentalists, and tribal communities. The plan was released only in English with a 30-day window for objections, excluding many Marathi-speaking and tribal residents. Experts warn that the proposed plan could further fragment Mumbai’s green lung. Tribal groups fear displacement and erasure of their rights. Read the detailed report by Esha Lohia - https://lnkd.in/dWW4p_UZ

The conclusions of a new report by the CITES stand in stark contrast to the findings of the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT), which gave Vantara – a private zoo and animal rescue centre owned by the Ambani family – a clean chit in its acquisition of animals. Only the summary of the SIT report has been made available in the public domain. CITES is an international agreement to regulate the trade of threatened wildlife. India has been a signatory to it since 1976. Considering the volume of animals being imported into Vantara, the CITES Secretariat advised that “India reviews as a matter of urgency its import procedures and implements much stronger due diligence procedures, based on a risk assessment to ensure that due diligence is exercised systematically and consistently in order to detect any irregularity prior to the issuance of import permits and shipment of animals.” It recommends that for trade of species listed under Appendix I and II of the Convention, exporting authorities must ensure that the export is not detrimental to its survival in the wild, that it was obtained legally, and that the transfer be done with minimal risk to the animal. Likewise, importing authorities must ensure similar criteria, and that the recipient facility be suitable. However, the SIT (led by former Supreme Court judge Jasti Chelameshwar) concluded that when permits are issued for trade under CITES, there exists a “a statutory presumption of validity under Indian law,” and neither Vantara nor Indian authorities are obligated to investigate whether a donor zoo had legally acquired an animal before export. The CITES report launches at a critical time as Vantara awaits approval to hold up to 84,822 animals from the Central Zoo Authority. Read the full story by Simrin Sirur - https://lnkd.in/dMq8TWh4 Title slide image by Bohoindian via Wikimedia Commons.

This week’s environment and conservation news stories rolled into one. Stories by Raihana Maqbool and Saurabh Sharma, Aditi Tandon and Sejal Mehta, Saumitra Shinde, Nikhil Sreekandan, Shweta Yogi, Simrin Sirur, Max Martin, Sneha Mahale, Soumya Sarkar, Nabeela Khan.

South Asia is going to be a theatre where the impacts of climate change will play out with the most profound impacts. The region's geography, the millions it houses, the interconnected ecosytems. Gone are the days where each country can pick a corner and not worry about the larger picture. In this theatre, journalists can play a huge role, driving the discourse from research to public consciousness and hence, to policy. Hopefully, cross-cutting policy. Mongabay is uniquely placed to provide insights into this crucial topic, with in-house staff covering climate change journalistically on an everyday basis. Join us, for a webinar with a stellar panel: S. Gopikrishna Warrier from Mongabay India, who has been training journalists to write about climate for more than a decade now. Dilrukshi Handunnetti, who has been covering these issues for Mongabay and other international platforms, bringing in perspectives from the South Asian region. Abhaya Raj Joshi, who has been looking at climate change from the Himalayas in Nepal. Mike DiGirolamo has compiled an excellent set of questions for the panel, ranging from the unique features of the region, storytelling that beats climate news fatigue, to the importance of attribution. cc Mongabay News Mongabay हिन्दी Don't miss it! https://lnkd.in/dqUY_BRY

What are the impacts of climate change on the South Asian region, and how can reporters better cover the nuances of human rights, ecological, and economic impacts? What gaps in coverage remain, and what are the biggest stories to cover? Join this special webinar hosted by Mike DiGirolamo, Mongabay, featuring Mongabay India's Editorial Director S. Gopikrishna Warrier, and Mongabay staff Dilrukshi Handunnetti from Sri Lanka and Abhaya Raj Joshi from Nepal. The discussion will be broadcast live on Mongabay's YouTube Channel and LinkedIn account. Mongabay News

🌳 Uncertainty around future of Mumbai’s last green lung The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has released a Draft Zonal Master Plan (ZMP) for the Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) surrounding Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) — and it’s sparked serious concerns among citizens, environmentalists, and tribal communities. While the draft claims to “conserve” SGNP’s buffer, many say it rebrands real estate, tourism, and commercial projects as “regulated growth”, opening the door to ecological loss. Key highlights: 1️⃣ The draft divides the 60 sq. km. ESZ into three zones — ESZ-1 (Settlement Zone), ESZ-2 (Regulated Development Zone), and ESZ-3 (Ecologically Fragile Zone) — based on a vulnerability index. 2️⃣ Under this framework, ESZ-1 largely aligns with the existing Development Plan 2034, allowing for full-scale development, including residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial projects. Crucially, all activities permitted in ESZ-1 are also allowed in ESZ-2, unless specifically prohibited — raising concern since ESZ-2 areas score higher on ecological vulnerability. 3️⃣ Released only in English with a 30-day window, limiting participation from local and tribal residents. 4️⃣ Activists cite data errors, exclusion of genuine tribal hamlets, and lack of ecological sensitivity in the mapping process. The plan also overlaps with Mumbai’s Development Plan 2034, creating confusion and duplication. 🗣️ What experts say: "Some areas in Aarey have also been zoned as ESZ-1, which permits high-intensity development. These are important catchments and hydrological zones. Any construction there will affect groundwater percolation and increase flood risks downstream." - Shweta Wagh, Urban Conservationis “The methodology is based on vulnerability, not sensitivity. Even the ecological assessment wasn’t conducted through ground-level studies.” — @Abhijit Ekbote, Urban Practitioner 🔈 Local voices: For tribal residents who have lived in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) area for generations, the draft plan feels like an act of erasure. The communities say they were not informed about the plan until environmental activists brought it to their attention. “Hamara astitva sankat mein hai (Our existence is in danger),” says Dinesh Habale of the Adivasi Hakk Samvardhan Samiti. The draft also talks about nature-based tourism, wellness centres, trekking routes, and sustainable villages. While new polluting industry set-ups are prohibited, the plan does not call for the removal of any existing polluting industries operating in the ESZ. This ambiguity raises concern that existing factories and workshops in Vasai and Thane could continue operating unchecked. Read the detailed report by Esha Lohia here: https://lnkd.in/dWW4p_UZ